This Focused Performance Weblog is a "business management blog" containing links and commentary related primarily to organizational effectiveness with a "Theory of Constraints" perspective. TOC is noted for its applications in Project Management and Multi-Project Management (Critical Chain) and Operations Management (Drum-Buffer-Rope), as well as in Marketing, Strategic Planning and Change Management (TOC Thinking Processes). If you are on an archive page, current postings are found here.
We've been crazy busy merging the different parts of our services business. I'm still trying to figure out how the bit I did read on resource replenishment would actually work without getting too deep in data. I think I'm losing my TOC persuasion skills or at least my confidence in them, or maybe just the time/energy to apply them.
These intro sections have a lot of what I expected, and a few intriguing teasers. "Services on Demand" reviews the nature of services versus manufacturing, with a focus on what Rickett's considers the most extreme type of service - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (PSTS).
The chapter on TOC runs through the basic applications of TOC, with a high level intro on how they're used in producing and delivering "goods" and nodding at how they might or might not apply to delivering "services."
About to get into the meat of the details of how he's adapted the TOC apps to services. The most intriguing teaser - for the next chapter - is in applying Replenishment to Resource Management. Even without getting into the details, the mere mention of that triggered a "DOH!" a-ha moment, as I'm expecting to see something about keeping a pipeline of resource inventory loaded for quick access when needed. I'll see over the weekend if I'm on track on this.
Ricketts' list of TOC applications for services also mentions replenishment as part of the multi-project solution for services as well. Interesting, though no prediction as to where he's going with this yet.
Watch for further comments as I move through the book.
the other day. So far, I've read the first "Foundations" section with it's Introduction and chapters on "Services on Demand" and "The Theory of Constraints."
View Frank Patrick's profile
