Why Operations Struggle

Many operations are managed by trying to keep every resource busy, maximize local efficiency, run large batches, and release work as soon as possible. In a system of dependent processes subject to variation, those practices can create the opposite of what managers intend: more work-in-process, longer queues, longer lead times, shifting priorities, and late deliveries. The TOC shift: Balance flow, not capacity. Focus management attention on the system constraint, control the release of work, protect flow with buffers, and use clear priorities to manage execution.
Who Should Take It

Who Is This Course For?

Operations & Production Managers

Learn the basic concepts in preparation for more advanced courses.

TOC Practitioners & Newcomers

Build a structured foundation in TOC Production and Operations Management.

Certification Candidates

Prepare for TOCICO Fundamentals exam through concept-based learning.

What You Will Learn

The course develops the logic step by step—from understanding why flow breaks down to operating a synchronized TOC production system.

  • Focus on What Limits the System

    Apply the Five Focusing Steps: identify, exploit, subordinate, elevate, and avoid inertia.

  • Understand the Physics of Flow

    See how dependent events, statistical fluctuations, WIP, and local efficiency affect lead time and reliability.

  • Control Work Release

    Use gated release, the 50% rule, and order freezing to reduce congestion and restore flow.

  • Schedule with DBR and S-DBR

    Understand the Drum, Buffers, Rope, Planned Load, and reliable due-date commitments.

  • Manage Execution with Buffers

    Use Green, Yellow, Red, and Black priorities to determine what should receive attention now.

  • Focus Continuous Improvement

    Use delay logging and Pareto analysis to direct improvement effort toward the most important flow disruptions.

See the system. Focus on the constraint. Protect the flow.
From core TOC logic to day-to-day operational execution.

Explore the Course

Follow the learning path from TOC foundations and flow fundamentals through DBR, S-DBR, Buffer Management, VATI, and production strategy.

    1. Course Use & Intellectual Property Acknowledgement

    2. Sources & Acknowledgements

    1. Module Overview: The Core Philosophy of the Theory of Constraints

    2. Introduction to the Theory of Constraints (TOC)

    3. The 5 Focusing Steps: Identify & Exploit

    4. The 5 Focusing Steps: Subordinate

    5. The 5 Focusing Steps: Elevate

    6. The 5 Focusing Steps: Avoid Inertia

    7. The Power of Systemic Focus in Operations

    8. The Evaporating Cloud

    9. Throughput Accounting: Global Operational Decision-Making

    10. Module 1 Glossary & Exam Terms

    11. Module 1 Review & Exam-Style Preparation

    1. Module Overview: The Physics of Flow

    2. Flows, Processes, and the Flow Entity

    3. Dependent Events & Statistical Fluctuations

    4. Flow Velocity & Delivery Reliability

    5. Process Quality & Cost Management

    6. Module 2 Glossary & Exam Terms

    7. Module 2 Review & Exam-Style Preparation

    1. Module Overview: Diagnosing the Local Optima Trap

    2. Balancing Capacity vs. Balancing Flow

    3. The Local Efficiency Fallacy: Activation, Utilization & Batching

    4. The End-of-the-Month Syndrome

    5. Resolving the Operations Manager Core Conflict: Waste vs. Flow & Subordination

    6. Module 3 Glossary & Exam Terms

    7. Module 3 Review & Exam-Style Preparation

    1. Module Overview: Regaining Control of the Shop Floor

    2. Gated Release & The 50% Rule of Thumb

    3. Active Execution Recovery: Order Freezing & WIP Bleed-Out

    4. Module 4 Glossary & Exam Terms

    5. Module 4 Review & Exam-Style Preparation

    1. Module Overview: Synchronizing Capacity with the Constraint

    2. Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR): Internal Constraint Scheduling

    3. The Three DBR Buffers: Constraint, Assembly & Shipping

    4. The Rope: Material-Release & Synchronized Pull Signals

    5. Module 5 Glossary & Exam Terms

    6. Module 5 Review & Exam-Style Preparation

About this course

  • $99.00
  • 68 lessons
  • 2.5 hours of video content
Integrated TOC Operations

From Concepts to Operational Control

The course presents TOC operations as one integrated system rather than a collection of isolated tools.

1
Understand Flow
2
Control Release
3
Synchronize Production
4
Manage Priorities
5
Identify Delays
6
Focus Improvement
Execution Management

Clear Priorities on the Operations Floor

Buffer Management turns the passage of time into a simple visual priority system.

Operators no longer need competing hot lists or constantly changing instructions. Work is prioritized according to buffer status, while delay information becomes useful input for continuous improvement.

Buffer Management Priority Zones
GREEN
Low Priority
YELLOW
Higher Priority
RED
Urgent

A Different Way to Think About Operations

More activity does not necessarily mean more output. More inventory does not necessarily mean more protection. Improving every resource does not necessarily improve the system.

Start the Production & Operations Management Course