About this Presentation
This presentation describes the use of the TOC concept of continuous flow and 6 sigma in improving throughput at the Dead Sea Works, a manufacturer of potash (a chemical to improve yield in all plants) located in Sodom, Israel. The basic flow was from Dead Sea water to evaporating ponds to a raw material plant to processing plants to white, red and granulated potash. The objectives of the project were to significantly and quickly increase the throughput of potash production at the Dead Sea Works. An example of a two station line with dependencies and statistical fluctuations is provided. System output is defined by the slower station. Output of the system is the minimum of the two stations. The two station example is again used with equal capacity but very different variability. The results are even more restrictive: average loss is still about 1/3 of the standard deviation of the large variable; the loss is mainly dependent on the variable, which has the larger standard deviation, and almost not on the small one, till we reach the point where the relative quantitative relations between them is reversing; standard deviation is declining even more; the lost is relative to the fluctuations of the resources; etc. A numerical simulation proved the same basic relationships as the mathematical enumeration. The capacity of the first station was increased and numerical simulation was used to calculate the expected throughput of the system. The incremental investment and profit were computed for expanding station 1. Changes were made to the actual production facilities and the significant throughput increases were realized. The experiments showed that a loss in a bottleneck is proportional to the variability of the stations, especially the large one. That is why decreasing the variations by statistical process control (SPC)—be it lean, kaizen or 6 sigma methods-might bring about additional increases of production.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
This session shows how TOC and Six Sigma can work together in a heavy-process environment, using continuous flow thinking and statistical process control to raise throughput at the Dead Sea Works potash operation.
A major insight is that throughput loss is driven not just by average capacity, but by the interaction of dependency and variability. The presentation emphasizes that losses are strongly tied to the resource with the larger fluctuation, making variability reduction a powerful lever.
The case goes beyond theory by using simulation and economic analysis to test improvement decisions before implementation, including evaluating capacity expansion and the expected profit impact of investing in a station.
The strongest takeaway is that reducing variation through methods like statistical process control, Lean, Kaizen, or Six Sigma can unlock additional production gains when paired with TOC’s focus on flow and the system constraint.
Instructor(s)
Alex Klarman, Ph.D
Dr. Alex Klarman is the CEO of the Goldratt Institute (Israel), and Question Mark Ltd. Alex is leading the effort to introduce TOC to, and establish it as the standard management approach in Israel, as well as worldwide. Since 1985 he has helped develop and implement TOC and CCPM with some of the world’s leading corporations, including the likes of Ford, Philips, Intel, Teva, Israeli Aircraft Industry and Microsoft. The projects’ areas ranged from IT to manufacturing, logistics, construction and infrastructure in the technology, bio-med and aerospace fields. In the last decade Alex has led teams coordinating work on some of the greatest infrastructure projects, be it a city preparing for the UEFA EURO 2012 games, the construction of a top-notch science center, or building a museum based designed by one of world’s leading iconic architects. All these were characterized by tight schedules, faced myriad unexpected problems while under scrutiny by media and critical public opinion.
David Issahary, Ph.D.
Dead Sea Works Ltd