The full title of this book by Henry Harel is
“Where Is The Constraint? A Theory of Constraints DIY Toolkit Book 1“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is good.
Here is my book review.
A different perspective on finding the constraint
In this short book, the author shares his experience as a TOC practitioner helping businesses around the world.
It doesn’t attempt to summarise the logical construction of the Theory of Constraints in the way that a book like Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints.: The Quantum Leap in Management does.
In fact this book was intended as the first of a series of five books as it focuses on the initial issue of identifying the constraint. It therefore makes no claim to be the complete answer but just part of the process.
The book looks at the different areas where the constraint might arise. The easiest to imagine is the classic factory example where there is a growing pile of work in progress waiting to be served by the machine which is the constraint. People need little convincing about TOC in these situation where you start saying that the machine should the focus of initial improvement efforts as well as acting as the drum for releasing new materials into the system.
Other constraints are much harder to pinpoint and then be accepted as needing change. This is because they often relate to people’s actions and decisions and they can be defensive. This resistance will then undermine the novice TOC practitioner who probably lacks the confidence or status to hold steady.
The author also shares lessons learnt from identifying constraints in different parts of the business.
I’ve seen criticisms of this book (especially on Amazon.com) for its poor writing style and editing. I’m normally sensitive to these issues but at no stage did I find myself cringing. Perhaps I was in a positive mood when I was reading it but I wouldn’t let those critics put you off the book, especially as its price to buy is very low and it’s available as part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription.
I would have liked to have seen the case studies told in more depth but I realise there are confidentiality issues involved. The biggest weakness is not within this book but the lack of follow-up books. The author is giving us a different perspective than we can get from the other TOC books I’ve read and I’d like to know more.
It is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
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