Goldratt has attempted to develop for the reader a set of basic tools for problem-solving in a manufacturing environment, in which each facet of a manufacturing operation can be broken down into a handful of rules which, when analyzed, prompt creative solutions. This book is an attempt to show that we can postulate a very small number of assumptions and utilize them to explain a very large spectrum of industrial phenomena. It is this process of analysis, as experienced by Rogo, which is the major highlight of the book. Goldratt develops simple analogies between everyday layman occurrences, e.g., the causes of the changing distances between hiking campers on a trail, and the forces behind lengthy lead times or excessive WIP inventory as found in a manufacturing plant. Some of the most typical symptoms are found in Rogo's plant.
Most orders require unplanned overtime and expediting to be completed.
A tremendous amount of WIP inventory exists in front of almost every work center, yet there are often shortages of key parts in the final assembly stage, causing massive expediting and late shipments. And when there isn't any work to do, make some. And when we can't make work, shift people around. And when you still can't make them work, lay them off. He's like a general who knows he is losing the battle, but forgets his strategy in his desperation to win.