About this Presentation
This session’s objectives are to understand the nature of TOC’s thinking processes, provide a quick introduction to the thinking processes, learn how to read and understand the TP tools, and gain an appreciation of the role the TP tools play in managing change. Coverage includes managing change, key questions for successful change, the thinking processes with examples, logic basics, how the TP fit together, harnessing resistance to change, and managing change the TOC way. While TOC is ‘common sense’ it is not commonly applied. Solutions often seem obvious in hindsight. The keys to success are to focus on the constraint, use the right measures, and understand causal relationships in the system. One must re-examine policies, procedures and measures, involve people, understand behaviors, consider the wider context … capturing the whole, while focusing on the important parts. But how can we do this reliably? Immanuel Kant said: Theory without practice is empty; practice without theory is blind. In TOC three key questions must be addressed in any improvement process: 1. What to change? 2. What to change to? 3. How to cause that change? Video length: . PDF: slides.
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.
Instructor(s)
Vicky Mabin
Vicky Mabin, PhD FORS is Adjunct Professor at the Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Business and Government. She has taught several hundred students about TOC and conducted and supervised many projects using TOC. Vicky led the first implementation of TOC in New Zealand in 1987, and has written over 200 journal articles, books, chapters, conference papers, teaching texts, and technical reports, many of which are on TOC. She is leading author of TOC TP articles, and co-author of The World of TOC (2000), bibliographical articles on TOC, and co-creator of the TOC research articles database.
Vicky served on the TOCICO Board of Directors from 2016–2019 and is a frequent presenter at TOCICO and Operations Research/Decision Sciences conferences. She has received top awards including Fellow of the ORS (UK), the ORSNZ’s premier award the Hans Daellenbach Prize for her contributions to the theory and application of OR, particularly TOC, and most recently the Griffiths Medal for the best paper in the last 2 years in the Health Systems journal.
Ms Alka Wadhwa
Alka Wadhwa is an experienced consultant and process improvement expert with over 24 years of expertise in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean Six Sigma, and organizational performance optimization. She has successfully led projects in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, driving significant improvements such as a 67% boost in hospital operations and a 140% increase in outpatient visits.
Previously, Alka Wadhwa spent 17+ years at GE Global Research Center, where she led initiatives to enhance various GE businesses through advanced technologies, process redesign, and system optimization. Founder of Better Solutions Consulting, LLC, she specializes in using TOC, Six Sigma, and data analytics to streamline operations and build high-performance teams.
Her work has earned her multiple accolades, including the Empire State Award of Excellence in healthcare.
Dr Gary Wadhwa
Dr. Gary Wadhwa is a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with extensive experience in the field. He completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training at Montefiore Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY, and has served as an Attending at prestigious institutions like St. Peters Hospitals, Ellis Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in NY. With a career spanning over two decades, he was the former CEO and President of a group specialty practice in NY from 1994 to 2015. Dr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from UT at Knoxville, TN, and has undergone additional training in System Dynamics at MIT, Health System Management at Harvard Business School, and Entrepreneurship and healthcare innovations at Columbia Business School. Committed to expanding access to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery care, he is currently engaged in a meaningful project to provide healthcare services to underserved populations in inner city and rural areas through non-profit Community Health Centers.