(March 31, 1947 - June 11, 2011)
He authored several business novels and non-fiction works, mainly on the application of a theory of constraints to various manufacturing, engineering, and other business processes.
The processes are typically modeled as resource flows, The constraints typically represent limits on flows. In his book The Goal, the hero is a manager in charge of a troubled manufacturing operation. At any point in time, one particular constraint (such as inadequate capacity at a machine tool) limits total system throughput, and when the constraint is resolved, another constraint becomes the critical one. The plot of the stories, such as in his book "The Goal", revolve around identifying the current limiting constraint and raising it, which is followed by finding out which is the next limiting constraint. Another common theme is that the system being analyzed has excess capacity at a number of non critical points, which is a waste of resources.
Life
Born in Israel into a rabbinic family, the son of Avraham-Yehuda Goldrat, Goldratt went on to become a physicist. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Tel Aviv University, and his Masters of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from Bar-Ilan University. Dr. Goldratt died June 11th, 2011 at noon, at his home in Israel.[3]Work
Creative Output years
After some experience helping Israeli manufacturers, Goldratt left the academic world to join a company called Creative Output. The company developed and sold a software package, the Optimized Production Technology (OPT). OPT was billed as the first software to provide finite capacity scheduling for production environments. This software and the principles behind it were analyzed by a number of major publications[4]Goldratt was actively involved in many controversies such as Cost Accounting x Throughput Accounting[5] and culminated in the publication of A Town Without Walls.[6]
Within the company Goldratt noticed elements that made him uncomfortable[7] several software implementations did not come close to their estimated potential. After some work Goldratt discovered that the habits, and assumptions (paradigms) of employees and managers prior to using the software were still prominent and negatively influenced results after implementation.[7]
His answer was the book The Goal that took 13 months to write. After completion the book was not well received by the company staff and by large publishers.[7] Finally, with help from Larry Gadd the owner of North River Press, the book was published and became a great success.[8] After a while Goldratt noticed that many implementations were conducted using the Book but not the software. This caused further stress in the company and Goldratt tried to capture the essence of how to implement the solution directly in what is now known as Drum-Buffer-Rope method. He published The Race to explain some of the concepts he was working on, and developed a course to teach people how to manage their production using a computer simulation game.
Goldratt tried to move the company down the path of "consulting", trying to help people rethink the way they did things, but Creative Output's declining revenues and Goldratt involvement with anything but the sales of OPT software convinced the shareholders to fire Goldratt (and afterward his closer collaborators).
Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute years
After leaving Creative Output circa 1985 Goldratt created the Avraham Y Goldratt Institute[9] or AGI (named after his father) to promote the Theory of Constraints and help it be implemented worldwide.During the time of the AGI Goldratt got deeply involved with the further development of TOC, mainly the Thinking Processes (and launched it publicly in 1991), Critical Chain Project Management and other applications. His concepts influenced applications outside manufacturing and supply management, including the field of sales process engineering.[10]
In 1997, Goldratt followed his plan to retire from the Institute prior to his 50th birthday.
Goldratt Group years
From the beginning of the 2000s Goldratt created the self-funded Goldratt Group and launched the Viable Vision initiative.He continued the development of TOC both in the Goldratt Group and in active support for other developments like TOC for Education, TOC in Healthcare, TOC for the Individual (in the continuity of the Odyssey Program, and the publishing of The Choice).
Writings
Goldratt produced many works. Some of the more noteworthy are:· The Goal (1984) introduces TOC process for improving organizations and briefly TOC's accounting aspects; it is considered an important work on the topic of focused performance improvement[by whom?]
· Critical Chain (1997) applies TOC to project management and illustrates the Critical Chain method for managing projects while commenting on the MBA Academic environment and its issues
· Necessary But Not Sufficient (2000) applies TOC to Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and operations software
· The Choice (2008) Talks about Goldratt's thought provoking approach, this time through a conversation with his daughter Efrat, as he explains to her his fundamental system of beliefs. A second edition is planned for publishing which includes Efrat's own notes she made during the conversation with her father, helping the reader determine the true essence of the book.[citation needed]
· Isn't it Obvious (2009) Goldratt's newest book looks into retail. Ilan Eshkoli and Joe Leer Brown are co-authors. The story is about a husband (manager) and wife (purchaser) working in her family's retail chain. An unexpected crisis helps them to find new ways of doing things - ending in success.
Bibliography
Business novels
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. (1984). North River Press; 2nd Rev edition (1992). ISBN 0-88427-061-0
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. It's Not Luck. (1994) ISBN 0-88427-115-3
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Critical Chain. (1997) ISBN 0-88427-153-6
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Eli Schragenheim, Carol A. Ptak. Necessary But Not Sufficient. (2000) ISBN 0-88427-170-6
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Late Night Discussions on the Theory of Constraints. (1998) ISBN 0-88427-160-9
Nonfiction books
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Robert E. Fox. The Race. (1986) ISBN 0-88427-062-9
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Essays on the Theory of Constraints. (1987) ISBN 0-88427-159-5
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. What is this Thing Called Theory of Constraints. (1990) ISBN 0-88427-166-8
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. The Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean. (1991) ISBN 0-88427-184-6
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Production the TOC Way (Revised Edition). (2003) ISBN 0-88427-175-7
Other media publications
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. TOC - Self Learning Program. 8 Video Sessions: Operations; Finance and Measurements; Project Management; Distribution; Marketing; Sales and Buy-In; Strategy and tactics (2002)
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Rami Goldratt. TOC Insights". 4 Self learning computer software: Operations; Finance and Measurements; Project Management; Distribution (2003)
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Beyond The Goal. Audiobook (2005) ISBN 1-59659-023-8
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