If steps 2 and 3 are insufficient, invest in additional capacity to "break" the bottleneck.

TOC uses a structured, five-step process for continuous improvement to systematically address these constraints:

The is a management philosophy introduced by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his 1984 book, The Goal . It posits that every complex system—whether a factory, a project, or a supply chain—is limited by at least one constraint (bottleneck) that prevents it from achieving its ultimate goal. The Core Methodology: The Five Focusing Steps

Find the specific part of the system that limits performance (the "weakest link").

While the focusing steps address physical bottlenecks, the Thinking Processes are logical, cause-and-effect tools designed to solve complex policy constraints and answer three fundamental questions:.