theoretical capacity

The maximum output capability, allowing no adjustments for preventive maintenance, unplanned downtime, shutdown, etc.

A management philosophy developed by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt that can be viewed as three separate but interrelated areas-logistics, performance measurement, and logical thinking. Logistics include drum-buffer-rope scheduling, buffer management, and VAT analysis. Performance measurement includes throughput, inventory and operating expense, and the five focusing steps. Thinking process tools are important in identifying the root problem (current reality tree), identifying and expanding win-win solutions (evaporating cloud and future reality tree), and developing implementation plans (prerequisite tree and transition tree). Syn: constraint theory. See: constraint management.

A cost and managerial accounting system that accumulates costs and revenues into three areas-throughput, inventory, and operating expense. It does not create incentives (through allocation of overhead) to build up inventory. The system is considered to provide a truer reflection of actual revenues and costs than traditional cost accounting. It is closer to a cash flow concept of income than is traditional accounting. The theory of constraints (TOC) accounting provides a simplified and more accurate form of direct costing that subtracts true variable costs (those costs that vary with throughput quantity). Unlike traditional cost accounting systems in which the focus is generally placed on reducing costs in all the various accounts, the primary focus of TOC accounting is on aggressively exploiting the constraint(s) to make more money for the firm. Syn: constraint accounting, throughput accounting.