EM 526 Constraints Management

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Email: jholt@wsu.edu
Home Office Phone: 540-412-5315
WSU Engineering & Technology Management Program

Link to EM 530 Applications in Constraints Management
Link to EM 534 Contemporary Topics in Constraints Management
Link to Constraints Management Certificate from WSU
Link to Angel Learning System
Link to Fast CRTs
Link to Fast FRTs
Link to Fast PRTs

Live Sessions in Spring 2013 will be taught by Videostreaming over the Internet using Elluminate video conferenceing software. It is available anywhere you have a high speed Internet connection. The course is taught one evening a week from the first full week in January through the end of April.

(Need instructions and help with Admissions to WSU and Registration of Courses)

Class Syllabus

Students completing this course in the TOC Thinking Process can receive a Jonah Certificate from TOCICO (the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization).
EM 526 is the TOC Thinking Process plus much discussion about other TOC topics. This class (with practice afterwards) is sufficient to prepare for the TOCICO Thinking Process Certification Exam.

(See a  Introduction to The Theory of Constraints: Constraints Management Overviews)

 

The next offering is Spring 2013 Starting the first full week of January.
The live, interactive video streaming portions of the course are broadcast in the evenings weekly using Elluminate academic video services and Angel academic media services.
Students also have significant self-study portion and peer interaction through email.

 

We have had students in the Philippines, Cyprus, Denmark, Korea, Ecuador, Estonia, India, Molodova, Mexico, Netherlands, Colombia and Germany as well as most areas of the USA. If you have a high speed connection to the Internet, you can receive this class anywhere.
The live lectures are archived so you can see them at a time that is convenient for you. 

Spring 2013 will be the 21th offering of EM 526 using Distance Education with over nearly 700 students completing full Thinking Process analyses to learn and apply the logic tools. This course is a combination of class lecture and self-discovery. There is group interaction to heighten the learning process for distance learners. We will use WebCT as the student-class interface. Study materials and abundant resources are available to provide a broad understanding of the Theory of Constraints as its is applied in many different situations. Weekly lectures are available live on-line (or delayed by archived) by streaming video and also through the Interactive Television WHETS (Washington Higher Education Telecommunications System). Text materials, exercises and PowerPoint slides provide extra resources. The text It's Not Luck provides the basis for common, group projects. By teaching a little each week, students have time to develop their understanding and apply or test their new knowledge as they learn.
 

Graduate classes taught over a distance are not as easy as being in a classroom. Communication is often limited to the students ability to talk in the Chat Room during lecture, participation in the class email list or to email/call the instructor and other students. To view the streaming video lectures live, you need a fast Internet connection. The lectures are archived and can be viewed or reviewed later with slower connection speeds. We have had students from all over the world successfully participate in class. You should check your video streaming capability at the links above to see if this type of distance education is suitable for your location.

Course Content: EM 526 Constraints Management focuses on Eli Goldratt's Thinking Processes. Students learn the Thinking Processes by applying them to a complex problem of their own choosing. They analysis the system by logical cause and effect to find the core conflict of the system. They discover breakthrough solutions as new directions for their future. Students validate their solution with a Future Reality Tree (could consider this as the company strategy plan) trimming the negative effects. They also create a step-by-step action plan to overcome all the obstacles in their plan and cause the future to exist in reality.

This course is for students looking for new solutions to unresolved problems or to find ways to implement proven solutions in a complex system. (Students wanting to learn the proven solutions of Drum-Buffer-Rope, Critical Chain Project Management, Replenishment and Supply Chain should take EM 530 Applications in Constraints Management).

Students who have completed both EM 526 and EM 530 can enroll in EM 534 Contemporary Topics in Constraints Management multiple times to keep up-to-date with the most current TOC materials. A Certificate in Constraints Management is also available. See details at: http://www.engrmgt.wsu.edu/certificates.html
 

EM 526 Constraints Management is a course intended for graduate engineers pursuing a masters degree in Engineering Management. Others in different degree granting programs may apply. The minimum requirements for admission to the EM 526 Constraints Management course are:

• An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university.
• A 3.0 or equivalent undergraduate GPA (or approval from the instructor Dr. Holt)
• A serious interest in learning the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes to solve complex, systemic problems.

Note: Qualified undergraduates can enroll in EM 426 Constraints Management at the undergraduate level.

There will be a class size limit for combined EM 526 and EM 426. Those enrolling in EM 526 receive preference.

Course Documents
Class Syllabus