Q2 - Kevin Kohls

Q2. What is your primary professional focus these days?

I am trying to get TOC integrated with Lean in some of the companies I consult with, combining the best of both. I’ve been working with PMC to develop classes on Accounting, Metrics, and analysis that use the best of Lean and TOC. I’ve developed my own Bottleneck Analysis tool based upon simulation, and we are using it as part of those classes. It helps demonstrate the powerful impact that comes from improving your bottleneck on a company’s metrics and bottom line. We’ve got some pilots approved at a major medical devices division.

We’re also starting to put TOC for Healthcare into one of the local hospitals. Finally, I am also trying to apply basic Lean and TOC concepts to improve and implement a new software implementation at a major healthcare insurance provider. You can see a pattern here – with the local auto economy in such poor shape, Healthcare is a good place to be.

As most of you know, consulting goes through ebbs and flows, and I am pretty busy right now. During the ebbs, I’m also writing a book about my automotive experience with TOC, called The Conflicted Middle. It talks about why the “frozen middle” in large corporation ends up that way.