TOC Learnings from Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, 2017

Running the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is an experience in itself. It is my fifth consecutive half-marathon since I started running this event. Thousands of people run together and no one, except the elite runners, seem to compete with each other. Every person is competing with his own mindset and beliefs. Through the race, I began reflecting on some of my experiences gathered over time.

Mind over body – focus on dynamic scheduling

While running a marathon, our body really works like a production system using resources such as bones, muscles, air and water. It is trying to maximise the distance covered amidst the ever changing environment of track contour, slope, breeze, ambient temperature and humidity. 'How to run the course efficiently?', is a typical optimisation problem.

Is it possible to have a pre-defined running strategy, akin to the fixed production schedule based on forecast? When I observed my body through the course, it was amazing to notice that various body parts came under strain at different points in time. The strain kept shifting between toes, heels, ankles, calf muscles, knees, thigh muscles, shoulders in a pattern that was difficult to predict. I had to change my running pattern based on where the strain was at that point in time – managing a combination of pace variation with brisk walk, adjusting my strides to suit the slope and degree of fatigue. In an industrial parlance, the production schedule has to be absolutely dynamic based on how the demand picks up and how the constraints shift.

Learn, Correct, Repeat – frequent feedback is key

I also realised the importance of listening to my body on a continuous basis and responding to it in real time through suitable variations in my running pattern. I can’t imagine my plight if I had decided to take periodic feedback, say every 15 minutes, for mid-course corrections! Frequency of feedback was indeed a key factor in determining the agility of my running. It baffles me when I think of so many well-run companies still pursuing monthly forecasts and weekly market updates. If we are to improve agility in operations, it is absolutely essential to read the market signals on a daily basis and completely do away with forecasting!

It is of paramount importance that frequent listening is combined with equally frequent actions. Daily analysis of market signals is of no use unless we build enough flexibility in our production lines to facilitate quick changeovers and small batch sizes. Brisk walking may be required only for a minute before resuming the run! To extend it further, we need to build similar flexibility within our key vendors for the whole system to be agile.

Drop the baggage - achieving optimum inventory levels

As I reflected on the TOC learnings from my run, I was close to the finishing line when the last revelation hit me in my face! Excess fat in my body had really slowed me down by several notches. Excess fat or inventory is indeed the single biggest killer of agility!

I’m sure you had a successful run, but more than that I wish you many more informed and better-planned runs ahead!