Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [329]
Examples were found where the drive to privatization resulted in a dysfunctional system. The elements of effective and efficient privatization efforts were examined and a functional systems model developed which could provide orientation to local governments on separation of functions while maintaining overall responsibility for waste collection services.
The remaining challenges include:
Despite significant revenue increases to both the City Council and private contractors (typically up by 25 to 50 percent), in some areas there is still not enough revenue (not enough citizens and businesses paying) for the system to be financially sustainable. The injection for improving viability is that private contractors operating in these areas will be assigned additional areas (outside their normal licensing area) to make them viable. This change of the City Council taking responsibility for ensuring the viability of the private contractors has made a significantly positive impact on re-establishing the trust and spirit of win-win (and recognition that a lose for one is a lose for all).
In some areas, contractors were complaining that even though the fee has been reduced some citizens still do not pay because enforcement is not yet in line with expectations. A potential injection being tested is to put water, electricity, and waste removal fees on one bill. If citizens do not pay, you cut off all the services. In the past, this was not possible as privatization commonly apportions water, electricity, and waste services to separate companies who had no interest in combining bills. The City Council and private contractors believe this injection can potentially have the biggest impact on long-term system viability.
There has been an unwillingness to put measurements and short-term targets in place. There is frequently a fear within the City Council to commit to achievement of specific targets (for political reasons). The injection here was to show how critical feedback measurements ensure that scarce resources are not wasted on areas doing well or that it should be moved to areas where the gaps are growing. The primary measurement that will be introduced in 2009 will be “Tons of Waste Collected.” For this, infrastructure such as weighbridges, etc., would have to be upgraded or replaced. Funding for this, based on the likely benefit of doing this, has already been secured in a few of the cities.
Future Application of TOC within the Public Sector
The projects carried out by InWEnt have not been the only attempt to incorporate TOC’s holistic approach as part of Capacity Building initiatives to secure and sustain improvements within the public sector. As a spinoff effect of the initial projects, a national Ministry of Agriculture requested assistance from two of the TOC Expert facilitators, Professor Antoine van Gelder and Barry Urban, to use TOC to assist with prioritizing and synchronizing initiatives needed to close the gap between demand and supply of basic food groups.
Another example comes from the UN Development Program’s Southern African Capacity Initiative. Governments have been struggling to meet agreed service delivery targets. After receiving advanced training in the TOC concepts, analysis processes, and logistical solutions the team has carried out their own pilot studies which resulted in them incorporating key TOC concepts and processes within their engagement process. Excellent work is also being done to expand the use of TOC within the health care and education systems around the world (www.toc-healthcare.com and www.tocforeducation.com).
Specific Lessons Learned from All the Public Sector Pilots
The TOC Analysis Process Does Work within the Public Sector
During the 5-Day Constraint Analysis Workshops in the InWEnt project, the TOC expert team showed that with a simplified TOC-based conceptual model—the Constraint Analysis and Solution Development Process—we could, despite the added complexities