Here is another real world example of constraint theory in action.

In Seattle, we are famous for our coffee. Seattle is the home of Starbucks, Tully's, Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione. It also has a healthy collection of independent cafes. My favorite one is called Zeitgeist at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Jackson St. Despite the fact that there is a Tully's across the street, a Starbucks on the next corner and a Torrefazione just around the next corner, Zeitgeist is often so busy in the morning that the line extends out of the door into the street.

In Zeitgeist like so many cafes, the operational CCR is the espresso machine and the barista operating it. In fact it is often a 2 person operation - one stocks the machine with coffee and passes the order to the next who makes the drink. At Zeitgeist to maximize Throughput at busy times and to reduce the length of the waiting line, the till operator will make drinks which need not pass through the espresso machine (the system CCR). Hence, if you order tea or drip coffee, the till operator will turn away and get your drink before ringing up the till. She will not pass it to the barista who is busy on the espresso machine.

This makes sense because the rate orders can be rung up at the till is not the constraint. The rate the espresso drinks can be made is the constraint. By not ringing up orders until they can be filled, the system is subordinated to the espresso machine constraint and the line grows. The line is reduced by processing non-constraint orders using other resources. The effect is an overall increase in Throughput (dollars of revenue) without elevating the constraint. The constraint is merely exploited to the full by never passing a non-espresso order to the barista working the espresso machine.