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Lean Management - A Guide To Starting Out Right Much like anything over-used and spread before those singing praises have done a lot of research, Lean is a concept that sometimes, despite the best of intentions, misses its mark. Lean principles aren't particularly tricky, but with many offshoots and brands of the ideology, it can be easy for new Lean managers to get caught up in misinformation. At its core, lean is about eliminating all kinds of waste from your business. It sounds simple enough, but one of the biggest problems for many newbies is changing your concept of just what "waste" is. Once you've got a grasp on that, you need to move onto individual strategies that can help you eliminate that waste. In this article, we're going to go over how to accomplish both of these tasks as a manager who may be new to Lean by exploring unique facets of this management type and how they interact with elements of your business. One of the largest differences between Lean management and traditional styles of management is that in a traditional methodology your primary (and nearly sole) concern is the end of the line result. While Lean is of course concerned with achieving superior end results, its focus is on the processes that get you there. In this sense, what you learn and practice as a Lean manager is more about making individual pieces work together efficiently than having a tunnel-vision focus on numbers and figures at the end of the cycle. The Relationship Between Lean management, Waste Elimination, and Continual Improvement "If someone tells you that "lean management is this" and not something else, if someone puts it in a box and ties a bow around it and presents it in a neat package with four walls around it, then that someone knows not of what they speak. Why? Because it is in motion and not a framed picture hanging on the wall. It is a melody, a rhythm, and not a single note." - Lawrence M. Miller, Management Meditations While perhap

OSHA Steps Up Chemical Safety HAZMAT Team Members Discusses Chemical Disaster Unfortunately, thousands of U.S. workers continue to get sick or die from occupational exposures to the many chemicals used in the work place each and every year. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched two new web resources that are directly aimed at reducing these figures by assisting companies with keeping their employees safe. Chemical Safety Gets A Boost The new tools from OSHA are designed to help employers in every industry sector select safer, alternative chemicals to substances they currently use, as well as adopt more protective exposure limits. We know that the most efficient way to protect workers from hazardous chemicals is by eliminating or replacing those chemicals with safer alternatives whenever possible. Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health Administration Chemical safety Both tools were announced during a brief news conference on Oct. 24 by Dr. David Michaels. The first being a toolkit for employers to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones. This toolkit will walk employers step-by-step through information, methods, tools and guidance to either eliminate hazardous chemicals, or make informed substitution decisions in the workplace by finding a safer chemical, material, product or process according to OSHA's press release. The new toolkit for identifying safer chemicals can be found here. The other online tool OSHA announced is a resource; the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits, or annotated PEL tables. This will enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits. The PELs set mandatory limits on the amount or concentration of a substance in the air to protect workers against the health effects of certain hazardous chemicals. Since 1971, when OSHA was first formed, many of their PELs ha

Love and Lust??????? Oh!!! Damn sensitive topic to be discussed or talked about but some times is good. No offense though. Let's take the First scenario. A girl and boy fall in love. Love, at first sight, they have innocent relationships going on for a few days later on the boy approaches for physical relationships and asks her about being comfortable in physical relationships the girl hesitates and denies for the physical indulgence. Which results to end of their relationship.

VPN, i.e., Virtual Private Network, establishes a secure connection to public and private networks over the Internet. VPN helps to protect your identity and provides a secure network for accessing data. Initially, the VPN connects business networks securely over the Internet. It also allows you to access a business network from home. What is a VPN? How does it work? Why should you use it? These are some common questions that come in the mind of every person who wants to use a VPN. So, let's find out the answer to all these questions. Contents [show] How Does a VPN Work? How Does a VPN Work It is not rocket science to understand how a VPN works. We can simply learn the process of VPN by reading the following steps. Step 1: At first, you need a reliable VPN provider (ExpressVPN Recommended). Then download and install the software. Now select the preferred security settings and set up a safe connection with your desired VPN server. Step 2: After the connection is established; VPN software encrypts your data traffic on your computer and sends it to the VPN server through a secure connection. Step 3: The VPN server decrypts the encrypted data from your computer. Step 4: Your data is being sent on the Internet by the VPN server and receive a reply, which is meant for you. Step 5: This traffic is again encrypted by VPN-server and is sent back to you. Step 6: VPN software will decrypt the data on your device so you can understand and use it. Why ExpressVPN is the Best? The best thing I like about ExpressVPN is that it has a no-logging policy. Apart, from this ExpressVPN is fast, secure, and keeps your IP hidden. ExpressVPN allows you Torrenting/P2P and even works with Tor for the maximum level of privacy. It has a user-friendly interface and a great design that is easy to operate. ExpressVPN uses the government-grade encryption method as default. You can even try doing it manually. ExpressVPN is the best excellent premium VPN service to trust and work.

Success with AI is heavily influenced by the data maturity of an organization i.e. their ability to procure, clean, curate, store and analyze data to power value generating applications. A data-mature enterprise know what data it has, knows what the data means and can ensure that the data is accessible to whoever needs it. Unfortunately, the past few years, driven by the big data hype, have encouraged enterprises to focus on updating their data infrastructure to leverage new big data technologies. With a lot more data now available, enterprises already stuck with massive data storage costs, are being forced to choose between storing data that might eventually be useful for stabilizing, if not reducing their storage costs.

Paper was invented by the Chinese and they were the first to have wallpaper by gluing rice paper to the wall, as far back as 200 B.C. By 104 A.D., they had progressed to making paper from rags and other textile waste. This was the beginning of paper that we have today.The history of wallpaper, from invention to the current day.

Starting a blog is a no-brainer nowadays, given the plethora of choices and easy-to-use platforms out there. You just have to write a great post and upload it online for people to read and comment on it, right? Well, it's not rocket science now, is it? At least, that's what I assumed at first when I started blogging, but experience has taught me a different lesson.

so Follow below ways to make your own christmas decorations. Whether your main concern is time, labor or money, you must first decide whether your ornaments are worth refurbishing and revamping, or if it would simply be easier-and perhaps more economical-to just buy new Christmas decorations.

http://fashionsave.blogspot.com/2009/12/pakistan-fashion.htmlthe first designer to show, presented a collection that she said celebrated s

One of the most common misconceptions out there is the belief that technology equates innovation. Innovation is the creation of new value through a better solution for a problem that either does a better job in solving the problem or does so in a manner that the solution is accessible in a larger set of circumstances by a larger number of people. On the other hand, technology is simply the tooling that holds the promise of new solutions but by itself, is meaningless. Enterprises can become enamored by the promise and hype about technology and go down long, complex journeys, invest millions in upgrading technology and still come out empty on the other side because they built technology for technology's sake. Even in well intention boards and C-suite, industry peer pressure and hype around technologies can force action that ultimately leads to massive investments in people, software, technology, and vendors but does not yield the ROI promised by the technology. Leadership The problem can be accentuated when not enough due diligence is done on the applicability of the technology to the enterprise given the current state i.e. the point in time when the technology is being introduced, the customer's propensity to accept the technology-driven solution i.e. are the users ready to embrace, adopt, learn and utilize new solutions and burning problems that necessitate the adoption of new technology to better solve the problem. When the timing of new technology introduction is gotten wrong, it almost always fails to deliver on its promised ROI. Leaders need to rise above the hype and peer pressure and ensure that they understand, first and foremost, the burning problems that plague their customers or make the bedrock of their future strategy. Next, leaders need to ensure and validate that the technology in mind can actually be used to solve the problem through rapid prototyping and minimal investment. Once customer feedback on the prototype has been validated, then only

It's not too late to jump on to the Blockchains trend. We often hear from customers whether it is too late to get behind blockchain. The number of startups in this space is growing rapidly and the number of large ISVs and SIs providing blockchain capability and expertise is also increasing. However, the market and the technology space for blockchains is far from saturated, settled or stable. Here are three reasons why now is a good time to get into blockchains Early Mover Advantage Blockchains are bound to disrupt fundamentally how business is done. By enabling trust in an otherwise trust-deficient environment, blockchains enable transactions between two or more enterprises who otherwise might not know about each other. Blockchains offer solutions to several common problems faced by the enterprise such as Digital Identity, Secure Data Storage, Secure Data Sharing, Distributed Ledger, Distributed Databases etc. Blockchains are based on strong cryptographic standards based in mathematics, cryptography, and encryption. Building blockchains as a core competency requires a deep understanding of the mathematics behind it and an internal process for deploying, managing and developing on top of the blockchain. Early mover advantage can be generated by taking small steps in this area and targeting simpler scenarios initially. Nascent Technology It is going to take another few iterations of the blockchain technology before it can truly be enterprise-ready. There is a lot of ongoing work to make blockchains more secure, scalable and performant. Innovations are constantly being made and added to the core blockchain technology that is constantly increasing the type and complexity of applications that it can support. As the technology matures, enterprises can be well suited and ready to leverage the advancements by building a core competency in not only the blockchain technology but by becoming a member of the blockchain community, standards and keeping up to date with th

Ten Tips to Help You with Your Kaizen Continuous Improvement Strategy The Kaizen methodology encourages ongoing efforts to ensure continuous improvement throughout a facility. This improvement can come in many forms including waste elimination, improved efficiency, safer work environments and much more. To simply say that a facility is employing Kaizen strategies, is essentially meaningless if you don't have any concrete action items you are following. Whether you're just getting started or you are looking for ways to reinvigorate a Kaizen strategy that is not effective, the following ten tips will be very helpful. Each one can give you ideas on what you can do encourage improvement and allow that improvement to grow and expand long into the future. Tip #1 - Harness the PDCA Strategy One of the key concepts used in Kaizen is the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" strategy. This is a quality model that can be used when implementing any type of improvement in the facility. As you might expect, the PDCA strategy is a cycle of ongoing improvement that should never end. The steps are as follows: Plan - This step is where you identify an area where improvement is possible and make an initial strategy on what chance should be made to realize the desired improvements. Do - Implement the change, but only on a small scale. This may mean having one department make the change in some situations or for larger corporations, having one facility make the update. During this step it is also very important to be gathering as much data regarding the change so it can be properly evaluated. Check - Review the results of the change including the data that was collected. Looking to see if they had the desired impact or not is critical to know whether you should move forward with rolling the change out to other areas. Act - IF the data in the check step points to a success, it is time to push the change out on a wider scale. Once the change has been successfully implemented you wi

There are many areas in life in which we employ little tactics to help improve safety. For instance, we wear our seat belts to help stay safe while traveling in a vehicle and we also make sure our shoes are tied so we don't trip and fall while out and about. These safety actions are almost automatic as many people don't even have to think about doing them, they just happen out of pure habit. Not only do these little safety practices help to keep us safe, but they also add to the safety as others as well. For instance, if a person working in a warehouse is walking around with untied shoes, he or she could slip and fall and essentially bump into and take down another employee as well. Safety practices when done correctly really have an impact on almost everyone, especially in the workplace. There are many different small safety practices or items that can be done or utilized to help greatly improve the safety for everyone. It is important to remember that safety isn't always expensive. Sometimes safety is just about keeping a shoe tied, or hair pulled back. Here are some safety tips that won't break the safety bank: · Training - This one is my favorite. The truth is, we can add all the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) we want but it won't really mean much unless the employees have been properly trained about safety. Employee training should always be the first line of defense against workplace hazards. Furthermore, training is cheap and can often times be 100% handled right in house. · Add Some Gloves - It is estimated that nearly 25% of workplace injuries involve the hands and fingers. Avoid this type of injury through the utilization of proper safety gloves. Gloves are effective as they provide a barrier between the hand and harmful elements such as chemicals, high temperatures, and items which may cause cuts or lacerations. Gloves are very cost-effective and are often an easy practice to implement. · Goggles aren't just for Swimming - I

According to the Insurance Information Institute, 40% of businesses affected by a natural or human-caused disaster never reopen. When disaster strikes, consumers can only wait so long before moving on to another supplier or service provider if you are not able to get operational in time. Insurance might help to recover some of your loses, but it will do little to replace your customers. More importantly, the safety and well-being of your employees as they cope with disaster is a hefty task in itself to take on. In light of recent events, many organizations are left wondering, are they ready and prepared when disaster strikes? So just what does it mean to be ready? Investing in a preparedness program can make all the difference in the world when disaster strikes and promote an internal belief that your company is ready for disaster when it strikes. This policy should reflect the mission and values of your organization that can be implemented seamlessly throughout the company. Focal points of your preparedness program should detail specific goals including: The overall safety and protection of your employees, visitors, and any other persons that may be at your facility when a disaster occurs. Don't forget to account for persons with disabilities and special needs. Keeping customer service operations functional Protection of assets, both in the physical and electronic form Environmental protection and contamination prevention Companies image and reputation Having a team to help continue the improvement and implementation of your program is vital to its success when needed. Your team should meet regularly to continue the development and focus of the program. Each individual will have their own role and responsibilities when disaster strikes, a proper preparedness program will identify these, insuring an accountable team to help in the recovery process. How do you know what to plan for? It's impossible to predict what the next disaster will be, but accounting f

This year, Creative Safety Supply is hosting a scholarship competition for college students. Students currently enrolled in a college, university, or technical school who have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are United States citizens are eligible to apply. Those interested can find full eligibility details, as well as two essay questions, here: https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/scholarship/ Creative Safety Supply developed this scholarship program to support students pursuing higher education. On a daily basis, we work to help businesses achieve their goals and we wanted to help students achieve their goals, too. The winner of the competition will receive $1,000 to be applied toward educational expenses in 2017. As part of the application process, we're interested in hearing from students about their career goals and about ways they have used creative thinking to achieve academic or personal success. Finding creative solutions to common safety, compliance, and productivity problems is what we do, and we believe this kind of thinking plays an important role in any endeavor, whether that endeavor is in the workplace, education, or personal life. Since we launched our scholarship program this summer, we've seen a positive response from students across the country. If you are or know an interested student, there's still time to apply: the deadline for the scholarship is next Thursday, December 15th. A winner will be selected in January. Contact scholarships@creativesafetysupply.com with any questions.

I read an interesting article today about safety by Mari-len De Guzman on Cos-Mag.com, an occupational safety e-magazine for Canadian manufacturers. At the CSSE (or, Canadian Society of Safety Engineering) conference in Niagara Falls this week, Los Alamos National Laboratory safety expert, Todd Conklin, spoke about how many manufacturing and industrial companies look at safety issues. He pointed out that, rather than continually blame operator-error for most failures and safety problems, it is more systemic, stating that: workers get hurt when they find themselves in situations where it's hard to be safe and easy to get hurt. With that in mind, he offered several potential causes for failure or safety incidents and ways to combat them. First, he said that humans make mistakes, so he advised that it is important to anticipate those potential mistakes and have several levels of defensive safety measures. Next, he suggested that companies should anticipate that unforeseeable events can happen, and WILL happen, so employers and safety managers need to keep this in mind. Learning is another tip Conklin pointed out. Whenever something bad happens, the best defense next time is to learn as much as we can from the event. We can learn many things, like defenses, unsafe speeds, too much load, proximity to dangerous equipment or products, etc. Finally, he also advised managers to approach safety or failure issues (and the operators involved) with caution. He warned that being positive and asking things in a proactive manner can give a much better reply or response, as follows: Instead of asking a worker, "what have you done, now?" ask them, "how do we set this up so failure doesn't happen again." By asking the right question, employers can get a more operational-centric answer. I really thought this was great info. It might seem like common sense to some, safety matters and needs to be one step ahead of the production line. I also more or less agree with Con

How to Create Bumper Stickers for Your Sticker campaigns For everything from political campaigns to social causes and beyond, cars adorned with bumper stickers are a regular sight across the country. Regular stickers, even more common, are a staple of our world from a young age, and an easily recognizable object for even children. Have you ever wondered how they're made? Sure, there are many companies that print stickers and the like in bulk for a third party, but there are also countless custom sticker campaigns floating about with highly customized messaging, some of which sprang up nearly instantaneously from their creative parties. These aren't cheap, flimsy creations either, some of them are the backbones of grass roots organizations that have changed the way we think and live our lives. Whatever your idea or needs, you're reading this because you want to create your own stickers, labels, or some other similar creative piece with professionalism and reliability. Let's take a look at exactly how you might get that done. Step One - Get Your Printer Especially if you're going to be producing large quantities of whatever you're making, it will be important that you have a reliable printer that isn't going to break down on you. For this reason, I'd suggest a thermal printer. Thermal printers have relatively few moving parts compared to traditional printers. Thermal Printers 101: The primary way in which thermal printers differ from traditional inkjet type models is that they use heat to transfer or even produce text and images. There are two subtypes: thermal transfer and direct thermal. Thermal transfer printers heat an inked ribbon which is then rolled over a paper or high-graded vinyl, transferring an image. Direct thermal printers work with thermal-chromatic paper, but do not require any ink. A heating element is pressed against the paper in the pattern of the text or imagery desired, and the paper responds by changing color in those places.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, is a government body tasked with regulating safety for workers, primarily in physical labor occupations, across the United States. They set the rules for transporting materials and chemicals, operating machinery, and other such guidelines to keep workers safe and to give them a voice when conditions might not otherwise be up to par. OSHA is your friend as a business owner, but there are certain situations in which interaction with OSHA can be a bit nerve-wracking for a company's management. OSHA Investigations OSHA investigations usually stem from serious injuries, fatalities, and large-scale catastrophes that occur in the workplace. Especially in the case of fatalities, OSHA is there for both the worker and for the company. For the employee and their family, and by extension the safety of other employees, OSHA will look into the circumstances surrounding the death or injury and determine if the company or its policies were fully or partially to blame for the incident. On the other hand, as long as you have adhered to OSHA guidelines, the investigation can help protect you from legal action if it is concluded that your company was not at fault. Re-opening OSHA Safety Sign Guide A Guide to OSHA Safety Signs This Guide to OSHA Safety Signs walks you through the recent updates to OSHA and ANSI sign requirements. You'll learn the required components of OSHA safety signs, including tips for formatting and posting your signs. Get Free OSHA Safety Sign Guide However, OSHA does have the right to re-open an investigation, even if it had previously reached a conclusion and closed it. This can be a bit worrying for management who have already been told that they were in the clear. However, the re-opened investigation must be concluded within six months of the original incident, so there is a fairly small statute of limitations on this re-opening period. For example, in June of 2013, a veteran mechanic worki