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Volume 4, Number  12                                                                             December 2009
Greetings!

Happy Holidays and Welcome to Epicenter Development Group's newsletter, EPICentral. The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight fundamental ideas that have helped organizations develop and maintain great manufacturing and service operations.  We hope that you find our EPICentral newsletter helpful, and we would welcome your comments on its content.
The RAMMPP Matrix - Decluttering Your Work
 
As we head into the end of the year, many companies are taking stock in their organizations and considering the "clutter" that has developed over the past twelve months. "Clutter" is something that often occurs as we react to changing internal and external demands, and it's a good idea to take a fresh look at the accumulated clutter on a regular basis to reduce waste and simplify our processes.  This month's article covers a powerful GE Work-Out tool that can be useful for decluttering called the RAMMPP Matrix.
 
"RAMMPP" stands for Reports, Approvals, Meetings, Measures, Policies and Procedures which represent typical areas for clutter to accumulate.  The idea of the RAMMPP Matrix is to streamline the decluttering process using a structured review across the six RAMMPP categories and five different levels of control.
 
The RAMMPP Matrix 
 
 
 
RAMMPP Matrix Process Steps 
 
  1. Assemble a cross-sectional group of people from different areas of your company. This is helpful because people sometimes can't see the inefficiencies that their process creates within another department. For example, the custom report that I ask for might create extra, unintended work for the people involved.
  2. Familiarize people with the six RAMMPP categories. What do each of the categories represent to you? Give examples.
  3. Review the typical methods for reducing clutter. A standard list of questions to ask is listed to the right of the matrix above.
  4. Brainstorm ideas for each of the RAMMPP categories. Consider each category at the different levels of the organization where clutter accumulates. Although ideas can be hand-written within the matrix, many teams use Post-it Notes to stick ideas onto the grid.
  5. Summarize and rate the ideas generated. At the end of the brainstorming session, it can be helpful to have participants individually rank (using colored markers) the top three to five ideas worth pursuing.The best ideas to consider are typically those with the greatest potential benefit and the least cost to implement.
Considerations
 
  • The RAMMPP Matrix process is only the start of an overall improvement process.  Once ideas have been generated and ranked, the team needs to develop implementation action plans and a process for tracking and measuring gains. 
  • It is often helpful to have an outside, unbiased person to facilitate the process.  A person who is not familiar with the "way things have always been done" can sometimes surface new ideas during the process. 
  • When used on a regular basis, this tool can be a good way to foster a culture of continuous improvement. With that in mind, expect that ideas generated during the third and fourth RAMMPP Matrix Work-Out will be better than those generated during the first and second event.
 
For More Information
 
If you are interested in learning more about how Epicenter can help your organization to become more effective, please do not hesitate to email us at tzubic@epicentergroup.com or call Tracee Zubic at 216.548.7136.
 
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About Epicenter Development Group
Epicenter Development Group is an independently-owned engineering consulting firm located in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
 
Epicenter Development Group is a unique consulting firm that seamlessly integrates the disciplines of Systems Engineering and Organizational Analysis & Development to create practical design solutions to your toughest challenges.  It is on the cutting edge of problem-solving solutions and the creator of a unique process called GreenRoom Engineering. This process adds greater value and cost savings for clients as compared to traditional engineering methods.
 
William Proctor, Epicenter's founder and president, has provided services around the country to more than 100 companies consisting of a variety of organizations; and Epicenter continues to grow as a resource for firms of all sizes.
 
To learn more about Epicenter Development Group, visit our website: www.epicentergroup.com.