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Volume 5, Number  1                                                                        January 2010
Greetings!

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.
EPICentral Newsletter Roundup
For the past four years, Epicenter has been publishing newsletters which highlight practical tools and concepts to help organizations to be their best.  This month, we would like to provide a summary list of past newsletter topics for your reference.  Each topic includes a "clickable" link which will take you to the full article for your review.
 
EPICentral Articles - 2006 through 2009
 
Lean Systems Tools
  • Preventive Maintenance (PM) - LINK
  • Poke-Yoke (mistake proofing) -LINK
  • Value Stream Mapping - LINK
  • Set-Up Reduction (SMED) - LINK
  • Workplace Organization (5S) - LINK
  • Kanban Systems - LINK
  • Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) - LINK
  • Work Cell Development -LINK
  • Best Practice Work Methods - LINK
  • RAMMPP Matrix - LINK 
Project Management Tools
  • Time Management (Part I) - LINK
  • Time Management (Part II) - LINK
  • Effective Meetings (Part I) - LINK
  • Effective Meetings (Part II) - LINK
  • Responsibility Charting - LINK
  • Contingency Planning - LINK
  • S.M.A.R.T. Goals - LINK
  • Critical Path Analysis - LINK 
Management Tools
  • Weighted Criteria Decision Matrix - LINK 
  • ECHO Communication Tool - LINK
  • Financial Modeling - LINK
  • Brainstorming - LINK
  • Force Field Analysis - LINK
  • Workplace Habits - LINK
  • IS/IS NOT Tables (problem-solving) - LINK
  • Pinch Model - LINK
  • Cause-and-Effect Diagramming (Fishbone) - LINK
  • Affinity Diagrams - LINK
  • Function Analysis - LINK
  • E-Mail Dos and Don'ts - LINK
  • SWOT  Analysis - LINK 
Industrial Engineering Tools
  • Delay Study Tool - LINK
  • Pareto's Principle (80/20 rule) - LINK
  • Cross-Functional Flow Chart - LINK
  • Spaghetti Flow Diagramming - LINK
  • Productivity Studies - LINK
  • Theory of Constraints (bottleneck analysis) - LINK 
  • Labor Standards Development - LINK
  • Line Balancing - LINK
  • Storage Analysis - LINK
  • Spreadsheet Swiss-Army Knife - LINK 
Considerations:
  • Every company should consider the development of a standard "tool kit" to complete critical activities.  The use of standard tools allows company teams to work together effectively.
  • Tools should be as simple as possible (single sheet of instructions with illustrations and examples) for ease of understanding and use.
  • If you are interested in a topic not covered in the past four years, please let us know.  Our goal is to provide useful information that can be readily used by our clients and associates. 
Next Steps:
If you are interested in learning more about how Epicenter can help your organization to become more effective, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at tzubic@epicentergroup.com or call Tracee Zubic at 216.548.7136.
Epicenter News 
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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.