A Case study of value streams and lean implementation for a small print shop

The growing use of portable Internet devices (smart phones, iPads, laptops, etc.) has caused a huge shift toward digital distribution of content over traditional print processes. Poor economic conditions have contributed to increased customer price sensitivity and higher costs of goods involved in printing. These factors have changed demand for traditional printed products. Many printers have been unable to adapt to the new market environment, leading to dwindling profit margins and thousands of shop closures. Many strategies have been touted as the best way to stay profitable in the new market environment, including value-added services, new machinery, and software packages. However, according to the NAPL, productivity improvements, such as Lean, will now play the central role in differentiating the leaders in the industry. Printers, particularly small- and medium-sized printers, have been slow in their adoption of Lean or any of its variants. Lean organizations produce less waste (in its many forms), have improved product quality with shorter lead times, and have employees who are more engaged. Unfortunately small- and medium-sized printers are less likely to begin productivity improvement initiatives due to lack of knowledge, time commitment issues, fear of change, and lack of resources. The goal of this case study is to provide a theoretical framework and an in-depth example of how a small print shop\u27s production line operates and how to generate a tailored action plan for implementing Lean Manufacturing Principles. Specifically, the study focuses on the creation and usefulness of value stream mapping (graphically identifying the many forms of waste within a given system) for a small print shop. The case study is written with an easy to follow language as a guide to aide other small printers in creating their own Lean implementation plans. Careful, direct observation and documentation of a small 6-employee print shop occurred over a short period to gather data about the shop\u27s current value stream. Three product families were chosen for mapping: digital color printing, digital black and white printing, and offset press. Data collection focused on the workflow for jobs from creation to completion, how long each step takes, and how communication and materials move through production. Current value stream maps were generated using the collected data and were used to develop ideal and future maps. Detailed analysis of the current value stream revealed six key areas for the company to address that will provide the greatest benefit toward becoming Lean. The areas are: company culture, organization, bottlenecks, scheduling, communication and inventory. The following recommendations were made for the company to reduce waste and excess costs, improve value-added ratios, and reduce stress on employees. The current company culture has trust issues and does not encourage innovation. Management\u27s constant commitment to building and maintaining a new culture will be essential to creating change. Daily meetings and Kaizen events can help establish trust and empower employees to find and implement solutions. The shop floor needs 5S organization and will also require the implementation of an inventory system and reduction initiative. New suppliers may need to be found to accomplish just-in-time delivery. To alleviate bottlenecks in premedia and finishing, the graphic design stage should be removed from production to give production control the responsibilities of job scheduling and load leveling. Finishing then becomes the pacemaker process and dictates the flow, preventing push within the system. Kanban signals and supermarkets are recommended for maintaining a pull system. Communication across the shop can be improved through daily production meetings, utilizing exiting software for job tracking, establishing visual management boards, and establishing a sales department for handling customers

Slit Lamp Ophthalmoscope Redesign

The slit lamp ophthalmoscope is used by ophthalmologists for diagnosis of pathologies in the eye. The device is used for identifying ocular diseases or indications of other possible systemic diseases to treat them before the diseases progress. Redesign of the ergonomics and adjustment mechanisms of the slit lamp ophthalmoscope will attempt to improve the compatibility of the device across a greater variety of patients. The wider headrest tower of 12.75 inches, the wider table cutout of 12 inches, and the 12 inches of extension of the headrest tower creates a better ergonomic fit for the patient and doctor. The wider headrest tower will decrease the proximity of the doctor’s hand when adjusting the device and give more space to the patient, while the wider table cutout and extension will allow the patient to sit comfortably for longer periods than the previous device. For a quality diagnosis, correct positioning of the ophthalmoscope is required. Deflection tests were done to ensure position of the headrest tower was not compromised during loading. All p-values were less than 0.001 meaning the device can withstand loading of a patient\u27s head without a change in eye position in the microscope view. The ergonomic capability was also tested with the headrest tower to make sure sufficient space was available for the patient to measure our specification for greater comfort in the device. The patient needs to be very still without moving their head position, which is why patient comfort is essential for a quality examination by an ophthalmologis

“…[T]his is What We are Missing”: The Value of Communicating Infant Feeding Information Across Three Generations of African American Women

Background Breast/Chestfeeding remains a public health issue for African Americans, and increased rates would mitigate many health disparities, thus promoting health equity. Research Aims To explore the interplay of generational familial roles and meaning (or value) ascribed to communicating infant feeding information across three generations. Method This prospective, cross-sectional qualitative study used an asset-driven approach and was guided by Black Feminist Thought and Symbolic Interactionism. African American women (N = 35; 15 family triads/dyads), residing in the southeastern United States were interviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results The older two generations described their role using assertive yet nurturing terms, while the younger generation carefully discussed the flexibility between their familial roles. Emergent themes described the meaning each generation attributed to communicating infant feeding information: “My Responsibility,” “Comforting,” “Bonding Experience,” “She Cared,” and “Gained Wisdom.” Conclusions Our findings have potential to contribute to achieving health equity in African American families. Future breast/chestfeeding promotion efforts may benefit from reframing the current approach to including protection language and not solely support language. Lactation professionals should further recognize and support strengths and resource-richness of intergenerational infant feeding communication within African American families using strength-based, empowerment-oriented, and ethnically sensitive approaches

The Promise of Systems Biology Approaches for Revealing Host Pathogen Interactions in Malaria.

Despite global eradication efforts over the past century, malaria remains a devastating public health burden, causing almost half a million deaths annually (WHO, 2016). A detailed understanding of the mechanisms that control malaria infection has been hindered by technical challenges of studying a complex parasite life cycle in multiple hosts. While many interventions targeting the parasite have been implemented, the complex biology o

Inhibition of Rho Kinase Regulates Specification of Early Differentiation Events in P19 Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells

The Rho kinase pathway plays a key role in many early cell/tissue determination events that take place in embryogenesis. Rho and its downstream effector Rho kinase (ROCK) play pivotal roles in cell migration, apoptosis (membrane blebbing), cell proliferation/cell cycle, cell-cell adhesion and gene regulation. We and others have previously demonstrated that inhibition of ROCK blocks endoderm differentiation in embryonal carcinoma stem cells, however, the effect of ROCK inhibition on mesoderm and ectoderm specification has not been fully examined. In this study, the role of ROCK within the specification and differentiation of all three germ layers was examined.P19 cells were treated with the specific ROCK inhibitor Y-27623, and increase in differentiation efficiency into neuro-ectodermal and mesodermal lineages was observed. However, as expected a dramatic decrease in early endodermal markers was observed when ROCK was inhibited. Interestingly, within these ROCK-inhibited RA treated cultures, increased levels of mesodermal or ectodermal markers were not observed, instead it was found that the pluripotent markers SSEA-1 and Oct-4 remained up-regulated similar to that seen in undifferentiated cultures. Using standard and widely accepted methods for reproducible P19 differentiation into all three germ layers, an enhancement of mesoderm and ectoderm differentiation with a concurrent loss of endoderm lineage specification was observed with Y-27632 treatment. Evidence would suggest that this effect is in part mediated through TGF-β and SMAD signaling as ROCK-inhibited cells displayed aberrant SMAD activation and did not return to a 'ground' state after the inhibition had been removed.Given this data and the fact that only a partial rescue of normal differentiation capacity occurred when ROCK inhibition was alleviated, the effect of ROCK inhibition on the differentiation capacity of pluripotent cell populations should be further examined to elucidate the role of the Rho-ROCK pathway in early cellular 'fate' decision making processes

When does perceptual organization happen?

Reflectional (mirror) symmetry is an important visual cue for perceptual organization. The brain processes symmetry rapidly and efficiently. Previous work suggests that symmetry activates the extrastriate cortex and generates an event related potential (ERP) called the Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN). It has been claimed that no tasks completely block symmetry processing and abolish the SPN. We tested the limits of this claim with a series of eight new Electroencephalography (EEG) experiments (344 participants in total). All experiments used the same symmetrical or asymmetrical dot patterns. When participants attended to regularity in Experiment 1, there was a substantial SPN (Mean amplitude = -2.423 μV). The SPN was reduced, but not abolished, when participants discriminated dot luminance in Experiments 2 and 3 (-.835 and -1.410 μV) or the aspect ratio of a superimposed cross in Experiments 4 and 5 (-.722 and -.601 μV). The SPN also survived when the background pattern was potentially disruptive to the primary task in Experiment 6 (-1.358 μV) and when participants classified negative superimposed words in Experiment 7 (-.510 μV). Finally, the SPN remained when participants attended to the orientation of a diagonal line in Experiment 8 (-.589 μV). While task manipulations can turn down the extrastriate symmetry activation, they cannot render the system completely unresponsive. Permanent readiness to detect reflectional symmetry at the centre of the visual field could be an evolved adaptation

What WorX: Measuring the impact of faith-based service and social justice programs on Catholic youth

The Center for FaithJustice (CFJ) offers innovative programs that engage youth in faith, service, and social justice. With the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI, they developed a survey to evaluate their programs and measure their longitudinal impact on alumni in those three focus areas. This report will offer related insights on youth engagement and suggest how CFJ’s programs relate to larger trends of youth disaffiliation within the Catholic Church. This study examines survey results from alumni and parents of alumni of CFJ’s youth programs, which are collectively called the “WorX” programs. These include curricula for middle school students (ServiceworX), high school students (JusticeworX, New Jersey Service Project/NJSP, MercyworX, and CommunityworX), young adults (LeaderworX), and adults (FaithJustice Fellows and adult volunteers). The results of this study focused on CFJ’s three core areas of interest: faith, service, and social justice

The Grizzly, April 20, 2006

Tour of Asia Adds Spice to Diversity Week • USGA Meeting Tackles Hate Crimes at Ursinus • Dr. Mel King Discusses the Power of Love • Pornography Pastime • 2006 Senior Giving Campaign • Opinions: Diversity Issues at Ursinus College: A Cry for Change; Drawing the Line: Moral Predicament of Abortion, Part III; Diversity Week: Tradition Continues • Bears Lose to Washington • Easter Massacrehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1713/thumbnail.jp