Previous Best Practices of the Week

Due to the large demand for articles we have had to limit the number we can send to a maximum of two.

You can also request "Previous Techniques of the Week", "Previous Readers Questions", or "Previous Malpractices of the Week".

For a copy of up to two articles from our archives please "Contact us" quoting the article numbers and descriptions.

Links to more Best Practices and Training at bottom of page

List of Archived Best Practices:

• B001. Ownership (improving quality and responsibility)
• B002. Education & Training (why training on its own does not work)
• B003. Procedures and Documentation (How to avoid a bureaucracy)
• B004. Meetings Management (How to manage meetings better)
• B005. Level Scheduling (How to avoid computer scheduling systems)
• B006. Scarce skills management (How to manage and maintain scarce skills)
• B007. Strategic Purchasing 1 (Make vs. Buy, Selecting suppliers, Commercial relationships)
• B008. Strategic Purchasing 2 (Supplier communications and logistics, what are you paying for, supplier development)
• B009. Visibility of problems through simple and clear processes
• B010. Lead-time Reduction (Overview)
• B011. Lead time reduction 1. Quality Management
• B012. Lead time reduction 2. Batch sizes
• B013. Management (effective, competitive, adaptive, innovative, culture, structure, systems, and resources)
• B014. Effective Bills of Material Design
• B015. Lead time reduction 3. Arrears and Backlogs
• B016. The Stand Up Meeting (improving team communications)
• B017. Maintaining computer software "The Fix Library" (Prolonging the life of software)
• B018. Production Planning and Control The KISS Principle (Overview) (Or how to live without the computer)
• B019. Archiving (Or clearing the wood so you can see the trees)
• B020. Reducing administration of low value items
• B021. Fault Recording and Corrective Action System (Operations Management for Continuous Improvement)
• B022. Change Control (managing software, process, procedures and engineering change)
• B023. Product Fit For Sale Control (Ensuring products or services are ready for launch)
• B024. Production Planning: The KISS principle: 1. Removing complexity from MRP systems
• B025. Version Control (Controlling the design level maintenance process, lot traceability and disaster recovery)
• B026. Housekeeping (How to find the things you want and remove the things you do not, permanently)
• B027. Killing old and unprofitable products
• B028. Production Planning and Control The KISS Principle 2. Removing Complexity from Scheduling Systems)
• B029. Bin Discipline (labelling, counting, stock rotation, decanting and consolidation of stock)
• B030. Product Standardisation (Possible Short Term Actions)
• B031. Competitive Comparison (What do I need to improve?)
• B032. IS / IT Policy (Why you should have one, what it covers and how to implement it)
• B033. Lead time reduction 4: Stock holding policies (Maintaining enough of the right things, but not too many)
• B034. Escalation Management (Ensuring that problems and decisions receive appropriate management attention)
• B035. Out tray management (Reducing lead times and problem resolution times)
• B036. Collaborative Engineering (Or why Concurrent Engineering is only half of the story)
• B037. Rapid Prototyping (Really understanding customer requirements in engineering and computing)
• B038. Product Design Parameters (Designing a Product to deliver what your customers' want & which you can afford)
• B039. Defining Project Terms of Reference (Ensuring Successful Projects)
• B040. Project Classification (Ensuring that projects have the correct level of management attention)
• B041. 21 Barriers to Lean & Agile Manufacturing (Which processes need working on to improve leanness and agility)
• B042. Lead Time Reduction 5: Controls Over Data In Planning Systems (How to eliminate GIGO)
• B043. Managing Product or Process Development (Establishing a development process)
• B044. "TRAP" Rules for Data Collection (How to improve the quality of computer data)
• B045 OTIF Measuring & improving on time delivery performance or schedule adherence
• B046 Using TAKT Time to Manage your business (Extending the use of Takt time)
• B047 Cost Impact Analysis (A new approach to value engineering)

For a copy of up to two articles from our archives please "Contact us" quoting article numbers and descriptions.

You can also request "Previous Techniques of the Week" and "Previous Readers Questions", or "Previous Malpractices of the Week".

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© SM Thacker & Associates January 2007