iBizo – Business Blog

QFD provides the essential link between customer requirements and the available technology required for developing optimized products and services that best suit customer needs and expectations. By using QFD, businesses can now easily make use of existing technology – or even use a completely new technology – for designing and developing products or services without worrying about the negative fallout that is commonly associated with undertaking technology development and product development initiatives, both at the same time.

QFD has made it easier for businesses to make the benefits of newer technology available to their customers through improvements made in the existing product or service.

Importance Of QFD

QFD is important because it offers multiple benefits such as better conceptualization and implementation, increased production efficiency, and increased customer satisfaction. At the conceptualization stage, the main worry of product designers is whether the available technology can be successfully used or not for satisfying customer needs and expectations. It may look good on paper, but problems may start to surface when actual production starts if proper analysis is not done at the conceptualization stage regarding the compatibility of the available technology with the suggested manufacturing processes.

QFD helps because it effectively maps the complete production cycle, indicating exactly when and where to use the available technology to get the desired results. QFD also points out possible problems that may arise in the near future, which in turn helps managers to devise innovative solutions or backup plans well in advance. This not only helps businesses to satisfy customer needs and expectations through optimized products or services, but also helps them to reduce costs though increased production efficiency.

When To Use QFD

QFD is most effective when it is implemented in the early stages of the design phase. The early stages of the design phase is the time when new features are being incorporated based on customer requirements, making it necessary to implement QFD so as to resolve any critical issues before they transform into major problems and become a threat to the project itself. Implementing QFD after the design phase may not help much, because by then it will be very difficult and costly for the business to revert back to another product design if it has been found that the existing product design does not confirm to customer needs and expectations due to faults in the conceptualization stage.

To derive maximum benefits from QFD, businesses should make it a point to undertake proper analysis of all the related aspects and make the information available to all employees associated with the project. For ensuring the success of QFD initiatives, it is also necessary for businesses to manage the operations through a multidisciplinary team, comprising of members from all functional departments within the organization. This is necessary because no matter how good a plan is, there will always be the need for expert advice and suggestions for solving day-to-day problems that are likely to occur during the course of the project implementation.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution’s Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Fixed die modular bindidng punches are designed for users who have outgrown a combo binding machine but don’t need the ability to punch muliple hole patterns. These punches are designed for higher volumes of punching and for use with a stand alone finsher. Here are some simple directions for using a modular comb punch.

Prior to punching your document, determine the number of holes required for the document (depends on the side of the document that is to be bound – 11″ edge requires 19 holes – 8 1/2″ edge requires 15 holes).

1. Deselect the Die Pins you do not want to punch by lifting the Selector Pin Lid and pulling the pins up.

2. Set the Depth-of-Punch Lever (on the left side of the punch) to either under or over 9/16″. This refers to the diameter of the comb element being used. Plastic binding is the only bind style that uses this measure, and its main purpose is to adjust the margin from the edge of the paper to the holes being punched so the element is properly filled. If the margin is punched too deep into the paper for a small element (i.e. 1/4″), the pages will not open or turn easily because there is not enough room inside the element. Conversely, if the margin is punched too shallow for a large document (i.e. 1/2″), the pages could tear out if the document was roughly handled or dropped.

3. Using a test lift of paper (or covers if using oversize covers), insert the sheets into the Punch Throat, moving them until they are flush against the Edge Guide and all the way into the bottom of the Punch Throat. Hold the sheets in place with one hand.

4. To punch, press the Punch Button or Foot Pedal.

5. Now, take one sheet of the punched material and fold it in half to check for hole alignment. If it is squared you’re ready to continue punching the document.

6. When the punching is complete, remember to lift the front lid up, remove the chip tray, and trash the debris.

Note: As mentioned earlier, Comb Binding frequently uses oversize covers. This simply means the covers are manufactured 11-1/4″ X 8-3/4″ (instead of 11″ x 8-1/2″), leaving an 1/8th inch margin at the top and bottom of the document and a 1/4″ excess margin on the unbound 11″ side of the document. This is to prevent dog-earing of the material contained within the covers of the document. It also makes the document look neater, as the pages do not stick out when the element moves in the punched holes. This does not happen with our other bind styles, as the holes are smaller, and there is less movement of the binding element.

What this means to you, is that the Edge Guide must be reset to “center” the holes of the oversize cover. Follow the same steps for setting the Edge Guide and checking the setting that you just completed. If you were punching a number of documents using oversize covers, you would set the Edge Guide for the paper, punching all the paper – then set the Edge Guide for the covers and punch all the covers.

Both Wire Binding and Coil Binding are set up using steps 1 through 5 – since the covers are flush cut with the paper (no oversize), there is no need to reset the Edge Guide.

Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines, laminators, binding supplies and more.

Today doing business in Russia, provides daily noticeable results. According to www.buyusa.gov research in 2005 the Russian economy continued its sustained steady growth. GDP grew by an estimated 6.4% to $765.5 billion. Russia buys technologies and goods in order to support this growing. What does it means in every day life language?

In 2000 I immigrated to the USA from St. Petersburg, Russia. At the time there were no cell phones or ATM’s in Russia. When I returned to visit my family just two years later I noticed that the Russian people were now using both ATM’s and cell phones in their everyday lives. I was truly impressed that these things had become so second nature in Russia and as I visited the local grocery store I was even more surprised when looking at the dark blue vest of store employeee’s I noticed very familiar words on the back,’how may I help you?’

In 2004, just two years after my first visit, I was once again able to visit my family and was once again surprised to see the changes that had happened while I was away, by this time there were slot machines on every corner in St. Petersburg. This was another of those great discoveries for me because I realized that whenever I saw lights and heard music it was a gambling establishment. At that time I realized how huge the growth was in Russia.

In 2006, another two years after my last visit, I realized that more and more cars being driven in Russia were coming from the United States and that even the kilometer was changing to the mile. At this point I began to wonder why such changes were taking place. I knew that the American dollar was cheaper that the Euro and that was why American cars were cheaper for business in Russia to buy.

To further see the changes happening in Russia just look at the real estate market which has steadily moved over to the American dollar or even the customs taxes which are now being represented in American dollars.

So what does this mean for American business? It means that now is the time for American businesses to realize the huge potential that is the Russian marketplace. Russian companies are continually seeking new technology and equipment in areas such as recycling used cartridges, computer hardware plastic, household products, recreational equipment, construction materials, manufacturing plants, and much more.

As the old saying goes ’strike while the iron is hot’ and right now the iron is hot in Russia, do you want to miss out on this wonderful opportunity?

Luda Yazykova have seen the great changes in Russian economy for last 7 years and help American businesses to expend their business to Russia at my website which is at http://www.russianbizlink.com