Verstegen+Associates - Your next step to manufacturing excellence.

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#333333" LINK="#990066" ALINK="#CCCCCC" VLINK="#999999"> <TABLE WIDTH="580" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" summary="border table to hold page and left and right margins"> <TR>  <TD WIDTH="25"><IMG SRC="clear.gif" BORDER="0" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="12" alt=""></TD>  <TD VALIGN="TOP" ALIGN="LEFT"> <A NAME="top"> </A><br> <CENTER> <img src="verstassoc_sm.gif" border="0" width="338" height="44" vspace="6" hspace="6" alt="Verstegen+Associates, LLC: Market+Profit Performance Improvement Resultants"> </CENTER> <table width="350" border=0 cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" summary="table to hold natural laws and tag line"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffcc"> <img src="natural_laws.gif" border="0" width="350" height="60" vspace="0" hspace="0" alt="changing list of irrevocable natural laws of the universe"></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffcc" align="center"> <hr size="1" width="200" color="#000000" noshade> <FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2">Our work is in harmony<br>with irrevocable natural laws of the universe.<br><br></font> </td> </tr> </table> <h6 align="center"><strong>Create More Wealth with<br>VERSTEGEN+ASSOCIATES<br>as your Performance Improvement Partner.</strong></h6> <font face="arial" size="2"><b>Lean Manufacturing Transformation Leadership</b></font> <div class="lessleading"> <ul> <li><font face="arial" size="2">Continuous Improvement Management Process</font></li> <li><font face="arial" size="2">Facility Layout Planning, Design, Deployment</font></li> <li><font face="arial" size="2">Finite Resource Capacity Scheduling</font></li> <li><font face="arial" size="2">Information Technology Planning, Design, Deployment</font></li> <li><font face="arial" size="2">Knowledge Transfer to Executive, Management, Staff, and Line</font></li> </ul> </div> <font face="arial" size="2">Our team helps your team improve operating cost, quality, and response cycle-time to fulfill sales or production orders and develop new capability in facilities, markets, or products to satisfy communities, customers, employees, investors and suppliers.<br><br> Together, we can improve customer satisfaction and cash flow. How? By improving the performance of the work processes and systems you use to manage the following categories (click on a </FONT><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2" COLOR="#990066">category</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"> to see specific project examples):</FONT> <UL> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#assets">Assets</A></B> -- Work processes used to acquire, dispose of, improve, maintain, and use physical or intellectual resources. Assets include buildings, communications and computer systems, databases/lists, documents, drawings, gages, grounds, production equipment, tooling, utility systems, and vehicles.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#compliance">Compliance</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to achieve and sustain adherence to laws, ordinances, and regulations enforced by federal, state, and local governments.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#conversion">Conversion</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to change materials into products with minimum lead-time.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#development">Development</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to bring new facilities, markets, products, or services into reality with minimum lead-time.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#improvement">Improvement</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to lead and manage the planning and execution of an effective performance improvement function. The purpose is to focus about 2 percent of payroll on reducing total operating cost from 4 to 8 percent every year and to double productivity within a few years.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#logistics">Logistics</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to procure, move, store, and handle the flow of materials and supplies from source to plant to customer.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#materials">Materials/Supplies</A></B> -- Purchased raw materials, components, and supplies consumed in plant, office and warehouse operations. This category usually represents the greatest potential for cost improvement.</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#occupancy">Occupancy</A></B> -- Fixed cost to lease or own and sustain facility readiness, including standby utilities. (Utilities consumed in running operations are allocated to their point of use).</FONT></LI> <LI><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><B><A HREF="examples_nf.html#quality">Quality</A></B> -- Work processes and assets used to prevent, detect, and correct failures, defects, and errors or to reduce their frequency and severity.</FONT></LI> </UL> <font face="arial" size="2">Typically, materials and supplies consume about half of all operating cost. The other eight categories each consume from 5 to 30 percent of the total amount budgeted or spent for labor and overhead.</font> <BR><BR><BR> <TABLE WIDTH="350" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="10" CELLSPACING="0" summary="table to hold yellow-boxed list of things to do on this web site"> <TR><TD BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC"> <font face="arial" size="2"><B>Things to do on this Web site:</B><br><br> <A HREF="why_nf.html">Read the article</A> <I>Why Go For the Flow?</I>, by Dennis Verstegen.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="6" alt=""><BR> <A HREF="opportunity_nf.html#top">Ask yourself these ten questions</A> to evaluate your company's performance improvement potential.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="6" alt=""><BR> <A HREF="examples_nf.html#top">See project examples</A> for all of the operating cost categories listed above.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="6" alt=""><BR> <A HREF="team_nf.html">Learn more about</A> your external performance improvement team at Verstegen+Associates.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="6" alt=""><BR> <A HREF="reading_nf.html">Check out</A> a list of references for further reading about techniques to improve market+profit performance.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="6" alt=""><BR> <A HREF="contact_nf.html">Contact us</A> for more information.</font></TD></TR></TABLE> <br><font face="arial" size="2"><A HREF="#top">Back to Top</A></font><BR><BR><BR><BR> <center> <font face="arial" size="2"><br><br> HOME | <A HREF="why_nf.html">Why?</A> | <A HREF="opportunity_nf.html">Your Opportunity</A> | <A HREF="examples_nf.html#top">Project Examples</A><BR><A HREF="team_nf.html">Our Team</A> | <A HREF="reading_nf.html">Further Reading</A> | <A HREF="contact_nf.html">Contact Us</A><br></font></center><br><br> <CENTER> <font face="arial" size="2">© 2001 </font><B><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC">Verstegen</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2">+</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2" COLOR="#990066">Associates, LLC</FONT></B><BR> <FONT FACE="ARIAL" SIZE="2">Your next step to manufacturing excellence.<BR> <IMG SRC="clear.gif" HEIGHT="1" WIDTH="1" BORDER="0" VSPACE="4" alt=""><BR> E-mail: <A HREF="mailto:kaizen@verstegenassociates.com?subject=information request from Web site">kaizen@verstegenassociates.com</A><BR><BR></FONT> <FONT FACE="ARIAL" SIZE="1"> Web site created by <A HREF="http://www.leemark.com" TARGET="_top">Leemark Communications</A>.<br><br><br></FONT></CENTER> </TD>  <TD WIDTH="25"><IMG SRC="clear.gif" BORDER="0" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="12" alt=""></TD>  </TR></TABLE> </BODY>