The Seven Deadly Wastes of Lean Manufacturing

Strategic operations leader Ramon Anthony Jadra is a business consultant with JFive LLC in Westminster, Maryland. In this role, Ramon Anthony Jadra consults with aerospace and defense industry companies on strategies to improve business efficiencies such as adopting lean manufacturing techniques.

At its core, lean manufacturing is the continuous pursuit of efficiency by eliminating all elements that do not add value to the customer. The aspects that do not add value are referred to as waste. Lean manufacturing practitioners identify seven types of waste, sometimes called the seven deadly wastes. They are:

-Overproduction – Making products before they are needed leading to excess inventory. Lean manufacturing promotes manufacturing paced to match client demand.

-Waiting – When one process is stalled so another can be completed first, causing costly delays. Lean manufacturing promotes continuous manufacturing processes that have no buffers.

-Transport – Unnecessarily moving raw materials or finished goods. A better way is to organize processes systematically so movement is consistent and deliberate.

-Motion – Unnecessarily moving people. This occurs when work areas are not organized logically.

-Overprocessing – Doing more processing than is necessary to produce what clients want. Lean manufacturing encourages aligning production processes with client expectations.

-Excess inventory – Raw materials delivered before they are needed and finished goods that stay in storage for long periods. Just-in-time handling of inventory is the leaner, more effective option.

-Defects – Product defects requiring extra work to correct. Lean manufacturing prioritizes designing processes that reduce the occurrence of defects and, when they arise, correct them immediately.

Fundamentals of an Effective Sales and Marketing Plan

Sales
Image: investopedia.com

Westminster, MD, resident Ramon Anthony Jandra is an accomplished business executive expert with vast experience that spans almost three decades. A business administration graduate from University of Phoenix, Anthony Jandra has had an illustrious career that has seen him hold senior positions in organizations he’s worked for. Currently, Ramon Anthony Jandra is a business consultant with JFive LLC where he specializes in developing marketing and sales plans for aerospace and defense industry companies.

Engaging in business without a sales and marketing plan is like driving on the highway without a map. Marketing experts in charge of developing sales and marketing plans need to understand the qualities and values of having a good plan. Developing a sustainable and effective plan should begin with a company performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. Here, strengths that give a firm competitive advantage, weaknesses that lower a company’s ability to achieve its objectives, opportunities that help a company grow and threats that limit a company’s entry into primary markets should all be put into perspective.

Other key components of an effective sales and marketing plan include a business understanding its target customers and developing a demographic portrait that shows a clear profile of customers. Here, factors such as age, gender, income level, profession, location and education level should be clearly and accurately captured. It makes no sense to spend time and money chasing after the wrong prospects, so they shouldn’t feature in a sales plan in the first place. Also, a good sales plan template should also focus on value and not features. Clients buy benefits not features so it is vital to focus on what value business products shall offer to customers. The aim is to strongly highlight the competitive advantage in a business plan that should guide the business going forward.

Tips for Succeeding in Mountain Bike Races

Mountain Bike Races
Image: active.com

Ramon Anthony Jandra is an experienced consultant with a wealth of knowledge in various areas such as business planning, cost control, process improvements, customer service and capital improvements among others. Currently, Anthony Jandra works for JFive LLC as a business consultant and his previous assignments include the president of Raloid Corporation. When he’s not working, Ramon Anthony Jandra loves to participate in mountain bike races.

Mountain bike races are both fun and competitive. Aside from testing your skills, it’s also an opportunity to challenge yourself and push your riding skills to the next level. So, if you’re preparing for a mountain bike racing competition, the following are some great tips to prepare you for the big race.

1. Prepare your legs preferably a week in advance. Take a long, hard and challenging trip for an intense workout that will test your fitness level and gauge how much force your legs can handle. During intense exercise, your muscle fibers and fabrics break before being regenerated to become tough and resilient.

2. Polish up your pacing skills as this gives you an edge over your competitors during the race. In most races, you have to begin fast and settle into your ideal pace after establishing your position. Focus on beginning below the threshold and steadily ramp up throughout the race.

3. Know the course and take a pre-ride before the real race. Even though course maps and elevation profiles offer you basic information about the race tracks, it’s not the same as seeing and encountering the trails yourself. Arrive a day before the race to do an easy lap, re-take difficult section and study lines. Long courses require you to visit the venue a few weeks in advance. When pre-riding, check how soon the trail begins to narrow down after the starting point, check the starting area to determine how fast you need to begin the race.

Park City Point-to-Point – Testing Mountain Biking Endurance Limits

active-adventure-biker-163491
Mountain Biking Image: pexels.com

Ramon Anthony Jadra is an established presence in the aerospace manufacturing sphere who guided Raloid Corporation as president for many years. Also passionate about endurance sports, Ramon Anthony Jadra has competed in numerous mountain biking and Ironman triathlon events.

A 2018 Forbes article brought focus to an event that is considered a pinnacle within the mountain biking community. Held in Utah each Labor Day weekend, the Park City Point-to-Point race encompasses 75 miles of single-track trail and includes a total of 12,000 feet of climbing at elevations ranging from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. A major target is to complete the course within 8 hours, although the majority of participants take 12 hours or longer.

One of the most challenging aspects of the course is the extreme elevation gain and loss involved, with uphill grinds interspersed with steep descents that require careful navigation of rocks, trees, and roots at speed.

The ideal bike for this environment is a mountain bike that is extremely light and comes with a full 100mm of front suspension, bolstered by rear shock. The ideal tire choice is a cross country one that combines lightness and extreme durability.