Form-labels... made to last!

In Lean Manufacturing, inspection tagging is a critical function of a maintenance department. Equipment, utilities and other mechanical elements of a facility must all be regularly inspected to assure they provide optimum efficiency and performance.

Having a durable label is paramount to good inspection tagging. Labels must continue to show dates and signatures long after they are first applied. Embossable Poly Supply is popularly used to provide the necessary and long-lasting application inspection tagging demands.

Ideal for printing very durable labels, destined for years of service, Embossable Poly Supply is perfect for printing form-labels and other label formats where hand-written information is required. When written on with a ball-point pen, the supply's special surface "embosses" to leave a permanent impression- long after the ink has faded.

Engineered with a tough reflective top-coat, this popular supply is now available from DuraLabelSupplies.com and specially designed for use with the DuraLabel PRO and DuraLabel PRO 300 Printers.

Just design a form using the DuraLabel PRO or DuraLabel PRO 300's bundled software and your labels are ready for lasting written information.

Embossable Poly Supply (Metallized)
Two New Labeling Supplies!

OSHA- Remember how it all started?

Back when Lean was just starting to catch-on in several larger U.S. factories, workers were mostly dependent on employers to provide safe working conditions. Even through the 1960s, outside safety inspections were rarely performed and the government played only a minor role in assuring facilities were safe to work in.

Then, in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) was signed into law. Suddenly, facilities had nationally standardized guidelines to follow. Along with this law many safety codes and standards were enacted to help reduce hazards in the workplace.

To commemorate this period of advancement in industrial safety, Graphic Products is offering a "free" limited edition poster. This collectors' piece has the look and feel of the early days of OSHA and is perfect for displaying anywhere in your facility or even framing for display in the office.

For a limited time... this $19.95 value is free! But only 500 were printed... so act fast while they last!

Just follow this link to claim a copy for yourself: Free "Limited Edition" Safety Poster

DuraLabel Pro Label & Sign Printer
Custom, Industrial Labels & Signs

Got "Hazardous Material Communication?"

Lean Manufacturing is all about efficiency, but let's not forget that efficiency is always improved through better safety.

One of the easiest ways to protect personnel from the dangers of a facility is to assure every hazard is appropriately labeled with OSHA compliant safety labels and signs. To maximize their effectiveness, make sure to use labels and signs made for industrial applications and designed to conform to your facility's standards.

These tips aren't just helpful; they can save a facility from costly OSHA Hazard Material Communication Violations. These violations are one of the most common facility violations OSHA hands-out and they're not just a slap-on-wrist. They can have devastating consequences.

Just yesterday, a large explosion at a ConAgra Plant in North Carolina made national news. At the time of this post, not all details were known and a bomb has not been ruled-out. However, a local news story described the explosion as rupturing, "... a 34,000-gallon ammonia refrigeration system, triggering the leak." Even still, these events expose a facility's past violations and cast a negative light on an already tragic event.

As of today, two are known dead and dozens injured in this explosion. Along with the headlines, many stories brought out the fact this plant had been cited for Hazardous Material Communication violations in 2006 and again in 2007. These violations certainly don't help their case and could, very likely, be the centerpiece of lawsuit should ConAgra be found at fault.

The point being, don't take OSHA's Hazardous Material Communication Violations lightly. They tend to come back to haunt facilities years-after violations were issued and the total cost may be much greater than any payments made to OSHA.

Of course, the best defense is to assure all hazardous materials are properly identified with OSHA compliant labels and signs. DuraLabel provides one of the highest quality NFPA/RTK Diamond Labels available and can help your facility avoid these costly violations.

Play it smart... reduce violations with proper labels and signs.... and save lives while you're at it!

Lack of "Hazard Communication?"
DuraLabel Supplies NFPA Diamond Labels

New and improved 5S Guide now available... for free!

5S is rapidly becoming one of the most effective aids in successfully implementing Lean

Manufacturing. As many facilities are now experiencing, this popular system can help lay the groundwork for a successful implementation so a facility is prepared to make the transition to Lean.

The reason, it's one of the easiest systems to apply and it helps facility personnel focus on the critical improvements necessary for Lean to provide the maximum results.

One of the big advantages of 5S is its simplicity. It's specially designed so busy personnel can easily grasp the system's basic concepts and integrate them into their regular work routines. In 5S personnel follow five, easy-to-follow, steps.

The 5S steps are:

• Sort
• Set-in-Order
• Shine
• Standardize
• Sustain.

Each step helps facilities focus on the critical organization they become part of facility-wide standard operating procedures.

Graphic Products unveiled their new 5S Guide to help put successful Lean implementations into motion with greater success. Known as the "5S System; A Lean Manufacturing Tool," this new and more complete guide comes with sample forms and ideas for promoting 5S achievement so your implementation is very successful.

Just call a DuraLabel Representative for a "free" copy at 1-800-788-5572. Be sure to ask for the new and larger, "updated" 5S System Guide. It can really help you make your facility "leaner" first.

Graphic Products
DuraLabel PRO Printer & Sign Blog

Custom Labels... In the palm of your hand

If you've ever spent time in a large industrial plant or warehouse... you know it's imperative to gather-up all the tools and supplies you're going to need before heading out onto the floor for the day.

Unless you run marathons... it's just impractical to keep running back-and-forth to get things in today's "mega-size" facilities.

That's why DuraLabel came up with a specially designed label printer that allows you to pack everything you need to design and print custom labels in-the-field and right where they will be displayed. The DuraLabel 2000 puts all this labeling power in the palm of your hand.

No more jogging back to the office because you see a missing label... or putting it off 'till another day. The DuraLabel 2000 arms you with the ability to customize the labels you need on-the-spot... with up to 122 OSHA/ANSI compliant pictograms! That's a pretty big selection for such a small label printer....

Perhaps, the greatest feature of this little printer is it's ability to print labels up to 2" wide! That's very unusual for hand-held printers... and a very nice tool to have in most any Lean facility. These larger sizes can be used for printing very professional looking: inventory labels... Kanban queue markers... 5S work area information...

The list goes on-and-on when you can print 2" labels in-the-field.

Call a DuraLabel Representative directly at 1-800-788-5572 to find out the complete details of this new and innovative printing tool.


DuraLabel 2000

Labels made to order!

One of the great things about the internet is the speed at which you can do most anything.

Like a growing number of people today.... I check my bank statements online, do my taxes online... I even have my phone hooked up to my cable modem.

There's really no reason customized labels can't be made online.... and.... now they can.

Just this week, DuraLabel unveiled a new Custom Label Service. You can pick from six popularly used industrial label headers and the most commonly used label formats.

Headers options include:

• Danger
• Warning
• Caution
• Notice
• Safety
• Biohazard

DuraLabel's Custom Label Service is a great alternative labels printed on an in-house printer. No more black and white labels and paper supplies. DuraLabel offers these labels in either indoor or outdoor quality die-cuts.

Having an online tool to print professional looking and industrial-grade color labels is extremely handy for any facility.

This new online service is perfect when you just need a few custom designed three-color labels.

Few online label services exist, but even fewer give you the control DuraLabel's new Custom Label Service offers. As the image below shows... you have all the control to position label text and pictograms.

Custom Label Service
DuraLabel Pro Label & Sign Maker Blog

Are 5S, Kanban and Kaizen really Japanese inventions?

The debate as to who invented "5S," "Kanban" and "Kaizen" has been a hot-topic amongst business management professionals around the world since the end of WWII.

Both Americans and Japanese take credit for their invention. Clearly, the Japanese were the first to universally apply many of these methods, processes and philosophies in their major factories and made some very substantial contributions to their current form and function.

However, the concept for all of these ideas has its roots in America. Since America was one of the first countries to formally apply very similar concepts to industry and formally study them as a science, one could argue these concepts should be credited as American inventions.

There is plenty of information out there to back this argument up... American universities were formally studying the mathematical subject, known today, as statistics by the late 1930s. During WWII, America was one of the first countries to formally apply these statistical methods to industry to improve efficiencies. This was best known as Training Within Industry (TWI). Although... their application in America was somewhat limited and far from universally accepted and led some early TWI promoters and industrial statisticians to seek further application... elsewhere.

After WWII, Japan might have been best described as "ripe" for putting these new statistical methods into practice in a very big way. With much of its infrastructure and industry destroyed, factories short on supplies and storage space... Japan was desperate for solutions.

To help bring the Japanese economy back from the brink of ruin, General Douglas MacArthur promoted Western ideas of industry and organization as the country's reconstruction leader. During this period MacArthur's staff helped establish Japan's national census. One of the more famous American inventors of industrial efficiencies, W. Edwards Deming, was invited to participate this national endeavor.

While working on the Japanese census, Demming made a huge impression on industrial leaders for his efficiency improving ideas. In fact, the Japanese eventually credited him with providing the groundwork for many of these processes and methods now known as 5S and Kanban. His expertise in quality control techniques, combined with his involvement in Japanese society, led to an invitation to lecture at the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).

Although a number of efficiency methods were already being studied in Japan through the end of WWII, JUSE eventually credited him as the father of the "Quality Movement" and his ideas are still seen as core elements of today's 5S, Kanban and parts of Kaizen.

In 1951 the Deming Prize was instituted in honor of Deming and a Prize Committee was formed. The first prizes were awarded in 1951 to four Japanese companies. Prizes are awarded to individuals, for application and factory quality control.

Demming's more popularly known "Total Quality Management" or "TQM," essentially, gave birth to a long list of Japanese methods and processes used in post-WWII Japan and are also well known today.

Of course, Demming's ideas needed the help of a country ready and willing to embrace them and Japan was definitely ready and willing. As Henry Ford once said... "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."... and Japan was certainly the first to put these ideas into action in many of their largest facilities.

Still, whichever side you of the debate you stand, it's probably best to see the development of these methods, processes and philosophies as more than just the product of a single country and certainly not for use by that country alone. 5S, Kanban and Kaizen have all been influenced by an untold number of countries around the world... and each method, process and philosophy has greatly benefited.


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