Any Ape

Online Home Based Business is the best possible way to earn a decent living online. I have been running my own home business for last couple of years and I must honestly admit that I am doing well at it. In my past 4 years experience of online business, my top money making period started with the beginning of Affiliate/Reseller Programs such as Clickbank and Commission Junction. There were times when I used to hear something like “Earn $1,000 per day from your home” and my reaction would have been “Yeah, yeah another scam artist”. But now thanks to places like clickbank, it is really possible to make that amount per day! That’s no more a dream.

If you are thinking that this is bogus and impossible than I do not blame you. People thought the same when some one talked about going on the moon or when someone simply said that the Earth is round! The whole point is in believing and trying to reach out for it. So, if you are really want to make some serious money online then Affiliate Programs are definitely the way to go. You will find more elaborate information about it on my website http://www.profitfrominternet.com/

Here I discuss some serious points that you must absolutely consider before joining or promoting any “Pay Per Sale” (You are paid commission on every sale you make) Affiliate Program.

1. Does the affiliate program offer you a free way to join without buying the product or service?

2. Contact other affiliates already in the program to see if they have had any problems.

3. Is the product or service related to your target audience?

4. Can they notify you by e-mail when a sale is made?

5. Do they offer backend products so you can get repeat sales from the same person?

6. How often will you receive a commission check?

7. Do you get credited for a sale if people come back in month and then make a purchase.

8. Can you get around-the-clock help online or offline? Message Board Support?

9. Do you get a large percentage of each sale as commission?

10. Do they provide you with proven sales material? (Links, banners, classified ads, content, sales letters etc)

11. Will they give you the leeway to create promotional ads?

12. Do they offer you access to an online sales stats page?

13. Do they use a reputable system to track your sales?

14. Does the affiliate program pay commission for sales of people who sign up under you?

15. Can they offer customers a lot of different ordering options, so in return you won’t lose sales.

16. Will they keep in contact with you on a regular basis by e-mail?

17. Do they offer datafeeds or web services?

18. How well do they fight scumware?

19. Do they allow you to encrypt the LINK, link in frames, or do a .htaccess redirect?

20. Do they allow you to place your own orders through your own affiliate link?

Although you will never find all the above factors at the same time with a single affiliate program. But according to me the general rule of thumb is if you get any 5 matching points then the program is a sure winner. Just don’t be skeptical like me or you will never know what you can get out of it.

Vipul Gupta is the webmaster of www.profitfrominternet.com . Visit his site today to gain all proven information on the starting your home based business without burning a hole in your pocket.

“I’m not an expert on this topic, but . . .”

“This isn’t exactly an exciting topic, but . . .”

“I hope you’ll find this interesting.”

“Had I more time to prepare . . .”

These expressions all have the same thing in common. They cause your audience to wonder why you - and especially they - are there. Each statement communicates the same message: “This isn’t going to be a very good use of your time - get a seat close to the door.” They are unnecessary and harmful statements. They are “power thieves” that sap the energy from your ideas. The three greatest thieves are apologies, feeble phrases, and weak words. Attack them on every front.

Run from weak words and feeble phrases. People may forget what they hear, but they will remember what they see. That’s why someone once said, “The most effective orator is someone who can make people see with their ears.” The well-chosen word has the ability to create a vivid, and unforgettable, mental image.

One way to make sure your listeners “see” your words is to avoid euphemisms - words that make concepts more politically correct, but are vague and less picturesque. (In other words, don’t perspire when you should sweat.) These days, people no longer die, they pass away, terminate or expire. If you want to work out, you don’t go to a smelly gymnasium, you join a spa or fitness center. We used to fire people, now we downsize, right-size, restructure or re-engineer.

Here is a final point to make: Can you visualize an undertaker? What color suit is he wearing? Can you visualize a “bereavement counselor?” Of course not. You can’t even see the person, let alone the clothes. And that’s the problem with euphemisms - sometimes termed “business bureaucratese” - they suck the juices out of your words.

Well-chosen words give your speech the power to captivate, mesmerize, and rivet your audience. You’ll command attention when you sound convincing, authoritative, and credible.

Excerpted from the Sandler training program Presenting Yourself with Impact ©1997. All rights reserved.

Dan Hudock is an owner of the Sandler Sales Institute in Pittsburgh, PA. He can be reached at (724) 940-2388 or dan@sandler.com. His web site is: http://www.dan.sandler.com

One of the most powerful tools available to small businesses is direct mail. By this I don’t mean electronic, Internet-based mail, but the old-fashioned kind that requires a stamp and a trip to the post office.

Why is direct mail such a powerful tool?

It’s a way for small businesses, especially retailers, to separate themselves from the big box stores such as Best Buy and Wal-mart, and to compete successfully with the Amazon.coms and Ovestock.coms of this world.

The power of direct mail, if done right, is that it’s like getting a letter from your sister, mother or aunt. The postman brings it to your home. It’s addressed to you personally. And when was the last time you received a letter from Best Buy, Wal-mart, Amazon.com or any Internet retailer? If so, it was undoubtedly via email and designed to be read by hundreds of thousands of customers - not much personalization there.

The first thing you need to do to start an effective direct mail campaign is capture the names and addresses of your customers. This is easy for service organizations like carpet cleaners, auto repair firms, instant printers, and the like. They already have their customers’ names and addresses. All they have to do is put them together as a mailing list. Retailers such as jewelry stores, antique dealers, liquor stores, restaurants, etc. have a tougher time because they don’t have an easy way to capture their customer’s names and addresses.

There are a couple of answers to this. One is the old fishbowl gimmick, where you ask customers to deposit their business cards in a fishbowl with a prize to be given away in a drawing at some later date. I personally think this has been overdone. Plus, I have heard stories of unscrupulous sales people cleaning out the fishbowls themselves and using the business cards as sales leads.

A second alternative is to post a “guestbook” somewhere near your cash register with a sign offering a free newsletter to all those who register. To make this work, you and your employees have to be kind of aggressive in urging all your customers to sign up, and you can expect that many will not. However, persistence is a virtue and if you keep this up long enough, you will capture enough names and addresses to make the effort worthwhile.

I also like the idea of offering customers some small reward for providing their names and addresses. One version of this that seems to work well is a “frequent diner,” “frequent buyer,” or “frequent customer” card. Give your customers small, inexpensive cards that you can punch whenever they buy from you (or just visit your store) with the promise of a free something after 10 or 12 punches. Naturally, they have to register for the card and viola! You have their names and addresses.

Last, and most expensive, you can buy a direct mail list targeted toward your best prospects. Chances are, there is at least one company in your area selling lists of prospects by criteria such as recent home buyers, camera buyers, child care customers, etc.

Once you have captured enough names and addresses (maybe 100 or more) to begin a direct mail campaign, you have a couple of alternatives. One, you can input the information yourself. Or, two, if you’re strapped for time, you should be able to find a local high school or college student to input the information for you. He or she can use either a word processing program or a database program to build the list. It’s just simple data entry and you might offer $0.5 or $0.10 for each name/address input. I like to use a word processing program because once the list has been built; it’s fairly easy to create personalized letters, etc. using the program’s mail merge features.

What do you then mail customers? I like newsletters a lot. They can be as simple as a single page printed on both sides or as complex as four to eight pages. Another good alternative is personalized letters. Just make sure that whatever you choose to send your customers is important and meaningful and always include an offer designed to bring them into your store or to call you for more information or to make an appointment.

It takes time, money and dedication to develop and implement a direct mail campaign. But it’s a powerful tool that can pay for itself in just a few months and then keep paying off for years to come.

For more information on creating an effective newsletter, be sure to look for my article, “Small Business Power Tool: Customer Newsletters.”

Have you heard about HD radio technology? It makes AM sound as good as FM and FM sound almost like you were listening to a CD … and its free! To learn more about this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz. Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio and family finances.

People sell real estate notes to raise cash quickly. A real estate note is just the loan document created when you financed the sale of your house or investment property. It could be a mortgage note, or a land-contract or contract-for-sale. The point is that the buyer is making payments to you, and you want to cash in.

You can sell the entire contract, or just a certain number of payments if you want. The buyer of your property will have the same terms and payments. He’ll just be making those payments to somebody else.

Selling real estate notes can be an intimidating process. You know you won’t get the full face value for your note, but will there be other fees you have to pay too? How do you know if the buyer is reputable? What is a normal discount on a note? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. No upfront fees. If they ask, go someplace else. You should be able to find many note buyers who will check your buyers credit and give you a quote without charging you.

2. No other fees, with a couple exceptions. The buyer has already figured his expenses before making the offer, so there are only a couple fees you should have to possibly pay. First, you may have to pay for the title policy, if there are problems with the title that prevent purchase. Second, if the property appraises at less than the sales price, you may have to pay for the appraisal. You should only pay exactly what these cost the note buyer though.

3. Be sure that the note buyer gives you a written purchase agreement with the purchase price and contingencies. Ask questions about anything that isn’t clear.

4. The note buyer should check the credit of your property buyer upfront. Unscrupulous buyers can quote one price initially, and then lower it later, using the excuse of the property buyer’s bad credit score. This is called “bait and switch,” and it isn’t ethical.

5. Contact several note buyers for quotes. You’ll need to provide information like the type of property, sale price, payment amounts, current balance, etc. They should respond within a day or two.

6. When you get a quote you like, you’ll have to send copies of the Mortgage or Deed of Trust, the Note, the closing or Settlement Statement, and the Title Policy. If there is no recent appraisal, they will usually arrange for that.

7. Processing time varies, so ask. Usually, once you agree to the offer and send the documents (if done by mail), you can expect to receive a certified check or electronic transfer to your account within two to three weeks.

Get Top Dollar When You Sell Real Estate Notes

Notes with a balloon payment get a higher price. “Seasoned” notes sell for more too. Those are notes that have had payments made on them for a while. Some note buyers will buy new or “unseasoned” notes, but if you can wait until six payments have been made, you’re likely to get a much better price.

Higher interest rates and shorter loan periods will get you more money too. This is something to consider before you sell the house, if you think you might sell the note in the future.

You can sell second mortgage notes, and other second-place real estate notes as well. Note buyers will look at these differently though. The first and second place notes can’t add up to much more than 70% of the value of the property, or you’ll be looking at a steep discount

Discounts, by the way, will almost always seem steep. It is common for note buyers to pay 20% to 30% less than the current balance on the note. I’ll let them explain why. Suffice it to say, they need to make money on the deal, and you should be sure you have a good use for that cash before you sell those real estate notes.

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. See a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500 on his home page, or go straight to the section on Investing In Real Estate: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

I don’t know what kind it is, but I saw it
on TV running full speed along the shore (I don’t
live near the shore) throwing up spray or maybe
it was that one climbing up the steep mountain
trail thru the mud, rocks and snow. Very
exciting. (I don’t live near the mountains
either.) WOW! Just what I need.

But there are a few obstacles.

It costs about $28,000. (That’s close to the
average annual wage.) I have perfect credit and
they’ll give it to me for no money down. All I
have to do is make the monthly payments for the
next 5 years of only $541. Maybe it won’t be
that much because I’ll be trading in my car and
I have it almost paid for it.

I can see me now headed for the beach or
climbing that mountain in that shiny new car.

I tell my wife.

She says, “So”.

I say, “Waddayamean ’so’?”

She elaborates that our car is almost paid for
and hasn’t a scratch on it. It looks like new
when it is washed and waxed and runs great. She
whacks me with if I want a different car we can
have this one repainted and put on new slip
covers. The transmission and AC have both been
replaced and it has less than 100,000 miles on
it. She remembers the engine is rated for
200,000 miles and the tires are good for another
50,000 miles. How does she recall those
statistics? I can’t win for losing with this
woman.

There is a tone in her voice that I know
means finality when she iterates, “You might want
a new car, but we don’t need one”. My reply is the
car might break down and may cost thousands to
fix”. Her lightning reply, “Well, it won’t cost
$28,000 and our insurance bill won’t go up
either. If you want payments you can make an
extra mortgage payment each month. Better yet
let’s knock down that credit card debt.”

I hear the air hissing out of my balloon.
No beach. No mountains. Forget all that practical
stuff like saving for retirement or having some
extra cash put away for emergencies. Damn.

BUT - my neighbor has a new car.

Al Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t Go
Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands of
people make money and keep their profits with
his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter
and receive his market letter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s
the man that Wall Street does not want you to
know. Copyright 2005

There are two basic types of constipation - organic and functional. Organic constipation is a result of some physical change, obstruction, or distortion in your colon. This type of constipation needs immediate attention from a doctor.

This article only covers Functional Constipation. This type of constipation is a result of not following a proper diet, drinking enough fluids, having good emotional health and not having a good lifestyle - a lifestyle that promotes good movement of digested foods through the intestines and colon.

Even though there are many definitions for constipation, constipation is simply a condition where the fecal matter traveling through your colon remains too long in your colon before traveling out the rectum.

Constipation is a symptom and not a disease. It is a condition that tells you your colon is not working properly or that you have some underlying gastrointestinal disease you are not aware of.

Constipation may be a warning that your diet and lifestyle are causing an imbalance in your body. It is a symptom that many people ignore or that many people try to eliminate by using unnatural and oftentimes dangerous drugstore laxatives.

Drugstore laxatives should be avoided when you have constipation. They can become habit-forming, damage your colon, and have nasty side effects if used too long. They sometimes have the tendency of creating the problem you are trying relieve - constipation.

To keep your body in chemical balance, it is important to use only natural remedies for constipation. Natural remedies such as herbs and foods bring into the colon those nutrients that can build up your colon and reactivate your natural peristaltic action.

As you use natural remedies, keep in mind that one particular remedy may not work for you. You may have to try a different remedy or increase dosage of the one you are using. If you supply what your body needs by using a specific remedy, then you will get results from using that remedy.

Experimenting is part of finding out what remedy is best for you. There are many different natural remedies you can choose from. Look on the internet for “natural remedies for constipation” and you will find many listings.

Keep in mind that most remedies should be used only for a short time, two to four days and not longer than 2 weeks. They should only be used for the time needed to clear your constipation. This might be just 4 or 5 times or sometimes it may take several weeks.

There are some herbal combinations that can be used for longer duration. These combinations can improve your colon’s health and get your bowels moving again.

If you have constipation, the natural balance and function of your colon has been affected. But, natural remedies can bring you colon back into balance.

Constipation And Hemorrhoids, Alexander Sviridov is a practicing proctologist. More information about hemorroids symptoms and ways of treatment you will find here www.hemorroids-treatment.net

Computers, the health care field and business often make the top of the list when it comes to best careers. However, in order for an individual to find success in any one of these vocations a solid and well-rounded education will be necessary. Fields such as computers, health care and business have specific technical aspects that take time to learn. There is no walking in off the street unprepared even for simple entry-level positions. Luckily, opportunities to get an education in any subject readily abound and an individual can easily get thimself or herselfon the way to a career that suits them best.

It is only natural that the list of best careers will evolve as time passes. Plus, different branches of work in a single profession can top the list from one year to the next. Regardless, getting educated for any career will always require one to earn an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree. An associate’s or bachelor’s degree will be the most commonly required qualifications to get one’s foot in the door with an employer. Those who continue to earn higher degrees in a given field can often look forward to advances in pay and position at a much faster rate.

Dogs is a major status symbol in American pet-keeping. Every
year, over 12 billion dollars have been spent on dog food and
veterinary care alone. According to the American Pet Products
Manufacturers Association’s 2003-2004 Pet Owners’ Survey, more
than half of dog owners purchase toys for their dogs.

Playing with toys is not the monopoly of little kids but also
pets of different kind. Dogs have their own sets of toys to
enjoy during their playing time.

Dogs benefit from these toys, health and training wise. There
are dog toys that can strengthen their teeth or build their
intelligence especially if they also attend a series of training
classes with the experts. Like man, dogs are very sociable.
Interaction with their companion or a sibling dog is very
important in avoiding behavioral problems in the future.

When buying toys for your dog, you may want to match them with
your dog’s needs, demands and even personality. Is your dog the
type that enjoys chasing and retrieving games, or chewing,
sitting and sprawling? You may want to try experimenting first
to find out which toys make your dogs the happiest.

Before going on a toy hunt, take a look at this list of toys
that may help you identify the right kind of toy for your dog.

* CHEW TOYS. These are perfect for the dog that likes to chew a
lot. Instead of your dog chewing your furniture, why not buy
these TOUGH little babies for them. These types of dog toy are
usually made of nylon or latex rubber. The “King Kong Toys” are
among the popular brands of chew toys. You can experiment by
stuffing these toys with peanut butter or cheese spread, freeze
them and give them to your dog for hours of licking and chewing
fun.

Doggie “potato chips” is also a favorite. These “edible chips”
can last to a minimum of an hour to a couple of days. They are
available in different shapes like pig ears, snouts, cow
knuckles, femurs, hooves and bully sticks. Others are
bone-shaped made from a variety of vegetables such as carrots.

Another good toy for your dog’s chewing pleasure is the rawhide.
These are non- consumable, mummified skin-like toy that you have
to throw away when they get soggy, and give your dog a new one.
Some rawhides are basted with a variety of flavorings. Be sure
to get the “USA rawhide” with a little flag sticker on the label
because these do not contain preservative flavorings that are
harmful for your dogs.

SQUEAKY TOYS. For these toys, choose the rubber over the stuffed
toys for durability and to avoid synthetic materials. These
little noisemakers are good for training your dog’s hunting
skills.

RETRIEVING TOYS. These are perfect for the chase-and-retrieve
types of dogs. Dogs enjoy these toys because they get to play
with you. Frisbees and balls made specifically for this
activity, are the best to be used. Your dog will get a good
workout and so is your arm.

TUG TOYS. These toys are best for dogs that like to grab hold
and never let go. Available in rope-like designs.

BRAIN TEASERS. Best for dogs that is left alone a lot. “Biscuit
balls” and “food cubes” are great examples. These toys require
the dog to solve types of puzzle in order to get a treat.

Various toys of these forms are available in the market.

1. For Chewers of all Sizes

SQUIRREL DUDE - tough, durable and fun too; this hollow rubber
chew toy takes on a new level in innovation; this helps to
exercise your dog’s jaw a little more with the four little
rubber prongs blocking the hole slightly that the dog has to
work a little harder to get the goodies out.

2. Ball Launchers and Throwers (Retrieve Toys)

FRISBEES - is an all-time favorite dog toy especially the soft
version; fold to fit in a pocket; comes in blue and orange
colors, size six to nine inches, prices at eleven to sixteen
dollars.

THE ROUND ORBEE - a tough ball hallowed with inch thick
membraney surface and it’s softish; it is flexible, durable,
grippy, bouncy, and buoyant and has a peppermint scent; good for
sniffing-and-getting-the- ball game; prices at five to twelve
dollars depending on the size and form you choose

3. Squeaky Toys

SQUEAKERS - available in packages of ten each; dogs that love to
silence squeakers are the best for this toy; excellent as
attention and pocket squeaker as well; prices go lower if you
buy in packages, from five to three dollars each box/package.

4. Tug Toys

LEATHER TUGS - great for tug-of-war games with your dog; made of
high grade leather, 3/8 inches thick, tanned and not-treated;
dogs like them a lot especially those with active lifestyle.

THE MONGO FETCH TOY - a chew and tug toy combined in one; the
natural rubber bar is vanilla scented; rope running through the
center gives you a grip for tug games and the soft tasseled ends
are made for exciting action with your dogs; medium to large in
size, from five to seven dollars each.

5. Brain Teasers

I CUBE - this is a toy that challenges and develops your dog’s
intelligence and puzzle solving skills; be sure you are there
for supervision; available in junior and jumbo sizes, six to
eleven dollars.

DUCK EGG BABY - egg Babies are a plush toy with three squeaker
eggs inside; there is an opening on the bottom of the toy so
your dog can get the hidden treasures inside; this is a toy that
challenges and develops your dog’s intelligence and puzzle
solving skills too.

Toys are a fun way to enjoy with your dog in a sunny day at the
park. But be sure to apply proper safety measures especially
when playing with balls, sticks and stones. You do not want to
harm them in any way. Remember, this is a dog-eat-dog world!
Even as harmless as playing can cause indestructible damage to
your dog.

Today eyelid surgery is quick, easy, and you can now get treatments at lower costs than ever before.

The reason prices have declined dramatically is due to the rise of medical tourism, where you can have the operation performed in another country far cheaper than you can in your country of origin.

Huge Savings and a Free Holiday!

By becoming a medical tourist, you get world-class healthcare, at a huge reduction in price that allows you take the holiday of a lifetime free.

Before we look at the savings in eyelid surgery lets look at the procedure.

Affordable Eyelid Surgery

Adults of all ages have aesthetic eyelid surgery.

Some people have eyelid surgery to correct problems that are a result of aging, while others have inherited traits genetically that cause them to seek treatment much earlier in life.

Eyelid surgery (technically called blepharoplasty) is a procedure to remove fat, as well as excess skin and muscle from the upper and lower eyelids.

Improving Your Appearance with Eyelid Surgery

Any one or combination of the following conditions will mean that you want eyelid surgery:

Excess skin obscuring the natural fold of the upper eyelids

Loose skin hanging down from upper eyelids, which, impairs vision

A puffed appearance to the upper eyelids, making the eyes look tired

Excess skin and fine wrinkles on the lower eyelids

Bags and dark circles under the eyes themselves

Sagging of the lower eyelids, showing white below the iris of the eye

Eyelid Surgery - The Operation

Aesthetic eyelid surgery can usually correct all of the above problems.

Other treatments are available to complement the above, for example:

When the patient has an upper eyelid condition and sagging of the eyebrows, then a forehead lift is also available.

Smoothing of crow’s feet (i.e on the skin on the face around the eye) may require chemical peeling or laser resurfacing procedures.

A bleaching solution or chemical peel used to tread circles under the eyes caused by dark pigmentation.

When a good cosmetic surgeon performs eyelid surgery, complications are rare and minor.

Local anaesthesia applied when performing eyelid surgery numbs the area around your eyes. Oral or intravenous sedatives are also used.

Eyelid surgery (Blepharoplasty) normally only takes about three hours, depending of course, on the extent of the surgery.

Eyelid Surgery with Huge Cost Savings

Consider this; in the USA typical prices are US the cost is $2,500 - 5,500, and in the UK £1,500 - £3,200. In India, the cost is just $650 - $1,700 or just £380 - £1,000. This is a massive cost saving.

India - A World leader in Medical Tourism

Indian corporate hospitals are comparable to hospitals anywhere in the world. In fact, India offers world-class medical facilities that are comparable with the USA or UK.

The high concentration of expatriate Indian medical staff working abroad particularly, in the USA and UK, gives patients confidence in healthcare in India generally. Patients are of course, already used to the expertise and professionalism of Indian medical staff.

Medical tourism in India is set to be a multi billion pound industry and with the quality of healthcare and prices, you can see why.

For more information about medical tours and the cost savings possible please visit our web site: http://www.meddetour.com

What is Five S?

Five S is a component of lean manufacturing that involves
organization and cleanliness, and then using standards to
maintain what has been accomplished. The term “Five S”
represents the five stages of a Five S program:

Sorting (Eliminate broken or unused equipment, tools and
supplies.)

Systematic Organization (Put everything in its proper place.)

Shine (Clean up on a regular schedule.)

Standardize (Make the above three steps easy to accomplish.)

Sustain (Take steps to maintain what has been accomplished.)

Five S involves common sense practices and is not very
complicated. But until the 5S System was created, many
businesses ignored these basic principles.

What Will Five S do for me?

We often put off cleaning up and getting organized because it
seems to be taking away from the time we use to get “real” work
done. However, the truth is that having a clean, organized work
area improves productivity, safety and profits. It does this in
several ways.

(1) By reducing wasted time spent looking for the right tool or
materials–thus efficiency and productivity are improved.

(2) The work environment is simplified resulting in improved
quality and productivity; reduced daily or shift startup times;
and reduced maintenance and downtime.

(3)Employee morale improves, which also results in improved
quality and productivity.

The bottom line is that your customers are happier and your
profits go up.

How does all this happen? That’s what we’ll be talking about in
this article.

Who Can Benefit from Five S?

All types of businesses and organizations can benefit from Five
S. Manufacturing and industrial plants come to mind first, as
they often realize the greatest benefit from implementing the
Five S’s. However, any type of business or organization, from an
oil refinery to a church–from trucking companies to
schools–can benefit from Five S.

Step One - Sorting:

Sorting is the first step in making a work area tidy. It makes
it easier to find things when they are needed and frees up
additional space.

Start by sorting through everything in each work area. Keep only
those items that are necessary for the tasks done in that work
area. Any tools, equipment, materials and supplies that are not
frequently used should be moved to a separate, common storage
area. Items that are never used should be discarded.

Don’t keep things around just because they someday might be used.

The result of the sorting process will be to eliminate (or
repair) broken equipment and tools. All unused items and
materials, and obsolete manuals, drawings, fixtures, molds,
jigs, scrap material, and waste are disposed of.

Step two - Systematic Organization

Now that only necessary items are in a work area, the next step
is to organize, arrange and identify them. The objective is to
have everything in a work area arranged for efficient and
effective retrieval, and return to its proper place.

Storage areas, cabinets and shelves should be located close by
and properly labeled. Frequently used tools should be easily
accessible and workers should be able to return them to their
proper location with little thought. For example, put shadows or
outlines on tool boards, making it easy to quickly see the
proper storage location for each tool.

We typically focus on things from about waist level up, so make
a point to look at the floor. Paint floors to make it easier to
spot dirt, waste materials and dropped parts and tools. Outline
areas on the floor to identify work areas, storage areas,
finished product areas, etc.

In an office provide shelves for frequently used manuals, books
and catalogs. Label both the shelves and the books so they are
easy to identify and return to their proper place. Using color coded labels makes it easy to see which items
belong on each shelf.

Systematic organization is not limited to individual work areas.
Your overall facility should also be systematically organized.
This includes the use of easy-to-understand labels and signs.
Don’t just put things away. Everything should be properly marked
and identified, making it easy for employees, vendors,
contractors, inspectors, and emergency response personnel to
identify their location, hazardous materials, piping, valves,
control panels, major equipment, doorways, minor equipment,
instruments, storage areas, offices and files.

The objective of systematic organization is to have a place for
everything and have everything in its place, with everything
properly identified and labeled. This means there are two
important parts to Systematic Organization - putting everything
in its proper place and setting up a system so that it is easy
to return each item to its proper place.

Step Three - Shine

Once everything, from individual work areas up through your
entire facility, is sorted and organized, it needs to be kept
that way. This requires regular cleaning. To go along with the
theme of Five S’s this step is called “shine”.

There is more to cleaning than just “cleaning”. This step also
includes inspecting. While doing daily cleaning it requires
little additional effort to also inspect the machines, tools,
equipment and supplies in a work area. Regular cleaning and
inspection makes it easy to spot lubricant leaks, equipment
misalignment, broken tools, missing tools and low levels of
supplies. The result is that problems are identified and fixed
before they impact the work flow. If these minor problems were
not addressed while small, they could lead to equipment failure,
unplanned outages or long, unproductive delays while new
supplies are delivered.

When done on a regular, frequent basis, cleaning and inspecting
generally will not take a lot of time, and in the long run they
will save time and reduce maintenance costs.

Step Four - Simplify and Standardize

To ensure that the first three steps in your Five S program
continue to be effective, the fourth step involves simplifying
and standardizing.

One of the hardest parts of Five S is avoiding old work habits.
It is easy to slip back into the old ways of doing things.
That’s what everyone is familiar with. It feels comfortable.

A good method to help people adjust to the new way of doing
things is to make the new practices as simple as possible and to
use standards. Do this by developing a work structure based on
standard procedures that supports the new practices and makes
them into habits. It’s also important to remember that standards
are not static and unchangeable. As everyone–workers,
supervisors and managers– learns more, update and modify the
standards and continually make work practices and processes
simpler and easier.

Step Five - Sustain

The final step in Five S is to provide training and have ongoing
maintenance of the standards.

Don’t expect to clean up, get things organized and labeled, and
have people cleaning and inspecting their areas every day–and
then have everything continue to happen just the way it should
without any follow-up. Life doesn’t work that way.

There needs to be a formal system for monitoring the results of
your 5S program. Based on the results of that monitoring adjust
the standards to make improvements. Then provide continued
training about the standards. When there are changes–such as
new or relocated equipment, new work areas, new procedures, new
products–that will affect your Five S program, make adjustments
to the standards to accommodate those changes. Then provide
training that addresses those changes.

One of the major benefits from Five S is that it improves
safety. A good place to include Five S training is as a part of
your safety training. This ensures that everyone receives
up-to-date training on the current Five S standards for their
work area on a regular basis.

Five S is a common sense, easy to implement method of achieving
improvements in everything from safety to your bottom line
profits. The next step is for you to move ahead with a Five S
plan for your company or organization.