Here at Miles Printing we are “5S”-ing! We are in the middle of a front office remodel which means staff members will move to a temporary office space while their new offices are being spruced up! We could think of no better time to implement the 5S Methodologies.

A 5S program is usually part of, and the key component of establishing a Visual Workplace and are both a part of Kaizen — a system of continual improvement — which is a component of lean manufacturing. The 5S program focuses on having visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization. The results you can expect from a Five S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety.

Here are the steps in the 5S process:

•  Sort – the first step in making things cleaned up and organized
•  Set In Order – organize, identify and arrange everything in a work area
•  Shine – regular cleaning and maintenance
•  Standardize – make it easy to maintain – simplify and standardize
•  Sustain -maintaining what has been accomplished

We are currently on the first 2 steps of the process, but hope to soon implement the final 3 steps!

What systems does your employer have in place to make sure things stay neat, clean, and efficient?Tweet

The American Heart Association (AHA) is holding a “Heart Walk” in downtown Indianapolis on September 17th, 2011 at Celebration Plaza, White River State Park.

The AHA is the largest voluntary health organization working to prevent, treat and defeat heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. These diseases, the Nation’s No.1 and No.3 killers, claim more than 865,000 American lives a year. The American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life. is a comprehensive new health, wellness and fitness platform to empower Americans to get healthier.

Take the pledge to live a healthier lifestyle while raising the dollars needed to fund life-saving research and initiatives. We need your support! Join us this year at the Indianapolis Heart Walk & 5K timed run on 9/17/2011 at Celebration Plaza, White River State Park, downtown Indianapolis! Bring your energy, your passion and your stories – let your footsteps be heard!)  Click here to join the Miles Printing team who will be walking at the event!

Thanks to all our walkers and donors who have accepted the challenge to help fight heart disease and stroke. AHA cannot achieve their mission without each one of you!Tweet

The American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Kick-off event is a great way to meet and mingle with fellow members, board members and the marketing community!

You want networking? They’ve got it!

Join the AMA, on August 31st from 5:30-7:30pm at the 10-01 Food and Drink on Broadripple Avenue, as they kick off the AMA programming year.

The American Marketing Association has a year full of great programming, member-only events and socials. Help celebrate the beginning of their new year by joining them for drinks and appetizers at one of Indy’s up and coming hot spots: 10-01 Food and Drink.

The chapter will provide members with free appetizers and drinks as a way to “Thank you” for all you do to make our chapter successful and for being a loyal member to the premier marketing association in central Indiana. After all, where would we be without members? Non-Members can enjoy the networking, ambiance and food/drink for a small registration fee!

Register today! Looking forward to seeing you there!Tweet

Each year, Kelly School of Business’ Center for the Business of Life Sciences (CBLS) presents its Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series, which provides a forum for various players in healthcare and life sciences to consider, discuss, and debate key business strategy issues. The forum brings together key players from industry, academia, government, and economic development communities.

Here is the full schedule for the 2011-12 Conference

2011-2012 Conference Schedule

 1.       The Shift in Consumer Power/Awareness in the Marketing of Life Sciences Products September 23, 2011- Indianapolis

 2.       Collaboration/Support/Next Steps for Start-ups – including the IEDC’s new Jumpstart program November 18, 2011- Grace Orthopaedic Center – Warsaw

 3.       The Confluence of Diagnostics and Therapeutics February 24, 2012- Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Indianapolis

 4.       The Evolution of Integrated Healthcare and its Ramifications May 11, 2012- Cook Group Headquarters, BloomingtonTweet

Have you heard of the National Football League’s Emerging Business Program?  

The NFL Emerging Business Program is designed to engage minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MBE / WBE) through a series of business development workshops and activities. Certified MBEs / WBEs that enroll in the NFL Emerging Business Program will have the opportunity to receive information about Super Bowl procurement needs.

Miles Printing is honored to be featured in the NFL’s Emerging Business Email Newsletter.  Miles was recently showcased in the ”Women-Owned Business Spotlight” section in a recent edition of the newsletter!

Check out the full article here!Tweet

We briefly mentioned URL shortners in a previous blog, but we have recently decided that they are such a great tool and they deserve an entire blog dedicated to them.  So here it is…

I was at a social media presentation the other day and one of the speakers was presenting his info through a Powerpoint slideshow.  In his slides he had several long links like this: http://blog.milesprintingonplastics.com/2011/07/top-3-things-to-know-about-qr-codes-if-you-are-directing-the-user-to-a-website/

I’m not sure if he expected the audience to sit and write down the 100 or so characters of the link and then type them into a browser or what, but it was basically a waste of good slide space to list these gigantic links! 

He should have used a URL shortner!!  I would be much more likely to copy down a url with only 10 characters! 

Here’s how a URL Shortner works : You basically copy your long url address and paste it into a box and hit the shorten button and viola, you have a short and sweet url to use!

Here are some of my favorite free shortners: 

• bit.ly
• ow.ly
• tinyurl.com
• goo.gl

Here are some great uses for shortners:

1. In Twitter posts where you are limited to 140 characters
2. When generating QR codes
3. To disguise the underlying URL address – can help to avoid spam and being put on blacklists

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I am sure you have all heard that Indianapolis will host the 2012 Super Bowl!  What you may not know is that the event is not just about 1 day and 2 teams, it is about our entire community!  

When Indianapolis decided to bid for the 2012 Super Bowl, they decided to include the community into the bid process. Since being awarded to the 2012 Super Bowl, that community support has grown.

To date, the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee has established the following Community Initiatives:

•   1st & Green
•   2012 Trees
•   Emerging Business Program
•   Student Ambassadors
•   Super Scarves
•   Super Service
•   NFL School Based Programming
  
  If you want to be a part of the success surrounding the Indianapolis Super Bowl, getting involved in one or more of these community initiatives is a great starting point!

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