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Fixer-upper home inspection reports ? Why is it valuable?

You are now investing your hard earned money on a fixer-upper home because you think it will save you money plus the thrill of giving a house a make over gives you satisfaction once it is finished being renovated. You have chosen a nice location. You have found the right fixer-upper home that you think will sell at a reasonable price. But you are missing out on something ? a home inspection.

Most of the time sellers of fixer-upper homes won?t be able to give you a written home inspection report because obviously the house is most likely to be in bad shape. If this is the case, it is important that you don?t do the inspection yourself, you need to hire a professional home inspector.

Why is a home inspection important when what you are buying is a fixer-upper home? Of course the house isn’t in top condition. Why spend on professional inspection costs when you won?t be able to negotiate the seller to a lower price when you find problems to be fixed because they are selling it ?as-is??

Fixer-upper homes are of course ?fixers?. Most of the time there are many things to be changed. How will you know what needs to be fixed when you don’t know what the problem is? This is where the importance of home inspection becomes apparent.

Professional home inspectors will find problems that the home buyers won?t notice. These professionals will do a more detailed and systematic inspection on the house and this includes electrical system like wiring and electric panel, indoor condition of the house like windows, doors, flooring, walls, the exterior condition of the house like lanais, garage and decks, plumbing and drainage.

Not only will a professional inspection of the fixer-upper home help you identify what the major problems of the house are, it will also help in minimizing risks and problems. Like if a house has major cracks in it that are invisible to the home buyers, this may be a major hazard and may cause the entire house to collapse in the future. Faulty electrical wiring that the home buyers took no notice of can also be dangerous and may cause short circuits.

If you are going to purchase and renovate a fixer-upper home, you don’t want to have any problems and difficulties. You want everything to be smooth and flawless without worrying about anything. So have your fixer-upper home inspected.

The present debate in brief is that Taiichi Ohno bought quick exchange tooling from the USA for Toyota in the 1950?s, whereas Shingo claims to have introduced them to SMED in 1969, when most Toyota presses were already being changed in less than ten minutes, so SMED is not responsible for Toyota?s changeover performance. It is also a fact that Shingo taught industrial engineering at Toyota from 1955 onwards ? this was an extension of the original Training Within Industry IE programme, given to Toyota, amongst other Japanese companies, by the USA.

So what was Shingo?s contribution, and why is the SMED Process important?
Shingo was a great theoretician as well as a great engineer, Taiichi Ohno was a great practitioner and a hard task master. Taiichi Ohno was only interested in practice and he was a great experimenter ? if you read his writings you will see that some of his experiments in the 1950?s were failures, but he regarded failures as ?mountains of treasure? ? learning to be had. The important thing was to try, not to discuss theory or say it can?t be done.

Shingo was a hard task master like Ohno, but also a great theoretician ? he needed to develop an overall theory of why something worked. Shingo had two major theories which defined how he approached problems. The first was his ideas about process and operation. Basically he said that improving the flow through a whole process was much more important and value creating than improving individual operations. Where less skilled engineers would get involved in issues of how to improve a particular operation, Shingo thought this was meaningless unless the operation was a constraint on flow through the process. Unless the process as a whole could not meet its QCD targets, and a particular operation was the immediate constraint, improving an operation would not give returns to the bottom line. This theory was so important to Shingo that it appears as the first chapter in many of his books, including his book on SMED.
I
learnt his second major theory, which receives less attention, from one of Shingo?s students, JMA consultant Shigehiro Nakamura. This is the leveling up process, an approach to improvement. Under this theory, if you want to improve a process you first need good information on current performance and performance requirements, you then need the right people and then a good standard method. Only when you have reached the limits of these three, do you then look to improve through more traditional engineering methods ? looking at measurements – the IE and QC data, machines ? equipment modifications and materials, including product design.

Toyota?s approach to quick changeover was the traditional engineering methodology of ECRS ? Eliminate, Combine, Re-Arrange, Simplify. So Toyota were breaking down changeovers into their elements and then applying ECRS to each element. The quick release dies which Mr Ohno bought form the USA were a means of simplifying the attaching and removal of dies. Mr Ohno was also wedded to idea of standard methods, and everything in Toyota changeovers was standardised, so that changeover times were consistent.
Shingo takes this further, and his theory allows the process to be applied to any changeover, not just dies. The theory developed over nearly twenty years by Shingo?s own account, and the 1969 invention of SMED was the culmination of this. Like all theories, SMED works by first defining categories.

In SMED the first important distinction is between Internal and External changeover. Internal Changeovers are those elements which have to be performed while production is stopped, the rest is external. This crucial distinction focuses improvement effort on performing only internal elements while production is stopped, and then simplifying those.

The second distinction is between types of activities in changeover. Shingo defined these as Preparation, Exchanging Parts, Adjustment and Trial Processing. In general, exchanging parts only takes 5% of the time of the changeover, so buying quick release dies can only improve that 5%, the rest is procedural.

The first step in SMED?s three step process is to identify and separate internal and external activities. In practice this means eliminating all preparation activities from the time when production is stopped. The second step is to shift activities from internal to external, thus eliminating them from the machine downtime. In practice this means focusing on externalizing adjustments and the cleaning of parts. The third step is to streamline the remaining internal elements. In practice this can mean improving fasteners and reducing any remaining internal adjustment.

SMED is a step by step process which follows the DMAIC, Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control cycle. It provides categories for the analysis phase and a procedure for the improvement phase. Control is provided by the development of a standard procedure. SMED projects rarely result in less than a 50% reduction in changeover time, and often as much as 80-90%.

When I first met Shingo (I was 33, he was 80) he asked me if I had been using his SMED process. I replied that working in a machine shop we had reduced changeovers from 90 minutes to 15 minutes. He gave me a steely look and said through his interpreter that when he was at school 15 was a two digit number; SMED meant single digit numbers ? 9 minutes or less. He ended his diatribe in English with the words ?You must do better?.

Last time we discussed the importance of starting small (and concentrating on the quality and display of your merchandise) and becoming educated on the market that you are competing in. Now we will learn a little more about merchandising as well as inventory control. Please consider these ideas in addition to the previous article.
As noted in Part 1, the quality of your merchandise must always stay at a high level. Providing the right mix of quality and pricing will most definitely affect customer traffic and sales. Many things must be considered in order to make smart merchandising decisions such as your finances, store concept, turnover rate, and sales space. Now that you have done research on the product market, you can make educated decisions on the needs of that market. Provide a variety of products so that you are not spread too thin over the sales success of any particular product lines. Just like playing the stock market, it is a good idea not to keep all of your eggs in one basket. Customers also appreciate good selection. Every time you receive a shipment, pay employees to inspect the goods to be certain that the merchandise is in good shape and of high quality.
Make sure your inventory is organized. It needs to be easy for employees to restock items. Sales associates should also be able to find items quickly for customers. Keeping your inventory organized will keep customers happy (due quick responses) and free up your employees’ time to do their jobs more efficiently. Most retailers do not sell inventory of a wide range in price and quality. Try to stay within a certain block of pricing. Perhaps you have more of a budgetary focus in your store, or maybe something more moderate.
Keep tabs on what it selling and what is not. The owner or manager should be well aware of what products need to be reordered and what products might be dropped. If particular items are not selling, it is time to mark those times down. Remember, items taking up space on your store fixtures and retail store displays are wasting space where other more profitable items could be displayed. The idea of retail merchandising is to move products regularly and profitably. There are three common methods used to keep track of inventory. You can keep track of items based on the selling price, based on actual units, or based on the number of tickets removed from items. This depends on the type of merchandise you are normally providing. If your unit prices vary greatly, it is probably more useful to use a method based on the selling price, or perhaps a combination of selling price and unit number.
Keep your inventory mixed, organized, and moving. Be practical about what products are working and what products are not. Do not hold on to inventory just because you like it, unless you can afford to buy it yourself. Everyday that it stays in your store, you lose money.
Look for the next edition of “Secrets to Retail Success.”

Today the wealthy of home entertainment options is endless. There are movies, videos, computers, cable, High definition TV and satellite TV. One of the major providers of satellite TV is the dish network. Among Satellite TV providers Dish network is one of the, if not the, largest providers. Satellite TV provides hundreds of channels from around the world. Some things make Satellite TV a bit different from cable. While Dish Network can use the existing cable hook ups in your home it does require additional equipment.

This equipment is usually a Satellite dish. The dish works as a receiver for your satellite channels. The placement of the dish is very important to the reception of your stations.

Usually there is also a box with the house that works with the dish in order to present the stations to you. Often times there are additional equipment options like television recorders, that allow you to save shows without having to worry about vcrs or DVDs or you might have the option of a DVD recorder so you can record all your favorite shows. There are wide varieties of packages to choose from ranging from the basic, which includes close to if not more than a hundred stations to more complex packages, with additional movie channels, sports channels. There is a package that suits everyone and options for being able to put a package together so that you get the best deal that fits with what you and your family watches. Dish Network is really one of the better television offers out there. You can save a substantial amount over regular digital cable and get even more stations.

The advantages of Dish Network satellite TV are more stations, including movie stations, High definition stations, even regular local stations as well as specialty stations from around the world. The standard basic Dish Network package costs even less than local digital cable and has more stations.

Want a particular station or stations from various countries. You can get it with Dish Network. Installation is usually free and if you check the right deal so can the equipment.
You also have more programming to choose from when it comes to premium stations than you get with cable.

Another advantage is that Dish Network and satellite TV rates usually do not experience large rate increases or rate increases that can sometimes happen several times a year.

There are a couple of disadvantages to Dish Network and satellite TV, however, the advantages far outweighs them. One of the disadvantages is placement, unlike cable, which is available wherever cable boxes have been installed the dish for satellite TV like the ones you receive from Dish Network have to be carefully placed in order to receive stations. The other disadvantage is that because it deals with a satellite signal, heavy cloud cover can interrupt your signal. If you are looking at purchasing satellite TV, consider Dish network and all their options for your satellite TV provider.

Many years ago, when I worked in education, I spent my summers directing outdoor park district activities for kids. The children would come from the neighborhood to play various games. One year I recall a teenage boy coming to the park with a desire to talk with me. He would attend a youth group at his church (which was located nearby) and then meander over to the park facility. At some point in our conversation, he told me that he was gay and that he felt ashamed as a result his church?s anti-gay sentiment. He felt very alone because he had told no one in his youth group of his sexual orientation. His parents were not informed, and would have been mortified had they known of his gay identity. Each time he came to the park we would talk about his struggles with being gay. Because I had trained student leaders to work with the park kids, I was able to devote some attention to this troubled young man. This was my first exposure in conversing with an individual who professed to be gay. I learned a great deal about a segment of society that played out their lives in agonizing silence.

I learned that gay people, like other minorities, are used to being stereotyped. Those of us who are straight, perceive gays to be effeminate, flamboyant, impulsive and artsy. Most of the gay people I have met do not fit that pattern. They typically feel isolated because their behavioral patterns are actually heterosexual in nature with the exception of their sexual affinity toward others of the same sex.

With the advent of multicultural thinking, gays are beginning to feel more comfortable and accepted. Their level of confidence affects their relationships and style of relating to the world. The acknowledgement of being gay takes supreme courage. The odds have been stacked against those who choose to make their gay identity known. Many adults, now in midlife, are just beginning to acknowledge their true sexual identity. With such exploration comes the awareness that ?I feel a stronger sexual connection with those of the same sex.? Such a realization may signal the emergence of terror ? ?I am not who I pretended to be.?

When you listen to the stories of those who are gay, you get a sense of the conflict and tension they have experienced in their struggle to be authentic. Most have known from an early age that they felt different about their sexual identity. In an attempt to conceal their feelings and behavior, many gays worked feverishly at removing any vestiges of gay traits from their behavior.

Adolescence is a difficult time of turmoil for most youngsters. Add to that the issue of sexual identification and it certainly makes the process of navigating adolescence that much more strenuous. Many schools are afraid to acknowledge their gay students and provide little or no support for those in need. Ideological and political pressures play a role in keeping school administrators and school board members from stepping up to the plate in support for gay youth.

In my professional counseling practice, I have personally witnessed the anguish and conflict experienced by those individuals who have professed to be gay. I have also observed the courage that many patients have demonstrated in the process of emerging from their silence over their sexual orientation. Learning to be authentic is an important component of counseling and to honestly identify one?s sexual identity may be apart of that process.

Although there is little evidence to support its efficacy, many counselors surprisingly continue to espouse reparative treatment for gay clients. Counselors, who many times disguise their intentions, choose to subscribe to the archaic notion that sexual orientation is a learned pattern or choice rather than a lifelong identity. Reparative therapy views the gay individual as disordered and in need of transformation. Generally, counselors who conduct reparative therapy for gays look for deep-seated traumas as a causative factor in the ?identity conflict? of those they serve.

Counselors who insist on touting reparative therapy for gays typically maintain their own biases regarding homosexuality. They carry these biases into treatment and negatively affect the self-worth and integrity of those they serve. Their insistence in curing gays creates a climate of self-doubt and defectiveness among those they treat.

Many in the religious community are unable to reconcile their beliefs and faith and are reluctant to identify with those who define themselves as being gay. This fact causes many gays to reject their faith or live in a constant state of religious conflict. Years ago, a friend of mine decided to spend a weekend of solace at a religious retreat center. This was to be a time of isolation and reflection. However, her time quickly took on a new meaning. Gay men from churches throughout the country flew into this retreat center. Many of them were board members, elders, and pastors of their congregations. No one knew of their sexual orientation with the exception of the hundreds of Christian colleagues who met at this retreat center to worship together once a year. Every year, these men got together in the freedom of their true identity and worshiped God. They talked with my friend, expressing their sense of liberation and love for the God they embraced. My friend said it was a moving experience as she was asked to join them in their religious services which were filled with energy and passion.

Denial is a dangerous thing. Those who choose to ignore their true sense of self pay a price for their own personal deception. It takes courage to live with the way things really are. There are pitfalls along the way, but it is more honest and authentic. Those in the gay community have the right to define themselves the way they wish. Unfortunately, for openly gay people, there are consequences for living with an identity they did not choose.

Ulcers, sometimes referred to as peptic ulcers, are ulcerations of the upper digestive tract. Ulcers are very common. Approximately one in ten men and one in twenty women will incur one in their lifetimes.

There was a time when ulcers were thought to be caused solely by stress and an increased amount of stomach acid. Research today has shown that ulcers are not caused by stress, but rather by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori. A two week treatment of antibiotics will wipe this bacteria out.

The latest studies have linked regular exercise to reducing the liklihood of ever developing an ulcer. Researchers have studied more than 11,000 men and women and found:

*Physically active men had one half to one third the risk of developing a duodenal ulcer over 20 years compared to their sedentary peers.

* Men who walked or ran at least 10 miles a week were 62% less likely than inactive subjects to develop an ulcer.

*Men who walked or ran less than 10 miles per week had about half the ulcer risk as those who did not exercise.

Because the Heliocobacter pylori bacterium is found in half the population of the world, scientists agree that other lifestyle factors such as stress, smoking and alchohol abuse may still have an effect.

It’s not surprising to see that exercise improves the risk of having an ulcer. Exercise boosts your immune system, lowers stress and in general makes you think about improving your diet as well as your workout. Exercise also may reduce acid production in the digestive tract. The positive data on lowering the risk for an ulcer have so far only been confirmed for men.

People are becoming more health conscious every single day. That’s a given. There is, however, that secret fear inside each of us that prevents us from going for regular checkups at the doctor. We truly want to live long and healthy lives yet we avoid doctors like, no pun intended, the plague. Why? Because it’s easier to live in denial than take some simple tests to make sure you’re 100% ok. Early diagnosis is the key to treating many potentially fatal conditions and acid reflux is no different in this regard. There are several severe complications that can come along later in life if you ignore the warning signs right now.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is generally diagnosed by doctors who listen to the patients symptoms and then comparing this against their own understanding of what might be causing the disease. Questions about lifestyle and diet can reveal an awful lot about any one person and doctors have received years of training in this skill. If your doctor suspects you have acid reflux they’ll normally prescribe a strong antacid for treating the problem. If the antacid isn’t effective then further treatment may be required – based on further discussion with your doctor.

Ulcers and acid reflux can often be confused by patients and sometimes even by doctors. An ulcer is normally accompanied by blood in the vomit and it will “flare” up at specific points during your day. Acid reflux is more of a lifestyle issue that 90% of the time you bring upon yourself. If you’re in any doubt as to whether you have acid reflux or an ulcer ask for a second opinion from another doctor.

Some doctors may rely on an endoscopy or biopsy of the esophagus to see if the true culprit is acid reflux while others may attempt to use x-rays to get to the bottom of the problem. A thorough examination of the throat, larynx and/or esophageal acid testing may get the job done, but some doctors will still prescribe to different theories and insist on a specific course of treatment.

The first step in diagnosing your problem is to look at your lifestyle. If you find that when you drink wine that you suffer from acid reflux then try another brand of wine. Failing that simply stop drinking wine. There’s no point in seeking further medical advice if you’re simply going to complicate your own lifestyle by continuing to eat or drink what causes your heartburn in the first place.

There are natural cures for acid reflux and you can learn more about them by following the information in the resource area at the bottom of this article.

It can be difficult to get motivated to stay in shape and eat healthy during the winter months, especially when it is so easy to just slip on a bulky sweater instead. The dull months can leave you feeling sluggish and most would prefer to warm up with warm stew or buttery mashed potatoes rather than a salad.

It?s easy to indulge during the winter. Over the holidays most pack on a couple of pounds by eating second helpings of turkey and gravy, stuffing and numerous desserts. With Valentine?s Day fast approaching many people haven?t had a chance to trim down before they dip into chocolate truffles and handfuls of cinnamon hearts.

Cold weather and holiday feasts do not have to be excuses for putting off weight loss. There are a number of things you can do to stay in shape during the winter. The following tips can help you stay on track this winter.

1. Use some self-restraint. This does not mean completely forgoing all the holiday goodies, but instead of devouring an entire box of Valentine?s chocolates have a couple and share the rest with friends and family.

2. Make smart food choices. If you?re craving chili make your own rather than buying it in a can. Use ground turkey instead of ground beef to add unique flavor and go easy on the canned pork and beans, which are packed with salt and sugar. Instead, add more kidney and pinto beans which are loaded with nutrients and fiber.

3. Eat your veggies. If a salad doesn?t turn you on during the winter months try some grilled vegetables. Baked veggies such as zucchini, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes are warm and delicious if you coat them with a little bit of olive oil and your favorite spice for an extra taste boost.

4. Don?t be a couch potato. Curling up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa may be appealing during the cold months, but there are many great ways to get some exercise. If you?re willing to brave the cold, head outdoors for a brisk walk. If you?re more adventurous, go tobogganing or skiing. If you want to stay indoors, there are still plenty of options. Buy a yoga mat and set it up in your living room. Try some squats, leg lifts and crunches. Even a few minutes each day will make a difference.

5. Take on some winter chores. If you own a snow shovel offer to shovel your neighbors? driveways. Not only will you be doing a good deed but you?ll be getting a great workout in the process. Just 30 minutes of shoveling snow can burn 193 extra calories!

Winter weight loss does not have to be a challenge. With a little work you can fend off winter weight gain and feel and look healthier.

Lauren Collins loves running outdoors regardless of the weather. She cares a great deal about living a healthy life style and writes for DietNation.com ? a health based site about weight loss tips, popular diet reviews and all the help you need to lose weight.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where every day just seemed to be filled with new problems and issues? No matter what you try those problems just seem to stack on top of the previous days problems. Finally you feel like that is no way to get out from under everything that you are facing. Yet to amake money on eBay requires that you somehow dig your self out from under all of the problems and issue and move forward.

Don?t let the problems get you down. Every business faces problems and challenges as a part of being in business. What is important if you hope to amake money on eBay is to fix the problems that need fixing and then to move forward with your other business activities. There are a few things that you can do to help work your way through one of those problem-filled weeks.

Start by addressing problems that affect customers first. Customers are the way that you amake money on eBay. If they have problems or concerns, those are a top priority. They should be addressed promptly. Find solutions that make your customers happy and coming back from more of your products.

Next move on to the problems and issues that will affect your sales now and into the future. After all, sales are how you amake money on eBay. If there are listing problems for example, fix those next. Don?t just fix a single problem. Look at how the problem occurred and work to put a fix in place that will keep that problem from ever returning.

Continue to address problems in a priority order that you have established for yourself. As you work through the issues, problems and concerns that you face, continually examine the problem and your solution. Is there a way to put that solution into affect so the problem never returns in the future? If so, take the time to make that a permanent part of your business. You then know that you will be able to amake money on eBay without facing that problem again.

There will be some problems and issues that either simply cannot be solved or just aren?t worth the investment to fix. Know that those can come back in the future. However also know that your time is valuable and if customers are not affected by the problem, the right move may be to ignore it for now. Don?t allow this move to affect your ability to amake money on eBay in the future however.

If you?ve ever had one of those frustrating weeks with lots of problems and issues know that this is part of every business. The important thing is to methodically work your way through the issues until they have been properly addressed. Know that with each solution you are one step closer to your goal to amake money on eBay.

To your eBay success!

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