Radical Changes For Railways Promise Improved Efficiency

Via
The Financial Express

New Delhi, Feb 26 -- The Railways are on a technology upgradation drive and will depend on technology to make improvements in operational efficiency, bring transparency in working and provide better services to passengers.

In addition, the railways are trying to bring about radical changes in railway technology systems and processes. The railways will focus on information technology application in freight service management, passenger service management and general management.

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Economic Impact Of "Connectivity"

Via
RCR Wireless News

Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens push productivity enhancements of technology


By Tracy Ford
Story posted:
February 11, 2008 - 1:01 pm EDT


BARCELONA, Spain — Mobility’s impact on the world was the theme for both L.M. Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks at press conferences here today before tomorrow’s official opening of the Mobile World Congress.

One estimate has more than 66,000 people attending the show, formerly called 3GSM World Congress. Indeed, the show’s name change underscores the fact that wireless is moving beyond third-generation networks to networks based on LTE and WiMAX technology.

But for all of the promise of communications, governments and businesses are failing to live up to the potential communications can enable, said Leonard Waverman, a professor of economics at London Business School. Nokia Siemens commissioned Waverman to study the economic and social benefits from information and communications technologies.

Waverman developed a Connectivity Scorecard that ranks countries according to the extent to which governments, business and people use connective communications to enhance the country’s economy.

Countries were split into two groups — advanced countries and “efficiency- and resource-driven” countries, and given scores.

With a score of 7 out of a possible 10, the United States rated best in using communications to enhance productivity. “Even in advanced countries, connectivity is not living up to its potential,” Waverman noted.

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Who Wrapped My Cheese? In Holland, It Was A Robot

Via
ManufacturingTalk.com

Robots speed up
food packaging productivity

Cheese manufacturing company, producing 350,000 tonnes/year, is using an 'intelligent' robot to make a significant impact on productivity and reduce labour cost

With production output at 350,000 tonnes/year, Friesland Foods Cheese, one of Holland's longest established producers of cheese, needed to maximise packaging efficiency. KH de Jong, part of Friesland Foods Cheese, and one of four Friesland packaging facilities in Holland, use FANUC Robotics robots on three packaging lines.

Over 350 tonnes of Edam, a traditional ball shape cheese produced in three sizes of 1.9kg, 1.7kg or 0.9kg, is packaged per week.

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More Women, Fewer Middlemen Boost Productivity For Agriculture In India

Via
The Hindu

NREGS helps to increase agriculture productivity
By N.J. Nair


Elimination of middlemen, increased participation of women

Men and women receive equal wages

Contractors eliminated


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Elimination of middlemen, increased participation of women and creation of sustainable projects on land, water and biomass have been cited as some of the highlights of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) being implemented in Palakkad and Wayanad districts.

An analysis of the scheme by the Centre for Rural Management points outs that major defects identified in the execution of other employment programmes are almost absent in the NREGS.

The report, submitted to the Union Ministry for Rural Development, says the achievements are mainly due to the presence of vibrant Panchayati Raj institutions, especially grama panchayts, and the experience gained through decentralised planning during the past one decade.

Positive results


Men and women labourers receive equal wages, contractors are religiously eliminated and use of machinery is limited to the minimum. One of the positive results of the elimination of contractors is that no serious muster roll manipulations have been reported.

Participation of women workers is much beyond the 33 per cent statutory provision and women Kudumbasree activists have played a major supervisory role in executing the works.

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Common Sense, Not Contracts, Recommended For Office Romances

Via
Western Mail, UK


Employers urged not to introduce US-style ‘love contracts’ at work
by Sarah Miloudi

BUSINESS and union leaders have urged employers not to adopt American-style “love contracts” in an attempt to curb the effects of workplace romances.

The TUC and the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales yesterday both called on employers to take a “sensible” approach to relationships between colleagues.

Having general guidelines in place rather than strict relationship contracts was the best approach to dealing with office romances, they said.

It is estimated almost a quarter of long-term relationships begin in the workplace, and although experts say office romances can boost efficiency and morale among workers, some warn they can lead to fierce disputes and financial penalties if disputes occur as a consequence of the relationship turning sour.

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Oil Analysis & Productivity

Via
Plant Engineering

Tips: Knowledge of best practices, oil analysis maximize productivity

A frequently cited study from M.I.T. estimates that approximately $240 billion – 6 to 7% of the United States’ gross national product – is lost due to downtime, repairs and damaged equipment caused by poor lubrication. Around the country, plant managers are looking to proper lubrication practices to help minimize these losses.

“Proper lubrication is essential to a smoothly-running operation,” says Phil Grellier, Dow Corning global solutions development manager. “In many cases, less friction equals improved performance, greater reliability and lower costs.”

For improved performance, plant managers should follow some simple steps:

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Walk Fast, Generate Electricity

Via
Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

Among Technology & Productivity Tips
Cited In
Binding force

Techno Page
By Harendra Alwis

One of the common clichés of our time is that technology is 'moving' forward at a binding speed dragging us along with it. Innovations in technology over the years have been achieved by combining different tools in creative new ways as much – if not more than – by inventing new ones. Flint and stone tools were invented by prehistoric man for hunting and food processing, but they also enabled him to make fire. The invention of the wheel was significant enough in its own right, but the productivity of the wheel increased exponentially when it was first combined with domesticated animals and later with 'fire' in the 'automobile.'

Similarly, as significant a technological innovation as the computer is in its own right, it has been combined with other tools to improve the overall productivity and use. Ingenious use of computers today has made our cars more efficient, but they have also been applied to automate simple and repetitive tasks such as making the double entries in automated accounting systems. The result has consistently been improvements in efficiency and productivity.

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Massive Innovation In Business Process Proficiency Needed

Via
ZDNet
US Productivity Slip, A Threat to Sustainability?

By James Farrar

Bob Suh, Chief Technology Strategist at Accenture writing in yesterdays Financial Times hits the panic button on US productivity. Apparently it is starting to slip relative gains in Europe and China. The reason is an under investment in technology. I know what you are thinking, I’d be surprised too if Accenture reached a different conclusion about the need for tech spend. Nevertheless.

What is interesting in terms of sustainability trends are two issues. One is an apparent political fear of technology investment inside the firm amongst CIOs with Accenture reporting only 34% of major IT projects coming in without a hitch. Suh uses the heart surgery analogy:

Taking no action with a 100 per cent chance of gradual death, is more palatable than having a procedure that has a 66 per cent chance of sudden death.

The other issue is a concentration of spending on Sarbanes Oxley compliance and M&A systems integration that might be better spent on overall process efficiency.

The former though based on well grounded fear is a clear example of short term thinking getting in the way of longer term value creation. The latter is an example where legal compliance is traded away against the opportunity for greater resource efficiency.

In reality, to tackle global problems such as climate change and poverty we will need a massive innovation in business process efficiency.

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Efficient Fuel Cars Featured At Auto Show

Hot New Cars on Display at the Washington Auto Show

By Ernest Leong
Washington, DC

It is winter in Washington, people bundled in heavy coats to shield themselves from the cold weather. Many seek refuge at indoor events. The recently held Washington Auto Show - where visitors got an up-close view of the latest in automotive technology -- is one such event. VOA's Ernest Leong reports.

More than 700 new domestic and foreign vehicles were on display at the Washington Auto Show.

Whatever one's individual tastes -- whether it is fast sports cars, or slower, more reliable all-terrain jeep, long limos to stretch out in, or more compact vehicles -- chances are good one can find it at an auto show.

Scott Settlemire is the manager of the Chevrolet and Hummer exhibits for U.S. auto company General Motors. He explained the purpose of auto shows. "The reason we really do auto shows, if you think about it, is to allow the customer to come in and look at our products, and touch and feel them in a non-threatening atmosphere. They don't have to feel that they're under any pressure [to buy]. We actually want them to come in, open the doors, open the trunks, kick the tires and ask us questions," he said.

This setting offers auto manufacturers a chance to show off their newest cars, trucks, and sports utility vehicles [SUV's].

Some of the vehicles run on alternative fuel -- battery, ethanol, diesel -- fuels that burn cleaner and more efficiently than gasoline.

Virginia state resident Tom Albert, whose wife is expecting their first child, volunteered to test drive Chevrolet's Equinox, a hydrogen fuel cell electric SUV. He said, "I'll drive it to and from work, to the grocery store, to the home improvement store, and I'm sure to go buy some diapers."

Chevrolet says the Equinox can run over 300 kilometers before refueling. The company says this makes the vehicle ideal for use in short distance situations, such as running errands.

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Business Trip Costs Soar On Flight Delays

By Kimberly Peterson
The Journal Gazette

Marilyn Moran-Townsend remembers when she could schedule a midday meeting in another city and be reasonably confident that a morning flight would get her there in time.

“I would say now, that within the past half-dozen years, that is impossible,” the chief executive of Fort Wayne-based CVC Communications said. CVC helps organize meetings, training, trade shows and provides other services, many of which require Moran-Townsend and her staff to travel frequently.

Because of the increase in flight delays, Moran-Townsend now schedules herself and staff to arrive in a city the day before a meeting or event.

“It costs us in productivity and extra time on the road,” Moran-Townsend said.

Airline delays and cancellations are an annoyance to all travelers, but it can cost businesses big in terms of time and money, according to government data.

During the first 11 months of last year, 1.6 million passenger flights were at least 15 minutes late. The average delay of a late flight has grown from 49 to 56 minutes during that period, according to the data.

With the U.S. economy stumbling, regulators and lawmakers are turning their focus to the economic toll of such delays. In a speech in Washington last month, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters estimated that flight delays cost the U.S. economy $15 billion a year.

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Building Green Is More Efficient

Via
Boston Herald

By Jacqueline Champagne
Real Estate

A nything better always costs more, and there is no free lunch but, from a commercial banker’s perspective, there are compelling economic reasons to like, maybe even LOVE, building green, the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water and materials.

The U.S. Green Building Council touts the economic benefits to building green as reduced capital needs and operating costs, increased property values and an increase in worker productivity.

And while conventional wisdom perceives that building green will cost an additional 13 to 18 percent, per the data assembled by The Green Building Finance Consortium, the reality is significantly discounted.

The total cost increase averages less than 1 percent of project costs for a basic LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a nominal project expense for any sizable construction project.

Reduction in Capital and Operating Costs. With proper execution, building green can actually reduce capital costs. Efficient energy, water and waste systems reduce maintenance and operating costs.

And to make even the flintiest banker smile, building green generally decreases project energy consumption from 10 to 40 percent compared with conventional construction. Cash flow improves, and ergo the project value increases.

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Vietnam's Third Way Poses Party Challenge

Via
Asia Times Online


By Long S Le

As Vietnam’s rapid economic expansion gathers pace, the country’s communist party leaders are having an increasingly difficult time maintaining their so-called "Third Way" model of economic development, where centrally planned strictures and market dynamics uncomfortably co-exist.

The question merging over the transitional economy is whether, more than 20 years after the launch of market-oriented doi moi reforms, a new generation of political leaders has the political will to bury the country’s communist past and fully embrace market economics.

How the party strikes the balance could in the coming years make or break Vietnam’s the reform experiment, claim some academics. Mancur Olson’s Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships makes the theoretical point that in transitional economies there are certain reforms that governments may pursue to better promote economic growth and that certain styles of government are better able to create and enforce those reforms more consistently.

Reforms that respect and secure individual rights, according to Olson, will provide strong incentives for individuals to produce, invest and engage in mutually advantageous trade, of which society will broadly gain more from so-called rights-intensive production, the theory argues. And as one might expect, rights-respecting and strong governments are most able to successfully implement such reforms.

In today’s Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his economic lieutenants must weigh whether such reforms are appropriate at this arguably still early point in the country’s economic development and, if yes, will his more market-minded administration allow the country to fully outgrow communism?

For economic development scholars who study Vietnam, the general answer is yes and an eventual yes. Several economists now argue that in today’s Vietnam, many of the reform pieces are in place, including evidence that the slow but steady government grant of more land rights has led to greater productivity and investment compared with areas that have not implemented the same reforms.

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Boost Productivity by Engaging Your Staff

Via
Canada.com

By Jennifer Newman and Darryl Grigg
Vancouver Sun

The latest word for it is "presenteeism," but in plain English, the term is checking out mentally from work -- even while you're physically present.It represents a real threat to productivity.

To make sure employees aren't simply going through the motions, organizations must foster staff engagement. This means nurturing the kind of environment that promotes bringing both one's head and heart to work.It takes a concerted effort to create this kind of atmosphere, but it is worth it in the form of greater staff retention, productivity and profitability. Drawing from The Gallup Organization's research on job satisfaction and employee engagement, there are four ways employers can boost staff engagement:

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