A Case for Data Scrubbing
Often maintenance systems don’t reap the benefits that they promise through no fault of their own. How can you expect a system to improve underlying data? The answer is that you can’t. What you need is to have good data in the system so that it can be accessed, processed and used to provide practical information for the organization.Let me illustrate the cost of not having good data with an example. A multi-site manufacturer has four locations, three of which are in fairly close proximity to each other. Each site has its own autonomous storeroom with inventory parts. At each site, there is a part time catalog manager responsible for all database activity. Because the plant is unionized and positions often change, the catalog manager may be replaced every few months.The resulting inventory catalogs reflect this: inconsistent manufacturer naming; missing manufacturer part numbers; inconsistent use of symbols/abbreviations; spelling mistakes; incomplete descriptions and; duplicate items. System word searches are next to impossible and finding a part is a frustrating, challenging, usually unsuccessful experience.Maintenance workers at all locations had long lost faith in stores; each kept a stash of parts hidden somewhere for his own use. To plan for a repair job, they would attempt to find parts through the system, but if unable to locate what they needed, they would abandon the search and just order the part directly; in the case of an emergency, they might call another location to request the loan of a part. Inventory value across the company topped $80 million.Recognizing that something had to be done, the company attempted to undertake the data cleaning themselves. They established a team of nineteen internal people comprised of maintenance workers (Electrical, Mechanical, Instrumentation & Pipe Fitters) from all four sites as well as two support people and one Inventory Specialist.After more than a year of effort, and with only half the database cleaned, they decided to engage outside data cleaning expe

Successful Tendering - Preparation is the Key
In the article Getting Involved in the Global Development Market (available in full in Latest News at www.globizdev.com) I commented that while tendering skills are critical, in isolation of other key activities success is a lottery.Preparation must remain as a key and ongoing activity if organisations and individuals are to expect success from their tendering involvement.While there is no doubt that some of this preparation may require investment if site visits and the like are to occur, as they need to, not all preparation is costly.So often, when working with some of the smaller organisations that seek activity in sub-components of larger projects, the tendering effort is stressful, time- challenged and often without system.This can be managed by planning in advance.As discussed in Getting Involved in the Global Development Market, tender responses, even for sub-components, invariably require details of your team, approach and methodology, management, price and past experience. With the often tight timelines for the tender response, it is critical that time is spent on ensuring the best possible solution to the project’s requirements at the best possible price. Hence, time should be mostly devoted to new thinking, not administrative compilation of past information.There is no doubt that a successful track record of implementing or involvement in similar activities will be assessed and contribute to your success or failure for any tender. But this does not mean taking two weeks to find and compile a list of past experiences is time well spent – this can be done now and on an ongoing basis.All tenders are likely to request a range of information that demonstrates your experience in past, similar activities. Information required invariably includes the activity name, location and duration, client, project value, key personnel by name and title, and a synopsis of the activity.Collating this activity is obviously going to be a challenge if it requires seeking o

How to Make Money with Your Own Co-Op Advertising Program
Aside from advertising, the biggest expense involved in mail order business is postage. This means that virtually everyone involved in mail order is on the look-out for ways to save money getting their sales offers out to prospects. The answer is co-op mailings.Here's how a typical co-op mailing service works: A person with something to sell via mail sees an advertisement inviting him or her to send their circulars or brochures to co-op mailing service. The co-op mailing service receives these circulars or brochures and hires housewives or handicapped people to fold and stuff them into envelopes and then mails them. For this service, they charge anywhere from $10 to $100 per thousand--and it's a good deal to the mailer.Now, quite naturally the co-op mailer can do this and make any money unless he's got a number of circulars or brochures from several customers in each envelope he sends out. And that's precisely how he makes his money--by including 10 to 16 such circulars in each envelope. Look at it from a mathematical point of view; Say he charges 12 people $50 per thousand to fold and stuff their circulars in his own outgoing mail. Twelve times 50 dollars comes out to 600 dollars--he uses his own mailing lists, so there's no big expense involved there--but he does have to pay for people to fold and stuff envelopes unless he's got it organized where he and his family do this...The going rate of people to fold and stuff circulars is about $20 per thousand...And to bulk rate 1,000 envelopes is going to cost $110...Add to that about $12 1,000 envelopes and you've got a total overhead of $142...Subtract that amount from $600 he took in, and you have him realizing a profit of $458...Not bad for mailing...The best thing of all about starting and operating a co-op mailing service is that you can include your own circulars or brochures with each envelope you send out. You stuff circulars or brochures from 12 different paying customers, and at the same time, include at least two of your own.So how do you get started in such an easy a

What is ISO 9000
ISO 9000 is a set of international standards that ensure product and service quality. In 1987, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the ISO 9000 standards providing guidelines to implement and operate quality management systems.The ISO revised the standards in 1994, and again reorganized the standards and published an updated version in December 2000. The revised version includes three quality standards, namely, ISO 9000:2000, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 9004:2000. The first one presents requirements, while the last two present guidelines.ISO 9000 standards help businesses create in-house quality systems and monitor their existing quality systems. To develop quality systems, businesses should first identify areas in which quality control is required. Next step is to recognize what changes are to be made. After that, they should implement the standards by updating and managing their new quality processes.ISO 9000 certification provides several benefits that can influence almost all activities of a company. The advantages range from increased stature to bottom-line operational saving. Of the numerous benefits include increased marketability, reduced operational expenses, better management control, improved internal communication, reduction of product-liability risks, and improved customer service.For quality management, ISO 9000 standards require a total of twenty elements (sections.) They include management responsibility, quality management system, order entry, design control, document and data control, purchasing, control of customer supplied products, product identification and tractability, and process control.ISO 9000 standards are generic as they can apply to any business, service or product, regardless of the industry. Businesses that employ these standards include manufacturing, processing, servicing, printing, forestry, electronics, steel, computing, legal services, financial services, accounting, trucking, and banking.ISO 9000 is of great importance owing to its worldwide orientation

Myths About Women and International Business
Researcher, Nancy Adler conducted a monumental study in the mid 1980’s to address myths about women and international business. Her study investigated if commonly held myths about women in international business were true including: women are not interested in International business, women were not willing to travel overseas for a variety of reasons namely family responsibilities and women would not be viewed as credible in overseas business due to the local perception of women. Her study results revealed that many of these false perceptions were indeed myths often held by male managers and HR personnel, and that women were interested and willing to conduct business overseas.Today many of these same myths still exist despite the dramatic increase of women in business and women owned businesses and women traveling overseas.Here are some facts published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (www.dol.gov), The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) (www.nawbo.org), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) (www.sba.gov), on women in the work force:• Women account for over 46% of the work force in America and this is expected to increase to 48% by the year 2005.• Women comprised 43% of employees in American executive, administrative, and managerial occupations in 1995 and this number is growing.• Businesses owned by women number 8 million in the U.S., and they employ one out of every four workers. They are growing at double the rate of all businesses.• 33% of women business owners report that they exported in their first or second year of operation and the majority reported that they were successful on their first transaction.• In 1998 over 23 million Americans traveled overseas and the primary areas of travel were Europe, Asia, Japan and Latin America.It is no longer just a rumor that women have become major players in the U.S. workforce and in the global business environment. More and more women are traveling overseas to conduct business for their corporations or for their own bus

Ultrasonic Cleaners
Industrial devices such as ultrasound cleaners use high frequency sound waves to create bubbles within a bath, which expand and collapse rapidly. In industrial terms, this is generally known as cavitation technique that creates a scrubbing action on the immersed parts for loosening and removal of dirt, scale, and other impurities.These devices are used to clean the surfaces of components coming out of a production line that may contain impurities such as grease, soil, oil, abrasive dust, blast debris, paint, corrosion or other contaminants. Most commonly used ultrasonic cleaning devices include degreasing cleaners, sterilizer washers and ultrasonic parts washers.These devices can be purchased as complete cleaning systems and also part-by-part to either assemble a system from scratch or to replace damaged components of existing machines. A complete ultrasonic machine system consists of different components such as a retrieval system, nozzle, cabinet, pressure generator pump, transducer, agitator, and cleaning tank. The ultrasonic cleaning process can be achieved using different mediums such as "hot water cleaning" in which the cleaner manipulates a heated water supply or steam to enhance cleaning and surface preparation operations. Another medium known as "aqueous" cleaning uses water based cleaning solution and is similar to hot water cleaning. In some mediums the solvent is evaporated and then condensed on the parts surface to enable cleaning operations.Apart from basic cleaning operations, ultrasonic cleaners are also used for degreasing, surface preparation, and sterilization. They can easily remove oils, grease, and other similar substances from the surface of metal parts or components and prepare the surface for additional processing. The disinfectant qualities of ultrasonic cleaners have made them useful in pharmaceutical, medical, and food processing industries.Advanced digital ultrasonic cleaners available in the market have microprocessor controlled thermostat and digital readout that offer maximum control of the cy