Assignment 6

1. Explain why continual quality improvement is important?

The reason why continual quality improvement is important is that it is fundamental to success in the global marketplace. The concept applies to processes and the people who operate them as well as to the products resulting from the processes. And all three- processes, people, and products – must be continually improved. That is why it is so important. A company that is just maintaining the status to quo in such key areas as  new product development, adoption of  new technologies, and process performance is like a runner who is standing still in a race. Athletes who don’t improve continually are not likely to remain long in the winner’s circle. The same is true of companies that must compete globally. Customer needs are no t static; they change continually. A special product feature that is considered innovative today will be considered just routine tomorrow. The only way a company can hope to compete in the modern marketplace is to improve continually.

2. What is management’s role in continual quality improvement ?

Managers are leaders, and must lead in “total quality”. The managers would have to establish a Quality Control department, and to work with the department closely. Corporate Quality policies with continuous improvement goals must be established and followed. Managers must be supportive of the department with resources, such as measurement instruments, educational materials, office supplies, capital, and affirmation. Managers must schedule audits, inspections, and giving compliments to encourage good practice.

3. Discuss the Kaizen approach.

Kaizen approach in the name given by the Japanese to the concept of continual incremental improvement which means making changes for the better on a continual, never-ending basis. The improvement aspect of Kaizen refers to people, processes and products.

The underlying value system of Kaizen can be summarized as continual improvement of all things, at all levels, all the time, forever. All of the strategies for achieving this fall under the Kaizen umbrella. Executive managers, middle managers, supervisors, and line employees all play key roles in implementing Kaizen.

If management praises someone for a quality change resulting in improvement in product or service, it will most likely encourage others to be open to change. Some of the areas that management must consider for Kaizen are customer focus, teamwork, quality circles, employee/management relationships, and automation.

4. How would you describe a lean system?

A lean system focuses on doing more with less. It emphasizes adding more effort in conduct activities that add value to a finish product or service, while reducing activities that does not add value to the finish product or service over a long term. It is about being flexible enough to get the rights things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right amounts. At the heart of the concept are the reduction of waste and the improvement of work flow.

5. What is lean six-sigma and how would you apply it to a quality management system?

Six Sigma is a broader concept of Total Quality with a goal to achieve a defect rate of 3.4 per million or less. By attaining this goal will make a company in the service and manufacturing industries more competitive. The Six Sigma here is the full-bodied, potent improvement system and the lean part is the complete and proven Quality Management system found in the Toyota Production System and Just-In-Time. The two complement each other with their strengths, namely Lean’s elimination of waste and Six Sigma’s breakthrough methodology for solving performance problems and making improvements. Through the process of identifying the needs of customers, classifying the needs of customers by rank, and determine the process variation for each customer need, and addressing all critical areas that need improvement, the companies will benefit in the areas of cost reduction, productivity improvement, and cycle time reduction.

6. Define benchmarking. Define Auditing. How does benchmarking and auditing relate to each other?

Benchmarking is the process of comparing companies’ processes against the best of its class in a given industry. It is also the process to determine the secrets of success of any function, in order to close the gap with a company that is the best of its class. Whereas, Auditing is the on-site verification activity, such as inspection or examination, of a process or quality system, to ensure compliance to requirements. An audit can apply to an entire organization or might be specific to a function, process, or production step.

From the definitions, auditing and benchmarking go side by side. While benchmarking ensures that a product or service provided is comparable to the best in class, auditing ensures that this quality of product is maintained across the production line.

7. How can you apply benchmarking data in auditing processes, systems, designs, products, factories and services?

The benchmarking data we collected must be analysed thoroughly in comparison with the data taken from its own process. After the team concludes that there is no doubt that the partner’s process is superior, they should try to answer the following questions:

• Can its process replace ours?
• What will it cost?
• Can we afford it?
• What impact will it have on adjacent processes?
• Can we support it?

 The quantitative information is effectively the “stake driven into the ground” as the point from which future progress is measured. Qualitative information covers such matters as personnel, policies, training, management styles and hierarchy, total quality maturity and so on.

The quantitative data are clearly the information sought and are always used. However, there may be more value in the qualitative information. It describes the atmosphere and environment in which best-in-class can be developed and sustained. Do not ignore it. Take it very seriously. Study it, discuss it in staff meetings, and explore the possibilities of introducing these changes into your culture.

8. What is a JIT system?

Just-In-Time (JIT) system is the system making products only when needed from materials that were made available by suppliers only as  required. It is developed from Toyota Production System. JIT manufacturers let their suppliers keep their materials inventory until the manufacturers need it. JIT permits the production of only what is needed, only when it is needed, and only in the quantity needed.

9. What are the benefits of JIT/lean?

There are numerous benefits of the JIT/Lean system enjoyed by companies. The benefits are based on four main areas, which are :

Inventory and Work-In-Process: JIT/Lean attempts to drive inventory to zero. But in real world, zero inventory makes no sense. The real objective is to minimize the inventory to the maximum possible extent without shutting down production. The company-minimizing inventory will reduce cost of production, and continual improvement will become a reality, which results in more savings.

Cycle Time: Production cycle time is defined as the period bounded by the time materials are sent to the manufacturing floor for the making of a product and the time the finished goods are dispatched from the manufacturing floor to a customer or to finished goods storage. When the cycle time is lowered, production cost is lowered.

Continual Improvement: Continual improvement seeks to eliminate waste in all forms, improve quality of products and services, and improve customer responsiveness.

Elimination of Waste: Reducing non-value work towards the end product will result in lower manufacturing cost.

10. Discuss automation system ideas for JIT/lean.

JIT/lean and automation are mutually exclusive. Rather, it is more meaningful to discuss the processes that use humans and manual machines than the same processes powered by robots. If the fundamentals where humans apply are understood, the same fundamentals will be useful in an automated plant. All the same rules apply. We are not anti-automation.
Automation may be advantageous in many applications, but if you have not solved the problems in the human operated versions of those same applications, you are not ready to automate them effectively. If you try, you will automate your problems and will find the robots far less adept at working around them than the humans they replaced.

 

Social Networking Articles

Morphing membrane improves battery charge times, stops leakage

The researchers at Ohio State University are working on a “smart” membrane, which would result in faster charging batteries capable of holding their charge when not in use. Existing batteries use separators for membranes which conduct the charge while keeping anode and cathode apart. These membranes leak charge, which reduces the battery’s effectiveness over time.

The OSU researchers mimicked the function of human cell membranes which open and close tiny pores in response to electrical stimuli. The result was an electrically conductive polymer that shrinks to open the holes while the battery is in use or charging, and expands to close them when turned off. This could be of most important use in case of electric and hybrid vehicles where in the introduction of redox transistor helps to improve the charge of the vehicle with ten miles per minute of charge. The other plus point of this is that it can be either charged or it can be refilled. This research will lead to development of efficient vehicles in the automobile industry, and also it would help in solving the discharging of the batteries. The cost of these batteries wouldn’t be an issue as it can be recharged more times compared to the existing batteries.

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SpaceX Dragon Heads Back To Earth With Station Science, Gear

SpaceX, a private space transportation company developed a free flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations. This spacecraft, named Dragon headed back to earth in late August, carrying science experiments and gear from the international space station. Astronauts aboard the space station used a big robotic arm to release the capsule 250 miles above Timor Sea north of Australia. Dragon delivered a new docking port last month that will be used in another year or two by SpaceX and Boeing, which are developing crew capsules for NASA.
SpaceX is the only firm capable of returning items for analysis back to earth. Other spaceships in the industry burn up upon re-entry into the atmosphere.

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Tug Boats Help Refloat Oil Rig That Ran Aground On Scottish Coast

A Transocean Winner oil rig that ran aground on a remote Scottish shore has now been towed off the rocky coast by two tug boats. The small boats towed the 19,000-ton rig “safely off the rocks”. The salvage team took advantage of high water levels, which in part helped in refloating the stranded rigs. Most of the fuel aboard the rig evaporated while it was stranded, while the rest was transferred to a supply vessel. Two of the four tanks were intact, while the other two were breached. The timely action by the crew on-board prevented huge quantity of oil from spilling into the sea.

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Assignment 5

1.  What is QFD (Quality Function Deployment)?

Quality function deployment is an effective system for collecting customer input and factoring that input into the design process. Building affinity diagrams is an effective method for organizing customer feedback data so that it can be used to make ongoing design improvements. QFD allows for the systematic incorporation of customer needs, production capabilities and capacity, and all other relevant parameters into product development. QFD consists of the following basic activities:

• Deployment of customer requirements (quality needs)
• Deployment of measurable quality characteristics
• Determination of the correlation between quality needs and characteristics
• Assignment of numerical values to each quality characteristic
• Integration of quality characteristics into the product
• Detailed design, production, and quality control of the product

2.  Explain the WHATs in a QFD matrix.

1. Gathering Customer Needs Input: The premise of QFD is that before any product or service is designed, the producer should have a good understanding of his potential customers’ needs in order to improve the likelihood that the product or service will be a market success. That the producer should be aware of customer needs seems logical, but it sounds far easier than it is. Before the textbook rework is started, the QFD team must work diligently to determine what potential customers would like to see in terms of attributes and features of the product—and perhaps—what they don’t like about our current product.
2. Refining the Customer Needs Inputs: Once the cross-functional QFD team has assembled sufficient information on what characteristics, attributes and features customers say they need, the information must be distilled into something useful. The data must be sorted into a prioritized set of the most important customer needs. At this point we will call on some QFD Tools, the first of which is the Affinity Diagram. Refining a large collection of data into something that represents the essence of the VOC is done through the analysis techniques of the affinity diagram, and QFD team discussion.

 

Tree Diagram: WHATs for the HOQ.

 

3.  Explain the HOWs in a QFD matrix.

The Technical Requirements room of the HOQ states how the company intends to respond to each of the Customer Needs. It is sometimes referred to as the voice of the company. We must state at the outset that the technical requirements are not the design specifications of the product or service. Rather, they are characteristics and features of a product that is perceived as meeting the customer needs. They are measurable in terms of satisfactory achievement. Some may be measured by weight, strength, speed, and so on. Others by a simple yes or no, for example a desired feature, appearance, test, or material is or is not incorporated. The other side of the coin is that the technical requirements must not be limiting, but must be flexible enough to allow the company to consider every creative possibility in its attempts to satisfy the need.

Technical Requirements (HOWs) applied to the HOQ.

 

4.  Explain the 1, or 3, or 9 interrelationship values in a QFD matrix.

Now that we have the QFD team’s technical requirements (HOWs) in the HOQ, the next step is to examine how they relate to the WHATs of the Customer Needs. The results will be shown in the Interrelationships matrix, which links the HOWs and the WHATs. At each intersection cell of the interrelationship matrix the team must assess the degree of relationship between the WHAT and the corresponding HOW. This is usually done using scales of significance of 1 to 5 or 1 to 9, with the higher number indicating a stronger relationship. Sometimes these numbers are entered, but often symbols are used.

There are several principles applied in the matrices:

• In QFD, only about 15% of the interrelationship cells will show a relationship between WHATs and HOWs.
• Every row and every column must have at least one entry.
• An empty column means that the HOW is not delivering value to the customer needs.
• An empty row indicates that the WHAT is not being addressed.

Interrelationships between WHATs and HOWs.

 

5.  Explain how you calculate the technical priorities in the design target matrix.

The QFD team simply multiplies each of the interrelationship ratings of the technical requirement (0, 1, 3, or 9) from the Interrelationship matrix, times the corresponding customer need’s Overall Weighting value in the Planning matrix; and then sums the columns. All of the data for these calculations are already in the HOQ.

6.  Define statistical process control.

Statistical process control (SPC) is a statistical method of separating variation resulting from special causes from variation resulting from natural causes in order to eliminate the special causes and to establish and maintain consistency in the process, enabling process improvement.

7.  Explain control charts for variables, with a simple mathematical example.

Just as there must be many different processes, so must there be many types of control charts. It is important, as the first step in developing your control chart, to select the chart type that is appropriate for your data. The specific steps in developing control charts are different for variables data than for attributes data. Consider an example using x -charts and R -charts. These charts are individual, directly related graphs plotting the mean (average) of samples (x) over time and the variation in each sample (R) over time. The basic steps for developing a control chart for data with measured values are these:

1. Determine sampling procedure. Sample size may depend on the kind of product, production rate, measurement expense, and likely ability to reveal changes in the process. Sample measurements are taken in subgroups of a specific size (n), typically from 3 to 10. Sampling frequency should be often enough that changes in the process are not missed but not so often as to mask slow drifts. If the object is to set up control charts for a new process, the number of subgroups for the initial calculations should be 25 or more. For existing processes that appear stable, that number can be reduced to 10 or so, and sample size (n) can be smaller, say, 3 to 5.
2. Collect initial data of 100 or so individual data points in k subgroups of n measurements.

• The process must not be tinkered with during this time—let it run.
• Don’t use old data—they may be irrelevant to the current process.
• Take notes on anything that may have significance.
• Log data on a data sheet designed for control chart use.

3. Calculate the mean (average) values of the data in each subgroup x.
4. Calculate the data range for each subgroup (R).
5. Calculate the average of the subgroup averages x. This is the process average and will be the centerline for the x -chart.
6. Calculate the average of the subgroup ranges R. This will be the centerline for the R -chart.
7. Calculate the process upper and lower control limits, UCL and LCL respectively. UCL and LCL represent the ±3σ limits of the process averages and are drawn as dashed lines on the control charts.
8. Draw the control chart to fit the calculated values.
9. Plot the data on the chart.

8.  Explain control charts for attributes, with a simple mathematical example.

p-Chart. Attributes data are concerned not with measurement but with something that can be counted. For example, the number of defects is attributes data. Whereas the x – and R -charts are used for certain kinds of variables data, where measurement is involved, the p -chart is used for certain attributes data. Actually, the p -chart is used when the data are the fraction defective of some set of process output. It may also be shown as percentage defective. The points plotted on a p -chart are the fraction (or percentage) of defective pieces found in the sample of n pieces.

Control charts with attributes has been explained with an example  below:

9.  Discuss and explain various continual quality improvement methods and tools.

Control charts of all types are fundamental tools for continual improvement. They provide alerts when special causes are at work in the process, and they prompt investigation and correction. When the initial special causes have been removed and the data stay between the control limits (within ±3σ), work can begin on process improvement. As process improvements are implemented, the control charts will either ratify the improvement or reveal that the anticipated results were not achieved. Whether the anticipated results were achieved is virtually impossible to know unless the process is under control. This is because there are special causes affecting the process; hence, one never knows whether the change made to the process was responsible for any subsequent shift in the data or if it was caused by something else entirely. However, once the process is in statistical control, any change you put into it can be linked directly to any shift in the subsequent data. You find out quickly what works and what doesn’t. Keep the favorable changes, and discard the others.

10.  Explain the way control charts could be used for quality improvements.

Control charts are heart of process control and can be used in many applications. Everything done in the workplace is a process and these processes are affected by a variety of factors. Control charts aid in control of variation, continual improvement, predictability of processes, elimination of waste, and product inspection. All of these elements tie into quality and how to improve it. The charts visually inform its users if a process/product is in control and out of control within a range of accepted values. Once it is determined to be out of control, the process/product is back on the drawing board for improvements.

Common Control Charts and their applications.

 

Social Networking Articles

The Evolving Online Community

The reference article buttresses the fact that the internet plays the role of community enabler. It facilitates an easy and smooth interaction between the public and business ventures. According to a study conducted by Mckinsey, 98.7% costumers end up coming back. Innovative companies have endeavoured to leverage interest and action by local and special interest communities by relating to their core beliefs by using promotions, electronic and print advertising and several other means. Using internet, the corporations have taken advantage on promoting their services and products as 10% of online community actively contributes to the content in form of ratings and blogs and others either comment or observe.

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VW’s Employee Chief Floats Idea Of Taking Stakes In Suppliers

Employee council chief Bernd Osterloh, who sits on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, suggested that the company may need “an extra warning system” to reduce risks. This suggestion comes into light after two of the part suppliers stopped delivering parts briefly. This in turn affected roughly 28,000 workers at six separate plants. This move suggests that the company may need a system in place which would give them an extra warning to reduce the risks.

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Tiny particles make a big difference in controlling internal bleeding

Scientists at the University of Maryland have are working on injectable nanoparticles capable of speeding up the blood clotting at internal bleeding sites. These nano-particles have a property of bonding with active platelets. Due to this, when injected in a patient, these particles travel to the bleeding site and bond with the blood platelets already at work of sealing off the wound. Tests run on rodents showed a 50% reduction in clotting time. Tests were run on pigs too because their blood is much similar to humans. On doing that, they triggered an immune system response. This was resolved by using neutrally charged nanoparticles dissolved in slippery polymer to prevent the particles from aggregating together. Given these advancements, this technology is expected to arrive for public use within the next 5-10 years. This can greatly reduce the casualties in battles or in an event of a highway accident.

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Midterm Exam

The quality issues that I have covered include manufactured product issues, software glitches and problems faced in everyday life due to inefficient design if the product.

Case 1

Problem: The above picture shows an annual blood donation drive at my undergrad college in India. The volunteers had been allotted their respective tasks beforehand. Eight major blood banks had agreed to participate and we expected the donors to cross 1k mark. During the event itself, some junior volunteers tasked with sitting a the front desk and dispatching the incoming donors to beds, left their station and went off to take their pictures and share them online. This led to a massive confusion and people begun leaving when they didn’t know which bed to go to.

Solution: Some volunteers noticed the disturbance at the front desk and promptly took care of the situation by multi-tasking and sharing the extra responsibility. This shows that the person who has been assigned a duty must fulfill it honorably and must strive to handle extra workload for the greater good of an organization. That day we made a South Asia record of collecting the maximum number of  blood units in one day. We had collected 1,171 units of blood in merely 7 hours.

Case 2

Problem: The picture above shows the air vent in my room. It has two problems. First, it’s situated directly above my bed. So when I sleep in the night, the air flow hits directly on my face, leaving me cold. Now, I’ve thought of changing the position of the bed. But the room is small so, it’s not feasible to arrange the room in any other manner Second, the shutters on the vent are metallic. So when I try closing it, the metallic shutters make a screechy sharp noise. Making it impossible to achieve a peaceful environment.

Prevention: To address the first problem, the designer should’ve provided the vent on a side wall or above the door. That way, the air flow wouldn’t hit you from above. For the second problem, instead of providing metallic shutters, they could be of plastic coated with rubber which wouldn’t make sharp acoustic noise. Alternatively, they could have a rotation mechanism similar to those used in airplanes, which is much more effective.

Case 3

Problem: The above pictures are of my dresser. You can see there’s a sharp nail end protruding. It might seem quite innocuous, but it’s quite the opposite when the dresser is placed right next to the study table. In this case, I’ve scratched my feet in a bad way when I was studying and subconsciously moved my feet and they rub against the sharp nail. This can prove to be quite dangerous if this dresser is placed in a household with a young child.

Solution: The manufacturer should apply a padding or insert the nail from outside towards inside, so that it’s not as harmful.

Case 4

Problem: This picture shows my study table. As you can see, there’s a small rack attached near the bottom. The problem is that this rack is not removable. As a result of this, I’m not able to stretch out my legs under the table and am forced to keep my legs folded under the chair whenever I sit down to do some work.

Solution: the designer probably thought that the rack will provide great utility, and for most parts its correct. But it should’ve been removable, so that if someone wants to stretch and sit comfortably, the rack could’ve been removed and the person would sit comfortably.

Case 5

Problem: These are the pictures of two different cell-phone chargers. In the first case, the (white) wire is extending horizontally. When this charger is plugged into a wall, over time the wire at the joint might be damaged or cut because of its constant downward pull, rendering the charger useless.

Solution: The second picture (black charger) shows the charger from same company but designed for newer phones. This charger is much reliable since it extends vertically down and has a thicker wire. Making it much more durable than the older ones.

Case 6

  

Problem: This picture is of ethernet port of my laptop – lenovo G50. As shown, the port is protected by a cover. Once the cable is inserted, the cover jams it and prevents it from coming out. Making it impossible to take out the cable with bare hands. I use a pen to pry open the cover, this gives a little space to pull free the cable from the laptop.

Solution: I agree that this feature provides protection and prevents any foreign substance from entering. But it’s not designed to be user friendly. The manufacturer could use a sliding cover instead of this retractable one.

Case 7

   

Problem: This is the screenshot of an article I tried reading on a news daily’s website. The problem with opening the article on a touch-screen phone is that, the interface has numerous advertisement and suggestions for related articles smack in the middle of the article I was reading. Due to this, while scrolling down, my finger inadvertently touches the region where the advertisement is and it opens a new pop up window, thus ruining the whole reading environment.

Solution: I don’t hold anything against the websites hosting advertisements on their pages. But they should do so in a manner that doesn’t hinder the visitor’s website experience. The same advertisement could’ve been placed in a sidebar or at the bottom of the page, thereby making the interface user friendly.

Case 8

Problem: Anyone who’s undertaken a train journey in India has seen that a train compartment is divided into cabins. Each cabin consists of six bunks. Four on one side and two on the other side of the aisle. The railways has provided charging plugs only on the side with four bunks. This poses a problem to people travelling on the other side, especially in long journeys taking more than a day. I myself have faced this problem many a times while travelling longer distances.

Solution: The railways should fix the problem by providing charging outlets on both the sides of the aisle. This will provide all the travelers with ease of charging their electronic devices and they wouldn’t have to cross the aisle time and again.

Case 9

Problem: The picture above shows the entrance and exit door of an Indian railways car. As seen, there’s a vertical ladder-stair at the door which the passengers have to use while climbing or getting down at a station. This ladder is a hazard to someone who is in a hurry or to elderly people who have to gather strength to go in or out. Moreover, the ladder is metal which makes it slippery.

Solution: The railways authority should increase the height of the platforms so that the people can easily step in and out without much effort. Bringing the height of platforms to that of the rail car will improve the passenger’s safety and convenience.

Case 10

Problem: For the past month I have been using Hulu. It’s an online streaming service which plays your favorite movies and TV shows right where you are. The problems that I have faced I that the website runs a javascript of its own which interferes with that of your browser. This makes the interface and browser non-responsive for some time and take a minute to run again. This can ruin anyone’s movie experience as it’s quite tedious and irritating.

Solution: To prevent this problem, I’ve used the dedicated applications of these service providers (Netflix, hulu). This way the service’s video decoder doesn’t run counter to that of the browser and the video plays without any hiccups. Alternatively, the service providers should collaborate with the browser designers and figure out a way so that their website is compatible with the browsers.

Case 11

Problem: My primary google ID is based in India. This gives me access to applications and google services specifically launched in Indian subcontinent. Upon arriving in United States, I needed to use applications of American banks and travel companies. But since my google ID was based in India, I wasn’t allowed to download these various applications in my smart-phone. After 3 days of exchanging emails and calls was my account finally allowed to use USA specific applications.

Solution: We all know that Google maintains a personalized location data on each user. It should use this data to determine the location of the user and allow them to use the applications specific to that country. Once the user leaves that region, google can once again block those applications to the user. This can allow the traveler to have a full thronged google experience – he can download apps of local banks, restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, etc.

Case 12

Problem: In almost every home in India, people use bolts and latches for door and windows. The above picture is from a window frame in my home back in India. The problem faced here is that certain type of wood used to make doors, windows and their frames is susceptible to expanding at varying degrees in humidity. Since a lot of regions in India experience extended monsoon, the expansion of wood often disturbs the alignment between bolts and their latches. This makes closing and opening of doors and windows difficult and sometimes outright impossible if the alignment is too far removed.

Solution: The manufacturer of furniture should use wood that has been processed and cleared for usage in humid environments. And the wood should be coated with an anti-humid material which prevents the wood from absorbing water vapors and expanding.

Social Networking Articles

Eco-friendly West Wing wins 2016 Shed of the year

This article informs about an eco friendly shed made just out of recycled and re-used materials. This stands in contrast with other man-made structures which are usually made from loads of manufactured bricks, plastic and cement, all of which have a considerable carbon footprint.

Its green roof is covered in wild turf and features a total of 400 used milk cartons, cut and layered for drainage. The interior includes a loft space, accessed by ladder, with a bed and an area to relax. One interesting feature is a bookcase that serves as a hidden door and reveals a secret room for his kids to play and sleep.

Made out of years of love, passion and hard work, this shed disabuses us of the fallacy that only steel and glass can make a beautiful structure.

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A Tablet for the Blind

The video tells us that the existing Braille digital technology has shortcomings such as the reader is allowed to read one line at a time and the technology is also very expensive. It costs around $4000 for the old one whereas this new technology tablet developed by the people at University of Michigan have developed this tablet which is cheaper than the existing technologies. This revolutionary tablet would eliminate all the complexities of Integrated wiring and circuit boards for high-definition display and GPU rendering, instead it would require some sort of physical/mechanical  controllers to control the movement of air bubbles or fluid. This fluid or air bubbles would need to be transferred to new positions on the tablet smoothly so the braille text is seamless and responsive.

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The First Glimpse Of A Sunken WWII Aircraft Carrier

Quite recently, scientists were able to use remotely operated vehicles to explore the USS Independence for the first time in 65 years. The ship is a world war-II era aircraft carrier which was deliberately sunk since it was one of the two aircraft carriers used in the nuclear bomb tests at Bikini toll island. A hellcat fighter plane was found well preserved on the deck along with the anti-aircraft gun. The researchers will conduct the study on how radioactivity affects corrosion and more importantly the effect it has had on maritime life surrounding the ship.

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Assignment 4

1. Discuss the eight principles of the ISO 9000 standard.

Eight principles of ISQ 9000 are the foundation of the Total Quality Management system, a family of standards and guidelines. These eight principles are as follows:

1. Customer Focus: Understand the customer’s needs, meet the customer requirements and strive to exceed the expectations.
2. Leadership: Establish unity of purpose and organizational direction and provide an environment that promotes employee involvement.
3. Involvement of People: Take advantage of fully involved employees, using their abilities for the benefit of the organization.
4. Process Approach: Recognize that things accomplished are the results of processes and that processes along with related activities and resources mush be managed.
5. System Approach to Management: The multiple interrelated processes that contribute to the organization’s effectiveness are a system and should be managed as a system
6. Continual Improvement: Continual improvement should be a permanent objective applied to the organization and to its people, processes, systems and products.
7. Factual Approach to Decision Making: Decisions must be based on the analysis of accurate, relevant, and reliable data and information.
8. Mutually beneficial Supplier Relationships: Both the organization and supplier benefiting from one another’s resources and knowledge results in value for all.

2. Discuss Pareto Charts.

Pareto Chart is a very useful tool whenever one needs to separate the important from the trivial. The use of the chart is based on Pareto Principle, which is also known as 80-20 principle. Eighty percent of the cost associated with the defects will be assignable to only about 20% of the total number of defect types occurring.

Pareto Principle  applies to all of us who have limited resources. This means that our resources need to be applied where they will do the most good. The purpose of the Pareto Chart is to show where to apply the resources by distinguishing the significant few from the trivial many.

4.1 Pareto Chart

In the figure on the left, there are five main customer contribute the most of the sales for the company. Seventy-five percent of this company’s sales are the result of A and B. If one adds customer C, 90% of its sales are accounted for. All others contributes less than 10%.  Obviously, A B and perhaps C are the company’s core market and all the other customers represent a marginal business.

3. Discuss fishbone diagrams.

Fishbone diagram gets its name because that is what it looks like. This diagram is also called cause-and-effect diagram to identify and isolate causes of a problem. According to the book Guide to Quality Control, the cause-and-effect diagrams have benefits as follows:

• Creating the diagram itself is an enlightening, instructive process.
• Such diagrams focus a group, thereby reducing irrelevant discussion.
• Such diagrams separate causes from symptoms and force the issue of data collection.
• Such diagrams can be used with any problem

The very basic fishbone diagrams is shown in the figure 4.2. And when we discuss about the defects causes, we might find out dozens of the causes like machine, solder, pre-heat, skill, humidity, parts and so on. We roughly divide these causes into several parts, like shown in figure 4.3. These are: Machine, Operator, Material, Environment, Methods, Measurements. Then plot all the detailed causes on the figure which is like figure 4.4.

4.2 Basic Fishbone Diagram

4.3 Fishbone Diagram with causes and effects

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.4 Causes and effects with complete relationships

The completed diagram reveals factors or relationships that had previously not been obvious. The diagram may suggest possibilities for action. It is conceivable in the example  that the team, because it is familiar with the plant’s operation. This diagram serves as an excellent reminder that the items noted on it are the things the company needs to pay attention to if the process continual improve.

4. Discuss histograms.

Histograms are used to chart frequency of occurrence. So histograms are also called frequency distribution diagrams. Both Attributes and variables data can be used in histograms.

An Attribute is something that the output product of the process either has or does not have.

Variables data are something that results from measurement.

A few basic facts in statistics are the foundation of the histograms which means all processes are subject to variability and variation. As shown in Figure 4.5, most of the frequency distribution diagrams is normal distributed while the mean value would be a vertical line to the peak of the bell curve. After calculating the mean of the data, we can also calculate the standard deviation. We can see in the Figure 4.6, the diagram is perfectly normal distributed with +/- 3 sigma. Even it seems the result is good enough, but in a competitive world, this is poor performance indeed.

4.5 Sample Frequency Distribution

4.6 Computation of Standard Deviation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are also some other shapes of histogram but they are used in the special situation that most of us will not meet them very often.

4.7 Histograms of Different shapes

5. Discuss control chart for variables.

Control charts are the appropriate tool to monitor processes. The properly used control chart will immediately alert the operator to any change in the process. Having eliminated a problem’s root cause, that problem should never recur. Control charts also enable continual improvement of processes.

4.8 Basic Control Chart

Figure 4.8 shows a typical control chart. Data plotted over time. The data stay between the upper control limit and lower control limit while varying about the centerline or average only so long as the variation is the result of common causes. When there is a special cause impacts the process, either a plot point will penetrate UCL or LCL or there will be a run of  several points in a row above or below the average line. As long as the plots stay between the limits and don’t congregate on one side, the process is in statistical control. If either of these condition is not met, then we can say that the process is not in statistical control or out of control.

6. Discuss flowcharts and give a simple example

A Flowchart is a graphic representation of a process. A necessary step in improving a process is to flowchart it so that all parties involved can begin with the same understanding of the process. If the flowcharts given by different parties from the organization are not the same,  one significant problem is revealed that there is not a common understanding of the way the process works. Another common used strategy is ask team members to chart how the process actually works and then chart how they think it should work. A set of standard flowcharting symbols for communicating various actions, inputs, outflows and so on is used internationally. These symbols are shown in Figure 4.9.

4.9 Flowchart Symbology

4.10 Flowchart for finding the Square Root

Figure 4.10 is a flowchart used to find the square root for x=16 from MIT. This is a very basic program. As we can see, when ans=0, goes to decision module, where ans^2=0 < 16, so ans increases to 1 and go to the flow again. The program will do it over and over again, until ans=5, where ans^2 = 25 is greater than 16.  so the program will stop at ans=5 as the result.

7. Explain what is an FMEA

FMEA is the short for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis which tries to identify all possible potential failures of a product or process, prioritize them according to their risk and set in motion action to eliminate or reduce the probability of their occurrence. FMEA just tries to identify all the possible types of failures that could happen to a product or a process before they happen. Once the possible “failure modes” have been identified, the “effect analysis” kicks in and studies the potential consequences of those failures. There are several kinds of FMEA as below:

1. Design FMEA is employed during the design phase of a product or service, starting at the very beginning of the project.
2. Process FMEA is looking at the potential failures of a process.
3. After-fact FMEA is leading to a retrofit or recall of the product if the problem is severe or simply to a design change for future production if the problem is not critical.

To fully understand what is a FMEA, we must understand its own unique of terms.

• Failure Mode: The way in which something might fail.
• Failure Effect: The failure’s consequence in terms of operation, function, or status of the item.
• Effect Analysis: Studying the consequences of the various failure modes to determine their severity to the customer.
• Failure Mode Analysis: An analytical technique used to evaluate failure modes with the intent to eliminate the failure mode in the future operations.

There are also some Risk Assessment Factors in the FMEA which are

• Severity (S): A number from 1 to 10, depending on the severity of the potential failure mode’s effect where 1 is no effect.
• Probability of Occurrence (O): A number from 1 to 10, depending on the likelihood of the failure mode’s occurrence where 1 is very unlikely to occur.
• Probability of detection(D): A number from 1 to 10, depending on how unlikely it is that the fault will be detected by the system responsible where 1 is nearly certain detection.
• Risk Priority Number (RPN): The failure mode’s risk is found by the formula RPN = S*O*D. It will be a number between 1 (virtually no risk) and 1,000 (extreme risk).

8. Provide an overview of the Toyota practical problem solving process.

Toyota practical problem solving process is helpful when reacting to an existent problem that has just come up or working to prevent future problems. There are seven steps in the process but in step 2, it includes several subprocesses which are shown in Figure 4.11.

4.11 Toyota’s Practical problem solving process

Perceive the intial problem. At this point, symptoms may be clear, but the problem may not be well defined.

1. Clarify the problem. It is critical for problem solvers to fully grasp the situation before proceeding.
   • Observe the situation with an open mind.
   • Compare the actual to the standard.
   • Determine if variance exists.
   • Determine if multiple variance exist.
   • If multiple variance exist, prioritize by               severity.
   • Set an improvement objective.
2. Determine the actual point of cause, using these questions.
   • Where do we observe the problem geographically?
   • Where is the cause geographically?
3. Determine the root cause. use the Five-Why analysis.
   • Ask why the observed variance exist?
   • Ask why the answer to that question is as stated.
   • Repeat the why question at each succeeding level until the root cause is determined.
   • Use other total quality tools as appropriate.
4. Develop and implement a countermeasure
5. Evaluate the countermeasure’s effectiveness in solving the problem.
   • Evaluate by analysis before implement.
   • Achieve consensus that is  effective.
6. Change the standard.

9. Explain a total quality decision-making process

Decision Making Process is a logically sequenced series of activities through which decisions are made. where decision-making means: Decision making is the process of selecting one course of action from among two or more alternatives.

4.12 Decision-Making Model

In general, about four steps in decision-making processes, detailed steps are presented in Figure 4.12

• Identify or Anticipate the situation: Anticipating the situation is like driving defensively; never assume anything. Look, listen, ask and sense. The better managers know their employees, technological systems, products and processes, the better able they will be to anticipate troublesome situations.
• Gather the Facts: Even the most perceptive manager will be unable to anticipate all situations or to understand intuitively what is behind them. Using methods and tools for control, manager should separate causes from symptoms and determine the root cause of the poor attitude. The inclusion of this step makes possible management by facts-a cornerstone of the total quality philosophy.
• Consider Alternatives: It involves two steps: list all of the various alternative available and evaluate each alternative in light of the facts. The main criterion against which alternatives are evaluated is the desired outcome. Will the alternative being considered produce the desired result? If so, at what cost?
• Choose the Best Alternative: Implement, Monitor and Adjust.  After all alternatives have been considered, one must be selected and implemented and after an alternative has been implemented, managers must monitor progress and adjust appropriately. Selecting the best alternative is never a completely objective process. It requires study, logic, reason, experience and even situation.

10. Explain why quality tools are important.

Quality Tools are important because quality is the foundation of survival in the business world. If we can choose the right quality tool(s), we will get our desired results or expectations while using less money and time.  From the establish of concept to the final mass production, a quality remained unsolved might cause ten times more money at each higher stage. With the right quality tools, we can solve the problems as early as possible.

Furthermore, there are a lot of quality tools for now and the selection of the right ones are sometimes confusing, especially at first. So Figure 4.13 shows a functionality matrix for the tools. The selection will be determined by which tool best satisfies the requirements. The knowledge of the task will often make the selection clear, although there may also be some trial and error involved initially. Once you start using them, you will find the selection to be virtually automatic.

4.13 Functionality Matrix for Quality tools

Social Networking Articles

Delphi, Mobileye Join Forces On Autonomous Car Platform

In the month of September, amidst a flurry of announcements about partnerships between automobile industries and tech giants, Delphi Automotive – an electronics company and Mobileye – the Israeli software maker, joined hands to develop a fully autonomous driving platform in around two years.

Mobileye will provide with the latest chips which shall process data from different sensors and cameras, along with a software patch for real-time mapping of the vehicle’s surroundings. Delphi on the other hand, will provide the automated driving software algorithms and control systems for cameras, radar and laser sensors.

The partnership is the latest as old-line auto companies combine their strengths with technology companies as they try to stay competitive on autonomous cars. This spirit of competition and innovation is what motivates the industry players to come out with new technologies and services as the time goes by, which in turn pacifies the unabated yearning to customers to get their hands on the newest technology around.

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Airbus Perlan II Awaits Right Conditions for Flight to 90,000 Feet

Perlan II is the second generation glider of the Perlan Project, which was originally founded as an aviation record-setting research project by NASA. In 2006, the Perlan I achieved its first flight to greater than 50,000 feet. Immediately following that flight the team envisioned a better, pressurized aircraft that could fly higher. The Perlan II is also equipped with scientific instruments that will be used for climate, aerospace and stratospheric research that cannot be measured via other means. Among the research related goals are to measure the atmospheric concentration of aerosols and greenhouse gases, including ozone, methane and water vapor. Perlan II will also collect data on exchanges between gases and energy within the two lower layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, the troposphere and stratosphere, according to the Perlan Project website.

Perlan II will be aero towed to the altitude of 9,000 feet. At this point, it will be released from tow into the mountain wave lift. It will be maneuvered as and when needed so that it remains in the area of rising air column. This mountain wave will elevate it to the altitude of 90,000 feet. The mountain waves are created by strong winds that blow over the top of high altitude mountains and are driven up towards space.

Along with its pressurized cabin and relatively low aspect ratio, a key feature for the success and validation of the Perlan II flight is its avionics, the LX-9000 integrated flight control computer. The moving map display function provided by the LX-9000 flight computer will aid the pilots in keeping the Perlan II within the lifting zones of the mountain waves.

LX-9000 is also key to proving that the Perlan II achieves the world record, as it is an International Gliding Commission (ICG)approved, high-altitude flight recorder. When turned on, it records a plethora of data for every minute of the aircraft’s flight, including pressure altitude and GPS altitude.

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Rockwell Collins Demonstrates Modernized Wideband HF ATG Connectivity

The U.S. Air Force and Rockwell Collins collaborated in a demonstration to transfer data from a C-17 airborne aircraft to a ground station over a Wideband High Frequency (WBHF) channel. The event took place over the duration of a two-day flight between Dover AFB Delaware and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, using a Wideband HF Receiver-Exciter configured for airborne operation.

The demonstration included the transfer of streaming video, real-time chat, file transfers, and digital voice audio. Over the two-day exercise, the teams were able to validate performance and reliability with changing variables that included the environment, geographical position, and time of day. Also demonstrated during this event, the transfer of data over a distance of more than 1,500 miles.

WBHF is a reliable solution for the transfer of data, including video, and a complement to traditional high-frequency satellite communications in denied environments.  Modernized Wideband HF (WBHF) can deliver rates up to 240 kpbs on a 48 kHz wide channel. The door is open for HF to provide the same levels of data transmission speeds, quality and security of a narrow-band SATCOM system. Rockwell Collins’ modernized HF capabilities, coupled with the inherent anti-jam nature of the widely dispersed nodes in Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) based HF networks, create an ideal alternative to narrow-band SATCOM in Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) battlefield environments.

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Assignment 3

1. Discuss the importance of quality team works, and team building.

To talk about the importance of quality team works and buidling, we should first know what the term “team”. A simplified definition is that “A team is a group of people with a common, collective goal.”

The importance of team works based on following reasons:

• Teams satisfy the human social need to belong.
• Two or more heads are better than one.
• The whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.
• People in teams get to know each other, build trust, as a result, want to help each other.
• Teamwork promotes better communication.
• Teamwork multiplies the potential of individual members.
• Teamwork produces positive peer pressure.

As for the importance of team building, obviously it is to achieve team excellence and performance which contains eight characteristics in teams:

• Mutual support.  In teams, individual members depend on each other to get the job of the team done.
• Challenge.  Wise team leaders find that delicate balance between expecting too much and expecting too little.
• Singless of purpose.  A team has a purpose that should be clearly stated in tis misson.
• Trust.  Wise team leaders work continually on building trust among their team mumbers and between themselves and tea members.
• Participation.  Wise team leaders draw out reticent members who tend to hold back rather than contributing ideas, concerns, and recoomendations.
• People skill.  The best teams consist of members who have skills to prevent and resolve conflict and work cooperatively to solve problems.
• Accountability.  The best teams consist of members who know the teams’ goals and expect to be held accountable for achieving them.
• Reinforcement. The best teams reinforc success by celebrating it.

2. How would you handle conflicts in quality team?

To hand conflicts in quality team, we should understand that there about five types of conflicts in the organizations:

1. Ambition to get ahead coupled with fear of being held back by the team
2. Rapid change can casue employees to conclude that they can only trust themselves.
3. Employees who are me-centered find it difficult to work with others.
4. Employees feel that cooperation is not fitting for vigorous person.
5. Egos that do not like to share credit.

 Accordingly, we have a lot of possible resolution strategies to handle team conflicts such as:

• Plan and work to establish a culture where individuality and dissent are in balance with teamwork and cooperation.
• Establish clear criteria for deciding when decisions will be made by individuals and when they will be made by teams.
• Don’t allow individuals to build personal empires or to use the organization to advance personal agendas.
• Encourage and recognize individual risk-taking behavior that breaks the organization out of unhelpful habits and negative mental frameworks.
• Encourage healthy, productive competition, and discourage unhealthy, counterproductive competition.
• Recognize how difficult it can be to ensure effective cooperation, and spend the energy necessary to get just the right amount of it.
• Value constructive dissent, and encourage it.
• Assign people of widely differing perspectives to every team or problem.
• Reward and recognize both dissent and teamwork when they solve problems.
• Reevaluate the project, problem, or idea when no dissent or doubt is expressed.
• Avoid hiring people who think they don’t need help, who don’t value cooperation, or who are driven by the desire to be accepted.
• Ingrain into new employees the need for balance between the concepts of cooperation and constructive dissent.
• Provide ways for employees to say what no one wants to hear.
• Realistically and regularly assess the ability and willingness of employees to cooperate effectively.
• Understand that some employees are going to clash, so determine where this is happening and remix rather than wasting precious organizational energy trying to get people to like each other.
• Ensure that the organization’s value system and reward/recognition systems are geared toward cooperation with constructive dissent rather than dog-eat-dog competition or cooperation at all costs.
• Teach employees how to manage both dissent (not let it get out of hand) and agreement.
• Quickly assess whether conflict is healthy or destructive, and take immediate steps to encourage the former and resolve or eliminate the latter.

3. How do you reward quality achievements in a quality team.

To reward quality achievement in the team, we can re-design compensation into three parts:

Besides the dollar-in-pay-check rewards, nonmonetary rewards can be effective as incentives. Widely used nonmonetary rewards that have proven to be effective include: movie tickets, gift certificates, time off, event tickets, free attendance at seminars, getaway weekends for two, airline tickets, and prizes such as electroinic or household products. One of the most important rule in organizations should ask employees what appeals to them.

4. How do you communicate effectively?

To communicate effectively, we should recognize and overcome inhibitors of communication in the workplace. The inhibitors that should be avoided in advance are:

• Differences in meaning:  This is the reason why managers should invest time to know employees to avoid this communication problem.
• Lack of trust:  The trust between senders and receivers are important so they will neither be too sensitive nor guarded.
• Condescending tone:  Peolpe respond to tone of voice no less than the content of message, so it is not good to talk down to employees.
• Premature judgements:  No one can make permature judgements and maintain an open mind. Therefore nonjudgmentally listening is important.
• Information overload:  It is more than an inhibitor of communication, but sometimes can cause breadown for communication devices.
• Interference:  It is about the environment in which they plan to communicate. With a noise background, effeciency will be low.
• Poor listening sklls:  Serious communication problems usually occur when the sender does not listen to the receiver and vice versa.
• Kill-the-messenger syndrome:  Managers who “kill the messenger” will eventually hear only what employees think management wants to hear.

5. Why are listening skills important?

Effective listening means receiving the message, correctly decoding it, and accurately perceiving what it means.

So it is easy to see that listening skills are important because with these skills, we can understand the content clearly and waste less time on unnecessary arguments by avoiding following inhibitors:

• Lack of concentration
• Interruptions
• Preconceived ideas
• Thinking ahead
• Interference
• Tuning out

Most of us have room for improvement in their listening skills. These skills are important and practical. We only need to apply the strategies for the improvement.

• Listen more and talk less: Good management requires that managers listen more and talk less. The strategy here is to make a conscious effort to learn as much as possible from every conversation. This will force the issue of listening instead of talking.
• Ask clarifying questions: Two managers can hear the same words but receive different messages. Consequently, it is important to ask questions that will clarify the message and above all is to make a summary at the end of each point.
• Listen intuitively: This is a matter of listening to more than just words. It involves going beyond what is said to why it is being said.
• Concentrate: To eliminate errors such as failing to concentrate, tuning out, giving in to distractions and interrupting, keep tabs on how frequently you make each kind and focus on the errors are most frequent.

6. What are the management strategies for quality-focused interpersonal needs?

Management strategies for interpersonal relationships shuold follow four steps to ensure that members of the workforce have sufficient interpsonal relations to be effective communicators. Figure below shows a breif summary of the steps.

 

1. Recognition of the Need: To have employees with good interpersonal skills, managers must recoginize the need for these skills.
2. Careful Selection:  When interpersonal skills are made a part of the selection process, the employees should be carefully selected whether they have skills such as listening, patience, empathy and open-mindedness.
3. Training:  People can learn to listen better, empathize with different types of people, be tactful and facilitate positive interaction among fellow employees.
4. Measurement and reward: If managers value interpersonal skills, they should be measured as part of procees and built into reward system.

7. What are the principles of overcoming negativity and conflicts in the workplace?

The principles of overcoming negativity contains five parts which are:

1. Communicate: Frequent, ongoing effective communication is the best defense against negativity in organizations, and it is the best tool for overcoming negativity that has already set in.
2. Establish clear expectations: Make sure all employees know what is expected of them as individuals and as members of the team. People need to know what is expected of them and how and to whom they are accountable for that is expected.
3. Provide for anxiety venting: The workplace can be stressful in even the best organizations.  Deadlines, performance standards, budget pressures, and competition can all produce anxiety in employees.
4. Build trust: Negativity cannot flourish in an atmosphere of turst.
5. Involve employees: It is hard to criticize the way things are done when you are a part of how they are done. Involving employees by asking their opinions, solicting their feedback, and making them part of the solution are some of the most effective deterrents to and cures for negativity.

8. How can you manage conflict in the workplace?

Mangement of the conflicts in workplace have two parts. Most conflicts should be prevented and resolved, but some of them should be stimulated when team members agree too easily with new ideas. Conflict resolution and stimualtion together are known as conflict management.

The following guidelines can be used by managers for resolving a conflict:

1. Determine how important the issue is to all people involved.
2. Determine whether all people involved are willing and able to discuss the issue in a positive manner.
3. Select a private place where the issue can be discussed confidentially by everyone involved.
4. Make sure that both sides understand that they are responsible for both the problem and the solution.
5. Solicit opening comments from both sides. Let them express their concerns, feelings, ideas, and thoughts, but in a nonaccusatory manner.
6. Guide participants toward a clear and specific definition of the problem.
7. Encourage participants to propose solutions. Examine the problem from a variety of different perspectives and discuss any and all solutions proposed.
8. Evaluate the costs versus the gains (cost-benefit analysis) of all proposed solutions and discuss them openly. Choose the best solution.
9. Reflect on the issue and discuss the conflict resolution process. Encourage participants to express their opinions as to how the process might be improved.

9. How do you communicate in conflict situtaions?

Communication in conflict situations is very important for that human conflict in the work place is normal, to be expected and in cartain instance, to be promoted. The following guidelines for using communication in managing conflict will be helpful:

• The initial attitude fo those involved in the conflict can predetermine the outcome. Communication prior to such a situation aimed at convincing either or both parties to view it as an opportunity to cooperatively solve a problem can help predetermine a positive outcome.
• When possible, conflict guidelines should be in place before conflicts occur. It is not uncommon for conflict to be exacerbated by disagreements over how it should be resolved. Before entering into a situation in which conflict might occur, make sure all parties understand how decisions will be made, who has the right to give input, and what issues are irrelevant.
• Assessing blame should not be allowed. It is predictable that two people in a conflict situation will blame each other. The approach that says “We have a problem. How can we work together to solve it?” is more likely to result in a positive solution than arguing over who is to blame.
• “More of the same” solutions should be eliminated. When a particular strategy for resolving conflict is tried but proves to be ineffective, don’t continue using it. Try something new instead of using “more of the same” solutions.
• Maintain trust by keeping promises. Trust is fundamental to all aspects of total quality. It is especially important in managing conflict. Trust is difficult to win but easy to lose. Conflict cannot be effectively managed by someone who is untrustworthy. Consequently, managers in a total quality setting must keep their promises and, in so doing, build trust among employees.

10. What does quality suffer if there is a major conflict?

If there is a major conflict exist within the organization, employees are surely involved in the conflict. Due to all or most of the attentions are on the conflicts, they will pay no attention on the quality of products and services the provided to both internal and external customers. Moreover, the worse the quality is, the more conflicts will occur such as blame on others and do not trust others in the organization. In return, the quality will continoully going down when such terrible situation occurs. At this situation, talented employees will have to leave the organization to better companies. Others remains usually have no patient on their jobs and works. The situation of this companies get worse and worse.

Social Networking Articles

Heat and light controlling smart window tech gets less-expensive, more flexible

A team at University of Texas at Austin headed be Delia Milliron has come up with a flexible- smart window material that can be fabricated at low-temperatures and is easier and cheaper to use than previous electrochromic smart materials. Windows made of electrochromic materials have the ability to selectively keep the light or the heat out with a flip of the switch.

Initially the same team had attempted to create such materials using a high temperature process that embeds compounds into glass. As a result of high temperature fabrication, the amorphous material was brittle and inflexible. Also, the embedding process at high temperatures was inefficient.

Now the UT Austin team, in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CNRS of France and Spain’s Ikerbasque, has come up with a high efficiency low-temperature process to embed compounds (niobium oxide) into a plastic film.

In addition to its ability to be applied to curved glass surfaces as a coating, the new polymer film darkens faster and requires less power owing to local arrangement of the atoms in a linear structure.

Aside from its immediate applications, the film provides new insights into how such materials are formed and how they behave. Because of this, it may one day be possible to form new components, such as more efficient supercapacitors. In the meantime, UT Austin will continue to develop the low-temperature material to improve its performance in comparison with the high-temperature versions.

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Drones do mix with airports, so long as they’re kept on a leash

Traditionally, unmanned drones have been considered a threat to privacy and safety in public as well as privates spaces. More so in the vicinity of airports owing to threat they may pose to the airplanes.

UAVs have usually been used in applications which require them to fly wide and far. But there are some applications that simply don’t require unmanned aerial vehicles to fly that far. A UAV might be sometimes required to hover over a particular area and provide continuous surveillance and other information.

A French technology firm Elistair has found a way to make use of the UAV’s strengths while maintaining safety by tethering the drones to the ground while they carry out inspections. It has developed two tethered ground stations for drones, the Safe-T and High-T. These groundstations hook up to multicopters and provide them with continuous data transfer abilities and continuous power. This enables  for the UAV to hover over the surveillance area indefinitely up to an altitude of 50 or 100 m (164 ft or 300 ft). It also reduces the chances of the battery failing and the drone crashing to the ground and also keeps them from running amok and interfering with flights.

The tethered drones have been used to inspect high walkways and also in the calibration of air navigation instruments at the airports in Paris as seen above. Similarly, drones have a potential to carry out certain tasks at airports, like safety surveillance or inspections.

As I said earlier, there are some reservations about letting UAVs loose in airfields, but keeping them on a tight leash might present a more reliable way forward.

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UK’s iconic red phone boxes take on new lives as smartphone repair shops

Walking around the streets of London, it’s hard to miss the iconic red telephone booths scattered across the city. These have become a symbol of neccessities of the days gone by, since they are rarely used by modern homo sapiens equipped with cellphones and pads.

A smartphone and tablet repair outfit, Lovefone has found a revolutionary way to give these red telephone boxes a new purpose. Lovefone is converting the underused booths into the kind of mobile phone repair shop. Each one will consist of workbenches, charging stations and free Wi-Fi. There’s also a possibility for adding soldering stations and the units would also act as a drop-off and pick-up point for devices that need to be repaired.

The boxes are a listed structures in the city’s records, so no permanent changes can made to them and CEO of The Lovefone Company Rob Kerr explains that this, in addition to their unusual shape, made designing the new interiors extremely challenging. A perforated back panel provides a place on which to hang tools and behind which to run wiring and communications devices. There is a workbench for technicians to ply their trade and closed shelving units to help keep things tidy.

The first Lovefonebox has begun operating in the Greenwich area of London, with another eight already planned across the city. The company’s aim is to open around 37 units in London over the next 18 months, as well as to offer franchise opportunities elsewhere in the UK.

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Assignment 2

A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.

–John D. Rockefeller Jr.

1. Importance of quality partnering and strategic alliances

Partnership based on mutual benefits is fundamental to total quality. The benefits of partnering are most realised when all parties in the chain of partners cooperate. When the partnering exists, the invisible walls between the supplier, manufacture and customers are removed. This enables the manufacturers to better understand what the end-user likes or dislikes, what the product might be used for and makes the modifications accordingly. So, because of partnership, the manufacturer better understands what the market needs and the supplier can help manufacturer in realising the demands.

Contemporary supplier-customer chain

With contemporary supplier-costumer relationship, there is communication, input, feedback and cooperation. Benefits of partnering include, improvement in processes and products, customer satisfaction, improves relationship among employees and various departments.

2. Different forms of quality partnering and strategic alliances

Potential Partnership Participants

 

Innovative Alliance and Partnerships

A group of small and medium-sized companies may come together to save money through consortium-buying. In this, two or more companies get together to buy common equipments in bulk: by doing so, they gain the cost benefits of size.

Another type of innovative partnership involves suppliers and their customers. Major customers agree to welcome an in-house supplier representative who works with the customers to continually improve the supplier-customer relationship. It gives the customers an advocate who sees what is needed from the supplier, when, where and why. It provides the supplier with firsthand knowledge of how to better serve the costumers.

Another innovative partnership called the Costumer Focus group, is a partnership between supplier and user of its products or services. A focus group consists of customers who are pulled together by a supplier to provide feedback about an existing product or services or input about a proposed product or service.

Internal Partnering

Internal partnering creates an environment and establishes mechanisms within it that brings managers and employees, teams and individual employees together in a mutually supportive alliance that maximise the human resources of an organisation. There should be a mechanism through which employees can channel their ideas for improvement. This partnership enables partners to help each other and perform better.

Partnering with Suppliers

The goal of such a partnership is to create and maintain a loyal, trusting,reliable relationship that will allow both partners to win,  while promoting the continuous improvement of quality, productivity and competitiveness. Qualifying a supplier for this partnership ensures that the products will be delivered when and where they are needed in the specified quantity and without inherent defects.

Partnering with Customers

Forming partnership with customers helps ensure the customer satisfaction and increases the competitiveness as the continuous feedback helps improve the products and services.

Partnering with Potential Competitors

Partnering with a potential competitor has the same rationale as partnering with suppliers and customers. The most commonly practiced partnership among small and medium enterprises is the manufacturing network, in which individual SMEs cooperate in ways that increase their quality, productivity and resultant competitiveness to levels that exceed what the individual companies could achieve on their own.

Education and Business Partnerships

There are two critical factors in continually improving the performance of an organisation: quality of employees and quality of human interaction with the technology. Individuals who lack fundamental work skills cannot perform at globally competitive levels. Moreover,individuals lacking process skills cannot make the most out of the technologies available to them.

3.Importance of Quality Culture

A quality culture is an organizational value system that results in an enviroment that is conducive to the establishment and continual improvement of quality. It consists of values, traditions, procedures, and expectations that promote quality.

The quality shows up in how employees behave at work, what their expectations are of the organization and each other and what is considered normal in terms of how employees approach their jobs. It also contains four elements:

• Business enviroment  The enviroment an organization operate in is a critical determinant of its culture.
• Organizational values  They are used to describe what the organization thinks is important, or to say the heart and soul of its culture.
• Cultural role models  When these models still active, employees in the organization serve as living examples of what they want their employees want to be.
• Organizational rites, rituals, and customs  These stand for how employees dress, interact with each other, and approach their work. They are enforced most effectively by peer pressure.
• Cultural transmitters  Transmitters are how organization’s culture is passed down through successive generations of employees.

Organizations with a quality culture, regardless of the products or services they provide, share some common characteristics which can help organizations stand out in competitive environment with high quality and the willingness and ablity to serve customers well in business world. 

4. Difference between Traditional and Modern quality cultures

Traditional Culture

Quality Culture

Operating Philosophy

Focus on short-term profits. Often the methods used for maximize short-term profits have effect in the long run.

The core philosophy is customer satification which focuses on the aim to exceed the expectation of customers.

Objectives

Adopt short-term objectives of which focus is on accomplicshment over next several weeks or months.

Develope objectives strategically in both long- and short-term. And they also adopt objectives within the organizations.

Management Approach

Employees do what they are told by managers. Managers give orders and enforce policiesm procudures and rules.

Managers are the coaches of the team. They communicate with customers, build trust, provide training and recognize performance.

Attitude toward Customers

Tend to look inward, concern more about organizations’ needs than those of customers.

focus on customers’ need. Customer satification is the highest priority.

Problem-Solving Approach

Managers and employees tend to expend energy on deflecting or assigning blame instand of identifying the problem and wating for someone to solve it.

The focus is on identifying and isolating the root cause so that the problem, especially the root of the problem can be eliminated. The goal is to create solutions.

Supplier Relationships

The main pressure for a supplier is to bring down prices and speed up delivery, even it will drive the supplier out of business.

Suppliers are viewed as partners. They work together cooperatively for the good of both and continually improve the performance.

Performance-Improvement Approach

Triggered by problems.

Continuously improve all the processes.

5. How do you understand who is a customer?

In the traditional way, organizations, especailly in manufacturing area, regard customer as the end users. They are the people who use the finished products and services. That is to say, organizations, only interact with external suppliers and customers.

Contemporary View

Traditional View

In contemporary view, as shown in the figure above, customers and suppliers exist both inside and outside the organization. Any one whose work precedes to another employee can be regarded as a supplier. The later employee, correspondingly, is the customer. The quality of work provided by previous supplier has or decide the later employee’s quality of the work. They should work together like traditonal manufacturing companies with external customers and supliers so that they provide quality work and quality products.

6. Customer defined value, value, analysis and retention

Customer defined value is important for organizations. It is a sum of a customer’s perceptions of several factors:

• Prodcut or service quality
• Service provided by the organization
• The organization’s personnel
• The organization’s image
• Selling price of the product or service
• Overall cost of the product or service

All these factors are important to customers. The products from an organization should make contribution to customers’ needs, even exceed the expectation. There values, especially the personal, image has strong effect on relationship between organizations and customers. If the products are good enough while the customers do not like the people there, customers still are likely to defect the competition. Customer value analysis (CVA) consists of five steps:

1. Determine what attributes customers value most  Ask customers to describe the attributes of products or service without assigned priority.
2. Rate the relative importance of the attributes  After list all the customer expectations, organizations should ask customers prioritize the attributes.
3. Assess your organization’s oerformance relative to the prioritized list of attributes  The relative strength of the attributes of a given product or service will math the priorities.
4. Ask customers to rate all attributes of your product or service against the same attributes of a competitor’s product or service  To survive in the competition, an organization’s product or service should have more value. By doing so, organizations can determine how the customers value their products and services so that they can improve the attributes of the products and services.
5. Repeat the process periodically  Customer perference might change, so it is important to periodically repeat the CVA process.

Customer retention is the index of customer loyalty rather than satisfaction. Customer retention is the desired end which means customers are not only satisfied with your product and service but also willing to come back when it is necessary next time as described below:

To retain customer over the long term, organizations must turn them into partners and proactively seek their input rather than waiting for and reacting to feedback provided after a problem has occurred.

7. Discuss product innovation models for customer retention

Innovation is a key to customer loyalty, a key to provide superior cost and a key to continually improve the quality and cost of their products as well as the quality. There are five process steps in this model.

• Target the Opportunity  Focus on identifying customer needs and use them to guide innovations.
• Explore the Idea  Conduct a thorough research to ensure that the proposed innovation will be successful in the marketplace.
• Develop Alternatives  Develop a variety of alternativs for the innovation and test them thoroughly to determine which is the best.
• Optimaize the Solution  Take the chosen alternative and optimize it for production and delivery.
• Commercialize the innovation  Develop and deploy an effective marketing program for the innovation. Never let an innovation fail for lack of effective marketing.

An additional point should be addressed here is that creativity is not the same as innovation.
The innovation has not occured until the product is produced and market.

8. Discuss employee empowerment.

Employee empowerment is not only close to employee involvement, but is deeper. Involvement means employees are asked by the organizations to input information but empowerment, further, gives them ownership of the jobs.  This onwership makes them pride of their work, pride of the quality of the products and service,  pride of his or her name is signed ont the work.

In the employee empowered organizations, managers provide an open, nonthreatening, creative environment and employees get involved physically, intellectually, and emtionally. In such situations, employees will be more willingly to observe, sense and ponder the following questions. 

• Why is it done this way?
• How could it be done better?
• Will the customer want the product like this?

By answering these questions, employees will continually improve the quality of the products and service. Thus, empowerment is a core role in total quality enviroment because it is human who gets the work done and makes the service performed.

Manager’s Role in empowerment

 

 

Even the benefits are obvious, there are still some resistence from every part.
First, employees may feel uncomfortable with the changes in their jobs. Unions, a tradional way to balance employees and companies might find that they are useless in these new relationshops. Finally, managers will hava a lot of worries in the empowerment such as:

• Fear of losing control
• I’m-the-Boss syndrome
• Outdated management training
• Old-school syndrome
• Faer of exclusion

These resistances can be easily overcame by three steps:

1. Commitment. Being consistently supportive of empowerment and reinforcing it in tangible ways.
2. Leadership. Promoting empowerment by being a consistent role model, mentor and trainer.
3. Facilitation. Monitoring constantly to ensure that employees are being empowered and acting quickly on employee recommendations.

9. Discuss leadership for quality

To discuss the leadership for quality we need first to define leadership as a quote from our textbook:

Leadship is the ability to inspire people to make a total, willing, and voluntary commitment to accomplishing or exceeding organizational goal.

The key concept is inspiring people to exceed the goal. That is the philosophy of continually improving peopel, processes and products. Improvement on these areas can also, in turn, to improve quality, value, productivity, service, market share, longivity, business expansion and return on investment. There nine elements in the concept of leadership of quality

• Customer Focus  This means the organization’s primary goal is to meet or exceed customer expectations in a way that gives the customer lasting value.
• Obsession with Quality  Every employee aggressively pursues quality in an attempt to exceed the expactations of both internal and external customers.
• Recognizing the Structure of Work  To optimize the structure in the work place, the work process should be analyzed, evaluated, and studied continually in an attempt to improve them.
• Freedom through Control  Leaders must ensure that managers and employees take control of work process and methods by collaborating to standardize them.
• Unity of Purpose  When there is unity of purpose, all employees pull together toward the same end.
• Looking for Faults in Systems  85% of the failure is because of the management failure. So leadership should focus on correcting systemic problems.
• Teamwork  A team of people working together toward a common goal can outperform a group of individuals working toward their own ends.
• Continuing Education and Training  In the age of high technology, it is necessary to wrok hard and work smart.
• Emphasis on Best Practices and Peak Performance  Leaders emphasize identifying and deploying best practices as one more way to ensure consistent peak performance.

 10. How to lead for a better quality change?

Leading Quality Change model, promoted by John P. Kotter, is a six steps procedure which presented in our text as follows:

• Develope a compelling change picture
• Communicate the change picture to all stakeholders
• Conduct a comprehensive roadblock analysis
• Remove or mitigate all roadblocks identified
• Implement the change
• Monitor and adjust

But for now, when you searching online, the majority of organizations will descripe the model as a eight steps one. The difference here is that the more popular one contains the idea of sustaining change which, in another word, is continually improvement in quality. This model is briefly demonstrated in Figure 2.8 as below:

Leading for a better quality change

Leading Change by John P. Kotter

1. Create urgency  Team leader explains the need for transformation.
2. Create a coalition  Recuit key sponsors to drive change.
3. Develop a vision and strategy  Establish business transformation strategy, drives and target.
4. Communicate the vision  Develope detailed stakeholder management and communication plan.
5. Empower action  Establish a strong and effective management system.
6. Get quick wins  Create incremental plans for the organizations based on transformation.
7. Leverage wins to drive change  Change management with new baseline.
8. Embed in culture  Keep trying on continually change in leadership to get better management

Social Networking aricles

Dyson Air Manipulator

Dyson introduced all-powerful air manipulator which incorporates the functionalities of air purifiction, heating and cooling. For purification purposes, it uses a 360-degreee HEPA filter which is capable of detecting pollutants such as pollens, molds and bacteria. The air quality parameters can be controlled via a Dyson link app, allowing users to monitor the air quality without having to walking up-to the air manipulator time and again. The funnel shape enables the air stream tto accelerate over an airfoil, thereby making the product more economical in terms of power consumption compared to a conventional fan used to maintain the air-flow over that same area. The only safety hazard I am worried about is that over the period of operation, inside surface of the funnel heats up. Making it dangerous in an environment with kids around.

Reference article            Detailed Discussion

Mitsubishi Crowd Simulator

While simulating crowds, observed human behavior and interactions are taken into account to replicate collective behavior. It is a method of creating virtual cinematography. It predicts the congestion in agathering and simulates the movements of all the entities, enabling it to detect any movement which is out of a normal simulation. This feature helps identifying any threat and increses the safety of a gathering by preventing any possible deadly stampedes. The system developed by Mitsubishi collects camera data and simuator algorithm focuses on nearby people instead of the whole crowd. This system was deployed for testing at Tokyo’s Tamagawa Fireworks festival and showed a success rate of 80%.

Reference article       Detailed Discussion

Recycling Carbon fibers with 100% efficiency

Researchers at Georgia Tech. have come up with a method to recycle almost 100 percent of the materials in certain types of thermoset carbon fiber composites. During the new process, the carbon fiber composites are soaked in alcohol, which slowly dissolves the epoxy that binds and gives shape to the carbon fibers. Once dissolved, the researchers can separate the carbon fibers and the epoxy and use them for new applications. According to the researchers, polymer matrix is intrinsically crosslinked which maks it hard to strip the polymer and reclaim the carbon fibers.

Carbon fibers containing vitrimer epoxies was used for the studies. Vitrimers contain dynamic bonds that modify their structure without affecting the network integrity. Alcohol, which has small molecules, participates in the network of alternating reactions, which effectively dissolved the vitrimer. This new recycling process has the potential to reduce the thousands of tons of carbon fiber waste generated each year.

Reference Article                   Detailed discussion

Assignment 1

In the consumer driven industry, Quality is a dynamic state associated with products, services, people, processes and environment that meets or exceeds expectations and helps produce superior value

What is TQM?

Total quality management is an industrial approach which treats the continuous improvement of all aspects of an organization, people, products, services, environment as a long term process rather than a short term goal. With TQM, anything and everything that affects quality is a target for continual improvement. the end result of this approach is an organizational excellence, superior value, and global competitiveness.

How can Organizational excellence be achieved?

The organizational excellence via Total Quality management approach can be achieved by keeping in mind the following characteristics:

1. Commitment and direct involvement of highest-level executives in setting quality goals and policies, allocation of resources, and monitoring of results.
2. Realization that transforming an organization means fundamental changes in basic beliefs and practices and that this transformation is everyone’s job.
3. Building quality into products and practices right from the beginning.
4. Understanding of the changing needs of the customers, and stakeholders, and satisfying them in a cost effective manner.
5. Instituting leadership in place of mere supervision so that every individual performs in the best possible manner to improve quality and productivity, thereby continually reducing total cost.
6. Eliminating barriers between people and departments so that they work as teams to achieve common objectives.
7. Instituting flexible programs for training and education, and providing meaningful measures of performance that guide the self-improvement efforts of everyone involved.

The following are the pillars of organizational excellence:

Six Pillars of Organizational Excellence

What is the Deming cycle?

The Deming Cycle links the production of a product with consumer needs and focuses the resources of all the departments – research, design, production, marketing – in a cooperative effort to meet those needs. The Deming cycle proceeds as follows:
1. Conduct and use the consumer research in planning a new product.
2. Manufacture the product.
3. Analyse the product to ensure that it was produced in accordance with the plan.
4. Put forth the product in the market.
5. Analyse the consumers’ reactions in terms of quality, cost and other relevant factors.

What are some common errors while starting a quality initiative?

Organizations that succeed, never approach total quality as a new way of doing business. Following are the common errors organizations make when implementing total quality:

1. Organizations delegate the responsibilities of a quality initiative to a hired expert rather     than applying the leadership necessary to get everyone involved.
2. Working in teams is an approach that must be incorporated gradually. Managers should      learn how to be effective coaches and employees must learn how to be an effective team player. Rushing in and putting everyone in a team will create problems instead of solving them.
3. Usually organizations develop quality initiatives without developing plans for integrating them into all elements of the organization.
4. Some organizations take a narrow approach by incorporating just the Deming approach, Juran or Corby approach and use the principles only prescribed in them. None of these approaches is a truly one-size fits all proposition. Experts encourage organizations to tailor the programs to their needs.
5. Making employees aware of quality and inspiring them to embrace it at a philosophical level are necessary steps in the right direction. But helping them develop the actual skills critical to implement the concept should be a part of a transformational process.

What is the cost of poor quality?

Many executives adopt the understanding that maintaining the quality is good until hard times roll in and cutting costs is necessary. Usually during hard times, quality initiatives are the first thing to go. What executives in such companies fail to comprehend is the costs associated with poor quality. The cost cutting by eliminating some quality initiatives does decrease the overhead, but they also bring about the unplanned consequences of disrupting product and service’s ability to satisfy the customers and reducing the company’s potential to develop any new business in the near future.

What are the quality characteristics of a World Class organization?

It is often said, that the World class organizations can compete in global marketplace. The characteristics of which are as follows:
1. Customer Service
2. Quality control and assurance
3. Research and development
4. Acquiring new technologies
5. Innovation
6. Team based approach
7. Best practices (Study and Use of)
8. Manpower planning
9. Environmentally sound practices
10. Business partnerships and alliances
11. Reengineering of processes
12. Mergers and acquisitions
13. Outsourcing and contracting
14. Reliance on consulting services
15. Political lobbying

Responsibility and Total Quality

Accepting responsibility  is an important aspect of ethical behavior. People in today’s society outright blame others for any shortcomings on their part. Modern society has evolved into one that focuses on rights but ignores the responsibilities that must accompany those rights. In a total quality setting, people are responsible for their actions and accountable for their performance. Accepting responsibility helps build trust, integrity, and all the other elements of ethics that are important in a total quality environment.

Models for ethical quality decisions

1.Categorical imperative model: There are only two decisions. They are right is right and wrong is wrong and there is nothing other than that.
2.Full disclosure method: Decision should answer the simple question whether it will satisfy the stakeholders in this method
3.Doctrine of the mean model: In the situation where there two extremes and then the decision need to be made then the common or neutral method is adapted.
4.Golden Rule method: In this method, the decisions are made on basis of mutual understanding where the decisions are made from previous decisions.
5.Market-ethic model: This is a market-based model where the model made which gives us profit, is the perfect model irrespective of the type.
6.Organizational ethic model: This is based on the organizational loyalty and the ethics all are based on the organization.
7.Equal freedom model: This model gives freedom to follow any ethics unless and until it interferes with stakeholders.
8.Proportionality ethic mode: This model follows that the world is so complex and decisions are made clearly right or wrong

Manager’s role in Quality Ethics

Managers are duty bound to make ethical decisions. In real world, deciding what is ethical is much easier than actually doing what is ethical. Managers are responsible for setting higher standards of ethics, setting a consistent example of example of exceeding those standards and acting immediately when they observe an unethical behavior.

Companies should be Sustainable and Green

With the advent of industrialisation, mankind has indiscriminately dumped waste and by-products into various ecosystems. The one that is most affected by it is the marine ecosystem. Industries related to paper, clothing, and almost everything we use in today’s world, release the toxic remains of their products into a nearby river, lake, or an ocean. The marine ecosystem is highly dependent on the currents. These currents keep the water in vast oceans circulating and in turn regenerates the oxygen level in it by passing the water through various plants and reefs. So, when the industry dispenses its waste products into this very water flow, these harmful, toxic remains latch into the water circulation, thereby making the water unfit for the marine life and plants alike. This scenario could very well be compared with a hypothetical case when an air conditioner begins circulating air filled with dust and particulates and it gets suffocating for us humans to stay in that place. With this statement, I have attached links to some videos by Professor Paul Ranky which document the serene and resplendent marine ecosystem which disparate creatures and plants call home. I implore upon the board to take firm steps to not only make our operations more sustainable, but green too.

Marine life 1  Marine life 2  Marine life 3  Marine life 4  Marine life 5  Marine life 6

Instead of directly discharging various chemicals and agents into the water, they should first be treated so as to neutralize their toxic nature. The solid waste generated should be sorted to separate the recyclable matter and non-recyclable matter. The solid waste finally to be dumped, should be packed tight into a compact shape and buried in pre-prepared land pits. This way, instead of just littering the soil, we can maintain the beauty and sustenance of the forests and make the environment cleaner.

Social Networking Articles

New P100D Tesla Model S goes harder, lasts longer

The Model S P100D with Ludicrous mode is the third fastest accelerating production car ever produced, with a 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds. the article linked below talks about development and the improvements with the battery life which provides an extra 10 kWh. This feature in turn enables the car to glide 315 miles in a single charge, making it a reliable long range electric car available in today’s automobile market.

Reference Article

Detailed Discussion

Carbon and titanium lighten the load for driver-focused Lotus Evora 400

The article linked below discusses the new Lotus Evora 400 model. The company has made some unconventional changes to this car by producing the roof, mirror caps, front splitter elements and rear diffuser trims with carbon fiber instead of aluminum traditionally used. This feature has made the car lighter (a weight reduction of 42 kg), in turn enhancing its responsiveness without affecting its torsional rigidity and fuel efficiency.

Due to the reduced weight, the new  model is a whole 7 seconds faster than the previous one along with the reduced stopping distance. Moreover, the combination of carbon and titanium makes the car stronger and harder, since titanium is one of the strongest alloys available.

Reference Article

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Separating study sessions with sleep may be the key to exam success

Early to bed
Early to rise
Makes a man
Healthy
Wealthy
and Wise.
Now, we’re all young and passionate and vigorously looking to make loads of money, but let’s talk about the last attribute the poet states that the sleep can give a man. Indeed, proper periods of sleep does make one wise! In the reference article linked below, one of the research scientist states “Memories that were not explicitly accessible at the beginning of relearning appeared to have been transformed by sleep in some way. Such transformation allowed subjects to re-encode information faster and to save time during the relearning session.” Furthermore, follow-up tests suggest that the beneficial effects of the learning technique persist for at least six months after the sessions.

Personally, I too agree with the conclusion of this research. Long periods of studying tires up the brain and it begins playing tricks on us by remembering erroneous facts and mixing up some details. Taking short naps helps the brain to compartmentalize the information enabling it to retain for longer periods.

Reference Article

Detailed Discussion