Business News

  Wiley, 288 pages Very few organisations manage their expenses for sustainable success. And when the time inevitably comes to cut their costs, many companies cut in a way that makes them weaker, not stronger. The experienced consultants with PwC’s Strategy team reveal the hidden problems of conventional cost management—and how your company can do better. Drawing on decades of research, observation, and experience helping clients, these experts have developed a unique approach to help CEOs and senior executives cut costs constructively. The Fit for Growth concept redirects an organisation’s resources and investments toward its few differentiating capabilities—the strengths that set it apart from competitors. When a company manages costs this way, it becomes fit for growth. Its cost structure, organisation, and culture are aligned with its strategy. In this book, the authors take you through every detail of the Fit for Growth approach. They walk you step by step through the nine most important levers to restructure costs, complete with case studies, and practical examples from leading companies around the world. From mobilizing to scaling to executing to culture change and leadership, this valuable hands-on reference stays with you throughout the entire process. It shows you how to: Galvanise the executive team and the organisation to embark on a transformation Apply cost reduction levers while avoiding common pitfalls Overcome the shortcomings of basic change management techniques by using the best of your existing corporate culture Confidently manage morale and keep the entire organisation engaged Avoid falling back into old, unproductive behaviours Apply proven tools and techniques for sustaining the benefits of the transformation. For the first time, senior thought leaders with Strategy& share in detail their leading practices and collective experiences to help you enable change and cultural evolution in your own organisation. Fit for Growth is your definitive game […]

Konecranes safety-oriented technology in the maintenance facility of the Ben Cat district of Binh Duong province, Vietnam. Konecranes technology is also vital to the changing of heavy injection moulds in its production areas. Global personal care products leader Procter and Gamble has partnered with crane safety and efficiency authority Konecranes to optimise workplace safety and efficiency at its new $US100 million Gillette plant in Vietnam. Operating under the corporate signature “Your Safety, your Health, your Family,” the plant operates safety-equipped CXT overhead cranes to lift heavy injection moulds in its production areas and to efficiently manoeuvre heavy workpieces in its maintenance areas. The P&G Gillette Ben Cat Manufacturing Centre – which now employs more than 200 people following its construction to celebrate Procter and Gambles 20th year in Vietnam in 2015 – uses remote control technology to swiftly and safely handle heavy maintenance workpieces which it can lift, turn, manoeuvre and position using an eight ton CXT crane incorporating dual 3-ton and 5-ton hoists to provide the balance and precision required. The same proven reliability is built into the 10-ton CXT crane used to lift, shift and precisely place the nine injection moulding machines in the plant’s production area, where the company and has fused safety, ergonomic and reliability technologies into its CXT crane and wire rope hoist used to change in and change out moulds weighing 1.5 – 6.0 tons. Procter and Gamble – which has worldwide sales exceeding $US 65 billion – has employed state-of-the-art manufacturing technology throughout its latest investment in Vietnam, where it has committed more than $360 million total investment building three plants and strengthening the company’s reputation for spearheading innovation in the region. The Ben Cat plant’s CXT cranes incorporate Konecranes’ most advanced family of remote service technologies, its TRUCONNECT Remote Services for enhanced […]

  AR is set to be the next step in the evolution of computing. Image: Meta Augmented Reality                         For the past 50 years, computers have been add-ons to our lives, evolving from complex, room-sized machines to simplified, but powerful, pocket-sized assistants embedded in every facet of our lives. Augmented reality (AR) is set to be the next step in the evolution of computing, and will arguably be the most intuitive and collaborative computing experience. In fact, much ink has been spilled on AR’s limitless potential, while countless hours of screen time have been dedicated to imagining how AR can better our lives. Even among our customers, we’ve noticed that both application developers and business decision-makers see AR as a tool for enhancing productivity. However, there’s no need to continue imagining AR’s potential for improving the way we work – AR is already enhancing productivity at the workplace. Here are some of the ways AR is being used today: Maintenance and Assembly Like most solutions, AR’s entrance into the workplace was conceived out of a challenge a company faced. In 1990, factory workers at Boeing had to rely on painstakingly complex airplane wiring instructions that were displayed on large plywood boards. At each step of the manufacturing process, workers had to manually rewire each board – no easy task given the deadlines, complexities, and inefficiencies. Two Boeing researchers, Tom Caudell and David Mizell, introduced AR and AR headsets to the factory floor (and subsequently coined the term “augmented reality”). Factory floors arguably became the first places where AR was used daily to enhance worker productivity and streamline supply chains. Fast forward to today, companies like General Electric (GE) have increasingly incorporated AR(through both mobile devices and headsets) as part of their […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has completed construction of a coal gasification furnace plant at its Nagasaki site. The facility will supply core facilities for integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants. With the completion of the new plant, MHPS now has the ability to create a fully integrated production system for IGCC, a next-generation technology in high-efficiency coal-fired power generation. Production of furnaces is now underway, with a furnace now being produced for use in a 540 megawatt (MW) IGCC plant in Iwaki, Fukushima. The Iwaki Plant is currently under construction by Nakoso IGCC Power GK(Note) and delivery is scheduled for June 2018. Coal gasification furnaces provide a high-temperature, high-pressure environment required for efficient gasification of coal. They utilize gasification equipment capable of withstanding high temperatures and a pressure container that can raise pressure levels. In order to produce furnaces that can accommodate these conditions, a production system was adopted that utilizes both conventional underlying technologies, including welding, and newly developed proprietary technologies such as automated welding machines and ICT systems. To shorten construction time, furnaces produced at the new plant will be modularized (integrating gasification equipment and pressure containers), and will then be transported to the construction site for installation. In IGCC systems, coal is gasified in the gasification furnace and power is generated through a high-efficiency combined cycle that integrates gas and steam turbines. The system is groundbreaking, offering significantly higher efficiency and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than conventional coal-fired plants. MHPS will continue to promote the adoption of cutting edge IGCC power generation technologies, thereby contributing to the efficient use of resources and protection of the environment.