Decisions

Archive for May, 2009

If your business operates in the online realm, you might not think of it as having a factory floor. Whether it’s an actual one or a virtual one, however, every manufacturer has a factory floor. How do you get your virtual floor up to snuff? To answer that question we turn to the advice of Managing Automation, which recently addressed the topic in an article titled “Deep Dive: Technology Directions – Building the Digital Factory Piece by Piece.”

To stay competitive in today’s economic downturn, “companies are starting to take a serious look at the value of incorporating more simulation and visualization into design-to-production processes so that they can see and test production setups before actually making new production investments,” the article points out.

This is where “visualization tools that virtualize the factory floor experience” come into play. “The challenge, however, is keeping digital models in sync with the physical world, particularly the plant floor, where change is constant.” Businesses that want to overcome this obstacle will want to choose a real-time data collection system utilizing touch screen capabilities. That way, they can oversee WIP tracking, job tracking and factory floor control, labor collection, job sequencing and machine integration, as they occur. They can also enjoy greater visibility to jobs on the floor via an easy-to-install and intuitive push-button touchscreen user interface.

The advantages of such a system are that it embraces ERP to “track the material flow based on purchase orders” and it ties in MES software “to show the status of manufacturing.” By leveraging a PC-based system that is completely interfaced with most ERP and MRP systems and by using a drop and drag electronic board and an unlimited set of scheduling rules, an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) and finite scheduling system visually improves the overall sequencing of production (and raw materials).

In particular, an APS scheduling system accurately models the system constraints, integrates with existing software such as ERP and provides an easy-to-use decision support tool for production planners. Unlike wallboards, spreadsheets or simple electronic planning boards, the solutions it offers are interactive, intelligent and can be customized to meet the specific needs of the application. All of these capabilities put digital factory floor managers one step close to virtual synchronization.

New enhancements to such technology are constantly taking place as well.

Some of the latest upgrades include: machine interface software that reads production directly off machines, scales, etc.; the ability to allocate material at any operation to eliminate errors and avoid large material variances; interfacing to bar code label printing software that allows labels to be printed on demand during production runs; new Labor Audit reports that allow supervisors to check for discrepancy in shift data in order to provide easier identification of unusual amounts of “clocked-in” time, time not “on-the-job,” operations started prior to the previous operation; and biometric readers that can now be used to “scan” into the factory and jobs.

Although the idea of a digital factory floor sounds like a futuristic concept, a vendor of a real-time data collection system that provides job tracking and factory floor control can “take much of the complexity out of directly integrating product and production models.”

About the Author:
Carmen Fontana is a Web Services Manger for Western Reserve Internet Services. You can learn more about factory floor management software at http://www.factivity.com.

Keyword tags: Machine monitoring, Shop floor control, lean manufacturing software, factory floor management

Businesses around the world today are fast paced and demand quick access to every single data that is needed. Time has become a very important factor for a business to succeed. In certain businesses, their success or failure seldom depend entirely on their efficiency in managing their time. A lapse of an opportunity may cause huge monetary losses to organizations. The most important factor that all these time management issues in organizations point to is the communication platform within the organization.

Need for a communication system

Communication has become an integral part of every organization since most of the companies and organizations have team work as their main strength of development. This is particularly important for technical companies of the IT and Software industry. Each and every step taken in a product development is communicated between the employees and a failure of the system involved is sure to create huge disorders in and around that company. Hence, most of the companies would prefer to go for a stable and reliable communications platform that would ensure them a peaceful business.

When it comes to communication within a company the major modes are phone systems and email systems. Since the mail systems takes more time and are a bit tedious compared to the phone systems, most workers prefer to go with the latter. Within a few years of introduction, Business phone systems have become the most important part of all big organizations. There are numerous advantages to implement a phone system within an organization the most important one being the reduction in cost when compared to using individual telephony processes. Due to this and the ease to communicate within a network, the phone systems have become a huge hit around the world.

Types of Business Phone Systems

There are four major types of business phone systems namely the VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), Key telephone systems, Keyless phone systems (KSU-less) and the PBX (Private Branch Exchange Phone Systems). The most preferred and the most economical phone system is the VOIP system. This is also the most widely available phone system in the world. The VOIP system, which is used by more than 60% of the global organizations, uses an IP network to transfer the voice codes. It uses the internet in most of the cases to transmit voices from one end to the other.

Key Telephone systems and Keyless systems use a direct, point to point, dedicated phone line system within the organization. This enables a one on one communication platform within a network at any time. Since this is very costly to implement, most of the organization do not prefer to go with this.

Major Business Phone System providers

Since the need for business phone systems are always on the rise, many telecommunication systems have grown to manufacture reliable systems. The global leaders in the market, however, are a select few who have been in the top batch for a lot of years. They are Toshiba, Lucent & Alcatel, Cisco, Nortel, Comdial etc. Other companies that are growing in this field are Sony, TalkSwitch, Motorola, Samsung etc.

About the Author:
For more information visit http://www.businessphonesystems.ws. Know the importance of Business Phone Systems in an organization from http://www.businessphonesystems.ws/business-phone-systems-%E2%80%93-an-inevitable-part-of-every-organization.htm.

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Basic oil and gas industry framework and knowledge for the mineral owner

Basic Mineral Rights

In America, we enjoy a broad range of property rights. One such right is mineral ownership on and under the land we own, ASSUMING someone before us has not severed the mineral estate from the surface estate. A legally binding title opinion is typically the only document that substantiates mineral ownership (at least with regard to earning income from the minerals, which is usually what matters). The complexity of such a title opinion can vary dramatically. In the 18th and 19th century, when land was originally deeded to individuals, the mineral estate naturally came with the land, and if it had not been severed since, remains with the land.

Learn the Basics of Oil and Gas

The majority of landowners are relatively disinterested in minerals, mineral estates, etc. until they open the mail and find a letter from an oil company proposing to lease their mineral rights. Then everything changes. Now they’re quite interested in learning a few things… which is the reason Oil and Gas Mineral Services Co. exists, to educate and serve America’s mineral owners. An oil company is interested in leasing your minerals because they have reason to believe that they can find oil or gas there.

The Oil Company (a.k.a. the Operator) Relationship with the Mineral Owner

To bring oil and gas reserves to market, minerals are leased by oil companies through a legally binding contract known as an Oil and Gas Lease. This arrangement between individual mineral owners and oil companies began prior to 1900 and still thrives today. Although there are numerous other important details, the basic economic structure of the Lease is this: in exchange for an “up-front” cash bonus payment, plus a percentage of the value of any production, the mineral owner grants the oil company the right to drill and produce. In some cases, no activity follows and the lease simply expires. However, a well may in fact be drilled. We’ll assume here that drilling is viewed as a good thing by all involved. After all, nobody will enjoy economic gain if nothing is done.

Drilling and Completion Activities

Assuming the oil company decides to drill, they may drill on your tract of mineral (and quite possibly surface) ownership. If you are a surface owner, the oil company will likely propose a drill site, notify you, and offer to pay for damages related to the surface use. Obviously, all parties should be guided by reasoned thinking as to the compensation for damages, road usage, pipelines etc. Both parties should remember that realizing economic gain from mineral production is accomplished by partnership between the mineral owner and the Operator. Drilling operations can vary from 10 days to 90 days, or even more in some cases. Completing the well (perforating, hydraulic fracturing, installing production equipment etc.) can take a similar period. Now, let’s say that we’ve made a well…

Producing Characteristics of Oil and Gas Wells

Oil and gas production is produced from what are commonly known as reservoirs. Production rates generally decline more rapidly in the early stages of a wells producing life. There are typically three types of natural drive mechanisms from which hydrocarbons flow through reservoirs: water drive, depletion drive, and solution drive.

One of the primary determinants of value for a producing well is its decline curve. A decline curve illustrates the production history of a particular well, and is also used to predict future performance. Now, the hydrocarbon must be sold.

Oil and Gas Marketing

In the majority of cases, a royalty owner’s (a mineral owner whose land has been drilled upon and hydrocarbons found, is now a producing mineral owner, commonly called a royalty owner) share of production is marketed and sold along with the working interest owner’s (working interest owners are those owners obligated to pay for the expenses of drilling and operating a well) portion.

The quality of produced hydrocarbons varies and has direct impact on its value. Oil gravity and sulphur content are the two most important characteristics affecting crude oil pricing. With natural gas, the MMBTU content and the amount of impurities have the most impact on the value per MCF.

Oil and Gas Measurement

Produced oil and gas is measured prior to leaving the well site, as required by law. The gross volume from which your royalty share is calculated is based on this measurement. Customary industry standard requires that the Operator verifies the measurements of the First Purchaser through a “check” meter for gas, or by rechecking (behind the First Purchaser) the levels in the oil storage tanks. With respect to the risk of you being “shorted” your properly due production, it is important to keep in mind that it is in your Operator’s best interest to insure proper product measurement.

Marketing Expenses (a.k.a. Deductions)

You may notice a column on your royalty check stub that contains deductions for making production ready for sale. Common charges are for compression, dehydration, and removing impurities from gas. Debate, often in court, has gone on for years as to the applicability of these charges.

Oil and Gas Pricing

Crude oil and natural gas are commodities, and subject to daily swings in their value in the marketplace. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is the primary market maker for pricing these commodities. The actual cash (or physical) price which royalty owners and oil companies receive is usually based upon a contracted price set each month.

The Tax Man cometh – Oil and Gas Severance Taxes and Ad Valorem Taxes

State governments levy a severance tax monthly when natural resources such as oil and gas are “severed” from the earth. Generally, the First Purchaser is responsible for collecting and accounting for this tax. This should be easily calculable, and match the deduction shown on your royalty check stub. County governments render and collect a yearly ad valorem tax on producing minerals in most states. Owners are usually billed annually.

About the Author:
Kenny DuBose holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering and is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the National Association of Royalty Owners. He is President of http://www.mineralweb.com/ a resource for owners of mineral rights and oil and gas royalty.

Keyword tags: oil and gas basics, mineral rights

In the face of the economic downturn it’s crucial that we now where every penny is going and precisely what it’s being spent on. One way to keep a thorough track of your finances is to record every expense, as you make it. You might like to keep a notebook and jot things down as they occur, or the more technologically advanced amongst you might prefer to start a spreadsheet on the computer. Either way, making sure that you’re informed at all times of exactly where your money is going will allow you to focus more precisely on areas of expenditure where you might be able to save. Being informed about insurance is one way in which you might be able to save yourself some cash as there are many different aspects to this indispensable expense.

It has recently become apparent that the car insurance industry is one of the latest to be affected by the recession and, of course, this means that we will be seeing an increase in premiums this quarter. All this really means, however, is that we must arm ourselves with more information than ever in order to avoid feeling the pinch even further on our expendable incomes whilst also managing to effectively protect one of our largest assets and financial commitments: our cars.

There are plenty of ways to garner such information in this day and age. It really depends on your own preferences. First of all, the internet is an immense and invaluable resource, allowing you access to details of hundreds of different policies and premium prices all at once. Comparison websites such as Confused.com and financial advice pages such as Money Saving Expert will also help you in your search to find the best value car insurance. For independent reviews and more comprehensive evaluations of insurers, check out a site such as Which to get a more thorough picture of the market.

In light of the credit crunch there are a few important questions that you should definitely be asking, as regards your car insurance. Most importantly, you need to make sure that if you were to have a crash your financial security would not be compromised. First of all, this means that you need to check that if you were going to make a claim you would not be faced with excess fees beyond your means. You also need to understand how important your personal mode of transport is to the upkeep of your livelihood. Do you need your car to get to work, for example? How important is your car to your income? If you did have a crash, whether you were to write off your car or simply do a few weeks worth of damage, would your insurance company provide a courtesy car? Sometimes there are different rules on courtesy cars for crash damage and for cases of theft and vandalism. To know that you’re protected you will need to understand your policy in full.

About the Author:
For great value car insurance quotes, discover http://www.autodirect.co.uk for cheap car insurance quotes.

Keyword tags: car insurance quotes, car insurance

Creating a trust into which to put your earthly assets is viewed by many people as a hugely important step towards keeping their most valued property in the hands of family and friends. A trust, distinct from yet compatible with a last will and testament, will be for many people an essential part of putting their affairs in order as they prepare to “depart the mortal realm”. Although talking about death in such matter of fact, technical terms is something that people are often loath to do, as one gets older it becomes all the more important to take on board the realities and the transience of life. A major part of that is looking at ensuring that one’s assets are handled correctly. Here are some reasons why people choose to create a trust for that purpose.

1.Creating a living trust allows the individual to manage their property while they are still alive. In addition to that, it allows a person to nominate individuals to do the same up to and after their death. In doing this using the relevant legal channels and entitlements, it is possible to keep any legal vulnerabilities to a minimum and avoid expensive, time consuming legal processes after death. At the base, the idea of a living trust is to keep property with the family and friends, the inner sanctum of an individual.

2.Creating a trust has some notable advantages over making a will. If one simply makes a will, the document and the provisions contained therein are subject to probate, which can see a long and often upsetting delay in the provisions being legally ratified. As well as this, by creating a trust it is possible to remove or minimise the consideration given to inheritance or estate tax – something which in the case of valuable estates can rise into the high figures, and leave some of the beneficiaries with very little.

3.The creation of a living trust is something that is considered important when a testator owns more than one piece of property. In the case of an individual who owns two or more houses, each property will be subject to probate in the case of death. This is something which increases the amount of time taken up by probate and which can also result in the loss of value in their estate. By creating a living trust, this step can be minimized and often removed altogether.

4.By creating a trust it is possible for a testator to nominate a legal guardian for any minor children in the case of their death. This can also allow the testator to specify any provisions for certain points in the life of their child whereupon they will be entitled to any cash or property assets which are held in trust – thus paying for school fees or allowing their child to have a house of their own on reaching a certain age. This step allows parents who do not have long to live to ensure the security of their children after their death.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.

About the Author:
http://LegalBuffet.com is a complete online resource that compares the legal services offered by various online companies. Find the best company for your living trusts needs at http://legalbuffet.com/trust-services/.

Keyword tags: Trusts, living trusts, online trusts, estate planning, trusts online, legal trusts, wills, create a

The GPS is used to help you find locations so that you will not get lost. This is pretty much the simplest definition to describe a GPS. There is much more to a GPS than just finding the destination of your location and that is why many people enjoy the GPS. These are some examples of the uses for a GPS:

1. When you are traveling you can find hotels, restaurants, emergency stations and other important places while on your journey.

2. Obviously you can find a direct route to where you are headed and get exact instructions on how to get there.

3. When there are things that cause your route to be changed such as road work or roads closed then the GPS will let you know and give you an alternative route.

4. Many times people who are traveling in bad weather appreciate knowing the condition of the highway ahead of time.

5. The GPS will give you warnings on weather conditions, road conditions, and often will help you select an alternative route or advise you to get off the highway for safety sake.

6. The GPS was first used by the military to help keep the unit on the right route during desert storm so it is capable of helping a caravan of people who are traveling to stay together and not get lost.

The GPS is guided by satellites that are placed in the sky for the convenience of the user to enable you to be able to keep up with directions no matter where you travel.

Now that you know what the top 6 reasons are when it comes down to the uses of a GPS, I’m going to show you can find the best deals when it comes to buying a portable GPS navigator for your automobile.

With so many GPS devices on the market today, it’s hard to pick out the one you want. I made it easy and put together a top 10 list, which you can find at the end of this article. I was able to put together this list by reading reviews, getting opinions from others, and factoring in the price. Some many GPS devices out there have different options, sizes, and colors. It’s going to be hard to choose one.

The first thing you want to do is consider the options. What kind of options do you want? Do you want a luxury one that shows you traffic and more? Do you want one that just tells you where to go? If you want something simple, I would get a simple one that just shows you where your final destination is. It’s never smart to get one that’s cheap, because you’re going to get what you pay for.

When it comes down to your final decision, make sure you look at options, the size, and reviews online. If the GPS is too expensive, look at a lower end unit, but always make sure it gets good reviews. Without the reviews and good support, you may buy a dud.

About the Author:
Find some of the best GPS units on the market today with my top ten list at http://www.findgascards.com/blog/top-10-gps-navigation-systems/

Keyword tags: gps, gps for car, uses for a gps