More expensive to clean women's blouses ?

The reason cleaners charge more for women's blouses than men's business shirts is because they are passing along their increased cost of production to their customers. Depending on the cleaner's equipment, it costs them between three and four times the labor expense to properly "finish" blouses for women compared to a men's shirt. Here's why…

The biggest production cost for a cleaner is their labor expense, the money they pay their employees. Most of their labor goes into the "finishing" of a garment. Finishing is a combination of machine pressing and hand ironing. Most garments require a combination of machine pressing and hand ironing to achieve the desired finish. Many cleaners have special "assembly line style" machines that can finish the typical men's business shirts without any hand ironing. These machines greatly reduce the time and labor needed to finish a shirt compared to a women's blouse which sometimes requires as much as 100% hand ironing to achieve the proper finish. Depending on their equipment and the skill of the presser, most cleaners can finish three to four men's business shirts in the same time it takes to finish one women's blouse.

You may be thinking, why not make similar machines for finishing women's blouses? Well, I'm sure they would if they could. The problem is that women's blouses come in an extremely wide variety and combination of different patterns, fabric types, trims and ornamentation. Plus, these variations can change dramatically from season to season with the latest changes in fashion. This prevents the machine manufacturers from developing presses that will fit the majority of women's blouses. Where as men's shirts have basically looked exactly the same for more than 100 years and they're almost always made of 100% cotton or a cotton/poly blend. This stability in style has enabled the machine manufacturers to develop shirt presses that will fit the majority of men's business shirts. The classic men's business shirt is called a Pin Point Oxford and has the common features in the diagram below…

Most models of shirt machines are limited in the range of sizes that will fit on them. The standard range is medium through extra large. Shirts outside of this range, i.e. small and double X shirts, require extra hand finishing. A shirt that doesn't fit on these machines is typically charged the same price as a women's blouse. There is a women's version of the Pin Point Oxford business shirt, but they rarely fit on the machines. If a women's shirt will fit on the machines, the cleaner should charge her the same price as they charge for a men's business shirt.

China Credit Crunch Reveals Greater C2FO Opportunity

The New Yorker's recent article, "The Gift of Doubt, Albert O. Hirschman and the power of failure," by Malcolm Gladwell, inspires thoughts on the current business challenges in China. The article delves into the economic philosophy of the late economist Albert Hirschman, whose work examined whether ignorance impedes or is a precondition to progress. Hirschman's study of a thirty-two year odyssey in railroad construction led to his belief that creativity is borne of necessity rather than desire.

The article describes that during the mid-nineteenth century, a five-mile mass called the Hoosac Mountain blocked passage between the Deerfield Valley and a tributary of the Hudson, posing a significant challenge to railroad builders. Beset by miscalculations, political roadblocks and inefficient drilling methods, construction of the Hoosac Tunnel would eventually exceed its budget tenfold. Had they fully grasped the situation at the outset, the funders would never have undertaken this Herculean task. However, once engaged, the imperative of success spawned creative thinking and ingenuity that led to completion of the longest U.S. railroad at the time, contributing to the overall rapid industrial growth of the country.

According to Hirschman, "the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding of genuine creativity than it will turn out to be."

In the case of the China credit crunch, such ignorance has led to an economic system that is broken. The situation of unregulated shadow banking, combined with higher borrowing rates and the inability for many companies to obtain funding, has created a macroeconomic crisis condition where new thinking is required. It is the equivalent of being mid-way through the mountain before realizing the tools at-hand will not complete the task. It is an opportunity for the C2FO Market to provide a transformative solution.

The credit crisis in China has created an imperative for SMB and global Fortune 1000 companies to think more creatively about achieving cash flow efficiency, without resorting to shadow banking, factoring, and supply chain financing. Constant static and "less-than dynamic" discounting methods are not economic tools of the modern age.

Instead of borrowing the same money at increasingly higher rates, or being restricted to limited accounts receivable advance rates and excessive fees, C2FO provides an open market system that gives all businesses the opportunity to access their cash from their customers in a more efficient manner. This means lower cost, less friction and more flexibility. C2FO is the economic trans-continental railroad of our time and a tipping point for China's businesses to transform their financial system. C2FO is working capital made easy.

Four trends in robotics

Four large and diverse trends are having a sizeable effect on the robots industry, according to The Robot Report.

1. Broad recognition

There is broad recognition within the business world for the value of robotics and that growing awareness is spreading to the media and financial community. Efficiency, reliability, low spoilage, and higher overall productivity are the real products of advanced automation. This is not going unnoticed, due to such strategic acquisitions such as Amazon's 2012 acquisition of Kiva Systems. Since then, similar acquisitions have taken place; the four most recent of which are:

The Ninebot China acquired its competitor Segway, to settle their ongoing legal battles and obtain Segway's IP.
The German robot manufacturer Kuka bought Swisslog last year, in order to add mobility to the Kuka product line. It also took over Reis Robotics, which had a factory in China as well as a new one in Shanghai.
China South Rail (CSR) acquired the UK-based SMD, a manufacturer of underwater robotics technologies and systems. China intends to obtain core deep-sea robotic technology and equipment, next to the mature industry platform and global sales network of SMD, supporting its entry into the global deep-sea market. This is in addition to the existing activities of CSR.
Teradyne bought the Danish Universal Robots, manufacturer of one-armed robots and the primary competitor to American Rethink Robotics. Up until now, the electronics manufacturer only used the UR robots.

2. Effect of China

Global industrial robot sales reached 225,000 units in 2014, which is 27 percent more than in 2013. About 56,000 of these were sold in China, which is a growth of 58% as compared to 2013. Chinese companies made 16,000 of the 56,000 robots for the domestic market. To increase the number of domestically-made robots, many local governments provided the necessary investment credits and other financial incentives to work in their region. The number of distributors has grown from fewer than 100 to nearly 500. By the end of 2014 over 500 companies were active in the sector, with 90% focusing on the production of components and integration. The number is expected to increase to 800 by the end of 2015, and the number of manufacturers is expected to increase by 10%.

Driven by increasing wages and political incentives, China has become the largest buyer of industrial robots, and these robots are used by thousands. By 2017, China will have more robots operating in production sites than any other country, which will boost the automation of its car and electronics industry. Still, China lags behind as far as its robot density rate is concerned: around 30 robots per 10,000 workers compared to 437 in South Korea, 323 in Japan, 282 in Germany, and 152 in the US.

3. Visual perception

Vision-enhanced robotic systems are becoming the primary reason for upgrading and is the core reason for the continual growth of the robotics industry. The capability to determine its location in 3D makes it possible for robots to, for instance, safely engage in order-picking, which is very important for companies such as Amazon. Visual robotic systems are quite different from the classical industrial robots used in car manufacture: an object has to be brought to a "blind" pre-programmed robot in a specific spot at a specific time for processing. Each step of the process is hand-programmed and highly detailed. Newer systems that use cameras and identification software are more flexible, and can move the product from one step to the next. They are less rigid and precise and, as a consequence, the movement system is less expensive.

Various AI learning systems have been improving visual perception, and quite a few new companies offer vision systems that can supplement existing systems. Alternatively, they offer mobile manipulators that can determine how best to pick and handle all sorts of objects from various materials. Reducing costs by replacing expensive transport systems by cheaper mobile bin-picking robots is successful because of the many possibilities for manufacturers or warehouse operators. Companies to watch for these mobile manipulators are Fetch Robotics, RightHand Robotics, Clearpath Robotics, Adept Technologies, and Kuka/Swisslog.

4. Human/robot collaboration

The original intention was to provide SMEs with robots to improve production, become more cost-effective and thereby more competitive as well, so as to halt their movement offshore. Rethink Robotics' Baxter and Universal Robots' one-armed robots were pioneers in this segment. At the same time a movement has started to make companies more aware and understanding of the advantages of cobots as well as the business opportunities that they can bring.

A large user of cobots is the car manufacturer BMW, which already uses 7,500 robots in its factories. The company has been testing UR robots alongside factory workers, who were given less exhausting tasks. The test results were so positive that BMW is considering doubling or even tripling the number of robots.

At the moment, cobots make up 5% of the overall robotics market, though this number is expected to grow strongly in the future. The leaders in this field will most likely be ABB with Robert, Rethink Robotics, who has made its systems faster and more precise, and is introducing the new Sawyer robot, as well as market leader Universal Robots. Many other up and coming companies are expected as well. The market is expected to increase ten-fold between 2015 and 2020. Insiders expect an even more rapid growth, with light-weight robots being a top seller within two years.

A number of these robots can be found in the Sirris' Diepenbeek production hall. Companies can be introduced to the possibilities and test their function for their own activities.

Reducing your greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint

If you've made the decision to help promote a cleaner, greener footprint by reducing your carbon footprint, chances are you might be wondering exactly how to be eco-friendly and which steps you can take to get started. Here are three different things that you can do to personally reduce greenhouse gas emissions here in Canada.

Use Less Energy at Home

The first step to take when figuring out how to reduce your carbon footprint is as simple as the flick of a switch –literally. It may sound like something you would teach a child, but simply turning off the lights in a room when they aren't needed is very important. In addition to that, try unplugging your electronics when they aren't in use. Believe it or not, some experts suggest that unplugging unused TVs, printers, phone chargers and other electronics when they aren't in use can save up to 10% or more on your monthly utility bill. That also translates to a reduction in greenhouse emissions.

In the market for new home appliances? Be sure to select models with superior energy efficiency. The technology behind many appliances, such as refrigerators has allowed for incredible improvements in efficiency. Thanks to green technologies, a refrigerator made today is 40% more efficient than one made only ten years ago.

Eat for Efficiency

You may have heard all about the growing movement toward eating more locally grown or raised food. This is a great way to preserve the livelihoods of local farmers and to enjoy fresher, tastier foods. But did you know that eating locally helps to reduce your carbon footprint?

It's estimated that on average, food travels between 2,400 km to 3,200 km from its point of origin to the consumer. This distance results in an incredibly large footprint. However, if you choose to eat locally from farmers' markets or by joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) system you can help reduce the need for shipping and extraneous packaging.

Ride a Scooteretti Scooter Electric or Bike!

Making a change in your mode of transit is an excellent way to do your part in the reduction of greenhouse gas. When you switch from driving a car to an electric scooter or bike you can save money on insurance, licensing and best of all, you'll be able to reduce your carbon footprint in a significant (and stylish) way.

Electric bikes and scooter are now accepted on most roads in Ontario. They can be ridden at a maximum speed of 32 kilometers per hour, following Transit Canada's regulations for ebikes.

Scooteretti ebikes and scooters are durable, sleek and fun to ride. They're the perfect mode of eco-friendly transportation, whether you live in the heart of the city or in the suburbs.