1. What were the major drivers of the outsourcing at Kone?
- Kone found out that internal IT processes were insufficient to support the globalization strategy.
- The major drivers of the outsourcing at Kone is Kone realize that it must implement and manage a global-standard IT environment. The company also realized that its business is about escalators and elevators, not IT, so it decided to pursue IT outsourcing.
2. Why did Kone elect to work with several vendors?
- By using two separate vendors promised the best-of-breed approach.
- To ensure high availability environment.
- The system provides management with real-time data on product sales, profitability and backlogs
3. What are some of the risks of this outsourcing?
- Lose some element of control over the people that have been outsourced.
- communication network between Kone and vendors failure.
4. How can Kone control its vendors?
- Kone maintains some IT competencies to allow it to actively manage its outsourcing partners.
- The internal team meets online regularly, and the vendors collaborate and work closely together.
By: Goo Yah Wei
Monday, March 23, 2009
Minicase 2
1. What were the major drivers of the outsourcing at Kone?
The major drivers of the outsouring at Kone are
- implementation and management of global-standard IT environment because Kone found out that their internet IT processes were insufficient to support the globalization strategy
- perform mainframe operations to Computer Science Corp
2. Why did Kone elect to work with several vendors?
Kone elected to work with several vendors because
- the scope of outsourcing was much larger
- by using two seperate vendors promised the best-of-breed approach and help Kone in managing real-time data on product sales, profitability and backlogs.
3. What are some of the risk of this outsourcing?
The risks of this outsourcing includes:
- cost control of glodal outsourcing in infrastructure and people
- private communication networks failure
- integrity and compatible of hardware and software with different IT platforms and variety of applications
4. How can Kone control its vendors?
Kone control its vendors by
- maintains some IT competencies to allow it to actively manage its outsourcing partners
- Kone's internal team meets online regularly, and the vendors collaborate and work closely together
By: Goh Poey Ching
The major drivers of the outsouring at Kone are
- implementation and management of global-standard IT environment because Kone found out that their internet IT processes were insufficient to support the globalization strategy
- perform mainframe operations to Computer Science Corp
2. Why did Kone elect to work with several vendors?
Kone elected to work with several vendors because
- the scope of outsourcing was much larger
- by using two seperate vendors promised the best-of-breed approach and help Kone in managing real-time data on product sales, profitability and backlogs.
3. What are some of the risk of this outsourcing?
The risks of this outsourcing includes:
- cost control of glodal outsourcing in infrastructure and people
- private communication networks failure
- integrity and compatible of hardware and software with different IT platforms and variety of applications
4. How can Kone control its vendors?
Kone control its vendors by
- maintains some IT competencies to allow it to actively manage its outsourcing partners
- Kone's internal team meets online regularly, and the vendors collaborate and work closely together
By: Goh Poey Ching
Sunday, February 1, 2009
High-Tech Car Safety Technologies
Here are some of the latest innovations that will be coming out sometime in the near future that we can look forward to seeing in the up coming years.
1. Tire-pressure monitoring
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has required that all U.S. passenger vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less be equipped with a tire-pressure monitoring system by the 2008 model year. But it's already a safety feature in most new autos. (For example, BMW offers this as standard equipment on all of its models.) Sensors at the wheels are able to alert you if the air pressure is too low by an audible warning, a light on the instrument panel, or both. You may also see more cars with run-flat tires (the Corvette, among the current offerings), which allow a vehicle to continue to run at a relatively high rate of speed for 50-plus miles.
2. Adaptive cruise control/collision mitigation
Modern cruise control goes beyond just maintaining a constant speed. By the used of sensors and radar, cruise control can now adjust the throttle and brakes to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you if there are changes in traffic speed or if a slowpoke cuts in. If the system senses a potential collision, it typically will brake hard and tighten the seatbelts. Once it knows the lane is clear or traffic has sped up, it will return your car to its original cruising speed, all without your input. Of course, you may override the system by touching the brakes. The Mercedes-Benz and Maybach systems go by a less obvious name: Distronic.
3. Blind-spot detection/side assist/ collision warning
This technology is designed to alert you to cars or objects in your blind spot during driving or parking, or both. Usually it will respond when you put on your turn signal; if it detects something in the way, it may flash a light in your mirror, cause the seat or steering wheel to vibrate, or sound an alarm. This is more of a short-range detection system.
4. Lane-departure warning/ wake-you-up-safety
This is similar to blind-spot/side-assist technology but with more range. It judges an approaching vehicle's speed and distance to warn you of potential danger if you change lanes. It can also warn if it determines your car is wandering out of the lane, which could be useful if you become distracted. This could come in the form of a vibration through the seat or steering wheel, or an alarm. Down the road expect lane-departure warning to even be able to monitor body posture, head position and eye activity to decide if the driver is falling asleep and the vehicle is behaving erratically. At that point, the system may even be capable of slowing the car down and engaging stability control. Just in case.
5. Rollover prevention/ mitigation
Most automakers offer an electronic stability control system, and some offer a preparation system (seatbelts tighten, rollbars extend). If the system senses a potential rollover (such as if you whip around a corner too fast or swerve sharply), it will apply the brakes and modulate throttle as needed to help you maintain control. DaimlerChrysler calls it Electronic Roll Mitigation, Ford named it Roll Stability Control, and GM's is Proactive Roll Avoidance. Range Rover's is Active Roll Mitigation, while Volvo's is called Roll-Over Protection System. But they all have the same goal.
6. Occupant-sensitive/ multi-stage airbags
All humans are not created equal, and airbags are evolving to compensate in the form of low-risk, multistage and occupant-sensitive deployment. Technology can now sense the different sizes and weights of occupants as well as seatbelt usage, abnormal seating position (such as reaching for the radio or bending to pick something off the floor), rear-facing child seats and even vehicle speed. While driver, passenger and side curtain airbags are nothing new, sensing airbags are popping up (so to speak) everywhere. For the 2006 model year, some automakers have upped the ante in airbag technology, going beyond the federal requirements for airbag safety. Both General Motors and Ford have introduced new designs for their front airbags that not only deploy with less force but in a smaller size, depending on the size and location of the occupant.
7. Emergency brake assist/ collision mitigation
This brake technology is different from an antilock braking system or electronic brake force distribution, in that it recognizes when the driver makes a panic stop (a quick shift from gas to brake pedal) and will apply additional brake pressure to help shorten the stopping distance. It may also work in conjunction with the smart cruise control or stability control system in some vehicles if it senses a potential collision. It is often called brake assist, although BMW, for example, refers to it as Dynamic Brake Control.
8. Adaptive headlights/ night-vision assist
Night vision can be executed in different forms, such as infrared headlamps or thermal-imaging cameras. But no matter the science, the goal is the same: to help you see farther down the road and to spot animals, people or trees in the path — even at nearly 1,000 feet away. An image is generated through a cockpit display, brightening the objects that are hard to see with the naked eye. Adaptive headlights follow the direction of the vehicle (bending the light as you go around corners). They may also be speed-sensitive (changing beam length or height), or compensate for ambient light.
9. Rearview camera
Rearview cameras not only protect your car, but also protect children and animals from accidental back-over. Backing up your car has graduated from side mirrors tilting down or causing chirps and beeps to real-time viewing. New-school tech involves a camera that works with the navigation system to provide a wide-open shot of what's happening behind you to help with parking or hooking up a trailer.
10. Emergency response
There are a variety of ways vehicles now and in the future will handle an emergency situation. For example, DaimlerChrysler's Enhanced Accident Response System (EARS) turns on interior lighting, unlocks doors and shuts off fuel when airbags deploy, while Volkswagen's also switches on the hazards and disconnects the battery terminal from the alternator. In addition, GM's OnStar and BMW Assist both alert their respective response centers of the accident and make crash details available to emergency personnel.
11. Black box technology
Planes have them and cars will too, and why not the Black box on planes have be literally invaluable for discovering on air planes for many years with its ability to get detail records of trips and logs what happens to a plane in flight or when accidents occur. While it’s being debated like most things that come to personal privacy and many people, will no doubt object to the idea of the black box being implemented into cars of the future. The fact is that both Ford and General Motors already are using black Box technology in around two-thirds of the models built, but they are referred to as recorders. Drivers can expect the advancement of these recorders to be able to tell about car accidents, how fast you were driving and much more on the horizon.
12. Cars that park for you
Yes, the Cars that actually will do the parking are being tested even today. In fact Toyota is working with such a system in Japan where the driver keeps his foot on the brake while the car amazingly enough parallel parks it’s self. Its future looks bright, as this type of application could be very useful in the future not just in parking but also use in other tight places like garages and other tight places
13. Let the car do the driving
With the advancement of GPS and robotic technology setting your car on Auto Pilot where the navigation system guides the car to its destination while the driver sits back and relaxes will become a reality sooner than people could imagine. Experimentation and planning is underway with planning the use of magnets and GPS to make this dream become a reality.
By,
weiching
Source:
i. Tori Tellem(2008), http://www.edmunds.com
ii. Will Knight(2002), http://www.newscientist.com
iii. Mr. Car Quote(2007), http://www.mrcarquote.com
iv. Magazine: Toyota Touch, December 2008, Issue: 035
1. Tire-pressure monitoring
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has required that all U.S. passenger vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less be equipped with a tire-pressure monitoring system by the 2008 model year. But it's already a safety feature in most new autos. (For example, BMW offers this as standard equipment on all of its models.) Sensors at the wheels are able to alert you if the air pressure is too low by an audible warning, a light on the instrument panel, or both. You may also see more cars with run-flat tires (the Corvette, among the current offerings), which allow a vehicle to continue to run at a relatively high rate of speed for 50-plus miles.
2. Adaptive cruise control/collision mitigation
Modern cruise control goes beyond just maintaining a constant speed. By the used of sensors and radar, cruise control can now adjust the throttle and brakes to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you if there are changes in traffic speed or if a slowpoke cuts in. If the system senses a potential collision, it typically will brake hard and tighten the seatbelts. Once it knows the lane is clear or traffic has sped up, it will return your car to its original cruising speed, all without your input. Of course, you may override the system by touching the brakes. The Mercedes-Benz and Maybach systems go by a less obvious name: Distronic.
3. Blind-spot detection/side assist/ collision warning
This technology is designed to alert you to cars or objects in your blind spot during driving or parking, or both. Usually it will respond when you put on your turn signal; if it detects something in the way, it may flash a light in your mirror, cause the seat or steering wheel to vibrate, or sound an alarm. This is more of a short-range detection system.
4. Lane-departure warning/ wake-you-up-safety
This is similar to blind-spot/side-assist technology but with more range. It judges an approaching vehicle's speed and distance to warn you of potential danger if you change lanes. It can also warn if it determines your car is wandering out of the lane, which could be useful if you become distracted. This could come in the form of a vibration through the seat or steering wheel, or an alarm. Down the road expect lane-departure warning to even be able to monitor body posture, head position and eye activity to decide if the driver is falling asleep and the vehicle is behaving erratically. At that point, the system may even be capable of slowing the car down and engaging stability control. Just in case.
5. Rollover prevention/ mitigation
Most automakers offer an electronic stability control system, and some offer a preparation system (seatbelts tighten, rollbars extend). If the system senses a potential rollover (such as if you whip around a corner too fast or swerve sharply), it will apply the brakes and modulate throttle as needed to help you maintain control. DaimlerChrysler calls it Electronic Roll Mitigation, Ford named it Roll Stability Control, and GM's is Proactive Roll Avoidance. Range Rover's is Active Roll Mitigation, while Volvo's is called Roll-Over Protection System. But they all have the same goal.
6. Occupant-sensitive/ multi-stage airbags
All humans are not created equal, and airbags are evolving to compensate in the form of low-risk, multistage and occupant-sensitive deployment. Technology can now sense the different sizes and weights of occupants as well as seatbelt usage, abnormal seating position (such as reaching for the radio or bending to pick something off the floor), rear-facing child seats and even vehicle speed. While driver, passenger and side curtain airbags are nothing new, sensing airbags are popping up (so to speak) everywhere. For the 2006 model year, some automakers have upped the ante in airbag technology, going beyond the federal requirements for airbag safety. Both General Motors and Ford have introduced new designs for their front airbags that not only deploy with less force but in a smaller size, depending on the size and location of the occupant.
7. Emergency brake assist/ collision mitigation
This brake technology is different from an antilock braking system or electronic brake force distribution, in that it recognizes when the driver makes a panic stop (a quick shift from gas to brake pedal) and will apply additional brake pressure to help shorten the stopping distance. It may also work in conjunction with the smart cruise control or stability control system in some vehicles if it senses a potential collision. It is often called brake assist, although BMW, for example, refers to it as Dynamic Brake Control.
8. Adaptive headlights/ night-vision assist
Night vision can be executed in different forms, such as infrared headlamps or thermal-imaging cameras. But no matter the science, the goal is the same: to help you see farther down the road and to spot animals, people or trees in the path — even at nearly 1,000 feet away. An image is generated through a cockpit display, brightening the objects that are hard to see with the naked eye. Adaptive headlights follow the direction of the vehicle (bending the light as you go around corners). They may also be speed-sensitive (changing beam length or height), or compensate for ambient light.
9. Rearview camera
Rearview cameras not only protect your car, but also protect children and animals from accidental back-over. Backing up your car has graduated from side mirrors tilting down or causing chirps and beeps to real-time viewing. New-school tech involves a camera that works with the navigation system to provide a wide-open shot of what's happening behind you to help with parking or hooking up a trailer.
10. Emergency response
There are a variety of ways vehicles now and in the future will handle an emergency situation. For example, DaimlerChrysler's Enhanced Accident Response System (EARS) turns on interior lighting, unlocks doors and shuts off fuel when airbags deploy, while Volkswagen's also switches on the hazards and disconnects the battery terminal from the alternator. In addition, GM's OnStar and BMW Assist both alert their respective response centers of the accident and make crash details available to emergency personnel.
11. Black box technology
Planes have them and cars will too, and why not the Black box on planes have be literally invaluable for discovering on air planes for many years with its ability to get detail records of trips and logs what happens to a plane in flight or when accidents occur. While it’s being debated like most things that come to personal privacy and many people, will no doubt object to the idea of the black box being implemented into cars of the future. The fact is that both Ford and General Motors already are using black Box technology in around two-thirds of the models built, but they are referred to as recorders. Drivers can expect the advancement of these recorders to be able to tell about car accidents, how fast you were driving and much more on the horizon.
12. Cars that park for you
Yes, the Cars that actually will do the parking are being tested even today. In fact Toyota is working with such a system in Japan where the driver keeps his foot on the brake while the car amazingly enough parallel parks it’s self. Its future looks bright, as this type of application could be very useful in the future not just in parking but also use in other tight places like garages and other tight places
13. Let the car do the driving
With the advancement of GPS and robotic technology setting your car on Auto Pilot where the navigation system guides the car to its destination while the driver sits back and relaxes will become a reality sooner than people could imagine. Experimentation and planning is underway with planning the use of magnets and GPS to make this dream become a reality.
By,
weiching
Source:
i. Tori Tellem(2008), http://www.edmunds.com
ii. Will Knight(2002), http://www.newscientist.com
iii. Mr. Car Quote(2007), http://www.mrcarquote.com
iv. Magazine: Toyota Touch, December 2008, Issue: 035
Technology = Car Safety?
In the last three decades, the incidence of traffic crash fatalities and injuries has been reduced significantly in the high-income countries but not in the low- and middle-income countries. The traffic patterns in the former are not only different but are also less complex than those in the latter. Traffic in low-income countries comprises a much higher share of vulnerable road users and so vehicles, roads and the environment have to be designed for their safety. Solutions for such problems are not readily available and very innovative work needs to be done around the world to arrive at new policies and designs. In addition to crashworthiness of vehicles, transportation planning, exposure control, intelligent separation of non-motorized traffic on major roads, and traffic calming are likely to play a much more important role.
I've been having a discussion with some folks recently about the safety of the older cars of the 60s/70s versus the cars of today. I was siding with the advancement of today's safety technologies such as airbags, smarter seatbelt systems, crumple zones, reinforced doors, stronger/lighter materials, etc saying that they provide a much safer vehicle than the steel behemoths. Their side is, of course, the opposite basically saying that the size, weight, materials used in making the car (think lots of steel was used back in the day) provide for a safer vehicle in comparison to today's cars. Let’s say, if you take a 60's car and crash it into a Hyundai at 60mph the little car will bounce off like a super ball the airbag will keep you alive until the engine meets with you. The tiny car conversely will act as crumple zone for the steel bohemoth decelerating it harmlessly. If you employ shoulder belt technology in the steel monster you will probably fair better. Of course your chances of avoiding an accident are probably better in the nimble car, when cars of equal mass hit your chances are better in the little car with airbags.
Technology and human behavior can influence the effectiveness of safety policies. In the field of traffic safety, rational-choice theorists postulate that automobile safety devices induce increased driver risk taking. Such behavioral responses could partly or totally nullify the lifesaving potential of governmental safety rules for new cars, such as the crashworthiness standards adopted by the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This study explores the behavioral-response hypothesis in the context of a car-vintage model of U.S. car occupant death rates. Results from the model imply that U.S. standards have reduced the occupant death rate by roughly 30 percent, a finding consistent with minimal driver response to safety devices.
By,
weiching
Source:
i. John D. Graham(1984), Technology, Behavior, and Safety: An Empirical Study of Automobile Occupant-Protection Regulation, School of Urban and Public Affairs, Carnegie-Mellon University
ii. Cavaliere D., Simonot-Lion F., Song Y.-Q., Hembert O., A Component Model Approach for Modeling and Validation of an Automated Manufacturing System, in Actes de 8th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, Antibes – Juan les Pins, 15-18 October 2001.
iii. Dinesh Mohan(2002), http://ije.oxfordjournals.org
I've been having a discussion with some folks recently about the safety of the older cars of the 60s/70s versus the cars of today. I was siding with the advancement of today's safety technologies such as airbags, smarter seatbelt systems, crumple zones, reinforced doors, stronger/lighter materials, etc saying that they provide a much safer vehicle than the steel behemoths. Their side is, of course, the opposite basically saying that the size, weight, materials used in making the car (think lots of steel was used back in the day) provide for a safer vehicle in comparison to today's cars. Let’s say, if you take a 60's car and crash it into a Hyundai at 60mph the little car will bounce off like a super ball the airbag will keep you alive until the engine meets with you. The tiny car conversely will act as crumple zone for the steel bohemoth decelerating it harmlessly. If you employ shoulder belt technology in the steel monster you will probably fair better. Of course your chances of avoiding an accident are probably better in the nimble car, when cars of equal mass hit your chances are better in the little car with airbags.
Technology and human behavior can influence the effectiveness of safety policies. In the field of traffic safety, rational-choice theorists postulate that automobile safety devices induce increased driver risk taking. Such behavioral responses could partly or totally nullify the lifesaving potential of governmental safety rules for new cars, such as the crashworthiness standards adopted by the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This study explores the behavioral-response hypothesis in the context of a car-vintage model of U.S. car occupant death rates. Results from the model imply that U.S. standards have reduced the occupant death rate by roughly 30 percent, a finding consistent with minimal driver response to safety devices.
By,
weiching
Source:
i. John D. Graham(1984), Technology, Behavior, and Safety: An Empirical Study of Automobile Occupant-Protection Regulation, School of Urban and Public Affairs, Carnegie-Mellon University
ii. Cavaliere D., Simonot-Lion F., Song Y.-Q., Hembert O., A Component Model Approach for Modeling and Validation of an Automated Manufacturing System, in Actes de 8th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, Antibes – Juan les Pins, 15-18 October 2001.
iii. Dinesh Mohan(2002), http://ije.oxfordjournals.org
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Second Hand Cars
The July 11 edition of The Edge ran a cover story on the gloomy second-hand car industry:
A combination of factors has slammed the brakes on the car industry. Low trade-in values, uncompetitive prices and inflationary pressures are keeping buyers out of new car showrooms. The New Automotive Policy has not dispelled the uncertainty and confusion. What will put the industry back on track?
· Shakeout among used car dealers
...the collapse of the used vehicle market since March has called for closer scrutiny of the modus operandi of certain industry players.
Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Car Dealers and Credit Companies Association (KLSCDCCA) president Khoo Kah Jin says used vehicle dealers are required by the law to settle payment on trade-in vehicles and to change the names of vehicle owners within seven days of a transaction.
Khoo says this law is currently not adhered to by every dealer. Certain dealers would only pay car sellers after their vehicles are sold, in return for higher trade-in prices.
written by: Yah Wei
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Future Safety for Cars
Nowadays, cars safety is an important parts to be considered by the car manufacturers. This is because the statistics was shown that there have increasing in percentage of cars fatalities. The performance of cars in front-crash effectiveness doesn't mean cars are as safe as possible because the safety of cars should covered the both sides and the back of the cars.
Many new technologies were invented to improve the safety of cars. Among these are Electronic Stability Control used to reduce cars crashes in real-world driving; Electronic Crash Avoidance and Crash Mitigation Systems added to vehicles without having to substantially re-egineer them; Anti-Lock Braking System to prevent the wheels from skidding.
Please follow the link below for more information
http://autos.aol.com/article/safety/v2/_a/future-safety-advances/20060526114109990001
Written by:
poey ching
Many new technologies were invented to improve the safety of cars. Among these are Electronic Stability Control used to reduce cars crashes in real-world driving; Electronic Crash Avoidance and Crash Mitigation Systems added to vehicles without having to substantially re-egineer them; Anti-Lock Braking System to prevent the wheels from skidding.
Please follow the link below for more information
http://autos.aol.com/article/safety/v2/_a/future-safety-advances/20060526114109990001
Written by:
poey ching
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Class Assignment - Old And New Economy of Transportation
In the previous class, we have been assign a task to identify how transportation industry has transform from old to new economy.
Brief Introduction:
Transportation in general means the movement or transport of people or goods from one spot to another, where there is various ways to achieve this motive. Transportation industry nowadays are divided into two major types, the transportation of human being and transportation of goods, while the ways of transportation are diverted into three main groups, which is air, land and water.
The history of transportation dates back to sometimes around 2000BC, with the taming and domestication of horses is the earliest event in the transportation history time line, followed by the invention of the first wheel and until now, the bullet train. But one common feature shared by the old and new economy of transportation is the energy demand, be it energy from muscle of horse or nuclear energy. Hence, the technological evolution in transportation are developing new energy to overcome the old technologies shortage and increasing demand of the market.
For this assignment, we have chosen to dive into the topic of safety in cars. We will review all aspect of safety in cars and discuss the transition from old to new economy.
Written by: Cindy
Brief Introduction:
Transportation in general means the movement or transport of people or goods from one spot to another, where there is various ways to achieve this motive. Transportation industry nowadays are divided into two major types, the transportation of human being and transportation of goods, while the ways of transportation are diverted into three main groups, which is air, land and water.
The history of transportation dates back to sometimes around 2000BC, with the taming and domestication of horses is the earliest event in the transportation history time line, followed by the invention of the first wheel and until now, the bullet train. But one common feature shared by the old and new economy of transportation is the energy demand, be it energy from muscle of horse or nuclear energy. Hence, the technological evolution in transportation are developing new energy to overcome the old technologies shortage and increasing demand of the market.
For this assignment, we have chosen to dive into the topic of safety in cars. We will review all aspect of safety in cars and discuss the transition from old to new economy.
Written by: Cindy
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