Category: Industry

An Overview Of The Heavy Machinery Industry

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The present day market is a highly competitive one and therefore companies need to devise new and innovative business strategies in order to continue making profits and to substantially increase their market share. For this reason, companies have now begun to shift their business focus from creating tangible products to developing a whole range of comprehensive products along with service designs. This explains the increasing importance of innovative services and this has become apparent over the years. However, little has been done for the management of these services. Heavy equipments are ones that are used mainly in the construction and manufacturing industry. These colossal equipments are difficult to transport, are capital intensive and have a long life cycle of use. This heavy industry machinery is extensively utilised by diverse industries including forestry, transportation, agriculture and construction.

These industries call for substantial investments in heavy equipments and thus getting a proper ROA or return on assets is necessary. Capital velocity is highly important in this respect. It is necessary to make provisions for such innovative services in order to ensure high level of performance and asset availability within a limit budget. Heavy equipments are usually customised and thus are difficult to manage and maintain. These equipments can be divided into different categories such as mining equipment and construction equipment. A working face, shovel, stacker and dumper is used for open pit mines whereas a drill, underground loaders and rigs are used for underground mines. Construction equipments comprise a long list including trenching equipment, piles driving equipment, wagon and trucks, excavating equipments such as clamshells, power shovels, hoes and cranes; draglines, scrapers and tractors.

There are different types of heavy equipment that are used for similar purposes and thus it would be difficult to make a generic classification. There are a number of factors that are taken into consideration while classifying these equipments and these include service facility, operating environment, revenue generation, core competency, life expectancy, service skills, subsystem, cost and weight.

Stakeholders play a crucial role in adding value to the customer through the supply chain. The list includes profiles such as that of manufacturers, service providers, designers, governments, contractors and suppliers.

Companies that use heavy equipment and heavy lifting services will obviously need the help of high investment in order to achieve an equally high ROA. Asset management is important in this respect. It is a proper and systematic approach adopted towards the maintenance and the upgrade of assets. Asset management comprises the activities and processes that are necessary for minimising the investment, maximising the commercial return, manage risks and optimise the strategic value. Asset management also includes every function right from operations to procurement, from engineering to maintenance. The latter is considered to be an integral function of asset management.

The business strategies implemented in the industry are a bit different from the other industries. It is a bit difficult for the heavy equipment industry to garner profits and improve their market position in the long run. Service development can increase the opportunities to a great extent thereby making more room for marketing opportunities.

History Of The Trucking Industry

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The trucking industry as we know it, began at the turn of the twentieth century with the invention of the motorized truck. Motorized vehicles were competition for the railroad industry and became a major factor in the increase of land transportation of goods throughout the United States. The development of fuel also contributed to the increased use of trucks. As motor technology advanced and improved, there was a natural progression for the construction of paved roads. As a result, there were regulations set by the state and federal government that were to be adhered to when moving freight.

Prior to the use of trucks, trains were the most efficient mode of transporting goods because it had the capacity to accommodate bulk. Trucks were initially used to deliver items to remote locations that were inaccessible for the train. The first boom in the usage of trucks occurred during the 1920s. At this time, roads were improving and made delivery locations more accessible. Eventually more durable tires replaced the rubber tires and trucks were made larger in order to carry more goods while providing comfort to the driver.

The first trucks were extremely heavy and had crude mechanisms. Initially they were only providing delivery and hauling to the city. This restriction was due in large part because the trucks could not handle the pothole and unpaved roads. The Automobile Club of America put on the very first United States contest for commercial vehicles; the goal of the test was to examine the reliability, speed and capacity of the truck. Excited by the results of the contest, manufacturers were to meet the demand for trucks and the use of trucks for freight transportation flourished.

The trucking industry as we know it was still in its infancy when the Great Depression hit and a number of trucking companies were forced to close their operations. The companies who survived were able to benefit from the repeal of Prohibition, which also occurred during a time of economic recovery. In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act; this act halted the legislative mudslinging between the rail and automotive providers and provided structure for the industry. At that time, the federal government became an investor into the railroad industry, which happened to have also from the depression, as well as from the emerging auto transport industry.

The Motor Carrier Act set regulations for freight-hauling. The act limited the hours that could be driven. It also mandated the classification of freight that could be carried. The owners of the trucking companies became concerned that the new regulations would compromise their competitive advantage over established rail companies. As infrastructures were improved, driver demand increased and opened up opportunity for new businesses to enter the market.

The trucking industry is a key player in the American economy through the transportation of raw materials, produce, and finished goods. Trucks are also vital to the construction industry when large amounts of materials are needed for a project. Currently, the American trucking industry is responsible for most of the movement of freight and will continue to be essential for US manufacturing and construction.

Under the regulation of ICC, companies who have for-hire trucks were required to apply for a license if they wanted like to enter the interstate markets. The guidelines were strict and licenses were granted only if it could be proven that there was a need for additional capacity. The rates, which used to be an agreement between the trucker and the customer, were put in the hands of bureaus. The rate bureaus are owned and administered by participating carriers. The bureaus job is to analyze costs and initiate pricing standards and competitive rates within the industry. In 1980, Congress put through a trucking deregulation bill. The goal of the bill was to increase competition and this competition resulted in reduced shipping costs for customers.

Prior to 1983, truck size and weight limitations were set by individual states. The federal government pushed for legislation that set limitations on the interstate highway system. In addition to increasing the size and weight limitations on truck, the law also resulted in an increase of the national gas tax and increased fees on the industry. Currently, the trucking industry is responsible for paying roughly half of all state and federal road user taxes.

Career Change – How To Get Into The Fmcg Industry

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You are out of work and you’ve been on hundreds of job interviews and no job. You really need to find a job quickly as your savings and finances are slowly dwindling. Unemployment doesn’t cover all your expenses. You simply need to find a job in an industry that you can be certain won’t become depressed. What exactly can this be? You’ve heard the mantra people’s needs will never change. They have to eat, sleep and have somewhere to live. One of these needs fits into the FMCG or fast moving consumer goods industry. So how do you transition to a career in the FMCG? Here are four tips that will help you get a job in a recession proof industry.

Education

If you already have a four year degree, then you are one step ahead of your competition. If not then you will need to get that piece of paper to be able to qualify. You can even get certifications in specific job fields. You may even want to take a workshop or go to a seminar. If it has been a while since you’ve gotten your degree you may want to brush up on a refresher business course to find out the latest business trends and terminology.

Experience

What type of job experience do you have? If you are a new college graduate then you will need to either need an internship or some type experience that will show you are well rounded and can work in a business environment. You need to have some type of referrals to include on your resume’. These cannot all be a personal reference. Keep this in mind during your summer breaks when you aren’t in school. Get a job to get some experience even if it means being a volunteer or a part-time job. If you can get it in a consumer goods field then this will be more relevant and make you one step closer to getting the job.

Network

Who do you know? If you don’t know anyone that might work at Procter and Gamble or Coca- Cola don’t fret. You can put in your resume’ with a recruitment agency and tell them what type of job you are requesting. If you can join an association in your future job field they might be able to help you gain a job. If you are thinking about being a purchasing agent there are associations geared specifically for this area. These organizations will provide job leads and provide tips to help you.

Type of Jobs

There are so many jobs in the fast moving consumer goods industry that you shouldn’t have a problem locating a job. If you have an interest in almost anything that you can think of that is related to the manufacturing, producing, distributing, storing, packaging, and selling of goods and services then you can find a job in this field.

General Mills, Sara Lee, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle’ are all brand names that we all know and love. Anything that you use in your everyday actions on a regular basis are all potential job employers. So the next time you head to the grocery store or walk down the food aisle you are sure to find a company that will hire you as long as you have the experience, educational requirements, and able to get a job interview.

Organic Industry Watchdog FDA Food Safety Rules Threaten to Crush the Good Food Movement

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September 19, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042

Organic Industry Watchdog: FDA Food Safety Rules Threaten to Crush the Good Food Movement

New Report Suggests Proposed Rules Could Drive the Nation’s Safest and Best Farmers Out of Business

http://www.cornucopia.org/2013/09/fda-food-safety-rules-threaten-crush-good-food-movement/ CORNUCOPIA, WI: After years of deliberation in Congress, interagency meetings, lobbyist activity, and a never-ending stream of food poisoning outbreaks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is finally poised to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

However, according to a just released white paper by The Cornucopia Institute at http://www.cornucopia.org/FoodSafety/, the FDA’s draft rules are so off the mark that they might economically crush the country’s safest farmers while ignoring the root threats to human health: manure contaminated with deadly infectious pathogens generated on “factory” livestock farms and high-risk produce-processing practices.

-In response to deadly outbreaks involving spinach, peanut butter and eggs, Congress acted decisively three years ago to pass the Food Safety Modernization Act,” said Mark A. Kastel, Codirector at The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group based in Wisconsin. “Better oversight is needed but it looks like regulators and corporate agribusiness lobbyists are simultaneously using the FSMA to crush competition from the organic and local farming movement.”

Cornucopia’s report closely examines the FDA’s draft regulations (http://www.fda.gov/Food/guidanceregulation/FSMA/ucm334114.htm) for implementing the new food safety law, and a new FDA guidance (http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/Eggs/ucm360028) designed to control Salmonella in eggs produced by outdoor flocks. The report concludes that the new proposals would ensnare some of the country’s safest family farmers in costly and burdensome regulations in a misdirected attempt to rein in abuses that are mostly emanating from industrial-scale farms and giant agribusiness food-processing facilities.

Family farm advocates, and groups representing consumers interested in high-quality food, thought they had won a victory when the Tester/Hagan amendment was adopted by Congress exempting farmers doing less than $500,000 in business from the new rules. But Cornucopia’s report suggests the FDA seems more interested in a “one-size-fits-all” approach to food safety regulation.

In reality, the report suggests that small farms are not really exempt. The FDA is proposing that the agency can, without any due process, almost immediately force small farms to comply with the same expensive testing and record-keeping requirements as factory farms.

“In practical terms,” explains Judith McGeary, a member of The Cornucopia Institute’s policy advisory panel and Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, “the FDA will be able to target small farms one-by-one and put them out of business, with little to no recourse for the farmers.”

The FDA’s economic analysis also shows that farms over $500,000 (still small in the produce industry) will be significantly impacted with some being driven out of business.

“The added expense and record-keeping time will potentially force many small and medium-sized local farms – owner-operated, selling at farmers markets directly to consumers or to local grocers and natural food co-ops – out of business,” Kastel added.

The Institute’s analysis points out that the FDA has wildly inflated the number of foodborne illnesses that originate from farm production (seed to harvest rather than contamination that occurs later in processing and distribution).

It also alleges that the FDA has failed to recognize that specific processed crops such as fresh-cut, or produce grown in certain regions are the genesis of 90% of dangerous outbreaks in fruits and vegetables. In addition to imports from countries like Mexico, where the most recent Taylor Farms Cyclospora outbreak (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/business/taylor-farms-big-food-supplier-grapples-with-frequent-recalls.html?_r=0) originated, the evidence indicates that fresh-cut bagged/boxed salad mix and greens, other pre-cut vegetables and sprouts are much more prone to contamination.

“The proposed rule is a mess,” said Daniel Cohen, owner of Maccabee Seed Company, a longtime industry observer. “The FDA has much greater expertise on food safety issues from harvest to the consumer, but focused instead on farming issues from planting to harvest. Limited, modest, and more focused steps to improve on-farm food-safety could have produced simple, affordable, effective, and enforceable regulation.”

According to Cornucopia, the most important lost opportunity in the collaborative process between Congress, the FDA and the USDA is the lack of attention directed at the giant concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs (factory farms) raising livestock. The massive amount of manure stored at these factory farms is commonly tainted by highly infectious bacteria that have been polluting America’s air, water and farmlands.

“Federal regulators propose nothing to address sick livestock in animal factories and their pathogen-laden manure that is contaminating surrounding rural communities, nearby produce farms and our food supply,” Kastel lamented.

No More Organic Eggs?

The 2010 salmonella outbreak in eggs, centered in Iowa, shone a spotlight on industrial-scale egg houses confining thousands of hens in filthy and dangerous conditions.

The salmonella outbreak led to comprehensive regulation and new guidance for organic farmers. Organic farmers are required by federal law to provide outdoor access to their hens and the new FDA guidance, according to Cornucopia, materially undermines this management practice. And they are doing this despite scientific evidence tying higher rates of pathogenic contamination to older, massive factory farms with cages and forced molting (practices banned in organics) rather than raising birds outside.

“Their new guidance, on one hand, will make it difficult, expensive and maybe even impossible to have medium-sized flocks of birds outside,” Kastel stated. “At the same time, the FDA has colluded with the USDA’s National Organic Program to say that tiny ‘porches’, which hold only a minute fraction of the flock, will now legally constitute ‘outdoor access.’ This is a giveaway to conventional egg companies that are confining as many as 100,000 birds in a building and calling these ‘organic.'”

The Cornucopia Institute has publicly stated that they are investigating legal action against regulators if enforcement action is not taken, under the Organic Foods Production Act (http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC50603700), against the large industrial operations confining laying hens and broilers indoors.

The issue of food safety in Washington has been a contentious one, causing rifts even between nonprofits representing the interest of consumers and family farm organizations that have been historically aligned in support of organic and local food. Some consumer advocates pressed for no exemptions, even as farm policy experts have supplied evidence indicating smaller, family-operated farms are inherently safer.

“Only an idiot would not be concerned with food safety,” said Tom Willey, a Madera, California, organic vegetable producer and longtime organic advocate.

Added Willey: “The antibiotic resistant and increasingly virulent organisms contaminating produce, from time to time, are mutant creatures introduced into the larger environment from confined industrial animal operations across the American countryside. The FDA’s misguided approach could derail achievements in biological agriculture and a greater promise of food made safe through respect for and cooperation with the microbial community which owns and operates this planet upon which we are merely guests.”

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The Cornucopia Institute is a nonprofit organization engaged in research and educational activities supporting the ecological principles and economic wisdom underlying sustainable and organic agriculture. Through research and investigations on agricultural and food issues, The Cornucopia Institute provides needed information to family farmers, consumers, stakeholders involved in the good food movement, and the media.

Impact Of Health Care Legislation Hr 3962 On The Outsourcing Industry

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President Barack Obama had a hard won victory on Saturday night (the 7-8th day of November 2009) when the landmark health care reform legislation (HR 3962) was passed with 220-215 votes. Now if everything goes the Obama way, then by the end of the year 09 Affordable Health Care for America Act would apply as a law impacting almost fifty million US lives. But what does this Act actually imply? How does it stand to impact an average US life? How does the Act affect the outsourcing industry at large? Through my article below I endeavor to answer these and many more questions.
Ab-initio we will refresh the fundamentals of federalism, stating the Roles, Duties, Nature, Scope and Restrictions on the government in a written federal constitution. Next we proceed to see whether the above attempt by the federal government to accede healthcare legislation is ultra-vires the powers granted by the US Constitution.

What is Federalism?

According to the traditional classification followed by the political scientists, constitutions are either unitary or federal. In a unitary constitution, the powers of the government are centralized in one government viz., the Central Government. In the federal constitution, on the contrary, there is a division of power between the federal and the state governments in a way that they are both inter-dependent and independent at the same time.
As we all know that Constitutions are organic documents which operate as fundamental law. The governments and their organs owe their origin to the constitution, derive their authority from the constitution and discharge their responsibilities within the framework of the constitution. The judiciary has the power to declare a law unconstitutional if the law is found to have contravened any provision of the constitution. The American Constitution is the oldest and a well praised example of federalism.

What are the powers granted by the US Constitution to the State Government?

Powers reserved for State Governments are:
Establishing local governments
Issuing licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)
Regulating intrastate commerce
Conducting elections
Ratifying amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Providing for public health and safety
Exercising powers which are neither delegated to the Federal Government nor were prohibited from the States by the Federal Constitution (residuary powers)
Framing other domestic law (for example, setting legal drinking and smoking ages etc.)

What are the powers granted by the US Constitution to the Federal Government?

Under the Constitution, powers reserved for the Federal Government are:
Printing of money
Declaration of war
Establishing the armed forces
Entering into treaties with foreign governments
Regulating commerce domestically and internationally
Establishing post offices and issuing postage
Making laws necessary to enforce the Constitution

What are the powers shared by Federal and State Government?

Under the Constitution, the shared, or “concurrent” powers are:
Setting up courts
Creating and collecting taxes
Building highways
Borrowing money
Making and enforcing laws
Chartering banks and corporations
Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare
Acquiring private property with appropriate compensation

What is the HR 3962 Act ?

The HR 3962 Act conceptualizes a new, voluntary, public, long-term care insurance program to help purchase services and support for people who have functional limitations. The Act endeavors to form a new national program to provide affordable coverage for those who cant get health insurance today because of pre-existing conditions. Under this, the insurance companies must spend 85 cents out of every premium dollar on medical services, thereby fostering the expansion of Medicaid and improving the Medicare. Under this, the young adults, till the age 26, are covered within their parents policies.

The Obama administration intends to attain this by creating mandates. As a self-sustaining public insurance option (that is financed not by tax dollars but by insurance premiums), this provides an alternative to and competes with private health insurance companies, on a level playing field. Additionally, the Act intends to eliminate the antitrust exemption for health insurers and medical malpractice insurers thereby fostering competition thus targeting the existing monopolies in the health insurance market. It aims to establish a new mandatory essential benefits package that shall become the minimum quality standard for employer plans, with the passage of time. The package places a cap for annual out-of-pocket spending, at a maximum of $5,000 per individual and $10,000 per family to prevent bankruptcies from medical expenses.

This Act requires the employers to either provide insurance to their employees or contribute to the cost of their coverage through the public plan/exchange, though the small businesses are exempted from this requirement.

Arguments regarding Constitutionality of HR 3962

The legal fraternity is divided between two schools of thought about the constitutionality of the Act. First school believes that the Act is unconstitutional and places reliance on Articles I 8 and V of the US constitution and on Tenth Amendment. They claim that their argument is supported by the celebrated case of MARBURY v. MADISON, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) and some federalist opinions. The second school of thought places reliance on Article I 8 and the celebrated case of McCulloh v. Maryland, 4 Wheaton 316 (1819); Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937); United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936) and some federalist opinions. An in-toto analysis of these school of thoughts would conclude that the true interpretation of the word general welfare in Article I 8 of the U.S. Constitution can only determine the constitutionality of an Act like HR 3962. Till date the court opinions have been more inclined towards Hamilton (Federalist 33, 83 etc.) and Story rather than Madison (Federalist 41, 45 etc.).
Simply put, when the government mandates welfare as a quid-pro-quo for premiums collected, such welfare translates to nothing but a tax liability for the country men. Such an attempt by the government to regulate insurance sector by masquerading as an industry player is inspired from socialism. I personally feel that socialism is a Marxian concept and may not go well in an economy with capitalist foundations. The good thing is that people all over the world should buy insurance; this however turns bad when the government forces people to do so.

What are the implications of HR 3962 on the Outsourcing industry?

The object clause to the Act states that it is meant to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending.

In reality, the act is a victim of haste. Ideally if the intention of the Obama administration and the object clause of the Act were actually in-sync then the administration should have awaited a confirmed indication of the end-of-recession. The administration should have first looked at strengthening the fundamentals of the economy, by:
better regulating the existing insurance sector,
improving the US agrarian culture and making the country self sufficient regards its food requirements,
checking the cost-of-living index and
creating more jobs in the private sector.
But if the intention is to make more and more Americans dependant on Federal Government for basic requirements, then the attempt is bang on.

Impact on the outsourcing industry:

Prima-facie it may seem complex but there are clear indications for the outsourcing industry to benefit once the HR 3962 is implemented. The benefit roots from the fact that the employees will become expensive for the employers post this Acts applicability. Now given the very competitive market scenarios, thin profit margin and the inability of the employer to transfer this increased cost to the end consumer, the employer is forced to search for the less costly alternatives. It is needless to say here that the Act magnifies the already existing labor arbitrage opportunities internationally. To appreciate the existing labor arbitrage opportunities you can refer to my older blog post.