This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert March 7, 2001 Wireless Meets the Energy Crisis Heard about our potential energy shortage crisis? Cries for alternative energy sources are mixed with moaning about an oil shortage. Petroleum products are in high demand for heating, manufacturing, vehicle fuel, lubricants, and more. Conservationists urge politicians and corporate moguls to find better ways to manage our resources. While the severity of an oil crisis depends on whom you talk to, it certainly makes sense to better manage the resources we have. We do have abundant resources of petroleum products-in pipelines and storage tanks . . . . millions of petroleum product tanks around the world. Included in this huge figure are storage tanks at retail gasoline stations, home heating oil tanks, lubricant storage at automotive service facilities, propane tanks in all sorts of applications, and oil company tank farms across the world. Here's the challenge. To manage these resources efficiently, it's important to have the products at the right place, in the right quantity, at the right time. Overfilling a tank is potentially a misuse of precious resources. If tank managers manage supplies too tightly, they risk running low at times of crucial need, resulting in unscheduled fillings that are often expensive. The solution is to monitor supplies-tank levels-more efficiently. Current procedures range from a person looking into a tank to using dipsticks to employing remote monitoring systems to relay vital information through telephone lines. These approaches vary in effectiveness, accuracy, timeliness, and cost. Enter wireless technology. Four years ago, wireless technology was first applied to gather and transmit volume data to central monitoring points. This exciting advance made a significant difference, but the need was greater. The next generation, led by Centeron, a division of Robertshaw, has introduced wireless direct sequence spread spectrum technology (DSSS) to enable more reliable communications over longer transmission distances. This development will have a dramatic impact on the industry, providing substantial improvements in the management of tank-stored resources around the globe. For more information, http://www.centeron.net. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

[ Home · About · Products · Resources · Media ]

Web site design by WebEditor Design Services, Inc.