This Week's Herman Trend Alert Telecommuting to a Better Bottom Line

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." NEED HELP THINKING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE? Our futurists offer thought-provoking and penetrating insights, along with creative ideas to implement right away. Whether you're looking for a speaker or a consultant or a facilitator for your strategic planning retreat, The Herman Group can help you find a person for your needs, no matter what your topic. Call Joyce at 336-210-3548 to discuss your event. REDUCE COSTS BY LOWERING EMPLOYEE TURNOVER If you knew just how much money turnover is costing your company, you would have handled it ages ago! Turnover costs A LOT and it comes right off the bottom line. Let The Herman Group and its team of very experienced consultants help you address your turnover issues right away. We have an impressive track record and stand ready to help you. Call Carol at 800-227-3566; international, call 336-210-3547 for a no-obligation conference call. GOOD SELECTION = BETTER RETENTION If you are not using pre-employment assessments, you are flying without radar---not very smart in today's highly competitive environment. Let us help you better understand your candidates and your employees. In less than 30 minutes, you will know if they can do the job (abilities); their work behaviors, even their personality and attitudes (like integrity & ethics), and those can't be trained. It's very cost effective, too! For more information, contact Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail assessments@hermangroup.com. Validated for many countries and cultures. We offer in-depth help with job descriptions, too! http://www.hermangroup.com/assessments.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

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