Although we don't usually realize it, we can actually reduce the running cost of a building by removing the dust from the atmosphere. The furniture, walls and fittings are preserved longer. It also improves the health of the occupants.

Removing dust is usually done by installing filters in the incoming air stream or the circulating air stream. In air-conditioning systems, these filters are installed at the air handling units or AHU's.

How do we know when to replace the filters?

As more and more dust accumulates at the filters, the differential pressures between the inlet and the outlet will increase. By measuring the differential pressures, we will have a very good indication of how much the filter has been choked by dusts. Persons maintaining the air-conditioning plant should know at what differential a filter should be replaced. Some of the dust particles are so minute, that they cannot be seen by the naked eye. In all appearances, the filter looks as good as new.

These are some factors to consider when determining when to change the filter:

Mechanical strength of the filter

The final pressure of a filter is usually stated in the product. That is the strength of the filtration medium. However, other factors need to be considered - the strength of the filter walls, frames and holders if not adequately designed can result in the sagging of the filter housing that will result in leaks.

Changes in efficiency of the filter

This is particularly important in low efficiency filters. Their efficiencies can be radically impaired as a result of high final pressure losses. Particles that have been collected by the filter can become detached and accompany the air stream. Fibrous particles are less likely to become detached compared to granular particles. Because of this, higher final pressure drops are permissible for the former, although this should not exceed about 200 Pa in a pre-filter.

With granular particles, the final pressure loss should not be allowed to exceed 100 to 150 Pa.

Fine filters and HEPA filters are less sensitive to changes in quality. In principle, they can be allowed to have a final pressure loss up to the limit of their mechanical strength.

Permissible Air flow variations in the system

In this case, the flow pattern is more important than the particles carried along the air stream. The permissible final pressure loss here will depend on the total pressure and characteristics of the fan and any other control facilities.

The filter will affect the air flow as a result of dust accumulation. The filter has to be changed when the velocity of the air in a laminar flow installation cannot be maintained or has fallen below the required specifications.

Bacteriological reasons

Sometimes, the filters are replaced at regular intervals instead of pre-defined pressure loss indications. This is to prevent accumulation of bacteria and other microorganisms.

Suitable time window periods

Filters are often changed to coincide with pre-planned plant shutdown periods. In these cases, production disturbances are minimized. For example they can be arranged to be changed during holidays.

Economic considerations

In terms of operating costs, there is an optimum final pressure point to balance. By having longer intervals between filter replacements, we do achieve lower filter replacement costs. On the other hand, this will increase the operating energy costs due to inefficiency.

'Kaizen Blitz'was brought to the West by Yoshiki Iwata, an ex-Toyota employee, who taught the Toyota Production SystemKaizen Blitz'. Mr Iwata would routinely refer to kaizen when talking about improvement, but I suspect the Kaizen Blitz name may have come about when Mr Iwata subsequently presented the same programme for Mr Imai's Kaizen Institute, Mr Imai being the interpreter and translator who wrote the original book called Kaizen, and used it for the name of his consulting company. The process was also taken up by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) who I believe registered the term as a trademark.

Many lean manufacturing Kaizen Blitz learning experience, either with Mr Iwata's group or at some remove from them. The original machining cell example used by Mr Iwata to teach standard work combination sheets can be found in many a one piece flow cell design manual, including our own (as initial translators we have some claim to the copyright).

But what does the Kaizen Blitz teach us about improvement? One lesson is 'just do it'. One characterisation of TPS by a Japanese authority defines its strength as Routinised Methods, Routinised Problem Solving and Experimentation. These last two are the foundation of the Kaizen Blitz – a combination of the use of a standard Kaizen method – the standard work combination sheet – and practical experimentation. There is also the emphasis on defining a standard method for the new layout, hence standard work combination sheet. The original Kaizen Blitz also teaches us the value of one piece flow in lead time, cost and inventory reduction.

One Piece Flow Cells are however a very narrow definition of Kaizen, which is a powerful organisational culture. Developing this culture is a challenge, which has been undertaken by many companies, some of whom have followed alternative approaches such as Kaizen Teian, Improvement through Suggestions, which is promoted by the Japan Human Relations Association.

We at Productivity developed other Blitz events – Visual Factory, a 5S Kaizen Blitz, and Maintenance MiracleTPM Blitz. These are very practical learning experiences, but have to be seen as that, learning experiences, not a blueprint for implementation.

More systemic approaches to Lean Manufacturing have brought us to techniques such as Value Stream MappingVSM looks at a whole value chain, not just a single cell or production line; the criticism of cell based blitzes being that they simply move the inventory or bottleneck elsewhere. But there is a chicken and egg here – in order to get flow throughout the value stream you need to connect a network of flow cells. And in order to develop flow cells you need standard operating methods. VSM can define an ideal, the future state, but to achieve it you need to do detailed work on individual cells and operations, the way Mr Iwata and others taught us.

Some of the constraints identified by a VSM exercise may not be flow/inventory issues. They may be quality problems or machine efficiency issues. This is where TQC and TPM techniques can be more effective. My preferred starting point is 5S, simply to give visibility and to develop standards. It is also an authentic Kaizen approach, in that 5S improvements have to be developed and owned by the natural work teams in production (it is virtually impossible to 5S someone else's work area).

In an engineered product environment I would then do a value stream map to identify the constraints to reducing lead times and inventories, using this to identify Kaizen projects, be they flow, quality or efficiency issues. True Kaizen would then be the team based unending elimination of these issues and constraints, allowing us to approach perfect flow, an ideal which can only be approached without limit, never reached.

A kaizen culture can only be developed by involving people in making improvements in their own work areas, responding to the Quality, Cost and Delivery needs of their customers, internal and external. A blitz illustrates just how great the opportunity can be – people see the scale of defects and waste, but the blitz process needs to be supported by ongoing team problem solving. There are many processes for this – 8D, the problem solving method of many automotive manufacturers, or the TQ story, CEDAC (Cause and Effect Diagram with Addition of Cards) or other root cause problem solving approaches.

True Kaizen is ongoing cultural change, not just a blitz, but a blitz can open people's eyes and demonstrate the value of a standard improvement process and experimentation through a plan, do, check, act cycle.

Malcolm Jones founded Productivity Europe in 1989 to develop support and facilitation services in World Class Manufacturing techniques. He learnt from Japanese masters such as Shigeo Shingo and the Total Productivity group at the Japan Management Association, and has edited three books on World Class Manufacturing techniques and practices.

Stainless steel is a special type of steel that is much more resilient towards corrosion, rust and staining than ordinary steel. Stainless steel is also known as inox and contains at least 10.5 percent chromium. When the exact alloy type and grade is undefined, stainless steel is often referred to as corrosion resistant steel. Different alloy types and grades will have different properties, and it is therefore important to select the ideal alloy type and grade when you intend to use stainless steel for sensitive tasks, such as construction work. Stainless steel is a popular building material in anything from small storage facilities to huge skyscrapers. One example of a famous building utilizing stainless steel is the New York City Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building was built in 1930 and consists mainly of brick – its is the highest brick building in the world – but its characteristic seven-story pinnacle is decorated with lustrous stainless steel cladding. The ornamentation is based on the hubcaps that could then be found on Chrysler made cars. The Chrysler building is considered one of the most outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture in New York City.

Chromium is hard metal with a steel-gray color. It is lustrous and has a high melting point (1907 ° C, 3465 ° F). In the periodic table, you will find chromium as number 24. It is abbreviated Cr and considered a transition metal. If you want to create stainless steel that has a high oxidation resistance when kept in normal air, you should usually aim for a chromium content of 12 weight percent or more. The chromium will provide the steel with a protecting layer, by binding with the surrounding oxygen and forming chromium (III) oxide. In such a molecule, there will be three oxygen atoms bound to two chromium atoms and this layer will be very difficult to penetrate for the remaining oxygen in the air. A layer of chromium (III) oxide will also by hard for water to penetrate, thus protecting the underlying steel even in moist environments. If the chromium oxide layer is dented or scratched, it will rapidly reform and continue to protect the steel.

Chromium is not the only material that can be deliberately added to stainless steel. Nickel and manganese are two examples of frequently included metallic compounds that will alter the properties of the stainless steel and make it more suitable for certain tasks. Nickel is a silvery white metal belonging to the iron group. It is hard, but still ductile and malleable. Nickel can be added to austenite iron in order to stabilize its molecular structure. Austenite iron containing nickel will become less brittle at low temperatures, and also loose its magnetic properties. Just like nickel, manganese will serve to stabilize its molecular structure in austenite iron, but significant amounts must be added. Since manganese is less expensive than nickel, it still offers a way of making stainless steel more affordable.

The fact that steel is labeled “stainless” or “corrosion resistant” does not mean that it will never corrode. Even the greatest stainless steel alloy will corrode under certain conditions and this must be taken into account when stainless steel is used in cars, airplanes, buildings etcetera. Three problem causing forms of corrosion are pitting corrosion, roughing corrosion and weld decay. These three corrosion types are less noticeable than common rust, and are therefore often allowed to develop during long periods of time.

The proper design and review of fire sprinkler systems takes months or years to learn. "These are very involved systems installed for the safety of buildings and people," said Vince Konwent, an instructor with the Building and Fire Code Academy, in Hoffman Estates, IL.

Konwent has more than 18 years of experience in the fire protection industry, specifically focusing on municipal consulting for the last 13 years. As a professional who performs sprinkler reviews and inspections on a daily basis, he has noticed that there are five common problems he sees most often:

1. Improper Design Classification or Labeling

Occupancy and commodity classification definitions are found in Chapter Two of NFPA-13, but some designers depend too heavily on the examples provided in the appendix.

"For instance, a designer may classify a retail facility with storage as an ordinary hazard facility," said Konwent, "but when the storage exceeds 12 feet in height it would be considered more of a storage facility. So Lowes, Home Depot, your Sam's Club - any store in which items are stacked more than 12 feet high - have to meet a different set of requirements."

Konwent added that properly labeling the plans is also paramount. "It would be impossible to determine the design criteria for a facility if the plans simply state the building is a warehouse facility," he said, "but we frequently see plans that say just that."

2. Missing or Inaccurate Water Flow Test Data

The drawings and hydraulic calculations must include the site of the flow test, and the date and time the test was conducted. The calculations must be taken to the point of the water flow test, not some fictitious or convenient point.

"You can't use some fictitious footage," said Konwent. "You can't put 100 feet in your calculations when the flow test was actually taken 500 feet from the building."

3. Installing the Wrong Sprinklers

It is important that the exact sprinkler indicated on the plans and hydraulic calculations is the sprinkler installed on the job site. There are numerous sprinklers available, each with a unique set of design criteria, flow pressure requirements, spacing requirements and specific obstruction rules. Installing the wrong sprinkler invalidates all the calculations and could put the building and its people at risk.

4. Inaccurate Hydraulic Calculations

"There are several areas in which mistakes can be made while performing a hydraulic calculation," said Konwent. "You have all the pipe lengths, pipe sizes, elevation changes, fittings, and set pressure losses (such as backflow prevention devices) that must be included in the calculations. There are many inputs - any of which could adversely affect a system."

5. Missing Design Documents

Chapter 8 of NFPA 13 lists approximately 44 items that must be indicated on your plans. If one of these items is neglected or missing, it may cause a number of issues that would have to be corrected later in the field. It is far more economical to find and correct these issues early in the design process.

When you are in business and considering opening a new factory, industrial unit or business you must be wise as to keep things quiet. Why you ask? Well if you are in a limited industry sub-sector you may find that the equipment makers in the industry have a network and the word spreads like wild-fire in the industry.

Let us say you are building a produce processing center? There may be only 2 or 3 makers of certain types of equipment for conveyors and size and shape sorters. You may find the XYZ Company guys are in Bed with Vern Johnson company over there at Blue Harvest Produce Processing or claim to be. So you must be careful of what you say and who knows who. Perhaps you are thinking I thought the Johnsons were smarter than that, they probably are, they cannot be all that stupid?

The XYZ Company Group sure allows a lot of lose lips to sink ships and this is quite common and you might never know this or consider this when entering the niche processing of peaches in Georgia. You would be wise to keep what you are doing close to the vest, as you maybe surprised how many people are very close to the industry. From bankers, insurance people, real-estate professionals, lawyers to equipment makers, salesmen and contract installers. So, please consider all this in 2006.

A well equipped work shop is the first step to making sure you are ready and able for any do-it-yourself home improvement project. With a few basic workhorses, you can saw, nail, sand, shape and sharpen the way the pros do it.

The Top Five Tool List

There are thousands of tools on the shelves of the hardware store and the work benches of seasoned do-it-yourself gurus, but it you were to break them down into categories, they all do some of the same things. So with five basic pieces of hardware as your foundation, you can build anything and then work from there to build your own workshop.

The first power tool to have is a circular saw. With this you can cut straight lines and large curves. Setting a board along the top of two saw horses, can create a work area to hold wood being cut.

Next, for larger wood working projects a table saw or radial arm saw is in line. Choosing one that rotates to different angles is important if you plan to cut picture framing or crown mouldings for your home. The angles allow you to create the 45 degree mitre cuts for a perfect fit.

Third, the well- equipped workshop has an electric sander. All of this work could be done by hand, but the electric belt sander gives each piece of wood a professionally finished look. It prepares long strips of moulding or the edges of table tops and other furniture for staining or painting.

Fourth, every wood working work shop should have a router. This handy tool allows you to make woodworking patterns and grooves that take a piece of furniture or moulding from that plain look of the Shaker style to the ornate French provincial elegance.

Finally, maintaining your saws and other tools is easier with a grinding wheel or knife sharpener. These will allow you to maintain blades and keep them cutting the fine details and patterns that take your handicraft up a notch from amateur to professional.

Solid Brands for Solid Quality

There are some brands of tools that the name alone creates an image of quality. Makita, Ryobi, Rockler, Rockwell, Sears Craftman, Snap-On, Hitachi, and Rigid are all names you can rely on. The prices in these brands vary a little, but with any of them you can count on a quality tool that will last decades. It is worth the investment.

Adding On

Once you have stocked your workshop shelves with the basics, you can add some of the luxuries that make the jobs easier and smoother. Of course there are the smaller devices such as gluers and clamps that keep projects together while you work. But to that you can add electric nailers, dovetail jigs, jet tools and more to make life easier.

A well organized workshop with all of the basics is the ideal way to work. Perhaps your first big project can be building the workbench that will serve as your foundation for many more projects to come.

Textile industry is the oldest one around the world and the first one to undergo lots of reformation. It has been in the form of new machines inventions or various types of yarns discoveries. I would say this particular industry is the most reformed and fetched one at any point of time. People have always gone for fashionable clothing and eye-catching upholsteries. For most it’s the look that does matters the most. So textile field is a dynamic one and man has constantly been in search of something better at the same time durable, affordable priced, also bio-degradable.

Cotton and wool in particular have always been the most popular raw material for the textile industry. People in colder regions prefer mostly woolen textiles while people in hotter region prefer cotton ones. Until the 18th century the textile industry was on a snail paced change particularly since there were very few significant inventions till that point of time. However the industrial revolution taken placed in England changed the history of textiles. The process of textile making got faster and better and has never looked back since then.

Many companies started coming in to picture producing the better textile product. The difference in the end products of various companies was not more than a hair’s length. However since the dawn of the 20th century lot of branding started to take place. Brand like Louis Philippe, Raymond, Peter England and et al became popular purely based on their superior quality textile products. In a way branding takes place only when a loyal customer base is established. This can happen only when excellent products are produced. Often branding helps in strengthening businesses as people don’t mind paying a little more for good products.

In today’s scenario we have come to a stage when branding has become extremely difficult or in other words I would say every other day at least 100 textile companies are born and all want to have their business pie from the world market. At the same time we tend to forget that today’s consumers have become the smartest ever. They won’t fall for any aggressively marketed product. Most of them want to make sure of every minute detail available right from the ingredients constitution to the quality process undertaken.

I feel patience is the word for companies today which are into textile industry. My company which is a textile portal has created a good brand by the name of YNFX in the textile field and is largely popular for textile buying and selling. I hope you have understood that branding is a time driven approach.

From my earliest days of childhood there has existed the notion that someday automation would make human beings obsolete. Computers have made millions of jobs extinct; companies with say thousands of employees would require a corresponding sized bookkeeping department. However with computer automation the number of employees has no relationship with the number of book keeping employees. John Deere for example has an engine factory that is almost completely automated, a human programs the machine and loads the engine blocks onto the line. As the engine blocks move down the line the computer gives instructions and low paid humans visually inspect the machines performance for quality control, the humans have become the robots and the robots the workers.

An American utility contractor working in Mexico explained to his Mexican foreman where they needed a hole dug for the new sewer line. The next day the American found a gang of twenty laborers digging the required hole, incredulous he exclaimed get a backhoe out here and you can have that done in twenty minutes! The foreman explained that a backhoe would cost a hundred and fifty dollars and the laborers earned five dollars a day and without the work their families would go hungry. This is the crux of what we face having the capability to do away with most of the labor force on the planet. Do we now spout slogans and jargon about being universally competitive? Do they move on to another planet to look for work? Are we no longer our brother’s keeper?

From the dawn of time humans banded together in groups for their own survival and prosperity, this commitment predates writing. There are no founding documents or spoken covenant expressing this mutual contract it is part of our humanity, a component of who we are. As our societies advanced and we adopted rulers either because of their military prowess or organizational abilities, the mutual covenant arose. The leader or leaders would provide leadership and protection to their subjects and the subjects for their part would supply the labor or military service to the leadership. It was expressly a codependent relationship; neither side could or would prosper without the other.

The initial unit of humanity the family that banded together with other families and through common cause then became our extended families. In my own childhood we would have people who would come to family functions the Dunmore’s asking my mother how they were related to us, she explained their Grandfather came to America with your Grandfather. Not family but pseudo family but just the same we had common cause we struggled together. From genetic units to marriage connections to common cause we struggled together with the goal of survival and prosperity always mutually dependant on each other.

For six thousand years the emphisis had been survival, regardless of government or religion climate or topography nothing changed the basic goal of society. Communities became countries that expanded our human families.

Crafts and guilds were developed

To advance the society, Pharaohs bought grain, not because they thought of financial gain But because it was there duty to do so. No one else had the resources; he was the leader who felt it necessary to protect his people from famine. Roman emperors passed out bread and cash to the poor not out of altruism but out of practical considerations. Starving people committed crime and rioted; one serious fire would cost more than ten years bread.

Was this civilization or the decline in civilization? The feeding of people not out of duty not because you owe them your concern as their leader but because it was cost effective? The Pilgrims with their Mayflower compact codified the no work no food ethic, whether this was out of any true concern for shiftlessness or more a part of their religious beliefs. For these were religious zealots who had been asked to leave two religiously tolerant countries. That being so, sailing across a treacherous ocean in a tiny vessel to an unknown wilderness one could hardly be expecting easy days and leisure time. Like their forbearers they mutually depended on each other for mere survival.

Every Religion on the planet decrees as a central tenant that we must care for each other and we are brothers and sisters in the religious family of man. Regardless of our personal beliefs whether we see this as God inspired or mere superstition, here it is again the founding principle of humanity the banding together for survival and prosperity in this world as well as in the next. Zealots and religious extremist use these doctrines to further their own political gains under the mantle of Gods will. They see the execution of the religion's doctrines as more important then perusing the founding tenants of the religion giving us martyrs, suicide bombers and kamikaze pilots. They genuinely believe that their religion or nation is under attack and that they are defending it. Trying to assure its survival in what they see as the only way possible.

Making wood and water come together to create high quality production-graded paper is the business of most paper mills. Paper mills taking water directly from rivers or wells, have to worry about sludge and other impurities which contaminate their processing equipment and compromise the quality of paper. This problem can be solved by installing some state-of-the-art self-cleaning filters with 150-micron stainless steel cartridges to trap any debris that may be dredged up from the river.The HC self-cleaning filter is the right and convenient choice for its low maintenance requirements and reasonable cost. The HC self-cleaning filter, all stainless steel construction, is a filter that operates on water pressure alone.

Principle of operation: while water goes into the filter cartridge, the filtered water exits leaving the dirt in the cartridge chamber. As dirt particles collect on the cartridge, the line pressure at the filter outlet drops. As the quantity of these dust particles increases, the pressure reaches a preset differential – the cleaning cycle begins Within a few seconds and without interrupting the main flow the carrier shaft starts revolving the scraper blades, made of stainless steel (also PTFE and PTFE+SST according to the application) which clean the cartridge, removing the dirt from the inside. The ball valve is attached and the dirt comes out of the filter. The above cycle is programmable by the user. Because of the automatic flushing, there is no plant downtime for routine filter cleaning, which translates to greater productivity for the plant.The HC self-cleaning filter not only saves labor costs. It also saves energy and chemical costs due to the lower volume of water used in the back flushing process. The benefits of HC self-cleaning filter may be thus summed up in: "Reduction in water usage, ease of maintenance, simple design, reasonable cost , and improved efficiency on cleaning". HC self-cleaning filters are produced by TECSI S.r.l., an Italy-based company that specializes in industrial and irrigation filtration systems. TECSI range of self-cleaning filters offers a wide choice of capacities and materials, to fulfill the most various needs.

As the name suggests a Metal Detector is a kind of instrument, which is used to detect metal with the help of electromagnetic induction. It helps in the detection of land mines, weapons like knives or guns at airports, in treasure hunting or in archeology. It can also be helpful in detecting foreign bodies in food. Construction industries find it useful in detecting steel reinforcing bars present in concretes, pipes, or wires in walls and floors. It can sense any electrically conductive piece of metal. Metal detectors came into being around the end of the 19th century.

Metal detectors have many applications. In archeology metal detectors are of good help. But in some countries like France and Sweden law prohibits metal detectors, but with special permission it can be used. In spite of all these restrictions the contribution of metal detectors in this area cannot be denied. A good example is the utilization of these detectors to inspect wide areas like sites of battlefields, where the only remains could be the surface, scattered with metal objects.

Some times people use consumer metal detectors to find coins on the beach as their hobby. Generally in the following types of hobbyist activities metal detectors are used.

Coin Shooting, searching for coins, mainly old coins. Prospecting, searching for precious metals like gold or silver Relic Hunting, searching for any thing that has any historical significance, like weapons. Treasure Hunting, searching for hidden items.

For security purpose metal detector are of great help. In airports this is used in great extent as it helps to detect any dangerous items carried by passengers that can cause harm to others, especially weapons,

Throughout the twenty-first century, many unprecedented revolutions have come into existence. In the technetronics domain, the age of Technology was understood to be mankind’s way of overcoming the various obstacles that once limited the human capital. During the infancy of the Jet Age around the 1950s, many mysteries were solved through that amazing chain of invention. Over the past few decades, however, as evidence has clearly demonstrated the insidiousness that flying entails, safety becomes the mindset of the airline industry. There are many economic factors associated with airline safety.

Implementing new guidelines helps addressing the safety issue. After the recent tragedies of September 11, American Airlines along with numerous other airline companies has begun renovating its safety standards. In order to increase the feasibility of the plan, Civil Aeronautics Board investigators have began reading information from flight recorders which provide a detailed history of the flight, logging information on more than 100 technical aspects, including power- and flight-control settings, engine performance, altitude and gravitational forces and resolving some of the initial problems caused by previous crashes. Basically, the airline industry is taking all the possible steps necessary to insure safety in the aviation system.

The Airline Industry has taken a new approach on securing airplanes. Many airliners have begun implementing new security measures including cockpit locks and limited carry-on. In addition, the government rapid-response teams along with armed National Guardsmen at airport security checkpoints recommend more baggage-scanning equipment and FBI checks of passenger lists. According to Charles Leblanc, managing director at Air Security International, reconstructing airport security will resume in the next six months from adopting new theories to putting them into effect. Some suggestions such as retraining flight crews on how to handle an attempting hijacking and allow pilot to carry guns could add some exponential factors to the timing. Above all, timing is far from being the main problem; instead, the disparity that exists between the procedures throughout the system is causing the disruption. At Washingtons Dulles airport, screeners at one checkpoint were doing a thorough check of bags and staff at a checkpoint 25 yards away wasn't checking anything says David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. Based on the obtrusiveness of the systems failure, the aviation industry needs to go a step further to minimize the gaps and create the congruency that will get the system auspiciously off the ground.

Pilot errors play an important role in airplane crashes. According to Susan P. Baker, one of the authors of a report by Johns Hopkins researchers, there is a very high correlation between bad weather and pilot error. Since the dawn of the jet-age, pilot error has been blamed as the primary cause of about three-quarters of all air crashes. While many opposing parties are still trying to reach consensus about the real causes of some plane crashes, air-crash investigators know that there is rarely a single cause in an air crash. Usually, there is a series of events leading gradually to a major problem. Unfortunately, as the situation gets more demanding, the pilot becomes more susceptible to make error and ultimately loose control of the aircraft. In some older airplanes, a pilot needed to try to maintain a constant picture in his mind about what his aircraft was doing and where it was going. Moreover, he was helped by a co-pilot and both were advised by a flight engineer who would sit behind them monitoring instruments. Now, however, computers automate most of the rudimentary tasks and replace the flight engineer, which to a large extent is the economically equivalent move, but according to some safety experts one of the biggest problems pilots face is that of interacting properly with their high-tech cockpits. Therefore, improving our ability to predict poor weather conditions and providing better guidance to pilots in precarious situations would be an optimistically efficient approach toward the safety issue.

In addition to errors leading to crashes, pilot fatigue is one of the main causes of many crashes. According to Mark R. Rosekind, president and chief scientist of the Cupertino, California, pilot fatigue is defined as a collection of symptoms that are experienced from disrupting sleep and our internal biological clock. That is to say, operating at night and flying across different time zones can disrupt the normal human sleeping pattern simply because the body thinks its supposed to be asleep. As a result, sleep deprivation, does not only it incapacitate pilots to maintain safe flying, it increases susceptibility to errors and most importantly, accidents. Moreover, the first step in implementing alertness management programs is to develop training strategies, educate crews, and move to improve scheduling, Rosekind writes. Many carriers, including Airborne Express and UPS, are in the early planning stages aiming toward minimizing and even eventually eradicate pilot fatigue from the airline industry. Furthermore, to efficiently deal with the fatigue issue, it is imperative that the aviation industry take a different approach to the situation at hand. For instance, a recent survey conducted by NASA illustrated that a scheduled nap in flight improved performance 34% and alertness 100%. British Airways, Air New Zealand and Qantas and Finnair have already adopted the new rest- period theory, but despite that degree of success, the FAA has never moved forward on it.

The Airline Industry has yet to renew consumer confidence in the safety of air travel. Over the past few weeks, Congress has been struggling with how to restore faith in a flawed system that allowed 19 hijackers onto four jets, causing the deaths of more than 5,000 Americans. Moreover, the Senate unanimously approved a bill that would strengthen the air-marshal program, provide enhanced anti-hijacking training for flight crews and fully federalize the airport security system. House Republicans, on the other hand, wish to gain control of the situation by selecting a system of privately contracted employees with federal oversight, the glaring loophole in the now inconsistent system. According to many U.S. Senators including Bob Graham, rebuilding confidence is one of the first steps that will help Americans feel comfortable getting back on airplanes and ultimately rejuvenate the tourism industry. The main component in restoring faith encompasses improving consistency and uniformity of airport security throughout the nation. Generally speaking, all airports follow Federal Aviation Administration procedures; however, the guidelines are construed and carried out differently by individual airlines. For instance, in Jacksonville, Florida, to access some terminals, a plane ticket as well as photo of identification is required, as opposed to some others terminals whereby only a plane ticket is required. By covering all the safety characteristics, consumer confidence will ulterioly get to a level where people will deem flying as one of the safest means of transportation.

Because of the problem of scarcity, there will always be an imbalance between the amount of safety the airline industry provides, the safety level that it needs to boost consumer confidence about flying and resources in place to minimize to gaps and help facilitate air travel in the future. Technology has revolved around virtually all levels of existence during the Jet Age. We design machines so well, now it is the human that creates the risk. The safety issue encompasses factors dealing mostly with human instead of airplane itself. Specifically, the FAA needs to take positive actions in what has been proven to work and regulate accordingly. Moreover, the nationwide standardized procedures have to be strictly implemented. Subsequently, by conquering those major characteristics, the airline industry will hopefully be where it once was which could be the culmination of many years of blood-and-guts battles, but nonetheless, it entirely possible.

Textiles are considered to be a mediocre business industry. That means clearly that there are no rapid changes happening in the global market as projected by the news syndicates. Basically there is nothing as pure textile news available on a regular basis. At times traders are made to believe that there is a new change happening in the textile industry. I have come across textile news some as old as two years which are churned in such a way that it looks to be new ones.

Let me make this a point here. We should not consider textile news in the same dynamic status of the general news. For e.g. Yesterday there was a news that Osama attacks an ‘X’ nation, while today it is ‘x’ number of people die there, where as most probably tomorrow there cud be some details about the attackers and their chase. Here we can see that dynamically the news of the land can change and they are probably linked to each other and would continue to remain headlines till it is challenged by a more serious piece of news whatever might be.

Now we will understand this better, so that you may get the idea of what I’m trying to convey. Not until a scientist or a research guild comes up with a new textile product will there be any changes in the textile field. Otherwise it takes at least two years for a new product to crop up. Yes it’s very much true particularly if you can watch the textile industry trends world over. I’m not denying that there have been no cases when more than one quality product has come up. So you as a trader how important are these updates? It’s obvious that you want to be on you are in a very nail biting situation and always target to get that extra edge over your fierce competitors.

So I recommend getting your news source from reliable group. I’m sure you won’t mind paying for the same as you are in a safe situation. Start collecting your database of reliable news suppliers whether nation based production information or product wise information. I also wanted to add finally that don’t just blindly go for the textile news available everywhere instead wait and watch particularly on news sites including Google news. Among some of the popular textile news brands, our brand YNFX is a trusted news source for tens of thousands of traders. I hope you find this article knowledgeable.

Nylon is a man made fiber which is used extensively today around the world. In fact nylon has one of the highest consumption rates in the textile consumer market globally. Right from the time when Gerard J. Berchet produced the earliest know nylon product in the form of synthetic polymers, there has been constant improvements in this popular synthetic fiber. Petrochemical byproduct like coal, water and air are synthesized in such a way that it forms a strong polymer bonding to form the delicate material which we know as nylon. So I can say Nylon is a synthetic fiber which a subset of the man-made-fibers.

The nylon chain was successfully experimented and found that it could also be used in Parachutes particularly useful to the soldiers during the World War II. The actual popularity of Nylon rose after the creation of women nylon stockings. Till date nylon product is the king in the US textiles market. Many improvements of Nylon fiber had come up till date and researches are on the best product that can be derived from the petroleum-chemical by products. Currently 6/6 Nylon 101 is the most common commercial grade of Nylon, and Nylon 6 is the most common commercial grade of cast Nylon.

Nylon 6 or polycaprolactam is a better polymer reproduced from the Nylon 6/6 polymer. Unlike other nylons nylon6 is derived by a special polymerization technique called as the ring opening polymerization. Nylon 6 together with nylon 6/6 has cast a great command over the economy through the synthetics fiber industry. Well I would say that Nylon is a great textile product to trade with for any business person. As new products and their varieties are increasingly bombing the market, great online business in textiles can only happen through trusted and up to date textile portals.

You feel a different ethos when you step into a good workplace. There is an energy in the facility that is palpable and is shared by everyone who works there. Because we’ve become aware that the concepts that we espouse are sometimes easier to understand through experience, on October 19, 2006, Winning Workplaces took our mission of helping small and midsize businesses create better work environments to a workplace tucked into an industrial area within our hometown of Evanston, IL, one of the last remaining manufacturing businesses in the community.

IRMCO, a 92-year-old manufacturer of water-based, environmentally friendly lubricant technologies for the metal-forming industry, graciously hosted an open house and shared the secrets that have helped sustain the business against formidable odds. After the business day ended, several IRMCO associates stayed into the evening, keeping their doors open so that the 50 attendees of the open house, including staff and clients of First Bank & Trust, which sponsored the event, could see what a winning workplace looks like up close.

Why did we choose IRMCO as a successful small business example? Because the fourth generation family-owned business is not only surviving but thriving in an industry that’s facing tough times with plant closures, downsizing and fierce foreign competition, among other problems. As IRMCO CEO William “Jeff” Jeffery said, “One problem we’ve seen is that because there have been so many layoffs in the auto industry – our largest customer base – there are fewer trained engineers to make some of the decisions. The engineers who are left are doing the jobs of two or three people. So going green and choosing our products, even if we show them how that will save them money, is usually not high on their priorities list.”

Yet, IRMCO has succeeded in demonstrating the cost-savings of its products to many car manufacturers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota and Nissan. The company’s advanced forming film technologies also help consumer products come together by brands including Lennox, John Deere and Speed Queen. As Jeffery explained, although the organization’s headquarters is almost a century old, it is conducive to the modernized work that’s done every day by only 13 full-time employees. Water-based lubricants are prepared on the facility’s second-floor blending department and then gravity fed to the first floor for packing and just-in-time shipment.

The open house allowed attendees to see four areas critical to IRMCO’s work: the laboratory, detailed by Research Director Frank Kenny; the finance area, detailed by CFO Jennifer Kalas; the blending floor, detailed by Jeff Jeffery; and the warehouse area and garden, detailed by Jeff’s brother, Brad Jeffery, the company’s executive VP. These four IRMCO staff members packed a large amount of information in each tour stop.

Some of this information focused on best practices that have helped IRMCO grow its profits and staff commitment simultaneously. For instance, Brad Jeffery showed attendees the beach volleyball court-turned-garden that could be seen through the windows of the warehouse’s back door. Jeffery explained that this visual symbolizes the evolution of the company’s work culture. “At the time that our father passed away and Jeff and I started running the business, there was a lot of talk about giving employees more liberal freedom to make choices,” he said. This resulted in new lab equipment purchases and, on the recreational side, staff retreats and the installation of the volleyball court.

Yet, even though these attempts were aimed at broadening IRMCO’s work/life balance, management found that employees were not responding in kind by working harder. “They weren’t focused like an owner,” Jeffery said. “As a business owner, you want your people to be as motivated as you are and concerned about costs and new clients.” For IRMCO, this meant embracing open book management, a change several years in the making that ultimately helped workers see how their contributions affect the bottom line and impact the greater community. Employees, who are now committed to the success of the business, regularly identify solutions that lead to cost-savings and lessening IRMCO’s environmental footprint. Further, employees have chosen to use the open space behind the building to plant a garden rather than play volleyball, and they donate its produce to soup kitchens.

In tough economic times for small enterprises and in an industry in which it seems that U.S. business are losing ground every day, IRMCO stands as the exception. Through trial and error, over a number of years, Jeff and Brad Jeffery have led IRMCO to implement progressive business practices and, most importantly, develop a team that works together to assure that they are providing leadership to help the metal-forming industry remain competitive in a changing global economy.

Coir fibers are extracted from the fruit coconut. It grows in the part between the husk of the coconut and its outer shell. The color of this fiber is golden, therefore it is also known as ‘Golden Fiber’. However they are not initially golden in color, but of pale color. At later stage when fibers become hard, they acquire yellowish-golden color because of the lignin deposits on its walls. Its structure is narrow and hollow.

Coir fibers are water-proof in nature, also to the sea water, which is a distinguishable property. There are mainly two types of coir - white coir and brown coir. For processing of white coir both sea and fresh water is used, whereas for brown coir fresh water is used.

Properties of coir

- It is a bad conductor of heat. It provides padding against extreme temperatures and sound.

- It is easy to wash and clean, which makes them highly durable and maintenance free.

- It is unaffected by fungi, rot and other moths. As it is resistant to moisture the growth of micro-organisms is barred.

- Even if it is used for many years it does not loose its shape easily.

Types of coir

The types of coir - brown coir and white coir are categorized on the basis of the stage of the fruit when they are extracted from it, i.e. whether the coir is extracted from an immature coconut or fully ripped one. White coir is extracted from the husks of coconut which is not fully ripen and it is comparatively less stronger and more softer. Brown coir is extracted from the husks of coconut which is 100% ripened.

- White coir

As it is derived from immature husks, these husks are submerged in water for about ten month’s time. In this time period the plant tissues covering the coir fibers break down due to chemical reactions of the micro-organisms. Then the husks are hand beaten which separates the long fibers. The fibers further are dried in the sun, cleaned and sent for spinning where they are converted into yarn. These yarns are useful for making ropes, mats, etc.

- Brown coir

The husks are immersed into the slow flowing water, were the fibers get swollen as a result become soft. The long fibers and shorter fibers are separated from each other. The shorter fibers are also known as mattress fibers and longer ones are known as bristle fibers. They are first cleaned, sun dried and packed. Coir fibers are wavy in structure and have elasticity. The ropes are made by twisting these fibers. The long fibers are cleaned by water, dried in the sun and made into bundles. They are then made straight by steel combs and dyed with the desired colors.

The procedure for obtaining coir

Harvesting of the fiber

The coconuts are obtained from the trees, fetched by the climber with the help of the bamboo pole and a knife. As it is described earlier the two types of coir are extracted from different stages of the coconut, the unripe coconut are allowed to dry in the sun for about a month. Whereas the fully ripened coconuts are husked as soon as they are fetched from the tree, then the fruit is separated from the seed. Earlier this work was done only manually but now-a-days husking machines do this work at many places.

Coir fibers are extracted from the fruit coconut. It grows in the part between the husk of the coconut and its outer shell. The color of this fiber is golden, therefore it is also known as ‘Golden Fiber’. However they are not initially golden in color, but of pale color. At later stage when fibers become hard, they acquire yellowish-golden color because of the lignin deposits on its walls. Its structure is narrow and hollow.

Coir fibers are water-proof in nature, also to the sea water, which is a distinguishable property. There are mainly two types of coir - white coir and brown coir. For processing of white coir both sea and fresh water is used, whereas for brown coir fresh water is used.

Properties of coir

- It is a bad conductor of heat. It provides padding against extreme temperatures and sound.

- It is easy to wash and clean, which makes them highly durable and maintenance free.

- It is unaffected by fungi, rot and other moths. As it is resistant to moisture the growth of micro-organisms is barred.

- Even if it is used for many years it does not loose its shape easily.

Types of coir

The types of coir - brown coir and white coir are categorized on the basis of the stage of the fruit when they are extracted from it, i.e. whether the coir is extracted from an immature coconut or fully ripped one. White coir is extracted from the husks of coconut which is not fully ripen and it is comparatively less stronger and more softer. Brown coir is extracted from the husks of coconut which is 100% ripened.

- White coir

As it is derived from immature husks, these husks are submerged in water for about ten month’s time. In this time period the plant tissues covering the coir fibers break down due to chemical reactions of the micro-organisms. Then the husks are hand beaten which separates the long fibers. The fibers further are dried in the sun, cleaned and sent for spinning where they are converted into yarn. These yarns are useful for making ropes, mats, etc.

- Brown coir

The husks are immersed into the slow flowing water, were the fibers get swollen as a result become soft. The long fibers and shorter fibers are separated from each other. The shorter fibers are also known as mattress fibers and longer ones are known as bristle fibers. They are first cleaned, sun dried and packed. Coir fibers are wavy in structure and have elasticity. The ropes are made by twisting these fibers. The long fibers are cleaned by water, dried in the sun and made into bundles. They are then made straight by steel combs and dyed with the desired colors.

The procedure for obtaining coir

Harvesting of the fiber

The coconuts are obtained from the trees, fetched by the climber with the help of the bamboo pole and a knife. As it is described earlier the two types of coir are extracted from different stages of the coconut, the unripe coconut are allowed to dry in the sun for about a month. Whereas the fully ripened coconuts are husked as soon as they are fetched from the tree, then the fruit is separated from the seed. Earlier this work was done only manually but now-a-days husking machines do this work at many places.

Any unwanted modification in the properties of a material brought about by the essential actions of organisms is called Bio-deterioration. Present article is concerned with the degeneration of textile materials produced by microorganisms like fungi and bacteria, and the solutions to avert or reduce their effects.

Not all failures of materials by microorganisms are unwanted. When we throw away any objects not required any more, we wait for "Nature" to clear away what has then become waste. Such deterioration is a vital course of action for the protection of the world in which we live, and it is a process of recycling many of the vital components held by these materials. However, it can be a critical problem to both manufacturers and users when it is an undesirable process, when textiles are influenced by rot or mildew.

Under proper environment microorganisms, which dwell in soil, water, and air can grow and flourish on textile materials. These organisms encompass species of microfungi, bacteria, actinomycetes (filamentous bacteria), and algae. Textiles manufactured from natural fibres are normally more vulnerable to biodeterioration than are the synthetic man-made fibres. Microbial expansion can also be advanced by products like starch, protein derivatives, fats, and oils used in the finishing of textiles. Micro-organisms may attack the whole substrate, i.e. the textile fibres, or they may attack only one constituent of the substrate, such as plasticizers enclosed therein, or grow on dirt that has built up on the surface of a product.

However, even minor surface tumour can make a fabric look ugly by the emergence of undesirable pigmentation. Heavy infestation, which gives rise to decaying and failure of the fibres and consequent physical variations such as a loss of firmness or flexibility, may produce the fabric that fail to serve. The material is attacked chemically by the action of extra-cellular enzymes produced by the microorganism for the objective of acquiring food. However, microbial activity can be reduced by saving the dryness of vulnerable materials because surface expansion will only take place when the relative humidity is high. Therefore, some kind of chemical shield is generally needed with textiles expected to be used in hostile conditions under which they stay wet or damp for long time.

Natural fibres

Plant fibres like cotton, flax (linen), jute and hemp are very vulnerable to attack by cellulolytic (cellulose - digesting) fungi. Certainly, the complete degeneration of cellulose can be achieved by enzymes created by the fungi and recognized as cellulases. Diagram 1 gives details of the chemical process involved. The spores of these microfungi are there in the atmosphere and when they settle on proper substrates they can grow fast under positive conditions of temperature and humidity. The typical growth form of these "mould" fungi is recognised as mildew, a outward growth, which may discolour and spoil the fabric with stain, as many microfungi are able to produce pigments. The best safeguard against mildew is to ensure that the fabrics are dry when put in storage and that they do not turn out to be wet in storeroom. Fabrics which are to be used outdoors for awnings, beach umbrellas, military uniforms, sails, tarpaulins, tents, truck and boat covers, shoes and shoe linings, are processed with a fungicidal finish to save them from mildew damage and rotting. Algal greening may also appear on fabrics, which stay damp for long time and can create particular problems in the tropics.

In proportion to plant fibres, animal fibres are less affected by mildew growth. Pure silk, if completely degummed, is less vulnerable. Wool decomposes only slowly but chemical and mechanical harm during procedure can intensify its vulnerability to biodeterioration. When stored under very unfavourable conditions wool will finally rot by the action of the proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzymes concealed by many microfungi and bacteria.

Man-made fibres

Man-made fibres obtained from cellulose are vulnerable to microbial degeneration. Viscose (rayon) is easily struck by mildew and bacteria; acetate and triacetate are more unaffected although discoloration can take place if the fabrics are improperly stored. Fibres produced from synthetic polymers (e.g. acrylic, nylon, polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene fibres) are very resistant to attack by microorganisms.

The hydrophobic character of these polymers is possibly a significant aspect deciding their resistance. Also, these synthetic polymers have chemical bonds, which do not take place or are rare in nature, and perhaps therefore they have not been around long enough for microorganisms to develop the proper enzymes required to start their analysis. Although the substance of a synthetic fibre by itself will not hold up microbial development, pollutants of low molecular weight (e.g. remaining marks of the caprolactam monomer of nylon 6) and mixtures such as lubricants and spinning oils used in the finishing of textiles may give satisfactory nutrient for mild surface evolution of a microorganism. In most cases this will not influence the health of the fabric but can result into staining and discolouration, which are often not easy or impossible to eliminate.

. Plastics

Various kinds of plastic materials have surfaced as sections of textile products, for instance, to give waterproof coatings for rainwear. Plastics, which are produced mainly or entirely from polymers such as polyethylene, are generally highly resistant to microbial expansion. However, two types of plastic used significantly as coatings for textile materials, plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethanes, are vulnerable to biodeterioration. In the case of PVC, the polymer itself does not willingly supply a means of nutrients for bacteria and fungi. The vulnerability of PVC formulations to microbial attack is associated with the amount and types of plasticizers, fillers, pigments, and stabilizers, etc., inserted during processing. Many of these additives are organic compounds of comparatively low molecular weight. For instance, plasticizers (predominantly esters of organic acids, polyesters, and chlorinated hydrocarbons), which are put in to enhance the flexibility of an otherwise fragile polymer, will in most cases nourish microbial expansion and their degree of vulnerability applies a deep impact on the propensity of the textile coating to biodeterioration; such microbial exploitation of the plasticizers may cause crack of the PVC coating during use. With polyurethanes on the other hand the actual polymer is able to prop up microbial evolution because of the resemblance of some of the chemical connections in polyurethanes to those discovered in nature. Therefore, biocides are often included in both plasticized PVC and polyurethanes as a practical measure.

Use of biocides

The perfect technique of preventing microbial degeneration is to use synthetic materials, which are naturally resistant to attack. Another method is to apply antimicrobial chemicals known as "biocides" which are generally included into the finished textile product. So far no additive agent has been unearthed, which provides neither complete safety nor is without some drawback. Perfect biocides include following requirements:

. Efficient against a large range of microorganisms, especially bacteria and microfungi.
. Operative during the life of the product.
. Of low mammalian toxicity and non-toxic to humans at the concentrations used.
. Lacking colour and odour.
. Influential at low concentrations.
. Not expensive and easy to use.
. Resistant to sunlight and percolating from the fabric.
. Fabric handle and health are unaffected.
. Adaptable with water-repelling and flame-reducing agents, dyes, and other textile accessories.
. Does not intensify the fabric to destruction by light or other effects.

It would be an endless journey if somebody sets off to find the ideal biocide and the compromise choice of a proper product is not always easy. Some chemicals, for instance organo-mercury compounds, have been discarded because of their lasting and increasing toxic effects in the environment. Textile materials, which are to be used outdoors, need a constant fungicide that has anti-rain wash properties and capability to suffer breakdown by light. If the environment is tremendously damp, monitoring of algae and bacteria becomes more significant. However, many compounds, which are efficient against microfungi, are not essentially good bacteriocides and vice versa.

Regularly used biocides in the textile industry are organo-copper compounds, organo-tin compounds, and chlorinated phenols. These function by intervening in the energy-producing procedures of microbial cells. Copper naphthenate and copper-8-hydroxyquinolinate are greatly multipurpose biocides, very efficient against fungi, bacteria, and algae. They are specially used to look after textiles prone to be bare to soil and to harsh weathering conditions, e.g. cotton and flax canvases, awnings, tarpaulins, cordage, ropes, sacks, tents, military uniforms and military gears. The main drawback is that they give a yellow-green colour to processed materials. Pentachlorophenol esters, conventionally pentachlorophenyl laurate (LPCP), are resistant to percolating by rainwater and so are applied as fungicides for the rot-proofing of a large array of textiles together with cotton, flax, and jute fabrics used as covers, tarpaulins, shop blinds, tents, etc.; also carpet backings, coated fabrics, hospital materials, mattress covers, pressed felts and woollen textiles. Some biocides can provide more than one objective; thus organo-tin mixtures can work as stabilizers for plastic formulations as well as fungicides.

Use of biocides in textile fabrics for rotting and mildew-proofing is generally performed as a final finishing treatment. The fabric is soaked in either a solvent (usually white spirit) solution or, more commonly, an emulsion of the biocide; it is then pressed and dried out using a cylinder dryer, a stenter, or other appropriate tools. The fabric may be polished first but more usually and especially with heavyweight materials, the biocides are applied to loomstate material without polishing. Very often they are co-applied with water-repelling, fire-retardants, and pigments. In vinyl polymers like PVC, the biocide is generally diffused in the plasticizer, which is by and large the most biodegradable constituent. As the surface film is eliminated, new plasticizer will shift to the surface, taking with it a continuous source of biocide. However, these products finally lose their protecting merits through seasoning even though 70%-80% of the biocide continues to be chemically unaffected in the formulation. One possible cause is that under the influences of heat and ultraviolet radiation, depolymerisation of the vinyl resin and consequent cross-linkage may condense the biocide, checking its transfer to the surface where biodeterioration occurs.

A growing world market existed due to the globalization of modern process, and due to this in the textile industry it also generated problems, changes and challenges in colour management, especially in dye-house. An amazing use of collection of natural and synthetic materials for textile manufacturing in this global market existed, which covers filaments, yarns, threads and the many woven, knitted, knotted, and embroidered fabrics made from them, as well as nonwoven fabrics manufactured by mechanically or chemically bonding fibers, in this entire occurrence it is very difficult to reproducing colour precisely and economically and also noted that colour continuity is the priorities for having the best quality.

During the entire supply chain, luckily technology keeps on developing which helps to control colour - from the lab, to the shop-floor into the dye-house. This article provides several steps by which you can improve textile production more efficient, cost-effective in colour management throughout the process.

Colour combination expertise

Dyers are still facing the challenges with noteworthy differentiation between colour philosophy and real world practices, bearing in mind over all the history of coloured textiles. Creating correctness and consistency in production is not easy due to the exclusive chemical procedure in the most modern dye-house for each and every dye, and hence designers and technicians are facing major challenges.

The expert-based colour technology today has adopted by the master dyer. On the practice of own each system's acquaintance based, many technologies like Datacolor's SmartmatchÒ technology received theoretical colour guessing and regulating it on that base. It is a one type of colour matching system which provides distinctive way of gathering the significant information from relevant guide lines and it evaluate and displays colours in a user friendly manner according to the actual behavior of dyestuff process by its learning system of colour.

These software covers following aspects and benefits:

. Use of dyestuff combinations and separators: That permits applicators to prompt selection of the groups of dyestuffs with rapidly and effortlessly for applying it for colour combination through separate selection technique.

. Formula modification: To fix off-shade dieing and equate colours on a selection of materials, formula modification procedure provides the architecture to modify the dye method while the process continues.

. Assessment: It provided with single touch button, which can asses with reflectance curves, on-screen colour displays, strength comparisons and lab colour plots with rapidly and it select from among numerous types of formulations.

. Alternative options: To meet the combination standard in an adaptable set-up like exposed by weight or volume and arrange by lowest formula cost or total colour dissimilarity, from single to multiple set-up displays, such as for worksheet, in an adaptable format and alternatives are provided that rapidly tests almost all possible formulations.

. Testing and manufacturing modification: To operate it by performing automatic additions, automatic reformulations, manual corrections, and even on-line evaluations of corrections, that decrease the number of lab test you require.

. New lot of production and blending improvement: It automatically determines and removes unwanted or unidentified materials from batches contained with in, which gives the standardized or corrected lot of production to the operator.

Colour monitoring process during manufacturing

Not only every part of the dyeing procedure requires to be automated for optimum effectiveness and control, some tasks, such as filling the dye-pots before to supply or move them to dye machines, may still be nearly too cost-effective when carried out manually. Regulating the effectiveness of the dye-house automation definitely requires advance colour combination efforts. There are many types of software like ITMProcess (software integrated) are available to provide important implications to the colour combination and manufacturing management and this integration is also important in the manufacturing ending period or in quality control. Therefore you should have superior and fully incorporated colour quality control software for colour matching and combination system.

To determine differences in colour assessments between the supplier and the customer a sufficient colour quality control method required. Relating to quality aspects like its reports, statistics, and the appraisal and retrieving of data etc it must help in all the matters. The software should be fast, simple to control and must adjust itself to the individual requirement in the manufacturing procedure.

Colour quality control system must be planned according to:

. Easy operation: it should be design in such way that train operators in less than an hour can see the all activities with "single screen" operation.

. Easily conveyable: Speedily and at once anywhere in the world via an e-mail function colour data should communicated or transferred.

. Report or data acquisition: It must be designed in such way that it can generates printouts and pass/fail reports according to internal or customer's requirement.

. Online Checking: Incoming raw materials undoubtedly recovered online for checking colour standards.

. Customized configuration: The colour control screens must be designed according to customer specifications or as per requirement of internal operation.

Objected perfect colour on any fabric and multiple alternatives available

To replicate onto a definite fabric the colouration process begins with an objected colour that is clear and it is very vital. There seems to be an outstanding move forward in laboratory dyeing, finishing and wash-fastness testing today.

These types of system designed with three aims are as follows:

. On a small scale production in the laboratory to reproduce during the dyeing procedure

. To dye small trial to typical colour and material during production

. To lessen the time and workforce needed for mounting manufacturing procedure.

The relationship between the formula built-up in the lab and the formula applied in manufacturing is the vital factor for all three aims. System like Datacolor, built-up with the Spectra-dye Plus to confirm relation among the lab and production, it is an infrared exhaust laboratory-dyeing machine with an entire automated measurement system. Time-consuming labor-intensive dosing has turn out to be an event of the past in the textile industry with the supplement of the dosing carousal. For the period of the dying round supplementary would be automatically treated into the dyeing beaker with various dose capacities like linear, progressive through pump. The latest devise with improved connection between your lab and production formulas required. For each supplementary, the full range of shades, pale, medium and dark, units provides multiple alternatives.

Completely incorporated colour systems

To decrease dye as well as chemical and labor costs for the lab and during the entire manufacturing procedure, the textile industry requires to be guaranteed perfect operation with current just-in-time demands. It must cover important vital areas as mentioned and not require covering automating or general feature of dye production and the system, but must work all together. For example a high-quality colour combination system must functions according to the systems of laboratory administration to textile manufacturing management to colour quality control and colour database.

With correct and frequent colour volume and data evaluation of effective colour control and colour management operates with ease of function. In the market there are availability of a large quantity of computerized systems for enriching communication, quality, productivity and profitability. You can not be assured of a completely exact manufacturing method that manufactures less wasteful overall, if the system you preferred doesn't permit addition with the complete range of colour management conditions.

Silk - the queen of all fabrics is historically one of India's most important industries. India produces a variety of silks called Mulberry, Tasar, Muga and Eri, based on the feeding habit of the cocoons.

The sericulture industry today employs over 700,000 farm families and is mostly concentrated in Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh and to some extent Assam and West Bengal. Karnataka accounts for more than 70 percent of the country's total silk production.

Sericulture is one industry which is beneficial to the agriculturists. As in today 56 lakhs people are dependent on the sericulture industry, 5.6 million people out of which 4.7 million are agriculturists. The rest are reelers, weavers etc.

India is the second largest producer of silk, contributing to about 18 per cent to the world production. What is however, more noteworthy is the fact that India's requirement of raw silk is much higher than its current production at present. Thus, there is considerable scope for stepping up production of raw silk in the country, overcome the persistent conflict of interest between exporters of silk products and producers of raw silk.

While sericulturists want imports of raw silk to be restricted to have better market for their produce, exporters want imports of cheaper raw silk so as to be able to export more silk products at competitive rates. India has all the four varieties of silk namely, mulberry, tassar, eri and muga. It is however, disheartening to note that we have not yet been able to fully exploit this advantage and make our presence felt on the international scene more prominently than at present. For this, one has to clearly understand the strengths and weaknesses of different segments of this sector.

The strength of this industry lies in its wide base, the sustaining market demand pull especially from the Indian handloom weaving sector, the infrastructure created by the national sericulture project and the research and training capabilities.

Mulberry segment

Its main weakness is related to a poor database, diverse range of practices leading to a divergence in productivity and quality. Generally, there is weak accent on quality consistency in production, poor transfer of technology to the decentralised sector both due to poor technology absorption and poor/inadequate follow up on laboratory findings; poor market linkages barring in Karnataka, a thriving unfair trade in the post-yarn sector, low-end technology use and reluctance to costlier technologies due to fears that there might not be corresponding improvement in price realisations. Other weaknesses are inadequate emphasis on quality in the commercial seed sector, neglect of marketing linkages and the need for a basic perspective for development of the sector which clearly defined relative roles for the central and state agencies under the federal set-up.

Among non-mulberry silks, tassar is mostly produced by tribals by rearing silkworms on forest plants. India is the largest producer of tassar silk after China and is the only producer of golden muga silk. Also, India is a major producer of eri silk.

Unlike mulberry silk production, non-mulberry silk production is unsteady and fluctuates from year to year. The central silk board has not given enough attention to their R&D and extension activities in the area of non-mulberry sericulture in spite of its potential to directly help the poor. Presently, muga and eri silks are produced mostly for self-consumption. But with their uniqueness to India, they have great potential for value-added exports.

The government must give to these varieties of silk the importance that is due to them and facilitate focussed R&D, targeted extension and innovative product development for value-added exports.

Tassar

It has been noted that the following are the areas of weaknesses in production of tassar and they require to be set right

. Rearing is done outdoor on trees; natural food plants are dispersed over large areas. Thus, comprehensive extension support would entail a large number of extension agents to cater to the farmers beyond their resources.

. Also weavers are normally reelers and are not exploited by traders.

. Oak tassar culture has not yet been properly adopted, as people are new to this culture and economics are yet to be established.

One very dangerous thing that is seen in the concrete pumping industry from time to time is people having their arms, fingers, etc. amputated in the field due to cleaning out the pump with their hands while the pump motor is running. Remember, never put any body part in the hopper, outlet valve or lubrication box while the pump is running. Many of these amputations are caused because the operator thinks that just because the remote is off everything is all right. However, what happens is they press the stop button on the remote and then they stick their arm or hand into a moving part on the pump and then they lean up against the pump or whatever and the remote button is pushed on and their arm is chopped off. It happens just like that, fast!

Remember to read the pump manufacturer’s operating manual before cleaning or repairing your concrete pump. If you have to service the pump and need to put your hands near moving parts, always shut off the pump engine and remove the key and make sure all pressure is at zero.

Most pumping companies will see a steady growth in pump jobs due to the summer months ahead. This is a great time of year to service your pumps and equipment. With more pump jobs it means more money. Don’t forget to invest back into your equipment. Don’t get out on a job and have a problem that could have been avoided.

Check your hoses for wear spots, and holes in the hose. Also, check the hose ends including the inside. Look for thin metal. Check your reducer and the ends of the reducers. Periodically lightly tap your reducers with a hammer. You can actually hear a very bright “ting” if the metal is getting too worn. When this happens, replace it. Here’s a little side note. Did you hear about the guy who lost his vision due to the hose exploding open in his face. His employer had no workman’s comp and either did the general contractor. Don’t gamble in this business. People can get injured and killed.

Here’s a good habit to get into.

Start off with good hoses and clamps. When setting up a job, roll out the hose from one end and when rolling it up, roll it from the other end. That way you can inspect both ends daily. If you come across a bad hose, spray paint it to mark it and put it aside. Then either fix it, cut it into two hoses, or throw it away. If the concrete hose clogs, a damaged or worn hose could burst with the possibility of causing property damage, personal injury or even death. Same thing with the reducers or elbows.. Don’t take chances. Fix it or throw it away. Once again, invest in your equipment.

Pump Maintenance / When was the last time you changed your hydraulic oil?

Don’t forget to check your pumps owner’s manual on when to change the hydraulic fluid, motor oil and all your filters including hydraulic filter, motor oil filter, air filter and fuel filter. Check all your hydraulic hoses and fittings, loose nuts and bolts, loose wires and fittings, etc. Also, always keep an eye on your accumulator pressure. Don’t pump with low accumulator pressure. If you are running low on pressure, charge your accumulator according to your pump manufacturers guidelines. By maintaining your pump you will be able to offer your customers quality and well maintained equipment. Then down the road if you decide to sell your pump you’ll be happy you maintained it. Just keep this in mind. A well maintained pump gets top dollar in the used concrete pumping market.

Today, conveyor belts are one of the major means for conveying heavy and light materials from one location to another in factories and other places. The working of the conveyor belt is very simple. A wide range of conveyor belt tools is essential for the proper working of conveyor belts. The principal part of conveyor belt tools is the conveyor belt splicing kit. Apart from this, heat measuring or controlling devices and different types of slitters are also an integral part of conveyor belt tools.

Conveyor belt splicing kits encompasses belt bonder kits and alternate tools. The belt bonder kit is used to join conveyor belts. Generally, a belt bonder kit will include a heat wand, cutter, gripper, trimming tools and driller. Both standard and heavy duty conveyor belt bonder kits are available. The standard conveyor belt bonder kit is widely used for welding polyurethane and polyester conveyor belts. The standard heat wand will work at low energy. Heavy belt bonder kits are ideal for heavy welding purposes. This is inclusive of a heavy duty heat wand that normally works at 100 volts or more. On an average, a standard belt bonder kit costs around $250, and a complete heavy conveyor belt bonding kit will cost around $3300.

Alternate tools of conveyor belt splicing kits are different types of grippers. The grippers usually hold cords. Depending on the use, one can avail of metal and plastic grippers. When compared with metal grippers, plastic grippers are light weight and easier to handle.

Different types of gadgets are used to measure and control the heating devices. Temp-o-meter, an electronic sensor that scans differences in temperature, is most commonly used to measure the temperature. It can read temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and generally works on battery. The heat controlling devices will constantly monitor the changing temperature power wattage being delivered to the heat wand, and control it.

A slitter is also an integral part of conveyor belt tools. It is usually incorporated with a table, and is available with different lengths of blades. A complete 12 ft slitter unit with a knife blade holder will cost around $2,500. Customized slitters are also available.

Conveyor belt tools can be availed from conveyor belt suppliers and wholesalers, or ordered directly from the manufacturers. C. M. Products Company, VOLTA Belting Technology Ltd., and DuraBelt, Inc. are well known for quality conveyor belt tools. Today, most manufacturers and sellers have websites that provide a range of online services for the ease of customers.

Conveyor belts are generally used for transportation of light and heavy materials from one place to another. Cotton woven conveyor belts are closely woven cotton fiber in warp and in weft. They are mainly used for conveying light weight materials.

As cotton woven conveyor belts are very closely woven, they are extremely tough and highly flexible. However, when compared with other textile conveyor belts, cotton woven conveyor belts have lower elongation property. Hundred percent virgin cotton yarns are used to make cotton woven conveyor belts. Thus distortions in cotton woven conveyor belts are less at high temperature. Cotton woven conveyor belts are mainly used for short distance transportation of materials such as raw dough, bread pans, bakery products, boxes, glassware and cans textile products. Cotton woven conveyor belts are also used for mechanical fastening.

An upgraded form of the cotton woven conveyor belt is the polyester cotton conveyor belt. It comprises closely woven polyester cotton fibers in warp and cotton fibers in weft. In comparison with other textile conveyor belts, polyester cotton conveyor belts are thinner, lighter and shock resistant. Thus, polyester cotton conveyor belts function better than cotton conveyors, and are widely used for transportation of medium weight materials for medium and short distances. Due to their strength and resistance to moisture, polyester cotton conveyor belts are utilized in all types of conventional conveyor belt applications. They can withstand continuous temperatures up to 225 Fahrenheit, and 275 Fahrenheit of intermittent temperature.

Cotton woven conveyor belts are available in different width and thickness. The most standard width ranges from 6 to 72 ft, and thickness is from 1.5 to 8 mm. Both cut edges and sealed edges types of cotton woven conveyor belts are found in varying width and thickness.

Cotton conveyor belts can be purchased from polyester belts manufacturers, suppliers, exporters, traders and wholesalers. Ravansco and Belting Division C.R.Daniels Inc. are leading manufacturers of cotton conveyor belts. In addition, numerous online stores provide customer designed cotton conveyor belts to meet individual needs.

Conveyor belts, also known as belt conveyors, are endless loops of a material mostly used for transportation of objects from one location to another. Conveyor belts are generally classified into curved and straight conveyor belts.

A curved conveyor belt, as the name conveys, is curved in shape. When compared with straight conveyor belts, curved conveyor belts have many advantages. Curved conveyor belts can smoothly run through any kind of curve with a very good track-holding. Most of the curved conveyor belts come with a curve shape of 45, 90, or 180 degrees. The belts in curved conveyors are generally constructed in flexible mode. Thus, curved conveyor belts are widely used for agricultural and industrial purposes, but mainly in heavy industries to carry large machineries and articles.

Curved conveyor belts are broadly categorized into vertical and horizontal conveyor belts. Vertical curved conveyor belts are more popular. Mostly, vertical curved conveyor belts are held between two cases, and are basically used for bulk material or unit carrying applications. Horizontal curved conveyor belts are usually built on the platform that conveys, and used for the transportation of heavy materials.

Curved conveyor belts can be adjusted, depending on the application. The materials used for the construction of curved conveyor belts are selected, based on their application. Cotton, canvas, PVC, rubber, silicone, and tough and strong materials including steel and stainless steel are used. Stainless steel curved conveyor belts are the most popular. Strong metal curved conveyor belts are used to convey heavy material. Cotton, canvas, and rubber curved conveyor belts are generally used for the transportation of light weight material such as food and paper products.

Curved conveyor belts are often custom designed and available in different styles and widths. Flat belts, v-belts, magnetic belts, trough belts and rubber conveyor belts are commonly available styles.

Some of the leading manufacturers of curved conveyor belts are Cambelt International Corporation, BASSCO- a division of ASGCO, and Yokohama Rubber. Among them, Yokohama Rubber in Japan is one of the premium companies to develop steel-cord conveyor belts for long distance applications. The company also holds the world record for the longest curved conveyor belt, with a length of 11,103 meters. Most curve conveyor belt companies have online facilities. They also provide full maintenance and services, from consultancy on the right choice to the proper working of curved conveyor belts.

The history of conveyor belts begins in the latter half of the 17th century. Since then, conveyor belts have been an inevitable part of material transportation. But it was in 1795 that conveyor belts became a popular means for conveying bulk materials. In the beginning, conveyor belts were used only for moving grain sacks to short distances.

The conveyor belt system and working were quite simple in the early days. The conveyor belt system had a flat wooden bed and a belt that traveled over the wooden bed. Earlier, conveyor belts were made of leather, canvas or rubber. This primitive conveyor belt system was very popular for conveying bulky items from one place to another. In the beginning of the 20th century, the applications of conveyor belts became wider.

Hymle Goddard of Logan Company was the first to receive the patent for the roller conveyor in 1908. The roller conveyor business did not prosper. A few years later, in 1919, powered and free conveyors were used in automotive production. Thus, conveyor belts became popular tools for conveying heavy and large goods within factories.

During the 1920s, conveyor belts were common, and also underwent tremendous changes. Conveyor belts were used in coal mines to handle runs of coal for more than 8kms, and were made using layers of cotton and rubber covers. The longest conveyor belt now in use is 60 miles long, in the phosphate mines of Western Sahara.

One of the turning points in the history of conveyor belts was the introduction of synthetic conveyor belts. It was introduced during the Second World War, mainly because of the scarcity of natural materials such as cotton, rubber and canvas. Since then, synthetic conveyor belts have become popular in various fields.

With the increasing demand in the market, many synthetic polymers and fabrics began to be used in the manufacture of conveyor belts. Today, cotton, canvas, EPDM, leather, neoprene, nylon, polyester, polyurethane, urethane, PVC, rubber, silicone and steel are commonly used in conveyor belts. Nowadays, the material used for making a conveyor belt is determined by its application.

For more than 40 years, the 8,000 seat venue at Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina has stood up to heavy snows and tough winters. When it opened in 1968, the facility was North Carolina's largest indoor athletic facility west of Charlotte and Winston-Salem.

Crowds have visited Varsity Gym to witness various circuses, they've also seen The Harlem Globetrotters and Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions of Austria. The list of entertainers and concerts to step on the stage in Varsity Gym is a diverse group, covering several musical genres. Bruce Springstein, Chicago, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Steppenwolf, The Allman Brothers Band, The Fifth Dimension, Andrew Gold, Dionne Warwick, Bread, Phish, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Pablo Cruise, Kenny Rogers, The Carpenters, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, Ronnie Milsap, Edgar Winter, Gary Puckett, The Lettermen, The Chairmen of the Board, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffett and Ray Charles all made appearances in Varsity. Several public speakers, ranging from educational too political to comedic have addressed large crowds in Varsity Gym. John Houseman, Jane Fonda, US consumer advocate Ralph Nader, entertainer Bill Murray, Harry Reasoner of 60 Minutes, US Army General Thomas Kelly, as well as Grammy Award-winning poet, writer, composer and actress Maya Angelou all stood behind the Varsity Gym podium.

But in 1967 when I was working for Noble Concrete installing the Post Tensioning cables in the thin deep beams that support the roof, I was having nightmares over the safety of the building. This was one of the main factors that helped me decide to find another line of work and get out of the construction business. And it was one of the last jobs that I was involved with.

The beams were so thin that we could hardly find room to place the steel much less the cables which were encased in a flexible metal tube. The beams were almost 8 feet deep and the cables ran from the tops of the columns to the bottom of the beam at the middle. Any miss alinement would result in the beam twisting when the stress was applied. After a nervous few days we had the cables stressed to the correct tension and locked into place.

The problem we now faced was filling the long metal tubes with grout. There was a hole in each end of the cable plates where we connected the grout line and proceeded to pump the grout under high pressure until it sprayed out the other end. However it never came out, the span was too long or there were crimped places in the tube that prevented the grout from filling the cable housings. We were told to pump all the grout that was possible from one end, plug the hole and then go to the other end and do the same thing.

The grout bonds to the cables, but I had no way of knowing how much of the cables were covered in grout and how much were just laying in water! I could picture the cables rusting and breaking at some point under a heavy snow. But I was not an engineer and I was assured that it was safe. I never liked the grouted cables, the cables that were greased and wrapped in heavy paper always worked as planned. For years after completion of the job I half expected to hear of a collapse. I am thankful to God that it has stood up this long. The good thing is that the longer concrete sets, the stronger it becomes.

Textile industry in India is considered as a pioneer industry, as India's industrializations in other fields have succeeded through the resources generated by textile industry. Though, from the early 1970s to the beginning of liberalization in 1992, the industry tended to be isolated as measures taken by the Government (with the apparent objective of protecting the cotton growers, the large labor force and the consumers) have constantly eroded its prosperity.

World over, the Indian textile industry is considered as the second largest industry. It has the biggest cotton acreage of 9 million hectares and is considered as the third largest producer of this fiber. In terms of staple fiber production it comes fourth and sixth for filament yarn production. The country reports about one fourth of global trade in cotton yarn.

With over 15 million people employment, the textile industry accounted for 20 percent of its industrial production. Covering textiles and garments, thirty percent of India's export comes from this sector, in terms of exports it is the largest contributors for the growth of Indian economy. In spite of high capital and power cost, the Indian textile and garment sector's strength comes from the availability of cotton, lower labor costs, well skilled supervisory staff and plentiful technical and managerial skills.

Although very few countries are endowed with such resources, today's globalization has brought new opportunities for the India textile industry. Concurrently, it is exposed to threats, particularly from cheap imported fabrics. Thus, India has to fight for her share in the international textile trade. Even if it is assumed that WTO will mean better distribution of the world trade, the benefits for India will not be any different than for the other developing countries. The Indian textile industry would, therefore, have to not only rely on its strengths but should also endeavor to remove its weakness.

India's apparel exporters, though, have been employing various strategies to make sure that they remain competitive in the liberalized trading environment of 2005 and beyond. Many manufacturers are taking action for improving production efficiency through advanced automation system, re-engineering of production systems, merging separate production units and backward and forward integration of operations and are keen to expand their production capacity in anticipation of enhanced demand in 2005 and beyond Among other manufacture are seeking changes through diversifying their product ranges, exporting high value apparel and improving their design capabilities and some of are planning to raise added value by setting up joint ventures with foreign firms, to take benefit of their technical, design and marketing proficiency. Others are making relationships with foreign buyers to increase their marketing capability.

Support has also arrived from the Indian government in the removal of restrictions on investment by large companies and foreign investors. The Government has also provided assistance to expand the infrastructure for exporters and has given incentives for techno-logical up-gradation. Though, most important restriction is the inflexibility in labor laws, which cause it hard for large firms to cut their workforces when require.