Productivity Blog

Monday February 26, 2007By Martin Johnston New Zealand Herald Auckland’s public hospitals could save tens of millions of dollars annually, an analysis says. The series of reports done secretly for Auckland’s three health boards is bad news for the Government, confirming Treasury advice that hospital productivity appears to be declining, despite huge funding increases. The National Party, which obtained the four reports under the Official Information Act, says they vindicate … Continue reading →

Efficiencies Produce Financial Benefits San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco is aiming to become one of the nation’s first large cities to require that new, privately developed buildings meet rigorous standards of environmental friendliness. The decision to pursue such standards, which will need Board of Supervisors approval, follows similar actions taken in Boston and Washington. Smaller cities have also adopted such mandatory rules, including several in the Bay Area. It is … Continue reading →

Productivity’s down: The Conference Board came out with a report today saying U.S. productivity growth is slipping. Kai Ryssdal talks with the Board’s Ken Goldstein about what that might mean for inflation and interest rates. APS highly recommends this in-depth piece. Real-player audio is required. Listen to this story and read the transcript

Union Pacific Railroad expects to spendan estimated $1 billion on system companywide The CBTC also is expected to help increase productivityby boosting the number of trains that can operate on a track By Emily Brandler www.spokanejournal.com Union Pacific Corp. says it plans to implement an up to $1 billion technological system that will revolutionize the way it operates its locomotives, and has chosen a route that runs between Spokane and … Continue reading →

Goldman Sachs says India’s economy may overtake US in 2042 and be an economic superpower second only to China By Finfacts Teamwww.finfacts.comJan 25, 2007 A leading global investment bank says India could overtake the UK, Italy and France and have the world’s fifth largest economy within a decade. The report by Goldman Sachs says if trends continue; India’s economy could also surpass the United States before 2050 and be second … Continue reading →

Formula For Efficiency In Low-margin Industries They Usually Don’t Invest Heavily In ITBut Dow does. Its CEO Tells Us WhyCIO Magazine NOTE TO OUR READERS: APS encourages discussion on all our postings. Critical comments welcome. Please click on comments below. In 1996 the Dow Chemical Company, which at $US46 billion in annual revenue sits comfortably in the top half of the Fortune 100, set a series of ambitious environmental, health … Continue reading →

The people of Finland are the most productive and competitive in the world. In this advanced industrial economy, the metal, engineering and electronics industries account for 50 percent of export revenues. Finland is also one of the leading countries in Internet use. Finland preserved its independence and sovereignty in World War II, fighting successfully to prevent Soviet occupation. The country’s high standard of education is reflected in devotion to technology … Continue reading →

When does a productive technique evolve into a useless and perhaps harmful fad? The first sign can be the departure of active leaders for another project. Other warning flags can include the stifling of creativity that doesn’t fit neatly with the new imperative. Now, The Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine have recognized the hazards of using fads. Sticking with the time-tested, time-proven productivity improvement programs implemented by members of … Continue reading →

Remember Re-engineering, Kan-ban, Kaizen, QIP, MRP I, II, and III, and now Six Sigma? Six Sigma worked for GE’s Jack Welch, because he was a hands-on leader. The same is true of virtually any quality or productivity plan. Active leadership is needed to make it successful. That’s the difference between a fad and viable productivity implementation project. …Briefly, the Six Sigma initiatives are used to help companies make almost error-free … Continue reading →