FEATURE – Toyota recently achieved the #1 spot in sales in the United States after 90 years of leadership by GM, which shows how capable the lean management philosophy is to overcome difficult circumstances in the market.
Adam Pullin
Post-pandemic hansei
FEATURE – Back on the road after two years, the author reflects on how lean organizations have performed during the pandemic and addresses age-old misunderstandings about Just-in-Time.
Seeing problems, four types of them
FEATURE – Using data from a recent piece of research on logistics, the author discusses how Lean Thinking contributes to a more efficient and effective way of dealing with problems.
Whittle by whittle
CASE STUDY – This Dutch SME is transforming its picking operation – partly with the introduction of a U-shaped design – to increase the number of orders it can fulfil every day.
5 ways to improve your connection with the gemba
FEATURE – The author discusses the practices that can help us make the most of the traditional mantra “go see, ask why, and show respect”.
Yokoten and a logistics improvement in healthcare
FEATURE – In this article, we hear about how the lean successes of one hospital inspired an entire healthcare authority to introduce changes to their processes.
Learning to say “No” on the way to “Yes”
SERIES – The authors discuss the third of six elements in their process development model – Converge – using experiments to test key aspects of different ideas, while objectively working towards a single design concept slated for refinement and implementation.
Cost calculation vs cost awareness
As inflation bites, the author offers us an insightful take into what it really means to understand a company’s costs. Hint, it doesn’t involve passing them on to customers.
Resilience: problems Ukrainian firms are experiencing today
FEATURE – Ahead of their exclusive webinar next week, the authors outline some of the problems Ukrainian companies are facing as the Russian invasion continues.
Data centres power usage up 32% in 2021 from 2020 – CSO
There has been a significant increase in the amount of electricity consumed by data centres in Ireland.
According to new figures from the Central Statistics Office, there was a 32.3% increase in electricity consumed by data centres in 2021 compared to 2020. The CSO attributes this to both more data centres being added to the grid and existing data centres using more electricity.
On a quarterly basis, the amount of electricity consumed by data centres between October to December 2021 has risen by 265% compared to January to March 2015. The total amount of electricity consumed rose by 5.4% last year. This has risen by 16% since 2015. Data centres accounted for 14% of all metered electricity consumed last year. In 2015, the corresponding figure was 5%.
Large users, which include data centres, accounted for 23% of energy consumed in 2021. Their consumption grew by 17% in 2021. It has risen by 80% since 2015, today’s CSO figures show. Non-residential consumption of electricity accounted for 67% of power used in 2021 with urban residential users accounting for 21% and rural residential users accounting for 12%. Last year, Eirgrid predicted that by the end of this decade, large users could account for 27% of electricity consumed. Eirgrid has recently placed a moratorium on plans for new data centres in the Dublin area as it seeks to spread their energy demands to different parts of the grid.
Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0503/1295717-cso-metered-electricity/