NU12 by Mike Ligayo - Business knowledge radio station

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my 11th NU12 (replacement for the jatropha entry).

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

BIZ RADIO

I was driving through SLEX the other day when heavy rains suddenly poured near the San Pedro exit. To reduce my fear of the rains and occasional thunder and lighting as well as the tension that other cars and trucks are giving me, I opened the radio in the hopes of finding something nice and probably worthwhile to listen. Unfortunately, you only hear three things – bad / sad news and commentaries, music and love life problems. While it is true that some of these can be worth listening to, of course, depending on the situation where you are into, I would like to find something new. This is when the idea of the "Biz Radio" comes to my mind.

"Biz Radio" is a radio station (preferably in the FM band where there are a lot of yuppie listeners) solely dedicated to spreading the knowledge of business. It can have programs such as:

·       Success stories of entrepreneurs

·       A series on new business knowledge and techniques such as blue ocean strategy, freemium, etc (instead of radio drama, for say a week or two per topic) where a professional / expert can talk about it

·       A talk on topics such as branding, operations, problem solving, performance evaluation, etc. done by experts on such fields

·       New business opportunities

·       Technological innovations that can be used in business

·       Product or service releases

·       Business news such what is happening on the stock market, mergers and acquisitions, company announcements, etc. (can also add an analysis of these news especially on how it can impact specific businesses)

There are a lot of other programs that can be introduced by such a radio station. It can bank on the fact that taking an MBA or training courses on these topics can be very expensive and can be timing-consuming. Since not everyone has the resources or the opportunity to attend such, the programs on this radio station can be very beneficial from the simple sari-sari storeowner to the CEO of a multi-national company. The ordinary employee can learn a lot of new things while driving or being stuck in traffic. This way, business knowledge will not be rare and the radio station can make it a common language of the Filipino.

One may ask, however, as to the means by which the station can survive financially. Obviously, much like any other radio station business, advertising will play a crucial role. Here are some ideas:

·       Advertising of new products / services

·       Promotion of training such as those from Business Coach, Neville-Clarke and many others

·       Possibly "pay-per-listen" for the very expensive topics (it can provide certificates as well)

·       Advertising from schools such as the Ateneo CCE

 It must always be remembered that business knowledge can be shared to all and of course, can be used by all. So next time you tune in to your favorite station, why not start by clamoring for a business-related program to start with?  (a very mall market just l% of total population)   3

NU12 by Mike Ligayo - Seatbelt with BP meter,

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my 12th NU12.

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

SMART CAR PART 2

I recently made an NU12 entry on the "smart car". In that entry, the "smart car" was linked to a downloadable smartphone application with a lot of proposed features that will make the "smart car" work more efficiently and safely. The tools available on the smartphone were tapped to make it work with the "smart car".

In this entry, additional features to the "smart car" will be proposed, still in the effort of making it safer and more efficient.

The Blood Pressure Measuring Seatbelt

In a program I watched on the ABSCBN News Channel, the speaker from LTO mentioned that one of the major causes of road rage is when a person is hungry. In his words, "ang taong gutom ay mas mainitin ang ulo". Unfortunately, there is no real measure of hunger of a person except indirectly through his blood pressure. Significant changes on a person's blood pressure can be experienced if he / she is hungry. This is the basis of the "blood pressure measuring seatbelt". Obviously, the seatbelt, when worn by the driver, will have the ability to measure the blood pressure of the driver. This will give a general condition of the driver as to whether he is fit or not to drive, not only if he is hungry or not. Extremely low or extremely high blood pressure is a signal that the person is not fit to drive. To make it smarter, the car can automatically stop its engine or switch to "auto-pilot" if it finds that the driver is not fit to drive. The destination can be configured through its GPS. 3

The Driver's License Barcode Scanner

One of the most common violations of drivers is driving without license. There are probably thousands of reasons why drivers do so – forgotten, lost, don't have and many, many others. The bottom line is that it is a violation to do so. This is the reason why the "smart car" should adapt to this. Simply, the driver has to scan his / her license and to be able to match the license with the driver, the steering wheel of the car will have a fingerprint scanner. This way, the "smart car" would be able to ensure that the driver has his / her driver's license and that the owner of the license is the one driving. Without scanning the correct license to match the fingerprint, the engine of the car won't start. Obviously, upon the purchase of the "smart car", the driver has to register his / her license and fingerprint. The "smart car" can also tell if the driver's license is already expired or not. (or have this in your Android Phone) 3

NU12 by Mike Ligayo - Speed Limits when raining, regional...

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my 13th NU12. Please have it considered if there is any of my new entries that do not fit the qualifications.

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

PROPOSED NEW LAWS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Back in High School, I once thought of becoming a lawyer to eventually enter into politics. But that dream never became a reality; instead I became a Chemical Engineer. This is probably the reason why I have quite a number of new ideas on what laws and ordinances to enact. I consider them new ideas since it seems that none of our politicians have ever thought of them.

Rainy Day Speed Limit

Road conditions change significantly during rains. Obviously, the roads become more slippery but at the same time, splashing water can become a safety hazard. Unfortunately, speed limits on our national highways and expressways do not consider such conditions. This means that regardless if the conditions is as safe as a sunny day or is a dangerous as a rainy day, the same speed limits apply. Thus, a driver is still allowed to run at 100kph despite continuously splashing water on the windshield of a nearby vehicle. (This is something I experienced and it is really very dangerous because you don't see anything in front of you.) Thus, there is a need to specify a speed limit when weather conditions change. Perhaps, 20kph lower than the current speed limit will do.

To help in the implementation, highways and expressways can install digital speed limit signs, which can be altered by Traffic Management if the need arises. For example, if you enter the South Luzon Expressway and there are no rains, the speed limit can remain as is, but when you reach a certain point that is raining, the speed limit sign is changed to match the weather condition prevailing in the area.

The implementation of such a system can significantly reduce accidents and will help drivers act accordingly. 3

Regional Taxation System

In our Economics class, it was reported that the minimum wage of the Philippines is set through a Regional Tripartite. This means that the minimum wage actually depends on the region / location of the company. Naturally, the more developed locations would have a higher minimum wage and vice versa for the less developed areas. In my thought, why not the same for taxation? The same scheme can be implemented for taxation, wherein, the higher tax will be implemented on areas considered to be developed such as NCR, Region 4A and Region 4B while areas such as ARMM and CAR will have lower tax since they are less developed. This system can be implemented for all kinds of taxes – from VAT to withholding tax to real estate tax to inheritance tax.

The biggest benefit of this type of taxation would be less migration of people. With smaller taxes on certain areas, people would choose not to migrate since migrating to a developed area would cause them to have higher tax and therefore, the take home pay might just be the same.

Further, businesses would also start venturing into the less developed areas since tax can cause their expenses to go high. They can take advantage of this system but at the same time help in developing the less developed areas of the country. 3

Use of Wastewater on Golf Courses

Golf courses are considered to be one of the major consumers of fresh water. They use this for many reasons but primarily on keeping the grass green. To the point of view of the ordinary person, this is a complete waste of freshwater resources. Instead of having it used for more productive purposes, the freshwater resource is being used to simply water grass. This is the basis of this new proposed law – that golf courses should only use wastewater or they can have a wastewater treatment facility built if they still want to use freshwater. There are several ways to implement:

·       Purchase treated wastewater from treatment facilities nearby

·       Build a "shared" facility with another golf course

·       Connect wastewater line from a factory, have primary treatment done before having it sprinkled

The main benefit of this proposed law is to minimize the use of freshwater on purposes not intended for human internal consumption. Also, this can seed other laws to come out that would help us in conserving our freshwater resources by ensuring that it is only used for the right purposes. 4 (walang amoy ha Mike)

Michael T. Ligayo - NU12 (10th out of 12) Smartphone apps for cars

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my NU12 submission for this week. (10th out of 12)

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

SMARTPHONE APP FOR THE INTELLIGENT MODERN CAR

How many times have you lost your car key? Or if your car is keyless, how many times did you have to worry about its mechanism? Did it irritated you that either your power lock or power window does not work simply and you had to go to the dealer or your friendly-neighborhood "talyer"  on to find out that the electrical connection between the dashboard and the door has a problem? Did you ever miss schedules of car maintenance causing some poor car performance? Have you gone frustrated on thick manuals and no idea where to look for? Was there ever a time when either your son / daughter borrowed the family car and you have no idea where they went? Was there a situation that you parked your car and you don't remember where you actually parked it? How many times have you left lights on and only found out about it when you can longer start the car?

I would bet a finger that at all of us has experienced at least either one or two of the situations above. And we always have issues on the electrical connections of the car or the mechanisms or simply the schedules of maintenance. And this is for good reason. At least not in any written literature that the electronics and mechanical features of the car has been integrated. The components of a car is being manufactured by several companies and the attempt between these companies to connect or integrate their products remains to be a dream up until this moment, especially since the companies involved are at times competitors of the other. Thus, the technology that is incorporated into the vehicle has never been integrated.

With the rise of the smartphone applications, this can be possible. Car manufacturers can design a downloadable phone application or accessible to the car dealer in which a new car owner can register and personalize. The application can communicate to the car making it a support to what the dashboard can do. Its functions can be connected to the vehicle through technologies like Bluetooth and the Internet. Naturally, settings would have to be personalized and registered. (This is where the unique Vehicle Identification Number can be used.)

It is very important to take note, however, that the car manufacturer should initiate this feature. This is for two reasons: (1) it is only the car manufacturer who would be able to integrate all the mechanisms and technologies that are coming from several companies and (2) there might additional hardware that needs to be added to the car in order for it to be able to communicate with the smartphone.

Here are some of the things that the application can do:

Through Bluetooth, the application can get information from the car to:

1.    Start the car

2.    Put up and down the window

3.    Open the locks

4.    Transfer music and videos to the entertainment system of car

5.    Inform the owner that it is time for a change oil

6.    Change air conditioner settings

7.    Automatically shut-off all lights and other car accessories if there are no people inside

8.    Change music and video settings

Through the Internet, the application can get information from the car to:

1.    Determine its current location

Other features:

1.    An easily accessible electronic manual

2.    Calendar features to remind the owner to change tires, change wiper, have cooling system cleaned or other maintenance activities necessary for the proper and continuous functioning of the vehicle

3.    Maintain a security setting such it will only be known to the owner

4.    Make available the production records of the vehicle (which is available on the car manufacturer)

Obviously, since the Internet is not yet 100% accessible on all location, the power of Bluetooth technology can be harnessed to do much of the features. With these, your smartphone is not only a gadget but also a remote control for the car. Finally, this application would be able to (1) integrate the technologies and features of the car, (2) would give alternatives to the current mechanically-dependent functions and replace it with electronic signals instead and (3) answer the common problems and issues we all encounter in a car using a one-stop-shop deal.4

Michael T. Ligayo - NU12 9/12 new process - seawater to freshwater conver

Prof. Jorge,

Here is my NU12 - 9/12.

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

----------------

FRESH WATER FROM SEA WATER?!

The Water Resources of the World

Over 70% of our Earth's surface is covered by water ( we should really call our planet "Ocean" instead of "Earth"). Although water is seemingly abundant, the real issue is the amount of fresh water available. 

•       97.5% of all water on Earth is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as fresh water 

•       Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use. 

•       < 1% of the world's fresh water (~0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and is therefore available on a sustainable basis.

Since antiquity, irrigation, drainage, and impoundment have been the three types of water control having a major impact on landscapes and water flows. Since the dawn of irrigated agriculture at least 5000 years ago, controlling water to grow crops has been the primary motivation for human alteration of freshwater supplies. Today, principal demands for fresh water are for irrigation, household and municipal water use, and industrial uses. Most supplies come from surface runoff, although mining of "fossil water" from underground aquifers is an important source in some areas. The pattern of water withdrawal over the past 300 years shows the dramatic increases in this century.

A timeline of human water use:

•       12,000 yrs. ago: hunter-gatherers continually return to fertile river valleys 

•       7,000 yrs. ago: water shortages spur humans to invent irrigation 

•       1,100 yrs ago: collapse of Mayan civilization due to drought 

•       Mid 1800's: fecal contamination of surface water causes severe health problems (typhoid, cholera) in some major North American cities, notably Chicago

•       1858: "Year of the Great Stink" in London, due to sewage and wastes in Thames 

•       Late 1800s-early 1900: Dams became popular as a water management tool 

•       1900s: The green revolution strengthens human dependency on irrigation for agriculture 

•       World War II: water quality impacted by industrial and agricultural chemicals 

•       1972: Clean Water Act passed; humans recognize need to protect water

The Alternative Process to Obtain Freshwater from Seawater – The Chloralkali Process

The production of caustic soda and chlorine is one of the most important heavy chemical industries. Hydrogen gas is also produced, but in lesser amounts. The two major chemicals that is, chlorine and caustic soda, among many chlorine compounds produced as by-products, are formed entirely from the electrolysis of brine. Caustic soda and its co-product chlorine are used in large quantities as raw materials in the manufacture of organic chemicals, plastics, pulp and paper, aluminum, and in waste treatment. Gaseous hydrogen can be shipped to ammonia plants or used as fuel.

There are three ways of manufacturing caustic soda and chlorine from brine depending of the type of cell used. The first process uses diaphragm cells, made from asbestos. This type produces at most 12% caustic soda, still contaminated with sodium chloride salts. Further evaporation and purification steps are required, which makes the process rather inefficient economically because of the large amount of energy expended (Faith, 1957). Also, the caustic produced may still be too contaminated for use, especially in the synthetic fiber industry, which requires high purity caustic (Black, 1994).

The mercury cell or amalgam cell uses a flowing pool of mercury as an electrode in the conversion of brine to caustic soda, and hydrogen and chlorine gases. The process produces at least 50% caustic soda, essentially free from contaminant salts. The process requires minimum processing and expends less energy than do diaphragm cells. Inherent in the process is the production of a mercury-sodium alloy (amalgam) that is not decomposed by the brine present. This amalgam is decomposed in a separate vessel and leads to a small loss of mercury in the environment. This is mainly discharged into nearby waters. Various studies in Japan have shown that consumption of this mercury-contaminated water produces very serious health complications. This led to efforts to control the effluent mercury concentration or entirely replace the manufacturing process.

The latest electrolytic cells, membrane cells make use of specially fabricated membranes that facilitate electrolysis. These cells have the main advantage of the least energy requirement among the three with a caustic product that has a purity intermediate of the diaphragm and mercury cells. However, the cells are very expensive (Austin, 1984). Further, membrane cells do not withstand extreme pH values (Kuhn, 1971). The presence of the divalent cations Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ also damages the cells. Although the current trend is shifting towards the use of membrane cells, many companies have found it more economical to continue manufacturing caustic and chlorine from the old mercury cell units (Black, 1994).

On the other hand, with the discovery of large mining sites of soda ash (sodium carbonate), efforts were put forth to manufacture caustic from soda ash by reacting it with slaked lime or calcium hydroxide. Caustic soda was successfully manufactured by plants operating within the vicinity of the mining sites. Although this method, the lime-soda process, does not release mercury effluents, it unavoidably releases huge amounts of excess calcium chloride in the environment, which pollutes as well (Black, 1994).

Global Assessment of Caustic and Chlorine

           

Electrolytic production of caustic soda and chlorine occurs in fixed, stoichiometric amounts. However, the demand for the products varies individually, and according the National Statistics Office (1996-2001), worldwide demand has frequently vacillated. Further, international companies are looking for ways to replace entirely pure chlorine compounds, citing the environmental hazards connected with organic compounds made with chlorine (organochlorine compounds). This led to price cutoffs that prompted less production and marketing of the products to avoid financial losses. However, caustic soda can be converted to soda ash, which has a number of applications, while chlorine can be converted to sodium chlorate, whose demand has increased for the last decade (Thompson, 1995). At any rate, both caustic soda and chlorine can still be used as basis for new products.

Local Assessment of the Mercury Cell Process

Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation, established since 1963, is the leading local producer of caustic soda and chlorine, among other products, using the mercury cell as the electrode. When stricter standards were imposed, the plant shifted to using diaphragm cells instead. A process engineer was quoted saying that economically speaking the mercury/amalgam process is very viable, but the local culture of avoiding anything connected with using mercury was so prevalent that it drove off possible local investors. The plant shifted to using diaphragm cells in 1979, when there was yet no technology that could lessen the effluent concentration to safety limits.

Removal of Mercury from Amalgam Wastewater

Previous ways of disposing mercury (II), which include ion exchange and reaction with sulfhydryl groups, proved to be very expensive. Interestingly, German researchers from the National Research Centre for Biotechnology discovered that when treated in a bioreactor inoculated with Pseudomonas putida, about 97% of ionic mercury could be reduced to liquid mercury (Von Canstein, et al., 1999). Another technical-scale study was made, this time using genus Pseudomonas sp. The results in the removal of mercury were similar (Dobler, et al., 2000).  These studies present a novel way to treat wastewater from the amalgam process and eventually revive the method that has been losing to more environmentally friendly cells.

Description of the Process

The conventional chlor-alkali process utilizes either rock salt or concentrated brine as raw material. We propose a method based on the former. Rock salt is dissolved in a mixer, called a resaturator, together with the depleted brine, which is a recycle stream from the mercury cell unit. Next, the clear brine is freed of the ionic contaminants [viz., Iron (II), Ca (II), Mg (II), and SO₄^2-] by treatment with barium carbonate in the first reactor, and subsequently, with soda ash in the second reactor. The ionic reactions are as follows:

Ba²⁺ + SO₄^2-                                             BaSO_4(s)

Fe²⁺ + CO₃^2-                                             FeCO_3(s)

Ca²⁺ + CO₃^2-                                             CaCO_3(s)

Mg²⁺+ CO₃^2-                                             MgCO_3(s)

These ionic contaminants, with the exception of potassium ions (which occur in negligible amounts) are precipitated out of the solution as carbonate salts and as barium sulfate. Heavy metals, like cadmium, mercury, and lead, if present, are precipitated with sodium hydroxide. The treated brine is subjected to gravity settling in two sedimentation tanks operating in series. Slurry, consisting of ionic salts, is withdrawn from the mixture.

The clear brine is pumped to the holding tank and brought to pH 5.5 by addition of aqueous hydrochloric acid and solid NaOH. Water formed from the neutralization reaction is vaporized in the evaporator. The acidified brine passes into the mercury cell where sodium ions are reduced according to the electrolytic reactions:

                        Na⁺ + Cl^-                      Na + Cl₂

Metallic sodium dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam.

                        Na + 4Hg                     NaHg₄

The amalgam passes to the mercury denuder, where the following reactions occur.

                        Na + H₂O                      NaOH + 0.5 H₂

In the electrolytic production of caustic soda, hydrogen and chlorine gases are evolved. Hydrogen can be used for a number of purposes, one of which is the production of hydrochloric acid.

The chlorine gas from the mercury cell is entrained with water vapor.  The entrained water vapor of the hot gas is condensed in a heat exchanger. Water that exists in equilibrium with chlorine gas is further stripped from the mixture in the scrubbing tower using sulfuric acid. It is then compressed to liquid chlorine and packed.

The depleted brine from the electrolyzer is freed of entrained chlorine by air stripping. One reason of stripping chlorine from the depleted brine is for microorganisms to thrive, as chlorine has a disinfecting effect. Chlorine gas and air are liberated as waste gas. The stripped brine, prior to bioremediation is neutralized through the addition of sodium hydroxide and cooled to the optimum temperature for microbial growth. The biologically treated brine is the recycled to the resaturator.

The primary product, 50% by weight NaOH, is essentially free of contaminants. It can further be processed to produce a more concentrated liquid and/or rolled into flakes. 4

Main Products of the Process: Freshwater and Sodium Hydroxide

NU12 for May 29, 2012 by Mike Ligayo - Making Places Pet Friendly

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my NU12 for May 29, 2012.

This answers the question "What pisses me off in a mall / resort / hotel?".

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

---------------------

PET-FRIENDLY RESORTS

I am a certified dog-lover. That is a sure thing. My dog has always been the "spoiled" one in the family. And yes, he is considered to be part of the family. And why not? He seems to be an extension of myself. He knows when I am feeling down. He knows when I am busy. He knows when I am happy. Basically, my dog is truly my best friend.

However, as a pet-owner, one of the biggest problems that I always have is during vacations. It is always a dilemma where to go, be it a hotel or a resort that will accept my pet. Of course, I want my dog to experience the vacation where I am going to but it is often a problem if the hotel or the resort where I am going will accept him. Even on the house rules, you will see the clause, "Pets are absolutely not allowed", especially on the luxury hotels and resorts. Oftentimes, we end up either not going at all or going for a less "luxurious" accommodation just to ensure that the dog is accepted. Unfortunately, these have downsides. It limits what we can experience in the vacation.

It is very unfortunate that the Philippines, despite the number of pet-lovers, is still not a pet-friendly nation. Facilities and accommodations are still very restricted in terms of allowing pets to come in. I remember trying to bring my dog inside a mall and the guard said that if they allow the pet to get into the mall, I would have to carry him while inside the mall. Imagine the discomfort (especially that my dog is about 6 kilos).

And so I thought of this new idea to have a pet-friendly resort…

What is necessary for a resort to be pet-friendly?

Of course it is going to very expensive for a new resort / hotel to be established. So here is just a list of some changes that current resort / hotel owners can do to make their resort / hotel pet-friendly:

·       Allot some rooms with no carpet. Carpets are usually one of the features that make a room not pet-friendly. The pet easily destroys it. Thus, it is best to create / allot rooms that do not have carpets.

·       Protect bed foams and mattresses. Pet-owners cannot prevent their pets from going to the bed. Thus, these foams and mattresses should be well protected such that dog poop and urine will not sip through. Similarly, mites will also not get through. It is also suggested to ensure that washing is possible after every customer with pets.

·       Have separate accommodations for pets, if possible. The resort / hotel can do this as an additional service. They can provide stay-in rooms for the pets where they can also offer services such as grooming and the likes. This way, the pets are also having a vacation while their owners are enjoying their time. In addition, the owners can visit their pets anytime they want to.

·       For beaches, have a separate location where pet-owners can roam their pets. This is just to separate the pet-owners from the non-pet-owners. In this section, the owner can have frequent personnel to roam around in case there are irresponsible owners who will not clean the mess of their pets.

·       On sale on the resort / hotel can be cleaning materials that the owners can purchase to clean the mess of their pets. This can be packaged tissue, pet diapers, plastic containers, etc that will be necessary to clean poop and urine.

·       Trash bins should also be located everywhere where the owners can throw cleaning materials that they used. This will make it very convenient for pet-owners to clean the mess of their pets and would naturally encourage them to do so.

·       Railings along the shorelines (for beaches) can also be installed to have pet-owners tie their pets while they go swimming. Of course, pools will have to have the same railings but a little far from the pool itself.

·       Very much similar to smoking areas, restaurants inside these hotels / resorts can have designated open areas for customers with pets.

·       Of course, there may still be areas that are restricted to pets. I'm quite sure that pet-owners would understand that.

Conclusion

The Philippines is still very far for being a pet-friendly nation. To a certain extent, pet-owners are still being discriminated especially on resorts, hotels and other establishments. Business owners are afraid that their customers might not like it if they have pets roaming around. However, in a similar fashion, business owners have also not considered they are discouraging pet-owners from becoming their customers. They have not explored enough to ensure that they accommodate for pet-owners and non-pet-owners. I'm still waiting for the day that wherever you go in the Philippines, pets are welcome just like humans are. 4

NU 12 by ML -New Purchasing Process

Hey, Your friend Michael t. ligayo recommends this SlideShare presentation. Re-Engineering the Purchasing Process… Prof. Jorge, Here is my NU12 for May 22, 2012. Regards, Michael T. Ligayo ---------- Oftentimes, the purchasing process is one of the most bureaucratic processes in a company. This is since there are a lot of chances that this process can be abused. However, the numerous steps is also taking a lot of time and causing a lot of delays that may not be beneficial to the company. In this presentation, a really tedious purchasing process was overhauled through a combination of waste identification and elimination and automation. View presentation Want more from SlideShare? Go PRO

4

NU12 for May 15, 2012 - Michael Ligayo - Unclaimed Lost Baggage

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my NU12 for May 15, 2012.

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

Unclaimed Baggage Center

Over the past few years, the emergence of the ukay-ukay that sells used clothes has been gaining a lot of fuzz. In fact, there are a lot of building spaces that eventually opened up to house a new ukay-ukay shop. You will definitely notice the sudden popping of establishments with hundreds and hundreds of hangers with non-identical clothes. The main reason for all the limelight that this industry is getting is simply the price. Imagine getting clothes for as low as PHP10. Who wouldn't be excited to get their hands into this merchandise? For now, let's keep this idea as we develop this highly probable industry.

On a different note, the recent brawl between celebrities Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto against journalist Mon Tulfo has been broadcasted by the evening news to start of because apparently the luggage of Ms. Barretto was brought back to Manila from Boracay under a different flight of Cebu Pacific. This resulted to a problem wherein the luggage of Ms. Barretto could not be claimed by the latter. The story went on and became an instant headline for at least a week now.

But I don't want to focus on the brawl. I would like to focus on the opportunity behind this issue. According to statistics, about 99.5% of all checked-in luggage are claimed or picked-up by the owners at the baggage carousel in airports. Thus, roughly about 0.5% to about 1% don't get to their owners. Of the 0.5% to 1%, about 95% reaches their owners (that is after five days). Of the remaining quantity of unclaimed baggage, about half of them find their way to their owners after 3 months of intense search process. The rest of the remaining unclaimed, unfounded luggage are paid of by the airlines and / or insurance companies.

To make it clearer, let's do the math. Assuming there are 100,000,000 passengers a year (which is the approximate number in domestic flights in the United States alone), each with only 1 luggage,

                      100,000,000 * (1 – 0.995) = 500,000 mishandled luggage

                      500,000 (1 - .95) = 25,000 luggage (not returned after 5 days)

                      25,000 * 0.50 = 12,500 luggage (not returned after 3 months)

Based on the numbers given above, about 12,500 luggage don't get returned and paid only by the airline or insurance company. This quantity is only based on the best performance of airline. What if they poorly perform in handling baggage such as what happened in 2005 when there is 6.20% rate of mishandled baggage or in 2006, when there 5.86% rate? Clearly, there is an opportunity in these numbers. It is actually expected that these numbers will rise with the release of cheaper flights resulting in more travel, heavier bags, overbooked flights and even, weather-related delays. The number of travels will result in more complicated handling of baggage and will surely drive-up the rate of mishandled baggage.

The next question is: What happens to the unclaimed luggage, which, as in the case above is around 12,500 pieces? What happens to the luggage and contents? Here is where the opportunity comes from. These luggages along with their contents can be sold on thrift shops. It is actually surprising what people put in their check-in luggage. According to Discovery Channel's TLC, people interesting items in their luggage such as memorabilia and artwork, electronic gadgets especially digital cameras, souvenirs, jewelries and even wedding dresses.

How to Start the Business

There are several critical key points that need to be done in order to start with this business:

·       Obtain a contract with airlines and other transportation companies to purchase luggage that cannot be traced by owners.

·       Hire pricing experts or at least those with experience in appraising. The items that go with the luggage can be very surprising. Without the right appraisal, the company cannot maximize the value that it can get out of it.

·       The items, especially the luggages, may require a thorough cleaning. The company should know where to bring the items for cleaning or it would be best if the company itself knows and has the facilities to do the cleaning – from art pieces and memorabilia, clothes and even jewelries. It is very important that by the time the pieces go to the sales floor, it will look like brand-new.

·       There should a contact with a recycling facility. Of course, it is not always that 100% of the contents can be sold. Some of the contents may no longer be saleable and may need to be either donated or simply, recycled.

What's Good With This Business

At first glance, this business might look like just a different form of ukay-ukay. But there are a lot more to this. Here are some good things about this business:

·       The capital requirement is just very similar to that of an ordinary ukay-ukay.

·       Technically, this industry is based on trash – meaning, there is high return since the variable cost is very small.

·       Help is being provided to airline and other transportation companies in disposing these "wastes".

·       There is a big market. With the emergence and fuzz about ukay-ukay, expanding it further to becoming higher-end thrift shops can be a great potential.

·       To those who lost very important items, they will be given a chance to find them. (The company may even set-up a lost and found service for documents, IDs and other very important stuff that they find on the luggage.) 4

NU12 by Michael Ligayo - Paper Packaging for Instant Noodles

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my NU12 for week of May 8, 2012.

Regards,
Michael Ligayo

--------------------

Paper Pouch for Instant Noddles

 

Instant Noodles has been one of the most famous and easily accessible food items. It is available almost anywhere from big supermarkets to your suking tindahan in prices that are very affordable. It is even one of the favorite requests of organizations when relief operations are on-going to give to affected families during calamities. Proof of this lucrative business is the evolution of different kinds of varieties available to today as well as the number of companies now offering it on the market. Truly, it can be metaphorically inferred that the instant noodles is the "second staple food in Asia". It is estimated that the global consumption of instant noodles will reach 154 billion packs by 2017 according to the Global Industry Analysts, Inc. I would bet hard money if there is one or two person who has not at least tasted an instant noodle, even out of curiosity for it.

 

Figure 1. Instant Noodles in a Chinese Supermarket.

The main drivers why instant noodles is such as hit is the fact that it is low cost, easy to prepare and loaded with carbohydrates at a very affordable price. Imagine getting a hot meal in less than 5 minutes in the variety you want ranging from the simple instant mami to the more complex pancit canton. Companies even continue to explore other varieties adapting from traditional Asian menus.

 

The Problem

 

From the current to the projected consumption of instant noodles, it means that billions of plastic pouches will be thrown to the environment. This includes the main packing of the instant noodles to the individually packed seasonings. This is aside from the plastic spoon and fork which either comes with the pouch or separately purchased. All of these plastic pieces will be thrown into dumpsites or worst, rivers and possibly clog drainage and sewerage systems. This is especially since those who are on depressed areas are the ones who consume a lot of instant noodles. A classic example is that of the Philippines. In addition to the quantity, most of the pouches, plastic utensils and packages used in instant noodles are non-biodegradable, making it a real threat to the environment.

 

The Proposed Solution

 

A potential solution to this issue is pretty simple – change the plastic pouches and individual packaging of powdered / dry seasoning to recyclable paper. This is most environmentally-friendly option to the problem considering the volume produced and price of the commodity. According to a Manager from Nissin (markers of Lucky Me, a local instant noodle brand), the packaging for a simple instant mami costs Nissin about PHP3.50 to PHP4.00, around 1/3 of the current price of the instant noodle. Comparing this cost to the paper pouch, which is approximately, PHP2.50 to PHP2.75, according to a packaging specialist, it can even be a potential cost-saving effort to transfer to this kind of packaging. Naturally, the savings will only be realized in-time since this is a variable cost and there are lots of fixed cost investments that need to happen before production lines are converted or replaced to produce using recyclable paper. However, the benefits are far beyond the cost savings, rather, it is on the environmental impact. 4

NU12 by MS - Temperature Indicator for Water Heater

Melanie Silverio
NU12

Most people use water heater everytime they take a
shower. I often hear that there are people who were hospitalized because they
were electrified while using it or got a bit burned because the water is too
hot. Even if you have water heater, you still have to check the temperature of
the water using your hands. I think that they should come up with a shower that
has a built in heater and temperature indicator. The temperature indicator has
three colors that will automatically show whether the water is hot, lukewarm or
cold. With this development, accidents will be avoided and it will also be easier for 

people to use this.

Attached is the sample picture. 3

NU 12 by Mike Ligayo - New Design for Tech Pen

Prof. Jorge,

Below is my NU12 for week of April 24, 2012.

Thanks and Best Regards,

Michael T. Ligayo

------------------

Pilot V5 Sign Pen Cap Problem

The Pilot V5 Sign Pen has been my favorite writing material since high school. It has been with me through a lot of exams, several contract and job offer signing and many other activities that involve writing. The pen has been so comfortable with me that even if I try using other pens, I always go back to what I am used to.

The Pilot V5 Sign Pen has been in the market for more than 15 years now and it seems that it has been doing really well since it continuously stay in our favorite bookstores. Some of the really good features of this writing material are:

·         Comes in five colors – black, blue, red, green and purple

·         Ink release is pretty consistent with the same clarity in every pen stroke

·         Usable until the ink runs out (does not dry even if not used for a long time as long as the cap is closed)

·         Cap does not get loose easily

·         Elegant looking with the its bright silver aluminum cap

·         Lightweight, making it really easy to handle

·         Has the right body radius for easy grip but does not easily break

·         Made of durable material

·         Relatively inexpensive for the quality of writing that you get (just slightly above PHP50)

Figure 1 shows an overview of the pen.

Figure 1. Overview of the Pen.

The Problem:

Though the pen has been very efficient to use, it also has failed me several times. This is when the ink oozes out of the small hole / circle on the pen cap causing ink stains on my clothing (which are very difficult to remove, some are even so heavy that it is already permanent). I initially thought that this issue is only being encountered by me but, after asking people who use the same pen (loyally), I got the information that they also encounter the same issue. Further to this, it causes some buyers of this pen to try-out other writing materials which might have the same benefits without this problem. Obviously, this can potentially cause lose of market share.

Dissecting the problem, we need to look closely on the composition of the cap. Figure 2 shows the different parts of the cap. It is composed of 3 parts, which are named cap sub-part 1 to 3 for the purpose of this paper. What happens is, when cap sub-part 3 is being used / inserted on clothes to have it hanged, it causes portions of cap sub-part 2 to move. Looking closely, cap sub-part 2 is only inserted into cap sub-part 1 (not welded or melted). This causes cap sub-part 2 to move when it is being forced by cap sub-part 3. Unfortunately, cap sub-part 2 goes all the way inside the cap (to approximately ¼ of the total length of the cap) and secures the ballpoint, which is the main writing material and where the ink of the pen comes out. Thus, the main problem of the assembly is its design and assembly make-up.

Figure 2. Different Parts of the Pen Cap.

Proposed Solution:

The problem can be solved quite easily. All there is needed to do is to combine the plastic injection molding of cap sub-part 1 and cap sub-part 2. While this is being done, cap sub-part 3 can be embedded / molded with the 2 sub-parts. (This process is possible in plastic injection molding.) Thus, it is not like it is being sandwiched by the 2 sub-parts, rather it will be part of the cap body itself. The effect of this re-design on the pen would be the following:

• There will be no hole on the plastic cap where the ink can ooze out. This is since cap sub-parts 1 and 2 will be molded as one. This ensures that even if the ink ooze because of other reasons (such as expansion of liquid ink due to heat), it will not cause any clothes stain. The ink will be confined on the cap itself.
• The aluminum handle (cap sub-part 3) will be sturdier even if it is being inserted on thick paper or cloth. This is since it is being held by seamless plastic.
• Since most probably, the injection molding insert will come out of the other end (where the pen is being inserted), the barrel of the handle will tend to taper making this other end smaller. (This is an effect if hot plastic is being molded, thus, one end is smaller in radius than the other by a small value, usually in micrometers.) This allows for better insertion of the pen and making it secured better into the cap.

The only downside of this solution would be an investment on the re-design of the plastic injection molding tool. For semi-precision tools, such as this, it will cost around PHP150K (based on a cost estimate of an expert injection molding engineer) to change 1 cavity of the tool. With usually 32 cavities for this size of plastic product, the total investment cost would be at around PHP4.8M.

Business Benefits:

PHP4.8M seems to be big investment for a pen which costs only about PHP53.00 per piece. However, the cost being paid here is consumer benefit. One out of 20pcs of this pen fails for this issue. There are even cases when consecutive pieces (at least those that I bought) failed. (This is potentially a batch issue.) The only thing that keeps me with this pen (and at least those that I know who use this pen) is the fact that is it really highly efficient based on the good features described on the first part of this paper. Considering the re-design to resolve this problem would make it a “near perfect” pen. Combined with its current cost, this would greatly help make the pen stay in the market longer (and probably attract more consumers).

In order to minimize the cost impact, the producer can wait for the time when mold reaches maximum life (approximately 1M shots) and change with the new design. This way, the impact of the cost can be minimized since based on maintenance requirements, the mold tool insert will really have to be changed after the tool life. 4