More people are working out, but not enough, says CDC report

More people are working out, but not enough, says CDC reportMore people are working out, but not enough, says CDC reportPeople are finally getting moving well some of them.The percentage of urban adults getting enough exercise in the US rose from 19% to 25% in the belastung 10 years, according to a new report from the Center for Disease Controlabout physical activity guidelines in rural and urban adult populations between 2008-2007.That number grew as well in rural areas, from 13% to 20%.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThats good news. Nationwide, however, only 24% of adults get the amount of exercise they need which means about 150 minutes a week of moderately intense aerobic activity and two workouts that focus on muscle-strengthening.The CDC thinks we can do better. Despite recent increases in meeting activity guidelines, insufficient participation in physical activity rema ins a public health concern, the authors of the report wrote.If youre among the population thats already working out, you may want to try optimizing your workout time. According to a new study referenced onPsychology Today, morning and evening exercise may burn calories differently.The study (done on mice) suggests that exercising in the morning appears to greatly increase your ability to metabolize sugar and fat, while evening exercise seems to increases your metabolism in general and for a longer period of time.But really, whatever time you can get it in works.

Series 66 Uniform Combined State Law Examination

Series 66 Uniform Combined State Law ExaminationSeries 66 Uniform Combined State Law ExaminationCombined with passing the Series 7 (General Securities Representative) exam (which is a prerequisite), it is required by most states before someone is qualified to work as a securities agent or an investment advisor representative. While agencies of the federal government, most leidably the SEC, are the most prominent regulators of the securities markets and securities industry in the United States, it is often forgotten that the individual states have their own regulatory regimes and licensing requirements. Passing the Series 66 exam is the equivalent of passing both the Series 63 and the Series 65. Additionally, while administered by FINRA, the Series 66 exam is developed by the North American Securities Administrator Association, also known as NASAA. Uniformed Securities Act This is a piece of model legislation, first introduced in 1956 and subsequently amended, that was designed to standardize and harmonize the states securities laws. The idea was to introduce best practices nationwide, while also simplifying compliance for securities firms and securities professionals. Definition of Investment Advisor Representative According to the Uniform Securities Act, an investment advisor representative is someone employed by or associated with an investment advisory firm who does any of the following Makes recommendations or gives investment adviceManages client accounts or portfoliosDetermines which recommendations or advice regarding securities should be givenProvides investment advice or holds herself or himself out as providing investment adviceReceives compensation to solicit, offer or negotiate for the sale of or for selling investment adviceSupervises employees who perform any of the above tasks On the other hand, an investment advisor is not someone who Performs only clerical or ministerial actsWhose involvement in formulating or offering investment advice is incidental, and who does not receive special compensation for investment advisory services Investment advisory firms registered with the SEC and people employed by or associated with the are exempt from separate state registration, licensing or qualification, except for investment advisor representatives whose actual places of business is within a given state. Exemptions Holders of several professional designations, most notably the CFA and the CFP, are considered to have proven mastery of the saatkorn material already, and thus are exempt in most states from taking the Series 66 exam. Other such designations include the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC) credentials. Length of the Exam The Series 66 exam consists of 110 multiple choice questions and 150 minutes are allotted for completing the test. Only 100 of the questions in the exam are actually counted towards the candidates final score . Each test includes 10 experimental questions being considered for use in future versions of the exam. They are distributed throughout the exam, and the test taker is unaware of which ones they are. Passing Score The Series 66 exam tests minimum competency, and a passing score is 75 correct answersor 75% of the 100 questions that count towards the final score. A candidate who fails the Series 66 exam must wait at least 30 days before taking it again. The same rule applies to someone who has failed a second time and who wishes to take it a third time. After a third failure, a candidate must wait at least 180 days before taking the exam again. This same rule applies to all subsequent failed attempts. Topics Covered Passing the Series 66 exam is equivalent to passing both the Series 63 and Series 65. However, it also is designed for candidates who hold Series 7 certification. Accordingly, the Series 66 test omits questions related to securities products, securities analysis an d investment strategy that are a significant part of the Series 65, but which are covered at greater length and detail in the Series 7 exam. Getting Registered and Licensed There are several caveats related to passing the Series 66 exam. First, the candidate is still responsible for knowing and adhering to the specific requirements of the securities laws and regulations of the states in which he will conduct business. Second, while passing the exam often is a key prerequisite to being licensed to do business in a particular state, it is not necessarily the only one, and never confers an automatic right to be licensed or registered in a given state. Nevertheless, the NASAA firmly believes that the Uniform Combined State Law Examination makes for better state securities regulation and better protection of the investing public by promoting uniformity in such regulation and in the qualification standards for financial professionals.

Human Resources Associate Job Description

Human Resources Associate Job DescriptionHuman Resources Associate Job DescriptionHuman Resources Associate Job DescriptionThis human resources associate sample job description can assist in your creating a job application that will attract job candidates who are qualified for the job. Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements.Human Resources Associate Job ResponsibilitiesAccomplishes human resource objectives by obtaining, recording, forwarding, and explaining human resource information.Human Resources Associate Job DutiesProvides information by answering communications referring special communications to appropriate person.Obtains and orients temporary help by forwarding requirements and criteria to temporary services providing information and directions.Maintains human resources records by maintaining applications, rsums, and applicant logs.Verifies candidates hintergrund by contacting references.Enrolls new employees by issuing forms and applications verifying completion.Helps employees by explaining benefit programs.Avoids legal challenges by complying with legal requirements.Maintains manager and employee confidence by keeping human resources information confidential.Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities reading technical publications.Accomplishes human resources and organization mission by completing related results as needed.Human Resources Associate Skills and QualificationsReporting Skills, Administrative Writing Skills, Research Skills, Verbal Communication, Orienting Employees, Classifying Employees, Employment Law, Organization, Confidentiality, Time Management, Analyzing InformationEmployers Post a job in minutes to reach candidates everywhere. Job Seekers Search Human Resources Associate Jobs and apply on now. Read more abouthow the hiring processImprove your Interviews with a Post-Game ReviewWhy Hire Veterans? Answer For the Job SkillsRed Flags and Warnings in the Interview Process

To accomplish goals, you need to enjoy doing hard work

To accomplish goals, you need to enjoy doing hard workTo accomplish goals, you need to enjoy doing hard workIn the eyes of a perfectionist, needing to have fun to be successful sounds self-indulgent. No pain, no gain, they harrumph. Under this mindset, the world is all-or-nothing, results are all that matter, and the miserable journey it took for you to get this success doesnt count. But a new book is arguing that feeling miserable while working doesnt work.Finish Give Yourself the Gift of Done, by bestselling author Jon Acuff, uses studies and the experiences of famous athletes and philosophers to argue that we accomplish our goals much more easily when we enjoy the process. For example, Acuff cites his experience with creating a 30-day zugreifbar challenge to help people finish goals as an experience that taught him what does and doesnt work with goal-setting.The 30-day challenge was observed by aUniversity of Memphis Ph.D. candidate, Mike Peasley, who observed how the hundreds of participants interacted. Acuff and Peasleys research concluded that the exercises that caused people to increase their progress dramatically were those that took the pressure off, those that did away with the crippling perfectionism that cause people to quit their goals.They found that when participants accomplished goals they thought were enjoyable, they had their chance of performance success increase by 46%.How to enjoy hard work? Make it funThe idea of making hard work fun begins by understanding that you have control of your life and career, and you choose to make it enjoyable or not. Self-help speaker Ron Culberson, who advises employees to do it well, make it fun,says that a job is nothing more than a series of processes. If we take each process and analyze what we dont like, there is potential to make it better. So if meetings make you unhappy, try breaking down what part of the meeting is causing the most unhappiness, so you can see what issues to address.In his book, Acuff advises employees who find large goals to be overwhelming to make the big goal more enjoyable by cutting it in half. Once we finish smaller goals consistently, his thinking goes, were more motivated to tackle bigger projects. If the work itself isnt ever going to be fun, Acuff advises giving yourself rewards along the way to your goal that are fun.The other piece of advice people who make their living giving advice agree on? Learn to embrace the struggle of the journey to your goals.Youll never make itAs advice columnist Heather Havrilesky put it, thinking that theres going to be a day when you make it and you wont have to do hard work isnt helpful, because that puts pressure on external factors to be your source of happiness. Instead, she advises people to learn to find joy in their day-to-day challenges As long as you imagine that the outside world will one day deliver to you the external rewards you need to feel happy, you will always perceive your survival as exhausting and per ceive your life as a long slog to nowhere. Instead, you have to savor the tiny struggles of the day, she writes. Savoring these things requires tuning in to your feelings, and it requires loving yourself.Havrileskys advice aligns with cognitive behavioral psychologists findings about the pitfalls of wanting to be perfect. Under the definition of perfectionist behavior, behavioral psychologists note that sure, an addiction to perfectionism creates high standards, but when you measure your entire worth in terms of productivity and accomplishment, youre bound to fail because to err is human, and when you do fail, you wont be able to move on and learn from it. Instead, youll be paralyzed by disappointment and you wont be able to get work done.So to get work done right, youll need to embrace the challenges youll face and find motivating activities and rewards in the work itself that can keep you going.

Find Your Winter Work-Life Balance

Find Your Winter Work-Life BalanceFind Your Winter Work-Life BalanceWorking parents have a lot to juggle, and the six-month stretch from the start of the New Year through Memorial Day can be especially difficult. While the kids are off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day and spring break, their parents get few, if any, of these days off. On top of that, its flu and cold season. Then, when you factor in an emergency day or two for inclement weather, it can feel less like youre juggling multiple balls and more like you are just getting pelted by them. Its helpful to have a fresh bank of sick and vacation time to draw from, but many jobs offer limited PTO, and it is difficult to exhaust those precious days at the beginning of the year. So how can you be present in both of your realities during the dark months of the year? Communicate Proactively with your Manager To give your supervisor some perspective on what you are managing at home, show him or her the number of days that your children have off during this time and how many you do. It can be an eye-opening figure. My spouses ratio is pretty typical, and mine was the same before I moved to a more flexible situation its nine days off for the kids and zero for him. Work/life balance is a concept that is still catching up to workers needs. Having your managers understanding and support is likely to make things easier on you emotionally and logistically. While your manager probably cant extend privileges that are beyond what your colleagues have, talking through possible plans to cover unexpected absences will serve you and your manager well. Plus, your manager may be aware of telecommuting options that you can employ during the winter months or on an emergency basis.You may also find that your job is too rigid to serve your familys needs if thats the conclusion you reach, Simply Hired is a great tool to target a more flexible job.Be Prepared As you undoubtedly know, an unexpected malady or school closin g can manifest at any point. Always have accessibility on your mind, so that no matter where you are your kollektiv can get the materials they need if you are unexpectedly unavailable. Save important documents publically so your team can access them. Be extra diligent when copying team members on correspondences, so they can jump in. In order for this to go well, be the most detail-oriented version of yourself, always planning for the unexpected. Amass a Community Other parents in your neighborhood are in the same boat. So lean on each other. Take turns hosting the kids on days off. Communicate when the snow starts to fly, so that whoevers work schedule can afford it hosts the impromptu playdate. Dont Feel Guilty I have worked on several teams where I was the only parent in the group. Sometimes I had to ask for extra consideration because of my responsibilities at home. I made this work by pitching in as much as I could under regular circumstances. My hand always went up to voluntee r or to support my team. Just like everything in life, its give and take. So be as giving as you can, and dont waste a second feeling guilty when you need to take. That is what balance is all about.

Why Almost Everything Youve Learned About No Work Experience Resume Is Wrong and What You Should Know

Why Almost Everything Youve Learned About No Work Experience Resume Is Wrong and What You Should Know How to format a resume when youve got zero experience. Building a resume can be a difficult task especially if youve got no prior work experience. Provided that youre able to emphasize and highlight the skills you know can donate to the geschftslebens well-being, youre sure to acquire short-listed and be invited for an interview. Focus on what you could bring to the job, and the way your talents will translate into success for the organization. Nonetheless, during your job hunt you might become discouraged. Searching for a job when you havent any experience can be a fairly negative experience on occasion, but you shouldnt let it get you discouraged. The good thing is that its essentially a level playing field in regards to applying for entry-level jobs. The Hidden Facts on No Work Experience Resume Employers will appreciate that you took the opportunity to understand thei r company and the job they are seeking to fill. Resumes have to be original and distinctive. Key Pieces of No Work Experience Resume Employers want to understand what you could do for them, how you are going to benefit their companies, how you are going to impact their bottom lines. You might also have extra-curricular activities which you didnt list below the Experience section that could be included in a sub-section. Its fast and simple to use. Resume examples and templates are really helpful, especially when youre writing one of your initial resumes. Now youre networking and building contacts in the business In case you have any parte-time work, that will go a ways towards a good experience section. With time, you will be in a position to work on the info security side of things, which touches all elements of IT nowadays. There are a couple of diverse things youll be able to include, in addition to a couple of formatting tricks, which will help you present yourself in the very best light possible. After the joyful dance ends, you might start to receive a little worried about not being aware of what to do. Now you need to know how to compose a resume with no experience thats compelling and distinctive, ideal for a high school resume or a beginners resume for teens. In the event you had only minor expert experience prior to taking on your familys helm, you dont will need to highlight it, but you do still should list it. So you merely graduated high school or college and youre ready to go into the workforce to develop into a productive member of society. If you dont have work experience, you may use the cover letter for high school students without work experience for a template. For instance, if youre asking for a job as an administrative assistant, you dont will need to discuss the way your job for a babysitter helped improve your childcare skills, but you might share the way the experience helped you cultivate time management abilities and the capacity to juggle a number of tasks simultaneously. If youre a student, you might be able to entwurf your own internship with an organization of interest to get experience on relevant projects. If this form of experience is pertinent to the job, you are going to want to mention it in your cover letter. The exact same font type is utilized throughout the document. The Truth About No Work Experience Resume Most employers wish to understand your aptitude and ability for your very first function. What you would like to avoid is having an experience section thats almost empty, or one which is full of experience thats not pertinent to your targeted position. Even though you might not have any work experience, you might still be a superior candidate for that specific job based on other qualities or attributes you possess. For each position, youre want to include your job title and business name. Regardless of what your situation, a well-written work experience letter could make all of the difference the moment it comes to being considered for your perfect placement, as well as help you to stick out from lots of different applicants. All job seekers, even college freshmen, ought to have a LinkedIn profile, which can be an excellent place to discover whether you know someone linked to the company where you would like to get the job done. Resume creators permit jobseekers to make and download their finished resumes directly from the web to begin applying immediately. The function of the career objective isnt to tell the hiring manger what you want to escape from the organization. Introducing No Work Experience Resume The work experience part of your resumethe part in which you describe your previous jobsis the most important part of your whole job application. Relevant experience is easily the most important element to include in a resume in regards to applying for jobs with no preceding work history. Remember you want to advertise yourself, Your experience and another contribution you will need certainly to give you the small organization.

3 Indirect Ways New Tax Money Can Improve Your Hiring Process

3 Indirect Ways New Tax Money Can Improve Your Hiring ProcessWith all the talk about the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, its important to look at how it will impact your hiring process. Some larger corporations receiving bigger tax breaks will put the money toward hiring more staff or increasing benefits. While smaller companies wont be seeing the same gross impact, they can make smaller changes to improve both recruiting and hiring. No matter the size of your company, its important to weigh your options. In order to help you determine how the tax reform could positively impact your hiring process, we went to the experts. Heres what leaders are doing and how you can use the new reform to the benefit of your hiring strategy Connect improved benefits with hiringBenefits directly tie in with the hiring process. Great benefits attract top talent and increase retention. Companies can invest in improving and expanding benefits if they have extra money from the tax cuts.Jamie Schutzer, Vice P resident at DM BenefitsUse your benefits to attract and retain top-quality talent. recruiting employeeexperienceClick To TweetMake the little things countLike most businesses in the U.S., we are a small business and not a publicly traded company. The reduction of the corporate tax rate doesnt affect us. Perhaps the biggest added value for us is that we can now expense more things that used to be on a depreciation schedule. Weve been in a great schreibstube for about two years but have put off ordering furniture until now. The new law will help us a lot in this regard.Be sure you can show how every team member can help your company work better and grow bigger. ROI companygrowthClick To TweetWhile the new tax code wont really affect our hiring process, when we hire, we always make sure to identify a clear return on the investment. Too often, as we have gotten bigger, we have forgotten to trace the ROI. But we are learning now, more than ever, that we have to be able to show how every new team member will help us to better work and grow bigger.William Vanderbloemen, Founder and CEO at Vanderbloemen Search GroupPlan strategic investmentsThe tax reform will free up cash flow for many companies, which gives them the opportunity to increase talent acquisition. In a recent Yale University poll, over 40 percent of American companies said they plan to ramp up hiring over the next few months. An additional 14 percent said they would use their tax savings to make large capital investments, such as new equipment or factories, that will also bring jobs.At the end of the day, U.S. corporations will use their tax breaks in the manner that creates the most value for their shareholders. For many companies, this means pay raises and hiring incentives. Capital expenditures to boost productivity and hiring skilled workers are wise investments for companies looking to expand their operations. However, many corporations plan to use the tax break to repurchase stock and boost shareho lder value.Mario Costanz, CEO at Happy Tax40% of American companies plan to ramp up hiring in coming months (Yale University).Click To Tweet

How to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference - The Muse

How to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference - The MuseHow to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference Its a small, small world in professional circles. That can be great for you as you prove yourself and work your way up. It can also turn your work life into a horror movie sequel as the villain, Toxic Boss or Colleague Who Makes You spielblttchen Up All the Slack, strikes again. But the bottom line is that youre likely to encounter some people more than once throughout your career- whether theyre your former office buddy you cant wait to be cubicle neighbors with again, the worst boss youve ever had, or that really nice colleague who just couldnt get their act together. And some of these people might apply for a job at your current company. Or they might apply elsewhere and a friend, recruiter, or hiring manager doing their research might reach out to ask for a back-channel reference. So, what do you do? What to DoIf it Was a Toxic Personality ThingIf a former co-worker you didnt love is applying to a job at your current company, the first thing to ask yourself is whether youd feel comfortable working with this rolle again, says Muse Career Coach Yolanda Owens. If it was a toxic boss or a cruel colleague and the answers something along the lines of under no circumstances or that would be my worst nightmare? Then Owens says sing like Patti LaBelle. A toxic rolle could completely change cultural dynamic, she explains. I think I would feel kind of a moral responsibility and self-care responsibility to say something about that, she adds, whether or not someone explicitly asked for your feedback. Be honest, but professional. The safest bet is to approach the recruiter, if your company has one, she says. But if youve been at the company for a while, established a solid reputation, and built a strong relationship with the hiring manager, you might consider approaching them directly. If you have to be the whistleblower, Muse Career Coach Leto Papadopoulos says, the fruch twein professional and helpful way to relay such feedback is to give actual examples. Owens agrees, emphasizing that you should be strategic about your examples. If you talk about how this persons behavior affected not only you, but also other colleagues, its less likely to come off as a personal vendetta. And if you are asked directly by someone at your own company or elsewhere, definitely dont lie and say that persons great, Papadopoulos says. Because if they come in and behave terribly, in the end I will look bad, and its going to hurt my current company or that of the friend asking. Try Phrases LikeI understand youre interviewing person. I know you didnt explicitly ask for my feedback. But I do feel its important to give a little feedback from my experience with that person for their candidacy. These are some behaviors/patterns/red flags I noticed that I think you should be aware of Person may not be a good fit for this organization.I have to tell you, I know this person, I know their work. Heres what happened Im afraid they might not be the right fit.I would be very disappointed if this ended up happening here. This is great place to work.What to DoIf it Was a Performance IssueIts not just huge jerks that might give you pause. You mightve worked with someone who was super nice, funny, or pleasant to be around, but they just never met their deadlines or always turned in sloppy work or made tons of mistakes. If the issue was related to performance, Papadopoulos and Owens say the situation is less dire. Remember that people can grow and improve, especially if its been years since you last worked with them. You probably dont need to volunteer information about past performance issues. But if someone asks you explicitly, especially within your own company or a close friend, it might be worth saying something, Papadopoulos says. But be as soft as possible. Give the person an opportunity.Try Phrases LikeI did work with this person before. There were some perform ance issues but its completely possible that theyve worked on it. Heres what was going on when I worked with themThis was a great person. However, I did notice a few patterns with this individual in terms ofI dont want you to just base it on my word but might suggest adding questions that would address this kind of issue for this candidate and future candidates.What to DoNo Matter WhatBe ProfessionalNo matter how horrible an experience you had with a former co-worker, remember that how you talk about them and how you articulate your feedback reflects on you. You dont want to become known as the tattletale or the gossiper, or be seen as immature or unprofessional. And remember that its not about getting retribution or vengeance, Owens says. The important thing is, again, making sure the person is making an informed decision.Take Time to Prepare Your FeedbackFirst and foremost, I wouldnt answer the question immediately, Owens says. If someone reaches out to you, acknowledge that you r eceived their request and let them know youll get back to them in a day or two. Take some time to get over any initial impulse or emotional reaction you might have and prepare a thoughtful answer. Ask Yourself How Much You Know and Trust the Person Youre Talking ToThe difficult truth is that if the co-worker in question is someone whos both very awful and very powerful, and word gets back to them, it might hurt you. Or if your feedback is otherwise repeated in a less professional way or without context, it could affect your own reputation. I would hope if it was my own workplace, they wouldnt throw me under bus for it, Papadopoulos says. The same goes for a close friend working at another organization. But it gets trickier when you dont know the person asking well, or at all. Before you say anything, ask yourself how much you trust them. You can always opt to say very little, such as, This isnt someone I could recommend, and leave it at that. You might also decide to decline to spea k about your former co-worker entirely. Id be really wary of sharing that kind of detail with someone dont know or trust, Owens says, because you cant be sure they wont use your name later. In that case, you can just say, I wouldnt be comfortable speaking about that person but I appreciate you reaching out.Plan to Speak in Person, or at Least on the Phone, and Off the RecordEven if youve decided you trust someone enough to give some honest feedback, both Papadopoulos and Owens caution against putting anything in writing. In other words, dont do this over email. The best approach would be to have a conversation in person. Ask the recruiter or hiring manager if you can schedule 15 minutes to sit down one on one. Or, if youre not in the same office, set up a phone call. Owens also suggests explicitly saying you want the information youre sharing to stay just between you. You can tell them, Im happy to share as long as this is completely off the record.No one wants to face a revival of their worst workplace experience (with original cast members). And no one wants to hire someone who will end up bringing down the morale of a team or company. So it can be crucial to both sides that you pass on some honest feedback about people youve worked with in the past. Youve just got to be careful how you do it. So read this, rehearse, and take a deep breath before you do.

Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz

Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy DiazBy Katie McKinstry, Graduate Student Researcher, University of California at BerkeleyAt the University of California at Berkeley, we are studying sustainable manufacturing at many levels. We consider sustainability at the enterprise level, to the factory scale, all the way down to a specific process. In an bewerberinterview with PhD student Nancy Diaz at the University of California at Berkeley, she talks about her experience researching factories that specialize in machining.Tell us about the evolution of your sustainable manufacturing research? When I first started, I worked on the process level. I was interested in machining, production equipment, and how we can make them more sustainable. I found that one element had elend been considered energy. There was a lot of effort put into characterizing process, but not the equipment a s a whole. As I was working on this, I saw that they did not work independently. I found that timing is a big piece of the puzzle, which is why I expanded my scope to include the factory level. It is within process planning where we can have the biggest impact on energy, and process planning includes machine tool scheduling.What can manufacturers do to address their energy use and environmental impact?I am looking at energy from the perspective of a manufacturing facility, and not a product designer. But interestingly, many of the decisions that affect energy, like how the product has to be made, are determined upfront by the designer. There may be common steps, such as making a metal piece. There are many different types of equipment that can perform that operation and provide the saatkorn function but differ in terms of environmental impact.One can look at factory scheduling, such as turning production on and off, or deciding where products get routed. Production facilities can be organized by processes or by product line. Scheduling is particularly interesting in factories that have multiple machining centers. Before, process planners did not take into account energy consumption of machine tools. This field has just developed within the past few years. Now we know we can rank the environmental impact of machine equipment and turn off some of the worst performers some of the time. Looking at equipment, many times, factories will have a broader plant perspective, and may already be measuring overall energy and resource consumption. But they do not know, within the factory walls, which machine is consuming what. So it can help to characterize different parts of the facilities. You can measure in real time, with watt meters, for example, and get real time data, energy in particular.What are some low-hanging fruit opportunities for manufacturers to reduce their energy and environmental footprint? It depends on the customer. Machine tool manufacturers want to kno w how products they are making function, which can highlight areas to save resources. Also the degree to which a manufacturer is ready to implement improvements affects their options. If they are not already taking measurements then that would be the first place to start.For small to medium manufacturing companies, some quick and easy things to begin with include regenerierung chips from machining and, coolant recycling, either onsite or offsite. This can lead to a substantial savings because you will save on the cost of disposing hazardous waste. That is actually a really easy one, and a lot of manufacturers dont realize how easy it is.You do not necessarily have to upgrade to the newest and greatest piece of equipment. You can use more sophisticated tools, such as coated tools or different materials that allow you to implement high speed machining. This can save on processing time as well as, save money on overtime. Also, I recommend having a good relationship with your cutting to ol supplier, as they can have great advice on cutting tool paths. Companies like Sandvik and Kennemetal have great customer support to help reduce tool path. Unfortunately, a lot of people just use default settings, however, you can realize significant long-term cost savings by investing in better, and sometimes more expensive, tools up front while setting up efficient tool paths.Describe a case study of improvements you have made in the factory? A while ago I was working with at a factory of a major machine tool manufacturer. At first, they thought they were out of solutions for making lighting more efficient. But in my study, I expanded the scope of where they looked for lighting solutions. We found a quick fix that resulted in a 50% saving in lighting energy consumption. Also, compressed air presents another opportunity for savings. Companies may be overwhelmed by size of compressed air piping, but they should know that areas like maintenance are important. 30% can be lost if com pressed air is not properly maintained, so a device to detect leakage will pay for itself instantly.There are resources that manufacturers can take advantage of when looking to make improvements the Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration have excellent information. Their websites are great place to start in determining how you can improve your manufacturing site and also familiarizing yourself with life cycle assessment.Within process planning, the biggest impact was machine tool scheduling. How did you decide that? I looked at it from the perspective of a manufacturing facility and not a product designer. Product designers can dictate what type of features to have on its product and the material extraction piece is something that is also significant. But since that is dictated by the product designer, a manufacturing facility has the job of figuring out how to actually make it.So, for example, making a metal part, maybe it will involve something like casting the initial workpiece, milling or turning, heat treatment, possibly grinding as a finishing process. Those are just basic steps to manufacturing a metal piece. And, because there are so many different types of pieces of production equipment, milling in particular, for example, they all provide these same functions, but in terms of their environmental impact, they are all very different. As a facility, you can at least choose to schedule your machine tools accordingly. Scheduling would involve turning on and off machine tools. Now, a manufacturing facility will probably have only one piece of equipment that allows for casting, but a lot of machine tools on their floor.Learn more about advanced manufacturing concepts at the 2013 ASME Congress featuring the latest cutting-edge engineering research and innovation.

The most successful people are big readers

The most successful people are big readersThe most successful people are big readersAll successful people I know have one thing in common they never stop learning.Thats why so manyCEOs, thought leaders, and politicians read so frequently. Theres a limit to how much time, money, and effort people are able to dedicate to mora formal education. Reading voraciously and as part of a dedicated personal routine is the keystone of lifelong personal development.And a big part of that learning is about yourself. Im a student of writing and of words. Personally, reading helps me understand who I am, how I should approach my writing, and what I want to focus my attention on outside of my literary ambitions.But that, of course, is not readings only benefit.Reading benefits the mind because it helps you stay balanced and sharpThe most successful people are both scientists and artists - they utilize both the left and right brain.As such, they actively nurture both those sides, which they oftentime s do through reading.One example is always reading both fiction and nonfiction. Thats advice I give regularly immerse yourself in the worlds and adventures of James Clavell, but educate yourself with biographies and intelligent opinions - such as Dwight Eisenhowers account of World War II, which is what Im reading now.This is something many, many successful business leaders do, as it supports a healthy, mora holistically capable lifestyle.Reading instills discipline and an appreciation for growthReading doesnt just strengthen or nurture both parts of our brain, though - it strengthens more intangible skills, too.Namely, reading regularly makes people more disciplined and engenders an appreciation for learning and growth.Why, exactly? Well, people who make the decision to read every day are actively deciding to engage, improve, and sometimes challenge their brains instead of doing more passive activities, like playing video games or binge-watching Netflix.Thats why some of our most effective presidents, for example, have made reading a personal priority. When President Obama was in office, he gave an interview in which he disclosed how books were a sustaining source of ideas and inspiration during his tenure. They helped focus him midst the maelstrom of 24-hour cable news cycles, constant social media flurries, and compromised attention spans that gripped the country at the time. They also gave him a renewed appreciation for the complexities and ambiguities of the human condition.And thats exactly what reading does. Its why we binnensee so many leaders in all the different verticals of human activity invest in their own reading.Reading benefits your businessTheres one brde benefit that most people dont associate with reading, and thats the manner in which it can actively benefit your professional life.For one thing, reading encourages curiosity. And people who are curious are, more often than not, high achievers. Understanding this, you yourself can use readi ng to become more curious and acquire more knowledge.But you can also use that awareness to hone your hiring practices. At BookBaby, when were hiring a potentially key individual, Ill always ask candidates, What are you reading right now? or, What have you read in the last six months? The reason is, I know reading behavior to be an apt barometer in measuring a persons level of curiosity, discipline, and zeal for learning - and curious, disciplined people who are hungry to learn are the sort I want in my company.I dont particularly care what candidates are reading. I just want to see that they are.Its also true, however, that reading helps people improve as communicatorsAs a student of writing, I admire great communication, and as the CEO of a publishing company, I see it as something of a requirement. Writers who communicate effectively for his or her audience help readers do the same in their own life.At the end of the day, reading bears a variety of tangible benefits - regarding both the mind and the soul - and simple awareness of this fact is the most obvious reason successful people prioritize it as a means of professional and personal development.Put simply, reading - in addition to being plain fun - makes people better. And thats why the best of us do it so often.Spatz is a writer, marketer and President of BookBaby, a leading self-publishing company (www.bookbaby.com).This article was originally published on Medium.com.