Human multi-tasking..

Multi-tasking, efficient ??

Human multitasking is an apparent human ability to perform more than one task, or activity, over a short period (1 hour). - wikipedia.org

An example of multi tasking is attending to a telephone call and at the same time trying to type a letter. The problem with such activities is that we often fail to do our best in each.

There are some questions being asked on the efficacy of multi-tasking. They are : 
1. Do lean systems advocate multi-tasking or single tasking ? 
2. Is multi-tasking effective in the long run ?
3. Are people who resort to multi-tasking more efficient than others ?
4. Does multi-tasking lead to better or worse output and quality ?

Though it is difficult to get answer to all of these questions through a classroom experiment, we can try to find whether multi-tasking does lead to longer processing times than single tasking. If indeed multi-tasking does take more time to complete tasks, what is the approximate percentage of this increase ?

Let us take this example of multi-tasking. Take an A4 page, tear it into two equal halves, A5. 

To illustrate the waste of time in a multi-tasking environment as against an environment with no task sharing, let us play a simple game. On one paper, write these four exercises one after the other. 

A. Start the stop watch.  

1. On the top left corner, name it A, write the digit 1 in words, One
2. Turn to bottom right, bring it to top left, name it B, and write Roman numeral of 1.
3. Turn the paper to the other side, behind the A side, write C and make one hash mark
4. Turn to the bottom right, bring it to top left, mark it D and draw a small five cornered star.
5. Repeat this for digit 2 on edge A, Roman numerals II on edge B, two hash marks on edge C and two star marks on edge D.
6. Repeat this till numerical 10. 
Stop the Stop Watch .   This is multi-tasking. Note the timing in seconds.

Take the other half fresh A5 sheet. 

Now do each of the activities independently, (SINGLE TASKING). Finish each task completely, before going to the next task.

B. Start the stop watch.  

1. finish writing the digits 1 to 10 in words on edge A
2. Go to edge B, write Roman numerals of numbers one to ten
3. Turn around, go to edge C, do hashes, progressively from one to 10 and
4. go to edge D, draw small five edge stars progressively from one to ten.
Stop the Stop Watch .        Note the timing in seconds 

Improvement in % = (multi-tasking time - single-tasking time) / multi-tasking time x 100% To be more exact, the experiment could be repeated three to four times and an average value taken.

Exercises :  

1. Write down your observation in two or three sentences..
2. Find the average percentage improvement in time moving from multitasking to single tasking.
3. Is single tasking tasking efficient than multi-tasking, all the time ?? Comment ..

I was surprised to find in the class an average improvement of time by at least 25% and a maximum improvement of upto 45% .

Learning :  

1. Single tasking any time is better than multi-tasking especially if the job is repetitive and time consuming.
2. When there are many jobs to be carried out, it is always better to complete them as single tasks than to attempt to complete them by multiple tasking. This improves quality of the output, reducing the time spent on rework or defects.
3. Multi-tasking is tiring and unless very carefully done, can cause errors in the job, resulting in poor quality and high rework or error correction costs.

Click here for a Forbes article on why single-tasking makes one smarter ..

george ..

Zoomcar Pedl - IoT bicycles ..

Youngsters at 7 am waiting to take the cycles

It was a very enjoyable experience to use Pedl at Pune, while staying at Pune.

Pedl from Zoomcar, the Internet of Things (IoT) bicycle, has come up free cycling experience for the people to start using bicycles, both for pleasure and health. 

When I went at 7 am on sunday morning to take a bicycle, the whole place was crowded with youngsters, 18-21 age group wanting to use the cycles for short rides. At just Re. 1 for 30 minutes, it is almost free. All were busy linking their Zoomcar/Pedl account on the smartphone with the Paytm payment account.

Great to be cycling again ...

At 7.30 am, by the time I got the two accounts linked, all cycles were gone. After a quick breakfast back at the hotel, along with Prof. Ramana Shetty we took two cycles and went for short rides. It is the experience that is most important. 

It is great that Zoomcar has taken this initiative to offer free cycle ride to Pune residents - a healthy alternative to motorized two wheelers and four wheelers. 

Thank you Zoomcar !!!!

Procedure :
1. Download the Zoomcar app, click on Pedl
2. connect with your Paytm account.
3. Scan the QR code on the bicycle, which will automatically open after deducting Re 1 from your Paytm account.
4. The cycle lock will be automatically opened and you can take the cycle for the ride. (PS : Do not close the screen, keep it open.)

Enjoy the ride .. After the ride,

5. Use the app to park your cycle and lock. Automatically the cycle is locked.

PS : The cycle has to be left in select parking spots across the city which can be found on the Zoomcar app. (not anywhere one likes)

If more civic and health conscious people give up private transport and take to public transport or such shared public utilities, while ensuring our health, the quality of our life can improve considerably.

George.

Energy Supply Chain ..

Green energy comes from natural sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, plants, algae and geothermal heat. These energy resources are renewable, meaning they're naturally replenished. In contrast, fossil fuels are a finite resource that take millions of years to develop and will continue to diminish with use.  Source : www.mnn.com

Energy and the Supply Chain - Bloom box ..

K R Sridhar's invention of the bloombox is set to replace the grid as it is cheaper than the grid - Bloom Energy Fuel cell, made from Silica available in plenty in beach sand .

Click here for the video ..

The major customers are FEDEX, Walmart, Staples, GOOGLE, EBay and other 15 major global customers.

The modularity available in stack like configuration and the concept of the Bloom energy server, stacks of bloom boxes arranged one over the other and together can power the shopfloors and factories of the future. More power requirements mean just adding more boxes to form clusters, as simple as that. A cluster as big as a motor car can power a super market , 7 days a year for 365 days.

The superior advantage of this technology is the availability of raw material of beach sand or silica  which is easily obtained in different parts of the world near the oceans. Though the technology and the exact composition of the materials applied to both sides of the silica plate are proprietary, this technology can really make a difference if and when it can be brought to commercial application at the earliest. The deadly combination of oxygen and beach sand can produce energy as claimed by Mr. Sridhar ..

George..

RFID vs NFC tags ..

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a high frequency RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) application.

NFC operates in 13.56 MHz while RFID operates from 120 KHz to 10 GHz. 

NFC is more than often contact, within a range of 5 cm, while RFIDs are also contact (passive ) or active, upto 200 m.. 

Read the diff more clearly from How Stuff works ..

How many squares ?

What gets Jack and Bezos, the Titans of retail, do great things ?

What is retail ? As per Oxford Dictionary definition,

Retail - The sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale.

In the Indian context B2B is wholesale and only B2C is considered retail. Retail has caught up all over the world of late primarily because of the following reasons.

1. the availability of almost infinite variety
2. assurance of high quality products from renowned vendors
3. availability at very competitive prices
4. availability of a home delivery policy
5. availability of a very reasonable returns policy for goods damaged or disliked
6. availability of an easy payment interface / Cash-on-delivery option
7. excellent reach covering almost the entire country
8. reasonably quick delivery
9. assurance of reasonably good after-sales-service
10. availability of good cash return policies

As per Businesswire mag (June '16)

The global retail sector is estimated to have achieved revenues of US$ 22.6 trillion in 2015 and should continue to rise to US$ 28 trillion by 2019, with average annual growth rate of 3.8% since 2008. The sector represents 31% of the world's GDP and employs billions of people throughout the globe.

Jeff Bezos and Ma Yun (Jack Ma)

Two individuals lead the world in this retail revolution. Jack Ma from China leads Alibaba ($485.6 billion, 2016) and Jeff Bezos from US leads Amazon. ($136 billion, 2016). Though Alibaba is approximately 3.6x Amazon, Jeff Bezos of Amazon over the years has accumulated enough wealth and stock in his company to be designated as the richest person on planet earth with an estimated life savings of $ $118.8 billion dollars while Jack Ma leading an organisation Aliababa, 3.8x of Amazon, is worth just $40.1 billion.

Entrepreneurs around the world have always marveled at how these individuals have crafted their success story.

Watch this video of Jack Ma at WEF 2018 at Davos. He says he always tries to find and employ smarter people than himself. Why ? Because they know the technology, trends and future growth patterns much more than anyone. Ma says upto age 30 on has to make mistakes and study, 30 to 40 engage in business and make mistakes and learn, from 40 - 50, consolidate, from 50 - 60, handhold juniors and youngsters. As per Ma, after 60, everybody should relax and  enjoy life ..

Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos Shared His 3-Step Formula for Success.

1. Surround yourself with the right people.
2. Have a learn-it-all mindset.
3. Be ready to play the long game.

Click here for Jeff Bezos's formula for success..

Do you notice similarity in approach of the two great retail Titans, Jack and Bezos ??

1. Belief in smart people and
2. the right attitude to work and challenges .. 

Retail industry is nothing but getting the right thing to the right person in the right form at the right place and time through the right mode at the  right cost and in good safe condition. 

Retail industry as we know is both labour and technology intensive, with each complementing the other strongly.  As technology develops and matures, only smart people with the right attitude can change and reorient themselves to the challenges.

Considering the growth and expansion in retail @ 3.8 % globally, it has to be seen how much the retail sector would grow now in India and other developed and developing countries of the world. 

George