Category: Management

A Look at DVD Shrink Wrap Systems

Shrink wrap machines use plastics to protect items from moisture and dirt during storage or transport. The plastic film is wrapped around the item and then the film is heated. It shrinks and conforms to the shape of the item, forming a barrier between the product and outside hazards. Shrink wrap systems may be small and manually operated for the home business, or large-scale automated machines used by shipping companies. Automatic machines can process more items and hour than their smaller counterparts.

DVDs can be easily shrink wrapped for a professional look that protects the DVD from the environment. Machines designed to shrink wrap DVDs work more efficiently than generic hand-held shrink wrapping systems. Some machines shrink wrap only DVDs; others can shrink wrap both DVDs and CDs. Machines specifically designed for DVDs are typically cheaper than dual systems, and can be purchased for under $5,000.

To shrink wrap a DVD with a shrink wrap machine, place a precut plastic cover on the machine’s platform, and then place the DVD on top of the plastic. Close the machine’s cover to heat seal the DVD. The sealing temperature is electronically controlled by the machine. These semi-automatic machines can shrink wrap about 200 DVDs an hour. Automated machines work twice as fast, shrink wrapping about 400 DVDs an hour.

More expensive, fully automatic machines can shrink wrap about 55 CDs or DVDs a minute, or about 3000 an hour. These machines cost about $16,000, but can also handle films other than plastic. Paper or cardboard could also be used, for example. Automated high throughput machines are portable and can sit on tables, taking up less space than floor-bound machines, but the table-top machines can shrink wrap DVDs and a comparable rate.

Several online stores sell all kinds of DVD shrink wrap systems at wholesale prices. These Web sites sell both the machines and the films need to shrink wrap DVDs. There you will find everything you need to package DVDS with a professional look.

A Look at Deck Fasteners

Deck fasteners are screws especially manufactured to fasten the many soft, thin planks of a wood en deck in place. Wooden decks must be able to withstand many different kinds of weather and corrosion, and so deck fasteners must be able to stand up to these elements just as well. Therefore, deck fasteners are usually coated with a weather-resistant coating that protects them from rust and corrosion. The coating is made of zinc plating. A steel screw plated with zinc is called a galvanized steel screw. A screw can also be coated in a ceramic material. Deck screws can also be made of stainless steel or high-copper-content screws, as these screws won’t stain the deck.

Deck fasteners are designed to drill their own hole, drive downward gradually and easily, lay flat against the surface of the deck, and be difficult to extract once inserted. For this reason, deck screws are said to be sharp-pointed, self-drilling, self-countersinking, and shallow-threaded. Sharp points eliminate the need for extra drills. The threads of a deck screw are sharp as well. The top of the shank, up at the collar by the head, flares upward, so that it sets perfectly level with the deck. The threads of the screw are set at a very gradual or shallow degree, so that the screw goes in easier. Some deck screws are even lubricated, for even greater ease of insertion.

The heads usually have a square-shaped insertion point for a square-headed screwdriver or screw gun. Square heads don’t accidentally strip as easily as Phillips-head screwdrivers.

Hidden Deck Fasteners

Hidden deck fasteners or “blind” deck fasteners eliminate screws from view entirely. Rather than drilling into the surface of the deck and into the under-support, the thin planks fit together like a simple jigsaw puzzle using a series of brackets. These brackets are attached to the side faces of the planks using screws. You screw the first or edge plank normally, and then you fit the second planks into it via a slot. Follow this series until you get to the end of the deck. Fasten the last plank in place normally, and voila! You have a new deck with no visible screws. The deck holds together as if it were one piece of wood.

A Guide To Debt Collection Agencies

“Bad debt” and overdue payments are problems that businesses have faced from times immemorial. Tracking and following up with debtors is a major problem and is a drain on time and finances, especially for small businesses. Debt collection agencies help solve this problem by interacting with the debtors and finding mutually acceptable solutions to payment problems.

Debt collection agencies contact debtors in person, by mail or by phone. They earn a commission on money that they are able to recover. Some collection agents vary their fee depending on the age of the debt. The fee may be higher if an account reaches a stage where legal action is needed.

Collection agencies fall under the purview of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and are required to obtain a license to practice. Collection companies must comply with federal laws, which requires that debt collectors treat debtors fairly and prohibits certain methods of debt collection, including threats and harassment. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Law regulates debt collectors and also covers attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis. Many states require collection agencies to be bonded.

A debt collection agency is allowed to contact a debtor in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax. They are restricted from contacting a debtor at inconvenient times or places. A debt collection agency will typically attempt to collect debts using three techniques. They begin by issuing a formal letter of demand, followed by a telephone call. A second letter of demand or an attorney letter may follow.

Debt collection agencies are experts in credit management. Their effectiveness can be judged by the method they use for collection. Choosing the right debt collection agency is always a tough decision. It is best to evaluate the extent of monies owed and the number of unique clients and choose the right sized collection agency accordingly.

For most companies, money stuck in the hands of debtors for extended periods is a direct loss in itself; spending time trying to recover it is investing further in the loss. Hiring a collection agency gives businesses the ability to focus on other key aspects of their business and allow a specialist to efficiently handle the recovery of funds.

A Guide To Conveyor Belts

A Conveyor Belt is the material carrying part of the handling system. Generally speaking, it is looped endlessly over rollers and two terminal pulleys that rotate and move the belt along. The belt could be of any length that is required for a particular application. The Conveyor Belt that moves phosphate from the mines in Western Sahara to the coast is over sixty miles long!

Conveyor Belts can be broadly divided into fabric/steel reinforced belts and wire mesh belts. The choice depends on the type of use.

According to i-conveyors.com, modern factories use a continuous process to manufacture Conveyor Belts. Apart from increasing the manufacturing efficiency, this method provides longer lengths without splicing. This, in turn, reduces the installation and maintenance cost of the belt.

Simplistically stated, a belt is manufactured by embedding the reinforcing material – textile, canvas, nylon, steel cord, or a combination of them – in polymer slabs, usually rubber, and vulcanizing it. To a great extent, the number and type of plies (layers of reinforcing materials) are major factors that determine the strength of the belt.

Steel-wire-reinforced Conveyor Belts, in which the cords are pretensioned, are extra strong. They are mainly used in mining and handling of heavy material.

Underground mining needs flame-resistant belts. The range also includes oil, chemical and heat/cold resistant belts, and belts that are acid-proof or alkali-proof.

Wire mesh belts have good heat and cold resistant properties. They come with a choice of mesh types. Some have tightly woven mesh. In others the mesh opening is large and enables air passage and water jet cleaning. Wire mesh belts can take on light or heavy loads. They can be used for bakeries, cooking lines and for freezing plants.

Over a period of operation, the belts are likely to become slack. This can be corrected with the use of tensioners, which can be automatic or manually operated. A special type of belting is required for acutely inclined and high-speed conveyor systems.

The choice of Conveyor Belt should be made with expert advice. The manufacturers and consultants would be happy to be of assistance.

Modern factories use a continuous process to manufacture conveyor belts. Apart from increasing the manufacturing efficiency, this method provides longer lengths without splicing. This, in turn, reduces the installation and maintenance cost of the belt.

Simplistically stated, a belt is manufactured by embedding the reinforcing material – textile, canvas, nylon, steel cord, or a combination of them – in polymer slabs, usually rubber, and vulcanizing it. To a great extent, the number and type of plies (layers of reinforcing materials) are major factors that determine the strength of the belt.

Steel-wire-reinforced conveyor belts, in which the cords are pretensioned, are extra strong. They are mainly used in mining and handling of heavy material.

Underground mining needs flame-resistant belts. The range also includes oil, chemical and heat/cold resistant belts, and belts that are acid-proof or alkali-proof.

Wire mesh belts have good heat and cold resistant properties. They come with a choice of mesh types. Some have tightly woven mesh. In others the mesh opening is large and enables air passage and water jet cleaning. Wire mesh belts can take on light or heavy loads. They can be used for bakeries, cooking lines and for freezing plants.

Over a period of operation, the belts are likely to become slack. This can be corrected with the use of tensioners, which can be automatic or manually operated. A special type of belting is required for acutely inclined and high-speed conveyor systems.

The choice of conveyor belt should be made with expert advice. The manufacturers and consultants would be happy to be of assistance.

A Guide To Contract Manufacturing

Contract manufacturing is defined as outsourcing or contracting out the manufacturing services of a business to an external firm, business or third-party vendor. Manufacturing services include manufacturing the product to required specifications, engineering the product and designing and manufacturing the product.

The classic value chain of a manufacturing business is comprised of the following activities: inbound goods, manufacturing, outbound goods and marketing. Other activities such as human resources, finance and R&D are peripheral, and support the core activities of the manufacturing firm. Manufacturing would be the core and secluded activity of the business, with third parties involved in the raw and processed materials necessary for the conversion of the manufactured product. Contracted services in manufacturing is restricted to labor and other allied services.

Contract manufacturing is advantageous for a business, for the business has higher value for its products due to the manufacturing excellence. This is also determined by macro-economic factors such as globalization, increased collaborative environments in the supply chain and the cost economics of dependence on others. Businesses turned to third parties to gain cost advantages, proximity to customers and competence advantages with the vendors.

Contract manufacturing is employed by businesses in consumer as well as industrial goods industries. Industries such as electronics, automobiles and pharmaceuticals utilize contract manufacturing in their collaborative efforts with suppliers. For instance, soap manufacturers outsource to third party vendors and package the soap with their own brand names. Heavy engineering industries such as aerospace involve third-party vendors not only in manufacturing but also in design of components.

Various factors such as increased communication flows between partners through information technology and the need to be near customers have necessitated the presence of third-party vendors in contract manufacturing.

A Guide To Computer Aided Design

Computer Aided Design (CAD) is a form of software automation that uses various computer-aided design tools that helps engineers, architects and other professionals in the design activity purposes. It is considered to be both software and special-purpose hardware. In product lifecycle management, the use of geometric tools plays a significant role. The CAD is available in various packages ranging from 2D vector based drafting systems to 3D parametric surface and solid design modelers.

CAD allows you to prepare fast and accurate drawings. Virtually anything can be constructed and built as a design model developed in the CAD system. The flexibility to alter the drawings is performed very easily with a minimal effort. It is also referred as Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD). It is sometimes translated as computer-assisted or computer-aided drafting. The tool provides you a better and the faster way of developing the drawings with better creativity.

CAD is used in major areas like applications that involve computer graphics, computer- aided manufacturing, solid modeling, solving by constraints, architectural purpose and VLSI design. Other fields that use the CAD are Architecture Engineering and Construction, Building Engineering (AEC), Mechanical CAD (MCAD), Electronic and Electrical (ECAD), manufacturing process planning, and digital circuit design.

CAD uses four basic phases that are used for designing and manufacturing. They are the requirement phase which collects the basic requirements and conceives the basic idea. The designing phase uses detailed component modeling and assembly modeling. The development phase uses engineering drawings. The tool design is used in the manufacturing phase.

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), CAD/CAM applications, CAD scanners, CAD resources, and the software used by these computer-aided techniques all enable the drawing to be developed quickly and easily. General purpose CAD software, 3D rendering software, CAD/CAM software, facility management CAD, architectural CAD software, solid modeling CAD software and Mechanical CAD (MCAD) are the major computer-aided software applications that are used.

A Guide To Call Center Software Solutions

Call centers offer support to small businesses, healthcare, education and legal professionals as well as large multinationals, community fundraisers and government agencies.

Call centers are basically set up to provide software solutions that can customize the client company’s sales, marketing, or any other telephonic work to suit the customer company’s specific needs. Let’s take an example. A company tries to push a new product or service in the market. When a call center is contracted for the job, it contacts the client company to know exactly what questions to ask to market the product or service. Based on the client’s response, the call center sends out a voice message that may include questions, to prospects, by phone, and records their answers. It may also send a letter, fax, email or invoice immediately to the client company so as to confirm the conversation and to fix up a time to follow-up. In this example, the voice mail system, fax and email are software solutions provided by the call center. By taking up these tasks, call centers help reduce the client companies’ operating constraints and costs.

Call centers offer a wide range of software solutions to companies. Some of them are Email communication, Internet Chats, Pagers, Multiple Dialing, Tele-messaging (Telephone Answering Service, Voice Mail and Interactive Voice Response IVR), Outbound Interactive Voice Response Delivery, Messages and information to customers, Fax Services, Open-ended Databases, Web Order Entry, Real-time Agent and Campaign Reporting, Tele Script Systems, Translation software, Add-on Modules and many more. The quality of software solutions determines the reputation of a call center.GD Star Rating

3-Ring Binders

Three-ring Binders are the most frequently used binders. They became an immensely popular, very dependable workplace accessory used extensively for personal, sales, school, and business organizations since the first loose leaf patent was filed in 1854. However, the actual Three-ring Binders came about 20 years after the initial invention. Ever since they have been improving.

What makes Three-ring Binders so immensely popular is the fact that they are lightweight, provide safe portability and have easy review and remove/insert access for filing paperwork. Moreover, the paperwork can be organized according to alphabetical order, numerical order, or subject heading within each book, using simple dividers. Their organized manageability on shelves and desks add further to their high functionality and popularity.

Three-ring Binders are available in various sizes. This allows the user to select binders that fit their requirement the best. As the larger-sized ring binders allow you more depth, you can store records for an entire week, month, product-line, etc. They are also used for schoolwork and sales catalogs. However, the thinner-ring binders are widely used for holding material for individual projects, lists, particular class lists, experiment notation, journaling, and other similar projects.

In order to determine the size of a Three-ring Binder, you have to measure the inside diameter of the ring. Overall size of D-rings must also be measured from the inside, in this case, between the inside top and bottom. Three-ring Binders have O-shaped, D-shaped, and slanted D-shaped and squared-shaped rings.

Three-ring Binders are usually available in two sizes; 5.5 x 8.5 and 8.5 x 11. The latter size is more popular. The largest binder has a depth of 4.5 inches and can be used to hold over 400 pages. These binders can be easily tailor made for your specific requirement. They can also be personalized with full color printing and lamination. If you cannot find a standard binder for yourself, you can get one custom-made.