Die Preforming Process: Long Last-stage Blade Nuclear Power

Die Preforming Process: Long Last-stage Blade Nuclear Power Design and Optimization of Die Preforming Process for Long Last-stage Blade of Nuclear Power He Xiaomao1,aà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Jiang Peng1, Lin Jingtang2à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Huang Jianning1 1 Beijing Mechanical and Electrical Institute of Technologyà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Beijingà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’China 2 Tian Qian Heavy Industry Company, Ltd, Mianzhu, SiChuan, China Abstract: The long last-stage blade is a key component of the steam turbine of nuclear conventional island. The die preforming process for a new technology that provides billets for near-net-shape roll-forging process was designed, the effects of the forging temperature, friction coefficient, flash lands height and dies outer fillet radius on the die forging force and forging energy were studied by using the orthogonal experiment method, the primary and secondary order of the four factors were analysed by using range analysis method, and the optimal combination of the factors was obtained. By means of numerical simulation and physical experiment, the die preforming process that can provide qualified billets for the subsequent roll-forging process was verified, and the PZS1120f electric screw press can meet the requirements of the die preforming process. 1 Preface The long last-stage blade is the key component of the steam turbine of the nuclear power conventional island. The larger the exhausting area of the last-stage blade of the LP cylinder is, the higher the efficiency of the nuclear power unit is and the better the economy is [1]. Harbin Steam Turbine Factory had successfully developed a 72-inch (1829mm) half-speed nuclear power turbine blade [2], Shanghai Electric had also developed a 67-inch (1710mm) nuclear power blade [3], the development of these long blades effectively improves the efficiency of nuclear power unit, but its also a challenge to manufacture these long last-stage blades. At present, the technology of preforming and overall forging was mainly adopted by the domestic and foreign blade manufacturers [4, 5]. The radial forging and the open-die forging was adopted respectively by the foreign and domestic blade manufacturers as blanking process, and then, the overall die forging process was adopted to form the blades. Due to the large area of these blades, the capability of the blade manufacturers forging equipment cannot meet to the required forging force of producing the blades and the forged blades had got some defects, such as underpressing, underfill and overweight. The die preforming process that provides billets for a new near-net forming process for nuclear last-stage blades was proposed, the new process, which uses the roll-forging process to form the blade body of the long blades, the die forging to form the blade root, crown and damper, can effectively reduce the required forging force. In this paper, the die preforming technology of long last-stage blade was designed, the process parameters were optimized by the orthogonal experiment method and numerical simulation, and the feasibility of the process was verified by physical experiments. 2Optimization of process parameters The die preforming process was carried out in the PZS1120f type of electric screw press, the nominal tonnage of the press is 250,000 kN. According to the nominal tonnage, the maximal projection area of the forging billet was calculated. The forging force is not only related to the material and forgings projection area, but also related to the strain rate, temperature, friction coefficient and die structure (height of the flash land and the outer fillet radius of dies). Because the strain rate is related to the forming speeding of the press, its value is determined when the forging press is chosen. The forging temperature, the friction coefficient, the height of the flash land and the outer fillet radius were chosen as the process parameters to be optimized and the forging force and forging energy were chosen as optimization objectives. 2.1 Die preformed forging and dies 3D model of a preformed forging was shown in Figure 1, the forging model was calculated based on the press nominal tonnage and the forging drawing of the 72-inch blade, the calculation process wasnt repeated here, it will be discussed in detail in the future article. The dies structure was shown in Figure 2, it didnt contain the groove of the flash, and the structure was quite simple, only the height of the flash land h and the outer fillet radius r were considered as parameters. Figure. 1 3D model of die preformed forging Figure. 2 Die Structures Figure. 3 Billet of the die preforming 2.2 Levels and factors table of orthogonal experiment Orthogonal experiment method can be used to study the impact of multiple factors on the optimization objective by less number of trials, to obtain the best combination of factors for the optimal objective value. The forging force and the forging energy of the die preforming are related to the forging temperature A (T), the friction coefficient B (ÃŽÂ ¼), the height of flash land C (h) and the outer fillet radius D (r). The four parameters were adopted as the orthogonal experiment factors, each factor took three levels, and the designed factors and levels table were shown in Table 1. Table 1. Factors and levels table of the orthogonal experiment. Factor Level A Forging temperature T/à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ B Friction coefficient ÃŽÂ ¼ C height of flash land h/mm D outer fillet radius r/mm 1 1180 0.2 6 2 2 1150 0.3 8 3 3 1120 0.4 10 4 2.3 Parameter settings of numerical simulation The billets used in the die preforming were produced in the semi-open heading process in ref. [6]. The shapes and dimensions were shown in Fig 3. The material is 1Cr12Ni3Mo2VN, and the constitutive relation of the material was from ref. [7], in the Arrhenius form and the hyperbolic sinusoidal was used. à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ 1à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° The die was modeled as a rigid model with a preheat temperature of 200  ° C and a forming speed of 400 mm / s. The forging temperatures and the friction coefficients were set according to Table 1. 2.4 Results oforthogonal experiment Orthogonal experiments were performed using the 3-level and 4-factor table L9 (34) [8], without considering the interaction between the factors, the orthogonal experiments of simulation arrangement and the results were shown in Table 2. Table.2 orthogonal experiments of simulation arrangement and the resultsà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ NO. Factor Result A B C D Forging Force F à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kNà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Forging Energy E à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kJà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Forging temperature Friction coefficient Flash land height Outer fillet radius 1 1 1 3 2 343000 5830 2 1 2 1 1 462000 6200 3 1 3 2 3 449000 6440 4 2 1 2 1 398000 6420 5 2 2 3 3 364000 6510 6 2 3 1 2 631000 7370 7 3 1 1 3 522000 7270 8 3 2 2 2 465000 7370 9 3 3 3 1 427000 7440 2.5 Range analysis The value of Kjm was the sum of the result of the m factor at j level, and the means were represented by kjm, the value of kjm can reflect the optimal level. Rm was the range of the mth factor, the value of Rm reflected the fluctuation range of the optimal objective when the m factor fluctuated, the bigger the Rm was, the greater the influence of the m factor on the objective was. The primary and secondary order of the factors can be judged according to the range. The results of the range analysis of the forging force F and the forging energy E were shown in Table 3. Table.3 Range analysis of the forging force F and the forging energy Eà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ Result Factor A B C D Forging Force F à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kNà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° K1m 12540000 1263000 1615000 1287000 K2m 13930000 1291000 1312000 1439000 K3m 14140000 1507000 1134000 1335000 k1m 4180000 421000 538333.3 429000 k2m 464333.3 430333.3 437333.3 479666.7 k3m 471333.3 502333.3 378000 445000 Rm 53333.3 81333.3 160333.3 50666.7 Order C>B>A>D Forging Energy E à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kJà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° K1m 18470 19520 20840 20060 K2m 20300 20080 20230 20570 K3m 22080 21250 19780 20220 k1m 6156.7 6506.7 6946.7 6686.7 k2m 6766.7 6693.3 6743.3 6856.7 k3m 7360 7083.3 6593.3 6740 Rm 1203.3 576.7 353.3 170 Order A>B>C>D According the range of forging force in Table 3, the order of importance that the factors influences the forging force were the height of flash land C, the coefficient of friction B, the forging temperature A, the outer fillet radius D. According to the range analysis, the optimal combination to obtain the minimum forging force was (C3B1A1D1). The relationships among the forging force and the factors were shown in Figure 4, forging force decreased with increasing temperature, with decreasing of friction coefficient, and with increasing of the flash lands height; the relationship between forging force and the outer fillet radius didnt show significant trend of increasing or decreasing, but the range was the smallest among the four factors. Figure. 4 Relationships among the forging force and factors According the range of forging force in Table 3, the order of importance that the factors influences the forging energy were forging temperature A, friction coefficient B, height of flash land C, outer fillet radius D. Except the forging temperature can cause some fluctuations of the range of forging energy, the effects of other factors on the forging energys fluctuation were quite small, because the heating temperature made the transition of crystal atoms more easily, macroscopically indicated that the metal was more easily deformed, and the temperature increasing weakened the third-phase particles on pinning the dislocation movement, the required deformation energy was smaller; And the rest factors didnt have effects on the atomic migration and dislocation movement, and the macro behavior was that the forging energy didnt fluctuate obviously. 3 Numerical simulation analyses According to the optimizing result of the orthogonal experiment, the parameters were: forging temperature was 1180 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, friction coefficient was 0.2, flash lands height was 10mm, and outer fillet radius was 3mm, and the other parameters were same as orthogonal experiment. The simulation results were shown as follows: Figure.5 Relationship between stroke and forging force and energy As shown in figure 5, the predicated forging force was 304000 kN and the forging energy was 5680 kJ by using the optimal scheme. Compared with the result of orthogonal experiment, it was found that the value simulated by the optimal factor and level combination was the smallest one. Even if the optimal scheme was utilized, the forging force of 304,000 kN was great than the nominal tonnage 250,000 kN of PZS1120f electric screw press. In the live production, there would be some issues, such as the upper and lower die cannot be clamped, the forging would be underpressing and underfill. However, in order to ensure that forged billet has enough width and a certain length, to minimize the deformation along the width direction during the roll forging step, a few underpressing in the height direction would be allowed. The situation of die cavity filling while the forging force was 207000kN was shown in Figure 6, except the crown part of the outlet side, the rest of the billet was almost filled, and the value of underpressing of the dies was 2.7mm, this underpressing value would not have too much impact on the roll-forging of the blade. Figure.6 Situation of die cavity filling while the forging force was 207000kN The reason that cause the outlet side of the crown was not filled was the billet deflected to the inlet side at the beginning of the forging (as shown in Fig. 7), resulting in a shortage of material on the outlet side and the flash at inlet side was too large (Figure 6). 4Die preforming experiment Figure 8a were the upper and lower die used for the die preforming experiment, and Figure 8b is the blank, which was the forging in the heading experiment. Heating temperature was 1180 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, die preheating temperature was 200 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, lubricated by graphite emulsion lubricant, and two blanks were forged in this experiment. The working force was set to the nominal tonnage of PZS1120f electric screw press, during the forging process, the first blow was to locate the blanks position and to remove the scale, and then, the blank was forged by the next two blows. The final forging forces of the two forged parts were measured to be 223460 kN and 213690 kN respectively. The die preforming forgings were shown in Figure 9, two forgings had varying degrees of underpressing and underfill, the underfill of the crown part at the outlet side was more serious, and the flash at the inlet side was much large. With numerical simulation results, it can be determined that the reason of these defects was the blanks deflection to the inlet side; some measures should be taken to prevent the blank deflection in the live production. The flash lands heights of the two forgings were measured to be 12.9mm and 12.8mm, the values of underpressing were 2.9mm and 2.8mm, because the forging force had reached the maximum tonnage of the press, its hard to clamping the upper and lower die by increasing the number of blows, and it would damage the press and dies. These defects can only be solved by the subsequent roll-forging process. a) Upper and lower dies b) heading billets Figure.8 Dies and billets of the die preforming experiment Figure.9 Die preforming forgings The feasibility of the die preforming process was verified by the experiment, and the PZS1120f electric screw press can basically meet the requirements of die preforming process, and the qualified billets can be provided for the subsequent near-net-shape roll-forging process. 5 Conclusions Through the orthogonal experiment optimization, numerical simulation and physical experiment, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Among the four factors: Forging temperature A, friction coefficient B, flash lands height C and the outer fillet radius D, the principle factor that impacts on forging force was the flash lands height, and the forging temperature had some effects on the forging energy, the optimal factor and level combination was C3A1B1D1. 2) The qualified billets formed by die preforming process can be provided for the subsequent near-net-shape roll-forging process and the PZS1120f electric screw press basically meets the requirements of the process. 3) The billet was deflected during the forging process, resulting in the underfill of the crown part at the outlet side, some measurements should be taken to prevent the deflection in the live production. References T. Zhou, M. Zhang, L. Zhang, K. Ran, China Electric Power(Technology Edition), 2, 43, (2012) Q. H. Zhang, Y. F. LI, J. W. Guang, Symp. Turb. Prof. Comm. CSPE, 133, (2012) W. Lu, Z. Y. Peng , Y. Zhou, K. Cheng, East China Electric Power, 38, 1771, (2010) X. J. Li, Z. F. Huang, W. C. Chen, R. J. Qin, Power Equipment, 24, 150, (2010) J. Zhong, C. J. Hu, C. Guo, Forging Stamping Technology, 33, 1, (2008) X. M. He, P. Jiang, F. W. Li, J. N. Huang, Forging MetalForming, 13, 49, (2016) X. M. He, P. Jiang, J. T. Lin, Y. Yang, Journal of Plasticity engineering, 4, 96, (2016) Y. B. Qu. Experimental Design and Data Processing(China Univ. Sci. Tech. Press, 2008)

Creation community and vocation

The second theme stresses the importance for community ithin our world. Jesus was a relational person creating intimate friendships with all people. Therefore, we are to imitate His act and be interactive with humanity. Being relational includes discipleship, brotherhood, love, and reconciliation. The final theme–vocation discusses the difference between career and calling. When we are patient, seek Him first, and listen for his quiet voice, He will reveal our true calling.Although the three themes have distinct characteristics and differences from one another all three intersect and are important in the Christian life. When we lose our ense of purpose and meaning, we lose our sense of connection to others and God; we lose our sense of community. Without a sense of purpose we forget that we are created in His image and other people mean little to us because we no longer value ourselves. The image of God is in all creation. We see his reflection in kind and gentle humans and we marvel at the beauty of a summers' sunset.His reflection is found in every living thing and in the God-created beauty of nature. Man is the most unique among all of God's creation because we have a material body and a soul. â€Å"Then God aid, let us make man in our image, after our likeness† (Genesis 1:26, ESV). Having the â€Å"likeness of God† means that we were made to resemble God. Man is free to make decisions and reason-this is a reflection of God's intellect and freedom. â€Å"Not only are we created as trustees of God to experience the goodness of creation, we are created to be in community with all creation† (Birch).Since God has given us a responsibility over â€Å"the fish of the see and the birds of the air†¦ over all the earth† (Leviticus 25: 23-24, NIV), we are to fulfill this responsibility by taking care of these things. Creation relates to community in the fact that man was created for fellowship. This reflects God's nature and His love. In Eden, Adam's primary relationship was with God, but He made the first woman because â€Å"it is not good for the man to be alone† (Genesis 2:18, ESV). â€Å"Relationality is a part of the image of God.If we are free and responsible persons, and everyone else is similarly free and reasonable, we are inseparably linked to one another through our choices† Oacobsen ; Sawatsky). Creation relates to our calling as well in this way, â€Å"Our special status as bearers of God's image brings special responsibilities. In particular, we are called to use our gifts and talents in the service of God, in helping others, and in caring for the natural world† Oacobsen ; Sawatsky Man has been created as a relational people.This sense of community can be seen in many aspects of our lives such as the church, our families, our friends, and many other places. While Jesus was on this Earth, He made numerous connections with people through stories, sharing, and demonstrating acts of love. We are to follow in His footsteps. Not only are we supposed to reach out to others, but we are also supposed to reconcile with them. Reconciliation is key to having a relationship with someone, and sustaining it. Reconciliation can happen, because as Christians, we understand that God reconciled with us by sending Jesus Christ to save the world.Community is the perfect means to demonstrate how God has loved us. We can't practice authentic Christianity without Christian fellowship because love is at the very root of God's character. â€Å"God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him† (1 John 4:16, NIV). The church is the central place within Christian community. It is important to walk with other believers who can build us up, call us out, and who ill love us no matter what. We find strength in numbers and it makes our walk with God easier when we have people supporting us.A Christian community is necessary to help us recharge, be renewed, and be refreshed. â€Å"Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another† (Hebrews 10:25, NIV). Community and vocation are connected to one another in the sense that it is important for us to be a part of our local and nonlocal communities. We are called to be the hands and feet of God and He uses us to reach out to people we are in contact ith. We need to be attending to the needs of our communities and actively loving our neighbors by using out gifts, talents, and strengths.With what ever our calling may be, God insists that we use our abilities to encourage, strengthen, aid, and educate others because that is what Jesus did here on Earth. As Christians, we become whole persons through healthy relationships with God and others. This means that â€Å"we feel the need to encourage and support families, churches, and local communities, and the larger civil society so that these various social places can emain places where he althy relationships are able develop and where human dignity is protected† Oacobsen ; Sawatsky).Community and creation are connected to one another in the sense that God created an interrelated creation. â€Å"Not only are we created as trustees of God to experience the goodness of creation, we are created to be in community with all creation† (Birch). This is the only way we will be able to experience the wholeness God has intended for us. Each part of God's creation finds its fulfillment in interrelatedness with all. â€Å"The place God calls man to is the place where his or her deep gladness and the orld's deep hunger meet.The kind of work God usually calls man to is the kind of work that man need most to do, and also the work that the world most needs to have done† (Buechner). Calling and career are two separate things, but ultimately go hand- in-hand. Knowing the difference is an essential part of finding where God wants us to be. â€Å"A career is a partic ular line of work one does to earn an income. A calling is a specific vision of how God wants to use our time, energy, and abilities to serve Him in the world† (Sittser). As a Christian, we are to seek His kingdom first in our lives, but a alling often uses a career.Our calling should be bigger than Just a career. Many people think that finding a calling only applies to the Christian world , but everyone can contribute to the common good. Discovering God's will for our lives is not something that happens overnight. Often it is very hard to truly hear what He is saying to us. God can speak directly to us, but He often is heard through other the people, church, nature-even art and music. It is obvious that prayer is essential to the Christian life. It is especially important in discovering our calling. â€Å"Prayer is listening.It is attentiveness, being in the presence of God, waiting expectantly for God to speak to our hearts† Oacobsen & Sawatsky). Waiting involves pati ence, which is often hard to achieve. Being able to understand that God will always show us where He wants us will help us get through that waiting period. God gave man the responsibility to be caregivers over the earth; this arises from being created in the image of God. God entrusted His own function as Creator to man along with abilities required to do so. This includes exploring, discovering, understanding, developing, and using creation to honor the Creator.Work is not incidental to man's being, but an essential part of his purpose of being on the earth. Community is also an essential part of using our vocation to honor Him. God wants us to meet our own needs and the needs of our own family and our own friends, but he also calls us to provide for the needs of others. â€Å"Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ† (Galatians 6:2, NIV). Whatever our career may be, within the work place we need to be aware of those who are around us. Cr eation, community, and vocation are three important aspects of the Christian ife.As has been shown throughout the previous paragraphs, each of these themes can be looked at separately, but they are often seen in connection with one another. Throughout the course, this connection wasn't specifically addressed, but reflecting back on the three themes, I am now able to intersect creation, community, and vocation. As people, we were created in the image of God; therefore He has provided us with skills, abilities, and strengths also achieved through experiences and our careers†to make a difference in our surrounding communities and throughout the world. References

Fedex

FedEx Corporation Operating Segments and Companies Basically, FedEx is divided into four segments and 11 operating companies. The segments consist of FedEx Express Segment, FedEx Ground Segment, FedEx Freight Segment, and FedEx Freight Segment. The 4 segments and 11 operating companies are as shown chart below: FedEx Services Segment FedEx Freight Segment FedEx Ground Segment FedEx Express Segment FedEx Services FedEx Freight FedEx Ground FedEx Express FedEx Global Supply Chain ServicesFedEx Customer Information Services FedEx Office Caribbean Transportation Services FedEx Trade Network FedEx SmartPost FedEx Custom Critical SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates.The major SWOT considerations in FedEx's attempt to continue its growth and dominance are the following: Strengths * Strong brand name * Superior service performance * Advanced technology innovations * Impressive infrastructure of equipments * Focus on customers satisfaction * Clear leader in domestic express delivery market * Unmatched reputation or on-time delivery * Lots of planes, well-located hubs, great routes/landing rights * Ranked as one of the best companies to work for many years in a row * Great R;amp;D, quite innovative * Extensive capital expenditures * FedEx SWOT Clear leader in domestic express delivery market * Large scale operations| Weaknesses * High prices relative to competitors * Not as strong internationally * Costly innovation technology * Less capable in ground service * Weak and slow returns * Drivers and other workers are trying to unionize * Lag UPS in the ground delivery market * Very exposed to economic conditions and fuel prices| Opportu nities * Untapped market * Economy is beginning to recover, especially in Asia (China specifically) * Increase in demand of logistics * Alliance with USPS * The cost of infrastructure of express delivery companies are a barrier of entry to new comers * FedEx leadership in global express delivery – As long as the nature of our socioeconomic environment exists, there will always be a need for express delivery * E-commerce is creating an increased need for express delivery * Globalization offers opportunities for expansion * Currently offer services to 220+ countries and barring government intervention, can expand in them as it sees fit * Continued globalization of the world marketplace means more contract are available and at higher volumes as well * Expansion of online retailing creates an increased need for on-time, hassle-free shipping * Focus on taking away international market share from DHL and domestic ground delivery from UPS| Threats * Increasing in transportation cost s (fuel charge) * Economic down in US * Substitution (UPS,PosLaju,GDex,DHL) * Online competitive advantage of rivals * Maintaining the infrastructure of an express delivery company is an exit barrier because of high fixed costs * Capitol is acquired through the volume of sales, so the high fixed costs can hurt when times are slow * Due to the nature of the industry, it is nearly impossible to become the clear industry leader * The nature of the industry shows very low returns on invested capitol * The E-tailing industry demands lower shipping rates and charges to pull customers from the retailing industries * Economic downturn has cut down on volume overall * Many consumers and businesses are switching to slower delivery options to save money * UPS is attempting to take away market share in the express delivery arena * E-mail may take away from overnight document delivery market| We have found 20 lists of SWOT under each component; however, there are only important issues that influ enced FedEx growth are picked after analysis the case. 1. Strengths FedEx has a strong brand image which gives it significant strengths among the competitors and the company was named the Fortune's sixth best admired company all over the world.They offer superior overnight delivery performances which are divided into four segments and 11 operating companies, and the segments that offers are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Service. From performance view, FedEx confirms that roughly 99 percent of its deliveries are delivered to doorstep on time. This gives a significant competitive advantage with differentiating their services with other competitors who do not offer their customers of these services. FedEx has a strong and impressive infrastructure of equipment and processes. Through the first and second agreement with U. S. Postal Service, FedEx able delivery services through air transportation and have option to drop box in every U. S. post office.These agreemen ts have created the Postal Service’s Global Express Guaranteed service which offers date certain international delivery to over 190 countries. Besides that, FedEx also well knows with its great R&D and innovative of delivery service. For instance, FedEx provides the innovation of new residential delivery service which is FedEx ® Home Delivery in key U. S. cities and a pioneer in applying advanced information technology to meet customer needs. In additional, advanced technology has hit their aims to focus on customer satisfactions. FedEx has a huge advantage with regards to reaching untapped places and the acquisitions of major companies have created a more organized and a more able delivery system. 2. WeaknessesThere are few weaknesses in FedEx that hindering it from growing stronger in domestically and internationally. FedEx services are priced using a zone system which means that the distance of package must travel to reach its final destination determines the price i s higher relative to competitors. This significant weakness exists as FedEx is still recovering from the debt of purchasing Flying Tiger Line airfreight service. Besides that, they are less capable in ground service compared to UPS. Other than that, FedEx has involved costly technology innovations. For instance, in order to determine the status of their packages at all possible locations along the delivery route in real time.Customers can track packages in three ways by accessing the FedEx Web site on the Internet and click on the features of FedEx Ship Manager at fedex. com, or FedEx WorldTM Shipping Software. Other than that, Drivers and other workers are trying to unionize under a four year agreement ratified in 2007. This caused FedEx to deal with the bill which they opposed fiercely and bring the bill into law. Indirectly, this incident leads to increase service costs by 30 percent that need to bear by the customers and inconsistency of operating throughout the organization. 3. Opportunities FedEx have a lot of potential in expansion due to the company's fame around the world. The untapped market has given FedEx a great opportunity to penetrate into large global market.Untapped market happened when political changes in foreign market. Next, the cost of infrastructure of express delivery of FedEx is a barrier of entry to new comers. New comers need to bear with a large amount of cost to build their infrastructure such as airfreight for delivery service. Nowadays, E-commerce and online shopping expansion is creating an increased need for express delivery. The expansion leads to the demand of hassle-free and on time delivery to volume up. Economic is recovering especially in Asia is also one of the opportunity for FedEx. Despite the problems in Europe, the Asian economy was growing rapidly and manufactured product exports were accelerating at the same time.This has increased the demand on express delivery and FedEx introduced AsiaOne network which gave effec tiveness and efficiency in delivery. 4. Threats One of the threats that faced by FedEx was increasing transportation cost which involves high fuel charge. The increasing fuel prices are likely to have a direct impact on the company's profit margins by causing a raise in the operating expenses of FedEx. This is an unavoidable threat as FedEx has a high reliance on fuel compared to UPS in express deliveries. There are few competitors in express delivery services domestically and internationally such as UPS, DHL, PosLaju and GDex. This has given customers a substitution choice to substitute FedEx express delivery services. Hence,FedEx has to make a differentiation between the competitors in order to win the market to avoid customers from switching to other delivery option. In year 1992, economic turnover in United State gave affect in the amount of package delivers per day. By end of 1992, FedEx experienced total loss of $133 billion and negative earnings per share of $2. 11. Many cust omers were switching to slow delivery options to save money. Advanced technology of email may take away from overnight document delivery market which also a threat that is beyond FedEx control. The ways that FedEx uses their SWOT analysis in helping them to create a competitive advantage will be explained in the part of Strategies to Put FedEx Ahead of The Game. Fedex Critical Thinking and Project Management Homework #2 use a Dunker Diagram to identify many potential solutions The Dunker diagram technique is used after you have articulated your â€Å"present state† and â€Å"desired state†. It is used to generate many ideas for solutions to a problem. But It works by prompting you to not only consider solutions that achieve the desired state but also solutions that make It â€Å"okay† -with you – to NOT necessarily achieve the desired state.This technique Is a good one to use when you recognize hat it may be impossible to achieve your desired state completely, and therefore, you might have to consider solutions that will make it OKAY – with you – to not achieve the desire state as you have defined it. It forces you to consider solutions that would achieve an acceptable resolution to the conflict or problem. Create a Dunker Diagram to Identify as many solutions as possible to the dilemma described below. Tu rn In your assignment to the dropped on learn by the due date on the syllabus.Scenario: You are the HER manager for a company that has a very large IT department (IT = Information Technology). In the next six months or so, you need to hire about 200 skilled IT workers (computer programmers, network administrators, database designers, web site developers, and help desk managers). You are running ads on job-posting web sites and working with a recruiting firm but you arena getting enough applicants with the required IT skills. There just aren't enough people out there that have IT skills necessary to do many of these jobs.Let's express this dilemma as the current state/desired state: Your current state is you don't have enough employees with strong IT skills. Your desired state is that you do have enough employees with strong IT skills. You decide to use the Dunker Diagramming technique so you can discover as many potential solutions to the problem as possible. Using â€Å"Dunkerâ₠¬  thinking, you realize that there are two paths you could take: (1) Try harder to hire more people with strong IT skills or (2) Make it okay NOT to hire more people with strong IT skills. When thinking of ways to accomplish #2 – make it okay not to have to hire more experienced people – DO NOT suggest that you remain â€Å"under-staffed† because that goes not solve the problem) using the template, apply the Dunker diagram technique to this problem to come up with several possible alternative solutions. (See pages 470-473) for a quick reference on Dunker diagrams Circle # Fill in the blanks Find a way to hire more skilled IT people Instead of putting ads in the paper and waiting on IT workers to come to you, go out and recruit IT. Fedex FedEx Corporation Operating Segments and Companies Basically, FedEx is divided into four segments and 11 operating companies. The segments consist of FedEx Express Segment, FedEx Ground Segment, FedEx Freight Segment, and FedEx Freight Segment. The 4 segments and 11 operating companies are as shown chart below: FedEx Services Segment FedEx Freight Segment FedEx Ground Segment FedEx Express Segment FedEx Services FedEx Freight FedEx Ground FedEx Express FedEx Global Supply Chain ServicesFedEx Customer Information Services FedEx Office Caribbean Transportation Services FedEx Trade Network FedEx SmartPost FedEx Custom Critical SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates.The major SWOT considerations in FedEx's attempt to continue its growth and dominance are the following: Strengths * Strong brand name * Superior service performance * Advanced technology innovations * Impressive infrastructure of equipments * Focus on customers satisfaction * Clear leader in domestic express delivery market * Unmatched reputation or on-time delivery * Lots of planes, well-located hubs, great routes/landing rights * Ranked as one of the best companies to work for many years in a row * Great R;amp;D, quite innovative * Extensive capital expenditures * FedEx SWOT Clear leader in domestic express delivery market * Large scale operations| Weaknesses * High prices relative to competitors * Not as strong internationally * Costly innovation technology * Less capable in ground service * Weak and slow returns * Drivers and other workers are trying to unionize * Lag UPS in the ground delivery market * Very exposed to economic conditions and fuel prices| Opportu nities * Untapped market * Economy is beginning to recover, especially in Asia (China specifically) * Increase in demand of logistics * Alliance with USPS * The cost of infrastructure of express delivery companies are a barrier of entry to new comers * FedEx leadership in global express delivery – As long as the nature of our socioeconomic environment exists, there will always be a need for express delivery * E-commerce is creating an increased need for express delivery * Globalization offers opportunities for expansion * Currently offer services to 220+ countries and barring government intervention, can expand in them as it sees fit * Continued globalization of the world marketplace means more contract are available and at higher volumes as well * Expansion of online retailing creates an increased need for on-time, hassle-free shipping * Focus on taking away international market share from DHL and domestic ground delivery from UPS| Threats * Increasing in transportation cost s (fuel charge) * Economic down in US * Substitution (UPS,PosLaju,GDex,DHL) * Online competitive advantage of rivals * Maintaining the infrastructure of an express delivery company is an exit barrier because of high fixed costs * Capitol is acquired through the volume of sales, so the high fixed costs can hurt when times are slow * Due to the nature of the industry, it is nearly impossible to become the clear industry leader * The nature of the industry shows very low returns on invested capitol * The E-tailing industry demands lower shipping rates and charges to pull customers from the retailing industries * Economic downturn has cut down on volume overall * Many consumers and businesses are switching to slower delivery options to save money * UPS is attempting to take away market share in the express delivery arena * E-mail may take away from overnight document delivery market| We have found 20 lists of SWOT under each component; however, there are only important issues that influ enced FedEx growth are picked after analysis the case. 1. Strengths FedEx has a strong brand image which gives it significant strengths among the competitors and the company was named the Fortune's sixth best admired company all over the world.They offer superior overnight delivery performances which are divided into four segments and 11 operating companies, and the segments that offers are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Service. From performance view, FedEx confirms that roughly 99 percent of its deliveries are delivered to doorstep on time. This gives a significant competitive advantage with differentiating their services with other competitors who do not offer their customers of these services. FedEx has a strong and impressive infrastructure of equipment and processes. Through the first and second agreement with U. S. Postal Service, FedEx able delivery services through air transportation and have option to drop box in every U. S. post office.These agreemen ts have created the Postal Service’s Global Express Guaranteed service which offers date certain international delivery to over 190 countries. Besides that, FedEx also well knows with its great R&D and innovative of delivery service. For instance, FedEx provides the innovation of new residential delivery service which is FedEx ® Home Delivery in key U. S. cities and a pioneer in applying advanced information technology to meet customer needs. In additional, advanced technology has hit their aims to focus on customer satisfactions. FedEx has a huge advantage with regards to reaching untapped places and the acquisitions of major companies have created a more organized and a more able delivery system. 2. WeaknessesThere are few weaknesses in FedEx that hindering it from growing stronger in domestically and internationally. FedEx services are priced using a zone system which means that the distance of package must travel to reach its final destination determines the price i s higher relative to competitors. This significant weakness exists as FedEx is still recovering from the debt of purchasing Flying Tiger Line airfreight service. Besides that, they are less capable in ground service compared to UPS. Other than that, FedEx has involved costly technology innovations. For instance, in order to determine the status of their packages at all possible locations along the delivery route in real time.Customers can track packages in three ways by accessing the FedEx Web site on the Internet and click on the features of FedEx Ship Manager at fedex. com, or FedEx WorldTM Shipping Software. Other than that, Drivers and other workers are trying to unionize under a four year agreement ratified in 2007. This caused FedEx to deal with the bill which they opposed fiercely and bring the bill into law. Indirectly, this incident leads to increase service costs by 30 percent that need to bear by the customers and inconsistency of operating throughout the organization. 3. Opportunities FedEx have a lot of potential in expansion due to the company's fame around the world. The untapped market has given FedEx a great opportunity to penetrate into large global market.Untapped market happened when political changes in foreign market. Next, the cost of infrastructure of express delivery of FedEx is a barrier of entry to new comers. New comers need to bear with a large amount of cost to build their infrastructure such as airfreight for delivery service. Nowadays, E-commerce and online shopping expansion is creating an increased need for express delivery. The expansion leads to the demand of hassle-free and on time delivery to volume up. Economic is recovering especially in Asia is also one of the opportunity for FedEx. Despite the problems in Europe, the Asian economy was growing rapidly and manufactured product exports were accelerating at the same time.This has increased the demand on express delivery and FedEx introduced AsiaOne network which gave effec tiveness and efficiency in delivery. 4. Threats One of the threats that faced by FedEx was increasing transportation cost which involves high fuel charge. The increasing fuel prices are likely to have a direct impact on the company's profit margins by causing a raise in the operating expenses of FedEx. This is an unavoidable threat as FedEx has a high reliance on fuel compared to UPS in express deliveries. There are few competitors in express delivery services domestically and internationally such as UPS, DHL, PosLaju and GDex. This has given customers a substitution choice to substitute FedEx express delivery services. Hence,FedEx has to make a differentiation between the competitors in order to win the market to avoid customers from switching to other delivery option. In year 1992, economic turnover in United State gave affect in the amount of package delivers per day. By end of 1992, FedEx experienced total loss of $133 billion and negative earnings per share of $2. 11. Many cust omers were switching to slow delivery options to save money. Advanced technology of email may take away from overnight document delivery market which also a threat that is beyond FedEx control. The ways that FedEx uses their SWOT analysis in helping them to create a competitive advantage will be explained in the part of Strategies to Put FedEx Ahead of The Game.

Drug Addiction Bad And The Bone - 1247 Words

Drug Addiction: Bad to the Bone The world, holistically, has faced many dilemmas. One that has plagued society for centuries is drug addiction. One might feel as if they’re too wise, too dominant, too up to speed to become addicted to drugs however addiction can lure anyone. Drug addiction has been an obstacle that has been a quandary for the nation, and people must be informed about. This includes the different addictive drugs and how they affect society. According to webmd.com, the definition of drug addiction â€Å"is a chronic, often relapsing, brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use wherein the user has no effective choice but to continue.† (webmd, 2014). Dating back to the 19th century, Americans first discovered drugs†¦show more content†¦Nicotine as a medical product is utilized to avail in smoking urges. Some of the products used are nicotine gum, nicotine lozenge, nicotine patch and the nicotine inhaler. Using a modicum, avails reduc e nicotine withdrawal symptoms when a person quits smoking. Marijuana also known as Cannabis is a mixture of dried and crumbled leaves including the stem that derives from the plant itself. This mixture colors consist of brown, green and gray. According to teens.drugabuse.gov, there are various street names for marijuana that vary from city to city and neighborhood. These common names are:â€Å" Pot, Grass, Herb, Weed, Mary Jane, Reefer, Skunk, Boom, Gangster, Kief, Chronic, and Ganja.† (Marijuana. NIDA for Teens, 2014.) Marijuana is generally utilized by smoking it loosely. Every so often it is smoked through a water pipe. Others smoke blunts filled with the drug and some users brew it as tea or commix it with food. Cocaine is an addictive drug extracted from coca. Cocaine appears in two state of being, powder cocaine and crack. Powder cocaine is a white powder made from the leaf of the coca plant. Street dealers’ generally commix cocaine with other substances that include cornstarch, talcum powder, or sugar. They also mix cocaine with active drugs that can be found in local anesthesia. Crack occurs in the form of minuscule white rocks that are smokeable. It obtains its name from the cracking sound that rocks make when it is heated. â€Å"Cocaine is generally