Wednesday, October 15, 2008

No more GreenWash



Greenwash is the attempt to make something appear more environmentally responsible. Cleaner, more efficient, less toxic. It is generally a marketing ploy that has little to do with improvement of any substance. It is about looking good rather than making real change. It has some very negative impacts. The public who grow accustomed to hearing environmental rhetoric become "jaded" and believe less of what they hear because they start to see through the insincere marketing. This has the potential for genuinely "green" products, programs and ideas to be discarded without true consideration. It also has the potential to distract the public from truly good solutions. A manufacturer who uses "greenwash" in marketing their product may gain more customers who are convinced they are doing something environmentally responsible when really those customers were persuaded for reasons with no real merit.

[caption id="attachment_253" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Not all that is "green" is green."]Not all that is "green" is green.[/caption]

 

See this wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash

And this entry http://www.howstuffworks.com/greenwashing.htm

The public are perceptive and will pick up on many of these greenwashing messages, but truly people are busy and don't have time to research and verify each and every claim that corporations are using. And those corporations have huge budgets and entire departments dedicated to getting their message across. What can be done?

1. Educate the public about greenwashing so these marketing messages are less effective and less attractive to corporate marketeers. By exposing those messages.

2. Notify corporations that their greenwashing messages have been heard, analyzed and rejected. Encouraging them to make real change rather than talking about it.

3. Persuade governing bodies to regulate and restrict the abuse of greenwashing since it is essentially a deceptive practice that entices customers to make choices not based on a real benefit.

4. Encourage all people to disregard "rhetoric" and to pursue real environmental progress.

Interested? Lets get started.

I am welcoming volunteers to do the following:

1. Identify existing greenwash education efforts that are underway (why re-invent the wheel if someone out there has a perfectly good wheel).

2. Post occurences of greenwash which the public should know about.

3. Strategize around which governing bodies should be contacted to improve their response to greenwash.

4. Complete a strategy for notifying companies that their greenwash is not acceptable.

(Yes we are at the beginning here, but with a little collaboration and a few tools we can make a very real difference.)

Do you share my concern?  Drop me a comment.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Automation is not always an improvement

“I’d go crazy listening to that all day” my coworker said today. She was referring to the repetitive recording that was being ’spoken’ by an electronic motion detecting device at the door to the Sushi shop where we were sitting and consuming sushi. Yes, I added, there is an example of something that doesn’t need to be automated.


Someone who is greeted feels good because you took the time and effort to greet them to extend them courtesy and respect. So greeting is good. The greeting itself may have some value, but it is significantly less value than the reasons or attitude behind the greeting. But, some bright guy thought, hey all this greeting is a lot of work, I need some help, I’ll build a machine to concentrate on making the customers feel good, so I can go on with whatever I’m doing. So you walk in and the machine (decorated as a cat or some such friendly apparition) says “Hello”, and when you leave it says “Welcome” or “Hello”. I tried to determine if the greeting was directional (one greeting upon arrival and a different greeting upon departure), but it wasn’t. In fact if you had thought that the initial greeting was cute, leaving reminded you that it was a ‘dumb’ machine that didn’t care whether you were coming or going never mind pretending that it cared about honouring guests with a suitable greeting. So you can imagine that by the time guests finished sitting on the patio next to this, they were quite clear that their “greeting” was only one of hundreds that day, not special, not meaningful, not even cute.

You like cute? fine, like cute. Go cuddle with your kittens and shake the dust off of your crocheted poodle toilet paper roll cover. Cute has its place, but it needs to stay clear of annoying in my opinion. I think there is an important lesson here that we have the opportunity to grasp. Automating something doesn’t necessarily make it better, particularly if it undermines the very reason for undertaking the activity in the first place.

Thanks for reading.
Greg. 

When I’m not solving problems and thinking about my world, I’m working at improving the Liberty Workorder Management System from Greentree Software which has been cutting our customers manufacturing costs since 2002. We automated the parts that made sense (math) and left the customer the flexibility to make their own decisions about how they work with their data. For example, there is no interface with your accounting system, allowing you to keep the two seperate, relying on clear accessible reporting to provide your staff with the production management and costing information they need without handcuffing you to a 10,000 pound gorilla who will kill you if you make a mistake. No, we don’t like accounting software we use very much either. Liberty is available now to be deployed within your organization. We support the configuration and deployment of our system from start to finish so you can be up and running sooner with the benefits of a work order management system that can help your sales staff quote more effectively. Visit the GreenTree Software website to learn more., we’ll take good care of you.

<re-posted from www.greentreesoftware.ca/blog>

Friday, June 20, 2008

Quality Checks - Why doing them economically is necessary



 Recently we had a problem with our web site’s “feedback form” (details later) which got me thinking about quality checks in manufacturing and how they can be done in a way that is economical.

We need to double check the work we do because often the result we produce is not the result we intend to produce. It is true that if we double checked everything we did, we would be very unproductive. I can imagine as I type this out, double checking that I have located the correct key before pressing it, checking that the key I pressed appears on the screen before continuing on. Stopping after every sentence to reconsider my spelling, my punctuation and my grammar. Pausing after each paragraph to consider whether what I just wrote was in fact what I really wanted to say. It is ridiculous.

There was a time when everything was double checked. The first time I typed I was uncertain of what I typed. I had to find the letters… Now my fingers press words without me even needing to think about the letters in those words. I string ideas together and present them with thought to the content, but not much thought to the mechanics of my writing. This is how learning works for us humans we get better at something and our minds are freed from having to concentrate on the details. Amazing how our brains were constructed this way. Our brains can watch for exceptions and ignore the majority of our activity. Most people will observe themselves doing this while driving. They will say “I don’t remember that part of my commute today, I remember getting on the freeway and I remember getting off, but I don’t remember spending 30minutes on the freeway..”. As a driver when the brake lights come on in front of you, that is your brain’s queue to start paying more attention. The thoughts of your planned California vacation fade and thoughts of reacting appropriately in traffic start forming.

The same is true in manufacturing. We can’t afford to quality inspect every widget we produce (unless they are expensive enough). At the same time we must know if there is non-conformance in our products that needs to be addressed. Much like the typing example we may have QA staff shadow a new hire until they start learning what to watch for. After a while the production workers will be performing their own less official but important QA functions.

But how do we balance the cost of increased quality assurance with the attention QA requires? We can start with some best practices based on experience. First-off testing examines the first piece produced for defects and deviations, what better place to catch these than with the first piece. Additionally we can set up a sampling rate that allows us some coverage for the produced product. If the variance on an operation is increasing during the production run, this can be detected and corrected before it becomes unacceptable.

Also, remember to perform QA on your QA. If everything keeps coming up roses, then your diligence with suppliers, production equipment and staff training and quality ownership are paying off. You can be less intense in inspecting. If however a product or operation shows reduced quality you can be more vigilant.

Now for that personal example that started this train of thought. Much like the driver who is convinced everything is fine on the freeway, I was convinced that the feedback form on GreenTree Software’s website was working fine. I had done a first-off test when it was first set up which worked fine. We had been receiving some spam through the form which sent us form submissions with SPAM content (probably sent by automated scripts). So when we started receiving completely blank form submissions (the brake lights on the freeway) we just ignored them. On a whim the other day I retested the form and promptly received a blank email. Whoops. So to everyone who tried sending us a message I apologize. We did not receive it and have no record of who you are (or we would apologize personally). The broken form has been taken out of service (everyone has email these days). Again I’m sorry. If I hadn’t tested the other day we would still be losing your messages and receiving blank emails. If you tried to contact us using the form, drop us a line via email and we’ll try to make it up to you.

Thanks Greg.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Avoid identity theft



Simple tips for avoiding identity theft as collected over time.

1. PIN or password protect your credit cards and bank accounts whenever possible.  don’t use your address phone number or brithdate as passwords as these are easy to guess.  Never store your PIN with your card (Personal Identification Number)

2. Do not carry your SIN (social security) card in your wallet or purse.  Keep it in a safe place in your home or safety deposit box.

3. Review your bank and credit card statements eac moth for accuracy, and report any discrepancies quickly.

4. Secure your computer with a firewall.  Use up to date virus protection software and malware protection software.

5. Never disclose credit card information or financial details over the phone or Internet to a caller (they initiate the call).  Ask for their phone number, and name and then look up the phone number from a reputable resource (the phone book) and ask to speak to the person who called.  This assures you they aren’t lying about where they are calling from.

6. Never enter personal or credit card information including passwords and usernames for financial matters on an unsecured website.  The URL should start with HTTPS:// and a locked padlock icon should appear if you are on a secured site.

7. Never enter credit card or financial information on a website without assessing who it is (even if the webpage is secured).  Look at the URL carefully.  Is the company you are dealing with well known?  Is there an option for paying without disclosing your information (PayPal for example holds your financial information, but allows you to make payments to third parties).

8. Be aware of the scam named Phishing.  This is where you receive an email claiming to be from a bank or other financial company, there will be a link to a fake website that looks like the bank and they will request that you enter in a user name and password (which they record and use later to access your “real bank account”. Report phishing immediately to the bank being impersonated.

9. In Canada report scam letters and phishing attempts tohttp://www.phonebusters.org

10. Occasionally request your credit report from the credit bureaus Equifax or Transunion to determine if fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name.

11. If you suspect your information has been stolen, act quickly to prevent identity theft by contacting your banks and credit card companies.   Keep a record of any conversations and correspondence with creditors and contact the credit bureaus mentioned above to advise them of your situation.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

How to avoid and reduce the effects of SPAM













 
 I originally wrote this compilation of tips for my customers at GreenTree I hope you find some of them helpful.  

Unsolicited messages, commonly called “spam,” comprise approximately 50 percent of all e-mail carried on the Internet, according to industry estimates. Respectable businesses will remove your e-mail address from their mailing list if you ask. However, many spammers want to push their offers into as many e-mail boxes as possible and will take any response-even if it’s “REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST!”-as encouragement to keep sending out new messages.
Currently, there is no way to ensure a 100 percent spam-free e-mail box. You can make it more difficult for spammers to get your e-mail address, however. There are also steps you can take when unwanted e-mail does arrive in your mailbox. Plus you can ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other organizations to help you identify a spam mail’s origins. You can use that information to try to block future mailings from known spammers.   

View an updated version of this list HERE:

Here are some tips to help prevent spam from filling your e-mail box:












































  • Avoid posting your e-mail address in public. Many spammers buy e-mail address lists from brokers who compile their lists by harvesting addresses from Internet newsgroup postings, Web sites, chat rooms, membership directories for online services, and other sources.




  • Alter your e-mail address before posting it publicly. List brokers do their harvesting with computer programs that scan Web pages and newsgroups in search of e-mail addresses. You might be able to foil these harvesting programs by altering your posted e-mail address in an obvious way, such as changing joesmith@mail.com to joeH8SJUNKMAILsmith@mail.com. Most humans will know to remove H8SJUNKMAIL from the address before they use it, but computer programs will not.




  • Never respond to a spam e-mail, even to unsubscribe. The e-mail message may include instructions on how to remove your address from the organization’s list, such as telling you to reply with REMOVE in the subject line or to call a phone number. However, many spammers do this only to try to confirm that they have reached a real person’s e-mail account. Unless you are unsubscribing from a distribution list that you signed up for or you know the sender of the message, it is safer to discard the message without responding




  • Create an alternate e-mail address to use on the Internet. Your primary e-mail address should only be given to friends, family, business contacts, and other people whom you know. Consider setting up a second e-mail address to use when filling out information requests, applications for special offers, and other forms on the Web.




  • Apply for a free Yahoo or Hotmail account to use as a “spam sink”.  Gmail (www.gmail.com) does a very good job of filtering spam with perhaps 1 in 100 spams showing up in your inbox.




  • Set up filters to block known spammers’ messages. Many e-mail programs offer a “filter” option that you can use to automatically send junk and adult-content mail to a specified folder-or the trash. Many programs will allow you to filter on e-mail names as well. To ensure you do not accidentally throw away mail from friends and family, consider creating a “junk mail” folder for your filtered messages. Be sure to check the folder before you empty it.




  • Use junk e-mail filters in your email program




  • Consider reporting spammers to ISPs, e-mail providers, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) and account providers have a complaint address for e-mail issues. If you get unwanted mail, look at the return address. The ISP name should be in the middle (between the “@” sign and the designator, e.g., “.com”). Forward a copy of the spam mail to the ISP’s complaint address. Most providers will take steps to eliminate spammers from their system. In addition, send a copy of any deceptive or unwanted mail to the FTC at uce@ftc.gov. The FTC uses its database of unsolicited messages to pursue law-enforcement actions against senders of spam. (The FTC only can take action against spammers based in the U.S.)




  • Review all user agreements. When signing up for Web-based services such as online banking, shopping, or online newsletters, you should carefully review the corresponding user agreements to assure yourself that your e-mail address will not be shared with other organizations.




  • Don’t participate in email chain letters or pyramind schemes. Bill Gates is not going to pay you for sending junk email to your friends and family, neither is the Gap going to give you free clothes. Interenet “snowball fights” and other forms of chain emails are unwelcome on the net, and irritate most people who receive them. The same can be said for the “guilt letter” where you are required to pass on an email or you are a terrible person for caring so little about the mentioned issue.




  • Use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field in your email program if you have to send an email to several people. This prevents everyone’s email address from being listed in the “to” field where all the recipients can see it. This becomes critical when the email is likely to be “forwarded on” as in the case of a joke or other ‘interesting’ email. While you know the people you are emailing, they don’t all know each other, or want the others to necessarily see their email address.




  • Don’t forward emails to others without first “cleaning” the email up by removing the previous sender’s and recipient’s email addresses. This prevents their address from being distributed beyond the people they know.

  • Consider the user of a spam filtering software like “spambayes” or “mailwasher” to handle spam before it gets to your inbox.


pam appears to be here to stay, at least for now. Taking these steps can help you reduce your exposure to this online nuisance, however. If you have more spam fighting strategies, I’d love to hear your ideas! Send me a message with your idea   

Know somebody who would benefit from some of the email “best practices” on this page? Send them the address (this link will open your mail program) and ask them to check it out.

 

 


Friday, February 1, 2008

Losing the battle against car theft.

I knew we had truly lost the battle against car theives the day I arrived at the shopping mall and was greeted by a huge banner plastered across the front of the mall crying out “Bait Cars are Everywhere!”. Implying that one of the cars might be a plant designed to trap car theives. http://www.baitcar.com/

I have also noticed how the slogan for the program has changed from “steal a car, go to jail” to “steal a car, get busted”. Clearly they are not going to jail every time.

Technical solutions don’t fix moral problems. Time to drop the technical triumphalism and address the root issue. CAR THEIVES’ HEARTS.