Article Abstract:
GE Information Services will launch its electronic data interchange (EDI) service using the Internet in Europe in the summer of 1997. The UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shows, in a survey of medium-sized and small businesses which use the system, that almost 70% of respondents claim that EDI usage results in improvements in administration, while 50% report better financial performance and 67% thought customer relations were improved. The DTI points out that customers with EDI may reduce their suppliers, with the consequence that EDI suppliers' increased trade will be to the detriment of suppliers without EDI.
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Article Abstract:
Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes, England is the first in Britain to be built to a design based on US prisons. Cells are grouped in triangular shaped wings which are designed to encourage better social relations as well as good supervision of inmates. The novel design caused special problems for the planning and provision of engineering services. Cabling had to be inaccessible for security reasons while allowing easy maintenance. Most cables are concealed in the structure. Woodhill is an experimental design and has proved expensive to build.
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Article Abstract:
Portable appliance testing (PAT), which was established as part of the 1990 Electricity at Work (EAW) Regulations, has not really provided the benefits for contractors which had initially been anticipated. Indeed, strong competition and unclear guidance have served to reduce prices, and some companies are now charging levels so low that the quality of their inspections and testing could be questioned, according to Chris Hayward, managing director of Thames Electra. However, it is still possible to make an acceptable profit from PAT.
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