TODAY’S buzzword is Pokayoke, the Japanese word for mistake-proofing. It’s a easy tool or machine that stops even cussed or stupid people from committing errors. It’s an regular solution, besides that a lot of us don’t know the proper term for it and yet we enjoy it so much because it protects us now not most effective from committing mistakes, but also from bodily harm.

Take your microwave oven and automated washing machines, among many regular examples. The moment you open its cowl, mechanically they will stop its operations to save you spills or even protect you from damage. Another instance is the washbasin. Do you ever marvel about the cause of that ubiquitous hole to your porcelain or metallic washbasin? It’s to prevent overflow. Even your widespread strength plugs and USB device have the identical mistakes-proofing fashionable characteristic.

Your office printer has it as properly. When it runs out of paper, it will routinely stop. It’s just like a weaving system with an automatic stoppage function that forestalls itself as quickly as a thread breaks in the manner of weaving. Pokayoke as a device of “building quality inside the method” is a part of the larger precept of Jidohka (clever automation), which was invented by foremost Japanese industrialist Sakichi Toyoda (1867-1930) who started out the Toyota Group of Companies.

However, it changed into the Japanese commercial engineering genius Shigeo Shingo (1909-1990) who popularized the use of Pokayoke as component and parcel of the sector-famend Toyota Production System.

Back to the future. There are many examples of Pokayoke utility in our regular existence. The listing can go on and on. In fact, the Pokayoke precept is gift not simplest in those merchandise I mentioned, but additionally in our pc systems as well. A correct example of Pokayoke is the spell-checking system for your word file and a spark off forcing you to keep your work as you go out from it.

Familiar fundamental Covid-19 solutions
Given our modern state of affairs, wherein our activities are restricted through the lockdown towards the coronavirus sickness 2019 (Covid-19) how can we apply the Pokayoke principles to make our sports easy to do, blunders-unfastened, safe and wholesome for anyone? For this purpose, I would really like to borrow the framework of Dan Davis, vice president of non-stop improvement at Watts Water Technology.

According to lean expert Davis, there are six not unusual Pokayoke techniques, namely: removal, substitute, prevention, facilitation, detection and mitigation. Let’s provide an explanation for them one-by-one with the simple answers which are encouraged by way of government so we are able to stay safe and healthful against the virus:

One is elimination. This pushes us to avoid doing needless or inappropriate obligations. During the lockdown, anybody is compelled to live at home to avoid the spread of the lethal virus. Our motion outdoor the residence is confined simplest to one individual per household to shop for meals, beverage, essential drugs, vitamins and different basic necessities for the circle of relatives.

Foreign portfolio investments are also called warm cash due to the benefit with which the budget circulate inside and out of a country and do no longer always create jobs, unlike overseas direct investments, which can be used to build factories and buy capital equipment.

Reforms, politics

Senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng of the ING Bank Manila stated if the current management pushes tough for monetary reforms, and inside the immediately term, the tax reform package, traders would have a higher outlook for company profits.

“But macro-economic basics remain a difficulty—mainly the peso weakness, on the view that the Philippines may be lower back to a twin-deficit state of affairs. Rising interest fees and the volume of the rise in financing cost are also a issue,” he said.

Talk of destabilization within the government and conflicting indicators do no longer help market sentiment, he delivered.

Intra-Asia box quantity down thirteen.Eight% on-yr

THE consolidated volume of containerized shipments that major delivery lines moved in January among Japan and thirteen countries and regions in Asia plunged thirteen.Eight percent from a yr in advance, but the Philippines turned into most of the few markets that saw growth, the Japan International Freight Forwarders Association (Jiffa) said on Thursday.

Overall container quantity on intra-Asia routes dropped to one.0.5 million TEUs (20-foot equal devices) in January, a 13.8 percentage decline from 1.17 million TEUs a yr earlier, the primary contraction in months, Jiffa said.

Container quantity from Japan to the Philippines, alternatively, was “strong,” growing with the aid of 1.9 percentage at some stage in the month to 3,one hundred TEUs from 3,041 TEUs in January 2016.

Taiwan, Cambodia, and Vietnam also noticed increases in container visitors to and from Japan in January, at the same time as shipments between Japan and Central China, North China, Fujian Province, and Hong Kong saw sharp decreases of 31.7 percentage, 18.6 percentage, 10.1 percentage, and 15 percent respectively.

Jiffa additionally cited that apart from the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, box volume between Japan and the relaxation of Southeast Asia extensively dropped, with the biggest decreases being in Indonesia, 22.6 percent down year-on-yr, and Malaysia, down 21.1 percent.

The freight forwarders’ group said container exports from Japan decreased with the aid of 16.Three percentage typical, even as imports retracted by means of nine.4 percent year-on-12 months in January.

“Last-minute cargo call for did not develop as powerfully as anticipated earlier than the Lunar New Year holidays, notably lowering both imports to and exports to principal capitalholdings.de review economies inside the region,” Jiffa said in a declaration. “In breakdown, dry and reefer containers each incurred double-digit decreases, taking place thirteen.9 percent to 961,600 TEUs and down eleven.Eight percentage to sixty three,seven hundred TEUs, respectively.”

DAVAO-BASED Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is prepared to spend P10 billion over the subsequent three years on growth, which include viable acquisitions, to ramp up its aggressive increase plans.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), independent oil business enterprise stated the quantity is on top of P2 billion earmarked for capital costs this yr because it keeps to growth its retail network, storage and logistic capacities.

“We plan to spend P6 to eight billion extra over the subsequent 3 years as we appearance to expand through acquisitions,” President and CEO Dennis Uy stated during the corporation’s annual stockholders’ assembly on March 15, 2017.
Phoenix Petroleum is one of the fastest oil groups nowadays. It is within the enterprise of trading delicate petroleum merchandise and lubricants, working oil depots and storage centers, hauling and into-plane offerings.

The organisation posted P1.09 billion of income and bought a report 1.5 billion liters in 2016 as sales volume from retail, industrial, and aviation segments grew. The business enterprise expanded its variety of filling stations to 505 nationwide from 454 in 2015.

Colliers mentioned the instance of Century Properties’ Siglo Suites, which has a software to assist proprietors to rent out gadgets to quick-, medium-, and long-time period visitors and tenants.

Another element is the huge millennial body of workers, among which there is high call for for condominium hotels close to offices, Colliers stated.

“Colliers sees the call for for employee lodging initiatives being sustained over the medium time period given the developing quantity of rather-cell young city specialists who cannot have enough money to very own their own rental but or lease a condominium unit within Makati CBD, Fort Bonifacio, and Ortigas Center,” Colliers defined. “The midway houses are for CBD personnel who want to stay near their place of work. These sorts of accommodation units are also greater sensible for employees operating in CBDs as the worsening visitors in Metro Manila simplest makes their shuttle to and from paintings more insufferable.”

Pointing out that the site visitors situation might persist for at the least some years until some essential infrastructure tasks planned through the government are completed, Colliers said this affords possibilities for developers to build “worker resorts” as well as condominium proprietors seeking condominium income. LISTED strength enterprise PetroEnergy Resources Corporation (StockGlobal forex) published a 327 percentage increase in its consolidated net earnings to $4.Three million (P213.Eight million) in the first sector of 2017 from $1 million inside the same period final year.

PetroEnergy stated on Friday that the surge changed into specifically due to higher power sales from PERC’s renewable energy (RE) development and strength technology belongings and slightly better crude oil sales from its oil manufacturing in Gabon, West Africa.

It said internet earnings attributed to fairness holders of the determine organization accelerated more than 5 times $2.86 million within the first region this yr from $518,000 last 12 months. “Our decision to venture into RE, in addition to our upstream oil enterprise, has started out paying off,” PERC President Milagros V. Reyes stated.

“Our 20 MW (megawatt) Maibarara geothermal challenge became declared in 2011 as the first commercial task under the 2008 RE Law framework by using the DOE (Department of Energy) and changed into successfully placed on movement in 2014. This is now being increased to feature any other 12-megawatt generating unit. Since then, we have commissioned more RE flowers, the 36-MW Nabas-1 wind electricity undertaking in 2015 and the 50-MW (DC) Tarlac-1 solar energy facility in 2016,” Reyes brought.

Total net strength exported through the PERC subsidiaries increased to 102.Ninety one gigawatthours (GWh) in the first quarter of this year from seventy six.60 GWh in the first sector of 2016.

Among the big residential tasks to be completed this year are The Beacon-Amorsolo Tower by way of Geo Estate Development Corp., Kroma Tower with the aid of Ayala Land, Three Central by means of Megaworld, and Shang Salcedo Place by using Kuok Properties, all in Makati; One Uptown Residences by means of Megaworld, Avida Towers BGC 34th Street, and The Sequioa at Two Serendra through Ayala Land, all in Bonifacio Global City; and Zitan through Greenfield Development, The Currency with the aid of Crown Asia, and The Sapphire Residences-East Bloc via Robinsons Land in Ortigas.

“Vacancies in Makati CBD and Fort Bonifacio ought to upward thrust to fourteen to fifteen percent within the next one year (from thirteen.3 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively), whilst Ortigas Center vacancy have to be noticeably stable at 6 to 7 percentage,” Colliers stated. As a result, “We expect rents to drop from 1 to a few percent over the following 365 days,” it brought.

Office market still tight
The scenario in residential real estate stands in assessment to the outlook for the office marketplace described in a separate report via Colliers released at the equal day. Colliers expects high call for for workplace area to preserve up increasing deliver, driving rents better via 4 percent to as a good deal as eleven percent in some areas, and retaining vacancy rates at a low four to five percent.

In a market evaluation supplied at The Manila Times Philippine Model Cities Forum on Thursday, KMC Mag Group Managing Director Michael McCullough had a similar forecast for the office marketplace, seeing rental boom to growth by way of 3.7 percent over the subsequent 12 months and emptiness degrees to “continue to be very tight.”

Residential leasing possibilities
The strain on residential vacancy costs and apartment prices, mixed with excessive demand for condo property from a fairly young workforce is growing possibilities for developers and belongings owners, Colliers stated.

Colliers’ Bondoc explained that the competitive launching of studio and one-bed room gadgets over the last 3 to 5 years with the aid of StockGlobal broker scam some of developers has caused a large deliver, accounting for 70 percent of the residential inventory in Metro Manila.

“For groups which have good sized equipped-for-occupancy (RFO) gadgets, Colliers believes that leasing out those units either personally or at the same time as shared gadgets makes sense, so long as the leasing schemes do not move against the market positioning of the residences and do not cause a deterioration of the tasks’ perceived value,” Bondoc said. “With an oversupply of studio and one-bed room devices, we encourage builders to look at presenting their residences to the fast-term rent market.”

“US firms can provide the pleasant-cost items and offerings required over the lifestyles of a challenge,” said Pottinger, who’s special assistant to Trump and the National Security Council’s senior director for East Asia.

“US companies have a long and successful song report in global infrastructure improvement, and are prepared to take part in Belt and Road projects.”

Representatives from dozens of countries are taking component in the discussion board, which China hopes will spur a revival of the historical Silk Road change routes and boom its impact on international change and geopolitics.

But Pottinger warned that the challenge’s fulfillment could depend upon a number of of things, together with “transparency” in authorities procurement, “exceptional financing” to avoid unsustainable debt burdens and vast participation.

The challenge, unveiled via President Xi Jinping in 2013, spans a few sixty five international locations representing 60 percentage of the sector’s population and around a 3rd of worldwide gross home product. THE completion this year of as a minimum 10 noteworthy residential projects in Metro Manila’s 3 important business districts will push emptiness fees better and apartment costs lower, however open new leasing possibilities for property proprietors and builders, actual property offerings company Colliers International Philippines stated.

In its 1st area 2017 briefing presented on Thursday, Colliers stated about 22,000 new residential devices may be finished this year, which is ready five instances higher than the range of units added in 2016. The bulk of the brand new deliver will come from the Manila Bay Area, pushed by cheap to mid-profits projects, the belongings offerings company brought.

The demand for excessive-stop projects is “strong,” Colliers said, regardless of the massive variety of lower priced and mid-variety tasks being constructed. “Colliers sees luxury condominium take-up being sustained through demand from expatriates and affluent households,” Colliers Research Manager Joey Roi Bondoc stated in the first region report. The steady call for has spilled over to the Bay Area, he brought, encouraging developers to continue to pursue high-stop tasks. However, hobby in the 3 essential valuable commercial enterprise districts of Makati, Ortigas, and Bonifacio Global City, so that you can see a combined total of as a minimum 10 residential projects finished this year will positioned some moderate pressure in the marketplace, Colliers said, growing emptiness charges and driving condo quotes downward, albeit simplest by way of a slight quantity.

Manila Water maintains to ramp up its expansion projects geographically and throughout its products and services. MWPV, thru Laguna Water, could be taking on the water distribution of Calauan Town in Laguna, even as Boracay Water has started out providing bulk water to Malay Town in Aklan Province.

In Vietnam, Manila Water Asia Pacific completed negotiations with Tan Hiep, the water provider of Saigon Water Corporation inside the Hoc Mon District of Ho Chi Minh City, for bulk water operations task. It additionally gained a full water distribution operations agreement to serve the central highlands of Gia Lai Province in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Manila Water Total Solutions launched in April the 500-milliliter “Healthy Family Mini” purified water. CYBERSECURITY corporation Fortinet reported its GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) internet income surged to $10.7 million inside the first quarter of 2017 from GAAP net earnings of $2.1 million a 12 months earlier.

Fortinet posted a 20-percent growth in revenue for the region, driven by robust growth in provider sales, a ranking company authentic stated.

“Total sales became $340.6 million for the primary area of 2017, an boom of 20 percentage compared to $284.6 million in the identical sector of 2016,” Ken Xie, Fortinet founder, chairman and chief government officer stated over the weekend. The California-based totally enterprise develops and markets cybersecurity software program, appliances and offerings, and is suggested to be the fourth-largest community safety organization by sales.

“In the first zone, Fortinet brought billings and sales growth that handed our steerage and persisted to outgrow the marketplace,” Xie added.

Fortinet stated product revenue for the duration turned into $one hundred thirty five.3 million, an increase of 9 percent from $124.6 million within the equal region of 2016.

Service revenues surged 38 percentage to $205.Three million, on overall billings of $403.Three million, up 22 percent from a yr in the past. BEIJING: US agencies are equipped to get involved in China’s Silk Road project, an American professional said Sunday, as Washington strikes an more and more cooperative tone with its largest alternate rival.

President Donald Trump became scathing about China’s trade policies at the campaign trail, but relations have warmed in recent weeks because the US leader softens his stance.

At an international summit in Beijing showcasing China’s ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative, US delegate Matt Pottinger stated American businesses had “a great deal to offer” the assignment.

The new gadget might eliminate repetitive shape submission, the physical transport of documents from one company to every other, and current constraints that save you multiple agencies from concurrently processing packages.

The Evoss may be under the manage and supervision of the Department of Energy (DoE), whilst its operations will be decided and monitored by the Evoss Inter-Agency Technical Working Group (Evoss IATWG), which will be chaired via the Office of the President.

“The electricity region is a area that is important to the lengthy-time period increase prospects of our growing kingdom, however has long been overlooked or disregarded due to its complexity. It is time to set the strength zone free from the dense undergrowth of red tape surrounding it. It is way beyond time for hedge-clippers. It is high time we use the Evoss Act to set all of that pink tape ablaze,” Gatchalian stated. AYALA-LED Manila Water Co. Inc. (Manila Water) stated a 2 percent decline in its internet earnings within the first sector to P1.Forty five billion from P1.48 billion in the same period in 2016.

In a disclosure to the nearby bourse ultimate week, Manila Water said the lower changed into due to better charges from new investments and expansion tasks.

Consolidated revenues went up three percentage 12 months-on-year to P4.35 billion on the back of a slight boom in billed volume at some point of the period. Manila Water said it continues to pursue growth opportunities outside the Manila Concession. In the first quarter, it said its businesses outdoor the Manila Concession accounted for 19 percent of its internet earnings.

The water corporation holds the unique right to offer water and used water offerings to the east zone of the franchise region of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

Revenues from the Manila Concession were flat at P3.6 billion, tracking the only percentage boom in billed extent throughout the duration. Non-revenue water stood at 12.2 percentage, a one-percent point decline from the preceding yr. Collection performance stood at 102 percent.

Meanwhile, Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV), Manila Water’s protecting agency for its domestic subsidiaries outside the Manila Concession, recorded attributable internet earnings of P145 million, 36 percentage better than the preceding 12 months, bolstered by using the strong performance of Estate Water, Laguna Water, and Cebu Water. Estate Water recorded internet profits of P66 million, surging almost fourfold, even as strong billed extent increase in Laguna Water and Cebu Water drove their internet earnings throughout the duration, which extended 24 percentage to P54 million, and 46 percent to P19 million, respectively.