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How Damaging Can Air Leaks Be to Businesses if They are Not Detected Rapidly?

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Air Leaks|How Damaging Can Air Leaks Be to Businesses if They are Not Detected Rapidly?Considering how much of an asset compressed air systems are to a wide range of industries, it’s a thing of wonder why any industry would be hesitant to monitor their machines for air leakages. It is estimated that $138m (£100m) is lost every year to air leaks in the UK, but it’s quite understandable why one would think that a tiny bit of air escaping won’t make so much of a difference to your business. Think again. Businesses could be losing as much as $832/year (£600/year) from a 0.1inch (3mm) hole.

Identifying air leaks is important because in addition to leaks being the source of wasted air/gas and therefore increased operating costs, they can also be the point of ingress for contamination to the system. Leaks will grow and worsen if restorative action is not taken, which means small leaks can quickly advance to high hidden costs.

How to Detect Leaks

Industrial machines have a high degree of background noise which can veil any obvious evidence of small leaks, making it difficult to understand the scale of leakage. This makes it a secret expense for its operators. Identifying and rectifying all the leak points will reduce operating costs and improve the delivered air/gas quality.

Learning if an air compressor is leaking is a critical aspect of its operation, here we provide some of the easiest ways to detect air leaks:

  • Listening for leaks is only possible during a shutdown when the entire system is so silent that massive leaks can be audible. Smaller leaks can be below the hearing threshold, making it difficult to hear the characteristic leaking gas hiss. However, this does not suggest that there are no leaks because even if leaks are heard, they can be very difficult to pinpoint, particularly in areas difficult to access.
  • Ultrasonic leak detectors enable testing of out of reach areas to determine if access is required to pinpoint leaks quickly. With a range of up to 8m, it allows operators to promptly survey gas distribution systems with detachable sensors to simplify testing in confined spaces.
  • The traditional direct method widely used is to wash over any suspected joints with a soap solution. If there are any leaks, bubbles will form and judging by the number and size of bubbles, and the technician can pinpoint the fault. While this is a straightforward method, it is very time-consuming as every joint has to be tested individually. There are also potential issues for contamination and corrosion.

Why You Need to Fix Leaks

Leaks do not just have detrimental effects on your annual energy expenses; they also decrease operating efficiency and cause productivity loss due to the inevitable drop in air pressure of the system. This could result in reduced equipment life and inefficient operation of tools that rely on compressed air.

Reasons why you should fix air leaks;

Inefficient Tools and Lower Productivity

Drops in air pressure resulting from leaks can significantly impact the productivity of machines by causing tools to operate inefficiently, which in turn creates an overall less-productive environment.

Reduction in Equipment Longevity

Considering that leaks cause a higher demand for airpower than what is typically needed, compressors need to cycle more frequently, which results in a decreased lifespan of your compressed air system. This could be very expensive. It can be avoided through routine maintenance and inspection, so leaks are identified and repaired.

Losses Due to Downtime

If your system is experiencing unnecessary demands, and maintenance is the result, you may be faced with downtime, which can severely hamper productivity — and eventually, profits.

To run a productive and profitable industrial facility, you must keep your air compressors working efficiently at all times. To that end, any air leaks that occur must be identified and fixed before such problems spiral out of hand.

Increased Production Cost

A poorly-operated compressed air system can cost more than water, electricity, steam or even natural gas. Air leaks also can slow a plant’s operation by using more power than necessary to supply compressed air.

4 Common Customer Service Problems – And How to Fix Them

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Service|4 Common Customer Service Problems – And How to Fix ThemNo matter what kind of business you run or how many years of operation you have behind you, how you engage with customers can be the difference between running a successful brand and falling at the first hurdle. Excellent customer service is critical for keeping your audience on board and satisfied with your services, so to ensure you and your team are putting in 110% effort, here are some of the common customer service problems and what you can do to solve them.

Long Response Times

Many of us live busier lives than ever before, meaning customers simply don’t have the time or patience to wait for an answer. Whether they have a problem with a particular product of yours or need clarification on a matter, the longer they’re waiting for a response, the more agitated they will become. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to ensure the customer isn’t waiting too long, such as having enough members of your team to address queries whether it’s by phone, email, or social media, as well as devising pre-packaged answers to the most commonly asked questions which may help the customer. There are call center software providers like https://www.aceyus.com/call-center-analytics you can use to speed up the response time and track the customer journey from start to finish.

Not Listening to the Customer

When dealing with a customer, it’s vital that you listen to everything they say so they feel valued and appreciated. If you fail to listen, you won’t know what your customer needs which can make the situation worse. No matter what, make sure you have thoroughly understood the issue your customer has come to you with, and double-check the problem if necessary.

Customers appreciate honesty, so if you don’t have a solution straight away, it’s better to tell them rather than not giving any answer at all.

Transferring the Customer to Multiple Departments

Many of us can count on several hands the number of times we’ve been transferred to multiple departments across a company before getting to the right person. Not only can this be time-consuming, but the situation can also be incredibly frustrating. If you must transfer the customer to another member of staff, make sure you give the customer a reason for doing so and explain the present situation in detail, so they know where they stand.

Bad Attitude toward Customers

We will inevitably have down days from time to time. However, no matter how you’re feeling or what is going on in your personal life, anyone engaging with customers should always remain professional and attentive from start to finish. First impressions count, so if a team member is displaying a poor attitude to customers, this can put your business in a bad light. Regular training is critical for all employees, helping them to understand the code of conduct in your organization, what is expected of them when dealing with customers and brushing up on their communication skills and time management.

Whether you’re about to launch a startup or already run a business, understanding the common customer service problems and what tactics to employ to solve the issue will make sure your customers are always put first.

Entrepreneur Motivation: Heroes, Factors And Values

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When you first started your business, you probably thought that it was going to skyrocket. You would watch the money roll in and you would be motivated to keep rising and rising. Unfortunately, that kind of storyline is only viable in Hollywood. Real life just isn’t like that, and the sooner entrepreneurs learn to think like this the better. It’s hard when you aren’t growing as fast as you expected. A lot of unforeseen challenges arise, they take you off your path or slow you down, and it can snowball into one cascade after the next. As you can imagine, this can deplete your confidence levels and get you to question, why on earth are you bothering in the first place? We would like to save you from this spiral of doubt!

Internal organizational factors

One of the reasons why you might be failing to live up to the challenges you face, is a lack of internal organization. Companies that fortify themselves against external threats such as market crashes, customer contractions and governmental regulations, are much better at weathering a storm. Thus, because they don’t get hit so hard, they don’t lose their motivation either. Maybe you would be more motivated if you were less prone to suffering harm from external risks.

So, hire a risk consultant from a risk firm or do an internal risk management project that can address these issues. Working with your legal, financial and risk professionals, you can formulate a plan that can allow your brand to be flexible and adaptive.

External factors

Why do you think business owners like to court politicians? No, it’s not always dubious and it’s not always about lobbying. It’s usually, because they want to know what kind of policies are most likely to be coming down the pike. They can adapt to any potential moments that could rock the boat in the near future.

We recommend that you network with various governing bodies and work with them to share your views and listen to their own. Lots of governing bodies also have associate societies that hold dinners and meetings all around the world and all year round. It may be in your best interest to start getting involved in the wider conversation, concerning your industry and what kinds of regulations would be fair.

Need a hero?

Every entrepreneur needs a hero. They need someone to latch onto as a symbol of hope and progress. It’s usually someone who is in your industry and has gone before you to achieve what you would like to achieve. If you work in ecommerce and or dropshipping the internet entrepreneur Kevin Zhang is one such industry leader to listen to. He has been featured in the top 10 Ecom Entrepreneurs Helping People During The COVID-19 Recession list, which was published by Yahoo Finance. He’s gone from rags to earning $20 million in sales thanks to his dropshipping strategies and innovative ecommerce approach. And he’s done this at the ripe old age of 24. It’s an incredible story that someone who is young and brave like himself, could take heed from and learn a valuable lesson.

For who?

One of the questions that you may need to ask yourself over and over, is who are you doing this for? Are you doing this to make someone in your life proud of you? Maybe to impress your father or your friends? It could be because you would like to make a difference in your community or impact the nation’s economy positively. All of these are noble motives but remember, the sole person that needs to be fulfilled in this business, is you!!

It cannot be said enough, so many young entrepreneurs take their eye off the prize because they start to work not for themselves, but for someone else. This may be emotionally or psychologically subtle to notice at first, but if you aren’t motivated by your own needs then something is wrong. Personal growth matters!

Values matter too

Does your organization mirror the values you have? This is so important in today’s modern age. Anyone can start a business, but is it unique? Part of this task is to have your brand reflect who you are and what you believe in. ethical practices have thus become the norm and more sustainable options for raw material sources and production really matters now.

Never give up, but always question your motives. It’s important to fulfil your business goals, for you, not for anyone else. Look to idols that have done this before and set the tone for the future development in your industry to gain more motivation.

Diagnosing Business Problems and Fixing Them in the Most Efficient Way Possible

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StrategyDriven Business Performance Assessment Program Article |Business Problems|Diagnosing Business Problems and Fixing Them in the Most Efficient Way PossibleBusinesses can encounter a plethora of problems during day-to-day operations. However, they can also be affected by long-term issues that, if left alone for too long, can result in massive profit losses and sharp drops in consumer confidence. As such, it’s extremely important to diagnose these problems as soon as possible so they can be dealt with in the most efficient way.

While this sounds like obvious advice, it’s surprisingly difficult for businesses to optimize their problem-solving process. So to help you out, we’ve prepared this post to help you diagnose issues and fix them in the most efficient way you can.

Identifying the business problem

First, make sure you invest time into identifying the business problems that are affecting your business. This sounds easy, but the reality is that most people are only looking at the symptoms of the problem and the problem itself. For example, people might look at falling profits as the problem itself. But what exactly is causing that problem? Is it because there are competitors who are rising above you? Is it your business model that is outdated? Or is your team to blame for your business’s shortcomings?

In reality, it’s usually a combination of these factors that affects your profits. Sadly, there’s no way to easily identify the problem and solve it. Instead, what you’ll need to do is make use of feedback from employees and look at actionable sets of data to help you make informed decisions. This involves a bit of setup as you need to establish processes that actually record this kind of data. For example, if you believe that your business model is to blame, then you’ll need to pull up statistics that relate to your business processes. This can include sales numbers, your ROI on advertising and promotions, and click-through rates.

Applying the right solution to the problem

In most cases, business problems will have multiple solutions. For example, a broad problem such as falling sales can be fixed in many different ways depending on the root cause. It could involve focusing on customer service, expanding your range of products, or even just advertising more.

Applying the right solution can be tricky because there are many different ways to fix something, hence why it’s important to work with experts such as Jim Thomas of Atlanta. The benefit of hiring a specialist is that they can see your business from an outside perspective. They have a better view of everything because they’re looking from the outside in, and you get a better idea of what you need to do because they can look at your business objectively.

Finding the right solution is tricky, but with the right assistance, you can make it simple and painless. It’s better than trying many different solutions and ultimately failing because you’re inexperienced or unsure of what the root cause of the problem is. Diagnosing and fixing business problems doesn’t need to be difficult, but it does require a bit of investigation and investment.

5 Ways You Can Support Your Employee’s Mental Health

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Mental Health|5 Ways You Can Support Your Employee's Mental HealthIt’s so important for any business owner that they have employees who are coming to work every day feeling good about the work they are doing. The people working for you aren’t just your employees; they’re people, and they have lives outside of your business to run. Supporting the mental health of your employees should be one of the most important considerations when you are thinking about the best ways to manage your staff. The better you can support people, the more they will be willing to stay with you and be loyal to your brand.

Mental health isn’t a joke, and whether you are considering asking your human resources team to put a plan together to ensure your employees are happy, or you want to bring on Peter Sandhill for life coaching purposes for each member of the team, you need to know how to do this. Supporting your employee’s mental health is going to make a big difference to their performance, and your profitability and reputation as a result. So, with this in mind, here are some of the most important ways that you can support employee mental health at work.

  1. Ask. The best way to support your staff is to ask what they need. What one member of staff will need wll differ from another, and the more you understand about the people working for you, the better. If you can be candid with your staff and help them to better understand what you can offer, the happier they will be. People who work for you should be able to feel as if they can come to you for help and advice, and if you ask them what they will need the most, they’ll give you all the answers and pathways to help them that you need.
  2. Resources. Identifying the local resources that you can utilize to ensure that you support the mental health of others is important. If you offer your employees health insurance, make sure that it covers counseling or mental health support in their local area. You can even offer duvet days in the workplace. These are three or four days in the year – paid – that your staff can take at any time, no questions asked. These days are on offer as they need them, and it’s often the lifeline people need to know that they have your support.
  3. Self Care. Policies in the workplace that include self-care should be open to your employees to learn about. Encourage your staff to get away from their desks to eat and make sure that no one touches work on the weekends. If you do things like this, people are going to be more inclined to feel happier at work as they know that they have you supporting them.
  4. Workloads. It’s important that – as an employer – you stay on top of how much work your employees are actually doing. This means ensuring that you are monitoring when they are doing too much, rather than too little. When your employees are overloaded, they don’t work well. It’s not a good idea to give your team too much work, as all that will do is bury them in a load of stress that they can’t get back out of.Create Culture. You want everyone in your business to feel safe, able to ask questions, able to discuss issues and feel safe. Every single business is different, so work out what will work for your business and go from there!