6 Ways Companies Are Using Data Analytics to Reduce Expenses→

Expense reduction is a constant goal for most companies. Fortunately, data analytics can assist with keeping costs down in several ways. Here are six of them.

1. To Cut Fleet Management Expenses

There’s a rising trend in equipping vehicles from company fleets with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors that give management personnel details about things ranging from truck routes to driver fatigue.

One company that participated in a research study to pinpoint the effects of big data analytics on logistics operations found it was possible to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by relying on data analytics software.

Other applications include depending on sensor data to inform maintenance needs, which could cut costs associated with breakdowns, or using the data to assess which drivers frequently engage in risky practices that make those employees liabilities for their companies.

2. To Lessen Instances of Employee Turnover

Human relations professionals are familiar with the extensive costs associated with employee onboarding. But, the total expenses could climb even higher if employees are poor fits for the company and leave quickly after getting hired. According to 2018 data from Work Institute, employers will pay $680 billion in turnover costs by 2020, and companies could prevent 77 percent of turnovers.

Many companies use analytics before hiring candidates because it allows them to analyze information, such as the likelihood of someone aligning with a company’s culture. Big data can also track trends that could indicate a person currently working at a company is getting frustrated in the role and might leave for another opportunity.

As such, businesses that use data analytics in these ways could avoid the costs associated with training new employees that don’t stick around, or not recognizing when an employee is so unhappy they want to leave.

3. To Manage and Minimize Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are those associated with the operations of a company, but not related to products sold. Statistics indicate reducing indirect costs could save companies more than 25 percent in overall expenses. The categories of indirect expenses vary by each enterprise that incurs them, but some of the common ones include rent, utilities and office supplies.

Companies can’t start to reduce their indirect costs without knowing the average amount they spend on things each month. Big data analysis helps in this area by providing baselines that inform enterprises of their most substantial indirect expenses. Then, people can start figuring out where to make improvements.

One accessible way for companies to get started is to invest in IoT utility products like smart light bulbs and thermostats. Those items typically let users know statistics such as the average amount of energy used per month. Some even give tips for cutting utility bills.

Plus, printers and copiers can predict future supply needs based on usage patterns, then alert users to order things like ink and toner before those things run out. People can also log in to specialized dashboards to study trends.

4. To Shorten Testing Processes

Companies frequently go through tests associated with segments of their target markets before launching new products or updating their websites. Such testing helps avoid failures that could occur when businesses don’t connect with their audiences. Analytics platforms make tests less time-consuming, and thereby not as expensive.

Chime Bank wanted to increase the number of people signing up for new accounts and believed personalized content would help reach that goal. When choosing new content for its website, the company deployed a predictive analytics platform that used artificial intelligence to make the process more efficient. Doing that enabled the company to test 216 homepage versions and 21 ideas in only three months.

5. To Avoid Making Customers Upset

Businesses must not overlook how unsolved grievances may cause customers to get frustrated, leading to a rise in preventable costs. According to a report from NewVoiceMedia, there’s a rise in “serial switchers,” or people who willingly go to other providers after getting displeased with the former ones due to bad experiences.

Coverage from Forbes about the report says poor customer service costs brands more than $75 billion annually. But, high-tech analytics software, such as what many call centers use, can evaluate characteristics like tone of voice and word choice to determine when customers start to get frustrated.

Also, Salesforce has a platform called Customer 360 that aims to soothe customers differently. It allows customer service representatives to see the full picture of a customer’s interactions during communications. Then, a caller does not have to keep explaining their situation over and over again to workers in different departments.

6. To Monitor for Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks can disrupt website functionality, erode consumer trust and lead to decreased employee morale, among other adverse effects. Moreover, companies often do not anticipate the total expenses of those issues. A 2019 report from Radware found the average cost of a cyberattack was $1.1 million.

Data analytics platforms for cybersecurity purposes can check network traffic continually and give notifications of suspicious behavior that could indicate breach attempts. Many offerings have AI components, too.

Data Analysis Makes Expense Reduction More Straightforward

It’s not easy to assess where and how to cut expenses. But, these examples show how data analysis can help people make those judgments with confidence.

The 10 big lighting trends for 2019 →

WHAT'S IN store for the lighting industry in 2019?

The big mega trends of recent years will continue of course, as digital disruption will challenge some business models and create opportunities for others, especially those who can make digital experiences a seamless and positive customer experience. Here’s our take on 10 trends we expect to see in the coming 12 months.

The supply chain will breakdown

The client-specifier-manufacturer-wholesaler-contractor supply chain used to be understood by everybody. But with FMs buying from Amazon and margin-chasing contractors bullying manufacturers for rebates, the supply chain is getting more twisted out of shape than a Labour spokesperson explaining the party’s policy on Brexit.

Power Line Communication will go mainstream

Power line communication – a sophisticated reprisal of the ‘mains borne’ signalling of the 1970s – has been the unexpected tech trend in lighting control in recent years. It beats wireless on many levels and is getting adopted by big players such as shopping mall giant Intu and automotive manufacturer Volvo.

Consolidation will accelerate

After the companies jump a few pesky regulatory hurdles this month, iGuzzini will join the Fagerhult Group as the jewel in the crown of its recent acquisitions. While it’s certainly one of the most eye-catching takeovers in the industry it won’t be the last. Driven by falling luminaire prices, consolidation will accelerate this year.

Bluetooth Mesh will gain traction

Bluetooth is the new big beast in the lighting controls world and its mesh technology brings simple wireless control to large installations. The familiarity of Bluetooth, the marketing muscle behind the brand and the open protocol nature of the technology will mean its entry into the mainstream lighting is a smooth one.

VR will arrive as a design tool

Virtual reality games may have enlivened your Christmas break but expect 2019 to be the year that they have a serious impact in lighting design. The big architectural practices are already using the tool to get clients excited and Signify - formerly Philips – is investing heavily in the technology as a design and marketing tool.

 Visual comfort will move up the agenda

The right to experience artificial lighting without nasties such as glare and flicker has taken a back seat in recent years as we’ve embraced the stunning energy saving possibilities of LEDs. But expect visual comfort to make a comeback with increasing demand for warm colour temperatures and high CRIs.

Smart hubs will be cut out

The tangle of twinkling ‘smart hubs’ and ‘intelligent bridges’ you need to get your lamps connected to the internet will become a thing of the past. Led by GE’s release of its C by GE light bulbs and C-Start switches this year, lighting will increasingly connect directly to Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple’s HomeKit and even Siri.

 Self-learning control will arrive

Led by the stunning success of Nest’s digital thermostats which learn about a user’s habits over time and anticipate changes, intuitive control will begin to arrive in the lighting world. Helvar is first out of the blocks with its Active+ system, but a flurry of patent applications in recent months show entrepreneurs are betting its the next big thing in lighting.

1970s design will return

The feminine palette of chalky pinks, brass and er, flamingos is so over, the interior fashionistas tell us. The big trend in interiors is a return to the 1970s but this time with better materiality and softer colours. Expect product designers to blow the dust off Concord and iGuzzini catalogues from the era in the search for inspiration

Modular design will spread

LED luminaire makers can’t believe their luck. They’ve got away with integral products where extracting a failed driver or light source is harder than getting compensation from Ryanair. But European chiefs are on their tail. Expect Eco Design legislation to tighten and put pressure on manufacturers to have deconstruct-able luminaires.

DOE Lighting Rollback Proposal Will Cost Consumers Billions→

The U.S. Department of Energy’s proposal to dramatically narrow the scope of light bulbs covered by the upcoming federal 2020 energy efficiency standards will cost consumers up to $12 billion on their utility bills and cause up to 25 more coal burning power plants’ worth of electricity to be generated every year. This extra electricity use, enough to power all the households in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, translates into 34 million tons of additional climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions each year.

DOE’s new proposal rolls back most of the definition that was previously updated in early 2017 by DOE under the Obama administration, and needlessly provides a lifeline for the inefficient incandescent and halogen bulbs designed to go into 2.7 billion sockets—just under half of all conventional sockets in the United States—even though more energy-efficient models exist today. Now, instead of the energy-wasting versions being phased out as scheduled, three-way bulbs, reflector bulbs used in recessed cans and floodlights, candle-shaped bulbs used in chandeliers and sconces, and round globe bulbs typically used in bathroom lighting fixtures would be exempt from the federal standards that require all general-service lamps (GSLs, the regulatory term for everyday light bulbs) to meet a minimum efficiency limit of 45 lumens per watt (LPW) by January 1, 2020. Lumens are the amount of light produced, and watts the amount of power used.

The 45-LPW standard essentially prohibits the future sale of incandescents and halogens because they cannot meet this minimum efficiency level. Instead, consumers will choose between efficient, long-lasting CFLs and LED bulbs as of January 1, 2020. Consumers are likely to purchase LEDs because of their superior performance.

But if the bulbs going into almost half of America’s light sockets are now excluded from the 2020 efficiency standards because they are not part of the general-service light bulb definition, a huge amount of money and energy will be wasted. It adds up to annual lost savings of $12 billion in 2025 alone.

And if this revised definition is adopted, the United States will be positioned to become the world’s dumping ground for inefficient light bulbs, as they have already been phased out throughout Europe and elsewhere, with similar phaseouts planned in many developing countries.

The announcement was made within hours of Daniel Simmons being sworn in as the new assistant secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), which administers energy efficiency standards. DOE didn’t stop there, however, as the agency today also issued a separate proposal to change its Process Rule, which would make it harder for DOE to update or set new energy efficiency standards for any product in the future, whether it be a refrigerator, hot water heater, or air conditioner. The proposal sets up all sorts of barriers designed to slow progress and compromise the highly successful standards program that saves the average household more than $500 on their energy bills every year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made essentially no progress on efficiency standards for appliances and equipment since taking office in early 2017. The DOE is required by law to review standards within a set time frame, and yet it has missed 16 deadlines for energy-saving standards, plus many more for test procedures.

Why LEDs Are Far Superior

The old incandescent light bulbs are so inefficient that up to 90 percent of the energy they use is wasted as heat. They get so hot you can burn yourself when you touch one. LEDs, on the other hand, are extremely efficient in the way they produce light. In fact, you can replace an old 60-watt incandescent light bulb with an LED bulb that only uses 10 watts but produces the same amount of light. Today’s LED bulbs are available in the same shapes as the incandescent and halogen bulbs they replace, making them a perfect drop-in substitute.

LED bulbs produce the same quality of light, turn on instantly, are dimmable, and last 10 to 25 years under normal operation of three hours per day, compared with just one to two years for most incandescents and halogens. They’re also available in a range of colors—from the “warm” yellowish-white light many of us associate with incandescent bulbs to the “cooler” bluish-white light of some newer bulbs—so LED users are sure to find a bulb that meets their needs and tastes.

Due to their superior energy efficiency and longer life, LED bulbs are extremely cost effective. Each LED bulb can save consumers between $50 and $100 over its lifetime compared with the equivalent incandescent or halogen. Plus, the consumer avoids the hassle and cost of having to replace the bulb every year.

An Energy-Saving LED for Virtually Every Socket

LED light bulbs are widely available in an assortment of shapes and light outputs from a variety of manufacturers. Below are sample images of the new LED bulbs and the inefficient bulbs they replace.

Reflector Bulbs

There are roughly 1 billion sockets in the United States today that contain a reflector bulb. These include track lighting and the increasingly popular recessed cans, also known as downlights, in new and remodeled homes. Drop-in LED replacements are widely available in all the same shapes, light outputs, and beam angles. The LED model shown below uses 7 watts instead of the 65-watt incandescent version.

Round Globe Bulbs 

DOE’s scope rollback would allow the ongoing sale of inefficient round globe incandescent bulbs. There is nothing different about these bulbs other than the shape of the enclosure, being round instead of pear-shaped like the most common bulbs. One can easily imagine consumers picking this bulb for their fixtures (due to the product’s slightly lower purchase price) instead of the LED, if the pear-shaped incandescent is no longer available. The LED replacement for a 60-watt incandescent globe bulb only uses 6 or so watts.

Candelabra/Flame Bulbs

Chandeliers can easily contain six or more candle/flame-shaped bulbs. These bulbs, termed candelabra bulbs, have a narrow or medium screw base, and the incandescent version typically uses 25, 40, or 60 watts of power, depending on its brightness. But energy-efficient LED replacement bulbs that last 10 to 25 times longer are widely available from a broad range of manufacturers in a variety of styles. Three-Ways

Three-Ways

While three-way bulbs are not that common today, their sales could easily skyrocket once the 45-LPW standard for conventional pear-shaped A-lamps goes into effect in 2020. Consumers who are looking for roughly the same amount of light as their old 60-W or 100-W incandescent or equivalent halogen bulb could simply buy a three-way incandescent. And these can be purchased for less than $1 on the web today. Three-way LED replacement bulbs are now widely available, and while they cost a bit more to purchase, they use a fraction of the energy and have a payback of less than a year.

DOE Can Still Do the Right Thing

The facts are clear and unambiguous—long-lasting, energy-saving bulbs already exist for the types of bulbs DOE proposes to exempt from the regulations, which could cost our nation up to $300 billion in cumulative lost utility bill savings by 2050. It would be outrageous if DOE and the Trump administration adopt this gutted definition of light bulbs and deny consumers the benefits of commonsense standards that will ensure a money-saving, energy-efficient bulb for every socket in the nation. This is a rollback that no one can afford.

How Does the IIoT Deliver Real-World Value?

Posted on June 4, 2018

Digital Lumens

People often talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) as a Jetsons-style future state, but the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is already delivering real-world value, to a wide range of commercial, and industrial businesses. Retailers, for example, use beacon technologies that communicate with customers’ smartphones to provide location-specific offers and promotions, enhance the effectiveness of these programs and delivering a new source of data-driven intelligence on consumer behaviors.

Meanwhile, fleet operators are using sensor data to track delivery vehicles and improve the overall efficiency of logistical operations. Yet as interesting as some of these applications are, the larger potential for the IIoT is to deliver wholly new ways to leverage technology for increased productivity. IIoT solutions combine smart sensors and software applications to create smart buildings.

The installation of intelligent LED lighting containing embedded sensors paired with a lighting software application can achieve up to 90% in energy savings. Facility-wide environmental monitoring enables temperature and relative humidity readings to safeguard perishable products and improve workplace comfort. Usage data indicates when machinery or a facility itself needs preventative maintenance, helping to reduce downtime and unexpected repair challenges and costs.

The wide-ranging adaptability of IIoT technology provides great opportunities for businesses. Regardless of your industry or facility type, IIoT solutions seamlessly pivot for varying production schedules, environmental conditions, and more.

For example, foot traffic data insights can inform decisions about the best location for inventory storage units or if a change to regulatory temperature levels occurs, the smart building technology will alert you. IIoT automation is designed to evolve with changes in your facility and business.

This blog post is excerpted from the white paper, “How the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Can Improve Your Business Operations,” which can be downloaded in full through the button below.

Report: IoT Vertical Standards to Emerge and Then Merge

Written by Courtney Bjorlin

• 13 Aug 2018

  According to research from Georgia Tech, IoT vertical ecosystems -- in which verticals develop their own standards but later combine with others’ -- and design thinking are keys to IoT success.

IoT will grow in industry-specific “clusters,” each adopting vertical standards and, eventually, the separate spheres will seek to talk to one another and merge, according to new research from Georgia Tech.

Defining the IoT’s “end game as the interconnection of intelligent things,” Alain Louchez, the co-founder and managing director of The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT), said industries such as agriculture, health care and manufacturing will each act as their own IoT ecosystem, smoothly functioning with their own standards. At some point, the different IoT vertical clusters will seek to share information and even combine, with standards and regulation emerging to enhance their ability to work together on a common platform, according to the whitepaper.

Louchez likened it to the development of the U.S. electrical grid, where small clusters were using a standards approach and continued to combine until the separate grids communicated with each other.

“We’re still at the very beginning of something huge that will unfold over decades,” Louchez said.

Defining IoT as a “metaphor that captures something big that’s going on,” Louchez and CDAIT researchers and members recently released the comprehensive white paper, “Driving New Modes of IoT-Facilitated Citizen/User Engagement.” The paper, intended to educate and spur conversation across academia, industry and government on IoT technologies, defines IoT, provides a list of current standards bodies and security resources, and examines how connected technologies can play out in a user-centric manner in the context of smart cities.

CDAIT brings together academia and industry, with working groups led by the leaders of global companies such as Honeywell, Coca-Cola and Georgia Pacific. Those working groups aim to tackle the main dimensions of IoT, including education and training; startups; IoT thought leadership; security and privacy; and standards, including those for IoT verticals, Louchez said.

In this paper, researchers look at the potential for IoT in cities, examining IoT use cases and their results in places like Barcelona, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

They call special attention to the impact of design thinking on smart city projects.

Developing user-centric solutions will be crucial to the proliferation of the IoT, the researchers contend. As such, they recommend leveraging design thinking, for both its principles and supporting methodologies. Agile development processes will help cities, for instance, test and launch small projects, and evolve them quickly with user needs, while the focus on empathy ensures that the user is intrinsic to the development process.

“It has to be focused on the user. You cannot be successful in the IoT if you center whatever you’re doing on technology,” Louchez said. “You have to include the human dimension.”

To help smart cities adopt this approach, researchers created a model – EPIC, short for Ethics, Profit (economic and social), Intimacy and Connectivity — to review the opportunity and impact of investing in IoT. EPIC screens the IoT effort through the four variables for which it was named. Cities can use EPIC as a grid and take the project through the criteria to see how it fares, Louchez said.

In all, the team hopes to foster a dialogue around issues crucial for IoT proliferation and success, along with the understanding that it will be a long process.

“IoT is not a technology. It’s just an outcome brought about by many, many moving parts, many IoT-enabling technologies,” Louchez said.

Philips Lighting is now Signify

Signify is the new company name of Philips Lighting.  This communication arrived to us today! 

"We are excited to announce that Philips Lighting has changed its name to Signify. It is the most important milestone since Philips Lighting became a standalone company two years ago.

Signify is a name we chose carefully. It reaffirms the powerful purpose of everything we do – to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. Its meaning fits with our rich heritage, extending back more than 125 years, as well as with the requirements of a new contemporary and international company with a great purpose.

While the company name has changed, all the things that you have come to trust in us – our commitment, service, and quality – will stay the same. We will also continue to use the name Philips, the most trusted lighting brand in the world, for lighting products.

We are proud of this step in shaping the company as an independent entity, and excited about the future that lies ahead.

For more information about Signify, we invite you to visit our www.signify.com company website."

Smart home lighting just got smarter with major Philips Hue app update

May 8, 2018

Smart home lighting just got smarter with major Philips Hue app update

• Available for iOS and Android devices this month

• Convenient shortcuts make it even easier to set your room’s lighting or adjust individual lights

• Instantly transform your space with 30 new colorful light scenes, handpicked by lighting designers

Somerset, New Jersey – Signify (AEX: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced that it will roll out a major update to its Philips Hue app for iOS and Android-based devices this month. Consumers will enjoy new features as well as enhancements of existing app capabilities, so they can easily and quickly personalize and control their home’s Philips Hue smart lighting system.

We’ve made our smart home lighting even smarter. Our new app is easier to use than ever. New features include shortcuts, which make setting up rooms a breeze, new color pickers as well as 30 new scenes that allow instant scene setting to match your mood or that special moment. In designing the upgrade, we took advice from lighting designers, user experience specialists and, most importantly, from our customers. The result is an app befitting the world’s most loved smart lighting system for the home.”

Jasper Vervoort

Head of Marketing and Product Management, Home Systems & Luminaires at Signify.

Simple navigation to light your home smarter

The app delivers a new look-and-feel and convenient shortcuts, so you can adjust your Philips Hue smart lighting in a few simple taps. For example, with a single press and hold on your room setup or individual lights, you can change the color or set your four last used scenes.

Set your desired ambiance effortlessly

Use the new color pickers feature to transform your lighting into an extraordinary experience. This allows you to group and ungroup lights in a room, and easily choose an exact shade of white or colored light from the palette.

The app also comes with 30 new scenes, handpicked from our lighting designers. With a simple tap, you can enjoy a sunset in Honolulu or a night out in London's Soho district, and match the lighting to your mood. The app update also gives you more scenes to choose from and lets you easily create your own personal scenes. The app extracts the relevant colors from your favorite pictures and intelligently applies them to your lights, bringing your pictures to life.

For an overview of all Philips Hue app updates and features, please visit meethue.com.

Stay tuned to MeetHue.com and our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Why LED Light Technology?

Since 2006, LED Light Technology has provided professional LED lighting services for industrial, commercial and office-based clients. LED Light Technology founders have spent their careers in the general lighting and LED integration. Collectively our executive team has over 70 years in the lighting business coming from companies such as GE, Philips and Cree.  We have a vast amount of experience and knowledge of both traditional and LED lighting products and applications.  LED Light Technology is a certified women-owned company supporting corporate diversity programs.

As lighting professionals, it is our responsibility to inform our customers of ideal methods to implementing LEDs into their facilities. It is in our best interest to bring you the most cost-effective solution while meeting your primary objectives of improving the quality and performance for your lighting systems.

We offer a complete assortment of LED for all lighting applications.  Our team conducts energy audits to determine the most cost-effective solution for each project location. The audit results in a financial analysis showing detailed owning and operating cost savings/avoidance including all benefits realized by converting to maintenance-free LED lighting products.

We are focused on fortifying our clients’ balance sheet by reducing facility energy consumption and HVAC load while eliminating time and maintenance associated with traditional lighting systems. We offer environmentally friendly LED bulbs, retrofit kits and new fixtures for most every lighting application.

LED Light Technology supplies a full range of traditional and LED bulbs and fixtures including recognized brands such as Philips, GE, CREE, A-Line, Brownlee, Day-Brite, Digital Lumens, Green Creative, Hubble, Levition, Liteline, Lighting Science Group, LSI, Lunera, Maxlite, MSI, Revolt Lighting, TCP, Terralux and WattStopper…as well as our house brand…LED Light Technology.

Our professional lighting experts will perform a complimentary site survey of your facility or produce the financial analysis and conversion recommendations if provided with a PDF or DWG drawing of the facility and a Lighting Fixture Schedule.

In addition to LED Lighting conversions, we offer complete Energy Services to address every aspect of your energy needs.

The intelligence features added to the LED lighting and control systems have reduced owning & operating costs by 97%.

It’s easy and affordable to convert your lighting systems to LED.

DOE Report on Energy Reporting Capability of PoE Connected Lighting Systems

“DOE Publishes Report on the Energy Reporting Capability of PoE Connected Lighting Systems

DOE has published the first part of a study to explore the energy reporting capability of commercially marketed Power over Ethernet (PoE) connected lighting systems. The new report provides a brief background on the development of the various PoE technologies, ranging from standards-based to proprietary, and illustrates the convergence of PoE power sourcing capabilities and LED luminaire power requirements. It then classifies PoE system devices in relationship to how they’re used in systems — introducing clarifying terminology as needed — and briefly describes different PoE system architectures implemented by various lighting manufacturers. A discussion of existing standards and specifications that address energy reporting is provided, and existing test setups and methods germane to characterizing PoE system energy reporting performance are reviewed.

Connected lighting systems that can report their own energy consumption can deliver increased energy savings over conventional lighting solutions by facilitating data-driven energy management. PoE technology — in which a single Ethernet cable is used to both provide low-voltage DC power and enable network communication — has the potential to bring this capability to mainstream lighting applications, and has become increasingly viable for LED lighting.

For a closer look at the findings, download the full report.

Best regards,
Jim Brodrick

”

— Jim Brodrick