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Casinos Use Programmable Signs to Attract Crowds
- By Jeremy Smith
- Published 01/7/2010
- Business
Casino signs do more than just announce the casino's name to the world. With the benefit of modern technology, computerized signs create exciting displays that bring in a steady stream of customers.
Building Design Benefits from 3D Design Software
- By Jeremy Smith
- Published 01/7/2010
- Business
The latest generation of 3D design software offers building owners new insight into how construction projects will affect the final look of a building. Design professionals use the software to help clients visualize their proposals and save money on construction costs.
How Call Centers Increase Profitability with Real-Time Call Center Reporting
- By Christine OKelly
- Published 09/25/2009
- Business
In business, time is money. And businesses operate in
"real time" -- especially in a call center environment. In order for
a center to be effective, reports must provide management with complete
real-time data so that agents and managers can modify their company's behavior
quickly to achieve higher productivity and efficiency and thus be more profitable.
Real-time call center reporting delivers key indicators in an instant by
showing performance over the last hour, day, week, month, etc.
Is Dirty Power Ruining Your Equipment?
- By Christine OKelly
- Published 08/28/2009
- Business
Frequent
component failures can be frustrating and hard to track down. If you are
suffering above average failure rates in electronic components, it could be a
symptom that your business has dirty power.
What Is Dirty Power?
When we
consider the electricity coming out of the wall, we tend to think of it as a
steady stream like water from a tap. In a perfect world that would be right,
but in reality the electrical signal varies and that can damage equipment.
The most
common example of poor power quality is a surge cause by a lightning strike.
This brief period of high voltage can literally fry equipment. However there
are many other power quality problems that can insidiously damage equipment
over time. Electrical signals can experience swells or sags as equipment is
turned on and off, such as the way the lights dim briefly when high-power
equipment is turned on. Noise in the signal can cause fluctuating voltages. Any
of these problems can wear out electronic components.
How Do I Know If I Have Dirty Power?
Plants use
panel meters to monitor the condition of the power entering their facilities.
These panel meters might be placed just on the main line coming into the
building or could be used to check power in individual pieces of equipment.
Panel
meters can detect transient voltage changes, ongoing fluctuations and other
problems. Technicians can examine readings to see if the electrical signal is
pure or not. If power quality problems are detected, they can nail down exactly
what kind of problems are being experienced. Once the panel meters have
detected the low quality power, decisions can be made about how to deal with
the situation and protect the expensive equipment that will be damaged by the
poor quality power.
How Can I Fix Dirty Power?
Your
electrical utility is obligated to deliver clean power. If a panel meter shows
the power coming onto the property is low quality, contact the electric company
so they can address the problem. However the utility's obligation ends at the
property line. In large industrial plants, large pieces of equipment create
quality problems in the plant-wide grid.
Power
conditioners regulate the electrical signal and prevent dangerous signals from
reaching the equipment and causing damage. A power conditioner acts as a surge
suppressor, preventing dangerous overvoltages from causing equipment failure,
but also cleans up the power signal and protects against undervoltages or other
problems.
The cost of
a power conditioner is fairly low, almost certainly far lower than the
equipment being protected. They provide ongoing protection, which will extend
the life of electrical components and in the event of disaster are designed to
"take the bullet," protecting attached equipment by burning out.
If you
suspect dirty power, the first step is to install panel meters throughout the
plant to verify power quality. Do it now before poor quality power can damage
more equipment.
How to Create Effective Window Graphics
- By Christine OKelly
- Published 08/25/2009
- Business
The windows
of your business are an advertising space you have full control over. The
visual displays you choose will have a strong impact on how many people notice
your store and impulsively decide to come in. What elements make the best window graphics?
Keep It Simple
People can
absorb only so much information. Cluttered window display signage is likely to
confuse people and obscure your message. When presented with busy visual
information, our brains filter out images without realizing it. This means the
more information in your window graphics, the less people actually see.
The
graphics should be easy to see. Window displays should be clearly visible day
or night. The entire display should be well lit and additional lighting can
draw attention to particular elements. Motion is another way to attract
attention whether it's a simple blinking light or an actual moving object.
Despite the
advice to keep it simple, there is evidence that companies with younger
clientele should opt for more complicated displays. The younger generation has
grown up on information overload and has become so effective at filtering out
noise that they don't even see simpler window graphics.
Focus on Merchandise
We've all
seen those television commercials that are exciting and interesting, yet when
the commercial is over we can't remember what they were selling. That is not
effective advertising. Promotion is about products and if viewers don't know
what you are selling, why should they come into the store?
Your window
graphics should highlight store merchandise. It isn't enough to bring in
customers. You want to bring in customers with the desire to buy. Your visual
displays allow you to motivate customers to buy and to direct their attention
to merchandise you are trying to move.
Don't use
merchandise you think you will run out of. Customers leave unhappy if they
can't get what they wanted. Focus on high inventory items in your promotions.
Get Professional Design Help
It may seem
easy to design window graphics, but the difference between a good design and a
bad design is hard for the untrained eye to spot. Rather than doing it
yourself, hire experienced design specialists to create your visual displays.
Effective
window graphics come from combining countless ideas and elements such as color,
shape, lighting, placement and more. When you create the displays yourself you
probably aren't even aware of how strong an effect these different aspects can
have. You are likely to end up trying to merge random advice like "group
objects in odd numbers" or "display items in pyramids" without
really understanding their effect on the overall design.
A
professional display designer brings years of experience to the project and is
able to combine design ideas on an intuitive level, producing graphics greatly
superior to do-it-yourself attempts.

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