Canadian Niagara Power Company fonds

Power at the Falls: The first recorded harnessing of Niagara Falls power was in 1759 by Daniel Joncairs. On the American side of the Falls he dug a small ditch and drew water to turn a wheel which powered a sawmill. In 1805 brothers Augustus and Peter Porter expanded on Joncairs idea. They bought the American Falls from New York State at public auction. Using Joncairs old site they built a gristmill and tannery which stayed in business for twenty years. The next attempt at using the Falls came in 1860 when construction of the hydraulic canal began by the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co. The canal was complete in 1861 and brought water from the Niagara river, above the falls, to the mills below. By 1881 the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co. had a small generating station which provided some electricity to the village of Niagara Falls and the Mills. This lasted only four years and then the company sold its assets at public auction due to bankruptcy. Jacob Schoellkopf arrived at the Falls in 1877 with the purchase of the hydraulic canal land and water and power rights. In 1879 Schoellkopf teamed up with Charles Brush (of Euclid Ohio) and powered Brush���s generator and carbon arc lights with the power from his water turbines, to illuminate the Falls electrically for the first time. The year 1895 marked the opening of the Adam No. 1 generating station on the American side. The station was the beginnings of modern electrical utility operations. The design and operations of the generating station came from worldwide competitions held by panels of experts. Some who were involved in the project include; George Westinghouse, J. Pierpont Morgan, Lord Kelvin and Nikoli Tesla. The plants were operated by the Niagara Falls Power Company until 1961, when the Robert Moses Plant began operation in Lewiston, NY. The Adams plants were demolished that same year and the site used as a sewage treatment plant. The Canadian side of the Falls began generating their own power on January 1, 1905. This power came from the William Birch Rankine Power Station located 500 yards above the Horseshoe Falls. This power station provided the village of Fort Erie with its first electricity in 1907, using its two 10,000 electrical horsepower generators. Today 11 generators produce 100,000 horsepower (75 megawatts) and operate as part of the Niagara Mohawk and Fortis Incorporated Power Group.

Office of the City Clerk, St. Catharines Records, 1928-1974, n.d.

The site of present-day St. Catharines was settled by 3000 United Empire Loyalists at the end of the 18th century. From 1790, the settlement (then known as "The Twelve") grew as an agricultural community. St. Catharines was once referred to Shipman's Corners after Paul Shipman, owner of a tavern that was an important stagecoach transfer point. In 1815, leading businessman William Hamilton Merritt abandoned his wharf at Queenston and set up another at Shipman's Corners. He became involved in the construction and operation of several lumber and gristmills along Twelve Mile Creek. Shipman's Corners soon became the principal milling site of the eastern Niagara Peninsula. At about the same time, Merritt began to develop the salt springs that were discovered along the river which subsequently gave the village a reputation as a health resort. By this time St. Catharines was the official name of the village; the origin of the name remains obscure, but is thought to be named after Catharine Askin Robertson Hamilton, wife of the Hon. Robert Hamilton, a prominent businessman. Merritt devised a canal scheme from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario that would provide a more reliable water supply for the mills while at the same time function as a canal. He formed the Welland Canal Company, and construction took place from 1824 to 1829. The canal and the mills made St. Catharines the most important industrial centre in Niagara. By 1845, St. Catharines was incorporated as a town, with the town limits extending in 1854. Administrative and political functions were added to St. Catharines in 1862 when it became the county seat of Lincoln. In 1871, construction began on the third Welland Canal, which attracted additional population to the town. As a consequence of continual growth, the town limits were again extended. St. Catharines attained city status in 1876 with its larger population and area. Manufacturing became increasingly important in St. Catharines in the early 1900s with the abundance of hydro-electric power, and its location on important land and water routes. The large increase in population after the 1900s was mainly due to the continued industrialization and urbanization of the northern part of the city and the related expansion of business activity. The fourth Welland Canal was opened in 1932 as the third canal could no longer accommodate the larger ships. The post war years and the automobile brought great change to the urban form of St. Catharines. St. Catharines began to spread its boundaries in all directions with land being added five times during the 1950s. The Town of Merritton, Village of Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township were all incorporated as part of St. Catharines in 1961. In 1970 the Province of Ontario implemented a regional approach to deal with such issues as planning, pollution, transportation and services. As a result, Louth Township on the west side of the city was amalgamated, extending the city's boundary to Fifteen Mile Creek. With its current population of 131,989, St. Catharines has become the dominant centre of the Niagara region. Source: City of St. Catharines website http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/HistoryOfTheCity.asp (January 27, 2011)

The impact of outward investments on parent company's employment and skill composition

This paper investigates the impact of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Italian multinationals on their total employment and skill composition. Specifically, by comparing data on 108 Italian manufacturing firms that became multinational (for the first time) in the period 1998–2004 with a counterfactual group of 2500 national firms that remained national in the same period, we provide descriptive and econometric evidence that the internationalisation of production activities did not reduce domestic employment in the parent companies neither for investments in developed or developing countries. As far as the skill composition is concerned, results reveal that only firms investing in Central and Eastern European countries experience some skill upgrading relative to firms that remained national.

Bringing Japanese manufacturing systems to America: the feasibility of implementing just-in-time production in the United States

This paper addresses the feasibility of implementing Japanese manufacturing systems in the United States. The recent success of Japanese transplant companies suggests that Just-In-Time (JIT) production is possible within America's industrial environment. Once American workers receive proper training, they have little difficulty participating in rapid setup procedures and utilizing the kanban system. Japanese transplants are gradually developing Japanese-style relationships with their American supplier companies by initiating long-term, mutually beneficial agreements. They are also finding ways to cope with America's problem of distance, which is steadily decreasing as an obstacle to JIT delivery. American companies, however, encounter Significant problems in trying to convert traditionally organized, factories to the JIT system. This paper demonstrates that it is both feasible and beneficial for American manufacturers to implement JIT production techniques. Many of the difficulties manufacturers experience center around a general lack of information about JIT. Once a company realizes its potential for setup-time reduction, a prerequisite for the JIT system, workers and managers can work together to create a new process for handling equipment changeover. Significant results are possible with minimal investment. Also, supervisors often do not realize that the JIT method of ordering goods from suppliers is compatible with current systems. This "kanban system" not only enhances current systems but also reduces the amount of paperwork and scheduling involved. When arranging JlT delivery of supplier goods, American manufacturers tend to overlook important aspects of JIT supplier management. However, by making long-tenn commitments, initiating the open exchange of information, assisting suppliers in reaching new standards of performance, increasing the level of conununication, and relying more on suppliers' engineering capabilities, even American manufacturers can develop Japanese-style supplier relationships that enhance the effectiveness of the system.

Restructuring in manufacturing: case studies in Chile, Mexico and Venezuela

Includes bibliography

Contribuições da implantação da tecnologia de informação MES - Manufacturing Execution System - para a melhoria das dimensões competitivas da manufatura: estudo de caso Novelis Brasil Ltda

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Implementação da metodologia lean manufacturing em uma linha de produção por meio de certificação interna

To the companies maintain competitive in the market, they need continuous improvement in quality and productivity. This continuous improvement can be achieved through lean manufacturing tools. The idea of lean manufacturing is to map the flow to identify the processes that don’t add value in the final product, according the customer specification, in others words is eliminate or reduce the waste on the production flow. However the implementation of lean manufacturing is not so simple and involves the resistance of the employees, lack of training and the lack of knowledge to make the implementation. The objective of this study is determinate the good practices and difficulties found by a multinational company in the field of healthy that aims implementing the Lean Manufaturing through an internal certification. The methodology used to approach the problem is a case of study that analyzes the information introduced through discussion made by a semi structured interview. The case study describes the steps to get the certification, involving the concepts of 5S, balancing, standardization and routine management. The literature and the study case showed that the good practices, such as productivity increases, safety level increases and the machine stability were accomplished, but the majority difficulties was found in cultural factors and planning. Some recommendations were proposed to the others companies, such as the elaboration of a qualification matrix and the review of the activities chronogram during the implementation. The way that the company found to implement Lean Manufacturing concepts was a creative method to show to everybody the objective and the target to be accomplished and is one way to recognize the effort through the certification

Relationships between company size, types of production system and supply chain management: evidence from electro-electronics sector in Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how company size and the type of production system affect the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practices in companies in the electro‐electronics sector in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – An e‐mail survey of 107 companies associated with the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ABINEE) was conducted. Statistical techniques were employed to verify the adoption of SCM practices according to the size of the company and its production system. Findings – The major results indicate that the larger the size of the company, the higher the level of adoption of SCM practices, and that the choice of SCM practices depends upon the type of production system implemented. Practical implications – The implications of this study are useful to top management leaders of small and medium‐sized enterprises since the findings enable them to identify the most common practices adopted by either large‐, medium‐ or small‐sized companies in order to benchmark the level of adoption of SCM practices. Production managers can also benefit from this study by identifying the SCM practices that may support certain production systems.

Extending lean manufacturing in supply chains: a successful case in Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a success story involving the extending of lean manufacturing practices between a focal firm and its supplier, both located in Brazil, thereby configuring a case of excellence. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study was conducted involving two companies: Company A, focal, leader in its segment, located in Brazil; and Company B, Company A's supplier, also located in Brazil. Findings – Results indicate there are several mechanisms for extending lean manufacturing practices in the supply chain, such as workshops, training, and integrated teams. These mechanisms are shown and guidelines are also introduced for companies seeking to successfully extend lean manufacturing practices. Originality/value – An original use of define, measure, analyze, improve, control for structuring the extending of lean manufacturing practices to suppliers and, consequently, the importance of the lean six-sigma relationship in this context. Furthermore, the guidelines introduced serve as a benchmark for other companies interested in the topic.

Ethanol Production from Hardboard Manufacturing Process Wastewater: Methods for Improving Product Yields from Hemicellulose Hydrolysates

Waste effluents from the forest products industry are sources of lignocellulosic biomass that can be converted to ethanol by yeast after pretreatment. However, the challenge of improving ethanol yields from a mixed pentose and hexose fermentation of a potentially inhibitory hydrolysate still remains. Hardboard manufacturing process wastewater (HPW) was evaluated at a potential feedstream for lignocellulosic ethanol production by native xylose-fermenting yeast. After screening of xylose-fermenting yeasts, Scheffersomyces stipitis CBS 6054 was selected as the ideal organism for conversion of the HPW hydrolysate material. The individual and synergistic effects of inhibitory compounds present in the hydrolysate were evaluated using response surface methodology. It was concluded that organic acids have an additive negative effect on fermentations. Fermentation conditions were also optimized in terms of aeration and pH. Methods for improving productivity and achieving higher ethanol yields were investigated. Adaptation to the conditions present in the hydrolysate through repeated cell sub-culturing was used. The objectives of this present study were to adapt S. stipitis CBS6054 to a dilute-acid pretreated lignocellulosic containing waste stream; compare the physiological, metabolic, and proteomic profiles of the adapted strain to its parent; quantify changes in protein expression/regulation, metabolite abundance, and enzyme activity; and determine the biochemical and molecular mechanism of adaptation. The adapted culture showed improvement in both substrate utilization and ethanol yields compared to the unadapted parent strain. The adapted strain also represented a growth phenotype compared to its unadapted parent based on its physiological and proteomic profiles. Several potential targets that could be responsible for strain improvement were identified. These targets could have implications for metabolic engineering of strains for improved ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks. Although this work focuses specifically on the conversion of HPW to ethanol, the methods developed can be used for any feedstock/product systems that employ a microbial conversion step. The benefit of this research is that the organisms will the optimized for a company's specific system.

Production Streamlining through Design, Implementation, and Analysis of Lean Manufacturing Methods

Through the correct implementation of lean manufacturing methods, a company can greatly improve their business. Over a period of three months at TTM Technologies, I utilized my knowledge to fix existing problems ans streamline production. In addition, other trouble areas in their production process were discovered and proper lean methods were used to address them. TTM Technologies saw many changed in the right direction over this time period.

Assessment of occupational exposures to organic chemicals in a plastics manufacturing facility

The objective of this dissertation was to design and implement strategies for assessment of exposures to organic chemicals used in the production of a styrene-butadiene polymer at the Texas Plastics Company (TPC). Linear statistical retrospective exposure models, univariate and multivariate, were developed based on the validation of historical industrial hygiene monitoring data collected by industrial hygienists at TPC, and additional current industrial hygiene monitoring data collected for the purposes of this study. The current monitoring data served several purposes. First, it provided information on current exposure data, in the form of unbiased estimates of mean exposure to organic chemicals for each job title included. Second, it provided information on homogeneity of exposure within each job title, through the use of a carefully designed sampling scheme which addressed variability of exposure both between and within job titles. Third, it permitted the investigation of how well current exposure data can serve as an evaluation tool for retrospective exposure estimation. Finally, this dissertation investigated the simultaneous evaluation of exposure to several chemicals, as well as the use of values below detection limits in a multivariate linear statistical model of exposures. ^

CSR Policies: Effects on Labour Productivity in Spanish Micro and Small Manufacturing Companies

This paper analyses empirical evidence of efforts to enable Spanish micro and small manufacturing companies to boost their labour productivity rates through the development of the main pillars of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. This study aims to develop new approaches and sensibilities towards work from an ethical, values (virtues) and CSR perspective, showing how internal dimensions of CSR, such those related to relationships with employees and responsibility in processes and product quality, can improve labour performance and labour efficiency, thereby contributing to a better society. The results of a sample of 929 small businesses indicate that the social responsibility policies that most contributed to a short-term increase in labour productivity are those related to internal aspects of the company, in particular its involvement in the quality of processes and products, promotion of innovation and employee care. However, the impact on labour productivity of CSR policies related to external factors, such as relationship with stakeholders and environmental concern, could not be empirically proven in this paper.