I am quite pleased with how the photo’s look online and this is a much easier, quicker and cost effective way to do a book compared to home printing and binding which I have done several times.

We only had a time for two short visits, once on the way out to Skye when the weather cleared up perfectly for about an hour and another after dark on the way back.

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The walk from Nobbys Surf Club along Nobbys Beach, the Southern Breeakwater and back to  Nobby’s Surf Club.  A easy stroll at just over 3 km on flat ground with a good path the whole way.  It is only made slightly tougher if you choose to go out and/or back on the beach.

It has also been the source of some of my best photo’s including this small selection:

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On our Half Way Round trip we had the privalege to see several Chinese acrobatic performances.  This photo is from a cultural show we saw in Chengdu and shows one of the amazing tumbling sets.

Follow this link for the complete Chengdu gallery, or this link for another show we saw in Shanghai.

Last December Ruth and I had a long weekend away up the coast in Port Macquarie (mid north coast of NSW).  Over the weekend we spent a very enjoyable half day at the Billabong Zoo where we came across this wonderful wild eyed fiend.

For more of our photos Port Macquarie visit our Billabong Zoo and Ellenborough Falls & Pandanas Cove galleries.

I have started a new job with Pulse Mining Systems in their client services group (consulting and support to users of the Pulse Software).

After nearly 5 years with Asset Capability Management it was time to seek out new challenges and I am looking forward to those which I will be presented with back in my old stomping ground of coal mining.

Pulse is a Enterprise Resource Planning system targeted at the mining industry.

I have been lucky enough to spend the last five years working in and around Newcastle Harbour.

The scene captured in this photo is the beauty that greeted me one stormy afternoon as I left work on Dyke Point (a point of land that juts right out into the centre of the harbour).

The view is looking along the Eastern edge of Dyke Point towards the city with Christ Church Cathedral silhouetted against the skyline.

The map below shows shows the approximate location from which the photo was taken:

How will your maintenance team achieve its goals and targets this year?

Has your maintenance team been set new targets and goals for this year that you do not know how to achieve? Do the targets require a large step change in performance levels or a major change in direction?

If so, you are not alone. Research shows that this is a difficult issue that many asset intensive businesses, teams and engineers struggle with and avoid taking positive action until it is too late!

To read the entire article please visit the blog at www.bluepencil.com.au post now on this this site.

Has your maintenance team been set new targets and goals for this year that you do not know how to achieve? Do the targets require a large step change in performance levels or a major change in direction? If so, you are not alone. Research shows that this is a difficult issue that many asset intensive businesses’, teams and engineers struggle with and avoid taking positive action until it is too late!

One way to get past this hurdle is to focus on the maintenance processes needed to achieve the targets and not focus on the goals themselves. Why would you do this, you might ask, surely it is the goal that has to be achieved? Well no; there is sound research that shows that focusing solely on the targets can actually hinder your ability to achieve them. Change in performance ultimately comes from a change in process. Understanding what needs to be done differently, or more efficiently is the first step to implementing improvement. ie focus on perfecting the process, and the results will take care of themselves. How can you achieve a process focus?

• Establish what changes to existing or new processes are required. This is a great opportunity to get your team involved and grow ownership,
• Test and implement the new and modified processes. Use this as a chance to involve any employees that were not directly involved in the development of the processes,
• Make sure you have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in place that match the new processes and allow you to measure progress towards your targets. Remember the old adage “you cannot manage what you don’t measure”,

Some factors that should be consider when focusing on the process:

• You need to be realistic about the velocity of your progress towards achieving goals and targets and how this will be impacted by the pace at which you can implement the required processes,
• You still need your goals and targets so that you know where to centre your effort and attention.
• You can control the process you use but not the targets.

For help with achieving your targets and goals, process mapping and improvement and maintenance KPI measurement please contact the experienced team at asset capability management to discuss how we can assist you.

Picture Credit: Michael Jastremsk