NEW PRODUCTS
| Pages | 48-52 |
| Published date | 01 October 1980 |
| Date | 01 October 1980 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057145 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
NEW PRODUCTS
Financial Management
Following our article
on
fixed
asset accounting (OCT) we
give details here of two further
financial accounting services
which have just been intro-
duced.
IBM Cost Accounting
IBM provides, via its Remote
Computing Services (RCS) an
approach that allows a financial man-
ager to devleop a flexible personal
computer system that will enable him
to manage the company's assets. He
can set up and modify his own system
of asset management on one of RCS's
services (CALL: CALL-VSPC;TBS)
and formats with very little delay.
To assess the effect of current cost
accounting on a particular business, a
financial manager, using RCS's high
level Application System (AS), will
be able to use two possible methods
for evaluating financial policies:
(a)by applying appropriate indices to
the relevant assets in the Historical
Cost Balance Sheet he will obtain a
short term view based on the com-
pany's actual financial data for the
current year.
(b)by building a financial model of the
company he will be able to gauge
the effect of different policies over
a number of years.
Such a model could also be used to
assess the effect on the business of
changes in for example; asset life;
inf-
lation rate; interest rate; foreign
exchange fluctuations; capital
investment; labour costs.
RCS can demonstrate their
approach to current-cost accounting
as described above. On asset man-
agement, users with dial-up terminals
can telephone 01 868 1281 and find
out how they can run their own
demonstration of an asset register sys-
tem.
To help users install new applica-
tions quickly and efficiently RCS
holds regular 3-day workshops at
London and Warwick. Further details
of these workshops and of the wide
range of services available form RCS
can be obtained from Ken Hope on 01
866 0101. Enquiry 63.
APL-PLUS Solution- 33
In the US, the American parent of
APL-PLUS, STSC, has just launches
a package called solution-33 which
enables accounts to be produced in
line with the US standard for inflation
adjusted accounts. In the UK, APL/
PLUS,
is now developing what is
essentially a sub-set of SOLUTION-
33,
which satisfies the Statement of
Standard Accounting Practice, No.
16.
Called SOLUTION 16, it only
requires that adjusted figures for cur-
rent cost are shown and, except in
areas of detail such as the gearing
adjustment, the UK standard is very
similar to that part of the US stan-
dard.
APL-PLUS Ltd, will shortly be
launching a UK version of this pack-
age which will cater for all the
requirements of SSAP16. This pack-
age is significantly different from
most other packages in the UK mar-
ket, in that it addresses fixed assets,
inventory, monetary items and special
items,
instead of only the fixed assets
aspect of SSAP16.
The package which will be made
available on the APL-PLUS time-
sharing service is interactive and by
inputting accounting data gathered on
an historical cost basis balance sheet
and profit and loss statements
adjusted for current cost can be
produced to the user's specification.
Detailed reports on fixed assets and
inventory, monetary working capital
etc.,
are available for management
analysis. The interactive feature of
the system allows for amendments to
be readily incorporated into all levels
of the accounts.
The system provides a set of
indices. User-specified or industry
generated indices can be used.
Facilities are provided to set up
subsidiaries with reports at all levels,
group consolidation and currency
conversion. Enquiry 64.
Cut Maintenance Costs and
Plant Downtime
The Idhammer Terema (Terotech-
nology, Reliability and Maintenance)
system, a computerised preventive-
maintenance package based on the
continous condition-monitoring of all
mechancial, electrical and control
equipment, is now available interna-
tionally. Devised by Idhammar Kon-
sult AB of Tumba, Sweden, the sys-
tem has been successfully applied to
more than 60 manufacturing installa-
tions in Sweden, Finland, and Nor-
way.
The key to the system is that the
condition of all equipment is continu-
ously monitored and all changes of
condition noted whilst the plant is in
operation, so that replacements and
major servicing work can be prog-
rammed to take place during
scheduled plant shut-down time.
Because the system is computerised,
very little administration is involved
in making changes; therefore staff can
adjust, amend and improve the
maintenance programme continu-
ously in order to meet changing condi-
tions or modificaions to the plant.
In pulp and paper plants produc-
tion increases of 6% coupled with
maintenance-cost reduction of 20%
per annum have been achieved using
the Terema system, whilst in one pulp
mill overtime by maintenance per-
sonnel repairing breakdowns was cut
by 80%. Other notable results
reported include cuts of 30% - 50% in
downtime at sawmills, 15% lower
maintenance costs in shipyards, 30%
fewer breakdowns in a glass-bottle-
making plant and a 4% increase in
production i.e. an extra 12,800 cars
per annum at a car-assembly plant.
How It Works
A total preventive-maintenance
system must be fed with up-to-date,
correct information which is the main
reason for using a mini-computer.
The figure shows the relationship
between the computer appropriate
departments in a typical factory.
Four principal types of documenta-
tion are involved:
- the main list used by administrative
staff which comprises all program-
med preventive measures and from
which the computer allocates
activities;
- preventive-maintenance cards, one
for each job, for work which can
only be carried out during shut-
downs:
- inspection lists, one for each job, for
all conditioning monitoring to be
carried out whilst the plant is run-
ning;
- maintenance instruction to person-
nel.
Both preventive maintenance cards
48 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
To continue reading
Request your trial