Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Jan 9, 2018 - When aircraft manufacturers today are faced with a problem in a plane that has been in service for many years, they encounter a significant challenge “ tracing the history of the suspected part or component and chronology of events surrounding it to find the right fix. These could be issues or damages fixed right from the manufacturing process, flight test observations, customisations by lease operators, maintenance observations and changes, damages due to in-flight incidents such as a hard landing or bird strike and pilot logs from in-flight observations and issues.
All this data is spread out in multiple systems across organisations in the supply chain, and data gathering and reconciliation becomes an extremely challenging exercise. Some airlines spend as much as 90% of the time and effort finding and organising the data chronologically, and only 10% of time in finding the fix. And the aircraft are grounded during this time - massive revenue loss for an industry with high asset utilization targets.
Now imagine the savings that would be possible, if there were a system of records that brought together all of the information from all of these sources in one place, all organised in chronological order. With such a system, aircraft could be back in the air within just 20% of the time taken earlier. Enter blockchain!
By enabling all the parties to share their data on a common network as and when the data is generated, and using a common identifier for a part or component that lets the entire history be traced, blockchain could just be the solution to this challenge.
The manufacturing industry is experiencing significant transformation as blockchain streamlines processes and brings accountability among stakeholders. The technology is a powerful recorder of transactions enabling provenance tracking of goods and its movement through the supply chain.
Organisations today face challenges in coordinating with their stakeholders in the value chain, due to information asymmetry caused by silo-ed databases, resulting in inaccurate forecasts and delays due to insufficient inventory. In a globalised world, organisations procure and sell goods in different parts of the world. Their partners in the supply chain have increased exponentially, raising the need for a single source of truth.
Consumers also demand products that are crime-free, sustainable and of the highest quality. The ability to validate the ethical production of products and to trace its origin not only provides transparency, but also increases brand loyalty, brand value and revenue.
Blockchain has come to be recognised for its potential to create a fundamental, disruptive shift in the way information is processed, making them faster, accurate and tamper-proof. Organisations are recognising the inevitable force of this technology, and its ability to build an ecosystem that would transcend geographical barriers, its automation capabilities and the enormous cost benefit.
While Blockchain offers enormous potential, manufacturing companies need to leverage it in chosen business areas, where the impact of this technology is the most.
The aerospace industry is one of the sectors which stands to gain a lot from blockchain. Blockchain has various applications in the aerospace industry, such as supply chain management enabling stakeholders to trace the sub-components back to its manufacturers and access its quality details.
It also helps the stakeholders to streamline their inventory management by tracking the production of assets and the monitoring the inventory of their suppliers and customers. And as mentioned earlier, it can help quickly provide aeronautical engineers access to the history of the aircraft, and the damage and repairs to help accurately identify the problem and design the solution for the aircraft. Other Blockchain applications include:
Supply Chain Management
Inventory Management: OEMs procure goods from across the world to meet the demands of local customers, but stakeholders in the same city do not have the information required to plan their procurement and production activities.
Blockchain promises to end the struggle to coordinate between stakeholders in the value chain by bringing them on a single platform and creating a sole source of truth. Blockchain helps track products as they move along the supply chain providing real-time inventory updates to all the stakeholders. This helps manufacturers plan their procurement and production activities.
Provenance Tracking: Customer awareness has resulted in the need for organic food, crime-free and environmentally-sustainable products. Customers can use the blockchain to trace products and its constituents back to its origins. They can view quality certificates and certifications from third parties to verify the sustainability or ethical practices of the company.
The airline industry needs to track several components within a part or section of the plane. The ability to track components of a section and verify its presence is crucial for the airline industry. Blockchain helps the airline industry account for every component and assigns accountability among its suppliers for missing parts creating safe skies for all air travelers.
Counterfeit Prevention
Manufacturers struggle to stop the global supply chain fraud and leakage, which accounts for losses of over $300 billion per year. By tracking products through the supply chain, organisations can ensure counterfeit products do not enter the supply chain and provide customers a tamper-proof record of the product's lifecycle to verify authenticity.
Blockchain enables aerospace industry to track products through the value chain, thus preventing counterfeits from entering the market and enabling customers to verify the authenticity of the product.
Equipment Automation
Smart contracts on the blockchain can be used to automate payment to suppliers and service providers. They can also be used to automate equipment to perform functions at specific instances. Sensors on equipment can capture data which can be used to certify the quality of products or smart contracts can stop production of faulty products if an anomaly is detected.
Equipment Maintenance Tracking
By tracking equipment procurement and their breakdown, blockchain enables manufacturers to trace faulty components back to their suppliers and reduce the downtime of production facilities.
In the airline industry, for instance, blockchain could help track aircraft through production, servicing and its entire lifecycle tracking parts usage and damage history. Data can then be made available for damage detection, analysis and repair of parts.
The manufacturing industry is on the verge of a blockchain revolution. By connecting every company and every customer it helps create greater transparency and trust and enable businesses all over the world. As more and more companies deploy blockchain in their supply chain, an ecosystem free from information asymmetry and counterfeiting seems a real possibility.
Source: Deccan Herald (The writer is Vice President and Head of Center for Emerging Technology Solutions at Infosys) | December 24, 2017 |||
Jan 9, 2018 - Apple isn’t immune to Meltdown and Spectre, the major bugs in basic computing architecture that were announced yesterday to widespread amazement and horror. In an announcement, the company said that “all Mac systems and iOS devices are affected,” which sounds right, but that mitigations are either already in place or on the way.
If you’re still not clear on the whole debacle, I went into detail on it yesterday. Basically, a couple of tricks processors have been using for decades turn out to have a couple extremely serious vulnerabilities and could be used to reveal all kinds of protected data to malicious actors.
Fortunately, as Apple puts it, “there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time.” But you better believe it won’t stay that way for long. To prevent being the lucky first victim (that we know of) of one of the most serious security issues of the decade, please do check if your devices are up to date.
For some devices, it was handled a while ago: “Apple released mitigations for Meltdown in iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2.” Apple Watch is safe, since Meltdown is a problem with Intel processors and it doesn’t have any. Although reports have warned of performance hits, Apple says it has observed “no measurable reduction” in benchmark scores.
For Spectre, which is a trickier beast both to take advantage of and to fix, patches are forthcoming. “Apple will release an update for Safari on macOS and iOS in the coming days to mitigate these exploit techniques.”
If you’re wondering why people keep saying “mitigate” instead of “fix” or “counteract” or something, it’s because Meltdown and Spectre take advantage of computing practices so basic that avoiding them is extremely difficult and complex. And new variants of attacks may very well circumvent the protections companies have put together during the last few months during which the exploits were kept secret. The mitigations and patches will probably multiply.
In the meantime, since the exploits seem to only apply to code running natively on your machine, Apple’s advice is “downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store.” Nice try, Apple! I’d rather face an existential threat to computing than use the Mac App Store
Source: TechCrunch | January 4, 2018 |||
Jan 9, 2018 - Chinese dfemand easing is behind the dip. Australia has said it expects iron ore prices to average USD 51.50 a ton this year, down 20 percent from 2017, because of rising global supply and moderating demand from top importer China as its steel sector shrinks, Reuters advanced.
The government projection is out of step with some private forecasts, with UBS and Citi calling for iron ore prices to average around USD 64 a ton in 2018 - flat on 2017’s USD 64.30 - with the market proving itself surprisingly resilient.
The world’s top three mining companies BHP, BLT, and Vale, rely heavily on iron ore sales for the bulk of their revenue despite efforts to diversify more into other industrial raw materials, such as copper, aluminium, and coal.
Source: Bulkweek | January 8, 2018 |||
Jan 8, 2018 - CERTNZ advises that researchers have found multiple vulnerabilities in computer processors which may allow attackers to extract information from affected systems, including passwords and other sensitive data.
The technical details of these vulnerabilities can be found at meltdownattack.com and spectreattack.com.
CERT NZ is not currently aware of any attacks that are actively exploiting these vulnerabilities, however we strongly recommend you protect yourself with the advice provided below as soon as practicable.What's happeningSystems affected - Processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM have been confirmed to be affected. Due to the complex nature of the vulnerabilities, it is safest to work on the basis that all systems may be affected. As this is a hardware vulnerability, this may affect any device, from computers to smart phones, tablets, routers, and smart devices such as TVs.
What this meansAll computers and personal devices such as cell phones will need to be updated to protect against attacks which use these vulnerabilities to steal sensitive information such as passwords
What to look for | How to tell if you're at risk
If you are using a device which uses a processor from Intel, AMD, or ARM - you may be at risk. This represents the vast majority of end user devices.
What to doMitigation - Ensure that all software on all your devices is up to date. Some updates have been released, and more are expected to be released over the coming weeks and months as manufacturers and vendors respond to these vulnerabilities.
In particular, ensure your operating system and browser are updated. If you have a device which is no longer receiving updates, you should consider upgrading or replacing it, to ensure you can get the latest security updates.
CERT NZ’s advice on End-of-Life Devices - Updates have been issued (or will soon be issued) for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome browser and Firefox. A more comprehensive list may be found at https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-004A External Link .
More informationIf you require more information or further support, submit a report on the CERTNZ website or contact them on 0800 CERTNZ.
| A CERTNZ release || January 8, 2018 |||
BLOCKCHAIN UPDATES TODAYEthereum co-creator Steven Nerayoff says the cryptocurrency's value could triple in 2018
Jan 7, 2018 - Even as the European short-haul air market has consolidated and low-cost carriers have thrived, Germany’s domestic market has been dominated by two local airlines —Lufthansa, with hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, and the much smaller Air Berlin, with its bases in Berlin and Dusseldorf. But that’s beginning to change.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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