Medical Solutions - ICSSBM Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative

Telamon Medical Solutions (TMS) unveiled its statwatch application at the 4th Annual Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative event. On March 27, the TMS team kitted over 50 tablets and peripherals and delivered them to the Indiana Statehouse to help administer the kickoff to the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males annual event. Over 20 community partners throughout the state of Indiana participated in train-the-trainer sessions provided by the TMS team to gear up for the day of the event. Participants were screened using statwatch at over 50 black barbershops within 13 cities throughout Indiana on Saturday, April 5. The TMS statwatch application was used to automate and digitize the screening process by allowing participants to register for the event using a tablet while having their biometric readings taken and transferred via Bluetooth to the tablet in real-time.

 

statwatch Peripherals

Screening using statwatch.

Telecom Solutions - The Convergence of Telecom & Broadcast

I have previously written about the evolution of the telecom network and that evolution was front and center at the recent National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show.

Whenever I attend a trade show, I always try to figure out what the focus or theme of the show is.  Sometimes it’s very obvious and others more subtle. For instance, at last years NAB, all the buzz was about the new 4K technology which quadruples the definition and resolution of our HD displays. It truly was amazing to see – beautiful, clear, bright images – but there were several problems. The first, of course, was the cost. Last year, these displays were being priced at about $5,000 for a standard 48” display – well out of reach of the mainstream consumer. In addition, there was very little content that was being filmed in 4K so what’s the point of having the display if you don’t have TV shows, movies or broadcast content to take advantage of the features of your very expensive display? 

What a difference a year makes! This year, not only were there many 4K displays highlighted but the price will soon be $600 for a 55” model! Also, camera manufactures have perfected the technology to film in 4K with some even talking about 8K. One manufacturer, Grass Valley, came up with an amazing solution for their 4K camera. The acquisition of a camera is a huge capital expense with the lenses comprising two-thirds of the overall cost. Grass Valley has come up with a camera that allows existing lenses to be attached through standardized fittings. This will dramatically lower the cost of the cameras and allow the filming of 4K content to become widespread – very exciting!!! For this achievement, Grass Valley won “Best in Show”, just one of its awards at NAB. 

Now, you might ask, what does this have to do with telecom? All of this HD, 4K and soon to be 8K, requires a HUGE amount of bandwidth to get to our homes. This was one of the major focuses of this years show. The largest carriers, AT&T and Verizon as well Dish Networks, were also at the show talking about their strategies for the broadcast space. One of the biggest innovations that the manufacturers have integrated into the products they produce is IP addressability. This is a huge leap from the analog days and airwaves method of transmitting and receiving content. With IP addressability, the content can flow easily through existing  fiber optic networks and utilize higher compression techniques to lower the impact on the carriers. What does this mean? We have all had situations where our TV signal stops or looks like floor tiles. This is the result of too much information flowing through too little capacity. These new technologies will mitigate this problem.  

The second focus of NAB was “cloud storage”. All of this HD content needs to sit somewhere for our increasingly “I want it now” society to access. Gone are the days when the family gathered together on Sunday night to sit in front of the TV to watch “The Wonderful World of Disney”. I know I’m dating myself there…..  Nowadays, content is delivered to multiple devices simultaneously in the same room! Massive data storage means massive data centers and server farms. Many vendors that have enjoyed success in the data world were highlighting the use of their products in this application. 

For those that have not been to the NAB show, it is an awesome experience. Second only in size to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it takes over much of Las Vegas! In addition to what I discuss above, there was plenty to see that gave you all of the “lights, camera, action” feel of being on a TV or film set. Looking forward to next year!

-Suzanne Beck

VP Business Development
Telecom Solutions - Telamon Corporation

Industrial Solutions - The Knowing Look: Proving You Are THAT Good

Selling is a tough job.  It is definitely not for everyone. You have to be thick skinned and you have to learn to live with a constant sense of rejection and suspicion. Often when I approach someone at a trade show, I receive a look from someone which seems to say, “Oh. Great. Here comes another liar.”

I have learned to ignore that because I approach them with a smile and an attitude that says, “It’s ok that you feel that way; but I know something that you don’t.” I call it the “Knowing Look”. It’s kind of like that look you see in movies on the face of the innocent person getting beaten up by the villain when the hero suddenly shows up behind the villain to save the day.

I can do that because I know that the company I represent is really as good as I say it is…and I can prove it! I can share statistics and explain our systems, but the real proof is what our customers do as a result of working with us. If we show a steep growth curve with our current customers, that testifies to everything else. If you don’t perform, you don’t grow. A good growth curve shows that as time goes on, our customer sees more and more value in their partnership with us.

This is what we offer:

• Simplifying the Manufacturing Processes
• We Improve Efficiency
• By Eliminating Inefficient, Off-Line Assembly & Kitting Processes
• By Opening Manufacturing Floor Space, Allowing Greater Flexibility 
• Simplifying the Management Process
• We Facilitate Fiscal Responsibility
• By Purchasing the Inventory, Improving Your Cash Flow 
• By Controlling the Inventory & Managing Your Supply Base, Improving Your Allocation of Resources 
• Simplifying Your Business 
• We Provide Peace of Mind 
• By Using Our Interlocked Assembly System: Ensuring Quality
• By Using Our State of the Art MRP System: Ensuring On Time Delivery

 This is the proof that shows the value in what we offer: 

• Quality: 14 PPM over the past two years 
• Delivery: 99.5% over the past two years 
• Growth Rate: 25% year over year average over the past three years

So, when you cross my path and I’ve got a Knowing Smile on my face…you’ll know why…and you’ll know that I’ll want to talk with you!

-John Weeks

Director of Sales

Industrial Solutions - Telamon Corporation 

About Telamon Industrial Solutions:

Telamon Industrial Solutions provides Assembly, Kitting and Third Party Logistics (3PL) services in a culture of quality and efficiency that reduces our customer’s total cost of ownership using robust, unique design processes, creating a worry-free, cost effective purchasing experience. 

Energy Solutions - 2017: The End of Solar or Just the Beginning?

The prevailing theory is that solar energy is not financially feasible without local, state, or federal incentives. For the most part, that theory has been easily proved as accurate. The Business Energy Investment Tax Credit, ITC for short, certainly has been a major driver of solar projects in the last few years. The ITC makes projects that would not “pencil” on their own cost savings more palatable with the application of tax credits as part of the funding mechanism. Surely, many projects simply got done when the Feds instituted the now cancelled Section 1603 Tax Grant in lieu of Tax Credit program. With the impending reduction of the ITC at the end of 2016, does 2017 spell the end of solar in this country?

Many people would have you believe that there is impending doom on the horizon. The reduction in the ITC will significantly reduce the number of projects that get developed. However, I am here to tell you that 2017 should be just the beginning of the solar revolution, and here is why. Around 2016 to 2017 it will become cheaper to generate your own electricity from solar than it will be to buy from the utility. Don’t believe me?  Let’s take a cue from Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters and take a closer look at the trends and see if we can bust the solar myth. 

The first thing we need to understand is that the cost of utility supplied electricity continues to go up. From 2007 through 2013 electricity all-in costs (that is the total cost divided by kWh consumption) have increased on average 7.4% per year. Projecting that out we go from a low of $0.063 per kWh in 2007 to an estimated $0.153 per kWh in 2020.

 

The next thing we need to investigate is the relationship between the cost to install a solar generating array and how that affects the net price per kWh of energy that is produced. Typically in the solar industry a project is priced in a $/Watt format. The following chart shows the relationship in construction cost in $/Watt and the subsequent $/kWh of energy produced. For those solar enthusiasts out there, the following were used as constants in the calculations; insolation rate 1350 kWh/kW, 25% cash equity, 5% finance rate, 20 year note term, 40% tax rate. Also note that “NO” ITC tax credits were used in the calculations. Looking at the chart we can see that at $2.50/Watt of construction cost we experience a cost of $0.14/kWh for the energy consumed. If the construction price drops to $1.50/Watt, we then see a cost of $0.095/kWh for the electricity.

The last piece to the puzzle is understanding the trend in solar construction costs. A key component of this cost is the price paid for materials, the largest such being the photovoltaic panels. As the price of panels has dropped, we have seen a corresponding reduction in construction costs. Since 2009 the average construction cost has decreased on average 17% per year as evidenced in the chart below.

 

So what does this all mean? The trend analysis below suggests that 2016 and 2017 is just the beginning of solar. This is the time when the cost per kWh to produce your own energy is going to be cheaper than purchasing from the utility. Remember, this analysis is void of the ITC and other incentives needed in the past to make projects viable. This is a true cost-to-cost comparison. So is 2017 the end of solar?  To me it looks like that myth is busted.  

 

-Mike Morley

Energy Solutions Engineer 

Telamon Corporation