Why the 90% vehicles deployed for UPS take right turn?

UPS have computers working out routes for their trucks to take mainly right-hand turns, avoiding left turns where possible.   Why is this?   Because in America they drive on the other side of the road, so a left turn is actually a turn across the oncoming traffic.   The computers know that having to stop and wait for a break in the traffic adds at least a minute to each turn.   UPS has 104,000 trucks making 18.3 million deliveries daily.   Assuming each truck wastes just one minute on a single journey, that’s 104,000 minutes, or 1,800 hours, or one whole week wasted.   And each truck actually does many deliveries every day.   So does minimising left turns work in practice?   The TV programme Mythbusters decided to check it out.   They delivered to the same address, at the same time, using two separate routes.   The first route had eight left and four right turns.   The second route had one left but 23 right turns.   Surely the first route must be shorter.   And it was: a mile shorter.   But it also took nine minutes longer, and that’s the important criteria.   So how does that translate into the real world?   UPS says that by making all its routes 90% right turns, it has been able to deliver 350,000 more packages with no increase in vehicles.   So UPS saves $3m-$4m annually.   It also saves around ten million gallons of petrol, which cuts about 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.   That’s the equivalent of taking 20,000 cars off the road.   UPS gets its data from seven mainframes in New York and Georgia.   These computers can analyse 30,000 routes a minute.   But there are two crucial statistics that aren’t on the financial balance sheet.   22.2% of all accidents happen while making left-hand turns, and just 1.2% while making right-hand turns.   Plus NY traffic authority figures show three times more pedestrians are killed on left-hand turns than on right-hand turns.   But the most interesting thing for me is that it’s entirely counter-intuitive.   To make a left turn involves a single 90-degree turn.   To make the same turn, using right turns, involves three turns, which equals 270 degrees.   On paper, on a map, it makes no sense: the left turn is shorter and quicker.   But a map isn’t the real world.   It doesn’t show traffic, or jams, or bad drivers, or frustration, or real life.   Which is the mistake we often make with abstract reasoning.   We plan for a world that only exists on paper.   A rational world free of emotion, and accidents, and surprises.   What’s great about the UPS thinking is that it’s used technology in exactly the right way.   Human beings make the big strategic decisions.   Then they then use technology to work out the routes at a speed that would be impossible for humans.   Which is the right way for humans and technology to interact.   Each does what they do best.   Or, as Carl Ally wrote for IBM: "Machines should work. People should think". Written by a famous a famous thinker.

September 11, 2016:

Special about the day and special things to start on the day

This is the day on which Swami Vivekananda, one of the most knowledgeable and inspirational spiritual leader of India who had not only spread the greatness of the country in the whole world, but guided the entire nation delivered speech at the The Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 at the Art institute of Chicago.

He lived for a short span of 38 years only had great impact on many like me although I was born almost 80 years after his death just listening and reading about his stories in home, school, and elders in my childhood.

This is also the day which shook the entire world in 2001 when the most powerful nation was helpless due the attack by few individuals with a mindset of terror & different agenda which too contrasting to what peace lover in the world believe.

Selected this day out of some situations for which I held myself responsible and accountable. There is no reason I need to have any exception form anyone and like others to behave the way I want them to behave. It is impartial form their point of view and I should do things or command on things on which I have control like myself. So better to start something fresh which can give a new hope, direction and put me at a place which I deserve and give me a platform to do good to the mankind.

Wishing myself “Happy perusing the GOAL” which was missing in life since sometime without which life is like a fish without water. Hope this will give some flow in life and focus for some more years. I really loved those days when I used to prepare for my B School admission a decade back. Need the same kick & anxiety in life now.

Resuming the blog writing too not for others to read but keep myself go back and read what I planned and where am I moving.

Thanks,

Bijen

The Great Credit Crunch....$s, Billions..Trillions...

Today I was reading one of the most widely discussed topics of the market!! That’s the deep credit crunch which may sack the global economy. The article on the Lehman Brother's worst financial crises gives clear indication that how risky the market is and what can be of the currency market. It is clearly mentioned in the end about that, the credit crunch can lead to the liquidity crunch which may lead to de inflate the housing bobble currently happening in US and affect the USA economy to a greater extent ("This $150 billion gap, leveraged 14.5 times (the average gearing for the industry), translates to a $2 trillion reduction in liquidity. ").
During the great depression a similar kind of fall had happened to Japan's (Presently $4.5 Trillion Economy). It happened to Japan during the 1930s not because of any reason but due to this de inflation of housing bobble. So a similar kind of consequence can be expected to USA unless the Fed Reserve's help by which the 4th largest investment bank may bail out of the credit crunch and at the same time help to control the housing bobble of inflating and suddenly de inflating exposing the economy to a greater risk.

The second part of my view is whether the USA economy is a consumer driven economy in reality!!! After reading to the comments given by one of the regular critic of many financial related Articles in The Economist, I still doubt the policies of the Fed. Is it taking the country to a deep recession or strengthens the economy virtually by allowing people to spend just by tax cut, rate cut, bringing money from the Arabian nations and producing more $. So from this argument I feel USA economy is not exactly a consumer driven but a normal economy like any other country. By both ways it is adopting a bad policy which may give a short term benefit but uncertainty in long term.

The link to the Article is:
http://www.economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12231236&source=features_box1

The Link to the JKEYNES's Comments on this is:
http://www.economist.com/members/persona.cfm?econUId=2926983

My experience@my previous employer

1) Tell me about the most frustrating and hostile individual you have come across in your organization and how did you deal with that individual? Do state some instances.

Ans: While addressing this question I would like to modify the question to answer it in a different way. I didn’t face any frustrating or hostile individual but faced few frustrating and hostile conditions as an individual. In these situations few individuals were involved.

One such situation had happened with me when I was in Chennai. I joined one of a development team in Chennai after completing my training in Hyderabad. I came to Chennai without my consent. Although I was not at all interested to come to Chennai as I was completely accustomed to the City of Perl and many of my friends were in Hyderabad. One day one of the delivery head (USA) took my interview over phone and asked me few technical questions but I answered them wrongly knowingly just to avoid the transfer but I was selected. It was one situation I faced. The transition from one city to another, one comfort zone to another was pathetic. I went to Chennai without any complain in hope of a great technical career.

I reached Chennai; everything was alien to me, the food, the costume, the language, the astronomical auto fair and the work culture. In a nut cell everything was perceived very conservative in beginning. But what to do!! Nothing was in my hand. I joined my new office. But till two months I was not given any work. So I thought my time was simply getting wasted. So I decided to join a coaching institute for my MBA preparation. Then the preparation enthralled me and I engrossed into it deeply. Then the management put me into a testing project for two months although I was taken a training to work in a development project (project based training) in Chennai itself. At that time I used to stay at office late night (morning 4AM, 5AM) and again come back to office by 1PM some days. Before going into the testing project we were told that, obviously by the same delivery head (USA) that we have to work just for 14 days or two weeks. But it was stretched to two months.

Then again after two months I came to the heavenly bench (in s/w company when one doesn’t have any work in the company it is called bench). It was a golden opportunity for me to prepare for CAT after the two month hectic work schedule. Then one day one mail came to me from the same delivery head stating that I have to move to Bangalore to join a project for a client (one of the biggest N/W product manufacturer). The project was awesome but as I was already settled in Chennai and my preparation was in full swing so I was hesitate to move. Then I was assigned a trainer (one module lead in a development project) to train me in 7 days along with one of my colleague. Later I found out why we two were chosen. The reason of both of our selection was we both were IT engineers. He was an IT Engineer and I was a Computer Science Engineer. I took the training but the reluctant to move to Bangalore was slowly developing in me. Then one day I went to meet the delivery head to say him my concern that I don’t want to leave Chennai as I was already settled in Chennai. But even after giving n number of explanations he didn’t agree. And I have to prepare may self mentally for the long term transfer although finally it didn’t happen due to Client-vendor constraints and my good luck. I went to Bangalore after a long time approval from client side (California), i.e. 6 months. And I went to Bangalore to work in the client office only for a few weeks and came back to Chennai. By that time I was well prepared to bell the CAT. During this transition period I gave 20000INR as advance house rent to one of my friends in Bangalore which I get back after a long days (some 9-10) months but 2000INR less.

During these 6 months they put me in the project where I was taking training. There I have a very nice experience working with those guys. But the atmosphere was uncertain always as if I was moving the next day to Bangalore.

Many more things to write but these are few memories I have faced and dealt while working before joining a premier B school in my country.


* One of my friend asked this question to know about my experience while working for her HR project. and this was my reply to her.

My First Failure....Towards Fail..

Date : 18th Feb 2001
Time : 12:30 Noon...

I was sitting in row number 3..in the big auditorium of 4AFSB service selection board,Varanasi...Everyone had one thing in their mind...If they would make it to National Defnce Academy or not!!!So I...The Squardron Leader came and announced the PABT(pilot aptitude batery test) result first..My name was not there in the list...
final result was out...My name was also not der in the list...5 out of 70 were selected...Rest of all congratulated them n say goodbye to the board...
But it was my first explore of myself...Get to know about the outside world....Got a chance to see new places...knew people..places...Kashi Viswanath..Sarnath...many more....Maha Kumbha mela at Prayagnath...(Allahabad)....