List five (5) major changes that are currently taking place around the world.
When ‘thinking’ about your business model for the
Devise a means to take advantage of this change for social, economic and environmental good.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Understanding Melbourne Flux
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Esquisse 3: Alternative materials
Recent advances in science and manufacturing have resulted in a broader palette of materials available to designers than at any other time in history. Many of these emerging materials and processes have the potential to revolutionise bicycle design and manufacture and should be thoroughly researched for the ozcykler project.
Alternative construction materials and processes for your bicycle and supporting infrastructure designs should have the potential to:
- enhance performance,
- create uniqueness
- increase design flexibility
- simplify manufacture
- reduce environmental impact
- reduce costs,
- increase durability,
- reduce weight,
- improve efficiency,
- resist vandals
- facilitate public acceptance and
- drive innovation
Another potential driver for adopting alternative materials is a shortage of existing natural materials or concerns about their long-term sustainability.
Activity:
Research and analyse alternative materials processes and technologies which may be suitable for manufacture of the shared bicycle and supporting street infrastructure.
Focus on design for the public domain, weight reduction, strength and durability.
Target your research towards economically viable materials and processes which are appropriate for high volume production. Ensure that your consideration includes a strong focus on life-cycle principles for each material/process.
Deliverables:
3 x A4 pages outlining your creative ideas for alternative materials, clearly indicating where these materials will be used and the potential benefits of embracing this technology for your bicycle system design.
You must have at least 3 well-justified alternative materials in total.
Make your pages visually interesting and only include information that you feel is relevant. Dot points can be used for all pages and remember quality is better than quantity.
Submission due: Tues 23 March
Monday, March 15, 2010
Understanding Melbourne – Product Service System Design
Product Service Systems are when a firm offers a mix of both products and services, in comparison to the traditional focus on products. As defined by (van Halen, te Riele, Goedkoop) "a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling a user's needs". PSSes can be realised by smart products.
The initial move to PSS was largely motivated by the need on the part of traditionally oriented manufacturing firms to cope with changing market forces and the recognition that services in combination with products could provide higher profits than products alone. Faced with shrinking markets and increased commoditization of their products, these firms saw service provision as a new path towards profits and growth.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_service_system
Your task
List 10 key features of each system you have researched
Table, Consider and evaluate using a scale of 1-10 (1=not relevant 10 = extremely relevant
Eg.
Distances between hubs
Payment types
Incentive schemes
Based on your scoring define the parameters of a business model for your product service system.
Using a SWOT analysis evaluate the following (refer to chart)
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Present your PSS to class.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Cyclists call for 'friendly' roads
JASON DOWLING
February 4, 2010
Many Melburnians believe that cycling in traffic is dangerous and there are suggestions Melbourne needs ''greenways'', bike-friendly roads with speed limits of 20 km/h where helmets are optional.
Research findings out today have found most bicycle owners who do not to ride to work have nominated dangerous traffic conditions as the big deterrent.
About 90 per cent of the 800 Victorians who responded to a telephone and online Sweeney Research survey said Victorian roads were not safe for cyclists.
The survey was commissioned by insurer AAMI and was made in the middle of last year.
It found two-thirds of drivers surveyed said cyclists were a hazard, 29 per cent said they had had an accident or a near miss with a cyclist and 83 per cent claimed to have seen cyclists break road rules and ride dangerously.
But an overwhelming number - 78 per cent of those surveyed - said they would like to see better facilities for cyclists.
Garry Glazebrook, senior lecturer at the school of the built environment, University of Technology Sydney, told a Planning Institute of Australia luncheon in Melbourne yesterday that some city roads should be transformed to make them bicycle friendly.
''Let's think about creating some cycle paths where you don't have to wear a helmet, I call them greenways, places [streets] where there is a maximum of 20 kilometres an hour speed limit … all cars have to give way to pedestrians and cyclists, and on those roads you don't need to have a helmet,'' Dr Glazebrook said.
''I am of the view that the mere fact that we put helmets on people is the wrong way around, it is admitting that it's not safe to ride a bike and the reality is it isn't safe.''
Inner Melbourne will have an additional 600 bikes in use come the middle of the year, after the state government's bicycle hire scheme is launched with 50 bicycle stations.
The RACV and Alta Planning and Design will run the scheme and are exploring options to make helmets available for sale or hire in the CBD.
Bicycle Victoria spokesman Garry Brennan said compliance with helmet laws was high in Victoria. It was doubtful making helmets optional would lead to more cyclists.
''We would argue that high-quality infrastructure, in particular separated bike lanes, is the most effective … way of making cyclists feel safe and making them feel that they want to ride a bike,'' he said.
In 2007, almost 2300 cyclists were treated in hospital after traffic accidents
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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