GE Citizenship» Customers

Citizenship at GE

admin — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:22:37 +0000

An introduction to Citizenship at GE, including an overview of the company’s 2010 Citizenship report.

The Power of Sugarcane-Ethanol

admin — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:46:33 +0000

In January 2010, GE and Petrobrás celebrated the use of sugarcane-ethanol in a gas turbine system to produce electricity on a full commercial scale, a world’s first. The operation, at the Juiz de Fora power plant, is a significant milestone for Brazil.

GE’s investments in renewable energy should double to $6 billion in 2010. The Company’s continued investment in research and development of aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines enables the LM series aeroderivative gas turbines to maintain their leadership position in technology, performance, operational flexibility and value to the customer. The LM series has the ability to operate with a variety of fuels, and features state-the-art emission-control technologies.

At the Juiz de Fora site, GE made design changes to the combustor of the LM6000 turbine to make the use of ethanol possible.

To date, the LM6000 in Juiz de Fora has operated more than 1,000 hours on 100% ethanol, demonstrating the feasibility of using this fuel. The ethanol run has demonstrated that the combustion of this fuel does not cause additional wear to the turbine components; and, furthermore, emissions are very low. Both power and thermal efficiency have remained in values close to those of natural gas.

To achieve the same level of NO_x emissions as with natural gas, the turbine running on ethanol consumes less than 60% of the NO_x abatement water, resulting in substantial environmental benefits. There is no SO_x emission, and aldehydes emission is in the lower ppb (parts per billion) level.

After the conclusion of the 1,000-hour demonstration in May 2010, other units in Brazil and elsewhere are expected to be converted to use the renewable fuel.

Ethanol from sugarcane is a renewable energy source and can generate carbon credits for Brazil and for operators of power plants using this fuel, according to the legislation in effect in the countries operating these plants.

ABOUT JUIZ DE FORA POWER PLANT AND PETROBRÁS

The Juiz de Fora power plant is a simple-cycle natural gas power plant with a total capacity of 87 MW, located in the south of Minas Gerais state, approximately 180 km (110 mi) north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This unit has two LM6000 gas turbines supplied by GE.

Brazil’s federal energy company, Petrobrás, owns and operates the power plant and has set a goal to increase the use of renewable fuels for power generation while demonstrating the feasibility of these fuels and enhancing fuel supply assurance.

This scenario has led to the creation of a project to use ethanol in thermal power plants originally designed to use natural gas or diesel as fuel.

Privacy

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:47:09 +0000

In 2012, GE and its Privacy practice group continued to expand on our commitment to privacy and personal information protection as a core value for employees, partners and customers, taking responsibility as a thought leader on privacy both within GE and externally.

Within GE, the Privacy team has led and contributed to key efforts in keeping policy, training and awareness fresh and relevant. The team also continues its focus on process, working to address privacy compliance through routine mechanisms such as project toll-gating. In 2012 GE’s Privacy team played an increasingly important role in advising teams addressing key enterprisewide initiatives, such as data loss prevention, the use of cloud computing and the GE Works, HealthAhead and healthymagination campaigns. In late 2012, GE’s Commitment to the Protection of Personal Information was approved by the majority of European Economic Area (EEA) data protection authorities.

In the area of public policy, GE’s Privacy team contributed to the U.S. White House’s February 2012 white paper titled “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy,” which included a proposed consumer privacy bill of rights. The GE Privacy team also contributed to consultation on EU Privacy Directive revision and continued to work in 2012 with industry coalitions (AmCham, TAE, COCIR, AFEP) to comment on the proposed EU data protection regulation.

GE Privacy professionals continue to actively participate in the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and other key privacy organizations and conferences, such as the Global Privacy Alliance. GE’s Executive Counsel for Privacy and Regulatory Affairs in Europe serves on the IAPP’s European Board of Directors.

GE looks forward to continuing to protect personal privacy rights amid the challenges of new data-processing technologies.

Helping Our Customers Succeed

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:15:43 +0000

GE has become a more market-facing organization in recent years, where customers are increasingly important collaborators—particularly in the product-development cycle. A deep understanding of customer needs is critical to the most effective partnerships, particularly since our customers’ success complements our own.

To this end, GE has developed the Gold Standard Marketing (GSM) Framework, which enables Marketing to fulfill its role in unlocking value and innovation across GE. Gold Standard ensures customer centricity at the different lifecycle stages of our products and services: from market knowledge to commercial activation, including customer segmentation and targeting, value creation and pricing, and branding and communications.

As part of GSM, GE has developed a number of ways to engage our customers in the process of developing products. Whether GE is measuring our products’ impact on customers or convening a global summit to facilitate cross-regional learning and networking, the Company is committed to strengthening our bond with customers and growing our mutual accomplishment. Examples of GSM best practices follow:

Differential Value Proposition, or DVP, is a metric we began using in 2011 that indicates the differential value we bring to our customer. It is especially suited to measure the strength of a B2B customer relationship. How is DVP calculated? DVP% is the dollar value estimate of the differential impact from GE’s products, services and solutions on our Customers Profits (compared with their next best alternative) divided by the dollars of GE Revenue from the customer. DVP% is determined for each customer by listening to the stakeholders in the Customers Organization in a structured “Voice of the Customer” process.

GE is using DVP to align all GE functions with customers, giving them a voice (and quantifying that voice and backing with process rigor), delivering plans and accountability to direct investments and growth, and putting marketing squarely in the middle of every growth conversation. All from the simple question: “Are our customers making more money doing business with us?”

From the customer’s perspective, the DVP metric directly quantifies the value of their relationship with GE relative to their next best alternative. DVP% equals the incremental profit that customers make for each dollar they buy from GE. It is providing our businesses with a deeper understanding of what our customers value most in our products, services and relationships today. It highlights where we can improve and helps us identify where we should consider investing in new products, services and markets to meet our customers’ changing needs. DVP is one of the top initiatives sponsored by our CEO.

Access GE allows our customers to tap into GE’s unique insights, tools and operational best practices to address their business challenges. From topics such as leadership development practices to applying lean principles to developing a culture of continuous improvement, with Access GE, we are able to make the experience and know-how of experts from across our organization available to our customers. Since 2000, we’ve conducted over 8,500 Access GE engagements to help more than 6,500 customers address diverse business issues. And to engage with even more customers globally, GE Capital launched a new Web-based Access GE customer portal in March 2012.

Over the years, GE has continued to partner with its customers to help them find ways to make their businesses better. This year, GE created hundreds of customer partnerships; below are just a few examples of how our businesses work with our customers to ensure a more sustainable world.

Cutting costs and shrinking a carbon footprint can start with changing a lightbulb. That’s the idea behind WattWise, a GE Capital mobile application designed to help franchise restaurant operators regulate and reduce their energy costs from lighting, quickly and conveniently, on their mobile devices.

Running a franchise restaurant can be energy-intensive. According to the 2011 Chain Restaurant Industry Review, restaurants spend up to five times more on utilities than other commercial businesses. Lighting accounts for 13% of a restaurant’s total energy usage. And many franchisees are small-to-medium businesses, without the resources to conduct full-scale energy audits of their own.

When it came time to test the WattWise app, GE Capital’s Access GE team reached out to Wendy’s franchise owner and longtime customer Junior Bridgeman, to see if the application could improve his margins and cut his energy usage. Access GE focuses on ways to share tools, resources, insights and learnings to help GE Capital customers tackle some of their most pressing business challenges. Engagements can vary from best practice sharing sessions and customized workshops to extended coaching sessions that may continue for several months.

GE Capital recommended taking a close look at Bridgeman’s lighting costs. Using the WattWise app, GE Capital conducted lighting audits at two of Bridgeman’s Wendy’s restaurants. WattWise recommended changes to the restaurants’ existing lighting solutions, explained the potential energy savings and outlined the total expected cost to implement these changes.

The WattWise tool helped Bridgeman to identify an average energy savings of more than $500 per location. Expanded to include all of Bridgeman’s Wendy’s locations, this could result in a cost savings of more than $80,000 a year.

Another example of Access GE’s strategic support for customers is a unique 2.5-day Executive Education experiential learning curriculum developed exclusively for strategic middle-market clients of GE Capital. “Middle Market” is defined as companies with revenues from $100MM–$1B, a segment that research has shown to be “the engine of growth” for the U.S. economy.

This executive education program is one part of a five-year thought leadership partnership between GE Capital and the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, whose Executive Education program has been recognized as one of the top two programs of its kind in the world. The partnership has resulted in the establishment of “The National Center for the Middle Market,” dedicated to providing middle-market companies exclusive access to research-based thought leadership, customer engagement and capabilities building, as well as talent recruiting from the best and brightest at OSU. Through Access GE, twice a year customers are invited to each bring three to five executives from their senior management team to participate in a world-class, multi-customer event that includes academic instructors, GE experts and external expert practitioners who share frameworks, best practices and foundational insights in areas known to drive business growth: innovation, customer focus, strategy. Each client team also works with an OSU coach on real business issues facing its organization with a remote coaching component to support the business for several months in driving culture change after the program.

GE Healthcare High Efficiency General Imaging Ultrasound systems are among the most energy-efficient in the industry. Using EU industry-developed power consumption testing standards, a LOGIQ E9 consumes 234 kWh, or 17%, less electricity per year, and the LOGIQ S8 consumes 527 kWh, or 43% less electricity per year while enhancing image acquisition and quality, compared with the previous generation of GE systems they replace. For hospitals that are actively addressing facility energy use, upgrading six previous-generation GE ultrasound systems in their existing fleet to GE’s High Efficiency LOGIQ E9 and LOGIQ S8 General Imaging Ultrasound systems can save about 18,200 kWh in electricity consumption over eight years of use, avoiding approximately 10 metric tons of CO₂ emissions on the U.S. grid. This is equivalent to the annual CO₂ emissions of two cars on U.S. roads, or the CO₂ absorbed by about three acres of southeastern U.S. forest each year.

GE Healthcare’s High Efficiency General Imaging Ultrasound systems, the LOGIQ E9 and LOGIQ S8, enhance image acquisition and quality while improving productivity through reduced scan time compared with prior GE technology. Using Scan Assistant, an innovative software tool that intuitively assists the sonographer with customizable automations at each step of the ultrasound exam, can reduce keystrokes by 66–79% and exam time by 42–54%, or by about five minutes per exam.

For additional information about our partnership efforts, view the ecomagination, healthymagination and GE reports sites through our Reports section.