Emerson Electric Company (NYSE: EMR) is a major multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri, United States.[1][2][3] This Fortune 500 company provides engineering services for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.
Emerson is one of the largest conglomerate companies in the USA. As of 2010, it has a workforce of approximately 127,700 employees worldwide, with a global presence spanning 150 countries.
Emerson was established in 1890 as Emerson Electric Manufacturing Co. by Civil War Union veteran John Wesley Emerson to manufacture electric motors using a patent owned by the Scottish-born brothers Charles and Alexander Meston. In 1892 it became the first to sell electric fans in the United States. It quickly expanded its product line to include electric sewing machines, electric dental drills, and power tools.
During World War II under the leadership of Stuart Symington, it became the world's largest manufacturer of airplane armament. In 1947-1950 Symington became the first Secretary of the Air Force, and a Democratic U.S. Senator from Missouri in 1953-1976.
In 1954 W.R. "Buck" Persons was named company president. Under his leadership, Emerson diversified its business portfolio by acquiring 36 companies. When he retired in 1973, the company had 82 plants, 31,000 employees and $800 million in sales.
Charles F. Knight served as CEO from 1973 to 2000, and was chairman from 1974 to 2004. His tenure was marked by development of a rigorous planning process, new product and technology development, acquisitions and joint ventures, and international growth.
David N. Farr has served as CEO since 2000 and as chairman since 2004.
On January 30, 2008, top executives from Emerson had meetings with the Costa Rican President and government authorities to open an operation for Latin America based in Costa Rica. They are planning to hire more than 500 engineers in a period of 4 years
We employ a consistent and well-honed approach to organizational planning that balances fulfilling managerial needs with educating and developing our next generation of leaders. Each year, division and business leaders assess the managerial needs of the divisions in the context of ongoing initiatives and strategic mandates. We then review the status and performance of all managers with the CEO and discuss their potential to move into more challenging assignments. These discussions allow management to address problems and opportunities related to succession, performance diversity, and inject high-potential contributors into operating organizations.
With this detailed attention to recognizing and developing talent, Emerson helps high-potential managers maximize their opportunities and best fulfill their career potential. No measure illustrates the effectiveness of and commitment to organizational planning more than Emerson's record of retention. Over the past five years, the average annual turnover (independent of retirements) of the more than 1,000 top managers consistently registers in the mid single digits. This mark affirms the level of pride and commitment resident within the Emerson organization.
"When we started this massive data center consolidation, we admittedly set the bar high with regard to business efficiency, scalability and – above all – availability," said Steve Hassell, vice president and chief information officer for Emerson, adding that he expects the facility to achieve as high as LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. "While designing a data center with such standards can be a challenge, we were able to leverage the expertise of our businesses to deliver a powerful, efficient, best-in-class data center to support our global network and better serve our customers around the world."
The facility, which is scheduled to take its first applications live in August, integrates numerous Emerson Network Power products – including brands such as Alber, Aperture, ASCO, Knurr and Liebert – in addition to technologies from several of the world's leading IT companies, including Cisco, Dell, EMC and Sun.
"These technologies create an integrated network and IT infrastructure that delivers ultra-high availability," Hassell said. "In fact, we designed it so someone could use a chainsaw to cut right down the middle of the facility and none of our systems would go down."
Hassell said the Emerson Network Power products at the heart of the IT infrastructure are the key to that reliability. Redundant, scalable power and cooling and integrated monitoring and management ensure seamless operation and availability.
At the project's onset, the team set its sights on LEED Silver Certification, but now anticipates enough LEED points to put the facility into the Gold category. The LEED Gold Certification is a result of the facility's cutting-edge architectural design and efficient technology infrastructure, triggering an estimated energy savings of up to 31 percent over a traditional enterprise data center. The facility is fully equipped with a host of unique energy-saving attributes, including daylighting features, a reduced building footprint and one of the largest rooftop solar arrays used by a data center. That solar array will provide 100 kW of power to support the facility's IT load.
These attributes were enhanced by the strategies outlined in Emerson Network Power's Energy Logic roadmap, which were put into practice in the new data center. The roadmap addresses the three most critical constraints faced by data center managers today – power, cooling and space – through 10 simple strategies that employ existing technologies and best practices to achieve the highest energy savings possible without compromising performance or availability.
To ensure the highest levels of reliability, the data center is equipped with three tiers of redundancy, with dual utility feeds, redundant UPS protection and onsite generators. In addition, with redundant dual-bus power capacity starting at 1,350 kW and ultimate UPS systems scalability up to 4,050 kW across dual paths, power usage can be scaled with precision to meet the facility's highest demands without sacrificing efficiency
The facility features new building materials that direct natural daylight into the building's core, reducing power consumption. These materials, including hurricane-proof glass in the windows, maintain the building's structural integrity and make it strong enough to withstand an F-3 tornado. The natural daylighting also is expected to improve employee efficiency and productivity, reduce human error and enhance employee recruitment and retention.
"When it comes to our products and services, Emerson is committed to innovation, technological excellence and environmental responsibility, so it makes sense that these values should be embodied in the company's new data center," said Ed Feeney, executive vice president, Emerson and president of the Emerson Network Power Systems group. " Early in the design phase, we felt it was important to implement the efficiency strategies we have been advancing within the industry. Having accomplished this goal, we now can show the industry how incorporating these technologies and strategies into a data center can lead to better performance and reduced energy consumption, while also supporting LEED Certification initiatives."
The project was to be completed in three phases over a two-year period, all in accordance with Copeland’s Plant Technology Franchise Guidelines, a gate management system used in implementation of the company’s facilities. The factory was also tasked with shouldering the additional burden of representing Emerson’s commitment to excellence in Asia, functioning as its flagship enterprise in the region. Should the venture prosper, the company would be likely to invest even more heavily in the near future. Failure, on the other hand, might limit such activity for years to come. Needless to say, many eyes were intently watching the project.
Located only 70 kilometers from Shanghai, China’s largest city, Suzhou was known to have a modern, but relatively empty industrial park completed in the 1990s. The Park’s Singaporean management team was eager both to lure investment projects and to grant the necessary concessions to interested parties. The Park management was also well connected with local employment agencies and provided Emerson with reports indicating that labor was available in sufficient quantities and at lower rates than could be found in more metropolitan areas like Shanghai. Relatively high unemployment rates seemed an early sign that retention of hourly associates might not be of immediate concern. Several local vocational schools offered a steady supply of young, talented
individuals for development in a cooperative learning environment. Also, a fair number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with unstable futures located in the area had some experienced engineering talent who might be made available. Overall, Emerson management deemed the Suzhou area an attractive environment for building a diverse and high performance work team.
As far as identification and development of a local supplier base was concerned, Suzhou’s proximity to Shanghai was a definite advantage, as it granted accessibility to the businesses currently serving that city’s expanding automotive manufacturing industry. While capable stamping and, to some extent, casting vendors were present in Suzhou, Shanghai firms complemented with forging shops and precision machining enterprises. Initial on-site surveys provided promising results for all of Emerson’s needs.
The performance of your workforce can have a significant impact on your overall operation, maintenance, process equipment—and ultimately your bottom line. To achieve maximum process performance you must start with improving and retaining the performance of your workforce.
Emerson’s Performance Solutions program can provide a cost-effective way to ensure your workforce is capable of performing at the highest level of efficiency and safety possible in order to eliminate workplace injuries and accidents, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and optimize processes and equipment. The end result is a safer environment, retention of top performing employees, and a reduction in overall costs.
Emerson’s Performance Solutions services include the following assessments:
Skill & Training Needs
Personnel Safety
Policy & Procedures
Regulatory Compliance
New Equipment Training
Maintenance Practices
Skill & Training Needs Assessment
Objective, hands-on performance measurements ensure that employees can perform the required tasks proficiently. Emerson has extensive experience designing objective criteria, practical scenarios, demonstration equipment, and procedures to measure practical abilities. The skill assessment will help determine areas of knowledge, training, and ability that are deficient or that can be improved to achieve greater performance.
Task Analysis
Emerson’s skill and training needs assessment begins with a formal task analysis to determine the skills required to perform each assigned work task. The analysis reviews the operational environment, processes, practices, acceptable performance standards, industry standards, and benchmarks for the industry. It includes out of the box thinking, i.e., could there be a faster, better or cheaper procedure? Interviews with management and workers are also conducted, along with a survey to measure how the workers and managers view the importance of the skill or task along with the knowledge used to perform it. This process is critical to determine what knowledge is necessary to produce maximum efficiency of tasks, both safely and effectively.
The Committee shall establish procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints made to the Company, by employees and non-employees, regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and for the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
At least quarterly, the Committee shall meet separately with representatives from the Auditor, the internal auditors and management.
The Committee shall review annually a summary of the Company’s litigation activities during the most recent fiscal year, and any other matters relating thereto that the Committee may from time to time deem appropriate. The Committee shall review annually a summary of the Company’s environmental activities during the most recent fiscal year, a summary of anticipated environmental audits and expenditures for the next fiscal year, and any other matters relating thereto that the Committee may from time to time deem appropriate.
Emerson is one of the largest conglomerate companies in the USA. As of 2010, it has a workforce of approximately 127,700 employees worldwide, with a global presence spanning 150 countries.
Emerson was established in 1890 as Emerson Electric Manufacturing Co. by Civil War Union veteran John Wesley Emerson to manufacture electric motors using a patent owned by the Scottish-born brothers Charles and Alexander Meston. In 1892 it became the first to sell electric fans in the United States. It quickly expanded its product line to include electric sewing machines, electric dental drills, and power tools.
During World War II under the leadership of Stuart Symington, it became the world's largest manufacturer of airplane armament. In 1947-1950 Symington became the first Secretary of the Air Force, and a Democratic U.S. Senator from Missouri in 1953-1976.
In 1954 W.R. "Buck" Persons was named company president. Under his leadership, Emerson diversified its business portfolio by acquiring 36 companies. When he retired in 1973, the company had 82 plants, 31,000 employees and $800 million in sales.
Charles F. Knight served as CEO from 1973 to 2000, and was chairman from 1974 to 2004. His tenure was marked by development of a rigorous planning process, new product and technology development, acquisitions and joint ventures, and international growth.
David N. Farr has served as CEO since 2000 and as chairman since 2004.
On January 30, 2008, top executives from Emerson had meetings with the Costa Rican President and government authorities to open an operation for Latin America based in Costa Rica. They are planning to hire more than 500 engineers in a period of 4 years
We employ a consistent and well-honed approach to organizational planning that balances fulfilling managerial needs with educating and developing our next generation of leaders. Each year, division and business leaders assess the managerial needs of the divisions in the context of ongoing initiatives and strategic mandates. We then review the status and performance of all managers with the CEO and discuss their potential to move into more challenging assignments. These discussions allow management to address problems and opportunities related to succession, performance diversity, and inject high-potential contributors into operating organizations.
With this detailed attention to recognizing and developing talent, Emerson helps high-potential managers maximize their opportunities and best fulfill their career potential. No measure illustrates the effectiveness of and commitment to organizational planning more than Emerson's record of retention. Over the past five years, the average annual turnover (independent of retirements) of the more than 1,000 top managers consistently registers in the mid single digits. This mark affirms the level of pride and commitment resident within the Emerson organization.
"When we started this massive data center consolidation, we admittedly set the bar high with regard to business efficiency, scalability and – above all – availability," said Steve Hassell, vice president and chief information officer for Emerson, adding that he expects the facility to achieve as high as LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. "While designing a data center with such standards can be a challenge, we were able to leverage the expertise of our businesses to deliver a powerful, efficient, best-in-class data center to support our global network and better serve our customers around the world."
The facility, which is scheduled to take its first applications live in August, integrates numerous Emerson Network Power products – including brands such as Alber, Aperture, ASCO, Knurr and Liebert – in addition to technologies from several of the world's leading IT companies, including Cisco, Dell, EMC and Sun.
"These technologies create an integrated network and IT infrastructure that delivers ultra-high availability," Hassell said. "In fact, we designed it so someone could use a chainsaw to cut right down the middle of the facility and none of our systems would go down."
Hassell said the Emerson Network Power products at the heart of the IT infrastructure are the key to that reliability. Redundant, scalable power and cooling and integrated monitoring and management ensure seamless operation and availability.
At the project's onset, the team set its sights on LEED Silver Certification, but now anticipates enough LEED points to put the facility into the Gold category. The LEED Gold Certification is a result of the facility's cutting-edge architectural design and efficient technology infrastructure, triggering an estimated energy savings of up to 31 percent over a traditional enterprise data center. The facility is fully equipped with a host of unique energy-saving attributes, including daylighting features, a reduced building footprint and one of the largest rooftop solar arrays used by a data center. That solar array will provide 100 kW of power to support the facility's IT load.
These attributes were enhanced by the strategies outlined in Emerson Network Power's Energy Logic roadmap, which were put into practice in the new data center. The roadmap addresses the three most critical constraints faced by data center managers today – power, cooling and space – through 10 simple strategies that employ existing technologies and best practices to achieve the highest energy savings possible without compromising performance or availability.
To ensure the highest levels of reliability, the data center is equipped with three tiers of redundancy, with dual utility feeds, redundant UPS protection and onsite generators. In addition, with redundant dual-bus power capacity starting at 1,350 kW and ultimate UPS systems scalability up to 4,050 kW across dual paths, power usage can be scaled with precision to meet the facility's highest demands without sacrificing efficiency
The facility features new building materials that direct natural daylight into the building's core, reducing power consumption. These materials, including hurricane-proof glass in the windows, maintain the building's structural integrity and make it strong enough to withstand an F-3 tornado. The natural daylighting also is expected to improve employee efficiency and productivity, reduce human error and enhance employee recruitment and retention.
"When it comes to our products and services, Emerson is committed to innovation, technological excellence and environmental responsibility, so it makes sense that these values should be embodied in the company's new data center," said Ed Feeney, executive vice president, Emerson and president of the Emerson Network Power Systems group. " Early in the design phase, we felt it was important to implement the efficiency strategies we have been advancing within the industry. Having accomplished this goal, we now can show the industry how incorporating these technologies and strategies into a data center can lead to better performance and reduced energy consumption, while also supporting LEED Certification initiatives."
The project was to be completed in three phases over a two-year period, all in accordance with Copeland’s Plant Technology Franchise Guidelines, a gate management system used in implementation of the company’s facilities. The factory was also tasked with shouldering the additional burden of representing Emerson’s commitment to excellence in Asia, functioning as its flagship enterprise in the region. Should the venture prosper, the company would be likely to invest even more heavily in the near future. Failure, on the other hand, might limit such activity for years to come. Needless to say, many eyes were intently watching the project.
Located only 70 kilometers from Shanghai, China’s largest city, Suzhou was known to have a modern, but relatively empty industrial park completed in the 1990s. The Park’s Singaporean management team was eager both to lure investment projects and to grant the necessary concessions to interested parties. The Park management was also well connected with local employment agencies and provided Emerson with reports indicating that labor was available in sufficient quantities and at lower rates than could be found in more metropolitan areas like Shanghai. Relatively high unemployment rates seemed an early sign that retention of hourly associates might not be of immediate concern. Several local vocational schools offered a steady supply of young, talented
individuals for development in a cooperative learning environment. Also, a fair number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with unstable futures located in the area had some experienced engineering talent who might be made available. Overall, Emerson management deemed the Suzhou area an attractive environment for building a diverse and high performance work team.
As far as identification and development of a local supplier base was concerned, Suzhou’s proximity to Shanghai was a definite advantage, as it granted accessibility to the businesses currently serving that city’s expanding automotive manufacturing industry. While capable stamping and, to some extent, casting vendors were present in Suzhou, Shanghai firms complemented with forging shops and precision machining enterprises. Initial on-site surveys provided promising results for all of Emerson’s needs.
The performance of your workforce can have a significant impact on your overall operation, maintenance, process equipment—and ultimately your bottom line. To achieve maximum process performance you must start with improving and retaining the performance of your workforce.
Emerson’s Performance Solutions program can provide a cost-effective way to ensure your workforce is capable of performing at the highest level of efficiency and safety possible in order to eliminate workplace injuries and accidents, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and optimize processes and equipment. The end result is a safer environment, retention of top performing employees, and a reduction in overall costs.
Emerson’s Performance Solutions services include the following assessments:
Skill & Training Needs
Personnel Safety
Policy & Procedures
Regulatory Compliance
New Equipment Training
Maintenance Practices
Skill & Training Needs Assessment
Objective, hands-on performance measurements ensure that employees can perform the required tasks proficiently. Emerson has extensive experience designing objective criteria, practical scenarios, demonstration equipment, and procedures to measure practical abilities. The skill assessment will help determine areas of knowledge, training, and ability that are deficient or that can be improved to achieve greater performance.
Task Analysis
Emerson’s skill and training needs assessment begins with a formal task analysis to determine the skills required to perform each assigned work task. The analysis reviews the operational environment, processes, practices, acceptable performance standards, industry standards, and benchmarks for the industry. It includes out of the box thinking, i.e., could there be a faster, better or cheaper procedure? Interviews with management and workers are also conducted, along with a survey to measure how the workers and managers view the importance of the skill or task along with the knowledge used to perform it. This process is critical to determine what knowledge is necessary to produce maximum efficiency of tasks, both safely and effectively.
The Committee shall establish procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints made to the Company, by employees and non-employees, regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and for the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
At least quarterly, the Committee shall meet separately with representatives from the Auditor, the internal auditors and management.
The Committee shall review annually a summary of the Company’s litigation activities during the most recent fiscal year, and any other matters relating thereto that the Committee may from time to time deem appropriate. The Committee shall review annually a summary of the Company’s environmental activities during the most recent fiscal year, a summary of anticipated environmental audits and expenditures for the next fiscal year, and any other matters relating thereto that the Committee may from time to time deem appropriate.