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THE army of young unemployed is a blot on our civilisation. That much would be agreed by all. That nothing very positive is being done about it is also all too evident.

Introduces the concept of service‐oriented agile logistics and presents a generic apparatus for the design of such systems. An analysis of future communication‐based logistics leads to the logistic control and engineering system SERVICES. The logistic system is conceived as a “society” of interacting “self‐responsible intelligent service‐producing actors”, where services or functions are taken as the system‐base. This means that, instead of working with process‐modules, the development of a service‐oriented information‐system primarily works with service‐modules that program the operational interaction between client, service‐producer and possibly sub‐contracted service‐producers. From this the supporting execution‐control in the context of the service‐producing units can be deduced. A case study of a high‐performance deep‐sea container terminal is given. This shows that the function‐programming system of SERVICES is generic, adequate and effective and that it favours distributed control.

Logistics real estate has been experiencing a recent rebirth led by the growth of retailing and e-commerce. Although these sectors are looking for facilities matching their logistics needs, the identification of the most suitable building becomes a challenging task. To date, from both the practitioner’s and academic perspectives there is a lack of models for assessing the quality of logistics facilities together with functionality (i.e. whether a warehouse is suitable for hosting a given logistics activity). The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by developing a rating model for assessing the quality and functionality of logistics facilities.

A three-pronged methodology was adopted. First, a Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA) was carried out to identify the relevant features that must be taken into consideration when assessing logistics real estate. Second, a Delphi method involving experts in the field was used to fine-tune the list of features that emerged from the SLNA process and to evaluate the importance of each feature from a company perspective. The rating model was developed and validated through pilot tests on 27 logistics facilities.

The rating model is divided into four sections: location, technical specifications, external spaces and internal areas. As an output, the model determines the building quality and main functionality, together with a gap analysis to detect the weakest emerging elements.

This research fills an identified research gap in the logistics real estate literature. Specifically, it offers a quantitative and shared evaluation method, which can be used to estimate building quality and functionality, thus extending the scope of the previous assessment methods available.

IT was last July that we denounced the Bullock proposals because of our conviction that they would not work. True, that was not by any means the first time that we had voiced that opinion. We said so, firmly, from the moment that they were promulgated. There was so much against them.

The Origins of the Argosy and its Progressive Development from the AW.66 through to the Hawker Siddeley Series 222 Argosy including a Description of the Various Freight Handling Systems Devised for Use with the Aircraft and Concluding with a Review of Operational Experience. ALTHOUGH it was some years later that the name Argosy was given to the aircraft, the project began in 1955 when Sir W. G. Armstrong‐Whitworth Aircraft were invited to tender for a Medium Transport Aircraft to meet OR.323. This requirement called for an aircraft capable of carrying a payload of 10,000 lb. over a stage length of 1,500 nautical miles, with operation from 2,000 yds. runways at I.S.A.C.+30 deg. C. It had a freight hold over 42 ft. long, 9 ft. wide and 8 ft. high with a built‐in ramp/door at the rear for loading and supplies dropping. Inward opening paratroop doors were fitted on each side of the rear fuselage and there was an outward opening freight‐cum‐passenger door on the port side of the front fuselage. In this proposal the company considered various approaches for the tail configuration, a twin‐tail boom layout, a single tail boom layout and a twin‐tail boom layout with the booms projecting from the rear of the fuselage. This last layout was the one selected for submission as it gave more freedom for the loading ramp and a stiff tail support. Fig. 1 shows a model of the aircraft, powered with two Napier Eland engines and known as the AW.66.

FOR the tenth time our American counterpart, the Industrial Management Society, is holding a contest for methods improvement. The brochure giving the rules shows how thoroughly such a project is undertaken. Its main purpose is to stimulate interest in cost reduction through improved ways of doing something, although the mere replacement of obsolete equipment by new plant which is commercially available is not considered to fall within the ambit of the competition.

ANY report on the state of the nation today inevitably concerns itself with economic matters. There is the imbalance caused by the steep rise in oil prices. The dusty answers we are given about future prospects are a fragile platform on which to base present actions. The spectre of inflation haunts all of us constantly and the volume of unemployment worries many people.

THIS journal was represented at a Press Conference last month; and over the drinks and canapés that it is the custom to provide at such occasions, one of the executives of the company throwing the party asked our reporter, “You have changed your name recently, haven't you?”

SCIENTISTS and sociologists have for some time been gravely disquieted about the impact which modern technology is making upon society; a disquiet which has recently been percolating through wider sections of all communities. Man has always recognized, since the first machine usurped the place of the human hand as the tool of production, that progress does good but brings harm in its wake, although it is not as quickly appreciated.

AN American trade union official's attitude to wage incentives must always be of interest coming as it does from an industrially highly organised country. We have received a Report on “Trade Union Approaches to Wage Incentive Plans” by Solomon Barkin, Director of Research of the Textile Workers' Union of America.