Isuzu-huollon markkinointi : Pirkanmaan Autotaito Oy

Tässä opinnäytetyössä luotiin markkinointisuunnitelma Pirkanmaan Autotaito Oy:lle Isuzu-merkkihuollon osalta. Isuzujen huolto aloitettiin yrityksessä kevään 2014 aikana. Työ oli siis erittäin ajankohtainen. Työssä keskityttiin vertaamaan erilaisia mainonta- ja markkinointiratkaisuja. Työn alussa keskityttiin selvittämään markkinointia, segmentointia ja mainontaa. Työn keskivaiheilla pohditaan eri mainontaratkaisuja, joita Pirkanmaan Autotaito voisi käyttää. Työn lopussa esitetään markkinointiratkaisu. Isuzun asiakaskunta Pirkanmaalla on todella pieni. Mainontaratkaisuja pohdittiin ja lopulta päädyttiin suoramarkkinointikirjeen luomiseen. Se osoittautui kaikista parhaim-maksi vaihtoehdoksi, koska sillä tavoittaa asiakkaat helpoiten ja edullisimmin. Suoramarkkinointikirjeen teko onnistui hyvin ja Pirkanmaan Autotaidon johto oli samaa mieltä. Suoramarkkinointikirjeessä keskityttiin tiedottamaan asiakkaita uudesta merkkihuollosta, joka on samalla Tampereen ainoa. Opinnäytetyö eli markkinoinnin käsittely ja markkinointisuunnitelman luominen oli haastavaa, mutta erittäin opettavaista. Työssä huomattiin, että varsinkin pienemmässä korjaamossa on hyvä osata myös markkinointiin liittyviä asioita. Markkinoinnin onnistumista voi tulevaisuudessa seurata suoraan Isuzu asiakkaiden kävijämäärissä.The objective of the thesis is creating a marketing plan for Isuzu car service of Pirkanmaan Autotaito Oy. Isuzu service was started in the company during spring of 2014. Therefore the objective of the thesis was very topical. The thesis concentrates in comparing different marketing and advertising solutions. Marketing, segmenting and advertising are presented in the first part of the thesis. Potential advertising solutions for Pirkanmaan Autotaito are being compared in the middle part of the thesis. Marketing method is presented in the final part of the thesis. Direct marketing letter was chosen as the best advertising solution for Pirkanmaan Autotaito. The biggest reason for choosing direct marketing letter as an advertising solution is the fact that the clientele for Isuzu car service is very small in the Pirkanmaa region. The chosen advertising solution proved to be the best one because it reaches the clientele most effectively and with the lowest costs. The management of Pirkanmaan Autotaito thought the creating process of the direct marketing letter went well. The main point in the letter was informing the potential clientele about the new Isuzu car service, which is the only one in Tampere. The whole process of the thesis, reading about marketing and creating an advertising plan, was challenging but educational at the same time. One of the lessons learned in the process was that it’s important to know about car service marketing, especially in small garages. In the future the success of marketing can be seen directly in the number of Isuzu clients

Steam Oxidation of Aluminide-Coated and Uncoated TP347HFG Stainless Steel under Atmospheric and Ultra-Supercritical Steam Conditions at 700 °C

The efficiency of ultra-supercritical (USC) steam power plants is limited by the materials properties, in particular, the steam oxidation resistance of the currently used steels at temperatures higher than 600 °C. Under these conditions, steam oxidation results in the development of thick oxide scales which spall and can accumulate in tube bends leading to blockage, overheating and premature creep rupture, as well as erosion of downstream components such as steam valves and turbine blades. Most published work related to oxidation testing is carried out at atmospheric pressure, with significantly less testing of austenitic steels in supercritical steam, and rarely including protective coatings. Indeed, the effect of high-pressure steam in the oxidation process is not quite understood at present. This paper covers a comparison of the behaviour of TP347HFG stainless steel at 700 °C under atmospheric pressure and 25 MPa, with and without slurry-applied diffusion aluminide coatings. The results show a very protective behaviour of the aluminide coatings, which develop a very thin Al-rich protective oxide, and no significant difference between the two environments. In contrast, the uncoated steel exhibited a different behaviour. Indeed, under atmospheric pressure after 3000 h, very thin scales, rich in Cr and not surpassing 5 to 10 µm in thickness, covered the samples along with some much thicker Fe-rich oxide nodules (up to 150 µm). However, under 25 MPa, a thick multilayer scale with a non-homogeneous thickness oscillating between 10 to 120 µm was present. A microstructural investigation was undertaken on the oxidised uncoated and coated substrates. The results suggest that pressure increases the oxidation rate of the chromia former steels but that the oxidation mechanism remains the same. A mechanism is proposed, including early detachment of the outer growing scales under supercritical pressure

Stress corrosion crack initiation testing with tapered specimens in high-temperature water – results of a collaborative research project

The applicability of an accelerated test technique using tapered tensile specimens for investigating thestress corrosion crack (SCC) initiation behaviour of structural materials in high-temperature water wasassessed in the framework of a European collaborative research project (MICRIN – MItigation of CRackINitiation). The main advantage of using a tapered geometry is, that in a single test a stress gradient isobtained through the gauge length, and therefore a stress threshold for SCC initiation can bedetermined in a reasonable timeframe. This method was used to investigate two different materialsthat were known to be susceptible to SCC in light water reactor environment: a high-Si stainlesssteel and a Ni-base weld metal (Alloy 182). The results of the international test programmeconfirmed that the tapered specimen test methodology could be used to identify a SCC initiation stress threshold, albeit that significant scatter was present in the data

Clinical and molecular genetic risk determinants in adult long QT syndrome type 1 and 2 patients

Background: Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is an inherited cardiac disorder predisposing to sudden cardiac death (SCD). We studied factors affecting the clinical course of genetically confirmed patients, in particular those not receiving beta-blocker treatment. In addition, an attempt was made to associate risk of events to specific types of KCNQ1 and KCNH2 mutations. Methods: A follow-up study covering a mean of 18.6 +/- 6.1 years was conducted in 867 genetically confirmed LQT1 and LQT2 patients and 654 non-carrier relatives aged 18-40 years. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the contribution of clinical and genetic risk factors to cardiac events. Results: In mutation carriers, risk factors for cardiac events before initiation of beta-blocker included LQT2 genotype (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.1, p = 0.002), female gender (HR = 3.2, p = 500 ms (vs G and other KCNQ1 mutation carriers after adjusting for gender, QTc duration, and cardiac events before age 18. KCNH2 c. 453delC, L552S and R176W mutations associated with lower risk (HR = 0.11-0.23, p <0.001) than other KCNH2 mutations. Conclusions: LQT2 (compared to LQT1), female gender, a cardiac event before age 18, and long QT interval increased the risk of cardiac events in LQTS patients aged 18 to 40 years. The nature of the underlying mutation may be associated with risk variation in both LQT1 and LQT2. The identification of high-risk and low-risk mutations may enhance risk stratification.Peer reviewe