The National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) has been one of the most prolific Canadian Government Funding Organizations with regards to their support of technological innovations within Canada’s Industries. Due to changes to the 2012 Federal Budget, IRAP has been given approximately $110 Million to be allocated to Canadian SMEs through government funding grants for small business, which is projected to continue in the 2013 fiscal year. These programs can help fund a variety of Javelin’s services to increase cash flow, as well as increase the scope and speed at which your company can carry out the project.
At our Javelin office in Oakville, we’re lucky to work in a colourful, spacious and social work environment. Here are some tips that you can easily follow to increase productivity and over-all mood at your office!
#1 Be happy. Being in a good mood increases productivity. Studies outlined on Voxeu.org conclude that happiness and productivity are directly correlated. In an experiment conducted by Daniel Sgroi, we can see that participants who were shown a 10 minute long comedy clip answered more questions correctly (10%) than the participants who were not shown a clip. The takeaway: maybe that ‘Funny Cats YouTube Clip‘ is not such a time waster after all. Doing little things to improve your mood can go a long way.
#2 Eat right. Eating nutritious and high energy foods can replace caffeine and provide consistent, longer lasting energy. Start your day off right. Lay off the caffeine as it only gives you temporary energy and if it’s loaded with sugar, it is likely to make you hyper and ultimately crash. Instead, have a well balanced breakfast and bring these high energy foods to snack on. Good snacks to bring are: oatmeal, almonds, yogurt, popcorn and fruit. Getting your fibre, protein and vitamins is a great way to boost your energy and maintain long term health.
# 3 Get up. Leaving your desk can better your mood and increase energy. Eating lunch at your desk can be messy and hinder productivity. You may think you accomplish a lot while eating spaghetti at your desk, but numerous studies show that you have more to gain by walking or talking during lunch. Human beings are naturally social creatures (hence the 5 social media tabs you currently have open), eating lunch while having a light hearted conversation can relieve stress.Exercise boosts your mood and as we’ve seen in the previous point, a better mood = increased productivity.
The Myth: Multitasking Exists
The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially, one at a time. We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.
Basically, humans are not made to multi-task. If we try and do so, the quality of our output will greatly suffer. Trying to do things at once to save time will ultimately cost you more time. Instead, prioritize! According to Tucker Cummings, we should ‘bite the bullet’ and handle the big stuff first. It may be tempting to get the little ‘5 minute tasks’ out of the way but after all the little things are accomplished we rarely have the energy and drive to tackle a big project. Just get it over with!
Please comment below and share some productivity wisdom!
When you are walking, walk. When you are sitting, sit.
My name is Martyna and I’m the new marketing intern at Javelin. I’ll be blogging every other week – keeping you lovely people updated about what’s going on at Javelin!
A short blurb about me:
I went to school for Early Childhood Education, and got tired of changing diapers and putting kids shoes on (only to have them kick them off). So, I decided to pursue a psych degree. During my second year I thought to myself, ‘hey, I want to open up a business’. So I went to Sheridan to get a general business certificate. After taking some marketing courses during the program I decided that marketing was something I was interested in. I applied for the marketing co-op program and ta-da! Here I am at Javelin for my very first work term!
As the new marketing intern I’ll be helping Javelin reach out to students with the following two main initiatives:
Facebook – the goal is to make the Javelin Facebook page a fun place for engineers – and future engineers- to connect, gain valuable information and share whatever they’re working on.
National Engineering Month – Javelin will be a Silver level sponsor for National Engineering Month (March). We’re working on getting connected with students and becoming a valuable resource for them at every stage of their learning process. Javelin will be attending many events as well as hosting our own at the office so stay tuned!
9 Things I learned in 9 days at Javelin
(I’m a fast learner, I know)
If your boss tells you to dress up like a cowboy – he means it
Engineers aren’t dorky (at least not all of them)
Don’t hit the snooze more than 7 times – you’ll be late
Starting something new is scary, but without facing scary things we’d never accomplish anything!
You should work at a place with good a coffee machine – I’m saving like $6 a day by not going to Starbucks – score!
Traffic sucks!
I already appreciate the workplace related jokes on Failblog.com (check it out it’s hilarious) http://work.failblog.org/
Working in a beautifully designed office is great! And can’t forget the little things i.e kudos to the nice smelling lotions in the woman’s washroom and the snack cabinet!
Andrew received a Bachelor of Industrial Design in April 2011 from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. He specializes in computer-aided design, manufacturing technologies, model making and graphics. He is also interested in ergonomics, marketing, psychology, perception, innovation, sustainability and the nature of work. Andrew is a competent machinist, having manufactured from scratch a cast aluminum wheelchair for his final design thesis. His design work focuses on minimalism, with an emphasis on materials and distinct lack of decoration.
When he sent us the article, he also agreed to tell our readers a few things about his background as a designer in general and a SolidWorks user in particular. Here is the full interview:
As SolidWorks users, sometimes we have to create a 3D part from a sketch provided by a creative professional, such as an industrial designer. Quickly adjusting the images in Adobe Photoshop can provide more accurate results when the images are used as modelling aids in SolidWorks.
Remote Control Sketched Elevations
The above images are used in the SolidWorks Surfacing Class offered by Javelin Technologies. They are representative of a hand drawn sketch made by an Industrial Designer. Read More »
Ralph Wright has just posted a very useful tech tip on the Javelin blog, including a detailed step by step guide about how to add new hole sizes in the Hole Wizard.
I know Ralph very well from meetings at the Ontario SolidWorks User Group and from having him in my SolidWorks classes. We discovered we have a common hobby – both of us like to brag about our expertise in SolidWorks. As a result, we entered in a friendly competition to see who can get the most SolidWorks certificates.
When he sent us the article, he also agreed to tell our readers a few things about his background as a designer in general and a SolidWorks user in particular. Here is the full interview:
One of the most underutilized feature sets of PhotoView 360 is the appearance surface finish tab. Why is it underutilized? For a couple of reasons I think, those being:
It’s found in the appearance advanced settings that some users may never activate.
Most users don’t fully understand the settings and controls found there or how they can be used.
I could explain surface finish with text and pictures here in the post but I thought the best way to show the controls was to create a short video so you could see them in action.
RobRodriguez.com is a way for me to give back to the SolidWorks community in the forum of tutorials and information revolving around visualization. Most engineers lack the experience or know how to effectively communicate their designs to the rest of the world. I provide them with information they can use to effectively reuse their engineering CAD data as a visual communication tool.
Three reasons why we read the blog:
We always want to learn from the best and Rob is the uncontested Rendering Guru of the SolidWorks community. He was actually hired as a consultant for the two major rendering books SolidWorks released in the past 3 years:
Everything on his blog is current and up to date. When the 2011 version of PhotoView 360 was released, there was almost no documentation available. The only place that had an in-depth expert dissection of the new software was Rob’s blog. At that time, whenever a customer asked about what is new with PhotoView, we would direct him or her to http://robrodriguez.com/wordpress/Video/PV360-2011-Sneak-Peak/PV360-2011-Sneak-Peak.html .
You cannot just write about rendering tools and techniques, you need to demonstrate them. Rob created a large library of videos covering most of the workflows available in SolidWorks and PhotoWorks or PhotoView 360. Watching these videos is like having a personal tutor guiding you through all the trails of the rendering world.
If you’re thinking about how to create a healthier workplace environment, consider going low-VOC.
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are chemicals widely used as ingredients in products such as paint, building materials and furnishings, office equipment and cleaning supplies. Elevated levels of VOCs have been linked to eye and respiratory irritation, headaches, fatigue and other symptoms associated with sick building syndrome.
One of the most underutilized feature sets of 
