MAY 2018
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY The way we make things is about to fundamentally change.
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WOMEN IN ENGINERING Katie Symons.
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COMPANY PROFILE MSugar finds their sweet spot.
West Coast poised to become
the Tech Hub of NZ
- Craig Carlyle
The nature of New Zealand manufacturing and industry has been evolving since the 1980’s with our traditional manufacturing centres and market focuses. While popular opinion is that industry has disappeared overseas, the Maintenance Engineering Society of NZ (MESNZ) has for some time been reporting that it has in fact relocated to the regions with a new focus on niche markets and necessity driven lean manufacturing. While a big driver of change late last century was the fashionable focus on labour rates, another new factor is emerging that may yet reshape our local industry, connective technology. Nowhere is this no more evident than at Vertigo Technologies in Westport, where a small band of young innovators are carving out a whole new micro machine centre industry.
With the modern focus on funded unit study-based training, the industry has failed to keep up with industry developments and needs to step up to the plate if NZ is to grasp its competitive advantage.
MESNZ took the opportunity to take the Kaeser Compressors Network Evening Series to the West Coast and were buoyed by what they discovered in a converted railway shed in the historic coal focused town of Westport. Brett Cottle is a 26-year-old man with a vision and the attitude to go places. Completing his Unitec certificates in mechanical design and electronics, Cottle, who modestly denies any qualification as an engineer, took to line-haul truck driving dangerous goods to square off his student loan, before settling on the tiny town of Westport to fulfil his dreams. Driven by his passion for drones and the need to build intricate components, Cottle discovered a niche and a knack for desktop light spec CNC controlled machine centres. The kind of machine that is not too big or expensive to fit into a healthy man-cave yet retains the technology and capacity to create sophisticated accurate and repeatable low volume componentry. Fast forward to 2018 and Vertigo have built 167 machines in 15 months and are now preparing to step up from the local market test bed to the global market. Technology is available and embraced in the region and the low cost of living reduces the risk for start up companies. With similar local success in gaming technology in the region, the concept of the West
Coast becoming the next globally competitive connected technology centre of the country is poised to become a reality, a potential that has not escaped the region, with a Think Tank hosted in Greymouth in April. Cottle’s approach mirrors that of Kiwi world beater Bill Buckley, surrounding himself with
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www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz BUSINESS NEWS What’s all the blockchain fuss about?
14 DEVELOPMENTS
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2018
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Analytics leaders wrestle with AI challenges for 2018.
direct3dprinting.com.a
16 DEVELOPMENTS
Engineering firm takes mentoring to another level.
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Is there a standard for smart manufacturing?
Waiting for smart manufacturing standards to develop before implementing the Industrial Internet of Things into your operations may not be the most productive choice. By Dave Vasko, director of Advanced Technology, Rockwell Automation Smart manufacturing is called different things in different countries: Manufacturing USA (United States), Industrie 4.0 (Germany), China 2025 (China) or Industrie du Futur (France). The U.K., Sweden, Japan, Korea and India all have country-specific efforts as well. What do these initiatives have in common? They are all: • Creating a vision for smart manufacturing. • Using the power of digitalization to help manufacturers reduce capital expenditures, improve time to market, reduce inventory and improve productivity. • Extending existing standards to realize the vision. The last point is an important distinction: These initiatives are not creating new standards — they are classifying how best to use existing standards. That means the groundwork for smart manufacturing, Industrie 4.0 and other initiatives is being done in standard developing organizations such as the IEC, ISO, ISA, IEEE and the OPC Foundation. These organizations are where the influence starts and leadership takes hold.
Trade cess / s rt SucThis is particularly important as thought leaders prepare terview / Expo is for In s / ie the g G20 (or Group of Twenty) in D lys August. This olo / 3Economy tDigital eninternational Techn ofiles / Ana elo forum for governments from m e p v ti p cs Pr Dev 20 major/ economies isru Robotiis host to high-level discussions of mpany / Regional t ing / D o r n C le tu r / c a e ufa 018 &T Cyb ity MEX 2 Skills IIoT / rt Man ductiv r Sma Reports – E cture / Pro Economy / struction / ials fo on lar tru C s u a / c Mater eviews and fr ir e c C In an Pr / The ing / ainten ution Show factur ate Change tive M ib Manu m reventa tics & Distr P / / Food turing / Cli g is turin / Log fac anufac ufacturing Manu M r an n fo / Desig / Additive M y Securit
policy issues pertaining to, among other things, global economic growth. On the agenda is digital technology. Countries and companies around the world are eager to adopt digitalization strategies because it levels the playing field for smaller companies, allowing them to reap the same benefits as larger firms, and remain globally competitive and relevant.
Industry is slow to adapt to new technologies, mostly because replacing existing assets with new, smart manufacturing versions can be complex and take time. The transition should take place in phases.
This means if you look only at one countr initiative, you’ll have a limited view of t global movement. You must look at glob standards to understand global impact.
So rather than the name of the initiative th differentiates the work, it’s the standar behind that initiative that make the differenc
The Time to Start Is Now
For organizations hesitant to start their journe
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CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS
NEWS 5 BUSINESS Importance of social media marketing for
ADVISORS
manufacturers.
6 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Leeann Watson
Is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber).and is a strong voice for Canterbury business.
The Interview: FARO The way we make things is about to fundamentally change.
IN ENGINEERING 9 WOMEN Katie Symons. 10 IN LIGHT OF CURRENT EVENTS Kirk Hope: Supporting innovation in Kiwi business. 11 ANALYSIS Dieter Adam: Manufacturing Report – Beyond
5 Dieter Adam
Commodities.
12 PERFORMANCE New Zealand’s manufacturing industry stepping up to world stage.
2018 13 EMEX Post show report. DEVELOPMENT 14 REGIONAL West Coast poised to become the Tech Hub of NZ. 15 DEVELOPMENTS New Zealand’s coolest redevelopment. Industry Training Federation looking forward to the education conversation. Two inspiring students from University of Canterbury. Cluster theory fails to take hold in NZ manufacturing.
6
Kirk Hope
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12
lessons.
Synlait Palmerston North officially opened. Boost for NZ beverage market. Massey University partner of NZ Fieldays Society.
26 The Kaizen Paradox. PRODUCTS 28 NEW Konecranes explores advanced networks. SUPPLY CHAIN
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Is HERA Director, she has extensive experience in innovation, research management and product development, most recently as Head of Innovation and Product Development & Pacific Islands Export Manager at New Zealand Steel..
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Welders’ powered air now more affordable. Hamilton and Waikato first to enjoy ‘warm white’ LED.
30 BUSINESS Reports of smelter demise greatly exaggerated. Reducing emissions using food waste. New energy sector model.
Is Managing Director of Connection Technologies Ltd, Wellington and is passionate about industry supporting NZ based companies, which in turn builds local expertise and knowledge, and provides education and employment for future generations.
Dr Troy Coyle
NEWS 23 EXPORT Australian state looks to New Zealand for export MANUFACTURING 24 FOOD Company Profile: MSugar finds their sweet spot.
Is Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy body. He has held a range of senior positions at Westpac and is a barrister and solicitor.
Lewis Woodward
MANUFACTURING 17 SMART More Power, Less Tower; AI may make aircraft
control towers obsolete. Countries with the highest density of robot workers. Will fine circuit traces soon become ubiquitous? Robots are now everywhere, except in the productivity statistics. Are you a future-ready manufacturer?
Chief Executive, New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association has a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology, consulting and senior management roles in R&D, innovation and international business development.
VIEW 31 REAR Not so fast: why the electric vehicle revolution will 24 bring problems of its own.
Craig Carlyle
Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.
PUBLISHER
Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd,1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.
MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
CONTRIBUTORS
Dieter Adam, Holly Green, Richard Conway, Chew Beow Kwan, Katie Symons, Kirk Hope, Dieter Adam, Greg O’Loan, Paul Stringleman www.mscnewswire.co.nz
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Vol.9 No. 4 MAY 2018 Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.
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Budget lacks a productivity focus So, if you buy a horse with a good bloodline you get tax relief. Probably one of the business highlights of the Budget. The Budget switches back to R & D tax rebates to which National allocated targeted grants. This switch encourages companies to get a whole lot more serious about R & D and notes that companies need to invest more to raise the R & D spend from 1.3 to 2 percent of GDP over the next decade. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says that some of the big-ticket items in the Budget would help support business growth. “An investment of $28 billion over 10 years in Auckland transport will improve infrastructure in our largest city, helping business to grow.”
is disappointed there is no new investment in on-the-job training and apprenticeships. Skill shortages are rampant, employment is high, technology is changing. Catherine Beard, Executive Director for ExportNZ and ManufacturingNZ believes that a tax credit scheme in addition to the support available through Callaghan Innovation will increase the support available for business. To me, productivity has not been addressed and this is the most disappointing aspect of the Budget.
While Kim Campbell CEO, EMA believes the Budget is short on productivity and wonders how the proposed changes to industrial relations will impact business operations. The Budget did not address the need for enhanced skills in this time of technological change. The Industry Training Federation
Doug Green
Success Through Innovation
EDITORIAL
Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. -Jack Kerouac
BUSINESS NEWS
Importance of social media marketing
for manufacturers
Research by New Zealand’s leading search engine optimisation (SEO) specialists has revealed the extent to which social media is increasingly driving traffic to business’s websites. Using anonymised data collected from 200 Google Analytics accounts and 548 Google AdWords accounts, Pure SEO’s 2018 New Zealand Internet Search Trends and Insights report represents the largest ever analysis of New Zealanders’ search habits. This information will be invaluable for informing digital marketing strategies for manufacturers, particularly those who market directly to consumers. Pure SEO’s analysis of Internet searches in New Zealand for the year 1 January to 31 December 2017, identified new insights into how New Zealanders have been engaging with search engines over the past year, and what the coming year’s trends are likely to be. Pure SEO’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Conway says the analysis showed that in 2017 there was a 31.3% increase in website visits from social sources such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn compared with the same
period in 2016.
better rankings.”
An estimated 95% of those visits came from Facebook.
However, simply having a social media presence will not necessarily boost the Google rankings for a business’s website.
Mr Conway attributes the increase to social media technology becoming increasingly advanced, attracting more attention from New Zealand businesses. He notes that Facebook in particular continues to improve its targetting capabilities, allowing businesses to market straight to their existing audiences and attract new ones. “We expect the upward trend to continue as more New Zealand businesses discover the power of social media marketing,” he says. Mr Conway advises businesses to continue focusing on social media marketing: “As our statistics show, it is clearly a powerful tool for driving website visits and building brand authority - this all aids more clicks and
“While it is important to continue building a loyal audience and boosting brand visibility and authority through social media, digital marketing strategies should also focus on earning authoritative links from external websites and activities that build a loyal audience. Although social media is an undeniably important channel for driving web traffic, Mr Conway cautions businesses to broaden their focus when developing their digital marketing strategy.
for business owners, marketers and advertisers. So much so, that what held true a year ago may no longer be true today.”
“Search engine marketing (organic and paid) is a highly specialised discipline that is constantly evolving, creating new challenges and opportunities
The full report can be viewed here: http://content.pureseo.co.nz/ new-zealand-internet-search-trendsand-insights
Find a great home for your business EAST TAMAKI A great place to do business
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot. -Joe Vitale
The Interview: FARO Spokesperson: Chew Beow Kwan, Product Marketing Associate Manager, Asia Pacific, FARO Technologies Please tell us what BuildIT Construction is all about?
Where do you see this software being used most?
The BuildIT Construction software leverages on FARO’s cutting-edge 3D metrology capability. FARO is to first to offer this fully integrated building lifecycle Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) management tool empowering construction professionals to continuously evaluate projects with real time comparisons against CAD designs using 3D scan data.
Application areas that will benefit most from the BuildIT Construction software include Architecture, Civil Engineering/ Surveying, Construction, Facility Management, Historical Preservation, and Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP).
The software from FARO uniquely enables laser scanner users to perform immediate, real-time build and verify analysis throughout the entire project, and facilitates a new level of cost management and operational efficiency. BuildIT Construction can be fully integrated with 3D data collected from FARO Focus Laser Scanners, optimised for the FARO TracerM Laser Projector for placement and layout of structural components and is compatible with the FARO Laser Tracker for prefabricated modular positioning. It can also be used seamlessly with other third-party hardware.
BuildIT Construction can be fully integrated with 3D data. AEC professionals will find the software useful for: •⁃ Verifying accuracy of scan data to design models ⁃• Detecting incorrect placement or missing features such as walls, columns, beams, pipes, etc.
•⁃ Performing important measurements accurately and quickly •⁃ Inspecting construction for adherence to building standards •⁃ Verifying shifts and movements within structural performance over time with 4D analysis •⁃ Performing real time monitoring of adjacent structures throughout the project lifecycle
Is there a lot of construction underway across ASEAN? Prospects for construction in the ASEAN region is generally bright. According to the Global Construction 2030 Report, the ASEAN construction market is expected to exceed US$1 trillion by 2030, with growth predominantly driven by labor intensive light manufacturing industries moving to Asia’s emerging markets. The analysts also expect the construction sector of ASEAN members — Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam — to show growth rates of 6% per annum or higher, up till 2030.
What are the advantages for AEC professionals? The software provides several advantages for AEC professionals and these include the acceleration of project timelines, minimization of
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waste, and an increased confidence in the measurements obtained. BuildIT Construction utilises complete digital 3D scans to quickly and easily perform construction QA/QC analysis and reduces prolonged hours of manual validation to minutes. AEC professionals can also use the software to perform routine quality checks throughout the build process, to detect errors at every stage of the project lifecycle and reduce expensive scrap and rework. They can also conduct analysis using an established platform derived from 20 years of proven expertise in delivering best in class measurement solutions to the manufacturing industry.
Quality control appears to be a major factor with this software? Yes, the BuildIT Construction software is all about improving the quality control process. Historically, the tolerance level for scrap and rework in the construction industry has been very high because it is considered part of the normal business. With the introduction of BuildIT, AEC professionals can now be empowered to make informed decisions throughout the build process and reduce the need for scrap and rework, improving the overall quality of the project altogether.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. -Mark Twain
High Quality Flying China Eastern Airlines (CEA) explores additive manufacturing for aircraft maintenance, identifies time savings of 98% and reduces cost by up to 72%.
Learn more >>
https://www.objective3d.com.au/china-eastern-airlines/
Additive Manufacturing Lab In 2015, CEA’s first brand-new Boeing 777 passenger aircraft had misprinted seat signs. The cost for purchasing replacements was too expensive for such a small error, so engineers used 3D printing. The new signs were ready in three days at a much lower cost, so CEA quickly set up a dedicated AM lab to explore more applications for 3D printing. Eastern Airlines Technic set up the lab with a Fortus® 450mc and ULTEM™ 9085 resin, a high-performance thermoplastic material with high strength-to weight ratio compliant to relevant FAA and CAAC25 requirements. Since its inception, the lab has successively produced and installed more than 300 finished parts, making CEA the first domestic airline to have 3D-printed interior parts in commercial planes.
Learn more about the Stratasys Production Systems >> https://www.objective3d.com.au/china-eastern-airlines/
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY The way we make things is
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. -John Wooden
about to fundamentally change
“Tooling” - the process of designing and engineering the tools that are necessary to manufacture parts - was the essential technology behind the early industrial revolution. It allowed manufactured goods to go from humans to machines and powered the production of complex mechanical inventions like the steam engine. With new economies of scale driven by machines, raw materials travelled from developing nations to industrial ones, and cost-effective goods flowed back to other nations across the world. Our modern era of global trade and tariffs began. Today, we make raw materials and ship them around the world to factories that make parts. Those parts are shipped to other factories that assemble them into product components, which are then shipped all over the world to more factories that make ever more complex final products. This process is the legacy of the first industrial revolution. Tens of trillions of dollars in capital is travelling at any given time on boats and planes, for weeks on end, across the oceans. Almost every product has a part or component that has sluggishly moved through warehouses and customs facilities where bureaucrats have charged tariffs or VAT. This antiquated process is slowly starting to change. We are at the beginning of a new S-curve, one that will forever advance the way we make and trade goods enabling a new era of productivity. A new class of high-speed industrial 3D printers from companies like Carbon, HP and Desktop Metal, which are closer to a printing press than a printer, are enabling this change and quickly becoming an integral part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
These new machines are capable of printing complex parts at a lower cost than traditional techniques like casting and will break even at 100,000 parts or plastic parts. The costs for low to mid-range volumes are almost equivalent to those associated with injection moulding. As this technology matures, the points at which the process breaks even will improve, enabling an era of borderless production. In this new model, only raw materials are shipped and factories around the world digitally print parts as they need them for the final assembly of the products they make. There is no tooling and no waste of raw materials. Parts are no longer stuck on ships and planes, instead, they travel as digital files to the locations where they need to be printed for the final assembly. The benefits of a borderless supply chain aren’t the only factor driving the adoption of these new printing presses. There are three additional motivations, all of which will lead to dramatically superior products: Generative design These new printing technologies make more complex parts possible. In 2015, a new class of software started to appear: generative tools that let the mechanical engineer tell the computer where a part should exist, outlines the external forces acting upon it and identifies the areas to avoid. Once the high-level requirements are entered, a high-powered, AI-driven cloud computer cluster designs the part in a multi-physics context. This flexible, AI-driven approach to design is known as generative design and produces fully optimised parts
that are often 50% lighter than their conventional counterparts without sacrificing performance. These super complex shapes resemble nature and it is only possible to manufacture them through 3D printing. Thanks to these new, high-speed presses it’s finally cost-effective to produce these previously impossible-to-create parts. ‘Reductive decontenting’ “Reductive decontenting” is the process in which the reduction of weight of many components through the use of new manufacturing technology results in further reduction of weight of total active components within a product. For example, if you reduce the weight of a vehicle, the brakes, shocks and engine can be smaller. Almost everything benefits when you use generative design to drastically make a product lighter and you can then take advantage of the lower weight for reductive decontenting. There are fewer materials to purchase, the end product is lighter, so it takes less energy to move it, and performance increases as you are able to accelerate and brake faster. Assemblies consolidation Assemblies consolidation is an engineering technique enabled by 3D printing and which requires sophisticated design skills. It relies on a design process where you combine many parts in a product into a single, solid multi-functional part. While this is not a new technology, it is only possible to manufacture the end part with 3D printing because the result of this process is a super complex structure and only 3D printing gives you complete shape flexibility to print macrostructures that become multifunctional. This process has a major deflationary effect on a company’s supply chain and can dramatically reduce costs in major companies. In fact, companies like Optisys have used these techniques to reduce the components in a Ka band antenna from 100 to 1, while
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General Electric has effectively used this process to take the housing of a turboprop engine from 855 parts and reduce it to fewer than 20 multifunctional parts. While the collection and evaluation of data during the validation process for entirely new parts is more involved, it comes with dramatic reductions in the cost of the supply chain because you no longer need a staff to manage, certify, validate and qualify those 855 parts. A new manufacturing S-curve This revolution is very similar to what happened with digital photography and industrial printing, where offset presses have been disrupted in the past decade by digital presses. Once a digitally fabricated part reaches cost parity with conventional processes there are other economic forces that promote adoption. There is no need for inventory (parts on demand), tooling or shipping. With these new digital fabrication techniques in place, we will be able to democratise production. 3D printing makes it possible to produce geometrically complex designs for free and liberates designers from the manufacturing process, allowing them to create the optimal shape. SMEs will be able to produce goods around the world with equal or greater complexity than their global counterparts. A small company in Ghana or Buenos Aires will be able to print parts with the same quality as a major company in Connecticut. By eliminating tooling and allowing one part to cost as much as 100,000 parts, products can be localised, and designs changed faster. The best designs will be sent around the world digitally and printed on demand circumventing the global tariff and VAT systems that have taxed production since the last industrial revolution. The world manufactures $12 trillion in goods every year, so it will take many decades to modernise the world’s manufacturing capacity to take full advantage of this technology. One thing is certain, at the end of this century, as we look back on how the Fourth Industrial Revolution changed things, we will see mass, borderless production via 3D printing presses as one of the crucial, enabling technologies that drove productivity, economic growth and prosperity.
When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it. -Jim Rohn
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
The Interview: Katie Symons, structural engineer What is your primary engineering focus? I’m a structural engineer. I work with architects and constructors to design new buildings, and here in Christchurch I look at existing buildings that have (or haven’t) been damaged by earthquakes and see what needs to be done to repair or strengthen them. Do you creative?
find
the
profession
Yes. The best thing about structural engineering is that every project you work on is different: every client has a different set of priorities, every site has slightly different conditions, and as time goes on, building and material technology is changing, so the solutions to the same problems now are different to what they were even 5 years ago.
social space that allowed researchers to interact socially was just as important as the work space where extremely expensive equipment was being used. I worked on a theatre building that was naturally ventilated: quite a challenge when you have a large audience in one space.
I still get a thrill from seeing buildings I have worked on and know they wouldn’t be quite the same if I hadn’t been involved..
What are some of the structural engineering projects you have worked on?
Is there much of a difference in this work between here and the United Kingdom?
I’ve done quite a few educational buildings: further and higher education institutions in the UK, a physics laboratory for Cambridge University, where the provision of
The way buildings are designed is totally different, as the lateral loads they have to withstand here can be an order of magnitude higher than they are in the UK, because of the
earthquake risk. It’s uneconomical to design them to be stiff enough to stand up to those loads, so you have to design them to fail in a controlled way. It’s a very interesting challenge. Why did you become an engineer? I enjoyed maths and science, and how you could use that knowledge to solve problems and control things. I wanted to do something that would make a difference to people’s lives: that sounds naïve now, but I suppose I could word it differently by saying I wanted what I was working on to be a tangible thing, that would be used by people, not just research papers. I liked structural engineering because those things were really big: I still get a thrill from seeing buildings I have worked on and know they wouldn’t be quite the same if I hadn’t been involved.. With family, you have a juggling act and work four days a week? How is that? Yes it is a juggling act, but no more so than for any other parent who chooses to undertake paid employment (all parents work, even ‘stay-at-homemums’). It’s not uncommon for engineers to be parents. Unfortunately
it is uncommon for them to be female, and I wonder how many male engineers who are also fathers get asked this question. I look forward to the time when society places an equal expectation on mothers and fathers to do the same amount of juggling! I think we are seeing changes that show we are moving in that direction. The Diversity Agenda, launched recently by Engineering New Zealand is doing a great job at highlighting the benefits of a more gender-equal approach to the construction industry. What advice would you give to a young woman deciding on becoming an engineer today? There is absolutely no reason why you cannot have a successful career as an engineer. The positives are the same for women as for men of course: it’s a challenging, rewarding profession with lots of opportunities to grow and develop.
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IN LIGHT OF CURRENT EVENTS
You don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. -Martin Luther King Jr
Supporting innovation in Kiwi business Kirk Hope, Chief Executive BusinessNZ What is the most important ability for business?
unprecedented responsibility and cost for business.
Some would say the ability to innovate.
Firms these days must continually invest to innovate, or lose competitiveness.
Huge new forces – globalisation and the digital economy - have made innovation essential for business success. Because of these forces, purely local businesses now have competitors all over the world and all over the internet, pushing the bar for success ever higher. As a result, many businesses can no longer compete just by producing their best quality product at their best price.
But investment in innovation is risky – the payoff is never certain. Businesses can’t always capture all the benefits of their investment. For these reasons, many businesses may not be spending enough on research and development. In New Zealand R&D business spending is lower than in many other countries less than 1.3 percent of GDP, compared with an OECD average of 2.4 percent.
These days they have to continually monitor their competitors and continually update their product with offerings that are exciting and new.
This matters not just to business but to all of us.
Consumers now don’t just want quality at a good price – these days they also want ‘new’.
It can mean more profits, and therefore more tax revenues.
This consumer desire for new products and new features creates is creating
Everybody benefits when firms invest in innovation.
This is a significant benefit, as company tax and GST contribute around half of the tax revenues that pay for all
government services. It’s a key reason why countries all around the world have taxpayer-funded support for R&D (and it means New Zealand must do the same, or become less competitive than the rest of the world). The way in which New Zealand supports R&D is currently under debate. The Government is proposing changing from a grants-based system, to a system that also includes tax credits. Currently firms are able to apply to Callaghan Innovation for cash grants
for qualifying R&D expenditure. The Government is proposing that some of those grants should be replaced by a system of tax credits.
This would be for medium-sized and larger businesses that spend over $100,000 a year on R&D. Smaller companies whose R&D expenditure is less than this would continue to be eligible to apply for Callaghan grants. The benefit of introducing a tax credit system is that it could be simpler to administer – businesses would be able
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On the other hand, a tax credit system can bring the risk of gaming the system – the temptation for companies to reclassify other spending as innovation spending in order to fit the criteria - and means resources must be applied to police the system.
It would be useful to hear a wide range of opinions on this proposed change, by commenting on the MBIE website www.mbie.govt.nz: “Have your say: Research and development tax incentive” Views on other R&D issues will be welcome too, including how best to provide R&D support for loss-making companies, whether to treat software development as R&D, and whether exporters should be treated differently from other businesses. It’s important that New Zealand companies invest strongly in innovation, and important that we get the best possible support system for them to do so. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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It could result in more companies investing in R&D because of the ease of applying.
Investment in innovation is risky – the payoff is never certain. Businesses can’t always capture all the benefits of their investment.
Under this system businesses would be able to apply for a tax refund equal to 12.5 percent of their R&D spending, with eligibility criteria.
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to apply for the tax credit as part of filing their tax online.
Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Tel: 06 870 9029
our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty paper morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world.
ANALYSIS
“Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.” -Elon Musk
Manufacturing Report – Beyond Commodities: Manufacturing into the Future Dieter Adam, Chief Executive The Manufacturers’ Network During April the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) released their report: Beyond commodities: Manufacturing into the future. The release of the report at a joint EMA and The Manufacturers’ Network event in Auckland featured the Minister for Economic Development, Environment, and Trade and Export Growth, Honourable David Parker, speaking about the report and manufacturing in New Zealand. The release also featured a panel discussion of Kiwi manufacturers, discussing the opportunities and issues they face to grow and thrive. I had been engaged with MBIE’s Sector Team for over two years, meeting with MBIE staff to provide information and discuss how the report could best represent the true nature of manufacturing in New Zealand. The result is an outstanding report, providing far more in-depth analysis and granular insight than its predecessor. It’ll be a very helpful tool in illustrating the key role manufacturing plays in our economy. Manufacturing contributed 12% of New Zealand’s real GDP ($23 billion) in 2017 and made up 11% of national employment, which represented 241,000 employees. For a very long time, our members and the wider manufacturing sector have felt that government – and the wider public - has not had a good understanding of the manufacturing
sector. In addition to giving a clearer picture of the manufacturing sector as a whole, the report acknowledges the importance and contribution of ‘so called’ low and medium tech manufacturing. It’s easy to get caught up in the high-tech and IT sectors, and we often see government do so, but we cannot forget or undervalue the hard work and critical contribution in employment, growth and exports that companies defined as low and medium tech manufacturing bring to our economy. The key to developing useful policies in any area is to get the facts right first. This report is a great step forward in understanding our sector. We are very pleased to see MBIE and the Minister show a commitment to the manufacturing sector and a willingness to work with industry to further harness its potential. During Hon David Parker’s speech and responses to questions, the upcoming Tax Working Group (TWG) came up a number of times. He reiterated the importance of addressing current tax imbalances which favour investment in assets (largely existing housing) over productive investment in businesses, like manufacturing. He views this as a key step in developing the manufacturing sector into the future by providing better access to capital for manufacturers. Labour has
had a couple of false starts on bringing the fundamental changes to the tax system New Zealand needs, and we will have to wait and see if the TWG comes out with a quality and efficient proposal to address the issue– and if any Government has the political will to implement such changes.
Manufactures’ Network will again take a lead role in that process, but we also need your comments and feedback to make sure we can best represent your views.
The Minister also echoed what we have heard from Professor Goran Roos in the past (a link to the Roos presentation can be found by searching his name on our website), who discussed the importance of manufacturing for building a countries economic capability, complexity and innovation, which in turn allows further growth in high value products, exports and support industries.
In another matter related to one of our policy demands, R&D tax credits, the Government has now released their discussion document on the reintroduction of R&D tax credits, following their election promise. We would encourage all our members and manufacturers to check this out and provide feedback to ensure the system can effectively support all forms of innovation in manufacturing.
In this vain, the MBIE report once again highlighted the heavy lifting manufacturing does in the innovation space, being by far the biggest spender of business R&D - manufacturing made up 42% of business R&D expenditure in 2016.
To read the MBIE report in full, go to: www.mbie.govt.nz/manufacturing To see the R&D Credit discussion document, go to: http://www.mbie. govt.nz/info-services/science-innovation/rd-tax-incentive
Having said all that, we have no illusion that a report alone will mean more government support for manufacturing. We now need to work with Government to develop policy responses to best support growth in manufacturing - we need industry to speak up in the number of upcoming policy discussions to ensure this can happen, and The
The Manufacturer’s Network at EMEX 2018 We spent three days at EMEX at the start of May, talking to manufacturers and engineers about what we do and their work and interest in the technology and equipment on show. We also showed off some products manufactured in New Zealand. A special to the members who kind provided us with their products to present at our stall, including: Aucom, G Tech, Pain Management Systems NZ, Contex Engineers and Snowypeak. I also presented two seminars alongside some members and people with experience and practical expertise in their fields. Our first seminar, Closing the Gaps: Short and long-term measures to address the skills shortages in manufacturing - Greg East of KZ
Marine Group and Barry Robinson of SAFE Engineering presented alongside myself, sharing their experiences in recruiting and training staff. We wanted to discuss and present practical measures manufacturers can take themselves to find and develop new skilled staff. My slides for this presentation can be found here. Once again, Industry 4.0 was a focus for many across the seminars, as well as a number of potential solutions being on display. I presented on the topic of Rolling out advanced manufacturing technologies in New Zealand, along with Rick Smith, of Sutton Tools, and Marc Simkin, of Assa Abloy. I wanted to give people a realistic view of where New Zealand manufacturing was at in
Industry 4.0 implementation. Despite all the hype, we are still in the early stages of our journey as a sector, though there is a lot of potential gains in the future to be had. You can see the slides from my presentation on our website.
about Sutton Tools work to introduce
The rest of our seminar focused on showing real life examples, where Sutton Tools and Assa Abloy have been able to find their own ways of effectively implement new technology into their production lines, improving productivity and safety. Marc Simkin talked about Assa Abloys journey to build the skills they needed to implement networked technology as well as cobots and robots into their processes. Rick Smith talked
getting those right and as LEAN as
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automated robots into production lines and the use of real time digital production reporting. Both
presenters
highlighted
the
need to focus on your own processes, possible before jumping into Industry 4.0 technology. They also outlined that such investments can have a relatively quick pay off time and return on investment.
Dieter Adam Chief Executive The Manufacturers’ Network
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PERFORMANCE
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. -Maya Angelou
New Zealand’s manufacturing industry stepping up to world stage New Zealand’s manufacturing industry is on the rise quality-wise, with businesses looking towards highly developed examples in other parts of the world and working to implement best practice standards. The driver for this change centres around demand for our products overseas, thanks in large part to the enormous success of the long-running ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign cementing our reputation as a clean, green producer. Higher demand for New Zealand’s products means export is no longer the sole domain of the multinationals, with smaller producers seeing more opportunities to enter overseas markets. To compete on a global scale, however, businesses must ensure their production processes meet or exceed international standards. The big manufacturing sectors Recent treasury figures show manufacturing sector output accounts for around 10 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP, with total operating incomes of close to 100 billion dollars a year. Of this, almost 30 per cent flows from the meat and dairy industries, keeping them firmly at the top of the figures. A further 15 per cent comes from other areas of the food industry, and 39 per cent from broader primary products such as metal, wood and paper products, coal and chemicals. Matt Walker,Manager of Procurement and Supply Chain recruitment at Michael Page in Auckland, says across manufacturing in general, businesses are becoming interested in process improvement, so they can compete and offer their products internationally. “Predominant trends at the moment show businesses in New Zealand have grown from being small, privately owned companies,” says Walker. “All of a sudden these businesses are on the cusp of trying to compete with the big boys globally, trying to sell into China, Australia and other areas.” Moves towards preventative maintenance, compliance and traceability Walker says conversations around topics lean manufacturing Workerlike at electronics company Rakon.and
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continuous improvement are fairly new to many businesses in New Zealand. He names world class manufacturing (WCM) and total productive maintenance (TPM) methodologies as key recent introductions which allow for proactive and ongoing preventative maintenance, higher efficiency and standardised systems of production. “The big change I’ve seen in the past year and a half is that teams are looking for people not just to do reactive maintenance, but to put in place total preventative maintenance. TPM is becoming a big thing.” Walker says, “Along with that comes a lot of upskilling and staff training, where you’re training people up to particular standards. “Obviously as you go into export, you need to have a certain level of traceability for the retailers or the end user, and most quality management jobs I recruit, that’s what they’re doing. It’s about putting in place a system where they can get to the root cause of problems and provide traceability for customers.” In-demand manufacturing skills There are three main skill sets Walker lists as being currently in demand when it comes to manufacturing staff. He says, “One is around engagement, so empowering the workforce, engaging them to make changes, upskilling operators to become team leaders, that kind of thing. Walker says in this area, people may be expected to bring things like continuous improvement skills, Six Sigma certification and a background in lean manufacturing. “The second area we recruit a lot is quality management – ISO accreditations, systems implementation and traceability for customers,” he says. “That’s predominantly because a company has realised they’ve turned over twenty times as much as they were doing 10 years ago and now wants to sell into Woolworths or similar.
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“The big buyers expect to be able to know who touched what, and when, and how long it sat for.” The other in-demand role Walker is often asked to seek staff for is engineering managers. He says, “That’s not reactive maintenance stuff, it’s more proper systems implementation, preventative maintenance schemes, really what the rest of the world will view as best class.” Where are staff coming from? Although most employers would be thrilled to take on only local workers, says Walker, increasingly they’re becoming more open to sourcing staff from elsewhere. The newer focus on global best practice manufacturing concepts means there aren’t always locals available with the right skills. “Increasingly through last year, we brought people in especially from Australia, but a big trend is returning Kiwis, guys who’ve gone and worked abroad, who are coming back home and trying to find a company that’s got the right level of aspiration compared to where they’ve been.” Walker says the industry has a candidate-driven market, so while employers may be very keen on an exact match when they bring someone in, flexibility might be needed in terms of the type of employment package that’s offered. “Companies know they don’t really have a lot of choice, so if someone comes along and they might want to have a degree funded, or do an MBA, then employers are more willing to do that now.” Soft fit important on both sides One of the big selling points many companies are using when it comes to seeking the right staff is opportunity for development and autonomous conditions, according to Walker. He says, “[Employers] are saying, ‘over here, you can make change’. “I think many companies are giving people more autonomy than, say, the
C-suite types, and at the same time, they’re willing to pay pretty good salaries to attract people.” Walker sees increasingly that smaller companies are trying to attract people from multinational manufacturing giants, and staff are often happy to make that move. “They say, ‘I’d rather go and work for a smaller player, at a place where I can have a bit more flexibility, a bit more autonomy’.” Both employers and candidates have a strong focus on whether someone’s a good softer fit for a company, says Walker. “Candidates do really have to prove they’re a good fit in terms of culture. Half of an interview might be around experience and skills, but the rest is very much around values, ethics, and what does a person value in terms of his or her approach.” The next few years in manufacturing The current adoption of more lean manufacturing principles and best practice is set to continue, says Walker, with a possible decline in demand for hands-on quality inspection roles. “People are starting to look at quality as being entwined in production now. It used to be an afterthought, where a team of people were doing manual inspection of products or parts at the end of the process. “Now they’re relying more on the front end, where production is about you as an operator needing to check for quality.” Automation is likely to become an increasing factor in manufacturing, too. The idea of a company being able to expand production and efficiency by investing in the latest machine technology is very attractive, Walker says. He adds that with more automation, “Companies will have more need for people such as project engineers and CAPEX experts, and less need for process people.”
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things. - Albert Einstein
title text
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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd. -Miguel de Cervantes
continued from Page 1
West Coast poised to become the Tech Hub of NZ young enthusiastic staff, some local,
the concerns raised by other digital
but others keen to combine the West
machining and emerging technology
Coast life style with the opportunity to
operators; a lack of support and
chase dreams.
capability from the technical training
While this friendly bunch punch well
industry.
above their weight, Cottle echoes
With the modern focus on funded
unit study-based training, the industry has failed to keep up with industry developments and needs to step up to the plate if New Zealand is to grasp its competitive advantage. The MESNZ Kaeser Compressors Network Evenings are hosted to showcase local operations and provide networking opportunities for engineers across all regions of New Zealand. The evenings offer the opportunity to look at the host operation and discuss common issues and solutions in a relaxed after work environment. Open to interested members of the public, the nights are well patronised. There is no cost to attend and non-MESNZ can attend up to 2 meetings. Evenings are constantly being planned, with the current schedule showing Auckland, Napier, Christchurch and Masterton. Readers
can find the latest schedule by going to http://www.mesnz.org.nz/activities/ network-evenings/ MESNZ’s whistle stop visit to the West Coast has unearthed a fantastic depth of local industry and engineering and armed with the improved local knowledge, the society is vowing to return to the region to foster further development and growth of the engineering network. The Maintenance Engineering Society is active across New Zealand, providing opportunities for maintenance engineers and manufacturing operations to network and share innovations and experiences; both at a national level at their annual national conference or at these regional events. The 2018 National Maintenance Engineering Conference will be held at the Energy Events Centre, Rotorua on November 13-15
Robotics Plus signs global deal for
robotic apple packers Deal highlights demand for agricultural automation technology; follows recent investment from Yamaha Motor Co. to accelerate company’s growth Robotics Plus, a New Zealand agricultural robotics and automation company, has signed an agency and distribution agreement with GlobalPac Technologies which will see the company’s revolutionary robotic apple packers go global. The deal, which will initially target the US, Australian and New Zealand markets, is fuelling a period of accelerated growth for Robotics Plus as industry demand for its innovation grows. GlobalPac Technologies is a joint venture between United States company Van Doren Sales and New Zealand-owned Jenkins Group. Robotics Plus CEO Steve Saunders says between the two companies, Van Doren and Jenkins have a presence in almost every packhouse in New
Zealand, Australia and the US. “We see enormous potential in our new relationship with GlobalPac Technologies. Naturally their global packhouse relationships offer exciting opportunities for us to expand distribution of our apple packers to markets beyond New Zealand, but more importantly, they share our vision for the future of packhouse automation. Together we aim to transform the global horticulture industry.” Jenkins General Manager, Jamie Lunam, says: “Apple packhouses already use automation extensively for sorting and grading, but the process of arranging apples in trays for export is still highly labour intensive. “Labour shortages are a major and growing concern in New Zealand and many other food producing countries. We see Robotics Plus and their packing technology as game-changing for the industry. It is a very exciting time to be involved in helping to affect this positive change.” Van Doren CEO, Brett Pittsinger says the global apple industry has been packing apples the same way for decades. “Labour shortages are now causing major headaches for packhouses in the United Sates. It’s exciting to see the enthusiasm amongst packhouses
Jamie Lunam and Dr. Alistair Scarfe.
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when they see the potential of this technology.” The Robotics Plus apple packer identifies and places apples in their trays and has the ability to safely handle up to 120 fruit per minute which is the equivalent of two people. The robotic apple packing technology was originally developed by Massey University graduates, Dr Alistair Scarfe and Kyle Peterson. Saunders saw the technology early on and agreed to provide investment that would lead to them to building their first commercial prototypes in 2016. Robotics Plus chief technical officer, Dr Alistair Scarfe says Robotics Plus carried out our first commercial trials of the packer last season and were delighted with the results. “Our scaled commercial trials were mostly carried out in New Zealand, but we also sent a packer to the United States, where it was trialled in their huge packhouses. As a result, we now have huge demand from both markets, with production underway to fulfil the orders.” The packers are the first of a suite of horticulture automation technologies in development by Robotics Plus, who recently secured investment from Yamaha Motor Co. (Japan). The technologies aim to address major issues in the horticulture industry
caused by labour shortages and increasing consumer demand for fresh fruit. Applying cutting edge science to traditional agricultural systems is at the heart of the Robotics Plus business strategy. The company is working closely with universities and research institutes to develop a range of other technologies including a robotic kiwifruit harvester, robotic pollinator, autonomous agricultural vehicle and a robotic truck scanner. Saunders says the investment from Yamaha earlier this year and the formalising of the relationship with GlobalPac Technologies, means Robotics Plus is in a period of accelerated growth, all of which has the benefit of attracting new talent to the company. “There are some very clever young engineers coming out of New Zealand universities. We’ve found that if you show them the customer needs and give them the right equipment they can achieve amazing results.”
DEVELOPMENTS
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle
New Zealand’s coolest redevelopment Scott Base is about to go under the microscope as a group of specialist designers takes up the call for the redevelopment of New Zealand’s home in Antarctica. The facility is reaching the end of its functional life and needs to be redeveloped to manage risk, maintain standards and support the requirements of New Zealand’s world-class scientists. Antarctica New Zealand has contracted experts in four disciplines that can deliver on cold climate design. The four successful applicants within each discipline are: • Architecture: Jasmax-Hugh Broughton Architects • Quantity Surveying: Turner and Townsend • Structural/Civil Opus
Engineering:
WSP
• Building Services: Steensen Varming
This team will spend the next 12 months creating four concept designs based on user requirements, site investigations to understand environmental constraints and any learning from the experience of other National Antarctic Programmes. Antarctica New Zealand will then recommend a preferred option for a modern, low-impact, efficient facility that satisfies New Zealand’s scientific needs and strategic interests. This Detailed Business Case with concept designs will be presented to government in December 2018. Scott Base Redevelopment Project Manager, Simon Shelton, says the chosen companies fit well with Antarctica New Zealand’s values and passion for the harsh continent.
Scott Base with Mount Erebus in background. Photo by Dr Fiona Shanhun
“It’s important to us that they complement Antarctica New Zealand on this journey. They need to be able to work as part of our organisation and Jamie Lester (WSP Opus), Stephen Middleton (Jasmax), Martin Craig understand our (Steensen Varming), Simon Shelton (Antarctica New Zealand), Hugh environmental, Broughton (Hugh Broughton Architects). cultural and l o g i s t i c a l Antarctica, supporting world-leading requirements,” he says. “We science and environmental protection. chose these organisations for their New Zealand has occupied Scott Base operational skill, innovation, values every day since it was established and willingness to collaborate”. by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1957 and Euan MacKellar of Jasmax, one half of is recognised as a leader in the the Jasmax-Hugh Broughton Architects international Antarctic Treaty System. team, is looking forward to the Mr Shelton says it’s therefore important challenge of designing New Zealand’s that Scott Base is a safe, fit-for-purpose future physical presence in Antarctica. facility well into the future. “It is an incredible honour to be “We intend to role-model working with Antarctica New Zealand environmental stewardship while on the plans to redevelop Scott Base, creating a design that caters for New where we will need to deliver high Zealand’s scientific and strategic performance buildings in one of the needs in Antarctica. We are looking most extreme natural environments for efficiencies in how we, and our on the planet,” he says. “It is a huge facilities, operate through all aspects privilege to be part of the committed of the design.” team creating designs which will help our scientists working in Antarctica to This Detailed Business Case will cost better understand our environment 6.14 million dollars and has been as we strive to protect our planet for funded by the Government. generations to come”. A team of four designers visited Antarctica New Zealand is the government agency charged with carrying out New Zealand’s activities in
Antarctica in December and then again in February to begin the design process.
We’re looking forward to the education conversation The Industry Training Federation welcomes the government’s three-year work programme for education and looks forward to engaging with the government in its wide-ranging summit process. Industries rely on the education system delivering the skills and adaptability that people will need to thrive in a changing world of work, no matter which pathway through the system they follow. Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) arrange workplace-based education and training for 105,000 trainees and 43,000 apprentices - gaining qualifications on-the-job in industries across the economy. “We applaud Minister Hipkins’ ‘end-to-end’ vision and his proposal to bring the entire sector together. We need to get down to core purpose
and first principles, especially where different parts of the education system connect.” ITF Chief Executive Josh Williams says. Employers have serious concerns about the lack of foundation skills demonstrated by some school leavers, as evidenced recently by the international PISA report showing the maths skills of New Zealand 15 year-olds in ‘accelerated decline’. “This must be reversed. Maths - or at least functional numeracy - is an essential underpinning skill for any young person looking for a successful future in the industries we represent.
We must ensure young people are gaining core foundation skills to support their success in later life and work, and we need a national effort to sort it across the system” Mr Williams says. The work programme includes a review of the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnic (ITP) sector, as part of a wider review of vocational education. As skills leaders for their industries, ITOs are concerned that regional technical and vocational institutions remain high quality and sustainable. “New Zealand’s vocational education system is far from broken and is the
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envy of many other countries.” Mr Williams says. “However there are longstanding policy issues that need to change so that industry gets the right skills, education and training pathways articulate across the system, and collaboration between vocational providers and the industry training sector is supported and incentivised.” ITOs also see opportunity through this work programme to improve the provision of careers advice, build the credibility of NCEA, and expand dual training programmes between schools and workplaces as a core option in senior secondary education.
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DEVELOPMENTS
A bad attitude is like a flat tyre, you can’t get very far until you change it. -Unknown
Two inspiring students from University of Canterbury Selva Ganapathy and Joyce Chen, were the APAC winners of Go Green in the City 2017! Entries for 2018 are now open. The students developed innovative solution to receiving clean access to water, represented New Zealand winning global competition aimed at developing smart, energy-efficient cities: Go Green in the City is a global competition, with the contest to find bold ideas and innovative solutions for smart, more energy-efficient cities. In 2017, nearly 20,000 young innovators from 3,000 universities in 180 countries took part, including 58% women. Selva and Joyce did a phenomenal job representing Christchurch and New
Zealand in winning the competition for APAC! The team won the competition for their incredible idea and presentation around ‘Water harvesting from a fog and wind energy tower’. With ¾ of the world covered by water, only 2.5% of this is fresh. Millions of people around the world still do not have access to good quality water and uninterrupted power…. Selva and Joyce presented a new, fresh approach to combat this issue. Now, Go Green in the City 2018 has officially launched, and students have until June to sign up!! In 2018, the competition should attract even more interest, thanks to a wider range of topics. Students are invited to submit their bold ideas in one of five categories: sustainability and inclusivity, the digital economy, smart supply chain, cyber security, or “no boundaries/bold idea for going green” (any topic). “Sustainability and inclusivity”, “no boundaries” have been popular topics for many years. Newly added these
three categories reflect a greater focus on digitisation, along with a “sky’s the limit” approach to innovation. Teams must be composed of two students attending accredited business or engineering schools in the same country for the duration of the competition. Each team should include at least one female member, in line with Schneider Electric’s policy of promoting Diversity and Inclusion. The deadline for submissions is June 1st, 2018. All shortlisted teams will receive mentoring by Schneider Electric experts to produce viable business cases to present at one of seven regional semi-finals over the summer in Europe, North America, China, India, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South America.
the competition final, along with one outstanding all-female team and two “wild-card” teams (additional teams selected from the semi-finalists). After the second round of mentoring, ten teams will meet at the global final in the United States (city to be announced) in the autumn. The global winning team selected by the executive jury, will be offered the chance to start a career at Schneider Electric, after an international travel to visit any two locations of their choice worldwide, where Schneider Electric offices are present.
Each of the seven regional winners will then be invited to prepare for
Cluster theory fails to take hold in NZ manufacturing Twenty-seven years after the Porter Project recommended New Zealand should pursue a “clusters” strategy to develop its manufacturing base, a government study of the manufacturing sector has found there are “few economically significant manufacturing clusters in New Zealand”. Without mentioning the government’s commercialisation accelerator agency, Callaghan Innovation, by name, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s New Zealand Manufacturing Sector Report suggests that “new institutions may need to be established, or existing institutions modified”. Callaghan is expected to see funding cuts for direct grants to companies seeking research and development assistance in the May Budget, as the government moves to introduce a new R&D tax credits system. Economic Development Minister David Parker launched the report, the first such overview of the sector by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment since it began publishing sector reports in 2013 under the previous government, in Auckland this afternoon. The report notes poor productivity persists in the sector and the long lead times required for new, higher value industries to emerge and appears
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to suggest changes are required to existing policy settings and government agencies to help deliver better results.
New Zealand has few economically significant manufacturing clusters”. “The development of a new industry typically follows an ‘S’ curve, similar to the stages a new technology goes through as it diffuses through society,” the report says. “There is usually a long gestation period - perhaps 10-20 years - while the skills and capability needed to succeed are learned and acquired by: firms; investors and service providers; and the education and government sectors.
The manufacturing sector is a disproportionately large employer of tradespeople, but “firms that need very specific technical expertise can also struggle to find these skills in New Zealand’s relatively shallow and generalist labour pool”. Visas for workers with skills relevant to manufacturing had doubled in the last five years, MBIE found, although that did not improve the sector’s poor productivity performance. Manufacturing productivity growth of 0.2 percent a year in the decade to 2015 was well below the national average of 1 percent annually. The largest part of the sector is devoted to processing agricultural commodities into food and beverages. The report found that workers in the manufacturing sector, which comprises 12 percent of the economy, earned on average $63,228 a year in 2016, some 15 percent above the national average.
“New institutions may need to be established or existing institutions modified.”
However, they also worked longer hours than average, meaning annual hourly earnings in the year to June 2017, at $28.80, were below the average for all industries, at $29.90.
The government is also conducting reviews and reforms of the education system, including initiatives to improve the financial stability and quality of skills training through the country’s polytechnics.
On industry clusters, which Harvard University competitiveness guru Professor Michael Porter recommended as key to improving New Zealand’s export competitiveness in a ground-breaking report in 1991,
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the report said they were “important for innovation and competitiveness, but New Zealand has few economically significant manufacturing clusters”. “Even when New Zealand has an industry with high competencies and an international profile, it tends to be dispersed across different locations,” the report says. “For example, New Zealand’s marine industry is ‘centred’ in Tauranga, Auckland and Northland.” While Auckland’s food and beverage industry had “all the hallmarks of an internationally significant cluster” and Canterbury had a long history in electronics manufacturing, “it is more realistic to think of New Zealand’s clusters as emerging or ‘micro-clusters’ when compared to international peers.” Nonetheless, the report noted that, “encouragingly”, New Zealand’s cluster development ranking in the latest Global Competitiveness Report had jumped from 64th in 2013 to 44th in 2018.
ADVISORS Mike Shatford
is an expert in the field of technology development and commercialisation. His company Design Energy Limited has completed over 100 significant projects in this vein by consulting for and partnering with some of New Zealand’s leading producers. Among Mike and his team’s strengths are industrial robotics and automated production where the company puts much of its focus.
Matt Minio
Managing Director, Objective3D Matt has extensive hands on experience as a user and supplier of 3D Printing technology. He comes from a mechanical design and engineering background with 25 years’ experience in multiple high end 3D cad applications across a range of industries, including aerospace and automotive. He has been heavily involved in the 3D printing evolution - from initial early prototyping to todays advanced 3d printing technologies producing production parts straight off the printer. As Managing Director of Objective 3D, he provides Stratasys, Desktop Metal and Concept Laser 3D printing solutions to a host of industries across Australia and New Zealand.
Sandra Lukey
Sandra Lukey is the founder of Shine Group, a consultancy that helps science and technology companies accelerate growth. She is a keen observer of the tech sector and how new developments create opportunity for future business. She has over 20 years’ experience working with companies to boost profile and build influential connections.
Phillip Wilson
Phillip Wilson of Nautech Electronics has over 25 years of experienced in the development, commercialisation and implementation of advanced manufacturing technology, robotics, automation and materials. Serving companies operating within the aerospace, automotive, offshore, defence, medical and scientific industries on a global basis. More recently specialising in change management and business re-alignment for a range of commercial entities from medium sized SME’s to divisions of large corporates.
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The most successful people are those who are good at plan B. -James Yorke
More Power, Less Tower:
AI May Make Aircraft Control Towers Obsolete Airport control towers are an emblem of the aviation industry. A Canadian company wants to use its technology to make them a relic of the past. Airport buffs may mourn the change. But Ontario-based Searidge Technologies believes its reasoning is, um, well-grounded.
of objects. It could even deduce when such objects might cause unexpected delays.
It believes AI-powered video systems can better watch runways, taxiways and gate areas. By “seeing” airport operations through as many as 200 cameras, there’s no need for the sightline towers give air traffic controllers.
“We are still trying to find the limits of the technology,” Thurow said.
That doesn’t mean air traffic controllers are going away. The alternative Searidge proposes is a new concept made possible by remote towers. It’s not an easy idea to swallow for an industry that’s been reluctant to embrace change, and is sensitive to any perception safety is being compromised.
Searidge has been training its deep learning network on workstations running NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPUs. The system constantly collects imagery from the airports it serves to expand its training base. Training typically takes five to seven days, so the company has recently begun training on the GPU-powered Google Cloud to speed the process.
But the benefits are hard to deny, including reduced taxi and wait times, handling 15-30 percent more aircraft per hour and reducing the number of tarmac incidents. “The industry is adapting, and often now puts air traffic controllers in regular buildings,” said Chris Thurow, head of research and development for Searidge. “It gives them a better view than they see out the tower.”
Originally a Radar Alternative At first, Searidge focused on providing cheaper alternatives to expensive radar systems for tracking and identifying objects on airport runways and taxiways. The company’s earliest products used traditional computer vision algorithms that analyzed video feeds on CPUs. They met the demands on the system at the time, but that was more than a decade ago.
Trained with Pooled Airport Data
The company deploys its technology on workstations running Quadro P6000 GPUs to do positioning of targets, classification and stitching of images in real time for 20 HD cameras. Once at a new airport, it annotates 24 hours of that facility’s normal operations and combines this with customer data from about three dozen airports in 20 countries — so its algorithms are always improving. Searidge’s AI innovations are built on top of their “remote tower” platform. New control towers are no longer being built or renovated, Thurow said. Instead airports are moving air traffic control to ground facilities. They’re even considering off-site locations. With AI added to remote towers, they offer high levels of situational awareness and air traffic controller support.
Since then, the resolution of video and need for real-time intelligence have both grown fast. CPUs can’t keep up with these resource-intensive features.
In some cases, he said, smaller airports are considering joining forces, allowing a single remote tower to manage more than one facility.
“Using GPU technology, we can offer this at a better price and with a significantly lower number of servers,” he said.
The European Union’s first certified medium-size, multi-runway remote tower recently opened in Budapest, Hungary, using Searidge’s technology. All tower controllers have been trained on the system, which is initially being used for contingency operations, live training and as a backup system. By 2020, HungaroControl aims to operate a full-time remote tower at Budapest.
Searidge shifted to GPUs about two years ago. It also brought deep learning tools such as NVIDIA’s CUDA libraries, TensorRT deep learning inference optimizer, and the Caffe deep learning framework into the mix. Then, as airports began to ask not only for coverage of runways and taxiways, but also tarmacs and gate areas, Searidge expanded the abilities of its technology. The company started working on more advanced AI that could accommodate a wider range of business rules. This enabled it to detect a greater assortment
View of an airport from remote tower using Searidge technology.
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Eventually, Thurow believes further AI innovation will lead to a more fully functioning “AI assistant.” The assistant could help air traffic controllers by picking up things humans might miss, predicting situations and recognizing patterns. “I expect AI assistants to come into play in the next five to ten years,” he said.
A Searidge Technologies control workstation.
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. -Oscar Wilde
Countries with the highest density of robot workers Data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reveals that industrial automation is accelerating across the globe. In 2015, the average global robot density in manufacturing industries was 66 robot units per 10,000 employees. Just one year later, the number increased to 74 robot units. Europe is the reigning champ, sporting a robot density of 99 units per 10,000 workers. The next highest regions are the Americas and Asia, with 84 and 63 units, respectively. When it comes to overall growth rate, Asia tops the list. “Robot density is an excellent standard for comparison in order to take into account the differences in the automation degree of the manufacturing industry in various countries,” says Junji Tsuda, president of the IFR. “As a result of the high volume of robot installations in Asia in recent years, the region has the highest growth rate. Between 2010 and 2016, the average annual growth rate of robot density in Asia was nine percent, in the Americas seven percent, and in Europe five percent.” Breaking those numbers further down by countries, South Korea had the largest installation of industrial robots per 10,000 employees in 2016, reaching 631. South Korea’s electrical, electronics, and automotive sectors have all contributed to this high installation volume. Singapore comes in second, with 488 units. “About 90 percent of robots are installed in the electronics industry in Singapore,” according to the IFR. Germany (309 units) and Japan (303 units) ranked third and fourth, respectively. Check out the full IFR report here to learn more.
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I didn’t come this far, to only come this far. -Unknown
Will fine circuit traces soon become ubiquitous? In the manufacture of industrial applications, more and more industry sectors are turning to a new technology as an alternative to classic PCBs. The revolution is called 3-D MID (Moulded Interconnect Devices or Mechatronic Integrated Devices) – injection-moulded plastic parts with conductive traces integrated by using laser direct structuring (LDS). This technique adds power to the trend towards miniaturisation in the electronics industry and provides product developers with new design opportunities. The projects from Multiple Dimensions, illustrates the diversity of possible applications for 3D-MID. They simplify the operation of household appliances, improve driver experience in power steering systems and open new ways of saving space -- for example in sensing and industrial electronics. These fine, golden traces on formed plastic are transforming industrial production. The basis of all 3D-MID applications is a thermoplastic material: Using injectionmoulding, first manufacture the part to fit the customer’s application, using different types of thermoplastic, which contain an additive that can be activated by laser. A laser ray then engraves the surface of the plastic and activates the additive. A copper bath then follows, which lets the conductive traces form directly on the thermoplastic. Depending on the type of application, the MID parts may have to be extremely robust or temperature-resistant. Some even must be acid or sweat-resistant, for example applications for hearing aids or headphones. In a final step, a barrier layer of nickel is applied and then conditioned with a thin layer of gold to ensure good solderability. What differentiates the company from the competition is that it produces traces in almost microscopically small dimensions. Their manufacturing expertise can compete with anyone in the world, especially their uniquely fine trace width and the narrow spacing between traces. Most suppliers are currently working with 300 - 400 µm spacing between traces. At Multiple Dimensions however the technological limit for trace width is 80 µm. These fine structures are now often used in Point of Sales (POS) terminals as a protection from hacking attacks. The fine traces allow attacks on the data in the payment cards to be detected.
From washing machines to steering wheels It is the trace width and spacing between the traces that differentiates the top players in the new 3D-MID technology from the rest of the pack. It is the main factor affecting the degree of miniaturisation and it is decisive in terms of the number of functions that can be integrated in a component. There are already many concrete examples of applications using the technology: They manufacture for a range of very diverse industries, such as rotary switches for programme selection in washing machines. These switches are normally made of a whole kit of small mechanical parts – with 3D-MID technology none of these are now needed. The washing programme is selected using a capacitive switch, i.e. virtually touch-free. This has far-reaching consequences: Unlike with a mechanical solution, there is no friction to wear out the parts. The operator control device has a much simpler design, costs less to produce and on top of that, it has a longer service life.
Here too, the operating control device, in this case a capacitive switch, is totally wear-free, and there is no mechanical contact. In future, the new 3D-MID technology will also be used in human-like robots. In Biel currently, experts from Multiple Dimensions are equipping the fingertips of a robotic hand (in the size of a human hand) with conductive traces. The surface of the robot’s tactile organ is covered with sensors, their pressure signals are routed centrally to a connector. “Thanks to our 3D technology, we can place the required electronics accurately despite the complexity of working with a curved surface.
The trend towards miniaturisation growing in importance in everyday life Customers of Multiple Dimensions benefit from the potential of the new technology at many levels, including financially. They don’t just offer state-of-the-art methodology and expertise that is unique in the world today; they also deliver it at a lower cost than many of our competitors. All production steps are fully automated and performed in-house at Multiple Dimensions. They cover the complete process chain, from the injection-moulding process to laser processing and galvanisation, and even go as far as populating the electronic components. This saves transport costs and, most of all, time; savings that they are happy to pass on to customers. The Managing Director of Multiple Dimensions is convinced that as far as the development potential of 3D-MID technology is concerned, the end of the road is still a long way off. “Advances in miniaturisation which are being made in all areas of our industrial society, combined with the trend to intelligent connectors for Industry 4.0, ensure that 3D-MID technology will be used even more widely in future.”
An example of 3D-MID in a smoke detector The current generation of smoke detectors are ideal candidates for a technological update using 3D-MID. The enclosure is made of plastic, the conducting traces can be applied directly, and the printed circuit board eliminated. Cables and connector plugs, and even the battery holder can be integrated into the moulded part. In production, complex soldering processes are eliminated, and the assembly is simplified, due to the small number of parts. Another advantage is the easy integration of additional functions. For example, a capacitive switch can now be used, replacing the previously-used mechanical switch.
The Swiss company manufactures sensors for the automotive industry which are used to measure the torque and position of steering wheels. Depending on the position and the measured value, the drive of the power steering is increased or decreased. The more accurate the measurement, then the more directly the vehicle response is felt. Just like in the example of the washing-machine, the conventional solution contains numerous mechanical parts. When all these parts work together, deviations and tolerances cumulate and impair the driving experience. The company can eliminate an entire chain of tolerances. The technology not only saves components and costs, it also makes the application more precise and efficient. And last but not least, it increases the user’s driving pleasure
A maximum amount of functionality in minimal space Exceptional functional integration in a minimum of space is demonstrated by a solution currently produced by Multiple Dimensions for a toy manufacturer. For enhanced player experience, an electronic circuit has been built into a tiny space in a plastic component – including a battery, a capacitive switch and an LED. There simply would not have been enough space there for a printed circuit board.
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3D-MID technology is already in everyday use, for example in the latest generation of smoke detectors. Design simplification and the integration of switches and cables save hardware and assembly costs.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
Robots are now everywhere, except in the productivity statistics A Swedish economist investigates the numbers and is left baffled Economists, politicians and business leaders are all singing the praise of computers, artificial intelligence and robots. But are these really revolutionizing the economy? There doesn’t seem to be much evidence of that so far, according to Roger Josefsson, an economist with the Swedish data firm Macrobond. It’s “the modern productivity paradox,” he wrote recently in his blog.
The lack of productivity growth over the past 10 to 15 years has been a hot topic of discussion. Investment growth has been strongly concentrated in a few areas, while labor productivity - the key driver of profits and wages hasn’t grown much at all.
Josefsson asks: Shouldn’t at least investments in technologies or personnel in relevant sectors be increasing? Digging into the Conference Board’s Total Economy Database and the EU’s KLEMS database, he found several paradoxes.
As one of the founders of growth theory, Robert Solow, put it: “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.”
For instance, the number of industrial robots is increasing rapidly, but shipment stats, a good indicator of investments, are showing only minor improvements. Labour’s contribution to output growth is also more or less the same as before the financial crisis. Another cause for concern is that the contribution from Information and Communication Technology-assets to GDP-growth and – even worse -- total factor productivity (i.e. from innovation), is falling behind.
The Drivers of Value Added Growth
growth in recent years Source: Conference Board TED “To be honest, most of the improvements in value-added growth seem to be purely cyclical,” he said. Josefsson nevertheless found some cause for optimism. Sectors that stand to benefit from robots, AI, machine learning and other ‘hot’ technologies are the wholesale sector, retail trade and recreational services. Here, total factor productivity is actually developing rather well. But those are exceptions in an otherwise quite depressing set of numbers. “So next time you hear economists talk about the productivity boost the robots are going to give us, make them show you the statistics. And then call me, because I want to know as well,” Josefsson said in a video published by EFN.se, a Swedish economic news website.
Information technology hasn’t added much to U.S. output
Are you a future-ready manufacturer? Greg O’Loan, regional vice president, ANZ for Epicor Software Corporation
For manufacturers to compete successfully in the face of cheaper overseas competitors, it’s essential to look to technologies that can offer improved processes, increased efficiencies, and substantial cost savings. Before businesses can determine whether they’re a future-ready manufacturer, they need to understand exactly where their business sits today, where it could be in three to five years, and how the business can embrace innovation and automation.
The next generation of manufacturers can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Future manufacturers will need to be aware of how the world is changing, pay attention to economic and geopolitical forecasts, and invest in technology.
This requires a time investment to create a roadmap. However, this investment will pay off as the business becomes truly future-ready and can leverage new and emerging technologies to compete more effectively.
While innovation is important, the key for the average manufacturing plant looking for a toehold is knowing your customers and their needs just a little bit better than the competition does.
At the very least, tackling these tough questions will put organisations ahead of competitors who are consumed with putting out today’s fires rather than focusing on growth opportunities. Manufacturers that don’t invest in breakthrough technologies will be rendered irrelevant and, more often than not, it will happen at a much faster rate than they ever could have dreamed possible. It’s important to address this significant business risk sooner rather than later by embracing ways to work smarter and more efficiently.
The opportunities for growth have increased recently and the Australian manufacturing industry is set for a resurgence. It has added 40,000 new jobs in since June 2016, and increased the value of Australian-made goods sold to international markets by more than $20 billion since 2009. Importantly, manufacturers are aware of the need to stay on the cutting edge. Data indicates that the sector allocates more funds to new research and development than any other sector including the scientific and professional services sectors. (1) There
are
four
key
areas
manufacturers need to focus on when setting their course for growth: 1.
Ensure and increase profitability— data analytics and business intelligence tools can help even the smallest startups gain an advantage and boost their profitability. Data that is visible and accessible can be used to provide manufacturers with a clear picture of what is going on in their organisation.
2. Drive productivity up and costs down— businesses gain efficiencies by making their workforces more capable. This can be achieved by reducing the rate of rework and quality mistakes, removing a time-wasting step in the process, and giving employees the tools and training required to achieve wins. Manufacturers must remember that some of the best waste-reduction and safety culture ideas come from the shop floor. 3.
Open new opportunities for growth— organisations can add new services or products and extend
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their reach by selling into new segments and geographic areas. Manufacturers could also move production to areas with lower operational costs. 4.
Leverage technology for growth—today and tomorrow manufacturers need to allow for better connectedness with open architecture. Hardware and software upgrades will become easier for customers and staff, with extensibilities letting users tap into modern technologies as they become mainstream.
Businesses that can focus on these key areas, and determine which new and emerging technologies are right for their operation, will emerge as winners in the manufacturing industry resurgence. Reference: (1) The Australian Institute Centre for Future Work: Manufacturing: A Moment of Opportunity. June 2017.
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Little by little, one travels far. -J. R. R. Tolkien
NZ company helping to uberise science A New Zealand company that is at the forefront of the global fight against air pollution is collaborating with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help advance the research and development of next generation air sensor technology. A five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was signed between the EPA and Aeroqual. The New Zealand-based company has decade long pioneering work in the development of small, low-cost portable equipment that even school children can use. Announcing the agreement, the EPA said next generation air monitoring tools are new technological advances that are increasingly being used by researchers and citizen scientists alike to monitor and measure air quality. EPA’s co-investigators Rachelle Duvall and Russell Long – who will work alongside Aeroqual leads Geoff Henshaw and Kyle Alberti – said the next generation tools are so much more accessible compared to the large, stationary monitors. Duvall says the EPA will benefit from the collaboration by combining their expertise in air measurements with Aeroqual’s expertise in sensor development to advance air quality characterisation using next generation air monitoring tools. “Because these tools are so much more accessible compared to traditional
air monitoring equipment and are being used by not only the scientific community but also the general public, it is important for all users to have confidence in the data they are collecting.” The CRADA between Aeroqual and the EPA will investigate new applications, methodologies and technologies for the low-cost measurement of outside air pollutants. While current low-cost air sensors measure common air pollutants, like ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) (among others), the EPA is also interested in measuring other compounds including air toxics such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which cause adverse health effects. Duvall said she hopes the two organisations will improve some of the many challenges that low-cost, portable air sensors bring. For one, ensuring accurate and reliable performance over time. “This work is important because we are looking for lower cost options to accurately monitor air quality in the future and this CRADA can help
Aeroqual was founded in 2001 by Auckland University Professor David Williams and Dr Geoff Henshaw, to provide more cost effective, high quality air monitors that fell somewhere in between basic gas monitors and expensive gas analysers.
achieve our goals.” Aeroqual’s chief technical officer Dr Geoff Henshaw said that having long championed a ‘measurement first’ approach to lower cost air quality monitoring, “the U.S. EPA collaboration will allow us to go deeper, faster, and do things at a much bigger scale”. “Rising public awareness together with rapid technology improvements has increased demand for more air quality information – localised, real-time information that is more relevant to where people live, work and play.” The next generation air sensor technology developed by Aeroqual and other manufacturers can be deployed in greater numbers by people without previous air monitoring experience. “It is great to be involved in research that is helping to advance emerging tech.” As part of the CRADA, EPA and Aeroqual researchers are focusing on four areas to support the advancement of air sensor technologies: • Sensor performance: air sensors must obtain accurate and reliable air quality measurements. Scientists aim to understand long-term performance and stability of sensors, cross interferences with other pollutants, impacts from temperature and humidity, and performance in areas with poor air quality. • Sensor calibration: calibration provides a way to ensure that air sensors continuously provide precise measurements over time. • Expanding and enhancing measurement capabilities: while most of the commercially available
Only 14% of all our engineers are women. We want to change that. Join us and scores of other Kiwi organisations that have galvanised around one common goal: 20% more women engineers by 2021. www.diversityagenda.org
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sensors target common air pollutants like O3, NO2, PM, and others, scientists are interested in the ability to measure additional air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and other air toxics. • Sensor applications: investigating different ways to use and apply air sensor technologies is vital to exploring how sensor designs can be optimised to improve measurements and increase usability. Over the next four years, EPA scientists will evaluate data collected from low-cost sensors placed at EPA’s Ambient Monitoring Innovative Research Station (AIRS) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and as part of a number of EPA field studies. At the same time, the instrument’s design will also be evaluated. Aeroqual will provide various air sensor technologies so that both EPA and Aeroqual can review project results and places for improvement. The team will summarise their results and prepare findings to share in print and digital form. Aeroqual was founded in 2001 by Auckland University Professor David Williams and Dr Geoff Henshaw, to provide more cost effective, high quality air monitors that fell somewhere in between basic gas monitors and expensive gas analysers. Aeroqual exports indoor and outdoor ozone sensors, air quality monitors and dust and particulate monitors and software – including Aeroqual Connect and Aeroqual Cloud data management tools – to more than 50 countries.
Anything I come across that feels impossible, I probably need to take a second look. -Joe Gebbia (Co-founder AirBnb)
EXPORT NEWS
Australian state looks to New Zealand for export lessons
How we do it rubs off An Australian state is looking to follow the blueprint of neighbouring export powerhouse New Zealand in a bid to turn its economy around. Steven Marshall’s Liberal Government won the March 17 state election, ending 16 years of Labor Party rule in South Australia. Still in his first 100 days of office, Marshall has vowed to lower taxes, streamline approval processes and grow exports. Several aspects of his plan seek to follow the success of New Zealand when John Key was Prime Minister from 2008-2016. During this time Key lifted the country out of recession forged strong export ties with China and helped develop several strong export industries. Led by the dairy industry, six of New Zealand’s top seven export categories are food or drink related and include meat, fruit, seafood and wine. New Zealand’s exports hit a record high of A$50.2 billion (NZ$53.7 billion) in 2017, up 11 per cent on 2016 and beating the previous record of 2014. Despite having about 7 per cent of Australia’s population, South Australia only accounts for 4 per cent of Australia’s total exports. Marshall said this compared to 7.4 per cent of Australia’s merchandise exports in 2002. Like New Zealand, South Australia’s major export categories are dominated by primary industries such as wheat, meat and wine.
China is the biggest trading partner of both jurisdictions with Asia accounting for more than half of all exports in both economies. However, Marshall said South Australia’s exports to China had lost ground against other Australian states in recent years. He said New Zealand’s success was in pinpointing sectors, such as the dairy industry, and aligning them with targeted export markets. He said he had already met with three of South Australia’s largest red meat exporters with a view to increasing their opportunities. “New Zealand had a strategy of focus from their government – not a scattergun approach,” Marshall said. “Similarly, here in South Australia there are lots of sectors that we need to be looking at, take for example red meat export, already a very significant sector in South Australia but we think it can do better. “There are opportunities around premium products, but we also can’t lose sight of the fact that we are providing a commodity to the world, so we need to make sure we can pull cost out of the supply chain. “The success in New Zealand was really thinking about sectors and markets and getting the right structure and focus around those two ideas.” South Australia exported A$14.9b
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall wants to drive the economy with export growth.
worth of goods ($11.68b) and services ($3.24b) in 2016/17 led by wine ($1.5b), wheat ($1.25b), meat ($1.2b) and copper ($1.15b). Other notable premium food exports included Vegetables and fruit ($828m) and seafood ($285m). Among its major services earners are international students and tourism. Like South Australia, New Zealand’s biggest customer is China with Asia accounting for more than half of all exports in both economies. Marshall plans to re-establish South Australian trade offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, the Middle East and North America in his government’s first term. He is also merging several government departments into one outward facing ministry of trade, tourism and investment to be the state’s one-stop shop for the rest of the world, and consolidating all agriculture and regional development into one primary i n d u s t r i e s department. “We have had an economy that hasn’t engaged particularly well over the past 16 years and we want to change that from day one,” he said.
Former prime minister of New Zealand John Key with Steven Marshall in 2014.
“One of our fundamental pillars of economic growth is to sell more goods and services interstate and overseas, attract more outside investment into South Australia and turn the tap off
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South Australian investors sending their money into other jurisdictions, promote tourism and attract more international students to South Australia.” South Australia’s small population of 1.7 million, the vast majority of who live in the capital Adelaide, and its almost stagnant population growth have been cited as reasons for years of sluggish economic performance. The state also had the highest unemployment rate – 6.3 per cent – of any Australian state or territory according to February’s ABS Labour Force Survey. Marshall said he wanted his government to be an enabler of industry rather than telling it how to conduct business “We want to go sector by sector and say, ‘what are your aspirations and how can the government either get out of the way or facilitate’ but we shouldn’t be saying ‘this is our ambition, and this is what you should be doing in your sector’,” he said. “Where is the market failure, where is the role for state government – that is going to be our approach, which really revolves around lowering taxes, deregulating, building productive infrastructure and streamlining approval processes. “John Key did it very successfully … when he finished up in 2016 the capital was flowing back into New Zealand; the people were flowing back into New Zealand. “We need to do the same thing and we can achieve the same thing here with a growing population, people investing in their own state, attracting more direct investment into South Australia, growing exports and a state feeling more confident about its future.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -Andy Warhol
MSugar finds their sweet spot “The less human intervention the better, that’s what customers want to see,” says MSugar Managing Director Jay Spittal. MSugar relocated to premises in East Tamaki in mid-2017, and just last month commissioned a new, state-of-the-art fully-automated liquid sugar processing plant to serve customers in the food and beverage manufacturing and beekeeping industries. “Humans make errors and errors can cause contamination, so we’ve built the highest spec plant we could to eliminate that risk,” says Jay.
Building a new plant was the way forward MSugar has been trading cane sugars and other food commodities since 2009. Four years ago, the company also began supplying liquid sugar to beekeepers, who use it as a food supplement for bees, and to
small-to-medium customers.
size
food
grade
“We used a contract manufacturer to start with and they were very good, but after two years we’d built the business up to a point where capacity was holding us back and building a new, automated processing plant was the only way forward.” “With financial analysis and the advice of our accountant and business adviser Karen Tobeck at Monteck Carter we built a business case and took that to our bankers, and thankfully they gave us their support and the funding we needed.” The market for liquid sugar is large in volume terms – millions of litres – but it’s not a spectacular growth market. The commitment to building a new processing plant was one piece in the strategy that MSugar is pursuing to carve out a competitive position in
liquid sugar and to succeed by providing exceptional service and a quality product.
“With our trading background we understand that ‘sugar is sugar,’ though we’d also argue there are quality differences determined by refining sources and processes. We identified ways to serve customers better by doing things differently and to stand out on service.” “Our new business model is designed to give customers quick response times, excellent lead times, quality product and competitive pricing, and we’ve been very deliberate in our decision making to make sure our whole supply chain lines up to do that.” MSugar are the local agents for Bundaberg Sugar, the largest cane grower in Australia and with sugar mills in Queensland. “We’re assured of consistently high-quality sugar from Bundaberg and weekly shipping from Queensland means our transit times are only seven days compared to the four-five weeks transit from Asia. Faster transit times mean there’s less risk to the product being exposed to moisture and becoming lumpy,” says Jay.
Finding the best spot in East Tamaki Jay and his small team spent months finding the ideal location for the new processing plant, which had to have some key features to meet food safety standards or be capable of being upgraded to meet them. “Our location in East Tamaki is perfect. Being situated close to the southern motorway with access north and south means we can load tankers and deliver at night which many of our customers
love, as do the drivers.” “We’ve taken no short-cuts on the plant which has been designed and built by a European firm that specialises in this area. The sugar is never touched by human hands at any stage in processing – right through from the refining process in Bundaberg to the liquid processing stage here at our plant.” Food grade liquid sugar comes at an industry standard 67 Brix (the industry measure of sugar content in an aqueous solution). The software and control systems in the new MSugar processing plant means that the Brix or quality level can be increased or decreased to meet customer order requirements using a touch screen. The plant also produces Invert Sugar Syrup which is a highly functional, supersaturated sugar solution made by processing high purity cane sugar for a wide range of uses. “Our aim is to transform our business from being a sugar trader to a value adding manufacturer of liquid sugar. In broad terms we want to position ourselves as the premier supplier of liquid and invert liquid sugar to the New Zealand market.” “Three weeks into production and the plant is already operating at around a third of its capacity. We have some development steps still to complete but we’re really pleased to be underway and want to acknowledge the support we’ve had from local business partners – Monteck Carter, Athenry Electrical and ANZ to name a few. “We’re pleased to be part of the East Tamaki business community and, feeling as I do today, I don’t think we’ll ever look back.” ➢www.msugar.co.nz
Synlait Palmerston North officially opened “We’re very excited to be opening Synlait Palmerston North, which is home to our new Research and Development Centre,” says John Penno, Managing Director and CEO. “We have some major opportunities in front of us. With the strong team and partnerships we’ve got in place to lead liquid innovation within our business, we won’t miss a beat,” he says. The Vice Chancellor of Massey University, Professor Jan Thomas, opened the facility and highlighted the important new relationship between Synlait and the university. “The establishment of Synlait’s new Research and Development Centre at Massey’s Manawatū campus is an excellent example of industry and
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the university collaborating closely to achieve real, tangible outcomes,” says Professor Thomas.
dairy liquid product development, as well as supporting processes and technology.
“Strategic partnerships like these are vital if we are to start and grow new industries, create new jobs, and to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Massey University is New Zealand’s premier provider of food research and education, and at the forefront of pioneering such partnerships with the food industry.” she says.
They will also play an important role in developing innovative export-orientated cream opportunities that leverage Synlait’s upcoming $125 million advanced liquid dairy packaging facility at Synlait Dunsandel.
Synlait Palmerston North is a partnership with Massey University and FoodPilot, one of the New Zealand Food Innovation Network’s four hubs. The Palmerston North team will primarily concentrate on innovative
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Synlait plans to double their investment over the next two years, having committed around $7 million to research and category development in the current financial year. They will be investing around $2 million on additional equipment for the FoodPilot facility, which can be used by others.
Palmerston North Mayor, Grant Smith, cutting the ribbon to open Synlait Palmerston North. Massey University Vice Chancellor, Prof Jan Thomas, stands to his right and Roger Schwarzenbach, Synlait’s GM of Technical and Innovation, is opposite.
Synlait currently has around 35 staff members working within the Research and Development Team, but this will continue to grow as Synlait Palmerston North ramps-up its operations.
One day or day one. You decide. -Unknown
FOOD MANUFACTURING
Boost for New Zealand beverage market Two New Zealand companies have teamed up to install a state of the art technology at the Apollo plant in Whakatu, Hawke’s Bay, that will bring some of the best in fruit and dairy beverages to Kiwis’ across the country. The agreement between Fonterra Brands New Zealand and Apollo Foods, an innovative start-up company, will help both companies capitalise on the increasing global popularity for lifestyle beverages. Apollo’s new operation includes innovative beverage filling technology which allows a range of different containers to be produced on site and filled with a range of different products on the one production line. The technology at the plant provides market leading quality control and allows for a superior fresh taste experience over an extended shelf life. This provides opportunities for outlets to stock a greater range of products and in turn gives consumers more choice. Managing Director of Fonterra Brands
New Zealand Leon Clement, said a global surge in demand for dairy and fruit beverages presents a fantastic opportunity for both companies. “As high-quality drinks play an increasingly large role in consumers’ diets around the world, New Zealand companies have a real opportunity to create value-adding initiatives across our primary industry sectors,” said Mr Clement. “By taking an innovative partnership approach to production with Apollo Foods, we have been able to open up new opportunities for future brands – and create even more value for our farmers.” The Apollo Foods state of the art facility will have the capacity to produce millions of litres of beverages each year. It will allow Fonterra Brands
New Zealand and Apollo Foods to take the lead in their respective categories and benefit from new technology to supply consumer drinks to the growing market. Ross Beaton, Managing Director at Apollo Foods said “I am absolutely thrilled and privileged to work with Fonterra Brands New Zealand to bring added value beverages to the global consumer – and better still that we are producing it all right here in Hawke’s Bay”. Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst welcomes the announcement, following a successful 18-month partnership between the Hastings District Council and Apollo Foods to bring this project to fruition. “It’s fantastic to see new leading-edge production facilities choosing Hawke’s
Fonterra Farmers see first-hand the operations at the new plant.
Bay as their location. It cements our beautiful district as a leader in food production,” said Mrs Hazlehurst. Following the commissioning of the plant last month by Apollo production is underway of a new look, new formulation, “Mammoth” flavoured milk which contains 40 per cent less sugar and has a shelf life of six months. In the coming months both Fonterra Brands New Zealand and Apollo will independently release their own varieties of new beverages to the New Zealand market – something to look out for.
Massey University announced as partner of the New Zealand National Fieldays Society New Zealand National Fieldays Society, owner of the iconic Fieldays event in June, has a new partner in the form of Massey University.
the 2018 QS World University Rankings, placing 22nd in the world’s universities for agriculture and forestry, and 23rd for veterinary science.
The university and Society signed the three-year initial term agreement earlier this month, ahead of the first Society board meeting to be held offsite since incorporation. Fieldays celebrates its 50th anniversary this year during the 13-16 June event at Mystery Creek near Hamilton.
College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says Massey is excited about connecting with the Society at a partnership level. “We are a strong supporter of Fieldays and have always had a large presence at the event. This year we are very pleased to be able to really cement that relationship,” he says.
Nick Dromgool, GM Commercial for the Society, believes Massey University’s strong focus on the agricultural and health sectors makes it a strong partner for the Society and the Fieldays event. “Fieldays has been bringing rural and urban audiences together for 50 years, and we are very pleased about this connection with Massey University. Fieldays is a truly New Zealand event and we feel Massey’s ethos of being an accessible university through its many campuses and its distance learning is an excellent fit.” Massey University is well-known for agri-related study and research, and also has top equine, vet and food programmes. It has a strong focus on health and has many other unique schools within its campuses. The university was recently recognised in
Fieldays history, hosting discussions and family events and encouraging communities to be part of the national event. This year’s theme for Fieldays is the ‘future of farming’, with visitors and exhibitors being encouraged to start discussions around what the future of farming means to them.
“Fieldays is a premier event, recognised in world agribusiness,” adds Professor Geor. “It’s an excellent fit for Massey and our plans for the future. We often exhibit new technologies with our partners at Fieldays, and always enjoy talking to visitors about the benefit studying at Massey brings to the primary industries sector. We look forward to growing this important partnership between education and agriculture.” Massey University will be a partner of the health and wellbeing programme that was successfully implemented at Fieldays in 2017. Ahead of the event in June, Fieldays will hit the road visiting several rural communities around the country, from south to north, telling the story of
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SUPPLY CHAIN
An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory. -Friedrich Engels
The Kaizen Paradox: How incremental improvements can impede innovation in automation of warehousing and distribution By Paul Stringleman, Senior Consultant, Swisslog, who has developed several data-driven automated warehouse solutions for e-commerce and retail companies in Australasia, including Coles Retail Ready Meats – a fully automated warehouse that uses robots to pick crates of trayed chicken and red meat for 900 stores along the eastern seaboard. Kaizen and Kaikaku Kaizen. It is a word synonymous with improvement in organisations around the world. While the Japanese word literally means ‘improvement’, in industry and business the focus is on small, continuous steps to better processes.
improves upon the candle, Kaikaku is the installation of electric light. Kaikaku is a less famous but equally important part of the Toyota Production System and is often overlooked by organisations in their rush to embrace Kaizen. Paradox in practice
It is embedded in the management thinking of many organisations. Japanese businesses developed Kaizen practices around the 1950s, most notably Toyota as part of their Toyota Production System. After studying why the company was so successful at high-volume production of high-quality vehicles in the 1960s, Masaaki Imai wrote several books on Kaizen and formed the Kaizen Institute, spreading the knowledge and practice around the globe. However, there are times when Kaizen is not enough. Worse still, a small improvement can often hold an organisation back, perhaps even stifling significant development. This is the Kaizen Paradox. In the 1980’s, author and business professor Oren Harari famously pointed out that not everything that exists could have been developed by continuous improvement alone. This idea is captured in another Japanese word that is less well known but equally important: Kaikaku. Kaikaku means ‘radical change’. It describes the other side of improvement: the major step forward, or big leap. An analogy is a home illuminated by candles; while Kaizen
“The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles” Oren Harari
The Kaizen Paradox and the issues it creates By focusing exclusively on small improvements, an organisation may miss an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in costs and customer service. If competitors take a big leap, an organisation will be left behind, still making candles in a light bulb market.
In a recent real-world example, a company was seeking to identify a solution for an automated ‘goods-to-person’ warehouse in a bid to achieve a significantly higher level of business performance. However, a year earlier the company had invested in a mechanised ‘zone– to-zone order picking’ solution, consisting of conveyers and carton storage shelving. Although the project was still in the commissioning phase, senior management could see that the
solution wasn’t going to meet their long-term requirements. F o r t u n a t e l y, mechanised solution didn’t occupy the entire warehouse, making it possible to build an automated goods-to-person solution on the same site. Developing a business case for a goods-to-person automated solution, the company gathered quotes to either move the zone-to-zone solution, redesign it, or scrap it altogether. It soon became clear that the mechanised system made it much harder for them to proceed with the automation they required, as the business had invested a large sum on a now largely redundant piece of equipment that occupied a prime position in the warehouse. Unless
Small improvements also commit resources that could be better spent toward a larger step forward in performance, or with more strategic planning, could have contributed to a major change. Finally, when a Kaikaku opportunity exists, the Kaizen path weakens the Kaikaku ROI and productivity can plateau at a lower level. This is the Kaizen Paradox at work.
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SUPPLY CHAIN
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. -Unknown
not be incorporated in the automated solution, there was no reduction in the cost of the required automation. This is just one example of the Kaizen Paradox, which is a common predicament for many businesses, where investments are made to achieve productivity gains, but in doing so they dilute the business case for a better investment, causing them to plateau at a lower level of productivity.
Tools and approaches support best practice
the mechanised system could become part of the fully automated solution, the company also faced the cost and embarrassment of scrapping the new installation. While the mechanised system improved productivity from 50 to 150 order lines per hour per person, the automated goods-to-person system would deliver
500 order lines per hour per person. As a result, almost a third of the productivity gain that would have been realised in going from a manual to an automated operation was already delivered by the mechanised system. This worsened the business case, extending the ROI of the desired automated system by an extra year. Because the mechanised system could
to
Both manual and mechanised warehouses involve ‘goods to person’ in some form. The difference being the way the order tote moves around the facility, trolley or picking truck to conveyor, and the addition of WMS software to control order picking more efficiently. These improvements have helped reduce the time between pick operations and gradually lift productivity from around 50 to 150 order lines per hour per picker. The Kaikaku goods-to-person
occurred when technology was
developed that radically transformed the way orders were picked, allowing a stationary worker or a robot to pick from products delivered to them in sequence. This can typically boost individual picker performance to between 500 and 1,000 order lines per hour and minimise the labour required, while at the same time significantly reducing the warehouse footprint due to higher density storage. An automated goods-to-person warehouse can typically achieve the same throughput as a manual or mechanised operation, with around half the staff and in half the building size. As a result, a strategic approach to automation can save significantly on the cost of warehouse expansion or remove the need for relocation, prolonging the life of the existing facility. This more strategic approach to Kaikaku can protect an organisation from being trapped in a focus on low performance operations. Being cursed with the Kaizen Paradox.
Next steps for boards and managers For successful organisations, major leaps forward in performance are often approached strategically. Kaikaku investment are made before Kaizen improvement. Every business is striving to improve, but not all improvements are complementary or equal. Opportunities to stay ahead of the competition can be stalled by an organisation’s own efforts. Critical to enduring competitiveness are a regularly reviewed strategic approach to improvement, and a long-term strategy to deliver. The Kaizen Paradox is a common predicament for many businesses, where investments are made to achieve productivity gains, but in doing so they dilute the business case for a better investment, causing them to plateau at a lower level of productivity. Once organisations are aware of the potential for investments that create a Kaizen Paradox, they are better able to consider potential improvements as part of a bigger, longer-term picture. *Paul Stringleman is a Senior Consultant at Swisslog. He began his career in intralogistics 20 years ago in Tokyo, Japan and has spent 15 of the last 20 years living abroad and designing large-scale automated systems for airports and distribution centres. In the past five years, Paul has developed several data driven automated warehouse solutions for e-commerce/retail companies in Australia.
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NEW PRODUCTS
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. -Barack Obama
Konecranes explores advanced networks with Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud Konecranes is exploring advanced networks and global digital automation cloud that enable Konecranes to utilise future network technology and develop 5G capabilities already today. Konecranes has been one of the first companies to employ technology giant Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud.
from Nokia and Business Finland.
Konecranes Executive Vice President, Technologies, Juha Pankakoski believes that this advanced technology – which was showcased at Hannover Messe this year – has potential to enhance Konecranes’ current offering by increasing network capacity and reducing latency.
Real-time equipment monitoring technologies, such as Konecranes’ TRUCONNECT can be employed on any of Konecranes’ broad range of overhead cranes, jib cranes, gantry cranes, and lifting devices, that can typically lift anywhere between 500kgs and more than 2,000 tonnes.
Mr Pankakoski first discussed the customer benefits of utilising cloud technologies at a Nokia studio broadcast at the end of last month (April), where he was joined by experts
“Konecranes is actively exploring advanced mobile networks that help our customers establish fast and reliable connections to cranes, even in harsh conditions where there is no
Konecranes digital solutions are already implemented in global scale, with over 570,000 digitised service assets in 55,000 locations, including more than 1,500 in Australasia. More connections are being added every day.
general network available,” said Mr Pankakoski. “Konecranes equipment is used in a huge variety of industries, from basic manufacturing and assembly through to large logistics hubs and shipyards. There’s no ‘one- size fits all’ approach when it comes to digital solutions for these industries, but the basic outcome remains consistent: to enhance the efficiency, reliability and safety of material handling operations,” he said “We see products becoming increasingly smarter, being able to sense not just their own status but also the environment they operate in, and ultimately become autonomous in performing operations that are required from them. In order for this to happen, we need to able to move more and more computing power to the edge, increase the communication bandwidth and decrease the latency. We see digital automation cloud as very potential technology that our customers may be using in the future, and wanted to be prepared for the possibilities it provides.” Advantages of the Cloud As digitalisation and automation technologies accelerate, a huge amount of computer processing power is required to allow the collection and analysis of valuable data. “By utilising the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, we can locate this ‘intelligence’ or computing power within the cloud, rather than on the actual equipment.” explains Mr Pankakoski.
Konecranes TRUCONNECT technology monitors equipment in real-time
Konecranes Executive Vice President, Technologies, Juha Pankakoski (centre) talks about the future of Konecranes digital solutions and the company’s collaboration with Nokia on cloud technology
Konecranes collaboration
and
Nokia
Konecranes and Nokia share the similar objective of navigating the digitalisation and automation of industry in such a way that brings tangible benefits to companies across the globe. “Konecranes is excited to work with Nokia, as the collaboration has potential to further enhance our digital service offering,” said Mr Pankakoski. “Factories of the future will have fully autonomous devices, capable of collaborating with humans and each other to manufacture and deliver products. But well before that happens, machines will become intelligent enough to guide humans to do their work better – thus making working places safer and the operations more predictable.” “The advanced network, combined with Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud, has the potential to bring machine-tomachine communications, IoT security and machine learning to the next level, which would particularly benefit our customers at ports and large manufacturing operations.”
Welders’ powered air now more affordable After hearing the news regarding the reclassification of welding fume by the IARC and putting together a Welding Fume White Paper on what this means for Australian welders, AWS, the sole agent for the 3M Speedglas Brand in Australia and New Zealand, has decided to reposition the 3M Speedglas 9100XXi Air Powered Air Purifying Respirator with a sharper price point to help make powered air respiratory protection more affordable for Aussie and Kiwi welders.
The Speedglas 9100 Air The Speedglas 9100 Air coupled with the award winning Adflo PAPR combines the largest viewing area on the market with Speedglas TrueView which allows the welder to view their weld with better clarity and more
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colour. When combined with the peripheral Side Windows the 9100 Air gives welders vision like no other welding helmet currently on the market. With an External Button that allows the welder to bounce between two saved welding settings and grind mode, the welder never needs to touch the welding lens interface again. Simply switch between welding and grinding tasks with a touch of an external button while maintaining your positive pressure seal and desired level of welding respiratory protection. When selecting a non-flip-up welding helmet with a PAPR consider the following: • Welding
Lens
Viewing
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Area:
Speedglas 9100 Air, with peripheral SideWindows, has the largest viewing area currently available on the market. • Arc Detection: The 9100 Air has the most powerful arc detection available down to 1amp • Light State and True View Optics: With a light state of 3 and Speedglas TrueView, set-up and inspect with colour and clarity and weld in High Definition. • Controls: With external grind and memory modes, the 9100 Air makes switching applications easy. • Side Windows: If you have never experienced Speedglas Side Window peripheral vision it’s time to leave the tunnel.
• Head Harness: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Experience the Speedglas Head Harness that changed the game in welding helmets. • Charge Time: Rapid charge your PAPR battery in an hour! • The Weight of the PAPR: The lightweight Adflo didn’t win all the awards for nothing.
The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before. -Neil Gaiman
NEW PRODUCTS
Checkmaster 2 for mobile testing of pluggable surge protection devices Leading global electrical engineering manufacturer and innovator, Phoenix Contact, has released Checkmaster 2 – a mobile test case that lets technicians quickly and accurately test all Phoenix Contact pluggable surge protection devices.
surge protection device is electrically tested in an automatic test process that compares the current electrical parameters of the components with the specified reference values.
help the technician make informed decisions about the device to ensure the ongoing availability of systems.
With Checkmaster 2, technicians can check the electrical status of their Phoenix Contact surge protection devices to prevent unexpected failures, and avoid unnecessary service calls.
To ensure a highly accurate result, all of the installed protective elements of the surge protection device are electrically tested in a single cycle. These include triggered spark gaps, gas-filled surge protectors, varistors and suppressor diodes.
The tests undertaken by Checkmaster 2 conform with requirements in IEC 62305-3 and are performed using a high voltage generator. For user convenience, Checkmaster 2 documents and saves all test results to its internal memory. A USB port lets technicians transfer data for further processing as well as update software.
Checkmaster 2 features a convenient, integrated hand scanner that reads and identifies the surge protection device by its barcode. The test object is then simply inserted into the associated test adaptor and the test process started via the touch panel screen. The
The results are easy to see and read on a colour display, and three status levels accurately inform the technician of the current quality of the device. The three status levels are ‘OK: Test passed’, ‘Warning: Tolerance limit reached’, and ‘Defect: Replacement required’. These
Fully portable so that technicians can take it anywhere, the Checkmaster 2 comes in a sturdy protective case that also provides space for documents. Built with the user in mind, a menu-driven LC colour touch panel interface enables quick and easy handlingof the device
The Phoenix Contact Checkmaster 2.
during testing. Convenient, safe, accurate and fast testing, the Checkmaster 2 supports technicians in ensuring continuous system availability in numerous industries.
Hamilton and Waikato first to
enjoy ‘Warm White’ LED street lighting Hamilton and Waikato drivers and residents are the first in New Zealand to experience unique warmer streetlights that reduce spillover glare into houses, are less harsh on the eyes and more energy efficient. Over 15,000 new street luminaires have been custom-made by Philips for Hamilton and the Waikato’s conditions, with half already in place and the rest being installed by the end of the year. While numerous districts throughout New Zealand have replaced older HID lights with LEDs, Hamilton and Waikato are the first to specify a 3000 Kelvin luminaire which provides an atmospheric form of ‘warm white’ lighting.
and is scheduled for completion in December. It is being managed by the Infrastructure and Waikato Alliances, a strategic partnership between the councils and Downer, with Cory’s supplying 16,000 Philips ‘Road Grace’ luminaires. Over 9,300 existing lights will be upgraded on the two council’s P category residential roads and 5700 along higher volume V category roads. The new LEDs fit into existing street light poles and infrastructure, are more energy efficient and require less maintenance, with Hamilton expecting
to save over $250,000 in reduced power and maintenance costs in the first year, and almost $550,000 in 2019/20. For this project Philips also developed a new form of streamlined, 100% recyclable cardboard packaging to ship the 16,000 units, which will save the Councils an estimated $40,000 in disposal fees. LED lighting provides a better quality of light and colour contrast resulting in increased road user visibility and road safety. The requirement for less frequent maintenance will also reduce the amount of time our staff are exposed
to risks associated with working at height and working around road traffic, while minimising associated disruption to the public. Several technical enhancements were introduced to manage light pollution. The luminaire’s output can be adjusted manually on individual poles without an expensive Control Management System. A narrow band amber light is being developed for light sensitive zones like the Hamilton Observatory, which was once outside the city’s limits but is now much closer to lit residential areas.
This is a less harsh and more welcoming light compared to the more common 4000 Kelvin LEDs which produce a cooler blue-white light similar to daylight. As a fast-growing city, many of Hamilton’s major arterial roads lie in residential areas with high housing density. The lighting must both provide safety for drivers while not spilling over into people’s homes. In addition, New Zealand street light poles are often more spaced out than those in other countries so light has to reach between poles but not outwards or upwards towards homes. The $7.2 million project, funded by the NZ Transport Agency with contributions from Waikato District and Hamilton City Councils, covers all roads throughout the council areas
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BUSINESS
If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization. -Mary Douglas
Reports of smelter demise greatly exaggerated the strength and competitiveness of the energy market in New Zealand.
The BusinessNZ Energy Council welcomes the reopening of a potline at NZ Aluminium Smelters at Tiwai Point.
“It shows New Zealand-produced electricity being delivered in a workable competitive market, supporting industry growth.
The Line 4 quarter potline at Tiwai Point was closed in 2012 as production there became unprofitable due to low global aluminium prices and high electricity spot prices.
“Reinstatement of the potline will enable increased production by NZAS and more jobs for Southland.
Now the potline is to be reinstated as a result of a longer-term fixed-term power agreement with Meridian Energy.
“It shows how New Zealand is a great country to establish and expand new manufacturing operations given our high proportion of renewable electricity generation.”
BusinessNZ Energy Council Chair David Caygill said the agreement indicated
Aluminium produced at NZAS produces ten times less carbon than that made in a country with coal dominant generation profile. “The arrangement, underwritten by Meridian and supported by contracts with Contact, Genesis and Mercury, shows that New Zealand is a great place to invest. “New Zealand’s renewable electricity based market provides more
confidence for large users than many other countries internationally - a real competitive advantage for this country on the world stage,” Mr Caygill said.
Reducing emissions, using food waste, can make money for manufacturers In response to the Government’s policy of achieving zero emissions by 2050 the Bioenergy Association says “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food processing sector waste should be at the top of the list for encouragement from Government if we are to achieve zero emissions by 2050” Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association said “Using food processing wastes as a source of energy for the manufacturing plant is so obvious that it is no wonder that more and more food manufacturers are starting to install equipment
that turns waste into energy. The equipment and processes are proven and can be easily installed.” “The treatment of food processing waste in a waste-to-energy facility also avoids the discharge of methane to the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas contributor.” “It is a no-brainer that using waste to produce energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions also reduces manufacturing costs.” A study commissioned by the Bioenergy Association has identified that the waste from the food
Employment Bill an attack on the rights of non-union workers The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is an attack on the rights of non-union workers, BusinessNZ says. Speaking to the select committee considering the Bill, Chief Executive Kirk Hope said it would give undue powers to unions with far-reaching consequences. “It would force employers and employees into collective agreements against their will. This is a breach of international conventions that say bargaining should always be voluntary. “It would force collective coverage on people who weren’t union members. For example, all it would take is two people in a retail store to join a union and this would let unions claim collective coverage of the whole retail chain.
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“This Bill would let union officials into any workplace without permission to recruit members. “It would breach employees’ privacy by requiring employers to pass on their details to the unions. “It would reduce the chance of getting a job using job trials.” Mr Hope said overall the Bill would take away a lot of flexibility from workplaces, increase costs and make it harder to employ people. “The modern workplace relies on flexibility and collaboration and trust for its success. Unfortunately this Bill would reduce flexibility, collaboration and trust. “This Bill should not proceed in its present form.”
processing industry can be an opportunity for reducing processing plants’ energy costs and their carbon footprint. A review of the amount of food processing industry waste which can be converted into energy and fertiliser by anaerobic digestion shows that over 106 kt CO2-e of emissions could be avoided by 2030 and over 207 kt CO2-e of emissions by 2050 provided appropriate acceleration policies are adopted by the government. “Overall, there is a potential for reduction of emissions from industrial
wastewater treatment (mainly red meat and poultry processing) by improving the efficiency of the existing anaerobic treatment ponds and using the generated gas as fossil fuels substitute to reduce operating costs. “In addition, replacement of primary treatment technologies with anaerobic treatment coupled with efficient gas capture and utilisation has a potential to generate additional GHG emissions reduction (i.e. carbon charge reduction for industrial emissions) and provide renewable energy source for industrial heating.”
New energy sector model for New Zealand The energy sector is taking the lead scenarios about how the sector in developing a model for its own might evolve and will let us explore future. the complex interactions between The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) the power, transport and industrial and public and private partners have elements of the sector in New commissioned a comprehensive Zealand. model of New Zealand’s entire “Its use across the public and private energy sector. sectors will also help us reach common BEC Chair David Caygill says the understandings and achieve a more energy sector is critically important to transparent and mature conversation New Zealand, and decisions for the about modelling output.” future should be based on the best The model is being developed by the available information and analysis. Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland’s “The new model will help industry largest federally funded research participants, regulators and institute, and modeller for the World Government clarify our challenges Energy Council’s scenarios. and opportunities as we grapple with Auckland University, through the important issues such as the end of Business School’s Energy Centre, oil and gas exploration, the electricity will host and maintain the model to sector review, renewable targets, provide insights to those working in and new technologies and consumer academia and research fields. It will preferences,” David Caygill said. also be accessible on commercial “It will let us develop long-term terms to those who wish to use it.
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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain
REAR VIEW
Not so fast: why the electric vehicle revolution will bring problems of its own Martin Brueckner Senior Lecturer in Sustainability, Murdoch University
After years of being derided as a joke by car manufacturers and the public, interest in electric vehicles has increased sharply as governments around the world move to ban petrol and diesel cars. We have seen a tremendous rise in availability, especially at the premium end of the market, where Tesla is giving established brands a run for their money. Electric cars are likely to penetrate the rest of the market quickly too. Prices should be on par conventional cars by 2025.
with
Electric cars are praised as the answer to questions of green and clean mobility. But the overall sustainability of electric vehicles is far from clear. On closer examination, our entire transport paradigm may need to be rethought. Compared with combustion engines, electric transport has obvious advantages for emissions and human health. Transport is responsible for around 23% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions globally. This is expected to double by 2050. Motor vehicles also put a burden on society, especially in urban environments where they are chiefly responsible for noise and air pollution. Avoiding these issues is why electric vehicles are considered a key technology in cleaning up the transport sector. However, electric cars come with problems of their own.
Dirt in the supply chain For one, electric vehicles have a concerning supply chain. Cobalt, a key component of the lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, is linked to reports of child labour. The nickel used in those same batteries is toxic to extract from the ground. And there are environmental concerns and land use conflicts connected with lithium mining in countries like Tibet and Bolivia. The elements used in battery production are finite and in limited supply. This makes it impossible to electrify all of the world’s transport with current battery technology.
Meanwhile, there is still no environmentally safe way of recycling lithium-ion batteries.
obvious advantages over fossil fuels – are unlikely to solve urban mobility and infrastructure-related problems.
car makers continue to promote individualised transport, albeit a greener version.
While electric cars produce no exhaust, there is concern about fine particle emissions. Electric cars are often heavier than conventional cars, and heavier vehicles are often accompanied by higher levels of non-exhaust emissions. The large torque of electric vehicles further adds to the fine dust problem, as it causes greater tyre wear and dispersion of dust particles.
Technology or regulation may solve these technical and environmental headaches. Improvements in recycling, innovation, and the greening of battery factories can go a long way towards reducing the impacts of battery production.
With a growing population, a paradigm shift in transport may be needed – one that looks to urban design to solve transportation problems.
Different problem
motor,
same
Electric vehicles share many other issues with conventional cars too. Both require roads, parking areas and other infrastructure, which is especially a problem in cities. Roads divide communities and make access to essential services difficult for those without cars.
Certification schemes, such as the one proposed in Sweden, could help deliver low-impact battery value chains and avoid conflict minerals and human rights violations in the industry.
A new transport paradigm Yet, while climate change concerns alone seem to warrant a speedy transition towards electric mobility, it may prove to be merely a transition technology. Electric cars will do little for urban mobility and liveability in
While electric cars produce no exhaust, there is concern about fine particle emissions. A shift in people’s reliance on combustion cars to electric cars also does little to address sedentary urban lifestyles, as it perpetuates our lack of physical activity. Other problems relate to congestion. In Australia, the avoidable social cost of traffic congestion in 2015 was estimated at A$16.5 billion. This is expected to increase by 2% every year until 2030. Given trends in population growth and urbanisation globally and in Australia, electric cars – despite
the years to come. Established car makers such as Porsche are working on new modes of transportation, especially for congested and growing markets such as China. Nevertheless, their vision is still one of personal vehicles – relying on electric cars coupled with smart traffic guidance systems to avoid urban road congestion. Instead of having fewer cars, as called for by transport experts,
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In Copenhagen, for example, bikes now outnumber cars in the city’s centre, which is primed to be car-free within the next ten years. Many other cities, including Oslo in Norway and Chengdu in China, are also on their way to being free of cars. Experts are already devising new ways to design cities. They combine efficient public transport, as found in Curitiba, Brazil, with principles of walkability, as seen in Vauben, Germany. They feature mixed-use, mixed-income and transit-oriented developments, as seen in places like Fruitvale Village in Oakland, California. These developments don’t just address transport-related environmental problems. They enhance liveability by reclaiming urban space for green developments. They reduce the cost of living by cutting commuting cost and time. They deliver health benefits, thanks to reduced pollution and more active lifestyles. They improve social cohesion, by fostering human interaction in urban streetscapes, and help to reduce crime. And of course, they improve economic performance by reducing the loss of productivity caused by congestion. Electric cars are a quick-to-deploy technology fix that helps tackle climate change and improve urban air quality – at least to a point. But the sustainability endgame is to eliminate many of our daily travel needs altogether through smart design, while improving the parts of our lives we lost sight of during our decades-long dependence on cars.
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