Nov 30, 2017 - Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene says everything her organisation has done to raise the bar for engineers has been in the shadow of this tragedy. “Today our first thoughts are for those who lost loved ones in the CTV building. We are very aware of the families’ ongoing grief. “We know that the public wants better ways of holding engineers accountable. We’ve changed our rules so that a member can’t resign to avoid a complaint, and we’ve overhauled our complaints process.
“Last year we introduced a new Code of Ethical Conduct that sets new expectations for engineers.
“Engineers now have an obligation to report potential adverse consequences for people’s health and safety. This means that they must take action if they see something of concern.
“For example, if they see potential design flaws in a building under construction, or poor construction practices that threaten health and safety.
“And if an engineer suspects another engineer has significantly breached the Code, they must report this.
“On 1 October, Engineering New Zealand introduced a new membership pathway for our 20,000 members. All members must now pledge every year to uphold the Code of Ethical Conduct and commit to ongoing professional development.
“We have strengthened the Chartered Professional Engineer assessment process for structural engineers to include more specific and targeted assessment.
“But we would like to see changes to the way engineers are regulated. Engineering New Zealand supports the task-based licencing of engineers for safety-critical work. This means restricting safety-critical design to engineers specifically licensed to do this work.
“As well as structural engineering, we’d like to see this kind of regulation extend to any safety-critical work; for example, fire, geotechnical and food-process engineering.
| Background: Complaints relating to the CTV building tragedy
We received complaints about David Harding from MBIE’s Chief Engineer and a group of victims’ families.
Our Disciplinary Committee found that Mr Harding had breached our Code of Ethics.
Towards the end of this process, he resigned.
Because he was no longer a member, the Disciplinary Committee had no power to make any orders against him, but we made the decision against him public.
We received complaints about Alan Reay from MBIE’s Chief Engineer and a group of victims’ families.
Dr Reay resigned as a member in February 2014, while the complaints process was underway.
The timing of his resignation meant we no longer had jurisdiction over Dr Reay. So the complaints process was stopped.
In March 2015, the Government sought a judicial review of our decision to stop the complaints process. The judicial review is ongoing and a date for the substantive hearing hasn’t been set. In the meantime, we have changed our rules so that a member can’t resign to avoid a complaints process.
| An Engineering New Zealand release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - Would you like to listen to what amount to verbal tweets while you are driving: short 42 second messages from friends, musicians, news reporters, thought leaders, comedians and others? Well, technology from ASX-listed Israeli company HearMeOut will interest you. The company has developed a platform and smartphone apps to do just that, and has now made its service accessible while driving.
HearMeOut says its platform “enables users to share and listen to 42‐second audio posts through the platform’s native feeder on other social networks, such as Twitter or Facebook,” and that through its app, “people can express their authentic voice and put their unique signature on social media interactions.”
The company has now announced it has developed a working prototype of a device, which it calls Hoop, that will enable drivers to have full access to all the features of the HearMeOut platform direct from the steering wheel of their car, without linking to any other platform.
It says Hoop is compatible with any car steering wheel, and will let drivers safely use the HearMeOut platform with both hands on the wheel. It is being developed in conjunction with DSP Group, a global provider of wireless chipsets for converged communications.
HearMeOut describes Hoop as a natural extension of its existing connected car strategy. It has a distribution agreement with Ford for the implementation of its technology with Ford’s Applink Sync platform in the US, UK and Ireland.
The company has joined Spotify and Waze in a program overseen by the SmartDeviceLink consortium that includes a number of car manufacturers and brands including Toyota, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki, Peugeot, Citroen and Daihatsu.
SmartDeviceLink is a system to standardise the connection between in-vehicle infotainment systems and smartphone applications
While having short messages being whispered into their ear while they drive might not excite many drivers. HearMeOut CTO and co- founder, Lior Menashe, claims the development of Hoop to be “globally significant,” because “for the first time ever a user can seamlessly engage with the HearMeOut platform regardless of the technology in the car.”
Hoop’s development, he says, “positions HearMeOut as a global leader in the ‘connected car’ space.”
HearMeOut has a market valuation of $11.8 million and in Q3 2017 was rated sixth in the social platform category on Apple’s US App Store, below Facebook and WhatsApp.
The company claims its popularity is being driven by the increasing use of voice for interaction with online systems. It cites figures estimating that 20 percent of mobile queries are now voice searches, and says this number is expected to reach 40 percent by 2018. Also, the company says 40 percent of millennials use voice activated intelligent assistants.
On some estimates, quoted by Microsoft at a presentation in Sydney, within a few years people will spend more time talking to machines than talking to their spouse.
Against this background HearMeOut says it has a vision to become the leading social network. The means to achieve this, it says, will be to establish sustainable growth by expanding its assets in three main areas: automotive, entertainment and technology.
In the field of entertainment the company plans to work with media companies, broadcasters and celebrities to gain content and reach. It also plans to recruit influencers from various categories.
On the technology front the company says its application programming interface (API) is in constant development to fit various wearable devices and voice assistance hardware.
It has also foreshadowed Hoop 2 “an upgraded device that features an entire closed ecosystem based on HearMeOut’s services and platform.”
The company is also doing OEM development for car companies to enables one-to-one, one-to-group and one-to-many communication via third parties and social networks.
| An IOTHub release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - Europe’s largest industrial manufacturing company, Siemens, has teamed up with one of the world’s largest software companies, Software AG, to address the IoT market by integrating Siemens’ IoT operating system, MindSphere, with Software AG’s Digital Business Platform. Software AG CEO Karl-Heinz Streibich said the aim was to intelligently combine Siemens’ global industrial presence with Software AG’s software expertise in IoT.
“Bringing our high-performance components of our Digital Business Platform to MindSphere, users will have new opportunities to exploit the full potential of their data to get a competitive edge,” he said.
The two companies say the combination of their technologies will provide comprehensive market-leading capabilities enabling users to acquire and comprehensively analyse raw data produced by plants, machines, systems and products more easily.
“Software AG application and device management technology enables both centralised networking of devices as well as cloud-based management, providing scalable and flexible management for a network of millions of end devices, also in the area of edge analytics in the future,” Software AG said.
Siemens describes MindSphere as a cloud-based, open IoT operating system that “connects real things to the digital world,” and “an open platform as a service (PaaS) [that] enables a rich partner ecosystem to develop and deliver new applications providing a basis for new business models, such as in the fields of preventive maintenance, energy data management or resource optimisation.”
Siemens says MindSphere’s APIs and support for open connectivity standards enable the production of OEM and customer specific apps. “For example, for machine manufacturers, Siemens MindApps provide the basic functions for machine manufacturers to enter the digital world,” the company says.
“Machine manufacturers can use these basic functions to apply their specific and comprehensive machine and process knowledge. … This allows them, for example, to monitor machines scattered throughout the world, or whole machine fleets, and to reduce their downtime.”
The Digital Business Platform is Software AG’s flagship product. It is essentially a methodology for a business that wants to undergo digital transformation and is complemented with a range of software products to enable that process.
In the IoT sphere the Digital Business Platform underpins Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT, launched in September 2017.
Software AG said at the time. “[Cumulocity IoT] brings together the power of Software AG’s Digital Business Platform and the original Cumulocity products portfolio into a single, comprehensive and leading IoT portfolio [that] will take full advantage of Software AG’s industry-leading integration, business process, advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities, based on its heritage in enterprise middleware platform leadership.”
Cumulocity originated as a spinoff from the, now defunct, Nokia Siemens joint venture in 2010 and was acquired by Software AG in 2016. According to Software AG, Cumulocity now has over 200 eco system partners including device partners, network and connectivity partners, application partners, system integrators and ISVs.
MindSphere is part of Siemens’ Digital Enterprise Suite, which the company says is used for product lifecycle management, manufacturing operations management and totally integrated automation to make “products, like laptops, computers, televisions, cars, trucks, planes, heavy equipment, fitness devices, white goods, etc.”
Siemens envisions these products being connected to MindSphere so their data can be collected and analysed in MindSphere applications and connected back to the complete digital twin to drive innovation.
MindSphere fulfils a similar role in the IoT ecosystem as Predix from US based industrial giant GE and the Siemens/Software AG tie up is the latest in a series as Siemens and GE seek to increase the role of their respective platforms in industrial IoT.
Earlier this month Apple announced a software development kit to enable developers to create iOS apps integrated with GE’s Predix industrial IoT platform. A year earlier GE and Microsoft announced a partnership to make GE’s Predix industrial IoT platform available on Microsoft Azure.
In September 2016 Bosch and GE announced plans to work on technology interoperability and platform integration through Predix operating system and the Bosch IoT Suite.
In December 2016 Siemens and IBM announced plans to integrate IBM's Watson Analytics and other analytics tools into MindSphere.
| An IOTHub release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - Fuel is flowing to and from Port Taranaki’s refurbished storage and distribution terminal near New Plymouth. Lessee BP New Zealand has started operation at the former Chevron tank farm on Centennial Drive, with the first diesel passing through the terminal earlier this month. Petrol is expected to be on-stream early in 2018.
Port Taranaki bought the facility in 2015 and entered into an operational agreement with BP New Zealand to enable larger parcels of petrol and diesel to be shipped in, stored and distributed throughout the region, reducing costs and the number of road tankers coming into Taranaki to deliver fuel.
More than 100 million litres of fuel is expected to pass through the terminal annually.
“The facility needed extensive refurbishment ahead of lessee BP taking responsibility for its operation,” Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said.
“This work began in August last year and has included a new truck-loading gantry, a new control system, new tank-gauging systems and the replacement of pumps and valves.”
Port Taranaki has also brought the associated pipeline to the Newton King Tanker Terminal and a loading arm on the terminal back into use to support the project.
Mr Roper said the work had gone well and he was delighted the facility was now operational.
“We saw the purchase and refurbishment of the site as an opportunity to secure an important piece of infrastructure for the region and develop long-term commercial opportunities for our business. It will have the twin benefits of fuelling Taranaki’s businesses, farms and communities, and reducing the number of fuel trucks on our roads, with large amounts of fuel coming into the region by ship rather than by road tanker,” he said.
“A facility of this nature demands high operating standards and the health and safety of staff and contractors is a priority. With new Major Hazard Facility regulations in place following the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the work required a lot of collaboration from the many parties involved.
“Throughout the process we’ve had a great relationship with BP New Zealand and thank them for their support and knowledge as we have worked to make the terminal operational,” Mr Roper said.
BP general manager marketing supply, Courtney Ireland, echoed Mr Roper’s statements.
“Safety is a No 1 priority for BP, so it was very important to us that the terminal was converted in adherence with the new Major Hazard Facility regulations.
“Terminals are an extremely important part of BP’s strategy, and enable us to effectively support the needs of our customers across the country. BP is pleased and proud to be in a partnership with Port Taranaki that allows us to support ongoing growth in the Taranaki region,” Mr Ireland said.
| A portTaranki release || November 28, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - It’s encouraging to see an increasing level of automation application and acceptance among manufacturers of all sizes, from small subcontract shops to large OEMs. Competitive pressures, demands from customers, the skills gap, Industry 4.0 and more are among the drivers of this phenomena. Like all evolutions in manufacturing protocols and best practices, there are pauses and plateaus along the path towards optimal efficiency. Sometimes it’s waiting for one aspect of the overall system to catch up with another.
For example a cutting tool advancement can spur a subsequent new capability in CNC programming software. At times two technology advancements may be developed concurrently. Then a period of increased productivity might be followed by several years of the new status quo until the inspiration for the next innovation sparks and becomes a viable solution.
I’m sensing that we in manufacturing are in the midst of rising off of a plateau. For about 25 years now, we’ve embraced and configured our shops and factories into the cellular approach to part production. Pallet changers and work handling robots are fairly common at this point. Still, many of the secondary operations such as deburring and part washing are conducted outside of the cell, sometimes in another part of the shop altogether. Companies markedly ahead of the trend or with significant resources may have incorporated these kinds of functions into their cells within the last five to 10 years. But now, even many smaller shops are adding them, or at the very least inquiring about how to integrate all the secondary operations into a single cell and fully complete a process within it. That’s a positive turn. Yet there’s still more that can be done.
With the advent of shop-floor CMMs, probing and other metrology tools, the automation loop is closing even further for automation adopters. Particularly with the CMM in the configuration, dimensional workpiece data can be fed back to the machine tool control while the part is being cut. Should the data ping that the part is trending towards an out-of-tolerance condition, the signal is sent to the machine tool control, which makes the correct toolpath offset on the fly. Likewise, cutting tool life can be monitored and cutting parameters can be modified automatically in a similar fashion, accommodating the change in the edge or insert condition. When part deburring and washing are integrated into the cell, and fully automated, the part may, on occaston, go back into the machine tool if it makes sense in the process or part design to perform certain operations after a round of deburring.
Many shop owners and operators are concerned about the level of difficulty to bring more automation into their workspace. Is it hard to figure all this out? It can be a challenge, however that’s where your automation provider partner can help break down the goal into manageable tasks and possibly accomplish it in phases with a modular, scalable system. The software that ties it all together is open and scalable, too, and I’ve written about the software aspects in previous columns in Manufacturing Engineering.
Flexibility is the way to go, so that the investment evolves as needs change and unfold. Automating a manufacturing process is similar to other job functions at a company—matching pieces of information, gathering the tools required to do the job, and connecting all the dots. It’s more tedious than difficult, but once the system is fully functioning and the company is enjoying the benefits of improved part accuracy, optimal spindle uptime, and smart labor allocation it’s worth the initial effort. Evolving from there, with a smart initial plan, gets easier.
The time is now to go beyond the pallet changer-based cell. Keep adding functionality to it along with feedback data and automatic offset capability. Close that loop and, as the kids would say, drop the mic, because while you may not be finished with your factory automation goals, you will enjoy many advantages at this stage.
| An AdvancedManufactuirng release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - Pipeline technology specialist, STATS Group (STATS), has formalised an agency agreement with OSD Pty Limited, New Zealand’s largest independent pipeline service company. OSD is a leading engineering, operations and commercial services provider to the oil and gas, pipelines and facilities, process, refining, water and hydro-transport sectors.
Kintore-based STATS Group specialises in the provision of pipeline isolation, repair and integrity services, including the design, supply and provision of specialised test, intervention and isolation tools, to the international oil and gas industry.
The agreement follows recent collaboration between the two companies in which STATS have completed three pressurised pipeline isolation projects for major operators in New Zealand on behalf of OSD, allowing for the safe replacement and installation of valves.
The deal has the potential to significantly increase exposure of STATS’s patented pipeline isolation technologies in the southern hemisphere and will complement recent growth in the Asian and Chinese markets.
STATS DNV GL type approved isolation tools provide fail-safe double block and bleed isolation allowing sections of pipework to be vented, creating safe worksite conditions for repair and maintenance to be carried out, often without affecting production.
STATS Group regional sales manager for Asia Pacific, Gareth Campbell, said: “This is an ideal partnership for STATS which opens up new markets and provides opportunities to showcase our expertise in pipeline isolation, hot-tapping and valve replacement services.
“We share the same ethos as OSD in seeking to offer world-class engineering across the asset lifecycle, with a focus on technical and commercial innovation. This alliance has enjoyed an excellent start with three successful isolation projects in New Zealand and we believe our joint capabilities offer a compelling proposition for operators in the New Zealand pipeline sector.”
OSD’s general manager, New Zealand, Shane Hamnett, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce this partnership with STATS as it further supports our drive for excellence in providing world class engineering, technical and innovative solutions to industries toughest challenges.
“Jointly, our outstanding relationship and organisational alignment provides a unique opportunity for pipeline operators to efficiently implement solutions that improve the overall operations, maintenance and growth activities across their asset base.”
| A STATS group release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - The ITF has participated in the WIMDOI (women in male dominated occupations and industries) conference in Australia, setting out the tools and strategies needed to build stronger campaigns and organise women working in such transport workplaces. The biannual conference has been going for 22 years and this year’s, from 21-23 November in Brisbane, was the biggest.
More than 130 women from Australia and New Zealand took part – including firefighters, paramedics, electricians and plumbers, alongside workers from the maritime, road, rail, forestry, construction, meat and manufacturing industries.
Train driver and RTBU (Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union) member Renee Thomasson said: “Because of gender constructs in male dominated industries and the pressure on women to blend in with men, in my workplace there are still major barriers between women accepting other women and solidarity amongst women.
“So my experience at WIMDOI has been extremely empowering. It was inspiring to see women supporting each other and it has equipped me with skills and information to take back to my workplace to share with other women.”
See participants’ message of support to Nemin Al-Sharif.
Participants discussed campaign experiences and topics including training and skills development, gender injustice, pensions and economics. They shared union gender strategies, and strategies to build women’s confidence and influence in overwhelmingly male unions and workplaces. They also discussed the We Won’t Wait campaign and equal access to toilets.
ITF women transport workers’ co-ordinator Jodi Evans commented that this event gave many women a unique opportunity to share their experiences and find solutions to common problems. Importantly, it reinforced that they were not alone in their struggles and that the ITF union family is building a programme to support women working in male dominated occupations and challenge gender-based occupational segregation.
WIMDOI is organised by a committee of seven women, which includes Mich-Elle Myers, (ITF Asia Pacific women’s representative and Maritime Union of Australia national officer) and ITF union the RTBU.
| WIMDOI release || November 30, 2017 |||
Nov 30, 2017 - Amazon's arrival in Australia brings with it opportunities for New Zealand firms writes Wellington consultant Hamish Conway in his company, Sell Global blog. Amazon is in 11 marketplaces around the world, with 123 fulfilment centres, and buying customers in 189 countries. The States is the biggest, with the UK able to fulfil to the other 26 European countries. They’re in Japan, and China but they’re having a tough time in China. AliBaba and the WeChat Group just dominate the Chinese market, with Amazon only having something like a 5% share of the market and consistently struggling there.
So, that’s all interesting, but obviously they are about to arrive in Australia. I was recently in Australia meeting with Fabio, from Amazon, who’s setting it up and running it, and they’re hiring now, looking towards a late November/December launch. Initially this is going to be a soft launch. They don’t want to over promise and under deliver around Christmas time.
Certainly a Q1 start is when it’s going to be happening. But, they have been building the catalogue over the next few months. They are getting their catalogue full, so when they do launch, this is a great opportunity for New Zealand companies that want to really stamp their mark on the Australian market, using Amazon as a channel.
Getting in early on Amazon, and getting on that page one should be the goal of all product selling companies in NZ. 86% of sales come from being on a page one search. Getting in first, and putting your stake in the ground and going, “right, I’m going to claim the peanut butter category on Amazon,” or whatever that category might be is going to be a huge advantage. Getting there and keeping it is far easier than coming in late and trying to claim that spot.
There are all sorts of categories that’ll just be open for business. According to a recent survey, one third of Australians who shop online, which is millions of people, they have said that they will switch to Amazon. They’ll definitely be looking at Amazon when it arrives. I suspect it would be more than that once it does launch, and they start to prove their worth.Amazon is going to really change the landscape. Not only in Australia, but in New Zealand as well. They look at Australia and New Zealand as one. New Zealanders will be buying from Australia.
Amazon has its own products that they sell, largely the tech products, like Alexa and Kindle. They will also buy products from you, like wholesale. So, if they like the look of your product, they’ll go we’ll buy that. They’ll pay you as little as possible, and take for as long as they can to pay you. But enough people do that because they just think that that’s the right way to go. Actually Amazon doesn’t really look after it that well, but they do it. If you look at some products on Amazon, it’ll say “Ships and sold by Amazon” even though it’s a brand you might be aware of. Or, you can be a third party seller, of which any third party sellers can go and set up their products on Amazon.
The products that are currently in America don’t necessarily end up in Australia, so it’s going to be a whole lot of new products that are Australia and New Zealand centric. People from the States or from Asia will be sending products down to Australia into the Australian warehouses there for purchase. People probably still could shop in America for awhile, but once the inventory and catalogue builds up over time, as more suppliers or third party sellers put product in, that’s when it’s going to become bigger and bigger, and a really great opportunity for New Zealand and Australian businesses.
What is the impact from that? If you are a retailer, a brick and mortar retailer, it’s absolutely a problem. If you are a brand owner it’s good news. Being on Amazon gives you so much free traffic, and free brand awareness. For small companies breaking into Australia, it has previously been quite a tough gig, going through the traditional approach and maybe trying to get into supermarkets or through big pharmacy chains, or whatever it might be with what you’re selling. Being on Amazon, people are searching and if you’re there then they’re seeing your brand.
If you control your brand, and the distribution of it, and you’ve got your own e-Commerce store as well, Amazon is going to be a major support for that. If you’ve got products that you don’t control the distribution of then you’re in trouble. The bottom line is that it’s a huge opportunity for any business, whether they’re small and just getting going, or bigger businesses, who will need to be there, and be protecting their brand on that platform. If you aren’t selling your products on Amazon, other companies, other people, other distributors might start selling it there instead.
| Source: Sell Global || November 30, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242