Air New Zealand’s Gas Turbines business has been awarded four significant contracts worth up to USD$42 million by the United States Navy to service and overhaul General Electric LM2500 Gas Turbines that power much of the US Navy’s fleet.
The contracts will see the Auckland based Gas Turbines team carry out maintenance and overhaul work for the next few years.
Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer Bruce Parton says the contracts are an important win for the airline.
“This is a significant boost for our Gas Turbines business. Air New Zealand participated in a competitive bidding process to secure this work and we would like to acknowledge the support of the New Zealand Government and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise throughout the process.”
Air New Zealand Gas Turbines is a business unit of Air New Zealand, providing gas turbine overhaul and repair services to clients across a range of industries. The business began sourcing work in the industrial and marine sector more than 30 years ago and has since supported several of the world’s navies, offshore oil and gas platform operators and power generation companies.
| An Air New Zealand release || June 06, 2017 |||
Around 540 million years ago there was a rapid burst of evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion. One hypothesis for this is that the evolution of vision started an arms race. Complex vision improved the ability of animals to navigate and identify objects; it is now regarded as the most important sense. In industry, machine vision is being incorporated to develop industrial processes further, identify areas of improvement and enable intelligent locomotion within robotics.
Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier EU Automation, discusses the role of machine vision in the factory of the future.
Machine vision is an image processing technology that enables automated object scanning within a set field of view. Plant operators can mount cameras on production lines or cells for real-time process control, product inspection and sorting and robot guidance.
The technology enables robots to interpret their visual surroundings, which can allow them to move around independently. Visual information can be used to recognize the environment and make decisions which are not directly programmed.
Making conclusionsA camera does not see in the same way as the human eye, but machine vision systems use pattern detection software to examine data and draw conclusions based on prior knowledge.
This technique is particularly useful when inspecting the quality of raw materials and final products for component flaws or defects. For example, if a problem is found, a part can be redirected or the process can be corrected to resolve the issue.
As well as flaw detection, machine vision can be used to ensure operations are traceable using identification tags. A camera can read the tags, allowing the information to be used to direct the product or to register which parts are at what stage of the supply chain.
Smart cameras and sensors can digitalize and transfer information, decoding what they capture and removing the need for human interpretation. The machine can then decide whether the information needs communicating to a central control system. These are low cost, easy to use systems that are often a good option for those looking to streamline automated manufacturing.
Smarter factoriesMachine vision is central to the idea of the smart factory, which is based upon a self-organized system comprising of a communicating network and an intelligent exchange of information. Acting as the eyes of the factory, image processing systems based on industrial cameras can compute information that was previously done by manual testing. This reduces human error and enables robots to react flexibly to information for production control.
Because image processing equipment captures, gathers and exchanges data, it is a key technology for interconnected production processes. This data can be transmitted to the value chain, but also used to trigger intelligent actions.
The technology can be used to examine the state of production machines for wear and tear. This information is useful for maintenance and can alert a plant manager of the need to order a replacement industrial component before it breaks.
With machine vision systems decreasing in size and increasing speed, accuracy and resolution, the popularity of these systems could grow drastically over the next few years, similar to the Cambrian Explosion.
| An EUAutomation release || June 6, 2017 |||
We’ve all been there, driving down a one-lane street, backed up behind a cyclist that blocks our ambition of hitting the speed limit. Seriously, bikes limp along at 10 mph and hit what—30 mph—max? Well, no. How does 90 mph sound?
That’s right. Thanks to the engineering minds of Aerovelo and its bike, Eta, cyclists could theoretically complain about passing that big bead on your high performance vehicle.
Aerovelo Cofounders Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert lead their team of University of Toronto (U of T) engineering students and alumni to design, simulate, optimize, build and pilot this escape pod-encased bike into the history books.
After breaking its own human-powered land speed record a few times over, this little tear drop settled on an impressive 144.17 kph (89.59 mph).
“It was a culmination of years of effort,” said Robertson. “There was a lot of excitement and relief that we have taken a good path and all the choices we made showed it could be done. With Eta’s design, we showed the range of improvement. In 2000 to 2015, there wasn’t much change to the [human-powered land] speed record. It incremented 10 mph in 15 years, from 73 to 83 mph. The rate of technological change was small; it was incremental improvements. In the span of two years with Eta, however, we incremented [the record] by 6.5 mph.”
Continue to the full article published by engineersrule.com May 24, 2017 |||
Ports of Auckland has successfully moved two 1,100 tonne cranes to ready Fergusson Container Terminal for bigger ships and automation.
Fergusson Terminal has five cranes. The two older, smaller cranes were lifted off their rails so the three newer, larger cranes could be positioned at the north of the terminal, where they will be able to work bigger ships. This massive job was done in between customers at the busy terminal.
Ports of Auckland's CEO Tony Gibson paid tribute to the company's highly skilled engineering team who worked closely with crane manufacturing company ZPMC to carry out the project. "We run a very busy terminal, so getting this job done quickly and with minimum disruption to shipping was essential. It's a bit like doing knee surgery at half-time and then getting your player back on the field for the second half," he said.
The relocation means that the cranes are now positioned well to work on the bigger ships calling Auckland's port. This means a more efficient container terminal and a port that can cater to Auckland's growing freight demand.
"More people in Auckland means more imports and more shipping. This work is one part of our investment in the automation of our container terminal which will meet that growing demand. This phase of automation gives us enough capacity to handle the freight for an extra million people in Auckland – 30 to 40 years of capacity," says Mr Gibson.
Partial automation of the Fergusson container terminal will be a game-changer for Auckland's port, ensuring extra terminal capacity without reclamation. The technology will allow the port to handle up to 1.7 million TEU each year (1 TEU = 1 20ft container equivalent); enough to support an Auckland population of around 2.7 million. Future technology will give the port additional capacity to serve a regional population of 5 million – more than three times the current population.
| A POA release || May 31, 2017 |||
Small Business Minister Dean has today welcomed the release of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s 2017 Small Business factsheet.
“The factsheet brings together statistics that relate to small businesses, and provides us with an overview of how valuable they are to the New Zealand economy,” Ms Dean says.
“Businesses with fewer than 20 employees make up 97 per cent of all enterprises in New Zealand, and contribute almost $65 billion to our GDP.
“Small businesses employ 29 percent of all workers in New Zealand, and it is important that we continue to support these businesses and help them thrive.
“Other key statistics highlighted in the factsheet are that small businesses created 42 per cent of all jobs in 2015, and salaries in small businesses average $45,867 per annum.
“Currently New Zealand is rated number one in the world for ease of doing business and this is something this government is very proud of.
“Our businesses are young, with 33 per cent of small businesses having existed for less than five years. We must continue to create a supportive environment to help small businesses mature and drive our economy forward.
The fact sheet is released annually by MBIE and a copy can be found here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-growth-agenda/sectors-reports-series/the-small-business-sector-report-and-factsheet
| A Beehive release || June 02, 2017 |||
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says New Zealand is to remove restrictions around cannabidiol (CBD), in line with international developments.
CBD is a substance found in cannabis that has potential therapeutic value. It has little or no psychoactive properties, yet it is currently a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
“At present CBD products for therapeutic use are only available if approval is given by the Ministry of Health.
“I have taken advice from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) that CBD should not be a controlled drug and am pleased Cabinet has now accepted my recommendation to make this change. Therefore, I am now taking steps to remove restrictions accordingly.
“In practical terms, the changes mean CBD would be able to be prescribed by a doctor to their patient and supplied in a manner similar to any other prescription medicine.
“Australia has already taken a similar step while other countries are also responding to emerging evidence that CBD has a low risk of harm when used therapeutically.
“This change is about future-proofing access to CBD products, as the reality is that there will continue to be barriers beyond New Zealand’s control to people accessing such products from overseas,” says Mr Dunne.
Currently there is a limited range of CBD products made to a standard where prescribers can be sure the products contains what is claimed – and strict import and export restrictions on products sourced from other countries, which will continue to impact the supply of CBD products in New Zealand.
“However, we do know of at least one CBD product in development made to high manufacturing standards that will contain two per cent or less of the other cannabinoids found in cannabis,” said Mr Dunne.
The changes will include removing requirements for:
Prescriptions would be allowed for up to three months’ supply, rather than one month. These measures can be achieved by amending the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1977 in the first instance, pending any future amendment of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
| A Beehive release || June 2, 2017 |||
Food sector magazine, Foodprocessing out of Australia report that post-harvest fresh and processed handling solutions company Wyma Solutions has announced a formal strategic partnership with North American supplier of fresh produce packaging and equipment automation solutions Volm Companies.
The partnership will allow the companies to work in a closely integrated manner resulting in turnkey solutions that leverage the global experience of both organisations. Both companies will be adding significant sales, engineering, technical service and manufacturing resources and select Wyma products will be manufactured for the North American market.
Continue to the full article here . . . || June 1, 2017 |||
Read the latest edition of the Machinery Market here
The launch next week of the New Zealand Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum is a strong sign Kiwi tech companies are keen to not just get onboard the burgeoning AI industry, they want to lead from the front, Forum chair Stu Christie says.
Dozens of New Zealand’s leading tech companies are joining the forum which has been initiated by NZTech. The launch in Wellington on June 7 will be attended by politicians, government agencies, big tech companies and major national tech groups.
Christie says the landmark tech manifesto presented to parliamentarian last week confirms just how intent NZTech, InternetNZ, IT Professionals and many other umbrella tech groups are determined to position New Zealand as the leading AI country in the southern hemisphere.
“This launch of this forum and its ongoing work, with support from government and key organisations, is pivotal to New Zealand tech really taking off. We appeal to all businesses and organisations to actively touch base with us so that collectively we can address this one-off opportunity.
“We are seeing so much AI appearing and changing our lives, we are committed to this coordinated approach. We’ll see big changes in our every day activities this year and the next few years that many people cannot comprehend.
“We’ll see traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence which could spell the end of rush hour queues in our cities.
“The link between fashion retail and technology is growing with the rampant rise of online shopping and the use of AI technology, which is transforming the way people shop.
“In Britain, national health service (NHS) patients will be assessed by robots under a controversial 111 scheme to use artificial intelligence to ease pressures on accident and emergency units.
“More than one million people will be given access to a free app which means they can consult with a chatbot instead of a real person.
“Hospitals across Britain are struggling to cope with unprecedented demand, which has left thousands of casualty patients waiting on trolleys.
“The Bank of England has paired up with artificial intelligence and blockchain specialists in a bid to keep up to date with the fast-growing financial technology sector.
“In New Zealand we have companies like Soul Machine, Xero, Talania, TouchtecRe: High pressure spray unithlabs, Orion Health and Air New Zealand leading the way.
“The speedy birth of AI in New Zealand is happening right across the country. To see artificial intelligence unfold in Canterbury, for example, they have a meet up site to discuss developments. It’s great.
“Activity and capability in New Zealand is really gathering momentum on all fronts as the country begins to apply AI and machine learning to technology exports.”
He says the future impacts on the economy and society will be significant, dramatic and disruptive.
| A MakeLemonade release || June 1, 2017 |||
In his most recent book, Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis? Steve Keen leaves readers in little doubt he believes we're heading that way unless we adopt a fundamentally different approach to private debt. Australian Steve Keen was one of only a handful of economists to predict the Global Financial Crisis.
He says it’s all about debt – specifically private debt.
“We’re focussing on the wrong topic. We’re so focussed on government debt, what actually caused the crisis was run away private debt.”
And he says there are a number of ‘debt zombies’ in the world economy - New Zealand among them.
He calls New Zealand ‘Schrodinger’s Zombie’.
The walking dead have already had a financial crisis, he says, and have been experiencing weak growth, while 'zombie-to-be' countries avoided the 2008/2009 crisis by borrowing their way through it.
Now they have a bigger debt burden to deal with when the next crisis hits, he says.
“New Zealand sits in both camps. It had 190 percent of debt to GDP back in 2009, it bottomed out at about 170 percent then went back up to 180 percent of GDP. Most of that’s in the household sector so that’s driven the housing bubble in New Zealand, which of course the authorities normally deny, but it’s clearly there although in my opinion starting to turn right now.
“So you guys have had two bites of the zombie cherry.”
He says there is no doubt the bubble will burst.
“The bubble will burst in the next one to two years - there’s been a real acceleration in house prices since 2012, they’ve increased by about 60 percent. But what I’m seeing now is the motivating force for rising house prices is rising mortgage credit. The wind in that bubble is starting to run out.”
Read More >>Steve Keen: The coming crash (from Radio New Zealand's Sunday Morning programm
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