NZ Manufacturer July 2019

July 2019

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8 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Zenith Tecnica, disruptive thinkers

10

ANALYSIS Forget about AI, get back to basics.

Myths busted about benefits of Fair Pay Agreements The EMA says The New Zealand Initiative’s report on Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) busts all myths about their benefits, and shows we simply don’t need them.

EMA general manager of advocacy and strategy Alan McDonald says the report reinforces the position the 8500-strong employer membership organisation took following the release of the recommendations of the Fair Pay Agreement Working Group (FPAWG).

The EMA also agrees productivity growth could be even slower with FPAs because they mean inefficient practices, a reduction in the flexibility of labour markets and an increase in the cost and complexity of a businesses’ operation.

“Let’s be clear these are compulsory national awards and they are just not needed. They don’t improve economic growth or productivity, as suggested by the FPAWG, and in fact will do more harm than good,” he says.

“We’re worried that for some businesses, if FPAs do result in higher wages, they will simply have to cut down their workforce, or in the case of SMEs shut up shop. Those at greatest risk will be the unskilled,

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“FPAs are equally disadvantageous to everyone employers and employees - and will not achieve the highly-skilled, innovative workforce, and economy and well-paid jobs that the government is seeking,” says Mr McDonald.

The FPAWG recommends replacing New Zealand’s current, relatively flexible labour market regulation with FPAs, which are a compulsory and prescriptive mechanism for setting minimum terms and conditions across whole sectors or occupations.

“Essentially, this would take us back to the 1980s when we had industrial awards which saw workers’ share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decline and more inequality in income than we have now,” says Mr McDonald.

“Across our membership we have no anecdotal evidence that employers are cutting down their costs to get contracts by paying people less, and the EMA agree with the New Zealand Initiative’s finding that lack of productivity growth is not linked with the 1991 labour market reforms.”

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2019

Media Kit with Editorial Calendar INCLUDES: Manufacturing Technology / New Products for Manufacturers / Disruptive and Future Technologies / Export Success / Trade Show Previews and Reports - SouthMACH 2019 / AusTech 2019 / BuildNZ 2019 Company Profiles / Analysis / Interviews / Food Manufacturing / Infrastructure / Smart Manufacturing / Industry 4.0 / Robotics & Automation / Productivity / 3D / Supply Chain / Women in Manufacturing / Additive Manufacturing /

CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS

4

EDITORIAL

5

BUSINESS NEWS

6 10 11 12 14 15 16 17

24 26

ADVISORS

Be creative, don’t rely on technology.

Poor productivity hurts living standards.

More focus needed on business with Asia.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

8

Freedom to think.

Zenith Tecnica push the boundaries.

Bringing graphene and new materials to market.

TRADE FAIR NEWS

9

Is the executive director of The Manufacturers’ Networ. He has a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology, consulting and senior management roles in R&D, innovation and international business development.

Facilities Integrate 2019 open for business.

COMPANY PROFILE

Leeann Watson

Facteon: A story of transformation.

Is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber).and is a strong voice for Canterbury business.

HERA NEWS Be the disruptor, not the disrupted.

COMPANY PROFILE Market demand enables tech drive expansion.

COMMENT

10 Lewis Woodward

Overcoming inventory challenges with smart, data-driven forecasting.

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.

SMART MANUFACTURING Cybersecurity centre to defend democracy.

A starting point for Industry 4.0 transformation.

IOT leads rankings based on business.

Digital transformation driving real change in key industries.

Emerging technologies of 2019.

FOOD MANUFACTURING Cooling tower optimisation.

Dr Troy Coyle

19

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..

NEW PRODUCTS Yale UX forklift range delivers efficient solutions.

Housing construction is becoming manufacturing.

28

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.

Dr. Dieter Adam

ANALYSIS Businesses urged to forget AI and get back to basics.

Kirk Hope

DEVELOPMENTS First look at our coolest development.

Multi-Million-dollar development boosts Auckland economy.

Innovative fire helmet chassis wins supreme award.

30

COMMENT

31

REAR VIEW

Craig Carlyle

20

Brett O’Riley

Let’s get real about what will do most for our country’s wellbeing.

Where will evolution take us in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.

24

EMA chief executive Brett O’Riley has a background in technology and economic development.

Brett actually grew up with manufacturing, in the family business, Biggins & Co. He currently holds board roles with Wine Grenade and Dotterel Technologies and is also on the NZ Film Commission board.

Be creative, don’t rely on technology

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

I am sure you know this and are still working out what you can do without – on a company and personal level.

Simply, if we are doing well it

CONTRIBUTORS

is from the creative efforts

Holly Green, Alan McDonald, Kari Hjelt, Warren Hughes, Brian Low, Dominic Sutton

emanating from our minds not from a robot or piece of technology.

ADVERTISING

If we have four good

Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

friends it is about all we can cope with – juggling family, work and healthy activities. So,

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

if you are one of those people

Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 870 8133 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz

with 5,000 friends on Facebook whom you have never met then I have one word for you

WEB MASTER

– therapy!

Bruce Metelerkamp E: bruce@hha.co.nz

If you own or work for one of the high-flying

PUBLISHING SERVICES

tech businesses in our

On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd

world then you need to check if you are using the technology properly or indeed actually doing any thing with it. Making

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

things that is!

E: publisher@xtra.co.nz Free of Charge.

If you work for or own a less advanced technology progressive

MEDIA HAWKES BAY LTD

is to making the technology work for you? – what exactly is

company, then you need to ask yourself what the resistance

T: +64 6 870 4506 F: +64 6 878 8150 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz 1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings PO Box 1109, Hastings, NZ NZ Manufacturer ISSN 1179-4992

holding you back!

It may very well be the lack of real opportunities.

Your company’s level of productivity is relative to its level of aspiration and creativity. Which is relative to what you need to be successful. If you don’t maximise the technology, then why have you got it? There may well be a good reason to this

Vol.10 No. 6 JULY 2019

awkward and very expensive question.

And that is you are clogged up, over exposed and continually being told about the latest software or gadget that will ‘definitely’ improve your business.

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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Our multi-marketed, technology absorbed world is maybe not what you need. A coffee vendor refines the tools of her trade as does a boat builder. Just make sure you are using (and maximising) what you need.

And keep it simple…

Success Through Innovation

EDITORIAL

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.

– Ambrose Bierce

BUSINESS NEWS

Poor productivity hurts living standards Research released today by the Productivity Commission highlights the cost of New Zealand’s poor productivity performance.

New Zealand’s labour productivity growth has underperformed for decades and has fallen further in the 10 years since the Global Financial Crisis. Between 2008 and 2018, labour productivity growth in the measured sector averaged just 1.0%, down from 1.4% since 1996. The Treasury’s fiscal models assume long-run labour productivity growth across the total economy of 1.5%.

The Productivity Commission estimates that if the recent slowdown was to become permanent then, holding all else constant, over 40 years the economy would be 18% smaller than otherwise. This is equivalent to $16,300 per person.

As an example of what this means in practice, the value of New Zealand Superannuation to recipients, which is indexed to wage growth, would be 21% lower than in a higher productivity case.

The report, Productivity by the Numbers: 2019, benchmarks New Zealand’s productivity performance with OECD countries. It shows that poor labour productivity growth is the reason New Zealand’s GDP per capita remains 30% below the average of the top half of the OECD. In New Zealand the hours worked per person have been consistently high, while labour productivity (output per hour worked) has been low.

Low productivity does not only hurt New Zealanders’ wallets. When productivity growth is lower, wage growth tends to be lower too, meaning some families need to work long hours to achieve decent incomes. The result is they have less time to spend with family and in the community.

Likewise, improving energy and fuel efficiency, along with lifting agricultural productivity, can help lower greenhouse gas emissions per person or unit of output, and help the shift to a low emissions economy.

As Dr Patrick Nolan, one of the report’s authors, said: “The economy is like a car stuck in first gear, where faster growth comes from revving the engine rather than driving more efficiently. This comes at a real cost to living standards.

Lifting productivity would shift the economy into higher gear and put economic growth on a more sustainable footing.”

More focus needed on business with Asia This year’s Perceptions of Asia report demonstrates the importance of business links between New Zealand and Asia, says BusinessNZ. The latest survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation shows nearly half of all New Zealanders have travelled to or lived in Asia and almost one in five speaks an Asian language.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says that’s a good base for growing business between New Zealand and many Asian countries.

“The survey shows that around three quarters of New Zealanders consider Asia

is important to New Zealand’s future, however nearly half of New Zealanders consider that not enough is being done to develop links between businesses in New Zealand and Asia.

“The work of the Asia New Zealand Foundation is important in helping us to recognise and bridge this gap.

“Continued work to broaden and deepen business relationships between New Zealand and Asian countries and ongoing development of trade agreements in the region are needed to ensure that New Zealand-Asian business prospers for the benefit of all.”

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The scariest moment is always just before you start.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

-Stephen King

Freedom to think Top three applications for machine learning in manufacturing Machine learning means machines do not have to be programmed to perform exact tasks on a repetitive basis, they collect data and use it to make informed decisions about their next move.

This allows them to correct any errors and improve their operational parameters. There are three key areas where manufacturers can benefit from this technology.

Industrial maintenance According to McKinsey, artificial intelligence can generate a ten per cent reduction in maintenance costs, up to a 20 per cent reduction in downtime and a 25 per cent reduction in inspection costs. Machine learning is a significant player in this positive impact of artificial intelligence.

In traditional predictive maintenance, engineers program the thresholds for a component’s normal operation into a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. When the component deviates from normal operation, the system alerts an engineer of the developing fault.

The problem with this approach is the lack of flexibility. It does not take into consideration variations in plant activity or the context of manufacturing processes. For example, a system may detect a sudden increase in a component’s operating temperature and interpret this as a developing fault, when in fact it is due to the machine being sterilised.

somebody blocking their route, to more complex situations like a new piece of equipment being introduced onto the factory floor.

Machine learning technology means predictive maintenance systems do not have to be programmed with normal operating thresholds. They use data from the factory floor and IT systems to monitor operational patterns and make informed decisions about what is normal and abnormal activity.

This adaptability is important for ensuring the work is done quickly and to a high standard, as well as ensuring the safety of human staff. If robots perform the same actions repeatedly, regardless of their surrounding environment, they can cause injuries.

Quality assurance There are two main ways machine learning can improve quality assurance (QA). Firstly, it enables assembly robots to continuously monitor and optimise their processes.

Siemens’ DexNet 2.0 robotic system demonstrates the value of machine learning capabilities in manufacturing facilities. Training a robot to pick up an object without dropping it requires complex programming.

Secondly, machine learning increases the capabilities of machine vision systems. Like with predictive maintenance, traditional machine vision systems for QA lack flexibility. For example, if a product is presented to a system in a lower illumination than usual, the system may interpret this as a quality defect.

The DexNet 2.0 uses a 3D sensor and machine learning to process information on the shape and appearance of an object and decide how to pick it up. As a result, it can pick up objects that it has never seen before.

Machine vision systems with machine learning capabilities use algorithms to optimise the camera and illumination settings for the object being inspected and for the environment it is operating in.

They can also detect and localise objects without any operator input.

Manufacturers should continue enabling human workers to have their own ideas and make their own decisions. However, they should also extend this liberty to their machines, to increase productivity, product quality and overall equipment effectiveness.

Luckily, you don’t need a state-of-the art system to introduce machine learning technology into your manufacturing plant. Older systems can be retrofitted with smart technology to help you make the most of the capabilities that this technology offers.

Collaborative robots Collaborative robots work alongside humans but are only able to do this thanks to machine learning technology. Because the environment they work in is dynamic, they must be able to adapt to a large variety of circumstances, from things as simple as

Helping to make your business stand out – so YOU can be outstanding in the busy, complex and interactive world of advertising.

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My career has its roots in signwriting, I then moved to England and undertook study and worked for a company specialising in graphics aimed at promoting conferences and exhibitions. This enabled me to think BIG. Twelve years later I returned to New Zealand and joined a very successful advertising agency which encouraged me to engage my skill set within this wonderfully expressive, yet versatile and highly disciplined arena.

Here I gained the confidence needed to strike out on my own account. My design abilities, creativity and attention to detail all combine to deliver a great service to YOU and YOUR BUSINESS.

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Contact Kim on M 027 542 7111 E kim.alves@xtra.co.nz W kadesign.nz

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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.

-Dan Brown

Zenith Tecnica continues to scale with GE Additive Arcam EBM technology Since its establishment in 2014, the team at Zenith Tecnica, based on the North Shore of Auckland,has quickly developed a

reputation for being some of the most disruptive, innovative thinkers in the metal additive industry – creating with a range of applications that push the boundaries of 3D printing technology.

From day one, the team have been strong proponents of GE Additive’s electron beam melting technology.

And now, five years on Matt Wielenga, CEO of Zenith has just overseen the installation of their fourth and fifth GE Additive Arcam EBM machines – two additional Q10plus systems.

“That makes five Arcam EBM machines in five years.

We now have three Q10plus and two Q20plus systems and we believe that currently makes us one the largest EBM service bureaus in the world,” says Matt.

Medical Sector Driving Demand Zenith Tecnica’s business is going from strength to strength. The investment in two more GE Additive Arcam EBM Q10plus machines adds additional capacity to fulfil a number of newly-signed contracts with a leading US-based medical implant manufacturer and other customers from other sectors.

technology, design for additive - whether it is determining what geometry is possible, how to get the best finish, what tolerances are achievable, or simply how to reduce cost,” adds Matt.

Having a significantly increased EBM footprint means that as its business grows and gathers momentum Zenith Tecnica is looking for additional production partnerships on both sides of the Pacific ocean and internationally.

“It’s great to see Zenith Tecnica’s business thrive.

And although we’re on the other side of the world in Sweden, we’re constantly in awe at their passion and advocacy for EBM technology, and their ingenuity in developing game-changing applications in titanium,” says Karl Lindblom, general manager, GE Additive Arcam EBM. The EBM process utilizes a high-power electron beam that generates the energy needed for high melting capacity and high productivity. The hot

Being ISO 13485 and AS9100 certified, Matt and his team marry their innovative approach with a steadfast commitment to quality and compliance.

Zenith Tecnica has completed IQ, OQ & PQ for medical implant manufacture on its existing Q10plus machine.

“We have additively manufactured over 400 components that are now in orbit. So, we’re used to working with highly-regulated industries, such as aerospace and defense and the medical sector,” comments Matt.

“Where we add even more value is though our very deep expertise to get the most out of EBM

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process allows you to produce parts with no residual stress and the vacuum ensures a clean and controlled environment. EBM is a leading-edge technology that offers freedom in design, excellent material properties and stacking capabilities.

GE Additive – part of GE (NYSE: GE) is a world leader in additive design and manufacturing, a pioneering process that has the power and potential to transform businesses. Through their integrated offering of additive experts, advanced machines and quality materials, they empower customers to build innovative new products.

Products that solve manufacturing challenges, improve business outcomes and help change the world for the better.

GE Additive includes additive machine providers Concept Laser and Arcam EBM; along with additive material provider AP&C. Leaders in titanium additive manufacturing, Zenith Tecnica are pushing the boundaries of 3D printing – blurring the line between the possible and impossible. Based in Rosedale, Auckland, and founded in 2014, Zenith Tecnica harnesses the power of Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology to redefine the motorsports, aerospace, marine and medical sectors as we know them.

+64 7 848 2005 info@procadsys.co.nz procadsys.co.nz

For maximum attention, nothing beats a good mistake.

– Unknown

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Bringing graphene and new materials to market Remember the computer triode? Unless you’re an early-tech enthusiast, it’s unlikely.

Used as switches in the first electronic computers, these vacuum tubes consumed a great deal of power. They were unreliable and upon the invention of silicon chips, were quickly replaced.

A new material has the potential to shift entire industries. Here, Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation of the Graphene Flagship explains how graphene is set to do the same. ‎ Graphene, a material that is just a one atom thick, has exceptional physical properties. The European Commission launched the Graphene Flagship in 2013 to facilitate the transition of graphene and related materials from academic laboratories to applications.

With a budget of €1 billion an initial period of 10 years, the Graphene Flagship is one of Europe’s biggest research initiative, aiming not only to continue developing graphene in academic laboratories, but also spearheads efforts for the commercialisation of graphene, preparing for its widespread adoption in industry.

Halfway through the ten-year project, the Graphene Flagship has successfully developed over 25 commercial products, using the impressive conductivity, strength and flexibility of graphene to improve on the properties of previously used materials.

However, bringing a new material to market is not without its challenges. ‎Historically, it takes an average of 30 years to take a material from its invention into the commercial realm. Low cost aluminium, for instance, was first isolated in 1824, and for a while during the 19 th century it was more expensive than gold, and considered as a very luxurious metal.

Aluminium wasn’t widely used until an affordable manufacture structure was set up in 1886, and it didn’t become popular until the early 1900s.

Materials that also experienced similar time lags in their adoption include titanium, Teflon, Velcro and polycarbonate, a plastic material used in the manufacture of bulletproof glass.

Careful planning is essential in the phase when research and commercialisation start to overlap.

Particularly due to the sharp contrast between the languages that are used in academia and industry.

Graphene Technology and Innovation Roadmap — an expected timeline for the adoption of graphene technologies.

The roadmap focuses on fundamental industry areas, such as electronic devices, photonics, sensors, energy conversion, energy storage and biomedical devices.

The Graphene Flagship’s principal mission is to take technologies based on graphene from the laboratory to commercial application. During our first phase, we continued to witness the potential of graphene-based technologies to create market disruptions and transformational innovations.

In our next phases we will continue to move from materials research towards component development and system-level integration. Our focus is in combining technology push and market pull by working with industry stakeholders to increase technology readiness levels.

The Graphene Technology and Innovation Roadmap predicts that graphene for use in flexible perovskite solar cells, high frequency electronics and supercapacitors for warehouse logistics is likely to occur in the next five years.

Later technologies, including bioelectric medicine and 6G wireless networks may take a while longer, with estimated adoption in 2030 and beyond.

On top of that, the Graphene Flagship has established two new services for the validation and standardisation of graphene and related materials, which will be of outstanding utility for industries looking into incorporating graphene into their products.

So far, the absence of accurate measurement protocols and the lack of standards have become a serious obstacle to the commercialisation of graphene and related materials. The Graphene Flagship enabled professional validation and standardisation processes –provided by national measurement institutes renowned for their excellence, integrity and impartiality– that will accelerate the technology development and transfer.

Soon, the Graphene Flagship will also release an open access publication that gathers all the know-how in the manufacture of graphene and related materials acquired during years of basic research.

Encompassing over 1,500 references and the knowledge of over 70 co-authors from the Graphene Flagship consortium, this publication will provide a single source of knowledge on graphene and other layered materials.

There were 124 years between the discovery of silicon in 1824, and the creation of the silicon chip in 1958. Now, arguably the most influential invention in computing so far, this chip technology is used in almost all modern products.

Bringing a new material to market cannot be rushed, but when managed properly, can yield incredible results.

Bringing a new material to market is not without its challenges.

To ensure this process runs smooth and successfully, a key driver is the establishment of efficient networks between both worlds. The Graphene Flagship has done this through a core consortium of over 150 academic and industrial groups. Around 40 per cent of the current members are companies aiming to incorporate graphene into their products.

More recently, the Graphene Flagship established a new kind of working groups among its consortium – the spearhead projects.

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9

If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse.

ANALYSIS

– Walt Disney

Businesses urged to forget about AI and get back to basics The average New Zealand SME business uses about eight different cloud applications without seeing any noticeable improvement in productivity or profit.

Technology commentator and chief technology officer at OneHQ, Warren Hughes, said that while technology is seen by many as the solution to New Zealand’s productivity problems – the latest shiny object is artificial intelligence (AI) – most of the time the technology only complicates things and wastes time.

“Not only are Kiwi businesses riddled with cloud software solutions that cost money, are largely unused and don’t talk to each other, but they’re surrendering control of critical data to offshore multi-nationals.”

Hughes says that in his experience from more than 30 years as an IT specialist – in roles such as CTO for Lotto New Zealand, head of product development at Fronde and general manager of Equinox IT – his general observation is that Kiwis are easily seduced out of their technology dollars.

“Ultimately, business leaders are trying to achieve goals, and they need a variety of tools to achieve that. Fix your objectives and then select a simple, best of breed set of tools that talk to each other and which allow you to retain control of your data,” Hughes said.

The technology itself should be a minimal part of a conversation that is dominated by understanding the business itself and its objectives.

“Businesses who have a handful of best of breed technology solutions in the company will see the benefits of AI without having to do anything about it.

“For example, I expect business leaders will soon be able to verbally ask questions of the software and get back accurate financial answers in plain English.

However, it is the function of the software, not an end in itself,” he said.

associated with technology for businesses, most of which way over promises and way under-delivers and then moves on to the next thing before you can even do something about the first thing.

“Big budget marketing hypes up many cloud applications like Trello, Slack, HubSpot and Basecamp. On the face of it, they seem cheap. What nobody is telling you, is that to get value out of these tools – and they can be useful – requires a significant investment in time and training.

Hughes offers the following tips to business owners who want to achieve higher productivity and profit from their technology. Unsurprisingly, it has very little to do with the technology itself.

“Set your goals. Know where you are going. Have a plan, and then get the help and the tools you need to get there.”

Take back your time

“At the same time, your critical data – such as financial information and your client details – are locked in these applications, which do not talk to each other. Not only do you not ‘own; your data, there’s not much you can do with it outside of those apps,” Hughes said.

Business owners are so busy that they rarely have the time to focus on the business itself, never mind growth or evolving technology.

Research shows that shifting context – multi-tasking or moving from one task to the next to the next – is exhausting and the most damaging to long term plans and objectives.

New Zealand businesses should not concern themselves with the benefits of artificial intelligence because the technology will become part of the software they already use, including apps like Xero and Vend.

The technology is not nearly as important as the desired outcome.

“If you are a small to medium businesses owner, focus on the outcome first and avoid the distraction of technology, it’s not a silver bullet. Technology is a means to an end. Software solutions like Xero, for example, will take care of the AI functionality for you.

“Most business owners don’t have the time, energy or brain space to objectively look at business and build a plan around the company. Consolidate suppliers, consolidate the technology and make them work together as a team – you should not be the glue that has to hold everything together.

“Get professional advice and help from providers who are outcomes focussed, instead of looking to cheap technology solutions to save a dollar. They cost you more in the long run.”

Get goals Business owners have, by necessity, a short attention span because they have so many verticals to be across.

“In New Zealand, we are exposed to a lot of marketing

New Zealand businesses should not concern themselves with the benefits of artificial intelligence because the technology will become part of the software they already use.

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Keep your ‘context’ consistent

“When a business owner is dealing with, for example, finance one day, health and safety the next day and getting quotes out the day after that, they get stuck in this vicious cycle that never ends.

“Prioritise your most important task, for example, sales, and hire staff or engage suppliers to do the other urgent-day-to-day tasks like writing your health and safety manuals, looking after your financials and implementing technology solutions.”

Hughes said that OneHQ – which aims to consolidate services like accounting, finance and technology – is on the verge of releasing a technology platform that ties best of breed apps together into an integrated, complete solution.

Most businesses have an incredible library of apps to operate, but those don’t necessarily make them more effective. Businesses need a solution that glues the best of breed apps together and lets them keep control of the data.

“For example, you could – if you wanted – replace Xero with MYOB seamlessly (or vice versa). A bunch of different apps working independently don’t let you do that.

“SMEs are such a big part of the economy, but they need providers with innovative ways to deploy technology to improve outcomes like productivity, efficiency and growth. As noted futurist and scientist Roy Amara said, ‘the problem is that we tend to overestimate the effect technology has on us in the short run, and over underestimate the impact in the long run’,” Hughes said.

Anything I come across that feels impossible, I probably need to take a second look.

-Joe Gebbia (Co-founder AirBnb)

TRADE FAIR NEWS

Facilities Integrate 2019: Open for business Are you ready for a net zero carbon future? The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) in conjunction with Enviro-Mark Solutions have been developing a framework and set of standards to help shift buildings to net zero carbon.

anyone with an interest in the building and related technology industries,” says Smith. “We’ve been working hard over the past year, putting together a compelling show which has more than a little something for everyone.”

This set of standards will be launched as part of World Green Building Week 2019 at Facilities Integrate 2019.

Among the new developments Smith is pioneering include the ‘Drone Zone’, showcasing the many ways in which these devices can aid building management while driving down costs.

The only dedicated expo for the convergence of the building and technology industries are officially open for registrations and with many other pressing topics, it’s an opportunity for those in the related industries to learn, network and experience.

With over 100 exhibitors, multiple seminars and features, Facilities Integrate 2019 is expected to draw some 3,000 quality delegates.

That makes it the premier opportunity for business development, investigating new suppliers and rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of a booming industry.

Trade-only, Facilities Integrate 2019 is in its 5th edition and uniquely brings together the people who manage, secure, develop, design, influence and revolutionise New Zealand’s buildings and facilities into a single business event.

This year Facilities Integrate is being run by top trade show event manager Lorraine Smith who is breathing new life into the event to engage and educate visiting delegates.

“I’m thrilled to announce that registrations are now open, with Facilities Integrate free to attend for

The trade-only exhibition for people who manage, secure, develop, design, influence and revolutionise New Zealand’s buildings and facilities.

REGISTER NOW AT FACILITIESINTEGRATE.NZ FOR FREE ENTRY

She also introduces a focus on Workspace Interiors for the first time, which showcases ergonomics in the modern age. The Energy Management Workshop is demonstrating best practices for reducing operational costs and environmental footprints.

This is particularly relevant as more building owners are seeing the value of a NABERSNZ and Green Star Performance star rating.

Facilities Integrate 2019 features ICT Infrastructure, Facilities Management, System Integration, Workspace Interiors and Operational Technology.

The top exhibitors in each category are: • ICT Infrastructure: BICSI South Pacific, Vertiv, Alternate Backup Solutions, Cover Communications and Sharp Corporation.

Camfil, Dyson, Hire Plants and Nespresso Professional • Operational Technology: Good Measure, SimPRO, FSI APAC and Ticked Off. The always-popular seminar series has multiple fascinating topics for 2019, including: • An examination of NZ’s slow adoption of Building Information Modelling • The dangers of occupying a building without a CCC • What the Industrial IoT means for your building • Cyber security insights from a Former British Military Intelligence Agent • Electric vehicles and the implications infrastructure and energy management.

for

Regular features which return include the hugely popular Tech Hub, the Spotless Seminar Series which shares best practices in facilities management, and the Networking Lounge where people catch up for some leisure time. Quality food and drink are, assured, as is a convivial setting.

“Did we say you can fly a drone? It’s absolutely true,” says Smith.

• Facilities Management: Caroma, Siemens, Gallagher, Panasonic, Temperzone and Total Utilities Management Group

That’s because the show will feature an interactive drone zone where delegates can get a hands-on experience with the latest technology.”

• System Integration: ABB New Zealand, Leading Solutions, Quasar Systems, Integrated Control Technology and Hills Ltd.

The trade-only event takes place 25 - 26 September 2019 at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland.

• Workspace Interiors: Ambius Indoor Plantscaping,

For more information or to register your interest, visit https://www.facilitiesintegrate.nz

25-26 SEPTEMBER AUCKLAND ASB SHOWGROUNDS facilitiesintegrate.nz

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COMPANY PROFILE

Great things never came from comfort zones.

-Neil Strauss

A story of transformation A long-standing East Tamaki business, Facteon is a world leader in planning and building intelligent factories for the internet age.

The genesis Facteon’s story begins 40 years ago as the internal engineering divisional capability of Fisher & Paykel Appliances.

At the time, New Zealand and manufacturing in general were in a very different place. Fisher & Paykel, by global standards, was a relatively small appliance provider and had a diverse range of markets which required small batch sizes and a wide variety of products.

To achieve this, they needed a more flexible approach to manufacturing. The equipment and systems suited to this were not easily purchased then, so Fisher & Paykel Appliances decided to establish their own division of experts, Fisher & Paykel Production Machinery.

Over the years, the company became very specialised in appliance lines as well as work in other industries.

This work was varied and included such projects as alloy wheel production lines for Ford’s New Zealand factory, building materials and production lines for roof tiles, and even the machinery for pulp thermoforming which is used to make fruit trays and egg cartons.

In 2012, Haier Group purchased Fisher & Paykel Appliances, acquiring the Facteon business in the process.

During the initial years of the relationship, Facteon and Haier worked together to improve the performance of Haier’s manufacturing function, with a particular focus on automated welding and production lines.

In 2018 Haier Group was looking to set up a much wider Industrial Intelligence Division and Facteon became a cornerstone of that group amongst other Haier robotics and software companies.

This was the birth of the Facteon brand. The company wanted a name that signified automation and connectivity for Industry 4.0 and didn’t want any confusion with appliances.

“We have been here for such a long time that it feels like with our new brand coming into the market we are an old friend with a new story,” says Head of Marketing and New Ventures Nathan Soich.

Facteon today Facteon is fundamentally an automation company, a provider and integrator of automation, from robotics to custom machinery, giving people productivity and efficiency upgrades in their facilities.

One of the real strengths of Facteon is its design heritage which gives the capability to build solutions not found on the shelf. They have a large machining centre in East Tamaki, focusing on high quality machining of components that are of interest to businesses in the area.

Today, Facteon is focused on providing automation to a range of businesses, as well as being a key

technology provider within the Haier group, which has more than 100 factories globally, including those of GE Appliances in the United States and Candy Group in Europe.

Facteon is a key part of maintaining and upgrading the manufacturing capability across the Haier Group.

Industry 4.0 and IOT These terms are new language to a lot of businesses.

Explaining the difference, Nathan says “The general rule of thumb that we operate to is that Industry 4.0 is the overarching principle and way of operating. It deals with the wider ecosystem and both the application of technologies as well as ways of working. When people talk about IoT or IIoT which is the Industrial Internet of Things, that is primarily about the technology you use to provide the connectivity of the sensors of the robotics, of the software you are using.

“Intelligent manufacturing is like Industry 4.0 but is specific to manufacturers and talks about data/ intelligence driven manufacturing.”

According to Nathan, many companies are implementing pilot programmes around IIoT and Industry 4.0, and there are increasing numbers of businesses discussing a 4.0 strategy – whether they need one, the relevance to their business and what their competitors are doing in this space.

Having first-hand experience, Facteon can bring a significant amount of clarity to these businesses.

KiwiNet secures funding boost for research commercialisation The ongoing success of KiwiNet’s collaborative research commercialisation activities have been recognised with a significantly enhanced funding contract from The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under The Commercialisation Partner Network (CPN).

KiwiNet will receive $2,179,319 million per annum from MBIE to grow their collaborative model to commercialise science and research, a 93% increase in funding per annum.

KiwiNet has also secured $4,972,460 million investment funding per annum from MBIE’s PreSeed Accelerator Fund, a 45% increase in PreSeed funding, to turn public research discoveries into products and services which can then be successfully brought to market.

Today, the KiwiNet Innovation Network is the combined power of 18 of New Zealand’s Universities, Crown Research Institutes and other research organisations who receive public funding, working closely together to turn research ideas into commercial value.

With the recent addition of Massey Ventures Ltd and Health Innovation Hub, KiwiNet members now represent a total combined research expenditure of over $800 million and over 80% of New Zealand’s publicly funded researchers, which equates to a combined research capability of around 8000 researchers.

KiwiNet has backed over 950 projects involving hundreds of researchers from KiwiNet PreSeed pooling partners, resulting in 383 commercial deals across 167 projects, including 39 start-up companies formed.

The Commercialisation Partner Network (CPN) is a funding programme that was established by MBIE

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in 2010 with the aim of aggregating the technology transfer activities of New Zealand’s public research organisations so that a science and innovation eco-system might be accelerated.

The CPN works hand-in-hand with MBIE’s PreSeed Accelerator Fund, to support early-stage commercialisation of public research discoveries to progress them to a point of investor-readiness.

MBIE’s Senior Investment Manager - Science System Investment and Performance - Labour, Science and Enterprise at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Jez Weston, says: “The CPN partners, KiwiNet and Return On Science, are working together to deliver measurable results in terms of improved and increased commercialisation of publicly funded research.”

KiwiNet runs a range of activities to empower the people who commercialise research and maximise commercial success from the most promising research discoveries across New Zealand, including commercialisation workshops, industry engagement events, investor introduction activities and the annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.

KiwiNet also provides commercial mentors for projects and investment to support commercialisation.

A core function for KiwiNet is running an Investment Committee that invests MBIE PreSeed Accelerator Funding into new commercial ventures promoted by KiwiNet members.

The KiwiNet Investment Committee, made up of specialist innovation experts and representatives from KiwiNet member organisations, has been chaired since its formation by Andrew Turnbull, a successful high-tech entrepreneur and angel investor in his own right.

Mr Turnbull says, “Research organisations uncover

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often serendipitous scientific discovery that could drive disruptive innovation and create commercial opportunities in unexpected areas.

“We see these ideas at a very early stage and can draw on the specialist technical and commercial experience Dr James Hutchinson at the Investment Committee CEO KiwiNet. table to offer specialist advice on a huge range of topics. This guidance, which can often result in projects changing course as they progress to maximise the market potential of the innovation, has played an integral role in creating a strong innovation pipeline.

“Success stories include spin out companies Hot Lime Labs, a developer of green CO2 technologies for horticulture and Ligar, a developer of molecularly imprinted polymers. Another standout success is ESR’s STRmix, innovative forensic software which this year took out New Zealand’s top science award, The Prime Minister’s Science Prize.”

KiwiNet member organisations and shareholders include WaikatoLink, Plant & Food Research, Otago Innovation Ltd, Lincoln University, AUT Ventures, AgResearch, University of Canterbury, Callaghan Innovation, Viclink, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Cawthron Institute, ESR, NIWA, Scion, Malaghan Institute, GNS Science, Massey Ventures Ltd and Health Innovation Hub. Principal support is provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE).

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

COMPANY PROFILE

-Mark Twain

The digital factory and SaaS: Software as a Service An area of increasing demand from businesses is data and analytics; what Facteon calls the Digital Factory.

Using their Cosmoline software product, Facteon takes data generated from a production line and turns it into easily read and accessible information, enabling people to form business decisions.

For example, instead of having to pull information from a control system and look at it on a little screen on the machine, all machines can be connected, and show various data such as their production rates, status, and any parts that may be malfunctioning, to anyone with an internet capable device.

The larger the data set, whether it’s on machine state and running condition, through to product count and quality, the more can be sent to cloud computing infrastructure for analysis.

The software can then start to make calculations and decisions about how that equipment runs and the type of information it can produce. Nathan explains, “It’s all about bringing clarity to the digital layer of the factory, giving people good information to make good business decisions.”

The key difference is that for many years, machines have had data, but it’s been siloed in each machine, the amount of data you can generate is also now significantly larger.

What you can do with it has expanded and enabled machine to machine connectivity. Until now, a human has always had to make a decision about what action to take.

“Now, we are starting to talk about Cyber-Physical

Systems which are ultimately machines communicating with other machines via the internet and a decision being made by AI to do something in the factory. This is intelligent manufacturing, or Industry 4.0.”

The digital factory in action Facteon’s IIoT technologies can be applied to a range of businesses and their operations.

Internally within the Haier Group, there are several factories in China that are connected via this software – providing information about how the production lines are running, if targets are being met, and complete visibility on the maintenance.

Facteon uses the system to schedule maintenance, show that it’s being completed and allow the customer to raise requests for service and maintenance as well.

One customer with a considerable bottling operation across New Zealand, have over 1000 machines connected to the software which is primarily used to manage maintenance.

Soon, however, edge computing units will be attached to enable tracking of resource usage.

These are computers attached to the production line to communicate with the cloud. By monitoring their power, water usage and other metrics, Facteon can look at predictive maintenance rather than just following a schedule.

This machine can notify when something is likely to fail, avoiding downtime which, as Nathan says, is the enemy of the factory.

World-class automation for New Zealand

manufacturers The company is undergoing changes as it scales up for growth both in New Zealand and offshore.

“We’re making a significant investment into both our New Zealand and China-based operations currently” Nathan explains. “Whilst we are always a strategic capability for our parent company, providing them with technology and automation, we are going out to the wider market and looking to grow there too.”

For Facteon this means taking an increasingly close look at the potential for automation and Industry 4.0 to be applied here in New Zealand.

“We are talking to a number of companies about how they can begin their Industry 4.0 journeys.

Businesses are constantly looking at ways to improve productivity and improve a range functions within their operation.

“We see Facteon as being able to play an important role in taking what we’ve been exposed to in global manufacturers’ operations, translating this and applying it into the New Zealand context.”

EMA and NZITA sign special relationship agreement (NZITA) have celebrated signing a special relationship agreement that will see them work together more closely and connect on trade, commerce and industry.

EMA chief executive Brett O’Riley says the agreement enables the organisations to take a more collaborative approach on mutual interests.

“The Indian business community in New Zealand is a very strong one, and we see how rapidly it is growing and contributing to our economy, especially in Auckland,” he says.

“We look forward to working together with NZITA, particularly in relation to innovation, entrepreneurship and start-ups, and providing practical help to their members on doing business in

New Zealand.”

As with NZITA, the EMA would like to see the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) progress towards a Free Trade Agreement that would benefit two-way trade and investment.

NZITA chairman Giri Gupta says the potential opportunities in India are huge.

“We are both countries that are ambitious to grow our economies and enjoy the benefits that can come from two-way trade. India’s economic growth has been booming. It’s currently the world’s sixth largest economy, and Prime Minister Modi has expressed a hope that it will be within the top three in the next 15 years.

“It’s a growing market of 1.3 billion people and has an expanding middle class with a rising demand for quality goods and services that New Zealand can offer. The absence of a free trade agreement, however, is not a barrier to companies wanting to do business in India, this is where the special relationship agreement between the NZITA and the EMA will help open doors and create bi-lateral opportunities.

“Ultimately trade liberalisation between India and New Zealand are in the interests of both countries and I am confident that will happen in the near future,” says Mr Gupta.

THE HYDRAULINK DIFFERENCE

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NZ MANUFACTURER

FEATURES August 2019 Issue 3D MANUFACTURING CLIMATE CHANGE THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

SUPPLY CHAIN

Advertising Booking Deadline – 9 AUGUST 2019 Advertising Copy Deadline – 9 AUGUST 2019 Editorial Copy Deadline – 9 AUGUST 2019 Advertising – For bookings and further information contact: Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Editorial material to be sent to : Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Tel: 06 870 9029

At NZ MANUFACTURER our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world.

Opinion

As I See It

Manufacturing Profiles

Business News

Letters to the Editor

Appointments

Politics of Manufacturing

Around New Zealand

Diary of Events World Market Report Q/A

-Brian Low, HERA conference organiser

HERA to launch Future Forum series

The day is split into three key events.

The third industrial revolution changed the way previous generations worked – and very soon, the fourth industrial revolution will do the same again for us.

Kicking off with our Nation breakfast. A forum that connects our current workforce and its leaders, with our future generation of engineers. It’s a dynamic mix designed to spark open conversation, and to build a tribe of metalheads. It’s also the first time we’ve ever hosted an event like this!

Inevitably, we’ll have the ability to access powerful resources previously unavailable or uneconomic.

Our members in the engineering and manufacturing sectors now need to innovate and change to understand and counter or utilise those resources.

The rise of technologies – such as machine learning, automation, augmented reality and virtual reality looms over the horizon. In other words, ‘business as usual’ will soon be ‘business no longer’.

But we get it. Some of these technologies seem too far out of reach to ever affect our industry. Or just plain overwhelming, expensive or impractical to uptake. And although innovation can be promising, it has several aspects which makes it challenging to be implemented in different systems or organisations.

What we can say, is that Industry 4.0 and digitalisation are the future of manufacturing. Companies may not survive in a competitive and fast-changing market if they aren’t agile and flexible. That means understanding these concepts and eventually finding ways to adopt them is critical.

Governments and some academic institutions are already struggling to keep up with the changes Industry 4.0 is bringing. In order to cope, our members need to step up and be more agile. Be they fabricators, consultants, product suppliers or services providers.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will affect strategies, structure, business models and operational processes in the engineering sector.

Even we at HERA have aligned our vision and mission to keep up with changing contexts. Our structure, training and research have and will continue to adapt as well. Especially as we find ways to serve our membership meaningfully and effectively.

Similarly, our members will need to adapt to survive.

HERA Future Forum That’s why HERA is launching our Future Forum series next year on 21 February 2020.

It’s about getting all our metalheads in a room together! Because we know the best ideas, experiences and adoption of new concepts happen better when there’s critical mass – and with the right people!

Australian Report New to the Market Lean Manufacturing

Export News

Equipment for Sale

Machine Tools

Recruitment

Business Opportunities

Environmental Technology

Commentary

Manufacturing Processes

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-Unknown

Be the disruptor, not the disrupted

Why the need to care?

COMPANY PROFILE

Trade Fair World

HERA NEWS

A bad attitude is like a flat tire, you can’t get very far until you change it.

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Next will be the main event for the day – 20/20 VISION. Come to gain insights into what will affect you in the next three years, understanding of what you’ll need to do to pivot or prepare and what as an industry we need to do to futureproof ourselves.

You’ll learn how a steel pedestrian bridge on the other side of the world was 3D printed, how a pioneer in Australia has turned his fabrication business into a profitable digitally enhanced business, and how HR innovations attract new blood to our industry.

We’ve handpicked experts to speak on topics that absolutely have the potential to disrupt your current business. These experts have been there and done it. They’ve either owned traditional businesses that they’ve pivoted in a completely different way or explored new ideas from the start.

Their brief? To share their real-life experiences and…

• how they adopted these innovations into their business, • the challenges they had to overcome, • the value of doing so, and • how it was all possible.

Des Watkins from Watkins Steel shows us how he implemented an end-to-end digital process to enhance his steel fabrication business. Futurist Chris Riddell shows us what’s in store for our industry in the coming years.

Gijs van der Velden lets us into the secrets of large-scale 3D printing of steel components. Alia Bojilova tells us how we can retain and attract staff.

Mike Hutcheson helps us understand how to build a culture of innovation and vision`.

And lastly, we’ll close out the day in celebration at our Nation Dinner. A night of recognition, celebration and connection. Plus, it’ll be different to what we’ve done in the past! Our goal is to make it fun, exciting and inspiring as well.

It’ll be held every three years… so this is also another reason to make sure you’re there! And if you’re in the industry or work with the engineering industry, and are not a HERA member, let’s fix that! Email brian.low@hera.org.nz or visit https://www.hera. org.nz/become-a-member/

Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.

– Robert Kiyosaki

COMPANY PROFILE

Market demand enables tech drive expansion SEW-Eurodrive, a global market leader in drive technology, the technology of transforming energy into motion, recently expanded its services and product range in New Zealand with the opening of its new purpose-built Service Centre and Warehouse at Nandina Avenue, East Tamaki, adjacent to their existing premises.

An owner-operated international company formed in 1931 with a footprint in 50 countries, SEW-Eurodrive employs over 17,000 staff globally and turns over 3 billion Euro annually.

New Zealand accounts for 48 of those staff numbers; eight in the Christchurch sales and assembly plant and 40 in the East Tamaki head office, working in sales, support, administration and production.

Electric motors formed the beginnings of the company but the SEW-Eurodrive name now stands for much more and their product range includes geared motors, gear units, industrial gear units, motors, components for decentralised installation, electronically controlled drives, mechanical variable-speed gear units as well as drive solutions that involve complex engineering, not to mention a comprehensive range of services and maintenance.

Managing Director, John Hainsworth explains, “Everything needs to be moved and we provide the means to move it. Ours is a big industry and everything is affected.

“For example, the process of picking fruit to it being on your table, it’s got to get there and there are many motion processes in between. That’s our business, getting product from point A to point B through those processes.”

SEW-Eurodrive supplies a large sector of the New Zealand domestic industry and work closely with OEM (original equipment manufacturers) and big brand end users alike to provide cost effective solutions.

SEW-Eurodrive entered the New Zealand market in 1988 and purchased a building in East Tamaki. In 1996, the neighbouring section was purchased, and a new building was constructed specifically for their needs with the original being leased.

When the tenants recently moved out, SEW-Eurodrive took the opportunity to reclaim the space and put it to good use. Aspec Construction together with DLM Architects were contracted to complete the new build expansion. The original building was demolished and the site levelled to enable access between the two buildings.

The changes will improve efficiency and reduce build and dispatch times and allow SEW a more flexible and smarter workflow with intelligent production processes. John explains that Industry 4.0 has had a lot of influence over his industry which is moving towards humanless factories.

The direction his customers are taking means everything needs to be connected with constant feedback and communication. Already some of the SEW production cells are paperless and scan the products as they go through the production process collecting masses of data.

One of the drivers behind the expansion was to help SEW-Eurodrive grow the service and repair business within New Zealand by having a dedicated service centre that caters and delivers to their customers’ requirements.

This process is cleaner and more consistent.

The expansion has given them an additional 1800m² high bay factory and 300 m² in office space allowing for future growth. They now have a completely new service centre which has allowed them to expand their product range to provide service and repair to their products as well as others.

SEW products have the controls necessary to make a higher level of communication possible.

The additional bulk store space will provide for increased inventory as well as existing stock from the current assembly plant. The improved store layout allows for smarter assembly processes in the manufacturing plant and it will now be possible to implement Kanban and Supermarket-type picking for lean manufacturing. It is more efficient and requires less time and energy spent moving stock around.

The data collection makes it easy to answer any client’s questions about what is happening with their product as it is clearly visible which stage a product is at and what work remains to be done.

John says, “I could be sitting in my bach in the Coromandel, look at my factory and figure out all that is happening, because everything is communicating from several points and I have access to that data.”

John believes they need to work smarter within their own factories before they start promoting that equipment to everyone else.

John explains, “The expansion has given us the ability to make changes and improve efficiencies.

It leaves us well placed to grow within our market segment.”

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15

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

COMMENT

- Oscar Wilde

Overcome inventory challenges with smart, data-driven forecasting - Dominic Sutton, co-founder, growth, Stock Trim It’s critical that your inventory system can cope with the complexities of the ever-changing sales and distribution landscape. Increased global competition has new products always entering the market, and multiple sales channels – from traditional brick and mortar stores through to online shopping, and third-party marketplaces like Amazon – give your customers greater access and choice.

What’s more, customers are more discerning than ever. If you make a mistake or delay shipment of your products because your inventory forecasting is not up to scratch, they are likely to leave you and spend their money elsewhere.

In this article, we tackle some common inventory mistakes and how you can overcome them.

Existing between extremes – Stockpiling or stock minimisation With the fear and uncertainty surrounding Brexit and its impact on supply chains, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is looking at stockpiling pharmaceuticals in preparation.

But stockpiling comes with problems, like rising storage costs, space limitations, and consumers demanding access to fresh goods or produce (products with short expiry periods can’t be held in storage for too long).

A lot of capital gets locked up in renting warehouse space and you run the risk of not being able to sell the stock before it becomes obsolete.

At the other extreme, some organisations choose to cut their inventory to the bone. Their rationale is anything in storage is a liability. But companies need to have enough stock on hand to be able to satisfy consumer demand and generate sales.

You might lose out on potential profits if you can’t

fulfil orders, or if they have to be delayed. This can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction and your reputation.

The answer? Stock optimisation. This means you don’t have too much cash locked into underused stock, but you also have a healthy amount of stock to satisfy demand.

You can achieve stock optimisation with a smart inventory forecasting system that considers and analyses changes in customer demand – from the impact of seasonality to responding to a changing political landscape.

Slow to embrace innovative technologies Considering the ramifications of poorly managed inventory and lack of demand planning – missed sales opportunities, dwindling profits, obsolete stock, customers shopping elsewhere and even business failure – it’s surprising how many companies still rely on spreadsheets, and even gut instinct, to make decisions around inventory.

New digital technologies are intuitive, analytical, and dynamic because of their machine learning capabilities. Most wholesalers and distributors have multiple stores and warehouses, product lines that have a number of ingredients or components, and multiple sales channels – from physical retail stores to online.

Therefore, modern businesses need a robust inventory forecasting system that is multi-layered, adjusts to fluid consumer demand and is easily scalable.

Inventory systems also need to be fast and allow for collaboration. Spreadsheets and gut instincts just don’t cut it.

Lack of visibility Poor visibility of your inventory and consumer demand can happen when your inventory systems are neither integrated nor cloud-based, and don’t provide you with real-time updates.

Visibility is power. When your system analyses trends and displays them in one place – readily accessible anywhere and at any time – you can be more responsive and purchase more stock, as and when you need it.

You need to have visibility across your warehouses, for each component or ingredient of your product,

and for each of your supplier’s lead times. When you have this information, you can adjust and configure your inventory and orders ahead of time, to keep up with changing consumer demand.

Not accounting for external factors External factors like Brexit, natural disasters, shifting trends, new products to the market, and even poor weather will have an impact on your purchasing plan and inventory forecasting.

When businesses operate in their own internal bubble, it’s highly likely that their demand planning is unreliable.

It’s true that customer behaviour can be as unpredictable as the weather. But a data-driven approach to inventory forecasting which draws on historical sales information, product analysis and machine learning can give you increased clarity and certainty.

StockTrim is a reliable inventory forecasting system that selects the best forecast model for each of your products. Some products may have a flat demand, others may have an increasing trend, or others may experience seasonality or sudden changes in popularity.

Lack of automation Without question, tasks like raising purchase orders should be automated. Your staff skills and time are much better suited to tasks that drive sales and increase customer satisfaction.

Another task that can be automated is detailed trend analysis. Spreadsheet formulas can be clunky and the output is only as good as what you enter.

Automated and regularly updated trend analysis allows you to clearly see what is happening and will give you confidence in your predictions.

Moving to smarter, intuitive inventory planning software Many companies stick with what they know because they’re worried that smart, intuitive and data-driven inventory forecasting software is expensive and complicated to run.

But that’s wrong. With subscriptions to StockTrim starting from just $99 per month, you can quash your inventory planning worries. We’ve developed it to integrate easily with your other systems and to make the onboarding process quick and simple.

Try Stock Trim free. www.stocktrim.com

Smart inventory forecasting, now available for SME manufacturers.

Detailed Demand Analysis Intuitive Order Plan Multiple Locations Manufacturing Features (e.g. multi-level B.O.M) Ability to Forecast New Products Variable Lead Times

StockTrim is cloud-based software, available on subscription from $99/mth for a limited time.

FREE 14 day trial. No commitment required. Click here or visit www.stocktrim.com

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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.

Greg Morehouse

Greg founded Motovated Design & Analysis in 1999 with a vision to “cost effectively engineer our client’s vision”; through the use of advanced techniques, superior tools, and boundless enthusiasm. Working for VW & Audi as a mechanic, and then with Boeing & Hercules Aerospace as an Engineering Analyst, provided Greg with 40+ years of real world design and analysis experience. Greg is a world-class analyst and provides training and advanced technical support to manufacturers and some of the FEA resellers throughout New Zealand.

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Work in silence. Let your success be your noise.

-Unknown

Jacobs to use Seequent’s solutions on civil and environmental projects Seequent, a world leader in the development of geoscience analysis, modelling and collaborative technologies, has announced Jacobs, one of the world’s leading providers in technical, professional and construction services, has signed a major agreement to use Leapfrog® Works on its civil engineering and environmental projects.

Jacobs staff in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong and Canada are covered under the agreement and will use Seequent’s solutions to to better understand and communicate geology and risk.

Jacob’s has successfully used Leapfrog® Works on many significant projects including the Emu Swamp Dam – a proposed 12,100 megalitre urban and irrigation supply dam on the Severn River in Stanthorpe, Queensland – to gain a clear understanding of the geology and mitigate the potential risks they faced.

Jacobs used Leapfrog Works to create a subsurface model of the Emu Swamp Dam which identified potential geological challenges, such as areas in the proposed dam footprint that may require mitigation in the design phase, and successfully communicated these challenges to all stakeholders including engineers, farmers, and the community using Seequent’s highly visual 3D collaboration tools.

“Effectively assessing and communicating geological risk in the context of proposed infrastructure designs is critical for successful civil engineering,” says Daniel Wallace, Seequent’s General Manager of Civil and Environmental.

“Fast and dynamic 3D subsurface modelling made possible with Leapfrog Works has an important role to play. We are pleased to support Jacobs, one of the top engineering consultancies in the world, with our

highly visual solution specifically designed for civil engineering and environmental industries.”

Jacobs was contracted to complete a detailed business case for the Emu Swamp Dam project including a reference design - providing all engineering expertise, stakeholder communication, environmental works to offset harm, baseline economics and provisional water sales assessment.

With an estimated capital cost of $84 million and potential to secure approximately 700 local jobs, the project aims to increase security and agricultural proficiency for Queensland, in an area known for drought. Queensland fruit farmers and viticulturists have previously had to truck in water from New South Wales to help increase production.

The project faced many challenges including determining an economic and safe design, securing significant water resources without affecting downstream flows, incorporating the project into State Water plans and liaising and communicating with a variety of stakeholders from local councils, chambers of commerce and government to private farmers, developers and the local community.

“Leapfrog Works had a very positive impact on our understanding and communication of the geology.

Using 3D visualisation gave clarity and meaning and allowed us to effectively communicate to all stakeholders.

This 3D visualisation was particularly beneficial for those with no technical background. Using an industry-specific tool like Leapfrog Works really helped with the successful delivery of the business case,” says Graeme Jardine, APAC ME Technical Director Engineering Geology, Jacobs Australia.

The Emu Swamp Dam Project project has been

Emu Swamp Dam model with design looking downstream.

ongoing for many years, and the Federal Government has announced it is looking to co-fund, with private farmers and developers already pledged to provide 29% of the cost. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been extended to April 2020 and with funding approval from Federal and State Government, it will then go to tender.

Jardine says, “We used Seequent’s solutions to communicate with the community and non-technical forums to show them what we’d discovered through our drilling programme.

Communicating in 3D really helped people to understand and visualise the project. We were also able to use Leapfrog Works’ movie feature to create fly throughs which we could easily pause during consultations to explain key aspects. These impressive visualisations really helped to bring the project to life.”

It is likely that the decision regarding the Emu Swamp Dam’s go ahead is made in 2019 and could result in more borehole drilling to fully understand ground permeability – the Leapfrog model will help to inform this work when the project progresses to the detailed design phase.

Leapfrog Works is designed to support civil engineering project workflows to the benefit of the wide cross section of teams and stakeholders that are commonly involved.

Cybersecurity centre to defend democracy Former US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich has had Flinders University’s new cyber security centre named in his honour. Picture: Brenton Edwards.

Researchers at the South Australian centre will work with US partners to improve the capacity of governments and industry to respond to cyber challenges and threats.

The Flinders University centre is named in honour of Jeff Bleich, special counsel to former US President Barack Obama and a diplomat who served as Ambassador to Australia from 2009 to 2013.

The Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology, Security and Governance will examine areas of mutual concern between Australia and the United States in a bid to combat the use of digital technologies to undermine trust and security in democratic societies.

Through research, the centre will attempt to tackle foreign meddling in democratic elections, the proliferation of fake news and threats to national security.

Ambassador Bleich said the disruptive costs of the digital revolution on democracy included deliberate efforts to impair individual, corporate and government decision-making through corrupt, distorted, or false information campaigns.

Australia and the United States are joining forces to battle online threats such as fake news and foreign meddling in elections through a new cybersecurity centre in Adelaide.

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“We know that the advent of digital technology has fundamentally changed the way we each work, eat, shop, and live. But it has also changed our societies and how we defend ourselves,” he said.

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Flinders University Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling said the centre would create opportunities for industry, particularly defence, government and NGOs to work with the university to address cybersecurity issues.

“The Jeff Bleich Centre will undertake research to identify reforms, including regulatory models, that preserve the gains of the digital revolution, but enhance the protection of democratic freedoms, and restore trust in the institutions of democratic societies,” he said.

“The centre aligns with the South Australian and Federal Governments’ cyber security plans and will further strengthen South Australia’s position as Australia’s defence state.

“It will consolidate Flinders University’s research expertise and strengths in digital technologies, security and governance, and build upon Flinders existing strengths in US policy studies and the university’s strong US alliance.”

A five-member advisory board will be appointed to provide strategic guidance and direction for the centre.

One day or day one. You decide.

-Unknown

Sealing skills focussed on medical problem solving A company dedicated to solving complex challenges involving seals and interfacing components involved in health care, hospital, scientific and laboratory technology is expanding its services in response to growing demand.

CSGtech has expanded into larger national headquarters in Rydalmere, Sydney, sharing more extensive research, engineering and distribution facilities with its parent company Air Springs Supply, which is a long-established Australian leader in actuation and isolation technologies, including Airmount® isolators used beneath operating tables and sensitive computerised equipment.

CSGtech (new website: www.csgtech.com.au) partners with clients in diverse areas of the medical and scientific community to customise high performance solutions for complex problems where seals and interfacing components must achieve durability, reliability and precision in analytical, therapeutic, surgical and research equipment, says CSGtech Manager, Mr Vinh Lam. “Sometimes the issues we address involve correct sealing of technology from ambient conditions, while in other cases they are directed at ensuring reliability and durability of wear components in service. In both cases, small but vital seals and interfacing components must be correctly specified to cope with chemicals, gases, liquids and harsh operating environments.”

Mr Lam heads an expanded Sales and Technology team which brings together under one roof decades of experience in process engineering, problem solving, product development, proving and production. The team also provides expertise to CSGtech sister company Thomson Rubber Products.

“Our expanded network of internationally accredited manufacturers enables us to supply an exceptionally high level of product, extending from specialist

CSGtech’s problem solving capabilities include customised rubber, plastic and metal components for hospital, healthcare, scientific and therapeutic equipment

O-rings to moulded rubber fittings, fasteners and castings.” he says.

“Correct seals and interfacing components are integral to a huge range of medical, healthcare and scientific technology, where they must be absolutely correct for purpose, traceable and achieve compliance with local and global standards for manufacturing, clinical, therapeutic and laboratory applications. Often the application involved may be non-standard standard technologies, where it is up to the user and their advisors to ensure the right

performance and the right compliance,” he said.

Headquartered in Rydalmere, NSW, CSGtech is an ISO 9000:2015 certified company, capable of supporting JIT/KANBAN manufacturing requirements or manage inventory in line with clients’ supply chain needs. Its warehouse operations cater to national and international distribution.

CSGtech is part of the Air Springs Supply group; national importer and distributor of Firestone Industrial Products.

A starting point for Industry 4.0 transformation The most profound challenge for manufacturers looking to implement a technology-driven transformation process is clearly understanding where they are currently in terms of solution maturity.

Once they have a clear starting point, then they can realistically, and strategically, begin to advance. ABI Research, a global tech market advisory firm, has just released its Industry 4.0 Maturity Assessment to help

manufacturers gain this clarity and insight.

• Control

Our interactive Industry 4.0 Maturity Assessment can help manufacturers benchmark and baseline the maturity of their plant or operation today and put together a plan for the future. It evaluates maturity progress in these seven critical disciplines:

• Data Management & Analytics

• Robotics & Automation • Manufacturing Process • Software

• Connectivity • Worker Enablement The result of the assessment will not only give manufacturers a solid perspective on where they sit on the Industry 4.0 maturity scale, but also align where their vision should be on future Industry 4.0 projects.

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I didn’t come this far, to only come this far.

-Unknown

Internet of Things leads rankings based on business The Internet of Things (IoT) is the emerging technology that offers the most immediate opportunities to generate new business and revenues, according to the Emerging Technology Community at CompTIA, a leading trade association for the global tech industry.

“The largest impacts across all industries – from retail to healthcare, hospitality to finance – are felt when AI improves data security, decision-making speed and accuracy, and employee output and training,” said Maddy Martin, head of growth and education for Smith.ai and community vice chair.

The community has released its second annual Top Ten Emerging Technologies list, ranked according to the near-term business and financial opportunities the solutions offer to IT channel firms and other companies working in the business of technology.

“With more capable staff, better-qualified sales leads, more efficient issue resolution, and systems that feed actual data back in for future process and product improvements, companies employing AI technologies can use resources with far greater efficiency,” Martin added. “Best of all, as investment and competition increase in the AI realm, costs are reduced.”

The Internet of Things also topped the community’s 2018 Top Ten list.

IoT may mean many things to many people, but it can clearly mean incremental or new business to a channel partner if they start adding relevant IoT solutions with their existing and new customers.

More importantly, they don’t have to start over from scratch.

Artificial intelligence (AI) ranks second on the 2019 list.

Third on this year’s list of top emerging technologies is 5G wireless.

“The development and deployment of 5G is going to enable business impact at a level few technologies ever have, providing wireless at the speed and latency needed for complex solutions like driverless vehicles,” said Michael Haines, director of partner

incentive strategy and program design for Microsoft and community chair.

“Additionally, once fully deployed geographically, 5G will help emerging markets realise the same ‘speed of business’ as their mature counterparts,” Haines commented. “Solution providers that develop 5G-based solutions for specific industry applications will have profitable, early-mover advantages.”

Also on the top ten list is blockchain, coming in at number five this year.

“Blockchain came down crushing from its peak of hype cycle, and that’s probably for the best,” said Julia Moiseeva, founder of CLaaS (C-Level as a Service) Management Solutions Ltd. and member of the community’s leadership group. “Now that the luster of novelty and furor of the masses are gone, the dynamic of work around blockchain took a complete U-turn, again, for the best.”

Two new technologies, serverless computing and robotics, made the 2019 list, replacing automation and quantum computing.

World’s smartest 3D measurement software platform opportunities CAM2 2019 metrology software platform is specifically designed to enable users of Faro metrology hardware products to realise the highest level of measurement performance across the automotive, aerospace, machine tools, metal fabrication and a variety of manufacturing industries. This includes the recently introduced Prizm Colour Laser Line Probe and the 6Probe Laser Tracker product families.

This release has evolved from extensive user feedback to the well-received CAM2 2018 introduced a year ago. CAM2 2019 sets a new standard for intelligent metrology via improved ease of use, interactivity, flexibility and targeted, actionable intelligence.

In addition to the tight integration with Faro metrology products that enables a seamless user experience, CAM2 2019 extends the narrative for high value interactivity and usability.

For example, 6Probe users are now able to program button configurations and then interact with the software through the device in real time.

Additionally, Faro Laser Line Probe users can benefit from immediate visual feedback of part quality via live deviation colour scans. Finally, with Built-In Universal CAD Importer, all major CAD file formats can be directly imported into CAM2.

This improves the workflow by eliminating the need for time consuming “double translations”.

CAM2 2019 features a standard set of software instructions, or routines, which automatically guide the user through specific operations, visually and audibly.

This dramatically lowers the bar for the technical expertise required to use Faro 3D measurement solutions, shortens the workflow and allows users

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to direct their primary focus on the measurement results themselves.

Additionally, preset Scanning Profiles further streamline the end to end process by enabling users to select the appropriate scan setting for the specific part type with the click of a button.

Actionable Intelligence Through Statistical Process Control (SPC) CAM2 2018 featured the Repeat Part Management (RPM) Control Center, an integrated, web-based dashboard reporting tool that delivers real time inspection results and insightful trend analysis in a

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user-friendly set of adaptable visual reports.

Additionally, RPM enables a specific inspection process to be designed once and then repeated and executed by anyone on the factory floor.

CAM2 2019 evolves this functionality to actionable intelligence by delivering statistically based graphs and results for trend analysis and predictive alerts.

These alerts not only highlight that the measurement target is trending beyond tolerances, but also provide advanced intelligence into the process and why the situation is occurring.

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

-Mark Twain

Digital transformation is driving real change in key industries Digital transformation (DX) is permeating every vertical market, and industries are looking to evolve to better align with their customers’ changing requirements. The result is the development and integration of cutting edge technologies and a change of methodology to improve processes, according to Y Soft.

Adam O’Neill, managing director, Y Soft, Australia and New Zealand, said, “DX is radically changing how organisations operate and is shaking up industries at speed. Organisations are increasingly launching initiatives to expand or build digital capabilities to deliver business efficiency or increase top-line revenue growth.”

According to the 15 industries surveyed as part of the Gartner 2018 CIO Agenda Industry Insights report, 47 per cent of CEOs are being challenged to make progress in digital business, and 56 per cent of respondents reported that digital improvements have already improved their overall profits.

The 2018 edition of The Hackett Group’s annual key issues study, The CIO Agenda: Driving Value from Transformation, found that the use of virtual assistants, chatbots and other cognitive technologies is anticipated to grow at least five-fold in overall adoption rates over the next few years.

Unsurprisingly, 74 per cent of companies are expecting DX to disrupt their industry and 82 per cent expect it to fundamentally change the operating model of their business.

Adam O’Neill said, “These findings show that every industry is either already participating in or ready to join in with digital transformation. This seismic impact prediction calls for immediate action, and many companies have already begun their DX journeys and

are automating and streamlining business processes by investing in artificial intelligence (AI), specifically machine learning.”

Digital transformation is already having a significant impact on four vertical industries: Legal. Traditionally, the pace of digital change within the legal industry has been slow, with the legal profession resisting many of the technological advances over the years. However, the industry is now increasing its uptake of cloud, document storage, automated workflows, schedule assistants and mobility. Current technology such as chatbots and blockchain are not yet widely used, however, the disruptive impact will be felt in every law firm around the globe.

Finance. From mobile payments and online banking to chatbots, paperless billing and automated invoicing, the world of banking and finance has already adopted many new technologies. However, with the development of blockchain and other automated technology, the disruption is nowhere near complete.

Education. Students are evolving as is the technology they use. Educational bodies are adapting to this change by increasingly using devices and online platforms for teaching, resources and engagement.

The use of 3D printing, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are quickly developing into new teaching methods. DX could well be the disruptive force to change and improve the way future generations are taught.

Manufacturing. By using technology, manufacturing organisations are moving away from mass-produced goods to customised production via a digital supply network. Incorporating and embracing robots, data, AI, sensors and mobility, the manufacturing industry is already dipping its toe into Industry 4.0.

Adam O’Neill said, “Successful digitalisation of a business can disrupt the entire industry and rewrite the rules in a way that leaves their competitors playing catch up. The focus must be on what DX can let the organisation and industry accomplish. The important factor is not having the largest collection of the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, AI and 3D printing technologies, but focusing on agility, innovation and the ability to holistically adapt to change.

“Technology will disrupt existing ways of doing things, and those who refuse to become nimble and innovative will get left behind. Rather than merely identifying all the ways in which digitalisation can optimise the organisation in its current form, organisations need to look into the future and absorb DX into their DNA.”

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No man is free who is not master of himself.

-Epictetus

Cogent ‘sky depot’ boosts efficiency with container stacking cranes One of the largest integrated logistics hubs in Singapore, Cogent One-Stop Logistics Hub, houses a world’s first – a cutting-edge rooftop container depot that enables the facility to provide its customers with a full suite of services.

Unique specifications

In major transhipment hubs like Singapore, there is a great need for facilities that can store empty containers. Cogent Logistics, an important player in the warehouse logistics industry, opened a pioneering sky depot as a direct response to this need.

Cogent is the first logistics provider in the world to successfully implement 15-high container stacking using Konecranes electric overhead traveling (EOT) cranes.

Now in active use, the heavy-duty cranes have a lifting capacity of 12 tons – suitable for empty container handling.

Added smart features such as target positioning, hoist synchronisation, hook levelling and energy saving regenerative drives help the crane operator handle the containers safely and efficiently.

Cogent One-Stop Logistics Hub’s towering structure confronts the challenges of land scarcity and high operating costs in Singapore. Perched atop it, 110 meters above the Jurong and Tuas industrial areas, is the hub’s groundbreaking rooftop depot. Opened in 2016, this latest expansion of the facility enables Cogent to support customers with a full range of services including transportation, warehousing management and container depot management.

But as warehouse and container depots are typically situated either portside, near railways or other transport hubs, finding an effective concept for a rooftop depot was an especially complex and demanding process. The task of acquiring the right lifting technology was no exception.

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For an overhead crane to operate seamlessly and efficiently from a rooftop, the facility needed to apply a particularly innovative lifting solution, explains Jian Yong Lee, Spokesperson at Cogent Container Depot.

“Although many of the existing features of our cranes mirror that of cranes used in ports and terminals, our container depot has lower tonnage empty containers, tight space limitations and a significantly higher handling height. Customisations to the taxi speed, anti-sway and target positioning systems also had to be made to suit our requirements,” said Mr Lee. To procure the cranes that would fulfil such unique specifications, Cogent needed a technology partner, not just an equipment supplier. Taking on this special project required thorough risk assessment, according to Ryan Wang, Regional Sales Manager, Industrial Cranes SEAP, at Konecranes.

Accelerating the transport cycle By incorporating a warehouse and container depot in one hub, Cogent Logistics has effectively sped up the transport cycle by doing away with one trip per cycle. Shipping containers collected from the

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Konecranes stacking cranes are used by Cogent’s world first and only integrated logistics hub with a rooftop container depot

integrated depot can be delivered to the warehouse within minutes, cutting waiting times significantly.

This abbreviated flow of operations also means that the hub can manage higher volumes within the same amount of time, translating to savings for the shipping lines Cogent serves.

The hub’s operations also benefit from Konecranes TRUCONNECT Remote Monitoring, which makes use of sensors installed on the cranes to gather data on their operation. The data includes operating statistics such as running time, motor starts and work cycles as well as safety-related issues like emergency stops.

TRUCONNECT has provided a platform to keep track of equipment utilisation frequency and running hours. This is useful for monitoring and planning operational work, to monitor run times of the equipment and keep logs for better detection of any abnormalities on the cranes.

“Expected downtime to perform crane servicing or maintenance can always be arranged at reasonable notice to minimise operational disruptions. Good communication with the Konecranes team is always appreciated.”

All change is not growth; as all movement is not forward.

-Ellen Glasgow

Emerging technologies of 2019 A new report reveals some of the breakthrough innovations that are expected to radically impact the global social and economic order.

The emerging technologies positively disrupt the existing order, are attractive to investors and researchers, and expect to achieve considerable scale within the coming 5 years.

These are the top 10 emerging technologies for 2019:

Bioplastics for a circular economy Less than 15% of the world’s plastic is recycled, with the rest incinerated, abandoned or sent to landfill.

Biodegradable plastic offers a solution but lacks the strength of conventional materials. A breakthrough idea promotes the circular economy by using cellulose or lignin from plant waste, which increases material strength without using crops that could otherwise be used for food.

Social robots Today’s robots can recognise voices, faces and emotions, interpret speech patterns and gestures, and even make eye contact. Droid friends and assistants are becoming part of everyday life and are being used increasingly to care of the elderly, educate children and undertake all sorts of tasks in between.

work remotely with patients as though they are in the same room.

Advanced food tracking and packaging About 600 million people eat contaminated food each year and it’s essential to locate the source of an outbreak immediately.

What used to take days or even weeks to trace can now be tracked in minutes, using blockchain technology to monitor every step of a food item’s progress through the supply chain.

Meanwhile, sensors in packaging can indicate when food is about to spoil, reducing the need to waste whole batches once an expiry date is reached.

Safer nuclear reactors Although nuclear power emits no carbon dioxide, reactors come with a safety risk that fuel rods can overheat and, when mixed with water, produce hydrogen, which can then explode.

But new fuels are emerging that are much less likely to overheat, and if they do, will produce little or no hydrogen. These new configurations can replace

existing fuel rods with little modification.

DNA data storage Our data storage systems use a lot of energy and can’t keep up with the vast - and ever-increasing quantities of data we produce. In less than a century they are set to reach capacity.

But breakthrough research is using DNA-based data storage, as a low-energy alternative to computer hard drives, with huge capacity: One estimate suggests all the world’s data for a year could be stored on a cube of DNA measuring just a square metre.

Utility-scale storage of renewable energy But storing energy generated by renewables for when there is no sun or wind has been a barrier to increased take-up.

Lithium-ion batteries are set to dominate storage technology over the coming decade, and continuing advances should result in batteries that can store up to eight hours of energy – long enough to allow solar-generated power to meet peak evening demand.

Metalenses Making the lenses used by mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices smaller has been beyond the capabilities of traditional glass cutting and glass curving techniques.

But advances in physics have led to miniaturised, lighter alternatives to established lenses, called metalenses. These tiny, thin, flat lenses could replace existing bulky glass lenses and allow further miniaturisation in sensors and medical imaging devices.

Disordered proteins as drug targets “Intrinsically disordered proteins” are proteins that can cause cancer and other diseases. Unlike conventional proteins, they lack a rigid structure so change shape, making them difficult to treat.

Now scientists have found a way to prevent their shape-shifting long enough for treatment to take effect, offering new possibilities for patients.

Smarter fertilisers Recent improvements in fertilisers have focused on their ability to slowly release nutrients when needed. However, they still contain ammonia, urea and potash which damage the environment.

New fertilisers use more ecologically friendly sources of nitrogen, and microorganisms that improve take-up by plants.

Collaborative telepresence Imagine a video conference where you not only feel like you’re in the same room as the other attendees, you can actually feel one another’s touch. A mix of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (AR), 5G networks and advanced sensors, mean business people in different locations can physically exchange handshakes, and medical practitioners are able to

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FOOD MANUFACTURING

You are not your resume, you are your work.

– Seth Godi

Cooling tower optimisation Food and beverage production requires a large range of temperatures. This means that plants must have effective cooling systems to deal with the excess heat.

Removing the excess heat from the system requires a cooling tower, however, traditional designs require frequent maintenance.

Food and beverage manufacturers understand that the industry is becoming a constant production environment, especially with the expansion of technologies like cold supply chains. Businesses, therefore, require equipment that can work constantly.

However, when producing for long periods of time machines tend to overheat, meaning that to become a constantly working operation cooling systems must also work twenty-four hours a day Heating, cooling and pasteurising are all common steps in food and beverage. Each one of these steps either directly or indirectly produces large quantities of heat.

Managing this heat is a priority, because otherwise equipment may be damaged through overheating.

As such, it is important to have a cooling system that is reliable, requires minimal maintenance and can extract heat at a sufficient rate.

How to optimise cooling Traditional fans generally use 1500 rpm induction motors that connect to a driveshaft that connects to a gearbox, the gearbox then connects to the fan.

This makes the system prone to breakdowns as there are many moving parts, also gearbox maintenance

is time consuming and, due to the environment, oil leaks are common.

To combat this, modern cooling fans need motors that can be mounted directly onto the fan, while being able to resist the conditions within the cooling tower.

Many of these traditional motors can be replaced with more efficient permanent magnetic motors that can be directly installed onto the fan.

This reduces the amount of parts in the system, limiting the risk of breakdowns. They are also compact compared to traditional cooling tower motors, reducing the space required by the system.

Furthermore, the motors help optimise cooling towers by reducing noise pollution and as the motor is reversible allows for the fans to be used to prevent freezing during the colder months of the year.

Adding extra functions like this means that the higher efficiency of permanent magnetic motors, especially at partial loads, in tandem with the drive’s variable speed control ensure fast running of the fans at the required speed saving energy, reducing CO2 footprint and lowering running costs.

Permanent magnetic motors from can also be installed with ACS880-01 industrial drives that are built with cooling tower application control programs.

This allows the drive to adjust the speed of the motors to match the process demand, further increasing energy savings while lowering wear and tear rates.

for longer while further reducing the amount of maintenance required during its lifetime.

Overall, upgrading cooling tower systems can lead to major savings and create a platform for constant production that can help drive business growth.

Traditional cooling systems, especially cooling fan motors are no longer up to par with the requirements from the system.

Optimising them through the introduction of new technology is the only way to improve production.

Meaning that cooling towers will be able run

What can food manufacturers do to help reduce food waste?

Food waste in the United States is equivalent to nearly 30 to 40 percent of the entire U.S. food supply, with the average US household spending $1,500 a year on food that’s wasted.

The leading cause of this is confusion of what the date labels on products actually mean.

A national survey reported that 84 per cent of Americans waste food based on the date label. These enormous figures demonstrate the need for change.

Mislead by labels Each year, supermarkets waste almost $300 million worth of food while the hospitality sector wastes an astronomical three billion pounds worth.

Common reasons for this waste include damaged produce, it doesn’t meet supplier standards or even that demand is low.

The main reason for disposal of safe to eat food is due to misleading date labels, with $16 billion convert to US dollars’ worth food wasted because of this.

The most recognised food date labels are “best before” and “use-by”. A best before label indicates that if a product is eaten after the recommended “best before” date, the quality will not be at its best, but it is still safe to eat. However, it’s commonly misinterpreted that the food is no longer safe to eat.

A “use by” date on a product is a safety risk and meat, fish and dairy products should all be eaten on or before the specified date. However, labels like

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“expiry”, “sell by” and “display until” add confusion, despite not affecting the consumer, only the outlet selling the product for stock control purposes.

Traceability to tackle waste With millions of pounds worth of perfectly edible food filling landfills, a solution needs to be found.

Perhaps one of the simplest is to standardize food date labels across all supermarkets and retail stores.

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) has approved a Call to Action in an appeal to standardise food date labels worldwide by 2020, with the aim to half food waste by 2030.

In the meantime, a way that food manufacturers can help to reduce the cause of food waste, could be to implement traceability software.

Traceability allows manufacturers to track and record data of food produce through all stages of production, processing and distribution to the consumer, which could influence how much safe to eat food is wasted.

In recent years, the concept of ‘farm to fork’ has become increasingly popular, with more people interested in where their food comes from.

If consumers could trace how long ago and where their meat was slaughtered, packaged and

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distributed, or if they could see what date their milk was produced and which farm it came from, they may reconsider throwing away food that is safe to eat, reducing waste.

ABB offer traceability software such as Manufacturing Operations Management suite (MOM), which creates a digital trace of a product by integrating all features into a database.

For example, farmers could log all information of their livestock into a central system, including identification number, the age of the animal, what date it was slaughtered or milked, the date of packaging and where it has been distributed.

A QR (quick response) code or barcode storing the information could be printed out and applied to the packaging. Once the product is on supermarket shelves, consumers can scan the code to view the product data.

With the US contributing to 150,000 tons of food waste every day, it’s vital that food manufacturers support the reduction of food waste and should be compliant with the ISO 22005:2007 traceability standard as a minimum.

Standardised date labels and traceability will educate the consumer with more knowledge regarding a products journey and process, meaning that consumers have more information at hand in order to make an informed decision when it comes to wasting food.

Innovations in taste for world markets

NZ Food Manufacturer brings you the latest news and developments in food from the land to the plate For further information and to advertise visit

www.nzfoodmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Food Manufacturer

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz / NZ Manufacturer July 2019 25 T 0064 6 870 9029 E publisher@xtra.co.nz

If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.

NEW PRODUCTS

– Steve Jobs

Maintain batteries on the go with trailer socket Leading automotive lighting and electrical company, NARVA, has released a new 7-pin flat trailer socket in New Zealand that also features a built-in heavy-duty battery connector, providing added versatility for buyers.

Developed with camping, caravanning or boating enthusiasts in mind, the product is ideal for people who regularly tow vehicles requiring battery maintenance to the trailer or caravan, to power on-board equipment.

The 7-pin trailer plug delivers power to operate the standard stop, tail, reverse and license plate lights, while also providing a built-in, heavy-duty battery connector that delivers up to 50A of power to the battery to charge, maintain or power equipment such as fridges.

This new socket and connector enables things like fridges and freezers to be powered while being towed, so you don’t arrive at your destination with spoiled food.

This innovative socket and connector features a heavy-duty, moulded hard plastic housing for superior reliability, while also combining a sleek, low profile design that is easy to mount and compatible with the standard mounting plate on most common tow bars.

silver-plated copper contacts to suit 8mm² (8B&S) cables.

When not in use, the connector can be sheathed for protection using its hard-wearing rubber tab, while the 7-pin socket spring loaded protective cover benefits from side tabs, making it easier to open.

The socket with built-in, heavy-duty battery connector (part no. 82048BL) is now available from leading automotive outlets throughout New Zealand.

For added performance, this product includes

Powerful topside tensioners facilitate multiple bolt assembly New HM-Series HydraMax Topside Bolt Tensioners are engineered to provide powerful, swift and even performance over multiple-bolt joints involved in assembly and maintenance tasks.

The HM hydraulic tensioners – which complement Enerpac’s Proven GT Topside Tensioners – are designed to overcome the dimensional constraints and bolt load requirements of compact flanges found in industries such as oil and gas, mining and energy, manufacturing and process engineering, liquids reticulation and bulk materials handling.

Generating 30 per cent more load capacity than traditional tensioners and available in maximum capacities from 134-4,650 kN, the tensioners fit all standard flanges, including ANSI, API and Norsok L005 compact

flanges.

The tensioners’ compact size and high bolt load capacity allow a maximum number of bolt diameters to be covered with a minimum number of tools, while achieving even bolting tensions essential to structural integrity and safety.

HydraMax Bolt Tensioners are field-proven tools and have been the most recognisable tensioner in Hydratight’s bolting portfolio for more than a decade and are now becoming an important element of the Enerpac range of controlled bolting solutions as Hydratight and Enerpac are merged to become a single company.

This integrated range expansion will have major benefits for bolting customers, including the comprehensive national sales and service backup for which Enerpac is widely respected – as well as access from the one convenient source, to the extensive

Enerpac range of professional bolting technology, all with global standards of reliability, safety compliance and traceability.

GT-Series Bolt Tensioner Update In addition to launching the new HydraMax Bolt Tensioners, Enerpac is also updating the GT-Series Topside Bolt Tensioner range, to which a new GT7 tensioner will be added. The seven GT load cells and bridges will cover bolts from 5/8” to 4” and M16 to M105. The GT range will also benefit from a captive socket system that will prevent the socket falling or being lost from the tool.

New vision sensor targets robotic guidance applications Designed for error proofing, identification, general inspection and robot guidance, BOA Spot XL vision sensors deliver the performance and capabilities to rival any product in its class.

The all-in-one BOA Spot XL comes with integrated LED lighting, lens cover and easy-to-use application software, providing high value capabilities at a low cost of ownership.

Robust embedded vision tools include positioning, part locating, pattern matching, measuring, feature or defect detection and identifying, including automatic reading of characters (OCR) based on

a pre-trained AI (Artificial Intelligence) inference network.

Additional features include extensive image preprocessors and advanced calibration for image correction and system coordinate mapping.

BOA Spot XL vision sensors deliver the performance and capabilities of a sophisticated smart vision system.

This latest BOA Spot model offers manufacturers the tools and integration flexibility for a wide range of automation and inspection applications.

Inspections using BOA Spot XL vision sensors can be triggered by parts in motion or from a PLC after being

moved into a stationary position.

Compatible protocols, such as Ethernet/ IP and PROFINET, provide standard languages for communicating with 3rd party equipment or the factory enterprise.

Thru- and surface-mounting options and a slim form factor lend automation and system developers the benefit of positioning the BOA Spot XL in tight places.

Yale UX forklift range delivers efficient solutions New Yale® UX Counterbalance forklift for use outdoors and indoors A world leader in forklifts and warehousing solutions, Yale, is introducing to Asia-Pacific its new UX Series of lift trucks for clients seeking cost-effective material handling solutions available from a supplier they can trust with reputable service backup.

The

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Series

counterbalance lift trucks, in six different capacities from 1.5-3.5 tonnes, provide an attractive option for customers across many industries who require quality materials handling equipment but don’t need advanced functionalities for their tasks.

The value proposition - “Yale – Simply Efficient” for the range of diesel or dual-fuel ICE, pallet trucks and stackers offer a no-nonsense, uncomplicated approach to materials handling.

They provide affordable, reliable and cost-effective handling solutions in applications where they are required to work intermittently as required over a

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working week, typically up to 4,000 hours a year.

The new Yale UX Series has been developed for low-hour applications and is priced accordingly. It’s uncomplicated design results in easy operation and service that eliminate non-core features that add complexity and unnecessary maintenances costs for particular applications.

The rationale of this “Yale - Simply Efficient” range has at its core the understanding that, if your forklift usage is only around four hours a day, you don’t need a more expensive forklift that has been designed to handle all day, every day applications.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

NEW PRODUCTS

– Napoleon Bonaparte

Housing construction is becoming manufacturing Manufacturing is usually associated with making parts and assembling them.

ideal conditions, keeping it wet and at the ideal temperature.

Manufacturing complete houses is a relative new concept in the history of the industrial revolution.

We are on the verge of the next step, making the complete structure for a house out of only one material, foam concrete.

Manufacturing foam concrete products in a special designed facility has many benefits, good control over the delivery and storage of the raw materials, use and maintenance of the equipment, labour input, less skilled labourers can be used, the mixing process can be tightly controlled and automated.

Recent developments have made it possible to make foam concrete to high specifications, good thermal and acoustic insulating properties and reasonable strength compared to “normal” concrete. We are talking here about foam concrete that is half the weight and has more than five times the thermal insulation factor.

On top of that it is more flexible, so it can withstand earthquakes better. If you are in a war zone it can protect you from flying objects, as it has a high energy absorption rate. All this creates a comfortable, healthy and safe home for a reasonable cost.

So why is everyone not using it? Mainly because the mortar mixes do have a few more ingredients in it, and the ratios of the components are critical, in addition you need a foam making machine to make the foam, and then mix it in with the mortar.

All this together puts people off using it as it is more complex than making “normal” mortar. In a factory environment it is easier to control the production process, including the curing. As with all concretes the “drying” time and conditions have an influence on the end result, the final strength and flexibility.

On-site it can be difficult and costly to maintain the

The moulds last longer as they do not need to be transported and handled as much. Finally, the pouring and curing can happen under cover, thus not weather dependent, and can be controlled. The end product, block or panels have a very low labour input, compared to conventional building methods.

There are three types of manufacturing systems: Block making, the simplest form and the product is sold to resellers.

Construction panels: this can be a set of standard products that can be assembled in different ways to make all sorts of different shape and size buildings, or specially designed panels to make up one type of building.

special house moving trailers. Of course, the size of the house is restricted to the capacity of the roads.

An intermediate method is modular construction system.

The beauty of these manufacturing processes is that it is nothing new, thus no need for a lot of development capital. Plants to produce these products can be ordered as proven turn-key systems.

The only new bit is the mixing formula of the foam concrete.

There are a couple of patented products on the market, and the patient holder licences this formula and help you set up the whole. The return on investment can be surprisingly short, depending of course on how close to full capacity you run your plant, and sell the product.

There are interesting developments happening at present, and one organisation is keeping a close eye on this, the International Foam Concrete Institute has a website where it publishes the latest knowledge, www.FoamConcreteWorld.com

Complete on-site manufacturing of the construction of a whole house. The floor is poured and cured first, then all the wall formwork is placed and filled with foam concrete in one go. The roof can also be made of foam concrete panels and placed, or also poured into formwork.

The whole construction is then transported on

THE FACTORY OF THE FUTURE WILL MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE, POSSIBLE SINGLE PASS WELDS IN THICKNESSES UP TO 200MM WITH NO CONSUMABLES

www.ebflow.com

PLEASE VISIT FOR MORE INFORMATION

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The first one gets the oyster the second gets the shell.

DEVELOPMENTS

– Andrew Carnegie

First look at our coolest redevelopment Antarctica New Zealand is delighted to share what a new Scott Base could look like.

As part of Budget 2019 the Government has committed $18.5 million for the next phase of the Scott Base Redevelopment project.

Antarctica New Zealand CEO Sarah Williamson says the redevelopment project is vital for the future of New Zealand’s Antarctic science programme.

This funding, which will be used over the next two years, means the detailed design of the new base can be completed and the Scott Base Redevelopment team can start working with the construction industry on how best to deliver the preferred design.

“Scott Base is our home on the ice and the strategic hub for scientists from New Zealand and across the globe to carry out some of the most important research in the world.

“It is critical to get this work underway now, as the climate and logistical challenges mean construction projects take longer to deliver in Antarctica,” she says.

The design would see the existing base, built in the early 80s and made up of 12 separate buildings, replaced by three large interconnected buildings and a separate helicopter hangar.

The base could accommodate up to 100 people at a time.

Of the three buildings one is designated for accommodation, dining and welfare, the second for science and management and the third for engineering and storage.

Scott Base Redevelopment Senior Project Manager Simon Shelton says the funding is welcome news as the current base reaches the end of its functional life.

“At the moment, we have to mitigate increasing points of failure at Scott Base; the buildings, materials and systems are deteriorating with age.

“We are looking forward to moving to the next stage of the development process and supporting the Antarctic science community with safe, fit-for-purpose infrastructure,” he says.

Jasmax and Hugh Broughton Architects came up with the architectural design.

Multi-Million dollar development boosts Auckland economy A multi-million dollar retail development has provided a significant boost to the local economy with suppliers running 24 hour shifts to manufacture materials for its construction.

Furniture and homewares retailer Nido, will cover a 31,000 sqm area in West Auckland, significantly larger than any other store in the country.

He says the project is now 40% complete and expected to open some time towards the end of Spring this year.

Managing director Vinod Kumar says the sheer scale of the $60 million development has put pressure on their suppliers to meet their demand for locally made materials - which has lead to further job growth.

Kumar says the project will also see the installation of more than 15,000

He says the logistical considerations of the project have also meant much of the work is being done in off-peak hours.

“To ensure there is no disruption to local traffic in transporting the 9,000 cubic metres of concrete being poured, 1,800 truck loads will be delivered to the site in the middle of the night.

“In addition, 1,800 tonnes of structural and reinforcing steel has been ordered. While an order of this size has been a significant boost to our suppliers, they are running in 24 hour shifts to get it manufactured in time,” he says.

Kumar says the New Zealand owned company is proud to have been able to provide work for more than 450 locals on the construction phase of the development as well as employing a further 200+ when the store opens in the coming months.

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sqm of roofing, 1,600 piles and 12,600 lineal metres of purlins and girts.

To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.

DEVELOPMENTS

– George Kneller

Sistema Plastics committed to reducing its carbon footprint Sistema Plastics Ltd has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by achieving Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme (CEMARS®) certification.

CEMARS certification is a recognised greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and reduction scheme administered by Enviro-Mark Solutions (a subsidiary of Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research).

It is the first of a two-step process towards achieving carboNZeroCertTM certification in New Zealand.

As one of the largest manufacturing facilities in New Zealand, Sistema recognises it has a responsibility to ensure it is producing its products in the most sustainable way possible, from the design process through to manufacturing and distribution.

Drew Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer at Sistema Plastics Ltd, says it will be proactively working with suppliers, distributors and customers to achieve its goals, but also with a large focus on sustainable, innovative new products.

“We are taking the impacts of climate change seriously and are committed to adapting the business to reduce our carbon emissions.

“We’d love to encourage other main players in the manufacturing industry to do the same,” he says.

Sistema has developed a GHG emissions management plan and reduction targets that will be achieved through initiatives intended to manage and reduce freight, electricity and travel emissions.

Exporting to more than 80 countries around the world, Sistema’s biggest challenge is developing smarter solutions to reduce emissions from road, rail and sea freight.

Muirhead says it has set reduction targets and identified a number of specific projects to ensure it

meets them.

“We’ve set a goal of reducing freight and shipping emissions by 15%, electricity emissions by 40% and we are aiming to offset all emissions from long haul travel by 80%, by 2021.

“This will see us investigating possible enhancements and changes including solar power options for our office and factory and offsetting all carbon emissions from long haul travel.”

Innovative fire helmet chassis wins supreme award Axiam Plastics took out the Supreme Award at the recently held New Zealand Plastics Industry Design Awards with components for Pacific Helmet’s Structural Firefighting Helmet.

Held as part of Plastics New Zealand’s 75th Anniversary Conference, the Awards showcased the innovation and world-class achievements of the New Zealand plastics industry.

The F15 Fire Helmet is a critical piece of safety equipment used by fire fighters. It helps protect the lives of the brave men and women fighting fires globally. At its heart are the chassis and components manufactured by Axiam Plastics.

The chassis allows for future advances in communication integration, including augmented reality components, to be added to the helmet.

The judges were very impressed by the level of design and the ability of the helmet to cater for future requirements. All aspects of the design came together to make this the winning entry.

The plastic materials were carefully selected to handle high temperatures and safety requirements.

The parts themselves were high quality and made in very complex precision tools. The helmet also has good commercial and export potential, based largely on New Zealand input.

Principal sponsor for the event, Ravago NZ, combined with Plastics New Zealand to host the hugely enjoyable Gala Event.

Wylie Royce, Chair of the USA Plastics Industry Association, presented the awards along with Alan Shore of Ravago. We also greatly enjoyed having Dr

Michelle Dickinson (Nanogirl) as our MC for the night.

(From Left): Rachel Barker (PNZ CEO), Brad Williamson (Axiam Plastics Ltd), Kevin Jones (Axiam Plastics Ltd)

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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Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.

COMMENT

– Unknown

Let’s get real about what will do most for our country’s wellbeing A few lines in the most recent budget is an unlikely starting point for what Resource Reform New Zealand (RRNZ) believes is an opportunity for transformation in the way New Zealand looks after its environment and encourages the growth, economic and social well-being of regions, cities and communities.

Potentially the Ministry for the Environment’s budget allocation of $5m for a comprehensive review of the resource management system will do more for the country’s wellbeing than any other part of the first “wellbeing budget.”

RRNZ has pushed for this review for several years now because the current framework is both failing our precious environmental legacy, and failing to provide the opportunities for economic growth and the necessary infrastructure that we need for the social and economic well-being of the nation.

We can have both but that requires a fundamental reset of the governance, funding and planning system, and that is well beyond the scope of yet another tinker with the Resource Management Act (RMA).

When enacted 25 years ago the RMA was regarded as ground-breaking and world-leading at the time when it combined our planning and environmental legislation into one. Significantly, no other country in the world followed that lead.

However, despite constant amendment every year since its inception, the RMA is no longer fit for purpose. Two of its main architects - Sir Geoffrey Palmer and current Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton agree - as mounting evidence shows it is failing to protect our flora and fauna and it does not consider goals around reducing the impacts of climate change.

It is also tempting, as many have done, to lay the blame for hampered economic and infrastructure development with the RMA. But that overstates the case.

The issues are far more complex than just those of a single Act and RRNZ believes that as a starting point we must address the complex tangle of funding, planning, environmental protection and governance.

This tangle is created because of the way three major acts - the RMA, Local Government Act (LGA) and the Land Transport Management Act (LGMA) - fail to interact and create many different hurdles and barriers to progress.

Add in the many different authorities involved in implementing those acts and the differing

interpretations, capabilities and resources applied to that implementation and you have an environment where no-one is certain any project can be greenlit before going into the consenting process.

non-politicised discussion that allows the many interested parties in the current system to raise their issues and have a say in creating a reasonable consensus on the way forward.

To overcome these issues then we need significant change that will affect current interests and likely lead to all sections of our communities considering what they want to achieve and perhaps look at what they are prepared to give up to achieve those desired social outcomes.

It’s hugely encouraging that Environment Minister David Parker is willing to apply resources and budget to the task.

If we are to create the desirable communities New Zealanders want, we must improve the way those communities are designed. We must accept that the horizontal and social infrastructure needed to support those communities has to be provided in a timely and efficient manner and we must decide what the environmental bottom lines we are willing to accept to achieve and maintain those desirable communities.

But it is a task that must go beyond the confines of the Ministry, involving a practical and manageable number of stakeholders to develop the thinking to take to the broad range of New Zealanders with concerns.

That makes the terms of reference for this group critically important.

But now we plan for what we can’t do, not what we can achieve.

Our group is co-funding research and development of various scenarios outlining what a future resource management system may look like. This research builds on previous work looking at the shortcomings in the current system and examining trends and legislation in overseas jurisdictions.

Separating environmental and planning regulation seems like an obvious step, with one agency setting and enforcing the agreed environmental standards and monitoring the agreed outcomes to benchmark best practice providing guidance to future projects.

We are not seeking to design a definitive answer, but we do want to help shape the national conversation and will feed those ideas and scenarios into the programme of work being undertaken by the Ministry.

A move to spatial planning and a requirement for local councils to develop and give regard to spatial plans seems like another positive step. With planning and environmental frameworks agreed and in place then our agencies and developers can get on with delivering new communities and better infrastructure that improves both the social and economic well-being of the country.

The answer we do want is one that enables and allows the social and economic development required to underpin strong, well-designed communities that have access to the amenities and infrastructure they require for a balanced lifestyle.

Of course, none of that is achievable without the appropriate funding and governance tools, which is why reform of the whole of resource management system approach is so critical.

With agreement that the RMA is clearly towards the end of its useful life and a review and restructure of water provision, Urban Development Authorities and the National Infrastructure Commission all in the pipeline, now is the right time to look at our system.

That is to be achieved against a background of enhanced environmental outcomes that not only protect what we have currently but improve what we will have the future.

It’s done overseas. It can be done in New Zealand and it is an area where we used to lead the world.

Resource Reform New Zealand is: Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), BusinessNZ Environmental Defence Society, Infrastructure New Zealand, Property Council New Zealand.

But change on this scale requires a cross-party,

continued from Page 1

Myths busted about benefits of Fair Pay Agreements unemployed and inexperienced - particularly our young people,” says Mr McDonald.

In addition, the EMA is concerned that FPAs do not allow for voluntary negotiation and arbitration, which is currently a breach of international law. The low threshold of only 10 per cent of a sector needing to opt in also means employees can’t choose not to be represented by unions in their wage negotiations.

“So not only do a few decide what’s ‘fair’ for everyone

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in a sector, but with FPAs being negotiated by unions and industry organisations, businesses can no longer set wage rates that are appropriate to their own workplaces,” says Mr McDonald.

represents one or two workplaces in a sector but has enough members to begin an FPA they would essentially take over, bringing back the conflicts of the 1980s industrial awards era.

“Why would businesses want organisations like ours to negotiate their pay and conditions with their staff?”

“The government must take The New Zealand Initiative Report seriously and stop the discussion on FPAs in favour of evidence-based public policy that builds a better future for everyone.”

Mr McDonald says FPAs also bring unions into conflict with each other, for example where a union

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Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.

REAR VIEW

-Naval Ravikant

Where will evolution take us in the Fourth Industrial Revolution The study of evolution allows us to reconstruct the past and to understand how life evolved from simple to complex organisms. Evolutionary reasoning can help us make sense of the biggest questions in science, from the origin of the universe to the inner workings of the human brain.

But can evolution also give us a hint of what is to come? Will technologies like gene editing make natural selection redundant? Might evolution tell us about the limits of planetary resources and what can be done to avoid environmental collapse, or how human society might evolve?

The late Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner addressed these questions in a year-long lecture series in 2017 that took us on a 14-billion-year scientific odyssey through cosmology, chemistry, biology, paleontology, archaeology, anthropology and sociology.

These ideas were captured in a book, Sydney Brenner’s 10-on-10: The Chronicles of Evolution, which offers a glimpse of the future by considering where evolution can take us.

1. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new gene editing tools are likely to overtake biological evolution People have always wondered whether evolution is constantly driving onwards and upwards. Is there always going to be improvement? The answer is no— evolution is a progression of form and function, but it is not purposeful.

Brenner said, “The big lesson to learn here is that in science, only mathematics is the art of the perfect.

Physics is the art of the optimal, and biology is the art of the satisfactory: if it works, you keep it; if it doesn’t, you get rid of it.”

In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, “satisfactory” may no longer be the status quo. We are now witnessing the most revolutionary stage of evolution, when we give up evolving by biology alone. With new life sciences tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, we are now able to reshape genomes and alter biological form and function.

Such concerns have led the European Union’s highest court, the Court of Justice, to rule in July 2018 that gene-edited crops should be subject to the same stringent regulations as conventional genetically modified organisms.

Plant breeders and scientists have called the EU ruling overly rigid, as it requires all CRISPR-Cas9 food to go through a lengthy approval process, essentially grinding agricultural gene editing research to a halt.

2. The arrival of the Anthropocene may lead to a global tipping point When massive volcanoes erupted 252 million years ago, it triggered the Great Dying, a mass extinction event that wiped out 96 percent of all marine life and 70 percent of all vertebrates on land.

Some 186 million years later, a giant asteroid hit the Earth, causing catastrophic changes in climate that brought an end to the era of the dinosaurs.

As anthropologist J. Stephen Lansing explained, there is growing consensus that the arrival of humankind has similarly ushered in a new epoch called the Anthropocene.

Unlike every epoch, era or eon before it, the Anthropocene’s climate and environment are thought to be predominantly influenced by human activity.

The advent of the Anthropocene may also bring Earth to an imminent tipping point—a non-linear change that is known to ecologists as regime shifts, where the effects are not proportionate to the cause.

One possible tipping point is plastic. Under businessas-usual, the ocean is expected to contain more plastic than fish by 2050, with untold effects on the fish themselves and the humans who eat them.

The quest for human perfection through gene editing has already begun. In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui claimed to have created the world’s first gene-edited babies.

Plastic aside, there is new evidence that there could be a slowdown in the global meridional circulation, the ocean’s great conveyor belt that is responsible for moving heat and nutrients on a planetary scale.

In June 2019, Russian scientist Denis Rebikov announced similar plans to edit the DNA of human embryos to confer immunity to HIV. These developments present new ethical challenges and have triggered calls for a global moratorium on heritable gene editing.

Rapid urbanisation might represent another tipping point, dwarfing the impacts of climate change and the acidification of our oceans.

The potential to accelerate and direct the course of biological evolution raises further questions, the most urgent of which is how to manage collateral changes to the environment.

In 2014, the G20 nations agreed to invest US$70 trillion in new infrastructure by 2030, which translates into 25 million more kilometers of roads and hundreds more dams, 90 percent of which will be built in the tropics.

But there are still rare signs of hope in this age of the Anthropocene and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Take the problem of ozone depletion, which was initially dismissed by industry players. Rigorous scientific evidence later convinced world leaders to recognise the problem and act decisively, making the Montreal Protocol to ban ozone-depleting chemicals the world’s first universally ratified treaty.

3. There is a need to take a humble view in the Fourth Industrial Revolution For the good part of human civilisation, most people believed that the future was pre-ordained by the gods, fate or other forces of the universe, and that only prayer could change one’s destiny.

It was only from the middle of the 18th century that people came to realise that the future could be different from the past, and that their destiny could lie in their hands.

This new way of looking at the future, of seeing it as a wide, open horizon rather than a circular loop, had much to do with science and technology, according to social scientist Helga Nowotny.

But the focus on—and even obsession with— technological innovation might cause us to overlook that social innovation is just as important. The more technological innovations we create, the more social innovations we need to accompany them.

The field of medicine, for example, is undergoing amazing technological disruption. But its full potential cannot unfold without equally innovative changes in how health systems are run and how healthcare is delivered.

Advances in our ability to exploit expansive data has brought us into the realm of smart devices and artificial intelligence, but at the same time, has changed our outlook on privacy and security.

In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Nowotny cautioned that we should be careful to avoid hubris - the over-estimation of our capacity and our over-reliance on a single solution - be it a technological or economic fix that does not take into consideration the complexity of societal systems.

The humble view acknowledges that technology, science and culture must evolve together, and that life will continue to change in unpredictable ways that we cannot entirely control.

We have the privilege of being the only species on Earth that is able to see evolution from the inside.

That obliges us to reflect on what we are doing with evolution, as it is our own choices that will guide our evolutionary destiny.

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