Improve your do! Review your processes to add value
From NZ Manufacturer, October 2023 -Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co NZ All businesses deliver products and services according to their business processes. In the same way the central nervous system transmits instructions from the brain to various parts of the body, business processes provide the mechanism that […]
AMA announcement
From NZ Manufacturer, October 2023 Catherine Lye is the first Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed cross-sector incorporated society, Advanced Manufacturing Aotearoa (AMA). The AMA is industry driven and represents manufacturing across the country to help deliver business-led Advanced Manufacturing Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) outcomes. Catherine has been […]
Carbon emissions on the way down
Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University. Ian Mason, Adjunct Senior Fellow in Renewable Energy Systems Engineering, University of Canterbury. It may have been largely overlooked in the election debates, but New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are finally on the way down. Annual emissions of carbon dioxide from the […]
Scholarship winners recognised by NZBIA
Two Unitec | Te Pūkenga students were recently recognised for their commitment and drive as recipients of New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZBIA) Excellence Scholarships. This annual award was established by the organisation to financially assist and recognise excellent students in fields of study relevant to the building industry. […]
Using sustainability data to tell your story – with Essity
Upcoming thinkstep – anz event https://www.thinkstep-anz.com/resrc/upcoming-events/using-sustainability-data-essity/ 2pm, Wednesday 25 October, 30 minutes How can you make sustainability claims about your products and avoid ‘greenwashing’? Learn how trans-Tasman hygiene company Essity (formerly Asaleo Care) uses credible environmental data to design and market its products.
New charger supports expanding EV infrastructure
Hospitals, train stations, retail stores, industrial buildings, multi-unit residential buildings and more have access to a new reliable charging solution for New Zealand EV drivers. The new EVlink Pro AC from Schneider Electric is promising to support the growing demand for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure amid increasing business and […]
Survey closing Friday 6th October: Call for construction sector insights
HERA is calling for participants in the construction sector to complete its survey on low-carbon design, to better understand trends around sustainable design skills and interests and the barriers and initiatives to more sustainable outcomes. As Aotearoa New Zealand moves towards a low-carbon economy, the building and construction sector accounts […]
New miniaturised Galaxie gearbox
Wittenstein’s miniaturised Galaxie gearbox, available from Treotham, is newly developed, high precision with axial power transmission. Compared to strain wave gearboxes with the same footprint, it convinces with much better torsional rigidity, significantly higher torque density, double the emergency stop torque and an almost 50% larger hollow shaft diameter, depending […]
Miller Vortex HDV provides next level of welding respiratory protection
Protecting the respiratory health of welders during grinding and welding operations is crucial to ensuring a safe and healthy work environment. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for respiratory protection that not only offers increased protection, but also enhances comfort and visibility while welding. These advantages are […]
No battery left behind in NZ’s first nationwide end to end recycling solution
A one hundred percent Kiwi, privately owned recycling company has become the very first New Zealand business to offer an end-to-end nationwide ‘all waste batteries’ recycling solution. Phoenix Metalman Recycling (Phoenix) founder and CEO, Eldon Reeve, says this represents the first time a complete domestic end-to-end solution for battery recycling […]
HamiltonJet reimagines the waterjet with the LTX36
HamiltonJet has unveiled a new range of high efficiency waterjets, starting with the LTX36 model. Optimised for medium and low speed operation, they’ve produced the first waterjet to rival the energy efficiency and bollard pull of the best propeller-based systems between zero and 30 knots. Waterjets have always been the […]
New low-cost igus energy chain for unsupported applications
Benefit from the advantages of the E4Q and save up to 20%: the new E4Q.64L shines in applications with medium loads (such as machine tools) and features high strength, long service life and low weight. (Source: igus GmbH) New addition to the igus energy chain portfolio: the E4Q, a […]
If we’re all so busy, why isn’t anything getting done?
From MZ Manufacturer magazine, March 2024 Have you ever asked why it’s so difficult to get things done in business today—despite seemingly endless meetings and emails? Why it takes so long to make decisions—and even then not necessarily the right ones? You’re not the first to think there must be a better way. Many organisations address these problems by redesigning boxes and lines: who does what and who reports to whom. This exercise tends to focus almost obsessively on vertical command relationships and rarely solves for what, in our experience, is the underlying disease: the poor design and execution of collaborative interactions. In our efforts to connect across our organisations, we’re drowning in real-time virtual interaction technology, from Zoom to Slack to Teams, plus group texting, WeChat, WhatsApp, and everything in between. There’s seemingly no excuse to not collaborate. The problem? Interacting is easier than ever, but true, productive, value-creating collaboration is not. And what’s more, where engagement is occurring, its quality is deteriorating. This wastes valuable resources, because every minute spent on a low-value interaction eats into time that could be used for important, creative, and powerful activities. Three critical collaborative interactions Decision making, including complex or uncertain decisions (for example, investment decisions) and cross-cutting routine decisions (such as quarterly business reviews) Creative solutions and coordination, including innovation sessions (for example, developing new products) and routine working sessions (such as daily check-ins) Information sharing, including one-way communication (video, for instance) and two-way communication (such as town halls with Q&As) Decision making: Determining decision rights When you’re told you’re “responsible” for a decision, does that mean you get to decide? What if you’re told you’re “accountable”? Do you cast the deciding vote, or does the person responsible? What about those who must be “consulted”? Sometimes we are told input will be reflected in the […]