Higher speeds lower productivity: what the data shows crash delays really cost Auckland
Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Another morning, another crash on one of Auckland’s major roads. Traffic isn’t moving. Drivers sit in their cars rehearsing reasons for being late again. Radio hosts offer the usual advice: leave earlier and find an alternative route. […]
2026: It’s Now or Never
From December issue, NZ Manufacturer – The Year in Review Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co NZ We have finally seen the “green shoots” and those businesses still going can finally tick the survive (till) 2025 box. Confidence is on the up and activity is starting to move, what a […]
Through the mill: Tokoroa’s tough year was about much more than job losses
Fionna Hurd, Associate Professor, Marketing & International Business, Auckland University of Technology. Suzette Dyer, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of Waikato For Kinleith Mill, cycles of new owners, restructuring and retrenchment have been a fact of life since the 1980s. Each ownership change and downsizing has affected the mill’s workforce […]
NZ needs more entrepreneurs. Will its new tertiary strategy reward real risk takers?
Rod McNaughton, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The government’s recently released Tertiary Education Strategy 2025–2030 signals a shift towards harnessing the sector to address New Zealand’s long-standing productivity issues. But the strategy and its goals aren’t necessarily aligned. Universities and polytechnics are now expected to promote innovation, […]
Material passports for construction: Why I see them less as banks… and more as donor registries
From December NZ Manufacturer -Troy Coyle,CEO,HERA Across the infrastructure and construction sectors, material passports are emerging as a promising tool for enabling circularity. They’re often described as a “bank of materials,” and I understand why (in fact HERA even describes them this way). After all, they catalogue the materials embedded […]
Building psychologically safe, high-performance cultures: Why ISO 45003 matters for NZ manufacturing
From December issue, NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz Theresa Grainger, General Manager, The Lean Hub Every manufacturing site I visit, whether it is a busy factory floor or a small specialised workshop, I believe has one universal truth and that is that people want to feel valued, supported, and safe to share […]
The tough year that was 2025
From December issue of NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz The Year That Was -Sean Doherty 2025 was a brutal year for most New Zealand manufacturers, with many focused on staying afloat rather than growing. Rising costs for electricity, gas, labour, and raw materials squeezed margins across almost every subsector. Official data shows […]
Lifting Productivity from the Ground Up
How project engineering keeps NZ manufacturing efficient, safe, and moving Caliber Design, Christchurch Productivity is one of the most talked-about issues in New Zealand manufacturing. We all want to do more with less: more output with fewer delays, more progress with leaner teams, and more innovation with limited budgets. Yet […]
Wired for success: Re-engineering apprenticeships to power New Zealand’s workforce
Toni Christie, Competenz General Manager, Employer and Learner Experience. A strengthened apprenticeship support system is driving higher completion rates across engineering and manufacturing — helping New Zealand build the skilled workforce it needs. Toni Christie explains how industry training organisation Competenz redesigned their apprentice learning experience to give every one of their […]
Make your emissions data stand up to scrutiny
Starting out with your first carbon footprint, or refining years of data? Either way, the credibility of your greenhouse-gas (GHG) numbers matters. Reliable, verified information builds trust with customers, regulators and supply-chain partners – and helps you make confident decisions. Here’s how to find the right type of independent check […]
Q & A: Paul Durose, Logik Freight & Logistics Head of Operations
How is business? The NZ business environment is currently very challenging with a noticeable downturn in import/export activity, meaning that Logik Freight & Logistics have had to make some difficult decisions in order to navigate through this period. Which systems do your company use for efficiencies of scale? We use […]
Are you a Leader or a Liability?
Why the best leaders focus on replacing themselves At the core of New Zealand’s productivity problems is a leadership opportunity. We have no shortage of smart people, but they are trapped working in their businesses instead of growing their teams and the people who can run them. David Altena […]
Manufacturing’s safety shift is progress worth protecting
By EMA Manager of Employment Relations & Safety Paul Jarvie. Manufacturing accounted for 29,224 injury claims in 2024. It was one of the industries with the highest incidence rates of work-related claims last year. Statistics like this underline the sector’s long and tortuous health and safety journey. But insights from the 2025 Workforce Insights Programme tell a story worth celebrating. Released in late October, it outlines a sector that’s maturing, learning and adapting. While we still have work to do, manufacturing is quietly becoming a safer, smarter industry. In fact, the data confirm that health and safety culture in manufacturing has moved from compliance to commitment. The report found that 86% of manufacturers made changes to improve workplace safety in the past year. More than two-thirds of employers now rate themselves as having a high maturity level in understanding health and safety responsibilities, and almost three-quarters believe they fully understand the risks their people face on the job. We’re seeing what leadership looks like when it’s genuine. In manufacturing, 95% of employers encourage staff to speak up about safety, and three-quarters regularly discuss health and safety matters through toolbox talks, team meetings and health and safety representatives. Worker satisfaction with employer responses has jumped to 80%, up from 73% last year. That’s a sign of trust in the workplace, and trust is what keeps people honest about risk. The report also highlights strong activity in tackling known risks, ones that have historically driven high injury rates. Musculoskeletal disorders (sprains, strains, and repetitive injuries) remain the most common form of harm in manufacturing. But, encouragingly, 91% of manufacturers now train staff in safe manual handling, 54% vary work tasks to reduce repetition, and 45% provide lifting aids. That’s a significant investment in people’s long-term health. Once a weak spot, machine guarding […]