4^th September 2026 – Novotel Lakeside, Rotorua

New Zealand’s manufacturing and engineering sectors are operating in a period of rapid change, where productivity, compliance, skills, and technology are all moving at once.

For many businesses, the challenge is not simply keeping pace, but making sound decisions in an environment where expectations continue to rise, the margin for error is narrow and budgets are tight.

Within the pressure equipment sector, that challenge is sharpened further by a demanding regulatory environment, where operators and engineers must balance practical performance, safety, and assurance while adapting to evolving expectations.

Against that backdrop, the pressure equipment industry will gather in Rotorua on 4 September for this year’s conference, bringing together practitioners, speakers, and industry leaders to explore the issues shaping the sector now and into the future.

The workshop is designed as a place for the industry to come together to exchange ideas, test assumptions, and compare notes on the realities of pressure equipment design, operation, inspection, and regulation.

That is what gives the event its value: not just the formal presentations, but the collective knowledge that emerges when people working in the same field share experience openly.

Judgement and codes

The keynote, Where Codes End and Judgement Begins, captures the central idea running through the programme.

Dr. Charles “Chuck” Becht IV draws on more than four decades of engineering practice to reflect on the limits of codes and standards, and the importance of professional judgement where the written rules do not provide a complete answer.

That is a particularly relevant message for a sector like pressure equipment, where compliance is essential but rarely sufficient on its own.

Real plants, real operating conditions, and real defects often demand interpretation, experience, and a system-level view, and Dr. Becht will present a range of case studies from his work in the field to set the workshop’s wider focus on the value of engineers in those areas.

Common threads

Across the programme, several themes stand out. Integrity and risk management appear is a central theme, with sessions on risk models, brittle fracture risk, fatigue cracking, corrosion, inspection strategies, and fitness-for-service assessment.

A second thread is the challenge of translating standards into practice. Topics such as low-pressure high-hazard piping, flange behaviour, storage tanks, buried pipelines, vacuum vessels, and cryogenic systems all point to the same underlying issue: the code is the starting point, but it does not remove the need for sound engineering judgement in the field.

A third theme is learning from experience.

Several presentations are grounded in actual assets, actual failures, or actual inspection and maintenance outcomes, which gives the programme a practical tone and reinforces the value of case history in an industry where lessons are often learned the hard way.

Regulation and change

The programme also reflects an industry that is adjusting to change in the regulatory environment. Presentations on AS/NZS 3788 updates, PECPR, and practical compliance issues suggest that many in the sector are looking for clarity, confidence, and a shared understanding of what current requirements mean in practice.

That makes the workshop useful not only as a technical forum, but also as a place where practitioners can compare how they are responding to shifting expectations. In that sense, the event is an important cornerstone in the industry’s continual learning programme.

Two training paths

On Thursday, 3rd September, the workshop is complemented by two training sessions extending the workshop in a smart way by catering to different levels of experience.

The Introduction to NZ Pressure Equipment Regulations (PECPR) is positioned as an accessible entry point into the sector, giving attendees a practical overview of the regulatory framework underpinning the industry.

By contrast, the Seminar on Seismic Engineering for Pressure Equipment Designers offers more advanced technical learning, with a focus on seismic design considerations for pressure equipment in the New Zealand context. Together, the two sessions create a useful foundation-to advanced pathway.

Seeing it in practice

The workshop will conclude on Saturday with a field trip to Contact Energy’s Tauhara geothermal power station, giving attendees the chance to see pressure equipment in action at one of New Zealand’s major geothermal sites.

The visit is a valuable complement to the conference programme because it grounds the technical discussion in real plant conditions, operational realities, and live systems.

Sharing the work

What stands out most across the programme is the balance between technical depth and professional exchange.

The workshop is not just a series of papers; it is a forum where people can bring together different perspectives on integrity, design, regulation, and operation, and leave with a better sense of how others in the sector are approaching the same challenges.

That is especially important in a field where the margin for error is small and the stakes are high. The workshop’s value lies in the fact that it recognises this reality while creating space for collaboration, discussion, and practical learning.

Join the conversation

For those working in pressure equipment, the message is simple: this is a chance to connect with peers, learn from industry experience, and be part of the conversation shaping good practice in New Zealand. Full workshop details are available on www.pressure-equipment.co.nz.

List of presentations:

Where Codes End and Judgement Begins – Charles Becht IV (Becht) Te Mihi Rotors NDT – Chris Morris (Contact Energy) Development of a Risk Model for Pressure Equipment – Steve Holm (Aurecon) Performance‑Based Inspection Interval Optimisation for Pressure Relief Devices – Rijo Yohannan (Fedelmesi Inspection Solutions Ltd) Process Flow Related Forces on Geothermal Piping and Equipment – Tom Misa (Contact Energy) Assessing Brittle Fracture Risk in an Ageing Pressure Vessel – Annette Karstensen (Sequence) From Fabrication Anomalies to Fatigue Cracking in PSA Vessels – Annette Karstensen (Sequence) Managing Corrosion Under Insulation and Casing – Lessons Learned from Boiler Assets Across New Zealand – Anita Zunker (PEI / Fonterra) AS/NZS 3788 – 2024 Updates and Their Practical Impact on Inspection and Compliance – Anita Zunker (PEI) Strain‑Based Assessment of a Buried Pipeline in Highly Liquefiable Reclaimed Land – Reuben Audley (Aurecon) Flanges – Unsung Heroes or Troublesome Children – Jonny Williamson (FiveD) Engineering Truth from Land & Sky – High‑Definition Reality Capture of Remote Fuel Assets – Zwerus Evers (Evers Engineering) Key Learnings from the StayLive Guidance Documents on Hammer and Slug Flow – Bruce Wyllie (Contact Energy) Assessment of Low‑Pressure, High‑Hazard Piping and Equipment – Risk, Code Intent, and Practical Application – Louis Marsh, Gwen Hamilton (Worley NZ) Fitness‑for‑Service Assessment on Pressure Vessels and Heat Exchangers – Yikun Wang (Baker Hughes / Quest Integrity) Designing a Vacuum Vessel for Plasma Confinement Under Pressure Equipment Regulations – Emily Hunter (Openstar) Storage Tanks – Always a Challenge – Geo Grobelaar (Worley NZ) Welds Are the Weak Link – A Design Engineer’s Field Guide to Pressure Vessel and Piping Welding – Holger Heinzel (Bibertech) Pressure Equipment Design for Cryogenic Helium Gas System at 30 K and 8 bar – Emily Hunter (Openstar) Meeting the Challenges of Supercritical Steam – David Addison (Thermal Chemistry Limited) Advancing Professional Practice – CPEng Changes and Graduate Programme Development – Martin Pratchet (Engineering NZ)