Analysis

Greater focus needed on the wellbeing of business

-Leeanne Watson, CE, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce Perhaps unsurprisingly New Zealand’s first Wellbeing Budget isn’t a business budget and it’s certainly not about to transform our economy. Yes, there were pockets of funding for innovation, research and development, skills and infrastructure which will help some businesses develop at higher levels and contribute to growing the economy. This included the Government’s $300 million fund for investing in New Zealand’s venture capital markets, $157 million to assist firms in developing high-value low-emissions products, $197 million allocated to vocational education, and $1 billion earmarked for rail. At a local level we are also very pleased to see an increase in funding for the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme. However, the focus of the Budget was largely on dealing with pressure points in respect to key social issues such as education, health and housing. While investment in our most important asset – our people – is significant, it needs to be remembered that only through strong economic growth and a business sector that is willing to invest can many expenditure programmes be supported over the long term. The key aspect that has been overlooked is an explanation of how the Wellbeing Budget approach will support and enable business growth, lift productivity and reduce the burden on business. We need to focus on productivity as the main driver of economic prosperity. This isn’t news – in fact, it’s far from it. Comparative to other countries in OECD, our economy has long had the challenge of how to increase productivity. According to the OECD, New Zealand performs about 30% below the OECD average in terms of GDP per capita. While the Government seems to have skirted the whole productivity issue, for manufacturers, there is one area where the Budget did deliver – with the Future-Proofing New […]

The four factors essential to building a quality production line

-Andrew Stackpole, Assembly Shop Manager at Facteon Developing an efficient and polished machine building process can take a manufacturing company decades. What’s most important is that throughout this process, the focus is on building a quality production line that allows for the manufacturing of best-in-class product. Since beginning my career as a Machine Builder in 1994 and working through to my current role as Assembly Shop Manager at Facteon, I’ve come to learn that there are four key factors involved in developing a quality production line. 1. Quality components produce quality product By keeping the production of machinery components in-house where practical and possible, you will play a more active role in quality control. It was for this very reason that Facteon established its own in-house Build Shop and Machine Shop to cater to internal and external customers. The team retains full control over every component produced and as it’s not heavily relying on delivery by third parties, it can be certain that the component will be available on site when required. To achieve the necessary levels of precision in component manufacturing, collaboration is key – both in the initial phase of producing your components and in the build phase of the production line. Looking at opportunities to integrate the latest technologies with more traditional machining methods, will allow you to fully harness the potential of the machinery while using the latest technology to improve precision and efficiencies. Partnering with reliable external suppliers For any components that can’t be produced in-house, consider looking beyond your own capabilities and using the services of thoroughly vetted external providers. For example, Facteon uses suppliers based in New Zealand, China and the United States and vets these suppliers through a tiered rating system to ensure that our standards are met. If you’ve outsourced the […]

What is a Wellbeing Budget?

It is commendable for Government to tackle things in different ways, to take an in depth look at how are all doing and try to make our lives better -Doug Green, Publisher, NZ Manufacturer There are plenty of areas to focus on – one might say the usual suspects – health, education, housing, domestic violence and the shocking role alcohol plays in this…just saying, skills training – to lead to fairness and equality. However, the strength in the Wellbeing Budget will also be seen in the focus Government gives to economic matters – in an economy that is starting to slow down. Circling all this good will and intent is Productivity. Grant Robertson knows this. If Productivity cannot be lifted, then there cannot be wage growth. If we don’t experience wage growth, then people do not get ahead. Have you ever heard of a power company or cable provider reducing their charges because the consumer isn’t keeping up with the cost of living? Dieter Adam, Executive Director of The Manufacturers’ Network tackles some of this in his article on Page 10 “Relearning what it means to be globally competitive” when he says “we could sell more if we could make more, and we could make more if we had the right people for it”. And of course, the right people are the well-paid people who can afford a home, good healthcare and education for their children with the incentives in place for them to do a good day’s work. I am impressed with EMA Chief Executive Brett O’Riley’s personal viewpoint on Page 29 about the Overseas Investment Office’s decision to block Waihi mining company OceanaGold’s application to purchase nearby farmland to expand its operation. He sees this decision as a disincentive to business investment for the good of the […]

Relearning what it means to be globally competitive

Competition for talent has become just as important as competition for market share. -Dieter Adam, Executive Director, The Manufacturers’ Network The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently published an interesting paper on redefining competition. Many of us have already learned, painfully at times, that competition is not only about sales and market share. Increasingly, I hear that “we could sell more if we could make more, and we could make more if we had the (right) people for it”. In other words, competition for talent has become just as important as competition for market share. And, like the competition for market share, which is global for many New Zealand manufacturers who export much of what they make, competition for talent is global, because the skills shortages we experience are the same in most manufacturing economies. BCG are now taking us a couple of steps further in our thinking about the competitive strengths we need to maintain and expand if we want to remain globally competitive. The common thread behind all of this is that we live and operate in a world in which the rate of change has gone up and our ability to predict future states of the economic, social, cultural and even physical dimensions of that world has gone down – think trade wars, income inequality, digital natives and climate change as obvious examples. Five Dimensions of Competition How does this concept apply to New Zealand manufacturers? If we start with Rate of Learning, we are all familiar with the idea that as individuals we need to keep learning (faster) to keep up with the play, even though we don’t always create the space required to do so – “we’re just too busy right at the moment!”. But how well is our company equipped to learn, and what […]

3D print of human heart with tissue and vessels unveiled

Scientists in Israel have unveiled a 3D print of a heart with human tissue and vessels, a first and a “major medical breakthrough” that advances possibilities for transplants. Scientists hope one day to be able to produce hearts suitable for transplant into humans as well as patches to regenerate defective hearts. The heart produced by researchers at Tel Aviv University is about the size of a rabbit’s. It marked “the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers. People have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels. But the scientists said many challenges remain before fully working 3D printed hearts would be available for transplant into patients. Journalists were shown a 3D print of a heart about the size of a cherry, immersed in liquid, at Tel Aviv University as the researchers announced their findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Science. Researchers must now teach the printed hearts “to behave” like real ones. The cells are currently able to contract, but do not yet have the ability to pump. Then they plan to transplant them into animal models, hopefully in about a year. Maybe, in 10 years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world, and these procedures will be conducted routinely. However, hospitals would likely start with simpler organs than hearts.

Big Changes

What the Tax Working Group has come back with, however, is unacceptable in its current form. – Dieter Adam, CE The Manufacturers’ Network These are times of big change for us at The Manufacturers’ Network, and for our relationship with our members. We are in the process of transferring all of our activities to the EMA, and further to the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and the other regional business organisations, Business Central and OSEA. This will significantly enhance our ability to reach out to and represent the community of New Zealand manufacturers across the country. It will also challenge our ability to deliver our current services – and new ones we are developing, like our new Productivity Benchmarking service, which we are about to launch – to a much wider membership. These are exciting times for us! These are also challenging times for New Zealand manufacturers. Take, for example, the rapidly escalating ‘battle of the systems’ between the USA and China, which really is a battle for primacy in the world’s economy. It leaves countries like New Zealand ‘stuck in the middle’, feeling that whatever choice they make may be the wrong one, and preferring not to have to choose, of course. It’s Huawei today, which may not have much impact on our members, but what comes next in terms of companies on either side, which some of our manufacturers may be suppliers to, being hit by punitive measures? Barriers to free trade come in many guises and compared to other sectors of our economy manufacturers may have had a relatively easy ride until now. Is that about to change? At home, we see the ‘new’ government bringing in changes in many areas, or at least trying to do so. Three are of particular importance to manufacturers – […]

Hawke’s Bay businesses, councils partner on climate action

By Adele Rose – 3R Group Chief Executive When it comes to action on human-accelerated climate change in New Zealand we often look to conversations held in the main centres like Auckland and Wellington, or action from central Government to lead the way. But Hawke’s Bay is showing regional Aotearoa is just as capable of taking the lead. Some of the region’s five councils have been working on a response plan to climate change since 2014, and now the business community, alongside the councils, is coming together to tackle the issue through the Climate Action HB initiative. Achieving real and meaningful action on accelerated climate change has, and always will, rely on partnerships. Partnerships between people, businesses, councils and governments. In Hawke’s Bay you need look little further than the coastal erosion to see the very real effects of human accelerated climate change on the region. The economy of the Bay is heavily reliant on tourism and the primary industries, and while sea level rise is most often cited when talking about climate change, factors like warmer winters, fewer frosts and unseasonable wet and dry periods will impact the primary sector particularly, and the region overall. These impacts have obvious consequences for everyone – from residents living next to the sea, to orchards in the plains and farms in the hill country. Other impacts, such as food security, go beyond the region itself. The critical need to address these impacts was seen in the attendance of nearly 120 representatives from Hawke’s Bay businesses and councils at the inaugural event for Climate Action HB, an initiative led by 3R Group with support from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Attendees at the Business CoLab event on November 25 in Napier included major regional stakeholders such as Napier Port, Hawke’s Bay Airport, and Pan […]

Reaping the benefits of smart manufacturing

Manufacturers can have many hundreds or even thousands of endpoints in their network, from laptops, PCs, and mobile devices to networked production-line machines spread throughout the facility. These connected systems deliver operational efficiencies and even competitive advantage to manufacturers. Smart manufacturing has helped manufacturers achieve productivity gains of 17 to 20 per cent and quality gains of 15 to 20 per cent. However, smart manufacturing also introduces cyber risks, which must be addressed in the most time-efficient, reliable way. Steve Hunter, senior director, Asia Pacific and Japan, ForeScout, said, “In the past, production-line machines were air-gapped; they didn’t have a network connection, so they were safe from cyberthreats. Now, with every machine and device connected to the corporate network and the internet to facilitate smart manufacturing, that safety buffer is removed. Therefore, it’s essential for manufacturers to know what devices are in their network, how vulnerable they are, and their compliance status. All endpoints, including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, need to be secured.” In many industries, endpoint management is conducted using agents, with IT departments choosing a combination of agents to address their specific requirements. However, the use of agents can create performance issues in manufacturing operations, meaning an agent-based approach is not well-suited to manufacturers. When networked operational or production-line devices are scanned, it can impair performance, reboot the device, or even crash it entirely. This causes expensive downtime. These devices are often vulnerable because they’re older, rarely patched, and less protected against threats. Even new IoT devices can become exploited, because they’re generally not designed with security top of mind. These new IoT devices are often deployed without configuring the few security settings available to them, such as leaving default credentials in place. This lets malicious actors use the unsecured IoT device to access the entire network. […]

A year to bring about positive change

There are two crucial areas business needs to address this year. You know what these are: Climate Change and Productivity. Sceptics say that Climate Change doesn’t exist. They either don’t know any better or they may be right. But for the good of us all we still need to look at current business practices and determine what changes can be made to address the situation. What are we emitting into the atmosphere? What source of energy do we use that may be causing an environmental problem and what can be done to rectify the situation? What is our individual role in climate change? When we hear that ice are melting, water levels rising and temperatures increasing then we do indeed have a problem. Productivity is harder to measure because there are a lot of people in society who contribute a lot without the financial reward. Their efforts are not on payrolls or widely known about. There are reasons for this of course: homemakers don’t have the same esteem as a bank manager, nor the salary that goes with just as much (if not more) hard work. Productivity and a living wage or a fair wage, not just a scrapping by wage is a difficult subject. Companies don’t want to raise wages and salaries unless they really need to. They want to make a profit for shareholders and no more was this apparent than at the recent Davos gathering. Someone owns the oil and someone else owns the property and the workers gather around for a share of the crumbs. Productivity keeps the wheels turning, to making the goods for market and positioning our country as an export earner on the world stage. The highest percentage of what we manufacturer comes from the land. Not that what we make in a […]

X-Frame for waste free buildings gets commercialisation boost

Clip-together modular building design can be rapidly assembled, disassembled and reused, eliminating waste during a building’s lifecycle Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate Ged Finch is fast tracking the commercialisation of his X-Frame structural frame solution for waste free buildings with support from the KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme. The game-changing framing system can be disassembled and re-used at the end of a building’s useful life. Finch’s design, a self-braced interlocking wood design which clips together eliminating the need for single-use fixings, has the potential to eliminate waste and reduce the amount of raw materials being used by the building industry. Approximately half of all New Zealand’s waste—about 1.6 million tonnes every year—is generated by the construction sector. “The current widespread use of adhesive-based fixings and single-life materials means that building a single new home will create about four tonnes of waste during construction, and even more when it’s eventually demolished and taken to the landfill,” says Finch. Finch, who has been working with Viclink, Victoria University of Wellington’s commercialisation office, also secured a place on KiwiNet’s Emerging Innovator programme to help commercialise the green architectural solution. Every single component of Finch’s X-Frame design, cut by a computer-controlled router, can be disassembled and reused, so no waste is produced at any stage of a building’s lifecycle. The clip-together design allows any type of structure—floors, walls, ceilings—to be rapidly assembled and disassembled many times over, using unskilled labour and a bare minimum of tools, akin to flat-pack furniture. Adding doors or windows at a later stage is simple, and when kids leave home: “they could literally take their rooms with them, as our modular design also clips onto standard framing.” Dr James Hutchinson, CEO of KiwiNet, says: “Ged’s vision is to transition the building sector from a linear (take, make, dispose) economy to […]

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