NZ Manufacturer Media Kit 2018 now available
NZ Manufacturer Media Kit 2018 now available. To receive a copy, email publisher@xtra.co.nz
Business News
10 ways automation could boost your business
Clive Hickman, chief executive of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), and Jeremy Hadall, chief technologist of the MTC, outline the business changes they expect to see over the next five years as a result of automation. 1. Productivity will increase Think about the introduction of robots to a car production line. Volkswagen has gone from around 4,000 people working in this environment to nearer 150, while at the same time increasing overall employee numbers from 30,000 to 70,000 across the business. Business Impact: Improved productivity is good news, as businesses will get more bang for their buck. When you become more productive, you create more demand, and therefore more jobs. More jobs could also mean a higher skill level of employee. 2. Workers will be safer and happier We strongly disagree that people will be replaced by automation. Yes, people will be redistributed, but this will be one of the most important benefits automation brings. Wherever there exists a dirty, dull and dangerous job with humans exposed to risk, there exists the perfect opportunity for automation. Business Impact: Workers’ quality of life could be drastically improved as well as allowing them to move into a more highly skilled role including operating the robot. For businesses, this means a workforce with improved prospects, better morale, and a higher skill level. 3. Customer service will reach new heights Ocado is one of the best examples of how customers can benefit from a business adopting automation. To a large extent, they are only able to fulfil their promise of the faster delivery times that you and I have come to expect because so many of their processes are automated. Business Impact: Automation can be an invaluable tool for cutting down on errors, facilitating faster deliveries, and for speeding up processes such as restocking. […]
Welcome to the driver’s seat Jacinda – but are you still driving the same car?
Dr, Wolfgang Scholz, Director, HERA Now we have a new government – we have a left of centre mix of policies. Which on first principle should be building innovative, high value local manufacturing with the aim of increased prosperity and our ability to pay our way in the world. And for me, I congratulate the team around ‘Prime Minister to be’ Jacinda Arden for being in the driver seat and look forward to seeing her make true on her promise “let’s do it”. You may recall some of our advocacy clearly advised that our local SME’s should gain from these policies. And, although still lacking details – we need to make sure that the promised R&D tax credits and business innovation, government procurement rules applying for subcontractors and pushing low emission technologies are indeed implemented. But for this to happen, we all need to continue formulating policy to our new coalition partners and make sure our voices are heard by them. The original election policies got it right While keenly awaiting the announcement of the agreed policy framework for our new government, I stumbled across the pre-election policies. It’s a worth-while read that reminds us what we requested and what was promised to us in respect to key policies affecting our businesses. We advocated that for our economy to grow sustainably we needed to “get of the grass” and invest in niche market industries with higher paying wages and export potential. A move that would increase the number of companies with sound R&D innovation strategies in New Zealand. We also said it couldn’t just be start-ups such as the IT industry, but had to include transforming our existing companies – as without them, we miss the critical mass. But for this to happen, accessible incentives for those willing to invest […]
Move Fast and Break Things
(On Jonathan Taplin)He is hunting big game; it is his contention that the giants of the cyberworld-from Google to Amazon-are threats to the fundamental foundations of democracy and that they also cement inequality into our systems in new and dangerous ways. (Jonathan Taplin is Director of the Annenberg Innovation Lab and a former tour manager for Bob Dylan and The Band, as well as a film producer for Martin Scorsese. An expert in digital media entertainment, Taplin is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the California Broadband Taskforce and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Council on Technology and Innovation. Fake news. Digital monopolies. Stealth Marketing. This is the story of how the internet, which began as a dream, has become a nightmare and the people that did it. The modern world is defined by vast digital monopolies turning ever-larger profits. Those of us who consume the content that feeds them are farmed for the purposes of being sold ever more products and advertising. Those that create the content – the artists, writers and musicians – are finding they can no longer survive in this unforgiving economic landscape. But it didn’t have to be this way. In Move Fast and Break Things, Jonathan Taplin offers a succinct and powerful history of how online life began to be shaped around the values of the entrepreneurs like Peter Thiel and Larry Page who founded these all-powerful companies. Their unprecedented growth came at the heavy cost of tolerating piracy of books, music and film, while at the same time promoting opaque business practices and subordinating the privacy of individual users to create the surveillance marketing monoculture in which we now live. It is the story of a massive reallocation of revenue in which $50 billion a […]
Engineering the exoskeleton – from aliens to mechanically enhanced humans
Inspired by the ‘power loader’ exoskeleton worn by Sigourney Weaver’s character in Aliens, Richard Little set out to design and build a pair of robotic legs. The resulting REX Suits are operated by a joystick that allows the wearer to walk, move sideways, turn around, climb stairs, and exercise. Exoskeletons are hyped up as devices that will allow the injured and paralysed to walk, elderly and stroke sufferers to remain independent for longer, the military to get more from soldiers, and even turn all of us into mechanically enhanced humans. They have captured the imagination of researchers across the world, from start-ups to NASA. A Scots-born engineer, Richard says he was motivated to develop the system after his childhood best friend Robert Irving was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Little and Irving co-founded Rex Bionics in 2003. Now NZ based, Richard is passionate about using technology and particularly robotics to help people. Little said it was hard to describe the experience of watching someone stand and walk after being in a wheelchair for years. “Every time – it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it before – it’s very emotional.” Researchers have developed exoskeletons controlled by a non-invasive system linked to the brain, allowing an even wider range of wheelchair users to walk. What’s more, when combined with virtual reality and tactile feedback the systems even appear to promote a degree of recovery for people with paraplegia. It’s a development that excites Richard, whose team have also been exploring the possibility of thought control with their own device. Richards latest business, Exsurgo Rehab, has been formed with an experienced medical and technology team to deliver medical devices that will alleviate the suffering and improve the quality of life of potentially millions of stroke sufferers world-wide. Richard is a multi-award-winning inventor […]
Immersive booths to bring business expos to life
Technology that brings standard exhibition booths alive with video projections has launched this month. The immersive booth technology is the brainchild of Andy Roberts, the founder of Rogue Lumens, a technology company in Adelaide, South Australia. In a previous role, Roberts had travelled the world attending conferences and was constantly uninspired by the static displays of posters and logos on show. “At an exhibition in October 2016 I was standing there and it occurred to me that we could do a lot more in a booth by introducing new technology,” said Roberts. He first looked into incorporating augmented or virtual reality but found the technology was not ready for a mass market. “The uncomfortable interruption of having someone ask you to put something over your face in a crowded room is such that you just can’t do it. But we wanted to find a way we could produce an immersive type experience without having to interrupt someone naturally,” he said. Roberts and his team came up with a software program that allows projectors to seamlessly turn the three sides of a standard 9sq m booth into screens. The software package allows companies to upload photos or videos and easily produce them into an eye-catching display that moves across all three walls. Companies can also upload professionally-produced work. “We built our own software and web portal to solve how we would populate this size of screen,” said Roberts. The web portal allows users to see what their booth would look like from all angles as people approach the stall, and incorporates a human outline to ensure the scale is correct. “It is all put together with a bespoke interface that companies can make with their own content – such as photos and video – and the software scales it,” said Roberts. […]
How the health and safety gravy train is sucking the productivity out of NZ manufacturing
Barry Robinson, Chairman MESNZ Are you being suckered by the H&S gravy train? You can save money immediately by reading the following. Test and tagging of electrical appliances and leads is NOT a legal requirement in NZ industrial plants. If you Google it you’ll find any amount of references convincing you that it is a legal requirement, but follow those links and you will always come to the test and tag industry many of whom are cultivating this fallacy and who ultimately benefit financially from your confusion. “In the view of the MESNZ this is but one example of the unhelpful ‘smoke and mirrors’ rubbish that gets seized upon and promoted by health and safety advisors and HR practitioners, particularly within larger organisations” said Barry Robinson, Chairman of the Maintenance Engineering Society of NZ. “What is happening is these misleading H&S processes become de-facto norms and get mimicked by the media and smaller organisations who think that because the big plants are doing it, then it must be the specified standard that needs to be adopted in all industrial operations large or small”. Robinson, who has spent over 30 years safely and healthily running NZ’s largest hot forging and heat treatment plant, makes no apologies for his confrontational approach. Other examples are: Compulsory wearing of safety glasses, hard hats and hi-viz vests in industrial plants; proliferation of orange cones; Stress-inducing beepers on machinery, and banning of ladders. These things waste time, money, and productivity. Worse, in many cases they can actually expose us to greater risk. “A common example of increased risk is the wearing of safety glasses: Safety glasses detract from our natural vision and senses in several ways – fogging, limiting or obscuring of peripheral vision and immediate upper and lower frontal vision, irritation and pressure). By wearing […]
New Zealand becoming more competitive
A global survey shows New Zealand moving up the competitiveness rankings – from 24th to 13th – during the last decade. The Global Competitiveness Index is a ranking of economic competitiveness, based on economic data and surveys of large businesses in 137 countries. This year the Index shows New Zealand ranking highly for financial market development, lack of corruption, labour market efficiency, health and primary education, higher education and training, and goods market efficiency. But New Zealand’s competitiveness is reduced by inadequate infrastructure, inefficient government bureaucracy, insufficient capacity to innovate, inadequately educated workforce and restrictive labour regulations. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said the rankings confirmed many of the efficiencies in the New Zealand economy and also pointed to areas where more work was needed, including achieving more infrastructure investment and less labour and overall regulation. He said this year’s results indicated a seeming paradox in that New Zealand ranks highly for education, yet ranks poorly for an educated workforce and ability to innovate. “It shows there is a mismatch between the skills required by business and the skills that are being taught in the education system, and points to the fact that we need to equip more New Zealanders with higher-level technical, trades, science, and maths education.” The top ten countries in the Global Competitiveness Index this year are Switzerland, US, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, UK, Japan and Finland, while Australia ranks 21st. New Zealand’s changes in competitiveness rankings Year NZ ranking 2007 24 2008 24 2009 20 2010 23 2011 25 2012 23 2013 18 2014 17 2015 16 2016 13 2017 13
New Name for NZMEA – The Manufacturers’ Network
The NZMEA signals an even stronger focus on supporting globally competitive manufacturers with the launch of a new name – The Manufacturers’ Network. With the changing face of manufacturing and the increasing global opportunities advanced technologies offer, the NZMEA has introduced a new and simply stated name supported by a strong logo that reflects where it wants to take the industry into the future – The Manufacturers’ Network. “We are hugely proud of our history, having supported manufacturers and manufacturing since 1879. But today the industry is different. With a global reach and growth opportunities relying more and more on collaboration, strong networks and an indepth knowledge of future trends, it was time our name reflected these values, clearly and simply, says Mr Dieter Adam, CE, The Maufacturers’ Network. Today, manufacturing in New Zealand faces many challenges. Manufacturers need to hold their own and want to grow their business in an increasingly interconnected and highly competitive global environment. Whether it’s through exporting or competing with imports, it’s all about remaining globally competitive. To achieve that, manufacturers need support now more than ever. “Manufacturers need a champion and an expert immersed in trends and opportunities who they trust so they can get on with running their businesses as competitively as possible, knowing we have en eye on the future. That’s where we fit in, says Adam. “The Manufacturers’ Network represents the best of our collaborative spirit and smarts. We are a Network because we know that working together, and collaborating locally, allows us to compete globally, to stay up with – if not ahead – of trends, and to remain agile and efficient. “We have deliberately chosen to use THE ahead of Manufacturers’ Network as it shows strength in what we do. Our focus is narrow and deep. We are THE […]
Addressing skills shortage vital
Addressing the deepening skills and labour shortage is vital for the incoming Government, says EMA. In the current skills shortage environment, the incoming government needs to have a cohesive strategy for growing the workforce of today and in the future. “Automation and advancements in technology will certainly change the way we work, however we will always need people. In our most recent survey 65% of respondents said there is, or soon will be, a skills shortage in their sector. This is clearly an area the next government needs to address,” says Kim Campbell, CEO, EMA. He added that the impact of key demographic changes, such as a declining birth rate and an ageing population, had to be fed into the wider discussion. Along with the role of immigration in the short and medium term. “While we must invest in educating and training our youth for the workforce, it is also vital we have a co-ordinated approach around mature workers too.” In the EMA Election Manifesto, several recommendations were made to close the skills and training gaps. These included: – Applying more funding to fill the skills gaps in the trade sector and incorporate an employer-based approach – Policies need to reflect lifelong career development, including a continuation of funding and support for workplace literacy programmes; and an co-ordinated approach to managing an ageing workforce – Ensuring the immigration process is less complicated. Automatic extension of temporary work visas for sectors placed on the skills shortages list EMA is currently leading a multi-organisation workstream on managing an ageing workforce. It also partners with a range of organisations on initiatives to develop workplace skills, which include the Youth Employability Programme, Workchoice Day and workplace literacy programmes.