Business News

Housing construction is becoming manufacturing

Manufacturing is usually associated with making parts and assembling them. Manufacturing complete houses is a relative new concept in the history of the industrial revolution. We are on the verge of the next step, making the complete structure for a house out of only one material, foam concrete. Recent developments have made it possible to make foam concrete to high specifications, good thermal and acoustic insulating properties and reasonable strength compared to “normal” concrete. We are talking here about foam concrete that is half the weight and has more than five times the thermal insulation factor. On top of that it is more flexible, so it can withstand earthquakes better. If you are in a war zone it can protect you from flying objects, as it has a high energy absorption rate. All this creates a comfortable, healthy and safe home for a reasonable cost.Aaldert So why is everyone not using it? Mainly because the mortar mixes do have a few more ingredients in it, and the ratios of the components are critical, in addition you need a foam making machine to make the foam, and then mix it in with the mortar. All of this together puts people off using it as it is more complex than making “normal” mortar. In a factory environment it is easier to control the production process, including the curing. As with all concretes the “drying” time and conditions have an influence on the end result, the final strength and flexibility. On-site it can be difficult and costly to maintain the ideal conditions, keeping it wet and at the ideal temperature. Manufacturing foam concrete products in a special designed facility has many benefits, good control over the delivery and storage of the raw materials, use and maintenance of the equipment, labour input, less skilled […]

People, people, people – the future of work

So, I challenge you. When imaging the future of work, put people at the centre. Adele Rose – 3R Group Chief Executive What is the future of work? Is it a world filled with automation – machines ceaselessly performing tasks humans once did, never tiring, never falling ill, generating maximum profit? I believe he tangata, he tangata, he tangata (it is the people, it is the people, it is the people). I believe this because there is a shift starting to happen in business in which the impact of what we do is becoming an important metric of success. In the recent Institute of Directors Magazine overview by Chief Executive Kirsten Patterson, she states the seasons are changing. The skills needed to lead through the future of work challenges of tomorrow are quite different to the traditionally valued skills of yesterday. Kirsten reminds us that regardless of whether the robots are knocking on the door to your office yet or not, the new valuable skills for the future of work are our adaptability quotient, and our ability to be lifelong learners. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said we should, “learn as if we were going to live forever.” One of the great thinkers of our time on the future of work, Chris Kutarna, spoke at the recent Pacific Summit on the Circular Economy, which I attended. He reminds us that we can plan for the future we can see – the future that, from where we’re standing now, we know is coming. However, he asks us “what about the future we can’t see?” Chris challenges us to shift our thinking – our ability to conceive what is coming next – from an organisation-centred economy where people are sought to perform valuable tasks, but are also seen as a “cost”, and […]

The revival of strikes in New Zealand

Last year, more than 70,000 workers walked off their jobs in New Zealand – the highest number of people on strike since the late 1980s. The reasons for the strike wave are political and economic. Strikes were supposedly something of the alleged “bad old days” of the 1970s. But during the first year of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Labour-led government, a strike revival ensued. At least 70,000 people, if not more, walked out last year. Strikers included nurses, teachers, bus drivers, port workers, fast-food workers, retail workers, steel workers and public servants. While official figures for 2018 have not been published yet, this represents the highest number of people involved in strikes since the late 1980s, and possibly the most working days not worked due to stoppages since 1992. For many strikers, it represents the first time they have participated in walkouts. An unexpected strike wave? According to some, this strike wave was not supposed to happen. Trade unions were thought to be too weak to strike. One employment relations textbook asserted in 2009 that “strike action is seen increasingly as an inefficient and outdated strategy”. The Public Service Association (PSA) secretary Erin Polaczuk recently argued that as unions today have become more feminised and mature, they have increasingly avoided “stupid oppositional behaviour”. Nevertheless, women have led the strike wave. Women made up most participants in most strikes, and female union delegates were often at the forefront of disputes. Indeed, stoppages have mostly occurred in majority female occupations such as teaching, nursing and government sector work in general. It is as difficult to predict strike waves as it is to predict recessions. This is because both are the result of many complex causes, including the unpredictable nature of human agency. This wave is no exception. Political causes Political factors help to partly explain the stoppages, but cannot […]

Energy efficiency on the land

-Edgar Ludwig, consulting engineer for energy efficiency Efficient use of fossil fuel and electricity will help farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the energy bill. While fossil fuel is mainly used for the vehicle fleet, electricity is used for running equipment such as milk processing and feed processing. Each farm is different and there is no general data available to gain sufficient understanding about their specific energy use and emission. This makes it hard for farmers to identify detailed saving opportunities and take actions. Particularly on milk processing where there are a variety of opportunities which should be addressed. Such as: Adequately sizing and locating equipment such as coolers, compressors and condensers. Optimising the operation for equipment such as pumps for vacuum, milk and water. Insulating tanks and recovering the heat from the refrigeration side to generate hot water. Operating the lighting with energy efficient bulbs, natural lighting. Deploying of renewable energy sources such as solar PV. The New Zealand government and the advisory sector provide practical advice and funding to help the agriculture economy to reduce their impact on climate change. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority EECA provides a wide range of self-assessment tools to map the energy efficiency, the achievable savings and compare against other dairy farms across New Zealand. More details are provided in their web site. https://www.eecabusiness.govt.nz/tools/dairy-farm-energy-efficiency-tool. The Energy Management Association New Zealand EMANZ provides a directory of specialist for conducting detailed energy surveys in accordance to industrial standards. The outcome of such an energy survey will include: Analysis of current energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Analysis of the farming benchmark and tariff structure. A plan to measure and manage the energy users. A business case for each opportunity to make a decision on the investment. An action plan. More details are provided […]

Dragon eases documentation burden for professionals

Speech recognition solutions such as Nuance’s Dragon can help professionals work better, faster and smarter because they help you power through your documentation work. Nuance’s Dragon Professional software for Windows systems understands the sound of your voice and the language you use to transform spoken words into text to create more detailed, compliant documentation, faster than ever before. By simply using your voice, you can create reports, documents and other paperwork three times faster than by keyboarding, and with up to 99% accuracy. Better still, as Dragon leverages the latest in Deep Learning technology, it constantly learns and adapts to your unique voice and environmental variations even while you are dictating to deliver new levels of personalised accuracy and productivity. The speed and precision of Dragon helps save you time and money while increasing your productivity and lets you focus on what matters most, delivering the best possible personalised client service. Improving Compliance For many professionals capturing client conversations, disclosure regarding commissions and fees, discussions concerning conflicts of interests and general client instructions is increasingly important so as to meet compliance requirements. With Dragon, client communication and instructions can be documented immediately and accurately. You can then feed the information back into your CRM systems or simply maintain it within the relevant client file. The process also creates an auditable trail to help ensure compliance. Working from Anywhere at Any time Some speech recognition solutions also let you keep up with financial documentation from any location. Powered by the cloud, Nuance’s mobile app, Dragon Anywhere, delivers the powerful, professional productivity features of Dragon desktop speech recognition to Android and iOS mobile devices. This lets you complete and share documentation – by voice – directly on your device while you are on the move. Plus, with Dragon Anywhere you can also […]

Productivity is not an option

There is a disconnect between people believing they are working and those actually working. Just like on Facebook where people have a few thousand friends but have only ever met (in person) a handful of them. Because your company has the latest technology doesn’t mean it is being used properly – that the operative behind the computer screen or the cnc equipment is achieving their maximum potential. It can also be that the software and the equipment can’t perform to your expectations. The point is?…well…again…Productivity. I continually hear from soothsayers – mainly accountants and financial advisors – that the country has too many SME’s and that they all can’t make it in the business world. Now, I am not totally sure that these soothsayers have the wellbeing of the SME’s in mind – or just trying to rack up more clients, more companies to assist and save, using a fear factor. Even if we have too many SME’s – and they come and go – we continue to have – over the past years -around 94% of businesses being SME’s. What is this telling us? Maybe some of them are continuing to hang on, some are doing well and that the chopping and changing keeps the number high. So…Productivity? The latest figures show that the Productivity level is just over 50% – which is very low and that we are not doing as well as we should be. We have not been for quite a while now. When it is pointed out that European companies like Slovakia make more than we do, we know there is a problem. As an SME you need to have a definitive plan. You can’t go and open the doors every day to end the week with a few dollars in your pocket. Or treat […]

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 […]

AI challenges revealed in book

The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing is an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities of AI and how it’s transforming the manufacturing sector. Interviews with customers, policymakers, labor representatives and Microsoft experts shed light on how AI is driving efficiencies, enabling products and services, and allowing for safer workspaces. The book also offers a timely look at how society can respond to some of the challenges this new technology creates, and the need to develop new laws and regulations to address workforce disruption and develop AI in an ethical and responsible manner. A free download of the book is available at The Future Computed microsite, where you can also find other interesting content from the book (e.g. customer videos, case studies, and executive summary).

Wellbeing Budget 2019 delivers, but not for business

The EMA was not expecting much for business from the Wellbeing Budget 2019, but it was still disappointed it did not tackle some of its members’ key concerns. Chief executive Brett O’Riley says the 8500-strong member organisation’s focus is primarily on employees and their workers. “Nobody would argue that people’s overall wellbeing is important, and there is no doubt that a happier, healthier community is a more productive one. We do welcome the investment in mental health as it is a cost to everyone in different ways, including business, and any improvement in this area would benefit everyone,” says Brett O’Riley. “However, greater recognition could have been made of wellbeing in the business sector as a healthy economy provides the funding to deal with the difficult and complex social issues the Government is tackling,” he says. From an EMA member point of view, the best news for business probably came ahead of today’s budget with the decision not to introduce a capital gains tax. Mr O’Riley says two positives were the $300m of expansion capital for start-ups will be able to access in order to grow, and $197m to tackle homelessness through Housing First, a social housing initiative that could further the construction sector. With a key part of the economy’s success linked to being competitive in the digital age, and the EMA welcomes today’s announcement of $6.8m over four years to future-proof New Zealand’s manufacturing industry, as well as the additional $157m for research and innovation linked to low emissions. This ties in to another of the major challenges for members is getting the people they need. While the EMA is pleased to be involved in the crucial Future of Work project, more focus is needed to achieve an employment framework that supports future growth. In addition, the immigration […]

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