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Manufacture like a boss

Every part manufactured has a story – the story of how something is made, how much something costs, how much something can be sold for, and if you make it again. A good manufacturing story will be filled with precise detail, perfect accuracy, and guide your future based on a truthful history. And this means your customers will want more. Why? The answer is simple – if you are manufacturing like a boss it means you: Master the four key transactions: Purchasing Receipts, Issuing Material, WIP to FG, Shipping/Invoicing. Know your costs (freight, labour, outside services, overhead, other, material) with accurate precision. Price your parts competitively and profitably. Quote your jobs correctly with speed and accuracy. Reduce your risk by knowing and not guessing. When you are doing the above you are making parts faster, making parts better, watching it all in real time, and knowing exactly what everything costs – otherwise known as “manufacturing like a boss”. Prepare to win Manufacturing can be won or lost in how prepared your company is, not just a person. Employees must be well trained to accurately capture data. Garbage in, garbage out. Employees must hold each other accountable. If you see something, say something. Employees must understand daily processes and how each action impacts costing. If you do not know, ask first. Accurate bills and routers When a work order is generated to drive how much and how long it will take to make the parts, the accuracy of the bill of materials and routers impacts runtime, setup, lead times, and quantities. If the lead time is incorrect, it will tell purchasing to order material at the wrong times, leading to overstock of product or expedited fees to get product in. Realistic due dates If the due date on a work order […]

‘ED’ the Chatbot Joins the DunedinNZ Team

DunedinNZ.com has welcomed ‘ED’ the chatbot as the newest member of its customer service team, the first destination marketing organisation in New Zealand to adopt this form of Artificial Intelligence technology. ED will act as an extension of the iSITE visitor centre by assisting website visitors with questions, serving the most relevant information and helping visitors plan their visit. John Christie Director Enterprise Dunedin said the project was another step towards enhancing the user experience and providing a comprehensive and intuitive customer service in the growing online marketplace. “A good experience during online travel research is a golden opportunity to convert ‘dreamers’ and ‘planners’ into visitors to our city. With ED, we wanted to evoke the welcoming spirit and helpful nature of Dunedin’s people, which is a key part of our identity. “The process of finding the right ‘on brand’ persona for ED posed some interesting challenges for the marketing team, but we are really pleased with the result,” he said. Developed by international web technology company Squiz, ED runs on existing DCC web platform, powered by Google’s machine learning and natural language processing. “We know that a percentage of intending visitors prefer to source information using a virtual customer assistant (VCA), and this will grow as VCAs such as chatbots become more common and people get familiar with using them,” Squiz NZ Managing Director Patrick FitzGerald said. “By adopting this emerging technology early, Enterprise Dunedin and Dunedin City Council will gain learnings relevant to further improving customer experience for visitors as well as residents, and to applying Artificial Intelligence more broadly in council services online” Research firm Gartner recently predicted that 25% of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020.

Kongsberg unlocks a world of profit

Installing a Kongsberg XN24 cutting table, from Fuji Xerox, has helped Auckland’s I Print On Demand understand how much more it can achieve. Pete Mills, managing director at I Print On Demand, says, “The Kongsberg table has us thinking about making a profit from printing in a whole different way. This makes all of our other printing equipment relevant. It’s that old saying: ‘The job is not over until it is finished.’” The company performs a large amount of work for other printers. He says, “We don’t advertise but about 80 per cent of our work is trade printing. We are not in the mass market. We work in the area where people need smaller runs and more on demand jobs; often jobs that other companies can’t do or don’t have the time or equipment.” “The Kongsberg table unlocks the world of wide format and short run finishing. We can do a run of 10 boxes and make a profit. It’s about tying all of your machines into a cohesive print operation and getting the sales. You have to work out the best way to employ the equipment you have for each job; how you can make it work best. “If you get the right equipment, you can do the work you need to do to make a decent profit. It is impossible to do these jobs without a cutting table. A lot of printers get asked to jobs they can’t do; we can do those jobs and we complete a huge variety of work and, with the Kongsberg, we haven’t found anything we can’t do yet. It cuts a range of material, textiles, ACM, corflute; you name it.” New applications The Kongsberg cutting table has unlocked new applications for I Print On Demand. Mills says, “We have been […]

Skills Shift – Research and Pilot Programme

-Dieter Adam, Chief Executive, The Manufacturers Network Skill shortages continue to be one of the top problems facing manufacturing businesses, holding them back from growing and reaching their potential. Not only this, but with changing and increasingly accessible digital technologies such as automation, AI and networked manufacturing, the skills required in manufacturing are likely to change into the future – this is the Skills Shift. While the topic of changing skills needs has been widely discussed, we do not yet have any concrete answers as to what it may mean for our sector and how we can best make sure training institutions can effectively respond and we make the necessary changes to our own practices. The Skills Shift represents a challenge for all sectors of New Zealand and all parts of our economy and society – how can people obtain the skills they need to succeed and get or keep well-paying, productive jobs? How can people gain both the soft and specialist technical skills that set them up to adapt to any change? How can companies, education providers and Government work together create a system where these skills challenges are address? And, in particular, how can employers and employees work together to train and up-skill while remaining employed, and with minimal impact on productive time? To answer these questions, The Manufacturers’ Network has put together a pilot programme and associated research projects focused on the Skills Shift in manufacturing. This programme has been endorsed by the Future of Work Tripartite Forum, and we will seek funding support to undertake the work. What we want to do is provide quality research into the Skills Shift in New Zealand so that manufacturers and tertiary and training providers understand what the Skills Shifts will look like and mean for them, and what measures […]

Confidence impacts on economic growth

-Leeann Watson, Chief Executive, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce There’s been a lot of comment lately on business confidence, which has hit seven-year lows in recent months. While it’s easy to dismiss confidence as an irrelevant measure of sentiment only, the fact is, it does have an impact on economic growth through investment and employment decisions that businesses make. We can debate the various drivers of the numbers, but the biggest factor in my opinion is uncertainty. Business needs certainty to invest. Right now, in a number of key areas, they don’t have that certainty. Whether it is around immigration changes and the impact this has on the ability to find skilled workers, clarity around proposed changes to employment legislation, or the changing nature of overseas investment and ownership rules impacting our reputation as an investment destination, the signals from policy-makers are unclear. Couple all that with the sudden decision around the oil and gas sector, and we begin to see a picture that I believe results in the lack confidence. There is a real risk to the pipeline of projects coming to market across many sectors, including the commercial and residential building sector, and the much-needed infrastructure investment to support our growing population and tourism numbers. This uncertainly takes a toll on business who require stability and certainty. While businesses understand the need for change and are incredibly resilient in the way in which they constantly adapt, sound policy that enables and supports business growth is essential. It’s particularly important in an environment where manufacturers face constant change, from changing workplace dynamics and drivers to digital disruption and emerging trends like AI. Instead of being able to focus on these important issues, the constant uncertainty means we are distracted from the big issues that will affect the industry over […]

Women in Engineering: Helen Trappitt, Lewis Bradford, Christchurch

Why do you do what you do and do you enjoy it? I currently work in three main areas of structural engineering for different reasons. Seismic strengthening of heritage buildings is satisfying and challenging. I’m motivated to work on these projects as they are key to getting Christchurch back on its feet. I have also been involved with complex residential insurance claims following the Canterbury and Kaikoura Earthquakes. This work is not at all glamorous when compared to other structural projects, but it is vitally important to the homeowners who have been in limbo for many years. My other area of work does not feel like work. I lead a team at Lewis Bradford that help local creative groups with their structural engineering needs, usually pro bono. This ranges from the structural design of large scale permanent sculptures to assisting with the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA), where the installations conceived by architecture students from around Australia and New Zealand are displayed for one night only. I enjoy the variety of work I do and in particular the ability engineers have to make a positive impact on society. Greatest challenges? The greatest challenges I have faced both professionally and personally occurred in 2011. It was a tough year for any engineer in Christchurch. I learnt that natural disasters don’t stop all the other stuff that happens in life. Most exciting project worked on? In 2012 I approached sculptor Neil Dawson about designing a temporary sculpture for Christchurch. This project was exciting as we had no client or budget. The structural design and fabrication was challenging. We brought together about twenty local companies to donate services and materials ‘in kind’. The resulting work named ‘Spires’ is currently installed in Latimer Square. Where did you study? University of Canterbury, School of […]

MJH Engineering gears up for a ‘Big is Best’ approach

The notion ‘think big’ is entirely applicable to MJH Engineering. The steel fabrication company, based in Seaview, Lower Hutt houses industry-leading automated machinery, and some of New Zealand’s largest building construction projects can be attributed to its name. Founded by Malcolm Hammond in 1982 as a factory and machinery maintenance firm, MJH Engineering quickly evolved into the construction industry and from one employee it has grown to over 100 today and now spans three sites and includes a 5,000sqm workshop. Fabricating for clients across New Zealand, on any given day the MJH team could be working on a range of structural steel works for industrial warehouses, commercial buildings, multi storey tower-blocks, steel art works, residential buildings and seismic strengthening projects. “Our experience and capacity ensures we can undertake multiple large scale projects safely, smoothly, and on time,” says Managing Director, Malcolm Hammond. A heavyweight when it comes to industry accolades as well, MJH has recently been named a finalist in the Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) Excellence in Steel awards for its involvement in Wellington’s Deloitte House (20 Customhouse Quay) and for the Rankine Brown Emergency Shoring for the Liftshaft. The landmark construction of 20 Customhouse Quay – a 15-level seismically advanced office tower featuring a diagonally braced diagrid perimeter structure with base isolation, represents a new generation of safety and resilience and meets up to 180% of the building code, says Hammond. “The diagrid structure is stiffer than conventional tower frames,” he said, “But it also uses about twenty percent less steel than conventional building designs.” The complexity of the project brought the skill of the MJH team to the fore as they created unique, precisely angled parts for components of the diagrid structure. Other notable projects the MJH team has been involved with include the iconic 32-meter-high Wellington […]

SYSPRO Australasia appoints new sales manager

Global ERP solutions provider SYSPRO, has appointed Greg Urand in the role of Sales Manager with immediate effect. Greg will be responsible for driving sales aimed at increasing market presence across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands. Greg has over 20 years of sales management and business development experience in technology having worked for companies including Exact, CCH, Travelport and Targus. He is passionate about empowering multi-faceted teams to drive extensive revenue growth, performance improvements, and business expansion to exceed KPIs and corporate objectives. SYSPRO is a global, independent provider of industry-built ERP software designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors. Focused on delivering optimized performance and complete business visibility, the SYSPRO solution is highly scalable, and can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or accessed via a mobile device. SYSPRO’s strengths lie in a simplified approach to technology, expertise in a range of industries, and a commitment to future-proofing customer and partner success. SYSPRO has more than 15,000 licensed companies in over 60 countries across six continents.

James Hardie appoints Jack Truong as CEO

Louis Gries and Dr. Jack Truong. James Hardie has announced that Dr Jack Truong, currently the Company’s President – International since April 2017, will succeed long-standing CEO Louis Gries as the incoming CEO of James Hardie Industries. Dr Truong who continues to be based out of North America, will be formally appointed to the CEO role toward the end of the company’s 2019 fiscal year, at which time Mr Gries will step down as CEO and from the Board. The Board has determined that a structured transition is in the best interest of shareholders and an approximate six-month handover period has been established, during which time Mr Gries will remain in the CEO role and Dr Truong will become President and Chief Operating Officer with the responsibility of running the Group’s global business. He currently has responsibility for the operations of the Asia Pacific Fibre Cement business and the Europe Building Products business. Jack Truong offers the ideal combination of commercial expertise, operational excellence, and leadership in order to continue to grow the business and maintain the industry-leading performance, across multiple geographies, established by Louis Gries over a long period. Louis Gries joined James Hardie in 1991, becoming CEO in February 2005. During this time James Hardie delivered strong top-line growth and differentiated returns while increasing the market capitalisation from less than A$3.0 billion to A$9.21 billion.

ZW3D for one man operations, SMEs and corporates

Affordable CADCAM must deliver: • Enterprise-level mechanical design and engineering system. • Cost effective ownership. ZW3D CADCAM is truly integrated. It’s core objective is provide unified environment from concept design to final manufacturing. This is achieved with a powerful proprietary hybrid 3D CAD and CAM kernel. Not only is complex surface generation and manipulation at the centre of the design, the modelling database is object oriented improving speed and providing flexibility. ZW3D does not distinguish between solid, surface or wireframe methodology. All ‘objects’ are usable as a source for developing geometry. The edge of a solid can be used as the profile for a surface or solid extrusion in any direction, as a path for a sweep, the edge of a loft, part of a UV curve set, the path for a distributed pattern of any other object from points through to components. Even if the resulting surface or shape is non sensible in the real world, ZW3D will accept this as a valid object and allow you to continue modelling without a hiccup. CAM users benefit massively from having ready access to high level modelling capability. Comprehensive translators are standard. Some common file types can be used directly. ZW3D Point cloud tools, including STL manipulation can handle millions of points, reduce data and apply complex smooth surface meshes. Resultant surfaces are then used as part of the solid model for shape generation. No additional software or plugins required. AutoCAD users use existing drawings to develop 3D models. One user is currently migrating 2,500 2D sketches to 3D parts. Assembly anomalies have been discovered and resolved. Now they can build and document assemblies with drawings, cross sections, BOM and even instructional explode and unexplode videos. Sheet metal, weldments, morphing , patterning and direct editing tool suites are also standard within […]

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