Developments

The development of smart manufacturing

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a sub-sector of the higher-level concept of the Internet of Everything (IoE) which connects people, processes, data and things, with the aim of bringing maximum value to the global economy. Technologies that have made IoE a reality include short range communications, embedded intelligence, cloud computing, next-generation networks, sensor technology, Big Data, and data analytics. The popularity of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Asia-Pacific is largely attributable to informed manufacturing, which leads to a transparent and streamlined manufacturing process. Ivan Fernandez Industry Director, Industry Practice, Australia & New Zealand said “The top concern for discrete or process-manufacturing firms is the continuous effort to stay competitive. However, manufacturing competitiveness is not achieved by focusing on one parameter, but on a group of pertinent issues. Resource areas pertaining to people and process innovation are where manufacturing competitiveness is extensively pursued.” “Although Europe is seen to hold a major edge in terms of industries embracing IoT, several countries in Asia Pacific such as Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore, will adopt these technologies to improve their global standing and become more competitive. Competition will force manufacturers to innovate and adapt various aspects of their manufacturing systems. Smart factories, considered to be the 4th industrial revolution or Industrie 4.0, will create a notable convergence of business models in manufacturing units. Embedded systems, combined with Internet connectivity and online data services, will kick-start the new era of cyber-physical systems, to enable smart factories. Smart factories A manufacturing plant is typically located over a large area and operates multiple machines which are difficult to manage without automation. The smooth functioning of a manufacturing plant, therefore, requires the development of an automated plant-floor with connected machines that receive and respond to orders from central control systems and human machine interfaces. […]

Is your shop floor ready?

Shop floors are often ground zero for scepticism regarding the Internet of Things (IoT). To the employees who work on the shop floor, IoT might seem like little more than the latest technology buzzword. Yet, the network connectivity that’s at the heart of the IoT is already rippling through the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers are realising significant productivity gains as a result of IoT-related improvements in sensing, analysis, prediction and control, and higher levels of automation. How organisations obtain the all-important buy-in from shop floor stakeholders? They must pay careful attention to change management. Capitalising on IoT opportunities is as much about reshaping an organisation as it is about implementing innovative technologies. The Importance of IoT Seventy to 80 percent of manufacturing processes are already automated. So then, what’s the big deal about IoT? By coupling software applications with sensors and controls that gather real-time production data, IoT links the entire manufacturing environment, including mobile devices used by workers and supervisors. Take a look at the impressive advances IoT is notching on the shop floor. A packaging and chemicals company, for example, made considerable gains in asset management by outfitting its forklift operators with Google Glass. The operators quickly scanned batch IDs of boxes and automatically generated transfer orders that integrated with the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; this system also easily tracked packages as they checked in and out of storage bins. As a result of this connectivity, the company improved its inventory management and productivity. And by avoiding multiple touchpoints, it also reaped significant cost savings. In another success story, a logistics company implemented a GPS and telematics-based solution that alerts it to supply chain disruptions such as port strikes, traffic congestion, or weather-related problems. The real-time notifications allow the company to reroute global consignments and grant the […]

NZ LED design opens door to global opportunity

Business Lighting Solutions (BLS) is eyeing up lucrative growth opportunities, as the innovative New Zealand-based LED lighting manufacturer launches a new product line targeting the global food processing industry. BLS Commercial Director, Paul Stoddart, said the company’s new patented product Soffito was poised to revolutionise lighting in food production areas – an industry conservatively valued at over $1 trillion USD. The product has already stirred up significant interest amongst the food processing industry in New Zealand, in advance of its release later this month. Stoddart said Soffito answers a number of key issues within the industry that were identified by BLS, following ongoing discussions with leading food processors aimed at better understanding the challenges and problems they face with current lighting solutions. “We found that most customers were using highly inefficient metal halide light fixtures, basically a tin box with a prismatic lens,” Stoddart said. “This type of fitting is highly-inefficient because it relies on outdated metal halide technology and suffers further losses through poorly designed lenses.” The only option available to the industry for decades, it failed to keep pace with technology and address key issues around maintenance, performance and importantly hygiene. Using the organisation’s wealth of experience with LED lighting, BLS fast-tracked an interim retrofit solution which was well received by its food production clients. “Despite that initial success, whilst convenient, the retro-fit solution still relied on the old outdated lens and was not operating at its maximum potential efficiency. Furthermore, the ongoing problems around performance and hygiene were still present.” Regardless, the BLS design team headed by seasoned designer Chris Wheatley was confident that it could produce a world-class alternative utilizing its combined skills and expertise. “Chris is an intuitive designer whose work is firmly embedded in European-style functional aesthetics. An alumni of the RCA London which […]

Climate deal presents opportunities for manufacturers

The New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association welcome the Paris Climate Agreement as a critical step forward in addressing climate change. This will help the push to develop policies and technologies that will ensure emissions reductions and sustainable clean development, including sustainable economic growth in the future, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA). NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam says, “The signing of this Agreement may well reflect a real change in the attitude toward climate change by political and economic forces not seen before, and will affect important markets for New Zealand manufacturers. These attitude and behaviour adjustments will create an environment of change that can pose a threat, as well as provide vast opportunities for our manufacturers who can take a lead.” said Dieter. “There are still questions about the real impacts and implementation of the Agreement that cannot yet be answered, particularly until it is ratified by individual countries. However, despite being a legal text, its real importance is political, economic and social – pushing needed behaviour and priority change. “New Zealand manufactures and exporters are highly connected and involved in the global economy – much more than many realise. Manufacturers often operate business to business and provide components and solutions to companies in key OECD markets and beyond, in a range of industries – our manufacturers are highly exposed to global economic and technological trends. This Paris Agreement will set the tone for some long term trends, both in economic activity and technology – meaning our manufacturers will have to adapt in a number of ways, something that may well play in their favour. Many of our manufacturers already maintain and build their globally competitive position by being faster than others in delivering new technical solutions to their customers. “New Zealand manufacturers could be […]

Offshore investment vital for manufacturing industries

“A breath of fresh air in the business landscape and important new momentum for the economy to benefit every New Zealander”. That’s the description two partners of DLA Piper New Zealand gave to the Government’s investment chapter of the Business Growth Agenda, launched mid month. “The message was clear and the Government’s strategy couldn’t be more determined,” says partner Sue Brown. “More offshore investment into New Zealand is vital because we lag behind. Without it, we can’t achieve appropriate investment in primary and secondary manufacturing industries to help them deliver for our prosperity into the future.” “Put simply, we need an extra $160 to $200 billion of new productive capital according to these reports – a 70-90% increase on current levels – to meet the country’s much needed target of lifting exports to 40% of GDP by 2025. The only way we can get that level of investment is through a significant growth in foreign direct investment,” she says. “For the first time, Government is speaking openly and explicitly about the need for foreign investment. We need it to shore up diversification in the products we make, and to add value to our primary sector,” says DLA Piper New Zealand partner Martin Thomson. “Capital from the world’s developed and developing economies – including traditional trading partners like the US and Europe and newer trading partners such as China and India – is looking for a home. The only question is: will New Zealand be open, attractive, willing and competitive enough to receive it?” he says. “If the Government has its way through these reports and strategies, we will be ready.” “The Government’s Business Growth Agenda recognises that it is businesses that drive economic growth and build a more successful economy with more jobs for Kiwis” adds Ms Brown. “The new […]

Reporoa feed company taking on the world

After exporting its equine feed products into Asia for many years, Reporoa-based company Fiber Fresh has also now launched its calf feed products into the international marketplace. Fiber Fresh is New Zealand’s largest animal nutrition export company, specialising in high nutritional equine and calf feed products. It celebrated 30 years in business earlier this year. The company’s launch into the calf feed market in Japan also includes a research partnership with the school of veterinary medicine at Rakuno Gakuen University in Hokkaido. Fiber Fresh founding director Michael Bell says launching into the Japanese calf market is a milestone for the company. “We have been exporting to international equine markets for nearly 30 years, with many of the world’s top thoroughbred horses fed our products. It’s extremely exciting to now see developments in the international calf market, particularly in Japan, where we see many synergies with our fibre feeds.” Since the early days, Fiber Fresh has worked alongside scientific institutes in New Zealand and conducted multiple trials in order to support its claims that its fermentation processes, by which the forage feed’s nutrition is enhanced, produces the best possible feed for both horses and calves. “The partnership with Rakuno University is our first international research partnership, and involves trials on the health benefits of rearing calves on Fiber Fresh for their first 100 days. The results have the potential to be revolutionary for Japanese farmers and production,” Mr Bell says. Initial research involved rearing a trial group of dairy calves on FiberStart and milk alone for 100 days, as well as a control group fed the traditional grain-based diet. Results of the 100-day trial astounded researchers, with the Fiber Fresh-reared calves showing fully-developed and more robust rumens and papillae, larger lymphatic systems, no weaning checks once milk was stopped after 45 […]

Steel Industry in Crisis

by Gary Hook, CEO Metals New Zealand China steel chief says demand ‘evaporating at unprecedented speed’. If anyone were in any doubt about the magnitude of the crisis facing the world’s largest steel industry, listening to Zhu Jimin would put them right. Demand is collapsing along with prices, banks are tightening lending and losses are stacking up, the deputy head of the main steel mills’ group said in China on Wednesday. “Production cuts are slower than the contraction in demand, therefore oversupply is worsening,” said Zhu at a briefing by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). “Although China has cut interest rates many times recently, steel mills said their funding costs have actually gone up.” China’s mills – which produce half of the world’s steel – are battling against oversupply and sinking prices as local consumption shrinks for the first time in a generation. The fallout from the industry’s struggles is boosting trade tensions as China’s mills seek to sell their surplus overseas. “China’s steel demand evaporated at unprecedented speed as the nation’s economic growth slowed,” Zhu said. “As demand quickly contracted, steel mills are lowering prices in competition to get contracts.” Medium and large-sized mills incurred losses of 28.1 billion yuan (A$6.2 billion) in the first nine months of this year, according to a statement from CISA. Steel demand in China shrank 8.7 percent in September on-year, it said. Crude steel output in the country fell 2.1 percent to 608.9 million tonnes in the first nine months of this year, while outbound shipments jumped 27 percent to 83.1 million tonnes, according to official figures. Chinese steel mills face some of their worst conditions ever and the vast majority are losing money, Citigroup Inc. said in September. The outlook for mills in the country is the worst ever amid […]

Revolutionary wind energy conversion system

The novel cross-axis-wind-turbine (CAWT) is a new type of wind turbine that has the capability to extract energy from multi-directional wind that is commonly found in urban areas due to the interaction of airflows between high-rise buildings. Its ability to operate in areas with complex wind pattern and low wind speed overcomes the weaknesses of the vertical and horizontal axis wind turbines (VAWT and HAWT). The novel wind turbine consists of vertical and horizontal blades arranged in a cross axis orientation, therefore enabling it to function with airflows coming from horizontal and vertical directions. The horizontal blades serve as the radial arms that link and support the vertical blades and the hubs through specially designed connectors to form the CAWT. Any airflow streams channeled to the bottom of the turbine interact with the lower and upper radial supporting-arms, therefore maximising the wind energy potential that can be extracted. Viewed from the top, the upper and lower radial arms can be considered as a double-layered HAWT that extracts energy from the vertical wind. Moreover, the lift created by the interaction between the vertical airflow and the horizontal blades creates aero-levitation forces which reduce bearing friction in the generator, hence extending the lifespan of the wind turbine. Initial studies have shown that the CAWT can overcome the problem of self-starting ability of a conventional VAWT, and produce better performance output by up to 2.5 times. In conclusion, the CAWT presents an innovative outlook on the future of wind turbines, creating significant opportunities for the use of wind energy devices and therefore alleviating dependencies on fossil fuel power plants. -chong_wentong@um.edu.my

Steel industry cautious on new Christchurch investment fund

New Zealand’s structural steel industry says the announcement of a planned new investment fund for the Christchurch rebuild is good news for the city, however it remains to be seen whether it will end up costing Kiwis their jobs. Steel Construction New Zealand Manager Alistair Fussell says he welcomes initiatives which help deliver the high-quality building and infrastructure projects needed to rebuild Christchurch. “On the face of it, it is good news for Christchurch, especially if it helps speed up development. But we’re reserving judgement until more is known about the downstream effects of this agreement between Guoxin International and Christchurch City Council. “Our main concern is that importing capital, materials and skills from overseas could lead to the loss of local jobs – not just in the structural steel industry, but right across the building supply chain.” There is a proven economic case for awarding tenders to local suppliers, says Mr Fussell. “A New Zealand fabrication firm recently bid for a structural steel contract worth $34 million. However, keeping it local would attract an additional GDP contribution of $14.1 million – an economic multiplier of 1.4 – as well as a tax contribution of $3.3 million. “There’s a significant economic uplift when local materials and labour are used. We have more than enough capacity in the local industry to deliver the structural steel volumes required to rebuild Christchurch, so we’re saying let’s think about the consequences very carefully,” says Mr Fussell. Christchurch City Council’s procurement policy states that tendering processes for public projects must be equitable and transparent. Mr Fussell says while the policy does provide some comfort, it remained to be seen how closely the Council would adhere to its own rules with respect to the Guoxin International fund. “We certainly hope the Council follows its key procurement […]

Growing regional research initiatives

While emerging or fledgling industries do exist, the missing link that should sit alongside this initiate is serious and comprehensive industry development activity, so that industry can grow swiftly to a level where it really can use and exploit the science developed and make a real contribution to regional development. Commentary by HERA Industry Development General Manager Nick Inskip Announced in the Budget on the 21st May was an item around the establishment of independent regional research institutes. The intent being that the Government would provide funding towards the establishment of a number of institutes to be located in regional areas and not in the three large centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The model espoused was something like the role taken by the Cawthron Institute, which is located in Nelson and serves the needs of the aquaculture and marine ecology community. Cawthron has a history of almost a hundred years and employs around 200 hundred people. It is interesting to see how Cawthron has evolved from an initial concept – a technical institute to be developed from a bequest from Thomas Cawthron – into an institute that has developed alongside an industry and at various times has led, supported or followed its development. As an aspirational model Cawthron is excellent; it has critical mass to survive and even thrive outside a major city and has been well-supported by Government over the years. The intent of the new institutes is that they will operate as private, independently-governed entities working closely with industry and other regional actors to stimulate new leading-edge, commercially-focused and industrially exploitable research. A series of Regional Research Institutes Workshops have been held around the country with the intent of seeking input to the proposed initiative, and introducing high-level aims and eligibility requirements. So far, the workshops have […]

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