Upcoming thinkstep – anz event https://www.thinkstep-anz.com/resrc/upcoming-events/using-sustainability-data-essity/ 2pm, Wednesday 25 October, 30 minutes How can you make sustainability claims about your products and avoid ‘greenwashing’? Learn how trans-Tasman hygiene company Essity (formerly Asaleo Care) uses credible environmental data to design and market its products.
Hospitals, train stations, retail stores, industrial buildings, multi-unit residential buildings and more have access to a new reliable charging solution for New Zealand EV drivers. The new EVlink Pro AC from Schneider Electric is promising to support the growing demand for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure amid increasing business and consumer transition to EVs. From hospitals to retail stores and multi-unit dwellings, the new charging station has been designed specifically for sustainable and efficient buildings of the future. It is an advanced solution for electricians and other specialists that meets the world-leading compliance standards set by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) in Europe. The new charging station supports optimised energy consumption, maximised uptime and efficiency, and helps ensure a seamless user experience for EV installers, operators, and drivers. It has an enhanced degree of repairability with easily accessible spare parts that make the unit more serviceable. Charging for an hour on the EVlink Pro AC can give up to 120 kilometres of driving range, depending on the vehicle, and a completely flat battery could be charged in around six to eight hours to get to an optimal almost full charge – ideal for people who will charge at their workplace or dwelling. The station includes a modem as an optional accessory. The EVlink Pro AC charger helps to offset on publicly available EV infrastructure as the transition accelerates in line with the resolution of a backlog of previous orders and the resumption of the full petrol tax. At present, according to the EECA’s 2023 survey of BEV (battery EV) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid EV) owners, 97% of EV owners are charging at home at least some of the time, and the majority are charging off-peak, with 69% having access to off-peak pricing plans; 54% of home charging starts between 9pm […]
HERA is calling for participants in the construction sector to complete its survey on low-carbon design, to better understand trends around sustainable design skills and interests and the barriers and initiatives to more sustainable outcomes. As Aotearoa New Zealand moves towards a low-carbon economy, the building and construction sector accounts for 15-20% of our total carbon emissions. To assist the sector, HERA has embarked on a project to develop a design framework to reduce construction waste, lifecycle embodied carbon, and to enhance the circular economy for construction materials. A pilot will be done for low-rise buildings. You can find out more and complete this confidential online survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JC6BSW5
A one hundred percent Kiwi, privately owned recycling company has become the very first New Zealand business to offer an end-to-end nationwide ‘all waste batteries’ recycling solution. Phoenix Metalman Recycling (Phoenix) founder and CEO, Eldon Reeve, says this represents the first time a complete domestic end-to-end solution for battery recycling has been achieved in New Zealand, to enable the product stewardship of an essential product used prevalently in society. Phoenix has already prevented more than 100,000kgs of waste batteries from ending up in landfills. Since this programme’s inception, the chemistry mix has evolved into over 20 subtypes of batteries within these main categories: Alkaline, Lithium, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. To make it even easier for Kiwis to be part of the solution; recycling their end-of-life batteries, Phoenix is creating a network of hundreds of collection points in towns and cities right across the country. “These locations will include popular hardware chains, product manufacturers, schools, community centres and shopping malls. For larger and industrial batteries, we also have our transportation fleet and drop off points at our 19 sites nationwide. Phoenix’s footprint has tripled within two years to deliver nationwide solutions like these,” says Reeve. Phoenix has invested in ‘sort at source’ technology to produce accurate data about the volumes of renewables recovered. This data will also allow participating partners to report confidently about their own sustainability measures. “This is a major milestone towards New Zealand delivering product stewardship and achieving its 2030 UN climate goals, which Phoenix is proudly committed to through our Toitu Envirocare Net Carbon Zero programme and operational environmental management practices,” says Reeve. Phoenix Product Stewardship Manager, Jasmine Faulkner, has been focusing on this offering since 2019 and says: “The solution encompasses all batteries, ensuring each battery chemistry is confirmed and separated – from domestic […]
HamiltonJet has unveiled a new range of high efficiency waterjets, starting with the LTX36 model. Optimised for medium and low speed operation, they’ve produced the first waterjet to rival the energy efficiency and bollard pull of the best propeller-based systems between zero and 30 knots. Waterjets have always been the most efficient choice for going fast. The absence of hull-appendages and their highly optimised pump geometry have allowed HamiltonJet customers to save fuel for over a generation, but as HamiltonJet CEO Ben Reed explains not everyone wants to go fast. “Our customers’ needs are changing, and so is our environment. We understand that operators not only want to reduce their impact on the environment and lower their energy costs, but also maximise efficiency,” says Ben. Some operators achieve this by operating at lower speeds, while others rely on the electrification of the driveline rather than continuing to rely on fossil fuels. Meeting their customer’s needs and expectations is very important HamiltonJet. “LTX36 is a game changer. It delivers incredible energy efficiency at low speeds. Customers can enjoy all the benefits they’ve come to expect from HamiltonJet waterjets – shallow draft, manoeuvrability, and safety of people and marine life in the water – allowing you to do more without compromises,” Ben says. To produce the most efficient propulsion system on the market for low to medium speed applications, HamiltonJet looked to Mother nature for inspiration. “The Moon jellyfish expends far less energy than any other swimming animal, evolving over a millennium to become a marvel of jet-propelled efficiency! Thankfully, we didn’t take a millennium to design the LTX36. The LTX36 uses a large nozzle, lower input energy, lower jet velocity, and lightweight structure to achieve its goals. So, whether you’re looking to optimise your entire enterprise or simply gain incremental benefits […]
Chances are you’re already talking about carbon – and climate change too. If not, you need to start! But when you’re a busy manufacturer, getting to grips with carbon can be daunting, we know. So in this first of two articles, Head of Carbon at thinkstep-anz Nicky Andrews explains how to get started and keep making progress. Nicky Andrews, thinkstep-anz Head of Carbon. Understanding carbon emissions What are carbon emissions? ‘Carbon emissions’ is shorthand for ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ (GHGs) – the gases that are trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere and warming our planet. There are many types of GHGs. Common ones include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Why do manufacturers need to reduce carbon emissions? You’ll be helping to keep global warming to below 1.5°C and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. There are many good business reasons, too, for manufacturers to tackle carbon. How does my business benefit from reducing emissions? First up, you’ll reduce your risks. For example, if the government introduces a carbon tax, you’ll be prepared. You’ll strengthen your brand. Customers may already be asking what you’re doing to reduce your emissions. That’s because they (and their customers) are increasingly seeking lower-carbon products. You’ll strengthen relationships. For example, you’ll keep your investors happy if you manage your emissions (and their money) carefully. Your team will value your efforts too. Many people want to work for a business that takes climate action seriously. Finally, because winkling out carbon involves delving into everything you do, you’ll spot opportunities to reduce your costs. What are the three Scopes (types) of emissions? The international Greenhouse Gas Protocol is one of the standards that govern how organisations measure and reduce their carbon emissions. The Protocol splits carbon into three groups (Scopes). Diagram of the Scopes: thinkstep-anz, […]
By Adam Sharman, Senior Partner, dsifer A recent report by the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum shows that New Zealand continues to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. Of course, the $ value impact is just one impact resulting from workplace fatalities, injuries and poor health. In our work with organisations and industry bodies, we see that the top performing organisations consider workplace health and safety across an ecosystem of considered, human centric job design, environment design and culture & leadership dimensions. This is not something that can be fixed through a policy document of lines in an annual report. As a starting point, our analysis with organisations we work with identifies 1. Insufficient training, 2. Fatigue or burnout induced by poor work design and high levels of overtime, and 3. Cultural complacency as being the most significant contributors to poor health & safety performance. Of course, it is not as simple as just saying, let’s just fix these priority factors; for sustainable change, a data-driven approach to identifying and addressing their underlying drivers as an ecosystem should be applied. For example, organisations, especially manufacturers, are struggling to attract the number and calibre of talent they need to run their operations, leading to high levels of overtime as the current workforce picks up the slack. A data-driven approach to the analysis. For the highest impact, organisations should apply data analytics to three key dimensions of health & safety: Complete, accurate and timely data capture. The accurate and timely capture of H&S data forms the baseline of understanding the true picture of an organisation’s H&S performance. Whilst this may seem obvious, it is surprising how many organisations do not accurately capture data on their H&S incidents, beyond those that result […]
Thanks to technological advancements that realise the potential of Industry 4.0, factory operators are investing more resources into the development of smart factories for enhanced operational efficiency. A recent study showed that the smart factory market is expected to grow 9.33% from 2021 to 2026. But before businesses can reap the benefits of smart factories, operators need to gain visibility of the production floor. This means they need to deploy more sensors and systems at production lines so that engineers can collect sufficient information, develop analytics, and ultimately take appropriate actions and improve efficiency. Developing a holistic view for your production lines requires different types of information. For instance, the production status of each production line informs you of how the line is performing and whether any potential or existing backlogs exist. By monitoring the real-time production process, you can improve your chances of eliminating potential downtime and enhancing productivity. In addition, tracking the operating condition of machines can help you arrange maintenance tasks without unwanted surprises. Furthermore, additional sensors can be deployed in production lines to collect temperature and humidity information to help minimise the likelihood of interruptions due to environmental factors. No matter what kind of information you are planning to collect to achieve the goals of your ideal smart factory application, enabling smooth communication between production lines and the control centre can present major challenges for engineers. Without a reliable connection and a solid network implemented between remote sites and the control centre, operators cannot receive complete and accurate data for comprehensive planning and optimising operational efficiency. Here are some suggestions you can consider when enabling connectivity for your production lines: Evaluate Your Connectivity Requirements Thoroughly When enabling connectivity for your production lines, you need to know what communication interfaces and protocols your field devices use, as well […]
Rockwell Automation has partnered with cyber-physical systems protection company, Claroty, to release a white paper on safeguarding Australia and New Zealand’s industrial systems. In the face of an ever-growing climate of cybersecurity attacks, operational technology (OT) security specialists bear the weight of safeguarding Australia and New Zealand’s most critical infrastructure. Ensuring uninterrupted essential services such as energy, food and beverage, healthcare, data processing, and mining industries demands utmost vigilance. However, the recent Rockwell Automation and Claroty survey of 42 C-suite executives and heads of security exposes a concerning truth – many OT systems remain exposed and vulnerable. “A lot of the challenges organisations face today can be traced back to the fact that OT has traditionally been operated and managed as a separate entity from conventional information technology (IT) environments,” says Anthony Wong, regional director, South Pacific, for Rockwell Automation. The survey bears this out with 26% of respondents admitting that there is a low or medium level of collaboration between OT and IT, and the two units could do better. “Increasingly, cybercriminals are exploiting sometimes lax OT security as springboards to launch a wider attack across an organisation,” says Wong. For example, a recent cyber-attack on a major Australian meat packing company, forced the temporary shutdown of 47 sites across Australia and a ransom demand of $14.2 million. Key Findings: A Wake-Up Call 65% of respondents detected at least one OT-related cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months. 60% of cybersecurity leaders believe their budget is not enough to protect their operations 29% of respondents were concerned that an OT security incident could disrupt their production. 26% of respondents admitted having low or medium levels of visibility into the operations of their network. 26% of respondents worry that attacks could compromise the safety of their employees or others Just […]
Advanced Manufacturing Aotearoa (AMA)* is a new cross-sector incorporated society representing manufacturing businesses across the country. It will be industry-driven and work alongside all stakeholders to coordinate business-led initiatives that help deliver Advanced Manufacturing Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) outcomes. Business-led ITP initiatives Initiative 15: Strengthening Advanced Manufacturing networks Initiative 6: Individual development plans Initiative 8: Attraction strategy to increase workers and diversity Initiative 13: Improving understanding and perceptions of Initiative 15. Strengthening advanced manufacturing networks is one of four priorities that AMA is responsible for leading. The process for proposals for programmes to meet Initiative 15. Strengthening advanced manufacturing networks is open until 5pm, Sunday, September 24, 2023. What is Initiative 15? Initiative 15 is designed to strengthen advanced manufacturing networks to ensure healthy, inclusive advanced manufacturing networks that collaborate to deliver on ITP priorities. The AMA is developing a preferred model to strengthen networks and collaboration. It is piloting a regional approach to ITP outcomes through leveraging what is already working, while enhancing connection with unions, research institutions, and organisations representing Māori and Pasifika manufacturers. There is $2m in the first year in seed funding allocated equally for national initiatives and across 10 Regional Manufacturing Working Groups to support those regions to develop, pilot and evaluate a preferred model. The proposal will outline the approach, programme, and activities to best deliver the outcomes. Ideas are also being sought for national initiatives to deliver Initiative 15 outcomes. Please contact the AMA interim Executive Director for more details. How will proposals be considered? AMA will seek proposals for, assess, and make recommendations to the ITP Steering Group, for each of the initiatives above. This will be done in conjunction with the AMA Council, which will co-ordinate 10 Regional Manufacturing Working Groups, participating industry associations, and the AMA Board, made up of […]
