Editorial

Feeding the Machine

From: September issue of NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz The Hidden Human Labour Powering A.I. Callum Cant, James Muldoon, Mark Graham For readers of Naomi Klein and Nicole Perlroth, a myth-dissolving exposé of how artificial intelligence exploits human labour, and a resounding argument for a more equitable digital future. Silicon Valley has sold us the illusion that artificial intelligence is a frictionless technology that will bring wealth and prosperity to humanity. But hidden beneath this smooth surface lies the grim reality of a precarious global workforce of millions labouring under often appalling conditions to make A.I. possible. This book presents an urgent, riveting investigation of the intricate network that maintains this exploitative system, revealing the untold truth of A.I. Based on hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of fieldwork over more than a decade, Feeding the Machine describes the lives of the workers deliberately concealed from view, and the power structures that determine their future. It gives voice to the people whom A.I. exploits, from accomplished writers and artists to the armies of data annotators, content moderators and warehouse workers, revealing how their dangerous, low-paid labour is connected to longer histories of gendered, racialised, and colonial exploitation. A.I. is an extraction machine that feeds off humanity’s collective effort and intelligence, churning through ever-larger datasets to power its algorithms. This book is a call to arms that details what we need to do to fight for a more just digital future.

Reducing manufacturing emissions

Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister of Manufacturing Manufacturing is a significant sector for New Zealand. It employs 230,000 people and accounts for nearly 10 per cent of GDP and 60 per cent of exports. I often describe it as a “sleeping giant” for New Zealand’s economy, because its significance is not well understood. When I travel around the country promoting the manufacturing sector, one of the things I often remind people is that a career in manufacturing is a career in a highly advanced, technical field. A lesser-known fact is that approximately a quarter of all New Zealand’s business-led research and development comes from the manufacturing sector, meaning manufacturing is a key driver of innovation. However, to support this innovation, manufacturers need the right tools and resources. I know from talking to manufacturers that access to information and expert guidance on how to upskill and improve productivity is challenging. Which is why I was delighted to recently launch a set of tools to help empower manufacturers to grow their business and reduce their emissions. Emissions and waste mapping The first is a report that identifies and maps the manufacturing sector’s emissions and waste patterns. Titled ‘Mapping Emissions and Waste Stream Profiles, and Opportunities for Achieving Net-Zero Circular Advanced Manufacturing’, the report is based on waste and emissions data from 2019 (the most recent data available). It provides a comprehensive picture of waste, emissions, and opportunities to improve sustainability across the seven main manufacturing subsectors: food and beverage, machinery and equipment, other manufacturing, metal and metal products, chemicals and refining, wood and paper, and plastics and rubber. The report details challenges and opportunities for the sector with a goal of helping manufacturers identify opportunities to adopt low-emissions technology and increase circular manufacturing practices which, in turn, will help us reduce our […]

Nature is in the business news

From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz With good reason. In the next few years, New Zealand manufacturers can expect to be called on to answer these two questions. How is your business reducing your impacts on nature? How will changes to nature affect your business? Who’ll be asking these questions? Governments, regulators and financiers like lenders. They’re realising that centuries of degrading nature (the ecosystems that make up land, oceans, freshwater and the atmosphere) is not only depleting biodiversity. It’s having financial and economic impacts on businesses too. These parties are adding weight to environmentalists’ calls for urgent change. In this article we explain what this means for manufacturers in Aotearoa New Zealand. The need for change The World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks Report ranks dwindling biodiversity and collapsing ecosystems among the five most severe risks to business in the next ten years. The UK Green Finance Institute’s recent report makes sobering reading. It identifies and measures the country’s nature-related risks. The report confirms that these risks are as harmful as the risks of climate change, and that nature and climate are linked. Zoonotic diseases, declining soil health, slips, floods, food insecurity and lost production will affect all sectors – including manufacturing. The economic impacts could be worse than the Global Financial Crisis or Covid-19. The report concludes that the UK must transition its economy urgently to valuing and investing in the environment. As 50 percent of the country’s risks come from overseas (including New Zealand), UK regulators and financial institutions will require businesses to scrutinise their supply chains. We expect other trading partners, including the EU, to take a similar stance. Nature Positive, the global goal for nature The world has agreed a biodiversity equivalent for the global goal that limits global warming. Nature Positive is made up […]

NZ Wool Industry to benefit from multi-million dollar marketing investment

-Mark Devlin New Zealand’s rural sector is set to benefit from a multi-million dollar marketing investment by one of the country’s largest wool carpet manufacturers, designed to address misconceptions about the natural fibre and grow exports. New Zealand is the world’s third largest producer of wool, accounting for 9% of global production, however, the country’s export revenue from wool is projected to fall by 3% to $380 million over the coming year.[1][2] The planned $2 million plus advertising investment from Bremworth is believed to be one of the highest ever from a Kiwi company to support a wool product brand. The spend will also provide a financial boost for local print, billboards, online and broadcast media titles, in an otherwise flat local advertising market. The company has appointed New Zealand’s largest independent media agency, Together, to help develop and implement a series of new campaigns for the domestic and trans-Tasman markets to help elevate wool flooring. The move follows ongoing upgrades to the manufacturer’s supply chain, which are expected to lift production volumes and help meet growing domestic and global demand for Bremworth’s wool carpet. Rochelle Flint, chief brand and product officer of Bremworth, says it is hoped one of their largest-ever investments in developing their brand will also help stimulate demand for New Zealand wool and help address the decline in domestic production. She says their research shows while three-quarters of homeowners would prefer to have wool in their homes, a similar proportion are not actually purchasing wool – with synthetic flooring continuing to dominate the market. Flint says with their expanded supply chain now in place, manufacturing volumes can be scaled significantly in response to demand, presenting an opportunity to increase conversion and grow market share in both the domestic and Australian markets. “Our research has identified a […]

Digital Factory Accelerator: Driving Northern Ireland’s Manufacturing into the Future

From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz -Adam Sharman, Senior Partner, Dsifer As New Zealand’s manufacturing industry continues to evolve in the face of global challenges, it’s crucial to look beyond our shores for inspiration and insights. In this article, we review the approach taken in Northern Ireland, where a pioneering initiative is reshaping the manufacturing landscape. This case study offers valuable lessons for New Zealand manufacturers seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and Industry 4.0. In an ambitious move to boost the competitiveness of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector, a groundbreaking initiative called the Digital Factory Accelerator (DFA) has recently concluded its pilot phase. This innovative program, spearheaded by the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) and Invest Northern Ireland in partnership with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) and LMAC Group, aims to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies across the region’s diverse manufacturing landscape. The DFA pilot, which wrapped up in June 2024, involved 32 companies ranging from small enterprises to large multinationals. Using the internationally recognised Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) assessment tool, the program provided participating companies with a comprehensive evaluation of their digital maturity and a roadmap for future transformation. One of the differentiators of SIRI is the ability to benchmark globally based on company size, and by sector. The DFA pilot used the XIRI analytics platform provided by INCIT to develop meaningful insights that are crucial in shaping strategies for manufacturing within regions. Key findings from the pilot revealed that Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector, while producing world-class products and services, lags behind international benchmarks in terms of digital adoption. The average SIRI score for UK manufacturing companies was 1.12, significantly lower than the peer group average of 1.84 (on a scale of 0-5). This gap highlights both the challenges and opportunities facing the […]

Digital Capability – A Critical Lever for Success

From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz David O’Connor, Commercial Manager, The Learning Wave One of the greatest challenges for any organisation is the cost and effort of onboarding a new employee . This is further amplified in a tight job market where you may need to recruit individuals who do not have the core skills you would normally deem essential to be productive and work safely in your environment. The need to have a pipeline of skilled and capable workers with a broad range of transferable skills, strong work ethic and the right attitude is critical to enable long term business success. The training and educational sector have a role to play in enabling access to the right training pathways to ensure the continual development and upskilling of the team to prepare them for that next career step or business change. In Manufacturing, the productivity challenge is clearly rooted in a skills deficit, with many individuals lacking the essential skills and capability needed to fully leverage modern manufacturing practices. This skills gap has a significant impact on team work, employee engagement, safety and operational efficiency, leading to poor staff retention, low efficiency, higher error rates and increased waste As Manufacturing plants become increasingly technology dependent, this skill gap is unfortunately amplified and an urgent fix becomes even more essential. Foundational digital literacy is often inaccurately assumed as a skill held by most kiwis. According to the 2014 Survey of Adult Skills survey (PIAAC) the reality of this is that 55% of workers do not have the right level of digital competency to be successful in their roles. Meaning that over half of our workforce has low/poor Problem solving skills in technology rich work environments. If Digital literacy is deemed critical to success, then we have to question why those who […]

Coming full circle

From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz By EMA Head of Manufacturing Jane Finlayson Global demand for sustainable goods is increasing, and among New Zealand manufacturers there’s an urgent need to innovate to remain competitive. From SMEs up to huge multinationals, ‘business as usual’ won’t be enough to meet the sustainability challenges the world faces. Legislation both in New Zealand and overseas will force the hand of many manufacturers. In New Zealand, regulations such as the Emissions Reduction Plan will place an increasingly high cost on manufacturing emissions. Overseas, the likes of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will have an impact on our exported products. The CBAM is a tool that puts a price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the EU, and to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries. But sustainability is also good business. Like any strategic initiative done right, it can reduce costs, increase revenue and mitigate risks. Sustainability is about futureproofing. In late July, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing Andrew Bayly launched a report with compelling new research on the circular economy. It is intended to support the growth and resilience of New Zealand’s advanced manufacturing sector by identifying and mapping the sector’s emissions and waste patterns and finding ways for businesses to adopt net-zero circular manufacturing practices. The aim is to move away from a linear economy to one that ‘designs out’ waste and pollution, keeps resources in use for as long as possible, then recovers and regenerates products. The EMA and other industry experts fed into the report, ‘Mapping Emissions and Waste Data in the Manufacturing Sector’, which found that circular economy practices do exist in New Zealand, within and across all the manufacturing subsectors, but they differ greatly. The key similarity was in challenges around waste. Of the 17 […]

It’s all about the people!

From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co Last month, I wrote an article on productivity (Productivity – The Only Game in Town) and I received a few questions and comments relating to the skills gaps we have in New Zealand. I’d really encourage you to read that article if you haven’t yet, and I can hopefully address those questions and comments here. https://nzmanufacturer.co.nz/2024/07/productivity-is-the-only-game-in-town/ As I noted in my last article, a skilled workforce is vital for productivity growth. If we want to have a great place to live, bring up families and enjoy the best economy that both New Zealand can offer, then we must have great people with the right skills leading our businesses, creating value and growth. Of course I’m not the only person who knows this; I’m regularly asked by hiring managers whether I know of a good candidate to join their company. Sometimes I can help, but more often than not, I simply don’t know enough people to fill all the vacancies in these companies. Recent macroeconomic analysis is showing clearly that differences in education and skills explain much of the international differences in long-term growth rates. Improvements in skills at all levels of ability seem to matter. Increases in both the proportion of top achievers and the proportion with at least a minimal level of literacy and numeracy are correlated with higher economic growth rates. However, the current approach in industry seems to be to promote the best operator to foreperson, team leader etc. and assume they will know what to do and how to do it. The other approach is to hire someone, under the assumption that the market is teeming with highly capable and skilled individuals. Little-to-no training and development is offered by most employers, and we have […]

Oasis Engineering – energy and fuel transfer specialist to the world

From August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz Export award winning, Tauranga based Oasis Engineering continues to expand its international market as a specialist manufacturer delivering world leading solutions to those pushing the boundaries of energy and fluid transfer for the benefit of humanity and the environment. The company originally began as the maintenance division of a soft drink brand but was separated during a restructuring during the 1980’s. The new company quickly established a strong reputation as a machine shop that reliably produced high tolerance precision machined parts in difficult to work materials such as stainless steel and titanium. This led to work manufacturing valves and couplings that were required for the new and emerging Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel market for a major CNG supply company and this quickly expanded to every major CNG supplier and to every significant CNG market in more than 40 countries. Today Oasis Engineering is part of the ELAFLEX Group of Companies of Hamburg and is manufacturing precision CNG, LPG and Hydrogen reticulation products for the world market with approximately 80% of production going to the USA, 10% to other world markets and 10% to the local New Zealand market. The company is well placed to meet the demands of emerging markets including Hydrogen and Methane for heavy transport vehicles and renewable Natural Gas with sales doubling within the last two years. Oasis also produces specially designed high quality fluid couplings for the milk industry trailers. This state-of-the-art manufacturer is fully accredited to ISO 9001:2015 with product testing facilities including a Hydrostatic test rig rated to 4000 BAR and an Environmental Test Chamber rated between -800C and +1850C. A new addition will be a Hydrogen product test laboratory which is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of the year. Meeting the demands for the […]

‘We haven’t the money, so we’ve got to think”

EDITORIAL: From August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz These words were spoken by Lord Sir Ernest Rutherford, Nobel Laureate. Since he spoke them, some inspiring products have been made. These include The Martin JetPack, The Yike Bike, The Springfree Trampoline, Woollen Shoes, The Pavlova, Richars Pearse’s Flying Machine, Hamilton Jet, The Buzzy Bee…and the list goes on. What is significant about these products is that they were made at a time when there wasn’t the money available. Through sheer determination and effort, they found markets and advanced New Zealand’s name on the world stage as an innovative and go-ahead nation. There are a lot more products that have made the country proud and celebrated the entrepreneurs determined to get ahead. However, times have been changing and their is a lack of attention focussing on the productive sector. Financial corrections have been made to get the books in order and, now, support is urgently needed for our manufacturers. Nowhere in the Budget did we hear of the importance of the manufacturing sector to the economy, that all efforts were appreciated and when times get better, assistance would be offered to keep the backbone of the country strong. It seems that Government has gone too far with its slash and burn. The country of 5,000,000 can’t all dance on the top of the designated pin. Anyway, back to the inventions: The Britten Motorcycle, Wave Power, Conducting Polymers, Carbon Nanotubes, The Electric Fence, the Hamburger Holder…

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