Editorial

Quality compressed air for trades and workshop applications

Anyone looking for a super-quiet, efficient and cost-effective supply of quality compressed air for their workshop requires a user-oriented solution. With the space-saving i.Comp 8 and 9, Kaeser Compressors introduces a completely new compressed air supply concept that has been specifically developed with this field of use in mind. These units are tough, powerful, compact, easy to maintain, efficient and much more. At the heart of the new i.Comp family is a new drive concept, which provides a multitude of advantages. It delivers the necessary power to cover the required compressed air demand with infinitely variable control. i.Comp family reciprocating compressors can operate with 100 percent duty cycles. Intelligent solutions – such as drawing the air for compression in through the piston head – ensure exceptional filling performance and, as a result, outstanding efficiency. With a volumetric flow rate of 412 to 580 l/min, the i.Comp Towers can be used for a wide range of workshop and trades applications and assure a constant pressure of up to 11 bar with absolute operational reliability. Made from roto-moulded polyethylene to enable optimum corrosion- and impact-resistance, the attractive sound enclosure not only hides an advanced all-in-one compressed air station comprising a compressor and a refrigeration dryer, but also keeps sound levels to a minimum and helps retain system value. Kaeser’s field-proven Sigma Control 2 controller allows pressure preselection and infinitely variable speed operation, as well as connection to a master controller such as the Sigma Air Manager 4.0. Since i.Comp Tower systems deliver oil-free compressed air, no oil enters the compressed air supply itself. This in turn eliminates the potential for accumulation of oil-contaminated condensate that would otherwise have to be carefully disposed of. In addition, there is no need for oil changes or oil inspection, which of course further reduces overall service […]

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.

A new kind of teacher

It’s back to school, and you know what that means — time to fire up the computer that teaches you! That’s what primary school students in New Zealand have to look forward to, anyways. They’ll soon be the first students in the world to learn from an artificially intelligent (AI) digital avatar. Meet Will Auckland energy company Vector teamed up with AI company Soul Machines to create the avatar, which goes by the name Will. The AI is now part of Vector’s Be Sustainable with Energy program, which it offers free-of-charge to schools to which it provides electricity. Will’s there to teach children about energy use. Students interact with Will — essentially just a face on a screen — via their desktop, tablet, or mobile device. He teaches them about different forms of renewable energy, such as solar and wind. Will can then ask the students questions about what they’ve learned to ensure the lessons stick. According to Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, students seem particularly taken by Will. “What was fascinating to me was the reaction of the children to Will. The way they look at the world is so creative and different, and Will really captured their attention.” He went on to add, “Using a digital human is a very compelling method to deliver new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a means to deliver cost-effective, rich, educational experiences into the future.” An education crisis Ravishankar isn’t the only person who thinks robots — in the form of AI software programs like Will, or actual humanoid machines — will soon play a major role in education. In February 2017, futurist Thomas Frey predicted that learning from bots will be commonplace by 2031. Meanwhile, British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks […]

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 […]

Farra positions itself for the future

Evolution in industry is inevitable and keeping up with the engineering impact is vital for survival. Cast your mind back to the skills, tools and processes from your own beginnings and change is obvious. How we machine, weld, prepare, fabricate, protect and maintain has changed radically without even mentioning manning levels and skills shortages. So what are some of New Zealand’s founding engineering companies doing to stop becoming a dinosaur statistic? The Maintenance Engineering Society (MESNZ) took the opportunity to find out more when it brought its Kaeser Compressors Network Evening series to Dunedin’s Farra Engineering. With a 100 year history, Farra Engineering is well represented locally and globally with some impressive engineering feats and capability. New Zealand industry however has little respect for history and successive governments have made an art form out of ignoring industries future needs, leaving businesses to look after their own futures and the human infrastructure required to support the business. From the markets it participates in, to the age and capability of its plant and the people that it brings into the business, Farra are working hard to remain a force for the future. The moment you walk through the door the evidence is inescapable; in house built architecture, staff-created artwork and modern layouts open out to a sprawling complex mixing traditional large capacity machining plant with digital sheet metal centres, high technology powder coating line and massive fabrication capacity. The skills shortage experienced throughout the country is no different in Dunedin although the key issue for CEO Gareth Evans is not the smart skills but the core apprentice trade skills that are paramount in the area. Here too, Fara is taking a leading role in solving the issue, participating with a local manufacturing group in an initiative to promote trades careers to school […]

Eight myths about AI’s effect on the workplace

The interplay between technology and work has always been a hot topic. While technology has typically created more jobs than it has destroyed on a historical basis, this context rarely stops people from believing that things are “different” this time around. In this case, it’s the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) that is being hotly debated by the media and expert commentators. Although there is no doubt that AI will be a transformative force in business, the recent attention on the subject has also led to many common misconceptions about the technology and its anticipated effects. AI is going to be a seismic shift in business – and it’s expected to create a $15.7 trillion economic impact globally by 2030. But understandably, monumental shifts like this tend to make people nervous, resulting in many unanswered questions and misconceptions about the technology and what it will do in the workplace. Demystifying myths Here are the eight debunked myths about AI: 1. Automation will completely displace employees Truth: 70% of employers see AI in supporting humans in completing business processes. Meanwhile, only 11% of employers believe that automation will take over the work found in jobs and business processes to a “great extent”. 2. Companies are primarily interested in cutting costs with AI Truth: 84% of employers see AI as obtaining or sustaining a competitive advantage, and 75% see AI as a way to enter into new business areas. 63% see pressure to reduce costs as a reason to use AI. 3. AI, machine learning, and deep learning are the same thing Truth: AI is a broader term, while machine learning is a subset of AI that enables “intelligence” by using training algorithms and data. Deep learning is an even narrower subset of machine learning inspired by the interconnected neurons of […]

Seequent’s strong growth leads to export award nomination

Seequent is helping customers in over 90 countries make better decisions about the world’s earth, environment and energy challenges. Shaun Maloney, CEO of Seequent, says the nomination is a fantastic acknowledgement for the team who have delivered some stunning achievements for the company over the past “really big” year. “We’ve continued to grow strongly – launching major new products for the civil engineering and environmental industries, as well as continuing to deliver new innovation for the mining and minerals and geothermal energy industries. We’ve also completed a major rebranding exercise to better reflect our capability in a wider range of industries, which has been driven by multi-million dollar R&D efforts each year for the past 6 years.” Seequent is known worldwide for its Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software, initially developed for the mining and minerals industry, to provide insight and confidence for important investment and environmental decisions. Today, civil engineering, environmental and geothermal energy industries also rely on Seequent’s software to better understand subsurface geology and manage geological risk on a diverse range of projects. Maloney says the company’s technology is involved in some of the world’s most important and challenging projects, including the first final repository for nuclear waste in Finland, multi-country vehicle and rail tunnel projects in Europe and water quality projects globally. “We were also recently amazed to hear our Leapfrog Works software had been used by a local team to create a 3D model of the Tham Luang cave system, where 12 boys and their coach were recently trapped, to help communicate the high-level geological complexity of the caves area to rescue teams.” The Christchurch headquartered company has people in 15 locations in its five territories: Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America, North America and Europe.

Industry calls for plan for waste management

Workers and consumers will be paying the price of reforms which drive up the cost of doing business if we don’t have a balanced debate on the management of the country’s waste stream, says Packaging New Zealand – one it says needs to be founded in fact, not just emotion. Packaging New Zealand’s Executive Director Sharon Humphreys says the industry’s current challenges lie in halting the hysteria whipped up over such issues as plastics bags, which presents a very real threat of being extended to packaging generally. “We can all find and exploit examples of poor packaging, but these should not be permitted to overshadow the industry’s strong track record of responding innovatively to customer demands and regulatory requirements, while meeting its waste management needs. “New packaging technologies and materials can be disruptive, evidenced by the impact of 3D printing technology or printing electronics directly onto packaging material. However, the focus on continuous improvement and efficiency gains provides for gradual advances which can be equally transformative in impact, such as the significant reduction in the amount of packaging material through ‘light weighting’ or re-design. Humphreys says the packaging industry will continue to react to the changing dynamics of trade, and the scale and speed of that change will be driven by factors which are largely outside its control. “In this context there has never been a more urgent need for a balanced debate, because right now facts and evidence are coming a poor second to emotive images such as pictures of divers swimming through society’s detritus, and sea-life consuming plastic bags. “Our organisation has long advocated for a broader discussion about the role of packaging alongside waste management and recycling, so it is encouraging to see that some commentators are also now seeing the merits of a more comprehensive approach […]

Airport evening takes off

The chance to poke around an international airport is not to be missed so it was no surprise the full house sign went up in record time when the Maintenance Engineering Society (MESNZ) was invited to bring its Kaeser Compressors Network Evening Series to Auckland International Airport in July. Building on the 2016 visit where the attendees were treated to an up close and personal view of the push back preparations for an international flight, Kevin Ingle and his team extended this year’s tour through the baggage handling and service sections of the facility, providing an insight into the complexities of maintaining and constantly improving a facility that is a player on the world stage. With CAA clearance, the party of 50 plus were bussed in from the Maintenance Depot to the International Apron to view a world seldom seen by the general public. Receiving, processing, servicing and turning around a gigantic 500-ton A380 requires a symphony of separate actions and interactions as well as impeccable plant reliability. Even something as simple as an airbridge can have catastrophic effect if it malfunctions or fails to function. On the tarmac, a huge amount of effort goes into getting passengers, baggage and refreshments on board, communications established, pre-flight checks, etc. From here the group split up for a dual tour of the baggage loading hall and the impressive service area featuring the teams latest HVAC plant. The amount of effort that goes into making a passengers experience effortless is amazing. Kevin Ingle and his team are responsible for a 1500ha mini city that demands uninterrupted major infrastructures 24/7 including buildings, services, HVAC, wildlife, terminals and runways. Failure is unthinkable, and the demands are high. Yet the team are the most well balanced affable people you could meet and somehow you get the […]

«‹ 70 71 72 73 ›»

News Ticker

Editorial