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Connecting the dots

David Altena has 30 years of tech industry experience and is a founding director of The Better SMB Limited. david@altena.solutions Rob Bull, Director of the New Zealand Lean Academy rob@nzla.nz Connecting The Dots Everyone’s busy, capable and pulling in different directions Most manufacturers know what they need to do, but they’re doing it in pieces, with strategy, people and operations moving separately instead of together. The result is a growing list of sensible initiatives, moving in different directions and quietly cancelling each other out. We have explored several of the pressures facing New Zealand manufacturers – the cost of doing nothing, the investment gap many businesses create for themselves and the disciplines that separate the top performers from the rest. For some, that may have translated into a familiar feeling: we know what could be better here. The harder question is this: are those improvements connected inside your business, or are they sitting in different conversations, owned by different people, progressing at different speeds? Because when effort isn’t aligned, even good decisions create friction. The business stays busy, capable people work hard – and progress stalls. Direction without traction Most manufacturers have a strategy of some sort, even if it lives largely in the owner’s head. There is usually a clear sense of where to take the business, what needs to change and what success should look like. The problem is not ambition. It’s translation. Strategy often moves in one direction, while day‑to‑day decisions move in another. It doesn’t change what gets reviewed weekly, what leaders spend their time on, or what behaviours are rewarded or tolerated. The strategic intent exists, but it never reaches the work. When that happens, people make sensible decisions based on local priorities, not enterprise direction. No one […]

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 […]

SAP research finds cultivating curiosity helps Kiwi businesses retain talent

A curious workplace culture contributes to attracting and retaining talent, by increasing engagement and reducing burnout among employees. SAP has found New Zealand companies that foster a more curious culture* experience major competitive benefits, including higher levels of employee satisfaction and engagement according to new research released today. ‘Capitalising on Curiosity’ , a survey of senior business leaders and employees across Australia and New Zealand, found that employees in New Zealand who work for organisations with a curious culture are much more likely to say they are satisfied in their current role (82 per cent) than those who do not work for curious organisations (46 per cent). Dr Amantha Imber, organisational psychologist and founder of behavioural science consultancy Inventium, says that job satisfaction is affected by how people think and feel about their role. “When people are satisfied in their role at work, they’re more engaged, productive and loyal to the organisation. Those working in curious organisations are more likely to feel their work has purpose and more likely to be more creative and innovative, which results in better performance and better outcomes.” Curiosity boosts engagement Innovative approaches to ways of work and recruitment are more critical than ever. Eight in ten senior business leaders in New Zealand believe a culture of curiosity is important for their organisation, a number that increases slightly to 82 per cent when factoring in the need to adapt and grow in the current challenging business environment. New Zealanders working at organisations with a curious culture are much more likely say they feel engaged at work in their current role than those who say they work in incurious organisations (84 per cent compared to 49 per cent). And in today’s tight labour market, almost half of employees surveyed (48 per cent) would consider leaving their […]

Market demand enables tech drive expansion

SEW-Eurodrive, a global market leader in drive technology, the technology of transforming energy into motion, recently expanded its services and product range in New Zealand with the opening of its new purpose-built Service Centre and Warehouse at Nandina Avenue, East Tamaki, adjacent to their existing premises. An owner-operated international company formed in 1931 with a footprint in 50 countries, SEW-Eurodrive employs over 17,000 staff globally and turns over 3 billion Euro annually. New Zealand accounts for 48 of those staff numbers; eight in the Christchurch sales and assembly plant and 40 in the East Tamaki head office, working in sales, support, administration and production. Electric motors formed the beginnings of the company but the SEW-Eurodrive name now stands for much more and their product range includes geared motors, gear units, industrial gear units, motors, components for decentralised installation, electronically controlled drives, mechanical variable-speed gear units as well as drive solutions that involve complex engineering, not to mention a comprehensive range of services and maintenance. Managing Director, John Hainsworth explains, “Everything needs to be moved and we provide the means to move it. Ours is a big industry and everything is affected. “For example, the process of picking fruit to it being on your table, it’s got to get there and there are many motion processes in between. That’s our business, getting product from point A to point B through those processes.” SEW-Eurodrive supplies a large sector of the New Zealand domestic industry and work closely with OEM (original equipment manufacturers) and big brand end users alike to provide cost effective solutions. SEW-Eurodrive entered the New Zealand market in 1988 and purchased a building in East Tamaki. In 1996, the neighbouring section was purchased, and a new building was constructed specifically for their needs with the original being leased. When the tenants recently moved out, SEW-Eurodrive […]

Unfree and Unfair

Industries in Europe and in countries like New Zealand ascribe to, and operate according to, free market mechanisms. -Nick Inskip It’s quite eye opening to see the claims made around the world against countries and companies accused of dumping products in markets. Whether it’s the USA investigating steel towers for the wind industry, imported from China and Vietnam, where it is claimed they are subsidised at a rate of above 20%, or The President of TATA Steel Thailand, Mr. Peeyush Gupta asking the Thai government to raise import tariffs by 15.9% on steel wire rods from China, because it is claimed that Chinese companies can sell steel wire at below Thai market prices because Beijing subsidises the product with an export tax rebate of 9%. Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, China’s crude steel output is expected to increase by 4.6% in 2013 bringing their output to 750 million tons. This represents a slowing in growth of output when compared with 2009 -2011 when output was growing by 10% pa, but still means a serious oversupply of around 50 million tons in the Chinese market. While these figures are concerning, Vice-Secretary General of the China Iron and Steel Association, Chi Jingdong, said at a recent conference, that total steel capacity was actually 980 million tons, meaning a potential oversupply approaching 300 million tons. While increased supply over demand, may mean reduced prices for people buying Chinese steel it also means that local Chinese manufacturers can buy cheap and sell resulting plant into overseas markets, at prices which are artificially held low by the controlled exchange rate for the Yuan in China and the lack of market drivers that should have seen the closing of older inefficient steel plants as they became less profitable. This would have reduced the oversupply situation, […]

We can catch Australia – by manufacturing our way to success

There is only one way we will catch Australia in wage rates and standard of living, and that is by growing our manufacturing sector. Various reports have concluded productivity in New Zealand is low compared to other developed countries and while that is true as an average across the whole economy, it is not true in the manufacturing sector. Professor Paul Callaghan from Victoria University has calculated what we need to produce per employee to catch up with Australia and manufacturing is clearly miles ahead of any other sector. By his calculation we need to exceed $143,000 of revenue per employee. Manufacturing revenue per employee is $240,000 (total manufacturing) or $250,000 (manufactured exports). Fonterra comes in at $550,000 revenue per employee and Fisher and Paykel healthcare comes in at $400,000. This is clearly the way to go, we need more manufacturers with high productivity and we need them to grow their business. While tourism is a high export earner for the country and is very important, its productivity per employee is relatively low. Tourism’s economic contribution divided by the number of full time employees is $77,814 revenue per employee, well below the $143,000 we need to catch Australia. It is well known that in order to have a better standard of living, the most important factor is our productivity. Productivity, some economists say, is not everything, but is nearly everything. Productivity does not mean working harder, it means working smarter. Making and exporting higher value, higher profit goods and services, per hour worked. I include services in the definition of manufacturing, because modern manufacturers are increasingly adding services into their business offering. Take Tait Electronics as an example. They don’t just manufacture and sell hand held communication devices for police and other emergency services; they also provide all the necessary […]

“The Antarctic Apprentice” debuts on Facebook!

Right now you can follow the adventures of 20 year-old Joel McGregor of Oamaru, who is undertaking one of the most extreme general engineering apprenticeship opportunities in the world – living and working on Scott Base in Antarctica. The position calls for an apprentice to work as a ‘Summer Engineer’ at Scott Base, to become an integral part of the engineering group supporting New Zealand’s activities in Antarctica. The role includes general fabrication, machining and mechanical fitting work as an integral member of the maintenance crew onsite at the base, but also requires creativity to design and build ad-hoc items required by the team. Joel won the role after a being put forward by his Competenz-ATNZ account manager, Murray Welsh, and he passed with ‘flying colours’ after extensive interviews and testing with ATNZ and his seconding employers, Antarctica New Zealand. “I spent three weeks training in Christchurch, and then my first week down here on the ice to prepare for the conditions,” says Joel. He admits his first impressions of Antarctica had him totally ‘gob-smacked’. “I’ve never seen so much snow in my life, you think you’re in a dream because it’s unlike anywhere else in the world – it’s like I’m on another planet!” Joel has learnt to brave the -24 degree weather and is starting to get into a good working and learning routine with his fellow engineers. “A normal day’s work for me starts at 8.00am with a workshop meeting to plan the day’s activities, and then we head off to do our tasks and checks, and fabricate objects anyone may want or need.” nextSTEP Visit: Facebook, log in and search for ‘The Antarctic Apprentice’ fan page -click the ‘Like’ button to become a fan, and follow Joel’s experience today!

Regional business partners being found

NZTE and TechNZ (the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology’s business investment programme) have appointed the first organisations to our new joint network of 14 Regional Business Partners and are close to finalising the entire network of ‘NZTE-TechNZ Regional Business Partners’ who will become a natural first point of contact for businesses around New Zealand seeking government assistance. The development expands on TechNZ’s previous network of nine Regional Partners who worked with emerging technology businesses to support them to undertake research and development projects. The new Regional Business Partners, based on regional council boundaries, will be funded by NZTE and TechNZ to employ staff with business development skills and research and development (R&D) expertise. They will work with local businesses and provide a range of advice and access to funding and support focused on assisting them to grow their business. Support available includes: An assessment of business needs, which will help Regional Business Partners point businesses to appropriate information, advice, and support. NZTE Capability Development Vouchers, which the managers of eligible small businesses will be able to use as partial payment for the cost of management capability building services. R&D funding via the Foundation’s TechNZ programme of funds and services. Hamish Campbell, the Foundation’s Manager of Investment Services, said TechNZ had invested $7.1 million in hundreds of companies nationwide during the past two years and the success of its network had contributed to the idea to form a joint network of Regional Business Partners with NZTE. “The Regional Business Partner model is one that small and medium-sized businesses have responded to. Our partners have helped companies around New Zealand undertake innovative projects to develop new products, employ undergraduate and masters students, and engage experts to assess their R&D strategy and provide advice. “The new network builds on what we’ve learned, […]

Craftsmanship critical for success

I like the attitude of Peter Rocque, the boss of Acton Tools who believes in the value of skills and craftsmanship to resurrect the global economy. He also believes it is time to bring in the redundant, the newly arrived immigrants, the graduates and give them a chance, reinforced by industry knowledge. Help train them, rent them work area space and use of machinery and face the fact that no one else is going to fund anyone in this environment. I don’t know about you but all of this makes perfectly good sense to me. In actual fact it is has a common sense, logical way to go appeal about it. Peter’s thoughts may be the same ones that you have. You may be doing similar things within your company, to move ahead, process the orders and build for the future. Assist with the country’s economic growth. Are you? If that’s the case, why don’t people know about it? Are you guarded about company activities and don’t want to share, as Peter does, through a fear of releasing important information,on the state of your business or are you just too busy to communicate your philosophy for success? If everything at your company is going swimmingly well, then congratulations, and keep up the good work because the country needs manufacturing success today like never before. Where ever you are, in Ashburton, Timaru or Kaitaia, I suggest you take the advice that Peter offers; and that is do not be the decline of manufacturing. Look after the tradespeople in your company. Look for the signs, don’t use band aids and preserve the future. Finally, there are a lot of companies winning awards lately. Gaining overseas orders and contracts? Is your company one of the lucky ones? Let us know and we’ll share […]

‘We Need to Talk’

How to Break Bad News to Your Boss By Megan Alexander, general manager Robert Half New Zealand No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. Even if you have a positive relationship with your boss, there are conversations you probably dread, such as explaining that you made a mistake on an important report. As tempting as it may be to bury your head in the sand, it’s best to confront a difficult situation head-on. Here are five tips for approaching your manager with bad news: Share it in person. When possible, meet with your supervisor face to face to explain what has happened. This will allow for an easier exchange of information and shows that you take the situation seriously. Don’t delay. As disappointing or problematic as the news may be, it is better to tell your manager straight away than for him or her to hear it through the office grapevine. Supervisors want to be aware of important situations affecting their employees, department and company so they can take immediate action. Offer solutions. Before you present bad news to your boss, think about potential ways to correct the problem. Discuss with him or her specific steps you have already taken and share your ideas for reaching a successful resolution. Avoid the blame game. Take the high road and focus on the issue at hand, not the people who may be at fault. However, if you are the one responsible for the situation, admit your role as soon as possible. Anticipate the reaction. Every supervisor is different, so tailor your approach accordingly. If your manager likes to have information in writing, for example, bring a memo to the meeting that you can leave behind detailing the situation and strategies for a positive outcome. If there is a financial […]

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