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Major international collaboration at the forefront of Construction 4.0

Dr Troy Coyle, HERA CEO I was on leave in the middle of the Australian bush, koala spotting, when we got the great news that after years of work in the background, our Endeavour Funding bid for $10.3 million had been successful. The need for this project had been brought to my attention during my member visits in my first 90 days as CEO of HERA, initially by Wayne Carson, Managing Director of D&H Steel Construction. I asked other members for their views in subsequent meetings, and heard the industry reflect that this was a big issue. How it was told to me (in summary) that there was a nexus between design, construction and beyond, leading to inefficiencies. There was a lot of data and knowledge floating around but it wasn’t connected, optimised or in an easily used form. Having established that it was a broader problem for the sector, I knew HERA had to do something to assist in solving that problem, including how decisions were optimised for sustainability. I also knew this was going to be a technically challenging (and huge) project requiring an Industry 4.0 approach. That member feedback, along with HERA’s commitment to its vision “of securing tomorrow’s future by innovating today” is what led us on a four-year long journey to get this project running. Why is this project important for the sector? Currently, there is a profound limitation in the way construction is performed in Aotearoa New Zealand. The challenge is that complex decisions are being made based on simple data inputs. Decision points in the process are in linear silos with little inter-connection or data-derived decision support. The process is entrenched and far from optimised. For example, designers do not have adequate tools to optimise designs for ease of manufacture/fabrication, let alone the ability to resolve the […]

Comvita’s Harmony Plan: sustainability strategy built on purpose and values

Comvita’s ambitious sustainability strategy, its Harmony Plan, is guiding the Bay of Plenty-based manufacturer to ‘leave the world in a better place’. The global market leader in Mānuka honey and bee consumer goods set out, almost 50 years ago, to work in harmony with bees and nature in New Zealand, to heal and protect the world. From the beginning, the company’s aim has been to help people feel better and live well. The Harmony Plan – an interconnected ecosystem Comvita has identified where it can have the most impact and has built its sustainability plan around four cornerstones. The company aspires to be a leader in climate action, act as kaitiaki (guardians) for bees, restore balance in nature, and invest in its people and communities. ‘The Harmony Plan reflects the commitment we hold ourselves to. To be successful, we have to deliver positive outcomes for all our stakeholders,’ says Heather Johnston, Comvita’s Head of Safety and Sustainability. Comvita’s tips for making progress on sustainability Heather is keen to share Comvita’s experience to help other manufacturers make progress. She offers this advice. Understand your ‘why’ Start by identifying your purpose. Why are you in business? Link this purpose to everything you do: how you produce, package and market your products, how you train your team and build your culture, how you manage your supply chain. For the team at Comvita, the ‘why’ was simple. They want to heal and protect the world by working in harmony with bees and nature. Focus on what matters – from the start Making progress on sustainability is about tackling the right things at the right time. “Don’t go for the ‘shiny’ things,”says Heather. “Keep purpose at the core, prioritise what matters most and where you can have an enduring, positive impact – in your business […]

Q&A: Leigh Richardson, former co-owner,Auldhouse

You are a former co-owner of Auldhouse and have been with the company for over two decades now, which is a fantastic achievement. How have you seen the business grow and evolve during this time and what role have you played in this? I have experienced a lot of change. Auldhouse was created by a husband-and-wife team over 35 years ago, sold into BlueStar Group and then became part of Wang, later known as Gen-i. Gen-i was sold to Telecom NZ, which in due course became Spark, before the shareholders executed a management buyout 9 years ago. And of course, we have now been acquired by DDLS. It’s been fascinating to partner with many vendors such as AWS, Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, VMware and Red Hat, and see how the market has adopted their technologies over time, for example, during the shift from on-prem to cloud. It’s also been incredibly exciting to lead the evolution of training delivery since the pandemic. Traditionally, Auldhouse was an in-person training organisation with a small (but expanding) online delivery solution. We were forced to pivot to a complete online delivery format during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns. This format proved to be extremely successful and still accounts for a large percentage of our delivery now. The adoption of virtual training has opened many new training opportunities for our customers. What is the secret to staying with a business for so long and what do you specifically enjoy about working with Auldhouse so much? The secret for anyone in any role is change, diversity and tangible results for you, your team, and your customers. I have been lucky to have held roles in Auckland, Wellington and Sydney and of course being an owner for 8 years brings even more challenges and rewards. We have an incredibly […]

Cosmed Group – a byword for innovation, efficiency, quality and respect

For Cosmed Group, the upheaval of the last two years has been unexpectedly good for business. Based in East Tāmaki, it’s the leading New Zealand-owned contract manufacturer (OEM and ODM) for the skincare, cosmeceutical, cosmetic, baby care, hair care, pet care and personal care industries. Co-founder, Dr Olga Garkavenko, says the pandemic came into this world unexpectedly and changed the way society operates. “This has caused a lot of businesses to rethink their strategy. Not only are the established successful brands switching to us, but there’s also many new players too,” she says. Dr Garkavenko’s core strength is in Biotechnology R&D, but she says it is a team effort all round. “I’m proud of all of our dedicated and enthusiastic team members. We have more than 100 years of combined experience across all the services. “This includes Cosmetic Science Research, Ingredient R&D, Business Management, Quality Management, Environment Management, GMP Production, Cosmetic Care, Personal Care, Health Products, Consumer Products, Supply Chain, Engineering and Customer Services”. Who and what About eight out of ten of Cosmed’s clients are based in New Zealand. Most of these clients want help in developing formulation of their own brand, ensuring quality across each stage of the process. Cosmed Group creates a unique business package for each client, including VI Design, packaging solutions, product IP issues and registration. Sustainability and ethical sourcing A big selling point for Cosmed’s products are that they are made in New Zealand which has a good reputation overseas for its natural and sustainable products. The demand for natural ingredients in cosmetics is on the rise globally, and environmental issues are growing in importance, making sustainability, ethical sourcing and their related labelling schemes more prominent. Changes in consumer behaviour and lifestyles are also creating openings for natural ingredients. Cosmed Group is BioGro NZ […]

How to successfully deliver your CRM project with Clarity, Simplicity and Certainty.

-Scott Fuller, Exception. Article 1 :: Project Charter – Universal Buy-in This is the first in a series of 6 articles looking at how to successfully deliver your CRM project, the rest of the series will look at: Architecture and Integration – The Big Picture Partner Selection – A Vendor vs A Partner Data; Data; Data – The Devil is in the Detail Project Management – Quality, On Time, On Budget Users, Usability and Usage – First, Last and Always The purpose of the Project Charter is to engage all interested and/or potentially affected parties, solicit feedback and gain a mandate to move to the next phase. It is a Pre-liminary Business Case, a succinct document preferably with an equally succinct presentation containing: Purpose: Definition and those Responsible Benefit: Objectives and KPIs, including indication of costs Resources: Key Players and Roles (RASCI Model), including external parties if known Architecture: Technology added, impacted or replaced Scope: Deliverables and Key Milestones The expected outcome is that everyone in the business is at least informed of the project scope and impact and those Responsible for the Delivery and Accountable for the Benefits are ready to drive the Project to its successful conclusion. The introduction of this Project ‘Vision’ gives many parts of the business an opportunity to participate in its inception and contribute to the direction. It should always be a 2-way engagement to create valuable buy-in and support. 3 x Critical Success Factors These are CSF’s for the Charter, not the Project: Multi-level and multi-functional buy in At the initiation of any project it is easy, and safer, to confine the visibility to the immediate user group and line management. However a customer management solution to be successful will require the commitment of all parts of the organisation, from Board to Basement, […]

Australasian manufacturers’ statistics on productivity increases may be world’s highest

Auckland based ‘Empower Workshop Productivity & Scheduling Software App’ has pioneered the technology of using touchscreens on the workshop floor, with a low-cost subscription – based productivity software app for all jobbing manufacturing and engineering industries, custom work, “one off” jobs, bespoke manufacturing, or small batch production. The method is simple, workshop staff use their touchscreens to access their job list then start and finish each of their jobs. 50-inch TV screens in the office and on the workshop floor display results in ‘real time’ and continuously throughout the eight-hour day: individual staff, all jobs, all job status, all job times and all job variances. Research over 20 years across 82 New Zealand and Australian jobbing manufacturing and engineering businesses using Empower technology has produced the following statistics. To our knowledge these statistics are both the most comprehensive research available (82 businesses involved) and the highest productivity increases confirmed in the world (23.56%). The key Metric for all manufacturers and engineers using this technology is % Labour Time Reduction on all Jobs, which is % Labour Cost Reduction on all Jobs. The eighty-two manufacturers and engineers using this technology achieved on average a 23.56% Labour Time Reduction on all Jobs, across all machining processes and all assembly and fabrication processes, which is across the entire business. In comparison, if you had 10 processes to manufacture a given product and you purchased a new CNC machine to reduce labour time by 50%, (there are 10 processes to manufacture a given product and your new CNC machine that you have purchased reduces labour time by 50% in that single process) that would be a 5% Labour Time Reduction on all Jobs, across the entire business. This research will continue for the next 10+ years with 24 additional manufacturing and engineering businesses adding […]

Q & A:Lydia Frater and Lily Sanson, HERA Whanake Scholarship Recipients

HERA, in collaboration with the Māori Education Trust, created the Whanake scholarship in 2018, to foster genuine interactions with young Māori and actively extend the industry’s capacity by creating a more diverse and attractive industry for Kiwi. The scholarship is targeted at Māori students in their first year of a four-year Bachelor of Engineering degree and extends over the four years required for degree completion. To date, there have been three full recipients of the scholarship – Sarah Lawson, Lily Sanson and Lydia Frater, who was recently announced as the 2022 scholarship recipient. A further three students have received one-year scholarships to support their first year of studies. HERA spoke with Lily and Lydia about their scholarship experience so far, and their thoughts on the engineering industry within New Zealand. What drew you to engineering and the Whanake scholarship? Lydia: I didn’t even know what engineering was until my last year of high school. I always did well in the sciences at school, however no one introduced the idea of engineering to me until I attended a Rotary science camp, which sparked my interest. From there, I proactively spoke to one of my head teachers who helped and directed me on the right pathway. I later found out my grandfather had been an engineer, so there is a beauty in that for me. Lily: I knew from a young age engineering was interesting to me, but never knew the term. Then my sister mentioned it at dinner, which led to me learning more about it. The Pūhoro STEM Academy actively encouraged and supported my studies which definitely helped my journey into the engineering industry. On scholarships, my whānau instilled early on how important they are, so in addition, I feel very grateful to have received the HERA Whanake Scholarship as […]

A breakthrough innovator in this year’s KiwiNet Awards

Is Johnathan Ring from Zincovery, University of Canterbury which is decarbonising zinc recycling. The award recognises an upcoming entrepreneurial researcher who is embracing opportunities to commercialise their research. Zincovery CEO and founder Jonathan Ring. Useful and ubiquitous, loved for its durability, galvanised steel has provided industry, homes, hospitals and critical infrastructure with an attractive, corrosion-resistant, hygienic material for 150 years. However, few have thought about the toxic environmental impact of this process or the cost of recovery. Fewer still have made inroads to a solution. That was until Jonathan Ring, Founder and CEO of Zincovery, developed a disruptive technology to recycle zinc from furnace waste. One of its key benefits is the ability to produce zinc with 70% less carbon emissions than the existing recycling process. Jonathan started the development of the ‘Zincovery’ technology during his Master’s project with Professor Aaron Marshall at the University of Canterbury. Jonathan is committed to fighting climate change and protecting the environment from pollution. Current zinc recycling methods result in large carbon emissions and significant material wastage; Jonathan is determined to change that. The Zincovery technology can recycle zinc and produce less than 1 tonne of CO2 per tonne of zinc (typically recycled zinc requires five or more) using an innovative, low-temperature furnace process. The technology has the potential to save isolated steel mills over $500,000 in transportation costs and reduce the landfilling of over 3 million tonnes of dust per year. The global market opportunity for the technology is estimated at over $10 billion per annum and growing. Jonathan has taken his Master’s project from the lab to a start-up company in just two years and now manages seven employees. Under Jonathan’s lead, Zincovery has secured significant private investment, was awarded the prestigious C-Prize in 2019/20 and has customers lined up across multiple […]

The Great Resignation affects digital transformation plans

A study by SAP SE has found nine in ten (92%) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand say workforce volatility, including the Great Resignation, has directly impacted their digital transformation plans. This is critical, given 79 percent of SMEs say digital transformation is very important to their organisation’s survival over the next year. These insights have been revealed in new SME research which explores the impact of the Great Resignation on New Zealand’s SMEs. The study, Transformational Talent: The impact of the Great Resignation on Digital Transformation in APJ’s SMEs commissioned Dynata to survey 1,363 small and medium business owners and decision-makers across eight countries in the region, including 101 in New Zealand. The impact of the Great Resignation on SME digital transformation in New Zealand As the world economy recovers from the pandemic, businesses now face another challenge – the ‘Great Resignation’. Coined in 2021, the phrase refers to a worldwide trend of millions of employees across the world leaving their jobs. SAP’s research found the Great Resignation is real and impacting SMEs in New Zealand today. Three quarters (79%) of respondents agreed that more employees are resigning now compared to just 12 months ago, easily the highest in Asia Pacific and Japan. 36 percent of SMEs said they are not finding it easy to cope with the impact of the Great Resignation. The talent crunch is impacting organisation’s ability to digitally transform their businesses. In fact, lack of skilled talent ranks alongside difficulty balancing priorities as the top challenges to achieving successful transformation for New Zealand SMEs, ahead of traditional obstacles like cyber security or lack of budgets. Investing in talent and training to mitigate the Great Resignation SMEs in New Zealand are investing in their workforce to mitigate the effects of the Great Resignation […]

Three companies on the road to a low-carbon economy

-Barbara Nebel, thinkstep-nz This month we introduce you to three New Zealand companies that use different tools to edge closer to a low-carbon economy. Manufacturers Red Stag and Hynds Group and logistics provider FoodCap are making progress against the Government’s new Emission Reduction Plan (ERP). But first, a recap on the ERP. The government released the ERP in May 2022. The plan contains the strategies and policies needed to move all industries, including manufacturing, to a low-emissions economy over the next three decades. It will ensure we reach our national goal: net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In June issue of NZ Manufacturer, on Page 20, we explained what the plan contains https://issuu.com/mediahawkesbaylimited/docs/nz_manufacturer_june_2022 The ERP affects manufacturers across Aotearoa New Zealand In this article we look at how Red Stag, Hynds Group and FoodCap are managing their products, tackling their carbon footprints and transforming their business models to reduce their environmental impacts. We also see how they are benefitting from these activities commercially. Red Stag: reducing the environmental impacts of its operations and products The ERP encourages businesses to understand and reduce the environmental impacts of their products and services. Rotorua-based timber company Red Stag is already doing this. The company uses on-site biomass boilers to turn wood waste into steam for its drying processes and is a net exporter of renewable electricity to the national grid. Red Stag uses sustainability tools like Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Product Declarations to create and promote more sustainable products. Before we see how Red Stag is doing this, let’s look at what these tools involve. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) LCA measures the environmental footprint of a product over its life cycle – from sourcing (and potentially growing) its raw materials, to making the product, to using and disposing of the product at the […]

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