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Businesses urged to forget about AI and get back to basics

The average New Zealand SME business uses about eight different cloud applications without seeing any noticeable improvement in productivity or profit. Technology commentator and chief technology officer at OneHQ, Warren Hughes, said that while technology is seen by many as the solution to New Zealand’s productivity problems – the latest shiny object is artificial intelligence (AI) – most of the time the technology only complicates things and wastes time. “Not only are Kiwi businesses riddled with cloud software solutions that cost money, are largely unused and don’t talk to each other, but they’re surrendering control of critical data to offshore multi-nationals.” Hughes says that in his experience from more than 30 years as an IT specialist – in roles such as CTO for Lotto New Zealand, head of product development at Fronde and general manager of Equinox IT – his general observation is that Kiwis are easily seduced out of their technology dollars. “Big budget marketing hypes up many cloud applications like Trello, Slack, HubSpot and Basecamp. On the face of it, they seem cheap. What nobody is telling you, is that to get value out of these tools – and they can be useful – requires a significant investment in time and training. “At the same time, your critical data – such as financial information and your client details – are locked in these applications, which do not talk to each other. Not only do you not ‘own; your data, there’s not much you can do with it outside of those apps,” Hughes said. New Zealand businesses should not concern themselves with the benefits of artificial intelligence because the technology will become part of the software they already use, including apps like Xero and Vend. The technology is not nearly as important as the desired outcome. “If you are […]

Editorial July issue NZM: Be creative, don’t rely on technology

-Doug Green, Publisher. I am sure you know this and are still working out what you can do without – on a company and personal level. Simply, if we are doing well it is from the creative efforts emanating from our minds not from a robot or piece of technology. If we have four good friends it is about all we can cope with – juggling family, work and healthy activities. So, if you are one of those people with 5,000 friends on Facebook whom you have never met then I have one word for you – therapy! If you own or work for one of the high-flying tech businesses in our world then you need to check if you are using the technology properly or indeed actually doing any thing with it. Making things that is! If you work for or own a less advanced technology progressive company, then you need to ask yourself what the resistance is to making the technology work for you? – what exactly is holding you back! It may very well be the lack of real opportunities. Your company’s level of productivity is relative to its level of aspiration and creativity. Which is relative to what you need to be successful. If you don’t maximise the technology, then why have you got it? There may well be a good reason to this awkward and very expensive question. And that is you are clogged up, over exposed and continually being told about the latest software or gadget that will ‘definitely’ improve your business. Our multi-marketed, technology absorbed world is maybe not what you need. A coffee vendor refines the tools of her trade as does a boat builder. Just make sure you are using (and maximising) what you need. And keep it simple…

First look at our coolest redevelopment

Antarctica New Zealand is delighted to share what a new Scott Base could look like. As part of Budget 2019 the Government has committed $18.5 million for the next phase of the Scott Base Redevelopment project. This funding, which will be used over the next two years, means the detailed design of the new base can be completed and the Scott Base Redevelopment team can start working with the construction industry on how best to deliver the preferred design. Antarctica New Zealand CEO Sarah Williamson says the redevelopment project is vital for the future of New Zealand’s Antarctic science programme. “Scott Base is our home on the ice and the strategic hub for scientists from New Zealand and across the globe to carry out some of the most important research in the world. “It is critical to get this work underway now, as the climate and logistical challenges mean construction projects take longer to deliver in Antarctica,” she says. The design would see the existing base, built in the early 80s and made up of 12 separate buildings, replaced by three large interconnected buildings and a separate helicopter hangar. The base could accommodate up to 100 people at a time. Of the three buildings one is designated for accommodation, dining and welfare, the second for science and management and the third for engineering and storage. Scott Base Redevelopment Senior Project Manager Simon Shelton says the funding is welcome news as the current base reaches the end of its functional life. “At the moment, we have to mitigate increasing points of failure at Scott Base; the buildings, materials and systems are deteriorating with age. “We are looking forward to moving to the next stage of the development process and supporting the Antarctic science community with safe, fit-for-purpose infrastructure,” he says. Jasmax […]

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 […]

Sistema Plastics committed to reducing its carbon footprint

Sistema Plastics Ltd has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by achieving Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme (CEMARS®) certification. CEMARS certification is a recognised greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and reduction scheme administered by Enviro-Mark Solutions (a subsidiary of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research). It is the first of a two-step process towards achieving carboNZeroCertTM certification in New Zealand. As one of the largest manufacturing facilities in New Zealand, Sistema recognises it has a responsibility to ensure it is producing its products in the most sustainable way possible, from the design process through to manufacturing and distribution. Drew Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer at Sistema Plastics Ltd, says it will be proactively working with suppliers, distributors and customers to achieve its goals, but also with a large focus on sustainable, innovative new products. “We are taking the impacts of climate change seriously and are committed to adapting the business to reduce our carbon emissions. “We’d love to encourage other main players in the manufacturing industry to do the same,” he says. Sistema has developed a GHG emissions management plan and reduction targets that will be achieved through initiatives intended to manage and reduce freight, electricity and travel emissions. Exporting to more than 80 countries around the world, Sistema’s biggest challenge is developing smarter solutions to reduce emissions from road, rail and sea freight. Muirhead says it has set reduction targets and identified a number of specific projects to ensure it meets them. “We’ve set a goal of reducing freight and shipping emissions by 15%, electricity emissions by 40% and we are aiming to offset all emissions from long haul travel by 80%, by 2021. “This will see us investigating possible enhancements and changes including solar power options for our office and factory and offsetting all carbon emissions from long haul […]

Multi-Million dollar development boosts Auckland economy

A multi-million dollar retail development has provided a significant boost to the local economy with suppliers running 24 hour shifts to manufacture materials for its construction. Furniture and homewares retailer Nido, will cover a 31,000 sqm area in West Auckland, significantly larger than any other store in the country. Managing director Vinod Kumar says the sheer scale of the $60 million development has put pressure on their suppliers to meet their demand for locally made materials – which has lead to further job growth. He says the logistical considerations of the project have also meant much of the work is being done in off-peak hours. “To ensure there is no disruption to local traffic in transporting the 9,000 cubic metres of concrete being poured, 1,800 truck loads will be delivered to the site in the middle of the night. “In addition, 1,800 tonnes of structural and reinforcing steel has been ordered. While an order of this size has been a significant boost to our suppliers, they are running in 24 hour shifts to get it manufactured in time,” he says. Kumar says the New Zealand owned company is proud to have been able to provide work for more than 450 locals on the construction phase of the development as well as employing a further 200+ when the store opens in the coming months. He says the project is now 40% complete and expected to open some time towards the end of Spring this year. Kumar says the project will also see the installation of more than 15,000 sqm of roofing, 1,600 piles and 12,600 lineal metres of purlins and girts.

Be the disruptor, not the disrupted

-Brian Low, HERA conference organiser. HERA to launch Future Forum series The third industrial revolution changed the way previous generations worked – and very soon, the fourth industrial revolution will do the same again for us. Inevitably, we’ll have the ability to access powerful resources previously unavailable or uneconomic. Our members in the engineering and manufacturing sectors now need to innovate and change to understand and counter or utilise those resources. Why the need to care? The rise of technologies – such as machine learning, automation, augmented reality and virtual reality looms over the horizon. In other words, ‘business as usual’ will soon be ‘business no longer’. But we get it. Some of these technologies seem too far out of reach to ever affect our industry. Or just plain overwhelming, expensive or impractical to uptake. And although innovation can be promising, it has several aspects which makes it challenging to be implemented in different systems or organisations. What we can say, is that Industry 4.0 and digitalisation are the future of manufacturing. Companies may not survive in a competitive and fast-changing market if they aren’t agile and flexible. That means understanding these concepts and eventually finding ways to adopt them is critical. Governments and some academic institutions are already struggling to keep up with the changes Industry 4.0 is bringing. In order to cope, our members need to step up and be more agile. Be they fabricators, consultants, product suppliers or services providers. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will affect strategies, structure, business models and operational processes in the engineering sector. Even we at HERA have aligned our vision and mission to keep up with changing contexts. Our structure, training and research have and will continue to adapt as well. Especially as we find ways to serve our membership meaningfully and […]

Fair Pay Agreements not suitable for New Zealand

BusinessNZ endorses the New Zealand Initiative’s report ‘Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour,’ and agrees that compulsory sector-wide bargaining would not be a suitable system for New Zealand. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says the report accords with the employer views expressed during the Fair Pay Agreement working group. “Having Fair Pay Agreements centrally negotiated by unions and industry reps would mean businesses losing the freedom to set wage rates appropriate to their own workplaces. “This kind of approach in past years led to wage inflation, higher prices and strikes.” Mr Hope said the NZ Initiative report identified other policy approaches that would better serve productivity and growth and cost of living issues, including improving education outcomes, addressing housing affordability and continuing to make New Zealand an attractive investment environment. “As an alternative to Fair Pay Agreements, we would encourage the Government to consider these policy approaches.”

Central Innovation talks to us

Peter Ranyard, Country Manager New Zealand, Central Innovation How is Central Innovation finding the current business climate? The economic climate in New Zealand has remained stable on the back of a new government, after nine years of the previous body. Despite some recent slowing due to better design and strong innovation practices, the economic climate in New Zealand still shows steady growth. Having said that, a number of our clients are finding success in export markets such as the USA and Europe, even though, there has been some uncertainty with political and international factors like the Financial Services enquiry in Australia, Brexit, and the trade wars between the US and China. Where will future business opportunities for the company come from? Our goal is to continue to see our customers finding success in export markets, particularly with the USA and Europe. This should help drive more growth. We are also investing in new solution offerings for the manufacturing sector with our DataSuite solution for example, which helps manufacturers integrate their design, production and ERP systems to reduce inventory costs and improve their time to market. Is the growth in technology aligned with the market’s needs? Yes, we’re seeing an increasing demand for data generated from the design process and other business processes. One of the challenges we come across is that many New Zealand firms don’t have the ‘know-how’ technology to confidently choose a supplier that is well versed with the market and can surely support the business to see a solution implementation through to completion. This is coupled with an underlying need to have a ‘suite’ of solution-based products that makes business processes in design and execution more palatable and less onerous. How can governments assist businesses to get ahead today? Firstly, by providing stability and certainty which helps […]

Northland lifestyle a big plus

Regional development is a phrase that’s getting plenty of airtime these days, especially with Government’s Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) promising to pump billions of dollars into forgotten corners of New Zealand. It has been nearly 18 months since the first allocations were made, and while there’s plenty of debate about whether the Fund is achieving its objectives, it has certainly sparked greater awareness that regions can play a much bigger role in “New Zealand Inc”. And also sparked some regional leaders to think about whether the Fund is meeting specific regional needs. Take Northland, for example: local leaders in Northland are pretty happy with the attention the region is getting from the PGF. With $130 million-worth of projects announced there, including $30 million for roading improvements, and funding for two infrastructure studies – the Fund could dramatically improve the prospect of attracting more business to the region. The first study is examining the Upper North Island Supply Chain and has reported some early findings that highlight the potential for Northport, New Zealand’s northern-most seaport at Marsden Point, to help ease congestion at Ports of Auckland. The second study on the North Auckland Rail line includes a strategic business case for building a spur to Northport, and signals are positive that the work will go ahead. Chair of the Regional Transport Committee for the Northland Region, Councillor John Bain, says the impact of transport infrastructure improvements will be a game changer. “Not many would argue that, historically, Northland has had to work hard for its share of Government investment. Finally, it looks like we’re getting some traction. The local economy is going through a bit of a boom, and there’s real opportunities available for both locals and ‘imports’. We’re ready to make the most of it.” He muses that Northland has been left […]

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