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Steel awards showcase local industry’s strength and innovation

Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) is pleased to announce the results of 2023’s SCNZ Excellence in Steel Awards. The winners were announced on 27 October in Queenstown, where more than 200 structural steel industry leaders and specialists gathered to celebrate the best of the best at an event that showcases the sector’s commitment to innovation, best practice and collaboration. Each year, the task of judging becomes increasingly difficult. This year, 21 finalists were selected from a pool of 32 impressive submissions, which demonstrate the remarkable design and execution possible when steel is used as the primary construction material. “The high calibre of entries is testament to the industry’s ongoing commitment to raising the bar,” says SCNZ Chair David Moore. He notes there has been widespread emphasis on best practice amongst structural steel contractors and a drive to adopt global initiatives such as Industry 4.0. “Our local industry has also maintained its programme of investment in new cutting-edge plant, machinery and technology. These advances in technology have made it possible to construct highly complex steel structures that were previously out of reach,” says Moore. “The high standard of projects is also a reflection of the professionalism demonstrated by the fabricators, builders, architects and engineers that collaborate to bring these projects to life.” The 2023 winners are: Supreme & Over $3M Category Winner: MJH Engineering for One Whitmore Street Occupying a full city block, One Whitmore Street is a landmark 12-storey office tower in Wellington. The 17,500sqm building with its 1,420sqm floorplates and soaring three-metre-high ceilings will be the new home of the BNZ. The structure is designed to withstand Wellington’s unpredictable weather, with a convex profile and rounded corners that help to counter the city’s strong winds. The diagrid structure, with its diamond-patterned exterior, provides structural integrity while eliminating the need […]

Helping Proline Steel gain new sustainability certification

www.thinkstep-anz.com The challenge Proline Steel was seeking to become one of the first businesses to be certified by the Australian Steel Institute (ASI)’s new Steel Sustainability Australia program (SSA). They approached the thinkstep-anz team knowing that they had helped ASI develop the new program. About SSA certification SSA certification independently verifies a company’s social, environmental and health processes. The certification, which replaces the ASI’s Environmental Sustainability Charter (ESC), recognises fabricators that have lower environmental impacts, are reducing carbon emissions, are transparent about their supply chain, respect human rights and are moving towards circular solutions. About Proline Steel Proline Steel fabricates structural steel in their factory in Padstow, New South Wales, and has nine staff. The manufacturer is a member of ASI. The company wanted to gain its first SSA certification to support its construction customers in the green building market. The certification contributes points to rating tools like Green Star. It also wanted to maintain industry leadership. As a smaller business, Proline needed help to document the good work it currently does, refine some of its processes and show it complies with SSA requirements. What thinkstep-anz did They worked with Proline to develop systems that support good business governance and manage its Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) activities. They held two workshops to help Proline document these systems and also helped the business better understand its supply chain. thinkstep-anz then worked with the Proline team to develop ten documents that met the SSA requirements. Once the documents were complete , they supported Proline with its submission to the SSA, and guided the company on how to best present the information to the assessor. Proline received the Level 1 SSA certificate in May 2023. It will aim for Level 2 next year. Helping Proline Steel to succeed sustainably thinkstep-anz’s work is helping […]

Tanaka develops first high-entropy alloy powder of only precious metals

Enabling proposals tailored to customer needs through the establishment of five or more different precious metal alloy powder production methods TANAKA which develops industrial precious metals products as one of the core companies of TANAKA Precious Metals, has succeeded in creating a high-entropy alloy powder composed of precious metals with a fine particle size of 10µm or less high crystallinity and excellent composition uniformity. This product is the world’s first high-entropy alloy powder composed of only five precious metals: platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir), ruthenium (Ru), and rhodium (Rh). TANAKA has already established a mass production process for this product and began providing samples in October. TANAKA has established five or more precious metal alloy powders and their production methods, which are used in this product, and obtained a basic patent in June 2023 (Patent No. 7300565)[1]. The precious metal alloy powders in this product are alloys composed only of five or more precious metal elements that maintain the corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, and other excellent properties of precious metals. They are micro-order[2] alloy powders that are easy to use in industrial applications. Unlike conventional nano-order precious metal high-entropy alloys, micro-order alloys are stable as alloys due to their large crystallite size, and they satisfy the original requirements of alloys, such as improved mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and controlled thermal expansion. They are also expected to contribute to the improvement of the functions and properties of precious metal alloys, whose properties vary greatly depending on the composition ratio of the alloy. High-entropy alloy powder The precious metal alloy in this product is in powder form, and in addition to modeling using a 3D printer and rod forming (forming rod-shaped material by solidifying powder), it can also be used in paste form, which is often used in various circuits and […]

Scholarship winners recognised by NZBIA

Two Unitec | Te Pūkenga students were recently recognised for their commitment and drive as recipients of New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZBIA) Excellence Scholarships. This annual award was established by the organisation to financially assist and recognise excellent students in fields of study relevant to the building industry. Charlie Saumalu: Overcoming challenges to pursue his dreams Charlie Saumalu’s journey to receiving the NZCBIA Excellence Scholarship has been marked by determination and resilience. Hailing from American Samoa, Charlie came to New Zealand on the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA) Apprenticeship Programme, which enabled him to pursue his studies in New Zealand. He was initially rejected for the programme but didn’t give up. He reapplied and, to his delight, was accepted. Currently in his first year of the two-year New Zealand Diploma in Surveying at Unitec | Te Pūkenga, Charlie is thriving. He says winning the NZCBIA Excellence Scholarship has only started to sink in, but he is determined to make the most of the opportunity. “When I got the call to say I’d won the NZCBIA Excellence Scholarship, I first thought they had the wrong number. I’m still in a bit of shock. I am very grateful and want to thank my Heavenly Father above for this opportunity. “Coming to New Zealand to study has already been an incredible experience, and I feel immensely blessed and proud to have found such as welcoming and diverse community of teachers and fellow students here at Unitec.” With proud parents back at home, and a job with the American Samoan Government already secured after his studies, Charlie is intent on working hard to make the most of his time at Unitec | Te Pūkenga. Charlie is an active member of his community and devotes his weekends to attending church and playing volleyball […]

NZ lagging with health and safety

By Adam Sharman, Senior Partner, dsifer A recent report by the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum shows that New Zealand continues to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. Of course, the $ value impact is just one impact resulting from workplace fatalities, injuries and poor health. In our work with organisations and industry bodies, we see that the top performing organisations consider workplace health and safety across an ecosystem of considered, human centric job design, environment design and culture & leadership dimensions. This is not something that can be fixed through a policy document of lines in an annual report. As a starting point, our analysis with organisations we work with identifies 1. Insufficient training, 2. Fatigue or burnout induced by poor work design and high levels of overtime, and 3. Cultural complacency as being the most significant contributors to poor health & safety performance. Of course, it is not as simple as just saying, let’s just fix these priority factors; for sustainable change, a data-driven approach to identifying and addressing their underlying drivers as an ecosystem should be applied. For example, organisations, especially manufacturers, are struggling to attract the number and calibre of talent they need to run their operations, leading to high levels of overtime as the current workforce picks up the slack. A data-driven approach to the analysis. For the highest impact, organisations should apply data analytics to three key dimensions of health & safety: Complete, accurate and timely data capture. The accurate and timely capture of H&S data forms the baseline of understanding the true picture of an organisation’s H&S performance. Whilst this may seem obvious, it is surprising how many organisations do not accurately capture data on their H&S incidents, beyond those that result […]

Enable smarter production lines with the right connectivity

Thanks to technological advancements that realise the potential of Industry 4.0, factory operators are investing more resources into the development of smart factories for enhanced operational efficiency. A recent study showed that the smart factory market is expected to grow 9.33% from 2021 to 2026. But before businesses can reap the benefits of smart factories, operators need to gain visibility of the production floor. This means they need to deploy more sensors and systems at production lines so that engineers can collect sufficient information, develop analytics, and ultimately take appropriate actions and improve efficiency. Developing a holistic view for your production lines requires different types of information. For instance, the production status of each production line informs you of how the line is performing and whether any potential or existing backlogs exist. By monitoring the real-time production process, you can improve your chances of eliminating potential downtime and enhancing productivity. In addition, tracking the operating condition of machines can help you arrange maintenance tasks without unwanted surprises. Furthermore, additional sensors can be deployed in production lines to collect temperature and humidity information to help minimise the likelihood of interruptions due to environmental factors. No matter what kind of information you are planning to collect to achieve the goals of your ideal smart factory application, enabling smooth communication between production lines and the control centre can present major challenges for engineers. Without a reliable connection and a solid network implemented between remote sites and the control centre, operators cannot receive complete and accurate data for comprehensive planning and optimising operational efficiency. Here are some suggestions you can consider when enabling connectivity for your production lines: Evaluate Your Connectivity Requirements Thoroughly When enabling connectivity for your production lines, you need to know what communication interfaces and protocols your field devices use, as well […]

PIC 1 a Bspkl - Jerome Leveneur and Christina Houlihan

KiwiNet Awards 2023 finalists announced

Finalists for the 2023 KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards have been announced. Winners will be presented on 28 September. The finalists include: Award Category Sprout Breakthrough Innovator Dr Jerome Leveneur -BSPKL/GNS Bspkl co-founders Dr. Jérôme Leveneur CTO and Christina Houlihan CEO of the company which is a finalist in the Pwc Breakthrough Project Award category. Jerome is Science Co-Founder and CTO of Bspkl, New Zealand’s first deep technology hydrogen start-up. This new manufacturing technology, targeting the electrolyser and fuel cell market, supports the world’s transition to a more sustainable future. He was an Ion Beam Materials Scientist at GNS Science when he developed a new manufacturing technology that could drastically reduce the amount of precious metals used in the production of catalyst-coated membranes (CCM), used in technologies for hydrogen production, while also increasing the speed of the CCM manufacturing process. This led to the invention of Bspkl – a revolutionary approach to ion beam modification with a wide range of potential industrial applications, and which no one else in the market can currently produce. Bspkl was spun-out in April 2023 with a $2.8 million seed investment round led by WNT Ventures. As the first start-up to be formed with IP from GNS Science, it represents the culmination of many years of innovation and championing of commercialisation. It is a testament to Jérôme’s tenacity, perseverance, and positivity, being a key leader in successfully navigating the path to spinout and solving many challenges along the way. Jérôme is deeply passionate about creating real-world impact, and he continues to work on collaborative new IP with other public research institutions, helping to generate other new IP that can move Aotearoa closer to a zero-carbon future. At a time when the world is increasingly interested in investing in green hydrogen, Jérôme has helped put New Zealand […]

ICWES19 elevates women in science and engineering

Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau and the New Zealand Association for Women in the Sciences will launch the three-day 19th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES19) on Sunday 3 September. Engineering New Zealand General Manager Tania Williams FEngNZ says, “It’s crucial that women can see themselves represented in, and leading, engineering and the sciences. That’s why I’m really proud we’re able to co-host this event and the significance of doing so is huge – it’s the first time ICWES has been held in Aotearoa.” The core conference includes 28 speakers, five keynote sessions, and workshop sessions. Williams says there are many ways to get involved “no matter where you are in the country or what piques your interest – and many of these options are very affordable.” Individuals and groups can participate remotely, and education providers and non-for-profit organisations can access sessions for affordable ‘group watch’ events. A STEM Diversity session will be perfect for senior leaders and champions looking to advance diversity and equity in their organisations. A ‘Shaping Space’ breakfast will provide senior secondary students with the chance to hear from a panel including a rocket scientist, space lawyer, astrophysicist and Māori astronomer about the different ways STEM is advancing our understanding and exploration of space. “I’m looking forward to welcoming engineers and scientists from all over the world to ICWES19, and I urge all engineers to get involved in this terrific event,” says Williams. ICWES is the flagship triennial conference of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES). Find out more or register for ICWES19

Women in Engineering

In 1876, Helen Connon was the first woman to enroll in a New Zealand university, graduating in 1880 with a B.A. in Latin, Mathematics, English, French and Physical Science. By 1897 women had graduated in both medicine and law. But it would be another almost 70 years before a woman would graduate from a New Zealand university with an engineering degree. Leslie Robertson led the way, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from University of Canterbury in 1965. By 1981, women still only made up 2.4% of engineering graduates from University of Canterbury, compared with Law 33.7%, medicine 31.8%, and architecture 24.3%. By the end of the decade, the percentage of women graduating in law and medicine had risen to 50%, but engineering trailed behind at only 7%. University initiatives There have been numerous initiatives over the decades to encourage women to consider a career in engineering. In 1989, University of Auckland created the position of Liaison Officer for Women in the Physical Sciences and Engineering, and appointed Liz Godfrey to the role. It was a full-time position and the first of its kind in New Zealand. Studies looking at women’s low participation rates in engineering identified a number of issues. Far fewer girls than boys continued with maths and science subjects to senior high school level; teachers and students had little knowledge of the breadth of career possibilities an engineering degree could offer and did not promote it to their female students; young women did not see engineering as relevant to their lives; and the lack of female role models meant that they could not see themselves represented within the engineering profession. Liz worked closely with schools, and in collaboration with others, developed programmes to promote engineering and science careers to students. SOS – Skills and Opportunities in […]

World class applies to government too!

From August issue NZ Manufacturer -Ian Walsh, Argon & Co Over the last few years, I have written about the need for business, government, and educational institutions to come together to address NZ’s productivity crisis. Recent actions by government show the extent of the work to be done. Funding has been cut for trade training and apprenticeship funding (TTAF) and fees free funding is nigh on impossible to access if you have ever done any level 3 or above training or a degree anywhere. These funds have now been redirected to universities to help with their funding gaps due to lower overseas enrolments etc. Whilst I understand the need to support institutions through this post covid period as they re-establish their new reality and business models it should not be at the expense of training and developing our future leaders in productivity! It is instructive to note that the UK is funding productivity training directly and reviewing university funding based on contribution to the economy. Of course, this creates arguments about how you value this, but the UK is clearly prioritising the need to build capability to ensure they can be more productive and competitive in future. They have stiff competitors, Ireland is setting new benchmarks, Brexit has challenged traditional relationships. It could be argued this is not relevant to NZ so for a more local comparison, Australia. On a per head basis, they train twice as many people in post graduates diplomas as we do! Over 15 years ago the UK drove the adoption of lean as a key strategy of Highways England, with documented savings as an outcome. Over the last few years, they have delivered significant projects on time and on budget with billions of pounds of savings. The key point to this is government and the […]

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