Smart Manufacturing Today

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Is digital the way to world class?

-Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co I am pleased to say that over the last couple of years there has been a growing interest in the use of digital techniques and tools in NZ. However, it is imperative that we build this understanding rapidly so good decisions can be made. The potential to improve productivity in NZ is enormous and the early adopters of the right digital technologies will be the big winners. There’s been a lot of confusion regarding the terminologies and descriptions that come with digital adaptation. Industry 4.0, Lean 2.0, Internet of Things (IoT) and suchlike being used to describe it, and with all this jargon it’s no wonder that a lot of decision makers are scratching their heads. But the questions they are asking are quite simple: What is it? What does it do? How will that help my business? What does it cost? How hard is it to implement and maintain? These actually are the same questions most businesses would ask about any initiative or capital purchase. As with many shiny toys to ‘upgrade’ our businesses we sometimes get lost in the features rather than the benefits. Being able to collect data in real time might be cool, but if it does nothing other than add cost to your bottom line then it is also waste! We’ve all heard a story of excessive spend on IT with little to show for it. Hence why the uptake has been so slow, with business owners wanting to understand the benefit before committing any capital. The fundamentals are still the same. Having good continuous improvement framework, process understanding and business structures are the cornerstones of a successful digital journey. As with more traditional Lean methods you must understand the customer and the value they will pay for then […]

Upper Hutt manufacturer investing in the future

-Rebecca Reed What started as a small operation out of a shipping container up the back of Kiwi Point Quarry in Ngauranga Gorge, Wellington, has turned into quite the success story for manufacturer Real Steel. Fast forward twenty years later, the company employs more than 100 people and proudly operates out of a 8500 square metre factory site in Upper Hutt. The manufacturing business imports steel out of Sweden and other countries to make steel parts for road transport, forestry, and recycling industries. It also produces a lot of steel for building truck trailers, wear parts, and materials for processing machines. This growth experienced by the company, a family run business, comes down to high employee satisfaction, innovation, and quality service for the customers it serves nationwide, according to owner and Managing Director Luke Mathieson. “We’ve put a lot of effort into focusing on our systems, the traceability of our parts and the way we work with our customers because at the end of the day it all boils down to getting parts out to the customer on time, and being a good, solid trusted supplier.” Real Steel’s efforts were recognised recently at the Wellington Regional Business Awards where they were presented with the Hall of Fame Award, a unique award which recognises and celebrates those enduring businesses that have made significant contributions to the economic and social fabric of Hutt Valley. The awards are given to business who have consistently exhibited excellence in a resilient and sustainable manner over a proven length of time. Investing in innovations With an eye to the future, Mathieson says the company has invested in several innovations including developing and building their own systems and machinery to manage the volume of parts in the factory as a result of rapid growth. “We have thousands […]

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

This is the 4th in a series of 6 articles looking at how to successfully deliver your CRM project. The full series contains: The development of Business Requirements will, if done right, clearly dictate the functional definition of the solution. This however must be accompanied by an equally clear and complementary data definition. Separate teams should be created for Customer data and Product data as well as Functionally aligned User Teams. The Product data, to be designed/developed for import, will need to reflect current definitions, additional fields for enhanced usage and the structures and capability of the CRM or operational systems being deployed. The Customer data will reflect the core business processes of Sales and Transaction processing and the necessary requirements for Marketing to understand the customer sufficiently to generate lead campaigns based on current and potential value as well as fields that reflect the nuances of the customer. Importantly the Data Dictionary will also include, and match the Business Requirements, the rules pertaining to when and by whom fields will be updated and the mandatory requirements. This is where the devil in the data can be exposed or tamed. All this happens, and is signed off by all parties, in design prior to work being started or at least completed in the new platform The model below is the Solution Architecture. Each system will receive, hold and generate data. It is important to define: Data will be held within each system. Duplication of data is not optimum but is acceptable as long as data maintenance is automated Data will be transferred. Data should be transferred, or better still presented, on an “As Required’ basis. Ie Customer data will be delivered to the Marketing Automation system for activities. The CRM will be the master for all Customer data; Product data […]

Industrial Tube celebrates a decade in the stainless tube market

Industrial Tube general manager Ian Foster. New Zealand’s leading tube manufacturer is celebrating another company milestone, achieving 10 years in the stainless precision tube market. Waikato-based Industrial Tube entered the stainless market in 2013 when it purchased machinery and stock from Stainless Tube Mill. Reflecting on the journey, Industrial Tube general manager Ian Foster says the company has made great progress and achieved a huge amount in 10 years. “Initially, we operated the stainless mills in Auckland, and then in 2014, added a purpose-built extension for the new stainless plant to our existing facility here in Hamilton,” he says. “Once the Auckland machinery refurbishment was completed and functioning, we installed a second polisher and added a larger mill from STM Australia. This enabled us to produce 5, 6 & 8-inch tube, all requiring considerable effort to ensure we had the right equipment, capability and capacity to support our customers.” In 2017, Industrial Tube’s mill team shifted their focus to efficiency, adjusting the plant to enable the production of regular sizes and lengths of tube up to 20 metres, and polishing up to 12 metres, which the company continues to offer today. “Most recently, we commissioned an internal polisher for the larger sizes of tube, which was designed and built by our internal engineering team. Combined with our BLM LT7 3D tube laser cutter, we are now able to produce almost any requirement in the market,” says Mr Foster. “We are seeing real benefits from this, recently being awarded two large contracts for stainless steel components, involving several of our processing solutions,” he adds. Throughout Industrial Tube’s journey, Foster says the team has strived for quality, and at times, have had to supply replacement products when they missed the mark. “We have always stood by our service promise, which is the […]

New research to develop first overarching data connectivity standardisation

-Dr Troy Coyle, CEO, HERA Last month I shared the news of the Endeavour Fund’s support for HERA’s four-year research project focused on transforming the construction sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. Today, I wanted to introduce the key research themes and programs which will interact and interconnect as part of the overarching research. The wider program will develop New Zealand’s first standardisation infrastructure for vertical integration of construction participants’ systems, as well as horizontal integration of the value chain and collaborative networks. Key programs: Circular Design: Using Construction 4.0 enabled data to identify target areas for optimisation and creating a better design. The hypothesis is that structural synthesis system can fulfil optimisation requirements, in which a cost/environmental impact function is minimised considering constraints on design and manufacturability. Smart Construction: Investigating intrinsic properties and invariant signatures of construction objects, such as footings, slabs, and beams , as well as their synergistic structural performance, to create a new end-to-end computational platform for design and manufacture. Monitoring 4.0: Developing a framework for objective/improved monitoring and performance assessment of structural systems using in-situ data and numerical models, as well as optimal instrumentation plans to maximise the information gain while limiting cost. Key themes: Mātauranga Māori and Construction 4.0: Addressing the gap of knowledge by building a uniquely Māori framework. This will create new knowledge domestically and be an international example of indigenous knowledge. As no Construction 4.0 framework currently exists, this is an exciting opportunity to build in Mātauranga Māori from the onset. Construction 4.0 Technology Transfer: Developing an alternative to traditional linear knowledge/technology transfer in New Zealand construction. This new approach will draw on the principles of co-creating value and models for knowledge flows in innovation ecosystems, including regulatory governance models and related policy by and for the sector. Sustainable Future: Adapt and extend […]

Winstone Wallboards uses circular economy to reduce carbon emissions in plasterboard

-thinkstep-anz Circular economy thinking is helping Winstone Wallboards (WWB) reduce carbon in Aotearoa New Zealand’s built environment. Around 15% of our country’s greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions relate to our buildings. Knowing that construction waste contributes heavily to these emissions, WWB set itself a challenge. WWB manufactures plasterboard under the GIB® brand. It is New Zealand’s only manufacturer of this product. The company wanted to reduce plasterboard wasted in construction across New Zealand by 30% without changing the design of its product. Its Designing out Waste programme (supported by the Ministry for the Environment, Canterbury Joint Waste Committee, Auckland Council, WasteMINZ, AUT and BRANZ) and circular economy practices have helped WWB reduce waste, emissions, costs and business risks and build relationships and the resilience in the industry. The circular economy The circular economy changes how we produce and consume goods. It designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems. In a circular economy, sending construction waste to landfill is a ‘leakage’ from the product’s ‘system’ (the processes involved in converting inputs to outputs). Identifying five carbon ‘hotspots’ in plasterboard Our thinkstep-anz team helped WWB identify five ‘hotspots’ of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) for construction waste across their product’s lifecycle. The diagram below shows the emissions created when the manufacturer makes and transports its product to its customers, and when its customers use and dispose of the plasterboard. The emissions these activities release are examples of ‘embodied carbon’ in building products. The link between all these sources of emissions? Waste. Circular economy: designing out waste on building sites On an average residential building site, around 23% of all materials, including 700kg of plasterboard waste, end up in a skip bound for landfill (source: Wastage Rate Report (Construction Resources and Waste Platform), REBRI – BRANZ). Much […]

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

-Scott Fuller, Xception This is the third in a series of six articles looking at how to successfully deliver your CRM project. Taking the time to look past the functional capability offered by a company will determine if you want a Partner or a Vendor. There are very good reasons to purchase your CRM solution from a Vendor, implement it asap and then just pay the Licence Fees for the term of the Agreement. Full Stop!! There are however more and far better reasons to look ahead to see how your full CRM ecosystem (Refer to Article 2 in this series) will support the evolution and growth of your business in the long term and how valuable a Partner can be. The behaviours of your Partner, vs a Vendor, are highlighted in Table 1 below. In short, a Vendor will give you exactly what you asked for and how you can leverage the generic capability and services. A Partner will take the time to understand your business, as well as technology, requirements and use them to drive out the right solutions. Project Factors Partner Vendor Shared Vision Drives the program Fits it to the tool Detailed Requirements Designs solutions Presents capability Functional Fit Customises for purpose Allows configuration Acceptance Testing Fully involved Facilitates how-to Training & Support Personalised / Periodic Modular / Static Resources – Time & $$$ Quoted / Evolves Fixed / Inflexible Table 1 – Partner vs Vendor So before starting your search for the right CRM, start by deciding the characteristics of your Partner, or Vendor. Will you deal directly with Vendor or via an implementation Partner? Either way, how do want to engage, what involvement do you expect, what services will you require to compliment your in-house resources? Is it more cost effective to pay an […]

Computer Recycling

If we want to create business solutions that better serve the environment, we need to shift our manufacturing mindset from take, make, waste – to reduce, return, reuse. This circular economy mindset, whereby products can be endlessly used through continuous business systems, is what gave birth to Computer Recycling. Computer Recycling is Aotearoa’s leading electronic waste recycler, recycling more that 4.8 million kilograms of waste since it was bought by Managing Director, Patrick Moynahan in 2018. Patrick took out a loan and used his personal savings to purchase and consolidate Computer Recycling into what it is today. The company’s goal is to eliminate electronic waste from the country’s landfills by actively engaging in sustainable recycling and reuse practices – a mission focused on driving Aotearoa’s circular economy. The average Kiwi produces 20kg of e-waste per year, which is one of the highest amounts per capita on Earth. That’s around 80,000 tonnes of e-waste per year – estimates suggest that a mere 2% of it is recycled. A lot of people don’t consider what happens to electronics, or waste in general, once it’s in the bin. It’s trickier for e-waste given it contains toxic plastics and metals which can harm our environment. That’s why it’s important e-waste is properly disposed of, and where applicable, recycled. For businesses, it’s one thing to manufacture and sell a product, but there needs to be equal consideration for what happens to that product at the end of its life. Businesses need to be responsible for a product’s entire lifecycle. It’s their responsibility to ensure products are disposed of / recycled properly, and they need to educate customers on appropriate disposal habits as part of that. At Computer Recycling, e-waste is both refurbished and recycled. Once the e-waste is gathered, it’s then brought back to Computer […]

A powerful recipe for innovation & growth

Greg Balla, CEO, Aofrio. Adding software to hardware – AoFrio is a New Zealand technology leader that few local people know about. With deep manufacturing and hardware roots, the company has decades of experience supporting food and beverage companies around the world with their refrigeration. Now, the business has innovated beyond hardware and invented the world’s first Internet of Things (IoT) platform for commercial refrigeration. The combinations of hardware, like motors and fans, and smart IoT-enabled refrigeration controllers and sensors help customers sell more products, save costs, track assets, gain insights to do business better and save on energy and carbon emissions. AoFrio is growing into a hardware-enabled, software as a service (SaaS) provider. It’s their pathway to lifting recurring revenue (because they sell their solution ongoing to customers), to expanding in existing markets and exploring new regions around the world. But the path to getting there has been long and not without its challenges. In the words of Greg Balla, CEO of AoFrio: From where I sit now, it’s easy to see a future where hundreds of millions of refrigerators around the world are connected to AoFrio’s platforms, giving us data to drive powerful, purposeful outcomes for customers. But there are many moments in AoFrio’s history that plotted the way to becoming the company we are today. We’re now in the position where we can couple our hardware abilities with software and data-driven insights to give clear customer insights and actions that are impactful to their bottom line. One of the turning points for us is around 2012. The company was tired of purely competing on price. Deciding instead to design the best refrigeration motor in the world. We set a goal that our electronically controlled motor would be better than the competition in every single respect. Most […]

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

This is the 2nd in a series of 6 articles looking at how to successfully deliver your CRM project. The full series contains: The purpose of the Architecture is to help teams develop the technical capability on time and on budget whilst ensuring it solves the problem for which it was designed. The Architecture will build on the very high-level view purported in the Charter and will contain: Concepts – A conceptual view of the stack and its moving parts for communication and context Option Analysis – Platforms, Languages and Tools in light of the functional and non-functional requirements. High Level Design – Features, phases and solution requirements at a Function level Detailed Design – More definition around areas of complexity Non-functional requirements including – Security, Performance, Maintainability, Scalability, Reliability, Usability and Risk The expected outcome is that both the business and technical requirements have been incorporated into a Solution. Specific technologies may be selected, short listed or used as examples as the Architecture develops over time. The Architecture is neither a Process Diagram nor the detailed User Requirements, which will be developed in the next phase of the project. 3 x Critical Success Factors These are CSFs for the Architecture, not the Project: Match the Solution to the Business Environment This is important in all major technology solutions but even more so with CRM deployments due to its role in supporting all customer facing interactions and integrating to all other teams. The Architecture must take a strategic view of the specific functional requirements and then the significance and importance of potential reliance’s on and impacts to other teams and their processes Desire vs Reality The simple approach of Why, What and How (Before When & Who) will assist in addressing this challenge: Why: The justification of the need for […]

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