Smart Manufacturing Today

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 […]

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 […]