Smart Manufacturing Today

T-Tech grows as tech solutions come to the fore in transport

Attracting a record 173 people, Intelligent Transport Systems New Zealand’s annual conference has grown rapidly in recent years and increasingly seeks to solve the transport challenges faced by planners and government decision makers. Rebranded as T-Tech, the annual conference now encompasses solutions beyond the traditional ITS traffic management hardware and software. With over forty speakers at this year’s T-Tech, the conference included “Future Transport solutions, such as electric connected autonomous vehicles, and “Mobility as a Service”, business models enabled by technology such as ride hailing (Uber) and carsharing fleets like Yoogo, Mevo and Cityhop. International keynote speakers represented two strong new modes of transport which may significantly change the urban landscape. Mr. Horace Dediu, a Romanian-American technology analyst, is considered the world-leading authority on “micro mobility”. Micro mobility is a term coined by Mr. Dediu in 2017 describing a category of vehicles under 500kg that includes e-bikes, electric scooters and bike sharing schemes. Dediu believes we have not yet begun to understand the wave of new solutions that will emerge in this category, he likens the current electric scooters to be similar to early version mobile phones in terms of the development ahead; a comparison he can talk with some authority to as a widely respected analyst of Apple and iPhones. Mr. Dediu began researching transport disruption at the Clayton Christensen Institute which examines disruptive technologies. He said that autonomous cars as imagined by car manufacturers could not actually be classified as disruptive. He has since become an advocate for the low-end of the transport, where small, efficient lightweight vehicles can replace the vastly more inefficient car in short trips. Dediu organises large conferences in California and Europe and hosts the popular Micromobility podcast with New Zealander Oliver Bruce (formerly at Uber) using data from Uber, Lyft and […]

Relearning what it means to be globally competitive

Competition for talent has become just as important as competition for market share. -Dieter Adam, Executive Director, The Manufacturers’ Network The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently published an interesting paper on redefining competition. Many of us have already learned, painfully at times, that competition is not only about sales and market share. Increasingly, I hear that “we could sell more if we could make more, and we could make more if we had the (right) people for it”. In other words, competition for talent has become just as important as competition for market share. And, like the competition for market share, which is global for many New Zealand manufacturers who export much of what they make, competition for talent is global, because the skills shortages we experience are the same in most manufacturing economies. BCG are now taking us a couple of steps further in our thinking about the competitive strengths we need to maintain and expand if we want to remain globally competitive. The common thread behind all of this is that we live and operate in a world in which the rate of change has gone up and our ability to predict future states of the economic, social, cultural and even physical dimensions of that world has gone down – think trade wars, income inequality, digital natives and climate change as obvious examples. Five Dimensions of Competition How does this concept apply to New Zealand manufacturers? If we start with Rate of Learning, we are all familiar with the idea that as individuals we need to keep learning (faster) to keep up with the play, even though we don’t always create the space required to do so – “we’re just too busy right at the moment!”. But how well is our company equipped to learn, and what […]

Makaira Boats – a success story

This article profiles the business start-up, growth and success of Makaira Boats, owned and managed by Allan Shaw Allan Shaw started his apprenticeship in 2007 at age 19 at Alloy Yachts in Henderson, Auckland. One of New Zealand’s largest and most respected Super yacht builders, the company build large custom sailing and motor yachts and is where Allan served four years in his apprenticeship then one years in his trade. Allan says, “Alloy Yachts was a great place to work and learn from at the time as they had some of the best designers, best manufacturing equipment and boat building tradesmen in the industry.” While at Alloy Yachts in 2012 Allan commenced designing his first boat the Makaira 940 (9.4 metres) which took 5 years. In 2013 Allan rented commercial premises in Henderson, Auckland and started building two Makaira 940s which he had orders for. In terms of weight of aluminium materials, a 7 metre Makaira Boat hull requires more than twice the structure of aluminium compared to common brands of 7 metre aluminium boat. “In terms of labour build time a 7 metre Makaira Boat hull requires more than three times the labour hours to build; it takes approximately 600 hours to build a Makaira compared to an equivalent sized common brand aluminium boat which can take as little as 200 hours to build”. “Weight and build time are the key differences between aluminium boat brands on the NZ market, total quality of both boat types are poles apart. “At Makaira Boats we build ‘heavy plate and heavy engineered’ aluminium boats. Another well-known and legendary ‘heavy plate and heavy engineered’ aluminium boat that has been on the New Zealand market for many years is AMF Boats.” In 2014 Allan purchased commercial land in Keri Keri and designed and built […]

The Manufacturers’ Network at SouthMach 2019

Dieter Adam, The Manufacturers Network The Manufacturers’ Network is coming to SouthMach 2019 in a new context. We have recently joined forces with the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and the EMA (Northern). To our members that means that they can now also access the wide range of services provided by these organisations. To us it means that we now have a much wider reach into the community of New Zealand Manufacturers. Apart from that, we’ll stay on-course with our own work. Our members are telling us that skills shortages and keeping up with the increasing rate of change in manufacturing technologies remain as key concerns, and that’s where our work is focused. SouthMach 2019 again is a great opportunity for manufacturers to gather hands-on experiences with new technologies. At our stand, we’ll be available to share with you our own impressions on where manufacturing technology is going, especially in the area of digital technologies / Industry 4.0. A number of our members have now started on their own journey towards harnessing the benefits of these technologies, and The Manufacturers’ Network provides a platform for its members to share their experiences with what works, and what doesn’t. When you visit our stand, we’ll also be able to tell you about other services the members of The Manufacturers’ Network enjoy, including our latest addition – the Productivity Benchmarking service. As well as holding a stall at SouthMach, we will be reporting on our recent work on getting a better understanding of current and future skills shortages in manufacturing in New Zealand. Come and listen to my presentation on Skills shortages and the move towards more advanced manufacturing technologies on Wednesday.

Container deposit system solution to Australia’s war on waste

Adelaide-based technology and engineering company SAGE Automation is increasing production of its smart container deposit systems on the back of increased demand from Queensland. The machines were developed by SAGE Automation and the University of South Australia for South Australian company Container Deposit Systems(CDS) to help decrease Australia’s landfill. South Australia has led the country in recycling, introducing a container refund scheme in 1977, but other Australian states have only just begun to refund bottles and containers. Since Queensland launched its Containers for Change scheme in November 2018, CDS has recorded a rise from 32,000 to 230,000 containers per day through its 16 Semi Auto Return Terminals (ART) at private recyclers across six sites. The terminals allow customers to return deposit cans, plastic bottles and glass in any condition for a 10c-per-container refund. More than 344 million containers have been returned to date since the scheme commenced late last year. The ARTs identify and sort containers by integrating Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology and a vision counting and sorting system developed by SAGE over two years. A recycling depot employee loads the mixed containers onto a vision and sorting system hopper that uses advanced vision technology to count up to 350 containers per minute without the need for coding or labelling. The containers are counted in real time for a predicted refund sum that customers can view on a TV screen at most facilities. Conveyer belts, electric motors and spinning discs sort the containers by separating common recyclables like metals, plastics and glass. The machines have seen thousands of images of containers and can identify different container types, including unwanted materials. The containers are ready to be recycled once compressed air pushes them into specific categorised cages. The entire process takes only a few minutes and a refund receipt […]

Lubrication systems enhance reliability

Hydraulink mobile service brings its expertise on-site or through a network of well-equipped branches extending throughout New Zealand Ensuring fixed plant and mobile machinery is properly lubricated keeps money in the pocket of owners and operators, as under-lubrication is a major cause of machine unreliability and downtime due to bearing damage and failure. Ensuring the best and correct systematic application of grease can sometimes be a challenge when the machinery in question is required to be available 24/7 and worked continuously on remote, difficult sites with few breaks. One answer to this issue is automatic centralised grease lubrication systems from Hydraulink, which is New Zealand agent for high quality Lincoln Lubrication pumps and components. Hydraulink’s many branches throughout NZ are experts at installing these handy controllers that enable automatic systems to meet all applications requirements. Hydraulink is ideally placed to provide guidance on best industry practice in lubrication through its 24/7 network – with hundreds of service points throughout the country, including both mobile units and Hydraulink regional branches throughout the country. Key industries locally now drawing on Hydraulink services include agriculture, construction and infrastructure, civil engineering, forestry, farming and primary industry, public works, manufacturing, mining, machinery transport and machinery OEM and rental and other industries. These industries depend on Hydraulink’s prompt, expert service coupled with strong supply of quality branded hydraulic hoses, fittings, adaptors and accessories vital to optimising machinery reliability and safety while avoiding costly downtime.

3D print of human heart with tissue and vessels unveiled

Scientists in Israel have unveiled a 3D print of a heart with human tissue and vessels, a first and a “major medical breakthrough” that advances possibilities for transplants. Scientists hope one day to be able to produce hearts suitable for transplant into humans as well as patches to regenerate defective hearts. The heart produced by researchers at Tel Aviv University is about the size of a rabbit’s. It marked “the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers. People have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels. But the scientists said many challenges remain before fully working 3D printed hearts would be available for transplant into patients. Journalists were shown a 3D print of a heart about the size of a cherry, immersed in liquid, at Tel Aviv University as the researchers announced their findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Science. Researchers must now teach the printed hearts “to behave” like real ones. The cells are currently able to contract, but do not yet have the ability to pump. Then they plan to transplant them into animal models, hopefully in about a year. Maybe, in 10 years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world, and these procedures will be conducted routinely. However, hospitals would likely start with simpler organs than hearts.

Callaghan Innovation support for innovating business

A new tool for start-up businesses will encourage innovation, says BusinessNZ. Chief Executive Kirk Hope says innovation is critical for businesses to stay competitive and attract new customers. “But research & development is costly, and many New Zealand businesses struggle to gain the investment needed to develop new products, services or processes. “The Scale-UP NZ platform launched by Callaghan Innovation today will help innovating companies to network, gain introductions, collaborate and attract investment.” Mr Hope said the digital platform, modelled on successful platforms in other countries, would help businesses and the New Zealand economy benefit from their intellectual property and creative ideas.

Synlait embarks on business transformation for growth and diversification

Synlait has chosen Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage to support its supply chain and manufacturing operations and growth as part of a five-year business transformation plan. The goal is to modernise and streamline operations for the integrated dairy business, one with over 150,000 metric tonnes of annual sales volumes across domestic and international markets including Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Australasia. An existing Infor customer, Synlait is looking to improve employee engagement and increase operational efficacy and efficiency by aligning to best dairy industry practices. This will be facilitated and enabled by Infor’s food and beverage dairy industry specialised CloudSuite software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise solution. “The foundation of our business is all about partnering with other businesses and people who share our passion and commitment to excellence, integrity, and quality,” said Chris France, director of strategy and business transformation, Synlait. “Infor is a strategic partner for our business transformation plan with its ability to help us leverage dairy industry expertise, data insights and real-world knowledge via its innovative Infor CloudSuite F&B solution.” “Infor understands the unique challenges of the food and beverage industry in the Australia and New Zealand markets, and is committed to continue delivering finely-tuned industry-specific solutions in the cloud to help our customers maximise efficiencies and accelerate growth,” said Helen Masters, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Infor Asia Pacific and Japan.

Apprenticeships vital to automated future

Now, more than ever before, it’s vital that school leavers choose a pathway that equips them to learn new skills for jobs that don’t yet exist in an automated future. And despite what many people think, automation is not a jobs killer – it’s creating new jobs and opportunity, says Competenz chief executive Fiona Kingsford. “Human jobs won’t disappear, they will change. The World Economic Forum predicts 75 million jobs will be lost in the next four years as companies automate, but at the same time, 133 million jobs will be created. “As parents and teachers, we are natural guides for our young people. But we need to accept the world of employment is undergoing a massive shift, and it’s happening right now. Our children must be equipped with the skills they need to meet change, and to find relevant, rewarding and adaptable jobs.” Outmoded thinking of what workplace learning and apprenticeships can deliver is an ongoing battle for Competenz, New Zealand’s industry training organisation for manufacturing and engineering. Modern food and beverage manufacturing plants, engineering workshops and other trades-based workplaces demand a high level of technical skill. Mechanical engineering apprentices are using artificial intelligence and robotics to facilitate the automation of a growing number of “doing”’ tasks. Today’s AI-enabled, information-rich tools are increasingly able to handle jobs that in the past have been exclusively done by people. “These shifts will produce massive disruptions to employment and, if we are going to meet this disruption and prosper from it, we need to address it now by helping our children choose the right learning pathway,” Kingsford says. The people needed for those 133 million new jobs will be responsible for gleaning insight and intelligence from the machines, fixing and maintaining them as well as quality assurance, among other things. “Various organisations have identified […]

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