The Daily News

Machines can’t dream

People are concerned about robots. Ever since a computer system defeated chess champion Gary Kasparov 20 years ago, public perceptions of progress in artificial intelligence (AI) research have been defined in terms of high-profile competitions pitting human against thinking machine. Anxiety is high about what the ultimate consequences could be. In the wake of Deep Blue’s triumph, other machines powered by AI have racked up momentous victories against human opponents in the game show Jeopardy and, most recently, against the world champion Go player. The latest version of Google’s AlphaGo software taught itself to play the strategy board game without any human help at all. The debate among leaders, technologists, futurists, employees of all stripes is on the profound impact AI will have on our workplace, our societies, our lives. The scale of this impact is hotly debated. Could machines replace us? Could they actually take over? There are smart minds on all sides of this issue. Some, like Professor Stephen Hawking, believe AI’s rise represents an existential threat. He told a BBC radio audience: “I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Others believe the rise of automation represents a veritable utopia made possible by smart machines. Optimism is a free stimulus in any country. In that spirit, this evolution could create massive potential for the human race. Any way you look at it, one thing is clear: there is nothing to be gained by hand-wringing about a dystopian future that we have the power to avoid. Let’s create the future we want to live in. Even in divisive times like these, we see human qualities such as ingenuity, kindness, innovation, and creativity rise up, take hold and gain unstoppable momentum. It is possible to create a world where AI benefits humanity, […]

Metals Industry Conference, Christchurch, September

To be held in the Addington Raceway & Events Centre in Christchurch on the 15th of September, the Metals Industry Conference and Industry Awards Gala Dinner, organised by industry advocacy association Metals New Zealand, are a reason for networking, celebrating and learning. Various streams by industry associations HERA, SCNZ, MRM, NASH and NZSSDA will run in the morning till mid-afternoon with presentations by local and international industry experts and activities. In the late afternoon, all will converge into the conference plenary with a welcome and overview of the Canterbury rebuild and beyond by Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, and a high-quality presentation by economic commentator and analyst Rod Oram. Rod uses his skills in journalism, management and leadership to help New Zealanders face tough economic challenges and seize on exciting business opportunities. Rod is eminently is presenting the opening keynote address at the Metals Industry Conference, Addington Raceway & Events Centre in Christchurch, on 15th September. In the evening, seven metal industry associations will come together to celebrate achievements and heroes in their respective industries at the Industry Awards Gala Dinner hosted by The Crowd Goes Wild’s Andrew Mulligan. The Hon Nicky Wagner, Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration will be our VIP guest for the evening. Metals New Zealand wishes to thank the sponsors for their support of the Conference and Canterbury. They are: NZ Steel, (platinum) ACRS, Steel & Tube, easysteel, BOC (Gold). The various industry associations are, therefore, very excited to be having the event in the re-vitalised region. Since the first big quake in 2010, the Government has invested more than $14 billion in the rebuild and recovery of Christchurch and greater Canterbury. Today, Canterbury’s population has topped its pre-earthquake numbers; the economy is growing faster than in many other parts of the country; and its unemployment rate […]

How secure is your manufacturing facility?

Wondering if your visitor and worker management process at your manufacturing facility is up to scratch? We’ve compiled a (non-exhaustive) list of questions for you. But before you read on, how would you rate your control of visitors and workers on-site? Give your facility a score out of 10. Now that you’ve got that number in your head, ask yourself the following: Are visitors able to pre-register before arriving at the facility to make registration more efficient on arrival? Is communication with guests, employees or contractors consistent, with a clear and evident process? Is there a protocol for employees when visitors are on-site? Do you have a system in place to alert employees/managers/authorities of any red flags that come up in a visitor’s registration? (e.g. someone from an organisation not allowed on-site). Are visitors issued with a visitor badge, pass or other type of visible visitor identification? Are visitors authorised by a host before they can finalise their registration? If you need to contact a visitor, employee or contractor, can you do this easily and promptly? Do you complete accurate records of workers’ induction course completions? Can you deny site or zone access to employees who do not have specific/current qualification or permissions? Are employees and contractors able to quickly alert others of new hazards on-site? Do all entrances or zones have the ability to document visitors? If a visitor entered a zone or area outside of their permitted access range, would an employee or manager be alerted immediately? Likewise, if a contractor or employee entered an unpermitted area, would a manager or security personnel be notified? Are you always aware when a contractor or employee is working alone? If a visitor has overstayed their expected time on-site, will this trigger an alert? If you answered ‘no’ to any of […]

IoT influencer visits Dunedin

About 130 people gathered at Otago Polytechnic on 10 July to hear from Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, a designer and Internet of Things influencer based in London. While in Dunedin Alex also met with the Dunedin City Council and the Signal ICT Graduate School, who co-sponsored her visit to Dunedin with Otago Polytechnic. Information Technology lecturer Thomas Laurenson set the scene by briefly introducing the Internet of Things – objects embedded with small computers that can gather and transmit data. Thomas explained the research work staff and students are doing to set up a free long range low power wifi network in Dunedin. Alex Deschamps-Sonsino then provided the audience with many examples of connected things, demonstrating how the Internet of Things can deliver value for our society, by helping us to understand the world around us better and to control it more. For example people could sign up to receive a flood alert when water level reaches a sensor under their local bridge. Trampers or farmers in remote areas with no GPS coverage could carry devices enabled with what3words to communicate their location, specific to a 3m x 3m square. Other sensors can detect pesticide spray. The accumulation of data is also valuable, for example air quality sensors in a suburb and across a city. When new behaviours are enabled, that raises issues that need to be addressed. For example how much control do we allow others to have over us. Sports Direct in the United Kingdom is under scrutiny for requiring employees to wear devices that enable their activeness to be tracked, as a measure of productivity. Another issue is the security of the data gathered. Alex is currently leading work on development of an IOT certification mark, a framework of standards which connected objects should meet. Alex also sees that […]

From Americas Cup to dinosaurs – SAFE’s evolutionary growth pains

The Maintenance Engineering Societies Kaeser Compressors Network Evening series has provided a firsthand view of the evolutionary change taking place across New Zealand manufacturing and engineering as industry adapts to the modern world. The struggles facing industry were never more evident than the recent third annual evening held at SAFE Engineering in Drury. A family owned business since first coming to Drury in 1973, SAFE’s global reputation for forging, heat treatment and metallurgy spans two centuries of technology and innovation, buts its very location, staring at the headlights of Auckland’s urban sprawl casts this 44-year-old site as a dinosaur. The problem facing General Manager and MESNZ Chairman Barry Robinson is the huge forging plant and its impact on the neighbourhood. According to Barry, the area was a wilderness in the 1970’s and no-one was around to hear the thump of the gigantic forges. But with the largest piece of kit being a 1200T crank forging press, the site is completely out of kilter with the future designated use of Drury as a new suburb. The math of moving the plant simply does not stack up, posing a huge dilemma not only for the family, but for the industrial clients who rely on the now rare capacity. Do not just think old school engineering here when talking about these juggernauts, the forged high tensile rudders for Team New Zealand’s America Cup campaign are just one example of the plants capability. Shut the forging plant and there simply is no alternative for curly solutions in New Zealand. Whether it is the old school plant, the world leading technology, or simply the Robinson family reputation for providing a hearty feed, just under 100 attendees enjoyed the hospitality and live forging displays at the Kaeser Compressors Network Evening, the discussions and interaction lasting well […]

Higher skills and regional focus positive – but no panacea for employers

BusinessNZ says Labour’s immigration policy has a positive focus on higher skills and regional concerns, but the overall tightening of migrant numbers could be difficult for business. Labour proposes to tighten skills criteria, place more consideration on skill needs in the regions, and more actively enforce the Labour Market Test for work visas. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says these policies would help bring higher-skilled migrants here, bring workers to the regions, and ensure employers are not misusing the Labour Market Test. “It would be particularly useful to get the regions’ skill needs more comprehensively represented in the occupational shortages list, to have visas issued for work in specific regions, and to involve regional businesses and business organisations in those decisions. For regional economic growth, businesses rely on a mix of skills – some provided by migrants – and it is important to give regional economies the best chance of success,” Mr Hope said. But he said on top of restrictions recently imposed by Government (restricting low-skilled workers to 3-year visas, restricting skilled worker visas to those earning more than $49,000 a year, and increasing the points needed for skilled migrants to get residency), Labour’s proposed restrictions could make it harder for businesses to fill jobs. “Employers are finding it hard to fill positions in hospitality, IT, horticulture, construction and other sectors. The more restrictions that are placed on lower-skilled migrants coming here, the harder it will be for the economy to grow.” Mr Hope said Labour’s approach in the construction industry was positive. “Being able to hire a skilled tradesperson on a 3-year work visa without Labour Market test, as long as they are paid over $20 an hour and as long as a New Zealand apprentice is taken on for each overseas worker hired – this is […]

What next?

Grab a cup of coffee and consider the following: What Next? Urgency needed on skill shortages. Budget 2017: Another missed opportunity to support our productive economy. Low productivity hurting New Zealand. It’s all about the present and the future and there’s enough issues in the above subject areas to shake a stick at. After all, a little bit of witchcraft might help! I hope you are up to date with all of this but seeing you are probably one of the 97 percent of SMEs in New Zealand you will already be concerned one way or the other. Not enough skilled staff, not enough money to pay them, lack of support for manufacturers in the Budget and the level of the nation’s productivity in manufacturing is nothing to write home about. The push for high yielding industries supported by Callaghan Innovation means that larger companies benefit while smaller ones don’t see it worth their time and energy to even apply. So, What Next? We all know what is next. This program could have been shown by TVNZ any time, any day, any year because there is always a What’s Next? We are continually being told about the future. About Industry 4.0, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, about where the jobs will be and how many people needed to do them. It’s a consternation where the stars don’t align. If you have robotics, for example in an orchard pack house you don’t need as many staff. As in Toyota car plants in Asia where staff numbers have […]

Business confidence strong for 2017

Business is going into 2017 with a confident outlook, according to the most recent EMA Employers’ Survey. However, the skills shortage is a concern. Most businesses expected business conditions to improve over the next six month (49%), while slightly fewer (47%) expected conditions to stay the same. Significantly, 68% of respondents expected their own business to grow in the next six months. This is a major increase on the same time a year ago – in November 2015 the response to the same question was 57%. “These results are most encouraging, especially with the uncertainty overseas,” says Kim Campbell, CEO, EMA. The majority of respondents said they had increased the number of employees in 2016, which would correlate with the positive outlook respondents have of their own business. However, on the downside, employers are still struggling to recruit, with 53% saying it is difficult or very difficult to attract suitable candidates for positions in general. While 72% saying it is difficult to recruit for skilled positions. Specifically, professionals, technicians and managers were the roles employers had the most difficulty recruiting. With machinery operators and labourers also featuring strongly as a growing area of skills shortage. This was backed up by the majority of respondents (65%) saying there is currently, or there soon will be, a skills shortage in their sector. Not surprisingly, one of the key themes that came out of the survey was looking for ways to resolve this. In particular, employers are looking at how they upskill current staff, but are also looking to use immigrants to fill their staff shortage along with other mechanisms such as apprenticeships. “These results reinforce the need for employers to take good care of the staff they have,” says Mr Campbell. The survey was conducted in mid-November and went to EMA members. […]

Photo credit: Stephen A’Court. COPYRIGHT ©Stephen A’Court

Delivering more for less – achieving New Zealand’s productivity potential

-Paul Conway, Productivity Commission The New Zealand economy is currently doing well in some important ways – our public finances are relatively healthy, the labour market has been one of the most successful in the OECD at creating jobs, and incomes have improved over recent years. But despite this optimistic view, New Zealand’s productivity performance continues to be weak. Achieving New Zealand’s productivity potential is the Productivity Commission’s commentary on New Zealand’s productivity performance. The paper draws on a large body of research and the Commission’s previous 10 inquiries. This shows that leading NZ firms do not achieve the same productivity growth as leading international firms in the same industry – our top firms are slow to adopt new technologies that enhance productivity. The pace at which new technology and ideas diffuse across firms in the domestic economy is also an important key to lifting productivity. But too few New Zealand firms implement and benefit from advances in technology and knowledge. Despite having relatively open borders, we are not well connected internationally. New Zealand firms have not been strong investors offshore, they don’t tend to be well connected to global value chains, and our stock of foreign direct investment as a share of GDP is growing more slowly than the OECD average. This lack of international connection means that competition is weak and that NZ firms have limited opportunities to learn from leading international firms at the top of their game. We also have onshore challenges – our small and insular domestic markets mean that small firms struggle to achieve economies of scale and specialisation. Our productive firms have limited scope to grow and expand within these markets and, with limited competition, our unproductive firms survive for longer than they ideally would. This results in valuable resources being locked up […]

Exports see some growth

The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during January 2014, shows total sales in December 2013 increased 2.02% (year on year export sales increased by 17.09% with domestic sales decreasing 14.0%) on December 2012. The NZMEA survey sample covered NZ$383m in annualised sales, with an export content of 59%. Net confidence was unchanged on November, at 30. The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 101.7, down from 104 in November, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) was at 103, down from 104 in the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 103.67, up on Novembers result of 102.83. Anything less than 100 indicates contraction. Constraints reported were 70% markets and 30% production capacity. Net 30% of firms reported a modest rise in productivity for December. Staff numbers for December fell year on year by 2.25%. There was a moderate staff shortage reported for tradespersons, operators/labourers, supervisors and managers and a minor shortage for professionals/scientists. “We have seen more positive export sales over the last few months, on the back of a generally negative trend throughout 2013. In contrast, domestic turnover has been negative over recent months, as compared to a generally positive trend in 2013,” says NZMEA Chief Executive John Walley. “Our indexes had mixed results this month, but all three remaining in positive territory, while confidence was unchanged.” “It was good to see the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) resist OCR increases; currency should be the major worry and interest rates, based on past experience, will have to go a long way to dent asset markets.” “The LVR policy appears to be having some direct effect, and may give the RBNZ more room to delay […]

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