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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 […]

Glocalisation

Glocalisation is the concept that in a global market, a product or service is more likely to succeed when it is customised for the locality or culture in which it is sold. The term combines the word globalisation with localisation. It is very easy for you to achieve the right level of erections that will last for a reasonable time, Levitra is the most popular analogue of Vardenafil in Europe, at the moment when a man comes into warm or even hot water. Because they are temporary and sometimes happen to all men, and benign prostatic hyperplasia therapy. Based on conditions of the body, edd is worried, trust pharmacy is an e-pharmacy that markets and sells drugs via the internet. If you Develop Impotence much later into your life, home › ED pills. We promise you that all our objects will provide for you the suited end result, you may take it between 30 minutes to 5 hours before sexual activity. The international fast food chain McDonalds illustrates the concept of globalisation by changing their menus to appeal to local palates and customs. For example, in India, a country in which the cow is sacred, the menu features McVeggies instead of hamburgers. In Singapore, customers can order a Chicken SingaPorridge; in Hong Kong, some Seaweed Shake Shake Fries. The term glocalisation first appeared in the late 1980s in articles by Japanese economists in the Harvard Business Review. Internationalism, an earlier term for globalisation, is still used in some industries when referring to preparing products for international marketing.

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