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5G is about to change the world in ways we can’t even imagine yet

Blue sky thinking: We don’t yet know what wave of change 5G will create. 5G networks were rolled out in 2019 and will expand rapidly in 2020. 5G will connect everything and everyone. 5G will underpin remote surgery, self-driving cars – and movies you can download in seconds. We live in a time when words meant to represent significant or unique ideas are so overused, they have been trivialised. “Revolutionary” is such a word, a victim of hyperbolic marketing that has rendered meaningless a term meant to evoke profound change to our world. When everything is “revolutionary,” nothing is. Yet here I am, unable to find an alternative as comprehensively descriptive of 5G and the infinite number of ways the newest generation of wireless technology will change our world. In fact, the revolution has already begun. The global deployment of 5G networks got a running start in 2019 and is set to rapidly expand beyond anything we expected a year ago. But the public understanding of 5G hasn’t caught up. While 3G put the mobile Internet in your hand and 4G gave us mobile broadband – redefining how we interact with our world – 5G will connect everything and everyone. The technologies within 5G were and continue to be designed to vastly expand network capacity so cars, utility grids, appliances, medical devices, industrial machinery, homes, cities, farms and more can all be connected. And 5G will reduce delays and improve reliability, thereby enabling mission-critical tasks such as remote surgery, self-driving cars and enhanced public safety, to make possible secure connections so lightning-fast that an entire movie can be downloaded in seconds. The faster smartphones and always-connected personal computers that consumers are already using on the initial 5G networks are just a hint of the transformations to come. While 3G and 4G technology were designed to […]

Could you build our base in Antarctica?

Antarctica New Zealand is looking for a construction partner for the Scott Base Redevelopment project. But this is a job interview with a difference: the selection process involves a trip to Antarctica. “This is no junket though”, says Senior Project Manager Simon Shelton. “We understand that very few people have been to Antarctica so we want to work with the industry to familiarise them with the environment, show them Scott Base and help them understand any perceived commercial risk.” Over the next two years, the design of the proposed new base will be completed. This involves employing a main contractor organisation to work with Antarctica New Zealand and their design consultants to confirm how best to deliver the project. Registrations of Interest are now open on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website, GETS. Shortlisted applicants will be taken to Scott Base in February to experience the environment and the unique logistical requirements involved with safely living, working and building in Antarctica. Mr Shelton says Antarctica New Zealand is looking for an innovative organisation to safely and effectively deliver a complex project. “Even little things are important to know in Antarctica, like what clothing is required to work outside, how people and materials get there and back and how cold it really is,” he says. Antarctica New Zealand General Manager Engineering Matt Johnson says it’s an important project in a remote and challenging environment. “The redevelopment of Scott Base is the largest project ever undertaken by Antarctica New Zealand. “This is an opportunity for a construction company to be part of New Zealand’s legacy in Antarctica and to help support our world-leading science programme. “We’re looking for an organisation with the ability to deliver complex and challenging projects, a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, one that values the power of teamwork […]

Clean, high-tech: this is the factory of the future

Factories have long held a place in the popular imagination, not just as sources of employment and community prosperity, but also as hectic, noisy, grimy and polluting facilities, where thousands of people are employed in largely low-skilled line positions. Today’s factories are changing. Breathtaking advances in technology, automation and globalisation are transforming how and where manufacturers plan, construct, operate and integrate their factory networks. They are also ushering in significant operational, political and societal changes. From America’s Rust Belt to rural India and China, a chorus of voices is struggling to understand: how are technologies changing how we produce and distribute products? Are automation and free trade taking away valuable factory jobs? What type of skills will be required? How can communities prosper in the face of new production technologies? How and when should manufacturers upgrade their legacy equipment to embrace new technologies to boost yields and efficiency for advantage or simply to remain competitive? Businesses, governments and society alike must understand the technological dynamics at play and collaborate together to ensure tomorrow’s factory towns prosper. What will the factory of the future look like? The key answers will come from the factory floor where new technologies like 3D printing, advanced robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and virtual and augmented reality are converging to create new value, enabling the hyper-efficient and flexible factory of the future. The value created is real: large global producers have increased efficiency and reduced costs by up to 30% across all operations, driven by improvements in overall operating efficiency, lower inventory, energy and water costs, and reduction in incidents involving safety. While the pace of change and how these changes will propagate across networks will differ by industry and country, the factory of the future is a more digital, virtual and […]

Lessons in mass production

Socrates and his student, Plato, are a perfect example of how good leaders are shaped by observant students. Here, Darcy Simonis, industry network leader for food and beverage at ABB, explains what can be learned from global manufacturing leaders such as China. China, a leader in mass production, has firm plans to build upon its proud history by investing in the robotics and automation industry. However, because labor is plentiful, mass production is not always automated in China at present. Because China’s working-age population is falling significantly, labor costs are increasing by 15-20 per cent year on year, compared to only 1.6 per cent in the US. This opens opportunities for automation across all economies. In 2014, the International Federation of Robotics announced that China was buying more robots than any other country each year, partly due to government funds as part of China’s five-year plan to develop intelligent manufacturing. This trend has continued, in 2015 China bought more robots than every European country combined. Generally speaking, Chinese manufacturers are choosing to buy robots from the same global suppliers as other countries, including ABB, despite there being a number of small Chinese robot manufacturers. “This trend is driven by the Chinese Government´s 2025 initiative to support automation. The country aims to become a leader in automation globally,” explained Joe Gemma, President of the International Federation of Robotics, in February 2017. Given the clear manufacturing focus in several governments’ foreign policies, including UK and US policy, it’s clear that the progress China is making in automating mass production is something that many countries aspire to. But there is also a clear reciprocal relationship, just as there is with Plato and Socrates, which is allowing countries around the globe to benefit from technological advances. History Mass production became possible because technology and […]

Infrastructure boost must contribute to productivity growth

BusinessNZ has welcomed the $12 billion infrastructure boost announced, and says it’s appropriate for road and rail transport to be the priorities. Chief Executive Kirk Hope said business would be keen to see the details of the projects. “We need to make sure the projects can be executed, and that decisions are worked through Infrastructure Commission to ensure investments are strategic and contribute to New Zealand’s growth in productivity. “It will be important that capacity constraints don’t restrict execution of essential short- and medium-term projects, and that the projects are strongly aligned with immigration and training policies.”

Infrastructure spending good news for SMEs

Today’s major infrastructure spending announcement is good news for members in the EMA’s upper North Island region. EMA Head of Advocacy and Strategy, Alan McDonald, says an additional infrastructure spend of $12 billion over four years is a welcome boost, especially with $6.8 billion of it going into the transport sector. “We’ve already seen an additional $400 million allocated to school infrastructure, and the $300m announced for new spend on hospitals is also going into an area that needs the additional funding attention,” he says. For EMA members the most welcome news is the new transport spend, as its region from Taupo North continues grow rapidly without having the necessary connectivity and ease of movement to support that growth. The new funding will be in addition to what has already been allocated in the National Land Transport Plan (NLTP). “Our understanding is that in some cases the funding may speed up projects in the NLTP or supplant already allocated funds. Where that happens the funding that is freed up from the NLTP will then be reallocated for other NLTP projects to further accelerate that pipeline,” says Mr McDonald. “While details about which projects will receive the new funding are being held back – they are likely to be announced in the New Year – there are a number of public transport, rail and road projects across the upper North Island that are virtually ready to go and if brought forward will bring considerable benefits to businesses in the region,” he says. The new National Infrastructure Commission will rightly prioritise the projects, but the EMA’s wish-list of shovel-ready projects would include: The third rail main, rail electrification between Papatoetoe and Pukekohe, the airport to Puhinui link, the north western busway and Mill Road in Auckland; the route south from Whangarei to […]

HERA launches future-focused leader category in innovation award

The engineering and metals industries are at an exciting but challenging crossroads. While BAU is vital from a cash flow and business stability standpoint, the work of future proofing is urgent, both to shore up the sector now and protect it over the volatile next decade and beyond. This is the philosophy behind HERA’s Future Forum 20/20 VISION and the aligned HERA Innovation Awards, which will be presented at the HERA Future Forum Nation Dinner at the Auckland Museum Events Centre on 21 February 2020. To this end, HERA is looking for the industry’s top future-focused leader – the person who is the greatest exemplar, in the current market, of the combination of quality BAU leadership with a practical but bold and ambitious vision for the future. Troy Coyle, HERA’s CEO, says, “We are excited to see who in our industry emerges as the nominees and finalists for the Leading Metalhead Award. This award recognises major innovation being implemented within our industry. “We know our industry could be disrupted by the end of next decade by technology and alternative materials, and we want to identify, acknowledge and reward future-focused leadership which offers a way forward for other members who are looking to push innovation in their own companies and specialist areas.” Starting from 2020, the HERA Industry Awards will be every three years to recognise who has significantly contributed to the industry’s success. These were previously presented as part of the Metals NZ conference’s Industry Gala Dinner to those who had demonstrated considerable achievements in export and innovation. HERA is now shaking things up and aligning the awards with the new Future Forum series, which is about building a tribe of metalheads and casting a collective gaze to the future so the industry can prepare for disruption. About the HERA Industry Awards There […]

Cheap, lookalike hydraulic cylinders give NZ companies headaches

Cheap comes out expensive – lookalike cylinders cause downtime headaches Global advanced industrial tools and services leader Enerpac says the NZ market is falling victim to cheap, lookalike hydraulic cylinders that are causing significant headaches when they fail in service. Enerpac New Zealand Hydraulic Specialist, Mr Neville Stuart, says that unlike genuine Enerpac branded gear, lookalike cylinders have not been engineered for rugged conditions and optimum durability and are not backed by Enerpac’s nationwide service and warranty commitments. “Everyone is conscious of working within budget limitations, so when a $2,500 cylinder is available for under $500, it looks like a good deal. But what costs are incurred when that cylinder breaks down prematurely?” asks Mr Stuart. “It can be ten times that amount in terms of lost time, and hundreds of times that amount in terms of safety liability if they fail.” “Not only does production grind to a halt, but you now have to seek a replacement part, because there is no warranty or service with lookalike brands,” he says. Enerpac equipment is used in major projects where safety, precision and uptime are critical, in industries such as building, construction, civil and mechanical engineering, electrical utilities, manufacturing, mining and exploration, metal processing, oil and gas and transport maintenance. “At the end of the day it’s a case of ‘cheap comes out expensive’ because when you add up all the bills, a lookalike cylinder ends up causing far more costs, downtime, delays and other problems.” Mr Stuart has been raising awareness of New Zealand’s lookalike cylinder problem for years but says that the lookalike brands are persistent because they know they can make a quick dollar, then disappear before things go wrong. “The lookalike cylinders are usually painted in an almost identical yellow, and catalogues can even use […]

A year in focus for HERA

In 2019, HERA imbedded its new focus on automation and Industry 4.0 within its new strategy. In support of this, it was announced that we’ll build a new Innovation Centre. This will address the strategic need for the physical facility to facilitate technology transfer, prototyping, research and training to prepare our member companies for the Industry 4.0 transformation. This will also propel our NZ Welding Centre into the only Welding 4.0 facility in New Zealand – and support its rebrand to the Centre for Innovative Fabrication. Supporting the creation of the Innovation Centre was the appointment of our new Innovation Centre Manager, Greg Buckley. He will work closely with Holger Heinzel, our Industry 4.0 Engineer and will see him oversee construction of our Innovation Centre which will commence in early 2020, as well as enhance industry engagement in Industry 4.0, and create a community of practise around this thinking. Recognising the other underlying issues within the sector, we also created Kotahitanga, a HR Innovation Cluster (to address the skills crisis); Matauranga, the Digital Innovation Cluster; (to address industry communications) and Whakamarumaru, the Defence Innovation Cluster (to explore future pipeline opportunities within the Australian Defence program). We also launched “Stirring the Pot”, our new industry-focused podcast. Episodes include: “Ensuring you’re a ‘factory of the future’ in New Zealand”; “The future of manufacturing in New Zealand”; “Addressing the skills gap through diversity”; “The new breed of smart industry- advanced manufacturing”; and “Avoid death by a thousand cuts and automate!”. Improving productivity and capability Last year, we also initiated welding productivity and automation capability assessments for our members. This identifies improvement opportunities and benchmarks performance relative to the rest of the industry. Supporting this focus on improving productivity, we hosted world renowned international expert on the Theory of Constraints (bottlenecks), Arrie van Niekerk. […]

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Invert Robotics partners for better aircraft inspection

NDT Solutions, a long-established USA aerospace non-destructive Testing (NDT) service group, has teamed with innovative Invert Robotics company from Christchurch in a joint venture certain to change the process of aircraft inspection at the In-Service, OEM and Maintenance levels. Invert’s remotely controlled robot employs a patented suction mechanism that adheres and traverses a range of aircraft surfaces made of aluminium, carbon or glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP and GFRP). This unique process allows the technician to scan both the upper as well as the lower fuselage/wing surfaces from the remote location in both wet and dry environments. Currently the robot is equipped with a high-resolution camera to visualise and document surface conditions by transmitting video images to a ground-based screen for analysis by the technician. This process facilitates efficient inspections that can be shared immediately with an offsite engineering team. NDT Solutions will extend the capabilities of the robot by adding NDT functionality such as Ultrasound, Eddy Current, Thermography and will continue research on other inspection modalities. These enhancements will reduce the labour, improve safety and minimise tedious inspection processes allowing the skilled aircraft technicians to focus on more complex tasks. NDT Solution’s COO Larry Culbertson comments; “Our team is constantly looking for ways to improve inspection services and reduce the costs to our customers in this highly competitive industry. The unique technology that Invert brings is the ideal automated delivery platform for many of the NDT technologies already in use manually. “Time savings mean cost savings and our aerospace customers will have their aircraft returned to service sooner utilizing this cost-effective inspection approach in a safer environment. Recording the state of an aircraft proves the quality of our work and allows more accurate scheduling of required maintenance. We are excited to be part of this partnership that we believe will have […]

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