News Ticker

AI can make a positive impact

AI technologies are beginning to have a major impact on New Zealand’s economy and society, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. Reports show that changes brought by AI will be as significant as the ongoing changes that have brought computers and internet into all aspects of business, government and everyday life over the last 30 years, he says. Muller was commenting on the New Zealand AI Forum’s latest research report which highlights the importance of AI for New Zealand’s future growth. “Last year the AI Forum released a report that called for a national AI strategy, that would be nice, however technology is moving so fast we just need to get on with it. “It is excellent that this new report identifies we should immediately begin considering the role of AI to support all of the existing national strategies,” he says. “We need to consider AI in all sectors including health, education, agriculture and banking. AI will be useful in almost every way of life in New Zealand. “For example, how can AI reduce the road toll? According to this study, AI has the potential to save 64 lives a year, prevent 7200 injuries and more than $800 million in social costs. “The research clearly highlights the value of AI for achieving New Zealand’s wellbeing, sustainability and economic goals.” The report provides a showcase of AI case studies, analysis of what’s needed to boost acceptance and adoption and a first examination of Māori attitudes, perceptions of and engagement with AI. The research identifies that New Zealand urgently needs to increase its focus on areas such as investment in AI, skills and talent, research, trusted data, ethics and regulation. The report shows how AI solutions can be used to improve wellbeing, productivity and sustainability.

New equity deal announced for industry automation specialist

CR Automation managing director Peter Jenkins. An award-winning industry automation specialist is set to significantly extend its market reach thanks to a new equity partnership with a horticultural heavyweight. Following recent collaboration on a number of projects, CR Automation (CRA) has decided to sell a 50 per cent equity stake to Jenkins Group – a key industry player throughout Australasia’s horticulture post-harvest industry. With subsidiaries in New Zealand and Australia (Tauranga-based Jenkins Freshpac Systems Ltd and NSW-based J-Tech Systems PTY), Jenkins Group provides an extensive range of labelling, packaging and handling systems to the fruit and vegetable industry across both countries. Hawke’s Bay-based CR Automation provides automation, robotic and post-harvest solutions to a broad range of industries including food and beverage, water and wastewater, materials handling, cool storage, meat and wool processing and general manufacturing. Managing Director Peter Richards says the 18-year-old tech company has experienced exponential growth over the past three years and has been looking for an equity partner who could help sustain that growth and ensure longevity. “We wanted a partner founded on similar ideals who would add value and provide market access beyond our existing client base,” Richards explains. “Jenkins Group are an innovative, family-owned company with 136 years of success behind them. They are very client-focused and trade with a high level of integrity which is an excellent fit for us.” Innovation is at the core of both companies, and CRA won the “Most Innovative Solution” award for ABB robotics at the 2019 ASIA Value Provider Conference. Richards says he is immensely proud of the engineering capacity the CRA team has developed and recent growth was primarily due to a strategic initiative of developing bespoke material handling and machinery for a broad range of industry players. “Jenkins were very impressed by CR Automation’s engineering capacity […]

Innovative 3D solutions for AEC Industry

FARO, renowned for 3D imaging solutions for construction BIM, has an innovative set of 3D solutions specifically developed for AEC professionals. FARO Indoor Mobile Scanner As 3D Laser Scanning becomes more ubiquitous across various industries, there is an ever increasing need to make the scanning process and data processing more efficient. Conventionally, this has been addressed with a variety of mobile mapping solutions. However, these solutions typically have limitations in terms of accuracy and data fidelity. The Indoor Mobile Scanning solution enables kinematic 3D scans to be completed up to 7X faster than a series of traditional, fixed point scans over comparable areas. Thus, projects that took days can be executed in just a few hours. Additionally, as the Mobile Scanner includes fixed scan capability as a standard feature, users can simply switch to high-fidelity scan mode in real time for seamless integration with mobile scan data. The Indoor Mobile Scanner solution combines several leading technologies, including FARO’s patented Focus Laser Scanner technology, which have been optimised to operate in concert. Current owners of Focus Laser Scanners or ScanPlan products will have a simple upgrade path to the Indoor Mobile Scanning solution, which protects their original purchase investment. FARO As-Built Modeller FARO As-Built Modeler Software enables AEC professionals to leverage the smoothest Scan to BIM workflow in the industry to date. As-Built Modeler is specifically designed to minimise the effort and time required to create as-built documentation, which is the main task across AEC professionals in the building, facility and infrastructure design phases. This comprehensive and innovative platform automates many cumbersome processing steps that must be performed manually today. Powerful tools allow the easy creation of CAD objects that can be directly imported in any CAD system independent of the specific CAD software, dramatically simplifying the modelling workflow for FARO […]

Worried about artificial intelligence?

Productivity Commission Chair, Murray Sherwin, CNZM We’ve been asked at the Productivity Commission to explore the impact of technological change on the future of work. This month we released New Zealand, technology and productivity – the first of four reports on the topic. We’ve been assigned the task because Ministers are genuinely troubled about the potential for emerging technology, especially robotics and artificial intelligence, to replace workers, undermine the security of work and working conditions, and in doing so, disrupt the labour market and the social order, and undermine wider community wellbeing. There is certainly no shortage of pundits telling us that most jobs will disappear or change fundamentally and that we should prepare for a very different future of work. Our approach is to try to understand what is going on so that we can respond to developments that are real, rather than imagined or assumed. What are the channels by which new technologies enter and diffuse through the New Zealand economy? Adoption of new technology happens as the result of decisions made by individual firms – large and small – across an economy. The ambition for improved profitability and growth are key drivers. We know that adoption of new technologies requires access to capital and may require other complementary investments as well. It’s not usually just a simple case of buying a new machine or computer programme; firms may need to reorganise their business or change their business model. That’s quite an investment and most firms don’t take those decisions lightly. Firms will make decisions in the context of how well their industry and the overall economy is performing, and their owners’ appetite for risk. But we know that when firms adopt tech and improve their bottom line, the country’s productivity also improves, giving us higher income growth […]

Team NZ gets a lift in lead up to Cup

NZ Crane Hire is on board as an official Team New Zealand supplier and is responsible for lifting the team’s race boat in and out of the water at its Viaduct Harbour base. Team New Zealand’s new 75-foot AC75 foiling monohull, Te Aihe, was lifted into the water for the first time recently with NZ Crane Hire’s Demag AC 250 all-terrain mobile crane. NZ Crane Hire’s Managing Director, Deane Manley, says the company has done thousands of large-scale lifts in its 60-year history but there was added pressure with many eyes watching the launch. “This boat is precious cargo and carries the hopes of a nation, so it is a little different. But essentially cranes are based on simple geometry, so it comes down to careful planning and a high level of skill from our crane drivers to get the job done well. “The team and I are also looking forward to playing a small part in helping the team defend the Cup in 2021,” he says. Mr Manley says the company will have a crane based permanently at the New Zealand syndicate in the lead up to and during the Cup in 2021. Grant Dalton, CEO Team New Zealand, says the build up to the America’s Cup would not be possible without NZ Crane Hire. “The boat weighs 6.5 tonnes and there are some very interesting winds around the Viaduct so getting the boat in and out of the water as safely and efficiently as possible on a regular basis is key.” The 36th America’s Cup is returning to Auckland’s waterfront in 2021 after Emirates Team New Zealand won the Cup in Bermuda in 2017. The racing period will take place from March 6th – March 21st. It will be a best-of-13, first-to-seven-points series.

Xcelerator speeds digital future of industry

Xcelerator is an integrated portfolio of software, services and application development platform that can be personalised and adapted to fit customer and industry-specific needs to help companies of all sizes become digital enterprises. Xcelerator combines the full portfolio of Siemens’ software for design, engineering and manufacturing with an expanded Mendix low-code, multiexperience application development platform. The Mendix platform now includes cloud and app services for digital engineering and Internet of Things (IoT) powered by MindSphere the cloud-based, open IoT operating system from Siemens, in addition to Mendix’s market-leading unified low-code and no-code development environments. Unique to Xcelerator, this platform drives digital transformation by enabling anyone in the ecosystem, including citizen developers and engineers to easily build, integrate and extend their existing data and systems.

New Plymouth company certified ISO 45001

Asset integrity solutions provider, Stork Technical Services New Zealand Ltd (Stork) has been certified ISO 45001: the global occupational health and safety management system standard in August 2019. Introduced in 2018, ISO 45001 provides a framework to develop health and safety management systems which improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions. Says Janice Halliburton, HSEQ Manager at Stork: “When ISO 45001 was published last year, we chose to upgrade from our previous accreditation AS/NZS 4801. Following a year of hard work by our team, integrating the system into our way of life, we underwent a three-day audit and were certified as compliant with no non-conformance through auditing body Telarc.” Areas covered by ISO 45001 include: Hazard identification, risk and opportunity assessment; emergency preparedness and response; communication; as well as monitoring, measurement, analysis and performance evaluation. The standard also adopts Annex SL a management system format that allows for easy consolidation of an integrated management system with ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. “Integrity and client satisfaction is of great importance to us. Through our head office in New Plymouth, we now have a fully integrated management system being certified for Quality: ISO 9001: 2015, Environment: ISO 14001:2015, Health & Safety: ISO 45001 and accredited with IANZ,” says Rob Sullivan, General Manager and Director at Stork. The ISO certifications supports the company’s IANZ accreditation, proving the company has a quality management system. “Clients can have confidence in our consistency of service quality, delivery and credibility,” concludes Sullivan.

Nelson manufacturer award winner

A Nelson-based contract manufacturer for products made from high-quality natural ingredients has for the second year running won the Supplier of the Year Award for New Zealand’s natural health products industry. Industry body Natural Health Products NZ recently announced Alaron Products as this year’s winner. The award, which was decided by popular vote among Natural Health Products NZ’s members, recognises a supplier that has made a significant contribution to the businesses of many. Natural Health Products NZ’s Chairperson Lorraine Moser says Alaron Products has developed an excellent reputation during more than 25 years of custom manufacturing nutraceutical products. “They are known for their high attention to detail and quality, and excellent customer service. “Being voted as winner for the second year running shows the high esteem in which Natural Health Products NZ members hold Alaron Products. As one voter said: They never fail to wow us with their customer service, management of our account and quality of the finished goods.”

Methven changes ownership, still the same quality product

Being acquired in April by Australia’s GWA Group will only create more opportunities for shower and tapware company Methven, one of New Zealand’s oldest and most innovative. Founded in 1886 in Dunedin as an iron and brass foundry, Methven still has its customer service function in that city today, with its head office and a factory in Auckland. Methven brand director, Matt Jones, says the company hasn’t always been about showers and taps either, with it even making ammunitions for the New Zealand Army during the war years. It wasn’t until 1896 that the company started making taps, as well as copper laundry vessels, and while it’s stuck with tapware, it’s expanded into valves and also shower products that are known for their innovation and design. As for what being acquired by GWA Group will mean, Mr Jones says simply a bigger offering for customers. “Methven becoming a subsidiary of GWA Group just makes sense. It brings a collection of strong, complementary kitchen, bathroom and laundry brands together that cover the commercial and residential markets, and clearly there are benefits in increasing our product portfolio overseas.” In 2018 Methven generated 31 per cent of its revenue domestically, 42 per cent from Australia, 25 per cent from the United Kingdom and the remainder from China and other Asian countries. Following the acquisition, GWA Group now has 143 staff in NZ, with the new parent company committing to keeping New Zealand as a design and innovation base. GWA Group also compete in sanitary ware, showers, tapware, sinks and tubs with the Caroma, Dorf and Clark brands. Mr Jones says that since 1995 when Methven launched FastFlow, its technology to address flow and solve water pressure issues in homes, it has cultivated a culture of innovation based on what its customers want. “Innovation […]

From chicken feathers to fire retardant

Researchers at the University of Auckland have developed a way to turn chicken feathers into a high-performing fire retardant. Chicken is a popular source of protein in most parts of the world and millions of chickens are produced each year for us to eat – in New Zealand it’s estimated we each eat, on average, about 40 chickens a year. Billions of chicken feathers are produced by the poultry industry, most of which end up in the incinerator or landfill. Chicken feathers are, in short, an international waste problem. However, Distinguished Professor Debes Bhattacharyya of the Faculty of Engineering has found a way to use chicken feathers as a base for a fire retardant, one that is safer than many fire retardants, cheaper to produce, and solves an international waste problem at the same time. “People pay to get rid of chicken feathers,” he says. Chicken feathers are made of a keratinous material that is found in the hair, wool, horns and hooves of mammals. They are also naturally occurring flame inhibitors. Fire retardants are added to industrial and consumer products such as furniture, textiles, electronics, even Christmas trees, as well as building products such as insulation. Traditionally halogen compounds were added to create flame retardant material, but while they were effective they were highly toxic. “They might have saved you from death by burning, but have exposed people to many more effects that are detrimental to health. “Furthermore, as a result of the environmental long life and bioaccumulation, traces of the compounds have been detected in everything from household dust to breast milk, causing hormone-disrupting effects,” says Dr Bhattacharyya. As a result there has been a global shift away from halogenic retardants and toward other types of retardants among which ammonium polyphosphate (APP) is the most prominent. However, as […]

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