VOICEBOX Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

Servitisation business model cracks the manufacturing industry

With manufacturers around the world looking for new revenue streams and opportunities, many are finding significant potential in servitisation. By Gary Katzeff.

The Australian manufacturing industry is a difficult industry to be in right now. The COVID-19 crisis has put immense pressure on global supply chains, which has shone a spotlight on the importance of domestic manufacturing capabilities. Despite being a critical part of the Australian economy, manufacturing accounts for only 6% of Australia’s GDP in 2021. There is a widespread recognition that more needs to be done to build the resilience of this critical sector. However, market forces such as international competition mean companies in Australia cannot gain a competitive advantage through price. Many overseas manufacturing competitors have lower wage bills, raw material costs, and overheads. Meanwhile digital disruption is shaking up the way we do business, leaving companies who fail to digitally transform behind. Manufacturers around the world are looking for new revenue streams and opportunities. Many are turning to services and solutions such as implementation, maintenance upgrades and product lifecycle services. Rolls-Royce is often cited in business schools as a case study for how to separate manufacturing and services to create separate business streams. In fact, Rolls-Royce went one step further. It was one of the first companies to abandon the straight sales model in favour of the ‘power by the hour’ principle. This means almost every aspect of maintenance, monitoring and modernising of its engines are the responsibility of Rolls-Royce engineers. This is a significant departure from the traditional manufacturing model whereby manufacturers would sell a product and then charge for repair work to that product as required. Rolls-Royce is just one example of how servitisation is helping the manufacturing sector to secure more long-term revenue than a straight-through manufacturing model can provide. Manufacturers also struggle to position themselves as ‘market leaders’ – bringing unique products to market is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive in the modern era. One way companies can differentiate themselves, and continue to drive revenue, is through servitisation. The combination of systems, services, technology and interconnectivity can drive a servicedriven mindset. Data for insights

Companies need to look for new technology solutions in order to provide the services customers are looking for. Much of the insight is sitting there ready to be harnessed. Products and machines create data every time they complete an action and provide updates on their status and operational readiness. Manufacturers can use data to provide efficiencies in their supply chain process. Indeed, at Sage we have seen many examples of manufacturers that have spotted anomalies in the supply chain and stopped production before the issue cost them too much. Another example is cyber-manufacturing, which links together data from different machines, creating smart production lines that can adapt to change and recover from failure more quickly. Of course, projects with thousands of machines in different locations means there can be a mass of disconnected data. Making sense of all these data points is vital to produce better customer insights. This is where machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) is so important to help assimilate data and make rapid decisions. Naturally, the primary factor hindering servitisation for many brands is leadership, or an innate cultural and technical inertia to rapid change. An outdated business model and a lack of IT infrastructure is holding many back from progressing with a service-orientated strategy. This is where technology can be a great enabler through offering new ways to connect. The latest techniques in the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, machine learning devices, and predictive analytics can join the dots for the data points, allowing analysts to extrapolate greater insights. IoT and AI tools play a key role in providing proactive valueadded services to customers. Interconnected smart devices collect valuable data that can be used to provide services in addition to products. Ultimately, that delivers additional, personalised value to customers. Fundamentally, IoT allows business owners to extend the base services that they already offer. Manufacturers can start with simple projects involving tracking or visibility, to more sophisticated advanced services requiring automation, artificial intelligence or predictive analytics. Cloudbased business management systems create the platform for servitisation. It turns a business from one that just builds products to one that offers customer-focused services with products. Finding success with servitisation

While there’s no silver bullet when it comes to implementing a successful servitisation strategy, there are some essential factors which can help ensure success: 1. Create alignment between client and manufacturer through regular connection and engagement with customers. This is the key group that will benefit most from value-added services, while providing the data that will assist with innovation. 2. Prepare case studies of successful servitisation examples to showcase the value of your customers. 3. Ensure new services do not compete or conflict with what you already offer to avoid the potential cannibalisation of services. 4. Make sure the service offers fit or differentiate the brand or image of your manufacturing firm. 5. Drive momentum by tapping into current market trends, and stay up to date with the changing needs of your customer. Servitisation will help to build better long-term relationships, provide better visibility and open the door to new products and services to unlock new revenue streams. Manufacturers can turn an era of disruption on its head by using the window of change to find new innovations and relevant services to support their core products. In the age of acceleration, it could be the key to unlocking sustainable competitiveness.

Gary Katzeff is General Manager – ERP at Sage Software Australia & New Zealand. www.sage.com

Is now the time to pivot for a more sustainable future?

While businesses are often not designed for drastic change, the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving them with no choice but to shift gears. But where to? By Scott Lemon.

In 1999, ‘pivot’ was not a corporate buzzword; it was an iconic line from the sitcom Friends. The scene was simple: three friends struggling to get a couch up a narrow staircase, with a frustrated Ross incessantly screaming the famous line: “Pivot!” Fast forward to 2020 and you’re as likely to hear businesses talking about pivoting as you are to see a Friends pivot meme. The onset of COVID-19 has forced organisations out of their comfort zones to explore ventures they never thought of exploring, and quickly change business practices that would otherwise have taken years to implement. In a short span of time, we’ve seen restaurants become ghost kitchens, a vodka maker create carbon-negative hand sanitisers, and a paper-recycling company turn to recycled plastics to make face shields. Would leaders and executives have had the courage to shift the same way if there wasn’t a pandemic? Maybe not. Most businesses are not designed to change. At least not drastically. Businesses are typically designed to exploit their current business model and maximise it until they can. Their systems and processes are set up to achieve repeatability, quality control, risk mitigation, compliance, customer loyalty and other factors that contributed to past successes. Change rarely fits in. However, the world outside the business doesn’t stand still and wait for five and 10-year plans to shape up. It changes constantly in response to new technology, macro-economic forces, geopolitical forces, consumer expectations, and a once-in-a-century biological threat. There’s no other choice but to shift gears. But how can business leaders make sure they are pivoting in the right direction? Budget cuts and changes in priorities are common in times of crisis like COVID-19. It is understandable for companies to instinctively focus on staying afloat and keep their financial stability in check to survive. But profit isn’t everything. According to the World Economic Forum, we need to achieve the symbiosis of people, planet and profit to build a more resilient, sustainable future. Financial growth and plans for a sustainable future must go hand in hand. Natura CEO Roberto Marques put it simply: “We can’t run a business in a dead planet.” Ørsted, Denmark’s largest energy company, realised this early on. Amid the global financial crisis in 2007, it transformed its entire fossil fuel business to renewable energy and shifted to a more sustainable business model, earning them the title of the most sustainable company in the world. Although customer loyalty underpins business, it also holds it back. While consumers expect reliability and consistency from brands they support, they also expect them to innovate and offer something new. When the pandemic hit, sales at sustainable restaurant company Homegrown fell from having 50-100 daily orders to two or three. Instead of simply tweaking their business, they invested in making permanent changes in their services and moved to the surging grocery delivery space. To differentiate themselves from established corporations, they focused on sustainable pantry staples from local producers and farms, not easily found in grocery stores. According to Homegrown CEO Brad Gillis, business owners need to realise that COVID-19 has caused permanent shifts in customer behaviour: “We need to start thinking about meeting our customers where they’re at, and not expecting that they’ll come to you.” A recent global survey reveals that people want real change, for the world and their personal lives. Some 86% of adults said they want the world to significantly change and become more sustainable and equitable after the pandemic. They don’t want to go back to the way things were. To pivot successfully, businesses must understand what people want and need. It’s no longer just the end product that people are concerned about. It’s knowing and having faith in the entire process, what the product is made of, and how it was produced. “Consumers and employees are now acutely aware of how their lives can change overnight and how supply chains directly affect them,” says Abbie Morris, co-founder of Compare Ethics, a platform that connects consumers with verified sustainable products. Sales from its site increased by 150% in June 2020 compared with the previous month, suggesting consumers are now paying closer attention to supply chains. Nevertheless, there’s still work to be done. Take the humble pallet, for example. Like plastics, pallets are actually deemed an essential piece of equipment for many businesses, yet there has been little to no consideration given to how this critical element pivots to a more sustainable model. Out of approximately 140m pallets in Australia, 88% are made of native timber, making it a major culprit in the deforestation crisis. What if manufacturers pivoted to a more sustainable, recyclable pallet, such as Re>pal, manufactured locally to customer demands, and powered by renewable energy? It would be easy to say that building a recycled pallet industry isn’t a global priority. But last year, if an article had appeared decrying a world shortage of ventilators in the face of a possible pandemic, would governments have jumped to pay attention? Whether we expect industries and economies to ‘pivot’, ‘veer’ or do a complete U-turn, it’s not the action that matters, it’s the vision and the will. The ability or extent to which organisations can pivot depends on the investment they had made in resilience, and the mindset of their leaders and people. A sense of purpose among employees has proven an effective driver of change within a business. According to McKinsey, people who feel they are contributing to something bigger than themselves are likely to perform well and help the company to pivot successfully. It pays to know our ‘whys’. Perhaps, despite the havoc the pandemic has inflicted, something good can come of it. Of course, this does not take away from the loss and suffering that has occurred. However, if such a wake-up call allows world leaders, big corporations, and all of humanity to pay attention and refocus on what’s truly important, then it can only be considered a good thing. Business needs to provide room for change and give itself space to move and make adjustments when situations call for it. So, when our backs are pressed against a wall, we do what we need to do? We pivot.

Scott Lemon is a Lead Consultant – Digital Modelling at Aurecon. www.aurecongroup.com

Securing digital identities during a digital revolution

The pandemic was a catalyst for many industries to go through a once-in-a-generation digital transformation, and manufacturing was no exception. However, the manufacturing sector is also a prime target for cybersecurity criminals and nation-state threat actors. To combat such a challenge, manufacturers need consistent and robust cybersecurity strategies that protect data and assets. By Terry Burgess.

Manufacturing is one of the largest markets for Internet of Things (IoT) devices – second only to the IoT devices used in buildings and for security systems. Conventional methods of data security aren’t enough to keep up with the demands of modern manufacturing. As manufacturers progressively expand past local roots, subsequently creating a global market of suppliers and customers, how can organisations keep up with this increasing need for data-sharing while minimising vulnerabilities? A central component to managing complex value chains is with identity security. Visibility across the organisation is crucial in knowing who has access to what information and when. Manufacturers can have the strongest cybersecurity framework in place, but a partner could unintentionally create gaps, exposing internal data to potential threat actors. Contractors – or even some remote employees – may join full- or part-time staff across a wide range of roles on the factory floor, along with vendors, customers, auditors and regulators among others. This results in multiple access points being created, so it’s crucial that employee’s identities and their access to applications, data, and systems are managed and maintained. In order to maintain the integrity of a factory, a secure lifecycle of systems and machines need to be established and maintained along with the data generated. By implementing identity security, it will securely connect, automatically integrate and reconcile all users that are inside and outside the organisation with the correct access and permissions to connect between different ecosystems of services and employees. The rising complexity of the modern manufacturing industry has led to an evolving business model, thus, the need to abide by multiple data protection standards and regulations. Historically, manufacturers are often removed from the customer as products go through distribution entities before getting to the final end-user or consumer. Now, many manufacturers are shortening their time to market, with some choosing to sell directly to the end-user. However, access to personal identifiable information (PII) and customer information will increase. It is crucial that the manufacturing sector be prepared to protect new types of data while remaining compliant. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have the ability to learn and evolve as changes in the organisation occur. Its application for identity security across an organisation means that a manufacturer can confidently develop new go-to-market strategies, knowing that the influx of new data and high volume of information is automatically protected and only accessible by authorised users to ensure compliancy while keeping the business secure. This is essential, particularly when expanding into new markets and regions, or creating new partnerships. Traditionally, the implementation of technology within the manufacturing sector has had a strong focus on improving performance and safety. As cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated, it is paramount that manufacturers evolve alongside by utilising advancements such as ML and IoT to identify and close any gaps as new technology is integrated.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.

A cyberattack can infect and majorly disrupt a factory’s processes, causing stoppages, bottlenecks, and potentially permanent damage to equipment, thus, leading to financial damage that could cost a company thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars. It’s possible for these cyber intrusions to migrate and compromise associated systems such as customer data, value chain partners, employee information or other aspects of operations. Research shows that manufacturing executives indicate that four of the top 10 cyberthreats facing their organisations are directly attributable to internal employees. This includes, but is not limited to, phishing, direct abuse of IT systems, and use of mobile devices. Having automated identity security processes in place can help mitigate these risks and reduce human error. It’s important to perform regular cyber risk assessments and be transparent about the results across the business. Engaging in dialogue will not only drive increased cyber-awareness but it may lead to positive changes in attitudes towards strengthening cybersecurity posture. Increasing organisational vigilance is key to improving an organisation’s ecosystem. Consistent and robust cybersecurity strategies are necessary to protect data and assets. Elevating security processes with the use of AI and ML to complement the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry is pertinent to staying competitive while mitigating cyber risks. The challenges of overcoming cyber risks are constantly evolving, but by streamlining identity security processes, it expands the company’s security capabilities, reduce IT costs and drive overall value.

Terry Burgess is Vice President, APAC at SailPoint. www.sailpoint.com

Apart from any financial benefit what other reason is there to be a member of AMTIL?

The world is getting smaller and globalisation provides an abundance of opportunities and threats. AMTIL provides us with tools and support to stay connected and collaborate with businesses who are driven to harness the opportunities and counteract the threats together, and retain a strong manufacturing footprint here in Australia.

Erika Hughes, Integra Systems

Real Business Real People Real Members

Since 1999, AMTIL has been connecting business, informing of opportunities and growing the manufacturing community.

To be become an AMTIL member contact our Corporate Services Manager, Greg Chalker on 03 9800 3666 or email gchalker@amtil.com.au

Germany: Glass injection moulding

Shaping glass is mainly based on decades-old tech which is technologically demanding, energy-intensive and severely limited with shaping. For the first time, a team has developed a process (Glassomer) that makes it possible to form glass easily, quickly and in almost any shape using injection moulding. The team has combined polymer and glass processing which allows quick and cost-effective replacement of both mass-produced products and complex polymer structures and components with glass. Transparent glass could not be moulded in the injection moulding process until now. Developed from a special granulate designed inhouse, it is now possible to also mould glass in high throughput at just 130 °C. The injection-moulded components are then converted into glass in a heat treatment process. Requiring less energy than conventional glass melting, the glass components have a high surface quality, so that post-treatment steps such as polishing are not required.

University of Freiburg

Injection-moulded structures made from the newly developed Glassomer composite.

USA: Moving platform for 3D printing cuts waste & costs

A new dynamically-controlled base for 3D printing will reduce the need for printed supports. The 3D printing process creates a large amount of expensive and unsustainable waste and is a lengthy process. Each time a 3D printer produces custom objects, it also needs to print supports – printed stands that balance the object as the printer creates layer by layer. But these supports must be manually removed after printing, which requires finishing by hand and can result in shape inaccuracies or surface roughness. The materials the supports are made from often cannot be re-used. Researchers have created a low-cost reusable support method to reduce the need for 3D printers to print these supports. The system uses a programmable, dynamically-controlled surface made of moveable metal pins to replace the printed supports. The pins rise up as the printer progressively builds the product. There is a saving in printing time of about 40%.

Univeristy of Southern California

Australia: World-first aged care monitoring & alert tech

Melbourne-based company Sleeptite has launched the worldfirst smart monitoring system: REMi. which could revolutionise the aged care industry, delivering real-time and non-invasive resident monitoring and alerts. REMi is a three-part system comprising flexible sensors integrated into a medical grade mattress cover. Setting the REMi system apart from existing aged care monitoring devices are two world-first advancements developed in Melbourne: flexible and stretchable sensors that can monitor movement and vital signs when embedded in materials and the advanced manufacturing equipment and processes developed by Sleepeezee Bedding Australia, required to take the sensors made in a laboratory and mass-produce them at scale. “I’m delighted to not just see this technology being created in Australia but to also have it in a position it can be manufactured here“ said former Industry, Science & Technology Minister, Karen Andrews.

RMIT

World-first advancements developed in Melbourne set the new system apart.

USA: 3D printing polymers

Researchers have developed 3D-printable “bottlebrush” elastomer, resulting in printed objects that have unusual softness and elasticity. The discovery involves the self-assembly of bottlebrush polymers at the nanometer length scale, which causes a solid-to-liquid transition in response to applied pressure. When sufficient pressure is applied, it liquefies and can be squeezed through a syringe. This is called direct ink writing (DIW). Able to hold its shape for hours, once the object is printed, UV light is shined onto it to activate crosslinkers. The crosslinkers can link up nearby bottlebrush polymers, resulting in a super-soft elastomer. The material then becomes a permanent solid and exhibits extraordinary properties. The new material can be 3D-printed and processed without solvent and can stretch to three or four times its length.

University of California

Germany: Smart finger-ring with integrated RFID chip

3D printing with automated integration of electronics has been employed to produce a fingerring with an integrated tamperproof RFID chip. The ring is built up layer by layer, with a cavity left for the electronics where a robot system automatically picks up an RFID component and places it in the recess before the printing process continues. The chip is sealed by the ring, making it tamper-proof. How can the electromagnetic signals from the RFID chip be sent through metal which is normally an effective shield? The smart ring with integrated electronics is only slightly bigger The team used a frequency than a normal finger ring. of 125 kilohertz: This has a shorter range and is less effectively shielded by the metal. Another challenge was to protect the sensitive electronics of the RFID tags from the high temperatures involved in the manufacturing process. The technology can be used for other applications, ie: sensors in gear wheels.

Fraunhofer

UK: Plate-lattice metamaterial ‘tougher & lighter’ than aluminium

A new form of 3D-printed material made by combining commonlyused plastics with carbon nanotubes is tougher and lighter than similar forms of aluminium. The material could lead to the development of safer, lighter and more durable structures for the aerospace, automotive, renewables and marine industries. The researchers investigated whether new forms of plate-lattice design, manufactured from a plastic-nanotube composite, could make a metamaterial with even more advanced properties of stiffness, strength and toughness. Using their nanoengineered filament composite as the feedstock in a 3D printer, the filaments fused to build a series of plate-lattice designs. The polypropylene hybrid plate-lattice could withstand 19.9 joules per gram – a superior performance over similar micro-architected aluminium metamaterials and it also offers greater impact resistance. The plastics are recyclable.

University of Glasgow

USA: ‘Fingerprinting’ 3D printers

3D printing tech is prey to IP violation and can even threaten national security. To reduce illicit use, researchers are developing a way to track the origin of 3D-printed items. Each 3D printer has an extruder which has its own unique heating properties. These thermodynamic properties can be used to identify the specific extruder and thus, the model of 3D printer, as uniquely as a human fingerprint (ie ThermoTag). A researcher can thus examine the specific manner in which a 3D-printed object was made and compare that to a database of various extruders until a match is made. By examining and comparing the ThermoTag features of 45 different extruders of the same model, the researchers were able to correctly identify the source printer with an accuracy rate of 92%. The extruder could be replaced to avoid detection, which is why a database of these parts should be created.

University at Buffalo

Australia: Revolutionising space communications

We are entering a new space age due to the estimated 57,000+ satellites which are expected to be launched by the end of the decade. These satellites will support demand for space-derived data: from environmental monitoring to connecting to sensors on ‘Internet of Things’ networks. This will result in a US$130bn satellite communications market which Australian startup Quasar Satellite Technologies is poised to take advantage of. Using radio telescope technology developed by CSIRO, Quasar is creating a world-leading ground station service capable of communicating with hundreds of satellites simultaneously, instead of the one-toone transmission which ground stations perform today. One-to-one transmission results in heavy congestion which limits the potential of satellites and the industries they support. Quasar is backed by $12m from CSIRO and other companies.

CSIRO

Australia: Mortorsport in the sky

Australian startup Alauda Aeronautics has unveiled a full-sized, remotely-operated electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) - the Airspeeder Mk3. Airspeeder & parent company Alauda are currently manufacturing Mk3 electric flying cars at their Adelaide HQ, with 10 racing vehicles being supplied to teams for the Airspeeder Mk3 racing series (remotely-piloted races). The Airspeeder Mk3 is a giant technical leap forward and is the final version before the introduction of manned craft - the Mk4 - next year. The Mk3 features tech/engineering never seen on an eVTOL craft and include LiDAR and Radar collision avoidance systems; a carbon fibre frame and fuselage and an "octocopter X" control which allows the craft to make hairpin turns, while also being able to move vertically. Airspeeder’s technical HQ is in Adelaide and commercial operations are run from London.

Airspeeder/mixed

Australia: World-leading CubeSat satellites launched

Last March, a joint UNSW Canberra Space and RAAF CubeSat mission successfully launched with Rocket Lab’s ‘They Go Up So Fast’ mission. This represents a significant step forward in Australia’s sovereign space capabilities. M2 will deliver worldleading CubeSat tech including formation flying, where the craft is able to split into two separate satellites and fly in sequence, enabling significant mission flexibility. The data captured can inform maritime surveillance, weather observations and low-orbit satellite traffic, reconfigurable throughout the mission. This mission is one of the most complex CubeSat programs ever attempted and is almost entirely designed and built in Australia, supported by optical telescopes developed by Aperture Optical Sciences Inc., US.

UNSW

“Space is the highway of the stars, but current ground station technology is the equivalent of one-lane on-ramps,” Quasar CEO Phil Ridley. Quasar Satellite Technologies is the new Australian space startup which is set to revolutionise space communication by allowing ground stations to talk to hundreds of satellites at once using technology developed by the CSIRO. Commercialisation of this breakthrough research will help to put more Australians into new jobs in this country’s growing space industry. “CSIRO’s technology breakthrough enabled the world to connect without wires using fast WiFi, and now our technology will help connect satellites using our breakthrough phased array technology” added CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall.

Innovative Talks

on the future of FMCG in Australia

The fourth industrial revolution has certainly made its way to the doorsteps of the Australian manufacturing industry and the future of our local FMCG manufacturing has never been brighter for businesses that dare to think differently and apply innovation via advanced manufacturing techniques and technology to compete on a global scale.

Vative has been supporting Australian manufacturers in deploying Continuous Improvement strategies and driving operational excellence since 2006. Over the last 15 years of business transformation, we have seen firsthand that without the innovative thinking and adaption to change within the mindset of the key leadership, a business will struggle to shift towards becoming truly innovative. Vative discussed this recently with a Melbourne Food Manufacturer who have their eyes set on growth and expansion not only in within the Australian market but heavily into the export market where Australian quality is in high demand globally. NMPS Food Group are a family-owned business currently in its second generation of management. We spoke with Managing Director, Evan Tsioukis, about the future of advanced manufacturing for Australian businesses setting their sights on implementing transformative technologies. Here is what Evan had to say:

How is technology shaping the manufacturing industry and what does Industry 4.0 mean to your business?

“Our recent exponential growth has pushed us to transition from a family owned and operated business to a corporate enterprise and with this transition we know we that to survive we need to invest in incorporating advanced manufacturing techniques. With this evolution we have come to the realisation that to continue to capitalize on our growth we must embrace technology and enter the 4th industrial revolution of competitive manufacturing. We know that if we do not think innovative, we will be left behind and our growth will stifle, so over the last 6-7 years we have been focused in capturing relevant data across our business so we can now systematise and automate our manufacturing volumes, quality, defects, weight and throughput.” What strategies are you currently applying in your business to ensure process controls through the use of technology and how is this implemented and adapted to the wider team members?

“The use of technology is allowing us to improve as a business, and we need to continuously be improving otherwise we just fall behind very quickly in this industry. Our journey into the 4th industrial revolution required us to analyse our current state and ensure our business is not only technologically ready though we need to ensure our people adapt a mindset of continuous improvement otherwise adding technology speeds up inefficient processes. Our vision is to drive process improvement through strategy, leadership alignment, analysis and training as we have invested significantly to apply Continuous Improvement across our entire business and ensure it is sustained for the long term, this strategy will inevitably support our plans to use technology for the betterment of our future and give us the capacity for growth.”

You’re quite the mover and shaker in business, particularly with the implementation and use of technology such as the performance monitoring sensors you are testing and trialing at the moment. What will this type of technology do for your business?

“We are in the midst of optimising our entire operations to make processes simpler and make data capturing easier. Food manufacturing in Australia particularly when you are supplying the major supermarkets is highly focused on maintaining quality manufacturing practices and equally as important with keeping up with delivery and supply. Machine downtime and changeover is typically our biggest opportunity to improve and with the implementation of IoT technology we can measure and act on optimising it to service our customers with greater speed which in turn gives enhances our profitability. The implementation of data measuring technology has typically been a high cost, high complex strategy though with devices such as Vative’s PeformHub we now have a ‘plug and play’ solution giving me and my management team instant transparency on machine effectiveness and measuring throughput. With greater optimisation on our machines and better transparency on productivity on the production lines, we can continue to meet our global demands particularly in the meat-free product range. Together with PerformHub we are investing and trialing Artificial Intelligence systems as a means to manage quality control, this allows our human resources to be better deployed within the business.”

You’ve travelled a lot overseas to Europe and other parts of the world (pre-COVID) to see what others are doing in the space of advanced food manufacturing and technology. How do Australian food businesses compare to those manufacturing in other counties?

“Australia is far enough from the rest of the world which in today’s climate gives us a great sense of protection for our industry though the distance also does inhibit our capacity to stay in touch with the latest technological advancements that come out of Europe and America. Having sourced many of our machinery from Germany, I have found that technology that was released to market 3-5 years ago over there has not even made its way to industry here in Australia, granted though our population also contributes to the lack of opportunity as it does not attract foreign markets to sell here. The Australian Government really needs to support and prop up advanced manufacturing otherwise just like any business that fails to innovate it continues to fall behind until it becomes irrelevant and that would not be good for our industry. Australia has quite the reputation for food quality and is continually growing its attraction to export markets around the globe, with competitive manufacturing practices coupled with technology we can truly become a nation of producers again.”

Vative’sPerformHub

Performance Monitoring and Tracking

Cost effective IoT device

Real time data on overall equipment effectiveness

Plug-and-play technology Monitors productivity and reports machine downtime, changeover, cycle times, and quality outputs Target vs actual dynamic reporting and dashboards

Mobile friendly and network independent Tablets can be synchronised with production schedules Secure cloud based solution with no fuss installation

Full customisation available to meet individual specifications

To find out more about how Vative’s PerformHub can support your manufacturing business to engage with Industry 4.0, visit our website vative.com.au/perform-hub