October 2016
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz News 6 Business XPO does it
10 Manufacturing Technology
again!
New Zealand’s Productivity Problem Dieter Adam, Chief Executive, New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association
Brigid van Wanrooy
A set of simple
management practices can help manufacturing companies outperform. International research is mounting on the case for a group of management tools – known as high performance work practices – for improving business performance. And the evidence is particularly compelling in manufacturing. We are not talking about millions of dollars of investment in R&D or capital. We are talking about a set of human resource practices that are focused on: 1. improving employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities 2. motivating employees to perform, and 3. providing employees with the opportunity to contribute to how their work is done. It presents quite a paradox: manufacturing businesses, on the whole, are not implementing a set of practices that will boost performance.
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Manufacturing 22 Smart Fourth industrial revolution
A future world full of driverless cars…seriously?!
The secret to unlocking productivity in manufacturing
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In recent decades, New Zealand has been lagging behind many OECD countries in productivity. New Zealanders continue to work longer hours than many other OECD countries, but our productivity (output per hour worked) remains lower in comparison. Correcting this problem and accelerating productivity growth across our economy is a key part of creating a wealthier country and helping to improve living standards for everyone.
powering the rise of smart manufacturing.
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There is a link between labour productivity and wages – our failure to improve productivity has contributed to our poor progress in closing the income gaps between New Zealand and many of our trading partners that have higher per capita incomes – Australia is the often cited example. In 2013 the Productivity Commission issued a report discussing New Zealand’s productivity – all the following data points come from that report, which is worth checking out. The above shows New Zealand’s performance compared to a section of OECD countries. You can see we still work longer hours than the selection, but our GDP per capita and GDP per hour worked is significantly lower, and the trend is moving in the wrong direction.
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CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS 1
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ADVISORS
The secret to unlocking productivity in manufacturing. New Zealand’s productivity problem.
Craig Carlyle
Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.
4 EDITORIAL Productivity.
5 COMPANY PROFILE
Bobux…stepping up to market demands.
6 BUSINESS NEWS
Catherine Beard
Is Executive Director of Export NZ and Manufacturing, divisions of Business NZ, NewZealand’s largest business advocacy group, representing businesses of all sizes.
Mood buoyant at FoodTECH PackTECH/MHL.
7 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
PlantPAx to drive productivity, increase efficiency.
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Manufacturing the Future with 3D printing. A future world of driverless cars…seriously?
11 DEVELOPMENTS
Steel industry makes quality certification compulsory. Christchurch wins 2020 International Structural Engineering Congress.
Dieter Adam
Chief Executive, New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association has a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology, consulting and senior management roles in R&D, innovation and international business development.
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ARANZ Medical named Supreme Innovator of the Year. Lewis Woodward
Science fiction of the last century now very close to reality. Activating disruption in our industry.
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17 SMART MANUFACTURING
Is Managing Director of Connection Technologies Ltd, Wellington and is passionate about industry supporting NZ based companies, which in turn builds local expertise and knowledge, and provides education and employment for future generations.
Data sparks the fourth industrial revolution. Polyamide radically reduces friction and wear. A fourth industrial revolution powering rise of smart manufacturing. Dr Wolfgang Scholz
Key ingredients for designing smart machines and equipment.
Is HERA Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers NZ.
24 FOOD MANUFACTURING
We’re for good – NZ Aquaculture at its best.
26 WORKSHOP TOOLS
SMART electric torque wrench has mission in mind.
23
Advanced CNC solutions.
30 ANALYSIS
At last, effective job scheduling software for manufacturers. Taking hadron collider to new heights.
31 REAR VIEW
Battling contamination and sleep deprivation to take hadron collider to new heights
Garth Wyllie
Is EMA’s Executive Officer, Manufacturing & Industry Groups. He is a strong advocate for the manufacturing sector. In his 20-plus years with the organisation Garth has managed a range of sector groups, with manufacturing being a key focus.
Versatile AC/DC welding machine packed with features.
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Productivity PUBLISHER
Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd,1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.
MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
CONTRIBUTORS
Dieter Adam, Holly Green, Dieter Adam, Brigid van Wanrooy, Alexa Delbosc, Dr.Troy Coyle, Lisa De Propris www.mscnewswire.co.nz
ADVERTISING
To earn more by producing more. To close the income gap. The word productivity can mean so much. As can the word productive. How productive have you been at work today has a lot to do with the productivity level arrived at in the company you work for. Some companies produce heaps; some, like contract manufacturers, may only produce three items in a day, yet are highly productive.
Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 879 5815 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz
Why is it, as Dieter Adam says on Page 1, that New Zealanders work longer hours than those in other OECD countries but our productivity – output per hour worked – remains low in comparison?
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Jason Bowerman E: jason.bowerman@gmail.com
PUBLISHING SERVICES On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
“Correcting this problem and accelerating productivity growth across our economy is a key part of creating a wealthier country and helping to improve living standards for everyone” he says.
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Vol.7 No.9 October 2016 Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.
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One of the main reasons is incentives for workers. To earn more by producing more. To close the income gap. Brigid van Wanrooy believes the answer is in a set of simple management practices, namely: Improving employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities; motivating employees to perform; providing employees
with the opportunity to contribute to how their work is done. I’d also suggest employees being part of profit-sharing in the company, increasing their responsibility level to the good of the sum of parts. But let’s get the productivity levels up first! In this issue, you can also read about Bobux, a company on the move, disruptive technologies, driverless cars, 3D printing and globalisation, the Steel Industry raises the bar, key ingredients for designing smart machines and a lot more. In closing, congratulations to XPO Exhibitions for the recently held FoodTech PackTech and MHL trade fairs. Good comments coming back, happy clients, some great equipment and services on display for appreciative visitors involved in some of New Zealand’s key growth and export industries.
Success Through Innovation
EDITORIAL
Doug Green Coming in December issue…
The Year in Review
To be included please email me publisher@xtra.co.nz
ASIA
MANUFACTURING NEWS
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Your success stories, thoughts on the business year, where to in 2017.
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt
COMPANY PROFILE
Bobux…Stepping up to market demands *Omnichannel retailing is focused on creating a seamless consumer experience for the connected customer who uses traditional and digital shopping channels simultaneously throughout the purchase journey. Chris and Colleen Bennett’s idea for a business came in an unusual form - their eighteen-month-old daughter Chloe’s feet. Bobux New Zealand was inspired by a hunt for shoes that were good for their baby’s sensitive feet (and weren’t such a challenge to get on her!). After extensive research, Chris discovered that growing feet in inflexible shoes was the leading cause of adult foot problems, and so his architectural flair came into its own when he began designing a pair of shoes for his daughter. “When a baby is born they have no bones or muscles in their feet, so you can really dictate their form by what footwear you choose”, Andrew Sharp, CEO of Bobux, explains. “Chris had the structural knowledge and Colleen had the artistic skill to create an answer to their problem, and so Bobux was born.” Chloe is now Office Manager at her parent’s company, which has seen tremendous growth over the last 25 years.
The Bobux range has expanded over the years and now encompasses newborns up to children around seven years old. “Each child is different - we go by stage, not age- but all bones are fully formed by the age of seven. We may look at school shoes but right now we’re focusing on what we’re doing well.” Not trying to be ‘everything to everyone’ Now closing in on their Silver anniversary, Bobux began exporting to Australia only two years after launching, and to the UK and US a year later. “When you’re in a small country like New Zealand, you can either expand your product range to appeal to everyone or you can stay niche and grow your audience outside of NZ. The issue many Kiwi businesses have is that they try to be everything to everyone, and lose the significance of who they are. Bobux wanted to stay focused on their message, and that was the start of our export journey!”.
Their store in East Tamaki is Bobux’s sole NZ base, which used to be their manufacturing station but is now just used for warehousing. “As with most manufacturers and exporters today, the cost of manufacturing in NZ was untenable so we shifted to Indonesia about 5 years ago. We chose Indonesia primarily because they treat animals well, so their leather quality is one of best in the world. They also have a really good shoe industry so their expertise and skills are great.
Customers want to shop around now and use an omni channel* approach,
“ Bobux also use contract warehouses in the UK and are looking at similar options in Australia, “but speed of delivery may not vastly improve, and it’s the same for Continental Europe. With Brexit we’ll likely be looking at a few changes; we’re considering The Netherlands because of
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Commercial & industrial growth
Employment growth
Economic output
Crime rate East Tamaki is the largest industrial precinct in Auckland with 2000 businesses and a growth rate higher than the regional average.
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Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc.
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BUSINESS NEWS
Failure is interesting – it’s part of making progress. You never learn from success, but you do learn from failure. -Sir James Dyson, British inventor
Mood buoyant at co-located Foodtech Packtech and MHL Expo A record attendance of more than 4000 (mainly) food manufacturers descended upon the biennial Foodtech Packtech and MHL Expo trade show last week in Auckland, with organisers claiming it a huge success. More than 240 exhibitors were on display across 4 halls of the ASB showgrounds in Auckland – the largest contingent of exhibitors in more than a decade with the show collocating with their recently acquired Materials Handling and Logistics Expo. More than 80 of the 240 exhibitors were displaying materials handling related product – so it really fulfilled the brief for trade attendees – helping complete the “Pasture (or seabed) to plate” story for Food Manufacturers visiting the show. “Exhibitors have been completing post-show surveys saying the quality of visitor was spot on,” says Brent Spillane MD of the show. “We’ve had feedback that the sector was very buoyant with many outlaying large CapEx to buy plant, packaging, machinery, equipment and technology for their factories,” says Spillane. The event attracted a strong contingent of international visitors too – with large groups of Chinese and Australian delegates. “We’re excited about the growing internationalisation of the
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event with ongoing dialogue with industry stakeholders around creating an international food week and conference attached to the show in years to come. When you get this many industry professionals attending the show – there’s a natural progression to create ancillary conferences.” The event hosted three full days of seminars hosted by the NZ Institute of Food Science and Technology, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and other relevant sector bodies. “We had a very high calibre of speakers covering issues ranging from Risk Management in Exports through to a new $15m MBIE funded Food Research fund – across the three days.” Rebooking for FTPT and the MHL Expo have already been strong as exhibitors confirm their prime locations to return to in 2018. Next show dates are 18-20 September 2018 www.foodtechpacktech.co.nz www.mhlexpo.co.nz
the quality of visitor was spot on.
Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. - Albert Schweitzer
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
PlantPAx 4.0 to drive productivity, increase efficiency The newest release of the PlantPAx Distributed Control System helps industrial producers modernise their plants and reduce time to market. The PlantPAx System 4.0 includes more than 60 new features and capabilities addressing automation productivity, enabling technology and enhanced control to help meet operational goals: • Automation productivity: new design capabilities help decrease the time required to deploy a PlantPAx system; and reduce life-cycle costs.
• Providing all the core capabilities expected from a traditional DCS, while enabling plant-wide control and optimization.
• Enabling technology: improvements in virtualization, networking, and mobility deliver an improved, robust user experience.
• Leveraging scalable and modular architectures to match exact control requirements and reduce time to market.
• Enhanced control: improvements to system capabilities, including PlantPAx model predictive control (MPC), provide the ability to manage process disturbances to maximize process performance.
• Utilizing open, information-enabled and secure architectures for easy connectivity to business systems and third party networks.
First On The Market
Improved User Experience
As technology continues to evolve, companies need to be more productive and drive inefficiencies out of their processes to stay competitive. A system is required that seamlessly integrates people, processes, and technology into the Connected Enterprise to better address the many challenges.
Leveraging network improvements and built-in mobility, the PlantPAx system delivers a more reliable user experience. Expanded industrial Ethernet switches support Layer topologies, enhancing scalability for a variety of applications. Smaller control systems can now be integrated into larger enterprise networks with a common, fully supported network infrastructure. The network switches include embedded Cisco technology to integrate and translate operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) so it’s easier for process operators to configure and manage system networks.
PlantPAx system is the first single, plant-wide technology shared between your DCS and your other automation systems, making PlantPAx the Modern DCS. This PlantPAx release drives down capital expenditures, provides operational benefits, and lowers the total cost of ownership while:
• Providing flexible options in the delivery and support for the system.
Driving Productivity in the Modern Plant
of Process Objects in the context of their intended use. This includes control strategies for I/O processing, device control, and regulatory control.
The release includes enhancements in controller configuration capabilities in Logix Designer, a new system-wide configuration environment, Studio 5000 Architect, and Studio 5000 Application Code Manager. Studio 5000 represents a broader strategy to integrate system design tools and increase automation productivity, with a focus to help producers build systems using this platform in the most productive way.
The PlantPAx Application Configuration User manual explains how to import the strategy and simply map to the I/O using program parameters. This greatly reduces the time it takes to deploy a new control loop. Using process strategies will: • Ensure characterized performance with known control strategy configurations
A new component in Studio 5000, Studio 5000 Architect, allows users a view into the application, inclusive of visualization and controllers, from a single application tree. Users can modify the application by launching directly into the object being edited (in View Studio or Logix Designer) and search for a control loop and launch into the configuration without concern about which controller the loop is in. This greatly simplifies the deployment of new systems, including deployment of Rockwell Automation Libraries.
• Reduce implementation time • Promote consistent applications and user experience The PlantPAx system helps users to make better, faster decisions. It enables them to respond more quickly to customers’ demands and fast-changing specifications.
In addition, the Rockwell Automation Library of Process Objects now includes Process Strategies, pre-built routines using the Rockwell Automation Library
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once. -Samuel Smiles
Manufacturing the Future The next era of globalisation with 3D printing When it comes to manufacturing, there is no bigger story than the impact of globalisation.
regional or local R&D facilities.
As the world flattens and interconnects more than ever before, the global market becomes a winner-takes-all affair. The global economy rewards manufacturers that quickly adopt best practices and crushes those who linger in the ways of the past.
ASO International, a leading Japanese orthodontic laboratory, has built such a ubiquitous digital manufacturing business thanks to 3D printing.
In-House solutions
Toru Kawakami, general manager for the company’s CAD/CAM division, explained, “We can receive STL data from anywhere in the world and then create models using our Eden260V™ 3D Printer. Now we can work with an orthodontist located
Companies like ASO International can potentially expand their business everywhere. As long as there is an internet connection, a design file can be transmitted and 3D printed in a consistent fashion, thus increasing efficiency by streamlining the production process. Businesses can ultimately do most of their development work in-house, thereby minimizing the need to outsource while maintaining high quality standards.
Three key manufacturing trends build upon globalisation—infrastructure productivity, responsive supply chains and product life cycle efficiency—and dictate success for manufacturers in the 21st century. Companies that adopt 3D printing in their manufacturing and embrace these trends will have an advantage over the competition.
Re-Engineering resources
According to the Harvard Business Review, higher infrastructure productivity is essential for tackling the world’s infrastructure problems. For example, streamliing the delivery process of production tools, parts and prototypes via improved transport infastructure could save up to $400 billion a year. 3D printing brings improvement to transport productivity at minimal cost by providing a rapid digital link between remote design and local manufacturing. Logistical and infrastructure shortcomings can be overcome via in-house production in
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all models from orthodontists at our Tokyo headquarters. Sending scanned 3D data instead of physical models to customers produces significant savings on transport costs, while eliminating the risk of damaged models in transit,” adds Mr. Kawakami.
A poured gypsum model (left) and 3D printed model (right).
just a few miles away or one that is located 5,000 miles away.” In addition to reaching more customers, the company reduced costs associated with logistics and storage. “We have centralized the collection of Pre-surgery planning and rehearsal using 3D printed models has reduced the time for complex surgeries and improved success rates.
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This digital thread also enables manufacturers to swiftly react to time-sensitive orders from buyers. Buyers increasingly demand responsive supply chains with short lead times for new orders or design changes. Companies like Unilever have seen substantial reductions in lead times by adopting 3D printing. Stefano Cademartiri, R&D, CAP and prototyping specialist at Unilever, explains, “Having previously outsourced our thermoforming requirements for handmade wooden moulds, we found
Let’s do what we love and do a lot of it. – Marc Jacobs
that we were accumulating significant labor costs and having to contend with lengthy lead times. However, since 3D printing the injection molds ourselves, we have reduced lead times in the conceptual phase by approximately 35 percent.” A few bleeding-edge companies have gone even further to meet short lead-time demands by turning to digital manufacturing techniques, thus enabling flexible manufacturing lines that can easily change production from one product to the next with no retooling or rearrangement required. This addresses the need for customization or any high-mix, low-volume production.
A 3D printed injection mold domestic-brand toilet rim block.
for
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
is requiredthrough the entire life cycle of the product. Such efficiency can be improved both in initial as well as subsequent manufacturing runs to support products through end-of-life. Honda Access, a subsidiary of the Honda Group headquartered in Tokyo, manufactures accessories for cars and motorcycles worldwide. The company specialises in customising accessories to local market preferences. “3D printers allow us to synchronise the development schedule with that of the vehicle itself and createthe accessory parts simultaneously, improving both the quality and speed of the prototype process,” commented Hiroshi Takemori, senior researcher from the product planning department.
Streamlining Future Demand
made at great expense with poor lead times. Omer explained that rather than putting the part on a shelf and waiting, with 3D printing “I can put files in my memory disk, print and deliver it in 15 years.”
The benefits of adopting 3D printing for end-of-life goods may be even more substantial thanthe cost-savings from prototyping. Omer Krieger, General Manager of Stratasys Asia Pacific and Japan, commented that “Spare parts supply from the product life cycle is a growing space for us, because companies start to think about, ‘Now, how do I deliver this part 15 years from now?’”
These three trends represent tremendous opportunity for the bold manufacturer. Enhancing infrastructure productivity by replacing physical delivery of goods with digital transmission will enable a company to generate growth in markets previously inaccessible. Optimizing for responsiveness in manufacturing operations empowers a business to profitably produce short runs on tight time schedules. Increased flexibility in supply across the product life cycle promises to improve customer satisfaction and potentially provide higher margins in long-term contracts.
With traditional manufacturing, a company must anticipate future demand a decade or more in advance. Then, the spare parts must be stored and distributed as demanded. Should inventory run out, a new run must be
a
Collin Wilkerson, Managing Director of WesternTool & Mold, looked into 3D printing to ensurean aerospace customer could manufacture its parts on time. “We can provide fast reactionsto immediate needs,” he noted. “In traditional manufacturing, you have to deal with quick spikes in the need for resources, but [with 3D Printing] our clients can re-engineer resources to theirgreater benefit, resulting in a leaner manufacturingprocess, which includes a smaller workforce andless idle time.”
An automotive wheel concept model printed by an Objet Eden500V.
Companies that adopt 3D printing in their manufacturing will have an advantage over the competition for embracing these trends. www.objective3d.com.au A 3D printed fog light garnish.
3D printed components help streamline Western Tool & Mold’s manufacturing process.
Efficient customisation The automotive and aerospace industries demandhigh degrees of responsiveness and availability. With competition growing even fiercer in the global economy, greater efficiency
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The final production part.
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Our work is the presentation of our capabilities. -Edward Gibbon
A future world full of driverless cars… seriously?! Driverless cars are an engineer’s dream. At last, a technology that promises to remove the human factor from the traffic system. It is humans, after all, whose errors contribute to 75% of road crashes, who introduce undesirable randomness into the mathematical simplicity of traffic flows, and who have been characterised (somewhat tongue in cheek) as “monkey drivers” with slow reaction times and short attention spans. If only we could eliminate the human factor, we would have cities teeming with safe, efficient cars whizzing us to our destinations. Right?
parks, or intersections where traffic lights aren’t even needed – is that it only works if 100% of the vehicle fleet is automated and individual ownership makes way for a fleet of shared pay-as-you-go taxis. But how many people will actually opt in to this vision of the future? If you don’t trust the technology, if you get
No more car ownership Then there’s the issue with sharing a driverless car fleet, with some claiming driverless cars will mean we move beyond individual ownership. Car-sharing systems have existed for decades in the United States, yet fewer than 1% of Americans are members. Alexa Delbosc, Lecturer in Transport, Monash University
the more people will do it. If you can catch up on emails during your hour-long drive, why bother to take the train? But some of the tactics that might remove the hassle from driverless travel could also worsen traffic.
Wrong. For better or worse, as long as there are humans in the transport system we cannot ignore the human factor. To do so grossly overestimates the promised benefits of driverless cars and underestimates the negative impacts they will have on our traffic networks and society.
Allowing driverless cars to run without passengers opens up an enormous potential for exploitation. Why pay for parking downtown when you can send your car back home to park (doubling the trips in peak hour in the process)?
Think like a human First, there are the immediate technological hurdles. At high speeds this is actually relatively straightforward as interactions on freeways are already effectively “vehicle-to-vehicle”. We are travelling too fast on a freeway to communicate at a human level, so we rely on infrastructure and technology to do much of the work for us, from using indicators to following dynamic signage. Removing human error is plausible and beneficial.
motion sickness, if you enjoy driving classic cars (or motorbikes), or if you just don’t like the idea of being driven by a car that always follows the speed limit and never jumps the queue, then a driverless car may not be for you. Not everyone will want a world of only driverless cars.
Even optimistic estimates top out at 10% of the market. Car-sharing has enormous potential in compact cities such as San Francisco or inner Sydney, where individual car ownership is expensive or impractical and many trips can be completed by public transit, cycling or walking. But if you live in the suburbs or a rural area, if you have one or more child seats, if you store and carry goods in your car, if you want to have a say in the style of car you ride in, then it is unlikely that car-sharing will be economical or desirable for you.
But all of that changes at low speeds, where drivers have to interact at a human level, such as when making eye contact with another driver, giving the nod to a pedestrian, or waving to a cyclist to let them go ahead.
It is no wonder that forecasts of the market penetration of driverless cars vary so enormously. For example, estimates from the Netherlands range from 7% to 61% of the vehicle fleet by 2050.
How will an automated vehicle know if a pedestrian standing near the zebra crossing is waiting to cross or chatting on the phone? How will it process regional differences in body language, such as Google Car’s confusion over a “track-standing” cyclist?
Even if we do reach 100% car automation, we still cannot ignore humans. Smart automated intersections promise to remove the need for traffic lights and allow twice as much traffic to use the roads.
Gaming the system
But how will non-automated cyclists approach these intersections? How will pedestrians cross them?
Humans have an uncanny ability to make any system work for their individual benefit. When that happens, the congestion benefits promised by driverless cars are likely to be quickly undermined by human nature.
Google is already training its cars to recognise a cyclist’s hand signals, but we still have a long way to go. Similarly, without human gestures, how will the rest of us learn how to anticipate the actions of driverless cars? Recent research suggests that we don’t yet know. Making humans comply
We may reach a stage where the road safety benefits of driverless cars are so blatantly evident that non-automated cars are made illegal, and we wonder why humans were ever trusted to drive.
One of the issues with the utopian vision promised by driverless cars – cities where parking is converted into
But until that day we will be living in a messy world of haves and have-nots with all the infrastructure required for both systems to run in parallel.
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If driverless cars are instead owned by individuals, that opens the door to gaming the system in a way that is likely to erode the promised congestion-busting benefits.
The small congestion benefits promised through freeway platooning and efficient intersections are likely to be quickly undermined by increased use of driverless cars. It’s also true that the more attractive you make travelling in driverless cars,
Why bother to find a parking space at all if your car can circle the block by itself while you order a latte? Changing society, one car at a time The biggest changes to society expand far beyond individual drivers. The largest benefit, by far, is reducing the road toll, which costs Australian society A$27 billion per year. Thousands of deaths and serious injuries might be prevented through automation. Yet this is not the only potential impact. Allowing the disabled, blind and unlicensed access to a driverless car will provide them with unprecedented freedom and mobility, but it will also increase cars on the road by 2-10%, once again eroding congestion benefits. Driverless cars will also threaten the jobs of people who drive trucks, buses, taxis and Uber cars. In total, this is about 2.6% of the working population, according to the 2011 Australian Census. Fewer crashes means fewer jobs in car repair and insurance, while compliant cars mean fewer parking tickets and speeding fines, reducing government revenue. So despite all the hype, promise and predictions, no one really quite knows what the future of driverless cars will look like. But as long as humans are leaving their homes, we cannot ignore the human factor.
An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage. -Jack Welch
DEVELOPMENTS
Steel industry makes quality certification compulsory The Steel Fabricator Certification (SFC) qualification will soon be mandatory for all Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) fabricator members.
simply paying an annual fee; members will first have to qualify then ensure they maintain their standard,” says Mr Hawley.
Launched in 2014, SFC is an industry-led quality assurance scheme that aims to reduce risk for specifiers. It ensures participating structural steel fabricators are capable of manufacturing product to the specified quality standard by certifying that companies have the appropriate personnel and quality management systems in place.
Hawkins Construction Auckland Regional Manager Terry Buchan says: “Compliant product that meets New Zealand standards is of paramount importance to our building and infrastructure projects. As a major customer to the structural steel industry, we applaud SCNZ and its members for taking this positive step to bolster the quality assurance of the fabricated steelwork produced locally. It’s a welcome development that will give us increased confidence in New Zealand fabricated product.”
Members of industry organisation SCNZ voted unanimously to introduce the compulsory requirement at its AGM in Napier on September 16. Bob Hawley, SCNZ Chair and Managing Director of structural steel fabricator Red Steel Limited, says: “New Zealand’s structural steel fabricators have shown overwhelming support for the SFC scheme and to raising industry standards. We are committed to providing compliant product of the highest quality for building and infrastructure projects up and down the country. “This new resolution means that SCNZ membership will be much more than
Since SFC’s introduction, 23 fabricators – representing 75 percent of New Zealand’s structural steel output – have become certified. New members must now qualify for SFC prior to being inducted into SCNZ. Existing SCNZ members now have four years to meet the new requirement. This timeframe will allow the industry to prepare – there are currently 64 steel fabricator members to be certified. The SFC process involves an initial audit
followed by annual reviews.
of imported prefabricated steelwork entering New Zealand. However, there have been cases where it has not been easy to prove the steelwork meets the required specification, leading to expensive and time-consuming testing to demonstrate compliance. The upshot is costly project delays,” says Mr Hawley.
“As with many construction materials, the current compliance regime for structural steelwork relies, for the most part, on self-inspection and self-certification. This approach is dependent on the expertise, ethics and quality systems of the fabricator, and on the knowledge and expertise of engineers and welding inspectors, to assess if the steel supplied is compliant,” says Mr Hawley.
“The SFC scheme, on the other hand, provides procurers and specifiers, such as engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and building contractors, with greater certainty of product quality and significantly reduced compliance risk,” says Mr Hawley.
Significantly, the SFC scheme raises the bar by providing independent, expert certification of New Zealand fabrication companies. Independent auditing body HERA Certification has been established to audit and certify steel fabricators to ensure they have both the welding and the fabrication quality management systems in place to consistently produce fully compliant steelwork.
SFC helps builders to pre-qualify steel fabrication companies capable of doing the work to the required standard, Mr Hawley says. And there is less effort required on the part of the engineer and the builder to manage quality.
Mr Hawley says the new resolution provides an important point of difference for locally fabricated steelwork compared with offshore competitors.
“An increased pool of SFC-qualified fabricators also means builders and engineers can be confident there will be plenty of choice,” says Mr Hawley.
“The current boom in construction activity has seen an increased amount
Bob Hawley
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DEVELOPMENTS
Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless. -Thomas A. Edison
Christchurch wins 2020 International Structural The city of Christchurch will host the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) Congress in September 2020. The prestigious five-day event, to be held at the new Convention Centre, is expected to attract 550 delegates from around the world, with an estimated economic benefit of $1.2 million for Christchurch. The bid was put forward by Chair of the New Zealand Group of IABSE and HERA Structural Systems General Manager Dr Stephen Hicks (pictured), and Dr Alessandro Palermo, Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury, who is an award-winning earthquake engineering expert. Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) Business Events, through its Conference Assistance Programme (CAP), worked
with Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Bureau (CCCB) to create the bid document, and provided presentation collateral including a letter of support from Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel. CCCB manager Caroline Blanchfield says Christchurch headed off New York to win the bid. Dr Hicks says “New Zealand is well known for its earthquake engineering and low damage construction techniques, and Christchurch has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with international structural engineers.” “The provisional symposium theme is Resilient Infrastructure, and Christchurch will be a showcase for the latest in technology and practice for resilient and sustainable structures. This
symposium will be a forum to present new ideas, practical applications and new technologies to engineering staff, engineering managers, researchers, and industry.” “Christchurch is also the ideal place for technical visits, to present the know-how gained from the earthquakes in 2011. Site visits will feature new structures, together with the retrofitting techniques within existing structures,” he says. New buildings likely to be on show include the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct, with its specialised lateral force-resisting system and base isolation, and the Trimble Navigation building with post-tensioned Laminated-Veneer-Lumber (LVL) frames and walls with energy dissipating devices
for lateral load resistance, the first commercial building in New Zealand to use this technique.
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The secret to unlocking productivity in manufacturing The evidence Small and medium sized manufacturers (companies with less than 200 employees) stand to gain significantly from high performance work practices - they have the labour and capital foundations yet are small enough to be responsive to changes in demand and new innovation developments. While most workplaces have at least some of the practices in place, there is still a long way to go before they are reaping the full benefits. Research shows performance effects are amplified when bundles of high performance work practices under each of the three areas listed above are deployed as a system.
Adopters of high performance work practices are more likely to operate in growing or stable markets, compared to “non-adopters” that tend to be located in declining or turbulent markets. These two groups also seem to face different business challenges. SMEs that have adopted a system of high performance work practices tend to face intense competition both nationally and internationally and have got into the practice of benchmarking themselves against their competitors. These businesses are also more concerned with the retention of their skilled workers and innovation.
Why aren’t more manufacturing SMEs implementing some relatively simple practices to train, motivate, and involve their employees?
On the other hand, non-adopters face lower levels of competition on a more localised basis. The managers in these businesses also seem to be more concerned with survival, the financial
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climate, and weak demand. So it seems that SMEs that have adopted the practices have been forced to look outward and think inventively about their management practices. However, this does not exempt the non-adopters – if they were to adopt more of the practices they too could compete and perform at a higher level. Secrets to success Manufacturing SMEs could do with more information and support to assist with the adoption of high performance work practices. Businesses that had successfully adopted the practices were more likely to seek advice from professional bodies such as consultants and employer or industry associations. But it’s important to note that the workplace managers we spoke to who had successfully operationalised the practices did not recognise their
management practices as a “high performance work practices system”. Although some did recognise that their practices were mutually reinforcing and had multiple benefits for business performance. An important success factor was that the take-up of the practices had been the result of a workplace champion, either a senior manager or business owner who had driven their adoption and continued to look for ways to improve. But most importantly, we found that no one high performance work practices system looked the same. The way they are operationalised can differ significantly across workplace contexts. The practices can be tailored to the needs of individual workplaces.
I want to put a ding in the universe. -Steve Jobs
DEVELOPMENTS
ARANZ Medical named Supreme Innovator of the Year ARANZ Medical, a specialist in 3D scanning and informatics solutions for the healthcare sector, has been named the winner of the Bayer Supreme Innovator of the Year in the 2016 New Zealand Innovators Awards. The company was also named the winner of the Innovation in Technology Solutions category for its key innovations Silhouette and FastSCAN. Dr Bruce Davey, CEO of ARANZ Medical says, “This is a wonderful acknowledgement for our dedicated team who are passionate about developing innovative technology to help people heal people. We’ve replaced some of the most primitive processes in healthcare that hadn’t seen any innovation in decades with highly innovative and sophisticated yet easy-to-use medical technology.” ARANZ Medical’s 3D scanning and information solutions for skin and wound assessment transform clinical assessment processes, improve quality of care, and make healthcare more
cost-effective. Key innovations include: Silhouette, an FDA-approved advanced wound surveillance system which supports precise and productive wound management in clinical practice and research; and FastSCAN which enables the custom-fit of orthotics and prosthetics.
one of the most neglected tropical diseases, to the largest healthcare providers in the US and UK.
Excellence Award presented by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) in Brasil.
Dr Davey says demand for their technology is being driven by diseases like diabetes, an ageing population, more accountable healthcare and the emerging telehealth trend.
Dr Davey says, “We can help improve the lives of millions of people worldwide, including high risk groups such as diabetes sufferers and the elderly, by empowering healthcare providers to address challenging medical problems in wound care and orthotics/prosthetics.
Earlier this month the Christchurch based company won a Global ICT
ARANZ Medical was also recently named a Supreme Winner at the Champion Canterbury Awards and was named as one of the Ten Hot Emerging Companies in the TIN100 Report released last week.
Silhouette and FastSCAN literally shed light on changes in the skin with a level of accuracy and ease that has not been possible before, so healthcare providers can make better-informed decisions that could lead to better healing outcomes.” The company’s technology is being used in over 35 countries in a range of settings from clinical researchers in rural Africa studying the Buruli ulcer,
SOLIDWORKS 2017 is here SOLIDWORKS 2017 is the 24th annual release of CAD (MCAD, ECAD), simulation, data management and collaboration tools that delivers the power users need to drive innovation. In this release, 90 percent of the enhancements are driven by user feedback. This year, there are more than 250 new features and enhancements in CAD alone with a total of 520 new enhancements spread across all products. Beyond improving day-to-day productivity, approximately 20 percent of those involve new innovations. There are many core CAD enhancements such as variable Chamfer, super features that convert Chamfer to a Fillet for flexible modelling, advanced hole, enhancements to import mesh files, wrap feature, offset surface, better placement of components while mating that can deliver up to 5X in performance improvements over SOLIDWORKS 2016. Magnetic mates with speedpack enhancements makes it fast and easy to manage large modular assemblies. Like CAD, there are m a n y innovations in simulation with advanced
nonlinear (arc length control), better visualisation of hot spots, etc. There are over 100 enhancements in SOLIDWORKS Electrical alone.
year 2017 starting with SOLIDWORKS world in February 2017.
access to Online Services through MySolidWorks. The online serviced will be delivered staggered throughout the
Extending the ECAD ecosystem, there is SOLIDWORKS PCB powered by Altium, and SOLIDWORKS 2017 is the first full major release for SOLIDWORKS PCB. Customers can now design a full system from PCB boards to electrical wiring, to mechanical and simulation of its connected device in a single environment. The best-in-class collaboration between mechanical, electrical and PCB engineers allows SOLIDWORKs customers to decrease development costs, significantly improve time to market and reduce the number of prototypes and errors. New in SOLIDWORKS 2017 is Term Licensing in additional to perpetual licensing model. This allows SOLIDWORKS customers to scale on demand, purchase from OPEX budget and entrepreneurs and startups to design in SOLIDWORKS while getting a Term License. Customers will have full flexibility – they can purchase SOLIDWORKS as Perpetual or a quarterly/annual Term License options. With SOLIDWORKS 2017, CAD and Structural Simulation products are delivered as a Term License option with very attractive pricing options. Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2017, customers on Subscription will have
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ANALYSIS
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. -Adam Smith
Science fiction of the last century now very close to reality In the latest in the Future of Business series, MYOB explores the technological revolution that will transform the way we connect, relate and interact with one another. Yet, while we will have experienced a dramatic shift in the way we work by the 2040s, what might be even more remarkable is the increased value of the human experience. MYOB Chief Technical Advisor and futurist Simon Raik-Allen says, even with incredible advances in technology, people need to be together to truly be creative. “Right now, we’re on the cusp of what the World Economic Forum calls the fourth industrial revolution. There’s no doubt that momentous change is underway and that there will be huge employment impact from the disruptive change. But, like the last industrial revolution, it is more likely to enrich our experiences and provide more opportunities for meaningful work and exciting business.” Mr Raik-Allen believes that, rather than technology isolating or excluding people, it will bring them together. “It doesn’t matter how advanced our technology becomes, in the end, it will come down to people and values. The next revolution will lift humanity, embrace creativity and shape a world that empowers communities. People will always be at the centre of the business, and their experience will be more valued than ever.”
personal. Although we continue to design, innovate and advance our technology, ultimately it’s the human connection that enables our business and our clients to succeed. We’ve believed this for the last 25 years and we’ll be doing this for the next 25.”
The report examines the evolutionary dead ends of the technology sector, from Dvorak keyboards to Google glasses and highlights some of the key factors – including social acceptance, marketing power and even colour – that determines the winners and losers.
Looking back to look forward
The future of business is personal
While not all the technologies promised for the world in the 21st Century have come to fruition, Simon Raik-Allen says we can learn a lot about what the future holds by looking back.
Mr Raik-Allen says while technology will drive dramatic changes in many areas of business – office roles and administrative functions, manufacturing and production will likely be tasked to robots or be automated in some form – the face-to-face value of human interaction will be more highly valued than ever.
“We live in a world that is taking its first steps in developing a host of technologies that will shape our future. Jetpacks, self-driving cars, bionic limbs, interplanetary travel, holograms, AI assistants – the stuff of science fiction in the last century is now very close to reality,” says Simon Raik-Allen. In the Future of Business report, MYOB looks at how the trends we are seeing now might help shape business innovation of the future. “When I look back at the two decades of global innovation, there has been some stunning successes and some resounding failures,” says Mr Raik-Allen.
“This is our vision at. We understand that business isn’t just business, it’s
“For many of them, that success or failure has hinged less on how well they were built or the idea on which they were created, and more on how they were received by people: did they solve a problem, have a place in society, and capture the imagination in a way their competitors didn’t?”
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This will give rise to a whole new section of business designed to fulfil the need for human interaction and experience, provide tailored, personal advice and guidance, or create experiences designed specifically for the customer. “How many of these developments will unfold, and their influence on business and society, is unpredictable. But, by looking at the last 25 years, we can see patterns of development, which allow us to discern the ways current technology may evolve,” says Simon Raik-Allen. “In particular, in every development and at every stage, we see how important the influence of society and the individual has been over every new technology. Regardless of the developments in areas like AI and robotics, we are building a future
people will inhabit – and developers ignore at their peril the very human side of business and technology. “As a business owner you need to make sure that you can rapidly change to align with the way in which not just technology but society is moving. In predicting the future of business technology over the next 25 years, people will be your best barometer. “Understanding what they want, what problems they need solving, how they’d like their experience to be delivered, and whether they are ready yet for the next step will determine success as much in 25 years as it does today.” The MYOB Future of Business: 25 years into the future report is available for download now at www.myob.com/ futureofbusiness
There’s no doubt that momentous change is underway and that there will be huge employment impact from the disruptive change.
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them. -Benjamin Jowett
Activating disruption in our industry by HERA Executive member Dr Troy Coyle (NZ Steel) In May, I wrote an article about Preparing Our Industry for Disruption (NZ Manufacturer, Page 31). Going one step further - what are the specific opportunities for our industry to not just respond to disruption but to initiate disruption and reap the benefits ourselves? I recently read an External Research Report by BRANZ titled When Did Disruption Become a Good Thing?. The paper focuses on business model innovation, which is probably a key skills gap for traditional industries such as ours.
1. Mass customisation = combining mass and bespoke production;
new ways that we can exploit these trends by re-inventing how we:
2. Products becoming services;
• perceive customer value;
3. Services becoming products;
• reach customers;
4. Separation of ownership and use (think of SolarCity);
• generate revenue; and/or
5. The sharing AirBNB);
economy
(think
6. Agile design and construction (think The Block); and 7. Agile planning= town as a service.
Notably, there was a specific message for “action in architecture and design” regarding the “possibility to collaborate with the NZ timber industry on new construction techniques and materials”. What can we do to make sure our industry has similar discussions and that BRANZ thinks to include metals in such recommendations?
Typically, our industry would mainly operate in the product or service innovation area, and not be characterised by exceptional business model innovation. For example, I reckon if you asked your lead team what the key disruptive opportunities or threats were for your business, 3D-printing (additive manufacturing) would get a mention but “separation of ownership and use would not.
Seven new business model trends were identified by BRANZ as emerging globally:
The challenge for us is to try to identify how our industry can engage with these emerging trends and identify
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If you are not familiar with this approach, you can join the Customer Development Labs page at http://customerdevlabs.com/ and use some of the freely available tools there. You may even be eligible for Callaghan Innovation’s “Better by Lean” support.
• develop our cost structure. So, where do we start? In order to reinvent successfully, we must be sure we are solving a problem in the market. The best way to achieve this is to start with customer problem discovery interviewing. This approach ensures that you are uncovering opportunities to add value to the channel and that you are not making assumptions about how the channel will behave or wants to behave. It fits really well with a Lean Start-Up approach to innovation.
Recently, the HERA Executive discussed emerging innovation trends and identified the trend for “mass customisation” as an opportunity. For example, mass customisation of building connections could be made commercially feasible via 3D printing. Of course, HERA being an R&D organisation, the discussion arose from identification of 3D printing as the identified innovation (e.g. we were focused on the disruptive technology). I wonder what other opportunities would be identified if we focused less on the technology and more on the business model trends?
New Zealand’s Productivity Problem tax burden of purchasing more efficient equipment over time. Manufacturing remains the largest business sector spender on R&D, with machinery and equipment manufacturing being the biggest spender on R&D within manufacturing.
largest contribution to aggregate growth in labour productivity, capital intensity and MFP of all sectors. But there is obviously still room for significant improvement, both in manufacturing and across our economy.
Improving our capital productivity flows onto labour productivity – giving staff more efficient equipment allows them to produce more. But companies can also explore upskilling their staff to improve their productivity. The use of Lean principles is also an important part of stripping waste from manufacturing processes - the best way to achieve this depends on the business, and there are varying schools of thought.
How can we improve our productivity over time?
Growth in labour productivity in the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing, has been falling somewhat since the late 1970’s, averaging annual growth of 2.2% between 1978 and 1985, 1.8% between 1985 and 1990, 1.5% between 1990 and 2000, 0.6% between 2000 and 2008 and 0.8% between 2008 and 2011. Another measure is Multi-Factor Productivity (MFP), which includes
both labour and contributions from increased capital. For manufacturing, MFP increased 0.8% annually between 1990 and 1997, 2.5% between 1997 and 2000, 0.5% between 2000 and 2008, and -0.6% between 2008 and 2011. While these don’t seem like results to write home about, when compared to other sectors, manufacturing has held its own. Between 1996 and 2011, manufacturing made the
In terms of capital productivity, this means upgrading to new and more efficient equipment and processes. For many businesses, this may mean innovation in processes that allow your business to output more per hour, or creating a niche by using a unique process that gives an edge or point of difference from the competition.
Ultimately we have to realise that improving labour productivity is a management responsibility, and a big one at that – and be it only through bringing out the best in people on the factory floor who often are the real experts when it comes to doing their job more efficiently. There are many ways to tackle this productivity problem, and it is an area that needs continued research and investment. On November 1st the NZMEA will be hosting the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Bill English to speak to manufacturers on this very issue - you can find details for this event on: http://www.nzmea.org.nz/ Events.aspx
There are a number of policies that could help fuel investment in innovation and equipment to improve productivity. R&D support with a focus on process innovation can play a big part in this, especially when made accessible to our small and medium sized manufacturers, as well as accelerated depreciation, to spread the
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DEVELOPMENTS
When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.
-James H. Boren
continued from page 5
Bobux…Stepping up to market demands associated on-costs”. Bobux is now present in 35 countries, with Australia currently being the company’s biggest market, making up approximately 20% of sales, and Europe totalling 55%. With sales in New Zealand making only 10% of its revenue, Bobux is definitely an exporter. “Four of our markets are wholesale where we deliver direct to the retailer. The other 31 countries are distributors who pick up from our warehouse in Indonesia. Whilst we are a manufacturer, we contract manufacture, which effectively means we’re a design house. All Bobux products are 100% designed in-house, however we do use external designers overseas to capture the flair of the countries we’re selling into, but the design structure remains internal.” Emerging trends When talking about the changes Andrew has seen in the retail space over recent
years, he’s noticed something interesting. “There’s a big fear that buying online is going to take over, which I understand but it’s not real. Customers want to shop around now and use an omni channel* approach, so they might go into a shop to get fitted but they’ll look online to find what they like and buy from wherever has the best price. It’s an interesting concern that ‘online’ is this big competitor, when in fact that competition has always been there- it’s just delivered differently now. “People used to visit a few stores to compare prices, now they just have a variety of ways to do that research. For the consumer it’s great, knowledge is power and often price is king. People will always buy, whether it’s from your store, online, or from the shop next door- we just want to make sure it’s a Bobux product.” Andrew has also noticed a change in consumers’ holistic buying patterns. “You can ask anyone nowadays and they’ll say ‘Yes, I believe in sustainability’, but then
they’ll go into a shop and buy the cheapest product. There’s a real disparity between desired results and actions, but that is changing. “Consumers now want to know how sustainable your product is from the packaging to shipping, and they want to know that your factory practices are eco-friendly. You saw it with ecostore - their customers used to be seen as ‘hippies’, but not anymore! People will happily pay an extra $1 because they believe in the brand and what it stands for.” Another welcome shift is that “People are starting to understand that it makes sense to buy one good product rather than 10 poor products. Certain markets will never change- The Warehouse will always exist but consumers who are willing to invest in better quality products are growing, which is great for us. As parents become better informed on their kid’s foot health, more Bobux products are being sold!”.
In terms of logistics, Andrew recommends that maintaining good relationships across the board is key. “We have a great relationship with our local and overseas supply chain partners.” He also recommends connecting with NZTE, who can connect likeminded companies. “There are challenges on the horizon in terms of cost increases and whether the customer or the manufacturer will bear them. It’s a case of managing your customer’s expectations and meeting their needs, so manufacturers and retailers really have to work together. A good example is dealing with out of stocks - if a store is out of stock for a certain item the retailer can go to the Bobux site and if we have it, arrange delivery either to store or the customer’s house. This helps the retailer and the brand as no-one misses the sale, however there can be issues in mitigating retailers risk whilst still helping them grow. It’s a real balancing act.”
Bridging the gap between science and industry Dr Colin Hall and his colleagues at the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute have combined micron thin layers of plastics to develop a material that can replace glass in cars, aircraft, spacecraft, and even whitegoods - making them lighter and more efficient. A leading plastics scientist has won an inaugural new innovators award
For his efforts he was awarded the Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovators.
manufacturers to replace glass components
The team’s first commercial success is a plastic car wing-mirror.
with light-weight plastic.
The Ford Motor Company has already
for creating a process that allows
purchased more than 1.6 million mirror assemblies for use on their F-Series trucks. The mirrors are made in Adelaide, South Australia, by SMR Automotive and have earned $160 million in exports to date. The award recognises the contribution Dr Hall has made to bringing science and industry together to find practical solutions to problems that have a market value. “Universities can transition something that has been dreamed up in the lab right through to scale up to production,” Dr Hall said.
“It shows that universities can work with industry hand in hand for commercial success.” Dr Hall used his experience in the spectacle industry to solve a problem that was holding back the University of South Australia team’s development of the new technology. He developed the combination of five layers of materials that will bind to plastic to create a car mirror that performs as well as glass and metal, at a fraction of the weight.
24-25 MAY 2017 Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
The South Island’s premier technology trade show for the Engineering, Manufacturing and Electronics industries.
THE HEARTLAND OF NZ MANUFACTURING Christchurch is the second largest manufacturing centre in NZ employing around 22,750 people and contributing approximately $2.2billion to Christchurch GDP Combine this with the wider South Island economy and SouthMACH has the opportunity to deliver your business a targeted and qualified audience like no other marketing platform.
EXHIBIT NOW CONTACT OUR TEAM sales@southmach.co.nz +64 (9) 976 8350 or +64 (21) 314 199
www.southmach.co.nz
ORGANISED BY
Showcase. Educate. Sell.
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HEADING
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things. - Albert Einstein
title text
ADVISORS Mike Shatford is an expert in the field of technology development and commercialisation. His company Design Energy Limited has completed over 100 significant projects in this vein by consulting for and partnering with some of New Zealand’s leading producers. Among Mike and his team’s strengths are industrial robotics and automated production where the company puts much of its focus.
Chris Whittington
Senior Lecturer at AUT, Chris Whittington is a versatile Engineer, Educator and Researcher. Chris has had many years experience in senior engineering and product management. Chris has a strong background in computational modelling, 3-D scanning and printing, and a strong interest in engineering education.
Sandra Lukey
Sandra Lukey is the founder of Shine Group, a consultancy that helps science and technology companies accelerate growth. She is a keen observer of the tech sector and how new developments create opportunity for future business. She has over 20 years’ experience working with companies to boost profile and build influential connections.
Katalin Csikasz
Katalin is a highly knowledgeable engineer with strong capabilities in; industrial design, quality assurance, product compliance, technical expert support, troubleshooting and process improvement.
Phillip Wilson
Phillip Wilson of Nautech Electronics has over 25 years of experienced in the development, commercialisation and implementation of advanced manufacturing technology, robotics, automation and materials. Serving companies operating within the aerospace, automotive, offshore, defence, medical and scientific industries on a global basis. More recently specialising in change management and business re-alignment for a range of commercial entities from medium sized SME’s to divisions of large corporates.
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If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it. -Charles Kettering
Data sparks the fourth industrial revolution In pure machining terms, the manufacturing industry’s continual quest to produce correctly finished workpieces at a certain cost in a certain amount of time has reached the end of the line. Unless a breakthrough tooling solution appears, traditional approaches focused solely on boosting metal removal rates will at best squeeze out at a few percentage points of increased output. Significant future improvements in metal cutting productivity, quality and reliability will come from a data-driven fourth revolution in manufacturing technology. The new developments represent the latest stage of a lengthy evolution. The first manufacturing revolution involved the move from home-based crafting activities to production in factories with centralized energy sources that powered manufacturing machinery. Mechanical shafts and belts distributed power from water wheels or steam among a factory’s machines. Use of more convenient and efficient electrical energy followed. The first factories turned out products
one by one. In the second revolution, output expanded from individual piecework to mass production. The development of integrated systems such as assembly and transfer lines and automation expedited production of high volumes of identical parts. The third revolution in manufacturing technology came with the introduction of numerical machine control and later computer-based control and automation, providing increased accuracy and flexibility and facilitating execution of lower volume, higher part variety manufacturing scenarios. Now manufacturing is in the midst of a fourth revolution, in Europe referred to as Industry 4.0, which integrates present-day data acquisition, storage and sharing technologies into the manufacturing process. Networked cyber-physical systems analyse ongoing
operations, gather and compare data and route the information to a central server or cloud to compare it with established machining models. The systems use the results to direct parameter adjustments that optimise machining processes. Early monitor and control systems The concept of data-directed manufacturing has been around for quite some time. In the 1980s, metalworking researchers worked to create adaptive tool monitoring and control systems intended to measure cutting conditions, compare the data to set process standards, then adjust machining parameters to stabilize operations and minimise the occurrence of unforeseen machining events. The systems employed sensors and probes to measure process factors such as cutting forces, power, torque, temperatures, surface roughness and acoustic emissions. Unfortunately, sensor technology of that time was insufficient when it came to the necessary speed and accuracy to be fully effective, and computers lacked
the processing speed and memory needed to handle large amounts of data in real-time fashion. Additionally, advanced data acquisition and management technology was extremely expensive. Those shortcomings made in-process parameter adjustment nearly impossible. The result was a binary or black-and-white situation. If collected data exceeded set maximums, the machining process simply is stopped. The maximums were set with insufficient knowledge of and insight into cutting processes. In addition to lacking sufficiently advanced data processing technology, missing was the key concept that most of the various physical phenomena in the machining process – temperature, forces, loads – are not static conditions but dynamic ones that constantly change.
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But about 50 percent of the time, those forces are above 1,000 Nm, and below that level during the remaining time. If the system’s cut-off level is set at 1,000 Nm, the process stops because the forces appear to be too high. Now, nearly 40 years later, sensor and computer technology is far more accurate, faster and less expensive. Manufacturing process research itself is four decades richer in experience and provides greater insights to the key elements of the process. Collect and connect the elements It is important to understand the roles of the different process elements. There are, in fact, more than 80 measurable elements that influence machining operations. It is crucial that all the elements be collected, connected and interactive. If an element is unaccounted for, the effects can be unexpected and uncontrollable. After collection and analysis, data have to be prioritized regarding each element’s impact on the process. It is clear that tooling has very significant effects. A collection of production tools works together in metal cutting: machine tool, CAM system, cutting tool, fixturing and clamping and coolant, and in Industry 4.0, sensors and data retrieval and transmission systems (figure 2). At the core of metal cutting is the interaction of the cutting tool with the workpiece. However, in the traditional approach to developing machining processes, the cutting tool often is the last consideration. When planning to produce a workpiece, users typically first choose the machine tool, then the fixturing, the cooling system and other equipment and finally the cutting tool. This results in a situation where a cutting tool has to make up for less optimum choices of other process elements. For example, if the selected machine tool is a bit unstable, a cutting tool that generates lower cutting forces will be needed to compensate for the lack
of stability. However, that tool may fall short when it comes to maximising productivity in the particular workpiece material being machined. In that case, the end effect of choosing the cutting tool last is a subpar manufacturing system that operates well below its full potential. Fortunately, many individuals in the manufacturing industry now realise that it is more appropriate to work in reverse. Shops should first select the cutting tool after considering the final product’s shape and features, its workpiece material and the required level of quality. The cutting tool – specific material and geometry – should provide the most productivity and meet the specific requirements of the process. Then the choices of the other process elements can focus on creating an environment in which that cutting tool will function at its full capacity. Balanced operations After a shop chooses the elements of the machining process, interaction of the elements must be balanced to achieve both maximum productivity and minimum costs. And there exists persistent manufacturing issues involved in machining output and expense . Obvious process factors include tool performance along with tool and machining costs. Those costs that are not so obvious include the ones resulting from unreliable machining processes that produce poor quality or rejected parts, while others contribute to unforeseen downtime. Although planned activities such as programming and maintenance are part of non-machining time, other factors, such as operator errors, broken tools, damaged workpieces and system problems needlessly increase process times and expense. Cutting tools represent a minor percentage of lost time, as do workpiece material and process anomalies. The effects of time
It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. -Tom Brokaw
expenditures generated by personnel and systems are far greater. Industry 4.0 highlights digital data capture, the Internet and cloud-based storage, but those components are only part of the solution. In the end, the collected data must be analysed and a physical model or map constructed that defines the process in question. In the cyber-physical systems, collected data is compared to the map, and the system generates feedback to execute process modifications that will produce the desired results. Process control is accomplished not by a human but also by the computer analysing and comparing the data against the model in instantaneous real time. Accordingly, the model stored in the cloud must accurately describe the elements of the process. Constructing such a model requires a full understanding of the operations. Unfortunately, machining presents a reality that is difficult to described exactly. For example, a model must recognise the dynamic properties of the workpiece material because changes in workpiece hardness result in varying cutting forces. But it is impossible to measure the hardness of every workpiece. And in some cases, the hardness of a workpiece might be ten percent higher than the material’s nominal hardness, leading to cutting forces that are ten percent higher as well. Maintain human control A model that learns during the process of operation and modifies itself to provide an increasingly more accurate description of the process would be a partial solution to this process control dilemma. But the technology has yet to advance to that point.
human thought, experience and perspective are essential to the final success of the new Industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution. Manufacturing production goes full circle The progress of manufacturing technology over the last three centuries has resulted in both vastly improved productivity and, in recent years, greatly increased ability to fill specific customer demands. The first manufacturers were craftsmen who worked in their homes making essential items like clothing, glassware, bowls and furniture for their own use. Every product was made to order and was one of a kind. Moving beyond basic subsistence, entrepreneurial craftsmen made multiple copies of their homemade products for others. Then craftsmen began to work in groups in facilities served by a common resource such as a blacksmith forge or glass furnace, increasing production efficiency many fold as well as providing other benefits such as technique sharing. Output also increased when a centralized source of energy such as water wheel power, steam or electricity was distributed throughout a factory.
A perfect example is when early automakers changed from the any-colour-you-want-as long-as-it’s-black marketing philosophy of the Ford Model T automobile to offering customers an ever-widening choice of colours and options. To fulfil such individual consumer demands, manufacturers had to be flexible and find ways to efficiently change over between different manufacturing processes. Numerical machine control via punched paper tapes, and later computer-driven numerical control, provided the ability to change processes and tools rapidly and reliably. At the same time, increased capabilities of automation systems cut part handling time and labour costs. In the last few decades CNC manufacturing cells that switch between producing different parts or part features with the touch of a few buttons have, for the most part, replaced the reliable but difficult to modify transfer line concept.
process systems, human marketers will still need to oversee these marketing-driven manufacturing systems and ensure that the systems’ decisions make sense. Most recently, additive manufacturing technology is enabling individuals to produce custom-designed parts in a home setting. So, in sort of a full-circle evolution, manufacturing driven by digital information now enables production of one-of-a-kind items without a factory, like those made by the centuries-ago craftsmen but at unprecedented levels of precision, quality and speed. -By Patrick de Vos, Corporate Technical Education Manager, Seco Tools.
Significant future improvements Trends in consumer product marketing in metal cutting clearly illustrate the advantages As a result, manufacturing engineers of computer-aided manufacturing must know how a model was productivity, flexibility. By simply reprogramming conceived and built to determine if its elements of a manufacturing line, basis for management of the cutting This was the beginning of mass marketers can create many brand quality and process is valid. Then, if the parameters production: reliable output of large extensions. And the trend towards numbers of identical – at least according chosen via the model’s interaction individualization is not restricted to with cutting data are questionable, to the manufacturing tolerances of the reliability will manufacturing. For example, large the engineer will know the basis on time – products. Perhaps the ultimate which the choices are made and can expression of the assembly line retailers are opening smaller format decide if they should be overruled. concept is the automotive transfer line and specialized stores aimed at come from a The cyber-physical system may control that turns out thousands of identical individual consumer convenience and the metal cutting process, but it is parts around the clock and for years at product preferences. data-driven the manufacturing engineer who a time. Individualisation of manufacturing maintains control over that system. The rise of product marketing upset output will only grow more common. fourth revolution By consulting decades of field and the mass production scenario. In Similar to the implementation of research experience, Seco build and the heat of capitalist competition, Industry 4.0, models in the cloud may provide extremely accurate process marketers sought to expand their use marketing information to manage in manufacturing models. These models are not closed customer populations by offering product changeovers, automation box in form, but provide both in and out products altered to fill the demands of and inventory levels. Also similar to technology. the operation of cloud-based cutting capability for process direction because smaller market segments. The early factories produced parts one at a time. The manufacture of multiple uniform products began with the development of assembly lines, where each worker repeatedly performed a separate operation as the product was passed from one workstation to the next until completed.
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NZ Manufacturer September 2016
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Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana. -Bill Gates
Polyamide radically reduces friction and wear A special friction-bearing internally lubricated polyamide from Cut To Size Plastics is specifically engineered to radically reduce friction, wear and downtime involving highly loaded slide and wear parts in machines, conveyor and transport equipment and filling, labelling and packaging technology. LiNNOTAMGLIDE, from Cut To Size’s Wearlon range, is formulated with integrated lubrication and additives to achieve a sustainable lubricating effect for the engineering plastic’s entire life cycle in applications such as bearings, guide and slide rails, actuators, feeder wheels, sprockets and chain guides.
Compared with standard polyamides, a 50 per cent reduction in friction is achieved, thus radically reducing frictional heat and offering considerably higher peak load capacity. Also, undesirable stick-slip tendency is reduced to an absolute minimum. Cut To Size manufactures machinery components for applications across Australasia from its Head office in Sydney where facilities include CNC machining facilities coupled with GibbsCAM and Solidworks software. Standard polyamides already offer outstanding performance as metal component substitutes, but LiNNOTAMGLIDE is in another class again. The fine crystal microstructure of LiNNOTAMGLIDE offers extraordinary wear resistance.
Wearlon LiNNOTAMGLIDE can radically reduce friction in conveyors and transport equipment
Compared with standard quality polyamides, the product’s reduced frictional heat as well as the reduced friction coefficient makes application possible at higher speeds and
surface pressures. This applies not only for dry running but also for running under emergency conditions. LiNNOTAMGLIDE meets the requirements of globally recognised food safety/chemical safety EU Regulation Nr. 10/2011, as well as the FDA requirement 21 CFR 177.1500 and can be used in the production of components which come into direct contact with food.
Wearlon LiNNOTAMGLIDE offers a 50 per cent reduction in friction for broad applications, including highly loaded slide and wear parts in machine, conveyor and transport equipment
Benefits
particularly where lubrication of the component is difficult or not desired.
Benefits of the product’s high crystalline molecular structure and special additives include lower moisture absorption and dimensional stability. The low moisture absorption leads better dimensional stability and less of a reduction in mechanical values due to moisture
LiNNOTAM cast polyamides can be produced as semi-finished products or near net shape components and are virtually free of internal stress. Cut To Size offers a large selection of shapes, weights and dimensions of the broader cast polyamide range, which offers.
The balanced composition of the material’s formula results in a friction coefficient of just 0.15, which is exceptionally low. Additionally, the tendency towards stick-slip effect is reliably reduced to an absolute minimum. LiNNOTAMGLiDE Pro T – an extension of the range – is especially formulated for sliding and wear prone parts,
- High mechanical strength, hardness, stiffness and toughness - High mechanical characteristics - Good fatigue resistance - Very high wear resistance - Good slide and emergency running properties - Good machining properties
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Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility. -Ambrose Bierce
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Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done. -Peter Drucker
A fourth industrial revolution is powering the rise of smart manufacturing Lisa De Propris Technology is all around us, and sometimes in us. We experience it daily in the way we stream music, in how we use an app to navigate a museum or a shopping centre, or to check our calorie burning and heart rate. This technology is changing our lifestyle and consumption. There is, of course, a lot more technology around us that we don’t see or touch at source. A wave of technological innovation has started to fundamentally alter how we make stuff. And it signals an era of huge change. In the 1920s, Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev linked waves of technological change occurring every 50 years or so with cycles in global GDP growth. He suggested that radical inventions could profoundly revolutionise the techno-economic nature of economies. Indeed, the subsequent spawning of countless minor and incremental innovations could penetrate every aspect of the economy. The idea of Kondratiev waves is that as old technologies exhaust their potential for new ideas to boost the economy, they slow down until a critical mass of new technologies comes to fruition all at once. That then kicks off a new technological wave that is able to trigger a spate of new applications in new processes, new products and new services.
Technology can bring unknown pleasure.
Radical tech You can see this in the cellphone-to-smartphone shift. This was made possible by digital technology which created a common platform across a number of functions: communications and internet, imaging, video, GPS, the digital camera and of course apps. This is radical innovation and from it, subsequent hardware and software variants have added marginal value. And so, each wave fundamentally changes which resources are used and how they are used, as well as reshaping the organisation of production. New sectors are created while others become obsolete. This dynamism resets the economy and sparks growth again. There is some consensus that four
industrial revolutions can be associated with new technological waves. Innovations related to steam power, cotton, steel, and railways helped to give us the first industrial revolution of mass production and mechanisation. The second was triggered by the introduction of electricity, heavy and mechanical engineering and synthetic chemistry. The third was triggered by innovations in electronics and computers, petrochemicals and aerospace.
Objects of desire.
Industry 4.0 And what about the fourth? Right now, a host of new technologies are driving a wave of innovation that takes us into a new age. Think of the internet, nanotechnology, bioscience, electronics, photonics, advanced materials and renewable energies. Changes to our own techno-economic system started in the mid-1980s, but we had to wait the turn of the century to witness their impact on our production methods. Smart manufacturing may enable the upgrading and anchoring of manufacturing activities even in advanced and high-cost economies such as the European Union. We can identify some key characteristics. First, we see new technologies initiating new sectors or upgrading old ones. Core to this is the symbiosis between traditional manufacturing and services, through processes of “servitisation”. Take Rolls-Royce, which of course produces engines,
22 NZ Manufacturer September 2016 /
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but also sells them within a “power-bythe-hour” maintenance package that restructures its offering as a service that delivers the ability to fly planes rather than simply selling a one-off product.
stainless steel, food-safe ceramics, and silver. Alternatively consumers and designers can work together in “co-creator platforms” to design unique things which Shapeways prints.
Co-creating and producing There are also untapped market niches for personalised and customised products. These need to be produced in small batches or even as unique pieces. Such niche markets require customers to co-innovate or even co-produce with the manufacturer. Digital communications enable manufacturers to manage small scale businesses that have design and produce locally while connecting with global customers. Local Motors is a small US manufacturer focused on low-volume, open-source designs which are assembled in microfactories. Products have included cars and motorbikes as well as electric bicycles, children’s ride-in toy cars, and remote-controlled toy cars and skateboards. It 3D prints some of the components used in making its products. Its Rally Fighters cars have involved “co-creation”, where the product is designed cooperatively with the customer. 3D printing enables innovators and inventors to become manufacturers and to connect directly with markets both locally and globally. One company, Shapeways, was spun out of the Dutch electronics giant Phillips in 2007. Now based in New York it offers a 3D printing marketplace and service. You can design and upload 3D printable files, which are then made for you or a client from materials including acrylics,
Power games.
A little dear? Shapeways bronze printed objects.
Products like this tend to have a high content of technology, innovation, customised design and servicing. Moreover, their consumers tend not to be as price sensitive, so technology, knowledge and innovation are the key elements which shape the competitiveness contest. Sustainability Another prediction for smart manufacturing is that it will redesign product supply chains by integrating the local and the global more strategically. Some hands-on innovators in the so-called “makers movement” are making the most of a trend towards linking innovating and making. They choose suppliers nearer to home, but connect with demand both close and far from home. It promises a more efficient form of production, which we can also see in the increased use of more sustainable processes, where resources are re-manufactured and components re-used, or where bio, waste or natural products are used as feedstocks. There are echoes here of the circular economy, where waste is fed back into the production process, where alternative energy changes business models, or food production and consumption is “relocalised”. And it is this kind of efficiency at the heart of smart manufacturing that presents a real opportunity for advanced economies to pursue more distributed and sustainable socio-economic growth.
It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket. -Elon Musk
Key ingredients for designing smart machines and equipment By: Dan Seger, Principal Application Engineer, Rockwell Automation OEMs have always been expected to innovate and keep pace with end users’ requirements. Yet, today in the era of smart manufacturing, end users want to optimise their production and supply chain by bringing together islands of information – and they want OEMs to help. Delivering on the promise of smart manufacturing is paramount. At the heart of a smart operation is The Connected Enterprise. It consists of converged information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT) systems into a single network architecture. It also uses smart machines and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for seamless connectivity and information sharing across people, plants and supply chains. As a result, end users need smart machines and equipment that are designed to thrive in The Connected Enterprise and provide nearly endless opportunities to improve their operations. It also can help them address their most pressing needs, such as: • Remaining globally competitive by keeping business models relevant and moving from mass production to mass customization.
different points in their journey. Some will be in the early planning stages. Others may be in the midst of IT/ OT convergence. And others may be ready to integrate smart machines or equipment. It’s important that OEMs communicate with end users to understand their needs and stage in the journey. Those conversations also can help OEMs identify opportunities to innovate with their customers, such as using remote monitoring to monitor assets and maximise uptime. Ultimately, OEMs must always be ready to equip end users with smart machines or equipment, regardless of where they are in their journey. Technology: Deliver Systems That Match Needs OEMs that want to enable or support smart manufacturing and industrial operations should rethink traditional, machinery-design approaches. As they consider different design aspects to change and update, five key technology areas are paramount: 1.
• Addressing workforce issues, including retaining the skills of retiring workers, and ensuring IT and OT workers are prepared for the influx of new smart technologies. • Addressing risks, including security threats and increasingly complex regulations.
2.
• Making the most of Internet- and Ethernet-enabled technologies. This all may be daunting for industrial OEMs. However, they can meet customers’ needs and simplify the design of smart systems by focusing on three key elements: processes, technology and people. Processes: Meet End Users on Their Journey An end user’s journey to The Connected Enterprise generally follows four stages (see sidebar). Still, every journey will be distinct. Factors, such as operational needs, available resources and workforce availability, will be unique to each organisation and influence their Connected Enterprise roadmap.
3.
OEMs will encounter end users at
4.
Integrated Safety: Combining standard and safety control into a single platform enables the use of intelligent, machine-safety-system designs. This can improve productivity while still achieving compliance. Safety-system data also can be collected to alert operators where safety-related issues are occurring for faster downtime resolutions and long-term improvements. Accessible and Secure Information: End users develop goals for securely accessing and capitalizing on their operational, business and transactional data. OEMs can support and fulfill those goals by connecting control systems and using performance dashboards that make information available and actionable. Simplified Integration: Replacing a multitiered networking strategy with a single, open EtherNet/ IP™ network can simplify the network infrastructure and reduce integration risks. Likewise, a single, Logix-based control and information platform can ease the collection, transfer and analysis of real-time operations data. Real-Time
Diagnostics
and
Analysis: Embedded-intelligence devices can deliver real-time data for predictive maintenance to help end users more quickly troubleshoot and repair problems. Remote monitoring also can be used to monitor critical parameters and address issues before they reach a point of failure. 5.
Operational Efficiency: Design tools and scalable automation technology help OEMs deliver equipment that is flexible for multiple purposes to improve operating efficiency. For example, modular programming and re-usable code can help reduce system complexity and support faster design, commissioning and installation times. Motion-sizing tools also can help make mechatronic designs faster and easier to analyze, as well as help optimize, simulate and select motion-control systems.
People: Secure the Right Skills Today, engineers and programmers must understand the blend of IT/OT technologies used in connected plants and enterprises. They also must know how to configure, operate and sustain their customers’ networked industrial control systems. Providing training for existing workers can be critical to achieving this, especially because skilled workers are increasingly hard to find. OEMs should strongly consider using training and certification courses that have been specifically developed to help bridge the IT/OT gap in smart operations. At the same time, OEMs don’t need to go it alone. They should look to use vendors’ consultative, design, integration and support services to help fill areas of need.
Keeping Up With Expectations End users still expect machines and equipment to help them optimize processes, achieve compliance, maximize quality and protect workers. But they also now expect those same systems to easily integrate into their operations, offer production intelligence and improve their responsiveness to changing market demands. With the right mix of processes, technology and people, OEMs can develop smart machines and equipment that meet these higher expectations.
Four Stages of the Connected Enterprise While every end user’s journey to The Connected Enterprise is different, they generally can be expected to follow these four primary stages: 1. Assess and Plan: Conduct assessments to understand the culture and to evaluate the IT/OT infrastructure in place, including controls, networks, information and policies 2. Secure and Upgrade Network Controls: Securely upgrade the network and controls to prepare for future configurations and technologies, such as mobility, big-data analytics and cloud computing 3. Leverage Data and Analytics: Define data, identify how to turn it into actionable information to support better business decisions, and use it to drive continuous improvements 4. Optimize and Collaborate: Optimise operations, and engage with internal teams, suppliers and customers to better respond to internal and external events
This could include using a vendor’s network and security services to help design a more secure control system in a connected operation. Safety services also can help smart machines and equipment comply with the latest standards, while virtual support engineers can analyse trends and recommend actions to help prevent downtime.
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FOOD MANUFACTURING
The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you’re playing by somebody else’s rules, while quietly playing by your own. -Michael Korda
We’re for good – NZ Aquaculture at its best Report by Heavy Engineering Research Association Industry Development General Manager Nick Inskip Our Industry Development team have recently returned from a very busy three days in Nelson to attend the New Zealand Aquaculture conference from the 27 to 29 September – a key step in our goal to drive business opportunities for our members in the ocean engineering space. Attended by a number of key players and potential end users for us in the aquaculture scene – it was a reflection on how important this industry is for the primary sector of New Zealand, and was a feeling cemented with the attendance of Prime Minister the Right Honourable John Key. Speaking on the industries future and importance to our economy, one of his key messages that resonated was that we need to stop being commodity players and focus on adding value if we want to remain competitive. For our members, this is a message we’ve been sending for some time
– and as more influential parties start beating the same drum, it’s an opportune time to consider the prospects of openly moving from a contractor model to a more high value manufacturer if we’re to avoid the inevitable boom-bust cycle or suppliers becoming price takers rather than price makers. This path is certainly marred with challenges, but if we have something unique to produce, or better or cheaper than a competitor - we’re well on the way to success. That’s why driving research and development to create intellectual property our members can own, and allowing them to bring cleverness and innovation to the table ensures our industry will have an edge in a global market of opportunity. And, as we work to open up prospects in wave energy powered offshore fish farms, we’re confident that we’ll be able to help align our project partners and key members in a sector that certainly is actively seeking a way to expand their businesses outside of the
constraints of tight inshore resource management policies. I also had the opportunity to speak on day two of the conference to establish our presence in this space which resulted in a lot of positive support, interest, and funding avenues – and is not surprising given the potential
our technology could bring in order to boost New Zealand’s salmon exports tenfold. If you’d like to know more about what we’re doing in this space please contact Nick Inskip indev@hera.org.nz
EtherCAT is for everyone An SMC EtherCAT installation at a local abattoir recently received top honours in the Water and Wastewater Category of the Zenith PACE Awards held in Melbourne. The project highlights that seemingly complex technology, previously only reserved for high tech environments, can be implemented in most applications. “The highlight for me is changed perceptions. EtherCAT has a reputation as a very high end networking system best reserved for highly automated environments. This often leaves smaller customers using older techniques to solve application problems. These methods are often inefficient and Opinion Manufacturing Profiles Letters to the Editor Politics of Manufacturing Trade Fair World Diary of Events World Market Report Q/A Export News Machine Tools Business Opportunities Commentary As I See It Business News Appointments Around New Zealand Australian Report New to the Market Lean Manufacturing Equipment for Sale Recruitment Environmental Technology Manufacturing Processes
antiquated” comments Jozef Ceh, Business Development Manager for Electronic Platforms at SMC Pneumatics Australia | New Zealand, “the idea that EtherCAT can quite comfortably fit into a local abattoir, blows this theory out of the water.”
A solution for waste water in an abattoir SMC in conjunction with a leading Victorian based OEM specialising in waste water processing equipment have teamed up to provide a solution for the treatment of waste water
in a large Victorian abattoir. The requirements for the project were a rendering plant with a large capacity to receive, store and process waste effluent with an integrated system redundancy that provides significant technological features which in turn directly benefit the end user in terms
NZ MANUFACTURER • NOVEMBER 2016 Issue • Features
24 NZ Manufacturer October 2016 /
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Smart Manufacturing
Food Manufacturing
Workshop Tools
Production and Distribution
Manufacturing Technology Advertising Booking Deadline – 15 November 2016
Editorial material to be sent to :
Advertising Copy Deadline – 15 November 2016
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Editorial Copy Deadline – 15 November 2016 Advertising – For bookings and further information contact: Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz
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At NZ MANUFACTURER our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty paper morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world.
FOOD MANUFACTURING
Details create the big picture. -Sanford I. Weill
of ensuring continuous 24/7 operation from operational and maintenance point of view, increased volume of throughput resulting in a more efficient and lean process. In addition to the up scaled mechanical equipment that facilitates the physical sequential rendering process, the electro-pneumatic system employed for the job has significantly enhanced the functional and operational features of the system. A project overview “This system sets a new benchmark within the Australian process industry by challenging the perceptions that a leading edge networking system EtherCAT is only suitable for very high speed, complex and demanding applications within the industrial automation sector and successfully demonstrates the benefits of its application over the traditional system design” explains Jozef. The objective was to provide a system with an increased capacity in volume of effluent processed per day by improving the receiving, storing and processing efficiency of the waste water to accommodate for the plants current production schedule and take into consideration future demands due to increased productivity. The system was set up to return higher quality water back into the environment and to reduce the impact on the environment while exceeding the minimal specifications of the water authorities. The re-cycle of water back into the plant for repeat usage also reduced the water consumption and running costs of the plant. The result was a rendering process plant with capacity to receive 1 mega litres with up to 1.5 mega litres of effluent, on a daily basis.
requirements and allowing for about 35% more capacity for future expansion was quite a challenge. Safety and hygiene requirements as well as the refining of the process that deals with extracting the suspended solids more efficiently was another obstacle that the technical team had to overcome as well as the measuring and dosing process of the required chemicals. All of these elements hade to be incorporated into one throughput. In the end water with the right PH balance had to be put back into the system and this had to be done all in one cycle of the process.
The whole SMC EtherCAT solution was designed, manufactured and delivered in an integrated control panel solution, ready for plug and play, in two weeks. “This project successfully demonstrates the value in challenging the traditional approach to solving problems and looking outside of the comfort zones of historically specified legacy systems that were significant in their time but may impose limitations when encountered by demands of the modern plants. It went outside of status quo and broken the barrier to look at progressive technologies. EtherCAT is for everyone!” concludes Ceh.
text
EtherCAT was installed in the water treatment section of the abattoir.
Introducing
A point of difference in today’s busy FMCG market.
Developed by AsureQuality, inSight™ provides shoppers with independently verified information about the products they are about to buy. After a successful application process, producers can place the inSight™ logo and a QR code on their product packaging.
When shoppers scan the QR code at the point of sale they can access information about the product, including: • • • • •
Environmental sustainability Social and ethical concerns Nutritional information Safety and quality Origin
Fieldbus technology EtherCAT is by and large the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology, but it also synchronises with nanosecond accuracy. This is a huge benefit for all applications in which the target system is controlled or measured via the bus system. The rapid reaction times work to reduce the wait times during the transitions between process steps, which significantly improves application efficiency. Lastly, the EtherCAT system architecture typically reduces the load on the CPU by 25 – 30 % in comparison to other bus systems (given the same cycle time). When optimally applied, EtherCAT’s performance leads to improved accuracy, greater throughput, and thus to lowered costs. Major challenges Accommodating the current effluent
Why the Need for inSight™? inSight™ takes product assurances into the 21st century inSight™ is a new brand developed by New Zealand Government owned AsureQuality, global experts in food safety and quality. We know how important food safety and quality is to you. We wanted a way that you could get independently verified information about a product, that would give you confidence in it before paying for it. inSight™ makes sense because: • You want to know more about the food you are eating
A new innovation taking product assurances into the 21st Century
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WORKSHOP TOOLS
Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work. -Robert Orben
SMART electric torque wrench engineered with a mission in mind Traceability: o Fastening records may be viewed on-screen and transferred through a USB port on the control box Enerpac’s new Electric Torque Wrench, left, and the view from the rear of the tool showing the LED display, right The ETW-Series tool is available with a full range of accessories, which also fit the Enerpac PTW-Series Pneumatic Torque Multipliers. Both the ETW and PTW complement Enerpac’s global ranges of hydraulic torque wrenches and bolting tools available from a single source, which is highly valuable to companies seeking time-saving choice, consistency of quality and traceability of outcomes. The Electric Torque Wrench – in maximum torque capacities from 1625-8135Nm (1200-6000 ft-lbs) – is a further major step in Enerpac’s global priority of improving bolting efficiency and performance for industries requiring high repetition and high precision such as mining and energy, infrastructure, oil and gas, power generation, petrochemical and processing plants. Enerpac ETW with SMART features for repeatability, traceability simplicity and safety
In recent years, the need for fast, accurate and traceable fastening solutions has resulted in the advent of increasingly sophisticated controlled bolting tools. These solutions, however, are often complicated to use, making it difficult for the average user to understand them, and requiring a significant investment in training. Enerpac’s mission with its new ETW series electric torque wrench is to take SMART bolting, and make it simple. This SMART, yet simple new tool is custom-engineered to provide fast, accurate and safe fastening for applications that require speed, precision and traceability. The new ETW tool is operated with a 7” touch-screen, similar to those used in many popular mobile devices. The touchscreen is housed in an impact and flame resistant control box, which helps simplify and automate complex jobs, including those with torque and angle specifications through the creation of presets. Using the touchscreen, the operator simply inputs the number of fasteners and the desired torque value for each fastening step, followed by the required angle of turn. This sequence may then be saved as an automatic preset for future use. For simpler jobs, torque values may be input with a digital slider on the
26 NZ Manufacturer October 2016 /
touchscreen, or directly into the rear control panel on the wrench. Once the input torque is achieved, the tool stops, and a pass/fail indicator verifies that it is ready to move on to the next fastener. When the job is completed, the fastening record can be viewed on the touchscreen, or exported to a computer via a USB connection on the control box. Key features of the ETW-Series Electric Torque Wrench include: Performance:
o Pass/Fail indicator on back of tool verifies that the fastening has been completed accurately Simplicity: o Large 7” touchscreen simplifies tool operation o Control box simplifies complex jobs through the creation of automatic presets
All Enerpac controlled fastening solutions are backed by Enerpac’s 50 years of experience as an industry leader in bolting solutions and are fully backed by Enerpac’s extensive service and distribution network throughout Australasia and New Zealand to facilitate optimum reliability and safety compliance.
o Controls on back of wrench enable operator to monitor and manage the fastening process without returning to the control box
o The ETW tool gets the job done faster by providing continuous rotation for constant torque output o Torque and angle function allows input of nominal torque value followed by a specific angle of rotation
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Enerpac’s new Electric Torque Wrench, left, and the view from the rear of the tool showing the LED display, right
WORKSHOP TOOLS
We don’t have a monopoly. We have market share. There’s a difference. -Steve Ballmer
Versatile AC/DC welding machine packed with features WIA (Welding Industries of Australia) has announced the release of the outstanding Weldarc 200i AC/DC TIG welding machine, suitable for a wide range of industrial applications. The 200 Amp TIG welding machine, which is compact and lightweight, offers the professional welder a number of welding options, all from a 240V powered unit. A key feature of the Weldarc 200i AC/DC is the machine’s AC capability, which allows the welder to successfully TIG weld aluminium, as well as a wide range of steel and stainless steel thicknesses when in DC mode. The user simply presses a button to change the polarity of the machine’s output current from AC to DC, as required. Being an inverter type welding machine, the Weldarc 200i AC/DC also features sophisticated electronic control and high frequency switching to achieve consistent and controlled weld output. When TIG welding, the inverter’s microprocessor control makes possible the machine’s Lift-Arc start feature, which provides the welder with
easy TIG starts without the need for scratch starting; reducing electrode tip damage, and giving a greater number of starts between tip grinding. Another key feature is the machine’s HF Pulse start feature that allows very easy non-contact arc starting in both AC and DC TIG mode, putting it into the professional welder category. This feature is ideal for applications demanding no tungsten contamination of the workpiece. Welders are able to start and finish the welding operation without touching the workpiece, which is a major benefit to the professional welder, especially those doing high pressure vessel, stainless steel and aluminium welding. And with the inverter high frequency weld power transformers much smaller than conventional 50Hz weld transformers, the machine is significantly reduced in weight and size with the Weldarc 200i AC/DC weighing in at just 21kg, making it suitable for onsite maintenance in a range of industries. The Weldarc 200i AC/DC also features Pulse TIG which allows the user to adjust
the current peak and pulse frequency. This feature reduces the heat input to the material being welded, but still allows the filler material to melt and maintain good penetration, making it ideal for use on thin materials and near edges. And for MMA (Manual Metal Arc) stick welding, the inverter machine delivers a truly constant DC current, allowing small incremental control of the welding current. The electronic controls also allow the introduction of smart features such as Hot Start for even better arc starting when in stick mode, and Arc Force which constantly monitors the arc voltage and boosts the output if low arc voltage occurs. This feature particularly suits difficult to run electrodes.
machine also offers built-in operator safety, with the power source featuring a built-in thermal protection device that activates if the machine is operated beyond its safe thermal operating zone. The Weldarc 200i AC/DC is also tolerant of unconditioned power from generators, and has been optimised and tested for compatibility with appropriate portable generators.
With safety a very important issue for WIA, the machine features a built in VRD (Voltage Reduction Device), which delivers added safety when operating in stick or lift-TIG mode and meets the requirements of site work to AS60974.1 and AS1674.2 CAT C.
As well as an industry leading 8m high quality TIG torch, the package includes a 15A supply plug, a 3m work lead, a 3m industrial twist lock electrode holder and an integrated gas valve, and argon gas regulator.
WIA’s Weldarc 200i AC/DC welding
Viridian Glass opens state-of-the-art processing plant in Highbrook involved expanding Viridian’s existing Highbrook footprint by 160% to accommodate the Mt Wellington and Auckland Airport operations, and now totals over 17,000sqm.
Manufacturing innovator Viridian Glass has officially opened a new state-of-the-art processing plant in Highbrook, Auckland. The multimillion dollar investment represents a significant commitment to the New Zealand market. The purpose-built facility has amalgamated the company’s Auckland operations under one roof. The move
Viridian Glass New Zealand chief executive Lars Bloch-Kristensen says: “The new facility at Highbrook has united our three Auckland glass processing sites to satisfy an ever-increasing demand for bespoke glass solutions. This significant investment has created a semi-automatic factory with flexibility integrated into its design, allowing us to adjust production swiftly to meet customer demands.”
Products, which includes brands such as Bradford Insulation, Monier Bricks & Roofing, Potter Interior Systems, AFS Walling Solutions, and Hebel Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.
in-built flexibility enables Viridian Glass to introduce new and innovative forms of glass solutions to the residential and commercial sectors efficiently. “We are just beginning to see product solutions with glass as a key component for places where people work, live and play. Technology will be integrated into today’s glass products in ways we can’t imagine now and we will see the boundaries for traditional processing continually challenged.”
“As part of CSR’s building and construction products family, we can collaborate with our partners to create complete building systems. This relationship connects us to the whole building and construction industry; we’re not isolated,” says Mr Bloch-Kristensen.
Viridian Glass is owned by CSR Building
Mr Bloch-Kristensen says that the future of glass products is bespoke design. “New Zealanders don’t want cookie-cutter building designs, so every house and building is different and requires a tailored glass solution. Our new glass processing plant’s
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HEADING
The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once. -Samuel Smiles
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9 – 10 November 2016 Claudelands Event Centre
Hamilton Sponsor and Exhibitor Enquiries Welcome Expo Open Day 8 November More information:
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WORKSHOP TOOLS
The herd instinct among forecasters makes sheep look like independent thinkers. -Edgar Fiedler
Advanced CNC solution for precision milling machines NUM has launched an advanced control solution for CNC milling machines that features a highly intuitive conversational style user interface. Known as NUMmill, the CNC hardware and software provides a fully scalable control system and is supplied as a complete ‘off-the-shelf’ package.
servo motors, controlled by NUM’s latest-generation NUMDrive X digital servo drives. The NUMmill software features an exceptionally easy to understand graphical user interface which employs an interactive, conversational style dialogue to radically simplify machine operation.
NUMmill is designed specifically for CNC milling machine manufacturers and control retrofitters. It offers an extensive suite of canned cycles, ranging from simple centre drilling, boring and threading to pocket cycles and complex profile milling cycles.
In fact, it is so simple to use that end-users can operate machines without any prior knowledge of ISO code programming techniques.
All with 3D simulation for pre-process verification. The package is suitable for a wide range of precision milling applications in markets as diverse as metal cutting, woodworking, plastic, and high precision machining. Based on NUM’s market-leading Flexium modular CNC platform, NUMmill is typically configured with 3 or 4 linear axes and a single rotary axis, though it easily scales to suit any size and type of milling machine application. All motorised axes are equipped with high performance brushless
NUMmill Windows-based software provides graphical shop floor programming screens that depict the tool, the workpiece and all associated setup data in a concise and unambiguous manner. The operator is prompted to fill in the appropriate data fields presented by the human-machine interface (HMI), after which the machine control program is generated entirely automatically and then stored, ready for execution. On-line help files and step-by-step video tutorials are included for ease of operation. This conversational style programming helps to save considerable development time, as
well as significantly reducing the learning curve for new operators.
Rapid Out, Thread Chase, and Taper Threading.
NUMmill is supplied as a complete, ready-to-run package that includes the Flexium+ CNC system, software, and a 19-inch touch-sensitive machine control panel, together with all necessary drives and motors. The system is also equipped with NUM’s MTConnect interface, which simplifies the integration of CNC machine tools with third party manufacturing software.
The NUMmill system also provides measurement and probing cycles, to help users meet precision and quality targets, as well as full 3D simulation with collision monitoring for pre-process verification. The Flexium architecture also offers machine designers, builders and retrofitters an easy means of implementing functional safety. Available as a build-to-order option for all Flexium+ CNC systems, NUMSafe includes a safety PLC, safety input and output (I/O) modules, digital servo drives with built-in safe motion monitoring facilities, and compatible brushless servo motors.
In addition to a large number of canned cycles, the NUMmill software provides functions for material removal of basic pockets; these can be defined as circular, oblong, reticular and square. The hole pattern definitions can use a wide variety of geometries, including Arc, Cover Patter, Drilling with Rotary Axis, Grid, Pitch Circle, Row, and Single Points.
NUMSafe is a system-wide architecture that puts functional safety features precisely where they are needed, thereby reducing the number of components and wiring, which simplifies design and most importantly saves time in implementing ‘safe motion’ functions.
Milling operations can be performed on circular, oblong, rectangular and square pockets. The drilling cycles that can be performed on hole patterns include Centre Drill or Chamfer, Peck, Chip, Counter Bore, Tap, Ream-Feed Out, Bore-Dwell/Feed Out, Bore-Stop/
Brain-sensing technology allows typing 12 words per minute It does not take an infinite number of monkeys to type a passage of Shakespeare. Instead, it takes a single monkey equipped with brain-sensing technology – and a cheat sheet. That technology, developed by Stanford Bio-X scientists Krishna Shenoy, a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, and postdoctoral fellow Paul Nuyujukian, directly reads brain signals to drive a cursor moving over a keyboard. In a pilot experiment conducted with monkeys, the animals were able to transcribe passages from the New York Times and Hamlet at a rate of 12 words per minute. Earlier versions of the technology have already been tested successfully in people with paralysis, but the typing was slow and imprecise. This latest work tests improvements to the speed and accuracy of the technology that interprets brain signals and drives the cursor. Communication challenges Other approaches for helping people with movement disorders type involve tracking eye movements or, as in the case of Stephen Hawking, tracking movements of individual muscles in the face. However, these have limitations, and can require a degree of muscle control that might be difficult for some people. For example, Stephen Hawking wasn’t able to use eye-tracking software due to drooping eyelids
and other people find eye-tracking technology tiring. Directly reading brain signals could overcome some of these challenges and provide a way for people to communicate their thoughts and emotions. The technology developed by the Stanford team involves a multi-electrode array implanted in the brain to directly read signals from a region that ordinarily directs hand and arm movements used to move a computer mouse. It’s the algorithms for translating those signals and making letter selections that the team members have been improving. They had tested individual components of the updated technology in prior monkey studies but had never demonstrated the combined improvements in speed and accuracy. “The interface we tested is exactly what a human would use,” Nuyujukian said. “What we had never quantified before was the typing rate that could be achieved.” Using these high-performing algorithms developed by Nuyujukian and his colleagues, the animals could type more than three times faster than with earlier
approaches. To type or not to type The monkeys testing the technology had been trained to type letters corresponding to what they see on a screen. For this study, the animals transcribed passages of New York Times articles or, in one example, Hamlet. The results, which are published September 12 in IEEE, show that the technology allows a monkey to type with only its thoughts at a rate of up to 12 words per minute.
Paul Nuyujukian, a postdoctoral fellow in Stanford’s Department of Neurosurgery, is developing technology that enables typing directly from brain
aren’t otherwise able to communicate effectively or reliably. “Also understand that we’re not using auto completion here like your smartphone does where it guesses your words for you,” Nuyujukian said. Eventually the technology could be paired with the kinds of world completion technology used by smartphones or tablets to improve typing speeds.
People using this system would likely type more slowly, the researchers said, while they think about what they want to communicate or how to spell words. People might also be in more distracting environments and in some cases could have additional impairments that slow the ultimate communication rate.
In addition to proving the technology, this study showed that the implanted sensor could be stable for several years. The animals had the implants used to test this and previous iterations of the technology for up to four years prior to this experiment, with no loss of performance or side effects in the animals.
“What we cannot quantify is the cognitive load of figuring out what words you are trying to say,” Nuyujukian said. Despite that, Nuyujukian said even a rate lower than the 12 words per minute achieved by monkeys would be a significant advance for people who
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ANALYSIS
The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling. -Ambrose Bierce
At last, effective job scheduling software for manufacturers -By David Lawrence, Lean Manufacturing Consulting. I wrote this article in the hope it helps manufacturers and engineers with a far smarter and far better means of job scheduling. I have worked in the manufacturing industries as a Production Manager for most of my 30 year career. In the last six years I have also implemented Empower time tracking and factory productivity software in over 30 engineering businesses and 70 other manufacturing businesses throughout Australia and New Zealand. I am an independent contractor who works directly for engineers and other manufacturers.
Our Wish List at the start of the new Empower Job Scheduling Development included: 1 Must suit all forms of engineering, including general engineering, fabrication, sheet metal, structural, component manufacturing, trailers and all forms of agricultural and other equipment manufacturing. Must suit all businesses sizes from 6 factory staff to 100+ factory staff 2 Must allow Jobs and Tasks to be moved simply and quickly from one day to another by dragging and dropping within the daily and weekly calendar
I myself have struggled with job scheduling with NO good software available until 2016. I have manually updated spreadsheets several times through the day to “rejig” the schedule, I have updated job lists on paper and on whiteboards and then held meetings with other management and factory staff through the day to communicate the revised schedule. Sound familiar ?
3 Tasks and Jobs must update automatically when Tasks and Jobs are started and finished – in oher words real time updating and reporting from the factory floor
In the last two years ‘Empower Job Scheduling’ has been re-built in the latest Cloud technology and it now works extremely well. This is a direct result of Empower implementing literally several hundreds of improvements suggested by many of our successful clients.
5 Must allow me to schedule all jobs to each eg. machinery, welding, and fabrication work centres including the options for management or factory staff to batch jobs together
Empower Software is a locally owned company and has been developed with NZ and Australian engineers and other manufacturers over 14 years, which has proved invaluable in the success of this development.
7 Must report jobs that are currently late, highlighted ‘pink’ (because not many engineers want to be in pink). Jobs planned to be completed today are highlighted yellow. This colour coding is present on all factory staff
4 Must report current staff resource capacity to the factory and each work centre against daily planned job workload, to allow me clearly to see over and under daily capacity
6 Must create planned daily workload and job lists, both graphically and Word document listings
screens, all management screens and on 50 inch TV monitors 8 Must back schedule all jobs - so milestone dates for each stage of each job are highly visible. Late jobs turn Pink. 9 Must schedule the factory team but also provide the option to schedule the pre production team and any site team involved, to provide company wide job scheduling 10 Must be viewable on 50 inch TV monitors in the centre of the office and factory floor 180 engineers and other manufacturers throughout Australia and New Zealand have purchased Empower. By listening to this large customer base, further improvements and updates are released automatically via the cloud system as often as every 2 weeks. Existing engineering clients’ success with the software confirm that you could expect to increase your factory productivity and weekly factory output by 20% to 40%+ within approximately 6 weeks. Empower Job Scheduling Benefits that I see on all engineering client sites I consult to: 1 A simple to use 15 minutes per day process for small to medium sized joiners to schedule jobs 2 Quick and easy to set up initially and have operating 3
Schedule once completed is available live to management and factory staff to see the updated schedule
4 Updates to the job schedule are available to the pre production team, factory staff team and any site team in all Empower Screens and in the form of email 5 Colour coding of ‘Pink’ and ‘Yellow’ jobs clearly shows late jobs and jobs needing to be finished today to keep all jobs on track 6 Factory Downtime reduces significantly, generating higher production hours daily and higher factory productivity 7 The number of our jobs completed on time as agreed with clients has increased substantially (Delivered in Full on Time – DIFOT) 8 The number of materials orders forgotten about and ordered late, which typically had additional freight costs and held up Jobs, has reduced significantly 9 Factory staff log onto the priority jobs assigned to them (not the jobs they personally wish to do first) 10 Allows one person in each company to schedule (and stops two or several people having their way and changing the schedule) 11 The Licence is a Low weekly cost, for such a huge benefit During September, October & November 2016, Empower Software will make the software available to you for a 30 day trial, at no charge, if you are serious about taking the next step in improving your business. www. empowersoftware.co.nz
When I jumped off a roof in Cannes in a bee costume, I looked ridiculous. But this is my business; I have to humiliate myself. -Jerry Seinfeld
REAR VIEW
Battling contamination and sleep deprivation to take hadron collider to new heights The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is the world’s largest particle accelerator, and experiments like this have reached a scale where physicists are no longer able to build them alone. Instead, qualified engineers now lead the construction of these behemoths. And we are part of a team of engineers and physicists working on upgrading the LHC and eventually constructing a successor.
electronic engineers, mechanical engineers and civil engineers with a huge range of specialisations including radio frequency acceleration systems, cryogenics, control, tunnel drilling and mechanical stability.
On the surface CERN is a 1960s glass and concrete building. It’s often described as what people 50 years ago thought the future might look like. The cafeteria looks like any other, except you probably don’t get as many Nobel Prize winners in most canteens.
The energy stored in each beam is the same as an airbus jet travelling at take-off speed and can melt 12 tonnes of copper. So the materials used must be able to take this hit, and this requires a lot of engineers testing them and controlling systems that avoid the beam depositing all its energy in one spot.
But the real work goes on underneath the surface. The tunnel that houses the LHC is 27km in circumference, which is the same as the Circle Line in London’s underground system. But while the deepest London tube line is only 60 meters down, the LHC is 175 metres below ground. In the tunnel is also 50,000 tonnes of equipment weighing the same as six Eiffel Towers. The LHC works by colliding two beams of particles at very high energy, travelling in a circle close to the speed of light before they are crashed into each other. The particles used are protons – positively charged particles that make up the atomic nucleus, along with neutrons – that are attracted to negatively charged plates. Metallic chambers called “radiofrequency cavities” contain strong electromagnetic fields that are used to accelerate the protons. The LHC has the world’s highest accelerator magnet and the world’s largest superconducting system at 10,000 superconducting magnets. These have wires with zero electrical resistance at low temperatures, meaning they can create intense magnetic fields. LCH also has the highest current controlled to very high precision and the highest proton-beam energy (13 TeV). So to build an accelerator like the LHC we need electrical engineers,
Energy management is also a big task – the LHC requires 120MW, which is 10% of the entire energy budget of Geneva – and 50% of the largest power station in the northwest of England.
Risky business When running, the machine is too radioactive to go into. This radiation is produced when protons interact with the nuclei of surrounding material or gas. But every few years it undergoes a long shutdown to allow engineers to install new components. On the surface the collider entrance looks much like a building site, and hard hats must be worn. There are many risks – including high radiation levels from stray protons hitting the walls and generating showers of particles, high voltages, cold cryogenic gasses in confined spaces (which have exploded in the past), as well as the usual heavy items falling and of being in a tunnel deep beneath the surface. There is a long wait as the lift takes you down into the depths. The detectors are pretty big to begin with but when you get close and see on a small scale the amount of electronics packed into every space of a three-storey tall detector you realise the scale of the engineering involved. The same goes
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for the tunnels themselves. A lot of the engineering work conducted at CERN isn’t in the tunnels, however, but in the many testing laboratories or assembly areas. Lancaster University is involved in testing the LHC’s acceleration cavities. Huge radio-frequency amplifiers (like big mobile phones) blast the cavities with enormous powers to test if they can withstand the massive electric fields generated in the particle accelerators. Because of radiation, everything is controlled from a little room filled with racks of computers and electronics. The cavities are sensitive to dirt and dust, which can cause them to fail.
A superconducting material, which has zero electrical resistance at low temperatures, allows these devices to store energy with very low energy loss. Engineers are also looking at special “collimators” which remove stray particles in the beam and hence must be able to take huge energy being deposited on them. This involves creating superconducting cables that can transport the huge currents required to power the magnets from the surface to the tunnel without loss. Physicists and CERN engineers will also develop new ways of measuring the proton beams.
They are therefore cleaned with water so pure it can eat through metal pipes. To remove the surface layer we also use acid mixtures containing the extremely potent hydrofluoric acid. Often these tests run continuously so one of us – Graeme – often spends 24 hours in a concrete room with no windows staring at a screen. But once you know what’s on the screen, and what every blip means, it’s definitely more exciting. CERN makes a lot of the specialist components themselves so there are also large workshops with massive cutting and welding machines, staffed by some of the world’s top technicians.
Graeme Burt Senior lecturer in engineering, Lancaster University
Bigger and better We are now working with the physicists to design the LHC’s successor, which will be 100km in circumference. Before that the LHC will be upgraded to operate with ten times the number of collisions to allow the physicists to discover new particles faster. This will involve building new superconducting radio-frequency systems that create 3m-volt electric fields to align the bunches of protons to within nanometer precision.
Robert Appleby Reader of High Energy Particle Physics, University of Manchester
HEADING
The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once. -Samuel Smiles
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