May 2019
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COMPANY PROFILE Katikati’s Shot Darts leader in darts industry.
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ANALYSIS Relearning what it means to be globally competitive.
Invert Robotics expands further into global market A New Zealand-developed climbing inspection robot has caught the attention of top US investors, with its ability to help keep workers safe in hazardous environments. Invert Robotics has secured a US$8.8 million round of funding led by Finistere Ventures, an agtech/foodtech venture pioneer, with support from Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV), the corporate venture capital business of Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. Existing investors, such as Allan Moss, Inception Asset Management and the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, also participated in the capital raise. Using the strategic investment to scale its team, open a US office and expand its technology platform and industry-specific solutions, Invert
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COMPANY PROFILE Makaira Boats – a success story.
Professional 3D CAD Unbeatable value.
2018.2
Robotics aims to increase the global footprint of its climbing robot – the first specifically designed to inspect the integrity and safety of non-magnetic, hazardous environments. “The immediate value of Invert Robotics across the global food supply chain – from ensuring food and beverages are stored and transported in safe, pathogen-free environments, to avoiding catastrophic failures in agrichemical-industry containers and plants – is undeniably impressive,” says Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures. “However, we see the potential applications as almost limitless. With Invert Robotics, companies across a variety of industries will be able to deploy climbing robots to make asset inspection easier and more effective to avoid life-threatening situations for their workers, their communities and their consumers.” Invert Robotics offers precise, remote inspection of non-magnetic surfaces such as stainless steel, carbon fiber, aluminum and glass. Its climbing robot is already being used by key players in the global aviation market, alongside major Australian and New Zealand dairy companies and co-operatives such as Fonterra, Synlait and Murray Goldburn.
continued on Page 12
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2019
Media Kit with Editorial Calendar INCLUDES: Manufacturing Technology / New Products for Manufacturers / Disruptive and Future Technologies / Export Success / Trade Show Previews and Reports - SouthMACH 2019 / AusTech 2019 / BuildNZ 2019 Company Profiles / Analysis / Interviews / Food Manufacturing / Infrastructure / Smart Manufacturing / Industry 4.0 / Robotics & Automation / Productivity / 3D / Supply Chain / Women in Manufacturing / Additive Manufacturing /
CONTENTS 1 5 6 10 12 13 14 15 16 17
21 22 24 26 28 29 30
DEPARTMENTS LEAD ARTICLE
ADVISORS
Invert Robotics expands further into global market.
BUSINESS NEWS
Empower software recognised.
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
AI model to improve industrial production. Obsession drives latest purchase for Shot Darts. The digital difference in measuring production performance.
Kirk Hope
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ANALYSIS
Relearning what it means to be globally competitive. NZ introduces groundbreaking zero carbon bill.
COMPANY PROFILE
Invert Robotics.
Is Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy body. He has held a range of senior positions at Westpac and is a barrister and solicitor.
Dieter Adam
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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.
COMPANY PROFILE Makaira Boats.
Leeann Watson
Is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber).and is a strong voice for Canterbury business.
T-Tech Report.
Report on Intelligent Transport Systems New Zealand’s annual conference.
SOUTHMACH 2019 UPDATE.
Just before the show – who is on display?
ANALYSIS
Your future co-workers could be a swarm of robots.
13 Lewis Woodward
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.
SMART MANUFACTURING
Exploring the virtual plant. AI as a job saver? Australian Defence looks to quantum mechanics for new technologies. Innovative transition to new age of computing.
SMART SECURITY
When choosing a technology security. Mini-Computer fully protects your anonymity.
FOOD MANUFACTURNG
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Packaged solutions for pasteurisation and sterilisation.
NEW PRODUCTS
Dr Troy Coyle
Is HERA Director, she has extensive experience in innovation, research management and product development, most recently as Head of Innovation and Product Development & Pacific Islands Export Manager at New Zealand Steel..
Walk-Behind scrubber ideal cleaning solution. Unravelling the challenge of threading. One drive, two tools.
DEVELOPMENTS
Global challenges all in a day’s study. Toolkit helps business through data privacy minefield.
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SUPPLY CHAIN
Container deposit system solution to war on waste. Shipping container design in demand.
BUSINESS NEWS
Personal viewpoint has no place in OIO decision making.
CASE STUDY
Coating conveyor pulleys for protection and longevity.
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Craig Carlyle
Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.
What is a Wellbeing Budget?
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 Holly Green, Dieter Adam, Robert McLachlan, Neil Fletcher, Johan Bodin
It is commendable for Government to tackle things in different ways, to take an in depth look at how we are all doing and try to make our lives better. There are plenty of areas to focus on – one might say the usual suspects – health, education, housing, domestic violence and the shocking role alcohol plays in this…just saying, skills training - to lead to fairness and equality.
ADVERTISING Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
However, the strength in the Wellbeing Budget will also be seen in the focus Government gives to economic matters – in an economy that is starting to slow down.
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 870 8133 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz
Circling all this good will and intent is Productivity. Grant Robertson knows this. If productivity cannot be lifted, then there cannot be wage growth. If we don’t experience wage growth, then people do not get ahead. Have you ever heard of a power company or cable provider reducing their charges because the consumer isn’t keeping up with the cost of living?
WEB MASTER Bruce Metelerkamp E: bruce@hha.co.nz
PUBLISHING SERVICES On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd
Dieter Adam, Executive Director of The Manufacturers’ Network tackles some of this in his article on Page 10 “Relearning what it means to be globally competitive” when he says “we could sell more if we could make more, and we could make more if we had the right people for it”.
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And of course, the right people are the well-paid people who can afford a home, good healthcare and education for their children with the incentives in place for them to do a good day’s work. I am impressed with EMA Chief Executive Brett O’Riley’s personal viewpoint on Page 29 about the Overseas Investment Office’s decision to block Waihi mining company OceanaGold’s application to purchase nearby farmland to expand its operation.
Vol.10 No. 4 MAY 2019
He sees this decision as a disincentive to business investment for the good of the region. 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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I wish more business leaders would speak up on issues that bother them, that are unfair and strangle business growth. Come on, don’t be shy.
Doug Green
Success Through Innovation
EDITORIAL
Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.
BUSINESS NEWS
— Anthony Volodkin, founder of Hype Machine
Empower Factory Productivity and Scheduling Software recognised Empower Software, locally owned and operated is based in NewMarket, Auckland. Founding Directors are Dave Garrett (right) and Sean O’Sullivan. New Zealand, Australian and International manufacturers and engineers, from 5 up to 150 factory staff are investing in the Empower Software technology on their factory floors and using their Factory Productivity and Scheduling Software for live production scheduling, tracking of jobs and individual factory staff times on jobs and job status.
TIN100, a well-respected and recognised New Zealand Network of technology-based companies, including all stakeholders to the NZ Technology Industry, recently recognised Empower Software.
Production Managers are the main users and drivers of the technology and software as it is their role and their responsibility to plan and drive daily and weekly factory production and productivity effectively. Manufacturers and engineers install large TV monitors on factory walls and office walls to display live production and productivity data for everyone in the company to see. The performance of individual jobs and individual factory staff is live and continuous throughout the day and their individual productivity becomes totally transparent to all factory staff, management and administration staff. This technology and software drives labour times on jobs and labour cost on jobs down typically by 20% to 40%.
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.
getba
getba.org.nz
Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc.
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. – Albert Einstein
AI module to improve industrial production Industrial workers can now more easily use the data from their equipment to predict production issues and improve processes with their existing automation and control skill set. The new FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module, formerly known as Project Sherlock, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect production anomalies and alert workers so they can investigate or intervene, as necessary. Many existing analytics technologies require deep expertise in both data science and industrial processes. But this add-on module for ControlLogix controllers reduces that burden by doing the job of a data scientist. It fits directly into a control chassis and streams controller data over the backplane to build predictive models. It can continuously monitor a production operation, detecting anomalies against its derived understanding. The FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module makes predictive analytics more accessible to help more workers make better production decisions. The module learns your ControlLogix application and tells operators and technicians when things are changing in unexpected ways. This can help them get ahead of product quality issues and protect process integrity. For example, the module can help operators spot performance deviations in equipment like mixers that could affect product quality or lead to downtime. It can also be used as a virtual sensor. Instead of workers taking a reading, like the humidity of a packaged food product, the module can analyse variables from line assets like sprayers, dryers and burners to predict a measurement, virtually. Factory Talk Analytics LogixAI has positive implications for businesses in any sector. By making available data that will assist workers in helping to ensure the smooth running of machinery, customers can empower employees to troubleshoot and solve
problems as they arise, reducing downtime and ultimately contributing positively to the company’s bottom line. Workers can then be notified of problems by configuring alarms on a human machine interface (HMI) or dashboard. Future features of the module will go further, helping workers focus their problem-solving or automate the optimization of a process. The FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module is the newest addition to the FactoryTalk Analytics portfolio from Rockwell Automation. The portfolio includes FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices, which
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The LogixAI module expands on this by learning about an automation system’s application and helping identify anomalies with its overall function. Both products work individually, but each will benefit the other in future iterations. The FactoryTalk Analytics platform aggregates multiple sources of data, so workers can discover new insights. FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices and the LogixAI module will both be data sources for the platform going forward.
GRAPHICS
and much more
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learns about an automation system’s structure to tell workers about problems with individual devices.
SIGNAGE
CREATIVITY
Newsletters WEBSITES
Contact Kim on M 027542 7111 E kim.alves@xtra.co.nz
www.objective3d.co.nz
Get It Right The First Time Reliable 3d Printing is Easier to Achieve Than You Think You’re ready to buy a 3D printer to enhance your business. You’ve done your homework and the benefits are clear: freedom of design, faster prototyping, and reduced time-to-market, to name a few. The question is, what printer is best for your organization’s needs? Once upon a time, there wasn’t much choice. Most 3D printers were large and expensive, needed their own separate environment, and a highly trained operator. But that all changed once low-priced hobby printers catering to the “maker” movement entered the scene. These desktop printers offered the allure of 3D printing at an enticingly low price. But like so many things, you truly do get what you pay for. To get the most value from 3D printing, professionals need a printer that comes in not only at a good price point but can deliver quality results. Again and again. Download the Learning Guide and see how the latest Stratasys Solution stacks up against the competition.
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. – Will Rogers
Obsession drives latest purchase for Shot Darts A new piece of machinery has firmly positioned Katikati’s Shot Darts as a leader in the international darts industry. The recently purchased titanium plating plant is behind the vibrant colour coatings on the company’s darts.
consistency of supply.
required a bit of Kiwi ingenuity along the way.”
Mr McCormick says customer expectations for lead times are getting shorter and shorter, and he expects bringing the entire process in-house to shorten turnaround by at least two weeks.
Mr McCormick says the challenges have also showcased some of the other great things about being a Kiwi business.
It also ensures a durable coating that doesn’t chip and helps keep a dart’s edges and grip intact, supporting the quality and flair the company is well-known for in international darts circles.
“It enables us to be more flexible, to respond quicker to customer needs.”
Managing Director Peter McCormick says the purchase speaks to the company’s obsession with darts, which goes back almost 50 years to when his father, John McCormick, took over the business.
The company has backed up its investment by hiring a machine operator with a Master’s Degree in Chemistry, a role Mr McCormick says is expected to have a strong research and development focus.
“To the best of my knowledge, we’re the only precision darts manufacturer in the world to manage the entire manufacturing process in-house. From initial concepts, to packing our beautifully finished tungsten darts by hand ready for shipment, we get it all done here at our factory in New Zealand.
“We want to see what the machine is really capable of. We’re excited about continuing to push the envelope. And getting our ideas out there, into the hands of players, faster.”
“It gives us complete control, from woah to go. Not just over quality, but also lead times and
However, the process of getting the machine to Shot Darts Katikati factory and up and running hasn’t been without its difficulties, he says. “There have been challenges, but nothing insurmountable. Just a few things that have
“There’s been a lot of help from other New Zealand businesses and business leaders. When there’s been a problem, they’ve turned up on our doorstep to help us. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t happen in other countries. “We’re hugely proud to manufacture our darts in New Zealand.” Mr McCormick says the purchase also symbolises Shot Darts dedication to doing things in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way, something that is becoming increasingly important in some of their key markets. “Germany is a big market for us and there is a growing demand there, from young people in particular, for products and businesses that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability.” With the darts previously travelling as far as China at times for plating, the emissions generated by flying them there and back is something the company is happy to see an end to as part of their commitment to doing things more sustainably. “We’re also looking forward to reducing our carbon footprint through the use of cleaner energy sources in the plating process (renewable energy sources make up more than 80% of New Zealand’s electricity generation vs. less than 40% in China).” Mr McCormick says the purchase also speaks to the company’s commitment to staff, the community and the darts industry, as it approaches its 50th year in 2020. “There is a definite excitement in the team, they’re invested in the outcome. There’s a lot of pride. “It’s also good for the community to see the future of the business, what we’re working toward. It demonstrates our commitment to being based in the Katikati community.
Shot Darts Head of Engineering Robbie Donaldson (left) and Managing Director Peter McCormick (right) with the company’s new titanium plating plant.
Only 14% of all our engineers are women. We want to change that. Join us and scores of other Kiwi organisations that have galvanised around one common goal: 20% more women engineers by 2021. www.diversityagenda.org
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“Darts gets into your blood. We’re here for the long haul.”
Entrepreneurship is a muscle, and winning is an endurance game. -Caroline Ghosn
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
The digital difference in measuring production performance We typically think of performance management as a system for managers to rate, review, and reward their direct reports. Done well, it lifts performance at the individual level and multiplies the effect across the entire organisation. But it’s not just employees that need to be carefully managed. By extending the system to machines, resources, and processes, manufacturers are better able to identify problems before or as they happen, meaning managers and the front line can make real-time adjustments to keep production on track. And by better tracking and analysing performance metrics, the best factories can identify new ways of working to trim costs and boost productivity and profitability. But what makes a performance-management system effective? The ideal performance-management system comprises five elements: right data; right source; right time and place; right person; and right decisions. When functioning well, it creates a standardised work flow that captures data from multiple sources, then provides it to a skilled leader with insight and authority to make a decision and communicate it back to the production line for execution. The rewards of performance management The elements may sound common-sensical, but that doesn’t make them easy to achieve. And if any of them is out of alignment, value starts to leak out of the system. Because a typical materials manufacturer has five to seven major processes—energy, mechanics, quality control—up to 35 stress points can lead to system failure. Factor in multiple shifts across multiple production lines and the system’s complexity increases exponentially. Moreover, in many basic-materials sectors, such as metals and chemicals, today’s performance-management systems are often poorly designed or partially implemented. And a bad system can be worse than no system at all. In these situations, the rewards of performance management are well worth the investment, as a Chinese metals manufacturer found when it recently finished implementation of a performance-management system in step with a broader lean transformation. The three-year project yielded significant improvements through greater performance alignment, including throughput increases of more than 10 percent and cost reductions of more than five percent.
daily KPIs for review in the morning planning meeting—meaning that more than 20 percent of total back-office capacity was spent on basic data processing. And the third is completeness: For example, a steel-plant manager following recommended quality-control practices might visit the cooling water pump three times a week to look for deviations. But this means a problem could still go undetected for days.
The potential from digital Fortunately, success encouraged the company to look at a faster, easier, and more thorough option: digital performance management, which it decided to pilot. Thanks to developments in data processing, network hardware, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and IT infrastructure design, it is possible to digitise a new performance management system as it is developed and implemented. The pilot was designed and rolled out in less than three months. By standardising the way of working, the factory raised knowledge and capability levels among more than 100 frontline supervisors and staff, and ensured that all shifts worked to the same performance standards. Faster, more robust problem solving also enabled it to reduce cycle times by more than five percent while also increasing throughput—in return for very little capital outlay. Importantly, its new systems can generate the same data that otherwise would require half of the entire back office to spend hours producing—freeing up about 15 percent of back-office capacity and enabling better, more timely decision-making. The role of people Other manufacturers are pushing even further. Schneider Electric’s facility in Le Vaudreuil, France was named a “Lighthouse” manufacturing site by the World Economic Forum for its successful application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. As part of its digital transformation, the factory introduced digital performance management to fundamentally revolutionise the role of its plant managers.
Chinese metal manufacturer: checking execution, correcting issues, and driving the workforce to achieve the plant’s KPIs. Now, digital performance management has freed up time and effort and made more sophisticated data available, including information obtained directly from machines and processes, allowing managers to focus on benchmarking and analysis to drive real improvements to the factory. For a global manufacturer, this feedback is particularly important in driving improvement not only at one location, but across an entire production network spanning dozens of countries. Managers can benchmark and compare the performance of their own factory against others to drive improvement across the organisation. It’s a long way to go before the Chinese metals manufacturer can challenge Schneider for scale, but both are reaping the advantages of digital performance management. For the Chinese company, piloting digital performance management across one process as part of its ongoing lean transformation has built faith in digital technologies from the boardroom to the shop floor, and is a potential first step on a much larger (and even more profitable) digital-transformation journey. While it does so, it can keep an eye on beacons like Schneider.
Done well, it lifts performance at the individual level and multiplies the effect across the entire organisation.
The previous duties would be familiar to those at our
That summary hints at the tradeoffs. The first is time: It usually takes between one and two years for a new performance-management system to become a cultural norm, and another three to five years for it to be fully embedded with all other business systems. And that is if there is a very determined CEO or COO driving the change. The second is effort: The initial system was almost entirely analog, relying on heavily manual processes such as whiteboards and spreadsheet printouts. In one factory, almost half of the back office had to start quite early each day to manually generate
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NZ MANUFACTURER
FEATURES June 2019 Issue
ANALYSIS
Relearning what it means to be globally competitive -Dieter Adam, Executive Director, The Manufacturers’ Network
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently published an interesting paper on redefining competition. Many of us have already learned, painfully at times, that competition is not only about sales and market share. Increasingly, I hear that “we could sell more if we could make more, and we could make more if we had the (right) people for it”.
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
In other words, competition for talent has become just as important as competition for market share. And, like the competition for market share, which is global for many New Zealand manufacturers who export much of what they make, competition for talent is global, because the skills shortages we experience are the same in most manufacturing economies.
INDUSTRY 4.0 ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION
BCG are now taking us a couple of steps further in our thinking about the competitive strengths we need to maintain and expand if we want to remain globally competitive.
COMPANY PROFILE FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES
The common thread behind all of this is that we live and operate in a world in which the rate of change has gone up and our ability to predict future states of the economic, social, cultural and even physical dimensions of that world has gone down – think trade wars, income inequality, digital natives and climate change as obvious examples. Five Dimensions of Competition
Advertising Booking Deadline – 7 June 2019 Editorial Copy Deadline – 7 June 2019 Advertising – For bookings and further information contact: Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz
Doug Green,
Source: BCG Henderson Institute (The new logic of competition; March 2019)
P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Tel: 06 870 9029
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. Opinion
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The ‘us against the rest of the world’ mindset is no longer helpful (if it ever was). Could your competitor become an ally in opening up new market opportunities, for example, does your relationship with your customers need to change as you become a provider of services as well as products, and (how) could you accommodate workers who wish to become independent contractors? Unlearning, and opening up our thinking about how we (re-)connect our business, could be just as important as improving structures and processes. Blending of physical and digital worlds Not a new trend for manufacturers, who have seen digital technologies penetrate factory floors and support processes for a long time. But Industry 4.0 technologies will accelerate the pace here as well and take connectivity and integration to a whole new level. The opportunity – and the challenge – is to manage and improve not only our own factory operations as a single, digitally connected and fully integrated system, but to also extend that approach to our value chain partners. It offers manufacturers the opportunity to add digital services (such as remote support and maintenance) to their suite of products, for example.
Imagination The ‘innovate or die’ mantra has been with us for a while now, and many New Zealand manufacturers’ ticket to survival and growth has been their ability to out-compete others on product (and service) innovation.
Editorial material to be sent to :
Diary of Events
licence to operate (or not) through government as a regulator, is gaining greater influence, the network of relationships manufacturers need to consider and manage is just becoming increasingly complicated.
At another level, we see early signs of ‘digital’ companies entering the space of manufacturing as well, like Google entering the automotive sector with its Weymo subsidiary.
Advertising Copy Deadline – 7 June 2019
Trade Fair World
People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. – Rob Siltanen
How does this concept apply to New Zealand manufacturers? If we start with Rate of Learning, we are all familiar with the idea that as individuals we need to keep learning (faster) to keep up with the play, even though we don’t always create the space required to do so – “we’re just too busy right at the moment!”. But how well is our company equipped to learn, and what does that mean? Companies learn through accumulating knowledge about their processes, enabling them to improve processes and structures, both physical and organisational. But in a rapidly changing world processes, structures and even business models need to change more often, and the ability to ‘unlearn’ is becoming just as important. Tacit inertia (“we’ve always done it that way”) is a basic human condition, often amplified on an organisational scale. Continuous improvement programmes are designed to overcome that inertia and have been around for a long time but are still missing in action far too often, and they need to pick up the pace now. Connected world We all understand the importance of being closely connected to our customers, our workforce, and our suppliers. Talking about business ecosystems has become very fashionable, but what does it actually mean? Well, apart from the fact that society, granting us a
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The next challenge comes from applying the same approach to your business model – becoming the business that puts your business out of business, before someone else does. And to reinvent your business may well require a step beyond innovation – being able to see things differently and identify possibilities that currently don’t exist but could be created.
Resilience Last, but certainly not least, is your ability to be more resilient as an organisation – and as a leader – than the competition. Resilience here means the ability to withstand the impact of outside forces beyond your control, be that natural forces like catastrophic weather events interrupting power supply to your factory more frequently, or changes in market access due to trade wars, for example. Resilience requires the ability to adapt quickly to changes never experienced before, and the remarkable ability of many Christchurch manufacturers to spring back into life so quickly after the earthquakes points to New Zealand manufacturers innately scoring quite highly on that front. But resilience also requires taking a long-term perspective – monitoring trends that may not be obvious and preparing for a surviving and thriving under a range of scenarios, some of which might appear quite outlandish at the time. We all have to ask ourselves how good we are at the latter?
You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.
ANALYSIS
– Unknown
NZ introduces groundbreaking zero carbon bill Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University
New Zealand’s long-awaited zero carbon bill will create sweeping changes to the management of emissions, setting a global benchmark with ambitious reduction targets for all major greenhouse gases. The bill includes two separate targets – one for the long-lived greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, and another target specifically for biogenic methane, produced by livestock and landfill waste. Launching the bill, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: Carbon dioxide is the most important thing we need to tackle – that’s why we’ve taken a net zero carbon approach. Agriculture is incredibly important to New Zealand, but it also needs to be part of the solution. That is why we have listened to the science and also heard the industry and created a specific target for biogenic methane. The Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill will: • Create a target of reducing all greenhouse gases, except biogenic methane, to net zero by 2050 • Create a separate target to reduce emissions of biogenic methane by 10% by 2030, and 24-47% by 2050 (relative to 2017 levels) • Establish a new, independent climate commission to provide emissions budgets, expert advice, and monitoring to help keep successive governments on track • Require government to implement policies for climate change risk assessment, a national adaptation plan, and progress reporting on implementation of the plan.
Bringing in agriculture Preparing the bill has been a lengthy process. The government was committed to working with its coalition partners and with the opposition National Party, to ensure the bill’s long-term viability. A consultation process in 2018 yielded 15,000 submissions, more than 90% of which asked for an advisory, independent climate commission, provision for adapting to the effects of climate change and a target of net zero by 2050 for all gasses. Throughout this period there has been discussion of the role and responsibility of agriculture, which contributes 48% of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This is an important issue not just for New Zealand and all agricultural nations, but for world food supply. Another critical question involved forestry. Pathways to net zero involve planting a lot of trees, but this is a short-term solution with only partly understood consequences.
Separate targets for different gases In signing the Paris Agreement, New Zealand agreed to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C and to make efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. The bill is guided by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which details three pathways to limit warming to 1.5°C. All of them involve significant reductions in agricultural methane (by 23%-69% by 2050). Farmers will be pleased with the “two baskets” approach, in which biogenic methane is treated differently from other gasses. But the bill does require total biogenic emissions to fall. They cannot be offset by planting trees. The climate commission, once established, and the minister will have to come up with policies that reduce emissions. In the short term, that will likely involve decisions about livestock stocking rates: retiring the least profitable sheep and beef farms and improving efficiency in the dairy industry with fewer animals but increased productivity on the remaining land. Longer term options include methane inhibitors, selective breeding, and a possible methane vaccine.
Ambitious net zero target Net zero by 2050 on all other gasses, including offsetting by forestry, is still an ambitious target. New Zealand’s emissions rose sharply in 2017 and effective mechanisms to phase out fossil fuels are not yet in place. It is likely that with protests in Auckland over a local 10 cents a litre fuel tax – albeit brought in to fund public transport and not as a carbon tax per se – the government may be feeling they have to tread delicately here.
mooted, we have seen a stronger sense of urgency, from the Extinction Rebellion to Greta Thunberg to the UK parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency. New Zealand’s bill is a pioneering effort to respond in detail to the 1.5ºC target and to base a national plan around the science reported by the IPCC. Many other countries are in the process of setting and strengthening targets. Ireland’s Parliamentary Joint Committee on Climate recently recommended adopting a target of net zero for all gasses by 2050. Scotland will strengthen its target to net zero carbon dioxide and methane by 2040 and net zero all gasses by 2045. Less than a week after this announcement, the Scottish government dropped plans to cut air departure fees (currently £13 for short and £78 for long flights, and double for business class). One country that has set a specific goals for agricultural methane is Uruguay, with a target of reducing emissions per kilogram of beef by 33%-46% by 2030. In the countries mentioned above, not so different from New Zealand, agriculture produces 35%, 23%, and 55% of emissions, respectively. New Zealand has learned from processes that have worked elsewhere, notably the UK’s Climate Change Commission, which attempts to balance science, public involvement and the sovereignty of parliament. Perhaps our present experience in balancing the demands of different interest groups and economic sectors, with diverse mitigation opportunities and costs, can now help others.
But the bill requires real action. The first carbon budget will cover 2022-2025. Work to strengthen New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is already underway and will likely involve a falling cap on emissions that will raise the carbon price, currently capped at NZ$25. In initial reaction to the bill, the National Party welcomed all aspects of it except the 24-47% reduction target for methane, which they believe should have been left to the climate commission. Coalition partner New Zealand First is talking up their contribution and how they had the agriculture sector’s interests at heart.
Recently, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment suggested an approach in which forestry could offset only agricultural, non-fossil emissions.
While climate activist groups welcomed the bill, Greenpeace criticised the bill for not being legally enforceable and described the 10% cut in methane as “miserly”. The youth action group Generation Zero, one of the first to call for zero carbon legislation, is understandably delighted.
Now we know how the government has threaded its way between these difficult choices.
Even so, they say the law does not match the urgency of the crisis. And it’s true that since the bill was first
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COMPANY PROFILE
When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue. — Josh James, CEO and co-founder of Omniture
ETS development continues to be well signalled The latest design changes to New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme have been progressively well signalled and are broadly positive, says BusinessNZ. The Government’s latest set of changes include rules for auctions, pricing, monitoring, and penalties for the ETS. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says the deliberate process of clear, well-signalled changes is helping to build confidence in the scheme as its settings become progressively more onerous. The decisions around auctioning and the removal of the fixed price option are cases in point. We welcome the establishment of an independent auction body,
“There remains a need for ensuring that prices in the New Zealand ETS are comparable to those in other countries, and for ensuring New Zealand companies’ competitiveness is not undermined by inconsistent progress towards pricing carbon across our trade competitors.
“It would also be preferable to have the coming ETS legislation considered after the Zero Carbon Bill, so that ETS legislation can be aligned with the targets finally legislated. “BusinessNZ looks forward to working with the Government as it further develops the ETS and the market governance arrangements.”
We fail to see the public benefit of these proposals, especially at a time of increasing carbon prices.
Invert Robotics expands further into global market
Invert operates primarily in the dairy sector in New Zealand, and we offer a service essential to companies seeking excellence in health and safety.
The global chemical industry represents another market where Invert Robotics’ technology is helping to keep workers safe while undertaking critical equipment inspections.
Neil Fletcher, As a result, we are not greatly affected by New Zealand managing director economic fluctuations. However, 70% of our revenue is export and we have delivered services in 20+ countries so currency management is increasingly important for us. Raising significant capital in New Zealand still remains difficult, and so our current round was largely taken up by international institutional investors. For Invert, this has turned out to be a real positive though. Our two newest investors, Finistere Ventures and Yahama Motors Ventures bring with them industry knowledge and connections that will be invaluable to our growth. Are there other areas of development you are working on? Yes, we continue to invest heavily in research and development, and we have a number of key development projects underway. We are also working on improving the automation, localisation and data management competencies. We have two major joint ventures with key customers as well, which involve custom development of our base robot for the maintenance of their complex industrial assets. How easy is it to attract staff? Attracting talent is never easy and now that we have offices in five countries we have had to adopt a globalised recruitment strategy. We always work with recruitment agencies who know and understand the employment laws. This means we can focus our efforts on finding talent that matches Invert’s culture and growth plan. Can you see robotics having a positive place in the NZ economy? Absolutely. The top 200 NZ technology companies generated $7.3B in exports in 2017. Invert is targeting a spot amongst this group and with other Kiwi companies like Robotics Plus and Scotts Automation developing world-leading technology, I can only see positive growth in this space.
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“Some changes may need further revision, such as ability for the scheme to have a price floor, and the requirement for individual companies’ emission data to be made public. We fail to see the public benefit of these proposals especially at a time of increasing carbon prices.
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How is your company finding current business conditions?
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as proposed in our submission.
“Our climbing robots go where other robots cannot and people should not,” says Invert Robotics managing director Neil Fletcher. “We give our customers an easier, safer and faster way to inspect the safety and integrity of the most hazardous and toxic environments. Industrial accidents in the chemical industry can be costly and sometimes even deadly, but they are often preventable. Remote inspection solutions that take into account chemical corrosion and high-pressure processing scenarios can help chemical companies improve worker safety, optimise maintenance and avoid future tragedies.” The Invert Robotics climbing robots can securely adhere to surfaces that other robots cannot and go into confined, treacherous spaces that would put workers’ lives at risk. Going beyond visual inspections, the company’s robots can perform in-depth scans using surface-wave detection and ultrasonic probes to measure wall thickness, assess structural integrity and find defects on any surface. The robotic technology’s adaptability to different environments and industries is well supported by an engaged team. That combination, with proper capitalisation, positions Invert Robotics for success in its global market expansion. Headquartered in New Zealand with offices throughout Europe, Invert Robotics will also build out an artificial intelligence platform that will allow customers to take a proactive approach to asset management by predicting potential fail points and future maintenance needs. The company’s principal European office is located in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. This latest investment adds to the considerable funding Invert Robotics has already received from government
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and private venture capital sources. A limited private investor round raised NZ$9.6 million in 2017, assisted by Joe Capra, founding principal of Australian private equity and investment firm Lennoxgrove Capital. To support its international expansion and product development plans, Dean Tilyard from The Factory will join the Invert Robotics Board. The Factory acts as a business development partner for innovative New Zealand companies, and Tilyard represents Finistere in New Zealand. “Finistere’s latest investment reflects the growing status of New Zealand as a centre of excellence in ag and food tech,” says Arama Kukutai. “By working alongside the company to grow its technology platform and market access, we believe we can help accelerate Invert’s growth and access to capital including from trusted partners like Yamaha, and others in our venture capital ecosystem.” Adding both industry-specific and technology expertise, Finistere’s Kukutai and Yamaha’s Boshier will also join the Invert Robotics Board as observers. “Finistere and Yamaha have already demonstrated an incredible amount of knowledge and passion, and we look forward to tapping their deep technical and global support infrastructures to help us continue to scale the company,” concludes Fletcher.
Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.
COMPANY PROFILE
— Wayne Huizenga, prolific American business person, owner of the Miami Dolphins
Makaira Boats – a success story This article profiles the business start-up, growth and success of Makaira Boats, owned and managed by Allan Shaw Allan Shaw started his apprenticeship in 2007 at age 19 at Alloy Yachts in Henderson, Auckland. One of New Zealand’s largest and most respected Super yacht builders, the company build large custom sailing and motor yachts and is where Allan served four years in his apprenticeship then one years in his trade. Allan says, “Alloy Yachts was a great place to work and learn from at the time as they had some of the best designers, best manufacturing equipment and boat building tradesmen in the industry.” While at Alloy Yachts in 2012 Allan commenced designing his first boat the Makaira 940 (9.4 metres) which took 5 years. In 2013 Allan rented commercial premises in Henderson, Auckland and started building two Makaira 940s which he had orders for. In terms of weight of aluminium materials, a 7 metre Makaira Boat hull requires more than twice the structure of aluminium compared to common brands of 7 metre aluminium boat. “In terms of labour build time a 7 metre Makaira Boat hull requires more than three times the labour hours to build; it takes approximately 600 hours to build a Makaira compared to an equivalent sized common brand aluminium boat which can take as little as 200 hours to build”. “Weight and build time are the key differences between aluminium boat brands on the NZ market, total quality of both boat types are poles apart. “At Makaira Boats we build ‘heavy plate and heavy engineered’ aluminium boats. Another well-known and legendary ‘heavy plate and heavy engineered’ aluminium boat that has been on the New Zealand market for many years is AMF Boats.” In 2014 Allan purchased commercial land in Keri Keri and designed and built his commercial building for Makaira Boats. He has worked long hours running three businesses at the same time, including Makaira Boats, Keri Keri engineering and managing 200 local bee hives; and he has saved hard to enable him to full fill his life goal of owning his own commercial boat building premises. In 2016 Allan invested in advanced boat building machinery, which he remains guarded about. Like
many aluminium boat builders in New Zealand, Allan designs his own boats and has invested in house boat CAD file development of his own boat designs. Allan is firmly of the view that “NZ aluminium boat manufacturers need to move to ‘in house CAD file development’ to progress their boat designs and their businesses because of several massive advantages. “If anyone wishes to discuss this feel free to call me”. In 2018 Allan invested in tablets for his factory floor, labour management and scheduling software. Since investing in factory tablets and labour software, build times and build cost on each boat has reduced by 30% within 11 months and he is confident that the company will reach 50% reduction in build time and build cost within the next 6 months. Allan says the advantages of this labour management technology are many and significant including: 30% going onto 50% reduction in build time and build cost per boat, allowing Makaira Boats to be one of the highest quality ‘heavy plate and heavy engineered’ boats on the market, whilst also being very competitively priced. “This is what all my clients
are looking for”. A far more relaxed and in many ways more enjoyable environment in Keri Keri. The pluses for family and staff living in Keri Keri include affordable rent and home prices, far better fishing and diving, a real sense of community, little traffic and free and easy parking. Very good schools, a raft of clubs to join and sporting activities. “This I believe is what the New Zealand economy requires, to build industries and employment in the regions outside of Auckland”. Allan pays individual factory staff based, on their individual performance, so performance review and wage round is based on accurate numbers and is very objective and fair. The company has installed 50-inch TV monitors in the factory reporting live times, actual and budgeted time, on each staff members on each job. This way all staff and all management continuously and clearly see the factory staff that are highly productive and those who are not, and which parts of jobs are progressing, and which are not. “Now we have labour times and labour costs substantially down and maintained at this level we can focus on marketing our boats and export markets”. Overall the business is a lot more stable and well poised for growth in sales and employment of more staff, and hopefully exports in time. After 10 years in design Allan now has industry leading designs in the Makaira Boats range, Labour costs have been “hammered right down and kept right down” and as a result the business is well poised for growth. For any engineers looking to get out of the big cities and out of the ‘rat race’ who want to work in a region where rent is half price and the fishing enormously better phone Allan and he will find a space for good engineers and fabricators.
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T-TECH REPORT
Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. — Golda Meir, fourth Prime Minister of Israel
T-Tech grows as tech solutions come to the fore in transport Attracting a record 173 people, Intelligent Transport Systems New Zealand’s annual conference has grown rapidly in recent years and increasingly seeks to solve the transport challenges faced by planners and government decision makers.
Rebranded as T-Tech, the annual conference now encompasses solutions beyond the traditional ITS traffic management hardware and software. With over forty speakers at this year’s T-Tech, the conference included “Future Transport solutions, such as electric connected autonomous vehicles, and “Mobility as a Service”, business models enabled by technology such as ride hailing (Uber) and carsharing fleets like Yoogo, Mevo and Cityhop.
Vikash Kumar, NZTA, receives the certificate for the Best Paper for “A Scalable Approach towards Predicting Travel Times of Commuter Buses, Trains & Ferries in Real Time”, the paper is available on the ITSNZ website.
International keynote speakers represented two strong new modes of transport which may significantly change the urban landscape. Mr. Horace Dediu, a Romanian-American technology analyst, is considered the world-leading authority on “micro mobility”. Micro mobility is a term coined by Mr. Dediu in 2017 describing a category of vehicles under 500kg that includes e-bikes, electric scooters and bike sharing schemes. Dediu believes we have not yet begun to understand the wave of new solutions that will emerge in this category, he likens the current electric scooters to be similar to early version mobile phones in terms of the development ahead; a comparison he can talk with some authority to as a widely respected analyst of Apple and iPhones. Mr. Dediu began researching transport disruption at the Clayton Christensen Institute which examines disruptive technologies. He said that autonomous cars as imagined by car manufacturers could not actually be classified as disruptive. He has since become an advocate for the low-end of the transport, where small, efficient lightweight vehicles can replace the vastly more inefficient car in short trips. Dediu organises large conferences in California and Europe and hosts the popular Micromobility podcast with New Zealander Oliver Bruce (formerly at Uber) using data from Uber, Lyft and various urban authorities to demonstrate his reasoning. If safety, infrastructure and policy challenges can be overcome these new modes can replace a good percentage of inner-city trips which are currently solved by car trips creating congestion, pollution and require too much infrastructure and parking space.
David Vinsen, Chair ITSNZ, at T-Tech with International Keynote and micromobility expert Horace Dediu and New Zealand Keynote, science and innovation communicator Dr Michelle Dickinson.
While at the event Dediu got hands on experience of two New Zealand solutions which fit the micromobility category, being the Yike Bike, New Zealand’s answer to the scooter and Segway and also the Ohmio Hop, the small autonomous vehicle shuttles developed by Auckland-based Ohmio Automotion, a subsidiary of HMI Technologies. The Ohmio Hop, of which a development version was given a serious facelift before featuring in the Spark TV adverts for 5G, is the smallest of the vehicles currently proposed by the Auckland company which will soon deliver their first commercial vehicle to Christchurch Airport, a “Lift” capable of carrying around 20 people. Following Dediu in the program was Marie Verschuer a planner specialising in social and economic development who researches solutions for the busy Parramatta Road in Sydney and has gone on to become one of Australasia’s leading authorities on “trackless trams”. The vehicles which can be autonomous, electric and require no rails or overhead lines are far from commonplace, but on paper and from early trials in China and Europe, seem to offer a very cost effective and adaptive mass transit solutions for cities. Verschuer is working towards launching a major trial in Perth with support from across Australia and New Zealand, a trail that might help determine standards and true benefits. Numerous other technologies and solutions were discussed, with papers and presentations, a significant focus given to Christchurch and their Smart City programme too. Coinciding with Road Safety Week, ITSNZ announced a determination to gather industry input and achieve better transport safety. Safety being one of the three focus areas for ITSNZ alongside increasing efficiency and sustainability.
Joel Hamilton and Gopesh Reddy of Fusion Networks at their booth which demonstrated their fish-eye Miovision camera technology which monitors and collects data from intersections.
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ITSNZ New Zealand also announced the introduction of ITS Industry Awards with three categories to encourage upcoming talent, best practice and innovation and to reward contributions to the industry (more details on the website). Also announced was commitment to the ITS World Congress in Singapore in October.
2019 Exhibitors 3D Printing Systems
Ara Mechanical Engineering* Aspex Balluff New Zealand Ltd Barcode Products Baskiville.com Ltd BOC
Brush Technology*
CAD Central Cadpro Systems Ltd Caliber Design Carrel-Electrade
Central Innovation
National Springs & Wire
132
116 175
NZ Welder Supplies Nitto Kohki Australia
44 155
110
Omron Electronics Photoetch P L Berry & Associates
135 93 173
95 40
RAM 3D Re-Generate
139 177
66
Rivtec
85
110 8
12 69
190 112 150 189 146
Challenge Partners Cigweld PTY Ltd
Competenz Control Devices New Zealand Ltd Design Energy Limited
54 1
NZ Engineering News NZ Safety Blackwoods
194 62
The Manufacturers Network
52
Portable Analytical Solutions Power Tool People (Hindin Marquip) Precision Waterjet Ltd Professional CAD Systems
Revolution Precision Machinery Ricoh
195 134
191 60
ECI Software Solutions Engineering Compressor Services FICEP
94 110 154
Roadrunner Manufacturing NZ Ltd Saito
Global Communications Haas Factory Outlet HP Jet Fusion 3D HTC Tooling Kreon Technologies Leap Australia Linak New Zealand Ltd Lincoln Electric Co (NZ) Ltd Machinery House MDH Mardag MESNZ Maintenace Engineering Society of NZ Motovated Design & Analysis*
156 61 147 24 147 7 87 55 88 45 138 110
SigmaTek Sprockets New Zealand Supply Services Ltd Synergy Electronics Ltd TechRentals The Ministry of Awesome* TiTeNZ Trotec Laser University of Canterbury Viking Weldworx Worksafe NZ
Genesis Industrial Fasteners
157
149 167 178 182
Scott Machinery Limited SICK NZ LTD
179
70 184
181 10 130 3 25 110 170 42 169 96 63 131
22-23 May Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
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There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.
ANALYSIS
— Jason Fried, 37signals founder and co-author of Rework
Your future co-workers could be a swarm of robots In the future, swarms of robots could help us perform tasks from search and rescue to farming, researchers say. Imagine there’s a flock of aerial robots searching for a lost hiker, for example. They have to cover a large area of remote bush and a central commander won’t work because they’re so spread out. So, instead, the robots work cooperatively to calculate the best way to cover and search this large area accurately and speedily. This scenario is less Black Mirror than it sounds, and more about focusing on practical solutions for jobs that are difficult for humans to do, says Airlie Chapman from the Melbourne School of Engineering. Describing the focus of her research in mechatronic engineering, Chapman says “it centres on multi-vehicle robotics, or many robots working together to achieve a common goal”. Mechatronic engineers explore developments in automation and manufacturing—blending multiple disciplines of engineering. And it can involve creating smart machines that are aware of their surroundings and can make autonomous decisions. Chapman works specifically in the field of multi-vehicle, or swarm, robotics. Using a combination of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering to build the robots, Chapman then programs the vehicles using algorithms to react and think autonomously. Many bots are better than one “There are benefits to using many smaller unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in place of one large one, particularly for jobs like cleaning up an oil spill, environmental monitoring, or searching for survivors of a mine collapse,” says Chapman. Not only is there the element of redundancy with smaller vehicles—losing one small UAV out of a group is less of a problem than losing a single large UAV— but there are also the implementation benefits. For one thing, there’s the improved coverage capability and reduced cost. “A swarm of cheap small robots, each with little capability, can replace one costly highly-capable robot,” she says. In Australia, UAVs are now used for agricultural
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monitoring as well as for surf and rescue in the ocean, which means getting the job done faster, which is particularly important for time-sensitive applications. Currently, for rescue operations, a trained lifesaver needs to fly the UAV. But wouldn’t it be easier if the UAV could work autonomously, which avoids taking the lifesaver away from their area of expertise, while adding another pair of “eyes” watching swimmers in the surf? But Australia’s sometimes deadly surf is just one danger that Chapman and her colleagues’ robots could monitor. “In bush fire-fighting operations, autonomous systems can work in conjunction with humans. A flock of aerial vehicles could support firefighters by providing critical information on the changing fire conditions. “As firefighters move with the fire front, the flock can move in concert, better positioning themselves to gather and relay more significant information. This is called human-swarm interaction,” says Chapman. Solving problems simply Although it may sound technologically intimidating, Chapman says part of her job is to communicate “easily understood solutions to really complex problems.” And she’s using that skill to drive benefit back into real-world outcomes, in the surf, on the farm, and in the wilderness. The potential for Chapman’s work to impact across multiple industries is also far reaching, including aerospace and defence, critical infrastructure and logistics, agricultural robotics, and even automation in mining. And it goes back to her goal of removing the human element from “dull, dirty and dangerous tasks.” While her research looks to the future, Chapman’s inspiration also comes from nature. “I have always been very maths based. The opportunity to watch something perform and dance to your mathematics is very exciting. You can look at fish swarming, or a flock of birds and you can write the same equation for robots,” she says. But Chapman says there’s also an increasing opportunity for human-robot interaction and collaboration—combining forces to solve society’s grand challenges.
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Airlie Chapman
Teaming up “In the future, UAVs will become more inconspicuous, acting as big data collectors,” says Chapman. “Smaller vehicles will be a core component here, quietly collecting real-time, bird’s eye information critical for interconnected systems to perform well in aggregate.” “These robots could provide us with reliable data that increases our knowledge of the world. Precision watering of crops, for example, could supply us with more accurate maps of land erosion, crop health and water run-off, while also minimizing water usage,” she says. So, robots and humans working together. This interconnectivity is something Chapman says is a trend we’ll see increasing in the engineering of the future. Whether that’s using robots to improve the efficiency of coordinated rescues in disaster recovery or improving interconnected transportation networks, the potential for multi-vehicle robotics to help humans is unlimited. “We hope to one day create a robotic swarm that can perform and dance like a flock of starlings—all through mathematics and engineering.”
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.
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.
Matt Minio
Managing Director, Objective3D Matt has extensive hands on experience as a user and supplier of 3D Printing technology. He comes from a mechanical design and engineering background with 25 years’ experience in multiple high end 3D cad applications across a range of industries, including aerospace and automotive. He has been heavily involved in the 3D printing evolution - from initial early prototyping to todays advanced 3d printing technologies producing production parts straight off the printer. As Managing Director of Objective 3D, he provides Stratasys, Desktop Metal and Concept Laser 3D printing solutions to a host of industries across Australia and New Zealand.
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If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large. — Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon machinery, AR could be used to view live information and data to help diagnose the problem. This early detection of faults means that issues can be fixed before a more serious breakdown occurs, helping to save costs by removing the need to replace entire pieces of the machinery. Early detection of a problem with equipment also allows maintenance managers to address the problem quickly. Having access to automation industrial parts suppliers means that maintenance managers can save time both sourcing the part and reducing downtime due to delivery delays. Virtual training AR can also be used to teach staff new skills or techniques, such as using or assembling a new piece of equipment. Using AR for learning purposes can increase efficiency, confidence and knowledge with staff, as they can learn as they work with easy access to reference materials.
Exploring the virtual plant How AR and VR can benefit manufacturing facilities
When you think of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) you might think of being immersed in a simulated world filled with mystical creatures like on PokemonGo.
However, AR and VR are not just for our personal entertainment — these technologies are being used to benefit manufacturing facilities. John Young, APAC sales director of automation parts supplier, EU Automation, discusses the uses of AR and VR in manufacturing plants. A recent study across eight Asia-Pacific regions revealed that 95 per cent of people surveyed had used AR or VR technology. While this exposure is predominantly as a result of entertainment and social use, the study demonstrates people’s experience to the technology is widening, opening up opportunities into other sectors. One industry that could capitalise on the use of AR and VR is manufacturing, particularly for maintenance and training.
Predicting maintenance with AR Augmented Reality displays virtual elements into an existing real-world environment, usually on a handheld device such as a tablet or mobile phone. Being able to view images, information or data overlaid onto the real-world scenario brings many possibilities for monitoring and maintenance in a manufacturing plant. If there is an issue, error or failure with a piece of
In addition to AR being implemented into manufacturing maintenance and training, VR also has an opportunity to make an impact. VR immerses the user into a virtual world or scenario using a user-worn headset or goggles. It is hugely beneficial for training and educating staff – especially for risk assessment training. VR technology means that you can place staff into a virtual scenario, which allows them to experience a potentially hazardous or dangerous situation and practice how to appropriately deal with it. Using VR in this way reduces the risk of injury and ultimately time and money on manual training. This increases effectiveness and staff safety, therefore improving processes and procedures in the plant. While AR and VR are still commonly used for personal entertainment, these developing technologies can have a huge impact into the way plants facilitate maintenance and staff training. Ultimately, AR and VR do not change what you do, but will change how you do things. So, if you thought AR and VR was just Pokémon Go and mystical creatures, think again.
AI as a job saver? One example of AI is the automobile industry. Sure, we do not manufacture cars in New Zealand however it is one area of manufacturing that prospers from technology. - ed As much as the auto industry paved the way for industrial automation, carmakers have started to adopt artificial intelligence to speed up manufacturing and increase precision. That’s brought increased focus on human workers. Just as the auto industry is a bellwether for manufacturing tech, it’s also a real-world laboratory for the effects of new technologies on the labour force. Flipping the usual script on artificial intelligence as a looming job killer, Japan, for one, is welcoming AI in manufacturing as a way to save an industry imperilled by a staggering labour crunch. Japan has seen eight consecutive years of population decline, which is expected to continue as many of its inhabitants are aging out of the workforce. Researchers predict that by 2036 one in three people will be elderly. This paves the way for AI innovation by delegating easily automated jobs – that will soon be much harder to fill – to machines.
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Japan, with a population of 127 million people, has long been a hotbed of robotics and AI development, which is becoming a matter of economic existential survival. The population could dip below the 100 million mark by 2049, according to the National Institute of Population and Society Security Research. Musashi Seimitsu Corporation, a Honda Motor Corporation affiliate company, recently announced the formation of the Musashi AI consortium in collaboration with Poliakine, an Israeli technology entrepreneur, and SixEye Interactive. The consortium’s aim is to bring together the brightest technological minds in the area of artificial intelligence, software engineering, hardware engineering, mathematics, and physics to promote its Industry 4.0 vision -- one that combines human workers, advanced robotics, and artificial intelligence to speed up tasks like inspection and materials handling. Industry 4.0 will unlock a $4 trillion market opportunity by 2020, according to KPMG. The Japanese government is embracing this vision, adopting a new initiative called ‘Society 5.0,’ which adapts a new economic model and broader societal
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vision of fully incorporating the technological innovations of the fourth industrial revolution, including infrastructure, fintech, healthcare, logistics, and AI. This will be a big highlight of the G20 Summit, which Japan is hosting for the first time later this year. Musashi AI has two new AI-powered prototypes, an automatic inspection system based on artificial intelligence and cutting-edge optics, and a fully self-driving automated forklift, which navigates on its own to perform functions that previously required human interaction. They’re two examples of technology we’ll soon find in car factories and beyond. In Japan, at least, the AI-powered breakthroughs are being treated as good news.
Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell. — Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO of BlogHer
Australian Defence looks to quantum mechanics for new technologies Researchers from the University of Adelaide in South Australia will develop three technologies after being named among 11 projects to share in A$6.6 million of funding from Australia’s Department of Defence. The projects include the development of underwater devices to detect submarines, research into whether quantum radars can be used to detect stealth aircraft and the development of an ultra accurate portable clock to improve GPS satellite technology. The funding consolidates the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) as one of Australia’s leading centres for the development of quantum sensing and photonic technologies. IPAS director Professor Andre Luiten said the funding also reaffirmed Defence’s interest in developing quantum mechanic capabilities in South Australia. “Everyone believes that there’s going to be a revolution over the next 20 years where quantum technologies end up in everything,” he said. “The initial objective is to provide those technologies to defence but it’s also about training up Australian students so they have an understanding of quantum technologies.
IPAS director Professor Andre Luiten.
the seabed which detect the presence of submarines through their properties. “You’d essentially set up a trip wire around assets that are of importance to Australia.” The second project is the development of a state-of-the-art optical clock that will harness billions of cold atoms to provide ultra-precise timing to improve Defence GPS technology.
“Australia needs to build up its sovereign capability in this area and train students.”
University of Adelaide scientists will work with researchers from Griffith, Curtin, La Trobe and Queensland universities to develop the portable technology to tick at 500 trillion times per second.
The Next Generation Technologies Fund aims to develop Australia’s quantum mechanic opportunities, which focus on the study of the motion and interaction between subatomic particles.
“The state-of-the-art clock gives out a pure colour and we will tickle the atoms into releasing light. We’re actually counting the ticks of the light field itself,” said Professor Luiten.
One of the IPAS projects will utilise magnetometers in underwater geophysical discovery contexts to track submarine activity.
“Different colours of light correspond to different ticking rates and we’re going to give out green lights, and green lights corresponds to ticking away at 500 trillion times per second.”
Professor Andre Luiten said the technology, primarily employed to detect variations caused by the presence of ferrous (unoxidized) iron in the total magnetic field, will be applied for Defence to discover underwater vessels.
The new optical clock will determine the locations of entities through assessing time signals emitted from satellites through ticking.
“These magnetometers can detect very small magnetic fields,” he said.
“It turns out that GPS technology actually relies on very good clocks, which are in satellites circulating the Earth,” said Professor Luiten.
“The goal of this project is to build sensors that go on
“This clock will improve the capabilities that
determine location because as you can imagine Defence is very interested in knowing where its assets are.” “It’s the same sort of idea – we’re looking at metal objects that have been moved behind a wall or looking for submarines,” said Professor Luiten. The third quantum mechanics defence project led by the University of Adelaide is researching whether quantum radars can be used to detect stealth aircraft. Project lead Professor David Ottaway said quantum radar technology used new states of light to detect things, such as objects. “It’s a real out-there project, so this is really an information gathering exercise at this point,” he said. “I’m highly sceptical but if this technology works we’d be able to use existing technology with less power. “We’d also be able to use the technologies more sensitively so you can see our targets further away, and we’d solve the problem with active systems of when you illuminate something your subject can often track you and find out where you are.” IPAS is also assisting with an additional project with Melbourne’s RMIT University under the Next Generation Technologies Fund aimed to test the capabilities of diamonds detecting weak magnetic fields.
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It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. — Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance
Innovative transition to new age of computing Leading technology experts came together on the first day of the HKTDC International ICT Expo in April to discuss how advances in computing technologies have helped to make airports, businesses and governments smarter, more efficient and more cost-effective. The expo was organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and ran concurrently with the 16th HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition).
Smart airport transforms passenger experience Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is taking biometrics and robotics to new levels in its digital transformation, aiming to provide passengers with a more efficient and enjoyable airport and travel experience, and to improve operational efficiency. Andy Bien, Chief Information Officer at Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), explained the five key enabling technologies for realising the AA’s Smart Airport Vision: big-data intelligence, advanced biometrics, mobile technology, robotics, and the “digital twin” reality modelling system.
luggage carts on roadways and through facilities at HKIA, he said. This is especially important in the airfreight area, with HKIA being ranked first in the world in terms of air cargo traffic for nine consecutive years. The robotic tractors will enhance road safety and replace mundane tasks by high-tech jobs, he explained. Indoor multi-function robots are also being tested in the airport, he said. They all have a common base platform, which handles the navigation, but the top section can provide many different functions, the most important of which is in-terminal patrols for environmental data collection and facilities monitoring. The robots can supplement the labour-intensive human patrols, monitoring things like lighting, temperature, humidity and Wi-Fi signals, Mr Bien explained. He added that video analytics is another artificial intelligence (AI) function the AA is using to enhance safety in the airport. Intelligent CCTV cameras can detect abnormal situations, such as facility damage, unusual crowds and suspicious items, to ensure a quick response.
Advanced biometric applications are helping the AA provide a seamless travel experience by combining all passenger airport interactions - self-bag drop, e-security gate, immigration, transfer security gates and self-boarding gates - into a single token. “When the system is complete, the passenger will be able to walk into the restricted area in about 10 seconds,” said Mr Bien.
Accessible data essential fuel for smart government
The AA is also developing long-range iris, palm-vein and finger-vein scanning, and deeper functions such as emotion recognition via smart CCTV for enhanced security, he said. The analysis of each detected face provides a confidence score for seven different kinds of emotions: anger, disgust, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise or neutral.
Franky Chung, Chief Financial Officer of Xiao-i Robot Technology, said the company is a big investor in research and development (R&D), especially in natural language processing. “We offer AI solutions to help improve work efficiency, enhance city management and sustain economic development,” he said.
Robotics is another area the AA is focusing on to supplement its huge labour force (currently 75,000 people and forecast to increase to 130,000 when the third runway opens). Mr Bien emphasised the fact that robotics integration was intended to supplement, not replace, airport workers.
Three characteristics are required in creating a smart city model, he said: vision, planning and facilities. “In creating a smart government, specific infrastructure, including cloud computing, a data resources platform and an Internet of Things (IoT) Internet perception platform, is essential to cater for different government departments,” Mr Chung said.
Driverless tractors will soon be deployed to tow
In Hong Kong, one problem is that many data are not shared across government departments, he explained. For example, in the central government hotline service connecting the public to 22 departments, he said officials often do not know how other departments handle complaints reported by residents, such as felled trees or broken traffic lights. By contrast, in Mainland Chinese cities such as Guiyang, where Xiao-i has helped implement smart city programmes, all government departments are connected and it is clear which department is responsible for what. WeChat is used instead of a hotline and chatbots are used instead of humans. In one city, a chatbot can handle 2,000 to 3,000 calls a day, and accuracy in handling enquiries was increased from 60% to 90%. This benefits the government by improving efficiency and boosting citizens’ approval of the government. But committing to build a
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smart city requires determination, said Mr Chung. Mr Chung discussed other advantages of chatbots: lower cost, greater knowledge and the ability to be available 24/7 to answer city residents’ questions about healthcare, housing, tourism and transportation, for example. Xiao-i’s chatbots are used in 80% of the top banks in the mainland and in large retail, e-commerce and telecommunications companies throughout the country. What is the future of AI? “Data will be made more accessible at all levels. The advancements in big data algorithms will help governments and companies solve problems and improve the quality of life. AI will be everywhere and, in every industry,” he concluded.
Microsoft moves into AI, big data and cloud computing Microsoft has been a household name for decades now, with almost every home, school and office in Hong Kong using one Microsoft product or another, pointed out Winnie Chu, Head of Business Group (Cloud and Enterprise) of Microsoft Hong Kong. Microsoft is also heavily investing in AI, cloud computing and “intelligent edge” - the analysis of data and development of solutions at the site where the data is generated. The company’s current mission is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more. “It’s not about what tech can do, but what we can do with tech,” said Ms Chu. She emphasised that the digital revolution would result in job transformation, not displacement. In the next three years, she said, it was estimated that 21% of jobs would be unchanged, 37% of jobs would require retraining and new skills, 19% would be outsourced and 23% would be new roles due to digital transformation investment. Microsoft AI is based on three principles, said Ms Chu: enabling people, inclusive design, and building trust into all its technology. She introduced examples of Microsoft’s successful involvement in AI in Hong Kong, including global shipping and logistics at OOCL, public healthcare at the University of Hong Kong, property and real estate at Ricacorp, and fintech at Money SQ, an online lending platform in Hong Kong. Ms Chu explained how edge computing is enabling IoT, using the intelligent cloud. Sending data from sensors such as cameras, lights, mobile devices, computers and drones to the cloud for analysis is slow and expensive, she pointed out. But now, the brain can be distributed into the devices themselves, so that analysis and decisions can be made immediately, eliminating transport and storage costs. Rolls Royce does this with its airplane engines using Microsoft technology with IoT and AI. Sensors can detect a problem while the plane is in the air, allowing maintenance to be scheduled before the plane lands instead of waiting for the regular maintenance schedule, so the engine is working perfectly before the plane takes off again. “This is only available through IoT,” said Ms Chu.
If you define yourself by how you differ from the competition, you’re probably in trouble.
SMART SECURITY
— Omar Hamoui
When choosing a technology security Although some industries may be targeted more often than others for cyberattacks, every organisation across every major industry, from utilities and manufacturing to the public sector, must take necessary security precautions and make cybersecurity a top priority and investment, according to Forescout. Steve Hunter, senior director for Asia Pacific and Japan, Forescout, said, “Making the best investment with a potentially limited security budget can be a daunting task for security and risk management (SRM) leaders. Some of the reasons for this include the fact that no two organisations are identical, which means that security mindset is also different. Cyberthreats are also evolving at a remarkable pace, making it difficult to ensure protection against the latest threats.” In addition to evolving threats, the cyber landscape is also changing rapidly. Traditional IT networks and infrastructure are becoming increasingly intertwined and connected to operational technology (OT) networks and infrastructure. Consequently, devices typically limited to the IT environment, if unsecure, can put entire OT networks at risk. Each device expands the attack surface, giving bad actors more opportunities to access the network. To help businesses and organisations simplify the decision-making process and also minimise the time to deployment, and ultimately a more secured network environment, Forescout has assembled a list of seven key questions, based on key research, that every SRM leader should ask before deciding which security product is the best one for their organisation. 1. Is the solution vendor-agnostic? Too often, organisations identify what they think will be a security silver bullet, only to discover after purchase and implementation that the product is not compatible with other products or applications on their network. More than a poor investment, those organisations also suffer the headache of frustrated end users and wasted resources, and, their organisation is ultimately no more secure than before the purchase
was made. It is critical that products are vetted to ensure they are compatible and vendor-agnostic. 2. Does the solution provide asset discovery to enable operational continuity and system integrity? Asset discovery is a critical foundation for effective defence, as well as ensuring reliable operations.
environment. Because OT attacks have historically started in the IT environment, then stealthily oved laterally into the OT environment, it’s important to detect IT-originated but OT-targeted attacks before they reach the intended target.
Often organisations, even those with good asset inventory and asset management practices, will fail to account for every device that’s on their network.
In short, decision-makers should ensure the product is effective in both IT and OT environments.
A good security solution will let organisations identify and inventory every connected device on their network in real time, regardless of device type. 3. Does the solution detect and alert on known common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs)? Whitelisting and generic anomaly detection are common OT security approaches. Whilst important, the best approach should include well-mapped OT system CVE discovery for faster detection and to improve risk management from Day 1. In today’s cyber terrain, early understanding of an organisation’s OT exposure can mean the difference between headline news and swift remediation and mitigation. 4. Can the solution evolve from mirror mode to in-line security? Active prevention may be a desired, long-term goal when it comes to monitoring and detection, however many organisations lack either the security maturity or necessary resources to enable such features as part of initial deployment. However, as the organisation matures, it’s important to have the option to switch from passive detection to active prevention. Ensuring this feature is available up front will also prevent the need for additional expenses down the road. 5. Does the solution provide IT support in addition to OT? This question is especially important to ask when seeking to protect an OT
6. Does the solution support secure IT/OT alignment? IT-OT convergence is on the rise; yet, the supporting infrastructure and networks differ significantly and can’t be treated the same when it comes to cyber defence. In other words, the security best practices and technologies that work in an IT environment cannot always be expected to effective, if even possible, in an OT environment. It’s critical, then, that decision-makers evaluate a product not only on its ability to protect both environments, but also on its ability to integrate with other security solutions, protocols, software and hardware. 7. Is the solution designed to live in an OT environment from a hardware or operating environment perspective? Many solutions are designed to function within the comfort of a temperature-regulated server room with a backup power supply or generator; the type of facility typically provided in IT environments. OT environments, on the other hand, do not always afford such controlled environments and, as a result, can test the limits of many solutions. It’s important to account for the environmental conditions where the product will be used and ensure the solution can run in sites requiring support for hazardous environment operations.
Mini-Computer fully protects your anonymity Mini computer, Aegis One, contains a modern ARM Cortex 1.4Ghz processor, a full-featured 2.8-inch colour display with a resolution of 320 * 240 pixels, an all-metal aluminium case and an internal memory in the range from 16 to 256Gb. For more than two years, Aegis Security has been developing software to reliably protect the confidentiality of its clients, which were later integrated into Aegis One. The result of the work was software systems: Aegis VPN - a private virtual network with its own server architecture with communication channels up to 1 gbit, fully secured connection and no logs; Aegis Crypt is a modern data encryption system according to the AES-XTS-PLAIN64 standard, a password is required to enter the system during the boot process; Aegis Firewall is a professionally configured firewall that blocks and filters all incoming and outgoing
data. The system is built on the Debian distribution (a kind of Linux systems), it is distinguished by a high level of reliability, a friendly interface and extensive personalisation options. The system allows you to install the necessary programs for work and entertainment applications, the repository today consists of more than 1000 different programs. An important feature is the ability to use Aegis One as a hardware wallet for storing cryptocurrency. The installed software allows you to create an account
in more than 85 popular coins in minutes, while the security and encryption system will reliably protect your funds.
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FOOD MANUFACTURING
The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once. -Samuel Smiles
Packaged solutions for pasteurisation and sterilisation Pasteurisation and sterilisation are now so well established that it is impossible to contemplate the production of many food and drink products without using these important techniques. Both pasteurisation and sterilisation involve the use of heat, usually in a way which does not affect the fundamental characteristics of the product (in other words, it doesn’t cook it). However, while sterilisation seeks to completely eliminate any micro-organisms which may be present in the product (and so typically uses higher temperatures or longer treatment periods, and is therefore more likely to have an effect on the product’s characteristics), pasteurisation reduces the microbial load by a significant factor (for example by 5-logs), which in normal circumstances reduces them to a level at which they do not pose a hazard. While simple plate heat exchangers may still be suitable for the pasteurisation of simple fluids such as milk and fruit juices, more textured and viscous products, such as cooking sauces, creams and curds, require different solutions in order to maintain their quality and texture. In order to meet this diverse range of requirements, HRS Heat Exchangers has created its Thermblock packaged pasteuriser/steriliser for food products for aseptic filling, as well as any other filling or packing method. Depending on specification and the intended use, Thermblock uses the most appropriate HRS tubular heat exchanger to deliver effective and efficient thermal treatment. All HRS Thermblock systems allow for full adjustment of the heating-holding-cooling cycle of the product, so that it can be tailored to your product/s and method/s of working. They can also be used as HTST (High Temperature, Short Time) units, subjecting the product to high temperatures for a short time to minimise potential side-effects, such as organoleptic changes or nutritional losses). There are three models of HRS Thermblock:
HRS Thermblock DTA Series
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This features a double tube pasteuriser and steriliser for food products containing pieces or particulates, such as fruit and vegetable dices. The steriliser comprises double tube corrugated heat exchangers from the HRS DTA Series and also includes a positive displacement HRS BP Series piston pump which is specifically designed for products containing large pieces. Options for the Thermblock DTA Series include reception, air-removal and product impulsion sections to help ensure the absence of air during the thermal treatment stage. The HRS Thermblock DTA Series is suitable for applications such as diced tomatoes, onions, and fruits; as well as products with large particles, such as soups and sauces, baby food, jams and marmalades.
HRS Thermblock AS Series This is a packaged annular-space pasteuriser and steriliser solution for thermal treatment for pasteurising and sterilising food products with high viscosity. The steriliser is composed of concentric tube heat exchangers, or annular space heat exchangers from the HRS AS Series, which are particularly suitable for high viscosity products without particulates. Product flows in the central annular space, while the heating or cooling media passes through both the internal and external jacket. The steriliser can also include a high-pressure piston volumetric pump with frequency converter capable of working pressures up to 180 bar, suitable for high viscosity products such as tomato paste or some purees. For lower pressure applications (up to 40 bar), or products with particulates, the HRS BP Series of piston pumps is recommended. The HRS Thermblock AS Series also features an automatic cleaning in place (CIP) system and is suitable for products including tomato pulp and paste, ketchup and pizza sauce, fruit puree and concentrate, jams and marmalades etc.
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HRS Thermblock M Series
The M Series is for food with low or medium viscosity. The steriliser is composed of multi-tube corrugated heat exchangers from the HRS MI Series and HRS MR Series. A key feature is that it can be designed to include direct or indirect energy recovery, which means that up to 90 per cent of the energy can be reused, greatly reducing overall energy consumption and improving the return on investment. Typical applications for the HRS Thermblock M Series include juices and beverages, fruit and vegetable purees and concentrates, milk and dairy products, and smooth soups and sauces. Offering a comprehensive range of pasteurisation and sterilisation options for food and drink producers, and with more than 30 years’ experience around the world, HRS Heat Exchangers are ideally placed to help you find the ideal pasteuri sation or sterilisation solution for your process. Located in Melbourne, HRS Heat Exchangers is part of the HRS Group which operates at the forefront of thermal technology, offering innovative heat transfer solutions worldwide across a diverse range of industries. With almost 40 years’ experience across a range of sector s, including food production, waste management, water treatment and energy production. HRS specialises in the design and manufacture of an extensive range of turnkey systems and components. Incorporating our corrugated tubular and scraped surface heat exchanger technology, HRS units are compliant with global design and industry standards. HRS has a network of offices throughout the world: Australia, New Zealand, UK, Spain, USA, Malaysia and India; with manufacturing plants in the UK, India and Spain.
Innovations in taste for world markets
NZ Food Manufacturer brings you the latest news and developments in food from the land to the plate For further information and to advertise visit
www.nzfoodmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Food Manufacturer
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The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.
NEW PRODUCTS
— Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder
One drive, two tools Sealing solution developed in record time SKF has supported Swedish floor grinding machine manufacturer, Scanmaskin, by developing a tailored radial shaft seal for its latest, most high-performing machine, in a record lead-time of four months. The Scanmaskin World Series was developed with support from SKF’s application engineering team in Sweden and has an expected service life of up to 20 years.
Enerpac’s low-profile RSL series torque wrenches
New low-profile RSL torque wrench combinations from Enerpac simplify bolting and improve productivity by using the same rugged drive to power both hexagon and square drive hydraulic torque wrenches used throughout Australasia and PNG.
Professional floor grinders operate in harsh conditions, with dust a major issue for machine reliability and performance. The machines need to withstand being used on rough and uneven sources, without compromising on efficiency, calculated by the amount of surface area one can grind per hour of operation. SKF only had about four months to design, develop and manufacture a solution that met Scanmaskin’s demanding needs.
Their application engineers proposed a Heavy Industrial Seal with an SKF Duralip sealing lip. Made from nitrile rubber, this type of radial shaft seal is also used in chemical mixers, steel mills and other construction applications.” What was needed was a sealing solution that would protect the driveline from contamination. It also needed to withstand damage which can occur during drivebelt changes as well as the high temperatures associated with continuous operation of the machine over long periods of time. Seals have a crucial impact on system performance. Life and reliability of what is often considered a simple component can make all the difference to a product and its efficient operation. SKF’s industrial sealing solutions include power transmission seals, hydraulic seals, fluid handling seals and machined
The safety-oriented design – which completely encloses all moving parts and minimises pinch points – eliminates the need for separate hydraulic drives when using hex and square drive torque heads. The RSL’s 30-35 degree of operating stroke provides added productivity while also saving time by avoiding the problem of tool lock-on, says Enerpac Regional Bolting Leader Andrew Marsh. The RSL Drive Units, with RLP hex and RSQ square dive cassettes, set new standards in safety, simplicity and performance. Their design includes extensive experience on some of the world’s most rugged, remote and demanding resources, construction and industrial, energy and infrastructure sites. All are backed by Enerpac’s national service and technical support networks to ensure optimum availability and production uptime. The RSL series is complemented by Enerpac’s broader range of non-impact professional bolting technologies – including market-leading S and W torque wrenches – and by one of the world’s most comprehensive ranges of pump technologies. These include system-matched electric, air and petrol-powered types as well as the new XC Series cordless torque wrench pumps, which are ideal for remote locations, sites that do not have access to power or where having electric cords could cause trip hazards, such as in maintenance workshops.
Versatile multiline cameras enable high speed imaging Teledyne DALSA, a global leader in machine vision technology, now have the first models of its newest Linea ML cameras in full production. The advanced multiline CMOS camera, Linea ML in monochrome, colour, and multispectral options will transform the way line scan cameras are used in many machine vision applications. The Linea ML 16k monochrome model operates in single or multiple rows at a maximum line rate of 300 kHz, or 5 GPix/sec data throughput. Sequential exposure with independent start and stop integration for each row allows versatile illumination configurations using the latest LED lighting technologies. The 16k colour model provides high-speed, high-resolution, and high-fidelity RGB native colours without any interpolation.
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In addition to mono and colour imaging, the newest models include an HDR mode designed specifically to capture bright and dark scenes with improved dynamic range. Further, the time-division multifield imaging capability allows end-users to capture multiple images using brightfield, darkfield, backlight in a single scan. Combined with the Xtium™2 CLHS series of high-performance frame grabbers these new products represent a breakthrough in data throughput in the industry. Built on field-proven technology, the next generation CLHS fibre optic interface provides reliable and high throughput data transmission. Fibre optic cables lower system costs, offer longer cable lengths (up to
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300 m), are immune to electromagnetic radiation, and are ideal for industrial environments.
Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.
NEW PRODUCTS
— Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
Walk-Behind Scrubber ideal powerful cleaning solution The Kärcher BD 80/100 W Bp Classic is a walk-behind scrubber designed for frequent, everyday use. It has an affordable price tag as well. Intuitive user controls and a highly rugged build make the BD 80/100 a reliable daily cleaning solution without sacrificing quality. A robust and maintenance-friendly scrub head with two included disc pad drivers delivers a 32” cleaning path, making it ideally suited for large, high-traffic areas. This unit offers both quality and durability in a cost-effective package. The economically-designed scrubber provides all the cleaning power to take on large jobs—perfect for retail environments, grocery stores, healthcare, education and BSC’s. The scrubber provides excellent site-lines, a simple operator-friendly design, and robust materials for an efficient cleaning performance. It has a powerful traction drive, which helps effortless travel of inclines and easy manoeuvrability. Components, which are exposed to extreme stress in tough working conditions, such as squeegee and disc brush head, are made from solid die-cast aluminium. With 32-inch disc cleaning path, a 26-gallon tank and maximum cleaning speed of up to 3 mph, which can be continuously adjusted, the machine achieves area
performances of up to 43,600 ft². In the case of very stubborn dirt or for decoating, the brush contact pressure can be increased at any time from 88 to 200 lbs. The simple operating concept with yellow touch points and the Home Base adapter for carrying manual cleaning equipment, provide the operator great comfort and flexibility. The Kärcher BD 80/100 W Bp Classic is easy to use, featuring: storage compartment in the back for shelf charger and other accessories, perfect recovery in 180 degree turns, automatic brake is integrated into the transaxle and, a large aluminium brush deck is included. Additional benefits are: direction selection buttons, on/off switch, operation lever, speed dial and fully adjustable water flow. The machine boasts a robust scrub deck, as rugged materials were used on the most critical parts. This creates lower repair costs, less down-time, and longer machine lifetime (wet and AGM battery options are available; a shelf charger is included). The adjustable brush pressure allows for much greater flexibility for cleaning on all types of floors. It is adaptable to specific application needs. At high pressure, the BD 80/100 W Bp Classic performs very powerful floor stripping.
Unravelling the challenge of threading Tapping is one of the most demanding and problematic machining applications. Threads are usually made in the last stage of the manufacturing process and therefore, it is the operator’s job to make sure the process is secure and finished correctly. The thread quality and tolerance should be constant to ensure tool life is at its maximum with preferably no interruptions.
of the hole, away from the work-piece material and therefore, are primarily used for threading blind holes. A less common but still an important part of our threading program are fluteless taps and thread milling cutters.” What are the different base materials in the taps you offer? JB: “Our broad range of High Speed Steel (HSS) taps and dies support a variety of general purpose applications for use by hand or machine. All common thread forms are available in straight flute, spiral point and spiral flute designs. “Also, our popular Shark Line program of material-specific taps is manufactured from powder metallurgy cobalt steel (HSS-E-PM). This offers optimized geometries for high performance threading in stainless steel, steel, cast iron and non-ferrous material. “Solid carbide taps provide the highest rates of productivity in hard and abrasive materials up to 63 HRC. Their highly stable design means low risk of tap breakage and optimum process security.
Dormer Pramet’s Johan Bodin, product manager for threading, answers several questions about the company’s solid taps program, key challenges faced by machinists and the options available to end users. What are the different tap designs? JB: “There are several tap designs, which the most commonly used is the straight flute. This design is suitable for blind or though-hole thread production in most materials, especially steel and cast iron. Spiral point taps are recommended for threading through holes as they feature a straight, shallow flute with a point designed to drive the swarf forward. “Finally, spiral flute taps transport swarf back out
“Available in a variety of styles including straight flute, spiral flute and fluteless, with internal coolant options for optimum chip evacuation when threading short-chipping materials.”
and greater dimensional accuracy. This is critical in applications where a reliable and dependable option is required. “The chamfer design determines the threading depth and type of machining. Standard forming taps with a chamfer form C, are universal for semi-bottoming below 3xD. A chamfer form E has a lead of 1.5-2mm times the pitch, which is the closest for what is called full-bottoming. “Forming taps with through coolant, radial outlets and oil grooves further support tool-life and process security. The lubricant is being delivered precisely at the point where the forces and friction is the highest.” Why is thread milling part of the taps program? JB: “Thread milling is classified within our taps program as they provide a highly accurate, larger diameter threading option on CNC machines. Dormer Pramet’s assortment covers M, MF, UNC, UNF, G & NPT thread forms. “All provide a high level of security, stability and surface finish. Extremely versatile, the same cutter can be used in almost all workpiece materials including hardened steels, stainless steels and
What are forming taps? JB: “Forming taps produce a thread by deformation of the component material rather than the traditional cutting action. This means no swarf is produced and the resultant thread is stronger. “Also known as roll form or fluteless, the same tap can be used to create blind and through holes in most material types, including steels up to 1200 N/ mm². This makes them extremely versatile. “An important benefit of forming taps is that their highly stable design means less risk of breakage
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I do not know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it.
DEVELOPMENTS
– Susan Butcher, sled dog racer
Golder helps Christchurch road repair project reach its destination prevent any future falls damaging the road again.
Sumner Road in Christchurch, New Zealand, reopened on 29 March, eight years after the critical road linking Christchurch, the Port of Lyttleton and the communities of Sumner and Lyttelton was badly damaged by the earthquakes that rocked the region.
Once the rockfall mitigation was complete, the project extended into repairing 30 earthquake-damaged retaining walls and the road itself.
The reopening marks the end of a very long and challenging project of repairing the road and retaining walls, as well as stabilising the rocky slopes above the road to protect against further rockfalls. Leading global engineering and consulting firm Golder supported Christchurch City Council throughout the project, developing the preliminary design for measures to protect against rockfall along a circa 2 kilometre stretch of the heavily damaged road, and also providing owner’s engineering
advisory
services
throughout
the
2.5-year
construction period. The rockfall mitigation works involved scaling and blasting loose rock from the massive rock faces above the road, and construction of a wide catch-bench to
Golder specialists maintained a presence on site throughout construction, representing the Christchurch City Council and guiding the work of contractors and subcontractors across a range of disciplines and activities. Due to Golder’s innovative design and expert advice, Christchurch City Council was able to complete the project for approximately two-thirds of the original cost estimate, saving more than NZ$15 million.
Global challenges all in a day’s study for Ethan How does an Engineering student studying with the Design Factory NZ at Wintec end up trouble-shooting for Japanese farmers from his new base in Melbourne? It sounds like a dream come true for Ethan Lankshear who has discovered how his tertiary major can be applied to a range of different fields. Ethan, who was studying engineering at Wintec in Hamilton, took a leap in 2018 and joined the Design Factory NZ as one of it’s first students. Twelve months later, Ethan has taken an even bigger leap and is studying at Design Factory Melbourne at Swinbourne University, towards his Post-Graduate Certificate in Innovation, further developing his future-focused problem-solving skills. In Melbourne, Ethan is working with two other students, exploring how they can create new diesel engine solutions for organic farmers of fruit and vegetables in Japan. Together, they are exploring the needs of organic farmers, the limitations of current solutions and will work towards developing new prototypes. “This is quite a change from the work I have done in my Engineering Major, but I’m enjoying the change and how my major can be applied to a range of different fields,” says Ethan. “This adventure will culminate with a trip to Japan to share our solution, and then a chance to present the project in San Francisco.”
The global nature of this challenge is also supported by their Japanese team who work out of Kyoto Institute of Technology, who Ethan collaborates with on a regular basis. In Hamilton, Ethan and his team worked with Habitat for Humanity, exploring how to solve throughput problems at their ReStore. This experience provided Ethan with a solid grounding in design thinking, problem solving and working in diverse teams – all of which is proving invaluable for his future studies and employment. “Transdisciplinary research and the design-thinking process provides a strong base for working on projects in a modern society,” says Ethan. “I highly recommend the Design Factory as a module as part of any degree, as it gives you a range of skills you can use effectively on any project, in any field.” Design Factory NZ director, Margi Moore says Wintec’s Design Factory students all come from different study disciplines. “The students work in teams together, which is great for problem-solving and developing soft skills as they are considering issues from different viewpoints and learning to work as a team. It also means this module can be integrated with other fields of study so students studying engineering, business, IT, design and trades also studying with the Design Factory NZ as part of their degree programme.” Design Factory NZ and Design Factory Melbourne are part of the Global Design Factory Network, (DFGN) a network of innovation hubs in universities and research organisations in five continents of the world. DFGN is on a mission to create change in the world of learning and research through passion-based culture and effective problem solving.
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Andrew Khan appointed Eaton New Zealand Country Manager Power management company, Eaton has announced the appointment of Andrew Khan to Country Manager New Zealand. Based in Auckland, Khan will be responsible for leading brand, sales and operations for the Eaton power quality channel. Khan joins from Ingram Micro, an Eaton distributor, where he worked with key hardware and software vendors to deliver annual sales of $68 million, while executing growth and expansion channel strategies for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Prior to that, he held a range of senior sales roles. Andrew Khan said he looks forward to leading the Eaton power quality channel, particularly at a time where there are many exciting opportunities to transform and grow, including power to the Edge and 5G on the horizon.
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.
DEVELOPMENTS
- Albert Einstein
Facilities Integrate 2019 Now in the hands of renowned B2B event manager – Lorraine Smith, Facilities Integrate 2019 is set to deliver a unique experience for attendees and exhibitors. Lorraine, is promising a ‘more engaging show experience, with a distinct focus on learning, special features, interactive displays and showcasing the latest technology. “Features engage the audience and provide learning and motivation. And more than ever, we live in an interactive world, so being able to touch, see and feel rather than merely look provides a far more valuable experience,” says Smith. Taking place on 25 and 26 September this year, Facilities Integrate is the trade-only event for people who make facilities and buildings smarter, safer, and more efficient. The two-day expo provides unparalleled opportunities to try and source the latest equipment, meet the best suppliers, network with potential business partners, and stay on top of what’s going on in the industry. Smith says vendors recognise the value of reaching
a select audience of professionals engaged in the facilities management and system integration industries, amongst others. “This is the show for architects, building operators, electrical engineers, electrical service contractors, facility managers, installers, integrators, property developers, system designers, and more. We uniquely combine elements of building technology and design, providing a view of the latest developments and even a glimpse into the future,” she says. Explaining the focus on ‘experiential’ displays, Smith points to the outdoor ‘Drone Zone’ which is introduced for the first time. “We’ll have seminars and equipment on display showing what’s available and how this technology can be used by facilities managers. What we’ll also offer is the opportunity to see drones in action – and delegates can even fly a drone themselves, providing a true hands-on experience.” “Within an integrated facility, security is an increasingly contentious and fascinating topic. There’s the physical security with which we’re all
familiar. Increasingly, as automated and connected smart building management systems are introduced, there’s also the cybersecurity component which must be considered.” If it isn’t considered, any connected device could present risk to your organisation: Smith notes the curious case of a casino which was hacked via an internet-enabled fish tank. “The point is that there is a lot to be gained from smart building systems. But every smart system comes with risk which must be managed.” Turning her attention to features, Smith explains that seminars, demonstrations, presentations by leading professional luminaries and exclusive industry events further ramp up appeal for delegates and exhibitors alike. “We’re working on a programme which will engage and educate. There’s a lot in the planning stages right now, soon to be confirmed; what I can say now is that we are delivering some unique features never before seen in this country. Watch this space!”
Toolkit helps business through data privacy minefield A data privacy toolkit can help New Zealand businesses manage and protect personally identifiable employee as well as customer data, as tough international rules about information security send ripples around the world. The launch by Auckland based Data Insight, a business insights and analytics specialist, reflects growing concern about data privacy following last year’s GDPR legislation in Europe. The governance over collecting and using personally identifiable data is a key focus of the current review of the New Zealand Privacy Act, however, until now the focus on breaches has mostly related to customer data, and not that of employees. Claire Bonham-Holden, General Manager Data Insights, says the mismanagement of employee information can result in businesses falling into hot water without realising it. “A common misconception is privacy only relates to customers when in reality, the law governs any and all data relating to individuals, and often this is sensitive information held about employees. “An issue has grown as the drive for productivity
and increasing speed of work means we are all using platforms where sharing and collaboration is part of the process - it’s great for workflow but there’s a downside,” she says. “In many situations template documents are used where general information remains the same and facts change for different situations. Sometimes, this can include sensitive detail such as salary, health, financial or disciplinary actions and can lead to breaches because revisions can be searched. “This is increasingly common, partly because management is focused on the need for speed and productivity, there’s a lack of understanding about the dangers of compromising personal privacy.
Claire Bonham-Holden says the new toolkit helps business understand the risk and the potential for damage: “It starts with a review of the data held, where it is stored, how it’s used and shared, after which a security score is provided along with suggestions about improvements. “It’s a practical data housekeeping process to help companies avoid getting burned. The result is a Risk Register that keeps track of all data and ensures appropriate policy and and procedures are in place,” she says.
“Most will fall into this unknowingly but it’s a company’s responsibility to ensure all employees are acting appropriately,” she says. Every year hundreds of data breaches are reported to the NZ Privacy Commission including when personal electronic information had been sent to the wrong recipient. These can have significant financial implications as well as damaging reputation with customers.
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If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.
SUPPLY CHAIN
– Dhirubhai Ambani, founder, Reliance Industries
Container deposit system solution to war on waste Adelaide-based technology and engineering company SAGE Automation is increasing production of its smart container deposit systems on the back of increased demand from Queensland. The machines were developed by SAGE Automation and the University of South Australia for South Australian company Container Deposit Systems(CDS) to help decrease Australia’s landfill. South Australia has led the country in recycling, introducing a container refund scheme in 1977, but other Australian states have only just begun to refund bottles and containers. Since Queensland launched its Containers for Change scheme in November 2018, CDS has recorded a rise from 32,000 to 230,000 containers per day through its 16 Semi Auto Return Terminals (ART) at private recyclers across six sites. The terminals allow customers to return deposit cans, plastic bottles and glass in any condition for a 10c-per-container refund. More than 344 million containers have been returned to date since the scheme commenced late last year. The ARTs identify and sort containers by integrating Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology and a vision counting and sorting system developed by SAGE over two years. A recycling depot employee loads the mixed containers onto a vision and sorting system hopper that uses advanced vision technology to count up to 350 containers per minute without the need for coding or labelling. The containers are counted in real time for a
predicted refund sum that customers can view on a TV screen at most facilities. Conveyer belts, electric motors and spinning discs sort the containers by separating common recyclables like metals, plastics and glass. The machines have seen thousands of images of containers and can identify different container types, including unwanted materials. The containers are ready to be recycled once compressed air pushes them into specific categorised cages. The entire process takes only a few minutes and a refund receipt based on the number of containers counted is automatically generated. SAGE Automation General Manager Paul Johnson said the terminals are above 99 per cent accurate in counting deposit containers and have not had any serious technical or functional issues. “The machines have been very reliable and are well supported by SAGE services nationally,” he said. The company remotely monitors the machines, including some systems based in rural Queensland, from its operations centre in Adelaide. SAGE is manufacturing 30 more ARTs to meet demand as more states implement container deposit schemes. CDS plan to integrate its machines into the West Australian market mid next year and will explore options in the Northern Territory and New South Wales, as well as South Australia. The machines help recycling depots reduce operational costs while improving accuracy and customer experience.
Until recently, technology alternatives to manual counting of containers have been limited to European reverse-style vending machines that only accept containers with intact barcodes, one at a time. Although South Australia has the lowest percentage of containers-to-landfill in the country, the state’s recycling depots still count and sort containers manually – a process that has remained unchanged for more than 40 years. “The long line-ups and cash-in-hand in a very ad hoc manner is not a great experience for anyone in South Australia,” said Johnson. “It really cleans up that part of the transaction and also helps with flow so that people are not hanging around for their money.” The terminals also provide customers with a choice of a cash return, instant bank transfer or donation, with some collection points offering different options. “The vision system that identifies the containers is bespoke, and we hope for it to become a national solution.”
New easy open shipping container design in hot demand Demand for a new style of shipping container with easy open doors has been so great the developer has expanded the range and will produce more units to meet orders across Australia and New Zealand. The Wolf Lock premium hire container, developed by shipping container specialists Royal Wolf, makes opening container doors easier with a single lever mechanism instead of having to wrestle two heavy handles to open the steel doors. Since being released in September
almost 500 units have been hired to a wide range of clients across both countries. “Our initial target was to get 300 Wolf Lock containers out to the market before the end of 2018, so it has performed far better than we expected,” says Royal Wolf CEO Neil Littlewood. To open a conventional container, it requires a twisting motion using two arms and a number of large levers. In contrast, the Wolf Lock allows access through a single lever that requires only one hand and light pressure to work it. Unlike traditional containers, the Wolf Lock can also be opened from the inside if the door closes, or gets closed, accidentally. In terms of safety, this is a significant game changer. Retail outlets, including New Zealand’s largest
retailer The Warehouse, have been quick to snap up the containers which make storing product and stock more efficient and easier. The Wolf Lock container also has a tri-locking system providing vault-like security to provide an even higher level of secure, weatherproof storage than a conventional container. Mr Littlewood says other sectors, including events, agriculture, and construction, are also using the new containers to help make their operations run more smoothly. “For somewhere like a building site they are ideal because they are safe, secure and weather proof, but also easily accessible which is key given the number of times a day a builder or a tradie goes in and out of the container.”
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Every problem is a gift — without problems we would not grow.
BUSINESS NEWS
– Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker and writer
SEA Electric appoint Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand Experienced commercial vehicle executive, Mark Cameron, has been appointed to the newly created position of Regional Director – Australia and New Zealand, at leading automotive electric technology company, SEA Electric.
Prior to joining SEA Electric, Mr Cameron held senior positions with Scania in Asia, Africa Europe and Australia, including as Scania Regional Director for South Malaysia and Singapore and Managing Director for Tanzania.
Mr Cameron will assist the company manage its fast growth in the local market, while also helping to capitalise on emerging opportunities for its proprietary van and minibus products along with OEM partnerships.
Mr Cameron has also worked as an executive leadership, general management and strategy development consultant, and has been a senior board member of several Chamber of Commerce groups in Singapore.
Personal viewpoint has no place in OIO decision-making The EMA has joined with Hauraki District Council Mayor, John Tregidga, in expressing its dismay about the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decision to block Waihi mining company OceanaGold’s application to purchase nearby farmland to expand its operation.
Mr O’Riley says the fact that the decision on the application was split between Minister Eugenie Sage and Minister David Clark highlights the need for a more tightly defined framework for the OIO, in which personal and ideological beliefs are taken out of the equation.
EMA Chief Executive Brett O’Riley is disappointed that an individual Government Minister’s philosophical point of view has the ability to cloud good decision-making describing it as “drive-by policy making, discrediting the government and public sector in its approach, and establishing a disturbing precedent.”
He says, “This decision is a clear disincentive to business investment, which is critical to getting the infrastructure we need for the benefit of our region.
“Oceana Gold’s Project Quattro at the Waihi Mine could extend employment for the site’s 360 works and contractors by nine years - how is there any question that there are not substantial, sustainable economic and social benefits in this for Waihi and our region?”
“These well-paid workers have children at the local school, pay rates to support the development and maintenance of local infrastructure, and spend their discretionary income locally - that is giving our regions a sustainable future.” The EMA believes the benefits of granting the expansion, with appropriate emissions controls, would provide exponential, long-term benefits to Waihi that far outweigh winding down the operation and remediating the site.
R & D expenditure to be raised The Government has committed to raising New Zealand’s research and development (R&D) expenditure to 2% of GDP by 2027.
The main features of the R&D tax incentive include:
To reach this target more businesses will need to increase their expenditure on R&D. This will be supported through an R&D tax incentive, available from the 2019/2020 tax year for businesses conducting eligible R&D.
• a minimum R&D expenditure threshold of $50,000 per year
• a credit rate of 15% • a $120 million cap on eligible expenditure
• a limited form of refunds for the first year of the scheme that will mirror the R&D tax-loss cash-out scheme run by Inland Revenue. A more comprehensive policy will be in place for the second year of the scheme • a definition of R&D that ensures the credit can be accessed more easily across all sectors, including the technology sector • the inclusion of state-owned enterprises, industry research cooperatives, levy bodies, and minority-owned subsidiaries of select
Crown entities. The Taxation (Research and Development Tax Credits) Bill was passed into law on 7 May. The R&D tax incentive will apply to eligible R&D activities conducted by a business during the 2019/2020 tax year. For most businesses this means expenditure on eligible R&D undertaken from 1 April 2019 will qualify for the R&D tax incentive, and they should record their R&D expenditure now to ensure their records are ready to file at the end of the tax year. Businesses can look into whether they might be eligible for the tax incentive by referring to draft guidance issued by Inland Revenue. This guidance will be finalised in the weeks following the Bill’s third reading. For year one of the R&D tax incentive there is limited refundability available for smaller businesses with cashflow challenges. There is work underway on a more developed refundability process to support R&D businesses with limited tax liability and the Government is committed to having a decision in place for year two of the scheme.
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CASE STUDY
Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations. —Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media
Coating conveyor pulleys for protection and longevity Resources and agricultural industries are significant components of a country’s strong economy. In Australia, for example, minerals and grains are commodities that earn many millions of dollars of export income every year. Iron ore, bauxite, coal and grain are transported by ship to overseas markets, but to get the material to the ship they are all transported at some stage by conveyor belt. A continuous belt is just one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys or drums with a loop of a material of some kind—rubber, polyester, wire mesh—that rotates about them. Depending on the length of the conveyor belt, one or more of the pulleys may be powered so that the belt and the material on it move forward. A powered pulley is called a drive pulley, while an unpowered pulley is called an idler pulley. There are two main types of industrial conveyors: those in general material handling such as ones used to move boxes or components inside a factory and for bulk material handling such as those used to transport large volumes of resources and agricultural materials, such as grain, salt, coal, ore, sand, overburden and more. The enormous conveyors and their supporting infrastructure represent many millions of dollars of investment by companies over many years, so they need to be protected as much as possible Massive stresses and strains are placed on the equipment being used when moving many thousands of tonnes of a material every hour along a conveyor belt system. These forces are in constant play at mine sites, bulk handling facilities and shipping terminals where material is moved from trucks and trains via in-loading circuits to stockpiles and then to ships via out-loading circuits. The longest single loop belt in the world is associated
with a bauxite mine in Western Australia where a 31-kilometre-long continuous belt feeds a separate 20-kilometre belt to transport ore through the Darling Ranges to the Worsley Alumina refinery. This is an unusual conveyor, but bulk-handling facilities regularly have long conveyors, especially if there is no deep-water harbour on the coast and loading structures have to be built a long way offshore. As an example, the loading conveyor at Port Hedland in Western Australia is more than three kilometres long. Rollers that support, guide and move a conveyor are usually arranged in a shallow ‘V’ configuration so that centre of the belt is lower than the edges thus reducing the likelihood of material falling from the moving belt. On long conveyors there are often many powered drive pulleys spaced along the belt’s length, interspersed between the many idler pulleys which move material from a loading point to the end of the conveyor. Conveyor capacity is determined by the belt speed, width and the angle of the belt. For a mine site or bulk handling facility conveyor, rollers can weigh up to fourteen tonnes. Typically, the harsh operating environments of most large bulk-handling conveyors play havoc with the rollers, which often need to be replaced every couple of years, but sometimes as frequently as every eight months. A common problem affecting industrial conveyors is that dust and small particles bounce off the belt and adhere to the ends of the rollers and coat the bolts attaching the roller to an axle or drive
BHP Pulley with Rhino Tuff Stuff encapsulated ends and cover plates removed.
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shaft. The bolts can rapidly develop surface cracking, especially if exposed to moisture. One conveyor that exhibited the bolt corrosion problem was situated at a large salt production facility in Western Australia. The highly alkaline environment rapidly corroded the bolts attaching rollers to a drive shaft. Applying Rhino Tuff Stuff— the Australian-made premium spray applied polyurethane—to the pulley ends has largely eliminated bolt failure and therefore greatly increased pulley life expectancy. Denis Baker, Special Projects Engineer and International Sales at Rhino Linings Australia (RLA), said that this trial site also demonstrated how rapidly RLA could respond to customer requirements. RLA received the request and within four days, Baker had travelled to Western Australia, met with the local applicator from Broome at the site, established a remote workshop and coated the securing bolts and complete pulley ends. The customer opted to get the coating done in-situ. “Ideally, we would apply the coating to a brand-new pulley/roller or as part of a major refurbishment project,” said Baker. “The solution implemented at the salt works yielded enormous life performance improvements with the pulleys still operational after five years.” “Rollers or pulleys are critical components of any bulk-handling conveyor system, so protection of this part of an asset is vital,” said Baker.
We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.
CASE STUDY
-Arianna Huffington
“We also showed that Rhino Linings had a great spread of experienced and knowledgeable dealers and applicators around the country who were capable and willing to meet the needs of our customers,” Baker added.
belts extends the service life.
Tears and holes in conveyor belts can also be expensive in terms of lost production and potential damage to associated infrastructure. For some mines and processing plants, this can be hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour. However, according to Baker there are now methods available to repair breaks and tears that can be carried out without too much disruption to operations.
While initially known for its spray-applied ute tub liner, over the years RLA has expanded its product capabilities to provide a wide range of industrial spray-applied protective coatings for mining, military, infrastructure, water and waste water applications.
In addition to providing a method of coating the retaining bolts, RLA also works with a range of bulk-handling facilities to protect and repair the conveyor belts as well. To reduce the cost of downtime, mine companies have opted from time to time to effect patch-repairs in the field. A belt is initially blasted with a high-pressure water spray machine to dig into the rubber material of the belt, thereby removing dirt and ‘scarifying’ or profiling the surface. The tear can then be held together with appropriately sized repair staples. The damaged belt can then be primed with the appropriate RLA premium polyurethane primer, followed by filling the tear with Rhino TUFF STUFF®. The same material is then spray applied over the filled tear to a reasonable thickness and span consistent with RLA’s application guidelines. The thickness of the coating is dependent upon the product being carried on the conveyor belt and the expected time to the next shut down. Applying a polyurethane coating over repairs and patches to
The durability of a coating project is dependent on using the system in accordance with RLA’s recommendations and methods that have had proven success.
The Gold Coast-based company has been manufacturing coatings for many years which allows them to offer a faster service to customers because they do not have to contend with the many supply delays and disruptions caused by buying the material overseas. RLA manufactures all its products in Australia and they are regularly tested to ensure continued compliance with appropriate Australian Standards and international guidelines. “We try to make sure that the material we supply to our customers meets the highest standards,” Morgan stated. Since its inception in 1988, Rhino Linings’ mission has been to develop, manufacture and distribute top-quality, high performance polyurethanes, hybrid polyurethanes, pure polyurea and epoxies. RLA’s epoxy division has been specialising in the development of high-performance matrix resins. From its Queensland facilities, RLA can provide a streamlined inventory model and prompt shipments to all locations across the Australasian region, regardless of quantities required. Clients therefore enjoy confidence in the uninterrupted material supply.
Coating conveyor pulleys for protection and longevity
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