NZ Manufacturer April 2022 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited

April 2022

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz PROFILE 12 COMPANY Sky’s the limit for

16 ANALYSIS Industry 4.0

growing Hutt Valley manufacturer.

Listen to uniquely Kiwi stories contributing to New Zealand’s future

www.akiwioriginal.com

LAST WORD 27THE Cultivating curiosity

in focus.

helps businesses retain talent.

Tough conditions see SMEs seeking new government leadership

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*More than two thirds of local SMEs believe the economy will decline in the coming year *Dissatisfaction with Government performance sits at 60% *National’s Christopher Luxon leads preferred PM poll by 17 points “If we just look back over the past six months, SMEs have had to navigate a tough second half of 2021, worsening supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures, and a new Covid-19 outbreak hampering operations and staffing abilities in the first few months of this year,” says Jo.

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“It was concerning when we saw the proportion of SMEs saying they expected the economy to decline reach 55% in October last year - up from 41% in March, but these latest confidence numbers are even more worrying.

Low economic confidence underpinned by revenue struggles, profitability declines, rising inflation, and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, is prompting more local SME owners and decision makers to seek a change in the country’s leadership, according to new data from the 2022 MYOB Business Monitor. The nationwide survey of over 1,000 SME owners and managers – running annually since 2009 – highlighted that confidence in the economy was approaching levels last seen during the first outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, with large numbers of SMEs reporting falling revenue and slowing quarterly activity. More than two thirds (68%) of local SMEs believe the New Zealand economy will decline in the next 12 months. Over a quarter (29%) expect that decline to be significant, while in contrast just 16% of SMEs believe the economy will improve over the coming year. MYOB Head of Go-to Market, Jo Tozer, explains that the steep decline in SME confidence follows a perfect storm of conditions negatively affecting business operations.

“With the exception of when Covid-19 initially reached our shores and we entered the first nationwide lockdown in March 2020 – when 79% of businesses were expecting worsening economic conditions – this is one of the lowest levels of business confidence we’ve seen in the history of our Business Monitor survey.”

Government performance impacting confidence

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The drop in economic confidence also brings bad tidings for the Government too, with half of the SMEs surveyed attributing some of their falling confidence in our local economy to the country’s leadership.

Buy it—own it

When asked which top local factors are having the biggest impact on their level of confidence, government leadership came in third with 50% of businesses citing this as a top factor, after the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic (62%), and the rate of inflation (55%).

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Similar negative sentiment is also reflected by growing dissatisfaction amongst SMEs around the Government’s performance. Satisfaction has changed significantly over the past year, with the majority (60%) of SME owners and managers now saying they are dissatisfied with the Government’s performance over the last 12 continued on Page 19

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31 May – 2 June 2022 Auckland Showgrounds

Exhibit at NZ’s largest trade-only manufacturing and engineering industry show EMEX showcases the ingenuity in the New Zealand engineering, manufacturing and automation industries. Display your equipment, tools, products and services that help Kiwi companies succeed on a national and international scale. Meet face to face with key decision makers and connect your advanced manufacturing technologies to New Zealand’s leading innovators.

4,500+ visitors

www.emex.co.nz

91%

of exhibitors were satisfied with their ability to gather sales leads at EMEX

+$422,000,000 Total buying power

Interested in exhibiting? Limited spaces left.

Don’t miss out, contact us today. Aad van der Poel Exhibition Sales Manager aad@xpo.co.nz 021 314 199

oin

Editorial Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd, 121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.

MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

Getting back on track It is very good news that the country is now in Orange and flexibility around people gathering allows business to breathe a sigh of relief. We can only go up from here!

CONTRIBUTORS Holly Green, Rebecca Reed, Jarrod Kinchington, Barbara Nebel, HERA, Ian Walsh Leandri Smith, Simon Ganley

As a nation – as a business nation – we have been wrapped up in Covid cotton wool for so long that many businesses closed and others will not get back to previous levels of performance.

ADVERTISING Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

And of course, we don’t have enough skilled people for the work at hand at present and the continual threat of OE and crossing the ditch for better financial reward means it will be years before New Zealand can get back on a firm financial footing. Into the black…if at all.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 870 8133 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz

Keeping all the balls in the air is a challenge for this small economy, with so much demand on government finances to maintain existing systems.

WEB MASTER Julian Goodbehere E: julian@isystems.co.nz

Closing down the country during Covid may have worked for health and safety but certainly not for business. One could argue that financial incentives need to be available for skilled workers, both internal and from overseas (some will come back), to help realign the economy. Decent rates of pay so that effort is rewarded and a real incentive for improving productivity.

PUBLISHING SERVICES On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS E: publisher@xtra.co.nz Free of Charge.

Keeping in mind, of course, that supply chain issues affect movement of goods, affect productivity, just as it does the current demand for New Zealand products. Changing markets, changing times.

MEDIA HAWKES BAY LTD T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz 121 Russell Street North, Hastings NZ Manufacturer ISSN 1179-4992

This government is going to have to live with their decision to halt the good work of so many businesses for the rest of their lives. It will haunt them to know that those who had, suddenly, had not. To arbitrarily decide who trades and who doesn’t - not based on their own personal business experience – was always going to be illogical.

Vol.13 No. 3 APRIL 2022

As was the government’s decision not to trust the experienced people in the private sector and industry groups to assist in helping business move forward. 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.

NZ Manufacturer April 2022 /

So much has been spin and those who have been complicit need to start thinking seriously about the future. Do a U-turn and contribute.

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

Doug Green

Success Through Innovation

PUBLISHER

DEPARTMENTS

1 Contents LEAD

ADVISORS

Get your carbon diet on track.

EDITORIAL 4 DEPARTMENTS When EMEX 2021 comes to town. 1 1 LEAD BUSINESS NEWS conditions see SMEs seeking new 6 Tough government leadership. Manufacturing in the age of sustainability. 6 BUSINESS Is NZ’s CovidNEWS response world class?

8 8 10

Business bookashows how to take advantage UKK’s CPTPP win for exporters. of international marketplace. IoT helps glass manufacturer disrupt industry MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY with four- day supply delivery. NZ Code can make manufacturing more SMART MANUFACTURING competitive. Why 3D Design printingAssist in healthcare imperative Dewalt breaking isnew ground. for sustainable healing. New switches and sockets reduce time on the ANALYSIS job. Time for change. Top five reasons to automate manufacturing. Anatomy of a data-driven supply chain.

12 COMPANY PROFILE the2021 limit for growing Hutt Valley EMEX 14 Sky’s manufacturer. Floor Plan and Exhibitors. -15 Fruit packing technology cuts labour needs. ANALYSIS 16 ANALYSIS Achieving neutrality: One company’s Industry 4.0carbon in focus. lessons learnt.

18 How Tidy International helps float Kingfisher’s SMART MANUFACTURING 17 boats. Australia launches lunar exploration mission. 2022 20 EMEX Cutting edge tool for underwater recovery. COMPANY PROFILE

Innovative engines and engineering take product development to next traceability level. Matrix 320 reader empowers for automation and logistics. PROFILE

21 Kaur one of the women changing the QUALITY CONTROL 21 Irene engineering industry. NDC sensors control manufacturing at the PRODUCTS 22 NEW fromt line. Igus receives approval for halogen-free TPE NEW PRODUCTS 22 cables. Inductive sensors in compact D3 and M4 24

Structural bearings deliver extreme low-level housing. friction performance. Dotterel raises $3m for sonic breakthrough. Cost-effective and lubrication – free mounting THE CIRCULAR of solar panels. ECONOMY Power your futureprovides with clean, renewablesafety. AC Servo System highest-level energy.

DEVELOPMENTS 25 COMMENT

Maintaining profitability despite external Mint Innovation raises $20m to build gold pressures. biorefineries. Control what is steam made. injection for food HRS highlights sterilisation. DEVELOPMENTS

26 25th Is automotive ready for Diversity Awards NZhydrogen? open for entries.

New Zealand welcomes REAR VIEW 28 Engineering regulatory change. Climate Change Commission calls for decisive LAST WORD 27 THE action. Cultivating curiosity helps businesses retain talent.

Kirk Hope

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.

6 6

Ian Walsh

Ian is Managing Director of Intent Group, a master black belt improvement specialist and global lean practitioner. He is passionate about improving productivity and helping to create world class New Zealand businesses.

11 Leeann Watson

Is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber).and is a strong voice for Canterbury business.

9 12 12 15

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.

Brett O’Riley

EMA chief executive Brett O’Riley has a background in technology and economic development. Brett actually grew up with manufacturing, in the family business, Biggins & Co. He currently holds board roles with Wine Grenade and Dotterel Technologies and is also on the NZ Film Commission board.

19 18 25 21 28 24 www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer April 2022

Business News Business book shows how to take advantage of international marketplace Expanding internationally might feel like a pipe dream for many businesses, but despite Covid-19 there’s a global marketplace ready right now - you just need to know how to do it well. In the new book, Business Beyond Borders: Take Your Company Global ($33.95), international business specialist Cynthia Dearin, Founder of Dearin & Associates, provides a step-by-step, accessible guide for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to amplify their impact on the international stage. Drawing upon decades of experience in international business, including extensive stints working abroad in global roles, Dearin brings a unique perspective on international expansion, and guides readers on how to execute the right strategy to ensure their success. In the book, readers learn: • Why you need an international strategy … even now • Mistakes to avoid when selecting international markets • How to find your ideal international clients • The key to bridging the cultural divide & building trust • The rules of international marketing & pricing

points. Business Beyond Borders provides business owners and entrepreneurs with the tools to map out their international vision, take the first steps on their international journey and begin the adventure of going global. Author Cynthia Dearin is an international business strategist and lawyer, and the founder of Dearin & Associates. With 23 years of international experience, she is on a mission to empower business owners and CEOs to scale internationally and amplify their impact in the world. An Australian-qualified legal practitioner, Cynthia worked in the UK, US, Europe and Middle East, as an Australian diplomat and as a management consultant. She also spent three years as the CEO of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Cynthia is proficient in Arabic and French, both of which she uses professionally. Her previous book is Camels, Sheikhs and Billionaires: Your Guide to Business Culture in the Middle East and North Africa.

Filled with real world case studies, tips and action

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022 /

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Business News IoT helps glass manufacturer disrupt industry with four-day supply delivery New Zealand glass manufacturer, Architectural Glass Products (AGP), has deployed Internet of Things (IoT) technology from Pollin8 and Thinxtra for around-the-clock tracking of its products and delivery trolleys, ensuring it avoids losing assets, and bolstering its industry leading customer service. AGP was founded in response to market demand for high quality glass that can be manufactured and delivered in short timeframes. Established in 2019, the company has become the nation’s largest manufacturer of insulated glass units (IGUs). It currently operates a four-hectare, highly automated factory in Hautapu on the North Island. AGP owns over 1,750 purpose-built delivery trolleys, worth NZ$3,000 each, to transport its fragile, high-value glass products. To reduce the risk of these assets going missing and ensure their efficient return to the facility, AGP installed low-cost IoT tracking devices from NZ’s Pollin8, which communicate over Thinxtra’s 0G Network. This allows the manufacturer to track assets in real-time so they can be retrieved efficiently to maintain its four-day order-to-delivery service. “Before AGP came to market, the time from ordering the glass to delivery was unpredictable, and customers never quite knew specifically when their products would arrive. We have completely disrupted the market by delivering in four days,”

said Gene Sanford at AGP. “Having Pollin8 and Thinxtra’s joint IoT solution in place from the start has proved central to our ability to deliver this level of service. Rather than resorting to the time consuming task of counting assets on a map with a basic GPS solution, we have a dashboard and data that inform us which customer has the trolleys and how long they have had them, enabling us to quickly take action to maintain our high service levels. “Our customers’ cash flow can be improved significantly knowing their supply will be delivered on time; getting our assets back quickly to fulfil the next set of orders helps mitigate any knock-on effect that might impact them,” added Sanford. Pollin8’s IoT devices are fixed to every AGP delivery trolley, and record location data at all times, including where GPS signals are unavailable. That information is transmitted over Thinxtra’s national low power wide area network (LP WAN), known as the 0G Network, and provided to AGP in real-time through web and mobile applications in an

easy-to-understand format. Nick Pickering, CEO at Pollin8, said, “Although GPS based tracking solutions have been available for powered vehicles for decades, IoT has introduced the capability to deliver tracking of non-powered assets using devices with long battery life in an affordable manner and at scale. “That means we can provide AGP with not only around the clock tracking, but tailor the solution to its unique business requirements now and as its business expands in the future.” AGP selected Pollin8 and Thinxtra as the combined IoT solution is extremely cost-effective, making it ideally suited to the manufacturer’s plans for continued expansion. The devices are quick to install, and the 0G Network allows AGP to simply connect the sensors to the IoT without needing to invest in building or maintaining any communications infrastructure. AGP also stands to save costs over time as the devices are battery-powered and last several years, reducing need for replacement, and don’t require ongoing maintenance.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

The world’s longest suspension bridge, spanning the Dardanelles strait in northeastern Turkey has cut half the time it takes to travel between Asia and Europe.

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.

Dr Barbara Nebel CEO thinkstep-anz Barbara’s passion is to enable organisations to succeed sustainably. She describes her job as a ‘translator’ – translating sustainability into language that businesses can act on. Barbara and her team deliver sustainability services from strategy, through product assessments and carbon reduction plans, to communications. Clients include many manufacturers on both sides of the Tasman.

NZ Manufacturer April 2022

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

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.

Georgina Fenwicke

After working in fast paced Supply Chain and Transport teams at Deloitte and Uber EMEA, Georgina Fenwicke founded Frankie in February 2020. Frankie is an Operations Control Centre for Industrious Property Teams to maintain assets and equipment at scale with their contractors. They work with Industrial, Education and Food processing clients across New Zealand.

Why 3D printing in healthcare is imperative for sustainable healing Lim Jing (Ph.D.) Chief Technology Officer, Osteopore Three dimensional or “3D printing” is an additive manufacturing process that has been around for a while now – but is still guaranteed to attract attention. It produces a physical object from a digital design, and it’s been creating a buzz in the healthcare industry since the 1990s when dental implants and custom prosthetics took off. While there are many different types of 3D printing available, harnessing the technological advantage that 3D printing has over traditional manufacturing techniques is the key to its success. This involves creating a microstructure that is representative of native bone while meeting gross geometrical needs of the reconstruction area. Specifically, making use of the body’s regenerative capacity to rebuild lost tissues and the use of bioresorbable materials in implants leverage the combined technologies of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and 3D printing techniques.

3D printing allows the creation of complex geometries that copy the shape and function of natural bone and allows efficient productisation particularly in customised implants. Given the complex nature of bone microarchitecture, it is not a matter of course that production can happen at cost effective scale – and 3D manufacturing gives us that option.

Additive manufacturing’s role in the medical field continues to develop and mature, and while in some medical specialties the hype of 3D printing has gone down – the true value that 3D printing can provide to this field will be recognised once the industry understands and accepts the technology and its benefits. The compelling argument for the technology is that it has the unique combination of being able to produce something as specific and particular as our biomimetic architecture, as well as its scalability at the same time.

3D printing technology has allowed us to make ground-breaking regenerative implants –

With improvements to technology, we can go down the path of automation, producing our implants around-the-clock and even remotely; there is a compelling commercial industrial argument for the technology alongside medical rationale and uniqueness of what is possible.

our bioresorbable implant is the first of its kind to be successfully developed and commercialized for surgical use, and we see this technology as the way of the future for healthcare.

But most importantly for us, 3D printing is actually reshaping what implants can do, and how patients can be treated – often patient comfort and experience during recovery is improved.

From our perspective, 3D printing is consistent and reproducible. It enables us to be in a position that suggests we have considered the manufacturing of products at scale and that we can produce them in a way that meets quality standards.

When used appropriately, we find the solutions created with 3D printing regularly outperform traditional implant methods in terms of design and associated long-term healthcare costs.

The largest implant we have produced is 36cm in length and was implanted in a patient for a shin bone reconstruction surgery. He has since recovered well and is able to ambulate without crutches.

Lim Jing (Ph.D.) is Chief Technology Officer of Osteopore – a world-leading leading company in the design and production of biomimetic scaffolds for the natural regeneration of bone tissue across

5G-Ready embedded computing systems with 11th Gen Intel Core processors IBASE Technology Inc. has launched the ASB200-953 compact box PC housing IBASE’s IB953 3.5-inch SBC powered by 11th Gen Intel® Core i7-1185G7E, i5-1145G7E and i3-1115G4E processors (formerly Tiger Lake) with a 15W TDP threshold.

Measuring 180x150x72mm (WxDxH), the ASB200-953 comes with anti-scalding net design and flexible expansion support with high-speed 5G connectivity and other M.2 modules as well as dual storage for a 2280 NVMe SSD and a 2.5-inch HDD.

• 12V (-10%) ~ 24V (+10%) DC-in power input

Aimed at smart applications in warehouse logistics management, factory automation and the automotive industry, the fanless ASB200-953 features high performance with low power consumption.

The ASB210-953 variant comes with fan support and up to 28W TDP. Both have Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0) security and are compatible with Windows 11 and Windows Embedded Standard 8 operating systems.

• Optional VESA mount bracket

Features:

industrial

With a black chassis color, it supports up to 64GB in two SO-DIMM slots and 12V~24V wide-range DC power input. Useful I/O ports on the front side include 3x USB 3.1, 1x USB 2.0, 2x DisplayPort, 1x COM, and 2x GbE ports. The rear panel is equipped with digital I/O, power button, HDD LED, DC-in terminal block and two antenna holes that can be used with the optional WiFi accessory kit.

• ASB200-953: Fanless system with IBASE IB953 3.5” SBC (TDP 15W)

• 2x DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM, Max. 64GB • 3x USB 3.1, 1x USB 2.0, 2x Intel® GbE, 1x COM • External GPIO, 2x DisplayPort, TPM (2.0)

IBASE

Technology

specialises in the design and manufacture of robust PC

delivering

products, high-quality

and excellent service since

• ASB210-953: Slim System with IBASE IB953 3.5” SBC (TDP up to 28W)

its establishment in 2000.

• Onboard 11th Gen Intel® Core™ U-Series Processor

sectors.

networking, and medical

• Supports 3x M.2 sockets (B-Key/E-Key and M-Key)

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

New switches and sockets reduce time on the job The award-winning new PDL by Schneider Electric’s Iconic Outdoor range of switchgear – designed with electricians in mind – offers a new and improved installation process, and sleek high-end design, to appeal to a wide consumer base and tradespeople and installers looking for a much simpler and speedier installation process with a durable, quality result. The robust design accommodates New Zealand weather patterns (humidity, rain, UV and temperature variations) and IP ratings. Sockets are rated IP54 and switches IP56. Where Iconic® Outdoor can be used: • Outdoor heating • Water pumps • Garden ponds and fountains • Outdoor appliances - Pool lighting - Garden lighting - Outdoor entertaining areas - BBQ areas - Alfresco dining and entertaining spaces

Registered electrician Joachim Noble, of Noble Electrical and Lighting, has been in the industry nearly 10 years, and trialled the installation of the Iconic Outdoor exterior sockets and exterior single switch. He found the work took half the installation time, and says any time saving and ease of installation is significant, especially in quoted works.

“I thought [the products] were great. Super easy to install, took half the time of the IP53 range. I liked that the mounting holes were not inside the socket itself and not needing to predrill the plastic. The rear entry tab for a single 2.5mm cable is a well-thought-up idea as is the conduit entries. Terminals were a good size, as all PDL products are. And the clip-on cover - the clean finish with no screws or bungs is a game-changer. “In the past year I have had a lot more work than usual in regards to outdoor/entertainment areas. In general there has been a big growth in home renovations since COVID, indoor and outdoor. More customers are doing a full house renovation or new builds and definitely enquire about Smart Home installations. The PDL Wiser system seems to be high in popularity and the go-to choice by most. I believe it is the way of the future in this industry.” Iconic Outdoor has already been recognised globally as the winner of the 2021 iF Design Award, which acknowledges excellent design around the world. Every year, an international jury panel of 100 experts’

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

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honours achievements in products, packaging, communication and service design. The range includes new features with Smart Home connectivity, and has been designed to complement the trend towards ‘all season’ outdoor living and the growing popularity of fire pits and outdoor heaters alongside the BBQ and backyard cricket pitch. It is also designed with the needs of electricians and installers in mind, and it supports entrepreneurial electricians to strengthen their business by offering their customers the latest in aesthetically pleasing and connected outdoor electricals, and by delivering a higher level of consumer satisfaction in the renovation space. Disclaimer: Schneider Electric measured a 40 percent reduction in time in one installation using the new PDL Iconic® Outdoor range. Installation was done with a single 2.5 mm² cable entering through the back of a double outlet.

Top five reasons to automate your manufacturing By Daniel Carranco Director, Continuous Improvement, Global Shop Solutions Manufacturers are looking to lower cost and increase speed without sacrificing quality. This means getting more done in less time, with less manpower, less scrap and fewer mistakes. To do this, the manufacturing industry is investing more in automation. Specifically, automating the processes and tasks that machines can do quicker and better than humans and integrating them with a company’s ERP system and other technology. What once seemed to be the stuff of science fiction – manufacturing plants run by robots – is already a reality. FANUC Corporation of Japan uses a workforce of robots working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to produce up to 23,000 robots a month. Most manufacturers are a long way from being able to automate the majority of their production processes. But as ongoing advances enable machines and humans to get better at talking to each other, more production lines and eventually more production plants will become more and more automated. If your manufacturing business hasn’t yet jumped on the automation bandwagon, it’s time, and here are the top five reasons why you should.

1.To reduce labor costs. For most manufacturers, labor costs represent the biggest expense and hardest cost to manage (or reduce). It’s no surprise that companies around the globe have begun using automated machinery and equipment to replace human workers on assembly lines. For example, automation is already replacing human labor in areas such as picking and moving parts, assembly, inspection and more. Other examples where automation is producing significant reductions in labor costs include: • BOM COMPARE. Reduces expensive engineering time by eliminating the manual comparing of CAD/CAM BOMs against existing BOMs in your ERP system. • RFID. Improves the speed and reliability of employee software logins and inventory tracking. • AUTOMATING PURCHASING. Reduces headcount in the purchasing department while lowering overall purchasing costs. • HUMAN RESOURCES AND PAYROLL INTEGRATIONS. Dramatically reduces HR personnel costs by managing employees and benefits in one system.

2. To eliminate waste. To err is to be human. In manufacturing, human error leads to wasted time and resources. Computers and machines can do many things faster and more accurately than humans – without making mistakes. • ACCURATE INVENTORY. Automating inventory processes such as picking parts and materials and lot tracking can turn accurate inventory from an unfulfilled wish into reality. Automated equipment can also reduce lost or misplaced materials and minimize expiration or spoilage of inventory. • LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING. An unused manufacturing plant at night is a wasted asset. Yet, the cost of running 2nd and 3rd shifts can be prohibitive. Automating your manufacturing systems puts your biggest asset to full use without

the need for humans. Advantages of “lights out” manufacturing include reduced labor, lighting, and HVAC costs while increasing throughput. • REDUCE SCRAP AND REWORK. Even highly skilled operators can’t match the repeatable accuracy automation produces on routine or less complex processes. Some automated machines can also perform multiple operations, eliminating the time required to move materials from one workcenter to another. • ELIMINATE PAPER. Paper documents slow down the production process by getting lost, misfiled or sent to the wrong person. With automated document management, you can stop shuffling papers and start focusing your human capital on making decisions and creating value. When you digitally send the right data to the right people at the right time, shop floor personnel no longer waste time hunting down routers, drawings, BOMs, POs, or inventory lists.

3. Lightening fast turnaround times. Slow turnaround on jobs can be a deal breaker for many manufacturing customers. Automation lets you process orders faster, reduce setup and production times, and get your product out the door quicker. These are just some of the automations that should already be part of your production process: • CAD INTERFACE. Enables the building of huge BOMs in a few hours rather than days or even weeks. • NESTING INTERFACE. Reduces setup times and material waste by automatically arranging part shapes on bulk pieces of stock material. • EDI. Cuts administrative time and costs for you and your customers with single-entry data transactions. • ECOMMERCE INTEGRATION. Saves time for your customers by allowing them to order and pay directly from your website while automatically sending all job data to your ERP system. The more you automate customer communications, setup and production processes, the more you can say, “Yes we can” to what were once impossible turnaround times.

4. To Improve quality and safety. Rework due to poor quality acts like an anchor on production time and lowers customer satisfaction. Workers’ comp costs can put large dents in your bottom line. Automating processes in these areas can raise quality ratings while making your workplace safer for employees. QUALITY. These days, you either produce quality products or you don’t survive. Yet, the cost of achieving the required quality can make it hard to offer competitive prices. Automating quality procedures can help improve quality and reduce its cost at the same time by:

• Simplifying the process of qualifying for and maintaining ISO and other certifications SAFETY. According to OSHA, U.S. manufacturers pay nearly $1 billion per week in workers’ comp due to injuries on the job. Automating production processes can help improve employee safety in three important ways: • Removing workers procedures

from

dangerous

work

• Enabling faster response to emergencies with realtime monitoring • Using safety planning software to simplify safety protocol updates and emergency response plans

5. To future proof your business. In today’s constantly changing manufacturing markets, success often depends on seeing where customers are going and getting there first. Automation improves the ability to forecast trends, see how customer needs will change, and prepare for them from a technology and strategy standpoint so you can get there ahead of the competition. Automating the data gathering process with Dashboards provides immediate access to accurate, real-time data while reporting or displaying it in any format you choose. This allows you to: • Identify trends with customers, products and your industry segment • Analyze your business health by drilling down to any level of detail • Forecast future customer needs and products/ solutions to meet them • Make faster, better decisions Nobody can predict the future with certainty, but automation reduces the odds that the “next big thing” in your market will catch you off guard. Get Automation Right Implementing automation is not a quick fix. It’s a continual process where your business evolves with the technology. Automation also requires a large investment in software and machinery. To ensure your capital is spent wisely: • ALIGN YOUR AUTOMATION STRATEGY WITH YOUR BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS STRATEGY. Never implement an automation just for the sake of doing it. Every automation should have a specific purpose and desired outcome that aligns with your long-term business goals. • DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND THE EXPECTED BENEFITS. Before investing in automation, get clear on the problem you need to solve and how the software or equipment provides the best solution. Know what improvements the automation will offer and how it will benefit your business and your customers.

• Reducing the amount of time to produce and implement engineering change notices

• MEASURE THE ROI. It can be easy to overspend on automation software and machinery. To justify the investments, automation should be able to meet current needs while offering the flexibility to adapt to foreseeable future needs.

• Controlling every aspect of part revisions and inactivations through your ERP system

Daniel Carranco is the Director for the Continuous Improvement Department for Global Shop Solutions.

• Simplifying management of rework, rejects and scrap

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

Company Profile The sky’s the limit for growing Hutt Valley manufacturer A high-tech design and manufacturing company based in the Hutt Valley is taking on the world while nurturing the region’s young talent. Times-7 designs and manufactures radio frequency identification antennas, otherwise known as RAIN (UHF) RFID. Founded in 2006,the company has established itself as a leading company in the global RFID market, exporting its products worldwide. Jos Kunnen, CEO and Managing Director, is committed to sustainable manufacturing in the Hutt Valley, saying, “this is the perfect place to be with other businesses around us that can support our growth and ambitions.”

Jos Kunnen, CEO and Managing Director.

As uncertain as the future seemed when Covid-19 emerged, Jos says demand has skyrocketed due to an expanding market for RFID products. “We export almost everything we make, so we rely heavily on what happens in the rest of the world, especially North America and Europe.” When the first wave of covid-19 hit the US and Europe, projects stopped because no one could install products in retail stores, factories, or warehouses. Orders slowed, and supply chains became stressed and unpredictable. “Many companies suddenly realised they were not accurately tracking their inventory. They had to figure out how much stock they had but couldn’t get into their warehouses to check due to lockdown. They needed automation, so the demand for RFID products soared.” Last year, Times-7 celebrated its 15th year in business and is well-positioned for growth. Before Covid-19, companies were already piloting or deploying RFID; however, they realised they needed to speed up the implementation process. “This has driven demand. We are a part of a global RAIN Alliance group, and there are reports of others in our industry also experiencing significant growth. For context, the annual number of UHF RFID tagged items has risen from 21 billion to 28 billion over the last year. “All these tags need to be read by multiple antennas as they move through logistics and supply chains to reach end-users.”

sought a larger space for increased production, design and engineering, warehousing, and bigger offices with better amenities.

Times-7 works closely with the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, enabling them to connect with young people, some of whom they have hired.

Finding a suitable space proved difficult. “One of the real estate agencies we approached was proactive and looked through their record books for places coming up for lease expiry.

Through the Employment Expo and the Chamber’s Education to Employment Programme, Times-7 has attended ‘Speed Meets.’ These events have allowed students to establish work experience opportunities in their final year of school; they spend one day a week working for Times-7, which often leads to an internship.

“We eventually found a property on Te Puni Street, Petone, where the lease was about to end. It was the perfect situation because the incumbent tenant wanted to downsize, so we did a swap.” “Our commercial space has more than doubled, providing the team with a bigger staff room, more meeting space, manufacturing space, and car parks.” Jos says the move has coincided well with demand for their product. “It’s given us a manufacturing capacity of three times our previous space. We have more than doubled production every month this year compared to the same month last year.” Aside from more space, Jos was keen to ensure that a move wouldn’t inconvenience staff. “Thankfully, it has been just the opposite. We are close to Petone railway station, amenities, and on a good route for those who cycle to work. One difference staff have commented on is the time reduction in their car journey.” Their new ‘campus’ means the entire team can continue to work together, from marketing, sales, and engineering, to production. It facilitates innovation and information-sharing and means the team can be more responsive to customers. Jessica Gill, who works in Times-7’s marketing department, believes the new premises only adds to the team culture. “We have a great atmosphere in the new office. We can host more company gatherings so that all departments can work together as a team.”

Offering young people career opportunities to upskill in a growing industry As an advocate for the Hutt Valley, Jos strives to help young people grow and develop their skills. “The Hutt is an incubation area for some interesting companies. We want to promote this area as a great place to work and live.”

As the business grows, so does the need for scale To meet demand, Times-7 has moved to a larger campus and hired more staff, but they still have vacancies. “Six more team members are required in the manufacturing space, along with additional people in sales and marketing. We expect more roles will be required as we expand further,” says Jos. “Over the past 15 months, staff numbers have doubled to 26. It’s great that we are expanding, but with growth came other challenges, including finding the right premises ideally in the Hutt Valley.” For more than 18 months, the Times-7 team searched for larger premises near their Alicetown base. They

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“We have hired several young people through the Chamber’s work experience programme. We are hugely grateful to the Chamber for providing opportunities for us to find the right people.” The work experience programme has proved to be a success for the growing company, and Jos says that investing in training and developing young people is key. “It’s great to offer young people the opportunity to discover, explore, experience, and connect to a career pathway. Only hiring straight off the market is not a very sustainable approach. Working with young people in our secondary schools gives them a chance to see the world of work, and it gives us a chance to identify great talent for our business. It’s a win-win.” Patrick McKibbin, CEO of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, commends Times-7 for its receptiveness to trying new methods of connecting with talent. It comes at a time when the traditional approaches to finding staff are no longer as successful “Having Times-7 working with our students helps them see the possibilities and Patrick McKibbin, CEO, opportunities in a growing Hutt Valley Chamber of business and exporting their Commerce. technology worldwide. It is a fabulous example of what is possible. “There is some work involved for businesses, but the rewards and return on investment through lower recruitment costs and better retention and loyalty from providing students with an opportunity are compelling,” says Patrick.” Jos and his team are excited about the future for Times-7, and despite offers attempting to lure the business to other parts of the country and world, they plan to stay firmly rooted in Hutt Valley soil. “Our region is full of innovative manufacturing start-ups, scientists, researchers, technologists, and a network of excellent support organisations like the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. I am committed to giving our young people an opportunity to grow and be part of our journey, and I am excited about what lies ahead.” Join a global brand that is growing and become a part of the Times-7 team! You can find out more about their employment opportunities on their website.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

HEADING INDUSTRY 4.0

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INDUSTRY 4.0: REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION? W hen tackling i4.0, food manufacturing and processing industries are all on a journey of discovery. Industry supplier NZ Controls includes itself in this bracket, describing the company as a service provider rather than a manufacturer. “We are also working out how it all fits together so that we can help our customers. We want to add value. It’s our responsibility to be informed and ready to help guide our customers into the world of Industry 4. We work hard to battle the hype and drill down into real and practical applications with measurable returns,” says Nikk King, director business development, NZ Controls. NZ controls believes that the best approach is to consider the i4.0 technologies as a set of tools and concepts to enhance what it is already doing. Thus, i4.0 is more an evolution than a

revolution. Nikk says that while the results can be revolutionary, “We don’t need to ditch everything and start again or even make significant physical changes”. Perhaps the best way to take advantage of the i4.0 tools and techniques is to change or broaden the mindset to one of iterative and continuous improvement. While there’s nothing revolutionary there, says Nikk, NZ Control’s ability to apply emerging technologies leads to newly discovered opportunities for improvement. In some other cases, i4.0 tools may just provide the data needed to prove what you may already suspect, finally giving the justification to get those projects moving. Another key application for the i4.0 toolkit is to allow more flexibility and potentially ‘revolutionise’ some aspects of production. For example,

evolving from a very linear and inflexible workflow to a more adaptive cell or modular approach, perhaps using collaborative robots and automated guided vehicles to move components instead of traditional conveyors filling up the floor. “From NZ Controls perspective we must provide measurable value. We seek to collaborate on developing a measurable business case, delivering i4.0 technology solutions and help our customers realise their return on investment. In doing so, we maintain our customers’ trust and in some small way help to evolve the local manufacturing sector into one which is incrementally more productive.”

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title packing technology dramatically cuts packhouse Fruit labour needs text

An intelligent robotic fruit packing machine that automates the most labour intensive job in the packhouse is proving to be a game-changer for post-harvest operators around the globe. Global Pac Technologies has officially unveiled the Aporo II robotic produce packaging machine which builds on the proven technology of the original Aporo I Produce Packer, first developed in 2018. The latest model can now accommodate twice the throughput, packing 240 fruit per minute, saving between two and four labour units per double packing belt. “Aporo II can be retrofitted across two packing belts instead of one, so it has effectively doubled the throughput and the labour saving that Aporo I could deliver,” explains Cameron McInness, Director of Jenkins Group – a New Zealand-based company which co-founded Global Pac Technologies with US-based Van Doren Sales Inc. “We have been rolling out this new machine with some key customers globally and the results have been dramatic. One of our Australian customers built a new packhouse and installed three of our Aporo II’s. That increased their packhouse production by 30-40 percent and reduced their labour by 50 percent. “Automating the process of placing fruit into trays then allows post-harvest operators to redeploy their scarce labour resources to areas where they can add more value.” McInness says Aporo II’s dual robotic heads are more consistent and reliable than human packers. The technology is now being used in France, the UK, Sweden, Belgium, the US, Australia and New Zealand – primarily to pack apples, and now stone fruit like peaches and nectarines. Work is underway to extend its use to other fruit varieties in the near future. “What’s unique about Aporo I and Aporo II is they are designed for really simple autonomous packing. The machine is very intelligent. It looks at the fruit, orientates the fruit and doesn’t need to be told what

type of trays you’re using – it just looks and finds the pockets. It’s really powerful technology. “Its internal vision system or ‘neural network’ is continuously learning to adapt to different fruit varieties and improve performance over time. It features automatic tray pocket recognition for any tray type and the touch screen interface is very intuitive and easy to use. “Not only will it orientate and place fruit the right way on the tray, you can also ask it to find the best colour on the apple and spin that side up. It’s very clever.” The Aporo machines can be retrofitted to existing packhouse infrastructure within a matter of hours in some cases. It straddles existing conveyors and is available in configurations for both single and double packing belt layouts. Since Aporo I’s initial launch in 2018, over 100 packing belts have had the technology deployed on them around the world. McInness says a strong pipeline of orders have already been received for Aporo II.

“We have a couple of big growth opportunities in California right now and we will be meeting with distributors and customers at Fruit Logistica in Berlin to show what Aporo II can really do.” Global Pac have developed great relationships with their current worldwide distributors and are open to discussions with potential distributors who are interested in bringing Aporo II to their region. The Aporo I and II packers have been developed by New Zealand agritech business Robotics Plus. Global Pac Technologies was then formed as a joint venture to sell the technology to the global market. “We are the market leaders in this space and our customers are having real success,” McInness says. “The global apple market is worth approximately US$80 billion and automation is key to overcoming the worldwide labour shortage that all post-harvest operators are experiencing. The beauty of Aporo I and Aporo II is they can be installed on both new and existing packing lines, making this technology accessible to everyone.”

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

Analysis Industry 4.0 in focus - Bob Hawley, Managing Director, Red Steel Limited HERA member Red Steel had its foundations laid in the 1960s as a building company specialising in steel construction. It was officially formed in November 2002 before purchasing Woolaway Steel Structures in January 2003. Red Steel specialises in structural steelwork and undertakes contracts predominantly in the lower North Island of New Zealand from its purpose-built facility in Pandora, Napier constructed in 2015. HERA spoke to Managing Director Bob Hawley about the future of steel, the impact of Industry 4.0 and some of the challenges and opportunities the company is facing.

How are you finding current business conditions? Getting work is not an issue. The challenge going forward is the planning to ensure we have the resources required to fulfil our clients’ requirements. Often we are fabricating projects before they are needed because we have the time to fabricate it now, whereas we can see in two months’ time, for example, when a client might need the job, we haven’t got the fabrication capacity. This goes against the ‘just in time’ manufacturing process but becomes necessary as construction programmes are constantly changing. Also impacting are the other trades that have constraints with material supply - we might be on programme but the project gets delayed whereas another project hasn’t. It is a big juggling act.

How has your company been impacted by the pandemic? The lockdowns had a large impact, but at the moment it is probably harder. With lockdowns all trades stop working and projects just start again from where they left off. Everyone is in the same boat. At one point recently we were nearly a third of the staff down so our fabrication output was reduced but work continues on site and we are still expected to deliver as scheduled. It is a little bit harder to manage expectations. All and all, up until recently Hawkes Bay has been relatively COVID-free, so we have boxed on. Now it is more widely spread, the absenteeism has been a challenge.

Where do you see potential growth for your company? We are not in true growth mode, as such. As an established regional business it is not our ultimate goal as we have got to a level we quite like. Our strategy is to do things better with the resources we have, and that in turn leads to growth because we become more efficient producing more with the resource we have, both man and machine, which does lead to growth. While we are investing in new technology and our great team of people, we are not trying to grow our numbers.

NZ Manufacturer April 2022

Staff retention – how easy is it and do you have enough? Thirty-five percent of our staff have been with us for 15 years or more. Thirty-six of our staff have or have had a brother, son or father work in the business, so we do hold onto staff pretty well. We have lost a few recently – most to other industries. Getting new staff is a challenge and it appears to be an “employee market” – we tend to look after the staff who are at Red Steel for the right reasons!

Talking technology and Industry 4.0 – is your company taking this on board? We recently qualified and undertook an Industry 4.0 assessment which benchmarked Red Steel against other manufacturing businesses not only in New Zealand but across the globe. The results showed that we were doing well with Industry 4.0 without knowing it. Now we have an understanding of what it all means, especially when it comes to machines talking to machines and the “Internet of Things”.

capture every single piece. You might do a cut and 300 parts come off so it is time-consuming for someone to go and enter all that data. Then you have to consider whether it is worth going through that process if we are not going to use the data. If the machine can do it automatically, then let’s use it. Labour is a scarce resource so we need to utilise it as best we can. What are your future plans in this space? Will you be investing more to achieve ultimate connectivity?

The machine knows what it is doing, so we don’t need to have a valuable labour resource entering into the database that something has been done the machine can do that connection for us. It will likely be more accurate and saves us a step along the way.

The plan we have is long-term. We have developed a flow chart of all the steps in our process. We have red lines where humans are involved, and our objective is to turn those red lines into green - those are tasks that can be done automatically by the machines.

The biggest challenge for us now is deciding what we should do rather than what we could do. There are lots of things we could do, but it is about assessing what is the best thing to do.

What steps is your company consciously taking to help mitigate climate change?

Our current work on is extracting the data from one machine that does not have the ability to communicate the necessary data. The programme used to create the code for the machine produces a PDF report detailing the parts being processed so we are using an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) method. We use the AWS Textract service which allows us to look at certain positions of the document, then read the characters from the image and convert to a string (text/numbers). We save the PDF document to a certain directory on our server, our system recognises it is there and creates a record on our database by pulling all the data from the PDF. Once the programme is run our system will record that all the parts have been processed.

What are some of the benefits you are seeing as a result of using 4.0 technology? Removing the human steps in the process. We are dealing with thousands of parts and we expect the machine is more accurate - a human is never going to

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Steel boasts strong sustainability credentials, key of which is its recyclability. We are conscious that steel can be reused and recycled without compromising its physical properties. In 2007, we were involved in one of the woolstore apartment conversions. Some of the original steel beams had to be replaced because they weren’t suitable for use in the upper storey of the structure’s new purpose as an apartment building. Rather than sending the material to the scrap yard to be melted down, we took possession of a large quantity of 380 RSJ beams, reusing them in the construction of our plant in Pandora, Napier. The structure has 90 tonnes of structural steel, of which the repurposed steel beams make up 12 percent. None of the original steel was wasted – offcuts of the material were used to create furniture in our reception area and office space. HERA is a non-profit research organisation dedicated to serving the needs of metal-based industries in New Zealand. It is the industry stimulus for research, innovation and development, delivering a trusted national centre for design, manufacturing technology and quality assurance. Want to become a member? Visit www.hera.org.nz.

It’s all in the data I thought I’d follow on from my pre-Christmas article “What gets measured gets managed” with the next step in continuous improvement: data analysis. This can sound ominous but how you design and implement your analytics is critical to success. Before starting to improve performance and productivity you need to identify and understand the losses and wastes associated with your process. For production lines this could be lost time, lost speed, yield losses, giveaways, lost labour, or downtime by key equipment. Ideally, this information should be grouped by cause such as planned downtime (changeovers, meetings), quality losses or rework, or some other cause. A good data system should tell you major losses, and their resulting impact and frequency. And it will be able to slice this information by shift, by day, or by any other time period you need. This data is essential to understand the nature of the loss, establish the source of the loss and then work on the approach to fixing it and futureproofing it and other systems in your workplace. At a simplistic level, this is the role data plays in your work: find, analyse, fix, prevent. It’s worth noting at this point that your data analysis can be done manually and using spreadsheets – in fact this is a position that many businesses starting to dip their toes into the data analytics pool find themselves in, but there are much better tools available now that really ought to be used. The future (and ideally present) of data analysis is in tailored Internet of Things (IoT) software where you

can plug your raw data and it tells you, in real-time rather than retroactively, the story that you need to know, for fixing and optimizing processes. Why wait until the end of the day to discover you are underperforming when it’s better to know at the time, while its still possible to address the issues? Each loss should have a target (what do you want to get it down to – in some cases this will be zero, but others it will be a reduction) so that you know when to move on. The trend will show if it is under control or not. It’s important to have a mixture of leading and lagging measures being captured and analysed. Lagging measures are management numbers on performance. Leading measures are in process measures which can provide real time information about losses which can be acted on immediately. I find that data should be trended typically as a rolling 13-week average (a quarter). This gives an adequate and reasonable timeframe to see if the actions being taken to address the loss are effective, while “smoothing out” any other data discrepancies that might occur with weekly or monthly reporting. With good data analysis, we can compare performance with benchmarks (industry specific or global) and plot a path for greatness. It is also good to have a view of our “gap to perfect” for our capital assets (how much can we sweat them).

they don’t need is staggering. They believe there is no room for further improvement, and they must buy more or new capital. In truth many just need to understand their data and form a process for addressing the losses and wastes. If they were rigorously identifying, prioritising, and addressing losses and wastes, much of this capital could be avoided. I have seen large well-known companies reporting efficiencies inaccurately resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary capital being spent. So, have you determined the key losses and wastes in your processes? Have you aligned your data capture system to capture this information? Have you developed leading and lagging metrics for each level of the organisation? Have you developed an escalation matrix for these losses? Have you trended information against targets? Have you developed the right reporting systems to deliver this information so that action can be taken to eliminate or reduce your losses? If you said yes to all of this, then you’re in good shape – unfortunately part of a very small minority in NZ.

It really is worth checking all your assumptions to get a very thorough view of performance, bottlenecks, wastes and losses.

If you don’t have good information feeding into your business, and your reports are always lagging or driven off spreadsheets, then it’s time to give your business a boost through better, more timely accurate data to drive your performance to the next level. Let’s have a chat.

The number of companies spending money on capital

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

Company Profile

How Tidy International helps float Kingfisher’s boats When the Mason family bought into a Tauranga-based manufacturer of catamaran-hulled boats, the business management software being used included TidyEnterprise and Xero, critical to the co-ordination and control of their production and supply. After steadily maturing the workflows over the course of the year that followed the Mason family involvement, Kingfisher Boats today enjoys a software system that provides accurate stock and Work-in-Progress reports, with further developments in the works to accelerate overall business efficiency, optimise production processes and deliver company-wide data visibility.

dollar 18-metre vessel, there’s a lot of customisation so repeatability isn’t important. But when you’re producing a standard design, adopting production line methodologies makes sense.” In either circumstance, accurately tracking materials and effort is crucial for sustainability and profitability. “You absolutely can’t thumb suck it, or you’ll end up selling boats for less than they cost.”

Kingfisher Boats is both designer and builder of the Kingfisher range of quality aluminium vessels with catamaran hulls sold through an approved marine distributor network.

While Kingfisher Boats presently meets the needs of domestic customers, Mason says it does have ambitions for international growth in the future. “At present, the focus is firmly on optimising every aspect of our production and sales processes. We recognise the necessity for a well-run ‘ship’, so to speak, before taking on the challenges of expansion.”

This growing New Zealand business, with its workshop facilities based in the city of Tauranga, happens to be located in the same city as Tidy’s international headquarters. Kingfisher has built up a solid range of marine-craft products for over 19 years, including commercial and recreational vessels ranging from 3m to 18m in length. Laura Mason, General Manager of the company, comments “what sets Kingfisher Boats apart is our focus on alloy catamarans. We’re unique in producing metal cats under 6 metres with a single engine – delivering a more stable platform in a compact package.”

Situation Upon joining the business, Mason soon recognised opportunities for enhancing the manufacturing processes. Applying experience she gained in the automotive industry, with its long history of process standardisation and optimisation; from the production-line efficiency made famous by Henry Ford to Toyota’s Kaizen methodology of continuous improvement, Mason sought to advance the somewhat unstructured approach characteristic of smaller businesses towards a defined and repeatable model. Mason emphasises, “this does need to be differentiated depending on the boat we’re manufacturing. When we’re doing a multimillion

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Solution

metal to the job, and providing a fuller and detailed picture of what each job costs. We’re also integrating time and consumables into the process – it’s a good step forward which provides essential information for running a growing business,” Mason says. A further development is introducing Work-in-Progress tracking. “This next step is vital. When you’re building a big boat over the course of a year, accurate management of a balance sheet and profit and loss is fundamental. And as that is implemented in Tidy we’ll look at boosting reporting capability for improved and instant visibility on every aspect of what goes into making the finished product.”

Results

With Tidy’s TidyEnterprise job and project management software already implemented at Kingfisher Boats when Mason came on board, she set about making full use of its potential.

With Tidy as a central system in advancing Kingfisher’s manufacturing processes, Kingfisher boats is steadily moving to the predictable, reliable, and efficient production environment required to scale from a national to international boat builder.

“We’ve been figuring out how to maximise our usage of Tidy to give us data crucial for making better decisions. This is increasingly critical as we trade through difficult times of increasing costs and supply chain disruptions,” Mason notes.

Already, plans are underway to move towards stock forecasting and increased business intelligence, drawing on historical data contained within TidyEnterprise and Xero.

The software is used for job tracking and recording time and materials. Flexibility is essential, says Mason, particularly when a larger Kingfisher is moving through the production facility. “These vessels have a custom production setup specific to the individual, so they are a special case. The under 6 metre boats are pretty standard, and for these we’re moving towards creating a Bill of Materials from which we have a standard list of metal and components which go into the assembly.” Stock management within TidyEnterprise is integrated with the company’s Xero accounting system, allowing for ‘straight through’ billing from building a vessel to invoicing it out to the customer. “This works well, with a process around the categories of materials that are cut, allocating the

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“There’s a lot to like in Tidy, including the Xero integration and how you can add all items into each project to keep a running tally, track time against jobs, and put a budget in there. We’re looking at reporting for time and materials, and generally maturing the implementation as we learn things and come across issues,” says Mason. The proximity of Tidy’s HQ to Kingfisher Boats comes with mutual advantages in terms of process observation by the Tidy team and communication between the two companies to make improvements. Mason is complementary of the software vendor. “We’ve found Tidy great to work with. They listen, we share our insights and suggestions for what we’d like to see in the software, and they make improvements which probably benefit all their customers. It’s a solid relationship built on value creation.”

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Tough conditions see SMEs seeking new government

months, including more than a third (35%) who are very dissatisfied.

and Opposition from SMEs over the past six months or more.”

In comparison, MYOB’s 2021 Business Monitor showed 35% of SMEs were unhappy with the Government’s performance at the same time last year.

Profitability and pipeline taking a hit

SMEs favouring leadership change Most local SME owners and operators now appear to be looking for a change in the country’s leadership. Christopher Luxon has been revealed as a strong favourite among SMEs, with 42% naming the new National Party leader as their preferred Prime Minister. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern follows at 25% in the preferred Prime Minister stakes, and ACT Party leader David Seymour sits at 9%. National’s latest change of leadership has also won solid support from SME owners and operators, with 48% saying they’re satisfied with the new National party leadership team and only 19% expressing dissatisfaction. “While historically our polling has shown National to be seen by SMEs as the political party with the greatest understanding of business, in the lead up to the 2020 General Election, we saw a very strong amount of support and satisfaction from SMEs for Labour and its leadership,” Jo explains. “Although we saw some of this support for the party tail off in our SME Snapshot last September, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was still well ahead in the preferred Prime Minister stakes sitting at 40% ahead of Judith Collins’ 16%, so there has been a notable change in sentiment both towards the Government

As economic confidence continues to fall and SMEs weigh up government performance and support, the financial health of local businesses is equally unsteady. Just over two-in-five (43%) SMEs reported their revenue is down on a year ago, compared to 39% in March 2021, while only 17% said their year-on-year revenue has increased. Further adding to concerns around cashflow and financial performance, half (50%) of New Zealand’s local SMEs said their business was less profitable over the last quarter, while only 15% reported an increase in profitability. Looking ahead, unfortunately the future doesn’t appear much brighter. More than a third (35%) of SMEs expect their revenue to decline in the year to March 2023, while just 19% say they expect their revenue will improve. Thirty-nine percent expect it will stay the same. And in the shorter term, while 42% of SMEs have the same amount of work lined up or sales in pipeline for this quarter (and 17% have more) compared with the same time last year, more than a third (38%) have less in the pipeline – a scenario no doubt influencing predictions around profitability, with 41% of SMEs expecting their business to be less profitable over the next three months.

offer consumers, to the contribution they make to our wider communities – and their struggles over the past couple of years are well documented,” says Jo. “The cost of doing business is increasing and considering the ongoing challenges they are facing, like supply disruption, rising employee and compliance costs, and skyrocketing inflation, the battle to maintain a steady cashflow could continue for some time. “Now, all eyes will be on the upcoming Budget in the hope that it may bring some announcements that offer them a reprieve. “Based on what has come through in our Monitor, we’re seeing a clear policy ask from SMEs. By far the most popular potential policy any political party could introduce is to reduce the business tax rate - a move supported by 44% of SMEs. “This is likely because the move would help to offset many of the impacts they are currently seeing in an environment of rising costs and uncertain income,” she adds. Other policies of most appeal to SMEs included making no changes to income tax (24%), increased investment in roads (22%) and changing the Resource Management Act (21%).

“SMEs are at the heart of our local economy – from the jobs they create, to the goods and services they

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

EMEX 2022 Innovative Engines & Engineering take product development to the next level with the help of 3D Scanning An interview with Stefan Etter from IEE about why he chose a Creaform 3D Scanner and how it’s helped him overcome complex measurement challenges. Why did IEE choose a Creaform 3D scanner? After initially being exposed to 3D scanning in 2019 in Switzerland and seeing the capability and power of 3D scanning, we wanted to make the most of what this type of new technology had to offer. Spending hours on part revisions due to part complexity was not helping our company grow, it was just holding us back.

along with a bunch of bolt holes we had our new removal and install tool designed and 3D printed in no time. Then we simply fasten it around the part, pull it out, bead blast and have zinc plated, refit the tool, and placed the part in the Arbor press to re install it perfectly!

After doing our due diligence we decided to go with a Creaform HandySCAN 700 from the HandySCAN Silver range. What’s a recent project that 3D scanning has helped you with? A recent restoration project we did was a car part. The part was a very odd shaped vacuum & pressure fitting/pipe.In order to restore the part, we needed a solid solution to remove and then reinstall the part. We decided the best way to do this was to create a jig which clamped the part securely in place.To be able to design a jig which fitted the complex part perfectly ,we needed to 3D Scan it. With the 3D geometry we captured we were able to subtract the part from the solid blue 3D blocks – see below. How did 3D scanning help you with this project? With the HandySCAN 700 we were simply able to scan the part to create a polygon mesh (.stl file), then with VXmodel we were able to extract the pipes center line with the ‘Center line’ tool. Once we had had the path for the pipe we were able to sweep a circle along the path and create a solid, which we used to subtract from the blue block (as shown in the photos). Then with an angled plane

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Could you have completed this project without a 3D scanner? Without a 3D scanner we would have had to leave the part installed, and not have it Zinc plated. Therefore defeating the purpose of restoring the parts. So the answer would be no. What are the main activities of your company? Developing Nissan RB26 car parts for our customer base around the world, the scanner helps us bring parts to market alot faster. In between we always have 3D Scanning jobs, Reverse engineering and CAD services we are carrying out for customers throughout the region or in some cases internationally also. Where do you see future growth coming from your company? We definitely see future growth with 3D Scanning, as more and more companies transition to working with scan data and eliminating the human error involved in manual measurement. Do you export? We ship our custom parts all over the world. We also provide our scan data to clients all over the world as well. Future plans and developments? We plan to keep pushing the 3D Scanning as well as we can. Expanding our in house 3D printing services and continuing to gain traction in this unique market.

Profile Irene Kaur one of the women changing the engineering industry The STEM movement – now active in education sectors in many countries is designed to attract more girls and women to fields that have traditionally been defined and dominated by men. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics have in the past had a lack of appeal to females as a career opportunity, due to it being seen as a male-dominated field, lack of awareness and promotion as a viable career opportunity for woman As of today, the percentage of female graduates in electrical engineering at the University of Auckland shows the imbalance still remains persistent: 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 % female

16%

24%

16%

24%

29%

Part 4 -female 10

Part 4 -male

In light of the clear inequity, many organisations are taking it upon themselves to look at how they can better support females and diversity in the workplace, including looking at key initiatives like flexibility, equal opportunities, ongoing training and support. Schneider Electric has been named as one of the 25 companies engineering students most want to work for, based on a global survey (conducted September 2020 to May 2021) by Universum of 84,000 students from 10 of the world’s biggest economies - the list ranks Schneider Electric alongside the likes of Pfizer, Apple, Google and Microsoft. Part of the attraction is creating a culture and ethos that are welcoming to women, and Kiwi electrical engineer Irene Kaur is by any measure breaking new ground - but she doesn’t see herself as knocking down barriers for women when she goes to work. Her role involves occasionally leading training sessions where often she is the only woman in the room - but she says it doesn’t faze her. “I represent myself how I would want somebody to train me. I don’t get nervous, I am there to do a job. It’s about delivering technical knowledge, and from my perspective gender shouldn’t come into it. She admits even in today’s modern society sometimes not everyone is completely receptive to having a female leading from the front in the industry. However she approaches it from a classroom point of view; where everyone is equal and you wipe gender completely out of the equation. Irene’s background is in manufacturing, consulting and product design. The electrical field appealed to her (as opposed to civil and mechanical engineering) because it is a more conceptual and less visible

science, with many streams for professional expansion including software engineering. She was the type of child that took household appliances apart to try and put it back together. She has since broadened her reach into various portfolios for the global Schneider Electric brand, including motor control, power solutions, EV chargers, and also has responsibility for product development, consultation and marketing, given the highly specialised nature of the products. “Looking at engineering as a field, men have always dominated and been the role models, from mechanical to electrical to civil and right up into the big tech companies. There haven’t been many women at the forefront, and critically, not much promotion of women either.

values of your company?

“We need to promote our female engineers so there are more role models for girls and young women to look up to and aspire to. I didn’t see another female engineer who was right at the top of the field and talking about technology, and we need that to inspire kids and show them that women belong in the profession and are capable, and to continue to change and challenge bias – whether conscious or unconscious.”

Schneider’s inclusive work policies support gender equity by helping employees to better manage their work and personal lives – for example, through flexible work or providing family, care and bereavement paid leave.

She says, “There aren’t a lot engineering world, that’s the is a lot of work still to ensure engineering ensures it opens flexibility and diversity.

of females in the truth of it. There that as an industry its doors to more

“Let’s change the narrative. It’s not about being anti-men, or pro-female, it’s about engineering being open to all people from all walks of life and experiences.” She advises young women in STEM to look for work cultures that actively give equal opportunities to all genders. “One of the biggest issues in our industry is that the company culture is incredibly tough on women, there is still stereotyping. Schneider is really good at stopping that from happening; women have a voice and a strong leadership team. ”My advice to any woman going for an interview for an engineering role is to ask the questions straight: How are female engineers treated in this organisation? What are the core

“You have a choice to change the system, to look for a firm that accepts you and is open to actively developing and supporting female engineers to success.”

Schneider also seeks to ensure equal pay across comparable groups of employees and reduce the pay gap between women and men to less than 1% by 2025.

Kiwi electrical engineer Irene Kaur is by any measure breaking new ground.

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New Products igus receives UL approval for halogen-free TPE cables The long service life of igus chainflex high-end TPE cables from Treotham convinces inspectors and gives customers certified security As the world’s first manufacturer, igus has received UL AWM certification from the well-known US organization Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for its high-end TPE cables that do not use fire-retardant halogens as additives. This is the first time that the testing organisation has recognised that halogen-free TPE cables can also meet the fire protection requirements in industry. The independent organisation Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is one of the most important authorities in the USA in terms of product safety. It has been testing components of machines and systems since 1894 to see whether they are suitable for industrial use. Their seal is one of the prerequisites for a successful market entry in North America. Fire protection is a key decisive criteria. This is because, according to the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), machine fires are the fourth leading cause of fires in industrial environments in the USA, closely followed by fires caused by electrical factors.

Fire protection can also be achieved without halogens For this certification, the igus engineers had to do a lot of persuading. Up to now, the flame retardancy

of cables has been the key factor in obtaining UL certification for fire protection. Approval is therefore only granted to products containing flame retardants such as chlorine, fluorine or bromine. These additives increase the flame retardancy. However, so far it has not been taken into account that the flame retardants generally change the chemical structure of the jacket and reduce the mechanical load-bearing capacity. Therefore, igus starts much earlier in the process: The cable specialist focuses less on preventing a fire from spreading, but rather on how the cable itself caused the fire. The TPE jacket compounds are extremely resistant to mechanical loads as well as external influences. They can therefore be used in a wide range of applications: in small installation spaces of up to 4xd, on highly dynamic, short travels with accelerations of 100m/s² or on long travels in a temperature range from -35°C to +100°C. At the same time they are extremely media resistant, even with special organic oils. In all of these energy chain applications, the halogen-free TPE jacket compounds minimise premature aging of the outer jacket by a factor of up to 10; when compared to the same materials containing flame retardants.

A decisive cause of fire is reduced. This is because if the jacket does not break the cable cannot cause a fire because a reduction in the cross section of the cores is impossible due to the non-existent jacket break. An argument which finally convinced the UL.

Flame retardancy of TPE cables no longer the measure of all things With these measures, igus makes a significant contribution to increasing machine safety. The long-term flexural strength and service life of chainflex cables in the e-chain have been proven by numerous practical tests in the in-house igus test laboratory – and not just for TPE cables. Customers in New Zealand benefit from this by being halogen-free, as do those who build machines for the North American market, where UL certification of the individual components is the required rule.

Inductive sensors now in compact D3 and M4 housing Treotham’s range of Wenglor inductive sensors with increased switching distances features enhanced performance in miniature design: A total of eight new sensors from the I03 and I04 series in the compact D3 and M4 housing for detecting metallic objects in confined systems. Practically no larger than a pin head, the robust sensors in V2A stainless steel housing demonstrate their strengths exactly where space is most limited. The I03 series sensors have a diameter of just 3 mm (D3) and a smooth housing, while the I04 series has an external thread with a total diameter of 4 mm (M4). With both series, the housing is just 22 mm long. The almost invisible miniature sensors detect precise

switching signals in places where virtually no installation space is available. Increased switching distances of up to 1 mm, a robust PUR cable connection (two meters), a high IP67 degree of protection and a broad temperature range between –25°C and +70°C ensure high performance and long service life. Thanks to flush mounting, the sensors can be integrated mechanically protected in systems. The optional PNP/NPN and NO/NC variants also enable convenient handling with existing systems. Thanks to the LED adjustment aid, the sensors can also be easily installed. The bright LED shows the status clearly, even over long distances.

Eight new products expand the entire portfolio The introduction of the I03 and I04 Wenglor series expands Treotham’s product portfolio for increased switching distances by eight new sensors (four per design). In total, there are now

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sensors in nine different formats in this range, with five connection types and in 15 different housing lengths. With this wide range of products there is a suitable solution for every special requirement. Thanks to the new types, solutions are now also available in areas with very little space, where a reliable switching signal is still required.

Small size allows for a wide range of applications Thanks to their small size and low weight, the inductive sensors with increased switching distances are ideal for the end position detection of gripper systems in the production of wires and cables, for example. In addition, they can be flush-mounted in robot grippers in the automotive industry for detecting the gripper opening and closing. The small sensors offer great support in the wood industry in pallet nailing machines. The continuous supply of nail pins can be monitored directly in the dispenser unit. The monitoring of drive shafts in chain conveyor systems in the packaging industry is also one of the key advantages of these sensors.

New Products Trailer lights offer greater safety NARVA Model 49 L.E.D large rear combination lamps, have been created specifically for the commercial truck and trailer sector. A key feature of the Model 49 is the continuous neon-like L.E.D light pipe that frames the lamp’s border, creating a modern signature appearance for the truck or trailer, like those seen on prestigious cars and SUVs.

The sleek and slimline Model 49 measures just 46mm deep and there are no visible screws or mounting holes, so it appears almost flush with the bodywork or chassis. Snap-on retro reflectors cover the lighting components to further emphasise the flush stylish appearance, whilst the lamp inserts themselves are replaceable with the reflectors removed.

What makes it stand out even more is that the L.E.D light pipe stays illuminated when the other functions are off and the high-quality optics featured in the tail, stop, indicator and reverse functions are designed to instantly gain the attention of those following the truck.

The lamps are constructed from virtually unbreakable coated polycarbonate lenses, which are scratch and chemical resistant, as opposed to regular polycarbonate, making replacement unlikely. However, for peace of mind and are backed by a 5-year L.E.D warranty.

It is designed to fit the same footprint as the Model 48 and fully meets all ADR performance regulations for tail lamps.

Griffiths Equipment is responding to the high interest in the Model 49 by stocking a wide range of configurations in coloured or clear lenses to suit the

needs of the New Zealand transport industry. These include: triple tail, stop and rear direction; triple tail, stop, reverse and rear direction; and twin tail, stop and rear direction. All versions are designed to suit 9-33V and come prewired with 0.5m of cable for ease of installation.

Dotterel raises $3m for sonic breakthrough other private investors including Sean Simpson, the founder of carbon capture company Lanzatech and Dotterel’s Chair. Dotterel’s high-end Konos microphone is built with an array of 80 digital microphones, capturing the target audio signal with exceptional clarity from any direction and from long distances, while eliminating undesired sounds from noisy machinery, crowds or weather.

Dotterel Technologies has raised $3m to boost production of its breakthrough sound capture technology which records clear audio signals from anywhere, while filtering out unwanted noise on the fly. The funding round was led by Icehouse Ventures with support from RocketLab founder Peter Beck, Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1, US-backed NZVC, and

The new funds will be used to scale-up Konos’ production and to expand into new markets focussed on public safety and industrial manufacturing, where Konos can be mounted onto emergency vehicles and within factories to improve safety, workflow and communication. Well known entertainment studios in the US and the UK have been using early versions of the 23-cm long Konos to improve audio recordings in noisy environments, with the 80-element microphone array providing sound engineers advanced creative

options for editing and production. Dotterel has recently shifted premises from a lab facility in Parnell to a new manufacturing warehouse in Penrose, where its team of 13 is anticipated to grow to 20 staff by end-year. Konos can be used as an “Amazon Alexa” for industry, using voice automation to facilitate valuable two-way communication between the operator and the microphone’s location. The diverse range of industry applications is what attracted high-calibre investors to the oversubscribed funding round. The company has identified market opportunities of US1 billion in entertainment and more than $US500 billion for industrial applications. Konos pre-production units are currently being sold and evaluated by select end users, with a larger general release slated for later this year.

PRTG Hosted Monitor capabilities expand to meet global market needs Paessler has expanded the potential of its PRTG Hosted Monitor solution. The monitoring-as-a-service offering is now available across multiple markets with a diverse range of licensing options to ensure all users get the solution best suited to their needs. PRTG Hosted Monitor is a service built on Paessler’s award-winning PRTG Network Monitor. With its widespread functionality in IT monitoring, and easy integration into systems and networks, PRTG solutions enable IT professionals to monitor classic infrastructure, data centre environments and services, and IoT/OT devices at the same time within one tool. PRTG Hosted Monitor offers more than 250 predefined sensors out of the box and is able to monitor any device that has an IP address associated

with it. With its one-platform view and real-time insights, the key benefits of integrating PRTG Hosted Monitor are: • IT monitoring without server hardware – Based on Paessler’s PRTG Network Monitor, this solution doesn’t need to be downloaded nor require a server installation. It is available on-demand and comes with Paessler’s support and maintenance competence thanks to it being hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud Computing Services.

license and choose between monthly or annual payment options. PRTG Hosted Monitor is now available across APAC and for the first time, through Paessler’s channel partners.

• Combine Cloud and IT Infrastructure – Monitor public reachable targets and integrate physical networks all over the world using distributive monitoring techniques. • OpEx instead of CapEx – Full subscription flexibility in payments, licensing and contracts, giving users freedom to change the size of their

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The Circular Economy

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Power your future with clean, renewable energy -Barbara Nebel, CEO thinkstep-anz Every manufacturer needs reliable, affordable energy. The electricity you use, the thermal energy or coal that powers your boilers, the liquid fuels that run your vehicles – energy is one of your business’ most important resources. So, let’s take your energy requirements a step further. Adding ‘clean, renewable energy’ to the list will make your manufacturing operations less dependent on fossil fuels and help avert climate catastrophe. Include a ‘resilient source of energy’ and you’ll help your business withstand potential energy shocks as geo-political tensions grow. Reliable. Affordable. Clean. Renewable. Resilient. That’s a lot to ask of an energy source! Or is it? In this article we show you how to get started – and where to look as you become more ambitious. 1. Start with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The 17 SDGs aim to end poverty, protect the planet, promote prosperity, and ensure peace for all. All 193 UN member states, including New Zealand, have adopted the goals. Based on our thinkstep-anz research, the Climate Change goal (SDG 13) is the top sustainability priority for companies in New Zealand and Australia – and maybe for your manufacturing business too. For many manufacturers, SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) will be another critical goal. SDG 7 and SDG 13 share some common targets: encouraging energy resilience, moving away from fossil fuels, and improving access to clean energy. Tackling either goal is a win for your business, our planet and its people. Operational efficiency + sustainable action together! 2. Understand your energy consumption 100% renewable energy is SDG 7’s holy grail. The share of renewables in New Zealand’s total primary energy supply is currently around 40% (MBIE, 2020). We’re not where we need to be as a country, but every manufacturer can push the market along. Look at your business’s energy use and find ways to reduce it or use energy more efficiently. Where to start? Calculate your carbon footprint (below). But first, a sobering statistic to raise the stakes. According to local energy start-up Vortex Power Systems, approximately 50% of the world’s energy

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Windmill on grass field during golden hour photo credit: Karsten Würth on Unsplash

consumption is lost as waste heat from industrial processes. More on Vortex below. 3. Calculate your carbon footprint This is a good place to start. Your carbon footprint is an inventory of all your Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by source. Scope 1 emissions come from running your business, Scope 2 from the energy you buy, and Scope 3 from your value chain. More on Scope 3 shortly. Compare your emissions with benchmarks for your industry. Then identify your carbon ‘hotspots’. These are the areas of your operations that generate the most carbon. We’re willing to wager that, as manufacturers, your carbon hotspots will be the parts of your business that use the most energy. They’re likely to include your manufacturing process itself and transport to and from your premises. Use your hotspots to review where and how your business uses energy. 4. Reduce your carbon emissions Armed with this knowledge, put a plan in place to reduce the hotspot emissions that come from using energy. Good news: becoming more energy-efficient is good for business, not just the planet. You’ll boost your bottom line and make your business more resilient. 5. Make your business accountable by setting targets The best way to do this is through the Science Based Targets initiative. By setting a Science-based Target (SBT) you can be confident that you’re doing right by the planet. Approved SBTs are backed by the latest climate science. Bonus: with an SBT in place, you can promote your energy-saving efforts publicly. (No marketing greenwash here!) 6. Invest in your own R&D Develop your own energy-efficient products and processes. Your customers will likely thank you. 7. Benefit from others’ R&D There are some interesting start-ups out there. Vortex Power Systems converts low-grade waste heat recovered from thermal processes into clean electricity. The result: lower carbon emissions and greater energy resilience too, with an on-site source

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of power. 8. Be an advocate and procure with SDG 7 in mind Let’s look at electricity. Despite your best intentions, even choosing a supplier that generates its own power from 100% renewables is not enough. That’s because electricity is impossible to track once it enters the national grid. Eighty-four percent comes from a renewable source, but you can’t be sure it’s not the other 16% that’s powering your factory. Where to turn to make a difference? The New Zealand Energy Certificate System (www.certifiedenergy. co.nz) will help you. Here’s how it works: New Zealand Energy Certificates let you ‘reserve’ renewable units of electricity. When you redeem these units from your power retailer (and your retailer redeems them from a generator), you send a clear message on the demand side of the electricity system: renewable energy matters to me. On the supply side, the certificates shine a light on the non-renewable electricity that remains in the electricity pool: where has it come from? Over time, these demand and supply side forces will push generators to produce more renewable electricity. 9. Share your tips Much of your carbon footprint will be Scope 3 (value chain) emissions. As a manufacturer, the raw materials you buy from your suppliers and the finished products you sell to your customers will account for a large share of your Scope 3 emissions. Supply chains are linked. When you lower your Scope 1 and 2 emissions by manufacturing your product in a more energy-efficient way, you help your customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions. Similarly, when a supplier lowers their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, maybe by investing in energy-saving R&D, they help you reduce your Scope 3 emissions. In other words, share the love! If you’ve found a way to reduce your energy use, pass it on within your value chain. Everyone benefits. It’s a shining example of our favourite SDG in action – SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.

Comment Maintaining profitability despite external pressures Those tuned into the state of the market would be aware of the rising cost of materials, threatening companies in the construction and manufacturing sector. In Australia, the past month has seen the fall of two construction companies, Probuild in February, and Condev last week, both attributed to unsustainably high material costs. An Australian Chamber and Westpac Survey of Industrial trends report found that Australian manufacturers are facing cost pressures they haven’t seen since the 1970’s.The same thing is happening here in New Zealand. These rising cost pressures are hampering the manufacturing industry’s post-lock recovery which started to kick off this year with rising orders through the early months of 2022 with rising job numbers a key factor (according to Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan). This is raising concerns over profits, with 5% of survey respondents indicating they expect their profits to increase in the year to come, (down from a net 18% of respondents in the December quarter). Businesses operating on-shore will now be considering how they can continue to operate locally when the cost of goods continues to increase and offshore production may appear to offer a necessary reprieve in financial pressures.

One Australian-made and owned business that is mitigating these issues is the Sydney-based louvre window manufacturing company, Safetyline Jalousie. Safetyline Jalousie’s Founder and Director, Leigh Rust, advises that looking at your spending from a holistic perspective will help to mitigate the pressures of rising material costs. “While we finally thought things were on the up - with a strengthening workforce and increasing orders - the heightened cost of materials is presenting new issues which have to be proactively and strategically navigated,” said Leigh. “We all know that the cost of materials is rising, so rather than waiting for the impact of this to be felt and being left with a reduction of profit, it’s important to proactively prepare for this by looking at spending in other areas of our business. “Doing this within our organisation meant reducing spending on temporarily reducing spending on some marketing efforts, company subscriptions, and general office items. “We’ve also held off on investing in new machinery until things settle back down.

Leigh Rust.

“Going through the process of saving costs involved considering what our ‘non-negotiables’ were, and for us, this was manufacturing onshore with a locally-employed workplace.” “Saving in other areas has allowed us to maintain our on-shore team, production and profitability.” Seeing iconic names in the building industry fall this month should encourage other businesses to consider what changes they can make to save themselves from the same fate.

Control what is made -Simon Ganley, Ganley Engineering Have you ever wondered how manufacturers control what they make so they produce everything to the top of the specification and only use the minimum amount of energy to achieve that? Well, most bulk manufacturers of food and industrial products use sensors that sit in or on the line that measure what is being made to automatically control the process.

ingredients.

Cereals are controlled. Or should be. Nothing worse

The world’s largest French fries maker controls the moisture, oil, colour, bed depth and temperature at the fryer. Other makers produce anything at all.

than variable quality food which is what happens on

And world-wide, NDC Technologies have grown to become the largest suppliers of this technology.

The same goes for potato and corn crisps. The big producers became big because they control what they make. Controlling production provides a fast payback.

the world leader in this type of measurement. The

There is a limit to how long any manufacturer can afford to fill up the scrap bin with substandard product, how long they can waste money on power consumption and how long they can compete with companies who do things properly. So, some of the things we do in NZ and elsewhere, is control the moisture and resin in MDF and particle board. This is done with a succession of sensors that control up at the wet-end and provide total control at the finished product. We control sugar moisture on-line and new developments will see the control of colour and lactose where degrees of brown have been an issue. Developed in NZ, most biscuits are now automatically process controlled with colour and moisture which saves huge amounts of energy, staff time and

For confectionery, we control the layers of syrup when it is sprayed in the pan to make up hard-shell products and for chocolate the top producers control the moisture and cocoa butter. For milk powder, pharmaceuticals and other products made in fluid bed driers, the moisture is controlled so everything is made to the top of the yield. The extra profit and saved energy pays for the technology in days or weeks. Coffee is another product controlled. Typically, the moisture, caffeine and colour. The technology can sit in the line or beside the line. Sensible manufacturers cannot afford to make bad coffee. Amazing how many do. The sensors also control tea.

uncontrolled lines. Fruit moisture testing is becoming automated. NZ is measurements can include moisture, colour, oil and brix or any appropriate combination of these. Fertiliser is a large part of the NZ rural scene. When over-drying, the energy costs are high and product is given away. Under-drying is just trucking un-necessary water around the countryside. Meat process control either on-line or at-line is an important world-wide part of NDC’s business. So, these are just a few common applications we have. Maybe we can help out with others. Just call Ganley Engineering Ltd on 09 42 83426 or visit www.ganleyengineering.co.nz. For an exhaustive trip around what is possible, visit www.ndc.com as they are the manufacturers of this equipment.

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Developments

FEATURES MAY 2022 Issue 25th Diversity Awards NZ™ open for entries

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Entries are open for the 2022 Diversity Awards NZ, which mark the 25th anniversary of this prestigious national awards programme. Diversity Works New Zealand Chief Executive Maretha Smit expects many public and private sector organisations throughout Aotearoa will want the opportunity to showcase the innovative people initiatives and mahi they are doing to build inclusive workplaces by entering this year’s commemorative awards programme.

SUPPLY CHAIN EMEX 2022 PREVIEW

“Last year we introduced some significant changes to the Diversity Awards NZ programme to align with our maturity framework and to celebrate excellence in respect of the specific organisational competencies required to build inclusivity in leaders and teams,” she says.

RENEWABLE ENERGY ENGINEERING & WORKSHOP TOOLS Advertising Booking Deadline – 6 May 2022 Advertising Copy Deadline – 6 May 2022 Editorial Copy Deadline – 6 May 2022

Editorial material to be sent to : 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 morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world. Opinion

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The Ngā Ahuatanga o te Tiriti Tohu replaces the Mātauranga Māori Award of last year. This award will focus specifically on how organisations define their position in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi, and how they equip their workforce to contribute constructively within a bi-cultural work context. It is one of four categories open to entries from the public and private sector – the others are the Leadership Award, the Diverse Talent Award and the Inclusive Workplace Award. Judges can again recognise large organisations with more than 100 employees and small to medium organisations with fewer than 100 employees in each of these four categories. This allows the programme to acknowledge the differences in available resources and approach towards diversity and inclusion based on organisation size. All winners in these categories will be eligible for the Supreme Award. The Impact Award is again open to private sector and charitable organisations whose core business it is to facilitate the provision of more equitable workplace opportunities. Entries close 3pm, Tuesday, 3 May 2022 .For more information on changes to the programme, category definitions, judging criteria and to enter, visit diversityworksnz.org.nz

Engineering New Zealand welcomes regulatory change

Doug Green,

Diary of Events

After reviewing the new format, a few minor tweaks to the programme were made based on the learnings from 2021. One of the main changes this year is that there will be an emphasis on initiatives implemented, as opposed to strategies formulated. “We found that the strongest entries last year were those who could show strategic alignment, yet clearly demonstrated how specific initiatives resulted in improved performance on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) metrics for the organisation in

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Trade Fair World

“The new categories were well received across the motu and we were pleased to see the quality of entries that reflected a more mature approach to workplace diversity, equity and inclusion.”

selected categories.”

Engineering New Zealand welcomes the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s announcements on changes to the way engineers are regulated.

regulation in May 2021. As administrator of the current system, Engineering New Zealand submitted on these proposals after wide consultation with the engineering profession.

The introduction of mandatory registration and licensing will assure the public that all practicing engineers are appropriately qualified and performing services with professional care and skill.

The decisions support Engineering New Zealand’s calls for an occupational regulation system that is simple and works for the whole profession, wider industry and public.

Engineering New Zealand President Rosalind Archer says, “The profession has been calling for strengthened regulation for many years. This is a very positive development.”

Many of the details of the new system are still to be worked through, including decisions on who will manage the new regulatory services. These decisions aren’t expected to be made until after the primary legislation is passed.

In the future all practicing engineers will need to be registered. Engineers working in practice fields that pose a higher risk to life, health, property, economic interests, public welfare or the environment will also need a licence. The current Chartered Professional Engineers register, which is a voluntary mark of competence, will be phased out within six years after the new legislation comes into force. MBIE consulted on proposals for occupational

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Dr Archer says, “Today’s decisions provide a level of certainty, which the profession has long asked for. More importantly, the new regulatory framework will give the public increased confidence that engineers are appropriately qualified, are working within their competency, and can be held to account if things go wrong.” Engineering New Zealand is New Zealand’s professional body for engineers and has some 20,000 members.

The Last Word SAP research finds cultivating curiosity helps Kiwi businesses retain talent A curious workplace culture contributes to attracting and retaining talent, by increasing engagement and reducing burnout among employees SAP has found New Zealand companies that foster a more curious culture* experience major competitive benefits, including higher levels of employee satisfaction and engagement according to new research released today. ‘Capitalising on Curiosity’ , a survey of senior business leaders and employees across Australia and New Zealand, found that employees in New Zealand who work for organisations with a curious culture are much more likely to say they are satisfied in their current role (82 per cent) than those who do not work for curious organisations (46 per cent). Dr Amantha Imber, organisational psychologist and founder of behavioural science consultancy Inventium, says that job satisfaction is affected by how people think and feel about their role. “When people are satisfied in their role at work, they’re more engaged, productive and loyal to the organisation. Those working in curious organisations are more likely to feel their work has purpose and more likely to be more creative and innovative, which results in better performance and better outcomes.”

Curiosity boosts engagement Innovative approaches to ways of work and recruitment are more critical than ever. Eight in ten senior business leaders in New Zealand believe a culture of curiosity is important for their organisation, a number that increases slightly to 82 per cent when factoring in the need to adapt and grow in the current challenging business environment. New Zealanders working at organisations with a curious culture are much more likely say they feel engaged at work in their current role than those who say they work in incurious organisations (84 per cent compared to 49 per cent). And in today’s tight labour market, almost half of employees surveyed (48 per cent) would consider leaving their current role to work for a similar organisation that placed a higher value on curiosity. The rates are highest in younger workers: 57 per cent of Gen Z and Millennial employees would consider a move to seek out a more curious organisation. The research also found clear links between curious organisations and reduced employee burnout. Employees who work for curious organisations are more likely to say they haven’t experienced burnout while working at their current role, compared to employees who do not work for an organisation with a curious culture (44 per cent compared to 29

per cent). David Healy, Chief Digital Officer at Ballance Agri-Nutrients, describes curiosity as a critical factor in the organisation’s success. “The mundane becomes exciting for curious people. They look at things differently, challenge the status quo, and ultimately drive innovation for customers. That’s why we have built curiosity into our culture; we have a number of groups in the business whose role is purely to do curious work,” said Healy. “As we move to a more data-led organisation we’re giving them the tools to keep learning, challenging and being curious.”

Curiosity and data intelligence deliver advantage The research also found that Kiwi employees in more curious companies are better equipped to answer, and more capable of answering, questions using data than those who say their organisation is not curious. Leaders in organisations who claim to have a very curious culture (41 per cent) are almost four times more likely than those who only somewhat agree they have a very curious culture (11%) to strongly believe their employees have the necessary skills to answer questions from organisational data. Employees in curious organisations are much more likely to say that their organisation provides the data and tools needed to enable them to seek out answers (82 per cent) compared to those in incurious organisations (49 per cent). And more of them are comfortable answering questions from organisational data: 81 per cent of employees in curious organisations say they have the necessary skills and confidence versus 66 per cent in those who work for incurious organisations. Adrian Griffin, Managing Director, SAP New Zealand, said: “An organisation’s ability to truly realise the value of technology comes down to how its people use data to gain insights and make decisions. A curious approach, combined with skill and confidence, enables organisations to make bold, creative and ambitious decisions to deliver innovation and competitive advantage. “This understanding and confidence is the key to transformation and success for New Zealand organisations, especially in the current unpredictable business environment.”

Barriers to cultivating a curious culture Despite believing there are positive benefits of having a curious culture, almost nine in 10 (87 per cent) senior business leaders in New Zealand say there are barriers to asking questions and being

Dr. Amantha Imber.

curious in their organisation, while half (53 per cent) admit that talk about encouraging curiosity is not always supported by action. Four out of five employees (79 per cent) across the country feel the same, citing the same major barriers: a lack of reward and recognition for curiosity, a lack of drive due to burnout and too much pressure to deliver on short term goals. Almost half of employees (49 per cent) believe they are not rewarded for their curiosity, two in five (41 per cent) are not given time to be curious at work and over a third (36 per cent) say that asking questions and challenging the status quo is not encouraged within their organisation. Dr Imber says that being able to challenge and debate ideas and assumptions is critical for building a curious culture. “Being curious and asking questions, instead of jumping straight to conclusions, takes time. SAP’s research suggests many New Zealand businesses are not giving employees the time or the space to be curious. “Business leaders who are serious about future proofing their organisation against the current climate of uncertainty need to start role modelling curiosity, giving staff time to explore and experiment, and rewarding curious and creative behaviour within their organisations.”

An organisation’s ability to truly realise the value of technology comes down to how its people use data to gain insights and make decisions.

*For the purposes of the research, a culture of curiosity is defined as an organisational culture where employees are encouraged and enabled to ask questions and seek answers to help organisations run better and meet the needs of their customers, employees and the community.”

To view or download a copy of the full ‘Capitalising on Curiosity’ report which includes top tips for how you and your organisation can start building more curious cultures, please visit https://www.sap.com/australia/documents/2022/03/2c739a17-217e-0010-bca6-c68f7e60039b.html.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2022

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