NZ Manufacturer October 2013 October 2013
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Peventative Maintenance Joel Leonard key note speaker at maintenance conference.
Page 8
Analysis Credibility leap in local steel construction conformance.
Page 26
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www.solidtec.co.nz
The Interview
Ian Wright, CEO,Wrightspeed.
Page 27
NZ-First technology revolutionises manufacturing processes
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aikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) has acquired New Zealand’s first ultra high definition, mass production, liquid resin 3D printer – known as the 3D Systems Projet 6000MP. Wintec’s Research Programmes Manager, Dr Henk Roodt, said through use of the 3D printer his industrial design team is “disrupting” his customers’ design processes …but in a good way. “Our unique three-D printer is what we call, a disruptive technology. Through its use, we are working with companies to radically change, for the better, the way they think about and perform industrial design. “For instance, by using this 3D printer a company no longer designs individual components of a part, produces each small component and then assembles it. Instead, we design and print the entire part all at once – internal working components and all,” said Dr Roodt. Although 3D printing is not new, he said Wintec’s Projet 6000MP is unique to New Zealand. “First, Wintec’s liquid resin printer prints at room temperature using high-strength, high temperature resins. This means we can print parts that can be tested in hot spaces, such as car or aircraft applications. In fact, the resin is so robust the printed part can be used in a finished product.
Dr Henk Roodt with 3D printer
“And the second characteristic that makes our printer unique is that it’s fast. In less than 24 hours we can take a customers’ prototype drawing, translate it into a computer model, print it and deliver it into their hands,” said Dr Roodt. Award-winning company, Stainless Design, is Wintec’s first
customer to gain access to the said access to Wintec’s 3D printer printer and take a prototype design “revolutionised” the company’s through to commercialisation. previous design processes by Wintec’s industrial design team integrating 3D prototype drawing helped Stainless Design develop capabilities with a state-of-the-art a component for a nano brewing manufacturing process. machine the company manufactured It also saved the company for a beer brewery. thousands of dollars and up to six Company director, John Cook, weeks in manufacturing time.
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
CONTENTS Advisors
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DEPARTMENTS
18 19 20 22 23 25 26 28 29 30
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Is the Manager of the Maintenance and Reliability Centre, Manukau Institute of Technology.
LVR limits part of the new normal. New Zealand projects win in Barcelona.
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
Key Maintenance Engineering Conference speaker announced.
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Page 5 – BUSINESS NEWS – Bringing ideas to life.
Craig Carlyle
• Reverse engineering with 3D measurement. • Vortex high-speed roughing strategy in FeatureCAM.
Craig Carlyle is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Society and the Event Director of the National Maintenance Engineering Conference.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Risky business – the dangers of poor health and safety processes.
WORKSHOP TOOLS
• Improving Visibility into Total Costs. • New handheld conductivity meter. • Counterfeiting –Beware the imitators. • Encoder for phased array inspections.
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Catherine Beard
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Page 7 – MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY – Van runs on electricity.
Is Executive Director of Export NZ and Manufacturing, divisions of Business NZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy group, representing businesses of all sizes.
DEVELOPMENTS
• Steel industry seeks changes to payments. • New orders keep manufacturing on track. • The seed-y side of engineering design.
THE INTERVIEW
Larry Wiechern talks about job opportunities.
WAIKATO FOCUS
Brian Willoughby Page 24 – THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING – NASA sending 3D printer into space.
• Work placement supervisors rewarded.. • Student-built robot at design show.
DEVELOPMENTS
LEAN MANUFACTURING
What’s missing from your Lean initiative? Advanced hydraulics library for MapleSim.
ANALYSIS
Credibility leap in local steel construction conformance.
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.
Robust new Standards system a ‘must have’.
THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
➡
Is president of the NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association and managing director of Contex Engineers and Plinius Audio.
Page 28 – FOOD MANUFACTURING – Worldleading technology for food industry.
Professor John Raine ➡ Is Head of the School of Engineering and Pro Vice Chancellor – Innovation and Enterprise at the Auckland University of Technology.
FOOD MANUFACTURING
New building brings extra efficiency for exporter.
ENERGY REPORT
LanzaTech partners for development of process technology.
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14 16
Larry Wiechern
OPINION
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6 7 8 10
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PRODUCTIVITY
• Business sentiment holds back productivity. • MPI initiative to boost industry partnership a success.
Page 31 – REAR VIEW – Letting Standards Slip.
Bruce Goldsworthy
An advocate for NZ manufacturing for 40 years, he was Chief Executive of the Auckland Manufacturers Association for seven years He has been Manager of EMA’s Advocacy and Manufacturing Services, and lately manager for Export New Zealand in the north.
SOLIDWORKS 2014 LAUNCH
SAVE THE DATE LIVE EVENTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Register Now
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
EDITORIAL Publisher
Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd, 1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.
MANAGING Editor
Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
CONTRIBUTORS
Wolfgang Scholz, John Walley, Craig Carlyle, Bruce Goldsworthy, Larry Wiechern, Ian Wright, Stephen Hicks.
ADVERTISING
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Dan Browne E: dan@membrana.co.nz
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Vol. 4 No. 9 October 2013 Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.
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The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them. – George Bernard Shaw
Manufacturing sector in expansion
S
o much going on. There was Morgo, full of ideas in Queenstown. There have been business awards, meetings for designers, industry visits in the Waikato and the best of all... the manufacturer in his factory getting on and meeting client orders.
One inspiring example of this is the company Seedling (Page 5) which makes innovative products for children. And unlike Dell computers which take its laptop components from in different parts of the world, Seedling has everything under one roof. Componentry, manufacturing, quality control through to despatch. What started out as a small venture in 2006 now has Seedling manufacturing more than 350 products – curious, imaginative toys that allow kids to be creative. Well done Seedling! We also look at health issues (Page 14) – Telarc is concerned about the dangers of poor health and safety processes and how management and directors are responsible for these practices. New government initiatives currently give high priority to health and safety in the work place and an ill wind will blow in the company where these initiatives are ignored or not put into practice properly. Mark Lawlor, an employment law partner talks about the responsibility and the need for practicable steps to be taken to ensure the safety of workers and asks the question, “Can an employer be held accountable for the unforeseeable?” Its mostly good news. GDP is predicted to reach 2.5% in 2014 and currently continuing high levels of new orders are keeping the manufacturing section in expansion. With the seasonally adjusted PMI at 54.3 in September things are okay and now you can throw in the word ‘consistently’. So you know where your company can be (or go) if it has the right product. You can see that there is real interest for our manufactured goods on export markets to grow your company – and to add impetus to national GDP. Doesn’t that give you confidence? The dollar is high – not good for some, but through the economic storm we had been riding markets kept on demanding New Zealand made goods. Now, what can be wrong with that?
Doug Green
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
One of the marks of successful people is they are action oriented. One of the marks of average people is they are talk oriented. – Brian Tracy
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BUSINESS NEWS
Bringing ideas to life
n this globalised business environment it isn’t unusual for businesses to base different parts of their operation in different parts of the city, country or world. Not Seedling. Every part of their business is based at their Lady Ruby Drive headquarters and it seems to be working for them. Named as a finalist in the New Zealand International Business Awards in 2013, Seedling creates inspirational products for children aged 3 through to their tweens. And that’s not just marketing speak for toys, founder and CEO Phoebe Hayman describes what they do as “DIY for kids”. They’re kind of craft kits that allow children to get creative. It all started when, as a mother of a preschooler, Hayman was disappointed by the toys available. They were full of lights and sounds and usually made of plastic that was not intended to last. “I just didn’t understand why kids were given such low-quality tools. Why couldn’t we give children real tools?” She created a small number of kits at home at the end of 2006, intending them to be more engaging for children. They were popular enough to start a company in early 2007 and now the company creates a range of more than 350 products that cross a wide range of areas: from sewing to art, games to adventure. “These aren’t paint by numbers kits,” Hayman explains. “They’re curious, imaginative toys that allow kids to be really creative and bring their own ideas to life. From a parent’s perspective, if they want something different for their kids, they don’t have to spend the extra time coming up with a creative
Two-thirds of their income may come from export markets, but Seedling is firmly an East Tamaki business.
Phoebe Hayman
concept for their children and then finding the tools to make it.” It turns out that New Zealand parents weren’t the only ones looking for more engaging toys for their kids. Seedling now exports to 20 countries and their biggest markets are Australia, the US and the UK followed by a number of European countries and Asia. And every single toy is manufactured here in East Tamaki, something that, in itself, gives them point of difference. “We’ve been in the area for five years and we’re now in our second property. For us it’s about location, especially the proximity to the
motorway, which gives us easy access to the airport and all areas of Auckland. There are great facilities for our staff, as well as for the business. There’s a real community feel in terms of the business community and we enjoy being part of it.” Hayman says the process involved in entering the New Zealand International Business Awards was a great opportunity to really have a look at who they are and what they’re doing. “It’s a good snapshot,” she says. “We have a great plan around international business because that’s our future. We are flexible
and adaptable, our growth has been fantastic and it relies on a number of different markets rather than just one.”
– NZ Manufacturer
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
OPINION
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you...till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then for that is just the place and time, that the tide will turn ... and the tide always turns, doesn’t it? – Anon.
LVR limits part of the new normal
T
he implementation of loan to value “speed limits” by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has stimulated a good deal of media comment. From first home buyers who now need to save a higher deposit, to Labour vowing to make an exemption for first home buyers and regional exemptions, as well as banks seeing direct limits on their ability to write more and more debt. While this criticism is understandable for those who now feel the additional restrictions, this prudential activity is highly important and part of the new thinking for central bankers around the world. Some continue to see prudential controls as separate and distinctly targeted at financial stability but many others see interest rates and prudential intervention as complimentary. Indeed the RBNZ has said the “speed limits” might be equivalent to a 0.3% increase in interest rates, while John Key suggested a higher estimate of 0.5%. The other principle advantages of “speed limits” over changes to the OCR is the policy can be targeted directly at the asset bubble problem, without creating more pressure on the exchange rate that would likely follow an interest rate increase. In New Zealand the RBNZ is clear that first and foremost the intention of this policy is to support financial stability, even a modest fall in asset prices would leave those who are highly leveraged (high loan to value ratio mortgages) in negative equity, owing more than the asset is worth. This can lead to defaults, putting pressure on the stability on the financial system; this was exactly what we saw with the Global Financial Crisis, particularly in the U.S. The introduction of these restrictions on high loan to value ratios (LVR) helps to stem this risk by directly limiting the amount of risky debt that can be taken, helping to slow the growth of the borrowing generally, and particularly that borrowing that is highly leveraged and vulnerable to asset price reductions. This introduction is also an attempt at curbing New Zealand’s asset price inflation generally,
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especially in Auckland and Christchurch which have seen the highest level of growth. There are broader issues, the housing market has not responded well to demand and the deeply embedded investment incentives and culture of housing speculation in New Zealand. Housing is seen as a relatively low risk, highreturn investment, driven by the expectation that prices will always rise over time and in the end return a tax free capital gain. There is no future for an economy that sees more debt supporting higher asset prices, a successful economy must produce. The imbalances need to be targeted in order to incentivise more investment in productive activity and ultimately a more sustainable and prosperous economy. Around the world, since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) we have seen a divergence from the accepted best practise of one target (inflation), one lever (policy rate) monetary policy. The GFC taught us that stable inflation alone does not guarantee economic success and financial stability. These ideas are covered by Economist Olivier Blanchard, in the first chapter of “In the Wake of the Crisis”. Some believe now we have two main targets, price stability, targeted through using the policy rate, and financial stability, targeted through prudential tools, such as bank reserve requirements, LVR limits etc. Following this view is the belief that these two can be targeted separately. But the problem with this thinking is it ignores how related the two targets are, and that the possible tools have effects on both targets and other important areas such as the exchange rate. Blanchard makes the case that future monetary policy will be more complex, targeted at specific problems in the economy and made up of many targets and many instruments. This means looking into how these tools can work together to achieve an inflation target, financial stability, while also taking into consideration other very important targets, such as the exchange rate, asset prices, debt levels and the unemployment rate. This is clearly where the world’s
central banks are moving, with the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan all using measures and targets previously viewed as highly unconventional. In New Zealand, the Reserve Bank has made moves to protect
Some believe now we have two main targets, price stability, targeted through using the policy rate, and financial stability, targeted through prudential tools.
By John Walley
New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association Chief Executive our financial stability, with changes to banks capital adequacy requirements, and recently the LVR limits. This is a step in the right direction and is the right thing to do given the debt fuelled asset price inflation. But looking forward, there are more targets and prudential tools which can be adopted, particularly to give the RBNZ the ability to tackle our overvalued exchange rate. If the RBNZ chooses to increase the OCR to deal with inflation pressures this will have the effect of appreciating our exchange rate, putting further pressure on exporters and import competing manufacturers, which directly hits their margins and competiveness. This is a serious trade off which the RBNZ must consider, and is a compelling reason for more tools to tackle these issues together, adopting the mindset outlined by Blanchard; many targets and many instruments.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
If it wasn’t difficult - it wouldn’t be worth doing. – Sir Peter Blake
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Mechanical engineering students, from left, Tom-John Nelis, Richard Xie, Mark Shimanski and Nathan Dibley in the van they converted to run on electricity.
A
Van runs on electricity
University of Waikato van will be silently making its way around campus after four fourth year mechanical engineering students removed its internal combustion engine and replaced it with an electric motor. The van was originally powered by a 1.3 litre petrol engine but as part of a year-long Honours project, Nathan Dibley, Mark Shimanski, Richard Xie and Tom-John Nelis repowered it with an electric motor which is capable of a top speed of about 106km/h and a distance of 120 km on one charge. The van will be used around the university campus and fleet manager John Ireland says it will be interesting to see what sort of savings are achieved. “We’ll get it painted up and looking good so we can promote what they’ve done,” he says. What the students have done is replace the engine with a 70kW continuous DC brushless electric motor, controller and batteries. Apart from removing the engine, petrol tank and exhaust, they have designed a system for coupling the electric motor to the gearbox, installed a Hamilton-built motor controller and designed a battery
enclosure that meets New Zealand’s electric vehicle requirements When complete, it will have 95 cells producing about 300 volts. Dibley says there are lots of benefits for electric vehicles, particularly in city driving. “We think it’s an untapped
market for utility vehicles, courier vehicles things like that,” he says. The students have worked out it will take 4-5 years of use for the cost of converting it to electricity to pay off, but the further it drives the faster the payback. Their supervisor, Dr Mike Duke,
says the students have done an excellent job getting the electric van operational in one year. “There is a lot of interest in the commercial viability of electric van conversions and we plan to research its performance to determine the economic benefits.”
New Zealand projects win in Barcelona
N
ew Zealand has won two oneoff Awards of Merit and a prestigious company award at the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Centenary Awards held in Barcelona, Spain. FIDIC represents global consulting engineering interests in over 90 countries. Two Auckland projects, the Britomart Transport Centre and Newmarket Viaduct Replacement Project, were among the 23 Awards of Merit announced. Over 97 projects from all over the world were entered and judged against a number of criteria including international recognition, technical excellence, innovation, how well they have endured, and their sustainability.
FIDIC awarded Trophies of Excellence for projects, and to a small number of individual firms, for having made a significant contribution over the past 100 years of engineering, with New Zealand’s Opus International Consultants being honoured as a winner. ACENZ is a FIDIC member and represented New Zealand at the conference and awards ceremony
and is proud to congratulate these New Zealand projects and contributing companies for their now world renowned success in engineering. Both the Britomart Transport Centre and Newmarket Viaduct Replacement Project have previously won Gold Awards at the ACENZ Innovate Annual Awards of Excellence.
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are today. – Robert H. Schuller
Joel Leonard keynote speaker at Maintenance Engineering Conference
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he National Maintenance Engineering Conference is being held in Rotorua from 1314 November. Joel Leonard, US Workforce and Maintenance Advocate is the keynote speaker: The average age of hundreds of thousands of maintenance people across the globe is 52. Members of the boomer generation have started to retire, leaving empty maintenance positions unfilled. Companies are facing a challenge in finding qualified workers to fill these vacancies. With no one to fix broken pipes, frayed wires, aging equipment, and few who understand how to support modern automation technologies, nations are finding themselves in what Joel Leonard has coined, “The Maintenance Crisis.” Joel has travelled the globe to elevate workforce performance. Over the last several years, he has helped support the growth and expansion of the 11-county region surrounding Fort Bragg by coaching the eight local community college presidents. Joel introduced numerous workshops, new industry certifications and technologies into that region. Most notably, Goodyear reports that by attending his classes, the company has saved more than $2,000,000 by conserving energy costs. Also he has spearheaded new workforce development programs to help un and under employed workers land high paying skilled positions. A former vice-president of the Association for Facilities Engineering, Joel is taking the lead internationally in identifying, explaining and helping to solve the problem. His creative strategies to build awareness have included holding job fairs specific to the maintenance industry.
KEVIN KEVANY
As a result of his efforts, Joel was appointed to the United States Council on Competitiveness, a national think-tank whose purpose is to work with legislators and the White House to inform policy decisions that lead to effective strategies for economic development. Internationally, corporate and governmental leaders are seeking Joel’s advice, He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, CNBC and numerous affiliates around the globe. In 2007, he founded SkillTV. net, the first on-line television network dedicated to helping build awareness of and offering solutions to the “Maintenance Crisis.” Programming includes interviews with congressional leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, educators, engineers and maintenance technicians in the US, Canada and abroad. In 2008, Joel received the Gold Award for his column in Plant Services Magazine from the American Society of Business
09 520 5206 kevwrite@xtra.co.nz www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
PETER ISSAC
06 340 8134 peter.isaac@xtra.co.nz
Publications Editors. He writes for MaintWorld Magazine out of Helsinki, Finland and contributes regularly to the Strategic Asset Management Newsletter out of Australia and Uptime Magazine out of Fort Myers, Florida. Joel has often presented at and been the keynote speaker at national and international conventions since 1998. In 2008, he was the first American to deliver the opening address at the Euro Maintenance Conference in Belgium, a meeting attended by governmental and corporate leaders from 51 nations. He was the first American Chairman of the Middle East Maintenance Managers Conference in Dubai in 2008. His songs, “The Maintenance Crisis” and “Find Me a Maintenance Woman,” have been played on National Public Radio and downloaded more than 300,000 times. In 2012 Leonard was appointed Chairman of the National Defense Manufacturing Workforce Committee.
DAVID BURKE-KENNEDY 09 473 8635 dbk@compublicity.co.nz
ABOUT
The New Zealand National Maintenance Engineering Conference is the jewel in the crown for the maintenance engineering and engineering supply community. With a history dating back to 2002, this conference is legendary for delivering beyond expectations for all quarters. The conference has a stable management history, demonstrating remarkable growth even in tough times. The conferences success is no secret, Created and managed by industry leading engineers who understand what drives real engineers in the real world, this event cuts no bones about losing ties and attitudes, breaking down barriers and getting real people talking to each other about their experiences and solutions. All attendees, speakers and exhibitors are regarded as valid components of the overall industry and are invited to attend and participate in the forum sessions.
SANDRA LUKEY 021 2262 858
sandra@shinegroup.co.nz
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Reverse Engineering with 3D Measurement R
A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. – Anon
everse engineering is the process of duplicating an existing product without the aid of drawings, documentation, or computer models. In ordinary engineering, the product designer creates a drawing showing how an object is to be built, and then the object is manufactured by following the design drawing. In reverse engineering, the steps are inverted. First, engineers identify the system components and their interrelationships. The object is taken apart to discover its structure, function, and operation. Duplication of the part is enabled by capturing physical dimensions, features, and material properties. Next, a CAD drawing or other representation of the system is created. Then a reproduction of the original system is accurately created based on that drawing.
Why reverse engineering is needed
A common scenario in which reverse engineering is needed is as follows: a company has a machine. A part fails and a replacement part is needed. But the manufacturer has discontinued the machine and no longer makes parts for it. The machine owner can reverse engineer a replacement part from the failed part, preventing the machine from going out of service. Reverse engineering can shortcut product development time. It quickly captures a product in 3D digital form and exports the data for rapid prototyping, tooling, or manufacturing. There are many other situations in which reverse engineering can be used: • Substituting an original part design that has inadequate or no documentation available. • Redesigning a part to eliminate a bad feature or to reinforce good features. • Analysing competitor products. • Supporting new modifications where original CAD models cannot.
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• Updating obsolete products with current technology.
• Updating
or creating as-built documentation.
• Supplying
a part with little downtime that is mission-critical to a system, reproduced in large quantities, or reflects a big investment.
• Performing fine element analysis
or computational fluid dynamics on parts for which no design information is available.
How objects are measured for reverse engineering
To reverse engineer an object, you need to know its physical dimensions. Unless the dimensions are extremely precise, the reverse engineered product will not be an accurate reproduction of the original and may not function. Parts may be measured carefully by hand using callipers, micrometers, and other similar tools. In modern reverse engineering, a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) can measure the geometry of an object faster and more accurately than these traditional hand tools. A typical CMM measures three orthogonal axes, X, Y, and Z, operating in a 3D coordinate system. Each axis has a scale that indicates the position of a point on that axis. CMMs use touch probes to record points as the probe contacts the surface of the part being measured. Points are measured one at a time until the CMM collects enough data for the software to determine lengths, diameters, angles, and other geometric elements. The machine reads input from the touch probe as directed by the operator or software. Then the XYZ coordinates of each point are used to determine size and position. A CMM can measure dimensions either through contact with the object or with a laser scanner. The point cloud collected is converted into surfaces. This measurement data is then exported to a CAD
package for refinement, analysis, and generation of cut tool paths for CAM.
Portable CMMs
3D measurement arms are portable CMMs that operate much in same manner as traditional CMMs in that they determine and record the location of a probe in 3D space and report the results through software. One of the main benefits of a portable CMM over a traditional, or fixed, CMM is portability. Portable CMMs are considerably smaller and lighter and can therefore be taken to the part needing inspection. This removes the need to take the part to the CMM and minimizes machine downtime and quality bottlenecks. Furthermore, portable CMMs do not require the controlled temperature conditions that traditional CMMs demand. Portable CMMs are also easier to use and substantially less expensive than traditional CMMs. A laser line scanner can be attached to a measurement arm to allow for non-contact measurement. A laser scanner can quickly capture data to create a point cloud of millions of points of data that can be used to create a CAD file. The benefits of adding a laser scanning probe to a measurement arm include not only the speed in collecting large amounts of data, but also the ease-of-use and lower risk of impacting a part during measurement. The FARO ScanArm is a portable CMM ideally suited for reverse engineering applications. Noncontact measurement is usually a faster way to inspect and measure parts, and industry as a whole is moving away from hard probing toward laser scanning. One key advantage of laser scanning is that soft, deformable, and complex shapes can be easily inspected without coming into contact with the part. The core of the system is the FaroArm, an articulating measurement arm that captures dimensional data by hard probing the surface being measured. With contact measurement repeatability up to .024mm and accuracy up to ±.034mm, the FaroArm weighs 11.3kg or less. A FARO Laser Line Probe (LLP) can be combined with the FaroArm to add laser scanning capability to the ScanArm. The advantage of the LLP is that the laser probe is small enough to remain attached to the ScanArm so the system can operate as a contact (hard probing) or noncontact (scanning) device without
any alterations to the machine itself. The FARO LLP is the smallest and lightest laser probe on the market today, weighing less than half a pound. Measurements are accurate up to 35µm (+0.0014 inch). That accuracy, combined with light weight, means the user can perform reverse engineering functions without fatigue. A triangulation process is used to find the position of objects in 3D space. A laser stripe emitted by a diode is projected onto the surface being measured. A camera looks at the laser stripe from a known angle and determines the location for each point on the line. High frame rates and high resolution image sensors improve scanning speed and produce high-density point clouds capable of detecting finer details. A major advantage of the FARO ScanArm is that it is a portable solution. They system can easily be carried to the part or machine to be measured. Operating temperature range is 50 to 140o F. Fixed CMMs, by comparison, are large machines that require their own specialised air conditioned rooms to strictly control temperature and conditions. Because the fixed CMM is immobile, objects to be measured must be transported to and from the inspection area, which can present a challenge depending on weight and size.
Reverse engineering success stories
The Andretti Autosport team has the most wins of any Indy car team. To make sure each race car leaves the shop with the same design set-up specifications, the Andretti team reverse engineers sanctioned parts and carbon fibre components for their cars. They use the FARO ScanArm to scan incoming parts and the entire race car assembly for proper set-up. Having FARO in-house enables Andretti technicians to measure and inspect parts, scan models, and verify set-ups. It also eliminates the time and expense of paying outside service providers to do their reverse engineering measurements. Trinity Forge is a closed-die forging plant that specialises in complex shapes in a wide variety of sizes. To meet the stringent specifications of their customers, Trinity uses the FARO ScanArm daily to inspect to reverse engineer products that may not have prints or legacy data available. The speed at which they can now operate is a great value to the company.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
It always seems impossible until it’s done. – Nelson Mandela
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Vortex high-speed roughing strategy in FeatureCAM
T
he Vortex high-efficiency area clearance strategy has been added to the latest release of the FeatureCAM featurebased CAM system. Vortex was introduced initially as the key enhancement for the 2014 version of Delcam’s PowerMILL software for high-speed and five-axis machining. For full details, including video demonstrations of the new functionality, and to download an evaluation version, please go to www.delcam.tv/fc2014. Vortex, for which Delcam has a patent pending, has been developed specifically to gain the maximum benefit from solid carbide tooling, in particular those designs that can give deeper cuts by using the full flute length as the cutting surface. It can be used for two- and three-axis roughing, three-plus-two-axis area clearance and for rest machining based on stock models or reference toolpaths. The strategy will be supplied at no additional charge to FeatureCAM customers on maintenance with the appropriate licenses. Twoaxis Vortex functionality will be
included for customers that have the FeatureRECOGNITION module, whereas Vortex for Z-level roughing will be able to be used by customers that have the FeatureMILL 3D HSM high-speed machining module. Assuming that they have one of these base products, Vortex can also be used for three-plus-two roughing by users with the positional five-axis programming option and on millturn equipment by customers with the FeatureTURNMILL module. Like other Delcam roughing strategies, Vortex toolpaths are calculated to give more efficient machining by following the shape of the part and by keeping air moves to a minimum. This is particularly important for rest machining operations. The benefits of using the Vortex strategy will vary depending on a number of factors, including the material and shape being cut, and the machine tool and cutting tools being used. A series of trials run by Delcam on different machine tools within its Advanced Manufacturing Facility has shown that a time saving of at least 40% is not untypical, with the biggest percentage savings being
found when cutting tool steel on a Huron machine with SGS Z-Carb MD cutters. The cycle time for the sample part was reduced from 121 minutes to 34 minutes, a reduction of 71%. Other examples included a reduction of 67% when cutting a number of pockets in a stainless steel part, a 63% time saving on a titanium part and a 58% saving when cutting an aluminium component. One fundamental problem with conventional area-clearance strategies is that the optimum cutting conditions only occur during a straight-line cut. Any internal corners within the model significantly increase the engagement angle of the cutter. To protect the cutter, this increase needs to be balanced by setting a lower feed rate. The user then has the choice of using this lower rate over the whole toolpath, which increases the machining time, or varying the feeds and speeds as the cutter moves around the model and so increasing wear on the cutter. Unlike other high-speed roughing techniques that aim to maintain a constant theoretical
metal-removal rate, the Vortex strategy produces toolpaths with a controlled engagement angle for the complete operation. This maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the entire toolpath that would normally be possible only for the straight-line moves. As a result, the cutting time will be shorter, while cutting will be undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and feed rate, so protecting the machine. Because Vortex toolpaths have a controlled engagement angle, tools should never be overloaded and so will achieve the maximum tool life. Shock loading caused by changes in the contact angle is minimised, preventing chipping of the flutes. In addition, the stability of the cutting conditions gives more consistent edge temperatures, so prolonging the life of the tool coating and removing heat damage to the surface of the part. Finally, the ability to use stepdowns of up to two, or even three times, the tool diameter spreads the tool wear evenly over the cutting surface of the tool, again contributing to longer tool life.
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
HEALTH & SAFETY
Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential. – John Maxwell
Risky business – the dangers of poor health and safety processes
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ith new government initiatives placing health and safety in the workplace as a top priority, businesses are more at risk than ever of facing fines and prosecution should a worker be injured in the workplace. It has never been more important to ensure that your business has effective systems in place to ensure the safety of your employees, contractors and stakeholders, as well as protect yourself from risk and liability. After a worksite explosion that killed one worker and cost another his legs, Watercare was fined $81,000 and ordered to pay $315,000 in reparations to the victims and their families – an enormous $400,000 in total. For a smaller business, this would have spelled the end. Recent events like the tragedy at the Pike River Mine and the Watercare explosion have highlighted the need for stricter regulations and have prompted
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the government to create a new, independent department called Worksafe, which puts more of an emphasis on monitoring workplace practices. Under new legislation that will be unveiled shortly, directors and management are responsible for health and safety practices, and could be prosecuted in the case of negligence. If it is shown that
Directors and management are responsible for health and safety practices, and could be prosecuted in the case of negligence.
they have turned a blind eye, not responded to issues or haven’t followed procedures, it’s not only the company at risk, but individuals themselves. Most medium to large businesses already have some type of health and safety processes in place, but often don’t keep them up to date or maintained, while many small businesses simply don’t have health and safety processes at all. A three-step process can be undertaken to ensure that your business is following requirements and providing a safe workplace for employees. Step one is to have an independent health and safety governance review undertaken, by an auditing body such as Telarc, this involves auditing Directors and key staff, Based on the IoD (institute of directors) Diagnostic questioner in to determine if Directors and management are doing are fulfilling their responsibilities. Step two involves an in-depth
Gap analysis of your systems. This will uncover any holes that need to be plugged, and offer suggestions for how to improve your processes. Step three is to gain formal certification, which requires an annual audits. This will ensure that your business has ongoing compliance with international standards, and reduce your risk liability should any injuries be sustained by workers. Craig Smith, CEO of Telarc, New Zealand’s largest auditing body and leaders in health and safety, has very simple words for those who are considering having their health and safety practices audited – “Obviously, do it. It’s an excellent tool for ensuring you’re compliant with legislation, and ensuring that all your stakeholders are safe.” Mitigating and reducing the risks facing your business has never been so important. Don’t put the future of your company in jeopardy – improve your health and safety processes now.
Can an employer be held accountable for the unforeseeable?
mployers face prosecution if they fail to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees while at work. However, the employer is unlikely to be held liable when it can be shown that, even if all such steps were taken, this is unlikely to have prevented the serious and unanticipated harm. A court ruled that the company that employed Auckland security guard Charanpreet Dhaliwal could not be held accountable for his death. CNE Security was charged with failing to adequately ensure Mr Dhaliwal’s safety, but in a judgment released by the Waitakere District Court, the company was found not guilty. Mr Dhaliwal was killed in November 2011 on his first night on the job as a static security officer at a base campsite for workers engaged on an interchange development. The case, brought by the Ministry of Business Innovation, looked at the extent to which CNE was responsible for the death. The site where Mr Dhaliwal died was regarded by both CNE and site controllers Fulton Hogan as low risk.
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CNE had not been fully informed about previous incidents on-site and although it was his first day, Mr Dhaliwal was an experienced guard who had previously done work that was more difficult compared to the basic work of a static guard. It is possible the result might be different if an employee had little or no previous experience - especially if the employer was aware of previous serious incidents on the site as the of risk of harm could be much greater. THE FACTS CNE was engaged by Fulton Hogan Ltd to provide security at the site, which contained port-acoms, a few containers and various construction equipment. The site had experienced several break-ins at night. The static security guard was to perform hourly checks of the buildings and gates, with a log to be completed in one of the port-a-coms. Mr Dhaliwal called the owner of CNE to seek work and was told he would be contacted if there was any work available. A few weeks later, CNE called Mr Dhaliwal and asked him to work that night, as another employee needed the night off. He accepted and agreed to meet the CNE’s owner on-site at 10.30pm.
By Mark Lawlor and Jessica Lapthorne
Mark Lawlor is a specialist employment law partner at Duncan Cotterill in Auckland and Jessie Lapthorne is an associate.
When Mr Dhaliwal arrived he was provided with the site keys, a high-visibility vest and a business card containing the owner’s 0800 number so he could be contracted throughout the night. He was then walked around the premises by another employee, showing him the keys for the gate and port-a-coms, how to set and unset the alarm, the boundaries and how to complete the log book. The employee then took Mr Dhaliwal’s mobile number to pass on to the owner and left. That was last anyone heard from Mr Dhaliwal. He was found dead at approximately 3.30am by a Fulton Hogan employee. THE DECISION The MBIE informant inspector suggested two practicable steps CNE could have taken to ensure
the safety of its staff. First, ensuring its security officers received appropriate induction and site training and second, having an effective procedure to monitor CNE’s staff. Judge Tremewan accepted that, given that there were no potentially hazardous construction or building issues and no restricted areas onsite, it could be properly regarded as a low risk site. She also held that the comparatively minor incidents did not indicate that a physical confrontation was a likely risk. Ultimately, the Judge decided that even if CNE had taken the steps suggested by the MBIE informant, these would not have made any difference to what occurred. The Council of Trade Unions is seeking to appeal the decision.
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
WORKSHOP TOOLS
He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. – Henry David Thoreau
Manufacturer’s - Improving Visibility into Total Costs
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mong manufacturers, total cost visibility is the holy grail of direct materials sourcing. It is recognised as the number one improvement opportunity for strategic sourcing and supply chain professionals across the manufacturing industry. Total cost visibility is a complex challenge, yet one that can be mastered when you properly align people, process, and technology. A clear understanding of total cost provides a competitive advantage. Such insight leads to higher margins, more successful new product introductions, and more stable supplier relationships. Manufacturers need to leverage a deeper understanding of total cost to negotiate the optimal price for guaranteed capacity,lower supplier risk, and the right level of quality. In short, improving total cost visibility leads to better sourcing decisions. For many manufacturers, component costs account for a significant portion of total cost. One of the most critical steps of enhancing visibility is to make sure suppliers provide detailed breakdowns of component costs. The more a supplier aggregates, the more likely they may be trying to hide additional margin. Careful examination of this area can pay big dividends during negotiations. Also be sure to ask for clarity around component costs tied to commodity indices or other market factors. And don’t be afraid to ask the supplier to spell out their profit margin. If they are seeking to establish a true win/win relationship, they will be willing to share this information.
Transit costs
Costs associated with getting the components into your plant can vary greatly from supplier to supplier. A supplier on the other side of the globe may have a cheaper piece price, but when you factor in the expense of bringing the parts to your plant, they may actually cost more. One of the interesting aspects of transit is that you have the ability to make your own shipping arrangements, shifting the cost from the supplier to another party. Best-in-class manufacturers can often secure more favourable pricing when they drive the terms with transportation companies and the other 3rd parties involved along the way.
Finance costs
You usually need help from finance to determine the impact of these factors on cost. These can include working capital costs related to the amount of inventory you need to carry based www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
on the lead time associated with the suppliers you choose, as well as factoring in the strength of the dollar. The best-in-class manufacturers have discovered that finance costs can be critical to the final decision of which suppliers to select, as well as playing a more important role in strategic decisions regarding make vs. buy, re-shoring, etc.
Compliance costs
These are costs that are generated due to efforts to conform to legislation or regulation. Such expenses often include headcount hired specifically for compliance activities, costs associated with data collection and reporting, and any fines that resulted from compliance issues. Others include ITAR, REACH, RoHS, and carbon or sustainability reporting.
Cost of poor quality (COPQ)
The cost of poor quality is equal to the cost of internal failures plus the cost of external failures. COPQ can be a critical piece of the puzzle as it may be better to spend more on better quality components rather than to have to cover COPQ costs. Note that the cost components (e.g., warranty claims, inspection, etc.) do not include lost sales, lost customers, reputation damage, and brand erosion. It isn’t just the product P&L that may suffer, but the top line of the company as well. Develop a roadmap to collect the detailed cost information for any given sourcing project. Data collection is no easy task. You are dealing with numerous suppliers and third-parties, as well as multiple internal departments and systems. Your roadmap will be
implemented in phases over time. One key to success is determining which factors you need to focus on first in order to help improve your near- term decision making. The priorities can be different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some may not have involved their finance department to understand inventory and working capital costs. Others are not collecting enough detailed information from suppliers. Roadmap development should not be done in a vacuum. Create a crossfunctional team of engineering, sourcing, logistics, finance, etc. Create a simple template that will be used during the first round of the quoting process to assess supplier competitiveness. Then narrow the list of suppliers and complete the quoting process with the detailed total cost template. The detailed template should be segmented into fields that the supplier will complete (e.g., component, transit, etc.) and fields that you will primarily complete (e.g., finance, compliance, COPQ costs). In some cases you may choose to give suppliers visibility into the fields you complete in order to provide selective feedback that can be used in negotiations. Two challenges are often encountered when using detailed quoting templates. First, some suppliers will refuse to provide the visibility you have requested. The solution is to give them little choice. make it clear that not completing the template will remove them from consideration for the business. Second, if you do not have the right tools to help enable the direct materials sourcing process, your staff may get bogged down in spreadsheet chaos. In today’s global sourcing environment, eSourcing automation tools are becoming a must. Such tools eliminate the need
for combining spreadsheets and building you own analysis. The hours you spend compiling data can be used for more strategic sourcing activities. Overlay the internal costs. Here, working with other departments, especially finance,is critical. While some costs may be a simple allocation formula (e.g., compliance costs),others will be based on information you will need to collect from suppliers (lead time, capacity, currency, etc.).Get finance involved early and make sure they provide clear input on how your total costs are being impacted at the project level. Finally, take the time to build a reliable cost of poor quality model. Separate formulas will be needed for existing suppliers (where you should have existing quality data) and potential suppliers (where you will have to estimate). Comparing quotes, conduct negotiations, make the decision, and learn from the information provided. Once again, you will make better decisions, and save more money, if you can automate the comparison and analysis process and spend more time on developing a winning negotiation strategy. Using software built for direct materials sourcing can be a significant enabler here. The negotiation process itself can provide a very enlightening view into total cost as you can gain a consistent understanding of market trends cutting across all suppliers, as well as costs that seem to be padded. After your decision, be sure to track the quoted costs of the awarded suppliers to the actual costs to assess potential gaps in the process. Also update any should cost or target cost models based on your market findings.
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WORKSHOP TOOLS
When the anchors that faith has cast, are dragging in the gale, I am quietly holding fast to the things that cannot fail. – Faith Popcorn
New handheld conductivity meter
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he new SigmaCheck hand-held Eddy Current Conductivity Meter features a large, colour, LCD display and lightweight ergonomic design (350g), making it extremely portable. Suitable for use by NDT inspectors or engineers, the SigmaCheck meets the requirements for conductivity measurements in the Aircraft manufacture and maintenance fields and has been globally well received. Typical applications include material verification/metal sorting,
heat treatment verification, heat or fire damage investigation, nonferrous metal manufacturing, determining the purity composition of materials and assessment of ageing of aluminium profiles. The SigmaCheck features a state-of-the-art microprocessor which provides highly accurate conductivity readings in a wide range of frequencies for testing thin materials. A versatile instrument, the SigmaCheck has a userprogrammable display, and allows for easy data upload to pc for reporting. Firmware can be updated in the field, making the SigmaCheck fully-upgradeable. Other features include: automatic temperature correction, coating thickness measurement, no-edge effect, lift-off correction and easy calibration to on-board reference samples. The SigmaCheck has a standard
Encoder for phased array inspections
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he C-Clamp Encoder is simple and compact requiring no tools for set-up and operation which is robust and precise. It offers high-resolution encoded scans, and is suitable for any single-axis inspection. The C-Clamp Encoder is versatile enough to fit around a vast range of ultrasonic transducers and phased array wedges. The arms can be quickly adjusted to the wedge width and locked and clamped into place with thumbscrews.
This waterproof device can be fitted either behind or alongside the clamp, enabling B, C, D or S-scan phased array data to be recorded with its position. The robust clamp design ensures no lateral movement during scanning, and the spring loading keeps the wheel in constant contact with the surface. This is an accessory that should be in every inspector’s toolkit. It enables phased array inspections to be quickly recorded for sizing defects and is very simple to attach.
operating frequency of 60 kHz and auxiliary frequencies of 120, 240, 480kHz can be selected when necessary for testing thin materials
with the standard probe that has been designed to comfortably fit the hand of the user. 960kHz is also available.
Counterfeiting: Beware the imitators
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nferior quality imitation copies of the LockDin locking device range have recently appeared on the market. Most likely sourced from neighbouring countries, these inferior copies pose a genuine safety risk and should be avoided at all costs. The imitation product can be identified by the following attributes: • The plastic base is fabricated from a flexible material. As a result, the metal arm can flex around the MCB toggle so that it can be easily defeated, even when padlocked. It is also very easy to remove entirely, padlocked or not. This is a serious safety concern. • The base moulding cannot accommodate the auxiliary filler accessory due to incorrectly formed cavities. • The bottom of the base moulding (refer photograph) is not
rounded. This design change was introduced in 2012 to facilitate the fitment of a Lock-Din/MCB combination to the NHP NC chassis. • The tag clip on the copy Lockdin appears to be glued on. It is easily bent or detached with minimal force. • The right angle on the metal arm is not straight. This inferior copy is in breach of NHP’s patent on this product. The greatest concern is that a customer may be unaware they have purchased the inferior product which can be easily defeated and pose significant safety risks. If you have LockDin devices on your site and are unsure of their origin, please inspect the devices for the attributes as listed above. The company are in the process of adding the NHP logo to their moulding tools to mitigate this situation in the future.
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
DEVELOPMENTS
Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again. – James R. Cook
Steel industry seeks changes to payments
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tructural steel industry body Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) has called for greater protection for subcontractors during its submission at a select committee hearing into the Construction Contracts Amendment Bill in Wellington last week. “The Construction Contracts Act must be amended, particularly with respect to retention payments, to ensure that subcontractors to the building and construction sector are better protected,” said SCNZ manager Alistair Fussell. “The collapse of Mainzeal has highlighted the vulnerability of subcontractors and the devastating financial implications such an event can cause.” Mainzeal went under owing an estimated $70 million to subcontractors; $20 million of that was in retention payments. It is standard practice to retain a portion of the head contractor and subcontractor progress payments to ensure performance to the contract requirements. Called a ‘retention’, this money is intended to remedy any defects if the head contractor is unwilling to fix them.
“It’s only fair subcontractors receive payment for work they have completed,” said Mr Fussell. SCNZ’s submission seeks to ensure security of subcontractor retention payments, for example by employing independent trust accounts to secure retentions. The organisation is also asking for an equitable retentions scale for clienthead contractor and head contractorsubcontractor agreements, reducing the total amount of retentions withheld from subcontractors “Subcontractors are the backbone of the building and construction sector and are critical to New Zealand’s economic growth and the Christchurch rebuild,” said Mr Fussell.
When subcontractors are not paid everything owed to them, the downstream consequences are considerable .
The seed-y side of engineering design
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lanting thousands of seeds by hand is a tedious job, but with the help of University of Waikato engineering students, this task could now be much simpler for tree improvement and treestock production business ArborGen Australasia. As part of a third-year mechanical engineering design paper, seven teams of students were asked to create a prototype that could distribute one pine tree seed in each compartment of a seedling tray in the shortest time. The inventions were tested at the Carter Holt Harvey Pulp & Paper Engineering Design Show. The winners on the day were Sam Brien, Jeff McDowell, Josh McIntyre and Phill Ross, whose prototype seeder was judged the easiest to use by Antoinette Roberts, an ArborGen Australasia Nursery Manager. ArborGen Australasia previously funded a University of Waikato research project in which a group of Waikato engineers created a dibbling machine that efficiently plants pine tree seedlings so that they grow straight. “This project took care of the second stage of the pine tree planting process, so ArborGen Australasia came back to us and asked for a machine that could mechanise the first stage, which is planting the www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
seeds in the seedling trays,” says University of Waikato engineering technician Alan Smith. “The task was quite challenging: if the machine distributed more than one seed in one compartment, this wasn’t counted.” Judge Antoinette Roberts said she was extremely impressed with all seven prototypes involved and choosing a winner was a hard decision. She based her decision on what she saw to be the best fit in terms of speed, accuracy and usability for their company, and stated that she could see a lot of potential for the winning seeder in the future.
“To become established in the steel construction industry requires large amounts of capital expenditure on plant and equipment, and investment in training skilled personnel. These businesses, which generally operate with very low profit margins, carry the greatest financial risk and stand to lose the most in the event of head contractor or client insolvency. “When subcontractors are not paid everything owed to them, the downstream consequences are considerable: there is less money to grow the business, train staff, and invest in new equipment and technology to continually improve productivity.” The Construction Contracts Amendment Bill aims to speed up the existing adjudication process, improve accountability in the construction sector, and provide a more cost-effective and efficient option for those with disputes under
SCNZ manager Alistair Fussell.
construction contracts. The Committee will now enter a consideration stage and is due to report its findings to the House on 11 December 2013. SCNZ’s submission to the Construction Contracts Amendment Bill was presented by D&H Steel Construction general manager Wayne Carson.
New orders keep manufacturing on track
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ontinued high levels of new orders ensured the manufacturing sector remained in expansion, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for September was 54.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). Although this was the second consecutive month the level of expansion has declined, compared with previous September results the 2013 value was the highest since 2007. Overall, the PMI has averaged 56.1 since the start of 2013. BusinessNZ’s executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that while another dip in the level of expansion was not ideal, the sector remains in a solid position. “Manufacturing activity has now been in expansion for 10 consecutive months, with 2013 remaining on track to be one of the best years for the sector in some time. Also, despite the lower level of expansion, the proportion of positive comments from manufacturers increased slightly from August, with residential building activity throughout the country being one of the drivers.” BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said “While manufacturing growth has slowed from the eyepopping 59.4 in July, it is still in better than average expansion. Remember the line in the sand between expansion and contraction is 50.0, so the disappointment is
simply that growth is decent rather than very strong. “A timely check to allay any anxiety is to compare it against the manufacturing component of Tuesday’s NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO). Taken together, the PMI and QSBO signals remain relatively positive.” Three of the five seasonally adjusted main diffusion indices were again in expansion for September. New orders (58.8) again led the way for September, following consecutive post-60 results. Production (55.5) experienced another slight dip in expansion levels during September, while deliveries of raw materials (54.8) followed a similar pattern. Finished stocks (50.0) were unchanged during September, with its lowest value since April 2013. Employment (48.6) recorded the first decline of any subindex since April 2013, following consistent levels of expansion for the previous four months. Expansion was centered more towards the North Island in September. In the North Island, the Central region (58.5) continued to lead the way, given another strong pick up in new orders and production. The Northern region (54.1) recovered slightly after a drop in the level of expansion for the previous month. In the South Island, the Canterbury/Westland region (42.5) had an unusually poor month, with production particularly low. The Otago-Southland region (50.7) also fell back during September, but kept its head above water with a slightly positive result. – Source: BusinessNZ
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment. – Oprah Winfrey
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THE INTERVIEW
Larry Wiechern from MIT talks to NZ Manufacturer
Where do you see growth areas for future employment in NZ?
HIGH END technology, 3D-4D printing, CNC, electronics, robotics, and automation. These topics involve design, programming and manufacture using a wide range of standard and exotic materials. Demand for skilled reliability engineers is also an area we must continue to develop if we are to maintain plant and equipment in this ever competitive market. One needs to acknowledge the young New Zealand software developer on Oracle and the effect that he had on the outcome of the Americas Cup, along with design development throughout the boat building industry in New Zealand. The world has recognised the skills we have in these areas and after what we have all just witnessed there is going to be a huge influx of interest across all aspects of this industry. Manufactured components did not fail under the stress. The skill and expertise across a wide range of disciplines used in design and development on the world stage will certainly bring the expertise of New Zealand engineering to the attention of many.
How does MIT work with business to develop the opportunities?
MIT HAS just developed a business unit called Enterprise MIT. This unit engages with industry to develop training programmes to suit current needs. These might include a group of companies working together to up skilling staff in communication and literacy and other related topics. We also work closely with Competenz to help our preapprentices find jobs following their 18 week programme.
• • • •
Are the right training providers available for manufacturers in NZ?
MOST TRAINING providers work with industry to plan and develop programmes to suit their current and future requirements. Specialised training programmes can be implemented once the need has been identified and often experts are brought in to ensure international standards are met. For example, MIT in partnership with SKF, brought in recently Clyde Volpe from the Vibration Institute of Australia and Mobuis to run high end ISO certification training courses on Vibration Analysis, and RCA training courses with the support of SirftRT.
How do we keep our young people in NZ?
WE NEED to provide opportunities that excite them so they will want to become involved. We have enough high end technology to help towards that end. But we also need to promote our industrial champions. They can illustrate what they have achieved and the pathway they followed to
One needs to acknowledge the young New Zealand software developer on Oracle and the effect that he had on the outcome, along with design development throughout the boat building industry in New Zealand.
Do you have a story you want to share? Developments? New markets discovered? How are you finding business in this challenging economy?
Email Doug Green at words@xtra.co.nz and share your story with readers.
get to where they are now. We have an excellent example, in my opinion, in Bill Buckley of Buckley Systems Ltd. A quiet achiever as an apprentice and now highly respected within his own company, and highly acknowledged as a world leader in precision electromagnet manufacture. With people like Bill leading the way with the “I CAN DO” attitude, others will want to follow suit. They need to be our ambassadors and rub shoulders with young people. I think the motivation factor with Bill and people like Peter Leitch (The MAD Butcher) should never be underestimated. To further encourage young people to participate we need to modernise our workshops with 3D printers and software, coordinate measurement machines to confirm quality has been achieved, and provide the opportunities to be involved with leading technologies such as CNC and programming.
What are the most popular occupations trainees want to get into?
TRADES SUCH as mechanical, automotive, fabrication, panel beating, spray painting and plumbing are all areas where many young people want to be involved. They can be assisted greatly by Youth Guarantee (16 - 19 years of age) where their fees are paid for.
Is manufacturing buoyant enough to take them on?
WHILE THE situation to me seems to still be very fragile, enquiries are coming in on a regular basis. Students with the right attitude; time keeping skills and ability to apply themselves
to the task will certainly have the opportunity to be employed.
What is the attitude of trainees like these days?
ON THE whole, pretty good, though I think a percentage should still be at school due to their immature attitude. This is normally observed when our pre-apprentice intake is taken at mid-year.
Are you happy where we are heading with engineering education here in NZ?
NO, I FEEL we have been squeezed and dictated to by the cost accountants to once again reduce costs. This is going to cost us dearly if we do not invest in training and supporting young engineers to attend training seminars and conferences organised by VANZ (Vibration Association of NZ), and MESNZ, (Maintenance Engineering Society of NZ). This is where international and local experts can highlight key points, giving a good understanding of how plants should operate in the most efficient manner. It’s about not getting caught with the ever growing risk of installing counterfeit components, along with embracing advances in new technologies to identify the health of your operating plant. I feel the basic knowledge that sets young tradesmen on a very solid foundation has been eroded to a point that is extremely disappointing. There is currently another training review of apprentice training underway; hopefully this problem will be clearly identified and addressed. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
WAIKATO FOCUS
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive – Howard Thurman
Waikato work placement supervisors recognised for excellence
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hree individuals have been recognised for their contribution to the University of Waikato’s science and engineering work placement programme, through awards presented by the University’s Cooperative Education Unit. Waikato University’s Dr Mark Lay, Perry Resource’s Mike James and AgResearch’s Dr Marcelo Martinez were nominated for the Co-op Halo Awards by students who they supervised during work placements. Cooperative education is the combination of work and study. Work placements are a key part of Waikato’s Bachelor of Science (Technology) and Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degrees, where students spend time working in industry to gain real-world experience. “Our dedicated industry supervisors are nominated by the students themselves, to recognise the enormous contribution supervisors make. A Halo Award is a large vote of thanks from the student and the Cooperative Education team,” says Cooperative Education Unit Director Professor Richard Coll.
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All three recipients described the experience of supervising a work placement student as an equally important learning opportunity for both the supervisor and the student. Dr Mark Lay, a Chemical and Biological Engineering lecturer from the University of Waikato has supervised one or more work placement students every year for the past six years. He says the experience of watching students develop their skills and becoming confident researchers, designers and engineers is a pleasure. For Mike James, a laboratory manager at Perry Resources in Hamilton, this is the first time he has supervised a work placement student, and he thoroughly recommends the experience to other employers. Also awarded was Dr Marcelo Martinez from the Reproductive and Developmental Biology team at AgResearch in Invermay. Dr Martinez’ most recent placement student was given the opportunity to work with him on the relationship between an ovarian phenotype and fertility of dairy cows. The ovarian phenotype relates to the number of ovarian follicles (that can be
observed by ultrasound scanning) which is variable among cows, but very constant within individual animals. “Working with placement students gives us the opportunity to have knowledge and learning
experiences in a two-way fashion. We share experiences and knowledge, while we learn from each other. Due to the interactions with these students, myself and my team are enriched both professionally and personally,” says Dr Martinez.
third and fourth-year Engineering students showcased their research and design projects in the forms of posters, displays and seminars. Topics covered included Chemical
and Biological Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Materials and Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Software Engineering.
From left, Martin Lam and Gordan Wildschut, with the autonomous biped robot they built as part of their Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) research project.
Dr Mark Lay was one of three individuals recognised for their contribution to the University of Waikato’s science and engineering work placement programme, through awards presented by the University’s Cooperative Education Unit.
Student-built robot at Waikato engineering design show
inks, servo motors, a microcontroller and a whole lot of student brain power are behind the creation of an autonomous biped robot which can walk by itself. Fourth-year University of Waikato electronic engineering students Martin Lam and Gordan Wildschut have been working on the robot since April, as part of their Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) research project. During the project Martin worked on the software while Gordan worked on hardware. “We were given a basic kit which only had aluminium links. We then arranged them in a specific (humanlike) configuration along with the servo motors, to create the robot. Each joint of the robot is rotated by a servo, which is controlled by a micro-controller,” says Gordan. “Ultimately we set up a cartesian co-ordinate system for the robot to move around in. We would feed a set of co-ordinates to the system and it calculates all the required angles for the servos. This allows us to freely control the robot using only a simple set of co-ordinates,” says Martin. The boys’ research project was on show at the Carter Holt Harvey Pulp & Paper Engineering Design Show in October. During the two days, second, www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
DEVELOPMENTS Robust new Standards system a ‘must have’
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – William Arthur Ward
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he changes coming up to maintain and strengthen the development and delivery of New Zealand Standards were no accident. The review of Standards didn’t just happen to turn out ok, and the changes are not a done deal yet either. But when the details are put into law early next year we expect them to contain all the points that we at the Employers and Manufacturers Association and Business New Zealand recommended. Minister Craig Foss personally invited our comments on them in a letter earlier this month, and we responded emphasising a number of points we have previously made plain in this publication and elsewhere. The review of New Zealand’s Standards system began last year though behind the scenes the disquiet had been bubbling away for some time. A large number of parties reliant on Standards were not happy with how the organisation had been performing, and for its part Standards New Zealand had clearly been underfunded for years. Revenues it should have been getting were being siphoned off for causes unrelated to Standards development leaving the organisation less able to do its job than it wanted. The users of Standards were becoming more disgruntled. The standoff could not go on. Credit must go to the officials at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for finding a way through the morass. The fundamentals of the Standards system have been retained throughout the review, which are to ensure New Zealand has an independent and sustainable standards system. As Minister Foss says: “Standards make an important contribution to a more productive and competitive economy…. for building products, energy safety, health and disability, environmental management, and information technology standards.”
The review of Standards didn’t just happen to turn out ok, and the changes are not a done deal yet either. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
For some industries the wording could be much stronger. In the words of one electrical products manufacturer, “we live and die by Standards.” The review decisions are to include: • A new Standards model to replace the Standards Council and Standards New Zealand. • Standards approval will be undertaken by an independent statutory board. • Standards development will be undertaken by an independent statutory officer within the MBIE. • Independent committees will continue to comprise industry and technical experts, consumer representatives and regulators. We said the changes were pleasing because a robust and independent Standards system is vital, and core business for industry. We noted that what was being retained was as we had agreed with MBIE officials, that Standards development and approvals processes would remain fully independent, and that the expertise of the present Standards development team will be retained, albeit within the structure of the MBIE. But we expressed concern too that the question still outstanding was over the level of funding that Standards would be allocated; we want to see government lift its commitment to this, especially in the wake of the botulism and food related scares. There’s cause for optimism that Minister Foss will come to the party when he said “The new model will better align Standards development with important government priorities such as innovation and trade facilitation.” In our letter responding to the Minister before his announcement we stressed again the importance of keeping Standards with an entirely independent board and for the board’s membership to be appointed solely on the basis of their technical competence. We also stressed: • Funding for the Board, its activities and for the Statutory Officer within MBIE should not come from industry levies but as part of the MBIE Vote as should the membership of ISO and IEC. • In the development of new and revised Standards, ISO/ IEC Standards should be required in New Zealand or for Joint Australia/New Zealand Standards, as a primary source, and the use of non ISO/IEC elements in New Zealand Standards should be discouraged as a non-tariff barrier to trade.
We also said the Standards statutory officer within MBIE should: • Wherever possible ensure the opportunity for industry participation in the development and revision of ISO/IEC and Joint Australian/New Zealand Standards and not rely on regulator only participation. • When Standards are subject to review, updating and archiving, the MBIE officer must consult industry to ensure decisions are appropriate. • When Standards come up for review they need to be prioritised on the basis of their current relevance with a time line for action assigned in a work programme for them. In strengthening the funding model we said: • Levies currently paid by the gas, electricity and building industries should be clearly identified for use in the development of the Standards for each sector. These levies should not be diverted to the development of other types of regulation but retained expressly for the purpose they are collected for, that is the Standards development process within the specific sector.
By Bruce Goldsworthy
Bruce Goldsworthy is Manager of Advocacy and Manufacturing for the Employers and Manufacturers Association. In relation to MBIE’s efforts to promote standardisation we said MBIE should: • Encourage the recognition of Standards in preference to other forms of regulation. • Encourage all agencies to use the official Standards system when developing Standards whether or not those Standards are to be mandatory. Eg EECA-MEPS and EPA. • Support industry-led initiatives where they contribute to the development and enhancement of internationally aligned Standards and ISO/IEC processes (for example, industry funded ISO review groups where no levy is available to fund the activity). More information is at www. med.govt.nz/business/standardsconformance We’re pleased to say all these points appear to have been taken on board. The future for a new Standards organisation and system looks much the better for it.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to. – Author Unknown
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LEAN MANUFACTURING
What’s missing From Your Lean Initiative?
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ost business owners and general managers recognise just how critically important proper equipment maintenance is, particularly in an asset-oriented work environment. Simply put, poorly maintained equipment leads to production downtime, lost revenue, dissatisfied customers, and low morale. Yet, in the context of lean initiatives, debates crop up regarding the role of preventive and predictive maintenance versus Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Are preventive and predictive maintenance tactics sufficient? Isn’t TPM a separate initiative, a secondary consideration, or just plain extraneous to a primary lean implementation? Or, should lean and TPM be interconnected? In too many companies, equipment initiatives stop with preventive and predictive maintenance. TPM is a capability built on total asset reliability‚ and total employee involvement. More than traditional preventive maintenance, it is a systematic, data-driven process that fosters an efficient partnership between production, maintenance, and engineering, and that engages those closest to the work. It results in an organization’s ability to transition from reactive to proactive maintenance and to create low cost, even free capacity. More importantly, TPM has a dramatic impact on your organisational culture, overall operations‚ and your bottom line. It frees up valuable production capacity without the drain of capital investment. The direct and measureable results are better performance, increased capacity, improved quality, decreased scrap and waste, and increased reliability and efficiency. Without TPM, achieving lean flow is not possible; therefore TPM should be an integral part of any lean transformation.
TPM in a Nutshell
In essence, TPM is a strategy that empowers employees by enlisting equipment operators to participate actively in the design, selection, correction, and maintenance of equipment. The objective: to ensure that every machine or production process is always able to perform its required tasks without interrupting or slowing down defect-free production. Operators share. ‘Ownership’ for the equipment with which they work. TPM is viewed as ‚’beginningto-end maintenance’ that is critically important to business success. Downtime for maintenance
is scheduled as a part of the manufacturing day and, in some cases, as an integral part of the manufacturing process. It is no longer simply squeezed in whenever there is a break in material flow. The goal is to hold emergency and unscheduled maintenance to a minimum. A fair analogy would go something like this: • changing your car’s oil regularly is ‘preventive maintenance’ • analysing the oil would be ‘predictive maintenance’ • knowing the engine and understanding what keeps it running smoothly would be ‘autonomous maintenance’ • performing all of the above is TPM.
Why TPM?
You cannot truly become lean or sustain lean gains without adopting a lean equipment management strategy that fosters and enables continuous machine reliability. Like lean, TPM is not a ‘program’. Rather, it is a step-by-step, systematic, strategic process that aims to achieve at least 90% equipment availability and 95% equipment performance. It involves the entire organization and is the foundation upon which lean is built. Many managers find this counterintuitive, because they’ve been taught to believe that the production schedule drives the maintenance schedule. In fact, the opposite is true. Equipment is the bloodline of production. It needs to be kept in a constant state of order rather than being repaired only when needed. Planned downtime costs a company a mere 10% of what it costs for an unplanned breakdown. That can add up to sizeable savings in every plant over the course of a year. Unfortunately, in many companies TPM is viewed as a separate initiative that is optional in a lean environment. In others, managers haven’t yet recognised the symbiotic relationship between lean and TPM, and think they need to choose between the two. But the true objective of the lean/TPM partnership is the implementation of a total process that impacts virtually every aspect of operations and daily work.
It’s Not Just for the Maintenance Department
Lean and TPM, and the transformation they can achieve together, require a vision that is shared by the entire employee community, one that can be turned into concrete and measurable objectives and that connects to all
improvement activities throughout the entire organization.
For Example
*Human Resources plays its part by recognising the need for more extensive training of employees on equipment monitoring and autonomous maintenance. *Accounting must appreciate the importance of allocating additional funds for the purchase of the proper equipment and parts. *Quality department staff must connect directly with the maintenance manager so that both sides grasp the relationship between reliable equipment and a quality product. And, production personnel learn to take ownership of their equipment, perform autonomous maintenance routines, and participate in the design processes for new equipment.
More on the ‘Total’ in TPM
Traditional maintenance puts responsibility to react to problems primarily on the shoulders of the maintenance department. TPM, on the other hand, creates a shared and proactive responsibility for equipment, encouraging greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this approach can be extremely effective in improving productivity (increasing uptime, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects). TPM trains your people - not just your maintenance people but also machine operators and others -to play an active role with equipment. Effective TPM comprises a wide range of elements that take an organisation way beyond simple preventive or predictive maintenance:
The 8 Pillars of TPM
• Through Early Equipment Management, team members develop an important understanding of how the design and manufacture of equipment can help make it easier to operate, simpler to maintain, and rightsized for its purpose. The people who operate the equipment are involved in helping to reduce the complexity of real-time operation. • By understanding the concept of Maintenance Improvement, team members evolve from a reactive to a proactive position. They analyse breakdowns to better reveal machine weaknesses. They learn to modify equipment and manage replacement parts to improve operator maintainability. And, they map out a planned maintenance schedules for longer service life.
• The long-term value of committing to a Comprehensive Training program ensures that people at all levels have the skills, and just as importantly the awareness, to support TPM effectively. • The adoption of an Autonomous Maintenance program instills an ‘operator-based care’ philosophy, transferring basic equipment care responsibilities from maintenance staff to equipment operators. This frees up key maintenance employees to handle more specialized activities such as major overhauls, machine upgrades, predictive maintenance, and new equipment planning. At the same time, autonomous maintenance encourages a strong relationship between TPM and the efficiencies of 5S programs. • A Quality Maintenance strategy commits your organization to efforts that ensure equipment is maintained effectively throughout the entire production process. The objective is to eliminate defects - beginning with basic materials and continuing right on through to the finished product. This might include monitoring very specific machine features such as temperature, pressure, flow, and equipment flexibility. • Finally, TPM enables you to get the most out of your machines by accurately measuring Overall Equipment Effectiveness. You’ll have the ability to determine the actual contribution of each piece of equipment as a percentage of its potential to add value to your overall operations. There may be no better example of implementing true ‘productive maintenance.’
Next Steps for Initiating or Reviving a TPM Rollout
Developing a strategy to establish TPM - and integrate it as part of a lean transformation -begins with analyzing and understanding the key areas that need to be improved throughout your operations. That involves establishing revenue goals, performing value stream analysis, creating key lean initiatives, identifying and sharing responsibilities for action items, and laying down milestones and rollout plans. You may want to begin by asking yourself these fundamental business questions: • How does your organisation make money? • How does it spend money? • What drives profits, revenues, and margins? • Where is the improvement focus? • How do I get all my employees more actively involved? www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
All of our dreams can come true if we just have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney
NASA sending 3D printer into space N ASA is set to launch world’s first zero-G-ready 3D printer into space next year, during its resupply mission to the International Space Station, so that parts can be built on-demand in space. Space manufacturing company Made in Space’s customised 3D printer will be the first device to manufacture parts away from planet Earth, researchers said. The 3D Printing in Zero-G Experiment will validate the capability of additive manufacturing in zero-gravity. “Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station,” said Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made in Space on the company’s website. “Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3D printed when they needed them?” said Kemmer. All space missions today are completely dependent on Earth and the launch vehicles that send equipment to space. The greater the distance from Earth and the longer the duration, the more difficult it will be to resupply materials. “As NASA ventures further into space, whether redirecting an asteroid or sending humans to Mars, we will need transformative technology to reduce cargo weight and volume,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said during a recent tour of the agency’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field. “In the future, perhaps astronauts will be able to print the tools or components they need while in
space,” he said. The Made in Space and NASA team envisions a future where space missions can be virtually selfsufficient and manufacture most of what they need in space. This includes such things as consumables, common tools, and replacements for lost or broken parts and eventually even such things as CubeSats (small, deployable satellites). “The 3D printing experiment with NASA is a step towards the future. The ability to 3D print parts and tools on-demand greatly increases the reliability and safety of
space missions while also dropping the cost by orders of magnitude,” said Kemmer. “The first printers will start by building test coupons, and will then build a broad range of parts, such as tools and science equipment,” Kemmer said. Both Made in Space and NASA view the space station as the place to initiate the journey of in-space manufacturing. “We’re taking additive manufacturing technology to new heights, by working with Made in Space to test 3D printing aboard the space station,” said Michael Gazarik,
NASA’s associate administrator for space technology in Washington. In preparation for the 2014 launch, Made in Space tested a diverse array of 3D printing technologies in zero-gravity in 2011 and is conducting additional tests this year. These micro-gravity tests provide the initial research that fed into the developments for the 3D Print experiment. The 3D Printer is built specifically to handle the environmental challenges of space and uses extrusion additive manufacturing, which builds objects layer by layer out of polymers and other materials.
Wireless power receiver simplifies contactless battery charging
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he LTC4120 combines a wireless power receiver with a constantcurrent/constant-voltage battery charger, functioning as the receive circuit component in a complete wireless power transfer system comprised of transmit circuitry, transmit coil, receive coil and receive circuitry. The LTC4120 works reliably with Linear Technology’s simple discrete resonant transmitter reference design or with advanced off-theshelf transmitters designed and manufactured by PowerbyProxi, a New Zealand-based leader in wireless power solutions. PowerbyProxi transmitters offer advanced features, including simultaneous charging of multiple receivers with a single transmitter www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
and foreign object detection to prevent excessive heating during transmit faults. The LTC4120 accepts a rectified 4.2V to 40V input from the receive coil to power a full-featured constant-current/constant-voltage 400mA battery charger that includes programmable charge current, a programmable 3.5V to 11V battery float voltage with ±1% accuracy, battery preconditioning with halfhour timeout, bad battery fault detection, NTC thermal protection, charge status and a 2-hour safety termination timer. The LTC4120 features dynamic harmonisation control (DHC), a patented technique that enables optimal wireless power transfer across a variety of conditions while
providing thermal management and overvoltage protection. This technique modulates the resonant frequency of the receiver tank to provide lossless adjustment of the power received as well as the power transmitted to provide an efficient and robust solution for wirelessly charging batterypowered devices. Wireless charging with the LTC4120 enables battery powered devices to be recharged without expensive, failure-prone connectors. Products incorporating the LTC4120 may be contained within sealed enclosures, in moving or rotating equipment or used where cleanliness or sanitation is critical. Applications include handheld instruments, industrial/military
sensors and similar devices in harsh environments, portable medical devices, physically small devices and electrically isolated devices. LTC4120-based systems offer solutions that are much simpler than those implementing the Qi standard, with additional benefits, including greater transmission distance and no software required. The LTC4120 is housed in a low profile (0.75mm) 16-pin 3mm x 3mm QFN package with backside metal pad for excellent thermal performance. The device is guaranteed for operation from -40?C to 125?C, in both E and I grades. 1,000-piece pricing starts at $3.55 each for the E grade. For more information, visit www.linear.com/ product/LTC4120.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson
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THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
Advanced hydraulics library for MapleSim
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ith the MapleSim Hydraulics Librar, engineers can seamlessly incorporate industry-tested hydraulics components while continuing to take full advantage of all the modelling, analysis, and simulation abilities of MapleSim. MapleSim offers a modern approach to physical modelling and simulation, dramatically reducing model development and analysis time while producing fast, high-fidelity simulations. MapleSim enables modelling at the system level, so engineers can combine hydraulic subsystems with other domains and analyse their interactions. The MapleSim Hydraulics Library includes over 200 components for modelling pumps, motors, cylinders, restrictions, valves, hydraulic lines, lumped volumes, and sensors. It enables engineers to produce very high-fidelity models by
A
accounting for compressible oil and cavitation effects, resulting in an extremely accurate view of system dynamics.
Hydraulics systems are notoriously difficult to model with high accuracy, but important understanding system-level behaviour.
The Hydraulics Library demonstrates the power of the Modelica standard platform for the systems engineering community.
StretchSense excels at innovation
n Auckland company that has developed wireless soft sensors for applications in healthcare, motion capture, and humanmachine interactions has won two major innovation awards. StretchSense won both the ‘Innovation in Design and Engineering’ and ‘Emerging New Zealand Innovator’ awards at the New Zealand Innovator Awards in Auckland recently. StretchSense emerged from research done at the University of Auckland’s Biomimetics Laboratory and is run day-to-day by two former students of the University’s Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) and is incubated at the Institute. “We use small, light soft sensors for measuring human body motion – linked to a Bluetooth sensor transmission circuit that can be used with an app for android phones”, says StretchSense CEO, Ben O’Brien. “We can apply it to anything you can measure, because it is so precise and reliable,” he says. “For example, they can be used in rehabilitation applications for physiotherapists to track movement and a changing target over time – such as an improving knee injury.” These sensors, made of polymers, can be sewn into clothing, (such as a pressure support wrap for a knee), and give real time results and personal information about improvements and exercising. The company has developed the wireless soft sensors for applications in healthcare, motion capture, and
human-machine interactions. StretchSense has only been operating since late last year, had its first local sales in January this year and in March gained customers in the United States. In September, Ben joined a New Zealand trade delegation to San Francisco for the week long NZ Health Innovation showcase – his first sales trip overseas for the company. Ben set the company up with fellow researchers and co-founders; Dr Todd Gisby (CTO), Dr Tom MacKay, and his PhD supervisor and ABI Biomimetics research leader, Associate Professor Iain Anderson from Engineering Science (COO). “We’re very grateful to the ABI for incubating us,” says Ben. This product comes out of the research we did in the Biomimetics Lab and Todd and I left our jobs to develop this and get it out to industry.” Ben and Todd both have a background in mechatronics with a Bachelor of Mechatronics from the University’s Faculty of Engineering followed by PhD research in the ABI’s Biomimetics Lab. Ben’s doctoral research was supported by a Bright Future Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship and in 2010 he was awarded a twoyear Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. Before StretchSense, Ben’s research focussed on artificial muscles called dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) that when given an electric charge, change their shape. Inspired by examples from
nature, Ben realised that arrays of artificial muscle actuators could be made to interact in useful ways and without the need for cumbersome control software and hardware. During his work he invented a
novel way to combine actuation, sensing, and logic into one unit: the dielectric elastomer switch (DES). This breakthrough has opened the door to truly soft and intelligent machines.
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
ANALYSIS
At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t. – Andy Roddick
Credibility leap in local steel construction conformance
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ew Zealand’s steel construction industry has built a solid quality reputation based on executing designs to local structural steel design standard NZS 3404 and referenced companion standards such as AS/ NZ 1554 Structural Steel Welding. The New Zealand steel construction standards framework is world best practice and this has been proven through the performance of structural steel in the recent Canterbury earthquakes. However, the Christchurch earthquake’s related failures of nonsteel-framed building systems and the steel-frame related Southland Stadium collapse have demonstrated that non-conformance can lead to catastrophic failures including loss of life. And if the failure evidence points towards criminal negligence the case will be handed to the police for prosecution as shown in the recent occurrences. Demonstrating non-conformance in steel construction after a failure is relatively easy as all what needs to be done is to provide solid evidence of what has not been done in line with the standards. HERA knows this well as it is involved in failure analyses and has just completed a MBIE guidance document for investigators of steel construction failures. So in the case of failure, whoever was involved in the design and e.g. project-managed or specified non-complying structural frames including steel grades, section sizes or weld sizes; or on the supply side supplied non-conforming materials be it steel, welding consumables, or bolts; or in fabrication be it welds with defects, use of in-appropriate steel grades, or missed or wrong grade of bolts or anything out of tolerance can consider himself or herself in the spotlight of any criminal investigation with, in the case of loss of life, very serious sentence implications. The general message as an outcome of the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes is clear - there will be increased pressure via the regulatory framework in demonstrating conformance of the building system supply chain independent of what building system will be chosen. Conformance details required now in structural steelwork specifications by consultants for the rebuild of Christchurch are an indication of what will be the new standard to comply with. To manage the above-described risks of product non-conformance, the standard approach is to follow www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
quality management systems which reliably demonstrate product conformance with the specification. Typically this is via use of internationally recognised quality management systems, such as described in the ISO 9000 series of standards. However in welded fabrication, the more relevant guidance is via the welding fabrication specific AS/ NZS ISO 3834. For companies to credibly demonstrate conformance, they do not only have to have the quality management system in place, they have to demonstrate on-going conformance by having their quality management systems audited by recognised third party certification bodies. Many industry members, and in particular those coming from the tightly regulated pressure equipment fabrication side, are familiar with this quality management system approach. However for many in the more production oriented structural steel fabrication sector, the rigorous application of the demonstrated quality conformance concepts demands considerable change.
Non-conformance can lead to catastrophic failures, including loss of life. And as shown particularly by our steel fabricators’ response to the proposed establishment of a Steel Constructor Accreditation (SCA), the steel construction industry is ready for this challenge and are introducing quality systems to AS/ NZS ISO 3834 with speed. In a joint and co-ordinated effort, HERA and SCNZ have fully committed to support industry through this pathway, be it in the provision of internationallyrecognised certification services or training of people to recognised qualifications and quality systems implementation support. Two things are key to successful implementation and running of the system. The first is to have total management commitment and the second is to get the required knowledge and behaviour of those involved in the chain in place. In respect to welding fabrication, the key role is that of the responsible welding fabrication co-ordinator. And if last month’s record 25-person attendance of HERA’s welding supervisor course is
anything to go by, the companies demonstrate they mean business, and I congratulate them for the commitment shown. This all provides a tangible credibility leap in local steel construction conformance, which must be positive, including in setting our industry apart from the import competition.
Commentary by Heavy Engineering Research Association Director Dr Wolfgang Scholz
NOVEMBER 2013 ISSUE FEATURES • The Future of Manufacturing • Manufacturing Technology • Food Manufacturing • Workshop Tools
For further information contact:
Managing Editor: Doug Green P: 06 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
Advertising Booking & Copy Deadline – 22nd November 2013
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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THE INTERVIEW Ian Wright, CEO, Wrightspeed
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. – Napoleon Hill
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an Wright was a speaker at the recent Morgo conference for entrepreneurs in Queenstown. He spoke on Turbine Electric Trucks. Ian Wright has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and an operating executive.
How is business? Great! We are a start-up business, just about to ship our first product. What are the growth areas for your company? We make a range-extended EV powertrain for medium-duty trucks, and our initial market is US only, and as a repower kit. That’s about an $8b market. We can double that in the US by supplying powertrains for new trucks, and double it again by selling outside the US. Such as in NZ.
Do you export? Not yet.
Are there new products being considered by your company? Yes, a version of the powertrain suitable for high-performance cars, and another for heavy garbage trucks.
Biggest challenges? Hiring good people and raising money.
How do you see the current business climate in NZ? Looks pretty vibrant from the outside.
Where does demand for your products come from? Owners of trucking fleets. UPS, for example, spends $4b per year on fuel.
Do you contract manufacture? Yes, for subsystems.
almost
all
of
the
Ian Wright at Morgo 2013. – Picture courtesy of Morgo Conferences.
Does your company spend much on R & D? Yes, it’s about 90% of our costs to date. About $10m.
Is it hard to get the right staff? Very.
Company Mission Statement is...? We don’t really have one, but our website says this: ”Wrightspeed is a powertrain company; we do not manufacture vehicles. We like to make things go, and we like doing it well. Built on a tradition of quality systems engineering, Wrightspeed’s powertrains are the next step in the evolution of vehicle propulsion. “
The website tagline is “No Limit. No Compromise.” to play up the fact that our electric powertrains are not range-limited, and don’t compromise performance compared to the diesel powertrains they replace. I would have said something about “our stuff works” but the marketing manager comes up with better stuff.
ABOUT
Ian Wright founded Wrightspeed in 2005, building the X1–to date the world’s fastest streetlegal electric car. The X1 is a concept
car and a test platform based on a modified Ariel Atom. The X1 proves that electric drive can deliver extreme performance without compromising its intrinsic efficiency. 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds. Wrightspeed builds RangeExtended Electric Vehicle drive systems for high fuel consumption vehicles. Ian was also a co-founder of Tesla. A native New Zealander, Ian is an alumnus of AUT and the University of Technology in Sydney. He lives in California with his wife and two children.
SUPPORT OUR MANUFACTURERS w w w. n z m a n u f a c t u re r. c o. n z Wrightspeed X1 – to date the world’s fastest street-legal electric car. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
FOOD MANUFACTURING
You can have everything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want in life. – Zig Ziglar
New building brings extra efficiency for exporter
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he only 100% New Zealand owned dairy technology exporter is looking forward to achieving even greater efficiency when it opens the first stage of a new $12 million complex in November 2013. The first building in the new complex for Waikato Milking Systems, a designer and manufacturer of innovative milking equipment, is in the final stages of construction now. The 3900 square metre building brings together three of the company’s manufacturing divisions on the same site for the first time. “Our new complex is being purpose built, which gives us the opportunity to streamline our manufacturing
processes and make our business even more efficient,” Managing Director John Anderson says. New technology being introduced to the company for the first time includes an industrial robot welder that is automated to move around different work stations to perform different welding functions. The company has used robot welders before but mobilising the robot will save even more time and money. No jobs will be lost, but there will be significant gains in efficiency, Mr Anderson says. “We will be able to process more products in less time without losing anything in the quality of the work,” Mr Anderson says. The robot, from New Zealand company Carbines
Engineering, cost about $60,000 and the upgrade to it about $20,000. The company has also invested $100,000 in a new bridge crane to improve raw material handling, saving more than $200,000 in building costs. Previously the company stored raw steel until it was needed but now the crane will deliver the steel immediately to the saw. Other improvements include a move to lean manufacturing principles in making rotary milking platforms, a flagship product for the company. Lean manufacturing helps businesses become more profitable and sustainable by identifying and eliminating sources of waste. The company is also negotiating ‘just in time’ supply arrangements, where
suppliers deliver materials only when needed. The company will save money in storage costs but will still get discounts for bulk buying. The second stage of the new Waikato Milking Systems complex is scheduled to open toward the end of 2014. This 3300 square metre building will include a new head office, and design and manufacturing facilities for the company’s high-technology products. The new complex is at Northgate Business Park, north of Hamilton. “Bringing all our activities onto one site for the first time will bring benefits for company culture as well as efficiency. We are looking forward to all working together on one site as one team,” Mr Anderson says.
World-leading technology for food industry
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lobal players in the fresh produce industry recently had a first-hand look at innovative fruit sorting solutions from Kiwi company BBC Technologies, the world’s leading supplier of blueberry sorting and packing machinery. BBC Technologies, specialists in the development and manufacturing of advanced processing technology, showed its range, for the first time, at the Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) Fresh Summit Convention and Expo in New Orleans. PMA’s Fresh Summit is one of the largest trade shows held in the United States, drawing more than 18,000 visitors from over 60 countries. North America is a key market for BBC, with the thriving New Zealand company recording 30 per cent year on year growth. BBC has deep roots in the horticulture sector and owns 162 hectares of blueberries in New Zealand. It has been selling its technology in the United States for 13 years and also has established markets in Europe, South America and Australasia, with its equipment operating in 20 countries. With a track record of investment in research and development, BBC Technologies has developed a suite of hi-tech sorting equipment for small fruit which has propelled the company to its market-leading www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Cherries moving through BBC’s Fill by Weight machine
position in supplying blueberry sorting and packing machinery. It is also selling growing volumes of its high quality equipment to sort and track cherries, grapes, small tomatoes, cranberries and olives. The company employs more than 85 staff in New Zealand and overseas and is actively recruiting to support its steady growth in domestic and offshore markets. CEO Geoff Furniss says that culture makes BBC a favoured place to work and he expects a strong
response to the company’s current recruitment campaign for specialists in electronics and software design, mechanical design and production and operations “It’s a great time to join BBC. Our turnkey solutions are resonating with customers around the world. We can offer staff a fantastic working environment and global opportunities in a fast-growing sector.” In New Orleans, BBC exhibited its new MIRA -360 machine which
sorts for colour and identifies and removes defects including cracks and splits, soft rot, wrinkles and bruises and insect damage. It also sorts in multiple streams by size to ensure customers comply with standard industry sizing bands. In addition, BBC Technologies will be introducing customers to its Fresh Tracker traceability software which can track individual products from harvesting and processing through to packaging and point of sale.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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ENERGY REPORT
Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. – Richard L. Evans
LanzaTech partners for development of process technology
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K innovation, one of the world’s leading energy and petrochemical companies, and LanzaTech, a company founded in New Zealand and a producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases, have announced an agreement to develop a new process technology for the production of 1,3 butadiene, a platform chemical used in many high growth industries globally. The collaboration will accelerate the commercialisation of an alternative route to butadiene, a chemical increasing in scarcity because of the shale gas boom in the United States. SK innovation has pioneered new refining and petrochemical technology development for many years. SK innovation will work with LanzaTech to develop and integrate this new technology with LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process, which converts industrial waste gases and on-purpose syngas derived from the gasification of wastes into low carbon fuels and chemicals. An estimated $20 billion market, butadiene is a building block in a huge range of materials including synthetic rubber used in tires, belts, hoses, seals, carpet backing and medical latex; molded plastics used in consumer appliances such as vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances and electronic gadgets; nylon 6,6 used in textiles and engineering resins used in automotive engine components; and as a chemical intermediate for adhesives and speciality chemicals. The move to shale gas in the United States is driving butadiene scarcity and businesses are looking for alternative sources. At the same time, rising incomes in emerging markets are increasing demand for automotive purchases, tires, engine components and other consumer goods. The development work will be carried out at SK innovation’s state of the art research centre in Dae Jon, Korea. The research campus hosts more than 1,500 scientists and engineers and has been in operation since 1995. The centre focuses on research and development of new technologies in energy, petrochemical, and materials industries. It works on a wide range of research areas such as eco-friendly, premium petroleum products, asphalts, lubricants, polymers, green energy and advanced batteries. “Investment in science, technology and innovation has made Korea one of the world’s most dynamic industrial economies with Korean companies increasingly
renowned for the quality of their research and development work,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “We are excited to work with SK innovation, which is a pioneer in new energy technologies. The partnership provides LanzaTech with an opportunity to expand and grow our green chemicals portfolio, taking another important step toward our vision of creating a diversified range of fuels and chemicals using waste gas as a resource.” “As customer demand for green chemicals grows, we continue to seek innovative solutions to develop cost-competitive process technologies to serve important global markets,” said Dr. Byongsung Kwak, Chief Technology Officer, Global Technology, SK innovation. “We believe this collaboration provides a great opportunity to combine our expertise in R&D with the unique industrial waste gas fermentation technology LanzaTech has developed in order to to increase the supply of biobased butadiene globally.” LanzaTech aims to meet the increasing global demand for affordable and sustainable fuels and chemicals while also reducing overall emissions by recycling widely available industrial waste resources. LanzaTech uses a novel biological approach to transform carbon-rich waste gases (from industrial sources like steel mills and processing plants) or syngas generated from any biomass resource (for example, municipal solid waste, organic industrial waste or agricultural waste) into low carbon fuels and chemicals. LanzaTech is the first company ever to scale gas fermentation technology to a pre-commercial level, developing and successfully operating two facilities that convert waste flue gas from Baosteel and
Shougang steel plants into ethanol. Both facilities in China operated at annualized production capacity of 100,000 gallons. Site location and
engineering plans for commercial facilities are under way and commercial production is expected to begin in 2014.
Wireless power transfer to demanding markets
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inear Technology Corporation and PowerbyProxi have been working in partnership to develop wireless power systems for use in a range of applications and environments. As a first result of that partnership, Linear Technology has introduced the LTC4120 integrated circuit that combines a wireless power receiver with a full-featured battery charger to implement the receiver side of a complete wireless power transfer system – a first for the company and a revolutionary product for wireless battery charging. The chip implements PowerbyProxi’s patented Dynamic Harmonisation Control (DHC) technology, which allows for
dynamic load management across the power transfer interface to increase transmission range, reduce sensitivity to misalignment and to overcome the thermal issues that typically plague wireless receiver designs. The LTC4120 works with a range of transmitter solutions, including those manufactured by PowerbyProxi. LTC4120-based wireless power systems are targeted at demanding industrial and military applications, including handheld medical devices, portable diagnostic equipment, lighting and signalling equipment and any applications where a fully-sealed unit is required for waterproof, sanitary or no-spark operation. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
PRODUCTIVITY Business sentiment holding back productivity N
I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself. – Albert Einstein
ew Zealand businesses’ contentment with their own size is one of many issues holding back productivity, and breaking this inertia is critical if New Zealand is going to generate the economic outputs and incomes expected of a world class economy. The latest IBR survey into productivity showed that 77% of New Zealand business owners thought the desire to remain small and retain control of their destiny was hurting productivity. Simon Hunter, Business Transformation Partner, Grant Thornton New Zealand, said that the flipside to this statistic was that not many business owners were actively looking at ways to grow and increase their productivity and this is what’s actually constraining a lift in GDP. “These statistics are not a surprise,” said Hunter. “After 30 years of low productivity growth our GDP per capita is now 20% below the OECD average and 40% below Australia’s. We think of ourselves as a ‘can do’ country but the prevailing attitude from the survey is ‘won’t do’. This is a key factor that explains our poor competitive performance as a nation. “This desire to stay small and in control explains why for many years New Zealand’s answer to increasing
productivity and growth has been to throw more labour at issues rather than becoming smarter about how we do things. That’s not sustainable in the long term for individual business or the country as a whole.” There also appears to be a link between this attitude and other key factors that constrain growth and productivity, said Hunter. Seventythree percent of respondents thought business growth was limited by the skills of the owner and 61% said our lack of investment in research and development was also an issue. “This is partially due to the fact that many businesses only plan for the short-term. Improving productivity is a long-term game and yet 59% of those surveyed indicated that businesses tended to take a
Businesses tended to take a short-term view rather than make long-term capital investments.
short-term view rather than make long-term capital investments,” said Hunter. “The most productive firms in New Zealand, such as Air New Zealand, have had a long-term focus on productivity stretching back 20 years. These firms have a clear view of their future and have the confidence, people and frameworks to repeatedly make significant business and investment decisions regarding innovation, products, brands and assets that lead to a step change in performance.” The survey also showed that 57% of respondents thought businesses do not invest enough in developing talent and 73% thought our best talent frequently moves off shore. “Many business owners and managers despair at this loss of talent but this shouldn’t be a surprise when so many enterprises don’t have enough ambition or productivity to invest in employees and pay a decent salary.” Hunter also said that the preference to stay small and in control often results in businesses being increasingly insular in their day-to-day activities. “Seventy-two percent of those who took part in the survey stated that businesses do not collaborate enough with each other to drive mutual success. This is probably
one of the easiest areas where individuals in businesses can increase productivity. It requires an attitude change, and one of trust. Who can you work in collaboration with who will help your business? It is as easy as answering that question.” Hunter also said that despite these issues, New Zealand is still an exceptional country to build globally competitive enterprises in. “There are many forward thinking businesses that are constantly increasing their productivity, competitiveness and profitability as highlighted in Grant Thornton’s Global Dynamism Index where New Zealand ranked the fourth most dynamic country to do business. However, the biggest challenge – and opportunity for New Zealand – is that there are not enough of these enterprises and the balance of the stagnating enterprises creates a dead weight on the economy. This lack of productivity must be addressed if we do not want to drift further below the OECD average. “As the research shows, a change in attitude rather than a large investment of capital can make all the difference. Unless the mindset of New Zealand business owners and managers changes, no amount of capital investment will be effective,” he said.
MPI initiative to boost industry partnership a success
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he Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has welcomed two new secondees from industry to its policy branch, after an initial secondment into the standards branch has proven to be a success. Alistair Mowatt from Zespri International Limited and Mark Ward from the Riddet Institute bring industry expertise to the policy group’s strategic team which focuses on long-term decision making and future work programmes. This follows on from an initial secondment in March. “Having worked with a range of primary sectors at different levels of development enables me to add a unique set of strategic and innovative skills to the team,” says Mr Mowat who is working on the Export Double programme. Principal Advisor Mark Ward will lead the value chain mapping project and the seafood component of the team’s Export Double work. Policy Branch Strategy Manager Dr Sharon Adamson says there will be continuous rounds of secondments into the strategy team. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Alistair Mowatt
“Part of our motivation is to deepen the partnership between MPI and the primary industries. Secondees will not only learn about how government processes work, but also take work programmes back to the industry to use,” says Dr Adamson.
Part of our motivation is to deepen the partnership between MPI and the primary industries.
Mark Ward
Secondees are put through a rigorous recruitment process. The new round of secondees will work at MPI for the next year. It is expected the next round of secondment selections for the policy branch will occur from February 2014, and start 1 July, 2014.
NZ Manufacturer October 2013
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. – Dale Carnegie
Letting Standards Slip
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nternational Standards bring technological, economic and societal benefits. They help to harmonise technical specifications of products and services, making industry more efficient and breaking down barriers to international trade. Conformity to International Standards helps reassure consumers that products are safe, efficient and good for the environment. In this context, it is of some concern when reading the article by Kim Campbell of the Employers & Manufacturers Association that appeared in 9 September 2013 edition of The New Zealand Herald entitled ‘Govt risks another round of disasters if standards slip’; this article suggests that, in their Standards and Conformance Infrastructure Review, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is considering absorbing the national standards body functions, which are currently being delivered by Standards New Zealand. In most developed economies, standards are developed on a consensus-based approach, which ensures that they receive broadbased support from the industry, thereby ensuring that the Standard will be used widely. However, the proposal would effectively put MBIE in the position of both ‘poacher and gamekeeper’ by having staff whom rely on standards to support technical regulations whilst, at the same time, also being responsible for standards development activities. It would also be difficult to predict whether contributions from individuals will be as forthcoming if MBIE would acquire ownership
of their Intellectual Property, thereby stifling the implementation of innovation. Moreover, given that 80% of the existing Standards New Zealand catalogue consists of joint Australian and New Zealand Standards, it is uncertain how our international counterparts will view the proposal, and whether this will have a negative impact on both exporters and importers alike. As a research and development organisation, HERA has a long history of developing pre-normative design rules and tools that promote the proper and effective use of structural steel. Through its expert staff, it is spending a large proportion of the industry levy implementing research and development outcomes into joint Australian and New Zealand Standards, thereby promoting Closer Economic Relations (CER). As well as removing technical barriers on trade, the benefit of joint standards is that a greater variety of electronic design tools may become available due to international software providers being attracted to a larger customer base. In addition,
Much of the financial and functional problems that are currently being faced by Standards New Zealand are as a result of inadequate funding.
joint Standards will be easier to maintain in the future through its larger expert base, which will reduce the financial burden on New Zealand. In conclusion, HERA opposes the option given in the Standards and Conformance Infrastructure Review of full absorption of the standards setting process for the building and construction industry into the Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE); this will lead to internal regulator focused standard setting without the recognition of the role of Standards New Zealand and how Standards are used internationally. It is felt that much of the financial and functional problems
NZ MANUFACTURER • November 2013 Issue • Features Opinion Manufacturing Profiles Letters to the Editor Politics of Manufacturing Trade Fair World Diary of Events World Market Report Q/A Export News Machine Tools Business Opportunities Commentary As I See It Business News Appointments Around New Zealand Australian Report New to the Market Lean Manufacturing Equipment for Sale Recruitment Environmental Technology Manufacturing Processes
31
REAR VIEW
– Dr Stephen Hicks,
General Manager of the Structural Systems Division, NZ Heavy Engineering Research Association that are currently being faced by Standards New Zealand are as a result of inadequate funding. As a consequence of this, it is suggested that stable funding through a mixture of public and private sector contributions should be considered, as opposed to attempting to completely change the current model. If you have any comments or feedback about this comment, feel free to contact Stephen Hicks at structural@hera.org.nz
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NZ Manufacturer October 2013
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