Asia Pacific Infrastructure: August - September 2020

August - September 2020

Plastic roads success Shovel-ready and waiting

Steps forward for urban growth

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rust, relationships and agile decision-making figure highly as key considerations when managing crises, say authors Erica Seville and Richard Ball in the newly-published guide, A Board’s Role in a Crisis.

“There is no one instruction manual for a board facing a crisis,” the authors say.

“But there is much to learn from past events and some key themes that can help leaders navigate through.”

The two authors from Resilient Organisations interviewed 12 directors, board chairs and chief executives. Within the past 10 years each were involved in responses to some of the most significant crises that have occurred in New Zealand including infrastructure failure, market collapse, natural disasters, terrorist attacks through to pandemic responses.

Resilient Organisations specialises in helping or-

August - September 2020

Sage advice for managing a crisis Conversations with experienced New Zealand and Australian chairs, board members and chief executives reveals key themes to consider in crisis management ganisations ensure they are fit for the future. The new guide is published in partnership with the Institute of Directors and QuakeCoRE. The guide outlines key themes for boards to bear in mind when managing crises and aimed to extract lessons learned about the role, behaviours and leadership of boards, and to capture different perspectives on the board’s role in crisis.

The directors interviewed spanned a diverse range of sectors including banking, retail, health, electricity,

Key Lessons > Trust and relationships are crucial and can make or break recovery from crisis. Open, frequent and proactive communication to all stakeholders including employees is essential. Values are key. Leaders dealing with a crisis need to be keenly aware of how their own actions can promote or undermine important relationships.

transport, mining, local government and scientific research.

Institute of Directors chief executive Kirsten Patterson says being prepared for a crisis is key.

“Being prepared means constantly updating your knowledge and continually learning. Every crisis is different and there is no one size fits all approach.

“At the IoD we promote learning, we ask directors to share their experiences with others, and to be open with their knowledge. It is immensely valuable having insight that allows you to know what to consider.

“Then adapt flexibly to the situation you face. This report is another great addition to the toolkit for directors – for any leader in a crisis.”

“We started this project before the global pandemic,

and when we reflected that our own Prime Minister had been through three major situations in the space of a few months – a mass shooting, a deadly volcano eruption and the global pandemic,” author Erica Seville says.

“It seems that crises and learnings from them will be forever relevant – to equip leaders for next time.

“Taking time to reflect on a crisis provides valuable insight and learning not only for your board and organisation but can play an important role in helping other leaders and organisations to be able to focus on what is most important and can make the biggest difference during times of challenge.” www.resorgs.org.nz www.quakecore.nz www.iod.org.nz

> Rapid, well-considered decisions in an environment of high uncertainty and risk may feel like a tall order but is often critical. Being agile will depend on taking time before a crisis hits to discuss and agree principles that will guide decision making when challenge hits. Thinking about how you want to come out of the crisis will guide your strategic approach and decision-making. Having the right mechanisms in place to harness the collective wisdom of your board and leaders will also make a difference. > Amplifying health and safety, preparing for the long haul, preparation, and guiding the team rather than ‘playing the game’ for them (link to full report) are other themes raised by contributing directors. infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

Content Partners

3

Sage advice for managing a crisis

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ReBuilding Nations - the 'must attend' infrastructure event returns

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Political rabbits put in charge of the lettuce

10 Promise of reformed policies will advance infrastructure projects 14 Big steps forward for Urban Growth Agenda 16 New national freight hub 18 Rethinking plastics - the success of roads made out of plastic waste

Barry Dyer Chief Executive Responsible Care New Zealand

30 Plastic alternatives should not be written off 32 The world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine

34 Entire house 3D printed in just three weeks

49 Tired of retired tyres

36 What lies ahead for property in the rest of 2020?

52 Success has many fathers; failure is an orphan

37 How elections can influence the property market

55 Red Cross: Free booklet on psychological first aid

40 Hotel market makes surprising recovery

62 Unapproved face mask PPE falsely marketed as compliant

43 Changing workplace trends and how they will effect the future of the office

66 First Aid Kits - workplaces must have at least one

Paul Blair Chief Executive Infrastructure New Zealand

Hamish Glenn Policy Director Infrastructure New Zealand

Published by Media Solutions Ltd PO Box 503, Whangaparaoa Auckland 0943 09 428 7456 Original material published online and in this magazine is copyright,

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but may be reproduced providing permission is obtained from the editor and acknowledgement given to Media Solutions. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and may not necessarily be those of Media Solutions Ltd. Publisher ISSN 2624-0572 (Print) ISSN 2624-0580 (Online) 4 infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020 Sponsored Article

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osted by independent infrastructure thought leadership network, Infrastructure New Zealand, ReBuilding Nations is the key forum for the infrastructure sector to come together to progress thinking and advance best practice in national infrastructure development.

Build networks, hear the latest announcements from Ministers and key public officials on major infrastructure policy directions and help influence the future of New Zealand.

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August - September 2020

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August - September 2020 The construction industry stands to lose a huge amount of skilled workers

Political rabbits put in charge of the lettuce A combined plea from three key infrastructure associations garners a partial response from a government accused of using shovel-ready projects for politicking ahead of the election

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etails of 59 projects were released on July 27 by the government’s Infrastructure Reference Group after infrastructure industry leaders and opposition party MPs had earlier called for the release of the government’s full list of shovel-ready projects.

“Increasing numbers of

workers face redundancy and business confidence amongst construction and infrastructure companies nose-dives,” the joint communique from Infrastructure NZ, Civil Contractors NZ and the Association of Consulting and Engineering NZ said.

Early in July the Government had announced it had

selected 150 projects worth $2.6b that would create or retain 20,000 jobs.

It also indicated that it was looking to spend $464 million housing and urban development, $460 million on the environmental, $670 million on community and social development and $708m on transport projects.

But four weeks later, only projects worth about $500m (approximately 25 per cent of the total allocated) had been released.

A package including $761m of three waters funding had also been announced, but without any timelines.

As details of a further dozen or so trickled out during the month News-

Where the money is going • Auckland: $500 million • Canterbury: $300 million • Otago: $260 million • Wellington: $185 million • Bay of Plenty: $170 million • Waikato: $150 million • Northland: $150 million • Manawatū/Whanganui: $140 million 8

infrastructurenews.co.nz

• Hawkes Bay: $130 million • Southland: $90 million • West Coast: $90 million • East Coast: $106 million • Taranaki: $85 million • Top of the South Island: $85 million Source: Newsroom

August - September 2020 room was reportedly told

by Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones that the rest would be announced in coming weeks, some by ministerial visit. "I wouldn't want to break a habit," he told the news agency Finance Minister Grant Robertson said "this is about that certainty that we constantly hear from the construction sector they want".

Civil Contractors New Zealand chief Peter Silcock says while the funding announcements were welcome, details were urgently needed, or people would lose their jobs.

“There was a big difference between making announcements and providing meaningful employment opportunities through economic activity,” Silcock says.

The latest “in principle approvals subject to contract negotiations” provide support or total funding to $1.365 billion of $2.151 billion worth of projects.

Investment values are also subject to change.

“The current situation is incredibly frustrating,” says Silcock. “We know the work is out there, but unless we know where, what and most importantly when projects will start, contractors are left totally in the dark. They will have no choice but to put workers off or face the risk of companies going under.”

A joint letter from industry leaders was sent to ministers in mid-June stating the urgent need. Ministers responded that answers were ‘imminent’, but the actual project details are still trickling out slowly, “Companies are running out of options,” say Infrastructure New Zealand chief Paul Blair.

“Timing is everything.

Projects starting construc-

tion today had planners, designers and architects at work last year. Contractors began allocating resources, scaling up or down based on predictions of work.

“The problem now was that no one could see six to 12 months ahead, so they were taking risks retaining staff on assumptions work would appear or having to cut back hours.

“It’s very stressful, it’s increasing costs and it’s completely avoidable. The full list and timing of shovel ready projects needs to be released now with a clear commitment to project timeframes.”

Association of Consulting and Engineering Chief Executive Paul Evans said the situation was looking dire as local government cut spending on infrastructure projects.

“Unless urgent action is taken, the infrastructure and construction industries stood to lose a huge amount of skilled workers.”

Job creation • Auckland City Mission - 200 jobs during construction and 150 once completed.

• Bay of Plenty - Wharenui Road and SH30 with Rotorua Lakes District Council and NZTA - 300 jobs.

• Canterbury: Coastal Pathway with Christchurch Coastal Pathway Group and Christchurch City Council - 100 jobs over a year.

• East Coast: Rugby Park Grandstand with Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union - 30 jobs • Hawke’s Bay: Whakatu Inland Port with Port of Napier Ltd - 46 full-time jobs over two-years then 28 jobs once completed.

• Northland: Whangarei Rejuvenation with Whangarei District Council, Whangarei Boys High School, Hihiaua Cultural Centre Trust, Northland Rugby, Bike Northland Incorporated and Ruakaka Recreation Centre - 200 jobs.

• Taranaki: Thermal Drying Facility Replacement with New Plymouth District Council - 77 jobs during construction.

• Top of the South: Blenheim Art Gallery and Library with Marlborough District Council - 30 direct jobs.

• Southland: Invercargill Inner City Development with Invercargill City Limited - 350 jobs • Waikato: Taupo Town Centre with Taupo District Council - 92 jobs Source: Newsroom

Grant Robertson calls it the certainty the construction industry was looking for, and when it comes to announcements, Shane Jones "wouldn't want to break a habit."

Photo: Mark Mitchell infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

The promise of I reformed policies will advance infrastructure projects The politicking over priorities and funding is underway over the National Party’s $31 billion infrastructure plans but the promise of pipeline clarity and the focus of the programme as a blueprint draws praise

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f elected in September, National will spend $31 billion on additional transport projects across New Zealand in the next 10 years with plans cemented for a further 10 years.

The incumbent Labour Party appears to have been caught a little flatfooted and a revised version of its three-year-old transport infrastructure plan can be expected soon.

Of the $31 billion an elected National Party would spend, $17.5 billion will be on additional transport projects in the upper North Island.

This includes $12.8 billion for Auckland and it 1.6 million population and $4.7 billion for the remainder

August - September 2020 of the upper North Island including Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty which, with Auckland , account for a bit over half of New Zealand’s population (and voters).

“National’s commitment to reforming planning and transport investment is welcome and, if supported by effective and timely delivery, could be transformational for New Zealand,” says Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Paul Blair.

A key plank in National’s infrastructure policy is replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA) with an Environment Act and a Planning & Development Act, closely aligned to the models adopted by South Australia and Scotland.

Blair agrees. “RMA reform and transformational investment has been talked about for many years, but successive governments have been challenged to overcome barriers within each three-year cycle.

“The replacement of the RMA with separate environmental protection and strategic planning acts is necessary to pivot New Zealand away from decades of effects-based planning which has failed to support growth and productivity,” he says.

Chief executive of Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Peter Silcock says major infrastructure projects span multiple political terms, and changes to projects on ideological grounds cause delays and escalate costs.

“These projects need consistency to efficiently get through the torturous process of planning, engineering, designing, consenting, procuring and constructing,” he says.

Blair reckons the next

National's new infrastructure package Auckland • Fourth Main Rail Line • East West Link • Bus Rapid Transit from Onehunga to the CBD • Northwest Bus Rapid Transit • Puhinui to Airport Rail Link • Rail from Onehunga to Auckland Airport • Electrify rail to Pōkeno in Waikato • Diesel rail shuttle to Huapai • Start second Waitematā Harbour Crossing • Upgrade Auckland’s Ferry Network • Additional funding for Auckland Local Boards • Investigate electrification of rail to Kumeu • Investigate rail between Avondale and Southdown government will need to rapidly move to reform key statutes like the RMA, Local Government Act and Land Transport Management Act, without losing momentum on projects needed to implement government direction.

Party leader Judith Collins pledged to work with local government to make existing RMA procedures more efficient, “but we will also legislate to advance projects if necessary,” she warns.

Wider resource management system reform which aligns planning and investment across central and local government is needed “to achieve the kind of economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes everyone wants, according to Blair.

Silcock says the 20-year horizon will enable the development of a strong pipeline of work that will provide consistent employment and development opportunities for thousands of people.

Still, Collins says National

Upper North Island • Expressway between Warkworth and Wellsford • Hamilton Southern Links project.

• Cambridge to Piarere extension of the Waikato expressway • State Highway 29 upgrade an expressway between Piarere and the Kaimai Range • State Highway 2 upgrade between Tauranga to Katikati, including the Tauranga Northern Link • State Highway 1 upgrade between Ruakaka to Wellsford -- a tunnel under the Brynderwyn Hills) • State Highway 29 upgrade from Tauranga to the Kaimai Range - a tunnel through the range

is committed to progressing current projects like those in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project or underway within the upper North Island now. Except, that is, for the light rail project in Auckland, funding for which will be reallocated to upper North Island priorities.

Projects under way or approved and specifically mentioned as being in favour with National were Penlink, Mill Road (four lanes), Papakura to Drury South road improvements, third main rail line, electrification to Pukekohe and Drury rail stations.

The party was “sceptical” about the current incarnation of the $360 million Skypath pedestrian and cycle route on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and says it has better ways for cyclists and walkers to get across the harbour.

“We are very pleased to see most existing projects being supported,” says Silcock. “That will provide short- and medium-term confidence and continuity

that we desperately need.”

An expressway between Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga would be completed “sometime in the 2030s and would include tunnels through the Brynderwyn and Kaimai mountains,” says Collins. “Motorists would be charged a “small toll” to use the roads.”

National claims it would fund the projects over many years by tolling some of the new roads, but admits the headline catching Brynderwyn and Kaimai tunnel projects are not included in current budgets.

Collins sidesteps the issue by referring to tolls and the fact that the projects fall outside the current policy parameters, being set for more than 10 years in the future. Opposition pundits reckon it is a $6 billion hole whenever it occurs.

“These are great projects that people want to work on. They will transform communities not just by creating transport connections but also through infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020 employment and skills development,” says Silcock “We now have the opportunity to get away from the boom bust cycle and provide consistent long-term career opportunities for a range of people including apprentices, machine operators and engineers,” he claims.

Collins says the National Party would improve and extend Auckland’s commuter rail system to the north Waikato town of Pōkeno from 2024. “That will then allow the possibility of proper commuter rail to Hamilton to be considered.”

Funding for its additional investment, National says, will come from increasing the capacity of the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to fund projects, restoring state highway funding within the National Land Transport Fund and allocating funding from the Covid-19 Response & Recovery Fund, unallocated New Zealand Upgrade Programme funding and future capital allowances.

“The intergenerational approach will let the NZTA borrow significantly more on its own balance sheet,

using the $4 billion annual revenue from fuel tax and road user charges, to service the debt,” the party says.

“National’s plan is close to being fully funded, at least in the current meaning of the term where debt is free and counts as fully funding something,” says Infrastructure NZ Policy Director Hamish Glenn.

The plan allows NZTA to borrow $1 billion per year for 10 ten years to fund new investment in transport infrastructure, which the party says “allows us to properly develop a pipeline of projects around the country and invest ahead of time rather than after an investment is needed,” says Collins.

“Not only would this borrowing lift NZTA’s spending capability, it would also mean that future generations pay fairly for the benefits they get from today’s investments,” says Blair.

“A comprehensive project pipeline is a critical first deliverable for the next government to ensure industry is ready and capable to meet future work demands,” he says.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the reallocation would require the cancellation of projects as the $6.2b in the National Land Transport Fund and $3.9b in the NZ Upgrade Programme was already allocated to the multi-year capital allowance.

“They are cutting Auckland’s transport funding

but not identifying which projects will go. The axe is hanging over projects like Skypath that Aucklanders want and that will create jobs in the next year, in order to fund projects that are over a decade away,” he says.

Mike Bishara is the publisher of AsiaPacific Infrastructure

National's new transport funding NZTA Borrowing

Covid-19 Response & Recovery Fund

NLTF Reallocation

Unallocated NZ Upgrade Programme

Capital Allowance

Total

2021/22

$1,000m

$1,750m

$395m

0

0

$3,145m

2022/23

$1,000m

$1,750m

$595m

0

0

$3,345m

2023/24

$1,000m

$1,750m

$644m

0

0

$3,394m

2024/25

$1,000m

$1,750m

$617m

0

0

$3,367m

2025/26

$1,000m

0

$639m

$1,300m

0

$2,939m

2026/27

$1,000m

0

$656m

$1,300m

0

$2,956m

2027/28

$1,000m

0

$657m

$1,300m

0

$2,957m

2028/29

$1,000m

0

$674m

0

$1,400m

$3,074m

2029/30

$1,000m

0

$685m

0

$1,400m

$3,085m

2030/31

$1,000m

0

$701m

0

$1,500m

$3,201m

Total

$10,000m

$7,000m

$6,263m

$3,900m

$4,300m

$31,463m

12

infrastructurenews.co.nz

August - September 2020

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13

August - September 2020

Big steps forward for Urban Growth Agenda The infrastructure industry has gone through a blizzard of policy change, with five key bills landing in the final two weeks of the current parliamentary term

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he Government’s Urban Growth Agenda was designed to address the fundamentals of land supply, development capacity and enabling infrastructure. The five pillars of focus are: 1. Infrastructure funding and financing; 2. Urban planning; 3. Spatial planning; 4. Transport pricing; and 5. Legislative reform.

The Infrastructure Funding & Financing Bill enables developers to work with

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the Crown to accelerate the provision of infrastructure in areas where the local council is unwilling or unable to provide the necessary pipes, roads and community infrastructure to enable land to be released for housing and businesses.

The National Policy Statement on Urban Development (2020) requires councils (especially growth councils) to provide much more dynamic capacity for urban growth.

In our larger/higher

growth areas it creates intensification (notably allowing buildings up to six stories within walking distance of rapid transit stops), removes car parking requirements and for all councils it requires planning changes to respond to Te Tiriti of Waitangi, housing affordability, community amenity and wellbeing and a pro-development stance.

Tony Randerson QC, led an independent panel which has recommended sweeping reforms, includ-

ing repeal of the Resource Management Act. The Randerson panel recommends replacing the RMA with a Natural & Built Environment Act and a Strategic Planning Act, with a critical change being the move away from a negative focus on ‘effects’ towards a more positive planning approach aiming to achieve broader wellbeing outcomes.

Randerson also recommends the creation of a sepearte Managed Re-

August - September 2020 treat and Climate Change Adaptation Act, reflecting the need for a separate Act to recognise the complex, national level issues.

Randerson strongly supports the concept of regional spatial planning, suggesting collapse of over 100 policy statements and plans into just 14 integrated combined plans.

Spatial plans would assume much greater weight than the consenting process, flipping the focus from localised and individual decision making into one where regional and national strategic aims, embedded into spatial plans with the support of iwi, community, local and central government, would support broader outcomes and clearer, quicker decision making.

The Randerson Review is a massive (and positive) change which we expect will be a 2020 election issue.

Pillar four, transport pricing, unfortunately has not progressed through to a bill.

Many advocacy groups and some political parties are calling for progress in the next term – this is a critical issue to assist with decarbonising our economy, optimising use of existing assets and optimising the transport/land use mix for our country.

The Urban Development Act has granted Kainga Ora – Homes & Communities sweeping powers to alter urban areas.

If Kainga Ora designates a ‘Specified Development Project’ (a defined area of land anywhere in New Zealand, following a designation process) it will have the power to modify RMA plans, to consent those plans, to build change and move infrastructure, to use the Public Works Act to acquire land and to use

tools like targeted rates to levy charges against any infrastructure it builds.

These powers are common overseas, but this is a first for New Zealand.

Lastly, the Three Waters Reform Programme proposes sweeping reforms to consolidate our 67 water providers ultimately into four or five water providers of much greater scale. The provision of clean drinking water and access to both

wastewater & stormwater services is critical to enable urban growth, amenity and public health.

Effective, integrated implementation of these reforms has the potential to radically reform the way our urban centres operate, creating better transport and land use integration, higher quality urban environments, better housing affordability and sustainable economic growth.

Paul Blair Chief Executive Infrastructure New Zealand infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

Regional T Freight Hub unveiled The preferred site for the 2.5 kilometre long inter-modal freight hub is between Palmerston North Airport and Bunnythorpe

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he announcement of the preferred site for the Regional Freight Hub near Palmerston North is a significant milestone for this nationally important logistics project.

Palmerston North is a nationally strategic freight location, with domestic and export goods moving to the city from Auckland and the upper North Island, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay and Wellington.

Freight volumes are expected to increase

significantly in the coming decades and it is crucial that we have an integrated transport network to support this growth. Rail is an important part of this picture.

KiwiRail is progressing plans for a high-tech, intermodal freight hub which will help grow Palmerston North’s role as a critical freight distribution centre for the lower North Island.

It will support rail and road transport working together to meet the freight demand in the lower North Island, while boosting the regional economy.

The hub project is aligned with Horizon’s and Palmerston North City Council growth plans and it will tie in with other freight transport projects in the region.

KiwiRail has received investment through the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund to undertake the design (Master Plan) of the hub, have the land designated for rail use and commence purchasing the required land.

“The Regional Freight Hub will have huge longterm benefits for Palmerston North and the wider Manawatu – with the ability to attract two to four billion dollars of logistics investment into the area – while servicing the entire central and lower North Island.

It will be New Zealand’s first, truly world-class supply chain logistics precinct – including capacity for a log yard, bulk goods silo, container terminal (including free trade zone capability for exports), significant warehousing for freight partners, and KiwiRail’s operations.

Integrating all of these services, on this scale, creates efficiencies and cost savings that will set the standard for New Zealand

August - September 2020

logistics and support the growth of Palmerston North as a distribution centre well into the future.

KiwiRail is a proud part of the Palmerston North community and he wants to ensure locals are involved as the design of the Hub is finalised.

The Hub is designed to enable our trains and heavy trucks to work efficiently together, while helping to get trucks out of already congested parts of Palmerston North city.

“I fully appreciate a project of this size represents a big change for the local community. That is why we want to work with the public as we finalise the design of the Hub to ensure we have the right mitigations in place and any environmental impacts are minimised.

“KiwiRail has contacted affected landowners and today begins wider public consultation that will allow feedback on aspects of the Hub footprint, and the mitigations we will be developing. My team will also be holding public meetings in and around Palmerston North in the weeks ahead.

“The Regional Freight Hub is designed to meet the freight needs of the Manawatu and the surrounding regions for the next 100 years. Announcing the preferred site is a major milestone in this important regional project.”

Design, consenting, and acquisition of land for the Regional Freight Hub is funded through a $40 million investment from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund.

Benefits

> Reducing transport emissions and road costs – every tonne of freight carried by rail has 66 per cent fewer carbon emissions than heavy road freight.

Getting more freight on rail also reduces road maintenance costs and improves road safety. > Taking pressure off city roads – situating the hub outside Palmerston North and integrating it with NZTA’s planned freight road and Manawatu Gorge road, will take freight traffic out of central Palmerston North and reduce congestion. > Growing the logistics industry in Manawatu – KiwiRail will also work with key customers on major infrastructure requirements to encourage logistics and distribution businesses into the area, to help grow the sector and create more local jobs.

infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

Time to N rethink our no compromise view of plastics There is a future for plastic waste in road construction and maintenance among others

18

infrastructurenews.co.nz

o doubt, waste plastic is a significant contributor to Australasian waste generation with way too much of it going to landfill.

But there is good argument also for including the use of plastics and composites in our circular economy ambitions.

For example, there is growing interest in exploring the viability of using recycled plastic in roads with advantages to the environmental and the development of sustainable

August - September 2020 road making materials.

A report late last year by Austroads, a collective of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, found that waste plastic can act as a partial aggregate replacement in bituminous mixes and a binder extender without having any significant influence on the properties of the asphalt mix.

While there may be environmental benefits associated with the use of recycled plastic, there are concerns regarding the potential health and safety hazards, mainly relating to the workers using the material.

Not all recycled plastics are suitable for bitumen modification at high temperatures. For example, heating poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) at high temperatures can result in dangerous chloride emissions.

In addition, alternative

In 2018, a series of road trials took place around Australia, mainly involving two proprietary products from suppliers MacRebur and Downer EDI. The report provides details and performance testing results reported by the manufacturers of these two products.

It was found that soft plastics were the materials such as reclaimed asphalt pavement, crumb rubber, glass and crushed concrete have been increasingly used for road pavement construction.

All of the commercial products available in the Australian and New Zealand market are made from different classes of plastics and little is known about the manufacturing process.

Since the Australian trials with recycled plastic only commenced in 2018, it is important that the performance of these pavements be monitored over the longer term, the report says

predominant material used in road trials in Australia.

Soft plastics are those that can be scrunched into a ball such as plastic shopping bags, bread bags, cereal bags, bubble wrap, fruit and vegetable bags, packaging, netting.

Still, if recycled plastic can be successfully incorporated into pavements it will enhance road-building material options and lessen the reliance on virgin non-renewable resources.

There will be environmental and, potentially, commercial benefits arising from reduced landfill and the benefits associated with a consistent and reliable source of recycled materials for the road building industry.

The use of recycled plastics will improve sustainability through climate and infrastructure resilience

benefits.

The most commonly recycled plastics are PET, HDPE, LDPE and PP which comprise more than 85 percent of all reprocessed Australian plastics.

The report suggests the use of HDPE, LDPE and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are most prevalent for binder and asphalt modification. PET also has a high potential for reuse.

Some plastics are more difficult to reprocess owing to their chemical properties, resulting in increased proportions being sent to landfill.

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Three products developed and tested from simple ideas in India

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n 2015, a commercial plastic waste recycling venture was released in Scotland.

The idea behind the product was inspired by practice in Southern India of retrieving waste plastic to fill up potholes.

Diesel was then poured over it and the mix set on fire until the plastic melted into the craters and formed a makeshift plastic pothole

filler.

India has been using plastic in the construction of roads since the turn of the century, following a process developed by Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a chemistry professor at Thiagarajar College of Engineering in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Vasudevan's process involves scattering shredded plastic over hot stones

to form a thin, primer coat.

This is then added to bitumen, resulting in a strong bond.

To date, this method has been used on an estimated 100,000 kilometers of roads across India.

In late 2015, the Indian road transport ministry made it mandatory to construct roads using waste plastic in most urban areas.

MacRebur has now pro-

duced three products (MR6, MR8 and MR10) made from domestic and industrial waste plastic.

These products have a melting point lower than that of typical asphalt and binder production temperatures, enabling it to melt into the binder to extend and modify it.

These three products come in a different colours and forms:

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August - September 2020 • MR6 – comes in pellet form and is intended to be incorporated directly into the asphalt production plant. It modifies the asphalt by increasing its tensile strength and the softening point. It is flexible but rigid and unbreakable.

It is reported to work well in hot conditions (like Australia) as it has a melting point of 110 °C. • MR8 – a shredded plastic. It was developed to be a more economical bitumen extender without any performance enhancement. It is a cheaper version of MR6.

• MR10 – comes in pellet form (looks similar to MR6).

It was developed to provide a more crack-resistant binder. In contrast to MR6, it is flexible in a solid form - it rebounds when flexed.

It was reported that it worked well in colder climates such as the UK, Canada and Russia.

In 2017, Cumbria County Council was the first highway authority in the UK to trial MacRebur’s plastic-based material.

An equivalent of 500,000 plastic bottles and over 800,000 one-time-use plastic bags were recycled for a 400m long by 20m wide strip of road.

MacRebur says the company aims to use a ratio of 50/50 domestic and commercial waste for local road applications.

In Australia, MacRebur performed a road trial for Brisbane in 2018.

There is limited information about this trial in the public domain although it is understood that a series of performance tests has been conducted by Brisbane City Council’s Pavement Division in association with the University of Sunshine Coast, Boral and Fulton Hogan.

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The proof is in the plastic Testing was undertaken to compare the behaviour of a binder that had been supplemented with the MacRebur products -- MR6, MR8 and MR10.

When 4.5 percent of MR6 was added to the C170 binder, the properties were similar to a A35P bitumen with good torsional recovery and an increased softening point to about 78 degrees celsius.

This was in line MacRebur’s claims that MR6 mimics a plastomeric polymer and MR10 an elastomeric polymer.

However, the MR10 blend was much stiffer, which contradicted the claim.

There was no significant difference in the properties when the MR8 was added to the C170 bitumen.

Six per cent (by mass of bitumen) of MR6 and MR10 was added to the C320 bitumen through a batch plant.

Another two batches of asphalt were prepared which were C320 and Multigrade M1000 control mixes.

The deformation resistance of the MR6 mix was superior to the M1000 mix.

However, the tensile strength of both the MR6 and MR10 mixes dropped drastically when the mix was exposed to moisture.

The addition of MR6 to the C320 mix resulted in an increase in stiffness similar to the M1000 mix, but very little difference with the MR10 mix.

However, the fatigue results for the MR6 were poor, suggesting no improvement to the life cycle of the asphalt. The fatigue life of the MR10 mix, on the other hand, was slightly higher but minimal compared to the results for the C320 and M1000 mixes.

It was suggested that this behaviour could be due to the poor digestion of the waste plastic material in the samples, as some pellets were still visible.

An asphalt mix containing British pen grade 40/60 bitumen (equivalent to C320) modified with 6 percent MR6, MR8 and MR10 was undertaken.

Testing was conducted according to British Standard EN 13108-5:2016 and it was found that the addition of all three products resulted in an improvement in deformation resistance and overall structural contribution.

MR10 had the highest stiffness modulus, whilst MR6 had the most significant effect on asphalt fracture resistance and deformation resistance.

This contrasted with the original intention of MR6 to exhibit plastomeric properties rather than MR10.

The tests also suggested that the addition of MR6 and MR10 resulted in improved fracture toughness and fatigue life.

August - September 2020

The Future of the Profession in Philippines Age of Digital Transformation and Disruption of the Quantity Surveying Profession in the New World

17 October 2020

Delivered as a digital conference In collaboration with Philippine Institute of Certified Quantity Surveyors (PICQS), the digital conference will uncover how the roles of the quantity surveying and its related professions & disciplines are evolving as the Philippines built environment undergoes industry and digital transformation alongside the new roadmap in the new COVID-19 economy.

Through unparalleled thought-provoking content, the digital conference will feature prominent overseas and local speakers from the entire built environment value chain, providing the latest updates and developments in Philippines and the region’s built ecosystem for all built environment professionals. #RICSFPCP

Early bird ends 22 August, find out more at rics.org/FPCP infrastructurenews.co.nz

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New ideas with soft plastics and glass Downers launched its soft-plastic trial road using Reconophalt in Craigieburn, north of Melbourne in 2018

D

owner, Hume City Council, Close the Loop, Sustainability Victoria and RED Group worked in partnership to build the first ever Australian road with soft plastics, glass and toner.

The same day, the project was the first to be funded under the A$2.5 million Resource Recovery Market Development Programme of the Australian state to support market development for recovered resources materials.

Downer’s expertise in building infrastructure and

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facilities combined with the ability of recycling companies such as Close the Loop allowed for the use of materials such as glass and printer cartridge toner to manufacture asphalt, effectively keeping it out of Australia’s waste stream.

Through the REDcycle program (hosted by the RED Group), unwanted plastic shopping bags and other soft plastics such as food packaging were collected from bins placed at major supermarkets to be re-used in an environmentally responsible manner.

It is not limited to only using recently banned plastic bags. Sustainability Victoria estimates that 170,000 tonnes of soft plastic waste is created in Victoria each year, with only 17,000 tonnes or 10 percent recovered The programme is not limited to only using recently banned plastic bags.

Sustainability Victoria estimates that 170,000 tonnes of soft plastic waste is created in Victoria each year, with only 17,000 tonnes or 10 percent recovered.

Close the Loop trans-

forms the soft plastics collected by the REDcycle program along with waste toner collected through programs such as Cartridges 4 Planet Ark to develop an asphalt additive called TonerPlas.

TonerPlas is then mixed with glass and Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) to produce the final proprietary product named Reconophalt.

Downer commissioned an internal research and development program to assess product performance, occupational health and safety

August - September 2020 risks and scalability in a real-world application.

There is no risk of releasing microplastics into the environment. The asphalt is made up of 95 percent aggregate and five percent bituminous binder.

The bituminous binder is the ‘glue’ that bonds and waterproofs the aggregates.

The soft plastics additive melts and becomes part of the bituminous binder.

Because of this process it is not possible for the additive to separate out creating microplastics.

This method involves returning plastic waste to its original polymer state which is used as a substitute for virgin petrochemical products which are normally mined for use in road construction.

The roads industry has used virgin polymers since the 1990s and this soft plastics initiative follows a similar vein; where asphalt manufactures modify a road construction material to improve long term performance.

The sustainable, cost-competitive road has a 65 per cent improvement in fatigue life and a superior resistance to deformation allowing it to better handle heavy vehicle traffic.

When scaled up from the Melbourne trial, every kilometre of two-lane road paved with plastic and glass modified asphalt would use about 530,000 recycled plastic bags and packaging, 170,000 recycled glass bottles, toner from 12,500 used printer cartridges, 130 tonnes of reclaimed road (asphalt) re-used with the inclusion of 20 percent RAP. It is not limited to only using recently banned plastic bags. Sustainability Victoria estimates that 170,000 tonnes of soft plastic waste is created in

New Zealand Experience Fulton Hogan, in partnership with Christchurch Airport, conducted a trial with recycled plastic modified asphalt mix.

PlastiPhalt®, which was developed by Fulton Hogan and used to pave half of Christchurch Airport’s fire station.

PlastiPhalt® is made from used oil containers collected through Fulton Hogan’s Recovering Oil Saves the Environment (ROSE) scheme.

Previously, these containers could not be reused due to the residual oil left on the inner surface.

Victoria each year, with only 17,000 tonnes or 10 percent recovered.

However, it costs 2-5 percent more than standard asphalt due to the additive production and transport costs. Despite this, it was claimed that it was still 25% cheaper than PMB-modified.

In 2014, the company began its research program by shredding these plastic containers to an ideal size before incorporating them into an asphalt-grade bitumen.

PlastiPhalt® is used to modify the asphalt mix required to meet the performance requirements of any given site.

Once it is blended and ready to be used, it is sampled and laboratory tested to ensure the level of modification is achieved.

Additional plastic material can be added to fine-tune the mix, if required.

Alex Fraser has recently resurfaced two municipal streets in the City of Yarra, Victoria with its proprietary product, PolyPaveTM. The resurfacing of Stanley and Margaret Streets in Richmond was reported to contain recycled glass, asphalt and HDPE plastic (hard plastic/bottles), amounting to almost 100 tonnes of recycled waste.

The city has re-engaged Alex Fraser to repair and repave several more streets. infrastructurenews.co.nz

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Place your order now for the recycled plastic modular road Industrial manufacture of the PlasticRoad will start in the first quarter of 2021

In September 2018, a 30-metre-long bicycle path called PlasticRoad, composed of recycled plastics, was installed in Zwolle, Netherlands.

The innovation was the result of collaboration between three companies, an engineering firm KWS (a VolkerWessels company), Wavin (a subsidiary of the plastic piping company Mexicham), and an energy company Total.

The first pilot trial in Zwolle involved the use of 70 percent of recycled plastic, including plastic bottles, beer cups, cosmetic packaging, plastic furniture and the like.

Besides the effective use of waste plastic that would otherwise have been incinerated or dumped into landfill, the construction of the path was fast and easy.

This was because the road design incorporated prefabricated and lightweight modular pieces put together like Lego.

The path was installed in a matter of days, thus reducing of the normal down26

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time and traffic obstruction often related to traditional road construction methods.

The modular design also resulted in a reduction of in the levels of greenhouse gas emissions typically associated with conventional road construction methods.

PlasticRoad is hollow. As a result, it offers many benefits, including the ability to cater for utility services such as pipelines and cables for high-speed internet, and the storage of rainwater to mitigate flooding.

It was reported that this concept offers opportunities for further innovation such as solar roads, light poles and traffic loop sensors.

A second pilot trial was established by the same partnership in November 2018 in the town of Giethoorn.

Similar to the first trial, this was also a 30-metre long bicycle track but smaller and smaller and lighter equipment was used to ‘pick and drop’ the fabricated pieces.

A

fter more than 18 months of testing, learning and continued development into a design suited for industrial production, the circular economy technology known as PlasticRoad is now ready for commercial launch.

At the time of their installation in 2018, both test roads in the Netherlands were fitted with sensors that enabled 24/7 monitoring of their use and behaviour.

It has become clear from practical tests and data that the PlasticRoad is also a match for heavier loads like garbage trucks and maintenance vehicles.

Further improvements to the design mean that the definite version will be more rugged and 2.5 times stron-

August - September 2020

ger than the test sections.

This makes the PlasticRoad suited at this stage for applications like parking lots, and the first pilot project for this application is underway.

The eventual realisation of the first PlasticRoad for cars and other road traffic has become more likely than ever, the project team says.

“The PlasticRoad has proven able to handle heavy loads and offers an effective solution for water management with heavy precipita-

tion and periods of drought.

It holds up under a wide range of conditions and the group behind the PlasticRoad initiative are “exceptionally satisfied with the results of the pilot project and look forward to seeing the first PlasticRoad element roll off the production line.”

Marcel Jager and Anne Koudstaal of the PlasticRoad project team say “ we have proven that our ground-breaking circular concept – a prefab road

based on recycled plastic – is feasible in practice.

“An initiative that started in 2018 with two pilot projects is now ready for industrial production – a feat that we are incredibly proud of.”

Each pilot contained about 1000 kg of recycled plastics, the equivalent of 218,000 plastic cups.

The pilot version of the PlasticRoad has already cut carbon emissions by between some 50 percent and 70 percent compared

to conventional bike paths made from asphalt or concrete.

The group says this percentage stands to increase even further when the finalised design is taken into industrial production in 2021.

The circular characteristics of the finalised product have been optimised by further developing the road’s structural design – an achievement that has been confirmed by an independent circular audit. infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020 Climate-adaptive infrastructure Extreme precipitation and heavy showers are becoming increasingly common as a consequence of climate change.

In many cases, current infrastructure struggles to accommodate all the excess water – with flooded streets as the result.

The hollow sections under the PlasticRoad’s surface are intended to quickly store this sudden precipitation and then gradually allow it to infiltrate the subsoil.

This climate-adaptive solution turns out to work

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very well in practice.

“Before the two test sections were installed, both locations used to be affected by water storage problems,” the group says.

“But with PlasticRoad, even the heaviest showers proved to have a minimal impact on local storage capacity.

“The highest water level measured within the PlasticRoad was only 48 percent of the available storage capacity at one test site.

The water subsequently infiltrates the subsoil within the next two days – exactly as predicted.

The project looks certain to encounter strong interest from the market.

Based on the convincing results recorded in the pilot projects, the PlasticRoad team are taking he production line into operation.

The PlasticRoad is available for orders immediately with initial deliveries in the first quarter of 2021.

Working together with clients and contractors, PlasticRoad will be launching a variety of applications that can help make cities and towns climate-adaptive and carbon-neutral.

For example, the PlasticRoad planning includes bike paths, parking lots, pavements and schoolyards. The team will initially be focusing on clients in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, after which they expect to scale up to markets in other parts of the world. www.plasticroad.eu

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August - September 2020

Why we shouldn't O dismiss plastic alternatives Hero plastics’ performance during Covid-19 pandemic points to expanding industrial safety and hygiene uses

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ne of the major groups of materials protecting medical and front-line workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, engineering plastics, is also making headway as an alternative to metals in hygiene and safety-conscious industrial markets, including machinery componentry, safety, automation and industry 4.0 and process applications.

Most of the PPE equipment used in the masks, goggles, gloves, gowns and coveralls involved in the Covid-19 pandemic are made of non-woven polymer polypropylene, while other translucent shields between customers and retail staff, for example, are made from polycarbonates such as Wearguard™, which are not only very tough, but also very easy to wash down and resistant to chemicals involved.

“It is in fact quite possible to introduce anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities into the formulation used to manufacture different engineering thermoplastics families – while other plastics groups are suitable in their natural or food grade state to substitute hygienically and cost efficiently for metals used in production process and Industry 4.0 higher speed automation,” says engineering plastics authority Mr Laurie Green.

Custom manufactured plastics – sometimes with added hygienic, mechanical and lubrication qualities – can include Wearlon™ PTFE (Polytetrafluorethylene) and Wearex™ UHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene). Standard product groups, including Wearlon™ Nylon, Wearace™ Acetal and Wearthane™ polyeurethane can not only be modified, but are often suitable in their

August - September 2020

natural state as light but tough high-performance alternatives to metals in applications demanding excellent impact resistance, high mechanical strength, high physical protective qualities, strong washdown and chemical performance and outstanding sliding and machinability qualities.

“In addition to being used as machinery components – such as shields, rollers, bearings, guards, sprockets, guides and sheaves – some of these versatile materials can be used to fabricate entire large machinery components, such as plummer blocks,” says Mr Green, who is Managing Director of national and international plastics supplier Cut To Size Plastics. Cut To Size Plastics engineering materials comply with some of the world’s toughest food contact and process standards. The company is also registered on the NSW Government’s Covid-19 Emergency Suppliers portal as a company that can supply raw material for manufacturing processes and products, as well as adapting its processes to manufacture components for urgently needed medical equipment, such as ventilators.

Mr Green, who has more

than 40 years’ experience in specifying and supplying engineering plastics, says the Covid-19 pandemic will give manufacturers a renewed focus on the hygiene and washdown qualities of materials to be selected for use in processes and machinery, particularly those involved in the preparation and export of food, beverage, medical and agricultural products.

“We are not saying for a moment that engineering plastics are better in every instance than metal alternatives, because you have to consider each application on its particular engineering merits. But we do say that, for an expanding variety of applications, engineering plastics may be ideal and cost-efficient for applications for which they have not previously been considered – until now.”

“Australian manufacturing has for a long time been metals-focussed, because that is the way it has always been done here. European and other purity-focused manufacturers have been much more open to change, and they are the ones who have been leaders in purity and hygiene standards. In a very hygiene-conscious post-covid world, our local attitudes may begin to

change,” says Mr Green, whose company has recently published guides to materials suitable for particular purposes in food and beverage processes and which also provides individual guidance to particular inquiries.

To cope with expanding demand for engineering plastics componentry, Cut To Size Plastics recently ex-

panded its precision engineering capabilities with the introduction of a Morbidelli Author M100F heavy duty CNC router and machining centre. The performance and flexibility offered by the new machine provides a 60% time saving in machining cycles compared with older technology. cuttosize.com.au infrastructurenews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

The world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine Grid-connected validation de-risks equipment purchases, ensures reliability and insurability

M

itsubishi Hitachi Power Systems’ T-Point 2 combined cycle power plant validation facility has entered full commercial operation with an enhanced JAC gas turbine that sets the record for output and efficiency.

MHPS’ most advanced JAC gas turbine, designed for maximum efficiency and

lower emissions, is now integrated with MHPS-TOMONI® digital solutions for verification and validation at T-Point 2.

The gas turbine is entering commercial operation at record-setting combined cycle efficiency greater than 64 percent and a world’s first turbine inlet temperature of 1650°C.

This gas turbine reduces carbon emissions by 65 percent compared with coal-fired plants. In addition, it has the capability for conversion from natural gas to a blend of natural gas with 30 percent renewable hydrogen to reduce emissions further.

Eventually it will be capable of running on 100 percent renewable hydrogen to completely eliminate carbon emissions.

MHPS demonstrates new gas turbine capabilities at its own combined cycle power plant before shipping to customers. This enables the company to provide unmatched performance, such as the 99.5 percent reliability of its J-Series gas turbines The T-Point 2 plant was commissioned in March at Takasago Works in Japan, to replace MHPS’ original T-Point plant and to continue MHPS’ approach advance the limits of technology while minimising risk to its customers.

To do this, MHPS validates its new gas turbine

technologies and digital solutions under long-term grid-connected operation for a minimum of 8,000 operating hours, which is equivalent to nearly one year of normal operation and is a key insurance industry criterion for fleet reliability.

The digital building blocks of the autonomous power plant being validated at T-Point 2 include an advanced Automatic Plant Startup package that is closely linked to the advanced analytics and diagnostics that continuously monitor the total plant.

To validate complete remote operation, operations will be transferred from the local control room to the Takasago Remote Monitoring Center. Operations and maintenance building blocks under evaluation include an advanced array of acoustic, video, and thermographic data acquisition sensors monitored by advanced analytics that are being trained to identify pattern changes.

T-Point 2 is also evaluating the first ever Netmation 4S Digital Control System to be used on an advanced class gas turbine combined cycle plant. Netmation 4S adds additional reliability, redundancy, and enhanced operator experience to the well-proven family of control systems.

“This project positions us years ahead of any manufacturer in putting the latest generation of 1650°C gas turbine technology into commercial operation,” says President and CEO of MHPS Americas Paul Browning. mhps.com twitter.com/MHPS_Global linkedin.com/company/ mitsubishi-hitachi-powersystems

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August - September 2020

SLUG

Teetering on the edge...

What's in store for the rest of 2020?

INFRASTRUCTUREBUILD.COM YEARBOOK 2018

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August - September 2020

T

he two-storey house is located on the premises of Kamp C in Westerlo, Belgium. It is eight metres tall and has a floor area of 90 square metres, the average size of a terraced house in this region.

“What makes this house so unique, is that we printed it with a fixed 3D concrete printer”, says Emiel Ascione, the project manager at Kamp C. “Other houses that were printed around the world only have one floor. In many cases, the components were printed in a factory and were assembled on-site. We, however, printed the entire building envelope in one piece onsite.”

The house was printed as part of the European C3PO with financing from ERDF (the European Regional Development Fund). With this feat, the project partners hope to raise interest in the building industry about the use of 3D concrete printing as a building technique.

Kathleen Helsen, the Provincial Deputy for Housing and the President of Kamp C says the building industry has expressed plenty of interest.

“3D printing in construction is experiencing an uptick around the world. Several possibilities, including the printing of provisional housing and even complete apartments, are already being implemented, but this technology is still very novel in Flanders.”

“At the same time, the construction industry is facing unprecedented challenges: we must reduce our consumption of materials and energy, reduce CO2 emissions and the waste stream, the demand for high-quality and affordable housing is on the rise, and so on.

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Entire house 3D printed in three weeks A world first, a whole two-storey house was printed in one piece using the largest 3D concrete printer in Europe “At Kamp C, we believe that new technologies, such as 3D concrete printing, can help provide a response.

That is why we created this unique location on our site, where construction companies can experiment with 3D printing, together with research and education institutions.”

The printed house is three times sturdier than a house built with quick build bricks.

“The material’s compressive strength is three times greater than that of the conventional quick build brick”, Marijke Aerts, the project manager at Kamp C, explains. This first house is a test. The researchers will now check whether solidity is retained over time.

Besides the fibres in the concrete, the amount of wire-mesh reinforcement used is extremely limited.

As a result of the printing technology used, formwork was redundant, saving an estimated sixty percent on material, time, and budget. In the future, an entire house could be printed in just under two days. If you add up all the days, it took just three weeks to print the house at Kamp C. The model home was designed to showcase the technology and the potential of 3D printing. “We printed an overhang, it has heavily curved walls, different types of walls… We

also incorporated solutions to the traditional thermal bridge, eliminating cold bridges altogether”, says Ascione. “We developed a low-energy house, with all the mod cons, including floor and ceiling heating, special façade solar panels and a heat pump, and we will also be adding a green roof.”

“When we started to build it, we had no idea which use the building would have. Our aim was to

print the floor area, height, and shape of an average contemporary home, in the form of a model home with multipurpose options.

This is a principle of circular building. The building can be used as a house, a meeting space, an office, or an exhibition space. People can visit the house from September after making an appointment”, says Piet Wielemans, who is an architect at Kamp C.

August - September 2020

Hard work gets results

Sponsored Article

Rapid Facility Services' success is driven by a team that combines experience, commitment and a professional skillset covering every aspect of facilities management

T

he team was forged by three friends working in the industry who realised that the key thing stressed building managers, business owners

and landlords needed was to make a single call and get a reliable and qualified support team that would cover any aspect of facilities management.

Paul Schoch, Robyn Schoch and Andrew Chan

The Rapid trio set down a business philosophy that “we will do what others can’t or won’t do “ and set about assembling a highly trained, efficient and safety-conscious team of professionals who get the job done right, the first time.

Today that service

stretches from food manufacturers’ audit cleaning, all aspects of industrial cleaning, painting, building and floor safety management to anti-microbial and moss and mould treatments to prevent surface damage to roofs, ceilings, walls, floors and specialised equipment. propertyandbuild.com

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I

t’s obviously been an unprecedented year for the economy and property market so far in 2020, but it’s at least been reassuring that the number of appraisals generated by real estate agents, for-sale and for-rent listings, valuations ordered by banks, mortgage lending flows, and agreed sales activity have all rebounded since we left alert level four lockdown in late April.

What’s more, we entered lockdown with a low supply of total listings available on the market, so with that set alongside the release of pent-up demand for property (which couldn’t be acted upon during April), prices have held up relatively well over the past few months.

Of course, ultra-low mortgage rates have also been a key support here, along with the Government’s wage subsidies and the option for borrowers to go interest-only or take a payment deferral.

But looking ahead, how might the rest of 2020 pan out?

Although we’ve been wary of the doom-mongers out there, at the same time we can’t ignore the fact that we’re in a recession and the unemployment rate has further to rise. These factors will restrain the property market in the coming months.

In addition, as we hit Spring we’ll see the usual seasonal rise for listings, which will be a test for the true strength of demand – if it falters, then available supply on the market will rise steadily, and reduce the support for prices. At the same time, as wage subsidies and mortgage payment deferrals come to an end, there’ll be further tests for the property market – not to mention the General

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What lies ahead for property in the rest of 2020?

The ‘good times’ that have re-emerged for property since April are more likely to fade out in the second half of the year than to roll on, warns Core Logic Senior Research Analyst Kelvin Davidson Election in September, which always tend to create uncertainty for households and property.

Sales volumes were down by 80% in April and about 50% in May, and although the results for the rest of the year won’t be as weak, we still expect activity for 2020 as a whole to be down by about 25% compared to 2019. In terms of property prices, the effects are likely to be smaller – but we have still penciled in a decline from peak to trough (poten-

tially into 2021) of around 5-7%. That’s not great for any property owner, but would at least be a smaller decline than when they dropped by about 10% during the GFC. Indeed, we entered this episode with mortgage rates much lower and affordability looking better than in 2007-08, banks in a stronger position to continue lending, and generally speaking more households with more equity in their homes (due to the previous

loan to value ratio speed limits). This means that the risks of negative equity are reduced.

All in all, the rest of 2020 ‘could be better’, but the silver lining is that it won’t be as bad as some of the property downturns that we’ve seen in the past. And then over the longer term, the appeal of property will remain – so with many of the fundamental drivers likely to return to normality, upwards pressure on prices will start to return.

Yearbook 2020

Maxmise opportunity across the construction sector New Zealand Construction Sector Training Programme launched The RICS Construction and Infrastructure Surveys show that construction and infrastructure workloads continue to increase across New Zealand, however, acute skills and labour shortages persist. To meet the growing demand for skills and ensure the industry is prepared for what the future will bring, industry professionals must play their part in developing and upskilling their workforce.

Quantity surveying and construction professionals can adapt and remain proactive in this market by attending this new suite of training. Gain the critical knowledge and skills required to build commercial expertise, reduce risk, increase capacity and maximise opportunity across the construction sector.

For more information, visit rics.org/constructionsectornz

rics.org safetynews.co.nz

infrastructurenews.co.nz

propertyandbuild.com

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W

ith an election drawing closer and only partial policy announcements to date coming from the major parties, Colliers International’s latest monthly research report, released today, looks at sales activity and confidence surveys coinciding with the past six elections since 2000 to showcase what impacts the campaign could have upon the property sector.

Ian Little, Associate Director of Research at Colliers, says the analysis found residential sales activity has generally varied little from prior trends, except when a significant government property-related policy was in the limelight.

“In five election campaigns out of the six since 2000 there has been little influence on sales activity.

However, the one exception was the 2014 election campaign.

“In 2014, Labour promoted a Capital Gains Tax and restrictions on the ability of 38

propertyandbuild.com

How elections can change the property sector The 2020 general election could have a major influence on the market, according to a Colliers analysis of election impacts over the past two decades overseas entities to purchase residential property.

“These policies contrasted with National’s, which were viewed as supporting the status quo. This divergence saw a slowing of sales prior to the election date and a surge following it when the emergence of a National government removed uncertainty in outcomes.”

Little says the prospect of potential changes to housing policy will, in most cases, influence the residential investor sector to a greater extent than own-

er-occupiers.

By way of example, total mortgage lending to investors increased from $1.167 billion in August 2014, a month prior to the election, to $1.421 billion in October, an increase of 21 per cent.

The uplift for first home buyers and other types of owner-occupiers was just 8.6 per cent.

Market dynamics during other campaigns post-2000 have been influenced more significantly by regulatory, economic, financial and demographic drivers such as changes to LVRs, interest

rates, access to finance, migration and the availability of housing.

“It is interesting to note that the recent removal of LVR restrictions and a further reduction in interest rates have resulted in investors and first home buyers lifting their share of mortgage lending, despite the current economic backdrop,” Little says.

“Looking ahead to the 2020 election, the lack of ‘restrictive’ housing policies and regulatory changes that have been announced, to date lead us to believe that

August - September 2020

we can expect little influence from Election 2020 on residential market activity.

“This suggests that economic, financial and demographic drivers will be key considerations for residential sales activity over the remainder of 2020.

“As of early August, lending and sales activity were extremely buoyant, defying many economic forecasts of more subdued activity.”

Adrian Goh, Research Analyst at Colliers, says commercial and industrial property sales activity since 2000 has shown little divergence in purchasing trends when analysed against election campaign periods.

“This is potentially a result of the sectors being less influenced by policy outcomes than the residential sector.

“However, when analys-

ing sentiment, commercial property investors seem to indicate there is some influence.”

Colliers’ commercial and industrial property investor confidence surveys increased from a net positive 4.4 per cent (optimists minus pessimists) in the December quarter of 2011 to 15.6 per cent in the March quarter of 2012.

Following the 2014 election, the September quarter figure of a net positive 25.1 per cent increased to a net positive 30.6 per cent in the December quarter.

“This indicates that commercial and industrial investors hold back slightly before elections but are quick to resume their pre-election activity levels soon after,” says Goh. “One slight exception to this was following the 2017

election. The lift in confidence was not as immediate, with confidence falling in the December quarter before lifting in March.

“This result may have been influenced by the lengthy coalition negotiations which followed the September election, with the make-up of the government only finalised in October 2017.

“There was also some discussion around business confidence surveys under Labour governments typically being lower than under National government.”

Goh says this suggests the influence of election campaigns on commercial property investment is typically secondary to the general economic and financial backdrop.

“In 2008 for example, the November election result

did little to lift confidence as businesses grappled with the fallout from the Global Financial Crisis.

“While we are currently likely to be in a technical recession and unemployment is most likely to double before reducing again, current investor activity indicates these are not a key driver of current sales activity.

“While sales volumes are lower, prices are holding up. Instead, low interest rates are driving investor sentiment with the search for prime assets with strong tenant-covenants rising above pre-Covid levels.

“Higher volumes and prices paid for land acquisitions have also been a trend, indicating investors are looking past the potential short-term disruption and eyeing potential long-term gains.” propertyandbuild.com

39

August - September 2020

Hotel market makes surprising recovery New Zealand’s hotel market has shown a surprisingly strong rebound since the domestic travel restrictions lifted in June, with demand being driven by tourism, business and mandatory isolation, Colliers reports

C

olliers International’s latest New Zealand Hotel Market Snapshot, released this week, examines the impact that Covid-19 has had on the sector, and the early beginnings of the recovery process.

The report found the

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move to Covid-19 Alert Level 1 brought welcome demand for many hotels.

Dean Humphries, National Director of Hotels at Colliers, says there were challenging conditions in the second quarter due to the full nationwide lockdown through much of April

and May. “This resulted in hotel occupancy falling to below 20 per cent across all key regions in April, with room rates also falling by up to 50 per cent.

“However, since all domestic travel restrictions were lifted in early June,

hotel performance has shown a surprisingly strong rebound.”

Humphries says mandatory isolation measures have been positive for the industry.

“The country is witnessing a significant increase in the number of returning

ril and May before all domestic travel restrictions were lifted in early June. This resulted in some August - September otels as noted below.

Zealand citizens and essed New aresidents, surprisingly sound all of whom are f manysubject hotels, to awhich 14-day has isolation period in an hotel ntly being one ofapproved the best

facility.

“This is providing welcomed demand for a growing number of hotels across nd include; the country.”

The report found 29 howitnessing a significant tels, accounting for close to 6,000 rooms, are citizens currently and urning New Zealand being utilised as managed ject to isolation a 14-day mandatory facilities across d hotelNew facility.

This is providing Zealand.

As at early 2020, the number of hotelsJuly across close to 40 per cent of nt graph.

Auckland hotel rooms are being utilised for mandaisolation, by lose totory 40% of all followed Auckland Christchurch (31 per cent), for isolation, followed by Rotorua (20 per cent) and 20%) and Wellington (3%). It is Wellington (3 per cent).

Humphries also notes continue to grow on the back that on top of this largely rning Kiwis throughout 2020 unanticipated demand, there are also a number of other key factors driving including: to thisrecovery, largely unanticipated An increase in domestic so witnessing a solid in leisure guests overrebound weekend and school holiday ticularly over weekend and periods; Special visa entries for international guests, includinghave the Avatar II production Rotorua led the charge crew and America’s Cup asing to between 20% to 35% syndicates and; ndications the July school Early recovery of the corporate and MICE (meetings, many of our main regions to incentives, conferences and exhibitions) segments.

Humphries says the July schoolinclude holidays have pro- visa een shoots’ special vided a welcome reprieve to ing Avatar II production and many hotel owners particrting, music cultural ularly inand regions close toevents major metropolitan orate & MICE businessareas.

“Queenstown, Wellington and Rotorua have led the charge with monthly occupancy increasing to that any short term recovery between 20 per cent to 35 ill be largely domestic led with per cent by the end of June, until atwith least Q4indications 2020 and early thea July school holidays will lift arily postponed. occupancy in many of our main regions to over 50 ider inbound international per cent by the end of the y 2021.month.”

2020

Source: Colliers International

ISOLATION/QUARANTINE HOTEL ROOMS IN KEY MARKETS AS AT 9 JULY 2020 20% 39% 61%

80%

AUCKLAND

ROTORUA

Isolation Non-isolation

3%

31%

69% 97%

WELLINGTON

CHRISTCHURCH

29 hotels accounting for close to 6,000 rooms currently being utilised as managed isolation facilities across NZ MONTHLY OCCUPANCY Q2 2020 50%

AUCKLAND

40% WELLINGTON

30%

ROTORUA CHRISTCHURCH QUEENSTOWN

20%

10%

0%

April

May

June

*Occupancy levels are inclusive of hotels being utilised for mandatory isolation or quarantine purposes Source: Hotel Data New Zealand (HDNZ)

propertyandbuild.com

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August - September 2020

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propertyandbuild.com

August - September 2020

The future of the office

A recent CBRE survey designed to help tenant and investors identify workplace trends after COVID-19 points to permanent changes in real estate

T

he overall business outlook underpins any real estate decision. At the time of this survey in June 2020, almost half of the respondents believed the business outlook would improve in the next six months, while a quarter thought it would worsen.

More than 40 percent of respondents say the C-suite* will have a strong influence over long-term real estate strategy, which represents an opportunity for a level of strategic decision-making that is different from the past.

This is roughly in accord with CBRE’s baseline economic forecast for a strong global economic recovery to begin in the second half of 2020, limiting global GDP contraction. A return to preCOVID economic growth levels is not expected for several years, the survey report says.

China is already recov-

ering and positive US economic indicators are coming back. Yet recent pockets of resurgent virus outbreaks around the world are increasing the possibility of downside scenarios.

The survey was planned to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic will change the location, design and use of office space.

Most respondents indicated workplace transformation is still trending away from dedicated private space and toward shared collaborative space. This is critical for workplace efficiency and satisfying a more hybrid workforce (in-office and remote working) but there is some uncertainty given the health and safety impacts of COVID-19.

CBRE’s survey reveals a blend of cautious optimism with pragmatic concerns.

Executives recognise that reopening workplaces

during an active pandemic is an uncertain endeavour.

Beyond the immediate tactical concerns, corporate real estate executives are facing strategic obstacles unlike any seen since the Global Financial Crisis.

Occupiers face major strategic decisions about remote working, urban vs suburban locations and how flexible office space should factor into their plans.

These challenges require an ability to step back from the near-term pressures of reopening workplaces to focus on what’s critical in the long term.

The future role of the office is the biggest question.

Even prior to the pandemic, remote working was a well-established trend as employees became less dependent on the physical office to successfully perform their jobs.

In the future employees

will have more choice in the spaces they use to accomplish their work, provided they can do so safely. And they’ll have more technology and services to integrate their physical and digital worlds, accelerating many of the design trends that were occurring before COVID-19.

More than 70 percent of survey respondents are confident in formulating a long-term real estate strategy and very few report a total lack of confidence.

There is consensus that confidence will build over the next six to 12 months.

Changes may differ from country to country because of varying business cultures, the report says, but one thing seems certain worldwide: COVID-19 will accelerate the transformation of many offices with regard to technological advancements, workplace health and safety, and employee-centric policies.

Office occupancy and rental rates will be impacted to varying degrees depending on market fundamentals although strategies for more or new space are largely on hold.

Some of the key aspects of real estate portfolio decision-making have risen in prominence during the COVID-19 outbreak: urban vs suburban locations, core vs flexible locations and now more than ever home vs physical office work.

These complex decisions are influenced by near-term health and safety concerns, corporate culture, employee preferences and leadership propertyandbuild.com

43

August - September 2020

biases.

While a more distributed workforce may reduce the risk of having a single headquarters building, corporate culture and connectivity could be adversely affected in unplanned and undesirable ways. A more distributed network of locations may offer employees shorter commute times but at greater capital and operating cost.

Employees who spent at least some of their time

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working remotely were a moderately sized but high-growth segment of the workforce even before COVID-19. Now, survey respondents indicate a significant acceleration of this trend and therefore it could be the single biggest lasting change in real estate strategy.

In the pre-COVID environment, 63 percent of respondents indicated their company had no full-time remote work; today, only 10

percent expect no remote work policies in the future.

Remote work is often considered as an all-or-nothing proposition where an employee is either full-time remote or full-time in the office.

However, CBRE’s workplace research over the past several years shows that employees prefer having both options as a hybrid approach. In theory, a hybrid workforce works fluidly between remote locations

and a physical office provided by the employer.

Employees can choose which location will be most productive for them without the expectation to be in any one place five days a week.

While one-quarter of respondents indicated that their employees could choose full-time remote work in the future, 61 percent indicated that they will offer their employees this hybrid arrangement.

This signals that employers will foster more trust among their employees by offering them more choice on where they work each day. Overall, we see a future where employers maintain ultimate decision rights over allowing employees a choice of full-time remote work options.

Large corporate occupiers have traditionally favored urban locations for their accessibility, amenities and business clustering.

But these highly dense mass-transit-oriented urban cores have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing lingering health concerns about returning to the office.

So, is the wind changing in a suburban direction?

August - September 2020 There currently does not seem to be much sentiment to move out of high-density urban cores. The role of the city centre headquarters likely won’t disappear, but city locations may serve as a more transient cultural base for employees in a broader real estate footprint that may include an employees’ home working environment and satellite locations near workforce population clusters, The high-growth flexible office space market has slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an aggressive over-expansion of some flex providers.

Nevertheless, occupiers are still considering flexible office space as a stopgap to delays in new construction or as an alternative to athome work.

No capital commitment and no risk of being stuck with unneeded space is a compelling combination when the future is even more uncertain than usual.

Companies with flexible office space have been able to shed it relatively quickly as part of their downsizing

strategies - 73 percent of survey respondents say flexible office space will be a part of their long-term real estate strategy.

Flexible office space providers will emerge from this recessionary period as stronger and better regarded than before.

Landlords are recognising that they can play a larger role in the success of this market by offering their own flexible space solutions or in partnerships with third-party providers.

Additionally, the marketing of flexible office As companies plan for increased workforce mobility, how the workplace satisfies that mobility while remaining efficient and effective becomes an important calculation. This might be a relatively simple calculation for employees who will become full-time remote.

If employees can choose a more hybrid way of working—as research suggests is their desire—the office design, the services provided and the supporting technology all must be carefully considered.

As worker flexibility increases, so too must the flexibility of the office that supports them. Research indicates that as more workers adopt a hybrid way of working, a common way to increase space utilization and efficiency is to use a shared-space model.

Most respondents indicated that before COVID-19 the future of workplace design would feature less enclosed The “Free address” means that employees are not assigned to an individual desk and instead share a network of spaces (offices, workstations, collaboration space, focus rooms and amenities). Without the need to exclusively assign desks to employees, occupiers can have fewer desks than people and rebalance the workplace toward serving a more dynamic population. Free addressing likely will increase as companies monetize their shared space to offset increased real estate and occupancy costs.

In the post-shutdown environment, workers enabled

by technology and emboldened by their experience in working away from the office will have increased expectations for the office to which they return. The flexibility to manage work routines between a network of places (including home) will lead the most sought-after employees to be discerning about where they work and why.

Working away from the office has proven successful but has decreased social interaction, networking, mentoring and collaboration, and at times strained work/life balance—all critical elements of career growth and organizational productivity.

The function of the office will shift away from traditional work processes and oversight to more collaborative, educational and social needs of a growing hybrid workforce.

This is not much different from the evolution of the office before COVID-19, where the workplace was seen as a primary facilitator of collaboration, innovation and productivity. It is now more critical than ever for companies to take this journey as the workforce is on an accelerated path of change. The role of corporate real estate executives will be elevated to meet these new workforce demands and navigate a more complex work environment.

This article was extracted from a survey report prepared by CBRE Research. *C-suite refers to the executive-level managers within a company. Common c-suite executives include chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO). propertyandbuild.com

45

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Tired of R the retired tyres problem Periodic government recommitment to environmental purity are to be welcomed, particularly those which effectively deal with hazardous waste

egrettably, the latest government decision to regulate selective Product Stewardship requirements without adequate consideration of how this might best be achieved, are frustrating options for re-purposing products or removing them from the environment.

Nobody would argue the need to better manage the ever-increasing waste swamping landfills and polluting New Zealand Inc. the latest pronouncement of more money will not, in itself, resolve this longrunning environmental conundrum.

August - September 2020 Our waste disposal predicament is not new – we simply bury or export our waste, conflicting with our ‘Clean and Green’ persona, particularly plastic, electronic waste and tyres.

Most plastic and electronics were exported to countries where we assumed they were responsibly dealt with.

Subsequent bans on imported waste by China and several other countries receiving our trash, highlighted the unacceptable reality of the harm our detritus was causing Renewed focus on how to address polluting stockpiles of old tyres reveals that New Zealand seems incapable of resolving our growing inventory of hazardous stockpiles throughout the country.

A massive collection of waste chemicals to be cleaned up in Northland reveals the inadequacy of both site operators and enforcement agencies.

Huge dumps of old tyres throughout the country undermine the efforts by a few companies to successfully recycle this valuable resource.

Unsurprisingly, that is quite a challenge, especially in New Zealand Inc, hobbled by its plethora of regulations, local protest and inadequate infrastructure.

Substantial government funding is now available to develop product stewardship schemes, including expanding an e-waste pilot project and focusing on the recycling of old tyres. The expectation is that we will invest in expanding onshore recycling efforts to demonstrate our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development safetynews.co.nz

49

August - September 2020 Goals (SDG), expressed in the ‘Circular Economy’ concept of re-purposing unwanted products or disposing of them responsibly.

Funding is not the primary issue - effective solutions are.

Closer to home, successful initiatives are led by industry colleague Plastics NZ’s support for expanding re-purposing of products to facilitate new uses and progressively minimise waste. A recovery team collects increasing quantities of Agchem containers and the plastic baling wrap from farms, for a modest surcharge included in the product price.

Tyres are an interesting example. The world is awash with old tyres and globally, an estimated half are incinerated to provide energy. Yet tyres provide valuable reusable materials comprising oil (50 percent), carbon black (30 percent), steel (10 percent) and gas (10 percent). Recovered by pyrolysis via oxygen free heating, utilising the gas emitted during the process satisfies at least SDG targets seven, nine, 12 and 13.

Singaporean scientists are combining polymer recovered from tyres, with a gel to produce aerogels, super lightweight solids with many applications, ranging from batteries and electronics to insulation and lunar rovers.

For several years, retailers and vehicle operators, including motorists, have reportedly been paying a tyre collection fee of $4-$5 to defray the cost of recycling, while at the same time the tyre mountains continue to grow across the country.

Encouraged by grants 50

safetynews.co.nz

Why can’t we resolve this long-running environmental embarrassment?

The transition to the post-Covid 19 economy requires a transformational strategy, together with rapid investment in successfully resolving major environmental issues, particularly the implementation of pragmatic, long-term and cost-effective alternatives to landfills and illegal dumps.

A major roadblock to resolving our increasing waste issues is government regulating without first ensuring comprehensive infrastructure is in place, by learning from international role models.

We need to accept that advancing technology can provide optimum solutions. Most international solutions for waste tyres involve pyrolysis.

Opposition to modern incineration technology to convert waste to energy, frustrates attempts to implement comprehensive, national waste management solutions reflecting our commitment to UN Sustainability Goals. Meanwhile, we continue to incinerate tyres in less envitotalling $17m from the Waste Minimisation Fund, local company Waste Management is successfully processing and re-purposing approximately 50% of the six million waste

ronmentally friendly cement kilns.

Rather than more money for pilot projects, invest in increasing the capacity of proven recycling operations such as waste management, to eliminate dangerous tyre stockpiles.

Not accepting the export of waste chemicals for incineration is both redundant and hypocritical. More enlightened European and Asian countries with the world’s toughest environmental controls, incinerate waste, including tyres, as an alternate energy source. Economy of scale is important, often putting the recycling of valued components out of reach in high wage economies; however, continuing to burn our hazardous waste abroad or in inefficient local facilities, is not only unethical, but a tragic ‘waste’ of an opportunity for an enduring ultimate energy source.

By the way, where has the Tyre Collection Levy gone?

tyres discarded each year.

Tyres are shredded and used as fuel in cement kilns.

Additional funding would enable Waste Management to double throughput and make inroads into the illegal

tyre dumps.

Various other tyre recycling ventures have received sporadic taxpayer funding for years; most have failed.

August - September 2020 Sponsored Article

It is difficult to understand that in 2020 we need a law to tell a designated “responsible” person how to look after another person who would otherwise be simply considered as an asset and a resource. In New Zealand the Health and Safety at Work Act dictates what have always been basic operating principles for any business

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ompliance with workplace safety procedure is compulsory and often a Catch 22 nightmare for SME business owners.

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51

August - September 2020

Success D has many fathers; failure is an orphan* Our campaign to restrain and hopefully eradicate Covid-19 now clashes with the leadup to the September election

iminishing concern about the threat from this globally devastating virus is encouraging increasingly urgent calls for a national plan to deal with the post virus economic and social recovery.

Regrettably, the approaching September election is trumping the need for a bipartisan strategy to enable New Zealand to survive and prosper throughout the difficult years ahead.

The implications of 200,000 job losses with more predicted from the decimation of key income streams such as tourism ($16 billion plus another $11 billion indirectly) and overseas students ($5 billion) has yet to fully register.

This is due in part to subsidies and preoccupation with the financial ‘Cargo Cult**’ now being scattered throughout the land.

Mainstream media has yet to examine the quality of massive government expenditure arising from the Covid Recovery Fund (CRF) and the Provincial Growth Fund (PRF).

Simply reporting the latest beneficiaries of government largess while actively promoting personality politics obscures the lack of progress in transitioning from a badly damaged economy and historic levels of unemployment to a meaningful economic reconstruction strategy featuring job creation on a scale new to New Zealand.

Facing up to reality The situation for many businesses large and small continues to deteriorate, exacerbated by the rising cost of doing business.

While the wages

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safetynews.co.nz

subsidy scheme has been instrumental in maintaining many jobs, it ends in September with the expectation many more faltering companies will not survive.

Our closed border and harsh immigration restrictions prevent employers from recovering by using the experienced casual/seasonal workers on whom they traditionally rely.

Thousands of skilled nonresidents who returned to their homeland prior to the implementation of Level 4, have yet to return -- even if they intend to.

Major infrastructure projects and environmental improvement schemes touted as ‘shovel ready’ and most likely to employ workers displaced from the tourism, hospitality, travel and education sectors are anything but that.

Many unemployed will not be qualified or even suited to these jobs. Reportedly, locals remain reluctant to fill the gaps.

As national Covid 19 expenditure passes $35 billion and the global economic outlook continues to deteriorate, New Zealanders await a comprehensive national plan for when the money stops flowing.

Science is the new future normal Ironically, the present planning hiatus underscores the value of an apolitical National Emergency Committee of experts able to effectively manage the crisis.

New Zealand’s Covid closedown provided the opportunity for innovative entrepreneurs now able to gain funding from investors looking to science-based rather than traditional investments.

August - September 2020 Peter Beck’s outstanding success with the homegrown Rocket Lab launched us into the elite group of successful satellite launching countries Chemical suppliers step up Here on terra firma, chemical suppliers responding positively to the Covid-19 situation quickly switched to producing hand sanitisers and face masks.

Responsible Care NZ*** was able to provide timely and accurate technical and compliance advice not readily available from websites and call centres ill equipped for the new task.

Managing the chemical products required to combat a major public health crisis involves multiple, often confusing and even contradictory regulations and advice from multiple agencies, many of which have yet to master the art of effective intercommunication and collaboration.

The daily changing definition of ‘essential services’ delayed participation by many prospective manufacturers for sanitisers and protective clothing, especially the reusable facemasks and clothing needed by health workers.

Many calls to our 24/7 CHEMCALL service enabled members and nonmembers alike to identify sources for suddenly scarce raw materials together with potential customers for the sorely needed products.

The pragmatic postponement of site certification generated many safety queries, involving unsafe site operations involving less confident skeleton staff.

Importers struggled to identify and safely distribute sanitiser replacements from

non-compliant safety data sheets.

Callers fortunately questioned the validity of taking Bleach based ‘medicines’ to combat the virus.

Belatedly, Medsafe is taking action to remove these hazardous products from the market but variations continue to be promoted via social media and sold online.

The near-term outlook for the global chemical industry is not encouraging. Travel constraints decimated oil prices and the Northern Summer holiday period is masking the effect of employees kept out of nonessential facilities.

Increasing demand for polypropylene used in protective masks and packaging required for takeaway food and escalating online sales of merchandise is offset by falling demand for plastics

in the struggling recycling industry.

Landfills New Zealand is now facing the urgent need for new landfills to accommodate rapidly increasing amounts of household waste and no longer exportable or repurposing of plastic waste.

Local authorities are diverting plastic waste from unsuccessful recycling ventures to landfills.

Proposed increases in Landfill fees will certainly exacerbate illegal dumping and add to ‘Orphan’ hazardous waste sites such as the massive chemical dump revealed in Northland.

Environmentalists and potential neighbours of new landfills are mobilising while pragmatic alternatives await informed consideration.

Aspirations for 100

percent renewable energy are fuelling varying expectations over a possible short-term electricity surplus and the possibility of electrifying the national transport fleet should our remaining major industrial facilities close.

This is surely the time for a nonpartisan debate about replacing our medieval land fill concept with advanced waste to energy technology demonstrated by our Scandinavian and Singaporean environmental role models.

Vaccines The race to develop an effective Covid vaccine requires skilled researchers.

Chemistry will provide the solution to many of the issues we face, demonstrated by the defeat of Smallpox, HIV, SARS and minimising the effect of recurring Flu strains.

New Zealand has its share safetynews.co.nz

53

August - September 2020 Keppel Seghers Tuas wasteto-energy plant in Singapore

of the best scientific minds, yet we fail to maximise this sought-after national capability by underfunding educational institutions and the scientists they produce in decreasing numbers.

Researchers battle for contestable funding of projects with a commercial outcome at the expense of enlarging our world class scientific capability.

Our chemical industry, especially research facilities and pharmaceutical companies, thrive when facing global health challenges such as developing the Ebola vaccine and now the search for a Covid-19 equivalent.

It will be in New Zealand’s long-term interest to have our own vaccine.

Prescriptive regulations Public institutions and companies alike require certainty, consistency, and a cost effective, business friendly environment to encourage and facilitate 54

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what we do best.

Replacing increasingly prescriptive regulations with performance-based requirements reflecting best practice and underwriting our ability to achieve the required outcome will result in superior outcomes.

As ‘Impatient optimists’, Responsible Care practitioners welcome every opportunity to improve chemical safety.

This ranges from investing in building our national scientific expertise to ensure we can effectively contribute to international and local efforts to combat the next pandemic to training competent chemical workers.

Applying sound chemistry throughout our operations and products, continues to enhance our quality of life.

Be prepared Accept that an effective Covid-19 vaccine is not likely anytime soon and remain alert to claims of

A Covid-19 vaccine is not likely any time soon

‘miracle cures.

If in doubt about making or using any chemical product, especially if alcohol is involved and methanol in particular, please check the WHO and Ministry of Health specifications available online and the NZ compliant Safety Data sheet available from your Supplier or call Responsible Care.

Frequent handwashing with soap and water provides Covid-19 protection at home and in workplaces where it is convenient to use -- reserving approved, alcohol-based sanitisers for frequent contact circumstances.

We are fortunate there is yet no community transmission now bedevilling countries with a suppression record equalling our own, as we search for an efficient contact tracing capability.

A return to Level 3 or 4 measures would be disastrous. Meanwhile, take extra care out there. We need you. * Modern derivation of old Indian saying ** A belief system in a relatively undeveloped society in which adherents practice superstitious rituals hoping to bring modern goods supplied by a more technologically advanced society

The views expressed by Media Solutions Ltd Content Partner, Responsible Care chief executive Barry Dyer, may not necessarily be those of Responsible Care New Zealand

August - September 2020

Blended learning Save time with the Red Cross blended pre-course learning approach

T

he NZ Red Cross First Aid App now provides you with pre-course learning, which goes towards successful completion of an NZQA accredited first aid certificate.

With guided interactive learning, including videos and animations, use the app to learn and understand the basics of first aid.

Complete the app learning by fully reading the ‘Learn’ section and successfully completing the app tests.

Unlock badges along the way to record your achievements. Learn at a time and location that is convenient for you and reduce time spent away from work.

Once you have completed

your pre-course learning, book your skills workshop to complete your training.

Face-to-face workshops Attend the practical skills workshop with a NZ Red Cross instructor to gain your certification.

- Learn how to apply DRSABCD - Practise CPR on adult, child and infant manikins - Hands-on scenarios - Learn how to use an AED - Practical assessments E-learning options All the app badges must be unlocked prior to attending the skills workshop.

Bring your phone or tablet to verify your achievement.

• Unit Standards 6402,

6401 and 6400 (equivalent to comprehensive first aid) Workplace First Aid app pre course learning + 8 hours skills workshop • Unit Standards 6402 and 6401 (equivalent to essential first aid) Practical First Aid app pre course learning + 4 hours skills workshop • First aid revalidation: Workplace Revalidation app pre course learning + 4 hours skills workshop

What is E-learning?

E-learning enables learners to gain knowledge across several learning platforms. Some of the content and interactions are accessed on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. E-learners can then use this technology in their own time and place and at their own speed – anywhere and anytime.

Is E-learning a recognised learning pathway?

Yes it is. Research shows that people use mobile devices more frequently today than personal computers, using their devices to access the internet for information as and

when required. Mobile devices using apps often do not require access to the internet as the learning content is stored within the device.

There are numerous published papers that support the view that learning within this mobile environment is well controlled, ensuring the learner has access to accurate information.

There is also evidence that the learner feels more confident in their own environment working at their own pace.

The app provides emergency information in a succinct and easy-to-use format as well as being a useful first aid learning tool.

Available Courses • App - Essential First Aid: Complete your precourse learning using the First Aid and Emergency App followed by a 4-hour classroom session • Online - Essential First Aid: Complete your online pre-course learning followed by a 4-hour classroom session.

• App - Comprehensive First Aid: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App followed by an 8-hour classroom session.

• Online - Comprehensive First Aid: Complete your online pre-course learning followed by an 8-hour classroom session.

• App - First Aid Revalidation: Complete your precourse learning using the First Aid and Emergency App followed by a 4-hour classroom session • Online - First Aid Revalidation: Complete your online pre-course learning followed by a 4-hour classroom session. redcross.org.nz/ corporate-bookings/ blended_learning

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Essential First Aid Perfect for low risk workplaces, Essential First Aid prepares your team to respond to the most common emergency situations.

Recommended for: people who work in low risk workplaces and clubs. It's a great course if you want to use first aid at home, and if you want to learn the basic essentials of first aid.

What this 8 hour course covers: The course is run over one day, and covers how to respond to common first aid scenarios. Being able to respond first, while waiting for medical professionals to arrive, is essential to helping others and saving lives. This course meets NZQA standards and requirements of the “First Aid for Workplaces – A Good Practice Guide 2011” for low risk workplaces.

You will learn: - safe scene management

- cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) - airway obstruction - control of severe bleeding - safe side positioning - common first aid conditions and how to respond to them - assessment of emergency situations - adult/child/infant resuscitation and choking (CPRL2) - bleeding, shock, fractures, sprains, burns, poisoning Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours Click here to book a course

Save a Life Perfect for low risk workplaces. Save a Life is focused on CPR skills.

Recommended for: People who want to learn CPR skills. This course will teach you the basics of CPR and put you in a better position to save someone's life.

What this 4 hour course covers: Covering first aid basics such as cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the use of an AED, airway obstruction and control of severe bleeding, this course will teach you to be prepared to act in an emergency situation.

You will learn: - safe scene management 56

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- cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) - the use of an AED - airway obstruction - control of severe bleeding - safe side positioning Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours Click here to book a course

August - September 2020

Comprehensive First Aid Our most popular courses keep you and your team safe in the workplace, and keep your family safe at home.

Comprehensive First Aid is a minimum requirement for most workplaces.

Recommended for: All workplaces including industry, sports, education centres, and construction.

What this 12 hour course covers: Comprehensive First Aid is our most popular course designed to meet the requirements of workplace first aid for many industries and a prerequisite for further advanced training. Whatever industry you are working in, such as construction, tourism or education, a Comprehensive First Aid course will help you know what to do in an emergency or at the scene of an accident.

Being able to respond first, while waiting for medical professionals to arrive, is essential to helping others and saving lives. It's a great course for first aid at home too, so you can look out for your family. This course meets NZQA standards and requirements of the “First Aid for Workplaces – A Good Practice Guide 2011” for the majority of workplaces.

You will learn: - assessing emergency situations - adult, child and infant resuscitation and choking - bleeding, shock, fractures, sprains and head injuries - hypothermia, burns and poisoning - medical emergencies, including asthma, diabetes and epilepsy - how to manage complex medical and traumatic emergency care situations.

Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours A 16-hour Comprehensive First Aid PLUS course is also available which covers all of the content from Comprehensive First Aid, with some additional extras.

Click here to book a course

Workplace First Aid Choose your NZQA accredited Workplace First Aid course relative to your workplace risk with 3 course options.

Workplace - Medium to high risk: Comprehensive First Aid is our most popular course designed to meet the requirements of workplace first aid for many industries and a prerequisite for further advanced training.

Workplace - Low risk: Essential First Aid is for people who work in low risk workplaces and clubs. It's a great course if you want to use first aid at home, and if you want to learn the basic essentials of first aid.

First Aid Revalidation: Revalidation is for people who have a first aid certificate issued by an accredited training provider, who need to revalidate their certificate.

Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours Or choose from a range of industry specific courses.

Click here to book a course safetynews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

Psychological First Aid HE WHAKARAUORA HINENGARO

for COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand

Click here to read the booklet 58

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August - September 2020

AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Training Review your action plan to deal with a heart attack with our AED training course.

Recommended for: All workplaces, communities and individuals.

Psychological First Aid Psychological first aid (PFA) provides initial emotional and practical support to someone who has experienced a traumatic event – either a large-scale disaster or a personal traumatic incident.

Why do Psychological first aid?

Psychological first aid (PFA) is the mental and emotional equivalent of medical first aid. It can be provided by both members of the public and professional helpers. PFA builds organisational and community resilience, and people's capacity to respond well to traumatic events.

Recommended for: Anyone who may have a role in supporting staff, colleagues, community members or whanau, in particular: - Workplace managers and supervisors - Health, safety and well-being teams - Peer supporters - Emergency management first responders - Organisations and groups with psychosocial support responsibilities under NZ Civil Defence legislation.

What this 7 hour course covers: - The scope of PFA – what it is, and what it isn’t - The 5 elements of PFA - WHO Action Framework for PFA - Look, Listen, Link - Understanding and recognising distress - Active listening and calming techniques - Referral to more specialised support - Adapting PFA to social and cultural context - Wellbeing – looking after yourself The New Zealand Red Cross Psychological First Aid Training Handout is provided as a participant manual along with additional tools and handouts. The Full Red Cross Psychological First Aid Training Manual is available for purchase at our online shop here.

What this 1-2 hour course covers: Knowing how to operate an AED could save a life. During cardiac arrest every minute defibrillation is delayed, chances of survival drop by 10%. AEDs are easy to use and some include voice prompts to guide the rescuer through every step. However nothing can replace hands-on training to increase confidence in using a defibrillator, and help you use one as quickly as possible. Choose from our 1 or 2 hour training sessions, which can be held at your workplace or another site.

You will learn: - How to recognise early symptoms of a heart attack - How to use a defibrillator and why they're important - Hands-on CPR with a qualified instructor (2 hour course only).

Click here to book a course

Outdoor Emergency Management Assess and manage an emergency care situation during an outdoor activity.

Recommended for: People who manage emergency care during an outdoor recreation activity. The course is ideal for those managing outdoor activities for extended periods, including overnight trips and events, where emergency help might be further away.

What this 8 hour course covers: Outdoor First Aid recognises that emergency situations outdoors can differ dramatically, especially when help can take a while to arrive. Being able to respond first is essential to helping others and saving lives. Gain the skills and knowledge to confidently take care of people until further assistance arrives.

Participants receive a New Zealand Red Cross PFA certificate on course completion.

You will learn: - how to provide emergency care for an extended period in an outdoor recreation environment - how to assess and manage a patient’s condition long term in an outdoor recreation environment

Click here to book a course

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August - September 2020

First Aid Revalidation This one day course is a refresher of your first aid skills, keeping your knowledge up to date and relevant. First aid certificates should be revalidated every two years.

Recommended for: People who have a first aid certificate issued by an accredited training provider, who need to revalidate their certificate.

What this 6 hour course covers: Revalidate your first aid certificate every two years. Take the time to refresh your first aid skills and keep up to date with any changes to best practice, so you're ready to help in an emergency or accident. This course meets the requirements of the “First Aid for Workplaces – A Good Practice Guide 2011” to revalidate workplace first aid.

First aid certificates must be revalidated every two years, to keep them from expiring. We are able to revalidate your certificate if it is three months, or less, past the expiry of your two year certificate.

Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours Click here to book a course

Lone Workers First Aid Revalidation This one day course is a refresher of your first aid skills, keeping your knowledge up to date and relevant. First aid certificates should be revalidated every two years.

Recommended for: People who work in a rural environment, and who are often alone in medium to high risk roles. Farmers, DOC staff, rangers & rural pest control workers have benefited from this training.

What this 8 hour course covers: Farmers and other workers in the agricultural sector, or people that work alone, may not always find conventional first aid courses useful. Some courses don't cover strategies for people who work alone.

Developed in conjunction with OSPRI, the course is designed as an alternative to our First Aid Revalidation course, and is generally run for groups.

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You will learn: - Standard first aid revalidation on CPR and choking - Infection and disease control in a rural setting - Extended options for bleeding and shock - Management of soft tissue injuries and fractures when alone - Dealing with burns, poisons and allergic reactions.

Choose how to complete your training - Classroom: Complete all training in the classroom - Online: Complete your pre-course learning online, reducing your classroom session by four hours - App: Complete your pre-course learning using the First Aid and Emergency App, reducing your classroom session by four hours Click here to book a course

August - September 2020

Basic First Aid A short, practical first aid course that is tailored to your groups requirements and time available.

Recommended for: Community groups, clubs, sports teams. This course covers the basic skills to help in an emergency until medical professionals arrive. You could even safe someone's life.

What this 2-4 hour course covers: Learn the basics of CPR, choking and first aid skills with your own exclusive group course.

This practical course can be tailored to your group's requirements and is a great way to learn lifesaving skills. There are no assessments in this course, with time spent building the confidence and skills of your group.

Click here to book a course

Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Extend your first aid skills. Gain knowledge to provide immediate first aid assistance, at an advanced level.

Recommended for: People who are frequently called on to provide first aid to members of the public. This course is also ideal for people who live or work in remote locations and in risky occupations.

What this 3 day course covers: Pre-Hospital Emergency Care is an intensive training course which will you give the confidence to apply your knowledge and skills, to deliver advanced first aid.

You will learn: - providing extended first aid - using enhanced basic life support - providing oxygen therapy - carrying out shock advisory defibrillation - moving and positioning patients in preparation for transport.

Prerequisite: You must have a valid Comprehensive First Aid certificate and pre-course reading is required.

Click here to book a course

Electrical Workers Basic First Aid & CPR Ensure your team is safety compliant. This 2 hour course is required under the Electricity Regulations covered by the Rules of the Board, as per the Amended Electricity Act, 1 April 2010.

Recommended for: Electrical workers, who need to keep first aid skills up to date. This course will ensure your team and workplace is safety compliant, as required under the Electricity Regulations, covered by the Rules of the Board as per the amended Electricity Act 1

April 2010.

What this 2 hour course covers: - adult CPR and choking - bleeding - burns - fractures Click here to book a course

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August - September 2020

W

orkers in many industries use P2 disposable respirators, commonly known as ‘dust masks’, to manage the risks around breathing chemicals and dusts like silica and asbestos.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for these dust masks, and as a result, many businesses (PCBUs) have had difficulty obtaining them for their workers.

The extra demand has also resulted in noncertified and inadequate respiratory protective equipment (RPE) entering the New Zealand market.

RPE that does not meet approved standards may leave workers unprotected from harmful respiratory risks and give them a false belief that they are protected.

In New Zealand, most disposable respirators and filters that give protection against dusts and other particles are classified under the Australian and New Zealand combined Standard AS/NZS 1716:2012.

Disposable respirators that cover the nose and mouth should be compliant with AS/NZS 1716:2012, and clearly labelled with the manufacturer’s name, trade name, or mark, and the filter classification ‘P1’ or ‘P2’.

Many companies that manufacture compliant RPE are certified by an independent body and can be found on the JAS-ANZ Register; they normally have their licence number marked on the packaging in which the RPE is supplied.

There are also international standards for respirators that we consider to be equivalent to AS/NZS 1716:2012: • N95 masks that are

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Unapproved respiratory PPE falsely marketed as compliant Respiratory protective equipment that does not meet approved standards may leave workers unprotected from harmful respiratory risks, and give them a false belief that they are protected, warns WorkSafe rated compliant by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) • European ‘FFP2’ masks that are compliant under EN149:2001 • Chinese ‘KN95’ masks that are compliant under GB2626:2006 (2019).

Some of these respirators are imported to New Zealand.

• Before buying RPE, make sure it meets the AS/NZS standard or an accepted international

equivalent, especially if you doubt it is compliant.

• Make sure the standard it cites matches the country of origin.

• Check that any product certificates have been issued by a legitimate certifying body – look for a licence number and the manufacturer’s name on the certifying body’s website.

• Check this NIOSH list for examples of fake respirators.

• Make sure workers are trained to use and maintain

RPE. • Make sure workers are fit-tested by a competent person so there’s an adequate face seal with their respirator.

For more information check out: New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society (NZOHS) or Health and Safety Association of New Zealand (HASANZ) Register WorkSafe advice for workers: use of RPE as a control measure

Facing the future

August - September 2020

In parts of Australia, wearing a face mask when you go out is compulsory with hefty fines for those who flaunt the law

N

ew Zealand has been slow to promote WHO recommendations on the use of face masks but gathering support is the notion that prevention is certainly far better than the Australian cure.

The pain across the ditch is price you pay for becoming complacent, resulting in a forced return to lockdown.

While there is no such thing as a perfect mask says US physician Dr James Hamblin: “Surgical masks come closest to perfect for this moment.

“They are featherlight, breathable, and electrostatically charged to catch viruses without blocking air.

“They seal tightly around your face, but not so tightly that they cause injuries when worn all day,” he says.

Closer to home Otago University Public Health Professor Michael Baker says virtually every country in the world except New Zealand has masks as part of their key measures to combat Covid and a resurgence of cases.

“Every New Zealander should have a mask at home and know how to use it and when to use it. Masks are a great precaution to have available,” he says.

Dr Hamblin quotes a recent Atlanta University study of the effectiveness of cloth facial coverings which found that, when it came to stopping airborne viruses from penetrating the mask, some materials were better

than others.

Bandannas and similarly thin cotton face coverings provided minimal blockage of the aerosolised particles that can shoot through the cloth in a “respiratory jet”, he says.

“Such jets are created when you speak loudly or cough or sing, and the viral particles can hang in the air and conceivably fill a poorly ventilated room.”

The underlying takeaway from the study. according to Hamblin, is that the density of fibres in the cloth makes a big difference.

“Surgical masks can be thin because their fibres are arranged to filter out particles, but when it comes to cotton, creating density means layering.”

James Hamblin paging. dr.hamblin@theatlantic.com

Complementary standards AS NZS 1716 2012 and EN 14683:2019 Surgical medical masks are classified into three types: Type I, which has bacteria filtering effectiveness ≥95%, Type II, which has bacteria filtering effectiveness 98% Type IIR, which has bacteria filtering effectiveness ≥ 98% but is also resistant to liquids.

Type I surgical mask are considered a consumable medical device and also used to reduce the risk of infection spreading, especially in epidemics or pandemics.

Type II and IIR masks are mainly intended for use by healthcare professionals in operating rooms or other medical procedures with similar requirements.

The European standard clearly defines the materials for the construction, design, performance requirements (bacterial filtration efficiency, breathability, biocompatibility, etc.) as well as marking, labelling, and proper packaging.

The information to be provided by the manufacturer is a) the number of the European Standard EN 14683: 2019 and b) the type of mask as defined by the same standard (I, II or IIR). safetynews.co.nz

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August - September 2020

Chemical industry leads by example

Sponsored Article

The chemical industry continues to lead by example, helping to ensure essential chemicals encountered at work and at home are safely managed - safeguarding employees, communities and our environment

W

hile 130,000 businesses are reportedly captured by the Hazardous Substances and Major Hazard Facilities regulations, the official mantra of “600-900 persons seriously harmed each year by unwanted exposure to chemicals in their workplace” presumably applies to all of the country’s 530,000 workplaces.

Downgrading the flawed but effective HSNO Certified Handler requirement has inadvertently undermined an invaluable capability.

The action deprived businesses, particularly SMEs, of an immediate and recognisable source of workplace chemical safety and compliance advice -a safe chemical handling capability and emergency response knowledge – critical when a chemical incident occurs.

PCBUs and SMEs must now devise their own solutions to ensure employees are competent to safely handle the chemicals with which they work.

So where to from here?

Responsible Care is a global voluntary chemical industry initiative developed autonomously by the chemical industry for the chemical industry.

Chemical suppliers continue to help customers achieve workplace chemical safety aspirations through product stewardship initiatives.

To help solve the in-house chemical compliance dilemma in New Zealand, Responsible Care NZ (www. responsiblecarenz.com) delivers specialist and costeffective Certified Handler

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standard training, complete with a certificate.

Internationally, chemical industry leaders are moving away from relying on lagging indicators of safety performance in favour of identifying safer work practices and workplaces, by responding to workers’ suggestions about improvements.

WorkSafe NZ has warned against business operators falling victim to uninformed and always expensive ‘consultants’.

Responsible Care NZ site compliance assessments are non-threatening, effectively capturing and assessing chemical safety performance in a variety of workplaces.

Conscientious business operators can add value by sourcing accurate, cost-effective workplace chemical safety advice and compliance tools from their suppliers, industry partners and Responsible Care NZ. The core problem Hundreds of business operators turned out for a free Responsible Care NZ compliance workshop, eager for accurate and practical advice, indicating an unsatisfied demand for assistance and education.

Attendance highlighted the need to provide SMEs and others with the ability to access, correctly interpret and successfully implement complex regulations with clear and concise compliance advice.

Inviting enquirers to “read the regulations” is falling well short of the industry educational expectations arising from WorkSafe’s Statement of Intent 2016-2020.

A proven strategy is government agencies collaborating with proactive

August - September 2020 industry associations to best achieve workplace safety aspirations.

The problem is that SMEs rarely join associations.

However they all obtain their chemical requirements from suppliers and can benefit from product stewardship advice and cost-effective industry compliance initiatives.

Responsible Care NZ extols less regulation in favour of enabling business operators to be increasingly self-sufficient, using cost-effective products and services such as site compliance assessments and specialist training.

The focus is keeping people safe around the chemicals we encounter every day, by once again adding value to businesses.

Proven, collaborative and cost-effective initiatives to raise awareness and improve workplace chemical safety performance include: • Joint agency and industry-focused local compliance workshops at times convenient to SME operators.

• WorkSafe NZ inspectors distributing free copies of user-friendly ‘compliance tools’ such as the Storage of Hazardous Substances HSNO Approved Code of Practice and posters explaining GHS pictogrammes • Supporting industry initiatives such as product stewardship • Referencing industry ‘compliance tools’ • Upskilling workplace

inspectors in chemical safety.

• Encouraging ‘no blame’ reporting of incidents • Acknowledging successful, proactive industry compliance initiatives • Restoring the status of Approved Industry Codes of Practice A refreshed and energized government strategy for improving workplace chemical safety is both welcome and essential if we

are to significantly improve sub-standard performance and learn from our successes and shortfalls.

Expanding mutually beneficial governmentindustry partnerships helping business operators ‘do the right thing’ with minimal fuss and expense should be ‘a no brainer’.

Chemical suppliers are ‘Impatient optimists’. They know we can all collectively do better through continuous improvement.

Responsible Care NZ provides practical products and services to enable compliance with New Zealand’s world class chemical management regime. Talk to us today about your compliance requirements.

Phone: +64 4 499 4311 Email: info@responsiblecarenz.com Website: www.responsiblecarenz.com

Responsible Care NZ

If this was your chemical consignment, what would you do?

Let’s discuss how our 0800 CHEMCALL® 24/7 ERS can help Call 04 499 4311 safetynews.co.nz

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F E T Y AT

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GUIDE QUICK

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First aid at work February 2020

Click here to read the booklet

August - September 2020

First aid kits You must provide at least one first aid kit for each workplace and ensure workers know where it is.

Kits should contain basic equipment for attending to injuries, such as: - cuts, scratches, punctures, grazes and splinters - soft tissue sprains and strains - minor burns - broken bones - eye injuries, and - shock.

What you put in the kit should be based on the particular risks of the work carried out at your workplace. For

example, there is likely to be a higher risk of eye injuries and a need for eye pads if your workers: - handle chemical liquids or powders in open containers - carry out spraying, hosing or abrasive blasting - are at risk of particles flying into their eyes - are at risk of being splashed or sprayed with infectious materials, or - carry out welding, cutting or machining operations.

The below image shows the suggested contents of a work first aid kit. You may also want to consider including a small notebook and pen to record things such as dates, times, observations, equipment used.

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Number and composition of workers and other people at work Consider the maximum number of workers you could have, including contractors and volunteer workers. Generally, a large workforce needs more first aid resources.

Also think about: - the needs of workers with a disability or known health - concern (for example, asthma, allergies) - ensuring you have enough first aiders rostered on

each shift - ensuring all workers including those working outside - daylight hours can access first aid kits, facilities and other equipment - ensuring you have enough first aiders to cover periods of annual or sick leave - other people at work (for example, clients, visitors, couriers, casual volunteers).

Medication in first aid kits

Design of kits

If you choose to provide pain relief medication like aspirin or paracetamol in first aid kits, be aware that these can make certain people (such as pregnant women) ill.

First aid kits can be any size, shape or type, but each kit should: - be clearly labelled ‘First Aid Kit’. Most kits have a white cross on a green background - have a list of what is in the kit, and - be made of material that will protect the contents from dust, moisture and contamination.

Pain relief medicine in a work first aid kit should only be in pack sizes which are available when purchased over the counter as General Sale or Pharmacy Only medicines. Keep pain relief medicine in the manufacturer’s original pack as this will have all the relevant information about correct dose, precautions/warnings, batch number and expiry date.

This medicine can only be given by someone who is medically trained to do so, otherwise it should only be self-administered by the worker. (That is, they choose to take it themselves.)

Communication equipment For remote or isolated workers, you must provide a plan for how they will get help if injured or ill. See our Interpretive guidelines General Risk and Workplace Management – Part 2 for more information.

Location of kits, including in vehicles First aid equipment should be easy for all workers to access, ideally within minutes in an emergency or when doing work with a high risk of injuries. For example, a school with a science laboratory or carpentry workshop should have a first aid kit in each.

building) there should be a first aid kit in each area.

Where there are separate work areas (for example, more than one building on a site or more than one floor in a

Use first aid signs to clearly show the location of first aid equipment and first aid rooms.

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Emergency floor plans or site maps displayed in the workplace should show where the first aid kits are located.

August - September 2020

Remote workers If you have workers in remote or isolated locations, you must provide them with a basic first aid kit (described on the previous page) as well as extra first aid equipment if required.

The image below shows some extra contents for a first

aid kit for remote or isolated workers. You may also want to consider including a small notebook and pen to record things such as dates, times, observations, equipment used. This is a suggestion only – the actual contents will depend on the nature of the work carried out and its risks.

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August - September 2020

Physical size and location of the workplace First aid equipment and facilities (for example, a first aid room - pictured below) should be easy for all workers to access, ideally within minutes in an emergency.

Consider: - the distance between different work areas - response times for emergency services - if you have remote or isolated workers.

You may need to provide first aid equipment and facilities in more than one part of your workplace if: - the workplace is a long way from emergency services, a medical centre or hospital - workers are scattered over a wide area in the workplace - the workplace has more than one floor or level.

Maintaining and restocking first aid kits It is good practice to nominate a person at your work, perhaps a first aider, to maintain the first aid kits. The person should: - monitor usage of the kit and ensure items are replaced as soon as practicable after use - at least once every 12 months, ensure the kit contains 70

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a complete set of the required items. An inventory list should be kept in the kit and signed and dated after each check - ensure items are in working order, are within their expiry dates, and sterile products are still sealed.

August - September 2020

Nature of the work and risks

Overlapping duties

Some work environments have a greater risk of injury and illness due to the nature of the work. For example, workers in factories, motor vehicle workshops, and forestry operations have a high risk of injuries requiring immediate medical treatment and require different first aid arrangements than, say, workers in offices or libraries. See Appendix A for a table of common injuries.

When the work of two or more PCBUs overlaps, they must communicate, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities to meet their health and safety responsibilities to workers and others.

Information about previous injuries or near misses at your workplace, their frequency and the amount of harm caused, may also be useful in helping you decide what kind of first aid facilities or equipment you need to make available.

For example, as part of their duty to provide first aid, a group of PCBUs working in the same shopping centre complex could work together to provide trained first aiders and a first aid room for all workers in the complex.

By consulting with each other, they can avoid duplicating their efforts and prevent any gaps in managing work health and safety risks.

First aid and the risk management process

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FIRST AID CATALOGUE

Need a first aid kit or training? An AED? New Zealand Red Cross will have something you’ll want to see!

Brand new catalogue

OUT NOW!

redcrossshop.org.nz