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Behind the cover The National Manufacturing Summit 2018, hosted by Weld Australia in the Parliament House in Canberra on June 26, had a loud and clear message: the manufacturing sector is ready for a comeback and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can start preparing for it. Many indicators currently point to an improvement in the fundamental economic conditions of manufacturing. For example, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) recorded the 21st month of continuous expansion in June – the
longest run of consecutive expanding conditions since 2005. This optimism, however, is tempered with concern expressed by business, education and government leaders that the number of skilled workers in Australia will not be enough to sustain growth in the future. As the Centre for Future Work has highlighted in its paper, “Advanced Skills for Advanced Manufacturing,” the rapid evolution of digital technologies will also add to the skills gap. Experts all agree that a new kind of proactive, collaborative culture is needed to help ensure the future.
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Comment
SYED SHAH – Managing Editor, Manufacturers’ Monthly
On the road to being the best
A
USTRALIA’S manufacturing industry looks to be moving towards highervalue processes like research and development, and product design and marketing. This is according to a recent report by the Department of Industry Innovation and Science called the Globalising Australia report. All of this points to future growth in the sector in the short and long-term future. The Ai Group’s PMI readings stated that June’s Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) was 57.4 points – a record 21-month straight expansion of the economy. Ai Group chief, Innes Willox, was quoted as saying that manufacturing production, employment, exports and sales were all higher in June, driving the Australian PMI to its “longest run of expansion in well over a decade”. The government’s report mentioned that in order to stay competitive, Australian businesses need to innovate and take on technologies and engage in activities which boost their market value. It also states that it is impossible to avoid the eventuality of globalisation, which is why the need to innovate processes is more urgent than ever. It stated that as of now, many
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Australian manufacturers have already shifted investment toward research and development as well as marketing and in doing so are opening up new domestic and international business opportunities. Already, we are looking at a huge growth in the additive manufacturing space with companies like Titomic making headways with major deals with defence manufacturing companies like Fincantieri Australia. National Manufacturing Week 2018 has seen 3D printing interest take a refreshing new trajectory in this respect as well. Hence, it would be safe to say that the Australian manufacturing industry is innovating healthily. Delving more into what the industry is really up to at the moment, Manufacturers’ Monthly was invited to the National Manufacturing Summit event hosted by Weld Australia (formerly the Welding Technology Institute of Australia – WTIA). The event was themed “Solutions to Critical Issues – Energy and Technical Training”. At the Summit, discussions were held to look for solutions to the two crucial constraints faced by the manufacturing sector in Australia: energy insecurity and Australia’s
fragmented skills and training. President of SIMEC ZEN Energy, Professor Ross Garnaut, one of the keynote speakers at the event, spoke about the missed opportunities for manufacturing and exports in the past, citing a number of causes for lack of competitiveness in energy prices. He saw promise in the fact that the likes of Sanjeev Gupta, the chairman of GFG Alliance, are investing in the domestic energy market. He noted that investments like Gupta’s showed growing confidence in the sector. “During the 1980s and 1990s, when Australia had much lower energy prices, we missed an opportunity to be part of the growth in China’s steel consumption from 100 million tonnes to 1 billion tonnes over 15 years. But we can do better this time by being part of the growth in the Indian and Southeast Asian markets,” he said. According to Professor Garnaut, this would be possible by resorting to renewable energy sources, balancing the intermittence of these sources with battery technologies, and investing in training skills for the manufacturing sector. With regards to the skills issue for the sector, the Victoria Skills
Commissioner, Neil Coulson, argued that the manufacturing sector is still a strong employer in the country. He mentioned this despite the loss of the automotive sector. He pointed to research showing that only about nine per cent of jobs can be replaced by automation, while technological advancements have the potential to create more jobs. This includes investments by the Victorian government in new approaches to apprenticeship to make them more appealing for the new generation. An example of innovative apprenticeship approaches was demonstrated by Geoff Crittenden, Weld Australia’s CEO, who explained how Weld Australia has implemented Augmented Reality tools to transform the age-old processes of welding training. More on this story in our Issues & Insights main feature. Last but not least, we celebrate gender diversity in this issue with the Women in Industry Winner’s report. It was a glittery gala night at Doltone House at Jones Bay Wharf where Prime Creative Media rewarded the best and the brightest women for their contributions to STEM. Do check out our report and our standout winners for the night. manmonthly.com.au
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News@MM BAE Systems wins the $35b frigate contract The British defence company BAE Systems has been announced as the winner of the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 5000 Future Frigate Program, beating off competition from Italy’s Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia. The total value of the program is estimated at $35 billion over its 30-year life and will see BAE Systems build nine of its Type 26 Global Combat Ships in Adelaide. The anti-submarine warfare vessels will be officially known as the Hunter class in Australia. BAE Systems’ Type 26 Global Combat Ship was competing against Fincantieri of Italy with its FREMM frigate, and Navantia of Spain with an updated Hobart Class/F-100. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to announce the news today, alongside Australia’s defence minister Marise Payne and defence industry minister Christopher Pyne. The British Prime Minister Theresa May has already hailed the contract
between BAE Systems and the Australian government as “the biggest Naval defence contract for a decade.” A press release published by the British PM’s office today marked the deal as the first export of a British design for new-build frigates since the 1970s. The deal is expected to create 4,000 new jobs and deliver the most technologically advanced stealthcapable submarine killer as the replacement for the eight ageing Anzac-class frigates that began service in 1996. The new fleet will be assigned as
the Hunter Class, with construction to begin in 2020 and the first ship delivered by 2027. BAE Systems’ Hunter Class of frigates will be built by ASC Shipbuilding at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. The federal government-owned ASC Shipbuilding will become a subsidiary of BAE Systems during the build. This subsidiary status is to ensure that BAE Systems is fully responsible and accountable for the timely delivery of the frigates and guarantees the work will be carried out by Australian workers and create Australian jobs.
Type 26 Global Combat Ship. Image credit: www.baesystems.com
BAE Systems expects the Australian industry content (AIC) for the Hunter Class build will be 65-70 per cent, which will create and secure thousands of jobs for decades. As part of its commitment to developing Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability, BAE Systems has prequalified over 500 Australian businesses from every state and territory to be in the Hunter Class supply chain. BAE Systems Australia had earlier announced that it will partner separately with each of BlueScope and Liberty OneSteel for the supply of more than 48,000 tonnes of Australian steel for building the nine Future Frigates. BAE’s Type 26 Frigate, which will provide the basis of the Australian Hunter class design, can support anti-submarine warfare, air defence and general purpose operations.
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News@MM Report highlights role of advanced manufacturing, services in export
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The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s Office of the Chief Economist in July released the Industry Insights – Globalising Australia report, showing that future growth opportunities will come from Australia’s manufacturing industry moving towards highervalue processes like research and development, and product design and marketing. The report shows that as production processes become increasingly interconnected globally, Australian firms must move towards these higher value activities and capitalise on new market opportunities to remain competitive. The report also reveals that Australia’s professional and finance industry services, often embedded in the commodities and advanced manufacturing exports, make up almost half the value of all Australian exports. This, according to the report, is because conventional statistics often understate the economic contribution of services like value chain logistics and coordination, accounting advice to exporters or other business services. Increasing demand for these services from China and elsewhere in Asia is likely to present significant growth opportunities and highskilled jobs into the future. Acting Chief Economist David Australian manufacturing is restructuring to focus on high value-add processes like R&D, design and marketing.
Turvey said the report confirmed the importance of supporting industry transition, removing trade barriers, and encouraging innovation to ensuring Australia’s place in the global trade environment. “Australia is an outlier amongst developed nations when it comes to global trade, mainly supplying raw materials with limited participation in the production of final goods,” Turvey said. “This is partly due to geography. Australia is on the periphery of trading blocs, while an economy like Taiwan is in the middle of a manufacturing hub surrounded by China, Japan and Korea. But it also reflects our competitive advantages and resource endowments,” he said. Turvey said the report shows the Australian economy is adapting to global trade patterns. “Australian manufacturing is restructuring to focus on the high value-add processes like R&D, design and marketing, while lower value-add production activities are offshored to lower wage countries. “In addition, the conventional trade statistics understate the importance of services to Australian exports. The statistics show that products exported across Australia’s border are mostly commodities like iron ore or manufacturing products. Yet services make up nearly half of value added in all Australian exports. Put another way, the contributions of Australia’s highly-skilled professional services and finance industries are embedded in the lumps of rock that we export,” Turvey said. The next edition of Industry Insights, a three-part publication by the Office of the Chief Economist in the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, will examine how Australia can capitalise on new technologies to improve productivity into the future. manmonthly.com.au
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News@MM MTPConnect launches Western Australian Node The Medical Technology, Biotechnology, and Pharmaceutical (MTP) Industry Growth Centre (MTPConnect) in conjunction with the Western Australian Government and the University of Western Australia (UWA), has announced the establishment of the Western Australian Node (the WA Node) of MTPConnect in Perth, to support the state’s burgeoning life sciences sector. The WA Node of MTPConnect was launched with the Western Australian Government in July this year, in collaboration with The University of Western Australia (UWA), at the Harry Perkins Institute and Centre for Medical Research. Dr. Bronwyn Evans, chair of MTPConnect, was joined by Dave Kelly, Minister for Innovation and ICT, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work in partnership on the establishment of the WA Node and to capitalise on
10 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
the state’s significant capability in innovative life sciences research. Western Australia has a strong heritage of successful medical training and research discoveries, as a result of its well-established medical research facilities, the latest infrastructure, and capabilities in gene technologies such as phenomics. The WA Node of MTPConnect, in collaboration with the state government and UWA, will run educational programs to support life sciences start-ups and innovation, working closely with local sector stakeholders to develop skills in product translation and commercialisation. The WA Node will also ensure that the local sector is linked to major initiatives, programs and projects, and is focused on the growth priorities identified in MTPConnect’s Sector Competiveness Plan, including clinical trials and the development of pre-
clinical expertise, and capability in precision medicine and regenerative medicine. Evans said the new WA Node of MTPConnect will provide welcome support for life sciences start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises, and in directing international investment into Western Australia. Dave Kelly, Minister for Innovation and ICT, said “The McGowan Government is delivering on its election commitment to diversify the economy and create jobs by establishing a second innovation hub through the $16.7 million New Industries Fund. Through this new life science innovation hub, the McGowan Government will support high growth small and medium-sized enterprises and job growth in this exciting and developing sector. “We have some of the most innovative people in Australia located
right here in Perth. With the support of the McGowan Government through this innovation hub, I look forward to seeing what these innovators can deliver for the benefit of our local economy and health sector.” The state government’s investment of $300,000 per annum for four years will also provide funding to run workshops, training and coaching sessions, bring national and international experts to Perth. MTPConnect will match the funding by contributing $100,000 in cash per annum and $200,000 per annum in inkind support over four years, for joint co-funded activities to support the WA Node. UWA will provide co-investment of $300,000 via in-kind support to house the Node at the UWA premises and directly funding a position to connect university researches and industry across the life sciences sector.
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News@MM Manufacturing closes financial year on a high note The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) ended the financial year on a high note, down just 0.1 point to 57.4 to record a 21st month of continuous expansion in June. This PMI measures perceived changes in activity levels across Australia’s manufacturing sector from one month to the next. Readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase. “Manufacturing production, employment, exports and sales were all higher in June, driving the Australian PMI to its longest run of expansion in well over a decade,” Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said. Seven of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in June, with the textiles, clothing, furniture and “other” manufacturing sub-sector’s Projekt3 28.06.18 13:39 Seite 1
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Activity levels across Australia’s manufacturing sector have improved in each of the past 21 months, the longest stretch of continuous growth since 2005. stable conditions the only exception (down 1.0 point to 49.3). Sub-sectors providing manufactured goods for civil engineering, residential and commercial construction projects continue to report very strong levels of activity: petroleum, coaland chemicals (down 0.9 points to 62.3); metal products (down 1.8 points to 56.2); machinery & equipment (down 0.3 points to 58.9); and non-metallic minerals (down 0.4 points to 63.4).
Activity levels across Australia’s manufacturing sector has improved in each of the past 21 months, the longest stretch of continuous growth since 2005. Mirroring the headline PMI, the Ai Group said a majority of the surveys activity subindexes continued strengthen in June. Six of the seven activity sub-indexes indicated expansion in June, with only the finished stocks sub-index remaining stable,” it said.
“The new orders sub-index fell in June but remains expansionary, indicating a strong likelihood of further near-term manufacturing growth. This is despite some participants citing a reduction in new orders due to the approaching end of the financial year. “With new orders continuing to come in at growing levels, the immediate outlook is for further growth in production and employment. As to the longer term, manufacturers, particularly those in more energy intensive segments of the sector, remain concerned about ongoing uncertainty over energy policy and its dampening impact on the investment needed to ease price pressures,” Willox said. The Australian PMI is a national composite index calculated from a weighted mix of the diffusion indices for production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment.
Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 11
News@MM Satellite camera built by La Trobe University engineers launches into space An advanced high-resolution camera, partly developed by engineers from La Trobe University, was launched at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida onboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 29. The earth sensing imaging spectromoter, developed and constructed by the German Aerospace Centre in partnership with La Trobe University, will be used to more accurately monitor the Earth’s ecosystem. The camera was integrated onto the station’s imaging platform to monitor bushfires, floods, ash clouds, storms, rainfall, and drought across the world. The camera will transmit data to the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at La Trobe and to ESS Weathertech – a Melbourne-based company
specialising in design and manufacture of satellite ground stations. “There will be about a three-month commissioning phase to make sure it’s all working properly to specifications so ideally all things going well maybe around October, November we’ll have the first images that can also be used for commercial purposes,” La Trobe University senior lecturer Peter Moar said. Dr Moar said the camera would orbit the earth, taking sequences of high resolution images of the earth’s surface which had many potential uses, including helping emergency services to target their efforts to fight bushfires. He said farmers could use the images to analyse crops and optimise their use of fertilisers, and
governments and researchers could use the images to monitor the health of the Great Barrier Reef, including to monitor water quality, measure runoff of pollutants from land, and detect the illegal dumping of chemicals. The partnership between La Trobe and the German Aerospace Centre is the first of its kind for an Australian university. Dr Moar said the camera, which
was three years in the making, had been built to withstand the extremes of space, including temperatures almost as low as zero kelvin (-273 degrees Celsius) and as high as a few hundred degrees. The instrument will remain on the International Space Station for four years, when it will be brought down and examined to understand the effects of space conditions on it.
The camera on the satellite will monitor natural disasters and environmental changes across the globe.
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News@MM Automotive accessory manufacturer EGR to expand in Queensland Automotive accessory manufacturer EGR Group is expanding its national automotive hub in Brisbane, thanks to the Queensland Government’s $105 million Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund. “EGR Group is a global company at the forefront of global technology with a renewed focus on export growth, and it’s a company with a strong commitment to innovation, with nearly 20 per cent of its Brisbane workforce directly working on the development of new products,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a visit to EGR’s Salisbury factory this week. The expansion plans by EGR are expected to create 178 new jobs across EGR’s existing facilities in Brisbane, including engineers, product development staff and highlyskilled technicians. The expansion comes in the wake of the company recently signing a global contract to manufacture accessories for the Mercedes-Benz The expansion plans by EGR are expected to create 178 new jobs.
X-class, including canopies and hard tonneau covers, in Brisbane. CEO of EGR’s automotive division Simon McLellan said the contract was a substantial “feather” in EGR’s cap. “While EGR couldn’t compete on price compared with some Asian and European suppliers, MercedesBenz chose to go with us for quality – and quality is obviously critical for one of the world’s most prestigious automotive brands,” McLellan said. EGR currently employs more than 726 people in Queensland in a broad spectrum of specialties, from mechanical engineering to marketing, carpentry to robotics. Founded in 1973 by brothers Greg and Rod Horwill, EGR is headquartered in Brisbane and has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, USA, UK, China and Thailand. EGR Group is the 10th company to expand or move to Queensland under the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund.
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Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 13
News@MM Green hydrogen innovation hub to be built in WA ATCO will trial the production, storage and use of renewable hydrogen.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $1.5 million to fund Australia’s first green hydrogen innovation hub at Jandakot in Western Australia. In Jandakot, ATCO will trial the production, storage and use of renewable hydrogen to energise a commercial-scale microgrid, testing
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the use of hydrogen in different settings and applications including in household appliances. The $3.3 million development project will evaluate the potential for renewable hydrogen to be generated, stored and used at a larger scale. ATCO aims to assess the practicalities of replacing natural gas with
hydrogen at a city-wide scale across a municipality. Green hydrogen will be produced from on-site solar using electrolysis, fuelling a range of gas appliances and blending hydrogen into the natural gas pipeline. The project will also build upon ATCO’s distributed energy hybrid
energy system trial called GasSola which includes the installation of rooftop solar with battery storage and standby natural gas generation for nine residential sites in Western Australia’s south west. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the ATCO trial could lead to hydrogen being used more widely across Australia. “Green hydrogen offers opportunities to provide carbon free energy to cities and towns, while leveraging existing natural gas infrastructure,” he said. “Along with ARENA’s R&D funding round focussed on exporting hydrogen, this project will explore the opportunities for hydrogen in Australia, which could also include the development of standards for green hydrogen production, distribution and use,” he said. ATCO managing director and COO, Pat Creaghan said: “Securing this grant is a major accomplishment. We intend to play a leading role in the development of forward-thinking, clean energy solutions, and our Clean Energy Innovation Hub is at the very heart of those plans. The project has many exciting elements, but what truly sets it apart is the use of excess renewable energy, which would typically be lost to the system, to produce hydrogen.”
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News@MM KPMG report highlights Lockheed Martin’s contribution to Australian economy Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, in July released the KPMG report “The Economic Contribution of Lockheed Martin to Australia” – highlighting Lockheed Martin Australia’s positive impact on the Australian economy. The report notes that Lockheed Martin Australia’s workforce has increased by almost 100 per cent since 2016. “As this report notes, for the year of 2016, Lockheed Martin Australia contributed an estimated $340 million to Australia’s GDP,” Pyne said. The KPMG analysis report, published in May 2018, updates and extends the initial base lining of the impact of Lockheed Martin Australia on the Australian economy undertaken in 2015. The report also provides a thorough overview of Lockheed Martin’s products and programs in Australia, and the contribution the company makes to Australia’s security. According to the report, during the period Lockheed Martin Australia invested over $60 million to partner with over 30 Australian
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small and medium sized enterprises through the Global Supply Chain Initiative. At the end of 2016, KPMG estimated that 1,215 skilled manufacturing and systems integration jobs existed in the country to support Lockheed Martin products and programs.
“Lockheed Martin is an industry leader in defence and technology and works with local partners to bring best practice and leadingedge concepts and technology to Australia. “Lockheed Martin Australia continues to provide efficient and effective defence capabilities
to the Australian Defence Force including the Joint Strike Fighter, the design and integration of the combat system for Australia’s Future Submarines, next generation pilot training, and the Aegis combat system for Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyers and Future Frigates,” Minister Pyne said.
The report provides a thorough overview of Lockheed Martin Australia’s products and programs.
Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 15
Issues @INSIGHTS Same direction, renewed focus The 2018 National Manufacturing Summit gathered industry stakeholders to discuss solutions to two of the most critical issues facing the manufacturing sector today: energy security and vocational education. Manufacturers’ Monthly reports. The 2018 National Manufacturing Summit focused on two critical issues for the manufacturing sector: energy security and skills training.
T
HE 2018 National Manufacturing Summit, hosted by Weld Australia in the Parliament House in Canberra on June 26, took up the discussions on the prospects of Australia’s manufacturing sector where they were left off at last year’s inaugural summit in June 2017. The inaugural National Manufacturing Summit, hosted in June last year by the Australian Institute’s Centre for Future Work, highlighted that Australia’s manufacturing sector is poised for a turnaround – as documented in the Summit paper, “Manufacturing: A Moment of Opportunity.” Following on those lines, this year’s Summit focused on the two crucial areas that the Australian manufacturing sector is facing in achieving that predicted turnaround: energy insecurity and 16 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
the fragmented skills and training. Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work, in his review of the key lessons from the 2017 National Manufacturing Summit noted that developments over the past year have proven right the conclusions drawn at last year’s Summit. “We put out the statement in the Summit paper last year that the worst was over for the manufacturing sector. I’m glad to say today that we were right,” he said. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that trend total employment in manufacturing increased by almost 50,000 positions in the year ending in May 2018, making manufacturing one of the largest sources of new jobs in the entire economy – along with construction (50,000) and health and social services (57,000).
“We are on the cusp of a very promising time for manufacturing in Australia,” Stanford told Manufacturers’ Monthly. “The underlying economics are really coming together. The business case for making manufactured goods in Australia is night-and-day better than it was five years ago,” he said. But, he also noted that to take full benefit of that opportunity, the stakeholders must collaborate to resolve issues around energy policy and vocational education and training. “We have to be very careful to make the most of that opportunity. We could lose it if we don’t fix some of the crucial problems and challenges in the sector. Energy policy and vocational education are two crucial areas that could go a long way in benefiting from this expansion in the years to come,” he said.
Bringing back competitiveness Professor Ross Garnaut, president of SIMEC Zen Energy, in his keynote speech talked about the reasons for the decline of competitiveness for Australian exports over the past years, while agreeing that the “stars are realigning” for the sector. “The manufacturing sector broadly has two parts: the domestic market and a trade-exposed part. To have sustained growth in domestic demand, we need a strong performance from the trade-exposed part of the economy and manufacturing is a very important part of that. “The trade-exposed part of manufacturing did extremely well for 20 years, from the beginning of the reform era in 1983 until the beginning of the resources boom in 2003. But, that all went into reverse with the manmonthly.com.au
Issues&INSIGHTS resources boom and a big increase in the real exchange rate. That was reflected in negative exports for manufacturing from 2003 until a few years ago,” Garnaut said. According to Garnaut, this decline in exports was further compounded by the huge increase in energy costs. “In the 80s and 90s until the first dozen years of this century, our domestic gas prices were the lowest in the developed world – about a third of the gas prices in the US. All of that changed with the development of the export capacity. Due to the overinvestment in exports, the gas prices increased four to five-fold,” he said. While the increase in gas prices directly affects the gas-dependant manufacturing businesses, professor Garnaut explained why gas is also important in setting prices in the electricity market. “Gas makes up the balance between the base load production and the intermittent renewables production and demand from time to time. When demand is strong, we need extra electricity to be supplied by gas. Today, in eastern and southern Australia, gas is setting the price of electricity for about 30 per cent of the time,” he explained,” he said. But, he noted that Australia can regain competitiveness in the export market by resorting to more renewable energy, using batteries and gas to balance the intermittencies in renewable energy, and rebuilding the skills base for manufacturing – a model that he said was being demonstrated by SIMEC Zen’s shareholder and GFG Alliance chairman, Sanjeev Gupta. “We have the world’s richest renewable energy resources – which is the lowest-cost new-build electricity available now. As the whole world moves towards higher proportions of low-emission energy, renewable energies could become a source of competitive strength for Australia,” Garnaut said.
Opportunities in renewables Paul Hodgson, general manager – innovation and stakeholder engagement at the National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), further manmonthly.com.au
Professor Ross Garnaut, president of SIMEC Zen Energy discussed ways to make manufacturing competitive again.
highlighted Australia’s opportunity in the renewable energy sector. “In Australia, we have a lot of the ingredients for energy success ¬¬– from the battery minerals, to renewables sources such as wind and solar, bio-fuels and waste-to-energy. If we can take a step back and look at how we can make all the components of the energy system to work well, we can be known globally as a leading source of renewable energy solutions for the world,” he said. Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mark Butler, touched upon the debate around the National Energy Guarantee, commenting that the Energy Security Board was moving in the right direction. “We are moving towards a model that I think really can be made to work,” Butler said. “The fundamental debate, however, is about the ambitions set out in NEG.” While NEG sets a target of achieving 26 per cent reduction in the emission below 2005 levels by 2030, Butler said with the substantial reductions in the carbon pollution
footprint of the National Electricity Market (NEM) over the past years, that target could be all but achieved by 2020. “This meant that while sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and transport would be required to reduce their emissions by more than 40 per cent from 2020 to 2030, the electricity generation sector would have almost zero emissions reduction responsibilities during the period. “But we are trying to arrive at a bipartisan agreement, at least on the architecture of NEG,” he said.
The skills shortage in manufacturing Similar to last year’s Summit, the Australian Institute’s Centre for Future Work issued an overview research paper parallel to the 2018 Summit, identifying key factors behind the rapid emergence of skills shortages in manufacturing. The paper, titled “Advanced Skills for Advanced Manufacturing,” highlights that to sustain the emerging turnaround in manufacturing, as well as the transformation toward
more specialised and disaggregated advanced manufacturing processes, the sector has an urgent need to strengthen vocational education and training. The “why” and “how” of investing in manufacturing skills training was discussed by the Victoria Skills Commissioner, Neil Coulson. He argued that despite the negative perception that the manufacturing jobs are diminishing as a result of automation, the contrary is true. “There is a popular understanding about the future of manufacturing and manufacturing jobs that the era for manufacturing in Australia is over and that most –¬ if not all ¬– manufacturing jobs are about to be wiped out by the fourth industrial revolution.” “It is, thankfully, wrong,” he said. “As most manufacturers would tell you, humans will certainly work alongside robots for a long time yet. Goods manufactured using robots need to be programmed, finished and refined by humans.” He cited evidence from a 2016 Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 17
Issues @INSIGHTS Geoff Crittenden, CEO of Weld Australia, demonstrated an innovative method for welding training using Augmented Reality.
paper by OECD publishing, titled “The Risk of Automation for Jobs in OECD Countries,” showing that only about nine per cent of the jobs are automatable. “And these jobs were mostly at the lower skill end,” he said. He also offered evidence from Victoria showing that despite the closure of the automotive manufacturing companies, the manufacturing sector was still a big employer in the state. “Research by Deloitte shows the automotive sector has had neither a positive nor a negative impact on the number of manufacturing jobs in Victoria. Total manufacturing employment in Victoria was 278,000
people in 2015-16 financial year and 288,000 people in 2016-17.” “In Victoria, manufacturing contributes $27.7 billion to the state’s economy and employs around 286,000 people in more than 13,000 businesses,” Coulson said. Concluding that the employment “apocalypse” was unfounded, he said the big task ahead of manufacturers now is to move on to the “how” of skilling the manufacturing workforce for the future high-level manufacturing jobs – an approach that he said required a major cultural change in the view towards vocational training. “As the US Centre on Education
and Economy has argued, it’s time governments and employers recognise the obligation they have to help prepare young people for productive and many-fold employment. He cited examples from the Victorian government’s efforts in making cultural changes from the school-level to encourage more students to choose careers in the manufacturing domain. This includes investments in new approaches to apprenticeship to make them more appealing for the new generation. A recurring message throughout the Summit was the role to be played by manufacturers to actively engage in imparting the technical know-how required in their sector and in preparing the workforce for future jobs.
Innovation in apprentice training An example of innovative apprenticeship approaches was demonstrated by Geoff Crittenden, Weld Australia’s CEO, who explained how Weld Australia has implemented Augmented Reality tools to transform the age-old processes of welding training. “The basic principles and the procedures of welding training hadn’t changed in the past 150 years.” Crittenden said. “That was until we came along.”
Weld Australia’s Soldamatic Augmented (AR) Training is the first AR welding simulator worldwide. By allowing the welding trainees to interact simultaneously with the real world and virtual imagery, the technology helps to make welding training more attractive for the younger generation of welders. Weld Australia delivers a comprehensive range of training, qualification and certification services to help Australian welders. “Weld Australia introduced the Soldamatic Augmented (AR) Training after realising that there was as much as 80 per cent failure rate in the welders doing their basic competency test,” Crittenden told Manufacturers’ Monthly. “That’s why we introduced this program – which we call the ‘advanced world of certification’,” he said. Another example of companies engaging directly with education in their streams was demonstrated by JAR Aerospace, a fast growing startup company engaged with development of customisable Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). JAR Aerospace CEO and founder Jack Cullen explained how his company recently launched an educational branch aimed at engaging the youth and making STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
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Issues&INSIGHTS education more accessible to young minds. “When we founded the company, we realised that a lot of the kids coming out of the universities, TAFE and the school system aren’t up to speed with the state of the industry. We wanted our education system to help build that skill set from an early stage,” Cullen said. JAR Aerospace’s education branch is focusing on creating interest in students and connecting them to the aerospace industry by involving students in drone design program, ship-building-kits, building their own 3D printers and going through space programs.
Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Karen Andrews, highlighted the role of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) in responding to industry needs with regards to the skills shortages. “The AISC already has a proven track record of responding to industry change as it occurs. It is driving
a range of forward looking crossindustry skills projects, in areas such as big data, supply chain management, automation, digital skills and cyber security,” Andrews said. She also spoke about the government’s programs focused on building the naval shipbuilding skills. “The Naval Shipbuilding program
puts in place a long-term pipeline of projects, which will be underpinned by a highly skilled workforce. “The newly established Naval Shipbuilding College, and a new Naval Shipbuilding Industry Reference Committee, will ensure qualifications capture the right skills and standard for this industry,” she noted.
Building confidence in manufacturing Shadow Minister for Skills, TAFE and Apprenticeship, Senator Doug Cameron also called for employers to take a more proactive role in the skills development for the manufacturing sector, noting that the demand for skilled workforce in the manufacturing sector was accelerating through technological changes. “If Australia is to take advantage of opportunities in the global economy and to build productive capacity domestically, employers need to be investing in the regeneration of strong foundational qualifications in the workforce,” Cameron said.
Jens Goennemann, managing director of Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, moderated a panel session on skills training.
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Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 19 2/7/18 2:38 PM
Issues &INSIGHTS Nipping the skills shortage in the bud While the manufacturing sector is experiencing early stages of recovery, experts say the growth could be hampered by a shortage of skilled workforce, if the issue is not addressed immediately. Manufacturers’ Monthly reports.
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HE National Manufacturing Summit 2018 highlighted that while many indicators point to an improvement in the fundamental economic conditions of manufacturing, one key factor that could hold back that recovery is the shortage of skilled workforce. Many indicators point to an improvement in the fundamental economic conditions of manufacturing. For example, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) recorded the 21st month of continuous expansion in June – the longest run of consecutive expanding conditions since 2005. Perhaps most encouragingly, the industry is now in hiring mode: according to data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, trend total employment in manufacturing increased by almost 50,000 positions in the year ending in May 2018, making manufacturing one of the largest sources of new jobs in the entire economy. It may seem counter-intuitive that manufacturing could already be facing skills shortages, after a
decade of substantial job losses. But, the “Advanced Skills for Advanced Manufacturing” report, prepared by the Centre for Future Work based on interviews with key informants
from several different segments of Australian manufacturing and published research from other sources, indicate that manufacturing employers are indeed facing growing challenges
in meeting their requirements for skilled workers. The report, written by Tanya Carney and Jim Stanford, identifies some key factors behind the rapid
Director of the Centre for Future Work, Jim Stanford, explained why the skills shortage could become a pressing issue, relatively early in the industry’s recovery.
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Issues&INSIGHTS emergence of skills shortages in manufacturing and proposes a set of 12 recommendations to help resolve the skills crisis in manufacturing.
The skills challenge Director of the Centre for Future Work and the report’s co-author, Jim Stanford, explained why the skills shortage could become a pressing issue, relatively early in the industry’s recovery. Part of the complexity, he said, comes from the sectoral and occupational diversity in the manufacturing workforce. “The works in the manufacturing sector are not homogeneous. While in the macroeconomic level, there are about three million unemployed, under-employed or marginally-attached workers seeking opportunities for high-valued work in the manufacturing sector, the existence of specific sub-sector means that people with an specialised skill cannot be hired in another sub-sector,” he said. To give a perspective on the diversity of the sector, he cited data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics catalogue on manufacturing employment in May 2018. The data shows that while overall trend total employment in manufacturing increased by almost 50,000 positions in the year ending in May 2018, the employment growth has not been shared consistently by each sub-sector – some sub-sectors are still experiencing decline, while others are enjoying even stronger growth than the overall manufacturing trend. A parallel factor behind the emergence of skills shortages within manufacturing, according to the report, is the demographic transition of the manufacturing workforce. “A considerable section of today’s workforce was hired during the expansionary years of the pervious decades, some of them as early as the 1980s. These people, who accumulated skills and qualifications over the years, are getting ready to retire soon. So, even if the overall employment had been stable during this period, we would still be facing a skills shortage for that reason,” he said. Another factor adding to the manmonthly.com.au
complexity of the skills shortage in manufacturing, according to Stanford, is the increasing complexity and breadth of required skills. “The overall trend within manufacturing towards a more sophisticated and technology-intensive manufacturing models means that there are not only new and more complicated skills that have to be learned, but the greater challenge is the comprehensive and multidimensional nature of the package of skills employers need. “The employers don’t just need someone who knows how to run a particular machine. They also unanimously are demanding people with the ability to solve problems, think creatively and pull together bits of information from different places,” he said. The report further notes that the above factors were accompanied by a series of policy errors at national level in the vocational education and training (VET) system, which led to a failure by the VET system to provide a steady flow of skilled workers, possessing modern and flexible qualifications – consistent with the expansion of more specialised, advanced manufacturing business models.
Twelve recommendations To address the challenges described above, the Centre for Future Work has proposed 12 recommendations. Re-establishing adequately funded and stable TAFEs as the centrepiece of vocational education is the first of these recommendations. “We absolutely need to rebuild and restore the centrality of high-quality, permanent, public institutions – including TAFE and community colleges. “The idea that private companies are going to pop up and offer something and then disappear the next year is a disaster in the making. That underpins the necessity of a system that delivers consistent highquality training,” Stanford said. The second recommendation in the report is to develop the capacities of TAFE teachers in manufacturing fields, and invest in modern capital equipment for training.
The Centre also encourages partnerships on customised joint training initiatives between specific TAFEs and firms or groups of firms. Another recommendation in the report includes implementing higher-level and multi-disciplinary qualifications reflecting emerging skills and composite capacities. “The growing complexity and multi-dimensionality of manufacturing work, especially given the adoption of advanced manufacturing strategies by enterprises, requires manufacturing workers to be equipped with flexible sets of skills – including technical, problem-solving, and enterprise skills. The higher-level diploma and postdiploma certifications need to reflect this trend,” Stanford explained. A parallel recommendation to allow comprehensive education to students, Stanford said, is to shift emphasis in curricula and training programs toward comprehensive and complete qualifications, rather than micro-competencies. The report goes on to recommend integrating basic literacy and numeracy training into VET offerings at all levels. According to Stanford, many employers report the absence of core literacy and numeracy skills to be a barrier to the employment of potential workers who otherwise possess necessary technical qualifications. Access to these foundational programs should be universally provided for those students that require them. Supporting the expansion of apprenticeships in manufacturing with fiscal measures, instruction resources, and mentoring is another recommendation. According to the report, the number of apprentices commencing positions in Australian firms, including in manufacturing, has experienced a worrisome decline. Fiscal supports for both employers and apprentices need to be expanded. Apprenticeships would be more successful, and completion rates higher, if both students and their managers/employers were supported with more intense supervision and mentoring. The authors further suggest
implementing provisions to ensure access to training opportunities, and fair employment conditions for trainees and apprentices within modern awards and enterprise agreements. Developing ambitious and better-resourced systems to support retraining and redeployment of displaced workers in declining manufacturing sectors is another recommendation put forth. “Clearly, we are still seeing shedding of labour from certain industries. We should get our act together to provide those affected workers with opportunities and provide growing industries with the ability to tap into those people. “Of course, some of the displaced automotive workers may not have some of the experience needed in the machinery equipment manufacturing. But, there have some of the foundational knowledge and process experiences. With a bit of thought and support, we should be able to connect the dots,” Stanford said. He also spoke about developing new models for phased retirement to smooth the demographic transition facing skilled trade positions in manufacturing. “If you have senior people looking at retirement, let’s think of ways to phase in that retirement so that they can play some of the roles of mentoring the new apprentices. Think about ways that they could move into retirement gradually and also help to bridge that demographic gap,” he said. As a final recommendation, the Centre for Future Work proposes establishing a leadership-level Manufacturing VET Policy Board to coordinate VET initiatives in the sector, and represent the interests of manufacturing in broader VET processes and dialogues. “Having a leading body, incorporating all major stakeholders with an interest in manufacturing VET (including individual businesses, peak bodies, trade unions, TAFEs, other VET providers, and state and Commonwealth governments) could help create a united voice that influences the decision of policymakers,” Stanford said. Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 21
Industry FOCUS A new force in space On July 1, the Australian Space Agency officially began its work. Manufacturers’ Monthly got in touch with Dr Megan Clark, the head of the agency, to speak about the prospects for the Australian space industry.
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LMOST exactly a year after the government announced plans to review the nation’s space industry capability, the Australian Space Agency kicked off in July– working from its headquarters at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science in Canberra. In its response to the review of Australia’s space industry capability, the federal government announced in May that it will invest $41 million to establish the Australian Space Agency, and another $260 million to develop advanced core satellite infrastructure and technologies in Australia. Dr Megan Clark, who had led the expert review group, was appointed by the government to lead the agency for its establishment and first year of operation. The Australian Space Agency has an ambitious goal ahead of it: to triple the size of Australia’s space industry to $10-12 billion per year by 2030, from the estimated $3.94 billion in the 2015–2016 financial year. The Agency has also set out to increase Australia’s share in the global space sector, which is estimated to be worth around US$345 billion ($460
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billion), and growing at nearly 10 per cent per year. Clark told Manufacturers’ Monthly that the agency will focus in its first 12 months of operation on connecting the domestic industry to the international space sector and engaging with the states and territories to develop the national civil space industry strategy. “Our absolute purpose is to transform and grow the Australian space industry and make sure that the space industry sector is lifting the broader economy. “To do that, we will be consulting with the states and territories before putting forward a proposal to the government regarding the best strategic location for the agency,” she said.
Areas of competitive advantage Australia’s location in the Southern Hemisphere offers advantages for locating satellite ground stations. Australia also has excellent capabilities in ground systems, software, and applications, which creates opportunities to expand its role in the global space economy. In its review of the space capabilities, the expert review panel
identified six key areas where Australia can “leapfrog” using its competitive advantages. The first key area is in communications technologies and services, which also includes the ground station segment – for connection from space to earth. “Many countries would not highlight the ground segment as a strategic advantage, but for Australia it totally made sense. We cover around 12 per cent of the earth’s rotation, we look into the solar system and into the galaxy, and we are an island where only about 30 per cent of the land mass is covered by mobile phone coverage. This means that for the remaining 70 per cent, the space would be important,” Clark said. The second key area of advantage for Australia is Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and debris monitoring. “In Australia, we already have the C-band radar in the Harold E. Holt facility. This year we will also have the Space Surveillance Telescope, which is a laser-based optical system and that will be for the higher geostationary orbit,” Clark said. “Australia has world-class facilities and expertise in SSA that could be used
The Australian Space Agency plans to triple the size of Australia’s space industry. to support commercial activity, and add significant value to the global space economy. “We see space surveillance and debris monitoring as an opportunity for Australia to play its part as a good global citizen,” Clark said. Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) is the third area where Clark believes Australia can leapfrog. These refer to the ability to accurately and precisely determine one’s location, current and desired position and precise time from a standard (Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC), anywhere in the world. The first recommendation put forth by the expert review panel to the government was to enhance the PNT infrastructure, highlighting its role in enhancing other aspects of the broader
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Industry FOCUS economy including agriculture, transport, fisheries, emergency services, mining and oil and gas, and national security. “Our network of global navigation satellite tracking infrastructure that supports highaccuracy positioning is not globally competitive. In timing, we currently have a five-minute accuracy – and in some places, a 10-minute accuracy – which is behind many of the developed countries,” Clark said. She saw it as a positive sign that the Budget 2018 has allocated funding towards development of the satellite infrastructure and technologies, including better Global Positioning System (GPS). “The development in technology could also allow us to narrow the positioning precision down to three centimetres. This would be helpful for a variety of purposes, including autonomous vehicles, automation network, robotics, and things that we cannot even imagine now – like how we help the visually impaired,” Clark said. The fourth strategic area identified in the review was advanced earth observation (EO) services. Clark explained that since Australia did not have a sovereign EO satellite in the space, it had to capitalise on the available satellite data, rather than on data from a single set of satellite missions. “While other countries were focusing on information that was coming from their satellites, Australia became very good at putting together all of the data that was available,” she said. The Budget 2018 has funded the Digital Earth Australia platform, from Geoscience Australia, to be commercialised and to allow that platform to be exported as a global standard to other countries. The fifth area of competitive advantage, Clark said, is to leverage Australia’s strength in research and development in areas such as quantum communications and technologies; astronomy and planetary science; space and remote medicine; and advanced antenna and sensor technology. The sixth area of competitive advantage for Australia is remote asset management. “We are world class in this area,” Clark said. “Australia has been using remote asset management mechanisms to control autonomous trucks at mine sites in Western Australia as well as to control offshore oil rigs from control rooms located thousands of kilometres away,” she said. While the expert review panel highlighted these as the six key areas where Australia has competitive advantages, Clark said other areas could also be identified as the agency carries out its assessment of the sector. manmonthly.com.au
Brining space into broader economy An important role that the Australian Space Agency hopes to play is to improve the mutual relationship between the space sector and the broader economy. “We see this as really important that we can bring the technology that has been developed for space to be used across our broader economy on earth and then the things that we do on earth, we can share with the space industry,” Clark said. To demonstrate some benefits of the space sector on other economic sectors, Clark cited the example of an existing partnership between Woodside Australia and NASA. “NASA is developing Robonauts – which are humanoid robots to be able to perform functions on the international space station. Our oil and gas industry also identified the need to deploy robots to carry out exactly the same functions on offshore oil rigs. So, Woodside and NASA are currently working in partnership to build that. “That absolutely exemplifies an area where the Australian oil and gas industry is working with the space industry for mutual benefits,” she said. She also referred to examples of works being done by space start-ups and SMEs in Australia as concrete examples of how the space industry can contribute to the broader economy. “In the area of the Internet of Things (IoT), we have companies such as Myriota and Fleet Space Technologies, whose work assists with automation of other industries such as agriculture, mining and oil and gas. Because of our remote nature in Australia, collecting data from sensors in far-reaching areas is not possible through the mobile phone network. We have emerging capabilities in the area of constellations of miniaturised satellites, which will be used for IoT and communications applications,” she explained. Another critical role for the Agency will be to develop agreements with key countries to enable increased Australian industry participation in joint missions and projects. “One of the key roles of the Agency is to provide that one door and one voice internationally, which we have been missing,” Clark said. So far, Clark said, the response from international space agencies has been “overwhelming.” “Since we announced the establishment of the agency, we have received great interest from agencies around the world wanting to partner with our new space agency. It’s easy to see that they were all waiting for us to have this agency,” she said. Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 23
Women
IN INDUSTRY AWARDS
Unity within diversity closer than ever At this year’s Women in Industry Awards, a new breed of industrious leaders were featured that are the testament of Australia’s ever growing industrial sectors. The Women in Industry Awards 2018 was filled with inspiring stories.
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OR the fifth year running, Australian Mining, PACE, Manufacturer’s Monthly, Logistics and Material Handling and Food & Beverage Industry News have partnered to acknowledge the contributions of women in Australia who have achieved success through their leadership, innovation and commitment to the various STEM(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) driven industries. The Women in Industry Awards recognise and reward the women in Australian businesses who are driving change across the industry. They are also successful professionals working in key, decision-making roles such as team leaders, managers, CEOs and advisors. They represent industries that have historically, in Australia and in the world, been categorised as maledominated occupations; industries such as construction, mining,
24 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
manufacturing, transport and logistics. Prime Creative Media has long recognised the significance that women can bring to adding life to the Australian economy. However, despite the great efforts that have been made in recent years to ensure gender diversity across all sectors, Manufacturers’ Monthly’s Tara Hamid pointed out in her opening address of the night that the Australian workforce still remains highly gendersegregated, with women representing less than a fourth of the workforce in industries such as manufacturing, transport, mining and construction. In her speech, she also mentioned that data gathered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has shown that while women enter the workforce at pretty much the same rate as men, representation of women declined with seniority. As reported in a census by Senior Executive Women in 2017,
women make up only five per cent of CEOs and only about a fifth of executive management in ASX 200 companies. But, those numbers of key women executives are continuing to grow
because the Women in Industry Awards night had reached record numbers this year. And there were some inspiring stories from some of the winners from the night like Elena Gosse, the CEO of Australian Innovative Systems who won the Industry Advocacy Award. She spoke of humble beginnings when she first arrived here many years ago not knowing much English and her difficulties rising up in a tough industry. “To be able to achieve what I have done for the business, it needs to start with the culture, the way in thinking, then the work will get done,” she said with regards to diversity in the business upon receiving her award. The rest of the night was filled with more stories of dedication, exceptionalism and celebration of hard work. In this respect, Prime Creative Media would like to thank its sponsors, Atlas Copco Compressors, BOC Limited, and CSR Limited for sponsoring the event. Most importantly, the Women in Industry Awards will seek to continue to break down gender barriers and stereotypes around STEM related businesses and create new possibilities for the next generation of leaders and beyond.
The Women in Industry Awards seeks to break down gender barriers and stereotypes around STEM related businesses.
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Women
IN INDUSTRY AWARDS WINNER’S PROFILE
Mentor of the Year: Opening up new pathways
Sponsored by
Finding the gems that shape the industries of tomorrow start with the educator. Dr Gita Pendharkar from RMIT University, who snagged the Mentor of the Year Award at this year’s Women in Industry Awards 2018, shared her thoughts with Manufacturers’ Monthly on how she guides her students.
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N her role at RMIT, Dr Gita Pendharkar is a senior educator at the School of Vocational Engineering Health and Science. Her role mainly involves teaching and mentoring activities for the students. When asked what is at the centre of her core teaching beliefs, she told Manufacturers’ Monthly that she believes that mentoring and education are the most powerful weapons and therefore, should be handled and delivered for the right use. “For me, mentoring means, investing your time to understand and respond to the needs of students, show them various pathways in their life, boost their confidence by making them believe that they can achieve their goals, give them true feedback on their work and celebrate their success,” said Gita. “I have mentored lot of the international and local female students from India, who would be very comfortable talking to me and discussing their educational needs and other aspects of life. They have all succeeded and have respectable jobs in their fields,” she said.
The road driven together According to Gita, in her 26 years of academic career, she has mentored a diverse range of Tafe, undergraduate and post graduate students from universities in India, Zambia, and Australia (both RMIT and Monash University). “While the students always had a positive teaching and learning experience with me, the students have given back abundance of knowledge in return and made me wealthy (in knowledge),” she said. “Many of my students have manmonthly.com.au
remained in touch with me after their graduation. Discussing and sharing knowledge with colleagues have always helped and made me think in broader terms,” she said.
Innovation for the future While Gita was at RMIT, she led two funded projects using Action and Research in Teaching and Learning which introduced innovative approaches that are currently implemented at the school. She was the Project Leader for developing course material for flexible learning in 2009 at RMIT University. Besides the above projects, she has also been awarded the “Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship Award” by the American Australian Association in 2012, which she regards as another highlight of her career. Because of the prestigious nature of this award she was able to travel to the University of Delaware to carry out post doctorate research in Robotic Exoskeleton. In addition, she has also received a number of other awards for introducing innovative teaching practices at RMIT University, Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) award, International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI) award, all of which have contributed to her incredible career progress and work.
women at the workplace,” Gita said. She believes that although the universities are trying to get the gender balance, they still have a long way to go, especially in engineering related areas and mainly for senior management roles. “I am working in education industry and innovation is the most important aspect of education. Hence, workplace diversity is the only answer to bring that innovation which would lead to success,” she said.
A special moment “The Women in Industry Mentor of the Year Award is indeed a very special achievement for me as it was highly competitive to get this award. It is an excellent recognition of my
26 years of hard work of teaching, mentoring and academic services to the community,” said Gita. She says that she is extremely elated to have made RMIT University proud because the whole of Australia is talking about RMIT being one of the top universities to have the best mentors and teachers in their schools. “Recognising capable and successful women in various industries (especially traditionally male dominated ones) is an excellent step towards promoting gender diversity in Australia and these awards are a great platform to achieve this. I would like to give thanks to the organisers, sponsors and everyone involved in making the ‘Women in Industry Awards’ a success,” she said.
Gita receives the Mentor of the Year Award on the awards night.
The issue of diversity To Gita, diversity means to have a workplace with people from different race, religion, socioeconomic and ethnic background. “At RMIT, we have a very diverse team of staff and we welcome students from all different backgrounds. Gender diversity to me, means to have an equal representation of men and Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 25
Women
IN INDUSTRY AWARDS WINNER’S PROFILE Sponsored by
Rising Star of the Year: Progress through diversity Manufacturers’ Monthly caught up with CSR Limited’s trailblazing property development manager, Allison Basford, to find out what makes her tick.
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SR is one of the oldest public companies in Australia, being established in 1855. The company has had a long history in Australian manufacturing in areas of sugar, building materials and other diverse commercial ventures. The company’s culture is one where they embrace change, are innovative in serving the market sectors in which they operate and understand that their greatest assets are their people who deliver high quality results to customers. CSR takes a long-term view in developing both its assets and its people and by investing in both, they firmly believe that they will have a strong future. Allison Basford has been working at CSR Limited for 18 months, joining CSR’s Group Property as a development manager with the goal of executing the strategy on their core portfolio of freehold assets. “Working closely with general managers across a number of business
units, has provided me with insights into their corporate challenges and a deep understanding of their operating environment. Taking the time to appreciate this eco system has allowed me to deliver better holistic outcomes for the broader business at an accelerated pace,” Basford said. “I have grown up in an environment where helping others has always been a part of day to day life. Property development by nature is a transformational journey. Being at a point in my career which allows mentoring of others, to help them develop is an aspect of my role that genuinely keeps me deeply fulfilled,” she said. Basford said that this involvement keeps CSR at the forefront of change and thus able to influence the building of smarter cities and communities for the next generation. “As the face of CSR at the Property Council of Australia (PCA) on their Industrial and Logistics Committee,
my volunteered time is spent focusing on issues relevant to the growth of employment, lands policy and associated planning and infrastructure delivery frameworks,” she said.
Key projects worked on Upon joining CSR Limited, Basford worked, for a large proportion of her time, on a $75m development project for a highly automated Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) plant located on the Central Coast. “I am responsible for managing regulatory approvals, government and political relations, compliance and environmental matters, building and infrastructure procurement and construction delivery. Successful implementation with an integrated team has meant it is now recognised in the industry as what will be the most sophisticated AAC plant in the world currently,” she said. “Demonstrating capability on this development has paved the way to leading various work streams to colocate various CSR business divisions together,” she added. Basford told Manufacturers’ Monthly that the vision for this project is to create an Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Hub on CSR’s flagship 200-hectare site in western Sydney to transform the way CSR operates as a business.
The importance of gender diversity
Allison Basford, property development manager, CSR Limited receiving the Rising Star of the Year Award.
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Basford believes that diversity is a multi-faceted concept and when looked at one dimensionally is limiting. “We are all unique humans with various traits being gender, nationality, culture, age, education, religion, family composition and more. “By focusing intently on one dimension, without considering
the flow on impacts to our male counterparts, we will be doing ourselves a disservice and potentially driving positive discrimination,” she said. “Having said that, I do acknowledge that the industry I work in is heavily male dominated and driving gender equality as a first base is a great starting point to catalyse the change required. This will hopefully enable improvements in diversity generally to truly flow through,” she said.
Going beyond the stars in diversity Basford said that sometimes the biggest barrier women face in business could be themselves. “We tend to be quite hard on ourselves and can even trick ourselves into thinking we are not capable enough or worthy enough of an opportunity. In my own personal experience, once I made a conscious shift in how I perceived myself and became comfortable in my own skin, I then took ownership of ‘Allison’s personal role’ in diversity,” said Basford. “I am grateful for this award because it has raised my professional profile to a point where people can relate to my story, and realise that no matter what challenges they face, with the right attitude and work ethic and willingness to keep on trekking, change really is inevitable,” she said. “Employing a candidate that goes on to win this sort of accolade means that, as an organisation, CSR is attracting the industry’s best talent. It also demonstrates that they have recognised the positive impacts a diverse team has on sound decision making and, as a result, are promoting an inclusive workforce which is fantastic,” she said. manmonthly.com.au
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Safety Advocacy Award: Protecting those we love The dream to ensuring a constant absolute zero in accidents at the worksite is always on the mind of Juliet Maynard, people and safety manager of Monier Roofings. So, it was no surprise, she snagged the prestigious Safety Advocacy Award at the recent Women in Industry Awards night.
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ONIER is a roofing solutions business, part of CSR Building Products, and has a very rich and proud history in the construction and manufacturing industry for over 100 years. The enduring success of Monier is underpinned by customer service and continued innovation. An example was when it recently launched InlineSOLAR, which is an industry first, allowing solar panels to integrate seamlessly into the roofline, and providing a streamlined look, while still allowing families to save hundreds of dollars on their electricity bills. Juliet Maynard started with CSR in 2009 in an injury management role, with a physiotherapy background, recent Masters in Safety Science, with two very young children, seeking a role with room to grow and develop her career. “There have been development opportunities galore. I moved into a CSR Safety role, the then Monier WHSE (Workplace Health Safety and Environment) manager role, in 2015 and into my current role as Monier people and safety manager in 2016. CSR has believed in me, been open to doing things differently, supported me to grow, learn and lead,” Maynard told Manufacturers’ Monthly. “All of this with a humanistic approach, including flexibility and recognising the healthy balance needed to successfully manage a life outside work, family as well as my career,” she continued. She explained that building WHSE leadership and capability across CSR, in all areas from the factory floor, logistics space, construction site and the board room has been a focus. Empowering people at all levels within manmonthly.com.au
the organisation to stand up and lead the way in safety has been part of her journey. “Ensuring everybody understands the safety strategy, how this impacts business strategy and the part they play is pivotal to the success of any organisation and I love bringing that to life at CSR and Monier,” she said.
Safety first, always “Protecting the people we love is the ‘why’ in our business,” explained Maynard. “This is about the roof protecting those that live beneath it. ‘Protecting the people we love’ also extends to safety at work and the reason everybody wants to go home to what matters most. We can only get to the elusive ‘zero harm’ if everybody in our business has an intrinsic reason to be safe and delivers on protecting the people we love,” she said. She explained that compliance obligations, risk management strategies and safety systems make up the traditional safety role and time invested by any safety professional. Beyond this, her style brings about a unique and fresh perspective to the safety space and leadership team with a dual people role. Maynard utilises safety as a vehicle to drive constructive organisational culture change, intertwining strategic direction, behaviour, stakeholder engagement, organisational structure, energy and leadership to deliver safety outcomes – which is good for the business.
Holding her own Maynard also said that the construction and manufacturing industry is a well-established industry and the pace of change is challenging
Juliet proudly receiving the Safety Advocacy Award during the Women in Industry Awards night. and requires innovative thinking to explore new ways to successfully implement change. She emphasised that bringing, people on the journey in this environment requires highly refined skills of engagement, situational leadership to read the play and implement the most effective tactics, mutual trust and respect with the team and technical know-how. “I think part of my success is being able to do all this in safety boots and High Vis as well as hold my own at the board room. It is not necessarily because I am a woman,” she said. “For me diversity includes gender, religion, ethnicity, background, education, and every other human experience that contributes to who we are. This award has not been won simply because of my XX chromosomes, it is about what I bring to the table and part of that is being a woman,” she said.
What the future holds When asked what winning the award meant to her, she said that it meant that she is being a role model for her kids and hopefully, to others. “I have two beautiful sons who are figuring out what the universe holds for them and what it all means. I want them to understand that we can all make a difference if we believe in ourselves and give it a go, no matter our gender or cultural norms. Being brave, smart, strong and beautiful is powerful and possible,” she said. “For me personally it validates that we are on the right track and bolsters the energy needed to keep it up. For CSR and Monier winning this award goes a long way to recognising the impact women are having, not just in our business but also in our industry,” she added. Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 27
Sensors A precise laser for detection of tiny objects ifm efector’s national product and brand manager, Glenn Thornton, spoke to Manufacturers’ Monthly about the company’s latest addition to the family of photoelectric sensors. “The new O6 laser sensor has a very fine and uniform light spot, which enables it to provide precise detection and consistent laser alignment,” Thornton said.
The O6 Wetline family
The new O6 laser sensor has a very fine and uniform light spot, which enables it to provide precise detection.
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HOTOELECTRIC sensors are used in a variety of industrial processes, including packaging, manufacturing and componentry assembly – to discover the distance, absence, or presence of an object. The global photoelectric sensors market size has been growing in recent year, with more companies realising the power of automation in improving efficiency in their manufacturing processes. According to a recent report by the US-based Grand View Research consulting company, the global photoelectric sensors market size is expected to reach US$2.09 billion ($2.83 billion) by 2025. The growing demand for photoelectric sensors is attributed to the rising penetration of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the numerous benefits offered by the sensors – including maximising asset utilisation, improving productivity, and enhancing work safety.
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ifm efector’s national product and brand manager, Glenn Thornton is also of the opinion that an uptake in the use of photoelectric sensors in Australia is inevitable. “With the way the markets are going, the companies will be forced to use automation to enhance their efficiency and productivity,” he told Manufacturers’ Monthly. ifm, a global manufacturer of sensors and controls for industrial automation, has developed a new O6 laser sensor to complement its O6 sensor family. The new O6 laser features a background suppression system that is colour-independent at 100mm range. This enables the laser sensor to detect tiny objects where conventional red light sensors reach their limits. The laser is also equipped with IO-Link functionality, making it possible to automatically parameterise the sensors, diagnose plant states and transmit measured values without loss.
ifm first introduced the O6 Wetline photoelectric sensor series about four years ago, growing the product suite over time. The small rectangular design of the O6 was specifically designed for wet areas in the food industry. The stainless steel body offers the protection rating IP68/69K that is particularly suited to harsh wet environments in food production such as dairies, breweries and abattoirs. ifm followed these product series with a new O6 range released in 2016 in a plastic body – offering the same optical performance as the lasers with the stainless steel body, but at a competitive price. The new precise laser sensor with the 100mm detection range adds to the existing laser sensors in this family of products, which also include a through-beam laser with a range up to 15 metres and retroreflective laser with a range up to 8 e retro-reflective arrangement uses a reflector to bounce the inverted light beam back from the transmitter to the receiver. A through-beam arrangement consists of two sensors. One sensor acts as the power unit and sends the laser beam, while the other one acts as a receiver,” Thornton said. With such a varied range, the need for consultancy services is apparent. “When the customers visit our service centres or approach us directly, we help them identify the best technology for their particular applications,” Thornton said. “We ask them questions to determine whether they need the sensor for packaging, manufacturing or
parts assembly applications, to understand the challenges for mounting the sensors and to find out the required distances to the objects. Accordingly, we advise them on the suitable technology,” he said.
IO-Link opens up new perspectives The O6 laser features IO-Link functionality, which is a worldwide open-standard protocol for connecting sensors and devices. Through this technology, a binary laser diffuse reflection sensor becomes a high-precision distance sensor. This creates new application possibilities, including length and height monitoring. “The IO-Link technology allows for millimetre-scale accuracy, making the sensor suitable for measurements within the 100mm range,” Thornton said. Precise distance measurement enables the sensors to detect the presence of very small parts, such as small seals, washers, screw heads, metal clips and electronic components. IO-Link is a powerful, yet simple protocol, which enables smart connection of sensors and substations to the control level. IO-Link uses standardised interfaces that work with all IO-Link technology. If a sensor fails, it can be replaced without interrupting the production line. ifm offers a wide range of IOLink enabled sensors, including capacitive sensors, flow sensors, level sensors, pressure sensors, optical distance detection sensors, and temperature sensors. Using IO-Link also minimises the need for shut down of machines to change sensor parameters. IO-Link allows remote parameterisation without incurring unnecessary downtime. manmonthly.com.au
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Sensors Easy flow measurements with clamp-on flow meters Thermo Fisher Scientific’s product specialist, Raj Chelladurai, spoke to Manufacturers’ Monthly about the benefits of using portable ultrasonic flow meters for preventive maintenance and measurement validation. Using the clamp-on flow meters, technicians can check wether the installed flow meter is working well.
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ROUND 1500 BC, the Egyptians invented the water clock and the concept of flow metering came to existence. However, only since the industrial revolution has flow metering developed to satisfy the need to measure flows accurately for billing purposes and/or to monitor industrial processes. Flow, along with pressure and temperature, is one of the most important parameters when monitoring or controlling the fluids in pipes. Over recent years, a number of technologies have been deployed to increase accuracy of flow metering. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s product specialist, Raj Chelladurai, told Manufacturers’ Monthly that ultrasonic flow meters are a relatively new addition to the portfolio of flow metering technologies, having been present in the global market for about 2030 years. While fixed installations of flow 30 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
meters offer the maximum accuracy for high precision tasks, Chelladurai explained that many industrial applications can benefit from using lightweight, portable ultrasonic flow meters. “Portable, clamp-on flow meters can be used as a lightweight tool, either to verify the performance of installed flow meters or to measure spot flow rates for preventive maintenance. “Using the clamp-on flow meters, technicians can check wether the installed flow meter is working well. Being clamp-on, means there will be no disruption during installation as there is no need to shut down the process or cut into the pipes,” he said. Clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters can be used for a wide range of fluids from ultra-pure water to extremely dirty liquids such as raw sewage and slurries. They are also suitable for gas flow measurement for gases such as superheated steam, natural gas, compressed air, nitrogen and oxygen.
Introducing TransPort PT900 Thermo Fisher Scientific is an authorised distributor for BHGE – Baker Hughes, a GE company – in Australia. The company has recently introduced PT900, the latest generation of portable clamp-on flow meters from GE’s Panametrics line of ultrasonic meters. The new product follows on the footprint of its predecessor, the PT878, with an improved level of intuitive and user-friendly capability. “While the PT878 has been successfully deployed for over 15 years, the new PT900 clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter, launched by GE about a year ago, improves the user experience by offering more storage capacity, an interactive touch screen, and wireless communication,” Chelladurai explained. The PT900 system includes a clamping fixture with transducers, a flow transmitter (the electronics), a wireless tablet and relevant accessories. The key improvements
of PT900 over its predecessor include a redesigned fixture and a streamlined user interface on an Android tablet. “Users can easily install the clamping fixture, connect the transmitter and transducer cables, turn on the tablet and pair it via Bluetooth with the transmitter and start taking measurements within minutes,” Chelladurai said. In addition to measuring the flow, Chelladurai said the portable flow meters can also be used by users for energy management. “Using the optional energy management kit, users can calculate energy flow rate and totalised energy. This application helps the users to measure the energy consumed by the process and have a clear picture of their energy consumption,” he said. The PT900 portable ultrasonic gas flow meters are designed to measure flow of acoustically conductive fluids, including most clean liquids and many liquids with small amounts of entrained solids or gas bubbles. They can be installed on pipes from 0.5 to 24 inches (15 to 600 mm) in diameter – and up to 300 inches (7,500 mm) upon request. In addition to total flow, they measure parameters including velocity, volume, mass and energy. The clamp-on transducers have a standards temperature range of -40 to 150°C and an optional range of -200 to 400°C. The flow measurement principle used in PT900 is the patented correction transit-time technique, wherein two ultrasonic transducers act as both signal generators and receivers and are in acoustic communication with each other. Thermo Fisher Tel: 1300 735 295 E-mail: InfoIndustrialAU@thermofisher.com Web: www.thermofisher.com.au/IP manmonthly.com.au
Sealants Bonding stories at Henkel’s roundtable event Global adhesive manufacturer, Henkel, hosted an exclusive breakfast roundtable to identify cost-saving solutions via the efficient and effective use of LOCTITE sealants and adhesives in industrial assembly and repair.
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ITH advances in the industrial processes, including the increasing deployment of robots in the assembly lines and the introduction of new 3D printing materials, manufacturers need adhesives that can bond a variety of materials – quickly and reliably. To meet the demands of the latest product designs and manufacturing processes, new adhesives are continually being formulated. While cyanoacrylate and epoxy technologies have proved to be valuable in many manufacturing processes, each technology still has its disadvantages that limit the materials and situations in which it is used. Henkel’s patented hybrid adhesive technology overcomes these limitations by combining the most critical attributes of a cyanoacrylate – fast fixture time and substrate versatility – with the advantages of using a structural epoxy: high bond strength; temperature, environmental and impact resistance; and the ability to fill gaps up to five mm. LOCTITE Universal Structural Bonders range of adhesives by Henkel use the hybrid adhesive technology – allowing manufacturers to overcome limitations by increasing manufacturing speeds and assembly durability. Henkel recently hosted an exclusive breakfast roundtable – called “Limitless Bonding” – at Swinburne University’s Advanced Manufacturing and Design Centre (AMDC), the “Factory of the Future.” The event, which was participated by senior industrial designers, maintenance managers and engineers, focused on how manufacturers can benefit from latest advancements in adhesives to improve efficiency in their processes. In his welcoming address, the director of the Factory of the Future, professor Nico Adams, noted that businesses should focus on taking
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LOCTITE Universal Structural Bonders range of adhesives by Henkel use the hybrid adhesive technology.
Hybrid adgesive technology combines the most critical attributes of a cyanoacrylate with the advantages of using a structural epoxy. advantage of the digital economy. As a former CSIRO scientist and leading industry expert in Industry 4.0, he elaborated that sealants and adhesives are trending, particularly in robotics. “Many manufacturers are now tasked with assembling products on behalf of the customer. Our ambition at the ‘Factory of the Future’ is to work with manufacturers to increase operational efficiencies across production lines via the implementation of new materials, upfront product design as well as smart robotics and patented manufacturing. A lot of these trends rely on the efficient use of adhesives in the manufacturing process,” said Adams. In this context, it should be noted that Henkel is currently developing adhesives for 3D printed materials. Daniel Rudolph, Henkel president
and head of adhesives for Australia and New Zealand said the company acquired LOCTITE in 1997, and the launch of its new LOCTITE hybrid adhesive technologies was another milestone development toward solving design challenges for our industry partners. “Bonding solutions continues to disrupt mechanical fastening toward improved performance, increased reliability and offer a cost effective and efficient alternative that challenges the status quo,” Rudolph said. In an exclusive live demonstration of the new LOCTITE hybrid technologies, Henkel’s head of technical services for Australia and New Zealand, Michael Hajj, said that there are better options now available for high-strength
bonding on a variety of substrates. “Based on industry feedback and ongoing innovation, Henkel identified three challenges that needed to be addressed: production delays as a result of protracted fixture times; limitations with design, especially when bonding two dissimilar substrates; and providing products that are safer to work with. “To address these concerns, Henkel merged two different technologies to create fast curing adhesives with gap-filling capability, offering great structural performance on plastic, rubber, metal and other materials,” he said – explaining that LOCTITE HY 4080 has been optimised for products in the 3D printing space whereas LOCTITE HY 4090 has been developed with good moisture, chemical and temperature resistance (up to 150°C). While the LOCTITE HY 4060 is suitable for fast, efficient repairs, the LOCTITE HY 4070 is an ultra-fast hybrid blend for fast curing times with non-sagging formulation, according to Hajj. After the live demonstration, the attendees, including senior industrial designers, maintenance managers and engineers, researchers from Swinburne participated in roundtable discussions to share their thoughts on the challenges that businesses face in industrial repair and assembly. A speaker from each table debriefed, highlighting the benefits of incorporating LOCTITE products into manufacturing processes. Based on roundtable feedback, the main talking points were product reliability and versatility as well as optimal OH&S when handling and applying the hybrid adhesive technologies. Henkel Australia Phone: 1300 8850556 Email: Loctite.enquiries@henkel.com Web: www.loctite.com.au Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 31
Belts &CONVEYORS Belting it right Synchronous belts are used in a wide array of industrial machines and everyday devices. Tony Sculpher, Gates Australia’s product manager for power transmission, spoke to Manufacturers’ Monthly about the advantages of urethane synchronous belts over rubber belts.
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ROM conveyors in the factory floor to treadmills, elevators and bowling pinsetters, synchronous timing belts are used everywhere to facilitate synchronous movements and power/torque transmission. Synchronous belt drives operate on the tooth grip principle. The belt resembles a flat belt with evenly spaced teeth on the inside surface. Each particular application requires a timing belt with specific friction capabilities, tooth pitch profiles and surface characteristics. The shape and fit of the belt tooth determine the accuracy of positioning. Proper clearance between a belt tooth and sprocket groove lets the tooth enter and exit smoothly. Too much clearance creates inaccuracy, while too little can generate excessive noise, vibration, and wear. Different applications also require different backing characteristics. While some applications need smooth, sliding surfaces, others might call for high-friction surfaces to create a strong grip on the material being handled. With so many parameters to consider, manufacturers need suppliers with a strong technical team to support them and ensure that the belts are best suited to their specific needs. Gates Australia manufactures synchronous timing belts in a variety of tooth pitch, length, and material combinations that can be easily configured for each application. Tony Sculpher, Gates Australia’s product manager for power transmission, told Manufacturers Monthly that his team first engages with customers to understand their needs and then uses online design tools to accurately calculate the parameters for each application. “When customers consult with our team, we come up with recommendations and help them
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select the right size for belts and pulleys to use the power/torques correctly,” he said. Choosing the right belts and pulleys also means that the machines will work efficiently and achieve their best life expectancy. “We size the belts and pulleys to not only transmit power/torque effectively, but also to produce a satisfactory life expectancy. The drives are an important part of the clients’ business. They move their machines and propel their production. In a way, their livelihoods depend on the smooth functioning of these drives. So, it is important that they work right from the get-go, while being reliable and long-lasting,” he said. The company offers linear belts in two styles – welded endless and open ended. Welded endless belts are ideal for low torque conveying applications, while open ended belts are typically used for motion control applications. “In the conventional power transmission application, the endless belts are used to transmit motion between the shafts. In the open ended belting applications, the belt is just one long length, without any joints. These are used mainly in the packaging industry, where you have machines moving back and forth continuously over the same path and at the same distance or direction,” Sculpher said.
Urethane timing belts Conventionally, rubber-based belts have been used by different industries for decades. But Sculpher says the market is increasingly favouring urethane belts, which combine clean and hygienic surface with lighter weight. “The market is now moving to urethane, which is clean and light weight. Urethane belts also offer better reliability as they are better at transmitting power and torque,” Sculpher said.
Gates Australia manufactures synchronous timing belts in a variety of tooth pitch, length, and material combinations. Polyurethane belts come in different colours, with certain colours now associated with particular industries. “White and blue belts are most suitable for the food industries and are generally associated with the foodgrade applications. Blue has become an unofficial benchmark in the food industry. That’s because varying shades of blue offer good visibility and are easily noticeable in the food industry. White is also very popular as it looks clean and hygienic,” he explained. Another improvement in the timing belts in recent years, according to Sculpher, is the use of advanced composite material as tensile cords, which make the belts lighter and stronger than their conventional versions. “In the old days, the traditional rubber-based belts often used nylon or rayon material as tensile cords. But the new urethane belts use steel woven cords or aramid cords, which enable the belts to be designed with varying characteristics and
flexibilities,” he explained. “Kevlar – which is just a trade name for aramid fibres – is an extremely strong carbon-based product with the ability to transmit high power/torque compared to its size. Using Kevlar as reinforcement in urethane timing belts offers a combination of high tensile strength, light weight and compact size. Unlike rubber belts, urethane timing belts do not stretch. They also do not require any lubrication. Sculpher says this means savings for the manufacturer as it reduces the need for maintenance. “Polyurethane belts made with Kevlar cords also have a much higher power/torque rating – or what we call as power density – compared to thicker belts made from rubber-based products,” he said. Engineered solutions with Gates polyurethane belting are available through CBC Bearings and Power Transmission branches. For more information or to contact your local branch visit www.conbear.com.au. manmonthly.com.au
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Hydraulics &FITTINGS A simple solution to the complex hose assembly Gates Australia’s MegaSys range of products offers a simple and innovative way to match hoses and couplings in the hydraulic systems. Manufacturers’ Monthly reports.
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MONG the basic components of every hydraulic system is a series of hoses and couplings that transport fluid under pressure between the fluid ports. Technicians and system fabricators dealing with hydraulic hoses in their industrial assemblies are aware of the complexity of selecting the right hydraulic hoses and matching them with the right couplings and fittings. Hose selection involves several aspects, including picking the correct hose size, with adequate rated working pressure and a covering that can resist abrasion. Choosing the right connection is also challenging. Suppliers offer hydraulic hoses, couplings and fittings in accordance with different international standards, making it difficult to determine the compatible fittings for each hose. To avoid complexity, when selecting a hydraulic hose and coupling system or fabricating an aftermarket assembly, the first step must be to match hoses and couplings from the same manufacturer. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which establishes the American standards for most hydraulic hoses, recommends against using couplings from one manufacturer and hoses from a different manufacturer interchangeably. That’s because different manufacturers use different materials that can result in a variety of hose styles. They design their hose and coupling components to fit their own tolerances. Hoses from various manufacturers may have similar dimensions and constructions, but different rubber compounds and reinforcement materials. Couplings are individually designed and tested to handle the hose manufacturer’s unique product. Also, the proliferation of thread ends from around the world in recent years has
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dramatically increased the possibility of mismatching threads and seats on various couplings. To complete the hydraulic assembly system process, it is important that hose fabricators follow the assembly recommendations, and use the crimping equipment of the hose and coupling manufacturer. An improperly matched or coupled hose will likely fail, causing downtime and possible personal injury.
A simple solution Realising the importance of properly matched systems and with a view to reduce the complexity of fabricating fluid systems, Gates Australia offers an integrated solution. The MegaSys range of hoses, couplings and crimps offered by Gates Australia use a simple matching system that makes it easy to identify the right hoses based on the pressure demand, as well to match the hoses with suitable couplings and crimps. MegaSys hoses have colour-coded laylines and constant pressure ratings through all sizes, making the hoses easier to identify in stock and in service while reducing inventory requirements. The layline indicates hose trade name, size and pressure; SAE, EN or DIN standard; and US MSHA flame resistance compliance. The color-coding also makes it easy to determine the maximum working pressure each hose is designed to tolerate. The colours marked on the side of the hoses are each linked to a maximum working pressure, ranging from 3,000 psi to a maximum of 8,000 psi. The hoses are further classified into four grades according to their resistance to impulse – following the requirements specified in ISO 18752 for wire- or textile- reinforced hydraulic hoses. The MegaSys line consists of constant pressure spiral-wire and wire-braid hoses that can be bent
The MegaSys range of hoses, couplings and crimps offered by Gates Australia use a simple matching system. up to one-third SAE specifications. Combined with innovative couplings specifically designed to crimp on these hoses, leak-free performance is guaranteed up to maximum working pressures as high as 8,000 psi. The icons and specifications printed on the side of the hoses specify the type of Gates’ coupling and crimps suitable for each hose. MegaSys spiral-wire constant pressure hoses are available with the Gates abrasion-resistant MegaTuff and XtraTuff covers. MegaSys is tested to one million impulse cycles with a temperature range of -40 to +121°C. MegaSys hoses are compatible with the strongest Gates fittings, including the MegaCrimp one-piece high-pressure fitting, designed for one- and two-wire braid hoses, and the GlobalSpiral two-piece ultrahigh-pressure fitting, designed for four- and six-spiral wire hoses up to 8000psi. All Gates couplings are protected, at the minimum, with TuffCoat plating, which offers and extra
measure of protection against corrosion. In salt spray tests carried out by Gates, TuffCoat plating resisted red rust formation for >840 hours – over 1000 per cent greater than the SAE’s 72-hour standard.
Preventive maintenance to reduce downtime Once a hydraulic system has been installed and is operational, it is important to closely monitor how the equipment sounds and functions. Regular inspection helps ensure that equipment is running strong, raises red flags, and in the long run, saves the heavy costs incurred through downtime or equipment failure. Costly repairs can be eliminated through regular maintenance and choosing hoses with high abrasion resistance. In one example studied by Gates, converting all of the assemblies to Gates MegaSys with MegaTuff cover led to 37 per cent reduction in downtime and 25 per cent fewer hose failures. manmonthly.com.au
OCTOBER 2018 – INDUSTRIAL LIGHTING Lighting can make up 80 per cent of a warehouse energy bill, and a signi cant percentage of a manufacturer’s operations costs. In October 2018, we speak with Industrial lighting providers who are providing viable, hassle free solutions for modern manufacturers to help increase their bottom lines, while maintaining a responsible and sustainable business. In every edition of Manufacturers’ Monthly, we’re proud to work with our commercial partners on content that helps connect you with your future customers.
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Research &DEVELOPMENT Behind the scenes at CSIRO Manufacturers’ Monthly visited the Materials Science and Engineering building at CSIRO’s Lindfield site in Sydney to learn about some of its collaborative and innovative projects.
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ALKING down the long corridors of the Materials Science and Engineering building at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO’s) Lindfield site in Sydney, the first impression one might get is that the laboratories are working in isolation from the rest of the world, or even from other laboratories in the facility. That observation, however, could not be further from the truth. This building is where some of the best examples of collaborations between researchers and industrial partners take place. CSIRO’s Lindfield site has a strong track record for engineering, design and prototyping – from the development of world-leading sensor technologies to the invention of ground-breaking motors that power solar vehicles. The building is also home to the Lindfield Collaboration Hub, where tenant startups and SMEs are working on expanding their innovative ideas each day. There is a good reason, however, that the laboratories appear to be isolated. As the Site Leader and the Group Leader – Applied Physics, Dr Scott Martin explained to Manufacturers’ Monthly, the building was originally designed to maintain and calibrate the national physical standards, including housing Australia’s atomic clocks (the national time standard). In the past, the CSIRO was responsible for maintaining the physical standards in partnership with international standards community, but that task now falls under the National Measurement Institute, which still occupies the specialised labs at the CSIRO facility at Lindfield. The building needed to be custom-designed to enable full control of temperature and humidity. It is also radio-screened, so there is no mobile phone coverage. “The susceptibility of electronic 36 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
Dr Scott Martin, CSIRO Lindfield Site Leader and Group Leader – Applied Physics. equipment to interference has improved a lot these days, but we still carry out some experiments that are highly susceptible to physical parameters,” Martin said. Work at Lindfield includes device prototyping, materials science and discovery, electrical engineering, and software and systems design. Manufacturers Monthly visited the Electrical Machines and the Nanosensors and Systems to learn about their most recent work.
Cheap, wire-free tram technology A recent project carried out at the CSIRO Lindfield site was a Rail Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) project involving CSIRO and the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). The project looks into using an on‐board energy storage system to power light rail tram vehicles in China, eliminating the need
for overhead electricity lines for the trams – referred to as a catenary system. Team Leader – Electrical Machines, Dr Howard Lovatt, told Manufacturers’ Monthly that the system offers a “much cheaper” alternative to the wire-free technology currently being deployed in sections of Sydney’s light rail system. “The Sydney light rail system uses a third rail to energise the trams. As the trams pass over each bit of the rail, that section is energised to power the train and as the train moves on, the next bit energises and the previous bits go off. This system is very expensive, because it requires power switches to be placed every 10 metres throughout the track’s length,” he said. The prototype system developed by Lovatt and his team, in collaboration with CRRC, involves carrying thousands of battery packs on the train, which are charged in the
20-second time intervals as the passengers are getting on and off the train. The main challenge, Lovatt said, was to design an energy storage system with high enough energy density to travel between tram stations and high enough power density – in the order of several megawatts – to enable rapid charging and then acceleration of the vehicle from the tram stop. The final prototype, Lovatt said, is a trade-off between a lithium-ion battery and a supercapacitor, which provides both a good life-time and the fast-charging ability. “While the battery pack can store half the energy as that of a lithium-ion battery, this is not an issue for this particular application, because trains have enough space to carry a larger number of batteries,” Lovatt said. The prototype unit has been transported to China with the CRRC project team now working to manmonthly.com.au
Research&DEVELOPMENT
Electrical Machines Team Leader, Dr Howard Lovattand his team are working on a low-cost on-board energy system for trams, in collaboration with China’s CRRC. manufacture the design. CSIRO has also partnered with CRRC on a suite of supercapacitor projects being overseen by the Rail Manufacturing CRC, an Australian Government Business Cooperative Research Centres Programme initiative that connects industry with Australian research institutions. The projects carried out at CSIRO involve close collaboration with the client companies and organisations in the research and development process. “We did not develop this project in isolation. The CSIRO and the CRRC closely worked on the project as a team,” Lovatt said. Also, while some research projects can go on for years, others could yield results in as short as a month. “When the clients know specifically what they want, the projects can be delivered quite fast,” Lovatt said. The research and development capabilities in the Electrical Machines division of CSIRO’s Lindfield site range from electrical motors and generators to power and control electronics, battery management systems, prototype development, and Finite Element Modelling for magnetic, thermal, electrical and mechanical optimisation. The research facility has a successful track record that includes developing battery packs and electric drive solutions for numerous hybrid vehicles, including with Holden in Australia and General Motors in the manmonthly.com.au
US; developing battery pack and electric drive solutions for BusTech electric buses in Australia; and numerous commercial projects in electric motors, power electronics and sub-systems. The facility is behind the famous Aurora electric motor, used in solar cars across the world since 1996. “Most solar car racing teams use our technology. That’s if they want to win,” Lovatt said proudly.
Using gold nanoparticles to detect chemicals Our tour of the facility also takes us to the nanosensors and systems laboratory, another division of the CSIRO Lindfield facility with an interesting track record in innovation. The laboratory has developed a chemiresistor sensor array – an innovative technology that uses the high sensitivity and tunable selectivity of gold nanoparticle films to detect and quantify organic chemicals in water. The chemiresistors are based on gold nanoparticle films that change their electrical resistance when an analyte absorbs into the film. The technology offers the ability to analyse complex mixtures by using cross-reactive sensor arrays customised for the organic contaminants of interest. Andrea Sosa Pintos, Team Leader – Nanosensors and Systems at CSIRO Lindfield, told Manufacturers’ Monthly that the technology has multiple potential
applications; including real time, onfield environmental monitoring. “The environmental monitoring is one area where the technology has already been proven in the lab for a variety of different chemicals and we will commence field trials next year,” she said. “Using this technology, the underground water contaminations could either be monitored automatically through devices installed permanently on the site or tested in-situ using hand-held detection devices,” she explained. Another potential area of application for the technology is in the medical testing processes. The team, led by Martin, has been working to develop a portable point of care diagnostic tool to detect tuberculosis (TB) without the need for laboratory analysis. “We are trying to simplify sample collection and testing for TB patients. Instead of collecting sputum samples and testing them in the laboratory, the bio markers in the urine or saliva samples could be detected using portable devices,” Sosa Pintos said. The chemiresistors are low-cost, disposable devices. They are easily manufacturable using standard photolithographic techniques, inkjet printing and high-throughput liquid handling robotics. As only tiny amounts of gold nanoparticles are required for each sensor, the production of a million sensors is possible with just a gram of gold nanoparticles.
While CSIRO has developed the fundamentals of the electronic devices required for capturing the information from the sensors, it is working closely with industry partners towards miniaturisation of the detection devices as well as looking for interested manufacturers to assist with development and distribution of final products for particular applications.
Lindfield Collaboration Hub Apart from all of the in-house research going on in the physics and materials laboratories, the facility is also home to the Lindfield Collaboration Hub, an innovation incubator housing some of the most innovative start-ups and SMEs. The Collaboration Hub, supported by the NSW Government’s Department of Industry, offers a co-working space to tenant start-ups and SMEs, allowing them to access CSIRO’s facilities and laboratories to further develop their ideas. This includes access to a Maker Space, which houses digital and analogue electronics, prototyping, general laboratory equipment and smallscale workshop tools. “With the Collaboration Hub, our intention is to create an environment where the companies can share their expertise in various areas. We regularly organise events to helps the tenants interact with each other and learn about the projects they are working on,” Martin said.
Andrea Sosa Pintos, Team Leader – Nanosensors and Systems shows the chemiresistor sensor array she and her team have developed.
Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 37
Safety @MM Going smart with safety Smart safety tools help manufacturers improve the efficincy of their processes, while improving product quality. Manufacturers’ Monthly reports.
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AFETY has always been a critical aspect of success for any industrial organisation. While it is easy for manufacturers to become singularly focused on cost cutting and increasing production efficiency, non-compliance to safety procedures can put companies at risk of losing their competitive advantage. In a survey of 236 manufacturing executives in 2010, titled “A risk management approach for improving safety and productivity,” the Aberdeen Group found that the top performing manufacturers were not only better equipped to create a safer working environment for their employees, they were also able to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. In fact, across the surveyed group, the top 20 per cent of performance scorers were able to effectively manage their incidents by realising a 0.05 Injury Frequency Rate, while at the same time performing at 90 per cent Overall Equipment Effectiveness. These manufacturers were also able to achieve a 2 per cent unscheduled asset downtime rate, while their peers in contrast experienced a 14 per cent rate. In the case of certain industries (such as the oil and gas industry), even a 1 or 2 per cent decrease can have a very significant impact; a 12 per cent advantage can translate into
millions of dollars saved. The main challenges faced by manufacturers in ensuring safe operations in their plants include human errors, such as operators bypassing poorly designed safety systems, or systems that don’t account for procedural anomalies. Relying on manually entered data for inspections makes data management a risky affair.
Smart safety at work With the advancements in smart safety solutions, access to real-time data is transforming the production environment. Smart capabilities enable end users to enhance efficiencies, improve product quality and make operations more responsive. Having a smart, integrated safety system enables manufacturers to collect diagnostic data from their machinery in real time and have a clear picture of their production line, without the need for complex wiring systems. NHP offers a comprehensive portfolio of smart safety devices, powered by Rockwell Automation. Since May this year, NHP became the exclusive distributor of Rockwell Automation’s products and solutions across Australia and New Zealand. NHP’s product marketing manager – automation, Adarsh Emmanuel, spoke to Manufacturers Monthly about NHP and Rockwell Automation’s smart
Having a smart, integrated safety system enables manufacturers to collect diagnostic data from their machinery in real time. 38 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
safety solutions for manufacturers. “Rockwell Automation has been regularly introducing smart safety products over the years. Combining that with NHP’s complementary product offering and expertise on the topic allows us to offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and services to enable our customers achieve the best possible results. “The smart safety solutions offered by NHP and Rockwell Automation cover a range of safety systems, from input devices to safety actuators, safety logic controllers and connection systems/networks. All of these devices can seamlessly communicate to each other using a comprehensive breadth of networking products on offer,” Emmanuel said. As part of their specialised services, NHP and Rockwell Automation also offer safety trainings and risk assessments to customers. “Our objective is to educate the end-users regarding the safety risks in their manufacturing plants and to help them mitigate those risks,” Emmanuel said. “We encourage our clients to discuss the topic of safety in their workplace. Our TÜV certified engineers are extremely knowledgeable and happy to discuss smart safety solutions in order to make their manufacturing safer and more productive. We also conduct
workshops to help customers get hands-on experience with these products. He noted that smart safety tools help improve safety and productivity in the factory floor through five key elements: reduced complexity of products and services, enhanced diagnostics, scalability of the products and services, integration between devices, and analytics provided by the software platform. “To get started with machine safety, the first point of call is a risk assessment. The risk assessment is done by certified engineers from NHP/ Rockwell Automation. They will assess the plant and advise what the risks in the plant are and how to address them. Our complete portfolio of products can help to address these safety risks,” he said. The input devices offered by NHP and Rockwell Automation include presence sensing safety devices – such as the new 450L safety light curtain, safety interlocking switches, emergency stops and trip devices. In the actuators group, NHP and Rockwell Automation offer safety contactors, PowerFlex AC drives and Kinetix integrated motion. The safety logic controllers include safety relays, integrated safety controllers – such as the new compact GuardLogix 5380 and the powerful GuardLogix 5580 controller, and safety I/O devices. The portfolio also includes “Quick connect” connection systems, safety over EtherNet/IP and GuardLink linking technology. These technologies helps reduce wiring while providing device location and delivering diagnostics, remote reset and lock commands over a single cable run. To complete the safety portfolio, NHP also offers the X-Guard safety fencing solution from Axelent. X-Guard is a highly rated machine guard that complies with the machinery directive’s demands on permanent guards. manmonthly.com.au
Safety@MM Safety gated community with Pilz Pilz continues its trusted safety-first ideals with its new modular safety gate system for any kind of industrial environment.
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ITH the modular safety gate system from Pilz, it is possible to tailor a safety gate interlock to suit an industrial environment that has machine tools, presses, packaging or special purpose machinery. This modular system allows the creation the gate interlock needed while still taking advantage of the benefits of economical series connection, rapid diagnostics, additional control, and push button operation plus an optional escape release. Two safety gate sensors, PSENmlock and PSENslock, can be combined with a range of components to create gate interlock to suit operational purposes, rather than an “off the shelf” gate interlock that isn’t ideal for a plant. When it concerns the safety of workers and machinery, the exact fit, and not just a close fit, is needed.
PSENslock The PSENslock offers safe positon monitoring with process guard locking all in one system. It is a non-contact safety gate system which provides a safe alternative to existing mechanical technology to prevent swing gates and sliding gates from being opened unintentionally. With an electromagnetic holding force of up to 1000 Newton (N) and a manipulation-proof actuator, the PSENslock unit combines safety gate monitoring with a non-contact magnetic interlock. This combination of safe position monitoring and process guard locking means that PSENslock non-contact safety gate systems are suitable for universal use. Pilz safety gate systems combine safety, standard and diagnostic functions in one unit, and are suitable for rugged environments. Featuring an open design, these safety gate systems can be connected to Pilz control technology as well as manmonthly.com.au
Two safety gate sensors, PSENmlock and PSENslock, can be combined with a range of components to create gate interlock to suit operational purposes. any other standard evaluation device. As a result, Pilz components can also be retrofitted to plant and machinery.
PSENmlock The PSENmlock offers safety gate monitoring and safe guard locking for the protection of personnel and processes to the highest category PL e in one device. This is a reliable safety interlock for small, light, large or heavy doors and gates. The flexibly mounted actuator ensures high tolerance compensation and unrestricted functionality even with sagging gates. With a holding force of 7500 N and the integrated latching force of 30 N, PSENmlock prevents the guard from opening inadvertently. This makes PSENmlock particularly suitable for machines with a hazardous overrun such as rotating knives, flywheels or robots. Additionally, an integrated
mechanical restart interlock prevents the guard from being closed, without the need for separate accessories. Not only does the restart interlock make operating the machine safer, it also prevents an unexpected restart during maintenance operations.
Escape releases In the unfortunate situation that someone is trapped inside the hazardous area, the new Escape Release accessories can be used to deactivate the locking mechanism on PSENmlock, allowing the trapped person a means of escape. There are two different escape releases are available to add to PSENmlock. One variant connects directly to the PSENmlock while a remotely connected version uses a cordset that utilises a pull-push wire. This enables the installation of the safety gate system and escape release
to be physically separate. This system is easy to install and low maintenance as the pull-push wire does not have to be under tension.
PITgatebox The new Pilz PITgatebox allows easy operation of your safety gate system at the touch of a button via four pre-configured combinations of pushbuttons, key switches and ESTOP. These pushbutton units enable commands to activate, stop or reset a machine or system. The PITgatebox’s slim design means the robust control unit, can be installed quickly and easily on standard profile systems. The die cast zinc housing offers shock, vibration and collision resistance. With the incorporated M12 12-pin connection and rotatable end caps, the unit is easily integrated into new or existing plant and machinery. Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 39
Software&SYSTEMS Machinery you can count on: Implementing a profitable reliability strategy A profitable reliability approach can go a long way in helping industrial manufacturers meet their short and long-term operations. Brad Yager, director of process automation and software, Schneider Electric, points out some simple steps that can help set industrial operations in the right direction.
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N the past, measuring the reliability of industrial assets was limited to analysing historical asset performance with hopes that past behaviours would be replicated. Manufacturers have relied on various process control methods and applications for more than 100 years, the primary objective being to increase the plant’s throughput, i.e., its production, and safety. To alleviate the strain being placed on plant assets, industrial maintenance tools and practices, intended to improve asset reliability, have progressed and evolved over the last two decades. Based on extensive laboratory testing and actual in-plant experience, there is already considerable information on reliability at the equipment asset level. For example, accurate reliability curves, coupled with condition and process measurement,
enable accurate measurement of asset reliability risk. The effect of all this is that companies are now paying much more attention to and driving advancements in plant maintenance. Over the past two decades traditional reactive maintenance has evolved to include preventive, predictive and prescriptive maintenance strategies. The results have been promising, but improving business performance requires maintenance and operations strategies that collaborate much more than they do today. If the ultimate objective is for both maintenance and operations to maximise operational profitability, approaching reliability, efficiency and profitability from a common strategic plane is essential. This collaborative approach is referred to as profitable reliability. Advancements in data science and the proliferation of condition and process measurements in industrial
operations are making the direct realtime measurement of asset reliability feasible. Such measurement will, in turn, make more sophisticated, realtime approaches to controlling asset reliability feasible too. Developing a profitable reliability strategy might seem daunting, but some fairly simple steps can help move industrial operations in the right direction: • Identify the critical equipment that represent the largest opportunity for performance improvement. Very often this will be rotating equipment because their mechanical movement tends to wear the asset over time. • Determine what measurements are required to analyse the equipment’s performance. • Use the process and condition measurements to calculate the asset’s maintained state and its probability of failure.
Empowering the industrial workforce with real-time operational profitability data will turn them into operations and business performance managers.
40 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
• Develop an asset control scheme that includes integrated reliability and process control strategies that maximize operational profitability. These might include reducing the output of the asset to extend its time to failure so you can finish a run or a contract. • Move the reliability measurement and control up to the next level asset set (for example, the process unit) and perform the same control strategy analysis. This analysis should be simpler to perform once the base equipment level assets are under control. • Continue this process all the way up the asset hierarchy until you have real-time control strategies in place for all your critical assets and asset sets. This would include process areas, plants and even enterprises. Empowering today’s industrial workforce with real-time operational profitability data, along with process control and real-time reliability risk information, will turn them into operations and business performance managers. Operators will be able to adjust set points and see the impact they and their adjustments are having, not only in the process, but on the profitability and reliability of the assets too. We can therefore see that a profitable reliability approach that combines real-time reliability risk control, real-time operational profitability control and higher-level reliability management will go a long way toward helping industrial manufacturers meet their short and long-term operations, and business objectives. The result will be greater levels of operational profitability, safety, and reliability. manmonthly.com.au
What’sNew
Brought to you by
Acromag’s 989EN-4016: Perfectly conditioned energy metering Many applications call for converting flow meter pulse or analog DC current signals to Ethernet network for extended remote monitoring and control application. Increasingly, in the age of energy management in process, manufacturing and BAS, the need for companies and organisations to not only record and manage the energy or water usage but also sub-meter, an Ethernet transmitter with totaliser function is essential. For flow meters with pulse output, Acromag’s 989EN-4016 16-channel discrete I/O with counter/timers to Modbus TCP/IP transmitters are widely used for I&C, remote monitoring and sub-metering applications. Applications include water usage sub-metering, liquid filling and transfer processes, including the use of discrete outputs for limit alarms and control, making the 989EN4016 a cost effective and versatile 16-channel discrete I/O with counter/timer over Ethernet. Customers will appreciate the ease of use built in web browser configuration software tool and ability to remote in over the internet. The 989EN-4016 has 8 configurable counter/timer channels with 32-bit up/down pulse event counters, 16-bit periodic timers for last pulse state and momentary latch alarms for each counter. Consistent with Acromag industrial grade signal transmitters, the 989EN-4016 has rugged operation features such as over-temperature, over-current and over-voltage output protection and wide operating temperature. For flow meters with 4-20mA current loop output, Acromag’s 993EN-4016
16-channel DC Current input to Modbus TCP/IP transmitter with configurable integration/totalisation functions is used. Each channel A/D is 16-bit high resolution with a fast 8mS scanning rate of all 16 channels. Sample averaging is software configurable as well as scaling registers on all channels along with automatic calibration and self-test feature. The industrial grade 993EN-4016 is UL/cUL listed, with typical accuracy of 0.05 per cent, operating temperature of -40 to +70C with 16-channels. So, if you need to extend your flow meter measurements beyond local PLC and add totalisation function to the data, call Metromatics to discuss your application and how the 989EN discrete I/O or 993EN analog current input twin totalisers can provide the conditioned energy metering information you need.
Company: Metromatics Phone: (07) 3868-4255 Web: www.metromatics.com.au
Converting Roller Chain Drives to Maintenance Free Gates Poly Chain GT Carbon Gates Australia has introduced its latest version of the Poly Chain GT Carbon synchronous belts, designed to replace roller chain drives, Poly Chain provides higher efficiency and reliability whilst eliminating the maintenance required with traditional chain drives. Gates’ most powerful synchronous belt, specifically designed for optimum performance on high torque, low speed drives often seen in industrial applications. An excellent alternative to chain drives, Poly Chain offers many benefits to any business. Poly Chain GT Carbon belts are constructed using a lightweight polyurethane compound combined with carbon fibre tensile cords providing extraordinary power carrying capacity and flex fatigue life. This means Poly Chain GT Carbon has the strength to withstand shocks and surge loading, virtually immune to abrasions and is much lighter than steel chain, reducing overhung loads. Additionally, the new Poly Chain has a service life up to three times longer than conventional roller chain and up to ten times longer pulley life. Poly Chain GT Carbon belts are completely maintenance-free, no messy lubrication or oil baths or re-tensioning every few months. They will not stretch during service, saving businesses time and money. The product is also inert to most acids, chemicals and water, making it an ideal solution for wet environments – unlike roller chains, which can rust, potentially contaminating food-handling spaces. The Poly Chain GT Carbon comes in a range of pitches, including both short and extended custom lengths. Short length versions of the belt in 5M and 8M are suitable for industrial markets requiring a short centre distance but high-density power and offer all the benefits listed above. Poly Chain GT Carbon is also available in up to 19M extended lengths to handle longer drive centre distances. Poly Chain GT Carbon offers a massive 96 per cent weight saving versus traditional, comparable transmission roller chains. All Poly Chain GT Carbon belts are fully operational in temperature extremes of
manmonthly.com.au
-54°C to +85°C and can be used for applications in a diverse range of industries. Poly Chain GT Carbon also offers reduced width drive conversions for existing roller chain applications, and over 120,000 possible ratio combinations, making it easy to switch the drives. The space-saving, weight-saving, time-saving and money-saving drives offer a long and reliable service life. Company: Gates Australia Phone: (03) 9797 9688 E-mail: Southpacsales@gates.com Web: www.gatesaustralia.com.au/PolyChain
Manufacturers’ Monthly AUGUST 2018 41
What’s New Sigma Air Manager 4.0: Air pressure of tomorrow The Sigma Air Manager (SAM) 4.0 from Kaeser Compressors acts as the central mastermind and controls the individual machines with maximum efficiency, whilst perfectly adjusting the flow capacity to match flow rate demand. All it needs from the process control system is the desired differential pressure value – the SAM 4.0 then ensures optimal control of all blowers. Partial-load bridging and individual solutions are therefore things of the past, along with complicated setups. Now, all applications are supplied by one central blower station with a master controller that analyses operating data in seconds and simulates various scenarios in order to select the most efficient solution. The result? Previously unimaginable energy efficiency. All components within the station are optimally matched and controlled to meet the customer’s specific needs. Real-time process monitoring provides valuable operating data, which is forwarded for detailed evaluation. The analysed results help to predict potential faults as early as possible and prevent them by taking timely action. The SAM 4.0 offers communication in 30 languages whilst the easy-to-operate 12-inch colour touchscreen display shows at a glance whether the station is operating in the “green zone” for optimal energy performance. It’s incredibly easy to display and analyse a wealth of data, such as operating status, pressure curve, flow rate and power, as well as maintenance and any fault messages. And, thanks to a network connection, this can be done not only at the machine itself, but also conveniently from a PC at the office or elsewhere. This capability lays the foundation for predictive maintenance; it also enables sophisticated energy management per ISO 50001. The master controller makes it possible to take advantage of new options for
predictive maintenance of blowers. Previously, maintenance could only be performed on the basis of a regular scheduled service date and repairs would be made only after a fault message had occurred. The SAM 4.0 makes it possible to initiate maintenance before a fault occurs, thereby avoiding costly downtime and consequential damage. The sensors and Sigma Control 2 controller integrated into the machine collect process data, which is immediately forwarded to the Sigma Air Manager 4.0. Specialised software is then used to transfer the information to the Kaeser Data Centre for real-time analysis. The Kaeser Data Centre performs central monitoring and processing of operating messages. This enables maintenance and necessary repairs to be performed at the precise moment they are actually needed. This saves time, minimises costs and ensures reliable blower availability, which in turn benefits all associated downstream processes.
Company: Kaeser Compressors Phone: 1800 640 611 Web: www.kaeser.com
Carbonix’s Volanti UAS provides versatility across applications The Volanti unmanned aerial system from Carbonix combines VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) with long range endurance through its quad-plane design. This design facilitates many and varied mission profiles since the Volanti has the capability of flying efficiently in horizontal flight as well as the ability to stop and hover mid mission. Early use cases include missions across agriculture, infrastructure, mining and civil security as well as defence applications. Produced in Australia from advanced composite materials including carbon fibre and kevlar, the Volanti is extremely light (12kg MTOW), strong and aerodynamically efficient allowing for flight times of up to 2 hours with an all-electric power source. The Volanti can be customised for various payload / power source
42 AUGUST 2018 Manufacturers’ Monthly
combinations and has a modular design allowing easy transport via a compact travel case, quick assembly of wings, tail boom and nose cone for launching from unprepared sites as well as a high degree of interoperability with any number of sensors. If multiple sensors are required, multiple nose cones can be used and exchanged in between missions. The Volanti was the first commercial sub-25kg drone to be used in pilot certification under CASA’s new “powered lift” category. Company: Carbonix Phone: 0410 617 663 Web: www.carbonix.com.au
manmonthly.com.au
Modular safety gate system – Your gate. Our system. Your safety. With our modular safety gate system, we offer you an individual safety gate solution
Your benefits at a glance
that is ideally tailored to your application. That means you can combine the individual
components flexibly to suit your own particular requirements. Benefit from an
economical series connection, rapid diagnostics, additional control and pushbutton
elements and an optional escape release.
The following components are available for forming your modular safety gate system:
Safety gate sensor PSENslock for safe position monitoring with process guarding Safety gate sensor PSENmlock for safe interlock and guard locking in one product Escape release and suitable handles for the safety gate system PSENmlock Safety Device Diagnostics (SDD) for comprehensive diagnostics and economical series connection of the safety gate sensors PSENmlock Pushbutton unit PITgatebox for simple operation of the safety gate system
Melbourne • Sydney • Brisbane • Auckland
Ph: 1300 723 334
Individual solution tailored to the application Comprehensive modular portfolio Many different combination options High quality thanks to certification to common safety standards Quickly integrated into your plant Simple operation and maintenance A complete one-stop solution that’s safe and economical Ideal for use in combination with safe control technology from Pilz
Ph: 03 9560 0621 Fax: 03 9574 9035 www.pilz.com.au safety@pilz.com.au
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