April 2022

Biarri EMI expands and rebrands as CRU Software

Despite continued global hurdles Cru Softwares has seen a 38% growth in clients; launched a number of great product features, and a Mobile Worker App – designed with the user in mind. “I’ve seen our employees band together, working tirelessly to take on new challenges and continue to be the backbone of our organisation. Even though life continues to be unpredictable, our team has adapted, improvised when necessary, and helped bring stability and growth to the businesses that rely on us.” “Throughout it all, our priority has always been to deliver on our commitments to all our clients who have counted on us. And as we prepare to expand our services catering for an even broader market, I’m proud to share news of a new chapter for our company with a new brand. “The rebrand and expanded software offering is an important milestone for us. It provides us with an opportunity to diversify, servicing new sectors outside our core while expanding our partnerships, global reach, and integrations with businesses across the world” says Jason Cameron, CEO of CRU Software. The new offering draws on the best of the past, continuing to add a ton of new capabilities and features for the future. It\’s the result of many hours of effort from dedicated mathematicians, software engineers, programmers, and designers – all of which have resulted in the most innovative automated rostering and scheduling software on the market. Take a moment to check out the products for yourself, but below is a top-line look at some of the power behind it: User-friendly mobile worker appEnhanced fatigue managementReal-time roster and schedule validationIntegrations with best-in-class Travel Management & Employee CompetencyYou can now manage large scale workforces in a single view As a result of the renewed focus on Rostering and Scheduling, CRU Software’s enhanced […]

Six-year agreements for major projects will create high-paid jobs

Allowing employers and unions to negotiate longer workplace deals for major resources and energy projects is an extremely important policy that would create thousands of high-paid jobs in Australia. Australian Resources and Energy Group, AMMA, has been calling for extended terms for employment arrangements applicable to new major projects, known as “greenfields agreements”, for well over a decade. “The Department of Industry shows there are more than 350 major resources and energy projects, in various stages of feasibility and commitment, in Australia’s investment pipeline,” Steve Knott AM, CEO of AMMA, said. “If all could be secured, the five-year employment projections would easily exceed 100,000 new jobs. “These jobs would range from trades and construction through to production roles – all paying salaries well in excess of $100,000 and for most, much more. “But in order to secure job-creating major project capital in Australia, and not see it lost to competing nations, we need to sharpen our game. “It makes no sense that the maximum term for major project greenfields agreements is currently four years, when the construction of large-scale resources and energy projects can often exceed that. “Even a small increase to six years would make a huge difference to the international investment community that determines which nations they will allocate billions of dollars of major project capital.” Mr Knott said six-year terms for major projects “should be uncontroversial” and encourages the Federal Opposition, the trade union movement and other stakeholders to be considered in their response. “Such agreements could have an inbuilt mechanism to ensure appropriate pay increases throughout the life of the project,” he said. AMMA also notes the following statement by the former Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, just days before the 2019 Federal Election: We would look at companies undertaking these […]

Supply chain crisis

Jarrod Kinchington, Infor ANZ vice-president and managing director How has the global supply chain crisis that unfolded in 2021 affected the manufacturing sector in the ANZ region? No vertical market appears to be immune to the hardships and challenges resulting from the global pandemic. As we find ourselves in the third year of the pandemic, the repercussions from severe supply and demand imbalances are still being felt worldwide with an immense impact on the manufacturing industry. From availability and increasing cost of labour, freight capacity, semiconductors, empty chassis and warehouse storage space, this crisis has now revealed itself to be multifaceted and an ongoing concern for 2022. Following the Omicron outbreak and amidst trade and shipping chaos, some emerging long-term patterns show that the manufacturing sector will continue to be impacted by the ongoing supply chain issues. The cost of ocean and air freight shipping will likely remain even after current congestion and capacity constraints have settled. It is expected that traditional ‘peak’ seasons will start earlier and run longer, whereas freight contracts are predicted to run for shorter terms. Is there a way smart manufacturing technology can help organisations predict and prepare for such events in the post-pandemic future? The supply chain crisis has taught enterprises worldwide that more needs to be done to secure their operations. While we are likely to continue managing supply chain disruptions that will increase in pace and impact, we must grow supply chain resilience and have the ability to forecast disruptions into the future. Organisations must prioritise first-mile technology investments and collaborative logistics service provider relationships. They cannot afford to be solely focused on price or low cost. Instead, they must have new goals for holistic and multi-dimensional forms of visibility for freight capacity, supplier work-in-progress and financial health, modal hand-off points and […]

Combatting pressures in the building industry

Those tuned into the state of the market would be aware of the rising cost of materials, threatening companies in Australia’s construction and manufacturing sector. The past couple of months has seen the fall of two construction companies, Probuild in February, and Condev in late March – both attributed to unsustainably high material costs. An Australian Chamber and Westpac Survey of Industrial trends report found that Australian manufacturers are facing cost pressures they haven’t seen since the 1970’s. These rising cost pressures are hampering the manufacturing industry’s post-lock recovery which started to kick off this year with rising orders through the early months of 2022 with rising job numbers a key factor (according to Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan). This is raising concerns over profits, with 5% of survey respondents indicating they expect their profits to increase in the year to come, (down from a net 18% of respondents in the December quarter). Businesses operating on-shore will now be considering how they can continue to operate locally when the cost of goods continues to increase and offshore production may appear to offer a necessary reprieve in financial pressures. One Australian-made and owned business that is mitigating these issues is the Sydney-based louvre window manufacturing company, Safetyline Jalousie. Safetyline Jalousie’s Founder and Director, Leigh Rust (pictured), advises that looking at your spending from a holistic perspective will help to mitigate the pressures of rising material costs. “While we finally thought things were on the up – with a strengthening workforce and increasing orders – the heightened cost of materials is presenting new issues which have to be proactively and strategically navigated,” said Leigh. “We all know that the cost of materials is rising, so rather than waiting for the impact of this to be felt and being left with a reduction […]

Golden State Mining announces new Payne’s Find Lithium Project

Gold, lithium, and base metals exploration company Golden State Mining Limited is substantially growing its’ footprint across Western Australia following the successful granting of two out of five tenement applications at GSM’s new ~1200km2 Payne’s Find Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia. Located immediately east and 30km north of Payne’s Find in the Murchison region of Western Australia, GSM has secured the ground for its lithium and base metal potential based on open file aeromagnetic and remote sensing data evaluation. The project-scale lithium targeting work has already commenced on the new, underexplored tenure of the entire project area, with further reconnaissance and initial soil sampling work due to commence in the coming weeks. Golden State’s Managing Director, Michael Moore, said “The diligent targeting work carried out by GSM during the second half of 2021 is already paying off for the company with the recent granting of two out of five tenement applications at Payne’s Find, being an exciting addition to the GSM stable of projects across Western Australia. In conjunction with a well-regarded industry consultant, this greenfields area was specifically targeted for its lithium prospectivity, however, the recent Meleya discovery by Tempest Minerals Limited some 30km away has also highlighted the importance of base metals opportunities in this region.” The new Payne’s Find Project adds to GSM’s quality projects focussed on Western Australia, with the flagship being the Yule Project in the under-explored Mallina Basin in the Pilbara region of the State. GSM’s 100% per cent owned holding is a strategic ground position in the highly sought-after Archaean Mallina Basin, with the tenement package hosting intrusive bodies and major structural corridors. The most recent drill campaign uncovered a significant gold intersection of 4m @ 0.8g/t from 74 metres. “The region is seriously under-explored. GSM continues to validate the […]

FWC appointment welcome but more needed

Australian Resources and Energy Group AMMA has welcomed the appointment of Mr Paul Schneider to the Fair Work Commission, announced this morning by Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Michaelia Cash. “Mr Schneider is well known and widely respected within Western Australia’s industrial relations community,” Steve Knott AM, Chief Executive of AMMA, said. “He brings significant experience from across the resources industry – the powerhouse of Western Australia’s economy – and in particular the offshore and maritime support sectors where industrial relations can be both complex and challenging.” Mr Schneider’s appointment as a Commissioner comes shortly after the news Deputy President Amanda Mansini will leave the FWC to assume her new appointment as Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. AMMA notes with some concern the FWC will remain as having 43 statutorily appointed members – a historically low level of resourcing. “The Morrison Government should very seriously consider additional appointments to the FWC prior to the 2022 Federal Election,” Mr Knott said. “When the ALP left office in September 2013 there were 46 tribunal members and Australia’s labour force contained some 11.6 million people. “Today the FWC has 43 members and the labour force contains approximately 13.4 million people. “Not only is the FWC administering an employment system with 1.7 million additional users than when the ALP was last in office, but matters are increasing in both volume and complexity. “This includes a raft of COVID-19 related workplace disputes that are swamping the commission currently and are only expected to grow. “AMMA congratulates the Attorney-General for making a high quality FWC appointment today. “It is AMMA’s firm view that at least three more appointments would not only be well justified prior to the Election, but very necessary to maintain the functioning […]