November 2022

Anthony Spadavecchia, Managing Director at BE Switchcraft. Tell us about BE Switchcraft? Based in Adelaide, BE Switchcraft has become one of South Australia’s leading electrical switchboard manufacturers. It also makes lighting control and room automation systems as well as energy management systems and provides specialist laser cutting and labelling services. For over 50 years, BE Switchcraft has designed and made electrical switchboards for many large building projects in Australia and across the region. The company has been involved in large projects for iconic buildings such as Parliament House, Canberra, the Adelaide Convention Centre, and the Port Moresby Football Stadium in Papua New Guinea. What industry and company-level challenges led to BE Switchcraft needing to transform its processes? As BE Switchcraft grew from manufacturing 100 switchboards per month to more than 200 each month, the company needed to find new ways to track, monitor and manage each of its projects, with the existing processes not set up for such high volumes. The production of switchboards requires many individual steps, and the management team needed full visibility into the respective step each project was up to in order to keep customers apprised of which stage of development their switchboards were at and to ensure they were being produced in accordance with customers’ requirements. How were you introduced to Zebra’s solutions? BE Switchcraft worked on enhancing its manufacturing processes with Datanet, a Zebra PartnerConnect business partner. After working with BE Switchcraft to understand the challenges it was trying to solve, Datanet introduced the company to Zebra’s radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions, which included Zebra’s FX 9600 fixed RFID readers, which were complemented by Zebra-compatible RFID antennas and an RFID label printer. How did you find the implementation process? Although the original manual process was initially replaced with a barcode scanning solution that ended […]

Collaboration will enable on-time successful launches to meet increased customer demand Rockwell Automation has been selected by theFord Motor Company as its vehicle operations primary controls and solutions provider for its next three electric vehicle assembly sites in the US. While electric vehicle adoption in Australia is still low compared to other countries, there has been a 65% rise in EV sales compared with 2021, according to the Australian Electric Vehicle Council. By jointly collaborating on assembly tooling designs and architectures that will increase speed to market, Rockwell can help machine builders to meet production customer demands and achieve on-time successful launches. “We are strengthening the commitment to build world class electric vehicles for the future and fortifying the relationship between Rockwell and Ford that has been in place for more than 75 years,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. “We look forward to working closely with Ford and its ecosystem over the next several years to accelerate business outcomes and advance the company’s position as a global leader in the electric vehicle market.” The announcement follows a recent Australian contract win with Latrobe Magnesium, where Rockwell Automation will supply the Process Control System (PCS) and Motor Control Centres (MCC) for the new demonstration plant located in Hazelwood North, Victoria. Latrobe Magnesium has developed an environmentally friendly, sustainable process to manufacture magnesium metal and other valuable saleable by-products. The lightweight metal is extensively used in the automotive and battery manufacturing industries. Latrobe Magnesium’s proprietary process converts nearly 100% of unwanted waste into valuable commodities with a very low carbon footprint impact.

What are your concerns regarding worksite safety? There has been a lot of discussion recently about scaffolding problems, particularly regarding missing ties. With different trades working on a build simultaneously, miscommunication can cause ties to be removed and not replaced, which is a major risk to the structural integrity of the scaffold. We’re also still seeing the problems associated with the use of non-fireproof cladding – five years on from the Grenfell Towers fire, we’ve realised just how prevalent the use of substandard products has been. While these issues have different causes, the underlying theme is the same – compliance (and lack thereof) across the industry. David Chandler, the NSW Building Commissioner, is committed to combating this issue, but it’s a big job. Are the issues widespread? Unfortunately, yes – non-compliance is an issue throughout the construction industry. Post-pandemic, we’re seeing more new developments than ever – due, in part, to the government’s increased spending to stimulate the economy. While construction for new infrastructure, as well as commercial and residential needs, is absolutely necessary to support Australia’s progress, corners are being cut. The manufacturing industry is still experiencing supply chain issues due to the effects of Covid-19; this, combined with cost increases across the sector is leading some contractors to make poor choices. In an effort to limit margin erosion and meet dates of completion, some choose non-compliant products, which not only impact the quality of the build, but safety. Are there significant numbers of building products affected? Yes, particularly regarding flammable cladding. Some states have begun schemes to replace this cladding, however the issue is so widespread that it will take 20 years to fix the issue – and many instances go unreported. The Grenfell Towers disaster reminds us of just how dire the consequences of the use of […]

By Matthew Addley, Industry Strategist – Manufacturing, Infor The semiconductor and chip shortage affecting the automotive and technology industries is likely to persist through to 2024, which means Australians will continue to face longer wait times for cars and tech products. Even though manufacturers are expanding chip production, and governments are increasing investments in semiconductor technology, the problem is unlikely to be resolved in the medium term, especially due to the long lead times and other production complexities. The ongoing disruption has turned the spotlight on supply chain vulnerabilities and its impact on everyday commodities – from mobile phones to automobiles. The growth of the global semiconductor industry in the last decade was driven by widespread technology adoption and the subsequent demand for microchips. However, a mismatch in supply and demand has decelerated growth in the past few years. The pandemic in particular led to automobile sales plummeting in 2020, which resulted in automakers cutting chip orders and moving production lines to meet demand for other applications. What they didn’t anticipate was a rapid rebound, which has left automakers struggling to meet existing demand. Despite the subdued outlook, local manufacturers can learn the lessons and build resilience to navigate future disruptions by: 1.     Leveraging data insights Many manufacturers still have a very siloed approach to running supply chains. The benefit of operating in a data-driven economy is that there are myriad tools that you can use to analyse information within the business to understand what to tackle first. Without actually re-engineering their products to use less chips or find a magical new source of that particular supply, manufacturers can adopt modern, data-driven processes that can help adapt to sudden changes. Modern cloud-deployed ERP solutions are invaluable to capture and track data throughout an organisation. 2.     Optimising supply chain agility Earlier this year, the […]

The steadily expanding hydraulic hose, fittings, and service company, Hydraulink Australia has celebrated its high achieving franchises in its 2022 Network Partner Awards. Hydraulink operates through more than 400 service points across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, and its success is driven by hard-working franchises and network partners that embody the company’s “can do” ethos and attitude to service. “The Network Partner Awards are to show our appreciation for the people behind the scenes, on the road at a dawn breakdown, getting under dirty machines, working in intense rain, or blistering sun,” says Hydraulink Australia National Franchise Manager, Wayne Abbott. Hydraulink’s customers value maximum uptime for demanding industries such as earthmoving, construction, quarrying, civil engineering, road, agriculture, forestry, food and beverage, ports, logistics and a range of others. “Hydraulink franchises are seeing our customers day-to-day and helping them solve problems. They need to be well versed in the customer’s specific machinery, so they can figure out the problem and get it operational again,” says Abbott. Long service franchises Hydraulink has an outstanding record of franchise loyalty, with most franchise owners spending several years with the business, and many staying for more than a decade. At the awards night, several franchises were acknowledged for reaching new loyalty milestones, including: 5 Years – Hydraulink Campbelltown NSW, Jeff McCoskery 10 Years – Hydraulink Blacktown NSW, Ben Walker 15 Years – Hydraulink Hunter Valley NSW, Shane Goodwin 15 Years – Hydraulink Wollongong NSW Complete Hose, Andrew Turner 25 Years – Hydraulink Albany, WA, Al Curnow Hydraulics, Al Curnow Network Partner of the Year The most coveted award on the night was the Network Partner of the Year award. “This ‘best of the best’ award takes into account Hydraulink brand commitment, total sales of Hydraulink products, and year-on-year sales growth,” explains Abbott. “In 2022, we […]