Developments

How Australian manufacturers can position themselves for success in an uncertain economy

Rob Cheesman, General Manager Atturra Manufacturing Softening economic conditions have created a challenging time for many Australian businesses. While JP Morgan in their 2023 Business Leaders Outlook: Australia[1] survey shows nearly half of leaders surveyed expect a recession this year, although right now, most modern economies around the world, including Australia, are managing to avoid this economic reckoning. Indeed, when attention turns to the nation’s manufacturing sector, a somewhat mixed picture emerges. Despite the global economic storm clouds that gathered during 2022, many organisations appear to be doing quite well. To some extent, this situation has been supported by a return to local manufacturing. While the Australian dollar has strengthened recently it is still relatively low. This means locally made products are attractive compared to imports. Mixed conditions ahead According to the February Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index[2], economic conditions are “falling rapidly”. However, if we drill further into these numbers, downstream manufacturing seems to be fairing much better. As 2023 unfolds, there are some key factors that will be worth monitoring. Together, they will shape the next 12 months for the entire domestic manufacturing sector. Five of the top factors are: 1. An ongoing increase in costs During 2022, the majority of domestic manufacturing firms appeared to have successfully weathered a period of inflation. Most were able to either absorb increases or pass them on to their customers. However, things could become a little more challenging over the next 12 months. When the rising cost of raw materials is added to increasing energy costs and wage increases, pressure on firms can become more acute. While most manufacturers should be able to continue to manage costs, ongoing rises could still put pressure on business bottom lines. 2. Staff shortages will ease As is the case for firms in other […]

Rio Tinto seeking applicants for award-winning Graduate Program

Rio Tinto has commenced a recruitment campaign for University graduates from Australia and New Zealand, as it seeks to attract the best and brightest minds across a range of disciplines, including engineering, data science, advanced technology, business and geology. Commencing in early 2024, successful applicants will participate in an award-winning two-year Graduate Development Program designed to prepare graduates to lead, innovate and invent. The company is seeking to recruit approximately 150 Australian and New Zealand-based graduates out of a global program of 300 graduates. Last year, Rio Tinto welcomed 261 graduates globally, with more than half women and 130 based in Australia including 16% Indigenous Australians. During the program, graduates will be inspired by futurists and external thought leaders from creative industries who will seek to spark their imagination and inspire them to tackle problems and create solutions in different ways. Earlier this month, Rio Tinto’s Graduate Development Program won the “Most Popular Mining & Energy Employer” award in Australia’s GradConnection Top 100 Graduate Employer Awards for the second year in a row. Skye Tansley, a Rio Tinto Graduate in Products and Software based in Brisbane, said “I’m proud to be a part of the growing number of women across STEM disciplines. I am excited to be working for Rio Tinto at a time where big changes are going to be made to the way we address our environmental and social responsibilities, and to see the positive effects that these changes are having, both on the business and the wider community. I want a future that I am proud to leave behind.” Rio Tinto Chief Executive, Australia, Kellie Parker, said “Our award-winning graduate program provides an excellent launching pad for the next generation of leaders at Rio Tinto. It ensures we have an exceptional pipeline of young talent across our […]

Women breaking down barriers in engineering

Engineering has long been a male-dominated field, but in recent years, women have been breaking down barriers and making significant contributions to the industry. Australian owned and operated Humiscope, who specialise in controlling indoor environments through energy-efficient solutions, is one example of this progress. However, despite the increasing number of women joining the engineering industry, there is still a significant gender gap. According to the latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 14% of engineers in Australia are women. This is a concerning figure, particularly when compared to the number of women studying engineering at university. In 2020, 22% of bachelor\’s degree students in engineering were women, which suggests that there is a significant drop-off in the number of women pursuing engineering careers after graduation. There are several reasons for this disparity. One factor is the lack of female role models in the industry. When young women don’t see themselves represented in the field, they may be less likely to consider engineering as a career. Another is that many people are unaware of the myriad industries in which engineering can be applied and the diverse avenues that can be undertaken when studying engineering. In celebration of World Engineering Day, Humiscope champions the importance of recognising women in the field of engineering and wants to showcase the three female engineers on its team. Ladan Bage, a mechanical engineer with a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering, works on several large projects for Humiscope. Ladan offers practical mechanical designs while always considering a client’s requirements. She specialises in drafting, documentation, mechanical design, reverse engineering, manufacturing, and its supervision. Ladan works closely with Paula Andrea Gil who is a drafts(wo)men, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Drafting and Design and over six years’ hands-on experience. Highly skilled in BIM modelling, Paula […]

Australia’s first beverage carton recycling facility opens in Warragamba, NSW

Packaging waste innovator saveBOARD opened its first recycling facility in Australia this week. Located in Warragamba, Sydney’s southwest, the new $5.5 million facility has the capacity to process up to 4,000 tonnes of materials annually and employ up to 12 local staff to operate the plant. Supported by the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, the facility is the first of its kind in Australia to manufacture construction products entirely from used beverage cartons that would otherwise end up in landfill. This sturdy, lightweight alternative to conventional plasterboard, plywood or particle board is also 100% recyclable. The industry-led project is the first collaboration between Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc in Australia under the umbrella of the Global Recycling Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (GRACE) and is a joint initiative with saveBOARD and its partner Freightways. At the opening ceremony of the facility co-hosted by saveBOARD and Tetra Pak, Paul Charteris, CEO and Co-Founder at saveBOARD, said: “It’s exciting to finally be opening the first saveBOARD facility in Australia, supporting the circular economy to make a real impact to the environment and climate change. This facility will enhance the construction industry’s drive towards more sustainable construction practices, while also showing consumers the importance and value in recycling and opting for recyclable products in their day-to-day lives.” Andrew Pooch, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Australia and New Zealand said: “We’re incredibly proud to be part of this sustainability journey alongside saveBOARD, as we look at even more innovative ways we can convert carton packaging waste into useful applications, and contribute to a strong circular economy. “This is part of our ongoing sustainability commitment, as we look to enable more packaging to become 100 per cent recyclable or reusable, in line with the […]

The Interview: Karyn Parker senior exploration geologist,Poseidon Nickel

Explain to readers what exactly it is you do? My role as a Senior Exploration Geologist involves leading and managing exploration activities with the aim of finding nickel deposits. The job is a varied one that involves planning and executing exploration programs using geological data. This allows me to be creative and apply new ideas as well as use the latest scientific theories to locate deposits. This also takes me into the field to manage and supervise drilling programs and teams. Our current focus is drilling out the Black Swan Disseminated deposit to update our resources with the aim to bring the mine back into production. I am overseeing this drilling in the open pit and the production of the resource estimate. In conjunction with this, I am planning exploration drilling on our project called Lake Johnston. Here there is little drilling on an ultramafic belt (the rocks that host Nickel) that runs through our ground. This is an exciting program with historic nickel mines in the area. The team has come up with a new geological model and an exciting theory to test. Life as a geologist…tell us about it? Life as a geologist is different every day. This ranges from working in the field doing manual tasks and camping in swags to high-level thinking in the Perth office. The lifestyle is unique with time spent living in fly camps in the bush for weeks on end, working in mining camps on FIFO rosters, and also living in towns like Kalgoorlie and Norseman. One thing for sure is that it takes you places you would not ordinarily go to. Life as a Geologist has taken me throughout the Goldfields and WA, from as far south as Esperance, to the Pilbara in the North. It has also provided opportunities to […]

Siemens partners with Swinburne University to accelerate energy transition to net zero

Siemens Swinburne Energy Transition Hub aims to create the most advanced future energy grid laboratory of its kind in Australia accessible to students and industry $5.2 million to be invested into Hub, set to open in late 2023 Hub to leverage digital twin of Australia’s energy grid with Siemens simulation software such as PSS E, PSS SINCAL, SPECTRUM Power and DEOP X Joint project between industry and research to accelerate path to net zero Siemens and Swinburne University of Technology have agreed to set up the most advanced future Energy Transition Hub of its kind in Australia at the University’s Hawthorn campus in Melbourne. Featuring some of the most advanced digital energy technology from Siemens and the technical, R&D and teaching expertise of Swinburne, the $5.2 million Hub aims to build a future energy grid laboratory accessible to students and industry. When fully operational, the Hub will also offer researchers and industry the opportunity to work on solutions for greener, more efficient future energy systems using Siemens Xcelerator, a new open digital business platform and marketplace. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Karen Hapgood, stated, “Australia’s ambitious carbon reduction targets need a multi-pronged approach by industry, research and government. The new Siemens Swinburne Energy Transition Hub will be working on new technologies to improve energy efficiency, supply, integration, storage, transport and use, as well as how we can improve existing technologies and frameworks. We need change fast, and the Siemens-Swinburne team will focus on taking ideas to market – where they can make the most impact as quickly as possible.” The Hub will enable users to leverage digital twins of energy grids, map scenarios, research new findings, develop original and creative hypotheses, and test results. It will be home to a digital twin of Australia’s energy grid that commercial research teams can […]

Exact seam placement in robot welding cells

Automated weld seam tracking in robot welding cells is a complex task in a harsh industrial environment. The micrometer-accurate detection of the guide point with different types of joint by 2D/3D profile sensors is one of the most effective solutions for this challenge. In combination with wenglor’s uniVision software, the new weCat3D MLZL 2D/3D tracker sensor, not only combines the necessary precision and profile quality, but also offers convenient installation, integration, robustness and user-friendliness. A 2D/3D profile sensor made for welding robots Supplied by Treotham Automation, the slimline housing of the MLZL with integrated cooling and rinsing enables easy and space-saving installation directly on the welding torch. Thanks to the small housing dimensions of only 33 × 183 × 69.8 mm, the robot can therefore also operate in narrow corners. The MLZL 2D/3D profile sensor does not require any additional protective housing, nor does it need to be tilted for alignment. The design also offers sufficient protection against welding spatter and disturbing ambient light. Despite the harsh industrial environment, the welding sensor provides high-quality profiles for precise joint detection. Optionally equipped with a red or blue laser, users can choose between three laser classes: 2M, 3R or 3B. The MLZL relies on the advanced laser technology of the weCat3D series and thus delivers outstanding profile quality for optical seam tracking. This sensor has been specially adapted and optimised for the high demands in welding robots, but in particular for the complex task of optical tracking of weld seams – both in terms of hardware and software. Wenglor engineers tested and developed the special triangulation sensor as part of an EAP (Early Adopter Program) together with customers from the welding industry. The feedback and know-how collected from this program ultimately flowed into the MLZL tracker sensor. Software Update with new function: uniVision 2.5.0 for welding […]

Girl Geek Academy calls on government to increase funding for Girls in STEM

The federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, says the “Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review” won’t be complete until the end of this year and Girl Geek Academy says that is too long to wait for funding new programs to increase the number of women and girls in STEM. “With ‘Women in STEM’ programs under review for most of this year, we currently don’t anticipate any new funding commitments until 2024. The government’s third year in office is far too late to wait, we need action now,” said Girl Geek Academy co-founder, Sarah Moran. “While we are supportive of the review of ‘Women in STEM’ programs and hope it eventuates in more funding made available in the long term, we cannot ignore the short term fact that women and girls are falling behind. Ahead of the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February), the United Nations highlights in cutting edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman. Girl Geek Academy trained over 1000 high school girls in A.I. in virtual classes without government support and had been hopeful that a change of government would bring about fresh funding to support the growth of similar programs. “There has been a drought of these type of programs as most organisations, typically run by women, have not survived the impacts of the pandemic. Girl Geek Academy lost 99.9% of our cash flow overnight when COVID hit and the only reason we still exist is because I went and got a day job to keep us alive. “The government must act as we know women and girls have already slipped too far behind. We’re calling for a solid investment in programs for the May budget to secure much needed support for women in industry to “lift […]

Supply chain trends for 2023

-Charlie Wood, CEO, Wiise The pandemic has seen unprecedented disruption to businesses, particularly those in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics over the past couple of years. From the shutdowns of ports to geopolitical instability, material and talent shortages to fluctuating demand, the pandemic has simply put supply chains to the test. The disruption is far from over. As KPMG observes, threats and challenges include cross-border trade issues, heightened cyber-crime, material access turmoil, and scope 3 emissions scrutiny. Amid these headwinds, four key trends have begun to emerge that will influence how Australian manufacturers and distributors will evolve their businesses in 2023 and beyond. 1. The rise of real time insights Despite ‘digital transformation’ being a business buzzword for many years, the warehousing and logistics sector has lagged significantly behind other industries when it comes to tech adoption. Even in 2022, some organisations still use paper-based record-keeping inventory, which is extremely inefficient and inaccurate. Manual processes and decades-old legacy systems mean that some companies simply don’t have a clear overview of the stock they have in their warehouse, posing a serious business risk, particularly in times of economic downturn. Manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics businesses need a single source of truth that will enable them to be efficient and cost-effective in terms of stock control and customer commitments, such as investing in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that streamlines business operations. Visibility and provenance in fulfilment have become vital for partners and end consumers who want to know the origin of a product and its components, where it is in the shipping process, and when it’s due to arrive. According to research from CommBank, 74% of Australian manufacturers planned to increase investment in digital technology over the next 12 months. Real-time insights that provide businesses with a clear overview of their inventory are imperative […]

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New process extracts silicon from solar panels to build better batteries

Researchers have developed a sustainable and highly lucrative way to address two big issues in the clean energy transition, reclaiming one of the most valuable elements from end-of-life solar panels and reconfiguring it to build better batteries. More than 100,000 tonnes of end-of-life solar panels are estimated to enter Australia’s waste stream by 2035. Scientists from Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) have successfully tested a new process that can safely and effectively extract silicon from old solar panels, then convert it into a nano material worth more than $45,000 per kilo. This nano-silicon is then mixed with graphite to develop a new type of battery anode shown to increase lithium-ion battery capacity by a factor of 10, a critical breakthrough in energy storage technology. Lead researcher Dr Md Mokhlesur Rahman said that for Australia (and the world) to address the enormous issue of solar panel waste and develop a successful recycling program to divert it away from landfill, scientists must find a way to harvest and repurpose the panels’ most valuable components. “Solar panel cells are fabricated using high-value silicon, but this material cannot be re-used without purification, as it becomes highly contaminated over the 25 to 30 years of the panel’s life,” Dr Rahman said. “We have developed a process that returns silicon collected from used cells to greater than 99 per cent purity, within a day and without the need for dangerous chemicals. This thermal and chemical process is far greener, cheaper, and more efficient than any other technique currently on the market.” But it’s the next step that’s the real game-changer. The Deakin process then takes this regular-sized purified silicon and reduces its size to nanoscale using a special ball-milling process. Again, without the need for toxic chemicals. “We are using that nano-silicon to develop […]

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