Smart Manufacturing

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 […]

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 […]

A three dimensional panoramic view of the turquoise spring Kiikunlahde in Hollola, Finland in a mini planet panorama style.

Sustainable Technologies in 2022

At the core of sustainability are cost savings which has led economists and environmentalists to see eye-to-eye on the long-term benefits of sustainable practices in business. RS Components value both the environment and energy conscious design. In addition to their global support of the environment initiatives of Engineers Without Borders, the RS library of accessible consumer materials cover everything from tech-articles to product-selection guides on the most environmentally-economic products on the market. Their commitment to keeping their RS Components customers up-to-date on sustainable product trends compelled them to launch a webinar – Sustainable Technologies in 2022. A panel of experts from the leaders in industry include Schneider Electric, Fluke, Phoenix Contact, ABB and RS PRO who will discuss how business can become more sustainable in operations. Join the Sustainable Technologies in 2022 seminar by clicking on the link below to register: https://nz.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=sustainable-technology&cm_mmc=NZ-PR-_-NZMMAG-_-DTC_203_0322_APAC-_-Sustainability_banner And add this date in your diary: 12PM Thursday 7th April 2022 All attendees who stay until the end of the session will receive a FREE e-Gift Card valued at $20*.

Better environmental management of industrial chemicals

A national roadmap to deliver Australia’s new Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS) is now available. IChEMS will reduce the impacts of industrial chemicals on the environment, protect Australia’s people, and safeguard the value of our land and water. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment James Tregurtha said when in place, IChEMS will deliver more consistent regulation of industrial chemicals and make it easier for industry to choose less harmful alternatives. “IChEMS was developed collaboratively by the Australian, state and territory governments working together as part of broader reforms to Australia’s chemicals and waste management,” Mr Tregurtha said. “The roadmap builds on Australia’s partnership approach to chemicals management and recognises that scientists, governments, industry and communities all have a role to play in better management.” “IChEMS will not only support informed choice about chemicals but will also function as a single consistent source of information on how industrial chemicals should be managed in Australia.” Australia’s states and territories are working to adopt and implement IChEMS into their own regulatory frameworks from the end of the year. For more information, and to contribute to this important national reform, go to https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard.

Testcenter bei Lapp Kabel Stuttgart, U.I. Lapp GmbH, am 23.11.2016 in Stuttgart

Surging growth by LAPP delivers AUSPACK firsts

One of the country’s most successful branded cabling, connector, connectivity and automation system facilitators, LAPP Australia, will introduce major new drag chain cabling and custom engineering services at AUSPACK in Melbourne from May 17-20. The fully fledged Australian branch of the German global leader in cabling and connectivity solutions, LAPP Group, has far more than more than doubled its inventory of locally stocked product lines, from 1,500 to more than 4,000, since setting up in this country just four years ago. LAPP Australia has helped major industries weather the COVID pandemic by securing their supply chains to world-best product through online shop listings growing from 5,000 product listings to over 25,000 products. These cables, connectors, and services are vital to industries and automation/Industry 4.0 for applications including food and beverage, solar and energy, resources and materials handling, primary production and process engineering, acoustics, electrical contracting, water and wastewater, recycling, machine building and automation. Highlights of AUSPACK stand G105 will include the widest range of industrial and electrical cables on the Australian market, including: ÖLFLEX power and control cables SKINTOP cable glands ETHERLINE data communications systems for ETHERNET connections UNITRONIC data cables EPIC Connectors SILVYN robust cable protection and supply systems HITRONIC super-fast fibre-optic cables FLEXIMARK cable marking systems. LAPP will also be displaying its Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) cables, as well as cables specifically designed for high heat or low temperature and refrigerated environments. Complementing this broad range will be Australia’s widest range of drag chain cables. LAPP OLFLEXflexible drag chain cables (also known as energy chain cables) are designed to be used in applications that are constantly moving. They ensure the fail-safe supply of energy, data and impulses and are engineered to guide and protect cabling. Such integrated systems are suitable for automated manufacturing, robotics and industrial manufacturing. […]

Australia could benefit from a global shift to emissions-free steel

John Pye, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, ANU, Australian National University;Alireza Rahbari, Research fellow, School of Engineering, ANU, Australian National University; Emma Aisbett, Fellow, Australian National University;Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Head of Energy, Institute for Climate Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University; and Zsuzsanna Csereklyei, Senior Lecturer in Economics, RMIT University. Australia is the world’s number one exporter of both iron ore and metallurgical coal, the key ingredients of traditional steel making. Together, these materials make up a very large part of Australia’s export income. But as the world moves towards net-zero emissions by 2050, the conventional way of making steel, using coal to power a blast furnace, will come under question. Iron and steel production, in total, account for close to 7% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is incompatible with a net-zero world economy, where residual emissions would need to be compensated through carbon dioxide uptake from the atmosphere. The mature technology of coal-fired blast furnaces currently dominates the steel industry, generating 90% of its emissions. For years, decarbonising steel production has been seen as particularly challenging. But now, alternatives to the centuries-old practice of using coal to produce iron and steel are emerging. Researchers have been working on a number of new pathways to make steel with little or no emissions. The most promising process relying on the use of hydrogen. Our new research shows the steel industry can develop and implement green steel production processes to contribute to the great decarbonisation effort needed. For Australia, this presents an enormous new opportunity to future-proof and expand our steel industry as the world acts on climate change. How can we produce green steel? To eliminate emissions from this sector, several things are needed. First, we must use steel efficiently in well-designed structures. Second, we must […]

Growth fuels relocation for Kemppi Australia

Kemppi Australia, part of Kemppi Oy, a leading international welding equipment manufacturer, has moved its head office into new purpose-designed premises located at Unit 2, 463 Victoria Street, Wetherill Park, NSW. The recent relocation is in response to the company’s continued growth. According to Kemppi Australia’s Managing Director, Paul McVicar, the old premises could no longer meet the company’s existing needs for additional space let alone accommodate any future growth. The new, large two-story building houses Kemppi Australia’s Sydney-based staff, warehousing facilities and service centre. The service centre features work bays with the capability to handle multiple equipment repairs and maintenance contracts simultaneously. The much larger warehouse can accommodate additional stock of equipment and consumables. The extra space will also help make shipping and tracking of Kemppi equipment and goods more efficient. The new office space has been fitted out with a bright, modern design to support staff collaboration and productivity. While the consolidation of office space across two floors allows the company to further streamline internal processes and enhance communications. According to Paul, the Kemppi Australia team are excited about the new facility. “It’s not only a more pleasant and efficient environment in which to work and grow, it will also allow us to better serve our dealers and customers.”

RS Components helps industries get ahead with the Industrial Internet of Things

RS Components has announced a broad range of industrial electronics solutions supporting designers and engineers to meet increasing and evolving electronics demands. Featuring brands by market-leading global manufacturers, the RS industrial electronics solutions offering includes the latest parts and components for designers and engineers creating smart devices and embracing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) to deliver connected solutions for businesses, factory floors, and various industrial environments. Some popular and locally stocked products in Australia and New Zealand include sensors, power and circuit breakers, semiconductors and dev kits as well as test and measurement instruments from leading global brands including Schneider, TE Connectivity, Fluke, Phoenix Contact, Raspberry Pi, and more. Products from the range equip engineers with the tools to unlock productivity through IIOT. High-performance and high-precision tools comply with worldwide standards, and aid in detection and measurement, smart automation, and precision monitoring. Engineers are at the forefront of developing solutions that allow organisations to make informed and timely decisions. Harnessing IIOT enables manufacturers and industrial sectors to have better insight and sharing of data, enabling efficient plant maintenance and process improvements. “With locally-stocked products, we offer reliable access to industrial electronics solutions to help organisations innovate and get ahead swiftly. RS teams are also committed to working closely with customers who are just beginning their IIOT journey,” says Sean Fredericks, President, Asia Pacific at RS Components. Engineers looking to strengthen their IIOT capabilities can now access a reliable stock of over 650,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers, on the RS websites for Australia and New Zealand. For more information on the expanded products visit: https://au.rs-online.com

D-Link launches new, sleek and discreet home security cameras

D-Link has launched its new DCS-6500LH Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt and DCS-6100LH Compact Full HD Sleek and Discreet Wi-Fi Home Security Cameras. DCS-6100LH Compact Full HD Wi-Fi Camera Sleek and discreet, the Compact DCS-6100LH Full HD Wi-Fi Camera blends enhanced Smart Home Surveillance features with a stylish, subtle design. IR Night Vision together with Sound and Motion Detection alerts you instantly when something unexpected happens, giving you extra peace of mind with the latest in home security camera technology. The DCS-6100LH brings crystal clear surveillance as it allows you to monitor your home in Full HD 1080p resolution with a wide-angle 110-degree Field of View (FOV), day or night, making it the perfect 24/7 home security companion. Designed to be stylish, subtle and simple to use, it’s ideal for discreet placement anywhere throughout your home. The DCS-6100LH’s built-in Sound and Motion Detection enables you to trigger alerts that are automatically sent to your mobile device and the video clip recordings let you stay aware of what’s going on at all times in your home – and yes, it’s ideal as a baby monitor or office camera as well. If you’re worried that you’ll lose all your camera footage the DCS-6100LH Compact Full HD Wi-Fi Camera lets you record snapshots and video clips to the cloud for anytime access. You can also play back recordings from the cloud or download footage to your mobile device from anywhere, anytime through the Internet. DCS-6500LH Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera The DCS-6500LH Compact Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera gives you 340° views as its Pan & Tilt technology allows you to see virtually every angle of any room. With Motion and Sound Detection as well as Night Vision that provides up to five metres of monitoring in complete […]

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