Month: September 2015

A review of injuries found that knee injuries were largely sustained in the hull fabrication shops, which manufacture large sections of complex ship hull assemblies, primarily from workers in the welding and boilermaker roles (90% of injuries) and in specific work areas that required crouching, stair usage, kneeling and accessing awkward spaces. A consultative approach was used through a Zero-Harm workgroup to investigate the main factors causing these injuries, in a bid to develop interventions and best practice strategies aimed at reducing injury rates. The Zero-Harm philosophy is driven by the belief that all injuries are preventable and, when undertaken through the engagement of workers, can be both efficient and effective at reducing risk. The Zero-Harm concept and its many variations (including Safety First, Zero-Risk) has received criticism, but as a concept it is effective in helping build high-reliability organisation with complex dynamic working environments. At BAE Systems the Zero-Harm message is driven by senior management but…

On taking over, Fitzclarence decided to pay homage to the company’s beginnings by combining the initials of the original name. The rebranding as KAW now represents the broader range of services that the firm can offer. Since Jared took over the company, he says he has seen it grow not just in employees but in the services that KAW is able to provide. “KAW Engineering started in 1986 and then I bought the business in 2010,” says Fitzclarence. “Since then, we have grown from two employees to about 40 at our peak. We now service the mining, marine, oil and gas and construction industries, offering welding, maintenance, model optimisation, plate processing and more.” Recently investing in the Omax 80X jetmachining centre from Headland Machinery, KAW Engineering is seeing the benefits of increased efficiency and accuracy as a result of the waterjet. “The Omax 80X has allowed us to be quicker in producing fabrication plates and the accuracy and responsiveness of the machine has improved efficiency,” says Fitzclarence. “What we try to achieve is to…

Much has been written about disruptive technologies – how new industries are reshaping the world – and all business owners and managers should be reviewing their processes for new opportunities. This may seem great if the company is starting out, but what about established businesses? How does the business owner embrace these concepts while continuing to manage their business amid challenges from these new competitors? Established businesses have one major advantage over start-ups: intangible assets, most easily described as intellectual property. Many business owners simply consider IP as relating to patents, and many SMEs do not consider their activities as patentable – if they do, they regard patents as the only way to manage their IP. A good place to start is the Government website IP Australia (www.ipaustralia.gov.au), which provides an outline of the various types of IP protection available for individuals and businesses. Within the website is a search ability to research the various types of registered IP. What this website does not do is help businesses…

AMT: Tell us about CSIRO Manufacturing and the sorts of activities it’s engaged in. Keith McLean: We’re a business of about 430 staff with a range of skills and backgrounds. We have a really diverse capability that stretches from molecular engineering through to organic chemistry, to materials-processing to additive manufacturing to modelling. It’s a diverse skill-set that we bring together as a mission-directed organisation, to tackle problems for our customers, partners and collaborators. Our focus here is on manufacturing, but of course manufacturing is a huge and diverse industry. We have a major program in biomedical manufacturing, from small molecule drug development, to materials for implantable devices and for growing stem cells. We have a program on Industrial Innovation, doing prototyping for a range of industries including for energy, rail and defence, a key potential growth area for the country. The chemicals and fibre manufacturing group are developing chemical and fibre processing capabilities for industrial, environmental, agricultural and energy applications. In the carbon-fibre space we are working closely with Deakin University and industry partners, using…

Based at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, the Trainer Development Flight (TDF) is a facility that designs, develops, and manufactures trainers and training aids for the US Air Force and all branches of the US Department of Defense (DoD) as required. These items are used in numerous training environments, including avionics, weapons and fuel systems, medical readiness, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) and telecommunications systems. The trainers and training aids may be either original products or replicas of existing ones, depending on the training need. Some devices are not required to be working units, so it usually isn’t cost-efficient to purchase the actual item. For most training applications, it’s more economical to train students on replicas, instead of on actual equipment that is often extremely expensive. The TDF uses direct digital manufacturing to fabricate a wide majority of its training products. To do so, it employs four FDM additive fabrication machines in a centralised location, with AFSO 21 (Lean)…

To ensure product quality and cost-efficiency, machined precision parts are often optically measured. The closer the measurement system can be moved to the machining centre, the better the results that are obtained. However, contaminants left on the parts’ surfaces, such as processing media residues, chips and flaky burrs, can be a problem. They may cause measurement errors and result in parts being rejected unnecessarily. To avoid this, it makes sense to integrate a needs-oriented cleaning step directly between the machining process and the measurement step, and this can be achieved using quattroClean, an innovative modular cleaning solution from ACI. The system can be integrated into a fully automated production line in the smallest of spaces or used as a standalone device. Components can be advanced into the machine using any common automation system. Standardised interfaces allow for easy integration of the serial system controller into a master computer.…

Doom and gloom is the dominant media narrative when it comes to Australian manufacturing. Despite growing numbers of Australian manufacturers transitioning positively in terms of production technologies, corporate structures, specialist expertise and higher-value activities, we hear mostly of the failures. Successful companies are shifting focus to new areas of growth and tapping into multinational supply chains, with many becoming significant players in global markets. In the area of aerospace and defence, those significant players include BAE Systems, Thales, Raytheon, as well as established manufacturers such as Broens (last year acquired by Forgacs), Levett, Lovitt or Marand. For the latter, for instance, the completion of the final finished phase for the first F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF) – known as AF-73 – is an important production milestone, demonstrating the significant industrial benefits the F-35 program brings to Australia’s aerospace industry. The work on the F-35 vertical tails is contracted to Marand by BAE Systems.…

Working on the IFACOM project, supported by the European Commission, the researchers are developing an advanced real-time process control system focused especially on high-precision, high-value and high-performance parts as well as custom-designed components. Combining artificial intelligence and innovative sensors, the system seeks to overcome the long-standing issue of production defects, which cost manufacturers millions of euros a year in waste, production reruns and part redesigns. “Manufacturing defects are a huge issue for the industry,” explains Odd Myklebust, the IFACOM co-ordinator at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. “In some cases, 50% of production can end up as scrap because of defects, while in some complex manufacturing lines the rate of scrap can be as high as 90%.” Even slight variances in materials, components or production processes can cause an entire production run to be defective. It does not affect the quality of the parts reaching end users, as strict quality checks are conducted on all batches after production. However, thousands of parts can be produced at considerable expense…

The Nelson-Marlborough region is one of New Zealand’s major forestry areas, with 16% of the productive land area planted in production forests. Nelson Pine has the capacity to process one million cubic metres per annum, or 40% of the region’s annual harvest. The company produces GoldenEdge MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) and NelsonPine LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) from radiata pine grown in the plantation forests of Nelson, New Zealand. Nelson Pine has grown to be one of the largest single-site producers of MDF in the world, while NelsonPine LVL has gained a niche offering in the construction sector in New Zealand and in offshore markets. It has a reputation for product consistency and quality, sustainable timber resource management, low environmental impact practices and market-led research into product and production development. Forest product processing technologies have recently undergone extraordinary advances, with improvements achieved in quality, recovery rates and safety. Nelson Pine is committed to maintaining compliance with evolving safety standards and utilising the latest control and safety technologies. As safety standards continued to advance, it was clear that an…

The average car currently loses around 70% of energy generated through fuel consumption to heat. Utilising that lost energy requires a thermoelectric material that can generate an electrical current from the application of heat. Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity or vice-versa, such as with refrigerators. The challenge with these devices is to use a material that is a good electricity conductor but also dissipates heat well. Materials that exhibit these properties are often toxic and operate at very high temperatures – higher than that produced by car engines. By adding graphene, a new generation of composite materials could reduce carbon emissions from car use. Scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK, working with European Thermodynamics, have increased the potential for low-cost thermoelectric materials to be used more widely in the automotive industry. The team, led by Prof Ian Kinloch, Prof Robert Freer and Yue Lin, added a small amount of graphene to strontium titanium oxide. The resulting composite could…

The recent Federal Government announcements that Australia’s Future Frigates and Offshore Patrol Vessels will be consolidated on a continuous basis in South Australia represent a positive change. The Australian shipbuilding industry and its national supply chain now have a level of confidence they had not been afforded in almost a decade. There is a major opportunity for Government to stimulate the economy through a long-term, continuous, indigenous national ship and submarine-building strategy that best utilises Australia’s supply chain capabilities. By doing so, industry and taxpayers will reap the benefits of the tens of billions of dollars invested in the acquisition of naval and non-naval maritime assets over the coming decades. As an isolated island nation, it is critical to preserve Australia’s sovereignty and security by maintaining a national shipbuilding and sustainment capability. History shows Australia cannot afford to be reliant on other nations to assure its maritime security. Australia’s Oberon…

The news that the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R would run on Carbon Revolution’s one-piece carbon-fibre wheels represents the culmination of a sustained period of effort from the Geelong-based company. CEO Jake Dingle is quietly confident the announcement will be the first of many. “It’s enormous news for us, and for the industry globally,” says Dingle. “Ford is generally not seen as a big risk-taker; they’re as careful as any OEM, and for good reason. You don’t introduce new technology in a safety-critical area of a car without a robust validation and qualification process. Hopefully the Ford program is the first of numerous OEM programs you’ll be reading about over the coming years.” Carbon Revolution’s wheels offer substantial benefits in terms of the car’s handling, acceleration, braking, ride quality and overall performance. Much of this is down to the weight savings that accompany carbon-fibre – each…

The manufacturing sector accounts for 16% of all serious workers’ compensation claims in Australia. According to Baxter, the way machinery, plant and work processes are designed is a critical factor in work-related deaths and injuries. Research by Safe Work Australia, the agency leading the development of policy to improve work health and safety across Australia, demonstrates that eliminating and minimising hazards before they even enter the workplace is the most effective way of preventing such harm. The agency recently published Principles of Good Work Design, a handbook that provides businesses with detail on how to design the places we work in, the things we use at work and the way we carry out work to improve health and safety outcomes. Baxter spoke to AMT about how good work design principles can be applied in a manufacturing context, and the business benefits of doing so. AMT: Why should AMT readers look at Principles of Good Work Design? Baxter: It’s a practical…