February 10, 2017
Yet again, Austech promises to be the unmissable event this year for anyone with an interest in manufacturing. This year’s show is expected to be bigger than ever, attracting more than 10,000 of the industry’s key decision-makers looking to see the latest manufacturing technology up close. As the show’s organiser, AMTIL is hard at work on preparations for the show and looking forward to welcoming Australia’s manufacturing community when doors open on 9 May. Austech provides a forum for visitors to take a look at the most advanced, cutting-edge manufacturing equipment available today but also to discuss potential applications that will help them provide value-added, innovative and high-tech solutions. The principal focuses at this year’s exhibition will be machine tools for metal cutting and forming, production systems, high-precision tools, CAD/CAM, and accessories. One of the highlights of this year’s Austech will be the Manufacturers’ Pavilion. First launched at the 2013 exhibition, the Manufacturers’ Pavilion highlights the capabilities of Australia’s precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry, providing a unique opportunity for Australian component manufacturers, precision…
February 10, 2017
The defence sector in Australia is changing, and it’s a very positive outlook – that’s the short story. And Thales in Australia is changing too. It’s changing to be more agile and competitive, and some of our key projects offer evidence of that. Thales is a global organisation with 3,200 people in Australia and more than 60,000 worldwide. We draw on that expertise to manage complex risks, working together in integrated teams. We’re also a long-term investor in Australia, having been here for 30 years. Our business model has changed since I became CEO in 2008. When we acquired ADI Limited back in 1999 it was a vertically integrated organisation that was trying to do everything itself. That just doesn’t make sense. It’s not competitive, efficient or agile, so we’ve moved more work into our supply chain. The Hawkei…
February 10, 2017
There is a role for the manufacturing sector in Australia. Through interviews with 56 stakeholders, three workshops and a survey of industry and government organisations, as well as leading researchers, CSIRO identified major growth opportunities and what the manufacturing sector needs to do to achieve them. Currently Australian manufacturing contributes 6.05% of GDP, exports $96.1bn of goods and employs 856,000 people. This has fallen from a high in 1995, when it contributed to 14% of GDP and employed more than a million people. High wages, geographical remoteness and a small dispersed local market are some of the reasons for these changes. However consumers are also changing what products they buy which then impacts the type of products made. Major companies like Boeing and General Electric now look to the world using global supply chains for components for their final product, so Australia has to compete globally. The innovation resulting…
February 10, 2017
Since the late 1700s, industry and the activities integral to industry have undergone significant changes, driven broadly by the desire to increase efficiency and output value, while reducing capital invested and effort required per output. This desire has seen numerous transitions towards more innovative processes and technologies, taking place over many years. For expediency, we group these transitions into stages, or revolutions. The first industrial revolution (Industry 1.0) saw the introduction of mechanisation, replacing man (or animal) power with machinery driven by water or steam. The second revolution (Industry 2.0) leveraged the division of labour, along with the benefits of electricity, to facilitate mass production (assembly lines). Industry 3.0 harnessed electronics and technology to automate production. The key drivers and advances pertinent to each revolution were crucial for disrupting the market status quo of the day. It is important to acknowledge that each revolution was driven by the preceding one, with key advances driving each revolution forward,…
February 3, 2017
Three of the seven sub-indexes in the Australian PMI expanded in January, with the continued expansion of new orders (down 6.9 points to 53.7) a positive indicator for near-term growth. Supplier deliveries (down 5.4 points to 47.0) and sales (down 11.2 points to 47.6) contracted in January, suggesting softer demand coming into 2017 – perhaps rebalancing December’s robust growth. “Conditions for Australia’s manufacturers remained positive in January despite easing from December's end-of-year surge,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “While domestic sales slipped and there was a build-up of inventories, exports grew further in January and production was held at December's levels. The near-term outlook for the sector as a whole was boosted by another lift in new orders.” In trend terms, four of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in January, with machinery & equipment (up 0.4 points to 57.5) and…
February 3, 2017
From 21 October 1998 until 14 December 2011, a period of just over 13 years, we had three Federal Industry Ministers – Nick Minchin, Ian Macfarlane and Kim Carr. Notwithstanding the fact that this was a time before the global financial crisis and the automotive closures, this era saw growth in our manufacturing outputs, and full-time employment in the industry was constant at around $1m employees. On 24 June 2010, when Julia Gillard took over as Prime Minister from Kevin Rudd, Kim Carr was Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. In December that year, Greg Combet replaced Carr in the revised Industry and Innovation portfolio. When Rudd came back into power, so did Carr, and the portfolio reverted back to Innovation, Industry, Science & Research. With the change to the Liberals in September 2013, the incoming Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed Macfarlane to another revised portfolio – Macfarlane was simply the Minister for Industry. In…
February 3, 2017
Clynton Jaffray and Michael Bonney grew up in the rural north west of Tasmania, and as local lads they learnt to care for the place they love to call home. They met while both working as tradesmen at Caterpillar Elphinstone in the 1990s, and progressed to become 6Sigma Black Belts in the early 2000s, travelling to Japan to ‘learn Lean’. This mind-changing trip changed their life’s journey and how they viewed the world – a familiar story for Lean practitioners. In early 2013 they started Productivity Improvers, a Lean consultancy business that has now engaged with more than 100 Tasmanian firms. The company has developed and delivered a suite of sought-after university and VET training programs, with more 500 people completing these programs in the last three years. Jaffray and Bonney love helping improve Tasmanian people and businesses and are passionate about a Tasmania that continually improves its economic and social standing. In 2016,…
February 3, 2017
The Invoice Market’s SME Cash Flow Crisis Report shows that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector are perpetually owed on average $35,833 each, with corporate customer excuses ranging from ‘lost in the system’ and ‘in dispute’ to ‘being reviewed internally’ and ‘being processed offshore’. Alarmingly, 37% of manufacturing SMEs have no strategy in place to manage their company cash flow, which impacts their ability to pay their housing and other living expenses. This in turn creates a disincentive to hire new staff, and makes it harder to pay existing workers. The Invoice Market CEO, Angus Sedgwick, said the findings had important implications for the manufacturing sector, which employs 856,000 people across Australia. “One of the most striking findings of this report is that while late payments cost companies money, it is the hidden cost in time that is the most revealing,” Sedgwick said. “On average, 60% of manufacturing companies have to ask twice or three times for their bills to be paid by…
January 27, 2017
Jenkins replaces Noel Cornish who had been Ai Group National President since November 2013. Jenkins was appointed CEO at Thales Australia in 2008 and has held senior roles with Thales locally and internationally for more than 20 years. He has been active in Ai Group for many years, including most recently as Ai Group National Vice-President; Chairman of Ai Group’s Defence Council; and Ai Group NSW Branch President. His other appointments include Advisory Member of the Centre for Defence Industry Capability and Adjunct Professor of the University of NSW. In 2013 he received the Insignia of Knight in the Legion of Honour, France’s highest decoration. “As President I look forward to working to ensure Ai Group is the premier industry body in Australia, representing our member interests and supporting policies that help our economy grow,” Jenkins said. “I very much share Ai Group’s ambition to make Australia the best place to do business. I am a passionate believer in the strength of local skills and a strong advocate for the global competitiveness of…
January 27, 2017
At the AMB trade show in Stuttgart in September, DMG MORI presented the implementation of an automated process chain from the web shop to the finished workpiece. The core of the integrated turning cell was Robo2Go, a new loading and unloading system for mobile use at up to four lathes. Robo2Go includes a six-axis robot with up to 35kg load, and features barrier-free safety technology, and is programmed via a special CELOS app with just a few entries. Sylvio Krüger and Jürgen Groß, managing directors at DMG MORI Systems, discussed the new system. How did you come to develop Robo2Go? Thanks to the use of robotic technology, investment costs in the field of automation have dropped drastically in the past few years, so that small and medium-sized enterprises are now also turning their attention more and more to the indisputable quality and cost benefits such technology has to offer. Nevertheless, a certain degree of reluctance was still noticeable in this customer segment, due to a lack of knowhow in programming in the companies…
January 27, 2017
It is common for employers to pay their employees an annualised salary on the assumption that doing so will satisfy the employer’s obligations under any applicable modern award. A recent decision of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) casts doubt over this approach, particularly for administrative or clerical employees covered by the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2010 (Clerks Award) who are not provided with a properly tailored employment contract. Employers paying their administrative or clerical employees pursuant to an annualised salary arrangement should consider reviewing the terms of their employees’ contracts of employment in order to remove, or reduce, the risk of back-pay claims and to avoid potential civil penalties under the Fair Work Act 2009. The issue The Clerks Award states that an employer may pay an employee an annual salary in satisfaction of any or all of the following entitlements under the award: (a) minimum wages; (b) allowances; (c) overtime and penalty rates; and (d) annual leave loading. The actual salary paid must be no less than the employee would be entitled…
January 27, 2017
The choices for manufacturing businesses are many and varied and the capability requirements extend across inventory, payroll, foreign currency and any number of other functionality aspects. With the major players such as Xero, MYOB, Netsuite and Sage competing for your business’ dollars, how can you separate the benefits for your business from the marketing hype? Is it worth upgrading your software? Or are these well-advertised new packages just the same products with unnecessary bells and whistles? Making the right choice for your business is critical but the first step before embarking on a major overhaul of your accounting system is consideration as to whether you need to update. If you’ve been considering your options or are simply curious, here are five signs that your accounting system could be out of date. Your business is reliant on Excel We’re accountants, so naturally we love Excel – in fact it’s a daily part of business life. However, if the majority of your business’ accounting…
January 20, 2017
Goldenfields recently moved into its new purpose-built workshop, where it has installed a mixture of existing and newly acquired equipment needed to build and maintain a huge network of reservoirs and pipelines that deliver water to customers throughout the region. Goldenfields Mechanical Co-ordinator Shane Baldry identified the need for a combination manual/CNC lathe. He worked together with the management team at Temora, along with engineers from 600 Machine Tools, to identify the right machine configuration to deal with the current and projected workload of the workshop. “We had several long-serving machines in our former workshop,” said Baldry. “And the construction of a new purpose-built facility was an appropriate time to evaluate what we were going to need in the future.” In addition to Baldry, there are three fitters and three apprentices, all needing to use a lathe at various times. This makes flexibility absolutely essential, and the new machine needed to…
