How to make training less disruptive
Training is a necessary part of fulfilling any workplace’s health and safety obligations. WorkSafe says that you must provide training and induction for plant, objects, substances and equipment that carry a risk, but companies experience several issues with delivering training to their employees.
Many employees don’t like the interruption to their work that training causes as they need to spend extra time catching up. The problem for smaller companies is scheduling that time, especially if the employee that needs the training is the only one in the business that can do a particular task.
Delivery affects the effectiveness of training. The average attention span is estimated at around 10-20 minutes, therefore maintaining focus becomes challenging for a half-day course. Training that’s delivered in English often isn’t completely understood and digested by people with English as a second language, and written materials are sometimes too complex for the large number of people that have literacy challenges.
When a trainer is used for training, they can have off-days and there can be personality conflicts. A room of people with mixed personalities, experience, and language and literacy levels make it a real challenge for a trainer to ensure everyone has understood. In those groups, trainees who aren’t picking up the information can find difficult to speak up because of peer pressure. It tends to be costly to have a human stand in front of a group of people.
Company owners, who are responsible for ensuring that training is fit-for-purpose, often have very little visibility of the materials used and the information taught in training sessions.
Online training has come into its own in reducing the disruption and providing more choice and transparency. Darren Cottingham of DT Driver Training, which offers an online forklift training course, explained how they address these issues. “A forklift certificate needs to be renewed every three years and typically you would send your operators on a course that would be five hours out of their day, plus travel time. An online course enables the information to be broken into shorter modules that can be taken over a number of days or weeks, on any device, when it’s convenient for both the company and the employee. To address literacy and language issues we included audio recordings in English and written translations to over 100 languages for the questions.”
Online training is increasingly common with many options available across a wide range of topics, from asbestos awareness to welding safety, so we asked Darren what to look out for when choosing online training. “Obviously, it must meet the requirements of the job, but in terms of how it’s delivered, look for training that:
- Is available on different devices – smartphone and computer access wherever the trainee finds it most convenient
- Has discrete modules, each of which can be accomplished in around 15 minutes or less
- Allows trainees to repeat modules until they get it right
- Gives access to the training materials for enough time to complete the course even if priorities change or workload changes
- Has built-in translations and audio recordings
- Contains a variety of different types of media – video, animation, audio, graphics and images – followed by questions or activities to assess understanding
- Can be easily managed using an online interface that gives statistics and reports
- You can verify is good through referrals or testimonials.”
“Online training is not a total substitute for practical training in every scenario but it is excellent at teaching theory and demonstrating concepts that would be difficult to replicate in real life, it improves learning outcomes and it’s more cost-effective,” he added.
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Birdstone Proves Packaging Design with Clear 3D Printed Prototypes
3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing helps packaging design firm achieve aesthetic and functional prototypes with clear SLA 3D printing.
The final packaging design offers a functional and convenient experience to the manufacturer, retailers and Carman’s customers.
Anyone who has opened a box of crackers to find the contents reduced to broken bits and pieces knows firsthand the consequences of poor packaging.
Carman’s, an Australian food company passionate about only using the best ingredients, is mindful of how it delivers its products to consumers to ensure a high quality experience before the first bite is ever taken. Therefore, when Carman’s launched its new Super Seed & Grain Crackers, the food company kept presentation and preservation top of mind, and enlisted Birdstone, an Australian packaging design agency, to design an engaging tray insert.
Due to the various requirements they needed to balance, multiple prototypes were required to demonstrate the proposed designs both aesthetically and functionally.
Balancing client requirements in packaging design
The packaging considerations in play for Carman’s were multifaceted: it needed to be easy to open, functional as a serving vessel, and enable Carman’s customers to reclose the container for storage.
For ease of access, it was determined that the crackers should be stacked in three columns with room to encase the top crackers without crushing them, but also be easy to fill to not disrupt the production line.
Lastly, the packaging needed to meet the retailer requirement for vertical packaging to maximize differentiation on the shelves.
There was also a question of onshelf instability due to the light weight of the product and the properties of the tray material.
Birdstone knew that arriving at the correct design would require accurate prototypes, and therefore reached out to 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing due to previous successful collaborations.
Due to the complexity of the casing designs and unique functional requirements involved, 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts helped Birdstone select the most suitable prototyping process, materials, and finishing process to meet its outlined requirements.
Using Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing on 3D Systems ProX® 800 machine, 3D Systems built both a one- and two-piece prototype in Accura® ClearVue
, a rigid and tough clear 3D plastic material offering the highest clarity and transparency on the market.
Prototyping functional and aesthetic packaging
In just four days, the SLA prototypes were printed and finished to meet Birdstone’s quality and realism requirements.
Clear 3D printing enabled a prototype that was both aesthetic and functional.
3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts followed the premium finishing protocol for Accura ClearVue to deliver water-clear prototypes through a process of wet and dry sanding followed by clear coating.
These prototypes were then submitted for manufacturing tests and consumer research to validate and rate the success of each concept, and to assess the performance and limitations of each packaging option at all critical touch points.
At this stage, Birdstone ordered four copies of the leading packaging design from 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing, which were created using 3D Systems’ cast urethane process.
The preferred SLA prototype was used to make a mold which was then used to cast additional waterclear copies using polyurethane, a material very close to what would be used for the final product.
Arriving at the final design
Following full evaluation of the clear prototypes, the final design was officially selected: an attractive one-piece clamshell case, uniquely contoured to the shape of the stacked biscuits.
According to Grant Davies, Director, Design & Strategy at Birdstone, “The final design plays to the strengths of the packaging material and provides a secure, re-useable home for the crackers throughout the supply chain and into the customers’ hands. It is functional enough to be filled, stylish enough to serve from, and securely recloseable for on-the-go snacking.”
On Demand Manufacturing delivered quick and appealing prototypes to help Birdstone accelerate product development.
Birdstone says that by adding another level of consumer engagement through functional and aesthetic packaging, Carman’s is able to offer a deeper brand experience beyond consumption.
Carman’s exciting range of crackers has forged a new place in the market for the company, and the tray has earned it many fans through the cleverness and convenience of its design.
Birdstone says it is delighted to have contributed to a successful final product for its client, and to answer the unique challenges of the project within a tight deadline.
“As usual,” says Davies, “3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing was a wonderful partner and worked with us to provide the most effective and appealing concept prototypes within the project budget.”
Birdstone’s packaging insert for Carman’s Super Seed & Grain Crackers was a 2018 finalist in the Packaging & Processing Innovation & Design Awards.
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Equipment and Turnkey Solutions with EQM
EQM is introducing stainless steel and aluminium gearboxes and motors that are cleaning up.
The Clean-Geartech geardrive is already being used in food processing facilities throughout New Zealand. Now with helical bevel gearboxes in stainless steel to match the IP69k motors, as well as an aluminium motor and worm gearbox of the same design.
The aluminium geardrives feature the latest in surface treatment technology – called NTT, perfect for damp environments that do not demand the high standard of its stainless steel cousin.
“They’re perfect for meat, dairy, poultry, seafood, salads, confectionary and ready-to-eat products. Being food safe brings peace of mind,” says the company.
Offering waterproof protection (IP69K), high efficiency (IE3.) and 316SS output shafts are just some of the features of Clean-Geartech.
EQM also successfully installed a two-tier packing conveyor system to optimise production, decrease the packing area footprint and become a mobile unit for a large blueberry producer.
The new system has improved the packing process, enabled greater flexibility of labour and can be operated by one person, or up to six when using variable speed controllers.
To find out more about the blueberry solution and how it could benefit your business visit www.eqm.co.nz/projects
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Nord: Energy-Efficient Pump Drive Solutions
Running permanently at full speed may work for you but not so much for your pump drives. Speed control balanced to actual requirements greatly enhances the energy efficiency of pump systems.
Nord DriveSystems supplies complete pre-assembled distributed drive units for a wide performance range up to 22 kW. In addition to energy savings of up to 60%, users benefit from reduced noise emissions, low wear, and increased plant service life as well as the ecological advantages.
Nord DriveSystems’ integrated pump drives can store up to four operation modes which can be displayed and changed directly at the control unit. The SK 200E series comprises reliable and economical frequency inverters, especially tailored to pump applications that require precise adjustments of power output; these are compatible with mains voltages worldwide.
For improved customer ease, Nord configures complete drive systems for various application areas (IP55/IP66, ATEX zone22/3D), and its integrated process and PI controller functions enables the fully-automated control of process variables as well as compensation of disturbances. This is applicable both in stand-alone and mobile applications as well as in complex setups with several drives.
Martin Broglia, managing director of Nord DriveSystems Australia says that thanks to two analogue inputs, the inverters can directly process sensor data such as pressure or flow rate. “Optional signal and power plug connectors facilitate handling and ensure compatibility. A programmable energy-saving function automatically reacts to partial load operation – increasing efficiency and significantly reducing running costs.”
Operation is straightforward and flexible via control terminals, bus, or via an optional potentiometer that enables adjustments directly at the inverter.
“In an effort to reduce labour hours whilst being cognisant of productivity levels, up to four operation modes can be stored to save on setup time,” Martin says.
In addition, the customised parameters can be quickly exported to other units via a pluggable storage module, the system bus, or Ethernet interfaces. Once again keeping productivity in mind, with control cabinets no longer required, the decentralised option minimises cabling effort for users, and since the inverter is supplied pre-assembled the electrotechnical effort doing installation is nominal.
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AUSSIE SHORTAGE IN ENGINEERING HAS KIWIS RUBBING HANDS
Dunedin’s Farra Engineering spots a chance for regional expansion to ignite engineering days gone by.
Reports out of Australia are that its engineering shortage is reaching critical mass and that they must reverse the current reliance on imported engineers – and that may open the door for Kiwis to snatch major contracts from under our cousins’ noses.
“When we’re wanting to deliver infrastructure, deliver innovation in this country, if we don’t have a supply of engineers coming out of our universities, we’re not going to be able to do that,” national president of Engineers Australia, Trish White has warned.
Australia has been trying for years to reverse the decline in students studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) with little success.
In fact, she says things are so dire that the country’s infrastructure plans, new space agency and defence projects are in limbo until the severe shortage is sorted out. Australia has $200 billion planned to be spent on its defence and other projects over the next decade.
Currently, more than half of the engineers working in Australia are born overseas (57%) and the workforce comprises only 13% women.
With all that in mind, and if Dunedin-based Farra Engineering’s chief executive Gareth Evans has anything to do with it, it is a good example of a local region to benefit through proactiveness and spotting an opportunity.
Mr Evans believes that Australian military contracts could deliver up to 500 jobs to the region and play an anchor role in initiating a revived wave of engineering to reinstitute the days of old that included Fisher and Paykel and Hillside Workshops; when engineering was at the region’s core.
Mr Evans is playing the protagonist in an effort to deliver the region a new engineering hub, one with a foundation of new skills, collaboration and opportunities.
He passed the message during an economic development committee meeting with the Dunedin City Council according to the Otago Daily Times. The money for such innovation would come from within the Government’s $3 billion regional development fund.
He said that there were numerous steps that needed to be taken first – including a feasibility study – and that Dunedin firms needed to come together to grab hold of the opportunity.
The OTD reported that Mr Evans believes Australia was on the path of a ‘nation-building’ exercise and that their local contractors were required to do at least half the work, but the lack of capacity presented chances for the Dunedin region.
A hundred jobs would be delivered to the region by securing $100 million worth of work in everything from manufacturing lift and other equipment to kitchen fit-outs of naval vessels, he said. ”We would only need a fraction of a percent [of the work]to make a material difference to Dunedin,” he told OTD.
Greg Robertson
Publisher
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Collaboration Boosts Hydrogen-Powered Forklift
NZEN’s Greg Robertson gets a look at the future of alternative motors
My first glimpse – from my hotel’s balcony – of the venue for Hyster-Yale’s hydrogen-powered forklifts media launch gave me a snippet of the theme to come. As the camera zoomed in, Hyundai’s Sydney-based head office mushroomed from within the Macquarie Park landscape.
It was a scene that would prove to be indicative of a unique bi-lateral company collaboration, with Hyster and Hyundai Motor Company Australia coming together to promote the coming of age of alternative energies.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Swags of media, officials and dignitaries were on-hand for the demonstration of Australasia’s first hydrogen-powered forklift.
The collaborative partnership at Hyundai Australia with Hyster – belying current competitive dealings in certain product channels – is about promoting the technology. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) are not new, with Hyundai this year launching its Nexo model featuring state-of-the-art, latest-generation fuel cell system mounted under the bonnet.
The theory is that HFCVs can offer zero-emissions motoring, just like electric cars, without the need for recharging so drivers won’t have to change their behaviour after more than a century of internal combustion engines.
In forklifts, as was on display, the technology has resulted in the performance and refuelling speed of typical conventionally powered alternatives, but with the sustainability of electric motors too.
Hyster-Yale Asia-Pacific managing director, Tony Fagg, introduced the hydrogen-powered forklifts, and described them as clean and green, with high environmental performance coupled with the convenience and workplace efficiency of rapid refuelling that, in turn, results in maximum uptime.
“These new hard-working forklifts comprise a production-tested Hyster range that complements our existing globally respected ranges and is backed by the distribution and technical resources of Hyster-Yale Group, which produces forklifts for the toughest working conditions in capacities from 1-52 tonnes,” says Mr Fagg.
The new hydrogen-powered forklift trucks are aimed particularly at companies seeking the ultimate combination of environmentally harmonious indoor and outdoor performance, without having to interrupt production cycles or have vehicles out of service for lengthy charging or battery changing. These benefits will extend to a wide range of materials handling operations, where productivity is a vital element in maintaining a competitive edge.
Refuelling of the units is down to a touch over three minutes when compared with an all-day timeframe, meaning massive savings in improved efficiencies.
“We believe that, not only are these the first hydrogen powered forklifts in Australia or New Zealand, but also that such practical hydrogen-powered vehicles as these show the way ahead for a whole new generation of future-focussed work vehicles, and perhaps ultimately for passenger vehicles.”
Currently, they are only available for distribution in the United States and Canada, with a view to introducing them to the Asia-Pacific region in future years.
The Hyundai Macquarie Park site was selected due to the hydrogen refuelling station used for the carmaker’s local hydrogen vehicle testing with the event featuring a Hyster 1.8 powered by Nuvera unit.
Refuelling the Hyster machines is much like that of a car – a few minutes resulting in enough hydrogen to power them for a shift, while also giving the added advantage of no loss of power throughout that time period even when the charge dissipates.
“Hyster’s hydrogen-powered ranges – which complement our broader globally respected materials handling technologies – utilise durable high-performance Nuvera fuel cell systems, which are fast-fuelled power options that replace lead-acid batteries in Class I, II, and III electric lift trucks. The Nuvera fuel cell system is designed and built to provide customer return on investment over the lifecycle of the product.”
Mr Fagg says that the refuelling process when compared with battery-operated forklifts means the whole fleet can be used to its full potential – maximising product and operator utilisation – and provide gains in uptime and productivity.
HOW THEY WORK
Fuel cell vehicles are fuelled and refuelled by a hose from a dispenser in the same way that typical work vehicles and cars and trucks are refuelled at a petrol or diesel bowser. The hydrogen dispenser pumps hydrogen into the cell’s hydrogen storage tank. As long as the fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, it will generate electricity to power the forklift’s electric motor.
In the process of the hydrogen fuel’s conversion to electricity through a chemical reaction in the cell, electricity is produced, and this is used to power the electric motor that drives the vehicle. The process is very clean because, unlike a conventional fossil fuel engine, a fuel cell doesn’t burn the hydrogen. Instead, it’s fused chemically with oxygen producing electricity and water, which is the primary emission from the vehicle giving the vehicle clean, green credentials.
WHO WILL USE THIS TECHNOLOGY?
The sustainability delivered by Hyster’s new work vehicles is applicable to an entire range of future-focussed industries, including particularly materials handling, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and processing operations. It is also directly relevant to major resources companies (such as mining, oil and gas) that are seeking to reduce their operations’ environmental footprint in remote and sensitive areas, as well as environmentally aware utilities including local authorities, energy, water and waste water engineering facilities and transport and automotive service facilities where workers may be exposed to environmental and workplace OB&S hazards.
Requirements essential to the success of the use of this technology include a steady, cost-effective supply of hydrogen, which can be delivered, generated on-site or employing a fleet dispenser system such as Hyster-Yale’s proven Nuvera system.
ON THE WORLD’S STAGE
Currently, Hyster hydrogen vehicles are on sale in North America and Hyster-Yale Asia Pacific plans to introduce the line in Australia “in future years”.
For now, the system is limited by economies of scale with significant refuelling station investment required, somewhat limiting abilities to large fleet operators.
Home Depot, Ikea and Walmart are examples of major players adopting such technology. Home Depot uses hydrogen-powered forklifts (about 200 units) in Ohio, while Ikea’s Saint-Quentin-Fallavier distribution centre in France has had 20 fuel cell forklifts since 2014 and Walmart has Plug Power GenDrive fuel cells in 19 distribution centres to power its forklifts.
ABOUT HYSTER-YALE
Hyster’s Tony Fagg
From narrow aisle warehouse trucks to heavy-duty container handling equipment, Hyster-Yale is leading the way.
Hyster-Yale designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, and services a portfolio of materials handling equipment that is among the most comprehensive in the industry. Hyster-Yale covers hundreds of end-user applications in more than 700 industries. Its products include a full range of electric and internal combustion engine lift trucks for indoor and outdoor applications.
From narrow aisle warehouse trucks to the toughest cargo handling equipment, its counterbalanced lift trucks are recognised as some of the most productive in the world.
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Safety Show Highlights Focus of Importance
On average, 75 people per year die on the job, one in 10 is harmed and 600-900 die from work-related diseases—all coming at a cost of $3.5 billion per year. These statistics don’t even begin to cover the social and psychological costs on friends, family, loved ones and co-workers of these people hurt on the job.
With the recent changes to the Health and Safety Work Act it is simply not enough to carry on with business as usual and dismiss these statistics as a “It will never happen to me, or in my business”. As an employer, manager or any other type of PCBU you have a legal obligation as well as a moral one to your employees and customers to fully understand your responsibilities and the risks associated with running your business and to actively engage a plan to reduce this risk as far as you are able.
The consequences of not sufficiently fulfilling these obligations could not only cost you valued employees but also significantly affect your ability to continue to run your business due to production/ service down time, reduced resources and the potential risk of being prosecuted in court.
Enter the National Safety Show to be held at the ASB Showgrounds, July 4-5 (incorporating BuildNZ and designex).
As the largest event dedicated to workplace health and safety in New Zealand, the National Safety Show provides the opportunity for you understand and update yourself and your staff on the latest legislation, explore new products, services and innovations catered to New Zealand’s safety industry reducing your risk and protecting your bottom line.
Specialist companies, government authorities and associations from throughout New Zealand come together in one place to showcase their products and services, to give you advice and help solve your businesses safety problems and offer solutions. You will be sure to find the right mix of first- hand experience, critical updates and practical advice to apply in your own workplace.
The National Safety Show is a free trade exhibition, which also includes a comprehensive seminar and workshop series running across all three days of the event, in 2018 we will also be providing the opportunity for you to gain crucial certifications on site at the show, to assist with HSWA compliance. A complete breakdown of what these seminars, workshops and training will cover will be available closer to the show date.
Meet safety experts and professionals that can help you keep your workplace safe and make sure your business keeps operating even if the worst were to happen.
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New Enerpac Leader Has Strong Customer Service Focus
A sales and marketing business leader with extensive international experience in channel management and new product innovation has been appointed to head the Australasian operations of globally successful high-pressure hydraulic tools manufacturer – Enerpac.
“This is an exciting time to be leading the highly experienced Enerpac commercial and operations teams” – Rustin Dring
Rustin Dring will lead Enerpac’s long-established teams in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea as the company introduces a stream of new product, technology, services and distributor support initiatives. Under his leadership, Enerpac will be looking to expand its value proposition to distributors and end-users by offering world class customer support for high-pressure hydraulic tools, controlled force products and solutions for precise positioning of heavy loads.
Mr Dring – BsC, MBA and a member of Enerpac’s Global Leadership Team – takes overall responsibility as the general manager of Enerpac Australia and New Zealand. He will manage the introduction of several new product platforms, new strategic initiatives, and drive regional expansion while continuing to evaluate the best way to support Enerpac’s customers and distributors in Australasia.
“This is an exciting time to be leading the highly experienced Enerpac commercial and operations teams. We will be working very closely with our strong distribution network to bring new and innovative ideas to the market and back them up with the world class support known by our customers from around the world. As we continue to push the envelope of new product innovation we always keep a keen focus on the safety, productivity and durability of our world class products and solutions.
“Enerpac has built a local and global reputation on quality, service, and our dedicated focus on safety. We provide outstanding technical support and application assistance for some of the world’s most demanding applications where uptime and reliability are paramount. This premium on performance and our focus on safety will be extended by our new technologies and regional support structure,” says Mr Dring, who was previously global product line director for Actuant after being global product manager for Enerpac.
His international and technical experience is also complemented by his strong commercial background. He has also held previous roles as a territory sales manager for Enerpac, sales engineer, and has served as a distributor specialist where he was dealing with diverse channels of customers including OEM, distributors, system integrators, contractors and end-users.
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Cutlery Kiwi Wins Great Kiwi Engineering Competition
Simon Squire of ArcActive Limited in Christchurch has won the inaugural Great Kiwi Engineering Competition along with a swag of prizes and cash thanks to Engineering News, XPO Exhibitions, Machinery House, Cigweld and TheOutdoors.
Judges felt there was something quintessentially Kiwi about Simon Squire’s entry ‘Cutlery Kiwi’ and when it came to the final judging process his entry edged out ‘Bird’ by Ian Bedwell of Cankiwi Ltd trading as NZLaser.
The final judging was put in the hands of attendees to EMEX 2018, with an incredible one in five people through the show voting. Both ‘birds’ were featured on the Engineering News stand.
A feature will appear in the July issue of Engineering News, but from an engineering perspective, it was as if he was given a job to do and he turned to whatever he had on hand to get the job done and fulfil the brief.
Simon utilised old school practices that many a Kiwi engineer has had to do for more than 100 years due to available resources, supply issues/cost and isolation, or just because the ‘No.8 Wire’ is so entrenched within our psyche.
He fired up his imagination and welder, opting to enter Cutlery Kiwi using welding as his principle engineering discipline. Some innovative sparking of grey matter had him heading to the cutlery draw to create his engineering art – the feathery forks fitting fantastically while his mind merged spoons and forks definitely put the kiwi’s nose ahead of its competition.
“With us Kiwis having a big focus on sustainability, I decided to take a recycling approach for my sculpture.
“I purchased recycled cutlery from a local eco store and op shop and set about cutting, heating, shaping and welding forks and spoons together into my final kiwi form. It took approximately 80 forks and five spoons to make my kiwi,” says Simon.
“I started by making a basic skeleton with cutlery and then built up the body, head and beak from that, before modelling the kiwi’s feathers with lots of forks.”
Thanks go to competition sponsors:
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Winning Vote Heralds Next Gen Engineers
When Michael Barraclough of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare visited EMEX he was envious of some of the “awesome kit” that was on offer. He has been wanting to start “a number of projects” at home but didn’t have the tools for the builds.
But after submitting a vote in the Great Kiwi Engineering Competition his desires have been answered.
Michael Kingston, NZEN’s new business manager (left), presents the new Cigweld welder to Michael Barraclough
“I was in a state of shock when I got the call,” says Michael. “A welder is the sort of thing you really want, but you know, you have to put the cash down. I just thought (when entering the competition) it would be just such a great thing to have.
“When Engineering News rang me up and told me I’d won I was just blown away. Unfortunately now that means that everything in the garage is going to be cut apart and projects are going to be going on in every direction,” he laughs.
Michael goes to EMEX most years and, “really enjoyed it this year,” with the welder capping off things immensely.
Michael won the WeldSkill 180 TradePack from Cigweld.
The WeldSkill 180 is a single-phase welding inverter with a user-friendly control panel, practical push button operation for mode selection, clearly visible LED indicators and sturdy large control knob. The TradePack included a carry bag, WeldSkill belmet (blue), welding gloves, chipping hammer, wire brush, 1KG GP electrodes. The unit is affordable, compact and light-weight and the WeldSkill 180 is a great addition to the shed ensuring the ultimate portability for the home handyman, tradesman, farmer or maintenance worker.
Michael will be taking the unit home to train up the next generation of engineer (his sons).
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How to make training less disruptive
Many employees don’t like the interruption to their work that training causes as they need to spend extra time catching up. The problem for smaller companies is scheduling that time, especially if the employee that needs the training is the only one in the business that can do a particular task.
Delivery affects the effectiveness of training. The average attention span is estimated at around 10-20 minutes, therefore maintaining focus becomes challenging for a half-day course. Training that’s delivered in English often isn’t completely understood and digested by people with English as a second language, and written materials are sometimes too complex for the large number of people that have literacy challenges.
When a trainer is used for training, they can have off-days and there can be personality conflicts. A room of people with mixed personalities, experience, and language and literacy levels make it a real challenge for a trainer to ensure everyone has understood. In those groups, trainees who aren’t picking up the information can find difficult to speak up because of peer pressure. It tends to be costly to have a human stand in front of a group of people.
Company owners, who are responsible for ensuring that training is fit-for-purpose, often have very little visibility of the materials used and the information taught in training sessions.
Online training has come into its own in reducing the disruption and providing more choice and transparency. Darren Cottingham of DT Driver Training, which offers an online forklift training course, explained how they address these issues. “A forklift certificate needs to be renewed every three years and typically you would send your operators on a course that would be five hours out of their day, plus travel time. An online course enables the information to be broken into shorter modules that can be taken over a number of days or weeks, on any device, when it’s convenient for both the company and the employee. To address literacy and language issues we included audio recordings in English and written translations to over 100 languages for the questions.”
Online training is increasingly common with many options available across a wide range of topics, from asbestos awareness to welding safety, so we asked Darren what to look out for when choosing online training. “Obviously, it must meet the requirements of the job, but in terms of how it’s delivered, look for training that:
“Online training is not a total substitute for practical training in every scenario but it is excellent at teaching theory and demonstrating concepts that would be difficult to replicate in real life, it improves learning outcomes and it’s more cost-effective,” he added.
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Birdstone Proves Packaging Design with Clear 3D Printed Prototypes
3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing helps packaging design firm achieve aesthetic and functional prototypes with clear SLA 3D printing.
The final packaging design offers a functional and convenient experience to the manufacturer, retailers and Carman’s customers.
Anyone who has opened a box of crackers to find the contents reduced to broken bits and pieces knows firsthand the consequences of poor packaging.
Carman’s, an Australian food company passionate about only using the best ingredients, is mindful of how it delivers its products to consumers to ensure a high quality experience before the first bite is ever taken. Therefore, when Carman’s launched its new Super Seed & Grain Crackers, the food company kept presentation and preservation top of mind, and enlisted Birdstone, an Australian packaging design agency, to design an engaging tray insert.
Due to the various requirements they needed to balance, multiple prototypes were required to demonstrate the proposed designs both aesthetically and functionally.
Balancing client requirements in packaging design
The packaging considerations in play for Carman’s were multifaceted: it needed to be easy to open, functional as a serving vessel, and enable Carman’s customers to reclose the container for storage.
For ease of access, it was determined that the crackers should be stacked in three columns with room to encase the top crackers without crushing them, but also be easy to fill to not disrupt the production line.
Lastly, the packaging needed to meet the retailer requirement for vertical packaging to maximize differentiation on the shelves.
There was also a question of onshelf instability due to the light weight of the product and the properties of the tray material.
Birdstone knew that arriving at the correct design would require accurate prototypes, and therefore reached out to 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing due to previous successful collaborations.
Due to the complexity of the casing designs and unique functional requirements involved, 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts helped Birdstone select the most suitable prototyping process, materials, and finishing process to meet its outlined requirements.
Using Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing on 3D Systems ProX® 800 machine, 3D Systems built both a one- and two-piece prototype in Accura® ClearVue
, a rigid and tough clear 3D plastic material offering the highest clarity and transparency on the market.
Prototyping functional and aesthetic packaging
In just four days, the SLA prototypes were printed and finished to meet Birdstone’s quality and realism requirements.
Clear 3D printing enabled a prototype that was both aesthetic and functional.
3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts followed the premium finishing protocol for Accura ClearVue to deliver water-clear prototypes through a process of wet and dry sanding followed by clear coating.
These prototypes were then submitted for manufacturing tests and consumer research to validate and rate the success of each concept, and to assess the performance and limitations of each packaging option at all critical touch points.
At this stage, Birdstone ordered four copies of the leading packaging design from 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing, which were created using 3D Systems’ cast urethane process.
The preferred SLA prototype was used to make a mold which was then used to cast additional waterclear copies using polyurethane, a material very close to what would be used for the final product.
Arriving at the final design
Following full evaluation of the clear prototypes, the final design was officially selected: an attractive one-piece clamshell case, uniquely contoured to the shape of the stacked biscuits.
According to Grant Davies, Director, Design & Strategy at Birdstone, “The final design plays to the strengths of the packaging material and provides a secure, re-useable home for the crackers throughout the supply chain and into the customers’ hands. It is functional enough to be filled, stylish enough to serve from, and securely recloseable for on-the-go snacking.”
On Demand Manufacturing delivered quick and appealing prototypes to help Birdstone accelerate product development.
Birdstone says that by adding another level of consumer engagement through functional and aesthetic packaging, Carman’s is able to offer a deeper brand experience beyond consumption.
Carman’s exciting range of crackers has forged a new place in the market for the company, and the tray has earned it many fans through the cleverness and convenience of its design.
Birdstone says it is delighted to have contributed to a successful final product for its client, and to answer the unique challenges of the project within a tight deadline.
“As usual,” says Davies, “3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing was a wonderful partner and worked with us to provide the most effective and appealing concept prototypes within the project budget.”
Birdstone’s packaging insert for Carman’s Super Seed & Grain Crackers was a 2018 finalist in the Packaging & Processing Innovation & Design Awards.
The post Birdstone Proves Packaging Design with Clear 3D Printed Prototypes appeared first on NZ Engineering News.
Equipment and Turnkey Solutions with EQM
EQM is introducing stainless steel and aluminium gearboxes and motors that are cleaning up.
The Clean-Geartech geardrive is already being used in food processing facilities throughout New Zealand. Now with helical bevel gearboxes in stainless steel to match the IP69k motors, as well as an aluminium motor and worm gearbox of the same design.
The aluminium geardrives feature the latest in surface treatment technology – called NTT, perfect for damp environments that do not demand the high standard of its stainless steel cousin.
“They’re perfect for meat, dairy, poultry, seafood, salads, confectionary and ready-to-eat products. Being food safe brings peace of mind,” says the company.
Offering waterproof protection (IP69K), high efficiency (IE3.) and 316SS output shafts are just some of the features of Clean-Geartech.
EQM also successfully installed a two-tier packing conveyor system to optimise production, decrease the packing area footprint and become a mobile unit for a large blueberry producer.
The new system has improved the packing process, enabled greater flexibility of labour and can be operated by one person, or up to six when using variable speed controllers.
To find out more about the blueberry solution and how it could benefit your business visit www.eqm.co.nz/projects
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Nord: Energy-Efficient Pump Drive Solutions
Running permanently at full speed may work for you but not so much for your pump drives. Speed control balanced to actual requirements greatly enhances the energy efficiency of pump systems.
Nord DriveSystems supplies complete pre-assembled distributed drive units for a wide performance range up to 22 kW. In addition to energy savings of up to 60%, users benefit from reduced noise emissions, low wear, and increased plant service life as well as the ecological advantages.
Nord DriveSystems’ integrated pump drives can store up to four operation modes which can be displayed and changed directly at the control unit. The SK 200E series comprises reliable and economical frequency inverters, especially tailored to pump applications that require precise adjustments of power output; these are compatible with mains voltages worldwide.
For improved customer ease, Nord configures complete drive systems for various application areas (IP55/IP66, ATEX zone22/3D), and its integrated process and PI controller functions enables the fully-automated control of process variables as well as compensation of disturbances. This is applicable both in stand-alone and mobile applications as well as in complex setups with several drives.
Martin Broglia, managing director of Nord DriveSystems Australia says that thanks to two analogue inputs, the inverters can directly process sensor data such as pressure or flow rate. “Optional signal and power plug connectors facilitate handling and ensure compatibility. A programmable energy-saving function automatically reacts to partial load operation – increasing efficiency and significantly reducing running costs.”
Operation is straightforward and flexible via control terminals, bus, or via an optional potentiometer that enables adjustments directly at the inverter.
“In an effort to reduce labour hours whilst being cognisant of productivity levels, up to four operation modes can be stored to save on setup time,” Martin says.
In addition, the customised parameters can be quickly exported to other units via a pluggable storage module, the system bus, or Ethernet interfaces. Once again keeping productivity in mind, with control cabinets no longer required, the decentralised option minimises cabling effort for users, and since the inverter is supplied pre-assembled the electrotechnical effort doing installation is nominal.
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AUSSIE SHORTAGE IN ENGINEERING HAS KIWIS RUBBING HANDS
Reports out of Australia are that its engineering shortage is reaching critical mass and that they must reverse the current reliance on imported engineers – and that may open the door for Kiwis to snatch major contracts from under our cousins’ noses.
“When we’re wanting to deliver infrastructure, deliver innovation in this country, if we don’t have a supply of engineers coming out of our universities, we’re not going to be able to do that,” national president of Engineers Australia, Trish White has warned.
Australia has been trying for years to reverse the decline in students studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) with little success.
In fact, she says things are so dire that the country’s infrastructure plans, new space agency and defence projects are in limbo until the severe shortage is sorted out. Australia has $200 billion planned to be spent on its defence and other projects over the next decade.
Currently, more than half of the engineers working in Australia are born overseas (57%) and the workforce comprises only 13% women.
With all that in mind, and if Dunedin-based Farra Engineering’s chief executive Gareth Evans has anything to do with it, it is a good example of a local region to benefit through proactiveness and spotting an opportunity.
Mr Evans believes that Australian military contracts could deliver up to 500 jobs to the region and play an anchor role in initiating a revived wave of engineering to reinstitute the days of old that included Fisher and Paykel and Hillside Workshops; when engineering was at the region’s core.
Mr Evans is playing the protagonist in an effort to deliver the region a new engineering hub, one with a foundation of new skills, collaboration and opportunities.
He passed the message during an economic development committee meeting with the Dunedin City Council according to the Otago Daily Times. The money for such innovation would come from within the Government’s $3 billion regional development fund.
He said that there were numerous steps that needed to be taken first – including a feasibility study – and that Dunedin firms needed to come together to grab hold of the opportunity.
The OTD reported that Mr Evans believes Australia was on the path of a ‘nation-building’ exercise and that their local contractors were required to do at least half the work, but the lack of capacity presented chances for the Dunedin region.
A hundred jobs would be delivered to the region by securing $100 million worth of work in everything from manufacturing lift and other equipment to kitchen fit-outs of naval vessels, he said. ”We would only need a fraction of a percent [of the work]to make a material difference to Dunedin,” he told OTD.
Greg Robertson
Publisher
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Collaboration Boosts Hydrogen-Powered Forklift
NZEN’s Greg Robertson gets a look at the future of alternative motors
My first glimpse – from my hotel’s balcony – of the venue for Hyster-Yale’s hydrogen-powered forklifts media launch gave me a snippet of the theme to come. As the camera zoomed in, Hyundai’s Sydney-based head office mushroomed from within the Macquarie Park landscape.
It was a scene that would prove to be indicative of a unique bi-lateral company collaboration, with Hyster and Hyundai Motor Company Australia coming together to promote the coming of age of alternative energies.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Swags of media, officials and dignitaries were on-hand for the demonstration of Australasia’s first hydrogen-powered forklift.
The collaborative partnership at Hyundai Australia with Hyster – belying current competitive dealings in certain product channels – is about promoting the technology. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) are not new, with Hyundai this year launching its Nexo model featuring state-of-the-art, latest-generation fuel cell system mounted under the bonnet.
The theory is that HFCVs can offer zero-emissions motoring, just like electric cars, without the need for recharging so drivers won’t have to change their behaviour after more than a century of internal combustion engines.
In forklifts, as was on display, the technology has resulted in the performance and refuelling speed of typical conventionally powered alternatives, but with the sustainability of electric motors too.
Hyster-Yale Asia-Pacific managing director, Tony Fagg, introduced the hydrogen-powered forklifts, and described them as clean and green, with high environmental performance coupled with the convenience and workplace efficiency of rapid refuelling that, in turn, results in maximum uptime.
“These new hard-working forklifts comprise a production-tested Hyster range that complements our existing globally respected ranges and is backed by the distribution and technical resources of Hyster-Yale Group, which produces forklifts for the toughest working conditions in capacities from 1-52 tonnes,” says Mr Fagg.
The new hydrogen-powered forklift trucks are aimed particularly at companies seeking the ultimate combination of environmentally harmonious indoor and outdoor performance, without having to interrupt production cycles or have vehicles out of service for lengthy charging or battery changing. These benefits will extend to a wide range of materials handling operations, where productivity is a vital element in maintaining a competitive edge.
Refuelling of the units is down to a touch over three minutes when compared with an all-day timeframe, meaning massive savings in improved efficiencies.
“We believe that, not only are these the first hydrogen powered forklifts in Australia or New Zealand, but also that such practical hydrogen-powered vehicles as these show the way ahead for a whole new generation of future-focussed work vehicles, and perhaps ultimately for passenger vehicles.”
Currently, they are only available for distribution in the United States and Canada, with a view to introducing them to the Asia-Pacific region in future years.
The Hyundai Macquarie Park site was selected due to the hydrogen refuelling station used for the carmaker’s local hydrogen vehicle testing with the event featuring a Hyster 1.8 powered by Nuvera unit.
Refuelling the Hyster machines is much like that of a car – a few minutes resulting in enough hydrogen to power them for a shift, while also giving the added advantage of no loss of power throughout that time period even when the charge dissipates.
“Hyster’s hydrogen-powered ranges – which complement our broader globally respected materials handling technologies – utilise durable high-performance Nuvera fuel cell systems, which are fast-fuelled power options that replace lead-acid batteries in Class I, II, and III electric lift trucks. The Nuvera fuel cell system is designed and built to provide customer return on investment over the lifecycle of the product.”
Mr Fagg says that the refuelling process when compared with battery-operated forklifts means the whole fleet can be used to its full potential – maximising product and operator utilisation – and provide gains in uptime and productivity.
HOW THEY WORK
Fuel cell vehicles are fuelled and refuelled by a hose from a dispenser in the same way that typical work vehicles and cars and trucks are refuelled at a petrol or diesel bowser. The hydrogen dispenser pumps hydrogen into the cell’s hydrogen storage tank. As long as the fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, it will generate electricity to power the forklift’s electric motor.
In the process of the hydrogen fuel’s conversion to electricity through a chemical reaction in the cell, electricity is produced, and this is used to power the electric motor that drives the vehicle. The process is very clean because, unlike a conventional fossil fuel engine, a fuel cell doesn’t burn the hydrogen. Instead, it’s fused chemically with oxygen producing electricity and water, which is the primary emission from the vehicle giving the vehicle clean, green credentials.
WHO WILL USE THIS TECHNOLOGY?
The sustainability delivered by Hyster’s new work vehicles is applicable to an entire range of future-focussed industries, including particularly materials handling, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and processing operations. It is also directly relevant to major resources companies (such as mining, oil and gas) that are seeking to reduce their operations’ environmental footprint in remote and sensitive areas, as well as environmentally aware utilities including local authorities, energy, water and waste water engineering facilities and transport and automotive service facilities where workers may be exposed to environmental and workplace OB&S hazards.
Requirements essential to the success of the use of this technology include a steady, cost-effective supply of hydrogen, which can be delivered, generated on-site or employing a fleet dispenser system such as Hyster-Yale’s proven Nuvera system.
ON THE WORLD’S STAGE
Currently, Hyster hydrogen vehicles are on sale in North America and Hyster-Yale Asia Pacific plans to introduce the line in Australia “in future years”.
For now, the system is limited by economies of scale with significant refuelling station investment required, somewhat limiting abilities to large fleet operators.
Home Depot, Ikea and Walmart are examples of major players adopting such technology. Home Depot uses hydrogen-powered forklifts (about 200 units) in Ohio, while Ikea’s Saint-Quentin-Fallavier distribution centre in France has had 20 fuel cell forklifts since 2014 and Walmart has Plug Power GenDrive fuel cells in 19 distribution centres to power its forklifts.
ABOUT HYSTER-YALE
Hyster’s Tony Fagg
From narrow aisle warehouse trucks to heavy-duty container handling equipment, Hyster-Yale is leading the way.
Hyster-Yale designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, and services a portfolio of materials handling equipment that is among the most comprehensive in the industry. Hyster-Yale covers hundreds of end-user applications in more than 700 industries. Its products include a full range of electric and internal combustion engine lift trucks for indoor and outdoor applications.
From narrow aisle warehouse trucks to the toughest cargo handling equipment, its counterbalanced lift trucks are recognised as some of the most productive in the world.
The post Collaboration Boosts Hydrogen-Powered Forklift appeared first on NZ Engineering News.
Safety Show Highlights Focus of Importance
On average, 75 people per year die on the job, one in 10 is harmed and 600-900 die from work-related diseases—all coming at a cost of $3.5 billion per year. These statistics don’t even begin to cover the social and psychological costs on friends, family, loved ones and co-workers of these people hurt on the job.
With the recent changes to the Health and Safety Work Act it is simply not enough to carry on with business as usual and dismiss these statistics as a “It will never happen to me, or in my business”. As an employer, manager or any other type of PCBU you have a legal obligation as well as a moral one to your employees and customers to fully understand your responsibilities and the risks associated with running your business and to actively engage a plan to reduce this risk as far as you are able.
The consequences of not sufficiently fulfilling these obligations could not only cost you valued employees but also significantly affect your ability to continue to run your business due to production/ service down time, reduced resources and the potential risk of being prosecuted in court.
Enter the National Safety Show to be held at the ASB Showgrounds, July 4-5 (incorporating BuildNZ and designex).
As the largest event dedicated to workplace health and safety in New Zealand, the National Safety Show provides the opportunity for you understand and update yourself and your staff on the latest legislation, explore new products, services and innovations catered to New Zealand’s safety industry reducing your risk and protecting your bottom line.
Specialist companies, government authorities and associations from throughout New Zealand come together in one place to showcase their products and services, to give you advice and help solve your businesses safety problems and offer solutions. You will be sure to find the right mix of first- hand experience, critical updates and practical advice to apply in your own workplace.
The National Safety Show is a free trade exhibition, which also includes a comprehensive seminar and workshop series running across all three days of the event, in 2018 we will also be providing the opportunity for you to gain crucial certifications on site at the show, to assist with HSWA compliance. A complete breakdown of what these seminars, workshops and training will cover will be available closer to the show date.
Meet safety experts and professionals that can help you keep your workplace safe and make sure your business keeps operating even if the worst were to happen.
The post Safety Show Highlights Focus of Importance appeared first on NZ Engineering News.
New Enerpac Leader Has Strong Customer Service Focus
A sales and marketing business leader with extensive international experience in channel management and new product innovation has been appointed to head the Australasian operations of globally successful high-pressure hydraulic tools manufacturer – Enerpac.
“This is an exciting time to be leading the highly experienced Enerpac commercial and operations teams” – Rustin Dring
Rustin Dring will lead Enerpac’s long-established teams in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea as the company introduces a stream of new product, technology, services and distributor support initiatives. Under his leadership, Enerpac will be looking to expand its value proposition to distributors and end-users by offering world class customer support for high-pressure hydraulic tools, controlled force products and solutions for precise positioning of heavy loads.
Mr Dring – BsC, MBA and a member of Enerpac’s Global Leadership Team – takes overall responsibility as the general manager of Enerpac Australia and New Zealand. He will manage the introduction of several new product platforms, new strategic initiatives, and drive regional expansion while continuing to evaluate the best way to support Enerpac’s customers and distributors in Australasia.
“This is an exciting time to be leading the highly experienced Enerpac commercial and operations teams. We will be working very closely with our strong distribution network to bring new and innovative ideas to the market and back them up with the world class support known by our customers from around the world. As we continue to push the envelope of new product innovation we always keep a keen focus on the safety, productivity and durability of our world class products and solutions.
“Enerpac has built a local and global reputation on quality, service, and our dedicated focus on safety. We provide outstanding technical support and application assistance for some of the world’s most demanding applications where uptime and reliability are paramount. This premium on performance and our focus on safety will be extended by our new technologies and regional support structure,” says Mr Dring, who was previously global product line director for Actuant after being global product manager for Enerpac.
His international and technical experience is also complemented by his strong commercial background. He has also held previous roles as a territory sales manager for Enerpac, sales engineer, and has served as a distributor specialist where he was dealing with diverse channels of customers including OEM, distributors, system integrators, contractors and end-users.
The post New Enerpac Leader Has Strong Customer Service Focus appeared first on NZ Engineering News.
Cutlery Kiwi Wins Great Kiwi Engineering Competition
Simon Squire of ArcActive Limited in Christchurch has won the inaugural Great Kiwi Engineering Competition along with a swag of prizes and cash thanks to Engineering News, XPO Exhibitions, Machinery House, Cigweld and TheOutdoors.
Judges felt there was something quintessentially Kiwi about Simon Squire’s entry ‘Cutlery Kiwi’ and when it came to the final judging process his entry edged out ‘Bird’ by Ian Bedwell of Cankiwi Ltd trading as NZLaser.
The final judging was put in the hands of attendees to EMEX 2018, with an incredible one in five people through the show voting. Both ‘birds’ were featured on the Engineering News stand.
A feature will appear in the July issue of Engineering News, but from an engineering perspective, it was as if he was given a job to do and he turned to whatever he had on hand to get the job done and fulfil the brief.
Simon utilised old school practices that many a Kiwi engineer has had to do for more than 100 years due to available resources, supply issues/cost and isolation, or just because the ‘No.8 Wire’ is so entrenched within our psyche.
He fired up his imagination and welder, opting to enter Cutlery Kiwi using welding as his principle engineering discipline. Some innovative sparking of grey matter had him heading to the cutlery draw to create his engineering art – the feathery forks fitting fantastically while his mind merged spoons and forks definitely put the kiwi’s nose ahead of its competition.
“With us Kiwis having a big focus on sustainability, I decided to take a recycling approach for my sculpture.
“I purchased recycled cutlery from a local eco store and op shop and set about cutting, heating, shaping and welding forks and spoons together into my final kiwi form. It took approximately 80 forks and five spoons to make my kiwi,” says Simon.
“I started by making a basic skeleton with cutlery and then built up the body, head and beak from that, before modelling the kiwi’s feathers with lots of forks.”
Thanks go to competition sponsors:
The post Cutlery Kiwi Wins Great Kiwi Engineering Competition appeared first on NZ Engineering News.
Winning Vote Heralds Next Gen Engineers
When Michael Barraclough of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare visited EMEX he was envious of some of the “awesome kit” that was on offer. He has been wanting to start “a number of projects” at home but didn’t have the tools for the builds.
But after submitting a vote in the Great Kiwi Engineering Competition his desires have been answered.
Michael Kingston, NZEN’s new business manager (left), presents the new Cigweld welder to Michael Barraclough
“I was in a state of shock when I got the call,” says Michael. “A welder is the sort of thing you really want, but you know, you have to put the cash down. I just thought (when entering the competition) it would be just such a great thing to have.
“When Engineering News rang me up and told me I’d won I was just blown away. Unfortunately now that means that everything in the garage is going to be cut apart and projects are going to be going on in every direction,” he laughs.
Michael goes to EMEX most years and, “really enjoyed it this year,” with the welder capping off things immensely.
Michael won the WeldSkill 180 TradePack from Cigweld.
The WeldSkill 180 is a single-phase welding inverter with a user-friendly control panel, practical push button operation for mode selection, clearly visible LED indicators and sturdy large control knob. The TradePack included a carry bag, WeldSkill belmet (blue), welding gloves, chipping hammer, wire brush, 1KG GP electrodes. The unit is affordable, compact and light-weight and the WeldSkill 180 is a great addition to the shed ensuring the ultimate portability for the home handyman, tradesman, farmer or maintenance worker.
Michael will be taking the unit home to train up the next generation of engineer (his sons).
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