Analysis

Warehouse Maintenance: The ‘Smooth Operator’ Factor

By Pedro Furtado, Projects Director at Efacec In today’s context, purchasing a brand new car can be a costly affair as newer cars are equipped with more capabilities, fuel-efficiency enhancements, and safety features that can meet international regulations. With the inclusion of taxes and insurance fees, the cost of ownership increases even more considerably, so any new car owner would be motivated to look after their vehicle so as to minimise incurring additional costs. The same can also be said about warehouses. Warehouses today play a pivotal role within supply chains, and the importance of warehousing in this competitive trading environment cannot be ignored. The storage ability of the warehouse enables manufacturers to achieve time utility, facilitates continued production even during less favourable seasons, and ensures safe custody of inventory. For these reasons and many more, it is imperative that warehouses remain in tip-top condition at all times to operate efficiently. Why Not Maintenance for Automated Warehouses? In general, warehouses are either manually operated or automated, and some are additionally equipped with climate-control features. The exact type of warehouse to be implemented depends on the nature of the industry. Given external factors such as rising labour costs, rapid technological advancements, and increasing global market demand, manufacturers are now more open to adopting warehouse automation technologies to drive a company toward greater productivity and profitability. However, with automated warehouses, there are also additional considerations such as operation delays, rising cost of production (e.g. breakdown of older equipment), and inaccurate data. Going back to the car analogy, what can an owner do to ensure that his car continues to deliver high driving performance in years to come? The unanimous answer that any experienced technician would give is regular maintenance. It is every driver’s best defence against mechanical failure, prolonging driving performance and […]

“Automotive suppliers must embrace faster innovation to adapt to new realities”

– Zhao Jizheng, Siemens PLM Software The automotive industry faces stricter fuel economy and emissions standards around the world, with varying deadlines for achievement through 2025. These fuel economy and emissions standards, along with improvements to safety, growth of intelligent mobility and customer desires for integrating their lifestyle into the vehicle, have automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) relying more on electronics and embedded software to keep up with an ever growing industry. These trends are causing a fundamental change in vehicle technologies which requires more innovation from automakers and suppliers in alternative propulsion, lighter vehicles and energy optimization. A 2014 Center for Automotive Research report, entitled Advanced Information Technology Solutions: An Engine of Innovation, summarizes this sentiment by saying: “The industry is transitioning from a primarily mechanical-based industry to a software-based industry. In fact, some would argue that the industry is transitioning from a transportation focus to a technology focus.” Adopting these new technologies and product innovations drives more interaction across vehicle systems and components. As the complexity of vehicle systems increases with new types of technology, these innovations demand a fundamental increase in the sophistication of automotive systems. Suppliers must integrate mechanical, electronics and software capabilities as well as system development knowledge to deliver more complex systems. That, coupled with the global growth of the industry, increases the pressure on automotive suppliers to expand their own engineering, manufacturing and supply chain networks around the world, which adds to program and operational complexity. Staying in Front In Asia, suppliers are facing pressure on two fronts – the need to respond to their local market and OEM quickly, because Asia continues to be the growth engine for the automotive industry, and, as the part of the supply chain, they need to collaborate with global OEMs more efficiently and contribute more actively […]

Asia’s coasts to experience most extreme weather

Over the next 50 years, people living at low altitudes in developing countries, particularly those in coastal Asia, will suffer the most from extreme weather patterns, according to researchers. Unbearable heat waves, typhoons of unprecedented speeds and flash floods have been an increasing occurrence globally. It’s not just a coincidence that these extreme weather events have been happening more frequently, said researchers and scientists at the Common Future under Climate Change conference held in Paris in July. Hundreds of millions of people will be affected by coastal flooding and land loss as global temperatures rise, icecaps melt and sea levels rise. Cities will also suffer from heat stress, extreme precipitation, inland and coastal flooding, as well as drought and water scarcity, according to the report “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”. Historical climate projections for the Indian subcontinent suggest an overall increase in temperature by two degrees, which has resulted in a noticeable rise in heat waves and hot days. Sumetee Pahwa Gajjar, who leads climate change research at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, has conducted a regional diagnostic study for the critical risks and impacts of climate change in the semi-arid regions of Maharashtra, Karnatak and Tamil Nadu states in south-western and peninsular India. She found that rising occurrences of heat waves and hot days affected the health sector, mainly due to an increased outbreak of diseases and increased risk of heat stress. They also placed a big strain on the agricultural sector as well as on livestock and fisheries. Francis Zwiers, director of the Pacific Climate Consortium, says human actions, such as the burning of fossil fuels, have increased the odds of extreme weather occurrences. Events that used to happen every 25 years now happen every 15, he explains.One example is the European heat wave of […]

Omni Stop provides pedestrian protection

There are regular reports of incidents where vehicles have crashed into construction zones, bus stops, pavement cafes and retail shop windows. Protecting lives from potential injury or death is paramount for all authorities so after each of these incidents, there is an investigation to assess whether or not it could have been prevented. One way to prevent out of control vehicles crashing into work zones or pedestrian areas is to erect a barrier which affords protection but does not restrict everyday activities on, or adjacent to, a road. Some common types of barrier, such as precast concrete sections or water-filled plastic units, provide inadequate protection and in some cases increase damage and injury to drivers and pedestrians. The Omni Stop Bollard is an energy absorbing bollard that is the only one of its type in Australia. It has been extensively crash-tested with impacts up to 60 kilometres per hour and complies with the requirements of AS/NZS3845:1999 Table 5.3.3(3). The Omni Stop Bollard permits access for workers to a construction zone or pedestrians to a shopping precinct while at the same time preventing vehicle penetration. PICTURE: Vehicle travelling at 60 km per hour safely stopped with minimal deflection of the Omni Stop Bollard. Designed, assembled and tested in Australia, the Omni Stop Bollard is available from Saferoads. Based in West Gippsland, Victoria, Saferoads has been servicing State government departments, local councils and road construction companies with a broad range of products designed to direct, protect, inform and illuminate all road users since 1992. The carbon steel bollard of the Omni Stop is supported by a unique energy absorbing cartridge that is encased in a concrete footing. When the bollard is impacted, the cartridge deforms and absorbs the kinetic energy of the vehicle. When a 1600 kilogram car at 60 kilometres per hour […]

Composite helicopter made in New Zealand

This years’ spectacular show centrepiece at EMEX 2014 is the New Zealand designed and built carbon fibre composite helicopter manufactured in Dairy Flat by the Composite Helicopter Co. It wasn’t a good look for the prototype machine to ditch into Auckland harbour, but that’s in the past, those days are gone and fine tuning and learning from the experience helped owner Peter Maloney to move on, make the changes needed for success. The KC518 helicopter has strong support worldwide and now with new carbon blades is well positioned to forge ahead. The benefits of this kind of helicopter are endless and when NZ Manufacturer first wrote about it, we recognised the innovation and forward-thinking and dedication of Peter Maloney and his team. The helicopter is a good example of Kiwi ingenuity and importantly, the prototype becoming the product, being made on our shores and available for sale around the world with orders already being taken. An all-composite fuselage helicopter is one thing, robustness another, as is fuel efficiency and the advances in composite materials means a successful helicopter has been made from a structural perspective. Visit the website www.compositehelicopter.com, check out its features, learn about the challenges that were faced building a fuel-efficient, balanced composite flying machine that the world is sitting up and taking notice of. There are many firsts with the KC518 – amongst them: it can be used by the military and VIPs, it is corporate and is the helicopter of the future.

Singapore Airshow 2014 nets deals worth US$32 Billion

Singapore Airshow 2014 wrapped up the trade segment of the six-day event with deals announced worth US$32 billion, surpassing the value of deals announced in 2012. Major announcements include contracts for Airbus, Embraer, Boeing and Rolls-Royce. This reinforces Singapore Airshow’s standing as one of the most important aerospace and defence exhibitions in the world. Singapore Airshow 2014 played host to over 1,000 exhibitors from 47 countries and 279 delegations from 72 countries. In all, over 40,000 trade visitors from 125 countries visited the show during the first three trade days, compared to some 38,000 in 2012. Of these, 33% were from overseas. 72% of exhibitors from this year’s Airshow have already reaffirmed their plans to exhibit at the next Airshow in 2016, underscoring the relevance of Singapore Airshow as an essential platform to network and seize opportunities in key markets in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. The U.S. was the feature country at Singapore Airshow 2014, marking its largest presence at the show with 163 U.S. companies, including 111 in the U.S. Pavilion. U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, Kirk Wagar, said: “The U.S. was delighted to be Feature Country, the first-ever such designation, at the Singapore Airshow. We would like to thank the Government of Singapore, Experia Events, Kallman Worldwide and all of those involved in the Feature Country effort. The largest number of U.S. companies exhibited this year, 163, and they are reporting a very successful Airshow. A large delegation of high level U.S. officials had numerous productive bilateral meetings with our counterparts throughout the region. Last but not least, U.S. military and commercial aircraft provided for the show, including the V-22 Osprey, C-17, P-8, Boeing 787, Gulfstream 650 and many others received enormous interest from Airshow visitors.” Tom Kallman, president and CEO of Kallman Worldwide, the U.S. representative of the Singapore Airshow coordinating the U.S. […]

Vietnam is Asia’s new tech manufacturing hub

It all started in 2010. Intel built its $1 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Vietnam’s electronic manufacturing dream had arrived. Gone would be the days of textile and food exporting. People were saying hello to a hi-tech Vietnam. But later in 2011 and early 2012, the dream was dwindling, as the economy was shot and there was an environment that didn’ t play well for foreign investors, and that was turning people off. The latter half of 2012 saw a change, with electronics factories popping up everywhere as you can see in the list below (dollar figures indicate amount each company has committed to its Vietnamese factory): * Bujeon Electronics (from South Korea), $10 million, October 2012 * Brother Vietnam (Japan), $25 million, December 2012 * Nidec Seimitsu (Japan), $40 million, July 2012 * SOC Vietnam (Japan), $62.5 million, November 2012 * JBL (USA), $100 million, June 2012 * Terumo BCT (USA, Japan), $94 million, May 2012 * Fuji Xerox (Japan), $120 million, November 2013 * Nokia (Finland), $300 million, early 2013 * Samsung Electronics (South Korea), $2.2 billion by 2020, November 2012 Of course, the most significant newcomers in this list are Samsung and Nokia. Nokia is still the dominant player in the Vietnamese mobile market and Samsung contributes 10 percent of Vietnam’s exports. Besides Nokia, most of these electronics manufacturers are from South Korea and Japan. The main draw for companies from these two countries is the low labour wages. In some cases, Vietnamese workers can be paid as little as one-third of Chinese labour costs. Cheap labour is Vietnam’s new brand. And so armed with this low-cost labour, Vietnam will soon become known for hi-tech manufacturing. Textiles are no longer Vietnam’s biggest export. With small companies like Setech Viet building small consumer […]

CEO confidence in growth down

Only 36% of CEOs worldwide are ‘very confident’ of their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months, according to PwC’s 16th Annual Global CEO Survey. That’s down from 40% who were ‘very confident’ of short term growth last year and 48% in 2011, but still above the lows of 31% and 21% in 2010 and 2009. Looking at the economy generally, 28% of CEOs say the global economy will decline further in 2013, and only 18% predict economic improvement; 52% say it will stay the same. While the CEOs outlook remains gloomy, the forecast is an improvement on last year when 48% of CEOs predicted the global economy would decline in 2012. CEOs in Western Europe were least confident of short term revenue growth. Faced with ongoing recession, just 22% 0f Western European CEOs said they were very confident of growth, down from 27% last year and 39% in 2011. Confidence in short term growth also declined in North America to 33% (42% in 2012) and in Asia Pacific to 36% (42% in 2012). Even in Africa, seen by many as the next high-growth economy, CEO confidence in company growth slipped to 44%, from 57% last year. Latin American CEOs, however, bucked the trend. Their short term confidence rose to 53% of CEOs, up slightly from last year. At the country level, confidence varied widely: CEOs are most confident in Russia where 66% are very confident of revenue growth in 2013, closely followed by India (63%) and Mexico (62%). They were trailed by countries including Brazil (44%), China (40%), Germany (31%), the US (30%), the UK (22%), Japan (18%), France (13%) and finally Korea, where only 6% of CEOs are very confident of revenue growth in the year ahead. Longer term, overall CEO confidence remained stable; 46% of CEOs […]

Online Banking Channel more popular in Asia-Pacific

Globally, access to the online channel has grown at a rapid pace, presenting huge opportunities for Financial Services providers to access the global community. Data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) show that 45% of the world’s internet users are currently from Asia or Africa compared to 40% in North America and Europe combined. However Datamonitor’s Financial Services (FS) Consumer Insight survey reveals very different consumer appetites for FS products within these regions. In terms of day-to-day management of current accounts, consumers in the Asia-Pacific region have keenly adopted these online technologies. Registration levels for online current accounts are higher in Asia-Pacific overall than in France, Spain or Italy. The situation in India is even starker Ð whilst having one of the lowest levels of internet penetration as a country, over a third (37%) of those with a current account are registered online for it. One the whole, Asia-Pacific consumers are far more engaged with the online banking channel than those in the rest of the world. They also perform a broader range of tasks, and are more inclined to seek a somewhat closer relationship with their bank through the online platform – 26% of Asia-Pacific consumers have used the online channel to set up email or SMS alerts in the last six months, compared to only 10% in the Eurozone and US, for example. Mobile banking is expected to take the same upwards trajectory as online banking and is expected to grow faster, and has become especially popular in some Asia-Pacific countries in providing basic current account tasks for both the unbanked (e.g. in India) and more remote consumers who may not be internet users. Security of online banking is a concern for consumers in Asia-Pacific However, there remains a significant proportion of internet users not registered for their […]

Hypertherm Q&A: Metal-Cutting Trends in Asia

NZ Manufacturer’s Q&A session with Soo KT, General Manager, Hypertherm Asia 1. How would you say the metal cutting industry fared in 2010, globally and regionally? There definitely has been an improvement over 2009 with recovery in the Asian region, but less so in the international scene. Re-stocking of inventories may have contributed in part to the improvement in our business. 2. Where did Hypertherm see the greatest growth in the region, and what were some notable trends there? China, which recovered quickly after the 2008 financial crisis, is in the forefront of growth. This is not unexpected as China has been the main engine propelling the Asia region onto the recovery path. The construction and agricultural equipment segments have rebounded strongly, fuelled by infrastructure development. The shipbuilding industry, however, is still languishing due to a record number of ships being decommissioned, and marine transportation suffering from the slowdown in US and Europe. 3. What about other Asian markets that you serve?- The entire ASEAN region did well in recovery with some notable exceptions like Thailand that faced political unrest. India, which is more insulated from export orientation and international banking, almost didn’t skip a beat and maintained its contribution to the industry. 4. Which industries have impacted the metal cutting business the most this past year? Construction and infrastructure-related developments have both made significant contribution to our business in 2010. 5. What significant technological advances did the industry enjoy from Hypertherm this year? We introduced a number of new technologies in 2010. With one of the advancements, businesses are now able to improve cut-to-cut cycle time and consumable life, enhancing productivity and operational cost-savings. With another development, the unique combination of our power supply, motion control systems and software help to produce high bolt-hole quality. And most recently, we […]

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