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The Building Blocks of an Economy

By Yamini Chinnuswamy Parents are deeply interested in what their children will learn when they enter the school gates and how it will shape their future career, but few would think that the exercises they find on the whiteboard were influenced by the country’s trade policy. The same parents would more likely link trade policy with the price and quality of life essentials such as groceries and medicine. Yet some are starting to question the merits of free trade as they experience slower or more precarious improvements in their lives in a more competitive global economy. Governments too are thinking hard about how best to marshall resources and prepare their workforce to compete with fast emerging economies in rapidly changing markets. These questions make it more important than ever to gain a rigorous understanding of how international trade policy affects the building blocks of the economy, such as education and industry. Researchers from the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Economics (SoE) are making great strides in this quest through research in econometrics, international trade, macro and microeconomics. As a result of their research contributions, SoE emerged as one of Asia’s top schools in Tilburg University’s ‘Top 100 of Economics Schools Research Ranking’ in 2013. Education and trade – a two way street? Education systems are under an ever brighter spotlight as countries wonder how to equip their new generations for a world where knowledge and innovation are the important competitive advantage. Countries with contrasting education systems, such as Japan, Singapore and the US, are looking at each other for clues. Yet clues may also be found by looking at how existing education systems have been shaped by a country’s own trade pattern and intensity. SoE Associate Professor Chang Pao-Li, along with fellow SoE colleague Associate Professor Huang Fali, studies […]

IoT Asia 2016 – Closing the Gap: From Vision to Reality

IoT Asia 2016 30-31 March 2016, Singapore EXPO www.internetofthingsasia.com Closing the Gap: From Vision to Reality The Internet of Things is opening up a world of opportunities for everyone from connected cars to connected healthcare to smart cities and even home automation. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2020, about 50 billion things will be connected. In short, the Internet of Things adds an entirely new dimension to transform governments, businesses and societies and advancing humanity in ways we cannot yet imagine. Since 2014, IoT Asia has been a key industry platform for governments, industry and technology leaders to foster closer partnerships and in turn create opportunities for the public and private sectors to embrace the Internet of Things. This tradeshow will highlight key areas critical to the development and the future of Internet of Things in Asia. Smart Cities * Wearables * IoT Data Analytics* Design Applications * Enablers * Industrial IoT What to expect at IoT Asia 2016? • 2,500 attendees • 80 sponsors and exhibitors • More international Country Pavilions • Thematic Zones for a richer attendee experience • Live product demos • New product launches • Focused conference tracks on Design Applications, IoT Data Analytics, Industrial IoT, Smart Cities and Wearables Organised by SIAA and SingEx Exhibitions, the 3rd edition of IoT Asia is an event developed by the industry, for the industry. Online visitor pre-registration and conference registration opens in late 2015. For more information, visit www.internetofthingsasia.com

Cyclone Donald around for a year

-Doug Green, JEZ Media, Publisher, www.asiamanufacturingnewstoday.com What America does politically affects us all. It affects our business. In Asia we need to understand the candidates for the 2016 US election and how they will shape the country and its relations with us. It’s a good year out from the US 2016 election and good old Fox Network are at it already with their panel discussions on the potential Republican presidential candidates. Talkfest after talkfest is surrounding us with Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump not exactly getting along in the latest instalment. You have to give it to Trump – he sure knows how to win friends and influence people without outlining exactly what he do will if elected president for the unemployed, Middle East, and illegal immigrants. Somehow a firm grip needs to be kept on this presidential candidate so the issues are out there and not the personalities. If Trump doesn’t shoot himself in the foot and stays in the race he may well become a huge distraction to what the people of America require for a better way of life. There will be so much concentration on his hair and abrasive personality that the centre of the Republican Party will have a darn hard job keeping the focus on exactly what they are doing in an election year. Fox will ride this personality for all it is worth. Even if he blights his copy book, think of the continual high media profile which will be seen across the network? What he doesn’t do will not matter; what he stuffs up will bring a lot of attention. Rupert Murdoch and Peter Ailes may not see eye to eye on Trump and the way he appears on Fox. Or maybe they do? Maybe it doesn’t matter because it draws viewers, […]

3D Design & Simulation Tools Ushering in a New Dawn for Asian Manufacturing

Ming Xu – CAE Marketing Manager,Asia Pacific Marketing,Siemens PLM Software. Asian manufacturers are on the cusp of the next industrial revolution with innovation as the catalyst that is redefining their path to success. With great opportunities come great challenges – the current Asia Pacific manufacturing scenario is seeing multiple impactful factors at play. The pressure to shorten time-to-market, design highly customisable and energy-efficient products is driving companies to rethink their manufacturing strategies. To add to this, we live in a culture of instant gratification and immediate results. Continuous and consistent improvement is the only way to stay ahead of the competition. To win in this highly complex marketplace, we need to identify trends with the potential of optimizing product development processes in order to maximize our advantage. Integrated 3D Design and Simulation for Reimagining Processes A great product is born well before the raw material reaches the machine. High quality products start their journey from high quality designs. Virtual prototyping (the process of creating an optimal physical design in software before building a physical prototype for verification) is experiencing a widespread usage in today’s manufacturing processes. It has assumed a much greater significance in recent years as engineering design has evolved drastically thanks to the availability of cutting edge design tools and software. Today’s leading manufacturers’ use advanced 3D design (CAD) and simulation (CAE) software in their research and development (R&D) processes to pre-empt, assess and avoid errors. Simulation guides critical trade-off decisions to balance competing product objectives such as reliability, cost and weight requirements. It also plays a major role in product and process innovation. Both CIMData and Scientific Computing World have noted how pivotal CAD/CAE integration is to product development. Historically, simulation has often been out of step with the design schedule with results too late to be […]

Herculon tank top bearings meet climate change and production challenges to liquid protection

Storage tanks today can hold upwards of 10, 20 or even 30,000 tons of liquid that must be protected from the elements and from pollution to safeguard it for use in water, waste water, emergency fire protection and high purity industrial processing applications. Not only are tanks being built to hold their contents more safely and securely than ever before, but they are expected to do it for longer and in more challenging operating environments where steel, concrete and fibreglass tanks need secure roofs that can withstand expansion and contraction caused by factors such as increasing climatic and load variations. A challenge facing developers and operators of buildings and processing plants for industrial and municipal uses is ensuring their top structures can flexibly cope with internal movement from climatically induced expansion, contraction and wind and rain forces, while also coping with production stresses caused by heavy and changing loads, vibration and other factors encountered within diverse industries. Relevant industries can include mining and energy, oil and gas, ports and infrastructure, food and beverage, primary processing, manufacturing, materials handling, water and waste water utility and emergency services. A cost-efficient solution to many such issues is offered by Hercules Engineering through its range of Herculon Type D Tank Top Bearings (HLD/TT) Bearings, which are custom-designed for easy installation under roof beams of tank tops and other lighter structures including some building roofs. These low-friction easy-slip bearings are particularly useful where loads are relatively small but both lateral and uplift forces need to be accommodated, says Mr David Booty, Manager, Hercules Engineering (a division of Cut to Size Plastics). “Light but strong and flexible tank tops are now widely employed to protect tanks and their contents from external pollution ranging from flora, fauna, dust and droppings and water-borne impurity. The bearings used under […]

AutoMATE 7-Axis robotic machining cell – On show at SouthMACH 2015

The largest Nachi robot ever sold in New Zealand was on show at SouthMACH in July – in the form of a 7-axis robotic machining centre from NZ based robotic machinery builder AutoMATE™. Design Energy Limited, owners of the AutoMATE™ brand and NZ distributor for Nachi Robotics, have developed a robot machining centre based on the newly released Nachi SRA210 six axis robot. This particular system, for customer Cutting Innovations in Auckland, is equipped with a 7.5kW – 24,000rpm HSK tool-change spindle, rotary table and PowerMILL CAM software. The result is a system offering a machining envelope of 2.5m x 2.5m x 2.5m with +/-0.25mm accuracy. Mike Shatford, Director of Design Energy explains: “AutoMATE™ machining centres are highly adaptable, with robot and fixturing options available to suit a wide variety of machining requirements. The high level engineering used to develop each system structural loading of each machine is carefully analysed using FEA analysis. Providing high levels of rigidity and stiffness are key to successfully carrying out machining operations using a multi-axis robot.” The team at Design Energy are already considering producing further machining cells of various configurations and would be keen to hear from interested parties. Contact:info@designenergy.co.nz

Fluke 3000 FC Series Wireless DC Clamps improve productivity

New high current and 4-20 mA dc current clamps speed troubleshooting through collaboration, regardless of location Now added are two new dc current clamps to the Fluke Connect system of wireless test tools: the Fluke a3003 FC Wireless DC Current Clamp and the a3004 FC Wireless DC 4-20 mA Current Clamp. Both fully-functional current clamps can wirelessly send measurements to Fluke Connect enabled master units as well as the Fluke Connect mobile app so users can view measurements from multiple devices simultaneously, review equipment history, and share measurements with other team members for faster troubleshooting. The a3003 FC Wireless DC Current Clamp measures up to 2000 A dc making it ideal for very high dc current measurements typically found in utility and dc machine controller applications. It features a large jaw size (64 mm) for clamping around and measuring on large, high current conductors. The a3004 FC Wireless DC 4-20mA Current Clamp measures 4 to 20 mA signals without breaking the loop so process control technicians can make accurate measurements without interrupting the workflow. It features a detachable clamp with extension cable for measurements in tight locations. Both current clamps can record and store up to 65,000 measurements with the logging feature to isolate intermittent events or record fluctuations without even being there.

Maintenance supervisors can boost productivity?

The job of maintenance supervisors is to get the maintenance work completed on time, on budget and safely! They can be popular. They can be great communicators. They can be inspired trainers. They can be great repair people. But these things alone do not make successful maintenance supervisors. They are not successful maintenance supervisors unless they can keep the machines running, the fleet rolling and the occupants warm in the winter. When does an active supervisor look like when he is no longer bogged down in an office doing paperwork? Active supervision occurs when a supervisor spends substantial time on the shop floor helping workers solve problems. As strange as it might sound, on the psychological level a supervisor might have to be both mother (nurturing and supportive) and father (strict and tough) to members of the crew. Active supervision encompasses several roles: • Ongoing performance monitor: The supervisor knows how long each job should take and checks it periodically throughout the day. A four-hour job issued in the morning should be done by the lunch break. When the jobs fall behind, the experienced supervisor thinks about how best to intervene. In some cases it might be logistical help, helping with equipment, or providing guidance about how to proceed. • Paperwork compliance officer: The accuracy of all analysis is derived from the work order. If the work order is complete and accurate then decision-making and root cause analysis become dramatically easier. Supervisors audit paperwork and return it when it is deficient. They should always look at work orders on the floor and ensure entries are being made at the same time as the activity occurs, not at a later time. • Obsessive-compulsive PM monitor: A supervisor reinforces the rule: “Do the PM as it is written.” A related issue is […]

Sage waste absorbs oil spills

Picture:Metroxylon sagu or commonly known as the Sago palm thrives in tropical lowland forests and freshwater swamps. The state of Sarawak in Malaysia is one of the world’s largest exporters of sago products with annual exports of approximately 43,000 tons. Waste material generated by Malaysia’s sago palm industry has potential for use as an adsorbent for cleaning up oil spills, according to a study published in the Pertanika Journal of Science and Technology. Conducted by Zainab Ngaini and colleagues at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, the study found that when sago waste (consisting primarily of cellulose and lignin) is chemically modified using fatty acid derivatives, the resulting material is more hydrophobic than untreated sago waste, implying that it has less affinity for water and an excellent affinity for oil. The authors conclude that chemically modified sago waste may be suitable for applications where engine oil needs to be removed from an aqueous environment. By contrast, untreated sago waste could be used for absorbing oil in a dry environment. Sago palm is commonly found in tropical lowland forests and freshwater swamps. Sarawak is one of the world’s largest exporters of sago products with annual exports of approximately 43,000 tons. However, the mass production of sago produces large amounts of waste residues. From 600 logs of sago palm per day, an estimated 15.6 tons of woody bark, 237.6 tons of waste water and 7.1 tons of starch fibrous sago pith residue are generated. Currently, sago pith residues are either incinerated or discharged into waterways, which eventually contributes to environmental problems. Until now, no studies have examined sago waste’s potential as an oil adsorbent, despite its resemblance to previously studied natural oil sorbents such as cotton, wool and bark.

Low-tech manufacturing, the new hidden champion of innovation

The so called “Low Tech” companies are vitally important because they employ 60% of workers. We have been overlooking the value and innovation that goes on in so called “low tech” companies, according to a European expert on industry. Auckland University recently hosted Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen Chair of Economic and Industrial Sociology TU Dortmund University, Germany. He spoke about the latest research that is uncovering these “low tech” innovators. He says everyone has been in love with “high-tech”companies, the definition of which is companies that have an R & D investment of over 5% of turnover and “low tech” having 1% or less investment in R & D. However the so called “Low Tech” companies are vitally important because they employ 60% of workers – many more than the medium to high tech companies, and they are remarkably stable and innovative in a specific way. Common attributes are step by step product improvement, incremental innovation, small batches and also large scale production, relatively stable market segments, close to important customers, flexible and fast delivery, and semi-skilled or unskilled workers. They have the capacity to integrate external knowledge and high tech components and are the recipients and carriers of high tech innovations. They learn by doing, trial and error and have the capability to manage networks. Policymakers (Callaghan Innovation and MBIE) should also focus on the so called “low-tech” businesses. Innovation is more than just R & D investment as low tech businesses are good at using high tech developed elsewhere and leveraging it in innovative ways. So what can policy makers do to support? Prof Kenneth Husted from Auckland University says; • Support creative reconstruction (don’t write off industries as “sunset” just because they are going through change) • Stimulate collaboration across sectors and size • Support to aggregate […]

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