A Napier engineering apprentice is on a mission to get more people into trades.

Paul Taurima is an engineering apprentice at Foot Engineering in Napier through Competenz (an industry training organisation). He is a speaker at a series of events organised by Competenz to encourage Maori and Pasifika school levers into trades apprenticeships, especially engineering.

Mr Taurima says his job involves a range of roles and responsibilities to ensure the workplace runs smoothly including being a courier driver, rubbish man, a builder, forklift driver and cleaner as well as engineering tasks. "Every day is a challenge and that's why I love it.

"I love that at my job you might be welding a bicycle then one phone call later, you're packing the bush truck to repair a digger, then maybe at the port doing maintenance.

"Every day is different and the variety of work my company covers is so vast, I'm going to have a good set of skills when I qualify."

Continue to the full article here on Hawkes Bay Today ||  October 9,  2017   |||

New Zealand software innovator CS-VUE has enhanced an environmental compliance management system for one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects – the NZ Transport Agency’s $709.5m motorway from Pūhoi to Warkworth. It is the first stage of the Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance.

It’s a long way from where it all began. In 2004 the software start-up business was created to help the former Auckland City Council better manage its stormwater consents.

CS-VUE has since grown in staff, clients and turnover. In recent years, work includes providing software to manage the New Zealand Transport Agency’s operational network and capital project consents. Roads of National Significance projects can involve hundreds of consents across multiple teams and construction areas, with work often staged.

The Transport Agency says prior to using CS-VUE’s software to help manage their consent conditions and compliance, they relied on a range of spreadsheet-type systems that differed from contract to contract.

When the Transport Agency’s second Public Private Partnership (PPP) Pūhoi to Warkworth was in the procurement phase, CS-VUE General Manager Wayne Fisher got a phone call.

“I recall they wanted us to design some enhancements to the software and quickly,” he laughs. “We were thrilled for the call up. It was scoped, designed and built in time for the award of the contract to Northern Express Group (NX2).”

Mr Fisher says with construction underway, their software module is now doing its job and will continue to well after the four-lane motorway opens because many of the consents are ongoing, as is monitoring and compliance.

Known as their ‘Two Step Sign Off’ module, CS-VUE has built in extra capability and better data exchange to effectively allow “two-way conversations” between the consent holder and its contractors and the regulator, Auckland Council.

“Normally a consent holder would rely solely on its contractors to ensure every consent was being monitored and complied with. Our module gives the Transport Agency direct oversight and Auckland Council instant access to the status of consents with the ability to directly sign them off.”

Graham Jones, Senior Monitoring Officer at Auckland Council’s Resource Consents department says: “To the best of my knowledge this is the first time the regulator has shared a common platform with both the consent holder, the NZ Transport Agency and the contractor, NX2. All parties having access to common software allows us all to be on the same page at any instant in time on the status of conditions. As a project team, it allows us to work in a more collaborative manner.”

Tom Newson, NZTA’s Principal Project Manager, says: “As a PPP, the Pūhoi to Warkworth conditions require input and oversight from the three key parties during construction and once in service to ensure compliance and management of the outcomes-based consents set by the Board of Inquiry in 2014. CS-VUE’s new system provides all parties with quick access and a single source of truth via a two-step validation process with Auckland Council. We’re using it as a pilot with a view to using the same CS-VUE application on other large roading infrastructure projects, such as East West Link and the Northern Corridor improvements.”

Mr Fisher says with the 18.5km motorway scheduled to open by 2022, having a cloud-based environmental compliance management system that each party can access 24/7 not only means greater transparency, which helps to avoid any breaches and saves time.”

CS-VUE is proud of its role with the Pūhoi to Warkworth PPP, which will ultimately help in the Northern Express Group’s construction, management and maintenance of the motorway for the five-year construction and its further 25-year operational period.

“The Transport Agency is a massive government agency with a huge work programme. They’re also champions of innovation. As a New Zealand-owned and operated software business, we’re delighted to be working alongside them on a daily basis. It just goes to show there is room for local products and suppliers if they can deliver and keep up.”

Mr Newson says the Pūhoi to Warkworth outcome-based RMA conditions provide greater flexibility to the contractor in both design and construction than most other Transport Agency projects. It also requires vigilance from a compliance standpoint.

CS-VUE is also working with about 20 percent of the country’s district and city councils ensuring they keep on top of their often complex and lengthy consents granted by regional councils. For Auckland Council, CS-VUE manages its stormwater and contaminated land sites.

“Our clients have achieved great results around improving information accuracy and auditability. We provide tools to achieve better business analytics and we can reduce an organisation’s annual operating costs.

Board directors prick up their ears when we talk about improvements to governance, risk and compliance. While helping to keep the rates down seems to resonate with council procurement managers. Our products actually offer many tangible advantages.”

He says public and private entities also respond positively to the concept of resilience and keeping critical information safe from the likes of earthquakes, floods or fires. CS-VUE achieves this as its software is entirely cloud-based, putting everything in one place for easy management, and no capital expenditure on hardware is required.

CS-VUE also manages and tracks resource consents for big infrastructure players and heavy industry. Most consents being managed are around air discharge, water, land use, and trade waste, or consents issued by NZ Petroleum & Minerals for extraction. Sectors include oil and gas, quarrying, mining, and some of the country’s key ports. While clients include GBC Winstone, Bathurst Resources, Fulton Hogan, Landcorp, NZ Defence Force, KiwiRail, BP and Shell. Large packaging company, PACT, is among its Australian clients.

And it’s not just about delivering up-to-the-minute environmental balance sheets. Since the Health and Safety At Work Act came into force in April last year, CS-VUE has designed and implemented software to help businesses and organisations better manage and mitigate risks in the workplace.

“Over the past 13 years in software we’ve learnt you can have all the marketing, management and techno speak you want, but what really defines whether you succeed or not is the quality of your software developers and CS-VUE has an exceptional team.

“We work really hard to keep ahead of change and continuously improve. That is how we’ve secured great clients and big projects,” says Wayne Fisher.

| A CS-VUE release  ||  October 10,  2017   |||

Pratt & Whitney Canada has signed an agreement with Air New Zealand for engine servicing. This agreement covers the PW123s and PW127Ms which power Air Nelson's Q300s and Mount Cook's ATR 72-500s and -600s respectively. The two regional subsidiaries have a combined fleet of some fifty aircraft.

The Avianca group has signed a similar contract to service the PW127Ns which power its ATR 72-600s. It currently has around fifteen twin-engined turboprop aircraft and is still waiting for ten more.

In addition, the two groups have opted to install the FAST (Full flight data Acquisition, Storage and Transmission) solution, a predictive maintenance solution which manages the engine's health and its use by analysing and transmitting data collected during flights, especially information about propeller vibrations. For Avianca, the system will be particular useful for monitoring "boost" and "super boost" modes, activated during operations in "hot and high" conditions.

This technology has also just been improved as Pratt & Whitney Canada has integrated a propeller vibration trend monitoring function. "This new feature balances the propeller in "as condition" mode, to ensure a predictive and optimised environment designed to reduce operating costs and workloads for pilots and mechanics", explains the Canadian engine producer.

| A Le Journal de l’Aviation release  ||  October 5,  2017   |||

According to a new report, the design sector contributed over $10 billion to the New Zealand economy in 2016 writes Henry Oliver from TheSpinoff in which he asks Thomas Mical, the head of AUT’s School of Art and Design, what that means for New Zealand design.

Designers know that their work creates value, but a recent report from DesignCo – commissioned by ten New Zealand institutions including AUT – confirms it, by quantifying design’s growing impact on the New Zealand economy. According to The Value of Design to New Zealand report, the design sector contributed approximately $10.1 billion to the New Zealand economy in 2016, about 4.2% of New Zealand’s GDP.

And if design were treated as its own industry rather than a sector within various industries, its contribution to the economy would be larger than agriculture ($8.1 billion) and on the heels of retail trade ($10.6 billion) and food, beverage and tobacco product manufacturing ($10.6 billion). Product design and interactive design are the two biggest contributors towards design’s economic impact, along with manufacturing, human health, financial, environmental and construction industries.

But it’s not just design for design’s sake. The report shows a strong design sector and national prosperity and economic growth. Further, design is a powerful tool of urban regeneration and a way to help solve complex and hard-to-solve problems in both the private and public spheres.

Thomas Mical, the head of AUT’s School of Art and Design, was trained as an architect and has thought a lot about the interaction of public and private spaces. He sees reports like The Value of Design as vital, not just for the design industry to prove it’s worth to the government and the private sector, but for designer’s themselves to understand their economic impact and the value of the work they do. And for Mical, who sees the future of design everyday in his student’s work, its value is only going to grow.

Continue here to read the full article on TheSpinOff ||  October 5,  2017   |||

The acquisition will be concluded on behalf of the French carrier by its Australasian subsidiary, ANL, which will then merge with Sofrana to create Sofrana ANL.

Chief executive of SeaIntelligence Consulting Lars Jensen said the acquisition was in line with CMA CGM’s focus on growing regional presence through snapping up niche brands.

Mr Jensen added: “It also is another step in the consolidation among the smaller shortsea and feeder carriers globally that will unfold in the coming years.”

While ANL already operates at ports throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, CMA CGM hopes to capitalise on Sofrana’s “in-depth knowledge” of the region to expand its reach.

Active in the South Pacific for 50 years, New Zealand-based Sofrana operates 10 vessels on eight tradelanes, servicing 21 ports in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific.

Sofrana-ANL would conduct operations across Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, North America and the Pacific islands.

CMA CGM has proved adept at handling the integration process during recent acquisitions, its latest results being the third full quarter to include figures from Singapore-based APL, showing how it could take a loss-making company and turn it into a profit generator.

The carrier reported revenues of $10.1bn and operating profits of $724m, driven by an upturn of 34% in liftings and a 9% increase in revenue.

Net profit reached $320m over the six months to June, versus a loss of $217m at the halfway point of 2016, with APL contributing $116m – in the first half of 2016 APL lost $127m.

Industry analysts cite CMA CGM as the best-performing container line in the world, with profit margins in the region of 7.1%, 1.8% ahead of its nearest competitor.

The Sofrana acquisition follows the agreement this summer between CMA CGM, reefer specialist Seatrade and independent container line Marfret to launch a joint service in the South Pacific.

One of the first instances of cooperation between specialist reefer and container carriers, the 13-vessel joint service will link Australasia and French Polynesia with Europe and the US east coast.

The acquisition of Sofrana Unilines is expected to be completed by the end of October. The terms were not disclosed, but Benoît Marcenac, MD of Sofrana for 15 years will remain with the company.

| A Loadstar release  ||  October 3,  2017   |||

On Thursday 5 October at 12.30pm, ambassadors and high commissioners from nine of the countries involved in Antarctica will visit the Antarctic Ecobots programme at Ara. Their visit is being hosted by Antarctica NZ.

Antarctic Ecobots is a free interactive workshop for year 9 and 10 students on 4 and 5 October. The focus in this workshop is to build a robot that can tackle dangerous environmental tasks using maths, physics and computer skills, utilising VEX IQ Robots and MBots that then compete to win the ‘Antarctic Mission’.

After learning about Antarctic science, including microbiology, glaciation, the effects of global warming and the damage it does to the environment, participants learn what robots can contribute in this environment and then build an ecobot robot.

Earlier in the week was Mission to Antarctica, a free engineering programme on 2 and 3 October for Years 9-11, exploring solutions for living in an inhospitable place.

Participants use engineering and architectural design principles and 3D printing to build geodesic habitats and energy systems for survival, and learn how to live in harmony with this unique and fragile environment.

The habitat created would also harness solar and wind energy and protect humans from radiation, cold, wind and extreme isolation – no small challenge, says Ara STEM Coordinator Miranda Sattherthwaite.

“Providing a substantial challenge raises the engagement of the participants as they strive to use design thinking, learning and resources to create solutions. There are many inhospitable places on the planet, each with their own challenges. This programme, run in collaboration with Fablab, gets participants thinking about how humans can exist in such places. Using the tools of engineering and broadens their understanding of what can be accomplished,” she said.

Engineering comes into many aspects of life near the south pole such as navigation, wearable technology and the science of Antarctic glaciology.

Miranda is seeing more and more robotics in learning in New Zealand and this is coming through to competitions as well.

Later in the year, she will help to judge the biggest robotics competition ever held in the Southern Hemisphere in Rotorua in December - the Asia Pacific VEX Robotics Competition 2017 .

Ara uses innovative technology such as robotics, modelling and 3D printing to engage students in science, technology, engineering and science.

School holiday programmes in these areas help students to broaden their awareness, start thinking about possible careers and check out study options and pathways - plus they are a lot of fun and free.

| An ARA release  ||  October 4,  2017   |||

Air New Zealand, its catering partner LSG Sky Chefs and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) have teamed up to tackle inflight waste from Air New Zealand’s international services arriving in Auckland with a world-leading partnership expected to divert 150 tonnes of waste from landfill annually. The waste reduction initiative Project Green has enabled 40 Air New Zealand inflight products that were previously sent to landfill due to biosecurity controls, to be reclassified so they can be reused on future flights if removed from aircraft sealed and untouched. Products approved to date include sealed beverages and unopened snacks with further items to be added in coming months. In the first month of running Project Green across its international fleet, the airline diverted 13 tonnes of waste, including 266,000 plastic cups, 480kg of sugar packets and 3.5 tonnes of bottled water. The programme, which has been developed over 18 months, is also enabling greater recycling of low biosecurity risk packaging, more accurate loading of catering items onto aircraft and reduced waste disposal costs with fewer items sent to landfill. Waste management is a significant issue for all airlines, with International Air Transport Association (IATA) data estimating the global industry generated 5.2m tonnes of inflight waste in 2016. While Air New Zealand has always been waste-conscious, quarantine controls have presented challenges to recycling initiatives in the past. Air New Zealand Head of Operational Delivery Alan Gaskin says, “We’ve spent considerable time auditing our inflight waste to gain a better understanding of how we can improve our handling processes. By collaborating with LSG Sky Chefs and MPI we’ve been able to make significant gains and we’re incredibly encouraged by the early data we’re seeing. “Project Green is an outstanding example how airlines can work with border regulators to develop solutions to reduce cabin waste without comprising quarantine controls.” The project has required a change in onboard processes for the airline’s staff, particularly for cabin crew who play a key role by returning unused items to stowage and separating goods correctly. LSG Sky Chefs New Zealand General Manager Pieter Harting says, “Our role in Project Green is to ensure items taken off aircraft are sorted correctly and meet the standards we’ve agreed with MPI and Air New Zealand, before reloading trolleys with approved items for the next service. It’s been an exciting journey for us, requiring a big culture shift and getting our people onboard with new ways of working.” Ministry for Primary Industries Cargo Manager Stu Rawnsley says, “This project is rethinking how waste from international flights is managed in New Zealand. It’s been excellent working with Air New Zealand and LSG to ensure the initiative meets New Zealand’s tough biosecurity standards.” This is the first stage of the airline’s collaboration with LSG Sky Chefs New Zealand and MPI. Moving forward the organisations will look at how they can further expand the range of unused products that can safely be recovered and develop a more precise approach to analysing collection data to ensure aircraft are catered more accurately. Project Green is just one of several initiatives Air New Zealand has in place across its business to tackle waste. The airline also has programmes in place to recycle paper coffee cups used on domestic jet services, organic waste from head office, office materials and lounge furniture, staff uniforms and blankets. Click here or on the image below to download broadcast quality footage on Project Green, including interviews with Air New Zealand, LSG Sky Chefs New Zealand and MPI.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  October 4,  2017   |||

The troubled triumph of 1993’s Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits by Jonny Potts | Guest writer for TheSpinOff October 3, 2017

Tom Petty died today, aged 66. Jonny Potts remembers his 1993 Greatest Hits album, one of the best single-disc greatest hits compilations ever released.

I still have my copy of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits on CD. It was one of the first CDs I bought after acquiring a shitty boombox from an older kid at school. Up till then, it had all been tapes: The Rhythm Volume 3, Joyride, Use Your Illusion II, The Simpsons Sing the Blues.

With a CD, you could skip the tracks. That was the big selling point. Sure, the sound quality was supposedly immaculate, but what the hell did I know? CDs were big, beautiful objects to own. They were an investment which promised, in the excessive ‘How to Care for your CD’ notes which frequently accompanied the early ones, ‘a lifetime of listening enjoyment’. No more spooling the tape back in with a pencil! For a modest investment of $33 today you can guarantee that when you’re on your deathbed you’ll be able to skip straight to ‘Informer’ on Snow’s 12 Inches of Snow.

In 1993, the massive singles from Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open were still current, with the videos being played alongside Green Jelly and C+C Music Factory on RTR Countdown. But they were already classics. ‘Free Fallin’’, ‘Into the Great Wide Open’, ‘Learning to Fly’ and ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ were rich and fully formed capital R Rock; they seemed to belong to another generation. The guy had a weird mumbly non-voice like the old dude off Dire Straits. The songs were kinda like Bruce Springsteen but without the bombast. And he looked like a skeleton. How old were these guys? Is it OK to keep the video recorder going to catch the creepy ‘Mary Jane’ video when all I wanted was the ‘In Bloom’ one? Brendan says this song is about drugs. Have I ever liked a song with a harmonica in it before?

The hugeness of those hits did not suggest a backstory. They were the story: massive, singalong standards that your friend’s older brother’s friend could play on guitar. They belonged to everyone. Because of this, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers did not seem to fit anywhere. In 1993, they were not canonised, like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, nor were they ushering in something new like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. And Tom Petty was in a band with one of the Beatles? What is he, like, 60? Was there anyone else making music this restrained and commercial that we all agreed on?

But though we all liked that stuff, Petty wasn’t ours. This was Older Brother’s Music. The idea of risking $33 on a copy of Full Moon Fever on CD was prohibitive, especially when you’re saving up for the Spin Doctors’ Pocket Full of Kryptonite.

The songs were insistent. They were everywhere. They became mixtape staples. They were used to score cricket highlights. You heard them coming out of builders’ radios and student flats. Nobody could change the station when they heard the chime of that opening chord of ‘Free Fallin’’. You could make a decision to not like Paul McCartney or Neil Young: with Tom Petty you had no choice.

So the release of a greatest hits album was, as the sales figures bear out, a smart move. The album was massive. There were 18 tracks on it – great bang for your buck – and I knew about six of them. The great thing was, I could skip straight to those bangers. And by not buying four CD singles, I’d saved myself about $7.

OK, I am now going to ask you to try to imagine what it is like buying a CD with ‘American Girl’, ‘Refugee’, ‘The Waiting’ and ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ on it having never heard those songs before.

Continue to read Johnny's full article on TheSpinoff right here  ||  October 4,  2017   |||

Ceva Logistics is celebrating two anniversaries in Australia this month, marking ten years of operations as Ceva Logistics, and the first anniversary of its new Australasian headquarters in Truganina, Victoria.

Ceva was born in Australia from the merger of Australian transport company, Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT), and Eagle Global Logistics in August 2007.

Ceva is celebrating the milestone achievements with customers and staff across the country, starting with a staff event at Truganina hosted by Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Carlos Velez Rodriguez.

“We are delighted to be able to celebrate two landmark achievements at the same time with our colleagues and customers,” said Velez Rodriguez.

“I’d particularly like to pay tribute to our staff, be they working at this site or others in the Australia & New Zealand cluster, for their dedication and hard work in making this company the success it is today. A number of them have been with us for many more than the ten years we are marking today and we salute them all.”

| A L&MH release  ||  October 3,  2017   |||

DB Schenker Australia has announced the opening of its new logistics facility in Hoxton, New South Wales – 42km east of Sydney. The company notes that the internal site covers an area the size of almost eight football fields, making it one of the largest multi-client contract logistics facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.

The additional of the Hoxton site, with its 50,000m2 internal area and 15,000m2 external under-cover area, brings DB Schenkers Australia’s nationwide coverage to 330,000m2 over 25 sites.

Hoxton Park is a multi-client facility for consumer electronics, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and fashion/retail customers. It is located close to major highways, including the M7, M4 and M5, and has access to the Sydney metro and national network.

“Hoxton Park is the newest and largest contract logistics facility for DB Schenker in Australia,” said Ron Koehler, CEO Australia and New Zealand. “Our staff will provide for our customers first-class logistics services in this well-positioned facility right on the Sydney freeway network.”

He added that the company will also utilise the facility as a hub for domestic transport network, and to move full container load movements cost effectively to Hoxton Park for distribution to Sydney customers.

The facility will incorporate Automated Transport Sortation Systems (ATSS) that will allow for the consolidation of freight from several customers into the Schenker domestic transport business. In addition, value added services will be provided on site, including an Advanced Technical Centre providing configuration and testing for IT devices.

“DB Schenker Australia is consolidating existing business into Hoxton Park as well as adding new substantial business,” said Michael Harich, Director – Contract Logistics/Supply Chain Management AU/NZ, DB Schenker Australia. “Hoxton Park is a key part of our 2020 strategy to grow to 500,000m2 in Australia and at the same time combine existing smaller sites into larger facilities to generate synergies.”

Key features of the TAPA-certified facility include high clearance warehousing and access for high performance vehicles (two 40′ containers or four 20′ containers on one truck), full drive-around access and a weighbridge to support Chain of Responsibility (CoR) commitments

| A L&MH release ||  October 2, 2017   |||