Dec 1, 2017  -  Phillip Goundar, New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Civil) student, placed in the top three in an Engineering NZ competition, earning return flights to the November ‘Engineer your Career’ forum. The second year Ara Institute of Canterbury student from Fiji believes it was his creative vision, background and experience that impressed the judges. 

In answering why he chose to study engineering Goundar drew upon his own life experiences.  “I originate from a rural village in Fiji called Vatukarasa. Growing up we had a very basic house and no [clean] running water. I had to walk with a two-litre bottle to a family friend’s house as they had a borehole and clean water, so I would fill it up and walk back home. I made several trips every afternoon so we had clean water to drink.”

Experiences such as this make Goundar appreciate the value of engineering. “If I don’t do something correctly there are lives at stake, so that builds pride into what I’m doing. I can see how my work is going to serve the community. I can see the importance of my job, especially after going through all of the Christchurch earthquakes and aftershocks.”

Goundar was one of eight engineering students from Ara who beat out competition from tertiary institutes across the country to attend the Wellington forum. Engineering New Zealand, formerly IPENZ, originally offered fifty forum spots for tertiary students. However, due to the high calibre of entries they decided to offer seventy-two spots.

To earn entry to the forum students had to provide winning answers to two questions: what inspired you to study engineering and what does the future of engineering look like to you?

Twenty-one year old Goundar thinks that in the future the engineering industry will place higher value on safety and innovation. Within his own career, Goundar wants to explore the concept of “designing a material which is lighter than concrete but much superior in strength”.

“The highlight of the whole event for me was to hear that grades are important but it’s a fifty-fifty split between grades and experience. For me personally, I made use of all my opportunities at Ara, not just in class. Ara gave me the platform to speak up and share my ideas. The tutors welcome questions and conversation with the students, and they keep learning engaging. It’s clear that they want you to understand.”

From December, Goundar will start working for BECA as a Civil Engineering Technician. However, since attending the forum he is considering his career pathway and exploring the possibilities of further study.  “I appreciated the networking opportunities at the forum to talk with new engineers in the field and hear about the difficulties they face. I also gained a better understanding of how I could move up in the ranks within the engineering industry.”

“My goal is to study the Ara Bachelor of Engineering Degree part-time, or a Bachelor of Engineering through University. Once I have achieved that and gained work experience I want to go on to do a taught Masters. I don’t know if I’ll want to work within the industry for my entire career. One day I’d like to be a lecturer.”

| An ARA rerlease  ||  December 1, 2017   |||

Nov 30, 2017  -  Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene says everything her organisation has done to raise the bar for engineers has been in the shadow of this tragedy.  “Today our first thoughts are for those who lost loved ones in the CTV building. We are very aware of the families’ ongoing grief.  “We know that the public wants better ways of holding engineers accountable. We’ve changed our rules so that a member can’t resign to avoid a complaint, and we’ve overhauled our complaints process.

“Last year we introduced a new Code of Ethical Conduct that sets new expectations for engineers.

“Engineers now have an obligation to report potential adverse consequences for people’s health and safety. This means that they must take action if they see something of concern.

“For example, if they see potential design flaws in a building under construction, or poor construction practices that threaten health and safety.

“And if an engineer suspects another engineer has significantly breached the Code, they must report this.

“On 1 October, Engineering New Zealand introduced a new membership pathway for our 20,000 members. All members must now pledge every year to uphold the Code of Ethical Conduct and commit to ongoing professional development.

“We have strengthened the Chartered Professional Engineer assessment process for structural engineers to include more specific and targeted assessment.

“But we would like to see changes to the way engineers are regulated. Engineering New Zealand supports the task-based licencing of engineers for safety-critical work. This means restricting safety-critical design to engineers specifically licensed to do this work.

“As well as structural engineering, we’d like to see this kind of regulation extend to any safety-critical work; for example, fire, geotechnical and food-process engineering.

|  Background: Complaints relating to the CTV building tragedy

We received complaints about David Harding from MBIE’s Chief Engineer and a group of victims’ families.

Our Disciplinary Committee found that Mr Harding had breached our Code of Ethics.

Towards the end of this process, he resigned.

Because he was no longer a member, the Disciplinary Committee had no power to make any orders against him, but we made the decision against him public.

We received complaints about Alan Reay from MBIE’s Chief Engineer and a group of victims’ families.

Dr Reay resigned as a member in February 2014, while the complaints process was underway.

The timing of his resignation meant we no longer had jurisdiction over Dr Reay. So the complaints process was stopped.

In March 2015, the Government sought a judicial review of our decision to stop the complaints process. The judicial review is ongoing and a date for the substantive hearing hasn’t been set. In the meantime, we have changed our rules so that a member can’t resign to avoid a complaints process.

 | An Engineering New Zealand release  ||  November 30,  2017   |||

Nov 30, 2017  -  Europe’s largest industrial manufacturing company, Siemens, has teamed up with one of the world’s largest software companies, Software AG, to address the IoT market by integrating Siemens’ IoT operating system, MindSphere, with Software AG’s Digital Business Platform.  Software AG CEO Karl-Heinz Streibich said the aim was to intelligently combine Siemens’ global industrial presence with Software AG’s software expertise in IoT.

“Bringing our high-performance components of our Digital Business Platform to MindSphere, users will have new opportunities to exploit the full potential of their data to get a competitive edge,” he said.

The two companies say the combination of their technologies will provide comprehensive market-leading capabilities enabling users to acquire and comprehensively analyse raw data produced by plants, machines, systems and products more easily.

“Software AG application and device management technology enables both centralised networking of devices as well as cloud-based management, providing scalable and flexible management for a network of millions of end devices, also in the area of edge analytics in the future,” Software AG said.

Siemens describes MindSphere as a cloud-based, open IoT operating system that “connects real things to the digital world,” and “an open platform as a service (PaaS) [that] enables a rich partner ecosystem to develop and deliver new applications providing a basis for new business models, such as in the fields of preventive maintenance, energy data management or resource optimisation.”

Siemens says MindSphere’s APIs and support for open connectivity standards enable the production of OEM and customer specific apps. “For example, for machine manufacturers, Siemens MindApps provide the basic functions for machine manufacturers to enter the digital world,” the company says.

“Machine manufacturers can use these basic functions to apply their specific and comprehensive machine and process knowledge. … This allows them, for example, to monitor machines scattered throughout the world, or whole machine fleets, and to reduce their downtime.”

The Digital Business Platform is Software AG’s flagship product. It is essentially a methodology for a business that wants to undergo digital transformation and is complemented with a range of software products to enable that process.

In the IoT sphere the Digital Business Platform underpins Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT, launched in September 2017.

Software AG said at the time. “[Cumulocity IoT] brings together the power of Software AG’s Digital Business Platform and the original Cumulocity products portfolio into a single, comprehensive and leading IoT portfolio [that] will take full advantage of Software AG’s industry-leading integration, business process, advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities, based on its heritage in enterprise middleware platform leadership.”

Cumulocity originated as a spinoff from the, now defunct, Nokia Siemens joint venture in 2010 and was acquired by Software AG in 2016. According to Software AG, Cumulocity now has over 200 eco system partners including device partners, network and connectivity partners, application partners, system integrators and ISVs.

MindSphere is part of Siemens’ Digital Enterprise Suite, which the company says is used for product lifecycle management, manufacturing operations management and totally integrated automation to make “products, like laptops, computers, televisions, cars, trucks, planes, heavy equipment, fitness devices, white goods, etc.”

Siemens envisions these products being connected to MindSphere so their data can be collected and analysed in MindSphere applications and connected back to the complete digital twin to drive innovation.

MindSphere fulfils a similar role in the IoT ecosystem as Predix from US based industrial giant GE and the Siemens/Software AG tie up is the latest in a series as Siemens and GE seek to increase the role of their respective platforms in industrial IoT.

Earlier this month Apple announced a software development kit to enable developers to create iOS apps integrated with GE’s Predix industrial IoT platform. A year earlier GE and Microsoft announced a partnership to make GE’s Predix industrial IoT platform available on Microsoft Azure.

In September 2016 Bosch and GE announced plans to work on technology interoperability and platform integration through Predix operating system and the Bosch IoT Suite.

In December 2016 Siemens and IBM announced plans to integrate IBM's Watson Analytics and other analytics tools into MindSphere.

| An IOTHub release   ||  November 30, 2017   |||

Nov 30, 2017  - Pipeline technology specialist, STATS Group (STATS), has formalised an agency agreement with OSD Pty Limited, New Zealand’s largest independent pipeline service company.  OSD is a leading engineering, operations and commercial services provider to the oil and gas, pipelines and facilities, process, refining, water and hydro-transport sectors.

Kintore-based STATS Group specialises in the provision of pipeline isolation, repair and integrity services, including the design, supply and provision of specialised test, intervention and isolation tools, to the international oil and gas industry.

The agreement follows recent collaboration between the two companies in which STATS have completed three pressurised pipeline isolation projects for major operators in New Zealand on behalf of OSD, allowing for the safe replacement and installation of valves.

The deal has the potential to significantly increase exposure of STATS’s patented pipeline isolation technologies in the southern hemisphere and will complement recent growth in the Asian and Chinese markets.

STATS DNV GL type approved isolation tools provide fail-safe double block and bleed isolation allowing sections of pipework to be vented, creating safe worksite conditions for repair and maintenance to be carried out, often without affecting production.

STATS Group regional sales manager for Asia Pacific, Gareth Campbell, said: “This is an ideal partnership for STATS which opens up new markets and provides opportunities to showcase our expertise in pipeline isolation, hot-tapping and valve replacement services.

“We share the same ethos as OSD in seeking to offer world-class engineering across the asset lifecycle, with a focus on technical and commercial innovation. This alliance has enjoyed an excellent start with three successful isolation projects in New Zealand and we believe our joint capabilities offer a compelling proposition for operators in the New Zealand pipeline sector.”

OSD’s general manager, New Zealand, Shane Hamnett, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce this partnership with STATS as it further supports our drive for excellence in providing world class engineering, technical and innovative solutions to industries toughest challenges.

“Jointly, our outstanding relationship and organisational alignment provides a unique opportunity for pipeline operators to efficiently implement solutions that improve the overall operations, maintenance and growth activities across their asset base.”

| A STATS group release  ||  November 30, 2017  |||

Nov 30, 2017  -  In a manufacturing plant at Dongguan, a nondescript town about an hour outside the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, a robot arrives to collect the latest box of Huawei smartphones rolling off a production line writes Mark Jennings for Newsroom.

Stand in the robot’s path and it politely tells you (in Mandarin) to move aside. The robots are busy here – this plant produces 1.3 million smartphones a month; some will likely end up in New Zealand.

Huawei sold 139 million phones last year and ranks third behind Samsung and Apple.

Robots are steadily replacing people in Huawei’s Chinese plants.

“They are more efficient and the quality is better," New Zealand journalists being shown through the plant were told.

According to Huawei, only three phones out of every million fail the rigorous quality control tests.

Humans still have a role - there are 28 of them on each Huawei production line, mainly putting cameras into the phones and testing functionality - but their days are numbered.

Word is that the nearby Foxconn plants (which make smartphones for Apple and Samsung) have 250 people on each production line.

“That’s because people are still cheaper (than the sophisticated robots) for now.”

But, it is clear from the smile on our guide’s face that Huawei doesn’t think the cost difference will last much longer.

Continue here to read the full srticle by Mark Jennings for Newsroom  ||  November 30, 2017   |||

Nov 30, 2017  -  A major tourist attraction that will include a cable car, toboggan rides, zip wire, as well as a restaurant and event venue on Kilvey Hill in Swansea has taken a step forward.  Board directors of New Zealand-based Skyline Enterprises have given the green light for the company to start the detailed design process and begin legal discussions for the attraction the will overlook Swansea Bay.

Representatives from Skyline Enterprises will now work with Swansea Council to move the deal forward and get it approved.

Once an agreement is in place, Skyline Enterprises will start working towards its planning application.

Should the scheme go ahead it will be funded entirely by private money, with no funding required from taxpayers.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Major Projects, said: "This is great news for Swansea, for Swansea's tourism industry and for Wales.

"Thanks to a 'Team Swansea' approach and the backing of a number of local businesses who have been supportive of the Skyline proposal, we were able to convey to Skyline Enterprises our enthusiastic support for the scheme during their recent visit.

"This decision is a great vote of confidence in Swansea as a tourist destination and builds on the great work being done through the City Deal and our bid to be the UK's City of Culture in 2021."

Skyline Enterprises already runs two resorts which feature cable car rides and other attractions in New Zealand, as well as luge rides in Canada, South Korea and Singapore.

The cable car attraction set for Swansea would be the company's first outside New Zealand.

Representatives of the company have been to Swansea twice in recent months to check out the potential of Kilvey Hill as a tourism hotspot capable of attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year.

The latest visit included meetings with Swansea Council and major local businesses at the Liberty Stadium to advance Swansea's case for the attraction, which would further build on plans to regenerate the River Tawe corridor.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: "Kilvey Hill, standing 193 metres tall, enjoys spectacular views over Swansea Bay, the marina, SA1, the Liberty Stadium and the historic Hafod Morfa Copperworks site.

“It's been an underused resource, and has huge potential to be transformed into a fun visitor destination for local people and hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

"We were determined to do all we could to help bring this project to Swansea because it would also attract additional investment and benefit local businesses by generating more spending and supply chain opportunities."

Geoff McDonald, Skyline Enterprises chief executive, said: "Skyline Enterprises is very excited about the potential opportunity to partner with the Swansea community to create what we believe will be a significant and vibrant attraction for the area.

“We are encouraged by the enthusiasm and interest in our gondola and luge operation, and look forward to on-going discussions."

The cable car attraction would add to the work Swansea Council and Swansea University are continuing to do to breathe new life into the historic Hafod Morfa Copperworks site.

With support from the Welsh Government, Cadw and European funds, progress on site has included clearing vegetation, stabilising buildings at risk, improving access for visitors, community archaeology fieldwork, new pathways, an audio-visual trail and new information panels.

| A bqlive release  ||  November 30, 2017   |||

Nov 29, 2017 - When Casey Aranui went looking for work experience for her EIT trades training programme, she was knocked back by a dozen builders.  The reasons she was given, she says, were about gender, but the determined 32-year-old wasn’t about to be deterred and her perseverance has paid off.

Graham Scarfe Builder Ltd offered Casey the opportunity she was looking for, and now, working full-time for the company, she is on track to securing a carpentry apprenticeship.

EIT tutor Tom Hay says Casey wasn’t the norm for a Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Construction Trade Skills (Carpentry) student, the norm being “a young fellow just out of high school”.  However, she was one of four women on the programme – which has intakes in February and July – and Tom says the local building industry needs more female role models like her.

Living in Taradale, Casey and husband Reese have four children aged between two to seven.  The Ngāti Kahungunu couple have a plan for getting ahead and it was with that in mind that they both enrolled at EIT.Reese recently completed the first year of the Level 6 Diploma in Architectural Technology and once he gains his qualification he wants to work at a job that will allow him to give back to his community.

Managing the demands of family life, Casey notched up a good attendance record at EIT. And while on work experience she tackled some hard physical jobs including jack-hammering out concrete.  “She’s really determined,” Tom says and Graham Scarfe, whose family company employs 25 staff, agrees. “She’s going to be a top apprentice,” Graham enthuses. “She has got a hard road to achieve that and she’s going to do it.”

Like Casey, he’s picked up on outdated attitudes towards women working on construction sites and says there’s no need for it – from builders or from clients.

While Casey found that mind-set disheartening, she says she had no option other than to succeed. “We have four kids at home and a mortgage, bailing wasn’t an option.”

Like Reese, Casey likes to give back to the community. With Tom’s guidance and using offcuts from the trades programme, she and a friend recently built a rabbit hutch for the kōhanga reo on Waiohiki marae. Outside of work, she enjoys time with whānau and keeps active with boxing, cycling, Iron Māori and waka ama.

| An EIT release  ||  November 29, 2017   |||

Nov 28, 2017  -  Kiwi-owned and operated VigilAir has launched its semi-autonomous aerial surveillance drone technology onto the global market – a product that has the potential to change the face of security worldwide. “The VigilAir software product is one of the first of its kind and will undoubtedly disrupt the security industry. Simply put, our software will enable drones to be the first-response security guards of the future,” says director of VigilAir Limited, Mike Marr.

Mr Marr’s company has spent some years pioneering the use of drones with new technology for security purposes, including self-funding their own research and development, and it’s all run out of their Auckland premises.

New Zealand has been at the forefront of drone/UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) regulation. VigilAir continues to work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to develop the equipment, systems, and processes to provide a safe and effective service.

The VigilAir solution will be provided as a full-service solution, with drone enclosure, installation and full ongoing support provided.

The product and service operate under a current Civil Aviation Authority certification, with work underway to rapidly expand the operating parameters. International patents are also well underway for the software that can dispatch camera-equipped drones to investigate any external security event.

VigilAir is a SaaS product that integrates drones into existing electronic security systems. It’s suited to large outdoor sites such as retail and industrial parks, hospitals, university campuses, schools, ports, prisons, and town centres that are at risk of burglary, vandalism or security breaches. A security drone will also be an effective deterrent.

When not flying, the drone sits in an enclosure - dubbed a nest - located on a business site. When alerted by an alarm sensor trigger, it will be dispatched to fly over the site to investigate, recording and live-streaming high definition video footage to whoever’s monitoring the action.

The drone may include a thermal or infra-red camera, and bright LED floodlights to illuminate any intruder and record the scene. The hovering drone may sound a siren or even talk to the intruder using a two-way communications system.

Before leaving the nest, the VigilAir SaaS system checks the weather data, then the drone flies a pre-determined flight route that’s geo-fenced to preserve neighbours’ privacy and comply with flight regulations.

A future release will allow the drone to be further manoeuvred to follow any fleeing suspects, capturing images of them and their vehicle license plate number as they evade. The drone then returns to its nest to recharge.

“After considerable R&D, innovation and years of trials, not to mention processing technology and software patents, to now be able to unleash the product onto the international market is really exciting.

“VigilAir’s system is all about delivering faster, safer, and more cost-effective security for organisations or businesses with large sites and security installations.”

Mr Marr says to be able to fly a rapid response drone literally directly into a crime, and to record and transmit all that’s happening, has huge advantages over a traditional on-the-ground security response.

“And we’ve designed it to be user-friendly. Security guards, whether on site or operating remotely, will be able to use the system and it’s one that can already ‘talk’ to 99% of all existing electronic security systems.

“As you can imagine this is all a lot safer than dispatching a guard on foot to check out a security problem. Drones will help catch perpetrators as everything’s recorded which is gold for any eventual prosecutions. And importantly, the ongoing cost will be lighter on operational budgets.”

Mr Marr says VigilAir has the potential to make $400m in annualised revenue. This is largely because the fully integrated semi-autonomous system is a world-leader and its ease of operation and effectiveness has wide appeal for any organisation needing to protect its assets or people.

VigilAir is completing reseller agreements with two major international corporations, providing a channel for product export and on-going support.

“We’re very confident in its success. We’ve done exhaustive searches and cannot find anything to compare with VigilAir’s system worldwide. It’s truly a global first with unlimited potential.”

Further, he believes harnessing drone technology for security purposes was somewhat inevitable for a company that has been at the forefront of CCTV and wireless security technology in New Zealand.

VigilAir’s interest in drones however doesn’t stop at security. Mr Marr says while their use for aerial photography is well established, considerable potential remains in core New Zealand sectors like agriculture, construction and forestry.

“Our drones have assisted the police in search and rescue operations in hard-to-reach terrain like cliffs and crevasses. And we’ve done all sorts of work from inspecting the Auckland Harbour Bridge to looking for leaks on the roofs of central city buildings.”

As well as inspecting infrastructure and assets, smart drone technology is used for Infrared imagery to track heat-loss and to create 3D models that are dimensionally correct to a few centimetres.

VigilAir was invented and developed by ASG Technologies - a technology incubator established three years ago by TPT Group. Over 150 people are employed at TPT Group which has a stable of security businesses - the best known in New Zealand being Advanced Security.

Based at East Tamaki, Mr Marr is the founder of TPT Group and remains its CEO. He is also directly heading VigilAir which was founded last year to commercialise ASG’s drone control software.

Mr Marr says the experienced VigilAir team, led by Andy Grant an ex Warfare Officer from the Navy, includes software and mechatronic engineers and a commercial pilot. The team remains focussed on the ongoing development of the VigilAir capability and delivering world-leading future-focused security technology.

“To now launch a semi-autonomous ‘eye in the sky’ solution, incorporating an on-site drone with cloud-based SaaS software, is a long way from how we initially viewed drones - as flying CCTV cameras to support the fixed ones.”

He says with the world continually urbanising, ongoing security technology innovation will help with many governments’ aspirations to develop safer cities.

TPT Group is also advancing robotic technology with the intent of one day launching fully autonomous ‘foot patrol’ robots to work in conjunction with its security drones.

| A VigilAir release  ||  November 28, 2017   |||

Great event in Auckland last week! Places are still available for Christchurch presentation tomorrow

Nov 28, 2017  - ProductPromo - Emergency services in New Zealand can now tap into some of the world’s best signalling devices, light bars, warning and mass notification systems. That’s because NARVA has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Federal Signal products for NZ

Federal Signal is extremely well regarded worldwide as a brand of choice for emergency services applications, with the bulk of the range designed and manufactured in the United States.NARVA NZ National Sales Manager, Tim Paterson, says the new partnership increases NARVA’s ability to target opportunities within the ‘red and blue’ Police, Fire, Ambulance Services and related markets, by offering a wider range of high quality products.

“NARVA has a strong existing range of emergency service lighting but now has a well-established, full range of red and blue products to realise the potential in New Zealand,” says Mr Paterson.“The addition of the Federal Signal product line-up provides us with access to a wide selection of market-leading products that enjoy a premium standing amongst emergency service bodies. With these new products on hand, NARVA is now in a much stronger position to take advantage of the opportunities as well as to provide a quality support network to our emergency service customers.”

Federal Signal is best known for its powerful police vehicle-mounted lightbars, along with siren and speaker systems that produce clear, sharp sound to boost safety on the road. It recently added body cameras to this line-up.

There are also lightbars and sirens specifically designed for ambulances and fire appliances, plus a range of warning lights and signalling devices for civil contracting and local authority vehicles.Mr Paterson says the wider availability of Federal Signal products in New Zealand, coupled with backing from NARVA, will greatly assist the brand achieve strong penetration into the local market.

“With NARVA on board there’s the strong stability and industry know-how to properly promote the Federal Signal brand, allowing it to meet its full potential here.”

| A NARVA release  ||  November 28, 2017   |||