Developments

How distributed manufacturing is reducing operational risk

By Mathew Hunter, innovation product marketing manager, Konica Minolta Distributed localised production has emerged as a counterpoint to globalisation as it places the production of goods closer to consumers or at the point of use. Using additive manufacturing means manufacturers can produce goods onsite, which delivers a host of financial, efficiency, and environmental advantages. Although globalisation can offer businesses many benefits, the trend towards distributed manufacturing is increasing. Particularly in recent times, this acceleration is due to factors such as: rising fuel prices, which has significantly increased long-haul shipping cost; concerns over climate change and its negative environmental effects; and the lack of control over stock levels, timing and import restrictions when relying on overseas supply lines. Distributed manufacturing uses additive manufacturing to place production sites across dispersed locations, which are interconnected and coordinated through technology. Sites can download designs and 3D-print them on the spot. Because this model relies on local manufacturing, producers have a higher level of flexibility and agility, providing faster turnaround times, quicker delivery of goods, and customised products. This can help manufacturers compete more effectively, particularly in a disrupted environment, as it reduces operational risks. By implementing a distributed manufacturing model, manufacturers can overcome many challenges currently impacting global trade, including constant trade wars and tariffs as well as pandemic-related border closures. Setting up local manufacturing operations also helps support innovation for individual manufacturers and helps the country as a whole gain more resource sovereignty. The New Zealand government has recently launched an approach to industry policy to help grow more innovative industries across the nation. Manufacturing is a key industry for New Zealand to grow and become a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive economy. The Advanced Manufacturing Industry Transformation Plan aims to: help lift the sector’s productivity, sustainability, inclusivity, and quality of work; and […]

Problem solving the next frontier

-Ian Walsh, Managing Director, Intent Group Over the last few years, I have run several courses and seminars for business leaders, wanting to improve their business performance and productivity. One of the questions I typically ask is how much time a week they invest in problem solving? The answers vary, but many suggest they do a fair amount of problem solving. I then ask how many of them dedicate a set amount of time each week to structured problem solving as opposed to reactive, during on the event, problem solving. After some muttering and reflection, for most of the group, the answer is none. Less than 10% invest structured time with their teams to solve problems! It was Einstein who defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Surely you can’t expect your business to improve if you don’t invest any time in solving problems to root cause? Improvement itself is defined as solving the right (more impactful) problems at a faster rate than the ones that are occurring. If all you are doing is reacting to what occurs then you are treading water and in today’s competitive landscape, I believe going backwards. The question I have is why do we do this? Or why don’t we invest in structured problem solving? Here are the top 5 great myths: It takes too long, and we don’t have time. But we have time to react to the failure and lose production while we fix it. We are too busy. This is because we are reacting to all the problems that we haven’t fixed. We don’t need to do this as we have engineers who solve the problems, thus placing all responsibility on one group for this activity. This is ‘I operate, you fix’ mentality […]

Varonis – 2021 Manufacturing Data Risk Report

Varonis, a pioneer in data security and analytics, has released its 2021 Manufacturing Data Risk Report, which examines the state of data security within industrial manufacturers and engineering firms. The report found cybersecurity maturity in the manufacturing sector lags behind other industries such as finance, with nearly half of all companies still underprepared for a disruptive attack. It is the sensitive and often highly valuable nature of their data which specifically puts manufacturers at risk – this data is overexposed and under protected, and to limit the damage attackers can do, companies must improve their cyber security practices. Key findings from the report include: Every employee can access, on average, 6 million files on their first day on the job. For large companies, that number doubles. 4 in 10 organisations have 1,000+ sensitive files open to every employee. 44% of companies have more than 1,000 active “ghost user” accounts enabled. More than half of companies have 500+ accounts with passwords that never expire.

Schaeffler expands OPTIME availability

The latest update of OPTIME integrates Schaeffler’s condition monitoring systems (CMS) SmartCheck and ProLink. OPTIME therefore covers condition monitoring for a very wide range of machines and often even entire plants. Analysis enables maintenance teams to predict machine problems and act appropriately. As a result, customers reduce downtime and increase the profitability of their machinery. Avoid downtimes, increase profitability Particularly for companies operating in system-intensive process industries, avoiding unplanned downtimes means greater profitability. Via the smartphone or desktop app, customers with OPTIME have a constant eye on the status of their plant, even with hundreds of machines, as the messages are user-friendly and prioritised according to criticality. As a result, in-house maintenance personnel or even service companies can plan maintenance measures, personnel utilisation, and the procurement of replacement parts in a timely and cost-efficient manner. They have the flexibility to decide whether they want to draw on other services and if so, which ones. The modular service concept offers online, remote or on-site services. Condition monitoring can be easy Users of digital services in the industrial environment also expect the information provided to be easily understood and the hardware and software to be uncomplicated to get around. Condition monitoring systems by Schaeffler can be used without needing extra qualifications because with the help of the Schaeffler know-how, the system configuration and data analysis are largely automated. This integrated knowledge is integral not only to the highly scalable OPTIME solution with wireless single-channel sensors, but also to the two systems for machines with dynamic speed and load conditions and involving environments with temperatures in excess of 85 degrees Celsius – the single-channel CMS SmartCheck and the multi-channel CMS ProLink. With condition monitoring solutions, operators and maintenance personnel have an expert eye tracking the condition of practically every machine in the plant […]

Yubico launches first YubiKeys with biometric authentication

Yubico, the leading provider of hardware authentication security keys, now has available the YubiKey Bio Series, the first series that supports fingerprint recognition for secure passwordless and second-factor logins. Built for biometric authentication on desktops, the YubiKey Bio Series supports modern FIDO2/WebAuthn and U2F protocols, in both USB-A and USB-C form factors. In keeping with Yubico’s innovation and design philosophy, the YubiKey Bio does not require any batteries, drivers, or associated software. The new security keys integrate with the native biometric enrolment and management features supported in the latest platforms and operating systems. Once a YubiKey Bio is set up, users will experience secure second factor and passwordless logins for desktop-based FIDO-supported services and applications. The series reimagines biometric authentication on a security key. Its three chip architecture allows the biometric fingerprint material to be stored in a separate secure element which delivers enhanced protection from physical attacks. The YubiKey Bio acts as a single, trusted hardware-backed root of trust which allows the user to authenticate with the same key across multiple desktop devices, operating systems, and applications. The YubiKey Bio enables biometric login on desktop with all applications and services that support FIDO protocols and works out-of-the-box with Citrix Workspace, Duo, GitHub, IBM Security Verify, Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Microsoft 365, Okta and Ping Identity. With the growing adoption of modern authentication, Yubico continues to work closely with its partner ecosystem to encourage support of biometric authentication as detailed in the WebAuthn and FIDO2 specs.

Addressing the six biggest losses in manufacturing

-Rob Stummer, APAC CEO,SYSPRO As the manufacturing sector continues to navigate chinks in the global supply chain while trying to meet customer demand in a COVID era of restrictions, the fact remains that manufacturing is an industry that the pandemic has put under the spotlight and one which continues to be more competitive than ever. For manufacturing organisations, the priority remains on reducing waste, being more efficient and continuing to have a competitive edge over others. Being able to identify what is referred to as the six big losses will provide businesses with an equipment-based perspective on lost production time that they can use as part of their improvement program. Some manufacturers have implemented programs like Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and focused on improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) with the aim of streamlining manufacturing processes and increasing output. While TPM is an equipment maintenance model that aims to achieve perfect production with no breakdowns, slow running or any other machine related problem that affects throughput. OEE is a metric that measures how well the machine is being utilised, otherwise known as uptime, the speed of the machine and the quality of the production. In the past, due to legacy Operational Technology (OT) systems, manufacturers had no clear visibility into the manufacturing process and could not always tell where equipment bottlenecks were. OEE supports TPM based initiatives by measuring progress towards the nirvana of perfect production and one of the most effective ways of improving OEE is to identify the six big losses. 1. Equipment failure Equipment defects and failures result in downtime, financial impact, inventory discrepancies and poor quality-control. This situation can occur for several reasons and can be because of unplanned downtime, no available operators and a lack of raw materials. When equipment is scheduled for production but is not running for any significant period due to a failure of some sort, it is categorised as equipment failure and is an availability loss. A simpler way to think of […]

Value technical staff and be considered competitive

-Alistair Gordon Technical specialists such as engineers, software developers, scientists or economists are expensive to hire and require great effort to retain. And despite the expense and effort, often they don’t create the value or innovation that business owners expect. Our organisation has been coaching technical specialists for 10 years. I am still surprised by how much money is spent on the hire of technical specialists, and once they are hired, how little attention is paid to their performance. In an organisation that takes a “hire and forget” approach to these specialist roles, innovation is challenging, not least because the process to pitch and adopt new ideas will be long, impractical, and frustratingly opaque. On one side, specialists don’t know how to pitch, network or commercialise ideas. On the executive side, ideas that aren’t well pitched, with clear commercial benefit, are blocked before they get anywhere near the executive suite. Want to improve competitiveness in an organisation? Challenge each of its experts to master broader business effectiveness, not just technical expertise – to become a “master expert”. But to make innovation reliable and consistent, organisations must reframe their goals for specialist training, development, manager expectations, expert career paths and appraisals, with all supporting the goal of mastery. Experts don’t have their commercial skills developed, but they should Why such a radical change? It’s because experts, to date, have not had the development they need. Consider the career of a manager – not a technical specialist, but a high-performing people leader. They are appraised and promoted on their ability to achieve commercial goals, to communicate strategy and manage upward. From the first days of their career, their development, career ladder, appraisals, and mentoring all challenge them to master business and relationship skills. In other words, they are trained and supported to […]

Drawing software simplifies 2D path design for users of CNC cutting machines

A unique 2D drawing tool simplifies the design and creation of executable G-code files for CNC cutting machines. Known as NUMcad, the new drawing software runs directly from the machine’s operator panel and also under Windows on any standard PC. Its user interface mimics that of many popular CAD packages and is highly intuitive, making it ideal for people with minimal design experience. NUMcad is suitable for both design origination and design modification. Simple drawing tools are provided for functions such as Line, Polyline, Arc 2P and Arc Center-Radius; and they are backed by a suite of editing tools such as Meet Two Lines, Shrink or Extend – and even Insert Micro-joint – which enables users to very easily customise and modify shapes. If a user already has a CAD file and wishes to modify it, NUMcad allows AutoCad DXF files to be imported. And in the event that the user does not have a DXF file, but has created the shape on the CNC cutting machine itself, NUMcad also allows this shape to be imported from their customisable parametric shapes library. The NUMcad software package includes a post processor; shapes or patterns that have been drawn or imported can be automatically converted into an executable G-code file for the CNC cutting machine. Using NUMcad, each segment of a cut can be set to rapid, marking, rough, medium or fine cut qualities, to achieve the user’s desired finish; the properties associated with the cut type are pulled from a Technology Table. Both standard shape and custom fly cutting functionalities are available, and associated functions include the ability to control the cut-side placement (kerf compensation) and tilt angle of the machine’s cutting nozzle. Nesting gives the user the option to create complex paths containing the same pattern. With settings like nesting […]

Skills needed for the green jobs of the future

Farming, architecture, science and teaching are some of the sectors that will need new green skills, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Almost half of young people feel they don’t have the right skills, according to the World Economic Forum’s Davos Labs Youth Recovery Plan 2021. In the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020, employers estimate that four in 10 workers will need to be reskilled. Making smart decisions today could set up the world’s young people for success in the green jobs of tomorrow. But shaping those decisions can be tricky as many of those future jobs don’t yet exist. The United Nations Environment Programme has stepped in with a helping hand in the shape of GEO-6 for Youth – a digital guide on sustainable career choices and the skills required to thrive in green industries. Here are six key skill categories that can help you build a successful career in the future. The green economy will need young people with a range of different skills. Image: GEO-6 for Youth, UN Environment Programme Science skills: The green economy of the future will be heavily reliant on workers with a strong science background. Key roles will include environmental scientists, biologists, hydrologists and biochemists. People in these jobs will monitor, manage and protect natural resources including land and valuable water supplies. Architectural and planning skills: Buildings will become more energy efficient, with fewer resources used to construct and operate them. Architects and planners will design these buildings to comply with environmental regulations and client demands for green spaces. Green engineering and tech skills: Today’s young people will be tomorrow’s green engineers, helping to design and maintain solar panels, wind turbines, low emissions vehicles and other green economy technology. Agriculture skills: As farming and food supply becomes more sustainable, there’ll be […]

Choosing the right robotic solution for every application

Though industrial robots have their individual strengths, manufacturers should consider the requirements of their application before deciding which to purchase. The payload, stroke length, precision and flexibility needed will all influence whether a linear or articulated robot is the right choice. The existing infrastructure should also be a factor, and which type of robot would integrate more effectively. Three of the most popular robot types are Cartesian, six-axis and SCARA robots. Cartesian Robots Cartesian robots are a common choice in industrial applications. They operate by moving along three orthogonal axes using the Cartesian Coordinate system. They are also known as linear robots, as they move in a straight line along a support frame, rather than rotating. Cartesian robots do not offer as much in terms of flexibility as articulated robots. They are an excellent choice for processes that require strength and reliability, but for applications requiring more degrees of freedom, an articulated robot may be more suitable. The rectangular work envelope on a Cartesian robot means that more of its footprint is active workspace, with no ‘dead zone’. This is more circular in a six-axis robot, meaning that there is more dead space, but the larger number of axes allows more range in the types of movement that can be done. The footprint of a Cartesian robot is well defined and thus can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure. They may require a lot of space to install and run but can be mounted overhead or on walls depending on the size, saving space on the ground floor. Speed is another important factor to consider — speed impacts cycle times, so the speed capabilities of the robot should fit manufacturer requirements in terms of productivity and output. Cartesian robots are a great choice for processes requiring high speed and fast […]

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