There’s still a lot of life left in the AGGAT program, which is why our Industry Development team have recently entered the highly contestable science funding round to seek financial support from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). So far, we’ve covered significant ground in building a technology platform to cater to the…
New Zealand’s structural steel fabricators are showing strong support for the industry’s recently launched quality assurance scheme, the Steel Fabricator Certification (SFC), an initiative designed to ensure safety of fabricated structural steelwork. Developed jointly by industry bodies HERA and Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ), the SFC scheme is based on the European system, which is part…
HERA has long understood that clean energy represents a great business opportunity for many of our members – particularly in the geothermal sector. That’s why we’re pleased to announce Dr. Boaz Habib from our Industry Development team now sits on the New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA) Board of Directors. We see this as a pivotal…
Like many other renewable energy technologies, grid connected wave and tidal energy seems poised ready for the kind of global build-out we saw in wind, which will bring a range of market opportunities. There are also emerging niche marine energy opportunities which are disconnected from the wholesale price of a kilowatt of electricity which governs…
The Ministry of Business Inovation and Employment (MBIE) and Commerce Commission announcement that some concrete reinforcing steel mesh supplied into the New Zealand construction market doesn’t comply with New Zealand standards has caused considerable concern. Resulting in HERA staff recently being the target of extensive media attention with varying degrees of accuracy in being quoted.…
On the 7th April 2016, Arrium Limited announced that Voluntary Administrators have been appointed to oversee the affairs of the company. Staff from Grant Thornton have been appointed to act as Voluntary Administrators for each of the relevant companies including OneSteel. HERA understands since this announcement that the administrators have changed to KordaMentha and Grant…
A SFC fabricator has demonstrated that all their welding and related activities are managed under a quality management system that fully complies with the requirements of AS/NZS ISO 3834; specifically for NZS 3404.1 Steel Structures Standard, and AS/NZS 1554 Structural Steel Welding. A quality management system relies on competent people: the fabricators welding co-ordination team. A key…
It is eight years since the global financial crisis (GFC) started and few would say things are ‘back to normal’. But most companies who survived have adjusted to the new normal of sluggish global growth, and in New Zealand’s case, marginal domestic growth. Looking back its obvious what happened: The GFC caused the purse strings…
The NZMEA are compiling a list of occupations for consideration to the first round of the 2016 Review of Essential Skills in Demand lists (ESID). They are seeking input from companies who are experiencing labour shortages that could be classed as either an Immediate Skill Shortage or a Long Term Skill Shortage. If you are experiencing specific areas of…
Over the past few years, there has been a growing body of anecdotal reports by business about the availability and use of Non-Conforming Products (NCP) in the New Zealand market across many product groups, including steel. Background to building conformance issues The March 2016 MBIE and Commerce Commission announcement that some concrete reinforcing steel mesh supplied into the New…
Thank you to all members who completed the February HERA survey on the questions: Should HERA Support a New Zealand Certificate in Mechanical Engineering Level 5 Program? The 83 responses demonstrated great membership interest in the issue. And in summary there was an overwhelming positive response to the two main questions that our industry wants a…
HERA is pleased to support the International Welding Engineer (IWE) and International Welding Technology run by the University of Wollongong, in cooperation with the WTIA in a newly restructured form. Successful completion of this course will see graduates obtain the globally recognised qualification, International Institute of Welding (IIW) – International Welding Engineer (IWE) or International…