There are many logical and psychological barriers stopping people from uptaking exponential technologies. In fact a study of US manufacturing firms’ adoption of exponential technologies has many similarities to feedback that HERA receives from its members. Key findings being, that companies are too focused on the day-to-day operations to respond to longer-term disruption opportunities. And,…
Business disruption is experienced on an almost daily basis. Just recently, HERA lost email and file access for several days, which was hugely disruptive. Could that have been avoided? Yes! We should have moved to the Cloud earlier. But we didn’t because we didn’t think our server would have such a dramatic failure. We foresaw…
After a long history with HERA as our longest serving employee – we’d like to announce that our Welding and Inspection Engineer Peter Hayward is retiring at the end of July. Fore-telling the future Peter came to New Zealand in 1983. He left a good job, with the Atomic Energy Commission in the UK,…
Disruptions to established businesses happen all the time. Like everyone else in business, HERA members and their communities are called on to navigate in a potentially disruptive VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. In this article Kirsten Patterson, CE of the Institute of Directors of New Zealand (IoD), talks about how her members…
Exporting to international markets for our members can often seem an unreachable target. Extensive work needs to be done to learn the fundamentals of becoming a successful export business. And there is also the challenge of meeting codes and standards not applicable in New Zealand. It’s not uncommon for companies to put this into the…
Through our relationship with SCNZ, we’re excited to share a recent case study distributed by them which profiles the amazing work on the Auckland Canada Street Bridge/Nelson St Cycleway project for NZ Transport Agency. This work was delivered by our members Design Team Leader and Structural Engineer Novare Design, Structural Steel Contractor PFS Engineering and…
Dixon Manufacturing Ltd is a key example of how our members are actively diversifying their business model to react to local market conditions. For over 30 years Dixon Manufacturing’s focus has been on the supply of stainless steel solutions for the transport infrastructure industry in marine related solutions. Providing a range of ladders, handrails and…
Manufacturing companies make significant contribution to NZ’s BERD according to a report released recently on the state of manufacturing in New Zealand. “Manufacturing Report 2018. Beyond commodities: Manufacturing into the future” identified that in 2016, national BERD was just $1.6 million, with manufacturing accounting for 42% of that ($671 million). The report also identified that the metals…
Today, we’re excited to announce the start of a new team member to our Information Centre. Please join us in welcoming Musarrat Begum! Musarrat is our new Information Officer, and will be offering support to our membership through her role as librarian as well as divisional support for health and safety. She brings with her…
This month the idea of work culture has been playing heavily on our mind. In particular, how we go about fostering a good one. In the end, the answer couldn’t have been more simpler – he tangata! (the people). That’s why we’d like you to meet a gleaming example of this – our Accountant, Kam…
Our Executive is key to our association. Not only do they represent the diverse range of members we serve, but they bring us valuable insight into the current industry pulse. That’s why we’ve decided to start acknowledging the great (and voluntary) work that they do by profiling them on our website. And, as this team…
As crucial as it is to be able to identify problems experienced by engineers – solving those problems with the right tools is equally important. That’s because the element of uncertainty is there for the first part of the process, and for engineers – these problems are closely tied with design. Today, virtual design and…