levy-amendment

Notice – publication of changes to the HERL Act

We’d like to advise industry that a Heavy Engineering Research Levy Act Amendment Order 2021 was signed by the Governer-General on 5 July and published 8 July. This has been something that we have been working on with the MBIE innovation policy team and Customs for quite some time. MBIE’s role has been to coordinate…

fire-resistance

Fire and burn out resistance of timber columns

Data on the cool down phase for timber structures is something designers and regulators need to consider when it comes to load carrying capacity of CLT structures. This thinking comes about after noting an interesting paper in the recent issue of Fire Safety Journal highlighting the critical aspect of the cool down phase for timber…

treated-timber

How will treated timber be treated with the ‘wood first policy’?

While critical technical aspects associated with treated timber in construction remain unsolved, the ‘wood first policy’ is the wrong decision at the wrong time. There needs to be better science based understanding of fire safety and health and environment issues.  We need only look at treated timber data in New Zealand, issues associated with treated…

lsf-infographic

Resource – Living Standards Framework report update and infographic for bid documentation

HERA is pleased to report the release of our updated Living Standards Framework assessment and supporting resources. This comes following our work which started in 2018 when we commissioned BERL to assess the metal industry’s contribution to the NZ economy using the Living Standards Framework (LSF). That was a pivotal publication as it was the…

steel-recycling

Resource – 2021 Steel Recycling Report

Please note that this report has since been updated 19 January 2022. For the updated report, click here. Our recently commissioned HERA Report R5-89 shows steel plays a key role in the circular economy. The study was undertaken by thinkstepANZ and showed an impressive 72% of steel scrap in New Zealand is recycled, and that…

industry4.0

Notice – exploring Industry 4.0 opportunity for construction

Aotearoa New Zealand’s construction industry reached over $15 billion in 2019, making it a major contributor to GDP and employment, as well as developer of critical national infrastructure. Despite this, it’s an industry that requires radical transformation and has long been criticised for its low productivity, inefficiencies, and contribution to New Zealand’s carbon emissions. It requires…