safety

In a first for Australia, The Courier Mail has reported this morning, the Herston Biofabrication Institute, to be opened in late 2017, will be manufacturing human tissue, bones and eventually even organs. Eventually employing up to 60 researchers, the Institute will also develop capabilities of advance medical technologies such as 3D printing and computational medicine. … Continue reading 3D printed organ company to open in Brisbane in 2017 →

It’s the time of the year when company boards and executives face their shareholders at annual general meetings. Boards will be asked to explain the pay packages of executives. Already some have been called into question. Some Australian companies cite the need to rely on the United States as a benchmark when it comes to … Continue reading OPINION: Should Australian companies set executive pay to a US benchmark? →

In a bid to re-strategise its business plans for growth in 2017, German bearing maker Schaeffler has announced that it looks to shave off 500 jobs at its industrial division in Germany and other European countries. The company has cited the move was due to slow delivery chains and overly centralised sales operations and mentioned … Continue reading Schaeffler cuts jobs but Asia Pac remains unaffected →

Materials handling company, the Kion Group, has successfully completed its $2.1 billion dollar (A$2.86 billion) acquisition of automation and supply chain optimisation specialist Dematic earlier this month. With the acquisition, the Kion Group will now feature a suite of products ranging from forklift trucks to AS/RS solutions. “The transaction brings together the world’s most profitable … Continue reading Kion completes Dematic acquisition →

Boral has entered into a binding agreement to acquire US building products maker Headwaters. The US$2.6 billion deal is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory approval, and is expected to complete in mid-2017. Based in Utah, Headwaters is a leading manufacturer of building products and one of the largest marketers of fly ash in the … Continue reading Boral cements its acquisition of US building products maker →

The X-Stream XS-720p slow motion camera by IDT offers continuous frame streaming via the PCI express 2.0 x4 interface with a sustained transfer speed of 1.75GB/sec. I has been designed for checking and inspecting high speed applications including industrial and packaging inspection, microscopy, media, traffic control and surveillance. The cameras flexible design has been implemented around … Continue reading Slow motion inspection camera for packaging plants →

Australia’s 457 visa system is back in the news again. If you believe Labor, the 457 visa is a rort allowing foreign workers to steal Australian jobs. The government, on the other hand, defends it as a way for Australia to meet skills gaps in the economy. Misunderstanding the problem is leading to wrong solutions … Continue reading The real issues with the 457 visa aren’t being addressed →

Geelong, Victoria’s second city, has emerged as an area of great expertise for advanced materials – particularly carbon fibre composites – in recent years. Brent Balinski spoke to Quickstep’s Carl De Koning about the company’s New Technology division, headquartered at Waurn Ponds.

According to a recent article in Forbes, America’s manufacturers are getting very worried. As you read this, a number of influential US manufacturers and their associated industry representatives are urging President-elect Donald Trump to back off from his most threatening trade rhetoric. They want him to pursue a more nuanced approach to trade with China … Continue reading OPINION: So how will the manufacturing sector respond to President Trump? →

Victorian energy company AusNet Services’ first-half statutory net profit has fallen by 52 per cent on its previous year’s result. Net profit for the six months to September 30 was $178.6 million, down from $374.5 million a year earlier. AusNet Services is Victoria’s largest energy delivery service business, owning and operating approximately $11 billion of electricity … Continue reading AusNet profits fall by 52 per cent →

Lantek has developed a new functionality to its existing range of sheet metal solutions CAD/CAM software, which integrates online parts and consumables procurement for sheet metal parts. Using CAD/CAM software, Lantek’s customers can integrate with their own customers into a supply chain, allowing them to reorder previously supplied parts or request quotations for the manufacture of … Continue reading Sheet metal working now at your fingertips →

BlueScope Steel has partnered with TOLL, K&S Transport and Buzinga App Development to improve health and safety methods for their employees and contractors through the safety app, ‘SteelDrive’. The app, launched in June, 2016 and now available to Android users, allows truck drivers to document the restraining and transportation of steel, through photo-taking, GPS-tracking, and cloud-based … Continue reading BlueScope launches workplace safety app →

Voice recognition software maker Nuance Communications has announced that robot maker ROOBO will be using the Nuance Mix NLU development platform, which provides voice and natural language (NLU) capabilities, to create conversational and cognitive interfaces for ROOBO robots and devices. Additionally, Nuance and ROOBO are set to collaborate on future integrations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance … Continue reading Talking robots will soon be here →

US-based Hypertherm has released Rotary Tube Pro, software that makes it easier to design and cut tube and pipe parts with no 3D CAD experience required. The software features a parametric design interface that allows main tubes and side-wall cutouts to be added from a list of predefined shapes. Alternatively, users can add tubes and … Continue reading New pipe and tube cutting software →

Speaking at a press conference to launch its Global Status of CCS: 2016 Report at the twenty second conference of the parties (COP 22) in Marrakech yesterday, Global CCS Institute Chief Executive, Brad Page, said the scale of the challenge to deliver the ‘well below’ 2°C climate goal should not be underestimated. “The current level … Continue reading Carbon capture industry must expand says global body →

Falls from heights are an ongoing safety concern in all industrial environments. According to the Safe Work Australia report, Work-Related Injuries and Fatalities Involving A Fall From Height, in 2010–11, 7730 claims for serious injury were lodged due to a fall from a height. This means that 21 employees each day lodged a claim for a falls-related injury that required one or more weeks off work.

When a manufacturer boosts production to cope with burgeoning demand, efficiency-minded operations staff keenly seek out technologies to help them minimise costs and manual labour while maximising safety and ongoing returns. That is what happened with carpet and textiles producer Cavalier Bremworth, which has doubled its production over the last year of its quality wool … Continue reading Cordless electric pump takes over from manual operation →

Australia’s largest workplace health and safety event, Safety in Action, took place this year in Sydney, exhibiting the latest systems, products, and seminars to encourage safety in the workplace. Manufacturers’ Monthly was on site speaking to some of the companies that attended. Sharon Masige writes.

SafeWork NSW today launched a new work health and safety Roadmap for NSW which sets a number of ambitious targets to reduce the rate of injury, illness and fatalities in NSW workplaces.

Flexco has released the PTEZ Belt Trainer tracking idler for its line of belt trainers. Designed with the company’s “Pivot and Tilt” feature, it can be used in any application that requires tracking to prevent damage to the belt or conveyor structure, including single-direction and reversing belts. The Pivot and Tilt feature ensures that the … Continue reading Flexco launches belt trainer for conveyor tracking →