N E W S NZ Crane appoints commercial manager 7 John Brooks appointed reseller for Sawyer robot Impact Robotics, the regional distributor for Rethink Robotics, has announced that John Brooks Ltd will help New Zealand manufacturers gain flexibility and improve production processes by deploying Rethink Robotics’ smart, collaborative Sawyer robot. The high-performance Sawyer robot is driving a new norm in manufacturing around the world with its ability to adapt to real-world variability, change applications quickly and perform tasks like people do. With its small footprint, flexible seven degree-of-freedom arm, the ability to train rather than traditionally program and a host of many other ‘out-of-the-box’ features and capabilities, the Sawyer robot can quickly and easily be deployed to perform a range of repetitive machine tending and materials handling tasks. With offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, John Brooks has been providing leading technologies to industrial clients throughout New Zealand since 1964. Bringing together a powerful mix of automation expertise and the highest levels of customer service, John Brooks is helping manufacturers add efficiency and flexibility into their operations. “This is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand companies looking to adopt global, smart manufacturing technologies and drive operational improvement in terms of productivity, profitability and safety,” says David Birnbaum, general manager at Impact Robotics. “Our experience deploying the robots, in a range of different applications, has been overwhelmingly positive, with customers reporting notable efficiency gains and short equipment payback times,” says Mr Birnbaum. Murray Brooks, managing director of John Brooks Ltd says: “We are excited to bring the next evolution of automation technology to New Zealand industry. These robots will improve productivity by allowing workers to train the robots to carry out tasks and use this leading technology for the overall benefit of their company.” NZ Crane Hire, an Aucklandbased mobile crane company, has appointed former Fletcher Construction engineer William Dobson as commercial manager. Mr Dobson, who has worked on major construction projects such as the Waterview Connection and the Waikato Expressway, has joined NZ Crane Hire at a time of sustained growth for the company that celebrates 60 years in business next year. His primary roles will be to provide a high level of engineering skill for NZ Crane’s customers, identify new business opportunities and execute key technology strategies, as well as overseeing the financial management of projects. The company, which underwent a name change recently to reflect its core business of being mobile crane specialists, is also expanding its fleet of cranes in the coming months to help cope with construction and building demand in the Auckland region. NZ Crane Hire managing director, Deane Manley, says Mr Dobson brings a huge amount of engineering knowledge and skill to the company but more importantly he has built valuable industry relationships through his time at Fletchers. “It’s a busy time in the industry and Will is the sort of guy who can recognise a good business opportunity when he sees it and gets the deal done while also having a strong focus on safety and doing the best job possible for customers,” says Mr Manley. “Auckland is looking at many more years of construction work and development and we will play a major part in this growth and that’s why we brought Will on board." Unitec helps plug the shortage gap Unitec Institute of Technology and six west Auckland secondary schools are working together to entice students into engineering, upskill teachers and plug gaps in New Zealand’s workforce. The Engineering Education 2 Employment project, funded by Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), involves Unitec, Kelston Girls’ College, Massey High School, St Dominic’s College, Kelston Boys’ High School, Green Bay High School and Waitakere College in conjunction with a number of engineering firms. Over the academic year, up to eight students from each school will spend four days at school and one day at Unitec where they will attend engineering lectures, workshops and labs. Their courses will be created and delivered by the secondary school teachers and Unitec staff. With TEC funding, the programme will be offered at no cost to participating schools, including relief teaching costs, and students will attend Unitec for free. Nick Hackett, assistant principal of Massey High School, says the initiative is exciting for students: “They will be experiencing the inspiring tertiary environment of Unitec while continuing their school education. We hope that this exposure and insight will highlight engineering as a possible profession, and keep students engaged in learning to enhance their career prospects.” David Nummy, Unitec’s acting head of engineering, says the end goal is to increase students’ access to employment. “The most exciting part of this programme is, with industry partners on board, it gives students a direct pathway from Year nine into real jobs with great employers.” The programme’s initial phase will engage secondary school students in engineering projects as motivation to continue with mathematics and physics after Level 2 and Level 3 NCEA. Students will then gain entry into the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering and/or the Bachelor of Engineering Technology and work towards qualifications which match known industry shortages. The programme will link maths and physics teachers with the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand, the National Association of Women in Construction and other industry bodies to engineering companies to give teachers greater experience and professional development with the engineering sector. Universal gets the clean tick Universal Robots’ lightweight collaborative robot arms can now be implemented in controlled environments. After successful tests in accordance with VDI 2083 Part 9.1, the international industrial guideline concerning the various functions and measures of cleanroom technologies, the robot arms and the accompanying controller boxes made by the Danish pioneer in human-robot collaboration have been awarded the certification for cleanroom applications by the international certification organisation. In compliance with the industrial norm ISO 14644-1, the robots UR3, UR5 and UR10 are now authorised for the global use in cleanroom environments of the cleanroom class ISO 5. The controller box, in turn, has received authorisation for cleanroom class ISO 6. The controller box may be upgraded for deployment in cleanrooms requiring the class ISO 5 with a few technical modifications. In the Federal Standard 209E, often referenced in the USA, ISO 5 and ISO 6 are the equivalent of class 100 and class 1000 respectively.
EN-Oct16
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