Online cloud platform for operational management

Schneider Electric Australia has announced updates to its Wonderware Online cloud platform for operational data management.

Wonderware Online, built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, provides users with a solution that combines operational and information technology with security.

The platform is used to consolidate distributed data sources, contextualise that data through advanced applications, and provide enterprise wide access from anywhere on any device.

It includes the Wonderware Online Insight Connector, a productivity tool that allows users to link time-series data stored in the platform to Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Excel online to run custom formulas, perform ad hoc analysis, and create Excel-based reports and charts.

The system provides greater flexibility to access operational data, improved cybersecurity and enhanced navigation capabilities. It also provides accelerated feature updates and augmented intelligent newsfeed analytics – with pattern detection technology that highlights unusual data behaviours and alerts users of potential issues.

State government grants to help your small business: 2016

State government grants to help your small business: 2016 – SmartCompany

Do you run a South Australian business that exports overseas? You could be eligible for a grant of up to $50,000.

Perhaps you are leading a Victorian business that is trialling a new technology project? There’s a grant for that too.

In August we brought you our list of the best federal government grants for your business and today we’ve rounded up some of the state and territory grants available to SMEs.

This is not a complete list of all the grants available in each state and territory but when it comes to business grants, knowing where to start looking can be half the battle.

With the states and territories increasingly focused on encouraging innovative enterprises, now is the time to find out if your business is eligible for a grant.

New South Wales

Minimum Viable Product program

How much? Up to $25,000

How does it work?

Now part of the NSW Government’s ‘Jobs for NSW’ program, the Minimum Viable Product program is aimed at technology startups that are in the process of testing their business model.

Businesses from all sectors are able to apply for the grants, however the business must be technology-driven. Grants of up to $25,000 are available to use towards up to 50% of the cost of an approved project.

To be eligible, the business must have an Australian Business Number (ABN) registered in NSW, own the relevant intellectual property or rights to commercialise the technology and have a relationship with either a potential customer or potential distributor.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Building Partnerships Grants

How much? Up to $100,000

How it work?

The Building Partnerships Grants are also part of the ‘Jobs for NSW’ program, which replaced the Regional Industries Investment Fund, and are aimed at technology-based businesses.

Businesses can receive up to 35% of the costs of an approved project, capped at $100,000, to help them complete a pilot project with key customers or to fund new marketing partnerships either in Australia or overseas.

To be eligible, the business must have an ABN registered in NSW, own the relevant intellectual property or rights to commercialise the technology and have a relationship with either a potential customer or potential distributor.

Applications are currently open. More information is available here.

Tech Vouchers

How much? A matched voucher worth up to $15,000

How does it work?

The Tech Vouchers program is designed to encourage SMEs to work with universities and research organisations with technical expertise in particular areas.

Priority is given to companies that have not previously worked with universities or research organisations and the money can go towards funding a joint research project, gaining access to research facilities and equipment or technical expertise or trialing a production run.

To be eligible for the vouchers, companies must have fewer than 200 employees and turn over less than $30 million each year. The company must be incorporated in NSW and have been operating for at least one year.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Bin Trim Rebates Program

How much? Between $1000 and $50,000

How does it work?

The Bin Trim Rebates Program is part of the NSW Environment Protection Agency’s ‘Waste Less, Recycle More’ initiative to encourage recycling in workplaces.

SMEs with up to 200 employees can apply for rebates of between $1000 and $50,000 to cover up to 50% of the cost of purchasing small-scale, onsite recycling equipment. The rebates are also available to businesses that manage business waste, including facility managers and recyclers.

Applications are currently open and more information is available from the NSW EPA website here.

Accelerating Growth Loans and Gazelle Loan Guarantees

How much? Not available

How does it work?

These two forthcoming schemes are aimed at ‘gazelles’: fast-growing SMEs that are recording strong revenue growth year-on-year.

The Accelerating Growth Loans scheme will provide direct finance to SMEs, while the Gazelle Loan Guarantees are intended to help SMEs obtain loan approvals to continue to grow.

Applications are expected to open soon and businesses can ask for more information via the Jobs for NSW website here.

Victoria

LaunchVic

How much? Unspecified

How does it work?

The Victorian Government has set aside $60 million over four years for LaunchVic, an independent body with the aim of strengthening Victoria’s entrepreneurial and startup sectors.

The first round of LaunchVic funding grants was announced in August, with 18 projects across the state sharing in a total of $6.5 million in funding. Individual grants ranged from $30,000 to $1.25 million.

Applications for the second round of funding will open in September and LaunchVic is looking for proposals that add value to Victoria’s acceleration, incubation and co-working capabilities; are “ambitious, creative and have a global orientation”; can strengthen the diversity and collaboration among the state’s entrepreneurs and startups; and which are financially viable.

More information is available here.

Grow Your Business program

How much? Between $4000 and $15,000

How does it work?

The Victorian Government’s Grow Your Business program provides a number of types of grants to Victorian SMEs, with the overarching aim of helping small and medium businesses become internationally competitive by contributing to the costs of mentoring and networking programs.

The Business Development Plan and Business Development Plan – Mentoring streams of the program provide grants for up to 50% of a project’s cost, capped at $7,500.

The Business Strategic Review stream provides up to 75% of a project’s cost, capped at $4000, and the Group and Network Programs stream provides a grant of up to 75% of a project’s costs, capped at $15,000.

Applications are currently open for the streams and information about the eligibility requirements for each is available here.

Victorian Government Technology Innovation Fund

How much? Between $50,000 and $350,000

How does it work?

The Victorian Government’s Innovation Fund is open to businesses working with the Victorian public sector and are designed to support the development and trialing of new technology that will help make government more efficient.

To be considered for a grant, businesses need to pitch a technology-based program that addresses a public sector need and has the support of the relevant government department or agency.

Projects funded usually run for between 6-24 months and the grants are typically between $50,000 and $400,000.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Automotive Supply Chain Transition Program

How much? Up to $71,000

How does it work?

Designed to help support Victorian companies in the automotive supply chain, this program provides financial support for both companies undergoing transitions and companies that can assist those firms.

For companies undergoing a transition, the following grants are available:

Up to $5000 of support to review an existing business transition plan
Up to $16,000 of support to develop a business transition plan
Up to $10,000 of support for merger advisory services
Up to $55,000 in support for business transition services.

The same grants are available for specialist firms that can help these businesses through the transition. The Victorian Government plans to create a panel of these specialist businesses, which will be listed on the Business Victoria website.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Local Industry Fund for Transition program

How much? A matched funding grant of up to $2 million

How does it work?

The Local Industry Fund for Transition is a program to support regions affected by the closure of large scale manufacturing in Victoria, including the north, west and south-east parts of Melbourne, and Geelong.

Businesses of all sizes can apply for grants of up to $2 million to cover up to 25% of eligible project expenditure to help fund projects that will create jobs in the specified regions.

To be eligible, businesses must have both an Australian Business Number and an Australian Company Number; the financial capacity to contribute $3 for every $1 of grant funding; and the ability to provide financial reports from the past three financial years to the government.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Queensland

Ignite Ideas Fund

How much? Up to $250,000

How does it work?

The Ignite Ideas Fund is part of the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative to support businesses across the state.

Under this program, businesses can receive Tier 1 grants of up to $100,000 or Tier 2 Grants of up to $250,000 to go towards proving their business idea will work or identifying a market or investor for the product.

To be eligible, businesses must: have fewer than 200 employees; be incorporated in Queensland; be registered for GST; demonstrate the idea can achieve high growth and create jobs; have a minimum viable product; and show support for the project from customers, industry partners or investors.

Applications for the second round of funding under the program open on September 12. More information is available here.

Business Development Fund

How much? Between $125,000 and $2.5 million

How does it work?

Also part of the Advance Queensland initiative, the Business Development Fund is aimed at businesses that are in the process of commercialising research or an innovative product or service.

Businesses in need of seed, early stage or follow-on investment can receive between $125,000 and $2.5 million from the program if they can demonstrate the business will create new, skilled employment and is commercially viable.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

How much? Up to $50,000 per project

How does it work?

Businesses that wish to hire a graduate to work on an innovative project can receive up to $50,000 per project under this government scheme.

The funding is intended to cover two-thirds of the project’s costs, with the business required to cover the remaining one-third.

To be eligible, businesses must have fewer than 200 full-time employees; have been operating for at least two years; have an ABN and be registered for GST; and be prepared to manage the project in collaboration with a university.

Applications for the fifth round of funding will close on October 7. More information is available here.

Australian Capital Territory

Innovation Connect

How much? Between $5000 to $30,000 in matched funding, depending on the project.

How does it work?

This grant program is designed to help Canberra businesses develop new and innovative products and services.

There is a particular focus on projects that will encourage investment or have the potential for commercialisation, and grants are offered in two categories.

In the Proof of Technology category, businesses can receive between $5000 and $30,000 in matched funding to prove their concept. In the Accelerating Innovation category, businesses can receive between $5000 and $10,000 to assist with the commercialisation of their project.

Applications for the Accelerating Innovation grants are open year-round, while the Proof of Technology grants are offered through separate funding round throughout the year. More information is available here.

Trade Connect program

How much? Up to $15,000 per financial year.

How does it work?

This grant is aimed at helping businesses in the ACT prepare for exporting opportunities through trade show participation, market research, mentoring and the development of advertising material.

In order to be eligible, businesses must have an annual turnover of less than $10 million; have developed products that are ready to be exported; and operate a main business location in the ACT.

Applications are currently open and more information can be found here.

Business Improvement Grant

How much? Up to $5000.

How does it work?

This grant is part of a pilot program by the ACT government to encourage SME growth and is designed to help businesses implement recommendations from an experienced business advisor.

In order to be eligible, businesses must have been trading for at least two years and have annual turnover between $500,000 and $1.5 million. All funds provided need to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the business.

Applications are currently open and more information can be found here.

South Australia

Start-up Business Grants

How much? Up to $20,000

How does it work?

The South Australian Government has created a Small Business Development Fund as part of its Northern Economic Plan to encourage business activity in the Playford, Port Adelaide Enfield and Salisbury council areas.

Entrepreneurs and new businesses can apply for grants of up to $20,000 under the Start-up Business Grants program.

Applications are currently open and are assessed every six to eight weeks. More information is available here.

Business Expansion Grants

How much? Between $10,000 and $100,000

How does it work?

This program also forms part of the Small Business Development Fund.

Established businesses in northern Adelaide can apply for grants worth between $10,000 and $100,000 to support activities that will grow their businesses. The Government has allocated $6 million for these grants.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Export Partnership program

How much? Up to $50,000.

How does it work?

This program is about helping small and medium businesses tackle international markets.

The state government will match a successful applicant’s investment towards researching overseas markets and participating in trade missions. Businesses can also use the funds to adapt their website to for international markets or participate in export-related training.

Applications are currently open and more information can be found here.

Innovation Voucher program

How much? Up to $50,000.

How does it work?

This grant is designed to encourage collaboration between SMEs and research and development organisations.

The fund is part of the South Australian government’s plan to encourage greater innovation in the manufacturing sector and fuel job creation in other industries. The money goes towards technical research and prototype testing.

To be eligible, businesses must have annual turnover of less than $200 million. The recipient must also be willing to make a financial contribution to the project, which is determined by annual turnover.

Applications are ongoing and more information can be found here.

Tasmania

New Market Expansion Program

How much? Unspecified

How does it work?

Tasmanian SMEs can apply for financial assistance to help pay for marketing activities related to developing new national and international markets under this program.

The funds can be used to commission market research and business matching services; undertake promotional activities, including advertising; develop promotional materials; travel for marketing purposes, including to attend trade exhibitions; and for inbound buyers’ visits to Tasmania.

To be eligible, businesses must have annual turnover between $300,000 and $20 million. Industry associations and groups of companies that are working on new market or export marketing initiatives may also apply.

Applications will be open until April 30, 2017. More information is available here.

Advanced Manufacturing Marketing Expansion Program

How much? Up to $10,000

How does it work?

Similar to the New Market Expansion Program, this grants scheme is designed to help advanced manufacturing enterprises in Tasmania conduct market development activities to create new national and international markets.

The same criteria applies, with including the requirement that the company is turning over between $300,000 and $20 million.

More information about the grants is available here.

Northern Territory

Smarter Business Solutions

How much? Up to $20,000

How does it work?

Businesses based on the Northern Territory that have been trading for at least 12 months can apply for grants to help reduce their day-to-day energy, water and material costs.

Along with free advice and on-site consultations at their business premises, business owners can apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to install energy efficient saving initiatives; a grant of up to $10,000 to install a renewable energy system; or a grant of up to $300 to buy and install energy monitoring equipment.

To be eligible, businesses must be physically located in the NT, have fewer than 200 employees and have annual turnover between $75,000 and $20 million.

Businesses must also be willing to participate in a follow-up evaluation and must not have already received an equivalent grant under a previous government program.

Applications are now open and more information is available here.

Indigenous Business Development Program (IBDP)

How much? Up to $30,000

How does it work?

Indigenous people who are starting or expanding their business can apply for grants under the Indigenous Business Development Program.

To be eligible, applicants must live in the NT and their business must be more than 50% Indigenous owned and based and registered in the NT.

Applicants must also be able to show commitment from land councils, where appropriate, and will need to be able to either make financial contributions or show they are able to do so.

Applications are currently open and more information is available here.

Trade Support Scheme

How much? Up to $10,000

How does it work?

The Trade Support Scheme is designed to help NT businesses cover the costs associated with international marketing activities.

Businesses can apply for grants for a range of activities, and different funding caps apply to each activity. The activities included in the scheme are: airfares, marketing and promotion, website design, freight, trade exhibitions and conferences, accommodation, on-the-ground expenses, training, and participation in the Australian Tourism Exchange.

The funding is offered as a taxable cash reimbursement.

Applications are open year-round and more information is available here.

Western Australia

Regional Events Scheme

How much? Up to $50,000

How does it work?

Organisations that hold business conferences, exhibitions and trade shows, as well as festivals and entertainment events, may be eligible for funding under the Western Australian Government’s Regional Events Scheme.

The scheme is administered by Tourism WA and it aims to raise the profile of the state as a tourist destination.

Applications for funding for events that fall between July 2017 and June 2018 will open in October. More information is available here.

Commercial Development Grants Program

How much? Up to $25,000

How does it work?

The Commercial Development Grants Program is available for WA-based creative businesses to help them increase revenue, build audiences and client bases, access new markets or increase market share and build their profiles.

Businesses can apply under two categories – projects up to $15,000 and projects of more than $15,000 – and the maximum grant available is $25,000. The grant can be used to cover up to 80% of the expenditure for a project.

Applications for projects under $15,000 are open year-round, while applications for projects of more than $15,000 close on October 6.

More information is available here.

PARTNERSHIP OFFERS NEW HEAVY DUTY PLANT, SOLUTIONS

A BlueMAC trommel and pick station in Northern Ireland.

PARTNERSHIP OFFERS NEW HEAVY DUTY PLANT, SOLUTIONS

Posted July 29, 2016 | By Damian Christie

A new partnership will provide quarrying and recycled aggregates operators with access to international plant and equipment solutions. Damian Christie spoke to Simon Toal of Skala Australasia about what BlueMAC Manufacturing has to offer the industry.

Skala Australasia, a specialist in bulk materials handling and vibratory process equipment, has been appointed as the exclusive distributor across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands of heavy duty and severe duty plant and equipment for Northern Ireland-based BlueMAC Manufacturing.

BlueMAC, which is a joint venture between UK plant and equipment manufacturers Blue Group and DMAC Engineering, fabricates and design engineers complete plant and equipment for the processing of construction and demolition (C&D), commercial and industrial waste (C&I), and municipal solid waste (MSW) streams. In Ireland, BlueMAC’s plant solutions are ideal for fines clean-up in recycled concrete building materials.

Skala, which was formed in 2012 and recently celebrated four years in operation, is the Australian distributor of General Kinematics heavy duty and severe duty density separators, screens and feeders, MATEC dewatering and filter press systems, Spaleck flip-flow screens, Masaba radial and telescopic conveyors and BRT Hartner recycling systems. Skala also assists customers with equipment selection and design, installation, commissioning and in-service maintenance of plant and equipment. Skala’s customers to date have been in the mining and recycled aggregates sectors but some of its products are starting to attract the attention of quarry operators in Australia.

Some of the BlueMac equipment that will now be available to the Australian market will include all-metal separator and density separators, which are used for cleaning up aggregates, trommel screens, hopper feeders, and conveyors.

‘A perfect fit’

The foundations for the alliance were established in late 2015, when Skala began working with BlueMac in an informal capacity on several projects. The New South Wales-based company had been seeking a specialist manufacturing partner that could deliver large recycling solutions after finding that its customers’ inquiries were increasing in size and complexity.

“We met BlueMAC in September and October last year,” Skala’s managing director Simon Toal said. “There was a couple of products that we were interested in at the time. One was the all-metal separator, so we started dealing with BlueMAC specifically for access to that product, as it was one our customers didn’t have. Concurrent with that, we’ve also designed and built some full recycling systems ourselves in Australia. They’ve been very bespoke, individually engineered projects, and then we’ve gone out to market and individually procured the components and delivered them more like an EPCM. That’s been very time-consuming for us and not cost-competitive for our clients. That’s how we came to understand BlueMAC more and what its full capability was. BlueMAC does a complete integration of individual components and complete systems.”

Toal added that Skala and BlueMAC began to submit combined tenders for work at the end of 2015, with BlueMAC focusing on the design, fabrication and installation, and Skala sourcing the components that it is a dealer for in Australia. After securing a number of projects in early 2016, the two parties agreed that the best path forward was for Skala to become the new Australasian distributor of BlueMAC’s integrated solutions. Further BlueMAC had already completed a number of installations with many brands of plant and equipment that Skala already represented, eg General Kinematics (GK), Spaleck.

An excavator loads the GK screen with C&I waste.

“The fit seemed perfect,” Toal said. “The beauty of BlueMAC is that their plants globally utilise those brands as well. Their engineering processes and systems already are equipped with the end brands that we represent.”

BlueMac is already in the process of building two plants for a Skala customer, which will be two of the largest construction and demolition processing facilities in Australia. Although Toal could not disclose a name, he indicated that the client was a major NSW waste company. He added that the plants would be “highly automated” and incorporate equipment from other Skala brands, such as General Kinematics feeders and destoners”.

Toal said the first of the plants, which will be located in Western Sydney, should be active by September this year, with the second to come online in December. The footprints of both C&D processing plants will be 140m long by 50m wide, and they are expected to process in excess of 150 tonnes per hour of just about any C&D and/or C&I waste application.

“The C&D plant will start with processing pieces of inferior material that could be a metre by a metre,” Toal said. “Huge chunks of recycled concretes, timber poles, metal, soil aggregates, plastics, light papers, any size of C&D waste, could follow. Out of those we would separate timber, processed timber, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, light plastics, heavy plastics, rubble. On the aggregates/concrete side, it should be able to produce a -6mm or -8mm clean soil, followed by a 6mm to 25mm aggregate product, then a 50mm to 150mm +150mm rubble.”

Robotics and automation

The two recycling plants will, for the most part, be automated, although they will still require some manual labour on picking stations to ensure that various contaminants do not become mixed in with specific waste streams. Toal predicted that, though, is likely to change in the coming years.

“The next step for us is we’re exploring the use of robotics to minimise labour on this plant and most BlueMAC plants that have been installed still have an element of manual labour,” Toal said. “With the equipment that we’ve put on this C&D plant, we’ve reduced that quite a bit from some in the past. There still is manual picking quality control on this system and the challenge for us on next generation models is to introduce robotics to replace manual labour.”

Indeed, in March this year, Blue Group and ZenRobotics announced a distribution agreement for the UK of the latter’s ZenRobotics Recycler (ZRR, designed by BlueMAC) that will be incorporated into Blue Group plants. With two robot arms, the device will be able to make up to 4000 picks an hour – twice the output of a human operative. The ZRR has been designed to recognise and recover mixed waste such as metal, timber, stone, cardboard, and rigid plastic portions from mixed C&D and C&I streams.

BlueMAC has already run projects in the UK with robotics on pick stations which Skala hopes will translate to Australian plant.

“The technology has come a long way in four years,” Toal said. “It’s come forward at a rapid rate of knots. BlueMAC have done two or three projects in the UK with robotic picking stations and we are actually designing them into another plant for one of our customers at the moment. These plants aren’t as big in tonnes per hour but they will mark the next generation of automation.”

Nevertheless, even without the aid of the ZRR, the plants are becoming more intuitive and will require minimal supervision. As Toal himself acknowledged, the main reason Skala turned to BlueMAC as a partner was because it could not alone fulfil its customers’ requirements for more complex and automated systems. “In the past, customers were happy to buy an individual piece of equipment and try to integrate it themselves into their plant. What they’re finding now is a lot of these processes are becoming more automated, and components need the logic to speak to each other. They need to sense what load is on the conveyor belt so that it can speed up or slow down to enable increased efficiency or picking or sorting. If you have a really thick bed depth, that needs to be sensed and slowed down. There’s a process flow logic in place.

“I guess the customer is getting more mature and demanding in the efficiency of the products and some of them are looking at taking on C&D waste and other waste streams to diversify the business. Some of the medium-size operators may only be able to run a plant on C&D waste, for say, three days a week, so if they can bring in another waste stream such as MSW or C&I, then they can keep their equipment running at a higher duty, at a higher rate. That’s the two complexities there, that we’re getting customers that realise that it’s not simply a matter of buying an off-the-shelf piece of equipment and trying to integrate it themselves, it distracts them from their core business. A customer looks to us for a complete turnkey solution of systems that address their demands.”

Independent requirements

Even if average medium-size quarrying or recycling operators do not want plants that are almost autonomous, there is still scope for them to purchase some of Skala’s and BlueMAC’s plant and equipment separately rather than the “full package deal”.

“Although we offer the complete solution, it’s not unusual for customers to request an individual component,” Toal said. “BlueMAC do a number of mobile pieces of equipment. The all-metal separator is a track-mounted individual machine, similarly with their trommel screens and hopper feeders. We’ve been looking at selling the GK density separators to some of the multinational companies as mobile units, so they can use them on multiple sites. All our machines can make up a complete system but they can work independently too.”

While you would expect most of Skala and BlueMAC’s offerings to be more specific to the recycling industry, Toal indicated that some of the larger quarry operators had shown interest in Skala’s larger two-mass screens.

“We’ve had some quarry customers inspect the GK screens,” he continued. “The beauty of the equipment is that it structurally uses about one-seventh of the structural forces of a typical brute force screen. The major difference with the GK screens that we will be installing in the BlueMAC plants in Sydney is they will be two-mass banana screens that use about one-third of the power and about one-seventh of the structural forces. They will be considerably more reliable and efficient, which is increasingly attractive to some of our customers, particularly if they are doing a retrofit for a plant that’s up high in the air. It’s the same equipment we’ve put into major mine sites and it’s suited to larger quarries.

Final checks on the pick station Steinert magnetic separator.

“We’re not necessarily cost-competitive for smaller quarry operations,” Toal added, “because a two-mass machine is an inherently heavier, more expensive, more elaborate design. However, when your operation starts getting into the larger tonnes per hour – like we do with these screens that can generate up to 4000 tph – that’s where the cost-benefits really come into play and the savings and efficiencies are worthwhile. So most of the BlueMAC GK equipment is the standard range of plant but by and large we’re a bespoke manufacturer who will customise for individual applications.”

General Kinematics’ STM screens may also have applications for the sand processing side of the business. Toal suggested that as sand grades continue to diminish and the quality of virgin sand material declines, so density separators could play an invaluable part in clearing impurities and other organics from sand deposits. The STM screen, aka the “megascreen”, which is built to maximum dimensions of 6m wide by 10m long, is intended for mining applications in Australia but according to Toal has also attracted the interest of potential quarry customers because it has the capacity to separate and process two different products down both sides of the same screen separated by a spline. This potentially makes the STM more efficient and flexible than multiple screens, for example.

“There’s definitely been a lot of interest from some quarries in that large megascreen,” Toal said. “We’ve sold them to the big miners recently but we never really expected there would be much interest from quarries. However, I guess quarries, like every house, are getting bigger and bigger and there are requirements to become more efficient. When there’s a product that is offering bigger sizes in tonnes per hour whilst only using a seventh of the structural stresses on the machine, that really puts us back in the box to be competitive for heavy duty and very large screens.”

Skala Australasia is headquartered in Newcastle, NSW, with fully stocked warehouses in Newcastle and in Perth, Western Australia. The company also has equipment and other support services in every state barring Tasmania and in regional areas such as Karratha, Geelong and far north Queensland.

Five disruptive trends in tech for 2017

The tech revolution continues to barrel forward lately, and 2017 will see some of the most innovative and evolutionary disruptions we have seen thus far.

There will be more connection, more automation, and more significant impact in business and investment than ever before, and the revolution has just begun.

The innovations coming to fruit in 2017 are poised to redefine business and connection as we know it. From banking to devices, 2017 holds many a change in store -the technology of this next phase is dynamic, gigantic, and will feel like a futuristic sci-fi fantasy novel.

Finance will be automated

Many financial experts are predicting that automated banks are the next big disruptor for the banking sector. According to a recent study, automated banking could replace 30 per cent of bank jobs over the next decade. Financial advisors and analysts are due to be quickly replaced by robo-advisors that render them moot -with big data in the wings, robo-advisors have the data needed to make split-second, uber-informed decisions. The payments and mobile banking industries are riding high, as well: fintech startups raised over $22.3 billion in funding in 2015, up 75 per cent from 2014. This trend will speed up in 2017.

Big data will get even bigger

Big data will be a necessary asset for companies in all sectors, From trucking to data entry, big data algorithms will change the landscape in a big way, metaphorically and literally — geographical information systems will get a major upgrade in speed and efficiency. For example, MIT and Ford Motors recently partnered to read the cellphone location data of Bostonians, producing instantaneous traffic and transportation patterns that typically take years to build. Innovation will continue with developments in big data storage, providing much needed revolutionary agility in IT. Steve Wozniak has joined big data storage company Primary Data as their Chief Scientist, so we can be sure to see some huge changes there.

The Internet of Everything truly begins

The Internet of Everything in both the consumer and B2B market will continue to rise, especially in North America, connecting data, things, processes and people. Intelligent systems will grow rapidly in 2017, especially after the release of the Home app from Apple this fall. Over 100 products are already on the market that will work seamlessly with apples HomeKit, so a smart-linked home will be an affordable possibility for anyone. Security, lights, electronics, and climate can all be controlled for the first time in one app. Wearable devices will continue to climb and mesh with healthcare and big data.

Mobility will continue to dominate.

Customers are almost completely mobile — as of now, four out of five people use their phones to shop. The global workforce is becoming increasingly mobile, working from home, and tech software and communications will begin to reflect that predominantly. From mobile storage for work-from-home employees to advanced security, mobility has only begun to gain traction. Verizon is one company to watch, as they are in the process of acquiring Irish fleet and mobile workforce management company Fleetmatics, positioning the mobile company to be the largest mobile workforce management company in the world.

Space exploration will become increasingly affordable.

Expect in 2017 to see huge changes in the space exploration sector. Costs will go down drastically, with what would previously cost billions of dollars costing only millions. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority recently approved private company Moon Express to launch an unmanned exploratory moon mission in 2017, and the company plans to forge ahead with commercial missions to the moon to exploit its mineral resources.

We will also see huge strides in satellite use – Planet Labs Inc. has launched a fleet of tiny shoebox-sized satellites that can transfer daily high-res earth images, providing affordable and useful information to companies interested in economically sensitive areas like farmland, oil storage tanks and parking lot usage.

More losses for Joy Global in latest quarterly results

Joy Global has released their third quarter results for this year, signalling a plummet in sales compared to 2015.

The company’s net sales fell 26 per cent to $587 million from last year’s $792 million, with their funds from operations down $90 million to $26 million.

Net sales in the third quarter of 2014 were $857 million.

Ted Doheny, Joy Global’s president and CEO, said, “Although market conditions and our incoming order rate remain extremely challenged, our team delivered financial results for the quarter in line with expectations.”

The results showed capital expenditure was down $7 million to $11 million in the third quarter.

It also revealed a 41 per cent decrease in original equipment sales and a 21 per cent decrease in service sales compared to last year. The slump was felt across both underground and surface mining machinery sales; dropping 30 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Service sales for underground mining machinery dropped 25 per cent, with the most significant reduction in the US coal market, which was down $42 million (40 per cent) year on year.

Original equipment sales for surface mining equipment decreased 31 percent compared to the year before, with an increase in Australia more than offset by declines in all other regions.

Additionally, bookings for underground mining machinery decreased 21 per cent and surface mining equipment decreasing 24 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

The company attributed this year’s loss to lower sales volumes, unfavorable product mix, lower manufacturing absorption as well as restructuring charges and merger costs.

Two months ago, Komatsu announced the acquisition of Joy Global for US$3.7 billion. This was part of its three-year growth strategy with focus on strengthening their core mining equipment business. The acquisition will also provide a new line of surface equipment for the Japanese firm.

Joy also revealed a negative impact of $27 million from restructuring charges compared to $11 million the year before. Restructuring mainly occurred in North America and China, with the company having to pay severance and termination fees as they continue to cut down on their staff numbers and enhance their global manufacturing footprint.

On a more positive note, the company’s focus on safety in the mining industry has had better results, with a number of their facilities having no incidents over the last year.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve had 15 manufacturing and service facilities that have achieved zero recordable incidents over that period,” Doheny said.

What construction jobs will look like when robots can build things

By 2034/35, almost 20% of Australians (6.2 million) are projected to be aged 65 or over. One sector already feeling the impact of the ageing population is construction. In Queensland, the number of construction workers aged 55 and over increased from 8 per cent of full-time workers in 1992 to 14.2 per cent in 2014.

An ageing workforce is likely to increase the need for less physically demanding jobs or maybe technology might address this issue. Task automation and the industry’s innovation culture are two of the greatest areas of uncertainty for the construction industry.

A new study that developed evidence based scenarios for 2036, depicts how automation and manufacturing could grow in the construction sector, creating more knowledge intensive jobs as a result.

The study explores future technology that eliminates dangerous and difficult tasks, particularly in light of the ageing workforce.

Experts in the industry were asked the extent to which technology would progress and how many or which tasks could be automated. There was no consensus on this and the other point of contention between the interviewees was how bold the industry would be in its pursuit of new solutions.

The research did suggest the construction workforce will need a broad understanding of digital applications, in addition to traditional project management and communication skills.

Figure 1: Construction industry scenarios from the Farsight Report

Construction jobs of the future

The trends analysis and scenario development in the report produced some examples of possible construction industry jobs in the year 2036, including:

Building assembly technician

Someone who oversees robotic systems and examines data feeds throughout the life of a project. This worker would optimise workflows and make adjustments on real time feedback from clients about design or changes to materials.

Virtual/augmented reality trainers

Breakthroughs in virtual and augmented reality technology could provide low-cost immersive environments where apprentices and trainers can meet virtually in any training situation, such as worksite, factory, design studio – the possibilities are endless.

Building drone operators

These professionals would control and program drones to carry out complex tasks such as site inspections, deliveries and maintenance.

Robot resource manager

Robots in the workplace will need someone to take care of commissioning, software programming, maintenance and re-purposing or recycling of robotic parts. Keeping track of this exploding field of technology will be a key challenge for the role.

Other opportunities

The Australian construction industry is changing with the introduction of digital collaboration platforms, like Building Information Modelling (BIM), robot machine prototypes such as the Fastbrick robot and rapid progress in 3D printing capabilities. These innovations will need more people skilled in the use of software programs and less people for labour-intensive jobs such as bricklaying or paving.

BIM is software that creates a 3D visualisation of a building. However, it extends beyond 3D imaging to show scheduling, cost control, facility management and energy performance monitoring. The UK government has mandated that all centrally funded work is to be undertaken using BIM by April 2016 and the Queensland government has stated that it will progressively implement the use of BIM into all major state infrastructure projects by 2023. As workers’ skills in BIM increase in Australia, the improved cost and time saving will drive customers to demand that projects are managed in this way.

Already, in the Netherlands, the company MX3D is using 6-axis industrial robots to print a fully functional steel bridge. Contour Crafting technology, a process invented at the University of Southern California, has great potential for automating the construction of whole structures as well as sub-components and a company in China is using 3D printing to build houses.

The manufacturing part of the construction industry is expected to grow at 5% per annum out to 2023, compared to a growth rate of 2.3% for the industry as a whole. While the current prefabricated building market in Australia is still comparatively small, with only A$4.5 billion of the total A$150 billion construction industry, it is expected to contribute to more affordable housing stock and to take a much greater share of creating multi-storey buildings.

The nature of construction work is set for a step change over the next 20 years and careful strategic thinking is needed to navigate the changes.

The changes will require humans to exercise judgement and decision-making that reflects human values and aspirations; a task that is well beyond the most advanced artificial intelligence systems.

George Quezada, Research Scientist, Data61

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Metso sign massive underground mining deal with Codelco

Metso has signed a deal with Codelco to aid the transformation of the enormous Chuquicamata mine in Chile from open cut to underground. The Chuquicamata mine, located 1,650 km north of Santiago, Chile, is owned and operated by Chile’s National Copper Corporation, Codelco.

The scope of the contract includes the engineering, supply of equipment and materials, and site assistance for 12 underground crusher stations combined with a conveyor package. The delivery contains 11 new units of Metso’s largest C200 jaw crushers, 24 push feeders and 20 conveyors.

“Overall, the contract constitutes one of the most sizeable crusher orders ever for Metso’s mining business,” Metso said.

A valuation of the deal has not been released.

The project will begin this year and run until 2020.

According to the company, “Metso offered an integrated solution that carried through from engineering, crusher stations, and material handling to electrification, automation, and site assistance. In addition, the energy savings from the company’s Energy Saving Idler (ESI) conveyor technology gave the Metso offering a competitive edge.”

The mine itself is forecast to provide 10 per cent of the world’s copper, and announced plans to move underground in 2012, after it reached a point where trucks had to drive 11 kilometres to reach the surface from the bottom of the pit – all the while hauling lower grade ores.

According to Coldeco, Chuquicamata still has the ability to produce around 308,000 tonnes of copper annually.

It has already started digging more than 1000 kilometres, sinking US3.8 billion into the development.

The mine will also replace its trucks with an in-pit crushing and conveying system.

Mining has been known to take place at the site in one form or another since 550AD.

It is the second deepest mine in the world, after Bingham Canyon, in the U.S.

To see images of the mine’s move underground, click here.

UQ develop new bauxite processing method

The University of Queensland has worked with Rio Tinto to create a new way to process bauxite ores.

According to the university, not only does the method add value to the ore, it also reduces the mine’s environmental footprint.

UQ’s Dr. Hong Peng, from the university’s School of Chemical Engineering, said the process utilises bauxite ore waste.

“Queensland is ideally placed to benefit from this technological improvement as bauxite is abundant in north Queensland and there are already processing facilities and experts established here,” Peng said.

“Now instead of wasting the bauxite ore by-products, we can recover most of the minerals, which also reduces the environmental impact of the mining activity.”

The new method will also make some previously uneconomical mines viable.

Bauxite contains between 30 and 54 per cent alumina, which is refined from bauxite ore using the Bayer process, which separates alumina from the mixture of various iron oxides, titanium dioxide and aluminosilicate, which is known as the desilication product (DSP).

Using the conventional Bayer process, the DSP crystallises to a fine powder intermingled through the residue, making separation of the components impossible.

“The red mud has to be chemically neutralised and maintained in long-term storage,” Peng said.

Peng’s method looks to control this crystallisation, instead yielding a coarser material, which can be separated and removed.

“The current process wastes a lot of these other minerals and creates bauxite residue,” he said.

“The new method we’re developing has environmental benefits and financial benefits, as the by-products can be sold.”

The research was supported by the Advance Queensland Research Fellowship, which is focused on aiding the mining industry in overcoming challenges.

Peng was one recipient, along with Dr. Pradeep Shukla – who is aiming to upscale new technology to produce cyanide on-site for gold and base metal mines – and Dr. Sergio-Andres Galindo-Torres, who aims to introduce new modelling and visualisation technologies

World first: China’s hack-proof communications system

China has launched what it says is the world’s first quantum satellite from the Gobi Desert on Tuesday. If successful, it will allow for global hack-proof communications.

During its two-year mission, the QUESS satellite will establish “hack-proof” quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground.

Quantum technology uses photons to transmit encrypted messages. This form of encryption is secured against any kind of computing power because the information encoded in a quantum particle is changed as soon as it is measured, which means it cannot be cloned. This in turn makes it impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through it.

QUESS will utilise high-speed coherent lasers to connect with base stations 1,200km apart, in order to test long-distance communications. There have been past experiments looking to achieve this, however they struggled with the loss of photons in transmission and therefore quantum communications could only be achieved over a short distance (no more than 500km).

If successful, the QUESS project could result in the establishment of a ground-to-satellite quantum communication system, enabling global scale quantum communications.

“This newly-launched satellite marks a transition in China’s role – from a follower in classic information technology development to one of the leaders guiding future IT achievements,” said Pan Jianwei, chief scientist of the project, in a comment to Xinhuanet.

Pan believes that if more quantum satellites are sent into orbit, the global quantum communications network will be established in the next 15 years.

The Future-Proof mining plant

Globalisation, competition, material and resource pricings, aging workforces and regulatory pressures are just some of the challenges facing Australian mining companies. Some of these challenges grow more daunting by the day. But Australia has always been an innovative force in making the best of difficult situations, particularly in the mining sector.

The external factors that affect mining are so volatile that it is difficult to pin down with absolute certainty what the industry will look like in a year – let alone five years or a decade. To combat these unknowns mining companies are using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies to more effectively control their own assets and in-turn, creating future-proof mining plants with modern process automation at its core.

The Future-Proof Plant helps mining organisations in three ways: keeping pace with accelerating business and operational requirements; evolving with changing technologies; and attracting the right people, then supporting them with the required knowledge.

The Speed Challenge

Over the last decade, critical business variables associated with industrial production has fluctuated. For example, today the price of the electricity that a mining operation consumes might change every 15 minutes. This increase in speed has also impacted the frequency in variation of the production value and material costs of an operation.

Now, the speed of business is so fast that industrial operations must be able to respond to market changes in real time, including many traditional functions that industrial operations have performed in transactional business systems. Real time business functions such as performance measures, activity-based accounting and profitable safety and asset performance management, will need to operate succinctly in process automation systems.

These systems must be designed right from inception to be extremely agile, adapting to process changes quickly and easily. As these process changes are implemented, object-based industrial service-oriented architecture (SOA) can help industrial companies to adapt flexibly. This future-proofs the operation while maintaining the operational integrity of the mining plant.

Tightly integrated, resource-to-market, data-driven businesses allow advanced Supply Demand Optimisation (SDO) systems to be implemented. These systems provide real-time visibility and predictive capability, allowing businesses to overcome the challenge of complex interlocked operations. In turn, this enables ‘lean’ production that meets market demands whilst mitigating bottlenecks.

The Technology Challenge

As well as helping companies meet business challenges by future-proofing operations, modern process automation systems embody all the characteristics essential to keeping ahead of ever-evolving technological developments by future-proofing their technology as well.

Control room components such as operator consoles and engineering tools have much shorter lifecycles than process-connected components such as transmitters and control hardware. There is also an increased use of mobile technology, with two out of three businesses in a recent Schneider Electric IoT survey planning to implement the Internet of Things via mobile applications in 2016. No single computing architecture will monopolise these systems. Instead, IoT will flourish across systems, both at the edge and on premise.

This in-part reflects ongoing security concerns, with cybersecurity threats related to IoT a critical challenge for future business. Making information available across heterogeneous computing environments will help end users adopt IoT solutions in the way that best suits their security and mission-critical needs while also offering those with legacy technology infrastructures a logical and manageable path forward.

Industrial businesses can protect their engineering investments and in many cases, use emerging technology to drive more value from their automation solutions. From an architectural perspective the key features of such an automation system are threefold: providing a distributed software architecture that operates in standard operating system environments, utilising open industry standards and building a distributed object-based communication infrastructure.

In recent years, the concept of continuously-current technology has been taken to a new level by extending the basic system design to become an industrial service oriented architecture (SOA).

Looking at Schneider Electric technology as an example, clients found they could continually evolve to the latest state-of-the-art technology – while preserving existing hardware, software and applications. This enabled clients to protect their engineering investments and in many cases to use emerging technology to drive more value from their automation solutions.

This approach means Process manufacturers have the flexibility to continuously upgrade smaller components to meet emerging business needs, without having to upgrade everything at once, thereby minimising downtime.

Increased use of open standards, with a transparent data-driven approach is based on the desire among industrial companies to have common approaches, allowing systems to integrate and interoperate. Better integration enables the flow of data to information, knowledge and offers operational insight, encouraging efficient collaboration across mining plant operations.

The People Challenge

A final important issue facing industrial companies over the next few decades will be the changing workforce; retirements of the older workforce and training the next data-driven and more transitory generation. The processes of a Future-Proof Plant helps reduce the impact of these changes, primarily by using automation technology such as virtual reality to embed expertise into systems rather than people.

Properly designed automation software can help capture the intellectual property of engineers and operators before they depart, safeguarding important information and valuable processes. Software workflow engines at the system layer allow intellectual property to be embedded into the system environment. Therefore, critical information and knowledge can be passed on to new employees in the most succinct and efficient way. With these assets available on demand, operators and maintenance workers can be guided through unexpected and perhaps unsafe events via intellectual property embedded in automatically triggered workflows.

Automation systems with sophisticated design are also able to help facilities improve both safety and efficiency standards. Operator training simulators used in conjunction with contextualised virtual reality training systems can help new mining operators achieve certification levels in less than half the time of traditional methods. With the challenge often lying in training new operators how to respond to infrequent or unexpected events, simulation and augmented reality software can be programmed to effectively teach this.

Embedding lifetime training capability into the online environment through performance feedback mechanisms and performance prediction software ensures continuous worker development after certification. Since people learn by feedback control, providing the capabilities of the Future-Proof Plant’s operational insight environment drives workers to even higher levels of performance than that of their predecessors.

The future – tomorrow and beyond

IIoT automation system technologies cannot address every challenge faced by Australian mining. But creating Future-Proof Plants ensures that a company’s assets are used at their maximum capacity and efficiency and will continue to do so effectively in the coming years.

Protecting the operational integrity of plants, enhancing the operational insight of people and enabling plants to adapt easily and affordably to change are just some of the benefits local companies are already experiencing today. These benefits will help them remain competitive tomorrow and beyond.