Embracing the future of advanced manufacturing

This week, HERA visited Australia with Manufacturing Minister Hon Andrew Bayly and industry representatives to better understand how Australia is responding to the “Industry 4.0” revolution.

This was a very busy visit, which saw the travelling delegation tour the University of Wollongong’s Facility for Intelligent Fabrication (FIF) and the $81 million Australian Composite Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre.  

Industry 4.0 – also referred to as the fourth Industrial Revolution, is a broad term for new technologies and data such as cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence that are revolutionising manufacturing.  These advances have been a core focus for HERA to understand in order to drive the transformation of our manufacturing sector using steel so their businesses are prepared for the future. 

HERA CEO Troy Coyle saying: “The future of manufacturing looks at utilising Industry 4.0 technologies to transform how goods are made, optimising processes, and driving the potential for unprecedented efficiency and productivity gains.” 

“I want to see our sector at the cutting edge of these developments, which is why HERA is focused on developing out facilities and supporting research and services to help our manufacturing sector understand the potential for uptake of Industry 4.0. A key way to demonstrate that is to see what is happening in Australia.” 

“HERA has long advocated for the need for a Minister of Manufacturing to represent industry more broadly across all building materials to improve outcomes not just for those directly in the manufacturing sector, but also those downstream who rely on its products and services. Having the Minister on this trip with us has been a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s potential in this area.” 

More about HERA Industry 4.0 approaches  

HERA commissioned BERL to determine the economic contribution that increased adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies would have to the New Zealand economy which resulted in the release of HERA Report R5-91. The results showed that there would be significant benefits to GDP and wages.  

This has led to HERA focusing on supporting industry to incorporate these technologies into business models through innovation strategies, as well as helping businesses understand the opportunity more broadly when it comes to Industry 4.0 and automation. 

We have also created our Fab4.0Lab and have more projects in the wings.