News
Kiwi diploma student wins global award
The Logistics Training Group (LTG) is extremely proud and pleased to announce that Jason Norriss, the NZ top graduate in the CILT (UK) Professional Diploma in Logistics and Transport for 2007, has now also been awarded the global Student of the Year award for 2007.
Jason is due to be presented with his award in London in October, but this may be transferred to a presentation in New Zealand.
This is the global top graduate award for the diploma, as all students must have their work assessed and verified in the UK under the terms of the UK qualification authority’s regulations.
“The CILT (UK) Professional Diploma in Logistics and Transport is perhaps the most widely recognised and respected qualification in applied logistics and supply chain management,” says Walter Glass of LTG, course director for the diploma programme in New Zealand and Australia, “and accordingly commands considerable international recognition and status.
“For a New Zealand graduate to take this award is a phenomenal feat. What is even more pleasing is that this is the second time a New Zealand graduate has won this prestigious international award in the last three years, as LTG’s Scott Goddard took the title in 2005.”
The diploma is now offered jointly through a Massey University–LTG alliance which allows students to progress towards a masters degree.
CILT NZ Annual Forum and Awards 2008
CILT NZ will hold its annual forum and awards dinner in Wellington on 15 October. Titled ‘Creating a professional workforce’, the forum aims to identify workforce shortages, reviews the way that Australia has addressed the issue, and addresses the twin issues of mentoring and continuing professional development.
The gala dinner in the evening will celebrate award winners from the education and industry sectors. For further information, visit www.cilt.co.nz
Applicants vie for Sea Change money
By Dave MacIntyre
In FTD’s February/March edition we analysed the government’s Sea Change coastal shipping strategy, then still in draft form and under discussion at ministerial level. Since then, what has eventuated? Dave MacIntyre analyses what has emerged from the official launch of the policy and its subsequent uptake by industry.
If the gestation period for the Sea Change coastal shipping strategy produced a great amount of interest and debate in the logistics industry, its actual birth has been followed by a flurry of behind-the-scenes activity by firms keen to turn concepts into reality.
Recently, Transport Minister Annette King announced that 18 expressions of interest had been received for allocations from the $6 million available for domestic seafreight for 2008–09 (part of the $36 million in funding over the next four years, inclusive of $10 million for seafreight development for each of the following three years up to 2012).
Other snippets of information have emerged to indicate what types of services are being looked at. Ports of Auckland CEO Jens Madsen said in reply to a question at the port’s customer conference that the port had had discussions with several parties interested in setting up a container feeder service. Such a service on the east coast would be essential if the major ports of Auckland and Tauranga are going to be brought into a coastal network, as the current Pacifica service only goes to Onehunga on the west coast.
Expressions of interest
Not only Pacifica are thought to be looking at service options, including linking PrimePort Timaru and Port Otago with North Island ports. In addition, Strait Shipping is known to be exploring possibilities, and at least one international line has made enquiries about how its vessels may be more fully employed on the NZ coast.
Ports are keenly interested, with Napier and Nelson having a track record of encouraging feeder services.
Other interest can be found among freight companies such as Cubic, which provides a service to domestic shippers by utilising space on international and domestic carriers and rail.
The biggest query is whether the funding allocation will be enough to make a genuine difference. A total of $36 million is dwarfed when one realises that Ontrack is talking about a possible investment of about $400 million in rail infrastructure over the next five years, that KiwiRail cost nearly $700 million, and significant amounts of further cash are required for rail rolling stock investment.
In that context, the question is – can $36 million really help achieve the outcomes the government is targeting for the sea mode, namely carrying four times its current volume of inter-regional freight by the year 2040?
Achieving the targets
Currently handling 15 percent of all domestic freight, coastal shipping is expected to cater for 20 percent by 2020 and at least 30 percent by 2040 under Sea Change. Because total domestic freight is expected to double in tonne-kilometres by then, achieving the target actually means a four-fold increase (in tonne-kilometres) for domestic freight moved by ship.
Sea Change does open the door for funds to be used for capex (it says this may mean direct contribution from the government, or suspensory loan or some form of partnership). But if one looks at providing port facilities, such as cranes or specialist wharf facilities, such capital expenditure requires figures that would quickly drain an annual allocation of $10 million.
The main thrust, however, is to get services up and running which then fend for themselves in later years.
What won’t (or is unlikely to) be supported are applications where an activity is already up and running; where it would have a high degree of success off its own bat without financial support; where it can gain funding support from other sources; where vague ‘contingency costs’ have been provided for; legal costs; or cost overruns above what was first agreed to in an approved proposal.
So what now?
In terms of what happens now, the first batch of bids for funding will start this month and applicants should know the result before Christmas. A second round of bids opens in February next year and will be decided on by June (obviously working in with the financial year).
The agency is required to publish details of funding allocations and expects to provide a breakdown of the $6 million to be spent this financial year by type of activity, plus the number of successful and unsuccessful applications.
Dave MacIntyre can be contacted at at d.macintyre@xtra.co.nz.
Sea Change can be downloaded from www.transport.govt.nz/home/
A new era in lift trucks for New Zealand
The JCB Teletruk –
all the rage in Europe
because of its high productivity
The problem of maximising the usability of a piece of equipment generally comes down to its versatility. Combine that with limited space and the hidden costs of operation, such as labour costs, fuel, plus repairs and maintenance, then single-purpose machines, such as forklifts, may not be as productive as you would like.
Centra Forklifts introduces the JCB Teletruk, a unique solution for handling lifting tasks in the materials handling industry. “The JCB Teletruk is a total revelation in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne forklift market, combining the compactness of an industrial counterbalanced forklift, and the telescopic boom of its big cousin, the JCB Telehandler,” says Steve Leece, product manager for Centra Forklifts.
With its variable reach telescoping boom, the JCB Teletruk can access places and loads you would never dream of with a conventional forklift. It can perform all the tasks of a standard-masted forklift, plus a whole lot more. Its ability to reach forward two metres and carriage tilt through 111 degrees gives the JCB Teletruk incredible versatility and productivity. In some cases, it can perform the tasks of both a forklift and a wheel-loader.
The JCB Teletruk also offers a significant safety advance for any workplace, providing excellent visibility of the work area in front of the machine since there is no mast.
Potential customers
Centra Forklifts sold the first of the machines landed before it had even been unpacked – to a stevedoring customer at one of New Zealand’s major ports – with a good chance of more to follow.
A demonstration unit has been imported with a special attachment fitted to demonstrate the JCB Teletruk’s flexibility. The ‘trapdoor’ JCB Bagezee shovel allows one person to easily fill flexible bags. Also available is the Changezee quick-disconnect system allowing a change from forks to a shovel in less than 20 seconds without leaving the cab.
“We envision potential customers for the Changezee option being builders’ merchants, garden centres or nurseries who handle a wide range of product, from timber through palletised product to loose aggregates, soil or bark,” says Mr Leece. “Not only does the customer get improved plant utilisation, they can potentially reduce the manpower required for various operations on site, thus saving on the wages bill.”
Other important features include:
Unique ‘power-down’ action ensuring hydraulic control of a load, both up and down
Two or four-wheel fully-enclosed hydrostatic drive – like no other industrial counterbalanced lift truck; the machines are designed with rough-surface yards and gradients in mind, and boast an impressive turning radius
• Self-levelling forks
A tilting cab for ease of service, and grouped daily operator checks in one location
A small footprint in terms of length and narrow width, allowing for use in restricted spaces, or narrow aisles
Diesel or LPG options with catalytic converter if required
Solid pneumatic and traction tyres available.
Centra Forklifts has a proven track record of providing innovative lift truck products to the New Zealand market, along with the expertise and maintenance systems in place nationwide to fully support them.
Competitive sale, lease or hire arrangements are available.