Your
industry
futurist.
Pūrongo ā-tau
Annual Report FY20/21
Auahatanga pūmaitai.
Innovation in metals
Mihi
Mauri ora ki a Ranginui
Mauri ora ki a Papatūānuku
Tēnei rā, ka rere ake te reo whakamihi
Ki ngā iwi me ngā tāngata katoa
Tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa
Tēnā tātou i ō tātou mate tuatini
Tēnā tātou i ngā piki me ngā heke
Heoi anō, kia mau, kia manawanui!
Whakatauki
Ma te huruhuru ka rere te manu.
Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly.
Matakitenga
Ko te haumaru i te ahumahi ō āpōpō, mā te whakaauaha ināianei tonu.
Securing tomorrow's industry by innovating today.
HERA CEO
Troy Coyle
HERA Executive Chair
David Anderson
Thank you to the tribe of engaged metalheads that continue to support us."
Our Chair & CEO report.
FY2021 was a year of validation for HERA.
The disruption of Covid-19 validated our focus on digital transformation in preparation for disruption - we just didn’t anticipate the disruption would come from a global pandemic! MBIE’s focus on Building For Climate Change and the Climate Change Commission’s activities also validated our warning that the steel industry needed to pay greater attention to sustainability.
Looking at the big picture
Despite the significant uncertainty and fluctuations in levy income, FY21 was an exceptional year for HERA. This improved financial performance allowed us to invest in some strategic activities in the latter part of the financial year.
For example, some large capital investments were made in transforming the welding workshop area into the Fab4.0Lab, which HERA plans to publicly launch at its 2021 AGM. This will improve HERA’s training, research and demonstration activities to better support our members adoption of Industry 4.0 and advanced fabrication technologies.
Looking forward, we are not yet in a position to predict the likely impacts of Covid-19 on our industry in the longer term but there is a general feeling of optimism in the short-term with many fabricators reporting strong order books for at least the next 12 months.
CEO report
Moving forward, FY22 signals some exciting projects on the horizon.
In sustainability, we plan to release our zero carbon steel program, a report on steel recycling, an update on the Living Standards Framework assessment for steel's contribution to Aotearoa, and the start of our $100K sustainability research and training program.
Our Industry 4.0 focus will see us leverage our Fab4.0Lab to build a national centre of excellence in fabrication. We will also expand our member engagement through the launch of our new app, MetalMind, to transform the way we traditionally connected.
We're also working to position as a key contributor to thought leadership in both the manufacturing and building/construction sectors and are planning to investigate the potential to interface Mātauranga Māori and Construction 4.0 in collaboration with the Pūhoro STEM Academy.
Key wins in FY21
56 professionals
achieved AS2214 supervisor qualifications
17 R&D publications released, including design guides and technical reports
11 professionals
achieved IIW Welding Inspector qualifications
MetalMind App entered into testing phase to 100 users
800+ professionals
tuned into our newly launched technical webinars
Technical advice provided to over 800 HERA members by our team
Toitūtanga.
Sustainability
This year HERA
has focused on sustainability initiatives as part of our commitment to the Living Standards Framework's Natural capital."
Ō mātou uaratanga.
Our values
He tangata.
Human capital
Research & development, our people, education & innovation.
Education & training.
The future is bright for welders.
There is a global welder shortage, which has created demand for trade qualified welders.
Responding to this, we've transitioned our welder training modules online so attendees can gain practical welder education under HERA's Job Knowledge Certificate AS/NZS ISO 9606.1.
We also developed online training for the welding of weathering steel for bridges in collaboration with ASI for engineers in both NZ and Australia.
Qualifications and examination.
Our Welding Supervisor and International Welding Inspector courses continue to be instrumental for people in industry to seek ongoing professional development.
This year developing an online exam platform and questions databank to increase value.
Webinar offerings become the norm.
Covid-19 saw the realisation of digital disruption to the delivery of our training. As a result, multiple webinars were delivered both directly via HERA's teams and in collaboration with industry partners.
This included material requirements for Category 3 steel, shielding gases for seismic welds, an overview of finite element analysis, enhancing product delivery & improving cash flow, weathering steel rail and road bridge design, optimised sliding hinge joint, and more.
The latest in pressure equipment.
We successfully hosted the third Pressure Equipment Conference at HERA House. Welcoming 80 professionals representing different sectors of the industry to keep abreast of the latest techniques, developments and ideas.
Structural bolting know-how.
In response to industry need, we developed a comprehensive bolting e-course for structural steel bolting in collaboration with the Steep Structures Technology Centre in the US, the Australian Steel Institute and Weld Australia. The result - a certificate leading to satisfactory performance in bolted joints, proper installation and quality assurance.
Courses & training targeting pain points.
Across our industry the introduction of new standards, procedures and quality assurance needs means our workforce must continually upskill.
That's why this year we developed a steel frame construction monitoring course in collaboration with SCNZ, and training for welder qualifications to AS/NZS ISO 9606.1, and welding procedures.
Auahatanga.
Innovation
Innovation is at the core of everything we do.
Me kaua noa e ohorere ki te mea, ko te auaha tā mātou uara matua. Ko tā mātou hoki, he mea nui kia arotia mai mātou hei hoa rikarika nei.
Kei te hiahia mātou ki te tūhonohono ake ki ō mātou mema. I tua ake, he mea whakaihiihi, whakahihiko hoki ki a mātou te mahi pēnā.
Koia tonu hoki tō mātou pūtakenga mana, arā, ā-rōpū rangahau nei.
It should be no surprise that innovation is our core value. We also think it’s important to reflect that we are enthusiastic partners.
We want to engage with our members. More than that, it excites and motivates us to do so.
It is our core mandate as a research association.
Social capital.
Community
We continue our journey in deepening our understanding of Mātauranga Māori.
We want to build a genuine relationship with Māori which honours our commitments to Te Tiriti.
Our team is now undertaking learnings in not only Te Reo Māori, but also Te Tiriti, tikanga and Māori connections to engineering. Where we can, sprinkling Māori into our every day communications such as email signatures and of course our annual report!
We've also proudly placed our menu and key landing pages on our website into Te Reo Maori. Ensuring that the reo leads first over English to give it the true mana it deserves.
We've also partnered with Pūhoro STEM Academy in a project that looks to investigate the interface between Mātauranga Māori and Construction 4.0. Supporting University of Auckland Engineering & Law Student, John Cole (who heralds from Ngāti Koroki as a hapū of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) on this project.
Social capital
Standards
HERA Certifications Ltd.
As the International Institute of Welding (IIW) Authorised National Body for Companies Certification (ANBCC) for New Zealand to IIW MCS ISO 3834, we’re able to provide New Zealand fabricators with a world-class certification system.
In the reporting year, HERA performed a total of 52 audits on behalf of HERA Certifications Ltd and certifying 11 new companies to the requirements of SFC CC3 and IIW MCS AS/NZS ISO 3834.2.
Five members have also been certified to CFC CC2, and for the first time - two fabricators achieved Certified Fabricator Endorsement to SFC Construction Category 3. The SFC Scheme now includes 49 companies representing more than 90% of steel fabricated in New Zealand.
Standards review.
HERA was also involved in the following standards:
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extensive review of composite standard AS/NZS 2327,
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development of scoping document to revise New Zealand Steel Structures Standard NZS 3404,
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update and development of commentary for AS/NZS 5100.6, and
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revision of wind loading standard in AS/NZS 1170.2.
Welding capability for SMEs
We've developed and delivered assistance services to five SME member companies to help them establish quality assistance in compliance with AS/NZS 5131 CC2. Four members also received assistance in the development of their quality management systems.
Social capital
Trust
Our Stirring the Pot podcast continues to foster trust through thought leadership.
Covid-19 lockdown certainly challenged the way we'd produced our podcasts. Challenging us to adopt online mechanisms and technology to conduct our interviews with world class expertise.
 The living building challenge |  Covid-19 industry response |  Hydrogen - an alternative reductant? |
|---|---|---|
 Leading metal head on a mission! |  Calculating carbon footprint |  He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! |
 Structures of steel composite columns |  The value of lifecycle assessment |  The case for structural bolting |
 Who wins in a fire? Timber vs. steel |  Weathering steel - corrosion engineering |  Low damage seismic solutions - part 1 |
 Low damage seismic solutions - part 2 |  The importance of diversity and inclusion |  Mātauranga Māori & Construction 4.0 |
What's next?
Fab4.0Lab ramps up.
This year, creation of our Fab4.0Lab were completed. FY22 is all about utilsing the space through the demonstration of state-of-the-art technology to inspire industry, robust training to upskill our workforce and trusted research and development projects.
Innovation hub re-invigorated.
Due to the impacts of Covid-19, FY21 saw us place a hold on our aspirations to build an Innovation Centre dedicated to helping our members stay on the cutting edge.
Small projects were undertaken, including the Fab4.0Lab, and carpark development. FY22 is our year to create this interactive space - so stay tuned!
Sustainability focuses to expand.
We have a lot on the cards in the sustainability arena when it comes to programs and research.
Kicking off our steel product carbon offsetting program - Tātaitai Puhanga Waro. It features the development of the world's first comprehensive steel product offset calculator based on life cycle assessment and environmental product declarations.
We're also launching our steel recycling report to investigate what proportion of steel used and made in NZ is being recycled.
Excitingly, we'll also be announcing and launching our sustainability research program which earmarked $100K investment for projects aimed at improving steel's sustainability performance - particularly in terms of carbon.
Structural training to be delivered.
Industry have been asking for structural training, and in FY22 we plan to deliver.
We're currently developing materials for:
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moment resisting frame design,
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composite structures,
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eccentric braced frame design,
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optimised sliding hinge joints,
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weathering steel - sustainable structural steel and architectural solutions, and
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carbon training for engineers and specifiers.
Investment
Seismic research
program
Construction
Resilience - driving ongoing innovation and improvement in the construction of steel structures.
Design procedures for steel structures are well established, but can be further optimised. It is why we have ongoing research in this space which is focused on making steel structures more robust, economical, suitable for New Zealand’s unique seismic environment, and integrated with fabrication 4.0 initiatives.
Spanning a three year period, our seismic research program looks to resolve uncertainties around some of the weld details used to joint critical seismic connections, tolerances and other fabrication details. Including the testing of large and small-scale specimens and advanced numerical modelling.
So far, our project results have been published in a number of publications and within our Research Engineer Hafez Taheri's PhD thesis. The key research outcome has been the publication of HERA’s Report No R8-043:2021 which covers the use of effective full penetration T-butt welds in welded moment connections. It introduces a new weld detailing option for seismic Moment Resisting Connections that will lead to significant cost savings.
We've also developed recommendations covering a range of seismic steels manufactured to the national and international standards. This has resulted in the publication of the IIW Document X-1965r2-2020 Provisions for avoiding brittle fracture in steels which is used in Australasia. It has also informed HERA Report R4-154 Guide to the Use of International Standard Steels with NZS 3404.
Our next objective is to define properties of steel required to perform safely under repeated seismic load based on fracture mechanics.
Publications & resources
Structural Systems
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Validation of Structural Fire Design for Steel Carpark- HERA Report No R4-152:2021
Design guide developments and updates:
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R4-97:2020 “NZ Weathering Steel Guide for bridges” – to include new research and corrosion datasets.
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R4-142: “Eccentric Cleats in Compression and Columns in Moment-Resisting Connections”. Detailed step-by-step design approaches.
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R4-153: “Steel Building Guide to NZS 3404:1997 Amendment 1 and 2 Worked Examples.” The report follows the capacity design procedures from NZS3404 & the HERA design guide P4001:2013 - Seismic design of eccentrically braced frames to design a multistorey EBF building in Christchurch.
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R4-155: “Optimized Sliding Hinge Joint”. The optimised sliding hinge joint (OSHJ) is a low damage seismic solution for steel moment resisting frames (MRF). The report provides the specific design and installation philosophy and approaches including detailed step-by-step design guide.
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R4-156: “MRF Design guide update”. This design guide is almost completed. It is in final check stage and will be released in May 2020.
Welding Centre
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HERA Report R8-43:2021 The use of effective full penetration of T-butt welds in welded moment connections.
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HERA Report No R8-40:2020 Technical Guide on AS/NZS ISO 9606.1-2017.
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HERA Report No R8-41:2020 Shielding Gases for Seismic Welds.
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HERA Report R-154:2020 Guide to the Use of International Standard Steels with NZS 3404 (Steel Structures Standard) Part 1: Structural Hollow Sections – EN 10219.
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IIW Document X-1965r2-2020 Provisions for avoiding brittle fracture in steels used in Australasia
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The Pressure Equipment Conference proceedings have been published as HERA report R7-44: Proceedings of the 3rd Pressure Equipment Conference, 2020
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HERA Report R8-42:2020 Industry Capability Development - Welding of High Strength steel for Defence Platforms – New Zealand (confidential report).
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Alistair Fussell, Kevin Cowie, Dr Michail Karpenko, Dr Charles Clifton: Proposed Material Requirements for Category 3 Members in Seismic-Resisting Systems. MAT1007, August 2020
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HERA Report R5-88:2020 An industry 4.0 road map for NZ metal fabricators
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Sensor-Based Monitoring System for Real-Time Quality Control: Semi-Automatic Arc Welding Case Study was published in Procedia Manufacturing https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.10.029
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11. HERA Technical Guide -01:2020 Welder Qualification test certificate AS/NZS/ISO 9606-1:2017 & 2980:2018
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12. HERA Technical Guide-02:2020 Weld positions to AS/NZS 3545:2020 (ASME IX and AWS D1.1)
Our Board
Darren O'Riley
Jayden Mellsop
Contract Manager & Director, Eastbridge Ltd
Raed El Sarraf
Technical Principal - Materials & Corrosion, WSP
