intercad

[intercad]

The announcement last month naming quantum physicist Dr Michelle Simmons as 2018’s Australian of the Year has refocused attention on the various initiatives aimed at encouraging more women into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career paths.

For a personal take on the distinctive attributes women can bring to these roles, we spoke to Sue Advani, an independent management consultant who started out as an economist and gradually moved into project management. After spending more than 30 years with Rail Corp, the NSW government agency responsible for the provision of state rail services until its restructure in 2013, she branched out on her own and has since consulted on major rail-related projects including the ARTC inland rail project and the Port Botany rail link.

Asked what drew her into this line of work, Sue responds that “if anything, it was the fact that I’m the sort of person who’s always looking for new challenges and opportunities. I started out at Rail Corp doing economic evaluations and business cases, involving desktop modelling and planning, but I had always wanted to understand what’s it like on the other side – so that made me move into the projects area. And given that I had my Master’s degree in Transport Economics behind me to support the work I was doing, I then trained myself to be a project manager and became more structured in the way I worked, and moved on from smaller to bigger projects until eventually I was running the whole station program.”

Sue’s career path at Rail Corp saw her move from her original role into a project manager for station upgrading before finishing up as Project Director looking after upgrading projects across all of NSW – a period which oversaw major improvements at Sydney suburban stations as well as the logistical requirements necessary to move vast numbers of commuters during the 2000 Olympics.

“It was a very challenging workload but something I really enjoyed,” she remembers. “My role involved developing projects, getting architects on board, doing first concept designs and costings and putting forward a business case to get us the money to proceed. Then I would engage project managers who would take us to the next step of detailed design and construction.”

As for what special skills she brought to the job, Sue says: “There were a lot of station managers who had great upgrade ideas but could not necessarily convert that into what should be done. I would look primarily at the user requirements in getting the concepts developed, and because I was an economist rather than an engineer I wasn’t looking for gold-plated solutions that might win awards down the track, but rather practical solutions that met requirements and got the job done. So it was a different perspective and I think it helped.”

During Sue’s time at Rail Corp it was very much a male-dominated organisation, with herself often the only woman in the infrastructure executive team.

“I did find my way of looking at things was very different,” she recalls. “I was operationally focused and customer focused and had an ability to understand where the other person is coming from, which is very useful because it stops conflict. Conflict is bad for projects because people can get stuck in their own way of doing things, so my strength was being able to negotiate with people, being able to talk one to one with them and not come from a ‘high horse’ position. Essentially it’s empathy – I think it’s very important to understand and respect that the people on the ground have a job to do every day, and they know how the station operates so you need to respect and acknowledge that, and taking that into account in your design avoids a lot of wrong moves you might otherwise make.

“Another element I brought with me was an ability to look at the big picture – I think I have a good strategic sense, and I would ask ‘what are the other things that might need to be done at the same time as we are doing this component?’ In other words, a holistic approach. I would talk to the maintenance people or the capital works people and because I’m not an engineer, I would put concepts into simple language. I had the capacity to understand the technical side of things and I could convert that tech speak into everyday speech and that was an advantage.”

Sue makes the point that this male dominance was by no means unusual – “I think women are hugely under-represented in engineering organisations. I only got into Rail Corp myself because I’d applied for a traineeship back in the days when there was a strong push to encourage women into non-traditional occupations under the equal employment opportunity initiative. That’s no longer around to the same extent – and that may be because of a push-back by women saying they don’t want a special path to get in. But sometimes you do need to give people a helping hand to encourage them. I would not say you should hire a woman simply because she’s a woman, but you can offer special training positions where women can come forward and learn and then compete with the men. The point is that if you don’t make women feel welcome in your organisation, they won’t come through the doors.

“The other issue around that is the perception that women want children and will have a family to raise, but with the rise of the internet we have much more opportunity for flexible working practices and working remotely so that’s no longer such an obstacle and a good work-life balance can be achieved.”

She argues that when it comes to more job opportunities for women, society still struggles against false assumptions which need to be broken down. “I was never a person who felt overawed by a lot of men in the room, but I remember one occasion when I was working at another male-dominated workplace. They held a managers’ conference and invited every manager except me. When I asked why I was told, ‘we’ll be swearing and you might not feel comfortable, or some of the men might not feel comfortable doing that around you’. To which I responded, ‘you need to give me a chance, I can swear with the best of them!’

“The push for more women in STEM careers that we see today is very important as there’s still the whole issue of gender parity and equal pay – the simple fact is that women tend to be in the lower echelons of the workplace because that’s all they’re trained for. If you’re a woman trained as an engineer then there’s no reason you shouldn’t get the same pay as a man. But women are not doing the same jobs with the same responsibilities, so they don’t get the same pay. It’s very important to start educating at the home level and the school level so these presumptions are not built in to people’s mindsets.

“Schools can do a lot to encourage women to take up maths and physics and part of that is to look at the way these subjects are taught. You need to start with a language that is easily understood and once the foundations are set you can then go into the hard technospeak – but a very technical speak from the start can turn prospective students off. So the way the training is delivered is very important in order to attract people.

“Mentoring is also very important, and in the workplace senior male managers can play an important contribution in mentoring and supporting their junior colleagues, regardless of gender.”

While acknowledging it’s a generalisation, Sue says women tend to be better multitaskers than men – “lots of women I know are doing this in the home environment. They’re doing all the budgeting, keeping an eye on the kids, organising their extra-curricular activities, cooking meals … so I think that has been enculturated into women to an extent. I have found, even working with technical people, that males tend to be more focused on one task and can’t be distracted. So I think that multiskilling and multitasking is one facet a woman can bring to her job.

“I also spoke earlier about empathy and I do think that women generally tend to be more empathetic than men and again this may be because they are the family coordinators, they are enculturated into a caring role, and that’s another useful skill they can bring to the workplace.

“There’s also the old idea of women’s intuition and certainly for me that has played a big role. I would look ahead and be able to see where things were likely to go, and I would know in my gut that something was correct and would dig deeper until I was satisfied. I was the only female and my boss would wait until all the technical people had gone and then ask me, ‘And what do you think?’ Because he knew I would look at it differently and pick up things that others might not see, and because I was doing the reporting on the whole project I had a bird’s eye view of where areas might be falling behind. So I think it’s important for every team to bring women in, because we do have skills that can enhance overall performance.”

[intercad]

Investment in developing the skillsets of our next generation of engineers and designers is imperative in ensuring the ongoing expertise of our workforce and the international competitiveness of our AEC and Manufacturing sectors.

This recognition was the impetus for the creation of the Central Innovation Academy and the decision to ensure its accreditation as a Registered Training Organisation – a move which underscores our commitment to effective training programs, and the important role national training regulations play in assuring value to  students.

The Academy’s programs, which include both short certified courses and certificate courses, are conducted at training facilities located in all capital cities plus key regional centres throughout Australia and New Zealand. Central Innovation Academy Business Unit Manager Robert Parker oversees all elements from ensuring compliance with the comprehensive requirements of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to developing the content of courses.

“There are many suppliers offering non-accredited courses but we made the decision to focus on ensuring ours are accredited,” he explains. “ASQA accredited qualifications are recognised nationally and therefore can enhance one’s career prospects – from a marketing perspective they certainly help job candidates stand out from the crowd.

“Speaking more broadly, our nation’s education and training standards are a key driver of economic growth – better quality education and training leads to improved productivity and skills relevance, which in turn generates greater economic production. In that respect, accredited training has a critical role to play in maintaining a highly skilled and competitive workforce.”

The Academy’s courses are geared to the AEC and manufacturing sectors and include training in 3D CAD technology, engineering drafting and project management – a natural complement to Central Innovation’s longstanding courses in the use of the ARCHICAD and SolidWorks packages.

“Our focus has been on filling a gap in the training marketplace, by focusing on medium to large enterprises and providing contextualised training and competing on the platforms of quality and context,” Robert says.

“It’s imperative that our training aligns with AEC sector business needs and we’ve put a great deal of work into ensuring this is a key point of difference in the courses we offer – we deliver holistic training solutions, which we believe provides greater value to both students and their employers or potential employers.

“We started around two years ago with project management and from there we’ve gone to on to offer Certificate III in Technical CAD and Engineering CAD, and Certificate IV in CAD drafting. Our aim is always to ensure our students stay ahead of the curve and that our training opens the door to job opportunities.”

Project management remains a key focus for the Academy, with its Certificate IV course embracing a range of industry sectors and covering a broad range of practice management techniques such as TQM, project scoping, risk/cost management, procurement and human resources.

A recent complement to this is the decision to offer courses in Agile, a collaborative software development methodology built on adaptive planning, continuous improvement, evolutionary development and rapid change response. With Agile expertise in strong demand from industry right now, the Academy has recently received certification from international engineering accreditation organisation APMG to provide training on the subject.

“Today we’re seeing Agile methodologies being embedded within a blending of traditional development methodologies like Waterfall or Prince2, so it’s important for software engineers and developers to be across this,” Robert says.

He adds demand for the Academy’s Agile courses, as with its training in general, embraces all age ranges – from tertiary graduates and new workforce entrants seeking to take their knowledge to the next level, to those seeking to retrain later in life, as well as experienced developers, engineers and designers simply seeking ongoing education to ensure they stay at the top of their game. “There’s always opportunities for candidates committed to best practice, and our focus is on ensuring that our training courses always consolidate that commitment in our students.”

[intercad]

Season 1, episode 2, the new urbanism is available now.

Learn more on how architects are working to solve the urban housing crisis. And the lesson it holds for cities worldwide.

[intercad]

A key challenge for today’s design and manufacturing businesses is the efficient management of data transfer between multiple systems. Typically these businesses have sought to identify the best, most cost-effective software tools for the tasks at hand, but as operational requirements evolve over time, the end result is a variety of different data sources and systems, effectively isolating essential information within ‘silos’.

Once this is the case, it becomes increasingly difficult to access a holistic view of the overall data. The short term solution of manual data transfer – pulling information from one system and putting it into another – is a high-risk one due to the obvious potential for human error, to say nothing of the time-consuming nature of such an onerous task. Even simple mistakes in data entry can lead to serious adverse effects such as loss of productivity and profit.

In tackling this issue, Central Innovation’s Systems Division identified the need for a solution which would seamlessly transfer data and associated information between multiple systems. In practical terms, this necessitates taking items, properties and data from one environment and then turning it into a format which can be manipulated and easily read by another environment – such as from CAD to ERP.

DataSuite, as the new interface is named, has been designed to connect information silos, reduce errors in data transfer and enable data systems to work seamlessly together. Businesses operating multiple data systems are becoming increasingly aware of the concerns around moving data manually – often they’re seeing these issues play out and the related risks are very apparent.

These include not only the margin for error but the lack of easy access to data, the disproportionate complexity of ensuring accuracy during transfer, and the extended delays in downstream processes that time-consuming manual data transfer can generate – leading to missed opportunities and reduced productivity.

With multiple IT systems such as ERP, CRM and Asset Management data typically has to be transferred across these platforms and that is an issue for many businesses.

For those businesses trying to work towards the Industry 4.0 standard, there’s a clear need to evolve past the old paradigm of departments and divisions working in isolation. The goal is the streamlining of processes and to have systems working together, not as silos.

With these key concerns foremost in mind, Central Innovation’s Systems Division set out to ensure DataSuite has the functionality to enable seamless data transfer. Data created in siloed environments can be transformed into a neutral format, or manipulated mid-flow into a format readable by a specific system as required.

The solution also provides real time monitoring of data flow status and the ability to review data, while specific custom ‘connectors’ are provided to facilitate transfer across particular systems. The solution also comes equipped with a PIOL (Production Information Orchestration Layer) – an advanced visual interface enabling the management of production information data – and a reports module with automated email alerts.

You can retain your existing workflows – they’ll simply be automated. Moving away from manual data entry to automated data transfer simply frees up your resources – being able to access the information you need faster enables you to reduce your decision-making timeframe, so you can take action more speedily and efficiently. The manual process of data transfer can be frustrating and time-consuming. There is a better alternative!

[intercad]

Members of the Intercad part of Central Innovation team attended the 2018 SOLIDWORKS World Conference in Los Angeles, attended by over 5000 designers, engineers and members of the SOLIDWORKS community.  Intercad part of the Central Innovation, scooped the awards pool for Asia Pacific.

The event enables the community to network, learn new skills, share and discover the latest insights into solutions ranging  from design to manufacturing, 3D CAD and simulation, electrical design and schematics, communications, collaboration and data management. The event is also attended by the world’s network of DS SOLIDWORKS Value Added Resellers (VARs) of which Intercad part of Central Innovation is one.

Intercad part of Central Innovation was ranked against the other VARs in Asia Pacific and ANZ and at the end of conference VAR dinner was awarded:

Top VAR for the Education Market

Top VAR for Subscription Services

Top VAR for Highest Customer Satisfaction

Top VAR for SOLIDWORKS Simulation Distribution and Support

Top VAR for SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM Distribution and Support

Top VAR for SOLIDWORKS Composer Distribution and Support

Top VAR for SOLIDWORKS Electrical Distribution and Support

Top VAR for SOLIDWORKS CAD Distribution and Support

Top VAR for Overall Performance

Owen Dullea (Commercial and Practice Area Director), Shannon Reshno (National Sales Manager) and Mark Duggan (Technical Support Manager ANZ) from Central Innovation team accepted these awards.

Intercad part of Central Innovation is a the largest partner in ANZ to provide the full Suite of SOLIDWORKS.

At Central Innovation, we can provide all – or part – of the solution. Including SOLIDWORKS, ARCHICAD, and many more industry-leading tools.

It’s something we’ve been doing for almost 30 years. Our commitment to customer service is second to none: we help you get the best out of your technology.

For a truly unique solution to your unique challenges, please contact us. Or read about some of the great services and solutions we offer.

[intercad]

The latest iteration of the world’s biggest technology show, CES 2018, was held recently at Las Vegas Convention Center, with the array of mind-boggling tech innovations on display underscoring some emerging trends which are likely to continue to evolve and impact our working and personal lives in the years ahead.

Chief among these is the rise of ‘smarter’ tech as exemplified by the commercial adoption of AI and the many applications which are being found for it across all manner of gadgetry from voice assistants and home appliances through to self-driving cars and beyond.

Numerous reports out of Vegas from attending media all reiterated the dominance of both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, which were present in a wide variety of the tech on display, with Apple’s Siri notable for its absence. These voice assistant platforms are being utilised in everything from home speaker systems to light switches, smoke alarms and even wireless earbuds.

Both Assistant and Alexa appear to be determined to become ubiquitous across as broad a range of different third-party products as possible , and it will be interesting to see whether both formats survive over the longer term or if a clear winner will emerge as their competition continues to ramp up.

The development of smart home appliances which communicate with each other has been on the rise in recent years, as exemplified by LG’s ThinQ range . This includes such products as the LG InstaView fridge which, when a recipe is selected from its on-door display, will communicate with the LG EasyClean oven to preheat it to the appropriate temperature and even prep the LG QuadWash dishwasher cycle – a process which Alexa can guide you through if desired.

Not to be outdone, Samsung’s FamilyHub fridge can suggest recipes for food close to its expiration date, while allowing you to see who’s at the front door without leaving the kitchen – courtesy of its SmartThings hub.

One emerging trend exemplified by these technologies was their space-saving design, with many of them built to be embedded into walls. The issue of course for such relatively costly implementation is that – given the exponential rate of tech evolution – how does one protect against the risk of its becoming outdated just a few years down the track?

Smart transport solutions were also showcased, such as Toyota’s fully electric e-palette concept vehicle. Designed for a range of applications from ride sharing to serving as a pop-up shop, it’s the size of a small bus and supports autonomous driving technologies either from Toyota or other suppliers. And startup carmaker Byton showcased its electric vehicle version of the SUV, which utilises cameras in place of side mirrors and has its instrument panel displayed from a 40 inch monitor on the dashboard. With the concept 85 per cent complete, it’s expected to be available in China from next year, in the US and Europe from 2020 and in Australia from 2021.

NVIDIA’s DRIVE Xavier SoC chip, which can manage 30 trillion operations per second, is being touted as bringing the future of self-driving cars one step closer  – two such chips can power a level 5 autonomous car, rendering the traditional driver, pedals and steering wheel all redundant. With its custom 8-core CPU, nine billion transistors, 512-core Volta GPU, 8K HDR video processor, deep-learning and computer-vision accelerators, it’s said to be 15 times more efficient than its predecessor.

For an idea of how it might feel to ride in such a vehicle, Mitsubishi demonstrated its EMIRAI 4 concept car first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last November, in which riders plan out their route on a centre console screen and which can switch to manual mode when it detects the rider is focusing on the road through the use of facial characteristic analysis.

The latest in laptop innovations included the Lenovo Miix 630 with detachable keyboard which delivers smartphone-like ‘always connected’ mobility . Key to this is the Miix 630’s integrated 4G LTE connectivity – it runs Windows 10 on a Qualcomm smartphone chipset as opposed to an Intel processor, and boasts some 20 hours of battery life, as well as faster response time from sleep mode.

Lenova also showcased the X1 Yoga as an example of a next-generation ‘convertible’ device, as opposed to the familiar dichotomy of laptop and tablet. The X1 Yoga’s keyboard is not detachable, rather it folds away behind the screen when you wish to operate the device in tablet mode. The greater flexibility offered by such convertibility is likely to see an increased demand for this approach in the future.

Virtual Reality and its offshoot Augmented Reality (itself incorporating Assisted Reality, which has broad industrial application) were also much in evidence. The ‘immersive experience’ which is the promise at the heart of this tech is becoming more sophisticated with each passing year, with mobile/smartphone platforms increasingly playing host to these .

Robots too continue to evolve and this year Honda showcased the 3A-E18 communication robot which can use facial expressions to mimic empathy during interaction with humans. Moving beyond their obvious applications as helpful tools and workers, robots are now being designed as companions and a source of entertainment – in other words, as an analogue to pet animals.

With so much emphasis on smarter tech and AI, the subject of smart (or smarter) cities was inevitably broached, with examples of the way sensor technology is being utilised within smart design across all manner of applications from alarm and security systems to parking space availability, energy consumption and even more efficient waste disposal. One example on display was the Wi-Fiber Intelli-Platform  which houses hi-res cameras, microphones and various connectivity options within streetlights for the purposes of data collection.

Naturally this short summary can only skim the surface of the myriad of tech wonders on offer at the world’s biggest show. A trip to see it for yourself is strongly recommended – visit www.ces.tech to check out more details and consider booking your place for 2019.

[intercad]

With the end of year holiday season almost upon us, it seems the appropriate time to try out our predictive skills and anticipate what trends may lie in store for 2018 and beyond.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s push to position Australia as an “innovation nation”, along with his Government’s pledge of $100m and formation of six dedicated industry growth centres, received responses ranging from guarded enthusiasm to cynicism from attendees and delegates at this year’s International Manufacturing Week tradeshow as it made the news.

The overall message of much of the “Industry 4.0” themed seminars conducted there was clear: the definition of manufacturing is changing as automation, digitisation and other technological innovations become increasingly commonplace, and Australian industry must adapt to become more collaborative, export-focused and a supplier of customised solutions.

We can expect to see this evolution becoming more tangible over the next 12 months and beyond, as the old days of mass production increasingly give way to bespoke production which can command high profit margins. The medical applications of 3D printing, such as personalised medical implants, are just one example of this.

The growing demand for customisable products and solutions will make it easier for our small to medium enterprises to supply to a global market, but this trend underscores the need for Australian industry to integrate within the global supply chain, such as by providing products to major multinationals with global reach.

This will also drive the growth of initiatives to link manufacturing and research sectors, through incubators, industry collaboration spaces and open access hubs. Whether housed in private sector operations, philanthropic foundations or academic institutions, these collaborative centres all share the common goal of developing and promoting new technologies and making them available to a global market.

Manufacturing innovation is often linked to entrepreneurial spirit and Australia boasts a strong track record in this regard. Our manufacturers are already staking out their own creative spaces in the growing area of interactive building materials, such as 2017 DesignBuild Incubator award-winning LUMES lighting system which utilises built-in software to enable light to respond to human motion, thereby positively impacting on mood and emotional state. This invention is for use in hospitals to reduce anxiety and has broader applications within interior fitout.

A similar example is the world-patented, Australian invented Intelli particle, a formulation of industrial carbon and graphite which generates heat when provided with a low charge, and which can be incorporated into paint, polymers, resins, concretes and other fabrics to quickly produce heat.

In the architectural space, the increasing commercialisation of Virtual Reality (VR) technology will further open up the potential for communicating concepts to builders and clients. Headsets with wireless connection to smartphones or tablets now make it possible to stream a virtual environment to the sensory inputs of the wearer – from three dimensional views (via the sending of different information to each eye) to interactive virtual touchpoints allowing the manipulation of objects within the virtual space.

The interrelated concerns of environmental sustainability, green design elements and increased energy efficiency are all set to feature strongly in AEC sector projects into the future and will therefore also impact on manufacturing trends. Earlier this year CSR received a $3m Federal Government grant to support development of an Australian-first high performance building façade system which would see local manufacture of advanced prefabricated facades designed to be safer, more durable and higher-performance, thereby lowering construction costs and increasing Australia’s international competitiveness.

We’re also seeing the creation of high-rise structures designed for sustainability and featuring facades which can utilise the exterior climate conditions to maximise building energy efficiency, along with interior green spaces, interactive lighting and innovative smart design features – as exemplified by Sydney’s One Central Park designed by PTW Architects.

Contemporary apartment living is set to morph into a lifestyle choice undreamt of by our parents, with the creation of inner-city complexes incorporating 24 hour concierges, rooftop community gardens and running tracks, green spaces built around central pools, yoga studios and health spas – along with increased customisation of floorplans and the ability to reconfigure internal spaces utilising sliding panels.

It’s going to be an exciting time to be working in the AEC sector and in design and manufacturing generally – as 2018 takes us along the next steps of the journey of transition to the new world of assistive robotics, increased automation and ICT-enabled innovation.

[intercad]

Ford, Toyota and Holden have all had a long manufacturing presence in this country, employing generations of families at their plants. It’s not uncommon for workers to be able to say their father, grandfather, mother or sibling were also employed at the site or that they met their spouse there. They are typically fiercely loyal to their employer’s automotive brand and take pride in their work.

Now they are looking for new work opportunities, often hoping to use their existing skills in jobs allied to the automotive sector or in complementary industries. The demise of Australia’s automotive building industry not only spells the end of an era: there are fears it may lessen our manufacturing capability and national skillsets, thereby reducing our international competitiveness.

But the big three manufacturers have been praised for the level of support they’ve offered employees whose positions have gone: plenty of notice, efforts to move them into new roles, generous redundancy packages and opportunities to learn new skills.

And while the closure of the local manufacturing plants now seems to have been inevitable, given the recent history of the GFC, exchange rate pressures, the decline of sedans and rise of SUVs and a host of other factors, it’s not all doom and gloom.

Ford has transitioned 160 staff from its manufacturing operation to Ford Asia-Pacific Engineering, which from next year will be the nation’s biggest automotive employer, with 1,100 design and engineering staff in its product development team. They will be working on the Ford Ranger and other compact cars not sold in Australia but in markets like India and Thailand.

But the broader decline of engineering and R&D roles across the big three inevitably means that many former employees must now move on. There are also sales and marketing positions which have been lost, and even those staffers will often require some degree of retraining or upskilling, such as that necessitated by moving away from proprietary design systems to instead acquiring a working knowledge of more common industry tools.

The good news is that there is light at the end of the tunnel: the support from government and industry, and the opportunities for reskilling in the form of affordable short courses, is providing many former automotive workers with the chance to make a fresh start in a new role.

A former employee of one of the big three automotive manufacturers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, tells us that for him, redundancy has provided the chance to reassess his goals and reignite the passion that drove him to the automotive sector in the first place.

“When you join a large company, your career path often sees you migrating through different roles and into unplanned paths, and you can lose sight of what you initially came in wanting to do,” he explains.

“For me, the need to reskill has led to me asking myself what my passion is, and that can open up pathways that you either haven’t considered or perhaps have forgotten about over the years. In my case it’s product development – from planning through design input to market launch and strategy.

“My employer has provided all of us with terrific support, meeting with staff and looking at their individual interests and objectives. It’s common for everyone to have an individual training development plan and opportunities within that to retrain.”

He makes the point this is broader than simply job placement – the focus is on identifying vocations. “I know some colleagues who are interested in starting up their own businesses, and others who have made a complete change of direction in their careers.”

For some, relocating will provide them with the opportunity to take up a similar role to their former job, but again this depends on age and family situation. “It’s very much a personal journey as the majority of automotive jobs are now in Melbourne and that’s a big change from Sydney.

“Some people from sales and marketing are moving outside the industry into new roles which complement their skills, such as pricing strategy for car rentals, working with earthmoving equipment or in mining.

“When you look into it, there are a lot of transferable skills when you’re moving across to leasing, logistic operations and the transport industry. Those staff who have worked closer with the retail side have a good crossover to work in car dealerships – senior people can often take on executive roles and the wages in those environments can be quite lucrative.”

While staying positive is an important element of the journey, for many ex-employees there’s an undeniable sense of loss: “I’m grateful for the training I’ve received in the automotive industry, but with the decline of local work I do worry we’re at risk of losing a strong skillset from the country. Australian automotive engineers are highly regarded internationally because we have a natural diversity to our skills and we need to take steps not to lose this reputation.”

[intercad]

With the growth of AEC sector job opportunities in regional centres across Australia and New Zealand, we’re seeing more professionals taking the plunge and starting fresh in new locations and new working roles, immersing themselves in different local cultures and reinvigorating their work/life balance.

With positions opening up among employers in Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Cairns, Port Douglas, the Gold Coast, Darwin and the outlying regions of WA, as well as in idyllic locations across New Zealand’s North and South Islands, there’s plenty of scope for those seeking to relocate. And plenty of good arguments for doing so. Here are our top five:

1. It’s easier to amass savings when there’s less to spend your money on

Especially for younger professionals with young families who are at the early stages of their careers, entering the local housing market in our major urban centres like Sydney and Melbourne can be a major struggle. The need to get together that all-important deposit, the high cost of apartments and houses, and the high cost of living and transport all conspire to make the process harder – as does the sheer daily grind of a long commute to and from work. So it’s no surprise that young people in this position are considering the option of taking up a job in a more remote location for a period of two to three years. This gives them the opportunity to save money, because there’s typically not so much to spend it on – cost of housing and transport is typically lower away from the big cities, there’s less nightlife and socialising tends to be community-based rather than associated with dining out. After a few years, they’re able to return to the city and buy their first apartment, townhouse or home.

2. A lower-stress environment with a more relaxed pace is highly attractive for many people especially those bringing up children

There is something to be said for country living – it’s often easier to make friends in smaller communities as they are less distractions and competing influences taking up people’s time. This is particularly appealing for many professionals looking to expose their children to positive influences and a harmonious environment in which to grow and fulfil their potential. To give one example, currently AEC sector jobs can be found in idyllic locations across New Zealand such as in Queenstown and Palmerston North where the strong demand for holiday homes and weekend getaways has led to a shortage of architectural services. These can be very attractive places to live and provide a lifestyle for your kids that the big cities can’t match.

3. A remote location presents an opportunity for a seachange for older professionals

Often when your kids have grown up and left home, you may feel it’s time to reassess your lifestyle choices and make a change. If you’ve spent decades in the urban environment and put in the hard yards at work, you may now be looking for a less demanding working role, perhaps one with less management responsibility. You may not yet be ready for retirement, but you might be happy to migrate across to a less senior role and benefit from a lifestyle change such as shorter working hours and more time to enjoy your other interests. If so, a move to a remote location may be just what you need.

4. It can be easier to maintain a work/life balance when away from major urban centres

In making the decision to relocate from an urban centre to a regional one, there are lots of considerations to weigh up. You need to consider how it will impact your earning capacity. You need to ensure your family is genuinely happy to go along with the move. You need to be reasonably confident that you will find the new environment one in which everyone will thrive. All these are questions of work/life balance which need to be weighed up. But in doing so, many professionals find it’s easier to reach their desired equilibrium in a low-key, regional environment. Again, it’s the lack of extraneous factors and distractions – so prevalent in major cities – which make the process easier.

Yes, moving from a major city to a remote location may necessitate a drop in salary – though not always: current demand for architects in New Zealand regional centres is keeping wages high for Australian professionals moving across the pond. But even if you do have to take a paycut to relocate, this can often be offset by lower costs of housing and the ease of commuting. Spending less time travelling to and from work means you can spend more time with your partner and/or children and have more time for yourself. Finding that balance is the key.

5. The availability of solid professional support and advice means it’s possible to make a smooth transition to the new location, secure in the knowledge that you’ve made the right choice

The hardest part of making the decision to relocate is simply convincing yourself that you can do it. It can be a daunting prospect to imagine yourself living in a new environment away from friends, relatives and your familiar support network – having to meet new people and form new relationships, find a new home, schools for the kids and all the associated rigmarole of moving. If you’re moving to another country such as from Australia to NZ, it seems even more challenging.

The second hardest part is to ensure you have the support of your partner/spouse and family. Sometimes people won’t be upfront about their feelings and you may learn only at the last moment that there is a reluctance to commit to the move.

This is where the professional support services of a reputable recruitment firm can really help. From advice on the legal aspects of immigration to answering general questions which your partner may have, they can assist you in addressing the various familial concerns and ensuring everyone is on side with the move.

The logistics of the process also need to be considered: do you move first and make sure you’re happy with your new environment and job, and have your family join you later? Or do you all move together? Do you sell your existing home, or retain it for six months while you rent in your new location? Are there Visa requirements which need to be met not only for yourself but for your partner? All these questions need to be answered and having access to a solid professional support team can make the process far less daunting and more doable.

If you’re looking for your next permanent, part-time or contract role, Central Innovation’s Recruitment team can help. We’ve been a leader in the industry for over 25 years. So, we’re well connected with potential employers, large and small. Through CI connect, we assist clients looking to move remotely with services such as visa requirements and we provide CV evaluation and interviewing services.

To discuss your next career move, please contact us or apply to one of our industry opportunities.

[intercad]

For most of us the end of the year signals a period to take a well-earned rest, put your feet up, spend quality time with people you love, and participate in some of the activities you don’t always get the time to do during the year, like relaxing into a cosy armchair with a prodigious book.

We asked the senior managers of our business what books they had read that had either a profound impact on their life, changed the way they think or simply let their imagination run wild.  The list was long and varied.  So, if you’re looking for some reading inspiration these summer holidays, or for another great read to add to your extensive list, here are some of our team’s top recommendations:

How Designers Think by Bryan Lawson*

This book is based on Bryan Lawson’s many observations of designers at work, interviews with designers and their clients and collaborators. This extended work is the culmination of forty years’ research and shows the belief that we all can, and do, design, and that we can learn to design better. The creative mind continues to have the power to surprise and this book aims to nurture and extend this creativity.

The story of B by Daniel Quinn*

Father Jared Osborne has received an extraordinary assignment from his superiors: Investigate an itinerant preacher stirring up deep trouble in central Europe. His followers call him B, but his enemies say he’s something else: the Antichrist. However, the man Osborne tracks across a landscape of bars, cabarets, and seedy meeting halls is no blasphemous monster—though an earlier era would undoubtedly have rushed him to the burning stake. For B claims to be enunciating a gospel written not on any stone or parchment but in our very genes, opening up a spiritual direction for humanity that would have been unimaginable to any of the prophets or saviors of traditional religion. More than a masterful novel of adventure and suspense, The Story of B is a rich source of compelling ideas from an author who challenges us to rethink our most cherished beliefs.

A short history of progress by Ronald Right*

Each time history repeats itself, the cost goes up. The twentieth century—a time of unprecedented progress—has produced a tremendous strain on the very elements that comprise life itself: This raises the key question of the twenty-first century: How much longer can this go on? With wit and erudition, Ronald Wright lays out a-convincing case that history has always provided an answer, whether we care to notice or not.

The Competitive Advantage of Nations by Michael Porter*

Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter’s concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy.

Out of The Crisis – W. Edwards Deming*

Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management’s failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven Covey*

This book presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

The Subtle Art of How Not to Give a F&%K – Mark Manson*

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—”not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

The Mask of Masculinity – Lewis Howes*

This book exposes the ultimate emptiness of the Material Mask, the man who chases wealth above all things; the cowering vulnerability that hides behind the Joker and Stoic Masks of men who never show real emotion; and the destructiveness of the Invincible and Aggressive Masks worn by men who take insane risks or can never back down from a fight. Lewis Howes, a former pro-athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur teaches men how to break through the walls that hold them back and shows women how they can better understand the men in their lives. It’s not easy, but if you want to love, be loved and live a great life, then it’s an odyssey of self-discovery that all modern men must make. This book is a must-read for every man – and for every woman who loves a man.

The Wealth & Poverty of Nations – David S Landes*

Explores one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultural mores and historical circumstance.

Becoming Wise by Krista Tippett*

Krista Tippett has interviewed the most extraordinary voices examining the great questions of meaning for our time. The heart of her work on her national public radio program and podcast, On Being, has been to shine a light on people whose insights kindle in us a sense of wonder and courage. Scientists in a variety of fields; theologians from an array of faiths; poets, activists, and many others have all opened themselves up to Tippett’s compassionate yet searching conversation.

In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind. The book is a master class in living, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of teaching faculty.

Nudge – Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein*

Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. Using dozens of eye-opening examples and drawing on decades of behavioral science research, Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein show that no choice is ever presented to us in a neutral way, and that we are all susceptible to biases that can lead us to make bad decisions. But by knowing how people think, we can use sensible “choice architecture” to nudge people toward the best decisions for ourselves, our families, and our society, without restricting our freedom of choice.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience –  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi*

Remember the last time that you were so focused, so motivated that you felt at the absolute top of your form — alert, energized and free of self-consciousness? Chances are you were experiencing flow — an almost euphoric state of concentration and complete involvement.

Esteemed psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals how you can achieve this state of mind at will — and turn everyday experience into a moment by moment opportunity for joy and self-fulfillment. Drawing on over 30 years of breakthrough research into what makes people satisfied, he explains the key elements of the flow experience.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – Daniel Pink*

Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people—at work, at school, at home. It’s wrong. As Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others) explains in his paradigm-shattering book Drive, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today’s world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it’s precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today’s challenges.

*Goodreads www.goodreads.com

[intercad]

New to 2018 SOLIDWORKS Simulation  you can now import study features from parts or sub-assemblies into top level assemblies.

This can be done when creating a new study and selecting the tick box “import study features”

                  Or if the study has already been created you can right mouse click on the study and select “Import Study Features”

            After selecting this feature you are presented with a list of parts and sub-assemblies in the top level assembly that have Simulation studies

                            You can then select the part or sub-assembly, the study you wish to import features from, and filter the types of features you wish to import.  Supported features are body types (solids, shells, and beams), material, contact, connectors, fixtures, loads, and mesh control definitions from static studies.

This can be a real time saver!

[intercad]

In the new SOLIDWORKS 2018 release, Blocks that are inserted into a drawing view can be broken up with the “Break View” feature.

Once you have created a Block, you can insert it into a drawing view. Then with the newly added “Break sketch blocks” box checked under the Break View “PropertyManager”, the inserted block can be broken out too. This cannot be done in the previous versions of Solidworks.

[intercad]

What is the difference between a drawing template and a sheet format?

When you create a new document you are prompted to select a template.

                          If you have multiple templates you will want to select the Advanced tab so you can see all your templates listed.

                          Here you are selecting the drawing template which holds all your settings in Tools-> options

                              After you have selected the template you will be prompted to select a sheet format

                    This is the title block and all associated information.

If you do not get this prompt it is most likely because you have saved a sheet format onto your drawing template.  If this was not intended you can open your drawing template, delete the sheet format and re-save it.

                            To save your drawing template go to File-> save as and change the filter to drawing templates

Sheet formats can be save using File-> save sheet format

                    The location of your templates and sheet formats is found in Tools-> options-> file locations-> and change the filter for drawing templates or sheet formats

[intercad]

From 2015 onwards when you start SimulationXpress you are required to enter a product code as seen below.

This code is not accessible through Intercad like your serial number but rather you need to log into https://my.solidworks.com/xpress to obtain it.

Once you select the link to https://my.solidworks.com/xpress you will see the following page.

If you have a MySolidworks or Solidworks Customer Portal Account you can select “Log in” but if you don’t select “Create an account”.

To create an account all you will need is your Solidworks serial number which you can find under Help-> about Solidworks-> show serial number.  If you get any errors creating an account like getting a data mismatch please contact Intercad technical support.

If you have forgotten your password select Log in and at the following page select “Forgot your password”.

Where you can then enter your email to receive a password reset email

After logging in your will be provided with the code which you can enter into the Solidworks dialog box to activate SimulationXpress

[intercad]

You can build your own symbol in SOLIDWORKS Electrical. The process below will be introducing how you can achieve this.

1) Create new symbol:

Click to open the “Symbols Manager” and then click “New” to create a new symbol:

This will open the “Symbol properties” window. the symbol we are creating is a 3 poles fuse symbol.

Fill in the fields and then click “OK”:

2) Draw the symbol

Find and open the symbol just been created:

Then we can draw the symbol (under “Draw” tap, you will find all the drawing tools):

once the symbol is drawn, we can insert connection points by going to “Edit symbol” > “Multiple connection points”:

3) Insert Attributes:

Click on “Insert attribute” under “Edit symbol” and activate any attributes you need:

and once clicking on “OK”, the attributes will be shown:

Now if you open one of you drawings, then go to  “Schematic” > “Insert symbol”, you should be able to find this symbol and insert it in your schematic drawing:

[intercad]

  In the newly released Solidworks 2018, there is a new option “Randomize Scale” that gets added in under the section views. With this option cleared,  the scale of the section will be kept identical for all parts under the same material; and with this option checked, the hatch will be randomised for the same material along the section.

Where to find the “Randomize scale” option:

In a drawing, go to “Insert” > “Drawing View” > “Section” or by default, the View Layout tab in Drawing should have the “Section View” button.

  Then place the section Cutting Line and tick the “Auto hatching” box,  and you should be able to tick the “Randomize scale” option.

[intercad]

When search is taking too long in SOLIDWORKS Explorer.  Follow the below troubleshooting steps:

a) Check the folder paths specified under SOLIDWORKS Explorer options. SOLIDWORKS explorer will try to search through all the paths specified here. Remove redundant paths, unnecessary file location or a very top level folder name.

  b) Tick the option “Include SOLIDWORKS File Locations > ReferenceDocuemtns folders.” Only if it’s necessary to include those locations. Usually under reference documents multiple search paths are added, this will increase the search time.

c) Search paths – The paths specified under Tools > Options > System Options > File Locations > Search Paths are propagated to the search folder under SOLIDWORKS Explorer.

Remove any unnecessary search paths.

d) Besides the above do not select “Always index” option. This will index all the paths specified under Windows Indexing option.