Australian Manufacturing Research Articles

Barriers to circular economy adoption are diverse and some are business-model specific: Evidence from the Australian cheese manufacturing sector

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3, aimed at halving food loss and waste by 2030, requires private firms to adopt circular economy practices, which may include different types of circular business models (CBMs). This study examines four interchangeable CBMs—in-house (IH), third party (TP), joint venture (JV), and focal company (FC) models—focusing on the Australian cheese manufacturing sector and its liquid by-product, ‘whey’. Through semi-structured interviews with 43 participants from 42 firms, we analysed how barriers differ across CBMs. Some barriers are consistent across all CBMs, such as economies of scale and operational costs. Others are absent in one or two CBMs (e.g., capital costs in JV and competing priorities in TP), while some are unique (e.g., low or inconsistent demand in IH, payment expectations in TP, conflicting values or personalities in JV, and upstream product specifications in FC). Findings indicate that while IH models are feasible for all production scales with sufficient time and resources. TP models are suitable for firms with time constraints, provided there is agreement on compensation with the recipient. JV could work for firms lacking volumes or capital but require local collaboration and transparent business plans. Utilising existing infrastructure of firms already repurposing by-products can be effective but requires upstream firms meeting product specifications. By exploring multiple CBM options, the willingness to explore circular economy approaches increases markedly when considering multiple CBMs (79%) versus IH approaches alone (33%). This highlights the necessity for diverse strategies to achieve SDG 12.3, as a one-size-fits-all approach is insufficient. Firms may need to partner with others for repurposing, and those already repurposing can enhance efforts by enabling others to repurpose waste, though multiple pathways also increase potential barriers.

Bedeutung und Charakteristika der im österreichischen Außenhandel tätigen Firmen

Abstract Austria's prosperity depends to a large extent on exports. The proportion of internationally active companies in the Austrian manufacturing industry has increased steadily in recent years. Exporting companies are on average larger, more productive, pay higher wages and salaries and invest more than companies that do not export. A small group of very export-oriented companies is responsible for a large part of Austria's export volume.

Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Industrie und Energiepreise

Abstract The rise in energy prices in 2021/22 put the competitiveness of Austrian manufacturing industry to the test. Model-based simulations and an enterprise survey were carried out to analyze the medium-term effects of high energy prices. The results show that the cost disadvantages in international competition induced by energy price increases will lead to a decline in industrial production and employment in the medium term and increase the risk of relocation of energy-intensive production.

Simulating waste plastic flows in Australia

Plastics waste is a significant issue in Australia, with plastics waste generation continuing to grow. Central to the ‘circular economy’ concept is the flow of waste materials back into production, to be remade into new products. However, in Australia these flows are not visible due to limitations in published datasets. In this study, a waste supply-use framework is employed to model waste flows from consumption, through waste treatment and back into new production. This approach reveals how both plastics waste and recycled plastics become embodied in final consumption. The analysis shows there is currently no evidence that plastics waste generation has decoupled from either population or GDP growth. In fact, the recycling rate has declined in relative terms, potentially caused by recycling infrastructure limitations and an overall decline in Australian manufacturing.

A Structural Equation Model Study for Adoption of Internet of Things for the Growth of Manufacturing Industries in Australia

This research study delves into the integration of IoT within the Australian manufacturing sector, analyzing five key factors influencing adoption and drawing comparisons with Rogers' innovation theory. Its objectives encompass assessing how competitiveness, regulatory support, management support, manufacturing growth, and cost savings affect IoT adoption. Methodologically, the research journey includes defining the problem, conducting a thorough literature review, crafting a research proposal, executing pilot and main studies, validating findings, and ultimately composing the final thesis. Quantitative data obtained from a large pool of over 500 respondents shed light on the positive impacts of competitiveness, regulatory support, and cost savings on IoT adoption. Additionally, the study employs Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) to underscore the significance of management support in successful IoT implementation. Despite facing limitations such as common method bias and constraints on generalizability, the research underscores the transformative potential of IoT in enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making within Australian manufacturing. Overall, the study's findings confirm the significant influence of key factors on IoT adoption, affirming its potential to drive competitiveness, regulatory compliance, cost efficiency, and growth within the Australian manufacturing landscape.

How you value shapes whom you value: The contribution of apprenticeships to sustainable development goals

Apprenticeships are crucial in the ILO’s decent work agenda and align with sustainable development goals. While existing scholarship underscores the relevance of specific programme features for stakeholders’ outcomes, scant attention has been paid to the HR actors’ agency in shaping the programmes. Our process study delves into a customised apprenticeship programme for temporary workers in an Austrian manufacturing firm, aiming to uncover how HR actors influence apprenticeship outcomes. Adopting a convention theory approach, we examine HR actors’ evaluations during the programmes’ realisation and their implications for consolidation or conversion of programme features. The findings reveal a range of gains and unfulfilled aspirations, particularly for employee representatives. We attribute these outcomes to HR actors’ commitment to convention-based practices, which are more salient during the recruitment and training phase than after the exam. We conclude that how HR actors value apprenticeship shapes for whom an apprenticeship programme is valuable.

Technology Factors Affecting Australian Manufacturing SMEs

Technology Factors Affecting Australian Manufacturing SMEs

Technology Factors Affecting Australian Manufacturing SMEs

Technology Factors Affecting Australian Manufacturing SMEs

Impact of Industry 4.0 Technologies on Operations Resilience: Adverse Effects of COVID-19 as a Moderator

In the era of Industry 4.0, manufacturing firms are focused towards implementing a broad range of Industry 4.0 technologies and expect those technologies to shield them from disruptions. Rapid technology upgrades, adoption of new technologies and digitalised operations have been common during the COVID-19 pandemic, where remote working labour, skill shortages, supply shortages, and demand issues caused operations uncertainties. This study investigates the effects of Industry 4.0 technologies and incremental innovation on the operations resilience of Australian manufacturing firms operated under various COVID-19 challenges. Based on survey data collected from 117 manufacturing firms, it finds that Industry 4.0 capabilities lead to operations resilience only through incremental innovations and that COVID-19 effects moderate the relationship between Industry 4.0 capabilities and operations resilience. There was no empirical evidence for the moderating role of COVID-19 effects on the relationship between incremental innovation and operations resilience. Based on the findings, we argue that Industry 4.0 capabilities translate stronger into operations resilience for firms that experience substantial adverse effects than for those that experience lower negative effects. Our results confirm the benefits of manufacturing firms investing in a broad range of Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve operations resilience in highly disrupted environments where the survival of firms is threatened and the importance of developing capabilities for incremental innovation. Our findings assure managers of manufacturing firms of the benefits of technology investments and provide a rationale for those weighing alternatives to achieve operations resilience.

Bread clip ingestion resulting in small bowel perforation: A case report

Bread clip ingestion is an avoidable, all too common cause of an acute surgical abdomen. Patients present with various symptoms ranging from dysphagia, bleeding, perforation, and death with few cases successfully passing without causing significant damage. The patient in this case had gastrointestinal symptoms for over 2 months with associated weight loss, mimicking a time length of malignancy. The clip was lodged in the small bowel, which is often the case. This study presents an uncommon presentation of symptoms with evidence of the varying degrees of bread clip injury, preceding perforation. Plastic resists enzymatic breakdown in the gastrointestinal tract, and its unique shape contributes to the bowel wall getting caught in between its jaws, followed by dislodgment through peristalsis, and eventual perforation. Despite publicity in Australian news articles, manufacturers and supermarkets still utilize products with plastic bread clips and present an avoidable health hazard to patients in this country.

From lab to industry: lessons learned from the evaluation of augmented and virtual reality use cases in the Austrian manufacturing industry

ABSTRACT For evaluation of industrial augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications, a comprehensive knowledge of their impact on productivity, process metrics, and human factors is critical to facilitate the transition from lab-scale research to industrial settings. While laboratory-scale evaluations have been extensively researched, successful implementation in industrial settings has fallen short. This paper presents a multi-criteria evaluation model using a mixed methods approach to study thirteen industrial use cases of AR/VR applications in manufacturing over two years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with companies about the impact of the application. A human factors questionnaire was completed by 69 participants, including in-house users, industry experts, and inexperienced novices. The results of the use cases show an average reduction of 23.61% in process and 25% in cycle time. Process quality indicators improved significantly compared to baseline. The evaluation found no significant differences in workload and ease of use between age groups.

A Novel Approach to Identify Industrial Logistics Decarbonization Opportunities: Method Development and Preliminary Validation

This article explores how different types of inventories affect the costs of decarbonizing transportation in manufacturing companies. For these companies, it is difficult to find affordable ways to reduce emissions from transportation given their resource scarcity. Additionally, they handle numerous inventory items that have varying transportation needs based on their order frequency and value, which necessitates the development of tailored inventory management strategies. One tool to do so efficiently is the ABC/XYZ analysis, which classifies items into nine different inventory categories. These groups have different economic importance and predictability, which impacts total logistics costs. Our literature analysis contends that lower-carbon transportation alternatives yield varying abatement costs contingent upon the specific inventory categories. Subsequently, we empirically validate this proposition through discrete-event simulations in two case studies involving Austrian manufacturing enterprises, employing combined road-rail transportation as an illustrative decarbonization measure. Statistical tests substantiate the significance of the XYZ dimension in influencing carbon emission abatement costs during the transition from road to rail transportation. In conclusion, our study offers a novel perspective on decarbonization efforts, underscoring the importance of leveraging established management tools to inform strategic decarbonization decisions. This research holds promise for catalyzing progress in overcoming entrenched challenges associated with decarbonization initiatives within industrial logistics.

Challenges on the way to a circular economy from the perspective of the Austrian manufacturing industry

Circular economy has become a prominent topic in scientific discourse and has gained significant presence as a strategic factor for business and industry. Both, as crucial enabler of a sustainable economy, and as lever for overcoming resource dependencies. Previous studies have identified multiple benefits of implementing circular principles, as well as enablers for a transformation to circular economy. However, studies with a focus on a specific industry and regional context that offer practical guidance for the transformation to a circular economy are still somewhat underrepresented. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing major obstacles to a transformation to circular economy, in the context of the Austrian manufacturing industry. It is based on a literature review, in which 369 articles were reviewed, complemented by a structured online survey in which 229 managers from 192 companies in the manufacturing industry participated. In the survey, the obstacles were ranked according to their relevance on two levels: assessing 10 clusters of obstacles on a higher level, followed by a deep-dive evaluation of specific obstacles within the clusters. Based on the research findings, it is evident that the circular economy plays a significant role in long-term corporate success and most surveyed companies recognize its strategic importance. The results also reveal that market and customer demand are the biggest drivers of a transformation to circular economy, followed by general concerns about the environment and regulatory pressure. The biggest barriers on the way toward circular economy are the need for more financial government support, challenges with setting up an effective circular supply chain, economic challenges resulting from customer behavior and barriers in the redesign of products. The interdisciplinarity of the challenges leads to a high complexity in the transformation process. This means that most of the major barriers are external, and therefore companies cannot tackle these barriers by themselves. Governments should consider developing more incentive systems to support companies in their transition to the circular economy. To effectively navigate the transition, companies should adopt integrated strategies that encompass supply chain optimization, in-depth analysis of customer buying behaviors, and investment in sustainable and recyclable product design.

A 12-month audit of clozapine associated myocarditis in a South Australian Local Health Network: The importance of screening and personalised titration

Clozapine is effective in up to 50 % of patients resistant to other antipsychotics. Its use is restricted to third-line due to adverse effects which include myocarditis. Australia reports the highest incidence of clozapine-associated myocarditis (CAM) in the context of pharmacovigilance and relatively rapid titration. An audit of patients commenced on clozapine within the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) between 2012 and 2015 found an incidence of 8.6 %. We present here a case series from a follow up audit considering titration relevant risk factors for CAM.We reviewed anecdotal cases and data from all hospital-based commencements of clozapine across CALHN for the period July 2021 to June 2022 using pharmacy and medical record databases. We identified 5 cases of CAM and all had risk factors impacting on clozapine metabolism, including rapid titration, elevated baseline CRP, Asian ethnicity and concomitant treatment with inhibitors of clozapine metabolism.While personalisation of clozapine treatment needs further investigation in prospective trials, slower titration to lower targets for risk groups may not impact on hospital length of stay and has the potential to significantly reduce the burden of adverse events. Australian manufacturer approved titration rates exceed those recommended for personalised dosing and may not be safe for patients with risk factors. Early clozapine levels at week two could identify slow metabolisers for dose adjustment. Closer ties between psychiatrists and cardiologists are critical for the development of protocols for safely maintaining clozapine treatment during low level cardiac inflammation and to support safe rechallenge.

Additive Manufacturing in Australian Small to Medium Enterprises: Vat Polymerisation Techniques, Case Study and Pathways to Industry 4.0 Competitiveness

The advent of additive manufacturing (AM) in Australian small and medium-sized enterprises offers the direct benefits of time-saving and labour cost-effectiveness for Australian manufacturing to be highly competitive in global markets. Australian local businesses can tailor their products to a diverse range of customers with a quicker lead time on the sophisticated design and development of products under good quality control in the whole advanced manufacturing process. This review outlines typical AM techniques used in Australian manufacturing, which consist of vat polymerisation (VP), environmentally friendly AM, and multi-material AM. In particular, a practical case study was also highlighted in the Australian jewellery industry to demonstrate how manufacturing style is integrated into their manufacturing processes for the purpose of reducing lead time and cost. Finally, major obstacles encountered in AM and future prospects were also addressed to be well positioned as a key player in the revolutionised Industry 4.0.

How education and training systems can support a digitally-enabled workforce for the manufacturing industry of the future: an exploratory study

PurposeThis paper explores how education and training systems can support a digitally-enabled workforce for the Australian manufacturing sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on interviews with 17 sector-level manufacturing stakeholders from industry, government and education/training organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of how education and training systems currently support a digitally-enabled manufacturing workforce as well as opportunities for alternative configurations or developments.FindingsAnalysis revealed three themes reflecting core dimensions of a supportive education and training system: partnerships, pedagogy and prospects. Cooperative, integrated and sustained partnerships are needed between vocational education and training (VET) institutions, universities, government, industry, high schools and private training providers. Pedagogy emphasises the vital importance of infusing curriculum with digital and technology skills and capabilities, alongside innovative and experiential delivery modes including simulated environments, online learning, on-the-job training, flexible delivery and micro-credentials. Prospects reflects the need for forward-looking assessment and planning to respond to industry trends and develop associated qualifications, skills and investments required to meet future industry needs.Originality/valueWith growing demand for digitally-enabled skills to support manufacturing, an industry which is acknowledged as critical for economic prosperity and national sovereignty, the findings contribute novel insights into current limitations and future opportunities to bridge the gap between skills shortages in the manufacturing industry, and education and training systems that deliver graduate readiness and a digitally-enabled workforce.

The role of technological innovation in responding to environmental concerns

ABSTRACT This study empirically examines the impact of stakeholder pressure and concerns about public image on the use of technological innovations i.e. the use of innovations in environmental products and processes, and the subsequent impact on environmental and financial performance. Data were collected by mail survey from a random sample of 577 chief financial officers in Australian manufacturing organisations. The results show that pressures from stakeholders have a direct association with the use of innovations in environmental processes, and an indirect association with environmental and financial performance due to the subsequent association of the use of innovations in environmental processes on these outcomes. Public image is directly associated with the use of innovations in both environmental products and processes, and indirectly associated with environmental and financial performance due to the subsequent association between the use of innovations in environmental processes with these outcomes. The findings provide managers with an insight into the importance of improving environmental processes to enhance both environmental and financial performance, and how pressures from stakeholders to consider environmental issues and concerns about public image promote the enhancement of technological innovation.

The dragon Down Under: the regional labour market impact of growth in Chinese imports to Australia

ABSTRACT Manufactured imports from China to Australia grew 11-fold between 1991 and 2006. Local differences in industry structure are used to identify the impact of that growth on local labour market outcomes. This growth is estimated to have reduced local manufacturing employment considerably. Local adjustment occurred through labour mobility between regions plus increased rates of unemployment and non-participation. By contrast, import growth from other Asian countries had little impact on Australian manufacturing employment. This is because Chinese imports tended to be in sectors with slower growth in domestic consumption (absorption) and with high labour intensity.

Visual inspection with augmented reality head‐mounted display: An Australian usability case study

AbstractAugmented reality (AR) is an Industry 4.0 technology. For more than a decade, advancements in AR technology and their applications have been expected to revolutionise the manufacturing industry and deliver quality and productivity gains. However, due to factors such as equipment costs, skills shortages and technological limitations of AR devices, operational deployment beyond prototypes has been constrained. Real‐world, usability studies can explore barriers to implementation and improve system design. This paper details a mixed method usability case study of an AR head‐mounted display (HMD) to perform a short, simple visual inspection task. Twenty‐two participants from South Australian manufacturing businesses inspected a pump and pipe skid while working at height. Overall, workload demands for the task were considered acceptable and just below the “low” workload threshold (NASA Task Load Index, mean = 29.3) and the system usability was rated “average” (system usability scale, mean = 68.5). The results suggest the task did not place too high a burden on users and was an appropriate initial exposure to AR HMDs, but further refinement to the interface would be desirable before implementation to minimise frustration and promote learning. Users were enthusiastic and open‐minded about the AR HMD although results indicate that even with recent advancements in AR HMD technology, interactions between the task, technology and environment continue to cause human and technical challenges—some of which are relatively straightforward to address but others are dependent on larger‐scale efforts.

The link between formality and procedural fairness: The influences of precision, sensitivity and role clarity

AbstractThis study investigates the complex and not straight‐forward association between formality and procedural fairness. It examines the mediating roles of precision of performance measures, sensitivity of performance measures and role clarity. Using survey responses of functional managers of Australian manufacturing firms, the study finds that the link between formality and procedural fairness is mediated by sensitivity of performance measures and role clarity. Role clarity also mediates the link between sensitivity of performance measures and procedural fairness. Our study contributes to the literature by identifying two important factors through which formal performance evaluation can enhance procedural fairness, which is a source of performance motivation.