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SPEAKERS and presentations
Thank you for attending the recent EMCONZ conference, we hope you enjoyed it. The presentation recordings are currently being edited and will appear on this page in the next week. To view approved PDF power points, please click in to the presenter and find the document at the end of their description. Thanks again and we hope to see you in the next EMCONZ event!
DAVID SEYMOUR
David grew up in Whangarei with two younger brothers, where his parents were a pharmacist and a draughtsman. As a teenager, he moved to Auckland for high school before graduating from the University of Auckland in electrical engineering and philosophy.
Before politics, David worked as an electrical engineer in New Zealand and for private sector think tanks in Canada. He has served as ACT Leader and MP for Epsom since 2014. In Government, he was responsible for Regulatory Reform and charter schools. From opposition, he passed the End-of-Life Choice Act.
Fearless and principled, he is known for standing up for his constituents and, if necessary, to every other party. He has been named MP of the year twice, and ‘the only one talking sense’ too many times to count.
Jonny Parker
Planning for mass EV charging systems
Join Jonny Parker from Thundergrid to learn about how to plan for mass charging clusters, set up dynamic power logic, and integrate to protect the wider grid. Thundergrid have been developing and sourcing the best tools to ensure EVs can be charged on mass without causing mayhem on the grid. Join Jonny on a talk that will cover the key basics and provide some insight into how to plan scalable EV charging facilities.
Jonny the Co-Founder of Thundergrid has spent over 20 years working within the energy efficiency and sustainability industry. His multitude of roles across residential and commercial energy efficiency gives him a wide breadth of knowledge. Jonny focused on smart power management for EV’s back in 2015 and has been living and breathing them ever since.
Bhaba Das
Investigating the Carbon Emissions of Conventional & Semi Hybrid Insulation in Power Transformers under New Zealand Energy Mix
In this presentation, the results of an investigation conducted for a 40/60 MVA, 132/33.6kV ONAN/ONAF transformer with target impedance of 14% transformer on the environmental impact (tCO2-e equivalent) of the two different insulation systems, will be shared: Conventional Insulation System – Mineral Oil with Kraft paper, Semi- Hybrid Insulation System – Ester Fluid with TU paper. The presentation will share the comparison of the outcomes of cost, total ownership cost and total life cycle carbon emission assessment and will demonstrate the impact of insulation system on tCO2-e equivalent emissions for two different designs – Design 1: Conventional Insulation system in Mineral Oil and Design 2: Semi-Hybrid Insulation system in Ester Fluid. The outcomes will be shared for the New Zealand electricity mix.
Dr Bhaba Das is the Lead Digital Business Developer at Hitachi Energy (Transformers Business Unit) for Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa region.
Richard Templer
Occupational Regulation for Mechanical & Electrical Engineers
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment [MBIE] are currently drafting new legislation that will change the way all engineers are regulated. This will introduce registration for all engineers, require some to be licensed and will change the structure of the regulatory bodies. What are the changes proposed? When will they occur? Who is covered? What do registration and licensing mean? What does this mean for CPEng? And what does this mean for me? All these questions and more will be answered. The information presented will be based on the most up to date briefings from MBIE and will focus on the implications for mechanical and electrical engineers.
Richard has been the Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand since November 2020. A senior executive for twenty years he worked for government, local government, and the meat & wool industry. Prior to that he researched meat automation at Industrial Research and medical products at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
Kristian Jensen
Decarbonisation of transport – the real costs and implications
Electrification of transport is a methodology that can reduce carbon emissions and is within reach of NZ now, both in terms of supply and technology.However, it does require planning and preparation to meet the power demand, both in terms of energy and maximum demand.
The upstream infrastructure required to meet this power demand is dependent on geographic-specific requirements and local lines utilities requirements. So an eBus depot in an industrial area may have little upstream reinforcing required, but a depot in an urban area may require upgrades right through to the Zone substation.
This presentation looks at An very brief overview of the amount of generation required to replace imported fuels. Detail on a few case studies to show the power demand for large charging installations and the trends NZ is experiencing with respect to electrification of public transport (eBuses) and the recent progress in heavy goods vehicles. Very brief overview of eFerry development in NZ, including the shoreside infrastructure demands. Discussion on hydrogen technology developments and costing.
Kristian Jensen is the Technical Director across Industrial & Electrical in applications where production, transport, security and continuity are essential. These aspects, when coupled with low carbon requirements, can create a financial challenge and Kristian brings a broad range of experience on energy projects (whether energy generation, distribution or storage & use in transport) to help solve the issues.
He works where assets are geographically constrained and service levels are critical to cashflow. Kristian has a passion for LEAN and productivity improvement that comes through into systems, life cycle and process improvement, often by incorporating disruptive technology. He is CAMA certified (ISO55001) and involved in a number of low emission projects across NZ ranging from generation to storage and transportation. These include the grid-connected battery storage, bus electrification programs as well as hydrogen trials.
Kristian holds a BSc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering, an MBA (Project Management and Finance) and is a chartered engineer both here in NZ and UK. He is actively involved in the Carbon and Energy programs as well as renewable energy projects across the Australasian/Pacific region.
Whilst he is an engineer at heart, his passion is finding a better way and often found facilitating multi-disciplinary round table discussions with key organisations where the boundaries of society and our frameworks are being stretched.
Tim Lepper
Gas is Changing – Biogas in the Firstgas Transmission Network
The energy environment in New Zealand is changing and with that, Firstgas Group is looking to facilitate biomethane injection to the national gas transmission grid to support our customers in their attempts to decarbonise their businesses. This presentation will give a high-level look at the project Firstgas Group are completing alongside Ecogas, the Biogas producers, at their anaerobic digestion plant currently being constructed in Reporoa, New Zealand
Tim Lepper is a Senior Project Manager at Firstgas Group in New Plymouth and has had previous experience in agricultural biogas projects. He is now leading this project for Firstgas and committed to delivering New Zealand’s first project to successfully inject biomethane into the natural gas grid in 2023.
Wernher Roding
Containerised Switchrooms – A Valid Solution with Considered Design
In the last few years there have been various projects which have utilised containerised switchroom solutions to resolve unique project challenges. These switchrooms are not always for temporary or mobile installations, but also for turnkey, offshore, space constrained and time-critical projects. In this session we will discuss the use of containerised switchrooms and their pros and cons. We will also present some design experience and will share success stories, lessons learned and some general considerations that engineers should make when specifying and designing this equipment.
Wernher is a Principal Electrical Engineer with Beca and has 20 years’ experience in electrical and control systems engineering. After completing his M.Sc. degree in the UK, Wernher returned to New Zealand where he has worked in R&D, manufacturing and engineering consultancy. As a Consultant, he has worked on a number of small and large multidisciplinary projects in the main sectors of Road Tunnels, Water and Wastewater, Industrial and Power Generation. Specialist areas of expertise include electrical engineering, electrical compliance, condition assessments, and design management.
Mervin De Lancea
A new lens on vision based analysis
Image processing algorithms for 2D applications have been in use in industry for almost fifty years. The release of open source libraries (e.g. OpenCV) nearly two decades ago have done much to improve the accessibility of vision based analysis in standard industrial applications. Nevertheless, the problem still persist that vision based solutions are perceived to be complex and difficult, both in implementation and subsequent maintenance. This is an unfortunate situation, because in many industrial applications where precise monitoring of product and machine are required, vision based solutions give an unparalleled advantage. Therefore the practical problem at hand is facilitating the accessibility and implementation of powerful existing algorithms to standard industrial applications. This presentation aims to demonstrate how this is currently being achieved in numerous practical applications throughout New Zealand by automation engineers who are primarily concerned with solving everyday problems in a robust and reliable manner.
Mervin de Lancea received the B.Eng. degree in mechatronics engineering from Monash University in 2009, and PhD degree from University of Canterbury in 2012. His research interests at that time include Bio-robotics, human-assist robots, rehabilitation robots, and application of robotics in medicine. He was an Electrical and Controls Engineer with Scott Technology Ltd, Christchurch, from 2013 to 2021. He is currently with IFM as a Technical Engineer.
HARIS MURTAZA
Decarbonisation Roadmap for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): An Energy and Carbon Efficiency Perspective’
NZ has experienced a raft of changes both at a societal, legislative, infrastructural, and environmental level when it comes to its response to climate change and its energy and carbon footprint.
However, these changes and contexts are not easily understood and comprehended by SMEs. SMEs make up 97% of NZ businesses and account for approximately 30% of the country’s business carbon emissions. Unfortunately, SMEs lack the required level of support and resources to transition to low-carbon energy sources, and unless significant steps are taken to address this gap, NZ will fall short of its net-zero goal.
Haris has completed an EECA-sponsored Energy Management Graduate program at Alsco and has now transitioned into a full-time Energy Management role for Alsco NZ and Australia. Haris holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master of Engineering Management from the University of Auckland.
Bryan Leyland
Storage: the elephant in the room
To achieve "carbon zero" by 2050 it seems that we will need 12,000 MW of wind power and solar power to provide the energy needed for the extra 4000 MW of load created by converting to electric heating and getting rid of fossil fuel generation. When the wind is blowing and the sun is shining there will be more than 3000 MW of surplus power available that must be stored so that we can keep the lights on when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. It seems that providing this backup power is not in the terms of reference for the 1000 MW Onslow project. It is conceived as a dry year reserve only. But even if it was capable of providing backup for wind and solar (and this is not presently conceived) then 1000 MW is not nearly enough.
The presentation will explore whether or not there are any technologies available now or likely to appear in the near future that will provide provide sufficient storage for days weeks and months that is necessary for backup because, for instance, solar power is least during winter when peak demand occurs.
Alternatives to bulk storage such as nuclear power or more hydropower with storage or the imperfect option of stored gas (which European countries have now declared to be "Green") will be discussed.
Bryan Leyland MSc, DistFEngNZ, FIMechE, FIEE(rtd), Is an electrical and mechanical engineer with 60 years experience in the power industry worldwide. He has specialised in power systems and the mechanical and electrical aspects of hydropower and he also has experience in virtually every renewable energy technology, thermal power generation and nuclear power.
He has had an active interest in climate change for many years and has attended several overseas conferences on the subject.
He is majority owner of a 1 MW hydropower scheme that he largely designed and now operates remotely.
He believes that all engineers involved in power supply have a duty to ensure that, as far as possible, the public get an affordable and reliable supply of electricity. Without it, New Zealand cannot prosper.
Greg Storey
Best Foot Forward - An engineer’s perspective on how to develop successful products.
Throughout my career of mechanical engineering and product design I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of projects including the roles of designer and company co-founder. Every project I have worked on has been unique - the stakeholders and technical expertise has varied greatly along with the projects themselves.
There are however common elements in projects that have succeeded and those that have not. As an engineer it is intuitive to tackle the novel and technical problems first and to let the other elements fall into place. Whilst not guaranteeing success there are activities and strategies that can improve the chances of success - this relies on a holistic approach including understanding your customer and stakeholder expectations and communicating the right aspects to make a product shine.
I am happy to share my experiences and understanding of the role of technical development with my peers.
Greg Storey is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Auckland with 19 years' experience across the mechanical, industrial and product design engineering fields. He has experience working with companies in New Zealand and the United Kingdom from the start-up stage all the way through to large corporations. He is currently the Principal Engineer at Blender Design in Auckland and has recently become a Chartered Professional Engineer through Engineering NZ.
George Wang
Comparison on Emergency lighting Standards (about standards of UK & AS/NZ etc., what kind of issues found in the buildings)
Testing/inspection method comparison (issues found in large commercial building, issues found in large hotel, issues found in large factory)
As an electrical designer, how to check the UPS dealer’s/factory’s quote offer? (The power supplying- UPS battery capacity is not enough, or too large capacity of the power-supplying UPS, thinking from an electrical designer’s point of view as well as an IQP’s point of view)
George Wang has been involved in electrical engineering about 30 years, first 18 years, worked as a marine electrical engineer which main working scope is marine power station and electrical control, as well as well as automatic control for HVAC system etc.
From 2004, major working scope is NZ electrical building services, worked as NZ EWRB electrical inspector/engineer as well as Auckland Council electrical safety services/IQP for emergency UPS/Generator/Emergency lighting
From 2016, major working scope shifting as an electrical designer for commercial building/industrial factory projects.
Now as an Electrical CPEng/APEC engineer, be familiar with various popular designing tools such as Revit MEP/ AGI32/Power CAD 5 etc., as well as AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules (had been a casual electrical lecturer on Wiring Rules for Unitec students for 2 years)
Adrian Ferguson
Vocational Engineering Education and Degree Apprenticeships Update
An update on the Reforms of Vocational Engineering Education (RoVE) and on implementation of the BEngTech apprenticeship pilot project initiated in Feb 2020. RoVE is the largest change in vocational education in NZ in a generation. By Jan 2023, all NZ polytechnics and most Industry Training Organisations will have become Te Pukenga the biggest teaching institution in NZ and it will continue to offer the first “degree apprenticeship” programme in NZ which has its first graduates and has students learning in workplaces throughout NZ. Adrian Ferguson BEngTech Apprentice Degree Coordinator & Principal Academic Otago Polytech - Wellington
Adrian coordinates the BEngTech & NZDE apprentice degree including electrical, mechanical & civil options. He’s been involved with the BEngTech from inception including development, teaching, moderation & operations aspects. He has a product design & project engineering background & qualifications in mechanical engineering & business.
Neil Smit
New generation motors with Digital Motor Integration
This new technology is a big step in moving along the path of Industry 4.0 and towards smart factory of the future. Asynchronous and servo motors can now provide motor data via a digital connection to the controller. This means that the motor becomes a station in the data network rather than a stand-alone component. I will discuss what data is available from the motor and how data is collected and used in a control system.
Neil has worked for a global leader in geared motors and motor controllers for many years and has been able to offer robust and sophisticated solutions for increased levels of production. He has worked with customers and machine builders in almost every sphere of manufacturing in Southern Africa, the UAE and New Zealand.
MATT BRADLEY
Leaning on Strengths and Partnering for Success
At Blender we work as a Mechanical design partner with Timescapes, a New Zealand founded construction tech start-up, to supplement their Software and Electrical engineering teams. By leveraging our combined expertise we were able to develop a custom camera enclosure to enhance their product offering while allowing them to focus on their core product. My presentation will focus on the techniques and tools used to collaborate and overcome the challenges of this process.
Matt is a Production and Supply Manager at Blender Design Limited. He has had 6 years of experience in the Product Development industry. His experience ranges across several product industries including medical devices, marine and industrial electronic applications.
Simon Waldren
Modular Wiring system based on different sector applications, such as Commercial, Healthcare/Hospital and Education.
We will be presenting the features and benefits of Modular Wiring with the support of Case Studies on previous projects especially in the Australasia region.
ROBIN CAMPBELL
Developing the Richie Rail Illuminated Handrail systems
The Richie Rail family of products was developed to meet the demand in the market for an illuminated handrail system to solve common problems with effectively and attractively providing lighting to stairs, ramps and pathways.
This presentation will outline the three-year long design and development journey, from the initial idea conception, to the end goal of presenting a complete family of solutions to the market.
Developing the award-winning Richie Rail emergency lighting version required considerable research into battery packs and LED strip, leading to purpose made solutions built specifically for the product.
Extensive testing was carried out on the prototypes to evaluate the thermal, battery and photometric performance, resulting in compliance with AS/NZS 2293.
GERHARD BENADE
Nuclear Nirvana: The development of a Brayton (gas turbine) nuclear utility scale powerplant
Worldwide all nuclear powerplants operate on the Rankine or steam cycle where the heat produced by nuclear fission is used to generate steam which drive a turbine generator system. A nuclear powerplant operating on the Brayton or gas turbine cycle offers several advantages. The development of such a system will be described in the presentation.
Gerhard Benade has been a professional engineer for more than forty years in the nuclear enrichment, power generation, aeronautical and mining fields. His speciality is turbomachinery design and development i.e. compressors, turbines and pumps. He holds a MEng (Mechanical) degree and is currently working on his PhD.
SARA HINZ
The role of Building Services Engineers in designing seismically resilient building systems
Seismic Restraint of non-structural Element (NSE) has typically been made a design & build package for the respective subcontractors. The Building Innovation Partnership has reviewed the design and installation process and published a white paper outlining key issues around seismic restraints of NSE. What are those issues? What is the proposed way forward? What does this mean for building services engineers and our building systems? And what do we still need to figure out as an industry?
Sara Hinz is the Work Group Manager for Mechanical Building Services (Christchurch) for WSP. Sara completed her B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering and her M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering in Germany before relocating to New Zealand. Sara has a contractor background, having worked as a Project Manager for Mechanical Services on big commercial projects during the Christchurch rebuild, and works now as a Consultant. Seismic resilience became her passion, maybe out of necessity, as she developed and improved installation and design methodologies for seismic restraints of NSE.
DANIEL JARDINE
Engineering tangata Tiriti
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Engineering profession comprises of tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti, Pākehā, and tauiwi. Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi, there is an obligation to advance Māori representation and leadership in Engineering. This presentation analyses the current composition of the Engineering profession in Aotearoa, including past influences and future implications; ka mua ki muri (walking backwards into the future).
Daniel is a Chartered Electrical and APEC Engineer in the building services, energy, and infrastructure industries. He has national and international experience across a wide range of projects including energy, commercial, retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, transport, and telecommunications.
Bernhard SCHMIEDEKE
Efficiency and global warming potential – how refrigerant choices impact our environment and the heatpump systems we design.
Electric heatpumps are the most energy efficient way of heating and cooling buildings in New Zealand and are key to reducing carbon emissions of building services. However, the refrigerants in these systems pose a serious environmental threat themselves, as many of them have Global Warming Potential (GWP) exceeding that of CO2 thousandfold. How does NZ regulate high GWP refrigerants and how much of them is leaked into our atmosphere? How can heatpump systems best replace fossil fuel heating applications?
Bernhard is a Senior Mechanical Engineer for WSP based in Christchurch, designing and analysing mechanical building services and ventilation systems. He has studied mechanical engineering in Germany, before moving to New Zealand in 2014. He has since worked in the energy and construction industries and is involved in WSP’s decarbonisation initiatives.
JAMES NEALE
Optimised condition-based lubrication of rotating equipment using IOT linked structure borne ultrasound and automated remote lubricators.
Predictive maintenance (PdM) is an attempt to evaluate the condition of equipment by performing periodic or continuous (online) equipment monitoring. The ultimate goal of PdM is to perform maintenance at a scheduled point in time when the maintenance activity is most cost-effective, while maintaining the desired equipment performance threshold, and ultimately preventing specific modes of failure. The condition monitoring of rotating bearings is a well know application of structure borne ultrasound, with the ability to actively monitor friction levels and thus detect a need to address lubrication defects that if corrected in a timely fashion can prevent failure inducing defects in the bearings themselves. New IOT based solutions incorporating this ultrasound technology make this achievable today, with proven off-the shelf solutions, including the autonomous and remote lubrication of bearings based on real time friction (ultrasound) measurement.
George Janiszewski
Smart Distribution
With ever increasing focus on energy saving and optimizing energy usage, it is necessary to monitor energy consumption for cutting energy bills and reducing pollution. Many products, homes, and buildings use more energy than they need, through inefficiencies and energy waste. Smart distribution refers to the process where energy consumptions are monitored, measured, and displayed for making smart decision.
In this presentation we will show NHP smart distribution solutions which is currently operating at various sites across NZ, assisting government organizations, schools and other customers to reach their energy targets.
George Janiszewski has held the position of Senior Application Engineer at NHP for the last 14 years, supporting AC Drives, Motor Control products, Power Quality products and Micro Controllers.
George has broad experience in the New Zealand electrical industry with 16 years as AC & DC Drives and Soft Starter product manager with Rockwell Automation, and more than 10 years involved in high-voltage testing of heavy power transformers and consulting in the Power Quality arena.
George’s strong interest in utilising emerging technologies like embedded control and Industrial Internet of Things complement his passion for adding value to customer application solutions.
Hamish McLean
Generator Fuel Storage for Critical Infrastructure in NZ
Demand for permanent back-up generators is trending upwards as data centres, Govt & corporates, landlords & tenants, look to have more resilient and futureproof buildings. Diesel powered gensets are still the most common, cost effective, and simplest way to achieve back up power for critical installations, and of course this raises the question of size, location, and safety around the fuel system.
The WorkSafe NZ Health and Safety at Work Hazardous Substances Regulations 2017 is a very large document – all 580 pages - and can be very confusing to navigate regarding diesel storage.
In this presentation Fuelchief will unpack several critical points of the regulations and discuss some of the intent and methods of best-practice, and some fool-proof ways to exceed compliance and make your design process simpler. We will also bring up the very interesting topic of future fuels, and how we see it relating to the current back up power industry.
Join us for a chat to share ideas, and to learn something you may not have heard before…
HUGH EVANS
Ventilation principles and strategies (including dilution and carbon dioxide concentration levels) to reduce the spread of airborne contaminants (and viruses) in the workplace.
The presentation draws on Hugh’s involvement with new workplace settings (and pragmatic ventilation assessments) to support the safe return to the workplace, his prior engineering consulting, and an involvement with the newly established Ventilation Engineering Group.
He is a chartered member of Engineering New Zealand | Te Ao Rangahau, and volunteers as Chair of the Wellington Branch, as Secretary of the Ventilation Engineering Group and Treasurer of IMechE New Zealand, and a member of the Mechanical Engineering Group.
Hugh has worked across the fields of consulting and mechanical engineering, and interdisciplinary roles, delivering leadership across projects in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, UK and USA.
He has predominantly worked in the private sector, including for WSP and Chorus New Zealand, and also for crown entities, including Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, for their property team, and Callaghan Innovation, where he established a client-based construction design team. He has worked on ventilation design, construction management and projects for infrastructure upgrades of museums, laboratories, critical environments and offices.
He manages across a portfolio of capital works programmes, across network exchanges, and including corporate workplace settings.
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