Invercargill-based automation engineering and electrical company EIS won the Gold Innovation Award at the 2019 Master Electricians Excellence Awards earlier this month in Auckland in the Innovation section for their work-related safety initiative, the MCC Transporting Trolley.

EIS CEO Dean Addie said he was delighted with the team’s efforts and was proud to be part of a team that was inherently dedicated to seeing its staff go home safe, every day.

The team had been utterly dedicated to developing the solution and to see their work recognised on a national level was a fantastic result for everyone, he said.

“I’d like to say I saw a problem and instructed the team to fix it with me supervising from concept to completion, but the reality is that I had nothing to do with it.

“The team saw the problem and went about fixing it themselves – they’re a great team doing great stuff; he aha te mea nui o te ao; he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.”

Engineered specifically for aiding the installation of Motor Control Centres (MCCs), or large switchboards, within larger projects, EIS’ innovative solution to dealing with the dangerous movement of MCCs is a game changer for the industry, with scope for it to become best practice across New Zealand.

MCCs are large, tall and pose the risk of tipping due to being top-heavy. They are typically multi-tonne and require up to 10 team members to install each MCC on-site.

Installing an MCC is an industry-wide health and safety risk which, up until EIS’ solution, had seen no best-practice installation method.

Determined to find a solution, EIS formed a core group of five team members who collaborated, researched, developed and manufactured a transport trolley which would safely support the immense weight of an MCC.

The trolley is a series of configurable and modular components that takes little time to assemble. The first trolley was built to transport an MCC weighing 1.6 tonnes. The construction of the frame adds extra stability to the MCC while being manoeuvred.

Not only does the MCC Transporting Trolley reduce the risk of workplace accidents, it has also reduced the number of people required to transport an MCC to four people.

Addie said feedback from the installation team using the MCC Transporting Trolley had been overwhelmingly positive.

“They feel it’s much more stable moving the MCCs now and that feeling of ‘is it going to tip?’ is gone – they feel in control the whole time,” he said.

“Not only is this a great win for our team, but it also means clients can have absolute confidence in this part of the process eliminating the worry about whether the MCC is going to tip and therefore add stress to the project budget and timeline.”

Future applications for the trolley in the short term will see us use it for EIS’ MCC installations. The team will continue to provide feedback to ensure further, incremental improvements can be made.

Long-term, Addie hoped there would be potential for it to be adopted as the best-practice method for installation by companies throughout New Zealand. It could also be adapted to suit other industries and applications, he said.

Addie and EIS Southland Electrical Manager David Lee have also collaborated with WorkSafe on the development of an industry wide best practice guide for installing electrical panels. The guide is due for publication in September.

EIS is a multi-disciplined automation engineering and electrical company with extensive experience working on sites throughout New Zealand and around the world. It has offices in Invercargill and Christchurch and employs around 100 people.

Making a difference is important to us, like encouraging the next generation of critical thinkers. The EIS Schools Technology Challenge was recently held at the Waianiwa Community Hall, the fifth time we have sponsored this event.

The challenges give Year 5, 6, 7 and 8 Southland school students the opportunity to problem solve and think laterally and critically. It enables them to practise social skills such as working with others, taking turns, listening to and valuing others point of view. This year’s challenges included:

• See a Sign – building a sign that could be read from different angles, at least 10 metres away
• Separated – building and operating a device that could separate sand and rice
• Nomadic Shelter – constructing an enclosed shelter for two people that could be dismantled, carried to another location and re-erected
• Suspend a Marble – creating a structure to suspend a marble by the longest piece of string possible with the marble not touching the floor

Recently, we decided it would be a great idea to increase our community contribution by cooking breakfast for anyone staying in the Ronald McDonald House family room at Southland Hospital. This is an initiative we’ll be doing every three months. Some of our team members popped down on November 22 to prepare breakfast for the residents and took a collection of donated non-perishable goods for their pantry.

Simple but meaningful gestures can make all the difference. Southland is a wonderful community to be a part of and we’re proud to be active throughout the year in making the region a great place to live.

The Centerline is the safest MCC on the market and is fully compliant with AS/NZS61439 which replaces AS/NZS 3439 and will become mandatory in May 2021.

Due to the fully-certified modular construction, the Centerline is safer to install than other options and also incorporates the fully tested Arcshield^® arc flash protection which reduces approach distances and requirements to wear PPE.

This week EIS staff visited New Zealand Aluminium Smelter to show their Electrical Safety Improvement Team the features of the Centerline using their ¾ size display model.

The Centerline 2500 MCC is a low voltage MCC which delivers on the need for factory-ready, space, energy, and cost-efficient motor control solutions. Its in-built IntelliCENTER technology delivers the connectivity required for the ever-growing industrial internet of things. It incorporates the changes that will come into effect in March 2021 and is fully compliant with AS/NZS 61439:2016.

EIS is New Zealand partner to manufacturers Rockwell Automation and staff are excited to be part of the new approach to motor control.

Staff will be using this new technology in a number of EIS’ upcoming projects.

In addition to claiming the overall Master Electricians Excellence Award, EIS also took home the Skills Industrial Automation Award for its work on the new, state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant in Queenstown after gaining finalist spots in three categories of the Awards.

EIS CEO, Dean Addie, said he and the staff at EIS were elated with the win.

“It’s an honour to receive such high recognition at a national level,” he said.

Mr Addie said the treatment plant utilised unique electrical and automation systems and efficiency management, with their team working hard to provide effective, innovative solutions.

“While it’s true that the team working on this project have delivered a fantastic result for our client, it’s the whole team at EIS that work together to make sure that we do great things. This is for the whole team at EIS for delivering awesomeness,” Mr Addie said.

The biennial Awards celebrate excellence in the electrical industry and provide recognition for electrical and automation contractors who produce innovative solutions and quality workmanship in challenging electrical projects. Feedback from the judges on EIS’ entry highlighted exceptional planning, workmanship, innovation, and initiative in every area of the project – all attributes displaying and exemplifying excellence.

There had been a record number of entries in the Awards this year and Master Electricians’ Chief Executive, Neville Simpson, said judges visited a wide variety of projects before narrowing down the 18
finalists across six categories.

“The Awards are a great opportunity for businesses to showcase their workmanship and innovation, and be given the chance to compete with industry peers,” Mr Simpson said.

EIS has offices in Invercargill, Christchurch and Timaru, and works on industrial electrical and automation engineering projects throughout New Zealand.

EIS’ work on the new, state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant in Queenstown gained them finalist spots in the Powerbase Major Contract Award, Skills Industrial Automation Award and Corys Electrical Energy Efficiency Award.

EIS CEO, Dean Addie, said the treatment plant utilised unique electrical and automation systems and efficiency management, with their team working hard to provide effective, innovative solutions to their partner, Downer.

“While it’s true that the team involved have delivered a fantastic result for our client, it’s the whole team at EIS that work together to make sure that we do great things. It’s great to receive such high recognition at a national level,”Mr Addie said.

Master Electricians’ Chief Executive, Neville Simpson, said this year just under 60 applications were received for the Awards - a 30% increase on entries from two years ago.

“The Awards highlight skill sets that are out there. It’s also about changing perception; some people just think electricians look at plugs. These days a huge skill set is required­ - far in advance of other trades. We want to highlight how clever some are at designing solutions to problems,” Mr Simpson said.

The biennial Awards, which are run by the Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand, judge applicants on the following criteria: successful application of trade skills, application and use of new products, processes and emerging technologies, use of appropriate commercial and management skills, consideration of energy efficiency in all applications.

The winners are to be announced at the Awards ceremony to be held in Auckland on Friday, August 25.

EIS has partnered with global digital industrial company GE Digital to help their clients become more agile with data-driven resources.

EIS’ Business Development Manager Johnny Mauchline says the partnership, which is the first of its type in New Zealand, will deliver valuable solutions for customers in an industrial setting.

“As time goes on, there is an increasing focus on data and analytics, rather than products. People want to know more than just the end result of whether a process or product is working. Connectivity between devices and products to end users is crucial in order to keep a flow of information and data, and ultimately give clients more control.

“With this partnership, EIS will be able to improve our clients’ business outcomes, help business agility in fast changing times, assist with the transition to becoming more data-driven, all while maintaining a customer focus.”

“With GE Digital, we will be able to help our clients capture huge amounts of data about their operations and processes.”

GE Digital Channel Manager David Berridge says the partnership was about delivering value solutions to customers and helping them through digital transformation. GE Digital quickly realised that they could not undertake true digital transformation on their own. The result is an open-innovation partner ecosystem that spans industrial markets and industrial outcomes. The partnership with EIS will enable industrial companies to rapidly refactor operations, improve existing offerings, bring new data-driven products to market, and innovate with new outcome-based business models.

Get in Touch
For further information and to discuss your requirements contact:
Johnny Mauchline, Business Development Manager
Mobile: 021 2877 323 Email: johnny.mauchline@eis.co.nz

​

By FoodProcessing Staff
Wednesday, 07 September, 2016

The speedy and cost-effective detection of E. coli would be a boon to food and beverage processors everywhere. Most current detection technologies rely on amplification of the bacteria within the sample, which takes anything from several hours to several days, but now researchers have developed a sensor that can deliver results in 15–20 minutes.

Researchers from the Photonics Research Center at the University of Quebec in Outaouais, Canada, under direction of Professor Wojtek J Bock and collaborators from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, have bonded bacteriophages to the surface of an optical fibre. Here, the viruses collect E. coli bacteria from the sample under test and keep them attached. When a beam of light strikes the surface, the presence of E. coli shifts the wavelength, which indicates the level of bacterial contamination.

By changing the bacteriophage, the sensor can be modified to detect other strains of bacteria.

In most circumstances temperature changes also induce wavelength changes, but this problem was circumvented by the addition of an optical component that cancels out temperature-induced shifts in temperature ranges from ambient to 40°C.

Security and Protection International is already collaborating with the researchers with a view to commercialising portable sensors with prices around a few thousand dollars.

The researchers describe the sensor in a paper in the journal Optics Letters, from The Optical Society.

• Share our core company values and passion for delivering quality, results and peace of mind
• Demonstrate proven ability to work in a governance environment
• Have proven experience and success in international growth
• Be willing to add value to our growing business through their skills and contribution

To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV and written references to Tracey Wayte - HR Consultant, email

or phone 021 0833 4633.

​

This new facility reflects our desire to continue to grow our consultancy, projects and operations capability and ensures we provide safe, efficient and sustainable management for many years to come.

The bespoke open-plan design provides increased capacity for a growing automation engineering team while enhancing EIS’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s leading technology employers.

The building was blessed by Michael Skerrett and Te Whare Kura o Arowhenua’s Kapa Haka group performed at the opening.

Construction on the new Onslow Street building is now complete, and we are ready to move into the new space on Thursday 23rd June.

CEO Dean Addie trialled working from the new office space last week and has plenty of positive feedback.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the EIS team grow and collaborate together in the new, modern environment.”

The new building is located at 24 Onslow Street.

Company CEO Dean Addie says the move will give the company room to grow while encouraging the culture of collaboration with the team.

“It’s an exciting time for EIS. A large, modern facility will encourage collaboration and teamwork which is the heart of what we do here,” Dean says.

Construction at the new site is well underway with the ceiling going up this week. We are expecting it to be completed in June.

Read more about the construction progress in this Southland Times article.

Invercargill MP and Trust Deputy Chair Sarah Dowie says the licence is a significant milestone following about two years of negotiations. It is the first time Maritime has become involved with a private organisation to carry out work on an island that they own. Preserving the history and restoring the infrastructure is important, and this is wonderful for the future of the island, which is already uniquely predator-free.

The Trust was established in June 2013 to enable the restoration, conservation and management of Dog Island Motu Piu as an iconic sustainable conservation and tourism destination in Southland. Nine independent Southland business leaders were appointed to the trust, which is a first of its kind in New Zealand since the Department of Conservation restructure, which emphasises relationships between the public and private sectors.

The land is a lighthouse government purpose reserve under the Reserves Act 1977. The island offers great opportunities for eco-tourism and for special interest groups seeking lighthouse history.

Trust Chair Dean Addie says the project is an exciting first for all of New Zealand. It is also a very important initiative for Southland and all the people that have occupied this territory for centuries. It will allow local custodianship of this very important jewel in the Foveaux Strait.

This is a great project for the island, the environment and Southland and the board appreciate that Maritime NZ had the tough task of working through the risks involved but the outcome is just fantastic.

The Trust will soon begin work on its operational plan to restore infrastructure on the island, create a niche tourism attraction, engage the community and provide a potential habitat for endangered species due to the predator free environment on the island.

The board are passionate about continuing the great work Peter Ridsdale has done for the project and are naming the infrastructure restoration project after him.

Due to EIS’ current phase of rapid expansion to meet the needs of their growing client base, we are seeking highly competent and motivated people to fill new roles being created within the company. This represents an outstanding opportunity for the right candidates to join EIS’ unique and rewarding working environment.

EIS are seeking experienced industrial electricians and automation engineers for the following roles:

• Canterbury Manager
• Operations Manager
• Industrial Electrician
• Electrical Team Leader
• Automation Engineer
• Senior Automation Engineer
• MES (GE) Technical Sales
• Electrical Estimator
• HSEQ Manager

For more information on vacancies within EIS check out the Jobs tab of our website!

Gama Projex sets up camps in the jungle by establishing roads and cuttings, drilling holes to install sensors in the ground, letting off sonic charges and process seismic data which they achieve to determine suitability for oil and gas/mining operations. The three employees are all kiwis working in Papua New Guinea; a Project Manager, surveyor and head of Health & Safety.

EIS have sold two UAVs to the company which will be used to fly over areas to record photos and videos from cameras mounted on the aircraft. EIS have also developed weather monitoring equipment for one of the UAVs. It uses a microprocessor to map GPS location, temperature, humidity and altitude. It records these to a micro SD card which the data can be downloaded to excel and google.

The UAVs can fly autonomously using software called Pixhawk. This allows an operator to plot positions and then have the UAV fly this course by itself. If it gets lost it climbs up to find the signal or if unsuccessful will fly home.

EIS look forward to working with Gama Projex on further projects in Papua New Guinea.

The newcomers, from Australia, Pakistan, Sudan, Papua New Guinea and France, collectively bring more than 70 years’ experience and 17 family members with them.

Check out the feature in the latest Business South about our growing team!

EIS have chosen to donate our Christmas gift budget to two very deserving charities, the 1,000 Days Trust and Salvation Army Adopt a Family.

Our offices will be closed from 23rd December and reopen on 18th January - we look forward to seeing you in 2016!

The new core values are hung proudly on the office walls and it has been emphasised to the team the importance of constantly using the core values as the things that underpin every decision and action made by each staff member.

​As part of the new vision EIS have created a “People’s Choice Awards” to be held weekly and commend staff members for using the core values in their daily activities. The two awards up for grabs are the Shiny Pebble Award - ‘You Rock’ and the Hedgehog Award - You’re Awesome Every Day.

If the values are used within every conversation and interaction, and the focus is maintained, then the 2020 vision will be attainable and achieved as a team.

The new comers, from Australia, Pakistan, Sudan, Papua New Guinea and France, collectively bring more than 70 years’ experience and 17 family members with them.

Chief executive Dean Addie notes the combination of new expertise and culture has added as much to the company’s team environment as it has to the community.

“Our primary focus has always been our people, they are our number one asset. We are also largely supportive of the Invercargill and Southland community, so it’s been great to welcome these talented individuals and their families,” Dean said.

Senior Project Engineer Muhammad Zeeshan joined EIS with vast experience working as a commissioning and technical engineer and manager in USA, Dubai, Pakistan and Yemen. In 2012 and 2013 he successfully led engineering team projects for Pakistan’s largest oil and gas exploration company and largest oil and gas refinery. His experience also spans project engineer work for international food giant Nestle and the Dubai Metro system.

Muhammad says he is enjoying his new challenges at EIS as much as he and his family are enjoying the Southland lifestyle. “The range of projects EIS work on is amazing, we are never short of a challenge and that is how I work best. Sometimes the cold weather can be a bit of a shock, but my family and I love it here. The pace of life is very relaxing and the people are very friendly, we like to explore the natural beauty of New Zealand and travel to places such as Milford Sound and Coronet Peak as my children love to play in the snow,” he said.

Senior Control Systems Engineer Sylvain Farcy joined EIS in June bringing specialist skills in industrial machine design, manufacturing and programming. He made the move from France and says his family are not far behind. “It’s a great opportunity for us, both for work and for the children. We are very glad to have the chance to provide our children with the opportunities that come with the highly regarded schooling system here, so after the French summer my wife and children are relocating to Invercargill too,” Sylvain said.

Engineering Manager Brent Webster admits it is a great feeling having such a vast range of credentials and experience within his team. “We have had a rapid growth in engineers and are actively recruiting for further graduate and senior engineers. It’s a great sign of the times for EIS and the industries we work with, and as a manager it’s nice to be genuinely proud of the entire team, knowing they can provide the best services to our clients,” Brent said.

Sound like you? Apply online here

Sound like you? Apply online here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr9axp_EFTI

NZM: How is your company finding business at present?

Dean Addie: Business is going really well, we have been operating for nearly 20 years now and seen many positive changes over the years. The first 10 years saw us surviving and thriving as a typical Kiwi business with a good reliable client base and a small but efficient team. Then, 10 years ago, our industry began to face major regulatory and technological challenges, so we reviewed how we operated. That’s when we identified automation and electrical engineering as a key driver and turned our focus to advancing the technological side of our business. Now we have more than 50 staff and have had an average year on year growth of 20 percent over the last five years, and with all the sectors and markets we work in going extremely well, the innovations of our engineering and technology are set to lead us into a bright future.

NZM: How important is innovation to your business?

Dean Addie: Our work can be divided into three main areas -projects, consultation and operations, and for each of these areas innovation is of upmost importance. Technology is constantly changing, so innovation is critical - it drives success. It may sound trite, but we really believe in continual improvement and that tomorrow we will frown upon our business practices of today. Agility, openness and curiosity are key attributes to possess and our ability to innovate hinges on these attributes. We believe in innovative business models and enabling and fostering an innovative culture.

NZM: Where do you do business?

Dean Addie: As we provide solutions to businesses and partners in the industrial sector, we have a very widespread market. We work mostly with businesses up and down the country, but have also delivered projects to companies in Saudi Arabia, Canada and Australia.

NZM: Where are your future markets?

Dean Addie: No matter where we are working or for what sector, we aim to help our clients achieve greater efficiencies and ultimately increase their profitability. Our projects span local dairy companies to a desert-based dairy farm in Saudi Arabia and a robotic project Canada - so when you look at it our future possibilities are endless, but what I can foresee is EIS becoming global food and beverage experts.

NZM: What is your focus for the next 12 months?

Dean Addie: Our primary focus is always our people and their health and safety, so they remain imperative along with our focus on innovation and technology. However, the near future also sees us heading into some structural changes in order to make room for the growth that’s coming. Essentially it means an improved management structure, a bespoke facility and national acquisitions to come, so as we head into our 20th year next year it’s looking set to be our biggest one yet.

NZM: Tell us more about the importance of health and safety in your industry?

Dean Addie: We operate in multiple significant hazard sites, so health and safety is the driving force behind everything we do. We believe that looking after our people and ensuring they are in an environment that allows them to return home safe every day is the most import thing you can do in business. We punch above our weight and remain a step ahead of the regulators, so for us when it comes to TRIFR (Total Recordable Injuries Frequency Rate) and LTI (Lost Time Injury) it’s not about measure, it’s about culture and getting the results. We absolutely believe that zero harm is attainable, so the best result for us is no one ever getting hurt. Our results to date have been made possible by constant education, continual improvement and engaging our team. We do however live in a constant state of worry that we are not doing it well enough, but that’s important as it reminds us that we need to keep improving. We also work passionately with other businesses to help them attain the same culture. Health and safety knowledge is one thing that should be shared with everyone. I deliver governance, executive and frontline engagement talks all over the country and our team assist others with operational training and procedural improvements.

NZM: What is the best piece of business advice you can offer?

Dean Addie: I believe you have to look after your people first, so the best advice I can give is to engage and empower your people. Follow the circle of business. Care for and train your people, as it’s your people who look after your clients and when your clients are well looked after they pay your business money, allowing your business to operate as a great corporate citizen, which in turn allows you to care for and train more people, who can look after more clients – and so it goes on.

NZM: What are your business values?

Dean Addie: Shared values, kept promises and positive personal statements are all an important part of who we are at EIS, but to me, personal integrity stands above the rest. In order to keep EIS’ integrity we adhere to three key ideals, firstly, people are our number one asset. Secondly, always give clients what we told them we would, when we told them we would, the way we told them we would and for the dollars we said we would. And lastly, always do the right thing – no matter the cost.

NZM: What is your favourite quote?

Dean Addie: There are so many great inspirational quotes out there, but my favourite has to be the Maori proverb – He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! - it translates to “What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!”.

NZM: What are your favourite business books?

Dean Addie: I read about four books a month on business and life, whether it’s a traditional book, audio book or on my kindle. I believe leaders are readers and leaders are teachers, so it is very important that we take what we learn and we teach it to others. My two favourites are Oh, the places you’ll go! by Dr. Seuss (I think that’s one of the best books ever written about how to succeed) and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (I read that about once a year). Two of my favourite places to go for great books and information are www.audible.com and www.summary.com.

To view the edition of NZ Manufacturer publication that features this article click here.

We hosted a mihi to welcome the new owners and investors of the sheep milk company to the region, which included an official Maori welcome from Te Wharekura O Arowhenua School senior teacher Gary Davis and kapa haka performances from his students.

As a long time business partner of Blue River Dairy, we planned the initiative to further strengthen the relationship, to help ensure they felt welcome to the region and to offer a small insight into the Kiwi culture.

A tour of our premises and the chance for staff from both companies to meet followed the mihi before the guests were served up a typical Kiwi morning tea, complete with Southland’s famous cheese rolls!

We believe in the Maori proverb ‘He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!’ It translates to ‘What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people! That’s why this year we are delighted to help more people than ever before by providing continued support to many of our longstanding causes while aligning ourselves with a number of new ones.

EIS proudly support:

Family & Community
Salvation Army – Adopt-a-Family
FYD Southland
Invercargill Sunrise Rotary
Ronald McDonald House – South Island

Sport & Recreation
Bradley Knipe, Cycling
Brayden Holland, Mountain Biking
Hayden Sims, Motorsport
Southland Fly Fishing Club
Steve Heffernan, Motorsport
Te Ara O Kiwa Sea Scouts

Arts & Innovation

EIS Technology Challenge
Invercargill Musical Theatre Inc
Southland Entertainment Awards

An experienced chartered accountant and business advisor, Paul is a Principal in the Business Advisory team of Crowe Horwath NZ where he specialises in strategy, planning and governance. Paul is also an accomplished coach and facilitator, certified in the use of Edward de Bono’s Creative Thinking Tools and to teach Franklin Coveys ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. He is actively involved in the business community with board roles including Trustee of the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust and as Chairman of the Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust. When he is not working Paul is a family man with a love for his Harley-Davidson, photography, fishing and food and wine.

As a confident and experienced director, Paul looks forward to helping EIS continue to grow as a successful engineering, automation and electrical company. He believes the key to running a successful business is all about making the right decisions at the right time.

“Having someone with experience who can explain things in plain language while helping with those important decisions is invaluable. The chance to do this for a forward thinking company like EIS is an opportunity I’m really looking forward to,” he said.

EIS CEO Dean Addie sees the appointment as a reflection of the success of the company. “This is an exciting time for the team at EIS and I am looking forward to working with Paul and the rest of the Board as we work through a period of growth,” Mr Addie said.

In this role you will be estimating electrical and automation process control projects for key industrial clients. You will also self drive your training and career development pathway and work as part of engaged and self managing project teams of industrial electricians and process control engineers.

Key Responsibilities and Functions:

• Read, evaluate and comprehend scope of works
• Arrange and prepare tenders for internal approval and complete final tender to submission stage as required
• Be accountable for assigned tenders to ensure all are completed in a timely manner, to budget, to EIS and client expectations
• Maintain professional relationship with suppliers and subcontractors to obtain pricing and products for tender submission as well as to keep up to date with new products
• Actively engage and participate and support HSEQ principles and culture

Skills

• Preferable knowledge of electrical design and industrial electrical/automation projects
• Presentable with good client relationship skills
• Microsoft/Outlook/Excel/Word experience or basic computer skills
• Comprehensive understanding of quantifying and costing
• Ability to interpret P&ID’s and electrical drawings
• Appropriate NZQA qualifications e.g. quantity surveying, electrical, automation
• Minimum 2-3 years of experience preferred

Sound like you? Apply online now!

The Invercargill rider was the youngest in the field at the New Zealand Solo Championship in Christchurch on 3rd January, but that didn’t faze him at all. His confidence was boosted first up with a win over nine times New Zealand champion Jason Bunyan. This top form continued and Hayden was soon through to the semi-final after being the only unbeaten rider in the heats. Second place in the semi-final was enough to see Hayden through to the final where he placed second overall and finished the championship as the top New Zealand born rider.

On 11th January Hayden then took to the field at Rosebank Speedway in Auckland for the New Zealand Solo GP Championship where he placed second in the semi-final and third in the final.

Congratulations to Hayden and his support team. We wish you all the best for your upcoming trip to UK/Europe with the American Touring Racing Team and look forward to hearing of more pleasing results.

The talented young rider has continued to improve remarkably on the track this year following a four month rehabilitation period after a lucky escape at Oreti Park Speedway in January. Having put the incident behind him, Hayden now has a UK tour to look forward to in early 2015 as part of the American Touring Racing Team. The team will also compete in a tournament in Sweden while overseas. We wish Hayden all the best for the tour and look forward to continuing our support and following his progress in the year to come.

Our ideal candidate will:

- Share our core company values and passion for delivering quality, results and peace of mind

- Demonstrate proven ability to work in a governance environment

- Be willing to add value to our growing business through their skills and contribution

To apply:

Please submit a cover letter, CV and written references to Tracey Wayte at Progressive Consulting, email twayte@wearehr.co.nz or phone 03 211 0152.

Applications close 19 January 2014.

Applications will be reviewed by the board of directors and short-listed applicants will be interviewed by a board-sub-committee.

The successful candidate will be appointed for an initial period of 12 months and will be expected to attend 10 board meetings during the year.

VIDEO: Watch footage from Jon’s head-cam and hear Jon speak about his spill at the Bluff Hill Climb.

This is an industry-leading safety record and is testament to the whole team’s commitment to maintaining our “zero harm – home safe” culture.

The actions we all take on a daily basis to identify and mitigate hazards in our work sites and projects are working to ensure everyone goes home safe and healthy at the end of every day.

Keep up the great work! It truly is a privilege to work with such engaged people.

We are excited to be taking part in this and we are looking to fill positions for the following:

Industrial Electrician, Control Systems Engineer, Automation Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Food Process Engineer, Project Estimator and Project Manager.

Here’s your chance to work for an award winning progressive company in New Zealand.

Visit www.workingin-newzealand.com for more information about the Expo or if you are interested in working with us, please get in touch.

Hope to see you there!

Our ideal candidate will have:

Strong interpersonal and written communication skills

Leadership and management experience

A high level of initiative and a pro-active approach to problem solving

Sound administration and computer skills

Excellent time management, planning and organisational skills

A high standard of personal integrity and values that align with those of our company

An interest in health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) and a desire to grow their skills in this area (previous experience is not essential)

As HSEQ/HR Co-Ordinator your role will include:

Maintaining the company’s HSEQ and HR systems, processes and procedures, and the continuous improvement of these

Facilitatomg employee participation in our HSEQ systems and promoting them to all staff, ensuring we maintain a strong HSEQ culture

Mentoring and training staff to ensure our HSEQ procedures are understood

Developing and maintaining strong working relationships with our clients, ensuring that our HSEQ systems are enabling us to deliver services that exceed their expectations

Managing relationships with auditors, ensuring our HSEQ accreditations are maintained

Keeping up to date with changes and trends in the international HSEQ business environment and making recommendations to the executive team as to how these should be integrated into our HSEQ systems

Preparation and maintenance of all documentation and reporting for HSEQ and HR functions

Assisting with HR processes including preparation of employment documentation, sub-contractor management, inductions and recruitment and training of new staff

Ongoing training and development opportunities will be provided

This is a full time position based in our Invercargill office but you won’t be sitting at a desk all day – you’ll be attending our project sites and may be required to travel nationally or internationally from time to time.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Email your CV and cover letter to jobs@eis.co.nz

On his return, Justin popped into EIS to say thank you and presented us with a bound book of photos from his time away, citing he has come back a more confident young man with new leadership qualities and lots of new friends.

“Health and safety practices within EIS are ‘business as usual’ and functioning at every level. EIS demonstrate a clear direction, with safe solutions and innovation that can lead to a strong total workplace culture of care and responsibility,” Garth said.

Reaching nearly 12 years lost time incident free was just one of the achievements that helped EIS land the ACC Workplace Safety Award at the Westpac Southland Business Excellence Awards in Invercargill earlier this month.

EIS CEO Dean Addie believes the award is the result of good governance, leadership, management, empowerment and team engagement.

“We monitor leading and lagging indicators to continually effect change in our organisation. Phil is responsible for implementing our health, safety, environment and quality framework and champions the workplace culture around it. He has the whole team highly involved on many levels, it really works,” Dean said.

EIS HSEQ Manager Phil Botting was thrilled with the award and believes that continual improvement, education and research are essential to success in health and safety.

An internal group of EIS staff called the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Improvement Team (HSEQIT) meet monthly with the mandate to filter improvement ideas from the rest of the team and to be the conduit for continual improvement.

“Having the group has been very beneficial and the team has developed procedures and improvements that have been adopted into our business,” Phil said.

EIS also specialises in machine safety and assesses to AS4024. They have maintained ACC WSMP Tertiary accreditation since the programme’s inception and in 2011 won an award at the prestigious New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards.

“At EIS we believe that identifying hazards and reporting incidents are heroic acts. All incidents are reported, fully investigated and discussed with our team with a focus on avoiding a similar occurrence.

“We believe all injuries are preventable and zero harm is achievable. We do everything we possibly can to ensure that all stakeholders are safe,” Phil said.

As one of the judges for the ACC workplace award, Garth was highly impressed with the systems and processes EIS had in place around their safety culture.

“Safety culture begins with senior management leading by example. EIS’ commitment to health and safety is very real and involves staff throughout the organisation.”

He said the judges were also very impressed with EIS’ commitment to sustainability, another area where EIS are viewed as an industry leader. Their commitment to environmental sustainability has been recognised by achieving diamond status, the highest level of certification from Enviromark.

“We carefully plan our operations and put procedures in place to maximise the positive impacts that we make, and to eliminate or minimise any negative impacts,” Phil said.

For the years to come, Garth believes EIS has set a great benchmark for the ACC Workplace Safety award.

“EIS sets a high standard that lights the way for entries in the future and that commitment to safety is as relevant for small and medium sized companies as it is for larger corporates,” he said.

While EIS was duly recognised for its outstanding success in the field of health and safety at the awards, it was also named overall Supreme Business of the Year and was a finalist in the Sustainability category.

EIS was named Supreme Business of the Year, Business of the Year 15 FTE Plus, received the ACC Work Place Safety award and was a finalist in the Business Sustainability category.

Head judge Warrick Low said other stand out facets for EIS included adoption and innovation of business operations and management, and a holistic business planning and living strategy that celebrates its stakeholders.

“EIS has fulfilled the idea of business excellence, where excellence and improvement are on-going targets for every element of the organisation,” Warrick said.

EIS CEO Dean Addie was honoured to accept the supreme award on behalf of the company in front of about 250 people at the Ascot Park Hotel.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the results. As a team we work hard to create and follow the processes required to run smoothly and deliver quality, results and peace of mind to our clients. Internally we know we have the right systems in place and we continually work to improve them and strive to exceed our clients’ expectations. It’s great for that hard work to be recognised from the outside and by the business community,” Dean said.

Dean believes that great people are the key to any successful business.

“As far as EIS is concerned, it is all about the people. He aha te mea nui o tea o? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! [what is the most important thing? It is people! It is people! It is people!]. EIS has great people and together we have our heads on the clouds but our feet firmly planted on the ground. That is what makes a great Southland business,” he said.

The Westpac Southland Business Excellence Awards are a showcase of the region’s business talent and capability and a platform for paying tribute to those building the local economy and community.

Thirty entries were received across eight award categories. Each entry was judged against a criteria consisting of individual sections; leadership, planning, customer focus, quality and systems, people management, environment sustainability, innovation, community and industry contribution and business performance.

The supreme award was selected from the finalists in all categories, made to the business that demonstrated the highest overall level of business excellence. Warrick believes EIS was a great example of a business not defined by the industry and that had made its own place in the global market. He noted highlights from EIS’ entry including an impressive safety record and a 20 percent growth for the past five years.

“Business excellence is about how you structure and manage your business. We were looking for an outstanding business that showed a deep understanding of the business market, was achieving its goals and was looking to make improvements. EIS fulfilled the criteria, it demonstrated a future-focused approach ranging from management and development of its team and clients to setting goals and fiscal control,” Warrick said.

Dean noticed that the popularity of the trendy mode of transport for St Theresa’s School children had grown into a significant cloakroom hazard. In true engineer fashion, and with the best interest of the children’s health and safety in mind, he jumped into innovative solution mode.

After spending lots of time looking into potential options, Dean eventually found an affordable solution in wooden scooter stands.

He rallied the financial support of five other local businesses to help purchase the stands and before long, six stands (enough to hold 90 scooters) were kindly donated to the school.

To help the pupils with understanding the underlying health and safety message, Dean took the opportunity demonstrate some skills in project management and implementation and showed them how to manage hazards.

Selected pupils took part in the project, helping with the physical installation of the stands and putting to the test their own on-site hazard evaluation; reflector vests, safety glasses and all.

Principal, John Lieshout is thrilled with the initiative and the outcome, which he believes was beneficial exercise with the children and has made a huge difference to the school cloakroom and locker area.

EIS designers and control system engineers started researching and developing the system in July last year, when Skyline Director Bill Walker came to us looking for a solution to make this latest luging operation more efficient and safer for their staff to operate.

The system that employs two unique robots specifically designed for the Calgary luge. One robot loads the luge carts onto the chairlift from the bottom of the run, while the other unloads them 100 metres up, at the top of the 1.6km track.

Having the robots in place means there is no need for Skyline employees to lift the 30kg carts by hand, thus avoiding the injury risk associated with such heavy lifting.

As part of the design process, EIS collaborated with local mechanical engineers JK’s & WBE to manufacture a prototype which they used to perform robotic testing in Invercargill, before the design headed offshore to be manufactured and commissioned in Calgary.

The most important consideration for this project was health and safety.

Most robotic automation systems are used in confined spaces with trained staff. With this though, we had to remember that the system would be outside, in a public domain with hundreds of people coming and going nearby.

As well as providing the system design and automation software, EIS facilitated and liaised with subcontractors in Calgary to construct and install the robots. Once installation was complete, Brent travelled to Calgary to perform on-site safety verification testing, before the attraction opened to the public for the 2013 summer season.

Unlike Peter’s initiative the reality is most organisations haven’t assessed their lighting in a very long time, if ever, and the system you have is probably wasting a lot more energy than you think. Peter had the foresight to get an energy audit of the hotel a few years back, and he’s been reaping the rewards ever since. Their energy audit found that lighting was one of the top areas where energy could be saved, with easily achieved savings of about $1,000 a month. Changing their lighting was fast and effective, with minimal disruption, and the savings have been mounting up ever since.

To help businesses assess their lighting, EIS have launched their new Lighting Audit service. Our Lighting Audit is a fast, effective process that will check your lighting system/s, calculate savings that can be made in each area, and let you know the payback on investment of any implementations recommended. The lighting options that we suggest will probably be a lot smarter than your existing setup, and therefore take away the element of human error, as well as replace inefficient lighting with technology that lasts longer and needs less maintenance.

And, if you act quickly, we may also be able to offer a you a subsidy. This is because EIS is an approved programme provider with EECA which means that our audits, and the capital costs of implementing our energy saving recommendations, may be eligible for a 1/3 subsidy, which we can arrange for you.

The longer you wait, the more energy (and money) you’ll be wasting on a daily basis. So why not take action right now? We’re just a phone call (or email) away.

For more information on Lighting Audits, or to book an audit, phone Nathan at EIS Energy on 027 555 8715 or email: lighting@eisenergy.co.nz