Many standards were first created during the Industrial Revolution, bringing consistency and dependability during a time of rapid industrialisation. This pace has only become faster and harder to keep up with. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution with the physical and digital worlds colliding, standards are more valuable than ever before.

Industry 4.0 is impacting every industry and every country in the world. Earlier this month we held a number of events in our office that demonstrated this. Topics included artificial intelligence, grid cyber security, digital trade and hydrogen as an important energy source. Although these areas all differ, they share the potential for advanced manufacturing as well as standards to provide solutions.

This theme travelled with me to the IEC General Meeting hosted last week in Busan in South Korea where we looked at how Industry 4.0 and other technologies play a role in smart cities and sustainable societies. As a standards development community we discussed how we can do better and more in our increasingly digital world.

These conversations are very similar to ours at Standards Australia as we progress with the implementation of our technical governance review. We are both focused on making it easier to contribute while ensuring robust and simple processes.

To make sure you stay up to date on our transformation projects, we are publishing a quarterly report on our website. This report provides a brief update on all of the current initiatives that together will deliver more strategic, open and proactive processes.

‍—Dr Bronwyn Evans, CEO

Standards Australia’s 2018 Annual Review is now available on our website. Here you will find the milestones, contributions, production numbers of the last 12 months, together with our financial report for the last financial year.

A soft copy is available from our website (PDF).

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Our Technical Governance Review (TGR) Implementation Plan for FY2019 (PDF) highlighted a number of deliverables throughout the four quarters of 2018-2019. Progress is well underway on many of the initiatives, which can be tracked through a Quarterly Report available on our website.

Committee Chair Policy
The role of Committee Chair was identified as an important variable for committee effectiveness. Standards Australia proposes changes to the Committee Chair policy, relating to:

• Formalising appointment and management of tenure;
• Establishing the concept of Chair-elect to ensure appropriate succession planning;
• Implementing a mechanism for ongoing monitoring of Chairs’ performance by SA’s Production Management Group (PMG).

Following the Standards Development and Accreditation Committee’s (SDAC) review of the proposed new policy in November 2018, changes to the relevant standardisation guides will be submitted for a round of public consultation and communicated to Chairs, Nominating Organisations and Committee Members.

It is intended the new policy will come in force from January 2019, with a staggered approach across committees to ensure an orderly transition.

Project Selection Update
The TGR also highlighted the need for a more streamlined and ongoing proposal process. As such, SDAC has approved a move to a monthly proposal cycle, as opposed to the current 6 monthly intake.

From January 2019, proponents will be able to submit proposals at any given time. Project proposals will be assessed on a monthly basis by PMG. The proposal requirements will remain unchanged.

More information on the new process will be made available in November 2018.

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Jeff Connolly is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Siemens group in the Australia Pacific region. Jeff's 30 year career in Siemens has given him direct involvement in all areas of the Siemens portfolio as well as broad intercultural business experiences throughout Australia, Europe and Asia.

‍Standards Australia: How do you answer people who ask what Industry 4.0 is?

‍Jeff Connolly: Technology developments have led to a series of industrial revolutions. We’ve been on a journey to the fourth industrial revolution where the ultimate outcome will be what we call ‘batch of one’. This is where a unique product is produced in a mass production environment. But usually relatable everyday examples which highlight aspects of Industry 4.0 are the most powerful way to connect people to the concept. Building a digital twin of Callaway golf clubs means they can rapidly prototype and test everything from swing speed to vibration all on a computer before making anything. In this way they can bring new sets of clubs to market in months instead of years. Using a digital avatar you can inspect a 3D oil and gas platform from the comfort of your living room. In our electronics and automation facility in Amberg, Germany, the products talk to the production line and adjust in real time.  From just outside of Munich our data analysts are able to predictively maintain fast trains in Moscow and guarantee availability 99.8% of the time. These are just a few of the many examples.

‍SA: Have you seen much change brought about by Industry 4.0?

‍JC: When we started talking about Industry 4.0, it felt like nobody else in Australia had even heard of it. Today the awareness is much higher and all governments are embracing the concept. We established the Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce with very high profile representatives and signed an international collaboration agreement with Germany – one of only a handful in the world. This is now called the Industry 4.0 Forum and is housed within the bi-partisan Australian Industry Group. Everyone from the Chief Scientists to the various industry and manufacturing ministers and many educational institutions all have Industry 4.0 high on their agendas now. It’s important to understand that Industry 4.0 is much more than technology. It’s about a whole of society change. For example, we’re working with five Australian universities to provide high-end industrial software into their curriculums – so far we’ve granted software in Australia in excess of $1 billion in commercial value. And we established the first Industry 4.0 advanced apprenticeship program – a unique vocational education program we hope to see rolled out across Australia. The universities and TAFEs are embracing the change and I’m confident that industry collaboration, especially on Industry 4.0, will continue to grow in Australia, because a siloed approach simply doesn’t work in this future world.

‍SA: Do you think standards are going to help drive Industry 4.0 forward?

‍JC: When I started talking about Industry 4.0, I emphasised that Australia needed to develop the skills to use tools such as the latest industrial automation and software, and needed to adopt global standards rather than thinking we are so special that we need to have our own. On the flip side this also means contributing our standards expertise into the global community. It’s been great to see how Standards Australia has been able to do this – connecting to Germany’s standards bodies and really being part of a global movement towards a better approach to digital and Industry 4.0 standards. Standards are particularly important if you want to participate in global value chains. You see this in all types of industries but the defence industry is a great example. If you take the US defence projects, there are approximately $700 billion worth of projects that require Siemens Teamcenter software for engineering collaboration.

‍SA: Is the growing use of new technologies a good thing for Australian industry?

‍JC: Australian industry has an incredible opportunity as we enter the fourth industrial revolution. Over the last several years, a major complaint of Australian industry, particularly manufacturing, was that our cost of labour and our high dollar made it very difficult to compete against low cost Asian countries. The pendulum is swinging the other way now. The high value part of manufacturing often attracts a global price anyway. And when you have highly automated and digitalised factories, the cost of labour becomes a far less significant part of the cost equation. This means that ingenuity becomes the competitive advantage and this is something I believe Australian companies have trucks loads of. Our pioneering spirit means that we have by necessity become naturally ingenious in problem solving. With the right tools, standards and skills there is nothing holding us back from a very successful future. And this future isn’t restricted to large companies. I’m seeing companies like Firewire Surfboards become global—essentially a surfing start-up out of Western Australia that has radically changed the industry by adopting digitalisation. The customer can now make a digital twin of their board, designed just for them, before being mass produced. Another example is Dulux Australia’s paperless manufacturing facility in Victoria. This is world’s best practice digitalisation and automation for process industries. They have far greater control and flexibility in making paint faster and have taken out 75,000 manual steps compared to traditional manufacturing. There are many other great Australian examples that show pockets of excellence and represent Industry 4.0.

As countries right across the globe acknowledge the benefits of standards, on World Standards Day 2018 (14 October), the positive impact of Industry 4.0 is the international example being used to show how significant standards will continue to be into the future.

Learn more about Industry 4.0, the theme of this year’s World Standards Day, on our website or by watching this video.

Standards Australia is seeking experts for two new and exciting projects being managed by the Incubator. One project relates to building commissioning and the other relates to the thermal performance of buildings.

To learn more about the projects and how to get involved, visit our website.

AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, has been published following discussions with industry and regulators across Australia and New Zealand.

Learn more on our website.

CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans dives into the world of artificial intelligence and what it means for the world of standards.

Standards Australia represents Australia on the two major international standards development bodies, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Our activities are reported on our International Updates page.Highlights from October (PDF):

• WTO Report 2018 highlights transformative impact of digital technologies on trade
• Establishment of Technical Committee ISO/TC 322 – Sustainable Finance
• Australians recognised for exceptional contributions with 1906 Award

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Access the latest standards development news in your industry sector via our Sectors page.

The public comment process provides an opportunity for stakeholders and members of the public to make valuable contributions. View draft standards currently open for comment.

Responsible Wood announces the commencement of the 5 yearly review of AS 4708, Sustainable Forest Management – Economic, social, environmental and cultural criteria and requirements.

The review will be undertaken in conjunction with Standards New Zealand to develop a joint Australian/New Zealand Standard suitable for delivering sustainable forest management in both countries.

Responsible Wood is inviting interested organisations in the following categories to nominate candidates for the AS/NZS 4708 Standards Reference Committee and Working Groups.

• Forest Growers
• Business and Industry
• Indigenous people
• Non-Government Organisations
• Scientific and Technology Community
• Workers and Trade Unions
• Local Authorities

For further information, to nominate or to lodge an expression of Interest please contact:

Simon Dorries at Responsible Wood
by email sdorries@responsiblewood.org.au
or by phone 07 3359 1758
or Standards Review
PO Box 768, New Farm, Qld 4005.

Further information on the project and scope is available on the Responsible Wood website (PDF).

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