Tiwai Pointer

Thank you for your contribution during a very busy 2017 and now with Christmas nearly here there are a number of reasons to celebrate.  One of which has to be the uplift in aluminium prices with the LME tracking at over US$2,000/tonne for most of the second half of this year.  Unfortunately this was followed by large increases in alumina, pitch and coke so the gains are offset by these input costs.  Still it is good to see demand for metal strong and growing and a rally in prices after historic and prolonged lows.

We are forecast to deliver over $39 million of improvement projects by year end, which is a great result, and I have been delighted that our ‘critical few’ projects have received full site focus and support.

During the year we have also focussed on growing the revenue streams in the foundry, billet and high purity markets, and improving site safety performance. 

For most of the year we were tracking well with safety, however our performance has deteriorated significantly since October.  To date we have had seven recordable injuries - this is seven too many and we can (and must) do better.  We will continue to focus on critical risks and controls in 2018.  I firmly

believe we can reach our goal of zero injuries and incidents, but we all need to work together to make this a reality.

Innovation at NZAS was supported by $15 million from the Callaghan Institute for Research and Development (R&D).  Our key R&D projects are long life, low energy cells, and sensible automation.  We will receive $5 million each year for the next three years to support this work.

We will host the Electricity Authority Board in the New Year and the Chair remains committed to reforming the Transmission Pricing Methodology, which means there is still hope for NZAS to get some relief from very high transmission costs.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank you again for all of your hard work during 2017 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I do hope you have some relaxation and fun over the holiday period with your family and friends.  This time of year provides the strongest reminder of the primary reason we must stay safe at work - so that we can enjoy spending time with our loved ones.

Gretta

This year we have delivered an exceptional and record breaking $39 million in savings through Business Improvement (BI) initiatives.  Since 2012 we have exceeded $30 million each year which is an outstanding achievement.  Well done to the NZAS team!

This quarter we congratulate this year’s nine certified Green Belts - Dale Forbes (Cost Engineering), Allan Meikle (Carbon Rodding), Debbie Rankin (Training), Vivi Hitchcock (HSE), Lucinda Burrows (Cathode & Reconstruction), Gareth Wishart (Business

Improvement), Stefan Kitshoff (Metallurgy), Nadine Hancock (HR) and Mike Fraser (CCG).

To become a Green Belt, trainees must complete two weeks of classroom training and complete two projects using the Six Sigma process.  The classroom training was held in September 2016 and trainees were assigned Black Belt coaches to support them through their projects.

Lean Six Sigma is a fact-based, data-driven philosophy of improvement that drives customer satisfaction and bottom-line results by reducing variation, waste and

cycle time, while promoting the use of work standardisation and flow, thereby creating a competitive advantage.  Lean-Six Sigma applies anywhere waste exists, and this philosophy is at the heart of NZAS’ Business Improvement success.

This year 45 projects have been completed compared to 30 in 2016.  Our programme also delivered an extra $6 million in value, with an additional 31% of BI team resourcing (or 1.5 FTEs) assisting with site safety projects during 2017.

Hearing in person that our Ultra High Purity (UHP) customers hold our metal in high regard was a highlight for Sreeraj Balachandran (Superintendent UHP Capability) during his visit to Japan.

Along with representatives from Sales & Marketing, Sreeraj met with Sumitomo Chemicals, UACJ Nagoya and Fukui, Showa Denko, Kobe Steel and NLM.

“It was a great pleasure to visit our UHP customers to inform them of the projects we are undertaking to improve our UHP production.  They like doing business with us and value our commitment and ongoing support to supply high quality metal.  It was also an invaluable experience to see how their businesses operate,” said Sreeraj.

NZAS is one of only two smelters in the world producing UHP aluminium and the only one using renewable energy to do so.

The White Ribbon campaign aims to end men’s violence towards women by encouraging men to lead by example and talk to other men.  This year, for the first time, NZAS held two White Ribbon events on site.

White ribbons and cookies were handed out by a number of our Family Violence Champions over morning shift change.  The White Ribbon film ‘Raise your Men’ was also screened during lunchtime.

Of course we realise that family violence is not just against women, it can be against men and children too.  Family violence takes many forms – it is not just physical, it can be psychological, sexual, financial and verbal behaviour used to control someone through fear.  Violence in any form is not ok.

Last year nearly 120,000 family violence incidents were investigated by the New Zealand Police – that is almost 330 every day!  What makes these statistics even more shocking is that an estimated 76% of family violence incidents are not reported.

Our community has recently been rocked by a tragedy that demonstrates the horror that domestic violence can inflict on the innocent.  New Zealand has the highest rate of domestic violence in the developed world and it is more important now than ever that we talk about this issue and make sure we can all work together to prevent another innocent person losing their life or suffering harm they do not deserve.

NZAS is committed to providing a safe and supportive workplace, and fostering violence-free families.

Welcome to Maurice Schneider from Tomago, who has recently started a one year secondment as Manager of the Carbon Products & Business Improvement Department. 

Maurice has been joined in Invercargill by his wife Lorelle, and with their children already having left home, coming to NZAS was an opportunity they couldn’t turn down.

Maurice has significant experience in the aluminium industry having started his career as a graduate engineer at BSL, worked on the Yarwun Refinery project and start-up and has also spent time at Weipa.  His most recent role at Tomago was Maintenance Manager.

So far Maurice has some great impressions of living in Southland, “The people are awesome here, amongst the friendliest and open we have come across anywhere,” he said.

He thinks Queens Park is an absolute gem, however the weather will take a bit of getting used to as he likens the Invercargill summer to a Newcastle winter.  Lucky Maurice has chosen to come this year as so far (touch wood) this summer has been amazing (by Southland standards anyway!).

During his twelve months in New Zealand Maurice plans to make the most of his time enjoying the southern hospitality, food, scenery and fishing.

Innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any organisation.  The final round of the NZAS Innovation Awards for 2017 has proved yet again, that our team members are continuing to come up with great improvements to help save both time and money.

Congratulations to our winners:

Health, Safety & Environment – Peter Debono with Brady Mason & Roy Poutasi (Line 2 C1); Tim Burns, Allan Todd & Niki Whaanga (Line 2 C3) - Scribe gauge tool

A scribe gauge tool is used to put a reference mark onto anode rods. 

Peter Debono designed a new scribe gauge tool at home and the workshops constructed it.  The new tool is much lighter and has removed the need to stand right beside the block (exposure to heat) for long periods.  Additional tools are being made and will be rolled out to the other lines.  The tool has cost only $370 to fabricate, however both teams put in significant time and effort to come up with the final design.

Cost – Gerry Forde (Reduction), Bernie Carter (Reduction Support) & Dave Brett (Cell Repair) - Reduction cell cooling pipes

Air movers are used to cool the shell of new cells.  This cooling facilitates the forming of a frozen ledge on the walls inside the cell.  Traditional air mover heads consume large amounts of compressed air, require regular maintenance and can be very noisy to operate. 

The new design cooling pipes use approximately 80% less air than the traditional design.  The power savings from the reduced air consumption equates to around $110k per annum.  Testing has showed that the new design is also considerably more quiet.  These pipes are easy to install and require little maintenance.

Living the Values – Doug Ronald (Green & Bake Carbon) & Kim Watters (Analytical & Monitoring Services) - The Alchemists – turning Pure Kiwi Mettle into gold

Anode cores are delivered weekly to the lab for testing.

Doug and Kim worked together to understand how each other's work is performed and how what each of them does impacts the other.  They have worked collaboratively to implement a number of quick, easy and cheap improvements that reduce errors, rework and improve sample quality.  The changes have not impacted on Doug's time but have saved more than an hour per week for Kim in routine work and many more hours of avoided rework.

The respect, care and teamwork Doug and Kim have shown is a model for all customer-supplier relationships on site.  It is possible that the specific changes could be implemented directly elsewhere in PacAl, however it is the productivity of the relationship that is adding the value.   

There were a number of really good entries in this round and we would like to provide honourable mentions for the following innovations:

• Health, Safety & Environment - Warren Livingstone, Tony Laurie (Rodding C3) & Dave Osborn (Reliability Maintenance) - Man down alarm at emergency showers
• Cost - John Young (Shipping & Logistics) - Using scalps to control flow
• Living the Values - Scott Smith (Shipping Services C3), John Fallow (Shipping & Logistics) & Duncan Robbie (Electrical Engineering) - Genco Charger cranes

During the recent Quarterly Business Review Gretta Stephens had the honour of cutting the ribbon to celebrate the official opening of Inalco’s new dross processing plant on site.

Inalco commenced interim processing at NZAS in May this year, partially processing some of the containerised dross to separate the aluminium for later remelting, and also separating the oxide residues for export.  Approximately 1,500 tonnes of these residues have been exported since May.

Inalco has a contract to process dross at NZAS for the next six years – it is great to have them on board.

You should all be familiar with the Critical Risk Management (CRM) process.  Every employee and contractor working on the NZAS site needs to understand what fatality risks may be present in their work and how to apply CRM to eliminate fatalities.

As a reminder, check out the CRM poster (left). 

If you need further information or help in any way, please talk to your leader or members of the Safety Team – Barry Todd (x 5635), Craig Scarlett (x 5613), or check out the CRM website which can be accessed via the NZAS intranet.

‘Falling from Heights’ is one of the 14 Critical Risk Management (CRM) fatality risks.  A great example of people working together to address this particular risk can be found in the Casthouse.

Peter Low (C3 Maintainer Operator) and his crew came up with the concept of building a moveable barrier frame for the VDC2 casting pit, which at 9 metres deep poses significant risk if anyone fell into the manhole.  Along with Nick Wiering (Specialist Project Engineer) who facilitated the project, and Brendon McDonald (Sheet Metalcraft) who fabricated the frame with the help of the SMC team in town, this safety initiative became a reality.

The benefits of the new barrier:

• No-one can fall into the pit
• It is very light and quick to install
• The gate’s spring-loaded hinges allow it to shut automatically
• The gate uses a swimming pool latch which can be opened easily from inside and outside the barrier

The barrier frame is used at least once per month during the pit cleaning process and is also used for maintenance and breakdowns.

The old barrier was much heavier as it consisted of four individual steel frames that surrounded the pit, meaning it was also more difficult to move.

Two other frames have been fabricated, one for VDC1 which has the added bonus of also fitting over the No. 2 ingot machine water pit, and the other for the No. 4 ingot machine water pit, meaning all pits in the Casthouse now have moveable barrier frames to help keep our people safe.

This excellent safety initiative will be shared with other PacAl sites.  It just goes to show what great improvements can be made if we work together.

The last edition of the Tiwai Pointer featured a story on Roger Hackett’s two young children who cleaned up the beach around Awarua Bay. 

Darren Schwass, Casting & Logistics Manager, has been waging his own war against litter along Tiwai Road.

In August he came to site one weekend and was horrified to find a number of discarded empty beer bottles on the grass verge near the site.  After picking them up he decided to do a quick tidy up along the road from site to Tiwai Bridge.  An hour later the back of his truck was full and the job wasn’t complete.  After that he then started working his way back towards the end of Tiwai Straight three nights a week for around 30 minutes a stint.

“Once you turn onto the straight the vast majority of vehicles on the road are heading to our site.  Therefore the condition of the roadside is a reflection of our company values.  After that initial pick-up I’ve spent a lot more time noticing what’s on the side of the road,” he said.

Darren isn’t quite sure how much rubbish he has collected in total, although it would be a significant amount.  Having two plastic tubs in the back of his vehicle (one for recycling and the other for rubbish) he routinely fills both of them.  He has brought his trailer to site 4 or 5 times after carrying out larger clean-ups under the pylons, the gravel roads that run adjacent to Awarua Bay, or when he has come across television/tyre graveyards found in roadside ditches. 

“When I started it was common to see one thing from the road but when I stopped I’d quickly find another 10 items slightly obscured in the undergrowth.  I don’t get this as much now, if I do it usually much means I haven’t stopped there before,” said Darren.

Finding the first television set was a moment of truth for Darren.  “I know they cost money to dispose of properly but I figured if I didn’t pick it up then I wasn’t really doing the job properly.”  There have been relatively few novel items found, although someone has been dumping Double Brown cans for years as this is by far the most common beer can found. 

Darren has also picked up a lot of energy drink cans and cigarette packs, and following weekends he routinely finds takeaway wrappers.  The most common item he picks up now is windblown plastic from trucks.

Since commencing his roadside clean-ups, Darren has learnt that:

• NZAS has a great array of recycling pathways for all sorts of materials
• The road verge is very slippery in places during winter
• Rubbish bins are located by the gatehouse that can be used for discarding banned items such as energy drinks

Please keep your litter in your vehicle until you can recycle or dispose of it.  If you are driving to/from site and notice rubbish on the roadside, if you can, please stop and pick it up.  Our site is located in a pristine environment; let’s do our best to keep it that way.

Congratulations on a job well done Darren!

Due to the very high calibre of applicants this year, the decision was made to award six community scholarships instead of the usual four. 

This year’s successful recipients celebrated their selection over afternoon tea with Gretta Stephens (General Manager) and a number of other NZAS employees.

Samuel Watkins (St Peters College); Rhys Blaas, Anna Wei, Matthew Fraser (all from James Hargest College); Maddisen Andrews (Central Southland College) and Tayla Lumsden (Southland Girls’ High School) all plan to study engineering next year at Canterbury University.  Some of you may remember Tayla as she was one of this year’s NZAS/SGHS education partnership students.

The NZAS scholarship entitles the recipients to $2k for their first year of study.  For the second and successive years, either summer vacation employment will be provided or a scholarship payment of $2k per annum made.

Gretta Stephens said the community scholarships helped NZAS provide support to future Southland engineers, with the smelter work placement giving students the opportunity to see what working in industry involves.

Congratulations to Chloe Branks, Southern Group Training Trust apprentice, who scooped the pools at the recent Southern Institute of Technology’s end of year award ceremony by winning:

• Top Student – New Zealand Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3)
• Excellence in Welding
• Outstanding Progress in a Full-time Full-year programme

Chloe took home two trophies, a welder and a cash prize.

Having completed the pre-trade course at SIT, Chloe commenced her general engineering apprenticeship on site at the end of November with the Metal Products Maintenance team.  Three weeks in, she is really enjoying working at NZAS.

NZAS has been the proud sponsor of the Community category of the Southland Community Environment Awards for almost two decades.

Gretta Stephens (General Manager) presented the ‘Environmental Action in the Community’ award to the Bluff Hill/Motupōhue Environment Trust for their dedication to restoring native birdsong to Bluff Hill.

Formed in early 2008, the Trust has a dedicated band of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to carry out an intensive pest control programme which now extends off the hill and across the harbour to Joey’s Island in Awarua Bay, and along the Greenpoint Walkway and Flat Hill Wind Farm.  

They have installed a staggering 1,318 pest control devices and the results are now being seen, with an increase in birdlife and the recent translocation of 41 South Island Robin from Waikaia to Bluff Hill.

When Jessica Collins was younger her goal was to make it to 18 and not be barefoot and pregnant but now she is the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s Youth Achievement Award winner. 

NZAS as a major supporter of the Graeme Dingle Foundation Southland 2004 is very proud to be making a difference in the lives of kids like Jessica since the organisation was formed in 2004.  To date we have contributed $100k to help Southland kids.

Our funding goes towards the Kiwi Can programme, which is a life skills and values programme designed for primary and intermediate students.  Andrea Carson is also on the Board of Trustees.

Gretta Stephens and Andrea attended the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s 2017 Excellence Awards at Government House in Auckland, where an inspiring

group of 15 extraordinary young Kiwis, youth leaders, mentors and volunteers from throughout New Zealand were honoured for their contributions to the Foundation’s various programmes.  Founder Sir Graeme Dingle said the Awards are an important opportunity to showcase inspiring young people who exemplify the goals and values of the Foundation.

“Our goal is to transform young lives forever, with a vision that all young people can be confident contributors to New Zealand.  By the year 2025, our mission is to have helped 50,000 young people in our programmes each year.  Nights like this serve as a strong reminder that investing in our country’s young people is the best investment New Zealand can make.

“The awards highlight not only some of the circumstances and harsh realities a lot of our Kiwi kids face, but most importantly, celebrates their courage and resilience to be able to come out the other side too,” said Sir Graeme.

For those who attended, the evening was an opportunity to hear, first-hand, the personal experiences of a number of graduates who had taken part in the Foundation’s transformational journey, and the positive impact it has had on their lives.

Jessica Collins from Tauranga said Project K, literally saved her during one of the lowest and hardest times in her life.  Project K is designed for year 10 students and builds confidence, teaches life skills, promotes good health and encourages a positive attitude.

“Before Project K my goals were to make it to my 18th birthday and not be barefoot and pregnant.  I moved out of home and went on the youth benefit at 15 and stayed in school and passed Year 13.  I am now 19, studying Art and Maori at Massey University and enjoying life.  Every single aspect of the programme gave me the ability to do this.  I honestly with my whole heart don’t think I would be alive today if it wasn’t for Project K.  Project K saved me,” she said.

Welcome to:

• Jan McFarlane – Occupational Health Nurse, Health & Hygiene (Commercial & Support Services)
• Nikola Taylor – Maintenance Planner, CCG (Assets)
• Alberto Costa Ferreira Filho – Operator, Operations C1 (Casting & Logistics)
• Nathan Wilson – Operator, Operations C3 (Casting & Logistics)
• Rick Erasmus – Operator, Rodding C2 (Carbon Products & Business Improvement)
• Tyler Christian – Operator, Line 2 C1 (Reduction)
• Scott Evans – Mechanical Tradesperson, Mobile Equipment Workshop (Assets)
• Byrin Hone – Operator, Line 3 C3 (Reduction)
• Chris Kenna – Operator, Line Services (Reduction)
• Maurice Schneider –Manager (Carbon Products & Business Improvement) - secondment
• Yuri Carter – Operator, Line 1 C4 (Reduction)
• Trevor Solomon – Mechanical Tradesperson, Carbon Maintenance (Assets)
• Jason Renton – Operator, Green & Bake Carbon C4 (Carbon Products & Business Improvement)
• Gordon Campbell - Operator, Line Services (Reduction)

Name:            Mark Stevens

Position:       Operator, Shipping Services

How long have you worked at NZAS?
18 years

What would you do if you won Lotto?
Travel to exotic destinations.  Watch live car and motorcycle racing

What is your favourite food?
Seafood of all kinds

What is your favourite tipple?
Bundaberg Rum and coke - Vaughan Drozdzak also makes a good brew

What’s the most outstanding memory of your school days?
Sadly leaving was the highlight

Who is the person you most admire in the world?
Valentino Rossi (Moto GP rider)

Who would you like to be stranded on a desert island with and why?
I think Catherine Zeta Jones would enjoy my company

What are your favourite leisure activities?
Travelling the world, and enjoying the outdoors

Where’s your favourite place visited in the world?
Venice

What’s your biggest achievement in life so far?
Being married to my wife Janet and having three excellent children

What would be the most memorable news bulletin you have seen/read?
The 9/11 bombings and how they have changed the world

What’s your favourite NZ holiday spot & why?
Mavora – my kids had so much fun there and we love its isolation … pure NZ!

What was your first job?
Chip boy at Kingswell Fish Supply

Who is the Southlander you most admire and why?
George Kempton – his complete dedication to helping others

If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Remove all of the nasty people

What is your favourite movie?
‘Enemy at the Gates’ – about the Battle of Stalingrad during WWII

What is your favourite song?
‘Radio Ga Ga’ by Queen

The lead-up to Christmas and the summer holidays can be frantic.  Looking after ourselves both physically and mentally is very important.

Some great tips on how to keep mentally well can be found below (sourced from the latest EAP newsletter):

Treat others well - treating others with compassion and kindness is a sign of an emotionally healthy person.  Being sensitive to the needs and feelings of other people

Practice gratitude – being thankful for the things you have in your life is a great way of attracting more positive things your way

Practice flexibility – being flexible with what life throws at you.  This makes a person adaptable and resilient

Have a sense of self-awareness – being aware of your habits and beliefs helps bring one into emotional growth and balance.  Meditation can develop these insights

Aim to forgive people and repair damaged relationships – emotionally healthy people are able to forgive others, it may take time, but they work through all emotions that come up during this time

When angry, allow yourself to be angry – emotionally healthy people acknowledge, accept and express all emotions, especially negative ones like anger

Laughter is an excellent way to beat the blues – watch a funny movie, or comedian, laugh at yourself and with your kids.  Be child-like and build fun into your weekly routine

Nurture your self-esteem – healthy people are aware of their own self-esteem, and the highs and lows in this over time.  Not judging themselves badly during any dips

Like yourself – emotionally healthy people often feel pretty good about who they are and tend to like themselves better than those who are out of emotional balance

Place value on personal development – healthy people understand the value of personal development

Stay active and productive – healthy people are always trying something new: volunteering for others, building a shed or training in something new to help them grow

Stay positive – Optimism, motivation and positivity are contagious, but so are negativity, pessimism and cynicism.  Choose to be positive in your feelings and emotions and don’t listen to those negative voices in your heart telling you that you can’t, that you aren’t good enough.  Instead, tell yourself that you are awesome, that you can make a difference and that you will succeed.  Find others who also believe that they can and empower and support each other

Know your boundaries – emotionally healthy people know their own boundaries and are able to stick to them

Sleep and mood are closely connected – Inadequate sleep can cause irritability and stress, while healthy sleep can enhance wellbeing.  Chronic insomnia may increase the risk of developing a mood disorder, such as anxiety or depression.  Aim for eight hours sleep a night

Have a sense of meaning in your life – living a purposeful life is all about having a passion, a mission or a larger meaning in your life

Take care of yourself – self-care is an important part of being emotionally healthy

Congratulations to the 80 lucky winners of the Employee Activities Group (EAG) Christmas Prenzel giveaways.  Terry Reeves (Specialist Contractor Management) and Sheila Eastley (Occupational Health Nurse) are pictured with their prizes.

Members of your EAG hope you have all enjoyed the giveaways and events held throughout 2017 and would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas. 

It just wouldn't be the Christmas edition of the Tiwai Pointer without a wee funny ...