Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my first speech, I spoke about how the people of Braddon are resilient in tough times, how we get on with the job and—as I have seen as the federal member—produce world-class, premium manufactured goods. Tasmanians are leading the way in a number of sectors and products, demonstrating quality, consistency and adaptability. One such sector is our advanced manufacturing. The relocation of Caterpillar's Hard Rock vehicle manufacturing from Burnie to Thailand in 2015 has been a catalyst for change in advanced manufacturing.

Rather than give up, Braddon's advanced manufacturers are meeting the challenges. Managed and operated by the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council, the Tasmanian Manufacturing Centre of Excellence has opened in Burnie. TMEC is an industry-led initiative focused on innovation, research, collaboration and continuous improvement, which will support the sector along the continuing path of global competitiveness. Within the TMEC is the Elphinstone Simulated Work Environment, or SWE, which opened in Burnie on 3 March this year.

The Elphinstone SWE is only one of three Lean training facilities of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and the only facility in Australia. The SWE is as an interactive training system used to promote the Lean production system and enhance continuous improvement initiatives, including team building, effective communication, developing people and teams, identifying and reducing waste, supply chain effectiveness, identifying and setting performance targets and increasing productivity through the SWE. The SWE demonstrates how working together can help a team to become more productive, cost-effective, improve quality and reduce safety-related issues. The SWE offers a one-day training course using the Elphinstone production systems or a three-day course delivered by a local company, Productivity Improvers. Training and assessment is delivered on behalf of the University of Tasmania and the Australian Maritime College. This is an example of local industry and our tertiary institutions working together.

Congratulations to all involved in the development of the SWE: Wayne Bould and all the team at TMEC; Dale Elphinstone, Kelly Elphinstone, Lee Whiteley and all their team at Elphinstone; Clinton Jaffray and Michael Bonney from Productivity Improvers; the University of Tasmania; the Australian Maritime College; the officers from the Department of State Growth, who work in advanced manufacturing; and TAFE Tasmania. The SWE is an example of the local advanced manufacturing industry in my electorate getting on with the job. Braddon has a highly skilled, productive and stable workforce that is capable of producing anything—from igloos for Antarctica at Penguin Composites to large, off-road haulage trucks at Elphinstone. The recently opened Elphinstone SWE adds to this capability.