New Zealand’s infrastructure and manufacturing sectors have an outstanding opportunity in front of them with the rapid development and deployment of AI, says Professor Andy Neely OBE, Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge and author of 100 books and articles on performance measurement and value creation.
Professor Neely is speaking at Parliament on Tuesday February 17, 6pm at an event hosted by Hon. Chris Penk, Minister for Small Business and Minister for Building and Construction, and Beca, the New Zealand engineering, design and advisory company who have brought Professor Neely to New Zealand.
“From innovation and new products, services and methods, to productivity gains and asset performance, AI needs to be seized with both hands because the speed of improvements in sectors like manufacturing and infrastructure is real, here and now,” says Professor Neely.
“I’m coming to New Zealand with high expectations because of the importance of these sectors to the local economy, but I’m also expecting to learn given the unique ways New Zealand has created some of the world’s most productive manufacturing businesses across primary production, high precision, and specialist services.”
Beca Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer Thomas Hyde says the visit by Professor Neely underlines the importance of the two sectors which together employ over 400,000 New Zealanders, with manufacturing accounting for 60% of total exports.
“As a result of our early experimentation and development of AI, Beca has over 100 AI-driven deployments across multiple disciplines,” says Thomas Hyde.
“These include asset management, spatial planning, water distribution, seismic assessment and hazard prediction, infrastructure monitoring and project cost management. Through this we’ve gained a real appreciation of the value the application of AI could create for NZ in tackling infrastructure challenges and supporting growth in our manufacturing sector.
“Data underpins the development and deployment of AI systems. We have invited Professor Neely to New Zealand to start a practical discussion on how we unlock greater value from our data and identify clear actions across business and government that lift productivity and performance in the assets we plan, build and operate.”
About Professor Andy Neely:
One of the world’s leading voices on innovation and data driven transformation, Professor Andy Neely is a leading Cambridge academic and industry collaborator in manufacturing and services. As former Senior Pro Vice Chancellor for Enterprise at the University of Cambridge, he’s helped drive innovation and startups across the university. He chairs Cambridge University Press & Assessment, serves on boards like the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and Cambridge Innovation Capital, and helped launch Innovate Cambridge. Andy founded bleeta.ai (AI coaching) and co founded Anmut (data valuation). He’s created major research centres, written 200+ publications, received an OBE in 2020, and is now focused on practical AI that delivers real impact for organisations.
About Beca:
Beca is a proudly New Zealand founded and headquartered business, with more than a century of operation across Aotearoa, and is now one of the largest independent advisory, design and engineering consultancies in the Asia Pacific region. With 12 offices across New Zealand, our employee ownership model ensures the value we create helps power the local economies of the communities where we work and live.