HERA

22/10/2026

Our new HERA chair, Wayne Carson, has a happy place, and it's on the water.

For Wayne Carson, the water has always been the ultimate change of pace from the structural world of steel. It is a "happy place" built over 45 years of life on the ocean, ranging from quiet family nights away to the high-octane intensity of offshore powerboat racing.

While the salt air offers a break from the day job, the two worlds are more connected than they seem. During his 35 years in powerboat racing, a pursuit that earned him five New Zealand championships, Wayne relied on a highly structured team where every person had a specific responsibility. It is a dynamic he found translated directly into his professional life and his role on the HERA board: the understanding that success, whether on a racecourse or a construction site, is built on a foundation of teamwork.

Beyond the trophies, the real reward has been the social environment. From children bringing friends aboard to hosting huge parties out on the water, the boat has been the backdrop for decades of memories.

It’s a space that offers both the thrill of the chase and the stillness needed to reset; a deep and strong crossover that keeps everything else in balance.

15/10/2026

What could you build if you had the room?
Here it is. 208 square metres of open floor. A mezzanine office. Fume extraction. Space built for businesses that need to develop, test and demonstrate their next idea.

Swipe through to see it for yourself.

Ready to hire it? Enquire through the Innovation Centre hire page. - https://hera.org.nz/technical-support/technology-labs/innovation-lab/

14/10/2026

Right now, many engineers build spreadsheets by hand, then apply the same protection across every beam just to be safe. It works, but it's slow, and not always the most economical call. FaST checks every beam individually. Quicker. More accurate.

Get FaST now: https://hera.org.nz/technical-support/resources/digital-tools/fast-tool/

13/10/2026

STAINLESS STEEL WELDING: WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
Heat tint. Poor purging. Iron contamination. Wrong filler. Excessive heat input. Inadequate post-weld cleaning.

Any of these can undermine the corrosion performance of stainless steel after welding. A weld can be structurally sound and still be unfit for service if welding and finishing have damaged its corrosion resistance.

Our upcoming Welding of Stainless Steels Seminar will look at the practical issues fabricators and engineers need to get right:
🔹 Material selection and weldability
🔹 Welding metallurgy and common fabrication problems
🔹 Heat input and interrun temperature
🔹 Shielding, root purging and contamination control
🔹 Filler metal selection and WPS application
🔹 Post-weld cleaning and preservation of corrosion resistance
🔹 Welding quality management and practical case studies

A key focus will be the interpretation and practical application of AS/NZS 1554.6, ASME Section IX and ASME B31.3, including WPS qualification and application.

For fabricators and engineers working with stainless steel in structural fabrication, piping, pressure equipment and hygienic applications.

👉 Register now:

https://hera.org.nz/training-events/welding/welding-of-stainless-steel-seminars/

Get compliant. Get confident. Register for the city nearest you! What you’ll gainYou’ll leave with a practical understanding of how AS/NZS 1554.6 and ASME B31.3 apply to your work, confidence […]

11/10/2026

Strengthening the future of welding training at HERA

HERA’s Training and Examination Board recently met to review the direction, quality and integrity of our Welding Centre training and qualification programmes.

A key role of the Board is to provide independent industry oversight of HERA’s training and examination activities. At its September meeting, the Board reviewed and endorsed the updated **HERA Training and Qualification Roadmap**, which sets the direction for current and future training programmes.

Keeping our online exams fair and secure was a key focus for the Board. This includes checking results for anomalies and exploring alternative online invigilation options.

To keep our training roadmap in step with industry, the Board reviewed how we develop and deliver our welding supervision, welding inspection, protective coatings and bolting programmes.

Congratulations to John Broad, who has been approved to continue as Board Chair for another year. Thank you, John, for your long-standing support and leadership.

We'd also like to thank every Board member for the time, experience and industry perspective they bring to developing HERA's Welding Centre training and examination programmes.

07/10/2026

Designing composite beams to AS/NZS 2327? Come and see CompPanel.

CompPanel is HERA's new Windows software for designing composite steel and concrete beams. We're still developing it, so this webinar gives you an early look.

On 10 November, Hasanali, Structural Research Engineer at HERA, will:

- Walk you through CompPanel's key features
- Use it on practical design scenarios
- Show how it supports compliance with AS/NZS 2327
- Present the Structural Steel Bulletin on deflection calculations for composite beams and slabs

It's built for structural engineers.

Register here: https://hera.org.nz/training-events/structural/design-of-composite-beams-with-comppanel/

07/10/2026

Here's FaST in action. A steel beam fails its 30 minute fire check. The usual next step is adding fire protection: more cost, more material, more time. FaST lets you test other options first, like a different section size, and see the result straight away.

Download FaST: https://hera.org.nz/technical-support/resources/digital-tools/fast-tool/

06/10/2026

Could AI help you check material test certificates faster and more reliably?

In HERA's project with the University of Sydney and ACM CRC, the team built a chatbot that searches the certificates, pulls the relevant requirements from the compliance documents and answers from those sources. Every answer traces back to the source clause, so you can check it.

They then tested two language models on benchmark questions with answers verified straight from the standard. One held up well. The other struggled as the questions got harder. When an answer has to match a standard, the model you choose matters.

Congratulations to Dr Van Thu Huynh, Associate Professor Cao Hung Pham, Professor Anna Paradowska and Michail Karpenko. Van won Best Oral Presentation at CIGOS 2026 for the work.

Read the full story: https://hera.org.nz/a-chatbot-that-helps-check-material-certificates-for-compliance/

01/10/2026

What investors actually look for in engineering startups.
Mat Rowe spent a decade scaling a New Zealand biotech from an idea to giant industrial facilities worldwide. He went on to co-found three deep tech ventures of his own. Now he backs the next generation of Kiwi industrialists as Co-Founder and Executive Director of Outset Ventures.

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, Mat tells us why so many great engineers and scientists never get funded. They're polishing their idea instead of talking to their customer.
He walks through what it actually takes to go from test tube to tank to tanker. Why property and infrastructure matter so much in the early days. How venture funding works differently for industrialists than it does for software founders. And what separates a good idea from a fundable one.

If you're an engineer, researcher or founder sitting on an idea you believe in, this one's for you.
🎧 Listen now - https://youtu.be/9g9lMnjhdpU