2023 End of Year Highlights.

It’s been another huge year for SAGE Group! And as the holiday season nears – it's time to take a moment to reflect on the year that was – and the people that made this year so successful.

The release of The Digital Diagnostic earlier this year asked a burning question of businesses worldwide: Where is your organisation on its digital transformation journey compared to where you could be?

A massive undertaking in collaboration with clients and partners, and pooling the combined resources of SAGE Automation, Nukon, Skills Lab, and Embedded Expertise – The Digital Diagnostic dived into technology, process and organisation, offering businesses a snapshot of their strengths and opportunity points.

See what we learned in the first edition of our Diagnostic Report.

In celebration of another successful and very busy year, we’re excited to share some of our top highlights of 2023 through the lens of this year’s theme: The People of SAGE Group.

Smart Cities

The year 2023 was a massive year for SAGE Automation’s Cassie Hames! See Me, an app developed by Cassie that makes catching public transport safer and easier was named the winner of the 2023 Australian Access Awards Initiative of the Year for 2023.

Poised to make further strides in 2024, See Me was developed to bridge the gap between passengers and drivers who might need assistance catching public transport, delivering notifications to public transport users when their bus is approaching, and when they are about to reach their destination.

Cassie Hames talks about developing the See Me app.

Earlier this year, a Level Crossing Technology Trial of new advance warning sign technology for railway level crossings developed by SAGE Automation in conjunction with Transport for NSW and ARTC was launched in regional New South Wales by the NSW Government.

Learn about more exciting solutions making waves in the smart cities industry in our new on-demand webinar, hosted by SAGE Automation National Manager for Smart Cities and Future Mobility, Ashby Martin. Access the free webinar.

Manufacturing

In conjunction with Manufacturing Queensland, we were proud to deliver a series of workshops designed to increase understanding of digitalisation and digitisation, the benefits, and key actions to progress digitalisation journeys.

Leading this workshop series were Nukon digital transformation experts Gareth Williams and Marilis Sattolo, lending their expertise to manufacturers of all sizes at nine workshops throughout Queensland, including stops in Maryborough, Townsville, the Gold Coast, and Ipswich.

Marilis Sattolo speaking at the Integrated Manufacturing Workshop in Gold Coast.

SAGE Group’s digital manufacturing solution, TilliT, also continued its global expansion, partnering with companies based in Italy, the USA, Thailand, and New Zealand; whilst TilliT CEO James Balzary had the opportunity to learn more about U.S. clients’ needs at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023.

Keeping a pulse on the latest industry trends and listening closely to our clients, it became clear in 2023 that everyone wanted to learn more about the hottest topic in manufacturing – Unified Namespace (UNS)! Thankfully, Nukon’s UNS expert Sergey Koreshkov was all over it, delivering two highly informative blogs to explain exactly what Unified Namespace is, and how it applies to the real world. Read the blog. 

Water

To kick off 2023, SAGE Automation began work on the Operational Technology Maintenance and Project Delivery (OTMPD) contract with Melbourne Water, Victoria’s largest water wholesaler, providing water and wastewater services to more than five million people in the Greater Melbourne area.

Melbourne Water’s assets include 14 water treatment plants, 37 service reservoirs, eight sewage pumping stations and two major wastewater treatment plants. They deliver more than 428 billion litres of drinking water to customers.

Melbourne Water's storage reservoirs and assets, as well as the retail area supplied.

“SAGE has the ability to connect our clients with the support needed for ongoing sustainability and security, as well as our proven experience managing complex water assets throughout their lifecycle,” said Scott Giroux, SAGE Group General Manager for Victoria and Tasmania.

At Skills Lab, the benefits of hands-on automation training were showcased this year by recent graduate, Ben Sayers. A Maintenance Electrician with Assa Abloy, Ben utilised the skills he learned to design, build, and commission a data acquisition, recording and reporting system that monitors utility consumption, gaining global attention.

Energy

In some great recognition for our energy team, SAGE Automation was honoured to receive the Schneider Electric Sustainability Impact Award for the industry-leading development of a communications solution for monitoring and control of an extensive solar energy system.

SAGE Automation’s Executive General Manager, Justin Kahl (middle) at the Sustainability Impact Awards.

But cyber security was the biggest talking point in the energy sector in 2023, with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) releasing a major update to its Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework (AESCSF).

To help clients better understand the evolving risks and navigate their obligations under the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act, SAGE Group cyber security expert Michael Litherland wrote an easy-to-follow blog about what the update means for the energy sector. Read the blog.

In more cyber news, SAGE Group hosted its first Executive Roundtable featuring industry-leading cyber providers in Melbourne this year. Insights from the Executive Roundtable are now being made available to the public in our newly developed Cyber Security Report – Demystifying the risk landscape for Australian critical infrastructure and supply chains.

Transport

This year, SAGE Automation was contracted by Aurecon to deliver CAD 3D modelling and the final 2D layout drawings for the design of 20 roadside cabinets (RSC) as part of the Western Distributor Smart Motorway project for TfNSW.

Thanks to Engineering Officer Liam Hangan and Senior Project Engineer Dariusz Friedel, we were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at the software used by the transport team to create these incredibly detailed designs – check out the video below!

SAGE Automation’s 3D CAD model of an ITS roadside cabinet. Read the full case study.

In other big news in 2023, SAGE Group’s movement data software suite, Addinsight, launched a new major update – Addinsight Device Protocol v3 (ADPv3) – an entirely new protocol that will support a wider range of devices and data sources.

The Addinsight Partner Program was also launched earlier this year, providing hardware vendors with a win-win opportunity that sets clear goals and requirements for both Addinsight and partnering vendors to achieve mutual growth and success.

Defence

Earlier this year, SAGE was selected by the Commonwealth of Australia to provide sustainment services for a number of sovereign supply support agreements for the Hobart Class Guided Missile Destroyers (DDGs).

“SAGE is proud to be working together with the Commonwealth and key players in Australia’s Defence industry to maintain and enhance the fleet that protects our nation,” said Adam Kiryk, SAGE Head of Defence. 

“By pooling our expertise and resources, we can achieve new levels of innovation and capability to support the Commonwealth’s ambitious goals for its fast-growing, world-class fleet.”

Hobart Class Destroyer HMAS Hobart conducts Officer of the Watch manoeuvres in the Eastern Australian Exercise Area, off the south coast of New South Wales.

We were also honoured to be a finalist of the Defence Teaming Centre's Innovation Award 2023 for the supply chain management and manufacture of the combat management system Multi-Function Consoles for Saab Australia.

The Innovation Award recognises organisations that have innovated and introduced new products or services into the defence market and whose innovation offers a point of difference from their competitors.

Resources

Nukon Enterprise Architect Ben Caldwell has been working on some artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) projects in the resources sector and got the opportunity to share some learnings at Austmine 2023.

AI models are often costly, difficult to scale and manage, and built for single purposes. Ben shared a more practical approach to tackling AI projects – Machine Learning Operations or MLOps – that enables you to operationalise and scale AI for improved ROI and profitability. 

Missed the event? Catch the on-demand webinar here!

Nukon Enterprise Architect Ben Caldwell at Austmine23 in Adelaide, South Australia.

Another challenge in the resources sector is… well, resourcing! Getting the right talent – sometimes at short notice – for highly technical roles is a major pain point for mining companies – but not for Embedded Expertise clients.

The team at Embedded Expertise can assist SAGE Group clients in finding the right engineering expertise, when and where they need it. This year, Embedded Expertise Senior Talent Manager Rajeev Timilsina filled a critical, regional Project Manager role for a large-scale resource client within just one week. Read more client success stories.

Skills Lab was named in CORE Innovation’s Hot 30 Awards for 2023 in recognition of innovation in training delivery in the rapidly changing energy and resources sector. “We’re really excited to be recognised by CORE, and to be included on the Hot 30 list with such incredible innovators,” said Skills Lab Executive General Manager Laura Mabikafola.

“Industry is shifting to optimise the huge opportunities presented by technology advancements, and we know the importance of building skills to complement this growth.”

That’s a wrap for 2023!

Another massive year is in the books here at SAGE Group! A BIG thank you to every one of the 714 SAGE Group people across Australia and around the world who made 2023 such a successful year for our clients and partners.

We look forward to an even more exciting year ahead in 2024! 

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