An employee is summarily dismissed when the employment contract between an employer and employee is terminated immediately after a disciplinary inquiry, without notice or payment in lieu of notice. Summary dismissal is only allowed in exceptional circumstances of misconduct… (more)
Philips Electronics and Eskom have announced Africa’s largest LED lighting deal to date. Under the agreement, 200 000 Philips MasterLED lamps are being distributed by Karebo Systems at discounted prices throughout South Africa to professional users of lighting such as hotels, banks, offices and retail outlets… (more)
The Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency’s (SAEE’s) annual bursaries for students who excel in the built environment, environmental and engineering fields of study were awarded to second-year Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Bachelor of Architecture students Brian Saunders and Sheree Anne Marinus, and to Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) second-year Town and Regional Planning student Merishka Singh… (more)
Eskom International divisional executive Dr. Steve Lennon says interest in the eta Awards, which Eskom has sponsored since 1985, was at an “all time record level”… (more)
The SA electrical contracting industry has seen numerous developments during the course of last year, but 2011 will in all probablility be remembered for electrical distributor Voltex’s appointment by the Electrical Contracting Board (ECB) to register electrical contractors and to issue CoCs… (more)
Lighting manufacturer predicts that by 2020 some 75% of its new lighting sales will be LED solutions.The development of high quality light emitting diodes (LEDs) has reached a tipping point where this new technology can be used for general lighting in almost all applications… (more)
LED technology is significantly different from incandescent and fluorescent technology, causing disagreement over how to measure the characteristic output of LEDs. This article describes instruments and technologies being evaluated for this purpose and highlights new goniophotometers, spectral measurement equipment for LEDs, and photometric instruments to measure the luminous ripple of LED light sources, among others… (more)
Power module packaging is driven by the ever increasing demand for higher power densities, reliability improvements and further cost reductions… (more)
The drives industry has seen a trend towards slow-running direct drives in recent years. This trend was found to be driven by a demand for precision, reliability and low maintenance on the one hand and, on the other, by decreasing power electronics and permanent magnet prices… (more)
Growing concern for public safety and the increasing complexity of today’s fixed electrical installations in domestic, commercial and industrial premises place extra responsibility on electrical test engineers who must verify conformity to international standards… (more)
Contactless temperature measurement has proven its worth as a tool for preventative maintenance for monitoring mechanical and electrical systems or production processes… (more)
Wireless communication is becoming increasingly important in industrial plant and systems, offering cost-effective alternatives to conventional cables, especially for sensors that are difficult to access… (more)
The 2011 SAIEE National Student Project Competition was held in the new Engineering Building at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in November 2011… (more)
Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH won the IT Personality of the Year 2011 award and Sandi Macfie, CIO of Southern Sun Hotels, the 2011 Visionary CIO title at the Computer Society of SA (CSSA) President’s Awards Breakfast held at the Hilton Hotel, Sandton, in November 2011. Now in its 33rd year, the IT Personality Award was presented by the CSSA, in conjunction with ITWeb, the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Gartner Africa, in recognition of exceptional contribution to the local ICT industry over the past year… (more)
Potential for SADC to tap into space technology – NASA takes another step in the development of SLS… (more)
As the demand for more feature-rich remote keyless entry (RKE) deployment increases, so does the need to also offer longer-range wireless solutions. The typical RKE transmitter has become more than just a convenient way of locking and unlocking your vehicle when you’re getting close to it… (more)
Tellumat has invested in creating locally developed innovative solutions that will form key elements of the current MeerKAT and hopefully the future Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. The company has been responsible for the electronic receiver design for the KAT-7 project which was the precursor to the current MeerKAT project. The one element of the full electronic receiver chain that was imported from an international supplier was the cryogenic low noise amplifier… (more)
For the purpose of improving the safety and reducing the maintenance costs of infrastructures, novel inspection and damage detection techniques need to be developed, tested and implemented on various structures including buildings, bridges, aircraft, and railroads… (more)
Clamping applications often rely on sensors to detect whether the jaws or grippers are in the proper position –open or closed. Though other technologies can be used in place of sensors to determine the open/closed conditions, sensor implementation can increase reliability and obtain data that only a detection device very near the application can provide… (more)
Mountains into molehills. For more than three decades, Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has been reducing the mountains of South Africa’s rich coal deposits into the molehills of the more than 700 ships that call there every year to satisfy the world’s hunger for energy… (more)
An industrial PC (IPC) is designed from the first breath to operate under harsh environmental conditions with high availability and a low failure rate. In addition design emphasis is on easy serviceability, scalability, and longevity with strong performance. PCs in industrial environments often need to last for eight to ten years while performing task critical functions 24/7… (more)
A new acronym from the world of IT is BYOD – bring your own device. Not to be confused with BYOT – bring your own technology, a somewhat different concept. Despite the similarities of the acronyms, Andy Brauer of Business Connexion (BCX) says that there is a difference. “It is not necessarily the device but the technology deployed that can be of concern.”.. (more)
Due to potential interference, the TV band usually has unused spectrum in between any two stations, known as “white space”. This appears to be a waste of valuable spectrum that could be utilised to provide broadband connectivity, particularly in rural areas… (more)
OPC, originally called OLE for process control, is used extensively in control systems to provide interoperability between devices and software from different vendors. While the latest version of OPC (OPC UA) has included security requirements in its design, the OPC “Classic” protocols (OPC DA, OPC HDA, and OPC A&E) are based on the Microsoft DCOM protocols which were designed before network security issues were widely understood… (more)
In November 2011 EngineerIT invited the lightning protection industry to respond to a number of questions on how companies and individuals should go about protecting their equipment against lightning strikes and mains surges. Respondents made some useful suggestions… (more)
In recent years research into the formation of thunder storms, and the impact of severe weather on man and machine has given scientists new insights and understanding that will lead to more efficient ways of minimising the impact, damage and loss of life caused by electrical storms. .. (more)
In the Nov/Dec 2011 editorial “MTN uncapped ADSL” should have been “MWeb uncapped ADSL”. We apologise for any confusion! In a comment from MWeb it was also pointed out that the company has continued to invest heavily in its network to improve the experience for existing customers and gear up for future growth. “However, an issue that is still alive is the difference between shaping and throttling, which the market struggles to understand. While Telkom throttles its uncapped customers, MWeb shapes traffic but does throttle. There are arguments for both”… (more)
The Southern African Communications Suppliers Forum (SACSF) has been launched as the mouthpiece of the telecommunications industry. It aims to establish a code of ethics and good business practice within the industry and more importantly, the forum will serve as a watchdog to prevent the exploitation of local service providers… (more)
On 29 November 2011 SAP and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) announced their support for an advanced human capital development programme in information and communication technology (ICT) in South Africa. Director-general DST, Dr. Phil Mjwara, and SAP Africa’s MD, Pfungwa Serima signed a memorandum of understanding… (more)
Philips has won a prestigious Gigaton Award from the Carbon War Room at the World Climate summit for its EcoDesign process… (more)
While constantly striving to provide high quality products and service to engineers, RS is also committed to the development of future engineers and the environment. This commitment was recently demonstrated at the 2011 World Solar Challenge. RS Components supported the solar car team from Japan’s Tokai University, that participated in the World Solar Challenge – a world-class solar car race held in Australia, 16 – 23 October 2011… (more)
The 2011 SAIEE National Student Project Competition was held in the new Engineering Building at the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU in November 2011. EE Publishers was the lead sponsor of this event for the third consecutive year. Tertiary educational institutions of electrical, electronics, computer and information engineering participated by fielding eligible teams of final-year undergraduate students at the contest… (more)
Converged telecommunications has been a hot topic for a while, but up to now it has remained only a promise of what is to come. Technically it is possible and equipment is available on the market – (see “Social communication – enabled in the core” page 20, EngineerIT Nov/Dec 2011) but no operator in South Africa is as yet offering one number for multiple access devices… (more)
The 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) was held from 28 August to 2 September 2011 in Milan, Italy. This congress is of historical significance for Africa and South Africa, as Prof. Ian Craig from the University of Pretoria was elected as president – the first IFAC president from an African country – and only the second from the southern hemisphere, in the 55-year history of the federation… (more)
With thoughts of economic stagnation, manufacturing decline, automation and associated job losses on our minds, and with the threat posed by China looming large as the de facto manufacturing workshop of the world, four intrepid South African “techies” set off for the windy city of Chicago, Illinois, to find out more at the 2011 Rockwell Automation Fair held from 15 to 17 November 2011… (more)
For the past five or so years we have been promised better broadband, but up to now have had only promises – with excuses galore as to why we still do not have true broadband… (more)
This year has seen numerous changes and new developments in the power generation industry, some dramatic and others more subtle but just as important. The changes seem to be associated with changes in terminology, and new terms seem to be popping up as regularly as new developments in the industry. The most dramatic change occurred in the renewable energy sector, where REFIT was replace with REBID, a change in more than name which seems to have galvanised the process into action. The question now remains how will the renewable energy fleet perform?… (more)
At a meeting of the South African Independent Power Producers Association (SAIPPA) on Wednesday 30 November 2011, Karen Breytenbach of the National Treasury of South Africa announced that the first bidding window of the first tranche of renewable energy generation had been 57% subscribed, with a total of 53 bids received for some 2127 MW of renewable energy (RE) generation capacity with a value of R64-billion… (more)
Eskom has released interim results which show a continued strong financial performance, with a surplus that will be reinvested in the business to ensure Eskom is financially sustainable and can repay the debt raised to fund its new build programme. The results for the six months to end September 2011 reflect increased net profit of R12,8-billion (2010: R9,5-billion), on revenue which increased to R63,9-billion (2010: R51,1-billion)… (more)
At the recent customary gathering of the three ghosts of Christmas to which I had been invited, I was strongly reminded of that haunting chorus of the three witches from the dreaded Scottish play, which goes, if memory serves, something like this: Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. There are nasties like swelter’d venom, fillet of a fenny snake and the ubiquitous eye of newt and toe of frog aplenty swirling around in the foully bubbling brew… (more)
The low number of entry-level professionals in engineering and information technology is aggravating the shortage of critical skills needed to drive economic growth and boost employment, according to Sandra Burmeister, CEO of the Landelahni Recruitment Group. It is vital to soak up unemployment, particularly among youth, and job creation depends on a robust economy… (more)
The impact of the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which resulted from the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami on 11March 2011, will have wide-ranging consequences for the global energy mix as governments and companies seek to address the challenges of providing a sustainable supply of energy for the greatest benefit of all… (more)
Always a long shot, and not getting any better. With 104 operating reactors supplying a fifth of the country’s electricity needs, US has more nuclear power plants than any other country. For some time, the official policy has been that more would be better. Yet despite the government’s best intentions and generous loan guarantees, no one has ordered a new reactor for over three decades. In the meantime, the existing fleet is aging and life extensions are merely delaying the eventual day of reckoning… (more)
The trend toward deploying more intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) in substations and within the distribution grid is stronger than ever. However, in many utilities, different departments working to solve specific problems have deployed these devices in a piecemeal fashion. Often, a unified vision for substation automation and data acquisition has been lacking. With this proliferation of IEDs, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of data available… (more)
A stable power supply is essential in many production scenarios, and is desirable in all types of commerce and industry. Defects in the electrical power supply can cause all sorts of problems, and the most obvious defect to the consumer is the interruption of the continuous supply. An interruption can vary from a few milliseconds to many hours and can affect the production process in many ways… (more)
This paper describes the findings of a study done of the performance of two adjacent single circuit 400 kV lines in which the phase-to-ground and phase-to-tower clearances on one of the lines were increased above the standard clearances. The key finding that the design with increased clearances has been shown to withstand to a considerable degree the fire and streamer (excreta) stresses (without bird guards), whereas the standard line does not, is analysed. The implications for future designs are discussed… (more)
According to SACCI’s copper cable theft barometer, copper to the total value of R259-million was stolen in 2010 with the impact on the economy estimated at R5-billion per year. Proof of ownership has been a big hurdle in securing convictions of alleged cable thieves. To deal with this challenge and reduce cable theft, CBi-electric: african cables has embarked on an innovative approach to identifying cables. Since January 2010, more than 10-million cable core metres have been successfully marked using “CBiD… (more)
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