Southern Mapping Company, an airborne survey company using light detection and ranging (lidar), has invested in hyperspectral imaging technology. Their current lidar equipment is able to produce a three dimensional digital terrain model on which the images are superimposed. With the addition of the hyperspectral remote sensing technology, the company will now be able to identify individual species of plants and trees, noxious gasses and aerosols, minerals and soil types allowing them to broaden their services into the public and private agricultural, forestry, water, air quality and mining sectors… (more)
Andries Naude, known to and respected by many CSIR colleagues across units, passed away peacefully after a long struggle with cancer. Based at CSIR Built Environment in Stellenbosch, Andries tackled every task – professionally as well as personally – passionately and with vigour, even after he was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago… (more)
Some progressive organisations are beginning to recognise the value of location as an organising principle, and how its many references embedded in corporate information can be applied to current business problems. Through the use of location intelligence technology, tightly integrated with business workflows where location information resides, these organisations are activating a latent asset and applying the benefits across the enterprise… (more)
While working for a former employee, we undertook some exciting supply chain work which combined crop models, historical rainfall data, GIS, storage capacities of grain silos, road and rail networks – multi-modal transport mechanisms, producer locations, consumer locations, market prices of the commodities (SAFEX) and crop production areas. Supply chain analysis consists of a quantitative analysis of inputs and outputs between firms, prices and value added along a supply chain through agent accounts… (more)
This guide is designed to help you perform a rigorous accuracy assessment while minimising the effort to do so, by providing an overview of how to collect high-quality ground checkpoints. In this white paper you will find information on what a photogrammetry target is, what one looks like, what the dimensions are based on scale, where to place them, and how to locate ground checkpoints if a photogrammetry target is not available… (more)
Traditional approaches to planning and governance need to adapt to accelerated rates of urbanisation. The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) aims to assist in providing the Gauteng City-Region with better planning and management, and improved co-operative government relations. Better planning, management and co-operative government relies on improved data, information, analysis and reflective evaluation. The GCRO is responsible for building this strategic intelligence… (more)
South Africa’s National Mapping Organisation, the Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (CDSM), was renamed the Chief Directorate National Geo-spatial Information (CDNGI) in 2009 (www.cdsm.gov.za). The CDNGI forms part of the National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (the former Department of Land Affairs). The CDNGI provides geodetic and topographic surveying and geospatial information services in terms the Land Survey Act (Act 8 of 1997)… (more)
Land registers and cadastres have to extend their function beyond the conventional use for land markets and land taxation. The data comprised in the land information systems are also useful to facilitate government policy on adapting to and mitigating climate change. Registering new rights in the form of carbon credit titles would be feasible. With all these aspects in mind, the idealistic concept of registers and cadastres as “multi-purpose” land administration systems becomes a real possibility… (more)
A radically new approach to low cost housing is needed that recognises the limited amount of accessible land available within our cities, that addresses the multitude of social ills carried over from our past, that delivers within a recession and, importantly, that factors in an evolutionary housing path to be followed from our current limited capacity towards more advanced solutions that will be possible in 30 years time. Statistics from the City of Cape Town are used to illustrate the general concepts, which are otherwise applicable to most South African cities… (more)
Notice is hereby given that the South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO) has resolved to allow a further opportunity, for persons who feel that they may qualify for registration in terms of Section 20(2)(A) or Section 22(3) of Act 40 of 1984 (as amended by Act 170 of 1993), to apply for registration with the council. All applications must the reach the registrar’s office on or before 31 May 2010. No applications received after this date will be considered… (more)
Several critical Surveyor-General Offices have effectively ceased to function and others are on a go-slow due to the failure of protracted negotiations about wages and staff levels over the last year within the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Despite meetings between NEHAWU and the minister in late January, there had been no breakthrough at the time of going to press… (more)
Internationally there is a growing demand for persons competent in geographical information science (GISc). The US Bureau of Labour Statistics projected a growth of up to 26% in the GISc labour market. In South Africa, government departments are already experiencing vacancies in the region of 30%. This is not a new phenomenon, as long ago as 1998 the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, identified geomatics as one of five technology focus areas for the ICT roadmap… (more)
GIS is integral to government operations and yet here in South Africa treasure troves of GIS data lie hidden in silo structures while various government departments and local municipalities blow their budgets hiring consultants to provide them with data that is actually freely available to them, if only they knew it was available and how to access it. Much of this needless expenditure is being duplicated across South Africa at a time of restricted budgets and increased demands for service delivery… (more)
Should the sale by Areva of France of its Transmission and Distribution (T&D) business go through as planned, the sale will not impact on local group ACTOM’s existing contractual arrangements involving Areva T&D technology and equipment. This assurance has been given by Jack Rowan, managing director of ACTOM’s Transmission & Distribution division, which holds exclusive distribution, technology and representation rights for Areva T&D in Southern Africa… ( more)
A proposal to form an industry association to deal with nuclear issues was drawn up and presented to a conference in November 2007. The idea was taken to Jaco Kriek of the PBMR Company and to Rob Adam of Necsa (Pelindaba) and, presto, we now have Niasa with Dr. Rob Adam as president and Sias Booysen of DCD-Dorbyl as deputy. The constitution and membership list are to be found on the Niasa website. The overall objective is, needless to say, to promote nuclear technology… (more)
The GLS (General Lighting Service) lamp is the most familiar of all lamp types. It is still the largest volume of any light source produced worldwide and covers many and varied forms. A lot of applications have, to a larger or lesser extent, been taken over by halogen and compact fluorescent lamps in recent years, but the GLS is proving resilient… (more)
The lighting market has witnessed a rapid increase in the use of light emitting diodes in applications like automotive, emergency and decorative (architectural) lighting. Looking at general lighting, LEDs are increasingly being used in outdoor decorative (architectural) lighting projects, thanks to the saturated colours, the possibility of colour dynamics and the low maintenance needed during the long LED lifetime… (more)
This article describes the successful repair of a 1,8 MW, 4 pole, 11 kV, 1492 rpm Alstom (France) squirrel cage AC induction motor at Sasol Secunda’s oxygen plant. This particular motor is used to drive an alternator that starts a 36 MW air compressor for the oxygen plant’s starting cycle. There are only two such units at Sasol and hence a quality repair was critical… (more)
Sophisticated and highly susceptible microprocessor based electronics and data communication networks are integrated across every sector of today’s fast paced business world. Preserving these mission-critical systems from the damages of surges, spikes, and transients ensures that these systems are protected from equipment destruction, disruption in service, and from costly downtime. How to properly stage these surge protection devices (SPDs) can be as important as actually making the decision to purchase them… (more)
ACTOM Signalling successfully completed a major signalling contract in Cape Town‘s Khayelitsha township recently in the face of difficulties that included illegal power connections and cable damage, which caused setbacks in the installation of the signalling systems along some sections of the line. Just at the point when a team was ready to commission the equipment, the illegal power connections caused fault currents on the railway line, causing track circuit equipment to burn out and have to be replaced… (more)
Poor power quality causes more downtime than you think. “Is 99,999% reliability keeping your processes running? That’s what most US electric utilities are providing: “five nines” of reliability. When compared to power reliability around the world, five nines is good, translating into roughly five minutes without power each year, or maybe a single hour with no power every 10 years. In most industries, one hour without power every 10 years is a manageable problem. Surely companies don’t need to spend a lot to insulate them from this, unless the safety of their employees is threatened. So why do firms spend millions on premium utility service, generators, transfer switchgear and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)?… (more)
The ability to do live maintenance on an intrinsically safe system is a major benefit of the technique. Consequently live working is very desirable. There are however factors, other than gas ignition, that have to be considered whenever an instrument system is taken out of commission and consequently local safety practices such as “permits to work” have still to be observed… (more)
If you haven’t measured energy before, take a minute to understand how it differs from volts and current. When we talk about the “energy” supplied by the utility, we’re talking about two primary components: power and demand. Power, kW, is commonly measured in watts (W), which indicate the rate With energy costs getting higher, many facilities are trying to reduce their energy consumption. Most have not previously analysed their monthly energy usage. And until you understand how you’re using energy, it’s hard to make smart decisions on how to reduce consumption. at which energy is expended in one second… (more)
As all employers know, employees often submit medical certificates that describe the ailment as: “medical condition” or “illness”or some such similar wide and vague symptoms. Sometimes employers believe that if an employee produces a medical certificate as justification for a period of absence, that the employer is bound to accept it… (more)
Radio amateurs working with the South African Radio League’s Emergency Communication Network HAMNET, have geared up to support the World Cup soccer event with alternative communication channels should conventional channels fail or become overloaded… (more)
Broadband remains a challenge in South Africa. EngineerIT will address the issues by providing a forum on 2 March 2010, where a number of industry leaders will bring us up to speed with the latest developments and technologies in broadband communication… (more)
It was a privilege for me to spend an hour over coffee with Dr. Ramphele to discuss the reasoning behind the formation of TIA. I enjoyed her open and frank discussion about what for some would be sensitive issues. I asked her “Is innovation such a problem in South Africa that we need a high-powered agency?… (more)
Despite setbacks for the industry over the last 18 months, the fundamental facts affecting the future of nuclear power have not changed, according to Dr. Rob Adam , CEO of NECSA. Speaking at a SANEA presentation, Dr. Adam mentioned the cancellation of the Eskom nuclear build program, withdrawal of the letter of intent from Eskom to purchase PBMR reactors, the restrictions on PBMR finance, and the collapse of the price of uranium as factors which have created a very negative outlook for nuclear power in South Africa… ( more)
South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Kenya plan to launch a constellation of earth observation satellites; SumbandilaSat commissioning on schedule; a fourth satellite for SA; sunspots are back; new SA Space Agency appointment, and Voyager solves interstellar mystery… (more)
In ICT we are continually being bombarded by new buzzwords, often new words for the same services. It may be a good marketing ploy to keep rebranding but it may also cause confusion and build business resistance to what could be a useful tool to drive growth and profit. Is business intelligence (BI) another one of those marketing buzzwords?… (more)
Telkom recently launched its new Bellville data centre which has been described as revolutionary by the industry. My question is: “At what point does being green become cost-effective?”… (more)
Streaming video has proved to be a powerful tool for businesses and organisations around the world, yet still has to find general acceptance in South Africa as a valuable addition to marketing, training and corporate promotion… (more)
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the rate of head-in-pillow component soldering defects which interrupts the merger of the BGA/CSP component solder spheres with the molten solder paste during reflow. The issue has occurred across a broad segment of industries including consumer, telecoms and military. Part I of this article was published in EngineerIT November 2009… (more)
Are test equipment suppliers providing enough application support for analytical instrumentation? Suppliers deal with many installations and constantly learn from their customers. A progressive supplier will share his learning experiences with all his customers whether by issuing regular applications notes or holding customer seminars… (more)
Is the restriction of hazardous substances directive (RoHS) which emanated from the European Union (EU) overkill? Does electronic equipment containing lead present such a major threat when it is disposed off? What about lead acid batteries in just about every motor vehicle – do they not present a much great pollution problem?… (more)
Manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) have been with us for some time but many people have unanswered questions as to what they actually do, what the difference is between them and what they have to offer specific industries. We intend to answer these key questions… (more)
Robots can be critical in search and rescue operations as they are able to reach concealed places and environments that are inaccesible to fire-fighters and rescue personnel. While robots were used during the 9/11 rescue operations, many limitations were exposed… (more)
The fact that South Africa has a large pool of unemployed labour is often used in discussions on whether robotics has a place in South African industry. It is argued that better use should be made of the available labour resources by providing sustained training programmes… (more)
Generating complex real-world, mixed-signal waveforms may not be trivial. But it should be feasible, practical, and routine. Simulation, in the best of cases, is an exacting science. In other cases, such as when complex natural events or physical systems are involved, the outcome may be downright unpredictable… (more)
The role of technical standards in the curriculum of academic programmes in engineering, technology and computing is discussed. The purpose of this document is to define the desired role of technical standards in education within engineering, technology, and computing (ETC) academic curricula in the technical areas of interest of IEEE… (more)
The only benchmark for aspiring competitive economies in the emerging global knowledge economy is measuring themselves against the best in the world. The quality of a nation’s human workforce and its ability to generate and assimilate technological innovations primarily determine its global competitiveness… (more)
Eskom is to announce a new rebate level for solar water heaters tomorrow. According to Cedric Worthman, Eskom DSM, the subsidy formula has been changed to facilitate a payback period of five years, taking average costs into account… (more)
While Eskom has sent the nation into a tailspin by asking for massive electricity tariff hikes over the next three years, the government has failed to make public the plan upon which the increase is based – even though it is required to do so by law. And this just before the national energy regulator, Nersa, begins public hearings on January 11 on Eskom’s controversial bid for a 35% per year increase in the price of electricity compounded over the next three years… http://ow.ly/U9gi
It is important when operating on medium voltage equipment that we follow the safety rules and operating regulations in order to be safe. This paper covers general safe operations on medium voltage equipment and looks at the aspects of switching, isolating, testing and earthing, as well as various types of medium voltage testers and their usage… (more)
I have been involved in investigating a number of internal accidents over a number of years. It is usually quite easy to establish the technical causes for the accidents that took place as there are regulations in place that guide an investigation to make certain conclusions. I have always felt that there were underlying facts that had an influence on the accidents and I decided to investigate the underlying causes. In doing the research the question I asked myself was “Can safety be regulated?”… (more)
Eskom and Municipalities distributing electricity are all experiencing electricity theft. An incident arising from an illegal electricity connection prompted me to submit this paper. During the investigation by the municipal electrical department, it was found that the neighbour was illegally switched on as the meter had previously been removed and the supply switched off by the municipality for tampering… (more)
The purpose of this brief is to inform and highlight the need for more stringent controls around risk assessment in operating procedures and training. The focus of this paper is risk assessment on certain construction regulations, which in this particular case study, a lack thereof resulted in a fatality. The first question that is raised is “what has this incident got to do with electrical safety”… (more)
The six future REDs will be established through the merge of the electricity distribution assets of the 187 municipalities licensed to distribute electricity and the Eskom distribution assets. The pockets of good performance are becoming less and should the restructuring process be further delayed the ability to recover in the medium term will be compromised… (more)
It is indeed an honor, privilege and blessing for me as the President of the Association and on behalf of the members of the Executive Committee to extend a warm welcome to you all to this 22nd Technical Convention of the Association of Municipal Electricity Undertakings of Southern Africa, (AMEU). It is a pleasure to see so many delegates in this warm and friendly city of Port Elizabeth… (more)
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