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incorporating The Electrical Contractor 
Issue No 56                                                                                               April 2012 
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In this issue...
- Skills shortage: we are not alone!
- The state of consulting engineering in South Africa
- Companies invited to join demand market participation
- Lighting solutions business launched
- New contractors graduate
- Unfair dismissal: Part Two
- Experts Q&A: Our experts solve readers' technical problems
- Eighth IESSA Annual Congress and AGM
- Vector Inbox: letters to the editor
- Higher regional court confirms patents infringement
- Engineering a better life
- The use of CFLs and LEDs in downlighters
- LED revolution well underway
- Component drives: enter the 0,18 kW "lightweight"
- Energy efficient electric motors: some caveats to their use
- An intelligent control system for mine compressors
- Detecting problems in buildings using infrared cameras
- Energy co-ordination of surge arresters: SANS 10142
- Stray voltage testing made easy
- ECA News
- Industry news
- Company, product, project & service news
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Mark BothaSkills shortage: we are not alone!    
by Mark Botha, editor 

 

A glance through Vector this month tells us that skills shortages in this country are fast becoming a serious threat to industry and economy alike. South Africa is, however, not the only country faced with this problem... (more)

Naren Bhojaram
The state of consulting engineering in South Africa
by Naren Bhojaram, CESA president

Our ever-increasing aspiration towards first world lifestyles has resulted in the human race's abuse and destruction of resources... (more)
Andrew EtzingerCompanies invited to join demand market participation
by Andrew Etzinger, Eskom


Eskom invites business owners to submit projects for approval under the Standard Product and Standard Offer programmes... (more

Lighting solutions business launched 
Information from Philips

Philips South Africa has launched a new business aimed at providing retrofit lighting solutions including LED for public and private sector buildings and businesses. The company, Philips Lighting Solutions, offers a project solution including lighting surveys, advice, project management, installation, and maintenance... (more)
New contractors graduate
Information from Eskom

A total of 27 students graduated from the Eskom Contractors Training Academy, having completed an eight-month Energy Sector and Training Authority (ESETA) registered programme. The course is funded by the Eskom Development Foundation in partnership with Edupark, a Section 21 company run by the University of Limpopo... (more)
SEW Eurodrive    
Unfair dismissal: Part Two
by Shantonette Naidoo, ECA regional director, KZN

You have dismissed an employee at work unfairly, and then made a genuine offer to rectify the mistake. Your employee, on the other hand, refuses the offer. At the Labour Court, the issues could be whether the employee should have been awarded compensation at all, and whether the amount awarded by the Labour Court was excessive... (more)
Experts Q&A
Our experts solve readers' technical problems

 

Electrical contracting often presents problems which, when solved by experts and shared in a forum, can be turned into learning opportunities. Working in co-operation with the ECA(SA) and other experts, Vector now provides such a forum... (more)

Eighth IESSA Annual Congress and AGM

The eighth IESSA Annual Congress and AGM will be held at the Cathedral Peak Hotel in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, between 13 and 16 May 2012. The theme of the congress will be "Light is life"... (more)

Vector Inbox: letters to the editor   


Write a letter to the editor and be in line to win a prize. This month's winning letter: "How much energy to manufacture CFLs, incandescents?" ... (more)
Higher regional court confirms patents 
Information from Osram

The higher regional court at Karlsruhe has confirmed the illegal use by Malaysian LED manufacturer Dominant of Osram technology with seven patents. The regional court at Mannheim had reached the same verdict regarding three of these patents on 25 July 2007... (more)

Engineering a better life

Information from SEW Eurodrive and Festo    


The PneuDrive Challenge 2012 Engineering Design Competition, sponsored by SEW Eurodrive and Festo, presents South African engineering students with an opportunity to design solutions that could improve the lives of disadvantaged communities.
.. (more)
The use of CFLs and LEDs in downlighters
by Robert Henderson, Eskom

Some of the factors that should be considered when selecting energy efficient lamps to replace existing quartz halogen downlighter lamps. Users should be prepared to accept lower light levels and a colour shift resulting in a change in the room appearance... (more)
LED revolution well underway
by Nick Kelso, Philips Lighting Solutions

We have reached a tipping point in the development of high quality LEDs where this new technology can be used for general lighting in almost all applications. LED technology, when combined with the latest solar and battery developments, can also provide practical light for the one third of humanity currently living without electricity... (more)
Component drives: enter the 0,18 kW "lightweight" 
by Mika Paakkonen, ABB Automation Technologies

Advances in AC drive technology have led to a product which may very well substitute the contactor, soft starter, multispeed motor, tri-ac and regulating transformer. A customer survey determined the most desirable features when it comes to variable speed drives (VSDs)... (more)

Energy efficient electric motors: some caveats to their use 

by L R Middelberg, Aurecon 


The injudicious and automatic replacement of standard motors with IE2 and IE3 motors may well result in an actual increase in the overall system energy consumption. When considering optimising energy conservation and efficiency one should never look at the specific efficiency of a single item in a system only... (more)
An intelligent control system for mine compressors 
by Johan du Plessis and Dr. Ruaan Pelzer, North West University

Most mining operations in South Africa rely on compressed-air systems to facilitate production. Many opportunities exist to reduce the electrical energy consumption of these compressed-air systems... (more)
Detecting problems in buildings using infrared cameras 
by Regan Brown and David Brown, Fluke

Moisture damage in buildings can be very expensive. The key is identifying and locating moisture problems before secondary damages escalate. Within the last few years, infrared cameras (thermal imagers) have become powerful tools for locating moisture problems in buildings ... (more)
Energy co-ordination of surge arresters: SANS 10142 
by Paul van As, Surge Technology

Energy co-ordination of surge arresters is frequently overlooked and probably the most common cause for failure of surge arresters. Many people believe that the more surge arresters installed, the better the level of protection. This can, however, lead to premature failure of surge arresters... (more)
Stray voltage testing made easy 
Information from Concilium Technologies

Stray voltage appears in electrical conductors such as cables even though the conductors are disconnected from the electrical circuit. Measuring the circuit using a high impedance handheld digital multimeter can make it difficult to differentiate stray voltage from legitimate readings... (more)
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