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EngineerIT e-News
 
ICT, electronics, instrumentation, automation and control in engineering
Issue number 69
August 2013 
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In this issue...
- Who controls instrumentation standards in South Africa?
- Medupi delays - the need for accountability
- In conversation with Graham Pirie, CESA
- Q&A: Ask an expert
- Panel discussion: MEng or MBA or ...
- EngineerIT INBOX
- More patents than the space shuttle
- Data centres need to be optimised for efficiency
- Rethinking data centre design for cooling
- Data centre security
- How to minimise data storage costs and avoid expensive mistakes
- TDR comes into its own in measurement applications
- Optical vs. magnetic encoders
- Human-level process control
- Moore's law meets RF
- The process of implementing control technology
- A solar-powered buck/boost battery charger
- Amateur radio awards for excellence
- Telecoms developments in Africa
- Gadgets4Geeks
- Aerospace technology
- Views, comment and opinion
- Industry news
- Product and company news
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Vinesh Maharaj Who controls instrumentation standards in South Africa? 
by Vinesh Maharaj, president SAIMC
  
The SA control and instrumentation (C&I) industry currently has to comply with a myriad standards which usually increase the cost of doing business, but do not appear to add equivalent value. In a country where we are struggling to be globally competitive and create jobs... (more)
Chris Yelland Medupi delays - the need for accountability  
by Chris Yelland, EE Publishers
  
In April, public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba told Eskom, Alstom and Hitachi that first power from the Medupi power station by no later than December 2013 was absolutely critical, that no further delays would be tolerated, and that "heads would roll" if any delays did occur... (more
graham-pirie

In conversation with Graham Pirie, CESA

by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
 
"It is in every country's interest to have a long-term vision and objective. In SA we have the National Development Plan and we as Consulting Engineers South Africa are very supportive of the NDP and believe that is a very good objective for "South Africa Inc"... (more)
RJ Connect
Q&A: Ask an expert
Answers by Keith Jones, Automation Control Products  

Keith Jones is the international director of Automation Control Products whose ThinManager network management software is a leader in thin client solutions management for industrial automation. Keith welcomes your emails to him at [email protected]... (more)
Panel discussion: MEng or MBA or ...
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT 
  
This panel discussion addresses the pros and cons of engineering and busines qualifications. Academics and representatives of business and professional organisations were in invited to give views... (more)
EngineerIT Inbox 
Correspondence from our readers
 
This month's letters are on the topics of energy conservation and control and instrumentation issues at the Medupi power plant... (more)
More patents than the space shuttle 
by Dina Biagio, Spoor & Fisher   

Patenting statistics are often used as a measure of innovation. A company may use its patent portfolio to create or enhance the perception that it is a technology pioneer, a visionary or a forerunner... (more
Data centres need to be optimised for efficiency
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT

"Reducing our carbon footprint" is heard in the corridors of power in many companies, but do people really understand what it means and how to walk the talk? Has it perhaps become more of a marketing ploy?... (more)
Rethinking data centre design for cooling
by John Collins, Eaton Corporation


This article discusses the issues making data centre cooling more challenging than ever and explains why starting the data centre design process with the racks rather than the room can help businesses reduce energy consumption, increase capacity and optimise floor space utilisation...
National Instruments
Data centre security
by Mark Hirst, Cannon Technologies

As well as housing important active equipment, cabinets and racks also need to protect the sensitive data contained within them. This is why sophisticated access control and monitoring technology is an essential component of any containment solution... (more)
How to minimise data storage costs and avoid expensive mistakes
Information from X-IO Storage     

Every storage vendor in the market makes aggressive claims about their products, claims that are often untestable until after a purchase is made, and returns are impractical or impossible. Those same vendors minimise or fail entirely to describe the often messy and complicated details... (more)
TDR comes into its own in measurement applications
by John Alexander, Krohne 
 
Time-domain reflectometry, more commonly known by its acronym TDR, is not a new concept. It is widely used in the electronics industry in the measurement of impedance and in fibre cables to measure the distance of a break in the cable... (more
energize_win-a-prize_mb_feb2012
Optical vs. magnetic encoders
by Andr� Brauers, Turck
   
The world of rotary encoders is divided. On the one side are the advocates of optical and potentiometric encoders, and on the other, the proponents of magnetic systems... (more
Human-level process control
by Denis du Buisson, consultant
   
In the real world, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) are in charge of the company's wealth-creating processes; it's the heaviest of responsibilities and they do it extremely well. So why not use these same principles everywhere in the company?... (more)
Moore's law meets RF
by Ruan Lourens and Bill Driver, National Instruments
  
The benefits of Moore's law have resulted in increased performance and reduced cost for electronic products for more than half a century. The development pace and proliferation of mobile devices have leveraged Moore's law, growing at a projected 24,9% CAGR for 2011 - 2017 (ovum.com, 3 May 2012)... (more)
The process of implementing control technology
by Selvan Murugan, Royal HaskoningDHV
  
As implementers of control technology, we are all well aware that projects are getting more complex, expensive and time to market for is definitely getting shorter. These changes, in turn, have a particular impact on the testing, installation and commissioning of software and instrumentation systems for a project... (more)
A solar-powered buck/boost battery charger
by Jeff Falin and Wang Li, Texas Instruments, USA
  
Solar charging of batteries has recently become very popular. A solar cell's typical voltage is 0,7 V. Panels range from a 1 cell to several cells in series and are therefore capable of producing a wide range of voltages... (more)
Amateur radio awards for excellence
by Hans van Groenendaal, EngineerIT

Three SA radio amateurs were presented with the MTN Radio Amateur of the Year Awards for innovation and excellence in their support of amateur radio in South Africa. Deon Coetzee ZR1DE received the Garth Milne Technology award for the development of the space frame for the SA AMSAT CubeSat project... (more)

Telecoms developments in Africa
Compiled by Matthew White
  • IHS raises US$522-million to build more cellphone towers
  • Vimpelcom set to sells sub-Saharan assets 
  • Mobile Money generates more than than 11 000 jobs in Kenya
  • Zambia's Africonnect budgets US$7-m in under-served areas 
  • East African banks hard hit by cyber crimes 
  • Zimbabwe telecoms disrupted in run-up to election 
  • Ethiopia signs first half of major network expansion deal 
  • Nigeria state blacked out in wake of Boko Haram attacks 
  • Rwandans take to e-tax platform despite problems... (more)
Gadgets4Geeks
  • Jabra makes music more portable 
  • Headphones tough but great for listening 
  • A keyboard that is not just a keyboard 
  • Gaming keyboard takes you to the next level... (more)
Aerospace Technology
Views, comment and opinion  
Industry news  
Product and company news