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Issue No 79                                                                                        May 2014
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In this issue...
- Just what is "sustainable development"?
- Mark Mfikoe appointed new ECA(SA) national director
- Do graduates in SA's built environment meet industry's expectations?
- Vector Inbox May 2014
- New compulsory specification for incandescents
- Survey shows new engineering profile in SA
- Engineering Certificate of competency
- Q&A: Ask an expert
- Toets 'n Bakkie: The ultimate Trailblazer
- Ambient LED lighting advances in tomorrow's vehicles
- Securing cyber access at the machine level
- Surge protection for LED mast lights
- From the ICMEESA archive: Some interesting features of a modern power station
- What will MV switchgear look like in the future?
- Dynamic compressor selection programmes: practical challenges
- Novel redesign of welded pressure leach autoclaves for the platinum industry
- Load management on closed loop underground fridge plant
- ECA News
- Industry news
- Company, product, project & service news
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 Published by

 

EE Publishers

 

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 Copyright

Copyright 2014

EE Publishers (Pty) Ltd
All rights reserved
  

  
by Prof Philip Lloyd, Energy Institute, CPUT 
 

Everyone agrees that we need sustainable development, but when you scratch the surface, you soon discover people talking past each other. How can chopping down trees or digging up gold be sustainable?... (more)

Mark Mfikoe
by Mark Botha, EE Publishers 

Following the early departure of Jill Godden, Mark Mfikoe, former president of the Electrical Contractors Association of South Africa, ECA(SA), has been appointed the association's national director... (more) 
Do graduates in SA's built environment meet industry's expectations? 
Information from the Council for the Built Environment 
 
A recent study by the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) has found that poor service delivery in South Africa relates directly to competency and to whether the skills sets of employees in the Built Environment are suited to their work... (more)
Eskom
Vector Inbox May 2014
Letters to the editor

This month, our readers respond to the article, "Electricity problems converge as Eskom CEO departs" by Chris Yelland, and write that South Africa has lost precious engineering talent due to government policy... (more)
Information from IESSA

VC8043, the compulsory specification for incandescent lamps, has been published but has not yet been reflected on the NRCS website. This specification covers the more efficient incandescent lamp and lays down requirements for light output... (more)
Survey shows new engineering profile in SA
Information from ICMEESA

The National Engineering Skills Survey was launched to determine the availability of engineering skills in South Africa and to improve national engineering skills planning. Of particular interest were the education pathways of technicians and technologists... (more) 

Engineering Certificate of competency
Information from ICMEESA
  
Vector publishes exam questions from previous exams issued by the Department of Higher Education and Training as a service to our readers who are studying for their Engineering Certificate of Competency... (more) 
Q&A: Ask an expert

In this article, we talk to Paul Meanwell, president of the South African Flameproof Association (SAFA), and learn more about explosion prevention and the benefits of membership to the association... (more)
Toets 'n Bakkie: The ultimate Trailblazer
by Dirk Engelbrecht

About a year ago, I tested the Chevrolet Trailblazer V6 3,6 litre 4 x 4 automatic. I was more impressed by the engine sound than by the actual power. The good news is that the new Trailblazer, the 2,8 l diesel Duramax, is a huge improvement, with power available at all times... (more) 
EE winning letter
Ambient LED lighting advances in tomorrow's vehicles
by Johann Stelzer, Andreas Reiter and Frank Ziegenhorn, Microchip Technology

The advancement of ambient LED lighting solutions stems from the quest by automotive-OEM interior stylists to add value and make their vehicles more appealing while creating a truly positive driving experience and increasing brand awareness... (more) 
Securing cyber access at the machine level
by Hal Theobald, Schneider Electric 
 
Local maintenance personnel tend to resort to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of their drives and machinery to solve problems. This requires the OEMs to have remote access to the machine level, posing security concerns... (more)
Surge protection for LED mast lights
Information from DEHN Protection

LED mast lights for street, walkway and open space lighting are mounted at light point heights of several metres to ensure a large field of illumination. This, however, is only possible with sufficient luminous flux of the light source... (more)

From the ICMEESA archive: Some interesting features of a modern power station
by A Griffiths, 1974
 
A closer look at South Africa's most modern power plant, Arnot, focusing on its coal and ash handling plant; boilers; water plant; generators and control and monitoring, among others... (more)
What will MV switchgear look like in the future?
by Jean-Marc Biasse, Schneider Electric

The development of the switchgear of tomorrow is coupled with the deployment of the smart grid which will require two-way communication. This poses the question of what is needed to ready today's technology for the challenge... (more) 
Dynamic compressor selection programmes: practical challenges
by Dr. Gerhard Bolt, Dr. Johan Marais, Dr. Johann van Rensburg, North-West University

The real-time energy management system for dynamic compressor selection selects compressors dynamically, based on their efficiency and position within the compressed air network... (more) 
Novel redesign of welded pressure leach autoclaves for the platinum industry 
 
by Prof. Madeleine du Toit et al

 

The base metals refinery of a major platinum producer in South Africa refines converter matte-containing base metals and platinum group metals (PGMs) using a five-stage hydrometallurgical process. The second-stage leach produces a PGM-rich residue... (more) 

Load management on closed loop underground fridge plant  
by Walter Booysen and Dr. Johann van Rensburg, North-West University

 

Load management projects are widely implemented in South Africa. Eskom Demand Side Management (DSM) endorses these projects as they aid in reducing the utility's peak demand. There is also a cost benefit for participating entities billed on time of use (ToU) tariff structures... (more) 

ECA News

Industry news 

Company, product, project & service news