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Issue 99                                                                                                         March 2016
In this issue...
- Reprieve for taxpayers in demanding times
- Vulnerable employees: The RSA legislature intervention and the employer's retaliation
- Managing discipline in the workplace Part 2: preparing for disciplinary measures
- Industry outrage as Bureau of Standards ends partial testing
- Koeberg generator replacement saga may threaten power security
- Eskom cries foul as NERSA rejects its diesel claim
- The use of LED technology in data transmission
- Case study: the Times Square ball upgraded
- An improved approach for connecting VSDs and electric motors
- Anatomy of the emergency stop push button
- Achieve savings by repairing steam traps
- Solar water heater rollout programme gains momentum
- A history of the elevator industry
- Selection of explosion protected equipment for hazardous locations
- Project Pinboard
- ECA(SA) news
- Industry news
- Company, product, project & service news

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 Published by

 

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Mark Botha Reprieve for taxpayers in demanding times
by Mark Botha, EE Publishers
 
Business must currently contend the downward growth trend in the Orient, the falling rand-dollar exchange rate and the possibility of a rating agency downgrade but all is not doom gloom... (more)
Mark Mfikoe
Vulnerable employees: the legislature and the employer
by Mark Mfikoe, ECA(SA)
 
The Labour Relations Act, Act 66 of 1995 was amended with effect 1 January 2015. One of the focal points of this amendment was to offer greater protection to vulnerable employees... (more)
Stephen Khola
Preparing for workplace disciplinary measures
by Stephen Khola, ECA(SA)
 
The issue of discipline may arise as a result of a complaint or a suspicion of misconduct. It is advisable to gather certain preliminary facts before embarking on any form of discipline... (more)
Dr. Boni Mehlomakulu
Industry outrage as Bureau of Standards ends partial testing
by Chris Yelland and Pierre Potgieter, EE Publishers
 
An internal directive by South African Bureau of Standards CEO Dr. Boni Mehlomakulu in 2015 requires that SABS Test House only perform "full testing" in future, and puts an end to "partial testing"... (more)
Koeberg generator replacement saga may threaten power security
by Chris Yelland and Aim�e Clarke, EE Publishers


In further developments in the ongoing dispute of a R5-billion contract awarded by Eskom to Areva, Westinghouse has opposed their applications to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a Supreme Court of Appeal judgement on 9 December 2015... (more)
Eskom cries foul as the energy regulator rejects its diesel claim
by Chris Yelland and Joanne Taylor, EE Publishers

At a media briefing on 1 March 2016, the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) announced the approval of an average 9,4% electricity price increase for Eskom for the 2016/2017 financial year. However, it rejected Eskom's claim for a higher tarrif increase... (more)

The use of LED technology in data transmission
Information from PureLiFi


"Light Fidelity" (LiFi) is a new technology which uses visble light energy from LEDs to provide ubiquitous wireless access for communications in illuminated areas. The technology does this by manipulating the intensity of the light, which is then received by a photo-sensitive detector... (
more)
Case study: the Times Square ball upgraded
Information from Philips Lumileds


The iconic New Year's Eve ball, which represents a convergence of tradition and technology, has been redesigned using 9576 LEDs and triangular, double-cut crystal lenses. Each year, millions of people from all over the world watch as this ball "drops" in New York City's Times Square... (
more)
An improved approach for connecting VSDs and electric motors 
by Heu Vang and Marco Chiari, Schneider Electric 

Motor winding insulation can deteriorate quickly and the motor may fail when variable speed drives are connected to motors by long cable lengths. Within the VSD, AC supply voltage is converted into DC by means of a rectifier... (more
Anatomy of the emergency stop push button 
Information from Rockwell Automation
 
A discussion of emergency stop devices, their properties and applications, and the global standards governing them. According to EN ISO 13850, an emergency stop function is intended to avert hazards or to reduce existing hazards to persons, machinery or to work in progress... (more)
Achieve savings by repairing steam traps
Information from Fluke and Pennant Engineering
 
Steam loss from faulty steam traps can cost vast amounts each year. The only way to avoid this loss is to test the traps' valves several times a year. Steam traps are, however, often installed high above floor level and need catwalks and ladders for access... (more)
Solar water heater rollout programme gains momentum
by Mike Rycroft, EE Publishers
 
The DoE's solar water heater programme, aimed at houses without electrical hot water supply, also covers the replacement of existing electric geysers, but it has been beset with problems. The Department of Energy (DoE) launched a solar water heater programme to equip 1-million homes with solar water heaters... (more
A history of the elevator industry  
by GA MacWhirter, Otis Elevator Company, 1973

The development of the lift as a mechanical and electrical problem and its impact on the social and economic life of our cities. In the 1850s, all cities had population densities based on the maximum practical height of buildings at the time. Four storeys was the limit... (more
Selection of explosion protected equipment for hazardous locations 
by Pieter Coetzee, Explotac

While national regulations exist in some countries, there is an urgent need for an international approach to curb explosion-related industrial accidents wherever workers and communities are exposed explosion risk... (more
Project Pinboard

  • Solar power for South Africa's airports
  • Land earmarked for commercial development
  • Upgrades to Cape Town N1 begins
  • Noupoort Wind Farm connects to Eskom grid
  • Contract for new luxury high-rise in Sandton... (more)
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Industry news
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