Table Mountain is a South African landmark which fills us with pride. With its breathtaking views it certainly is the country’s most famous mountain. What makes it even more unique, is that it, too, is becoming EnviroFicient. The author shares with us how Table Mountain Cableway Company has installed energy savings technology which has helped them to reduce their monthly electricity expenses and usage.

Take note
o Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company is becoming EnviroFicient.
o A power quality audit should consider voltage, current, power factor and harmonics.
o For each kilogram of coal that Eskom does not need to burn, we save water and produce less CO2.

About the author
Otto Hager, CEO of Iskhus Power, has more than 18 years of experience within the energy efficiency industry. He started Iskhus Power in 1998 and has since completed the largest energy efficiency projects for some of South Africa’s leading companies. Enquiries: 011 822 1112; email michelle@iskhus.co.za. Visit www.iskhus.co.za.

How to become EnviroFicient
Reducing your carbon footprint

Substation Automation has been implemented in the Electrical Supply Industry (ESI) for over the past 30 years. Until recently the two predominant fields of protection and control were automated independently using discrete process wiring to the switchgear and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) protocols respectively. The only interface between the two was provided for by discrete copper wiring for signal pick-ups and command executions. Early SCADA systems used proprietary protocols over serial point to point and point to multi-point links that were often tied to the hardware in use. Given the long life cycle technologies and stringent safety requirements in the ESI, enabling interoperability for new protocol interfaces on the SCADA side became a costly and engineering intensive exercise. Hence the need for a standard communications protocol grew to the outcome of standards such as IEC 60870-5-101 and 103.

This article concentrates more on the SCADA evolution and the communication effects on the protection interface relating to the release of the IEC 61850 Standard for Electrical Substations.

Take note
o Automation applies as much to your process and manufacturing plant as it does to your energy supply plant.
o Substation automation has been implemented for more than 30 years.
o IEC 61850 provides a single protocol to facilitate protection and control functionality in IEDs – across vendors.

About the author
Alan Simon received his National Diploma in Electrical Engineering at ML Sultan Technikon (Durban) in 1991. In April 2002, he was registered as a professional technologist with ECSA. He worked on the engineering and application of substation control systems at Eskom Transmission for 12 years. He has recently started his own Training, Consulting and Project Application business focused on the substation automation environment. His current customer base consists of Eskom and various suppliers to the electrical utility. When away from work Alan enjoys hiking and wilderness trails. Tel. 011 454 4512; 082 903 5115; email alan@intrinsic-eng.co.za. Visit www.intrinsic-eng.co.za.

Joint venture for electric and hybrid vehicles
Fire and gas detection in Turkish pipeline
Simpler with SImatic
Sockets for industrial relays
3D industrial sensor
Talk to remote machines via internet
Sensors and cordsets for factory automation
Automate now
Free online tool for machine safety calculation
Surveillance integration systems
Integration for effective security

Bulk belt conveyor drives are critical elements of any production process and the failure of one of these drives can cause millions of rand of lost production. A sensible approach to the procurement of this type of equipment is to obtain complete drive systems from one supplier. In this way, carefully selected and compatible drive elements are united into a harmoniously functioning single unit and the responsibility and accountability for satisfactory performance of the entire package rests with one organisation.

Take note
o Bulk belt conveyor drives are critical elements in any production process. o Drive systems must be precisely tailored to the requirements of a specific application. o Combining key components that are best of breed into a single package ensures a reliable, engineered solution with one supplier accountable for its performance.

About the author
Mark Barbour joined Bearing Man as a trainee in the geared motor division in 1998. He later worked in sales in the power drives division responsible for repairs and purchases of electric motors, later becoming product manager responsible for electric motors in Gauteng. In 2006 he became divisional head of electric motors and is currently general manager of BMG Drives. Enquiries: 011 620 1500 or email markb@bmgworld.net.

Machine repair and refurbishment is not simply about fixing what is broken. It is about planning the maintenance and improvement of your plant. This article highlights some aspects of large machine repair and argues that South Africa is, in fact, a leader in the area of large machine repair. The article provides one case study of a large machine repair as an example of what can be achieved.

Take note
o South Africa has large machine repairers which are comparable to the world’s best.
o Proper repair requires meticulous planning and faultless execution.
o World class machine repair requires a world class engineering team.


About the authors
Richard Botton is the managing director at Marthinusen & Coutts. He completed his armature winding apprenticeship at Marthinusen & Coutts and was workshop manager in a number of Savcio’s rewind operations before running ABB Botton Armature winders in Zimbabwe for 10 years.

Mike Chamberlain is the marketing director of Marthinusen & Coutts. He has a B.Com Honours degree and 17 years experience in the industry. He was previously general manager of LH Marthinusen Rotating Machines Division.

Paul van der Walt is based at Lonmin and is responsible for the execution of the rebuild of the man winder at Lonmin. He has 26 years’ experience in the mining industry and is a qualified professional certificated engineer.

Making plant management efficient
Belting up
Sweet drives at sugar mill
MCC for wastewater plant
A drive to share knowledge
Motors - mean and lean
Efficient wind-turbine technology
Trend to Blend

A true Master
Request for information
Company donates SCADA systems
Energy Efficiency Made Simple 2009
Congratulations
Raising the bar in machine visualisation

Congratulations
Raising the bar in machine visualisation
Consolidate for excellence
Siemens Micromaster Show
Intriguing technology

Data storage is critical to all types of industry. Most data centre professionals choose lead-acid batteries as their preferred method of energy storage. However, alternatives to lead-acid batteries are attracting more attention as raw material and energy costs continue to increase and as governments become more vigilant regarding environmental and waste disposal issues. This article compares several popular classes of batteries, compares batteries to both flywheels and ultra-capacitors, and briefly discusses fuel cells. It covers energy storage technologies that are available today and have practical use in data centres – each suited to different needs.

Take note
o Most data centres use lead acid batteries as the preferred method of energy storage.
o Lead-acid batteries are not the only energy storage technology worth of consideration.
o The most appropriate energy storage technology will depend on the application.


About the authors
Stephen McCluer is a senior applications engineer for external codes and standards compliance at APC-MGE. He has 25 years of experience in the power protection industry, and is a member of the IEEE Stationary Battery Committee where he chairs two working groups. He also is a member of NFPA, ICC, IAEI, ASHRAE, and the USGBC.

Jean-Francois Christin is business development manager for APC-MGE’s Secure Power Solutions organisation. His 17 years of experience in the power systems industry includes management of technical support in APC-MGE’s South Asia and Pacific region, and management of technical communication and business development in the EMEA/LAM region.

Push-in connection
New series for medical applications
Paperless world

The pharmaceutical supply chain contains vast amounts of temperature sensitive materials. These may be APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) or finished products. During transportation, storage and even manufacturing, temperature excursions outside of critical control limits severely impact product potency and efficacy. There are a wide variety of products available to pharmaceutical manufacturers for all aspects of temperature monitoring. Some of these products provide digital records, some provide hard copy records, and some can provide both. This article presents an overview of available options and what can be expected from each for regulatory and record keeping purposes.

Take note
o Temperature monitoring within the pharmaceutical industry is critical.
o There are many tools available for monitoring temperature and the appropriate tool (a combination) must be selected.
o A full, traceable temperature history may be necessary to meet regulatory compliance requirements.

About the author
Leigh Kimmelman has a Bachelors of Science degree in Imaging Science from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is responsible for driving all aspects of DeltaTRAK’s marketing activities. He also works closely with those teams involved in the development and manufacture of the company's cold chain management solutions. Temperature Controls are the sole agents and representatives for DeltaTRAK in South Africa. Enquiries: Tel. 011 791 6000 or email louiseb@tempcon.co.za.

Thermal imaging at your fingertips!
Early warnings
Just a tad...
Compact, cute, clever
Addition to PLICS

The successful commissioning of a 23 bay gas-insulated 145 kV substation is the product of the technology selected, the primary network design and the technical specification issued as part of the procurement process. A project of this nature and importance can only be successfully implemented with the correct specification of the equipment in accordance with international standards and knowledge of the acceptance testing included, due consideration of the risks to existing customers and the specific focus on quality of equipment and contractors.

Take note
o Project success is based on careful planning.
o Properly defined FATs ensure efficient on site implementation.
o SF6 switchgear serve an important purpose in HV networks.

About the author
Edgar Capes is the manager of transmission system development at the City of Cape Town Electricity Services Directorate. He obtained his B.Sc (Eng) degree at UCT in 1989 and is a registered Professional Engineer. In addition he has a government certificate of competency and is a member of the SAIEE. Edgar has 17 years of experience in the design and implementation of high voltage network enhancement, extension and replacement projects.

Progress on stadium electrical installations
Before it strikes you out of the blue!
Transformer-less solar inverters
Protection for power supplies
Lock-out features for disconnect terminal blocks
Advanced power supply units for industrial applications
Modular lightning and surge protection