Prior to the load-shedding events, customers were fairly used to power interruptions which were primarily caused by lightning or cable theft events. Since these events, many people associate any form of interruption with ‘load-shedding'. This article considers the other event types and their impact on quality of supply; specifically voltage regulation and voltage continuity (more commonly referred to as reliability of the supply).

During an IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Conference [1], Dr M Capelli-Schellpfeffer discussed the results of a ten year study involving 120 000 employees at Electricité de France. On average, 125 electrical incidents occurred per annum; 77% of these were electric arc related, with 21% resulting in permanent disabilities and 2,4% were fatalities. Just over 30 workers died as a result of arc exposure over this period. How are South Africans ensuring that they do not follow suit? This article explores the electrical arc flash phenomenon and explains the salient points of SANS 724 [2]: Personal protective equipment and protective clothing against the thermal hazards of an electric arc and the normative reference NFPA 70E - 2009 Standard for electrical safety in the workplace [3].

Businesses all over the world are governed by a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, and related management systems practices. These are standards - used to make the development, manufacturing and supply of products and services more efficient, safer and cleaner. This article provides a view of issues on standards for accessible design. It provides an analysis on economic, business and social impact of the development and use of national and international standards for end-users at any level of business activity.

The laws of refraction are complex and involved, but certain basic principles can be used to intercept, modify and re-model a single ray or collective light source emission. These concepts are used in the lighting industry in light control and encompass such attachments as diffusers, lenses, bowls and other optical auxiliaries between the light source and the object or surface to be illuminated.

Accuracy - the one test no flowmeter can afford to fail. Why? Because accuracy equals money: A customer paying 100 dollars per barrel (of crude oil) and edging an improvement of only 0,1% on inaccuracy for 100 000 barrels per day could be looking at $3,6 M dollars a year in additional profit. High measuring accuracy under ideal reference operating conditions is not everything. What is of crucial importance though, is that the devices do what they are supposed to do in everyday practical circumstances. Which is why calibration is accuracy's best friend.

Providing portable renewable energy to remote villages and other areas that do not have access to the power grid is indeed a challenge. Remote villages without access to the power grid must rely on diesel or petroleum generators for electricity, which means they have power only when they can get fuel. The solution can be found in developing a portable 12 kW airborne wind energy system that uses a tethered, flexible airfoil to replace the blades and tower found on traditional wind turbines. Because the system has no tower, it does not require a heavy reinforced concrete foundation, so it can be mounted to a trailer and can provide portable renewable energy in remote off-grid areas.

Ozone has come of age. This frequently misunderstood natural element is fast proving itself to be an indispensable gas, increasingly making its presence felt in all facets of industry. While the conventional applications of ozone as a powerful disinfector and oxidant are well documented, industry is starting to open its eyes to a myriad of new possibilities for ozone and ozone technology, all of which point to a healthier and cleaner physical world.

BBBEE legislation stymies skills development
In an effort to retain academia at our country's universities members of Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) in conjunction with the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC) and the eThekwini Municipality have developed the KwaZulu-Natal University Civil Support Fund (KNUCS Fund) to subvent the salaries of lecturers in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of KwaZulu Natal and have been doing so for the past three years, the latest in a number of such initiatives over the years. A recent setback to the initiative is that BBBEE verification agencies are no longer recognising money donated to this initiative as CSI spend as it is not going directly to black beneficiaries. Read more on page 50.

A Nuclear Expansion Conference provides insight into South Africa's nuclear plans and we attend the launch of Schneider Electric's Acti 9 - a new generation of miniature devices.