SAIChE Members' Area

SAIChE has an obligation to advance its mission as communicated in the Institution's constitution, as well as to ensure that the Institution's activities are transparent to its members and public at large. There is also a need for members to have an easy to access communication channel to the institution.

These two goals can be achieved through deployment of an informative and interactive website. In addition to meeting the above, purely communication-centred objective, there is a need for a centralized, easy-to-maintain members' database, where various membership-related information (such as yearly fees payment status) is made available to the members and the administrator alike.

As such, SAIChE embarked on a new administration system to replace the outdated system used over the past 12 years. The new system is looking to provide much needed structure and support for our administration staff, as well as adding increased functionality for our members through our online Members Area.

Website visitors (SAIChE members and non-members) have easy access to information they seek, with members being issued with unique personal login details (username and password set), which would authenticate them and permit wider exploration of the website content (including checking membership status and updating of their personal details, and the opening of new interest groups).

There is also a requirement that the company members gain better exposure on the website. This can take a form of a dedicated company member's index page, banners (which would be spread over the web site), or other graphic elements. Care would be taken that each company gets equal opportunity of exposure. SAIChE would like to ensure ongoing support of these companies, through maximizing their exposure to our members.

The website is provided with a web statistics capability. This enables the administrator to monitor the site traffic and to view the popularity of pages. This information could be used to ensure that the website responds to and exceeds the expectations of the site visitors and especially SAIChE members.

The key functionality enhancements of the website are as follows:

• Applicants are now able to apply for SAIChE membership online.
• Approved members are allocated a user name and password for access to our members area.
• The members area is a secure login area where members can view and update their personal details that SAIChE has in its database.
• Members are now also able to view their financial status with SAIChE by viewing a list of invoices/ payments with an outstanding balance due.

The new SAIChE website has a well-designed interface, which offers a pleasant user experience. We trust that this enhanced functionality will benefit both our members and staff to aid our communication within the SAIChE community.