The last month will be remembered as an exciting one where the branch facilitated two technical evenings, hosted by Proconics and Yokogawa. We also hosted our first technical evening where members could join in person (post lockdown) or online. Our hope for the future is that members will be able to attend presentations in person as well as online from a remote site.
Proconics
The first presentation was by Adriaan van Wyk from Proconics. Adriaan, now a common feature at the branch, is a local committee member and this was his second presentation of the year. The topic he presented was ‘Fire and Gas System Engineering and Assessment of Effectiveness’.
He started by explaining the basics of fire detection and infrared flame sensors. He explained the importance and common issues when choosing the correct technology. He then explained that to detect a flame is very important, but to act proactively a person needs to predict when it will happen. Here, placing gas detection systems to warn of an impending fire risk is critical. Adriaan showed that by using CFS simulation software, one can predict how a disaster will occur, which allows the design of better fire safety systems that react appropriately.
This presentation was most informative, and a recording can be found on the Proconics YouTube channel.
Yokogawa
The second technical evening was presented by Bruce Bonte on the wireless standard ISA100.11A. This was the first presentation where members could attend in person or online. The remote audience joined the presentation via MS teams and watched through a projector.
Bruce Bonte started by explaining the basic advantages and drawbacks of using a wireless solution. This was followed by explaining the advantages of using products that conform to the ISA100.11A standard. What was interesting was when he explained the increased security that the standard allows, such as channel hopping with encryption. He then proceeded to explain the methodology that Yokogawa uses to design its wireless networks.
The branch thanks Proconics and Yokogawa for their support and the sharing of expertise.
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