The SAIMC Secunda branch held its monthly technology evening on 12 July 2023 at the Proconics Secunda office. Jurie Weidemann from Pepperl+Fuchs gave an enlightening presentation on Functional Safety: Manufacturing vs Process. The presentation highlighted functional safety and how it relates to both manufacturing of SIL-rated equipment and implementing this in process safety systems.
Jurie covered common misconceptions about SIL. He explained how a single SIL-rated device does not make a loop a SIL certifiable loop, how SIL 3 is not necessarily better than SIL 2 because of complexities around maintenance and associated costs, and how the credibility of a SIL-rated device also depends on how you install and maintain it.
He touched on the topic of residual risks and tolerable risks, and their matrices in functional safety. The topic of tolerable risks sparked a healthy engagement among the attendees. The general conversation was about the controversy around tolerable risks and how it does not sit well with society. Tolerable risks can be misconstrued as reducing human life to monetary value. However, the point of functional safety is to reduce the risks as much as possible.
Jurie Weidemann is an external sales engineer at Pepperl+Fuchs. He started his technical career in the SA Navy in 2005. He has since held a number of technical positions in various organisations. The Secunda SAIMC committee would like to thank him for his time and presentation, and Proconics for hosting the monthly Technology Evening.
SAIMC: From the office of the CEO: Understanding the Engineering Profession Act SAIMC
SAIMC
For a full and detailed explanation of whether you are doing engineering work, I recommend visiting the ECSA website and looking up the IoEW Gazette. Meanwhile, here’s a simplified breakdown to get you started and hopefully encourage you to explore further.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
Read more...Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
Read more...Getting your OT data into the cloud – the why and the how
SAIMC
As users recognise the benefits of a digital transformation strategy for their industrial plants and systems and start to adopt it, they soon face the challenge of getting operational technology data securely and reliably to a cloud service provider of their choice.
Read more...SAIMC training at AATF 2025 empowers engineers to register, comply and advance SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Computer Engineering (SAIMC) will deliver a powerful series of training sessions and technical workshops during the Africa Automation Technology Fair (AATF) 2025, providing engineers, technologists and technicians with the tools they need to register professionally, stay compliant, and lead industrial innovation.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg March technology event was hosted by Comtest, the Fluke agent in southern Africa. The topic was Renewable Energy Resources.
printer friendly version