Brrrr it is really cold here in Johannesburg at this time of year. Being my second year here, I am still getting used to the freezing winters in Gauteng. The same cannot be said about the SAIMC, where things are really hotting up with regards to the rebranding project. We have had your opinion on the logo and the new brand is going to be launched this month with great fanfare. I am sure you all had a tough time selecting your favourite, particularly between the old logo and the new one with the words SAIMC dominant. The selected logo will make its début along with the brand image on our website.
The website is up and running and all members in good standing should have received their login credentials during the first week of this month. Please contact our secretariat on admin@saimc.co.za if you have not received your information yet. You will need to update some of your personal information once you login. We would appreciate your comments on the new website, so please write to me. I would like to put on record the sincere thanks of the SAIMC council to Selvan Murugan and his team for ensuring that we have a new and very professional website. This will become a hub of our activities in the coming months and years, particularly for members who cannot attend our technology meetings and other networking activities.
The website will be a key feature in the execution of our new strategy that was crafted at the May meeting. I am proud to be able to share the main aspects of this strategy with our readers, and I am sure that those of you who are not yet members will see the definite benefits of joining the dynamic and winning SAIMC team!
Four task teams have been created to refine the strategy and create execution mechanisms, these are:
1. Lobby Government, ECSA and other stakeholders about the importance of Control and Instrumentation (C&I) and to elevate the profile of C&I and the SAIMC in the general engineering environment. The ultimate aim of this task team is to get C&I recognised as the tenth engineering discipline by ECSA. The SAIMC also wants to be able to influence new legislation, regulations and standards that affect us as C&I practitioners, as well as the industry participants both vendors and end-users. Participants at the strategy meeting identified examples of international standards that have been implemented in South Africa which are not suitable for the South African environment, making compliance difficult.
2. Develop a business and marketing plan so that the organisation can operate with structure and focus. The strategic objectives will be prioritised in line with our available resources. The marketing plan will complement the endeavours to raise the profile of the SAIMC and ensure that its value proposition is well understood by both members and potential members. The SAIMC will require a lot of resources to deliver on its ambitions, so any assistance will be gladly accepted.
3. Establish training programmes for members, and industry in general, which are world-class and capacitate an industry which is struggling with the skills shortage. Continuous Professional Develop (CPD) accredited training will also be made accessible to our members across the country. The ultimate objective of this task team is to get engineering degrees specialised in C&I at both the traditional universities and universities of technology. We are collaborating with academics who recognise the need for this qualification in the engineering landscape.
4. Collaboration with other local and international organisations to forge stronger relationships for the SAIMC that will benefit the members. The C&I discipline is far more recognised and respected internationally than it is here in South Africa. This will all culminate in the C&I discipline and the SAIMC getting the respect and recognition it deserves.
I hope our plans will get you as excited as they have got council and me. From my hot desk at the SAIMC, in the middle of winter, I thank you all for taking the time to read this column. Please mail me with your constructive feedback so that council and I can serve you better vinesh.maharaj@saimc.co.za
Thanks and regards,
Vinesh
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | ina@saimc.co.za |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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