Included as part of last year’s WorldSkills competition was a new demonstration of skills – Specialist in Water Technology – where 16 teams competed to solve problems using the new EDS Water Management modular learning system. The system, developed in conjunction with Festo Didactic South Africa as part of the GIZ/Festo water training project, is currently being piloted in South Africa. “It represents the core of a water and wastewater treatment plant and is a modular learning system developed to teach students about water supply and wastewater treatment,” explains Horst Weinert, manager, Festo Didactic South Africa.
The EDS Water Management system is equipped with industrial components and simulates the core processes of water and waste water plants, e.g. ion flocculation, chlorine dosage and measurement, sedimentation, drain control, aeration and more. Thanks to its industry-oriented design, the system makes it possible to explore the principles behind the collection, extraction, transport and treatment of water and wastewater. It also offers measurement and open and closed-loop control technology. Most of the components are the same as their real-life equivalents and the system is designed so that a certain amount of dirt is automatically added, which behaves in the same way as sludge particles that have to be fed back into the process after drying.
“South Africa is a unique contrast of First and Third World, which makes it a great place to test whether German technology can work in a developing country,” explains Weinert. The EDS allows students and employees of water and wastewater companies to learn about water purification, water supply, wastewater transport, wastewater treatment and energy optimisation. “We are working towards making this a new skill at the next WorldSkills in 2015. As the system was developed in South Africa, we hope to send a winning team to compete,” concludes Weinert.
RS South Africa shapes future engineering talent RS South Africa
News
RS South Africa is demonstrating that nurturing future engineers goes beyond traditional classrooms or competitions. On STEM Day, the company shone a light on the full spectrum of its educational initiatives.
Read more...UKZN’s SMART lab wins aviation award
News
: The SMART Lab at UKZN was awarded first place in the Aviation Research and Development category at the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa’s award ceremony for outstanding contributions and achievements in the aviation sector.
Read more...Meta and partners announce completion of 2Africa subsea cable system
News
Meta, in partnership with leading global and regional telecommunications companies, has announced the completion and activation of the core 2Africa subsea cable system. This marks a historic milestone in digital infrastructure, establishing what the world’s longest open-access subsea cable system.
Read more...SEW-EURODRIVE unveils world class facility in Gqeberha
News
In a landmark event in the Eastern Cape attended by key customers and industry leaders, SEW-EURODRIVE officially opened its expanded state-of-the-art facility in Gqeberha, marking a major milestone in its strategy to strengthen regional support and deepen its footprint in the region.
Read more...Africa’s brightest young battery innovators Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric and Enactus, the international NGO dedicated to inspiring students through entrepreneurial action, have announced the winners of the 2025 Energy Transition Battery Innovation Challenge, funded by the Schneider Electric Foundation. It empowers young innovators to design battery solutions addressing the region’s most pressing energy challenges.
Read more...The road to the Indaba
News
The Africa Automation Indaba 2026 is set to become a landmark gathering for Africa’s automation, process control and manufacturing community. SA Instrumentation and Control will be running a dedicated editorial series spotlighting the voices, ideas and debates shaping Africa’s industrial future.
Read more...Crash reconstruction tests advance vehicle safety research
News
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Scientific Multidisciplinary Advanced Research Technologies (SMART) Lab recently participated in a series of collaborative crash reconstruction tests held at the Toyota Test Track.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version