Having resumed monthly in-person technology evenings earlier this year following a protracted hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions, on 13 July the SAIMC’s Johannesburg branch hosted the instrumentation and control community at Bryanston Sports Club.
The presenter was a familiar face to the local industry: Gary Friend, sales director of Extech Safety Systems and former member of the SAIMC council. His presentation covered Ex markings, the importance of which goes without saying, and delved into what each element of these markings represents. Seemingly straightforward multiple-choice questions at the end of each topic underscored how tricky it can actually be to interpret them correctly (the highly knowledgeable audience got most of the questions correct, which also goes without saying).
Given the hazardous nature of the environments in which Ex-rated equipment is installed, Gary’s presentation underscored the fact that any and all pieces of equipment must be selected by an engineer with highly specialised expertise and a thorough understanding of the application in question, and installed by a technician who is equipped with similar expertise and the necessary certification that goes along with it.
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