Johannesburg Branch (branch of the year)
Yes, we have done it again! At the National Council AGM held Wednesday 24 March 2004, the Johannesburg Branch was again chosen as the branch of the year 2003.
As the branch Chairman, I am proud of this truly great achievement and I thank our branch committee members and families for their commitment; without them, nothing would happen. We had fierce competition from the Secunda Branch, but the efforts of our education sub-committee gave us the edge. Johan Grobler and Nico Marneweck worked hard to encourage new engineers to enter our industry. The cost of awards presented to promising students is considerable, and largely provided by an annual contribution from Group Schneider. We also raise funds by meeting sponsorships and events such as golf days. In this way, our members can contribute to the branch and we thank you for your support.
April meeting
Due to the IEC holding their National Election on Wednesday 14 April the second Wednesday of the month, we were forced to move our April meeting to the following Wednesday, 21 April. I wish that the IEC would consult with us in the future as they are disrupting our meeting schedule!
The months' topic was 'Smart solutions - instrument/electrical engineering packages' A very important subject for all engineers and technicians involved with the basic engineering of loops diagrams and hook-up drawings. Packages available these days make project documentation so much easier to update and maintain.
SA I&C apologises to the JHB branch for the late inclusion of their April news.
May meeting
Our May meeting was on schedule with full attendance after the April holidays, elections, and disruptions. We had a record attendance for a meeting held this year, and a lot of interest shown. History was also made as we had four National Council members in attendance. The President, Cornu Perold, immediate past President, Johan Stein, secretary, Dick Perry (who also heads up the SAIMC Education committee), and Vivian MacFadyen (who is also our branch vice chairman). It was great having them all together at our branch meeting.
The topic of the month was a practical approach to Hart transmitter calibration and troubleshooting presented by Brendan Campbell of Spescom, an expert in this field. The items covered during this discussion were: process calibration, what is Hart, traditional Hart calibration and troubleshooting. This was a hands-on presentation demonstrating all of the above subjects. Some equipment demonstrated was interesting in that it established a calibration audit trail, including the calibration points and the comparison between the instrument under test and the reference. These results documented both the as found, and the final calibration results. This proved to be most interesting and every one left the meeting having learnt something new.
The June meeting will be sponsored by Siemens who have acquired a number of instrument companies in the last few years, for details on the topic and speaker keep a look out for your e-mails.
Site visits
19 May - was the Wika Factory Tour
(Watch out for the article in next month's report.)
Future site visits are being finalised and include NATREF, Rand Water Board and the SABC.
SAIMC Golf Day 11 June
By now, if you have not booked your four ball you are too late!
Those who have booked their four balls and reserved a water hole, erected their company banners and enjoyed meeting and serving refreshments to all the players, an opportunity to join in with the fun. All players receive a prize (no matter how well they play). Everyone manning a waterhole is welcome to join us at the prize giving and stay on for supper at the end of the day.
Our meetings are normally held at the Rivonia Country Club every second Wednesday of the month at 18:00. The presentation starts at 18:30 sharp and is limited to 1 hour and ends at 19:30.
Drinks and eats are sponsored, so come and join in the discussion and gain some valuable knowledge. See you there.
Once again, thank you to all of our regular attendees and my committee for their enthusiastic commitment.
Chairman, Johan van Jaarsveldt
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