Those loyal readers who look forward to their monthly `Control Loop' fix from Michael Brown are going to recoil in shock and horror ... Yes, the unthinkable has happened ... we are Michael Brownless! For the first time in something like six years Michael has elected to take a REAL holiday, so there is no `Control Loop' article this month. He has gone off to enjoy some fishing in Scottish lochs and streams (and I understand that his missus has placed a ban on PCs.)
Soon our control loop guru will return sporting a kilt - with a thistle clenched in his teeth, brimming with Scottish fervour, ready to continue his war on the vacuum that exists in practical control loop issues.
Michael Brown and I share a similar passion when it comes to the point of what it is that control engineers are working on accomplishing. As I have mentioned before, there is most certainly a use for a firm understanding of the pure mathematics and theory in automatic control ... But mere head knowledge of this subject has been seen to be insufficient on its own. In fact (and I am sure that there will be a gasp out there) I believe that it is possible to be a wizard in optimisation without any remarkable ability in mathematically intensive theory.
One does not need to be able to calculate all the temperatures, forces, pressures and moments in and around a helicopter to 10 decimals in order to be able to fly one. While an understanding of how a car works may make it easier for you to fast track your initial attempts at driving, it is still only practice that trains that neural network between your ears. The more exposure, from as many angles as possible, the more intimate will be your intuitive grasp of a process.
When it comes to practical matters, there is little that can beat the incredible power of a wealth of experience. A person having a good intuitive feel can far more quickly perceive cause and effect relationships, this enables them to see areas for improvement where others may believe that everything is running well. It will enable them to see when dangerous conditions are likely to develop. The good-old apprenticeship route makes solid sense.
The SAIMC JHB branch has extended a special invitation for me to attend its September meeting, where the only independent apprentice training centre in the country will be presenting its offering. (See 'Johannesburg branch (branch of the year)'). I am hoping that I will be able to tear myself from the Durban office to hear first-hand what is happening - in what I believe is the future of the competence of our automated industry.
Some may believe that my passions lie in education and training. What I am actually passionate about is truth - but what is education and training if it is not the act of imparting a sizeable measure of truth? Speaking of truth, although we are Michael Brownless, we still have an interesting magazine this month: Have you ever wondered why so many plant officials are so paranoid about letting cameras onto the premises? The official reason they give is that they do not want their trade secrets leaked to their competition. Come on - if these secrets were so valuable it would be very easy to find a way of getting a spy into the plant. The spy would not need a camera. He could be one of the guys working for the system integrator doing an upgrade ... the spy could be one of those 'Tech students' - or even one of the female cleaning staff!
I think that many plant owners are scared of something other than their trade secrets getting out. How safe is their plant? To what degree do they compromise safety in order to maximise their profits? Just how close is SA to having a sizeable plant disaster? Is this paranoid thinking? You decide - read 'Bhopal, twenty years on - could it happen here?'
John Gibbs, editor
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