President's desk
June 2006
SAIMC
Well all, it has been a long road that I have travelled with the SAIMC. From being a student member when an apprentice at African Explosives and Chemical Industries as it was then known, to the president of the organisation. It all started around about the middle of the twentieth century when things were done very differently. The transistor had not yet been accepted as a reliable component in instrumentation. There have been many 'revolutionary new ideas', but guess what; the basic principles are the same!
For those of you entering this field of engineering, my advice is to become well grounded in the basic principles of measurement, and use the latest technology as purely a tool to convert physical phenomena into engineering units that can be used to evaluate or control the process that you are measuring.
The tools change, when I started, we used pneumatic signals to transmit and control (spring and wind instruments using 3 to 15 psi). This worked extremely well, and we achieved some exciting goals. Today, we use bus systems transmitting enormous amounts of information on two wires. Combine this with microprocessors and we can once again transmit and control. This too works extremely well, and again we have achieved some exciting goals. The only difference is that the equipment has got smaller and faster.
We are in an industry that changes faster than any other. Revel in the new developments; but remember the basics. If you want to stay in this exciting profession, become an expert at using new tools but be prepared for change because it will happen sooner than you can imagine. This occupation is exhilarating and challenging; enjoy the experience, get the latest tools, but do not discard the old ones. If you do not get excited about change, or fear it, then go and count something, you could earn more 1, 2, 3, 4...
Vivian MacFadyen
Vivian MacFadyen
[email protected]
Further reading:
SAIMC: From the office of the CEO: Recognising winners
SAIMC
SAIMC
The Africa Automation and Technology Fair proved to be another successful event – and that is before any formal figures have been released.
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SAIMC: Durban branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
The Durban branch of the SAIMC was pleased to welcome Vusi Sithole, managing member of Hybrid Control Corporation in Richards Bay, who presented\on the very pertinent topic of ‘Infrastructure monitoring and control for water loss management’.
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SAIMC: Sunshine, swings and smiles: Durban Golf Day hits a high note
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
SAIMC
We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: May in Durban is hard to beat; but 9 May, when the Durban Golf Day teed off at Kloof Country Club, was something else. With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s, it was a fantastic day, full of fun and great energy.
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SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event: Bridging the industry/education divide
SAIMC
Horst Weinert, head of Didactic at Festo Southern/Eastern Africa, will be sharing some of Festo’s Didactic experiences of working across industry and education. He will cover training for productivity and employability in the public and private sectors, discussing especially the potential for inter-company training centres.
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SAIMC: From the office of the CEO: Understanding the Engineering Profession Act
SAIMC
SAIMC
For a full and detailed explanation of whether you are doing engineering work, I recommend visiting the ECSA website and looking up the IoEW Gazette. Meanwhile, here’s a simplified breakdown to get you started and hopefully encourage you to explore further.
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SAIMC: Johannesburg branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
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SAIMC: Durban branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
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SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event
SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
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Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
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Getting your OT data into the cloud – the why and the how
SAIMC
As users recognise the benefits of a digital transformation strategy for their industrial plants and systems and start to adopt it, they soon face the challenge of getting operational technology data securely and reliably to a cloud service provider of their choice.
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