The first meeting of the year was held on 21 February at the Rivonia Recreation Club and combined our branch AGM with the normal monthly meeting. Paulo da Silva, acting branch chairman, presented the financial statement for year ending 2006 as Johan van Jaarsveldt, acting branch treasurer, could not make it. Paulo then presented the branch chairman's Annual Report for 2006.
Nominations for the 2007 Johannesburg Branch Committee were put to the floor and accepted. The 2007 committee portfolios and contact details are as follows:
Chairman – Paulo da Silva – paulo.dasilva@honeywell.com – 083 677 1291
Vice chairman – Paulo de Sousa – paulo.desousagomes@za.yokogawa.com – 083 384 0250
Treasurer – Johan van Jaarsveldt – johan.vanjaarsveldt@za.endress.com – 082 905 2568
Secretary – Richard Grover – richard@liquidauto.co.za – 082 650 2079
Education – Nico Marneweck – nico.marneweck@za.endress.com – 082 883 2652
Events coordinator – Debbie Scott – wnip@iafrica.com – 011 3121562
Events coordinator – Bill Steenberg – bill.steenberg@fluor.com – 083 949 8104
Feel free to contact any of us on the committee. This is your committee - not ours. Approach any of the committee members with issues you want to raise. Suggestions, comments and complaints will all receive equal attention.
Solving the skills shortage
After the conclusion of the AGM Nico Marneweck gave a lively presentation on, 'Solving the skills shortage'. Nico's good intention was to keep the talk to 30 minutes. However, audience participation, questions, heckling and interjections from the floor took this to about 40 minutes - a presentation well worth hearing!
Over an eight-year period Nico has developed and fine-tuned an internship programme, through which students who have completed their academic studies can participate in an all-round course of hands-on skills development. With company support, this will see them all the way through to the important event of being 'whacked on the noggin' with their accomplished degree or tertiary educational diploma, depending on what route they are following.
For those wishing to write their trade test, Nico has equipped a workshop with all the required instruments. Yes - even a model 40 Foxboro controller! (A piece of kit he resented having to lay his hands on, as Profibus rules in Nico's world, and he fails to see the relevance of pneumatic stuff in our modern day - though some of us beg to differ).
Nico's internship programme has a proud track record and his interns are much sought after.
Golf day
Golf enthusiasts! Make a tentative entry in your diaries for what looks like 29 June 2007. Paulo will let you know as soon as the date is confirmed by the club. We have chosen this date so that Secunda can run their Golf Day without it clashing with ours.
Press club
We also had members of the press, represented by Debbie Scott (What's New in Processing & Southern African Petrochemicals), Annette Thompson from EE Publishers (EngineerIT) and Graeme Bell (Technews). Look out for editorial comment on the evening in the various publications.
Branch of the year award
Paulo has made the submission for Johannesburg Branch. We achieved 210 points and Nico's education drive raised another 64 points through 'guest lecture' credits. These lectures were given at various times during the year by our Jhb SAIMC at the Vaal University of Technology (Vanderbijlpark) where Vivian MacFadyen covered 'Flow’. 'Level contact' was handled by Eric Carter and 'Level non-contact' by Richard Grover.
'Pressure' was presented by Johan van Jaarsveldt. Eric Carter also presented a lecture on 'Temperature', while 'Digital communication' was presented by Paulo de Sousa and Dave Bean, and 'Analytics' by Jan Swart and Chantel Maree. At the Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria), Paulo de Sousa and Dave Bean presented 'Digital communication', and Jan Swart and Chantel Maree covered 'Analytics'.
Membership fees
A reminder that if you pay before the end of April 2007, you may be up for a discount. You can contact Claire at the SAIMC secretariat (admin@saimcmembers.org.za). This will put you in good standing with the SAIMC and prevent you from being 'named and shamed' on the web! Come on guys, please pay your 2007 dues!
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | ina@saimc.co.za |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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