For better or worse, 2000 is here and despite the inherent pessimism of the late '90s, it is actually looking good, holding promise for a better year for the industry.
Some more statistics
The following are a few more statistics from the SAIMC survey of 100 members and 100 potential members. On a scale of one to ten, our members rated the most important benefit as being the free copy of this monthly publication (score 7,9). A surprise second position was the free copy of the Buyer's Guide (score 7,7) - a surprise since there are so many electronic directories either on CD-ROM or Internet. Third, predictably, was the monthly Branch meetings (score 7,0), and so on down the list to social functions such as golf and annual dances at 14th position (score 4,9).
Between top and bottom were issues such as networking in the industry, bursaries and mentoring, site visits, access to training courses, various Electrex exhibitions matters, status and recognition for members, that did not attract any passionate enthusiasm.
Of special interest was the response by members to the question "What SAIMC benefits are you aware of?"
p 92% were aware of branch meetings.
p 8% were aware of the free SAI&C magazine (although all receive a copy).
p But only 69% were aware of the Institute's access to training courses.
p 59% were aware that the Institute offers bursaries and facilitates mentoring.
The message is clear - the Institute does not keep its members informed about the good work that it does, and most members are not aware of all the benefits that are available to them. Remedying this should be one of the Institute's major challenges for 2000.
Interkama
The new trends - A number of SAIMC members attended the 1999 Interkama exhibition in October and from what we gathered, there are some new trends emerging.
Firstly, there seems to be a greater move towards noncontact measurement technologies in process field measurement and factory automation. This is due mainly to its ability to minimise the need to understand fully the chemical and physical properties of the material being measured. In short, factors such as corrosion, abrasion and chemical compatibility are not an issue with noncontact measurement.
Although there are accuracy and reliability limitations in certain technologies, no doubt these will be solved through the use of sophisticated software tools. The level of sophistication of the algorithms built into the evaluation unit, or transmitter, has increased so rapidly that today you can measure level using ultrasonics, microwaves and lasers, including the use of scanners to derive material profiles in large bins. We can also measure flow using ultrasonics and Doppler shift, temperature using infrared, pressure using non-intrusive fibre optics and so on.
What is thought-provoking is that most of the innovations have been introduced by smaller and lesser-known suppliers. The bigger manufacturers follow or buy the technology.
The exhibition also illustrated the continued evolution of fieldbuses with a strong presence by Foundation Fieldbus as well as other bus complementary technologies and bus accessories such as multiport junction boxes, connectors and cables.
There was much hype about the interface of ERP and management software systems down to field level (loosely known as 'From SAP to sensor') whereby stock levels could be measured directly in the tanks or silos and not be deduced as part of a periodic accounting exercise. This has been driven by the need for enhanced asset management for programs such as just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing where there is a need to check raw material accurately in realtime instead of during a monthly, quarterly or annual accounting period.
The third trend we observed at Interkama was that, as in many other industries, the instrumentation and control suppliers have been looking more at providing measuring solutions instead of just supplying products. Of course, in the instrumentation and control industry we have to ask the questions; what are solutions and who should provide them?
Our industry is in the business of supplying information about processes and plants to management while at the same time using the information to optimise the process. I suppose it could be said that we are in the information business and therefore we could provide information solutions. However, it is important to bear in mind an analogy of the motor industry. Automobile manufacturers are in the transportation industry and provide transportation solutions. Do we see a trend where the major tyre manufacturers become transport solution providers or do they simply stick to providing quality tyres at a good price? The same could be asked of the spark plug makers, battery companies and so on.
It is possible that there is still room in the market for the supply of good products that will be part of creating good solutions. Just remember that not everyone should be supplying solutions. This is the job of the systems integrator in the measurement and control industry - and there were many SIs promoting their skills at Interkama.
Y2K
No doomspeak this time - According to all the gurus, foreign investment and capital projects in South Africa are due to increase significantly in 2000. Nedcor, for one, predicts GDFI (gross domestic fixed investment) to increase from a negative growth of -5 in 1999 to plus 4 in 2000.
The rationale behind this brave thinking is the slow realisation that despite our own internal problems, South Africa is still considered to be the hub of Africa. In addition, for any first world western countries wanting to do business in Africa, one of the last unexploited markets left in the world, it is necessary to invest here, not only in sales offices but also in processing plants. Already we have seen international mining houses set up shop and invest in local mines and we have also seen a number of major companies such as Parmalat, Danone, Dow, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Corning make large investments in capital projects. If this trend continues, there will be some interesting, meaty projects this year.
The build-up to Electrex 2000
Electrex 2000 is building up to be a bumper event. We can expect to see on display an extensive range of products and solutions that saw their debut at Interkama in October and for this reason it has been dubbed the 'Interkama of Africa'. Be reminded that there are special low-price package tours from Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay and buses will provide free transport from Rustenburg, Middelburg, Welkom and Vaal Triangle. Contact Tracy at TML Reed on (011) 886 3734 for more details.
John Immelman
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