Strikes and panic buying - why the hype? We have recently endured a strike by the petroleum workers and it had the whole country in a panic. There were long queues at the petrol stations, shortages, and people driving around frantically for fuel, but wasting the precious stuff in their quest.
Vivian MacFadyen
In retrospect, the whole matter became a needless and costly comedy. I am sure that some individuals became wealthier from the negotiations, but it was not the workers. The strikers were out for eight days, and if you consider the settlement minus the losses to the workers, the outcome may be even lower than the employers were prepared to pay in the first place.
This illustrates how people can be manipulated by clever presentation of the facts. This also happens in our industry; just look at manufacturers' product specification sheets. The accuracy of products is frequently quoted with reference to vague and complicated formulae making comparisons almost impossible without plotting the curves on a graph.
Other aspects are also highlighted beyond their relevance. These could involve simple issues such as caged terminal screws, calibration procedure, or programmability. Once the lid is on and it is working, what is the relevance of these matters? An astute engineer will disregard all issues excepting those specifically related to the function and reliability in operation. In fact, it may be that only two issues are relevant: mean time between failure and price.
What about accuracy you ask. Well, in the majority of instances, the accuracy of a product is far better than the situation requires. If you only need to measure temperature to 1,0°C, why buy something that measures better than 0,1 K. These decisions need to be made in the cold light of reason. Weigh up the reliability of the supplier, the product and the cost for the particular application. This is where skill and experience make the difference.
SAIMC: From the office of the COO: Ethical and practical use of AI SAIMC
SAIMC
In this day and age, we all have access to AI tools. A lot of people claim that if you are not using AI tools in your daily job today you are falling behind. But would it be ethical to use AI tools to write an article per day and sign my name to it?
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The Durban branch of the SAIMC held its July technology meeting at the familiar Premier Splendid Hotel, drawing a strong turnout of industry professionals.
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The SAIMC Johannesburg branch recently hosted the July Technology Evening at the Bryanston Sports Club.
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SAIMC has been invited to partner with technology leaders 4Sight and NextGenOpX for a one-day industry event aimed at unlocking the full value of OT investments in the mining sector.
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Industrial engineers, digital transformation leaders, and operations managers are invited to an exclusive knowledge-sharing event designed to tackle the complexities of digitising large-scale systems.
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The SAIMC Johannesburg branch recently hosted the June Technology Evening. The presentation covered HVAC systems through the lens of instrumentation, highlighting how sensor technologies form the backbone of effective monitoring and control, allowing for effective energy efficiency.
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The SAIMC Durban Branch hosted its latest technology meeting on 4 June.The event drew a strong turnout, highlighting the keen interest in the topic ‘Understanding Level Measurement: Contact vs Non-Contact Methods’.
Read more...SAIMC at KITE 2025
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The Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control Engineering (SAIMC) invites you to connect with us at the KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) from Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 July 2025.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council annual summit SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
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The SAIMC User Advisory Council is proud to present the 2025 Annual Summit, formerly known as the MESA Africa Summit. The theme is ‘Mining and manufacturing in South Africa: SMART operations in a disruptive world economy’.
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