During 2007, I had the opportunity to visit the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. Probably the most famous airship built was the Hindenburg built in 1931 to a new, all-duralumin design.
Vivian MacFadyen
It was a visually striking airship, 245 m long and 41 m in diameter, longer than three Boeing 747s placed end-to-end, and only 24 m shorter than the Titanic. It was originally equipped with cabins for 50 passengers and a crew complement of 40, though on the last flight there were an additional 21 crew members in training.
The centrepiece of the museum is a reconstruction of a 33 m section of the craft. What struck me was the size, the opulence of the accommodation, and mostly the skill of the construction crew. The duralumin frame was extremely light, and I almost hurt myself when lifting a 15 000 X 300 X 300 mm section because I was not expecting it to lift so easily. There were literally millions of rivets holding the aircraft frame together, and these were not pop rivets, each one had to be fitted with hand tools.
The workers must have had great pride in themselves and it showed in their workmanship. The rivets were set expertly, the metal cut precisely, and even though the frame would not be normally visible, it was perfectly finished.
In contrast, I live in the neighbourhood of a recently constructed shopping mall and the workmanship is incredibly shoddy, especially since we now have far better machine tools to use.
I believe today's workers in South Africa are just as capable as those in Germany, but unfortunately they have not been trained by skilled master workers. These experienced people have been abnormally displaced but are still out there, and given the right opportunity, could become valuable mentors to the new workforce.
The upliftment of our work ethic needs to be done holistically, and not hindered by lack of insight and prejudice.
SAIMC: Johannesburg
SAIMC
The Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC hosted a successful Technology Evening on 10 September. The event was well attended and generously sponsored by Phoenix Contact.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
At SAIMC Durban’s October Technology Evening, Nico Erasmus delivered a thought-provoking presentation on a topic close to every automation professional’s heart: PLC and Drive Manufacturer Generational Hardware - UpGrades, UpGates or UpRates?
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC hosted a successful Technology Evening on 10 September. The event was well attended and generously sponsored by Phoenix Contact.
Read more...Why ECSA matters SAIMC
SAIMC
I always knew I had to register as a Professional Engineer. Then I opened the registration guidelines.
Read more...SAIMC: From the office of the COO: Enabling AI-ready manufacturing in South Africa SAIMC
SAIMC
Last month, I wrote about the ethical use of AI in our daily lives. This month, I want to explore two concepts, backed by different architectures and technologies, that can assist our manufacturing facilities to exponentially increase the pace of their digital transformation.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg branch hosted its June Technology Evening at the Bryanston Sports Club, where attendees explored a topic beyond the usual scope of process automation.
Read more...SAIMC: Zambia branch
SAIMC
SAIMC Zambia recently facilitated an industrial visit to the Zamefa Cable Manufacturing Company in Luanshya for twenty automation students from Sinozam. The visit gave students valuable exposure to the advanced technology used in copper and aluminium cable production.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version