The title of Charles Dickens’ 19th century book is an unerringly accurate description of the mood in the Technews offices at the moment. The Mining, Manufacturing and Process Conference 2008 (MMP ’08) is almost upon us and the groundswell of enthusiasm is escalating. Organised in conjunction with international partner – ARC Advisory Group – the event promises a full 2-day agenda that will bring delegates up to speed on the theme: ‘Winning strategies and best practices in automation and IT’ in these industries.
Following an enthusiastic response to the call for papers, the conference programme committee has finalised the programme, which features highly knowledgeable speakers from around the world. Internationally recognised analysts and industry leaders including Jim Pinto and John McGagh, Rio Tinto’s global head of innovation and project leader on the company’s ‘Mine of the future’ project, will be sharing their insights at the event.
Rio Tinto’s mine of the future will implement remote control intelligent trains, drills and trucks and chief executive Tom Albanese says that these will be operational within Rio Tinto Iron Ore during 2008. Humans will no longer need to be in attendance at the workface as all these items of equipment will be autonomous – reacting to changes in the environment and interacting with their mechanical colleagues. Operators will oversee the smooth operation of the equipment from a remote operations centre hundreds of kilometres from the mine.
This futuristic and exciting concept is sure to stimulate interesting debate at The Forum, on 12 and 13 November.
The CPD perspective
SA Instrumentation and Control’s features editor, Andrew Ashton, is a member of the conference programme committee and he has provided some useful insights on the conference and Continuing Professional Development.
He writes as follows: “The South African Institute of Measurement and Control (SAIMC) has formally endorsed the Mining, Manufacturing and Process Conference 2008, and with the conference agenda firmed up, organiser Technews has started the process of formalising certification for CPD (Continuing Professional Development).
“Section 22(1) of the Engineering Profession Act, 2000 (Act 46 of 2000) requires registered persons to apply for the renewal of their registration with ECSA. To maintain their professional standing, all renewals of registration from 2007 onwards require CPD credits, the exact number of which is subject to a phasing in system. Professionals who registered in 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003, need to have accumulated 10 CPD points by the end of 2008.
“Unlike training courses, where content is established well in advance of presentation, the evaluation of conference for CPD purposes requires a two-stage approach, and the SAIMC has in place the structures and resources to meet this need.
“Following a review of presenter abstracts and qualifications the SAIMC has accredited MMP ’08 with a CPD rating of 2 points (pending). Once all presentations are finalised they will be re-evaluated by the SAIMC to confirm the accreditation status and a CPD registration number will be issued.
“This process means that delegates attending MMP ’08 can be sure that they will not be subjected to time-wasting sales pitches, but will truly be learning of ‘Winning strategies and best practices for enterprise automation and IT in mining, manufacturing and process’.
“Strategic and best practice topics to be covered include:
* IT and control engineering convergence.
* Process performance enhancement.
* Alarm management.
* MES selection for mineral processing.
* The value of standards – ISA S88.
* And more . . . . . . From leading national and international presenters.”
There is no doubt that delegates will receive new insight from these vendor neutral presentations, so be sure to diarise now.
For more information and to register, visit www.mmpsa.co.za
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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