Towards the end of every year the teams at Technews get together to reassess how accurately the structures in the various magazines are keeping pace with the trends in the markets they report on. SAI&C has for some years now presented its material in two primary forms: vertical industry-centric and horizontal technology-centric features – both of which vary on a monthly basis and are usually run once in the first six months and then repeated in the second half to provide full market coverage.
The industry-related features are designed to inform readers through application-related editorial, for instance a project in the mining and metals vertical, while the technology features are the platform for vendors to showcase new developments in say level measurement and control. Markets having the dynamic nature that they do, means that over time competitive forces erode the contribution of some traditional industry stalwarts and new stars emerge in response to new technology and opportunities. The South African textile industry is an example of a vertical that has been under pressure for a number of years, while investment in new infrastructure has fuelled a boom in construction. On the product front, wireless looks set to continue to grow and renewable energy resources are becoming a must have.
Naturally this does not go unnoticed by the technology houses and their system integrator partners, and so the publications that serve them must review their content from time to time in order to keep readers supplied with information that is pertinent. At our annual review, the I&C team felt that the magazine should continue to remain targeted to the topics of instrumentation, automation and process control, but that we should place more emphasis on the role of these in power generation and energy efficiency. We will also be keeping you updated with the latest wireless technology news on a more regular basis.
The IT in manufacturing feature that we introduced this year has proved to be popular, so that will remain on a monthly basis. To recap, we are interested in how IT is making a difference at shop floor level and how the organisation’s process control and automation networks are converging with its office infrastructure and management information systems. This covers information-related topics like integration between the factory floor and the MES/ERP systems as well as technology-related subjects like CAD/CAM linkages to manufacturing systems and robots. Network security and Industrial Ethernet are of course also hot topics. (The 2011 media kit is available from Jane van der Spuy or Tina van Kerckhoven.)
Heavy metal sludge
One of our industry related features this month being mining, contributing editor Andrew Ashton and I decided that we should take a closer look at a problem, which while not new, is starting to become something of an environmental headache. The subject is acid mine drainage (AMD) and Andrew’s research uncovers some interesting material and looks beyond the sensationalism that has surrounded the subject just recently. An environmental threat it most certainly is, but as with most threats new opportunities tend to emerge for those who are prepared to look. I quote from the article: “The volumes of water requiring pumping and treating over extended periods – decades, if not centuries – are mind boggling. But from an instrumentation perspective it is the stuff of dreams. Let us see. . . How many flow meters, pH transmitters, wireless network points, VSDs . . . will be needed to monitor and control these gargantuan flows?”
We hope you find it interesting.
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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