South African Instrumentation and Control has been published online for over 10 years now, so we decided we should check the history to see how this e-initiative has fared since its inception in January 2000. We do, of course, keep a weather eye on Google Analytics during our daily business activities, but this is usually in the form of a snapshot of the shorter term to make sure our feature structure is in line with industry trends, or to report to a contributor on how a particular piece of editorial or banner advertisement has performed.
In fact, for statistical analysis, I could not go back to the very beginning, since Google only launched its analytics tool in 2005. Even so, some interesting trends emerged from the exercise. So far, during the analytics era, 24 568 page titles have been viewed at the SAI&C site a total of 1 701 058 times. The first point to strike me was that the article with the most number of page views is not an award winning technical white paper, nor has it even been on the site for the longest. It is titled ‘Siemens restarts apprenticeship training programme’ and it was published in May 2007.
As it is also not the only training related article to appear among the tops, it is no accident that we introduced a dedicated section for the subject a few months ago. You will find it upfront in the news section of the magazine, or electronically in the category ‘Training and Education’. Be sure to keep us up to date with your organisation’s contribution, because online this information remains accessible without time limit.
Other high fliers include articles from contributing editors Andrew Ashton and control loop expert Michael Brown. One of Michael’s articles reinforced our conclusions about the interest in training vividly enough that we thought we should ask if you wanted more of the same. The article goes by the title: ‘Control loop questions answered’. We intend to republish it soon, but in the meantime readers who would like to see how Mike responded to some questions on valve and actuator control can visit http://www.instrumentation.co.za/regular.aspx?pklregularid=2113. If it generates enough interest we would like to make this a regular feature, so anyone out there struggling with a control loop dilemma drop me an e-mail and let us see if we can get things started.
SAIMC initiative needs support
Outgoing SAIMC president, Johan van Jaarsveldt, writes in his last official communication from the desk about some of the innovations the society plans to implement over the next 12 months. All of the ideas are laudable, but the one that really stands out for the Instrumentation and Control team is the First Lego League initiative.
The aim of the competition is to bring school children into contact with robotics, computers, control and the disciplines in which each of these operate. For many schools, the barrier to entry is the price of the kit and this is where the Society plans to assist through a fully fitted trailer that can be sent to schools that would not otherwise have the means to participate. The trailer will be branded with the logos of all the sponsoring companies, so anyone wishing to associate with the initiative is invited to contact Johan Maartens ([email protected]) or call 08610 SAIMC. More information is also available from the ‘President’s’ desk’ in this month’s SAIMC news section.
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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