The June Technology Evening, held at the Westville Country Club, was titled ‘Wireless ISA100 technology’ and was kindly sponsored by Yokogawa. It was great to have several new faces present in addition to the regular ones, and new members were presented with their membership certificates.
Johan van der Westhuizen (Wessie) presented a very interesting and well structured talk in which he gave an overview covering application capabilities and limitations of ISA100 systems in various environments. The relative merits of star and mesh topographies were discussed and he demonstrated the relative characteristics of the ISA100 and Wireless HART systems, giving examples of the information transfer times that can currently be achieved in each configuration. At the end of his presentation the number of questions made it evident that he had sparked plenty of interest, with questions coming from people in diverse industries indicating that more consideration is being given to the widespread use of wireless technology for many applications other than safeguarding functions. Kevin McElroy thanked Wessie for his informative and entertaining talk.
Discussions and general networking continued over drinks and supper. It was a lively and well attended evening.
Golf Day
The annual Durban branch golf day was held at the Amanzimtoti Golf Course on 1 June. As seems to be the norm at this course (which is right on the beach), the wind blew strongly all day but it did not dampen the enthusiasm and skills of the 28 four balls who all agreed that even with the wind it certainly beat a day in the office. Having declared the day’s golfing a success everybody then proceeded to the prize giving and relaxed over a few beers and supper in the club house. A big thank you goes to Howard Lister and his team for a well organised and well supported event.
This year’s winning four ball were the very first recipients of the new SAIMC Durban branch trophy. From left to right in the pic. Mark Viviers, Chris Coetzee, J.O.E, Pat Fowler and Arthur Potts.
To the victor go the spoils. This shiny new golf day trophy is the latest innovation from the Durban branch.
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