The latest technology evening was held at the Durban Country Club on 4 April. Eric Hore, director of advanced solutions for Moore Process Controls gave a thought-provoking presentation titled ‘Energy optimisation is everyone’s responsibility’.
Hennie Prinsloo (left) thanks Eric Hore after the presentation.
He showed how South Africa, where we rely heavily on our coal resources for electrical power generation, is a significant environmental contributor to a sub-Saharan temperature rise rate that is approximately 1,5 times higher than the global average. Another very important factor is the almost 1,5 litres of water consumed per kilowatt hour of generated electrical power sold to consumers by Eskom. Even if environmental arguments fail to persuade companies to invest in optimisation, there are huge potential economic benefits that can be achieved by those that optimise their energy usage.
Monitoring and data recording developments have enabled the acquisition of information that allows energy baselines to be derived in ways that accommodate changing factors such as ambient temperature, feed quality, operator influence etc. Eric outlined the application of ISO 50001 and displayed graphs showing how comparison of real-time plant energy usage against energy baselines can be used to set optimal maximum demand, as well as assisting with the optimisation of plant operation. He also gave examples showing startling figures for the economic benefits which can, and have been, achieved through energy optimisation.
With manufacturing and mining using between 53% and 63% of all energy consumed, engineers working in those sectors clearly have a significant role to play in optimising the use of energy.
The presentation concluded with a question and answer session, after which Eric was thanked by Hennie Prinsloo, who also thanked Moore Products for sponsoring the evening. Everyone then adjourned to enjoy some networking over a few drinks and another excellent meal provided by the Durban Country Club.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Durban branch of the SAIMC was pleased to welcome Vusi Sithole, managing member of Hybrid Control Corporation in Richards Bay, who presented\on the very pertinent topic of ‘Infrastructure monitoring and control for water loss management’.
Read more...SAIMC: Sunshine, swings and smiles: Durban Golf Day hits a high note Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
SAIMC
We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: May in Durban is hard to beat; but 9 May, when the Durban Golf Day teed off at Kloof Country Club, was something else. With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s, it was a fantastic day, full of fun and great energy.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event: Bridging the industry/education divide
SAIMC
Horst Weinert, head of Didactic at Festo Southern/Eastern Africa, will be sharing some of Festo’s Didactic experiences of working across industry and education. He will cover training for productivity and employability in the public and private sectors, discussing especially the potential for inter-company training centres.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
Read more...Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
Read more...Getting your OT data into the cloud – the why and the how
SAIMC
As users recognise the benefits of a digital transformation strategy for their industrial plants and systems and start to adopt it, they soon face the challenge of getting operational technology data securely and reliably to a cloud service provider of their choice.
printer friendly version