The year of action and adding value for our members continues here at the reinvented SAIMC. Our teams have been busy at work on the draft documents based on the strategic planning session held in May. We have started our collaboration with other automation related organisations such as SACAC and the Automation Federation and the Cape Town branch and chairman Mothibi Thabeng have been flying the SAIMC flag high in the mother city.
The four teams assembled at the strategic planning session held in May tabled their draft reports last month and are refining these for finalisation. Once these are finalised in the next few months we will present these details to all our stakeholders. I must sincerely thank all the teams for the dedicated effort they have put into these important documents! Keep on collaborating . . .
We have also taken efforts outside the organisation, firstly with the South African Council for Automation and Control (SACAC) of whom the SAIMC was a founding member, but did not participate too closely in the past years. Some of you would have received a joint survey regarding the curriculum for automation education in SA. We have also started earnest discussions in the forum presented by the Automation Federation to assist us with bringing world-wide recognised ISA training to South Africa. We believe that our control and instrumentation industry will benefit from the standardised training that is offered by the ISA and ensure that we have the correctly skilled people in our workplaces.
For those of you not familiar with these organisations please visit www.sacac.org.za and www.automationfederation.org, below is some more information about these two organisations.
SACAC
SACAC was formed in 1961 by the joint efforts of the CSIR and the professional institutes of engineering, computers and control disciplines. The primary mission of SACAC is to promote the multi-disciplinary sciences of computation, automation and control and their application to industry in southern Africa. SACAC is the nominated National Member Organization for South Africa to IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control). IFAC promotes and co-ordinates symposia, workshops and conferences on a broad international front. SACAC will be hosting The 19th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control in Cape Town from the 24-29 August 2014.
SACAC has a special role to play as the result of its unique combination of participants. Today it comprises over 50 corporate and institutional members representative of leading corporations, tertiary educational establishments, professional institutions, research organisations and private companies involved in computation, automation and control. It facilitates the interchange and dissemination of information about leading edge technologies and their application locally and internationally, this is done through organising symposia, workshops and other regular events.
SACAC also provides a link between its members and various other national organisations, keeping them informed of any relevant developments. These include the SAIMC, the SAIEE, and the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA).
The Automation Federation
The Automation Federation (AF) is an association of member organisations engaged in manufacturing and process automation activities. The AF provides industry-wide strategic analysis and coordination through its member organisations. It takes an holistic approach to automation therefore, through its leadership and support, member organisations can work more effectively to fulfil their individual missions, advance the science and engineering of automation technologies and applications, and develop the workforce needed to capitalise on the benefits of automation.
Some common objectives of the AF member organisations are to:
Promote the value and image of the automation profession in contributing to effectiveness and efficiency of manufacturing, building automation, transportation, utilities and more.
Facilitate the development and dissemination of educational and informational resources intended to develop new generations of automation professionals, enhance the effectiveness of existing professionals, and advance the automation profession.
Facilitate the promulgation of industry standards that enhance the efficiency, cost effectiveness, and safety of automation technologies and applications.
From the above it is clear why the SAIMC is collaborating so closely with these organisations to provide more value to the SA industry and our members.
On the subject of adding value to our members, I am very pleased to announce that the Cape Town branch of the SAIMC did us all proud by organising an excellent stand (at very short notice) for the Cape Town Industrial Expo. Thank you to the organisers and the Cape Town SAIMC team! This is the first of many events in Cape Town and around the country to raise the profile of the SAIMC and thereby that of our automation profession.
On a sad note we had to say goodbye to our long serving councillor and general secretary Vivian MacFadyen. Vivian served in many roles on council, including that of president. I would like to place on record our sincere appreciation to Vivian for his efforts over the past years, which enabled the newer members like me to inherit an organisation in good stead. Enjoy your retirement Vivian!
John Owen-Ellis, from the Durban branch, has graciously taken over the role of general secretary and I am sure he will help take the organisation to greater heights. Welcome to the winning team John!
That is all from my desk at the SAIMC for this month, thank you all for taking the time to read this column! Please mail me on vinesh.maharaj@saimc.co.za with your constructive feedback so council and I can serve you better.
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | ina@saimc.co.za |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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