On 5 June, the SAIMC Durban branch held a very well supported technology evening that was sponsored by UIC Control & Automation in celebration of their 50 years of successful service to industry. MD, Guy Watkins welcomed the audience and gave a brief introductory talk.
The meeting had a novel format, that of a moderated discussion forum where several topics covering areas of current interest and concern were tabled for debate. At the start of the meeting it emerged that a fundamental question had been missed from the agenda – one which had a great influence on the other items listed. Prompted by one of the educators present, the missing question was: “Are most graduates that are qualifying from tertiary educational establishments actually able to be absorbed productively into the industries of today?”
The exchange of views that followed was highly informative and constructive, with experiences from educators, contractors and end users being shared. The consensus was that graduates are generally not productive for the first couple of years of employment. Factors influencing this are the length of time required for university curricula to be updated, and also the virtual absence of apprenticeships. While there is some movement by companies to restore apprenticeships, the existing system for updating university curricula appears to be a barrier in keeping pace with the rapid advances in automation technology. There was general agreement that there is a need for broader interdisciplinary knowledge and skill for anyone to succeed in control and automation, and this should be introduced during the educational process.
Discussion on the originally listed topics had to be restricted because of the debate on education, but some of them were partially addressed. They were:
• The role of electronic engineering in the age of automation.
• Boiler maintenance and protection.
• The high failure rate of flow meters (ultrasonic and mag) in the water industry due to environmental conditions, or interference by high-voltage or cathodic protection or lightning.
• Traditional vs emerging protocols in industrial (OT) networks.
Feedback from the floor, and afterwards, showed that the meeting had been well received. The branch has been asked to have at least one more similar meeting this year, but restrict the number of topics for discussion to no more than three. The Durban team is delighted with the success of the evening, and the members wish to express their appreciation to all who participated, especially to UIC for sponsoring the evening, which concluded with more networking and socialising over supper and drinks.
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