Whenever I write these letters I must remember that by the time they get read for the first time it is usually a month or so later. As a result, topics in the president’s letter, although current during pen to paper time, are very often past their active phase. That being said, Spring has sprung, flowers are plenty, and the plants remnant of Joburg’s black frost are fighting their way back to former glory. By the buzz I hear on the street, South Africa is also starting to fight its way back from the economic black frost.
Technical meetings
The recent technical meeting was delivered by Wally Langsford, talking about Energy considerations in fluid power. It was in fact a very interesting presentation, especially considering where the world is aiming with respect to going green. Langsford essentially broke down the sum of losses in a fluid power system, converted these losses into energy, and then again into a carbon footprint. The point was to start designing systems that did not waste energy. According to Langsford, he has already been asked to quote systems and give the carbon footprint of the systems. This certainly will alter the way in which we quote currently as price and quality are still key drivers. Energy efficient systems do cost more, but it is up to the supplier to prove to the customer that in the long run it will be cheaper.
Some interesting figures that came out were:
* When burnt, 1 kg of diesel releases 3 kg CO2.
* kW for kW, diesel is approximately twice the price of Eskom’s electricity.
* kW for kW, the carbon footprint of diesel is approximately the same as the carbon footprint of electricity (from a coal fired power station).
* Moral of the story, start planting trees or cycle to work!
Hose assembly accreditation
The first company has been audited on the Premium Class of hose accreditation. I was fortunate enough to witness this audit. Although the company being audited was an ISO9001-2008 approved company, it was clear that they still had to institute additional procedures to comply with the Hose Accreditation Document. I would like to take this opportunity to urge all prospective companies wishing to get accredited to download both the Application Document and the Audit Document from SAFPA’s website. Follow these questions through from start to finish and there will be no problems with the audit. These documents appear under the tab labelled 'Standards' once you have gone to www.safpa.org.za.
Training courses
A SAFPA council member has gone on a training course to the United Kingdom so that SAFPA can start hosting the same course in South Africa. As previously mentioned, the course will revolve around the safety aspects of manufacturing and maintenance of hose assemblies. We expect the first course to be offered in the new year. The course has been developed by the British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) and SAFPA will offer it on a licence agreement with the BFPA.
For any additional information on what SAFPA is up to, please visit our website. Feel free to give us feedback, be it good or bad. This being the last issue of Motion Control for 2010, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of Motion Control’s readers happy holidays and safe travels. Thank you to CTR, SAFPA’s council members, and the Motion Control team for the valuable input you all have given to the industry over the past year. Your efforts are certainly appreciated.
Regards
Norman Hall
E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +27 (0)11 386 5800
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