Hot stuff
At the time of this issue going to press we were one month away from the 2010 FIFA World Cup and things were starting to hot up. Mount Eyjafjallajokull (translated:
Island-mountain Glacier) seemed to be adding to this physically, but at the same time creating concerns around World Cup travel.
Whilst I am on the subject, I thought I would add some history on this intrepid volcano. Prior to April’s eruption it stood at 1666 metres above sea-level, with a
3–4 km diameter crater. Its last series of serious eruptions were between 1820 and 1823. In December of 2009, Icelandic geologists started recording earthquakes in the area of magnitudes between 1 and 2 on the Richter’s scale, with a couple only going higher than 3. Mild eruptions then started on 20 March 2010, and the heavy eruptions started on 14 April which has now placed Eyjafjallajokull in the world’s spotlight.
SAFPA news
OK, back to South Africa and the fluid power industry. The roll-out of the Hose Assembly Accreditation document on 16 March 2010 was very successful. More than 110 people attended the event. All the speakers were well received and enlightened us on their respective fields of expertise.
Unfortunately, Nic Botha was unable to speak at the launch (due to an accident on his way there). However, he did speak at the following SAFPA technical meeting on the proposed new National Occupational Health and Safety Bill. This too was well attended and received.
SAFPA extends a big thank you to all the speakers of the Hose Accreditation Launch, the Sponsors, CTR (SAFPA’s secretariat) and to Ian Morris and Martin Kingsbury of the BFPA who flew to South Africa to answer questions. I would like to add a special thank you to the SAFPA council for its continued input so far and for what is still to come. Pilot audits for Hose Assembly Certification are already in the planning, so watch this space.
Import tariffs dropping
Another SAFPA milestone to tick off is the drop of import tariffs on all rubber hydraulic hoses that are only wire reinforced (not textile reinforced) and that are less than 100 mm diameter. The tariff heading on these hoses is 4009.21.10.
Apprentice certification
The Unit Standard training material is still with MERSETA (www.merseta.gov.za). This may be moving slowly, but at least it is moving forward.
On 1 November 2009 the duty of signing off apprentice certificates was taken over by the Department of Labour. However, the department is already six months behind with processing certificates. This has left many recently qualified fitters without their certificates and they are therefore unable to secure employment. As a result, MERSETA has also taken it upon itself to once again sign off apprenticeship certificates. MERSETA’s help in this regard is appreciated.
Grant applications
As far as funding goes, please note that Mandatory Grant applications must be in by 30 June 2010. Unfortunately the Discretionary Grant applications will have closed by the time that this edition goes to press.
Regards
Norman Hall
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| www: | www.vdw.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SA Fluid Power Association (SAFPA) |
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