It is fairly safe to say that if this publication is a quarterly print, it must follow the four seasons consistently. This time I am writing in the middle of winter and it has brought on its fair share of surprises. Last weekend I was due to drive to Knysna to participate in the Knysna half-marathon and sample some oysters. Thankfully I took advice from JC, (SABC3’s weather presenter) who had basically predicted the perfect storm over our south eastern coast. In summary the weather was given as: 100% rain, very cold and severe thunder storms. As an avid watcher of the weather I’m aware that they never predict 120% rain, or very, very cold, or even very severe thunder storms. This implies that what was on its way to Knysna was the worst that their adjectives could describe – so I chose to stay at home. As it turns out the half-marathon was cancelled for the first time in 29 years, the road south of Knysna was closed to flooding, and as we all know, the N1 was closed due to snow between Bloemfontein and Cape Town.
Currently I’m in Ballito and I hear there is another cold front on its way, so again JC was given some airtime, but a cold front to Durban only implies lows of 12 degrees with scattered rain. This place is summer compared to Egoli.
Back to the business of SAFPA
SAFPA has embarked on an advertising initiative with member companies. We have temporarily garnered the full-time services of one of our council members, Manny Vieira, to visit potential members and current members in an effort to understand what the public expects from SAFPA in order to align the council with industry needs. So far it has gone exceptionally well, with some really good feedback.
A second member has now recently been certified as a SAFPA approved hose assembler, and our hose safety training course is running non-stop, with all courses being fully subscribed.
Finally, behind the scenes we are also negotiating the finer details of SANS 347, the regulation dealing with pressure vessels and accumulators. There is a grey area surrounding the status of nitrogen and whether it is it a non-dangerous gas or a dangerous gas. It falls into both realms, the latter because it is an asphyxiant. This has far-reaching implications for importers of accumulators as it alters their hazard category and in turn their legality within the scope of South Africa’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Regards
Norman Hall
| Tel: | +27 11 061 5000 |
| Fax: | 086 589 2158 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.vdw.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SA Fluid Power Association (SAFPA) |
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