Electricity + Control August 2019

round up

ELECTRICAL PROTECTION + SAFETY

Cooperation on testing of electrical equipment

voltage electromechanical goods in Southern Africa continues to grow and NETFA is the primary facility on the continent that conducts tests on this range from ACTOM and, of course, others manufacturing similar and related equipment. “We realise that success at NETFA is also success for the domestic market, so the opportunity to collaborate with a home- grown electrical equipment manufacturer made sense and we wanted to codify this relationship.These are large and complicated equipment items and it is only through collaboration that we can deepen the sophistication of our testing methodologies. “This means better quality products being bought by the market and especially those in the public sector. In our book this means greater value for money and quality for the average citizen,” he concluded. Caza added that the cooperation agreement is likely to be extended to other ACTOM divisions and business units in future. Enquiries:Tembela Caza, ACTOMT&D.Tel +27 (0)11 820 5111, or email: tembela.caza@actom.co.za

The National Electricity Test Facility (NETFA), owned by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), and leading electro-mechanical group, ACTOM (Pty) Ltd, have formalised a cooperation agreement for the testing of products from ACTOM’s Transmission & Distribution (T&D) divisions. The agreement is intended to underpin the delivery of quality testing of the locally manufactured products. It is aimed at improving cooperation and the services offered by the NETFA for all electrical products that are manufactured in South Africa by ACTOM’s six T&D divisions. The company’s T&D divisions manufacture and supply a comprehensive range of electrical infrastructural equipment, mainly to clients in the public sector.The divisions encompass High Voltage Equipment, PowerTransformers, DistributionTransformers, MV Switchgear, Protection & Control and Current Electric. The cooperation agreement, which was signed in March, 2019, is seen as a forerunner to a NETFA initiative that will facilitate more frequent engagements with companies in the national electricity supply sector. Currently NETFA meets most of the national industrial testing requirements and the cooperation agreement will ensure that all companies in the sector are kept appraised of the facility’s improvements to its testing systems and procedures. Following the appointment of a new accounting authority, the SABS has adopted a more customer-centric approach than in the past. Tembela Caza, ACTOM’s Divisional CEO for T&D, said: “One of the most important points that NETFA conveyed to us in our discussions – which are now encapsulated in the agreement – is that they are customer-focused and are ready to tailor their methods to meet customers’ specific testing requirements as far as possible and to respond promptly to customers’ testing needs and queries.” Johan Louw, the SABS Executive: Laboratory Services Division, commented: “The demand for high, medium and low

Johan Louw (left), SABS Executive: Laboratory Services Division, and Tembela Caza, ACTOM’s Divisional CEO for T&D, sign the NETFA/ ACTOM cooperation agreement at ACTOM’s Knights, Germiston, head office.

Improved safety connectivity in gas detectors and software

offerings focus on aligning people, devices, sensors and data to help businesses achieve key outcomes: saving lives, saving time and using resources more efficiently.” Enquiries: COMTEST. Tel +27 (0)10 595 1821, or email: sales@comtest.co.za Industrial Scientific has extended connectivity on its gas monitoring devices and software to support greater safety in hazardous areas.

and historical data gives organisations the power to increase productivity, address risky behaviour, and improve safety practices in a range of applications – from mobile workers to in-plant monitoring and confined space entries. The connected devices also improve team and site safety as a result of their ability to share alarms between monitors. Local alarm sharing allows for faster, more informed responses from nearby workers. In addition, the local network feature enables monitoring within confined spaces where traditional wireless devices have limited connectivity. JustinMcElhattan, President of Industrial Scientific, says, “Our connected safety

Global leader in gas detection systems, Industrial Scientific, which is represented in South Africa by COMTEST, has expanded its connected safety portfolio to include cellular and Wi-Fi capability in the Ventis ® Pro5 Personal Gas Monitor and a satellite communication gateway to connect mobile workers in real time. For area gas monitoring, the Radius ® BZ1 connects to the cloud via the RGX™ Gateway, which is certified for Class 1 Division 2 and ATEX Zone 2 hazardous zones globally. Personnel and area monitors pass real- time data to iNet ® Now software, enabling supervisors to see where workers are located and what hazards they are exposed to. The combination of real-time

32 Electricity + Control

AUGUST 2019