Sparks Electrical News August 2017

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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CESA AON – CELEBRATING ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

MAKITA’S DHP481ZK – ALL THE POWER YOU NEED

THE DHP481ZK 18 V Lithium-Ion cordless impact drill driver, which has the latest innovative technology including a brushless motor and is Makita’s most powerful drill/driver to date, provides a hard torque of up to 115 Nm. Its compact body style means that the machine measures 205 mm from the front of the chuck to the back of the body and weighs in at 2,4 kg – which is a useful advantage when working in confined spaces. The dual LED lights on the front of the tool provide good illumination even in dark places. The variable speed model is capable of drilling 16 mm in masonry, 76 mm in wood and 13 mm in steel. The tool offers up to 31 500 impacts per minute, an electric brake and features all-metal gear construction that ensures high transmission durability. There are also 21 torque settings to choose from, the DHP481ZK is capable of drilling larger holes with ease. As has become expected from Makita, the model has an ergonomically designed handle with a rubberised soft grip and now has the added feature of a battery gauge on the tool, which indicates at a glance the amount of charge the battery has left.

engineering solutions. This challenge is often compounded by clients expecting unreasonable discounts on professional service fees, whilst the risks related to overly aggressive bidding remain that of the service provider. “Competition is good and always encouraged but surely there is a tipping point where quality is compromised and risks unduly increase. Such practice is unsustainable for our industry and clients need some level of education on the real value of such services,” Campbell added. “It’s our role at Aon South Africa to support a healthy consulting engineering industry whilst ensuring that the most professional and qualified teams are used to provide such services to minimise the risk exposure to both the consultant and the client every step of the way,” says Terence Williams, CEO of Aon South Africa. The Engineering Excellence Awards honour outstanding performance in a wide range of categories, including large and small, as well as local and international projects. They also acknowledge visionary clients as well as future leaders in the industry through the Young Engineer of the Year Award.

THE CONSULTING ENGINEERS SOUTH AFRICA (CESA) Aon Engineering Excel- lence Awards dubbed the ‘Oscars of the engineering world’ will be held on the 16 th August 2017 at Vodacom World, in Midrand. The event organised by CESA and sponsored by Aon South Africa is one of the highlights in the engineering and construction industry calendar. This year over 47 submissions were received. The awards function is widely attended by the engineering who’s who of South Africa including, consultants, contrac- tors, suppliers, academics, related insti- tutions as well as client bodies from the public and private sectors. The awards provide CESA an opportunity to showcase the extent to which local built-environment professionals provide the best in engineering expertise. “The occasion is about recognising and thanking all the participants for their role played in the country’s infrastructure development, a key requirement for economic growth of our country,” says Chris Campbell, CEO of CESA. An enormous responsibility rests on the shoulders of consulting engineers in delivering cost effective and appropriate

The DHP481ZK is supplied with a belt clip, large side handle, depth gauge and the space for bit holder storage on the tool. Everything fits neatly into the carry case provided. The model is compatible with the Makita 6.0 Ah (55 min. charge time), 5.0 Ah (45 min. charge time), 4.0 Ah (36 minutes charge time), 3.0 Ah (22 minutes charge time) and 1.5 Ah (15 min charge time) batteries. The batteries and the charger are sold separately.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 878 2600

THE MODERN COMMERCIAL FACILITY BUILDS ON STANDARDS “ A s various solutions used by facilities (CCTV, HVAC, access control) continue to advance rapidly and begin to converge with IT and other external systems, the key to optimised facility and security management is having a standards-based building management system (BMS) platform in place. With the ability to integrate multiple systems comes greater control, and better management of risk.” So says Neil of Johnson Controls. The choice of BMS platform is key as it forms the foundation of, and is the command centre for facility management. It needs to be able to access data from disparate systems, facilitate the analytics needed to make smarter decisions, and provide a central communication hub for systems. What is critical is that organisations select a world class solution that is continuously evolving. While there are pros and cons to the selection of all specialised systems, putting the right framework in place is half the battle. By making use of a platform that keeps pace with new developments and constantly integrates new standards and technologies, organisations will be able to utilise new technologies as they emerge, while ensuring the orchestration of the entire system. To ensure they have the range of features and functionality they need, as well as a future-proof platform that enables them to scale and grow, organisations would do well to seek out BMS providers that have a large client base and industries, and a strong track record with ongoing investment in R&D. Security should also be a factor to consider. With open systems, standards-based platforms make integration easier. However, organisations should select integrators that are also aware of security issues. Use of more digitally-based technology and the increased integration of IoT devices and data provide new entry points for threats and these need to be well managed. To optimise security, the commercial business environment needs a BMS with an intelligent platform that incorporates world-class standards – those that all modern systems, from CCTV to access control and HVAC management systems, are built on.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 921 7141

DESIGN ANY LABEL WITH BRADY WORKSTATION APPS

BRADY CORPORATION has created a digital platform that offers professional, intuitive apps to design quality product and cable labels and safety signs. Label designs are easier, faster and quickly adaptable to new label norms owing to centralised updates. Brady Workstation offers practical label design for a wide range of professionals. Simply select the apps you need, download the 30-day trial and purchase when satisfied. Available apps enable users to automate label creation, including data imports and complex sequences, and to design custom labels and signs for cables and products, protected label templates, text-only cable labels, CLP chemical labels, safety and facility signs, lockout procedures and pipe markers. The workstation works with a range of Brady desktop and portable printers. Connect a Brady printer to an internet connected computer to access and print the label templates and functionalities. The label printers also offer bi-directional communication with the workstation and will inform users if they have to switch label materials to print specific label designs.

Every Brady Workstation app can be downloaded, tested and purchased separately. Additionally, it also includes several label design suites that combine apps frequently used by specific professionals. Suites for wire identification, product identification, safety and facility identification, data automation and protected label templates are all available with considerable app bundle advantages.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 704 3295

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

AUGUST 2017