Sparks Electrical News August 2018

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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LOCKOUT CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR SAFER MACHINE INTERVENTIONS

C ircuit breakers are easily switched on and off which can cause problems for professionals carrying out an intervention. Shocks and extreme injury can be the results of prematurely reactivating a circuit. To avoid these accidents, and to enable safer machine interventions, Brady Corporation offers a circuit breaker lockout solution that is easy to apply. The new Universal Mini Circuit Breaker Lockout from Brady is easy to apply to a wide range of circuit breakers from various manufacturers. The small device is applied on a circuit breaker’s switch and fastened using an attached screw which is easy to handle. Fastening the screw pushes out a hole for a Lockout/Tagout padlock shackle. Locking the padlock will lock the circuit breaker’s switch in place to enable safer interventions.

By locking out circuit breakers with a padlock, accidents can be avoided that are related to prematurely and inadvertently reactivated machinery and other electrical devices. Once the padlock is locked in place, only the professional who locked it, and who is carrying out the intervention, controls when the circuit breaker will be reactivated. As a backup, Brady can include master keys for supervisors selected in a Lockout/Tagout padlock key plan. With a solution to lockout circuit breakers, companies can increase compliance with the European Norm 1037 on equipment safety, and with the EU Guideline 89/655 that specifies minimum safety and health requirements at work.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 704 3295

ZEST WEG GROUP PACKAGES DIVERSE PORTFOLIO INTO MINING SOLUTIONS

F or two consecutive years, global power management company, Eaton, has sponsored the coveted African Utility Week Awards. Committed to ‘doing business right’, Eaton is proud to announce the 2018 Outstand- ing Contribution Award for Power winner as Mateus Magala, President of the Board of Directors (CEO) of Electricidade De Mocambique . The announce- ment took place at the 18 th annual African Utility Week in Cape Town. The award celebrates the accomplishments of an individual in a senior position at a utility, public or private company who has displayed passion and commitment to the power industry, while also demonstrating leadership, vision and success. “These awards are a badge of excellence which recognises and rewards best practice in all aspects of the business of power. Sponsoring the Outstanding Contribution Award category is a demonstration of our commitment to the industry. It’s also to honour those individuals pushing the boundaries of innovation within the industry to improve quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services,” says Sumaya Abdool, Marketing Director for Africa, Eaton. OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD FOR POWER A delegation from South Africa’s Earthing and Lightning Protection Association (ELPA) recently attended the annual conference of the Lightning Protection Institute (LPI)/United Lightning Protection As- sociation (ULPA) 2018 in Florida in the United States. The attending team included ELPA national director Richard Evert and former national director Trevor Manas. The conference encompassed two general assembly meetings (AGMs) for the two associations and an LPI-IP update meeting. LPI-IP is the Inspection Programme of LPI facilitating inspections of all lightning protection installations in the USA. Commenting on ELPA’s decision to send a delegation to the US, Evert said that ELPA was a fledgling organisation focused on managing aspects of the lightning threat present within South Africa, and that it had been formally in existence only since June 2017. “The relationships among service providers as well as between service providers and end-users are critical to the success of the lightning protection industry in South Africa,” he said. Since inception, ELPA’s leadership has applied available local knowledge of association practices and business models. As the organisation has grown, however, it has become apparent that acquiring intelligence around other potential business models and standard operating procedures could be helpful. ELPA’s ability to meet the needs of its members will rely entirely on available knowledge, business acumen and the will to deliver what is needed. Evert continued, “Here at ELPA, we look forward to emulating our American peers as we play our own role in the South African lightning protection industry and press on with our goal of becoming the recognised national professional body for the earthing and lightning protection industry. Evert concluded, “Through this public medium, we want to thank the US Lightning Protection industry for its generosity and undertake that we will use the knowledge gained with the same passion and commitment as they shared with us”. ELPA DELEGATES ATTEND US INDUSTRY CONFERENCE Enquiries: www.eaton.co.za

A t Electra Mining Africa this year, Zest WEG Group’s large outdoor stand will display its growing range of products as well as its integrated approach, which offers customers significant added value in the execution of large projects. One of the new products expected to draw the attention of visitors and customers is the WEG Motor Scan solution. This innovative device facilitates the monitoring of electric motor performance from a mobile phone and will help mines to avoid unplanned downtime. According to Alastair Gerrard, integrated solutions executive at Zest WEG Group, the group’s entrepreneurial approach to aligning with customer requirements has led to the cost effective packaging of its offerings. “In today’s mining sector, it is no longer enough to come to the market with a good product,” says Gerrard. “It is increasingly important to partner with customers in the design and delivery of integrated solutions that will enhance their bottom lines and achieve lower cost of ownership.” The growth of Zest WEG Group’s product portfolio – as well as the increased size of many aspects of its equipment range – will see the company consolidate its exhibition on one large outdoor stand near the show’s main entrance. “Moving with the trend of tailor-made solutions that leverage off our extensive portfolio, our integrated solutions approach will provide significant benefits to customers. It also strengthens our ability to supply and manage large projects,” he says. He emphasises the value of early engagement with customers, which facilitates an in-depth understanding of the specific demands of projects. This enables Zest WEG Group to identify where it can contribute added-value offerings, drawing on its diverse product range that includes electric motors, vibrator motors, variable speed drives, switchgear, motor control centres, mini-substations, generator sets, transformers, containerised or/and mobile substations and E-houses. Also of interest will be WEG’s recent acquisition of steam turbine manufacturing specialist TGM, which has a well-established reference base in the Brazilian market. Together with this, Zest WEG Group is growing its energy generation offering to include solutions in the renewable energy space. Gerrard highlights the company’s Level 2 B-BBEE status and its extensive local manufacturing capabilities with four standalone facilities, enhancing its procurement value to customers in the mining sector.

WEG Motor Scan is a performance monitoring solution for electric motor installations. This innovative solution is designed to optimise access to information about the motor’s performance and allows data to be extracted and sent to the cloud. The access to real-time information allows preventive actions to be taken, avoiding unscheduled downtime. Information is collected by the App using a smart phone or tablet device, in either Android or iOS versions, and is sent to the cloud via Bluetooth or gateway. The stored data can be analysed on the device screen in a dynamic way or in greater depth on the WEG IoT Platform. WEG Motor Scan will allow the connection of all sensors in the plant, enable naming and monitoring of as many electric motors as required, analyse data sent to the cloud and synchronise the data through the WEG IoT Platform. Most importantly, this solution will allow end-users to find their motor from anywhere in the world.

Enquiries: www.zestweg.com

Enquiries: www.elpasa.org.za

Mark Morgan, board member of LPI, ULPA, LPHP, Richard Evert, ELPA national director, and Harold van Sickle the Third, LPI executive director.

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

AUGUST 2018