Sparks Electrical News June 2020

ENERGY MEASUREMENT AND SUPPLY

10

Becker Mining supplies UPS sets to major coal supplier

Partnerships the answer to holistic service delivery

gress of dust and jets of water. This is pro- tection feature is par- ticularly important in arduous underground conditions. The inter-connected UPS systems, with Ethernet and RS232 connectivity, can be controlled or remotely managed and moni-

sor monitoring would prevent normal op- erations and lead to costly downtime, and could also become a major safety issue.” During a power outage, the UPS sys- tem needs to supply the specified load, to ensure the electrical system continues efficient operation, for a specified time pe- riod. In this particular project, the 3.5 kVA system, with a two-hour back-up time, has been designed to supply a full load current of 15 Amp at 220 V. This ensures the PLC system, with multiple outlets, runs effi- ciently even in the event of a power failure. As the PLC system consists of many electronic devices, a pure sign wave is re- quired to reduce induced electrical noises generated from the circuit. Without this critical feature, electronic components could malfunction and become a major safety risk, also causing costly downtime. The enclosures of Becker’s UPS sys- tems have an International Protection rat- ing of IP 65, which guards against the in-

BECKER MINING SOUTH AFRICA has supplied 12 uninterruptible power sup- ply (UPS) systems to a local coal mine supplier to enhance safety and prevent unnecessary downtime. The specially-de- signed UPS systems ensure uninterrupted operation of the mine’s programmable logic controller (PLC) system, particularly during power outages. “This UPS system was developed by Becker Mining specialists as a depend- able power back-up system for the PLC system, which controls critical functions at the mine. These operations include all in- stalled conveyer belt safety systems, such as gas monitoring and speed, slippage and load control instrumentation,” ex- plains Nico de Lange, Vice President: Op- erations & Systems, Becker Mining South Africa. “In the event of a power outage, the PLC would not be able to function without the back-up of a reliable UPS system. The interruption of the belt system and sen-

I n a digitally transforming world, part- nerships are more important than ever in delivering the kind of full value services customers expect. In business, the importance of part- ners cannot be overstated, which is why, according to George Senzere, pre-sales manager for anglophone countries at Schneider Electric, it is always im- portant to be selective about who you choose. “Such a choice should be based on due diligence, deep industry knowl- edge and an understanding that the en- tities you partner with are organisations that are genuinely making a difference in customer sales and service,” he says. Kevin Kolobe, a director at Green Wave Group, a Schneider Premier Part- ner, explains that, for him a technology partner of choice is one that undertakes significant and ongoing investments in research and development (R&D). “Knowing how much effort goes into their R&D should give you peace of mind that the technologies you as a partner will be using today will be con- sistently worked on and developed fur- ther. It is this continuous improvement that is the hallmark of what makes a good partner in a digitally transforming world,” he says. Senzere says that Schneider focuses on providing potential partners with a one-stop shop by bringing together a range of different environments, in- cluding building management systems (BMS), solar solutions, power metering and data centres, under a single roof. “Partners want solutions that have been tested, validated and have real use case scenarios, and they align themselves to multinationals because it gives them access to the skills of thou- sands of certified engineers and subject matter experts around the world. This, in turn, enables these partners to position themselves as trusted advisors to their own customers.” Kolobe explains that Green Wave has been a Schneider partner for close to a decade, initially becoming involved with

the business because it was seeking a BMS solution. “Once we looked more deeply into the company’s other ar- eas of expertise, namely in solar, power metering and data centres, we realised it not only matched our own natural progression in this direction, but also provided us with a much bigger canvas for our energy efficiency-focused work,” he says. According to Senzere, energy effi- ciency is a key play for the future. With everything seemingly going electric, including vehicles, this means electric- ity consumption will continue to rise. The same holds true for data centres, whose energy demands continue to in- crease as the cloud grows and the edge spreads. For this reason, energy man- agement and efficiency is more critical than ever. “Undoubtedly, the increasing focus on energy efficiency means greater lev- els of competition, which in turn drives organisations to be consistently inno- vative, to more clearly understand what the market wants and to deliver solu- tions that are tailored to exactly what those market demands are.” “Pulling together the kind of solution that meets these market demands, of course, requires careful planning and understanding of the customer’s needs. Moreover, it requires a partner with the right levels of skills and expertise to un- dertake the implementation. For Sch- neider Electric, meeting these require- ments in a holistic manner is the core reason we believe in working so closely with our partners,” he concludes. Schneider Electric is leading the digi- tal transformation of energy manage- ment and automation in homes, build- ings, data centres, infrastructure and industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undis- putable leader in power management – medium voltage, low voltage and se- cure power, and in automation systems. tions include steady or flashing set- tings and various light effects. Preassembled signal tower mod- ules can be disassembled and reas- sembled quickly without tools or dis- connecting the power supply, to add or exchange LED modules, for exam- ple. All are ergonomically designed and ingress protected to IP66. Individual light elements are avail- able with blue, amber, red, green, yel- low and clear LEDs. Also available are piezoelectric acoustic alarm modules, which provide up to 16 continuous or intermittent sound output op- tions, and red LED warning bars. RS PRO prewired base units have seven electrical contacts, allowing each to support up to seven LED modules or six LEDs and a sounder module. The electrical connection is made safely via an IP20 touch-proof connector. A wide range of mounting accessories includes surface-mount bases for flat surfaces, wall mounting brackets and extension poles of various lengths. . Enquiries: +27 (0)11 691 9300 Enquiries: www.se.com/za

tored from the control station. In the event of a system-failure, critical decisions can be made ahead of schedule to prevent a disaster or unnecessary downtime. Becker Mining South Africa offers a technical advisory and support service throughout the country to ensure total reliability of its extensive range of equip- ment.

Enquiries: info@za.becker-mining.com

Protection for the cold chain and medical refrigeration

T he demand for vaccines has increased as they have be- come one the most effective public health interventions for saving lives, preventing serious illnesses as well as curbing pandemics. Vaccines are sensitive biological substances that can lose their potency and effectiveness if they are exposed to tempera- tures outside the required limit. Therefore, failure to adhere to the cold chain requirements may not only reduce vaccine ef- fectiveness but also cause lack of protection against prevent- able diseases as well as wastage, which results in increased costs. Cold chains are temperature-controlled supply chains and their purpose is to maintain product quality from the time of manufacture until the point of administration by ensuring that vaccines are stored and transported within WHO-recommend- ed conditions. However, power problems are a real concern. Vaccine, blood and medical refrigerators are highly sensitive equipment that store critical contents, both lifesaving and expensive. Ensuring the well-being of the equipment with a healthy power supply is key to the safe operation and maintenance of accurate tem- peratures at all times. What is the solution? Sollatek, a 35-year-old company, specialises in Voltage Protec- tion that will provide solutions to every voltage power problem that

exists. Sollatek’s Voltage Stabiliser’s (SVS) are electrical appliances that feed constant voltage to a load during over and under voltage conditions. The SVS devices detect unstable voltage conditions and consistently bring the voltage to a desired range. This prevents damage to the medical refrigerators storing critical vaccine contents whilst ensuring the correct tempera- ture is constantly maintained. When to use a Sollatek SVS? Sollatek manufactures a range of SVSs which fully complies with WHO specification for voltage regula- tors in the cold chain. The Sollatek SVS range is PQS compliant (WHO Performance, Quality and Safety) and is strongly recommended in the following situa- tions where: • A new vaccine cold room is being installed and ex- perience in the area indicates that a problem already exists with the electricity supply at the site. • It is likely that frequent damage to an existing vac- cine cold room’s motors, compressors, relays and other electrical equipment has been caused by an unstable supply of electricity. • The area surrounding the vaccine cold room is un- der development and it is possible that the electricity supply will not develop at the same pace, resulting in an unstable, unreliable, or fluctuating electricity sup- ply. • Areas where generators are running excessively due to fluctuating mains supply.

Modular LED signal towers RS COMPONENTS has launched the RS PRO range of preassembled, prewired and modular LED signal towers, providing OEM automation engineers and maintenance buyers with a cost effective means of visually signalling equipment faults and other machine states. Besides preassembled signal towers, the RS PRO range of nearly 120 products includes individual LED light elements, sounder units and prewired tower base units that can be user-assembled according to individual requirements.

RS PRO preassembled, prewired signal towers include elliptical dome- shaped and cylindrical tower-shaped variants designed to improve the safety and productivity of control and automation equipment. Supplied with either two (red and green) or three (red, amber and green) LED light modules, they are quick to install on 100 mm, 70 mm or 50 mm diam- eter bases. Prewiring makes it easy to map colours to functions, and to switch the signal output of individual coloured modules. Light element op-

Enquiries: nick.allen@sollatek.co.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

JUNE 2020