Sparks Electrical News March 2022

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

5

WORKING KNOWLEDGE WITH TERRY MACKENZIE HOY

Electric cars, and what they mean for electrical contractors U ntil now it’s all been fairly simple. Motor cars are run on internal combustion engines and have 12 V electrical systems. Various me-

number of urban South Africans who live in apart- ments or in the many areas where houses have no off-street parking. There is discussion of getting body corporates to supply charging positions to parking bays. Dream on. No, what will have to happen is the creation of ‘charging parks’ where you can ‘fast charge’ your car in 30 minutes or ‘slow charge’ it elsewhere. These charging stations will have to be able to de- liver very high currents and will have to be signed off and maintained by somebody. Thus, the same thing applies to charging stations; we don’t right now have enough artisans who can be trained to do this. I think that, candidly, for all the trumpets and balloons which herald the age of the electric car, it’s not going to shoot the lights out in South Africa. The prices (which, like those of cell phones, may fall) are too much right now. To drive 400 km and stop for an hour on the way is not really going to work. So, perhaps maintenance will never become an issue anyway . we’ll carry on as we have before.

sans in South Africa. Recent statistics indicate that the average age of artisans in South Africa is 55 years, while the num- ber of young people being trained to produce the next generation of artisans is only a fraction of what the country needs. And note, this is without the electric car requirements. A further difficulty is the number of young artisans emigrating. This totals about 90 000 in 2021 and will continue. The requirements to maintain an electric car are set by the manufacturers. If the maintenance is to go beyond diagnosis and replacement, then the electric car technician must have some verifiable skills. This means the OEM of the electric car must provide the training or alternatively provide a person with the nec- essary training. Inevitably this will mean that electric car maintenance will be costly. A further issue is that of charging the car. There is much mention of “charging at home” which sounds so convenient and cool but really won’t apply to the vast

maintenance is required. If the electric car breaks down it will be fixed by diagnosis and replacement – change the battery, inverter, variable speed drive, motor, fuses etc and off you go. However, this is still a job which will require some skill. The ques- tion is (a) do we have people with these skills? and (b) are there enough of them? The first question is easily answered; despite the complexity of electric cars, they are no more complex than many existing machineries found in the food processing, printing, manufacturing and other sectors. We have electri- cians and technicians who deal with the mainte- nance of these quite adequately. Batteries, inverters, variable speed drives, motors, fuses and so on are not new to South Africa and have been maintained very well for a number of years. The answer to (b) is … no, there are not enough people with the required skills to maintain electric cars. It has been noted by deputy secretary general of the ANC, Jessie Duarte, that there was shortfall of 40 000 qualified arti-

chanical specialists look after the mechanical bits and auto electricians look after the electrical bits. The maximum voltages are 12 V/24 V dc. This is not high enough to cause a fatal electrical shock (although the ignition system can give you a surprise). Thus, there are no regulations regarding the wiring of a motor vehicle. Auto electricians must be at least 18 years old, Graduate NQF Level 4 with Mathematics and Physical or Engineering Science, have complet- ed a one-year apprenticeship and have a national certificate proving completion of the relevant auto electrician course. Enter electric cars. These do have high voltages – of the order of 300/400 V ac. They have vari- able speed drives and very large batteries which can deliver very high currents of the order of 300 amps. Now it is quite obvious that, hopefully, little

Wear your safety protection! F ew of the trade professions has a higher likelihood for disaster or even death than the electrical trade. Any voltage from 50 V and up is con- sidered a risk. Wherever possible, switch off the electrical system be- fore any close work. Electricity is a very unforgiving friend of the electrician! Undertaking live electrical work is regarded as one of the most hazard- ous jobs of all. In fact, doing live line work requires limited active time so as to keep the mind in a clear state. Tired and worn out from excessive work, a single lapse in judgement could very easily be your last! Shoes Having a good quality shoe is very important, as the ground/earth is part of the electrical system in general. We do not readily identify with this aspect of the electrical supply system; it has the centre phase/neutral/earth common at the supply transformer. There are a few circuits that are required by legislation to have human protection added via an earth leakage device but not all are. Good shoes keep one stable while doing the task at hand, one slip and all may be over for good. Never be bare footed! Clothing Always have as much of your body as possible covered by a good quality fab- ric, preferably fire rated. Synthetic fibres are prone to melting onto your body causing extensive burns! Replace these at regular intervals as washing may reduce the fireproof claims. There is constant risk of flash burn if the circuit breakers trip, cause secondary flashover or insulation failure. This may not be so likely on small domestic or commercial panels but as these get larger as in factories/plants the risks get progressively greater. Electrical gloves There are suitable gloves for working at certain voltages but these should rather be a last resort fix as one does not exactly feel all that safe using them. Extended use tends to build up sweat which can be a problem too. If you do make use of these, safely store them away from sharp objects in your tool box. Replace at recommended intervals. Eye protection Having a good clean view of the task at hand is important but all live work must be done with suitable eye cover to prevent eye damage if there is a flashover. Flashovers are very quick to develop and the metal is rapidly va- porised and extremely hot. You need to ensure that this never comes into contact with your face or body without adequate cover. Flash suits There are many large industrial plants which have standing orders that no live substation/DB room may be entered without a full flash suit being worn by the operator. Persons without may only enter once the area is made safe. Discussions on why they have reached this step is usually because they have had some tragic event in their past and lost some staff. Plan Always plan exactly what you are going to do before starting live work, stay focused and you will be safe. Stop and replan if the task is not going to plan.

Pratley stands firm with international and local market growth S hipping and supply-chain issues have led to a global shortage of a range of items and commodities. “The world is shopping around at the moment, and we have seen fairly substantial inter- national interest in all of our products,” comments Pratley CEO Andrew Pratley, who was recently featured on CNN’s Marketplace Africa.

launched later in the year. We like to think of ourselves as a research and development company, and it certainly lies at the heart of what we do.” Well-known as a leading adhesive producer, Pratley’s electrical division is also a global leader in electrical termination equipment, particularly cable glands, junction boxes and related accessories for hazardous locations. “In keeping with our policy, the types of products that we produce tend to be unique and highly innovative, with features and benefits that out-perform others on the market. We invest a lot in research and development in this area, and have our own highly advanced in-house electrical testing laboratory and personnel,” ex- plains Andrew. Commenting on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Andrew ac- knowledges that 2021 proved to be a tough time for most businesses. “Indeed, the difficult challenges that South African businesses face on a daily basis, especially from a regulatory point of view does not help, either. However, challenging times have proved to also be times of rapid innovation and opportunity. “In many cases, we have managed to dramatically streamline pro- cesses and improve product formulations or designs. We also have our incredible employees, who have contributed to our strong growth in adverse times. We are fortunate to be in a relatively strong posi- tion going into 2022, and we plan on being around for a long time to come,” concludes Andrew.

Exports showed significant growth for Pratley in 2021, with new dis- tributors appointed in Europe and the Middle East. “Companies that can offer quality, innovative products at good ex-store service levels will benefit from the fallout of the pandemic.” In this regard, Pratley has a policy of maintaining a 95% ex-store service level, which has contributed to its success in 2021. “We experienced a fairly good uptick in adhesive sales towards the end of 2020 that was sustained going into 2021. With many staying at home and working from home due to the lockdowns, a greater degree of attention has been given to DIY projects and repairs,” notes Andrew. Pratley continues to see strong growth from the automotive repair market, especially in the informal sector. “We work hard to build loyalty in this market, which has been using our products for many years. Customers trust the brand and believe in the reliability of our products. This sector will be one of our main marketing focus areas in 2022.” It was an eventful 2021 for the company, which also commissioned Africa’s most advanced perlite filter aid facility and launched Perco- lite® perlite filter aid for the food, beverage, and chemical industries. On the electrical side, it launched a new range of flameproof cable glands that make use of Pratley’s Taper-Tech® flame-seal technol- ogy. “We believe that these glands are game-changers in the market,” says Andrew. Pratley also completed the construction and commissioning of a new technologically-advanced adhesives packaging facility. This fol- lows a marked increase in domestic and export sales and gives room for future growth capacity. “We certainly see sustained growth for 2022, especially from our export markets,” notes Andrew. In addition, Pratley’s electrical division has some innovative prod- ucts in the pipeline that it expects to launch in the first half of this year. One, in particular, will be a world-first, reveals Andrew. “We are also looking at some exciting new adhesive and mineral products to be

Enquiries: www.pratley.com

By Kevin Flack

Flack has recently retired from industry and believes he still has valu- able in-depth knowledge of the South African electrical landscape due to wide experiences gained in his 45+ years working career. In these trying COVID-19 times, Flack can provide online training to keep your staff up to date on all aspects of circuit breaker deployment. Email kevin.flack@outlook.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

MARCH 2022