SGB-Cape Rope Access, a division of Waco Africa, offers specialist rope access services and has stated that there is a shortage of skills in the “work at height” industry in South Africa. 

A specialist field of work – and not for the faint-hearted – there are significant advantages to using “rope access” over traditional access methods such as scaffolding and mobile elevated working platforms. Apart from the ease of access to hard-to-reach locations, utilising rope access offers an affordable alternative to other methods, such as building scaffolding, and can be set up quickly, efficiently and with minimal disruption. 

Cobus Joubert, manager at SGB-Cape Rope Access, explained, “Say for example a light bulb, 40 meters in the air at a construction or mining site, needs to be changed. Instead of orchestrating an entire operation that requires scaffolding to be built – which includes a number of heavy-duty vehicles, drivers, builders, going through an organisation’s supply chain process – and then of course everything has to be taken down again, a simple task of changing the light bulb can take several weeks or months. On the other hand, a couple of rope access technicians can do the same job in a matter of days.” 

Mr Joubert continued, “Here in South Africa we have a multitude of industries that are already using rope access technicians, such as construction, power, oil and gas, banner signage, industrial maintenance and telecommunications industries. However, we find that we have a serious lack of skill and qualified technicians and would encourage adventurous souls to actively pursue it as a career. To become a rope access technician is not as daunting as most people think, and the first entry-level qualification is aimed at individuals with little or zero previous experience.” 

IRATA Training

SGB Cape Offshore (Pty) Ltd is an accredited provider of IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) industrial rope access training courses. IRATA is recognised as the world’s leading authority on industrial rope access and directs and regulates the training of all workers seeking an IRATA qualification through its' accredited providers. To find out more and to register for IRATA level 1, 2 or 3, please visit https://www.sgbcaperopeaccess.co.za/What-We-Do/IRATA-TRAINING-COURSES/IRATA-Courses-Offered. 

About SGB-Cape Rope Access

SGB-Cape Rope Access is an operating division of SGB-Cape, one of South Africa’s leading service providers of access scaffolding and industrial access-based maintenance such as thermal insulation and corrosion protection. SGB-Cape is part of Waco International, a focused equipment rental and industrial services business with operations in Africa (South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries), Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) and the United Kingdom. The Group provides services in the areas of formwork, shoring and scaffolding, insulation, painting and blasting, hydraulic and suspended access platforms, relocatable modular buildings, portable sanitation products and integrated hygiene services. https://sgbcape.co.za/

When a Mpumalanga Platimum mine required a clean and reliable gland water supply solution for their slurry pumps, they chose Mechanical Rotating Solutions (MRS) as best equipped to offer them the most suitable option available.Mechanical Rotating Solutions supplied and installed two Vertical Multistage centrifugal pumps supporting the unit in supplying gland service water to five Envirotec slurry pumps, pumping in series, ranging from 4 to 15 bar pressure to the stuffing boxes. 

The complete MRS installation supplying gland water to the client’s slurry pumps 

According to Mechanical Rotating Solutions Managing Director, Franscois Steenkamp, clean and reliable gland water supply is an essential utility at any mining operation. “Pressurised gland water is pumped into the Gland Packed Stuffing box of slurry pumps in order to keep them clear of dirt, debris and impurities. This gland seal water enables the pump sleeve to rotate within its stuffing box with minimum friction whilst preventing the slurry from back-flowing into the gland Packing and damaging the sleeve. It is critical that the correct fit for purpose pumps and support systems be selected ensuring that sufficient gland water flow and pressure is maintained. Operating without clean gland water will cause the slurry to back-flow into the pump’s stuffing box and damaging the rotating pumps  sleeveAs part of the project, Mechanical Rotating Solutions also supplied a self-cleaning electrical filter joined to the supply tank discharge valve via a Straub Flex pipe coupling.  The Straub Flex pipe coupling is designed to allow for slight misalignment and can easily handle gaps of 5mm between pipe ends.  The installed Purging Strainer is a completely autonomous in-line self-cleaning strainer. It utilizes a wedge wire basket as its straining component, from 50 micron upwards. 

An MRS supplied Straub Flex coupling joining the supply tank discharge valve to the self-cleaning electrical filter 

The system being on-line at all times through these cycles utilizes the operational pressure to force the dirt out through the purge valve. The unit self-cleans while in operation, with minimal pressure loss, allowing production to continue without interruption.Completing the MRS installation was the supply and installation of a stainless steel manifold consisting of an array of monitoring gauges and valves attached to flexible hosing. The manifold can be described as the arrangement of lines and valves used to direct and control fluid on a pumping unit. The most important factor in designing a gland water system is to ensure the system is reliable and has sufficient pressure. If gland water pressure is too low, it will not be able to overcome back-pressure from the pump and cause the slurry to back-flow into the stuffing box.Among its product offering and related turnkey solutions, Mechanical Rotating Solutions is currently servicing the Mpumalanga area with the AESSEAL® product range of mechanical seals and systems, Labtecta Bearing Isolators, Belzona Engineered Coatings and Superbolts, as well as supplying the whole of South Africa with innovative Straub pipe couplings, and turnkey pumping solutions including KSB pumps and valves, HCP pumps, DAB pumps and other world-class products.

Johannesburg - 4 June 2019: A new piece of legislation, the Traditional Khoisan and Leadership Bill, which is in its final stage of enactment, will see millions of people lose any democratic rights the constitution infers upon them, says the Bench Marks Foundation.

The Bill builds on previous legislation that re-entrenches the power of traditional leaders throughout the former homelands. It will allow them sole decision-making authority over their ‘subjects’, an estimated 17 million people living within the tribal boundaries.

This means they will be able to sign deals that bind all the people within their tribal jurisdictions without having to obtain their consent.

“Although at first glance the legislation appears well-intentioned, as it is meant to provide recognition for the Khoi-San communities, leaders and structures, it is actually highly deceptive,” says John Capel, Executive Director of the Bench Marks Foundation, an independent organisation committed to social and economic justice.

“The Bill not only takes power away from the people but also treats Khoi and San leaders differently from other traditional leaders. It restricts them by only giving them jurisdiction over the people who choose to affiliate with them, and it doesn’t give them authority over land, unlike what will be given to other traditional leaders.” Says Capel: “This Bill infringes on people’s constitutional rights. We could see millions of people displaced because their leader, in terms of the Bill, has signed a deal with a mining house or a property developer or anyone else that wants the land. “The bill repeals and replaces current legislation dealing with all traditional leaders in South Africa. It will entrench the apartheid divide by giving local chiefs complete control over their people.” Capel said that it is extremely worrying that the Bill has been fast-tracked through the parliamentary process. He said the reason behind the push for the Bill to get signed into law is quite clear: it is a government Trojan Horse being used to promote the interests of big business and tribal authorities and land grabbing by mining companies.

He also said that two recent court judgements, the Maledu judgement made in the Constitutional Court, and the Xolobeni Judgement made by the Pretoria High Court, where community’s rights around prior consent, the right to say no, and the deals brokered between mining houses and traditional leaders without the consent of those who would be directly affected, were ruled as infringing people’s constitutional rights, will be circumvented if this Bill becomes law. “We hope that President Ramaphosa will refuse to assent the Bill and send it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration. We hope that he insists that it is revised as if enacted in its present form, the Bill stands to destroy, displace and deprive millions of South Africans.”

On 5th June 2019 civil society and communities will fight back against this repressive legislation that has slipped under the radar by marching to the Union Buildings where they will hand over a memorandum to the President of South Africa or his authorised representative.

This march falls in line with Bench Marks’ Foundation view that this Bill is exploitive and a step back to segregated legal and property rights systems.

In November 2018, the Sishen Iron Ore Company – Community Development Trust (SIOC-cdt) contracted Citizen Surveysto conduct a needs analysis within the five local municipalities in which it operates. This will assist the Trust to update its Community Development Strategy and ensure that it can have a meaningful impact on these Northern Cape and Limpopo communities.  

Established in 2006 by Kumba Iron Ore Limited to invest in the development of the communities in which the company operates, SIOC-cdt derives dividends from its shareholding in the Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) and has spent over R1-billion so far in community development projects. 

These projects seek to strengthen the communities surrounding its mining activities and ensure that they are sustainable once these mines close. 

“SIOC-cdt aims to have a genuine and lasting impact on these communities as a result of its community development projects, rather than relying on metrics such as how much money it has spent or projects it has funded,” says Managing Director of Citizen Surveys, Washeelah Kapery. 

SIOC-cdt is active in five local municipalities. Four of these are in the Northern Cape and surround the Sishen Mine in Kathu and Kolomela Mine in Postmasburg. These are the Joe Morolong, Gasegonyana, Gamagara and Tsantsabane local municipalities. While the Thabazimbi Mine in Limpopo was recently sold to ArcellorMittal, SIOC-cdt has legacy projects and thus an obligation to communities within the Thabazimbi Local Municipality.  

“We specialise in large-scale national surveys that investigate the perceptions, needs and experiences of South Africans,” continues Kapery, “and we have invested into developing research systems that enable us to provide strategic insights and solutions.”  

“SIOC-cdt is in the process of updating its Community Development Strategy for the next five years and wants to ensure that its community development strategies and projects are based on sound research into the needs of the different communities,” says Vusani Malie CEO of SIOC-cdt. “Citizen Surveys will be conducting household surveys with communities, interviews with community leaders and subject experts, and integrating information from other data sources (e.g. Stats SA, municipal IDPs) into the findings. This will create a solid foundation to provide planners with the information they need to prioritize sustainable development projects to offer in a community. In this way, projects can be designed to alleviate real social and economic problems”. 

The research will commence in mid- December 2018 and will run until the end of February 2019. Once this research has been completed, SIOC-cdt will make it available to other organisations engaged in social development within these communities.

RS Components enables the selection of the right equipment and maintenance solutions to ensure smooth-running operations Johannesburg,

South Africa, 12 June, 2017 - RS Components SA, the global distributor for engineers, will be at the Mining & Technical Exhibition (MTE) Kathu on 22 June 2017 at the Kathu Perde Klub, showcasing a range of plant maintenance solutions designed to help companies with planned and emergency maintenance requirements. 

The Mining & Technical Exhibition (MTE) Kathu is hosting its 11th show this year at the Kathu Perde Klub situated in Kathu meaning the "town under the trees" and is known as the iron ore capital of the Northern Cape Province due to the mining activity from some of the largest open-cast iron ore mining operations in the world. RS Components offers a wide range of tools and equipment, to support planned and emergency maintenance needs.

Key product areas for plant maintenance include tools, consumables, chemicals, cables and cable management, test and measurement, HVAC systems, lighting and a range of automation and control products including sensors and machine guarding. 

The RS Pro range will also be on exhibit at the MTE Kathu show, offering customers a combination of quality, performance and value. All products are backed by the RS Seal of Approval, representing leading industry standards for audit, inspection, test and certification. Further information on the RS Pro range can be found by visiting www.rspro.com Visit the RS Components stand at MTE Kathu on 22 June 2017 from 13:00 to 17:00 at the Kathu Perde Klub.

-Ends- 

About RS Components 

RS Components is the market leader in the high service level distribution of electrical, electronic, mechanical, tools and industrial products. Operating in 26 countries whilst serving a further 100 through third-party distributors, RS serves every sector of industry in the procurement of their products relating to maintenance, repair, operations, low volume production, research and development.   

With over 500 000 products across 2500 leading brands, the company is committed to ensuring that their 1,5 million customers have fast access to a broad, as well as deep range, of products and technologies, all under one roof. RS’s customers, whether ordering single or multiple items, experience a quick, easy, secure, painless and cost effective process.  The RS catalogue, available at za.rs-online.com, offers full colour pictures with extensive clear product specifications. 

Free access to thousands of datasheets ensures the correct product choice.  Order placement is easily facilitated through za.rs-online.com, the call centre, e-mail, fax and trade counter.  Locally held stock is delivered to customers within 24 hours, and products held internationally, within four to six working days.    

It is proven that departments traditionally spend 80% of their time sourcing products that account for only 20% of their total procurement spend. RS is focussed on reducing the customers “total cost of product ownership” by reducing the need to make multiple calls to various companies to source products, reducing supplier related administration and allowing for the amalgamation as well as consolidation of supplier bases. 

Through this process, procurement efficiency is improved and time is freed up to concentrate on the more important business decisions.  For more information, please visit the website at za.rs-online.com 

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RS Components South Africa

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RSProRS Components South Africawww.electrocomponents.comDesignSpark Magazine - http://www.designspark.com

ISANDO, JOHANNESBURG, 12 July 2016 – WEC Projects (Pty) Ltd, a contractor specialising in turnkey water and wastewater treatment solutions in South Africa, has acquired a majority stake in Industrial Water Cooling (Pty) Ltd (IWC), a company specialising in cooling tower and industrial cooling solutions, IWC announced today. 

The partnership is effective immediately and replaces private equity company, MEDU Capital’s stake in IWC.

 “I am very pleased to announce that we have a new business partner in WEC Projects. I am of the firm belief that in WEC we have found a like-minded business partner that understands the contracting environment in which we operate,” comments Roger Rusch, Managing Director of IWC. 

Johannesburg-based WEC Projects has been operating as a contractor in the water and wastewater treatment industry since 2002. The company specialises in designing, manufacturing and installing water and wastewater treatment plants, such as packaged potable water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, industrial filtration plants, submerged membrane bioreactors, reverse osmosis plants, reverse osmosis pre-treatment systems, dissolved air floatation devices and lamella settlers. 

WEC Projects are also pioneers in biogas to energy technology, having designed, supplied and installed South Africa’s first such plant at a municipal wastewater site. The technology converts wastewater sludge into biogas that is then used to fuel a gas engine that produces electricity. As a result of this technology, municipalities are able to subsidise their electrical costs by what they are able to produce themselves, utilising a waste material that now has significant commercial value.

IWC, originally founded in 1986 as Industrial Water Cooling, specialises in evaporative water cooling, heat exchangers and GRP solutions for numerous applications across the mining, power generation, petrochemical, and water and sanitation industries. 

EDITOR’S NOTES

About IWC

IWC are African leaders in cooling tower technology, delivering world-class, fully-integrated solutions across all industries, from mining; power generation and petrochemical; water and sanitation; to light industrial. IWC’s products and services include the design, manufacture and installation of GRP piping, fittings, tanks and other process equipment. Additionally, IWC also undertakes repairs and refurbishment projects and other associated services.  For more information visit: http://www.iwc.co.za or contact IWC on +27 (0) 11 466 0699

About WEC Projects (Pty) Ltd 

WEC Projects is a specialist turnkey contractor supplying a range of packaged water & wastewater treatment plants as well as design and implementation of biogas to energy projects that are specifically engineered to their clients’ requirements. Products include packaged potable water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, industrial filtration plants, submerged membrane bioreactors, reverse osmosis plants, reverse osmosis pre-treatment systems, dissolved air floatation devices and lamella settlers. The company is based in Diepsloot, Johannesburg. For more information visit www.wecprojects.co.za or contact WEC Projects on +27 (0) 11 745 5500/1/2/3/4.