African Fusion March 2018

SAIW: Sean's comment

SAIW and SAIW Certification

I n spite of the positive nature of recent political events, we are very concerned about the state of the fabrication industry in South Africa. Our state-owned enterprises are still having a negative impact on investor confidence and, while we are hopeful that under the leadership of Pravin Gordhan this will change, few new projects are on the horizon. Medupi and Kusile are rapidly coming to completion. While this is good news, it is also of concern, because what’s next? When construc- tion stops, it will leave a void in the welding industry. Following the power station newbuilds completed in the late 1980s, the industry was left in the lurch for several decades, leading to a serious erosion of skills and experience. If we again fail to progress to other infrastructure development projects, wewill be repeating the samemistake. It must surely be in the interests of South Africa to keep companies such as Steinmüller and DB Thermal active, employing people and developing their skills so that we can establish a sustain- able and long-term growth path that creates jobs, alleviates poverty, reduces inequality and stimulates the economy. On the power side, a thirdmodern coal-fired power station, Coal 3, makes a lot of sense to me, given that several of the current Eskom fleet are reaching or are beyond the end of their lives. Kriel has serious environmental problems and is at risk of being shut down, while the three return-to-service power stations, Komati, Grootvlei and Camden were originally built in the 1960s using old technologies that are now inefficient compared to new-build power stations. The problems that caused delays and overspendwithMedupi and Kusile have nowbeen resolved, as is evident fromgood progress being made completing the final units, so building Coal 3 to replace the older technologies would be quicker, easier and much more cost-effective. And while coal presents environmental problems, replacing several old, inefficient power stations with highly efficient units, with better emission controls, will result in a net positive environmental benefit. Do we want to lose all we have learned or do we wish to use the momentumwe have generated to date to secure our long-termpower future? Medupi and Kusile have supportedmany thousands of people for over a decade. We need this to continue! With respect to skills, we are very proud to be launching our QCTO welder-training programme this year. This is an apprenticeship programme that incorporates three components: welding theory, practical welder training, and authentic work experience in the fab- rication industry. We are therefore seeking industry partners that are prepared to take on new apprentices, send them for training at the SAIW Welding School before bringing them back into their working environment. Etienne Nell has done the sums and he can show how this training programme can save industry money for those willing to invest in high-quality skills development. We look forward to having enough candidates to start the programme by May. SAIW is celebrating its 70 th Anniversary this year. In that time we have made a difference to the lives of thousands of people and, even in lean times, many of our graduates are finding employment. It is going to be a special year, which we hope to celebrate properly at our 70 th Annual Dinner on the 7 th of September, so please diarise the date. This year’s IIWAnnual Assembly andConference is inBali, Indonesia in July 2018. I encourage those from industry, education and research organisations to come and represent South Africa. IIW is a valuable international organisation and increased participation by industry representatives and young people can only enhance our reputation and the work we do. Sean Blake

SAIW Governing Board President: Morris Maroga – Eskom S Blake – SAIW L Breckenridge – CEA G Joubert – SAISI A Koursaris – Metforensics DJ Olivier – Olivier Survey Group A Paterson – University of the Witwatersrand T Rice – Personal member J Tarboton – SASSDA JR Williamson – Wilconsult J Zinyana – New Age Welding Solutions SAIW Certification Governing Board Chairperson: G Joubert – ArcelorMittal B Beetge – Sentinel Inspection Services P Bruwer – Sasol Synfuels F Buys – TUV S Blake – SAIW G Buitenbos – Steinmüller G Joubert – SAISI A Koursaris – Metforensics D Olivier – Olivier Survey Group H Potgieter – SAIW Certification P Pistorius – University of Pretoria R Williamson – Wilconsult J Zinyana – New Age Welding Solutions M Maroga – Eskom S Moodley – SAPREF

SAIW Foundation Board Chairperson: M Maroga - Eskom S Blake - SAIW P Pistorius - University of Pretoria P Venter – ArcelorMittal J Pieterse- Afrox

SAIW and SAIW Certification representatives

Executive director Sean Blake Tel: (011) 298 2101 sean.blake@saiw.co.za

Training services manager Shelton Zichawo Tel: (011) 298 2148 shelton.zichawo@saiw.co.za

SAIW Certification manager Herman Potgieter Tel: (011) 298 2149 herman.potgieter@saiw.co.za

NDT training manager Mark Digby Tel: (011) 298 2169 mark.digby@saiw.co.za

Executive secretary Dimitra Kreouzi

Technical services manager Riaan Loots Tel: (011) 298 2144 riaan.loots@saiw.co.za

Tel: (011) 298 2102 Fax: (011) 836 6014 dimitra.kreouzi@saiw.co.za Finance and administration manager Michelle Warmback Tel: (011) 298 2125 michelle.warmbank@saiw.co.za Cape Town branch manager Liz Berry Tel: (021) 555 2535 liz.berry@saiw.co.za SAIW regional representatives

KZN branch manager George Walker Tel: (087) 351 6568 george.walker@saiw.co.za

3

March 2018

AFRICAN FUSION