arei - from the chairman's desk

19 April 2017 Editor's Choice News

It is Thursday evening, 30 March 2017 as I jot down a few ideas for this column. As I am bombarded with rumours of a cabinet reshuffle, I ponder on a song performed by Barry McGuire that I had heard a few days earlier titled ‘Eve of Destruction’ – and it surely was.

The rumours were confirmed on 31 March 2017, but one has to wonder if this is just a lead up to a sick April Fool’s joke. Alas, there are no Zapiro cartoons in the Sunday papers with the words “Heh, Heh, Heh – I was only joking” bubbled from the shower head.

Despite the utter despair, the uncertainty and the anger, South Africans have to gather up all they can and stand together to defeat this injustice. Already by 2 April 2017 there is some mobilisation on different petitions, #BlackMonday and #StayAwayFriday. All these are positive initiatives with a common message of “standing together”.

The Association of Representatives of the Electronics Industry (arei) of South Arica has a defined pay-off line similar to this message, namely “Working together to grow the South African Electronics Industry”. With a weakening Rand, opportunities for local manufacture and export arise, and at arei we believe that by growing the association and collaborating with all the stakeholders in our industry we will achieve this objective.

Since our first FY17/FY18 committee meeting, we have defined a strategy and elected portfolio managers to assist in achieving our goals. The strategic key initiatives include:

• More focus on interfacing with government, educational institutions and related associations.

• Growth of the membership.

• More accurate measurement of the industry KPIs and statistics.

• More frequent networking sessions.

• Benchmarking with related associations such as IDEA.

The respective portfolio managers have been elected as follows:

• Chairman – Warren Muir (Muirlenium Technology).

• Vice Chairman – Philip Hall (Avnet South Africa).

• Secretary – Jenny Gooding.

• Finance – Stephan Martinussen (Arrow Altech Distribution).

• Statistic Management – Warren Muir (Muirlenium Technology).

• Public Relations Management – Malckey Tehini (Dataweek/Technews).

• Institutional Relations (Government, Education, etc) – Erich Nast (Avnet South Africa).

• Stakeholder Relations – Lesley Bebbington (Proactive Marketing) and Sean Flynn (Projects Concern).

• Related Association Collaboration – Vacant (formerly Petrus Booyens).

The effort from the committee has already yielded some fruits with three new memberships in 2017, preliminary meetings with the dti to formulate a relationship, initial discussions to start collaborating with the SAEEC and IESA, and events coordination for our annual breakfast with a well-known guest speaker.

We encourage stakeholders in the electro-technical sector to consider joining arei. As we build momentum with our strategy, we believe that we offer our members substantial value for their annual fees. Should you be interested, please contact Jenny Gooding on +27 (0)11 462 3256 or info@arei.co.za.

Warren Muir

Chairman, arei

Further reading:

Women and the future of engineering in South Africa
Editor's Choice
With women making up just 16% of registered engineering professionals in South Africa, AvenirHoldings CEO, Tshidi Mndzebele, is calling on women engineers and graduates to pursue formal professional registration as a key step to unlocking career growth and industry leadership.

Read more...

---

The effect of seasonal changes on ESD performance in South Africa
Actum Editor's Choice Circuit & System Protection Manufacturing / Production Technology, Hardware & Services
Electrostatic discharge performance is influenced by several environmental factors, with relative humidity being one of the most important. This is particularly relevant in South Africa, where seasonal changes can result in significant differences in humidity levels.

Read more...

---

Compact RTK design: More than just the receiver
iCorp Technologies Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
In practice, engineers building compact RTK products keep discovering the same thing: the hardest component in the system is no longer the receiver. It is the antenna.

Read more...

---

The signal-to-noise challenge in large-scale IIoT
Sigfox South Africa Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
For much of the last decade, the industrial IoT industry has been driven by a relatively simple assumption: if a little data is useful, more data must be better. That thinking shaped countless deployments.

Read more...

---

Women building South Africa’s power infrastructure
Editor's Choice
As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month in August, women are increasingly taking their place on the factory floor, in technical workshops and across engineering environments, helping manufacture the infrastructure that keeps the country’s electricity network running.

Read more...

---

More efficient production with optimised procurement
Editor's Choice
The smallest part on the BOM is usually the one that holds it up. Interconnect, passive and electromechanical components rarely get attention until they are missing. That is starting to change, and it is reshaping how procurement teams think about risk.

Read more...

---

Locate underground cable faults faster with the Fluke AF2082 A-Frame
Comtest Editor's Choice Test & Measurement
Underground cable faults can lead to costly downtime, service disruptions, and extensive excavation if the fault location is uncertain. The AF2082 simplifies this process by guiding operators directly to the fault point.

Read more...

---

Here is what we learnt from three supply chain crises
Seven Labs Technology Editor's Choice
Component crises are not random events. They follow a pattern. After fifteen years and three major disruptions, Seven Labs knows exactly what that pattern demands, and what it takes to keep production lines moving.

Read more...

---

The new reality of PCB material supply
Jemstech Editor's Choice Manufacturing / Production Technology, Hardware & Services
How resilient manufacturing strategies are helping OEMs navigate a changing global supply chain.

Read more...

---

Strengthening local electronics manufacturing through investment and innovation
Microtronix Manufacturing Editor's Choice Manufacturing / Production Technology, Hardware & Services
Microtronix South Africa cements its commitment to local manufacturing with ongoing investments in production capacity, skills development, and job creation.

Read more...

---