News Industry Comment
As part of Electrical Engineering’s penultimate issue of 2011, we take a closer look at training within the electrical industry. The issue of a growing skills gap in the sector has been well documented, however the current economic climate has seen many organisations show a reluctance towards investing in training, education and apprenticeships. This is not to say that nothing is being done to raise awareness of the issue within the industry - whether it be to further promote careers in industry at
A reason for celebration
OCTOBER SAW EATON Corporation celebrate its 100th anniversary since being founded as small axle business in 1911. The company has since evolved into four busi- ness groups - electrical, aerospace, hydraulics and vehi- cle - with customers in over 150 countries. There was in fact cause for a double celebration at Eaton, as October also saw the company achieve industry recognition at the Electrical Industry Awards. Winning the award for Innovative Residential/Domestic Product of the Year was Eaton’s PV Switch & Surge Unit, developed in conjunction with Solarcentury. And, significantly, the award for Outstanding Contribution to Electrical Excellence went to Eaton’s trading standards and policy manager, Kevin Harris, who was nominated by Eaton and BEAMA col- league, Alan Birks. He commented, “For more than a decade, Kevin has been a driving force in the battle
L-R: Kevin Harris and Alan Birks
against counterfeit electrical goods that threaten people’s safety and rob the electrical industry of its rightful profits. It is no exaggeration to say that every single manufacturer of electrical products, and proba- bly every single person in this room tonight, has bene- fitted from the diligence and passion with which he has gone about his tasks.”
www.eaton.com
Getting women ‘Wired for Success’
try, from entering the sector. Working with its principal
THE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS’ Association (ECA) has launched its new cam- paign, Wired for Success: ECA Women into Electrical Contracting. This two year initia- tive aims to break down the barri- ers that prevent women, who are currently under represented in the electrical contracting indus-
In brief...
As part of its drive to provide better solutions to its customers, Rittal has recently achieved ISO 9001 certification for all its worldwide manufacturing facili- ties, as well as its distribution centres. Compliance was certified by recognised indepen- dent authority, the German Association for the Certification of Quality Management Systems (DQS).
www.rittal.co.uk
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partner, housing association L&Q, 12 female residents will follow an industry recognised training scheme that will allow them to work competently and safely in the domestic environment. The ECA’s skills ambassador, Diane Johnson, said, “The Wired for Success initiative takes an issue that is plaguing government (get- ting people into work), and pro- vides a blueprint for success which we believe can be adopted across the craft sector, while tackling a potentially crippling industry problem head on.”
www.eca.co.uk
grass roots level or introducing appren- ticeship schemes to equip tomorrow’s workforce with the skills they require. We look at just some of these ini- tiatives this month and gauge the overall feeling within the industry on the role training has to play - both now and in helping to shape the industry in the future.
Other features this month include drives & controls, sensors and sensing systems, enclosures and cable management. Joe Bush, Editor
Extending standby power service
SHENTONGROUP HAS EXTENDED its association with independent telecom services provider, Magdalene, by winning the contract to provide its Merlin Powercare 24 generator service. Magdalene is already con- tracted with shentongroup for its Powercall service and now, fol- lowing the signing of the Merlin Powercare 24 contract, shenton- group will also be providing a fully integrated nationwide maintenance, refuelling and on- site load bank testing service for the Scorpion 106kVA generators. These were supplied by shenton- group in 2002/03 and are used to support Magdalene’s managed service business fibre network and ancillary infrastructure.
www.shentongroup.co.uk
Machine safety training
PILZ AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY has been awarded full accreditation as a skills training provider by The National Skills Academy for its one, two and four day City & Guilds Machinery Safety Courses. Pilz’s four day City & Guilds Machinery Safety Course is suit- able for people who have responsibility for existing or new machinery, including main- tenance engineers, engineer- ing/project managers, design engineers and manufacturers. In addition, Pilz also offers a two day course aimed specifi- cally at managers and a one
day course for supervisors. Both cover the application of EU regulations and standards for machinery safety, explain- ing the responsibilities for managers and supervisors under the current legislation.
www.pilz.co.uk
Solar PV firm, The Green Electrician, has launched its new ‘GreenKit’, a solar PV kit web shop. The GreenKit will supply and distribute complete solar PV kits to MCS installers and contractors, and it will also offer bulk buy modules, accessories, a bespoke design service, technical helpline and full training sup- port for installing GreenKit products. The kits are pre-designed and part assembled to streamline installation and reduce time on-site.
www.greenkit.co.uk
Yokogawa Electric Corporation has signed a supply agreement with Belden, the global manufacturer of the Hirschmann brand of industrial network switches - components that are used to connect the different components of a control network. This new agreement will allow Yokogawa to provide a long term and stable supply of Hirschmann's Industrial Ethernet switches to its customers for use with the Yokogawa Vnet/IP(R) high speed control network.
www.yokogawa.com /
www.belden.com
NOVEMBER 2011 Electrical Engineering
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