As much as I have desperately tried to keep the hackneyed subject of FIFA World Cup out of this issue of Motion Control, I have failed. The cause of my failure is a fascinating, albeit brief, explanation of how the enormous (35 tonne) soccer ball was 'installed' onto the Telkom Hillbrow Tower. I can see the tower from my home and as I watched the hoisting progress, I was intrigued as to how this was being accomplished. See 'The ball on the tower' for more details.
'Replacement 2 tonne gearbox supplied under 24 hours' is a report of how a local company faced a financial ‘oops’ when a gearbox, weighing 2 tonnes, failed. The original gearbox manufacturer quoted the company an 18-20 week lead time for a replacement gearbox. At this stage, I can only surmise that the directors of the company had become rather distressed. Fortunately, the day was saved by a supplier that was able to manufacture a new gearbox in less than 24 hours – no mean feat. Here is hoping that, whilst at it, the end-user ordered two new gearboxes from their saviour... the second gearbox as a spare.
I have long voiced the opinion that engineering personnel need to have at least a reasonable understanding of business economics and finance. As much as we may love the technology and gadgets (ie, all the nice technological toys), technology does not drive business. Money drives business. If we do not willingly embrace an understanding of business finance, the bean counters will force us to comply anyway. We may as well embrace the understanding willingly. Jim Pinto has more to say on the subject in 'Re-engineer yourself and finding the right job'.
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