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New academic chair to develop knowledge in maintenance engineering industry

22nd August 2014

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

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A newly established academic chair at the University of Pretoria, cofunded by minerals solutions company Weir Minerals, will perform fundamental research in the maintenance engineering industry to provide key skills for a growing industry,

according to Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East engineering and development manager Christian Stehle, who says the chair will help postgraduate engineering students specialise in the industry.

The chair, at the University’s Centre for Asset Integrity Management (C-AIM), will be integral to teaching and researching advanced design methodologies in maintenance engineering.

Activities

“Weir Minerals chose to cofund the chair as the activities of the C-AIM align well with Weir Minerals’ focus on developing condition monitoring and mechatronic solutions to enhance our product and service offering. The C-AIM is also a world-leading authority in the area of asset integrity management,” Stehle says.

Condition monitoring and mechatronic systems are becom-ing the norm in many industries and Weir Minerals has identified the need to provide these systems with its products, he adds.

A senior university lecturer will fill the chair position and various PhD, master’s and graduate students will participate in the chair’s projects as deemed appropriate.

The chair’s activities will be governed by a management com- mittee comprising the chair incumbent, the director of the C-AIM and Weir Minerals’ senior management representatives. The management committee will identify projects and research areas and conduct a performance evaluation of the chair.

Maintenance Accuracy

“More than ever, our customers’ productivity depends on mainte-nance accuracy and we believe the research generated by this chair will help us develop future systems that will support this objective in a highly scientific manner, beyond current industry practice. The fact that we are investing in this fundamental research reflects our continuous commitment to improve our product offering,” Stehle states.

Weir Minerals will also provide the C-AIM with products that may be required for research purposes.

The company will also contri-bute to the training of engineers at PhD and master’s levels, after which some of the graduates could join Weir Minerals Africa.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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