Papers by jan-harm pretorius
2017 IEEE AFRICON
Attribution-You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if chan... more Attribution-You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial-You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike-If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A.
2019 IEEE Technology & Engineering Management Conference (TEMSCON), 2019
This research identifies required Industry 4.0 competencies for a Control Systems Engineer (CSE).... more This research identifies required Industry 4.0 competencies for a Control Systems Engineer (CSE). Industry 4.0 technologies such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Factory introduce new opportunities and challenges to the future workforce, amongst them being future competencies required to implement these technologies. This research will investigate what competencies are required by a CSE in the Industry 4.0 environment. It will further compare the identified competencies against current competencies of the CSE as per the Automation Competency Model to establish if a competency gap exists.
Emerging Technologies for Education, 2017
Remanufacturing restores end of life products to almost new. It is a form of sustainability. The ... more Remanufacturing restores end of life products to almost new. It is a form of sustainability. The research set out to identify the drivers of remanufacturing, which could assist with the transition to a green economy. A questionnaire survey was used to establish the drivers of remanufacturing in Nigeria. Data analysis involving the mean item score revealed the creation of job opportunities, achieving low carbon opportunities, the reduction of greenhouse emissions and achieving a landfill reduction as drivers of remanufacturing. Factor analysis reveals six clusters, in the order of importance, as manufacturers’ attitude towards achieving green economy, policies to drive remanufacturing, benefits of driving remanufacturing, responses to driving remanufacturing, manufacturers’ drive to remanufacturing and economic benefits of remanufacturing as the clusters signifying the classification of remanufacturing drivers in Nigeria. The implication of the findings revealed that the major driver of remanufacturing in Nigeria is the creation of job opportunities, which is vital as Nigeria is presently grappling with a high unemployment rate.
Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal, 2021
Before the COVID-19 crisis, the Southern African Developing Countries (SADC) had a varied energy ... more Before the COVID-19 crisis, the Southern African Developing Countries (SADC) had a varied energy mix including renewable energy, fossil fuels, and military energy production. The use of fossil fuels in the energy mix is known to be the source of the growing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, there was a reduction in GHG emissions following the pandemic, which reduced travel and trade, and worldwide disruption in economic activities. The priority of priority B in the 2015-2020 Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, which is Energy, continues. As a result, the availability of affordable and renewable energy is still a priority for south of the equator countries and their growth agenda. This paper is aimed at exploring the sustainability of SADC countries' electricity sectors by using three sustainability pillars: Social, Environmental and Economic (SEE). SEE offers the main concepts of renewable energy, in a way that is socially, environmentally appropriate and economically viable. Study shows a gap in access rate in SADC countries with only Mauritius and Seychelles reaching 100% access to modern energy services (electricity) for both rural and urban areas. Currently all the member countries have set their RE goals for the year 2030. However, the subsidies by SADC member countries indicate that they are practiced as a way to make electricity affordable, and also to make electricity available to lower income households. In the period 2014-2017, big national budget deficits happened in various Southern African countries because of subsidies. Thus, this paper is of crucial importance to the foundational advancement of sustainable electricity sector growth in the country. The findings of this paper play a crucial role in helping and guiding politicians to better understand the existing and challenges future in the energy market and alternatives to address these problems. Additional research is given on how to arrive at sustainable decisions for the electricity sector in the region.
Quality management systems are important for any organization to sustain growth, develop technolo... more Quality management systems are important for any organization to sustain growth, develop technologies and to manage innovation. However, the cost of quality can make it challenging for start‐up enterprises to be competitive. South Africa needs to establish successful incubation models that can assist the country's government to reach key economic development mi lestones. The transformation of quality management systems in these incubation clusters to assist start‐up enterprises is still not clearly understood. A quality management framework can assist to recognise the life cycle position of an incubation cluster and the phases to grow from a start‐up into established value streams . In this study several manufacturing incubators in South Africa were visited to conduct an incubator quality management systems capability analysis. The stage of cluster growth of these incubators were plotted onto the quality management framework. Current best practices are highlighted and future work discussed.
2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2019
In the era of technological change, the success of capital expenditure projects is significantly ... more In the era of technological change, the success of capital expenditure projects is significantly influenced by good project management, including project management structure. This paper presents how the roles of functional and project managers can positively influence project performance in a matrix structure. The focus on organizational structure is important since the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) depends more on highperformance computing and the co-existence of technology with human resources. A case study was conducted in a technology company in South Africa which had restructured their software department from a top-down reporting structure to a matrix structure (dual management system). This research identified gaps in the current roles of the managers and in the matrix structure itself. The focus of the research was to identify the factors that were negatively influenced by the matrix structure such as the quality of the projects produced, the level of risk involved and return on investment from the projects delivered. It was found that functional teams were hemorrhaging 9.56% of employees through resignations and projects were only achieving 94.17% of their objectives.
The application welding and fabrication principles are at the core of industrial activities. It i... more The application welding and fabrication principles are at the core of industrial activities. It is however expected that graduates of welding and fabrication are equipped with the right knowledge to meet the demands of the constantly evolving technology and industrial space. This paper investigates industry expectations form graduates of welding and fabrication based on the results of a questionnaire survey from 122 graduates of Welding and Fabrication Engineering Technology of the Petroleum Training Institute Effrun, Nigeria. Data analysis was carried out using the mean item score and factor analysis. Results revealed that graduates are expected to meet the global employability benchmark, competency skills and an appreciable level of safety consciousness. The outcome of this investigation is expected to contribute to the continuous development of the welding and fabrication curriculum in learning and also to meet industry requirements.
2017 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), 2017
Engineering changes are greatly influenced by the evolving technology and as a result customers&#... more Engineering changes are greatly influenced by the evolving technology and as a result customers' requirements are continuously changing. There is therefore, a need to effectively manage these changes as they arise. This research paper focuses mainly on the engineering change management (ECM) in projects within Petrochemical Company. Based on the fact that changes are inevitable, it is crucial to find out if these changes are managed properly in a project or not, and what will be the impact thereof. The literature review conducted in this paper discusses various ECM frameworks and the knowledge obtained assisted in propositions formulation. These propositions were then tested by means of questionnaires on experienced personnel working with the ECM on a daily basis. The results obtained revealed that proper ECM in a project will decrease the overall project cost and reduce overall project schedule. However, based on the knowledge of the people who participated in the survey, there...
30th Annual Conference of the International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT 2021), 2021
2017 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2017
In the last few years, universities have been changing from traditional teaching universities int... more In the last few years, universities have been changing from traditional teaching universities into research ones to accommodate the rapid advances in knowledge and technology. Research and knowledge cannot be left without some form of management to direct the performance and outcome of researchers. Identifying the factors that influence research output and then finding ways to manage these factors through the use of support systems and managerial approaches can lead to an increase in research outputs. According to staff members surveyed, the factors that have the most impact on research are working with top-quality colleagues and linking some form of monetary or non-monetary rewards with doing research. Staff members also indicated that having free time during working hours to do research would be beneficial, along with knowing how resources are allocated and attending time management workshops.
SAIEE Africa Research Journal, 2020
In this paper, the authors use a stochastic approach to investigate the impact of distributed syn... more In this paper, the authors use a stochastic approach to investigate the impact of distributed synchronous generation (DSG) on the severity of voltage sags due to system-wide occurring faults. Based on the method of fault positions, faults of various types are applied at predetermined locations along all lines in the system and remaining voltages on the faulted phase at a monitoring point are recorded. This is done for a base case and a case with DSG. The results show with DSG, there is a general improvement in magnitudes of remaining voltage. Comparison of the populations of voltages for the two cases, using The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Sum Test, showed that these improvement are statistically significant. Further analysis showed that DSG either reduces severity of or eliminates some voltage sags. In addition, the number of expected trips due voltage sags is reduced with DSG, for any voltage sensitivity level assumed. The study concluded that incorporation of distributed synchronous generation is beneficial to the improvement of voltage sags and this should be a further incentive for their integration, especially into weak networks.
2018 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC), 2018
In power systems, power transmission lines are an important part of an electrical grid. Thus, it ... more In power systems, power transmission lines are an important part of an electrical grid. Thus, it is important to anticipate upcoming faults and their location by predicting them using a powerful artificial intelligence technique to improve power transmission line reliability and sustainability. This paper compares the results of concurrent neuro-fuzzy (CNF) technique applied in different power transmission lines (PTL), to predict the detection faults and their location over two long and short PTL (735 kV, 600 km and 400 kV, 120 km), CNF was used for detecting, locating and classifying faults in PTL. The results show that the utilization of this technique for such task could be time saving for the technical team and could improve the transmission line yield.
International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 2020
Purpose The digital revolution has brought many challenges and opportunities for the manufacturin... more Purpose The digital revolution has brought many challenges and opportunities for the manufacturing firms. The impact of Industry 4.0 technology adoption on sustainable manufacturing and circular economy has been under-researched. This paper aims to review the latest articles in the area of Industry 4.0, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy and further developed a research framework showing key paths. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research is performed in two stages. In the first stage, a review of the extant literature is performed to identify the barriers, drivers, challenges and opportunities. In the second stage, a research framework is proposed to integrate Industry 4.0 technology (big data analytics powered artificial intelligence) adoption, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy capabilities. Findings This research extends the knowledge base by providing a detailed review of Industry 4.0, sustainable manufacturing, and circular economy and proposes ...
Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction, 2018
The paper reports on a study of the impact of traditional and design & build delivery methods to ... more The paper reports on a study of the impact of traditional and design & build delivery methods to ameliorate schedule delays in the South African construction projects. A case study approach of two similar projects was adopted for the study. Data was compiled from document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Selection of projects was purposive and convenience based. A comparative analysis of the two projects was performed on delays to inform on which delivery method ameliorated better the impact of schedule delays. Findings were that design and build marginally reduced the impact of consultant related delays. Little impact was however found for client, contractor and design change related delays. Most construction projects suffer delays, which inevitably increases the contract sums. Reducing the impact of delays is therefore critical. Choice of a delivery method offers an opportunity to reduce the delays and therefore it is valuable to understand which delivery method offered be...
Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction, 2018
Remanufacturing is the restoration of end of life products to almost new. It is a form of sustain... more Remanufacturing is the restoration of end of life products to almost new. It is a form of sustainability. The research set out to identify the benefits of remanufacturing to the Nigerian economy which could aid with the transition to green economy. A questionnaire survey was used to establish the benefits of remanufacturing to the Nigerian economy. Data analysis involving mean item score revealed development of an Industrial base, industrialisation to rural areas, boosting of export trade, conservation of natural resources are seen as important benefits of remanufacturing to the Nigerian economy. Factor analysis made known four clusters titled in the order of importance as benefits of remanufacturing environmentally, benefits of remanufacturing to trade, benefits of remanufacturing socially, benefits of remanufacturing to entrepreneurs as this clusters signify the benefits of remanufacturing to the Nigerian economy. Further discussed is the implication of the findings, firstly is th...
Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 2019
Although implementing quality assurance (QA) processes in construction play an important role in ... more Although implementing quality assurance (QA) processes in construction play an important role in the South African economy has been acknowledged. However, constructions SMEs are faced with difficulties in improving rural road infrastructure and high-quality roads. Additionally, past research has failed to reach consensus on the construction process and socioeconomic settings in previously disadvantaged areas in South Africa, including the factors influencing negatively the performance of such factors. This research examines what factors facilitate or inhibit the success of construction SMEs and what actions can be taken to being distressed construction SMEs under control. The study adopted a quantitative research approach in which a three-section questionnaire was administered to 160 purposively chosen road- building experts in a South African construction SMEs. The questionnaire was structured into three parts, which sought the participants’ profile, identified the quality assuranc...
SAIEE Africa Research Journal, 2019
The management of innovation would require a distinctive innovation process. There are indication... more The management of innovation would require a distinctive innovation process. There are indications that the innovation process is vaguely described, which means it will be difficult to manage it. Two streams of innovation processes are discussed and a generalisation of one of them to determine the extent of having a comprehensive systematic innovation process model. For the purpose of this paper a short definition of innovation is given. The innovation methods, systematic innovation, creative problem solving and TRIZ are briefly discussed. Methods to analyse problems is given as adequate definitions of problems are necessary for efficient finding of solutions. Idea creation techniques are discussed as well as the evaluation and implementation of ideas. Systematic innovation for business and management and the influence of psychological factors, problem definition and solving is examined. The conclusion looks at the combination of the creative problem solving and TRIZ processes and tools as presented in the model for systematic innovation for business and management and provide an evaluation of it. The detected shortcomings towards being comprehensive are indicated.
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Papers by jan-harm pretorius