FRIGAIR 2022 SAIRAC free-to-attend workshop programme

Wednesday 01 June 2022

Time: 11H00 – 12H00

Speaker: Barney Richardson

Barney Richardson is the executive director of the South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association. He has been in this position since 2002 with the responsibility of association management with member’s liaison. This responsibility also covers skills development in industry trade alongside registration of authorised refrigeration gas practitioners. He also represents SARACCA to industry affiliated bodies such as SEIFSA, SAQCC Gas, MBSA and government departments. Previously his experience was in the refrigeration and air conditioning contracting industry for 30 years at Thermaire in Port Elizabeth and at Improvair in Kempton Park and as a design and estimating engineer and company director.

Company/Organisation: South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association
Presentation Topic: The subject of this talk will focus on refrigerants safe handling, registration of authorised refrigeration practitioners, categories of registration, the registration and renewal processes, time frames and limits. Requirements, roles and responsibilities will also be covered.

Time: 12H00 – 13H00

Speaker: Eddie Cooke – director & communication portfolio

Eddie Cooke started his career as a mechanical engineer for 5 years thereafter he started a LPG business in 1998 which included running vehicles on LPG and is still involved with LPG distribution. After natural gas was introduced into South Africa in 2004, Eddie got involved with the conversion of vehicles to run on CNG. He has been involved in CNG and all its technologies for the last 15 years. He was involved with the first biogas to vehicle fuel project that was completed and operational in 2010. Eddie is also currently serving as the technical director of Southern African Biogas Industries Association (SABIA) NPC. Eddie also started a consultancy specialising in CNG, LNG and biogas consultation services specialising in upgrading of biogas to be used as compressed biogas for industrial and vehicle fuel applications. Currently he is consulting in coal bed methane projects in and around Southern African countries to use CNG and LNG technologies to take stranded gas to market. He is working on biogas projects in DRC Congo, Kenya, Botswana and Rwanda, and CNG and LNG projects in Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. Eddie is also working on LNG and biogas standards for South Africa as standards Chairman for alternative fuels for vehicles at SABS from EV to Hydrogen. This would assist NAAMSA and RMI in the automotive industry for new technology application in the South Africa manufacturing industry.

Virginia Mtshali has been involved in the gas industry for more than 10 years, which she says has been a great and exciting journey. Her main position is office management and registration of gas practitioners. Virginia has been part of the development team for the electronic CoC app since the beginning. She also has grown her knowledge from dealing with different gas industries that are part of SAQCC Gas.

Company/Organisation: South African Qualification & Certification Committee – Gas
Presentation Topic: This talk aims to clarify online Certificates of Conformance (CoC) for refrigeration/air conditioning systems in line with the pressure vessel regulations. The focus will be on processes and procedures in order to register for and issue Certificates of Conformance.

Time: 13H00 – 14H00

Speaker: Margaret Molefe
Company/Organisation: Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Presentation Topic: This talk will be about the South African signing of the Kigali amendment, phase down/out of HCFC’s and HFC’s, and South Africa’s HCFC Phase-Out Management Plan (HPMP).

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Time: 14H00 – 15H00

Speaker: Archie Steyn

Archie Steyn has been the proprietor of African Cooling Systems since 2005. The company provides heating and cooling solutions for industrial, commercial and high end domestic heating and cooling applications as well as designing and installing energy efficient cooling systems.

Company/Organisation: African Cooling Systems
Presentation Topic: “Installation of insulated structures”: This presentation will cover aspects of design, common types of insulation used for cold structures and clean rooms, planning and installation, quality control, on-site inspections and approval of works. The presentation will cover practical examples and photos of installations, planning, site preparation, inspection of panels before installation, recessed floors and concrete works, examples with photos of incorrect installations and the effect this has on insulation and floors over a period of months or years.

Thursday 02 June 2022

Time: 10H00 – 11H00

Speaker: Luigi Rossettini (international speaker)

Luigi Rossettini is a director of Aermec, an Italian company leader in HVAC systems and has been with the company in various positions since 1999. Luigi’s qualifications include a diploma specialising in industrial electrotecnic from the Technical & Industrial State Institute “A. Rossi”, Vicenza Italy, as well as a strategic marketing management master at CUOA in Altavilla Vicenza, and a managerial responsibility master (Watson Wyatt Isso), as well as a leadership course from Blanchard Training and Development Inc USA (CA). Luigi has been a member of AICARR since 1999 whose main aim is to deal with issues relating to the responsible use of energy and natural resources and the innovation of energy infrastructures, both in residential and industrial buildings.

Company/Organisation: Aersa / Aermec
Presentation Topic: This workshop will present a talk that looks at the energy efficiency in hydronic cooling distribution systems. In general, the topic dealt with in this seminar is ‘energy efficiency in central air-conditioning (cooling) hydronic systems’. from the
centralised production site to local sub-stations and terminal units. Focus areas include: Architecture of chilled water distribution systems and the design and installation of heat pumps and polyvalent heat pumps.

Time: 11H00 – 12H00

Speaker: Dawie Kriel

Dawie Kriel is head of business development for Energy Partners, HVAC&R Division. His main objective is to manage sales, marketing and technical business development of the refrigeration division of Energy Partners. Focus of this business division is to own and operate refrigeration energy assets through development of innovative products and strategic partnerships. He also has a dual role for overall management of engineering design and specialist inputs on refrigeration systems design. Dawie has a BEng (Mechanical) from the University of Stellenbosch; 1988 and a M Eng (Thermodynamics) from the University of Stellenbosch; 1991. Dawie has a postgraduate qualifications in thermodynamics, air-conditioning and refrigeration with concentrated experience over last 25 years in industrial refrigeration, drying systems, pack house, cold room and cold chain system design. In addition to the technical responsibility for all mechanical services from plumbing to rational design, Dawie has been appointed overall professional team leader for several multi-disciplinary projects in the food and beverage sector. He previosuly started and successfully ran MGC Industrial projects from 2004 until 2011 when it was sold to Energy Partners. For the first 4 years at Energy Partners, he was involved in the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly systems for industrial, commercial refrigeration plants as well as heat pump systems. This includes the use of natural refrigerants and the use of waste heat and storage systems. Dawie was tasked to build the refrigeration contracting business through acquisitions and internal growth over a period of three years. During that time he was the CEO for EP Refrigeration.

Company/Organisation: Energy Partners
Presentation Topic: The subject of this presentation is servitisation in refrigeration and how it supports the use of natural refrigerants and shifts the focus sharply to life-cycle cost. Servitisation is a well-known tool in many industries such as photocopiers, Uber and aircraft engines; but in refrigeration it is a relatively new concept and is now known more widely as Cooling as a Service (CaaS). Energy Partners started offering their customers CaaS as an option since 2017. Recently, the Basil Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), has started a world-wide drive to promote CaaS as a tool to promote the use of natural refrigerants and increased energy efficiency. Kriel will explain how CaaS works in practice, including the advantages to end-users and suppliers. In conclusion, with the use of data from refrigeration systems Energy Partners owns and operates, it will be demonstrated how the lifecycle cost can be optimised and guaranteed when using natural refrigerants in a CaaS project.

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Time: 12H00 – 13H00

Speaker: Grant Laidlaw

Grant Laidlaw is currently the owner of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy (ACRA). He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an associate degree in educational administration. He has a National Technical Diploma and completed an apprenticeship with Transnet. He has dual-trades status: refrigeration and electrical. He has been involved with SAIRAC for 21 years and has been a Johannesburg committee member for the past eight (chairman in 2011 and 2012). Currently he is the national treasurer of SAIRAC. As owner and principle of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy (ACRA) Grant manages this fully-accredited training and assessment centre with a wide client base. He is the industry appointed subject matter expert dealing with National Government Department of Higher Education and Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. Grant develops refrigeration curriculums and fully integrated summative assessments for the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and is responsible for the management and development of various training and assessment systems. He is also a merSETA-appointed trade testing officer, registered assessor and moderator. He is the air conditioning and refrigeration industry appointed subject matter expert for qualification and trade testing development with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and the National Artisans Moderating Body. (N.A.M.B)

Company/Organisation: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy
Presentation Topic: This workshop will be about the status quo of air conditioning and refrigeration training in South Africa. It will also cover the latest qualification outline and address regular questions such as:

• Are natural refrigerants, including flammable hydrocarbons, in the training curriculum?
• Is R32 included?
• Is flammable refrigerant training available?
• How to set up apprenticeships and a workplace register with a SETA.
• Are you obliged to use any particular SETA?
• About learnerships.
• Qualifying your staff, trade testing.
• Who qualifies for trade testing, what criteria does the applicant need to meet, ie time, scope, qualifications?
• What process does an applicant/company need to follow?
• Will there be an ammonia-specific qualification with a trade test?
• What does the future hold for air conditioning and refrigeration training and trade testing?

Special training projects will also be included.

Time: 13H00 – 14H00

Speaker: Werner Terblanche

Werner Terblanche is key account manager, A-Gas South Africa. He has 11 years of refrigerant industry knowledge and has built a solid reputation for himself with his extensive and specialist knowledge of the circular economy of refrigerants. As a team member of the global company, Werner has been at the forefront of the various stages of the phase down of refrigerants in accordance with both the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment. This exposure has ensured that the products and services he offers his clients are strategic, sustainable and within regulation at all times. Werner’s passion for the environment knows no boundaries and this has been evidenced by his travels across the African continent to educate industry on the next phase of environmentally sustainable solutions.

Company/Organisation: A-Gas South Africa
Presentation Topic: This workshop will address driving a circular economy and the latest refrigerant trends. The topic highlights the use and disposal lifecycle for refrigerants and why we need to change our outlook on how we deal with refrigerants. With an industry faced with environmental pressures, and one that operates under a quota mechanism, the speaker will explain why A-Gas is focusing on refrigerant reclamation to help reduce carbon emissions to protect the planet. The presenter will also be showcasing current refrigerant trends to lower GWP alternatives.

Friday 03 June 2022

Time: 10H00 – 11H00

Speaker: Robert Downey (international speaker)

Robert Downey is the Global Water Treatment Specialist with Baltimore Aircoil. Prior to joining BAC, Robert was employed for 22 years for Nalco Water, in various positions in the USA. Follow-ing his time at Nalco Water, he worked for several years at Phigenics, a professional water hygiene consultancy, focused on Legionella prevention. Robert has been with BAC for 14 years. His current role at BAC, he serves the company’s representatives and customers across the globe with expertise and advice to help them manage their evaporative cooling needs, with particular focus on water quality, treatment and hygiene issues.

Company/Organisation: Baltimore Aircoil Company
Presentation Topic: This presentation, ‘Prevention by Design’ will educate participants about the basic elements of SANS 893: Legionella, as it relates to evaporative cooling equipment. Using the specific written guidance of the SANS 893 documents, the speaker will demonstrate how the proper design, operation and maintenance of evaporative cooling equipment helps to reduce hygiene risks, and facilitate better compliance with the guidance and recommendations of SANS 893. The sub sec-tions of presentation include the following topics:

• Cooling tower design alternatives
• Proper location and Layout
• Efficient eliminators and fill pack
• Cooling tower accessories
• Key practicalities of accessibility for cleaning and maintenance.

Participants will walk away with useful, actionable ideas that help them to increase compliance with SANS 893 guidelines, which will reduce hygiene risks, insure thermal cooling efficiency and low-ered maintenance costs, and provide a safer environment their employees and the public.

Time: 11H00 – 12H00

Speaker: Louw Nagel

Louw recently joined IWC as a thermal applications engineer. Louw is a chemical engineer who graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria. He has a Honours Degree in Technology Management and a Master’s Degree in Engineering and is also registered as a professional engineer at the Engineering Council of South Africa. He started his career at a coal fired power station as a process engineer where he was responsible for the condensers, feed heaters and natural draft cooling towers. Louw has over 7 years’ of experience in the engineering, operating and maintenance of different types of heat exchangers.

Company/Organisation: Industrial Water Cooling
Presentation Topic: “Using plate heat exchangers in closed circuit cooling towers to save on OPEX and CAPEX”. This presentation will highlight the cost saving benefits of using plate heat exchangers as a substitute for coils. Additionally, this will also lead to a saving in operating expenses and maintenance of the cooling tower. The presentation also highlights other savings initiatives including the use of VSDs (Variable Speed Drives) to reduce the energy consumption of the closed-circuit cooling tower as well as the related open circuit cooling Towers.

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