# FRIGAIR2018
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Registering for the event.
to keep up with international trends.“ If you don’ t do your homework early enough, it will hit you as things happen very quickly,” he said.
He showed a picture depicting the amount of CO 2 systems across the world, with South Africa boasting 102 known trans-critical CO 2 systems. Although there has been significant growth in this market, currently CO 2 installations still only represent 1 % of the retail market size in South Africa.
TRAINING MATTERS
Up next was Grant Laidlaw, SAIRAC president, who was kitted out in his formal traditional Scottish attire that we have witnessed before at so many industry events.
It was very important that SAIRAC, not only as a prominent industry body but also the owners of the FRIGAIR show, buy into the ATMO FRIGAIR networking event. They also helped to promote the event to their members and were on-board from the start, recognising the significance of having such an event co-located with FRIGAIR.
Laidlaw’ s talk focused on the training curriculums in the local industry, specifically centring around the new refrigeration and air-conditioning qualifications that are currently being approved.“ We went through great pains to make sure that our qualifications are up to international standards,” he said, explaining that there are now separate qualifications for natural refrigerants to improve the quality of skills and training. Previously, it was all one qualification, and split unit installers had to do the same training as someone wanting to work on an ammonia plant, for example.( Read more about the new training modules and the changes in the in-depth article Laidlaw wrote in the RACA Journal April 2018 edition.)
Although the curriculum has now been brought up to standard, the next step now is to get the training up to scratch, he said. Training more installers and technicians on how to operate natural-refrigerant systems is crucial to widening their uptake in South Africa, he explained.
He also spoke on safe handling of refrigerant licences and the issues we as a country have with training and safe handling.“ For safe handling of refrigerants that are flammable and high pressure, the training providers, industry, and industry associations will have to get together to decide what constitutes a safe handling license,” Laidlaw said.
Laidlaw said we still have a challenge with finding workplace providers for training artisans.
Alvaro De Oña( left) and Wynand Groenewald welcoming everyone to the event. John Ackermann of SARDA asking a question.
Making sure the word gets out there, from left: Andrew Williams( shecco European editor); Alvaro De Oña( shecco head of media); and Ilana Koegelenberg( Cold Link Africa editor).
Deep in conversation; Margaret Molefe of the DEA also attended and asked the panel some questions.
12 www. coldlinkafrica. co. za COLD LINK AFRICA • July / August 2018