ASSOCIATIONS
SARACCA uncovers fraud
The rate of qualification fraud has reached an alarming rate in South Africa, with multiple respected
industry individuals having been found to produce fake qualifications to climb the ladder.
F
raudulent certifications are illegal. For
that reason alone, such happenings
should be eradicated. However, over
and above the legal aspect, this practice
could also lead to life-threatening
situations as unqualified people
undertake work that requires specific
knowledge to be completed accurately
and safely.
The South African Refrigeration and
Air Conditioning Contractor’s Association
(SARACCA) was almost dragged into
a similar scam. A vigilant employee at
the Department of Public Works, while
He also added: “Corruption is rife and
we must work together to rid South Africa
of the scourge. We often assume that
corruption and government go hand in
hand, but it was the government who
uncovered this fraudulent certificate by
a private company.” John Parry, who is
also one of the directors at the Southern
African Qualifications and Certifications
Committee of Gas (SAQCC Gas) added:
“We need to remove this notion that
corruption is acceptable.”
Fraudulent certificates are inexcusable,
as SARACCA, under its mandate,
checking the credentials of a tenderer
who was in line for a maintenance
contract, found that the qualification
certificate provided was false.
SARACCA’s director, Barney
Richardson, when shown the certificate,
could immediately discern that the
certificate with the SARACCA logo and
name on it, was fraudulent. “We find
it very encouraging that government
departments are using associations
such as SARACCA and SAQCC Gas to
verify qualifications,” said John Parry,
SARACCA president.
has a vast range of training providers
dedicated to providing substantial
and practical training that empowers
practitioners with the essential skills that
refrigeration and air-conditioning work
requires. SARACCA has approved training
providers specialising in areas of all A1
and A3 refrigerants on commercial,
industrial, automotive and B2 ammonia
refrigeration. Training providers are
situated in the Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Eastern Cape and Western Cape region.
For information on training, visit
www.saracca.co.za. CLA
FEATURE
The future of refrigerated
display cabinets in SA
By Steven Friedmann of ebm-papst
M
ajor retailers expect more
space for produce, less
downtime, longer life
expectancy, less noise and higher
energy efficiency – and the driving
factor of lower prices. The market has
seen the quality of components falling
due to lower quality manufactured
goods. This has led to an increased risk of
RDC failures in stores.
What is the real cost of failure when
considering the Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO)?
We all know that buying cheap costs
more money in the long run…
The Total Cost of Ownership Iceberg
is a metaphor representing how the
initial purchase price of a product may
not represent the total cost to the buyer
during their time of ownership.
The purchase price of the RDC is
characterised as the ‘tip of the iceberg’
COLD LINK AFRICA •
OCTOBER 2019
and the ownership costs (such as
maintenance and repair) are the ‘body
of the iceberg’. The initial cost is often
the focus of the purchaser, however in
this article we would like to explore the
danger of solely focusing on the ‘tip of
the iceberg’.
In recent years, tightening budget
constraints and increased pressure from
supermarkets for lower prices has led to
RDC original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) using cheaper components;
simply to ensure their products remain
competitive. However, this short-term
perspective is not as cost-effective as
supermarkets would like to believe. Using
cheaper, basic fans reduces the life and
performance of the components in the
display cabinets. They also are less energy
efficient.
We explore some of the costs associated
with poorer quality fans below…
This article explores how supermarkets’ buying strategies have affected their cold aisle by looking at
the true cost of Refrigerated Display Cabinets (RDC) failures to supermarkets in South Africa.
Using cheaper, basic fans reduces the life and performance of the components in the display
cabinets.
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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