Bosch Holdings Enginuity ENGINUITY January 2018 | Page 3
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Bosch Munitech introduces IoT technology for drought
management in the Western Cape
The current drought in the Western
Cape is reported to be the worst in
100 years, with severe water shortages
being experienced across the province.
The Berg River is a key source of water
for the City of Cape Town, surrounding
towns and the agricultural activity
along the river.
The Department of Water and Sanitation
requires that all agricultural abstractions
from the Berg River be metered
and all flowmeter readings must be
readily accessible in a database. As a
result, the Lower Berg Irrigation Board
appointed Bosch Munitech to implement
a compliance metering and monitoring
system on 125 abstraction points along
the river between Sonquasdrift and
Velddrift.
The Krohne Waterflux electromagnetic
range of flowmeters was chosen for
its suitability in disparate, privately
owned, installations where there is no
commonality. A particular advantage of
this meter is that it maintains accuracy
without the need for perfect upstream
and downstream flow conditions and
can tolerate being installed directly
against valves and fittings found in
existing installations.
To get measurement data from the
125 abstraction points to a central
database, an alternative to the traditional
GSM approach was used. Instead, a
purpose-built “Internet of Things” (IoT)
communications platform and Pylot
web-based data management portal
was used in what is believed to be the
first application of its type in South
Africa. The Pylot portal allows users
to conveniently view and export the
flowmeter data online from mobile
devices, such as tablets and smart
phones.
The web-based application overcomes
the usual challenges of high costs of
installation and SIM card management,
as well as unreliability of signal coverage.
Iaan de Beer
[email protected]
Typical mobile irrigation pump station along the Berg River – Western Cape
New Managing Director for Booker Tate
We are pleased to announce the appoint-
ment of Hugh Glyn-Jones to take on the
direct leadership role, as Managing Director
of Booker Tate, effective 2 January 2018.
Hugh is a Chartered Accountant registered
with the Institutes of Chartered Accountants
in South Africa, Swaziland, England and
Wales and has management qualifications
from UCT’s Graduate School of Business.
Hugh Glyn-Jones
MD Booker Tate
His early career was spent in the financial
service sectors of Jersey, Swaziland and
South Africa. Thereafter he entered the sugar
industry in Commercial, Logistics, Marketing
and Terminal Operation roles as an Executive
Director with both the Swaziland and South
African Sugar Associations. Since 2008,
Hugh has been establishing and developing
the Agro Allied Division of the FMN Group of
Companies in West Africa. This role included
being the Project Director of new refineries
for sugar and edible oils and of mills for sugar,
starch, rice and animal feeds. We have no
doubt that Hugh will be a valuable addition
to the leadership team in the Bosch group.
Hugh has lived in the UK and different
countries in Africa with his wife and two
children and as a regular Comrades, Duzi,
Ironman and global adventure enthusiast,
should be fit for his new role and we welcome
him!