SAAMA to Increase Asset Management Awareness at African Utility Week in Cape Town in May

Cape Town, South Africa, April 15, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Southern African Asset Management Association (SAAMA) “hopes to reach the decision makers in the utilities serving Africa to increase their awareness of the benefits of using solid, proven asset management principles,” says Anton Booyzen, President of SAAMA. Booyzen will be an expert panellist during a discussion on the asset management of power stations at African Utility Week in Cape Town in May.

“The obvious challenge in most developing countries is the lack of skills to ensure that assets reach their expected life span,” says Anton Booyzen. He adds: “This is exacerbated by the lack of understanding of many professionals of the impact of their decisions on the life cycle cost of assets and functions. One of the best examples of this lack of understanding is the reduction in maintenance expenditures by many utilities in order to meet budget.”

Practical solutions to maintenance challenges
This year’s African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa offers practical solutions for energy efficiency and maintenance for utilities and large power users and also brings many international experts and speakers to share their experience with the continent’s power and water industries. The 15th edition of the annual conference and exhibition at the CTICC from 12-14 May is set to turn Cape Town into the country’s “energy capital” again with more than 5000 attendees, an expo with 250+ exhibitors with the latest technology, solutions and services.

SAAMA is also contributing to the 60 free, CPD-accredited technical workshops on the expo floor presented by several industry organisations:

· SAAMA: Maintenance (incl. new inspection tools, asset management strategies, operational maintenance solutions, effective fault identification)
· SARETEC: Renewables (incl. energy storage, solar maps, small scale energy)
· SAIEE: Electrical Engineering/Metering (incl. consumption data into Swift, smart metering standards)
· SAEE: Energy and Water Efficiency (incl. measurement and verification, energy security initiatives, water and energy saving solutions)

Professional asset management practitioners
SAAMA is currently busy with the registration of the organisation as a professional body. "This will allow us to register asset management practitioners as professionals in their own right," says Anton Booyzen, “and issue them with a professional designation. We are developing the training frameworks that will allow training bodies to develop curricula that will assist asset management practitioners to obtain the professional designation.”

He continues: “we are also rolling out a certification scheme for auditing organisations that want to do ISO55001 assessments, ensuring that auditors have the required Asset Management knowledge as required by ISO.”

SAAMA’s annual conference is co-located again with African Utility Week this year and is joined by the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM). “The GFMAM participation adds a different dimension to the discussions we have in South Africa and Africa. Many of the more advanced countries have gone through the same painful development curve that we are now experiencing in Africa, and their experience is invaluable in enabling us to develop short cuts on the road to asset life-cycle cost optimization.”

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. DNV-GL has already confirmed its exclusive diamond sponsorship of the event while Accenture, Building Energy, MarelliMotori and Edison Power Group are the platinum sponsors.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa dates and location:
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location: CTICC, Cape Town