Recognising the early warning signs of hydraulic cylinder degradation is crucial for preventing costly downtime, ensuring operator safety and maximising the lifespan of your hydraulic systems.

Every engineer, machine designer and maintenance professional understands that the heart of any reliable hydraulic system is its fluid. But the moment that fluid is compromised, your system’s life expectancy and your peace of mind drop dramatically.

Those working with hydraulic or pneumatic systems know that keeping your machinery running at peak performance balances productivity and cost. As systems age, they often become less efficient, requiring more energy and more frequent repairs. The good news is that you don’t always need to invest in an entirely new machine to solve these problems.

Advances in wireless communications, condition monitoring and sensing technologies are helping mining operators extend measurement into previously under-monitored areas, improving equipment reliability, process performance and water stewardship.

Kristen Rossiter is the first female operations manager in the Western Cape at Associated Energy Services. SA Instrumentation & Control’s editor caught up with her to find out more about her career path as an engineer.

As South Africa works to grow local medical technology manufacturing, non-destructive leak and flow testing is becoming a strategic quality assurance tool, helping manufacturers verify device integrity, meet regulatory requirements and improve production efficiency.

With women making up just 16% of registered engineering professionals in South Africa, AvenirHoldings CEO, Tshidi Mndzebele, is calling on women engineers and graduates to pursue formal professional registration as a key step to unlocking career growth and industry leadership.

Combining pure-air switchgear with embedded digital intelligence helps mines cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve safety and meet sustainability targets while enabling real-time visibility into critical electrical assets.

With Virtual PLCnext Control, Phoenix Contact is launching a software-based controller solution that enables flexible automation functions in virtualised IT environments.