The 19th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control | Cape Town, South
Africa | 24-29 August 2014
Promoting automatic control for the benefit of humankind
Hosted By
Technical Tours
A range of Technical Tours showcasing automatic control in action are offered from Tuesday to Friday, during Congress hours. These tours, detailed below, are offered at an additional fee and must be pre-booked.
To book a Technical Tour please visit the registration desk onsite. Kindly note these tours are subject to availability.
All tours will depart from the IFAC 2014 Tour Desk located on CTICC Level 1. Please note that no bookings or payments can be taken at the departure point.
|
Tuesday |
|
||||
|
Wednesday |
|
||||
|
Thursday |
|
||||
|
Friday |
|
Chevron Fuel Refinery
Date offered: Wednesday August 27 (morning)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2 hours
Departure: 09:30 | Return: 12:30
Cost: R450 pp
The Cape Town Chevron refinery has a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day and produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, asphalt and other products. It is a modern refinery with a Yokogawa distributed control system and Aspentech model predictive control solutions. The tour will concentrate on the use of control technologies in optimising plant operation.
Special requirements:
- A valid passport or South African ID.
- Every participant will be required to take a breathalyser test before entering the site.
- No cameras or recording devices are allowed on site.
More information is available here.
Koeberg Nuclear Power Station
Date offered: Tuesday August 26 (morning)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2 hours
Departure: 08:30 | Return: 12:30
Cost: R450 pp
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station near Cape Town powers most of the Western Cape province and supplies approximately six percent of South Africa’s total electricity needs. Koeberg plays a vital role in ensuring a reliable supply of electricity to the Western Cape province, one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Koeberg has been generating electricity for the past 30 years (1984-2014) and recently installed complete new generating sets. Work began shortly after the contract with a French consortium was signed in 1976 and in 1984 Koeberg started their commercial operation. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town.
The tour includes an exhibition that explains everything from how a nuclear reactor operates, to waste and radiation, safety precautions and Koeberg's commitment to the environment. Visitors are also encouraged to enjoy the beautiful private reserve surrounding the power station. Well-marked hiking trails take the visitor through areas of pristine fynbos and strandveld and are also ideal for bird watching.
Special requirements:
- A valid passport or South African ID.
- No cameras or recording devices are allowed on site.
- Closed and non-slip shoes must be worn for health and safety reasons
More information is available here.
SAB Newlands Brewery
Date offered: Tuesday August 26 (morning) / Thursday August 28 (afternoon)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2 hours
Tuesday morning departure: 08:30 | Return: 12:30
Thursday afternoon departure: 12:30 | Return: 16:30
Cost: R490 pp
The story of beer dates back to the ancient tombs of Egypt and pre-dates the wine industry in South Africa. In the mid-1800s, Jacob Letterstedt built the original Mariendahl Brewery in Newlands. Anders Ohlsson was first in a succession of proud brewers to nurture the noble traditions and whose legacy is enjoyed to this day. This is an historic brewery with up-to-date SCADA and PLC control systems including some of the latest technologies in brewing, bottling, packaging and despatch systems. The brewery has also agreed to allow IFAC 2014 delegates access to the control room and will provide an engineer to give an overview of the control systems.
Special requirements:
- No cameras or recording devices are allowed on site.
- The tour will include a beer tasting so no participants under the age of 18 are permitted.
- The brewery is not universally accessible. Therefore, unfortunately, those with wheelchairs or anyone requiring walking aids will not be able to participate.
More information is available here.
City of Cape Town Disaster Control Centre and Cape Town Traffic Control Centre
Date offered: Tuesday August 26 (afternoon)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2 hours
Departure: 12:30 | Return: 15:30
Cost: R450 pp
It is the aim of the Disaster Control Centre to identify, prevent or reduce the occurrence of disasters, and to soften the impact of those hazards that cannot be prevented. They perform a co-ordination role, ensuring that multiple emergency and essential services work in an integrated and efficient manner, both pro-actively (risk reduction, planning and preparedness) and re-actively (response, relief, recovery and rehabilitation). This tour includes a visit to the centre where any and all municipal disasters are handled via a communications centre for the disposition of municipal services in the event of radiation, flood, fire, riot, etc.
The Traffic Control Centre comprises a network of CCTV cameras throughout the city, including street trading areas, taxi ranks, bus termini and all freeways. These are monitored 24/7 in the control centre. The centre also has representatives from the police and emergency services with direct communications to their individual operations centres. This provides the required responses to any situation in and around the city. This tour also includes a visit to the traffic control centre, incorporating the Traffic, Metro Police, Law Enforcement and South African Police Services.
More information is available here.
Institute for Marine Technology and Submarine Visit: Simon’s Town
Date offered: Wednesday August 27 (afternoon)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 1.5 hours
Departure: 12:30 | Return: 16:00
Cost: R450 pp
The Institute for Maritime Technology (IMT) was founded in 1975 to provide science-based technological support to the South African Navy for carrying out its seaward military operations. Initially, work undertaken was aimed at naval operational research and the establishment of underwater technology. IMT is a multi-disciplinary company specialising in technological research and development as well as specialised products and services. These include the development of unmanned underwater vehicles and torpedo guidance systems. The IMT’s main objective remains the capability to provide techno-military insight to the South African Navy.
The SAS Assegai was one of three Daphne-class submarines acquired from France during 1970 to 1972, which became the first submarines to serve in the South African Navy. She is 58 m long and had a complement of six officers and 45 senior and junior ratings. Fitted with 12 x 550 mm torpedo tubes, she could also carry sea mines. Currently she is preserved ashore at the Naval Museum.
This tour includes a visit to IMT and the SAS Assegai.
More information is available here.
Palmiet Pump Storage
Date offered: Thursday August 28 (morning)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2.5 hours
Departure: 08:30 | Return: 13:30
Cost: R450 pp
The Palmiet Pump Storage Scheme near Grabouw is a joint venture between Eskom and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Construction began in 1983 and the power station was commissioned in 1988. The scheme generates electricity for the Eskom National Grid during peak and emergency demand periods and transfers much-needed water from the Palmiet River to Cape Town. It is located in the heart of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve containing more than 1600 fynbos plant species.
The tour includes the visitor’s centre and guided tours of the power station where the two 200 MW pump/turbines have been installed 25 storeys underground, including the 60 m high surge tank, one of the largest in the world. The tour also includes a visit to the rehabilitated fynbos areas which earned Palmiet recognition as a forerunner in environmental engineering.
Special requirements:
- Participants may be required to take a breathalyser test before entering the site
- Closed and non-slip shoes must be worn for health and safety reasons.
- No cameras or recording devices are allowed on site.
More information is available here.
Stellenbosch University
Date offered: Friday August 29 (morning)
Tour duration (excluding travel time): 2 hours
Departure: 08:30 | Return: 12:30
Cost: R450 pp
The history of Stellenbosch University dates as far back as the 17th century, when regular school education was initiated in the town of Stellenbosch in 1685. Stellenbosch University is home to an academic community of some 28 000 students (including more than 3 000 foreign students) as well as just under 3 000 permanent staff members (including 939 academic staff) on five different campuses. The tour includes a visit to the Electronic Systems Laboratory (ESL) at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. There will be a concise presentation, a tour of the space systems and control, aeronautical automation, terrestrial and underwater vehicle automation and hardware-in-the-loop labs. Video and lab demonstrations will be presented.
Key Dates
Opening Ceremony
24 August 2014
First Plenary Session
25 August 2014
Congress Banquet
28 August 2014
Closing Ceremony
29 August 2014
Lead Sponsor
