Kendal Hunt Communications » 2025

Transforming industry, one process at a time – Dekra’s process safety management (PSM) approach

April 29, 2025

As Dekra celebrates its 100th anniversary globally, locally Dekra Industrial and its adult-based education and occupational skills training division, the DEKRA Institute of Learning (IOL) remain steadfast in their mission: to support safer workplaces across Africa through intelligent, industry-specific training and safety assessments.

Process Safety Management (PSM) is one of the most critical components of this mission: designed not only to safeguard workers and facilities but to create a proactive safety culture which protects lives, infrastructure and the environment.

Process safety versus occupational health and safety

Christopher Mörsner, Head of Training and Consulting at the DEKRA Institute of Learning, notes that there remains a common misconception among companies regarding the distinction between occupational health and safety (OHS) and process safety. “Occupational safety primarily addresses frequent, lower-risk incidents – whereas process safety management focuses on rare but potentially catastrophic events, including explosions or hazardous chemical releases,” Mörsner explains.

PSM involves systematic evaluation and control of hazards linked to chemical processes, dust generation, flammable atmospheres or hazardous by-products. “A single event in process safety can lead to multiple fatalities, widespread property damage and environmental impact,” he says. “It is not just about compliance. It is about foresight, accountability, and building resilience into every operational process.”

Creating awareness through real-world context

Process safety failures are not limited to large-scale chemical plants. Even everyday foodstuffs such as sugar, beer or cornflakes can pose serious risks if the by-products of their manufacturing processes – such as airborne dust or volatile compounds – are not stringently controlled. “Static electricity, poor grounding or non-compliant batching procedures can trigger devastating secondary explosions. These risks are often hidden in plain sight,” Mörsner observes.

He highlights that process safety management is essential across a wide range of industries including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, distilleries, power generation, petrochemical, and oil and gas. In terms of this, Dekra’s PSM framework is tailored to each client’s specific risks and infrastructure, and there is no generic checklist.

“Each process must be broken down into what we call ‘process nodes,’ and every node must be evaluated and mitigated to an acceptable risk level,” he says.

Technology, human error and training

Mörsner cites human error, legacy systems and outdated equipment as the leading contributors to incidents. “Automation and training go hand-in-hand. We are not replacing people – we are supporting them to work more safely.”

Dekra Industrial’s and the IOL’s approach includes assessments that can develop into training opportunities, enabling clients to meet international and local statutory requirements such as SANS 1461, SANS 10108 and ISO 31000. “Dekra Global’s dynamic risk register is a proprietary tool that we use to model exact client environments and run simulations before any real-world implementation. It allows us to detect vulnerabilities and develop targeted mitigation strategies in advance,” he adds.

Bridging the gap in understanding

According to Mörsner, the most commonly misunderstood aspects of PSM are risk management and management of change. “Many clients overlook how a change in staff, layout or raw materials can introduce new risks to their process. If you do not factor in the human and procedural changes, you risk major liabilities.”

To bridge this gap, Dekra Industrial and the IOL always start with a baseline assessment. “Our goal is to identify potential failure points and educate clients on the true scope of their risk – not just from a compliance standpoint, but from a business continuity and reputational perspective too.”

Teamwork and culture: foundations for the future

Mörsner comments that successful PSM implementation throughout industry depends on collective responsibility. “It takes teamwork at every level. We work closely with operators, engineers and management to ensure alignment and understanding. Process safety management is not just a Dekra initiative: it is a collaborative process to achieve a common safety objective.”

As Dekra Global celebrates a century of safety leadership, its South African team continues to champion innovation and education in the name of protecting people, processes and the planet. “Through rigorous process safety management and industry-specific training, we are shaping a safer future – one process at a time!” Mörsner concludes.

Welded to success: Malben Engineering invests in technology step-change to remain many steps ahead!

April 24, 2025

Welding is integral to the automotive manufacturing process. Malben Engineering, an award-winning supplier of high-level welded assemblies to both Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and tier 1 automotive sector suppliers, has invested in a massive technical step-change over the past three years.

Operational Director Luca Smargiasso says the introduction of a new vehicle model by a key customer necessitated the introduction of new, completely automated welding technologies. These include adaptive pulse welding, DC projection welders and controlled voltage spot welders; as well as advanced variable pulse MIG welding technology.

Data-driven welding production processes

Malben Engineering’s rigorous welding production processes, backed by extensive quality controls, deliver an impressive 750 000 projection welds and 1.7 million spot welds monthly. The company is furthermore compliant with the automotive sector’s CQI 15 quality standard – and was one of the first tier 1 suppliers to achieve A-rating and green status – maintaining a zero margin for defects and a rejection rate of zero parts per million (PPM), significantly exceeding customer expectations.

Although Malben has welded both coated and uncoated mild steel automotive parts for decades, Smargiasso says that the automotive industry is using thinner gauge, higher tensile steels, which makes welding more challenging: “There is a drive to go thinner with stronger materials, to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.”

The advantage of Malben’s automation and attention to detail is predictability and consistency, which go hand-in-hand: “In our sector, we are doing production welding for mass production runs. So, our welds must be exactly the same – every time,” explains Quinten Ballot, Head of Maintenance who has extensive welding experience.

Over the past eight months, Malben proudly reports zero rejections. Smargiasso explains: “It is like climbing a mountain. Everybody can do day one, most people can do day two – however from day three, they cannot continue and are in danger of falling! It is being able to do the same thing day in, day out – over an extended period and without letting your guard slip – which really counts.”

Data will set you free

Robust design of experiment processes and live data that is analysed in real-time set Malben Engineering apart.

Plant Manager Jithin Kottikkal, explains that the quality of the data provided enables the Malben welding team – which collectively has some 70 years’ of welding experience – to rapidly take the necessary action to ensure that quality controls remain within limits.

Quality Control Manager Cheslyn Reid, adds: “We analyse the data, ensuring that it leads us in the right direction. We do not go into anything blindly, but instead carefully analyse what our process tells us – tracking it over a certain period, then implementing production line changes to ensure sure we are always ahead.”

Ballot points out that strict process controls and team-based decision-making are also priorities.

Smargiasso observes: “An adage that is often quoted is ‘the data will set you free’: this, and the discipline of our team – which takes pride in our brand and in working for Malben!”

Real value from real-time adaptive welding

The real-time control of weld parameters is achieved by using pulse welding: “The welding parameters are adjusted in real-time during the weld process. If the gap between the welded parts varies due to dimensional tolerance allowances, the weld voltage and arc length are adapted accordingly.

Technical Director Marco Smargiasso says that an important part of the Malben step-change was a move from AC to DC, with the move to DC projection welders – noting that that where robotic spot welders are still controlled by AC, this is carefully checked: “We monitor and measure the voltage. If there is something wrong, it is immediately stopped. Monitoring current ensures we do not get a cold weld.”

Ballot observes that the quality welding which Malben achieves, also relies on highly skilled team members.

“Malben not only employs experienced welders – but actively builds skills within the company to keep pace with technology, and most importantly, with the requirements of our valued customers,” he concludes.

AES: Steaming ahead with boiler skills development

April 23, 2025

Expert steam and boiler operations and maintenance service provider AES is very focused on safety, quality, technology advancement and the development of human capital. As such, the company invests heavily in training and the promotion of talented people on an equal opportunity basis into the industrial operations environment.

“Essentially, retaining skilled people is the main mechanism through which we deliver value to our clients. For this reason – and notwithstanding ensuring that all the right systems and technology are in place – it is ultimately our human resources which make a significant daily difference on site,” says Dennis Williams, AES Commercial Director.

Further to this, throughout manufacturing and in many vertical industry sectors, boiler operators are typically in short supply – and different skills are needed for specific boiler technologies.

Specific skills for boiler technologies

Less intervention is required for gas- or liquid fuel-fired boilers, as the fuel has a very narrow range of specification variability. However, using coal or biomass as a fuel source is a completely different scenario, Williams emphasises: “That is because one is dealing with a non-uniform fuel. One minute, moisture is low and particle size is large. The next, moisture is high and particle size is smaller. Even with modern boiler control systems, manual interventions that go beyond an automated fuel feed system are required.”

Operators must ensure that, after delivery, fuel is moved to a bunker, that the fuel transfer system, whether it is a coal screw or a conveyor, is constantly loaded – and that there are no interruptions on transfer to the boiler. Operators must also see that fuel gets into the hopper, that there is no bridging in the hopper and that it reaches the furnace for combustion.

However, the real skill kicks in when optimising operations, and Williams notes that tweaks are necessary: “Operators must continually check operating parameters visually and with instrumentation, ensuring that combustion is optimised and thus ensuring steam pressure is maintained efficiently.”

Automatic settings cannot always ensure optimal boiler efficiency, especially in response to rapid changes in steam demand. “However, a skilled operator knows when to alter the bed depth, adjust the furnace draught or whether the distribution of air throughout the furnace needs to be adjusted,” Williams adds.

Developing capacity from within

He says that AES focuses on developing capacity from within, by selecting employees with the right attributes to be good boiler operators. Exceptional employees become ‘float operators’, moving from site to site – operating different boilers and even becoming training officers, sharing both theoretical and practical knowledge across the business.

“Typically, we use boiler operator assistants to help our operators on site – with a view to elevating them to become boiler operators- in-training. When an opportunity arises, they can then be promoted. That way, we have a constant flow of semi-skilled and skilled boiler staff being developed across our many operational sites.”

Boosting boiler operations

AES has a strong skills pool, and an advanced, in-depth knowledge of most boiler configurations.

“There are common principles when it comes to control systems, operation, thermodynamics and effective combustion principles. We therefore ensure that our management team – as well as our operations and maintenance teams – are up to speed with these, and with new boiler technology,” says Williams.

However, AES’s commitment to supporting clients’ boiler operations does not stop there, as a recent boiler installation in Johannesburg recently demonstrated. When the company tasked with commissioning the boilers failed to do so, AES’s technical and projects teams spent three weeks on site to assist. With a thorough understanding of boiler operations, AES could provide skilled resources required to get the commissioning done successfully.

The company also retains organisational knowledge by ensuring this is documented in detailed training manuals. Training on boiler technologies, occupational safety and other statutory requirements is ongoing, and includes annual evaluation and three yearly re-certification of operators across different tiers – all while the company is continuously developing new boiler skills.

In this way, Williams says that AES strives to remain abreast of the latest in global boiler technology, and also to remain ahead of market demands. Often, this means partnering with clients – as was the case recently, with a company in the food sector.

Over the past six years, on behalf of this client, AES has investigated various boiler technologies and fuel sources, travelling globally to amass information and expertise.

“As and when the above require local implementation, AES can manage this process, ensuring it translates into operational and productivity improvements for our client.

The high-level resources within the client’s own technical and project teams are assured of a partner in AES that can deliver on the client’s needs,” Williams concludes.

‘On the boil’: AES assists industry with the correct boiler selection for optimal thermal energy performance

April 7, 2025

A strong tool and die making foundation equips Malben Engineering, a Tier 1 automotive component manufacturer, to collaborate with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and global toolmakers on new tooling, while also providing in-house support for manufacturing, according to Technical Director Marco Smargiasso.

“Malben’s vertical integration and investment in its tool and die making (TDM) capability is a key differentiator, especially because South Africa is short on TDM skills,” Smargiasso says.

“Local industry has lost over 80% of its capacity to support its own manufacturing, due to outsourcing to international markets and a lack of infrastructure investment.

This is according to the INTSIMBI National Tooling Initiative: a national, multi-stakeholder initiative which was established under the auspices of the South African Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the Production Technologies Association of South Africa (PtSA) to implement a turnaround strategy for South Africa’s distressed tooling industry,” he adds.

A strong foundation

Malben started out as a tool and die maker in 1974, and – unlike many tool and die makers at the time – then transitioned successfully into mass automotive component production. However, also unlike many current competitors, the company still retains and continues to invest in TDM as an in-house support service.

Smargiasso attributes the local TDM deficit to a lack of economies of scale: “To have a stable TDM business, you need consistent work flow. In the automotive component sector, it tends to be a ‘feast or famine’ scenario. When an OEM launches a new vehicle, tool and die making is in demand, and locally there are not enough suppliers.

Then, there is typically also a big gap between model launches – and another challenge faced by TDM businesses is that the OEMs tend to carry over many parts from old to new models – with model life cycles typically ranging from 7 to 10 years. With no new tool and die making demand, tool and die makers cannot survive.”

While South Africa is home to 7 major OEMs that make approximately 600 000 vehicles per year, China’s 16 OEMs produce over 30 million.

Furthermore, a decline in TDM is not unique to South Africa, Smargiasso adds: “With the largest automotive industry in the world, China has out-competed TDM sectors globally – and OEMs now outsource most tooling for new models to China.”

Malben’s significant step-change – expanding its manufacturing capability in 2021/22 – followed the launch of new vehicle models by its largest OEM client, which required more than 200 new tools. Malben produced 40 of those tools – significantly more than its local competitors.

The company has also created a tooling facility to maintain and make replacement components for the tools used in production: “We would not be able to run our manufacturing operation without the support of our tool room. We have invested in software and technology that keeps us relevant and competitive,” advises Plant Manager, Jithin Kottikkal.

Over the past two years, the main investment has been in reverse engineering software: “Our tool room handles repairs and improvements. We have found slight discrepancies between computer-aided draughting (C.A.D.) models received from China, and the tool itself. So, we take the original and reverse engineer it, making any adjustments based on that,” Kottikkal explains.

Tooling up for the future

Smargiasso emphasises the value of Malben’s historical experience in tool and die making: “We use this to analyse the tool designs presented to us by Chinese manufacturers. We make sure that the designs will deliver the correct product quality and run capacity,” he says.

He believes that the 80/20 principle applies: “We determine 80% of your project cost within the first 20% of the actual life-cycle. By getting the quality and the tooling design correct up front, the home-line trials, customer sign-off and approval process goes smoothly. More importantly, it means that for the rest of the project life – normally 10 years – we do not have a tool that becomes an “albatross around our neck.”

Commercial Director Marius Schafer concurs: “Even though we do not have the capacity to manufacture very large tools, we continue to invest in the intellectual property – knowledge and expertise – needed to manufacture high-quality parts. As a Tier 1 supplier, Malben’s value-add and differentiator for our customer includes meticulously reviewing the tooling for functionality, robustness, durability and in terms of process layout.”

This is achieved via process modelling and stamping simulations. This was somewhat complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, when Malben liaised with a tool shop in China thousands of kilometres away, remotely.

Continued investment

To remain up to date, Malben is also still investing in equipment – for example, planning for the installation of a new 2 500 ton press.

“Because of our tooling expertise and upgraded technologies, our internal investment in people and skills, intellectual property and in leveraging different linkages and partnerships, we can quickly pivot as required, adopting and incorporating any new technologies on the market,” Smargiasso concludes.

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