Suchergebnisse

PurposeAsset management is often one of the last options to maximise cost savings in a competitive global economy due to its intrinsic complexity, especially in many developing countries. Asset management in the process industry must consider the commissioning, operational and end‐of‐life phases of physical assets when commencing a design and implementation project. However, current asset management models show inefficiencies in terms of addressing life cycle costs comprehensively, as well as other aspects of sustainable development. An asset life cycle management (ALCM) model is subsequently proposed for assets in the process industry, which integrates the concepts of generic project management frameworks and systems engineering with operational reliability in order to address these inefficiencies.Design/methodology/approachExperiences within a large petrochemical company in South Africa are used as a case study to demonstrate and discuss the different components of the proposed ALCM model.FindingsOperational reliability and systems engineering are the means to achieve optimum value from physical assets over a facility's lifetime. Thereby, activities are identified that should be completed during each stage of the project life cycle. The application of performance measurements for the operation and support stages is proposed to influence decision making in the process industry.Originality/valueSpecific issues pertaining to the ALCM model are highlighted to ensure optimal practicality and incorporation of the model with other management practices in the process industry.

Development projects that are potentially eligible for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) funding under the Kyoto Protocol, require final approval from the host countries where the projects are to be implemented. The approval requires an evaluation of the positive contribution of the CDM project to sustainable development in the host country. A prototype set of sustainable development criteria is introduced using an evaluation process conducted in South Africa. Weighting values that reflect societal priorities in South Africa are required for these criteria. The paper shows how judgements of industry decision makers and the expenditure trends of the national government (on environmental sub-criteria) can be used to generate a first approximation of such weighting values. The industry judgements are obtained from an Analytical Hierarch Process (AHP) survey. They reflect the perceptions of the automotive supply chain and process industry only, and not other parts of the South African society. A more comprehensive study is required to determine the political and social acceptability of the AHP approach, which should be initiated and managed by the Designated National Authority (DNA) of South Africa.

Research efforts using system dynamics to understand and evaluate societal and policy‐related problems in Southern Africa are becoming essential. This paper undertook a systematic review to examine the extent of utilization of system dynamics in Southern Africa between 2003 and 2014. The results showed that system dynamics has been used, or referred to, in the academic literature pertaining to the themes of environment, public policy and resources. Nevertheless, focuses remain limited in its application across various industries, particularly relating to stakeholder engagement and strategy. However, some analysis of the non‐academic literature suggests that commercial practice of system dynamics has a different trend, where it is mainly used for strategic and tactical projects, mostly for industry clients. Thus, the current research outputs do not necessarily reflect the industry needs. This review is then useful to facilitate further discussions on practical applications of system dynamics through the South Africa System Dynamics Chapter. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose
This paper aims to present a new master's programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa.


Design/methodology/approach
A transdisciplinary approach called "participatory integrated assessment of energy systems" (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance", which bring innovative concepts and methods.


Findings
The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes.


Practical implications
Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely critical because such a holistic view cannot be achieved through engineering curricula. Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate methods from "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance" in higher education curricula to train a new breed of modern-day energy planners in charge of coming up with solutions that are shared by all relevant stakeholders.


Originality/value
This paper presents an innovative higher education curriculum in terms of the attention given to energy access and energy efficiency that affect the southern Africa region and the nature of the methodology adopted to face these issues.