Welcome to the PRASA Engineering Research Chair
Welcome to the website of the PRASA Engineering Research
Chair, hosted at Stellenbosch University. We hope you find this website informative and helpful in explaining who
we are, where we come from, what it is we do and what we have achieved thus far in the partnership with PRASA and
Stellenbosch University. If you still have any questions about us after having
looked through our website, feel free to contact us. We
would love to engage with you.
History of the PRASA Engineering Research Chair
The
Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (PRASA) approached the
Department of Industrial Engineering in 2009 with the request to assist
them with solving recurring problems. Because the root causes of the
problems were then seen to be of a much more complex nature, Prof Neels
Fourie of the Industrial Engineering department and PRASA/Metrorail
conceptualised the creation of an academic research chair. From the
onset, it was visualised that this Chair will assist and support
PRASA/Metrorail in their quest for solutions and to become the preferred
passenger rail agency in South Africa. After many discussions and
planning sessions, an agreement was signed for the establishment of the
PRASA Engineering Research Chair in the Engineering faculty from 2011,
with Prof Fourie as the incumbent. A Senior as well a Junior Research
Engineer have subsequently been appointed to assist in carrying out the
projects.
The
primary goal of the PRASA Chair was to initiate and execute research into
aspects of maintenance management and applicable engineering management
principles best suited to the needs of PRASA/Metrorail. A training program has
also been established under the umbrella of the existing Management Development
Programme with the primary objective to train PRASA managers and engineers to
acquire the requisite managerial and technical expertise. The PRASA Chair also
administers bursaries funded by PRASA. With the establishment of the PRASA
Chair, it was visualised that the following aspects will be covered by the
activities of the Chair:
- Modern Maintenance Systems
- Business Process Modelling
- Application of Lean Thinking in PRASA
- Continuous Process Improvement Strategies
- Sustainable Training Program in PRASA
- Reliability Improvement in Maintenance
At
the end of 2013, the original agreement was renewed and the scope of the Chair
was extended to include more engineering related solutions. This led to the
appointment of an additional research engineer and the creation of a
"virtual laboratory" concept. It allows the PRASA Chair free access
to all the researchers and laboratories of the Faculty on a quid pro quo basis,
giving the PRASA Chair more avenues to explore possible solutions.
