Electronics
Today we take the application of electronics for granted. Most industries rely heavily on electronic devises for transport, to regulate processes, to monitor, to measure, to construct, to fault find and even to execute repairs. Electronic technology has not only spread to a broad range of applications, it has rapidly become more compact and simpler to install. A small black box has replaced a large relay room to control electrical processes such as automated production lines or lifts in a multi story building. What once may have taken six months with three or four people working full time to mount components and wire off a relay logic control room can now be programmed into a PLC in a matter of minutes. With the advent of fibre optics and satellite communication, devises can be activated and controlled from the other side of the world.
During the 1970s in an effort to seek more efficient systems, the Western Australian Government Railways drove the development of electronics in Western Australia. The first electronics appeared as discreet electronic components in railway signals, profile cutters and track maintenance equipment. Instead of men manually lining and maintaining the track, electronic alignment equipment and powerful hydraulics were introduced to do the work. A solitary machine was capable of performing the maintenance of approximately 1.5 kilometres per day with great accuracy compared to the manual method, which would have taken 30 men a week to complete.
Some of the most innovative ideas came from the Midland Workshops and one of the key players was Frank Pileggi from the Midland Campus of Swan TAFE. By the early seventies Frank had completed his apprenticeship at the Midland Workshops as an electrical fitter. At that time electrical apprentices attended Midland Technical School for Trade Maths and Industrial Communications, then Mount Lawley Technical School for the remaining subjects. Frank stayed with the railways for eight more years during which time he had the opportunity to study and work in the new field of electronics.
He became the first official leading hand in the electronics room at the Midland Workshops. Large-scale electronic integrated circuitry was just beginning to infiltrate systems of operation. During this time, the Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Workshops came up with the idea to design the first driverless train in Australia. Frank and his team took up the challenge and built it within three months. The launch attracted some very interested managing directors from mining companies such as Hamersley Iron, Robe River, Goldsworthy and BHP. But it also created alarm amongst engine drivers. In order to avoid a national strike the black box controlling the fully remote control train had to be smashed to pieces days after the launch.
Another project that Frank was involved in included an electronic buggy that was used to resurvey the State’s entire network of railway line after metrication had been introduced. The surveying, which was completed in six months, would have previously taken several people years to complete. It was based on the principle of attaching a pair of toughened precision wheels with electronic controls to the buggy. Each time an infra red light was picked up by the sensor, it meant the buggy had moved a certain distance. Every 500 metres a squirt of paint was left on the track. This buggy was so efficient that it was hired by other states for the same purpose.
Frank was also involved with the development of an electronic vigilance box. Drivers had previously been required to activate a mechanical system in order to show they were still in control of the train. These vigilance control units were installed in every train in the railway system and orders were later received from a number of large mining companies.
In 1980 Frank joined the Education Department as a lecturer in Electronics. By this time programmable logic controllers were being introduced. The addition of a micro-chip allowed controls to be programmed rather than wired.
He worked for the mobile resources section of Technical Extension, which was established to provide industry with training in ‘state of the art’ control technology. Most of his teaching was fee for service and he found that many of his students, now managers and supervisors in mining companies were ex railway associates.
In 1997 Frank introduced Telecommunications training into Midland College. Clients were mainly drawn from the State Energy Commission, mining companies and organisations from the oil and gas sectors.
In 2000 the College was successful in attracting major Science and Technology grants which enabled the introduction of training in very new and innovative technologies.
Long Open Systems Technology (Lonworks) is a neuron microchip program developed by Echelon which enables communication across microprocessor based control equipment. This allows operators to visually monitor and control processes via the Internet through a personal computer.
Training people in the mechanical and engineering trades to convert vehicle fuel systems to utilise natural gas was also made possible through the Science and Technology grants. Courses for this cost-effective system have been delivered to employees from bus companies such as Path Transport and Southern Transit, as well as WA Safety Engineers.
The Midland Campus of Swan TAFE is now the leading provider of Telecommunications training in this State with more than 50% of the total market share in training. Today Frank is working alongside Wayne Smith in the development of a whole new energy systems portfolio which will take into account specific training for mining, oil and gas industries, including renewable options.