The VASA Board has taken the tough decision to further postpone Wire & Gas until 2022 due to ongoing uncertainty caused by regular state border closures and snap lockdowns that will likely continue well into this year. Light is visible at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel with the first shipment of vaccines rolling out … Continue reading Wire & Gas postponed until July 2022
A truck driver at an underground mine in Queensland has sustained serious burns to their face, hands and chest from an explosion caused by the vehicle’s air-conditioning system, which was found to have been charged with hydrocarbon refrigerant. The incident happened on January 11 this year, while the worker was driving in the underground mine. Resources … Continue reading QLD mine truck driver injured by hydrocarbon refrigerant blast
A decade’s worth of lobbying by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) – and significant efforts by others – has finally resulted in the introduction of legislation that would require automakers to share service and repair data. The legislation, which entered Australian Parliament as the latest edition of SightGlass News went to press, would level the playing … Continue reading Repair info sharing legislation enters parliament
Australia’s federal government has extended its wage subsidy scheme for apprentices and trainees for another year, ending 30 September 2021. The scheme, said to have helped create around 100,000 apprenticeships to date, was introduced in 2020 as part of the economic response to COVID-19 and subsidises 50 per cent of the wages of apprentices and trainees. In total, … Continue reading Extension for Australian apprenticeship subsidy
Falken parent company Sumitomo Rubber Industries has developed a method of harvesting static electricity from rotating tyres and then using this energy to power sensors, such as those used for tyre pressure monitoring systems. The joint project with Professor Hiroshi Tani of Kansai University in Japan, has resulted in an integrated system that uses the electricity generated … Continue reading Tyres that can generate electricity?
Jaguar Land Rover is planning to install Panasonic’s virus-busting ‘nanoe X’ air-purification technology on future models. The nanoe X technology, already used in some Panasonic commercial air-conditioners, has been verified as an inhibitor of harmful bacteria and viruses (including COVID-19) by viral research specialists Texcell. Jaguar Land Rover has also commissioned an independent assessment of nanoe X … Continue reading Jaguar Land Rover to get virus-busting HVAC tech
The shipping industry is looking to the past and future in an attempt to address its heinous air pollution record, with a return to wind power as well as battery power for upcoming ocean-going cargo vessels. Perhaps most striking is the Oceanbird roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) vehicle carrier that has taken its first order from Norewgian … Continue reading Shipping finally starts to clean up its act
VASA’s North American counterpart, The Mobile Air Conditioning Society, has rebranded to become the Mobile Air Climate Systems Association (MACS). MACS president and CEO Elvis L. Hoffpauir said the update resulted in “a better reflection of the whole of our efforts as system technology experts and as an inclusive organization dedicated to advancing the next … Continue reading MACS rebrands: Meet your Mobile Air Climate Systems Association
An Australian mobile air conditioning pioneer who once claimed his company was the biggest air conditioner of ambulances in the world, Bruce Marland Humphreys, head of the former Melbourne automotive empire of Marlandaire died on 14 January this year. The claim has not only gone unchallenged, but reading Marlandaire’s client list confirms that the company … Continue reading Vale Bruce Marland Humphreys — a true Australian pioneer
Honda has announced a “Kurumaku” filter that can be installed on top of an existing cabin air filter and is claimed to catch virus droplets then damage them, reducing the threat of infection to vehicle occupants. Continue reading Honda’s virus-proof cabin filter
Australian employers, employees, business owners, learners, apprentices, job seekers, peak bodies, unions, employer associations and registered training organisations are invited to have their say on vocational education and training (VET) reform. The deadline for submissions is 12 pm AEDT on Monday 1 March 2021. A discussion paper has been released with topics to be covered … Continue reading Call for feedback on how to improve vocational education and training in Australia
Draft legislation that will enable individuals who hold an occupational licence in one Australian state or territory to do equivalent work in another Australian state or territory under the same licence, is now up for industry consultation. The deadline for submissions is Friday 12 February 2021, which can be made at the Occupational Mobility section … Continue reading Industry asked for feedback on interstate trade license recognition
