Browsing by Author "Barnard, Arno"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    An analysis of the impact of unacceptable competitive bid submissions on service delivery at the City of Cape Town Municipality
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Barnard, Arno; Mortimer, Len; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: How is the competitive bidding process contributing to the failing of municipal service delivery in South Africa? This question is at the heart of this study, which analyses the competitive bidding process as it unfolded over a financial year at the City of Cape Town. This study reviews all the reports that were considered within the City of Cape Town’s Bid Adjudication process upon which final awards were made. A total of 371 bids, comprising 4 146 submissions, were analysed, and the overall bid failure rate from these submissions was determined. The reasons why bids failed were recorded, categorised, and analysed. A number of interviews were conducted with role-players within the City’s operational departments to gauge their perceptions on the impacts of service delivery that arise from the non-responsive bid submissions. The study found that 57% of the bids that were submitted were declared non-responsive. These bid failures resulted primarily from submissions that did not pass the bidder ability (52%) and technical (19%) tests. The study concludes that both the overall bid failure rate and primary failure reasons were high and that this could have a negative impact on service delivery by the City of Cape Town. The study concludes with recommendations that may improve the outcomes of the competitive bidding system at the City of Cape Town. This study is significant as it is the first study that analyses a bidding system at such a granular level. The findings of this study may be useful to the City of Cape Town to improve the outcomes of its competitive bidding system. It may also be of use to other municipalities as a framework within which to evaluate the outcomes from their own system. This study’s findings may also be useful to bidders as a source of information on how to improve their own tender success rates.
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    Establishing a viable and reliable proton-induced single event effect test methodology and environment at iThemba LABS in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Barnard, Arno; Steyn, Herman; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation details the establishment of a new Single-Event Effect (SEE) testing environment at iThemba LABS (iTL). The research intends to improve access to SEE testing for spacerelated research organisations and industries in developing countries and specifically South Africa. The development and verification of the proton-induced SEE testing of electronic systems facility at iTL, using a novel Beam Loss Monitor (BLM) based dosimetry system, is presented. The facility design and dosimetry system response are simulated and verified through in-beam measurements using 66 MeV and 200 MeV protons. The design is adaptable and successfully applied to two different beam delivery points. The proton beam profiles achieved, using this design, had favourable uniformity with variances of less than 10% over the beam spot and a shadow area of with a maximum intensity of less than 0.34% of the spot intensity. The dual-BLM based dosimetry system provides a fast and accurate way to validate the beam profile before tests, in addition to monitoring the proton flux during te sts. The system produced real-time measurements that closely matched simulated particle distributions. Additionally, the presented user guide aims to assist future SEE research at this facility. Through this research, the first high-energy p roton-beam b ased S EE t esting f acility i n A frica a nd the Southern hemisphere is realised, supporting research into SEEs in electronics and the associated mitigation techniques.
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    Feasibility of using an ARM processor in a micro satellite on-board computer
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Barnard, Arno; Bakkes, P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Faculty of Engineering . Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After SUNSAT was launched in 1999 and the possibility of developing another micro satellite emerged, areas of possible improvement were identified. Among the suggestions that emerged was the idea of developing an on-board computer for a micro satellite, using one of the new generation low power processors. The processor had to meet guideline specifications derived from the experience gained by researchers and students involved with the SUNSAT project. This thesis covers the process of choosing one of these processors and the subsequent testing of the feasibility of using it in an on-board computer. The feasibility test included comparing the processor's specifications to those required and designing an evaluation board for this processor to test its ease of use and programmability.