Dr. Terry Moss, General Manager, Eskom South Africa

1
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERHOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

• Dr. Terry Moss, General Manager, Eskom (South
  Africa)
• WEC - 18 March 2009 - Cairo

2
Background

• ¼ of the world lacks access to electricity
• Improving the performance of the existing power
  generation facilities across the world would
  produce substantial benefits
• Operational practices have been shown to make a
  significant difference to the overall performance
  of the plant
• Main benefit is likely to come from the
  improvement of operational practices and
  managerial decision-making
• Analytical studies and documented practical
  experience demonstrate that
• Technology/mode of operation account for 20-25
  of the overall improvement, while
• Human factors/management account for 75-80

3
Technology Transfer

• Definition
• Transmission and adaptation for specific
  cultural, social, economic and environmental
  influences of ideas, information, methods,
  procedures, techniques, tools, or technology from
  the knowledge holders to potential users.
• Alternate Definition.
• Technology transfer is the process of sharing of
  skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of
  manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and
  facilities among industries, universities,
  governments and other institutions to ensure that
  scientific and technological developments are
  accessible to a wider range of users who can then
  further develop and exploit the technology into
  new products, processes, applications, materials
  or services. (Wikipedia)

4
Technology Transfer Dimensions

• The handing over of intellectual property (OEM
  drawings, Operations Manuals, Industry Best
  practice ex EPRI, software etc) from one
  organisation to another could be inter or intra
  organisations
• The development of competence amongst people to
  be able to use the technology they possess on a
  spectrum of Awareness, to Knowledge, to Skill, to
  Competence, to Mastery again either inter or
  intra-organisationally
• Technology Transfer can only be said to be
  effective when the recipient (organisation or
  individual) is capable of routinely using and
  applying it as part of business it has become
  part of the culture in the widest sense

5
Contractual Aspects

• When plant is built/modified and new
  methodologies need to be shifted from OEM to
  user.
• Nature of the transfer and monitoring specified
  in the contract is critical.
• Suppliers of equipment do minimum technology
  transfer to protect themselves.
• User to fully specify and then ensure and assure
  that transfer takes place
• Documentation
• Assured competence of individuals who have been
  trained
• User may need to provide considerable assistance
  to the supplier to enable effective transfer to
  take place
• Aligning the supplier with the individuals
  normal learning environment.
• Fulfillment of the contract dependent on a 2-way
  process
• Passing of information
• Receiving and assimilation to the point of
  operational competence
• Important to how learning takes place, its
  application in the workplace and the measurement
  of competence.

6
Continuing Professional Development

• Continuing professional development concerned
  with self-learning, exposure, coaching and
  mentoring e.g.
• Learning to use new machinery
• Operating to changed procedures
• Using new tools, techniques and systems
• Development and installation of improved and best
  practice.
• The methodology of transfer becomes ever wider
  ranging from institutionalised training through
  to networking, best practice work groups and
  simply reading of discipline, management and
  business related material.

7
Technology Transfer Ask Yourselves

• Are we talking the whole gamut from manufacturing
  and commissioning contracts and the documentation
  associated with them, through to the way
  individual learning is handled?
• Are we taking into account knowledge warehousing
  and the ways this is populated, accessed and
  protected as intellectual property?
• Do we include organisation culture (including
  procedures and assurance surrounding the
  identification, capturing, securing and
  dissemination of technical knowledge)?