About us

The Global Competitiveness Centre in Engineering (GCC) operates within the Department of Industrial Engineering as a centre for applied research and technology transfer, promoting and facilitating competitiveness of SA industry. The RPD Laboratory functions as one of the branches within the GCC to fulfil its purpose and meet the needs of both industry and students.

The aim of the GCC

The aim of the GCC is to promote and facilitate global competitiveness in South African industry through:

·          Training and education

·          Providing leading edge research equipment and facilities

·          Providing service & technology transfer to industry

This can only be achieved by combining the efforts of tertiary institutions, government and industry. This combination has already been achieved by the GCC, through long-standing established formal and informal partnerships with Government, other local and international researchers and institutes, as well as SA business.

The main activities of the GCC have been formalised mainly through the two research areas "Enterprise Engineering (EE)" and "Rapid Product Development (RPD)".

The GCC 5 step model

The GCC employs a basic 5-step model to introduce new technologies to the Centre, students and industry, namely to Identify, Acquire, Master, Multiply and Transfer relevant leading edge technologies.

Identify. New technologies, that are applicable to industry in South Africa, are identified from around the world. This is a time consuming and costly process that requires the expertise of the GCC in its various fields of interest. Needs and opportunities are continuously assessed and matched with the emerging technologies.

Acquire. Once a certain technology has been identified, the GCC plans the acquisition of that technology. This process entails drawing technology partners from industry, government and academia and raising funds for the acquisition of the technology. Cost, relevancy, duplicity and transferability are, amongst other factors, considered to form an acquisition plan.

Master. It is necessary to master new technologies in-house and/or through partnerships with industry and other academic institutions, within a specifically SA context - this requires proven examples of the successful implementation of the technology to serve as motivation to attract further involvement.

Multiply. Success for new technologies relies heavily on the support that they receive through dissemination to academia and industry. By involving as many people as possible in understanding and teaching the new technologies once they have been mastered, the chances of success are remarkably improved. The GCC thus faciltates the so-called "training the trainer" approach.

Transfer. Establishing a core team of trained specialists makes it possible to transfer mastered technologies to industry. This is done through training, education, conferences, seminars and workshops. Furthermore the GCC provides services that enhance product and process innovations in industry.

The Global Competitiveness Centre in Engineering (GCC)

The GCC was established in 1997 in an alliance with more than 25 Industry partners to address the challenges of global competition. These Industry partners include local and international players in the manufacturing as well as services industries.

Though impossible to list everyone, some of the "original" partners who helped create the GCC are honoured in the entrance to the Department:

while current formal and informal partnerships exist with e.g.:

SA researchers at:

·          Cape Peninsula University of Technology

·          Central University of Technology, Free State

·          University of Cape Town

·          Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

·          Tshwane University of Technology

·          University of Limpopo

·          University of KwaZulu Natal

Internationally, mainly in collaborative research and active student exchange:

·          Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU), Chemnitz, Germany

·          Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technologies (IPT), Aachen, Germany

·          Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Design (IPK), Berlin, Germany

·          Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation, Stuttgart, Germany

·          Department of Manufacturing System Engineering (Technical University of Chemnitz, Germany)

·          Department of Manufacturing and Process Engineering (University of Applied Sciences, Dresden, Germany)

·          Laboratory of Machine Tool and Production Engineering (WZL), Aachen University of Technology, Aachen, Germany) 

·          TU Delft, Netherlands

·          University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands

·          Department of Quality and Process Management, Institute of Industrial Sciences, University of Kassel, Germany.

On industry level particularly close links exist to

·          Zealous Pressure Castings

·          RGC Engineering

·          SASOL Polymers

·          Automated Reasoning

·          BAE Land Systems Gear Ratio

·          Indutech (Pty) Ltd

Specific mention has to be made of the IAT-WC (Institute for Advanced Technology - Western Cape ), which is housed on the premises of the Department, and more specifically in the RPD Laboratory. The purpose of the IAT being hosted at Stellenbosch University is to accelerate research and development work for the tooling industry, as well as to support tooling companies in tooling design and manufacturing issues.