Murray Langley attended a career exhibition during his final year of high school. He came across a stall run by the South African Institute of Measurement and Control (SAIMC) and knew that he had found what he was looking for. He applied for a trainee position in the Instrumentation and Automation field with Iscor Ltd (now part of the steel company Arcelor-Mittal). He filled the position straight out of high school and has never looked back.
He began further studies in 2011 and has completed an Advanced Diploma, two Graduate Diplomas, the Master of Engineering (Industrial Automation) and more recently embarked on a Master of Engineering (Electrical Systems) - all though the Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT).
Throughout his career Murray has worked in the Steel and Aluminum Smelting and Mineral Sands mining industry. Currently though, he is working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC). His responsibilities include E&I Engineering and the daily management of contractors who are building the E&I component of KCC’s copper precipitation plant.
In the last three decades, Murray has seen automation within the industry evolve. He said:
“Over 35 years in the Instrumentation, Automation and Control industry, I’ve worked with pneumatic instruments and controllers and mimic panels covering control room walls. I have been involved in automation upgrades, Smart MCCs, networked instruments and state of the art control rooms. It has been a fantastic journey.”
Murray asserts that his studies through EIT have been part and parcel of his professional development over the past 7 years. Balancing work and studying took dedication and commitment. When asked about what motivated him through his many qualifications, he said: “The sense of achievement when I finish what I have started”.