SAFETY, QUALITY & ENVIRONMENT
These are 3 very important aspects of our business which we all have to be acutely aware of as they not only affect the services that we deliver to our customer, but also the way we live, the way we interact with others and how we treat our planet. Often it is said “What can I do about it?” The answer to that is “An enormous amount.” It’s best if we start with our first priority – Safety:
Safety is a fundamental part of our business.
and should be an integral part of our daily lives. It would be a very different world if there were no accidents or mishaps. The only losers in that world would be the insurance companies and the medical response teams.
So often the investigation into the cause of an accident yields :
“It was an oversight of the employee – he made a mistake.” Unfortunately that isn’t good enough anymore and it is exceptionally important that we find the root cause of why he made the mistake. There are often numerous answers to that and can be anything from – he wasn’t trained to do the work – he didn’t understand the dangers involved – there wasn’t a procedure for that part of the work – the employee wasn’t concentrating – the equipment used wasn’t used correctly etc etc. These outcomes are very often heard and so often repeated.
This is where we need to step in and say :
– NO MORE! We will no longer accept these types of excuse as each one of those indicates that sufficient effort has not gone into ensuring that we provide the employees with sufficient skills and awareness of the work being performed.
Safety is a pro-active operation.
Safety needs to be addressed before work commences and when our employees arrive, the ground work needs to have been done such that the employee is able to be effectively informed of his responsibilities and duties and what he should be aware of. Therefore, to answer the question “What can I do?” is easy
Make yourself aware of your work place…
the dangers involved in the work place, the activities of others that may affect you, the affect you may have on others working around you, as well as recognizing the training needs for the work to be performed and assessing if you consider yourself confident, and more importantly competent to perform the work.
Quality is judged by the quality of services that we deliver to our clients.
Remember, not only are your clients those who we work for, but can also be those we work with. We have both external and internal clients. It is very important that we deliver a service to both of these clients with the same level as often they are inter- related. If the storeman delivers a poor level of service to his lagger, how can that lagger deliver an acceptable service to the client? If the workshop produce unacceptable material that gets included in the works, how can the sheetmetal worker deliver an acceptable product to the client? The services that we deliver to each other within the company is of equal importance to that which is delivered to the client.
As for safety, Non-Conformance Reports
are raised due to very similar reasons and the replies are often a repetition of those used for safety incidents – he wasn’t trained to do the work – he didn’t understand the requirements of the job – there wasn’t a procedure for that part of the work – the employee wasn’t concentrating – the equipment used wasn’t used correctly etc etc.
It is for this reason that NCR’s are raised
so that we can identify these problems. To do the rework or correct the error without raising the NCR is equivalent to not doing the job correctly as if something isn’t done about the cause of the error, it will simply be repeated again and again. It is therefore imperative that if an error is noted, that you raise an NCR.
Therefore to answer the question “What can I do?”
The answer is easy. Report errors or poor service using an NCR. If you don’t know how to do this, please speak to the QA Manager who will assist you in the process. It is an exceptionally important and powerful tool that management can use to identify problems in the organization and continually improve the services and products delivered.
Another vitally important component of our Quality Management system is the control of documents.
The ISO9001-2008 standard demands that all documents that are used by the Company are recorded, that only the latest revisions are used and that the revisions are recorded. To use outdated and obsolete documentation could result in an NCR being raised. Please ensure that the documents that are being used are relevant and are the latest revisions.
SGS have recently completed their surveillance audit and have confirmed our certificate for a further 12 months to the next audit
The Environment.
We need to respect our environment and each and every individual can assist in this process. We are incredibly wasteful in what we do and we can all contribute in our own way to the reduction of waste.
We need to heed the challenge at each of the sites that we currently work on,
to ensure that we reduce our waste and negative influence that we have on the environment. As a painting contractor, we often apply (not always our choice and selection) products that contain very high levels of solvents.
Some of the paints that we apply contain as much as 40% solvent.
This means that for every liter (1000ml) that is applied, 400ml evaporates into the atmosphere. Some of these solvents are exceptionally detrimental to the environment. If this is the case, consult with the paint supplier to determine if there is an alternative that you could propose to the client.
Do all of our sites shut the compressor/generator down as soon as they are not using it?
Are we using the most fuel efficient compressors?
Are we monitoring the amount of grit being used and looking at ways to reduce this commodity?
Every ton of grit used needs to be disposed of. Are we segregating our waste? Are we re-cycling every thing that we can? As you can see, each one of us can contribute to the reduction of our impact on the environment and we all need to review our influence and contribution to the amount of waste and assess ways of reducing them.
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR COMPANY?
Did you know…?
- Concord refrigeration
a division of Southey Holdings, is one of the major suppliers of refrigeration and heating cabinets to Checkers/Shoprite. When you are next in a Checkers/Shoprite store, the likelihood of your goods coming out of “Southey” manufactured refrigeration cabinet are very good.
- Dormac
the ship repair company owned by Southey, is currently busy with the refurbishment of a semi- submersible drilling rig in Saldahna Bay. This is a substantial project and part of Dormac’s thrust into the massive Oil and Gas industry that operates up the West Coast of Africa.
-
Fabio Torrente
the recently appointed Managing Director of the Southey Anglo operation that is situated in Luanda, is a SCUBA diver of note and has completed some exceptionally deep, demanding, complex and dangerous dives. The Angolan operation is very involved in the maintenance of Offshore Structures in this oil rich country.
BRANDING
Southey Holdings has appointed Brand Alive to undertake a branding exercise.
They are currently doing a large amount of exploratory work and may interview a number of the staff members as well as some of our clients to determine various facts and perceptions. Brand Alive have been involved in the branding of some major companies and include VW, Group 5 and the Marensky Group.
Once this exercise has been completed, Brand-Alive will go through a number of other internal processes and then deliver their verdict and recommendations. We look forward to their proposals.
This is an exceptionally important exercise
as it conveys a lot about our company to our existing as well as potential clients and the public at large. Should you be required to work with them, please be as honest as possible and give them your absolute assistance.
BROAD BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Southey Contracting (Pty) Ltd was recently assessed by PKF BEE Solutions
(a SANAS accredited BBBEE verification agency) for the renewal of our BBBEE certificate. As you may know, the BBBEE score that is attained is based on a number of sections which are evaluated and based on the scores attained for each section, a final score is achieved. In the table below, the various sections, as determined by the Department of Trade and Industry that are taken into consideration are listed. The DTI has, in their Codes of Good Practice, set out the way in which each element is scored and the criteria to be used by the BBBEE auditors in determining the scores achieved:
This is a very in-depth and testing audit that involves a huge amount of work and dedication.
To achieve a Level 4 status is exceptionally important as this qualifies the company to be considered as a 100% BEE contributor. The required score to be eligible for Level 4 is 65. It is with great pride that we can confirm that we have once again been awarded a Level 4 certificate. Thank you to all involved. The effort is greatly appreciated and will bear fruit in the years to come.
STAFF NEWS
We welcome 2 new employees to the Gauteng division :
- Sansie van Niekerk
has been appointed as the Training Manager. She has extensive experience in the training field and will become a valuable asset to the company such that we have comprehensive and structured training programs that enhance the skills of our employees. You will be hearing from her shortly and please give her the assistance that she deserves.
- Gert Viljoen
son of Hennie Viljoen, who has previously been employed on an hourly basis has joined our ranks. Gert has NACE qualification and performs QA/QC rolls at Secunda and has been involved in the New Multipurpose Pipeline Project (NMPP).
PROJECT NEWS
Our NMPP contract
that involves the blasting and coating of 10 Fuel Storage Tanks at the Jameson Park site near Heidelberg is about to kick off. A substantial amount of planning has gone into this project and a large amount of capital has been spent to acquire some relatively sophisticated blasting equipment.
As mentioned in the previous edition…
dehumidifiers have been purchased to ensure that we maintain a suitable atmosphere in the tanks for blasting and painting purposes, but to complement these units, SPE automated blasting units have been procured that reduces the grit consumption dramatically, whilst increasing productivity and ensuring that we are more efficient.
Training on the equipment has taken place
and the suppliers are sending their experts out to ensure that the start of the work goes according to plan and they are able to assist in this critical part of the contract.
- SPE FLOOR UNIT
We currently have 1 of the Floor Units (pictured above) that has been successfully used on the Chevron tanks but will now be allocated to this project along with a new, larger one.
- SPE VERTICAL UNIT
This is a new unit to us and can be dismantled to fit through a standard manhole (as can the floor units). The dust generated in the process is vacuumed off to a dust collector that is placed outside of the tank.
This enables a dust free operation
and effectively painting can take place alongside the blasting units, something that could never be considered with traditional blasting methods.
GETTING TO KNOW OUR STAFF
- Name : George Lindeque
- Position : Senior Supervisor – Scaffolding Komati Power Station
- Date Joined : February 2009
- Wife : Madelene
- Children : Celeste (27) and Ruan (22)
- Person I would most like to meet : Barry Wickins
- Best TV Program : Reality Zone
- Name : Mokgadi Petrus (Peter) Ditshego
- Position : Contracts Manager, Tate & Nicholson
- Date Joined : 1970 to 1973 and again in June 2005
- Wife : Zandile
- Children : Thembeni (35) Matshaya (33) and Dipuo (31)
- Person I would most like to meet : Madiba
- Best TV Program : Sports Channels and Isidingo