The Southey sound – Edition 6 – September 2012

IN THIS EDITION…

 

Southey on the move

New home for Corporate and Africa divisions

Project News : 1

NMPP Tank Project completed

Project News : 2

Sasol Secunda Reformer Project completed

Did you know?

Southey news

Safety

We applaud a Safety Superstar

Training

News from the Training Room

Quality

ISO 9001-2008 at Sites

Southey Staff

Who work for us?

On the Lighter Side

 

SOUTHEY IS ON THE MOVE

The Corporate division of Southey Holdings and Southey Contracting – Africa have moved to newly acquired and renovated premises.

 

R.J.Southey Properties, a division of Southey Holdings, have become the proud new owners of 53 Galaxy Road, Linbro Business Park, Linbro Park.

The transfer took place in March 2012 and renovations were undertaken over the period of 3 months to create a much needed and wonderful new home for the Corporate division of Southey Holdings as well as much needed space for the Southey Contracting – Africa Division. The Africa division needed room to grow and this provides them with a marvellous opportunity to do this and they will therefore no longer be limited by office space requirements going forward.

 

The renovations were extensive

and the architects used for the Riverhorse Valley property were engaged to manage this project to ensure that the “look and feel” was consistent and that the branding of Southey was consistent. The premises were previously owned by the Soviet Clothing company and therefore were not suited to the Contracting and Corporate usage. The interior was essentially gutted and rebuilt and refurbished so that the requirements of Southey can be met well into the future.

 

A sheetmetal workshop has been installed

and this includes a CNC controlled plasma cutter, able to cut a wide variety of materials, to assist in the production process as well as ensuring high quality and consistent production of cladding components.

 

PROJECT NEWS : 1

 

NMPP Tank Coating Project has been completed

 

Southey Contracting was awarded

the internal lining and external coating of 4 No Petrol Tanks 4 No Diesel Fuel Tanks and 2 No Avgas Tanks that were constructed by the CB&I/Murray and Roberts Joint Venture at the Transnet facility at Jameson Park near Heidelberg.

The Petrol and Diesel tanks

measured 36 m in diameter and 23 m in height whilst the Avgas Tanks measured 25 m in diameter and 23 m in height. What was unusual is that not only were the Avgas tanks fully coated internally but so too were the Diesel and Petrol tanks.

Coating of the tanks commenced in August 2011

and a number of challenges were encountered during the project, not least of all were the exceptionally high levels of salts on the blasted surfaces which prevented coatings being applied.

After much experimentation, investigation and trial and error,

the solutions were developed and managing strategies implemented. Unfortunately this meant that the scope of work increased substantially.

 

NMPP Tank Coating Project has been completed

 

Internal coating selection was exceptionally important

in that the Employer required a 10 year guarantee as well as the fact that the intention was to appoint one manufacturer who could provide a single coat application for all of the tanks as well as the necessary QC personnel to oversee the work and monitor our performance.

To further complicate the decision,

a solvent free product would be beneficial due to the increased safety levels of the use of these lining systems. Sigma coatings was appointed as the supplier for the internal linings and Stoncor supplied the coatings for the external coatings.

 

From a Safety point of view, the project was successful

in that no Lost Time Injuries were recorded and all concerned are to be congratulated on this achievement. The entire NMPP/Transnet environment played a big part in the consistently high standards that were applied.

 

During the peak of production,

up to 28 blasters were engaged at certain times and up to 1 800m2 of internal lining were applied in a single shift.

Finally however, the tanks have been completed and handed over to the Employer.

 

PROJECT NEWS : 2

Secunda Branch completes Contract for Kentz at Sasol

 

Due to the failure of a contractor to perform, Southey Contracting was the “go-to” company

and Henny Viljoen and his team stepped up to the mark and took over a challenging contract. As is often the case when taking over a partially completed contract, the scope is not well known and the learning curve is vertical.

 

After a very difficult start, good progress was made

to recover the lost time and innovative solutions were introduced. Unfortunately we were in some cases reliant on a subcontractor that was “not on the same page” and didn’t comprehend the acceleration that was required. This was partially solved by close and detailed management of their process and thus the increased production from their side was achieved.

 

Many exceptionally important lessons were learnt

in the execution of the project, not least of all was the need for increased training and evaluation of new employees as well as the closer management of critical sub-contractors.

 

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR COMPANY?

Did you know?

 

  • Southey Contracting (Cape)

has been awarded the Industrial cleaning contract at Sasol Secunda. Being one of the biggest owners of Ultra High Pressure (UHP) and High Pressure (HP) pumps in South Africa, they were well positioned to be awarded this significant contract. They continue to grow their fleet of pumps which the manufacture/assemble at their facility in Cape Town under the watchfully eye of Roddy Mills.

 

UHP/HP Units, straight out of manufacture and stringent testing and ready to go to work

UHP/HP Units, straight out of manufacture and stringent testing and ready to go to work

 

  • Southey Contracting (Africa)

is currently engaged in the completion of a number of contracts in the southern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In order to achieve this, Southey DRC has been formed and registered in that country and should position the division well in this copper rich area.

 

  • Okapi

the agricultural knife and scaffolding manufacture will be entering the domestic knife market with a whole range of knives. You may well see them on the shelves of Pick ‘n Pay, Checkers and Spar soon

 

  • Isomolders

Southey have bought out Isowall’s share in Isolite Natal whilst at the same time disposed of their share in Isolite Cape to Isowall. Southey thus owns Isolite Natal and have decided to rename it Isomolders. Isomolders are the leading suppliers of polystyrene to the packaging market as well as sole suppliers of insulated panels to Parkhomes and Rudnev for their cold rooms.

 

  • CBI manufacturers

Southey have bought the shareholding of CBI manufacturers, a leading panel manufacturer in the Gauteng area. This will give the Modular and Refrigeration business a big boost in this area.

 

SAFETY

We applaud a Safety Super Star.

As the Safety Officer on Site, this Safety Super Star has achieved, amongst others, the following prestigious Awards/Accolades:

 

  • 1000 000 Hours without an LTI
  • 400 days without an LTI
  • Large Contractor of the Month – 5 Times
  • 600 days without an LTI
  • Financial Year without an LTI
  • 800 days without an LTI
  • NOSA Audit – 8%
  • 1000 days without an LTI
  • Most Improved Contractor
  • Housekeeping Competition – Twice
  • Safety Personality of the Month – 3 Times
  • Contractor Safety Officer of the Year
  • Group (Eskom) Capital Division Health and Environmental Awards – Runner Up

 

Lorette van der Watt, Safety Officer Komati Power Station,

has attained some remarkable achievements in the area of Safety and for this we applaud her and the team that has worked with her to make this all possible.

 

Lorette receives her Award from Mr. Wolly Wolmarans of Eskom CED

 

We would hope that Lorette’s efforts are repeated and emulated at every Southey Site

and that the level that she has set becomes the benchmark for everybody. Working closely with the Site/Contracts Manager, Johan Steyn, this site has proved that if “turn-arounds” are necessary, they can be achieved and it is due to their innovative and proactive approach to their task that they have managed to do this.

Congratulations Lorette

and thank you very much for your continued support and dedication.

 

QUALITY

Taking ISO 9001:2008 to the next level

 

Southey Contracting has a ISO 9001:2008 certification with SGS

and we have survived Audits by ESKOM, ALSTOM, SASOL and a third party audit with SGS in June 2012. What are the plans for the further development of the ISO system within the Gauteng Contracting division.

 

Implementing the quality management system at all sites,

this starts with the appointment of management representatives at each site who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the quality management system (QMS) on their respective sites. Once appointed all the management representatives have to be trained on the principals of ISO 9001:2008 and will be given an overview of the Southey’s Quality Manual as well as training and thorough insight into the relevant quality procedures. Implementation on site will then begin.

 

Access to the sharepoint server will be granted to all management representatives,

where the Quality Management System is stored electronically. Paper copies printed will only be valid for 14 days after printing to ensure all procedures are controlled and that the electronic copy is the only valid revision.

 

Internal quality auditors will be trained to perform internal quality audits on all Southey sites

to ensure a well implemented and maintained system. The findings from the internal audit reports will be used for continuous improvement. This gives site’s the opportunity of learning from each others strong point but also highlighting shortcomings and shortfalls in the quality management system as well as processes and work methods.

 

All of this is done to ensure that Southey Contracting meets contractual obligations,

exceeds customer expectations, creating a well trained skills base and being the preferred contractor that existing and future customers want to enter into contracts with.

 

TRAINING

We include news from the “Training Room” for the first time.

 

It is our mission to stay ahead of changing trends in contracting

by training our employees to be safe and smart on the job. It is of the utmost importance these workers are given all of the proper tools to do their job well and safely.

 

Southey Contracting has committed to training their employees

to be a more efficient and productive work force. This results in a better performing business which not only increases the quality of the employees’ contribution but also increases their own levels of confidence and self-esteem.

 

Southey Holdings (Pty) Ltd is a skills development levy (SDL) paying member of merSETA

(Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Seta). Why is that important? Once a year every levy- paying member can claim a percentage of the money spent on accredited training back through Mandatory Grants and therefore afford the member companies more money to spend on training. Any unclaimed money left at merSETA is then made available to their members for learnerships, apprenticeships or projects through Discretionary Grants. Southey Holdings (Pty) Ltd has just received their Mandatory Grant and as soon as the Discretionary Grant window opens, we shall apply for funding to implement more learnerships.

 

This will be the first year that we are implementing learnerships.

The first group of supervisors will start shortly. Learnerships will help us determine to what extent the training interventions impact on the bottom line of Southey Contracting.

 

Some of the training courses done to date:

 

  • Working at Heights
  • Confined Space
  • Legal Liability
  • SHE Rep
  • Supervisor Generic Training
  • Forklift Drivers
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Hoist Operators
  • Harness Inspectors
  • Asbestos Removal
  • TSP (Temporary Suspended Platforms)
  • Project Management
  • Stacking & Storage
  • First AID Level 1 & 2
  • Scaffold Erectors
  • Evacuation Warden
  • SWP (Safe Workplace Practice CHEVRON)
  • Fire fighting
  • Fire equipment Inspection

 

Kininonke basebenzi abasesayithini ningaphatheki kabi umaningabiyinxenye yalokuku qeqeshwa ngokushesha isikhathi senu siyeza.Thina siyi Southey Contracting siyakholwa kini basebenzi futhi siyanithemba yingakho sizimisele ukuninika ulwazi ngazozonke izindlela.

Kumbula ukuthi uma unolwazi oluningi yiyonadleal ozokwazi ukuzivikela ngayo.

Uma acabanga ukuthi ukufunda kuyabiza cabanga kahle ngempilo yakho.

 

GETTING TO KNOW OUR STAFF

We highlight some of the individuals who make up the staff of the Contracting Division who may not be known to you :

 

Alzeta Mate

 

Name :                                                           Alzeta Mate

Position :                                                       Clerk – Trichardt Office

Date Joined Southey :                                March 2006

Where Born:                                                 Mozambique

Married/Single:                                           Traditionally married

Favorite Food :                                             Pap & Wors

Person I would most like to meet :          Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

Things I dislike the most :                         Being Absent from Church on Sunday

and when someone tells lies.

Best TV Program :                                        Gospel Gold

Dream Holiday :                                           Cape Town – Century City

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Looking at Business :

A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours.

A crisis is when you cannot say “let’s just forget the whole thing.”

 

And Fishing :

Two friends rented a boat and fished in a dam every day. One day they

caught 30 fish. One guy says to his friend : “Mark this spot so that we can come back here again tomorrow.”

The next day, when they were driving to rent the boat, the same guy asked his friend, “Did you mark that spot?”

His friend replied, “Yeah, I put a big ‘X’ on the bottom of the boat.”

The first one said, “You stupid fool! What if we don’t get that same boat today!?!?”

 

And what some famous people have said :

Whenever I watch TV and see all of those starving kids all over the world I can’t help but cry. I mean I’d love to be skinny like that but not with all of those flies and death and stuff” – Mariah Carey – Singer.

 

Smoking kills. If you are killed you have lost a very important part of your life” – Brooke Shields – Actress.

 

I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers – We are the President” – Hillary Clinton – wife of the then President Bill Clinton.

 

China is a big country inhabited by many Chinese” – Former French President Charles de Gaulle