The Southey Sound – Edition 7 – February 2013

IN THIS EDITION…

 

Company News

  • Cape Division Celebrate in Style at their awards evening
  • Southeys dominate at the Corrosion Institute Project of the Year Awards

 

Project News

Innovative Solution applied to Rail Coach

 

Did You Know?

Southey information

 

Safety

Focus on Road Safety

 

Training

News from the Training Room

 

Quality

The role of Internal Audits

 

Southey Staff

Who work for us?

 

On the Lighter Side

 

 

SOUTHEY CAPE CELEBRATES IN STYLE

Southey Contracting Cape Town celebrated their annual awards dinner in grand style this year.

The event was held at the prestigious President Hotel in Sea Point, Cape Town.

Staff members stepped out in their finest on the day to witness the year’s awards. The Cape Town Management uses the annual dinner as a platform to acknowledge employees who have performed exceptionally well during the financial year and this year’s event was no different.

Mr. John Ryall, the Managing Director of the Cape division

took to the stage to honour those employees who stood above the rest during the 2011/2012 financial year

 

Abdul Hendricks (left) receiving his award from the Cape Managing Director Mr. J. Ryall

 

Trudy Kritzinger (right) receiving her award from the Cape Managing Director Mr. J. Ryall

 

During an extremely informative presentation,

the MD explained that the Cape division is divided into 8 clusters; among them the HP division, Scaffolding and Power Generation. Each of these divisions have experienced their high and low points over the years but a particular highlight this year was the award of a large HP maintenance contract at Sasol in Secunda.

He also singled out the departure of the offshore division to their own premises

as another very significant change for the Cape Town branch. However, through all change, both good & bad, he felt assured that the Cape Town branch would continue to grow from strength to strength.

He then went on to present numerous awards,

of which the recipients included Mr. Abdul Hendricks who received a “Long Service Award” in celebration of his 25th year as a Southey employee.

Some of the highlights on the night included the award for “Best Maintenance Contract”

being presented to Mr. Chrome Hunter for the second year in a row.

The highly contested and sought after MD’s award,

which was awarded to Mr. Morgan Lucas last year, went to Mr. Irvin Andrea for always going above and beyond the call of duty – even if it means a lonely trip to the dark & dreary Danielskuil.

The MD thanked everyone for their individual contribution to the success and growth of Southey Contracting Cape Town.

The exciting award ceremony was followed by a bit of light hearted fun as the guests took to the dance floor, with the DJ keeping everyone on their toes.

The event was labeled as a huge step forward

compared to previous events and was also hailed as one of the most enthusiastically organized events of the Cape division

 

AWARDS PRESENTED AT THE SOUTHEY CAPE ANNUAL AWRDS DINNER:

 

  • MOST WELL RUN CONTRACT AWRD

Kyle Nash; Danie Mathee; Ricardo Carolus

 

  • MOST DIFFICULT CONTRACT AWARD

Frikkie Kotze

 

  • CLIENT SATISFACTION AWARD

Billy Marais

  • YVES LE GORJUS CUP FOR ALL-ROUND EXCELLENCE

Sue O’Brien

  • ARCHIE McKINNON FLOATING TROPHY SITE SUPERVISOR WEST COAST

Harold Sass

  • THINKING OUT OF THE BOX AWARD

Vernon Worship

  • MD’s BEST EMPLOYEE AWARD

Chris Sebastian

  • EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – as voted for by staff

Keith Heagies

  • BEST ATTITUDE AWARD

Trevor Kolbee

  • EXCELLENCE IN SAFETY AWARD

Trudy Kritzinger

  • NO BULLSHIT AWARD

Wanda Brooks

  • CONTRACT MANAGER’S CHAMPION IN ADMIN SECTION AWARD

Rowaydah Khan

  • HP DIVISION CHAMPION AWARD

Francois van Eeden

SOUTHEY’S DOMINATE AT THE CORROSION INSTITUTE “PROJECT OF THE YEARAWARDS

The TSA Project undertaken by the Durban division scooped the Corrosion Institute “Project of the Year” award and the Gauteng division was also nominated for the same award.

 

Of the 5 submissions for the Corrosion Institute of South Africa Project of Year Award,

Southey Contracting had 2 projects in the final round. These projects were the TSA project undertaken by the Durban division and the NMPP Project (as featured in the last Southey Sound) undertaken by the Gauteng Division.

 

At the glittering awards ceremony of the South African Corrosion Institute

held at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, Southey Contracting Durban were named as the winners of the Project of the Year for their TSA (Thermal Sprayed Aluminium) project undertaken at the SAPREF refinery in Durban. There was a special recognition for the exceptionally high standard of not only the work done but also that of the submission which set a very high standard.

 

This is a brief recount of the project:

This TSA project for Sapref Refinery- Durban, was awarded to two contractors, with Southey being awarded the majority of the scope.

The project started of with Southey always being ahead of the scope,

so much so, that when the Metal Workers Strike took place we were able to assist SAPREF and continue with some urgent spools that the other contractor could not complete as their employees took part in the strike. We managed to do the extra work without it having any impact on our scope of work.

 

TSA being applied to small bore piping

 

We completed our part of the scope

and were then asked to mobilise additional crews and proceed into the plant to assist in surface prepping and TSA’ing the field welds.

Working in the process area of the refinery was a little bit more challenging,

as we were required to work at high levels and at various angles. We successfully completed the shutdown with No L.T.I’s, No M.T.C’s and not even 1 C.I.S entry filed against us.

This project was a great success for both Southey & SAPREF

as it was the first of its kind to take place in the Petro Chem Industry on such a scale.

 

TSA applied to a vessel during the SAPREF shutdown

 

We would just like to thank all staff members and crews who assisted in making this achievement possible.”

 

From the SAPREF Noticeboard!

 

The NMPP project, undertaken by Southey Contracting Gauteng,

completed at Heidelberg and highlighted in the last edition of the Southey Sound, was also a finalist in the competition. In summary, 8 Diesel/Petrol tanks and 2 Jet Fuel Tanks were entirely blasted and coated internally and externally. Once again, commendation was made of the high level of submission however, in this case, Southey Contracting KZN came out winners.

 

NMPP Tanks nearing completion

 

PROJECT NEWS

Innovative solution applied to Rail Coach for Aveng

 

In the latter part of 2012, Southey Gauteng was approached by the Rail division of Aveng

to re-coat a rail coach that they were converting for their own rail maintenance crews. Neither grit nor water blasting were permitted and Jimmy Sands and Kevin Slabbert embarked on a solution that saw the abundant use of a water based paint stripper.

 

The Aveng coach prior to commencement of work

This stripper was applied in the late afternoon

so that it had time to work in the relative cool of the night and then scrapped off first thing in the morning.

There were admittedly a number of “doubting Thomas’s”

however, they were soon proved wrong and the job went off exceptionally well.

 

Southey “strippers” in action

 

A special filtration material was laid under the work areas

so as to catch and filter out all of the paint materials which were then sent to a suitable certified toxic waste dump. Had the coach been grit blasted, the volume of toxic waste material would have been at least 1000 times greater and therefore, one of the unplanned benefits and outcomes of this ingenious process.

Once all of the previous coatings were removed and a very thorough wash undertaken,

a 2-coat epoxy system finished off with a coat of polyurethane was applied. The client is exceptionally happy with the process as well as the quality of the final product and the fact that he did not have to deal with the consequences of blasting in his yard.

 

The final product

 

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR COMPANY?

Did you know/latest news :

 

  • Southey Contracting Gauteng has started a floor coating business unit.

Headed up by Gary Hodgson, they are ready to prepare and apply a wide variety of epoxy and polyurethane coatings.

They have already successfully completed a project for Kraft Foods/Cadbury’s in Port Elizabeth and have some attractive projects lined up. We wish them the best of luck going forward and sincerely hope to hear some good things about this initiative.

 

  • As part of the Gauteng division’s Corporate and Social Responsibility Initiatives,

this new division was put to work immediately to rehabilitate the floors of the LEAP Science & Maths School in Linbro Park. More about this in the next edition of the Southey Sound.

For more about LEAP Science & Maths Schools go to www.leapschool.org.za.

 

  • Southey Gauteng

have unfortunately had to say goodbye to two long term employees.

In December 2012, Josephine Moloi, our receptionist left after 17 years of service. She has returned to her home to look after her 2 young children as well as concentrate on her studies towards her Commerce degree. We wish her the best of luck and thank her for her services.

 

Josephine Moloi

 

At the end of January 2013, Limba Khuselo bid farewell after 38 years and 9 months of dedicated contribution.

 

Limba Khuselo

 

Limba has worked at or been seconded to just about every branch of Southey Contracting at some point or other and this includes Zambia, DRC and Namibia.

During this time, he progressed from being a lagger to a Sheetmetal operator to Sheetmetal Worker and finally Workshop manager at the Linbro Park offices.

Unfortunately, the skills that Limba takes with him will be just about impossible to replace, however, we all wish him immense happiness and health in his well deserved retirement.

 

SAFETY

We focus on road safety:

 

As a company, we have a large fleet of vehicles

and these are driven the length and breadth of the Country. As a measure of our driver’s adherence to the rules of the road, we monitor the number of traffic fines that are accumulated by the various individuals and measure this against the distance travelled.

This “tool” was only introduced in 2011

and therefore the statistics are still being accumulated, however, there are some interesting and concerning trends being exposed.

Unfortunately there appears to be a number of repeat offenders

who it would appear, continually transgress the traffic laws and these individuals are seen as a significant threat to the organisation.

We are however also very fortunate to have exceptionally disciplined drivers

who have covered a huge number of kilometers without incurring traffic fines. We congratulate these members of staff, thank them and sincerely hope that their actions serve as a fine example to the others.

The death tolls on the South African roads

is something we as a country can not be proud of and therefore each employee of Southey has to make some difference in changing that very unfortunate statistic. We, as responsible and privileged employees, must show through our actions that we are doing something to reduce the deaths on our roads.

Traffic fines are very similar to “near miss” reports

and indicate, as “near miss” reports do, the trend towards accidents and unfortunately, if not controlled and addressed, fatalities. This we can not afford and we therefore need to ensure that our driving habits are within the law and that we too do not emulate the “lowest common denominator”.

How often do we criticize the driving style of the Taxis – yet we go and break the law by talking on our cell phone, not buckling up, speeding etc. There is no difference. If you break the law, you too are acting like the so call unlawful Taxi drivers.

For the record, Southey Gauteng achieved the following ‘fine-to-distance-travelled‘ results in 2011 :

55 fines for the 2 158 853 km travelled (0.25 fines/10 000km).

For 2012,

52 fines had been accumulated over the 2 259 022 km travelled (0.23 fines/10 000km).

This is an improvement over last years result

however, this is still far too high and needs further attention.

Whilst the above has focused on the drivers, the fact remains that a disproportionate number of pedestrians are killed.

This is mainly due to not being visible at night, crossing roads in an unsafe manner and walking too near to the road’s edge.

 

REMEMBER:

Buckle up

Do not talk on your cell phone whilst driving

Do not speed

Pedestrians must be visible at night

 

STOP PRESS!

Southey Contracting Gauteng have been recommended for 5-Star NOSA Grading after a recent audit. Well Done to Malcolm Mountford and his team!

 

QUALITY

Quality Management System education : 

 

Internal Audits

Southey Contracting has a Quality Procedure QP112 that covers Internal Quality Audits that states:

 

Audits shall be carried out periodically in a structured and objective way.

The audited party are given an opportunity to discuss the findings of the audit.

Prompt corrective action shall be taken to rectify any deficiencies which are discovered.

 

So what does this all really mean?

The Quality Manager, in conjunction with the Technical Director, plans and schedules internal quality audits for all of Southey Contracting’s sites.

An audit questionnaire is prepared

to ensure that all sites are audited to the same standard and that an objective picture of the level of implementation is obtained. The areas where non-conformances were observed presents opportunities for improvements that can be implemented at other Southey sites.

The audit results

are a reflection of the level of Southey complying with ISO 9001:2008 as well as the level of implementation of the quality management system and the associated procedures at the relevant site.

The quality manager conducts the audit

and if any non-conformance and noncompliance is found this is discussed with the relevant Contracts Manager and an audit report is issued on completion of the audit.

The Contracts Manager and his site staff rectify all the non- conformances

and implement corrective action to ensure that procedures are adhered to and systems are implemented. Follow up audits are conducted, ensuring that Southey’s quality management system is implemented, the quality policy is understood and that planned operations are carried out as stated in the Quality Manual and quality documentation.

Results of internal quality audits are discussed at the Management Review Meeting

and these results are an indication to top management on how well the quality system is implemented as well as giving confidence to management that operations are conducted as planned.

 

TRAINING

News from the ‘Training Room’

This year we are going to see some major changes in how we do training.

It is important that each employee realise that the training courses he/she attend – is an opportunity to better themselves as well as improving the method in which they perform their individual jobs and duties.

 

Uma uya ekhosini (ekuqeqesweni) yenza isiqiniseko sokuthi uzwisisa konke okufindiswayo.Uma kukhona ongakuzwisisi buza uthisha wakho akuqhazele kahle.Kufanele ukuthi usebenzise lokho okufundile emsebenzini wakho .Uma ubona omunye osebenza naye enza iphutha msize umbonise ukuthi kwenziwa kanjani .Uma sonke singasebenzisana i Southey Contracting ingaba yinkampani ephezulu emsebenzini wayo.

 

Not all training is hard work

Remember last year’s Industrial Theatre? It was fun, but it also brought to our attention the importance of wearing our PPE.

An appreciative audience of employees enjoy the 1st production of the Industrial Theatre production at Kendal Power Station

 

If any employee has ideas or suggestions

on how we can change the way we train to make it more effective, let the Training Manager – Ms. Sansie van Niekerk – know and we’ll see if it’s possible to implement.

Work safe, Learn well & work smart!!!

 

GETTING TO KNOW OUR STAFF

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

 

Catherine Pule                                 

 

Name:                                               Catherine Pule

Position:                                                Tate & Nicholson – Safety Officer/QC

Date Joined Southey:                         May 1997

Married/Single:                                   Single

Children:                                               Daughter – Tshepiso – Born 12 December 2012

Favorite Food:                                      Mutton Curry and Rice

Person I would most like to meet:    The Obama family

Things I dislike the most:                   Reptiles …..all of them.

Best TV Program:                                 X- Factor

Dream Holiday destination:               Mauritius

 

Andries Ntshangase                                            

 

Name:                                              Andries Ntshangase

Position:                                              Senior Supervisor

Date joined Southey:                         July 2006

Married to :                                         Zinhle with 2 children

Favorite food:                                     Chicken & Rice

Person I would most like to meet:  Mr Obama (USA President)

Things I dislike the most:                 Dishonesty

Best TV Program:                               Generations Dream Holiday destination: Malaysia

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Sally walked in to the Dentist office to make an appointment. “How much do you charge to pull out a tooth?” She asked.” “It’s R350.00″, was the prompt reply. “R350.00!” gasped Sally, that’s ridiculous! There must be a way for you to do it cheaper.” “Well,” said the Dentist thoughtfully, I suppose if we don’t numb it, we could knock off R150.00.” “Only R150.00?,” answered Sally, “that’s still R200.00, you’ve got to make it cheaper.” “Well,” said the Dentist after a long pause, “I suppose if we take it out with a pair of pliers we could knock it down to R100.00.”

 

“Perfect”, said Sally happily. “I would like to make an appointment for next Tuesday, for my husband Jack.”

*****************

Possibly the best blonde joke ever…

 

A plane is on its way to Cape Town when a blonde in Economy Class gets up and moves to the Business Class and sits down.

The flight attendant watches her do this and asks to see her ticket. She then tells the blonde passenger that she’s paid for Economy and that she will have to go and sit in the back.

The blonde replies “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful, I’m going to Cape Town…. and I’m staying right here!”

The flight attendant goes into the cockpit and tells the pilot and co-pilot that there is some blonde bimbo sitting in Business Class who belongs in Economy and won’t move back to her seat.

The pilot says, “You say she’s blonde? I’ll handle this, I’m married to a blonde, and I speak blonde!”

He goes back to the blonde, whispers in her ear, and she says “Oh, I’m so sorry- I had no idea,” and gets up and moves back to her seat in the economy section.

The flight attendant and co-pilot are amazed and asked him what he said to make her move without any fuss.

The Pilot replied….. “I told her First Class isn’t going to Cape Town”…