locality manager

leadership development program

senior technical consultant

senior field service engineer

recruiter

I was contracted to do all the quality management & control on this project, we were working to the prescribed project master schedule as specified in the contract. I had to ensure that all the quality, business processes and best practices were adhere to, with all its supporting documentation. ABB had to set up a document control system, implement a production facility to be able to manufacture these Solar Inverter Stations, Transformers & Main Ring Units locally.

New processes and procedures were implement, industrialized and production on the run. The team and I had to manage all the grey areas, we had to take and make quick and effective management decision that did not put these products, systems and the organisation at risk. 

I'm glad to say that this project that we (ABB) have implement was the biggest Solar plant in the Southern hemisphere and was done very successfully. It's location was in Prieska plant in the Northern Cape.

Should you want more information google it. This was also in the April /May 2016 Engineering News articles.

It was completed it within a year as prescribed in the contract and against all odds. 

Most enjoyable part was that I was part of a successful team and a job well done.

.

My key responsibilities are from Pre-contract; Contract and Post contract stage. In brief during the Pre-contract satge: Procurement and this include deciding on procurement strategies; Solicit tender offers; Evaluate tender offers and last award the contract. Contract stage: Administer contratcs in accordance with its terms & conditions within the agreed time frame; Manage formal governance of the contract which include change control, cost monitoring, payment procedures & approvals and management reporting. Post contract: Ensuring that what has been agreed upon is delivered to appropriate quality standards; Making sure that any defects has been rectified and a proper close out report is submitted to the Client and all the Guarantees or insurances returned to the Contractor or Consultant. 

Contracts Management/Administration, as opposed to the Project Management is solely focused around the protection of each party's rights under the Contract, and the maintenance of a fair and balanced position at all times through the progress of the project. Therefore, the importance of Contracts Administration to the success of the Contract, and to the relationship between the Contractor or Consultant and the Employer should not be underestimated. I liaise with Area Project Managers; Senior Project Engineers; Procurement Manager/ Superintendent; Contractors or Consultants.

.   Responsible for all Company, Eskom and GCD Inductions on site.
2.    Responsible for all medicals of Principal and Subcontractors on site.
3.    Compile of Safety Files for sites.
4.    Compile of WSWP for sites.
5.    Compile Baseline Risk Assessments for sites.
6.    Audit of all Subcontractors (9) SHE Files for sites and approval of SHE Files.
7.    Investigate all incidents and accidents on site with management.
8.    Responsible of all Safety Stats (Man hours, LTI Hours, Workforce totals, Incidents
       & Accident) to ESKOM and ABB Management.
9.    Checking of all Hot Work Permits on sites.
10.   Conducting all evacuation emergencies on sites.
11.   Issued of NCR’S (Safety Related) to Subcontractors on site.
12.   Checking and approval of all lifting equipment (Cranes, Slings, Shackles &
         Documentation).
13.   Conducting SOT’S and BBS on sites.
14.   Conducting soap tests on all Oxygen and Acetylene cylinders on site.
15.   Conducting Tool Box Talks on sites.
16.   Conducting Safety inspections on all equipment on sites.
17.   Monitoring the work of all Subcontractors to ensure safe working.
18.   Responsible of all Permits (Laptop, Vehicle and Access Permits) on sites.
19.   Implemented the necessary tools and procedures to manage on and off site waste.
20.   Waste recycle procedures were implemented as per Environmental requirements

A TYPICAL DAY AT WORK
The days are very busy, starting with a meeting most times and carry on with day to day operations. A lot of liaison with Engineers and Project Managers. Lots of internal communication via email, phone or in person.

WHAT I LEARNED
I started my finance career at ABB and for the 8 years I was there, I learnt so much starting from a debit and credit to working with all the accounting tools. I learnt how a business system work as I worked in business. I learnt leadership skills and I partook in a lot of inhouse courses like advanced excel, SAP superuser, Project Management.

MANAGEMENT
The management at ABB was bottom-up management. Employees contributed a lot to Management decision in a lot of ways and it was great to be part of most decisions.

WORK CULTURE
Relaxed work environment. Honest and integrity being the core.

THE HARDEST PART OF MY JOB
Working very long hours to get the work done and reports on time. I worked on a very high volume Business unit

BEST PART OF MY JOB
I enjoyed every bit of my job, taking decisions and making all necessary recommendations. Just taking charge of my area of work and being trusted enough to handle it all by myself and worked with a great team that made my job so easy and enjoyable

Overall I enjoy my job and function and enjoy the challenges that forms part of the position.
Plan daily work and schedule workshop activities, arrange team meeting, assit where administrators get stuck or liaise negotiate with customers for PO. coach, add technical input into dificult scenario. and overall empower the people to start taking owner ship and responsibility.

Ensure each one understands his part in the activities for the day.

The are also briefed on business processes and where they fit into the bigger business unit and what their impact is.

What I've learned if you do not empower people you will always be the one doing the work, make sure everyone is important in the group, their is no one that isnot part of the team process, instead of drilling management targets down to floor level, rather give them achievebale targets in the business which will allow you achieve the business targets required. Give them something they can acheive and grow on.

I had a good relationship with my co-workers at ABB
I Have learned a lot during my time at this company, I have learnt to work with other employees as team which made grow as employee and as individual. I learnt loading plan skill, leadership skill as well as communication skill. I have learnt the importance of time (Time Management) Always on time to whatever you do at work. and the Integrity is very important while dealing with customers. And concentration is vital to avoid careless mistakes.

What i enjoyed the most in there is a team work as well as cooperation from my co-workers. we always help each other to do our job in a very good way. whenever you stuck, other employees were always there to give a helping hand, even a manager can leave his office to help those who left behind with work

my most challenging aspects of the job is when i must offload truck in a rainy condition because the way in out warehouse was a steep hill so forklift doesn't function well in a slippery condition nevertheless i enjoyed myself at City Bee

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working at ABB was extremely beneficial in the sense  that i got to improve my maintenace skills, discovering new devices, learning something new every day. The enthusiasm of colleagues which creates a good working environment.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
the most stressful part would be to not correctly the job you've been assigned to, which will probably cost  alto to the company and have consequences on your career.


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environement muticultural, fun, focus. it's alwalys positive energy around.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I would first check for new client message in e-mail box, to see if there is a new request or if i can provide a particular help to custumer. Then i would be assisting , learning and supporting the engineer or the head maintenan officer.

Completes repairs and field service work (including
maintenance and commissioning) on ABB Instrumentation
(such as flow, level, positioners, pressure, temperature) at
all Process Control Industries customers throughout Sub-
Saharan Africa, under the supervision of a Senior Service
Engineer.
· Builds expertise on ABB Instrumentation and process
applications to efficiently find and resolve problems.
· Conduct site field work at various customer sites under the
supervision of a Senior Service Engineer.
· Manage various repair jobs and site service work with good
communication with both the customer and the Service
Manager.
· Complete repair and site service reports and assist the
Service Manager with accurate quotation information.
· Take ownership and responsibility from the moment a job is
allocated until it is fully completed and invoiced. This
includes follow-up for a customer order and delivery of the
product or site job.

ABB is a good company, good environment to work in. Since the company is bid, I had a lot of internal customers I had to serve. I learned a lot of things like how to relate to different people, of different levels of seniority. How to help people, communicate and receive and take feedback form them. It helped me understand what the meaning of the saying 'customer comes first', because all I use to do was to make sure that all my customers are happy with the quality of the service I provided to them.
The hardest part of the job was when the network or the server is down. I understood the urgency and criticality of the situation in a way that all the work was getting delayed, and the levels of frustrations increased amongst the people. Some would take out their anger on me. So I had to be patience and try to serve them as best as possible without changing face.

Project Management has no day limits. Problems in Engineering Projects are 24/7 and require immediate attention and reaction.
Learning never ends, but the most important is the positive attitude at all times and the appropriate corrective actions to problems (which never end, but can be predicted and avoided).The only Manager to a real Project Manger should be the Contract, signed by the Client. The co-workers actualy are the Recourses, which always need planning and guidance.The Project team is as strong as it's weekest Member.
The hardest part of the job is to convince the Customer what he needs - not what he wants.
The most enjoyable part is the signed Hand Over Certificate, accompanied by an Order for a next Project.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Locality manager 1 salary reported	R 550 per day
Leadership development program 2 salaries reported	R 350 per day
Senior technical consultant 1 salary reported	R 450 per day
Senior field service engineer 1 salary reported	R 350 per day
Recruiter 1 salary reported	R 675 per day

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