Kiln 2 upgrade complete
3
Brand buzz Awards
9
E-mail overload
18
Indaba
Edition 2/2006
Index
It is rewarding to reach the middle of the year and see progress on major projects.
Message A word from the MD. . .
2
Welcome Diane Worrall
2
For example, the upgrade of Kiln 2 at Dudfield was completed on schedule (page 3) and the building of a new aggregate crushing plant at Olifanstfontein is finally coming together after two years of difficulties (page 5).
Projects
At Dudfield, journalists had an eye-opening experience when they were taken on a tour of the plant during Open Media Day (page 12). The company had another platform to celebrate and promote its brand at the most prestigious event on the Holcim South Africa calendar – the Brand buzz Awards Ceremony. Turn to the centre spread (page 9 and 10) to see the brand heroes who were awarded R50 000 each.
Tip-offs Anonymous
We all know that Holcim South Africa is serious about fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, especially in the communities that host it and invest labour in its business. On page 13 read about an uplifting story of resilience of the Itsoseng community which benefits from the Tshimologo Trust. Straight after that we travel to Tanzania to assess progress on Tanga’s innovative technique of land rehabilitation (page 15). There are more interesting bits of news and views shared in this issue. Among them an editorial opinion piece on the misuse of e-mail. On page 2 we introduce you to a new member of the editorial team. Diane Worrall joins Corporate Communication as editor of Asiphephe and Indaba. We hope her stay will be rewarding.
1 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Kiln 2 upgrade project complete
3
Olifantsfontein crushing plant construction
5
New mobile crusher for Verulam
7
Our Business 8
Brand buzz Brand heroes receive cheques
9
Sustainable Development Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction
11
Events Journalists visit Dudfield
12
Community Development Tshimologo hydroponics project breakthrough
13
Environment Tanga’s innovative rehabilitation method
15
Editorial We want your ideas
17
Abuse of e-mail
18
Holcim People Global Holcim Awards gold winners
19
Nature reserve visit
19
Cover Amnalien Wagner puts the finishing touches to a section of the refurbished Kiln 2 at the Dudfield Cement Plant. See page 3 for the full story
Holcim Indaba Holcim (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd Corporate Communication P.O. Box 6367 Weltevreden Park 1715 Tel: (0)11 670 5598/5541 Fax: +27 (0)11 670 5787/5462 Editorial Committee Wandile Zote Diane Worrall Hanno Nieuwoudt Alan Cluett Lizanne Tessendorf Jenny Robertson
Message
A word from the MD… Slagment continues to perform exceptionally well. At Tanga the new coal mill is meeting all the expectations of efficiency and cost reduction. The Dudfield Kiln 2 upgrade project has been completed within the budget and Verulam has taken delivery of 200 tons of mobile crushing equipment.
Karl Meissner-Roloff
The early months of 2006 certainly proved to be a challenge. For a start, the welcome rains in the first quarter led to much lower than anticipated sales of cement, readymix and aggregate. In a way this was a blessing, as demand for our products is exceeding all expectations and the gap in the service expectation from Spoornet continues to widen. There were some factors that impacted negatively on our financial performance: the price war in Namibia against the Brazilian importers and the high maintenance costs resulting from a number of kiln maintenance shutdowns occurring at the same time. Operationally we can celebrate on a number of fronts.
Two major events took place in recent months. On 21 April 2006, the Brand buzz Awards Ceremony took place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, where the five Holcim South Africa brand heroes each received a cheque for R50 000 for their dedication to unique customer service. A few days later, in Bangkok, Holcim Limited recognised the winners of the first global Holcim Awards Competition for Sustainable Construction. Both these events underlined the fact that this exceptional organisation is staffed by special people. Although we do not have a BEE partner, there is ongoing focus on empowerment at Holcim South Africa. It was gratifying then that rating agency Empowerdex recognised our efforts on that front and awarded us a “B” rating, which, according to the DTI
New addition
scorecard, indicates a fairly broadbased empowerment contribution. In the months ahead we will again focus on the following critical factors: Operational Excellence High demand for our products will make it necessary for our production units and our logistics departments to operate at optimal capacity. The planning for the Roodepoort cement mill project will now enter its final stage. We will also embark on the first stages of a feasibility study for a possible expansion of our manufacturing capacity. Health and Safety The Asiphephe (“Let’s be safe”) project in South Africa and Usalama (“My safety is our safety”) project at Tanga continue to grow from strength to strength. It was gratifying to see from a recent survey that there is already strong internal support for these concepts and most employees are now eagerly awaiting the rollout of the action plans. This year continues to be marked by challenges, but I am optimistic that 2006 will turn out to be another great year for Holcim South Africa. Karl Meissner-Roloff Managing Director
Corporate Communication welcomes Diane Worrall, who joined Holcim South Africa on 1 June 2006 as Communication Specialist. Diane will report directly
to Wandile Zote, Senior Manager for Corporate Communication. She will be re-
sponsible for all internal communication programmes, including editing the current staff newsletters, Holcim Indaba and Asiphephe (Let’s be safe).
Holcim Indaba 2/06 2
Projects
Dudfield Kiln 2 upgrade project complete
New lease of life for DF2 Kiln Despite a number of challenges, the Dudfield Kiln 2 upgrade project has been completed on schedule.
This success is largely due to the dedication and hard work of the project team.
The present boom in the construction industry has resulted in
Holcim South Africa having to reevaluate its plans of decommission-
ing the ageing DF2 Kiln at the Dudfield plant. The company decided
instead to modernise and upgrade
the plant in order to get another 10 years of production from the kiln.
The project consisted of two major
phases; namely, the construction of
mechanical and electrical systems in the existing plant. The second phase had to be done during a kiln shutdown, which resulted in huge financial losses. As a result, the schedule for this phase was set at a tight 14 weeks, with completion on 8 May 2006. Civil work on the new bag house commenced in April 2005, and was
a new bag plant in order to bring
soon followed by the structural
leading standards and the sec-
which is substantially larger than
modernisation of the refractories,
Kiln 3 Project.
the kiln’s emissions down to world
construction of the bag house,
ond phase was the upgrade and
the one previously built during the
While the bag house construction was underway, the manufacture
and delivery of the new ducting and structures were done to coincide
with the three-month shutdown starting in February 2006. These
deliveries exceeded 500 tons of
steelwork, and some duct sections were over 8 metres in diameter.
Once the shutdown started, the con-
struction site became a hive of activ-
ity. The project team had to deal with
35 different contractor companies and 700 individual contract workers, in addition to the Holcim South Africa personnel.
This is the newly upgraded Kiln 2 at Dudfield. It will improve plant efficiency as well as reduce emission to reach global standards
3 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Projects
Other challenges included record
The largest duct sections were
rainfall that persisted the entire
8 metres in diameter.
the project within the given budget,
There were 14 mobile cranes on
injury during the entire project.
three months of the shutdown. Some of the heavy lifts exceeded 30 tons of steel and had to be lifted a height of 50 metres, and extensive scaffolding covered the entire site, with scaffold towers as high as 70 metres. The following statistics give some idea of the scope of the project 800 tons of steelwork had to be demolished. Close to 1 000 tons of new steel and plate-work was built.
site, with the largest being 225 tons. The total project team peaked at 750 people. The total man-hours worked was 650 000. The total investment by Holcim
The team also managed to complete and only suffered one lost time
This achievement is by no means an indication of an easy project, as the team had to deal with numer-
ous problems throughout the assignment. It is rather a testament to
the excellent people working for the
Holcim South Africa Dudfield plant.
South Africa was over R200 million. Due to the dedication of the team the refurbished kiln and new bag house were started on 8 May 2006 – exactly on schedule.
Infobox
Sarel Rossouw
DF2 Project Manager Tel: (011) 670 5605
sarel.rossouw@holcim.com
Holcim Indaba 2/06 4
Dudfield Kiln 2 near Lichtenburg. The company has spent over R200 million to upgrade it
Projects
Olifantsfontein aggregate crushing plant is on track
Project begins to shape up The Olifantsfontein aggregate crushing plant has presented many challenges, but Holcim South Africa is forging ahead on this great investment.
When the Board approved the
(HARM) a chance to pat itself
bers’ faces. Even so, HARM
ing plant at Olifantsfontein in
first significant Capex to be ap-
our to see the assignment to
construction of a new crush-
2004, it was cause for celebration. This was clearly a wise in-
on the back, as this became the proved in HARM in a long time.
vestment because work on the
The
than 30 years old, was becoming
than initially anticipated and
existing plant, which is more
increasingly difficult. The nod
from the Board also gave Holcim Aggregate
and
The new primary crushing structure at Olifantsfontein
5 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Readymix
project
has,
however,
proved to be more complicated
this is clear from the signs of stress and sleep deprivation
on the project team mem-
has persevered in its endeavfruition. In that spirit, this is a review of the project to en-
sure that we don’t lose sight
of the mission. Once the plant is
commissioned
and
fully
operational, the benefits will outweigh the pain of the con-
struction period.
Projects
Why the new plant?
Construction work at the sand and secondary sections
The existing plant is old and has
been altered and added to many
times. In places structural integrity has been severely compromised
due to corrosion, metal fatigue and concrete degradation. The current plant configuration is inefficient, with double handling also
contributing to product consistency problems. It is not economical to
repair or refurbish the existing
plant, as this would only be a shortterm solution. Objectives The first objective is to comfortably meet the sales volumes of all
aggregate products. At the heart of the new plant is a 30x42 Telsmith
jaw crusher rated at 450t/h at a
closed side setting of 175mm. The plant is designed to operate a sin-
gle 9-hour shift at 72% efficiency, while still meeting the required production throughput.
Another important factor is to
maximise the production of the
high-volume and high-value prod-
ucts such as the metallurgical stone, 19mm concrete stone, 5mm
super-sand and 3mm washed sand. The new plant will increase the
yield of the low silica from 25% to approximately 45% for each ton fed at the primary section. This is
mainly due to the installation of a
Kawasaki 1 350 cone crusher in the secondary section.
The Telsmith 52 H cone crusher and
the two Hazemag APKV 1010 hori-
zontal impactors were selected for
created a lot of excitement. To pre-
the tertiary section. They will allow
pare for this eventuality, the plant
aggregate products.
a ballast section. A radial stack-
maximum production of the finer
The reduction of waste from the
quarry is another important goal. At present the operation mines approximately 1.3tons for each ton of aggregate
produced.
Stripping
overburden as well as magnesium
wad and clay intrusions in the
quarry is the main reason for this
design allows for the addition of
ing conveyor has been included to provide maximum sand storage
capacity as well as ensure consistent sand quality. Provision has also been made for the recycling of all
material, thus allowing further flexibility.
The team has provided for a decen-
high ratio. The new plant has been
tralised electrical reticulation sys-
grizzly feeder to reclaim a portion
age cables will be run to the point
ally dumped. The mining factor is
used to transform to low voltage.
designed with a scalping vibrating
of the contaminated material usu-
thus reduced from 1.3 to approximately 1.15.
Special features The demand for products can al-
most change overnight. So, to make
the plant as flexible as possible, it was designed to accommodate
bigger crushers in both the prima-
ry and secondary crushing sections. Talks of the Gautrain Project also
tem. This means that medium volt-
of use where transformers will be
The electrical system also provides for an advanced control system based on the Siemens PCS7, which
will give the operator control over every aspect of the plant. Infobox
Hendrik Visser
Area Engineer: Aggregates Gauteng Tel: (011) 670 5662
hendrik.visser@holcim.com
Holcim Indaba 2/06 6
Projects
First mobile crushing equipment owned by Holcim South Africa arrives at quarry
New acquisition for Verulam It is predicted that the mobile crusher, which has special features, will easily meet the demand for aggregate on the North Coast, which has increased tremendously in the past few years.
The most important feature for
Glyn Lewis (back to camera) supervises the first stone through the new mobile jaw crusher
HARM is that all units are track mounted, which makes relocation easier and faster.
With a rated capacity of 190 tons an hour in the aggregate mode, it
is realistic to assume that the mo-
bile crusher will easily meet the market demand at Verulam and KZN in general.
To ensure that Holcim South Africa
delivers the best possible service, the company sent Sagie JaganaikuA 200 ton mobile crusher has ar-
Verulam operation is able to pro-
team can’t wait to put the ma-
a year. Based on the market fore-
rived at Verulam Quarry – and the chine to the test.
This is the first mobile crush-
ing equipment owned by Holcim South Africa and it is expected to
supplement the current capacity available at Verulam Quarry.
Mobile crushers are a common site
at many of our quarries, but they are generally owned and operated
by third parties, who provide the service at a significant cost.
duce in the region of 400 000 tons cast, the quarry will have to sup-
ply in excess of 460 000 tons this
year, potentially increasing to more
Beer to Metso in Finland for practi-
cal training on the appropriate use of the equipment. All agree that
they have benefited from the experience.
than 900 000 tons during the con-
Now that the mobile crusher has
Shaka airport.
ing has been completed, it is all
The mobile plant consists of four
will have to contain its excitement
struction of the long-awaited King
separate units, each supplied by
Metso Minerals. What is inter-
esting is that equipment may be
interchanged in order to arrive at
optimal outputs. Another impres-
This crusher has arrived at an
sive feature is that all units are
aggregate on the North Coast
them to “communicate” with one
the past few years. The current
taneous adjustments to feed rates.
opportune time as demand for
linked electronically, which allows
has increased tremendously in
another and thereby make instan-
7 Holcim Indaba 2/06
lu, Lance Du Plooy and Pieter De
arrived and the practical trainsystems go at Verulam. The team for now, though, and wait for the
commissioning process to be con-
cluded.
Infobox
Alex Hall
General Manager – KZN Tel: (011) 460 9006
alex.hall@holcim.com
Our Business
Did you know...?
Did you know?
More than 30% of all business
failures in South Africa are caused by commercial crime. Did you know?
Approximately 40 000 cases of
commercial crime are reported
every year in South Africa. Com-
mercial crime costs the country up to R80 billion a year. This does not
include the cost of legislation in an effort to combat the crime.
Did you know?
Did you know?
crime, the deeds committed are
When
committing
commercial
Of the 40 000 cases 75% are
non-violent and the victim is tar-
committed by employees.
geted for financial gain.
Did you know?
Did you know?
13 tip-off reports have been generated from these contacts. 6 of these reports have related to criminal issues. 7 of these reports have related to HR issues.
The majority of fraud cases in
Holcim South Africa has received
employees of small to medium-
Anonymous line from 15 May
South Africa stem from theft by
41 contacts on the Tip-offs
sized businesses.
2005 to 15 May 2006:
Trust us – Talk to us – Contact Tip-offs Anonymous: 080 000 4829 or holcim@tip-offs.com
All these great things just collecting dust. “Hello Tip-offs, I’d like to report...”
...hey, look at all this stuff. I haven’t seen anyone going into this storeroom for months. Bet no-one will miss anything either!
The removal of any company property is against the law and can result in criminal prosecution.
Help us beat workplace dishonesty, theft, fraud and corruption. Don’t support it - report it!
Holcim Indaba 2/06 8
Brand buzz
Premium people for a premium brand More than 160 guests attended the Brand buzz Awards Ceremony on April 21 at the Sandton Convention Centre to recognise the efforts of our brand champions in promoting Holcim South Africa. In welcoming the guests, Charles Naude stressed that a premium brand is made up of premium people: “people who can make or break a customer’s experience with us”. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of a cheque for R50 000 to each of the five brand heroes. After a year of hard work and planning, the Brand buzz programme culminated in the much-anticipated Awards Ceremony. The senior management team, Brand buzz facilitators and 92 brand hero monthly winners attended the Brand buzz Awards Ceremony held in April to find out first hand who the top brand heroes would be.
Great entertainment was provided by
Karin Kortjé, South Africa’s third Idols competition winner, but the moment that everyone had been waiting for was the announcement of the five winners who would be receiving R50 000 each. As said by Managing Director Karl Meissner-Roloff: “I have been both stunned and
2
1
1. Karin Kortjé in full song 2. Des Eriksen – master of ceremonies for the evening 3. Charles Naude delivers his welcome address 4. The Gauteng Readymix team 5. The KwaZulu-Natal team 6. The Gauteng Aggregates team 7. The Cape team 8. The HR team
4
7
6
9 Holcim Indaba 2/06
humbled by the exceptional effort that employees give to this company. Reflection on your actions as I travel to work motivates me each and every day to drive the future success of Holcim South Africa for all stakeholders but specifically for you, our employees”.
3
5
8
Brand buzz
Congratulations to the deserving winners Holcim South Africa Managing Director Karl Meissner-Roloff presented the ďŹ ve winners with their R50 000 cheques. 9. Mysi Mpeta from Lesotho 10. Solomon Motau from Aggregates Gauteng 11. George Hesse from Aggregates Gauteng 12. Moses Rasemane from DudďŹ eld 13. Esme Majiedt from Namibia
9
10
11
12
13
Holcim Indaba 2/06 10
Sustainable Development
Venezuela and Germany take gold at the global Holcim Awards ceremony
SA misses out on big prize There were two first-prize winners at the global Holcim Awards ceremony for Sustainable Construction held in Thailand. Unfortunately Morocco and South Africa, who won in the regional finals, were not among the victors.
Members of the South African delegation at the global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction ceremony held in Bangkok, Thailand, in April. The group includes the teams representing the two South African finalists
At a glittering banquet held at
Morocco were victorious at the
the Bangkok Shangri-La Hotel,
first global awards held in April.
ted from 118 countries, which had
waited in anticipation as the
Instead Venezuela and Germany
international
results of the Holcim Awards
both took gold and their share
Competition
Sustainable
of $1 million (about R7 million
Construction were announced.
split proportionally in terms of
in Thailand in April, 15 teams
for
final ranking) in prize money Two out of the 15 finalists
for an urban integration project
were from South Africa (the
and a new main railway station,
Africa Middle East silver and
respectively. Silver went to Italy.
bronze
winners,
respectively). Karl Meissner-Roloff, MD of Hol-
Morocco took gold during the
cim South Africa, said although
regional final held in October
he wished South Africa had
2005 at the Sandton Conven-
won; he was not disappoint-
tion Centre, Johannesburg, for
ed with the overall outcome.
a design project for an artisan training centre. Unfortu-
“This in itself is a massive achieve-
nately neither South Africa nor
ment, considering that there
11 Holcim Indaba 2/06
were some 1 500 entries submit-
to be selectively assessed by the judging
panels”.
The competition was launched by the Holcim Foundation in the last
quarter of 2004. It aims to rec-
ognise and reward professional excellence in projects that have
to do with sustainable construc-
tion – irrespective of scale – in architecture, landscape and urban
design, civil and mechanical engi-
neering and related disciplines. Infobox Alastair Currie Editor of Construction World Tel: (011) 622 4770 constr@crown.co.za
Events
Open Media Day cements relationship between Holcim South Africa and journalists
Media has a Dudfield day The Corporate Communication Department played host to more than 20 mainstream and trade journalists
during Open Media Day at Dudfield.
When the media was invited to visit the Dudfield cement plant
who is also the acting General
recently, it was in an effort to
ceived them. After a brief presen-
tween Holcim South Africa and
off to a plant tour. It left most of
improve the relationship be-
the local journalists who cover
the issues in the cement industry on a regular basis.
“We felt it was necessary to invite the media on this edu-
tation by Karl and Stephan, it was the media contingent amazed at
the sheer size of the operation, not to mention the very compli-
cated and technical process of making cement.
cational tour to help improve
Even experienced industry jour-
ment production process,” said
Business Day and Nicola Mawson
their understanding of the ceKarl Meissner-Roloff, Managing
nalists like Carli Lourens of
of Engineering News were im-
Director. “It’s often very easy
pressed by the idea of an Open
they make mistakes in the way
their appreciation to Holcim
to criticise the media when they report about Holcim South Africa and the industry in gener-
al, but instead we have decided to engage them in a constructive way,” he added.
The media converged at the head office of Holcim South Africa on 23
May 2006 as early as six o’clock in the morning in preparation for the three-hour drive from Johan-
nesburg to Lichtenburg, North West Province, where the Dud-
field plant is situated.
Upon arrival, Cement Opera-
tions Director, Stephan Olivier,
After a brief presentation, the journalists were taken on a plant tour, which left many amazed at the sheer size and extent of the operation
Manager for Dudfield, warmly re-
Media Day and they expressed South Africa for inviting the me-
dia to share their knowledge and expertise.
“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all my colleagues who contributed to making this
day the huge success that it was,” said Karl. Infobox
Wandile Zote
Senior Manager: Corporate Communication
Tel: (011) 670 5598
wandile.zote@holcim.com
Holcim Indaba 2/06 12
Community Development
Community project triumphs in the face of disaster
Reaping what they sowed When disaster struck about eight months ago, participants in the Tshimologo hydroponics project thought they
would have to abandon their work. Instead they pulled together to make their project a success, and today they run a commercially viable project. The Tshimologo hydroponics project sells its produce to a supermarket chain in Lichtenburg
After two-and-a-half years of toil, the Tshimologo hydroponics project
– run by township members of
Itsoseng, near Lichtenburg in the
North West Province – is finally realising profit from its labour.
The community based project, which
Holcim
South
Africa
sponsors, was launched to create jobs for residents. When the project
was officially launched in late 2003 it consisted of 15 participants, all
drawn from the township. They had no prior knowledge of hydroponics
tunnel production (the cultivation
of plants in nutrient solution rather than in soil). All they possessed was a commitment to hard work
and the belief that they would be successful.
That is the determination that has
seen the project to fruition. That is
not to say, however, that there have not been hurdles along the way.
Disaster struck during September last year when the tunnels where the tomatoes are grown were blown away in a wind storm, leaving
behind only the steel and pipe skeletons. To add to this, as a result
of the severe drought at the time, birds invaded the area and started
feeding on the seeds in the ground
13 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Community Development The project involves more than just learning how to grow tomatoes. It has equipped the participants with life skills
and the young plants in the open areas outside and in between the
tunnels. As if that was not enough, water provision to the Itsoseng area was interrupted for more than
two weeks and after that, breaks in water supply occurred regularly.
The morale of the participants
reached an absolute low when the project manager resigned, at
which point the group seriously
considered abandoning the project. A meeting was arranged with all the stakeholders and a decision was taken to carry on and to turn
the project around before the end of March 2006. Everybody involved in the project put shoulder to the
members who have joined in the
other stakeholders to assist the
have received in-depth training in
South Africa, which draws a lot
past year. The new participants
community of Itsoseng.
project and financial management.
of labour from this community,
came to the rescue. They repaired
Aubrey Makgale, the project leader
the trust. With regard to the
the structures. They also provided
the project involved more than just
to the participants for a year. The
He said the participants were
that feed the plants. Nets were put
conflict resolution. “This project
the birds and to protect the young
hopelessness and worthlessness.
“For the community of Itsoseng
drought was broken by welcome
much more than just the income”.
Mpai Rampou, the initiator of the
wheel to make this happen.
Dicla Farms, who erected the tunnels the first time, immediately
the tunnels and strengthened
and one of the beneficiaries, said
monthly training and mentoring
learning how to grow tomatoes.
municipality filled the water tanks
equipped with life skills, such as
up in the open areas to keep out
has taken us out of a situation of
plants. In January this year the
What we get from this project is
rains and the tomato plants in the tunnels grew vigorously and
the project began harvesting the first crop during February. The vegetables in the open areas also
grew well because of the rain. By February, not only did the project
have a new manager, but a contract
had been signed with a large
supermarket chain in Lichtenburg
Looking at the tunnels now, the bumper crop and the happy faces
of the project participants, one can hardly believe that it is a mere
eight months ago that people
were almost ready to give up. This proves what dedication, hard
work, commitment and a spirit of determination can achieve.
Holcim South Africa plays its part
The project is now a viable
The
commercial enterprise, in which
people are actually making profit. There have been more community
project
the
registration
of
hydroponics project, the company sponsored the building of the
tunnels and contributed money
by paying Skills for Africa to provide training on how to grow vegetables.
this project means a lot,” said
project and chairperson of the trust. “It shows that Holcim South Africa
is serious about getting involved
in the communities around its operations. It also means a lot to the young people working on the
project because it gives them hope for the future”. Infobox
for the supply of tomatoes.
hydroponics
facilitated
Holcim
was
made possible by the Tshimologo Community Trust which was set
up by Holcim South Africa and
Linah Joubert
Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant
Tel: (011) 345 6480
linahjoubert@mweb.co.za
Holcim Indaba 2/06 14
Environment
Tanga gives back to community
Inspection shows progress on mine rehabilitations Tanga Cement’s new mining technique of concurrent rehabilitation confirms the Tanzanian company’s commitment to land restoration. Following
an
environmental
inspection in May 2005 at Holili 1, Tanzania, a management decision
was taken to rehabilitate mine workings left behind by a local
mining contractor working on behalf of Tanga Cement. At the same time it was agreed to introduce
new mining methodology at the existing Holili 2 mine that would allow for the introduction of concurrent rehabilitation.
A site inspection of both sites on
27 May 2006 confirmed the success
of these projects. The progress to date is commendable and is a tribute
to the determination and innovation of Mining Projects Manager Gilbert Ngallo and his team.
Progress report
Holili 1 – Landscaping and topsoiling
has
been
completed,
resulting in a landform that is
both safe and consistent with the local village requirement for a site suitable for the construction of new council offices and a clinic.
Holili 2 – Concurrent rehabilitation
has progressed so well that it is envisaged that by the time the mine closes in July – when the last
truck load of pozzolana leaves the site – all rehabilitation, save for the watering of the newly planted trees and grass, will be completed.
Again the community will be left
with a landform that will be both
self-sustaining as well as usable for a number of community based
uses. To finalise the project, and as
a component of its Corporate Social Involvement programme, Tanga Cement has financed a pipeline
connection to the regional water supply. It will allow local residents
convenient access to drinking water while also allowing for the initial
watering of trees and grass to be planted on both Holili 1 and 2 sites in completion of the rehabilitation programme. Infobox
Alan Cluett
Environmental Consultant Tel: 011 670 5614
alan.cluett@holcim.com
Holili 1 in May 2005 with vertical mine faces and a local dwelling and Holili 1 in May 2006 with sloped and safe faces ready for tree and grass children in the background planting. The foreground will be used to construct village offices
15 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Editorial
Holcim Indaba editorial committee
Share your ideas with us Do you know of a story or event that you feel may be of interest to other employees? If so, you can contact any of the members of the editorial committee and they will be on hand to discuss your idea and will be able to guide you on how to go about submitting an article. We look forward to hearing from you!
Wandile Zote Tel: (011) 670 5598 wandile.zote@holcim.com
Alan Cluett Tel: (011) 670 5614 alan.cluett@holcim.com
Hanno Nieuwoudt Tel: (011) 670 5601 hanno.nieuwoudt@holcim.com
Diane Worrall Tel: (011) 670 5541 diane.worrall@holcim.com
Lizanne Tessendorf Tel: (021) 659 3100 lizanne.tessendorf@holcim.com
Jenny Robertson Tel: (031) 460 9000 jenny.robertson@holcim.com
Holcim Indaba 2/06 16
Editorial
We want your ideas, opinions and feedback Holcim Indaba invites you to send in your ideas, opinions and feedback. In the “Letters to the editor� section,
we will publish letters we receive from the readers. This is your chance to share with us anything that relates to Holcim South Africa that you feel will be of interest to our readers.
The Holcim Indaba editorial team has designed this section with
you, the reader, in mind. So make
your opinion count and send us an e-mail, fax or letter.
Please write to us at: E-mail: zafcommunications@holcim.com
Fax:
Holcim Indaba on the Intranet
Post:
the electronic version is available
As soon as Holcim Indaba is printed,
(011) 670-5462
on the Intranet.
PO Box 6367
Weltevreden Park 1715
Previous editions are available
* Letters will only be published with
and hard copies from Corporate
the consent of the author.
New Order Mining Rights Project
17 Holcim Indaba 2/06
Communication.
2
Holcim Awards
3
Towards HR Excellence
13
Indaba Find the latest edition of Holcim Indaba on the homepage of the Intranet
electronically on the Intranet
Edition 4/2005
Editorial
Find more effective ways to get your colleagues’ attention than using e-mail
Lost on the information superhighway A lot of people do not know how to use e-mail effectively. As a recent communication survey indicates, maybe it is time we start talking face-to-face or picking up the phone. Information overload is becoming a
real problem for some, if not most,
employees at Holcim South Africa,
thanks to the excessive use – or is it abuse – of e-mail. This is rather
ironic, considering that in the recent communication survey, most
employees cited e-mail as one of
their least preferred forms of communication – second only to the
Intranet as the worst performing internal communication channel.
This information overload provides a
challenge to the internal communication team, which is trying to make
its messages heard among the noise and electronic chatter that is today’s digital mobile workplace.
In a short space of time e-mail has become one of our most prevalent
business communication tools, but
few of us know how to use it effectively.
The problem is significantly worse for employees who have been out of the office or who travel without
a BlackBerry or mobile phone with
access to e-mail. Even after post-
often than not, information is ignored or misinterpreted purely because of the information overload. Where does this leave internal communication? As any newspaper editor will tell you, there is a five-second window of opportunity for a headline to get a reader’s attention. Unless you can attract the attention of the intended recipient of your e-mail in those seconds there’s a significant danger that your email will be ignored or, worse still, fall victim to a speed-read and then sent to the recycling bin.
ing an “out of office” auto-reply, the
The question we ought to ask our-
sorted out and, if necessary, acted
munication stands out from the
number of e-mails that need to be
selves is whether internal com-
upon can be frightening. More
myriad of communication that em-
ployees receive everyday, and if not what can we do. One of the findings of our recent communication survey is that employees want more direct and faceto-face corporate information. So, the next time you think of sending someone an e-mail think twice, as it may end up in the recycling bin. Rather pick up the phone – that’s the most effective way of communication and it’s still the most preferred at Holcim South Africa. Infobox Wandile Zote Senior Manager: Corporate Communication Tel: (011) 670 5598 wandile.zote@holcim.com
Holcim Indaba 2/06 18
Holcim People
Global Holcim Awards gold winners Germany and Venezuela came out tops out of 15 finalists at the global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction ceremony held in Thailand in April. Two South African teams were among the contenders.
Venezuela’s Maria Inés Pocaterra, Victor Eduardo Gastier, Silvia Soonets, Isabel Cecilia Pocaterra won for a project to upgrade and integrate urban infrastructure in the shantytown of San Rafael-Unido in Caracas
Peter Pistorius, Christoph Ingenhoven and Heinrich Schumacher also became gold recipients for their technically innovative design for a new main railway station in Stuttgart, Germany
Clara Anna Fontein visit For the past 10 years Holcim South Africa has been teaching the learners from Vissershok Primary School about environmental issues. This year the company decided to send the school to the Clara Anna Fontein nature reserve near the Peninsula Quarry.
Pupils from Vissershok Primary School with their teacher at the nature reserve where they ended a day of fun by playing soccer
19 Holcim Indaba 2/06
The students went on a game drive to learn more about the area’s fauna and flora