AECI Creates Chemistry with Future Talent
Celebrating our safety successes
Service with a smile
ALL ABOARD 1st Issue 2017 I Ethics Line: 0800 205 280
Editor’s Note Dear Colleagues
Image sketched by AEL’s Mbuyiseni Thwala
As we progress towards the second half of 2017, let us celebrate some of the successes we have already achieved at work and at play. Our AEL family is renowned for leading by example and inspiring team effort through alignment to our BIGGER values of BOLD, INNOVATIVE, GOING GREEN and RESPONSIBLE. Let us take a look at some of the highlights in this issue: In our AEL Paying it Forward section, we display our commitment to acting responsibly through providing much needed resources such as AECI Burkina Faso and Bissa Gold’s jointly sponsored, fully operational borehole to local communities living in close proximity to Bissa Gold Mine.
Contents 3
AEL Paying it Forward: AECI Burkina Faso in partnership
with Bissa Gold Mine create an oasis in the desert
4
AEL Knowledge Sharing: AECI creates chemistry with
future talent at University of Stellenbosch
5
AEL in the Field: AEL’s Simon Tose, Global Mining
Optimisation Manager elected as Chairperson of
the Institute of Quarrying
5
AEL in the Field: AEL knowledge transfer at the Institute
of Quarrying (IOQ) conference
6
Movers and Shakers: Service with a smile
8
AEL Safety: AEL implements Vehicle Safety Drive
Campaign “Arrive Alive”
8
AEL Safety: Celebrating our safety successes!
9
AEL Human Capital: Khula Nathi – Grow with us!
10
AEL Family: Reveal of AEL Football Club’s new soccer kit
10
AEL Family: Babies on Board
10
AEL Family: Farewell
10
AEL Family: Wedded Bliss
10
AEL Family: Wayne’s Word
The Movers and Shakers section, turns the spotlight onto vibrant, Zandile Qwabe, Acting Customer Services Manager, a sterling example of our company values of innovative and engaged, who will share her AEL journey with us. Under our AEL in the Field section, we celebrate our innovative edge through our remarkable achievements at the recent Institute of Quarrying Conference. Here, our Global Mining Optimisation, Simon Tose was appointed as Chairperson of the IOQ and Jacqueline Raputsoe successfully presented a paper on Initiating System Conversion. Safety remains one of our priorities globally. Through our strong focus on safety, we continue to encourage all employees to always keep their safety switches on. In our AEL Safety section, we commend our North West Africa team for their phenomenal safety achievement. Finally, in our AEL Family section, we congratulate newlyweds, bid farewell to dedicated retirees and welcome on board our newest AEL babies. Executive Director SADC, Wayne Du Chenne rounds off this section with another wise fragment! We would like to hear from you! Please submit your stories for the next issue by emailing eubulus.pillay@aelms.com. Enjoy your read!
Eubulus Cover image: Zandile Qwabe
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Contact Details: Eubulus Pillay - All Aboard Editor I Tel: +27 11 606 0313 I Fax: +27 11 605 0000 I eubulus.pillay@aelms.com I www. aelminingservices.com
All Aboard © AEL Mining Services
PAYING IT FORWARD
AECI Burkina Faso in partnership with Bissa Gold Mine create an oasis in the desert by Salimata S. Kone the excellent partnership between the two companies to further enhance the vision of community development. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate AEL for this action on behalf of the management of Bissa Gold and extend our best wishes for continued success in 2017,” he concluded.
Salimata S. Kone, Human Capital Manager (AECI Burkina Faso)
AECI prides itself in making impactful contributions to the communities where we operate.
The community members utilising the newly installed borehole
AECI Burkina Faso, in partnership with Bissa Gold have recently donated a fully operational high flow, drinking water borehole of six cubic meters (6m3) capacity to neighbouring communities in close proximity to Bissa Gold Mine. The Bissa Gold environment is an area where drinking water is scarce. This donation, has tangibly contributed to the well-being of a total of 369 persons who now have access to clean drinking water.
Members of the local community alongside AECI Burkina Faso employees before the installation of the borehole containment boundary wall
Assistant Managing Director of Bissa Gold, Christian Félix Ouedraogo, expressed his delight at the collaborative effort of AEL and Bissa Gold in furthering the initiative together with local authorities to reduce the difficulty of communities in accessing clean drinking water. “The project was initiated in 2016 which consisted of the realization of 7 additional drilling projects to benefit the communities bordering the mine. This achievement is an indication of
1st Issue 2017
Me Koné Salimata, AEL Human Capital Manager and Conrad Norgbey, AEL Operations Manager, represented AEL at the handing over of the borehole
El Hadji SANFO La mine, on behalf of the communities, expressed his gratitude to both AECI and BISSA GOLD for their great contribution to the well-being of the local communities
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AEL KNOWLEDGE SHARING
AECI Creates Chemistry with Future Talent
On 25 February 2017, AECI participated at the University of Stellenbosch Student Open Day to promote bursary opportunities within the Group as part of a drive to attract the best talent in the country. The Open Day was attended by high school learners from Grade 10 – 12 who traveled from surrounding areas in Stellenbosch. Impressive to see was the level of the learner’s interest in engineering fields including Chemical, Mining, Mechanical, Mechatronics and Electrical Engineering. The learners were accompanied by their parents and school teachers who played a key role in ensuring the learners engaged with AECI representatives in an effort to acquire the knowledge necessary to inform their career and academic choices. AECI sponsors full-time students, primarily from designated groups, who are studying towards qualifications identified as critical and scarce skills, through the AECI External Bursary Scheme. The fields of study in which most bursaries are offered include, but are not limited to chemistry, agriculture, chemical, mechanical and mining engineering. Graduates of the scheme are employed in the Group for a minimum of 12 months as part of the bursary workback requirements and to gain industry experience. AECI’s goal is to be an employer of choice providing equal opportunities and career development to employees through its management and leadership programmes. As such, the company offers an inspiring environment where passionate, dynamic, and ambitious people can develop their full potential. For more information email hr@aeci.co.za or call +27 11 806 8700.
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All Aboard © AEL Mining Services
AEL IN THE FIELD
AEL’s Simon Tose, Global Mining Optimisation Manager elected as Chairperson of the Institute of Quarrying Simon Tose, AEL’s Global Mining Optimisation Manager, was elected as Chairperson of the Institute of Quarrying (IOQ). This was confirmed following the IOQ’s 2017 AGM held at the start of the institute’s annual conference, which was held from 19-21 April in Durban, bringing together over 250 registered industry delegates. Tose, a highly-accomplished industry specialist, who has represented AEL at several international conferences, colloquiums and symposia over the years, has published several ground-breaking papers. We congratulate Simon Tose on being an industry thought leader and one of AEL’s bastions of innovation!
AEL knowledge transfer at the Institute of Quarrying (IOQ) conference AEL participated in the Institute of Quarrying (IOQ) South Africa’s annual conference and exhibition held at The Coastlands Hotel in Umhlanga from 20 – 21 April 2017. The Institute of Quarrying is the international professional body for quarrying, surface mining and the related extractive, processing and construction industries. The annual IOQ Conference, designed for the professional development of information exchange between industry peers, attracts in excess of 200 visitors from Southern Africa and abroad annually.
Jacqueline Raputsoe
In line with our Thought Leadership stance, AEL was represented at the event by the Mining Optimisation team who presented papers at the plenary sessions and our product management team who showcased our product leadership in terms of electronics with key focus on our intellishot™ offering and its relevance to the quarrying market. Also on show was AEL’s portable, lightweight and robust PCU011 pump designed for charging bulk emulsion in underground narrow reef environments. Jacqueline Raputsoe, AEL’s Explosives Engineer presented a paper on Initiating System Conversion, which was well-received by industry colleagues.
1st Issue 2017
Scenes from the conference and exhibition
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AEL MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Service with a smile All Aboard (AA) chatted to the lady with a passion for customer service and a smile to brighten the darkest of days, Zandile Qwabe, Acting Customer Service Manager within the Global Supply Chain department. All Aboard (AA): Give us a brief background of your career path? Zandile Qwabe (ZQ): It became very clear to me from the moment I completed matric that I would pursue a career in the commercial field. I have been making inroads into the corporate world since my days as a full time Bachelor of Business Administration student. I started out in the customer service sphere in a call centre environment for Vodacom customer queries and progressed onto various departments within AEL. It was from my limited exposure to the supply chain department during my internship and offering assistance to the department that I knew my calling was supply chain. When I completed my Degree, I started working as an Export Sales Co-ordinator where I dealt with multimodal logistics and later moved my way to the Supply Chain Business process improvement role. I have been recently appointed in the acting role as the Customer Service Manager. AA: How long have you been in the employ of the AEL Mining Services? ZQ: I have been in the employ of AEL as a permanent employee for a proud 6 years. I started working at AEL from 2007 while I was a student doing vacation work in between semester 6
breaks. I later did my practicals at AEL as part of my degree in 2009. AA: What does your portfolio entail? What are your key responsibilities? ZQ: My profession is built around providing customer services. My current role entails working on rotational assignments within AEL’s supply chain undertakings. I have undertaken a diverse portfolio of projects in this area of AEL’s business and the common objective of these projects is to improve visibility to supply chain processes, practices, and performance data. This involves engaging and strategizing with key people and deploying initiatives which require me to possess a diverse set of skills and competencies in order to meet extraordinary business and career objectives and challenges. The warehousing for engineering spares project is a project I remember fondly as I became passionate about it. The project involved implementing solutions that typically require system and project management skills. Furthermore, I was involved in testing of the new process to ensure its successful implementation. I have been recently acting in the Customer Service Manager position. My role in this function is providing a support function which requires a wide degree of creativity and latitude to ultimately transform the key role of what customer service is about. AA: What is your modus operandi? ZQ: “Do or do not, there is no I will try!” Forcing yourself to “Do or do not” makes you think hard about your own priorities, sharpens your focus on the most important thing, and lets you decide one way or another. Action follows. After all, it’s our actions that produce results, not our intention. AA: What are we doing to stay relevant and on the cutting edge? ZQ: I read blogs, article on emerging trends in our sector. I am also part of SAPICS supply chain community to further increase my professional network and to keep up with the trends. Thinking like an entrepreneur is necessary to adapt to the “new
normal” of today’s market, to remain relevant and also to look beyond our area of expertise. AA: Do you see yourself as a leader or a team player? ZQ: I see myself as a team player. In my recent introspection exercise, I have reflected on this. It is great to lead but I have learned that leadership isn't about “being great”; it is about “enabling others to be great". It is about how you enable people to be great, and create great teams and when the team wins, victory should be about people. #makeyourpeoplefamous. AA: What is your vision/ goal for the future within AEL? ZQ: There is a lot of transformation that needs to transpire in our space. The future looks very exciting to take the business to the next level. There are a lot of opportunities that are unbolted and our department is striving to excel into the very existence of who we are and why we do the things that we do. We are “CUSTOMER SERVICE” at AEL Mining Services. AA: Tell us something interesting about yourself? ZQ: Thinking far beyond my rectangle on the organogram keeps me motivated. I do not let systems define me and limit me. I administered a SAP Migration project at Nitrates with boldness, courage and the right leadership. I was able to successfully deliver the project and today it is fully operational. AA: What are your interests/ hobbies/ sporting activities away from the office? ZQ: I have a passion for the arts and crafts. I enjoy scrapbooking and painting. I also enjoy being a mom to my son who enjoys the outdoors thus it should come as no surprise that we spend most of our time out and about!
All Aboard © AEL Mining Services
1st Issue 2017
7
AEL SAFETY
Celebrating our safety successes!
SAFETY BROAD
In line with one of our company values RESPONSIBLE, we strive to act in a manner that is mindful of all stakeholders’ interests and thereby prioritise safety. We commend the North West Africa Team for their remarkable safety achievement of attaining 1 million recordable injury free hours achieved! Congratulations to Managing Director Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, Mark Benning and the North West Africa Team. “I am pleased to inform everyone that we have finally reached the milestone of One Million Recordable Injury Free Hours Worked across the North West Africa business. This is indeed a significant achievement of which we should all be extremely proud. On behalf of the company, I take this opportunity to thank you all for the role each one of you has played,” stated Mark Benning. “This milestone was recorded on 15 January 2017 but we have taken the time to carefully validate our records and ensure that the total hours work was accurate and is auditable. We work in an environment that involves mining and explosives and has associated hazards, but despite this, we have worked on multiple sites in multiple countries for 2 years without a recordable injury. Every employee has gone home without injury to their families at the end of the day for the last 2 years. We have therefore proven that it is possible to prevent accidents and this must remain our goal,” he continued. “Our last recordable injury occurred on November 2014 to date when Sawadogo Clemence, a MMU Assistant at Somita at the time slipped off the MMU, fell and sustained a cut on his head. Like most accidents, this was an avoidable accident, and the cause was simply failure to follow the 3 contact point procedure for climbing in and out of MMU’s. Procedures are important. They are written for a reason by people who have experience and this is how the experience is passed on to all our employees. This is done through training which is an important part of our safety plan. We have a proud safety record, let’s all work together to keep it that way. I encourage everyone to keep up the effort every day and to keep your safety switches on. To recognise this achievement, we will celebrate at each site in an appropriate manner. Today we continue our journey together to the next one million recordable injury free hours.” concluded Benning.
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Road safety and the rules of the road
• Obey the rules of the road and carry your drivers license w • Plan the route to your destination and give yourself enough
• Use a GPS navigation tool or a road atlas to plan your trip i
• For peace of mind, try stick to major routes or toll roads - I
‘back roads’ identify the towns along the route and what th
• Do not get stranded without fuel - always plan ahead wher
• Plan rest stops along the way and if you are traveling with k know when and where you will be stopping. • Always ensure that a friend or family member, who is not
the route you are planning to travel. Ideally you should also
of the journey and let them know when you have reached y • Try to avoid driving after dark if possible.
• Expect others not to be as obedient to the law as your self.
In the next edition we will have a look at vehicle fit
If you have any ideas that you would like to share a road safety or if you have any questions, contact De Rumble: derek.rumble@aelms.com
All Aboard © AEL Mining Services
Y DCAST
Edition 7
WHAT’S IN THIS NEWSLETTER?
THE KHULA NATHI NEWSLETTER
28 March 2017
•
Khula Nathi by the numbers
•
Getting help
•
Development planning
•
Competition winners
If you haven’t completed Phase 1: KPI Setting, please work with your manager to complete it as soon as possible. Please also don’t forget to create a development plan for the year. Remember, developing and growing our people is one of the ways in which we elevate ourselves to a high performance team.
KHULA NATHI BY THE NUMBERS
STEP 0 Start-up
EMPLOYEE
MANAGER
Phase 1: KPI Setting
Phase 2: Mid-Year Review
STEP 2 Approve KPI’s STEP 3
STEP 1 Draft KPI’s
STEP 4
Employee KPI
acknowledgement
Employee midyear review
11%
22%
16%
11%
40%
Manager starts the process and forwards the KPIs to direct reports
Employee to draft KPIs and send forward to manager
Manager to approve the KPIs and send forward
Employee to agree and send forward
No action required. KPIs will remain in this step until June
GETTING HELP
with you. time to reach your destination.
in advance.
If you are going to travel on the
he distance is between them.
re you will refuel.
kids it is a great way to let them traveling with you, is aware of
o update them on your progress
your destination safely.
.
If you get stuck with any of the urgent action required above, there are many ways in which you can get help. You can check out the following: • Frequently asked questions loaded onto Khula Nathi under the ‘My References’ dashboard to view the system and process FAQs. • Training manuals and videos which you can reference which explain step-by-step the process to be followed. If your query has still not been resolved, contact your Change Agent who will be happy to assist you. For all Account Reset and Password Queries please contact the AECI Service Desk. Contact number is 011 205 7220 or send an email to aeciservicedesk@bytes.co.za
DEVELOPMENT PLANNING A team with a culture of continuous improvement and where members are motivated to develop their skills and knowledge are high-performing teams. To ensure that you are contributing towards a high performing team, please remember to create a development plan for the year, this could be just one learning action that could make the difference this year. Please refer to the Development Planning video and manual on Khula Nathi under the My References dashboard for instructions on how to create a development plan.
COMPETITION WINNERS!
tness.
In newsletter 5, we ran two competitions and it gives us great pleasure to announce the winners.
about erek
TEAM COMPETITION: In the team competition, the winners were the first manager and his/her team to complete ‘Phase One: KPI Setting’ in three categories. Congratulations to the following manager’s and their team who can expect a pizza lunch to be delivered during the course of the week: • Gunter Feiffer – ChemSystems (One to five employees) • Liza Watson – Crest (Six to 10 employees) • Johan Vosloo – ChemSystems (11 to 16 employees)
1st Issue 2017
INDIVIDUAL LUCKY DRAW: In addition to the team competition, we also ran a lucky draw for employees who completed ‘Phase One: KPI Setting’ successfully. The lucky winner of the R1,000 shopping voucher is: • Tebogo Setati from Crest Congratulations Tebogo, your voucher will be delivered to you during the course of next week. 9
AEL FAMILY
Reveal of AEL Football Club’s new soccer kit
Babies on Board Congratulations to our newest AEL mothers who have had the honour of rearing little angels bestowed upon them.
Back FLTR: Tsebo Mogbudi, Lehlogonolo Dzoye, Collen Ngobeni, Phineas Maribe, Velly Ndaonde. Khutso Malobane, Thabo Kobe and Wilfred Chabedi. Front FLTR: Frans Kgosana, Kgothaso Manyemola,Kgotso Mothabeng,Star Nkumane,Jan Matsobane and Small Phafadi
The AEL Football Club (AEL FC)
important for them to train together
previously did not have an official
for cohesion amongst players and
branded soccer kit. After a lengthy
to improve their performance. AEL
period of consultation in 2016,
FC is preparing for three upcoming
management obliged and purchased
matches in the league and hopes for
two soccer kits for the team. The
a favourable outcome.
Welcome Anna Mangole’s (The Platform) beautiful baby girl, Kganya born on 27 January 2017.
team subsequently registered in the Gauteng Industrial Soccer League
The team’s moral has been uplifted
(GISL).
as a result of the new branded soccer kit that was revealed on the 8th of
The team is excited to be
April 2017 in a match against Kargo
participating in the league and so far
FC.
have played four matches. It has been a challenging journey as the team
“The new kit has definitely instilled
has not recorded a win yet but the
more confidence in the team as they
players continue to gain in confidence
can proudly identify themselves with
and stamina and are geared for
company and thus fly the AEL flag
imminent victory.
high,” said Geoffrey Motia, member
Meet Hazel Vuma’s (FSSC Modderfontein) lovely daughter, Xirhandzwa Princess born on 29 October 2016.
of AEL FC. Notably the team is progressing very well under the pressure and keeping
“We wish to extend a call to all AEL
a positive attitude as they continue
employees to support the team and
receive a lot of support across the
its cause to support charity and
board. A challenge the team faces is
schools in need” he concluded.
the lack of a training facility which is 10
All Aboard © AEL Mining Services
AEL FAMILY
Farewell George Small retired from AEL at the end of March 2017 after a long and distinguished career with us spanning 46 years. George joined AEL as an apprentice in 1970 and has held various other positions within the company such as Construction Superintendent, Senior Engineering Superintendent, Factory E&I Engineer and finally IS Works Engineer. Over the past few years, George added tremendous value to the Initiating Systems management team with his vast experience, can-do attitude and willingness to assist those around him. George has also been the recipient of numerous awards over the years such as the Service Excellence Award, God Father Award, Award for Outstanding Performance, IS Service Provider Award and the IS Individual Recognition Award.
After 26 years of exemplary service within AEL, Ken Meiring with his partner Zelda are heading off to the Cape to start the next part of the journey of their life. Ken has had a wide range of experience within the company from the platinum mines in the North West, diamonds in Botswana and the challenge of gold in Tanzania. The last 6 years he has been sharing that operational knowledge through the Mining Optimisation team and adding significant value to our Blasting Competency and Explosive Engineering courses. His input to the many projects and investigations has challenged our frontline, yet he has also found time to mentor the next generation.
We extend our gratitude to George and Ken for their diligent service to AEL and wish them well as they enter a new phase in their life.
Wedded Bliss
Wayne’s Word
Erika Schoeman married her long time sweetheart Chris on 10 December 2016 in unique style. We wish the newlyweds abundant blessings as they traverse the next exciting phase of their marital journey.
“To achieve prosperity, you cannot sit in the bucket and pull it towards you. You have to get out of the bucket, muster strength and pull it towards you!” Meaning: One must not get stuck in a comfort zone and make no effort to progress. One must shake off our shackles and put in the effort in order
1st Issue 2017
to emerge victorious!
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Safely initiating quality tons
intelliBlastTM is a holistic and flexible approach to help customers on their unique journey to optimal blast outcomes. Through optimal energy expenditure we ensure predictable blast outcomes for significant profit growth. AEL Mining Services Tel: 011 606 0000 Email: company.email@aelms.com Web: www.aelminingservices.com