All aboard 1st Q 2015 by AEL Mining Services

ALL Aboard First Quarter 2015 I Ethics Line: 0800 205 280

AELâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognising exemplary performance in our manufacturing teams

AEL wins top accolade at 2015 ISEE conference showcasing global leadership AEL poised to transform the industry with its new and improved Vertical Drop system

Wealth Unearthed Printed on 100% eco-friendly paper

Editor’s Note

Contents 3

AEL wins top accolade at 2015 ISEE conference

showcasing global leadership

AEL poised to transform the industry with its new

and improved Vertical Drop system

AEL’s Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognising

exemplary performance in our manufacturing teams

Join the movement towards greater collaboration

with Edge

Snapshots of AEL out and about

Movers and Shakers – Introducing Carol Shibambu

Quality Performance in 2014 as a benchmark for 2015

Meet Quality Champion Raveena Ramsamuj

AEL Bulletin Board

Wayne’s Word

Bouncing Babies

Wedding Bells

Farewell to Schalk Venter

After a busy Q1, AEL is poised to take on the rest of 2015 with great aplomb! Our theme for this issue is collaboration. This encompasses internal collaboration with our colleagues in order to streamline our operations for greater efficiency as well as external collaboration with key stakeholders such as customers and industry peers to better serve our market with innovative specially-tailored solutions. In this issue, the AEL values of courage, confidence and care come to the fore as we report on the various activities of AEL employees in the business, office and personal arenas. We celebrate and commend employees for their exemplary performance at the manufacturing excellence awards. Teamwork and dedication in the manufacturing areas have helped employees to rise above challenges and produce quality products that better serve the market. Read about our grand achievements at the ISEE conference where Ashlin Pillay furthered our thought-leadership stance and won the sought-after paper of the year award while Simon Tose was given the prestigious opportunity to host a specialty knowledge-transfer workshop for mining engineers. AEL invests in its human capital and produces leaders who pave the way for new innovations helping us to remain relevant to the market we serve. We proudly introduce one of our movers and shakers, Carol Shibambu, Analytical Laboratory Technologist who inspires us through a sneak peak into her daily routine at the lab. To enhance internal collaboration, we share with you the latest updates from our Sharepoint system, Edge when we chat to IT Edge Specialist, Dzumbu Mmbara. As Quality is one of our top priorities, we provide you with a Quality performance update of 2014 to be used as a benchmark for 2015. To round-off this issue, in our AEL family section we bid farewell to our current Group Managing Director, Schalk Venter and welcome our acting Managing Director, Edwin Ludick. We also celebrate the growth of the AEL family with two marriages and five newborns! We encourage you, our readers to utilise All Aboard as a platform to inform, inspire and encourage fellow employees and to enhance employee collaboration. We look forward to your contribution. Please send your stories to Eubulus.pillay@aelms.com

Cover Image: Guests enjoying the photo booth at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

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

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First Quarter 2015

of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) has awarded AEL’s Ashlin Pillay the coveted Paper of the Year Award at the 2015 ISEE Conference held in New Orleans, in February.

AEL wins top accolade at 2015 ISEE conference showcasing global leadership

paper that gave insight into a project at Ho Man Tin Station in Hong Kong. The station is a cross-cut interchange station between the Kwun Tong Line Extension and Shatin Central Link which carries over 8 million passengers daily. The project needed to deliver on the construction of a sub-surface transportation network at this interchange. Due to the high volume of passengers, the project had to be executed safely and under strict physical constraints and city regulations. Pillay’s paper gave insights on innovative means of tunnelling and blasting applications that AEL offers. The paper also focussed on first hand illustration of the actual work carried out based on the experience received during this project. These applications responded positively to a number of challenges that were associated with a project of this magnitude under a busy business district. The International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) conference is a gathering of explosives users, manufacturers of explosives and drilling equipment, researchers and professionals involved in quarrying, mining, demolition and construction. This annual conference looks into the industry updates, innovations, blasting techniques and widens industry leaders’ and peers’ horizons through diversification. The ISEE has been presenting awards at the conference for many years in an effort to build the image of the profession and provide recognition to deserving individuals who contribute their time, effort and energy to the society, the industry and the world at large. Ashlin Pillay, an Electronics Field Technician for AEL, presented a All Aboard © AEL Mining Services

First Quarter 2015

Thought Leadership

The International Society

“The blasting and explosives industry, like the mining industry we serve, is continuously innovating. Blasting operations in both surface and underground mining continue to be receptive to new technology as it enhances productivity and employee safety. My paper spoke directly to those issues, how AEL responds to them and the kind of solutions we deliver as a result. The paper made special reference to the The Ho Man Tin Station and sharing best practice and how these techniques can add value to our industry,” said Pillay. He further notes that projects like The Ho Man Tin Station is one of many, showcasing

AEL innovations that seek to revolutionise the mining industry for generations to come. This success showcases how AEL remains at the fore front of tunnelling and blasting technologies, whilst pursuing sustainable profitability and growth for its operations in international markets. “The award is a source of great pride to AEL and shows our dedication to imparting knowledge which seeks to challenge the industry status quo and create the best possible environment for employees so that we in turn can provide the highest level of service to our customers,” concluded Pillay. AEL led the pack by empowering fellow global engineers at the conference. Another coup for AEL at the conference was Simon Tose, Global Mining Optimisation Manager conducting a workshop on “Highwall Control”. The workshop provided insight for blasters into the basics around “safe” highwall control using four industry case studies such as, “yes it snows in Africa! “ and “pushing the split around the bend”. The workshop also looked into the trends in the science of hauling broken rock out of surface mines. Other topics discussed at the 41st Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique conference included health, safety and environmental issues surrounding blasting. Also covered were regulations dealing with the testing, handling and transportation of explosives. Congratulations to our industry experts! 3

Innovation

AEL poised to transform the industry with its new and improved Vertical Drop system

The AEL and ELB senior management teams.

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First Quarter 2015

Innovation

AEL has entered into an agreement with ELB Engineering

Executive Director of Operations. “This also removes our

Services for the installation of turnkey Vertical Drop

customer’s burden of conducting another, separate project

infrastructure that will enable deeper, safe and efficient

which would require a re-allocation of their resources.”

delivery of emulsions for blasting in underground mining operations.

ELB’s work will include the establishment of the pertinent roadways, surface delivery point, the drilling of the

A Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties

borehole, installation of all piping and underground

was signed at AEL’s head office in Johannesburg on 23

storage tanks as well as the respective piping and ancillary

March by Dr Stephen Meijers, CEO of ELB and Sepadi

equipment and required safety and control devices.

Mohlabeng, AEL Executive Director: Global Operations. This agreement will see ELB exclusively installing the AEL-

Dr Stephen Meijers, CEO of ELB notes that, “ELB’s

patented infrastructure at customers’ sites as required,

strength lies in its ability to partner with world-class

while AEL will sign off on completion of the projects,

technology providers and execute projects to the total

commissioning and supply of emulsion.

satisfaction of its clients. The strength of this partnership lies in the ability of both companies to package a total

The Vertical Drop enables safer deeper level mining by

solution to the end user. ELB is most honoured to have the

allowing emulsion and sensitiser to be delivered to storage

opportunity to work with AEL in developing the business

tanks underground thereby offering the requisite explosive

going forward”.

energy on tap. This revolutionary system enhances safety, improves logistics and saves costs.

In conclusion Mohlabeng notes the importance of the partnership in realising this innovation for the mining

The agreement between AEL and ELB is a culmination of

industry and is hopeful of the future implications of this

work carried out over five-years and this innovation will,

agreement.

as a first for the industry; provide mines with access to emulsion at levels as deep as 700m. This is leaps and

“We expect interest in this innovation to increase and

bounds above the current depths that have traditionally

are therefore confident that we have found a reliable and

been achieved of approximately 225m.

competent partner to ensure that we continue to deliver safer, more efficient services to an ever-evolving mining

“This innovation addresses the challenge facing mines

industry,” concludes Mohlabeng.

of delivering explosives as deep as possible, without compromising on safety,” says Sepadi Mohlabeng, AEL’s

Sepadi Mohlabeng, Executive Director - Global Operations (l) and Dr Stephen Meijers, CEO of ELB (r) signing the agreement. All Aboard © AEL Mining Services

First Quarter 2015

Performance Excellence

AEL’s Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognising exemplary performance in our manufacturing teams AEL held its Manufacturing Excellence Awards on 20 March 2015. The awards ceremony is positioned to recognise best performance through continuous improvement. Accolades were presented to employees who have over the past year demonstrated hard work and dedication to their manufacturing teams. The goals of Operational Excellence are zero harm, zero waste, zero downtime and zero excess inventory. Awards recipients in the various categories are sterling examples to the rest of the company as they attained great success in the areas of operation saving the company time, money and preventing safety and reputational risks.

Eben Jacobs, winner of the Global Operations Director’s Award for Excellence, presented by Moss Sibiya, Global Operations Manager – SF2 & Engineering.

AEL employees raise the bar at this year’s Plant Manufacturing Excellence Awards Kicking off the day, Paul Eagar, Executive Director: IS Operations, said AEL was honoured to be able to thank staff members who have committed themselves to excellence. What followed was a dazzling event filled with smiles and resounding applause for both winners and nominees, whose efforts in 2014 had not gone unnoticed. “Being thanked by the company is good for me and I’m very happy to be one of the winners at AEL,” said Rosemary Mokoko, who won the Quality Catch of the Year Award. Mokoko’s attention to detail helped her catch a problem with shock tubing when she noticed an unusual change in the colour of the product. This saved the company at least R400 000 in addition to maintaining our high-standards of delivering top-quality products. 6

Rosemary Mokoko, winner of the Quality Catch of the Year award, presented by Linnea Cloete, Global Quality Manager.

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First Quarter 2015

The nominees and winners.

Abigail Arosie, Global Manufacturing Excellence Manager.

Paul Eagar, Executive Director - IS Operations.

Employees having fun at the photo booth.

Esther Lekalakala, winner of the Best Participant in the First Line Development Programme award, was also encouraged by the recognition she received.“It means a lot to me, it’s a motivation that in life you can go far. As long as you are committed and you put your mind to it, there are no limits,” she said. One of the biggest team winners was the Tube Drawing Plant division, which took home three awards including; Plant Safety Performance Award, Most Improved Quality Performance by Plant and the Plant Environmental Sustainability Performance Award. Thulani Mhlongo, the Tube Drawing Plant Manager, said these achievements were a team effort and he thanked his team. “It is something good for all of us. We were

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First Quarter 2015

really looking forward to saying ‘our hard work is paying off’,” he said.

open for you,” said Phumla Mbatha, who was named as the First Line Manager of the Year.

“We really feel proud. When employees on the floor report issues with safety, we take that as a priority. We have got a very good relationship with our colleagues to make sure they are empowered to make the right decisions,” Mhlongo said.

The ceremony was excellently hosted by television personality, Jolene Martin and the event was closed with a fantastic performance by three talented opera singers. This performance had the guests rolling with laughter while also tugging at their heartstrings and eventually enticing them to get up and dance to cap the day off.

The attendees were all in agreement that AEL recognises and rewards the efforts of its staff and allows them opportunities to expand their careers. “At AEL, whenever you are prepared to fly or spread your wings the platforms are always there. As long as you are willing to work hard, there are always doors

Congratulations again to all nominees and winners, your continued commitment to excellence is the driving force behind maintaining the highest standards that set AEL apart from its competitors.

Collaboration

Join the movement towards greater collaboration with Edge!

All Aboard: Share with us the exciting projects you are working on. DM: We are currently rolling out the Expenditure Proposal (EP) system on Edge to the entire business. We are also rolling out the Performance Management System for Global Operations, which for me is a very interesting project because we are able to see Edge impacting how the Global Operations team works. We will be rolling out Environmental Reporting forms across the entire business so that all reports are submitted via Edge. This is critical as it impacts on our compliance to regulations and also for AECI reporting purposes. All Aboard: What can AEL employees look forward to?

2015 is off to a great start with new and exciting developments on Edge, some of which include the new look-and-feel as well as updated operational structures. All Aboard (AA) chatted to Dzumbu Mmbara (DM), IT Edge Specialist.

DM: AEL employees can look forward to greater collaboration and reduced turnaround times on approvals as we continuously automate business processes.

All Aboard: Are there opportunities for colleagues who wish to develop and/or integrate new projects onto Edge? Tell us more about the process. DM: We are always excited to work on new projects on Edge and we encourage users and our Edge leaders to always look for opportunities where Edge can be used in their teams. Some ideas can actually be implemented by the Edge leaders as we do give them advanced training to make sure they are able to support their teams. Ideas that are organisational in nature should be communicated to the Edge Team. All Aboard: Please provide details for Edge Training requests? DM: To request training for Edge, log a call with helpdesk and the Edge team will contact you to schedule the training. The same applies for all users at sites outside Modderfontein and international users.

All Aboard: What was the motivation behind this and what direction is the Edge team taking? DM: AEL recently went through a restructuring process and we had to align Edge with the new structures so that Edge is operationally relevant. After rolling out the new Edge Main Page we quickly embarked on a project to align Edge navigation with the new structures. We only recently concluded this with the update on World Class navigation on Edge to Operational Excellence. We have now embarked on a project to decommission the AEL Intranet. We are positioning Edge to become the central information portal which will allow all AEL employees greater collaboration and access to all relevant information. All Aboard: How has the response been to the new changes on Edge? DM: Prior to the changes I highlighted, we had approximately 250 users using Edge daily and currently we are sitting at 791 users per day. We are also able to measure what people are doing on Edge, and from our analytics, an average user visits more than 10 areas on Edge per day. Recently in a single day we had approximately 10000 hits on Edge which is unprecedented. Furthermore, we are receiving more and more requests for training from employees who require refresher training or have never been to Edge training. For us this is exciting as it indicates that Edge is making inroads across the board at all AEL sites.

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First Quarter 2015

In the Field

Snapshots of AEL out and about

AEL Mining Services Intermine Raft Race

am e T e c n a n i F Building The Finance team enjoyed a day out of the office at Gold Reef City for their Survivorthemed team building event on 14 November 2014. The team building focused on the philosophy of Ubuntu – embracing collaboration through respect and care for one another. The group of approximately 40 individuals was split into two teams, Tribe Rafiki and Tribe Hatari. Some of the games included a puzzle, a memory game and archery. Congratulations to the courageous Tribe Hatari who emerged victorious and took home the grand prize! Special awards presented on the day included: Best dressed – Theodora Mogasoa Complainer of the day – Goodwill Nkosi Sweetest Lady – Wendy Scully Most Competitive Individual – Corrie De Beer Team Player – Charmaine Booysen Most Supportive Individual – Adel Colbie

On the 29th of November 2014, AEL hosted the annual intermine raft race at the Broadwater River Estate, near Douglas.

The following main prizes were awarded:

The 21st annual event was anticipated with great enthusiasm and saw contestants gather for what would be a memorable experience. In addition to the exciting water sporting activities, contestants enjoyed a perfect sunny day for a braai with family and friends.

Women’s first prize – Idwala Ladies Team

The race proceeded in good spirit with the winners finishing in just over 19 minutes while the Kolomela “Hardehorings” and Idwala men’s team battled it out for the “longest on the water” prize. AEL encourages care for its employees through activities that promote camaraderie outside of the workplace.

The event attracted more than 550 people with a total of 27 rafts and will be repeated next year with an attempt at a Guinness World Record. We hope you will join us at the next event!

Congratulations to Hazel Vuma, Finance Intern, who graduated from the University of Johannesburg with a diploma in Financial Information Systems.

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First Quarter 2015

Men’s first prize – Finsch Proto Team

Team with the best spirit – The Kolomela “Smurfs” Longest on the water – Idwala Men’s Team

AEL f ash and V ionistas, T r ivi Ma jova s evor Robe rts ty AECI Sales ling at the Day.

Movers and Shakers All Aboard chatted to Carol Shibambu, Analytical Laboratory Technologist. Carol who is a community builder, joined AEL in 2012 and is breaking new

ambu b i h S l aro

ng C i c u d o r t In ratory o b a L l ica Analyt gist o l o n h c e T

ground in the field of Chemistry.

AA: Give us a brief background of your career path?

Carol: I enrolled and studied for a National Diploma in Analytical Chemistry at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 2003. Thereafter I was offered inservice training as a Trainee Analyst at PPC Cement, Hercules factory in 2005. After in-service training I completed my degree and graduated in August 2006.

A week after I graduated I flew to PPC cement in Port Elizabeth to start work as a Laboratory Analyst. In 2008 I decided to further my education part-time at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and registered for a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Chemistry which I completed in 2010 then graduated the following year.

I became home sick which lead me to look for a job in Gauteng. Fortunately, a position for Analytical Laboratory Technologist opened up at AEL in 2012, I applied and was successful.

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First Quarter 2015

Human Capital

AA: What does your portfolio entail? What are your

Carol: In order to be successful in any work

done is done. That is active leadership. I’m a team

key responsibilities?

environment or task one must have the ability to

member in the collective AEL Mining Services.

motivate him or herself as courage is not the absence AA: Tell us something interesting about yourself?

Carol: As Analytical Laboratory Technologist, I

of obstacles but the ability to overcome those

look after the quality of black used oil which is the

obstacles. I have confidence in the work that I do as

raw material in manufacturing of black emulsion

I’m qualified and trained which makes me care about

Carol: I have a handsome baby boy whom I love

S200Eco. The emulsion is manufactured from black

the results I produce in the laboratory.

and adore dearly, he ushered me in to the world of motherhood which I enjoy so much. It’s beautiful to

oil and Ammonium nitrate oxidiser solution. AA: What are you doing to stay relevant and on the

see my baby grow and it’s amazing how he knows I’m

cutting edge?

his mum.

for blending in Durban Umbongotwini. Black oil has

Carol: I study new developments in my field to stay

AA: What are your interests away from the office?

the inherent risk of having contaminants that can

relevant and also attend training courses when I have

cause emulsion to destabilize and/or dissociate. Oil

the opportunity to do so. There is a great network

Carol: I have a vision which is “Making Chemistry

samples that do not form good quality emulsion are

giant that was launched last year which is called

Live at Dlamani Senior Secondary School”. My

identified and rejected at the laboratory, thus bad

WIMA (Women in Manufacturing in Africa). I was

goal is to see the school that I once attended,

contaminated oil never reaches production. I take

fortunate to be part of the people who were at the

have a chemistry laboratory. Students are taught

pride in my work as all analysis must be done with

launch as it is a platform for networking and sharing

about chemistry in a hands-on method through

great accuracy. Other than analysis I do internal

of ideas.

experiments in the laboratory. I write letters asking

The suppliers of black oil send samples of oil to qualify at my laboratory before the oil can be sent

companies to partner in the vision of making

auditing for nitrates laboratories making sure that the laboratory quality standard is not dropped but

AA: Do you see yourself as a leader or a team

improves.

player?

AA: What is your modus operandi? Is it aligned to

Carol: I see myself as both a leader and team player.

the AEL Way (confidence, care, courage)?

There are tasks that I have to do on my own and

Chemistry live at Dlamani Senior Secondary School.

have to be decisive, making sure that what must be

First Quarter 2015

Quality The AEL Way

Quality Performance in 2014 as a benchmark for 2015 Linea Cloete – Global Quality Manager

2014 was a challenging year, not only for us, but our entire industry. However, I do have some positive results to share with you in terms of our performance last year. Seeing as 2015 is well and truly under way, we can use these as benchmarks for achieving some challenging but attainable objectives. Analysing external complaints is an excellent way for us to measure quality performance and 2014 saw a great improvement in product-related complaints compared to the last three years with a total of 162, improving by 68 incidents from the year before. While our service complaints (a total of 50) crept up a little higher than the 2013 figures, 2014 is well below the average of 90 service complaints per year. Of course, these figures are by no means perfect but if we use these improvements as benchmarks for our 2015 scorecards we will continue to make strides into better quality and better customer service. Global Quality has revised the Quality scorecard for 2015, and by looking at the AEL Group objectives table below you will see how our performance in 2014 makes our targets for 2015 challenging but very achievable.

2015 Functional Objectives: Our functional objectives give us our greatest room for improvement this year. Global Quality has laid this out in the table below and each section is summarised below the table:

• Complaint Response Efficiency: Strive to respond to complaints within the specified time frame (refer to CS/QMS/0009 for the response time frames), ensuring that all our stakeholders, both internal and external are awarded the distinguishable AEL Care. • External Complaints: Reduce both product and service complaints received by our customers by ensuring our products and services offered exceed specifications and expectations. • Supplier Complaints: Reduce the incidents of faulty input materials by ensuring that all in-bound materials are within specification. To achieve this, regular audits of critical suppliers have to conducted, regular engagement with suppliers on AEL requirements and monitoring of in-bound materials must take place. • Internal Audit Schedule Compliance: Internal audits are conducted on a regular basis to monitor AEL’s compliance to the ISO 9001:2008 standard and highlight any issues that could result in a finding from an external auditor. The schedule for internal audits will be released by the Global Operational Excellence in due course and will include both Quality and World Class audits. • Open Complaints-not closed after response: Ensuring that the person who logs a complaint (the complainant), closes out the complaint once a satisfactory response/investigation is received. • Bad Blasts: Striving for customer satisfaction by ensuring our product and service offerings do not result in a blast that does not meet the customers’ requirements. • Customer Satisfaction Index: Commitment from Business Sections to conduct customer satisfaction surveys (refer to CS/QMS/0017 – Customer Focus). • On-Time in Full: Ensuring the correct product and the correct volumes are delivered on time to the customer. • Waste exceeding limits and waste exceeding BOM scrap factor: Accurate capturing of all waste exceeding the business target levels as well as the BOM scrap factors to identify areas of waste reduction. • Overdue Corrective and Preventative actions (Edge and SIP): Compliance to adhering to close out corrective and preventative actions within the specified time frame. • Concessions and Deviations: Reduce the number of product concessions and deviations by ensuring that all stages of the manufacturing process have sufficient quality control gate-keepers. This measure indicates how many times we miss the quality standard. • Product Recalls: Maintaining the AEL brand by ensuring that zero defective product is manufactured. There should be sufficient quality control gates to ensure that a customer does not receive non-conforming product. • Cost of Quality: AEL is driven by the need to have a measurement of what good and bad quality costs the business from a customer satisfaction point of view. • The cost of quality has four components: • External failure costs – defects discovered after the customer has received the goods and comprises complaints, returns, warranty claims All Aboard © AEL Mining Services

First Quarter 2015

Quality The AEL Way

and product recalls; Internal failure costs – defects discovered before the customer receives the product resulting in re-inspection, re-testing, material reviews and downgrades; • Inspection (appraisal) costs – costs incurred to determine the conformance degree to quality standards: inspection, testing, process & service audits and calibration of measuring and testing equipment; • Prevention costs – costs incurred to keep failure and appraisal costs to a minimum, which includes new product review, quality planning, supplier surveys, process reviews, education and training. • The measure is currently not active, but this will come into play after the first quarter of 2015. • Sigma Level: A sigma level of 5 is required for all manufacturing sites which mean they are allowed 233 defects per million opportunities. A defect is defined as a non-conformance of a quality characteristic (e.g. strength, width, response time) to its specification and an opportunity is defined as an opportunity for the product to experience a fault. •

If we continue to improve on our product and service complaints, the result will be more satisfied customers and the benefit to us will be greater customer loyalty, something that is much needed during these trying times facing the mining industry.

Meet Quality Champion Raveena Ramsamuj What is your role at AEL? I am a Quality Assurance Officer at AEL. The role of a Quality Assurance Officer is to entrench and uphold the AEL Quality System in all areas. AEL uses the QMS to control quality production output and monitor quality performance. The AEL QMS is based on SABS ISO 9001:2008. By maintaining and adhering to the QMS, AEL is able to prove that strict quality controls are in place to achieve and maintain customer satisfaction. My role is to provide support and guidance to implement and maintain the quality management system at global level. What do you value about working at AEL? I value the people that I work with and I really value the support I receive from them. I have been privileged to work with many driven people that are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience with me. At AEL, especially when doing research work, I find there are a lot of people I can talk to, who have done the work before and are willing to coach me through the process. How is Quality important to you? Quality for me means receiving good service and good products this time, next time and every time. Quality is consistent. In manufacturing, quality is not only catching mistakes before they reach the customer. It is also about following the systems that are in place so mistakes don’t happen. Who is your role model in life and why? My sister is my role model. She is a social worker who works with geriatric clients. I have never seen anyone display such compassion, empathy, and patience. Her main priority is maintaining and enhancing the quality of life of her elderly clients. What is the most exciting thing to ever happen to you? The most excitement thing to happen to me was the birth of my daughter who is now 2 years old. She turned my controlled life into a chaotic and exciting one and has taught me to focus on things that really matter.

First Quarter 2015

In the News

AEL Bulletin Board

AEL fostering relationships and showcasing value delivery to the coal industry at CoalSafe South Africa Expo

AEL’s stand at the CoalSafe South Africa Expo.

AEL recently engaged with customers and industry players at the annual CoalSafe South Africa Expo held at Emperor’s Palace on 12 March 2014. The event provided a platform for delegates to learn about the latest market trends in the coal sector while sharing insights on new developments.

e’s Wayn Word

Being the motivational warrior of a team of sales superheroes, Wayne is also armed with words of wisdom such as the following quotation:

At the event AEL showcased its trailblazing electronics offerings including DigiShot Plus and the Blast Commander which optimise the outcome of each blast and deliver to unique customer specifications. To learn more about these products visit www.aelminingservices.com

“Anyone can train to be a gladiator. What marks you out is having the mindset of a champion.” Manu Bennett. It’s these moments of On guard and poised for action, Executive brilliance that inspire his Director – SADC, Wayne Du Chenne recently team to aggressively pursue hosted the Frontline Gladiator’s Forum for opportunities in a competitive the SADC region team. market.

AEL launches its new advertising campaign The campaign aims to focus on the enormity of the jobs undertaken, the precise planning and fine details that go into them. It emphasises the extreme care that AEL puts into each project in order to execute massive blasts measuring tonnes to unearth minerals that measure only ounces or grams. Refer to page 16 to view a rendition of our new print advert.

First Quarter 2015

AEL Family

Bouncing Babies… Babies on Board – AEL welcomes the little community of bouncing babies to the AEL clan.

Lizelle Van Rheede's cute little boy, Liam.

Sean Slabbert's adorable baby boy, Ethan.

Sana Mosupi's handsome little son, Thamsanqa Keagile.

Russel Lourie's beautiful baby girl, Ariana Nelvique.

Pesta Manalu's pretty little daughter, Jennifer Jasmine.

Wedding Bells Love is in the air!

Farewell Schalk Venter We bid farewell to our current Managing Director, Schalk Venter as he takes up his new position as the CEO of AFROX Africa and we wish him great success with his new journey in the chemicals industry. AECI is pleased to announce that Edwin Ludick has been appointed Acting Managing Director of AEL. Edwin is a member of the AECI Executive Committee and an Executive of the Group’s specialty chemicals cluster. He is Chairman of a number of companies in this cluster and is also tasked with leading the growth of AECI’s chemicals businesses outside of South Africa. Global Health and Safety Manager, Henry Merrick tied the knot with his lovely bride, Sonja on 6 February 2015.

First Quarter 2015

Education and Training Development Practitioner Engineering, Lillian Bandera nee Chanetsa married her sweetheart, Redemption Bandera on 20 December 2014 in Harare.

We welcome Edwin to the AEL family.

A 2000-ton blast just happened here.