Energy - Gas : Project Management From 2002 To Current
Duties
Management of Integrity / Electrical Department
Exposure:
My department’s responsibility is the integrity of the gas pipelines, and ensuring a continuous flow of gas from Temane in Mozambique through to Secunda and distributed throughout South Africa. I am responsible for the gas infrastructure in Mozambique, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Free State and Kwa Zula Natal. I am involved in establishing strategic goals to ensure the integrity of our assets both n South Africa and Mozambique. This involves the development of companies in Mozambique to conduct project activities on our behalf, contract negotiations with EDM, MPI, ESKOM for the execution of critical projects. Values driven leadership has been my philosophy with my team.
Leadership: Create and set goals, which integrate the needs of diverse individuals and staff, motivate individual staff members to perform optimally by creating the ideal culture climate that promotes productivity, creativity and standards of excellence. Not only have I achieved an International accreditation of NACE level 2 and Pipeline Integrity Management System (PIMS) from Gas Technology Institute (GTI), I ensured that majority of my teams members are also certified by GTI and assisted a team member achieve NACE level 2. I also assisted six other individuals achieve their NACE level 1. I introduced and ensured that Sasol Gas adopts the NACE RP0502 standard, a standard that enables you to determine the integrity of the pipelines. I have networked with the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), of Chicago and in conjunction with GTI, we have conducted the first PIMS certification in South Africa. To support the direct assessment program, I have introduced the pipeline current mapper (PCM) as a tool to conduct accurate coating assessments. This significantly reduced the time spent conducting coating surveys and improved the accuracy of the results. It is now the only tool utilized for coating assessments. I networked with a company called ClockSpring from Houston to introduce the C Scan system, which assess defects on the gas pipeline. This new technology is a very efficient technique to conduct defect assessments. The C Scan system enabled us to conduct assessments within five minutes as compared to previous methods that took four hours. I constantly strive to ensure my team performs optimally, by implementing cost saving initiatives and encouraging open dialogue and debate, which results in innovation and ensures that the team performs efficiently. Progress is effectively monitored and communicated to Senior Management.
Budgeting: Compile and control the budget for all Operating and Capital activities. I am fully responsible for drafting, capturing and forecasting my departments Operating Budget, all of which is managed in SAP. Monthly forecasting, continuous monitoring and the implementation of cost saving initiatives on a regular basis ensure continuous savings and improvement. The execution of Capital projects for expansion, growth, upgrading and the implementation of new technology. The Sasol BD&I Model is applied on all projects.
Health and Safety: Accountable for safety issues in the division in terms of reporting and checking compliance and co-ordination with other divisions. I was the Chairperson of the Sasol Gas Safety Committee for 5 years. Safety to my team and the greater Sasol is a priority; I initiated and redesigned the branding of the Sasol Gas fleet. This initiative reduced the number of vehicles been hi-jacked and it ensured our staff’s safety. Sasol Gas has now adopted the new branding as a standard for its fleet. I have also designed and implemented a hydraulic system to operate the Dura Safe’s. The new operating philosophy prevented safety incidents and reduced the number of people required to operate the unit. The hydraulic system has made the operating of 14tons of concrete safer, and empowered my staff to perform their work in a more efficient manner.
Technical supervision: Ensure that engineering standards are adhered to in all technical processes undertaken by the department, Engineering Services or External consultants. I am an active member of the Sasol Standard Specification Committee for Cathodic Protection. I constantly update the specifications with new developments to ensure that the Sasol group is aligned and the latest technology is being used. I constantly challenge the team on their routines tasks and have open discussions regarding continuous improvement. Continuous improvement by every team member is a stringent requirement for trend analysis, investigations and fault finding. This ensures knowledge sharing and 99.9% equipment availability.
Policy recommendation: Draft, review and implement subject matter related policies, regulations, procedures and systems of operations. Make recommendations to the board in terms of improving processes and systems whilst remaining sensitive and responsive to industry trends and changes. I have amended the operating philosophy for protection of the Mozambique Secunda pipeline from a constant current to a constant potential. This initiative saves Sasol Gas on their monthly electricity bill and also improves the integrity of the pipeline, by ensuring that the pipeline is adequately protected from stray current caused by the rail system. I have managed to Green some of our rectifiers by assisting in the reduction of Sasol Gas’s carbon foot print, we implemented the utilization of solar panels with battery back up for all rectifier units in Mozambique.
Planning: Oversee the teams planning function in order to ensure that projects are completed on schedule and meet customers requirements. Effectively set objectives and provide overall direction for division to ensure operational efficiency and availability of resources.
Training and Development: Ensure training and development, career planning and succession planning within Division for my team. Effectively plan development activities related to current and future jobs and design formal plans for the long term career development of staff. The implementation of compulsory 3hour training sessions for my entire team on a monthly basis ensures that the team is fully aware of all business standards, procedures or any changes to any specifications that is required to enable them to perform. The drafting of new procedures and specifications is encouraged by team inputs.
General: Resolve complex system problems; provide expert opinions to other departments or clients. Consult relevant companies and professionals both national and international on technological developments. Identify the need for extensions and upgrades on the network and initiate capital projects. Guarantee update of technical specifications and evaluations of tenders as per laid down procedures and policies. Assist the finance and administration departments in updating the asset register, processing payments and managing procurements including technical advice.
Values Driven Leadership is a way of life, I was nominated a few times for the Managing Director Value Recognition for Excellence in All We Do, Continuous Improvement and Customer Focus. I was also part of the project team that was nominated for the Sasol Badger Awards for most innovative project for 2008 and 2010.
Fields of Interests:
I have been privileged to have gained experience in various business types and had exposure to many fields either through my work or my studies. This is not limited to but includes some of the following areas of interest and/or experience:-
Strategy
General Management
Project and Risk Management
Financial Management
Chemical : Trainee Artisan to Senior Technician From 1993 To 2002
Duties
Handling of all electrical projects from gate 1 to gate 7. Repairs of V.S.D, UPSs, Bulk Power supplys, Battery
Chargers etc. Identifying and investigation all deviations / disturbances. Technical investigation on all major & minor plant disturbances. Implementation of modifications and technical solutions including drawings, training of personnel, training manuals and return on investment analyses. Complete Project management, Reliability Engineering and R.C.As.
PROJECTS
Installation of Variable speed drives
Installations of U.P.Ss
Installation of MUTILEN 469
Installation of Battery Banks
Design and install WEIR system
Maintenance Shut Downs