64 80

While families are increasingly progressive and gender neutral, SA law has not yet caught up by allowing fathers to take paternity leave.

Our law provides for maternity leave in order for a mother to bond with and care for her newborn child, but what does it say about newborns bonding with their fathers? Nothing at present, but this may change in the near future due to Capetonian Hendri Terblanche and his petition to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) regarding the introduction of paternity leave for fathers of newborns.

The law as it stands does not permit fathers to take paternity leave when their children are born. Terblanche petitioned the NCOP to amend the current law, which provides for no official paternity leave, and to grant them ten day’s paternity.

Terblanche’s twin sons spent a lengthy period of time in intensive care due to a premature birth and he was not permitted to take leave during this period, aside from the family responsibility leave provided for in section 27 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997. Fathers have recourse to the family responsibility leave provision only by way of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and this

provision is limited in that fathers may take only three days’ leave.

The three days’ leave are to cover both the birth of a child and to attend to any illness any of their children may have during a one year employment cycle. In Terblanche’s case, he could not be present for the lengthy period his twins remained in intensive care due to the limiting leave provisions.

There has been growing support for the law to be amended

in order to provide fathers a reasonable opportunity to bond with their new born children. Non-profit organisation Sonke Gender Justice (SGJ) has come out in full support of amending the law to include ten days’ paternity leave for fathers as requested by Terblanche.

South Africa appears to be lagging behind in its laws regarding paternity leave in Africa. Numerous African countries have already acknowledged the significant role of fathers in the early stages of childhood by offering paternity leave. Ghana, Kenya and Cameroon all provide for paternity leave with Kenya providing for up to 14 days’ paternity leave.

Three years ago The University of Cape Town (UCT) set the precedent for paternity leave when it granted its employee, Douglas Newman-Valentine, paternity leave in order to bond with his adopted daughter. Douglas’s partner, Marlow Newman Valentine, also had his paternity leave approved by his employer. Unfortunately for Terblanche, the granting of paternity leave in this instance was by way of employer discretion.

There appears to be some progress since the petition by Terblanche to the NCOP. A white paper on families has been drafted by the Department of Social Development with input from Sonke Gender Justice and recommends that paternity leave should be included in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. It has been signed off by the Cabinet and is accordingly assumed to be coming up for discussion. The final draft of the paper recommends that fathers be involved in their children’s upbringing, and that the introduction of paternity leave by law be considered.

Despite the apparent progress relating to paternity leave, there are other noteworthy lacunas in the law surrounding parental rights. Paternity leave for adopted children should also be considered, as well as family responsibility leave for parents who are in the process of adopting but officially only foster parents to the children to be adopted. There presently exists no family responsibility leave afforded to parents who are fostering children. If parents, whether they be biological or not, want certain areas of the law relating to parental rights to be considered for amendments, it is recommended that they adopt the approach by Terblanche in order to bring light to the issues not yet up for discussion. n

By Fadia ArnoldSenior Litigation Associate & HOD of Employment Law TNK [email protected]

Paternity Leave PAINS?

64 HUMAN CAPITALBusinessBrief December/January 2014/2015

South Africa has the third highest unemployment rate in the world for people between the ages of 15 to 24, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global

Risk 2014 report. 50% of young South Africans between 15 and 24 are unemployed. There are around 600 000 unemployed graduates in SA. Whilst 25% of the country is unemployed, Gill Marcus, stated that 53% of youth are unemployed but this excludes discouraged work-seekers. That figure is closer to 70%.

Only around 12% of South Africans have a tertiary education. One would imagine that in a skills-starved economy they are in high demand, but unfortunately finding an internship can be an extremely frustrating experience for both employers who get many requests and for the students who often have to contact each company individually.

Traditionally corporates have been the main employer of interns with structured programmes which help to maximise the experience for the intern, and to meet the long term HR requirements for the company. According to the revised BEE codes of good practice which are to be implemented in 2015, the hiring of interns will now contribute skills development points. Increasingly, small and medium sized businesses are also making more use of interns. These businesses are able to get more done at a lower cost, while giving graduates the opportunity to get practical experience.

Internship positions may be paid or unpaid. Sometimes an employer offers only an allowance for food and/or travel which is around R2 000 – R3 000 a month. Those that are paid are offered in the region of R8 000 to R10 000. The amount paid and whether to pay depends on the sector and what the intern has studied. Businesses can take advantage of the Employment Tax Incentive. The incentive is to employ young people aged between 18 and 29 by offering a government subsidy of up to 50% on salaries of R6000 or less.

An internship is a way that a final year student or a recent graduate can gain work experience and learn to implement what he or she has studied. Companies benefit because they are able to hand pick talent. n

Youth unemployment

SHOCK!By David [email protected]

@internfit

Employees being BULLIED?

Executive officers have a legal – as well financial and moral duty – to ensure

that their employees feel safe at work. Dismissing rumours or direct complaints are not options.

Bullied or just over-sensitive?Bullying refers to repetitive and offensive unreasonable conduct by one or more people against another person or group of people, which results in a deliberate hostile working environment.

Corporate bullying can manifest itself in a number of ways, including unreasonable expectations, humiliation in front of others, exclusion, intimidation, removal of responsibilities, physical assault or threats and spreading malicious rumours.

If someone is being bullied at work, others will know about it, but won’t report it for a variety of reasons, including fear of being the bully’s next victim. Victims are too scared to lodge a grievance and the bullying becomes difficult to address.

Instead of waiting for reporting, companies should work proactively to prevent that it happens in the first place.

The best way to deal with any form of harassment or bullying, is to try and prevent it through good policies and an induction programme that makes it clear that bullying and harassment are taken very seriously.

Although employment equity

training about fairness in the workplace is mandatory, many companies don’t train their staff because of time restrictions, which created the demand for e-learning courses employees can do in their own time.

The best way to deal with bullying is to prevent it happening in the first place. Employers can do this by:

• Making sure that all employees are regularly trained on how to uphold dignity and respect of others and not infringe on their rights.

• Making it clear that bullying will not be tolerated in the company

• Ensuring that, should a case of bullying arise, all steps are followed precisely.

The steps are: • Employees must be encouraged to

lodge grievances about bullying. During this process, companies should take great care to protect the employee from further victimisation.

• If allegations of harassment are found to be true, the company must either rehabilitate the bully or punish him or her.

Coaching the bully is often very effective. If the behaviour is entrenched, regular coaching and counselling for both bully and victim are often very effective.

However, if the bully refuses to take responsibility for their actions, then punishment is sometimes necessary. In this case, the company

disciplinary code should be evoked and the bully punished in line with the disciplinary process.

When a victim is too afraid to lodge a formal grievance, he or she can be offered professional counselling to help them deal with the bullying until they are ready to lodge a grievance.

Workplace bullying is exceedingly expensive to companies, while causing victims emotional difficulties sometimes for years after the bullying has passed.

Both employers and employees must know – by law – that bullying is out of line and that there are legal ways of dealing with this age-old scourge. n

@TrainingRoomZA

By Marleen PotgieterExpert & Designer The Training Room [email protected]

Bullying in the workplace often takes place right under managers’ noses and they don’t know about it until it blows up. This is not because they’re wilfully ignorant or dismissive, but because workplace bullies have a special talent for terrorising their peers or juniors while buttering up their bosses.

66 HUMAN CAPITALBusinessBrief December/January 2014/2015

South African P a y r o l l A s s o c i a t i o n

FA_VDW_SAPA_Bus brief Mag.indd 1 2014/03/14 1:24 PM

67HUMAN CAPITAL BusinessBriefDecember/January 2014/2015

SKILLS RETENTION: a moving target

Consulting engineering firms face the same skills shortages as related industries and within public sector bodies such as local and provincial

government. To say that these firms are in a crisis is not overstated – but one that is ongoing and now just appears to be the norm. Skills shortages becomes more acute when the economy is in a boom phase and less so during recession, but the problem never completely disappears because the fundamentals still need to be addressed.

A lack of skills is severely impacting the country. This is particularly relevant to technical skills where the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) statistics state that South Africa has one engineer for every 3,100 people, compared to Germany with one engineer for every 200 people and in countries like Japan, UK and USA, this ratio is about one to 310.

In South Africa’s developing economy, the ratio should be better, not worse than in developed countries. The effects of supply and demand are no more apparent than in the labour market, especially where sought-after technical skills are in demand.

One cannot look at the issue of skills in isolation. Companies need to take a comprehensive view focusing on attraction, development and retention – a holistic approach, but no one wants to work for a company with a bad image, so their reputation and integrity is paramount.

Attracting mature talent is of course necessary to get current jobs done and this is usually by way of advertising or through recruitment agencies – convenient but not the best way as it doesn’t tackle the fundamental problem of too few engineers and technicians. Talent development is also central to retaining high performing individuals and is designed to offer aspiration to individuals who want to be the best.

Providing the opportunities for academic advancement and working on different, challenging projects – often in other parts of the world – are all attractive incentives for the ambitious employee. As with others, mentoring plays a key role in steering individuals in the right direction and to where the firm wants them to go.

Retaining talent is paramount. Companies need to focus on retaining staff by focusing on rewards and remuneration. While remuneration is often a reason why people leave any firm, it is one of the easier challenges to address. Understanding what motivates individuals to perform at

their best requires deeper understanding of the human psyche and recognition of one’s abilities is a strong motivator. Promotion is also not only good for the individual concerned but serves to inspire others who want the same recognition.

Many companies don’t recognise the importance of ensuring that the workplace becomes a place where employees actually want to be on a day-to-day basis. A company’s culture, in essence meaning the way they do things, the work environment, site conditions, the office space, the way people are treated, and the one-on-one relationship between managers and staff are all factors that determine a person’s decision to stay in a company. n

By Muzi SiyayaGroup Business Development Executive [email protected]

@GIBB_Africa

F ibre broadband Internet access is widely acknowledged as a foundation for digitally-

enabled prosperity, as it “creates the platforms upon which users experience the Internet, and entrepreneurs and businesses innovate” (McKinsey & Co, Internet Matters). In addition, the Broadband Commission, a joint body of UNESCO and the ITU, found that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, additional growth of 1.3% in the national GDP can be expected.

Market supplyTraditional telcos and new fibre specialists alike are contesting this game of one-upmanship, with infrastructure deployments coming thick and fast.

Currently there are about 10 key players investing into fibre infrastructure, with just over 200 000 km of fibre capacity deployed in South Africa – and growing. Telkom dominates with more than 70% of the national fibre footprint under its control, but new market entrants have had a significant impact on reducing the price of Internet access.

The winnersThere’s no catch. Business and residential customers are walking out winners in this instance.

This is true high-speed, lowly contended local access at excellent prices, which will kick the converged services game into a higher gear.

For many years the supply side of the market dominated prices and service offerings, and the demand side of the market had to accept what came their way. At the network level, this has

meant paying for artificial scarcity created by suppliers, for example Telkom withdrawing its highly profitable low-speed [sub-1Mbps] Diginet services from the wholesale market to minimise the impact this has had on the company’s voice services.

With increased access to affordable fibre services, users can properly converge voice, video, Internet, private network and video-on-demand services on the same access network, and totally remove their reliance on old PSTN infrastructure.

CompetitionThe ‘land grab’ opens the market up for true competition. A plethora of providers are in on the act, providing great customer choice. The price that links are going at makes it a numbers game – the more traffic a provider can attract, the better. Providers offering wholesale as well as retail access under the same roof will inevitably find themselves feeding the retail competition. Pricing will be less decided by who owns the infrastructure and more by the kind of service experience customers want.

Looking aheadIn a competitive landscape such as this, things can only get better. It will be fascinating to see what offers will come up next, how widespread it will become, and what enablement is likely to result. Not only is it good for South Africans’ Internet experience, but it will contribute to improved economic growth. n

The fibre rollout race has been hotting up properly of late. Connectivity providers are falling over themselves to cover as much ground as possible with increasingly high-capacity fibre access at aggressive prices and with minimal lead times.

By Dave MeintjesCEOConnection [email protected]

The FIBRE land grab is ON!

December/January 2014/2015BusinessBrief

68 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

“Pricing will be less decided by who owns the infrastructure

and more by the kind of service

experience customers want.”

Research, analysis, and advisory services.In technology, online,

and social media.Tel: +27 11 782 0045 ✱ www.Strategyworx.co.za

Business is increasingly looking to technology to drive the modern business transformation agenda, and not simply implement it. The good news is that for the first

time, the technology actually has the tools to deliver.

Emerging technologies like in-memory databases, mobile devices, cloud computing and social media are all creating new possibilities so far removed from our current reality that they’re being dubbed “disruptive technologies”.

Welcome to the real-time world, where working from gut feel and general trends just doesn’t cut the mustard any more. Business intelligence is becoming less about looking backward and more about predicting and optimising the future. Businesses need more precise, real-time objective data for decisions.

There’s a greater of level of appreciation for insights and data and a realisation that the volume, size and complexity of today’s data just can’t be handled by traditional means. The phenomenal successes of internet companies such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn have helped make this approach more real for many in their private lives. A lot of their success is simply based on effectively leveraging their data: spotting patterns, making predictions and adapting their business to take advantage in real-time.

While the prospect of becoming a real-time enterprise can seem daunting to some organisations, those companies that have embraced such real-time transformation are outperforming their peers in many areas.

The current reality is that many African organisations are still struggling to deliver real-time information to their business users. According to a 2013 survey by the Hackett Group, while more than half of companies (57%) could provide their cash positions in real-time, far fewer had other types of information at the ready. Only 43% could provide customer information in real time, just 28% could deliver supplier data in the moment, and less than a quarter (24%) could provide an instant snapshot of financial performance.

A 2013 global survey of 400 large companies by Bain & Company found that firms using advanced analytics were twice as likely to be in the top quartile of financial performance within their industries; three times as likely to execute decisions as intended; twice as likely to use data very

Real-time BUSINESS a REALITY

frequently when making decisions and five times as likely to make decisions much faster than market peers. That Hackett Group study found that 70% of leading firms—those with mature, tightly-integrated operations—had access to financial, customer and supplier information in near real time, or within one day. Likewise, Accenture found that nearly half of top performing companies deliver key information to business users in real-time. And those organisations that have embarked on the kind of large-scale integration of people, processes, data and technology required for real-time transformation realise key operational benefits, according to Accenture: 46% capitalise on their customer insights, 63% are able to analyse costs and benefits in real-time, and 38% deliver critical information across devices. The results speak for themselves.

The important thing about this innovation journey is that it’s not just about real-time technology alone; it’s about real-time transformation. That requires more than new systems and it demands a cultural shift. And that usually doesn’t happen with a big bang. Real-time transformation is incremental—targeted prototypes and projects, metrics setting and gathering, work and rework—and it rapidly delivers increasing value over time.

It’s clear that organisations with the most advanced real-time capabilities will win in the data-driven future. And the time to begin the real-time transformation is now. n

By Pfungwa Serima CEO SAP [email protected]

December/January 2014/2015 BusinessBrief

69INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Pfungwa2

booked and paid for on the corporate’s account, so not only had the fraudster cheated the travel agency, but also cheated the passengers. They had set up a fake travel agency, sold ‘cheap’ flights for cash, fraudulently booked the flights posing as the UK office and then disappeared with the cash, leaving a trail of cancelled tickets, stranded passengers and a huge financial loss for the travel agency and the corporate to fight over.

The best course of action when receiving a request to change any company details, and especially banking details, is to pick up the phone and verify that your supplier did, in fact send the email. To avoid becoming a target, it’s essential to run monthly virus scans on computers for spyware. If you have staff, make it a policy to change their user names and passwords on a regular basis, and make your staff aware of fraud and not to open any suspicious emails.

Another protective measure is to install more stringent IT systems or to take out insurance against fraud. Both can be costly, particularly insurance, but then again, the money that can be lost if fraud is committed and not discovered in good time, can be even more expensive as well as costly to your reputation. n

There are various ways a fraudster can gain knowledge of your business dealings and payment activities. A

collusive employee could download spyware unknowingly on to your laptop with a flash drive or you could click on a link of a phishing email sent to your inbox. Phishing emails typically request you to verify personal details by clicking on a link that directs you to a page that looks legitimate, perhaps a banking page, but instead downloads malware on to your computer. This gives the fraudster access to your emails. The fraudster would then monitor your email activity for a period of time to gauge the tone in which you correspond with someone you make payments to.

The fraudster would then create a fake email address, posing as one of your suppliers. This could be done through a fake mailer website (such as www.fakemailer.net) that allows you to create and send emails using someone elses email address. It seems above board because you know the person who sent the email, and it sounds like the normal tone used between you. The corporate travel industry has been a fraud target all too often. In one recent case, someone posing to be from a sister company in the UK made contact with

a South African company from the same group requesting details of their corporate travel agency as they were having trouble

booking flights through their UK agency. Without thinking twice, a PA put

this person in touch with the agency, which began to book flights as requested by the UK office.

The scam was only discovered some time later, when the agency grew suspicious of how many flights were being booked to and from the West African region. Of course, the flights were

@Mazars_SA

By Christo SnymanHead: [email protected]

Recently a new fraud alert has gone out warning both business owners and individuals to be vigilant of seemingly legitimate emails requesting a change in bank details. What has been a prevalent scam in the corporate travel space is something that today anyone who deals with vendors in any industry should be wary of.

December/January 2014/2015BusinessBrief

70 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

“It’s essential to run monthly virus scans on computers, for

spyware”

Protecting yourself AGAINST fraud

YOUR SECURITY’S future

It is predicted that within the next 15 years, the vast majority of the world will be connected to the

Internet via their smartphones. Wi-Fi networks are being established in even the poorest countries to get everyone online. In a world where everyone is online the possibilities are endless, but so are the threats.

The invasiveness permitted by the digital world cannot be underestimated. One of the effects of the apps era is that we are virtually carrying our friends and acquaintances around with us in our pockets. Through various applications, you can see exactly where they are, what they are doing, how they are feeling, what they like. In the wrong hands, that information is incredibly valuable to people who want to target others for their own nefarious purposes.

When people know where you are, then they also know where you are not. If you are away on a long holiday, criminals could use this information to target your house.

But more than just monitoring you on social media, criminals are also targeting more sensitive information on your phone, such as your banking details. In 2012, global online shopping exceeded US$1tn for the first time. Online has proven itself as a reliable shopping channel to access anything from anywhere in the world. A subsequent report has found that online shopping is migrating from personal computers to mobile phones.

However, new technology also offers new ways to keep safe. In a country like South Africa, mobile technology has the ability to offer an extra barrier against many of the country’s social ills, including hijackings, violent crime

and assault. Because we have unique challenges in our country, there is an opportunity to create unique solutions to meet these challenges with the introduction of appropriate applications.

Humans often do not recognise that they are entering a hazardous situation before it is too late. Applications that use certain algorithms can be turned into early warning mechanisms. The data is there; all that is needed is a device to mine that data and turn it into useful information.

For instance, your smartphone could identify that you are alone, you are away from where you usually are, you are an a high-risk area, it picks up from your smart watch that your heart rate is elevated, and you say a safe word. All these elements combine to create an alert and your app sends a message to the police and lets them know where you are and that there is a distress.

This is just one example of technology that is already with us, applied in a new way to keep you safe. n

By Greg ForbesMDLion’s Wing Brand [email protected]

“Mobile technology offers an extra barrier against many of the

country’s social ills” INSERT YOURMEETING

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The rate at which technology is progressing has an effect on us all, even those who don’t particularly care for the newest developments.

The study investigated 461 commercial buildings and found that the top quartile EE properties delivered a

15.9% total return, 170 basis points higher than the remainder of the buildings which delivered a total return of 14.2%. In addition, while the income returns generated by the two samples of properties were the same, the EE properties achieved a higher capital growth of 8.1%.

Implementing a holistic EE plan is often simpler than expected and will essentially always yield immediate and sustainable returns on investment.

The energy saving potential is dependent on the financial return on investment that the owner would require. With a long-term investment view, a saving of 50% is quite achievable. There are also innovative financial support instruments available to make the initial investment into EE solutions easier. In most cases the initial interventions could have very little capital investment requirements; we have even seen savings of up to 15% from improved behaviour and corrective maintenance of existing systems. However, this is not guaranteed for any owner, and this is where the understanding

of the energy use baseline is an invaluable tool.

Transforming an existing building for optimal energy use requires an in-depth understanding of the energy use profile and its components. It is important for business and property owners to focus on the areas that have the greatest impact on energy use at the best return on investment. The first

step is measuring the energy use (be it electricity or other sources) and creating a baseline of consumption for the whole as well as its subcomponents.

The results can vary significantly depending on the occupants of the building and the energy requirements, but usually these subcomponents include lighting, climate control, and operational equipment such as IT and data processing. The information gathered by the measuring process must be evaluated by an experienced energy advisor to identify key saving opportunities.

Often the interventions could be as simple as reinstating existing systems to full functionality. However, in some cases the building envelope must be altered to reduce energy intensity. The functionality of most systems deteriorates over time due to poor maintenance and aging components. As a result, a strategy must be designed to implement the changes to the building and monitor and maintain its continued efficiency from implementation onwards.

The financial benefit of an effective EE plan is a direct saving on the bottom line that will just increase over time as the cost of energy inevitably increases. The longer owners wait to start the process of managing energy use, the larger the potential losses will become, which can be prevented with the introduction of targeted interventions. On top of this, the CO2 emissions negatively impact our environment and an opportunity is lost by the owners to position their buildings as a premium address in terms of responsible business. n

Energy EFFICIENT building benefitsA new study conducted by Investment Property Databank (IPD) and the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) has found that energy efficient (EE) commercial buildings in South Africa deliver better financial returns that non-EE buildings for their owners.

By Dawie KrielHead of Engineering Energy [email protected]

PROCESS & OPERATIONS72

BusinessBrief December/January 2014/2015

Global Partner Associations:

Conference Date31 May - 2 June 2015

Sun City

www.sapics.org.za+27 (0) 11 023 6701

Discover end-to-end supply chain solutions at the 37th

Annual SAPICS Conference

the pulse of africa’s supply

chains

@CipherWave_SA

Whether or not to outsource non-core business functions is an increasingly important question up for debate by growing businesses worldwide.

The concept of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is often misunderstood. Many perceive it as being the outsourcing of their “call centre” to an external service provider. This is a parochial notion and undermines the broader aspects and value of what BPO entails. In the context of accounting and finance, BPO is the outsourcing of accounting and finance functions within an organization.

With growth, efficiencies are challenged as the inevitable bottlenecks settle in. This is the perfect time for a business to do some “housekeeping” and ascertain whether there are certain tasks that could be handled better and more efficiently by an external service provider. Outsourcing often helps a business avoid a premature internal transition from the informal entrepreneurial phase to a more bureaucratic mode of operation. A few examples of functional processes that can be outsourced:

• Accounting system set-up and bookkeeping• Revenue and cost accounting • Expense and cash management • Accounts payable and received • Payroll • Fixed asset accounting • Bank operation authority • Account reconciliation and analysis • Month-end close• Financial reporting and consolidation• Outsourced hr functions• Company secretarial services There are many benefits and drawbacks that are linked to BPO services, although benefits often surpass the drawbacks.

It is essential to know the advantages and disadvantages of business process outsourcing before entrusting any task to a service provider. There are many companies that offer a vast and full range of outsourced services. This needs to be carefully considered and evaluated and should not be accepted at face value, finding the right fit between an outsourced service provider and an organisation is crucial in ensuring that potential exponential growth is realised, value unlocked and continued sustainability is achieved. n

Get into OUTSOURCING!

By Rivaaj KalidinHead of BPO Accensis [email protected]

This isn’t great news for tenants because increasing costs are often passed on to them. South African

electricity prices have increased more than 300% since 2007 and are still on an upward trajectory, with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approving a 12.69% electricity price increase for 2015.

It’s hard to believe that in 2007, South African electricity prices were among the cheapest in the world at around 43 cents a unit. Fast forward to today and they are now among the highest. For businesses, a 20% increase in energy costs has a similar effect on the bottom line as a 5% drop in sales.

The good news for commercial properties already using energy supplied by solar PV – and for those considering it – is that the more expensive grid electricity gets, the

more cost-effective and affordable solar power becomes. This is because the pay-back period becomes shorter, giving end

users a better return on investment.

Solar PV systems offer an attractive internal rate of return (IRR),

especially considering solar electricity is free after

the initial payback period, presenting an effective cost-saving alternative. In addition, it’s much easier to budget for the monthly solar PV system instalments than to dig deeper into company profits to pay for fluctuating

and unpredictable fossil energy bills. Solar also offers commercial properties a way to cut their carbon emissions and environmental impact. Further, reducing reliance on grid-supplied fossil energy by using solar electricity to meet part of their energy needs – up to 50% over the 15- to 20-year lifespan of the system – means that commercial properties can be less impacted by the spiralling electricity prices or the impending carbon tax.

South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels is economically and environmentally unsustainable. Aside from releasing climate-warming carbon into the atmosphere, fossil fuels are also getting more expensive. In contrast, the cost of solar is getting cheaper and it makes financial sense in the long term because the sun’s energy is unlimited and free. And that surely appeals to every profit-making business while offering commercial properties a way to stabilise some of their long-term electricity costs. n

SOLAR: the smart energy option

By Gareth WarnerManaging Director Solarcentury in South [email protected]

Energy costs are one of the most significant and unpredictable business expenses. Fluctuating electricity usage over the years, coupled with constantly rising electricity prices, make it difficult for managers of office blocks, schools, hospitals, hotels and other facilities and commercial properties to budget for energy spend.



@solarcentury

“In 2007, electricity prices were among the cheapest in the

world. Fast forward to today and they are now

among the highest.”

IS waste to ENERGY FEASIBLE? South Africa’s power supply is taking strain and with the country’s grid nearing peak demand, an intervention is needed. To this end, several alternatives are being explored but there is a growing need for more sustainable methods of power generation and demand side management.

PROCESS & OPERATIONS 75

BusinessBriefDecember/January 2014/2015

@GIBB_Africa

By Dr Urishanie GovenderGeneral Manager GIBB [email protected]

bbrief.co.za is a portal where business decision makers can access business resources in South Africa that effect their decision making ...

According to the National Waste Information Baseline Report, of the total 108mn tonnes of

waste, 90% goes to landfills.

As a result SA’s landfills quickly run out of space and a viable solution presents itself in the form of waste to energy.

Waste to energy presents a crucial opportunity to address the energy gap. Waste to energy is a proven and environmentally sound process that provides sustainable recovery of energy.

SA’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2010, allows for approximately 1% of alternative sources of energy, of which waste to energy can play a role.

The process includes generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat, generally through the combustion of waste that powers a steam-driven turbine.

This is usually the first port of call, but another popular method is through landfill gas to energy, which involves capturing gases

(primarily methane) produced from decomposing buried waste.

SA looks to the East and West for working examples of Waste to Energy programmes.

The technology is used extensively in Europe and developed nations in Asia such as Russia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Interestingly, every ton of solid waste processed in a waste to energy facility avoids the mining of one third ton of coal and its associated impacts.

While there is a strong case for waste to energy in South Africa, before any projects get underway, a bankable feasibility study needs to be conducted.

At the moment, our landfills don’t tend to recycle, which is always the first step. So once you have reused and recycled what you can and implemented a system to do that continuously, only then can you determine what kind of waste you

have to work with, and thus, which technology is most suitable to produce energy. The issue is that most private firms and municipalities have hurdle rates for their capex projects, so due diligence needs to take its course. n

In as much as technology has become an important enabler, an effective way of achieving successful

improvements is to focus on your business requirements. The ways in which organisations address these requirements can be twofold – reactively or proactively. This is largely dependent on the urgency of the opportunity, the capacity to address the improvement and the value-add it brings to the business.

Improvement techniques typically identify and align opportunities to organisations’ goals, and develop plans for improving business delivery through efficiency and effectiveness. The output of this promotes consistency, quality and increases the likelihood of success.

In our global economy, organisations are continually faced with a wide range of demands that need to be managed in order to maximise stakeholder value. Whether that is driven by the internal pressures of operational excellence and capital efficiency or the external pressures of regulation and direct competition, organisations need to focus on what really matters the most.

Organisations that apply a reactive approach to business improvement are invariably seen as responders to problems statements – seeking to understand the concern, performing root cause analysis and deploying remediation plans for

correction and improvement. On the other hand, organisations with

a proactive approach devise large-scale improvement

programmes across their functions to provide better levels of assurance and ongoing optimisation. These programmes are usually supported by

dedicated, in-house Business Improvement Offices.

Irrespective of being reactive or proactive in your mind-set, the golden thread to any successful improvement plan is having the executive leadership and management commitment. This allows for a transparent statement of why continuous improvement is necessary, and paints a clear vision of how the organisation will be different after the changes.

Improvement initiatives should be delivered upon sound implementation plans with comprehensive recommendations. With these initiatives further strengthened by assigning adequate resources with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, the likelihood of improvements to quality, timeliness and costs are heightened.

There is no silver bullet. Both approaches are equally effective, but the viable alternative ultimately comes down to the improvement efforts required in execution. The Six Sigma doctrine asserts that continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable results are of vital importance to business success. In order to achieve sustained quality improvement, commitment from the entire organisation, particularly from senior management, is required. n

REACT PROACTIVELY?

By Craig Scott-Rodger Associate Director:

Finance and OperationsAdept Advisory

[email protected]

In the face of today’s competitive landscape, the continuous improvement of business operations and processes is a prerequisite for maintaining an advantage over your corporate peers.



@adeptadvisory

“Improvement initiatives should be

delivered upon sound implementation plans with comprehensive recommendations”

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