31 Jan 2017

Featured Tender: Moretele South Water Supply 25 Ml Command Reservoir

by | posted in: Featured Tender | 0

Moretele South Water Supply 25 Ml Command Reservoir

 

Contract Number: RFB/MW/115/2016-2017 – Magalies Water

Description : Magalies Water invites tenders for Moretele South Water Supply 25 Ml Command Reservoir .

Industry Sector : Water

Industry : Infrastructure

Region : North West

Site Inspection: A compulsory clarification meeting with representitives of the Employer will take place at Lapa of he Klipdrift WTW. Co-ordinates are: 25°22’53.34″S; 28°18’26.41″E on 06 February 2017 starting at 11:00.

Closing Date: 07 March 2017 at 12:00.

Restrictions: It is estimated that tenderers should have a cidb contractor grading of 8CE. 7CE Potentially Emerging Enterprises who satisfy criteria stated in the Tender Data may submit Tender offers. Preferences are offered to tenderers who 8 CE or higher or 7CE/PE Only tenderers who Civil Engineering Class of Works are eligible to submit tenders. Telephonic, Telegraphic, Telex, Facsimile, Emailed and Late Tenders will not be accepted. Tenders may only be submitted on the tender documentation that is issued. Requirements for sealing, addressing, delivering, opening and assessment of Tenders are stated in the Tender Data.

If you are a valued Tender subscriber, Click to find more details about Moretele South Water Supply 25 Ml Command Reservoir – DTA 618559.

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

19 Jan 2017

L2B Blog: Build your Business with Building Tenders

by | posted in: General, Uncategorized | 3

Build your Business with Building Tenders

Build your Business with Building Tenders

There are a variety of approaches when it comes to tenders in the building and construction industry, that can drum up business. The most obvious is the direct approach by the main contractor. You tender. Tendering can be costly and time consuming as your company is competing with other companies for contracts. To increase your chances, be thorough and conscientious. Everything starts with the tender notice and ends with the tender notice. Contact the relevant professionals and ask for clarity on any aspect of the tender notice you are not sure of. If meetings are scheduled, attend them timeously. If there are any discrepancies in the tender documents, query them. Comply with the instructions in the tender document, to the letter. Ensure your signed and completed tender document is handed in at the correct time, at the correct place on the correct day. And hopefully, you’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s, your company is the awarded company.

Another approach is sub-contracting. Main contractors require prices for their Bills of Quantity (BoQ), and they’re going to get them from sub-contractors. If you are a subbie, ensure your prices are competitive. Communicate with the main contractor and build that relationship and let the main contractor know about all your services and your products as they might not need you now; but they could need you later. Even if you can’t price that particular BoQ, still maintain that relationship. Subbies don’t need to wait for the main contractors to approach them. You can approach the main contractors, and just keep your company services and products alive in their minds.

Once the tender has been awarded; the subbie can approach the awarded company and remind them of their prices and services.

In the context of Leads 2 Business, knowing what tenders are out is the first stepping off point. Ensure your Advisory is set up to meet your company needs. Go through your Advisory email each day and follow up on any tenders of interest. Tenders are time sensitive so any delay can be incredibly counter productive.

As a main contractor, you could monitor the tender to ensure that you are notified of any changes to the tender notice.

As a subbie you would monitor the tender to ensure that you’re notified of when it is awarded, so that you can follow up with the awarded company. You can request a BoQ, to check whether any of your services or products are specified. You could also request a site attendance register, so you can approach the other companies that could possibly be tendering and with the help of the BoQ know what items need to be priced. Exposing your company to as many in the industry as possible, can only bring benefits.

Ensuring your company is listed on the Directory, also adds to the advertising of your company and will expose your company to those that seek your services.

There’s almost no end to the amount of work and opportunities available as you go along the supply chain for building tenders.

Examples of Building Tenders:

DTA 616433 – Construction of New Mdzimba Primary School. CIDB 8GB

DTA 616484 – KZN: Department of Health: Groutville: Groutville Clinic: Replacement of clinic. CIDB 8GB

DTA 616422  – Mount Fletcher Magistrate Office: Condition Based Maintanenance. CIDB 7GB.

Awarded Building tenders:

Awarded DTA 564116 – Rotunda Park Precinct Project in Turffontein – Phase 2

Awarded DTA 604734 – Construction of Bilanyoni Library

 

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.

To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.

To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

16 Nov 2016

Tenders by CIDB – What do you need to get the job?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General | 84

What do you need to get the job?

cidb-what-you-need-to-get-the-job

The Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) – a Schedule 3A public entity – was established by Act of Parliament (Act 38 of 2000) to promote a regulatory and developmental framework that builds:

  • Construction industry delivery capability for South Africa’s social and economic growth.
  • A proudly South African construction industry that delivers to globally competitive standards.

The cidb’s focus is on

  • Sustainable growth, capacity development and empowerment
  • Improved industry performance and best practice
  • A transformed industry, underpinned by consistent and ethical procurement practices
    Enhanced value to clients and society

Construction companies is South Africa are required to register with the CIDB for various classes of construction works, if they want to be awarded Government tenders, and are assigned ratings based on their financial capability. CIDB ratings, when required, are listed on tender notices and perform two functions: The most obvious being that if a company is not registered in that particular rating or class of work then that company can not be awarded that contract (unless they form a Joint Venture); and the second is that the Rating gives a estimated value for the contract concerned. This is helpful for subcontractors to determine whether it is worth their while to approach those companies tendering.

Below is a breakdown of the various Construction works and how the various ratings are determined:

Class of Construction Works

GB General Building

CE Civil Engineering

EB Electrical Engineering Works – Building

EP Electrical Engineering Works – Infrastructure

ME Mechanical Engineering

SB Asphalt works (supply and lay)

SC Building Excavations, shaft sinking, lateral earth support

SD Corrosion protection (cathodic, anodic and electrolytic)

SE Demolition and blasting

SF Fire prevention and protection systems

SG Glazing, curtain walls and shop fronts

SH Landscaping, irrigation and horticulture works

SI Lifts, escalators and travellators (installation, commissioning and maintenance)

SJ Piling and specialised foundations for building and structures

SK Road markings and signage

SL Structural steelwork fabrication and erection

SM Timber buildings and structures

SN Waterproofing of basements, roofs and walls using specialist systems

SO Water supply and drainage for buildings (wet services, plumbing)

SQ Steel security fencing or precast concrete

Class of Construction Works

Civil Engineering (CE): Construction Works primarily concerned with materials such as steel, concrete, earth and rock and their application in the development, extension, installation, maintenance, removal, renovation, alteration, or dismantling of building and engineering infrastructure.

Basic Work Types: Water, sewerage, roads, railways, harbours and transport, urban development and municipal services.

Examples: Structures such as cooling tower, bridge culvert, dam, grand stand, road, railway, reservoir, runway, swimming pool, silo or tunnel. The results of operations such as dredging, earthworks and geotechnical processes. Township services, water treatment and supply, sewerage works, sanitation, soil conservation works, irrigation works, storm-water and drainage works, coastal  works, ports, harbours, airports and pipelines.

Electrical Engineering Works – Building (EB): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with the installation, extension, modification or repair of electrical installations in or on any premises used for the transmission of electricity from a point of control to a point of consumption, including any article forming part of such an installation

Basic Work Types: All electrical equipment forming an integral and permanent part of buildings and/or structures, including any wiring, cable jointing and laying and electrical overhead line construction.

Examples: Electrical installations in buildings. Electrical reticulations within a plot of land (erf) or building site. Standby plant and uninterrupted power supply. Verification and certification of electrical installations on premises.

Electrical Engineering Works – Infrastructure (EP): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with development, extension, installation, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of engineering infrastructure: a) relating to the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity; or b) which cannot be classified as EB.

Basic Work Types: Electrical power generation, transmission, control and distribution equipment and systems

Examples: Power generation. Street and area lighting. Substations and protection systems. Township reticulations. Transmission lines

General Building Works (GB): Construction Works that: a) are primarily concerned with the development, extension, installation, renewal, renovation, alteration, or dismantling of a permanent shelter for its occupants or contents; or b) cannot be categorised in terms of the definitions provided for civil engineering works, electrical engineering works, mechanical engineering works, or specialist works.

Basic Work Types: Building and ancillary works other than those categorised as: Civil engineering works; Electrical engineering works; Mechanical engineering works; Specialist works.

Examples: Buildings for domestic, industrial, institutional or commercial occupancies. Car ports. Stores. Walls.

Mechanical Engineering Works (ME): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with the development, extension, installation, removal, alteration, renewal of engineering infrastructure for gas transmission and distribution, solid waste disposal, heating, ventilation and cooling, chemical works, metallurgical works, manufacturing, food processing and materials handling.

Basic Work Types: Machine systems including those relating to the environment of building interiors. Gas transmission and distribution systems. Pipelines. Materials handling, lifting machinery, heating, ventilation and cooling, pumps. Continuous process systems, chemical works, metallurgical works, manufacturing, food processing such as that in concentrator machinery and apparatus, oil and gas wells, smelters, cyanide plants, acid plants, metallurgical machinery, equipment and apparatus, and works necessary for the beneficiation of metals, minerals, rocks, petroleum and organic substances or other chemical processes.

Examples: Air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation. Boiler installations and steam distribution. Central heating. Centralised hot water generation. Compressed air, gas and vacuum installations. Conveyor and materials handling installations. Continuous process systems involving chemical works, metallurgical works, oil and gas wells, acid plants, metallurgical machinery, equipment and apparatus, and works necessary for the beneficiation of metals, minerals, rocks, petroleum and organic substance and other chemical processes. Dust and sawdust extraction. Kitchen equipment. Laundry equipment. Refrigeration and cold rooms. Waste handling systems (including compactors)

Specialist Works

SB: The extension, installation, repair, maintenance or renewal, or removal of asphalt.

SJ: The development, installation, removal, or dismantling, as relevant, of piles and other specialised foundations for buildings and structures.

SC: The development, extension, installation, removal and dismantling, as relevant, associated with building excavations, shaft sinking and lateral earth support.

SK: The installation, renewal, removal, alteration or dismantling, as relevant, of road markings and signage.

SD: The development, extension, installation, repair, renewal, removal or alteration of corrosion protection systems (cathodic, anodic and electrolytic).

SL: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of structural steelwork and scaffolding.

SE: Demolition of buildings and engineering infrastructure and blasting.

SM: Timber buildings and structures.

SF: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of fire prevention and protection infrastructure (drencher and sprinkler systems and fire installation).

SN: The extension, installation, repair, maintenance, renewal, removal, renovation or alteration, as relevant, of the waterproofing of basements, roofs and walls using specialist systems.

SG: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of glazing, curtain walls and shop fronts.

SO: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, alteration, or dismantling or demolition of water installations and soil and waste water drainage associated with buildings (wet services and plumbing).

SH: The development, extension, installation, maintenance, renewal, removal, alteration or dismantling, as relevant, of landscaping, irrigation and horticultural works.

SQ: The development, extension, installation, repairs, dismantling of precast walls, installation of wire perimeter fencing, diamond perimeter fencing, palisade steel fencing with posts and stay at intervals.

SI: The development, extension, installation, repair, maintenance, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of lifts, escalators, travellators and hoisting machinery

How contractor grading designations are determined

Your contractor grading designation is determined by your financial capability and your works capability.

Your financial capability relates to your financial history (turnover), and the amount of working capital you can muster to sustain a contract, i.e. available capital. Available capital is the sum of total equity, retained income, shareholders or member’s loans and any form of acceptable financial sponsorship.

Your works capability is determined by the largest contract you have undertaken and completed in your class of construction works (completed during the 5 years immediately preceding the application).

Your contractor grading designation will be used by Government (national, provincial, municipal and state owned enterprises) to qualify your tender to be considered for a particular construction works contract. For example: if you are registered as a 5CE, you will be considered for public sector civil engineering works contracts of a value not exceeding R6.5 million. You may register for different classes of works, for example, you may be registered as a 5CE and as an 8ME. This means that you will also be considered for public sector mechanical engineering works contracts of a value not exceeding R130 million.

Determining Financial Capability

The specific requirements that need to be satisfied in respect of the contractor grading designation being applied for, depending on the contractor grading designation applied for, the financial capability will be determined from:

  • the best turnover from the two financial years immediately preceding the application;
  • the available capital that you are able to mobilise;
  • the contractor must satisfy all the criteria relating to financial capability.

Determining Works Capability

The specific requirements that you need to satisfy in respect of the contractor grading designation applied are:

Designation

Grade 2: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R130 000.

Grade 3: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R450 000 and either have best turnover not less than R1 000 000 or have available capital not less than R100 000.

Grade 4: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R900 000 and either have best  turnover not less than R2 000 000 or have available capital not less than R200 000.

Grade 5 and higher: Must have works and financial capability not less than that tabulated in Table C(i) below, for the  contractor grading designation applied for.

Determining Financial Capability

Potentially Emerging Enterprises

 A registered, potentially emerging contractor may be awarded a contract at one level higher than the enterprise’s registered contractor grading designation, if the client or employer:

Is satisfied that such a contractor has the potential to develop and qualify to be registered in that higher grade; and

Ensures that financial, management or other support is provided – in the context of a targeted development programme

  • to enable the contractor to successfully execute that contract.

Joint Ventures

A joint venture is a grouping of two or more contractors who jointly undertake to perform a construction works contract.

Any enterprise that tenders or enters into a contract for construction works with the public sector, must be registered.

Once-off joint ventures do not have to register. Each partner of the joint venture must be separately registered and the lead partner must have a contractor grading designation not lower than one level below the required grading designation in the class of construction works under consideration.

The contractor grading designation for a once-off joint venture is assessed by the client, based on:

the sum of the best annual turnover of all the members of the joint venture;

the sum of the available capital of all the members of the joint venture; and

The cidb has developed a calculator to enable assessment of joint ventures. This calculator is available on the cidb website at www.cidb.org.za

Leads 2 Business subscribers have the option to filter by CIDB ratings as well as set up their Advisory settings, so they only receive the Ratings that they are interested in. My advice in this regard, would be to go “one above and one below”. The idea of the CIDB ratings is progression. New companies start out with a CIDB 1 and as the company grows in experience and financial standing, they would progress up the ratings. So a subscriber would select “one above” (as in a Rating above their current Rating) and select “one below” to make sure that they are notified of any tenders where only the PE (Potentially Emerging) rating has been specified on the tender. Keeping an eye on the next rung up the ladder, but ensuring your foot is still firmly in place on the rung below (if you like metaphors).

Examples of  tender notices of various CIDB Ratings and Classes:

CIDB 1: Upgrading of School Ablution Facilities – DTA 609616 CIDB 4: Construction of a large Ablution block at Thusego Intermediate School – DTA 609710 CIDB 7: Upgrade and Extension of the Warrenton WTP (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and C&I) – DTA 609603
CIDB 2: Supply, Deliver and Erect 6000m wire Barbed Wire Fencing for Bambanani co-op – DTA 609446  

CIDB 5: Replacement and Maintenance of Traffic Signal Equipment  – DTA 609486

 CIDB 8: Reseal of National Route N1 Section 29 between Km 70 and Musina – DTA 608049
 

CIDB 3: Construction of a bridge at Alberton Campus – DTA 609447

 CIDB 6: Resurface and Upgrade Boksburg Athletics Grounds – DTA 609500  

CIDB 9: Observatory Forensic Pathology Laboratory: Replacement – DTA 609086

 

cidb HELPLINE  | 086 100 2432  |  CIDB

 

Construction Industry Development Board Act, 2000 (Act No 38 of 2000)  

Application for Contractor Registration Grade 1 (July 2016)

 Application for Contractor Registration Grade 2 – 9 (July 2016)

 

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

5 Oct 2016

Tender Timing – Site Inspections

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Life Lessons | 0

Site Inspections

94-blog-site-inspections

Tender Timing – Site Inspections

 

When I do training with any new L2B staff member, it involves the talk through of how we publish tender notices on the L2B website. What goes where, why this format is used etc. The spiel for Site Inspections is as follows “The site inspection date is the most important date on a tender notice. If a subscriber misses the site inspection they can’t tender and we’ve right royally screwed up”.Okay, maybe that last part doesn’t get said aloud. A lot. But it’s the truth. The ability to tender hinges on attendance to a compulsory site insection or site meeting, briefing session or clarification session or information meeting. It goes by many names, but it means the same thing when “compulsory” is used. Hell, even when a tender advert mentions “non-compulsory”; the level of importance doesn’t diminish. These meetings are scheduled for a reason. They are there to offer clarity, and give opportunities for questions to be asked, extensions to be requested, to scope out who else is at the meeting (alot of side eye going on) and to let potential tenderers experience and witness any challenges there might be involved in the contract. These meetings can be quite simple and straightforward with just a few companies, and other times you can have meetings with hundreds of companies being represented. We see some of these site attendance registers, and wonder how these meetings are handled due to sheer number of participants.

 

Technically, there’s supposed be to a certain amount of time between the first publication of the tender advert and the site meeting, and then again between the site meeting and the closing date. Technically. This doesn’t always happen. There could be a variety of reasons. Very few of them can stand the light of day. But it is a reality that needs to be taken into consideration. Time is of the essence, as they say. Go through your Advisory emails each day, so there’s no surprises concerning missed site meetings. Set reminders for yourself, and Monitor the tender notice to be updated should any of the information change.

 

Be aware when the tender documents are available, in relation to the site meeting. Sometimes there isn’t a problem, and the tender documents are available right up until the closing date. Other times, this is a huge consideration. If there’s a cut-off date for documents, know that this date will be adhered to and inevitably means that ‘no-chancers’ will be entertained.

 

Always question any discrepancies in the site inspection. Always question any discrepancy in the tender notice. Period. Whether it’s a contradiction between the advert and the documents, or two different adverts for the same tender, anything. The earlier we can establish what the correct information is, the better off everyone is. Sometimes the problem is glaringly obvious and we get on the phone and sort it out as soon as possible and don’t need to be prompted by our subscribers. Other times, it isn’t obvious.

 

Should you be attending the meeting and need help with directions, if you need our assistance, please try and ask before the day of the meeting. The stress levels go way up when I’m trying to track down a Municipality staff member who’s half way to the middle of nowhere to get directions to said middle of nowhere site meeting venue. The panic is real, folks. We know the importance of these meetings and how attendance and non-attendance affects our subscribers.

 

Any and all dates on a tender notice carry weight, and must be taken seriously. If there’s any doubt or confusion, feel free to contact us so that we might assist. Get yourself to those meetings, as they are an excellent way to network, experience the competition and represent your company to Municipalities, Government Departments and Consultants.

 

“Eight percent of success is showing up” – Woody Allen

“The world is run by those that show up ” Robert Johnson

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

7 Sep 2016

Keep on track with Tender opportunities

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 1

90-blog-tracking-tender-opportunities-that-will-derail-your-competitors

Tracking Tender Opportunities that will derail your competitors

 

Like most things in life, knowing is half the battle. If you don’t know about a potential tender or opportunity, your option to take advantage and pursue it has been removed. To ensure that you’re always in the know, at least with Leads 2 Business, your Advisory Settings need to be set up to meet your needs. Leads 2 Business hinges on two parts; the daily Advisory email and the website (www.L2B.co.za).

 

The Advisory email is sent out each afternoon and delivers that days’ information straight to you. The email is based on the your Advisory Settings, so it stands to reason if the Advisory Setting isn’t set up satisfactorily then the Advisory email isn’t going to meet the your needs. Our subscribers have two complaints concerning the information we provide; there’s too much and there’s too little. Understandably this is a very precarious line to walk. Too little runs the risk of missing pertinent information; and too much means an information overload. I tend to favour ‘too much”. Better I decide what’s best for me rather than have someone or something else do it for me. But that’s just me. To reach a happy medium, is a combination of training (given by L2B staff), communication on the part of our subscribers (telling us what you want/ need & expect) and working through what you receive each day. You have full access to alter and update your Advisory Settings at any time, so if your company has expanded or diversified in some way; it follows that your Advisory Settings need to be updated to meet the new changes. The Advisory is sent out each day. This is extremely important because time is money. The earlier you are aware of a potential tender notice or new project; the more time you have to prepare for it.

 

The Leads 2 Business website is where you work through the information you’ve received. The most important aspect would be the ability to Search. The Search is now a global search, meaning one search field searches through our entire database (Private Projects, Daily Tenders, Directory and News). From this you can filter down further and get more specific. Why search when you receive the Advisory email? It’s a good safety net. It allows for the Advisory email to be super specific (so you aren’t scrolling for days), and the searches to be very general. Reaching that happy medium spoken of above. You even have the ability to “Dismiss” a tender from your search result should it not be what you are looking for, and never have to see it again. My advice when searching? Always ensure you’ve got “Newest” selected. L2B has been around for awhile, and information is our business, and we have a lot of it. “Newest” ensure the most recent results appear first.

 

Once you’ve found a tender you are interested in, whether tendering directly or subcontracting, you have the ability to Monitor the tender notice. Once you’ve Monitored a tender notice, you will receive updates on that particular tender notice, should there be any. Examples of these updates are addendums: changes to site inspections and closing dates. When documents are attached (for example: Site Inspection and Bidders Lists), you will be notified. These are helpful for pricing and subbies. Then you’ll be notified in the change of Status of the tender notice. Has it been cancelled or has it been retendered prompting you to go to the new tender notice. Has it been awarded, and you now have the awarded companies details. You can Monitor a tender yourself, or assign one of your Monitors (a colleague perhaps) to monitor a tender. The Monitors you add to your Profile will have access to those tender notices you assign to them. This allows you to assign potential opportunities to your colleagues and reps, and they will have all the necessary information at their disposal.

 

The various features available on the individual tender notices, are as follows:

Email the Researcher that created the tender notice for assistance.

Set reminders on Site Inspection dates and Closing Date

Request Site Attendance Registers & Bidders Lists – If there are Documents already attached, they are available to the right of the tender notice.

Request BoQ (Bill of Quantity) – If there is a BoQ already attached, it is available to the right of the tender notice.

Make your Own Notes

Download the Tender Notice

What’s the point of all of these features? To work the information. There are a variety of companies out there can benefit at a variety of stages in the procurement process. Consultants are required very early on, and sometimes through out the process. Contractors are interested in the tender stage and subcontractors and vendors can benefit from putting forward their company details even after completion.

 

What you put in, is what you get out. To be competitive is to be in the know. That involves being pro-active in all things. Leads 2 Business is a tool that can be hugely beneficial when used correctly. Talk to us. Training is free and there are various avenues to contact us. Email directly off of the tender notices and projects; LiveHelp allows you to chat to a L2B researcher directly; call us or submit Feedback. Suggestions are always welcome. The more we learn about the companies that subscribe to us, the more we understand how the information we provide is used. We work and learn together to keep on the right track.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

3 Aug 2016

Which Municipalities produce the top Tenders in Gauteng?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

86-Blog-Which-Municipalities-produce-the-top-Tenders-in-Gauteng

Gauteng which means “place of gold”, is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) and was renamed “Gauteng” in December 1994.

Situated in the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, accounting for only 1.5% of the land area. Nevertheless, it is highly urbanised, containing the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, its administrative capital, Pretoria, and other large industrial areas such as Midrand and Vanderbijlpark. As of 2015, it has a population of nearly 13.2 million, making it the most populous province in South Africa.

As of May 2011 Gauteng is divided into three metropolitan municipalities, and two district municipalities which are further divided into seven local municipalities.

Metropolitan municipalities:

  1. City of Tshwane (http://www.tshwane.gov.za)

  2. City of Johannesburg (http://www.joburg.org.za)

  3. City of Ekurhuleni (http://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za)

District municipalities:

  1. West Rand (http://www.wrdm.gov.za) containing Randfontein (http://www.randfontein.gov.za), Westonaria (http://www.westonaria.gov.za), Mogale City (http://www.mogalecity.gov.za) and Merafong (http://www.merafong.gov.za)

  2. Sedibeng containing Emfuleni, Lesedi and Midvaal

Westonaria Local Municipality is set to amalgamate with Randfontein Local Municipality after the 2016 Local Elections, set to become the new Rand West Local Municipality.

Below are some Tenders and Projects of interest involving the Municipalities of Gauteng:

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality:

DTA 589550 – Construction of Phomolong Multi-Purpose community centre.

PPA 12354 – Tshwane Hammanskraal BPO Park – Phase 1 to 3

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality:

PPA 16853 – Construction of roads and a stormwater management system for Vlakfontein Extension 2 in Gauteng.

PPA 16068 – Upgrading of road Intersections in Matholesville extension 1 and 2 in Gauteng.

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality:

DTA 588075 – Technical Resource Teams (TRT) consisting of a multi-disciplinary professional team to render full built environment related consulting services

PPA 15240 – Ekurhuleni IRPTN / BRT – Infrastructure (Phase 1)

PPA 17402 – Etwatwa Sewer Pipes

Randfontein Local Municipality:

DTA 585051 – Rehabilitation of Roads in Mohlakeng and Toekomsrus Phase 4

Westonaria Local Municipality:

DTA 591181 – Simunye: Construction of Internal Streets with associated Stormwater for Westonaria Local Municipalty – Phase 7

DTA 591176 – Roads in Zuurbekom (Phase 2)

DTA 591187 – Construction of Westonaria Borwa Switch Station (Phase 4)

Mogale City Local Municipality:

PPA 15434 – Magaliesburg WWCW

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauteng

http://localgovernment.co.za

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

13 Jul 2016

What is Project Management?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General | 1

What is Project Management?

82-Blog-What-is-Project-Management

 

What is a Project?

A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.

And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

What is Project Management?

Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget.

TOS

Project management processes fall into five groups:

・ Initiating

・ Planning

・ Executing

・ Monitoring and Controlling

・ Closing

Initiating

The initiating processes determine the nature and scope of the project. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiating stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:

・ analyzing the business needs / requirements in measurable goals

・ reviewing of the current operations

・ financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget

・ stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project

・ project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedules

Planning

After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of detail. The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project’s chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.

Project planning generally consists of

・ determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or Rolling wave planning);

・ developing the scope statement;

・ selecting the planning team;

・ identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure;

・ identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence;

・ estimating the resource requirements for the activities;

・ estimating time and cost for activities;

・ developing the schedule;

・ developing the budget;

・ risk planning;

・ gaining formal approval to begin work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management, identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

Executing

The execution / implementation phase ensures that the project management plan’s deliverables are executed accordingly. This phase involves proper allocation, co-ordination and management of human resources and any other resources such as material and budgets. The output of this phase is the project deliverables.

Monitoring and controlling

Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling includes:

・ Measuring the ongoing project activities (‘where we are‘);

・ Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be);

・ Identifying corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on track again);

・ Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented.

In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and control process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

・ Continuing support of end-users

・ Correction of errors

・ Updates to the product over time

Monitoring and controlling cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project. Successful project management identifies these components, and tracks and monitors progress so as to stay within time and budget frames already outlined at the commencement of the project.

Closing

Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

This phase consists of:

・ Contract closure: Complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase.

・ Project close: Finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the project or a project phase

Also included in this phase is the Post Implementation Review. This is a vital phase of the project for the project team to learn from experiences and apply to future projects. Normally a Post Implementation Review consists of looking at things that went well and analysing things that went badly on the project to come up with lessons learned.

Project managers

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, engineering, architecture, computing, and telecommunications. Many other fields in production engineering, design engineering, and heavy industrial have project managers.

A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which is cost, time, and scope.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realised.

Project management knowledge draws on ten areas:

Integration

Scope

Time

Cost

Quality

Procurement

Human resources

Communications

Risk management

Stakeholder management

All management is concerned with these, of course. But project management brings a unique focus shaped by the goals, resources and schedule of each project.

Sources:

http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-What-is-Project-Management.aspx

https://www.apm.org.uk/WhatIsPM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

http://www.projectmanagement.org.za/

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About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

1 Jun 2016

How Online Tender Information is changing the industry

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

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The Industry has been changed for awhile now. Getting your tender information online is nothing new, at this point. Numerous companies in South Africa, and around the world, are making tender information accessible online and have been doing so for years. The internet and email are tools that has become so common place now, that there are some that don’t know a life without it. Never mind dial-up. Not being able to use your landline at the same time that someone else was using the internet. Anyone? Anyone remember this? The pained squarks, whistles and beeep-par-beee grrrrrshshshshshshs….as your poor modem searched for lord-knows-what signal down a Telkom line.

When I first started at Leads 2 Business, asking if a potential subscriber had an email address and access to the internet was common place. “No. We do not fax you the 200-odd tenders each day“. Having to explain the difference between email and the internet was also sometimes necessary. This question rarely gets asked now. Nearly everyone has an email address and access to the internet, whether through a smartphone or tablet or home/ work ADSL. I think at this point an email address, smartphone and IG account are being issued along with birth certificates. So what does this mean? Freedom to access information. Any information, whenever you want it. Granted, there are certain disclaimers connected to certain areas of the internet. You have access, just like everyone else. Not everything that is available is true or good or even necessary. Just like people. Lol. It’s a huge market place for information, and everyone is wandering around bumping into weird little facts, and interesting stories and catching up with long lost friends from nineteen-voetsak. Social Media, in all its variants, brings people together. For better or worse. People are living their entire lives online, and their Professional lives as well.

News is no longer a newspaper or TV broadcast at seven o’clock monopoly. News is Shared and Posted and Commented on.

Education and Knowledge has received a revamp, as being sent to “look it up” doesn’t mean the bookshelf of Encyclopedias in your living room anymore (Geez, I hated that. It was just Parent-Speak for “I don’t know”). “Googling” is a verb. It’s the go-to to learn and research and stalk. Search Engines have a say on whether you will be found at all. Who looks at page 2 of a search result? Someone who is desperate, that’s who.

Communication moved from snail mail to the telephone to cellphones to email and LiveChat and Instant Messaging. (Although I do enjoy a letter now and again. That isn’t a bill, of course). Anyone flipped through a Yellow Pages recently? Nope. An internet presence is today’s advertising. It allows any potential clients to find you and therefore use you. No successful business hides from their potential clientèle.

People want what they want when they want it. That’s usually now. Time management is a huge consideration today, as “time is money”. Accessing your tender information online (and receiving it by email) saves money and time. Obviously, if you know who to subscribe with (Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge).

The Government has finally caught on. With the launch of the ePortal last year, the National Treasury is hoping to shore up our five principles of Procurement, namely Transparency, Fairness, Equitability, Competitiveness and Cost-Effectiveness. They’ve bragged about the millions, if not billions, that Government will save by utilising the ePortal for all their Procurement needs. Granted, it’s a bit of a blow to the publishing industry as tender adverts are being pulled from newspapers (but currently these haven’t dried up yet). Making tender documents accessible on the ePortal as well, will save huge document printing costs. Sad for you, if you now have to print these documents but I’m sure if you’re staring down a CIDB 9 contract; you’ll muddle through.

The Centralised Supplier Database (CSD) will ensure that a supplier or contractor or professional that wants to work with the Government, only has to register once. Then Government Departments can see and compare prices for their required goods and services. And this hopefully will ensure that every Government Department is paying the same price for bread and pens. Comparisons in the light of day, can have a major impact. But this is still new. It’s still a work in progress, as clicking through 20 to 30 odd pages of tender adverts multiple times a day is not what I would call efficient or user-friendly. I had a conversation with a subscriber of ours, and her relief when I assured her that I would be doing this for her; was quite comical. The ePortal has a ways to go and that will take time.

I like to think that we’ve done the time. And in any endeavour when you’ve sacrificed time, you gain experience. Endless conversations and emails with subscribers, have shaped our website. Understanding our subscribers’ needs and wants, and empowering them to make the L2B website work for them. Ensuring that they have the opportunity to broadcast their services and products to those who would use them. Ensure that they are listed correctly on our Directory, so no “flipping of pages” is required. Putting one more nail in the coffin of the poor fax, and facilitating their sending out countless Request for Quotes to hundreds of potential vendors. Quick and efficient searches, with relevant results. With all the advantages and benefits of being online, the most important is to use them. And regardless of how innovative the internet gets, nothing can replace the people on the other side (whether the phone or keyword or touch screen) ready to assist and support you.

 

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

4 May 2016

Trending tenders in KZN

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

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Trending – The most searched for. The most viewed. The most talked about and commented on. It implies a general need to know something about that topic regardless of what it is simply because everyone else shows an interest. Because nobody wants to be left out or left in the dark or deemed to not know the latest scandal. Obviously, “everyone else” is up for debate. One person’s “everyone else” is very different to anothers. It’s got to do with common interests and hobbies or where you live and work and in what industry you work. Trending doesn’t mean universal or applicable even. If the topic applies to a very large group of people (say the fuel price) then there’s going to be a lot more activity concerning that than compared to a news story concerning rain in a desert in an unpopulated area. If no one cares, than it doesn’t count. Basically.
An apt metaphor might be “feeding frenzy”. A lot of thrashing around for access to limited resources. Not a bad analogy for the construction industry. There’s just only so much to go around. Being on the outside of the construction and building industry, my focus is different to those on the inside. I have to ensure that all the relevant information is readily available for those on the inside to make use of and run with. I don’t have to jostle with competitors to win tenders etc. But there are signs that a certain tender or project is getting way more attention than others. I use the term “Mentionistis” to describe this phenomenon. It usually manifests in the searches I see coming through the Leads 2 Business website. Different companies searching for the same tender or project. We start to get calls and emails and LiveSupport chats all asking the same question “Do you have [insert tender of the moment]?”. Then the race is on, because if we have [insert tender of the moment], we can send the subscriber away happy; but if it’s some obscure invited behind-the-scene tender that’s only been whispered about in dark corners, then this presents its own challenges.

Below are a few examples of the latest instances of “Mentionitis”:

DTA 564841 – Durban Heights Water Treatment Works: Construction of New 383 M/ Day Filters.
DTA 567429 – Construction of Earthworks, Layerworks, Surfacing and Drainage on District Rd 880 from km 0.00 to km 7.700
DTA 570925 – Periodic Maintenance of National Route 2, Section 21, between Brooksnek (km 0.00) and Staffords Post Interchange (km 43.13)
DTA 568627 – Construction of New Student Residences at Howard College Campus
DTA 568629 – Construction of New Student Residences at Westville Campus
DTA 566584 – Construction of Earthworks, Layerworks, Surfacing and Drainage on Main Rd 706 drom km 0.000 to km 6.200 in the Nkandla RRATT Area
DTA 567719 – Request for Proposals for the Construction of Bulk Earthworks at Tradezone 2 located at Dube Tradeport
DTA 571008 – Periodic Maintenance on National Route 2 Section 25, from EB Cloete Interchange (km 17.0) to Mt Edgecombe Interchange (km 30.8)
DTA 568200 – Replacement of Mud Structures at Glen Garry Secondary School – Sisonke District

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

27 Apr 2016

Is going off the Grid Feasible?

by | posted in: Did You Know | 0

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Most households have experienced the inconvenience of load shedding or no water or both. This led to people preparing on some scale, particularly in response to load shedding. Whether it was torches, batteries and candles or installing gas appliances or hybrid appliances or installing generators; people reacted to minimise the inconvenience of being without power. Being without water, just meant looking into rainwater harvesting tanks, or boreholes or greywater systems. In the current water shortage, these are not bad ideas. In fact, it’s just common sense. Some households have adopted all of these in a bid to save money and be more environmentally conscious. But is it off-the-grid? The below definition is supplied:

The term off-the-grid (OTG) can refer to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. Off-the-grid homes are autonomous; they do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid, or similar utility services. A true off-grid house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services.

So how do these homes generate their power and get their water?

Electrical power: Electrical power can be generated on-site with renewable energy sources such as solar (particularly with photovoltaics), wind, micro-hydro, geothermal; with a generator or Micro combined heat and power with adequate fuel reserves. Such a system is called a stand-alone power system.

Water: On-site water sources can include a well, stream, or lake. Depending on the water source, this may include pumps and/or filtration. Rainwater can also be harvested.

In reading up about off-the-grid homes, it became apparent that there is very much a cost consideration. Those that have gone full “off-the-grid” almost seem to treat it like a challenge.

How far can they remove themselves from the everyday use of public utilities? Obviously, there’s the cost of setting up whichever system you’ve chosen. Then it involves how long until you recoup your costs of the equipment and installation. If you make your money back, and then continue to function without having to fork out for power and water; then you’re golden. But I wondered about the expertise involved. I, myself, have very little knowledge about battery lifespans and generators and ensuring that I don’t blow something up; while connecting all the bits and bobs that are required to power my home. So is it a case of just hiring the correct professional to assess and set you up, while you learn to read battery levels and be aware of where your hot water is currently coming from?

Is that it?

Just becoming conscious of what you require every day for your home, and where it is coming from? Has the convenience of public infrastructure removed us from our individual impact on said infrastructure and the environment? Is that why we get so upset when Eskom turns off the lights? Because now we actually have to consider how dependent we are? But this isn’t true for all. This is very much centred on the urban and suburban communities. We have electricity and water. And we have options should these be temporarily turned off. Are all those shacks out in the stix considered off-the-grid? Where do women walk kilometres to bring backwater? The communities that use the car batteries that you see being pushed in wheelbarrows? Where paraffin and Lion matches, are staples. Are these homes that are not connected to electricity or running water or sewer systems, considered environmentally conscientious and green? No. These homes and people that are doing without. Never mind no access to basic services, the fact that wood and coal are burnt for cooking and warmth doesn’t help the environment or people’s health. Lack of sanitation has a detrimental impact on public health. The Government has a responsibility to get everybody onto the grid, but at the same time is encouraging innovation and environmental thinking to allow people to get off the grid.

The National Infrastructure Plan was adopted in 2012 in a bid to get basic services to those communities that are without. Its aim is to get electricity to the people, and water and sanitation. To improve lives. To ensure safety and healthy living conditions. How does this weigh up with the drive to be greener and environmentally conscious? More connections to the existing infrastructure, weaken it. (Eskom, I’m looking at you). We’ve seen it. The new RDP houses have been built and they all have solar panels and solar water heaters. A bid to meet all requirements halfway. But we’ve also read the articles where they haven’t been installed correctly and are woefully facing the wrong direction. North, the solar panels are apparently supposed to face north. So once again, it’s a balancing act.

Existing infrastructure has to be maintained, it then has to be increased to increase coverage and capacity. But this has a greater impact on resources and the environment; which is so not on in this day and age. So what do you do? Any damn thing you can. If you just want to not be paying huge electricity and water bills, then pay attention to how you are using these services. Because let’s be honest, money is a huge consideration and motivator. Whether you leave buckets out in the rain or install full-on rainwater harvesting tanks; it all adds up. Solar panels, solar water heaters, restricting when your geyser is on and energy saver bulbs (which pretty much are your only option now) are all good habits and options to take on.

Off-the-grid definitely involves research and commitment and money. In some cases, it is very much a necessity and in others, it does seem a bit of a luxury.

Source
Wikipedia
Fin24
IOL
Ellies Renewable
Lotto Star
GovZa
SABC

To view more Articles, please visit our Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit Leads 2 Business Wiki.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

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