Leads 2 Business Blog

6 Apr 2017

L2B Blog: What makes for great building design?

by Nadine Vermeulen | posted in: Frequently Asked Questions, General | 2

What makes for great building design?

What makes for great building design… There is a unique mind inside the head of an architect that is magically able to juggle numbers, lines and angles, along with creative possibilities that most of us cannot fathom. Architects have a strong understanding of all building disciplines, including structural, electrical and mechanical.

This takes Smarts. And while simply being smart does not make you a good architect, it does give you a good foundation. You must be able to determine the necessary calculations to make buildings work, understand the properties of the materials you are working with, and create safe and sound structures from start to finish.

A good design should consist of the following characteristics:

1. Sustainable

Sustainable construction considers the complete lifecycle of a building, from the choice of initial materials to demolition and recycling and refers to the use of environmentally preferable practices and solutions in each of the phases.

2. Accessible

What is a good design if it’s only available to some? The concept focuses on enabling people with disabilities, or special needs, or enabling access through the use of assistive technology.

3. Functional

This should be the simplest attribute of good design, but it is often the hardest to achieve.

4. Well Made

Architects don’t make anything. The architects say how well a building is built is limited to a set of instructions they provide. In the end, people that actually build it have little to no actual interaction with the architect. This means the instructions better be good, and just as important, easy to understand.

5. Emotionally Resonant

Every design should be an attempt to stir the senses.

6. Enduring

Buildings need both structural and aesthetic longevity. It’s important to innovate, but you don’t want a design that looks outdated before that last coat of paint dries. The time frame for enduring is uncertain.

7. Socially Beneficial

Whether you like it or not, all architecture is public architecture. Architects have a responsibility to look both within and beyond the walls of buildings to see what they can do to help.

8. Beautiful

Beauty is subjective, right?

9. Ergonomic

Buildings must relate to the scale of the people that inhabit them. Often this idea is lost in the array of 3D computer modelling technologies that architects use these days. Stop and take a step back. Put a person in that model. Even if they’re digital.

10. Affordable

Creating affordable architecture is more difficult. It involves entrepreneurship on the part of the architect. An upfront investment to invent an affordable solution that the masses can afford.

Being an architect is more than just drawing and building. It involves social skills, a knowledge of engineering, math, science, physics and several related topics; dedication and drive; and, most important, the ability to design.

http://www.modative.com

https://en.wikipedia.org

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 Nadine Vermeulen

I started working at Leads 2 Business in October 2014 in the Leads 2 Quotes Department. I managed all the Daily Tender Bill Requests and followed up on BoQ's for our Daily Tender Subscribers. In 2017, I was promoted to L2Q Assistant and now work with Bill of Quantities for Contractors. 🙂

23 Mar 2017

L2B Blog: The groundwork is done now take the lead

by Claire Donaldson | posted in: Frequently Asked Questions, Recommended Reading | 0

The groundwork is done now take the lead

The groundwork is done now take the lead: How using our leads can keep you out of trouble

“Keep you out of trouble” means busy. Busy means you are working, hustling and getting the job done. Progress only comes from consistent and persistent hard work. If you are going to rest on your laurels, be prepared for others to surpass you.

Knowing where to look and find opportunities for your company is half the battle. You can spend your day pouring over countless newspapers, scrolling through websites and scrutinising bulletins or you can let us do that for you. You just have to check your email and work off one website, and you’ll have all the opportunities you need.

The expression is “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. But since L2B has all the “eggs”, you just need to understand how to make the most of them. The idea being that you hedge your bets. You diversify. You branch out. You create a safety net, of sorts, by garnering work through various avenues. This, of course, depends on the type of work you do and your willingness to be re-active or pro-active.

The re-active approach is your basic tender and Request for Quote (RFQ). When you see a tender out that’s right up your alley; you buy the documents, attend the meeting and hand in the signed tender document on the closing date. Hold thumbs and you get the award. For the RFQ, you receive it and decide whether or not to price. Even a “no”, is better than silence. If you don’t hear back from the main contractor, concerning your prices; approach them for feedback. Who’s prices did they accept? Why? Is it something you can work into your prices and services in the future? If you don’t ask, you will never know.

Being pro-active can get your company name out there way before tenders and RFQs. You would monitor a Project at the earliest stage, so you know what to expect and generally when to expect it and approach those professionals or contractors at the right time. You can monitor tenders, and once awarded, approach the awarded companies. Even earlier than that, you could’ve requested the site attendance register and the electronic Bill of Quantity (BoQ), therefore ensuring you know what items to price and who to approach. You’re not only creating relationships, but you could also be saving yourself time and money. If your products or services are not required in a BoQ; you can move on much quicker. Perhaps you impressed the Architect so early on the project, that your products are specified in the Bill of Quantity (BoQ).

You can advertise your company and products/services on the L2B website, and have companies come to you.

Ensure that your Directory entry is comprehensive and up to date. Allowing other companies to find you and contact you with ease, is extremely important in this day and age.

Be aware of when Supplier Database notices come out, and make sure that your company is registered wherever it needs to be registered. Paperwork is a bane, but it also is vital in being able to tender. The added advantage to being registered on Databases is that it puts your company in a position to be approached directly to quote by the Municipality or Government Department. Not every contract can afford to go out to tender, for a variety of reasons; namely time constraints or emergency work.

Last but not least, talk to us at L2B. If there are discrepancies anywhere, let us know so that we might assist in clarifying. The more we learn about your experiences on our website, or out there tendering; the more we can understand how the information we supply directly affects you. Your success is our aim.

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.

17 Mar 2017

Did You Know #DYK: Market Intelligence

by Lee Finch | posted in: Did You Know, Frequently Asked Questions, Recommended Reading | 0

Market Intelligence

Using Intelligence in your business approach.

Businesses often make the mistake of surveying their marketing landscape and assuming what works now will work in 5 years’ time. Economic fluctuations continuously occur and these will affect spending. An economic downturn means fewer opportunities with the same number of competitors.

Gaining competitive advantage means having clear objectives:

Streamline your approach; know your industry, know your competitors, have solid knowledge of your company’s strengths and points of differentiation.

Be flexible; regularly assess industry movements, use available information and align your strategies to fit current trends.

Plan ahead; determine which areas to focus on and ensure you are prepared to respond to the inevitable challenges.

Tracking trends and fluctuations give you a steady overview of your corporate landscape, utilise the data to allocate necessary time and resources to the areas that will grow your business.

Using our construction leads platform, we’ve given a breakdown of tenders for each of South Africa’s provinces, including the most populated tender types:

About Lee Finch

I started my journey at Leads 2 Business in 2004 as an account executive. In 2006 I moved over to MAPRO (Marketing, Advertising and PRO), and in 2012 I became a Director. It’s exceptionally rewarding being a part of the Leads 2 Business team. I’m incredibly proud of the achievements and business ethos and I’ve always firmly believed we offer a valuable service, fine-tuned to our subscriber needs. I am a Mom of two beautiful children, a lover of human interaction, laughter and light, sprinkled with a generous dose of fun.

16 Mar 2017

L2B Blog: Does Technology make us more or less productive in the workplace?

by Marlaine Andersen | posted in: Frequently Asked Questions | 2

Does Technology make us more or less productive in the workplace?

Technology today puts us in contact with a constant stream of new information. Whether you are reading promotional emails, scanning the latest news and trends or connecting on social media, you are ingesting massive amounts of content. You never know where the inspiration for your next big idea might come from and engaging on such a large scale might just provide you with the right spark.

The Big Question is, however, is technology more of a distraction than a tool for productivity? The answer basically comes down to how you use technology and how you incorporate new tools to combat the effects of constant distractions.

After scouring the Net for inspiration and answers, I have come up with the following ways that we can use today’s technology to make us more productive:

Research shows there is a direct relationship between office design and productivity. It also plays an important role in employee job satisfaction and organisational performance. A well-designed office can also enhance knowledge shared among employees, which, in turn, boosts productivity.

Productivity thrives in an environment where employees are motivated to succeed. It is important to value people’s insights and involve them in setting goals for the organisation. It will not only motivate them to be more productive but also create a culture of innovation that will help your company adapt and grow as products, technology and markets evolve over time.

While technology is often viewed as a distraction, it’s one of the most important ways to enhance office productivity. One study done found that office productivity has increased by a whopping 84% over the last four decades, all thanks to advancements in digital technology. And it goes without saying that when it comes to internet speed, the faster the better!

Taking regular, short breaks throughout the day is also beneficial to productivity. A study by the University of Illinois found that even a brief interruption is enough to get back on track when you lose focus during a long or difficult task. Letting your mind wander is also a great way to stay productive, as your brain is relaxed and can focus solving tricky problems. Short breaks allow you to take a step back and evaluate your work, and ultimately leading to better performance and less burnout over the long term.

So, yes, it would appear that technology can be a distraction that can diminish productivity if not properly managed by the individual. However, technology has made the modern workplace more streamlined, efficient and accessible than ever before. The trick is, as with any double-edged sword, is to use it to your advantage and make it work for you, so that you don’t end up getting cut.

Information sourced from the following websites:

Does Technology Actually Make You More Productive?

http://www.businessrevieweurope.eu/technology/1146/3-ways-IoT-will-transform-your-office
http://www.axiomprojects.com.au/news/post/5-factors-that-influence-office-productivity/

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

6 Mar 2017

Did you Know #DYK: L2B is Mobile friendly

by Carmen Barends | posted in: Did You Know, Frequently Asked Questions | 0

L2B is Mobile friendly

What is mobile friendly?

Have you ever had the experience when you pop onto a website on your mobile (cell phone) or tablet and have to constantly keep scrolling left to right and up and down just to get around? You keep adjusting the fields making them bigger and smaller to type your data in? It can be a real pain. I know, #firstworldproblems right? But it can be truly frustrating for a Client or prospective Client. One that may just end up having them decide it is all too much like hard work and leave your website in search of something simpler. So what is mobile friendly? In layman’s terms, it means that you can view the website on various devices, i.e. cellphone, tablet, laptop, note…. So how do you get the website to do that? This is referred to as Responsive Web Design.

Responsive Design

According to Wikipedia responsive web design can be defined as an approach to web design aimed at allowing desktop web pages to be viewed in response to the size of the screen or web browser one is viewing with.

Just what I said 🙂

But to make it easier for those that are a little more visual…

So what does this mean for you?

Basically, L2B’s development team got together and went through our website page by page, feature by feature and designed our new website to be responsive. What this in essence means is that we made sure that you have access to all your favourite bits as well as the other favourite bits that you couldn’t access on the previous app. We want to make sure that wherever you are (provided your cell network providers are giving you Internet access) and whatever you need to do on our website, you have access to it. That is exactly what our team have done. Now, it doesn’t matter if you have a cellphone or a laptop or a tablet or a Note …. you have us in the palm of your hand helping you keep up with the Industry.

Just in case you want to test it out… why don’t you try our handy help video library and see what you think. You can access it by clicking here – Help Library

Otherwise, call us on 0860 836 337 or mail us on Support@L2B.co.za .

Until then, see you next time 🙂

About Carmen Barends

Social media adventurer for Leads 2 Business, exploring new frontiers and taking new ground. “Not all those who wander are lost.” JRR Tolkien

16 Nov 2016

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

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

What do 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)

About Claire Donaldson

21 Sep 2016

On time, Online with Transnet

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General, Uncategorized | 0

On time, Online with Transnet

These days it’s the norm to find most businesses online. I don’t know about you but if I’m looking for company info in any form should it be trading hours, contact info, services they offer or any news regarding that company, I head straight to Google. The easier it is to find the company website the better and if it contains all the relevant info I need it definitely goes a long way toward a first impression. Suffice to say a company’s online presence not only saves you time but in the end money too and that is no different when it comes to business, the well known phrase ‘time is money’ comes to mind.

Some of the Key reasons to have your business online are:

Anyone can ‘visit’ your business

Portrays your Company’s Image

Offers Customer Support

Availability of information

Streamlining

24 hour access

Relatively low start-up costs

Communication

Going Global

If you have ever ventured over to Transnet’s website you will notice there is a huge amount of information provided from the usual contact information to investor relation reports and a whole lot of tender related info. The website looks organised and seems to have all the relevant details one might need. Now I must confess that I am not very familiar with Transnet’s website as we don’t deal with the website much in my department. Thus I looked outside for review/comment from the Tenders Department who regularly peruse the website. According to my sources in our Tenders Department they haven’t had any issues regarding the website and check it as frequently as possible. Additionally Transnet also publishes their tenders on CIDB and eTenders timeously which makes it easier for interested parties to obtain the relevant information they seek.

At L2B we research all the relevant websites and divisions within Transnet that publish tenders and publish them on our site daily for easy access and updates for our subscribers.

Do you feel that Transnet meets the above aspects of an online business and does it assist you with being on time? Do you have any feedback or views you would like to add regarding Transnet’s online presence? Contact us in the comment section below.

Interested in Transnet Tenders and want an easy way to find them online, in one place, daily? Contact me on SashaA@l2b.co.za

Sources:

http://www.transnet.net/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

http://www.dbwebdoctor.com/article_why_companies_need_a_website.asp

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

27 Jul 2016

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General, Uncategorized | 6

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

To answer the above lets break it down.

What is the Project Life Cycle?

One of the services we offer at Leads 2 Business is Projects and the various phases within these Projects are known as the Project Life Cycle. The Stages in a Project Life Cycle are Conceptual, Procedural, Design, Tender, Awarded & Underway, Complete and Postponed.

To learn more about each Life Cycle you can check out How Projects Work

What is Value?

According to the Business Dictionary value is described as, “The extent to which a good or service is perceived by its customer to meet his or her needs or wants, measured by customer’s willingness to pay for it. It commonly depends more on the customer’s perception of the worth of the product than on its intrinsic value.”

In short the answer to the question, “At which point in the Project life cycle can your business find value?” is simple: you can find value in every point in the Project Life, depending on what your business does.

You may be asking, “How?”

Here are a few examples:

Professionals like Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors can contact the Client/Developer directly at the Conceptual/Procedural stage to be appointed as part of the Professional team.

Project Managers can contact the Client/Developer directly at Conceptual/Procedural/Design Stage to get involved. They can also contact other Professionals appointed on a Project to market and build relationships.

Subcontractors like plumbers, electricians and painters can contact Companies at Tender/Awarded Stage to provide quotes.

Vendors, Suppliers, Manufacturers and Fabricators can contact the Architect/QS during Design Stage if they have a product that can be specified on the BoQ and supplied later.

Property Managers can contact the Client at Conceptual Stage and start building a relationship while the project is still being developed in order to be appointed once Complete. They can also contact the anchor tenant at Completed Stage to get involved.

IT, Security and Cleaning Services can get involved at Tender/Awarded Stage to provide quotes and offer subcontracting services to Contractors that may be awarded the Project.

Landscapers can contact the Landscape Architect or Architect during Design Stage or contact the Client directly at Underway Stage to offer their services. They can also look at completed projects and offer services in the future as a marketing tool.

All of the above can benefit from the Postponed Stage so they are aware when the Project is going ahead in order to manage their work flow efficiently.

Finding Value in the Project Life Cycle couldn’t be easier with Leads 2 Business.

Want to know more about Projects or any of the other Services we offer? Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

About Sasha Anderson

13 Jul 2016

What is Project Management?

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

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.

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/

About Claire Donaldson

8 Jun 2016

Tendering Online – Bringing your A Game

by Carmen Barends | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, How To | 0

Tendering Online – Bringing your A Game

Tendering online in 7 (easy-ish steps)

How do you even begin in this process? It can be fairly daunting right? Perhaps starting with what NOT to do is a good way to go. In order to really learn what not to do when tendering online, you should check out How to stuff up a Tender. South Africa is quite au fait with the term Tenderpreneur. In fact, we actually have a top Ten list. Although it is a tongue in cheek kind of humorous thing to refer to (South Africans love to make fun of themselves in a way the rest of the world is baffled by), it is a serious issue in South Africa. Here are a few news articles on the Topic of Tenderpreneurs for you to browse:

http://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/115828/tenderpreneurs-vs-the-rest-of-the-anc-in-south-africa/

http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Meet-the-R77m-tenderpreneur-20150429

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/a-guide-to-being-a-tenderpreneur-2013-02-01

But I reckon the reason you are here reading this post is because you want to do Tendering online as well. So let’s take a look at some steps to help you with tendering online:

Step One

Get yourself a desktop/laptop/tablet or just simply use a smart device.

Step Two

To be online you need to be hooked up to the World Wide Web. Yes, the Internet. The purveyor of many evils and sometimes, a little surprisingly, just as much good.

Step Three

Sharpen your pencil, because here we go….

You need to find Websites that provide tender notices. Or instead, a service provider that will wonderfully just deliver the notices to your email daily (shameless punting I know – but hey – you are reading our blog).

Store this list of websites on a word document (or just open your email inbox if you are subscribed to our services). Check this daily to see whether there are new tenders that match your criteria.

Step Four

Are you registered on the Supplier Database for the particular Municipality putting out the tender? Check with them if this is required. It would be a pity to submit the perfect bid and not meet this criteria.

Step Five

OK, so you have identified what tenders you wish to bid on. Yay! Half way there. If you want to know what procedures you need to follow, I will leave that to the Pro’s to tell you. Check this link out for tender procedures and more steps to help increase your chances of getting your foot in the door.

Making sure you have the correct documentation is important. Check out a comprehensive guide for making sure you have all your ducks in a row (so to speak).

Step Six

Check where the Site Inspection is (if applicable) and whether it is compulsory. Wouldn’t want to miss out on that!

Step Seven

Sharpen your pencils and do your calculations – put your bid together. Make sure you have all the necessary forms to submit with your bid along with the correct place to submit it by the correct date.

So the big questions is…..

How Do I Win A Tender?

Well, listen up close. If you want to win.. you need to be persistent. Its unlikely to happen on the first tender, so keep at it. Some winning tips may help you though. Ultimately, tendering online streamlines some of your processes, but isn’t so much different from doing it old school in that attention to detail, diligence and persistence will take you a long way to earning a winning bid.

So from the desktop….. to you on the other side of the Web, good luck with your tender. I hope to hear of your success.

About Carmen Barends

Social media adventurer for Leads 2 Business, exploring new frontiers and taking new ground. “Not all those who wander are lost.” JRR Tolkien

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