Leads 2 Business Blog

3 Feb 2022

Contractors Insurance: Legendary Risk Solutions

by Shanna Knezovich | posted in: Construction Chat | 2

Legendary Risk Solutions (Pty) Ltd is a market leader in the Construction and Plant insurance industry with over 15 years of Engineering Underwriting experience and customised insurance solutions and claims management.

Our specialised services and offerings are aligned with the highest of standards and we pride ourselves in our exceptional service deliveries. With the support of our expert and qualified staff, combined with our expanding infrastructure.

Legendary Risk Solutions (Pty) Ltd specialised product offering, offers you:

Construction Related Guarantees
Construction and Engineering Insurance
Plant All Risk
General Business Insurance
Specialist Liability Cover
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Specialist Liability Insurance

What is the most important insurance for Contractors/Subcontractors to consider?

Contract Works
This policy provides protection for Principals, Contractors and Sub-Contractors, covering construction projects, against physical loss or damage to the works during the construction phase. The projects can range from the construction of domestic dwellings, office blocks, water and sewer reticulation, roads, bridges or any other infrastructure development or process plants.
The policy can also provide protection for the Employers’/Contractors’ Legal Liability, in the event of injury or damage to third party persons or property, arising from the execution of the works.

Plant All Risks
This policy is designed to cover construction, mining and other mobile and non-mobile plant/machinery, against loss or damage whilst situated on-site or in transit to, or from the site. The cover can also apply to plant hired in or out by the employer and can cater for hiring costs following indemnifiable damage to the plant insured.

Machinery Breakdown
The Machinery Breakdown policy caters for sudden unforeseen physical damage to plant and machinery at the insured’s premises/factory. The cover includes damage resulting from dismantling and re-erection of machinery within the Insured’s premises.
The machinery can range from small refrigeration compressors and electrical motors to all types of machines used in mining, manufacturing and materials handling.

Loss of Profit
The policy caters for loss of Gross Profits or Increased Cost of Working (I.C.O.W.), resulting from a reduction in turnover following sudden unforeseen physical damage to plant and machinery covered under a Machinery Breakdown policy.

Deterioration of Stock
The policy is designed to cater for deterioration/spoilage of perishable goods held in cold storage facilities resulting from fluctuations in temperature caused by sudden unforeseen physical damage to machinery, such as the refrigeration plant, where cover is provided by a Machinery Breakdown policy.

Dismantling Transit and Erection (D.T.E.)
The Dismantling Transit and Erection policy provides cover for the movement of machinery between premises and includes the installation, as well as testing and commissioning of new machinery.
The cover can be extended to include Third Party Liability arising from the insured’s operations.

Works Damage
This policy is designed for the protection of manufacturers against damage to their products during the manufacturing process and or the property in the course of manufacturing arising from the impact caused by collision, dropping, swinging, overturning or collision at the manufacturer’s premises.

Computer and Electronics
The above policy provides cover for electronics equipment in its widest spectrum of use. The cover is on an “All Risks” basis, covering fire, theft, surge damage, malicious damage and electrical, mechanical derangement.
The equipment that can be covered by this policy ranges from P.C.’s (desktop computers) to medical apparatus, PABX’s (telephone exchanges), mainframes and laptops.
The policy can be extended to include Increased Cost of Working (I.C.O.W.) and Reinstatement of Data (R.O.D.).

How can companies get in touch with you?

We are linked to all Projects & Tenders on Leads 2 Business. Simply click on the Contactors Insurance button and request a quote from us.
Alternatively, visit our website or contact us on 082 456 6541

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 Shanna Knezovich

I started my journey with Leads 2 Business in 2013 as an Account Co-Ordinator. I transitioned into an External Sales position as an Account Executive in 2015. I help professionals within the building & construction industry keep up to date with the latest project and tender information as well as source new business opportunities throughout Africa.

1 Feb 2022

Build A Resilient Team for 2022

by Minnie Zondi | posted in: General, Life Lessons | 0

Despite the misleading title, I am most certainly not writing about choosing a leader, establishing clear goals, setting schedules with clear deadlines and creating open lines of communication – okay maybe I will write about the latter.

In any case, I am taking a different and maybe the most unpopular approach – many critics within the Human Resources world actually argue if there is any importance to my chosen approach and of course, I believe in the counterarguments, that there is. Just step foot into any organisation, no matter the size and you will see that TRUST is highly important in the building of strong teams. Furthermore, if you are anything remotely like me, hyper-analytical, you will start spotting the nuisances that break internal organisational trust.

In this blog, I will briefly explain what a trusting team is, one of the things that break that trust and conclude by giving a tip to help deal with the issue.

How does trust factor into ‘Team Building’?
Simon Sinek says: a trusting team is a team made up of people who feel safe around each other – safe expressing their feelings, asking for help, talking about problems and admitting to mistakes.

So we can deduce that trust has the potential to invoke some sort of synergy within teams. But how do we get to a place where team trust is broken or just does not exist? Well, I believe that the breaking of, or lack of trust within teams, is largely due to the underrated power of ‘the grapevine’ popularly known as gossip (informal communication).

More often than not, everyone in a company would jump into bold defence when they are told they partook in office gossip. Regretfully this would be far from true. If you have ever engaged in a discussion about another colleague who is not present to hear the feedback, provide their perspective and engage in joint problem solving, you have engaged in office gossip.

Venting with one or more colleagues about how difficult management workflows are, creates a feeling of connection with everyone else who is struggling with the same thing. Those similarly frustrated treat one another with in-group favouritism that creates a sub-team. When these sub-teams grow within the office, problems in the organization remain hidden within these smaller teams and cannot be addressed by management and this is due to the vine being characterized by unverified information that is impossible to track and(or) address. The danger with this type of infestation is that after some time, these unresolved issues build up and can become threats to the company’s overall productivity.

With this one example, we can vaguely see how informal communication – no matter how valid, is a type of destructive communication that often negatively impacts individuals, bleeds into the teams and eventually impacts the whole organization. By stopping it in its tracks and engaging in collaborative problem-solving; relationships and the organization can flourish, where trusting teams, working towards common goals are established with no friction allowing for synergy to take place.

There is a lot of advice I could present to combat the effects of the vine, but I want to focus on this note – we first need to learn that our professional and personal lives are not two spheres that are separate. In fact, they are integrated pieces of our lives.
The moment we separate the two, we start to think that we must hide our emotions, humanity and even identity from our colleagues.
This creates apathy, we begin to see each other as enemies rather than collaborators. When we as humans see each other as enemies, we are mentally programmed to decline to our lowest human form – ego and work in competition with each other instead of completing each other. This unfortunately harms the office environment and functioning of a business.

If we can grasp this basic concept, it becomes easier to create and adapt to feedback-rich environments workspaces. The more we normalize the integration between the professional and personal spheres of our lives, receiving and giving feedback – positive or negative becomes less daunting and offensive, it is actually welcomed.
Ideally, people would then become less likely to look for alternative and untraceable means to express their frustrations and concerns.
Deborah Riegel suggests that rather than saving feedback for annual performance reviews, discussions about what someone did well, and what he or she could do differently, should be made a normal part of the company culture.

Now that I have succinctly captured my thoughts, I have to place responsibility on someone that will undertake the tough job of tackling the vine – building strong teams and unfortunately it is a burden I place on leaders. Simon Sinek motivates my point best by saying ‘Leaders are not responsible for the results, they’re responsible for the people who are responsible for the results.’

Take care of your team and the team will take care of the company.

On that note, I hope that this blog has been insightful and has held you accountable. I hope it encourages leaders and employees to rebuild trust within the organisation. If done properly, I know without a doubt that individual commitment, enthusiasm and passion will rise. It is incredible to see how teams with passionate people inspire each other to reach great heights, just watch ‘Steve Jobs’ [2015] and you will see what I mean and why Apple Inc. is what it is today.

Good Luck for the year ahead you guys, GO TEAMS!!

Sources:
Shortform
HBR

About Minnie Zondi

I am an insanely optimistic ambivert that does everything from the heart instead of the mind. Deeply interested in people and matters that pertain to mankind.

30 Nov 2021

Construction Trends for 2022

by Bianca Edgcumbe | posted in: Construction Chat | 0

What is the definition of a trend? A general direction in which something is developing or changing or something that is popular. While a trend usually refers to a certain style in fashion or entertainment, trends can be found in any industry and seeing as we are in the building and construction industry, we thought it would be fitting to have a look at some Construction Trends in 2022…so let’s go:

1. Updated safety measures – The wearing of face masks is not a new thing at construction sites, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now the standard to wear face masks on-site as well as having your temperature scanned, workplace cleanliness on a stricter level, coronavirus testing, social distancing and a few other safety regulations. Safety-related technology is also on the increase, which includes a few of the following:

Drones – which can access hard to reach areas.
Robots – which can handle tasks that bring about injuries such as scaffolding construction and bricklaying.
Environmental Sensors – which can detect wind, heat and noise and provide warning signs/signals to evacuate workers and in case of an emergency or natural disaster, move high-cost construction equipment.
Wireless Sensors – Construction workers’ personal protective equipment such as vests, hard hats, gloves will have sensors and trackers instilled in them, and keep track of workers vital signs, movements, slips or falls. This ensures the safety of workers and immediately notifies safety managers when workers are at risk of injury.

2. Green Building – What is Green Roofing? A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium that is planted over a waterproofing membrane.

Green roofs are becoming more and more common. They offer huge environmental benefits, such as Reducing temperatures of the roof surface and surrounding air, providing shade, improving stormwater management, insulating the building reducing the need for air conditioning in summer and providing insulation in winter, improving air quality, and lasts two to three times longer than a normal standard roof.

3. 3D Printing – Definition: Using an automated machine (3D printer), the structure of a construction project is automatically printed on a layer-by-layer basis.

3D printing of homes hasn’t been done on a big scale as yet but there is definitely growth in it. 3D printing is mostly used for building low-cost and emergency housing is usually more affordable and faster than the conventional methods. A few more advantages are reduced material costs, cheaper construction overall, reduced injury, and many more. This is definitely a construction trend to look out for as it also reduces waste, has exceptional turnaround times and has the capacity to mass print designs without changing machinery.

4. Finding and Retaining Workers/Labourers – A shortage of workers is nothing new according to many in the construction industry. Not having enough workers can slow down the construction process hugely, which then affects customer satisfaction and poses consequential risks to companies when taking on new construction projects. So the way of solving the problem and tackling this challenge will include paying competitive wages and benefits, offering bonuses and incentives, worker development, training programs, better tools, etc. These are just to name a few.

5. Smart Cities – In general, a smart city is a city that uses technology to provide services and solve city problems. A smart city does things like improve transportation and accessibility, improve social services, promote sustainability, and give its citizens a voice. A few advantages of smart cities are more job opportunities, better transport services, efficient public services, the decline in crime, improvement of infrastructure, and a few more. However, there are also a few disadvantages of smart cities such as Social control and limited privacy. Smart cities have been defined as “high-tech intensive” urban developments that can link people and data to improve a city’s economy and quality of life.

Sources
Ace Work Gear
Method. me
Wikipedia
Green Builder Media

About Bianca Edgcumbe

I started working at Leads 2 Business in May 2013 in the Africa Tenders Department. I worked my way to the Leads 2 Quotes Department in September 2016 and have been there ever since.

Mail
More Posts(9)

25 Nov 2021

L2B Opportunities created in the last 30 Days – November 2021

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: General | 0

Our comprehensive, online, resource platform delivers daily leads to help you make informed business decisions. Find construction Tenders and Projects within the building, infrastructure, mining, and industrial sectors. Opportunities are researched throughout South Africa and Africa. We put new business prospect leads within your reach.

Leads 2 Business Opportunities we have created in the last 30 Days: for more information check out our Pricing Page.

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

23 Nov 2021

Eco Friendly Building Methods

by Karen Garner-Savory | posted in: General | 0

With growing concerns over climate change, it is important for construction firms to reduce their environmental impact, while this can be a challenge these methods can be of great benefit.

Proper insulation – This is important as it will reduce your energy consumption and therefore your pocket as well, if you use green insulation this will reduce the need for high-end finishes that are made from non-renewable materials.
Sustainable building materials – Recycled plastic, linoleum, recycled glass, cork and bamboo are excellent ways to build with renewable materials and reduce harm to the environment as they break down easily and don’t release harmful toxins.
Solar panels – This will initially cost you but will save you money in the long run and bring down your consumption as you draw energy from the sun, it is vital to place the panels in the best location for the most absorption from the sun.
Eco-friendly lighting – The lighting you choose needs to be long lasting and use less energy, the solution is either LED or CFL as incandescent bulbs will not give you these benefits. LED or CFL will cost more upfront but the energy you will be saving will make it worthwhile.
Cool roof – Using materials that reflect the sun’s energy away from the roof will assist in keeping the building cooler and that will, in turn, reduce cooling costs. Most energy-efficient products might be more costly at the onset put reduce cost long term and often require less maintenance.
Rammed earth brick – These bricks are made traditionally from clay-rich soil, water and a natural stabiliser, the mixture is then compressed at high pressure to form bricks. These bricks have been reintroduced as they are environmentally sustainable.
Ashcrete – This is an environmentally friendly concrete that has smaller pores and has the strength needed to be sustainable, it composes of 97% recycled materials.

Sources
Conserve Energy
Electric Choice
Rammed Earthworks
Green Future

About Karen Garner-Savory

I started working at Leads 2 Business in May 2009, and have served as Head of Department of Telesales and Administration from 2010 until the present. I oversee both the Telesales department as well as the Administration of our Johannesburg Office.

Mail
More Posts(7)

22 Nov 2021

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA)

by Claire Donaldson | posted in: General | 1

All public and private bodies will have to be POPIA compliant by 01 July 2021.

The purpose of The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act 4 of 2013) is to –

(a) give effect to the constitutional right to privacy, by safeguarding personal information when processed by a responsible party, subject to justifiable limitations that are aimed at –

(i) balancing the right to privacy against other rights, particularly the right of access to information (The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) The Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Act, 2002 (Act 54 of 2002)); and

(ii) protecting important interests, including the free flow of information within the Republic and across international borders;

(b) regulate the manner in which personal information may be processed, by establishing conditions, in harmony with international standards, that prescribe the minimum threshold requirements for the lawful processing of personal information;

(c) provide persons with rights and remedies to protect their personal information from processing that is not in accordance with this Act; and

(d) establish voluntary and compulsory measures, including the establishment of an Information Regulator, to ensure respect for and to promote, enforce and fulfill the rights protected by this Act.

Information Regulator

The Information Regulator (South Africa) is an independent body established in terms of Section 39 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. it is subject only to the law and the constitution and it is accountable to the National Assembly.

The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA Act) aims to promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies by, among others, introducing certain conditions for the lawful processing of personal information so as to establish minimum requirements for the processing of such information.

The Information Regulator (South Africa) is, among others, empowered to monitor and enforce compliance by public and private bodies with the provisions of the POPIA Act.

10 Definitions as per the Protection of Personal Information Act No 4 of 2013:

Consent – means any voluntary, specific, and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given for the processing of personal information;

Data subject – means the person to whom the personal information relates;

Information matching program – means the comparison, whether manually or by means of any electronic or other devices, of any document that contains personal information about ten or more data subjects with one or more documents that contain personal information of ten or more data subjects, for the purpose of producing or verifying information that may be used for the purpose of taking any action in regard to an identifiable data subject;

Information officer – of, or in relation to, a –

(a) public body means an information officer or deputy information officer as contemplated in terms of section 1 or 17; or

(b) private body means the head of a private body as contemplated in section 1, of the Promotion of Access to Information Act;

Application forms, and Guidance Notes, for Information Officers, are available at JusticeGov Registration opens 01 May 2021.

Personal information – means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable and identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to –

(a) information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language, and the birth of the person;

(b) information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal, or employment history of the person;

(c) any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier, or other particular assignments to the person;

(d) the biometric information of the person;

(e) the personal opinions, views, or preferences of the person;

(f) correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;

(g) the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and

(h) the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person;

Processing – means any operation or activity or any set of operations, whether or not by automatic means, concerning personal information, including –

(a) the collection, receipt, recording, organization, collation, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use;

(b) dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in any other form; or

Promotion of Access to Information Act – means the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000)

Public Record – means a record that is accessible in the public domain and which is in the possession of or under the control of a public body, whether or not it was created by that public body;

Record – means any recorded information –

(a) regardless of form or medium, including any of the following:

(i) Writing on any material;

(ii) information produced, recorded or stored by means of any tape-recorder, computer equipment, whether hardware or software or both, or other devices, and any material subsequently derived from information so produced, recorded or stored;

(iii) label, marking or other writing that identifies or describes anything of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means;

(iv) book, map, plan, graph, or drawing;

(v) photograph, film, negative, tape, or other devices in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable, with or without the aid of some other equipment, of being reproduced;

(b) in the possession or under the control of a responsible party;

(d) regardless of when it came into existence;

Regulator – means the Information Regulator established in terms of section 39;

8 Conditions of lawful processing of personal information:

Accountability: where the responsible party must ensure compliance with the conditions for lawful processing
Processing limitation: Personal information must be processed lawfully and in a reasonable manner that does not infringe the privacy of a data subject. Consent, justification, and objection; collection directly from a data subject
Purpose specification: Personal information must be collected for a specific explicitly defined and lawful purpose related to a function or activity of the responsible party
Further processing limitation: Further processing must be compatible with the purpose of collection, failing which consent must be obtained.
Information Quality: Personal information must be complete, accurate, not misleading, and updated.
Openness: The responsible party must maintain records and notify data subjects when collecting personal information
Security Safeguards: A responsible party must secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information
Subject Participation: Data subjects must have access to personal information. Correction or deletion of personal information may take place if incorrect, irrelevant, outdated, excessive, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained.

All Documents and updates are available here.

Sources:
Justice
Facebook

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 2021

How the Unrest benefited the Construction Industry

by Nirasha Rampersad | posted in: General | 0

Buildings damaged in the unrest in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng

The unrest began on July 8 2021, Jacob Zuma Protests, A series of protests regarding the arrest of ex-president Jacob Zuma resulted in mass looting of retail shops, burning buildings, shutting down the transport industry in two of the bigger provinces Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng.

South Africa has been dubbed “the protest capital of the world” with one of the highest rates of public protests. Roads damaged by the burning of trucks while some toll plazas were also damaged, South Africa’s construction industry may receive a short term boost from the rebuilding of damaged and destroyed infrastructure, buildings and structures in unrest and looting but the longer-term outlook for the sector is more uncertain. Protecting, burning, destroying schools, roads, retails, government buildings, transports, costing the country billions of rands.

The newly built Brookside Mall was not spared after it was burnt down during the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal. Plans are underway to rebuild.

Professionals Team, Project Notes, Bidders, Awards, Main Contractors and Sub Contractors are all available on Leads 2 Business.

Recovery and Reconstruction

“However, all eyes will now be on the government’s Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, which has been rather slow right out of the starting blocks.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled plans to assist businesses caught up in the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and those SMMEs that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the country’s economy.

The president said that South Africa is one of the few countries in the world to have a state-owned insurance company, SASRIA, which provides cover against incidents of public violence, strikes, riots and unrest.

SASRIA has committed to expediting the payment of all valid claims, and is working together with private insurers, Ramaphosa said, adding that some businesses that were victims of this violence may not have been insured.

Nearly R4bn recovery fund was set up to help businesses after looting

Trade, industry and competition minister said the trade department, working with the small business department, had identified eight urgent focus areas for business and economic recovery: restoring supply lines; making immediate repairs to shops (such as replacing broken windows)

So they could reopen in weeks; accelerating construction and structural repairs where larger builds were needed, some of which would take months to complete.

Below is a list of businesses and buildings damaged by the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng

Chris Hani Crossing
Daveyton Shopping Centre
Diepkloof Square
Dobsonville Mall
Evagold Shopping Centre
Evaton Mall
Jabulani Mall
Irene Village
Khan Corner
Letsoho Mall
Mams Mall
Maverick Corner
Ndofaya Mall
Normandie Court
Palm Springs Shopping Centre
Pan African Mall
Protea Garden Mall
Queens Court
Sam Ntuli Mall
Sizwe Shopping Centre
Sontonga Mall
South Gate Mall
Tembi Mall
Yarona Shopping Centre
30 Afroprop Buildings
30 Makro & Game buildings
32 Schools in KZN
320 West Street
33 Standard Bank branches 220 of its ATMS
88 Field Street
Afrox
BIDFOOD
Biyela Shopping Centre
Bridge City Shopping Centre
Brookside Mall
Cato Ridge Distribution Centre
China Mall
China City
City Life Building
Cornubia Ridge Logistic Park – Warehouse 1
Davenport Square
Defy Warehouse
Delta Towers
Dunlop Centre
Edendale Crossing Centre
Edendale Mall
Eshowe Mall – The Atrium
Galleria Mall
Game PMB
Glenwood Village
Hammarsdale Junction
Hyundai Dealership
Isipingo Market
Isipingo Junction
Isithebe Industrial park
Kingspark Manufacturers factory
Kwamashu Shopping Centre
Kyalami Industrial Park
Laager Centre Spar
Ladysmith crematorium
LG Warehouse
Liberty Towers
Machibisa Spar
Makro
Mandeni Mall
Massmart
Mega City Mall
Mkuze Shopping Centre
Montclair Mall
North Coast Industrial Park
Pine Parkade
Pinetown Central
Pinecrest Mall
Pine Walk Centre
Queensmead Mall
Redlyn Business Park
Ridge Mall
RTT Warehouse
SANBS
Sanlam Centre
Scottsville Mall
Seaquence Logistics
Southway Mall
Springfield Value Mart
Superspar
Theku Plaza
The Ridge Shopping Centre Shallcross
The Workshop
The Boulevard Business Park
Treasury House
Umgeni Business Park
Umkomaas Central
Umlazi Mega City
Umzinto Priso
Ushekela Industrial Park
Value Logistics
Vector Logistics Cold room
Warehouse – Reservoir Hills
Warehouse in Brickfield
Wartburg Central
Watercrest Mall
Waterfall Storage Facility – Stor-Age
Westmead Cash & Carry
Westwood Mall
West Street

About Nirasha Rampersad

I started working for Leads to Business June 2017 as Support Assistance in L2Q.

Mail
More Posts(7)

9 Nov 2021

Dams around the World

by Shanita Peens | posted in: General | 0

Dams Around the World and their Construction

1. Hoover Dam – Nevada/Arizona, United States

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam.
Construction of the Hoover dam began 7th July 1930.
It took 5 years and 21000 men and cost over 100 lives to build the Hoover dam, one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

2. Three Gorges Dam – Hubei, China

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam.
Construction of the Three Gorges dam began in 1994 and was completed in 2006
Construction of the dam caused the displacement of at least 1.3 million people and the destruction of natural features and countless rare architectural and archaeological sites. The dam’s reservoir is blamed for an increase in the number of landslides and earthquakes in the region. The dam allows the navigation of ocean-going freighters and generates hydroelectric power.

3.Vajont – Erto E Casso, Italy

The Vajont dam is one of the tallest dams in the world
Construction of the Vajont dam began in 1957 and was completed in 1960
On 9 October 1963, during the initial filling, a landslide caused a mega-tsunami in the lake in which 50 million cubic metres of water overtopped the dam in a wave of 250 metres which brought massive flooding and destruction to the Valley below, leading to the complete destruction of several villages and towns, and between 1,900 and 2,500 estimated deaths. The dam itself remained almost intact and two-thirds of the water was retained behind it.

Sources:
Wikipedia Hoover Dam
Britannica
Wikipedia Three Gorges
Wikipedia Vajont

About Shanita Peens

Mail
More Posts(3)

4 Nov 2021

Logic of Supporting Local

by Sonet van Wygaard | posted in: General | 0

“Local is lekker” is not just a beautiful South African saying, it’s our country’s mission and a chance for positive, long-lasting change!

The shop local movement is hardly a trend – it’s a shift in lifestyle that more and more people are embracing.

If you had to communicate with an American and explain that you have been chosen as the hooker for your school’s rugby team, you will probably be rewarded with a very worried look. Let’s rather keep it local julle!

As South Africans, we should support local suppliers to invest in the future of our country so that we are able to eradicate our contribution towards the unemployment rate and boost economic growth. Supporting local businesses is also good for the environment because they often have a smaller carbon footprint than larger companies, and I’m all for going green.

Here are 5 ways that you can support your local businesses now without even spending any money:

1. Engage (Like, comment, save or share) with Local Businesses on Social Media.

2. Write a Review

3. Word of Mouth Referrals.

4. Keep them in mind for the future.

5. Refer friends and family to their business.

Why should you support local and small businesses?

The number one perk to consider for obvious reasons is that supporting local means that you care about the community that you live in. The commercial world is full of companies that all offer basically identical options. It’s hard to find anything that is entirely unique anymore.

So essentially, you’re helping bring character to the commercial world. You are giving people jobs. There’s no question that the job market is tight these days, and by shopping local, you are keeping a business open, enabling growth that leads to job creation.

Small businesses are important because they provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and create meaningful jobs with greater job satisfaction than positions with larger, traditional companies. They foster local economies, keeping money close to home and supporting neighborhoods and communities.

We in turn need to create a conducive environment, that is regulated in order to encourage the use of local products. This will not only create employment but also drive innovation and investment for local manufacturers. This often impacts global trends and ideas relating to product development and future products.

In a world where you can shop anywhere… Shop Local.

About Sonet van Wygaard

I started working at Leads 2 Business in 2014. I was part of the Tenders Africa team and moved to Projects in 2019. I love every second of it!

2 Nov 2021

Coding Explained (for non Developers)

by Andile Shange | posted in: General | 1

A bunch of random numbers, gibberish that doesn’t make sense but can produce life-changing applications in desktop, mobile and webspace.

This is usually the flow in conversations I have with my non-developer friends when discussing computer programming. For non-developers, this world can be quite intimidating and understandably so I will use a simple Console App program, that calculates the end user’s age.

Let’s first identify all the tools we need to assemble a Console App program. So, all we need to install is Microsoft Visual Studio on our Windows system that meets the minimum requirements. Once installed, we can launch Microsoft Visual Studio and then create a Console Application project, selecting C# as our preferred programming language.

After which we will be presented with a similar code snippet, as below:

.Net Class Library – The “using” statement is used to import the .Net Framework modules that are required to run code on a Windows system.
Open & Close – We use containers a lot to segment code and these segments are scoped by open “{” and “}” close curly braces.
Namespace – This is a container that encapsulates classes.
Class – All code needs to be logically defined in a module called a “class”.
Method Name – This is the code block that contains all the statements and in a Console App program, this is the code block that gets executed first.
Comment – This is the non-executed text that is used to explain the source code.
Console.Write/WriteLine – “Console.Write” renders text inline and “Console.WriteLine” renders text on a new line.
Console.ReadLine – Gets user input.
int yourBirthYear – We declare a variable called “yourBirthYear” that stores an integer(numeric) value.
Convert.ToInt32 – A method used to convert text to an integer.
int yourAge = todaysYear – yourBirthYear – Finally we calculate your age, we take today’s year derived from the Windows system and then subtract the year captured by the end-user. The result gets stored in an integer variable called “yourAge”, which gets printed on the next line.

We can now press F5 to execute the above Console App program. Pending there are no errors in our source code, the below snippet will pop up. Prompting the end-user to enter the year there were born.

At this stage, we have successfully built our first computer program.

About Andile Shange

I'm a Software Developer at Leads 2 Business since 02 June 2014.

Mail
More Posts(6)

« 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 … 46 »