General

Where Construction & Technology Converge

We live in a world where there is a technical solution for most of our problems.

You need fast communication, you no longer send a pigeon or letter, you pick up the phone or open your laptop and call, email, fax or send a message to someone. It is slowly becoming the same concept in the construction industry not only with technology but machinery as well.

Technology has reduced our life cycle as well as cost of a project drastically. Completion time, quality as well as safety have all improved through technology. Such improvements could not have come at a better time since construction projects are becoming increasingly complex and expensive putting construction teams under a great amount of pressure to reduce costs, time-lines and efficiency.

Many construction companies have begun incorporating new construction technologies into their daily activities and most of these daily activities consist of software or programmes for digital collaboration. A perfect example of this would be our very own Leads 2 Business information platform. Subscribers all over Southern Africa relay on Tender and Project information being published daily in order to attend Site meetings, meet Closing dates, obtain Bidders Lists, Site Attendance Registers and Bill of Quantities (BoQ’s).

Following Projects from Conceptual through to Completion on the L2B information platform can save a great amount of time, energy and costs.

A simple laptop or computer allows contractors as well as consultants to install many costing, design and performance programmes which allows them to use design, pre-construction or operations and management programmes, minimizing many obstacles along the way. Computer aided designing helps in flawless buildings as computer stimulation problems can be found and resolved before constructing buildings physically. Can you imagine building a whole puzzle only to find that you had one single puzzle piece place incorrectly? This would include you taking the whole puzzle apart only to reshuffle the whole puzzle to create your perfect complete picture.

With the economic challenges that are being faced, typically it is the companies that have the ability to adapt and utilize technological change that hold a huge competitive advantage over the rest of the construction companies. Technology has and will continue to become a strategic and long term asset for any construction company.

“Where can we find greater structural clarity than in the wooden buildings of old? Where else can we find such unity of material, construction and form? Here, the wisdom of whole generations is stored.”

Sources
Beyond Design
Construction Exec
Mckinsey

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About Roxanne Mustard

My Name is Roxanne Mustard and I started working at Leads 2 Business in September 2016. My role in the Leads 2 Business team is as a Regional Content researcher in the Projects Department.

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Common misconceptions about demolition

What is demolition?

Demolition derived from the verb demolish: to completely destroy a building, especially in order to use the land for something else.

When I think of demolition, I think of buildings collapsing, loud bangs, big machines, and building areas being closed off. Due to demolition becoming very messy.

I have to admit I didn’t know much about demolition, especially since most of the sites are usually covered up when you go by, but I have to say thanks to Google. As I have learnt that there is a lot that goes into demolition and behind the scenes. I even learnt what demolition is.

“Though demolition is an important part of the life of our cities and neighbourhoods” – Demolition 101

When it comes to demolishing a building it is not as easy as one, two, three. There are many factors that come into play, e.g.: Professional machine operators, proper equipment, and the most important of them all a plan.

1. Buildings don’t just fall, and implosions are just one percent of demolition work. Machinery such as excavators and backhoes do most of the work.

2. Demolition contractors help preserve and restore historical buildings.

3.  The personnel using the machinery need to undergo the proper training on how to use the equipment the right way. Especially since we all know that technology is constantly evolving, so the machine operators need constant training to keep up with the changes.

4. Contractors do not just knock buildings down for fun. It’s their job.

Please visit the Leads 2 Business Blog for more information on demolition.
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About Nazeema Sishi

I am a content researcher who just started with Leads 2 Business in February this year, I work in the Daily Tenders South Africa department. I am a young vibrant lady who enjoys meeting new people and doing new things. I welcome challenges and always find new ways of doing things. I am a mum and I love spending time with my not so little, very talkative son.

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Tools everyone in the Demolition Industry Should be using

Originally when I was given this topic, my first thoughts were….hmmm? Demolition, that’s got to be pretty straight forward, right? Blowing a bunch of buildings up or smashing walls down with a sledge hammer in an episode of “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” came to mind but apparently it’s not that simple.
After hours of research and chatting to a couple of experts in the demolition industry there are basic guidelines to follow before any of the dirty work can even begin.

What exactly are we demolishing?

Are there special regulations?

There are different tools to use for different methods of demolition. One would have to assess where the site is situated. Apparently bringing a bulldozer to a graveyard to build the next Mall of Africa would be frowned upon. Yes, it would get the job the done but there are basic regulation guidelines one would have to follow. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it won’t be that easy to knock it down either. Depending on what you’re demolishing, you may need to use different tools to finish the job.

Here is a list of tools that everyone in the industry should be using:

1. Safety Equipment
The number one rule in construction is always SAFETY FIRST. Make sure your team is equipped with adequate Health & Safety training as well as all the necessary PPE equipment.

2. Explosives
In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings. Despite its terminology, building implosion also includes the controlled demolition of other structures, such as bridges, towers, and tunnels.
Building implosion (which reduces to seconds a process which could take months or years to achieve by other methods) typically occurs in urban areas and often involves large landmark structures.

3. Excavators
An excavator is a construction vehicle used to excavate or move large objects. An Excavator is basically made up of 2 parts: A driving base holding a powerful boom arm with an attachment designed for excavating. The operator sits within a small cab connected to the base and controls the arm.
The excavator uses a Hydraulic system to generate a Hydraulic force to control the mechanical arm of the machine. It also uses a chain wheel system for its movement.
There are several types of excavators which are classified on use, brand and purpose.

4. Hand-Held tools
These tools are your “go-to” for more precise work.
If you are just taking fixtures off the walls, or removing adhesive from a floor surface for example, hand held light demolition tools will do.
Bigger tasks like mass tile removal, concrete breaking and knocking down partitions, will require heavy duty power tools in many instances.

Sources:
https://home.howstuffworks.com/5-tools-you-need-for-demolition6.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_implosion

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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.

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Growth Strategies from an Expert

I can honestly say that this time around I don’t feel too nervous about writing my blog even though I needed a bit of a nudge from a friend to get started…
I feel a lot more confident than last time as I did not have to google “blogging for dummies” and “how to write a blog”. Yes, I really did do that previously…😉

My blog today is Growth Strategies from an Expert. Well I am no expert that’s for sure but we are going to be looking at tips from the actual experts.

Wouldn’t you agree that in order to successfully grow your business you need to ensure that you have a well-formulated growth strategy that fits the industry you have chosen? Both profitability and growth are equally important and necessary for a business to survive and remain operational. There is no set growth strategy, it is not a one size fits all kind of thing. Strategies that work for one business may not work for another business, but any business that commits to the process should see the benefits. It is imperative to take the time to prepare a growth strategy in order for business owners to successfully reap the benefits by recognising and seizing new opportunities ahead of the competition. Always remember that realistic strategies lead to positive results.

Let’s now look at 10 Growth Strategies from an Expert:

1. Nail your value proposition
Ensuring your business sustains long term growth you need to establish what it is that makes your services / products better than your competitors. What sets you apart from them?

2. Create measurable KPI’s
Firstly, let’s look at what KPI stands for and what is means: Key Performance Indicator – A KPI is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a business is achieving key business objectives. KPI’s are used to evaluate their success at reaching targets. Ok… got it? So now that we have an understanding of what a KPI is, let’s look at how we can create measurable KPI’s. Start by outlining your business objective and make sure you prioritise them in order for your tactics and strategies to be identified so that they are measurable and not impossible in order to reach success.

3. Verify your revenue streams (income)
Recognise your current revenue streams and identify which new ones could be created in order to increase your business profitability.

4. Identify your customer
Identifying and knowing your customer is key for any business endeavour. Successful business owners understand what their customers want and the most effective way of making their product or service available. As a business owner, it is crucial to take every advantage to outsmart your competitor, and understanding and building upon your customer knowledge and relationship will put you ahead of the game.

5. Understand their key requirements
Customers needs and requirements are very important in business. Understanding their needs and ensuring they are happy will retain your customer base.

6. Make the most of existing business data
Look into your company data on a regular basis in order to better understand your business as well as your customer types which will lead to improved business growth.

7. Define the best communication strategies
Approach your audience and establish what is the most effective communication strategy, but this needs defining in a carefully-considered content marketing strategy. Adjust your communications to something that best suits your customer base.

8. Personalise your approach to retain leads
Let’s be honest here, without new customers, your business growth will remain stagnant. If your current customers aren’t sticking around, you’re having to do a lot more work. Your leads are the key to your business growth. So personalise your approach, not every customer is the same and some require more work.

9. Re-evaluate your competition
Never ever take your eyes off of your competition. Find ways and means to be better, this will help with growing your business.

10. Focus on your strengths
Focus on what makes you better than the competition, what sets you apart from everyone else. Identifying ways to grow doesn’t necessarily involve targeting weaknesses, focusing on strengths can also help establish the best strategies going forward. Adapt your plan to smooth out any weakness.

“THERE IS ONLY ONE GROWTH STRATEGY: WORK HARD.” – William Hague

Sources:
https://www.constructionbusinessowner.com/topics/strategy/construction-company-management/developing-strategic-construction-business-plan
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020415/what-more-important-business-profitability-or-growth.asp

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About Nadia Milln

My journey at Leads 2 Business all started back in September 2014 as a content researcher in the Daily Tenders Africa Department. In March 2018 I was promoted to content researcher in the Private Project department. I am a fun loving, bubbly person and mom to a beautiful baby boy who is the absolute light of my life.

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Building relationships to grow your business

Today is the kind of day where I wish inspiration came out of my shower. I’m no business owner and I don’t have any sort of marketing degree behind my name.

I can tell you however, that a business is only as good as the client it serves, and no business gets far after losing the clients it had.

I promise you that not all of my thoughts come from the shower.
I do think out of the box too.

The key to success is building relationships that go beyond one-time projects and provides value to these clients on a consistent, ongoing basis. You have to learn the rules of the game and then you have to play better than anyone else.

Building business relationships are not like any other relationship with a partner, No. It is much more than that.

Money can’t buy one of the most important things you need to build your business, Clients. You can’t have a million dollar dream with minimum work ethic.

How do customer relationships drive your business? It is all about finding people who believe in your product or service. How are you going to do this? You develop relationships with people who don’t just understand your particular expertise, product or service but who are excited and buzzing about what you do.

Relationships have a short shelf life. “There is nothing i can’t do, except reach the top shelf. I can’t do that.” Don’t be that guy! For crying in a bucket, get the ladder and reach the top. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they come home from networking events and fail to follow up. Make the connection immediately, It’s easier to keep a connection warm than to warm it up again once the trail goes cold.

I would now like to share my knowledge on how to build client relationships:

When you make the right connections you’re much more likely to be a success. E-mail marketing keeps a work relationship strong on a shoestring budget.
Build a reputation by giving away free insight. Come on who doesn’t love free things?

Make the E-mail interesting and worth the read, most important make connection with the same people that shares the same interests and goals as you.

Reward loyal customers and they will reward you, for example the CEO at Leads 2 Business will host a lovely golf day for all our clients. Make them feel special and appreciated.
Once you show them, that appreciation they will be around for a very long time.

The saying, “Give and you shall receive” goes a very long way when it comes to this.

Own it, this may be the most difficult skill to master because it hits home morally and shows your human side. When something goes wrong you may have to take the bullet even if it wasn’t your fault or the company’s fault.

If it was you or the company that was in the wrong being respectful and honest shows vulnerability and the ability to take criticism that goes with being wrong.

Step in without being asked, it is easy to help when you are asked. Most people will. People who build client relationships pay close attention so that they can tell when others are struggling.

Offer to help, not just to build a good relationship with your client base, but because you care.

With all this said I would like to remind you to be authentic.

Be genuine. Be real.

Here is a quote for the day:

By being remarkable, being genuine, you can be worth connecting with. And you don’t have to have it all figured out perfectly the first time – you can adjust.

~ Seth Godin ~

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.

Sources:
https://youinc.com/content/leadership/building-relationships-to-grow-your-business-in-five-easy-steps
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthaharrington/2017/06/30/how-to-build-strong-business-relationships/#76dd6859356f
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/296469

About Sonet van Wygaard

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

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700 000 Tenders

On the 28 May 2018, Leads 2 Business celebrated the publishing of our 700 000th tender notice.

And like the publishing of the 600 000th, the 500 000th and all the big milestone tenders that have come before; I laugh at how fleeting the moment is. In fact, between that moment and now; L2B has published an additional 2000 plus tenders. Being then asked to write a blog article on this occasion, seems a bit late to the party.

Were we surprised by hitting that number? No. We’ve been looking out for it for awhile. In fact, we were hoping to hit it the Friday before.

The fact is, we’d hit 700 000 at some point. It’s guaranteed, like death and taxes. So whether we publish one tender a day or 100 tenders a day; the milestones will come. Does that diminish the accomplishment? No. The accomplishment doesn’t lie in the number. It’s taken years to get to this point. Numerous staff, current and past, have contributed by doing what needs to be done. Getting the work in, and getting the work out.

The usual words bandied about concerning the publishing of tenders is monotonous, routine, repetitive. I can see you’re just chomping at the bit, to become part of this exciting and glamourous data capturing world. Like all things, it isn’t that straight forward or that simple.
I’m a huge advocate of “It’s not what you do; it’s how you do it”. How you do something speaks volumes, and that “how” can be applied to any aspect of your life.

When attempting to come up with an approach for this article, two words kept cropping up; namely “consistency” and “preparation”. Consistency gets a bad rap. It’s usually lumped in with the “repetitive” and “monotonous” crowd. There’s nothing exciting about being consistent, clearly. But that’s what 700 000 tenders represents; consistency. What we did yesterday, is what we have to do
today. And hoping against hope, that’s something to be proud of.

Now, I’m a creature of habit. I like routine, and cannot abide surprises. My skill set is better suited to thoughtful preparation, rather than “fly by the seat of your pants” recklessness (much to the chagrin of those I work with). So I recognise when my colleagues also show consistency in their work, recognise that it isn’t always an easy process. Being reliable in this day and age, is hard and rare.

Preparation comes from seeing the bigger picture. It isn’t only today, that needs to be handled. Coming in early, and skipped lunches, staying late, doubling up to compensate for Public Holidays and downed websites, supporting colleagues and actively carrying your own weight day in and day out. These decisions are made throughout L2B (in every Department) every day to meet targets, meet and even exceed expectations and strengthen our internal Culture of Excellence. Scoff all you want. But like I said; it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. And quite frankly, if you want to be good at anything in your life; accept consistency and preparation and be better for it.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit”
– Aristotle.

So let’s see if our habits get us to 800 000 by February 2020.

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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.

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