30 Mar 2017

L2B Blog: Ways that technology is helping to build the Construction Industry

by Eldary Carpenter | posted in: Construction Chat | 0

Ways that technology is helping to build the Construction Industry

Ways that Technology is helping to build the Construction Industry:

As technology continues to progress, it is not hard to see how it spills over into the construction industry. From machinery to apps on your phone and the advances in materials, each has an integral role:

To name a few groundbreaking Construction Projects from all over the world: In 2015, a Chinese company built a 57 story building in 19 days. The Burj Khalifa, the current world’s tallest building at 828m, completed in 2010. In my opinion, one of the most awesome feats of technology: the underwater dining room of the Kihavah Maldives. A house being built by a 3D printer in a record breaking 24 hours. If it was not for technology evolving, these Projects would not be done quickly, or even be possible.

As people, it is in our DNA to be creative, which leads to people continuously developing technology to be bigger, better, smarter and faster. The same applies to the construction industry.

Pre-1904, if you were building a house you would be mixing your concrete by hand. In 1904 Richard Bodlaender patented what we know today as the portable cement mixer, which has since been modified with an engine attachment. 1917 saw the birth of the cement mixing truck, which only reached its full potential in 1957 with the invention of the cement pump, allowing us the capabilities to pour concrete at an incredible rate: this cement pump has micro-evolved since the 50’s. I suppose all methods of mixing concrete are still used today depending on the budget of the project, however, the most effective method would be the use of the truck with a cement pump.

In our lifetime, we have seen “new technology” turned into dinosaurs, like dial-up internet (thank goodness that is gone). We’ve got smartphones, that have come a long way since its brick size predecessor and at the rate we are going, tablets will completely eradicate the entire species of the laptop computer. We have access to apps and websites on our phone, as long as we have a positive credit in our data bundles. Thanks to apps we are able to carry around a set of building plans and specs in the palms of our hands. By adding in a few figures, apps can work out the costs of the project for us. The diary industry (classic quoting system) is slowly eroding as we have our whole world on our phones. Advertising has progressed from newspaper classifieds to flyers/banners to social media (The newspaper is online these days as the world calls for a more paperless society). If you are avoiding social media, you will be left in the dark ages as your online presence is vital to your survival. Which is easier? To Google a phone number from your device or to look for a number in your phone book when you get home later, real world people want real-time answers.

Where does that leave us as South Africans?

We need to move forward, to adapt: Which has more life in it, the river or a pond with no inlet or outlet? To change our marketing strategies, to buy or develop new technology, to be more effective with the little time we have in the day. If we are not developing or inventing our own technology we will always be behind those who do. I think there is plenty of money to be made for those who can think ahead, keep up with technology, invest in development or purchase machinery so we can keep it local and sow into our own economy. Let us not be stuck in our ways, but keep adapting. I’m not saying throw the baby out with the bathwater, but be willing to embrace technology. Most importantly build your online presence.

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 Eldary Carpenter

I have been with Leads 2 Business for 5 years and absolutely love working for such a dynamic company. I started off as a Content Researcher in the Tenders Department before being promoted to Customer Relations.

9 Mar 2017

L2B Blog: Innovations In Smart Home Technology

by Marlaine Andersen | posted in: General | 0

Innovations In Smart Home Technology

With advancement in technology, scores of cool gadgets are finding their way into more and more homes and changing the way people live. These gadgets are not just fancy, they are providing quick solutions to everyday problems, making our lives so much easier. The simple designs and improved functions reduce human effort and conserve space. I am always interested in new gadgets and gizmos that are being developed, to make our home lives easier and I regularly surf the net looking for cool gadgets.

So, what can we look forward to in 2017?

Here are 5 of the best (in my opinion) that are going to make our homes a little smarter and our lives a little easier…….

1. Best Cookware

Now this is smart – WeMo wireless smart home platform, Belkin’s Crock-Pot is the first smartphone controllable slow cooker. Via the WeMo iOS or Android smartphone app, you can adjust the crock pot’s settings from anywhere, receive reminders, change the cook time, adjust the cooking temperature, use the timer to calculate cook times and process, or even check the status of your dish so you can come home to a perfectly cooked meal. How smart is that? And who wouldn’t like one? Me.. me.. me!

2. Best Refrigerator

Samsung (who else!) Family Hub. 4-door Flex Smart French Door Refrigerator – this connected refrigerator has everything but the kitchen sink. Its large touchscreen on the front door lets you view family member’s schedules, leave notes for each other, order groceries, play music and even watch TV! In addition, the fridge has three cameras inside which take a picture and email it to you every time you close the door. No more guessing or trying to remember if you need to buy more milk! Pricey of course, but this is the most innovative fridge. Ever!

3. Best Smart Garage Door Opener

Searching or reaching for that elusive garage door remote while trying to navigate a dark street at night or around children’s discarded toys or even sometimes your children often proves awkward and dangerous, to say the least. Chamberlain’s garage door opener lets you tap your device’s screen to open or close your garage door. The company is also planning to add geofencing capabilities so it can sense when you are approaching your driveway and automatically open the garage door and then once your car is safely parked inside, to close your garage door. This gadget has been designed to be utilised on most existing garage doors.

4. Smart Lighting

Smart lighting is not new with many designs already having an app component for remote control. Believe it or not, though, a new smart lights system can actually sense when you (and your phone!) are on your way home and will react accordingly by turning the lights on or off, This type of automation is achieved by tying your lighting system into your phone’s geofencing features. Geofencing taps into the phone’s GPS system, in order to alter your lighting system when you’re in the area. If you are always carrying your phone, you may never have to enter into a dark driveway or doorway again, and all happens without programming, scheduling or actually touching any buttons. So smart!

5. Smart Faucet (tap)

This environmentally friendly faucet (tap) saves up to 57 litres per unit, per year. That’s a big smart saving! This innovative technology helps conserve water sources and also conserves energy with its intelligent design. By conserving water and energy, you leave behind a reduced carbon footprint. It can be used easily by everyone, including children, the elderly and the disabled.

There is so much new, interesting, useful and smart technology out there, that I found it hard to keep it to just 5, I just had to add this last one as this is something I would really want…

and…… (drumroll)…….. Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaners

Floor cleaning and vacuuming are now easier with a range of Deebots from Ecovacs, a pioneer in the field of engineering robotic vacuum cleaners. The D77, the latest Deebot is a 3-dimensional cleaning solution that has smart technology to detect and navigate obstacles! It even has the capability to automatically empty its own dustbin (so smart!). It has different modes for cleaning different types of flooring. And the best … even when you are not at home, you can pre-set it to clean your floors with its intelligent time scheduling feature. Smart, so very, very smart.

While most of this smart technology is already available and installed in homes overseas in the USA and UK, we, unfortunately, will have to wait a while longer for it to reach our shores. I am waiting in anticipation…….

Information sourced from the following sites:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-smart-home-gadgets,review-2008.html

https://shisystems.com/blog?view=entry&id=45
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/20-smart-home-technology-gadgets-that-will-leave-you-spellbound.html

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 Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

2 Mar 2017

L2B Blog: Can Smart cities save the world?

by Debbie Wessels | posted in: General | 0

Can Smart cities save the world?

Before we can determine how the world can be saved we need to understand what a smart city is. A smart city should be able to provide a technology framework that enables the citizens, businesses, government and non-government entities to be able to utilise received information and communication. This means a smart city would need a foundation of high-speed connectivity to ensure effective data collection and only once this is in place, would a city be in the position to address any and all challenges to become “smart”.

There are a large number of challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of smart cities becoming a reality in South Africa. Our infrastructure is underdeveloped and ageing and a major challenge would be the lack of skills in the workforce. The lack of this essential workforce is a hindrance to the progress of smart cities nationally. As well as training, tech-savvy people are a necessity, ones that understand and can use IT systems even when under pressure. Regretfully, the development of this required workforce does not happen overnight.

The implied benefits in living in a smart city are numerous but requires that the ‘smart’ is implemented correctly and of course well managed (SA still has a long way to go here) Governments and municipalities would be better managed and improved, for example, network sensors could be placed in the drainage system and any problems would be timeously detected, for example, where blockages are occurring, capability during flooding and also real time information on any trouble spots. More online services would cut down on process cost and time resulting in efficiency. A good example of heading towards “smart” is that you are now able to submit your tax return online (those queues were a nightmare!)….hurry up Home Affairs, you need to get smart too!

All over the world people are going about their daily lives, eating meals, shopping, working in offices, using their mobile phones and travelling, be it to school, work or play. More and more people are flocking to the cities from rural areas and this is why cities are responsible for 80% of global energy consumption, contributing to over half the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and this trend does not seem to be decreasing. If we want to tackle climate change, changing the way we consume energy in cities would be the way to start.

There are 5 key areas emerging for ‘smart’ services that enable a sustainable, low carbon city.
1. Monitoring and managing the “footprint” of the city for decision-makers
2. Connected mobility solutions to enable modal shift, and electric vehicles
3. Distributed and community energy solutions
4. Smarter buildings that are transparent about energy consumption, use and generation
5. Smart energy, water and waste management

It is a scary thought that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas and even scarier is the fact that Africa’s urban populations are growing at twice the rate of the rest of the world but… it is not all gloom and doom, there is increasing evidence that emissions can decrease while economies continue to grow. The answer is….low-carbon trajectory, which is actually feasible and makes good sense. In the past, growth was the main measure of economic success, but this growth is presenting huge challenges for Governments. More people means increased consumption of valuable resources such as water and energy (we are certainly aware of our current water situation). More people in the cities means that more services are required e.g. firefighters, police, medical care and education and often the services are required before enough taxes are received to cover their costs.

So, instead of measuring physical growth, a city’s success should be measured by its utilisation of resources such as water, energy and others. To be measured further by its ability to maintain a high quality of life for its residents. In other words, cities HAVE to become smarter about how they use existing capacity and resources in order to save the world.

References:
http://www.dfafrica.co.za/press/2016/2016-02-23
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/smart-cities-energy-consumption
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/08/climate-smart-cities-could-save-the-world-22tn-say-economists
https://hbr.org/2012/10/tech-savvy-cities-are-saving-m

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 Debbie Wessels

I started at Leads 2 Business in April 2008 in the tenders Department and transferred to the Projects Department during the same year. I was appointed Head of Department for Projects from February 2011 to March 2022. April 2022 I started a new adventure as Content Regulator.

16 Feb 2017

How to talk to Clients you don’t have yet

by Carmen Barends | posted in: General | 2

How to talk to Clients you don’t have yet

How to Talk to Clients when you don't have any Yet — How to Talk to Clients when you don’t have any Yet

I can see people reading the Title a few times and wondering…”What?!” That is pretty much the response I had, so don’t feel alone. How do I talk to someone I haven’t got yet? How do I actually get a client? Would they want to talk to me? What would they want to hear?

It’s like being on Pinterest right? Half an hour later you are thinking to yourself ….”Where was I again?”

How to talk to Clients you don’t have yet?

Anyone you meet could be a prospective client. In trying to have a dialogue with a potential client; “do unto others…” comes into play. We all know how we would like to be treated if we were considering being a client. Why not use that as a guideline for how you would treat someone who could be a client? Each interaction could be an opportunity to represent or misrepresent your brand.

Some ideas on how to talk to your client:

1 Be polite

Be nice. It always pays off. You want your client walking away from the experience feeling like they have been heard.

2 Talk like you would in real life, don’t use shoptalk

Not everyone is going to understand the jargon you use within your company or even the industry. Keep it simple. Talk like you would in real life.

3 Keep it upbeat and positive

Let the client know that their request, even if it can’t be facilitated right away, is being considered with “I will discuss your request with our team” or “We are working on this issue for you”.

4 Research your client (ask Big Brother Google)

With the abundance of resources available these days it isn’t difficult to do a little research on your client. There are plenty of social media networks and websites to look through to gain an understanding of what your client does.

5 Make sure that all their questions are answered before you close your conversation

Confirm with your client that their question has been answered and see if there is anything else they are unsure about?

6 Be willing to admit to a mistake

Unsympathetic support can lead people away from the brand instead of helping them feel heard.

7 Don’t leave your clients wondering

Some issues won’t be solved in one go, which means your client is probably left wondering if the issue is going to be resolved or not. Tell your client you will get back to them within a specific time frame and even if the question has not necessarily been answered, contact your client and update them. Take it one step further and follow up a week after an issue has been resolved to see that everything is still running smoothly. It’s bound to put a smile on your client’s dial.

Service delivery is something we love to talk about. But in all honesty, it isn’t always readily delivered. What happens when we receive great service? We talk about it. To our friends, online, social media…… This basically means that if you don’t have a client as yet, you could get one by someone else talking about a great experience they have had with your brand. So how do you talk to clients you don’t have yet? Simple, talk to them just as you would want to be spoken to and keep doing it as a standard.

It will be sure to place your front of mind next time the person needs your services.

Sources

http://blog.frontapp.com/2017/01/11/how-to-talk-to-your-customers-in-7-easy-steps/

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 Carmen Barends

Social Media adventurer exploring new frontiers and learning how to survive. Tongue in cheek and mischief are the order of any good day topped with a sprinkling of laughter.

30 Jan 2017

L2B Blog: Commercial Construction & Renovation

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, General | 0

Commercial Construction & Renovation

According to itsallaboutbusiness.com, “Commercial construction is the business of building and selling or leasing manufacturing or assembly plants, medical centers, retail shopping centers and standard space for offices. The business varies primarily in the size and scale of the operations. Typically, the commercial builder either contracts with a company or organisation to build the facility or builds the facility on speculation that it can be leased or sold at a later time.”

Taking the above into account lets look at some of the commercial properties making headlines in South Africa.

In 2011 Aurecon’s Offices in Century City, now known as Aurecon East, was the first building in South Africa to be awarded a 5-Star Green Star SA Office Design v1 rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) but they didn’t stop there. In 2016 Aurecon West was completed, the second phase of Offices which also went on to receive a 5-Star Green Star SA Office Design v1 rating. Aurecon’s investment in Century City has inspired a number of other large corporates to relocate to the area.

In 2011 there were only 5 buildings in SA with Green Star accreditation from the GBCSA, to date there are 113 buildings with a Office Design v1 rating and 202 buildings in total with a Green Star Rating.

When you mention Kyalami most will think of the Race Track that was purchased by Porsche South Africa in 2014. Indeed, it is an historic track and recent construction and renovation at the Race Track was completed May 2016 after which it was awarded a Grade 2 racetrack certification by the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA) and is the only current motor racing facility on the African continent to have the prestigious accreditation. But the Race Track is not the only property making headlines, Kyalami Corner, a 28 000m² retail development is due for completion in March and anticipated to open in April this year and forms part of the larger Kyalami Main on Main development in the area which includes retail, motor showrooms, offices and residential.

Another commercial development close to home is the Liberty Midlands Mall Phase 3 Expansion which will include offices and a value retail centre which was initially announced December 2013, construction was planned to commence in early 2014 and completed by mid-2015. However it seems that there were various delays and Phase 3 looks like it will be going ahead during 2017. Residents in the area have been waiting a while for the expansion and I’m sure many look forward to witnessing the progressing going forward. Watch this space.

The list of commercial construction and renovation could go on…

It’s evident that there is a significant amount of commercial construction & renovation happening in SA and what’s more all the developments I mentioned above can be found on Leads 2 Business. Want to know more? Comment below or contact us.

Sources:

http://www.aurecongroup.com/en/about/latest-news/2011/jul/aurecons-office-building-achieves-first-5-star-green-star-sa-rating-in-south-africa.aspx

https://www.gbcsa.org.za/projects/certified-projects/?tool=&type=&rating=&province=&filter=rated

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 Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

26 Jan 2017

L2B Blog: Building Design & Construction: Interesting Buildings & Structures

by Cecile Van Deventer | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

Building Design & Construction: Interesting Buildings & Structures

Over the ages, there have been many buildings and structures built that have an absolutely amazing design. Some of these buildings and structures have withstood the test of time in ways that newer buildings / structures have yet to experience and only time will tell if they will be able to withstand the forces of nature. Today, I am having a look at some of these brilliant buildings and structures that have captured my imagination.

Bridge of Eggs, Lima, Peru

Puente de Piedra (the Bridge of Stone), was built around 1610 by the architect. Juan del Corral, and is referred to as the Bridge of Eggs, due to the belief that the mortar was mixed with egg whites as opposed to water. The bridge is still standing today.

Photo Credit: Mangal Home Builders

References: Wikipedia, Did You Know?

Cathedral of Brasília(Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida), Brazil

The Cathedral of Brasília (Portuguese: Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida, “Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Aparecida”) is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Brasília, Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Construction started in 1958 and was completed in 1970.

Photo Credit: Author – Victor Soares – ABr

References: Wikipedia, Most Amazing Facts.

Yunak Evleri Cave Hotel, Urgup, Cappadocia, Turkey

Yunak Evleri is a 5-star hotel built into ancient Turkish caves that were carved out of the rocky hills. The combination of the renovated caves (7) with the private cave rooms (40 in total), dating back to the 5^th and 6^th century, capped by a 19^th century Greek Mansion, would entice anyone to go exploring.

Photo Credit: Yunak

References: Yunak, Most Amazing Facts

Air Force Academy Chapel, Colorado, United States

Construction on this amazing building started in 1957 and it was completed in 1962. Designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and constructed by Robert E. McKee, Inc., it provides the following worship areas: Protestant chapel (Protestants), Catholic chapel (Catholics), Jewish chapel (Jews), Buddhist chapel (Buddhists), Falcon Circle (Followers of Earth-Centered Spiruality, which includes Wicca, Paganism and Druidism) and All-Faiths rooms (these are for smaller religious groups and faith specific accoutrements are available for use).

Photo Credit: Author – Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

References: Wikipedia, Docomomo-US, Most Amazing Facts

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Of course, one of the most famous buildings in all of time, is the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower, also became the namesake. Construction started in 1887 and was completed in 1889.

Photo Credit: Benh LIEU SONG (License)

References: Wikipedia

Fallingwater House, Pennsylvania, United States

Architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, designed this astounding house for Liliane and Edgar J. Kaufmann in 1935. Construction started in 1936 and the main house was completed in 1937. In 1966 it was designated a National Historic Landmark. The Lego product range, Lego Architecture, features Fallingwater as a landmark set.

Photo Credit: Author – Daderot

References: Wikipedia

La Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain

This minor basilica was designed by Antoni Gaudi and construction commenced in 1882. Due to reliance on private donations and being interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, it has an anticipated completion date of 2026.

Photo Credit: Author – Bernard Gagnon

References: Wikipedia, Most Amazing Facts

The Big Pineapple, Bathurst, South Africa

Built between 1990 – 1992, the Big Pineapple is a tribute to the agricultural success of the fruit in the region. It is almost 20m high and has three floors.

Photo Credit: NJR ZA

References: Buzz South Africa, AGU Blogosphere

The Shoe House, Abel Erasmus Pass, Mpumalanga

Ron van Zyl designed and built this house for his wife, Yvonne, in 1990. Today the house is a Museum and also includes a chalet guest house, restaurant, bar, a camp site, curio shop and pool.

Photo Credit: FunPic

References: Buzz South Africa, Traveler’s Log.

Alice Lane Towers, Sandton, South Africa

Designed by Paragon Architects and completed in 2010, this is definitely one of the most beautiful buildings I have seen. This is the first high rise building with a curved façade, being completely glazed and made from low energy glass and utilising glass printing technology.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

References: Wikipedia

These are some of the structures and buildings which have caught my interest, but there are still so many other amazing, popular, strange and fantastic buildings and structures in the world.

Do you have any that have caught your interest?

Feel free to leave a comment.

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 Cecile Van Deventer

I joined the L2Q Team in 2006, as a L2Q Support Assistant and have been the HOD since 2010. I supervise L2Q Bills, Daily Tender Bills, Control Lists and Directory.

23 Jan 2017

Did You Know #DYK – Simplify and Focus your Leads: How to clean up your Inbox and Old Projects

by Bianca Edgcumbe | posted in: General, How To, Uncategorized | 0

Simplify and Focus your Leads: How to clean up your Inbox and Old Projects

Simplify and Focus your Leads: How to clean up your Inbox and Old Projects

The last thing you want is for your inbox on the Leads 2 Business system to be overloaded and inundated with e-mails, so to make your life easier, be organised.

We tend to leave things to pile up, and emails flow in faster than they can be sorted out, this could often lead to missing important e-mails….. That is why Leads 2 Business gives you options – To simplify and focus your leads. It will only take a few seconds every now and then, to just systematically arrange your emails into the correct folders provided.

How to clean up your Inbox: Let’s get started

Your inbox can be accessed in 3 different ways on the site:

Top right hand corner under your name;
Small envelope on the top right hand corner; or
On the left hand side just under the Leads 2 Business logo

Once you have opened your inbox, different folders are provided:

Compose – new e-mail;
Inbox – where your e-mails are received and from here you can categorize them into the various folders under the green Actions button;
Important – If you have marked your e-mails as important, they will be saved here;
Trash – If you decide to delete e-mails, they are moved to Trash and from here you can also Restore them and they are moved back to your Inbox,
RFQ notices – Once the buyer has made changes to a RFQ that was previously sent to you, you are automatically notified via email which you will receive in the RFQ Notices received.

Sent:

Monitors – Emails that you have sent to your monitors as well as tenders or projects that you have assigned to your monitors will be displayed here,
Professionals – E-mails that you have sent to professionals as well as via the directory,
RFQ Notices – E-mails or amendments made to RFQ’s that you have sent as a buyer to the vendors.

Your Team:

A list of your monitors are displayed here and in order to send them an e-mail, just click on the preferred monitor.

Next Step – Cleaning up Projects

Private Projects consists of predominantly large privately funded projects which follow the progress from the procedural stage right through to the completion stage. Our private projects subscribers receive a private project advisory (PPA) whereby they can also monitor the projects of interest in order to receive any notes and updates made to the specific project. Leads 2 Business gives you the option to “Clean up your Projects”, so again, you can be a bit more organised and not have projects floating around that you might not need at that stage.

This is how:

Hover your cursor over your name (top right hand corner) and select Profile Settings, proceed to the last option which says “Cleanup Projects”, and it takes you through to the following page:

Basically this function allows you to remove monitored projects at any stage and if, some time in the future you needed any of them again, there is another option to reinstate them. Select which of the project statuses you want removed, click on “Remove Selected”. If you want to reinstate them, select your choice and click on “Re-Instate Selected”. As easy as that…another great way of getting yourself organised.

Getting organised is a daily struggle. In my humble opinion, it will be easier to get into a daily routine of clearing and organising your inbox 🙂 So…what are you waiting for?

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 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)

19 Jan 2017

L2B Blog: Build your Business with Building Tenders

by Claire Donaldson | posted in: General, Uncategorized | 3

Build your Business with Building Tenders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Examples of Building Tenders:

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

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

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

Awarded Building tenders:

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

Awarded DTA 604734 – Construction of Bilanyoni Library

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

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

To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

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

17 Jan 2017

Did You Know #DYK – A Walk Through Your Advisory Setting

by Sherina Shawe | posted in: Did You Know, General, How To | 1

A Walk Through Your Advisory Setting

Welcome to the 1st edition of a new supplement we are adding to our weekly Blog called “Did You Know”.

We will use this insert to either teach you something new or refresh your memory on something old, but still interesting to know ;).

Today I’m going to give you the ins and outs and lowdowns of your Daily Advisories….. and right now I’m hoping you are not squinting your eyes and asking “What is a Daily Advisory?” lol! but just in case you are….. Lets start from the beginning 😉

Simply put, your Daily advisory is all the leads we send you on a daily bases, according to the filters YOU selected.

So, Did You Know – you can adjust your Daily Advisory whenever you like? well, you can and this is how!

Once logged in – Hover your cursor over your Name, this will bring up a drop down menu as illustrated in the below diagram.

Select Advisory Setting and let us begin:)

There are 7 Consecutive Steps you need to follow.

Step 1 – Email Set Up:

This is the email you have indicated to us as the one you want to receive all Advisories on. The Tick indicates that this email address has been verified, If you did not receive a verification email or if it got lost – you may click on the Action tab and resend the verification email to yourself.

Below that is a list of the advisories you are paying for – you may De-select any of these if you like (This will not alter your current monthly rate)

So why would you want to deselect an advisory? well for instance, if you are subscribed to Private Projects, we give you Daily Tenders for free, however you may decide you are not interested in receiving Government Tenders…. then you would just simply remove the tick next to Industry Advisory 🙂

Step 2 – Categories:

This is where you decide exactly what leads you are wanting to receive.

First lets go though the Tender Categories – you may select as many or as few of these as you like.

*Please be advised that if you opted out of receiving an Industry Advisory in the previous step, you should not have anything selected here.

Project Categories: Often large developments have both a building and infrastructure element and because both of these elements may not interest you, we have given you the power to choose whether you would like to receive updates on both or just one.

Project Status: These are the various stages in which a Project moves through from Conceptual right up until Completion.

Once again, we don’t see why you should receive information that is irrelevant to what you do, so here you get to decide what stages of the Project you would like to receive.

* Please be advised that the last two options will not be available to you, unless you are a Private Projects Subscriber.

OK so lets move on.

Step 3 – Values:

If you have a CIDB Grading you can be quite specific here, however if you are, for example, a Consultant and don’t require a CIDB, you should still select all, as there will be instances where a tender is Turnkey and there may be a CIDB requirement for the contractor all on the same tender.

Just for interest sake I have listed below the industries that may apply for a CIDB grading 🙂

The Project Values refer to the size of the Development, here you may decide which size Projects would be of interest to you .

Step 4 – Industries

Now this is two fold, firstly if you have Tender Categories selected, here you get to be specific about the industries you service.

For instance: If your company was in the security sector and really only supplied and installed security solutions to the Hospitality & Leisure as well as the retail sector, then this is what your advisory would look like:

* Please note that without an industry selected, your selected Category will be deemed null and void.

OK so that covers the use of industries for your Government Tenders, now to explain them in Projects.

Now remember, you would have already selected whether you are interested in the Building or Infrastructure Projects in Step 2 – Categories

So now lets say you selected only Building, you can now use the industries selections to tell us in what industry you would like to receive Building Projects ….. are you still with me?

You would not select anything pertaining to Infrastructure, for example Roads or Water.

Step 5 – Regions:

Regions are subscription dependent, meaning the following:

Daily Tender SA – You may Select as many regions under the South Africa selection.

Daily Tender Africa – You may select any of the Non South African Regions.

Daily Tender SA +Africa – You may select from all the regions available.

Private Projects – You may select from all the regions.

Step 6 – Keywords

This is your fail safe step, this ensures you miss nothing!

First search for your keyword, then Select the keyword and by using the action tab, click on the add Keyword drop down.

And just like that you have added your first keyword.

You can select multiple words and add them to save time:) – You may select up to 80 Keywords.

And here we are at our final step…

Step 7 – Custom

These options are self explanatory, however I do want to clarify the following:

By ticking this option, we will still send you an advisory even if there is a day whereby your filters don’t match anything we have updated or published for that day. If this option is ticked and you DON’T receive an advisory on a particular day – give us a call so we may see what the issue was.

5,6,7. You may select one of these in order to receive a breakdown of all your monitored Projects

8. Automatic Monitoring saves you from having to go through Projects and having to monitor them yourself. By selecting this option, the system will automatically monitor all Projects published that match your filters.

Once you have gone through step 1 to 7 and are happy with your selections please make sure you click on the SAVE tab at the bottom of the page 🙂

And that is our walk through your Advisory Setting :).

Of course if you are still unable to do this yourself, you are always welcome to contact your Account Executive or call Head Office for assistance:).

I hope you found this helpful, if so, please look out for our next edition of DYK 🙂

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 Sherina Shawe

"You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining." from: Silver Linings Playbook.

13 Jan 2017

Featured Project : Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence (Triangle House)

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Construction Chat, Featured Project, General | 1

Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence (Triangle House)

Description : The former Safmarine Building, now known as Triangle House, on the corner of Riebeek and Long Streets, Cape Town, in the Western Cape, will be transformed into the 5 star Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence. All 166 flats will have dedicated parking bays. Currently used as offices, the building will be transformed into upmarket apartment units starting at 40m² and going up to 160m² for the penthouse apartments. GPS Coordinates: -33.9196757, 18.42239429999995.

Status : Underway

Industry: Building

Region : Cape Town

Sector : Private

Value : R 100 million+

Timing : January 2016 to April 2017. (15 months).

Notes: Construction is ongoing with completion estimated April 2017.

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 Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

« 1 … 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 … 42 »