Leoka Engineering<\/a>, an engineering, project development and management services company based in Johannesburg, knows this all too well. In 2018, Malefahlo and his team started working on a major electrical infrastructure replacement project for Anglo American Platinum\u2019s Rustenburg Base Metals Refinery. In addressing aging electrical infrastructure, the project aimed to prevent unplanned plant shutdowns and high production losses.<\/p>\n\u201cFrom the very beginning we realised that, in order to make this project a success, we had to walk side by side with our client,\u201d Malefahlo says. \u201cWe had to understand what keeps them awake at night. Once we established that, we began to come to grips with the complexity of the problem and to develop an appropriate, long-term solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the team proposed building a new motor control centre building \u2013 no small task. Convincing the client of this approach took some doing, and the Leoka team had to complete extensive field work and analysis to defend their position. \u201cWe had to help our client understand the reasons for our way of thinking,\u201d Malefahlo adds. \u201cBut we know that this was the best and most sustainable option available.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is still underway, with the construction work nearing completion. The project has involved multiple disciplines, from civil and structural teams to those responsible for mechanical, electrical, and control and instrumentation work. Leoka has also overseen the management of Anglo American Platinum\u2019s contractors and has had to deal quickly and effectively with unexpected challenges and pressures. \u201cClear communication and open engagement with every stakeholder and contract involved was critical,\u201d says Malefahlo. \u201cThese relationships are all that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kwenza Ndlovu, another project manager at Leoka, agrees. Ndlovu and his team recently assisted Arnot Opco with a mine rehabilitation project, providing project management expertise that served as additional capacity to the limited resources that the company had internally at the time. \u201cA big part of our work was helping our client in improving their project management and procurement systems,\u201d Ndlovu explains. \u201cWe filled multiple gaps and helped to capacitate the team at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This process had to be carefully managed. It depended on the open communication and trust that defines Leoka\u2019s relationship with its clients. \u201cOver the years, we\u2019ve learnt to put stakeholder engagement first,\u201d says Ndlovu. \u201cWe understand that every project has different stakeholders, each of whom has different needs and expectations, and different ways of evaluating a project\u2019s success. I believe that, if everyone feels included from the start, and is equipped with information that is relevant to them, the process will run smoothly. And in the case of Arnot Opco, it certainly did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leoka\u2019s work with Arnot Opco transcended traditional project management and involved both an environmental component and community relations. \u201cThe work we did with nearby communities wasn\u2019t originally part of our scope,\u201d Ndlovu adds. \u201cBut we were asked to assist with it based on our work on site. Once again, our ability to work well with people stood us in good stead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ndlovu also used this project as a mentoring opportunity, working closely with a new junior civil engineer who had no previous project management experience. Among other skills, he focused his attention on teaching her how to read people, how to communicate, and how to anticipate and address different people\u2019s needs. The young engineer concerned is now a junior project manager running projects of her own at Leoka. \u201cEffective project management comes down to people,\u201d Ndlovu concludes. \u201cWithout people, there wouldn\u2019t be any projects in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From the outside, project management often looks like little more than a box-ticking exercise: a step-by-step process from feasibility study to completion. In reality, the experience is much more complex. It relies on a host of technical skills and expertise, and, above all, a skill many might ignore: the ability to work well with people. Tumelo Malefahlo, a project manager at\u00a0Leoka Engineering, an engineering, project development and management services company based in Johannesburg, knows this all too well. In 2018, Malefahlo and his team started working on a major electrical infrastructure replacement project for Anglo American Platinum\u2019s Rustenburg Base Metals Refinery. In addressing aging electrical infrastructure, the project aimed to prevent unplanned plant shutdowns and high production losses. \u201cFrom the very beginning we realised that, in order to make this project a success, we had to walk side by side with our client,\u201d Malefahlo says. \u201cWe had to understand what keeps them awake at night. Once we established that, we began to come to grips with the complexity of the problem and to develop an appropriate, long-term solution.\u201d Ultimately, the team proposed building a new motor control centre building \u2013 no small task. Convincing the client of this approach took…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mavro.co.za\/leoka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}