Membership Directory - Don't Miss The Boat

Those of you who have read my newsletter that went out this morning will already be familiar with the following important message.

“Members are asked to please note that the annual subscription fee is due and that those who are not fully paid up by 04 May, will not appear in the print version of our membership directory. Part of our 2012 strategy to promote our members is to have a stand at the House and Garden Show where membership directories will be handed out by the bus load, so don't miss out.”

It is important in the sense that the online version can always be updated, however once the booklet goes to print, there is no turning back. I’m fairly certain that there are many out there with great intentions who will no doubt moan and groan when they discover that they’ve just missed the boat. Please make sure that you are not one of them.

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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Bizarre Construction Related Mishap

There are numerous accounts of bizarre construction related mishaps and in most cases they entail somebody who did something immensely stupid. One such incident occurred on a construction site in Cleveland USA in the 1930’s and while construction methodology may have since evolved; it is clear that stupidity as a major cause of preventable fatalities is nothing new.

It began with a worker positioned high up on a structure needing to lower a 300-pound block that was suspended above him.  In order to bring the block to his level, it needed to be lowered using the cable attached. It normally took two men to control the block to prevent it from landing too hard on the metal girder. He figured it would save time if he just cut the rope and let the block fall 40 feet, so he did ....

The block crashed through the level he was on and instantly killed a colleague on the level below. He franticly leaned over to check on his colleague and in doing so, lost his balance and fell 40 feet to his death.

At the time, local paper the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’ gave an astonishing account of how the two men had paid the ultimate price.  It reported that when emergency services arrived on the scene, they encountered a concrete block with a dead guy underneath, and a dead guy on top.

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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JBCC Training Gets The Thumbs Up

I was fortunate enough to attend a JBCC training course at the Association’s Midlands office in Pietermaritzburg yesterday which I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed.

My anticipation was that in order to take anything useful from it, my powers of concentration would have to be firing on all cylinders, in other words, I expected it to be a tad boring. After all, it was always going to be several hours of discussion on contractual law and I’m sure nobody would blame me for thinking that it might be hard work and somewhat intellectually challenging.

The Lecturer was Steve du Toit of SDT Consulting and I have to say, it was anything but boring. Steve is a highly respected attorney in the industry and has done work for some of the biggest construction groups in the country as well as for some smaller contractors. Having served as representation in some highly publicised disputes, one quietly gets the impression that Steve has seen his share of action.

It consisted mainly of him going through key clauses in the JBCC agreements each time painting a clear picture by using actual examples where the clauses were applicable. The relaxed manner in which he communicated these examples made it easy to understand and made for exceedingly interesting listening.

I believe Steve will be training at our Westville offices within the next month or so. If you are based in the Durban area and are operating within the construction industry, I highly recommend that you attend. Watch this space for dates and times.

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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Let’s make it happen!

For those who may not already know, findabuilder.co.za is the Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal online directory listing names and contact details of Full members of the Association.

When contractors join Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal they are initially categorised as ordinary members. In order to qualify as a full member of the Association, they are required to first pass a safety check.

Upon passing the safety check members are also given a membership certificate which can then be displayed.

If you are a member and have been safety checked and still don’t have your free web directory page up, please contact me, you are missing out on a great opportunity for free exposure.

If you haven’t yet been safety checked, contact your Association on 031 266 7070, let’s make it happen!

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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Producer of Oxidized Bitumen

The following communication came through via our website contact form.

This is again one of those where I feel it important to begin with a disclaimer. I have no idea if there is value in this to anybody, or whether or not it is in fact a scam. Nonetheless, I believe there is a shortage of bitumen at the moment so again we make the information available and advise that any interested parties proceed with caution and do proper due diligence.

"Dear Sirs,

We are producer of oxidized bitumen, which has great applications including waterproofing, and are shareholder of a gilsonite (natural asphalt or bitumen) mine with our factory in Eshtehard Industrial Zone in suburb of Tehran- Capital city of Iran. Our monthly production capacity is 1000 mt. different grades of oxidized bitumen, specially 115/15 and 85/25.

You are welcome to visit our factory at any time convenient to you.You can kindly check our website: www.petrotarco.com- to know more about us and pls do not hesitate to contact the undersigned in case you need additional info.

Just for you kind information- we can handle payments from Dubai through our associate there.

We look forward to receive your valuable orders.

need your help to find the right importers

Rahimi
Petrotar
prahimi.z(at)gmail.com
00989123861341"

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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JBCC Training - Midlands

Hello All

We are very excited to announce that we have a JBCC course on Thursday 19 April 2012. Mr Steve Du Toit will be the presenter, who is an attorney who specialises in JBCC contracts and has done JBCC training with various organisations all around South Africa.

Date:
Thursday 19 April 2012

Cost:
R1150 – Members
R1500 – Non – Members

Venue:
Midlands Office
184 Jabu Ndlovu
Pietermaritzburg

Should you be interested please RSVP to our Midlands office or email gareth(at)masterbuilders.co.za

View contact details and map

Gareth Roberts
Midlands Regional Manager

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Death By Stupidity

In this segment, we bring you yet another great example of death by stupidity. The author of the worldwide welding web page makes it known that in order to protect oneself from harm, a welder has to always give thought to what he is doing. He has this theory that the reason why welders become welders in the first place, is because thinking isn’t among their strengths and according to him, therein lies the problem.

He firmly believes that the reason why welders in the United States generally don’t make it to retirement age can be put down to the calibre of individual the profession attracts. The following is one just of several examples he uses to support his case.

“One welder was assigned the arduous task of cutting out a large section of a pre-fab unit for replacement. Cutting operations are of course, easiest cutting below yourself, and the welder thought he was finished, but the hole he had cut didn’t fall out of the bottom of the unit as planned.

He climbed out of the unit and inspected it underneath to find where his blowtorch had missed. He found the spot and since he could see it better underneath the unit, he fired up his torch and took out the last section. He happened to be standing where the unit would fall. Twenty tons of metal hit the concrete with him pancaked between.”

Shame ......

Ernest Roper
Durban Regional Manager

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Public Briefings/Feedback on Labour Law Amendment Bills.

Please note that the Department of Labour has arranged a venue and set a date for public briefings/feedback on the Labour Law Amendment Bills.

“The Department of Labour herewith extends a cordial invitation to you / your company to attend the Public Briefings on the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, 2012 and the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, 2012 taking place in Durban at the venue mentioned below.

Date:
Wednesday 18 April 2012

Venue:
Tropicana Hotel
85 Marine Parade
South Beach
Durban

Time: 09H30 TO 13H00”

If you do wish to attend, they ask that you please RSVP to the invite, see (PDF) download.

Ernest Roper
Durban Regional Manager

PS.

Did you also notice that on the invite header they spelt amendment with two m’s after the a? I have to admit, I do find it somewhat amusing that on an official government notice of some importance, there stands a great big giant typo for all to see. That being said, we’re all human.

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Rammed Earth Workshop

The following invitation was forwarded to the Association for dissemination to members and other interested parties. If this is your cup of tea, give Ms Lerato Magaloa call.

You are cordially invited to a Rammed Earth Workshop scheduled as follows:

Date: 12 April 2012
Time: 10h00
Venue: SABS, Groenkloof Premisses, Imvelo Boardroom

The purpose of the workshop is to discuss opposing views on the harmonization of Rammed Earth Structures, and to hopefully eventually have a South African position, before voting date closure of 17 April 2012.

Please not that that space is limited, therefore attendees must R.S.V.P and the first-come-first serve rule will apply.

Kindly confirm your availability on or before 10 April 2012 so we can prepare accordingly.

For more information about the workshop please contact Ms Lerato Magalo: Programme Manager: Engineering & Built Environment at (012) 428 6920 or lerato.magalo(at)sabs.co.za

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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SARS - Construction Sector Under the Microscope

Many would have seen today’s front page article in the Mercury titled ‘Gordhan’s warning to tax defaulters’.

The article reports that government will soon be implementing stringent measures in order to reign in tax defaulters and while they acknowledge that there has been an improvement on overall tax compliance, trends indicate that constant monitoring is a necessity.

Speaking in Pretoria at the launch of the SARS compliance program, the minister made it known that research has indentified particular areas in our economy as high risk sectors and that attention would be directed towards them.

Gordhan named the construction sector as having significantly lower levels of compliance and strongly implied that those who have received government tenders, are among those likely to be placed under the microscope.

“I think we need to take a much harder line. This is not just formal business, these are people who benefit by overcharging government through the inflation of invoice prices, let’s call them beneficiaries and culprits – they must now be brought to book”

Gordhan also announced that a formidable team of experts would be set up to review the trust system, which he stated is being abused by the wealthy without declaring appropriate tax remittance.

Mercury Article Download (PDF)

Ernest Roper
Regional Manager Durban

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WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU !