AFRICA NEWS
The South African commercial vehicle
market once again showed resilience
amid challenging economic conditions,
to end the first half of 2018 with just a
slight year-on-year decline of 1.3%. A
total of 12 555 commercial vehicles have
been sold so far this year.
This is according to the latest results
released by the National Association
of Automobile Manufacturers
of South Africa (Naamsa),
Associated Motor Holdings (AMH),
and Amalgamated Automobile
Distributors (AAD).
Meanwhile, statistics show that
South Africa’s economy shrank from a
quarter earlier, contracting 2.2%, which
is the largest quarter-on-quarter decline
since the first quarter of 2009.
“Economic prospects look set to ride
out the recent sluggishness of industrial
output. In addition, we believe that the
stable current government will lead to
more investment in infrastructure that
in turn will increase commercial vehicle
sales,” commented Gert Swanepoel,
managing director of UD Trucks
Southern Africa.
He said that the commercial vehicle
market decline can mainly be attributed
to the decrease in Medium and Heavy
Commercial Vehicle sales, which haven’t
really picked up so far this year.
Sales in the MCV segment is down
7.1% so far this year to 3 644 units,
while the HCV segment saw a
Disagreements over the quality of sand and stone
delivered on site may soon be a thing of the
past, thanks to the intervention of surface mining
industry association Aspasa, whose special task
team is moving rapidly to formalise standards for
the benefit of both producers and their customers.
Since the establishment of a special technical
committee on quality management, the
association has made strides in addressing quality
issues internally among its members, as well
as assisting in the formulation of new national
standards that will be used as a measure of quality
among users of sand and aggregates.
According to Saartjie Duvenhage, chairperson
of Aspasa’s technical committee on quality
management, several large strides have
already been made to narrow the gap between
customers’ expectations and the actual ability of
producers to supply the required materials.
“First and foremost, we have defined quality
and what it means to everyone on the entire
supply chain, from extraction, to processing
and delivery to the customer’s site. In our
case, we define this as a product that meets a
certain measure of excellence that is free from
deficiencies and significant variations.
“To assist our members to achieve this,
we have subsequently introduced our own
quick guide to quality management. The 123
of Quality Management for M aterial Producers
guide is designed to act as a guideline to quality
management and explains the concept with eight
steps for members to successfully implement
their own systems.
“Included in the guide, we walk members
through getting buy-in from all levels of
staff, determining customer requirements,
commissioning of an appropriate laboratory,
sampling and testing, reporting, dealing with non-
conformances, and communication. If members
successfully implement the 123 system, they
will be well on their way to producing quality
products,” says Duvenhage.
Revising codes
She adds that the committee is furthermore
assisting in the revision of South African National
Standards codes including SANS 1083, as well as
the South African National Roads Agency Limited
Aspasa acts on quality issues
Saartjie Duvenhage, chairperson of Aspasa’s
technical committee on quality management,
maintains that strides have already been
made to narrow the gap between customers’
expectations and the actual ability of producers
to supply the required materials.
(Sanral) revisions of the G-materials guides and
the distribution of guidance specification of
G-materials.
The committee has appointed Barry
Pearce to represent Aspasa on a number of
relevant technical forums, including SABS
roads, concrete aggregates, and SANS 1083
committees. It has also attended various
meetings and workshops to establish best
practices from local and international sources.
“We are working towards introducing
mandatory quality audit systems among our
members, as well as awarding meritorious
achievements among our members. These and
other new innovations will also be discussed
nationwide as we take our quality solutions to
our members further afield across South Africa,”
concludes Duvenhage.
6.3% decline to 2 482 units when
compared to the same period in 2017.
The Extra-Heavy Commercial Vehicle
segment gained 5.0% during the first
half of the year, to 5 967 units. Bus sales
are also down by a marginal 1.3% to
462 units.
“All things considered, we still
believe that the market will end 2018 in
the black, even if it is with a very slight
margin, to reach around 25 400 units,”
said Swanepoel.
Integrated infrastructure delivery
company AECOM has announced the
latest recipients of bursaries awarded
by its Educational Trust, which provides
financial assistance to young women in
previously disadvantaged communities.
The AECOM Educational Trust was
established in 2017 and celebrates
its second intake of three students
this year, highlights Rashree Maharaj,
marketing and communications
director: Africa at AECOM. Maharaj is
a member of the Trust, together with
Senika Devsheel, human resources
director for Africa; and Bowmans
attorney Lusanda Raphulu, who joined
the Trust this year.
Tshilidzi Bridget Lutsinge, who
is currently studying for her PhD in
Chemical Engineering at the University
of Pretoria, received a bursary in 2017,
performing exceptionally well in her
master’s. The other two recipients for
2018 are Keabetswe Beverly Sehoole
and Nokubonga Lady-Peace Nxumalo.
Such has been the success of
the AECOM Educational Trust that,
following the receipt of about 50
bursary applications in 2017, this year it
received over 4 000 applications from
universities across South Africa.
Reversing educational and workforce
gender imbalances is a top global
priority and reflects the 5th United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goal of achieving gender equality and
empowering all women and girls.
“South Africa needs more women
to join professions that have been
restricted to them historically. While
a lot of girls do phenomenally well
in maths, science, and languages
at school, there seems to be a
fundamental disconnect between
lower levels of schooling and the
tertiary or professional levels. The
AECOM Educational Trust is one way
of addressing this issue proactively,”
Maharaj concludes.
SEPTEMBER 2018
7