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For the love of concrete
As the first female president of the Concrete Society of Southern Africa , Hanlie Turner spoke to Robyn Grimsley about how she became involved in the industry , the impact of technology , and her experience working in a traditionally male-driven and -orientated sector .
Hanlie Turner has over three decades of experience in the cement and concrete industry , and is currently specialist : technical information services at PPC , as well as president of the Concrete Society of Southern Africa ( CSSA ).
Robyn Grimsley ( RG ): Tell me about your background , what are your qualifications ?
Hanlie Turner ( HT ): I have a degree in library science ( B . Bibl ) from the University of Johannesburg and a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the IMM Graduate School .
RG : So how did you end up in this sector and in the Concrete Society ? HT : I knew from the work I had been doing during the holidays while I was
Concrete Society of Southern Africa
Hanlie Turner , president of the Concrete Society of Southern Africa . studying that I did not want to work in a public library ; I wanted to be in a researchtype of technical environment . So , in my final year at university — this was the early 1980s when most corporates had very strong technical libraries — I became aware of a position at Murray & Roberts ’ technical library . I applied for the job and I got it — it was really a heaven-sent opportunity . I have been in the bigger construction industry ever since and I have just never looked back . So , while I have no formal technical qualifications in cement and concrete , my whole working life has been spent in this industry .
I think it is important to note that my Concrete Society involvement is voluntary . I am grateful to my current employer , PPC , for the time they allow me to spend on the Concrete Society work , but my Concrete Society position is not because of , or related to , my position at PPC .
RG : How did your career progress from that point ? HT : I was at M & R for about seven years and I ended up being in charge of their technical library . I then joined a firm of consulting engineers , also in their technical library , before I took up a position at the Cement and Concrete Institute ( C & CI ) in their information centre . While I was working at the C & CI , the marketing manager approached me and asked whether I had ever thought about diversifying into marketing . I was sceptical because I saw myself as a good information worker in the research environment . I was skilled at connecting people with the information they needed . I nevertheless enrolled for the marketing diploma , and some years later when a vacancy became available at the C & CI , I was appointed marketing manager at the Institute . That was an opportune change in career direction for me . And then four years ago , in 2013 , I joined PPC as specialist : technical information services .
RG : How has technology impacted the information side of the business ? HT : Technology , and specifically the Internet , hasn ’ t actually had as big of an impact as we were initially led to believe it would . A few years ago , predictions of a paperless society led everyone to believe that libraries were going to cease to exist and all information was going to be ‘ electronic ’. But it has not happened , and it is not going to happen in my lifetime . We found that many people , especially students , did not really know how to do research . They could google the topic they wanted information on , but they found it difficult to extract quality information or to find the specific answers they were looking for .
The information centre at the C & CI ( these days called TCI ) is one-of-a-kind in the southern hemisphere . When I was there , we made it our mission to explain to students that you could not do a technical assignment based on a google search , because the nature of the Internet is that anyone can post anything , and it can be difficult to determine what an individual ’ s authority is in that field . The Internet is incredibly powerful , but you need to be able to assess the quality of the information you find — the credibility of the source . Particularly if you come across what seems to be a really interesting idea , you need to be able to test it against other credible sources and see whether this is just some whacky person thinking out of the box , or whether it is a credible source with real innovative thinking — there ’ s a fine balance . So what we found — and what TCI Information Centre still finds — is that there is a swing back to students actually understanding that you ' ve got to consult credible sources of information for sound research and decision-making .
RG : Tell me about the Concrete Society and your time there . HT : The Concrete Society of Southern Africa , to give it its full name , is an interest body — anybody with any interest in concrete can become a member . You do not need a qualification , you do not need specific experience ; you just need to love concrete . So , whether you are an architect , an engineer , a contractor , or a material supplier , if you ' ve got any interest in concrete , you can become a member of the Concrete Society . It is a fully constituted non-profit company that ’ s been around for 48 years ,
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