Housing in Southern Africa

October 2015

ccording to Aspasa director,

Nico Pienaar, planning needs

to be done in conjunction

with all role players so that ma

teri-

als such as sand and aggregates are

available where required. Depending

on the grade and type of aggregates

required, materials may need to be

sourced from different areas which

might complicate or drive the prices

of projects up.

“Sand and aggregates in concrete,

bitumen or as bedding material are

the building blocks of almost all our

infrastructure from roads to railways,

building andpipelines. Yet fewpeople

realise howdifferent the requirement

is for each and every application.

Materials may need to be trans-

ported over long distances in order

to ensure it is to the correct speci-

fication and quality. Alternatively

contractors may be tempted to use

unsuitable material from make-shift

excavations or may source materials

from illegal suppliers who could be

practicing unsustainable quarrying

to the detriment of its workers, sur-

rounding communities, as well as the

environment.

“Last minute planning has been

responsible for badly thought-out

borrow pits along our roads and rail-

ways in the past and these are still

visible along our freeways where they

have been left to scar the landscape

forever. Borrow pits also jeopardise

the sustainable employment of those

in the quarrying industry as the bor-

row pits take away from surrounding

quarries and make them less viable

in the short term. In tough economic

times this may be all that is required

to close down marginal local quar-

ries,” says Pienaar.

He explains that by working with

all the relevant industries, plans can

be made in each industry to bolster

supply tomeet demands. Where local

suppliesmay be an issue, the industry

may even be able to work together to

stockpilematerials or source newand

sustainable sources closer towhere it

is required.

This will also prevent collusion as

all possible suppliers can be identi-

fied and terms, conditions and pric-

ing obtained beforehand to ensure

fairness. “Wewant to ensure that Gov-

ernment’s projects are a success and

benefit the population. In addition

wewant to ensure that our industry is

ready and also stands to benefit from

governments bold plans,” concludes

Pienaar. For further information con-

tact ASPASA on 011 791 3327 or go to

www.aspasa.co.za

■

R813 bn for infrastructure

As Government gears up to spend R813 billion on infrastructure

development over the next three years the Aggregate and Sand

Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) is cautioning role

players to begin consulting with building material suppliers in order

to ensure availability and quality.

lthough changes are designed

to streamline and simplify the

system, it will be implemented

over a period of three years to comply

with the new ISO9001:2015 standard.

Addressing members of the

Concrete Manufacturers Association

(CMA) recently, standards expert

Christel Fouché, CEO of Advantage

ACT and AGO Certification, said that

Changes to

Standards

among the most significant changes

will be a shift of responsibility to se-

nior management rather than being

the domain of companies’ quality

management representatives.

“Auditors will also have to adapt

and will be required to interview se-

nior management at CEO and similar

level inorder to ensure that standards

are being upheld. While this may

seem an onerous task, it is an abso-

lute necessity for businesses as it is

very difficult to do business without

ISO9001 certification” said Fouché.

The new ISO 9001:2015 standard

has been developed on the founda-

tion of the new Annex SL document.

This document will set the new qual-

ity standard in line with ISO14001

environmental and OHSAS 18001

health and safety standards and pave

the way for easier implementation

of integrated SHEQ management

systems. Fouché recommends that

qualitymanagement representatives

be maintained and work hand-in-

hand with senior management to

implement quality requirements.

Likewise, she recommends that qual-

ity manuals also not be thrown out

even though it is no longer a require-

ment. “Remember, when you are out

of quality you are out of business,”

she concluded.

For further information contact

the Concrete Manufacturers As-

sociation on 011 805 6742 or visit

www.cma.org.za

■

Significant updates to the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t a n d a r d s

Organisation(ISO)ISO9001quality

management standard, this year,

will haveamajor effect on theway

quality ismeasuredandmanaged

within companies.

Cement & Concrete

Christel Fouché

Nico Pienaar