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sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS
january 2015
contractors’ corner
3
DURING 2014, Crown Publi-
cations supported theWits
Students’Surgical Society in its
bid to raise funds for the Smile
Foundation, a non-profit South
African charity organisation that
sets up resources to enable chil-
dren with severe facial deformi-
ties to receive the treatment
and care that they need to be
able to eat, speak and develop
normally.
As part of the fund-raising
effort by theWSSS, a group of
students climbed to the top
of Kilimanjaro from 21 to 29
November.
Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant
volcanic mountain inTanzania,
is the highest mountain in Africa
and the highest free-standing
All children deserve
to be able to smile
mountain in theworld at 5 895m
above sea level.
The Kilimanjaro Challenge
2014 formed part of the
Society’s community outreach
project and Crown Publications
was“delighted”to be part of the
initiative says director, Jenny
Warwick.
The funding will be used to
support the surgeons in the
Department of Plastic and Re-
constructive Surgery to operate
on as many children as pos-
sible who need reconstructive
surgery, psychological support,
speech therapy and dental as-
sistance.
The students, who aimed to
collect R500 000, exceeded their
target by over R100 000.
WHEN Johnny Cunniff, the first vice-president for
the ECA(SA), walks into a room, everyone sits up
and takes notice. At just under 2 m tall and with
the build of a Springbok rugby prop, Johnny
looks like the kind of person no one would
want tomess with – but he’s actually a BFG (big
friendly giant). He’s one of those principled peo-
ple – there’s a right way to do things so there’s
no other way,
boet
– and to have himon the
ECA(SA)’s executive committee augers well for
the future of the association.
Sparks:
Where were you educated?
JC:
I went toWonderboomHigh School in
Pretoria.
Sparks:
How long have you been involved in
the electrical industry?
JC:
I startedmy apprenticeship in 1983 so that’s
31 years, but it actually feels as though I’ve been
in this industry forever.
Sparks:
When and where did you start your
career?
JC:
I startedmy apprenticeship at the post office
in 1983 and qualified in 1987. In 1988 I started
Cunniff Electrical – a one man showwith that
one man working 24/7. But then, with a new
baby and the financial constraints that come
with a‘little bundle of joy’, I took a permanent
position at the University of Pretoria (UP) as an
electrician and ended, after ten years, as a project
Sometimes I sits and thinks …
Johnny Cunniff.
Personality of the Month
manager. During 1998 Elkoin was established and
was awarded the tender for electrical mainte-
nance at UP until 2007.
Sparks:
What are the greatest changes you have
seen over the years?
JC:
We have gone fromhaving enough electric-
ity to a point where we all have to seriously think
about using energy efficiently. Automation has
become commonplace and technology is evolv-
ing so fast that it’s a real challenge to keep up with
all the new innovations. I definitely believe that
technology has changed the way people think
and do business.
Sparks:
What major projects have you worked on
and what is your greatest accomplishment?
JC:
Elkoin has done a series of emergency genera-
tor installations. In some installations there are up
to three gensets in parallel. This translates to a lot
of cables – 12 x 300 mm four-core plus sensing
cables) and trenches more than 2 mwide. Some
of the generators were a distance away from the
buildings and this meant that roads had to be
closed for the trenching and cabling, whichmade
the planning extremely important.
Sparks:
Have you won any awards?
JC:
I`ve wonmany awards but the best one so far
has been‘Clown of the Day’on the golf course!
Sparks:
Who has been your inspiration or have
you had a mentor who has influenced your
career?
JC:
I’ve always been fascinated with electricity
and, when I was a little boy, I used to open up
electrical appliances to find out how they worked.
But my momdidn’t like that toomuch because
I wasn’t able to put themback together again. I
haven’t had any specific mentors and have always
drivenmyself to succeed.
Sparks:
What, to your mind, is one of the biggest
challenges facing the industry at this time?
JC:
Eskom’s challenges have become everyone’s
problem and it’s worrying that there is no immedi-
ate solution.
The other problem facing the electrical industry
is that illegal contractors are taking a lot of work
away from the legitimate contractors. The ECA(SA)
and the National Bargaining Council for the Elec-
trical Industry are doing a great job and hopefully
the NBCEISA crack teamwill solve this problem.
Sparks:
What do you enjoy most about your job?
JC:
Lunchtime. Seriously though, I am always
happy when I’ve completed a job, the lights are
working and the customer has paidme. I also get
a kick out of solving a problem for a customer –
and in a way that he never thought possible.
Sparks:
How do youmotivate
your staff?
JC:
I pay themwhat I believe is
a good salary – that is a good
motivator in anyone’s books. I also
keepmy cool even if they drive
me up the wall!
Sparks:
If you could‘do it all
again’, would you change any-
thing? If so, what would that be?
JC:
I would have listened tomy
mother and studied harder. And
I would not have worked for all
those people who never paidme
for the work I did.
Sparks:
Would you advise a
person leaving school to enter the
electrical industry? And why?
JC:
If someone has a passion for
electricity, they should become
an electrician – and not because
their father is an electrician or it’s
the only job available. And I would
never advise anyone to leave
school before Grade 12. As an
electrician, you can derive great
satisfaction from a job that has
been well executed.
Sparks:
What is your advice to
electrical contractors and/or elec-
trical engineers?
JC:
Take the time to plan each job
well and, when the job has been
completed, make sure that you
are proud of the installation.
Sparks:
What is your favourite
quote?
JC:
“Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes I just sits ...”
– A AMilne..”
Sparks:
Name three things on your‘bucket
list’(things you want to do before you‘kick the
bucket’).
JC:
A 4x4 trip through the Namibian desert is top
of my bucket list. I also want to experience the
great wildebeest migration and I’d like to weigh
less than 100 kg.
Graeme Moore and Matthew Grant at the top of Africa's highest peak.