Nic Lepholletse shares HIS STORY about 3 construction projects that had a positive impact on his career as a Construction Manager Please give us a brief summary on your career to date.
I studied and completed a BSc (Hons) Degree in Construction Management at Wits University.
I was then assigned to a Construction site as Junior Site Engineer reporting to Site Agent. This was quite hardcore, harsh and tough environment but very exciting, I had to transition very quickly from theory based to practical daily construction site.
As a Junior Site Engineer, was tasked to oversee, plan and manage all construction activities for the basement parking, access ramps, Computer labs with raised floors and toilets. Amongst these I had to learn how to set out, survey, interpret drawings for the foreman while ensuring that Schedule and Quality Standards are maintained.
I then moved to a Senior Site Engineer role reporting to a Project Alternate Director. I was tasked with the overall overseeing, managing, leading the Construction teams from the Site Establishment activities to Practical Completion and final Completion. Amongst my roles were managing the nominated and selected sub-contractors to ensure smooth interfacing with Main Contractor. Due to the complexity and the size of the project, two students studying Construction/Quantity Survey came to work under my supervision. I had to teach, train and mentor on practical Construction aspects.
I was then promoted to a Junior Site Agent/Manager reporting to an Alternate Director, responsible for managing, leading, organizing and procurement of materials and formwork. This gave me a very good exposure in managing client expectations i.e. the use of local labour content with the local CLO, whilst ensuring efficient communication with Professional Project Team is maintained.
Then I had an opportunity to work on the Client side as a Construction Manager within the Petrochemical Industry.
Give us details of a project that made an impact in your career.
Some of the projects that really impacted my growth was the following :-
1.Nike House of football Refurbishment in Pimville, Soweto
This was a Schedule driven type of project due to the commitments to some of the World Cup Nike sponsored soccer stars. The site was handed over on the 15 December 2009 and committed Practical Completion was in May 2009. We agreed very early on with the Client’s Professional team on how to effectively handle Site Changes, Site Instructions and submission of Drawings to enable the fast track requirements of the Project.
Due to the fast track requirements, Structural Engineer proposed a Steel Columns encased in concrete, beams and Q-deck floors. Due to the challenges with rainfall, we opted to use a concrete pump to cast all foundation bases while protecting the earthwork platform, in parallel the Structural Steel company was busy with shop fabrication and painting of the Steel members.
Construction activities was sequenced to start on the 3 floor decks, however to gain more traction, we had to request old concrete cubes from concrete lab to ensure all the Peri-props are used to support all the Q-deck floors from the roof slab -to- middle and the ground floor. We successfully casted concrete on 3 floors in one day, commenced with many activities well ahead of time, the rest is history as we were able to achieve Practical Completion as per plan. In the end, it was a great teamwork that pulled this through, the late night-shifts and the Professional Team that was very accommodative and willing to go an extra mile.
 |
Nike
Clubhouse & Change Rooms Under Construction |
2. Dobsonville Stadium refurbishment Project
Effective interface management between different subcontractors to ensure we meet the Schedule whilst maintaining quality. Proactive managing the Piling contractor to ensure access dates are met for the follow-on activities. There was a late change in the piling design as the drilling rig could not fit under the existing grand stand, due a good working relationship with the Structural Engineer, the change was implement telephonically, documented later and the Piling Contractor mitigated the impact to the Schedule.
 |
| Dobsonville Field & Main Grandstand. |
3.Optimum Coal Mine Water Reclamation Project
This was a challenging project in that, planning of inductions had to be done properly due to mining requirements, proactive planning of formwork and materials in order to ensure compliance and support of the schedule due to the distance between site and suppliers. Due to the cost of the formwork, we had to plan the activities in a way that we could rotate the formwork without affecting the overall schedule.
One of the success of this project was to achieve high safety compliance during construction, good quality as the height of walls were approximately 6m.
 |
| Optimum Clarifiers & Filters Under Construction. |
What was your position and duties on these projects?
At Nike House of Football, I was a Jnr Site Agent responsible for the overall site management, sub-contract management, procurement of materials, formwork, Planning and Scheduling, Tracking of Site Changes and obtaining approvals from the Project Manager and compiling Weekly Progress Report for Client Meeting feedback.
 |
| Nike East Façade & Start of Car Park. |
Dobsonville stadium refurbishment – I was a Site Engineer, I was responsible for the overall site management, QA/QC Management, Sub-contract management, Procurement and Coordination of Site Activities.
Optimum Mines - Site Engineer responsible for QA/QC management, procurement of materials, formwork and Scaffolding, planning and scheduling. I was also responsible to coordinate the site activities and ensure inspections are conducted with Resident Engineer. Any Technical Queries are brought the the attention of the Resident Engineer and resolved timeously.
 |
| Dobsonville Main Entrance. |
Why do these projects stand out to you?
These projects stand out as they are not the normal building construction projects in that: -
1. The type of contract format used was not the normal JBCC we were used to, so we had to adapt to the contract, with the experience and guidance of our Contracts Manager we were able to navigate this very well.
2. Safety – mine safety requirements are not the same as OSHA, the mind set shift and the personality we had to deal with to ensure buy-in.
3. The type of Construction, constructing a water purifying system that had a contribution to water saving and quality to the community around Hendrina was fulfilling.
4. Fast track project are not done every now and then, to be involved in such type project is a honor and changes how you do things for good.
What were the important lessons you learnt from these projects?
1. An efficient team with the right support and leader can achieve lots great milestones.
2. Understanding of Scope sets you for success in how you execute the project.
3. Fast track projects are great, but they can have an impact on Quality and Cost if not well managed.
What were career mistakes or regrets you experienced on these projects?
1. Not maintain a good balance between technical and managerial aspects of my career.
2. Not nurturing and building networks
 |
Optimum Clarifiers & Filters Under Construction.
|
How did you overcome your mistakes/regrets?
1. Taking a break and invested resources in the soft skills such as managerial and leadership, attending to courses to develop myself further.
2. By realizing that networking is very crucial for knowledge transfer, career growth and learning.
Also read: THIS IS MY STORY - Sorina Du Toit
What has been the most satisfying thing for you personally about these projects?
1. Seeing the value add to the water quality for the community, reducing the impact of mine acid water on the environment.
2. Seeing the young kids being developed in the sports facility that one had a role in, contribution to the community upliftment.
This industry is said to be one of the toughest industries, how did you manage to stay in for so long?
1. Trying to Maintain a work balance is very important.
2. By remaining humble and respecting every person has helped me to access knowledge from the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the industry.
3. Being willing to go an extra mile, getting my hands dirty in order to learn and embracing a teamwork spirit.
 |
Optimum Water Reclamation Plant.
|
In your opinion what are the biggest challenges facing the industry currently and how can they be overcome?
In my opinion, these are some of the challengers that the industry has to overcome:
1. Very slow implementation and adaptation to the technology has hampered industry growth – Industry has to be decisive on the use of technological tools as this can save time, cost and impact on the quality of the outcome. Technology does have a benefit in the work-face planning and this will improve the overall productivity. With the effects of the Covid-19, now and ever, technology has been propelled to the for and the industry needs to adapt in order to continue to add value to the society.
2. Very slow transparency and good governance structures within the industry makes it a target for corruption and unethical behavior – transparency, good ethical standards and governance will attract and galvanize the Public Private Partnership that has huge potential in unlocking funding and invest of the infrastructure projects.
If you would like to be notified via email when a Construction/Built Environment Professional shares his/her story send us your details here
Comments
Post a Comment