6
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2014
The quality of construction work is merely
one of several vital issues to consider
before building should be allowed to start
on major projects such as the Tongaat Mall, which recently
collapsed during construction, cautions Doug Michell,
construction health and safety manager of Master Builders
Association (MBA) North.
Sarah Mnyandu, education,
training & transformation admin-
istrator of MBA North, says the
new Jobs Portal will offer students
who have completed their studies
the opportunity to publicise their CVs
online, for perusal by the Association’s
members and anyone else visiting the
MBA North website.
“This will allow the construction
industry to see new and existing talent
available. This opportunity is for students
who have completed their studies at
universities, colleges, technikons or any
other Training Institutions. Employers
will then have the opportunity to contact
these students directly and invite them
for job interviews,” says Mnyandu.
Curriculum Vitaes received for inclu-
sion in the Jobs Portal will be categorised
according to field, qualification, degrees
and diplomas.
“The Jobs Portal will also allow
employers to post any staff vacancies
they might have. Students and other job
seekers will then have the opportunity
to apply directly to these employers for
the positions listed. This too will be
sorted in appropriate categories or fields
for easy navigation.”
Although not immediately available
or active on the website, MBA North
proposes to, in future, allow space where
interested job seekers and employers can
register their career needs – whether
seeking or offering jobs – and those
registered will then be notified of vacan-
cies available in their field.
Mnyandu emphasises that this new
MBA North service is not in any way
similar to the work of recruitment
agencies. “We are providing a network
scenario where employer and employee
can link up. MBA North sees this as an
extended service to our members in
response to the many calls we receive
regarding employment available and
people seeking jobs,” she adds.
“As construction health and safety
practitioners, we tend to look
mainly for non-compliance legal
issues which, in this incident,
appear to be many. But we should also be
looking deeper into the root causes, such
as the issues of designer competencies,
construction programmes, selection of
contractors, and the competency and extent
of authority of construction supervisors,”
Michell adds.
“A tragic event like this will have reper-
cussions dealing with quality issues in
general and the possible long term safety
of the tenants of other completed build-
ings.The collapse of the Mall left two people
dead and 29 injured and placed an unde-
sirable discredit on the entire construction
industry,” Michell states, noting that there
was no Master Builders SA member involved
in the construction of Tongaat Mall.
Phumudzo Maphaha, the Department
of Labour’s manager of occupation health
& safety: construction, has been appointed
presiding inspector for a Section 32 hearing.
Section 32 inquiries are usually appointed by
the government against parties whose negli-
gence results in occupational injuries and
death of workers.
“According to reports, the developer,
when interviewed after the accident,
suggested that it was ‘normal’ practice
for developments to begin before proper
permissions are secured. Until the find-
ings of the government investigations are
published, we can only speculate regarding
the causes of the accident. There have
been reports that suggest that construction
continued despite a procedural work stop-
page ordered by building inspectors. Eyewit-
ness accounts suggest that there was no
form-work in place below the concrete slab
and a site worker, who escaped injury, alleg-
edly stated that there was no scaffolding in
place under soft concrete.
Michell says the proposed amendments
to the government’s Construction Regula-
tions will require that a client applies for
a construction work permit before work
can be commenced. “But the question
remains whether the municipal, building
and construction regulations and permits
now in place will avert a similar incident in
future. Because of the additional prescrip-
tive requirements, unscrupulous contrac-
tors may be encouraged even more to avoid
bureaucratic ‘red tape’ by providing generic
documentation that will not address the
relevant issues the regulation calls for.
The intention of the construction work
permit is for relevant baseline risk assess-
ments, and specific health and safety specifi-
cations, to be submitted with the application
for the construction permit,” Michell adds.
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MARKETPLACE
warrant ‘deeper look’
CONSTRUCTION DISASTERS
WEB JOB
PORTAL
Master Builders Association
(MBA North) is launching a
Jobs Portal on its website
fromearly February 2014 to
extend its services to MBA
North members and the
wider public.
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Doug Michell, construction
health and safety manager
of MBA North.
