Black-led multidisciplinary contractor Lubocon Civils has entered the big league, with its achievement last month of a Grade 9 Civil Engineering (CE) rating – the highest achievable grade – from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).
The level 9CE grading indicates that the company has developed the CIDB’s top rating for expertise, experience and capability in the construction industry. It has been judged capable of undertaking large and complex construction projects, having earned a track record of successfully completing such projects on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.
“It has been a long and challenging journey to this point, and we are extremely proud of where we are today,” says Lungisa Tshele, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Lubocon Civils. “Importantly, this step opens the door for us to compete for the larger projects in the market – an exciting prospect for the future of our business.”
The CIDB Grade 9CE will allow Lubocon Civils to bid for projects valued in excess of R200 million, and to do this independently. Started nine years ago by quantity surveyor Tshele and co-founder Bongani Msimango, a civil engineer, the company has climbed steadily through the CIDB levels as it developed its capabilities.
“We have deliberately grown our technical competence by attracting the best graduates and encouraging them to become professionally registered,” says Tshele. “We have earned our reputation and growth through our high levels of competence and professionalism; we promote our expertise and skills above all else.”
Developing the human resources within the business has also been critical to earning the CIDB Grade 9CE rating. The company has in-house engineers professionally registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), and a number working towards registration. There are also qualified civil engineers and safety professionals registered with the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) and more undergoing a candidacy programme to become registered.
“This is all part of our constant effort to build the skills foundation of Lubocon Civils,” he says. “This in turn strengthens the sustainability of the company, so that it is not reliant on its founders alone.”
A track record of successfully completed projects is of course another vital requirement of the Grade 9CE rating. He notes that Lubocon Civils has expanded over time into a range of projects from road contracts on provincial highways, to water and mine infrastructure.
“Our early work for local municipalities soon evolved into larger projects for provincial and national government agencies – and we then also became much more engaged with the private sector in industries like mining,” he says. “Our civils offering has really grown and diversified, also making us more multidisciplinary.”
The CIDB also considers the financial capacity of contractors before awarding them promotion in the gradings. A key consideration is that companies must have sufficient financial resources for large-scale projects – as well as a proven track record of financial management.
“We have developed our financial capacity to give us the balance sheet required to operate at the upper levels of the construction sector,” says Tshele. “This is the Lubocon way and talks to our mission – In Pursuit of Project Delivery.”
Lubocon Civils has also had its eye on quality for many years, and this has allowed it to clear the CIDB hurdle on quality management. The company developed and aligned its own quality management system with ISO 9001 and then took the next step to have this audited within the context of the ISO 9001 standard.
“This gave us an official ISO 9001 quality systems accreditation,” he says. “We have also put in place the ISO 14001 environmental management standard, and are busy with the ISO 45001 standard for occupational health and safety.”
The CIDB rating also requires robust health and safety policies and procedures which are effective on site. Tshele is proud of the company staff’s commitment to health and safety, which they drive through their in-house message of ‘Stop, Observe, Recognise, Take responsibility’ (SORT). This approach is driven home by a dedicated health and safety team that is guided by both the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) and the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA).
“Our qualified and experienced health and safety manager works with his team of safety officers to ensure strict compliance on all our sites,” he says. “The attention we have paid to this priority is shown by the fact that we have had no fatalities in the nine years of our existence, and continuously achieve very low Lost Time Injury Rates (LTIRs). Our DNA has always been about taking our people back to their families with zero harm and to date we are still living that.”
Looking forward, he concludes that the CIDB 9CE rating will undoubtedly help Lubocon Civils achieve its vision of becoming a household name in the construction sector and creating opportunities and transferring skills to the SMMEs while offering great value to its clients.
“We look forward to growing further as a socially responsible business that contributes to the greater good of the people of South Africa, because this is the Lubocon Way,” he says.
