Laduma September 2020

September 2020

Message from the MD

Sustainable and Committed to Community NCP recently banded together with other KZN businesses, donating 250 000 litres of hand sanitiser base mix to hospitals and clinics throughout the province to assist in the fight against COVID-19, The business partnership, known as “Committed to Community: Health Partners during COVID-19”, is a functional project that will assist those who are most vulnerable to the pandemic, and the individuals at the forefront of the fight against it. Partners include Tongaat Hulett, Spring Lights Gas (SLG), Nampak Rigid Plastics, Southern Lodestar Foundation and the Department of Health.

Peter Starling, Managing Director In the last Laduma of 2019 I wrote a couple of things; “already we can see that the change will be major, by the end of next year the site will be almost unrecognisable”, and “with the many disruptions it is vitally important that we continue to focus on doing the right things well, not allowing distractions to negatively impact on producing and delivering top quality alcohol to our customers”.

My comment about many disruptions should go down in history as the understatement of the decade.

The sheer level of disruption that the world and all of us have experienced during 2020 is almost incomprehensible. It would have been very easy to have been completely overwhelmed, crawled up in a ball and played ostrich until it went away.

On 23 March, our President announced that on midnight of 26 March South Africa would be placed under total lockdown, and our lives changed completely.

NCP became an essential service overnight and government contacted me to request that we did everything we could to run the plant at 100% capacity, we took on 100 new customers in the sanitiser market within 2 weeks at the height of lockdown, we were unable to export and our local beverage customers were closed, we found an outlet for excess CMS, we delayed the annual shutdown, those whose jobs allowed transitioned overnight to working from home and we continued to produce and supply product.

Managing Director, Peter Starling comments: “It was an easy decision to convert the plant from supplying fermented alcohol to hand sanitiser base mix.

As a committed South African business with strong local ties, we felt we should contribute by helping to alleviate the desperate shortage of hand sanitiser.

There was a simultaneous decrease in demand for our potable product, so the timing was fortuitous. The innovation demonstrated to achieve this transformation is testimony to the creativity and perseverance of our people.

Such strengths are what has sustained the business in its 150-year history.”

“This has been a commendable team effort,” says Gary Bregovits, Operations Executive. “We made full use of our human capital and resources to produce our first batch of hand sanitiser base mix shortly after the challenge was laid down by our Managing Director“.

Initially, around 40 kls were drummed per day, however, this increased to 75 kls per day after improvements were instituted. Capacity has steadily increased, requiring the conversion of an additional blending facility, with drumming being ramped up by tapping into an existing product line. The increased drumming capacity has had the positive result of providing four temporary staff with employment.

Currently, NCP is almost exclusively manufacturing hand sanitiser and denatured ethanol for the sanitiser market, thus helping meet a crucial need in our country. This is viewed as a potential opportunity and may very well form part of the company’s future portfolio of products.

We did what we were asked!

As I write this, 168 days later we are still under a reduced level of lockdown, South Africa and the World has suffered, and life looks very different.

Yet NCP has completed its annual shutdown, the NCP100 Project is on track, our financial performance is strong, in August the plant produced the most alcohol ever in its 150 plus year history , we have become masters of video calling, undergoing training and even writing remote exams on Zoom, Teams etc, and the site is almost unrecognisable.

Every single person involved with NCP played their parts exactly as required, focusing on doing the right things well, and not allow distractions to negatively impact on producing and delivering top quality alcohol. For this you should all be extremely proud of yourselves.

We still need to stay aware and follow the various Covid related protocols, we seem to be over the worst, but life is different. Thank you all for adjusting so well.

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LADUMA September 2020

Pictured onsite when the Premier’s office visited the NCP plant to thank the company for its donation (from left to right): Tyran Moodley, Site Logistics Controller; Peter Starling, Managing Director; Nkonzo Mhlongo, Corporate Affairs Executive at Tongaat Hulett; and Sduduzo Mkhwanazi, Director: Community Development in the office of the Premier of KZN.

NCP Alcohols' COVID-19 Response NCP Alcohols was swift to respond to the COVID-19 threat. Lorraine Mudaly and Timothy Moodley discuss some of the measures that have been implemented and the protocols that are being followed to provide the safest possible working environment for NCP employees.

When COVID-19 began to spread through

they enter the premises. The security

It has been communicated to staff and

South Africa in March, NCP’s Health

personnel have been trained on these

contractors via existing communication

and Safety team responded with great

control measures, and use non-contact

mediums.

celerity. Guided by government-issued

infrared thermometers to record the

legislation, controls were implementeded

temperature of every person. NCP has

to mitigate and minimize the effects and

developed its own COVID-19 induction,

spread of the coronavirus.

which is communicated to contractors

The response included issuing masks

before they are permitted to work onsite.

and vitamin C to all employees with a COVID-19 Awareness Training Roadshow that was conducted in conjunction with the on-site Occupational Health Nurse.

Good strides have been made in social distancing and gathering-restriction measures, by enabling staff to work remotely or on rotational shifts, and separating work areas where possible.

Use of online platforms such as MS Teams and Starleaf has enabled meetings and training to be conducted remotely.

Eating areas, kitchen spaces and smoking areas have been demarcated with a spacing of 2 metres per person and a limit on the number of people allowed in these areas.

Facemasks and vitamin C

Thelma Sikhakhane and Sindi Makhaye at the ready to carry out screening protocols

The company has assessed the vulnerability of its employees and taken measures to arrange for “at-Risk” employees to work from home. Where this is not possible, employees are issued

This was followed by the distribution

with N-95 masks, and COVID-19 control

of bottles of 70% alcohol-based hand

measures are strictly followed.

sanitiser, manufactured by the company’s

Managing sick employees during this

own QA/QC Laboratory, to all employees

time is crucial. Employees presenting

and contractors. These can be refilled

with any of the symptoms of colds,

weekly. In addition, clearly marked elbow

flu or COVID-19 have been asked to

and foot operated hand sanitiser stations

stay at home, seek medical treatment

have been positioned in various locations

immediately and get tested for COVID-19.

throughout the site.

COVID-19 control measures are

Rigorous COVID-19 screening protocols have been implemented at all entrances to the site. This allows for early detection of people displaying symptoms before

Hand sanitiser manufactured by NCP

One of the elbow-operated sanitising stations that have been positioned at various locations

monitored, maintained, enhanced, and enforced by the company’s SHEQ Department and SHE Representatives.

Recognising the need for strict cleaning

The company continues to monitor

and hygiene practices, NCP reviewed the

its control measures and updates

cleaning regime to allow for additional

its responses, policies and plans in

cleaning and sanitising of frequently used

accordance with government legislation

areas and “touch points”.

and guidelines.

NCP Alcohols has since developed and

Despite the challenges that COVID-19

updated its own COVID-19 Contingency

has brought, now is the time for a more

Plan and Policy, which includes general

scientific and analytical approach.

and specific COVID-19 risk assessments

As the physicist Marie Curie said:

for each department on-site, controls

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only

and measures for the safety and

to be understood. Now is the time to

wellbeing of staff, and the emergency

understand more, so that we may fear

response plan for handling positive cases.

less."

LADUMA September 2020

3

NCP Operations: Q2 Update Despite the testing conditions that have defined the past three months, the Operations team has enjoyed a productive and eventful second quarter. Gary Bregovits looks back on some notable successes.

Operations achieved a zero DIFR on the 1st March 2020 and our goal is to maintain this standard by continuing to focus on zero harm to all on site. Risk assessments, vigilance and awareness and root cause investigations of all incidents are some of the tools we will continue to use to achieve this. Production for Q2 was 13948 kls AA, 3833 kls AA above budget, due to the postponement of the shutdown, a 6,000-ton export shipment of CMS and the transfer of 7,000 tons of CMS to Darnall for temporary storage during the low sales period.

Three new members joined the Operations team: • Morgan Murefu came onboard as our Engineering Manager. His key goals are to become critically involved in the Maize project, gain the requisite knowledge of the steam and electrical generating plants and integrate into the Operations team. One of Morgan’s first projects was to assess and provide recommendations on a suitable maintenance package to take the business into the future.

He has successfully collaborated with the key stakeholders in selecting the software, and will now lead the team in the implementation, which also involves alignment of asset management processes with best practices over the next couple of months. Morgan’s energy and good interpersonal skills have helped him to smoothly integrate into the NCP family thus far, and he is excited about the continued learning journey.

• Claude Premjith commenced work as an OC. As part of the drive to have more diversified skills in the production team, he is our first electrical engineer. Claude’s appointment brings the number of former in-service students or apprentices to 19.

• Senzo Mtshali was promoted internally, to the role of laboratory technician.

Shift Managers Nomsa Mabaso and Vicky Singh and Logistics Supervisor, Tyran Moodley take part in NCP’s first online training session on the Covid-19 restrictions using Microsoft Teams

Three shift managers completed the Leadership Training Programme, with only their final presentations outstanding, while operations staff completed Level 2 Maize Plant training.

In adapting to the current conditions, we have increased our use of technology to conduct both internally and externally sourced training remotely. SHE Committee meeting are held in a similar fashion, with some members participating via their cellphones. MOC/project scoping and approval is now also done through remote collaboration. As part of our drive towards dematerialization, we have converted production log sheets to electronic format.

Drums ready to be loaded in the storage area

Good efficiencies resulted in better than budget molasses / alcohol ratios being achieved. Cost of sales were, however, slightly higher than budget. This was due to the use of some higher cost high test molasses, and higher gas usages that were eventually traced to leaking superheater tubes. The latter were subsequently repaired.

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LADUMA September 2020

Shortly after the national lockdown was announced, the Operations team converted all production to hand sanitiser and denatured alcohol for the sanitiser market. Led by Lavania Govender, the initial project was expanded to cater for the increased demand, and enabled the plant to run at full production for the period. For a detailed account of this project, see Lavania’s report on page 10.

How NCP IT is keeping up with COVID-19 and beyond Few sectors have been as influential in enabling us to adapt to the challenges 2020 has thrown at us as Information Technology. Andre Van Der Westhuizen tell us about some of the behind the scenes IT work that made it possible for NCP to effect a seamless transition to the “new normal”, and explains what is being done to ensure that the business is well positioned for the post-COVID-19 world.

NCP Alcohols’ IT Roadmap is to move to the cloud by 2021.

Cloud computing means that instead of the server hardware sitting in our server room and the software sitting on the desktop, it is provided as a service by another company and accessed over the internet. We have chosen Microsoft as our service provider, as its cloud computing platform, Azure, offers a number of advantages. These include 99.95% uptime, the best hardware, up to date server software, and the ability to access applications or data from anywhere on any device that has internet access. Currently, we have to VPN to the NCP servers when connecting remotely. This relies on the internet connection both inside and outside of NCP (for example from your home). With cloud computing, establishing a remote connection to the on prem servers will no longer require a VPN. Our SharePoint and Teams are already in the cloud, and from November 2020 our ERP system, Dynamics 365, will also be in the cloud, making it easier to access remotely. By the end of 2020, all our servers will be cloud-based.

a blame assigning exercise, They may appear to be engaged in Andre van der Westhuizen but IT Engineer, Ricardo Peters and ective ATAATA Cyber resp are just playing the roles of their sing series of Cyber amu r thei In Security t-shirt characters. rs 'Sound Judgement' Safety videos, featuring the characte es IT-related topics and 'Human Error', ATAATA address ing us to listen Sound urag that we encounter every day, enco Error. an Hum not Judgement and

COVID-19 and social distancing put NCP and the rest of the world to the test. As far as possible, people that could do so were asked to fulfil their roles from the safety of their homes. Along a reliable internet connection, these people needed devices on which to work. Mobile modems and data

sim cards were procured, and numerous laptops had to be bought. Within a week or two, Ricardo had set up users at home, established which internet provider offered the best availability and signal strength in their area, and trained the users how to work remotely. These users are utilizing dual screens, and have adapted to reading off one while working on the other. An unexpected benefit of remote working has been a notable reduction in the number of documents being printed.

Social distancing has been the COVID-19 mantra. We have succeeded in introducing video meetings at NCP using MS Teams. Plant training for the NCP100 project has been completed, and we are in the process of implementing our new ERP system, Dynamics 365, using MS Teams for all meetings, training and UAT (user acceptance testing). We have also utilised MS Teams to host NCP Tune Me meetings and Baba Zeff’s Farewell Party. MS Teams has replaced all other face to face meetings we would generally host, such as SHE Rep meetings, OPS general Daily meetings, and monthly internal and Alcogroup meetings.

Defaulting back to the old ways is not an option. COVID-19 has already shown that it is going to be a key driver of fundamental change. The quick adoption of new technology solutions during the lockdowns is a case in point. Nobody knows what the post-COVID-19 world will look like, but we all have an opportunity to shape the “new normal”. Once the virus loses traction and we start to return to the office, sport fields, places of worship and favourite places to socialise, what changes? Fewer handshakes. Can video conferencing replace some of the in-person events or meetings? Might it be more productive for certain roles to continue working remotely? Prior to the pandemic, Petro, Ricardo and I were discussing ways we could get people at NCP to utilise available IT tools such as MS Teams and e-learning. We never thought of COVID-19.

When the pandemic is over we should all take a step back, turn off the 24/7 news, breathe and spend some time thanking those who enabled us to cope with quarantine and isolation, who helped people in need, who took care of the sick, who managed the children while schools were closed and who took personal responsibility for minimising the disease’s spread. There is no doubt that COVID-19 will be beaten. We will emerge stronger, and in the event that another pandemic ever occurs, we will be better prepared for it.

LADUMA September 2020

5

NCP100 Project:

August marked the one-year anniversary since ground was broken on the NCP100 project. The project is now past the halfway mark, and despite encountering challenges that have included the small matter of a global pandemic, it is on course to be completed by the end of May 2021. NCP100 Molasses to Maize Manager Stephen Kitching took Laduma on a tour of the NCP100 site, and shared insights into a project that will forever transform NCP’s plant and processes.

Before our site inspection gets underway, Stephen provides

are the three large maize silos, and the adjacent milling

some background as to how NCP100 came about. “In looking

building. The silos are in various stages of completion, as is

at options to sustain the business in the longer term, we’d

the milling building, but already, all are impressive in their

been considering changing the raw material we use from

scale. A system of conveyors will transport the maize to the

molasses to maize for a while. In isolation, it didn’t make

silos when it arrives onsite, and from the silos to the milling

sense, but the addition of two further objectives - improving

building. Maize handling equipment, conveyors and milling

energy efficiency, and increasing the plant capacity to allow

equipment, all still in their packaging, are currently being

for a 40% increase in alcohol production – gave us a solid

stored onsite, to be installed when the new structures are

business case that was accepted by the board.”

ready to accommodate them.

Using maize as the raw material comes with higher electricity demands, but overall, the amount of energy used per cubic metre of alcohol production is far less than with molasses. In addition to being a more efficient process, maize offers another benefit: the parts of the ground maize that don’t get converted to ethanol, predominately protein and fibre, will be used to make a co-product, Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS). Diversifying into DDGS production is a promising opportunity for NCP, as this animal feed commands a high value, and is not currently produced in South Africa.

A new road network provides access to the site, which is a bustle of activity. Everywhere you look, work is continuing apace. One of the first things you notice as you walk onsite

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LADUMA September 2020

The milling building with maize silos visible behind it

One Year On

The DDGS warehouse is taking shape (as seen in the large photo above) on what was previously the site of a large molasses dam. The floor and wall columns are already in place, with the building’s pitched roof to follow. When the site is operational, the DDGS will be delivered to the warehouse by conveyors, and transferred to waiting trucks by front loader. Currently, the warehouse space is being utilized to store DDGS drying equipment. The drying plant is made by the Swiss manufacturer, Swiss Combi, and according to the guarantee terms, it must be assembled by their own technician. The restrictions on international travel have delayed this, however NCP is receiving support from InvestSA, and a resolution is in sight.

The maize process will utilize the existing Fermentation Plant, with some adaptations, specifically, the addition of heat exchangers. These have been installed and are already operational.

After taking in whole stillage tanks that form part of the DGGS production process, we make our final stop at the distillation area, which Stephen describes as “The heart of the project, where most of the work is happening.” The ground in this area was levelled and buildings demolished to make way for the new distillery. “The key with this distillery is that it is going to

Rapid progress is being made in the Distillation Area De Smet, the Belgian company that built the Alco Group’s flagship plant in Gent, is managing the NCP100 project, in partnership with SiVEST, who are providing the site management resources. The excellent working relations that NCP, De Smet and SiVEST have enjoyed from the outset have been a significant factor in the progress made to date.

be energy efficient, with columns operating under vacuum”,

Stephen wraps up with his views on the past 12 months:

Stephen continues. “The columns were fabricated locally and

“The headline indicators for project success of time, cost

transported here in one piece.” While still surrounded by

and quality are all looking favourable. The NCP culture of

scaffolding, the distillery is making good progress. At 42m, it

agility and ‘getting it done’ has helped with the execution of a

is the tallest structure onsite.

complex project within the confines of an operating plant.”

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7

Engineering Department’s Productive Shutdown The Engineering Department completed some important projects during NCP’s annual shutdown. The Electrical team carried out a series of Project tie-ins, the Planning team executed a range of maintenance projects, and the C & I team conducted fermentation tie-ins for the NCP100 project. Judica Somers, Mervin Kullen and Shon Roopnarain tell us more about their respective teams’ accomplishments below.

Electrical Team: Project Tie-Ins The Electrical team, comprising Judica Somers, Lucky Ntuli, Andreas Mazibuko, and students Emilio Chetty and Logan Arumugan, completed and assisted with four main tie-ins: MV Switchgear Tie-Ins: The major tie-in during the shutdown was the replacement of old J&P 6600V oil Circuit Breakers with new 6600V ABB Vacuum Circuit Breakers and Two RMUs (Ring Main Units). After months of planning, the Electrical and SiVEST teams, together with numerous contractors, completed the disconnection and reconnection of seven transformers, termination on the turbine, all testing, commissioning and any unforeseen work.

New Fermentation MCC Feed: In Preparation for the New Fermentation MCC, a new Supply (525V 1000A) Breaker was installed at MB2.

PQ Analyser: The Elspec PQ (Power Quality) meter was installed during the shutdown. This will allow us to analyse trends on eThekwini power to help us problem solve and improve our response to electrical disturbances from the grid.

J&P oil circuit breakers (left) were replaced with ABB vacuum circuit breakers (right)

Construction Power: Working together over the past few months with the SiVEST electrical team, construction power was successfully tied into the existing plant electrical infrastructure.

This work includes six construction DBs, construction containers, mobile contractor DBs, temporary lighting etc.

Thank you to Engineering, Utilities, Production, SHEQ and projects teams for excellent teamwork. Gratitude goes out to the electrical team for meeting all challenges with a “can do” attitude.

The newly installed 525V supply breaker (left) and Power Quality Meter (middle), and one of six Construction DBs

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LADUMA September 2020

Continued from previous page

Planning Team: Shutdown 2020 The 2020 shutdown was a challenging and unique experience for Mervin Kullen, Ritesh Puran, Les Appalsamy and Wilson Madlala of the Planning team.

It is during times like these that we value team effort and practice excellent communication skills, and this is how we achieved our targets and goals. The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.

Major work that was completed included: replacement of fill packs and drift eliminators at the fermentation cooling tower; pressure testing of columns, reboilers, boiler no.1 and the economiser; modifications of the boiler 31 bar to 2 bar steam system pipe change from 4’ to 8’; servicing of the main cooling tower; installation of new cooling water piping at the fermentation, distillation and main cooling towers; general cleaning of tanks and HP cleaning of condensers and PHE’s.

A big thank you goes out to the Engineering, Process, SHEQ and Project teams, and not forgetting the contractors. Well done team.

New water cooling piping (left) and 2 Bar steam system (middle); Beer Receiver No. 2 ( right), one of the tanks that was cleaned

C & I Team: Fermentation Tie-Ins for NCP100 Project The C & I team, comprising Shon Roopnarain, Instrument Technicians Andre Ramroop and Sanele Mazibuko, and student Makaylin Govender, assisted project contractors Magnol with the installation and commissioning of all instrumentation on fermenters 1 through 6, 8 and 10. Each fermenter’s set of heat exchangers and associated actuated valves were removed and repositioned to suit the new layout. In total, 40 valves and 20 temperature transmitters were repositioned and commissioned during a very short period.

The start was quite bumpy, with a lot of activities concentrated in the same area by various disciplines (civils, mechanical and electrical). All this was done whilst carrying out an annual maintenance shutdown, and with the dark cloud of COVID-19 constantly over our heads.

By remaining steadfast and pushing through all the challenges, the team achieved its goals. A huge shout out to Andre, Sanele and Makaylin, who all showed amazing commitment and dedication. Well done!

Some of the heat exchangers and associated actuated valves that were repositioned during the shutdown LADUMA September 2020

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NCP Produces Sanitiser to Combat Covid-19 A concerted national effort will be required for South Africa to effectively combat, and ultimately defeat, the COVID-19 pandemic. When Government asked ethanol producers to make hand sanitiser, NCP Alcohols didn’t hesitate to heed the call. Lavania Govender, who has been closely involved in this project, tells us a more about it.

NCP Alcohols started producing hand sanitiser base shortly after the National Lockdown was announced. This allowed NCP to continue with Operations as well as enter a new high demand market.

Several tanks were converted into blending facilities to produce hand sanitiser base, or denatured potable alcohol for the sanitiser and disinfectant market. These included Sanitiser blending: VS1 (ex coloured meths), ST1 & ST2 (ex potable) and TK101 (ex malt storage); Denatured Potable: TK102 (ex malt storage); and IPA Storage: D1 & D2 (ex vinegar dilution tanks). The main modification required to each tank was the addition of drumming and bulk loading lines. With orders coming in thick and fast, the modifications needed to be completed promptly.

Hand sanitiser/denatured potable blending facility and bulk loading at ex-Malt facility

Hand sanitiser drumming in action at VS1

This unconventional project kept expanding due to the market demand, and required impeccable coordination between the departments involved. Notwithstanding the challenge of a lack of resources due to most suppliers having temporarily closed their doors, all tasks were completed timeously and safely. All the departments involved in the successful execution of this project did a remarkable job in adapting to the Covid-19 conditions under which they were required to operate. Logistics deserves a special mention. The team worked tirelessly to fulfil bulk loading and drumming responsibilities that were of a much higher scale than usual, ensuring that the production of sanitiser and denatured potable alcohol continued without interruption.

Less Methanol in Aerosol Along with pivoting to sanitiser production virtually overnight, NCP Operations recently succeeded in lowering the methanol content in Aerosol. By changing the feed point of the Recovery Heads to enter as a combined stream with the Aerosol Feed into the Aerosol Column, the methanol content went from a borderline in spec 29.94ppm to just 19ppm in a day. The higher feed point enables the higher alcohols to vent, rather than mixing with the final product. A recent modification was done in the shutdown to test this theory and is yet to be commissioned.

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LADUMA September 2020

The Aerosol Feed Point Modification that was carried out during the July 2020 shutdown

Mammoet moves from Hardwood to Bamboo NCP recently contracted heavy lifting and transport specialists, Mammoet, to lift some heavy vessels for the NCP100 expansion project. Historically, Mammoet’s stacking beams for supporting hydraulic jacks have been made of azobé (also known as ekki), however, this was not a sustainable solution as this hardwood is now a threatened species.

In searching for a suitable replacement, Mammoet investigated a range of alternatives that included reinforced plastic and aluminium, before settling on bamboo, which turned out to have many advantages: it is even stronger than azobé, grows very quickly, and can be harvested without killing the plant. In addition, it absorbs more CO2 and releases more oxygen than most other plants. Beams are created by steaming bamboo cane in an oven, moulding the fibres with special resin, compressing and then baking at high temperature. The resulting material consists of 95% fibre and 5% resin. Exhaustive tests have confirmed that it offers superior stiffness and strength Lumeshni Govender with the azobé beams

to azobé.

A close up view of some of the beams onsite

Mammoet plans to gradually replace the azobé beams in all of its global regions with bamboo. Of course, NCP supports any move towards sustainability, but we will be sorry to see those old beams go when they do get replaced. They must have been involved in moving and erecting so many buildings, factories and heavy equipment. It’s amazing to think that well into the 21st century, when nearly everything is made of steel, concrete and other modern materials, nature still has a role to play - be it in the form of a hardwood from the forests of West Africa, or the recent discovery of ‘boiled’ bamboo.

Corona Conga Dance Challenge: Claiming the Fun Back!

NCP’s recent six-week Be a Warrior not a Worrier wellness campaign was about taking stock of how we’re doing, both mentally and physically - and having some fun. The online programme featured businesswoman and advocate for women to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, Kamentha Pillay. Thereafter, Charlize Tomaselli of Monsoon Wellness presented a class on office, chair and mindful breathing exercises. This was followed by a recording of Julia Green, NCP’s consulting clinical psychologist, sharing advice on How to navigate stress in the eye of the Covid-19 storm. In addition, employees were encouraged to submit their Covid-19 or health-related questions, which were answered by the company’s occupational health practitioner, Dr Randall Leisegang, in a pre-recorded video.

To top off the campaign, the Electrical division initiated the NCPsa Dance-Off, a challenge to all other departments to better their choreographed dance routine to Gloria Estefan’s 1980’s classic, Conga (renamed the Corona Conga for the purpose of the challenge). Explaining the thinking behind NCPsa, Judica Somers, said, “We don’t want to let Covid-19 rob us of the fun and laughs we like to share, so we’re claiming the fun back!”

, Judica Somers Lucky Ntuli (Electrician), Emilio Chetty (Electrical in-service trainee) Arumugan Logan and ian) (Electric ko Mazibu (Electrical Superintendent), Andreas ff dance-o a to ents departm NCP other ing (Electrical in-service trainee) challeng LADUMA September 2020

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Communication Channel Survey: We asked and you said...

The recent survey to gauge the efficacy of the new and existing communication channels within the current context yielded encouraging results.

E-Notices and SMS’s were confirmed as the most popular mediums, with 100 and 97% of respondents respectively identifying these platforms as a great way to stay updated with all things NCP. A large majority of respondents are enjoying the monthly Tune Me videos, Informal Training Roadshows and Video Plant Updates, as well as the SharePoint Landing Page. Noticeboards and the Laduma newsletter remain popular communication platforms with a significant majority of respondents.

It seems the jury is still out on MS Teams meetings and training: a narrow majority find the online experience to be as good or better than real life, but a significant minority feel it doesn’t measure up to the real thing. Many respondents think MS Teams is a great solution, but have been affected by technical issues. The TV screens in three locations on the premises also garnered a mixed response: while over 25% of respondents don’t pay attention to them, some are indifferent, and others think the display could be improved, 50% of respondents think they’re great. It goes to show, different channels work for different people, and the strategy of communicating across a range of channels is an effective way for NCP to reach everyone.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to the survey. If you have a communications-related suggestion, or something in mind that you think could contribute towards team goals, email your suggestion to info@ncpalcohols.com or send it via WhatsApp to 079 4957126.

Nathi Zikhali, Operations Controller, checks out an NCP SMS

Microsoft Teams Meetings: 5 Do’s & Don’ts Covid-19’s positive effects are few, but if indeed there is a silver lining to the pandemic, perhaps it’s the fact that it has accelerated our adoption of technology that supports remote working. Microsoft Teams was around long before the pandemic, but as we’ve had to find ways to keep things moving under lockdown, this powerful communication platform has emerged as a key tool in navigating what we now know as the ‘new normal’. While we’ve come a long way in the months since virtual meetings replaced face to face ones, we’re still figuring out etiquette and best practices. Here are five MS Teams Do’s and Don’ts to help you deal with a platform that will remain part of the way we communicate long after Covid-19 has been defeated.

Let There Be Light The primary light source in the room

should be in front of you. This applies whether the light is electric, or natural light coming through a window. If the light is behind you, other participants in the meeting will only be able to see your silhouette.

Get There Early It’s no fun when you encounter a technical issue and your troubleshooting efforts become the focus of the meeting! To avoid this, join your meeting before its due to start, and check everything is working as expected. Open any documents you might want to refer to beforehand, so you don’t have to locate them while the meeting is in progress.

Mute Your Mic It’s advisable to mute your microphone when you aren’t talking. Of course, it’s easy to forget that your mic is on, Teams has a function that comes in handy here: if someone who hasn’t muted is generating noise, anyone in the meeting can mute them. The person will receive a notification that they’ve been muted, and by whom.

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LADUMA September 2020

Check Not all backgrounds are as pretty as Background

the ones we see in the homes of people being interviewed on TV. Teams has a blur background function that has quickly become standard practice. If you’re so inclined, you can take it a step further and choose a virtual background from a series of picturesque images. In time, we’ll probably come to recognize the latter as a gimmick, but for now, many Teams users are having fun with it.

For The Record An advantage of Teams meetings is that

you can record them. This is more accurate and less labour intensive than traditional minute taking. Rather than having to fill absentees in on what was discussed at a meeting, you can now simply share the recording with them. If you’re planning to record a meeting you're hosting, let the other participants know this. And if you want to record a meeting that someone else has arranged, request permission from all present before you do so.