T R A N S N E T
P I P E L I N E S
“This trunkline will now be brought into multi-product transportation mode in November, 2016 with the completion of the inland accumulation facility and with tightlining of the coastal facility.”
Competitive value proposition
Ensuring the smooth and ongoing development out in the field is the equally consistent commitment to honing Transnet’s internal processes, whether that’s from a technological,
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administrative, personnel or supply chain management perspective. The former has recently been addressed through the introduction of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software comprising advanced technology installed on all sites to help the automation transition. The station is then controlled centrally allowing for safer pipeline start-up and shutdown. “Testing equipment at the depots have also been upgraded to the latest technologies to ensure that adequate quality control can be executed on products with new upgraded specifications,” Knoetze adds. “The automated Order-to-Cash process is also being further enhanced and, in addition, as the Company has both regulated and unregulated business, a strong financial reporting system is in place.” From a supply chain management perspective, excellent planning is required to maintain consistent quality across an ever-growing geographic footprint, and especially with the current focus on the provision of an integrated rail and pipeline service offering to clients in order to maximise the volumes transported and to minimise logistical costs. “This will allow for an integrated service to customers and improve the overall pipeline and rail efficiency, thereby providing a distinctive, competitive value proposition of the entire fuel supply chain from source to destination,” Knoetze states. Paramount above all of that however is the Company’s dedication to wider social enrichment; beginning through the support of the Government’s socioeconomic upliftment programme which etches its way into areas of enterprise development and black economic empowerment, while being equally instilled into Transnet’s own human resource philosophy. “Transnet Pipelines has a unique set of skills, and it is therefore extremely important to ensure that the wholelife employee value chain from hire to
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retire is effectively managed,” Knoetze continues. “This includes attraction, retention, reward and recognition plans as well as talent and succession management. “Being the only pipeline Company in the country, it is difficult to find a pool of skills and experience in the industry from which we can recruit; hence we recruit personnel that have talent and the necessary qualifications and allow them to gain experience by working with mentors in the Company.”
Reliable pipeline network
A dedicated workforce of 650 employees repay the faith showed in them in taking pride in their work and in ensuring a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly process is carried out across all segments of the Company. Safety in particular is an area of great pride for Transnet with an exemplary record hugely attractive to its customer base. “We realise that any long-term