OPINION
Soapbox On his rounds, Kowie Hamman, our Editor, is conducting an informal survey on the lighter side of engineering. We kick off in this issue with two pertinent questions.
If you had R100K to blow, what would you do with it? Brian Volk of PHC Projects - Well I couldn’t buy a Ferrari so I would probably spend it on my home or help my kids with theirs.
Phildy Schlotz of DRA - mmm, I’ll probably buy bricks because I’m busy building a house…
Tom Esterhuizen of Tom Esterhuizen & Associates - Property…
Thalefang Mtombeni of Schaeffler - Personally one of the first things I’d do is go to the USA and travel the long highway which crosses the continent. Other than that I will donate some of the money to the organisation I do voluntary work for among previously disadvantaged communities. We go around to high schools to tell pupils about professional occupations like engineering and we always need money to travel in order to do this on a wider scale.
Izak van Niekerk of Bell Equipment - Go on vacation to a wine region I haven’t been to yet. Probably Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Konnie de Boom of Megchem – I would spend it by making allowance to expose secondary school kids (primarily Grade 11 & 12) to the engineering fraternity, especially during school holidays, to give them a feel of what the economic active life (everyday life - together with the challenges) of a mechanical engineer, is like, to eventually assist in correct career selection and planning (by the youth). There is a tremendous shortage of technical people in the world and the young ones do not know very much about the day to day life of an engineer.
Mentioning no names, describe the worst client you’ve ever encountered?
Brian Volk of PHC Projects - Difficult to single out one worst, however there are a few difficult clients and some questionable practices that I have encountered from some of them. The writing of specifications that clearly favour one tenderer (which renders the tendering process pointless for anyone else) is bad. Calling for detailed design information in a tender, then using this information to issue a more detailed enquiry or to place orders on another company is also bad. Some clients make unreasonable demands which make working with them difficult. In this regard the Quality and Safety requirements are often out of all context to the work being undertaken, and some Quality and Safety practitioners make it difficult to work productively and profitably.
Phildy Schlotz of DRA - there is no such thing!
Tom Esterhuizen of Tom Esterhuizen & Associates - Besides some arrogant clients, generally I have not had many bad clients…
Thalefang Mtombeni of Schaeffler - Typically this will be someone who gets through to me on the phone after he’s spoken to five or six other people about a complaint which had not been sorted out. They’re then rude to you without you even knowing what the real problem is.
Izak van Niekerk of Bell Equipment - I often get involved with sales for technical input and negotiations. I enjoy challenging honest negotiations, but clients with no integrity who go back on their word or simply lie, really upset me!
Konnie de Boom of Megchem – no comment.
28
THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER
VOL 62
March 2012