Back on Campus

It's hard to believe that we've only been back for 3 and a half weeks.

We got back to a totally different working environment, with the office being re-structured and different roles and responsibilities too.

Considering the amount of learning we had been through, it was well expected that things would change. Everyone came back in one piece from the BIT Site Projects and if anything we were more knowledgeable and inspired than ever before. Nevertheless we still had to undergo RISKMAQ part 2, but as always we survived.

We have now been allocated different tasks to suit and match our strong points. This can only mean that our developent as prominent SHEQ Proffessionals is definitely in progress. We were each given tasks which are relatively new to us but with guidance from the right peaople and by utilising all our resources appropriately, we will conquer.

We had our internal communication day on Friday, 18 September and besides it being informative, it also sparked a lot excitement. After learning about all the departments of IRCA and being informed about the new developments, I can certainly affirm that there is no place I'd rather be. We're such a lovely organisation with a bright future and with lots to be excited about.

CIVCON Site

Finally the time came for us to be on site and bring our ideas about health and safety to life!!!

Everything was finalised at the 11th hour and before I knew it, I was packing my bags and heading for Stilfontein. We were welcomed by a short and brief induction where we were informed of all the relevant safety issues on the site and given the stats of the people who had been dismissed due to non-conformances, so that clearly meant that we had to behave if we wanted to remain on site for two whole months!

We were introduced to our fellow IRCA Team members thereafter and received a very warm welcome from them from the onset. We went for site walks and did a run through of the work that has already been completed on the site in terms of the S-T-&-D Process. We are very fortunate to be working on this site as it is the first to implement the S-T-&-D Process and the testing of the new software is also happening here. It's good to know that we're not the only "firsts" on the site.

Our first week was short as we arrived on a Wednesday and left on Thursady due to pay weekend, as a result we didn't get to do much. The past weeks however have been 5 day weeks and we have definitely covered a whole lot more. We attend site safety meetings every monday morning where safety issues are discussed and we also started doing observations with the team. The observations take up most of the day as we have to transfer them to the checklists when we return from site. The site's safety is generally not bad, it's just that people become restless and their perceptions lead them astray. One thing that still amazes me is that people want to be reminded to safe guard their own lives even though they know about it. I guess that's why we're here, to try change that...

Working with the software has been great, watching it evolve from it's imperfect to an almost perfect phase. A lot of work needs to be done on it before everyone can use it but we'll get there. The team has really been of great assistance to our development in the BIT department and I am grateful for this. The S-T-&-D Process has a few differences from the BBS Process and it's interesting to see it being rolled out.

For the three weeks or so that we have been here we have acquired immense knowledge in terms of coaching, compiling daily and weekly reports, working with the project plan, capturing observations into the software and populating the checklists in the software. Unfortunately our mentor is away as he is sick but fortunately Thapelo is here is to mentor us in his absence. We hope he will be back soon as we miss him dearly.

I'm definitely enjoying my time on site.

22 May 2009

Shew... What a week!!! The last time I felt this way was when we were on site.
This has been a fruitful week filled with lots of learning and presenting.

We had the pleasure of attending, what many may call a Full Induction, where we had International guests and new employees. The aim of the Induction was to familiarise us with the IRCA operations, staff and clientele. And we achieved just that. Though we knew the basic operations and dynamics of IRCA, we still managed to learn a lot. I think I just realised this week, what a big organisation this is and how motivated everyone is to upholding our name. It's a great feeling being part of such a phenomenal industry and family.

Although we were attending these presentations we also had our fair share of presenting to prepare for. One of our "favourite" trainers came in this week to assist us in preparation for our own presentation. We are being assessed on our training and presenting skills next week. Reece played an imperative role in our development and "upskilling" so to say. We learned a lot about training, ourselves and him in this week. We are all getting the hang of this training concept and will hopefully survive the assessment next week.

The prospect of our move to the BIT department is nearing and we are very excited about the projects. We are all anxious to learn and understand the BIT process and ofcourse we're looking forward to gaining the experience and knowledge.

These are really exciting time for me personally, as I can feel the growth in character. Not only am I applying to my work but also to my personal life. It's really a great experience working with the PDP Squad and IRCA family.

I hope the next week bears nothing but smiles, laughter and joy for all of us.
With assessments on the way, we can only hope for the best as we have really gone the extra mile to prepare.

For now though, we are all exhausted and need the weekend rest.
So keep well and be good.
Out.

6 May 2006

It's been a while since we all blogged but I guess that can only mean that IRCA is keeping us on our feet. We have been busy with numerous tasks and I think it's time I reflect on that and share the experience.

The last time we blogged, we were about to present our Health and Safety System Structure/Plan to Wes and Jo. That went very well and as a matter of fact we were given the go ahead and we are busy implementing the system. We have conducted a bassline risk assessment throughout the whole building and have even made our recoomendations on our identified critical few risks. The experience was very exciting, as we got to finally put our theoretical knowledge to practice. It felt as though we are making a posiitive contribution because people were voicing their concerns to us...

We are now busy with a plan of action on how to proceed with the implementation of the system and the continuation of it. We have been having meetings and discussions at I must say we really starting to feel important. The little contribution we are making is giving all of us a good confidence boost.

We are simultaneously preparing for our co-presentation for training modules. The idea is that we should be declared competent for training by the beginning of June. At this rate we will definitely make it because we are having dry-runs on a regular basis and presenting to each other. We are getting the gyst of the whole presenting thing.

All in all, though we have been really busy, it's been a total pleasure working with the team. In a strange way, we work well together and we keep each other grounded. We are slowly fitting into the big shoes of the IRCA employees and at this rate we'll definitely be SHEQ Professionals who will make an impact in this industry.

Keep up the good work guys.

Out.

9 April

The beginning of a cycle of short weeks has started and it seems that our tasks are getting bigger as the weeks shrink.
This week we had to conclude our Health and Safety System framework and present it to Jo and Wes.
Monday and Tuesday have both been very hectic days as we were doing some dry-runs of our presentation.
We were all very active in the design of our framework and all felt that it was well done.

So Wednesday, 12:30 pm came and we had to do our thing. And yip, we did exactly that. We psyched ourselves up for a detailed yet simple presentation.
We managed to pull it off and impress both Wesley and Jo (and definitely ourselves)
With all that said and done, now the big component begins. The actual implementation. This will require a lot of time and attention, but I have absolute confidence that we’ll pull through.
It might not happen all in one go, but eventually we’ll get there.

We started with our system implementation today and it seems everyone is just as eager as we are to get a proper system up and running.
I think it’s going to be great fun and a tremendous learning curve for us.

Another task we have lined up is our co-presentation and now that our framework is set up, we can focus on that again.
It’s definitely going to be a busy period for a while, but keeping us on our toes will help produce the best results.

On a lighter note, it’s Easter time and people seem to be travelling and indulging in all kinds of activities.
So whatever it is, you’ll be doing, do it well.

Out.

9 April

The beginning of a cycle of short weeks has started and it seems that our tasks are getting bigger as the weeks shrink.
This week we had to conclude our Health and Safety System framework and present it to Jo and Wes.
Monday and Tuesday have both been very hectic days as we were doing some dry-runs of our presentation.
We were all very active in the design of our framework and all felt that it was well done.

So Wednesday, 12:30 pm came and we had to do our thing. And yip, we did exactly that. We psyched ourselves up for a detailed yet simple presentation.
We managed to pull it off and impress both Wesley and Jo (and definitely ourselves)
With all that said and done, now the big component begins. The actual implementation. This will require a lot of time and attention, but I have absolute confidence that we’ll pull through.
It might not happen all in one go, but eventually we’ll get there.

We started with our system implementation today and it seems everyone is just as eager as we are to get a proper system up and running.
I think it’s going to be great fun and a tremendous learning curve for us.

Another task we have lined up is our co-presentation and now that our framework is set up, we can focus on that again.
It’s definitely going to be a busy period for a while, but keeping us on our toes will help produce the best results.

On a lighter note, it’s Easter time and people seem to be travelling and indulging in all kinds of activities.
So whatever it is, you’ll be doing, do it well.

Out.

2 April

This week we have been busy with our health and safety system framework and doing training observations. The tasks were all manageable and we were able to get through the day with a fair balance between our two tasks. However as the week progressed things got more intense and we were required to give more of ourselves.

The observations helped us to see training in a different light. We are now able to identify the different types of presentation skills. I think we now need to focus on creating a balance to our training skills, in terms of polishing our technical knowledge. I think once that is done, we will be confident and competent to co-present a module. I must admit that it's pretty exciting to be at the level which we are, I never thought I would personally be able to present on certain things. I guess these are the perks of being a "PDP girl".

In relation to our system framework, we are all (finally) swimming in the same sea...
Things are slowly coming together, but the main thing is that we all have the same ideology. This will definitely make it easier to glue our presentation together and simultaneously "blow" Wesley and Jo away...

On a lighter note,it has been a fairly good week for us, considering that we have a new member in the PDP squad, Wesley's new born daughter Kira-Lee. She was delivered on monday morning, which also happens to be my little brothers birthday, so she is definitely of value in my life. She is so beautiful, I swear you just wanna cry when you see her. I can't wait to have my own one day.

A lot of progress has been made in the whole program. We are all becoming comfortable and I can definitely see the birth of handsome (and beautiful), intelligent risk professionals.

Lets keep up the good work guys.
Have a lekker one.
Out.

Interviews

Today we were faced with the task of interviewing and talking to the more experienced professionals with the hope of getting more insight on our health and safety system and completing our riskmaq assignments.

It seemed we had all created an illusion of what the day would be like and how everything will work out. Little did we know that a simple interview can indeed turn out to be more complex and time-consuming. We did our interview as a group due to time constraints we had and it helped us all because we got to hear everyone's point of view.
We got to a point where the interview could not continue anymore because the interview was become broad and so we had go back to the drawing board and re-construct our questions for the sake of a flowing interview. That took up the rest of our day and I think now we are ready for the interviews and this time around we'll get it right.

One lesson I learnt today is that there are different strokes for different folks...
I cannot even begin to elaborate on that right now, nevertheless it is a learning curve for us and we're not complaining.

For now, I think we all need to rest and recuperate. We'll definitely need the energy tomorrow.
Out.

23 March

The end of yet another week at IRCA and it's amazing how we have evolved as the PDP-Squad.

Having completed our sixth course this year and juggling all our responsibilities together, it feels like we are really getting into the gyst if things.

We have been doing our assignments and have all made lots of progress. The assignments are quite lengthy and detailed but they're keeping us on our toes. We are starting to think like Safety Professionals and are applying ourselves likewise. Simultaneously, we're also having lots of fun, so none of us can complain. We all have a lot of work to do and I must say, I am really inspired. Soon we will be co-presenting and I really wanna prep myself for that and do it to the best of my ability...

The PDP family is expecting an additional member not too far from now, so we're all pretty excited for that... Bu for now it's time to get our brains working.

Happy Monday everyone.
Out.

RCat, here we go...

After the hectic week we had been through last week, we were faced with the reality of attending yet another course... RCAT!

This time around we had the weekend to digest the idea of another step on the ladder. So I can safely say we started on a good note, with no dramatic entries. My very own Mentor was presenting the course and that made it a very personal experience for me as I was given the opportunity to liase with him on a personal and professional level. So to some extent attending this course felt like attending a "catch up" session with my girlfriends.

On a serious note though, the course managed to somehow "sum up" the content of all the courses we attended prior to this one. The course content was a bit repetitive but we managed to look at certain issues/terms from different angles. It's one thing to know where IRCA Head Office is, but it's another to know how to get there. That's what I managed to walk away with from the course.

The course presentation was done in a very relaxed manner and that made the learning so much more interesting. However, yesterday afternoon we started the practical aspect of the course and "what a procedure!!". For my personal health and safety protection that's all I can say :-), I'm sure Diggy knows exactly what I mean. Nevertheless, the practical was fruitful and insightful. Had we not done the practical, I doubt any of us would possess the confidence to participate in an incident investigation.

To sum it all up, it was a lengthy, interesting, dynamic and detailed course, from which I learned a lot about myself and applying myself towards others. Thanks Wim, I had so much fun learning from and with you.

All that's left to say is: "SHEEWWWW!!!"
Out.

Friday the 13th...

After the shortest weekend of my life, I woke up on monday morning hoping there would be an announcement regarding the mix up in the day of the week. To no avail, it was indeed monday and I had to "face the music".

We started the week as Inspectors, which was a sudden turn as just the other day we were labourers. We had a book compiled by our ever-so-caring Wesley, which provided a good starting point for us. Our inspections managed to keep us busy for the first two days of the week and lead to the discontinuation of our "on-site" experience. We had gained all we possibly could from the practical and it was what I regard as a serious eye opener! Hmmmm, we have a lot of work to do... But thats a story for another day!

So on Wednesday we headed back to the office with the hope of making some progress on our RiskMaq Assignments, completing our inspections and in essence picking up where we left off. We made progress and just as we were unpacking our "luggage", we were on the road again! For a moment it felt like we were in The Great Trek era, but I am not complaining!

We were invited to a conference at the Indaba Hotel hosted by SAFECONEX. It was such a diverse arena and we were surrounded by plenty PPE suppliers. A lot was going on and it felt like I was doing promotions all over again. We were literally selling the PDP brand, there was immense interest shown by the people attending the exhibition. Not forgetting to mention that the food was also great inspiration. We survived the expo and even indulged in the talks/lecturers that were in progress. I think the expo is a great idea and it's a wonderful advertising and marketing opportunity, when the time comes around next year, I would definitely love to be more involved. It seems there are plenty of willing individuals out there, all with the same vision of making a difference. I say bring it on...

The week has ended on a good note and it's time to tackle our assignments and all the work we neglected! It's business as usual, but for now it's weekend time...

Have a good one all and be good.
Out

Construction-destruction!!

What a month...oops I meant week! (It sure felt like a month)

Our journey to the paving/construction industry was introduced at an unexpected time and the idea alone left us puzzled and curious. To our satisfaction our curiosity fed our hungry brains while grafting our lives away.

The site we visited was in Melrose Arch and we were working as labourers in a paving company.
We were all pretty chuffed with ourselves as we were mingling with the "giants" of the construction industry - Murray and Roberts. Twas quite an experience! However, contradictory to their massive name and reputation, the safety induction we received was not-so-impressive. Nevertheless we managed to grasp the important factors and import all the "knowledge" we needed to remain safe on site.

So the journey started after a long morning and unusual training session. We received a warm welcome from our fellow labourers and in no time we were grafting like never before, literally.
The days became longer and the progress was gradual, yet we met interesting and dynamic individuals. Be it labourer, foreman, supervisor; the guys we met were great! Props to Earth Civils for their great team!

While on site we also managed to integrate all our in-house training outcomes with real-life experiences! That was a reality check! Funny how one became so observant of the safety involved in performing the various tasks. I cannot even begin to explain how many substandard acts and conditions I witnessed. Its amazing how the people continue doing jobs which put their lives at risk. To some extent we also needed to place ourselves in the position of the people and try to understand the reasons why these behaviours are performed. This was the main purpose of the practical.

That said, we had to move on to communication and building bonds with our fellow workers. Which was the only way we could find out more about their jobs and personal experiences. This was very difficult for me to achieve as I had what many may call a "fan club" and hence conversing with some of the guys was an overwhelming process. There were a couple of people who I made friends with though, and I learnt a lot from.

The past week definately served as a learning curve for me and I can finally have a conversation with the guys regarding things such as types of bricks, cement, machinery... the works! All in all it was great fun!

The downfall came when I was exposed to a great amount of dust (which I am allergic to). This managed to rekindle my timely hayfever and led to me being very sick and nasal. Nothing a good rest and medication could not handle though.

Our hard work continues in Strydom Park and we're yet to see what will come out of it.
So far, so good...

Out.

Chilly (Chew)sday...

Yet another week in what has slowly become our home and place of dwelling. It seems to me that the weeks are really flying by and everyone seems to have settled in very well.

My title today is inspired by the chilly weather and my desire to keep chewing. All within reason seeing that I have not had my daily morning snack. Despite my growling stomach and rickety movements, it is a beautiful day.

Training observation and health and safety system implementation is the order of the week. Thus far it has proved successful and enjoyable, there is a lot of learning achieved in our tasks this week. As much as we have undergone immense training sessions, we are now gaining practical experience. It is a step-by-step process and a lenghty one at it, but with so much support and coaching, it's well worth the time.

I am enjoying the tasks allocated to us this week and am certain that things will remain this way for the remainder of the week and all the weeks to come.

On a lighter note, while observing Reece Khan conducting a training session, I have come to the realisation that being a good (excellent) trainer, like he is, comes with experience, passion and a good heart. He possesses all of the above and I am definitely learning a truck load from him.
Keep up the fantastic work!

The learning never stops in this place, who needs varsity when you can get it all at IRCA.

Out

Hooorray

Its been a very long and eventful week! Though today is the first friday of this week, to me it feels as if it's the second! That just goes to show how busy we were.

We kicked our week off with a very interesting "Train-the-trainer" course. If I may, I would like to commend Jo Enslin on the lovely presentation he gave, the course is important yet he added a "magic touch" to it and may it so enjoyable. We all had to prepare presentations on a topic of our choice. I chose voting, as to why I did that, I have absolutely no idea. Politics is not my "thing" but I learnt a thing or two about politics so it has proven worthwhile.

Thereafter we introduced to one of the most passionate people I have met, Francois Storm, who presented the incident investigation course. WOW! Thats all I have to say. It was really entertaining and informative. What a great man!

After all the fun-and-games, we had an assignment to complete and a test to write, all within reason I suppose, I mean we had to gain something solid out of this week. And we did!

I'm enjoying the programme so much, now more than ever, I'm really glad to be here. As we discussed earlier in the week, amongst ourselves, IRCA is doing a phenomenal thing. We were introduced to two gentlemen form Umsobomvu (MITI... I think), earlier on in the week as well and we let them in on our progress, feeling and thoughts on the programme. It was a refreshing exercise for us all as it reminded us of how lucky we are to be here.

Now that that's dead and buried, it's time to celebrate our steady progress.
So lets go wild and have a party ...
Out

The RED week!

Our "tough" week is over now and as slow as it was initially, it ended on a pleasant note.
Our presentations were well compiled but we need to work on them more, which we will be doing next week.

The presentation was much more relaxed than our first one and that made it a whole lot better for all of us in terms of the nerves. Though there is a lot of work to be done, we have learnt from our experience and will incorporate the lesson into our next presentation.

I guess now it's weekend time and apparently lover's lane is open this weekend...
Will just have to see if I have a pass!

Have a LOVEly weekend everyone.

Is it the doom of Friday the 13th?

It's been a very long week for all of us and it's satisfying to know that we are getting somewhere.
It's also been particularly confusing for me as I was faced with a tough call to make. I'm sure that raises a lot of eyebrows, cos "what could a young PDP employee have to decide on"?

It's actually as simple as my future and career path choice. I received a surprising call from Wits University raising their concern on the conitinuation of my BSc qualification with them. I chose IRCA over Wits as the PDP programme seemed palatable still, in comparison to the Applied Maths qualification. It was a not-so-easy decision to make after hearing that Wits does value me after all. Nevertheless, despite the "lekker" offer made by the university, I chose IRCA because I'm really enjoying this and would like to see how long this road will be and where it will lead me.
I'm sure I will not regret it.

Back to reality, we are progressing with our presentation and I think it's going to be a long night as I will be working on my slides. It should prove worthwhile though since I need to be 110% ready for the questions that will be thrown at us on friday.

Please wish us luck!
I'm sure we'll be ok though
Out.

A morbid audit...? Hmmm

"Guys we're doing CAP next week.." , that's how our week ended last friday, all to our surprise.
And to think, we had all channelled our minds to forget about any course.

So ya, we attended ACAT this week and what a course! On our first day we met interesting and versatile personalities including IRCA's very own Paul Mare (our trainer). We kicked off on a very intense note and the session was long. Most of us had grown very comfortable in a working-lifestyle and adjusting was fairly difficult. Nevertheless the course content managed to psyche us up and get us into the learning process again.

The course was very practical and being the "mathematician" that I am, practical is my thing. In simple terms, I learnt quicker because it was not too theoretical. Thinking out-of-the box is an essential part of the course and it's quite difficult. We all came to the realisation that auditing is not all rosy but if carried out effectively and understood well, it is worthwhile. I learnt a lot from the course and the people surrounding me.

We indulged in the delicious food provided by IRCA and that made the week fly through.
I'm really glad we went through this week and survived!

Now it's weekend time.
Out!

"No rain, No pain"

Friday is here at last and I know the presentation and the hype surrounding it has been buzzing around all week. After yesterday's dry run sessions, all of us went home and re-did our presentations. But I guess you can never be TOO certain with presenting, as there are different personalities to appeal to.

We started a lil later than was planned and that just "ruined" the flow of things. Nevertheless we bounced back and before we knew it the presentations were flowing. Rayno set the tone for the day with his lovely presentation which helped all of us relax! Thanks boet :-)

I was next; nervous as hell still, but I managed to take two deep breaths and it really worked to my advantage. Things got a bit "messy" though when I added a video clip activity which was a bit inappropriate. I'm glad we have a second chance on monday, because I can now improve on blunders like that one.

The presentations that followed all went well and we will all learn from our mistakes and benefit from the feedback given by both Wesley and Carel. I think it wil be a busy weekend for us all and Monday morning when we hit the "board room" it will be time for action.

So let the good times roll everyone.
Lets smile and keep learning!
Out

Mid-week blues

Today was a very productive day, I managed to finalise the powerpoint slide aspect of my presentation, have added all the necessary finishing touches with the help of Oom Carel.
Wim has also sent me some recommended videos, which have helped me a lot.

I just need to run through the presentation a couple of time to ensure that I'm ready.

I'm pretty excited about the presentation even though the nerves are kicking in now.

Out

Green Monday

This is the first week we are not seated in a "lecture" set-up and being engrossed by the many concepts surrounding RISK CONTROL. So we need to adjust accordingly. I must admit we were pretty successful.

The day began on a beautiful note, with the sun shining ever-so brightly. I know that is all I need to get me going. Everyone seems to have had a well-deserved, relaxed weekend and we were all ready for the task ahead. We wasted no time and in no time our fingers were tapping and ideas were buzzing. It was rather tricky getting the presentation off the ground due to the amount of research we needed to do. I imposed a strategy on how I'm going to go about completing the presentation. Like a wise man once articulated - "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". So I placed emphasis on the planning phase of my presentation. It took a bit longer than expected but I'm sure it will pay off.

It's gonna be a busy week and we will all need to remain focused in order to get through it.
Out

The beginning of a long journey...

What a week! Shew!



The week kicked off on a very busy yet pleasant note. A lenghty journey began down RISKMAQ PART 1 road. I honestly thought we would be trained and taughted by a big mean shark who would require 1000% of our attention but to my surprise our trainer was IRCA's very own "dumb lawyer", Mark Andersen. Once all that was cleared, I took a deep breath and new that this would undoubtedly be a phenomenal week ( and that it was).



Monday was an overwhelming experience for all those who attended the course. The muffins, lunch, different personalities, course introduction and ofcourse Mark himself. Everyone was excited and very eager to learn. As the week progressed and things became more intense, everyone calmed down and all we could converse about was the homework exercises awaiting us. The homework kept us very busy in the evenings and for many of us served as a great substitute for TV time. Nevertheless doing the homework was probably the greatest thing we did, because as Mark hinted, that's all the prep we needed for the exam.



So the week went by, with heavy eyelids after the filling lunch we had every blessed day and a few chuckles here and there. One thing I admire about everyone I met this week is the dedication and willingness to learn, that was truly inspiring. What a wonderful bunch. Wish all of them the best in their respective careers...



Though we were on IRCA property all week, it really felt like we had neglected our IRCA colleagues (excluding the catering staff ofcourse) and duties. It was all within reason though, as the course kept us very occupied and hence no time could be spared in the afternoons.



All in all, it was a pleasant week and I had a great time learning. Can't wait for next week

The cherry on top!

Finally, friday has come and the test is over and done with! (sigh of relief) Fortunately for me there was an improvement from last week's mark and yes I got that cum laude :-), the sweet taste of success. Maintance is the name of the game from now on and when the time comes then 100% it will be... Everyone did very well and honestly speaking if it wasn't for Oom Pieter's wisdom and guidance, we would be telling a different tale.



Now that that's over and donw with, I can reflect on the whole week. When MOurNDAY (monday) came I really thought I was going to drown because everyone around us was emphasizing the importance of the course. Though I felt capable, there was a certain amount of pressure planted on us. Nevertheless, the week started and to my surprise the course was pure bliss! The homework exercises compelled us to read every evening and though it was a bit time-consuming, the results show that it payed off.



The course content was very manageable and comprehensive. The work load, however, was heavy and quantitative. I enjoyed my week and feel prepared for the RISKMAQ Part 1. Well not content wise but time management wise.



On the lighter side, Oom Pieter is a wonderful coach and educator, I would really love to work with him later on. He really brought some light into my life, both personally and on the work front. Dankie al weer Oom :-)

That however is not the end of the week, the party goes on. We have presentations lined up for 2 weeks time as well as health and safety assessments, so our full concentration and focus is required. We have being allocated time to complete these tasks and I'm currently doing reasearch. Hope it will all come together over the next week and a half.

We had a fruitful week but I'm officially signing off now... Weekend time!
Out

Oh happy day

The sun is finally shining down on us today and yes it has brought some light into our lives. Though people are smiling because Friday is near, we all wait in anticipation of the BIG BAD TEST.

We have managed to cover Tab 13: Managing Critical Tasks, which is the tab I’m presenting in less than two weeks, so I was literally glued to the projector screen and Pieter was guaranteed my full attention. We did a practical exercise on The Causation Model and it opened a lot of doors for everyone and gave us insight on the practical plane. It was interesting learning about the exact happenings of the Challenger Shuttle. We were informed that IRCA will be compiling a formal document on the incident and we were the first to kick-start the whole application.

The buzz word on everyone’s mind this afternoon is the test, for obvious reasons. I personally feel we will all survive this assessment as we are well informed and taught. THANKS OOM PIETER :-)

Mid-week fever

The day started off on a rather shakey note this morning with the back to school fever, but still made it to work on time... yay!

The course is going very well, have been focused and am hoping it pays off. Have finally decided which tab I will be presenting and I'm actually very satisfied with my decision. Managing Critical Tasks is very appealing to me and I'm looking forward to the presentation.

We have covered all that we needed to for todays session. It feels good cos the afternoon is a bit more relaxed. I have however started doing my homework already... :-)

Nando's hot quarter chicken meal helped make the day a bit smoother... LOL

Out

Cloudy Tuesday

Nothing beats being well prepared, though it meant limited family time, it still feels good.

Got to work today ready and energised. Had a question to get more clarity on and that was accomplished. I also did some pre-reading before class, so following today is not as tedious as it was yesterday. (I suppose that’s a risk assessment at its best.)

Class is going fairly well today. Mxolisi absence is felt though. Hope he wrote well. I’m realising more and more what great people are surrounding me. Michael is very helpful and he is constantly sharing his experiences and thus giving us insight on all the “nitty-gritty” stuff.
Rayno has a remarkable way with words, he literally constructs sentences directly from ideas we have in mind. Abram takes us one level above and gets us to keep an open mind. Trudie is such a great motivation all through her dedication. We all need to stay motivated!
Mxolisi is the little yet big fish. He is very modest yet helps create a pleasant working environment. And myself... well... they should know!

The weather is still acting up but not even that can bring any of us down.

Our practical assessment has been postponed to the last week of January, which gives us more time to produce quality work... Yepee! Now I will really give it my all. I can now focus on one thing, thats getting that cum laude!

Great day all in all

Blue monday

The weather is a bit cranky today and everyone is in slow mo. We started with the MSRM course and it seems very informative yet we’re moving at a slow pace. We’ve covered the first few tabs of the “big” file. Hopefully the reading of the tabs will give a much more detailed perspective on the topics covered today.

We also received the results of our mentoring assignment, for the first submission I was satisfied with my results but the third part was not very satisfactory. I hope to be given another opportunity to improve on the marks. I think my biggest problem is avoiding redundancy and giving too much detail and in this case it did not work to my advantage, I tried to keep my work quality-based and not quantity-based.

All in all it was a very long day and we did not learn a lot of new concepts, but I’m sure tomorrow we will cover more.

Great day indeed

First test! Not bad at all... There were some trick questions but I survived, 86% is not bad at all (a “near miss” though)

That was the main act of the day and I’m actually relieved cos now I know the standards and can climb the ladder with the correct “protective equipment. I’m inspired, now more than ever, and am truly looking forward to next week and the weeks (months and years!)

Time to show these guys who’s boss! And yes, when it comes to the wheel it’s me!

Great day indeed

First test! Not bad at all... There were some trick questions but I survived, 86% is not bad at all (a “near miss” though)

That was the main act of the day and I’m actually relieved cos now I know the standards and can climb the ladder with the correct “protective equipment. I’m inspired, now more than ever, and am truly looking forward to next week and the weeks (months and years!)

Time to show these guys who’s boss! And yes, when it comes to the wheel it’s me!

"Amper daar"

Today was pretty casual and informal, as the tabs of the course were shorter and slightly easier to understand. Watching videos in-between and having the informal discussions, made absorbtion of material acceptable.

The second last day of the week (for some it's phuza thursday) and yet I wish it was Tuesday again cos time is really passing by.

I'm learning a lot and adapting well to my surroundings, so yep it's smiles all the way!

Woza friday! "Spoken like a true young adult, which I am!"

Official day 1

It's funny how much there is to learn out there...
I actually feel enriched, though we didn't cover too much and what we did get through was not very explicit, I still appreciate the effort invested in it. (Sounding very typical!)

I'm in action mode and loving it. Yet the reality of reading and those extra hours is kicking slowly. The course is very informative and intense, but my full concentration is guaranteed.

Looking forward to the rest of the course and funny enough the idea of an assessment is exciting!

Out

A very comfortable and relaxed day. We got very technical with our digital mechanisms which was in fact quite fun.

On the learning front we covered more in terms of mentoring and I picked up a tip or four on goal setting, expectations and assessments. It all seems very legitimate now and I hope to maintain consistency throughout the programme.

Everyone is a bit relaxed but I can tell that noone is willing to give less of themselves, which serves as an ext ra bonus because that way everyone will stay focused. I like the group members and hope to get along with everyone.