I started working for Stocks and Stocks immediately after qualifying with my B.Sc. Building Management degree in Mmabatho.
My first role as Site Agent (1989)was to plan and set up a new contract to construct a Teachers Training College in Lehurutse which is just outside Zeerust. Planning was done by hand on A1 sheets of paper and I created two type programmes - a convential gantt chart for the main buildings and a "Line of Balance" chart for the sudent accommodation section. The project would have a current value of GBP22million.
The same year I was given two schools and a Governors office to construct in Ganyesa and Morokweng about 300km into the Kalahari desert. These projects had serious constraints in the forms of lack of water and lack of electricity. Boreholes had to be sunk for construction water and we had to mine our own concrete stone.
In 1990 to 1991 I was given the position of Junior Contracts Manager for the construction of the new Parliament buildings in Mmabatho the value of this project would e GBP45million today. This was one of the first projects to use CCS Marsbar planning software (now called CCS Candy Siteplan). My role was to update the schedule on a weekly basis, provide rolling horizon reports and programme new works (variations).
In 1992 I was Contracts Manager on the Refurbishment of the Bophuthatswana Government buildings which consisted of refurbishment work to more than 100,000m2 of office floor space spreadover four floors. Scheduling was extremely complicated as it involved interacting with the various Government departments for access and safety concerns.