Scaffolding to greater heights

Part of the Waco Group, SGB-Cape has become one of the most occupational health and safety-focused suppliers of access scaffolding in the country – the proof is in its Noscar track record

SGB-Cape’s performance at Noshcon 2014 can only be described as sensational. The company’s eye-catching, very orange stand won the Best Stand award, and then there was the slew of Noscar awards …

SGB-Cape Richards Bay received its seventh award this year, Kendall its third, Durban its first, RBM-Richards Bay its first and the FT Wax project in Vanderbijlpark, its second. That brings the company’s tally to over 15 awards so far.

Reinhardt Coetzee, national SHEQ manager SGB-Cape, explains that the company began introducing Nosa audits to all its branches in 2003, winning the first Noscar in 2008 (the first time it attended Noschon).

“Since we introduced the Nosa grading and safety management systems, our lost-time injury and frequency rates have gone down to be on par with, or better than, those of our clients. We have an edge in that we’re proactively involved with occupational health and safety (OHS),” he says.

Coetzee explains that SGB-Cape provides a “one-stop shop” for its clients, but with that comes safety-related issues that expose the company to risk. For example, he explains, part of the service the company provides is to conduct weekly inspections on the scaffolding on behalf of its clients. “In terms of the law, our clients are responsible for the inspection of the scaffolding on a weekly basis, once we hand it over to them, but that is part of the service we provide,” he says.

The company also advises on how to access difficult places. It is a registered asbestos removal company and supplies insulation and sheet metal to four major power stations, petrochemical plants and other clients. It also has a division that specialises in corrosion protection.

“The Waco Group is one of the most diversified groups within construction services. SGB-Cape is the largest by tonnage and work turnover in terms of access scaffolding,” he says proudly.

“What makes us different from the rest of the players in the field, is commitment, structure and an awareness drive to show that we want to be the best service provider in Africa,” Coetzee says proudly.

The company uses its stand at Noshcon every year in support of this goal, and Coetzee’s sports metaphor was certainly apt this time around – the company playing on the theme of this year’s Soccer World Cup in Brazil. The company erected a section of seating stands in the middle of the exhibition hall and hooked-up a PlayStation 4 to run a virtual soccer tournament.

“The idea is to educate people about access scaffolding, because there is a perception that scaffolding is totally unsafe … If it’s constructed by competent people, it’s a very safe platform from which to work and it’s not difficult to manage, but basic, simple rules need to be followed,” Coetzee notes.

It’s attitudes such as this that have made the company a successful Noscar winner. “Nosa has been a help to us over the last ten years, having brought certain safety standards throughout its processes and management systems. We are proud to be associated with Nosa and I’ll make sure our relationship is maintained as far into the future as possible,” he concludes.