Conrad Grobbelaar Email & Phone Number

Emalahleni, Mp, Za

Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Quality Management

International

COMPANY BACKGROUND Lab Fluent Consulting (LFC) is a global learning and skills development company and in addition, provides consulting services to the laboratory industry. The performance of the laboratory goes beyond the improvement of turnaround times and reduction of costs, it is about the customer experience. Therefore continuous improvement is essential to evolve and improve processes to ensure reliable, efficient, dependable, flexible, quality & cost effective services. LFC's mission… Show more COMPANY BACKGROUND Lab Fluent Consulting (LFC) is a global learning and skills development company and in addition, provides consulting services to the laboratory industry. The performance of the laboratory goes beyond the improvement of turnaround times and reduction of costs, it is about the customer experience. Therefore continuous improvement is essential to evolve and improve processes to ensure reliable, efficient, dependable, flexible, quality & cost effective services. LFC's mission is to offer professional services of the highest standard. Our business is to facilitate a positive change in behaviour and of processes in underperforming or challenged areas. Empowering laboratories to be dynamic and proactive in the way they conduct business and thereby remaining at the forefront of the laboratory industry.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Consulting on Customer Projects- Business Administration including finances- Business Development & marketing- Customer Management- Laboratory Management in Practice (LMiP) training facilitatorKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- I conceptualized & developed a sampling trolley using design thinking principles to reduce the labour required to perform progressive coal sampling by 50% while maintaining safety protocols. The prototype was built within 4 hours whereafter it was tested in the operational environment. It proved to be very effective because of the reduced cycle time & improved workflow. Further enhancements are considered after collaborating with sampling personnel & other subject matter experts before a working model will be constructed.- Mapped the workflow processes throughout the value chain for a mineral & environmental testing laboratory thereby enabling the identification of bottlenecks & optimizing the flow of samples, data & records. Show less

Emalahleni

COMPANY BACKGROUNDAustralian Laboratory Services (ALS) is one of the world’s largest testing services providers with sites located around the world.The Witlab - Coal Technology Centre and Naledi - Environmental Services Laboratories were the regional hubs located in South Africa. Coal Testing Services included Grade Control, Exploration Drilling & Project, CHPP plant control, Inland & Export quality control samples. Environmental testing included chemical & microbiological testing… Show more COMPANY BACKGROUNDAustralian Laboratory Services (ALS) is one of the world’s largest testing services providers with sites located around the world.The Witlab - Coal Technology Centre and Naledi - Environmental Services Laboratories were the regional hubs located in South Africa. Coal Testing Services included Grade Control, Exploration Drilling & Project, CHPP plant control, Inland & Export quality control samples. Environmental testing included chemical & microbiological testing of effluents & pollution control samples.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Lead & Manage 120 employees across multiple locations including 3 mine site laboratories.- Financial Management: Annual Revenue >150 M (ZAR), Expense control, P&L- Quality Assurance: Maintain ISO 17025 accreditation - Performance Management: Consistently meet KPI criteria- System & Resource Management: Optimization of asset utilization & workflow efficiency- Other responsibilities: Safety, Business Development, Customer Management, HR & Technical Support- Reporting to Coal Services General Manager based in Brisbane, AustraliaKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Established an onsite 24-hour testing facility at a coal mining operation. Procurement of analytical equipment & consumables & hiring of 30 members of staff were completed in record time. The project achieved the %EBIT contribution it was set out to achieve.- Optimization of laboratory workflow & processes to achieve maximum throughput in the sample preparation & analysis sections. Enabling client priority samples to be reported in 24 hours or less depending on the analysis profile.- Facilitated the closure of both the Witlab & Naledi facilities as part of a corporate strategy to exit the coal testing market in South Africa. Direct involvement included negotiation with employees, trade unions & HR partners, asset disposal & rounding up the businesses' outstanding commitments.- Included in the North-American cohort of the Executive Development Program (EDP) in 2018 Show less

Witbank Area, South Africa

COMPANY BACKGROUNDIngwenya Mineral Processing is a mineral processing company based ini South Africa. Its portfolio of services include:- Operation and maintenance of processing facilities- Design and build of coal processing plants- Plant modifications, retrofits and additions- General metallurgical consulting- Consultation: Feasibility and Due diligence Studies- Engineering design and fabricationROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Quality Control: Monitoring of… Show more COMPANY BACKGROUNDIngwenya Mineral Processing is a mineral processing company based ini South Africa. Its portfolio of services include:- Operation and maintenance of processing facilities- Design and build of coal processing plants- Plant modifications, retrofits and additions- General metallurgical consulting- Consultation: Feasibility and Due diligence Studies- Engineering design and fabricationROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Quality Control: Monitoring of product qualities according to customer specifications- Logistics: Liaising with production teams on product stockpile management & blending operations- Laboratory: Coordinate sampling & analysis of plant control & products with 3rd party onsite laboratory- Management & Administration: Compilation of month end Quality & Performance reports based on set KPI's - Plant Performance Simulations: Data processing of stimulation models to optimize product yield- Audit of onsite laboratory's quality control systemsKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Develop & implement a comprehensive coal quality management system in MS Excel from scratch. The systems is capable of tracking product tonnages, product characteristics, analytical test results, blending ratios & stockpile qualities. Advanced queries enables the database to be queried to extract historical results. The system simplifies the daily reporting of the mine's beneficiation plant performance data & shortens the time to get the data to senior management. This allows for quicker decision making, which impacts on efficiency, profitability & costs. Techniques employed: Microsoft Visual Basic (MVB), pivot tables, pivot graphs, conditional formatting & advanced filters & formulae.- Integration of analytical data reported by 3rd parties into the mine's quality control system using MS Excel macros & MVB Show less

Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa

COMPANY BACKGROUNDBureau Veritas is a company specialized in testing, inspection & certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including Building & Infrastructure, Agri-food & Commodities, Marine & Offshore, Industry, Certification & Consumer Products.The Middelburg, MP, South Africa laboratory performs an array of coal sampling as well as testing services- accredited ISO 17025 by SANAS.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Schedule laboratory activities in… Show more COMPANY BACKGROUNDBureau Veritas is a company specialized in testing, inspection & certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including Building & Infrastructure, Agri-food & Commodities, Marine & Offshore, Industry, Certification & Consumer Products.The Middelburg, MP, South Africa laboratory performs an array of coal sampling as well as testing services- accredited ISO 17025 by SANAS.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Schedule laboratory activities in collaboration with the Laboratory's senior management team- Liaise with clients regarding testing priorities & analytical requirements- Monitor laboratory production KPI's- Other responsibilities: Safety, Quality Control, ISO 17025, Management & Administration & Employee RelationsKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Collaborated on the planning of resources i.e. equipment, human capital, infrastructure, utilities, air extraction, ventilation, etc. required to build the laboratory's brand new testing facility. Show less

Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Slice - Artisanal Coffee Café is an independent coffee shop serving handcrafted hot & cold beverages along with pastries, cakes & light meals, freshly prepared daily in our own kitchen using the highest quality ingredients. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Day to day front of house management - customers & waiting staff- Procurement & supply chain management- Financial Management- Conceptualized the brand design & interior fit-out of the restaurant- Resident professional… Show more Slice - Artisanal Coffee Café is an independent coffee shop serving handcrafted hot & cold beverages along with pastries, cakes & light meals, freshly prepared daily in our own kitchen using the highest quality ingredients. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Day to day front of house management - customers & waiting staff- Procurement & supply chain management- Financial Management- Conceptualized the brand design & interior fit-out of the restaurant- Resident professional baristaKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Acted as Project Manager during the remodelling & construction phases to convert the existing kiosk into a full restaurant for 40 covers with a modern kitchen in 2 months less than the projected completion time.- I established a strong brand identity with patrons. This was achieved by designing & communicating a singular cohesive message throughout all marketing activities, channels & stationary used. Show less

Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, South Africa

COMPANY BACKGROUNDAnglo Coal Central Laboratory is part of the Anglo American PLC group. Coal services include the analysis of Grade Control, Geological Exploration, Plant Control as well as Inland & Export product samples. Environmental testing both chemical & microbiological focuses on pollution control, borehole, groundwater and effluents.The laboratory employs 80 members of staff & operates on a 2 shift cycle.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Coordination & scheduling of… Show more COMPANY BACKGROUNDAnglo Coal Central Laboratory is part of the Anglo American PLC group. Coal services include the analysis of Grade Control, Geological Exploration, Plant Control as well as Inland & Export product samples. Environmental testing both chemical & microbiological focuses on pollution control, borehole, groundwater and effluents.The laboratory employs 80 members of staff & operates on a 2 shift cycle.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Coordination & scheduling of activities- Allocation of resources to meet operational requirements- Implementation of ISO 17025 QMS- Process & workflow optimization- Technical support to technicians, laboratory assistants & customers- Creation of annual ACSA Product Version & Quality Reports for planning & marketing purposes- LIMS & IT hardware & software support- Scheduling of equipment maintenance & calibrations- Monitor equipment availability & utilization- Other responsibilities: Safety, General Management and Administration, Expense Control & Employee RelationsKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Presented "What is Coal?" training to Anglo PLC Marketing Team in London, UK (2006)- Attended ALMA conference in Boston, MS, USA (2008)- Member of team responsible for the complete Business Process Reengineering (BPR) of the Coal laboratory to optimize the workflow, eliminate constraints, increase productivity & reduce the amount of retesting. I collaborated with industrial engineers from LTS Health. Initiatives included the setting of KPI, Visual Performance Management & Outsourcing strategies. Upon completion the laboratory's turnaround time was reduced by 50%, rework was reduced by 90% & customer satisfaction increased.(2009)- Develop & implement ISO 17025 QMS- Subject matter expert on the team responsible for the conversion of an in-house coal marketing database & reporting system to MineTrack - tracking qualities from Pit-to-Port. I was involved in the development, implementation & testing of the new system (2004) Show less

Ogies, Mpumalanga, South Africa

I was based at Kendal Power Station in the Chemical Services Department. The biggest indirectly cooled power station in Southern Hemisphere at the time.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Analysis of potable water, demineralized water, process water, effluents, oil & coal- Perform maintenance on analytical instrumentation- Preparation of chemical & standard solutions- Maintenance & programming of online analyzers- Conduct safety inspectionsKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Received… Show more I was based at Kendal Power Station in the Chemical Services Department. The biggest indirectly cooled power station in Southern Hemisphere at the time.ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES- Analysis of potable water, demineralized water, process water, effluents, oil & coal- Perform maintenance on analytical instrumentation- Preparation of chemical & standard solutions- Maintenance & programming of online analyzers- Conduct safety inspectionsKEY CONTRIBUTIONS- Received 'Best Analytical Chemistry Student' as well as 'Best Chemistry Technician' awards- Conducted research on the regeneration profiles of various types of resins used during the demineralization process to determine optimum acid strengths & regeneration frequencies. Show less

Btech Laboratory Management (Cum Laude), Operations Management

National Diploma, Analytical Chemistry

Grade 12 (Matric), All Subjects Passed On Higher Grade