Monday, January 9, 2012

Bosasa Systems are Ahead of the Pack

Invoice management to and from creditors and debtors requires a dedicated department to control.

Daily capturing of data from these invoices can drain human resources, valuable space and time. Our streamlined invoicing system allows our clients a single statement with which to interact and transact.

This means that they do not have to drown under a torrent of paperwork. This is in spite of all the services we provide to them.

Our Trustmaster Kitchen Management software package captures every invoice in real time. And then it does all the balancing with a capability to produce a comprehensive report at any given time.

It manages every step from ordering kitchen supplies, nutrition and diets management and stock control, all the way to every active part of the inventory, thus allowing us to produce
a single invoice.

The offender head count signed off by DCS officials is also accurately and speedily captured by our system. Even the client does not have to issue out an invoice for the fresh produce we get from their fields. It is in the one invoice and the value provided is duly deducted.

This is the Bosasa way of ensuring a seamless and rapid turnaround.



Gavin Watson

Bosasa Sponsored Early Childhood Seminar

The event took off as well as it was planned. Bosasa was one of the sponsors of the event and was announced as such. The most senior official who was present on the first day was the HOD, Ms. Bea Hackula.

The audience was warmed by the children's poetry and song and dance presentation. Their colourful t-shirts bearing the Department of Social Development coat of arms and special programmes message in partnership with Bosasa earned them a standing ovation from the audience.

These young stars had the media contingency that included a regional radio station and other stakeholders eating out of their tiny hands. As the children moved out of the conference venue, they were marshaled by the HOD, who not could hold back the joy the children gave all those who were present. The day continued with all the invited guests giving presentations to the audience. Nestle presented a paper on the brain development of the child from the womb until the age of 5 years.

High quality care in the early childhood development centres was presented by Occupational Therapists, the departments of health and education presented their role in the early child hood development.

The COO (Chief Operations Officer) Mr Ntshona of the Department Social Development made closing remarks summarizing and putting into context the proceedings of the day. All the speakers from day one were presented with gifts and EC provincial officials were also presented with Bosasa corporate diaries including the HOD. Fruit baskets were also given to other presenters.

The second day proceeded with MEC Penny Majodina presenting throughout the day. Few presentations took place. The MEC closed the proceedings with her address. In her speech, the MEC informed the delegates that the event was her brain child. "It is my event, I was the one who initiated it through Mr. Magxegwana therefore it made sense that I was part of it. I had to leave everything and prioritise it," she shared emotively. She thanked all the stakeholders and sponsors who partnered with the department in ensuring that the event was a success.

Bosasa was one of the organizations mentioned alongside, Standard Bank, Impinda holdings, Nestle SA and others. The MEC was presented with a bosasa corporate diary that went with the Bosasa scarf. The company made a positive impact especially in showing interest in the lives of young children.

This emphasised our commitment in revention programmes by empowering children in the early years of their lives so that they can grow with a proper foundation which will guarantee that they grow responsibly and without fending into criminal activities.

The positive impact Bosasa made in partnering with the department in this event will go a long way as the t-shirts were more than enough. Approximately thirty children wore the Bosasa made t-shirts; the other twenty wore t-shirts from another sponsor.The department made a commitment that the remaining seventy t-shirts sponsored by Bosasa will be worn by the children in the national early childhood development event to be held in the Eastern Cape on 24-25 January 2012, as this one was a provincial event.The event was indeed a success; we have just made another milestone moving forward as an organization.

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Bosasa's shared asset base with Correctional Centres

Servicing 32 correctional Centres throughout the country requires more than just phone calls. Daily visits from Bosasa leadership, daily monitoring by trustMasterR, and rapid access to all centres with a managed fleet of vehicles made the difference. This was made possible by 27 dedicated vehicles and very dedicated drivers

Vehicle Statistics:
10 Toyota Hilux
7 Ford Bantam
4 Toyota Avanza
1 Volkswagen Caddy
5 Toyota Dyna Ton truck

Bosasa's shares its asset register base

TOTAL DCS FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
Fire Ext: Chemical 9Kg/Fry Fighter X 1
Fire Extinguisher: Co2 2Kg X1
Fire Extinguisher: Co2 3.8Kg X88
Fire Extinguisher: Co2 5Kg X6
Fire Extinguisher: Dcp 4.5Kg X116
Fire Extinguisher: Dcp 9Kg X260

Offenders have a right to good food but also safe food. This is the morality and good governance base of Bosasa as it drives immaculate kitchen hygiene. This attitude led to a long term relationship with Chemical Convertors where both parties understood the implications of poor attention to detail in kitchens that serve 54,000 meals three times a day. "We have been with Bosasa from inception, in fact before, when Gavin Watson was describing this envisioned company he was going to grow into a world leader. Today fifteen years later, Bosasa is the valued giant he said it would be." These are the word of Ivan Davidson from Chemical Convertors, a contract manufacturing company. Davidson visits all the correctional centres weekly to assess hygiene levels. We give him the page as he extols the merits of a Bosasa kitchen. The company has been a supplier of specialised chemicals to Bosasa for kitchen hygiene since inception. "From the beginning Gavin Watson insisted on measurable standards and regular audits and nothing has changed today".

To Davidson this is the kind of professionalism that that this industry needs.

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Bosasa Launches Business Human Rights

When South Africa received its Bill of Rights after the Apartheid Regime ended,government embraced the new world of Human Rights. The Prisons of colonihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifal times became Correctional Centres where offenders were given an opportunity to rehabilitate and literally correct path if they so desired. It is in this new environment that Bosasa entered. What set Bosasa apart some of its executives who had fought for Human Rights during the Apartheid Regime and like Nelson Mandela and other ANC liberation activities, and were incarcerated in their fight for justice. With firsthand experience of abuse in the old prison environment, the Bosasa Leadership committed itself to championing Human Rights when South Africa was liberated, as the new South African government has done. To this end, when the catering tender was awarded for 32 kitchens in 8 management areas, the Strategy was to streamline Correctional Centre catering to global standards but also make the nutritional experience of an offender a pleasant one.

Food is a science
Eating goes beyond the act of opening your mouth and chewing to fill a stomach. Eating nutritious food sustains life and prevents disease. Eating is also a psychological experience. What is nutritious then is decided by qualified and professional dieticians. What is pleasing to the eye is decided by the kitchen and Bosasa's chefs. So Bosasa brought together a multi-disciplinary team which researched correctional centres world wide. Advisors included the South Africa Chefs Association, seasoned dieticians, psychologists, IT specialists, software designers and leading authorities on correctional centre and kitchen management.

What can go wrong?
Let's think about what can go wrong in a kitchen. Meat and chicken is prepared and once delivered at 87 it must be eaten within two hours. Leave chicken lying around and Salmonella poisoning could be one but not the least of your worries. Food poisoning has many facets of the general population outside the correctional centre and in South Africa, a good percentage suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, high uric acid levels, kidney diseases, high cholesterol and even cancers. Offenders are no different as they represent the same figures inside, so special meals need to be prepared for them. Food badly presented can also put you off eating.

Human Rights and beyond
Enter Bosasa, with famous Prof. Jorn Doinet, a world authority on food, nutrition and food preparation. He saw to it that a three meal system was introduced into Correctional Centres with colourful presentation. He also varied the protein to make it interesting. Pork, chicken, beef and fish were presented with flair Enter six dieticians with top BSc university qualifications to ensure that the dietary requirement of anyone needing special diets is met. Offenders consulted with the dieticians and after lengthy interviews, appropriate diets were prescribed. Packet soups with their high salt content were jettisoned and emphasis was laid on natural products wherever possible with salt and sugar content controlled. Flavours were enhanced with herbs and spices.

Enter the IT specialists and software designers. Designing and preparing 54 000 meals three times a day takes a lot of paper work. Imagine sifting through a mountain of invoices and still controlling quality. This was controlled through trustMaster. Enter the trainers and a correctional centre kitchen becomes a medium for a meaningful career as a chef once paroled. Registered, accredited programmes, exposure to every facet of kitchen management and catering – and a second chance helps offenders on the journey to becoming professional chefs should they so choose.

Ours for life
To an offender, mealtimes break up the day, offering a break from monotonous routine. Mealtimes and meals have psychological impact. "I so look forward to seeing different meals. It makes me feel human" shares one offender. A highlight of the year was the Malva Pudding for Woman's Day.
It is clear that this focus on human rights in the kitchen has a significant impact of offenders. "It made us feel that we mattered – that were not just not society's write offs and that we can actually have a second chance. Good food, however simple, made us feel like human beings who have worth and who are capable of change" These are the words of one ex offender who visited Mogale Business Park on being paroled. "I have changed, I know" says ex offender Alice. "Hygienically and nutritiously prepared food ‘inside' by Bosasa was one of the buttons Bosasa pushed that made a difference to our mindset. Being given training to become a cook, caterer or chef was another. It changed my life, and my career potential. Bosasa believed that we could be out for life. Now we are."

(Names have been changed to protect identity in line with legislation and Human Rights of Privacy)

Watson Institute of Business Leadership Website

Transforming Lives 1 at a time

Friday, November 18, 2011

Bosasa - Top Education for Youth Centres




Bosasa Youth Development Centres continues to raise the education bar. YDC is a private education provider registered with Umalusi and the Department of Education and a member of APPED. We have young people in formal education system as well as the ABET levels. The formal system has grades 8 to 12 in which we function under the jurisdiction of the District Offices and local schools for exam purposes. Our vocational skills education programmes are approved by the relevant SETAs.

Children under in the care of our Youth Centres are registered for full unit standard qualifications in their modules. They are given up to three chances when they are not yet competent until they come ‘fully competent’. Learner support programmes in Life Skills, Entrepreneurial development, Career development, Citizenship and Therapy programmes help in the transformation of the children and armed with new skills they are imbued with renewed hope for as better future.




All private providers must be accredited by Umalusi to ensure that the education provided at their sites is legitimate. This also works as a deterrent for the here-today-gone-tomorrow operators and they are many. One of the conditions is that private providers of education must be registered as PTY Limited companies . Before accreditation, evaluation is done by specialists in various fields and councillors who audit the site. Education providers are taken through the stages of provisional accreditation through to provisional accreditation with candidacy status.

Previously there was an NQF framework with levels 1 to 8. Now there are three councils with levels 1 to 10 and their self-defined frameworks, namely . the Higher Education Council, Umalusi Council and the Qualifications Council for Trades and Occupation (QTCO) for apprenticeships and SETA related qualifications. Levels 5 to 10 are Higher Education framework levels while levels 1 to 4 are Umalusi and NQF based. Take Umalusi NQF level 4 for instance, it is where you get the Grade 12 examination. QTCO is on levels 1 to 10



ABET levels 1 to 4 is an adult school level with Grade 1 being equal to preschool levels and for the adults who cannot read or write their names.
Pursuing Umalusi standards has paid handsome dividends as many of our youth go on to achieve great things here and overseas. At least we know we are part of that success - second time around.

Pastoral Mentorship Programme at Bosasa


More and more organisations are looking beyond conventional options for personal guidance and solutions. Realising that sustainability means caring for people in the workplace physically mentally and spiritually, the Rev. Gerhard van der Merwe facilitated a mentoring programme for the Dutch Reformed Church at Mogale Business Park. This means that spiritual leaders will now be entering the workplace to provide mentoring services for both leadership and personnel.

A workshop for 55 religious leaders was held at the Mogale Business Park training centre in September, to develop a uniform approach. "We aim to make a substantial difference to the lives of personnel at any level" Rev. Van der Merwe. The initiative has been welcomed by the business community in South Africa who feel that this holistic approach is long overdue.

Mentoring is now regulated by the South African Council of Coaches and Mentors which has thrown its full support and endorsement of this initiative. The Council will be organising media interviews for the mentoring group.

ON-IT1

Leadership in the making - Gavin Watson

Spiritual Capital

Bosasa Prison Fencing Innovation


It does not matter on which side of the fence you get off as long as you do get off and make good decisions about life. Perhaps that was the unwritten philosophy of the Watson family when the Bosasa Group of Companies was not yet a gleam on the horizon but it unerringly chose the moral side of the fence and life. The Watson family was known for challenging existing prejudiced beliefs, of saying' what if' and 'why not'.

Choosing Sides
When the Bosasa Group was born it was clear that the right l choices would always be made even in the face of adversity. Bosasa was and remains no ordinary Company. It has centred its 'product' choice against a balanced score card always asking the question – will it or, can it change lives and grow this beloved country of ours? If the answer was no, irrespective of the product provocation, new avenues were sought that opened doors, grew people, provided opportunities and grew an economy of scale.

So when is a fence a fence?
Ask a Chinese citizen about the Great Wall of China and they will be adamant that it was built, in excess of 6000 kilometres, to keep the enemy out. Ask East Berliners about their Iron Curtain and they will tell you to was to keep them all in, away from contaminated Western thinking. Good fences are said to make good neighbours provided there is an open gate that makes good friends. Ask a psychologist about her understanding of fences or boundaries and she will answer without them we have poor values. A physician will tell you that the human skin or integument is a boundary that preserves the inner body and without it we would surely die. The skin is the largest organ in the body. It is continuous but in actual fact as it travels the human body it adjusts its structure to regulate temperature, assist with touch sensation, protect you from the sun and dehydration or invasion of bacteria. It has two distinct layers to do this. Different parts of the body required the skin to fulfil different functions. The soft delicate 'skin' inside the mouth would never work on your face for instance which carries the full brunt of UV light, It's about survival and these boundaries or fences do not stop working because there is a national holiday. Our Creator had already done the homework and provided perfection. So why reinvent the wheel? The model for Correctional Centres was born.

Correctional Services
Enter fencing in the industrial world and picture the scene of a correctional centre. Can you imagine this without a boundary fence or two (that worked) knowing that offenders are kept 'inside' until rehabilitation is complete. So what is the perfect fence or skin of a correctional centre?
The Department of Correctional Services for instance gave us a mandate to develop the perfect fence for all Centres. The mandate on the surface was a simple one: supply install and commission outer and inner perimeter fencing, CCTV and lighting. They had two objectives: keep the right people in and the wrong people out and don't install something so grotesque that even human rights courts will get involved. Sounds like a piece of cake until you visit the sites and reality sets in. No two sites were alike. The fences then could not be standardised to a one size fits all. It had to adapt to each unique environment. The project teams got work – sixteen in all with 900 people each bringing different specialisations to the table. The first logistical problem was the commencement of the contract in festive season. This meant business as usual and no leisure days in the sun. Stock had to be placed on site in bonded facilities within four months. Equipment needed to be on site. No drawings existed for many of these dated sites.

A fencing blue print

Today, the project team knows these sites intimately. No other private company knows and understands the unique demands and design of each site. Building plans which never existed before evolved into scientific architectural and engineering design. The project team developed a benchmark – an adaptable design which lays claim to being the best of its kind on the planet earth and fit for purpose. Adaptable it had to be with each site bringing its own challenges. The differences in site needs were accommodated. New age solutions were required for old aged establishments. Now read on about the processes, products, people and project teams that changed a facet of South African Correctional Services history.

QUOTE:
"No other private company knows and understands the unique demands and design of each site."

Another 3707 Offenders trained by Bosasa

Velile Phato drives good business communication