Page 58 - SAPREF 50 year

The Contracts department receives tenders via a Tender Box at the Main Gate.
Khaya Mkhize, warehouse supervisor, seen at Central Stores with some of the materials which have been bagged and tagged for a forthcoming Turnaround.
Finance and Procurement
The Finance department comprises Contracting, Procurement, Legal Services, Treasury and Management, and Financial Accounting/Reporting. The 52-member team is led by Colin Muthusami.
Says Colin, “We have a range
of responsibilities, including procurement of spares, process materials and chemicals,
and consumables; inventory management and warehousing; contracts management; treasury (debtors, creditors, cash management); management and financial accounting/reporting (financial reporting, fixed asset management and budgeting); and legal services.
“It is sometimes useful to look back to get a good perspective on progress made. The old Finance department structure, for example, included a word processing centre; receptionist and secretarial functions; internal audits; payroll management and oil accounting. Then, during the restructure of the Contracting & Procurement functions, Legal Services was added to the Finance profile.
“We used to keep a separate set of books
for the SAMCO-Lubes Plant until SAMCO was incorporated into the refinery. In the old days, manual processes were used for all finance functions and among others included a manual cashbook and a card system for stock control. Vendor payments were made by cheque. A computerised accounting system (Willow) was introduced in 1993, and this was replaced in 2003 by the Oracle financial system, which
is currently in use. Contracting originally reported into the Engineering department and was incorporated into Finance only in 1992. The first contracting system used was called EIS and that evolved into the Pacer C system that we currently use.”
Just as well that the department now uses the latest technology because in the great flood of 1987, the Finance offices on the ground floor of the office block were submerged knee deep in water and most documents were damaged
or lost. A tremendous effort was put in by all staff to clean up and get back to normal again. Lifeboats were used at the clubhouse and in the plant area to rescue vital documents and equipment!
Old hands in the department agree that highlights in recent years include the introduction of core contracts for key services; the implementation of term/purchase agreements for materials and chemicals; and the implementation of consignment arrangements in an effort to minimise working capital, and progress with preferential procurement requirements.
Challenges over the years have included maintaining a flat budget on refinery costs
by driving productivity and efficiency — for example, the Razor Gang concept, Waste Elimination and currently the LEAN initiative which reviews processes; reviewing and renegotiating key contracts; and reviewing joint venture agreements, securing leases for the Island View land rented from Transnet and obtaining various licences/permits based on changing legislation.
SAPREF: FUELLING SA FOR 50 YEARS
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