Karabo Bapela
Pretoria
Summary
Proven Construction Engineer with extensive experience at Wood, adept in overseeing complex EC & I projects to successful completion. I demonstrates strong leadership and excellent communication skills, ensuring safety and quality standards meet client expectations. Skilled in quality control, electrical, instrumentation and construction planning & management, achieving over 220,000 manhours without incidents.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
Secunda (Sasol Benzene Alkylation Catalytic Polymerisation Project)
11.2023 - Current
- Construction supervision and advising of electrical and instrumentation works on the project.
- Working hand in hand with the engineering department and assisting with construction expertise to avoid construction challenges and project delays.
- Leading the construction activities and frontline interaction with the client (Sasol P&E) on the scope of work.
- Coordinating the QC packs for electrical and instrumentation along with the handover engineer and reviewing the packs for a successful handover to the client.
- Ensuring QC is conducted with the client and providing knowledge on the Sasol specifications to contractors for construction activities.
- Daily progress reporting to the project's senior construction manager and project manager and first-line with the clients for construction activities updates.
- Ensuring that sub contractors are using the latest revision loop drawings, P&ID, MFDs, STDD, GA, single lines and hazards classification / zoning drawings.
- Ensuring IS calculations and IA certifications are aligned with field instruments and electrical equipments.
- Support Sasol plant with loop checks, point to point, leak test and commissioning activities after construction completion.
Assistant Construction Manager
Wood
Secunda (Sasol Drill Stem Hoist Project)
11.2023 - Current
- The project scope consists of but not limited to electrical and instrumentation activities which have cable racking, VSD, LHF, 525V MCC, field isolators, line harmonic filters, transformer installations and more.
- Leading the construction activities and ensuring the contractors and subcontractors are adhering to the Sasol P&E safety standards as a principal responsible contractor.
- Advising on the technicalities of the electrical and instrumentation scope and ensuring the construction dates are met.
- Ensuring daily construction target dates are met and consistently working with the planners on the two weeks' look ahead and planned schedule.
- Ensuring contractors and subcontractors are assisted with day to day requirements of Sasol standards, permits, PTRA, temporary laydown, material deliveries and PDA sign-off.
- Ensuring TQs are addressed with engineering department and as well as the contractors and subcontractors.
- Record keeping of daily dairies, safety audits, supervisor trackers and material delivery are filed in the project folder for future audits.
- Ensuring client inspections are conducted and site redlining are done on drawing should there be errors on drawings.
- Daily engaging with senior construction manager and senior project manager on the daily activities and challenges on site with solutions.
- Ensuring project team, contracts and subcontractors well-being are attended by closing working and interacting with team members and addressing their concerns.
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
Sasolburg (Sasol Green Hydrogen Project)
01.2024 - 02.2024
- In this project, I assisted with overseeing DCS, ESD and VMS installation and troubleshooting/point-to-point to the field.
- Assisted in the inspection and construction phase of over four hundred instruments in the and forty-two junction boxes.
- Assisted in the construction of one hundred and seventy-four lights surrounding the plant and the connectivity in the appropriate distribution boxes.
- Ensuring the MCC construction activities are conducted and implementing the Sasol standards and inspections with Sasol P&E and Sasol plant.
- Assisted in over 400 C&I instrument devices such as local gauges, pressure transmitters, level transmitters, thermocouples and many more instrumentation devices.
- Ensuring QC packs are of Sasol P&E standards and all punch items are being addressed by the contractors.
- Ensuring Sasol specifications with the latest revisions are implemented during construction and inspections.
Acting Construction Manager
Wood
Sasolburg (Sasol Boiler 5 Abatement Project)
02.2023 - 10.2023
- Overseeing the construction activities daily and interacting with the team on the progress.
- Achieving two hundred and twenty thousand manhours without any incidents or property damages.
- First-hand client liaising on the progress of the project and with the project manager.
- Ensuring compliance is met on-site and safety standards are implemented and adhered too. Continuous interaction with the project planner on PC, MC, EC, and IC RFC targets.
- Continuous interaction with the safety officer on the safety standards and documentation of the SHE file.
- Compiling daily progress reports and 1 or 2 weeks look ahead with acquired data from the project planner.
- Able to read and understand bar graphs, pie charts and S-curve data supplied by the project planner.
- Scheduling meetings with clients and contractors for critical analyses. Have good interpersonal skills and work ethics that involve communication and team encouragement.
- Ensuring method statements and PDAs are being conducted before construction commences.
- Contributing in the 60% and 90% model reviews from constructibility expertise.
- Involved with the client daily bi-weekly progress meeting.
- Ensuring project filing is being completed and stored for future references and audits.
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
Sasolburg (Sasol Boiler 5 Abatement Project)
01.2023 - 10.2023
- Supervising the OBL/ Electrical and IBL/Mechanical scope for Boiler 5 project at Steam Station 1 Sasol under Sasol P&E.
- Able to read C&I and E&I circuit drawings, and E&I interface drawings and identify items that need to be redlined.
- Able to read mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic drawings.
- Ensuring quality inspection and quality checks on the electrical and instrumentation reaches Sasol standards.
- Involved in PDA (Potential Deviation Analyses) for lifelines and live plant electrical connections/ Tie ins.
- Monitoring activities of removing and installing ESP internal components and refurbishing the burner face.
- Scheduling meetings with clients and contractors for punching and inspection. Continuous interaction with the handover engineer on the punching quality checks and sign-off quality packs with client.
- C&I commissioning loop checks on the DCS and field instruments.
- E&I commissioning of substation switch gears, MCC, E&I interfacing panel and responsible for all construction of electrical and instrumentation activities in the project.
C & I Engineer in Training
Siemens Energy
Emalahleni (Eskom Refurbishment Project)
01.2021 - 12.2022
- I am currently on the commissioning team in the C&I department and most of my assigned tasks are in the turbine plant and in the boiler plant.
- I have gained a fair amount of experience and knowledge on power station operation and applications, a basic understanding of CRA Siemens cabinets layout, functions, measuring, sourcing milliamps to DCS using a Druck device, and simulating thermocouples on the DCS panels.
- I work with Siemens and Endress and Hauser-related products on a simulation, installation, and configuration level.
- Able to install, simulate, and troubleshoot Siemens level transmitters, Siemens flow transmitters, and Endress & Hauser thermocouples.
- Able to configurate Endress and Hauser's transducers using Siemens PG Laptop and field care software.
- Able to simulate insight canners fire eye oil burner device, Endress & Hauser levels devices and ema flow sensor.
- I have knowledge of SPPA T3000 / Thin client software (SCADA/HMI) and DCS panels for power plant applications. Able to read and understand technical diagrams and circuit connections.
- Able to work on Siemens pneumatic actuator positioners and troubleshoot Drehmo actuators on a splitter box and Junction Box (JB).
- Able to obey safety and health procedures, instructions of tasks and fill in risk assessments before duties.
Inservice Training Intern
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Cape Town
05.2018 - 12.2018
- Delta ladder Programming
- Festo stations maintenance (Proccesing, Handling and Sorting)
- CNC, Milling, Turning and Laser Cut
- Mitsubishi Robotic Programming
- Basic Hand Skills (Welding, Fitting, Turning and etc)
- Mechanical and Electrical related maintenance Microsoft office and Basic data capturing
Education
Bachelor Of Technology - Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Cape Town National Diploma - Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Cape Town Matric - Electrical Technology
Pretoria Technical High School
PretoriaSkills
- Construction safety
- Excellent communication talents
- Construction Planning & Management
- Management skills
- Quality Control
- Siemens T3000/ Thin client
- Siemens S7 PLC
- AutoCAD
- Solidworks
- Excellent communication, listening and writing skills
- Microsoft office
Certification
- Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
- National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
- Candidate: Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) certificate
- Driver license C1 Working at Heights Training in welding: Basic hand skills (Fitting and Turning)
- Basic PLC training (Delta) Tutor training workshop Employability Improvement Training Programme
Accomplishments
- Most Improved Youth Toaster master
- LRC Secretary Matric
- LRC Secretary Prefect
Languages
English
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
North Sesotho
Advanced (C1)
Zulu
Elementary (A2)
Xhosa
Elementary (A2)
Timeline
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
01.2024 - 02.2024
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
11.2023 - Current
Assistant Construction Manager
Wood
11.2023 - Current
Acting Construction Manager
Wood
02.2023 - 10.2023
Construction Engineer (EC & I Supervisor)
Wood
01.2023 - 10.2023
C & I Engineer in Training
Siemens Energy
01.2021 - 12.2022
Inservice Training Intern
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
05.2018 - 12.2018
Bachelor Of Technology - Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
National Diploma - Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics)
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Matric - Electrical Technology
Pretoria Technical High School