Nonzolelo Manyoni

Strategy execution.

• Reporting to the Senior Manager, Operations, drives operational achievement of Tar Value Chain strategic objectives, namely the production of quality product.|VOC abatement.|Winning through people.
• Drafts the operational annual performance plan, presenting innovative solutions congruent with divisional and group strategic objectives for Units 86 to 75, tasked with producing 240 ktpa Tar, and 160 ktpa Coke.
• Aligns and implements internal policies, systems, and procedures to optimise operational efficiencies.

Financial Management:

• Managing operational and project/capital budgets.
• Optimises process materials and chemicals usage to ensure budget adherence, reporting on expenditure.
• Evaluates and monitors the levers that influence overtime to eliminate human resource overspend.
• Responsible for operating budget – R60m.
• Drives EBIT of R600m for the carbon business.

Human resources management.

Leads a three-person team in Operations, with seven direct reports.

• Attracts and retains key skilled talent, setting training standards, and overseeing hiring procedures.
• Maintains good communication and motivational relations with employees to nurture a productive workplace.

Skills and talent development.

• Develops and implements a Succession Plan and Training Plans to have PDPs in place.
• Reviews and enforces adherence to the training matrix.|Conducts monthly training meetings with the Foremen and Training Practitioners to discuss status and deviations.
• Balances shift scheduling to nurture knowledge-sharing among cross-functional team members.
• Ensures that all staff acquire cross-competencies for promotion to the next level, maintaining declarations.

Industrial relations management.

• Manages absenteeism and applies consequence management, advising staff on processes governing misconduct, incapacity, probation, grievance, redundancy, and internal company investigations.
• Facilitates ongoing discussions and establishes rules of engagement with Union Representatives.

Operational Management

• Oversees production planning and execution, unit availability, and zero production-related outages.
• Coordinates a multifunctional technical improvement roadmap addressing asset integrity, volume, energy, and water use improvement; cost reduction; and future environmental compliance requirements.
• Outlines organisational structure with the Event Manager to streamline Operations, Inspection, Projects, Planning, Scheduling, Procurement, Material Planning, HS&E, and QA/QC functions.
• Institutes communication structure with regular face-to-face meetings and clear reporting lines, including kick-off, team, and Steering Committee meetings.
• Protects volumes, mitigates threats to the business, and meets targets of the calcined coke production plan.

Asset management.

• Oversees safe decommissioning and commissioning of process equipment and plant for shutdowns and GO's, with proper use of commissioning and decommissioning procedures.
• Ensures cost-effective Shutdown Front-End Loading (FEL) – one of the biggest annual site expenses – by developing a milestone schedule with defined tasks and deadlines.
• Maintains the governance system, driving > 98% adherence to internal audits, and no 'Operate within Agreed Parameters' (OWAP) deviations, unless approved by the GMR 2.1.
• Safeguards all operational areas with proper monitoring systems, closing out old Management of Change (MOC) procedures, and holistic audits.

Project leadership.

• Develops project roadmaps, performs resource planning in line with budgets, and assigns key owners.
• In the VOC Abatement Project, controls planning, documenting, scheduling, testing, adjusting, verifying, and training processes, to deliver a fully functional system at reduced cost and fast turnaround.

Health, Safety, and Environment.

• Implements systems to eliminate injuries in line with zero harm, significant process safety incidents, and targets.
• Investigates all process incidents, and implements improvement plans.
• Makes effective use of the Integrated Management System (IMS) and Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS), conforming to 100% inspections and 100% participation.
• Embeds elements of the Process Safety Management (PSM) programme for highly hazardous chemicals to prevent or mitigate the release of hazardous chemicals.
• Diligently drives compliance with Atmospheric Emissions Licence (AEL), facilitating environmental authority inspections.
• Accountable for Health & Safety performance, oversees all related SHE systems, and reviews common SAICM goals with SA government and local regulatory frameworks on safe chemicals management.
• Maintains a sound understanding of hazards, risks, and international chemical control regulatory requirements applicable to tar products, and drives continuous improvements to prevent product-related incidents.
• Develops a risk register for the Unit, linked to the current management system, with SOPs and checklists.
• As required, assists Group Risk and SHE function with data required for combined assurance on SHE risks and external operational certifications, including ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001.

Plant performance management.

• Defined existing plant performance baseline targets for improving volumes, quality, and unit costs.
• Accountable for short- and long-term resolution of existing and emerging technical issues, developed and integrated plant monitoring systems that proactively identify deviations, process risks for production volumes, product quality, and equipment integrity.
• Applied the ISO 55000 asset management process to evaluate and launch improvement initiatives after technical investigations.|Designed a roadmap to close performance gaps, tracking actual performance, analysing deviations, and proactively addressing issues to prevent recurrences.

People management.

• Coached, mentored, and guided all engineering resources to ensure safe and timely operation of the plant.
• In line with production targets and project requirements, planned, allocated, and managed staff performance.
• Instituted training and mentorship initiatives to fill skills gaps.

Financial custodian.

• Calculated budgets for operational expenditure for inclusion in the overall departmental budget.
• Controlled cash flow and managed expenses against the budget to safeguard project delivery.

Project Management.

• Assumed accountability for assuring the quality of front-end engineering design (FEED)/feasibility analysis on selected projects, to ensure that conceptual planning and programming design contained sufficient project definition to aid management decisions, to minimise risk, and optimise success drivers.
• Defined the problem statement and signed off on the design basis for the Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Sulphur oxides (SOX) particle emission reduction projects, to install a vapour recovery facility for unwanted vapour release in draining of vessels during shutdown.
• Oversaw technology and solutions review, testing, and selection in line with group procurement practices.
• Quality-controlled process design from conceptualisation and basic engineering to detailed engineering.

Risk mitigation.

• Safeguarded the quality of coal supplies by addressing requirements with Sasol Mining representatives.
• Modelled overall plant efficiency, coal consumption rate, and mass flow rate of steam at various load conditions to predict ash fouling volumes during soot blowing for boiler cleaning.
• Designed and implemented technical solutions to eliminate identified risks in the production plan, budget.
• Monitored SHE performance in day-to-day operations and project executions to ensure compliance.

• As Senior Process Engineer, ensured sustainability of Synfuels' profit drives against structured operational plans.|Streamlined monthly plans for the Hub with the Sasol Group functional strategy and objectives.
• Articulated and, as required, challenged Synfuels' operational flexibility, constraints, and production costs.
• Identified and integrated value-adding initiatives at Group level to guide optimisation of gross margins over 1- to 6-month time horizons.
• Obtained market trends and forecasts from Strategic Business Unit (SBU) and Group Planning & Optimisation colleagues, integrating data into own operational optimisation modelling.
• Assessed the reliability and accuracy of data sources used as plan construction and performance evaluation criteria.|Developed and assisted in improving Linear Optimisation (LP) tools.
• Performed scenario planning, ideating potential production threats, and recommending mitigating actions.
• Operator of the world's only commercial coal-based synthetic fuels manufacturing facility, processing synthesis gas (syngas) through coal gasification and natural gas reforming.

• In charge of designing and implementing manufacturing processes, plants, and equipment, oversaw continual improvements in process, cost, production and overall quality of outputs
• Manage software requirements specification (SRS), tenders and contract specifications
• Oversaw financial planning (budgeting and forecasting) for current, expected and potential expansions of operations, as well as rollout | Monitored and reconciled cash flow and expenses
• Led process engineering and equipment maintenance teams, assigning scheduling and downtime
• Reviewed, improved upon, and set standards for plant-wide manufacturing document management.
• Supervised validation and finalisation of new processes and technologies, integrating plant life cycle plans.
• Provided specialist engineering advice and assistance, managing projects, and performance.
• Coached and mentored direct reports and broader teams, overseeing full SHE compliance.

• In charge of optimising the performance of the water treatment plant at the only power station combining wet and dry-cooled technologies, spearheaded feasibility studies, and plant modifications.
• Oversaw long-term plant health, coordinating projects, and steering incident investigations.
• Monitored staff, supplier, and contractor compliance with the Occupational Health & Safety Act.
• Provided technical advice and assistance to operations and maintenance teams.

• Entered into 18 month Engineer-in-Training programme, attending meetings, conducting desktop and field research, performing all practical and administrative duties assigned by the Supervisor, traveling to other sites as required, assisting on projects, offering suggestions for improvement, and writing up reports
• Monitored and inspected the water treatment plant in line with group instructions and procedures
• Maintained online instrumentation, performing planning and work control activities, batching and dosing, sample analysis, and data capturing in the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)

• Conducted in-depth research utilising various techniques, including qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Maintained comprehensive documentation of research activities and findings.
• Demonstrated analytical and strategical thinking to research projects.
• Designed and implemented qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, adapting to project needs.
• Research on renewable energy for uKZN Howard College Durban School of Chemical Engineering in the Engineering Faculty

• Utilised a variety of teaching methods and technologies to accommodate diverse learning styles and needs.
• Provided one-to-one support to students requiring additional help, focusing on building confidence and academic skills.
• Monitored student progress through regular assessments, providing feedback to lead teachers for targeted support.