Transforming Expectations of Construction Companies
Umso is a construction company that marries profitably and commercial pursuits seamlessly with community development and the betterment of residents it serves.
Umso Construction (Umso) specialises in general civil engineering services, including but not limited to, roadworks, water and sewer reticulation, concrete structures, bridges and box culverts. Founded in 1996 as a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) company, in 2004 Umso transformed into a prominent Historically Disadvantaged Company (HDC).
With a head office based in East London (Eastern Cape Province), the company, through successive execution of quality work, has expanded its client base throughout the entire country.
With regional offices throughout the Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng Provinces, Umso’s client base includes both the public and private sector culminating in projects such as Gautrain, Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, Coega Development Corporation IDZ, including the Multi-Purpose Pipeline (Durban to Johannesburg).
With such breadth of achievement by a small company, a natural question arises—how is this achieved? Quite simply, Umso invests in its people and service delivery.
Investing In What Works
The philosophy underpinning the company’s sustained growth over the past 15 years reveals that initial investment in human capital spawned results beyond expectation thus, a current significant compliment of managers and technical personnel who were groomed and nurtured in-house to execute their duties diligently at all times.
The investment in training remains paramount and continues, the rationale behind this is that the company needs to develop its own skills base and avoid dependency on the general industry skills pool. It is anticipated that internal skills and development and personnel retention structures in place will ensure a more than adequate skills capacity within the company sustaining continued growth year by year.
Boasting over 160 units of various construction and workshop equipment, Umso’s stock includes a fleet of trucks, graders, excavators, rollers, tractors and other smaller equipment. Additionally, its workshop is comprehensively equipped with all the required tools and equipment.
The standard set by its workshop operations has made it possible for Umso to be one of the few companies accredited by Mercedes Benz as a fully-fledged service centre. This accreditation has led to many benefits amongst them reduced on-site downtime due to a breakdown or scheduled service.
The magnitude and size of projects Umso undertakes dictates its investment in new equipment. Furthermore, the ever increasing size of its fleet is congruent with the increasing requirement for more competent technicians and support staff. As a result Umso has an internal training programme and its workshop registered with the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MERSETA) as an approved training facility.
From this programme annually a pool of qualified technicians is produced that enables the company to meet its human resources requirements, yet more importantly, allows Umso to provide deserving underprivileged individuals with a valuable skill. Showing that Umso cares not only for its staff, but for the communities it serves.
Caring for the Community
Umso understands the reality and conditions suffered by the vast majority of residents in the communities it serves. Hence it has undertaken to make a difference by committing to pursue a wide range of corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives. These CSIs take the form of school educational programmes, orphanages and retirement homes, community sports, child-headed home support programmes, family nutrition programmes and community awareness programmes.
The company’s participation is often triggered and driven by similarities of its experiences as members of these communities that are so diverse in fortunes. This participation has been entrenched in Umso’s organisational culture and continues to be their way of life.
Leading by example
The success of any company involves a number of aspects including adequate resources, a fertile market, quality planning and execution as well as great ideas. However, good companies become great through dynamic leadership, something Umso is not short on.
Umso’s management and key staff consists of approximately 200 employees, supplemented by another 500 permanent staff and about 1200 project-based individuals. This workforce is led by a competent management team comprising adept professionals that oversees core functions of the business at operations and divisional levels.
Their duties include day-to-day operational activities ranging from project delivery schedules to client liaison. They are supported by teams of managers, engineers, foremen and construction supervisors whose contribution is central to the company’s capacity to deliver services.
