Women in Construction: RIB CCS talks to Mariska van Schalkwyk

Mariska van Schalkwyk, Wage Administrator

Brand, South Africa

As an experienced Wage Administrator in the Electrical and Infrastructure sector, Mariska has been a proud BuildSmart – Payroll user for the past six months. During this time she has found the efficiency and intuitive structure of the cloud-based solution to be an invaluable tool in the remuneration process.

For Mariska, speed is the name of the game. The ability to consolidate employee records onto one, remote platform not only expedites her managerial efficiency on the day-to-day, but from hour-to-hour. She notes, “I have saved a lot of time during my wage weeks, especially in the area of importing the hours in batches, where previously I had to capture it each week, line-for-line”.

She admits however, that while time saving stands unquestionably as a primary benefit of integrated ERP systems, its functional flexibility plays an equally integral role too, “It is cloud based which makes working from anywhere a breeze and love the fact that you are able to attach basic employee information to the employee’s profile”.

Mariska recommends BuildSmart as, not only the ideal framework for financial overviewing and analysis, but also one for highly detailed and specific compartmentalisation. It’s her streamlined solution throughout the execution of multiple, high-level projects that dovetails perfectly with pre-existing tools (such as Excel) – a solid foundation, not just in wage management, but the installation industry as a whole.

About Brand SA:

Brand Engineering SA (Pty) Ltd, a member of Brand Engineering Holdings, has been operating for more than 50 years in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Together with its empowerment company, Besamandla (Pty) Ltd, it carries out electrical, instrumentation and automation installations for industrial, commercial and infrastructure projects, not only in Southern Africa, but on the African Continent as a whole. It has formed strong partnerships with local companies in neighbouring countries.

Efficiency and integrity have always been key elements contributing to the success of the group and the positive recognition it receives from satisfied customers. These include government departments, mining houses, marine projects, property developers and most of the leading construction and building contractors. Brand Engineering is also an experienced renewable energy (RE) contractor. It started its venture into this sector in 2010 when the Department of Energy commenced its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP). Today it is also a key player in solar roof top development contributing further to green power generation. 

The group is geared to take on projects of all sizes and specifications in even the remotest of locations. Offering the latest in innovative technology, its solutions can be customised to individual client needs and are sustainable and guaranteed. They are backed by reliable after sales support.