Pictured: Toivo Tangeni Shiimi, Lohmeier Angula Shipiki, Lipumba Junias, Shiningayamwe, Josua Gawanab
There was an air of nervous excitement at Scania’s Aeroton premises as the top six teams in the country gathered for the Top Team challenge of 2013. Not only were the reputations and bragging rights at stake, but so was the opportunity of representing Scania Southern Africa at the semi-finals in Brazil. Dealing with technical issues from customer vehicles on a daily basis and delivering an efficient service day after day means nothing if you crack under the pressure of working with a team of colleagues in a completion environment. But this is what Scania’s Top Team competition is all about. Pitting its service teams from across the Southern African region against one another in a fun-filled yet educational event where service-related problems are given to each team to compete successfully in the shortest possible time. Teams from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania all competed at the forth national Top Team event. Nineteen teams participated in the first two rounds, which consisted of two questionnaires comprising 60 technical and safety questions. From these rounds, the top six teams were chosen to vie for the title of Scania’s Top Team 2013 in Southern Africa. The six teams each consisted of three to five membersand were made up from the workshop and parts personnel from the respective dealerships. At this year’s regional finals the sixteams competing were: 1. The Welwitchais from Namibia 2. Bulawayo Five from Zimbabwe 3. Harare Eagles from Zimbabwe 4. Rosslyn Boys from Rosslyn 5. Team High Range from Rosslyn 6. Cheetah’s from Bloemfontein. The winning team will compete against five other teams from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Dubai.The top two teams from this event will proceed to Scania’s world final, taking place in Sweden in November this year. The practical on-site section of the competition took place one Saturday in February, and the winners were announced and given their respective prizes at a gala dinner that same night. Other than the opportunity of representing the region in Brazil, the following prizes were on offer in the Southern African leg: • 1st Prize – R7 500, agold medal and ateam trophy • 2nd Prize – R5 000, asilver medal and a teamtrophy • 3rd Prize R2 500, a bronzemedal and ateam trophy • 4th Prize – promotional gifts and a medal • 5th Prize – promotionalgifts and a medal • 6th Prize – promotionalgifts and a medal The concept behind the Top Team event is forScania’s service staff to develop their skills by combining training and teamwork within a competition environment. In the long run this is beneficial to Scania customers asit expands the scope of the participating employees as knowledge is shared amongst the team members,inspiring them all to be an integral part of the Scania business, thusincreasing the competence level of the service personnel and strengthening the brand among them. Congratulations to the team from Namibia, which travel to Brazil in June. First Place: Welwitschias (Namibia) 1. Toivo Tangeni Shiimi (team member) 2. Lohmeier Angula Shipiki (team member) 3. Iipumbu Junias Shiningayamwe (team member) 4. Josua Gawanab (team member)
Second Place: Team High Range (Rosslyn)
1. Lawrence Nkanyani (team Leader) 2. Tjaart Van Der Walt 3. Lionel Ferreira 4. Thokozani Msweli 5. Pierre Grobler Third Place: Rosslyn Boys (Rosslyn) 1. Casper Yssel (Team leader) 2. MohamedSaleem 3. Gerald Dube 4. Thomas Mapasha 5. Calvin Ngomane Fourth Place: Harare Eagles (Zimbabwe) 1. Sympathy Chikukwa 2. Gift Guri 3.Tafadzwa Mapunga 4. Thomas Mugwagwa Fifth Place: Cheetahs (Bloemfontein) 1. Van Zyl Bruwer – team member 2. Johannes de Jager – team member 3. Derick Patricio –Team member 4. Elias Rakauoane – Team member Sixth Place: Bulawayo Five (Zimbabwe) 1. Blessmore Mukize 2. Moses Mbofana 3. Miracle Nyathi 4. Tongai Chinhamo 5. Patrick Gowora
