The Association arranges many formal and informal meetings, events and functions throughout the year. This is an ideal opportunity to network and market your organisation.

The Excellence in Construction Awards has become one of the most important functions on the construction industry calendar.  The competition celebrates excellence in construction and culminates in a gala function attended by over 500 entrants, members and Industry Stakeholders.  If you want to align your brand with that of the Master Builders Association then you can partner with us.

Our other big annual function is the regional Health & Safety Awards.  This function is normally preceded by the National Health & Safety Awards, where members of Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal have fared exceptionally well The event is attended by over 300 guests, all of whom have a vested interest in Construction Health & Safety.  If your company has a product or service that is in the Health & Safety sector, then you should definitely consider partnering with the Association for this function.

EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARDS

The Master Builders Association of KwaZulu-Natal Excellence in Construction programme is aimed at recognising and acknowledging excellence in building and construction. The pursuit of excellence in construction is a particularly important calling, as buildings have a profound effect on their occupants and users - influencing and shaping the way in which we live, learn, work, contemplate and relax.

The Excellence Awards competition was launched in 2004 by the Association and was the first of its kind for a South African building association. It has gone from strength to strength.

The programme is open to all Association Members who can enter projects that they have completed. The Adjudicators are all industry veterans and include a retired architect and two former managing directors of major contracting companies. They inspect the projects entered and evaluate the standard of construction, by judging the process and the quality of the end product.

Previous entrants have found the programme to be a superb opportunity to showcase their work. The award not only gives tangible credibility to the promotion of excellence in the industry - it also provides a powerful marketing tool to the contractor and instils a tremendous amount of pride for the owners of the building.

The Award Ceremony for the 2009 competition, was held at the International Convention Centre in Durban. The function was a gala event with lots of entertainment.  Over 500 guests, including Association members, industry stakeholders, government representatives and members of both the regional and national press attended the function.

HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARDS

Frequency:  Annual Event

Venue:  Durban Country Club

Attendance:  +/- 200 Guests

Opportunity:  See Health and Safety Awards Sponsorship Menu

The annual Health and Safety Awards is the Associations second biggest function of the year. The Master Builders Association of KwaZulu-Natal has a very strong Health and Safety division, which is ably led by Neels Nortje. Neels is passionate about Health and Safety and was recently appointed to the Minister's Advisory council for his input.

The 46th annual Health and Safety Awards function was held at the Durban Country Club.  More than two hundred delegates attended the function and witnessed how the Master Builders Association paid tribute to members who excelled in the 2009 Health and Safety competition.

The recipients were praised for their adherence to health and safety. This was made even more noteworthy, when one considers the pressures under which construction companies are currently working. Some 50 sites entered into the 2009 regional Health and Safety competition and as there was only a small window of opportunity during which the sites could be judged (when work is usually at peak), the number of entries was extremely gratifying.

The standards were extremely high, when one takes into account the fact that the sites were scrupulously audited on more than 20 different elements. These included administrative and legal requirements, training, public safety, personal protective equipment, housekeeping, scaffolding, electrical safeguarding, plant and machinery, excavations, transport and material handling to name but a few.

Our Members came through with flying colours this year - no less than 9 entries received the presidential award for scoring more than 95% and came first in their respective categories in the National Health and Safety competition.

MASTER BUILDERS KWAZULU-NATAL GOLF DAY-Durban and South Coast

The Association arranges an annual golf day in Durban and on the South Coast. Golf remains an excellent way for our members to network and to interact with suppliers.

All the monies raised from the sponsorship of holes and prizes go towards the specific event, and our goal is to make each golf day the premier golfing event in the region.  The day's golf is followed by a prize giving and dinner.

MEETINGS

Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal holds regular member meetings at all of its branches around the province.  These range from small, focused monthly breakfast and lunch meetings, to large quarterly meetings.

The objectives of these meetings are:

• To encourage and nurture networking amongst our Members
• To keep our Members informed of new developments and initiatives in the Industry
• To demonstrate how our Members can get the most out of the Association

Each region holds regular meetings for Members and Prospects. The meetings are held in the evenings. Meetings usually commence with a networking session, followed by a short presentation by two Master Builders managers on developments within their business units. We usually get an external speaker to do a presentation on a topic of interest to our members.

Members and Guests are then given an opportunity to relax and network over snacks and drinks.

JOINT MEMBER MEETING AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY FORUM

The Master Builders Association of KwaZulu-Natal has a very strong Health and Safety Department. The Health and Safety Forum takes place every second month and is a platform for anyone with an interest in Health and Safety in the Construction Sector, to learn and share information.