Ms Phindisiwe Yako is an industrious, passionate and committed individual who constantly strives for excellence when it comes to her profession. Ms Yako is the Manager for the Department of Facilities and Maintenance at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Midlands Campuses.
“Maintenance is not a fancy department, it is basically being liable and entrusted with the upkeep of the institution, improving what exists and ensuring that the physical structure is well-secured for the present and future purposes,” describes Ms Yako.
She holds a National Diploma in Building Science and joined the University in September 2019, she has previously worked for various construction companies and consultants such as Betts Townsend, Rainbow Construction, Rose Projects and many more since 2003.
“I have worked in the projects such as the Doornfontain Station (Expansion), East Gate Shopping Mall (Phase 2), Hyde Park Centre (Phase 2), Rhodesfield Station (Expansion) and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy (New development) which has helped me a lot in cultivating my skills and knowledge in the Building Science Industry,” she said highlighting some of the projects that she has worked on.
She further emphasized that her previous work experiences played a huge role in ensuring that she provides the best service at her current position within DUT which also assists her to work efficiently with her staff.
“To ensure that there is consistent and good workflow, I always delegate tasks appropriately to the staff and keep my supervisors well-informed of developments or if there is any assistance required,” she said.
Ms Yako further explained that her work can be unpredictable due its nature which includes abrupt and urgent maintenance, and it is impossible to eliminate these occurrences, but she tries to reduce them by implementing preventative maintenance measures.
“I have familiarised myself with the escalation path of the respective departments should delays or set-backs be encountered during a crisis and always ensure that I am compliant with my paperwork and follow relevant escalations if necessary,” she added.
“It would be a great advantage if the institution would introduce more electronic reporting management systems to greatly improve efficiency and allow better turnaround times to the end-users,” she replied.
Ms Yako when sharing words of advice to her colleagues, she emphasized the significance of continually improving technological advancement skills to ensure that the university adapts to the ever changing environment.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise that we have always had technological resources but never truly learned to utilise them to the fullest, so now that we have made the transition to capitalise on the technology, it has brought about significant efficiencies and work life balance (at times) has been made easy,” she said.
Pictured: Ms Phindisiwe Yako, Manager: Department of Facilities and Maintenance at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Midlands Campuses.
Zanele Mashaba
