Covid-19 regulations introduced new restrictions and challenges to the South African economy and companies operating in the current business environment and crane rental agency Sarens Siba continues to offer its clients in the heavy lifting and engineered transport sectors creative and intelligent solutions through its equipment and value engineering.

The regulations have necessitated a reexamination of traditional business models and an expedited transition towards what has been dubbed “the new normal”, with an urgent imperative to adapt and look forward, the company explains.

Sarens Siba used the initial level 5 lockdown in South Africa to conduct a thorough internal assessment of its working model, to ensure that the company was aligned with clients’ requirements and expectations of Sarens Siba as a heavy lift and engineered transport specialist in South Africa.

“What was clear from the onset of the pandemic was that large organisations would need to be flexible to ensure that organisations adapt to the ever-changing market forces. Companies and organisations that were too rigid and unable to adapt to changing landscapes would not survive,” says the company.

Sarens Siba took a bold initiative and carried out an internal review, mainly by means of online discussions, to plan a way forward for the company as it adapted and realigned to an improved business model – with the primary focus being on client requirements and specific geographical areas.

What became clear during Sarens Siba’s review was that its existing business model of having all machines and manpower based in a centralised location, was not optimal.

This led to the development of a plan to change the working model to a depot-based structure, with designated depots being identified in key locations including Sasolburg, Secunda, Witbank and Rustenburg, with a smaller set-up for the crawler and larger mobile cranes, or heavies.

Each of the depots will have its own dedicated equipment as well as management, sales, supervision and maintenance manpower.

The depots will be located on the clients’ door-step, to ensure a quicker reaction time and improved, cost-effective customer service, with dedicated staff on hand to assist clients in solving any problems and finding engineered solutions, the company states.

Sarens Siba says its new depot structure was launched on July 1, 2020 and the company has receivedexcellent feedback from its client base, with positive reviews of the improved organisational structure.