The winners of the Quality and Productivity Improvement (QPI)/Kaizen awards were announced at a ceremony held in Boksburg last night. The Productivity Awards Ceremony honours and recognises businesses and productivity practitioners that have demonstrated excellence in Kaizen and productivity improvement across the continent.
The SA QPI awards segment was presented by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Ms Nomakhosazana Meth, the Chief Advisor for Kaizen, Mr Kimiaki Jin and the Director of Automotives at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Mr Matome Kgowedi.
The Safety, Health, Environment, Risk, and Quality management Manager at HarnTech, Ms Amelda Dorman, received an award for QPI in the medium size category. The Johannesburg based company specialises in the design and manufacture of high-quality wiring harnesses and electrical solutions for various industries, including the automotive sector.
“We are honoured to receive this award, and it is a testament to the hard work of the entire team at HarnTech, our participation in the programme certainly benefits our 200 employees. As we improve on our batch output, the improved incentive goes to their pockets”, said Dorman.
Dorman added that under the leadership of Managing Director Ju-an Berlowitz, Harntech adopted the Toyota Production System (TPS) and its core principle, Kaizen, which focuses on eliminating process waste and driving continuous improvement. She said in 2023, the company successfully eliminated waste of motion by combining assembly steps, targeting excessive movement of harnesses during production. This improvement, she said resulted in a gain of 117.52 hours of production time.
According to the Director of Automotives at the dtic, Mr Matome Kgowedi, the presentation of these awards was a demonstration of the profits of QPI in improving companies’ competitiveness. He added that the ceremony showcased the competitiveness of South African manufacturing and companies and encouraged South African companies to participate in QPI/Kaizen activities to improve their competitiveness.
“I am pleased to witness the participating companies in the automotive value chain and other sectors in South Africa and an improvement in their key performance indicators. The QPI project promotes localisation, competitiveness, and transformation. We encourage more companies to participate in the programme and increase their competitiveness. The four-month Basic Kaizen training conducted in 2023, 2024, and 2025 improved key performance indicators (KPIs) of the productivity of the 66 participating companies by an average of 53.5 percent,” added Kgowedi,
The winners are:
QPI in the medium size category award
HarnTech (PTY) Ltd
The QPI awards in the micro and small size category award
Capewell (Pty) Ltd
The Productivity Awards were part of the two-day Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC 2025). The event was held under the theme, African Industrialisation through Fostering Competitive Firms and Value Chains on the Continent.
From Left: The Production Manager at HarnTech, Ms Chanterelle de Beer and the Safety, Health, Environment, Risk, and Quality management Manager at HarnTech, Ms Amelda Dorman making remarks after receiving the award.
The Director of Automotives at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Mr Matome Kgowedi during the Kaizen Conference.
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
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Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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