Meet one of our changemakers, mechanical engineer Sazi Ramoekipa. Sazi was born and raised in South Africa, and today he works as operations and maintenance (O&M) manager for Scatec, a position he was promoted to in January 2022.
With advanced mechanical engineering degrees in hand, Sazi’s career began in earnest in 2011, when he worked as a technician trainee with Volkswagen. He joined Scatec in 2014, serving as a mechanical and quality control foreman at the company’s Dreunberg plant. Sazi was promoted to plant manager in 2015, and rose in the ranks yet again in 2022, when he
assumed his current role.
“I’m so proud of being promoted in my years at Scatec. I’ve been given the opportunity to lead and work with a team of talented people from diverse backgrounds. And I feel that all of us are valued for the contributions we make,” says Sazi.
When asked by friends and family what it is that he does for a living, Sazi’s reply is simple:
“I am working in the renewable energy sector to improve our future.”
It’s a big and bold mission, one that Sazi believes can be achieved with a strong culture of effective and high performance. He and his colleagues are currently seeding change in their team to support this type of culture, implementing LEAN methodology in Scatec’s O&M department.
“We aim to set the trend in O&M and ultimately scale it across the greater organisation. It’s all about continuous improvement, commitment and consistency,” he puts it simply.
This may be Sazi’s recipe for success in O&M, but it’s also a recipe for Scatec in South Africa. The country aims to install more than 8 GW of solar within the next eight years, a lofty target that will require several dedicated solar players to do their part. Scatec’s South Africa base just happens to be the company’s engineering hub, which means that Sazi and his fellow engineers are key to bringing their country’s bold solar ambitions to life.
Change is in on the agenda in South Africa’s energy space, and Sazi has some wise words to share with other, like-minded people working to make it happen:
“I think the most important thing to do as a changemaker is to prepare yourself to seize any opportunity that might arise for you and continually improve yourself. No matter how difficult things may be, never give up on your dreams.”
#WeAreChangemakers