--- title: "Planners from Anglo American Platinum shine during the Maintenance Planner Qualification Inaugural Graduation Ceremony" description: "On 23 August 2022, the first eight learners to complete the Maintenance Planner Qualification in South Africa were recognised for their qualifications." image: https://www.pragmaworld.net/wp-content/uploads/MPQ-Graduates-scaled.jpg canonical: https://www.pragmaworld.net/planners-from-anglo-american-platinum-shine-during-the-maintenance-planner-qualification-inaugural-graduation-ceremony/ url: https://pragma-world.getmd.ai/planners-from-anglo-american-platinum-shine-during-the-maintenance-planner-qualification-inaugural-graduation-ceremony/.md last_converted: 2026-10-08T02:43:38.020Z --- # Planners from Anglo American Platinum shine during the Maintenance Planner Qualification Inaugural Graduation Ceremony August 30, 2022 MPQ Graduation Ceremony, from left to right: Tim Beavon, Adriaan Scheeres, Joel Mmapulane, Ryno Pieterse, Yolanda Tiersma, Suku Mhlanga, Abri Oosthuizen, Noeleen Kemp, Stephanus Snyders, Letsholo Mabula, Vasen Ganasen and Paul KrauseOn 23 August 2022, the first eight learners to complete the Maintenance Planner Qualification in South Africa were recognised for their qualifications. During an award ceremony held at the Bela Bela Aventura Resort, senior representatives from the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), Anglo American Platinum and Pragma, gathered with the recipients to celebrate this historic achievement. This Maintenance Planner Qualification programme provides planners with a formal maintenance planner qualification. The requirement to professionalise the role of a planner was highlighted, and together with industry partners, the CHIETA developed the standard. The Occupational Certificate: Maintenance Planner is registered and accredited through the Quality Council of Trades and Occupations.  It has been directed at NQF Level 5 and carries 261 credits. The average learner can complete the qualification in 18 months. Pragma is the first training organisation in South Africa to be accredited by the QCTO as a skills development partner (SDP) for the Maintenance Planner Qualification. | Anglo American Platinum was one of the first companies to enrol a group of planners. All eight of the first qualified planners are from Anglo American Platinum. During his speech, Paul Krause, Head of Systems, Processes and Integration for Asset Reliability, elaborated on the importance of celebrating this milestone with colleagues as they aim to upskill their whole planning fraternity. He focused on the change in priority that he witnessed during his career and the critical role proper planning and scheduling have in acting as an audit trail. He concluded by saying that you can have the best maintenance plans, but if they are not executed with precision maintenance, you will not reach the desired KPIs. | | Unless work is planned and scheduled, I am not interested in that work being carried out. That is the importance I place on our planning fraternity. Paul Krause, Head of Systems, Processes and Integration for Asset Reliability, Anglo American | | --- | --- | --- | The main focus of the maintenance planner is to improve the productivity of the maintenance staff and reduce equipment downtime. The planner follows effective maintenance planning and scheduling practices, ensuring that all the resources for a job are arranged and prepared in advance, and that maintenance slots are agreed upon with Production. | Adriaan Scheeres, CEO of Pragma, spoke of professionalising the role of the maintenance planner and how, in the near future, the qualification will become a requirement for someone to be appointed in that role. The impact of IIoT and AI on maintenance is significant, and how work is planned, scheduled and executed is changing. This directly impacts the planner as the role evolves into analytics and ensures that machine learning is applied and intelligent forecasting is done as part of the planning. Furthermore, giving a qualified planner the right technology set can significantly impact efficiency. One properly trained planner can optimise the efficiency of up to twenty artisans, and good planning improves wrench time by 45 – 50%. | | It’s all about discipline. It’s all about knowledge. It’s all about understanding how to plan one day after the next. Adriaan Scheerers, CEO, Pragma | | --- | --- | --- | All parties are looking forward to the future impact of the maintenance planner qualification on industry. CHIETA Executive Manager, Joel Mmapulane, expressed his gratitude towards Pragma and emphasised the historical “firsts” of the programme they achieved in collaboration with Pragma. Pragma’s Tim Beavon, Course Design and Programme Manager, said the transition of the programme from classroom-based learning to blended learning has resulted in a better and more efficient programme. The learner and their company see an immediate benefit as newly found knowledge is applied as part of practical application. Success coaches assist learners throughout the course to help them apply their learnings and complete modules timeously. The aim is firstly to continue to optimise and find ways of ensuring that people are competent when they complete the programme and, secondly, get through it in the most efficient time possible. Currently, the 317 learners enrolled in the programme are progressing well toward completing their maintenance planner qualification. We look forward to adding their names to the MPQ alumni. If you are interested in enrolling for the Maintenance Planner Qualification, or would like to find out more about it, click here. ##### Subscribe to our newsletter ##### Tags maintenanceplannerqualification planners planningandscheduling ##### More content ##### AI in maintenance: from CMMS records to better decisions Author | Henk Wynjeterp - Regional Lead – Europe AI is giving maintenance teams new ways to extract, structure and interpret information. But the... ##### Asset Management Masterclass or Awareness Training? Start with the role, not the course Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma I get asked this question quite often: Should I do the Asset Management Masterclass, or... ##### The lonely learner problem: why self-paced learning still needs people Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma Self-paced learning has solved a very real problem for busy adults. It gives people more... ##### Pragma appoints Stephan Kornelius as Chief Executive Officer Author | Pragma Experienced Pragma executive takes the helm on 1 October as the business continues its next... ##### No time for training? Look at what is taking the time. Author | Karen Greyling - Business Development Manager, Pragma “Not now. The team is too busy.” It is one of the most understandable reasons... ##### When Finance and Operations agree on spares Author | Pragma MRO spares are often the source of a familiar business tension. Finance wants to reduce... ##### You don’t train for a marathon by running a marathon Author | Tim Beavon - Partner Consultant, Pragma Why shutdown readiness depends on applying lessons before the next major event A major shutdown... ##### Pragma announces leadership transition and continues strategic momentum Author | Pragma Pragma has announced an important leadership transition as the business continues to build on... ##### Are we solving the wrong training problem? Author | Karen Greyling - Academy Business Development Manager, Pragma When organisations say they need training, they may already be solving the wrong training problem:... ##### The art of balancing work order feedback with compliance, learning, and wrench time Author | Scheepers Schoeman - Senior Associate, Professional Services Most organisations don’t choose their work order feedback culture. They drift into it. A new... ##### Why a qualified maintenance planner changes more than maintenance Author | Karen Greyling - Academy Business Development Manager, Pragma In many plants, the same pattern repeats itself. Work arrives late. Materials are chased at... ##### Why MRO inventory is different from other inventory classes Author | Andre Jordaan - Partner Consultant, Pragma MRO inventory differs from other inventory classes because demand is irregular, the consequences of stockouts... ##### How failing water infrastructure is quietly reshaping South Africa’s cities Author | Nelson Broden – Business Lead Pragma Managed Services On the school run through... ##### From dead capital to operational certainty: Smarter spare parts management Author: André Jordaan, Partner Consultant, Pragma Most MRO stores aren’t short of parts; they’re short... ##### Asset Management Awareness Training that fits real work Author | Karen Greyling, Business Development Manager If you’ve ever thought, “We don’t need another... ##### Asset Management Masterclass: Strategic training for leaders driving performance, reliability and results Author | Karen Greyling – Business Development Manager In asset-intensive industries, leaders are under growing... ##### Beyond compliance: Why repeated maturity assessments define asset performance leadership Author | Stephan Kornelius – Pragma Professional Services Business Lead In asset-intensive industries, leaders face... ##### OEMs need a connected platform for services Author | Henk Wynjeterp – Regional Lead – Europe | Henk leads Pragma’s OEM after-sales... ##### When rivers cry out: How asset management can help heal South Africa’s waterways Author | Nelson Broden – Business Lead Pragma Managed Services The Hennops River, once part... ##### Ditch the buzzword: OEM after-sales leaders buy execution, not “servitization” Author | Henk Wynjeterp – Regional Lead – Europe | Henk leads Pragma’s OEM after-sales... ##### Beyond the software – embedding your EAMS into your organisation’s DNA for sustainable value The key to a successful EAMS (Enterprise Asset Management System) implementation lies in integrating the... ##### Pragma’s perspective on what the proposed South African budget means for infrastructure governance Author | Stephan Kornelius Author | Stephan Kornelius – Pragma Professional Services Business Lead Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2025... ##### Government infrastructure investments must go beyond bricks and mortar – A global perspective Author | Bani Kgosana Author | Bani Kgosana Across the globe, ageing infrastructure threatens economic stability. In the US,... ##### Pragma partners with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team to power maintenance excellence Author | Liza Schroeder Pragma is proud to announce its support of the Q36.5 Pro... ##### Revitalising South Africa – a better path to infrastructure renewal Author | Bani Kgosana, Pragma CRO South Africa faces an extraordinary opportunity to transform its... ##### Transforming maintenance from a grudge purchase to a strategic investment Author | Scott Gibson, Pragma CEO  With South Africans enjoying a break from load shedding... ##### Pragma 2.0 – CEO of Pragma, Scott Gibson’s vision is to compete with international giants through engineering excellence At Pragma, our roots are deeply embedded in engineering consulting. We are proud to be... ##### Are you proactively shaping your focused improvement process or is it evolving organically? Author | André Jordaan, Pragma Partner Consultant Focused improvement (FI) is the overarching process used... ##### Introducing Pragma’s Enhanced Asset Management Assessment Framework: AMIP Physical assets must be managed effectively for a business to grow and be competitive. Across... ##### Unlocking Asset Management Excellence: Pragma’s Spotlight at the SAAMA Conference, 5-6 June 2024 As anticipation builds for the upcoming South African Asset Management Association (SAAMA) Conference, Pragma is...