- 27 August, 2024
- 422
- Articles , Woman Of Worth
WearCheck - Thelma Horsfield
Biography
Thelma Horsfield is in charge of WearCheck Water – the water analysis division of condition monitoring specialist company, WearCheck.
Thelma entered the mining sector in 1995, joining WearCheck Water via WearCheck’s sister company, previously SetPoint, in 2004 as a spectroscopist in the ICP-OES department, and worked her way up to the position of General Manager in 2018.
Thelma is based in the WearCheck Water’s Cape Town laboratory and is also in charge of the Johannesburg laboratory. WearCheck Water analyses and processes over 700 water samples per month for clients in multiple industries, including mining, agriculture, medical and others.
In her time as Quality Manager, the WearCheck Water team managed to get over 90% off their methods accredited under the ISO 17025 standard.
In 2019 she assisted in starting up the Cape Town water laboratory and accredited most of this laboratory’s methods nine months later. Currently, WearCheck Water has 33 ISO-accredited methods and will add more methods in the company’s August surveillance audit.
Recently, WearCheck has set up AdBlue analysis and is on track to gain accreditation for this analysis soon. This is a new and exciting extension of the company’s scope of analysis.
My story
I initially wanted to study in the medical field. I was awarded a bursary by Arcelor Mittal (Iscor at the time) to study Analytical Chemistry. I loved both Biology and Science and was grateful for the opportunity.
My first job was in the male-dominated mining industry. At times it was daunting to prepare for a night shift as one of the only female shift technicians. Just getting safely from home to the plant at night was always a concern. The toughest time for me was when I worked as a shift leader at Anglo Platinum for three years in one of their plants. I had to manage an all-male team working under me. I was only 27 years old and, as a very shy and soft-spoken person, I had to dig deep to find my confidence. I had to make sure I was heard and that my opinion was trusted.
At WearCheck Water, our team members are very aware of the equity requirements as set out by our company, to achieve better inclusion of all genders in our workforce. There are opportunities and training sessions planned each year for all our staff. We have many young female supervisors and managers. My own team consists of 95% female employees. We also have supporting programmes that offer counselling and other advice to our staff if required.
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