SAQI Knowledge Forum Hosted by Vodacom: Problem Solving

On 29 May 2026, the South African Quality Institute (SAQI), in partnership with Vodacom, hosted a successful Knowledge Forum. The Knowledge Forum theme was Problem Solving, centred on service industry quality professionals. The event brought together quality professionals from many companies, including Vodacom, CSIR, Bestmed, Gems, Discovery, Assupol, Azoza, Eskom, SARS, and SITA.

Our speakers thoroughly covered problem-solving in their presentations. The first speaker, Mr Alfred Maziya from Vodacom, spoke on how Vodacom Financial Services drives inclusion by enabling the digital economy that will scale across the full Vodacom footprint. This vision is driven by four main elements: trust, simplicity, depth, and value. 

Ms Hlulani Msimeki from Vodacom gave a presentation titled Beyond the symptom: strengthening problem-solving through effective root cause analysis, which generated a lot of engagement. The key takeaways from Ms Msimeki’s presentations were: the difference between symptoms and root causes. Symptoms guide us where to look, and root causes explain what must change. A root cause analysis then helps us understand why the problem exists, leading us to implement corrective action that will prevent recurrence. Finally, sustainable improvement requires ownership and follow-through. 

Mr Thabiso Molobela from Discovery presented on Root Cause Analysis and the effective use of the 5 Whys technique. The key takeaways from his presentation were: to do a thorough root cause analysis, understanding what happened and gathering ample evidence should be the first step. Followed by constructing a good problem statement that answers the what, where, when, to what extent, and I know that because…. From there, ask the 5 Whys to identify meaningful corrective and preventative actions. The 5 Whys inform a short-term solution, which in turn leads to getting a long-term sustainable solution in place to prevent recurrence. 

Mr Danie du Toit from SAQI gave a presentation titled: Stop Solving Problems – Start Building Thinkers: Toyota Kata for Service Quality. In his presentation, Mr du Toit introduced a Japanese term many of us may have been unfamiliar with, Kata: “the word Kata comes from Japanese martial arts, where it refers to a pattern you practice repeatedly until it becomes second nature”. Therefore, Toyota Kata is a framework that encourages continuous improvement through a way of thinking and acting, daily. This daily practice yields better results through people. The key takeaways from the presentation were: improvement is a habit, not an event; small experiments are more powerful than big plans; leaders must coach, not just solve – they need to instil capability in their team; and lastly, consistency in thinking creates excellence. 

Our last speaker for the day was Mr Kevin Odudoh from Vodacom, his presentation was titled: Quality as a strategic leader. The opening question Mr Odudoh asked was “What happens when quality fails?” In which he gathered lessons we can learn from quality failures: quality belongs in the process, telementry beats testimony at every governance forum, speed has become a quality outcome, and your supplier’s quality is your quality.  By examining failures in South African public infrastructure and private industry, he highlights how integrated digital solutions can resolve critical issues in water management, cybersecurity, and energy distribution. Mr Odudoh positions quality management not as a separate department, but as a fundamental capability embedded within every operational process. 

All the presenters shared valuable insights at the Knowledge Forum on how we can approach problem-solving in our respective companies. As SAQI, we are grateful for their contribution in driving quality excellence in the service industry. This event would not have been a great success without the Vodacom organising team, specifically Ms Zanele Fani and Mr Richard Shai. A special thank you goes out to them. 

Thank you to all the delegates who attended and made the event a great success! 

Knowledge was shared. Connections were made. Quality was driven. And problems were solved.

If you would like to explore the presentations in greater detail, download the slides below.