CESA: Making engineering future-proof

Making engineering future-proof

The year 2021 is a major milestone for the CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards. It commemorates the support of Aon South Africa as a strategic partner to CESA and a platinum title sponsor of the event for the past 22 years. This is also the 49th year that we are celebrating the groundbreaking achievements of our member companies via this prestigious awards platform, which showcases the vital role infrastructure plays in the development and delivery of essential services to society.

Reflecting over five decades in the evolution of the awards, it’s fascinating to reflect on what’s changed, what’s stayed true to the course, and what the future holds for the consulting engineering profession.

What hasn’t changed is the exceptional excellence being provided by CESA’s member companies. What has changed is the way projects are designed and delivered to achieve modern-day sustainability objectives, establishing the optimum balance in terms of the environment, society and the economy.

An example is the development of mixed-income housing developments, with integrated mobility, which enables everyone to enjoy a high-quality living experience within proximity to employment, education and health facilities. Smart city initiatives, like our proposed Lanseria example in Gauteng, are intended to achieve this.

The rapid advances in technology also provide new tools to simulate and model designs. Rather than detracting from traditional skill sets – in the right hands – they provide new levels of design functionality, appealing to a new generation of tech-savvy engineers entering the profession.

The importance of consultation Consulting engineers deliver a scientifically based solution, whether it’s a solar energy plant, a road, school, public transport network, water or wastewater facility. However, rather than make assumptions about what works best, the new trend is to ensure that all affected stakeholders are consulted at the pre-feasibility stage so that communities buy into the project, experience a level of ownership in the decision-making process, and get the best value from any infrastructure investment.

In other words, future projects need to be designed around people – and not the other way around – and there are widespread examples of this approach in the 2021 CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards entries, where form and function come together to create aesthetically striking structures that are also environmentally compliant.

Climate change Concerns around climate change and how to combat it are now an overriding concern. Globally, this is being spearheaded by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its signatory countries, which include South Africa.

The collective call is to find ways to meet agreed-on

Chris Campbell, CEO, CESA

emissions reduction targets influenced by trends such as a switch to renewable energy and electrically powered vehicles. As UNFCCC points out, these interventions won’t reverse climate change in the short term; but the introduction of resilient infrastructure will certainly slow it down. Most, if not all, infrastructure funders and investors internationally are now committed to carbon neutrality.

Going forward, every future structure will need to be designed and built with energy efficiency top of mind, both at the construction stage and in terms of life-cycle management. The goal is to deliver fit-for-purpose infrastructure and, in this respect, South Africa’s consulting engineering sector remains world class and ahead of the curve.