IMIESA August 2016 by 3S Media

www.infrastructurene.ws

IMESA The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY

GOVERNMENT

VOICE

Roads Construction

Spearheading training for tomorrow’s water delivery

Candice Moodley Executive: Corporate Services, EWSETA

Evolving with bitumen specifications

AfriSam

Concrete service delivery

Cement & Concrete

The science of concrete versus design

Water Pressure

The dangers of water-shedding

Municipal Focus

IN THE HOT SEAT

Building Ekurhuleni’s Harambee

“Tosas has managed to extend the shelf life of its NCRT product to seven days, which translates to major cost benefits for end users.”

Werner Tessendorf Business development manager, Tosas ISSN 0257 1978

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CONTENTS www.infrastruc

turene.ws

IMESA The officia l magaz ine of the Institu te of Munici pal Engine ering rn Africa Southe of

INFRA STRUC TURE

GOVE RNM ENT

E VOeIC Moodley Candic

DEVELOPME NT •

MAIN TENAN CE •

ROADS Retaining the Kwabhoboza Interchange

WATER MANAGEMENT The smart solution to water delivery

SERVI CE DELIV ERY

Roads Construction

ing for Spea rhea ding traindeliv ery r tomo rrow ’s wate Executiv

VOLUME 41 NO. 8 AUGUST 2016

Evolving with bitumen specifications

, EWSETA e: Corporate Services

AfriSam

Cement & Concrete

e Concrete servic delivery

The science of concrete versus design

Water Pressure

The dangers of water-shedding

Regulars us Municipal Foc mbee

Building Ekurhule

IN THE HOT SEA

ni’s Hara

produ ct to shelf life of its NCRT ed to extend the end-u sers.” “Tosas has manag cost benefi ts for transla tes to major manag er, Tosas seven days, which

Busine ss develo pment Werne r Tesse ndorf 8 ISSN 0257 197

Editor’s Comment

President’s Comment

Africa Round-up

( i n c l . VAT ) 016 • R50.00 .08 • August 2 Vo l u m e 4 1 N o

Cover Story The past decade has seen phenomenal growth in the readymix industry, as South African contractors migrate from in situ batching to sourcing their concrete requirements from specialists who guarantee a high-quality, uninterrupted supply of concrete. P6

AfriSam’s concrete service delivery

Tosas: binding roads, linking people 10

Thought Leadership | CESA New frontiers in procurement, and delivery

Effecting change with local funding

Roads

WATER MANAGEMENT Solving the water hammer problem

Cover Story: National Asphalt – At the forefront of asphalt technology 22 Industry Perspective: Sabita – Meeting the new performance grades 25 Hot Seat: Much Asphalt – Employee commitment is key

The science of concrete versus design

Cover Story: ERWAT – It’s all in the granule

Ekurhuleni’s Harambee

Water Management The slipper y slope of water-shedding

The smart solution to water delivery 62 Solving the water hammer problem

Panel Discussion

Utilities Partnering for progress

Project Management Part 4: Risk management plan

Cement & Concrete Concrete roads promote better fuel efficiency

The impor tance of quantity sur veying

Retaining the Kwabhoboza Interchange 28

Forming the bases at Noupoort Wind Farm

Quantity Surveying

Finance

Terraced design provides aesthetic solution

Municipal Focus | Ekurhuleni

Hot Seat

EWSETA spearheads training for today and tomorrow’s water delivery 14

Government Voice

HOT SEAT

N6 seal meets camber design

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Risk management plan

Construction Vehicles & Equipment Swedish earthmoving at its best

Doosan earthmovers: made in Korea, for the world

Building on the Mitsubishi legacy

Pothole repairs on the go

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT Swedish earthmoving at its best

INVITATION TO SHOW INTEREST IN USE OF TREATED WASTEWATER FOR NON-POTABLE PURPOSES

Johannesburg Water (SOC Ltd), a water and sanitation utility owned by the City of Johannesburg invites all bulk water customers who might be interested in using treated wastewater/effluent or reclaimed water for non-potable purposes to express their non-binding interest .The expression of interest must include an indication of the likely quantity and quality requirements, intended use and period over which they are likely to require the water. Such indication must include necessary pre-requisites/conditions for taking up the service, reliability requirements and any other pertinent details. All submissions,including enquiries should be directed to the contact person below in person or by email preferably before the 31st August 2016. Address : 5th Floor,84 Main street, Marshalltown Contact Person : Mthokozisi Ncube Email : Mthokozisi.ncube@jwater.co.za Telephone : 011 688 1604 follow us :

@jhbwater

Johannesburg Water

EDITOR’S COMMENT

Building capacity

PUBLISHER Elizabeth Shorten MANAGING EDITOR Alastair Currie SENIOR JOURNALIST Danielle Petterson HEAD OF DESIGN Beren Bauermeister CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders SUB-EDITOR Morgan Carter CONTRIBUTORS Duncan Daries, Tony Stone, John van Rijn CLIENT SERVICES & PRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh Botma PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jacqueline Modise FINANCIAL MANAGER Andrew Lobban MARKETING MANAGER Mpinane Senkhane ADMINISTRATION Tonya Hebenton DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@3smedia.co.za PRINTERS United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571 ___________________________________________________

starts with

power and partnerships

HEN PRIVATE AND public sector thought leaders address infrastructure opportunities and challenges, they’re on the same page, as are the local and international investment communities focused on African development. Risk cycles have become more unpredictable, but medium- to longer-term investments in bankable projects are almost certain to yield returns when targeting priority markets for South African and the broader sub-Saharan community. Examples include railway, ports and harbour developments, water storage and delivery, roads, and energy. This is a short list, and far from exhaustive, so where do infrastructure planners start? The answer, of course, is in parallel, which imposes further challenges as there are allied socio-economic initiatives that need to be met. Hot water on tap is an absolute luxury for many parts of the developing world – most would be happy to have any sort of supply at all. And hot water normally implies an electrical connection; but for large parts of Africa, that’s not the case. Speaking at the fourth annual POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa conference in July 2016, South African Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown said, “The current electricity deficit in Africa is quite alarming. This lack of electricity access remains one of the biggest barriers to development and prosperity, and continues to trap millions of people in poverty.” According to published statements at the conference, Africa has the greatest concentration of households without electricity in the world; with 10 African countries having over 75% of their populations unconnected to power. Stepping up to the plate, there are concerted efforts to bridge the conventional grid power gap – given their longer timelines – with renewable energy alternatives. As we know, these are most commonly solar projects. In July 2016, South African power parastatal Eskom received a US$1.34 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), which includes

ADVERTISING SALES Jenny Miller Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223 Email: jennymiller@lantic.net ___________________________________________________

PUBLISHER: MEDIA No. 9, 3rd Avenue, Rivonia 2056 PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 Email: nicholas@3smedia.co.za www.3smedia.co.za ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R550.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS HEAD OFFICE: Manager: King Singh P.O. Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: admin@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za BORDER Secretary: Celeste Vosloo Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2433 Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266 Email: celestev@buffalocity.gov.za EASTERN CAPE Secretary: Susan Canestra Tel: +27 (0)41 585 4142 ext. 7 Fax: +27 (0)41 585 1066 Email: imesa.easterncape@gmail.com KWAZULU-NATAL Secretary: Penny Pietersen Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: imesakzn@imesa.org.za NORTHERN PROVINCE Secretary: Rona Fourie Tel: +27 (0)82 742 6364 Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644 Email: imesanorth@vodamail.co.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO Secretary: Henrietta Olivier Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Fax: +27 (0)86 629 7490 Email: imesa.southcape@gmail.com WESTERN CAPE Secretary: Michelle Ackerman Tel: +27 (0)21 444 7114 Email: Michelle.Ackerman@capetown.gov.za FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27 (0)83 457 4362 Fax: +27 (0)86 628 0468 Email: imesa.fsnc@gmail.com

Alastair Currie

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Infrastructure News

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TURE INFRA STRUC

DEVELOPME

NT • MAINT

• SERVIC ENAN CE

eboli Lebo Ramor : Integrated ment, Director Develop

GOV ERN

E DELIV

IMESA

ERY

The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY

Deputy Economic l Regiona sburg City of Johanne

All material herein IMIESA is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa or the publishers.

funding to expand its renewable energy infrastructure. According to an AfDB statement, “The bank’s investment will be partly directed at the construction of the transmission network required to evacuate power from South Africa's IPP programmes.” According to the AfDB, South Africa’s Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme has attracted $14 billion in investment. Of this, close to 30% constitutes foreign direct investment. Without power, there’s no industry or socioeconomic transformation, so these developments are important for investors, as well as public and private stakeholders, especially when it comes to infrastructure. In this issue, there’s an article on the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which is at the forefront of unlocking opportunities locally and across the continent, in all infrastructure areas. The DBSA’s mandate is to operate primarily as a debt house, with an express focus on direct lending for infrastructure projects in power, energy, water and transportation. The challenge, however, as the DBSA explains it, is not in finding the opportunities, but in identifying the existence of an enabling environment that leads to project development and private sector investment. This enabling environment includes regulatory reform, financial support, and an acceptable technical environment, plus factors such as existing and acceptable tariff structures, transmission and distribution grid availability, and the access to appropriate land. South Africa remains the internationally accepted benchmark for enabling environments in infrastructure. The country’s REIPPP Programme, for example, has been a major success in building the country’s future green economy at both a micro and macro levels. That’s also good news for SMME growth, which must receive more concerted focus.

MEN T

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Asset management

Earth dam walls

A critical municipal function

PIMPing your earth dam

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Pipe deterioration Ageing infrastructure

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Atlas future and g d in the n drillin way forwar ream moder to be the in mainst is going runner Copco (incl. techno logy be the front er, Atlas R50.00 “Smar t like to 16 • ss line manag une 20 06 • J Copco would y Bernie Busine 41 No. olume Hedle 78 V 257 19 ISSN 0 techno logy.”

IN THE

HOT SEA

Cover opportunity

In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings, contact Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223.

LEKWA VAT )

Sustainable township development ISSN 0257 1978

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IMIESA July 2016

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IMIESA August 2016

PRESIDENTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COMMENT IMESA

Maintaining stability Duncan Daries, president, IMESA

Municipal officials view local government elections with mixed feelings lately. While they formerly only heralded a possible change on the political front, with the newer model of local government, the outcomes may now result in possible administrative changes as well.

LECTION SEASON kick-starts with the internal party contestation for ward or proportional representation. This is normally preceded by increased activity by incumbent councillors, who want to prove how effective they have been in representing their communities by putting through requests for increased service delivery without taking into account budgetary constraints. Officials then fall over their feet in reprioritising work schedules in order to appease such requests. This inevitably leads to conflict situations within wards or with neighbouring ones where previously scheduled work falls by the wayside. Some requests are fairly unrealistic in terms of delivery timelines. This then puts a strain on the officials who do not want to be seen as being uncooperative. It is a great pity, though, that internal party squabbles have resulted in the destruction of public infrastructure and property. New political administrations normally want to impose their own flavour on the direction the municipality needs to take with respect to priorities. Section 57 employees as well as the municipal managers are

unsure of their continued employment and start looking elsewhere for employment positions. This leaves the whole administration in disarray, as continuity is disrupted and institutional knowledge is put at risk. Under these conditions, it is to be expected that these section 57 employees need to accept the fact that they may have to change jobs every five years and be geographically mobile. Quite a few capable managerial or specialist professional staff, who value stability and living in a particular city, limit themselves in terms of promotion to levels just below these section 57 employees. I am aware that our fellow voluntary Institute of Municipal Accounting Officers (iSAMAO), which caters for the city and municipal managers, are formulating a position to promote more continuity and stability within these management levels. Notwithstanding the change in leadership at both political and administrative levels, new administrations continually look at the existing organogram structures to review whether they are structured to be able to deliver on their mandate. Municipal officials are, therefore, in a constant state of change.

Most ser vices that are infrastructure led need long-term planning horizons in order to put the bulk ser vices infrastructure in place to provide the level of ser vice that the citizens demand. Public transpor t, water reser voirs and dams, and water and wastewater treatment works are examples that require around 5- to 20-year planning horizons. The planning of this infrastructure needs to be given some form of statutor y protection so as to avoid successive political administrations altering or cancelling these long-term initiatives. I still feel that there is space for continuity or permanency for some section 57 employees, especially where professionally registered staff are required. These managers are expected, via their respective professional code of ethics, to provide professional/technical advice, explore alternatives and analyse risks. With all this input, the respective political executive can make decisions without the â&#x20AC;&#x153;professionalâ&#x20AC;? manager needing to be aligned to the respective political party. IMESA looks forward to a smooth transition wherever changes in administration may occur.

IMIESA August 2016

COVER STORY The past decade has seen phenomenal growth in the readymix industry as South African contractors migrate from in situ batching to sourcing their concrete requirements from specialists who guarantee a high-quality, uninterrupted supply of concrete.

FRISAM HAS BEEN at the forefront of this growth, with its readymix concrete continuing to meet the exacting standards of leading consulting and structural engineers who have been tasked with designing and building infrastructure projects for the countr y’s top client bodies. Some of the company’s recent achievements include supplying readymix concrete for the construction of Statistics South Africa’s head office in Pretoria, Gauteng; Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital in the KwaMashu area, KwaZulu-Natal; and the upgrade of the National Route 7 between the Melkbos and the Atlantis intersections in the Western Cape. Amit Dawneerangen, national sales manager, AfriSam, tells IMIESA that contractors involved in building these projects appreciate the consistent performance of the company’s readymix concrete materials. The compressive strength and durability of its product can be attributed to the quality of the constituent materials AfriSam uses in its batching processes. This includes its own high-performance cement that complies with the stringent South African National Standards (SANS) 50197 specification and ensures a high-performance concrete that meets early and late strength requirements. Meanwhile, AfriSam has a quality supply of slag that not only enhances the concrete’s durability requirements, but plays a critical role in fulfilling industry’s green infrastructure drive by replacing the use of cement in concrete mixes.

IMIESA August 2016

AfriSam’s concrete service delivery

LEFT Kibiti Ntshumaelo, Pr.Eng, managing director, Lekwa Consulting Engineers

ABOVE AfriSam’s readymix concrete meets the exacting standards of leading consulting and structural engineers who have been tasked with designing and building infrastructure projects BELOW AfriSam’s Newcastle quarry has been nominated as Aspasa’s top performing quarry for two years in a row

Hybrid cement designs “We have undertaken a lot of research and development (R&D) in the field of hybrid cement designs and have proved that it is possible to substitute more cement with slag than with fly ash. Typically, fly ash is able to replace up to 40% of the clinker content of cement, whereas slag can replace up to 70%,” he says. Importantly, quality fine and coarse aggregates are won from AfriSam’s own sizeable fleet of quarries, which are strategically located throughout the country, and produced according to the SANS 1083 quality specification. Dawneerangen says that these quarries are complemented by AfriSam’s vast readymix batching production capacity, allowing the

company to service the infrastructure requirements of most provinces in the country through its readymix concrete plants. Importantly, this large national footprint also enables the company to guarantee a substitute point of supply should an unforeseen incident hinder the primary point of dispatch. AfriSam is one of the only companies that are able to do so, and this remains a major competitive edge on most large builds that are undertaken on a fast-track basis. The company’s largest cluster of readymix concrete operations is in Gauteng, giving it a significant competitive edge over its closest competitors operating in the province. A total of 21 strategically located plants are currently supplying essential transport-related infrastructure projects in Johannesburg, as well as a myriad of commercial property development projects in Sandton and Midrand. These plants are supported by critical aggregate supply from AfriSam’s seven quarries in Gauteng. These AfriSam quarries are also well known for the dominant role that they have played in supplying the road stone needs for

COVER STORY AfriSam has been called upon by government bodies to undertake essential concrete durability tests at its Centre of Product Excellence, which houses stateof-the-art laboratories

the very important high-specification Gauteng freeway upgrades. AfriSam’s Jukskei readymix concrete facility remains a flagship operation in this market, and features a state-of-the-art wet-batching plant that allows for unrivalled homogenous mixing – a critical requirement for supplying some of the mix designs needed to build many of the complex high-rise structures in the Sandton and Midrand growth points.

Phoenix plant extends Durban footprint KwaZulu-Natal is home to as many as nine AfriSam readymix plants, and the company’s latest investment into readymix production capacity in the province is based in Phoenix. Dawneerangen says commissioning the Phoenix plant was a very strategic move for AfriSam, boosting the company’s readymix production and supply abilities in a region of Durban that is set to receive major investment in infrastructure by eThekwini Municipality. “This plant has been supplying concrete for the building of the Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital that will service communities in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu areas. This area is also expected to be the beneficiary of a large low-cost housing project, and there are many industrial projects planned for the region,” he says. These readymix production plants source their aggregates from six AfriSam quarries, which also continue to be a point of supply for other important infrastructure delivery programmes, such as ballast supply for important railway upgrades and maintenance activities. Five readymix batching plants and two quarries in the Western Cape and three batching operations that source their aggregates from a quarry in Mpumalanga, as well as plants in the North West province, solidify AfriSam’s ability to supply public and private sector construction projects on a national scale.

Saldanha growth node However, it is AfriSam’s commissioning of a readymix concrete batching plant in Saldanha that best demonstrates its long-term outlook

for the country’s construction sector, as well as its commitment to government’s planned infrastructure spend. As Dawneerangen explains, this region of the Western Cape is expected to receive significant investment in infrastructure by government. This will also act as a catalyst for further construction activity by the private sector. This region is linked to the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission’s Strategic Infrastructure Project 5, which involves expanding the Saldanha-Northern Cape Development Corridor by investing heavily in rail and port-handling capacities to service the mining as well as the oil and gas industries. Importantly, AfriSam is a member of the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) and the Southern Africa Readymix Association (Sarma), both voluntary bodies that promote best practice in the local stone mining and readymix production industries. Not only do they promote quality production and service from their member companies, but they also place significant credence on health and safety, as well as the environmental performance of the local quarrying and readymix sectors. AfriSam’s Newcastle quarry was nominated Aspasa’s top performing quarry for 2015. This is the second year that it received this recognition following an extensive audit of its operations by independent auditors. At the same time, the company’s Ladysmith, Verulam and Umlaas Road operations achieved showplace status – one of the highest achievements possible – for five consecutive years.

Importantly, membership of Sarma requires having a thorough quality management system in place and a proven track record in the readymix industry. AfriSam has also been called upon by government bodies to undertake essential concrete durability tests at its Centre of Product Excellence, which houses state-of-theart laboratories. “There are only a limited number of laboratories in the country that are able to undertake these specialised tests, which are also extensively used by a leading South African road agency,” Dawneerangen says. AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence is also the cornerstone of the company’s extensive R&D programmes into hybrid cements with their lower carbon footprint, better performing concrete products and innovative concrete mixes. It also played an instrumental role in helping AfriSam develop the red pigmented concrete for the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality’s Bus Rapid Transit lanes in the Cape Town central business district. Some of the other unique AfriSam concrete products that were developed with the help of the Centre of Product Excellence include exposed concrete aggregate, polished concrete surfaces and jointless concrete floors, all of which are some of the latest trends in commercial property development projects. It is clear that AfriSam has the skills, capacities and infrastructure in place to continue serving South African professional teams involved in delivering essential services to the country.

www.afrisam.com

IMIESA August 2016

INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS

FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT

ETHIOPIA Building hydropower capacity Ethiopia will see the development of two hydropower projects starting in 2017. Two hydro-electric dams, with a combined energy generation capacity of 672 MW, will be constructed on the Genale-Dawa and Dabus rivers. This will be added to the existing 5 000 MW national grid. Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) will be implementing a number of hydropower projects as part of the country’s second five-year Growth and Transformation Plan, and has issued an expression of interest for engineering, procurement and construction consultancy services.

KENYA Bringing power to 1.5 million Kenya has received funding for the second phase of an energy project that is expected to provide electricity access to approximately 1.5 million people, mainly low-income groups and small businesses located near existing distribution transformers. Kenya’s per capita electricity consumption is low, at 130 kWh per month. However, electricity consumption is projected to increase by 45% by the end

IMIESA August 2016

Ethiopia will see the development of two hydropower projects starting in 2017

of 2017. This jump will require a concerted effort by the Kenyan government, in conjunction with the national electricity provider Kenya Power, to reinforce supply to electrified areas through least-cost technical solutions that offer a combination of increased capacity, improved reliability and better voltage control. The Kenya Last Mile Connectivity project aims at helping the government and Kenya Power meet this increased demand by expanding the country’s distribution network – through the extension of the low-voltage network from existing distribution transformers to reach households located within a 600 m diameter. It will also pre-finance lowvoltage line extensions and connection costs, including meters, to potential customers. Specifically, Phase 2 of the

project entails the supply of distribution material to reach 300 000 new connections, construction of low-voltage distribution lines, supervision and management, and capacity-building activities in targeted areas of expertise.

NAMIBIA N$958 m road upgrade Two widely used gravel roads are set to be upgraded to asphalt dual carriageways. B2 highway and the MR44 will be upgraded in two phases, over three years, to the tune of N$958 million (R953 million). Phase 1 will start in the proximity of the junction of the new main road 44 and trunk road Two Namibian roads will be upgraded to asphalt dual carriageways

2/2, east of Swakopmund, and will end at Farm 58, roughly 6 km from the main road near Walvis Bay Airport. Phase 2 will continue from Farm 58 to the Walvis Bay traffic circle. The roads project is expected to create at least 600 jobs, while small and medium enterprise participation will constitute at least 15% of the project.

NIGERIA China gives $80 bn boost for oil and gas Nigeria and China have signed $80 billion worth of oil and gas infrastructure agreements. According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a memorandum of understanding outlines investments in oil and gas infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, power, and facility refurbishments. Until recently, Nigeria was Africa's biggest oil producer. The country relies on crude sales for around 70% of its national income. However, its oil and gas infrastructure is in need of updating. The country's four refineries have never reached full production because of poor maintenance. As a result, Nigeria has had to rely on expensive imported fuel for much of its energy needs.

AFRICA ROUND-UP

WWW.INFRASTRUCTURENE.WS

RWANDA $245 million Uganda-Rwanda transport project The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$245 million in loans and grants to the governments of Uganda and Rwanda to finance a transport project. The project will boost regional trade and decongest traffic from Kampala (Busega) city to Mpigi. Uganda and Rwanda are landlocked countries and transport infrastructure is a key factor to stimulate socio-economic activities and improve competitiveness. In Uganda, $151 million will finance the construction of a 23.7 km expressway, which will facilitate the journey between Kampala and Mpigi on the Northern Corridor – a major trade route in the region. The existing Busega-Mpigi road is highly congested, especially at Busega, handling over 26 000 vehicles per day on a two-lane road. Average vehicle travel time from Busega to Mpigi will be reduced from one hour to 20 minutes on the completion of the project. In Rwanda, $94 million will finance the rehabilitation of a 208 km road (Kagitumba-KayonzaRusumo) in eastern Rwanda. Upon completion of the twoand-a-half-year project, the average vehicle travel time on the Kagitumba-Kayonza-Rusumo road will be reduced by 50%, from six to three hours. Both these roads are vital links that support the regional integration objectives of the East Africa Community and the Great Lakes Region, contributing to poverty reduction and regional integration across Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. The total project cost is estimated at $376.5 million, co-financed by the AfDB

($244.6 million), Japan International Cooperation Agency ($56.3 million), European Union ($22.4 million) and the governments of Uganda and Rwanda ($53.2 million).

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IPPs crucial to electrify region A new report has underlined how independent power projects (IPPs) are crucial to help deliver electricity to the 600 million people without it in sub-Saharan Africa. The new World Bank report draws from experiences in five African countries and highlights the challenges policymakers face and factors that can lead to scaled-up and sustainable power sector investment. Africa’s power sector needs far exceed most countries’ already stretched public finances, making it crucial for governments to attract greater levels of private investment to scale up generation capacity. To reach the scale required, governments must provide a sound investment climate and enabling environment, the report finds. Independent power projects now constitute the primary vehicle for private investment in the African power sector. Currently, there are 126 IPPs in 18 subSaharan countries, accounting for an installed capacity of 11 GW and $25.6 billion in investments. But, to benefit more countries, the report recommends that these IPPs should be much larger and spread across the region. To attract more and better IPPs, governments need clear and conducive energy sector policies, structures and regulatory environments. Countries need more competitive procurement efforts, which include encouraging long-term contracts through a competitive bidding process.

Financial viability of the public utilities is vital, as they remain the principal off-takers of power produced by IPPs. Given the highrisk environment of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it will be important to provide proper mitigation through financial guarantees and security measures to attract new investors.

UGANDA No new roads projects this year Due to budget constraints, no new, key roads projects are to be financed by the government of Uganda in the coming financial year. A contributing factor to these budget constraints was government having to step in to finance the remaining works for the Kamwenge-Fort Portal road, after the World Bank pulled its funding due to implementation challenges. According to Allen Kagina, executive director, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), all efforts in this financial year will be concentrated on ensuring that government gets value for money from the investment in the ongoing projects, through the improved management

IPPs are crucial to electrifying Africa, a report has found

and supervision of projects. With the allocated funds, works will continue through the year on at least 1 000 km of ongoing projects. It is hoped that 200 km of paved roads will be added to the network and 185 km of roads rehabilitated. Kagina adds that the current funding for the road maintenance and development programme is insufficient. “With 1 477 km of maintenance backlog for the paved roads, government would have to progressively double the financing of the maintenance budget to reinstate the roads to maintainable state. In addition, the 10 000 km of unpaved roads would have to be upgraded to at least first-class gravel roads to remove the bottlenecks that create the annual emergency situations.” UNRA is currently designing and implementing a government road development programme, which is at least USh1.7 trillion (R7.4 billion) short. The successful implementation of the entire programme will depend on the financing availed in the coming and subsequent years.

IMIESA August 2016

HOT SEAT

Tosas: binding roads, linking people

Tosas has been providing quality bituminous products to the road industry since 1972 and is widely respected as a pioneer when it comes to the introduction of new technologies. Werner Tessendorf, business development manager, talks to IMIESA about recent developments and project activities. Following local product trials from 2010 onwards, Tosas was recently awarded its first commercial NCRTTM (New Crumb Rubber Technology) project this year. What is the business case for NCRTTM and the advantages for Southern African road construction? WT NCRTTM was first introduced in 2010 to meet industry demands for more sustainable technologies that also pass on cost efficiencies.Traditionally, the digestion of the rubber crumbs and the high temperatures at which conventional

IMIESA August 2016

bitumen rubber is handled give it a short shelf life from the time it is manufactured to the time of application. This has made bitumen rubber a difficult product to use in both asphalt and seal applications, particularly where smaller quanitities of bitumen rubber are required in remote areas. With the development of NCRTTM, these limitations have been eliminated, which makes the bitumen rubber concept more user-friendly and less risky. Tosas has managed to extend the shelf life of its NCRTTM product to seven days, which translates to major cost benefits for end users. For example, it removes the requirement to have a team waiting on-site together

RIGHT Werner Tessendorf, business development manager ABOVE Tosas has managed to extend the shelf life of its NCRT TM product to seven days, which translates into major cost benefits for end users

with site establishment. The tanker transports the NCRTTM at reduced temperatures; once on-site, the material is heated up (the spray application temperature is 20°C lower than for conventional rubber) and applied in line with the construction timeline. In the case of asphalt, NCRTTM is manufactured at 30°C lower than conventional bitumen rubber

and can also be compacted at temperatures below 130°C.

Could you provide background details regarding your first NCRTTM contract? We commenced our first large commercial contract with

HOT SEAT

TOSAS TEAMS UP WITH JAN BRAAI

Tosas is proud and very excited to annouce that the company is an associate sponsor for the new season of the Jan Braai vir Erfenis programme on kykNET, DStv channel 144, airing Sunday evenings at 18:00. Look forward to many great braai experiences, the much anticipated National Braai Tour of 2016 and Jan Braai introducing the concept of a prime braai to the veiwers! The prime braai originates from a braai next to a newly built road held by construction workers. Traditionally, a prime braai is boerewors in a spade that is held over the flames. of a fire.

NCRTTM just before the 2016 winter embargo. The scale of the project was substantial, and we believe that Tosas has set a new benchmark for NCRTTM delivery. We supplied over 300 000 litres of NCRTTM, manufactured and transported from our Wadeville branch in Germiston, to the site in Zeerust, over a distance of some 285 km – something unheard of in the industry. The scope of the project entails the resurfacing of national route R49 Section 2 from Zeerust to Groot Marico (km 0 to km 50) in the North West province. The client, Sanral, the contractor, Tau Pele, and the engineers, Aurecon, were very pleased and we will be continuing in September 2016 with the remaining 500 000 litres of NCRTTM. The customer has since also given the go-ahead to use the product for a second, large contract.

Will NCRTTM eventually replace conventional rubber bitumen? With all of the benefits of NCRTTM and the reaction of the market, we think this might be possible; however, only time will tell. For the foreseeable future, the two will most likely both be used, as there will always be the need, on

Tosas has brought back a long-lost tradition in the industry, namely the prime braai. This is an occasion where, on the first day or as soon as possible after the first black product is sprayed on the road, a braai is held. It was commonly said that if this was not done, then a contract would not start smoothly

certain large-volume contracts that are located far from any major branch or city, to have a rubber plant on-site. However, the NCRTTM technology can be used to eliminate certain risks that are generally encountered when using conventional rubber and can cater easily for small-volume bitumen rubber contracts.

Tosas plans to add a new, high-float emulsion product. Is there a gap in the market for this solution? Absolutely! We see this as a great development and one that could open up the winter seal embargo in the South African roads industry, extending the window in which roads can be resurfaced. It allows us to spray emulsions at higher application rates, thus resulting in a higher binder content per application. Since we can control the application of the binder, there is also no run-off. This is generally the problem

experienced when applying emulsion at higher application rates, creating environmental and application issues.

How will the proposed new bitumen performance grades affect the current Tosas product offering? It will not affect the Tosas product basket. It will, however, give us a clearer picture of how our products will perform. The new specification will introduce tests and protocols that are used to predict properties such as permanent deformation, durability and longer-term ageing, which have been lacking in our current specifications. The new specification will actually stimulate innovation in the sense that we can now really test the performance of new

products, new formulations and new additives.

In conclusion, what is Tosas’ industry outlook for the Southern African roads market? We are very excited about new technologies and products being implemented within the industry, and are positive that the relevant authorities can see the importance of not only building and upgrading new roads, but also that of maintaining existing roads in order to extend their life.

Binding roads, linking people.

www.tosas.co.za

IMIESA August 2016

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP | CESA

New frontiers in procurement and delivery Chris Campbell, CEO, Consulting Engineers South Africa, shares his thoughts on the way forward for the association and South African infrastructure in an interview with ALASTAIR CURRIE. Chris Campbell, CEO, CESA

INDING CREATIVE ways to deliver more with less is a central theme for South African infrastructure planners, as they stretch capital expenditure budgets across a wide range of priority projects, none of which should ideally take precedence. The government’s National Development Plan 2030 has identified approximately 16 strategic areas, key ones being transport, power, water, and information and communications technology. Funding will come chiefly from public revenues, plus international loans, but can the local public-private partnership platform help accelerate the process in unlocking bottlenecks? It’s a case of business confidence and perceived risk, but this model has worked in the past and could be a working platform going into the future.

IMIESA August 2016

“It’s about more constructive engagement with all public and private sector stakeholders and transparent management of funding, project allocation and deliver y,” says Campbell, adding that South Africa’s procurement philosophy is evolving in a positive way. Examples include the Public Finance Management Act (No. 1 of 1999) (PFMA), applicable to state-owned entities, where the focus is no longer determined purely on function and price. This Act came into effect from July 2016, with the Municipal Finance Act due to follow in July 2017, with similar measures adopted.

Modernising public fiscal management The key objectives of the PFMA include: • m odernising public sector financial management

• p utting measures in place for the accountability of public sector managers • e nsuring the timely provision of information • eliminating waste and corruption in the use of public assets. For the first time, the PFMA differentiates between the procurement of goods and services during the evaluation of the tender process, so it is not just a review of functionality and price. The emphasis is now on best quality and lasting value in accordance with the new Standard for Infrastructure and Delivery Management. Better fiscal efficiencies will result in a more realistic value proposition for local and international investors. For South African companies, this is proactively reinforced by National Treasury’s renewed emphasis for “on-time payment” of service providers.

CESA has a major role to play here in monitoring and evaluating under its current theme of ‘Mapping a sustainable path for engineers amid growing economic challenges’. Partnerships are central in bridging the gap between public and private industries, with the emphasis on positive engagement. Proactive examples include a memorandum of understanding between CESA and National Treasury, through the department of the chief procurement officer. CESA has been appointed as a training provider for its members, to ensure that consulting engineers are accredited and compliant when it comes to the tendering process. CESA will also act as a watch body, evaluating bid pricing to ensure that it is realistic and achievable. “Service providers, including consulting engineering firms, will also need to prove that they have the necessary contracting expertise,” says Campbell. “This will require companies to pass and then be accredited on the National Treasury database as being competent in all aspects of the contract.”

Skills transfer “In terms of infrastructure, we need to ensure that processes that will enable good skills transfer are followed, to ensure medium- and longer-term solutions,” he continues. Turning to South Africa’s burning infrastructure issues, water strategy management is at the top of the list. In a country that complains about the spiraling cost of just about everything, there’s a strange conundrum. South Africa’s water tariffs are still relatively low, which doesn’t drive the right behaviour, especially in more water-scarce provinces like Gauteng. South Africa currently loses some 30% of its potable water through leaks. A dedicated focus is needed to correct this. “Managing water for CESA and government starts at a macro level. For example, how do we ensure that the dams we have in place now can maintain their capacity? Gauteng, South Africa’s largest GDP contributor, is augmented by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is approximately six years behind programme, with current domestic capacity seriously depleted. In most other South African provinces, the outlook is even more austere, so urgent measures are needed to boost conservation through water leakage prevention, combined with the construction of new dam and reservoir facilities.” Wastewater treatment has also not kept pace with urban development, especially in major growth nodes, where existing facilities have aged, are under capacity and need urgent attention. These installations, like roads and other infrastructure, require focused maintenance and the right skills to ensure this. “Of course, they also need capital funding, but the emphasis must be on predictive and proactive management, thereby avoiding the costly ‘run to destruction’ approach that ends up requiring a rebuild at substantial expense and potentially severe micro- and macro-economic loss. No country can afford that. “In summary, we need to return to a life-cycle costing perspective. If we work together with our multifaceted public and private sector stakeholders, we can achieve great things as we tackle the infrastructure backlog. In my view, as an association and as an industry, we always need to stay positive and see the glass as half full.”

IMIESA August 2016

GOVERNMENT VOICE

EWSETA spearheads training for today and tomorrow’s water delivery

IMIESA talks to Candice Moodley, executive: Corporate Services, the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), in a Q&A interview about the strategic role this organisation plays in transforming South Africa’s infrastructure landscape in this specialised field. Can you explain what EWSETA’s mandate is? CM EWSETA’s responsibility is to manage the skills development and training needs of the energy and water services sectors through strategic sector skills planning within the framework of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III). EWSETA has been re-established from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2018.

What are EWSETA’s specific objectives for the water sector? Our mandate within the water sector is of critical strategic importance, given that South Africa, and Africa at large, is facing serious water and sanitation challenges. The Sustainable Development Goals have elevated water to the highest political agenda and put

IMIESA August 2016

pressure on the sector to create a better, equal, sustainable, and secure water world. The World Economic Forum identified water as the number one risk to businesses worldwide in 2015. Some 783 million people do not have access to clean and safe water, 37% of those live in Africa alone. In developing countries, 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. These are more than statistics; these are realities. It means that our children have no option but to drop out of school to fetch fresh water, which can be miles away; it means that our food security is threatened; it means that people, especially young children, are dying of waterrelated diseases. However, it also presents an opportunity. According to the World Health Organization,

for every US dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is an economic return of between $3 and $34. Imagine if the child who is currently forced to drop out could stay in school and become the engineer that fixes the challenges in their local community. Imagine if all that energy put into fetching water could be utilised for Africa’s development – what a different world we would live in.

The War on Leaks project is pivotal. Let’s expand on this topic. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has entered into an agreement with Rand Water as the implementing agent and EWSETA as the training authority. The aim is to train 15 000 learners as artisans and water agents over the course of three years and

to work with municipalities and communities to report and fix water leaks. Unemployed youth will be trained in a number of trades, including plumbing, which will enable them to assist the communities to identify and fix water leaks and conduct water demand management and water conservation advocacy. It also encourages the development of small, medium-sized and micro enterprises. The project has a three-phased implementation plan with 3 000 learners recruited and trained in the first year, 7 000 learners in Phase 2 and 5 000 in Phase 3. Currently, the first phase of 3 000 learners have all completed an entrepreneurship programme and are currently in training and being placed for their practical training component. We are calling on employers, particularly municipalities, to

play a key role in this project and open their workplaces to these learners. The mutual benefit that can be gained by both learner and municipality/ employer is unquestionable, especially given the amount of water we lose on an annual basis through leaks. The second phase recruitment of 7 000 learners has been completed and all learners are being inducted into the programme.

What are some of the other general water initiatives being led by EWSETA? Although we are not leading the process, we are active participants in the Water Sector Leadership Group of the DWS, whose role is to be a strategic, non-statutory body established by the DWS to coordinate and monitor the implementation of Chapter 15 of the National Water Resource Strategy, which specifically deals with skills and capacity building in the sector. A large part of the problem facing the delivery of water and sanitation is the scarcity of intermediate skills in the water sector. Although not unique to this sector, the water and sanitation sector in South Africa is one that is severely affected by a lack of skilled artisans. Through vibrant water learning projects, we are able to address this shortage.

EWSETA has provided funding to Stellenbosch University’s Water Institute to research and develop a “train the trainer” qualification in

water management. How close is this to being implemented? Phase 1 of the research presented some worrying findings – out of a total of 485 colleges, only 16 have any water and wastewater treatment courses, and only 6 of those are public colleges, with only 4 public TVET colleges offering plant operations courses. It is evident that something drastic needs to be done to support and capacitate our public TVET colleges. It is, therefore, encouraging to note that the EWSETA Accounting Authority has approved the second phase of this project, which will see TVET colleges being strengthened through curriculum development.

How have your partnerships assisted in delivering on your mandate? EWSETA’s success in achieving our milestones has been a result of our ability to form strategic partnerships with stakeholders within the sector and across all spheres, and this has been led with determination and resilience by our CEO, Errol Gradwell. Our partnerships with the DWS in the War on Leaks project, the Department of Trade and Industry in the Saldanha Bay IDZ project, the Department of Labour through a UIF project, and the departments of Energy and Human Settlements all demonstrate a national level of confidence in EWSETA to implement training on behalf of the sector. Our partnerships span all tiers of government – from municipalites to provincial governments and beyond.

IMIESA August 2016

VISION We will be the recognised, reputable and leading authority in world class skills development facilitation for the energy and water services sector.

MISSION We achieve our vision through: • Comprehensive research and a sound understanding of the skills demand and supply forces in our sector. • Coordinating , facilitating and providing quality assurance for sector relevant skills development programmes for our stakeholders, aligned with stated national skills development priorities and • Establishing a sector skills pipeline with a positive impact on government‘s economic growth policies, employment creation and the eradication of poverty. HEAD OFFICE PHYSICAL ADDRESS

2nd & 3rd Floors, Sentinel House Sunnyside Office Park 32 Princess of Wales Terrace Parktown, Johannesburg South Africa POSTAL ADDRESS

2nd & 3rd Floors, Sentinel House Sunnyside Office Park 32 Princess of Wales Terrace Parktown, Johannesburg South Africa TELEPHONE:

(011)274 4700 CALL CENTRE:

(011)274 4721 FAX:

(011)484 8953 or (011)484 1078

WESTERN CAPE: TELEPHONE:

(021)701 0582

POSTAL ADDRESS

Falsebay College, Westlake Campus, Westlake, 7045

EMAIL:

info@eseta.org.za WEB:

http://www.ewseta.org.za/

FINANCE

Jonathan First, head: Syndication Finance, Development Bank of Southern Africa, talks to ALASTAIR CURRIE about the strategic role the organisation plays in infrastructure funding. There’s a clear differentiation between what the DBSA offers and conventional domestic and international commercial banks.

Effecting change

WITH LOCAL FUNDING

HE MANDATE OF the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is to operate primarily as a debt house, with an express focus on direct lending for infrastructure projects in the power and energy, water, transport and logistics, and information and communications technology sectors. Its geographic mandate extends to all of subSaharan Africa. For the domestic and international market, it’s important to understand the competitive advantages of the DBSA against this framework. As a government-owned financial institution, this gives the DBSA the ability to operate at a senior political level within its geographic mandate, which

enables it to generate transactions for its two origination teams, being South Africa and International Financing. The DBSA’s other competitive advantage is that it employs sector and countr y specialists, which enables the bank to do the bulk of the required due diligence processes in-house. The DBSA also houses a project preparation group that has access to grant funding, which is made available to bring projects from feasibility to bankability. “Without this support, many potential infrastructure-related projects may not reach bankability, since there’s a real shortage of venture capital to back them,” First explains. Another advantage is that the DBSA offers long-term funding, as it

Jonathan First

is not subject to the capital constraints imposed by Basel III – a true, competitive benefit over the commercial banks. Within South Africa, DBSA funding can extend up to 20 years, and up to 15 years for sub-Saharan African investments. Use of the proceeds is always predetermined, focused on infrastructure and clearly bound to the project.

The crowd factor The DBSA is set up to act as a facilitator and catalyst to “crowd-in” private sector funding. The DBSA does this by providing credit enhancement to projects that are regarded as high or unacceptable risk to private sector funders. Examples include

DBSA'S PRIMARY FOCUS 5. M AINTAIN/ IMPROVE >>> • Managing the design Supporting the Provide vanilla and Under-resourced • Project identification maintenance and/or and construction of boutique financing municipalities • Feasibility assessments improvement of social key projects in the opportunities • Technical assistance education, health and infrastructure projects • Debt • Financial structuring housing sectors • Project preparation funds • Mezzanine finance • Limited non-recourse lending • Project management • Lead arranger support, including the • Mandate lead arranger Green Fund • National and • National and South Africa • Municipalities provincial government provincial government • Public-private partnerships • Municipalities departments departments • Public-public partnerships • State-owned enterprises • Municipalities • Municipalities • Public-private partnerships • Regional integration • Public-public partnerships • Private sector The rest of Africa • State-owned enterprises • Public-private partnerships • Private sector

CLIENTS/MARKETS

SERVICES

1. PLAN >>>

2. PREPARE >>>

3. FINANCE >>>

4. BUILD >>>

IMIESA August 2016

where there is a high countr y risk or where the off-take agreements are not fully bankable by the commercial banks. Credit enhancement can take any number of forms: it can be in terms of taking a longer tenor, a first-loss position or the provision of subordinated funding. For example, the successful launch of the City of Johannesburg’s Green Bond on the JSE, back in 2014, was backed by a subordinated tranche from the DBSA. In addition to underlying commercial bank lending, the DBSA has the capability to bring in institutional or pension fund financing. This is clearly needed where the commercial banks do not have the capacity to support the IPP programme if fully funded. “If one considers the asset management segment in South Africa, there is an estimated R4 trillion in assets under management – so we need to access this market. However, what asset managers are adverse to is construction risk and that’s where the DBSA comes in: providing financing with the commercial banks to reach project completion, following which the loans (assets) can be securitised and sold to the asset managers, enabling the commercial banks to support other projects coming to market.”

Funding projects in Africa When it comes to funding projects in Africa, one needs to consider that there are currently only five investment-grade countries on the continent, and four of them are in Southern Africa. These countries are South Africa, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia and, further afield, Morocco. This means the role of the DFIs is crucial in supporting the development of infrastructure on the continent. There is a substantial amount of funding earmarked for Africa by British, American, Japanese and European funding agencies that can be used alongside the DBSA’s to increase its investment activities. The UK’s Department for International Development allocates approximately 0.7% of GDP for international development. About £4 billion of this is allocated to develop and fund infrastructure and private sector enterprises that have socio-economic benefits. The challenge, however, is not in finding the projects, but the existence of an enabling environment that leads to project development and private sector investment. Let’s take energy-related projects as an example. Their roll-out will be restricted without the correct enabling environment, which includes regulator y reform, financial support and an acceptable technical environment, plus factors such as tariff structures, transmission and distribution grids, and access to appropriate land. South Africa is widely regarded as the benchmark. The countr y’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, for example, has been a major success. Another good example is Scaling Solar’s project in Zambia, where the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation provided the funding to create the enabling environment in conjunction with the Zambian government. Now, the first two 50 MW solar projects in Zambia have been awarded and construction will commence shortly.

IMIESA August 2016

ROADS

Construction | Repairs

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our continuous drive to be at the forefront of asphalt technology in both plant and materials means that our customers can demand the best.â&#x20AC;? Bennie Greyling Managing director, Much Asphalt P26

in the

HOT SEAT

A world that demands progress, needs a partner who commands trust

Ammann Construction Machinery South Africa│229 Hull Road Rynfield│Benoni Phone 011 849 3939 │ 078 488 2945 Info.aza@ammann-group.com

ROADS

CONTENTS

Cover Story National Asphalt – At the forefront of asphalt technology 22

Industry Perspective Sabita – Meeting the new performance grades

Hot Seat Much Asphalt – Employee commitment is key

Geotechnical Retaining the Kwabhoboza Interchange

Panel Discussion South African Roads Federation

Anyway Solutions

Bitumen Supplies & Services

Pro-Phalt 37 Reliance Labs

39 IMIESA August 2016

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY

At the forefront of

asphalt technology National Asphalt continues in its pursuit for innovative and new ideas; not only to position itself as one of the market leaders, but also to provide the roads industry with cutting-edge solutions to meet the current demands of having to maintain and grow a road network in challenging times.

EAN PRETORIUS, managing director, National Asphalt, explains: “The road network is an integral part of our infrastructure and, as such, it is incumbent on all of us associated with the industry to rise to the challenge to ensure the longevity of the network, which is crucial for sustainability.” He adds that change will always be a common denominator in all engineering fields on a day-to-day basis. “In my opinion, this often challenges us as engineers; for some of us – especially the older generation – adapting to change is not something that comes naturally.”

Ongoing focus on innovation Over the years, National Asphalt has continued to show that its strategy is to be at the forefront of asphalt technology. The company has been instrumental in the introduction and use of a number of new technologies, including successfully completing the first projects using 40% RA (reclaimed asphalt), and EME (enrobé â module elevé or high-modulus asphalt), which was developed some 30 years ago in France. These projects include the asphalt supply for the road upgrade between the Vaal River and Kroondal Plaza, near Parys, in the Free State, for Sanral in 2013, together with the successful supply and completion of a further project for the parastatal, using a Class 2 EME mix with 20% RA on a section

IMIESA August 2016

of road between Paradise Valley and Candella Road, outside Durban. In both instances, the main contractor for these projects was Roadmac Surfacing, a sister company of National Asphalt within the Raubex Group of Companies.

1 O ne of National Asphalt’s 40% reclaimed asphalt mobile plants

PG specifications

on a high-profile contract for Sanral. The support of the professional team from SNA Civil & Structural Engineers and Sanral ensured the successful completion of this project. However, as with all new ideas and solutions, the initial implementation of the technology is the challenge! This challenge, once again, necessitates the acceptance of change.

The impending introduction of the performance grading (PG) specifications is currently being hotly debated. Again, this will lead to changes in the thinking of all practitioners and the key to the successful implementation of these specifications will pivot around how this is embraced and implemented by all those associated within the asphalt industry. With the dramatic increase in traffic volumes over the past 10 years, the need to look for an improved design methodology, rather than the mechanistic/empirical approach currently being used, prompted the introduction of a PG solution. The introduction of this methodology to our local markets presents an opportunity for the industry to review its current approach and is sure to lead to some new thinking and innovative ideas. It’s interesting to note that the EME mix is a performance-based mix. When the opportunity arose to use this mix on a section of the national road outside Durban, National Asphalt had no hesitation in stepping out of its comfort zone around the use of conventionalmix design practices to the use of a PG mix

2 National Asphalt’s Cliffdale operation 3 P aving with EME at night on a section of the N2 between Paradise Valley and Candella Road, outside Durban

Solutions for road owners National Asphalt is currently well positioned to provide world-class solutions for both the maintenance and upgrading of the road networks within our metropolitan regions. The bus routes in progress in a number of regions are now making use of EME technology, using low-penetration-grade bitumen, i.e. 10/20. For the earlier projects, National Asphalt had to import this bitumen into South Africa. However, Sapref is now supporting this initiative and ensuring that the product is available from its Durban refinery. As recently stated in a paper by the Shell team (IMIESA, February 2016 edition), “EME is a bituminous material with a high stiffness modulus, high resistance to rutting, good fatigue resistance

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY

and good durability.” This has the advantage of either increasing the design life or allowing the use of a reduced asphalt layer to achieve the same design life as conventional asphalt. This mix lends itself well to use on the bus route projects currently under way in a number of regions. National Asphalt is presently supplying the EME mix to a number of projects within the eThekwini region and on the bus routes in and around the Pinetown region – these being part of the Go! Durban initiative. Over the years, the eThekwini Engineering Department and, more specifically, Mr Krishna Naidoo, have been very supportive and have played an active role in the introduction and use of new technologies within the Durban region. Having been very much part of the development and introduction of RA into the local market, National Asphalt is also well positioned to provide innovative solutions in this arena. Wynand Nortje, technical manager, National Asphalt, says, “Over the years, a number of our local metros have built significant stockpiles of reclaimed asphalt and the reuse of this valuable asset makes a lot of sense.” Thus, the opportunity is there – for all associated with the manufacture and supply of asphalt in these regions – to provide solutions to the roads departments of the metros making use of this RA. Pretorius is of the opinion that, going forward, practitioners need to place more emphasis on the reuse of materials in their pavement management programmes. “The inherent properties within the RA are still of a high quality,” he says. Hydro cutting is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly system for the repair and remediation of flushed bituminous pavements

Cold asphalt Another product offering supplied locally is National Cold Asphalt, manufactured under licence from Macismo Asphalt Innovations (www.macismo.com) in the UK. This is a permanent cold-mix solution which has been successfully used on the N4 Doornpoort Plaza, north of Pretoria. “This was an achievement and a successful breakthrough, as this is the first time a cold-mix product has been paved on a national road as a permanent solution,” says Pretorius. The professional team opted for the use of the National Cold Mix as a remedial measure, as the finished texture is very similar to the ultra-thin friction course that had to be replaced. Together, with all the above, the highly effective Hydro Cutter, employed under the umbrella of Shisalanga (a northern KwaZuluNatal-based company in which National Asphalt acquired a majority shareholding in 2014), is another solution the company can provide for the maintenance of roads. Hydro cutting is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly system for the repair and remediation of flushed bituminous pavements and offers a number of significant advantages. Restoring the friction and texture of a pavement using a high-pressure water-blasting technique, it can be used to remove flushed seals – including bitumen, asphalt and concrete – without reducing the structural life of the surface.

LT 40 HOT MIX

National Asphalt introduces its latest product – LT 40 asphalt (also commonly referred to as ‘hot mix in a bag’) – to the South African market. LT 40 asphalt is a continuously graded medium-grade asphalt contained in a sealed plastic bag, which is heated up to between 40°C to 60°C to achieve workability similar to traditional hotmix asphalt. Incorporating an additive made from 100% natural and renewable resources, LT 40 asphalt not only reduces waste, time lost waiting in queues at hot-mix asphalt plants and product loss from inclement weather, but allows for higher productivity due to proceeding directly to site with all the necessary tools to begin work immediately. The product is perfect for edge breaks, reinstatement of trenches, patching and pothole repairs, and application is carried out in the same manner as for traditional hotmix asphalt repair. The product is supplied in 25 kg bags, has a shelf life of 12 months, and is heated up to approximately 40°C to 60°C in a custom-built oven that can be supplied with a custom-built trailer or separately. Once the product has reached the required temperature, it is shovelled onto a wheelbarrow and transferred to the repair site, placed in the prepared area and compacted.

www.nationalasphalt.co.za

IMIESA August 2016

80TH IMESA CONFERENCE

EAST LONDON 26 - 28 October 2016

DELEGATE ONLINE REGISTRATION HAS OPENED Visit www.imesa.org.za

26 - 28 OCTOBER 2016 THEME: “Siyaphambili – Engineering the Future’’ The 2016 IMESA Conference will be hosted at the East London International Convention Centre (ELICC)

Register and pay BEFORE 31 July 2016 • Early Bird Registration for IMESA Members – R4900.00 • Early Bird Registration for Non IMESA Members – R5400.00

ION

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IMESA

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TRANSPORT

ORGANISER THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA)

t +27 (031) 266 3263 email conference@imesa.org.za

ROADS | INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Meeting the new performance grades Bitumen specifications are evolving in our local market and so is the industry, explains Saied Solomons, CEO, Sabita.

HE ADOPTION of per formance grade (PG) specifications for bitumen and asphalt producers represents a complete and radical shift for South Africa, as well as the broader regional community. “Current bitumen specifications focus on aspects such as softness and its flow characteristics, but now the emphasis is on durability, and environmental and project costs,” explains Solomons. “We now need to find ways to understand the durability of bituminous products in various applications with the intent of increasing service life and, therefore, extending municipal maintenance life-cycle planning and budget allocations.” Transitioning to PG specifications has been a longer-term goal for the local industry, and Sabita has used the USA standards as a benchmark. “America’s National Asphalt Pavement Association began experimenting with new bitumen standards in the mid-1990s and its experiences provide invaluable lessons for our markets.” Sabita reports that, over the next 24 months, two specifications will run in parallel on a trial basis. “While the tests for the various

specification parameters have been decided upon, Southern Africa-specific data will be collected and analysed to determine compliance limits,” Solomons expands, adding that current thermal data supports the motivation for the introduction of an inland and coastal PG specification.

The background to the switch Higher traffic volumes and loads have led to an increase in premature pavement failures. This is because empirical binder testing has difficulty in providing any prediction on pavement performance. Moreover, empirical tests cannot effectively characterise modified binders. This has resulted in a move internationally to establish specifications based on fundamental engineering properties capable of more accurately predicting the performance of asphalt mixes. This evolution has not escaped South Africa, and the industry started tackling a possible new specification way back in 2003, with the intent that performance grading should include measures describing stress/strain relationships under field loading; consider the pavement conditions (such as temperature, traffic

Saied Solomons, CEO, Sabita

speed, traffic volume, and pavement structure); take into account ageing and durability over the longer term; and include acceptance limits derived from experience and factual field performance. This initiative was given further impetus with the development of the South African Road Design System and the new Asphalt Mix Design Manual, both calling for performancetested characteristics. Superpave, the PG system introduced in the US during the 1990s, recorded the following notable benefits: testing was done to suit specific climate conditions; the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) used to assess the rheology of bitumen assisted refineries in assessing the limitations of some crudes; modifiers were identified as a need and an opportunity; a better understanding of thermal shrinkage cracking was afforded by using the bending beam rheometer (BBR); and a better understanding of how to assess long-term ageing resistance was developed using the pressured ageing vessel (PAV) at appropriate temperatures climates. Table 1 compares the current pengrade specs with those proposed for PG.

TABLE 1 Prior limitations vs Superpave (PG) testing and specification features

Limitations of penetration, AC and AR grading systems Penetration and ductility tests are empirical and not directly related to HMA pavement performance. Tests are conducted at one standard temperature without regard to the climate in which the asphalt binder will be used.

Superpave binder testing and specification features that address prior limitations The physical properties measured are directly related to field performance by engineering principles. Test criteria remain constant; however, the temperature at which the criteria must be met changes in consideration of the binder grade selected for the prevalent climatic conditions.

The entire range of pavement temperatures experienced at a The range of pavement temperatures at any one site is not adequately covered. For example, there is no test method for asphalt particular site is covered. binder stiffness at low temperatures to control thermal cracking. The entire range of pavement temperatures experienced at a particular site is covered.

Three critical binder ages are simulated and tested: 1. Original asphalt binder prior to mixing with aggregate. 2. Aged asphalt binder after HMA production and construction. 3. Long-term aged binder.

Asphalt binders can have significantly different characteristics within the same grading category.

Grading is more precise and there is less overlap between grades.

Modified asphalt binders are not suited for these grading systems.

Tests and specifications are intended for asphalt binders to include both modified and unmodified asphalt cements.

IMIESA August 2016

DIVISIONAL HOT SEAT

Employee commitment is key Bennie Greyling, managing director, Much Asphalt, talks about the role of people, recycling and mobile operations in the future of the company, as it moves forward from its 50th anniversary in 2015. Please provide a short description of your range of products. We produce a wide range of hotmix asphalt products for all types of roads, airport runways, port piers and driveways. In addition, we produce cold mix in bulk and in bagged form.

What, in your opinion, makes Much Asphalt the asphalt supplier of choice in South Africa?

How is Much Asphalt ensuring the future sustainability of its business?

BG Much Asphalt has a history of over 50 years in Southern Africa. During this time, we have managed to grow the business into the leader in geographic footprint and manufacturing capacity through our consistent focus on improving customer service.

Our continuous drive to be at the forefront of asphalt technology in both plant and materials means that our customers can demand the best. Our recent acquisition of SprayPave, a modified binders business, will enhance our ability to remain at the leading edge in

IMIESA August 2016

the supply of quality asphalt. Our commitment to environmental sustainability is not negotiable and we actively support the protection of our environment. All our asphalt operations (bar Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal, which we are in the process of upgrading) utilise the best available dust control systems. Our increasing use of recycled asphalt (RA) in new asphalt mixes supports this environmental commitment. However, we believe the single biggest factor ensuring our sustainability is the attitude of our employees and their total commitment to the culture of Much Asphalt.

ABOVE Much Asphaltâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship Benoni plant incorporates a substantial recycled asphalt processing operation, shown in the foreground of this aerial view LEFT Bennie Greyling, managing director, Much Asphalt

How important is the use of RA for your clients today and how are you responding to this? The use of RA in South Africa is gaining huge momentum and a number of our key clients support and specify its inclusion in new product mixes. Asphalt is recognised as one of the most recyclable resources in the world, with some European countries

aiming to use 100% RA in the near future. Inclusion of around 40% RA in new mixes is very achievable and has been done extensively in South Africa. Much Asphalt started processing RA in 2009, with the purchase of a crushing and screening plant to fractionate the components into useable sizes. Currently, we operate five units. All our asphalt plants have the capability to include between 10% and 50% RA in new asphalt products and we have recently appointed a dedicated team, led by Niel du Toit, to manage the entire process around RA. Niel is always available to discuss the use of RA with clients and other stakeholders. We offer spoil sites for asphalt millings at all our plants, depending on the suitability of the spoil material.

Can you give some examples of recent projects where RA has been a major requirement and how Much Asphalt has responded? A recent Sanral project for the rehabilitation of the N1 near Bloemfontein called for the use of 40% RA in the base layer of the pavement. We acquired a new continuous-type asphalt plant utilising the latest technology in RA mixing for this project. What is unique is that this is a mobile asphalt production plant, which challenges the concept even more.

DIVISIONAL HOT SEAT HOT SEAT

ABOVE Much Asphalt’s new Ammann Prime 140 mobile plant – capable of handling 40% RA – is supplying a major Sanral rehabilitation contract on the N1 freeway near Bloemfontein RIGHT Bennie Greyling, managing director, Much Asphalt (left), and Steven Single, managing director, SprayPave, following Much Asphalt’s acquisition of SprayPave from Basil Read in 2015 BELOW Strict adherence to quality control ensures downstream product quality. All Much Asphalt plants have dedicated process control laboratories on-site

Sanral leads the roadbuilding sector in specifying RA to support the environment and is undertaking many contracts in remote areas. This, in turn, led to our establishment of appropriate mobile solutions, which are further modified, when

necessary, to provide customised products for particular contracts.

How does Much Asphalt’s fleet of mobile plants add value to customers and what are the capabilities of these plants? Our fleet of four mobile operations in South Africa and a fifth in Namibia ensures that our customers remain competitive in their market. The production capacities of the units range from 80 tonnes per hour to 140 tonnes per hour, and three now have RA capacities of 40%. These operations are supported by a dedicated RA processing plant.

What have been the major highlights for you since becoming managing director of Much Asphalt three years ago? Without a doubt, the highlight for me was the change in shareholding in 2013, from ownership by a corporate shareholder to ownership by private equity investors. The support and commitment of our new shareholders have made it possible for Much Asphalt to grow to 17 static branches and five mobile operations today, and enabled us to acquire Spraypave, which is an excellent strategic step for ward.

What does Much Asphalt see in the short- to medium-term future of the South African asphalt sector and how is it positioning itself to capitalise on the opportunities? We believe the asphalt industry in South Africa is entering a growth phase, following government’s commitment to upgrade roads in certain provinces. We are seeking ways to expand our geographic footprint to support our customers in their quest to follow the work.

www.muchasphalt.com

IMIESA August 2016

ROADS | GEOTECHNICAL

Retaining

the Kwabhoboza Interchange An innovative mechanically stabilised earth wall system provides a cost-effective, lasting solution with aesthetic appeal.

OR THE CONSTRUCTION of the Kwabhoboza Interchange on National Route 2 Section 30 (km 5.1) in Mtubatuba, KwaZuluNatal, a retaining system was required to support the widened main carriageway, which directs traffic both north and south and also, most importantly, to provide grade separation to allow for a tavern access road located below the main carriageway. The works were awarded to main contractor Leomat Construction in December 2013, with the contract scheduled to run over a period of 22 months, at a total project value of approximately R196 million.

IMIESA August 2016

Maccaferri Africa (MA) was approached by Leomat Construction to submit its proposal to design and supply a mechanically stabilised earth wall (MSEW) system with heights ranging from 4 m to 7 m, over an approximate length of 130 m, together with 145 m² of facia. MA suggested the use of its MacRes T retaining system, which was subsequently approved by the consultant, Mott MacDonald PDNA. The system chosen consisted of a granular structural fill reinforced with horizontal layers of high-strength polymeric reinforcing strips, known as Paraweb. The latter produced an apparent cohesion in the direction of the

reinforcement, permitting the fill to function as a homogeneous gravity structure. The vertical or battered outer face of the reinforced soil structure comprised a concrete panel cladding, connected to the reinforcing strips embedded in the structural backfill. MA is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. To be in line with the requirements of this standard, MA runs three checking levels for projects and enquiries. Level 1 projects are usually at very preliminary stages, with limited design information. MA provides the client with readily available information – e.g. standard designs, case histories and editorials – to provide the concept. Level 2 projects are those that MA undertakes in partnership with consultants. With these, there is sufficient information to produce a site-specific design, but with no responsibility taken by MA for the design and/or construction. Level 3 projects are those that MA undertakes to design, in

ROADS | GEOTECHNICAL

Construction was much faster when compared to a reinforced concrete structure

During the construction of the MSEW system, only three main components were required: the panels, reinforcement and soil

The vertical or battered outer face of the reinforced soil structure comprised a concrete panel cladding, connected to the reinforcing strips embedded in the structural backfill

partnership with the consultant, where there is sufficient information to produce a final design. MA then takes responsibility for internal stability only, while the consultant takes responsibility for external and global stability. This project, in terms of checking levels, was logged as a level 3. Normally, for a level 3 project, MA would, in partnership with the consultant, design the structure and provide professional indemnity for internal stability only. The consultant would have to verify external and global stability, and then provide professional indemnity thereafter. This was a project “with a difference”: Leomat Construction, together with consultant Mott MacDonald PDNA, made it clear in their request that the supplier appointed would have to provide a “full-monty” design ser vice. Succinctly put: a design, together with professional indemnity for both internal and external stability, as well as global stability. This posed a challenge for MA as the company is not well equipped to offer such a service, as required by client. In order to overcome this challenge, MA had to outsource the external and global stability design to another company specialising in this area, and, therefore, better equipped for the task. As a result, WorleyParsons was brought onboard to assist in this regard. After MA overcame the hurdle of external and global stability, there came another one. Normally, MA designs reinforced soil structures in accordance with the SANS 207 design code. However, Leomat Construction and Mott MacDonald PDNA

requested that the design must also satisfy the requirements as stipulated in TMH 7: parts 1, 2 and 3. Again, with this request being outside MA’s forte, a decision was made to outsource this function to another specialist, Peter Boorsma of BPH Engineers. With all three specialists (Maccaferri Africa, WorleyParsons and Peter Boorsma) working together as one team, MA was able to meet the client’s expectation of a one-stop shop for a comprehensive and cost-effective solution. Leomat Construction asked MA to put forward a few names of companies that had previously worked with MA on similar projects as recommended installers. Out of the names provided, Ashcon Civils was appointed as a subcontractor to install the wall. At the commencement of installation, MA spent the first week on-site, full-time with all the parties, providing intensive stepby-step installation training. This was very helpful to the contractor and consultant, as all problems that were encountered on-site were dealt with, there and then, keeping delays in construction to a minimum.

Benefits of the chosen system Economy, speed, simplicity and aesthetics are the end benefits of the system chosen. The low cost of the elements and simple, efficient means of erection realised significant cost savings compared to traditional forms of construction. Construction was much faster when compared to a reinforced concrete structure. This is advantageous especially when other phases, such as earthworks, depend on the retaining wall’s establishment for rapid construction. Only three main components were required, namely the panels, reinforcement and soil. Another advantage is that unskilled labour and a small plant could be used during construction. The result is also pleasing, as precast facing units could be cast with a variety of patterns and different colours to match the surrounding environment. Construction costs were lower, as no reinforced concrete foundations were required. Only a simple, unreinforced blinding layer/ footing was required for the purpose of aligning the panels with ease. Plus the use of polymeric reinforcement eliminated the danger of corrosion – always of paramount importance for long-term structures.

IMIESA August 2016

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

SOUTH AFRICAN ROADS FEDERATION Basil Jonsson | Operations Director What is the function of the South African Roads Federation (SARF)? BJ SARF provides contact between South Africa’s road industry sectors and facilitates the distribution of expertise throughout the diverse disciplines that have an impact on, and application in, the industry. As part of its mandate of educating and training all those engaged in the road construction industry, SARF holds road-related seminars and conferences, provides bursaries and administers fellowships, presents courses that offer CPD points, and is ECSA and SACPCMP accredited.

How has SARF been involved in promoting and training women in construction? In May this year, the City of Cape Town approached SARF to train women as part of its Expanded Public Works Programme under Transport for Cape Town (TCT). The city, over the past year, has established four all-female road repair teams based at TCT depots in Ndabeni, Fish Hoek, Heideveld and Kuils River. Thus far, up to 24 women have been trained to do repair and maintenance work on roads, footways and stormwater infrastructure in these areas. The purpose of this programme is to empower women in the workplace by providing them with skills for technical and physical work generally associated with men. SARF was approached to

improve on the skills learned by the women to date. SARF offered a two-day course – on best practice in hand asphalt application – designed specifically for emerging contractors and the domestic road rehabilitation market. In June, the women attended a full day of theor y training at the city’s Ndabeni depot, under the tutelage of John Onraet, an independent, professional asphalt practitioner.

This was followed by a full day’s practical, during which the women prepared large patches for repair. The patches were primed and sur faced with hot-mix asphalt. The correct techniques for compaction were carried out and the patches were successfully completed. The teams were also taught to make bituminous slurr y for sealing and finishing patches.

Some 24 women have been trained to do repair and maintenance work on roads in an initiative by the City of Cape Town

Bongiwe Ntombela | Regional Chairperson: KwaZulu-Natal Tell us about your work experience in the industry. BN I am currently a chief director with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, responsible for one of four regions covering the whole province. My main responsibilities are to provide and maintain transport infrastructure for accessibility. I hold a BTech Civil Engineering degree and have worked in both the private and public sector, since 2000. In pursuing my passion for continuous improvement, I am currently in my second year of a three-year master’s degree in business leadership. SARF offered training as part of the City of Cape Town’s initiative

IMIESA August 2016

Most of my career has been with my current department: from being deputy director: Monitoring and Evaluation in 2004, at age 25, to director: Special Projects & EPWP in 2006 (with Public Works), and returning as director: Enterprise Development in 2008, before being appointed chief director: Transport

Infrastructure, Pietermaritzburg Region in 2009. My nomination as the SARF regional chairperson: KwaZuluNatal came about in 2015, when I was least expecting it.

What do you hope to achieve as SARF regional chairperson? I believe that the region enjoys

participation mainly from males, which is a situation I hope to change during my term of office. Women need to be encouraged to take centre stage in the male-dominated sectors of our society, to facilitate a more united society. The focus for the KwaZuluNatal region of SARF has been and continues to be outcomesbased road safety, which places much pressure on more than just engineering but also for education, regulation, and public transport and freight operations to come to the fore of fighting the scourge of road fatalities in the province.

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

Marlize Nel-Verwey | Project Engineer: Southern Region What is your current position? MN I am a civil engineering technologist, employed by Sanral as a project engineer in its Southern Region. The Southern Region ser ves all national roads in the Eastern Cape as well as some regional arterials. As a project engineer, I am the custodian of at least one of our road sections. This entails regular inspections of the road, ensuring that there is a routine road maintenance contract in place at all times, and I am responsible for all planning related to that section of the road, e.g. upgrades. In addition to this, I am also the project manager for several road construction projects that range from reseals to upgrades, reconstructions, and new bridges. My current project portfolio has a construction value of approximately R1.2 billion.

ABOUT SARF

What is it like being a female in a typically male-dominated environment? When I was younger (22 years ago), I would enter the meeting room and be looked at as if I were in the wrong place. However, once my older male

• SARF is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of the roads industry in South Africa through the dissemination of information, the promotion of sound policies and by education and training. • The federation is a single body that provides a representative forum for the provision and management of roads, and the road sector and is linked to the International Road Federation (IRF). Through liaison with this organisation`s Programme Centre in Washington, the latest developments in road technology, policy and management worldwide are made available to the South African roads industry. SARF, in association with the IRF, has scheduled to present the first joint SARF/IRF Asset Management Seminar on 17 and 18 November 2016 in Gauteng. • SARF runs 42 ECSA-accredited, road-related training courses and 10 SACPCMP-accredited training courses, and trained more than 1 600 engineers and technicians in 2015. • The road federation has been accredited with a Level 1 Contributor BBBEE QSE status by Audit EX (SA).

SARF female staff members Dianne Myles, Tshidi Ramabya, Sybul Ngobeni and Angie Gouws

colleagues got to know me and knew that I took my job seriously and always did my best, they soon treated me like an equal and gave me the necessary respect. As I grew older and became better known in the industr y, getting “the look” became less of a problem, and I can honestly say that I never sense that I am treated differently, at least from a professional point of view, because I am a woman. Nevertheless, although we have come a long way, and most men accept women in a male-dominated environment, one should be under no illusion that we are living in a “genderless” world. From time to time, one will pick up the subtle chauvinist nuances. My advice is to ignore it, be yourself, and do your best – they will come around.

What advice would you give to women in or considering a career in a male-dominated field? If you want to be taken seriously and accepted as a professional by your male counterparts, you have to walk the talk and look the part. Although you would want your male colleagues to focus on what you have to say rather than on your appearance, it is important to always look professional and be neat. Keep it simple, but make sure that you are well groomed and dressed appropriately for the occasion – high heels and make-up is a no-go for site meetings. When it comes to walking the talk, it is important to know your subject material well. Pay attention to detail and ensure that you are always well prepared for meetings and the like.

www.sarf.org.za

IMIESA August 2016

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

ANYWAY SOLUTIONS Jean du Plessis | Managing Director What are the greatest challenges faced during road infrastructure construction?

designed to solve this problem. Tell us about this product and its applications.

JdP The biggest challenges faced during the construction, and eventually maintenance, of roads infrastructure are the availability of strong and durable building material at a cost-effective rate, and the management of water and its effects on the road layers. Most naturally occurring soils have a certain clay content that is a direct result of the amount of very fine particles present in the material. These particles are normally unstable and can, in wet or saturated conditions, result in failure under traffic loads. Almost all materials are negatively influenced by the presence of excess moisture in the road layers. These conditions result in the fine particles moving to the top of the layer and leaving the large particles unbound. The use of very good and strong building material does result in a better resistance to the effects of moisture, and this is why the official roadbuilding specifications give very clear guidelines for the characteristics of the material to be used. However, material that conforms to these specifications is normally found only at certain sources and is, therefore, scarce and expensive, especially in rural areas. Normally, the material found close to the road will have one or more parameters that do not conform to the requirements as set out in the official specifications, thus rendering it unsuitable to be used with confidence in roadbuilding. This always leads to increased cost of building or maintaining a road.

ANSS, when mixed into most natural materials, will change the important parameters of most naturally occurring materials to meet the specifications as required for roadbuilding. Expert research of the characteristics of the ultrafine particles has shown that their reaction to moisture, which causes instability, is the biggest in failure under loads. Therefore, this product was designed to counter this inherent instability, making the material more stable. ANSS is a powder manufactured from natural substances with a high calcium content that will, when mixed into a material, result in a stable, durable material that can be used with confidence in the roadbuilding process.

AnyWay Natural Soil Stabilizer (ANSS) is

ANSS reacts with the minerals in the soil to change its quality. How does this process work? The elements in the powder react with the unstable molecules in a material and form a stable material that does not react with either the oxygen or hydrogen in water. This causes the plasticity of the material to be lowered to within specifications. Also, through the hydration process, the different elements in ANSS react with each other to form crystals that grow in the inter-particle voids that bind the soilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s particles together and fill up the microscopic voids that prevent moisture migration through the material by the capillary action. This, then, results in a stable and strong material where the fines will stay bound around the larger particles, even under wet conditions. This increases the bearing capacity of the layer tremendously and is one

of the biggest factors that prevent pothole formation in a layer.

How complex is this product to use? ANSS is quite easy to use and the application process is a simple mixing process, similar to the widely used cement stabilisation process. However, the mixing process is crucial for good results and should be done thoroughly. ANSS is manufactured in either 25 kg or 1 t bulk bags, which makes it easy to transport and handle on most sites.

What time and cost savings does using this product offer? By using ANSS to treat a material, one does not have to excavate and remove the unsuitable material and replace it with expensive imported material. This, alone, makes for huge time and cost savings on most projects. The increased strengths also result in a longer road life, which saves a lot in maintenance costs.

How can ANNS be used to cost-effectively "recycle" existing roads? Currently, the normal method of recycling an existing failed road layer is to replace the failed layer with an imported material. ANSS can be used to treat the existing failed layer which will result in a "new" and strong material that may have even better qualities than most imported materials. This saves a lot of cost in road downtime and importation cost, especially in busy roads, as the treated road can be put back into operation almost immediately.

Tell us about a project where this product has been successfully implemented.

Gravel after stabilising

ANSS packed out

Recycler mixing

Finished road

After six weeks

Road after three months

The product was used in Beaufort West on an existing gravel road that was in very poor condition. The existing layer was treated with ANSS in one day and reopened the next, with a bitumen surface placed straight on to the treated layer a few days later. In Paul Roux and Bethlehem, we treated the in situ material with ANSS to form a sub-base layer and placed cement pavers on top. These roads are all still in very good condition after a few years of use, with no potholes.

IMIESA August 2016

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

BITUMEN SUPPLIES & SERVICES Rory Botha | Commercial Director What is the scope of your company? RB Bitumen Supplies & Services has been in existence for 18 years in its current structure. Our activities focus entirely on supplying the road construction industry with all grades of bituminous binders, which include bitumen, bitumen emulsions, cutback bitumen, polymer-modified bitumen, polymer-modified bitumen emulsions and, if required, bitumen rubber. We operate from two fixed facilities that provide the above, mobile bitumen emulsion plants and mobile polymer-modifying plants, which we utilise in remote areas to produce materials as required by the client.

What are the key challenges in building road infrastructure in Africa? Our area of operations spans much of the African continent and the Indian Ocean islands, which requires substantial planning in regards to utilising our human and equipment resources. Our supply lines are generally under pressure due to the nature of our widespread operation and the location of the construction sites. As a result, logistical planning and execution are of the utmost importance. At times, this proves to be challenging â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as we frequently have to supply product through as many as four different borders from the point of supply to site. Border rules and charges can change overnight. Unprofessional traders have attempted to supply substandard materials into Africa. This practice has resulted in failures and remedial costs, which negatively affect our industry. It is, however, encouraging to note that many

African governments are working effectively to eliminate the supply of substandard materials into their countries. Erratic funding creates challenges, as many contracts are suspended due to governments not paying contractors, resulting in delays for periods as long as two years. This stop-start cycle of payment can disrupt our supply, production planning and equipment utilisation. Being part of the African continent has equipped us with the ability to cope with these challenges, while, through continuous learning, we have managed to accommodate and manage the environment we operate in, with the help of very innovative partnerships built over the years.

Tell us about your products and how you accommodate your clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs. As mentioned, our product range includes all products required for any type of road contract surfacing specification. Our flexibility to supply straightrun bitumen as well as to produce high-end materials such as modified emulsions and bitumen on-site has instilled, in our clients, confidence in us. We have supplied modified bitumen on a preferential basis, as the extended durability and longer service life obtained using it overcome the lack of funds generally available for maintenance. The use of bitumen emulsions recommended by us and supplied from our production facilities to numerous clients has resulted in elevated safety levels. In addition to the safety aspect, the quality of workmanship has been enhanced through the better adhesion

and longer workability of bitumen emulsions.

Bitumen Supplies & Services works extensively in Africa. In which regions do you operate? Our supply area is dynamic and changes constantly, in as much as we position products, services and product storage facilities where our clients require them. We tend to move with our longstanding clients as they migrate to areas where funds and viable contracts are won. We are active in about 17 countries at any given time, stretching from Guinea to Kenya, Namibia to Mozambique, as well as the Indian Ocean islands. We are proud to be associated with the major players in the area, such as Vinci and other international contractors with whom we have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial association.

How is your logistics and supply chain structured to effectively meet the needs of clients in these regions?

Our supply chains start in South Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, and Singapore, where we purchase our raw materials and reach into the remotest parts of Central, West and East Africa. We have built up a very dependable network of shipping and transport providers.

What notable projects have you been involved in and what role did you play in their success? Our major supply contracts include the manufacture of 12 000 tonnes of PG-grade bitumen in a remote area, with a 100% success rate of manufacture. This was recently replicated in Central Africa but on a smaller scale. We have supplied numerous on-site-manufactured emulsion supply contracts in excess of 4 000 tonnes. We pride ourselves that we are not traders but manufacturers and suppliers of quality road binders to clients to whom our services contribute to their successful contract surfacing activities.

IMIESA August 2016

Pro-phalt has the best solution by far

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Quieter Single vehicle SA AgrĂŠment Board First time fix

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Increased Socio-Economic Footprint Prophalt promises sustainable job creation and genuine skills transfer. Our system addresses key government policy and objectives in infrastructure by creating teams that contribute to long-term economic development. We are constantly optimising human and innovative resources. Call Trevor Spence on 079 506 6131 or 0861 000 029 for a free, no obligation quote, or email info@prophalt.com for more information

The Revolutionary Pothole Repair System

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

PRO-PHALT Trevor Spence | General Manager What are the biggest challenges when it comes to potholes in South Africa? TS At Pro-Phalt, we believe that repairing potholes should be done continuously, as a maintenance programme, not once the problem is so bad that it starts to affect the integrity of the road. We find that many of the municipalities do not spend enough, or rather do not have the budgets, to repair potholes when they are in their infancy and still categor y 1 potholes. Many roads are left too long without maintenance, which then allows the potholes to increase in size and severity, which becomes extremely dangerous to the end user and far more expensive to repair for the municipality.

Pro-Phalt has developed an infrared system for repairing potholes. How does this technology work? The Pro-Phalt system involves an infrared burner that heats the existing road surface around the pothole to around 180°C in eight minutes. The infrared heating (no naked flame) process allows the recycling of the existing road surface material, in situ, which is then supplemented with a specially formulated warm mix to produce a heat-sealed, seamless repair to re-establish the original integrity of the road. A thermal bond is created between the repair area and the existing wearing course, allowing for a seamless joint through which water is unable to ingress. The total repair takes around 15 minutes, and the road can be opened to traffic immediately.

What are the advantages of this technology over traditional pothole repair methods? The traditional repair methods have seen little change over the past four decades. These often require the cutting and removal of the damaged sur face, after which either a cold- or hot-mix asphalt is used to fill the affected area. This process requires multiple visits to asphalt plants, and landfill sites to dispose of the old material. The Pro-Phalt system requires neither cutting nor disposal of old material, as it is recycled into the new repair. We also carr y the required asphalt in hotboxes contained in the system. Our repair times are faster, cleaner and longer lasting, and come with a 12-month warranty.

How has the Infrared Road Repair System been received in South Africa? We have been well received in the industry over the past five years. We spent a lot time and money developing and perfecting the asphalt mix we currently use in the system, and have received full Agrément South Africa certification for the process. We have done in excess of 400 000 repairs for various provincial and local government entities in Southern Africa. We have also branched out into Africa, doing work in Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique.

What makes your product offering unique? The fact that we offer a 12-month warranty and have Agrément approval for the repair process is unique in the

South African market. Prophalt is Level 2 BBBEE company with a CIDB 7 rating and we have successfully completed various large contracts for provincial government departments, with zero failures on work done.

What are the challenges this product has faced within the South African landscape and how have you overcome them? In established arenas, it often

takes time for the adoption rate of new technology to pick up. We have been fortunate that, in the last few years especially, government has seen the benefit of using this latest, proven technology. This uptake – combined with employing only local labour in the areas in which we operate and successfully uplifting the people in these communities – has helped us to become a serious industr y sector player.

IMIESA August 2016

Reliance Laboratory Equipment was established to offer our clients a full range of products for on-site and laboratory tests on bitumen, asphalt, aggregates, rock, soil, cement, concrete, mortar and steel for the construction and civil engineering industry.

www.reliancelab.co.za

Tel: (+27)12 5498910/1/2

email: info@reliancelab.co.za

Gyratory Compactor

Asphalt Analysator PC

Bending Beam Rheometer

PAV3:Pressure Aging Vessel SmarTracker CoreLok

The cellulose fibre products

for stabilisation of Stone Mastic Asphalt and Porous Asphalt.

ROADS | PANEL DISCUSSION

RELIANCE LABORATORY EQUIPMENT Tim Saks | Managing Director Building roads is a complex task that requires the services of professional civil engineers. In this process, quality is essential – given that a road needs to last 20+ years. How does one accurately determine quality? TS It requires the sampling and testing of road construction materials, in accordance with established and accepted international, national and regional standard test methods throughout the construction process. This means using quality road laboratory testing equipment, which gives accurate results. Cheap is often not best. The following technologies are recommended: A gyratory compactor is considered to be one of the best methods of laboratory compaction for the assessment of compatibility and the manufacture of test specimens used in other asphalt testing. This machine has automatic mould insertion and retraction on the side table, which allows cooling time before extraction without loss of compaction time (especially important for rubberised asphalt). It has 150 mm and 100 mm internal diameter moulds that can be used for testing without changing parts. Cold-mix (emulsion) materials can be compacted and the expelled fluid collected, and it’s smart too. It comes with Ethernet and multiple USB

connections for the data acquisition and control system, which uses LabVIEW, a user-friendly software package, to display results in real time. It is also scalable with optional moulds up to as much as 300 mm. The machine can be calibrated with traceable equipment. Last, but not least, it meets and exceeds ASTM D6307, AASHTO T312 (TP4), ASTM D6925, SHRP M-002, EN 12697-10, EN 12697-31, T0736-2011 standards. Particle size analysis tests, using the Asphalt Analysator, are based on the basic principles of sieve analysis, binder content and, if requested, the binder quality of bituminous mixes. This is achieved by: • elution of the binder using a washing chamber and a rotating sieve drum • separation of the filler and binder/solvent in a high-performance centrifuge • attaching of a distillation unit to separate binder and solvent • drying of minerals and filler and reuse of solvent. A sample density measurement test, in particular specific gravity (density), is the single most specified parameter in the construction industry. The CoreLok system automatically seals samples in a specially designed polymer bag that allows for the measurement of accurate water displacement testing. This system performs five standard lab tests:

• bulk specific gravity • maximum specific gravity • aggregate specific gravity • porosity • percentage asphalt content. Bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests provide a measure of the low temperature stiffness and relaxation properties of asphalt binders, to give an indication of an asphalt binder’s ability to resist low temperature cracking. The basic BBR test uses a small asphalt beam that is simply supported and emersed in a cold liquid bath. A load is applied to the centre of the beam and its deflection is measured against time. Stiffness is calculated based on the measured deflection and standard beam properties, and a measure of how the asphalt binder relaxes the load-induced stresses is also measured. BBR tests are conducted on PAV-aged asphalt binder samples. The test is largely software controlled. Pressure ageing vessel (PAV) tests provide simulated, long-term, aged asphalt binder for physical property testing.

Asphalt binder is exposed to heat and pressure to simulate in-service ageing over a 7-to 10-year period. The basic PAV procedure takes rolling thin-film oven (RTFO) aged asphalt binder samples, places them in stainless steel pans and then ages them for 20 hours in a heated vessel pressurised to 2.10 MPa. Samples are then stored for use in physical property tests. Although many different factors contribute to asphalt binder ageing, the key component of concern for the PAV is oxidation. Wheel impact measurement tests use the SmarTracker system, the most versatile wheel tracker on the market, and are able to perform the EN and USA AASHTO tests to measure resistance to rutting and moisture damage in asphalt mixtures. Results from this test help construction engineers and technicians to verify the integrity of asphalt mix designs, evaluate materials and predict field performance. Tests can be conducted under dry or wet conditions to determine the resistance of hot mix asphalt to rutting and moisture sensitivity.

TOPCEL® & TOPCEL® add CELLULOSE FIBRE PRODUCTS With the challenge to extend asphalt pavement service life and to improve the quality of road construction (high resistance against permanent deformation, fatigue, cracking and wear, improved skid resistance and good noise reduction), research turned to cellulose fibre pellets. Today, this is a product that has been successfully used as a bitumen carrier in asphalt mixes like SMA (stone mastic asphalt) and PA (porous asphalt) throughout the world. The pure cellulose fibre pellet TOPCEL® is produced by CFF GmbH & Co.KG in Gehren, Germany, from a technical raw cellulose. The pelletised, multicomponent product, TOPCEL® add, uses cellulose as the carrier material as well as different high-quality modifying additives. The bitumen modification takes place directly during the mixing process at the asphalt mixing plant. And, in keeping with Germany’s reputation as a world leader in technology, engineering and innovation, TOPCEL® and TOPCEL® add set the standard.

IMIESA August 2016

CEMENT & CONCRETE | ROADS

Concrete roads promote better fuel efficiency

ODERN CONCRETE ROADS are constructed using substantially different design criteria compared to those employed in the past, which used techniques and equipment that are now obsolete. New construction methods offer better surface finishing and sophisticated machinery. “There is no doubt that concrete pavements offer substantial environmental, economic and social benefits,” says Bryan Perrie, managing director, The Concrete Institute. “Concrete roads should be more widely regarded as the sustainable solution to South Africa’s road network. They are the natural choice for projects where per formance, value, longevity, social responsibility and concern for the environment are paramount.” Concrete pavements, furthermore, offer a long service life, which normally exceeds 30 years. In addition, concrete pavements require relatively little maintenance and repair and, therefore, produce long-term savings in raw materials, transport and energy. Perrie, in fact, believes that an important advantage of concrete roads, which is not always apparent, is the fuel savings such pavements offer for goods vehicles. “The National Research Council of Canada carried out a series of investigations, which focused on various types of pavements and vehicles during different seasons of the year. Reduced fuel consumption by heavy trucks was observed in all phases for concrete roads when compared to asphalt pavements. “The studies found that fuel savings on concrete pavements for empty and full tractor-trailer units ranged from 0.8% to 3.9% in four to five periods in the year, based on 95% reliable survey results. On this assumption, you are looking at an average fuel saving of 2.35%, which is certainly not negligible and would represent an immense difference in overall fuel consumption as well as emissions of greenhouse gases over the lifetime of a busy freeway,” Perrie expands. The Transport Research Laboratories in Great Britain carried out research to determine the effect of the rigidity of the pavements on fuel consumption. Here, the reduced reflection of concrete roads resulted in a 5.7% reduction in rolling resistance, also providing fuel savings.

“Similar fuel economy results have been obtained from extensive research done in Sweden, Japan, and the American states of Texas and Massachusetts. Apart from the type of pavement, the evenness and surface texture of the road surfaces are important factors influencing fuel consumption. That is why the quality of the finished concrete surface plays such a crucial role: a good-quality and evenly laid concrete pavement retains these qualities for decades, whereas a concrete pavement with undulations or uneven patches will require difficult and expensive remedial treatment to obtain and maintain the desired ride quality,” states Perrie. He says sustainable concrete pavements make efficient use of natural resources and respect the environment during their entire life cycle. They provide services to society in terms of mobility, safety and comfort by means of judicious choices when it comes to design, construction, maintenance and demolition. The cement industry – so often criticised for carbon dioxide emissions emanating from its production processes – is extremely active in reducing energy consumption and the usage of non-renewable fossil fuels through the introduction of modern technology and equipment and using alternative fuels and co-combustion materials. “The use of industrial waste products such as tyres, solvents, waste oil, wastewater treatment sludge, and paint residues as alternative fuels in cement kilns can make a valuable contribution in reducing the overall carbon dioxide emissions of cement,” he adds. The carbon dioxide emissions of concrete are significantly lower than those of TOP New construction and design cement, which makes up a relatechnologies have ensured that modern concrete roads are of the highest quality tively small proportion of concrete, ABOVE A concrete bus lane under and the emissions from the producconstruction in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng tion of aggregates is very low.

IMIESA August 2016

CEMENT & CONCRETE | ROADS

N6 seal meets

camber design LEFT A section of the road passing through Smithfield INSET A close-up view showing the panel sections

SELF-LEVELLING silicone joint sealant was originally specified for a new concrete section on the N6 where it bisects the Free State town of Smithfield. However, due to the road camber design, a decision was made by the consultants, SMEC Engineers, to opt for Sika’s non-sag speciality joint

sealant, Sikasil-728NS. According to Sika’s Herman Rensburg, the product exhibits excellent adhesion to concrete, ver y high movement capability, and UV resistance, providing an extremely long ser vice life. Meeting a number of international requirements, ready-to-use Sikasil-728 NS is suitable

for use on highways, airports, bridges, parking-structure top decks and all high-movement joints. Prior to the application of Sikasil-728 NS, the contractor, Basil Read, prepared the 10 mm x 10 mm joints with a coating of Sika Primer-3N (80 x 1 litre), a one-component, epoxy-polyurethane solvent-based primer, designed for porous sur faces, which provides good wetting-out properties. Over the course of the project, approximately 10 000 m worth of joints was successfully sealed with Sikasil-728 NS (3 500 x 858 mℓ cartridges).

IMIESA August 2016

Construction Equipment

DOOSAN. The closer you look, the better we get. DISA Equipment (Pty) Ltd T/A Doosan SA

Tindrum 16/079

Johannesburg: Tel: +27 11 974 2095 | Fax: +27 11 974 2778 | 60c Electron Avenue, Isando, Kempton Park Durban: Tel: +27 31 700 1612 | Fax: +27 31 700 1646 | 4B Stockville, Mahogany Ridge, Pinetown Wolmaransstad: Tel: +27 18 596 3024 | Fax: +27 18 596 1015 | 72 Kruger Street, Wolmaransstad E-mail: info@doosan.co.za Mpumalanga - Tienie Ferreira / Ryno Smith 013 246 2678 East London - Rowan Weyer 043 748 4077 Port Elizabeth - Vaughn Coetzee 041 484 6240 Cape Town - Neville Black 021 380 2600 Bloemfontein - Mike Phillips 051 433 1249

www.doosan.co.za

An aesthetic solution

HE REASON WHY concrete block retaining walls are used so widely is that they offer much more than the stabilisation of earthen embankments. They also give full rein to the creative talents of landscape architects and retaining wall builders. The Grove Mall, an upmarket shopping precinct developed by Resilient Africa in eastern Pretoria, illustrates this point in spectacular fashion. Its 420 m long, multifaceted retaining wall structure, situated on its southern and western boundaries, has transformed a 6 m high, erosion-prone earthen embankment into a terraced wall garden, comprising three, and in one section four, layers of retaining walls interspersed and overhung with abundant plant life. Despite the eye-catching attributes, public safety rather than aesthetics was the prime motivator for shoring the embankment with terraced walls, which were designed, built and engineered by Engineered Interlock Solutions to provide many years of trouble-free service. According to Manie Troskie, owner, Engineered Interlock Solutions, before the retaining wall option was considered, gabions were the frontrunning reinforcement solution. “We were approached by Axiom Consulting Engineers to provide an alternative terraced concrete block retaining wall design using a cutand-fill construction technique. We submitted our design, which was based on Aveng Infraset’s very attractive and natural-looking split-face retaining block, the Infrablok 350, to BJV Quantity Surveyors. “This solution not only proved less expensive to build than the gabionbased alternative, but offered the opportunity of creating a wall garden. Over 46 000 blocks were supplied by Aveng Infraset to cover a total wall-face area of 2 570 m².” In order to ensure that the walls were structurally sound and well drained, Engineered Interlock Solutions was obliged to use low-fines concrete as the backfill material for the first wall. This wall varied in height between 1 m and 3 m; and in one 3 m section, the wall was built around a substantial quantity of rock. The upper walls ran between 1 m and 2 m in height. All the walls were built with concrete foundations and the excavated soil was used as backfill material for the upper terraces. All the walls were built at an angle of 80 degrees with Maccaferri WG4 geosynthetic reinforcement. In addition, a layer of bidem was installed under the second last layer of blocks on all the walls for erosion protection.

The Grove Mall’s multiterraced wall garden was built with over 46 000 blocks of Aveng Infraset’s Infrablok 350 retaining wall blocks

IMIESA August 2016

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Forming the bases at Noupoort Wind Farm The effective use of Mapei’s Dynamon admixture line is well demonstrated at the Noupoor t Wind Farm project in South Africa’s Nor thern Cape.

URRAY & ROBERTS Infrastructure was appointed as the civil contractor for the construction of 35 concrete bases for the client, Mainstream. Here, Mapei supplied a solution that enabled the contractor to overcome various issues. These include the cost-effective use of high-fly-ash concrete to achieve workable concrete with high strength and durability. Following extensive testing with various admixtures, Dynamon SR3 was selected to meet this requirement. Dynamon SR3 reduces the effects of bleeding and plastic shrinkage, while retarding the initial set of the cement to ensure proper placement of the concrete. Following implementation on-site, it was found that there was variability in the aggregates produced. Mapei worked with Murray & Roberts’ concrete technologists to achieve a more robust mixture that could be pumped without the risk of pump blockages, and retain workability for the duration of the placement process. Another challenge was the periodic formation of settlement cracks on concrete plinths. The engineers specified a blend of Prosfas, water and cement to be coated over and into

the cracks, providing an innovative solution. Mapei’s Prosfas product is a blend of silicates-in-water solution with low viscosity and, therefore, high penetration properties. It penetrates to a depth of several centimetres and, when dried, improves the cohesion of cementitious surfaces.

SABS mark for Mapei admixtures Mapei South Africa’s product line proudly carries the SABS mark. The SABS certification covers the company’s locally manufactured, market-leading range of liquid admixtures for concrete, mortar and grouts. “This is a particularly noteworthy accolade, as Mapei South Africa was the first admixture producer in South Africa authorised to display the mark,” says Antony Offenberg, general manager: Commerical, Mapei South Africa. The SABS mark is the highly visible expression of the SABS Product Cer tification Scheme. This is aimed at providing the consumer with third-party guarantees that the quality and reliability of the approved product will be fit for the designated purpose and meet the appropriate standard.

ABOVE Commencing the concrete pour on one of the Noupoort Wind Farm tower bases BELOW Advanced concrete base construction at Noupoort Wind Farm

Mapei South Africa continues to introduce the local construction industry to the benefits of the advanced Mapei building technology additives, sealants, adhesives and concrete performance chemicals. Mapei’s range of products and solutions cover industrial, commercial and residential applications, from the smallest DIY jobs to the needs of major project sites. With a proud, 77-year history, Mapei is the world leader in the production of adhesives, chemical products and solutions for building, and boasts facilities operating in over 31 countries on five continents. The key pillars of the company’s success have been its investment in research to drive innovation, the development of a comprehensive product range that provides solutions for virtually all building needs, and the focus on producing eco-sustainable products that are certified by leading environmental authorities around the world.

IMIESA August 2016

CEMENT & CONCRETE

The science of concrete versus design Within the construction sector, readymix represents one of the largest purchase segments and has a purpose-designed role to play in precise, cost-efficient project deliver y. BY ALASTAIR CURRIE

HE SOUTHERN AFRICAN Readymix Association (Sarma) is embarking on renewed education and industry growth under its ‘Five Drive Strategy’, expands Johan van Wyk, general manager, Sarma. ”Simply put, over the next five years, Sarma will strive to: enhance relationships with cement suppliers and industry bodies; improve the equity of the Sarma brand so that our member products are the preferred option; improve readymix’s competitiveness – Sarma members currently produce the lowest-cost quality concrete; introduce industry standards and regulations that level the playing field; and increase membership to 95% of all players.” The end objective is quality, accredited concrete. Van Wyk says the focus has shifted from supply to the final result – doing it right the first time – with greater emphasis on appreciating concrete’s role as a high-tech product. “Concrete, as a material, is a

A pilot tilt-up project completed by Sarma: this international building technique provides for rapid housing and allied commercial and industrial applications. The precast moulds were formed in situ using readymix concrete and the approach is ideal for addressing South Africa’s human settlements backlog

IMIESA August 2016

dynamic medium, and its design cannot be based purely on the final MPa strength outcome at 28 days, generally regarded as the industr y norm. "Products can also fail on specification. The concrete that goes into a floor, column, first-floor deck or a bridge is all 30 MPa, but the concrete and the application are different, so slump and strength are not universal measures. “The test can also fail if you’re sampling in the wrong way and not testing a representative sample, if you carry out the test incorrectly, or if the cube curing process is incorrect, among other examples. In most cases, the concrete is fine scientifically, and rarely the cause of the failure.” Either way, if there is a problem, it’s often too late to immediately rectify. Reconstruction then becomes a factor. Generally, product liability insurers will cover the cost of the concrete but exclude the replacement of the steel reinforcement. This adds significantly to the project risk when it comes to repairing or replacing failed

concrete sections, such as breaking down a multistorey building.

Rip and tear Sarma membership is voluntary, perhaps one of the most powerful sentiments when it comes to professional commitment. “Our members are saying, ‘We would like to be held to a higher standard.’ For example, only Sarma members can obtain our unique ‘Rip and Tear’ product liability insurance, which was introduced some three years ago,” says Van Wyk. Rip and Tear covers the investigation cost, demolition, rubble removal, and full reconstruction in the event of a proven concrete fault and is an essential risk management and mitigation tool. Van Wyk says that a number of leading public entities, including the Western Cape government, are now specifying the Sarma audit quality rulings, and including the requirement for Rip and Tear cover in their tender documents. “This will counter wastage expenditure concerns on public works projects,” he affirms. Sarma is working alongside other industry partners to revise the current SANS standards for test methods. This includes the writing of a supplementary document for the latest EN 206 concrete specification standard to explain how it will be adopted.

Ekurhuleni

ERWAT

Transforming THE CITY

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all in the granule

Ekurhuleni Urban Design Project With change the only constant, the Ekurhuleni Urban Design Project represents an impor tant element in the new spatial vision for Ekurhuleni – one that ser ves as a guide to all who live and work in this vibrant city.

HE PROJECT AIMS to put the City of Ekurhuleni on the required trajectory – through the stages identified in the Ekurhuleni GDS 2055 – of being a delivering city, a capable city and, ultimately, a sustainable city. In order to achieve the ultimate state of a sustainable city, the change process is based on the five pillars as defined in the Growth and Development Strategy, namely to: 1. R e-urbanise – aimed at achieving sustainable urban integration. 2. Re-industrialise – aimed at achieving economic growth that creates jobs. 3. R e-generate – aimed at achieving environmental well-being. 4. R e-mobilise – aimed at achieving social empowerment. 5. Re-govern – aimed at achieving effective cooperative governance. The new city design is intended to guide and drive social, economic and spatial transformation in order to build a viable, compact,

vibrant and sustainable region. In his 2016 State of the City Address, Cllr Mondli Gungubele, executive mayor of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, outlined the city’s work on the conceptualisation of three key functional economic corridors as an effective way to reconfigure our urban spaces, and economic centres, namely the Thami Mnyele, O.R. Tambo Aerotropolis Core and Thelle Mogoerane corridors. These urban design precinct plans, supported by 3D modelling, provide a visual and spatial vision of the manner in which development in such precincts could manifest, showing the envisaged built form, the key urban design structuring elements, and spatial strategies and projects to catalyse development. The urban design precinct is underpinned by the metro-wide urban design policy, which contributes to the establishment of a clear metropolitan identity.

CONTENTS Cover Story ERWAT – It’s all in the granule

P52

Municipal Focus Ekurhuleni’s Harambee

P56

IMIESA August 2016

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY | ERWAT

It’s all in the granule The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a progressive local government authority and a leader in technology adoption and implementation in all critical areas, including wastewater treatment.

RWAT IN EKURHULENI, one of South Africa’s best-run wastewater treatment companies, is getting a brand-new and innovative addition to its existing infrastructure, the knowledge of which can be of use to other municipalities, no matter how big or small. Just to put things into perspective, ERWAT provides bulk wastewater conveyance and a highly technical and proficient wastewater treatment service to some 2 000 industries and more than 3.5 million people. It is currently the custodian of 19 wastewater treatment works, treating a combined capacity of some 696 Mℓ/day of wastewater. In addition, ERWAT’s Sanas-accredited Laboratory Services offers the water industry a wide variety of services in the fields of chemical and microbiological analyses, as well as expert advice on all water-related problems. The new addition is the patented Nereda1 aerobic granular sludge technology process, a wastewater treatment process that is a remarkable innovation. And, as much as this process may have been written about

IMIESA August 2016

in the media, mostly at a high, informational level, the how and why, which are key focus inputs into the municipal decision-making process, have, in our opinion, not been adequately addressed. So, without giving away intimate trade secrets, IMIESA takes a deeper look at this technology. Senyane Leonard Chueu, a chemical engineer and district manager at ERWAT, says, “Our Nereda WWTW is intended to improve the capacity of the Har tebeestfontein WWTW by 5 Mℓ/day, which will operate against sewage parameters of 55 185 p.e. (population equivalent) and 54 g BOD (biochemical oxygen demand).” Smart use of redundant components of the existing WWTW and integration with the existing WWTW will assist in keeping costs down. This includes utilising the decommissioned thickener and Phostrip tanks that were mothballed during a reconfiguration of the main plant a few years ago. To this end, inflow will be diverted from the existing head of works after the screening

Senyane Leonard Chueu, district manager: Drainage District 3

and degritting systems, via duty/standby pumps, to the current thickener tank – which is being converted into a buffer/ balancing tank. It is being equipped with submersible mixers to keep suspended solids in suspension and with pumps to transfer the influent to the reactor. The existing Phostrip tank is being converted into the Nereda reactor and will be equipped with fine bubble membrane diffusers, along with the associated pipe works, the Nereda effluent feed grid and a sludge discharge system. The treated effluent will be discharged to the main plant’s chlorination system at the tie-in point. Sludge will be pumped from the reactor to a dedicated sludge buffer tank that will be constructed adjacent to the Nereda reactor. Sludge from the sludge buffer tank will be pumped to digesters before being pumped to irrigation fields along with the sludge from the main works.

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY | ERWAT

ABOVE ERWAT’s new Nereda WWTW under construction at Hartebeestfontein RIGHT Settling properties of the aerobic granular biomass (left) compared to activated sludge (right) after five minutes

How it works Nereda purifies wastewater by controlling the growth and formation of microorganisms. This technology was invented by Delft University in the Netherlands and refined through a collaborative public-private partnership with the Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research, Dutch water boards and Royal HaskoningDHV. ERWAT’s Hartebeestfontein WWTW, being constructed by WEC Projects, is the third Nereda site in South Africa. The other two are in Gansbaai and Wemmershoek, in the Western Cape. Internationally, there are dozens of Nereda sites. Andreas Giesen, Struan Robertson and Bart de Buin, engineers at Royal HaskoningDHV, and Mark van Loosdrecht of Delft University

FIGURE 1 The difference between activated sludge (left) and granular biomass (right)

of Technology, in their paper titled ‘Aerobic Granular Biomass Technology: further innovation, system development and design optimisation’, believe that aerobic granulation is seen as the future standard for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment. In getting down to detail, the aerobic activated sludge granules are aggregates of microbial origin that do not coagulate (change from a fluid into a thickened mass) under reduced hydrodynamic shear (the motion of different layers in a fluid, where the layers move at different velocities), and subsequently settle significantly faster than activated sludge flocs (mass formed in a fluid through precipitation or aggregation of suspended particles). The enhanced sludge settleability of aerobic granular sludge is evident from a comparison of typical SVI (sludge volume index) values – for aerobic granular sludge, the SVI5 (five minutes) tends towards the

SVI30 (30 minutes), with typical values around 30 mℓ/g to 60 mℓ/g, whereas for activated sludge, the SVI30 is typically in the range of 110 mℓ/g to 160 mℓ/g and the SVI5 is not measured because activated sludge exhibits minimal settling in five minutes. With Nereda, the design and control mechanisms are utilised to encourage biomass to form granules with efficient settling properties. In granular sludge, the three reaction zones are present in different layers inside the granular particles, with diffusion connecting the reaction zones, thus allowing simultaneous anaerobic, aerobic and anoxic conditions to exist in the granules. Hence, this technology reduces the need for multiple tanks and recirculation for the different processes. As can be seen in Figure 1, which shows a pictorial representation of the distribution of biological organisms within aerobic granules compared to the activated sludge, including phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO), nitrifiers, denitrifiers and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAO), the Nereda process is a more effective approach. The basic Nereda process cycle, which operates intermittently, with the fill and decant phase occurring simultaneously, is illustrated in Figure 2. Due to the good settling capacity of the aerobic granules, the process does not require mechanical decanters to ensure low solids in the effluent.

Why use this technology? The Nereda technology enables efficient water treatment in compact and uncomplicated designs. The amount of mechanical equipment is much less compared to the conventional processes, reducing investment by as much as 25%. Among others, separate clarifiers, return sludge pumping stations or moving decanters are not necessary. Investment in imported goods is reduced, which is an important extra benefit for developing countries. The simple process scheme makes it easy to operate and, as a result, is more reliable. What’s more, the concentrated biomass substantially reduces tank volume and easily makes the required area a factor 4 smaller. This lowers the direct plant costs for greenfield, brownfield, retrofit or hybrid capacity extension applications and often enables

IMIESA August 2016

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY | ERWAT existing treatment sites to be utilised, rather than necessitating new land acquisition. Operation and maintenance costs are much lower thanks to the reduction in mechanical equipment, chemical-free operation and the remarkably high energy efficiency of the process. On average, a Nereda plant uses 30% to 40% less energy than conventional wastewater treatment plants, while delivering better water quality.

FIGURE 2 The basic Nereda process cycle

Automation To ensure reliable performance, ease of operation and an optimised, energy-efficient treatment plant, each Nereda installation is operated using a fully automated, tailor-made process controller. The AquaSuite Nereda Controller is integrated with the plant’s PLC/Scada to ensure automation, but the plant still needs operators and on-site staff. The Nereda technology is based on optimised sequencing batch cycles. Duration and process parameters in the various cycle steps must be adjusted to assure optimal and efficient performance while, for example, water flow, water composition and temperature fluctuate. The Nereda Controller automates these adjustments and makes effective use of the extensive experience of the Nereda process specialists. Furthermore, the Nereda Controller provides flexibility for future extensions or upgrades. For example, if in future the number of Nereda reactors must be increased to cope with increased water flows, only a simple reconfiguration of the controller will be required. In addition, the PC-based controller enables logging of process parameters. These parameters are transformed into smart process performance information, providing detailed insights into process fundamentals and kinetics. This way, the Nereda Controller is an important instrument in plant performance evaluation, enabling extensive optimisation and early warnings.

The Wemmershoek example The Wemmershoek WWTW in Stellenbosch, commissioned in August 2014 for the local municipality, is also a 5 Mℓ/day with a

39 000 p.e. specification plant. Following the development of granular sludge, the treatment plant is producing excellent effluent quality (well below requirements). The data presented in Table 1 is based on average effluent results from March to April and independently verified by the CSIR. The Wemmershoek WWTW has a discharge limit of 10 mgPO4-P/ℓ. Although the phosphorus concentrations in the final effluent are well below this limit, the process control has not yet been fully optimised for biological phosphorus removal. If optimal Nereda biological phosphorus removal is implemented, effluent or thophosphate concentrations below 0.9 mgPO4-P/ℓ could be achieved without chemical dosing. Concentrations of 1.5 mg/ℓ, 0.6 mg/ℓ and 1.2 mg/ℓ were achieved during March 2015, giving a clear indication of the potential.

Eyes open, not wide shut A common client complaint with many projects is project time and budget overruns, and surprises in operating expenditures later on. With a Nereda installation, good, upfront advice with regard to construction and maintenance costs avoids those unpleasant budgetary shocks that tend to creep in after the fact. With an extensive knowledge database, developed from the experiences of past projects, advice on the following can be obtained: • cost estimates for budgeting • project estimates for renovations and maintenance

TABLE 1 Effluent quality at Wemmershoek WWTW

Parameter COD Ammonium Nitrate Nitrite Total phosphorus Orthophosphate 1

Unit mgCOD/ℓ mgNH4-N/ℓ mgNO3-N/ℓ mgNO2-N/ℓ mgP/ℓ mgPO4-P/ℓ

Average CSIR lab results for final effluent 48 0.3 0.1 0.1 2.6 2.3

Nereda is a registered trademark of Royal HaskoningDHV

IMIESA August 2016

• management estimates to assess a contractor's calculation • advice on building costs, scenario studies, second opinions • long-term maintenance budgets • life-cycle costing • building cost management • budget monitoring/cost control • calculations of added and reduced work • investment calculations • operating budgets • cost/benefit analyses. Consultants can deliver alternative variant studies, provide reports on expertise, as well as offer advice and support to municipalities throughout all the project phases – from initiation through to implementation, including operational maintenance. Knowing the what, when, why and how, and especially the how much, upfront is more than useful in running an efficient operation.

Effluent requirement (general limit) <75 <6 <15 – – <10

In summary According to Chueu, the overriding factors that influenced the decision to go with Nereda spanned both the construction and operational phases of the plant. First and foremost, the small footprint of the Nereda system, given the shortage of land, solved a big problem. Then, as to costs, ERWAT’s Nereda plant came in with a budget of R25 million, compared to the costs of a traditional BNR system that cost anything between R50 million and R100 million. From an operational perspective, Nereda typically uses 25% to 40% less energy, which is directly proportional to energy cost and hence operational costs. With roughly 95% of the construction complete on the project, it’s simply a matter of time before the plant switches into action. All in all, the decision was a no-brainer.

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MUNICIPAL FOCUS | EKURHULENI

Ekurhuleni’s Harambee Like its counterpar ts in South Africa, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has a master plan, and is progressively working towards achieving its goals and objectives. Included in this plan is Harambee, a bus rapid transit system. BY TONY STONE N1

TEMBISA

Midrand Halfway House N1 N1

Birch Acres

Pomona AH

Lethabong Spartan

ALEXANDRA

KEMPTON PARK

Isando

OR TAMBO

Edenvale

Jet Park N12

N12 N12

Bedfordview

Beyers Park

BENONI

N12

East Rand Pty Mines

BOKSBURG

GERMISTON BRAKPAN

N17 N17

N17

ALBERTON

Parkrand

N12

Sunward Park

Wadeville

N17

Windmill Park

KATLEHONG N3

VOSLOORUS Ekurhuleni’s IRPTNN3 Phase 1 route map (Source: Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality)

IMIESA August 2016

MUNICIPAL FOCUS | EKURHULENI

KURHULENI’S INTEGRATED rapid public transport network (IRPTN), proudly named Harambee, which means “pulling” or “working together” in Swahili, will provide safe, reliable and affordable public transport for Ekurhuleni’s 3.1 million citizens. In all, once completed, Phase 1 of Harambee will run from Tembisa in the north, via Kempton Park, to O.R. Tambo International Airport and Boksburg, and on to Vosloorus in the south – a distance of 56 km, with 218 bus stops.

Drive, then from Kempton Park to O.R. Tambo International Airport, via CR Swart Avenue, with a complementary route from Kempton Park to Isando, via Zuurfontein Road. • Phase 1B will run from Rhodesfield to Boksburg, via O.R. Tambo International Airport • Phase 1C will run from Boksburg to Vosloorus. Future cross-border connections of Harambee services have also been proposed. These may include connections to Greenstone, Alexandra, Ivory Park and Midrand.

A phased development approach • Phase 1A will run from Tembisa to Rhodesfield (this initial service was planned for mid-2016, but is running late). Operations will include a feeder service to O.R. Tambo International Airport. Phase 1A comprises: - The trunk section runs from Tembisa Civic Centre in the north to Rhodesfield in the south, via Zuurfontein Road, CR Swart Drive and Pretoria Road. - A northern complementary (trunk extension) service will operate from Tembisa Hospital and integrate with the trunk at Tembisa Civic Centre. - The trunk route will run from Tembisa to Kempton Park, along Andrew Mapheto

Construction update Construction of the transport management centre (TMC), which will ultimately form the backbone of the IRPTN, has been completed. This high-tech centre will allow the city to monitor its public transport services and ensure that commuters travel safely and conveniently. Technologies incorporated in the TMC include: • automated fare collection system • advanced public transport management system, which includes: - CCTV monitoring - automatic vehicle location - incident management - law enforcement

- performance management - bus scheduling - route changes - real-time bus-to-TMC communication - real-time passenger information • video wall. So far, the physical route from Isimuku Street in Tembisa to the pedestrian bridge just before the R25 is almost complete. All that remains to be completed is the construction of the bus stops and a few other minor aspects.

Technical challenges The most complex aspect of Ekurhuleni’s IRPTN project was in the design of the road pavement. Besides climatic and pollution factors, traffic over an extended period damages the road pavement. This damage is caused by axle loads combined with vehicle speeds. Highspeed vehicles cause short duration loads while slower-moving vehicles cause longer duration loads, which are more severe for many types of pavement layers, including continuous reinforced concrete. While specific buses, with their full and empty axle loads, have been selected, the IRPTN road pavement will not be the exclusive domain of buses. On occasion, other heavy-duty vehicles may wander on to the bus lane, for whatever reason. This means the design of the road pavement

TABLE 1 2013 household travel survey indicates the following daily patrons are likely to use the system during Phase 1A

Route Code

Description

Route type

Route length (km)

No. of stations

No. of passengers boarding (peak hour)

T01 C01 F

Tembisa Civic to Rhodesfield Tembisa to Isando All feeder routes of 1A

Trunk Complementary Feeder Total

37 47 173 257

14 trunk stations Bus stops only (on non-trunk) Bus stops only Total

5 054 7 541 6 008 18 603

The near complete section of the Phase 1A route

IMIESA August 2016

IMESA

BURSARY SCHEME Institute of municipal engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA) (IMESA) offers a bursary scheme for full-time studies in the field of Civil Engineering. Other engineering disciplines may be considered only at the discretion of the Executive Council of IMESA.

The aims of the scheme are:

IMESA For more information contact us on:

031 266 3263 031 266 5094 E: bursaries@imesa.org.za W: www.imesa.org.za

To provide financial assistance to students who would otherwise not have been able to afford to study To recognise the achievements of students and prospective students who are dependants of IMESA members

Applications for 2017 will open in June 2016. Closing date for applications is 15 September 2016.

MUNICIPAL FOCUS | EKURHULENI

FIGURE 1 Typical stress distribution in a concrete pavement (Source: Sanral)

TABLE 2 Infrastructure costs for Phase 1A

Component

Budgeted cost (million ZAR)

Roadways (trunk, complementary and feeder routes) Stations Street lighting Depots/holding areas Walkways and cycle lanes Pedestrian bridges ITS and TMC

1 400 200 190 400 100 90 400

cannot just focus around the continuous use by buses. While changes to legal axle load limits and the level of law enforcement also affect the loading and overloading of vehicles, so do changes in the mechanical design and load carrying capacity of vehicles. This all

translates into a host of factors that need to be considered to properly assess the volume, loading, seasonal fluctuation and long-term changes in traffic, specifically that of heavy vehicles, on the road pavement. According to Sanral’s recommendations, the primary load supporting element of a concrete pavement is the rigid layer or concrete slab. The shear strength and stiffness of concrete are high in relation to asphalt or crushed stone road bases, and the imposed stresses are dissipated quickly in the rigid layer. Thus, a thin layer of concrete protects the subgrade in a similar way to thicker layers and combinations of asphalt, crushed stone

BELOW A section of the Phase 1A route BELOW RIGHT The transformation of a Harambee bus station from its initial construction to near finished product can be seen. When complete, the roof will resemble an aircraft wing (Photo: Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality)

TABLE 3 Permissible axle loads

Vehicle

Axle group Steering Single Truck

Tandem Tridem

Bus

Steering Single

Based on 1989 Act, and used in TRH16

and gravel materials. The essential elements of concrete pavements are to design the slab length, slab thickness, and sub-base support type. The slab length is important to mitigate shrinkage cracking. Failures in concrete pavement generally occur at joints and cracks where moisture/ water gains access. This causes erosion of the sub base, causing more vertical movement of the slab. The design of the sub base is essential to mitigate erodibility, which is generally achieved by selecting good material and by stabilising the sub base. This very problem applies to asphalt pavements as well, and underpins why road maintenance is so necessary and why law enforcement, in terms of axle loading, is so critical. The permissible axle load limits, in terms of the average static axle mass for different axle groups, are set by Regulations 234 to 240 of the Road Traffic Act (No. 93 of 1996), and summarised in Table 3. Note that the latest version of TRH16 was published in 1991, and is based on the 1989 Act. Last, but not least, recommended reading for any new or practising civil engineer embarking on a road construction project is Sanral’s South African Pavement Engineering Manual. The entire manual of 14 chapters is free and downloadable from www.nra.co.za, through the Manuals & Policies tab in the Ser vice Provider Zone section. This is an extensive and ver y detailed work that should occupy a place in any consulting or contracting civil engineering company’s reference librar y.

Source: South African Pavement Engineering Manual, Sanral Wheel configuration Permissible static mass (kg) Post-19962 Pre-19961 Single 7 700 7 700 Dual-wheel 8 200 9 000 Single 7 700 8 000 Dual-wheel 16 400 18 000 Single 15 400 16 000 Dual-wheel 21 000 24 000 21 000 24 000 Single 7 700 7 700 Dual-wheel 10 200 10 200

After the increase in legal axle loads in 1996

IMIESA August 2016

WATER MANAGEMENT

The slippery slope of As the ongoing drought places increasing pressure on South Africa’s water resources, some municipalities are resorting to intermittent supply to curb water use. However, this practice may cause damage to reticulation systems that could take years to resolve. DANIELLE PETTERSON

speaks to expert Dr Ronnie McKenzie.

NTERMITTENT SUPPLY is the practice of cutting off water supply to an area at certain times of the day. This is typically done to reduce water consumption and is usually introduced as an emergency measure when reservoir water levels are critically low. Late last year, the Free State became the first province in the country to implement scheduled water-shedding across all of its municipalities. eThekwini Municipality followed suit and instituted night-time water cuts in large parts of Durban to ease pressure on the province’s dams during the drought. While intermittent supply may be unavoidable, as in the case of eThekwini where some water sources basically ran dry, Dr Ronnie McKenzie, managing director, WRP, points out that this practice can result in certain, potentially serious problems. In addition to the obvious health hazards, like cholera and typhoid, it can also result in serious damage to pipeline infrastructure, which can take many years to resolve. He suggests that these extreme measures should only be taken as a last resort to avoid the complications that could arise.

water-shedding the pressure is turned back on. If the air valves are not functional, as is often the case, the air will create problems and can cause pipe bursts, explains Dr McKenzie. In addition to this, a refilling spike can be observed when the system is initially repressurised as water flows into empty pipes after a period of zero water pressure. These sudden and extreme high rates of flow can damage water meters if the peak flow exceeds the upper limit of the meter. “If intermittent supply is allowed to continue, the leakage rates in the reticulation system will gradually increase to such an extent that the system will eventually break down completely,” says McKenzie. “You end up in a downward spiral and you gradually get into a situation like that faced by most of the water supply systems in India.” According to McKenzie, roughly 98% of Indian cities are on intermittent supply and waterborne diseases are rife. Only two of the big cities have 24-hour supply and some places only get water for an hour every third day.

Health hazard In addition to being harmful to pipes, intermittent supply can potentially pose a serious health hazard. Under normal conditions, the water supply is fully pressurised and any leakage from the water supply is clean water leaving the pipes and mixing with the surrounding groundwater. If the system is depressurised, the potential arises for the surrounding groundwater to enter the supply through any leaks in the system. If the groundwater is contaminated, there is a risk that the water supply may become contaminated when the system is repressurised. This can result in certain waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid in cases where there is insufficient chlorine to eliminate contaminants. As long as the system remains pressurised, there is minimal opportunity for the water supply to become contaminated.

More harm than good During the period of no pressure when intermittent supply is implemented, the pipelines will often fill with air, which must escape once

IMIESA August 2016

Undermining water savings McKenzie points to international research done on a large-scale project undertaken in

Cyprus (Charalambous, 2016) regarding the water-saving benefits of intermittent supply. The study observed that that intermittent supply had a detrimental effect on the integrity of the distribution network. In a specific case study, intermittent supply resulted in a 200% increase in mains bursts and a 100% increase in service connection bursts. While the total water use dropped initially after the introduction of intermittent supply, it had increased to pre-intermittent supply levels within three years, eliminating any water savings. In addition to this, it caused water quality problems and customer dissatisfaction. Ultimately, the research concluded that intermittent supply is not an appropriate response to droughts or water shortages.

Combatting water-shedding McKenzie has, however, given some credit to the Department of Water and Sanitation for the manner in which it is managing the bulk water resources in many parts of the country through the use of its water systems models. “We have had no really serious water restrictions in the Vaal River System for the past 35 years since the models were developed by government, which is commendable.” The Vaal system, which supplies the main industrial heartland of South Africa, including the whole of Gauteng, was around 60% full in May 2016 – the end of the 2015/16 wet season (as shown in Table 1). According to McKenzie, this is sufficient water to supply the region for several years and these dam levels, in most countries, would not even be considered a major concern. However, in South Africa, we often have to deal with unusually long drought periods that can extend 10 years or more and, therefore, it is prudent to exercise a cautious approach to the water situation and prevent wastage whenever possible. The Vaal system involves one of the most sophisticated water resource models in the world. The Vaal River System Model covers thousands of kilometres of rivers, tunnels and pipelines, and connects 14 major dams (and over 100 smaller dams) with a combined

WATER MANAGEMENT

GRAPH 1 Storage status of the Vaal River System at the end of the 2015/16 wet season (Source: DWS, 2016)

storage capacity of more than 11 000 million cubic metres. Water can be transferred across hundreds of kilometres between dams and reservoirs to other parts of the system to meet demand, when necessary. The DWS undertakes a 5- or 10-year prediction of the future dam levels at the end of each wet season. Over 1 000 possible climatic sequences are generated to predict the best and worst outcomes over the next 5 to 10 years. In each of these sequences, the system is analysed as though that has happened and a projection is made for each reservoir for that sequence (see Graph 1). Using this technology,

which has been developed in South Africa over the past 35 years, the department is able to identify possible water problems early on in a drought event and can implement water saving measures before water supplies reach critical levels and intermittent supply needs to be implemented. What lies ahead can never be predicted with true accuracy, but the process of trying to establish the likely risks to water supply through the sophisticated modelling approach has helped to minimise damaging water restrictions in Gauteng and elsewhere in South Africa, explains McKenzie. “Serious droughts have occurred in the past and will occur again in future as this is part of the normal climate of the region. Water restrictions will be required sometime in future and some areas may experience

droughts of such severity that intermittent supply is unavoidable,” he says. The approach being recommended, which is already being implemented in many parts of the country, is to ensure that the available resources are being used efficiently and water is not being wasted. In addition, water service providers must try to minimise the severity of water restrictions by taking appropriate action early on in a drought rather than waiting until the situation deteriorates to such an extent that intermittent supply is unavoidable. According to McKenzie, intermittent supply should be the measure of last resort, not a first choice. Water service providers should implement water-saving measures or restrictions early on in a drought to avoid having to take emergency actions, such as intermittent supply, when water supplies can no longer meet demand. McKenzie also makes a case for reducing water pressure, where he indicates that providing a continuous pressure below the normally accepted norms is preferable to periods of full pressure followed by periods of no pressure. Reducing water pressures could therefore be used as a preventative measure in systems where water supplies are not yet at critical levels. Ultimately, intermittent supply will result in short-term water savings, but this is likely to be offset by increased leakages in the long term, resulting in an overall increase in water use.

TABLE 1 Reservoir storages for Vaal River System

Dam name Sterkfontein Vaal Katse Bloemhof Mohale Heyshope Woodstock Grootdraai Zaaihoek Morgenstond Nooitgedacht Vygeboom Westoe Jericho Totals

Full supply volume (mil m3) 2 617 2 610 1 950 1 240 947 447 373 350 185 101 78 84 61 60 11 103

Volume May 2016 (mil m3) 2 319 1 134 1 399 231 333 404 328 313 104 55 53 54 34 48 6 808

% full 88.6 43.4 71.8 18.6 35.2 90.3 87.8 89.2 56.4 54.6 67.0 64.1 56.5 79.6 61.3

IMIESA August 2016

WATER MANAGEMENT

smart solution to water delivery

The

South Africa’s non-revenue water loss amounts to roughly R7 billion a year. With water sources running dr y in par ts of the countr y, as drought conditions continue, South Africa can little afford to lose such a vast quantity of water. BY DANIELLE PETTERSON

CCORDING TO ECKART Zollner, head: Business Development, Jasco, some municipalities lose up to 40% of their bulk water. Municipalities have historically had problems with revenue collection, and the loss of any possible revenue could potentially affect ser vice deliver y. The answer, says Zollner, is to bring in smart technology to increase the efficiency of water distribution. Pete da Silva, CEO, Jasco, explains that the only way to make a water network smart is to install enough measurement points in the network and to monitor the indicators of level, pressure, flow or quality that they produce. By doing this, water utilities would be able to identify leaks as they happen as well as detect any problems in the network related to any of these indicators. “For many years, in South Africa, I think we looked at tackling the problem from the wrong end. We looked at, for instance, tr ying to increase resource capturing, building new dams and increasing dam water; but those are long-term and ver y expensive undertakings. And why capture more water

IMIESA August 2016

if you’re going to waste 40% of it straight away?” questions Zollner. “Software allows a much faster identification of leaks. You have to be proactive.”

Why smart monitoring? A combination of measuring instruments providing a combination of indicators allows you to monitor and conduct predictive analyses to identify what could potentially happen in the water network, explains Da Silva. However, many of the meters in South Africa’s municipalities are analogue and require a technician to visit them daily to replace the paper on which the meter makes its graph. This hardcopy is the only copy of the meter’s output; and, if lost, the municipality would have no record for that meter. While some municipalities have begun to make the change to smart metering, this is done slowly over time, as the infrastructure gets upgraded. The changeover cannot be done in a short space of time because it is labour intensive. Moreover, some of these networks are ver y complex. The City of Cape Town, for example, has over

10 000 km of pipes and Johannesburg has even more, explains Da Silva. “These are huge networks and they are ver y interdependent. You need the data to tell you where the problem is,” says Da Silva. Currently, leaks are mainly detected visually, when water is seeping from the ground. However, in many cases, there are bigger leaks underground that go undetected. “You need the intelligence of smar t metering because the infrastructure is anywhere between 70 and 100 years old. You need intelligent data to tell you where to start replacing first. You can’t replace ever ything at once; you replace and upgrade first where it makes the biggest impact, where you have the biggest leakage problem,” explains Zollner. For that, you need a software solution that gives you the statistics.

Installing a network monitoring system Ever y network has critical points, explains Zollner. These start with elements like dam level monitoring systems and end with monitoring subscriber usage. “A water

WATER MANAGEMENT

Smart metering removes the need to physically monitor and record readings

network is ver y much like a tree, with your main stems and branches and your street level branches. You need metering at all the right branch levels.” The challenge is

getting the underlying water network to a point where you have all the measurement points in place. It is impor tant to ensure that the information from these meters is seamlessly transmitted to a central point. If this smart network is in place, you can analyse the data whenever necessar y. From the analytics of that data, you can do predictive modelling so that, if the data changes, it gives you the intelligence to do something about it before it becomes a problem, explains Zollner. “One meter on its own can’t tell a stor y, but if you have all the right meters and can get all the data, you can derive much more information. Imagine if you had a couple thousand meters all communicating

through a software platform – you could interrogate that and predict just about anything,” says Da Silva. Having a software system in place that collects and analyses the data from your meters provides a much better understanding of information that would take a ver y long time to collect manually, allowing for a much faster reaction time. According to Zollner, some countries that have implemented Jasco’s software monitoring system have brought their nonrevenue water loss below 10%, with some as low as 6%. “Imagine if South Africa could bring its non-revenue loss down from 40% to 8%. It’s a massive saving in monetar y terms but also a massive saving of water, which we know is a finite resource,” says Da Silva. “Ever yone is talking about using grey water and desalination, but if we have a 40% water loss, why not start there?” questions Da Silva. “It has to start with saving first.” IMIESA July 2016

World-class water management products made in South Africa

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WATER MANAGEMENT

Solving the

water hammer problem In any piped water system, you will find the transient “hammer” phenomenon occurring, which can be par ticularly prominent when not factored into the design. Such an oversight can be ver y costly, in pipeline assets and even in loss of life. BY TONY STONE

ATER HAMMER, also referred to as a pressure surge or a hydraulic iner tial head, is the sudden rise or fall in water pressure caused by an abrupt change in its velocity. “Most engineers recognise the existence of water hammer, but few appreciate its destructive force. It is essential for engineers to know when to expect water hammer, how to estimate the possible maximum pressure rise and, if possible, how to provide a means for reducing the maximum pressure rise to a safe limit,” says Allan Budris, principal consultant and pump specialist. A pressure rise or pressure drop is typically caused by a valve closing or opening too quickly, or unexpectedly, which has the effect of the water hitting a solid obstacle or the equivalent of a flash flood. In the case of the valve closing too quickly, the velocity drops to zero

IMIESA August 2016

and the fluid column deforms, within the rigid cross-sectional area of the pipe, to absorb the (kinetic) energy associated with its motion – similar to a truck hitting a concrete wall. A failing pump that comes to a sudden standstill has the same effect as an abruptly closing valve. KSB Pumps provides the following example: for a DN 200 pipe, L = 900 m, v = 3 m/s, the volume of water in the pipeline is calculated by

This is more or less the same as the weight of a truck. At a v = 3 m/s, this corresponds to a speed of 11 km/h. In other words, if the flow is suddenly stopped, our truck – to put it in less abstract terms – runs into a wall (closed valve) at 11 km/h (water mass inside the pipe). In terms of our pipeline, this means that the sequence of events taking place inside the pipe will

A pipe burst at Gillooly’s Farm – a truly costly concern

result in high pressures and in high forces acting on the closed valve. Water has a ver y low compressibility, typically 2.2 GPa. With the valve closed, the pressure increase comes from the compression of the water in front of the valve, which is exacerbated by the entire column of water continuing to travel downstream – as it does not stop instantaneously when the valve closed. In the meantime, travelling at close to the speed of sound, the pressure wave generated travels back up the pipe and conveys the change of pressure upstream against the flow. When the wave front meets the still-moving liquid, it slows to a rest. The liquid that is now stationar y between the wave front and the valve is compressed and at elevated pressure.

WATER MANAGEMENT

ABOVE Schematic of a water hammer event and its effects ABOVE RIGHT Pump specialist Allan Budris RIGHT From small to big: damage to pipelines and property can be minor or extensive

If the pipe is short and the speed of the wave is high, then this process is rapid, and the column slows down more or less evenly, making water hammer imperceptible. However, if the converse is true, and especially if the closure time of the valve is similar to the time the wave takes to travel the length of the pipe, then this compression effect is pronounced and produces high pressures. The first person to describe this effect was Russian scientist Nikolai Egorovich Joukowski. He showed, both in theor y and practice, that there is a maximum pressure that can be produced, known now as the Joukowski head or Joukowski pressure, depending on the units of its expression. It is given by the following formula: H = (V *C) / G

Where: H = Joukowski head, m V = initial velocity of the liquid, m/s C = speed of the sound wave in the pipe (AKA wave celeric), m/s G = 9.81 m/s2 Therefore, for water in a rigid pipe, with an initial water velocity of 3 m/s suddenly stopping, as a result of a rapidly closing valve, and where the wave celeric is 1 500Â m/s, the head produced will equate to 458 m, or 45.8 bar. Such a wave can be problematic, from simple

IMIESA August 2016

WATER MANAGEMENT

ABOVE Extensive damage to a pipeline (Photo: John DiGuilio) RIGHT Water hammer modelling specialist Stuart Ord

noise and vibration to the more substantive pipe failure and/or damage to pumps.

before embarking on a computer model. Look for the longest section of pipe (ignoring smooth pipe bends) and the fastest way of changing the flow rate in the pipeline (a control valve), and do the numbers using the following equations: T = 4L/C P = VCR

Identifying water hammer potential There are a number of mathematical formulae one can apply to specific water hammer situations, e.g. pipe elbows, reducers and other inline components that will be complicit and susceptible to any water hammer produced. Taking all the factors involved in a pipe system and doing a manual, composite set of calculations will be far too complex for most people, except the odd genius. Consulting chemical engineer Stuart Ord, a specialist in water hammer modelling, says, “It’s not possible to give simple, infallible rules for spotting water hammer potential. Computer programs exist that allow pipe systems to be modelled, revealing any potential for water hammer problems. In experienced hands, they can also be used to find the best solution to any such problems.” But, there is one simple “quick” (and approximate) check you can do

IMIESA August 2016

F = 2PA

Where: T= limiting closing stroke time of the valve, s L = pipe length, m C = speed of sound in the fluid in the pipe (AKA wave celeric) P= pressure increase that can be produced, N/m2 V = average speed of fluid before the valve starts to close = Q/A Q = flow rate, m3/s A= pipe cross-sectional area, m2, = 0.25*π(3.142)*D2 R = fluid density, kg/m3 D = pipe diameter F = force that can be produced, N If the stroke time of the valve is less than T seconds, the pressure rise (in addition to any other applied pressure) caused by its closure will be P N/ m2 and the potential force on a pipe support will be F newtons. For example, say L = 1 000 m, C = 1 000 m/s, R = 900 kg/m3, Q = 1 500 m3/hr, and D = 500 mm. Then T = 4 seconds,

P = 1.9 MPa (19 bar), and F = 0.74 MN (75 Te). So, if the valve closes with an actuator time of 4 seconds or less, these are the pressure and force that will be momentarily generated at the valve. Some valves have very non-linear flow-position characteristics, and some could give these values for closing times considerably longer than 4 seconds. “If the calculation shows a total pressure exceeding the pipe design pressure, or a force exceeding the maximum pipe anchor force, and if the valve closes in a time even close to the value T, then proper water hammer modelling is strongly advised,” says Ord. Recommended computer systems, based of functionality and varying capability, are Flowmaster, HiTrans, Hammer or Wanda. The power of water hammer is often underestimated. With pipes laid decades ago, when science and technology were not as advanced as today, the design of pipe networks and, more specifically, what steps were taken to counter water hammer are unknown. If anything, two lessons are learned – prevention is always better than cure, and turn the valve off slowly.

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QUANTITY SURVEYING | PROFILE

The importance of quantity surveying Chris de Wet, Association of SA Quantity Sur veyors (ASAQS) member and registered quantity sur veyor, talks to IMIESA about the pivotal role the profession plays in public sector infrastructure deliver y.

What value does the quantity surveying profession add to the built environment? CdW As long as there are quantities, rates, project values, financial administration requirements, legal contracts, and the like, you will find quantity surveyors (QSs) involved across all industries. QSs are expert administrators; their main focus is on the financial, legal and administrative control of projects.

Do you think that the role of a QS is clearly understood. If not, what is ASAQS doing to change this? In the broader community, there is very little understanding of the services that a QS provides. Therefore, ASAQS has to create a better public understanding of the QS profession. Second, ASAQS needs to do more to promote the role that QSs play in all industries, not just the professional building environment. For example, QSs work extensively in the infrastructure, mining, process engineering, property development, investment, legal, facilities management, construction, subcontracting, material supply and many other sectors.

How do QSs, as industry professionals, help to minimise wastage and budget overruns on projects? There is a false perception in the public domain that QSs are brick

counters that produce bills of quantities for tender purposes. The truth is that, in South Africa, the majority of QS practices conduct feasibility studies, which developers depend upon and use as bankable documents to obtain finance or estimates. The mining, education and many other industries use QSs for order of magnitude and control budget estimates as factors that determine whether or not to proceed with a venture. Thereafter follows financial control management by the QS during the project execution stage to ensure that the expenditure does not exceed the approved feasibility or estimate values. The financial control management procedure varies from client to client, contract type, size of contract, etc. Therefore, the answer to your question is not by brick counting, but by the first factor of accurate feasibility studies or estimates, and then by the second factor of financial management control to ensure that the final project is delivered within the initial feasibility study or estimate parameters. Obviously, QSs are very important in value engineering in all its forms.

selection of sites, consultants, types of contracts, construction methodology and time frames. The various contracts currently used provide procedures for early warning and time barring for change management on projects. QSs use these procedures and, if capable, are entrusted to manage these procedures. Therefore, a variation is identified prior to it happening, evaluated and then either approved, adjusted or rejected, resulting in a final account being current and resolved shortly after completion.

How do QSs help to reduce the additional costs of design variations?

Do QSs have a role to play in tender analysis?

The QS should be involved from the initial stage because additional costs start earlier than the concept stage, when design options are considered. Other upfront costs to manage include the

Could you expand on the role of the QS as a project manager (PM)? These are two separate contractual roles – you are either a QS or a PM. However, QSs make very good PMs. If someone in a practice is appointed as a QS, then somebody else in the practice needs to be employed as the PM. In my view, these are two separate roles and need to be kept independent. However, there are exceptions, especially on smaller projects; but then the emphasis is on the skills of the individual.

The QS should have a major role to play in tender analysis for the following reasons: •A QS draws up the tender documentation. •C ompliance with tender conditions must be paramount.

Chris de Wet is the chairman of the De Leeuw Group

• Price is always a serious consideration. I believe that, normally, if a tender analysis is carried out without a QS, there will be a problem down the road.

Are financial management and contract administration core components? Both are equally important, but separate, responsibilities. Financial management is the core function of a QS and the employer depends on this process for the commercial success of the project. Contract administration could be entrusted to a PM, principal agent, architect, engineer and even a QS. The QS, however, is a non-design consultant and more administration-oriented. It’s important not to confuse roles and responsibilities.

What advice would you give to those considering a career in QS? Find employment with a company where you can gain wide experience, then decide on a field of specialisation – e.g. feasibility studies, funding, project administration, or legal: contracts, expert witness, mediation and arbitration. Then concentrate on providing a service to the community.

IMIESA August 2016

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UTILITIES | PROFILE

Partnering for progress Structa Technology partners with municipalities to improve service delivery and leads the way in manufacturing round and pressed-steel sectional water tanks, lighting masts and masts for electrical distribution.

EYERTON-BASED Structa Technology, a member of the Structa Group of Companies, manufactures electrical masts, utility poles, lighting masts and pressed-steel water storage tanks known as Prestanks, as well as the newly patented round water storage tank known as the Roddy Tank. Structa now offers our water utilities and municipalities two durable, cost-effective water storage products for differing volumes – the Roddy Tank for lower volumes and the Prestank for volumes above 10 000 ℓ. Structa Technology is geared to assist government with its water infrastructure and maintenance programme. Due to Structa’s drive and continuous commitment to technological advancements, it is able to offer cost-effective and durable solutions for water storage.

Roddy Tank Structa Technology has improved its basket of service offerings to municipalities, through the introduction of its new, patented Roddy Water Storage Tank. Through this product, Structa has responded to the need for water storage solutions for lower volumes, up to 10 000 ℓ. This provides alternative, more durable, robust and cost-effective water storage that requires minimal maintenance and is ideally suited to smaller rural villages, schools and clinics. The Roddy Tank is a sectional, round, galvanised water storage tank that offers 3 900 ℓ, 7 200 ℓ and 10 000 ℓ capacities. However, if the client requires more than 10 000 ℓ, this patented system can provide for an easy extension to increase storage capacity. There is, therefore, no need to replace the original water storage tank with a bigger one. The Roddy Tank is ideal for applications such as rural, domestic or industrial water storage as well as agricultural water storage, up to 10 000 ℓ. It has a lifespan of up to 40 years (hot-dip galvanised according to SANS 121 and SABS 1461), is easily transported and erected, and requires minimal maintenance. Structa Technology also manufactures lighting masts

Prestank Structa’s 40-year-old brand, Prestank, has proved itself as a hygienically safe, costeffective and reliable way to store water for communities, commercial sectors, and even for personalised storage. The Prestank is the ideal water storage solution for volumes of 10 000 ℓ and above. Prestank may be used for various water storage applications, including temporary or permanent installations at mines, hospitals, municipalities, rural communities and agriculture. Prestanks are fully customisable, high-quality water storage solutions that are manufactured according to SANS guidelines and meet South African hot-dipped galvanising requirements. A major advantage of the Prestank sectional tank design is that it facilitates easier handling and transportation over long distances to remote areas. Furthermore, on-site assembly is quickly achieved without the need for sophisticated tooling methods. Minimal maintenance is required because the galvanised steel panels resist weathering from the elements and external contamination. Prestanks and Roddy Tanks adhere to the following design codes: SANS 10160 and SANS 10162, for structural loading and structural steel design respectively.

Electrical masts Where electrical masts are concerned, Structa Technology specialises in the design and supply of electrotower electrical distribution monopoles, for both single and double circuits, for 11 kV to 220 kV distribution lines. These include the 259 range (patented eight-sided poles for efficient conductor loading), the 260 range (tubular, costeffective, stayed poles), as well as the 272 range (12-sided masts for heavy-loaded double circuits), among others.

infrastructure in townships and villages.

Structa EPCM Structa EPCM, previously known as Structacom, is a subsidiar y of the Structa Group of Companies that started operations in 1998, of fering project management and engineering services expertise primarily to the telecoms infrastructure sector. The company has Roddy Tank on a 5 m stand since expanded its horizons to offer engineering, procurement and construction management ser vices to a broad base of infrastructure and municipal projects, specifically relating to the structural steel infrastructure products the group manufactures. Through Structa EPCM, the Structa Group also provides the client with a one-stop-shop, turnkey solution. Structa EPCM’s philosophy is to partner with local contractors from the area where the infrastructure is rolled out, to provide the foundations and installations, thereby supporting the respective municipality’s localisation policy and assisting with much-needed job creation for locals. Structa EPCM is a 62% black-owned, 34% black-women-owned, BBBEE Level 2 company.

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IMIESA August 2016

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Part 4:

Risk management plan

A key par t of project planning lies in identifying and putting steps in place to mitigate the numerous potential risks involved on a project. Failing to do so may result in costly delays, missed deadlines or even absolute failure. BY JOHN VAN RIJN, INDEVELOPMENT

COMPLETE AND detailed project plan provides guidance through the expected events of the project. But, what will provide guidance for the unexpected events, especially those events that pose a risk to the project? A risk management plan enables project managers to deal swiftly and effectively with most risks that might arise. It is a strategy that is well thought out prior to action, to eliminate risks when they occur. Risk management doesn’t remove all the risks. It identifies the consequences of individual risks. Like the work plan, the risk

management plan is an evolving plan; it needs to be updated on regular intervals. Usually, the same interval for updating the work plan is chosen. It is also updated when new information comes forward. Sometimes, it is necessary to actively look for new information to identify the most appropriate action. The risk management plan is often presented in the form of risk registers. The contents of a register can be very simple: 1. The description of the risk. 2. The action plan to mitigate or reduce risk. It is possible to add information to the register like: • a description of the causes of the risk • a description of likelihood and consequences of risk • the relative importance of the risk compared to other risks • the triggers, or indicators, that a risk has occurred or is about to occur. And, per action: • the required capacity • the required timing of action • an assessment of the residual risk after action • the estimated cost • the cost-benefit analysis • the suggested actor to control risk. It is, however, not always possible to select the measure immediately and, sometimes, it is necessary to carry out some investigations. Risk management plans may, therefore, include flow charts with information about:

• Activators: The activators define the conditions controlling when the plan has to be used. • Checkpoints: Once the plan is activated, the next step is often to investigate assignable causes. The checkpoints instruct what needs to be investigated. • Point plotters: The point plotter determines whether the item is indeed the assignable cause or the investigation has to continue. • Terminators: Terminators are the actions to eliminate the causes of risks.

Definition A risk is the combination of the likelihood that an adverse event will take place and the consequences of said event. The consequences or damages are often expressed in monetary terms (costs). Risks are often expressed in a formula: Risk = likelihood x consequences The likelihood is the probability or frequency of occurrence of a defined hazard, often expressed in the number of occurrences per year. In this formula, risks are expressed in costs per year. Besides the difficulty of determining realistic figures for the consequences and likelihood, the formula poses another problem. It has difficulties dealing with potential catastrophic events with near-zero probabilities. According to the formula, the risk can be neglected. However, because the

IMIESA August 2016

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TABLE 1 Why do projects fail?

Reason

Percentage

Bad communications between the stakeholders Failure of or non-existing documents Decision-making errors because of failing information Inefficient planning Inefficient quality-control procedures Wrong person in the wrong position Source: SiSO Project Governance Solutions damages are catastrophic, it is best to avoid the risk and insure against it.

Scale points It may be extremely difficult and costly to determine the probability and consequences of a particular event. Alternatively, the project manager and his/her team may use scale points to describe the importance of the risks. The team estimates and values the occurrence of the risk with a mark. Similarly, the team estimates and values the consequences of the risk with a mark. The marks are presented on a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the minimum and 10 the maximum). The marks are then multiplied with each other. The highest possible value of a risk is 100 and the minimum is 1.

Typical risks Typical risks in the construction industry are: • cost/time overruns • unacceptable quality • weather • health and safety • environment • soil conditions. Project managers should be particularly cautious about the soil and environmental conditions. The project site may be located on an old dump yard, meaning the soil may be heavily contaminated. In many countries, the project has to treat the soil prior to construction or dispose of the soil at certain facilities. These facilities store or clean the polluted soil. This often results in additional costs to the project.

IMIESA August 2016

57% 28% 20% 37% 32% 18%

Note that only a small portion of the soil is investigated. A ratio of 1/10 000 is already a very high proportion. This means that the state of a large part of the soil is, to some extent, unknown. The location of the samples influences the reliability of the information. If a sample is taken at the exact location of the pile foundation, it is more likely that the correct length of the pile can be determined prior to drilling. When soil characteristics change between neighbouring samples, it is often necessary to take some more samples between these two samples. Besides sampling the soil, it is advisable to study aerial pictures and interview the people in the neighbourhood of the project to obtain information about the history of the soil. The client of the project is not only affected by the construction-related risks but bears another set of risks to his/her business due to the project, e.g.: • financial and economic risks • social risks

• environmental risks • o perational and maintenance consequences. Depending on their job description, the project manager looks beyond the risks to the construction project and has to take into account the risks to the client’s business. For example, the project manager should not only provide the most realistic cost estimate, but also develop several pessimistic scenarios.

Risk identification The first and most important step for the preparation of the risk management plan is to identify everything that can go wrong with regard to achieving a certain objective. During the design stage, it is necessary to identify the risks that are caused by the design features of the product (construction, infrastructure). Most of these risks are relevant to clients and the regulators. During the preparation and implementation phases of the project, the project management has to identify the risks caused by uncertainties in the production process. Thus, the project management needs to know to what degree the result of the production process can be statistically and technically controlled. During these phases, the project management would develop a task force that is responsible for assessing the risks. The task force can be composed of operators, maintenance engineers, construction engineers and design engineers. The main

TABLE 2 10 easy rules to reduce risks on projects

Reason

Percentage

1 Identify the risks early on in your project 2 Communicate about risks 3 Consider opportunities as well as threats when assessing risks 4 Prioritise the risks 5 Fully understand the reason and impact of the risks 6 Develop responses to the risks 7 Develop the preventative measure tasks for each risk 8 Develop the contingency plan for each risk 9 Record and register project risks 10 Track risks and their associated tasks Source: Business Improvement Architects

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questions this task force has to answer are: 1. What could cause a product to fail to meet its specifications? 2. How can the production process influence the product characteristics and result in a failure? The work plan presents the sequence of activities and is, therefore, a good guideline to identify risks during construction. For every activity, the things that can go wrong and their causes are identified. Typical causes are related to: • human inputs • equipment • the production method • raw materials and semi-finished products • the site (soil conditions, weather, etc.) • measurement techniques. It is important to describe the risks and the causes as concisely and accurately as possible. Some risks may arise from a combination of events.

• Plan from a month before the deadline. • Never allocate resource inputs of people and equipment for 100%. This will result in constraints. A more realistic figure is 80% allocation for professionals and equipment, 50% for middle management and 20% for senior management. • Present the accuracy of cost and time estimate per activity. (The more detailed an estimate, the more accurate the estimate is.) • Progress reports without proposals for changes are indications that something is seriously wrong!

Revise plan to reduce risks As the project progresses, more accurate and realistic data will be available about the duration, used resources and budget, and project managers will have to adjust the plans already prepared.

Allow for some buffers Every project should have buffers with regard to time, resources and budget deadlines. These buffers give projects flexibility. The buffers are ideally based on the probability of expected variances in the estimates of costs, duration and resources for each activity. Here are some rules of thumb: • Project managers should do all their thinking first, before going anywhere near the site. Allow the contractor to prepare technical designs and construction plans prior start of the construction activities.

FIGURE 1 Activity schedule

IMIESA August 2016

Time management Certain activities can be considered more risky than others. For example, activities for which the estimated duration is a pure guess are a potential risk. Activities with long duration or those depending on uncontrollable resources are also potential risks. But, the most potential risks stem from those activities that immediately result in a delay of the whole project if they are delayed. These activities are on the so-called critical path.

Critical path method The critical path method can help the project manager to establish the margins/buffers within the project. The critical path method is presented as an activity on the arrow network plan. The network is composed of paths or links. Each path represents an activity. The

How not to manage risk

longest path is the critical path. Delaying any activity on the critical path will immediately result in a delay of the project. The first and last activities are always on this critical path. The critical path can be identified by determining the following five parameters for each activity: • duration • ES – earliest start time: the earliest time at which the activity can start, given that its precedent activities must be completed first • EF – earliest finish time: equal to the earliest start time for the activity plus the time required to complete the activity • LF – latest finish time: the latest time at which the activity can be completed without delaying the project • LS – latest start time: equal to the latest finish time minus the time required to complete the activity.

Slack time The slack time for an activity is the time between its earliest and latest start time, or between its earliest and latest finish time. Slack is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed past its earliest start or earliest finish without delaying the project. Thus, the activities on the critical path do not have any slack time. To calculate the slack time, it is necessary to calculate the project in two directions. First, the earliest start of all activities is calculated through scheduling the project from the starting date, where all activities take place as soon as possible. Subsequently, the project is scheduled from the latest finish date. Now, all activities are scheduled to take place as late as possible and the respective latest possible starting dates are registered. Perhaps a time-overrun risk can be avoided to replace an activity with a long duration with two or more overlapping activities with smaller outputs and smaller durations.

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IMIESA August 2016

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

Swedish earthmoving

at its best

HE YEAR 1832 is the starting point for the modern-day Volvo Construction Equipment company: a pioneering original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that continues to define and innovate in the field of earthmoving – yellow metal solutions that build today’s and tomorrow’s infrastructure. Over the ensuing decades, there has been a series of definitive roll-outs. (As an aside, Volvo remains the oldest industrial company still trading as a construction earthmoving OEM.) In 2016, this commitment to relentless R&D celebrated a major milestone as Volvo Construction Equipment commemorated the 50th anniversary of its articulated dump truck (ADT) range. It all started with the introduction of ‘Gravel Charlie’ in 1966 (designated as model DR631), an ADT widely regarded in industry as the definitive forerunner of modern units. This R&D philosophy was encapsulated at the Bauma 2016 trade show in Munich, Germany, where Volvo unveiled its evolutionary and top-of-the-range 55 tonne payload Volvo A60H ADT, to international acclaim. (In addition to mining and general construction applications, Volvo develops purpose-built ADTs, including one specified for the landfill industry.) Within Southern Africa, the Volvo earthmoving and power systems brand is supplied and supported by the Babcock International Group, a FTSE 100-listed engineering services organisation posting a latest reported turnover of approximately £4.5 billion (R85.5 billion) and with a forward order book of some £12 billion. Like Volvo, Babcock has a proud lineage that stretches back around 125 years and was one of the first companies to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. One of Babcock’s first visits to South African shores was due to the delivery of a proprietary steam boiler product in the late 19th century for the rapidly emerging gold

IMIESA August 2016

Volvo Construction Equipment is responding to global market demand with the development of parallel products to provide the best return on investment for machine owners. BY ALASTAIR CURRIE The Volvo L120 Gz wheel loader

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

mining industry in present-day Gauteng, once the world’s largest producer of this highly valued precious metal. This historical narrative reinforces the longer-term value proposition of Volvo and Babcock as hallmark brands that have stood the test of time and are positioned to meet evolving requirements with purposedesigned products and world-class parts and service support. Babcock International in Africa is an integrated solutions company that provides a suite of ser vices to the African market, either on a standalone basis or as a turnkey offering. Products within Babcock’s equipment stable include Volvo Construction Equipment, Tadano mobile cranes, the recently acquired Sennebogen agency (specialising in lifting solutions and materials handling for key industries that include scrap metal and ports and harbour ser vices), Terex Trucks, Winget concrete mixers and site dumpers, and SDLG earthmoving machines. Derek Smythe, CEO: Equipment, Babcock, says the company continues to study the trends and needs of the local market to offer the right equipment at the right price, for respective industry requirements.

A total solutions package Globally, Volvo Construction is a leading partner and supplier to public sector and governmental agencies, and Southern Africa is no exception, with Babcock securing steady orders from municipal and stateowned entities. Here, Babcock’s integrated

solutions provide governmental packages that include new earthmoving products and support services; crane hire services for construction, routine maintenance and facility shutdowns (examples include the petrochemical and power utility segments); DAF trucks for the on-highway markets; and standby power generation. In the South African public arena, Babcock’s Engineering business provides boiler and allied maintenance and manufacturing services for Eskom power stations. Babcock also builds generators for private and public sector organisations, while the Powerlines business designs and builds high-voltage switching substations and handles the fabrication and erection of powerline towers and stringing of high voltage lines.

Volvo with TP or Z-bar linkage Volvo continues to develop and manufacture its dedicated Volvo-branded earthmoving range of wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators and ADTs. Volvo has developed two product streams for its wheel loaders, namely the H and F Series with a TP (torque-parallel) linkage, and the G Series with a Z-bar linkage (Gz designation). Models for the Southern African market are: the L60 F, L70 F, L90 F, L120 F, L150 H, L180 H, L220 H, L350 F all with TP linkage, and the L60 Gz, L90 Gz and L120 Gz with Z bar linkage. The Z-bar linkage supports higher performance when using a bucket only – an important selling point in Africa, where customers do not change attachments as

frequently as those in Europe (where the versatility of the typical Volvo TP linkage is generally more attractive). Although both premium machines, the Volvo wheel loaders with Z-bar linkage also have a slightly less complex specification, allowing customers to prioritise certain features according to the budget and demands of the job. Both models can be rebuilt for a second life, and retain their strong resale value in the aftermarket.

Paving For the Southern African infrastructure market, Babcock is also researching the best timing for the introduction of the Volvo paving series. Volvo acquired Ingersoll Rand’s paving equipment business in 2009 and has since transitioned the products through a series of R&D programmes. Volvo paving products have made major inroads in the Asian, European, and North American markets, and Babcock has a longer-term plan in place for a phased local introduction. In terms of regional growth outside South Africa, Babcock continues to make strong gains in the Southern African infrastructure market in countries that include Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia. “Our focus on servicing and supporting our customers has translated into strong gains, with Babcock currently enjoying an increasing share of the market. This provides an excellent springboard for future growth once the industry resurges, which will be spurred on by the expectation of renewed public sector infrastructure spending.” IMIESA August 2016

Join us in INSIGHT

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CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

Doosan earthmovers: made in Korea, for the world

ITH THE ADDITION of the DLA range, nearly three years ago, Doosan has significantly increased its position in the South African wheel loader market. The current DLA series encompasses wheel loaders, namely the DL200A, DL250A, DL300A, DL420A and DL550, with bucket capacities ranging from 2 m³ to 5.3 m³, depending on the machine and application. Approximate operating weights for these units are 11, 14, 18, 22 and 32 tonnes, respectively, and they meet diverse industry requirements in the small-to-medium wheel loader class. “Doosan, which has been manufacturing heavy earthmoving equipment for over 40 years, has an ongoing development programme to manufacture robust machines with advanced design features and high-performance materials for optimum productivity, reduced running costs and low emissions,” says Chris Whitehead, managing director, DISA Equipment, trading as Doosan, part of Invicta Holdings Limited. “The company’s investment in the latest technology gives users the guarantee that Doosan machines offer efficient output power, low fuel consumption, minimal maintenance requirements and extended service life. Operator safety, precise control and comfort are key to product advancement. “Doosan earthmoving equipment – encompassing track, wheel and mini excavators, articulated dump trucks, as well as wheel loaders and various attachments – has been designed to cope efficiently and safely in Africa’s harsh operating conditions,” he adds. Within the medium-class range, Doosan’s DL300A and DL420A wheel loaders are gaining strong ground in Southern Africa due to their robust construction and versatility, advanced digging power and penetration capabilities. Thanks to their straight frame design, these machines also have higher static tipping loads at maximum reach. Power is delivered via Tier II engines: an 8 litre Doosan DE08TIS unit (156 kW at 2 100 rpm) for the DL300A and an 11 litre Doosan DE12TIS unit (210 kW at 2 100 rpm) for the DL420A. On all loader models, the high-strength drawbar pull at the wheels is reinforced by limited slip ZF differentials as standard equipment. This automatically ensures maximum tractive effort, reducing the risk of skidding and preventing excessive tyre wear. Metal-reinforced brake discs are integrated into the planetary reduction gears in the hubs, where the rotation speed is lower. As a result, discs are exposed to lower rpm, while heat generation is reduced. This ensures improved machine stability, extended hours of operation and reduced maintenance requirements. For user convenience, brake disc wear can be measured without disassembling the hub. Other quality improvements for the DLA series include a new hose, which is installed in the air breather of ZF axles to prevent

IMIESA August 2016

breather congestion problems: in other wheel loaders, dust and sand cause clogging of the air breather, resulting in elevated oil temperatures and damage to axle seals. The design of the DLA series has also been improved for enhanced operator comfort. There is more space in the cab, improved visibility, push-button-controlled air conditioning and heating, a comfortable air-suspension seat and convenient storage space. The Doosan range of earthmoving equipment, which is manufactured in South Korea, copes efficiently in diverse sectors, including industrial, construction, civil engineering, agricultural, mining and quarrying environments.

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

Building on the Mitsubishi legacy A history of delivering on Africa’s infrastructure projects.

COMMON SIGHT on Africa’s roads, the iconic Mitsubishi grader series, is transitioning to the Hidromek brand. This follows Hidromek’s acquisition of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) Motor Grader Business Division in November 2013. Hidromek is a leading original equipment manufacturer based in Turkey. Peter Kaliszka, area manager: Polokwane, ELB Equipment – the long-standing distributor of Mitsubishi/Hidromek graders in Southern Africa – says Mitsubishi graders have made their mark in Africa, where they have been used to prepare some of the most desolate and remote roads on the continent. Their popularity is due, in part, to their sheer simplicity in terms of both operation and maintenance, with the electronic component aspect kept to a minimum. The Mitsubishi/ Hidromek series is also equipped with a larger engine than some of its competitors. This passes on benefits when grading at low revs. “The end result of this is a grader that is more economical than small-engine competitors in hard working environments. Similarly, the engine is not strained and, as a result, is more

IMIESA August 2016

reliable with less chance of breakdowns. That is why, in over 25 years since the first machines went into operation in Southern Africa, we have only ever replaced two engines (one as a result of flood damage, the other as a result of misuse),” says Kaliszka. Current models include the Hidromek MG 330 (14 tonne), MG 431 (16 tonne), and MG 460 (18 tonne) units.

Conquering Namibia One of the toughest testing grounds on earth is in Namibia, where these machines have excelled. Apart from the terrain, the country is also sparsely inhabited, with occasional settlements and vast distances between towns. This requires grader crews to head into the wilderness, for weeks on end, with enough diesel and supplies to reach far-flung places and grade roads in order to keep communities connected. Erich Bartsch, managing director, Barex Equipment – ELB Equipment’s dealer in Namibia – has secured a series of

orders for new Hidromek graders to meet municipal fleet requirements over the past three years and is currently responsible for the aftermarket support of the country’s large fleet of Mitsubishi/Hidromeks. “Namibia boasts some of the best-graded gravel roads in the world, despite the rural nature of the country. It relies on our machines to maintain the toughest parts of the country’s roads and has done so for the past two decades, when the newly formed government received a gift of 14 Mitsubishi graders from the Japanese government. Those machines have proved themselves over and over and are still in operation across the country today,” Bartsch says. Namibia is just one example of the many countries in Africa, including South Africa, where the Hidromek grader brand is a trusted partner for road construction. “In future, fleet owners who have become loyal to the brand will have more choices as newer and more sophisticated machines get added to the line-up to fill niches in urban and specialist applications. So, watch this space,” concludes Kaliszka.

A new Hidromek MG 460 motor grader owned by Cango Construction in operation on a job site in northern Namibia

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES AECOM siphokuhle.dlamini@aecom.com Afri-Infra Group (Pty) Ltd banie@afri-infra.com AJ Broom Road Products ajbroom@icon.co.za Arup SA rob.lamb@arup.com Aurecon Fani.Xaba@aurecongroup.com Aveng Manufacturing Infraset cgroenewald@infraset.com Bigen Africa Group Holdings otto.scharfetter@bigenafrica.com BMK Consulting brian@bmkconsulting.co.za Bosch Munitech info@boschmunitech.co.za Bosch Stemele bsdbn@boschstemele.co.za Brubin Pumps sales@brubin.co.za BVI Consulting Engineers marketing@bviho.co.za Civilconsult Consulting Engineers mail@civilconsult.co.za Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa secretary@corrosioninstitute.org.za CSIR Built Environment rbapela@csir.co.za Development Bank of SA divb@dbsa.org.za DPI Plastics mgoodchild@dpiplastics.co.za EFG Engineers eric@efgeng.co.za Elster Kent Metering leon.basson@elster.com Engcor Engineers masham@engcorengineers.co.za Fibertex South Africa (Pty) Ltd rcl@fibertex.com GIBB yvanrooyen@gibb.co.za GLS Consulting nicky@gls.co.za Gudunkomo Investments & Consulting info@gudunkomo.co.za Hatch Goba (Pty) Ltd info@hatch.co.za Henwood & Nxumalo Consulting Engineers cc pmboffice@hn.co.za Herrenknecht schiewe.helene@herrenknecht.de Huber Technology cs@hubersa.com Hydro-comp Enterprises dan@edams.co.za I@Consulting louis_icon@mics.co.za ILISO Consulting hans@iliso.com INGEROP mravjee@ingerop.co.za Integrity Environment info@integrityafrica.co.za Jeffares and Green dennyc@jgi.co.za Johannesburg Water rtaljaard@jwater.co.za KABE Consulting Engineers info@kabe.co.za Kago Consulting Engineers kagocon@kago.co.za Kantey & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers info@kanteys.co.za Kitso Botlhale Consulting Engineers zimema.jere@gmail.com Knowledge Base info@knowbase.co.za Lektratek Water general@lwt.co.za Lithon Project Consultants (Pty) Ltd info@lithon.com Makhaotse Narasimulu & Associates mmakhaotse@mna-sa.co.za Malani Padayachee & Associates (Pty) Ltd admin@mpa.co.za Maragela Consulting Engineers admin@maragelaconsulting.co.za

Marley Pipe Systems info@marleypipesystems.co.za Martin & East gbyron@martin-east.co.za Masithu Consulting & Project Management info@mcpm.co.za Mhiduve adminpotch@mhiduve.co.za Moedi Wa Batho Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd info@wabatho.co.za Mott Macdonald Africa (Pty) Ltd mahomed.soobader@mottmac.com Much Asphalt leon.alberts@muchasphalt.com Nyeleti Consulting ppienaar@nyeleti.co.za Odour Engineering Systems mathewc@oes.co.za PMA Consulting pragasen@pmaconsultingsa.co.za Pumptron info@pumptron.co.za Pragma nicojobe.mabaso@pragmaworld.net francisg@rhdv.com Royal HaskoningDHV SABITA info@sabita.co.za SALGA info@salga.org.za SARF administrator@sarf.org.za.co.za SBS Water Systems desere@sbstanks.co.za Sembcorp Siza Water info-sizawater@sembcorp.com Servotech (Pty) Ltd finance@servotech.co.za Sight Lines sales@sightlines.co.za SiVEST SA garths@sivest.co.za SKYV Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd kamesh@skyv.co.za SMEC capetown@smec.com SNA stolz.j@sna.co.za Sobek Engineering gen@sobek.co.za Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology director@sasst.org.za SRK Consulting jomar@srk.co.za Syntell julia@syntell.co.za TPA Consulting roger@tpa.co.za UWP Consulting craign@uwp.co.za Vetasi south-africa@vetasi.com VIP Consulting Engineers esme@vipconsulting.co.za VOMM commerciale@vomm.it VUKA Africa Consulting Engineers info@vukaafrica.co.za Water Institute of Southern Africa wisa@wisa.org.za Water Solutions Southern Africa ecoetzer@wssa.co.za Wilo South Africa marketingsa@wilo.co.za WorleyParsons hans.karemaker@worleyparsons.com WRP ronniem@wrp.co.za WRNA washy@wrnyabeze.com WSP Group Africa dirk.hattingh@mbs-wsp.co.za

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LEKWA Sustainable township development ISSN 0257 1978

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ISTRIBUTED LOCALLY by Kemach JCB, the Pothole Master is a special edition of JCB’s 3CX backhoe loader, purpose designed as a single-machine solution for urban road maintenance worldwide. The Pothole Master comes equipped with a backhoe–mounted, 400 mm wide patch planer, and a 2.3 m wide hydraulic sweeper collector shovel located on the front loader arms. Adding to the machine’s versatility, these JCB work tool attachments can be removed and interchanged, depending on the application. As a further plus, JCB’s optional handheld power tool hydraulic circuit, mounted on the side of the machine, enables road workers to use handheld breakers and saws to cut around ironwork in the road and to provide a clean end to the patch area. The 400 mm wide planer is suitable for a wide range of tasks, from single-pass small pothole repairs to complete highway sections. Here, the 3CX’s side-shift capability ensures that the operator can plane the full width of the machine, without having to relocate the backhoe loader. At the front end, the sweeper shovel’s enclosed brush, which uses an integrated mix of plastic and wire for maximum durability, provides clean pick-up of road planings with minimal dust and no risk of material being thrown away from the machine. One or two

IMIESA August 2016

Pothole repairs on the go ABOVE A rear view of the Pothole Master, showing the dipper-mounted, 400 mm wide patch planer attachment RIGHT JCB has incorporated a hydraulic lift feature that moves the brush canopy away from the bucket. This allows the operator to use the bucket to collect planings from larger areas

passes of the planed area are enough to provide a clean work area that is ready for repair and asphalt relaying.

Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a specialised provider of sustainable water services in Southern Africa