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IMESA IM ESA TThe official magazine off th the Institute of Municipal En Engineering of So outh Southern Africa
IINFRASTRUCTURE IN N DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY
CHUCHEKA C HUCHEKA MHLONGO, DBSA Making it quick – Speeding up delivery at local level
A global powerhouse delivering local solutions
Panel Discussion Road network maintenance and management
Municipal focus
City of Johannesburg
Asset Management IMESA builds SA’s assets
IN THE HOT SEAT I think it’s important for young engineers to know that the public sector can provide a good foundation to build on.” Trueman Goba, Chairman, Hatch Goba ISSN 0257 1978
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CONTENTS turene.w www.infrastruc
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VOLUME 40 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2015
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IMESA IM
CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT Construction equipment for emerging contractors
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Marking it quick ry at Speeding up delive local level
Panel Discussion Insight into road ce network maintenan and management
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Asset Management
MUNICIPAL FEATURE Jozi: A journey of change
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IMESA builds SA’s assets
IN THE HOT SEA
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to know that the public for young engineers think it’s important to build on.” a good foundation sector can provide
Trueman Goba, Chairm
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Regulars
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AECOM has diversified its market presence with the recent acquisition of URS. This has dramatically accelerated AECOM’s strategy of creating an integrated delivery platform, with superior capabilities, to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets around the world. P6
Editor’s comment President’s comment Africa round-up Index to advertisers
3 5 8 72
Cover Story Aecom
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Municipal Feature Jozi: A journey of change
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Hot Seat Hatch Goba
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Human Settlements
HOT SEATT Trueman Goba, chairman of Hatch Goba, takes IMIESA’s Hot Seat to discuss the role of engineers in South Africa today.
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Putting it together Fast-tracking housing delivery Building outside the box Relocating people the right way
16 20 23 24
Partnering for Infrastructure Funding and support – The key to unlocking rapid development
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CEMENT & CONCRETE Concrete canvas introduced to SA
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Construction Vehicles & Equipment Construction equipment for emerging contractors
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Roads, Construction, Maintenance & Management Upgrading a vital corridor Panel Discussion
40 41
Public Transport Smart streets for complete access 58
SHEQ Safety through innovative 3D design 60
Cement & Concrete Good, better, readymix concrete Concrete canvas introduced to SA Optimising cement production
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Technology & Innovations
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Strength through synergy Coordinating a smarter future High-performance project delivery
Asset Management Managing municipal infrastructure
Reducing fleet costs – A major challenge
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62 63 64
66 68 70
ASSET MANAGEMENT Managing municipal infrastructure
IMIESA February 2015
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EDITOR’S COMMENT
PUBLISHER Elizabeth Shorten EDITOR Nicholas McDiarmid EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Liesl Frankson HEAD OF DESIGN Hayley Mendelow DESIGNER Kirsty Galloway CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders SUB-EDITOR Beatrix Knopjes CONTRIBUTORS B Grib, B Knopjes, L Chetty, D Lievaart, L Palmer & R Byrne CLIENT SERVICES & PRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh Botma PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jacqueline Modise FINANCIAL MANAGER Andrew Lobban MARKETING & DIGITAL MANAGER Esther Le Roux MARKETING SPECIALIST Philip Rosenberg 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 ___________________________________________________
If you build it, they will come
A
NYONE would be forgiven for arching their eyebrow at the suggestion that the current South African public infrastructure sector may resemble a field of dreams. The now hackneyed line, famously delivered by Kevin Costner, suggests old-school wisdom of the most proactive variety. Is it true? In the sphere of local government in South Africa, it may well be. The skills gap in the public sector is nowhere more profound than outside the major metropolitan areas. While it is common cause that rural areas are by far the most in need and suffer the greatest infrastructure and service-delivery backlogs, the challenge for the so-called secondary cities, also known as the M2 and M3 metros, also lies in attracting and retaining the technical skills to plan and implement effectively. So what has actually been done about this? Quite a lot, it turns out. The National Development Plan is widely accepted as an intelligent plan. Its 17 Strategic Infrastructure Projects are extremely well-strategised interventions, with applications at local and national level that are mutually beneficial. But plans, much like funding, have never really been the constraint. The Infrastructure Development Act, signed into law in June last year and “aimed at fast-tracking regulatory decisionmaking and speeding up the implementation of strategic infrastructure projects earmarked for South Africa,” supports this. Again, it comes back to skills. The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee has come some way in addressing the implementation challenges. One key strategy that is emerging as a viable solution – one that could make the difference, and possibly tip the scale – is to rapidly and effectively boost development and construction of infrastructure, generally, and revenue-generating infrastructure, specifically in our secondary cities. While the benefits are obvious, they are worth enumerating:
ADVERTISING SALES Jenny Miller Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223 ___________________________________________________
PUBLISHER: MEDIA No. 4, 5th Avenue, Rivonia 2056 PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 E-mail: nicholas@3smedia.co.za www.3smedia.co.za ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R550.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS IMESA Administration Officer: Narisha Sogan 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 BRANCH Secretary: Melanie Matroos Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2401 Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266 E-mail: melaniem@buffalocity.gov.za EAST CAPE BRANCH Clarine Coltman Tel: +27 (0)41 505 8019 Fax: +27 (0)41 585 3437 E-mail: clarinec@africoast.com KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH Secretary: Rita Matthews Tel: +27 (0)31 311 6382 Fax: +27 (0)31 701 2935 NORTHERN PROVINCE BRANCH Secretary: Rona Fourie Tel: +27 (0)82 742 6364 Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644 E-mail: imesanorth@vodamail.co.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO BRANCH Secretary: Henrietta Oliver Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Fax: 086 536 3725 E-mail: imesa.southcape@gmail.com WESTERN CAPE BRANCH Secretary: Erica van Jaarsveld Tel: +27 (0)21 938 8455 Fax: +27 (0)21 938 8457 E-mail: erica.van_jaarsveld@capetown.gov.za FREE STATE AND NORTHERN CAPE BRANCH Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27(0)83 457 4362 Fax: 086 628 0468 E-mail: imesa.fsnc@gmail.com
Nicholas McDiarmid
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• providing the essential services sustainably and attract investors and create a job market • empowering the M2 and M3 metros with revenue-generating assets, and decreasing their dependence on off-the-book funding • taking the pressure off South Africa’s primary metros, notably in terms of housing and transportation backlogs and decentralising development • increasing economic opportunities for supportive industries. The list doesn’t end there but, as is clear, achieving infrastructure interventions that can deliver the foundations for this shift will result in exponential benefits. The DBSA is has taken on the implementation challenge, and is itself not short on skills. It has an internal technical capacity that is proving capable of delivering aligned projects, in partnership with committees made up of the private-sector engineering capacity, which is delivering. Now. The emphasis is on speed; the emphasis is on catalytic projects; the emphasis is on delivering as soon as possible. IMIESA has been in the enviable position of tracking and unpacking this innovative approach and you can read up on the details of how the strategy may just well inject new growth and a new vision for municipal infrastructure and service delivery. If there is a cohesive theme to this edition, it is not so much addressing the skills shortage. It is identifying the institutional strength that does exist in the South African public sector, and how the skills that we do have are in fact coming up with workable solutions. These include impressive – and realistic – approaches from the Department of Human Settlements, the NHBRC, the CIDB, and several local government implementing agencies who have recently announced massive infrastructure investment plans. IMIESA will continue to track the coordination of this massive enterprise.
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Asset Management
MEN AND THE BITU EDITION ASPHALT
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Cover opportunity In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the C opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or o service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the s advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on a cover bookings contact Jenny Miller on tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223. c
tnerships ough par thrro IN T THE HOT SEAT think it’s important for young engineers to know that the public sector can provide a good foundation to build on.”
again, it T er space ions.” HOT SEA ted suppli rke o truste a ket ccondit marke ’ m ting in a y ’s day’s oda today we are opera to deliver forr to ity Now that 015 nuary 2 1 • Ja in our capac 40 No. really is Tosas olume 78 V Director,
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IMIESA February 2015
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PRESIDENT’S COMMENT
Training our future engineers Duncan Daries, IMESA president
A belated greeting of well wishes and prosperity for the new year to all readers of IMIESA magazine.
T
HE COUNTRY has just released the annual matric results and I take this opportunity to congratulate all successful matriculants and extend warmth and appreciation to all parents and teachers for their efforts over the past year. Early analysis of the results has indicated a drop in the overall percentage of passes, but at the same time showing a steady improvement in the quality of the passes. Our municipal engineering environment relies heavily on the matric candidates who follow the mathematics and physical science curriculums, as an entry requirement for the engineering courses on offer at a tertiary institution level. Alternatively, FET colleges also offer construction learnerships for much-needed engineering artisans. I however wish to address the practical training of civil engineers during and after obtaining a tertiary qualification, be it BSc Eng., B Eng., B Tech. or ND in Civil Engineering. In the 1970s and 1980s, national departments such as Water Affairs, Transport, Public Works, Provincial Transport and Roads, as well as the bigger cities and towns, were primarily the training hub for civil engineers. Although this was driven by the need to resource their individual services’ needs, there
was enough training throughput to benefit the country as a whole. Concurrently, consulting engineering practices were also training civil engineers. Things changed in the 1990s as a result of various factors, such as restructuring within the national, provincial and municipal environments. Increased outsourcing of design work, as well as the closure of departmental construction teams in municipalities, affected the ability to provide an ideal environment for developing and exposing young engineers to the full facets of engineering. An exodus of competent engineers also hit the municipalities and provinces when the perception was created (and in most cases realised) that transformation was going to sideline them. This left these institutions with large gaps in middle management and specialist positions, which are vital to the ongoing training of entry-level engineers. The burden of training thus started falling on the consulting engineering industry more heavily. In the past, consulting engineers recruited quite a few professional engineers from the ranks of government institutions. The reverse started happening when government institutions started to recruit professionals from the consulting engineering fraternity as there was not enough throughput from their internal
training interventions. Currently, I don’t believe that the consulting engineering fraternity is able to provide an ideal training environment for young engineers because of the tendering system in place. Too high discounted rates convert to cutting down on time invested in training and quality of service to the client. National departments are in the best position to analyse and understand the need for the training of engineers through statistical data collected from municipalities. They also control the funding regime of infrastructure grants and are thus able to direct appropriate training interventions. Effectively, they need to get back to the position of being the lead in training of engineers. After all, engineering and infrastructure go hand in hand. Likewise, Metros and large municipalities need to increase their training throughput, not just for their own needs but for the benefit of smaller municipalities; some of which do not have competent engineering skills on board to render supervision over trainees. The following interventions are already in place in some institutions but need to be expanded: • internship programmes for graduate engineers, technologists and technicians, especially since funding from SETAs can be accessed
• experiential training for student technicians • placement of trainee municipal engineers with consultants on projects as part of contractual arrangements, in order to obtain the necessary design and project supervision skills for registration purposes • appointment of external mentors to oversee the training requirements and progress of trainees • formalisation of experiential training and the rotation of trainees so that a wide range of experience is obtained. A major contributing factor to the retention of engineering skills within the municipalities is the ability to provide a learning environment and possibilities of growth in knowledge, as well as position in the organisation. Recognition for obtaining professional status, as well as it being a requirement for further advancement, will also ensure that candidates avail themselves for training interventions and continued professional development. Most of all, I appeal to all government institutions and municipalities to value and give the necessary recognition to the municipal engineering practitioners in your employ. Countrywide, there exists a shortage of this skill and the country needs all hands on deck in order to continue building the required engineering skills capacity to manage the much-needed infrastructure for sustainable service delivery and continued economic growth.
IMIESA February 2015
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COVER STORY
AECOM
A global powerhouse AECOM provided full quantitysurveying services for this four-star green-rated building in Pretoria
Full quantity-surveying services provided for the Portside Green Star-rated building in Cape Town PHOTO RAPHAEL HELMAN
AECOM and URS have joined resources and now operate as a single company like no other. More than ever, AECOM is having a positive impact transforming and improving lives on a truly global level.
I
N LATE 2014, AECOM – the world’s top-ranked engineering design firm – completed its acquisition of URS Corporation. Michael Burke, AECOM CEO, says: “Beyond the compelling benefits that this transaction creates for our combined UNPARALLELED clients, stockholdSERVICE ers and employees, OFFERINGS: the combination of • Architecture AECOM and URS • Building engineering dramatically accel• Construction services erates our strat• Design and planning egy of creating an • Economics • Energy integrated deliver y • Environment platform, with supe• Government rior capabilities, to • Mining • Oil and gas • Programme, cost, consultancy • Programme management • Transportation • Water
design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets around the world.” The acquisition further diversifies and broadens AECOM’s market presence, as URS brings strong sector exper tise in important markets, including oil and gas, power, infrastructure, industrial and government. URS also adds to AECOM’s construction capabilities, deepening a core competency that AECOM will be able to leverage across its global platform. URS complements and expands AECOM’s offering through providing a full range of programme management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; management and operations; information technology and decommissioning and closure services. combined revenue
$19.2 billion FY 2014
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IMIESA February 2015
AECOM in Africa When scoping the opportunities for enhancing and protecting the world’s built, natural and social environments, Africa’s potential is as vast as its extraordinary land mass. With a long history of working on the continent, AECOM’s operations in Africa now boast more than 1 900 people and a track record of delivering excellence to clients in more than 40 African countries. Its diverse knowledge and experience of these markets is backed by its strong technical credentials and knowledge of Africa’s critical infrastructure needs. URS’s expertise in engineering, construction and technical services for public and private sector clients strengthens AECOM’s capacity to improve the lives of communities across Africa. AECOM’s chief operating officer in Africa, Tim Ter Haar, says: “The new AECOM contains the capabilities to design, build, finance, operate and maintain
COVER STORY
delivering local solutions AECOM was appointed to initiate the design of the Durban dig-out port in KwaZulu-Natal
AECOM was the principal agent, project manager and civil, structural engineer for the Sedibeng Brewery in Gauteng
AECOM’S CORE SERVICES
100 000 Approximate staff count infrastructure assets across a range of global markets. Whether we ser ve clients at a particular phase of a project life cycle or throughout it, our role is to apply creative vision, technical expertise, interdisciplinar y insight, and diverse experience to address complex challenges in new and better ways. We help our clients deliver critical resources and ser vices to people, improve the places where they live and work, and sustain a world in which we can all flourish.”
Diverse disciplines, a common purpose “We draw together teams of engineers, planners, architects, landscape architects, environmental specialists, economists, scientists, consultants and construction specialists, as well as cost, construction, project and programme managers,” Ter Haar illustrates. “Our people are dedicated to finding the most innovative and appropriate solutions, and improving quality of life.
AECOM serves clients at all phases of the project life cycle. The combined company has a greatly enhanced capacity to provide integrated delivery capabilities, covering all four components of the infrastructure asset life cycle – design, build, finance and operate – that customers around the world increasingly demand.
Enhancing lives, sustaining livelihoods “We understand the importance of fresh water, clean and reliable energy, efficient transpor tation systems and industrial facilities, as well as beautiful and wellserved buildings, communities and cities,” explains Ter Haar. “We live and work where you do. We are also dedicated to serving
ABOUT AECOM With nearly 100 000 employees — including architects, engineers, designers, planners, scientists and management and construction services professionals — serving clients in more than 150 countries around the world, AECOM is a premier, fully integrated infrastructure and support services firm. AECOM is ranked as
you in your city or around the globe in more than 150 countries.” The new AECOM brings a collective wealth of experience and skills across a diverse range of markets to deliver a highly differentiated service. Its local delivery is informed and empowered by its truly global perspective and the expertise of nearly 100 000 employees around the world.
www.aecom-urs.com
the number-one engineering design firm by revenue in Engineering News-Record magazine’s annual industry rankings. The company is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves, including transportation facilities, environmental, energy, oil and gas, water, high-rise buildings and government. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge,
IMIESA offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a two-page cover story and a cover picture to promote their products to an appropriate audience. Please call Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223 to secure your booking.
innovation and technical excellence in delivering solutions that create, enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural and social environments. A Fortune 500 company, AECOM companies, including URS Corporation and Hunt Construction Group, had revenue of approximately $19.5 billion during the 12 months ending 30 September 2014.
IMIESA February 2015
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AFRICA ROUND-UP
INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT TANZANIA Tanzania seeks $1 billion infrastructure upgrade via Eurobond The Tanzanian government has showcased some mega infrastructure projects worth over $10 billion to large-scale financial institutions for potential consorting through equity or favourable debt considerations. The government also plans to raise $1 billion by floating the Eurobond for long-term infrastructure investments, having an ultimate goal of unlocking and connecting remote key production areas and markets. Speaking on the issuance of the Eurobond last week, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Saada Mkuya Salum, said, “The responsibility for meeting the enormous demand for new and better infrastructure remains to be of paramount importance, owing to increased population and fast-growing economic activities.” She said the government was finalising important processes that will lead to floating the Eurobond to finance infrastructure projects to be outlined in the next budget. “We needed to put our house in order before floating the Eurobond to avoid
8
IMIESA February 2015
mistakes made by other subSaharan countries.”
KENYA Kenya’s 10 000 km road project kicks off Kenya’s 10 000 km of roads construction project has finally kicked off. The roads are going to be constructed in three phases, which will be divided into 2 000 km, 3 000 km and 5 000 km. The first phase has been subdivided into 45 lots. The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, John Mosonik, indicated that the government has already received bids from 49 individual bidders who have also been pre-qualified. The roads project will be undertaken within a period of three years under a publicprivate partnership. The total estimated cost of the project is $9 billion. Other sources of funding include local banks and other financiers under the annuity model with minimum state funding. In this model, the contractors will be tasked Kenya is planning to expand and improve the road network to boost trade and ease transportation across the country
with construction, operation and maintenance of the roads.
Lake Tanganyika
UGANDA ZAMBIA Millions poured into Lake Tanganyika project The government of Zambia has recently received a loan approval worth $22.49 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the development of areas around Lake Tanganyika. In addition to the installation of drainage and water distribution systems, the development of infrastructure will involve installing central pivot systems to enhance the production of sugar cane. It will also see the development of 13 modern market platforms, as well as smallscale irrigation schemes. Part of the Lake Tanganyika project will also involve the training of farmers, among other capacity-building initiatives. This project is part of Zambia’s Vision 2030 strategic plan and will help in the development of the country’s economy. This will in turn create jobs for locals and help in rural improvement. The Lake Tanganyika project will be implemented in the Nsama and Mpulungu districts, and is expected to take a period of five years. The whole project is estimated to cost $29.62 million. The Global Environment Facility has contributed $7 million towards it, with the government of Zambia giving $190 000.
Botched Katosi Road project to cost double The Ugandan government is negotiating with a new contractor to build the botched 74 km Mukono-Kyetume-Katosi-Nyenga road project. At USh254 billion (Ugandan shillings), which is approximately R1 billion, the project will be almost double the initial cost. M/S JV SBI International Holding and Reynolds Construction Company Limited (RCC) are negotiating with government under the emergency procurement of road construction works arrangement. The new ‘favourable’ bid from SBI and RCC is awaiting approval from Attorney General Peter Nyombi, having been “evaluated as the best bidder at a total cost of just under USh254 billion.” The first contract awarded to Eutaw last year was worth USh165 billion but was cancelled in August by the Inspectorate of Government (IG), after allegations sprung up that Eutaw was a phony company and that the contract procurement process had been mismanaged. But last November, the Uganda National Roads Authority, with authorisation from the IG, embarked on what they termed an ‘emergency procurement process’ for the project.
AFRICA ROUND-UP
This meant there was no open bidding and two firms, Kolin Construction and SBI – which put in a joint bid with Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) – were enlisted. We have been told that Kolin put in a bid of USh285 billion while SBI (and RCC) put in the favourable bid of USh254 billion. This means that irrespective of which firm won the deal, the total cost of the Katosi Road project could jump to about USh339 billion on completion. This figure takes into account the USh25 billion that was advanced to Eutaw, the new SBI/RCC bid of USh254 billion, and the USh60 billion compensation sought by the Chinese firm Chongquing International Construction Corporation, which had been subcontracted by Eutaw.
NIGERIA Nimasa dockyard construction to gulp N58 billion The construction of a ship-building and dockyard facility in the Delta State of Nigeria is expected to require over N58 billion (approximately R3.7 billion). The contract, which includes ancillary buildings and electro-mechanical works and facilities at the cost of N40 243 702 763.38, was awarded to Nairda Limited with a delivery period of 36 months. The contract for the civil work was awarded to Mangrovetech Construction Engineering Nigeria and 15% of the contract sum of N18 457 283 591.91 has been paid.
The capital-intensive nature of this project and other commitments compelled the director general of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Nimasa), Patrick Akpobolokemi, to appeal to the federal government to exempt the agency from contributing to the federation account for a period of five years. Akpobolokemi said the dream of the Nimasa shipyard and dockyard, which will be managed by the private sector, is to transform the maritime sector into an industry that will generate capable manpower, which will contribute significantly to the nation’s GDP. He said the vision behind the shipyard, which is being developed in two phases, is to have a world-class building and repair facility that will be commercially viable to transform the nation’s economy.
LIBERIA Public Works launches $5.6 million CIDP The newly appointed Minister of Public Works, William Gyude Moore, has officially launched the first phase of the Community Infrastructure Development Project (CIDP), which runs from ELWA junction to Roberts International Airport (RIA). According to the minister, the CIDP project is worth $5.6 The construction of a ship-building and dockyard facility in the Delta state of Nigeria is expected to require over N58 billion
million and will last for a period of three years. Moore said the ministry was committed to building roads and laying out alleys that would help provide increased access to various communities and homes throughout the country. He further explained that the ministry would be aggressive during this dry season in meeting up with some its plans, including opening alleys and corridors within communities along the road, installing sidewalks, and planting curves. The grant for the project is being funded from the Japanese rice monetisation programme, known as the Counterpart Value Fund.
RWANDA Government to upgrade over 7 192 km of roads The Rwandan government plans to ensure that all road construction projects that were earmarked in the national budget as per the 2014/15 fiscal year are completed as scheduled. This is to support the private sector’s efforts to deliver the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II) goals. Over 7 192 km across the country will be repaired or upgraded to ensure that quality and adequate infrastructure is in place to enable the public and private sectors to deliver Rwanda’s economic objectives, according to James Musoni, Minister for Infrastructure. “We want to scale up our efforts towards the realisation of this objective to reduce the cost of doing trade in the country, making Rwanda more competitive and linking producers to markets,” Musoni says. Last month, the government and the African Development Bank signed a concessional loan agreement worth $74.4 million to finance the construction of the 51 km
Base-Gicumbi-Rukomo road. It is projected that, once completed, it will greatly facilitate trade between the Rubavu, Musanze, Gicumbi and Nyagatare districts. Overall, road projects were allocated about RWF7.4 billion (approximately R124 million) in the 2014/15 fiscal year.
GHANA $900 million approved for Ghana’s largest power plant Cenpower announced the financial close of a $900 million project financing for the construction of the largest independent power plant in Ghana. The Kpone Independent Power Project (KIPP) is a 350 MW combined-cycle multi-fuel power station to be located near Tema, Ghana. Once construction is complete, it is expected to be the largest independent power producer in the country, and will account for approximately 10% of Ghana’s installed capacity. The African Infrastructure Investment Fund 2, which is advised by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a joint venture between Macquarie Africa and the Old Mutual Investment Group, together with its co-investors, owns a direct interest of 15% in Cenpower, through an interposed investment vehicle, Mercury Power. Other shareholders in Cenpower include Africa Finance Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation and FMO, the Dutch Development Bank. “Investors around the globe have embraced infrastructure as an asset class, as it provides stable and growing earnings and cash flow. Infrastructure is a lower-risk access platform to Africa’s growth story. Currently, we believe there is a large infrastructure gap in Africa but demand for it is strong and growing,” says AIIM CEO Jurie Swart.
IMIESA February 2015
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MUNICIPAL FOCUS
A journey of change The City of Johannesburg (COJ) demonstrates how a sprawling metropolis fraught with physical limitations and drenched in history can restructure itself to destroy the walls of social inequality and build geo-spatial transformation through cooperation between the public and private sectors. By Beatrix Knopjes
N
ATION BUILDING requires a collective effort between government, through policy making, and the community, through involvement and empowerment. Nowhere is this more prominent in South Africa than in Johannesburg, where government initiatives such as the City of Johannesburg’s Growth and Development Strategy 2006 (Joburg GDS) are taking hold, and making real inroads in accelerating economic growth, which benefits all local residents. Building a sustainable large city on principles of equality and empowerment is no easy task, and requires the involvement and commitment of all stakeholders – public, private and social. Ideas and policies are nothing, however, without building the infrastructure to support and encourage growth. To achieve this, a number of government agencies coordinate the building and maintenance of infrastructure. Their aim is to align the short- and long-term goals of government and bring about the physical manifestation of these policies. They are the unseen driving force behind infrastructure delivery, breathing life into ideas.
Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) The JDA was established in 2001. It plays a crucial role in the Joburg GDS and supports the development of the COJ, primarily through well-planned transport arteries
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– the so-called Corridors of Freedom (COF). These are key development areas chosen for their location and importance, to be nodes of urban development. The JDA manages and facilitates these developments with efficiency and innovation to build an equitable, sustainable and resilient city. “The COF initiative speaks to the past in terms of freedom from apartheid legacy, but also to the future; a future of a lower cost of living, less reliance on energy and private transportation, and a more sustainable economic freedom,” says Sharon Lewis, executive manager: Planning and Strategy, JDA. By promoting competitive business environments, improving public spaces and access to jobs, the JDA takes into account the socioeconomic circumstances of all who live in the city, and seeks to restructure outdated and biased town planning, through transportoriented development – which makes the city more accessible – and high-density residential development. The JDA achieves this through close working relationships with all stakeholders and by awarding government grants to fund their objectives. The JDA operates with a twofold responsibility: • Development facilitation involves talking to partners, thereby raising awareness of the JDA’s plans. This is a new function for the JDA; one it has always implemented but only recently been funded to do. “Now we are being funded to do it properly so that
we can set up a development facilitation team. We need people who know the area, and can pool the right people together to spark all sorts of things over and above the capex work we do,” explains Lewis. • Development implementation involves assessing the needs of an area, and establishing if it is an underdeveloped, marginalised area that does not have enough basic infrastructure. The JDA will start there, and then coordinate. If it is a more developed neighbourhood, where there is enough infrastructure, it will start by looking at potential public-environment upgrades to create an identity in the same way the JDA did in New Town. Where there is existing infrastructure, the focus will be on gateways to the neighbourhoods, the sidewalks, landscaping, streets lights, and public art and parks. The JDA focuses on neighbourhoods adjacent to the COF. Examples of these are the Empire, Louis Botha and Turfontein roads in Johannesburg, the Vilikazi and Kliptown areas in Soweto, as well as Diepsloot and Orange Farm. “This development goes in both directions, when we do our planning, we align with the planning of other spheres of government. We look at the Joburg 2040 Development Plan, and at the NDP to make sure we are lined up in terms of objectives. The COF has led to a very positive alignment,” says Lewis. Key projects for 2016 include the Rea Vaya
MUNICIPAL FOCUS
“Jozi@Work will enable and empower both existing entrepreneurs and thousands of new market entrants.” Executive mayor Mpho Parks Tau
LEFT Elangeni after the JHC completed renovations
BRT system, particularly linking Alexandra township with the inner city. “All other spheres of government need to consult with JDA when they do planning and allocate resources, with respect to the City of Johannesburg’s Integrated Development Plan and need to align funding allocations with our plans. It is very much a sustained two-way conversation; it is not always smooth, but we work constantly to achieve that alignment to ensure we do not duplicate efforts or undermine each other,” explains Lewis.
nutrition programmes, resurfacing and maintaining roads, and providing frontline support to water and power infrastructure. Tau adds that workers gaining on-the-job experience on the work packages assigned through the system will also be able to build up their skills through an apprenticeship programme, which will include digital learning at recreation centres and libraries after hours and on days off. The result will be a trade certification and a chance to take their expertise further. A new community innovation fund linked to the Jozi@Work programme will be introduced later in the year. Through this initiative, the city will give the new regional forums the opportunity to propose locally led projects that fit the Jozi@Work objectives, but which are not funded under city departments’ and municipal agencies’ budgets.
Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) Founded in 2001 and owned by the City of Johannesburg, the JRA deals primarily in the planning, design, construction, operation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the roads and stormwater infrastructure in the city. The JRA aims to have ‘the best city roads authority that enables economic growth and sustainability’. It also seeks to achieve the outcomes of safety, mobility and access for users of the road network and works closely with other government agencies, such as the JDA, to ensure its projects align with the Joburg GDS. To facilitate this, the JRA is responsible for the JOZI@Work programme.
JOZI@Work This is a new programme – launched by executive mayor Mpho Parks Tau – which aims
to empower communities and enterprises to address poverty, inequality and unemployment in the city. The programme will contract around 1 750 small businesses and create in excess of 40 000 jobs by 2016. The programme is designed to inject income and promote commercial activity in all clusters of the city, from the most deprived to the more prosperous areas, according to Tau. “Jozi@Work will enable and empower both existing entrepreneurs and thousands of new market entrants, who in turn will draw on the hundreds of thousands of unemployed and underemployed people available in the city’s labour pool,” says Tau. Improving services offered in the city will address poverty, inequality and unemployment by providing much-needed jobs. According to the 2011 census, there are over 800 000 work-seeking adults in the city. “The city’s poverty mapping, based on broader census data, shows that there remains an enduring and strong correlation between lack of access to employment and the wider range of poverty indicators: belowaverage income, poor health outcomes, lack of access to education, and poor living environment standards.” Appointed bidders will be providing services as diverse as de-sludging chemical toilets, separating and recycling waste as it arrives at municipal dumps, providing food-to-city
MIDDLE The eKhaya community sports area, a project of the JHC RIGHT An aeriel view of the Jeppe Oval
Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) The JHC was established in 1995. It is a nonprofit NGO driven by a social mission of longterm sustainability. The JHC has become known as a pioneer in social housing. The JHC provides rental units, primarily in the inner city. They have greatly contributed to the rejuvenation of the inner city by refurbishing buildings formally in a sad state of disrepair and neglect,
IMIESA February 2015
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CALL FOR PAPERS THEME:
Changing the face of the Municipal Engineer t Political and Legislative Perspectives t Social and Environmental Impacts t Financial Considerations
t Transport and Traffic t Water and Sanitation t Roads and Stormwater
S YN O P S I S S U B M I T T E D BY Wednesday 15th April 2015 Debbie Anderson | conference@imesa.org.za | tel 031 266 3263
IMESA t +27 (031) 266 3263 email conference@imesa.org.za
MUNICIPAL FOCUS
the property and its location next to the bustling Jack Mincer taxi rank. The project was the first conversion from a hotel into rental accommodation.
Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco)
ABOVE The Nelson Mandela bridge formed an important part of the JDA's efforts to rejuvenate the New Town district by making it more accessable BELOW The Rea Vaya BRT project was coordinated by the JDA
and transforming them into respectable, habitable environments. The JHC owns and manages 14% of all residential units in the inner city: 34 buildings and just over 4 300 units. It provides affordable housing for just over 12 000 souls and provides R35 million per annum to the city fiscus for rates, water, electricity, sewage and refuse. The majority (84%) of the maintenance and building management costs for these buildings are done by BBBEE developers and contractors. These total R26 million per annum and go a long way to providing employment opportunities to small and medium contractors in the city.
Notable projects of the JHC include: • First new build in the inner city in 30 years: Jeppe Oval, 1997 The first ‘new build’ of the JHC was the Jeppe Oval in 1996. This was the first new rental accommodation to be built in Johannesburg for over 30 years. It comprises 240 units in a three-storey, walk-up configuration. The name of the development was taken from the historic oval around which the complex is built. • First conversion of a hotel to residential: Landrost, 2000 The conversion of the Landrost Hotel was the most ambitious refurbishment undertaking by JHC. It was once a five-star hotel which had since fallen into disrepair, as the area become neglected and run down, and served as a police barracks. The conversion of the 18-storey block’s 400 bedrooms into 241 units was a high-risk undertaking due to the high-rise nature of
Joshco promotes developments in declining urban nodes so that the local economies in those areas receive an injection of public investment. Joshco was created by the City of Johannesburg in March 2004 to provide quality, affordable and sustainable social housing products. Joshco aims to be a ‘world-class social housing provider of choice.’ Joshco’s mandate is to manage all councilowned rental stock, manage and refurbish staff and public hostels, develop new rental stock and implement other mutually agreed housing developments, provide housing management services and turnaround strategies where necessary. In line with the Joburg GDS 2040, Joshco aims to design and build quality, resourceefficient, economically sustainable and affordable products, which are close to transport nodes, and address the needs
collaborative effort of various stakeholders within, and outside, the communities, as well as through strategic programmes and projects. Joshco’s involvement in developing communities exceeds the need for housing; it also intervenes in other aspects such as providing temporary employment opportunities through the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP), women and youth development, and poverty-alleviating initiatives. Joshco aligns with the COJ’s vision to promote transport-oriented developments and, as a result, aims to make maximum use of land opportunities located close to mass public transportation corridors, particularly those of the Corridors of Freedom. These are linked to mixed-use development nodes with high-density accommodation supported by office buildings, retail developments and opportunities for education, leisure and recreation.
Conclusion Infrastructure is fundamentally perceived as a physical structure or delivery mechanism, which is merely the tip of the iceberg. These Gauteng-based entities have developed to
Building a sustainable large city on principles of equality and empowerment is no easy task, and requires the involvement and commitment of all stakeholders of the community and the environment in Johannesburg. In the financial year 2012/13, the COJ and independent funders made their investments towards capital development projects through Joshco. Some of the capital funding has been utilised for the development of infrastructure, while the rest has been used for the refurbishment of existing buildings, the conversion of hostels into liveable space as well as new developments. All of these are for the sole purpose of occupation by leasing tenants. One of the aims of the GDS 2040 is to address energy efficiency in buildings, as part of the drive towards a low-carbon economy and the sustainable use of energy resources. Joshco has started installing solar panels and heat pumps in some of its buildings for water heating, and plans on designing projects that will incorporate rainwater harvesting. Joshco’s Community Development Programme proactively responds to the prevailing social problems in COJ through the
integrate socio-economic and geo-spatial transformation, placing nation building at the centre of its initiatives. The development oppor tunities in Johannesburg are abundant as the city continues to embark on its ambitious plans to become a vibrant, first-class city. This is a shining example of what is possible when government puts social equality, development and upliftment at the core of its policies. Not only that, but the organisation of these agencies and their focus on jobcreation mean that this will be a city built by its people – with a united vision – from the ground up.
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HOT SEAT
TRUEMAN GOBA | CHAIRMAN | HATCH GOBA
Innovative engineering
Trueman Goba is a legend in South Africa’s engineering sector. IMIESA is proud to host this hero of infrastructure in this edition’s Hot Seat. Congratulations on the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence Engineering; you are a highly respected figure in the infrastructure sector and certainly a leader among engineers: how do you see the role of the engineer in South Africa today? TG Our nation will not achieve its goals, as there is a massive job to be done in South Africa – and in the rest of Africa – in a short space of time. Engineers are at the core of the building of the economy and well-being of people, and all infrastructure that they create and operations they manage must work and enable the success needed. We need to help improve quality of life in the cities, assist in enabling municipalities to function properly and industries to thrive. In order for all these things to work, we need technically skilled people managing things.
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Do you think that South Africa is doing enough to train engineers? The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has raised this issue to the National Planning Commission and the conclusion is that South Africa does not train enough engineers. What ECSA demonstrated is that the best way to compare how many professionals you are producing in engineering, is to compare the population to the number of university programmes that each country has. On average, the rest of the world has three times as many programmes as we do, where an academic programme is say civil engineering at the University of Johannesburg or mechanical engineering the University of Kwazulu-Natal, and so on. With that said, it’s important to note that there will be scope for more programmes that our universities will need to create as matric results
improve and more students are attracted to apply for admission into such programmes.
How do you see the role of the public and private sector in tackling the shortage of engineers in South Africa? In the private sector, we have the attraction of exciting project opportunities that young people learn and gain experience from. The more they specialise, for example, the more they improve their expertise, and that can be a satisfying route to take. Private firms will offer more such opportunities as their businesses grow and they will provide not only bursaries but also opportunities for vacation work as well as candidacy training after graduation and mentorships once a graduate has acquired registration by ECSA. It can do this on behalf of the public sector as well, where arrangements are made with individual firms.
ABOVE Umgeni project BELOW RIGHT Mahatma Gandhi Road sewer pump station relocation project in Durban
In the public sector, we have the attraction for young registered engineers to learn to fulfil the role of planning and implementing policies and strategies for policy makers for society, which can be just as rewarding in the long term under normal circumstances. The public sector manages the higher education as well as monitors the production of skills in our country and there is every role that it can play to ensure that the academic sector thrives in the first instance, and that the environment in the government sector is highly professional and attractive for pursuing young careers in engineering. The National Development Plan has several recommendations in this regard, especially with regard to improving the capability of the state. Every engineer should help with this, whether in the private or public sector. We must all adopt the
HOT SEAT
interventions attitude of mentoring and supporting young professionals, exposing them to industry and challenging them to produce better decisions in whatever they are involved in.
Do you think South Africa takes the recognition and registration of its engineers seriously? I think the profession is recognised. However, as a means to protect the public in terms of safety, health, economics, etc., I do not think the need to register as many engineers as possible is fully appreciated. For this, the industry itself is to blame. Clients can also play a role by paying attention to this and encouraging more skills development. ECSA has created the necessary platforms to manage professional registration, but the challenge is that in many cases young graduates are not mentored soon enough. ECSA – and the profession as a whole – needs to make it compulsory for people who do certain kinds of work to be registered. This means clearly defining different types of work and what they entail.
Recalling your own rise to success, what would you say to young engineers today in terms of building their careers and their responsibilities as engineers? Engineering is a demanding course and, once qualified, successful young graduates need to be encouraged to stay within the profession and gain experience in fields that they have chosen. Initially it’s all about design work, monitoring construction,
and so on, while trying to make sense to what you have learnt at university. Participating in seeing things being built or finding design solutions that are practical and make sense on a real project can be a great confidence booster. Other stages of great learning in my experience are in participating in a new project that is being initiated, or seeing to a conclusion and commissioning of a project. Very soon after going through a few projects or project phases, you become more productive as you start contributing to important decision-making, which is what it’s all about. As a result, you start to learn to design or recommend solutions differently because, now, you realise you are not only driven by functionality, but also real costs, environment, safety, constructability, etc.
Have the different cultures within Hatch Goba yielded any unforeseen benefits? The different cultures have resulted from merging into a global company that is much more multidisciplinary than we were. Hatch has a long track record of private-sector work in areas such as mining and metals, energy and industrial infrastructure. There is also a culture of innovation that comes with 60 years of experience with major projects mainly in challenging environments, constrained by tight schedules and firmly fixed budgets. In other cases, the experience has been in helping clients improve their operations and as a result in developing the related consulting expertise with them. Public infrastructure and smaller projects, also require the same
levels of quality but different approaches from a management perspective. The combined benefits especially in terms of systems and processes were certainly not foreseen by many of us. The merger has changed the way we think on both sides, yielding a hybrid culture that delivers new outlooks and outcomes that would otherwise not have been possible, especially for public infrastructure.
What has your work with the National Planning Commission shown you with regards to improving infrastructure delivery in South Africa? We need a more integrated way of thinking and operating, and there is always room for expanded information sharing on plans for projects. Projects are often rolled out in isolation and engineers are often responding to tenders that are for components of larger schemes. We load relatively small projects with too many social requirements, which tends to slow down achievement of goals that the project was identified for in the first place.
In addition, and the PICC has made progress on this, we have not always had project packages that encourage integrated approaches between the various departments and agencies engaged in development, leading possibly to planning and designs that are not maximally optimised. It also means that economies of scale are often not identified or taken advantage of. This needs serious attention and several entities are now focusing on this issue.
As an engineer, what vision do you have for the country – and indeed the continent? I dream of a successful country – and I hope we all do. The idea of improving the quality of life for all and ending poverty in the next 15 years as recommended in the National Development Plan is a challenging one, if not impossible. However, in order to succeed in this, we need this country to be where everyone plays their part. You have to be confident that the NDP will be implemented in most sectors of society, so that conditions will get better for those who come after us.
www.hatchgoba.co.za
IMIESA February 2015
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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Mega housing 2015
Putting it together With the focus on housing delivery finding a strong champion in Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, the coordination of the many stakeholders required to deliver on this national commitment is key. IMIESA looks at innovations in technology, financing and the urgent call for ingenuity and the use of alternative building technologies (ABT). By Nicholas McDiarmid
D
URING SISULU’S recent address to the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), she made three cogent points: • the need to develop a more equitable property market • the role of building affordable stock in doing so • how housing finance needs to be extended to low-income earners on a more formal and sustained manner. Certainly, the banking sector has been playing ball, as the minister pointed out: “In 2005, the banking sector pledged R42 billion that would be released into the affordable housing market by 2008 and over R45 billion was spent to provide various products in the affordable housing market,” she began. “This came a long way in addressing some of the challenges bedevilling the affordable housing market as developments such as Olivenhoutbosch, Brickfields, N2 Gateway, Cosmo City, Glen Ridge and many others would never have happened without the commitments and contribution of the four major banks and BASA spearheading them through a partnership with the department. On the other hand, more still remains to be done.”
Mind the gap – creating a backlog The current housing backlog has emerged as the unintended result of the creation of a class of earners who earn too much to qualify for public assistance, but too little to qualify for commercial mortgages. “Despite remarkable achievements made in the provision of h ousing for poor households, the backlog has steadily increased. Population growth, rural-to-urban migration, coupled with smaller family sizes, primarily accounts for the inability to reduce housing backlogs. There are still about 2 million households in urban areas alone that live in substandard housing conditions.” Estimates for the number of households who earn too much to qualify for a fully subsidised housing unit but too little to afford an entry-level bonded home (the gap market) total approximately 3.5 million households or 24% of South Africa’s household population.
This backlog unfortunately exists in a highly challenging economic climate, with a population that is growing alongside the demand for access to services – including housing. Housing and infrastructure backlogs are increasing and are often accompanied by rising community demands and instability.
Access to services According to the UN Habitat Report on ‘The State of African Cities, 2014’ access to drinking water for South Africa’s urban population has increased from 85% to 89%, and sanitation, from 80% to 84% in 1990 and 2008 respectively. “Improved access to services has been made possible largely through government’s investment in the housing subsidy programme,” noted Sisulu. “Rising building and service costs, and standards of the subsidy housing products are putting increasing pressure on the number of housing units that can be delivered from the existing human settlement budgets.” Having implemented and improved the housing subsidy scheme for 20 years, many lessons have been learnt, one of which is
“In the next five years, a target of 1.5 million housing opportunities has been set to address the housing needs of poor and middleincome households.”
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that there is a need to “radically revise the housing finance regime”. It also inter alia includes: prioritising housing investment in inner city areas, transport hubs and development corridors.
New transport nodes accelerating delivery of affordable housing The establishment of transport nodes across South Africa has resulted in a wave of new affordable housing developments being built in close proximity. According to Manie Annandale, head of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance’s Affordable Housing Development Unit, developers have recognised the growing demand for affordable housing developments that are located close to newly developed roads or transport systems, such as the Gautrain and the Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system in Gauteng and the MyCiti bus service in the Western Cape.
Provision of transport could catalyse the use of empty land “Affordable housing is driven by the availability of suitable land and as this cost increases, so too does the building of higherdensity developments that can best optimise these transport nodes.” He adds that with forecasts suggesting that 70% of South Africa’s population will be urbanised by 2030, there is an increased focus on how best to accelerate the development of public transport infrastructure to reach other areas in major cities. One such example is the south of Johannesburg, which still has tracts of under-developed land that can be made available for affordable housing developments. Annandale says that there has also been a notable trend towards the lower-income bracket renting (rather than buying) affordable housing property in recent years. “When the Nedbank affordable housing book was established six years ago, these developments sold out pretty quickly. This has changed significantly over the last few years, with rentals now dominating and more than 60% of units being rented in developments that we are currently funding.
Is it affordable? “The issue is that it can be difficult to prove affordability for many buyers. Often up to 30% of their disposable monthly income can be absorbed by transport costs, so to factor in rates and taxes, as well as a bond
payment, means potential buyers may not qualify for financing.” Annandale says that he expects the delivery of affordable housing developments to accelerate going forward, as government continues to release public-owned land. The aim is to build 50 mega projects – developments of between 2 000 and 4 000 new homes – over the next five years as part of government’s social contract with the private sector across all spheres of business. “One of the mechanisms through which this delivery will be accelerated is via publicprivate partnerships (PPP) between government, developers and banks. Government subsequently works closely with large developers to unlock tracts of land, with the bank providing the funding. “There is an urgent need in South Africa to deliver more affordable housing, to meet the socio-economic demands of the country and we are confident that with all stakeholders successfully collaborating, we will continue to meet this pressing requirement,” concludes Annandale.
Mixed tenure The need to mix up different housing tenure arrangements – including affordable rentals and social housing – has never been clearer, along with promoting mixed-use activities and land development. South Africa is experiencing a high demand for housing units and varying finance products in the affordable housing market, with an estimated one million homes still needed. Currently only 20 000 units are developed annually, which means we continue to fall far short of meeting the required number of affordable housing stock. In future, the
Housing in Diepsloot
demand will increase significantly as the latest census data informs us that about 60% of South Africans are under the age of 34. Sisulu cited the recent census, which finds that the average household income is about R103 204/annum, with Gauteng’s population earning above this average at R156 243 and the Western Cape at R143 460. This means that sharper and better targeting instruments should be developed, particularly for the metropolitan areas that are facing increased migration of people without the corresponding increase in various forms of affordable housing.
Unfavourable market imbalance The increase in demand and shortfall in the supply of available stock continues to drive up prices in the affordable housing market. According to the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), in 2013, the average building cost of a new house constructed was 10% higher than in 2012. This meant the cost of building increased to R5 202/m2. The increase in construction cost translated to an increase in the house prices of new homes. In addition, fewer numbers of houses were constructed. During 2013, the total number of home loans that were approved by the banks over the period was 354 291, with 162 800 loans to the affordable housing market. While the number of home loans for the affordable housing market is higher, it still falls short of what is required to meet the demand. Reasons given include indebtedness of the borrowers and availability of houses at the right price.
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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
The promise of the catalytic projects In the next five years, a target of 1.5 million housing opportunities has been set to address the housing needs of poor and middle-income households. This includes the development of new catalytic projects aimed at making a difference in the spatial form of the country. These projects would demonstrate spatial, social and economic integration, while taking into consideration lessons learnt from the plethora of projects initiated through the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements. Today, a strategy is required to deal not only with the supply, but also the demand for affordable housing.
Debate and innovate Access to housing and access to housing finance by low-income earners is critical in ensuring the development of any country. However, income levels are such that the majority of households cannot afford
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to buy the least expensive house, even if mortgage finance were available. The major strategy is to ensure that there is enough housing stock at the right price in the right locations. It is therefore necessary to debate and develop innovative solutions to increase the supply of affordable housing stock. The recommitments made through the social contract in October 2014 came at a time where a similar pledge made by banks back in 2005 is not only needed but essential. In the recent indaba to discuss commitments between all social partners, the banks and BASA committed to: • develop proposals to improve ongoing coordination between the National Department of Human Settlements and the Banking Association South Africa • develop proposals that promote sustainable human settlements in both urban and rural areas • increase and fast-track the supply and delivery of affordable housing in well-located land
• increase the number of approved enduser loans (both mortgage and non-mortgages) for affordable housing • actively monitor and provide semi-annual reports on objectives. The programmes that the DHS has for affordable housing only address those that earn less than R3 500/month while only the Financed-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP)is targeted for individuals earning up to R16 000/month. However, the demand for both rental and homeownership in this category is increasing as nurses, teachers, police and many other professionals require affordable and decent places to live. It is unfortunate that the current programmes for the gap market do not adequately address the supply side of the housing value chain. Thus, the department calls on partners to help develop pioneering responses. The current direct association with the banks is through credit-linked subsidies administered on behalf of the MEC by banks, financial institutions and other
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
approved providers of credit (the lenders) – if we need to succeed in our objectives, things cannot be allowed to continue in this fashion. The programme, better known as FLISP, was developed by the DHS to enable first-time home-ownership opportunities to South Africans and legal permanent residents earning between R3 501 and R15 000 per month. These are people falling in the category known as the gap market because they either earn too little to qualify for a home loan or too much to qualify for a government full-subsidy house. FLISP offers down-payment assistance in the form of a grant to qualifying beneficiaries, who are in a financial position to secure a mortgage loan from a bank to acquire a home. The objective of the programme is to reduce the initial mortgage loan amount to render the monthly loan repayment instalments affordable over the loan payment term. FLISP support qualifying beneficiaries who wish to obtain mortgage finance from a lender.
Building with the NHBRC Beneficiaries can build a new house with the assistance of a homebuilder registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). Depending on their income level, a qualifying beneficiary will receive a subsidy of between R10 500 to R87 000 towards financing a property that does not exceed a purchase price of R300 000. The expectation of achieving a functional and single property market can only be realised through stronger partnerships with all the stakeholders in the value chain. The NDP mandates the human settlements sector to: • develop bolder measures to develop sustainable human settlements • radically revise the housing finance regime • revise the regulations and incentives for housing and land-use management. Government has thus geared itself towards setting favourable conditions for the achievement of the 1.5 million housing opportunities for poor and moderate-income households. More importantly, this will contribute towards realising the outcome of sustainable human settlements and improve household life.
Conclusion I observe that this discussion exists at a time of extreme income inequality. With South Africa's high Gini coefficient, the low-income housing sector is still finding its champion. Are we pushing ahead with one system and failing to test economic dispensation, which really ought to be the first to tackle? Time will tell.
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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS | PROFILE – NHBRC
One-and-a-half-million houses in five years
Fast-tracking housing delivery Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu’s commitment to build 1.5 million houses in five years is detailed in the Social Contract for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements, signed at the end of the two-day National Human Settlements Indaba and Exhibition held at the Sandton Convention in October 2014.
T
HE COMMITMENT by banks, developers, mining companies and big employers officially declares South Africa as the biggest construction site in Africa and the developing world. This project is estimated to be worth more than R250 billion over five years, in bond investments by banks, rental accommodation developments by the private sector and agencies, government subsidies, housing investments by big employers and mining companies, bulk services, upgrading of current informal-settlement infrastructure and community infrastructure, such as: schools, churches, business sites and other amenities. According to Dr Jeffrey Mahachi, special technical adviser at the National Home Buililde Bu ders rs Registration Reg egis istr trat atio ionn Council Coun Co unci cil (NHBRC), (NHB (N HBRC RC), this thi hiss Builders willl m eann that ea t att 300 th 300 0 000 000 houses housess will willl have havee will mean t be be builtt every evver e y year yeear instead innsste tead ad of of the thhe current c rren cu e t to appr ap prox pr oxim ox imat im atel elyy 200 200 000. 000. approximately “TThere “The re is is no way way that tha hatt we can can achieve ach chie ieve ve “There thhis i by by using ussin ingg traditional trad tr adit ad itio i nall methods io meethod meth thod odss of this
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construction. We need to build double the number of houses that we are building at the moment and for that we need to look at innovative building methods,” he says, adding that there is currently a housing backlog in excess of 2.1 million in South Africa. Dr Mahachi is also the head of the NHBRC’s Centre for Research and Housing Innovation. The purpose of the centre is to research and provide innovative ways to fast-track housing delivery and to assist the Minister of Human Settlements in achieving the target of 1.5 million housing opportunities by 2019. The core business of the new centre is to establish and promote ethical and technical standards, to improve structural quality and to provide housing information. “W We should shou sh ould ld not not be be afraid afra af raidd to to use use innovainno in nova va-“We tive ti ve building builddin ingg technologies technoloogi te g ess (IBT). (IBT) T). These T ese techTh techhno olo logi gies ess still sti tilll need nee e d too meet mee eett the the same same high hig ighh nologies sstandards st anda an dard rdss as traditional traadi diti tion ti onal onal building methods,
so that consumers can trust the quality of these products. There are many good products on the market that have been tested and retested, and are ready to use.” Mahachi says all innovative non-standardised construction products, systems, materials, components and processes that are not fully covered by a SABS standard or code of practice, are certified by internationally acknowledged Agremént South Africa, based at the CSIR campus in Pretoria. Agremént South Africa certification assures the fitness for purpose of such technologies, which optimises resource utilisation and realises cost savings in industry. “One of the most important benefits innovative building technology offers is the speed at which a house can be completed. We need to build 1.5 million houses and we need to build them fast. To achieve that, we need to be innovative. “As the Centre for Research and Housing Innovation, we need to position ourselves as leaders in knowledge management and technology solutions.” He goes on to explain that in order to achieve this, there is a need to provide
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS | PROFILE – NHBRC
SOCIAL CONTRACT COMMITMENTS The signatories to the Social Contract signed at the National Settlement Indaba in October 2014 committed themselves to achieve the following over the next five years: • delivery of 1.5 million housing opportunities, including 111 000 affordable housing opportunities for the gap market and 70 000 affordable rental opportunities in integrated sustainable communities close to places of work and play • build 50 catalytic projects and install basic services in all developing towns, including revitalising mining towns • install basic infrastructure in 2 000 informal settlements, while laying a foundation that will allow communities to save and build for themselves • eradicate the backlog of title deeds for pre- and post-1994 housing stock • government committed to cutting the red tape of processing applications to establish townships, approval of building plans and pay contractors at the shortest time possible. Source: www.gov.za/press-release-minister-sisulu-and-human-settlements-stakeholders-commit-delivery-15-million-housing
transformational leadership in the housing industry. The next step is coming up with new ways of thinking about building materials and new ways of construction. According to Mahachi: “Our research and development will focus on IBTs and rational design approaches. There are two ways in which IBT systems can be approved, either through Agremént, or a rational design approach that is approved by the NHBRC. A rational design is based on theoretical design assumptions of the IBT systems. However, it should be noted that when a product is built on the ground, it may behave differently over time, and hence there is a need to monitor the performance of these products as they are still relatively new to South African conditions.” This is clearly demonstrated at the Eric Molobi Housing Innovation Hub in Soshanguve, Pretoria. A number of houses were built using IBT systems almost 10 years ago, and the products’ natural processes are continuously being evaluated to determine factors such as durability, thermal performance and structural integrity. The observations at Eric Molobi have provided insightful and valuable information, and there are IBT systems that are ready for commercialisation and, with time, will end up as a South African national standard.
THE NHBRC PROCESS IN A NUTSHELL 1. Registration All builders involved in building or renovating houses should be registered with the NHBRC. However, the NHBRC warranty only covers new houses. To register, you need to show: • technical competency • financial capability • construction management capability. To show technical competency, builders are required to write an assessment test. If they prove to be incompetent regarding certain aspects, training may be offered by the NHBRC.
2. Standards NHBRC-registered builders are bound by the standards set out in the Home Building Manual. The manual has been revised and the public has been invited to submit comments before the final document is published.
3. Enrolment Builders should enrol all new houses with the NHBRC at least 15 days before construction starts. Late enrolments pose a risk to the NHBRC, because it is then unable to inspect all aspects of the house. Banks will not finance houses that have not been enrolled with the NHBRC. The NHBRC can refuse the late enrolment of a house and will take disciplinary action against a builder that is not registered with the NHBRC or builds a house without enrolling it.
4. Inspections NHBRC inspectors will visit all enrolled houses a minimum of four times during the course of construction to inspect: • the foundation • the substructure
• the superstructure • the roof. The number of inspections will depend on the competency level of the builder and the value of the house.
5. Complaints A housing consumer, if unhappy with the quality of the house that was delivered, has the right to complain. The initial complaint should be lodged with the builder. If that is unsuccessful, he should lodge a complaint with the NHBRC. The housing consumer enjoys the following warranty provided by the NHBRC: • five-year structural warranty • one-year warranty against roof leaks • three-month bad workmanship warranty.
6. Conciliation When a housing consumer cannot resolve a complaint with the builder, a conciliation officer is appointed by the NHBRC, who will meet the two parties on-site and make a ruling on the complaint. The ruling made by the conciliation officer is final. However, the housing consumer has a right to appeal the ruling through the office of the CEO of the NHBRC.
7. Remedial work When the conciliation officer orders a builder to do some remedial work, he is obliged to carry out the instruction.
8. Warranty fund When, for some reason, the builder is unable to carry out the work, the NHBRC carries out the work with funding from its warranty fund. The NHBRC then uses its legal department to recover the money from the builder.
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“There are products at the hub that can now be adopted and rolled out for implementation. The idea is to be able to provide guidance for the industry, and some of these products have stood the test of time. However, other products may need further refinement and we will provide feedback to the system developer to fine-tune the product and improve it.”
In conjunction with other testing laboratories, the centre is also able to perform accelerated tests to determine durability of materials over 20 to 50 years. Once a product’s properties are understood, measured and tested extensively, and there is an understanding of the properties and behaviour over time, it will become a South African national standard, administered by the SABS.”
CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT THE NHBRC has just completed a process to review its technical requirements and Home Building Manual to ensure that they are in line with current legislation and industry needs. Interested persons are invited to comment on the changes to the manual in writing before 28 February. The NHBRC Technical Requirements and Home Building Manual, first published in February 1999, provides rules according to which housing construction defects can be identified and interpreted on a non-compliance basis, thus providing a framework for NHBRC warranty cover. The manual provides performance-oriented design and construction requirements with the aim of minimising, or even eliminating, defects in housing. To minimise or altogether eliminate defects, those responsible for the design and construction of houses are required to adopt design practices and specifications that provide satisfactory outcomes. Materials, products and building systems that are suited for their intended purpose and ensure that all work is carried out in a proper, neat and workmanlike manner need to be used. Although the main focus of the Technical Requirements and Home Building Manual is on structural strength, it also deals with protection against harmful substances and fire, insofar as they relate to the structural stability of the house. The NHBRC design requirements can be met by: • adopting certain prescribed rules • using a rational design, based on engineering principles • obtaining Agrément certification from Agrément South Africa. Similarly, the NHBRC construction requirements can be met by complying with: • construction of elements using the design-
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by-rule approach • the standards and specifications referred to in the rational design • the relevant requirements set out in the Agrément certification documentation. In terms of the NHBRC Warranty Scheme, competent persons (a person registered in terms of the Engineering Professions of South Africa Act or in terms of Section 11 of the Natural Scientific Professions Act) are required to: • classify individual construction sites in accordance with the NHBRC site-class designations • assess risks associated with areas underlain by dolomite and limestone, and to designate areas in accordance with the NHBRC’s dolomitic designations • monitor that the mandatory precautions on sites underlain by dolomite and limestone are correctly implemented • specify precautionary measures to be taken when trees are to be removed • advise on subsurface drainage • specify materials and construction methods where the construction rules are not used. The enrolment of homes in the NHBRC Warranty Scheme is subject to homebuilders submitting a site soil classification certified by a competent person. Comments should be sent for the attention of Dr J Mahachi to the National Home Builders Registration Council, PO Box 461, Randburg, 2125, faxed to +27 (0)86 520 4638 or emailed to homebuildingmanual@nhbrc.org.za. All submissions should include the name, address, telephone number and email address of the person or organisation submitting the comments. The Technical Requirements and Home Building Manual is available in print format in all provincial NHBRC customer service centres and electronically on the NHBRC website at www.nhbrc.org.za.
The centre’s research and development will also help built environment professionals and builders, developers and stakeholders to be able to go to an Internet-based portal and find material and product suppliers at competitive prices. This will be launched soon. “We are negotiating with reputable material and product suppliers to offer discounts to our NHBRC-registered builders and there are a number of other benefits that we will be rolling out. The portal will also include green technologies and products such as solar water panels and heat pumps, and will provide guidance on new, innovative building technologies.” A core function of the centre is to develop NHBRC-registered builders, says Mahachi. “We need to do that through capacity building and training of home builders. We also need to uplift and train our inspectors to reach a certain level, so that they are one step ahead of the builders.” Training takes place at the training academy located at the Eric Molobi Housing Innovation Hub. The centre offers a number of training programmes and has already trained 964 builders, 300 artisans, 58 learners, 123 inspectors and 469 youth and women in this financial year. The inspectors have a background in the built environment and come from various disciplines such as engineering, quantity surveying or architecture. NHBRC-registered builders, ar tisans, women and government programme candidates do not have to pay any training fees. “If our inspectors identify builders who are issued non-compliance notices – for example, the builder needs to learn how to mix concrete correctly – we would then provide on-site assistance and training.” Mahachi explains that in other cases, the centre, through the NHBRC provincial offices, conducts technical and construction management competencies, identifies the gaps and provides the necessary training. The broad spectrum of courses ranges from two days to two years, depending on the modules and the individual’s needs. “It is our intention to promote technical excellence and also ensure that every single house is inspected and meets the NHBRC technical requirements and South African national standards on energy efficiency, SANS 10400XA,” concludes Mahachi.
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS | PROFILE – NHBRC
Next-generation housing
Building outside the box Despite the many innovations that have occurred over the last st couple of years, innovation in South African housing is much slower than other industries. This can be attributed to the industry’s small investment in R&D and the long adoption/ diffusion times for new technologies. By Dr J Mahachi, Pr.Eng, Pr.CPM
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THER CHALLENGES to innovation frequently cited by industry include the industry’s complex and fragmented structure; its highly competitive and risky nature; local variation in regulatory requirements and their implementation; the low levels of skill, training, and investment throughout much of the industry and its workforce; the difficulty of obtaining start-up funds, protecting innovations and appropriating financial returns; and the difficulty of being guaranteed projects. That said, government has long recognised the challenges facing innovation and has supported, through legislation and the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, efforts to increase innovation in building construction. Beyond this, government, through its entity, the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), has invested in housing-related R&D and innovation as a strategy for pursuing the Minister of Human Settlements’s goal of achieving 1.5 million housing opportunities in the next five years. Most people spend most of their time indoors. As the nation faces an energy crisis, there is a need to promote the use of innovative building envelopes and products, which would result in low-level energy consumption. Worldwide, most regulators are supporting zero-energy homes, i.e. houses where there is a zero net electrical usage through the use of excellent insulation packages, passive solar designs, energy-efficient appliances and fixtures, and so on. In 2014, the South African government increased the subsidy quantum to the current R110 000 with an endeavour to improve the energy efficiency of government-subsidised houses
and ensure that the houses comply with the South African National Standards on energyefficiency (SANS 10400XA). All houses are required to comply with the energy efficiency standards by the Building Regulations, as from November 2011. Over the years, the NHBRC has had some success in supporting the early phases of the housing innovation process, such as conducting research and expanding the knowledge base, establishing housing innovations hubs (e.g. Eric Molobi Housing Hub in Soshanguve, Tshwane). However, the NHBRC has generally been less successful at encouraging the adoption and diffusion of innovative technologies throughout the housing industry. Unfortunately, until new innovations are steadily developed, adopted and diffused, their benefits will only accumulate slowly. Hence the NHBRC would like to engage more with national and provincial government, municipalities and the housing industry, so as to support and accelerate housing innovation system, as a whole and ensure that new technologies are not only developed but also commercialised and widely adopted throughout the industry. Driven by an implicit (and sometimes explicit) assumption that innovation is a natural occurrence, held back only by certain obstacles, the NHBRC will continue to have many workshops with developers and municipalities, roundtable discussions, surveys, research and other efforts to identify barriers to innovation and ways to overcome them. Some of the strategies identified by the NHBRC in advancing innovation include: • enhancing research activities by sustaining support for applied research
• strengthening the knowledge base by coordinating government efforts, disseminating information and supporting education and training • supporting product development by providing technical support, explaining the regulatory process and linking innovators with Agrèment South Africa • improving market linkages through identification of market trends and opportunities, supporting product performance monitoring, and evaluation and recognition of innovations. The above strategies could enable government to advance innovation by better leveraging what what currently exists in the housing industry.
+27 (0)800 200 824 www.nhbrc.org.za
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Jeffrey Mahachi is a registered professional engineer and a registered construction project manager. He holds a PhD in structural engineering from Wits University, a master’s degree in structural engineering from Surrey University (UK), master’s degree in information technology from the University of Pretoria, and a BSc in civil engineering from the University of Zimbabwe. He has worked as a project manager and research engineer at CSIR Building Technology. He has also lectured at Wits University and done consulting work in civil and structural engineering. He has written two books on structural engineering and presented several papers at international and local conferences and seminars.
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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Relocating people the right way Involuntary resettlement due to infrastructural development has, for the past 20 years, seen more than 10 million people lose their homes on the African continent.
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HILE INFRASTRUCTURE remains a foremost priority in Souh Africa, GIBB sustainability consultant Shantal Rampath stresses that more detailed consultation needs to be done when relocating people. Employed within GIBB’s environmental and sustainability sector, Rampath presented at the 2014 South African National Committee on Large Dams (Sancold) conference, in a bid to prescribe a guideline to effectively manage the community consultation process.
The guidelines and sustainability model While the focus at Sancold is sustainable dam developments in Southern Africa, the guidelines Rampath and GIBB sustainability manager Karien Erasmus presented may be used and tailored for any infrastructural development. “The model takes an approach aimed at addressing the potential negative impacts associated with resettlement at early stages of infrastructure projects, particularly in rural areas,” she says. Rampath says that while there are international standards like that of the World Bank and International Finance Cooperation, these do not adequately address post resettlement. “Our model speaks to the post-resettlement scenario, where development and poverty are critical elements once infrastructure projects are complete,” she stresses.
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Rampath has found that, often, people are moved with little consideration for their future and this impacts negatively on quality of life contrary to what infrastructure development sets out to achieve.
Examples of bad planning Rampath cites examples of dam projects where communities were evidently not consulted properly. “The construction of Sèlinguè Dam in Mali affected people who lost their land due to new irrigated plots. In addition, they were provided with very little support and could not form new farming techniques in their new areas,” she reveals. “As a result, many farmers were faced with disastrous crops and had their land taken away as they failed to farm properly on new land. This ruined their livelihoods.” Another example is the Tokwe Mukosi Dam project in Zimbabwe. “Displacement of host populations and forced migration has diminished cultural resources and livelihoods, and increased vulnerability,” she adds. She advises that the long-term view takes cognisance of assistance and services that last beyond the project completion phase, and the generic long-term impacts of resettlement are largely about losing livelihoods. “It is important to remember that many resettlement cases involve vulnerable womenand child-headed households,” she says. Some of the challenges relating to infrastructure projects include: poverty,
service-delivery issues, social exclusion and the inability to adapt in resettled locations. “The guidelines and sustainability model fulfils a comprehensive requirement for postproject monitoring. This has been identified as one of the gaps in most resettlement cases where post-project monitoring was not addressed holistically,” says Rampath. “The first pillar refers to localised sustainable economic growth and should be centered on policies and programmes that stimulate economic activity. These activities should benefit long-term development and the affected people's welfare. Growth and infrastructure development increase capacity and efficiency, and allow people to develop skills through employment.” The second pillar, which represents inclusive social development, refers to access to basic facilities such as education, health care and necessary social services, which establish opportunities to increase participation and communities' overall welfare. “Finally, the third pillar – local authority support – stresses the importance of good governance and a local support regime, forming partnerships with civil society and mainstreaming good governance,” she says. “I believe that sustainability should form the cornerstone of resettlement as outlined in the guidelines. The key to effectively integrating sustainability into an early resettlement planning process relates to measurability and applicability,” she warns.
PARTNERING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
FUNDING AND SUPPORT
The key to unlocking rapid development With overall disbursements up 39% since its strategic restructuring two years ago, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has carefully and meaningfully integrated implementation support to targeted customer areas.
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N SO DOING, the DBSA is demonstrating a very South African solution to key challenges hampering delivery key infrastructure at local government level and key private sector investment areas supporting the National Development Plan (NDP) and other areas of legislated development. In this third of a four-part series, two managers from the DBSA’s SA Financing Division demonstrate the practical outcomes of the bank’s successful strategy.
Finance and Capacity Support, Local Government There is growth in South Africa’s municipal sector, and the DBSA’s catalytic interventions are set to become big news in the sector. By linking highly focused capacity support and finding a workable and practicable solution to bringing in private sector skills to unlock projects, it looks like the DBSA has found a way of solving the problems that have beset local government for so long. Chucheka Mhlongo is the general manager of Infrastructure Finance and Capacity
Support, Local Government, of the SA Financing Division and provides insight into this innovative solution. “When the DBSA restructured, we identified a number of areas in which to find strategic responses. The NDP is a highly inclusive and detailed strategy aimed at meeting national imperatives, and the municipal sector was identified as having critical restraints and backlogs that had to be addressed by intermediaries and institutions in order to deal with the severe backlogs that stood in the way of national development,” explains Mhlongo. The lack of internal skills that beset local government, especially in rural areas and aspirant metros, was identified as a critical constraint that was compounding the impact of infrastructure backlogs, and retarding social and economic development.” Seventy-eight per cent of municipal funding is derived from fiscal allocations, with the balance derived from the municipal balance sheet. “Other fiscal allocations include the Municipal Infrastructure Grant and various other funding mechanisms derived from
National Treasury. The infrastructure backlog includes the delivery of essential municipal services, which means struggling municipalities are not able to capitalise on the potential services they could be delivering. Underpinning the municipal delivery challenge is the well-documented skills gap. “It is clear that a chronic skills shortage exists at the municipal level, notably in rural areas,” says Mhlongo. “The result is an ability to identify and ring-fence projects, and the consequent underspending of annual budgets. It is obvious that funding is actually not the problem and, given the results of our interventions after only two years, we were correct in focusing on the most effective Chucheka ways of pairing the banks’ Mhlongo, general engineering skills, and manager: coordinating input from Infrastructure Finance and the private sector.” Capacity Support, Mhlongo points out Local Government
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– very importantly – that the nature of the problem varies greatly between the metropolitan municipalities and the rest: “The scale of the backlogs in aspirant metros and rural municipalities is far greater than in the metros.
The Pre-Finance Unit – speeding up delivery “The Pre-Finance Unit has been created specifically to solve the project identification problem,” explains Mhlongo. “The unit is made of dedicated civil engineers, electrical engineers, development planners and other essential skills that exist within the bank to support preparation and planning strategic municipal projects.” The unit takes projects from the planning stage to the implementation stage. “We have brought on board a panel from the private sector, which is capable of executing the projects and ensuring specific conditions are met.” The projects are prioritised according to specific metrics, which will ensure the creation of infrastructure that will catalyse specific drivers of sustainable growth. “This way, we create a pipeline of priority projects for a municipality and significantly increase the likelihood of delivering them on time and within budget,” elaborates Mhlongo. “This in turn creates further opportunities for the municipality to access more funding allocations for further projects, access further funding from the DBSA itself, and ultimately create a position from which projects can source funding from the traditional banking sector, based on more viable balance sheets.”
Making a start The DBSA is highly focused on its value as a catalyst. Its interventions are geared at unlocking exponential value within sustainable frameworks. In the case of municipalities, the bank is focused on targeting intervention
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in areas with the highest socio-economic development potential. “We identify municipalities that are home to populations servicing mines, for example, and that could potentially attract further investment from support industries, given the right supporting infrastructure. We are also interested in creating new economic drivers in areas that are natural destinations for significant industrial development, such as Independent Power Producers, and other larger infrastructure projects – the Square Kilometre Array is a great example,” Mhlongo explains. “Scale is also a key factor in our decisions, as is the potential alignment with other planned interventions, and the ability to rapidly clear backlogs.” The Pre-Funding Unit seeks partners with a stake in the developments, such as the mines themselves and the various national government departments. By optimising the selection of key catalytic projects, through the work of the Pre-Finance Unit in coordination with the private sector panels, a number of problems are solved, and a slew of growth opportunities are unlocked. “The approach we take ensures that procurement problems are dealt with and that project planning is ready in time for the appropriate financial year. Getting projects to implementation stage on time also ensures that they are completed on time, which unlocks further opportunities to budget for more projects,” emphasises Mhlongo.
The Post-Finance Unit “The Post-Finance Unit is made of engineers encompassing all areas of municipal delivery and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater, water and sanitation, electricity distribution and public buildings. We offer contract management support, project design services, EIA compliance support and other core services. Along with teams derived from our private sector partners, these teams of dedicated engineers stay on
at the municipalities to ensure the projects gain traction once they are completed and start delivering on their promise. The Post-Finance Unit is centred around reaping the benefits of doing things quickly. “There is a category of municipality – the aspirant metropolitan municipalities – that we target very actively,” says Mhlongo. “This particular municipality category works on multi-year funding allocations, which cannot be reached due to the backlogs. However, if we are able to move quickly and drive implementation of the current year, we are able approach the two outer years of funding at the same time, providing bridge funding for the outer two years and deliver projects at much bigger scales, much more rapidly.” This approach has a serious knock-on effect to the local economies, because the quicker the projects are completed and the quicker the services can be provided, the quicker investments will be secured and the quicker the local economy can grow. By focusing on delivering a three-year project in an 18-month time frame, the prospect of economic development becomes a reality within an impressive and visible period. “The benefits of this type of acceleration are exponential,” explains Mhlongo. “The municipality creates an income-generating asset now, rather than in three years’ time. Not only are people accessing services quicker, but the municipality avoids annual cost accelerations on the planned infrastructure and is better able to attract other investors – and more customers – to the area.” Speed is important and Mhlongo is an advocate of getting things done as quickly as possible as the benefits are enormous. “Because we are providing bridging finance, there are conditions that must be met. The municipality must provide operations and maintenance for the assets. Naturally, our teams create an operations and maintenance plan for the municipality, and we will
PARTNERING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
work with them to ensure we leave the skills and the plans in place. We don’t build and leave – we recently completed a project in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, to the value of R163 million, and the team we sent remains in place. The DBSA obviously doesn’t have enough engineers internally for this purpose, so we subsidise the municipality to ensure they can attract skills from the private sector. Operating in such a way catalyses economic turnaround at a local level, which has significant benefits at national level. The sooner this category of municipality can stand on its own feet, and develop its capacity to self-fund off its own balance sheet, the more funds become available for allocation at national level for those rural areas without the necessary drivers to achieve the same results.
A practical solution to the procurement problem “It must be acknowledged that the efficiency of procurement processes varies greatly
across this sector, and the DBSA does not involve itself in the municipal processes. The projects we finance and implement fall under the bank’s processes, and the procurement of the consulting engineers and contractors falls to the municipality itself,” explains Mhlongo. “Part of our due diligence before taking on a project includes an assessment of the municipalities’ procurement systems, and finding ways of improving them when required.” The DBSA also reviews the internal IT systems of municipalities and will go as far as installing functional IT systems to ensure processes can support the infrastructure.
Breaking records at breakneck speed As a catalyst for accelerated development, the DBSA’s Municipal Finance team is achieving impressive results. Despite a prevailing negative sentiment about the prospects of success in finding meaningful intervention at local government level, the new focus on implementation is successfully turning
this story around. “For the first time in our history, we are breaking records in terms of the number municipalities we are working with,” enthuses Mhlongo. “We are already delivering results in 30 municipalities and, by the end of this financial year, we will have exceeded a target of R1.5 billion in disbursements, achieving a figure of over R2.3 billion.” Mhlongo’s team is currently working with National Treasury to target more investment potential at municipal level, with a key focus on secondary cities. “We are very enthusiastic about the results we can achieve in secondary cites, like Polokwane and Rustenburg,” he explains. “If we can achieve results in these municipalities, we can look forward to a future of similar results at rural level as well.” Mhlongo emphasises that success also depends on the partnerships with other public institutions and the private sector. “What we have found is a real solution to a South African problem, and it is a local innovation that is accurately tailored for the challenge at hand.”
The SA Financing Division Cyprian Marowa is the general manager of Infrastructure Finance in the DBSA’s SA Financing Division – a division that is ultimately concerned with achieving financial sustainability through the generation of income from deal origination and execution activities.
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HE PROJECTS funded by the SA Financing Division need to deliver a prescribed return to the bank,” he explains. “As a Development Funding Institution (DFI), we are not driven by profit as much as other banks in the commercial arena; we are driven to mostly achieve at-scale development, impact and improve people’s lives, in a sustainable manner for the bank,” explains Marowa. “This key difference allows us to involve ourselves in influencing and funding the early stages of infrastructure projects that the other banks typically would not consider. It also allows us to consider funding infrastructure projects that the banking sector might resist because of the length of time required for a return on investment, typically 15 to 25 years.”
The SA Financing Division is focused on funding infrastructure projects in the private and public sectors, and by both private and state-owned enterprises that operate on private sector principles: commercially viable projects. “The mandate does not stray from the principle of funding developmental infrastructure projects. In this matter, we refer to the NDP and supporting policies and projects.
Getting projects to market “The work we do includes early-stage background feasibility, prior to the public being aware of infrastructure projects, through to financing and implementation delivery,” says Marowa. “We support private sector participants and state-owned enterprises with the background financial, markets,
technological, environmental and developmental analyses and research required to get a project to implementation stage.”
Cyprian Marowa, general manager: Infrastructure Finance
Focus sectors The SA Financing Division focuses primarily on transport and logistics, energy, ICT, oil and gas, commercial infrastructure, and social infrastructure (water, education and health). “We consider advisory and financing support in the development of infrastructure projects and procure experts to establish the project’s bankability. If we lack the internal capacity to advise on all sectors, we turn to partners and specialists, and bring them on board on a project-by-project basis.”
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For example, the division works actively with project sponsors in the wider market to find projects that merit attention. “Amazingly, we find a lot of promising projects that are in a conceptual phase but haven’t been developed to a bankable stage. This warrants a DBSA intervention in the process, resulting in expedient project realisation.
A catalytic investor Because the DBSA is responsive to the urgency at which South Africa requires infrastructure to catalyse growth, expediting projects is extremely important. “We can render a project bankable in a number of ways. The bankable feasibility study stage – which is usually between 5% and 10% of completed project investment costs – is supported by offering financing of up to 25% of the total funding costs subject to due diligence, project size and other considerations, such as the bank’s co-funding mandate. We are, in that sense, a catalytic investor; with anchor financing in place, the ability to attract commercial investors is vastly improved.” The theme of partnership permeates DBSA’s operations and this division is no exception. “We stay with a project until it starts commercially operating, but we are really there to attract diverse funding partners to projects.”
Differentiating investments The DBSA operates across the three typically recognisable investor classes: senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity. The DBSA is a debt provider and, under certain circumstances, will provide mezzanine and equity products. “Equity is the least preferred and
most uncommon product in our financing profile. This is because the bank is limited in the quantum of equity it may deploy in projects but, similar to other DFIs, the DBSA endeavours to support equity investments where strong development impact warrants it,” he explains. “Traditionally, the sponsors own the project and should deploy significantly more equity than DFIs. The sponsors who get paid out of the project last can expect much higher returns than debt funders.”
Marking the numbers and finding the projects The SA Financing Division has specific growth targets that literally translate to a significant quantity of commercial and social infrastructure projects being built over the next few years. “We are aiming to disburse between R6 billion to R7 billion in FY2014. Furthermore, we intend to grow by 20% annually over the next few years. This equates to approximately over R50 billion in disbursements over the coming five years,” explains Marowa. The SA Financing Division team is comprised of experienced and qualified bankers, and is constantly scanning and calling to the markets for project opportunities that meet the bank’s development and viability criteria. “The high-level principles guiding our criteria come down to the DBSA’s sustainability and large-scale impact on people’s lives by supporting government build key infrastructure,” he says. “The projects have to be developmental and in support of national goals, but also have to be commercially viable. When we go to the financial markets and borrow
The SA Financing Division team... is constantly scanning and calling to the markets for project opportunities that meet the bank’s development and viability criteria
a rand to lend into a project, our motive is not so much profit but rather infrastructure development and the bank’s sustainability,” explains Marowa. “It is important to understand the types of projects started by the private sector or state-owned enterprises that fall within NDP areas,” Marowa elaborates. “In the ICT sector, we funded projects by private sector sponsors to accelerate the installation of fibre-optic cables, thus connecting a segment of the population to broadband infrastructure, which is a key priority of the NDP.” The SA Financing Division is making significant headway in the funding of BRT systems, which will ultimately be operated on behalf of the cities by the affected private sector parties. “Currently, some cities have created special purpose vehicles (SPVs) owned by taxi associations,” Marowa explains. “In Tshwane, for example, the DBSA provided funding for the SPV to procure buses and allied infrastructure, while the city financed the road infrastructure and other complementary support, thus ensuring the project is sustainable and reliable until such time as the service has gained sufficient traction in the market place to sustain itself.” This approach is important in this key sector, as it is a cohesive solution to the mass transit goals of the NDP.
Sustained interventions that build a nation The Development Bank of Southern Africa is profoundly altering the infrastructure financing and delivery landscape. Its strategy to take on board financing and implementation support to boost its ability to ensure meaningful disbursements has proved to be the key that has unlocked its impressive results. The issues tackled might be well worn in the corridors of all stakeholders concerned, but here we find an holistic, effective solution, innovated for a uniquely South African context. Acting as a catalyst, and focused on acceleration and sustainability, the measurable results are already driving significant economic and infrastructural development for communities, while supporting public and private stakeholders who are equally looking for sustainable growth. It is a success story to celebrate. +27 (0)11 313 3911 www.dbsa.org
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ASSET MANAGEMENT
PART 1 OF 2
Managing municipal infrastructure
Well-managed infrastructure assists municipalities in the cost-effective, efficient and reliable delivery of mandated services. National Treasury has embarked on a process to develop an Infrastructure Delivery Management Toolkit for local government, which should improve life-cycle infrastructure asset management. By L Chetty*, D Lievaart*, L Palmer* and Roger Byrne**
A
LIGNMENT OF MANDATES, expectations, planning, budgeting and performance monitoring are key areas that will be addressed. This toolkit will be based on the 2010 toolkit developed for provincial government and is hosted by the CIDB. The 2010 CIDB toolkit is built on three delivery processes, namely portfolio management, project management, operations and maintenance management. National Treasury will use
experiences of municipalities who have implemented infrastructure asset management or aspects of the discipline to both update and modify this 2010 toolkit for use by local government. Proposed procedures, processes and methodologies will be tested for suitability and alignment with municipalities. Ultimately, it is expected that a clear link will be created between the services delivered and the infrastructure management actions.
The International Infrastructure Management Manual The failure of municipal infrastructure to deliver services can occur when there is inadequate asset maintenance and investment in asset capacity and strength. The development of infrastructure management systems assists in the provision and maintenance of assets. In South Africa, the Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS) was developed
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ASSET MANAGEMENT
as a process model to facilitate the delivery of public-sector infrastructure. The model identifies three distinct processes; namely (a) portfolio management process, (b) project management process, and (c) operations and maintenance processes.
The International Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM) documents good practice in municipal infrastructure management. The IIMM was developed in New Zealand and Australia. The World Bank’s Strategic Asset Management Advisory Note
TABLE 1 Synergies between IDMS and IIMM
INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROCESSES 1. Portfolio management 1.1 Infrastructure planning
1.2 Programme management 1.2.1 Construction procurement strategy 1.2.2 Programme management plans 2. Project management 2.1 Planning 2.2 Design 2.3 Works 2.4 Close-out 3. Operations and maintenance 3.1 Recognise and accept assets
3.2 Mobilisation for facilities management 3.3 Operations of assets 3.4 Maintain assets 3.5 Demobilisation for facilities management 3.6 Asset management team 3.7 Disposal of assets
ASSET MANAGEMENT PROCESSES (1) Develop the asset management policy (2) Define levels of service and performance (3) Forecast future demand (6) Identify asset and business risks (7) Life-cycle decision-making techniques (10) Capital works strategies (11) Financial and funding strategies (13) Asset management plans (15) Asset management service delivery (15) Asset management service delivery (15) Asset management service delivery (15) Asset management service delivery (4) Understand the asset base (the asset register) (5) Assess asset condition (14) Information systems and tools (8) Operational strategies and plans (9) Maintenance strategies and plans (13) Asset management plans (12) Asset management teams (13) Asset management plans (16) Quality management (17) Continuous improvement
FIGURE 1 The 17 quality elements of asset management
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(1999) recognised the management of municipal infrastructure, practised in these countries, as being representative of world best practice. The IIMM was prepared in response to a number of global realities: (1) the vast investment made in infrastructure by municipalities; (2) the traditional focus on the creation of new infrastructure rather than long-term maintenance and renewal; and (4) a growing number of well-publicised infrastructure failures. This work illustrates the mechanisms by which an infrastructure delivery management toolkit for local government can be easily achieved by implementing the asset management processes presented in the IIMM.
Infrastructure delivery management system Portfolio management process The objective of the portfolio management process is to develop, implement, monitor and control the optimal management of all the assets that make up the entire asset portfolio of the respective municipality. Portfolio management aims to achieve this objective by prioritised projects based on long-term plans, available budgets and the municipality’s management capacity. Optimal portfolio management is achieved by managing life-cycle costs. Portfolio management aims to link municipalities’ strategic service-delivery plans with the infrastructure required to deliver those services. The key to portfolio management activities is the ddevelopment of the asset register. The asset rregister must reflect the condition and work hhistory of each asset. Portfolio management aims to identify two ttypes of infrastructure management risks: ((a) infrastructure planning risks, and (b) pprogramme management risks. Portfolio m management also proposes that a budget iis prepared for all life-cycle stages includiing (a) acquisition, (b) rehabilitation, (c) m maintenance, (d) support costs required to m manage the infrastructure through all its sstages, and (e) disposal costs. The mediumtterm economic funding (MTEF) cycle takes tthree years to complete with preparation/ pplanning, implementation and close-out being tthe predominant phases undertaken in each yyear. Portfolio management proposes that an iinfrastructure delivery cycle (IDC) be develooped. Portfolio management proposes that tthe IDC be four years, due to the lead time rrequired for planning, design and project/ w works procurement. Portfolio management pproposes that the following outputs also be
ASSET MANAGEMENT
A Asset management comprises 17 quality eelements, as illustrated in Figure 1. Table 1 illustrates the synergies between IIDMS and asset management processes. D Due to the synergies evident in Table 1, the rremaining sections of this paper will illustrate hhow asset management processes can be uused to implement IDMS.
A Asset management processes Policy P
FIGURE 2 (above) Asset management policy maturity index FIGURE 3 (below) Levels of service maturity index
developed: (1) asset management plans and (2) construction procurement strategy.
Project management process The objective of the project management process is to execute prioritised projects. IDMS has identified that public sector infrastructure projects are implemented in four phases, namely (1) planning, (2) design, (3) works and (4) close-out. Each phase consists of a number of sub-phases. The IDMS toolkit discusses in detail the different methodologies of implementing public-sector infrastructure projects.
Operation and maintenance processes The objective of this process is to operate, maintain and dispose of assets. Operations
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and maintenance is the process of receiving assets into a portfolio of assets, managing and maintaining it over the asset life cycle and eventually demobilising the asset when it is due to be terminated. The operation and maintenance processes comprise the following sub-processes: (a) asset recognition, (b) mobilisation for facilities management, (c) operations of assets, (d) maintenance, and (d) demobilisation of facilities management.
T The asset management policy provides a cclear direction regarding the appropriate ffocus and level of asset management practtice expected. The asset management level rreflects the strategic business objectives aas well as meeting legal requirements, community needs and available resources. Asset
The failure of municipal infrastructure to deliver services can occur when there is inadequate asset maintenance and investment in asset capacity and strength
Synergy between infrastructure asset management and IDMS The objective of asset management is to meet a required level of service, in the most cost-effective manner, through the management of assets for the present and future. Evaluating the objectives of asset management and an infrastructure delivery management system illustrates that there are synergies between these processes.
management policies and objectives reflect the municipality’s commitment to the services it provides and its long-term asset management strategies. The municipality may initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 2.
Developing and monitoring levels of service Levels of service are key business driveers and influence all asset management ddecisions. Levels of service statements ddescribe the outputs the municipality iintends to deliver to customers and comm monly relate to service attributes such as qquality, reliability, responsiveness, sustainaability, timeliness, accessibility, and cost. TThe key objective of asset management pplanning is to match the levels of municipal sservice delivery with the levels of service eexpectations of customers. Asset management planning enables the ddevelopment of the relationship between ccost and the level of service. Performance m measurement provides an indication of a m municipality’s performance against its goals aand levels of service. The municipality may
ASSET MANAGEMENT
FIGURE 4 (right) Demand forecasting maturity index FIGURE 5 (middle) Asset register maturity index FIGURE 6 (bottom) Asset condition maturity index
initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 3.
Future-demand forecasting The ability to predict future demand for services enables asset managers to plan ahead and identify the best way of meeting that demand. Understanding the key drivers of demand is an important first step in demand forecasting. Once the factors are understood, mathematical modelling processes are often used to assess the impact of these factors on future demand. The municipality may initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 4.
Establishing base-asset knowledge Many asset management practices are initiated by understanding the assets the municipality owns, along with key supporting information such as value and age. Post identification of service requirements, asset managers need to be able to assess the asset capability to meet requirements now and in the future. Long-term information management provides the foundation for asset management planning. A staged approach is often the most practical method of data collection. Stage 1 is initiated by identifying minimum data required for legislative compliance and reporting requirements. The highest priority is generally to be able to value the asset and identify broad replacement programmes. The second priority may be supporting maintenance management. The final phase of data collection may be to allow risk management and optimised lifecycle analysis. Similarly, the level of detail to which data is captured may be progressed in a staged manner. Initial exercises may capture information at a higher asset level, later breaking down into more detailed components where the need is justified. The municipality may initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 5.
Assessing asset condition Asset condition is a measure of an asset’s physical integrity. Information on asset condition underpins effective, proactive asset management programmes by enabling the prediction of maintenance, rehabilitation and
renewal requirements. Asset condition is also critical to the management of asset risk, because it is linked to the likelihood that that asset will physically fail. Condition assessment techniques range from simple visual inspections through to detailed
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ASSET MANAGEMENT
FIGURE 7 (above) Risk management maturity index FIGURE 8 (below) Decision-making maturity index
mechanical, chemical or electrical testing. The municipality will typically start with a more basic approach, focusing condition data collection on its most critical assets. ‘Top-down’ approaches may be used where asset age and staff knowledge are applied to assess condition and remaining life for groups of assets. The municipality may initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 6.
Identifying critical assets and business risks Risks are events that may compromise the delivery of the municipality’s strategic objectives. The risk policy should define risk objectives, scope and strategies, including the definition of ‘unacceptable’ risks. Risk management should be seen as a core business driver that influences all decision-making, rather than an activity undertaken as an isolated process. Therefore, a corporate risk framework should be consistently applied across the municipality. The framework should identify the criteria against which risk can be evaluated and the responsibilities for managing risk. The municipality may initially focus on implementing core system functions and evolve to more advanced functions over time, as illustrated in Figure 7.
Decision-making techniques Post identification of any level of service gaps, demand requirements or risk issues,
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adequate operational, maintenance or capital investment strategies must be chosen. Decision techniques can be used to determine the best solution. There are many decision techniques that can be used and also many different types of decisions from deciding the best time to replace the asset to minimise overall life-cycle costs, through to complex decisions involving a tradeoff between social, environmental and economic impacts. Benefit-cost analysis identifies the financial impacts of various options, in terms of both benefits and costs, over the duration of the analysis period. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) can provide clarity to the decision-making process when decisions are more complex and the benefits and costs cannot be readily quantified in financial terms. With MCA, a range of
ccriteria are selected to represent the beneefits provided, such as criteria relating to iimproved water taste, better access to parks aand amenities, etc. Each attribute is scored aand weighted for the different options, and tthe results can be used to identify preferred ssolutions. The municipality may initially focus oon implementing core system functions and eevolve to more advanced functions over ttime, as illustrated in Figure 8. In next month’s edition of IMIESA, the secoond and final instalment of this article will be ppublished, and the complete article will be m made available at www.infrastructurene.ws Part two will lead with key information on ddecision making after identification of service llevel gaps. The rest of the article will examine how asset management processes also assist
The objective of asset management is to meet a required level of service, in the most cost-effective manner, through the management of assets for the present and future the municipality to fully justify capital and operations expenditure and related price structures and their levels of service to the full range of stakeholders, from ratepayers to provincial and national government. *Asset Management, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa ** RB&A, Australia
FLEET MANAGEMENT
A MAJOR CHALLENGE
Reducing fleet costs Reducing overall fleet costs has become the major challenge facing municipal and corporate fleet managers, and this has come at a time when fuel prices have risen by an average of 13% per annum over the past 10 years, despite some relief from the recent decline in the price of crude oil.
M
OST FLEETS are managed operationally,” says Murray Price, managing director of Eqstra Fleet Management, which is the only company in South Africa to offer its clients a totally integrated fleet management function, making it simpler for fleet managers to set up effective controls to measure and manage costs. “Very few municipalities consider the total cost of ownership when making fleet decisions. We assist our clients by offering them a total overview of their costs, benchmarked against researched norms, enabling fleet managers to make the most
efficient decisions relating to the operation of their fleet.” Eqstra offers six tips to effectively manage a fleet and to control costs:
Match fleet strategy to the operational objectives Most municipalities have a clear strategy in relation to what they intend to achieve, which includes cost reduction, core activities and carbon reduction, but fleet operations seldom match these objectives, resulting in exacerbated costs.
Understand the operational requirements Make a vehicle selection based on the following considerations, all of which should be included in the original costing:
• payload requirements (fuel costs can increase by as much as 30% when vehicles are overloaded), could have a longterm impact on maintenance spend and tyre usage, resulting in a ‘cheap’ vehicle costing far more than the right vehicle • vehicle reliability (some manufactures have a far better record than others in terms of reliability) • the cost of the vehicle standing.
Baseline all costs and adopt a total cost of ownership (TCO) approach Traditional fleet departments focused on interest/depreciation and maintenance, which contributed more than 50% of all costs. However, in recent years, fuel price increases (now more than 48% of fleet costs) and other sundry costs have encouraged fleet managers globally to adopt the TCO approach. Total cost of ownership is made up by the following factors: finance/depreciation
IMI IM IMIESA MIESA MI ES E SA A Fe F February eb bruary bru a y 20 22015 015 15
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28-30 OCTOBER 2015
THEME: Changing the face of the Municipal Engineer Earn 2.5 CPD points by attending The 2015 IMESA Conference will be hosted at the Grand West Hotel and Casino – Goodwood
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FLEET MANAGEMENT
“Very few municipalities consider the total cost of ownership when making fleet decisions.” Murray Price, managing director of
and manage vehicle costs monthly, the client has shaved 12% off their monthly fuel bill,” he explains.
Eqstra Fleet Management
Perform well to benchmark
Pull it together into one fleet budget, run projections and set accurate future forecasts
Identify vehicles performing outside the TCO. Once these rogue vehicles are identified, it is the task of the fleet team to work out whether it is the wrong vehicle for the application or whether the inefficiency is due to driver abuse or negligence. Driver behaviour has become a major consideration in this area and the latest telematics technology allows fleet managers to measure and control actual driving style, which can significantly control costs. “In one instance, a review of this nature highlighted one driver who was realising by far the highest TCO and, after inspection, it was found that the employee was using the vehicle as public transport during weekends. By investing in a telematics solution, which allows the client to receive reports
“This sounds relatively simple, but most municipalities use isolated suppliers, including their own departments, to try to manage their fleets,” says Price. “Our management tools allow us to benchmark vehicle costs, and pull together critical data into analytical and visual tools that can be used to make the best decisions about fuel management, safety, compliance, and overall efficiency; track vehicle and driver performance; and allow us to prepare a single and detailed report for assessing the financial impact. This allows our clients to effectively control and maintain their fleet costs, which can today significantly impact on a municipality’s operational budget,” he concludes.
costs, tyre costs, fuel costs (based on actual fuel expenditure), cost of travel allowance, cost of fuel reimbursement, cost of administration, cost of unbudgeted items, on-road cost of the vehicle, tax impacts/tax recovery and VAT impact.
Benchmark costs vs the actual cost of vehicles Once all costs have been incorporated, benchmark and compare different vehicles and, in so doing, budget for the total fleet and individual vehicles. “We have calculated the TCO per kilometre based on published manufacturer rates and are now able to compare these with actual spend,” explains Price. “This allows us to identify vehicles and drivers who are not delivering efficiencies, and therefore make improvements.”
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CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT
Construction equipment for emerging contractors The new year is finally in full swing and, for many people, this means the start of something. If you are one of those who launched a new business or are looking to expand your current business in the construction industry, you may be on the hunt for some construction vehicles and equipment; but where do you start?
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HEN LOOKING FOR construction vehicles and equipment, it is essential to consider the industr y, procurement and management options, as well as taking financing into account.
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meaning jobs are completed efficiently. Your equipment’s ability to affect your bottom line is a major factor that continues to inspire and motivate manufacturers, and it should feature as strongly when it comes to buying or renting your equipment.
Boosting your bottom line
Going the extra mile
The construction vehicle market has seen numerous changes to equipment over the last year. Many manufacturers have moved to align their products with the needs and wants of the industry. Manufacturers have steadily started to replace older models of equipment with newer versions that promise better performance, improved ergonomics and low maintenance, in order to help customers lower their operating costs and receive a rapid return on their investment. Improvements to most of the equipment focused primarily on better cooling systems, redesigned hydraulic and transmission systems, enlarged fuel tanks, stronger parts to handle heavier loads, and the use of specially designed parts that require no maintenance. One example of design innovation in this sector is the Bobcat S450 M-Series compact loader, which features unique no-maintenance axle bearings, which are automatically lubricated with chain case oil and never require greasing. The unit is also fitted with a maintenancefree chain case, automatic drive-belt tensioner and exclusive fixed-axle tubes that never require adjustment. Newly designed parts and systems like these allow for extended operating time
Many construction equipment distributors and manufacturers have support systems available to assist emerging contractors with equipment maintenance and management, finance, and even training. Bell Equipment, a South African manufacturer and supplier of material handling equipment for the construction industry, offers customers assistance through the Bell Assure Programme. The aim of the programme is to provide additional services tailored to the needs of the contractor. The programme starts off by offering emerging contractors advice on site requirements and machinery selection, followed by financing. Some of the programme’s features include a preventative maintenance programme, access to a fleet management tool, as well as operator and maintenance training – providing contractors with an ideal holistic offering. At the core of many support programmes is operator and maintenance training. Willie Haasbroek, who heads up the Barloworld Equipment Operator Academy, believes that effective machine drivers or operators equate to better machine life, which in turn saves the contractor money. “We don’t take shor tcuts and ever y operator trained by the academy will pass
IMIESA February 2015
on measureable savings for their company, both in terms of operating efficiencies and downstream maintenance costs.” Each year, Barloworld Equipment’s Operator Academy, based in Johannesburg, qualifies around 700 candidates, some of whom attend for refresher training, while others are brand new to the industry. The academy offers a full training programme, which involves the completion of the NQF Level 2 Plant Operation course. “The Plant Operation programme comprises a five-day theoretical component, which is classroom-based, together with an additional 15 days (on average) of
CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT
practical in-field machine operator training,” says Haasbroek. “This practical component will vary depending on the machine class, some being more complex than others to operate,” he continues. Upon completion of the course, the operator will receive a competency certificate which is valid for 24 months. “Thereafter, reassessment and recertification is required in terms of South African legislation for all earth-moving machine classes, irrespective of industry segment,” notes Haasbroek. The use of simulators is another way equipment distributors and manufacturers add a practical element to the training services they provide. Simulators are a cost-effective and safer way to engage in practical training. One such example is the Bell Simulator Programme, which is a PC-based approach to training construction equipment operators. The company offers three types of simulators for tracked dozers, wheeled loaders and motor graders. The wheeled loader and tracked dozer operator training simulators can be used to teach a full range of common worksite tasks. According to the equipment manufacturer, the motor grader is one of the most complex machines on the jobsite. “The motor grader operator training simulator allows students to learn the proper skills and techniques before using real equipment for the first time.”
Financing, renting, buying When all is said and done, and the right equipment has been selected for the job, you still need to consider where the finance will come from for your purchases. Most equipment distributors and manufacturers offer a financing service that works in collaboration with most banks; through these programmes, they are able to structure a financing solution that will best fit your requirements. The decision on whether to buy or rent equipment is dependent on your needs as a contractor, but equipment distributors and manufacturers offer the option to rent equipment for its ability to improve the bottom line of your business. The option to rent equipment is particularly appealing to the emerging contractor as someone who does not yet have a steady flow of work. This option allows you to save money because you will not be paying for a machine that is not being used.
ATLAS COPCO SOUTH AFRICA LISTS NINE TOP REASONS FOR RENTING: • Control expenses: Renting provides significant savings over buying, so you can improve your bottom line. • Inventory control: You can acquire equipment as and when you need it for the specified period and return it once the job is completed, so you keep your equipment inventory at a minimum. • The right equipment for the job: Renting lets you fit the type and size of equipment to the job for economy and safety. • Save on storage/warehousing: You can significantly reduce your costs by eliminating the need for large equipment storage areas and buildings. • Reduce down time: If equipment breaks down, your supplier will handle it efficiently so your employees can keep working. • No repairs: Suppliers can take care of the maintenance on the equipment, so you won’t need a repair shop, spare parts inventory, mechanics, or extra staff to take care of inventory maintenance records • Save disposal costs: You won’t need to spend the time and money preparing, advertising and selling used equipment. • Equipment tracking: The presence of continuous billing on rented equipment keeps it top of mind and establishes personal accountability. • Conserve capital: Rent the equipment you need and use your capital for other, potentially more profitable, ventures.
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ROADS, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE & MANAGEMENT
Upgrading a
vital corridor The N4 toll road stretches for 570 km from the Solomon Mahlangu off-ramp near Pretoria to the Port of Maputo in Mozambique, and includes six toll plazas.
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RANS AFRICA CONCESSIONS (TRAC) has awarded a 22-month contract for upgrade work on the strategically vital road connecting South Africa with Mozambique.
Scope of work The contract handover was made to Murray & Roberts Infrastructure at the beginning of September 2014 with completion anticipated for July 2016. The scope of work for Murray & Roberts Infrastructure focuses on the section of the N4 near Middelburg, just east of the Rockdale interchange, and ending just west of the Arnot interchange. ABOVE Rock fill for new alignment at Middelburg Dam BELOW Temporary berm construction for dewatering at Middelburg Dam for the construction of C1637
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“Murray & Roberts Infrastructure will construct a new dual carriageway in an easterly direction. Upon completion of the new eastbound carriageway, the existing westbound carriageway will be converted into a threelane carriageway,” project manager Derek Brink says. The new carriageway will feature a 40 mm thick asphalt pavement layer, while the existing westbound carriageway will be rehabilitated and surfaced with a 13.2 mm singleseal layer. In addition, the contract includes construction of a new bridge, the extension of an existing bridge, minor rehabilitation to existing bridges and construction of six large onsite culverts and associated drainage works.
Project challenges The most challenging aspect related to the ancillary infrastructure is the location of the bridge over the Klein Olifants River and the fact that one of the culverts is at the entrance of the Middelburg Dam. “The latter is probably the biggest challenge associated with this project, not just from a construction point of view, but
also from an environmental point of view,” Brink comments. “The client and its consultants have compiled environmental management plans while we have our own in-house environmental manager to assist us, if need be. “The contract commenced effectively at the beginning of the rainy season, which in itself does pose a challenge,” Brink says. He adds that the bridge over the Klein Olifants River is not expected to pose any specific problems. The full scope of the contract is a good benchmark for Murray & Roberts Infrastructure’s expert capabilities and total service offering.
Build, operate and transfer This section of the N4 is a build, operate and transfer (BOT) toll road owned together by South Africa and Mozambique, which will both reassume responsibility for the project once TRAC’s 30-year concession expires in 2027. While the economic lifespan of a road is about 20 to 25 years, TRAC’s ongoing maintenance and rehabilitation measures mean that ultimately the toll road will be handed back in an ‘as new’ condition.
PANEL INTRO
Roads construction, maintenance and management
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MPROVING AND DEVELOPING South Africa’s road and highway infrastructure is a large business and essential to the continued growth and development of the nation. All roads start somewhere, and their planning, design and construction is a multi-disciplinary process which requires specialist technical services. Thanks to new technologies and innovations, such as highly sophisticated software that allows engineers to see 3D models of their designs, they can optimise the complete life cycle of roads and highways.
In the same way that planning and equipment in the road-building industry have been influenced by technology and innovation, so have the materials being used. New ways of production, transportation and storage of bitumen/asphalt during the construction process are emerging and the use of additives is prevalent in both bitumen and cement roads. Although bituminous products and mixtures have historically been the material of choice for road building – cement roads also have a long history, but the cost and perception of the material have worked against it.
New cement products have been entering the market to change those perceptions. Understanding the different types, qualities and uses of aggregates, cement, asphalt and bitumen is central to road building and maintenance. Once the road is built, the work doesn’t end there and maintenance management, techniques and general repair take centre stage. This IMIESA Panel Discussion takes a look at expert input from across the entire value chain to provide insight into planning and design, equipment and materials, maintenance and road network management.
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BETTER FOUNDATIONS FOR BETTER ROADS. AfriSam Roadstab Cement with it’s unique tried and proven C-Tech composite technology. Roadstab Cement improves the engineering properties of soil by reducing plasticity and enhancing the strength of road-based materials. It achieves durability, stability, and strength across a broad range of materials at the same time and allows for adequate time to place and compact materials during road stabilisation. AfriSam Roadstab. A cement truly capable of breaking grounds.
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With the planet as one of our core values, we assess the carbon footprint of each and every one of our operations and products while actively striving to drive down our impact on the environment. For more information, contact the AfriSam Centre for Product Excellence or visit our website.
Building our Future Together
PANEL DISCUSSION
ROA AD CONSTRU UCTION N, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANA AGEM MEN NT Nithia Pillay | Product Technical Manager: Construction Materials | South Region | AfriSam Shaughn Smit | Sales Manager: Construction Materials | Western Cape | AfriSam Construction is underway in one of the biggest contracts awarded to AfriSam by Sanral to improve the N7 between the Melkbos and Atlantis intersections in the Western Cape
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n terms of durability of readymix, what are the most important factors and innovations?
NP Durability of concrete can be quite complex and can be potentially misinterpreted due to the belief that higher strength means better durability. It was also previously believed that straight OPC mixes were more durable when compared to mixes which incorporated extenders. It has been shown that blends of OPC with PFA and/or GGBS produce superior concrete durability properties. It is important to note that adequate curing is vital in order to derive the benefits of the extenders. The most important factors to consider when specifying durability include: • the anticipated service life of the building • usage of the building; the environment in which the building exists • construction method • building aesthetics • materials being used by the concrete supplier • whether the concrete supplier is reputable and shows evidence of applying stringent quality control and quality assurance programmes.
The concrete supplier should belong to industry bodies such as Sarma and Aspasa and work closely with institutions which are heavily involved in developments and research related to concrete durability. A lot of work is still in progress, researching the ingress mechanisms and methods of containing the degree of ingress for the various sources of concrete degradation. It should be noted that site practice plays a fundamental role in the final durability properties the structures display, site practice related to receiving, placing and curing of the concrete can take compliant concrete and change it to noncompliant concrete.
When it comes to using concrete structures to support massive loads, as in this instance, what tests does the readymix undergo, and what are the key elements in developing it? Where concrete is supplied in such instances, much due diligence goes into the design of the structure. From the design, concrete specifications can be developed for the specific project or structure. These specifications can be extremely detailed. Once the
mix design is finalised, a testing procedure, which forms part of the supplier’s quality procedure, is applied. The supplier would ensure that early and late strengths are tested as required for the application. Statistical analysis of the results would provide indications to all parties if the strengths are compliant or if any intervention is required to correct the performance of the mix design. All materials being used in the mix design are also monitored on a scheduled basis for variations and performance and again this allows interventions to take place as necessary. Batching tolerances are also monitored to ensure compliance to SANS 878.
AfriSam recently completed a contract for a Sanral road project in the Western Cape; what was its scope? The N7 project extended from the Melkbosstrand interchange to the Atlantis intersection, which runs about 9.5 km and includes the interchange ramps. AfriSam supplied approximately 650 000 tonnes of layer works material and 750 000 tonnes of overburden, as well as about 15 000 m3 of Readymix concrete for bridge construction.
Apart from the layer works and overburdens, AfriSam also developed a readymix specifically for the interchange bridges. How did the company approach this process? Upon receipt of specifications
from the customer, the sales team forwarded the requirements to AfriSam’s technical team who designed an appropriate concrete mix. Trials were conducted to ensure that the mixes performed optimally and that the desired strengths were achieved in the required timeframe. Once our technical team was satisfied, we proceeded to supply the project as required.
Given the sheer volumes of daily material AfriSam delivers on this project alone, what is the company’s logistics and fleet capacity, and how does it distinguish the company? Our quarry in Durbanville Hills supplied the aggregate used on the project. This quarry typically has between 25 and 30 trucks available to supply stone on any given day. AfriSam also has six readymix plants in the Western Cape and access to a fleet size of 41 readymix trucks. Plant capacities range from 42 m3/hr to 54 m3/hr. Most mixes are standardised across all plants to enable uninterrupted supply of readymix concrete.
What contingencies have to be considered when planning logistics on projects of this scale? The first consideration is whether the primary plant and quarry would be able to provide continuous supply at the rate required. This includes having the capacity to produce the necessary products for the duration of the project. Other considerations are given toward having a backup plant from which to supply products should any unforeseen circumstance impact on the ability of our plant to supply the project.
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Productivity Partnership for a Lifetime
Asphalt mixing plant Prime.
Prime 140 is the highly mobile version of Ammann’s very successful continuous asphalt mixing plants. It was developed specifically for markets where high mobility is in demand. All continuous asphalt mixing plants from Ammann are equipped with a continuously running two-shaft paddle mixer, and the Prime 140 is no exception. One of its special features is a controllable outlet gate that enables the filling height and therefore the mixing time to be set depending on recipe and output. The outlet gate also drastically reduces losses during start-up and shut-down of production. Additives, fibres, Ammann Foam etc., can be added optional far away from the heat source. For more information on compaction machines, mixing plants and pavers go to www.ammann-group.com
Ammann Construction Machinery 229 Hull Road, Rynfield Benoni 1500, South Africa Tel. + 27 11 849 3939 Fax + 27 11 849 8889 info.aza@ammann-group.com
PANEL DISCUSSION
RO OAD CONSTRUCTION, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANAGEM MENT Rocco Lehman | Managing Director | Ammann SA
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DREAM OF thousands of kilometres of tarred roads running all round the Earth, linking the countries and oceans together.’’ These words of Swiss physician Dr Guglielminetti were spoken at the first International Roadbuilding Congress held in Paris in 1908, the very same year the Ammann Group first moved into the road construction market. Family-owned and -managed Ammann has been pioneering innovations in road building equipment ever since. Rocco Lehman, managing director of Ammann SA, joins this month’s panel to discuss how the company’s extraordinary legacy is contributing far more than its products to South African market.
How has the legacy of Ammann’s origins as a family-owned and -managed company been incorporated into the way Ammann SA operates locally? RL Ammann started out more than a century ago as a producer of agricultural equipment in Switzerland, and moved into road building in partnership with a gentleman by the name of Heinrich Aeberli, who was the director of roads in Zurich, and very much a pioneer of the same road building techniques that are familiar today. While the introduction of the automobile was a very important motivation in developing Switzerland’s road infrastructure, public health and safety was also a critical concern at the time. Ammann’s venture into road building started out as a partnership, and Ammann SA’s core values are based on that same principle of partnership, reflecting Ammann’s legacy in a local context.
What specific values go into building Ammann SA’s partnerships? Ammann SA has over 80 years of technical expertise in the local market, and we are therefore uniquely positioned to introduce Ammann’s products in a manner that suits local conditions. Every piece of equipment we sell to a local partner is the end result of a journey of consultation, consideration and adaptation, which then continues indefinitely, as we provide technical support, trouble-shooting and very practical advice to ensure our partners can always deliver optimal results to their customers.
What would be a good example of Ammann SA’s partnering approach in terms of the local market? Our partnerships usually begin way before we actually do a business transaction, and are quite specific to the size and development of the partner company. When we work with smaller contractors, for example, we make our expertise and support available to them so that they can engage with the market confidently. We have helped an emerging contractor draw up a highly practical business plan and attended his technical presentations to a publicsector development agency. By reinforcing his technical capacity as a partner, he was able to incorporate Ammann’s technical expertise into his own brand equity, with full commitment prior to any actual purchase.
mature, challenges are going to emerge, and require honesty and integrity to resolve. Our partners’ best interests are always our priority, and this is built not just on our technical expertise, but on how those expertise position our clients in constantly changing market conditions. One of our larger clients purchased an asphalt plant prior to the appearance of reclaimed asphalt as a specification for some national roads. A year later, when consulting with this client on a second asphalt plant, it became apparent that his first purchase would now need a retrofit to meet this new condition. So not only was the second plant going to need more technology than he anticipated, there was a potential need for more capital outlay on the first plant. If Ammann SA were solely focused on the business of selling product, it would have been easy to meet this client’s initial expectations and simply sell him the second plant. As a partner, however, we chose instead to walk a tougher route. Ultimately, we would rather take the more difficult route than compromise the values that form a real partnership. Switzerland 1908 to South Africa 2015: Ammann’s evolution as a business, an innovator and manufacturer has been sustained by the strong values of family and partnership
Going back to the technical integrity of Ammann’s innovations, how does that value translate in practical terms? We are the only company in South Africa that builds all its components inhouse. This is precisely why we are able to retrofit an asphalt plant with the mechanical and technological components that enable the use of reclaimed asphalt. Other manufacturers cannot make these sorts of adjustments and would have to sell a client in this position a completely new plant.
What is at the heart of Ammann SA’s approach? The company entered the market in 1908 in a partnership that saw the innovation of modern road building methods that have been adopted worldwide. Similarly, Ammann SA is partnering with this particular market, and delivering innovations that ensure its success.
IN ADDITION TO DEVELOPING the first continuous ballast coating plant, Ammann also developed its own range of asphalt paving equipment but later stopped production to concentrate on mixing technology. One of Ammann’s early machines was powered by a 27 hp Lister engine, which operated at 1 000 rpm and had two forward and one reverse gear. The machine could surface variable widths between 2.4 m and 3.6 m and weighed in at 8 tonnes.
What other values guide Ammann SA as its partnerships develop? As partnerships
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Polymer modified bitumen made with Elvaloy® RET has storage stability that is unmatched in the market. It reacts chemically with the bitumen, which enables it to maintain initial binder properties even after prolonged storage and shipment. Together, we can enhance the physical performance of road infrastructure. Welcome to The Global CollaboratoryTM. For a bitumen modifier designed to fight all major road failure mechanisms – from rutting and fatigue cracking to cold cracking and binder stripping – contact Richard Ntombela on +27 11 218 8600 or richard.ntombela@dupont.com To learn more, visit www.dupont.com/asphalt
Copyright(C) 2015 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™ and all products denoted with ® or TM are registered trademarks or trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.
PANEL DISCUSSION
RO OAD CONSTRUCTION, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANAGEM MENT Richard Ntombela | Sales & Technical Specialist | DuPont
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outh Africa faces very specific challenges with regards to both the maintenance of roads and the building of new roads. What is your company’s perspective on these challenges? RN It is essential to maintain the asset that we have already spent a lot of money on during construction. If we maintain our roads in time we will save money on the costly rehabilitation of some sections of road and save lives lost due to poor road condition. The saving through timely maintenance can then be spent constructing new sections.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? DuPont developed and produce Elvaloy RET, the asphalt modifiers which enable long-term performance for roads throughout harsh climate conditions and heavy traffic loads. As an example, our partner in South Africa, a bitumen supplier is manufacturing Elvaloy RET PMB (polymer modified bitumen) in South Africa and transporting by road for over 1 600 km to Zambia. The Elvaloy RET PMB does not lose or change binder properties during prolong transportation due to its unique polymer chemistry.
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved? The major obstacle in some of the countries is the non-availability of proper specification for PMB or the situation where the
country is using outdated PMB specification. We recommend that our countries in Africa step up R&D on construction materials and monitor closely the development around performance specification.
other. This should be left to design engineers who are well positioned to evaluate each case based on local conditions. Asphalt pavements seem to be more flexible in terms of design and construction.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? As DuPont, we
What particular admixtures/additives do you currently believe offer best value from a usability and sustainability point of view? Our products
collaborate with our partners to come up with the best solution not only to meet project specification, but with the ultimate goal of extending the lifetime of the pavement and reducing maintenance cost. DuPont has innovation centres and R&D centres dedicated to our partners.
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services have to offer? DuPont hosted the first ‘Brain Trust’ on infrastructure development that seeks to generate discussion on new approaches to the socio-economic dilemmas. We believe that the private sector should collaborate with government to solve South Africa’s problems and brainstorm workable solutions that lend themselves to publicprivate partnerships. A more proactive approach, innovative thinking and the willingness to work together could achieve far more than the general tendency to blame-shift.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the use asphalt versus concrete in road building; what are your thoughts? There are cases where concrete and asphalt complement each
were specially designed for roads binders several decades ago. During that time, we provided holistic solutions to our customers globally, with a regional emphasis.
How can South Africa’s roads authorities improve their working relationship with the private sector? As part of the private sector, we need to reach out to authorities. There will always be differences but great success will be achieved when private sector, government and other stakeholders collaborate to tackle challenges we face. Infrastructure is key to the development of Africa, as it will help countries in Africa to attract investments. Poor road infrastructure leads to slowdown in economic activity and it will also affects food security.
Labour intensity is an intrinsic part of social and economic transformation and road construction and maintenance has been at the centre of this activity for a while now. The EPWP has entered its third phase now; how does your company respond to this need? Paving is a labour-intensive
Paving in Mozambique
industry. Bitumen emulsion is the most appropriate technique to combine labour-intensive construction and desired road quality, because it does not require heating and it can be easily shipped to the most remote sites. DuPont is at advanced stages in the development of emulsion from Elvaloy RET PMB. Our Global Paving Centre in Prague is in the process of evaluating the effect of different emulsifiers on the performance of the final emulsion product. Collaboration in Ghana resulted in DuPont, along with local bitumen emulsion suppliers, producing the first Elvaloy RET PMB emulsion in West Africa.
In conclusion, what key sales point defines your company and its role in the industry? DuPont is at the forefront of the innovation efforts to support infrastructure provision in Africa. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to provide the bestperforming materials for the road industry.
Paving in Ghana
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Maccaferri's integrated solution for
PAVEMENTS
WITHOUT
WITH
19mm + Double 6.7mm Seal
700
G4 subbase. Compacted to 97% Mod.AASHTO MacGrid EG 30S
150
250
G7 Material. Compacted to 96% Mod.AASHTO
300
300
150
G2 Imported base. Compacted to 88% Mod.AASHTO
MacGrid EG 30S Roadbed Preparation. Compacted to 93% Mod.AASHTO
Foundation Material
DETAIL 1 SCALE 1:30
DESIGN Geogrid Reinforcement
SUPPLY LESS TIME LESS COST MORE QUALITY MORE EFFICIENCY
SUPERVISION
PANEL DISCUSSION
ROA AD CONSTRU UCTION N, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANA AGEM MEN NT Edoardo Zannoni | Business Unit Manager: Geosynthetics | Maccaferri
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hat is your company’s perspective on South Africa’s road building and maintenance challenges? South Africa's infrastructure is strained due to an overloaded road system and a lack of maintenance, resulting in delays of the infrastructure upgrading and cost increasing. Maccaferri offers solutions for both the maintenance and construction of new roads using innovative products, overcoming issues such as costing, lack of materials, time and services in the road layerwork.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? Maccaferri provides reinforcement of the pavement layer works, in subgrade, subbase and asphalt-reducing the mechanical stresses in each layer using geosynthetics, thus increasing the lifetime of the pavement or reducing the thickness or the quality of the layer maintaining the same traffic loading. Geosynthetics comprise a wide variety of products (geotextiles, geogrids, etc.) offering not only reinforcement but also drainage, filtration and separation, which can be applied to roads, parking decks, runways and container depots.
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your
products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved? South African design models do not comprise the use of geosynthetics for reinforcement in pavements, however, geosynthetics were first used in haul roads in the 1970s and today, geosynthetics are an integral part of road designs backed up by continuous research aimed on improving current design models. South African pavement engineers should get closer to the geosynthetic industry and increase their trust in such products and design models as in America and Europe.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? Maccaferri is able to provide technically sound solutions supported by design and site supervision, in order to support the engineer and the contractor during the project, ensuring that the solution is designed correctly, the right product is chosen and more important, the solution is installed correctly.
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services have to offer? Geosynthetics have
ABOVE MacTex W1 placed in the subgrade to avoid contamination of the layerworks and reinforce the weak subgrade BELOW LEFT Asphalt Reinforcement in Durban using MacGrid AR to prevent reflective cracking on the overlay BELOW RIGHT Placing of Macgrid EG 30S in the subgrade for ground stabilization (Glentana, Western Cape)
From marginal/complementary products, they are now a critical part of a design carrying the difference between a safe and a failed design. A thorough design and product knowledge is paramount in order to fulfil any critical aspects of the design and construction. Our engineering service strives to cover not only the product but the design and the installation.
How does your company approach the issue of sustainability and what should the industry
understand about it? Maccaferri's solutions have always considered the sustainability of the solutions, using rocks available on-site to fill gabions for hydraulic protection. Our solutions in pavements allow using weaker in situ material or avoiding stabilisation of layers, saving the environment from opening new quarry, transport, time and cost.
In conclusion, what key sales point defines your company and its role in the industry? Maccaferri has always strived to succeed with engineering solutions, for more than 50 years, in South Africa. The solutions offered are above the current market in terms of knowledge, service and efficacy. Maccaferri does not try to sell products but rather aims to create a legacy in the industry, seeking the benefit of our solutions to the project and highlighting that engineering is the best solution.
changed their role in a project.
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PANEL DISCUSSION
RO OAD CONSTRUCTION, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANAGEM MENT Pascal Garrioch | Strategic Business Development Consultant | National Cold Asphalt
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outh Africa faces very specific challenges with regards to both the maintenance of roads and the building of new roads. What is your company’s perspective on these challenges? PG South
African government resources are unfortunately limited in terms of the budgets allocated or available to build both new roads and maintain the existing road network infrastructure, especially at district and local municipal levels. National Cold Asphalt is partnering with SMMEs/infrastructure development initiatives to focus specifically on all road repairs and maintenance. NCA’s 100% BBBEE local manufacturing supplier model will ensure supply of world-class asphalt materials to newly trained SMMEs and cooperative units that can effectively and efficiently deliver on the major backlog in road repairs and maintenance that faces our country today.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? Our asphalt materials and innovative technologies for road repairs and maintenance specialise in labour-intensive job creation applications without compromising the cost, quality, time and productivity thereof. Our cold-mix asphalt is considered to be in the top five globally. It has been around for more than 20 years and is used in over 25 countries.
Our hot-mix-in-a-bag asphalt material is cutting edge and the all-inclusive, mobile oven trailer unit requires low capital outlay with optimum profitability and productivity.
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services have to offer? NCA is com-
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved?
mitted to aligning its products to international standards while developing business models that align themselves specifically to South African national and local government policies and core objectives.
Matching current road specifications to alternate product specifications with respect to all road building, repairs and maintenance is often an issue, especially with labour-intensive methodologies and materials such as cold-mix asphalt. This needs to be formalised in our road-building manifesto to integrate all qualified alternates available, where the use of such methodologies, technologies and materials are recognised, aligned and incorporated by our various leading local roads authorities.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? We are a division of a JSE-listed company that allows government and SMMEs/our partners to optimise not only the use of our leading materials but also unilateral access to our multinational infrastructure and human resources expertise.
How does your company approach the issue of sustainability and what should the industry understand about it? Understanding the environment in South Africa, in which we all aspire to play a meaningful role, infrastructure is fundamental to attracting foreign investment, leading to job creation. Our local manufacturing plant model, world-class materials and SMME development programmes mean that all stakeholders involved will always optimise cost, quality and productivity. Our roads are the arteries and life-blood that connect our communities. Their longevity means inevitable hope and success for all. Corporate South Africa has to get involved to fully develop and utilise our road networks.
How can South Africa’s roads authorities improve their working relationship with the private sector?
We have to be open, innovative and talk to one another, sharing ideas and playing to each other's strengths.
Labour intensity is an intrinsic part of socioeconomic transformation and road construction and maintenance has been at the centre of this activity for a while now. The EPWP has entered its third phase now; how does your company respond to this need? Optimising labour in construction without compromising cost, quality, time and productivity should be mandatory in all road design and the maintenance thereof. Our products and methods fully embrace and embody labour intensity. This is something we are very proud of and will continue to develop in conjunction with local and national government policies and objectives.
In conclusion, what key sales point defines your company and its role in the industry? NCA is part of a JSE-listed entity, so access to significant expertise, world-class materials, innovative technologies and historical credibility is extensive. Our latest, hot-mix-in-a-bag oven trailer, allows SMMEs minimal capital outlay and the ability to do hot asphalt pothole repairs anywhere.
LEFT LT40 heating plant MIDDLE Manual chip spreader RIGHT Hotmix-in-a-bag production unit
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PANEL DISCUSSION
RO OAD CONSTRUCTION, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANAGEM MENT Noel Bessler | Sales Director | Osborn South Africa
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outh Africa faces very specific challenges with regards to both the maintenance of roads and the building of new roads. What is your company’s perspective on these challenges? NB South Africa has many well-qualified personnel and long-standing, vastly experienced companies that can provide these infrastructure needs. From consultation, design, engineering and construction, to specialised equipment providers, they are all here. Prudent recognition of them, which unfortunately is not happening to keep pace with the country’s requirements, would make a huge difference.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? Osborn is a Johannesburg-based equipment manufacturer for the mines and quarries, as well as the Southern African dealer for sister Astec Group companies, Roadtec and Astec Inc. These being specialised mobile asphalt paving and asphalt plant equipment suppliers out of USA respectively.
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved? Referring to the asphalt products only, there is a small footprint of equipment in the region, but client recognition and paying a premium for quality equipment is an age-old problem. Thus we’re always open for discussion to partner with prospective clients.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? As we are targeting the Roadtec products here, their attributes include innovation and an understanding of how roadways are built and best maintained. The well-known Roadtec Shuttle Buggy is a prime example of innovation. In stabilisation, Roadtec SX line stabilisers are unique in that they have a four-speed transmission built into the machine to allow immediate rotor speed change.
asphalt material from the coldmilling process. It is easy to engineer, easy to develop a mix design and does not require a lot of sophisticated equipment. A layer of old asphalt remixed with bituminous emulsion not only provides a strong material but also has the added benefit of providing an excellent crack relief layer. Second to this is the foaming process, which does a similar job, is far more technical in nature and requires more sophisticated equipment. Foam also does not do as good a
successive recycle operations have met the exacting modern standards for gradation, penetration and stability. Each of these operations have saved new materials for other uses and reused the existing stone and bitumen.
How can South Africa’s roads authorities improve their working relationship with the private sector? If South African roads authority allows the use of the latest in technology to improve the service life of the roadways and decrease the cost burden
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services have to offer? Roadtec products are sold all around the world. Our products are designed to enhance the contractor’s bottom line with features to either perform more work in a shorter time or decrease the cost of doing business.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the use of asphalt versus concrete in road building; what are your thoughts? Engineers will specify asphalt or concrete for roadways based on their criteria. Roadtec serves the asphalt paving industry manufacturing equipment for the placement, mixing and recycling of asphalt pavements.
What particular admixtures/additives do you currently believe offer best value from a usability and sustainability point of view? Bituminous emulsion is used worldwide to be mixed with cold-recycled
job of providing crack relief where needed.
How does your company approach the issue of sustainability and what should the industry understand about it? Recycling of pavements has proven to be one of the most sustainable techniques known to modern science, as asphalt pavement is now the most recycled material in the United States by tonnage. In fact, since the advent of the milling machine in the 1970s and the recycling asphalt plant in the 1980s, there are major asphalt paved roadways that have been recycled several times. Each of the
on the public, then using new methods such as paving with remixing MTVs or cold-in-place recycle with stabilisers or milling machines will benefit everyone.
In conclusion, what key sales points define your company and its role in the industry? Roadtec has become a world leader in innovation with the advent of the world’s first remixing MTV to add service life to asphalt roadways by eliminating segregation. Roadtec also is a leader in cold recycling, mixing new materials into the old and benefiting the public through a decrease in cost without a decrease in specification.
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Because we understand that the foundation for durable road construction is important, we’ve created PPC Sureroad CEM II 32.5 Cement. Sureroad is made for long-lasting road stabilisation and excellent performance with a range of soil types, giving you the right start for the longevity of your project. Continual innovations in service and technology for all construction applications has made PPC the leading brand for over 120 years. Sureroad is available directly from PPC Ltd. For more information, call our toll-free line on 0800 023 470 or visit www.ppc.co.za
Our strength, Your vision.
PANEL DISCUSSION
RO OAD CONSTRUCTION, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANAGEM MENT Thabiso Maloa | PPC Technical Consultant | Pretoria Portland Cement
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hat is your company’s perspective on South Africa's road sector challenges? TM PPC believes the
private and public sectors need to work together, each contributing to planning and providing technical skills and professional experts to build the construction industry coalition. Public-private partnerships bode well for the future and should be built on strong working relationships built on trust in order to achieve effective collaboration.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? PPC has a proud and successful track record spanning over 120 years, and is the leading supplier of cement in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Our strong geographic footprint makes PPC an ideal partner supplier in all countries we operate in. PPC offers specially formulated road stabilisation, Sureroad, a CEM II 32.5N product. It is a fly ash and/or limestone extended cement. Sureroad has been engineered to improve the engineering properties of the soil by reducing the plasticity index, unconfined compressed strength and indirect tensile strength of the base material. Sureroad enhances durability and achieves superior performance with most road material. In addition, PPC also has brands such as the market-leading SureBuild, the first branded general-purpose cement on the market, Botcem in Botswana, Unicem and PMC in Zimbabwe, Obras in Mozambique, and OPC, a special-purpose high-strength premium cement.
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved? International imports into the domestic market have proved to be a challenge for the industry. The growing volume of cheaper imported cement sold in many of the country’s coastal regions is a cause for concern. Cement producers in South Africa are of the opinion that bagged cement from other markets is being ‘dumped’ at lower prices than normal.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? PPC is a truly African success story – a focused business that reflects the strengths of its people, products and services. PPC prides itself on offering services that stretch far beyond the contents of a bag of cement. As an organisation, it remains passionate about investing in meaningful initiatives and projects that advance the industry’s excellence. We strive to produce and supply the premium product in the industry. PPC provides technical support, group laboratory services, and support to our communities, including skills transfer in the FET colleges and the overall training in the industry.
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services? PPC launched its Cement and Concrete Cube – a first-to-market, online platform where people can collaborate, interact and share information relating to the cement and
concrete industry. The platform streamlines interaction with PPC experts and ensures an increased flow of information including the latest trends and international journals.
development in its business, employees, the environment and communities in which it operates. PPC is committed to integrating environmental and sustainability issues into our business strategy.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the use of asphalt versus concrete in road building; what are your thoughts? It is PPC’s
The EPWP has entered its third phase now; how does your company respond to this need? The EPWP is a great
view that concrete roads are more sustainable and durable. Concrete pavements have a longer design life, making the comparative life-cycle costs more equitable with asphalt roads. However, the upfront agency cost is higher for concrete and this is one of the stumbling blocks. On busy roads, concrete performs better and rehabilitation should only be needed after 30 to 40 years, compared with 20 for asphalt. This reduces the costs of delays and congestions over the 40-year period, making concrete an attractive alternative.
How does your company approach the issue of sustainability and what should the industry understand about it? Sustainability encompasses the balanced integration of corporate governance, social, ethical, economic, environmental as well as health and safety factors into all the planning, implementation and decisionmaking stages of the business. PPC exercises due diligence in all areas of operation to promote sustainable
initiative that requires diligent management, planning and supervision. It has a great impact on job creation; however, quality must be well monitored on-site. Concrete roads have been making a way in the township roads, all this is done labour-intensively through the EPWP.
In conclusion, what key sales points define your company and its role in the industry? PPC is a customerfocused organisation. We believe that we need to give our customers more than just a quality product. Our customers need solutions not just products. Strength is our trusted quality product, but we go beyond the bag through identifying and understanding our various customers’ needs and building relationships. We believe that to stay ahead, we have to be innovative. The skills and commitment of our people to our customers, communities, country and continent are central to our success.
Reya Vaya project on Katherine Street in Sandton
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PANEL DISCUSSION
ROA AD CONSTRU UCTION N, MAINTE ENANCE E AND MANA AGEM MEN NT Tony Pappalardo | Managing Director | Uretek
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outh Africa faces very specific challenges with regards to both the maintenance of roads and the building of new roads. What is your company’s perspective on these challenges? For
the first instance, the polymer is precisely injected via 14 mm holes drilled through the pavement into existing void spaces directly below the concrete. With deep injection, voids are located at deeper levels, for instance below sub-base of paved roads, the 14 mm injection tubes are inserted into the drilled holes to the required depth. As the pavement is lifted, its movement is precisely monitored on the surface using laser level-measuring devices. The polymer expansion reaches 90% of its full compressive and tensile strength within 15 min-
roads and highways, deficiency problems include broken or separated concrete slabs, faulty joints, surface voids, voids in the layer works, and sloping or inconsistant pavement levels that also result in poor driving conditions and increased vehicle maintenance. Pavement problems can significantly Slab lifting on the N3 Cedara highway impact on the flow of traffic and the amount of traffic congestion. The financial loss to the individual and for industry in general is incalculable. Traditional methods of addressing these problems have provided less than ideal results. The older systems and materials require lengthy installation times and provide temporary repairs and minimal utes, therefore road closures life expectancy at best. Uretek are kept to short times. An is a proven system which saves additional advantage of the time and money, and is backed polymer material is its extremely by a 10-year guarantee light characteristic.
What specific solutions does your company specialise in and what are the elements that make it unique? Uretek addresses problems with two patented technologies: Uretek Slab Lifting Method and Uretek Deep Injection. Both technologies use the injection of highdensity structural polymer. In
Are there any specific obstacles to getting your products and/or services into the market, and how would you like to see them being solved? Uretek has been active worldwide for the past 30 years but is a relatively new company in South Africa. That
said, Uretek SA has succesfully completed contracts for Sanral through different contractors including Basil Read, Roadspan, and N3TC. Uretek SA has also executed stabilisation of about 110 000 m2 of concrete road for eThekwini on Solomon Mahlangu Drive, which carries a high volume of heavy vehicle traffic to and from South Africa’s busiest port.
As a provider of goods and services in the roads market, what sets your company apart from its competitors? Flexibility and speed are the characteristics of the injection process. We are able to reach the areas to be treated without the use of heavy equipment, as the polymer is conveyed by flexible hoses that can reach 100 m from the mobile workshop.
What is the latest thought leadership – globally and locally – regarding the role your products and services have to offer? We have a proven product. Thirty years of experience, with over 100 000 projects completed worldwide, make Uretek a logical alternative to conventional methods, saving time and money.
How does your company approach the issue of sustainability and what should the industry understand about it? Should any failures occur due to bad compaction or water damage to the existing road
structures, Uretek offers the solution for remedial work and preventative maintenance. The Uretek technologies are able to extend the lifespan of roads and infrastructure. Uretek materials and processes have a low carbon footprint. Expansive resins greatly reduce material consumption compared to alternative methods, substantially cutting down on production and transportation emissions. Our efficient processes involve no demolition, excavation or heavy machinery and create no waste; repairing not replacing; restoring not rebuilding.
How can South Africa’s roads authorities improve their working relationship with the private sector? We believe that the local engineers should consider alternative methods and move away from conventional methods, technology has vastly improved over the past 20 years and we are way behind. Uretek technologies have been at the fore as the alternative technology of choice in the US, Europe and Australasia. In South Africa, Uretek is starting to make inroads as more and more consultants become exposed to the Uretek processes.
In conclusion, what key sales points define your company and its role in the industry? Most importantly, there are minimal traffic disruptions due to the non-disruptive, efficient, effective and mobile nature of the injection process. We offer a 10-year guarantee, backed by an international company. We increase the lifespan of roads and pavements, thereby making replacement redundant.
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Smart streets for
complete access For most people, crossing the street or negotiating an intersection is a simple, straightforward process with caution paid to the obvious dangers. But for others with disabilities, and especially those visually impaired, the task presents some serious challenges, often deterring them from using urban infrastructure altogether.
F
RANO COMBRINCK, project technologist in the traffic and transportation team at GIBB, has for years stressed the importance of tactile ground surface indicators (TGSI) being developed as a universal norm in South Africa, and it appears that his efforts are finally paying off.
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“Although non-motorised transpor t is recognised as a valuable component of transportation systems, it has historically not been included in traditional transport planning, with walkways and cycle paths generally implemented as afterthoughts, and sometimes, not at all. There was also little infrastructure to accommodate the
needs of the physically challenged (the elderly, people in wheelchairs, the blind, deaf and young children) and this is now being addressed by applying the principles of universal access in all transport projects,” he says. TGSI is a touch-based way-finding system included in external or internal pedestrian surfaces to help guide pedestrians and define routes. They also warn a pedestrian of imminent hazards, such as warning the pedestrian of a dropped curb at a pedestrian crossing. Leading South African-owned engineering consulting firm GIBB has earned a reputation for its out-of-the-box innovation and engineering excellence, and TGSI has been flagged for its benefits to people with disabilities. The first of the projects has been piloted in the City of Tshwane where sidewalks were developed with the nodes required for people with disabilities – and specifically the visually impaired – to be able to commute with less risk. “Universal access or design improves facilities for people of all ages, at different stages of their lives and health, and there is urgency around making infrastructure accessible to all – this is the true essence of ubuntu,” he says.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
To achieve this, Combrinck says that the removal of obstacles that can hinder trying to move from Point A to Point B is crucial. Combrinck was introduced to TGSI while working in London 12 years ago, and concedes that while South Africa has some way to go in making our roads universally accessible, there is certainly a bigger focus on it now. In his experience, Combrinck says that South Africa is at least 20 years behind in terms of universal access to urban developments. “With some first-world countries, there are technologies built into tactiles that send out a signal to another device that clips onto a cane, and automatically vibrates when a visually impaired person’s cane is close to the crossing, warning him or her of imminent danger. Of course, there is a long way to go for the complete roll-out of tactile crossings, but government is seeing the importance of this for social upliftment and is working toward the ultimate goal of boasting world-class urban infrastructure,” he says.
The City of Tshwane hosted an orientation for members of the South African National Council for the Blind recently, where blind and partially sighted people experienced first-hand the convenience of TGSI. Chris Budeli, manager: Education, Social Inclusion and Development for the South African National Council for the Blind, says: “It is our duty to ensure that the
He adds that the TGSI would also contribute in allowing blind people to explore their environment, have more land marks to find shops and places that they need to visit from time to time and be able to give each other directions. The MyCiti project in Cape Town, as well as the A Re Yeng BRT system in Tshwane will receive the single biggest tactile focus
TGSI would also contribute in allowing blind people to explore their environment, have more landmarks to find shops and places that they need to visit from time to time lives of the blind and partially sighted are improved and the implementation of TGSI is a positive move that will bring positive change to them. Blind and partially sighted persons who experienced the TGSI in Tshwane found that TGSI helped them in identifying safe areas to cross, as well as direction, from one side of the road to the other.”
in South African history – all according to GIBB’s prescribed world-class standards, and endorsed by the National Department of Transport. The City of Johannesburg has also adopted the tactile layout and design into its complete street guidelines and will incorporate it into the extensions of the Rea Vaya BRT project.
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SHEQ
Safety in the engineering environment is increasingly being improved through the use of innovative 3D design. The application of visual aids is contributing to the reduction of project construction and safety risks, while helping engineers comply with client and international standards. By Barry Grib
Enhancing safety through
innovative 3D design
I
NNOVATIVE INTELLIGENT 3D design software is enabling the production of higher-quality, improved designs with significantly better accuracy. In addition, the imbedded metadata can efficiently deliver an accurate bill of materials. Standards such as the NRS and SANS are now embedded into the symbols themselves
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to ensure high standards are utilised throughout the designs. The flexibility of the latest design software can be utilised to accommodate various customer needs with reference to templates used or material descriptions. As well as improving the quality of designs, the developments in 3D software are also proving to be the means
to achieve significant gains in productivity, through the clever data links imbedded into the symbols, giving the symbols properties such as size, weight of material, grouping of voltages and current capacity, restriction of proximity of other equipment, associated pairing of other equipment, and many more. The potential for 3D design, combined with intelligent design software, is well illustrated by Aurecon’s highly efficient substation designs, which have come a long way from the old 2D designs for engineering works. A future scenario can clearly be envisaged where the high cost of fixing design mistakes or altering issues on-site is virtually eliminated, proactively and cost-effectively. Engineers are starting to be able to visualise and analyse various options relatively inexpensively. Already, Aurecon has considerable experience with intelligent 3D software that allows efficient and innovative designs to be developed with various detailed options built in, at a lower cost than conventional 2D designs. These features include design options such as selectable choices of soil types for foundations.
SHEQ
3D evolution gathers pace Printing: The 3D design concept has been available to the engineering sector for some time and the latest 3D laser scans can easily be manipulated into a 3D design model. We are now utilising 3D models to move into the 3D printing arena with great printing possibilities that are affordable to everyone.
Visualising refurbishment: In future, the risk of a professional indemnity claim for engineering mistakes on a refurbishment project should be minimal, if the power of 3D interactive modelling is employed. In advanced modelling, a proposed project can be rotated in any direction and individual elements can be switched on or off at will. With detail designs becoming more and more vivid, intricate and complex, it makes sense to utilise software that can graphically show mistakes in the design even before a single page of paper is printed. The 3D design also greatly enhances the understanding of refurbishment projects where existing equipment needs to be removed and replaced with new equipment, and the relation between old and new can be easily displayed for all to grasp.
Examining the unseen Confined spaces and safety zones add to the complexity of any design, but the 3D design platform can highlight the engineering challenges, and readily enables the engineer to mitigate safety risks identified within the visual model. Analysing a design can begin with a 3D design file, which is mathematically sliced into 2D cross sections, showing the internal arrangement of the unseen portions of the design. This feature can be used to add value to the underground arrangements or optimise the rebar encased within the concrete foundations. It also aids in the visualisation of the structural integrity and complexity of internal components, as well as the fabrication products needed to complete any part of the design.
of detail that can be added into the 3D model. An array of features can be shown, such as panel construction details, cable bends in trenches, electrical clearances, water tables in trenches, equipment arrangements, conductor and clamp configurations, terrain elevations with underground drainage pipes and containment areas, lightning protection coverage and even visual aids for step potential protection.
Focus on the future With the growth in computer technology, increasingly detailed 3D interactive designs can be displayed on a tablet or laptop. Bringing this level of information to a construction site adds immense value to any site inspection and enhances safety engineering. Any portion of the design can be evaluated at any given time through visual elements, facilitating discussion with non-technical departments and support functions. Safety in design is further enhanced through establishing electrical clearances in the initial symbol design. This feature is programmed to selectively indicate the phase-to-phase electrical clearance parameters or the phase-to-earth clearance.
FIGURE 1 3D designs can be crosssectioned into 2D images, allowing the user to see the internal structures of a design
The time is rapidly approaching when a 3D presentation will be standard for any engineering design request, and the norm will soon be to have a 3D printed model to display the design on an equally visual level. The normal working clearances, as set by national and international standards, can also be tested and visually shown through the utilisation of scaled human models in the design. Spacing parameters associated with the different electrical voltages can now also be preprogrammed into the foundation symbols, in order to ensure the correct placement of the associated equipment. The future of engineering design lies in providing clients with safe, innovative, costeffective, quality designs. Aurecon is applying its expertise to include all the safety factors and standards in sophisticated 3D software, while mentoring young and upcoming engineers to master this technology. The aim is to effectively entrench the safe design concept into the hearts and minds of our future design leaders.
Is there a limit on detail? Aurecon’s experience has shown that for electrical-related aspects of a substation design, there is almost an unlimited amount
FIGURE 2 Utilising scaled human models enables the testing of working clearances and spacing parameters
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CEMENT & CONCRETE
Good, better,
readymix concrete The Southern Africa Readymix Association (Sarma) is laying the foundation to upskill local readymix concrete manufacturers to be able to provide products and services that are comparable with the very best available in the world.
I
n order to do so the association’s mancom has adopted a number of key resolutions that are aimed at ensuring the continuous improvement of the industry. Interventions will include the adoption of tighter standards in quality, safety, health and environmental protection, as well as the provision of education and training for workers within all levels of the industry. Johan van Wyk, general manager of the association, explains that six resolutions were adopted at the association’s recent annual general meeting. These would be driven by Sarma members and would give buyers and users of readymix the benefit of using a wider variety of products for all applications. They will also have the additional peace of mind that the concrete they purchased is being mixed by a team of skilled workers who are operating according to worldclass standards in an accredited and certified plant. The new resolutions: • Sarma will investigate and adopt minimum standards, which will allow it to act as a certifying body and ensure that readymix plants are not able to simply set up and begin producing concrete without meeting necessary minimum standards.
• It will work closely together with civil and consulting engineers, architects, contractors and construction companies to make them aware of the need to specify and use only accredited quality readymix. • Sarma will urgently focus on developing training for the readymix industry in South Africa. A full training plan with dates, venues and training information is to be developed to become part of Sarma’s 2015 calendar. Courses will be in line with SAQA requirements and will be accredited where feasible. The training courses will also be implemented nationwide through regional structures to allow maximum coverage. • With ever-stricter requirements being placed on quality by the association, it was decided that laboratories, test methods, standards and outcomes of tests be scrutinised more carefully in future, and investigations are also being done on whether laboratories used to test concrete on behalf of Sarma members should also be subject to an annual audit as a part of audited member companies’ safety, health, road transport, environment and quality audits. • In order to speedily and effectively deal with disputes involving Sarma members,
the association is in the process of identifying an experienced and suitably qualified legal representative or firm to handle disputes on behalf of the association’s membership. • Another important resolution adopted by the association to introduce unannounced audits during the 2015 season was widely applauded. At least four readymix plants will be randomly selected per region and an audit conducted per plant to ensure compliance is maintained at all times. Independent auditors are to be used and the full costs paid by Sarma. Unannounced audits are anticipated to give ‘teeth’ to Sarma and keep the industry on its toes. During the board meeting, the decision was also taken to improve communications with members. As a result, the association has recently begun sending out an electronic newsletter covering newsworthy and statutory information that needs to be urgently communicated to the industry. “The adoption of these resolutions shows that we are progressively working toward making the Southern African readymix industry one of the best in the world,” concludes Johan. Newly elected mancom members of the Southern Africa Readymix Association are, from left, Charl Marais, Nico Pienaar, Frikkie Viviers, Anton Combrink, Johan van Wyk, Kevin Quayle, Chris Diemont, Malose Chaba Inset: Chairman Deon Fourie
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CEMENT & CONCRETE
Concrete Canvas introduced to SA Kaytech has recently signed a distributorship agreement with Concrete Canvas to supply geosynthetic cementitious composite mats to the South African civil engineering industry, including road and rail applications.
C
ONCRETE Canvas is used specifically for the lining of culverts, channels, slope protection, and remediation of existing concrete structures.
Concrete on a roll Concrete Canvas is part of a revolutionary new class of construction materials called geosynthetic cementitious composite mats (GCCM). It is a flexible, concrete impregnated fabric that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, waterproof and fire-resistant concrete layer. Essentially, it’s concrete on a roll. The canvas allows concrete construction without the need for plant or mixing equipment. It consists of a three-dimensional fibre matrix containing a specially formulated dry concrete mix. A PVC backing on one surface of the mat ensures the material is completely waterproof. The material is hydrated either by spraying, or by being fully immersed in water. Once set, the fibres reinforce the concrete, preventing crack propagation and providing a safe plastic failure mode. It is available in two thicknesses: CC5 and CC8, which are 5 mm and 8 mm thick respectively.
Easy to use The canvas can be laid at a rate of 200 m2/h, up to 10 times faster than conventional concrete solutions. It is also available in shorter rolls that are manageable by hand for applications with limited access. The concrete is pre-mixed so there is no need for mixing, measuring or
TOP Concrete Canvas can be used to rapidly reline and refurbish existing concrete structures suffering from environmental degradation and cracking ABOVE A cost-effective alternative to bitumen spraying or rebuilding damaged culverts, while offering a durable means of providing erosion protection
compacting – you just add water. The speed and ease of installation mean it is more cost-effective than conventional concrete, with less logistical complexity. Concrete Canvas is a low-mass, low-carbon technology, which uses up to 95% less material than conventional concrete for many applications.
Strong, flexible, durable The PVC backing on one surface of the GCCM ensures that the material has excellent impermeability. The fibre reinforcement prevents cracking, absorbs energy from impacts and provides a stable failure mode. Concrete Canvas is twice as abrasion-resistant as standard OPC concrete, has excellent chemical resistance, good weathering performance and will not degrade in UV. It also has good drape characteristics and will closely follow the ground profile and fit around existing infrastructure. Unset Concrete Canvas can be cut or tailored using basic hand tools.
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CEMENT & CONCRETE
Optimising cement production A construction chemicals specialist in South Africa now offers a full range of cement additives to optimise different stages of the cement manufacturing process.
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EMENT-MILL ADDITIVES comprise grinding aids and activators. Grinding aids have been developed specifically for raw meal production, as well as for the cement grinding process itself. The productivity of a raw mill can be increased by 6% to 12% and the cement mill by 10% to 25% by the use of such grinding aids. Chryso activators allow for increased use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), which assists in reducing the percentage of clinker in the cement. Clinker production is the most energy-intensive part of the cement-making process. Reducing clinker content decreases carbon emissions as well as the costs associated with carbon taxes. The most common SCMs are slag, pozzolan, fly ash and limestone. Most
material and/or SCMs to improve the hydration reaction of the cement in the concrete,” says Trevor Smith, newly appointed general manager: Cement. “This results in the formation of calcium silicate hydrates and other crystalline structures that give concrete its strength. Some activators provide for early strength enhancement and some for late strength enhancement, while some do both,” Smith explains.
Specific products for customer needs “We have a range of formulations that allows us to select a specific product for a customer’s application.” The process begins with understanding a customer’s cement-manufacturing operation and the
“The growth and development on the continent is being lead by a requirement for cement at all levels, from bricks and blocks to roads, to major mining and oil and gas projects, and to water and power infrastructure.”
chemistry of his clinker and cement, and what Trevor Smith, general manager: Cement, Chryso he wants to achieve in terms of cement quality and performance. For example, does he Chryso activators are designed to work want early or late strength; improved output, with specific SCMs, contributing to signifiwhich will result in improved efficiency; a cant savings associated with lower cement special product for a specific application; or production costs. a combination of all three? “We formulate these products with a comInitially, we will look at our broad range bination of activators and grinding aids. The and then make some suggestions and follow activators effectively react with the clinker
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IMIESA February 2015
that up with laboratory and plant trials. In some cases, a customer might be importing clinker from different sources where he operates a grinding facility only. He really does not want to use a different product for each type, so we will look to supply him with a more robust, broader-spectrum product to cover all his requirements,” explains Smith. Such close working relationships often mean that the company enters into longterm partnerships with its customers. It supplies products to the mining, precast, readymix, construction and general industrial sectors. “We have the logistical capability, in addition to three manufacturing facilities, to be able to export to most countries in Africa at present,” says Smith.
Focus on Africa “We have also developed innovative stock management systems to ensure that our clients do not run out of product. Initially developed in South Africa, we have now rolled this out into a number of Africa export countries due to the long lead times.” Smith says Africa remains an
CEMENT & CONCRETE
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important focus. “The growth and development on the continent is being lead by a requirement for cement at all levels, from bricks and blocks to roads, major mining and oil and gas projects, and water and power infrastructure.� Latest developments from Chr yso Southern Africa include a range of cement additives developed specifically for verticalroller mills to enhance stability, which leads to reduced vibration
Chryso Southern Africa has developed a range of cement additives specifically for vertical roller mills to enhance stability, which leads to reduced vibration and improved output
and improved output. Traditional milling circuits comprise ball mills in tandem with separators that classify the milled product to produce a cementitious product. However, vertical roller mills, with internal classification and lower specific energy consumption, are becoming increasingly common as cement producers seek to optimise their manufacturing process.
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TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
Strength through synergy Sasol, the integrated energy and chemicals company, is building its new corporate office on Katherine Street in Sandton, Johannesburg.
T
HE VISION FOR the new building was to somehow link the look of the new building to Sasol’s logo. The logo, which encapsulates the company’s values, comprises a central sphere, which denotes stability, while six rotating spheres representing the business units suggest a force greater than the sum of its parts – strength through synergy. Paragon Architects took up the challenge to make this logo a visual component of the design.
The major challenge was the site on which this building will stand – a curving edge of Katherine Street. The architects had to ensure this 10-storey building, which will serve as offices for up to 7 000 people and span almost 70 000 m2, could be accommodated and well-connected both vertically and horizontally.
Pushing boundaries It was important for Paragon to push boundaries in this design, which is characterised by light volumes externally and two dramatic skylights (ar ticulated with acoustic baffles) internally. These elements create a feeling of airy spaces and allow as much natural light into the structure as possible. The concept of open, transparent and remote work spaces is extended to embody the values of Sasol to include restaurants, canteens, art galleries, coffee shops and a One Stop Shop. The result is an external facade of reflective performance glass, which has a high light transmission level and maximises visibility out
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of the building, while maintaining a high comfort level. There are over 2 000 panels of floor-to-ceiling unitised double-glazed panels of vision glass and spandrels. The shapes and glass variations are encapsulated in each panel. The spandrels are a bespoke textured, custom-glazed unit, fired at 680 degrees, with a silver backing, insulation and an aluminium panel; the glass is Safety Shield Imagin Krizet with Ipasol chrome coating. This glass has not been used in South Africa before and this project seeks to exploit its properties to its best advantage. In addition to glass performance, the building volumes have impacted on the design. Where sections of the building cast shadows on itself, the size of the spandrels decrease to allow more light through. Facade patterning has generated an environmental analysis and heat gain to reduce energy consumption and maximise user comfort levels. Externally, the park-like staff facilities include courtyards and braai and yoga facilities with water-wise planted areas. Sasol is committed to supporting birdlife in South Africa and this will be accommodated by providing an indigenous environment for birds. The landscaping has been designed to shade the facade, where heat gain is higher. On lower levels, planting gets thicker. “Considering the complexity of this building, BIM technology and Revit modelling have contributed towards streamlining the coordination process and allowed all 15 consultants to interact with one 3D model. This has not only made it easier to work together, but we have also avoided wasting time and building materials,” said Tershia Habbitts, project architect from Paragon. The team at Paragon Architects is steaming ahead on Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks.” The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.
IMIESA February 2015
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TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
Coordinating a smarter future A smart grid facilitates the efficient, intelligent use of available energy and can achieve significant energy savings. This would be of tremendous benefit to South Africa, which is experiencing a dire energy crisis. So what is holding us back?
A
SMART GRID can be defined as an evolved grid system that has been expanded through the addition of intelligence that manages electricity demand in a sustainable, reliable and economic manner,” explains Jaco Cronje, operations director for EES Africa. “The smart grid allows the integration of all types of power generation, including renewables. Smart grids are an integral part of smart cities.” Moreover, multidirectional data communication is also a hallmark of an intelligent grid, allowing for superior management of the grid itself, by identifying technical faults before they have a major impact on the whole system. This capability optimises the health of the grid and can result in massive savings in the medium and long term.
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The grid was originally designed for the supply of low-cost abundant energy sourced far away from where it was required by consumers. Renewable energy, such as solar and wind technologies, then started to contribute to the grid. This did not make the grid a smart grid, but rather, a grid with some green energy suppliers. It was the introduction of the smart meter that initiated the evolution of the smart grid.
How the grid got it smarts “Today, a smart meter is used to provide information and enable customer control and knowledge of energy usage. This type of data allows the energy consumer to know the amount of electricity being used, when it is used, and by which appliance.
The smar t grid brings about a whole new industr y of technology, intelligence and efficiencies previously unknown,” says Cronje. This year, Johannesburg City Power announced the roll-out of 55 000 smart meters. It should be noted that the smart meter is only one constituent, albeit a vital one, of the smart grid.
Barriers to implementing a smart grid “In discussing the barriers to implementing a smart grid, it is important to note that we are not building a smart grid or smart city from the ground up in South Africa,” Cronje states. “We have inherited cities and a grid that we need to morph into the most sustainable solution.”
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
The major barriers: • Public perception needs to be managed. Contrary to what a large percentage of the public appears to believe, smart meters and smart grids do not lead to increased energy costs. It has been unfortunate that the roll-out of this key component has coincided with electricity increases. • Financing can present challenges. It should be remembered, though, that this presents opportunities for venture capitalists to embrace the developing smart grid and capitalise on opportunities that did not exist before. • Policies, regulations and the roadmap of the smart grid need to be clearly communicated. Some cities in South Africa have found this to be a challenge and therefore embarked on a process of rolling out with little communications. Other cities have really embraced the opportunity and are leading by example. • Data privacy and cyber security need to be taken into account. Information obtained by the smart meter provides any marketer with valuable insight into consumers, without the consumers explic-
‘When the Bottom Line counts’
• Skills shortages can be a problem, as the creation of the smart grid and smart cities is a reasonably new initiative.
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The steps to a smarter future There a number of challenges to overcome in South Africa if we are to benefit from smart grid technologies. Complete stakeholder buy-in is essential, and this requires connectivity and communication between all industry players. These include: • government and the regulator (NERSA) • utilities, which are Eskom and independent power producers (IPPs) • vendors, which are Eskom and municipalities • consumers or the end users. Regulations need to be put into practice to encourage ingenuity in the early phases of planning, followed by ongoing implementation in accordance with specific processes and protocol.
A staggering strategy Cronje also advises that roll-out plans should consider a staggered approach. “Residential, small business and industrial implementation should be segmented,
Cape Town: 021 510 4266 or 021 510 8408
“The smart grid allows the integration of all types of power generation, including renewables. Smart grids are an integral part of smart cities.” Jaco Cronje, operations director, EES Africa
itly allowing such information to be made available. A further risk is that such data would need to be secured, through various levels of barriers, from hackers and fraudulent activities. • Regulations and frameworks can stifle the market, and this can be prohibitive as it may stifle ingenuity, which is needed for the smart grid to grow in its early stages. Once the early stages have been implemented, it is then appropriate for the different vendors and mechanisms to interoperate. • In designing and implementing smart grids, energy industry players need to ensure both products and installation techniques are of adequate quality to ensure the solution outlasts the deployment period. • Connectivity requirements must be met so that data can be obtained and made available for use. Connectivity can be achieved through various technical mechanisms.
starting in the residential market, and then moving into business and finally industry. This allows large amounts of data to be processed without influencing the industrial energy consumers.” Financial solutions are of course critical. The National Empowerment Fund is leading this space through its support for venture capitalists. A ‘Pull vs Push’ paradigm should be adhered to. All stakeholders should be ‘pulled’ to smart grids and smart cities, as opposed to punitive legislation being used.
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What to do with the data? “Finally, smart data management is nonnegotiable,” Cronje emphasises. “This intelligence facilitates the real benefit of the smart grid. Smart data management informs industry players what the viable procedures and trends are that should be followed, resulting in optimum efficiency in energy management.
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LEVEL 2
info@precisionmeters.co.za www.precisionmeters.co.za 69
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
High-performance
project delivery Time is money for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms and, by reducing project delivery time, these firms are able to achieve savings throughout project life cycles.
B
Y USING BENTLEY software, Guangdong Hydropower Planning and Design Institute, for example, shortened its schedule for the Qingyuan pumped storage power station. It did this by improving multidiscipline design collaboration, with a reduction of 400 man days of design and lowered project delivery costs. Similarly, J.L. Patterson & Associates was able to react quickly to alignment changes on the Tehachapi mountain range project, which
significantly improved design efficiency and reduced project delivery time by three to four months. The cost savings, just for a single segment, were approximately $2.7 million. Marc A Cañas, vice president of J.L. Patterson & Associates, says, “Bentley products and their inter-platform exchange capabilities allowed us to become more efficient and effective in our project deliveries to our clients.”
Specific solutions With Bentley i-models, construction companies are improving handoff and handover of 3D information models and associated project documentation. Arabtec Construction LLC used i-models on its 2014 Be-Inspiredn o m i n a t e d Fairmont Hotel, Abu Dhabi, project as a way of simplifying and automating the sharing of models and related
project information. Its ultimate goal was 4D and 5D integration and site management during tender, post tender and construction stages. Estimates showed that the use of i-models to coordinate the business process for this project reduced the time for project delivery by approximately 1 000 man days and reduced delivery cost by 30%, while improving the quality and reliability of information distributed to the extended enterprise. Ahmed Balawi, BIM manager for Arabtec Construction, says, “Bentley provided a flexible, extendable, and robust platform for content creation and project information management with i-models at the heart.” Delivering i-models to owners can benefit owners and as well as constructors. Chen Han, vice director of DEC for Guangdong Hydropower Planning & Design, commenting on his organisation’s 2014 Be Inspirednominated project in the Innovation in Megaprojects category, says, “Thanks to the delivery of i-models of the 3D design of cable laying, we were able to reduce the owners’ maintenance cost. As a result, they provided $600 000 in additional design maintenance expenses. The Qingyuan project has also committed to continuing to provide additional expenses of $700 000 for information-rich i-models in the next project.” By leveraging interoperable and collaborative tools, EPC firms are improving design quality, reducing design errors, and providing better plans to minimise risk, resulting in high-performance project delivery. Arabtec Construction's Fairmont Hotel project
70
IMIESA February 2015
70
IMIESA February 2015
I M E S A A F F I L I AT E M E M B E R S
IMESA
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES AECOM vanessa.partington@aecom.com AJ Broom Road Products ajbroom@icon.co.za Arup SA rob.lamb@arup.com Aurecon danie.wium@aurecongroup.com Aveng Manufacturing Infraset cgroenewald@infraset.com Bigen Africa Group Holdings otto.scharfetter@bigenafrica.com brian@bmkconsulting.co.za BMK Consulting 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 Hatch Goba leratom@goba.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 Kantey & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers info@kanteys.co.za Knowledge Base info@knowbase.co.za Lektratek Water general@lwt.co.za 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 Mhiduve adminpotch@mhiduve.co.za Mott Macdonald PDNA mahomed.soobader@mottmac.com
Much Asphalt john.onraet@murrob.com Namela Consulting (Pty) Ltd melissa@namela.co.za Nyeleti Consulting ppienaar@nyeleti.co.za Odour Engineering Systems mathewc@oes.co.za Pumptron info@pumptron.co.za Pragmaa nicojobe.mabaso@pragmaworld.net Royal HaskoningDHV francisg@rhdv.com SABITA info@sabita.co.za SALGA info@salga.org.za SARF administrator@sarf.org.za.co.za SBS Water Systems terri@sbstanks.co.za Sektor Consulting cradock@sektor.co.za Sight Lines sales@sightlines.co.za SiVEST SA garths@sivest.co.za Siza Water Company tionette.bates@sizawater.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 Sulzer Pumps Wastewater sales.abs.za@sulzer.com Syntell julia@syntell.co.za Thm Engineers East London thmel@mweb.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 chris.brandsen@WorleyParsons.com WRP ronniem@wrp.co.za WRNA washy@wrnyabeze.com WSP Group Africa dirk.hattingh@mbs-wsp.co.za
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS AECOM
OFC
Model Maker Systems
70
AfriSam
42
National Cold Asphalt
50
Altech Netstar
31
NHBRC
20
Ammann Construction Machinery South Africa
44
Osborn Engineered Products
52
PHB Engineers
59
Babcock
4
Bauma Conexpo Africa 2015
63
Bell Equipment
PMSA
39
Precision Meters
69
Development Bank of Southern Africa
25
Pretoria Portland Cement
54
DuPont
46
Quality Filtration Systems
19
Eqstra Fleet Management
37
SMEC
18
Fiberpipe
66
Tosas
41
Hatch Goba
14
Uretek Geo-Systems
56
Jeffares & Green
IFC
Vital Engineering
65
Kaytech
67
WRP Consulting Engineers
IBC
Maccaferri Southern Africa
48
Water & Sanitation Services
OBC
IMIESA February 2015
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