The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa
IMESA
MEDIA
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY
PPP in motion
IMESA Service delivery
Tshwane R190 million WWTW upgrade
Insight Ideals versus reality
The South African experience: Warm Mix Asphalt
p28
ISSN 0257 1978 Volume 36 No.11 • November/December 2011 • R40.00 (incl VAT)
250 000 metres of
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Contents
VOLUME 36 NO 11 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2011
17 53 60 73 EPWP Examined
WWTW Upgrade
The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa
IMESA
MEDIA
Regulars 3 Editor’s comment 5 President’s comment
AMD Action
Ideals vs reality
49 Improved waste collection 53 Zeekoegat WWTW underway 56 Moreletaspruit outfall sewer update
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY
Cover article 6 Perfecting a recipe for success
IMESA 11 IMESA’s role: National agenda, service delivery and capacity
Water and wastewater 60 63 65 67 71
AMD: Not all doom and gloom The power of teamwork Eskom’s R18 billion energy project Sebokeng WWTW upgrade Earth core dam under construction
17 Examining the EPWP
Government perspective
PPP in motion
Insight 73 Ideality versus reality, or greed
21 Empowering people through IMESA Service delivery
Tshwane R190 million WWTW upgrade
employment
Insight Ideals versus reality
The South African experience: Warm Mix Asphalt
p28
ISSN 0257 1978 Volume 36 No.11 • November/December 2011 • R40.00 (incl VAT)
The Free State Provincial Department of Human Settlements, together with Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited and the Matjhabeng Municipality has embarked on a joint project of the development of about 2 500 high quality rental units
CESA conference 27 Infrastructure expenditure
Roads 28 Warm Mix Asphalt: The SA 36 39 41
experience Dozing in a new class Concrete block paving used for resurfacing project Benchmark for head and wing walls
Industry news 82 Training for Zimbabwe Power Company
83 The top employers in SA 87 Innovation secures sustainable future
People and events 90 Industry appointments and events
Equipment and technology 91 Concrete’s role in human settlements
Tshwane 42 Providing potable water to 46
the people Baviaanspoort WWTW upgrade
Marketplace 94 SA business plan unveiled 96 Energy generation milestone IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 1
EDITOR'S COMMENT
The harder you work the more time flies
PUBLISHER Elizabeth Shorten EDITOR Richard Jansen van Vuuren CREATIVE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Frédérick Danton SENIOR DESIGNER Hayley Moore Mendelow CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Cindy Maulgue SUB-EDITOR Danielle Hugo CONTRIBUTORS Romano Del Mistro, R McCutcheon, F Taylor Parkins, Mildred Oliphant, Krishna Naidoo, Tony Lewis, Wynand Nortje, Eric Lathleiff, Herman Marais, Candice Landie, Tony Stone PRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh Botma PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jaqueline Modise FINANCIAL MANAGER Andrew Lobban (ACIS, FCIBM) ADMINISTRATION Tonya Hebenton DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTION SALES Nomsa Masina PRINTERS United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571 ___________________________________________________
T
HE 75TH IMESA Conference has been and gone and, to those readers who were there, I’m sure you will agree it was quite a spectacle. The exhibition element of the conference was the largest in the history of the conference and the social events were a perfect opportunity to combine relaxing around friends and colleagues with networking. I had a short time at the podium in the conference auditorium, where it was a privilege to announce the winners of the best articles published in IMIESA throughout the year. 3S Media sponsors two prizes at the IMESA Conference every year, one being for the best article authored by a member of IMESA and the other being for the best article authored by a non-member of IMESA. This year’s winners were: Best article authored by a member of IMESA: Mike Marsden, executive director of transport, roads and major projects at the City of Cape Town – ‘Resolving Cape Town’s public transport crisis’ (IMIESA June 2011). Best article authored by a non-member of IMESA (co-authored this year): Lucas Ebels from UWP Consulting, Riaan Burger from Vela VKE and Deon Fontini from Martin and East – ‘Construction of ultra-thin continuously reinforced concrete pavement on the N1’ (IMIESA February 2011). Readers who missed these articles and would like to read them, should please contact me at richard@3smedia.co.za and I will send a PDF version of the articles to you. In addition, if you would like to submit an article or technical paper, please also contact me. This edition of IMIESA, our last for the year, highlights Tshwane as our featured municipal area. We would like to expand this section next year, so please send us your projects, whether completed or nearing completion. Planned projects and developments are also ideal to cover as we can then follow up on them as they progress. As this edition is a combined edition, we have
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: richard@3smedia.co.za www.3smedia.co.za ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R480.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS IMESA Administration Officer: Ingrid Botton P O Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: imesa@webstorm.co.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 Elsabé Koen Tel: +27 (0)41 505 8005 Fax: +27 (0)41 581 2300 E-mail: elsabek@africoast.com KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH Secretary: Rita Zaayman Tel: +27(0)31 311 6382 NORTHERN PROVINCE BRANCH Secretary: Cornel Taljaard Tel: +27 (0)82 899 8341 Fax: +27 (0)11 675 1324 E-mail: cornel@rchc.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 REST OF SOUTHERN AFRICA Representative: Andre Muller E-mail: imesa@webstorm.co.za
All material herein IMIESA is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. Thee views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those off the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africaa or the publishers.
The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa
Instit ute Africa ern zine of the al maga eerin g of South The offici cipal Engin of Muni
IMESA
MEDIA
INFR ASTR
UCT URE
DEV ELO
• MAI NTE PME NT
NAN CE
• SERV ICE
DEL IVER
covered both roads and water and wastewater. I’m sure many readers will find the article on acid mine drainage (page 60) extremely interesting. We also feature another ‘Insight’ article, which I trust will prove to be food for thought. The magazine which you hold in your hands would not be made possible every month without the hard work and dedication of several people. These include: • Elizabeth Shorten, our publisher and managing director • Antois-Leigh Botma, our production manager • Asha Pursotham, our receptionist and distribution co-ordinator • Candice Landie and Tony Stone, IMIESA’s regular contributors • Cindy Maulgue, our chief sub-editor • Hayley Mendelow, our designer • Jenny Miller and her sales team • Martin Hiller, our marketing manager • Nomsa Masina, our subscription manager. Thank you all for your hard work throughout the year, as well as for the long hours spent on our largest October edition ever! I would also like to thank Ingrid Botton, from IMESA’s head office, and Rita Zaayman for their invaluable assistance throughout the year. To our readers - have a fantastic festive season, travel safe and we’ll meet again in the New Year.
Y
Richard Jansen van Vuuren, editor of IMIESA
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY
Cover opportunity In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story on pages and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings contact Jenny Miller on tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223.
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PPP in motion
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Tshwane R190 million WWTW upgrade
Insight Ideals versus reality
The South African experience: Warm Mix Asphalt
p28
ISSN 0257 1978 Volume 36 No.11 • November/December 2011 • R40.00 (incl VAT)
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 3
COMMENT
PRESIDENT'S COMMENT
Looking back on the year that was This year’s conference was a landmark for IMESA.
I
MESA AND ITS forerunner organisations have been running very successful conferences for 74 years and this year’s event was as successful as any of the previous ones. For me personally, the conference this year marked a landmark, as my term of office coincided with the start of the planning process for the Institute’s 50th Jubilee Year celebrations. Our 75th IMESA Conference, held from 26 to 28 October in Johannesburg, was a resounding success. The conference had well over 700 delegates and 109 exhibitors – making it the largest we have ever hosted. I would personally like to thank the people who made the following conference events run smoothly and memorably: • IMESA Exco meeting • IMESA Exco and International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) dinner • IFME council meeting • mayoral dinner • the hosting of IMESA past-presidents at the mayoral dinner • the presenting of professional affiliate certificates, as well honorary and fellow membership • the launch of Reflections • the opening of the conference and papers delivered • the annual general meeting • the IFME dinner • the IMESA gala dinner • the technical tour • the companions programme • pre-conference workshop. In addition, I would like to thank our panel discussion participants who took part in the final session of the conference, titled ‘Engineering of the future’. The discussion was led by Dr Kevin Wall, Mr Dawie Botha, Dr Allyson Lawless and Prof Romano Del Mistro. I am deeply appreciative of the abundant leadership qualities that exist within our organisation. This year I have also had the real privilege of working with our deputy president, Johan de Beer, our two vice presidents, Frank Stevens and Gerhard
Fritz, and a wonderfully competent IMESA council and Exco. I would like to express my gratitude to them and to our staff at IMESA House. Thank you all for your support and for the invaluable expertise and commitment you bring to IMESA. To get to the engineering issues at hand, looking back over the years, we have built a legacy of infrastructure, and capital spending continues. In the metros the average budget for capital infrastructure has now reached about R4 billion per annum. It is all very well to build infrastructure, but the question is: How well are we currently managing and maintaining what we have created in a responsible and sustainable way? Quite clearly, it is imperative to critically examine the state of municipal engineering, both globally and in South Africa, and the context in which IMESA functions today. During the course of this year IMESA has: • shown communities that municipal engineers are not just ‘fixers’, but ‘finders’ too • responded to national priorities, such as poverty alleviation, food security and job creation
representation at IFME board meetings and this year’s board meeting was held to coincide with our Jubilee conference. A further development involves a concerted membership drive within the SADC community. Africa is regarded as one the world’s major growth areas and relationship building amongst the engineering community is therefore strategically important for IMESA. On behalf of IMESA, I was privileged to write the South African section of the 2011 edition of the International Infrastructure Management Manual. We are proud to say that we have sold many copies of this valuable information resource. I would like to thank everyone who has assisted in making this, I believe, one of the IMESA’s most memorable years in terms of what has been achieved, as well as what has been planned for the coming years. Wishing you a blessed and restful festive season.
I would like to thank everyone who has assisted in making this, I believe, one of IMESA’s most memorable years • prioritised international relationships. I am glad to report that IMESA has made progress in all three of these areas this year. We have: • Found a solution to dealing with GRAP 17 compliance issues by developing an infrastructure management system. • Appointed a technical director to deal with job creation. • Made great strides in establishing and maintaining our valuable international ties. • Maintained strong relations with the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME). IMESA has regular Jannie Pietersen, president of IMESA
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 5
COVER STORY
MATJHABENG MUNICIPALITY
1 500 affordable rental units to be built over short term Unprecedented cooperation between the private sector, provincial government and the municipality has provided quality rental housing units for the Matjhabeng community in the Free State.
I
n a dual and far-sighted attempt to enhance the local economy and provide much-needed rental housing stock, the Free State Department of Human Settlements, together with Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited and the Matjhabeng Municipality has embarked on a joint project of the development of about 1 500 high-quality but affordable two- and threebedroomed rental units at sites spread throughout the Matjhabeng municipal area stretching from Welkom to Virginia over the next three to five years. This fulfils the Matjhabeng Metro Vision 2030 Statement that states that Matjhabeng is to emerge as an innovative agricultural, commercial and industrial-based metropolitan city in the Free State that: • boasts a balanced wealth distribution system, affordable housing and efficient transportation and health systems
• encourages economic and environmental health by establishing positive connections between different land uses in terms of location and mix. The appointed consultants that provide the professional services needed for this contract are the locally (Welkom) based CSM Consulting Services and LSB Group. Some of the benefits of this development include: • the provision of housing • urban renewal • creation of sustainable rental stock • environmental renewal through implementation of green technology • social upliftment of beneficiaries • job opportunities • local economic development and revival of existing assets. Single-quarter hostel buildings, previously owned by Harmony, are being converted
Affordable family-orientated rental housing is made available to tenants earning below R3 500 per month
6 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
into high-quality municipal rental estates, earmarked predominantly for tenants with a lower income. Harmony, as part of its land rehabilitation programme, has spearheaded the project by providing land, buildings and bridging finance to ease cash flow over the construction period. In addition to the buildings donated to the municipality, land adjacent to converted estates together with a completed spatial development framework has also been donated to the municipality for further development. This project will provide secure rental housing stock in accordance with the government’s CRU policy. Affordable familyorientated rental housing is made available to tenants earning below R3 500 per month. There is a great need for such uch rental stock, which will typically ally be taken up by migrant workers, rs,
COVER STORY families not qualifying for government ownership subsidies or families simply choosing to rent accommodation in a safe and secure environment. To ensure sustainable asset creation for the municipality, the property and facility management of the estates will be contracted out for a minimum period of two years. The newly formed property management company, Amohela (which means ‘accommodation’) Property Management NPC, is a not-for-profit company formed solely to manage rental stock in the Matjhabeng municipal area. Full involvement from Harmony and CSM Consulting Services will be provided during these two years and personnel will be trained on site to provide maintenance and social management services. Close-by social amenities are being created as part of the estates with the development of small commercial enterprises. This will assist with enhancing sustainable human settlements that will support future spatial restructuring of the area. These commercial properties are rented out by the property manager to enhance rental income that will assist with keeping residential rentals affordable. The first phase of the development taking place at the existing Masimong 4 hostel will include the following amenities: • bank • clinic • crèche • church • paraplegic workshop and sport centre • social community project centre • taxi and bus stop • grocer; takeaway/fast food • hairdresser • clothing shop • motor vehicle workshops • sports bar and bottle store. Specific emphasis is placed on enhancing the local economy by ensuring building contracts are downsized, so that local contractors can take part. Where possible, materials and technology encouraging local sourcing are specified. Projects are specifically phased to allow local contractors to
ABOVE RIGHT Units have solar-heated water units installed LEFT Masimong 4 project units vary in size, offering three options: one-bedroom (44 m²), two-bedroom (68 m²) and threebedroom (72 m²) units RIGHT Units at Masimong have satellite dishes with TV points in each unit IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 7
ABS Afri-Infra AJ Broom Road Products Arup SA Aurecon Bigen Group Africa BKS Consulting Engineers Bosch Stemele Bosch Munitech BVI Consulting Engineers CBI Consulting Engineers Civil & Blasting Solutions Concrete Manufacturers CSIR Built Environment Davies Lynn & Partners Development Bank of SA DPI Plastics EFG Engineers Elster Kent Metering EnviroServ Waste Management Geotechnologies GLS Consulting Goba Hidrostal SA Huber Technology Hydro-comp Enterprises I@Consulting Iliso Consulting Infraset Jeffares and Green
hennie.basson@absgroup.com afri-infra@mweb.co.za ajbroom@icon.co.za rob.lamb@arup.com Ian.VanWijk@af.aurecongroup.com otto.scharfetter@bigenafrica.com siyandan@bks.co.za bsdbn@boschstemele.co.za info@boschmunitech.co.za cask@bvigp.co.za durban@cbisa.co.za jane@drillingandblasting.co.za cma@mweb.co.za LAustin@csir.co.za dlpdbn@dlp.co.za divb@dbsa.org.za mgoodchild@dpiplastics.co.za eric@efgeng.co.za keith.bailey@za.elster.com benoitl@millenniumwaste.co.za garry@geotechnologies.co.za nicky@gls.co.za trumang@goba.co.za hstal@mweb.co.za fstammer@lantic.net dan@edams.co.za louis_icon@mics.co.za monde@iliso.com fmyburgh@infraset.com dennyc@jgi.co.za
Johannesburg Water Kgatelopele Consulting Knowledge Base KV3 Engineers Lektratek Water Makhaotse Narasimulu & Associates Maragela Consulting Engineers Much Asphalt Nyeleti Consulting Odour Engineering Systems Power Construction Pragma Africa Rocla SBS Water Systems Sektor Consulting Sight Lines Pipe Survery Services SNA Inc Siza Water Company SRK Consulting SSI Syntell Thm Engineers East London TPA Consulting UWP Consulting Vela VKE WSP Group Africa WSSA WRP Zebra Surfacing
rtaljaard@jwater.co.za kgatelopele@wol.co.za info@knowbase.co.za cbrandsen@kv3.co.za general@lwt.co.za mmakhaotse@mna-sa.co.za admin@maragelaconsulting.co.za john.onraet@murrob.com ppienaar@nyeleti.co.za mathewc@oes.co.za nbarnard@powergrp.co.za deang@pragma.co.za karen.devos@murrob.co.za irene@sbsgroup.co.za cradock@sektor.co.za sales@sightlines.co.za snapta@icon.co.za tionette.bates@sizawater.co.za jomar@srk.co.za francisg@ssi.co.za julia@syntell.co.za thmel@mweb.co.za roger@tpa.co.za zulchl@uwp.co.za capetown@velavke.co.za dirk.hattingh@mbs-wsp.co.za nbinase@wssa.co.za ronniem@wrp.co.za andrew@zebrasurfacing.co.za
COVER STORY
Project team at Masimong 4
tender on new projects repeatedly without overcommitting themselves. For the first project under construction, ‘Masimong 4’, 78% of goods purchased and/or contractors used are local. This project, for which planning started in November 2009, will provide 464 units and six main building contracts with cidb ratings of between 6 and 7, and construction values of approximately R13.3 million each have already been awarded. The total project value is estimated at R125.1 million, with planned completion in January 2012.
ABOVE The development has high mast lighting and additional LED street lighting, 4.5 m wide paved roads with a parking ratio of 0.5 and formalised refuse removal incorporating a recycling plant BELOW Masimong site plan
The Masimong 4 project unit sizes vary: there are one-bedroom units (44 m²), twobedroom units (68 m²) and three-bedroom units (72 m²). The project sites that will follow Masimong 4 into construction, and on which planning to some extent has already started, are the Steyn 2, Merriespruit and Western Holdings 1 hostel sites.
• CSM Consulting Services (architecture, civil/electrical/structural engineering, project management, property management and quantity surveying) • LSB Group (land surveying and town planning) • Insight Landscape Architects • Downtouch Investments (civil works)
Building contractors: • • • • • •
Tantalasi Projects & Isheme Projects JV Satena Construction Reder Construction Tantalasi Projects & Isheme Projects JV Gold Fields Development Estamos Juntos & Welkom Community Contractors JV
Subcontractors: • • • •
Bomac Joiners M@L Electrical Land Breeze Trading MPC Engineering
It is envisaged that construction will start early in the new year on the Merriespruit site, with a new site following each year thereafter in line with the availability of provincial funding. This joint initiative provides for sustainable rental accommodation combining private fixed assets, provincial funding and cooperation for the achievement of a common goal. Contact details: CSM Consulting Services Tel: 0861 276 266 Web: www.csmeng.co.za 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.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 9
AQUA DIRT TRAP/STRAINER Patent No. RSA 95/9706 Unit 2, Zone 5, Murrayfield, 4 Prospecton Road, 4115 . P.O. Box 357, Umbogintwini, 4120 Tel: +27 (0)31-902 6550 Fax: +27 (0)31-902 1349 Email: 0794949628@vodamail.co.za
Web Address: www.aquastrainer.com MAKE THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE Install before every water meter and pressure relief valve (PRV)
NON-RETURN CHECK VALVE
AQUA STRAINER WATER METER
ISOLATION VALVE
DIRECTION OF FLOW
The Aqua Strainer is used and stocked at several Municipalities and water authorities. x The water departments have specified the Aqua Strainer for all its projects and installations. x The Strainer/Dirt Trap is an essential protection for all water meters in order for it to operate efficiently. x
The Aqua Dirt Trap/Strainer was designed for the protection of turbine-type flow meters and pressure relief valves. In order to eliminate the issue of damage and blockages, the Aqua Strainer was developed using mild steel pipes and flanges. The main feature of this strainer is the sight glass, situated on the top flange. The sight glass enables one to see directly into the pipeline. Blockages can be identified by merely looking into the sight glass. Consequently, the water flow can be observed and monitored. Blockages can be observed and removed by simply unbolting the top flange and cleaning the stainless steel grid, thereby reducing the downtime and make troubleshooting and fault finding, easier.
ESSENTIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL WATER METERS AND PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES.
IMESA
THE NATIONAL AGENDA, MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING SERVICE DELIVERY AND HUMAN CAPACITY
The role of IMESA IMESA represents the interests of professionals and institutions dedicated to the delivery of municipal engineering services for the benefit of the citizens of these urban areas, and for the economic and social benefit of the country as a whole. By Romano Del Mistro (Technical Director: Education and Training)
M
unicipal engineering services are not delivered for their own sake, but to promote, support and achieve the national agenda. This agenda is enshrined in our Constitution, reconfirmed through each democratic election and articulated in government legislation, regulation, policy and strategy. Municipal engineering services contribute directly to Presidential Outcomes 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12 (http://www.thepresidency. gov.za/dpme/docs/guideline.pdf). Our ability to deliver municipal engineering services is also significantly affected by social, economic and political circumstances in our country and outside its borders. IMESA’s role in capacity development needs to take three forms, namely, training, advocacy and research. This article looks at the implications of meeting the national agenda, the human resources needed to meet the agenda and the role of IMESA in building this capacity.
gender transformation in municipal government. This has been accompanied by some unintended consequences, e.g.: • Loss of experienced staff through early retirements and resignation, and the appointment of new staff to meet racial and gender goals, in some cases regardless of their skills and previous relevant experience. • Frequent change in elected officials, which has resulted in the loss in continuity of
policy and governance experience and a disruption in the working relationships built up between elected and appointed officials. • Appointment of contractors and consultants to meet racial and gender goals, often regardless of their experience, skills and capacity. Developmental local government has required municipalities to do much more, often with fewer resources, e.g.: • There has been a rapid introduction of
Our ability to deliver municipal engineering services is affected by social, economic and political circumstances The issue of municipal service delivery remains a contentious issue
The national agenda, service delivery and human capacity Among the objectives of the national agenda, the following four are pertinent to this article: • the transformation of South Africa from a separated apartheid state into an integrated equitable state • developmental local government • improving efficiency in the delivery of municipal service • eradicating backlogs in services and housing. Major strides have been made in transforming South Africa through political, racial and
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 11
IMESA engineering services to previously informal settlements. This has increased the total cost of service delivery without related growth in income, i.e. basic services are provided for free. These extra costs have been at the expense of reduced operations, maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement. • Municipalities have also been required to take on a wider role in activities such as social and economic development, which has reduced the relative allocation of resources to provide engineering services. • The Extended Public Works Programme, which is intended to create jobs, has usually produced localised employment of short duration, with little or no sustainability and therefore inadequate skills development or opportunity to apply these newly learned skills. Medium-term operations and maintenance support would have produced significantly different socioeconomic benefits. (See IMIESA, August 2011, p.9) Government has initiated many strategies to improve efficiency in service delivery, e.g.: • While intended to ensure the most appropriate person is appointed, contract appointments of senior staff have also resulted in discontinuous leadership, advice that sometimes might be aimed at ensuring reappointment rather than the best interests of the municipality and the cost of the learning period of each new appointment. • Outsourcing assumes that the private sector can always deliver a service better than the municipality. It does have two important benefits, namely, it specifies the service to be delivered and ringfences the contracted activities and costs.
However, it does need very experienced officials to monitor, evaluate and ensure performance. • Tendering for consulting is intended to reduce the cost of consulting services. A newly-graduated professional finds in his first job that there is no space to develop innovative solutions. He is told that low tender prices do not permit the time needed to include innovation or to convince the client of its benefits. He is so disappointed that he plans to do his master’s research on the implications of tendering consulting work on the quality of the technical product.
Tendering might have reduced the cost of consulting services but it has increased the
In 1994, the new government inherited some good infrastructure but also a sizeable backlog in municipal engineering infrastructure and services. While significant inroads have been made, not all efforts have been effective, e.g.: • Infrastructure has been constructed to provide varying levels of services, ranging from communal basic service to full in-house service. Furthermore, evidence is emerging that the quality of construction has not always been up to standard, and the need for major rehabilitation has already been identified. • The focus on new build has come at the cost of less resources being available for operations and maintenance and a decline in the quality of municipal assets. According to the SAICE scorecard 2011;
Municipalities have taken on a wider role in activities such as social and economic development cost of the product. It has also reduced the space for the professional growth of newly qualified professionals through self-learning and mentoring. (See IMIESA, September 2011, p.12) • The requirements of GIAMA and MFMA have at least required local authorities to have and maintain asset registers, and to estimate the remaining useful life. Being forced to assess residual replacement cost will go a long way towards ensuring that infrastructure is at a quality to deliver the desired level of service. The sustainability of municipal engineering service delivery can only be assured if asset management is also made mandatory. (See IMIESA, May 2011, p.7)
the ‘C: Satisfactory for now’ rating is generally not met for any municipal engineering service in the non-major urban areas and is only met for water supply and solid waste management (i.e. not for sanitation or roads) in major urban areas. (http://www.saice.org.za/pdf/IRC2011landscape-1-final-lr.pdf) Skills development and training needs The skills needed to provide municipal engineering services sustainably can be estimated in many ways. Dr Allyson Lawless (2007), in her book Numbers and Needs in Local Government has extended her analysis beyond using ‘in the good old days’ or
POPULATION
HOUSE-HOLDS CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS QUALITY OF PROFESSIONALS PER 100 000 POPULATION REQUIRED* (LAWLESS, 2007,174 TO 176)
<20 000
<5 000
SA ’89* 37
** 40
SA ’04** 0.5
*** 15
39
20 001 to 50 000 50 001 to 100 000 100 001 to 200 000 200 001 to 800 000 >800 000
5 001 to 10 000
23
40
3
11.5
104
10 001 to 25 000
28
35
3.7
7.9
461
25 001to 40 000
19
25
1.5
6.5
449
40 001 to 200 000 18
26
2
6.3
1 814
200 000
20
5
6.6
743 2 868
20
1 to 2 civil engineering staff to manage service delivery on a day-to-day basis 2 technical staff; 1 responsible for projects and 1 for O&M 4 to 6 civil engineering professionals; 1 as technical services director 1 professional per discipline; technical director: experienced Pr Eng Technical services director and deputies; professional staff in each discipline Regional offices or service centres
* Lawless, 2007, 15 **Data on English speaking and Scandinavian countries (Lawless, 2007, 15) *** Based on Lawless (2007) equations where number of professionals = (1+HH/5000)*# activities/9*Urban Land factor (assumed=1,2)*Informal Housing factor (assumed=1,2).
12 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
IMESA international experience to develop a set of three equations to serve as a guideline to estimate the number of civil engineering professionals (engineers, technologists and technicians). Her method accounts for the number of households, area of land developed for urban commercial and community purposes and the backlog in informal housing. This is reflected in the table, as are her comments on the quality of professionals required in local authorities. Lawless estimated that municipalities required at least 2 500 professionals while only having 1 500 in 2007. (The difference between her estimate and that in the table is because this analysis used simpler assumptions.) She went on to show how the full complement could be achieved. These estimates need to be revised when Census 2011 demographic information becomes available and to account for the effects of changes in legislative requirements, environmental imperatives and procurement practices. New graduates need to develop their experiences by proceeding from novice to
advanced beginner, competent, proficient and then expert (Lawless, 2007, 17). The initial stages need mentoring by experienced professionals. Early retirement and resignation has created a vacuum in some municipalities. An example of how this vacuum can be overcome is the initiative developed by the Department of Roads and Public Works of the provincial government of the Western Cape and driven by Carl October, in which young graduates are seconded to mentors in construction and consulting companies. The R&PW Department of the PGWC has formed a committee of representatives of government, the private sector, IMESA and graduates to monitor, review and improve the programme. As expected, the enthusiasm among the graduates ranges, but some are keeping diaries of the ‘technical tips and experiences’ that they gain each day. This reflects the impact of mentoring on the graduates.
The role of IMESA Training and information transfer, develop training material and present courses • IMESA has developed and presented twoday and four-day modules on asset management, which have been attended by 272 participants to date. • IMESA is currently negotiating with SALGA and COGTA to present a course in which elected and appointed officials of local authorities work together to choose the best intervention for municipal engineering service delivery problems (using an asset management framework) to build an understanding of their respective and co-operative roles and skills in serving their municipality. Present continuing professional development courses • CPD courses on aspects of asset management have been presented at the annual conferences over the past three years. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 13
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IMESA • The annual conference serves to transfer information to participants, as do the excellent articles published in the IMIESA magazine. • The ‘Knowledge Sharing’ section of the IMESA website (www. imesa.org.za) will provide the opportunity for professionals to share knowledge, and offers information on papers presented at IMESA conferences, standards and specifications and links to other sites. (See IMIESA, June 2011, p11) • Promote the education and training offered by other institutions, e.g. CESA, SAICE, SARF and universities (e.g. UCT’s multidisciplinary postgraduate programme in Urban Infrastructure Design and Management). • Provide bursaries for undergraduate and postgraduate students. • IMESA currently financially supports the studies of seven engineers and technologists. Advocacy IMESA is playing an increasing advocacy role with its interchanges with national, provincial and local government in respect of achieving the national agenda through the delivery of municipal engineering services. IMESA needs to increase its advocacy in respect of the following major issues: • the appropriate quantity and quality of engineering skills necessary to deliver municipal engineering services, within and outside municipalities • the appropriate implementation of legislation affecting procurement, especially with respect to tenders for consulting work and small contracts in construction, operations and maintenance • the role of local authorities, especially large authorities, in the development of young graduates, through mentoring and experience on a variety of engineering tasks • promotion of apprenticeships for artisans • make asset management plans mandatory, as essential infrastructure planning input to IDPs. (See IMIESA, May 2011, p7)
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Research IMESA should support research that improves the art of municipal engineering and the quality of services delivered, such as increasing the understanding of elements of asset management (e.g. good practice, benchmarking, failure modelling, default values, etc.). Furthermore, it should conduct research that supports its advocacy, e.g.: • the appropriate quantity and quality of civil engineering professionals in local authorities • implications of current procurement regulations on the delivery of municipal engineering services, initially with respect to consulting services and small contracts • implications of outsourcing different proportions of activities required for the delivery of municipal engineering services on the quantum of management, quality of service and opportunity for experiential learning among young graduates.
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IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 15
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16 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
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IMESA
An in-depth examination of the Expanded Public Works Programme This paper, which discusses the policy, rhetoric, reality and opportunities foregone during the expenditure of over R40 billion on infrastructure, was presented at the IMESA Northern Branch AGM. R McCutcheon, division head: EIC, Malani Padayachee and Associates and professor Emeritus, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering: University of the Witwatersrand F Taylor Parkins, independent consultant
S
outh Africa has high levels of unemployment and poverty. In 2004, as one of its strategic components for generating employment and alleviating poverty, the government initiated the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The goal of the programme was to alleviate unemployment for at least one million people between 2004 and 2009. This goal was to be achieved by generating work opportunities in four sectors of the economy: infrastructure, environment, social and economic. The budget for the infrastructure component was R15 billion; actual expenditure amounted to more than R40 billion.
Objectives of the EPWP According to the Consolidated Programme Overview and Logical Framework, June 2004, the goal of the EPWP was: • to alleviate unemployment for a minimum of
one million people in South Africa (at least 40% women, 30% youth and 2% disabled) by 2009 (EPWP Unit, 2004: 2 and 14). To achieve this goal government would: • Over the first five years of the programme create temporary work opportunities and income for at least one million unemployed people. • Provide needed public goods and services, labour intensively, at required standards, through predominantly public sector resources and public and private sector implementation capacity. • Increase the potential of (at least 14% of public works) participants to earn a future income by providing work experience, training and information related to local work opportunities, further education and training and small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME)
development (14% = infrastructure 8%, environment 10%, social 40%, economic 30% (sic)). This would be achieved by creating work opportunities in the following four ways: • increasing the labour intensity of government-funded infrastructure projects • creating work opportunities in public environmental programmes (e.g. Working for Water) • creating work opportunities in public social programmes (e.g. community care workers) • utilising general government expenditure on goods and services to provide the work experience component of small enterprise learnership/incubation programmes (EPWP Unit, 2004: 14; repeated in the EPWP Quarterly Report that was published in May 2008). Of the one million temporary work opportunities, 750 000 would be created in
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 17
IMESA
the infrastructure sector and 250 000 in the environmental, social and economic sectors. These work opportunities would be created during the normal provision of public assets and services. In the infrastructure sector 37 000 km of road, 31 000 km of pipelines, 1 500 km of storm water drains and 150 km of sidewalks were to be constructed using labour-intensive methods (EPWP, 2004: 7). Conclusions from national studies A number of conclusions were reached from the review of over 100 documents. These were categorised into three levels: • policy and programme • issues requiring attention above the level of programme management • programme and project management. Here we will only mention four related to policy and programme. • The direct and indirect beneficiaries of the EPWP clearly (and desperately) welcomed the short-term work opportunities, and
those who had worked on the EPWP were eager to get further work opportunities. They wanted more, much more. • In relation to infrastructure, the EPWP is currently not a development programme, but rather an ad hoc collection of existing and new projects. • There was very little compliance with the requirements as set out in the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA). To the best of our knowledge there has been little or no enforcement to date with respect to labour intensity, type of project or component of project, related contractual documentation and training. • Another major conclusion, which resulted in part from the lack of adherence to the DoRA requirements, is that insufficient work opportunities have been generated given the amount of expenditure. In relation to the infrastructure sector, for instance, just over one million work opportunities were generated at a cost of R42 billion, instead of the projected 750 000 for the R15 billion budgeted in 2004. The first conclusion – beneficiaries wanted more work opportunities – is of critical importance, because so many decision makers and theorists with comfortable, well-paid jobs, state with confidence that in South Africa, the poor are not prepared to do this type of work, or if they do, it will be done badly. Analysis of data in selected categories From about halfway through the EPWP, increasing attention was paid to one item:
the number of temporary work opportunities. To a lesser extent the amount of training was mentioned. Unfortunately, the amounts of physical assets produced were not contained in the summary reports and not mentioned in the text. And, a great deal of investigation would be required to extract such information. It is extremely disturbing that no attempt has been made to obtain the total amounts of the different types of assets produced during the expenditure of over R40 billion, especially given the amount of time and effort focused on the recording of the details related to the number of work opportunities. This in itself indicates that the infrastructure component of the EPWP was regarded as relief rather than development. A meta-analysis was carried out of the data contained in the two summary tables annexed to each report. In some instances, this was supplemented by more detail contained elsewhere in many annexures. EPWP budget versus actual expenditure by sector The 2004 budget for the whole EPWP was R21 billion; by 2009 almost R50 billion had been spent. This indicates a difference between the South African economy and most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the additional expenditure was generated internally without reliance on donor funding. Furthermore, the actual 2004 to 2009 budget allocations amounted to more than four times the original budget, or twice the actual expenditure.
18 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
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IMESA Although this indicates a severe inability to spend the allocated budget, it again indicates the scale of internal resources available to South Africa. The infrastructure sector had by far the greatest share: R42 billion or 84% of total expenditure between 2004 and 2009. Actual expenditure on infrastructure amounted to 280% of the 2004 budget estimate of R15 billion. While the dominance of the infrastructure sector inevitably influenced overall averages, similar discrepancies exist for the other three sectors between original budget, budget allocation and actual expenditure. A comparison between allocated budget and actual expenditure shows that over the period 2004 to 2009 the trend was for the EPWP to spend a lower proportion of the budget allocated. The economic sector was the worst affected of the four sectors. This is more than interesting, given the amount of attention and emphasis placed on the role of small, medium and micro entrepreneurial (SMME) development by government in general and EPWP in particular. EPWP budget versus actual expenditure by province Gauteng and the Eastern Cape accounted for nearly half of the actual expenditure, while the remaining seven provinces shared the other half. Five provinces, namely Free State, Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, combined made up less than one quarter of total expenditure. All five of these provinces have significant rural populations, parts of which have been termed ‘deep rural’. With the notable exception of the extremely poor Eastern Cape, the above distribution of funding shows insufficient focus on the rural areas within the EPWP, as does the fact that over 25% of expenditure took place in Gauteng, which is the most urbanised province in South Africa. Labour intensity in the EPWP There was a steady decline in labour intensity from 26% at the start of 2004 to nearly 11.3% at the end of the fourth quarter of the 2008/09 financial year. Even the social sector fell from 85% to 43%. This is interesting: unlike the other sectors of the EPWP, the social sector was not expected to generate a significant increase in employment per unit of expenditure. After all, the social sector is not expected to produce a physical product.
Labour intensity in the infrastructure and economic sectors reflects ‘business as usual’ The decrease in labour intensity in the social sector indicates that either administrative costs rose considerably over time or the data is faulty. Labour intensity in the infrastructure sector fell from 27% in 2004/05 to 9.4% in 2008/09. Therefore, the amount of employment generated per unit of expenditure fell by two thirds. This will be dealt with in more detail below. The economic sector fell from 12% to 7.6%, with oscillations in between. In a nutshell, labour intensity in the infrastructure and economic sectors reflects ‘business as usual’ through the use of conventional capital/ machine-intensive construction. Labour intensity versus average project cost The average project cost was derived from the division of the total actual expenditure by the total number of projects. Labour intensity dropped significantly over time as the value of the projects increased. As project values doubled, labour intensity decreased by two thirds. Fast-tracking the nominal incorporation of larger and more sophisticated projects into the programme, in order to increase expenditure and numbers, intensified the use of ‘business as usual’. Infrastructure and labour intensity It is important to concentrate on the infrastructure sector, not only because it is the largest, but more importantly, because it
is the main sector in which it was originally planned that a significant increase in productive employment would be generated per unit of expenditure. As mentioned earlier, previously in South Africa measures related to poverty alleviation and labour-intensive construction of infrastructure were funded by allocations sourced from outside the normal processes for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. They were ‘add-on’, ‘tack-on’ or ‘emergency/relief’ funds. This was not to be the case for the EPWP. In fact, this approach amounted to a fundamental difference between previous attempts linked to poverty alleviation, by insisting that the allocations form part of formal processes. Expenditure on labour-intensive methods was to have been part of normal expenditure on the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and therefore subject to formal procedures regarding accountability. Conclusion EPWP’s total expenditure of nearly R50 billion amounted to more than twice the 2004 budget. This indicates a difference between the South African economy and most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the additional expenditure was generated internally without reliance on donor funding. The infrastructure sector had by far the greatest share, 84%, of the actual expenditure between 2004 and 2009. Here, expenditure of some R42 billion amounted to more than two and a half times the 2004 budget
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 19
IMESA of R15 billion; roughly one million work opportunities were generated at almost double the anticipated cost. Labour intensity decreased from 27.2% in 2004 to 9.4% in 2009, averaging 10.8% over five years. If a proper programme is not established, the second phase of the EPWP will be just as inefficient in generating a significant increase in effective work opportunities among the poor, particularly the rural poor, during the provision of public infrastructure. Since the implementation of the programme will take place in the face of the economic downturn, we will have to act prudently â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no wastage, no rollovers of funds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; every cent must be spent wisely and fruitfully. We must cut our cloth according to our size. Even without the establishment of a fully coherent programme, a significant number of work opportunities could be generated if existing legislation and regulation were enforced. A great deal of investigation will be required to ascertain precise information. The fact that there is no readily available record of
20 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
the totals of the physical assets constructed is disturbing from a programme management perspective. This fact indicates the absence of overall programme management regarding the infrastructure component, as it was not possible to measure performance against plan. By contrast, an enormous effort was
opportunities, suggests that the infrastructure component of the EPWP was regarded as social welfare, or relief, and not as a developmental, employment-generating infrastructure programme. Much more should be done to generate employment, income and skills among the poor, who are willing and
The infrastructure component of the EPWP was regarded as social welfare, or relief exerted on recording temporary work opportunities, which demonstrates managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary concern. However, despite the emphasis on numbers of work opportunities, the first five years of the EPWP did not result in a significant increase in the employment generated per unit of expenditure during the construction of infrastructure. The absence of easily accessible and summarised information about the amount of physical assets produced, taken together with the emphasis on the number of work
eager to work, during the current phase of the EPWP. Engineers could make a major contribution to the achievement of significantly higher levels of employment per unit of expenditure during the construction and maintenance of infrastructure in general and particularly through EPWP funding. Small contractor development is of major concern to governments and donor agencies. Failure rates are extremely high and the whole field requires rethinking, then new policies, followed by new programmes.
GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE
Empowering Africa’s peoples with decent work Access to employment is one of the basic conditions for human dignity and survival and the fact that SA’s unemployment rate is so high makes this a particular issue of concern. Minister of labour of South Africa, Mildred Oliphant
I
n October, we welcomed to this country hundreds of delegates from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), who congregated around the theme ‘Empowering Africa’s Peoples with Decent Work’. The issue of decent work is one of the issues that constantly exercises our minds as the Department of Labour and to this end there are a number of interventions we have put in place for effecting decent work for vulnerable groups. This is the group that includes domestic
workers, farmworkers and, to a certain extent, workers who ply their trade in the fishing industry. This is premised on our belief that the strength of any society can only be measured by the extent to which it is able to cater for and develop the weak. The 100th International Labour Conference in June of Convention 189 and its accompanying recommendation has sparked a global frenzy in the debates on decent work for domestic workers. As far back as 1969, a researcher commented on the progress made with efforts to
promote a ‘just wage’ for domestic workers. The figure quoted at that point in time was R40 per month for a full-time worker in Cape Town. It was concluded that the improvement in the circumstances of domestic workers appeared to be tied to the conscience of the employers and, more importantly, the state of the economy. This is the background against which the sectoral determination was promulgated and it recognises the importance of domestic workers as an integral part of the economy and that domestic work is not degrading or menial.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 21
GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE Because of our working together with our social partners – Cosatu, Nactu and Fedusa - the draft convention was modelled on our experiences and we also played a critical role in shaping an international standard for domestic workers. As enjoined by the convention, we have set conditions of employment which include pronouncing on minimum wages and unemployment insurance cover for domestic workers. We are currently in the process of studying the feasibility of a provident fund for the sector and in terms of the skills legislation we have seen real benefits accruing to domestic workers. There is still some work that we need to do, such as extending the protection under the Compensation for Injuries on Duty Act in consultation with our social partners, as well as providing specific protection for migrant domestic workers. As at the end of July this year, 647 126 domestic workers were registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund, out of a total of 876 000 domestic workers – according to Statistics SA. One of the challenges is the ability to
conduct inspections on the working conditions of domestic workers. While we have done a large amount of work around the specialisation and professionalisation of inspectors, because of its character, including its hidden nature, domestic work provides specific challenges that sometimes fall outside the scope of what inspectors are required to do. Farmworkers also face unique challenges, as evinced by the report by Human Rights Watch, which alluded to serious breaches of the rights of farmworkers, especially in the wine and fruit industry in the Western Cape. But we still maintain that even in the face of difficult economic circumstances, fair labour practice is the right afforded to every worker who enters the labour market in this country. This is a fundamental right that is enshrined in, and protected by, the Constitution. Workers’ rights are human rights that must be respected by all employers, in both private and government sectors. For us, fair labour practice means decent employment and fair wages for every employee. In the department, there are currently two
processes underway with respect to the farmworkers’ sectoral determination. The first is a review of the conditions of employment and minimum wages, as set out in the sectoral determination for the farmworker sector, and the second involves an investigation into the feasibility of establishing a provident fund for the sector. With respect to the review of conditions of employment and the minimum wage in the sector, the department has published a notice setting out the terms of reference for this process. In taking forward its
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 23
GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE commitment to social dialogue, the department conducted a range of public hearings in order to obtain input from the social partners. A report will be submitted to the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) for its deliberation, which in turn will make recommendations to the minister of labour. In addition, the department published a notice on 20 August 2010 signalling its intention to investigate the feasibility of establishing a provident fund for the sector. This requires a broader consultation with not only the social partners and the service providers, but also with the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s process of social security reform in order to realise the best possible benefit for farmworkers. Because of the technical nature of these discussions it will, however, take some time in order to realise this intention. Turning to the fishing sector, there are already two instruments that regulate conditions of employment in the sector. There is a statutory council in the squid industry that functions primarily around the Eastern Cape area, while there is a bargaining council for
the fishing sector that is national in scope. As a member state of the ILO, South Africa again played a significant role in the establishment of both the Convention on work in the fishing sector and the Maritime Labour Convention. There are currently processes underway with the Department of Transport,
possibility of establishing a sectoral determination for this sector. Given that there are two institutions of collective bargaining in this sector, a registered bargaining council as well as a statutory council, we will have to proceed with due regard for these institutions and their registered scope within the sector.
Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights are human rights that must be respected by all employers which is the lead department in this regard, to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, especially Chapter 4 of the Act. These amendments would not only serve to modernise conditions of employment for maritime workers as well as fishermen, but also to allow the country to ratify these conventions. The Department of Transport is committed to these amendments and has requested that the amendment bill be submitted to NEDLAC for continued consultation. The department is also in consultation with stakeholders in the fishing sector on the
The delegates will also deal with issues including parallel discussions on the following themes: women empowerment, rural employment, promoting national ownership of international labour standards, investing in skills and sustainable enterprises for decent work, industrial development and structural transformation as a path to decent work and moving out of informality. We must make use of every opportunity for us to share best practice and to learn from what other countries have done in implementing decent work programmes. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 25
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MEDIA
CESA CONFERENCE
INFRASTRUCTURE EXPENDITURE
A powerful anti-cyclic measure The results of Consulting Engineers South Africa’s (CESA’s) bi-annual Economic and Capacity Survey for the period January to June 2011 indicates that conditions in the consulting engineering industry continue to be challenging.
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overnment is not spending capital and, although there appears to be a lot of planning taking place, the physical manifestation is just not present. Despite this, there are some pleasantly surprising developments. The contribution of gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) to GDP slowed to 19.5% from 19.9% in the first quarter of 2010, with the construction sector contributing 50% to GFCF. CESA believes that strong investment in fixed capital will provide structural support to the economy. Given the commitment by government to improving capacity, CESA believes that spending on infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity (albeit over the longer term) will continue to support further investment in construction, although at much slower rates than those experienced inn recent years. “Expenditure onn infrastr uctur e remains a powerful antiant cyclic measmeass ure in councounn tering ann
economic downturn and should be embraced by government,” states Graham Pirie, chief executive officer of CESA. Confidence levels deteriorated somewhat in the first six months of 2011, from an index value of 86.7 in December 2010 to 83.2, down 4%. The outlook for the last six months of 2011 remains more upbeat in comparison. The engineering industry seems to have survived the construction slowdown much better when compared to the contracting industry. Business sentiment dropped and confidence in the consulting engineering sector generally lags business sentiment. Project postponements and delays in project implementation affected confidence in the construction fraternity. The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission is preparing the release of a list of key priority economic and social projects within the next two months. The establishment of this commission was necessary given the lack of coordination and integrated planning surrounding key infrastructure projects and poor or delayed project execution. These issues have been a significant problem for the construction industry and caused much
“Service delivery, especially at municipal level, remains a critical issue,” says GRAHAM PIRIE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF CESA frustration. The question now remains as to whether this commission can turn talk into action. The commission ultimately seeks to develop a 10-year rolling pipeline of priority projects, which would be updated once a year. Capacity utilisation remains well below 90%, but did pick up marginally from the 82.5% reported in the December 2010 survey to an average of 83.7%. Large firms are mostly
running at full capacity; however, a few expect capacity utilisation rates to increase. The percentage of respondents saying that competition was very keen to fierce slowed to 66.9% in June 2011, compared to 89.9% in the December 2010 survey and 88% in the June 2010 survey. Interestingly, those firms already running at a capacity rate of 100% or more also seem to be offering the highest discount rates when compared to the ECSA Guideline Scope of Works and Tariff Fees, with the exception of a few firms. The impact of higher salaries and wages is profound in the engineering business, considering that close to 60% of earnings are paid towards the salary and wage bill. The contribution of private sector earnings increased from 36.6% in the June 2010 survey to 42.7% in June 2011. While the private sector may account for just over 40% of fees earned, the public sector cumulatively contributes just under 60% of earnings, which means the issues related to under-spending and poor capacity within government departments continue to negatively affect the industry. Employment increased by 3% since the December 2010 survey to an estimated 19 937. Transformation within the CESA membership continued to accelerate, with 42% of new members joining being black owned and managed in 2010 and accelerating to in excess of 55% during the current period. Unlocking greater private sector participation is a critical element to fast-track delivery. Service delivery, especially at municipal level, remains a critical issue. The consulting engineering industry is threatened by incapacitated local and provincial governments. The fact that engineers are generally appointed on a five-year contract by government doesn’t make for an attractive career opportunity. Lack of attention to the maintenance of infrastructure poses a serious problem for the industry.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 27
ROADS
WARM MIX ASPHALT
The South African experience Following the road-building industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to sustainable practices, the Warm Mix Asphalt Interest Group was formed. This group initiated trials over a two-year period, from 2008 to 2010, with the aim of gathering sufficient information to implement warm mix asphalt in South Africa.
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his aim has been achieved with experience being embodied in a Best Practice Guideline for warm mix asphalt (WMA). Furthermore, WMA is already being used on full-scale projects using a first iteration specification
for WMA. This paper concentrates on the fast-tracking of the implementation process and discusses milestones, knowledge and practical experience gained. All indications are that WMA will become standard practice for asphalt in South Africa.
By Krishna Naidoo, eThekwini Municipality Tony Lewis, Tony Lewis Consulting Wynand Nortje, National Asphalt Eric Lathleiff, eThekwini Municipality Herman Marais, Much Asphalt
The year 2008 proved to be a watershed for South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s asphalt industry. It began with the first national seminar on WMA, arranged by SABITA. This landmark meeting brought together members from various sectors of the road building industry, including clients, consultants, asphalt producers and WMA technology owners and suppliers. Representatives from this group formed what became known as the Warm Mix Asphalt Interest Group (WMAIG).
Density specifications on the WMA were met with relative ease and much larger compaction windows
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ROADS At a subsequent Road Pavement Forum, a resolution was made to pursue the introduction of WMA in South Africa. From the end of 2008 to 2010, rapid progress was made to implement the routine use of WNA. Over two years, through a series of national trials, South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WMA knowledge and experience has been increasing exponentially. This knowledge and experience has been sufficient to produce the first iteration of a national WMA specification and a best practice WMA guideline document. The WMA specification was already being implemented at the time of writing this paper, while the best practice guideline document was launched at CAPSA 11. The purpose of this paper is to convey the way in which it was possible to fasttrack the implementation of WMA in South Africa. This fast-tracking was possible owing to the willingness of the WMAIG and the eThekwini Municipality to support sustainable practices, as well as asphalt producers that were willing to make a positive change to their industry.
Fast-tracking the implementation of WMA The WMAIG now became the champion of WMA in South Africa, its characteristics
in South Africa. It was expected that these trials would test the industry in terms of its capabilities and innovation, and would build up the necessary competence. Accepting
The purpose of this paper is to convey the way in which it was possible to fast-track the implementation of WMA and strengths forming the basis of the fasttracking. This was as a result of the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s: 1. belief in WMA 2. positive attitude 3. non-sceptical mind-set 4. professional approach 5. holistically responsible view. Another very important factor was a major client: eThekwini Municipality shared the enthusiasm and passion for environmentally sustainable road building solutions. The WMAIG resolved that full-scale trials were necessary as a professional and responsible means of gaining practical knowledge and experience to implement WMA
this reasoning, the next step was necessary to find a suitable trial site. The WMAIG was fortunate in having eThekwini Municipality take a pivotal role in the trials. This made it possible for the municipality to assist in adding momentum to the trials and this was achieved by: 1. dedicating senior staff and expertise to the trials 2. providing sites to undertake the trials 3. understanding and accepting the potential risks of new technologies 4. giving public support to WMA 5. encouraging the implementation and routine use of WMA in its projects. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 29
The road ahead . . . will be paved with green asphalt technology t h at saves energy and reduces emissions
MUCH ASPHALT - A LEVEL 3 BBBEE CONTRIBUTOR Tel: +27 21 900-4400 Fax: +27 21 900-4468 E-mail: info@muchasphalt.co.za Web: www. m u c h a s p h a l t . c o . z a
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Overview of the trials Every two years eThekwini Municipality’s Pavement Management System generates a list of candidate projects for rehabilitation while the municipality’s Road Rehabilitation Branch implements these projects. Given the municipality’s policy to actively seek and implement more sustainable road rehabilitation solutions, it volunteered one of these candidate projects as a site for the first national WMA trial. As this was now a rehabilitation project for the municipality, it brought a definite focus and impetus to the implementation of WMA in South Africa. Targets and deadlines became fixed while risk management became a guiding principle. This first trial was carried out on Brackenhill Road in the suburb of Waterfall in November 2008. After the first trial was successfully completed and a sustainable road rehabilitation solution was realised, the municipality agreed that WMA needed to be more severely tested and under different conditions. It therefore volunteered a road rehabilitation project for use as a site for the second national WMA trials. This trial came with the same constraints in terms of targets, deadlines and risk management. The second trial was carried out on Leicester Road in the
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heavy industry area of Mobeni. After evaluation of the second trial the municipality felt comfortable with the trial’s process and WMA; it was therefore confident enough to hand over another rehabilitation project as a site for the third WMA trials. The third trial was carried out on Higginson Highway, a major urban arterial. This was a much larger trial than those done previously and as before the municipality insisted on completion within a fixed period, placing sharp focus on the timelines.
ABOVE Visitors during a site visit inspect the lower temperature of the asphalt
Exponential gain in knowledge and practical experience The three national trials were not planned, nor structured as a series beforehand, but evolved as experience was gained and further challenges were targeted. A key premise of all the trials was that the mix properties must be as good as hot mix asphalt (HMA).
The most important contributor to quick decision-making was the sustained and intense focus on WMA Perhaps the most important contributor to quick decision-making was the sustained and intense focus on WMA over the relatively short period. This ensured memory retention of lessons learnt, process, product understanding and other matters that contributed to building up knowledge and experience. The other strength was the way in which the group was structured – everybody was pushing in the same direction, rolling the trial forward. Also, when one entity pushed, the entire trial moved forward.
Trial one: Brackenhill Road – November 2008 This trial set out simply to prove that WMA could indeed be successfully manufactured and paved in South Africa. At this stage every step with WMA was a new experience for the group. Besides producing and paving the mixes, the structure of the trial had to take into account that it was a normal rehabilitation project. There was the basic understanding from WMA technology literature that the Warm Mix
Murray & Roberts Construction, newly created by merging Murray & Roberts Construction and Concor, is one of the largest players in the African, Middle East and South East Asian construction sectors. The company of fers a range of engineering and contracting services that include civil, building and marine construction, roadworks, earthworks, engineering and opencast mining.
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ROADS Asphalt Technology (WMA-T) was added after carrying out a conventional HMA mix design. Also, the reduction in mix temperature was achieved by reducing the fuel flow to the burner. Being a first trial, these key factors were accepted. A conservative but significant target temperature reduction of 20°C was set. It was anticipated that the processes and products (one WMA-T of the organic wax category) would be trialled to establish whether it enabled the WMA manufactured at this reduced temperature still to meet or to exceed the quality of HMA. Trial two: Leicester Road – May/June 2009 The success of the first trial and the rapid increase in knowledge allowed for momentum to be increased with the undertaking of the second trial. This included the process to design WMA, manufacture in a continuous feed drum mixing plant and pave WMA. Still keeping the target temperature reduction of 20°C, the group sought to change other variables, one being the use of a batch mixing plant. The other significant variable changed was the inclusion of an additional WMA-T, this being from the chemical additive category. Encouraged by the success of the first trial, it was decided that all mixes should include reclaimed asphalt (RA). A more rigorous test bed was selected for the second trial, with a dual carriageway carrying higher volumes of heavily loaded trucks and industrial traffic moving at maximum speeds of 50 km/h. Trial three: Higginson Highway – October/December 2010 With the aims of the second trial having been achieved, and with process and risk management addressed, the group decided that more variables should be included in the third trial. For instance, it was decided that the WMA temperature should be reduced by 30°C. Other notable variables included RA contents up to 40%, polymer modified bitumen, a bitumen rejuvenator, four WMA-T, as well as different grades of bitumen. Armed with the knowledge of the previous trials and further plant mix trials, it was decided to reduce the dosage of one of the technologies. This was a world first for this particular technology supplier. This accepted change pointed to the confidence and understanding built up in the South African WMA trials. Most significantly
it pointed to the need for mix designs to optimise the use of each particular technology based on its own specific characteristics. The inclusion of the mechanical foaming technology at this stage allowed a more focused understanding of different WMA-T approaches.
In the case of the ‘additive’ WMA-T, the mix was manufactured at 20°C to 30°C below conventional mixing. This was done by heating the binder to 150°C, after the WMA-T was blended into the bitumen. The dosage of the WMA technology was as prescribed by the WMA-T supplier. The aggregate was heated
The blend that produced the most satisfactory volumetric properties was selected for further testing There was some debate as to whether too many variables were being introduced in this trial. However, it is notable that there was no discussion around temperature reduction boundaries having been pushed too far. This illustrates the exponential gains in knowledge and practical experience that had been achieved over the relatively short period of two years.
to between 125°C and 130°C. After seven minutes of mixing, this resulted in the mix temperature of 155°C – 20°C = 135°C. The briquettes were compacted at 115°C. For the mechanical foaming technologies, the sample mix produced through full-scale manufacture at the asphalt plant as there are no laboratory devices to produce the foamed bitumen.
The WMA difference The trials made it necessary to focus on best practice in mix design, manufacturing, paving and testing. In the case of WMA, certain changes have to be implemented, the most significant being in the mix design and manufacturing processes.
WMA manufacturing Importantly, the trials utilised both a continuous feed drum mixing plant and a batch mixing plant. The significant change to operating procedure was the reduction of the mix temperature and this was achieved in the following ways: • Trial one – continuous drum mixing plant: by increasing the volume of material going into the drum for the continuous feed drum mixing plant while keeping the burner fuel rate constant. • Trial two – batch plant: by reducing the amount of fuel being fed to the burner. • Trial three – continuous drum mixing plant: by reducing the amount of fuel being fed to the burner. A further manufacturing procedure change was that the bitumen pumping system had to be adjusted to match the viscosity of the WMA-T blended bitumen.
WMA mix design process The mix design process used for the trials was firstly to use the Bailey Method to optimise the aggregate packing properties of the mix, with mixes with different aggregate/RA grading blends being manufactured and compacted at conventional (HMA) temperatures. The blend that produced the most satisfactory volumetric properties was selected for further testing to establish the optimum bitumen content, still at HMA temperatures. These designs were regarded as the ‘control’ mix designs. The same blend of aggregates/ RA and bitumen content was used in the manufacture of the ‘warm’ mix.
WMA specification For the first iteration of the WMA specification, the WMAIG decided to use COLTO as a basis for a standalone specification. From the trials, it became apparent that at the early stages of implementation of WMA, a method specification would be more appropriate. The WMA specification takes this requirement into consideration and leans heavily on the WMA Best Practice Guideline as being an essential companion document to the specification. With WMA facilitating the use of higher RA contents, the specification includes the characterising, handling and processing of RA. Accepting that most WMA-Ts
WMA trials template Following the first trial, it became apparent that the trials needed to be structured to promote creativity and drive and to maintain smooth and continuous forward momentum. Also, the processes needed to be carried out in a logical way to ensure that there were no gaps. A template was prepared and used as a checklist for each aspect of the trials. The template also ensured that the learning experience was progressive and complete for each step of the trial as it progressed.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 33
ROADS are proprietary products, the specification makes it a requirement for the contractor to supply detailed information on the particular technology that he proposes. Trial outcomes The trials included an extensive amount of testing using the traditional HMA specification as reference. Following the first trial, a test matrix was drawn up to bring structure to the testing and it covered both routine and specialised testing. The matrix was used to: • Instruct testing. • Monitor progress with testing. • Compile test results in a structured manner. • Identify gaps in the testing done. • Control the cash flow and budgeting for testing. Four critical parameters were identified in deciding that WMA could be implemented on a full scale and routine basis. These were: Mix temperature This is a fundamental requirement of WMA, which results in benefits such as less fuming, reduced emissions and better working conditions. The target temperature reductions were achieved on all of the mixes for all three trials. BELOW The proof is in the reading of the temperature gauge
Moisture in the mix Low moisture in the mix will go a long way towards ensuring that bitumen adhesion and stripping will not be a concern. The requirement for 0.5% moisture was easily met. Besides the moisture content of the mixes, the moisture susceptibility of the mixes was checked using the modified Lottman test method and a few of the trial mixes were found to produce results under the minimum 80% requirement for this test. This aspect is addressed under conclusions. Rutting This is always a concern when designing asphalt mixes, particularly for heavy traffic conditions, and needs to be thoroughly explored. Rut testing was undertaken using both the MMLS and Hamburg Wheel Tracking devices and in almost all cases the maximum rut depth achieved was less than the 2.0 mm limit. Field compaction There was an adequate level of compaction influencing properties such as durability, impermeability and reduced aging. The compactability of the warm mixes was found to be at least as good as, if not better than, those of HMA mixes and in all cases the requirement of minimum 92% of void-less density was achieved.
The extensive testing matrices generated a huge quantity of test results. The assessment of these results has been documented in separate reports for each of the trials. This paper has been focused on the way in which sufficient experience was gained to implement WMA in South Africa, rather than providing technical analysis of the results. Verification of our experience – European study tour Midway through the third trials, the WMAIG organised a study to Europe. The intention was to find out the latest developments in WMA, verify our experience to date and build relationships with European experts. The visit covered meeting contractors, public sector officials, researchers and technology owners in England, France, Germany, Holland and Italy. The findings were that we were on the right path with implementing WMA in South Africa and in some instances were ahead of some countries in terms of the development of a specification and WMA guideline document. It was found that the use of WMA had reached a very sophisticated level in certain countries, with software optimising the variables to meet the various site and delivery conditions. There were distinctive preferences between some of the countries with regard to the type of WMA technologies, with some strongly preferring foaming techniques and others chemical or organic wax type additives. The group came back encouraged by their findings. Conclusions This paper has focused on the successful full-scale implementation of WMA in South Africa after an intensive trial period over two years. This fast-tracking was possible owing to willingness on the part of a road owner, eThekwini Municipality, asphalt producers and WMA-T suppliers. The three trials carried out on WMA enabled knowledge and practical experience to be gained at an exponential rate. Probably the most significant finding was that a variety of technologies can be successfully produced and used by South African asphalt producers at temperatures of 30°C below HMA. An added benefit of the trials was the finding that polymer modified binders could also be used to produce WMA. Also, the synergy between recycling and WMA was confirmed and mixes with up to
34 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
ROADS 40% of RA were successfully manufactured and paved. While almost all the indications from the trials are that WMA has properties at least as good as those of HMA, the trials show that the mixes can be sensitive with regard to moisture susceptibility. During the design stage it is recommended that attention be given to this and that active filler consisting of hydrated lime and possibly also an anti-stripping agent should be used. Asphalt plants are currently designed to operate most effectively within the temperature range required for HMA and adjustments have to be made either in reducing burner fuel flow and/or production or mixing rates to lower the temperature. Although the WMA temperatures were achieved in each of the trials, it should be noted that careful adjustment and close supervision is required to achieve this goal. Useful experience was gained in the laboratory mix design of WMA, suggesting that the mix designs needed to optimise the use of each WMA-T based on
that specific technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characteristics. Extensive testing to investigate the rut resistance of the mixes, mostly carried out using the MMLS, showed that rutting does not exceed the usual maximum 2 mm rut depth requirement. Compaction was not an issue with any of the mixes that were paved in these trials
that South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WMA initiatives are in order. In order to assess long-term performance in the field, a detailed Long Term Pavement Performance is in place. The use of WMA is accelerating globally and experience gained therefore strongly indicates that its environmental, health, cost and per formance benefits will drive it
Indications from the trials are that WMA has properties at least as good as those of HMA and all the trial sections were found to comply with the compaction requirements. The success of the trials as well as the vast amount of knowledge and experience gained is reflected in the current WMA specification and the soon-to-be-launched Best Practice Guideline. However, both these documents are dynamic and will inevitably be updated to reflect further experience and development in WMA. The European study tour provided valuable insight into the state of the art and confirmed
to become a standard for asphalt in South Africa. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the road building industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to sustainable practices and their support for WMA in this respect. Acknowledgements are due to eThekwini Municipality for their vital role in providing trial sites as well as the WMAIG and the strong team that made these trials such a success. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 35
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Construction dozing in a The next benchmark in construction dozing, the Cat D6R, has made its global debut’, with the first batch of D6R’s arriving in southern Africa in the third quarter of 2011.
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LL D6R UNITS will be manufactured at Caterpillar’s Sagami factory in Japan for worldwide distribution, with the exception of Tier III and, subsequently, Tier IV-regulated regions. The latter predominately comprises North America, the European Union zone and Israel. Caterpillar’s ACERT engine technology was specifically developed to meet international environmental legislation regarding diesel emissions. Engines like the Cat C9 are modified in terms of emission setting levels and catalytic converter requirements. Historically, the first Cat D6R model sold locally was in September 2003 and South Africa currently has an active D6R population of around 1 096 units. As with its predecessors, the D6R excels in a broad range of applications that extend from heavy dozing
36 - IMIESA 36 IM MIE IE IESA ESA SA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER NO EMBE NO NOV EM EMB MB M BER ER/ E R R//DEC DE D EC CEM EMB E MBE ER R 20 22011 201 01 0 1
and ripping, to land clearing, finish grading and landfill management. Weighing in at around 18 700 kg, depending on the blade option selected (semi-universal, straight or angle types), three models
features upgrades that place the machine further ahead in its class,” says Barloworld Equipment product manager, Johann Venter. As Venter points out, the emphasis is on longer-term, sustainable production at the
Engines like the Cat C9 are modified in terms of emission setting levels and catalytic converter requirements will be available internationally: either in Standard, XL (Extra Length) or LGP (Low Ground Pressure) configuration. XL and LGP models will prove popular with landfill operators in waste handling configuration. “Benefiting from technological advancements that have featured in R-Series I, II and III models, as well as the current D6T (Tier IIIA), the new D6R is now even more robust, simpler to operate and maintain, and
lowest possible operating cost, a Caterpillar engineering philosophy that is reflected in all areas of the D6R’s design. “That includes intuitive machine operation and class-leading mechanical and hydraulic designs with modular components that are BELOW Three Cat D6R models are available in Standard, XL (Extra Length) or LGP (Low Ground Pressure) configuration
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new class
ABOVE The new Cat D6R is driven by a fuel-efficient Cat C9 ACERT engine (EPA Tier 2 and EU Stage II compliant) that features new technologies
easier and faster to remove and re-install, translating into less man hours spent on routine maintenance tasks,” he continues. The fact that the D6R is designed to be rebuilt for a second, and even third, life further underscores its sustainability and return on investment over the machine’s life cycle. Key updates on the new D6R (compared to the D6RIII and D6T) include a mechanical transmission system in place of electronic transmission control; whilst Caterpillar’s proven Heavy Duty (HD) Sealed & Lubricated (S&L) undercarriage with Tough Steel™ sprocket segments is now standard on all models. HD undercarriage remains the ideal choice in high-impact, as well as general, construction applications, especially in the varied working conditions experienced in Africa. For any dozer, optimising track wear life is important: consider that the cost of maintaining a unit’s undercarriage system can represent 50% or more of the machine’s total ongoing maintenance budget, which is where Caterpillar’s HD system maximises availability. As with all Cat track-type tractors, Caterpillar’s unique elevated sprocket design is retained on the D6R. A tried and tested system,
ABOVE Implement controls: low lever effort and precision thanks to pilot hydraulics
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 37
ABOVE Key updates include a mechanical transmission system in place of electronic transmission control, whilst Caterpillar’s proven heavy-duty sealed and lubricated undercarriage with Tough Steel™ sprocket segments is now standard
the elevated sprocket cushions the planetary final drives from impact shock loads and material sprocket packing, significantly extending overall undercarriage life. Meanwhile, the machine’s pivot shaft design further assists by promoting track oscillation, transmitting forces back into the dozer’s mainframe.
The Blackburn Pedestrian Bridge. Winning awards for engineering that connects people. SANRALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blackburn Pedestrian Bridge has recently received a CESA (Consulting Engineers South Africa) Award â&#x20AC;&#x201C; recognising projects that promote the advancement of our nation and our people. It is testimony to our absolute commitment to implementing the highest construction standards and, more impor tantly, is an example of the work we do aimed at improving pedestrian safety around our highways, and connecting all South Africans. So congratulations to all the stakeholders involved, and thank you to every one of the people who help us go above and beyond to bring people together. SANRAL is an Agency of the Ministry of Transport.
P38937/E
www.sanral.co.za
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Concrete block paving used for resurfacing project Concrete block paving (CBP) is spearheading a poverty alleviation and road resurfacing project in George. The local municipality is resurfacing its deteriorating lowtrafficked suburban asphalt roads, as well as gravel roads, with CBP in all residential areas.
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HIS ON-GOING PROJECT began in 2001 and, since then, some 53 km of roads at an average width of five metres have been resurfaced with CBP. In addition, 49 km of pavements 1.5 m wide have been surfaced with CBP. The project also includes a small percentage of roads and parking areas in the CBD, as well as some servitudes and footpaths. “The main motivation for choosing CBP as opposed to asphalt,” says Jacques Quinot, senior manager: streets and storm water, of the George Municipality, “are cost and job creation. CBP surfacing is more cost-effective in that it allows us to rebuild roads using some of the existing material as opposed to relaying them completely had we opted for asphalt. Moreover, all the work is being done entirely by local people as part of a poverty alleviation project. The laying of CBP is labourintensive and we find it relatively easy to train unemployed community members to lay concrete pavers. To date, some 2 650 community members and 440 sub-contractors have been employed through the project.” BELOW A footpath laid with CBP at Rosemoor Old Age Facility
The municipality is being assisted on the project by VKE Consulting Engineers. All subcontractors receive CETA accredited theoretical and on-site training in block paving and concrete work, as well as in health and safety aspects. “Although we have no official figures at hand, we have made significant savings due to the low- maintenance requirement of CBP roads. So far, all we’ve had to do is spray weed killer on the surface of the roads and pavements,” continues Quinot. The road-resurfacing process involves removing the asphalt and then, where necessary, replacing it with fresh G5-7 aggregate. This is followed by a layer of bedding sand and 60 mm interlocking paving blocks which are being supplied by a Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) member, Mobicast, as well as some other local manufacturers. The pavements are being surfaced with 50 mm bevel pavers. CMA director, Hamish Laing, says this is another example of the win-win attributes of CBP, providing a cost-effective road surfacing solution, creating employment and skilling the unskilled. “This project proves once again that unskilled workers can be trained to lay concrete blocks with a high degree of workmanship and these skills can subsequently be used in other construction-related projects. Besides its labourintensive and job creation attributes, CBP is proving to be a very durable and aesthetically appealing road surfacing material in many parts of the country. This is particularly so in areas where CBP enhances visual appeal, such as in small towns, suburban areas, shopping centres, office car parks, residential paths and driveways. The type of CBP roads
ABOVE A CBP-surfaced street in Rosemoor, George BELOW Workers completing a path laid with CBP at the Rosemoor Old Age Facility in George
being laid in George should have a lifespan of at least 30 years. Furthermore, CBP roads can be maintained and repaired by the local community, using skills developed during the construction period,” maintains Laing.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 39
SECTION
028 MANUFACTURER & SUPPLIER OF MASTS, POLES & TOWERS
1
LIGHTINGCIH STRUCTURES LeBLANC Lighting Structures is a leading supplier of STRUCTURES Masts, Towers and associated equipment for High Mast Lighting in South Africa and other African Countries and has been in operation since 1976. The company designs, fabricates and erects Monople Type Masts and Towers in seven basic product ranges • • • • • • •
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Railow Masts Midhinge Masts Hydro Masts Internal and External Access Masts Monopole Transmission Masts Electricity transmission Masts Street Lighting Poles
Manufacturing Facility The Facility comprises of a 3500 square meter covered factory with extensive loading facilities and stacking space as well as 500 square meters of office space. The faciluty is well equiped with extensive plant and machinery for the handling and processing of steel plate as well as all other steel work required for the production of Monopole type structures. The production facility employs some fifty persons including qualified boiler makers, coded welders and machine operators. Quality The production facility is EN ISO 9001:2008 certified by Dekra International Engineering All monopoles and structures fabricated by the company are designed by a professional structural engineer, and detailing for fabrication is done by our own experienced staff, making use of the latest CAD drawing facilities Track Record Lighting Structures has designed and fabricated Masts for numerous customers in the Ligthting and Electrical sectors both in South Africa as well as many other countries in Africa. Services • Design and fabrication of masts from a standard range or special design to suit client specifications • Erection of Masts • Design and construction of Mast foundation • Inspection and maintenance of existing Masts and foundations • Turnkey capabilities for full site build • Technical support and as built documentation
LeBLANC Jasco Lighting Structures LeBlancJasco CTH Lighting Structures (Pty) Ltd Jasco LeBLANC Jasco Lighting Structures.co.za Structures LeBlanc Lighting Structures (pty)ltd L Reg. No. 2005/002613/07 18 Johnson Rd, Pretoriastad, Nigel PO Box 1592, Nigel, 1490, South Africa (0)87 310 1000 Fax: +27 (0)11 (0)86 699 6999 Tel: +27 (0)11 87 814-1404 86 814-1444 email: sales@lightingstructures.co.za web site: www.leblancgroup.com, www.lightingstructures.edx.co.za
SECTION
028
ROADS
Benchmark for head and wing walls Rocla claims it is the first concrete manufacturer in South Africa to offer a complete range of precast wing wall units.
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HESE COST-EFFECTIVE units have applications in both culvert and storm water installations to ensure maximum hydraulic flow per formance at both inlets and outlets of these structures. The units can fit a wide range of pipe diameters as well as rectangular culvert sections and consist of two parts, namely the headwall, wing wall and apron, which is cast in one piece, and a separate precast concrete toe. This toe keys the unit to the ground for a solid foundation, provides extra stability against impact loads and reduces the risk of scouring of the soil below or to the sides of the unit. Rocla
specifically designed the wingwall in two parts, with the toe as a separate element
slab provide protection for embankments and surrounding landscapes against scour-
Rocla designed the wingwall in two parts, with the toe as a separate element to ensure effortless installation of the complete unit to ensure effortless installation of the complete unit. The angle of the wing walls to headwalls, coupled with the sloping base, ensures that the incoming water flows effortlessly through the structure, limiting debris build up in the corners. The wall portion directs the water, whilst both the walls and floor
ing and potential collapse of the area, which could include the road sur face. Rocla has recently donated two complete units for the new storm water pipe crossing being constructed on the N12 Bloemhof to Rietpan Project, in the North West, to demonstrate the benefits of utilising these products on projects. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 41
TSHWANE
Providing clean, potable water to the people of Tshwane The 60 Mℓ/d Roodeplaat Water Treatment Works, constructed as part of the larger Roodeplaat Temba Water Supply Project for the City of Tshwane and commissioned in 2005, is currently being upgraded.
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he upgrade consists of the addition of two advanced unit treatment processes, i.e. ozonation and granular activated carbon filtration. The initial Roodeplaat Water Treatment Works (RWTW) project served as a pilot project through which BIGEN AFRICA, as part of the Temba Roodeplaat Consulting Consortium, added an extra dimension to the conventional role that consulting engineers play in the development of projects. Instead of focusing only on the technical feasibility of projects, the company incorporated expert skills in order to structure projects in house so that they become bankable. This ‘smarter’ approach of interlocking world-class, best practice
project finance, engineering and management consulting expertise enables less wealthy local authorities to meet their infrastructure development obligations. Job creation Construction of the plant upgrade commenced in September 2010 and adopted labour-intensive construction methods where feasible, for the benefit of the local community. Although the number of employment opportunities is set to decline as the project nears completion, 48 members of the local community were employed at the height of construction activities in terms of the Extended Public Works Programme. Twenty people have successfully
48 members of the local community were employed at the height of construction activities
completed accredited training in scaffold and formwork erection as well as bricklaying under the current project. The civil structures and associated building works are being constructed by Superway Construction, while a joint venture between PCI Africa, Electron and Dip Civils (PDE JV) is responsible for the supply and installation of all the mechanical and electrical equipment. The Temba Roodeplaat Consulting Consortium (TRCC), comprising BIGEN AFRICA Services and DJJ Conradie and Partners, are the engineers on the project for the City of Tshwane (CoT). Project details The RWTW was commissioned in 2005 as part of the larger Roodeplaat Bulk Water Supply Project to augment the water supply to the rapidly expanding northern areas of the CoT from feasible local sources in lieu of extending its existing supply scheme from Rand Water. The Roodeplaat Dam, situated approximately 20 km north-east of the Tshwane CBD, was identified as the preferred local source and a licence to abstract raw water from this dam was issued by the (then) Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to the CoT, approving the implementation of phase one of a 60 Mℓ/d bulk water supply scheme. Implementation was funded off-balance sheet by a number of commercial banks for the Temba Roodeplaat Water Serviced Trust, a special project vehicle (SPV) created especially for the project, with the CoT being the main stakeholder and sole benefactor. The cost of constructing the first phase of the scheme was approximately R250 million. LEFT AND OPPOSITE Construction works during the upgrade of Roodeplaat WWWTW
42 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
TSHWANE Roodeplaat Dam can be classified as highly eutrophied as a result of the influx of treated effluent from two large wastewater treatment facilities situated in the dam’s catchment, which is owned and operated by the CoT. While excessive algal growth, which is a direct consequence of eutrophication, is relatively easy to remove via flotation, for instance, the removal of associated algal toxins, complex dissolved manganese and iron, organic constituents responsible for taste and odourcausing compounds and chlorine-resistant pathogens is more difficult, and require a series of treatment steps, many of which are viewed as advanced processes. Although all the necessary processes were included during the 2005 process train to treat Roodeplaat water to potable standards, the CoT decided to implement the ozonation and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration processes proactively in anticipation of expected future deterioration in raw water quality. The TRCC was subsequently appointed to design the new processes and a pilot plant was installed at the RWTW and operated for a sufficiently long period to determine various site-specific design parameters, which were ultimately used for the detailed design and specification of the new processes. Ozonation Ozone is a strong oxidant and disinfectant, offering a variety of applications in water treatment. Unfortunately, ozone as a highly reactive gas cannot be stored in containers, so it needs to be generated at the point of use by passing high-voltage electrical current through an oxygen-rich environment. The electrical current splits the oxygen (O2) molecule into two O-atoms and a small portion (e.g. 6 to 12% by weight) of the O-atoms combine with O2 molecules to form O3, i.e. ozone. The amount of ozone generated is dependent on
various factors, one of which is the concentration of oxygen in the feed gas to the generator. Three types of feed gas are normally used for the large-scale generation of ozone, namely pure oxygen from commercially supplied liquid oxygen (LOX), pure oxygen produced on site from air through a process called pressure swing absorption (PSA) or normal air, which contains approximately 22% oxygen. For the system installed at Roodeplaat, ozone will be generated from LOX. The use of ozone in conjunction with GAC filtration offers a number of benefits. Apart from its strong disinfection power, ozone has the ability to alter the molecular structure of complex organic compounds, making these more amenable to biological degradation and removal. In addition to its adsorbent properties, GAC is also an excellent medium for the development and proliferation of bacteria that remove organic compounds, many of which are responsible for potentially unacceptable
tastes and odours in the final water. At Roodeplaat, ozone will mainly be used for the oxidation of dissolved organic constituents, improved GAC adsorption of organic compounds, disinfection of chlorine-resistant pathogens and, to a lesser extent, the removal of complex iron and manganese. The current project is being implemented through two contracts, one for the civil works and another for the supply and installation of mechanical and electrical equipment. The ozone generation equipment is the singlemost expensive component of the mechanical works and will be imported from Switzerland. The civil works is expected to be completed by December 2011, with the commissioning of the mechanical and electrical works scheduled for May 2012. Once completed, the RWTW will be one of the most advanced water treatment facilities in South Africa and certainly a flagship plant for the CoT and BIGEN AFRICA. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 43
Sustainable technology solutions for a greener future We specialise in the following: • CCTV pipe inspection and condition assessment from 6mm to 1500mm and above • Vactor combination cleaning • Internal pipe diameter laser measurements
• Non man entry void and cavity inspections • Comprehensive condition assessment under high Àow conditions using sonar • High pressure Jet cleaning • Mechanical cleaning
• Buried infrastructure, GIS mapping and GIS correction • Data collection for hydraulic modelling • Manhole condition assessment • Well, shaft and borehole inspections
Tel: (+27) 86 117 4448 | Fax: (+27) 12 661 4641 | www.sightlines.co.za | 57 Adriana Crescent, Gateway Industrial Park, Rooihuiskraal
ADVERTORIAL
African Water Leakage Summit 2011 Following the successful series of water demand management workshops and master classes held biannually by WRP since 1997, this year’s summit event was again a great success and for the first time had full International Water Association support and approval. The South African event was in fact the first regional Water Losses Summit officially sanctioned by the International Water Association (IWA). The event was again held over two days in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, attracting more than 200 delegates from nine countries between the two venues. This year’s events were by far the most successful events held to date and they highlight the growing importance of water loss control in the African environment as they attracted delegates from many parts of Southern Africa. In addition to the two summit events, a single one-day workshop was also held prior to the Johannesburg Summit and was attended by 90 delegates. No workshop was held in Cape Town, although it has been requested by many delegates that such a workshop be held there next year. The breakdown of delegates between the various sectors is provided in figure 1. This was only the second year that the events were organised in a summit format, as opposed to the many previous events, which were geared towards the normal ‘master class’ or workshop format. This year’s event was again a joint effort involving the private and public sectors, with WRP as the main organiser, supported by many organisations including the South er Affairs, the South African Department of Water ommission, the African Water Research Commission, thern AfDevelopment Bank of Southern asol, rica, the City of Tshwane, Sasol, nt the German Government (GiZ), British Government (DFID) and the Australian Government (AusAid). The success of the event was owing mainly to the supporting organisations, ge which helped to encourage d the participation from around veral other country as well as from several uding Zimbabwe, countries in Africa, including 44 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. The event took place over two days, with the Johannesburg event being held in the Vulindela Auditorium of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, while the Cape Town event was held at the famous five-star Bay Hotel in Camps Bay. The chairman of the IWA Water Losses Specialist Group, Tim Waldron, travelled from Australia to open both events and gave two keynote presentations. It was quite fitting that Waldron should have presented at the Bay Hotel since he was forced to pull out of the IWA Water Losses Conference held in Cape Town back in 2009, which he spent two years organising and which over 500 delegates from over 60 countries attended. The South African event is quite unique in the respect that it is organised jointly by both the public and private sectors and is not operated as a profit-making event. It is intended to retain the event as a non-profit-making event to ensure that the attendance fees remain low enough to encourage all municipalities throughout Southern Africa to attend. This year’s event was very fortunate to have great support from the City of
FIGURE 1: Distribution of delegates
Tshwane, which is the capital of South Africa and has recently become the largest city in Africa owing to the incorporation of several adjacent towns and small cities in their own right. More than 30 delegates attended from the City of Tshwane, which bodes well for their commitment to saving water in years to come. The various events were chaired by Dr Ronnie McKenzie, who is well used to such a role after helping as acting chairman of the 2009 Cape Town event when Waldron was forced to withdraw at the last minute. He helped to keep the proceedings on track and the speakers in check, which is never an easy job when there is so much to say and so little time in which to say it. In general, the event ran very smoothly and kept to schedule in most cases. The two summit events were opened by Tim Waldron, who is well known as one of the top water demand management (WDM) specialists in the world and chairman of the IWA Water Losses Specialist Group. In his opening address, Waldron highlighted the importance of reducing water losses fr from potable water supply systems world worldwide and the key role that is being played by the IWA in its effor efforts to drive down wastage. In his second presentat tation, he commenced by congratulating the S South African Water R Research Commission fo for being one of the first org organisations in the world to for formally take up and support the IWA Water Balance from a nation national perspective. He applauded the Water R Research Commission’s
ADVERTORIAL approach of developing a full range of BABE software for free distribution throughout the country in order to encourage water loss reduction in all municipalities. Professor Mike Muller is the commissioner to the National Planning Commission, which advises the South African Government on all water-related matters. He is also the specialist infrastructure advisor to the Development Bank of Southern Africa, in addition to being a visiting professor at Wits University. He is an acclaimed author of many books and publications, as well as a regular author of articles in various newspapers. Muller is a professional civil engineer and was director-general of Water Affairs for over eight years, in which he delivered projects providing water to more than 10 million South Africans who previously had no access to clean and safe drinking water following the abolition of apartheid in 1993. Although the initial thrust of Muller’s presentation was light-hearted and targeted mainly at the current sporting rivalry between South Africa and Australia, there was the more serious message of why a pragmatic approach to water loss reduction is one of the most serious issues facing South Africa. He touched on the importance of educating everyone working in all aspects of water services, since they must understand and appreciate how all of them, from the managers to the labourers, fit into the greater picture of reducing water losses. He then presented examples highlighting the water resource situation in various large municipalities where the need for both water demand management and new water resource developments is already evident. He indicated that South Africa has been very fortunate over the past 10 years with aboveaverage rainfall and corresponding run-off. He added that if South Africa had been exposed to the drought conditions experienced in Australia over the past decade, many of the large cities would have been in a very difficult position with regard to water supply. He indicated that several of the large cities are already very vulnerable
The Bay Hotel, venue of the first IWA Regional Summit of Water Losses
Tim Waldron inspecting one of the world’s largest pressure management installations near Johannesburg
to droughts and that actions are needed to address the situation. Other participants in the summit included: • Allestair Wensley from the Department of Water Affairs (Local Government Planning and Information) • Paul Herbst from the Department of Water Affairs (Directorate of Water Use Efficiency) • Niel van Wyk from the Department of Water Affairs (Directorate of Project Planning) • Simon Scrutton from eThekwini Municipality • Ian Banda, managing director of the Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company in Zambia • Zama Siqalaba from WRP (a member of the Miya Group) • Jay Bhagwan, director of Water Use and Wastewater Management at the South Africa Water Research Commission • Thembi Mkize, a water use specialist from Emfuleni Local Municipality • Andries Meyer, a water utilisation specialist from SASOL New Energy • Bob Kleynjan from SASOL • Moses Maboya from Emfuleni Local Municipality • Godfrey Mwinga from the Development Bank of Southern Africa • Louis Strydom, principal investment officer from the Development Bank of Southern Africa • Etienne Hugo, head of non-revenue water reductions programmes for the City of Johannesburg • Dr Alexander Sinske from the City of Tshwane
• Louw Smit • Stuart Hamilton, a leak detection specialist from the United Kingdom • Keith Bailey from Elster Kent Metering • Prof. van Zyl, author • Danie van Eeden from Sensus. It should be noted that owing to the success of this year’s event it has been agreed to hold an annual Water Loss Summit in both Gauteng and Cape Town on an annual basis. The content will change annually to reflect the key issues facing the implementation of WDM in the region, and each year different international speakers will be invited to speak on specific topics to ensure that Southern Africa is kept abreast of the latest technology and methodologies for tackling water losses in the municipal water supply systems. Next year’s event will be bigger and better. The current chairman of the IWA Water Losses Division, Tim Waldron, has indicated that, subject to availability, he would like to open next year’s event and provide the keynote speech. Please diarise 30-31 August and 4-5 September 2012. Anyone or any company wishing to participate in next year's event can contact Ronnie McKenzie at: Tel: +27 (0)12 346 3496 E-mail: ronniem@wrp.co.za
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 45
The Baviaanspoort upgrade
Located approximately 5 km upstream of the Roodeplaat Dam on the Pienaars River, the Baviaanspoort WWTW is currently being upgraded. New stringent effluent quality standards are proposed, especially with regard to orthophosphate concentrations.
T
he existing Baviaanspoort WWTW consists of four biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge modules. Module 2 has not been in operation for the past few years, mainly because of the poor condition of the mechanical and electrical equipment. During the Baviaanspoort WWTW upgrade project, all the module 2 mechanical and electrical equipment is either being refurbished or replaced. By making various modifications to the biological reactor and adding a new final clarifier, the hydraulic capacity of module 2 will be increased from 12 to 16 Mℓ/d. In addition, bottlenecks currently experienced in modules 3 and 4 will be removed to ensure that these can operate at their design capacity of 20 Mℓ/d each. The refurbishment of Module 2 includes: • construction of a new anaerobic zone next to the existing reactors • replacement of all aerators and mixers • construction of an additional final clarifier and return activated sludge (RAS) pump station • re-commissioning of the module 2 balancing tank • upgrading of the electrical supply and reticulation system. Additional work on the other modules includes: • a methane gas collection system
TSHWANE LEFT Stringent quality standards are proposed for the upgrade of the Baviaanspoort WWTW
• digester heating equipment • modifications to certain problematic structures. In April 2009, KV3 Engineers, together with DJJ Conradie as electrical sub-consultants, were appointed by the City of Tshwane (CoT) to conduct a feasibility study to investigate the options for further extensions to the WWTW on the existing site. In addition, a process study had to be conducted on the existing works, consisting of four biological nutrient removal activated sludge (BNRAS) modules with a total average dry weather flow capacity of 62 Mℓ/d. The existing plant was critically reviewed in terms of the influent wastewater characteristics, reactor performances and possible bottlenecks or shortcomings that could be improved; and a priority list of refurbishment and upgrading work to be implemented was drawn up. Module 2 reactor The existing reactor was constructed in 1977
and was one of the first BNR reactors in South Africa. The BNR process has been refined over the years and the intention is to retrofit the reactor to incorporate the latest technology. Based on the TKN/COD ratio of the influent, the best-suited process configuration was found to be the UCT configuration. However, as the influent raw sewage make-up is variable, a flexible design was proposed in order for the reactor to be operated in the following process modes: • the three-stage Phoredox configuration • the UCT configuration • the Johannesburg and modified Johannesburg configurations. The following criteria were important in the selection and design of the retrofitted module, as observed from analysing the existing reactors and simulating new process configurations: Feed to the reactor is to include fermented sludge for increasing the readily biodegradable fraction of the COD. Mixing of the fermenter feed and settled sewage can be done in the anaerobic zone or the pre-anoxic zone, depending on the process configuration. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 47
Meetsi Chem Internaatioonal (Ptyy) Ltd We are a Company trading in Chemicals applicable to the water sector and other related industries in Provinces such as Gauteng, North-West, and in some parts of the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces. We also operate in SADC countries like Lesotho and Botswana, where we are one of the key suppliers to the water industry in these countries. Metsi Chem serves the needs of the potable, waste water and other water treatment industries in Southern Africa, and we are an accredited distributor of the long established NCP Chlorchem. We are members of WISA. We have received accreditation on our BBEEE status by CENFED and are currently undergoing accreditation through EMEX. We supply a wide range of products, associated services and equipment and our product range includes products such as: Ferric chloride, Chlorine, Polyacrylamides, Lime, etc.
Our services include: • Evaluating and optimising treatment processes to ensure cost-effective operation of treatment plants
PO Box 8015, Edleen 1625, South Africa Tel: (011) 921 3418 Fax: (011) 921 3228 E-mail: mosesm@metsichem.co.za
• Providing training to Operators/Process Controllers in the water sector • Supply and installation of chlorination and ferric chloride dosing systems • Ensuring consistent compliance with SAFETY regulations
Among the key customers that we supply and have relationships with, we have Rand Water, City of Tshwane, Magalies Water, Sol Plaatje Municipality, De Beers, to mention but a few.
TSHWANE The sludge recycle stream (RAS) can be fed to the pre-anoxic zone, anaerobic zone or anoxic zone, depending on the chosen process configuration/mode. If the reactor is MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT The following mechanical equipment will be installed: • three 45 kW and six 55 kW slow-speed vertical shaft reactors • six 7.5 kW vertical shaft stirrers • five axial flow pumps (three a-recycle and two r-recycle) • one adjustable overflow weir • three new clarifier bridges • three RAS pumps • two WAS pumps • three balancing tank pumps • four new 6 mm mechanical screens • three new heat exchangers and pumps • one new boiler • one new or refurbished gas holder. The following electrical modifications will be made: • upgrading of the bulk supply to the site • upgrading of the medium voltage internal distribution system • installation of a new motor control centre (MCC for Module 2) • installation of variable speed drives (VSDs) on certain of the modules 3 and 4 aerators • emergency generator for the screening and degritting equipment of the three inlet works • additional high mast lights • upgrading of the telemetry and SCADA systems.
operated in the Johannesburg mode, the RAS will enter the small pre-anoxic zone prior to mixing with the settled sewage to denitrify the nitrate-rich recycle stream further. A large anaerobic zone is required for the sequestration of substrate for the poly-P organisms. The anoxic zone following the anaerobic zone will receive an internal recycle stream (a-recycle) from the end of the aerobic zone to denitrify the nitrates in the outlet. The r-recycle stream (UCT configuration) will recycle flow from the end of the anoxic zone to the anaerobic zone. Two axial flow pumps will be installed. Part of the anoxic reactor will be a swing zone, fitted with both a mixer and a variable speed aerator, either to serve as an anoxic zone for denitrification when the food source is not available, or to be operated as an aerobic zone when sufficient de-nitrification is attained and optimum oxidation is required. One new 27 m diameter final clarifier is required to accommodate the increased flow of 16 Mℓ/d. It is proposed that a suction lift-type clarifier, similar to the existing two tanks, be constructed. In addition, the existing modules 1 and 2 balancing
tank will be re-commissioned to improve the process performance. Digester heating system The three existing anaerobic digesters are currently being equipped with jet mixers driven by chopper pumps. As part of the proposed upgrading, the existing heating system will be refurbished. A new boiler and heat exchangers, complete with ancillary equipment, will be installed, while the existing gas holder will either be replaced or refurbished. The following minor modifications to the existing modules will be made: • management of storm flows at the modules 3 and 4 primary sedimentation tanks, including repair of damaged structures • system to prevent blockages in primary sludge lines • system to prevent blockages of VFA thickeners • system to prevent blockages of the nozzles of the DAF units modifications to chlorination building. • The total cost of the project is estimated at R60 million.
VVKE /ROADS01
48 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
Vela VKE is a truly South African, multi-disciplinary, consulting engineering company committed to transformation.
Vela VKE Board: left to right: Viwe Qegu, Arthur Taute, Mathews Phosa, Dave Gertzen, Tom Marshall, George Munyai, Job Mokgoro, Mothupi Malaka
As we continue to build on over sixty years of experience, our expertise and innovation remain globally recognised. Group Head Office +27 12 481 3800 Email: info@velavke.co.za Website: www.velavke.co.za
TSHWANE
Improved waste collection, increased benefits Tshwane Municipality has converted its fleet of standard rear-end loaders to new and improved side loaders. The vehicles are saving the municipality a significant amount of time on collections and landfill drops, not to mention the safety advantages it has for personnel.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 49
• The container transporter to the landfill site
• Waste collection from both sides • With containers • With bags • The collection unit when full demounts the body container in town and returns to the collection round • No time wasted going to the landfill
Tel: +27 (0)12 460 1973 • Fax: +27 (0)12 460 5654 • E-mail: ombsa@groupcom.co.za
TSHWANE
T
HE CITY OF Tshwane Agriculture and Environment Management department has increased its waste management fleet by acquiring new vehicles from Daimler Fleet Management (DFM). At a ceremonial handover at MercedesBenz South Africa’s (MBSA) head-office in Zwartkop, the City of Tshwane officially acknowledged acceptance of a massive fleet of 92 specialised Mercedes-Benz trucks for the city’s waste management service. The fleet includes Mercedes-Benz Actros, Axor and Atego vehicles in a variety of tailor-made waste applications – from skip loaders to side loader refuse compactors. These units are built to Tshwane’s requirements and the unique partnership with Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles allowed for some of the more specialised vehicles to be built at Wörth, Germany, shipped to Italy for the specialised fitment and then sent on to South Africa. The value of the three-year contract is in the order of R216 million.
Enhanced mechanisms The side loaders have the capacity to fill four 240ℓ containers (two on either side) as opposed to the standard two containers that rear-end loaders are equipped with. “With standard waste collection vehicles, it can take up to one hour to offload a tip at the landfill site,” explains Frans Dekker, functional head: Landfill Management Operations at the City of Tshwane. “But the side loaders make it easier for refuse to be offloaded and take a mere 15 minutes.” Wear and tear on the side loaders is also greatly reduced because the trucks can just offload the full ‘bins’ at the landfill entrance, hook on the empty ‘bins’ and continue onto the next collection – the vehicle does not need to rummage through tonnes of refuse while making its way onto a landfill site for offloading.
VEHICLES SELECTED FOR THIS CONTRACT 40 UNITS
21 UNITS
27 UNITS
4 UNITS
Mercedes-Benz Actros 3332P/45 6X4 LWB, each complete with a vehicle monitoring system, FM radio/CD player, fire extinguisher, immobiliser system, crew cab, amber rotating lights, container handling (chain hoist) system and OMB Varia twin side-loader refuse compactor. Mercedes-Benz Actros 3332P/45 6X4 LWB, each complete with a vehicle monitoring system, FM radio/CD player, fire extinguisher, immobiliser system, amber rotating lights and OMB Translift TL20/24 container handling (chain hoist) system. Mercedes-Benz Axor 3335K/36 6X4 LWB, each complete with a vehicle monitoring system, FM radio/CD player, fire extinguisher, immobiliser system, amber rotating lights and OMB HYVA SIP loader. Waste container handling (skip loader) system. Mercedes-Benz Atego 1528/36 4X2 LWB, each complete with a vehicle monitoring system, FM radio/CD player, fire extinguisher, immobiliser system, amber rotating lights and OMB bin washing car.
“Side loaders also make it easier for personnel to manoeuver down narrow alleyways and streets and, in the case of quiet suburbs, the ‘bins’ can be filled on both sides – cutting the pick-up time in half,” Dekker continues. “It is also safer for personnel to work on the sides rather than the rear as it makes it easier for the operator to spot them, particularly in busy streets.” Although, says Dekker, the vehicles are slightly more expensive than the standard rear-end loaders due to the advanced side mechanisms, the overall savings that the
its goal of being the cleanest city in the country. “We have, over the years, consistently won the Bontle ke Botho Award for a clean city. These trucks will ensure that we keep that track record. Also, over and above that, we will be able to fulfill our mandate to keep the city healthy.” During his budget speech a few weeks ago, the mayor promised that waste management would receive increased attention. He said that waste management was a critical function that needed to be fulfilled with care, lest
Side loaders make it easier for personnel to manoeuvre down narrow alleyways and streets municipality is making in terms of time, convenience and reduced vehicle wear and tear far outweighs the initial purchase price. Waste management Tshwane’s executive mayor, Kgosientso Ramakgopa, was delighted with the progress made in this sector of the council’s service to its residents and expressed satisfaction that the partnership with DFM and the Mercedes-Benz dealer will assist in providing greater operational efficiencies. Speaking at the handover function, Ramokgopa said that the new fleet will assist the city in achieving
there be disease outbreaks that could easily be prevented. “This is the second largest single fleet lease contract that DFM has won and we are delighted that the City of Tshwane put its trust in us by awarding DFM the entire contract,” said Aluwani Ramabulana, CEO at Daimler Fleet Management. We are delighted with this unique partnership between the City of Tshwane, the Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Division at MBSA, equipment specialist OMB-SA and the servicing dealer Sandown Motors’ Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Centurion.” IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 51
%8,/',1* $ *5((1 /(*$&<
T: 08612 waste (92783) F: 08613 waste (92783)
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TSHWANE
Zeekoegat WWTW well executed Excellent headway is being made on the R190 million phase 1 contract of the Zeekoegat WWTW upgrade, which was commissioned by the City of Tshwane in 2010.
T
HE SCOPE OF works includes the construction of a new 40Mℓ/d biological nutrient removal activated sludge (BNRAS) module to boost the existing capacity of the WWTW, and completion is scheduled for early 2013. In addition to this, modifications to the existing Zeekoegat WWTW consist of the supply and installation of a third 8 mm screen at the existing screenings chamber, the construction of three additional vortex degritters and a new division box to split the flow between the existing and the new module, as well as the construction of a new fine-screen structure. The contract includes three new conventional 25 m diameter primary settling tanks,
equipped with rotating bridges and scrapers. Primary sludge will be drawn off to a new primary sludge pump station that will transfer it to a sludge handling facility, which will be constructed in phase 2. A new 10 000 m³ balancing tank will allow a six-hour retention period and will be equipped with 16 vertical shaft stirrers to prevent the organic matter from settling. Two identical new biological reactors, each capable of handling 20 Mℓ/d, are being constructed and configured to incorporate several process configurations. Diffused aeration has been chosen as the method of aeration based on its energy-efficiency and the fact that the existing plant already operates on diffused
ABOVE The Murray & Roberts Construction Power JV is responsible for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation components of the work at the Zeekoegat WWTW IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 53
Water& Sanitation Africa Since its inception at the beginning of July, the new Water & Sanitation Africa weekly e-newsletter is proving to be very popular, with almost 4 000 subscribers already receiving their copy directly every week.
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TSHWANE air. The unaerated zones will be equipped with 40 vertical shaft stirrers, and 20 axial flow pumps will be installed for internal recycling purposes. Included in stage 1 are four new 35 m diameter secondary settling tanks, equipped with rotating bridges and scrapers. Return activated sludge (RAS) will be withdrawn and pumped to the biological reactors. A new chlorination contact tank has been sized to handle the eventual total flow of 85 Mℓ/d. The tank has been split into two separate units to allow for disinfection to take place when one unit is taken out of operation for cleaning and maintenance. An additional estimated electrical load of 4 MVA will be required for the extensions to the plant. The bulk power on site will be distributed to various 11 000/400 V substations and mini substations. Project team The Murray & Roberts (M&R) Construction Power JV is responsible for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation components of the work at the Zeekoegat WWTW. Detailed
design and supervision of the extensions was awarded to the BAKV3 joint venture, comprising BIGEN AFRICA and KV3 Engineers. Anton Botha, contracts director at Concor, a subsidiary of Murray & Roberts, says that this contract has taken a unique turn in that in addition to the civils work, the M&R Construction
We are proving that we can successfully coordinate the implementation of these disciplines Power JV has been given responsibility for project managing the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation components of the work, including dry and wet testing, commissioning and final handover of the plant to the client. Lektratek Water Technology is the mechanical partner and EDSE Projects is the electrical partner on this project. “This ‘single source’ approach is unique in the civil industry,” Botha continues. “We have established excellent relationships with the
ABOVE Some 15 000 m³ of concrete was used on this contract for modifications and new structures
mechanical and electrical contractors and we are proving that we can successfully coordinate the implementation of these disciplines in a project of this nature. Based on this track record, we are already tendering for other similar projects, offering the same ‘package deal’ approach.” The JV will supply 15 000 m³ of concrete, 47 000 m² of formwork and 1 600 t of reinforcement for stage 1 of the Zeekoegat WWTW upgrade and expansion. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 55
Wastewater Solution
We are proud to be associated with Zeekoegat WWTW as the mechanical contractor.
In-house design, supply, installation and commissioning of: Floating aerators • Platform aerators • Horizontal aerators • Fine bubble aerators • Clari¿ers • Thickeners • Belt press machines • Fine screens • Classi¿ers • Belt conveyors • Bio¿lters • Screw conveyors • Compactors • Grit removal systems • Archimedean screw pumps • Axial Àow pumps • Mixers • Chlorination systems • DAF tanks • Penstocks
Head Of¿ce: Telephone (018) 293 0487 • Fax (018) 293 0489 • Web: www.lwt.co.za • e-mail: general@lwt.co.za Other branches: Western Cape (Parow), Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth), Botswana (Gaborone)
TSHWANE
COMPLETING PHASE 2A AND COMMENCING PHASE 2B
The Moreletaspruit Outfall Sewer Project As a result of significant population growth and the expansion of business areas in the City of Tshwane over the years, existing infrastructure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including the outfall sewer networks in various parts of the city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is being subjected to increasing pressure. One of the areas that has been affected is the Moreletaspruit sewer drainage system.
T
O PROVIDE FOR the expansion and densification of urban development in the east of Pretoria, the Water and Sanitation Division of the City of Tshwane identified the need for the upgrading
56 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
of the existing outfall sewer system to provide more capacity in order to meet current needs and future expansion requirements. It was decided to construct a parallel outfall sewer line to augment the existing line,
rather than to construct a new line catering for the total required capacity. BELOW Concrete outfall with ranging diametres
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING Providing scientific and practical solutions for municipal, industrial and mining environments.
ABOVE The Willow substation perimeter fences were temporally moved and re-instated
The scope of phase 2A and 2B, being a continuation of phases 1A and 1B, entailed the construction of 9.2 km of concrete outfall sewer pipeline, with diameters ranging between 600 mm and 1 350 mm. The works include 11 pipe jacks, totalling almost 1 000 metres in length. The pipeline follows a route that passes through a variety of land use areas, varying from open veld and rock outcrops to urban and residential areas in close proximity to existing buildings and numerous forms of overhead and underground infrastructure. The geotechnical investigations revealed
that an extensive volume of hard rock will be encountered and that ground water seepage could be expected along most of the route. In terms of the following aspects, the contractors had to be informed that the works require difficult and challenging mitigation measures: • accommodation of spoil material • management of ground water and seepage into trenches • shoring of trenches • removal and reinstatement of fences and barricades on the pipeline route • special conditions of work near Transnet pipeline services
? Water resource management ? Municipal water management ? Groundwater and surface water resources and supply ? Water and sewage infrastructure development ? Water treatment ? Sewage treatment ? Industrial water and waste water treatment ? Solid waste management ? Disaster and risk management services ? Storm water and floodplain management ? Geotechnical investigations ? Soil and earth retaining structures ? Dams ? Bulk earthworks ? Roads ? Structures
BELOW Phase 2A entails the construction of 4.2 km of outfall sewer
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TSHWANE • potential flooding of works adjacent to the Moreletaspruit, particularly during rainy seasons.
ABOVE Deflected socket pipes are used on both phases to construct long radius curves along the route
Phase 2A nearing completion: The works to be undertaken under phase 2A entail the construction of 4.2 km of outfall sewer and appurtenant works, from Grace Avenue in the north to General Louis Botha Avenue in the south. Cerimele Construction (Pty) Ltd was appointed as the main contractor for the construction of phase 2A of the project, with Aurecon SA (Pty) Ltd appointed as the project engineers. Challenges encountered included: • Excavation of up to 10.5 m in depth into solid rock faces close to the river embankments. • Construction footprints less than 10 m wide. • Installation of the outfall sewer in close proximity to private property, perimeter fences and existing bulk services. • Rehabilitation of the construction footprint (adjacent to the spruit). This required careful planning and proper decision making. The rehabilitation works of phase 2A are 60% complete and will be finalised, inspected and audited during the following growth season. • Difficult construction circumstances during regular flooding situations, especially during periods of extreme rainfall. As a result of the catchment area becoming more and more built up through the years, the runoff to the spruit has increased. Examples of problems associated with narrow footprints: Willows substation The Willow substation’s perimeter fences had to be temporally relocated and re-instated afterwards to accommodate the construction of the outfall sewer. This required that the premises be isolated from the construction works under specialist supervision from the energy and electricity division. The outfall sewer was successfully constructed through the substation premises and rehabilitation of the premises is almost complete.
ABOVE Krings boxes permitted the execution of the works in a safe and risk-free manner
58 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
The Lynnwood area Due to the meandering of the spruit, the new outfall had to be installed in a very narrow footprint. To circumvent the problem in one particularly difficult area, project manager, Johann Wessels, and the Aurecon management team decided to deviate a section of
TSHWANE the existing outfall to make way for the installation of the new outfall. This involved the excavation of the pipe trench using Krings boxes, a specialist shoring system imported from France. In order to excavate to a depth of 5 metres, in a 10 metre footprint between
Challenges lying ahead: â&#x20AC;˘ Successfully completing six pipe jack operations on a gradient. â&#x20AC;˘ Constructing the outfall sewer through the Faerie Glen Nature Reserve under very strict environmental monitoring.
The extent of the works to be undertaken under phase 2B involves the construction of 5 km of outfall sewer an 800 mm bulk water main and the 825 mm existing outfall sewer and beneath overhead power lines, the Krings boxes allowed the execution of the works in a safe and risk-free manner. With phase 2A nearing completion, the final construction value of this phase is projected at R80 million. Commencement of phase 2B The extent of the works to be undertaken under phase 2B involves the construction of 5 km of outfall sewer and appurtenant works, from the Faerie Glen Nature reserve in the north to Hans Strijdom Drive in the south.
â&#x20AC;˘ Excavations of up to 5 metres in depth into solid rock faces, close to the river banks. â&#x20AC;˘ Construction footprints less than 10 metres wide over more than 10% of the route. â&#x20AC;˘ Installing the outfall in close proximity to private property, perimeter fences and existing bulk services by means of a specialist shoring systems. â&#x20AC;˘ The rehabilitation of the construction footprint on an ongoing basis will remain a challenge. V.F.Munisi Civils (Pty) Ltd was recently appointed as the main contractor to construct phase 2B of the Moreletaspruit Outfall
PROFESSIONAL TEAM Client City of Tshwane Main contractors Cerimele Construction Company (Pty) Ltd (phase 2A) V.F.Munisi Civils (Pty) Ltd (phase 2B) Project engineers Aurecon SA (Pty) Concrete pipe Southern Pipeline Contractors supplier
Sewer project. They are currently in the process of establishing the contractorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s camp, midway along the route of phase 2B. Deflected socket pipes are used on both phases to construct long radius curves along the route. These Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC) sacrificial layer concrete pipes were manufactured and delivered by Southern Pipeline Contractors. A Life Factor Model used to analyse the lifespan of sewer pipes (under prevailing conditions), showed that the pipes should be adequate for a 50-year lifespan (at least). The final construction value of phase 2B is projected at R45 million and is scheduled for completion in February 2014. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 59
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WATER AND WASTEWATER
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
Not all doom and gloom Think water crisis and imagine a torrent of acid mine water (AMW) flooding the streets of Johannesburg, dissolving the foundations of high-rise buildings and rendering our water resources unfit for use. How much of a possibility is this?
A
CCORDING TO Dr Chris Herold, a member of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering’s (SAICE) water engineering division, there is light at the end of the tunnel. He explains that, while AMW involves serious consequences that cannot be ignored, it is nothing new. The total decant (spillage), which will be driven by rainwater recharge, will be lower than the peak dewatering of the deepening Witwatersrand gold mines that was experienced in the 1950s. Uncontrolled decant would contaminate some near-surface aquifers, which could otherwise have been used for irrigation wells. The mine decant would emanate from the lowest-lying mine shafts near to the surface drainage system. “If, as now seems likely, emergency measures are put in place in the nick of time, pumps will be installed low enough to prevent contamination of aquifers and the decant will then be pumped out at an old shaft. It will also be treated to neutralise and oxidise the water to
60 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
remove metals. We will be left with the salinity, but this will not be much different from what we had when the mines were still operating, except that the overall discharge rate will be lower. It is therefore implausible that bridges and culverts that were designed to withstand much bigger floods will be swamped by the increased base flow, especially as the older structures were able to handle these flows in previous years and the newer structures tend to have bigger openings to accommodate increased urban runoff,” he points out. “Now for the interesting part - in the bad old days, much of the mine water discharge was not even treated! Hence discharge salt concentrations were significantly higher and, at the points of discharge, the water was acutely acidic and laden with unwholesome metals. Yet, within a few kilometres of the source, the acidity had neutralised and the metals precipitated out,” he continues. Another surprise to some is that, after Sallies Gold Mine and Ergo, the last men
standing in the area, stopped dewatering, the market gardeners along the Rietspruit moaned pitifully because they had been denied their source of irrigation water (at a tenth of the salinity of sea water!) How could they irrigate with that water? Well, the gold mine water is predominantly calcium-sulphate (gypsum) – the stuff that farmers apply to their lands to improve the drainage of their soils. Since the soil drainage is kept open, all they have to do is irrigate with enough water to ensure sufficient leaching to prevent a salt build up. “Another plus factor is that, at over 310 million m3 per year, the current diluting sewage effluent discharge is over six times more than in the late 1950s. Paved urban areas, hence urban runoff, have also grown about four-fold. Thus the dilution factor is now much better than at the peak of the mining operations. “The clincher is that we can expect a steady improvement in the salinity of the decant water. Records at Grootvlei Gold Mine show a steady decline in salt concentration from about 3 600 mg/ℓ in 1995 to 2 000 mg/ℓ today, a 44% improvement in just 15 years (and the trend is still downwards). This is because, once submerged, the pyrite-rich strata become starved of oxygen and the production of sulphate is drastically reduced. Oxygen can then only enter the workings via the rainfall ingress, which is a far cry from having two or three kilometres of operating workings open to the atmosphere. Much of the saline water is also trapped deep underground, where it belongs,” emphasises Herold. The question to be asked is whether we are facing treacherous uncharted waters in the Klip and Vaal River catchments? Herold answers, “Not unless you have a short memory. Been there – done that. In fact, the discharge will be less than in the past. The assimilative capacity is much larger due to the increased dilution that is available and the water will be treated to steadily improve the salinity. Even then we have the option to
WATER AND WASTEWATER â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the DWA and the mines do the right things at the right time, we can sleep more easily for the foreseeable future.â&#x20AC;? Dr Chris Herold, member of SAICEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water engineering division consider introducing desalination at a later stage, although this would be a very expensive exercise that would be hard to justify. Think of how silly we will look if we blow lots of money on the capital works only to see the economic return diminish steadily as the salinity of the feed water improves all by itself. So, while the salinity is still a force to be reckoned with and affects how we operate the Vaal River System, we are hardly facing anything new. So, Chicken Little need not dive for cover!â&#x20AC;? Herold explains that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is new is the recent decant into the upper reaches of the Bloubankspruit. In 2002, a substantial quantity of saline mine water started spilling into the Crocodile River catchment for the first time. Sloppy decision-making amounting to failed brinkmanship has allowed the uncontrolled and untreated decant of acid mine drainage to the north. Aside from the severe local effects of acidity and high concentrations of metals,
the approximately 32 000 tonne per year salt load is also considerable. Model studies showed that the salt concentrations at the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) monitoring station, A2H049, further downstream on the Bloubankspruit, could have been expected to increase from 400 mg/â&#x201E;&#x201C; to 1400 mg/â&#x201E;&#x201C;. Even with all the diluting sewage discharge to the Crocodile River, the salt concentration of the runoff into the Hartbeespoort Dam has been calculated to increase by about 100 mg/â&#x201E;&#x201C;. Surprisingly, there is no evidence yet of any impact at the monitoring station, A2H049. It is thought that most of the added salt load is entering groundwater storage in dolomitic aquifers, which is further complicated by groundwater irrigation abstractions. Presumably the salt load in the groundwater compartments may take a number of years before building up to a new equilibrium salt concentration and the full downstream effect materialises. This
threat casts further doubt on the viability of the intended regional water purification plant at the Hartbeespoort Dam. Fortunately, the long lag time provides a window of opportunity to find appropriate solutions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It should be of comfort to all who are concerned that everything is not doom and gloom. Nature is incredibly resilient and often mends ills in unexpected ways,â&#x20AC;? maintains Herold. IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 61
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WATER AND WASTEWATER
Teamwork reduces water loss At least 92% of the 26 000 leaks reported to eThekwini Water and Sanitation are repaired within 24 hours – just one key achievement over the past three years, according to operations manager, Bhavna Soni.
S
ONI SAYS THAT increased manpower, continual planned maintenance, the repairing of aged infrastructure and education programmes that urge users not to waste water and to report leaks and illegal connections have seen eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) reduce water losses by at least 10%. In 2008, water losses amounted to approximately 40% of water purchased from Umgeni Water, the bulk service provider, by eThekwini Municipality. Between December 2010 and April 2011, this remained steady at 30% and EWS is confident it will reach its long-term goal of 20%. Soni says the municipality brought more plumbers on board to provide planned maintenance in key regions. “Our staff complement is now 950. This year alone, we managed to convert all suitably qualified temporary staff to permanent.” She maintains that teamwork between the four departments within EWS – operations, non-revenue water, services and education departments – had a positive effect on water losses. Each team works on a different element of the process. Water leaks are located in a number of places, from the meter itself to a connection to a private leak on a resident’s property or even a main line leak. Often those responsible for meter readings or investigating illegal connections alerted those responsible for repairs or maintenance. In other instances, maintenance crews were able to avoid leaks before they even happened. Soni explains that five years ago there was no proactive planned maintenance. “We only attended to bursts when we were notified. However, there has been a shift to planned maintenance, with regular checks throughout the greater Durban area. We now have a programme in place to fix old or suspect pipes before they leak.”
ABOVE RIGHT Bhavna Soni, operations manager for eThekwini’s Water and Sanitation unit RIGHT Bhavna Soni is seen with her team at EWS; from left to right are: Tony Holbrook, Darryl Davids, Mervin Govender, Prashan Shukla, Ashan Nandlal and Dumisani Mtshali
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 63
WATER AND WASTEWATER
Driving Eskom’s R18 billion energy infrastructure project Designed to meet South Africa’s power demand in a way that will see maximum power generation efficiency, GIBB has led the design of Eskom’s Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme in the Little Drakensberg.
T
HE PROJECT IS in line with meeting the government’s sustainability commitments. The power supply crisis has accelerated the need to diversify Eskom’s energy mix and its move towards alternative energy sources, such as nuclear power, natural gas and alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy sources. In a national response to South Africa’s electricity shortages, the government and Eskom are working to bring the country’s electricity supply and distribution system back into balance. The plan includes work on the country’s electricity distribution structure and the fast-tracking of electricity projects by independent power producers. GIBB was brought on board for its expertise in designing and developing major infrastructure projects in South Africa and, increasingly, beyond borders, such as the recently signed R750 million Metolong Dam Project in Lesotho. Given the scale of Ingula, GIBB sourced additional partners to design elements that made up its overall design of the pumped storage scheme. Consisting of an upper and lower dam, a combined turbine pump system allows water to be released from the upper dam to the lower dam through the turbines to generate power. When the demand cycle falls, water is then pumped through the same system in reverse to the upper dam. Ingula’s total generation capacity will be 1 333 MW, making it the largest hydro-electric power source in South Africa. “We decided to go with this option in our design because the demand cycle can be better tracked with a minimal loss in power generation efficiency. Coal-fired power stations, on the other hand, cannot simply be switched off and on again to meet demand when the cycle peaks. With the pumped storage scheme, we have this flexibility,”
says Colin Logan, divisional manager: Dams, Hydropower and Underground Works at GIBB. “In a sense this creates a battery where we can store power when the demand cycle comes off. We have the skills and know-how on implementing this technology; it was a case of sourcing the correct supplier to meet our specifications,” says Logan. The $3 billion (R21 billion) project has seen the largest caverns in mud rock in the world dug out to make way for the machine hall, which will house four turbine pumps that will generate 333 MW each, and the transformer hall. South Africa currently produces 40 000 MW from its existing assets and needs to increase energy generation capacity to meet demand. “While demand for power is part and parcel of a larger economy that is developing, demand has been bolstered by a successful electrification programme. Areas throughout South Africa previously without access to electricity now have it,” explains Logan.
ABOVE A view of the Bramhoek Dam wall taken from a helicopter over the right bank
From a sustainability perspective, the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme includes technology that enables sustainability and environmental targets to be met, particularly where carbon emissions are concerned. It is a closed system, meaning that the water used in the dams is reused, requiring little additional water to supplement power generation. While there is a continuous inflow of fresh water from the Braamhoek Spruit and Wilge rivers, contingency is only made for evaporation, making this system a sustainable resource in a country where water supply is not abundant. “Once Ingula is commissioned for operation, the first three years will see the dams being filled. This closed system allows for only evaporated water to be replaced,” says Logan. The project, including pre-feasibility, commenced in 2004 and will be completed in 2015.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 65
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WATER AND WASTEWATER
Sebokeng WWTW control system upgrade The Sebokeng Water Care Works required the addition of another module and the upgrading of the existing SCADA facilities with the latest technology to treat sewage effluent efficiently.
P
RIOR TO THE current expansion, modules 3 and 4 of the Sebokeng Water Care Works (SWCW) had been running above their design limits, with modules 1 and 2 having been decommissioned, resulting in the inefficient treatment of sewage effluent. Sebokeng and Evaton are two previously disadvantaged, sprawling residential areas located in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Sedibeng District Municipality), which is serviced by Metsi-a-Lekoa, the water and sanitation business unit of the same municipality. These areas support a population of 420 000 and consist of approximately 65 000 freestanding housing units in the Vaal Triangle near Vereeniging. In 2000, Ram-Tec Systems successfully completed a major upgrade, known to SWCW as module 4. Years later, the company was asked to implement the addition to the control system for the new module 5, which is a 35 Mâ&#x201E;&#x201C;/d biological nutrient removal activated sludge unit. The contract for the supply, delivery, installation and configuration of the software for the programmable logic controller (PLC) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) control system was awarded to RamTec Systems by consulting engineers Lyon and Partners, while the Emfuleni Local Municipality was responsible for implementing the system.
System overview The module 5 extension included a new inlet works, primary sedimentation works, reactor basin, thickener pump station, screenings facility, clarifiers, chlorination system and a new power monitoring system. One of the key system requirements was that the treatment of effluent needed to continue uninterrupted even in the event of a catastrophic failure of the control system. Another requirement was to keep module 4 fully functional while the new system was being commissioned. A distributed control system was installed, consisting of eight HMI terminals on a Profibus network for local operational control of each separate process (see figure 2).
An MPI fibre-optic network was installed as the common network between all existing and new PLCs, as well as for the connection to the main SCADA system. Fibre-optic cables were chosen to protect against hostile environmental conditions such as lightning, while providing error-free communication over long distances. Self-diagnostics on the OLM fibre-optic converters at each PLC made the testing and setting up of the network simple and quick. All the PLCs are connected to two InTouch SCADA stations, which are located in a central control room. The SCADA system is running on an ArchestrA platform with a separate InSQL server, a separate reporting machine and a separate galaxy repository. ActiveFactory is used as the primary analysis tool and can
FIGURE 1: An aerator basin under construction IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 67
WATER AND WASTEWATER
be accessed remotely if required. The plant manager is running an InTouch view node from his office. The existing module 4 was incorporated into the system, providing an effective way of monitoring the entire plant, which is spread over a large geographical area. MCCs and electricity consumption monitoring In the motor control centres (MCCs), various combinations of Siemens Simocodes and variable speed drives (VSDs) were installed, which share the same Profibus network as the OP27. Additionally, a Siemens ET200S motor start system was installed in the field to control a custom-designed oxygen utilisation rate sampler for the aerator basin. The ET200S communicates with the chlorination PLC via Profibus communications. Some of the PLCs also have Profibus DP field instruments connected to them, namely Endress+Hauser flow meters, suspended solids meters, dissolved oxygen meters and level transmitters. The primary sedimentation
68 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
tank’s screens and the screenings facility also have Endress+Hauser level transmitters running on Profibus DP/PA. Each MCC also has either one or two (depending on whether there are separate essential and non-essential services) Socomecs on the Profibus network. The Socomec provides energy consumption information such as voltage, current, power, power factor, etc. This information is displayed on the SCADA systems and helps to determine the electricity costs. The main incoming substation has Socomecs on each of the feeders, which communicate to a dedicated S7-300 that shares the same network as the other PLCs. Overcoming the challenges The entire module 4 and module 5 control system was developed in the allocated project period in spite of some difficulties. “The distributed nature of the plant over a sizeable geographical area presented unique challenges, hence the use of fibre-optic cables for reliable communications,” says Paulo De
FIGURE 2: System topology Sousa Gomes, engineering director: Ram-Tec Systems. “And in these circumstances, it’s also often easier to revert to the traditional thinking of individual modules and lose sight of the fact that they are all part of the same facility and should be treated as such. To this degree, ArchestrA’s ‘galaxy’ and single namespace concept helped to pull it all together. Another approach that was of great help was the ability to use the technology available in the field instruments to assist with diagnostics and fault finding. Today, with the development of open networks and standard industrial protocols it is easier to totally integrate different supplier platforms.” Another challenge was the management of the large amount of information supplied by the intelligent devices on the network. “While information is always welcome, it can be overwhelming if it isn’t filtered and collated into a form that makes sense to the person that has to act on it,” adds De Sousa.
WATER AND WASTEWATER With its comprehensive real-time reporting facilities, plan-wide centralised control, easy access to operational information and defined standards, the SWCW control system is geared for fast and cost-effective expansion, as well as efficient operation. Transforming sewage into potable water • Inlet works: Raw sewage from Sebokeng and the neighbouring urban areas enters the plant at the inlet works. A set of inlet screens removes non-biodegradable and large solids from the raw sewage. The overflow is fed to the degritters, which remove sand and silt particles from the sewage before it is passed on to the primary sedimentation works. The PLC’s main function is to monitor the screen differential level flow and activate the cleaning cycle accordingly. The degritters are started on a timing cycle dependent on the inflow. • Primary sedimentation works: The flow from the inlet works is fed to the primary settling tank, where biodegradable solids are separated from the liquid waste. The
Project summary: Client: Sebokeng Water Care Works Project goal: Increase sewage effluent treatment capacity from 65 to 100 Mℓ/d. How to get there: Upgrade the existing SCADA facilities to the latest technology and add and automate a new treatment module, all while looking after existing assets, making provision for control over a large geographical area and making provision for cost-effective future growth. Selected solutions: Siemens S7-315 PLCs, Wonderware’s InTouch HMI/SCADA running on the ArchestrA platform, IndustrialSQL server (InSQL) real-time historian, SuiteVoyager web portal and ActiveFactory reporting and analysis tool. Derived benefits: Sebokeng Water Care
Works now has a truly expandable level 0 to 3 control system. The use of the engineering standards developed in this phase of the project will speed up the implementation of future plants. Other benefits include: • All the information required for analysis and mandatory reporting is available through the InSQL historian. • Users can access plant-wide data from their offices using a WAN or dial-in network. • The availability of the ActiveFactory trending function as well as power consumption figures within the SCADA application provides operators with important real-time decision-support information.
solids precipitate to form sludge, which is recycled until it is adequately dissolved for further downstream processing. • Reactor/aerator basin: The reactor/aerator basin is the major sewage processing plant and comprises a mixer and two aerator
sections. In the mixer stage, anaerobic microorganisms digest suspended waste material and turn it into inert by-products. In the aerator stages, the oxygen content is increased to allow aerobic digestion of waste matter. At the end of this stage, the IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 69
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WATER AND WASTEWATER FIGURE 3: ArchestrA screen showing the structured modelling of a portion of the Sebokeng Water Care Works and its components
water has effectively been cleaned of waste matter. The aerator motors are controlled by Simocodes according to the oxygen utilisation rate, which is monitored by the PLC. Controlling the dosing pump VSDs according
to the inflow rate also regulates ferric chloride dosing. • Clarifiers: Although the reactor output to the clarifiers is largely clean water, it does contain some particulate matter as well as
flocculants. The particulate matter sinks to the bottom of the clarifier to form what is referred to as waste activated sludge (WAS). Return pumps send the WAS back to the reactor/basin for further processing and the clean water flows through to the chlorination system. The PLC controls the return pump speed via VSDs in proportion to the inflow of the reactor. • The chlorination system: The final step of the process is to dose the water with chlorine to remove remaining bacteria and to expose it to sunlight in maturation ponds. The ultraviolet energy in sunlight causes the trace amounts of chlorine to decay and also helps to purify the water, which is then returned to the river system. Owing to the distance of the outlet from the main chlorine plant, a remote I/O drop on Profibus was installed to monitor the total outflow. The chlorine dosing set point and control is based on the total plant inflow.
70 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
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WATER AND WASTEWATER
Products for rare earth core dam When MBB was appointed to carry out the detailed design of Ludeke Dam, situated in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, their engineers contracted Sika to supply the concrete admixture for the first phase of the project.
L
UDEKE DAM, pump station and rising main form the raw water components of the Mbizana Bulk Water Supply Scheme initiated by Umgeni Water. Stretching 240 m in length and standing almost 40 m high, the dam will hold in excess of 14.5 million m3, providing a muchneeded supply of water to surrounding communities consisting of 266 000 people. The budgeted cost of the project is R218 million. The new dam is an earth core dam, of which there are few in South Africa – the dam wall comprising a clay-cored rockfill embankment with a concrete-lined side channel spillway. The pump station will supply water through a 13.9 km steel pipeline to an existing water treatment works. The estimated earthworks volume is approximately 600 000 m3. For the first phase of this project, Sika supplied SikaPlast- V210 as the concrete admixture used to construct firstly the base
of the intake towers of the dam, then the entire structure of the intake towers, as well as all the spillways. SikaPlast-V210 is a multipurpose water reducer and superplasticiser utilising Sika’s ‘ViscoCrete’ polycarboxylate polymer technology. Chosen for its qualities of versatility, good slump retention and optimised mix design, SikaPlast- V210 does not contain formaldehyde, calcium chloride or any other chlorides and will not initiate or promote the corrosion of steel present in the concrete. The first major challenge encountered by the contractor, Rumdel Cape, was the pouring of the concrete mixture for the base of the intake towers. Due to heavily congested steel reinforcement, as well as the difficult conditions on site, pumps and a crane had to be utilised to carefully pour 580 m3 of concrete, a job which took 27 hours to complete, far longer than any standard pour of concrete.
As the dam is situated in a catchment area, an unseasonably high winter rainfall has posed more challenges to Rumdel Cape, which has had to regularly waste valuable construction time undertaking damage control to remove accumulated rainwater. As completion of this project is scheduled for September 2012, Sika will be supplying many more litres of SikaPlast V210, as well as a number of their other high performance products, thereby assuring Umgeni Water of the highest quality upon completion.
BELOW The Ludeke Dam wall comprises a clay-cored rock fill embankment with a concrete-lined side channel spillway INSET Sika supplied the concrete admixture used to construct the base of the intake towers of the dam and the entire structure of the intake towers, as well as all the spillways
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 71
INSIGHT
THE N2 WILD COAST ROAD
Ideality versus reality, or greed Much controversy swirls around the planned N2 Wild Coast road. After an exhaustive study, the government has approved the project. Environmentalists on the other hand are furious. In real terms, who is right, and why? By Tony Stone
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OUTH AFRICA’S Wild Coast is a truly beautiful place - a natural wonderland of hills, valleys, fauna and flora, a literal ‘hole in a wall’ and waterfalls cascading into the sea. It is also home to the twelve clans of the Xhosa people. Each clan is distinguished by its own costumes and colours which, based on the generally favoured red and orange, are complimented by beads and specific articles of clothing. Light blue, however, is the most favoured colour of the Pondo and Mpondomise clans, who are most affected
by the unfolding drama of the proposed N2 Wild Coast road. Steeped in tradition, the Xhosa people have lived in the OR Tambo district municipality and surrounds since 600 AD, when they first settled in the area. European settlers arrived some 1 100 years later. Colonised, subjugated, disadvantaged and victim to an unfavourable history, theirs is an unfortunate story. To this day the OR Tambo district municipality remains South Africa’s most impoverished area and this reality, on the face of it, is the driving force behind the government’s desire to uplift the people of this area, build the
N2 Wild Coast road and open up economic opportunities for the Xhosa people. It is a noble cause indeed! At the same time, environmentalists wish to preserve this pristine area for future generations. Also a noble ideal! So what’s the catch? Isn’t there a possibility of a compromise being struck? Or, does it go a little deeper? The proposed 560 kilometre road, from the N2 Gonubie Interchange, near East London in the Eastern Cape, to the N2 BELOW Hole in the Wall Photo Credit: Google Earth
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 73
COLAS PAVING THE WAY FORWARD WITH BITUMEN-RUBBER
Bitumen-rubber is acknowledged as the top of the range product with unique properties. It has excellent durability owing to the high carbon black content improving resistance to ultra-violet hardening, can be used on heavily trafficked surfaces, can withstand extreme crack movements, has higher than normal application rates in seals without risk of bleeding, and improved fatigue resistance in asphalt applications. However, bitumenrubber has a limited storage life and has to be applied within 4 to 6 hours after blending. In response to the increasing demand for the product, Colas has decided to expand its bitumen-rubber operations. Their equipment has been specifically designed for bitumen-rubber, based on their extensive experience with this product over the last ten years. Colas is currently working on several bitumen-rubber contracts in the Northern and Eastern Cape, following the successful completion of several SANRAL contracts in recent months. Despite technical challenges arising from bitumen shortages and the need to source supplies from various refineries, Colas’ strong technical and operational back-up ensured that these contracts were all completed successfully and on time.
Branches South Africa Cape Town Johannesburg Port manager Elizabeth Anthony Petersen, Safety Manager andDurban Peet Smith, Cape Town branch proudly displaying the Sabita flag and certifiZambia cate at theNdola Colas Epping plant. Kenya Nairobi Namibia Okahandja Depots Bloemfontein East London Hectorspruit
www.colas.co.za
INSIGHT LEFT Mkambati Nature Reserve Photo Credit: Nikita
the process dragged on until another EIA was finalised in 2009. In all, 40 000 pages of text, tables, maps and photographs have been produced, in conjunction with endless
SANRAL went back to the drawing board and the process dragged on hours of public consultations, in an open and transparent process â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at a cost of many millions of rands.
Isipingo Interchange, south of Durban in KwaZulu Natal, was recently approved by Edna Molewa, the minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, after ten years of deliberations by the South African Government and public, and despite years of opposition from environmentalists, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), certain local communities and the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Government. Approval was actually given in 2004 but was overturned on the grounds that the contracted environmental EIA consultants were not independent. As a consequence, SANRAL went back to the drawing board and
The road tolls again The route, which will run along alreadyestablished roads, the N2 and the R61, for most of the way, will only run in part through virgin bush from Lusikisiki to the Mthamvuna River just before Port Edward, a distance of 80 kilometres. There is also a short bypass past Port St. Johns. The project was presented at the International Transport IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 75
ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
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INSIGHT LEFT Route map showing the proposed toll plazas
If privatised, the tolls won’t just be used to recover costs, but to generate profits Investor Conference, held in Cape Town in June this year, with one of the aims being the development of the Wild Coast’s tourism potential. The entire project is expected to cost between R8 and R10 billion. It is anticipated that, with the new route, the distance between East London and Durban will be shortened by 75 kilometres, assisted by the addition of nine new bridges. To recoup costs, six toll plazas have been proposed, the locations of which have been carefully selected to maximise revenue. As with other toll plazas in the countr y, this BELOW The Xolobeni coast
will increase road user costs, including vacationers and long-distance goods deliverers. Durban’s daily commuters will be affected, with obvious implications. Local community concerns are that, if privatised, the tolls won’t just be used to recover costs, but to generate profits, leading to inflated rates. Environmental concerns The organisation behind the opposition to the development of the N2 Wild Coast road is the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA). They are supported by
the Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC), an NGO representing local community interests. Two key issues are involved - building the road, which is crucial to the second, titanium mining - the hidden agenda. The Australian mining company Mineral Resources Commodities and its local associates, Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources (SA), and Xolco (not a registered company), were apparently granted mining rights by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) to mine titanium from the sand dunes in the Xolobeni section in the Kwanyana block situated along the Wild Coast between the Mnyameni and Kwanyana estuaries. In September 2008, Buyelwa Sonjica, minister of Minerals and Energy, admitted that the consultation process on the planned multi-billion rand titanium mining project at Xolobeni was “flawed”. Sonjica’s comment came after a heated meeting at Xolobeni, where AmaMpondo king Mpondomini Sigcau threw his weight behind the drive to stop the mining of pristine dunes in the area. What is interesting is the subsequent Commission for Traditional Leadership’s decision to remove the amaPondo king, Mpondombini Sigcau, from his throne. Buyelwa Sonjica is also no longer a minister, or in government. Is this a simple coincidence? Given the politics and vested interests, as well as the select few who will benefit, it’s very doubtful. If the mining project goes ahead, it will require the construction of access roads, the removal of residents, many of whose families have lived in the same villages for generations, the destruction of homesteads, mealie fields and vegetation, the construction of enormous open sandy pits, the establishment of a network of pipes to move water from waterways to the mine, the installation of electricity to run the heavy machinery required to mine the sand dunes, as well as all the other infrastructure required to support the operation. Because of its unique biodiversity and ecosystems, Pondoland is internationally recognised as the Pondoland Centre of Endemism (PCE). The impact of mining operations and the associated heavy duty transportation of materials will, without a doubt, irreparably damage and destroy large tracts of land with its unique ecosystems. Mining operations will
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 77
INSIGHT Titanium mining: It sucks! Titanium in the form of metal and dioxide is obtained through titanium mining from titanium ore such as rutile and ilmenite, leucoxene described as mineral sands, usually found in beaches and dunes along the coasts. To mine for these minerals, sands are dredged through a large suction pipe and the heavy minerals are separated out from the lighter sand particles. As the dredge moves slowly forward, the clean sand tailings are pumped back to fill the mined area again. During the suction dredging method which, like the St. Lucia operation, is planned to be used at Xolobeni, an electrically-powered suction dredge floats within a 15- to 20-acre man-made pond. At one end of the pond, the dredge draws in overburden, titanium ore and water and transfers the mixture to a floating wet mill. Vibrating screens block out roots and other large objects. Spiral centrifuges are then used to concentrate and separate the heavy mineral sands from the lighter clays and quartz sands.
Titanium mining near St Lucia in KwaZulu Natal
The now 80 % heavy mineral concentrate is then pumped to a stock pile area before being transported to a plant for further processing. The tailings of clay and quartz sand are discharged back into the pond behind the suction dredge. As the dredge moves forward, the area behind the dredge is re-contoured, covered with topsoil and re-vegetated to meet reclamation standards. Acknowledgement: Extrapolated from a report by www.titaniumexposed.com
ruin any chance of developing sustainable ecotourism in the area. In his article, Xolobeni – red card greed, which appeared in the Daily Despatch, Nomboniso Gasa said, “Mining Xolobeni must be stopped, not just on technical grounds. These companies must not be given licence to plunder and squander at will. It has to be stopped because its destruction far outweighs any possible gains. Evidence stares at us from Nigeria’s Niger delta and the mess that has unfolded over 40 years without benefits accruing to the communities. We need to look beyond the ghost towns of the delta to those in Australia, in the US and elsewhere. We ignore these lessons at our peril.” As the second largest producer in the world, South Africa has an abundance of titanium - elsewhere. This being the case, it would be a travesty if the mining of Xolobeni were to go ahead. A final decision is due by the end of 2012. In the meantime, as a reminder, the National Environment Management Act states that, “the State must respect, protect, IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 79
Serving our living environment
INSIGHT promote and fulfil the social, economic and environmental rights of everyone”.’ Back to the road To build the road or not to build the road is the question. Naturally, this entire issue has become quite emotional. But, we need to separate emotion from rational logic and make the right decision for the right reasons. It is a well-known fact, and the conclusion of many an empirical study, across the world, that poor people generally live in rural areas where the level of public infrastructure, especially roads, is low. Where road infrastructure is good, the costs of transportation decreases, access to markets increases, the consumption of consumer goods and opportunities for off-farm employment increases, as does access to other social infrastructurs such as education and health. Examples abound, the world over, and all around us in South Africa. It’s what makes a first world economy. At the end of the day, the most important question to ask is whether those who ‘have’, in this case the minority, can make decisions on behalf of the ‘have nots’, the majority, to continue in their ‘have not’ status?
Many Xhosa people still lead lives not much different from those of their ancestors who lived during the 16th and 17th centuries. Traditional forms of land use and government are still practised and, while this may be partially explained by their remoteness, shortage of facilities and exposure to modern technology and capital, dating back to the colonial era, through to apartheid and now in our fledgling democracy, the resilience of many craft, religious and other cultural practices, also suggests a determination on the part of the Xhosa people to retain elements of their heritage. This does not mean that modern ideas and innovations are rejected. Instead these are incorporated and employed alongside traditional methods. Anyone travelling in the area will find these ‘ruralites’ no different to urbanites. They wish to have nice houses, nice cars, a television and food of the table. Sadly, this district municipality only contributes 8.5% of the Eastern Cape’s GDP or 0.7% of South Africa’s GDP. Adjusted by purchasing power parity, GDP Per Capita in South Africa stands at R80 000 per annum. In the OR Tambo District Municipality it measures just under R5 000 per annum. But it doesn’t just end there.
In 2007 the census showed that there were 1 862 218 people living in 356 085 households. Some 93% reside in rural areas, with a consequent dispersed settlement pattern and low urbanisation rate. It was estimated that 95 000 people were employed by the formal and informal sectors, that’s 15% of the provincial total, and unemployment was measured at 204 650, which amounts to 68.1% of the total economically active population of 300 376. In terms of education, 97% have no schooling or an education level of less than a matric, 2.5% have a matric and 0.5% have a tertiary education. With all statistics taken into account, it is estimated that 72.2% of the population live in poverty, compared to 62.2% in the Eastern Cape and 42.9% in South Africa as a whole. This is a travesty. In conclusion Do we need to build the road, a road? Do we need to upgrade the area? Yes, we do! And, for the right reasons – for the impoverished people of the OR Tambo District Municipality, not for a greedy Australian mining company and a few self-serving South Africans who have little or no regard for South Africa’s heritage.
The new road to the Hole in the Wall
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 81
INDUSTRY NEWS
BCA completes training for Zimbabwe Power Company BCA Training, a Binnington Copeland and Associates-related company, has completed a training programme for Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) personnel, who are expected to be involved with the Chinese on the expansion of the Hwange Power Station.
Z ABOVE Chris Binnington, managing director of Binnington Copeland; Ndabezenle Mpoko, power station manager and Sam Makuvaza, engineer
PC IS CURRENTLY in advanced discussions with the Chinese over a 600 MW expansion at the coal fired Hwange Power Station, as well as the a 300 MW expansion of the hydro station at Kariba South, at a potential cost of US $1.58 billion. The training, which was undertaken to acquaint the power company staff with the international FIDIC forms of contract, was
conducted by Binnington Copeland managing director, Chris Binnington, an internationallyrecognised authority on FIDIC. According to Binnington, in the event of these projects receiving the green light from the Zimbabwe government, the projects would probably be designed, built and financed by the Chinese, but ZPC will insist on using the internationally-recognised form of contract and FIDIC is the favoured option.
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BCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Consultants and Trainers are well qualified built environment professionals with strong legal expertise and experience. The practice provides dedicated client services in tenders/contracts formulation, commercial advice, claims preparation or defence, and dispute resolution. BCA Training seminars (all validated for CPD points) include Contract Law and Administration; all the major forms of Contracts (FIDIC, NEC, GCC & JBCC); Project Planning, Scheduling & Control; and Delay Disruption & Extension of Time. The 2012 programme is published on our website, and includes the following new seminars: t JBCC Sub Contract Agreement t Construction Insurance
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Johannesburg Office: 011 888 6141 Cape Town Office:
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Basil Read among top employers in SA Leading construction company Basil Read has been certified as a Best Employer by the CRF Institute, an international research and media group assisting blue-chip and Fortune 500 clients from around the globe in being recognised as employers of choice.
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HIS YEAR, BASIL READ shares this accolade with 69 other top companies in South Africa that elected to undertake an HR management and policy audit to compare their policies and practices with other best employers across the following spheres: remuneration, secondary benefits and working conditions, career development, training and development, company culture and diversity. The audit, developed with Deloitte Netherlands and endorsed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands), UCT Graduate School of Business, Institute of Directors, Businesswomen’s Association of South
Africa, South African Institute of Management and the Institute of People Management, highlighted that over 100 of Basil Read’s policies and practices conform with, or exceed, international standards of excellence. In particular, the company’s reasons for excellence included emphasis on strong delivery, strong leadership, diverse career options locally and internationally and excellent training and development opportunities. Basil Read operates throughout Africa and other emerging markets and employs over 7 000 full-time staff across various disciplines, including civil engineering, road construction, building, mixed integrated housing
ABOVE Basil Read employees at a wastewater treatment works upgrade IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 83
www.basilread.co.za
building legacies |
CERTIFIED BY THE CRF INSTITUTE
Another legacy from Basil Read. Basil Read Head Office - Johannesburg
Basil Read has touched all our lives in one way or another. It may be the homes we live in, the roads we travel on, the clinic we’re treated in or the school our children are educated through. Whether it’s Roads, Civils, Mining, Construction or Development, Basil Read plays a leading role in all, creating a lasting legacy for the people of South Africa. T +27 11 418 6300 | E communications@basilread.co.za
BEE LEVEL 1 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Geosynthetics
Bulk Water Supply
Water Purification
Piping
CONTACT US TODAY M m www.tgast.co.za
United Nations
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info@gast.co.za
T +27 (12) 660 1616
Ò +27 (12) 660 2093
INDUSTRY NEWS
ABOVE Basil Read chief executive officer, Marius Heyns
developments, property development, opencast mining, engineering design, procurement and construction management. Led by CEO Marius Heyns, the group’s focus on value-for-money offerings that deliver uncompromising quality, even in the face of the tightest of deadlines, is the cornerstone of its business. Basil Read was the first company in South Africa to achieve accreditation for all operations throughout its divisions, and is fully compliant with the requirements of the International Standards Organisation and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. As a company that has seen rapid expansion despite the current economic climate, Basil Read is conscious of the need to develop a sustainable pool of skills for the group to ensure that the company continues to deliver world-class construction solutions. “We predict that higher staff turnover will become much more the norm going forward as the sectors we operate in recover and grow. The skills we need are scarce and an accolade such as the Best Employer certification highlights the effectiveness of the strategies we continuously develop to not only retain and attract staff, but to cement our position as a thought leader and innovator,” says Basil Read’s executive director of human resources, Erica Grace. “We have implemented Centres of Excellence that focus on remuneration and reward, talent management and development, performance management, transformation and employee relations. These Centres of Excellence allow us to better understand, manage and enhance our people’s capabilities and map out a career path for individuals,” says Grace. With a substantial annual investment of R20 million for training and development, Basil Read spends almost double the required leviable amount as defined by the Construction Sector Scorecard on training and development initiatives, ranging from executive and management development, to learnerships, adult basic education and training and mentorship programmes. A total of 70% of this amount is allocated to individuals from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, and a large portion of this is spent on bursaries for students studying civil engineering, quantity surveying, building and financial management. Basil Read currently supports 61 full-time bursary students. In addition to offering every employee the opportunity to develop their individual potential through accredited training institutions, the company has launched a number of in-house programmes and learnerships that combine theory and relevant practical experience on site, grouped under the framework of the Basil Read Training Academy.
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 85
INDUSTRY NEWS
Innovation helps secure a sustainable future By 2025, two billion more people worldwide will need housing, places to work and the infrastructure to ensure mobility. Meeting this demand in traditional ways is not a sustainable option.
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AFARGE FEELS that it has a responsibility to not only understand the impact of its products over their entire lifespan but to work closely with architects, engineers, contractors and builders to promote the best construction solutions for more sustainable development. Part of this process concerns the development of quality building materials that respect the environment and quality of life, preserve natural resources and foster the use of recycled materials. Building products can have an effect on the environmental and social performance of buildings. For example, over the course of a building’s lifetime, 90% of the CO2 emissions associated with the building stem from its use, whereas the manufacturing of materials used in the building generates only 10%. Innovation has always been central to Lafarge. As new challenges have emerged in relation to global warming and dwindling fossil fuels, this policy of permanent innovation is now being used to tackle the challenges of sustainable construction. Lafarge dedicates over 50% of the group’s research and development budget to sustainable development requirements. In South Africa, stringent environmental protection standards are becoming a feature of construction industry tenders. Progressive developers are setting targets for low energy usage, greener footprint buildings and every aspect of design, construction and materials is coming under scrutiny for its impact on the environment. The country’s major concrete supplier, Lafarge Readymix, is also a leader in bringing innovative products and building services to support its contractor clients in meeting these challenges. Each new product is designed to be effective in the building process, bringing added value for customers. The
company operates 52 fixed plants located throughout the country and mobile readymix batch plants. Backed by the group’s unparalleled global technical resources, the local Readymix Concrete Business Unit uses its strength at innovation as a way of addressing evolving customer needs and differentiating Lafarge in the marketplace. Examples of some of the innovative products Lafarge Readymix has introduced to the local market are: The revolutionary Agilia® The first truly self-compacting concrete in the world, Lafarge Agilia® guarantees efficient filling of formwork and vertical elements plus perfect smoothness for large slab areas. The benefits for construction productivity and the environment are: less site activity through larger and fewer pours, no requirement for vibration with the resultant reduction in noise pollution and the selfcompacting and natural high-quality finish eliminates the need to float slabs. The high-quality, decorative Artevia™ concretes Lafarge Artevia™ has opened up a new world of creative opportunity for architects and developers. It brings a range of colour, texture and pattern options to the homeowner for driveways, patios and paths, while the strength and durability of Artevia™ makes it ideal for enhancing the appearance of hightraffic public areas. Artevia™ Colour i Is a specially designed decorative concrete containing an integral UV stable colour pigment which is mixed homogeneously throughout the batch of concrete. This technique has the benefit of the non-fading colour being unaffected by chipping or scratching of the surface.
ABOVE The strength and durability of Artevia™ makes it ideal for enhancing the appearance of high-traffic public areas
Artevia™ Exposed Is a hard-wearing, decorative concrete made with aggregates that have been selected for their aesthetic quality. During the finishing process, they are exposed and brought into relief by washing out the surface layer of paste to leave the natural beauty of the aggregates highlighted. “We are proud that our activities have major benefits in helping to provide basic human requirements such as homes, transport, infrastructure, schools, hospitals and offices,” says Lafarge’s national marketing manager: Readymix Concrete, Neville Wearne. “We also recognise that making our products has a significant social, economic and environmental footprint. We believe we have a responsibility to set the pace in sustainable development and continually apply our technical resources to creating innovative construction solutions. One such new development that we have in the pipeline for 2012 is an exciting new hydro media product, offering municipalities a sustainable urban drainage solution.”
IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 87
ADVERTORIAL
3D mobile mapping for roads Without accurate geographical (survey) information, no construction project, whether it is buildings, plant, civil works or electricity, can proceed. All professionals need reliable data for planning, design, execution and as-built purposes. Historically, the surveyor supplied this data by: • ground survey with conventional equipment • aerial survey methods. During the past few years, the construction industry was introduced to: • Airborne LIDAR mapping • Terrestrial (ground-based) LIDAR mapping. The latest development is High-accuracy 3D mobile mapping.
Advantages of 3D mobile mapping • survey grade (1cm) accuracy under very challenging conditions • extremely fast – at speeds of 70 km per hour • safe – you get your surveyors out of danger areas such as busy roads, dangerous plants, dumps or any other hazardous site • efficient data collection – the client receives ‘all the data’ of a project and can choose which to use
• high-resolution photography to enable easy identification of objects and reduce site visits • data is available in 2 or 3D Cad format and exportable to AutoCad, Microstation, Smallworld, Modelmaker, Caddy or any other industry standard software • no return to collect ‘missed points’. Typical 3D mobile mapping solutions • Road rehabilitation and pavement design
Definition of LIDAR Light detection and ranging It is a three-dimensional laser scan and each pixel that is scanned is assigned an a, x, y or z value, which allows for accurate 3D mapping. What is 3D mobile mapping? A three-dimensional mobile scanning unit comprises laser sensors, navigation sensor (IMU) and high resolution cameras. The equipment can be mounted on any moving vehicle, including trolleys (railway lines) and boats. Data can be extracted automatically or manually and the software has unique object recognition abilities to identify objects such as road signs, markers and other road furniture.
3D mobile scan with Point Cloud 10 megapixel photograph
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ADVERTORIAL Extract from paper delivered at International LIDAR Forum, 2 to 9 January 2011 by Jason Amadori, chief executive officer, Earth Eye LLC United States: “Pavement resurfacing projects typically rely upon traditional survey methods to identify cross-sections which are used for pavement design. What happens to the road between cross-sections is anyone’s guess and these unknowns can cause cost over-runs, project delays and construction deficiencies. Mobile LIDAR can be used to mitigate these risks, increase collection efficiencies and provide a high-fidelity surface model that can support engineering-grade pavement design.” Due to the high density of points, all visible detail is surveyed, which includes curbs, road irregularities (potholes, large cracks, rutting, undulations), road signs, clearances, buildings, etc. • Route selection/upgrading of dirt roads Prior to design, the entire route is driven and a centreline and long section produced. All buildings in villages along the route are recorded and the engineer is supplied with enough data to go out to tender. With infill surveys, this data can be used for final design.
2 or 3D Cad Model
• Inner-city rehabilitation and pavement design All visible detail, including traffic signs, road markings, door entrances, overhangs and clearances. • As-built highway mapping Fast and efficient data collection without the dangerous and cumbersome traffic control measures.
• Pre-tender Scan for information only and take the risk out of design and build.
• Digital Terrain Model (DTM) A high accuracy DTM is acquired for detail design and accurate volume (cut, fill, ballast) calculations are possible.
• Models directly to construction equipment Modern construction equipment is equipped with high-accuracy GPS and other sensors. The existing and design data is uploaded and accurate earth moving and grading is possible.
• Dispute resolution and re-visit of site Due to the fact that all data was collected prior to and after a project, disputes about matters such as volumes and thickness of layers are minimised.
• Bridges and tunnels Bridges and tunnels are mapped indicating all features. • Design and build Take the risk out of design and build. If scanned prior to the tender process, all data can be made available to the tenderers for accurate costing. Conclusion High-accuracy 3D mobile mapping is the solution for fast and accurate data collection. The advantage is that all other departments, such as GIS, asset management and valuation, can use the same data set.
CONTACT: Altus Strydom altus@geoinfo.co.za www.geoinfo.co.za IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 89
SERVICES SURVEYS, MAPPING, GIS www.geoinfo.co.za Tel: +27 11 763 7173 E-mail: global@geoinfo.co.za
Project Management: Large survey, mapping and GIS contracts Asset Management Capturing and documenting of all services and fixed assets 3D Laser Imaging: High Definition Mobile Mapping Terrestrial scanning Surveys: GPS, Engineering, Mining Underground Services Detection: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Pipe Locator, Sonde Bathymetric: Rivers, Dams, Shallow coastal GIS Data capture, Implementation
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
New executive director at Esorfranki
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NDY BROOKSTEIN has been appointed an executive director of the Esorfranki board. Brookstein, from Esorfranki Civils, brings with him almost 40 years’ experience in the construction industry. Brookstein joined the Esorfranki Group in 2008 when Esorfranki acquired Patula Construction. He worked for WBH for over 17 years, gaining
Andy Brookstein has been appointed an executive director of the Esorfranki Limited board
invaluable civils and mining contracting experience. He also sat on the WBH main board of directors at his time of leaving in 1996. He formed Patula Construction with Richard Maynard in 1997 and was managing director until handing over to Maynard in 2009.
Trenchless Asia 2012
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HE ORGANISERS of Trenchless Asia 2012 have announced new dates and a new venue for the sixth international exhibition and conference to be held in Singapore during 2012. Trenchless Asia 2012 will be held between 2 and 4 July at the Marina Bay Sands, Sands Expo and Convention Centre, and will be colocated with Singapore International Water Week (SIWW). Trenchless Asia has a reputation for attracting top-quality audiences to this highlyfocused exhibition and conference. By colocating with SIWW – an international water industry forum attracting an audience of some 13 000 from 99 countries – the industry will have a first-class opportunity to extend its promotion to an audience of influence global water leaders on the benefits of using ecological methods for the repair and installation of underground utilities with minimum surface disruption. Visit www.trenchlessasia.com for more information
Membrane technology conference
C
LAIRE LIPSETT, a water consultant from Talbot & Talbot, presented at the bi-annual WISA Membrane Technology conference held in Durban from the 11 to 13 September. The presentation reviewed the performance of a brewery effluent treatment plant that was retrofitted with membrane technologies in 2009. This allowed the final effluent quality to comply with SANS 241 drinking water quality standards and be reutilised in the brewing process. Following Claire’s presentation at the conference, Talbot & Talbot hosted a two-day workshop with international representatives from Koch Membranes and Dow Membrane Technologies.
Claire Lipsett
Knight Piésold celebrates 90 years of business
K
NIGHT PIÉSOLD recently held a function to celebrate its 90th birthday in Johannesburg. Photographed at the event are:
RIGHT Meggyn Visser from Aon, Lyn Ray and Rob Williamson from Knight Piésold and Wallace Mayne from CESA FAR RIGHT Paul Taylor from Gibb and Trueman Goba from Goba ‘chew the fat’ at the breakfast function
ABOVE Rodney Grose from Knight Piésold with Piet Meyer from Aquatan
90 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
ABOVE Dalubuhle Ncube from Village Main Reef, Hanyane Msimeki from Knight Piésold (Polokwane) and Moseli Motselebane from Anglo Platinum
ABOVE Justice Malala (political analyst and guest speaker) with Leon Furstenburg from Knight Piésold
EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
Concrete’s role in human settlements The Cement & Concrete Institute (C&CI) and Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) recently co-hosted a concrete workshop at the 2011 Southern African Housing Foundation (SAHF) Conference in Cape Town.
T
HE WORKSHOP, entitled ‘Concrete delivering sustainable human settlements’, featured several distinguished guest speakers and coincided with the launch of the C&CI publication, Sustainable concrete for human settlements, which was distributed to all delegates. The workshop considered the holistic picture of sustainable human settlements delivery by discussing alternative development strategies in South Africa, as well as global concrete trends in social housing suitable for South Africa. The second half of the workshop focused on practical, detailed
analyses of the technical, financial, social and environmental benefits of delivering quality construction in housing, highlighting the fundamental role that concrete plays in this regard. Dr Amira Osman, senior researcher in Sustainable Human Settlements at the CSIR, star ted the session by proposing an alternative vision for providing ‘a mechanism for delivering inclusionary and sustainable human settlements’ in South Africa in a manner that could transform RIGHT Modular concrete masonry is ideal for the construction of housing units IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 - 91
Specialist Waste Management Consultants Sustainable and appropriate engineering solutions with integrity and professionalism. Stanford Drop-off
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/ Fax +27 21 981 0868 / E-mail info@jpce.co.za / www.jpce.co.za
EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
The workshop considered the holistic picture of sustainable human settlements urban environments into ‘human(e) settlements, where everyone has equal access to services’. Adéle de Lange, human settlements technical marketing consultant at the C&CI and CMA, expanded on the conference theme, ‘Social Housing – The Way Forward’, by highlighting the advantages of social housing within the South African context. She discussed international case studies employing concrete innovatively and explored the replication of these case studies in South Africa. André de Villiers, retired professor of architecture and building science and technology consultant at the CSIR, presented a comparative analysis between innovative technology and conventional building technology in low-income housing. The benefits of modular construction and the use of
hollow-core concrete blocks versus solid concrete blocks, as well as alternative concrete floor systems, were highlighted in this discussion. Finally, the analysis provided a very informative perspective on the shortand long-term cost implications associated with improved thermal efficiency, energy and water usage of a dwelling. Hamish Laing, managing director of the CMA, focused on the finer details of concrete construction by explaining the importance of modular design in the affordable housing market and by highlighting the benefits of ‘getting it right the first time’. He also discussed and demonstrated, through examples, common problems encountered on site when modular block construction was not incorporated into the planning phase of a building.
ABOVE Adéle de Lange, human settlements technical marketing consultant at the C&CI and CMA, led the ‘Social Housing – The Way Forward’ session at the C&CI/ CMA-hosted concrete workshop at the 2011 Southern African Housing Foundation (SAHF) Conference in Cape Town
92 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
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Eaton unveils South Africa business plan Diversified power management company, Eaton Corporation, introduced its business plan for the Sub-Saharan region at a recently-held function in Johannesburg.
T
HE EVENT WAS organised to mark the successful integration of three recently-acquired local businesses: CHI Control, Meissner Interruptible Power and Norsa Electronics. According to the announcement of the acquisition on 1 July 2011, the three businesses recorded combined annual sales of $65 million (R440 million) and employ around 500 employees in South Africa. With the integration complete, Eaton now has a solid platform for serving the requirements of customers in the fast-growing South African and Sub-Saharan markets. In total, Eaton now controls five production facilities, eight distribution centers and five sales offices across the region. Eaton brings leading power distribution technology and a global network to South Africa, with a strong focus on regional development. Eaton will help customers manage power in
a way that consumes fewer resources and protects the environment by conserving energy, reducing emissions and managing resources more efficiently. Furthermore, Eaton is well positioned to assist government and the private sector to build and upgrade critical electrical infrastructure. “CHI Control and Meissner have been major distributors of Eaton products into the South African and African markets for over 50 years. The acquisition of these businesses fits well from a knowledge, people and infrastructure perspective. Becoming part of Eaton will help boost our business with access to products and technology partners, innovation, research and development, as well as opening up a number of new business opportunities such as renewable resource projects,” says Craig Brown, managing director of Eaton Electrical Sector for Sub–Sahara Africa.
ABOVE Frank Campbell, president of Eaton’s Electrical Sector EMEA, guest speaker Bruce Whitfield and Craig Brown, managing director Eaton Electrical Sector for Sub– Sahara Africa
94 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
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Energy generation milestone The Mutriku wave power plant has been inaugurated. It is the first such commercial operation in the world.
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oith Hydro supplied the equipment for Mutriku’s 16 power units that will provide an output of 300 kilowatts in total – electricity sufficient for around 250 homes. “The rising global demand for green energy has proved to be a strong catalyst for the
implementations of innovative forms of renewable energy. “The Mutriku project indicates our wave power technology is commercially viable and ready for wide deployment on the global markets,” says Roland Muench, chief executive officer of Voith Hydro Holding. “To further this development, adequate feed-in-tariffs for
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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Afrisam Aquadam Manufacturing ASH Resources Aurecon Barloworld Equipment Basil Read BCA Training Bell Equipment Betram Bigen Africa BKS BMK Engineering Consultants Bosch Management Services Bosun Brick Colas CSM Consulting Services Degremont Durban Instruments Specialists Eduloan ERWAT Esorfranki Pipelines
96 - IMIESA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
64 61 4 59 54 83 82 94 72 52 76 IBC 78 15 74 OFC 13 10 26 22 80
Fibertex Global Geomatics Golder Associates Hydrodifusion Incledon ITT Water & Waste Water Jan Palm Consulting Engineers Jetvac SA Krohne SA Lafarge Industries Le Blanc Jasco Lektraktek Water Technology Metsi Chem International Model Maker Systems Much Asphalt Multiwaste Murray & Roberts Construction National Asphalt NCP Chlorchem OMB Waste Logistics Osborn Engineered Products SA
32 89 18 20 93 62 91 92 85 86 40 55 47 37 29 49 31 35 69 50 23
PH Bagale Robor Saint-Gobain Pipelines SANRAL SBS Water Systems Sembcorp SRK Consulting SSI Thusanang Gas Transtech Manufacturing Trenchless Technologies UWP Vela VKE Waste Group,The Wasteman Sight Lines Water & Sanitation Water Skills WRP Consulting Engineers Zest WEG Group
41 24 66 38 67 14 57 79 84 2 IFC 75 48 51 43 OBC 46 45 70
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