HOT SEAT
A better world with BVi Investing in infrastructure presents exciting new possibilities. IMIESA speaks to David Leukes, managing director, BVi Consulting Engineers, about what it takes to spearhead change within South Africa’s current and future built environment. What does transformation mean for BVi? DL At BVi, we believe transformation must be actioned through structured programmes. In this way, it remains dynamic, driven with intent and part of our vision, ensuring that everyone has ownership. Our Level 1 BBBEE status bears witness to this. Transformation is about empowering our staff, especially our young graduates, and our black, woman and young professionals to reach their full potential. As part of our Education and Training Programme, we provide bursary opportunities for aspiring built environment students to achieve their dreams. Through the years, we’ve also noticed that it’s becoming challenging for young graduates to gain access to career opportunities in our industry. This motivated us to establish our BVi Academy for engineering graduates to participate in a structured, well-mentored internship programme. We also established a BBBEE Employee Trust for our young black professionals to enable them to develop into future leaders in our company and industry. As a business, BVi is 54% black owned, David Leukes, managing director, BVi Consulting Engineers
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IMIESA September 2020
with more than 50% of its shareholding owned by professional engineers and technologists. All BVi shares are owned by South African citizens. With a minimum of 50% black representation at management level, we are also one of the few larger firms that are black managed. By applying a strict equity policy to recruitment, 70% of all new recruits in the last year were black. In time, this will further improve BVi’s equity ratios to reflect a fair representation on all levels. We also procure from BBBEE companies and have assisted a number of smaller firms to learn the essential skills needed to operate in the consulting engineering environment. Furthermore, every BVi branch is involved in social corporate responsibility projects. In 2017, in celebration of our 50th anniversary, we launched the successful BVi Visionaries project. Seven winners nationally became ‘BVi Visionaries’ – each of them qualifying for a bursary and educational support for the duration of their studies. These visionaries are now in their second year of study. At BVi, we are passionate about education and committed to the growth and personal development of our entire workforce, with 15% of our shareholding sold to the BVi BBBEE Employee Trust. These and other initiatives all ensure that our transformation goals become achievable actions owned by all BVi Group employees. How have traditional consulting services evolved in the past decade?
I’ve been in the consulting engineering industry for the last 26 years. Over time, services have diversified, with many companies becoming multidisciplinary in response to client demand. Innovation and technology have also played a huge role in the way we design and share ideas with clients. I have seen our industry going from producing contour surveys, designs and drawings on draughting tables to developing and implementing computeraided design programs. Clients are now able to view 3D models ahead of construction and visualise the impact it will have. Construction materials and their application have also greatly improved thanks to ongoing research and development initiatives, providing further value for clients. In recent years, our industry has been affected by key factors like economic downgrades, recessions and high interest rates. I’m sure we will face yet more challenges in the future. The upside is that this has motivated us to adapt. At BVi, we’ve learnt to embrace change and focus on providing improved solutions. This has assisted in shaping our industry for the better. What’s different about BVi’s management approach? BVi’s unique structure ensures that senior management members actively participate daily in our projects, which means they are easily accessible to clients, staff and communities. Personal attention on a project level ensures superior quality and service. Furthermore, our decision-making authority is strongly decentralised, enabling managers to make operational decisions and execute projects without red tape. We believe this structure is the key to our success
