SAICE Civil Engineering

January/ February 2014 Vol 22 No 1
Sivili Enjiniereng
JJanuary/ February 2014 Vol 22 No 1
Stanford Mkhacane:
SAICE 2014 President
Results of CESA
Young Professionals Survey
Bridging the Khan River
in Namibia
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F R O M T H E C E O S D E S K
Civil Engineering January/February 2014 1
Earlier in January 2014, Stanford
Mkhacane, SAICEs President for 2014,
and I, represented SAICE in Parliament
in Cape Town. SAICE was invited by
the Portfolio Committee for Economic
Development, to comment on the
Infrastructure Development Bill that
Bill that seeks, under the watchful
eye of the Presidential Infrastructure
Coordinating Commission, to ensure
that all components of our economy
enjoy maximum benet from the tril-
lions of Rands aimed at the Strategic
Infrastructure Projects (SIPs).
SAICE expressed support for the
Bill and provided comment for specific
enhancements in the document. From
information drawn out of SAICEs data-
base, we showed the changing dynamic
in the engineering and construction in-
dustry in terms of age and demographic
profiles, and stressed the importance
for training and development for young
engineers to be included as imperatives
in the SIPs. We also encouraged plan-
ning, the need for operation and main-
tenance and the desperate need for im-
proved technical capacity in the public
sector. We were clear that SAICE was
willing to assist, given that in a random
survey of about 200 SAICE members,
44% of those surveyed were willing to
join the public sector.
The reception was excellent. Our
contributions were well received and
are being taken into account in the fi-
nalising of the Bill.
But closer to home, there are two
points I wish to make on this matter:
Weeks earlier, just before the fes-
tive holidays began, we installed the
draft Bill on our website and invited
our members to make comment. We
received sufficient comment to compile
a six-page report to Parliament. Of the
11 000 membership, eight members
commented.
At the risk of singing the same tune
I invite you as a SAICE member to
play an active role in SAICE in whatever
capacity suits you; thereby enjoying
the maximum benefit of your SAICE. I
encourage you to learn more about this
incredible Institution that has served its
members and inspired socio-economic
development through civil engineering
for the last 110 years learn about our
structures, networking events, pro-
grammes and activities, and how they
impact you.
The second point is: This is SAICE
working for you.
We do remarkable work at SAICE
National Office in Midrand, and via
our units where our members are vol-
untarily involved. But you make this
possible. You empower us to extend the
gospel of civil engineering to the fur-
thest parts of our inf luence. SAICE re-
spects the fact that most of its members
are extremely busy, probably too busy
to engage directly, but you contribute
via your membership fees. Thank you
for being faithful and diligent with
your membership fees. The honour
conferred to the soldiers is surely also
bestowed on the sender.
As early as 3 January 2014, I was
asked the question, What does SAICE
do for me and why should I become a
member of SAICE? This question is
like a broken record.
During my December break, I
bumped into an eccentric manager of a
famous Johannesburg golf course; given
that I am allergic to all things golf, I
seized the opportunity to learn a little.
First things first cost. At this larney
club, membership fees extend to more
than R10 000 per annum, excluding
levies and fees to the tune of about
R1 000, also per annum. Even after
coughing and spluttering up almost
R11 000, one has to choke out further
fees per game. This varies from R150 to
R300 per game.
The epiphany of my holiday: So
what happens if I pay my club fees and
dont pitch up to play golf? I enquired
of the bourgeois freak show.
Why would you do that the
course is always here, Mr Pillay. We ll
be waiting for you. And of course, you
certainly may not take umbrage if YOU
dont take full enjoyment of the mag-
nificent grounds that have been mani-
cured especially for your pleasure.
Men of honour
F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M A G A Z I N E P U B L I S H I N G A N D J O U R N A L I S M
A A
P CA
R D S W
W I N E R 2 0 0 7 N W I N N E R 2 0 0 8
F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M A G A ZI N E
P U B L I S H I N G A N D J O U R N A L I S M
W I N N E R 2 0 0 9
F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M A G A ZI N E
P U B L I S H I N G A N D E D I T O R I A L
Winner of the 2009 Pica Award
in the Construction, Engineering and Related
Industries category for the third year running
ON THE COVER
Stanford Mkhacane
Page 9
January/ February 2014 Vol 22 No 1
Sivili Enjiniereng
JJanuary/ February 2014 Vol 22 No 1
Stanford Mkhacane:
Results of CESA
Young Professionals Survey
BridgingtheKhanRiver
inNamibia
WINNER
FROM THE CEOS DESK
Men of honour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CIVILUTION
Putting words to hopes tune. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PROFILE OF SAICE 2014 PRESIDENT
Remembering the disadvantaged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The SAICE 2014 Presidential Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Paving the way for dolomitic compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Building Virtual Skyscrapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The BricsCAD Brigade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
INFRASTRUCTURE
Can we deliver infrastructure sustainably? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract: Activity Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Africas rst aerotropolis in Ekurhuleni will it foster economic growth?. . . . . . . . . .32
A brief history of transport infrastructure in South Africa:
Chapter 1: Setting the scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
MORE ENGINEERING
Nest building the engineering way? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Ambient vibration monitoring of the Roode Elsberg Dam initial results. . . . . . . . . . 43
P49
South African
Institution of
Civil Engineering
Using hexagonal steel wire mesh gabions in mass gravity retaining walls
Si vi li Enj i ni ereng = Sepedi
PUBLISHED BY SAICE
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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Tel 011 805 5947/8
EDITOR
Verelene de Koker
verelene@saice.org.za
Tel 011 805 5947/8, Cell 083 378 3996
EDITORIAL PANEL
Marco van Dijk (chairman), Irvin Luker (vice-chairman),
Stanford Mkhacane (pres ident), Manglin Pillay (CEO),
Steven Kaplan (COO), Dawie Botha, Johan de Koker,
Andile Gqaji, Gerhard Heymann, Jeffrey Mahachi,
Jones Molois ane, Beate Scharfetter, Phuti Seopa, Marie
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accepts no responsibility for any statements made or
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nobody connected with the publication of the magazine,
in particular the proprietors, the publishers and the
editors, will be liable for any loss or damage sustained
by any reader as a result of his or her action upon any
statement or opinion published in this magazine.
I S S N 1 0 2 1 -2 0 0 0
Januar y/ Februar y 2014 Vol 22 No 1
Sivili Enjiniereng
The use of hexagonal steel wire mesh gabions
in mass gravity retaining walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
INTERNATIONAL
Bridging the way to the second largest uranium mine in the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
LEGAL
Global claims quo vadis?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Record levels in global claims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
COMPANY PROFILE
Geopile Africa (Pty) Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
SAICE AND PROFESSIONAL NEWS
The Candidate Academy grows from strength to strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Engineering and Built Environment Mentors Needed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Call for Volunteers to serve on ECSA committees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Young Members Pages:
Old issues die hard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
(Results of the CESA YPF Western Cape Young Professionals Survey 2012/13)
Did you know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
SAICE Training Calendar 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Notice to SAICE Corporate Members:
Amendments to the SAICE Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
CARTOONS
Civillain by J onah Ptak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mpumis cartoon of the month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson
Hope is why most of us have not run
off to Australia or the States. But hope
is despairing because what is wrong is
not being fixed fast enough. We need
action Civilution which is exactly
what the upcoming Civilution Congress
is all about.
Te concept of Civilution is so easy to
grasp, yet so di cult to dene.
In a roundabout way a severe thun-
derstorm towards the end of last year,
coupled with Nelson Mandelas passing,
put Civilution into perspective for me.
On Tursday 28 November the most
severe hail storm that we have ever expe-
rienced in 37 years of living in our home
left our garden in shreds, also stripping
away the leaves of the creeper on our
boundary wall, exposing the tiny nest of
a pair of Cape Robins. Te nest held three
eggs, and we were concerned that the
parents might abandon the nest and the
eggs, as they no longer had leafy protec-
tion. However, they dutifully took turns
keeping the eggs warm, while watching us
warily as we opened and closed the garage
door mornings and evenings right next to
their nest.
And exactly one week later, on
5 December, while our revered Madiba
departed to another realm, new life
hatched in that little nest thin-skinned
still, with closed eyes and just the merest
hint of feathers. Te chicks were so ter-
ribly exposed, they did not seem to have
a chance, but before Christmas two of
them were ying around our garden quite
condently (the third one had fallen out of
the nest one night).
Te timing and the symbolism struck
me Madiba left us a legacy of hope, and
on the day he passed on, these tiny feath-
ered things embraced hope. And grew.
And eventually ew. Transformed.
It dawned on me that the new era of
Civilution is now following on the post-
1994 era of transformation. Trueman
Goba, the rst black president of our
Institution, and a recipient of the SAICE
Gold Medal, had the following to say in his
presidential address back in the year 2002:
True transformation also has to be
sustainable. I would therefore call on eve-
ryone in civil engineering to start looking
more into the future than into the past.
Our industry will continue to change. And
in a changing environment we will need
to respond accordingly to not only sustain
what has been achieved, but also to appro-
priately inuence the future.
Its a new year, and in April a gath-
ering of engineering minds will consider
our infrastructure problems in the light
of the Civilution movement, a new era
in which hopes tune must be trans-
formed into doable, definable solutions
and actions. Engineers, after all, are the
drivers of transformation in that their
actions work towards the eradication
of inequalities running water for all,
decent sanitation, safe roads and trans-
portation facilities, roofs over the heads
of school children, etc. With these in
place, a nation can soar.
Let us lead from the bottom up by get-
ting stuck in and xing our country one
task at a time, each one of us in whichever
small way, thereby collectively putting
words to hopes tune.
C I V I L U T I O N
Putting words to hopes tune
Dates to Diarise!
Verelene de Koker
Editor
verelene@saice.org.za
Civilution Congress 2014
6 8 April
Emperors Palace, Johannesburg
Register at www.civilutioncongress.com
We invite you to join the movement. Secure your
spot today.
Civilution is a mass movement of engineering professionals
an engineering revolution in which engineering practitioners
reinstate strategic, technical and intellectual leadership.
For bookings contact:
Project Manager Liza Monteiro
E:liza@confco.co.za
T:+27 11 465 0334
W: www. civilutioncongress.com
PLACE: EMPERORS PALACE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
68 APRIL 2014
Trevor Manuel
Minister in the Presidency:
National Planning Commission
Thuli Madonsela
Public Protector of
South Africa
Nazir Alli
CEO of the South African
National Roads Agency
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Remembering
the disadvantaged
IF I WERE A RICH MAN
I never regretted not growing up rich. I
dont wish I were born into a rich family,
because then maybe I would not have
made myself into something, Stanford
Mkhacane, SAICEs President for 2014,
says somewhat bashfully. It would have
been nice to have grown up in a world
with more opportunities, but perhaps it
would not have been fun then. Growing
up in a typical platteland environment,
if you wanted to swim, you could swim,
even if it was with crocodiles. He cannot
help but wonder what it would have
been like to be born into better circum-
stances, but this laid-back man accepted
his happy lot, which eventually turned
into so much more.
I knew that, through grace and by
doing my best, the path I was on would
lead me to where I wanted to be.
Born on 9 August 1950, and to all
intents and purposes destined to herd
livestock, Stanford never let his circum-
stances get in the way of accomplishing
his purpose. Te oldest of seven siblings,
his early days in the village of Botsoleni
in the Mhinga Traditional Authority area
(now the Tulamela Municipality in the
Vhembe District in Limpopo) were spent
alternating weeks between tending the
familys livestock and attending school.
With lions and elephants occasion-
ally escaping the nearby Punda Maria
Kruger Park entrance and going on to
kill livestock and sometimes people, life
P R O F I L E O F S A I C E 2 0 1 4 P R E S I D E N T
Rebekka Wellmanns
rebekka@saice.org.za
Unhurri ed, happy days in Mhinga f or St anf ord ( st anding second f rom l ef t )
St anf ord Mkhacane
SAI CEs Presi dent f or 2014
10 January/February 2014 Civil Engineering
was never dull for the pensive boy. It was
here where the seeds of adventure were
incubating that would allow him to forge
along new paths, paths which he could
never have guessed.
STEPPING UP
Becoming a civil engineer was never
on Stanfords horizon until much later,
and he accredits it to some kind of
coincidence, or rather Gods grace, so
farfetched was the idea.
Uncertainty about his continuing
education was in fact always on the ho-
rizon. His bus-driver father, a visionary
man who valued the power of education,
after much vacillating chose to con-
tinue Stanfords secondary education
during the drought of 19631965 rather
than sending him to the Makuleke
area, where there were better grazing
grounds, to care for their livestock.
Sending someone in Stanfords place
was a risky decision, as their cattle were
of great importance, being the measure
of a mans wealth.
After having started his education
at Botsoleni Primary School in 1958,
Stanford, thanks to his fathers decision,
matriculated from Lemana High School
in 1970.
Stanford cherished dreams of be-
coming an agricultural o cer or some-
thing similar. His family, on the other
hand, favoured teaching, but he was
determined to rather follow a more tech-
nical career. Having no money to fund his
studies, he applied to the then Gazankulu
Government in 1971 for a study bursary.
Although the government did not award
a bursary to him then, they oered him
a position as an administration clerk. A
few months later, when the government
oered civil engineering study bursaries
to employees who had obtained good
mathematics and science matric passes,
Stanford applied, and was accepted.
Seizing the opportunity with both hands,
he completed his National Diploma in
Civil Engineering at Mmadikoti Technical
College in 1974.
Returning to work for the same
government, he became acutely aware
of some often over-looked fundamental
values. One such time was during the su-
pervision of a pipeline in Giyani, where he
had been struggling with its planning and
soon discovered that the land surveyors
had cooked the levels. If it had been done
accurately from the start, and problems
addressed honestly, Stanford would not
have had to struggle along trying to dis-
cover why nothing was going according
to plan. Tis experience strengthened his
motto that, as a civil engineering profes-
sional, you need to be honest and accurate
in everything you do.
Later, when working on one of his
rst road projects, tasked with managing
a construction team and all its activities,
the challenges of simultaneously bal-
ancing human resources and machinery
rose to the fore. Te realisation came
soon that the gist of civil engineering is
listening to others and respecting their
views.
Tis in part has become what civil
engineering and the future of civil en-
gineering mean to Stanford not only
relying on accuracy and honesty, but
listening rst and then, through a process
of discussion, equipping people to create
their own solutions. Tis is where more
experienced engineers can make a dier-
ence. Te future of civil engineering lies
in the transfer of skills from experienced
engineers an open-minded approach
where we need to empower younger
engineers. We are an empowered force.
Tis is one of my passions, to see young
people develop, to see people becoming
empowered, becoming professional and
becoming good at what they do.
After a short stint working as an
engineering technician, Stanford was
again chosen by the government as one
of the technicians to pursue a degree
A chuf f ed St anf ord close t o graduat ing f rom
Mmadi kot i Technical College in 1974, looking
t he par t of a prof essional
A peri od of rst s on si t e at Bushbuckri dge hi s rst
pract i cal t raining as a resi dent engineer on a wat er
puri cat i on ri dge, and t he rst t i me in a caravan
Platteland days
towards civil engineering. In 1976 he
enrolled at the then University of the
North for a BSc degree in mathematics,
physics and chemistry, proving that he
had the stamina and determination to
accomplish his nal goal of becoming a
civil engineer.
In 1978, after the relaxing of the rules
regarding black students studying at
white universities, Stanford went on to
enrol at the University of Natal (now the
University of KwaZulu-Natal) for a BSc
Civil Engineering degree, which he com-
pleted in 1981.
He went back to work for the
Department of Works in the Gazankulu
Government, rst as engineer and later
as senior roads engineer up until 1991.
During this period he gained vast experi-
ence in road engineering, to the extent
that transportation engineering became
one of his passions, propelling him to
pursue further studies at the University
of Pretoria, where he obtained his BEng
Hons and MEng (Transportation)
degrees, nally graduating in 1990. In
2001 he also completed an MBA from
Potchefstroom University (now the
North-West University).
INTO CONSULTING ENGINEERING
While at the University of Pretoria,
Stanford studied under Professors
Jordaan and Joubert who, after he had
graduated with his MEng, became his
colleagues at Jordaan and Joubert Inc.
This was a time for growth, being men-
tored, and spreading his wings. This
was also where he met future business
partner, Dr Pine Pienaar. In 1999 Dr
Pienaar and Stanford started Nyeleti
Consulting (Nyeleti meaning star),
a firm of consulting engineers com-
mitted to delivering excellent service,
particularly addressing the needs of
rural communities with appropriate
solutions, and creating opportunities
for all in the process.
Stanfords experience since 1991
in the consulting engineering in-
dustry as a director of Jordaan and
Joubert Inc, as chairman of African
Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd, and as
vice-chairman of GIBB Africa (Pty) Ltd
prepared him well for his role at
Nyeleti Consulting, where, from
1999 to date, he has been serving as
chairman of the company, which now
boasts 100 employees from initially
only two and has a presence in three
provinces and Mozambique. Now man-
aging the Polokwane office of Nyeleti
Consulting, over the years he has been
involved in the design and construction
of roads, implementation of labour-
intensive as well as community-based
public works projects, and construction
monitoring of roads and water supply
schemes, the latter being where he pre-
fers to dedicate most of his time.
A moment of relaxat i on sampling ner cui sine during an educat i onal t rip t o France in
t he lat e ' 80s, wi t h classmat es f rom t he Mast ers class at t he Uni versi t y of Pret oria
Cel ebrat ing Chri st mas back home in Mhinga
We need you! Catching up at a transportation conference
in Windhoek, Namibia; Stanford was working for African
Consulting Engineers ( Pt y) Ltd at the time
THE SAICE 2014
PRESIDENTIAL TEAM
Stanford Mkhacane
President
Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Polokwane O fce
smkhacane@ nyeleti.co.za
Malcolm Pautz
President-Elect
Associate Director
Transactions & Restructuring
G lobal Infrastructure & Projects G roup
K PM G Advisory (Proprietary) Limited
malcolm.pautz@ kpmg.co.za
Tom McKune
Vice-President
HO D Civil Engineering
Durban University of Technology
Pietermaritzburg Campus
tom@ dut.ac.za
Sundran Naicker
Vice-President
Director
Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Pretoria O fce
snaicker@ nyeleti.co.za
Errol Kerst
Vice-President
Director
Lategan Bouwer Engineers
ekerst@ latbou.co.za
Dr Chris Herold
Vice-President
M anaging M ember
Umfula Wempilo Consulting
herold@ wirelessza.co.za
ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD
As a boy, the days of sitting in his vil-
lage philosophising with his cousin,
who would later become a lecturer in
research methodology at the University
of Limpopo, rst sowed the seeds of pro-
gressive thought regarding education. My
cousin inspired me what you want to
be depends on who you surround yourself
with. Not only that, we need information,
we need to stay abreast of all civil engi-
neering activities. Civil engineering alone
will not make us engineers. As custodians
of infrastructure infrastructure which
truly serves society we need to be aware
of societal needs to be good engineers.
Coming from a typical rural area
gave me an appreciation for the situa-
tion in South Africa. Many are poor, and
coming from such a background myself,
I know what they need. As SAICEs 2014
President, Stanford hopes to take civil
engineering to the remote and margin-
alised areas of South Africa, where civil
engineering can provide for the needs of
many, sparking interest in what civil engi-
neering can do, as well as reviving many
of the areas in which SAICE Branches are
not fully active.
Stanford is also involved in a number
of voluntary organisations promoting
science and engineering skills, and is a
member of the South African Black and
Allied Careers Organisation (SABTACO).
He is married to Cate and Phyllis, and
has ve daughters and two sons, one of
whom is also a civil engineer.
With a patient and thoughtful
temperament, Stanford loves the tran-
quillity and open air that fishing gives
him, providing time to ref lect, but he
laments with a twinkle in his eye, You
cant be a fisherman and also want to go
to church.
Holi daying at t he seasi de, one of St anf ords
f avouri t e places t o unwind
T
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I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y
Paving the way for
dolomitic compliance
TAKING THE LEAD
Open-access bre optic infrastructure
provider, Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), has
taken the lead in setting the standard
for the installation of dry services on
dolomitic land in accordance with SANS
1936-3 (2012).
DFA has compiled a comprehensive
set of specications for bre optic infra-
structure installation and has introduced a
focused risk management programme for
all DFA installations in dolomitic areas.
Following the release of SANS 1936 in
October 2012, the company assessed the
impact and scope of the dolomite-related
risks associated with the provision of bre
optic infrastructure, and compared these
with the cost of mitigation as required by
the standard.
Fibre optic infrastructure is considered
a dry system, as dened in SANS 1936.
Te release of the standard prompted
urgent action to ensure that DFA in-
frastructure on dolomitic land meets
the requirements of the code, either by
complying directly with its requirements
or invoking the provisions of clause 4.2.5
of SANS 1936-3. Tis clause permits the
introduction of alternative requirements
procedures based on rational assessment
in cases where the requirements of the
standard are not reasonably practicable.
Te provisions of clause 4.2.5 can only
be invoked after a full assessment has been
carried out for each project, and where ap-
propriate, risk management procedures are
implemented. Te provisions adopted must
also comply with way leave requirements.
According to previous studies, ap-
proximately 96% of all dolomitic subsi-
dence events that have occurred to date
were man-induced, and were caused by
the ingress of water from leaking water-
bearing infrastructure, poor surface water
management or articial lowering of the
groundwater level.
However, bre optic ducts are not
water-bearing, so the risk of bre optic
ducts giving rise to dolomitic subsidence
is very low. Fibre optic ducts are not water-
bearing services, and hence have absolutely
no impact on stormwater drainage or the
lowering of the water table.
Te risk associated with the installa-
tion of such services is signicantly lower
than that with other forms of develop-
ment or services, such as water, sewage,
gas and electricity.
Unlike a ruptured water-bearing ser-
vice, a damaged bre optic duct cannot
add to the severity of the initial event.
It also poses no danger to the public, as
would be the case with severed electrical
cables or gas lines.
MINIMAL RISKS
With a dry engineering service, the big-
gest risk for sinkhole formation is the
possibility that the service or the trench
in which it is laid may become a conduit
through which water can be introduced
into the ground.
Te most likely places where water
can gain access to the system are through
non-watertight hand-holes, the point
where the ducts enter the hand-holes, or a
conduit break (e.g. due to physical damage
caused by other excavations in the area).
Alternatively, if the conduit itself is not
watertight, water can gain access by inter-
section or leakage from other services, or
by inltration of water from the ground
surface through the trench backll.
Tese risks can be largely eliminated
by ensuring that the hand-holes, the
hand-hole covers and the connection of
the ducts into the hand-hole walls are
watertight and are regularly inspected. It
is also important to ensure that existing
water-bearing services are not damaged
Setting the standard for the installation of dry services on dolomitic land
Nicol van der Walt Pr Eng
Advising Engineer
Dark Fibre Africa
nicol.vdwalt@dfafrica.co.za
during the laying operation and that any
existing leakage from such services is re-
ported to the relevant authorities.
Risks associated with water inltra-
tion from the surface can be reduced by
ensuring that the backll of the trench
comprises the same excavated mate-
rial compacted to a higher density than
that of the surrounding ground, thereby
reducing its permeability. Also, risks
are further reduced by ensuring that
the ground surface above the trench is
nished o in such a way that surface
drainage is not impeded and water does
not accumulate above the trench or
around hand-holes.
Periodic inspection of the accumula-
tion of water in the existing hand-holes
and of the ground surface above the
duct route, in line with the DFA Risk
Management System on dolomitic land,
will provide an early warning of poten-
tial problems.
In order to manage the risk of dolo-
mitic ground conditions, the following
mitigating measures have been intro-
duced by DFA:
All installations are designed as if they
are to be installed in D3 or D4 dolomite
area designations, as dened in SANS
1936, i.e. by rational assessment of risk
and mitigating measures by a competent
person, peer review of the risk reduction
measures and the introduction of appro-
priate risk management procedures.
A competent person (geotechnical)
has been appointed to review the pro-
posed route designs, carry out a desk
study prior to construction and make
recommendations regarding route op-
timisation and avoidance of any known
problem areas.
During construction, the competent
person (geotechnical) receives any re-
ports emanating from the requirements
of Clause 4.8.3.1 (SANS 1936:3) and car-
ries out su cient inspections to ensure
that no particularly hazardous ground
conditions (e.g. voids, palaeo sinkholes,
etc) are traversed by the duct route.
On completion of the construction,
the competent person (engineering)
inspects the entire route to ensure that
the ground surface is free-draining and
properly nished o.
Appropriate risk management pro-
cedures have been incorporated into
the DFAs dolomite risk management
system (ENG-PRO-029), prepared in
accordance with the requirements of
SANS 1936-4.
HAND- HOLE DEVELOPMENT
In conjunction with suppliers, DFA has
developed and tested a waterproof hand-
hole constructed using bre-cement or
special HDPE plastic units. Although
more expensive than standard hand-
holes, they are signicantly cheaper than
a cast-in-situ or precast concrete hand-
holes. Te placement of the lighter-bre
cement or HDPE hand-holes is also not as
risky and labour intensive.
Te selection of hand-hole positions is
also important. Hand-holes must be appro-
priately positioned, remote from any areas
of potentially high water table (perched or
permanent), areas where water may pond,
or areas where physical damage could
occur. Te hand-hole cover should be ei-
ther ush with the surrounding ground or
marginally proud of it.
Hand-holes are purpose-made for use
on dolomitic land according to DFAs and
the manufacturers specications. Only
hand-holes certied and approved by the
DFA competent person are used, whether
cast in situ or prefabricated. All DFA
hand-holes are certied to be watertight,
with no possible shedding of any accu-
mulated water into the surrounding dolo-
mitic soil or into the ducts. Te water test
duration is 24 hours with zero water loss.
At the inlet points of ducting into
the hand-holes, the ducting is securely
mounted to withstand reasonable pull-out
forces in case the system is aected by
subsidences/sinkholes. During construc-
tion, the competent person (engineering)
Wat er- t ight ness t est in progress on compl et ed
hand- hol e wi t h duct and wat erproof glands in posi t i on
inspects the hand-hole and the duct con-
nections for water-tightness, both prior to
and after completion of backll. A record
is kept of such inspections as part of the
quality assurance procedures.
Furthermore, the area around the hand-
hole is inspected for any signs of surface
settlement or other features which may
give rise to impeded drainage. Te water-
tightness of cable ducts is also checked.
As part of DFAs dolomite compliance
investigation, experimental hand-holes
were constructed and subjected to water-
tightness tests under controlled condi-
tions. In addition, control water-tightness
tests are conducted on all bre cement
hand-holes at the manufacturers prem-
ises prior to delivery, as well at the distrib-
utors yard, and again once the hand-hole
has been installed in the eld.
INSTALLING THE DUCTS
Normally, the installation of bre optic
ducts involves bundling four ducts in a
2x2 formation. Te alternative for dolo-
mite areas is to lay the ducts side by side
with a space between each duct.
Although this necessitates the excava-
tion of a wider trench at additional cost, it
addresses the concern that the open space
between the four bundled ducts could
possibly serve as a conduit for water.
Where bundling of the ducts is permitted
by the authorities, a suitable means is
introduced to seal around and between
the ducts at 100 metre intervals along the
length of the trench.
DFA specifies that ducts shall be
continuous having no joints between
hand-holes. Where joints have to be
introduced, for example if a duct is
damaged by excavation activities after
installation, great care is taken to
ensure that the joints in the ducts are
watertight. All duct installations are
pneumatically tested in accordance with
standard practice.
At regular intervals, the route of all
existing DFA duct lines on dolomitic land
are inspected for any signs of settlement
of the ground surface in general, settle-
ment of the backll, or any obstructions
that have been created and which may
impede surface drainage. If any such
problems arise, depressions are backlled
and obstructions are removed.
In addition, all hand-holes are in-
spected for physical damage and are
randomly, or in critical areas, opened
and checked for the presence of water.
Should water be present to the extent
that it creates a risk of inltration into the
surrounding ground, an investigation is
undertaken to establish the source of the
water ingress and ensure that it is remedi-
ated. Any movement of ducting, indicative
of soil movement, is also recorded.
Where repairs need to be undertaken
on ducting, a competent person must be
notied and all new joints and repairs
must be made watertight and approved by
the competent person. More importantly,
only approved joint connection means
should be employed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Inputs by Dr Peter Day of Jones &
Wagner Engineering and Environmental
Consultants, who acts as DFAs geotech-
nical advisor on SANS 1936, are acknowl-
edged and appreciated.
Building Virtual Skyscrapers
BACKGROUND
IMQS Software has served South African
municipalities with asset and infra-
structure management software and
supporting professional services for more
than ten years. Its software combines
infrastructure asset information, engi-
neering simulation results and spatial GIS
data in a single package. Growing demand
for a web-based version of their desktop
application has led to the development
of the latest release of their software that
can be accessed through any web browser
and on mobile devices such as iPads.
Te software was recently deployed at
a number of municipalities. Tis article
explores the lessons learnt during the
development process.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
What is so hard about software?
As a civil engineering graduate starting
to explore the software development
world, I quickly realised that building
software would be dierent to building
anything I had been taught at university.
Civil infrastructure projects t the tra-
ditional project management approach
well, with a natural progression from
project initiation, planning and design,
to construction, and nally completion
and hand-over. In comparison, IT pro-
jects managed in this way tend to hobble
along in a pair of shoes that do not seem
to t. Te reality is that the IT industry
is in its infancy while civil engineering
has been practised since the rst human
constructed a shelter. Te IT processes
and methods are not as well dened as
those in civil engineering, and the high
failure rate of IT projects is testament to
this. A recent study of 5 400 large-scale
IT projects found that 66% of software
projects go over budget, 33% overrun
their schedule and 17% do not deliver on
the benets they had promised (Bloch,
Blumberg & Laartz 2013). Using a tra-
ditional project management approach,
IMQS itself had a false start on its rst
attempt at developing its web-based
product. Tese high failure rates may just
be a symptom of treating the younger
sibling like the elder.
A new parenting style: agile project management
Agile project management focuses on
continuous delivery and improvement,
instead of delivering the nal product
moments before the deadline. This
Jaco Briers
Software Developer
IMQS Software
jbriers@imqs.co.za
Lessons learnt developing a web application for
municipal infrastructure asset management
As a civil engineering graduate
starting to explore the software
development world, I quickly
realised that building software
would be different to building
anything I had been taught at
university. Civil infrastructure
projects t the traditional project
management approach well, while
IT projects managed in this way
tend to hobble along in a pair of
shoes that do not seem to t.
approach may seem unstructured to
project managers, but managed well,
it has consistently facilitated on-time
delivery of IMQS products (often with
days to spare).
IMQS employs the Scrum meth-
odology for agile project management
(there are other methodologies, such as
Kanban). In order to facilitate continuous
improvement, Scrum involves short feed-
back sessions every morning where the
previous days progress and challenges are
discussed, as well as what is planned for
that day. Once every two weeks, a review
meeting is held where production-ready
functionality is demonstrated. After this
review meeting, work is planned for the
next two weeks, and the cycle begins
afresh (each such cycle is called a sprint).
Figure 1 indicates the activities that form
part of each sprint.
Clients and other stakeholders are
often involved in review meetings to
provide feedback and suggestions. Tis
process is designed to catch failures early
in the development life cycle instead of at
the end of the project time line. Tis quick
feedback cycle reduces the risk of building
software that does not meet client re-
quirements, and keeps the development
team focused on building working soft-
ware. Te aim is to fail often and early,
giving the team time to adapt and recover,
rather than fail spectacularly right before
the product delivery date.
In contrast, the traditional project
management approach assumes the
system can be designed in its entirety be-
fore the construction phase begins. With
software development this is very seldom
the case. Where a civil engineer would
nd himself walking through a building
with very much the same function as the
one he is designing, software developers
and their clients often nd themselves
designing business-specic software that
they have never used before. Te project
management process must allow for this
discovery phase and the unknowns asso-
ciated with it. Te agile approach ts this
bill perfectly.
SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE
Software architecture is a broad term
that describes how different parts
of a software system fit together.
Layeringyour software architecture
allows one part of your applica-
tion to function independently from
others, while also allowing it to be
replaced without affecting other parts.
Layering a civil infrastructure project
would be much harder. No reasonable
client would expect a civil engineer to
design a building where the foundation
could be removed and replaced with
another, but in an IT project a common
question might be: If we want to switch
to a different database at a later stage,
would that be possible? In the software
world this f lexibility takes careful plan-
ning, but it is completely feasible. The
core layers that form part of the IMQS
system are indicated in Figure 2.
Web-based architecture
If you open www.google.co.za in your
browser, what you see on your screen
is a very small part of the Google sky-
Figure 1: Process diagram f or Scrum agil e project management
Figure 3 : I MQS web- based archi t ect ure Figure 2: Layered architecture employed by IMQS
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scraper. The website you are viewing
has a simple box for you to enter some
text, and a button that sends off this
text to a server at Google. This server
distributes the workload and sends
off your request to thousands upon
thousands of other servers, which each
processes part of your request before
sending it back to your browser, which
in turn simply displays the results. The
part of the application that you executed
on your computer only knew where to
send your request and how to display
the results. It knew nothing of how data
from millions of websites were collected
and sorted through to get those results.
This separation of concerns makes web
application architecture very powerful.
A simplified diagram of IMQSs archi-
tecture inside a clients IT network is
displayed in Figure 3.
Te following are a few of the ad-
vantages that led IMQS to choose this
architecture:
Application is always up to date
Web applications do not require instal-
lation (unlike desktop applications). Te
latest version would always be fetched
from the applications server. Tis allows
the web application to be updated regu-
larly and without signicant interruption
in service. IMQS updates its software on
average three times a day. Tese updates
are available to all users minutes after
functionality has been developed and
passed quality checks. With desktop ap-
plication architecture this could take days
or even weeks.
IMQSs web application uses a single
centralised source of data. Tis means
that, once data is imported onto the mu-
nicipalitys IMQS server, it is immediately
accessible to all of its users.
Lightweight
Web-applications are lightweight and only
fetch data that the user requests to view. In
contrast, a desktop application displaying
one of IMQSs larger clients would require
almost 50 GB of storage space and a fairly
fast processor. With the web application
architecture, this storage and processing
load can be shifted to a single high-re-
source server, making access to lightweight
devices, such as tablets, viable.
High level of accessibility
Te IMQS web application can be made
accessible outside a municipalitys net-
work with minimal eort. Tis allows
secure access to infrastructure informa-
tion to whomever the municipality pro-
vides a username and password. Tis high
level of accessibility also opens the door
to the possibility of public participation
and other input.
INTEGRATION WITH
THIRD- PARTY SYSTEMS
Integration with existing software
systems is a common requirement for
any municipal IT project. Te specic
methods and technology used for in-
tegration would dier from system to
system, but the common key to integra-
tion is communication. For one system
to interact with another there needs to
be a common communication protocol.
If this protocol is clear and well docu-
mented, any two systems can conceivably
be integrated.
In general, it is not sound architec-
tural design for one system to have di-
rect access to another systems internals
or data. Rather, all interaction should
be routed through what is known as
an API (Application Programming
Interface). An API specifies an ac-
ceptable communication protocol and
should be well documented. Designing
a system in such a manner protects it
from unintended harm and provides an
unambiguous way for other systems to
integrate with it.
Vitens Water Utility in the
Netherlands, a client of IMQS, required
that the IMQS system integrate with
their OSIsoft PI system. Tis system
stores historical and near real-time
data from their telemetry network.
Even though IMQSs developers did not
have direct support from OSIsoft, the
integration was successfully completed
because their API was well-dened and
documented, and there were training re-
sources available in the form of YouTube
videos. Figure 4 shows a screen shot of
the successful integration.
SOFTWARE TESTING
During the development stage, software
projects are in a constant state of ux.
Imagine replacing the foundation of a
building and expecting all the walls to
stand afterwards. Within such a volatile
environment, a software project needs
regular testing to ensure that all new
and existing functionality operates as
intended. IMQS employs more than
300 automated tests that run after
every change to its software. Tese tests
provide a safe framework for rapid and
robust software development; without
them manual testing of each bit of func-
tionality after every change would be the
only alternative.
SYSTEMS MAKE IT POSSIBLE,
PEOPLE MAKE IT HAPPEN
A skilled developer can easily accom-
plish in a day what a less skilled de-
veloper may need a week to complete.
Figure 4 : I nt egrat i on wi t h Vi t ens Wat er Ut ili t ys OSI sof t PI syst em
all ows di splay of near real - t i me t el emet r y dat a wi t hin I MQS
This non-uniform distribution of skills
is another symptom of the IT industrys
youth, and makes recruiting software
developers a challenge. Quite a number
of the technologies used in the devel-
opment of IMQS software have been
in existence for less than five years.
In this rapidly developing industry, a
software developers proficiency and
experience with a specific technology
are less important than a willingness
to learn. Also, involving experienced
developers in the recruitment and
interview process is strongly recom-
mended. A project may have all the
ingredients for success, but lacking
the right people, it will just be another
failure statistic.
CONCLUSION
IMQS successfully developed its web-
based infrastructure asset management
system after changing the way in which
we build software: we implemented
hands-on agile project management,
switched to a layered architecture style,
documented our software and processes,
and employed the right people. Te soft-
ware industry may still be in its infancy,
but while we build aqueducts today, with
the willingness to learn and adapt, we will
build skyscrapers tomorrow.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Vitens Water Utility and Tshwane
Metropolitan Municipality, clients
for the IMQS web application
Quasset, IMQSs partner during the
development of the Vitens product
My colleagues Adam Ricketts, Willem
Pretorius, Ben Harper and Delany
Middleton for their edits and suggestions
during the preparation of this article.
REFERENCE
Bloch, M, Blumberg, S & Laartz, J 2013.
Delivering large-scale IT projects
on time, on budget, and on value.
McKinsey on Finance, 45, p 2835.
During the development
stage, software projects
are in a constant state of
ux. Imagine replacing the
foundation of a building and
expecting all the walls to stand
afterwards. Within such a
volatile environment, a software
project needs regular testing to
ensure that all new and existing
functionality operates as
intended. IMQS employs more
than 300 automated tests that
run after every change to its
software. These tests provide
a safe framework for rapid and
robust software development;
without them, manual testing
of each bit of functionality after
every change would be the
only alternative.
We didn'l say her dillcull
goodbyes in deparlures
We didn'l ly lhe plane
that took her overseas
We didn'l cry lears ol
joy when she came home
HELP BUILD
THE AIRPORT
WHERE IT
ALL STARTED
WE DID
SAY YES
TO THE LOVE
OF HER LIFE
IN ARRIVALS
WE DIDNT
CREATING POSSIBILITIES
www.afrisam.com
Wilh lhe planel as one ol our core values, we assess lhe carbon
loolprinl ol each and every one ol our operalions and producls
while aclively slriving lo drive down our impacl on lhe environmenl.

8
6
5
5
/
E
The BricsCAD Brigade
INTRODUCTION
Engineers are pre-occupied with ef-
ciency. Anyone who has ever been frus-
trated in a post o ce or licence renewal
centre will have some appreciation of how
engineers experience the world most of
the time. Tis probably applies to many
other types of people, too, but what makes
engineers unique is that they cannot resist
the urge to do something about it!
Tis kind of frustration was eating
away at my friend and me, both young
South African civil engineers, for the past
few years. In our quest for e ciency in
our work, we uncovered a piece of Belgian
ingenuity that changed our world, and
that has the potential to hit the technical
CAD market like a bomb!
HISTORY
Te 80s were characterised by the boom
of the personal computer. Macintosh
and IBM made their way into the South
African market amid strict international
sanctions. Due to South Africa's isolation,
and a very limited and primitive software
market, South African entrepreneurs
started developing their own tools. Tis
was nowhere more exploited than in
computer-aided drawing applications.
We hail innovations such as AliCad,
Caddie, TurboCad and Padds. All these
programs have their roots in primitive
DOS, coded on the likes of turbo Pascal
and Fortran languages. Today there are
probably only a handful of people who
can still truly appreciate the brilliance of
these early developments.
Te 90s saw the awakening of the
international software empires. Microsoft
monopolised the PC operating system
market, Novell pioneered software cluster
suites, and Autodesk developed its plat-
form champion tool, AutoCAD. Tis was
bad news for the local market which was
trying to come to grips with the interna-
tional scene in a new democracy. During
the past 20 years South Africans have be-
come all too accustomed to over-inated
software prices!
A NEW GENERATION
However, in the 21st century a new
generation is putting its foot down! Te
Jean-Pierre Rousseau Pr Eng
Co-founder of Addosoft
jp@addosoft.co.za
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dawn of the new age showed us once
again what South African ingenuity is
capable of. Entrepreneur and visionary,
Mark Shuttleworth, has the world on re
with his open architecture OS Ubuntu.
Alternative packages to high-priced
suites, such as Open-O ce, saw the
light, and Google's smartphone open OS,
Android, is fast winning international
market share.
It was in this spirit that Wolter Bijker
and I set out to nd a multi-platform-
based, light-weight, advanced, object-
orientated CAD package that would not
cost us an arm and a leg! Tats when we
discovered the BricsCAD brigade!
To quote from the BricSYS website:
With relentless commitment to the
success of the BricsCAD community,
BricSYS is focused on providing an indus-
trial-strength CAD software platform and
industry-leading support at a compelling
price to customers in the AEC, GIS, civil
engineering, process and power, and me-
chanical CAD markets. Founded in 2002,
BricSYS is a founding member of the
Open Design Alliance.
The Belgium-found company set out
to develop a CAD platform that was not
only affordable, but would ultimately
be driven by the needs and innovations
of its online community, rather than
autocratically deciding what is best for
their customers!
Te Open Design Alliance is an as-
sociation of CAD customers and vendors
committed to promoting open, industry-
standard formats for the exchange of
CAD data. Tis reduces the development
cost for CAD software companies signi-
cantly and creates a platform where the
community can steer the future develop-
ment of CAD technology.
BricsCAD takes this advantage
one step further. By re-engineering
industry-standard CAD practices,
and recreating a back-end application
programming interface which is com-
patible with leading CAD products,
they enable third-party developers to
not only utilise the power of object-
orientated CAD technology, but also to
convert previous developments to the
BricsCAD platform.
Tis is exactly where BricSYS caught
our attention. Being able to develop our
own custom application solutions on top
of BricsCAD, at a fraction of the price
oered by the competition, while still
being fully compatible with the latest dwg
formats, was just too attractive to resist,
so we joined the movement.
Te BricSYS website (www.bricsys.co.za)
allows interested users to download a
30-day trial version that may be extended
on special request. Te software can run on
Windows or Linux with versions for 32-bit
and 64-bit operating systems. A release for
Apple OSX is also on the cards. Te website
hosts a massive database of international
third-party developer tools, ranging from
architectural add-ons to civil engineering
and surveying tools.
We set out to share this discovery
with South Africans by partnering with
BricsCAD as a local re-seller. While
researching and developing custom ap-
plications for bridge design, our company,
AddoSoft, acts as local support channel
and community platform for South
African users.
The collaboration between Addosoft
and BricSYS aims to bridge the gap
between advanced CAD systems and
locally developed solutions within
the South African market. BricSYS
provides the ideal combination of a
light-weight yet smart CAD platform,
which is extendable in terms of add-on
applications. With BricSYS, Addosoft
sets out to bring back the local South
African ingenuity of specialised design
and drafting modules on a very ad-
vanced and cost-effective CAD system,
without reinventing the wheel.
Wi t h Bri cSYS t he communi t y can st eer t he f ut ure devel opment of
CAD t echnol ogy ( l ef t ) and Bri csCAD i s compat ibl e wi t h t he lat est 3D
mouse t echnol ogy ( bel ow)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has
been much advocated, but some have seen
a clash between its two key goals sustain-
ability (living within the Earths xed en-
vironmental limits) and development (eve-
ryones right to develop out of poverty). In
South Africa these two have been charac-
terised as the Green and Brown agendas,
as in Figure 1. Tis comes to a head when
considering new infrastructure, which is
absolutely critical for development, because
it must serve social and/or economic needs,
and tends to regard some accompanying
environmental damage as inevitable.
Engineers who struggle with these di-
lemmas have a new source of help: a new
book from ICE Publishing Sustainable
Infrastructure: Principles into Practice
1
.
Its rst section on Principles starts with
the two goals above as absolute principles:
living within environmental limits and
the right to development. It acknowledges
the challenge of reconciling them, but
rmly advocates that it can be done, pro-
vided engineers know the right questions
to ask and ask them early enough, and at
the right time in the project delivery se-
quence. To this end, the central Practice
section of the book is set out with one
chapter for each stage of a typical pro-
ject delivery process, and abounds with
answers to the question What can engi-
neers do?, supported by project examples.
Te outline design or feasibility stage of
the process (see Figure 2) is often the rst
time an engineering team gets their ideas
heard, and can provide a short window
in which the scope can be creatively
enlarged. Te book describes how to iden-
tify, hang onto and push the best sustain-
able option through this critical stage.
One key reason for the assumption
that you cannot satisfy both Green and
Brown agendas at the same time is the
pervasive idea that being more envi-
ronmental always costs more money.
This originates from the old way of
doing things in which we had to add
in measures to mitigate environmental
damage after completing detail design.
The book shows how, by considering
sustainability from the start of the
delivery process, lower costs can be
achieved at the same time as, for in-
stance, low carbon emissions.
Although the book is written by UK
authors, its principles and practice recom-
mendations are relevant internationally.
It advocates using procurement for infra-
structure to improve peoples training,
social and commercial development to
reduce inequality, and uses three South
African examples, including that of the
Zibambele road maintenance project
2
,
where the challenge was to maintain steep
rural roads, strongly aected by regular
rainfall. Te poorest head of household
local women (see Figure 3) were selected
and registered as hand labour maintenance
contractors. Tey were given the tools and
training to maintain a 0.51.0 km stretch
of road close to where they live, and were
paid for two days work each week.
GREEN AGENDA
Eco-systemic wellbeing
Forever
Local to global
Future generations
Protect and work with
Use less
Afuence and over-consumption
BROWN AGENDA
Human wellbeing
Immediate
Local
Low-income groups
Manipulate and use
Provide more
Poverty and underdevelopment
Key concern
Time frame
Scale
Concerned about
Nature
Services
N
O
R
T
H
S
O
U
T
H
Prof Charles Ainger
Senior Associate
Cambridge Programme for
Sustainability Leadership
charles.ainger@gmail.com
Dr Ron Watermeyer
SAICE President 2004
Founder: Infrastructure Options
watermeyer@ioptions.co.za
Can we deliver infrastructure
sustainably?
Figure 1: The Green and Brown Agendas
I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
As well as being very practically ori-
entated, another innovation in the book is
its section on Change on how to per-
suade clients and teams to try out these
new ideas. One aspect of this is the idea
of stages of innovation (see Figure 4) as a
new infrastructure practice moves from
just a new idea (bottom left) to nally
become a sector standard process (top
right). Tis emphasises that it is not just
vital to get a rst innovative project done,
but also to get the evidence it contains
quickly published, to encourage and en-
able others to follow because engineers
rely on evidence for argument and design.
One recent example of this is the UK
Treasurys latest Infrastructure Carbon
Review
3
(which is another document
well worth a read). It has used the now
available low carbon = low cost evidence
from three programmes/projects to argue
authoritatively that low carbon = low cost,
and advocates clients setting hard carbon
targets to drive innovation and hence lower
costs. Tis would not have been possible
without the published real project evi-
dence. So, one key role for professional in-
stitutions like SAICE can be to provide an
authoritative platform for publishing case
studies of innovative sustainable projects
4
.
Sustainable Infrastructure: Principles
into Practice is a practical and accessible
book which addresses the key principles
of sustainability for engineers and built
environment professionals. Try it out, and
see if it works for you. And in this spirit
of innovation, the authors would welcome
feedback from engineers about how prac-
tical and useful the book is.
REFERENCES
1. See:
http://www.thomastelford.
com/books/bookshop_main.
asp?ISBN=9780727757548%20
&BookTitle=Sustainable%20
Infrastructure:%20Principles%20
into%20Practice
2. See:
http://www.ice.org.uk/topics/
International-development/civil-engi-
neers-toolkit-for-development/In-use/
Procurement-and-delivery#card_65)
3. See:
http://www.cinqueltd.co.uk/uploads/in-
frastructure_carbon_review_251113.pdf
4. Ainger, C 2012. Brieng: Speeding up
innovation by better rst use reporting.
Proceedings of the ICE Engineering
Sustainability, 1(1): 810
Convert
or remove
it
Use and
maintain
it
Set the
strategy
Define
the
project
Choose
and
procure
the solution

Design
the solution
Deliver to
achieve
savings
Detailed design,
construction
Outline
design

Project
scoping
Business
strategy
Procurement and contracts
Operation
& in use
End of
life
Planning Development Implementation Operation Decommissioning

Stakeholder engagement
C
p
p
o
r
t
u
n
|
t
y

t
o

|
n
u
e
n
c
e

f
o
r

s
u
s
t
a
|
n
a
b
|
e

o
u
t
c
o
m
e
s

and construct
Figure 2 : Ask t he right quest i ons at each st age of project deli ver y
Figure 4 : The S- cur ve st ages of innovat i on in inf rast ruct ure
Figure 3 : Pover t y all eviat i on and road maint enance under t he
Zibambel e Project , eThekwini Muni cipali t y
lnfrostructure|
M, future?
Delivering sustainable
infrastructure that
improves our world.
DOING GOOD WHILE
DOING BUSINESS
Contact www.bigenafrica.com, or the office most convenient to you: Pretoria (012) 842 8700; J ohannesburg (011) 802 0560; Bloemfontein (051) 430 1423; Cape Town (021) 919 6976;
Durban (031) 717 2571; East London (043) 748 6230; Gabarone gaborone@bigenafrica.com; Kuruman (053) 712 2882; Mafikeng (018) 386 2111; Mthatha (047) 532 5234; Nelspruit (013) 755 1421;
Polokwane (015) 297 4055; Richards Bay (035) 753 1235; Rustenburg (014) 597 3655; Umtata (047) 532 5216; Windhoek +26 461 237 346.
NEC3 Engineering and
Construction Contract :
INTRODUCTION
ISO 21500 (2012), Guidance on Project Management, denes an
activity as an identied component of work within a schedule
that is required to be undertaken to complete a project.
Te PMI Global Standard (2008), A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge, denes:
an Activity List as a documented tabulation of scheduled
activities that shows the activity description, activity identi-
fier, and a sufficient detailed scope of work description so
project team members understand what work is to be per-
formed; and
a Schedule (or Project Schedule) as the planned dates for
performing scheduled activities and planned dates for meeting
scheduled milestones.
Te NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) makes
provision for the following two Main Options:
Option A: priced contract with Activity Schedule
Option C: target contract with Activity Schedule
The questions that are frequently asked are: What is an
Activity Schedule in the NEC3 ECC?, What is the pur-
pose of an Activity Schedule?, How does one compile
an Activity Schedule? and What are the benefits of an
Activity Schedule?
AN ACTIVITY SCHEDULE UNDER NEC3 ECC
OPTIONS A AND C
Te NEC3 ECC does not explicitly dene an Activity Schedule. It
denes it as a document which is identied in the Contract Data
unless later changed in accordance with the contract (clause
11.2(20)). What it does say is that:
1. Information in the Activity Schedule is not Works Information
or Site Information (clause 54.1).
2. Te Contractor provides information which shows how each
activity on the Activity Schedule relates to the operations on
each programme that he submits for acceptance (clause 31.4).
3. Te prices are the lump sum prices for each of the activities in
the Activity Schedule, unless later changed in accordance with
this contract (clause 11.2(30)).
4. If the Contractor changes a planned method of working at his
discretion so that the activities on the Activity Schedule do not
relate to the operations on the Accepted Programme, he sub-
mits a revision of the Activity Schedule to the Project Manager
for acceptance (clause 54.2).
5. Assessments for changed Prices for compensation events are in
the form of changes to the Activity Schedule (clause 63.12).
Under the NEC3 the contractor is required to show the following
on each programme which he submits for acceptance by the
project manager:
the starting date, access dates, Key Dates and Completion Date
(and if applicable sectional completion dates)
planned Completion
the order and timing of the operations which the Contractor
plans to do in order to Provide the Works
the order and timing of the work of the Employer and Others
Dr Ron Watermeyer
SAICE President 2004
Founder: Infrastructure Options
watermeyer@ioptions.co.za
Activity Schedules
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respective logos, Caterpillar Yellow, the Power Edgetrade dress as well as
corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and
may not be used without permission.
as last agreed with them by the Contractor or, if not so
agreed, as stated in the Works Information
the dates when the Contractor plans to meet each
Condition stated for the Key Dates and to complete other
work needed to allow the Employer and Others to do their
work
provisions for oat, time risk allowances, health and safety
requirements and the procedures set out in the contract
the dates when, in order to Provide the Works in accord-
ance with his programme, the Contractor will need access
to a part of the Site if later than its access date, acceptances,
Plant and Materials and other things to be provided by the
Employer, and information from Others
for each operation, a statement of how the Contractor plans
to do the work identifying the principal Equipment and
other resources which he plans to use
other information which the Works Information requires
the Contractor to show on a programme submitted for ac-
ceptance.
Accordingly, an Activity Schedule as a minimum comprises
a list of activities, which may be grouped together or listed
on their own, with an amount entered against each activity
linked to the Accepted Programme.
THE ROLE OF THE ACTIVITY SCHEDULES IN THE NEC3
A Contractor is paid the amount for each completed activity
identied in the Activity Schedule under Option A (priced
contract with Activity Schedule).
Under Option C (target contract with activity schedule)
the Activity Schedule is used to:
adjust the total of Prices (target) when compensation events
occur or when quotations for acceleration are accepted, and
calculate the Contractors share after Completion, i.e. the
share of the dierence between the total of Prices (sum of
amounts for activities in the Activity Schedule) and the
Price for Work done to Date (Dened Cost Plus the Fee).
Te Activity Schedule is linked to the Accepted Programme,
which also shows the order and timing of the operations that
the Contractor plans to do in order to Provide the Works,
provisions for oat and time risk allowances and particulars
about the intended use of principal Equipment and other
resources, including subcontracted work. Te Activity
Schedule accordingly integrates time and money and allows
cost models to be generated to optimise expensive or scarce
resources. Tis also allows estimates at the time of tender to
be made on the costs being generated directly by the method
and timing of the construction.
Contractors are required to submit details of their as-
sessment of compensation events in the form of changes to
the Activity Schedule with each quotation. Where the pro-
gramme for the remaining work is altered by a compensation
event, the Contractor is required to include alterations to
the Accepted Programme. Te revising of both the Activity
Schedule and the Accepted Programme ensures that all the
resources for the compensation event operations (the method
statement) and forecasts of xed, quantity-based and time-
related actual costs are included in the quotation. Tis also
allows alternatives to be considered to optimise changes in
Prices versus changes in completion against the Employers
project objectives and time or cost constraints.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BILL OF
QUANTITIES AND AN ACTIVITY SCHEDULE IN TERMS OF
THE NEC3 ECC?
Te ICE Civil Engineering Standard System of Measurement
(CESMM3) Southern African Edition denes a Bill of
Quantities as a document that lists the items of work, the quan-
tities and rates associated with each item to allow contractors to
be paid at regular intervals an amount equal to the agreed rate
for the work multiplied by the quantity of work completed.
A Bill of Quantities under the NEC3 ECC is a document
which is identied in the contract data and which is changed
in accordance with this contract to accommodate implemented
compensation events and for accepted quotations for accelera-
tion. Te Prices are dened as the lump sums and the amounts
obtained by multiplying the rates by the quantities for the items in
the Bill of Quantities.
A contractor is paid under Option B (priced contract with bill
of quantities) the quantity of the work which the Contractor has
completed for each item in the Bill of Quantities multiplied by the
rate and a proportion of each lump sum which is the proportion of
the work covered by the item which the Contractor has completed.
Under Option D (target contract with bill of quantities) the Bill of
Quantities is used to adjust the Prices when compensation events
occur or when quotations for acceleration are accepted, and to
calculate the contractors share after completion.
A dierence of quantities can, in certain circumstances
under Options B and D, be a compensation event. Inconsistencies
in and departures from the rules for item descriptions and divi-
sions of work into items in terms of the method of measurement
in a Bill of Quantities are also compensation events.
Accordingly, where Bills of Quantities are used, the con-
tractor is not at risk if quantities are incorrectly measured, items
which should have been measured are not measured or a mistake
is made. Tis is not the case with an Activity Schedule, as the
contractor is required to take responsibility for quantities and
the pricing of the works information.
DEVELOPING AN ACTIVITY SCHEDULE
A work breakdown structure is a tree structure which shows
a subdivision of eort required to achieve an objective. It pro-
vides a common framework for the natural development of the
overall planning and control of a contract, and is the basis for
dividing work into denable increments and tasks which can be
resourced, cost and programmed.
A work breakdown structure should, as relevant, break down
the works in the rst instance into parts, e.g. in the case of build-
ings into:
1. external works and services, and
2. discrete buildings, discrete spaces within a building or the
structure of a building, or any combination thereof.
Tese parts are then broken down into elements, e.g. in the case
of buildings:
1. broad sub-systems which are functionally connected, e.g. ex-
ternal envelope, special dividers, roof, services etc, and
2. types of nishes, e.g. oor, internal wall, ceilings etc.
The ASAQSs Guide to Elemental Cost Estimating and
Analysis for Building Works (1998) presents a system for el-
emental estimating. This document subdivides buildings into
elements foundations, ground f loor construction, structural
frame, independent structural components, external envelope,
roofs, internal divisions, partitions, f loor finishes, internal
wall finishes, ceilings and soffits, fittings, electrical instal-
lation, internal plumbing, fire services, balustrades etc, and
special installations.
Elements should in turn be broken down, where necessary,
into logical groups of components and assemblies, e.g. the
structure is broken down into foundations, surface beds, beams
etc. Where a specic component forms a relatively high cost in
relation to the works, the component should be subdivided into
sub-components and sub-assemblies.
Not all activities in an Activity Schedule will necessarily
relate to construction. Tey can also relate to design, testing or
administrative activities.
An Activity Schedule needs to be prepared by the
Contractor, particularly under Option A, as the Activity
Schedule establishes the contractors cash ow. Te activities
also need to be structured around the contractors planned pro-
gramme and method of working.
For the purpose of comparing tenders, or monitoring dened
cost under Option C, it can be useful for the Employer to require
the Contractor to develop the Activity Schedule around a par-
ticular work breakdown structure. Where this is required, the
Employer should specify the parts and elements and some of the
components. Te Contractor should then be permitted to break
any component into subcomponents, or to describe components
where no descriptions are provided, and to extend the num-
bering system to accommodate such items.
Te Activity Schedule should as a minimum contain the
information shown in Table 1.
GETTING VALUE OUT OF AN ACTIVITY SCHEDULE IN THE
TARGET CONTRACT OPTION
Te Project Management Institutes Practice Standard for
Earned Value Management suggests that the three corner stones
of Earned Value Management are:
Planned Value the authorised budget assigned to the sched-
uled work to be accomplished
Earned Value the value of the work performed expressed in
terms of the budget assigned to that work
Actual Cost total costs actually incurred and recorded in
accomplishing work performed during a given time period.
Planned Value is the numeric reection of the budgeted or
planned work (Activity Schedule) that is scheduled to be per-
formed (accepted programme). It sets the baseline against which
actual progress is measured. Planned Value can only be changed
through compensation events or accelerations, which change the
Activity Schedule and the Accepted Programme, i.e. the latest
programme accepted by the project manager.
Earned Value is a snapshot of progress measured in terms of
completed and partially completed activities at a given point in time.
Tis can readily be established from the Activity Schedule and the
Table 1 Example of minimum information required on
an Activity Schedule
Item
Number
Programme
Reference
Activity
Description
Price
excluding VAT
3
8
4
7
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accepted programme, as the activities in the Activity Schedule
and accepted programme are linked to one another.
Actual Cost on the other hand, is an indication of the
level of resources that have been expended to achieve the
work performed to date. Dened Cost plus the fee in Option
C (target contract with an Activity Schedule), allows cost to
be forecasted and measured.
Te relationship between Planned Value, Earned Value
and Actual Cost can be readily understood should the cu-
mulative values of these three metrics be plotted against one
another. Tis will enable a manager to analyse where a pro-
ject is and where it is headed, i.e. answer the questions:
How are we doing time-wise?
Are we ahead or behind schedule?
How e ciently are we using our time?
When are we likely to nish work?
How are we doing cost-wise?
Are we under or over our budget (target)?
How e ciently are we using our resources?
How e ciently must we use our remaining resources?
What is the project likely to cost?
Will we be under or over budget?
What will the remaining work cost?
OBSERVATIONS
An Activity Schedule can be likened to a series of bars on
a Gantt chart, the difference being that each bar (activity)
has a Price attached to it and the Contractor is paid for
each completed activity whenever payment is assessed.
Activity Schedules accordingly require the tenderer
to programme the works before pricing it, and as such
forcing him to prepare a more thorough tender. This leads
to a reduction in risk pricing, but requires more time to
prepare tenders.
Jon Broome in his book, NEC3: A Users Guide (2012),
suggests that a rule of thumb is that it takes 10% more time to
prepare a tender than a Bill of Quantities if the tenderers are
provided with the quantities. On civil engineering projects
it takes 20% 30% more time if the Contractor is required
to take o quantities. On building projects this can be more
than 50%.
Te assessment of the eect of a compensation event
is easier and fairer than is the case in a Bill of Quantities.
Changes in resources or methods associated with an ac-
tivity can be compared with those stated in the Accepted
Programme before the compensation event occurred.
Assessment of amounts due to the Contractor is also easier
and requires fewer hours to assess. Accordingly, the cost of
managing and administering a price-based contract with an
Activity Schedule (Option A) is less than a price-based con-
tract with a Bill of Quantities (Option B).
Te di culty with target contracts with Bills of
Quantities (Option D) is that the target is a running target, as
it depends on the quantity of work that is required. Te total
of the prices (i.e. the nal target) is only known after comple-
tion. Te management and administration of a target con-
tract with a Bill of Quantities (Option D) is signicantly more
than a target contract with an Activity Schedule (Option C),
as the quantities need to be tracked and adjusted for compen-
sation events to maintain a real-time target.
Africas rst aerotropolis in Ekurhuleni
WHAT IS AN AEROTROPOLIS?
Air travel is ubiquitous in modern life, not only for passenger
travel, but to satisfy our growing need for the just-in-time provi-
sion of goods and services. Te consequences of this is a dra-
matic increase in the number and scale of airports, their growth
as sources of employment and increase in the consumer base,
together with the growth of the airport as a destination.
In modern cities, airports have therefore become major
drivers of urban form, economic activity and city competitive-
ness. Te aerotropolis aims to take advantage of these changes
and optimise the positive eects the airport can have on the
economy and on communities.
Essentially, the aerotropolis is an economic development
strategy designed to increase competitiveness in global markets,
leveraging the access that air travel and air freight provide to
global clients.
Critically, an aerotropolis does not involve simply building
additional retail stores in an airport terminal or more light-
industry parks on the land surrounding an airport. It is about
taking advantage of all the economic opportunities an airport
oers, reected at times by new physical infrastructure, but also
by alternative retail, entertainment, employment and commercial
land uses and these can stretch out in a radius of 30 km or
more from the airport itself.
THE AEROTROPOLIS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
With aviation only starting to boom, and routes, passenger num-
bers and business investment still comparatively low in many
emerging countries, is it too early to consider the aerotropolis
approach for growing economies?
Airports traditionally develop in a piece-meal fashion. Many of
the worlds current major airports started as small landing strips
Danie Wium
Aurecon Government Industry Leader
danie.wium@aurecongroup.com
Matt Coetzee
Aurecon Urbanisation Competency Leader
matt.coetzee@aurecongroup.com
will it foster economic growth?
In September 2013 it was announced that an
Aurecon-led consortium had won the contract to
develop the Ekurhuleni O R Tambo Aerotropolis in
Gauteng. The aerotropolis concept is now mainstream
in aviation planning, and there is little doubt that it
has brought substantial economic and social benets
to airport owners, as well as local businesses and
communities. However, this experience has largely
been gained in the airports of Europe and North
America. The Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis offers a unique
opportunity to apply the lessons learnt at these other
airports to develop a truly African solution.
Cent ral t erminal at t he OR Tambo I nt ernat i onal Ai rpor t in Gaut eng
in the 1920s and have grown incrementally over time, although
not always in a perfectly logical manner. Tere is extensive evi-
dence to show that a large portion of the cost and development
ine ciencies inherent in further developing existing airport cities
come from a lack of strategic planning at an early stage. Emerging
economies tend to have an advantage here, as many of the new
airports are greeneld developments, with relatively modest cur-
rent infrastructure. Where the opportunity for economic growth
exists, early planning will therefore enable that growth to be stra-
tegically developed, made more attractive and maximised.
THE AEROTROPOLIS PLANNING PROCESS
Aerotropolis development embraces urban and regional plan-
ning, but with a strong focus on how these can be used to enable
strategic economic development. Te ultimate goal is to max-
imise the economic competitiveness, attractiveness and growth
of the city and its surrounding region through the identication
of the optimal mix of land uses and infrastructure investments.
Te nature of these investments, how they are nanced, where
they are made, their timing, how they relate to the broader
economy and their alignment with economic and social sustain-
ability, are all key outcomes of the planning process.
Te planning process for the aerotropolis in Ekurhuleni will
follow a process of information gathering, analysis, scenario
planning, evaluation and selection. What matters most is the
who, what and how included in this process.
WHO?
An aerotropolis development plan requires an integrated breadth
of input across urban and transport planners, economists, -
nancial and logistics experts, environmental managers, market
researchers and strategists.
Aurecon, a global consulting engineering rm, will lead the
multi-disciplinary consortium with the added advantage of ex-
tensive experience working on planning and infrastructure pro-
jects in the Ekurhuleni locality. Tis local knowledge is blended
with international aerotropolis specialist expertise in research
and strategic planning from MXD, and urban planning and
branding from RTKL. Two of Imperial Logistics subsidiaries are
also involved and will lead the integration of logistics and freight
studies into the project. Turner and Townsend will contribute
specialist PPP and nancial advice, and South Africas Council
for Scientic and Industrial Research(CSIR) will provide addi-
tional tra c modelling experts.
What makes this consortium a strong candidate to success-
fully collaborate on this project beyond the extensive technical
expertise, is the collaborative culture and absolute focus on
excellence. Aurecons proprietary tool to be used on this project,
HUB-id, is all about recognising the inter-relationship between
transport, land-use and economics. When examined together,
there is potential to deliver social, economic and environmental
benets. Tis is at the heart of the aerotropolis solution.
WHAT AND HOW?
Building the development pattern picture
By analysing the trends in demographics and economics, and
comparing those with land use, and air and surface transporta-
tion infrastructure in the project area, the team will need to
dene so-called economic clusters and distinguish between:
those clusters that are best served by the current systems (be
they infrastructure, economic or cultural),
those likely to improve with the already planned regional de-
velopments, and
those where new or substantial infrastructure is required to
make them viable for further development.
One of the challenges of an aerotropolis study is in gathering and
analysing a large amount of data, and then building a complete
picture of the aerotropolis and its current evolutionary path.
Te team will make use of a number of high-level tools, such
as spatial data analysis systems, sophisticated economic analysis
tools, and transport modelling and planning systems, to deliver
the necessary innovation a project of this magnitude demands.
Te breadth of information and the sophistication with which it
is analysed and integrated will be critical to ensuring that all op-
portunities are captured and optimised.
Catalytic drivers and optimising development
Inevitably some of the identied economic clusters will have
the potential to grow faster than others, while some will further
have the potential to facilitate growth across the whole region.
Tese are considered catalytic developments. By identifying the
supplying and supporting industries for economic clusters in the
region, and taking into account current realities from the informa-
tion-gathering stage, the team will identify such catalytic clusters.
Te team will also need to consider how to maximise the
positive impacts of these clusters on the regional economy
through leveraging upstream, downstream and cross-over in-
dustry activities. By considering how other aerotropoli evolve
and how particular economic clusters are supported by those
developments, the team will determine which of the regions
niche economic clusters could benet particularly from airport-
supported economic activities.
Further, by analysing the characteristics of recommended
target economic clusters and their supporting industries, the
team will then assess how to maximise the eect of these indus-
tries. Tese industries will form the consideration of a Sector
Support Plan with investment prioritisations. Te team will also
look for opportunities to enhance economic and social potential
through intensication, adaptive re-use or re-development of
strategic land sites, as well as the potential for transit-orientated
development to create positive momentum for long-term com-
munity enhancement.
In examining these economic clusters, the specic nature
and structure of the Gauteng economy, including the informal
sector, will be taken into consideration.
Fitting the options to the objectives of Ekurhuleni
Ekurhuleni is confronted with certain realities that inuence
how economic development can best benet its social objectives.
Te municipality is home to three of South Africas seven poorest
townships and the hub of South Africas ailing manufacturing
sector. Equally, however, it also hosts the largest airport in
Africa, eectively forming the gateway to the continent.
As part of the planning process, a series of development
scenarios will be developed, and each evaluated to maximise
potential benets, according to the following criteria:
Demographics: Will the planned development adequately
address the poverty, skills development and unemployment
objectives of the city?
Proposed land-use: Will this be e cient and create an attrac-
tive environment?
Forecasted demand transport facilities: Will this ensure the
maximum e ciency of movement of people and freight in the
region, and within each facility?
Economic growth: Will this ensure the economic wellbeing of
Gauteng and Ekurhulenis businesses and community from
the smallest informal trader to the largest multi-national cor-
poration?
Predicted CO
2
emissions: How much of an impact on the envi-
ronment will it have?
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER
Like most planning processes, the aerotropolis study is not
a completely linear process and a number of tasks run either
parallel or through an iterative cycle throughout the life of the
project. In addition, there are many other activities outside the
aerotropolis study, such as logistic and supply projects, nancing
arrangements and marketing of the development to various
stakeholders, that run alongside the very technical aspects of
analysis and planning. Tese are in fact just as important to the
projects overall success, and it is very much a case of not having
any weak links.
It is a challenging prospect, and a great responsibility, to
deliver a project as comprehensive as this, but the team is con-
dent that they can deliver the innovative yet implementable
aerotropolis project that Ekurhuleni deserves.
URBAN PLANNING TERMS
Intensication Similar to densication, but refers more
broadly to an increasing level of activity
and uses
Adaptive re-use New usage of land or a building after
discontinuing current use
Re-development Actions that lead to renewal and improve-
ment of existing areas ; can be nanced
through public and/or private investment
It is a challenging prospect, and a great
responsibility, to deliver a project as
comprehensive as this, but the team
is condent that they can deliver the
innovative yet implementable aerotropolis
project that Ekurhuleni deserves.
PREFACE
For a country to prosper, eective means of moving people and
goods are essential. Te adequacy or otherwise of a countrys
transport infrastructure plays a signicant role in its social and
economic development; there are some who suggest that e cient
transport is second only to education as a catalyst for a countrys
growth. Te role of good transport in a countrys growth is espe-
cially important in South Africa where the nearest port is some
600 km away from the industrial heartland, where there are no
navigable rivers, and where the vast part of the interior of the
country is situated on a plateau some 1 000 metres above its ports.
Troughout the centuries the progress of any community has
been dependent on the provision of cheap and e cient transport
of people and goods. For transport to function eectively, how-
ever, adequate supporting infrastructure is a necessity.
In order to chart the future, an understanding of the past
is necessary. Tis rsum of the development of transport in-
frastructure in South Africa covers the period up to the end of
the 20
th
century and is broadly divided into two separate eras,
namely the early days, up to the middle of the 20
th
century, and
the modern era, which covers the last fty or so years of the
Chapter 1:
Setting the scene
Dr Malcolm Mitchell
Professional Advisor
South African Road Federation
mally2@vodamail.co.za
Herewith the rst chapter of a new series
comprising nine or ten chapters, which will appear
in Civil Engineering over the next few months. This
rsum of the development of transport infrastructure
in South Africa is not intended to be a comprehensive
one, but by airing the subject readers might be
encouraged to participate and add additional value to
an understanding of this facet of our history.
A brief history of transport infrastructure in South Africa
up to the end of the 20
th
century
20
th
century. Tis series of around nine or ten chapters (to be
published in Civil Engineering over the next few months) is by no
means a comprehensive one. However, it is hoped that by airing
the subject others will be encouraged to participate and add addi-
tional value to an understanding of this facet of our history. Also,
it is unfortunate that records have only been found regarding the
transport system of the white settlers in South Africa in the
early part of this period. Perhaps this deciency might be recti-
ed.
SETTING THE SCENE
Tere is evidence that trade was conducted in the subcontinent
in early times amongst the indigenous inhabitants, i.e. the Bantu
in the eastern, and the Khoikhoi in the western parts. Cattle and
sheep, iron and copper, implements and ornaments, and according
to Professor TRH Davenport (1989), dagga were among the com-
modities that were traded. Tere are, however, no records of the
trade routes used in those days to facilitate this interaction.
At the time the predominant form of local and long-distance
transport was porterage. In some places an indigenous technology
of sledge transport was also developed. However, largely as a result
of environmental constraints and political instability, the volume
of regional trade in pre-colonial southern Africa never reached the
proportions which would have necessitated the establishment of a
formalised network of trade routes and infrastructure on the scale
that occurred in other parts of the African continent.
Borrowing from OH Muller (circa 1985) and Professor TRH
Davenport (1989) in this scene setting, "the very discovery of the
shores of southern Africa by European mariners is linked to a
transport event, indeed to one of the great transport calamities
of all time. When the Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire,
culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453, they cut the
trade routes along which caravans had moved since time imme-
morial to supply the people of Europe with the treasured goods
of the East, notably spices. A race started in earnest to nd an
alternative route for this lucrative trade. Te Portuguese were
particularly enterprising and sent their mariners out in search
of such a route. In 1487/8 Vasco da Gama discovered the passage
around the southern part of Africa, thus securing for his country
the treasured prizes of the East.
Once regular shipping was established, there was an obvious
need for resting points along the route of the gruelling eighteen
month voyage. Te Portuguese and the Dutch established such
places along the shores of southern Africa. Te best known of these
is Cape Town, which was founded in 1652, right at the southern tip
of the continent. Te sole reason for its coming into being, and its
principal purpose for at least the rst two centuries, was to serve as
a halfway station between the West and the East. For many decades
after being established, the settlement at the Cape retained its
original character as a trading post for serving the passing ships, and
there was little need to develop trading routes into the hinterland.
Te earliest reference to transport infrastructure in South
Africa is found in the diary of Jan van Riebeeck, the rst gov-
ernor of the Cape. On 4 August 1653 he wrote: Te bookkeeper
Verburgh was (today) sent to the forest with 13 men, to make a
good road for the wagon to transport wood. In fact, no road was
built; Verburgh and his 13 men merely marked out a route, thus
setting the road building pattern for the next 150 years the
ox wagons of the time merely following the footpaths and game
trails over the mountains.
During the period from 1652 to 1806 the Cape was consid-
ered valuable only as a service station for its owners East Indian
trade. Apart from a small length of street work in Cape Town,
no roads were built. Making the sands of the Cape Flats and the
mountain barriers beyond passable for road transport was alto-
gether beyond the nancial ability or the needs of the settlement.
Tracks of a sort led to Van Rhynsdorp, Tulbagh, Uitenhage and
Graaf-Reinet, but these were not used by vehicles if pack animals
or riding horses would do.
On the other hand, extensive exploratory journeys were under-
taken or fostered by the Company and the country was explored as
far aeld as Keetmanshoop, Kuraman, Bethulie and Butterworth,
chiey by Van Haerwarden, Potter, Danekaert, Van Meerhof,
Cruytho, Croes, Bergh, Van der Stel, Schryver, Beutler, Hop,
Coertse, Gorden, Plettenberg, Williams and Janssens.
Te exploration of the hinterland was, as mentioned earlier,
greatly handicapped by the adverse geographic and topographic
conditions. Unlike North America, which was opened up at
about the same time, and where a thousand rivers facilitated
deep penetration into the hinterland, the southern African coast-
line is singularly compact and unfriendly. Tere are virtually no
natural harbours, no navigable rivers or waterways permitting
access to the interior and the oceans are whipped up by frequent
gales, to which the many hundreds of ships wrecked along the
South African coast since the days of Vasco da Gama bear wit-
ness.
Having been established at Cape Town, the settlers land
transport chances looked as bleak as those encountered by
the mariners. Te hinterland consists of a plateau of circa
1 000 metre altitude, barred from the coastal regions by virtually
insurmountable ranges of mountains, some of which extend all
the way to the coast. As a result, expansion was very slow and
development severely hampered.
For the rst 150 years, until the early 1800s, geography con-
ned most early settlers in southern Africa to the fertile coastal
regions, with the principal obstacles to inland movement being,
as mentioned above, the escarpment, the deserts and the lack of
navigable rivers. Where transport was possible, the wagon and
transport-riding became the dominant form of transport right
up to the mid-19
th
century
By way of exception, however, in the early years of the 18
th
cen-
tury when the crop farmers of the Cape peninsula and Stellenbosch
were running into harder times, the trekboer was starting to emerge
as the Capes rst white frontiersman. Te advance of stock farmers
east across the Hottentots Holland Mountains into the Overberg re-
gion began at the start of the 18
th
century. Te people who had rst
settled at Table Bay under the ag of the Dutch East India Company
brought with them two revolutionary means of land transportthe
horse and the wagonwhich gave them transport opportunities in
terms of speed, range and capacity far superior to anything ever
seen before in this part of the world.
Te principal means of travel was by ox wagon, an ingen-
iously conceived vehicle, robust and exible at the same time,
much smaller and lighter than the big, rumbling aairs which
could still be seen on the dusty roads of the highveld as recently
as the mid-20
th
century. It was drawn by ten or twelve oxen and
could negotiate unbelievably tough terrain. Although more ef-
cient than porterage, especially for heavy bulk transport, the ox
wagon and the oxen were slow and vulnerable to oods, droughts
and annual disease. As such it proved incapable of satisfying the
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growing transport demands of the 19
th
century local economy.
Its high cost and vulnerability were such that the rst major ore
deposits discovered in the Cape in the 1670s were not exploited
because of the prohibitive cost of ox wagon transport.
Muller (circa 1985) quotes the Reverend CI Latrobe as reporting
from his travels during the early 1900s that, It was not so much the
steepness which rendered the pass so dangerous, as the extreme un-
evenness of the road, if road it may be called, where, as yet, art had
not assisted nature, and the traveller may pass over rocks. In steps of
one or two feet perpendicular height, the wagons bouncing down,
reeling from side to side, and but for the management of Hottentots
accustomed to such service, in continual danger of over-setting.
Tey support the wagon, by thongs fastened to each side, pulling
with all their weight, either to the right or left, as otherwise, in sev-
eral places, the wagons, with all their contents, and the poor beasts
staggering before them, would be precipitated into the abyss below.
Less serious accidents occurred quite frequently. Tomas Bains,
well-known traveller/explorer, painted no fewer than 25 pictures
showing ox wagons capsized or broken down.
Te next phase in the development of transport infrastruc-
ture in South Africa was the period from 1806 to 1895 during
which South Africa was gradually opened up as the permanent
home of a large and rapidly increasing settler population. Under
various governments, ambitious and expensive road schemes
for that time were undertaken, linking all parts of the country.
During the early part of this period the exploratory journeys
continued until the general topography and nature of the whole
country and its surroundings were fairly well known. Tese ex-
plorations were followed by the Great Trek, as a result of which
the whole country became populated by settlers, and a system of
routes was established throughout.
Te discovery of diamonds at Hopetown in 1867, and gold in
the Murchison range in 1870, and on the Witwatersrand during
1880, gave rise to the transport riders roads linking the mines
to the principal ports. Tese were subsequently used by the
stagecoach services. Te roads were rough at best, but they were
developed in a very short time, they carried an immense amount
of tra c for the time, and they established the basic route system
for the then Transvaal, Orange Free State, Northern Natal and
Northern Cape, which prevails to this day.
In 1805 Cape Ordinance for the Administration of Country
Districts number 264 stated: One of the most eectual means to
promote internal trade and civilisation is a regular and safe in-
land communication; the Field Cornets shall take particular care,
therefore, to establish this.
Troughout this period (18061895) formal, permanent
road construction was carried out vigorously in the Cape. In the
Western Cape, Tulbagh Kloof (1807), Fransch Hoek (1831), Hex
River Pass, the successful Cape Flats Hardepad, Bainskloof,
Mitchells Pass (18401855), and the rst Orange River Bridge
(1877) were built primarily for economic trade reasons.
Graham Ross (2002) quotes Sir Lowry Cole, in his dispatch in
1830 to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Viscount Goderich,
justifying having constructed Sir Lowrys Pass without having
obtained prior approval, as writing, Te Colony is miserably
poor, with a population separated from the more civilised parts by
mountains over which there are few passes. Being cut o from a
market for their produce there is no stimulus for industry and the
inhabitants must ever remain in their present state of poverty and
semi-barbarism until these passes are made passable.
The next phase in the development of transport
infrastructure in South Africa was the period
from 1806 to 1895 during which South Africa
was gradually opened up as the permanent
home of a large and rapidly increasing settler
population. Under various governments, ambitious
and expensive road schemes for that time were
undertaken, linking all parts of the country.
In the Eastern Cape there was even greater activity to provide
military roads for the Border Wars, but, also incidentally for the
benet of the settlers and farmers. Tese included Port Elizabeth
to Grahamstown (18201830), Graaf-Reinet to Van Rynevelds
Pass over the Oudeberg, Grahamstown to Fort Beaufort over the
Katberg Pass, and Grahamstown (bridging the Great Fish River)
to King Williams Town.
Normal and heavy transport between the Western and
the Eastern Cape was by sea, but, to provide a fast and reliable
service for dispatches, mail and military personnel, the road
from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth was greatly improved from
1843 onwards by bridging some of the rivers and constructing
the Montagu Pass over the Outeniqua Mountains, so that by
1849 this 600-mile journey was done regularly in three days by
post cart. Te route was later further improved, notably in 1892
by bridging the Gouritz River with a steel arch, which was for
many years the longest and highest span in Africa. Te credit
for most of this work must be given to John Montagu, Colonial
Secretary of the Cape, for initiating it, and Mitchell, Andrew
Geddes and his son, as well as the surveyor John Stanger for
carrying it out.
Te activity in the Cape was not paralleled in the then
Transvaal or the Orange Free State Republics, however. In the
Orange Free State the country is easy, the soils are generally
good, and there were no large concentrations of populations, so
that there was neither the need nor the money for a large road
programme, as the existing track satised the local farmers, and
the transport riders had only to start a new track alongside the
old one when it was worn out. In the Transvaal, much the same
situation prevailed, except that the Drakensberg Mountains
which parallel the eastern border, involving heavy passes, were
climbed by in-spanning two or three spans to each wagon in
turn. In addition, there was and still is, a good deal of very poor
soil. In 1875 the government levied a road tax and built a military
road into Sekukuniland, which was subsequently extended to
Lydenburg, Pilgrims Rest and Barberton, to serve these gold-
elds. A number of badly needed bridges were built near the end
of this period on the main roads between the principal towns.
Serious work only started in Natal in 1847 when William
Stanger, transferred from the Cape, began the Durban to
Pietermaritzburg road.
By 1875, there were 500, and by 1893, 2 750 miles of made
road, and 34 bridges in the country.
Unfortunately the same economic development that pro-
duced this remarkable growth in road transport brought about
its virtual extinction in the period between 1895 and 1920,
when the large-scale construction of railways was started, which
deprived the transport rider, stagecoaches and wagons of their
custom and soon destroyed them altogether. Te construction
of road infrastructure was held in abeyance in favour of this new
form of transport, the steam locomotive.
However, with the advent of the internal combustion engine
leading to road motor vehicles, the construction of a rudimen-
tary road network commenced in earnest during the rst half of
the 20
th
century. Tis formed the foundation of the current 21
st

century country-wide South African road network, which will
be explored in the next chapter of this history of transport infra-
structure in South Africa.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Davenport, T R H 1989. South Africa, A Modern History. Second
edition. Southern Book Publishers: Bergvlei.
Department of Transport, Notes on Departmental File, E18/62 by
Col F Vincent: Pretoria.
Muller, O H circa 1985. Transportation in South Africa a
Historical Sketch. Informal document, exact date un-
known.
Personal discussions, by M F Mitchell with the late P A de Villiers,
B Slabbert and E B Cloete during the period 1960 to 1965.
Ross, G 2002. Te Romance of Cape Mountain Passes. David
Phillip Publishers: Cape Town.
Normal and heavy transport between the
Western and the Eastern Cape was by sea,
but, to provide a fast and reliable service
for dispatches, mail and military personnel,
the road from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth
was greatly improved from 1843 onwards by
bridging some of the rivers and constructing the
Montagu Pass over the Outeniqua Mountains,
so that by 1849 this 600-mile journey was
done regularly in three days by post cart.
INTRODUCTION
Rock martins (Hirundo fuligula) are
regular summer-breeding visitors to the
Braamfontein campus of the University of
the Witwatersrand (Wits). Te diversity
of architectural styles of buildings on the
campus oers a range of suitable sites for
the nesting needs of birds like the rock
martins. Te nest is constructed of sand/
clay pellets, used as a form of adobe, stuck
together to form a half-cup with sides
adhering to a vertical wall or rock face. A
number of the building faades provide
the overhang structure necessary to
protect against rain and nest predators.
Figure 1 shows an example of such a nest
that held three chicks. Te adult can be
seen engaged in feeding duty. Tis article
discusses observations made on the use,
damage and subsequent reconstruction
of the nest shown in Figure 1, with a par-
ticular focus on the possible preferential
use of waste Portland cement mortar
from construction activities. Some com-
ments are also oered on the congura-
tion of the nest for structural stability.
Te observations were made between
September 1992 and April 1993.
LOCATION OF THE NEST OBSERVED
Te nest in Figure 1 was located on the
south side of the southeast corner of the
South-West Engineering Building. Te nest
is approximately 8 m above the ground
and, as shown in the gure, was built
Nest building
the engineering way?
Prof Yunus Ballim
Construction Materials
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of the Witwatersrand
yunus.ballim@wits.ac.za
M O R E E N G I N E E R I N G
Figure 1: An act i ve rock mar t in nest on t he si de of t he Sout h- West
Engineering Building at Wi t s
Some observations on material selection for nest building by rock martins and the possible
preferential use of waste Portland cement mortar
against the wall directly below a decorative
overhang just below roof level. Te general
layout of the area is shown in Figure 2.
OBSERVATIONS
Te bird activity at this nest was observed
starting in early 1990, from a window in
the Hillman Building which is directly
opposite and at a similar level to the nest.
Over three breeding seasons, the pattern
of bird activity around the nest was gener-
ally as follows:
Around late August to early September,
a pair of house sparrows (Passer do-
mesticus) would arrive, inspect the nest
and start preparing it for their nesting
needs. Te sparrows would arrange an
untidy nest of grass and bits of paper
inside the adobe cup nest, and the fe-
male would regularly enter and adopt a
hatching position inside the nest.
Tis sparrow activity continued for
around ten days until the martins
arrived and, after a few swoop-by skir-
mishes, the martins would successfully
eject the sparrows from the nest and
clean out the grass and other sparrow-
nesting material.
Te martins would then proceed to
feather the nest, lay two or three eggs
and, over the period of observation,
successfully edge the chicks.
Troughout the period of nesting, al-
though not very frequently, the martins
continued to spend time chasing o
house sparrows.
At the beginning of September 1992 the
house sparrows again started preparing
the nest for their needs, but on one of
their early tting visits, the sparrows
managed to break o the front wall of the
cup nest. Te damaged nest is shown in
Figure 3. Te sparrows then abandoned
the nest and such material as they had
brought to the nest either fell out or was
removed by the wind.
On 7 September 1992 the martin pair
arrived and spent a number of visits in-
specting and picking at the broken edge
of the nest. Each visit lasted between 30
and 60 seconds. Tis continued into the
next day with the most frequent visits to
the nests occurring around midday.
Over the following two to three
days the visits decreased significantly.
While the pair seemed to be f lying
about above the nest, landings at the
nest were very infrequent.
On 11 September, at around 09:00,
the martins started feathering the nest.
It seemed that one partner (male?) was
doing all the work of feathering while the
other often ew past and briey hovered
at the nest while looking in. Tis con-
tinued until 21 Sept, when one of the pair
(female?) started sitting in the broken nest
in the hatching position for a few minutes
at a time. Tere was no evidence of eggs in
the nest at this stage.
Repair work on the broken wall of the
nest started on 25 September and was
substantially complete by 30 September.
At the time that the repair work was
being undertaken, there was some small
building activity on the south side of
the South-West Engineering Building.
Contractors were installing a wheel-chair
access ramp at the south entrance to the
building (shown in Figure 2), and this ne-
cessitated some brick and plaster work. At
the end of the workday, the builders would
wash their equipment of excess Portland
cement mortar and leave behind small
pools of cement mortar with excess water.
I was alerted to the possible use of
this cementitious material when I no-
ticed a martin taking material from one
of the wash pools near the construction
Figure 2 : Vi ew of t he area bet ween t he Sout h- West Engineering and Hill man Buil dings indi cat ing t he l ocat i on of t he nest
Figure 3 : The nest in Figure 1 af t er i t had been damaged by t he house sparrows
work. Upon inspection, it appeared that
the martins had indeed used the cement
mortar for the reconstruction of their
nest. However, what was particularly
interesting was that the cement mortar
had only been used in the upper sec-
tion of the repair work, in the area that
structural engineers would refer to as the
ring-beam a strengthened top edge-
ring intended to improve the structural
integrity of such free-ended walls or
shells. Figure 4 shows the presence of ce-
ment pellets in the nest reconstruction.
It appears that the nest had been
repaired using clay pellets for much of the
reconstruction of the front wall. A layer
of cement mortar, one to two pellets thick
was then placed on the top edge of the
repaired wall. To give the nest cup a level
upper surface, the left-hand side of the
wall was raised using clay pellets and this
was then topped o with a second, single-
pellet layer of cement mortar.
Although the martins remained in
the area and actively chased o any spar-
rows visiting the nest, they only laid eggs
in the nest in late January 1993. Te eggs
hatched around 20 February 1993 and the
chicks had the rst observed ight on 22
March 1993.
After the chicks had edged and left the
nest, the adults set about further raising the
wall of the nest so that the gap between the
top of the nest and the overhanging ledge
was signicantly reduced. With this further
work, the upper edge of the nest was ared
outwards to give greater rigidity to the ring-
beam section of the nest cup. Te com-
pleted nest is shown in Figure 5. At the time
of this extension work, the building work
had been completed on the access ramp to
the South-West Engineering Building and
there was no cement mortar available in
the immediate vicinity. Nevertheless, the
martins still used what looked like cement
mortar pellets in the upper, ared rim of the
extension work.
Te entire external surface of the
South-West Engineering Building was
cleaned during the winter of 1993. Te
contractor used high-pressure water hoses
to clean the surfaces and the nest was
destroyed in this operation. To date, a nest
has not been re-established at this site.
SOME THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS
BY WAY OF CONCLUSION
a. Although it is not obvious from the
photographs shown in this article, rock
martins usually add lengths of dry grass
to the soil construction, most likely in
order to contain the shrinkage of the
soil. September is also the end of the
dry season on the Highveld and the
soil pellet structure would then be at
its maximum shrinkage. It is likely that
tensile stresses or cracking associated
with such shrinkage was a contributing
factor in the breakage of the front wall
of the nest during the sparrow activity.
b. While cement sets within a few hours
after mixing with water, the hydration
reactions, responsible for strength
development, continue for a very long
time thereafter. After the martins had
placed the mortar pellets as a mix-
ture of cement, sand and water the
hardening process would continue and
would certainly result in a stronger
pellet than the dried soil pellets.
c. It is likely that the martins select their
soils based on particle size distribution.
Te clay component, having the ner
particles, is good for cohesion and adhe-
sion. However, the clay on its own would
crack too much upon drying. Some sand
and silt fraction particles would have to
be present to limit the shrinkage, but not
so much as to compromise the cohesion
properties of the mixture. Water content
can be controlled by squeezing out the
excess water.
d. Te selection of cement mortar may well
happen on the same principle, with the
cement gel representing the ne, clay
fraction and the plaster sand being rec-
ognised as the sand and silt fractions.
e. Te preferential use of the cement
mortar in the part of the structure
requiring maximum strength and
stiness remains unanswered. It is
tempting to believe that the birds ap-
preciated the benets of the stronger
material, but this may well have been
coincidence.
f. Te ared upper edge of the extended
nest is also not necessarily an indication
that the birds understand the structural
advantages of a stiened upper edge
to the nest. Tis was certainly not a
feature of the pre- and post-damage
construction of the nest and, although
with very limited observation, has not
been noted in the construction of any
other rock martin nests.
Figure 4 : Repai red nest wi t h what appears t o be cement mor t ar pell et s in t he
upper ri m of t he nest cup
Figure 5 : Nest wi t h wall rai sed and t op edge ared
( not e: a mi rror was used t o reect light ont o t he f ront of t he nest )
bidim
R
INTRODUCTION
Because they retain a large quantity of
water, concrete dams are important engi-
neering structures for public safety. When
these dams fail, there is an economical loss
and a loss of life. Examples of dam failures
around the world include the Banqiao Dam
in China, and the Mill River Dam and
Austin Dam in the USA. Failure of several
dams around the world led to the develop-
ment of dam safety legislation to guide
dam owners on the evaluation of the struc-
tural integrity of dams in order to avoid
disasters. Tese Acts entrust the dam engi-
neer with the responsibility of continuous
monitoring of a dam, including the keeping
and interpretation of operational data.
Visual inspection, although the most
widely used method of identifying prob-
lems on dams, involves subjective judge-
ment and the detection of local and visible
aws only. Visual inspection of some
critical parts of the dam cannot be evalu-
ated quantitatively. For example, damage
on the upstream side, under the water
level or at the contact between the dam
wall and the foundation rock, is di cult
to observe directly.
In order to overcome these shortcom-
ings, and inspired by new available data
acquisition hardware, as well as advances
in analytical signal processing techniques,
structural health monitoring (SHM)
also known in the dam engineering
community as dam surveillance has
been adopted to complement and enhance
visual inspections.
As a branch of SHM, one of the
important inspections is to apply vibra-
tion tests to existing dams to obtain
experimental results that allow a better
characterisation of eventual deterioration
phenomena based on the hypothesis that
these phenomena could induce structural
changes in the dynamic characteristics,
mainly changes in the natural frequen-
cies. Tere are two kinds of vibration tests
Ambient vibration monitoring of the
Roode Elsberg Dam initial results
Patrick Bukenya
PhD Student
University of Cape Town
Department of Civil Engineering
bknpat002@myuct.ac.za
Prof Pilate Moyo
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Cape Town
pilate.moyo@uct.ac.za
Dr Chris Oosthuizen
Department of Water Affairs
The Roode Elsberg Dam is a
concrete arch dam located
near Worcester, in the Western
Cape Province. The structure is
being monitored by a recently
installed dynamic monitoring
system. The article describes
the dam structure, its dynamic
parameters identied with a
previous ambient vibration test,
installed monitoring equipment
and the results achieved during
the two weeks of observation.
Phot o 1: The Roode El sberg Dam
that have been applied to dams, namely
forced vibration tests and ambient vibra-
tion tests (AVT), with the latter being
the preferred method because it is cheap
and tests the structure in its operating
conditions. Over the last decade and a
half some researchers have investigated
the dynamic behaviour of large dams
(Danielle & Taylor 1999; Darbre et al
2000; Darbre & Proulx 2002) using AVT.
Tese studies highlighted the fact that
results obtained by AVT are very attrac-
tive and useful.
In South Africa, ambient vibration tests
of dams began in 2008, with the particular
aim of understanding the dynamic behav-
iour of the Roode Elsberg Dam. Several tests
have been carried out on this dam since
then to obtain the dynamic characteristics
of dams to be used as baseline measure-
ments for long-term dam safety monitoring,
and for the calibration of the FE models
(Moyo & Oosthuizen 2010; Bukenya et al
2012; Bukenya et al 2013).
Te aim of this article is to present ini-
tial results from the dynamic monitoring
system installed at the Roode Elsberg Dam.
ROODE ELSBERG DAM
In this section the main characteristics of
the Roode Elsberg Dam will be described,
and the experimental results obtained
until now will be presented.
Dam description
Te Roode Elsberg Dam (Photo 1) is a
double curvature concrete arch dam with
a centrally situated overspill section. Te
height above the foundation is 72 m, the
length of the crest is 274 m and the gross
capacity of the reservoir is 8.210 million
m
3
. It was built in 1968 and is situated
on the Sand Drift River 30 km from
Worcester, in the Western Cape Province.
Te dam was constructed to provide
supplementary water in order to create a
more assured supply of water for irriga-
tion farmers in the Hex River Valley.
Experimental results
Ambient vibration tests were carried out
on the Roode Elsberg Dam in September
2013 as part of the eld tests carried out
to obtain experimental data to charac-
terise the dams dynamic behaviour. Tese
tests were also carried out in order to
nd the best blocks where accelerometers
could be placed on the dam crest for a
dynamic continuous monitoring system.
For more details about the equipment
used see Bukenya et al (2013). Table 1
shows the rst ve natural frequencies of
the dam obtained using the frequency do-
main decomposition technique (Brincker
et al 2000). Figure 1 shows an average of
the normalised singular values of spectral
density matrices of all data sets collected
during these ambient vibration tests.
DYNAMIC MONITORING SYSTEM
Te monitoring system manufactured by
GeoSIG Ltd consists of a triaxial AC-43
force balance accelerometer (Photo 2) with a
dynamic range of more than 125 dB at 2 g
full-scale within the 0.1 to 50 Hz range. Te
accelerometers are connected to the digit-
iser, which communicates with the indus-
trial computer running the GeoDAS soft-
Table 1: Natural frequencies of the Roode Elsberg Dam
Mode Natural frequencies
1 3.05
2 3.23
2 4.43
3 5.62
4 6.50
5 7.23
Figure 1: Singular values of spect ral densi t y mat ri ces of t he ambi ent vibrat i on t est
Phot o 2 : Accel eromet er placed on t he dam wall
Power f ul Int er f ace User - def i ned Beam Cr eep and Shr i nkage Rei nf or cement Desi gn
ware using an Ethernet cable. Te computer
and the digitiser are placed on the dam wall
inside the upper gallery of the dam to avoid
any environmental eects (Photo 3).
Te Roode Elsberg Dam is symmetric
and the previously performed ambient
vibration tests have proven that natural
frequencies from both sides are approxi-
mately identical. Terefore, as the number
of available accelerometers was limited, it
was decided to instrument just one half of
the dam instead of smearing the sensors
along the whole dam. Currently only two
accelerometers have been installed on
the most active dam blocks. Te system
collects data at a sampling rate of 50 Hz,
with data being stored on an hourly basis.
Furthermore, this dynamic monitoring
system is complemented by an inde-
pendent weather station installed on the
dam crest. It records the air temperature,
humidity and wind velocity, which can be
used to investigate the possible eects of
these variables on the natural frequencies.
Monitoring results
Te dynamic monitoring system of the
Roode Elsberg Dam has been in contin-
uous operation since 25 November 2013.
Terefore, quite a big database of accel-
eration time series and identied natural
frequencies is already available. Te results
obtained during the rst two weeks of op-
eration are presented in this article.
In the context of a monitoring pro-
gramme, it is very important to have good
tools for processing data in order to extract
the dynamic characteristics which can
then be used to evaluate the dam struc-
tural health. Te following tasks are ex-
ecuted during the processing of raw data:
Creation of a database with original data
(sampled at 50 Hz) that can be used later
to test alternative processing methods
Pre-processing of data to eliminate the
oset
Processing of data in the frequency
domain
Phot o 3 : I ndust rial comput er f or coll ect ing el d t est dat a
Creation of a database with processed
results
Inspection of plots for most relevant
results.
Analysis of the relation between dynamic
characteristic and environmental changes
(especially temperature) has not been
completed yet, because this would require
several months of measurements, and
the system has only been working for just
over a month (at the time of the writing
of this article). Figure 2 shows frequency
response functions (FRFs) obtained from
raw data collected on 25 November 2013,
while Figure 3 shows the tracking of
the rst three modes for a period of two
weeks. No data could be collected on 26
and 27 November due to a power failure
at the dam.
CONCLUSIONS
Tis article presents an application of
a state-of-the-art, long-term dynamic
monitoring system recently installed on the
Roode Elsberg Dam. Te data, continuously
measured by two acceleration sensors, is pro-
cessed on arrival at the University of Cape
Towns Department of Civil Engineering.
Te results obtained during the two
weeks of observation do not show a fre-
quency shift yet. In the coming months
we will build/collect a database of the
evolutionary natural frequencies, which
we hope will allow better insight into the
inuence of environmental conditions on
the dam dynamic characteristics. Future
studies will be conducted with the aim
of detecting anomalies in the dynamic
characteristics of the tested dam.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Te authors would like to acknowledge
(1) the support provided by the Water
Research Commission of South Africa
to the University of Cape Town for the
development of research in the area of
long-term dynamic monitoring of dams,
(2) the support provided by the dam
owners, the South African Department
of Water Aairs, and (3) the PhD scholar-
ship provided by the Concrete Materials
and Structural Integrity Research Unit
(CoMSIRU) to the rst author.
REFERENCES
Brincker, R, Zhang, L & Anderson, P
2000. Modal identication from
ambient responses using frequency
domain decomposition. Proceedings of
the 18th International Modal Analysis
Conference (IMAC-XVIII). Kissimme,
Florida USA.
Bukenya, P, Moyo, P, Beushausen, H &
Oosthuizen, C 2012. Comparative
study of operational modal analysis
techniques using ambient vibration
measurements of a concrete dam.
Proceedings of the 25th International
Conference on Noise and Vibration
Engineering, Leuven, Belgium: 1719
September 2012.
Bukenya, P, Moyo, P & Oosthuizen, C 2013.
Experimental Modal Identication
of a South African concrete arch
dam. Proceedings of the Experimental
Vibration Analysis of Civil Structures
(EVACES13) Conference, Ouro Preto,
Brazil: 2830 October 2013.
Danielle, W E & Taylor, C A 1999. Eective
ambient vibration testing for validating
numerical models of concrete dams.
Earthquake Engineering and Structural
Dynamics, 28(11) pp 13271344.
Darbre, G R, De Smet, C A M, Kraemer,
C 2000. Natural frequencies
measured from ambient vibra-
tion response of the arch dam of
Mauvoisin. Earthquake Engineering
and Structural Dynamics, 29(5) pp
57758.
Darbre, G R & Proulx, J 2002. Continuous
ambient vibration monitoring of the
arch dam of Mauvoisin. Earthquake
Engineering and Structural Dynamics,
31(2) pp 475480.
Moyo, P & Oosthuizen, C 2010. Ambient
Vibration Survey Trials of Two Arch
Dams in South Africa. Proceeding
of the 8th ICOLD European Club
Symposium, Innsbruck, Austria.
Figure 2 : Nat ural f requenci es f rom raw dat a on 25-11- 2013
Figure 3 : Frequency t racking of t he t hree modes
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SANS 1580
The use of hexagonal
steel wire mesh gabions
in mass gravity retaining walls
Exampl e of a packed gabi on
M ost engineers know double twist mesh gabions from their use in rivers and channels as gabions,
and Reno mattresses which offer excellent solutions in hydraulic conditions. M any of us have been
fortunate to have encountered gabions in road and civil projects where they are also very effective as a
simple building block for the construction of mass gravity retaining walls. The simplicity of installation,
the advantage of using unskilled labour, and the fact that no mechanised construction equipment is
required to construct such walls, have created a perception that such structures, no matter how high or
crucial, are non-technical and need no engineering input.
In fact, every application should be engineered from the design stage right through to the completed
structure. All of us, i.e. clients, consultants and contractors, are well schooled and disciplined regarding
the necessity of engineering inspections. Yet one can dig out case histories where gabion walls of more
than 10 m high were constructed without any inspection or assurance that the mesh wire or the lacing wire
was of the correct diameter or correctly coated. A mistake in either could result in a total collapse of the
structure, as can other errors such as inadequate lacing, unsuitable rock, or an ineffective geotextile lter.
All these and many other operations are in fact essential design requirements which are often
treated as trivial owing to their simplicity. G abions are excellent structural elements, but they will get a
stigma that they do not deserve if they are wrongly designed or constructed.
The article on the next few pages therefore aims to assist engineers in their understanding of
gabions when using them as mass gravity retaining walls.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DOUBLE TWIST
MESH GABIONS
Gabions are easy to install and are the most suitable means
of building sophisticated, dependable structures with unso-
phisticated means. A gabion wall does not need electricity,
water, petrol, skilled labour, machinery, or access roads. Every
element in the building of the structure can be carried out on
the site.
Gabions do not need concrete foundations or footings. In
this day and age wall designs are based on soil data provided by
certied geotechnical engineers, ensuring that the base width
will be a minimum of two thirds of the height to meet bearing
pressure conditions. All that is normally required is that the
topsoil and organic material be removed before the placing of
the gabions. In the unlikely event that a foundation is required,
it can be provided by a rock-lled mattress which is nothing
more than a at, wide gabion.
Te possibility of a global slip failure must always be
checked when introducing a new structure to the environ-
ment. Tis includes investigating the presence of problem soils
such as expansive or collapsible soils or clays and muds that
could be aected by the structure.
Gabions are very porous and even a well-packed gabion
could have void ratios as high as 30%. Tis allows the wall to
dissipate the pore water pressures from the backll, which
is the biggest concern when designing retaining walls.
Weep holes with drains and lters are provided in concrete
walls, but they are a concern as they could get blocked. Te
blocking of the voids can even occur in gabions when the
nes from the backll migrate into the gabion. All gabions
should therefore be lined with a geotextile lter material at
the interface of the gabions and the backll material. Filter
textiles are discouraged under gabions, but may be required
for drainage purposes.
Many codes suggest that an even higher porosity of 40%
results from the packing of rocks, particularly when the rocks
are more round than rectangular.
Te suggested higher porosity is mentioned by codes not to
be considered as a porosity bonus, which it is, but as a warning
that designers must consider the reduction in weight if rocks
are unintentionally loosely packed.
This possible variation in the porosity adds an inter-
esting challenge, as the designer needs to see the effect on
the bearing of a heavy wall if the rocks are tightly com-
pacted (30% porosity) and the sliding and overturning of
a lighter wall if the rocks are loosely packed (40% to 50%).
Such what if calculations can give the designer a very
good feel to what extent the packing can be relied upon.
Installation requirements and quality control measures can
be specified accordingly.
It is also always advisable to check, even though gabions
are porous, the possibility that the structure could lose its per-
meability or at least have a slow draw down owing to combina-
tions of rocks that are very well packed (which is mandatory in
high walls) and a geotextile that has become clogged and less
eective, and a well compacted backll that is slow to dissipate
the water to the wall.
All this comes down to engineering judgement, but precau-
tions have to be taken to counter worst case scenarios.
An interesting fact is that a gabion lled with good rock of
SG 2.6 and a porosity of approximately 40% can have a mass of
less than 16 kN/m
3
, which will be lighter than a gabion lled
with sand.
And yes, gabions can be lled with sand by either lining
the cage with geotextiles or using sand bags. Precautionary
measures need to be taken for sand-lled gabions, though, as it
is di cult to brace them without creating holes through which
the sand could leak out, and sand-lled gabions and sand bags
will lose sand if punctured.
Tese are interesting challenges which can be overcome
by a combination of a basket with rocks packed in the front to
provide a faade, and sand bags behind the faade, or even by
having all the exposed gabions packed with rock and all hidden
baskets lled with sand.
Sand-lled gabions should, however, not be used in hy-
draulic applications.
Gabions are easy to pack, but this is both an advantage and
a disadvantage as it is time-consuming to pack gabions cor-
rectly. Te need to speed up construction, coupled with the
reluctance to spend time to get the baskets stretched and taut
or to use the optional shutter frames, often results in a poorly
packed basket. Poorly packed gabions are often rejected for
aesthetic reasons, even if it can be proved that the stability is
not impaired.
Gabions are environmentally friendly, can be greened and
have an exceptionally small carbon footprint compared with
alternative structures. A gabion wall built using rocks sourced
from within 100 km has a carbon footprint of 5 000 kg CO
2
eq,
and one built from rocks from a distant quarry has a footprint
of 8 000 kg CO
2
eq, both impressively lower than the carbon
footprint of 53 000 kg CO
2
eq for an equivalent concrete
wall. Tis does not take into account the carbon absorption
of a greened gabion relative to a concrete structure. Over
time some gabions in fact become totally absorbed into their
natural surroundings.
Gabions are aesthetically pleasing, blending very well into
landscaped or architectural surroundings.
Gabion walls make very good noise barriers.
Double twist mesh gabions are exible and have an advan-
tage over more rigid structures, because they can conform to
ground movements, dissipate energy from owing water and,
as mentioned above, drain freely. Tis exibility makes them
very popular as rock fall barriers they can take the impact
and not lose their stability even when they have suered
major deformations. Designers should take care when using
dowels or ancillary bracing which remove this exibility, as
such restraints could cause a buildup of strains which would
otherwise have dissipated naturally. One also needs to be very
mindful of movements when rigid structures are built on or
adjacent to gabions.
The life expectancy of gabions is dependent on the
lifespan of the wire and not the contents of the basket.
This is important, as the wire is unfortunately, like the skel-
eton of a crustacean, on the outside, and is therefore vulner-
able to mechanical damage, theft and corrosion. Structural
gabions, unlike reinforced concrete, do not have the luxury
of having the steel cast into the concrete with a good cover
to protect it from the elements. In gabions, the wire is to-
tally exposed to the elements, making it heavily reliant on
protective coating. This has resulted in a well-researched
When I say Ill deliver...
I deliver!
Peter Yaman
General Manager - Projects/Heavy Lift Division
Together, the Johnson team delivers a SMART lift
Safety | Maintenance | Availability | Reliability | Total Cost Effectiveness
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and well-documented science of zinc galvanising which,
with its aluminium-enhanced alloys, provides the engineer
with very good guidelines for estimating the life expectancy
for various locations and applications. Such galvanised wire
can last for as long as 50 years before the coating is lost and
can then still continue to function for many years as the
diameter slowly decreases until it becomes thinner than the
required design diameter.
Tis constant decrease in the thickness of the coating and
the eventual gradual decrease in the diameter can be allowed
for in the design.
Additional protection is available by extruding a polymer
sleeve of PVC or nylon over the wire to protect the wire from
the elements, thereby adding decades of eectiveness. Te
main requirement, other than ageing, is to be able to resist
mechanical or chemical damage by being hard, exible and
permanently adhered to the wire. All these properties are
achieved by the polymers, and provide the designer with an
additional protection to the zinc or zinc alloy thicknesses
required to ensure life expectancy. Although polymers melt
under a ame, they stop burning as soon as the ame is re-
moved, minimising the damage. Such damaged areas can be
patched, as can areas that have been destroyed when vandal-
ised for the theft of wires.
DESIGNING MASS GRAVITY GABION RETAINING WALLS
Te steps taken to design a mass gravity wall are very similar,
whether it be built from concrete, brick or gabion baskets. Tese
design steps can be summarised as follows:
1. Determine the forces acting on the wall.
2. Check that the resisting moment exceeds the overturning mo-
ment by a suitable safety factor.
3. Check that sliding resistance exceeds the active horizontal
force by a suitable safety factor.
4. Check that the resultant force falls within the middle third
of the walls base, and that the maximum bearing pressure is
within the allowable limit.
5. Check the internal stability of the wall for compression and
shear.
6. Repeat these steps until a suitable design that meets all criteria
is achieved. Note that the wall stability must be checked at the
base and at each course of gabions.
1. Determine the forces acting on the wall.
Te forces acting on the wall are mainly the forces due to the
retained soils, and the forces due to any surcharge loadings and
live loads as per loading codes. Te most widely used method
to assess the magnitude and distribution of these forces is the
limit equilibrium method which randomly selects the sliding
surfaces and determines the forces acting on the edges of
the soil mass. Te surface selected will be the one which will
increase the thrust up to its maximum. Te active thrust can
increase during an earthquake due to the horizontal and ver-
tical acceleration of the ground. Tese induced forces must be
considered in the force equilibrium.
Coulombs theory is another method used to calculate the ac-
tive and passive thrust acting on a retaining structure. It assumes
that the soil total shear resistance is mobilised along the sliding
and failure surface located within the soil mass.
Tere are cases where gabions are required as free-standing
walls, and in such cases one would need to consider wind load-
ings on the wall or wind loading from fences that have their posts
set into the gabions, as well as possible horizontal impact forces.
For many other forms of the wall hydrostatic forces may be
present, but for most gabion structures hydrostatic forces need
not be considered if one can ensure a free draining stone or rock-
ll in the gabion and when one can provide internal drains for
groundwater.
Ponding on the backll should be avoided by grading the sur-
face away from the wall and by allowing for outlets at low points
behind the wall where the geometry of the area could cause
water to accumulate.
2. Check that resisting moment exceeds the overturning moment.
Te structures stability check against overturning is conducted
by comparing the moments of the restoring active forces and the
moments of the overturning active forces. Tese moments are
calculated with respect to the lower front of the base of the wall
which represents the overturning point.
Te forces which contribute to the wall stability are the
weight of the structure, the loads acting on the wall and the pas-
sive thrust. Te recommended embedment or buried depth is in
practice one tenth of the height, or 300 mm minimum. Te pas-
sive thrust is often ignored in design to avoid reliance on passive
resistance, and to allow for unplanned excavations at the front of
the wall.
Te possibility of reduced weight owing to poor lling of the
baskets must be taken into account as mentioned previously.
Te inertia forces induced by the seismic eect, and the uplift
pressures which are involved when the wall is partially under-
water, are considered in the calculation of the structure unit
weight and contribute to decreasing the restoring moment.
3. Check that sliding resistance exceeds the active horizontal force.
Te tendency of the active earth pressure to cause the wall to
slide horizontally must be opposed by the frictional resistance at
the base of the wall.
All the factors that could decrease the weight, as mentioned
above, need to be considered when calculating the frictional re-
sistance. Te passive thrust should again be ignored owing to the
possibility of unplanned excavation in front of the wall, which
could remove the assistance gained from the embedment.
Only the base width can be utilised against sliding, as the
common practice of providing a key below the base as is done
with concrete bases, is not an acceptable practice.
Te available resisting force is given by:
T = N tan
where is the angle of friction between the foundation and
the base of the wall, and B is the length of the base.
If a geofabric lter is not placed under the base of the wall, is
assumed to be equal to the angle of friction of the foundation
soil. Otherwise the angle of friction is reduced by a percentage
to be decided by the designer. Many engineers prefer not to use a
geotextile under the gabion, but if it is necessary, then a default
reduction of 15% is recommended, but there is unfortunately no
validation of this 15% gure.
There is additional resistance offered by a cohesive soil
and by the anchoring effect of a protrusion of the base into
the backfill. If the anchorage effect of an extended base is
required, then the tension in the anchor is limited by the
allowable tensile strength of the gabion mesh, which is ap-
proximately 50 kN/m.
4. Check that the resultant force falls within the middle third of the walls
base, and that the maximum bearing pressure is within the allowable limit.
Te key to analysing the pressures acting on the foundation of
the structure is to rst determine the point of application of the
normal force and the moment equilibrium with respect to the
point of overturning, which is given by:
d = (M
r
M
o
)/N and
e = B/2 - d
where M
r
and M
o
are the moment of resistance and over-
turning moments, N is the normal force, and d is the distance
from the front of the base to the normal force.
From e one can determine the maximum pressure which is given
by:
o
max
= N/B (1 + 6e/B)
The designer must also be cognisant of the fact that the base
of a gabion is not rigid and that it cannot have an even distri-
bution of pressure that is theoretically based on a rigid base
obtained from a reinforced concrete base. It is for this reason
that the designer should strive to keep the eccentricity well
within the mid third.
Anyone brave enough to disregard this advice must adjust the
pressure by acknowledging that the base is not fully utilised, and
use the higher pressure of o
max
= 2N/3D, but it is strongly recom-
mended that this situation be avoided.
It is also good practice to place the gabions with the longest
dimension perpendicular to the wall, i.e. from front to back in
header courses rather than from left to right in stretcher courses.
Tis avoids a train of say four 1 m wide units laced together to
form a 4 m wide base which will be more exible than a base made
from a single 4 m long unit or a base made from two 2 m units.
High pressures on the lower gabions of walls higher than 4 m
can also be countered by using smaller 0.5 m x 0.5 m units which
provide a higher percentage of wire per cubic metre of rock and
accordingly increases the shear strength and bearing capacity of
the lled gabions.
Another good practice is to build all walls with a batter of
approximately 6, but checking that the shear of the top basket is
not negative, otherwise the wall will fall backwards.
An alternative to providing a batter is to provide a front-
stepped gabion rather than a vertical front-faced gabion. Tis
also oers an aesthetic advantage, as the steps conceal instal-
lation imperfections or post-construction movements, both of
which become very conspicuous when trying to provide a per-
fectly smooth vertical front face. Gabions stepped on the outside
are also easier to vegetate.
5. Check the internal stability of the wall for compression and shear.
Besides the analyses previously described, the retaining structure
must also be checked against the possibility of internal failure,
since it is subject to internal stresses due to the thrust and to the
surcharge loads directly applied to the wall.
In the case of gabions one must, at every layer, check the
pressure on the gabions and check each layer against sliding
with respect to the layer above or below it. For this analysis, one
must determine the active thrust which acts on the wall por-
tion above the analysed section, using the same procedures as
for the other checks.
For calculating maximum bearing versus allowable bearing,
the maximum normal stress at a layer is given by:
o
max
= N/2d or N/(B-2e)
where N and d are obtained from the force and moment
equilibrium.
Te allowable value is dependent only on the density of the rock
and is obtained from empirical formulae derived from research
and tests:
o
all
= 50 30 (t/m
2
)
where is the gabion unit weight which is the eective
density of the packed rock in t/m
3
.
Exampl e of a MacSt ars gabi on wall
For example, a rock of 2.6 t/m
3
which, with a porosity of 40%,
would give a density of:
= 2.6 x 0.6 = 1.56 t/m
3
o
all
= 50 30 = 50 x 1.56 30 = 48 t/m
2
or o
all
= 480 kN/m
2
for rock of SG 2.6 and porosity of 40 %.
Many engineers use o
all
= 610 kN/m
2
which is for rock of SG 2.6
and porosity of 30%.
(kN/m
3
) o
all
(kN/m
2
)
14 400
16 500
18 600
Te table alongside can be inter-
polated for a quick check on al-
lowable bearing for various com-
binations of gabion densities.
Maximum shear versus allowable shear
A research study on gabions has identied the geotechnical
parameters of the equivalent soil in accordance with the Mohr-
Coulomb interpretation model ( = C + o tan) where the cohe-
sion is provided by the mesh characteristic and the angle of
friction by the rock characteristics:
all
= C
g
+ otan (kN/m
2
)
C
g
= overall cohesive eect of the wire mesh
C
g
= 0.3 P
u
- 0.5 (t/m
2
)
P
u
= is an empirical value based on a combination of the mesh
strength and weight in kg per m
3
of wall.
An approximation of P
u
can be obtained by assuming that it is
the weight per cubic metre of the empty basket.
Te P
u
values for gabions whose tensile strength are in the
region of 50 kN/m can be assumed to be at the least:
P
u
= 15 kg/m
3
for 0.5 m gabions of mesh type 80 and 2.7 mm
wire, and
P
u
= 9 kg/m
3
for 1.0m gabions of mesh type 80 and 2.7 mm
mesh.
Tis converts to cohesion values of :
C
g
= 40 kN/m
2
for 0.5 m gabions of mesh type 80 and 2.7 mm
mesh
C
g
= 22 kN/m
2
for 1 m gabions of type 80 and 2.7 mm mesh
= internal ctitious angle of friction of aggregate
= 25 - 10
where is the gabion unit weight which is the eective den-
sity of the packed rock in t/m
3
.
Example:
= 29 for rock of SG 2.6 packed to 40% porosity, and
= 35.5 for rock of SG 2.6 packed to 30% porosity.
SUMMARY OF GOOD GABION PRACTICES
Be aware of the effect of any water at or near the wall and
provide additional drainage if required.
Be wary of clay in the vicinity of the wall.
Always have a geotechnical engineer review the founda-
tions and the global stability.
Design with a batter or a stepped front face.
Base should be >2/3H and e<B/6.
Embedment must be >H/10 and >300 mm.
Consider the impact on the design if gabions are poorly
packed.
Choose a wire coating to suit the environment and the
desired design life.
O nly use SANS 1580 approved gabions from a reputable
supplier. Inferior gabions will compromise the safety of the
wall.
Ensure that gabions are correctly assembled, laced and
braced as per SANS 1200DK and to the manufacturers in-
stallation manual. Incorrectly installed gabions will increase
the risk of failure.
Position gabions with the longest dimension perpendicular
to the wall.
Tension empty baskets longitudinally until they are taut and
the correct lengths.
Use 0.5 m gabions in the lower third of walls >4 m or if
necessary gabions manufactured from 3 mm wire mesh,
or additional bracing.
Very high walls must have the mesh of the panels of the
front face aligned vertically.
Use correct strength and size of rock and ensure it is cor-
rectly packed.
Pack rocks to lie at like bricks rather than standing up like
books on a shelf.
Encourage the use of temporary formwork during con-
struction to provide a good front face.
Be aware of possible corrosion to the wire from salts in
soils, pollutants, fertilisers, etc.
M inimise damage to geotextiles and protective coating of
wire.
Provide at least 300 mm laps to geotextile.
Avoid deforming of the gabions during the construction of
the backll.
Avoid clay in the backll.
The assembly on site of gabions is the most
vulnerable of all the processes involved from the
drawing board to the nished product. It cannot
be stressed enough that a badly installed
gabion will have a direct effect on the stability of
the structure.
Slope stability check of internal strength
A good evaluation of the nal design can be obtained by as-
suming that the wall is replaced by a stand-alone bank whose
cohesion C
g
and the angle of friction and the density are
the same as those obtained for the gabion parameters above.
Using a slope analysis methodology such as Bishops will en-
able the designer to get a satisfactory and realistic indication
of the stability of his design.
CONCLUSION
Te above information should hopefully empower the de-
signer to become versant with gabions as a means of oering
a viable solution for a mass gravity retaining wall. Tere are,
in addition, numerous commercial and proprietary software
programmes available that could assist to perfect the design
and enable the designer within minutes to run alternatives by
varying all the parameters mentioned in this article.
The focus must then move to the sourcing of the ga-
bions. The easiest way to ensure that the units delivered
to site meet the design requirements is to specify that the
gabions are manufactured to SANS 1580, which is the
relevant code for the manufacturing of hexagonal steel
wire mesh gabions. This will ensure that the gabions are
manufactured under strict ISO controls and will have
the desired strength capabilities. Gabions that are for any
reason substandard will not be able to withstand the high
pressures that occur in such mass gravity structures.
Te same applies for the assembly on site of gabions
as this is the most vulnerable of all the processes involved
from the drawing board to the nished product. It cannot
be stressed enough that a badly installed gabion will have a
direct eect on the stability of the structure.
Te designer must therefore ensure that the gabions
are installed according to SANS 1200 DK, the standard for
the installation of gabions (Standard Specications for Civil
Engineering Construction of Gabions). SANS 1200 DK further
requires that the installation also adheres to the manufac-
turers installation specications. Complying with these
measures will ensure that the wall is correctly built.
INFO
Tim Freeman (PDR) Pr Eng
Technical Manager
Maccaferri SA (Pty) Ltd
tim.freeman@maccaferri.co.za
Black empowered,
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Telephone: +27 21 917 8840
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info@afrimat.co.za
www.afrimat.co.za
Mining &
Aggregates
Bridging the way to the second largest
uranium mine in the world
INTRODUCTION
Te longest bridge since the independence
of Namibia in 1990 is set to be completed
by April 2014, connecting the Husab
Uranium Mine with the outside world.
Tis new bridge-over-river is located in
the Khan River Valley approximately
14km south of the B2 main road leading
to Swakopmund, and about 7 km north of
the proposed mine on a route that winds
partly through the Welwitchia plains of the
Namib Naukluft Park. Tis 22 km stretch
of surfaced road will connect the new mine
with the Namibian road network, and,
with its unique moon landscapes, promises
to be one of the most picturesque routes
within Namibia once completed.
Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd, as the
client, has set out to construct a world-
class uranium mine about 50 km east
of the coastal town of Swakopmund,
which is situated on the central western
coastline of Namibia. Lithon Project
Consultants (Pty) Ltd was appointed to
conduct the design and construction su-
pervision of the road and bridge, and has
subsequently sub-contracted Gibb (Pty)
Ltd, a South African-based rm, to assist
with the specialist works, particularly
regarding the bridge-over-river structure.
HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT AREA
A stretch of about 10 km of the route has
historic signicance, as the old German
railway line from Swakopmund to
Windhoek had been constructed along
this route and was used in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. At the time a bridge was
also constructed in the same place where
the new bridge is now being built to cross
the Khan River. Tere are still signs of the
old rail embankment, while the old water
pits are also still visible adjacent to the
bridge site. Tese ruins and landmarks
need to be preserved, posing signicant
challenges in the design and construction
of the road and bridge.
ROUTE SELECTION
One of the highlights of the project is
the fact that it is a greeneld project. Not
many engineers or contractors have the
opportunity to work on greeneld projects
in this day and age. Tis, however, brings
with it certain environmental constraints
and responsibilities, as part of the route
crosses the proclaimed Namib Naukluft
Park, and passes a number of historically
signicant landmarks, as had been men-
tioned above. As part of the route within
the Namib Naukluft Park runs through
the Welwitchia plains, an environmentally
sensitive area abounding with unique
desert ora and fauna, the route had to
be well positioned to prevent signicant
negative impact on the surroundings. A
further factor that had to be borne in mind
during route planning was that, due to the
unusual beauty and historical signicance
(with the old Khan mine also still in the
vicinity) of this area, it attracts numerous
tourists and tour operators.
Another challenge was to select the
most feasible route. Part of the route runs
through the so-called moon landscapes
very rough terrain consisting of solid
granite rock hence most of the route is
within tributaries of the Khan River, with
a 3 km stretch within the dry river bed.
All the above factors had to be consid-
ered and accommodated during the selec-
tion and design of the route, which in turn
constituted a highlight of the design phase,
as 4x4 vehicles, motorcycles and men on
foot were the main modes of transport
during the interesting investigation and
feasibility stage. LIDAR surveys with photo
Gert Maritz Pr Eng
Director: Transportation
Lithon Project Consultants (Pty) Ltd
gert@lithon.com
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Connect ing t he Husab Uranium Mine in Namibia wi t h t he
out si de worl d aerial vi ew of t he st arkl y beaut i f ul moon
landscape t hrough whi ch t he road descends t o t he Khan Ri ver
imagery were also conducted over a large
portion of the area to assist with the route
selection.
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
At the point of the river crossing, the
sandy river bed is roughly 200 m wide,
with an elevation of 294 m, and is anked
on both sides by the steep slopes of
rugged mountains.
Te proposed 160 m long Khan River
Bridge is positioned reasonably centrally
within the estimated overall ood width
of the river. Te bridge has been de-
signed for a single carriageway road and
comprises eight simply-supported 20 m
long deck spans carried on solid circular
reinforced concrete piers, with pier heads
and closed cantilever type abutments with
return walls and earwings. Wingwalls are
constructed utilising gabion boxes. Te
bridge caters for a 7.6 m roadway between
kerbs (2 x 3.5 m lanes plus 300 mm wide
shoulders), and 0.855 m wide raised side-
walks are provided on both sides resulting
in an overall bridge width of 9.37 m
between parapets. Te rst six spans are
on a 210 m circular curve with a 6% super
elevation, and the remaining two spans at
the southern end are on a straight align-
ment with the super elevation reducing
from 6% at the last pier on the east bank
to 2% at the east abutment.
Te bridge is founded on 38 reinforced
oscillator piles socketed within the river
bedrock, each 900 mm in diameter with
a length ranging between 14 m and 24 m.
Each pier is supported by four piles, and
the two abutments by ve piles each.
The bri dge over t he Khan Ri ver under const ruct i on, wi t h t he
f amous paddaklip vi sibl e on t he l ef t- hand si de of t he phot o
Const ruct i on of road wi t hin t he Khan Vall ey
info@lithon.com | www.lithon.com
Lit hon Pr oject Consult ant s is a well-est ablished and dynamic consult ing engineer ing f ir m t hat was f ounded
in Namibia in 2002. We pr ovide pr oject management , mult i-disciplinar y consult ing engineer ing and mining
ser vices t o our client s t hr ough our 4 of f ices in Namibia and 2 r ecent ly opened of f ices in Sout h Af r ica.
Lit hon is a company wit h a clear vision, which is t o make a dif f er ence in t he wor ld t hr ough our God-given skills as
Engineer s. Our long-t er m st r at egy and dr eam is t o have a global pr esence by par t ner ing wit h like-minded and
like-hear t ed individuals t hat shar e our vision. If you are one of these, please contact us at hr@lithon.com in
order to strengthen our team that will enable to meet the growing demand of our clients.
lithon ad quater 20jan2014 cmyk indd 1 2014/01/28 4:33 PM
ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Te pavement design consists of a exible
pavement sealed with a 19 mm Cape Seal.
Tere is a single carriageway in each direc-
tion, with climbing lanes on the ascending
sections on either side of the Khan River to
ensure that slower tra c is accommodated
on the steep slopes. Te travel way in each
direction consists of a 3.5 m lane, 300 mm
surfaced shoulder and 1.7 m gravel shoulder.
Te rst 4 km of the road is over a
relatively at terrain before descending into
the moon landscapes a rough terrain con-
sisting of solid granite rock. Ten kilometres
of the route runs within tributaries of the
Khan River, with 3 km within the Khan River
itself. Te road within the Khan River has
been positioned on the northern embank-
ment of the river and protected with gabion
boxes and mattresses over the entire length
of the river section. Te last 3 km of the route
are on the relatively at Welwitchia plains.
CONCLUSION
Te total budget of the project is estimated
at N$170 million, of which the bridge
construction amounts to approximately
N$21 million. Even though the bridge and
road construction forms only a very small
percentage of the total capital outlay of the
newly developed mine, the road and the
bridge together serve as an invaluable lifeline
for the import and export activities of this
new mine.
PROJECT TEAM
Client
Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd
Professional team
Lithon Project Consultants (Pty) Ltd
with Gibb (Pty) Ltd as specialist
sub-consultant
Main contractor
Basil Read Namibia (Pty) Ltd
Major sub- contractors
Botes & Kennedy Namibia (Pty) Ltd
(bridge)
Stefanutti Stocks Geotechncial
(Pty) Ltd (piling)
Basil Read Blasting and Excavation
Namibia (blasting)
Undersi de of t he compl et ed deck bri dge
1.
2.
3. 4.
Yodalarm Industrial Combination
Johannesburg
011 677 2500
Cape Town
021 593 1114
Bloemfontein
051 448 0996
Durban
031 319 5400
Port Elizabeth
041 374 1687
www.wacoelec.co.za
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L E G A L
Global claims
quo vadis?
PROBLEM SPECIFICATION
Of the order of 40% of construction contracts overrun time
and cost budgets, and require the management of change and
the administration of Extension of Time (EOT), and Delay and
Disruption Claims (DD). Te requirements for the management
of change and the administration of the progress of the Works
are embodied in the standard forms of contract, and generally
form the factual matrix of contractual claims.
Since the 1990s the contractual requirements (such as
Critical Path Method) within world-class contracts, e.g. the
NEC3 and the FIDIC suite of contracts, have been developed
with the aim of limiting disputes. In parallel with this evolu-
tionary process, the Society of Construction Law developed
its Delay and Disruption Protocol in 2002. Irrespective of the
contractual development and advances in technology, case law
reects a perpetuation of the ine ciencies inherent in these
categories of claims. Tis article considers a single problematic
issue within the claims environment, which is simply the legal
stance on the submission of global claims.
Te benchmark for assessing whether or not a global claim
is acceptable for consideration by a Mediator/Adjudicator/
Arbitrator or the Courts is set against the current international
trends in law. Te development of English and American law is
considered to be well suited, as rstly this case law has persuasive
value, and secondly there is a commonality within the develop-
ment of construction contracts and law, as is evidenced in the
familiar feel in GCC and ICE Conditions and the embracing by
the CIDB of the ICE Adjudication procedures.
THE DEFINITION OF A GLOBAL CLAIM
Elliott (2005) identies the legal denition of Global Claims, or
composite, rolled-up, total loss or total cost claims (Boulding
2006a) as claims where: the claimant does not seek to at-
tribute any specic loss to a specic breach of contract, but is
content to allege a composite loss as a result of all the breaches
alleged, or presumably as a result of such breaches as are ulti-
mately proved (Byrne, in Holland v Kvaerner
i
).
THE LAW
The United Kingdom
EOT and DD claims remain a problematic area in law (Burr & Lane
2003), and the success of an action is largely dependent upon the
facts, as Pallis-Clark (2010) emphasised in the article Delay Analysis
Facts are King. At the outset the approved programme (as in Balfour
Beatty v Lambeth
ii
), as submitted by the contractor at the com-
mencement of the works, with the associated method statement and
resource demand, is essential to dene an expected cost (as prepared
tender cost), as dened in Bernhards v Stockley
iii
. Te law, as Judge
Humphrey LLoyd QC stated in Alfred McAlpine v Property and
Leonardo Errera Pr Eng C Eng
Claims Management and
Dispute Resolution Consultant
Adjudicator and Arbitrator
leonardo.errera@gmail.com
Land
iv
, is clear in that it seeks certainty when ascertaining actual loss
or expense. Mr Justice Dyson, however, in How v Lindner
v
, stated
that the civil standard of proof is required and that there is scope for
exercise of judgment. Tese developments in law led to concerns, as
expressed by Burr & Lane, that the judiciary had a somewhat incre-
mental and individualistic approach to claims for delay and disrup-
tion. Further legal issues associated with the ownership of oat and
concurrent delays are identied by Scott, Harris & Greenwood (2004),
but these issues fall outside the scope of this article.
Te courts have had, what Burr & Lane view as an expan-
sion and retreat regarding the legal inadequacies or otherwise
of global claims. Te courts are now more reluctant to disallow
a claimant to proceed based upon the lack of particularity in its
pleadings, and are less averse to allowing a claim to proceed on
the basis that there exists a chance that the claimant may be able
to demonstrate that it is impractical or impossible to better break
down the complex interaction of events comprising its claim.
Lord & Gray (2011) have welcomed this development and sug-
gest that claimants should provide the courts with a cost benet
analysis to motivate for the consideration of global claims. Lord
& Gray are of the opinion that, should the courts conclude that
the analysis is reasonable and defendable, then the acceptability
of submitting global claims will be considerably enhanced. Te
nal report of Sir Rupert Jackson (2009)
vi
might be seen as sup-
porting the concept of proportionality and could well allow for a
further relaxation in the courts attitude towards, and considera-
tion of, global claims. Te O.G.C. (2003) Report also emphasises
the need to improve the e ciency and economics of the con-
struction industry. In contrast to the relaxation in law as to the
acceptability of global claims, we nd the courts unwavering
demand for the establishment of a causal nexus by a claimant in
order to prove his claim. Ndekugri, Braimah & Gameson (2008)
and Palles-Clark (2010) emphasise the need for the claimant to
maintain a focus on the causal link as, without the proof of cause
and eect, complex analyses are of minimal or no value.
The United States of America
Global Claims do present causative challenges, but a transgressor
will be held to account where the quantication of the individual
heads of claim are impracticable to determine. Court of Claims
Boyajian v United States (1970) 423 F 2d 1231:
Tis theory has never been favored (sic) by the court and has
been tolerated only when no other mode was available. Te ac-
ceptability of the method hinges on proof that:
1. nature of the particular losses make it impossible or highly
impracticable to determine them with a reasonable degree
of accuracy;
2. the plaintis bid or estimate was realistic;
3. the plaintis actual costs were reasonable; and
4. the plainti was not responsible for the added expense.
THE AIM OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM
Te aim of the legal system is to secure conformity to certain
Standards of Conduct, say Hart & Honor (1985). Causation in
law is a constant and does not vary across the realms of actions,
according to Willis & Brown (2004). Tompson (2007) is of the
opinion that it is only in exceptional circumstances that the rules
of causation can be modied on policy grounds, and by the
requirements of justice, as in Fairchild v Glenhaven
vii
. It is against
this benchmark that causation within the Built Environment
LEGAL CAUSATION
(subject also to the
intrusion of factual-causal
concepts)
The boundary between
factual and legal
causaon is blurred
.
CAUSE(c)---------------------------------------------------EFFECT (e)
The cause of acon is
chosen by the claimant
TIER ONE
CAUSEOF ACTION
----------------- - -
THE LAW
STATUTE
CONTRACT LAW
(bespoke clauses)
COMMON LAW
True scope of the rule
which imposes
liability.
Idencaon of the
grounds upon which
the rule imposes
liability.
The kind of loss for
which it provides
compensaon.
General Causaon
Individual Causaon
Fault Causaon
Hypothecal parallel series
The specic replacement in law for cause and eect
Replacement Cause (c*)--------------------Replacement Eect (e*)
established on the balance of probabilies
TIER TWO
LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY IN LAW
FACTUAL
CAUSATION
Factual matrix pertainingto both (c) and (e) and (c*) and (e*)
applied to the limits of liability set in law in order to determine
the quantumof Time and Financial claims
TIER THREE
DEFINITION OF
QUANTUM
FACTUAL
CAUSATION
(partly a legal queson)
THAT WHICH DID TRANSPIRE
Figure 1: Cont rast i ve Causat i on research model t o manage Ext ensi on of Ti me and Di srupt i on Clai ms ( Errera 2013 )
must be assessed. Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the
Contrastive Causation Model, within the Built Environment, as
proposed by Errera (2013) to manage EOT and DD claims.
Te Standard Forms of Contract call for the contractor to
submit a Works Programme with associated Method Statement
and Cash Flow which allow the employer, and his duly appointed
agent, to monitor progress and manage change. Te require-
ments in law for the management of change by the application of
Critical Path Method techniques are succinctly proered by H.H.
Judge Humphrey LLoyd Q.C. in Balfour v Lambeth
viii
:
the foundation must be the original programme (if ca-
pable of justication and substantiation to show its validity
and reliability as a contractual starting point) and its success
will similarly depend on the soundness of its revisions on
the occurrence of every event, so as to be able to provide a
satisfactory and convincing demonstration of cause and ef-
fect. A valid critical path (or paths) has to be established both
initially and at every later material point since it (or they) will
almost certainly change. Some means has also to be estab-
lished for demonstrating the eect of concurrent or parallel
delays or other matters for which the employer will not be
responsible under the contract. (underscoring provided)
ACCEPTABILITY OF GLOBAL CLAIMS
Lord Reid, in McGhee v National Coal Board
ix
stated that:
It has always been the law that a pursuer succeeds if he
can show that the fault of the defender caused or materially
contributed to his injury. Tere may have been two separate
causes but it is enough if one of those causes arose from the
fault of the defender.
Te general test for matters of this nature is the material contri-
bution test (Tompson 2007). Tompson is of the opinion that it
is unlikely that the exception to the general rule of causation will
stray outside of the guidance oered by Lord Homan in Barker
v Corus UK Ltd
x
:
Firstly, with regard to the limits of the exception to the general
rule, Lord Homan stated that the essential condition for the
exception was that, the impossibility of proving that the de-
fendant caused the damage arises out of the existence of another
potential causative agent which operated in the same way.
Secondly, with regard to the extent of liability under the excep-
tion, Lord Homan adapted the approach that the defendant is
liable only for the proportion of his contribution to the loss and
hoped that, practical and economic criteria could be developed
for the qualication of the claimants loss in such situations.
Global Claims seek to consolidate the quantication of the
impact of the claimants individual heads of claim. Te Global
Claim compromises the level of detail, or particularity, of Tier
3 of the Contrastive Causation Model (Errera 2013). Boulding
(2006a) describes the composite claim as a situation in which,
the claimant openly declares its intent to not adduce evidence
to prove the basic elements but rather puts forward a total
amount of loss incurred ... Elliott (2005) emphasises that the
courts will look to the claimant to meet the burden of proof that:
1. a breach, or breaches, or claim events have occurred;
2. the defendant is factually and legally responsible for these events;
3. the Relevant Events caused the loss;
4. the global quantum of the loss ows from the Relevant Events.
Pennicott (2006) recognises the existence of parallels between
Fairchild v Glenhaven and global claims. Pennicott concludes
that, although global claims should be viewed as the exception
rather than the rule, Doyle v Laing
xi
is a source of encouragement
for the construction industry.
CONCLUSION
Although the Protocol discourages the practice of making com-
posite claims, research (Errera 2013) indicates that the law has, and
will always, recognise the need to address claims of this nature. Tis
view has gained further support and has now gained precedence in
the ruling of Lord Justice Aikens in Walter Lilly v Mackay
xii
.
It is clear that, generally speaking, when there is a claim for
the type of expenses that have been claimed in this action,
they have to be claimed, as it were, individually, setting par-
ticular claims alongside particular events. However, in certain
circumstances there can be what is known as a global claim,
or what I think in one of the cases is termed a rolled up award.
Tat type of approach however is only permissible in certain
clearly dened circumstances.
Te e cient resolution of global claims does not detract from the
single most important fact in the resolution of all DD and EOT
claims, which is simply that the construction delay process commences
at project inception. Tis article did not attempt to address the ne
nuances in law but rather sought to identify the clearly dened cir-
cumstances which permit the claimant to submit a global claim.
REFERENCES
LEGAL
i
John Holland Construction & Engineering (Pty) Ltd v Kvaerner R J
Brown (Pty) Ltd [1996] S.C. (Victoria) 11 October 82 B.L.R. 81.
ii
Balfour Beatty v Te Mayor & Burgers of London Borough of
Lambeth. [2002] E.W.H.C. 597 (T.C.C.) (12 April).
iii
Bernhards Airways Pension Trustees Ltd v Stockley Park
Consortium Ltd [1997] 82 B.L.R.39.
iv
Alfred McAlpine Homes Limited v Property and Land
Contractors Limited [1996] 76 B.L.R.59.
v
How Engineering Services Limited v Lindner Ceilings Floors
Partitions Plc [1999] C.I.L.L. 1521.
vi
Te Jackson Review (2009).
vii
Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] U.K.H.L. 22.
viii
Balfour Beatty Contruction Ltd v Te Mayor and Burgesses of
the London Borough of Lambeth [2002] E.W.H.C. (T.C.C.).
ix
McGhee v National Coal Board [1973] House of Lords 1 W.L.R.1.
x
Barker v Corus UK Ltd [2006] 2 A.C. 572.
xi
John Doyle Construction Ltd v Laing Management (Scotland)
Ltd [2004] B.L.R. 295.
xii
Walter Lilly and Company Ltd v Mackay and Another[2013]
EWCA Civ 1.
BOOKS AND DISSERTATIONS
Abrahamson, M. (1979) Engineering Law and the ICE Contracts.
4th ed. London, E & F.N. Spon.
Eggleston, B. (2006) Te NEC3 Engineering and Construction
Contract: A Commentary. 2nd ed. Oxford, Blackwell Sciences.
Errera, L. (2013) Contracting for Delay and Disruption.
Dissertation, MSc Construction Law & Dispute Resolution,
Leeds Metropolitan University.
FIDIC (2006) Conditions of Contract for Construction.
Multilateral Development Bank Harmonised ed. Geneva
Switzerland, FIDIC.
Te Institution of Civil Engineers (NEC3) (June 2005 with
amendments 2006) Engineering and Construction Contract.
3rd ed. London, Tomas Telford Publishing.
Te Institution of Civil Engineers (2011) ICE Manual of
Construction Law. London, Tomas Telford Publishing.
REPORTS
Jackson, R. (2009) Review of Civil Litigation Costs Final Report
(Te Jackson Review). London, H.M.S.O.
O.G.C. (2003) Improving performance, project evaluation and
benchmarking. Achieving excellence in construction procure-
ment guide 08. London.
Society of Construction Law (2002) Delay and Disruption
Protocol. October (2004 reprint), Oxfordshire, Society of
Construction Law.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Boulding, P., Q.C. (2006 a) Global Claims in 2005. Keating Chambers
Seminar, (23 August), [Internet]. Available at:
<http//www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resouces/publications/2006/
pbglobal_claims_2006.aspx> [Accessed 29 May 2012].
Boulding, P., Q.C. (2006 b) Te New Engineering Contract: A
Progress Report. Keating Chambers Seminar, (20 October),
[Internet]. Available at:
<http//www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resouces/publica-
tions/2006/the_new_engineering_contract_a_progress_re-
port.aspx> [Accessed 29 May 2012].
Burr, A & Lane, N. (2003) Te SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol:
hunting snarks. Construction Law Journal, 19(3), pp. 135143.
Elliott, T., Q.C. (2005) Global Claims in 2005. Keating Chambers
Seminar, (27 July), [Internet]. Available at:
<http//www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resouces/publications/2005/
te_global_claims_2005.aspx> [Accessed 29 May 2012].
Lord, W. & Gray, T. (2011) Cost benet analysis approach to
global claims. International Journal of Law in the Built
Environment, 3(3), pp. 222236.
Ndekugri, I., Braimah, N. & Gameson, R. (2008) Delay
Analysis within Construction Contracting Organisations.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,
A.S.C.E. (September).
Palles-Clark, R. (2010) Delay Analysis Facts are King.
Construction Law Review, C.I.C.E.S. (2010).
Pennicott, I. (2006) Global Claims. Keating Chambers, [Internet].
Available at:
<http//www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/publica-
tions/2006/ip_global_claims_scl_newcastle.aspx> [Accessed
24 May 2012].
Scott, S., Harris, R. & Greenwood, D. (2004) Assessing the
New United Kingdom Protocol for Dealing with Delay and
Disruption. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering
Education and Delay Common to Construction Contracts,
A.S.C.E. (January).
Tompson, J. (2007) Te Law of Causation in the Law of Tort:
Concurrent Issues. Keating Chambers/Resources, (21 March),
[Internet]. Available at:
<http//www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resouces/publica-
tions/2007/the_law_of_causation_in_the_law_of_tort_con-
current_issues.aspx> [Accessed 24 May 2012].
Willis, M. & Brown, W. (2004) A Change in the rules? Te New
Law Journal, 154(7157), N.L.J. 1882, (December).

Civillain by J onah Ptak
Are you prepared for ...
... defending claims against delays?
In construction nowadays, tight deadlines and highly
demanding programmes increase the risk of delays in
both design and construction, which could be could
be extremely costly. Claims for the extension of time
and financial compensation need to be effectively
anticipated, substantiated and defended.
We, at Binnington Copeland & Associates, are highly
experienced in the formulation and defence of claims
affecting contractors, administrators, designers and
suppliers in the engineering, building and construction
industries. This is done with close attention to the terms
and conditions of the contract, as well as the prevailing
circumstances in each and every case.
BCA, as part of the Hill International group with 3,500
employees in 110 offices throughout the world, are
able to provide an up-to-date resource of programmes
in all aspects of project management, construction
management and claims, and consulting services.
Engineering News Record, recently ranked Hill International
as the 11th largest construction management company
in the United States.
Consult with us a little now,
to avoid a lot later.
Tel: +27 (0)11 888 6141 Email: ivor@bca.co.za
www. bc a . c o. z a
R
e
c
o
r
d

l
e
v
e
l
s
i
n

g
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o
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s
INTRODUCTION
So, global claims are alive and well and were recently found living
in London! According to many, the judgement of Akenhead J, in
the recent case of Walter Lilly & Co v Giles Patrick Cyril Mackay,
DMW Developments Ltd (2012), shows that global claims are
making a comeback. If you believe this to be true I suggest that
you keep away from internet banner ads that oer one weird tip
for a at belly.
As with all decisions of the courts we must read the full judge-
ment and be wary of stretching precedent beyond breaking point.
As I recall, Robert Akenhead QC was always sceptical about global
claims when being consulted as counsel, and I suspect his view
has changed little now that he is a judge. I would suggest that this
decision in this case turns on some rather peculiar facts rather
than signifying a seminal moment in the history of global claims.
Te judgement is clear, sensible and worthy of proper considera-
tion, but as noted in the judgement, global claims have been
discussed and ruled upon in much higher courts and so it would
be unwise to read into the judgement a precedent that contradicts
earlier binding decisions. Rather the judge clarifying the existing
thinking.
PROBLEMS WITH GLOBAL CLAIMS
In truth, the basic problem with global claims is one of evidence
and it will always be so. Judges and Tribunals want to be con-
vinced that on the balance of probabilities the claimants loss
arose as a direct consequence of a respondents act or omission.
To meet this burden of proof is not so di cult if records have
been maintained, analysed and compiled in a workmanlike way.
Please note the use of the word workmanlike; you dont have to
be academically brilliant or extraordinarily talented to compile
and use records wisely.
Claims are a part of everyday life in engineering,
building and construction industry contracts.
There is often a tendency, however, for a claim
to be formulated on a global basis, as opposed
to being built up from individual events showing
cause and effect in each case. Such claims do
not nd favour in South African courts. In the
July 2012 issue of Civil Engineering (page 48)
Dawson Jenner of Binnington Copeland and
Associates (BCA) in Johannesburg commented
extensively on this topic, comparing the South
African and English positions. In this current
article, Jeff Whiteld, Claims G roup Director
at leading world-wide claims consultants Hill
International, who recently acquired a controlling
interest in BCA, takes the matter further, with a
candid discussion on the chances of success
with a global claim, as seen from abroad.
Weve thought about where we came
from! The company formerly known
as Duktus Tiroler Rohrsysteme GmbH
is reverting to the name Tiroler Rohre
GmbH. This means the products are
also reverting to their original names.
For more than 40 years, Tiroler Rohre
in the heart of Europe has stood for
superb quality and efficiency. Our pile
systems, in particular, rank in the top
class all over the world.
As in the past, you can obtain the TRM
pile (formerly the Duktus pile) in its
customary excellent quality from our
reliable partner GeoPile Africa (Pty)
Ltd (W www.geopileafrica.co.za
E robm@geopileafrica.co.za).
TRM back to the roots!
Weve thought about where we came
Back to the roots
The Duktus pile
becomes the TRM pile
Global claims are usually presented because one of three
things has happened sensible records were not maintained,
sensible records were not safely stored, sensible records were
not referenced in the compilation of the claim. As the quantum
expert witness in the reported High Court case of Petromec Inc
v Petroleo Brasileiro SA (2007) I testied that adequate records
to prove individual losses had been maintained. In that case the
judge decided that individual events should be separately evi-
denced, ruling against the global claim approach suggested by the
claimant. Te Court of Appeal agreed later.
It is, therefore, still my view that if records are available which
(a) prove causation and (b) link it with the value of the damage
resulting, then to ignore those records and submit a global claim
would be unwise and possibly fatal to a successful outcome.
If adequate records simply do not exist or were lost I believe that
there are two possible outcomes the Tribunal may have sympathy
with the claimants argument that it was unable to maintain the
necessary records due to the circumstances in which the claimant
was expected to perform the works, or the Tribunal may have sym-
pathy with the respondents claim that it would respond favourably
to a particularised claim but the claimant is oering no substantive
evidence that the respondent was liable for the alleged losses.
I suspect that Akenhead J, in the recent Walter Lilly case ref-
erenced above, adopted the rst approach and, if you doubt that
conclusion, read the full judgement.
BEST PRACTICE?
Te advice following this case is broadly the same as the advice
before. In order to give yourself the best possible chance of suc-
cess with any claim, you should:
1. Keep excellent contemporaneous records and store them securely.
2. Identify causes of delay contemporaneously and record the
impact of the delay.
3. Identify causes of disruption contemporaneously and record
the impact of the disruption.
4. Compile these records showing the link between cause and eect.
5. Present records that link the eects with the damage.
If you are obliged to submit a global claim then you must make
yourself a sympathetic claimant and approach the Tribunal
with openness and what the courts call clean hands. Hopefully
you will then nd a sympathetic judge or Tribunal that will up-
hold and take the time to assess your entitlement.
INFO
I vor Evans Pr Eng
Binnington Copeland and Associates
+27 11 888 6141
ivor@bca.co.za
David Brodie- Stedman
Senior Vice-President and Managing Director
Asia, Middle East and Africa, Hill International
+971 2 627 2855
auh@hillintl.com
David Merrit t
Senior Vice-President and Managing Director
Middle East and Africa, Hill International
+971 4 337 2145
dxb@hillint.com
66 January/February 2014 Civil Engineering 66 66 66 66 6 Ja Ja Ja Ja Janu nnu nu nuar ar ar ary/ y/ y/ y/Fe Fe Fe Fe Febr br bbr br brua ua a uua uary ry rrr 2201 01 01 00014444 CCCCiv iiv iv iv vil il il il il EEEEEEEEnnngg ng ng n iiin in i ee eeri ri ri ing ngg
GEOPILE AFRICA (Pty) Ltd
BRIEF HISTORY
Te company registered in 2004 as a spe-
cialist foundations and piling contractor,
and in 2011 entered an exclusive agree-
ment for the patented TRM-Ductile piling
system. In the same year successful TRM-
Ductile piling trials were undertaken
together with the University of Pretorias
Civil Engineering Department, and in
2012 the company was awarded its rst
TRM-Ductile piling projects.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FOR
TRM- DUCTILE PILING SYSTEM
GEOPILE AFRICAs exclusive contract
with TRM-Ductile from Austria, who
manufactures patented plug and drive
system ductile piles, ensures round-
the-clock technical support from TRM-
Ductile and their 30-year old database.
MAIN ADVANTAGES OF
TRM- DUCTILE PILING SYSTEM
Fast installation (up to 400 m/day)
Adjustable pile length (up to 50 m)
Simple, patented, fast Plug & Drive joint
system creating rigid connection
Less preparation of working platforms
Virtually no vibration
No spoil and no waste
Safe working loads up to 1 400 kN
Use of light and standard excavator
equipment
Rock and cobbles can be penetrated
giving friction on both outside and
inside of pile
Pile head trimming pro-
cess included (thus no time/
cost for general contractor)
Environmentally friendly (made from
100% recycled materials)
GRAIN MILL SILO, HARRISMITH,
FREE STATE PROVINCE
In April 2013 GEOPILE was awarded the
piling works for the rst phase of a grain
mill project in Harrismith, in the Free
State Province.
C O M P A N Y P R O F I L E
Specialist piling and foundations
contractor G EO PILE AFRICA is
increasingly establishing itself
in the geotechnical engineering
environment as a reliable,
professional and technically
skilled partner who gets the job
done safely and in the shortest
time possible.
Tis was a fast-track construction
programme, as the customer needed all
the piling to be completed in the shortest
possible time. In addition, the site was
tiny and surrounded by existing struc-
tures, including adjacent railway lines and
overhead cables all this inside a working
grain mill.
Rising to these challenges GEOPILE
duly mobilised the excavator piling
rig and installed all 22 piles within six
working hours on site, including the pile
head trimming works. All piles were suc-
cessfully installed, embedded into the
underlying sandstone bedrock.
RIVER BRIDGE NEAR TZANEEN,
LIMPOPO PROVINCE
In June 2013 GEOPILE was awarded
the piling works for a river bridge near
Tzaneen, based on a redesigned pile
layout using TRM-Ductile piles with
approximately 80 vertical and raking
piles. The raking piles were designed to
be installed at angles between 10 and
35 in order to support the significant
lateral loadings.
Te alluvial layer with cobbles and
some small boulders had to be penetrated
by the piles in order for them to reach into
the underlying medium-hard bedrock.
Piles were therefore driven open-ended,
allowing the high energy delivered by the
powerful Atlas Copco hydraulic hammer
to be fully transferred to the pile cutting
shoe at the toe.
The piling works were completed
in two weeks working time on site
and in accordance with the agreed
programme, with all piles successfully
penetrating the alluvium and embed-
ding into the bedrock.
CAR DEALERSHIP, EAST LONDON
In July 2013 GEOPILE installed 41 piles
for a car dealership in East London. Piles
had to be driven through uncontrolled
ll containing obstructions, and em-
bedded into the underlying shale. Piles
were successfully installed at depths of
between 6 m and 8 m, with the entire
works completed in two days on site,
including pile head trimming at nal
cut-o level.
THE CUBE, RIVONIA,
JOHANNESBURG SHOW JOB
In May 2013 GEOPILE completed the
piled foundations for a five-level resi-
dential private building development in
Rivonia. The works included installa-
tion of 220 piles at depths between 2 m
and 5 m, including the immediate cut-
ting off of every pile at final trim level.
All piles were driven to be embedded
into the granite bedrock, with loads of
up to 1000kN.
GEOPILE completed the piling
works in one week on site, and when
the piling rig was demobilised the gen-
eral contractor had already concreted
75% of his pilecaps and ground beams,
as well as almost 50% of his column
starter pours.
GEOPILE ran this as a show job
and hundreds of invited guests visited
the site to see the piling works in action
first hand.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
TRIALS AND TESTING WORKS
GEOPILE believes that trials and load
tests are essential for large renewable
energy projects, and they have per-
formed TRM-Ductile piling trials and
load verification tests on several CSP
projects. Trials and tests are fast to
perform and more are planned for the
months ahead.
Trials and tests prove to the cus-
tomers that GEOPILE can achieve instal-
lation speed and tight tolerances, and
enable back analysis of important geo-
technical parameters, says Jared Prowse,
GEOPILE Projects Manager.
KEY PERSONNEL
GEOPILE has developed a very well
trained and experienced operational team
to focus on TRM-Ductile piling works. In
addition the company has highly expe-
rienced top management and technical/
design sta.
HIGH STANDARDS
GEOPILE aims to achieve the highest
standards of safety, professionalism,
quality, speed and satisfaction for all
their customers in all respects, and,
in this regard, has often been named
number one contractor on the sites
where they operate.
INFO
Rob Marsden
Managing Director
GEOPILE AFRICA (Pty) Ltd
+27 11 966 7760
+27 82 311 1339
robm@geopileafrica.co.za
Grain mill sil o GEOPI LE inst all ed all 22 pil es
wi t hin si x working hours
Bridge near Tzaneen the raking piles were installed
by GEOPILE at angles between 10 and 35
Car dealership GEOPILE installed 41 piles at depths
of between 6 m and 8 m in two days on site
The Cube, Rivonia GEOPILE installed 220 piles at
depths between 2 m and 5 m in one week on site
S A I C E A N D P R O F E S S I O N A L N E W S
The Candidate Academy
THE CANDIDATE ACADEMY experi-
enced a bumper year in 2013 with attend-
ance increasing 30% over 2012. Allyson
Lawless, SAICE Professional Development
and Projects Director, and driver of the
Candidate Academy, says: Companies
used the quieter periods experienced in
2013 to invest in developing and training
their young graduates. We hope to see the
same level of commitment to training, if
not more, in 2014. Well over 4 500 del-
egates have attended Candidate Academy
courses since its inception in 2010.
THE ROAD TO REGISTRATION SERIES
During 2013 the full range of Road to
Registration courses was in great de-
mand, including:
Te Road to Registration
for Candidates
Te Road to Registration for
Mature Candidates
Te Road to Registration
for Supervisors
Te Road to Registration for Mentors,
Supervisors & HR Practitioners
It is expected that, with many changes
being implemented by the Engineering
Council of South Africa (ECSA) with
respect to registration requirements,
numbers will continue to increase on
these courses.
SUPPORT FOR MATURE CANDIDATES
In 2013 there was a strong focus on ma-
ture candidates; these are practitioners
who have long since been eligible for
registration, but have simply never sat
down to write up their applications. Te
mature course helps delegates to struc-
ture their submission, complete their
rst and last Training and Experience
Reports under guidance, and plan their
major engineering report. With this guid-
ance they can then complete the rest of
the submission with condence. Many
attendees have reported that they have
nally been registered as a result of this
training. Cathy Hossack delighted the
training team when her registration was
conrmed and she decided to throw a
registration party. Cathy said: I promised
myself a party if I was successful, so here
is the invitation!
Here at the Candidate Academy we
are committed to supporting and en-
couraging mature candidates, as well as
candidates who have been deferred, says
Allyson. Candidates who are deferred do
not understand what went wrong in most
cases. At the Candidate Academy we try
to assist these candidates to get to the
root of such deferrals and oer corrective
feedback so that they can nally develop
adequately for registration.
SUPPORT FOR MENTORS AND
SUPERVISORS
An innovation in 2013 was the delivery of
half-day, in-house Road to Registration
courses for busy supervisors. It was
recognised that supervisors were key to
brieng, coaching and developing can-
didates, but were not up to speed on the
current ECSA requirements, or in many
instances on coaching and other training
techniques to get the most out of their
candidates. Well over 250 supervisors
attended courses during the course of the
year.
Te mentor course was also in demand,
which gave mentors insight into how to
run training programmes, and in par-
ticular how to develop training plans and
assess progress towards registration.
CORPORATE SUPPORT
With increasing demand to train
graduates to the level of competence
required for professional registration,
the Candidate Academy has also become
involved in assisting companies to design
and implement training programmes.
Hundreds of candidates are now being
trained in a structured manner towards
registration as a result of this support.
MENTORS NEEDED
Part of the corporate service in many
instances has been the provision of ex-
ternal mentors to oversee the process and
assist companies to institutionalise their
training programmes. Anyone interested
in serving as an external mentor should
send his/her CV to Nadine Naude at
Allysons o ce (nadine@ally.co.za).
THE GETTING ACQUAINTED SERIES
Te Getting acquainted with series of
courses was also well received in 2013.
Te line-up for 2014 includes:
Getting acquainted with GCC 2010
Getting acquainted with Fixing and
Anchoring Technology
Getting acquainted with Sewer Design
Getting acquainted with Water
Resource Planning
Getting acquainted with GCC (General
Conditions of Contract) was popular for
those who were new to GCC. Te courses
grows from strength to strength
on concrete, and xing and anchoring
technology also found ready markets.
Substantially increased interest in the
sewer design course was seen in 2013. Te
course is consequently being expanded
for 2014 and will be oered by a municipal
engineer with years of experience in water
and sanitation.
Getting acquainted with Water
Resource Planning will be oered for
the rst time in 2014. Tis course will
provide attendees with a basic insight
into the water resource planning process,
and covers a range of aspects such as data
sources and processing, hydrology, water
resources systems modelling, water al-
location and intervention planning. Te
course is aimed mainly at young profes-
sionals in the water sector, but would
benet anyone with an interest in water
resource planning, including employees of
national, provincial and local government,
water services authorities, bulk water sup-
pliers and large water users, as well as en-
gineers, hydrologists and environmental
practitioners.
WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE
Te Candidate Academy website is the
place to visit for details of all courses
available. Te website also oers various
resource pages to support candidates,
including details of other Voluntary
Associations and industry bodies who
oer training, and lists of Acts, books,
guidelines, policies and standards which
young practitioners need to know about
visit www.candidateacademy.co.za to nd
out more.
Te Candidate Academy Facebook
page allows candidates to share ex-
periences and support one another
regarding the registration process in
particular (http://www.facebook.com/
CanAcademy?ref=hl).
COURSES FOR 2014
Over and above the courses discussed
above, the following courses will continue
to be oered during 2014:
Basic Contract Administration and
Quality Control
Basic Pressure Pipeline Design
Road Construction and Maintenance
Please refer to the training calendar on
page 70 for details about the courses
planned for March, May and June 2014
(no courses during April).
Te Academy prides itself on delivering
top quality services and products that are
Thabo Sekha had been sceptical about
registering, especially after his rst at-
tempt on his own had been deferred.
I consulted with Rob du Preez who
made the process seem very easy
and straightforward. The guidance he
provided was valuable and profound.
Thanks Rob, Im nally registered. M y
advice to younger engineers is to do
it sooner rather than later. To all who
made this possible at SAICE and ECSA
thank you!
Delegates getting to grips with problem- solving on a
Road to Registration course for Candidates
Delegates hard at work preparing their submissions on a
Road to Registration for Mature Candidates course
relevant and practical; so, if you have ideas
that could improve our oerings, please
contact us (contact details below).
IN- HOUSE COURSES
Tere was enthusiastic demand for in-
house courses during 2013. So, if you
have large numbers who require training,
let the Candidate Academy customise a
course to suit your needs.
As an indication of the extent of
customisation oered, the Candidate
Academy has structured a modularised
training course for a provincial road au-
thority to guide inexperienced engineers,
technicians and technologists in the
work place. A range of modules intro-
duces them to the relevant specications,
manuals, standards and Acts used in
industry, outlines the composition of the
pavement and types of materials, and
covers pavement management systems
(PMS), design, quality control and ten-
dering, etc.
CANDIDATE ACADEMY COURSES MARCH JUNE 2014
Course March May June
Road to Registration for
Candidates
(1 day)
5 March
CESA Cape Town
28 May
SAICE Port Elizabeth
Road to Registration for Mature
Candidates
(1 day)
10 March
SAICE Cape Town
11 March
CESA Cape Town
13 March
SAICE Johannesburg
25 March
CESA East London
27 March
CESA Port Elizabeth
13 May
CESA Richards Bay
22 May
CESA Johannesburg
2 June
SAICE Durban
3 June
CESA Durban
10 June
CESA Nelspruit
Road to Registration for Mentors,
Supervisors & HR
(1 day)
9 June
CESA Johannesburg
Getting Acquainted with Fixing &
Anchoring Technology
(1 day)
25 June
CESA Cape Town
Contract Administration &
Quality Assurance
(3 days)
2628 March
SAICE Cape Town
2830 May
CESA Johannesburg
Pressure Pipeline Design
(2 days)
1415 May
SAICE Durban
Road Construction &
Maintenance
(3 days)
1012 March
SAICE Johannesburg
Getting Acquainted with Water
Resource Planning
(2 days)
1011 March
CESA Johannesburg
1718 June
SAICE Durban
HELPING HAND
The Academyis an initiative of SAICE
Professional Development and Projects
(PDP), and Consulting Engineers South
Africa (CESA), and was set up to improve the
numbers and qualityof engineering gradu-
ates eligible to register with the Engineering
Council of South Africa (ECSA). Since its
inception, the demand for training has grown
and manydelegates report sailing through
the ECSA process as a result of the insight
theygained from the courses.
For more details or to book on one of the
courses, contact SAICE or CESA:
For SAICE-arranged courses, contact
M argie at margie@ ally.co.za
For CESA-arranged courses, contact
M ary at sce@ cesa.co.za
For more information, go to
www.candidateacademy.co.za
REGISTRATION AND INVOICING
Registration at SAICE and CESA for
courses offered by the Candidate
Academy is done online. After registra-
tion, an invoice is generated by SAICE
or CESA, depending on who the host
is. Payment should be made up front to
the appropriate organisation. Candidate
Academy courses are advertised on
http://www.saice.org.za/training-courses
when SAICE is managing the registration,
and on http://www.cesa.co.za/node/162
when the courses are offered through
CESA.
I
N
F
O
R
M
A
T
I
O
N

B
O
X
CiviI Engineer
Our client is a dynamic consulting engineering concern focusing
on the design of commercial building structures (shopping
centres, casinos, office blocks, multi-storey developments etc.).
They wish to appoint an engineer to be responsible for the design
of civil engineering services (bulk earthworks, roads, water,
sewer, stormwater systems etc.) to such developments.
Package negotiabIe to R900 000
Detailed information at: www.edm.co.za/40399
Geometric Design Engineer
This opportunity will be of interest to a Civil Engineer who has a
minimum of 10 years experience in geometric design and a good
understanding of SANRAL requirements.
GeotechnicaI Engineer
This opportunity will be of interest to a Civil Engineer who has a
minimum of 3 years post graduate experience with a recognized
consulting engineer in a similar capacity.
To discuss these opportunities in the strictest confidence
contact Gary Drummond at EDM on (011) 462 2525.
AIternativeIy e-maiI a detaiIed CV to gary@edm.co.za
The fact that engineering candidates need support towards profes-
sional registration with ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa)
was identied by SAICE Professional Development and Projects
(SAICE-PDP). In this regard, please also refer to the Candidate
Academy article on page 68 of this edition.
Few companies have the capacityto plan and manage workplace
training or offer adequate mentoring/coaching. The SAICE-PDP lls
this gap, as was reported in the aforementioned Candidate Academy
article. However, the SAICE-PDP requires mentors for its many pro-
jects nationwide.
CETA:The CETA (Construction Education and Training Authority)
has awarded funding to the SAICE-PDP to design and institu-
tionalise structured CandidacyPhase Programmes, byproviding
mentoring to a range of consultants and contractors. Depending
on their internal capacity, either mentoring oversight (approximately
10 hours per candidate per annum) or full mentoring support (ap-
proximately 24 hours per candidate per annum) is required.
Public Sector:We have a number of public sector structures who
are looking for mentors. Notably, municipal and provincial roads
and public works departments need a range of engineers, project
managers and quantitysurveyors. We also need structural engi-
neers and all engineering disciplines associated with hospitals.
Contractors: We are looking for mentors with contractual experi-
ence, and who are preferablyalso registered with the SACPCM P
(SA Council for the Project and Construction M anagement
Professions).
Whether your experience matches our current needs or not, we
welcome all CVs, as we store these on our database for any future
opportunities that may arise. If you are interested, please forward
your CV to Nadine Naude (nadine2@ ally.co.za) and include the
approximate time that you have available to dedicate to mentoring.
(Due to the complexity of the professional registration process, it is
preferable that mentors have knowledge of the registration require-
ments of their professional body. )
Engineering and Built
Environment Mentors Needed
As many of our members are aware, most of the ECSA commit-
tees function only because of a substantial commitment by volun-
teers from recognised Voluntary Associations like SAICE.
The largest group of SAICE members are those involved in the
peer-review process for registration of professional civil engineers.
The number of applications per year is rising steadily, increasing
the workload on those existing hardworking members who are
currently involved.
T he ECSA Professional Advisory C ommittee (PAC ) Civils
is responsible for considering applications for registration as
professional civil engineers. T he PAC has a panel of reviewers
who are appointed to carry out the professional review function
that is a part of the registration process. SAICE performs part
of the administrative function for registration, as it arranges the
professional reviews for the PAC. Senior SAICE members are
also called upon to be appointed by ECSA to serve on an appeal
panel, when such a need arises.
It is critical that SAICE identies persons who are willing and
able to full these functions for the profession, and that SAICE then
proposes these members to the PAC and ECSA for appointment.
M any of our long-standing reviewers have now retired, and
the increase in workload due to the number of applications being
received by ECSA is making the process more and more chal-
lenging. SAICE therefore urgently needs to recruit more reviewers
to assist with the reviewing process.
The task is not as daunting as some may imagine, as the
development of the skills for the task of assessing applicants for
registration can be a progressive process, with a member rst
serving as a reviewer paired with an experienced reviewer. O nce
experienced, the next step can be to serve as a PAC member and
then later as an appeal panel member.
If you have been registered as a professional engineer for at
least ten years and would like to volunteer to serve as a reviewer,
a potential member of the PAC, or to be available to serve on an
appeal panel, please advise Dawn Hermanus (dawn@ saice.org.
za) so that SAICE can continue providing this valuable service to
the profession. K indly also include your area of expertise in civil
engineering with your application. Reviewers currently receive an
honorarium from ECSA.
Call for Volunteers to serve on ECSA committees
INTRODUCTION
Te Young Professionals Forum (YPF) of Consulting Engineers
South Africa (CESA) is a voluntary group representing the inter-
ests of Young Professionals (YPs), i.e. engineering professionals
under the age of 35 who are employed by CESA member rms.
Te YPF was formed in order to uplift the engineering industry
and built environment professions, where new ideas could be
generated to assist and promote the industry, and also to identify
and address possible problems which the industry may be facing.
Te purpose of this article is to present the results of a
survey, undertaken between 2012 and 2013 by the Western Cape
branch of the YPF.
In 2006 the YPF Western Cape (founding) branch conducted
an industry-wide survey of Young Engineering Professionals
(YPs) in the province in order to identify and dene the problems
facing the industry at large, and the YPs specically.
Te results of the survey would not only highlight a number
of issues facing YPs at the time (dubbed the Golden Tread
Issues), but would also form the basis of the mandate of the YPF
committee going forward, which would later be fed into the YPF
National Business Plan.
Tese Golden Tread Issues were dened within the fol-
lowing problem areas:
Large age gap between junior and senior engineers
Remuneration
Recognition
Mentorship.
Te Golden Tread Issues identied by the Western Cape
(WC) branch were agreed and adopted by all branches as being
a common denominator, and the provincial committees then
YOUNG MEMBERS PAGES
Duncan Pascoe (PRDW)
Engineer Marine Structures
WC YPF Chairman 2012
dpascoe@prdw.co.za
Michael Vice (J&G)
Graduate Civil Engineer
WC YPF Chairman 2014
vicem@jgi.co.za
Nicholas Gorman (SMEC)
Engineer Structures
WC YPF Vice-Chairman 2013
nicholas.gorman@smec.com
Think more.
Be more.
DIE HARD
Results of the CESA YPF Western Cape
Young Professionals Survey 2012/13
started focusing on dealing with solutions to the problems. Over
the years a number of workshops have been held to address the
issues, as well as educate YPs and stimulate involvement with the
growing number of YPs in the industry.
Te industry has changed somewhat since 2006 and, as a re-
sult, the WC YPF committee ran its second industry-wide survey
some six years after the rst, starting in October 2012. Te
second survey was established with the following aims:
To re-evaluate the pertinent issues facing YPs in the WC and,
in doing so, redene the Golden Tread Issues.
To determine measures to address these issues.
To re-focus the YPF WC committee to address these issues
and, as a result, better serve YPs in the WC.
Te survey was conducted in two stages, as follows:
Stage 1: Online Survey (October 2012)
Stage 2: Discussion Forums (July 2013)
Before moving on it must be stated that the contents of this ar-
ticle are not presented as purely factual, but rather represent the
point of view of the YPs as given through the survey process. In
some cases their perception of the issues may be incorrect, but
the fact that this perception exists is a problem in itself. Te ap-
peal to YPs, senior sta and parent bodies is to take this informa-
tion for what it is worth and use it to begin taking positive steps
towards addressing both the real issues as well as the percep-
tions, in order to improve the industry as a whole.
STAGE 1: ONLINE SURVEY
Te online survey was run from 2 October to 16 October 2012,
using Google Survey as the platform, with responses from 174
young professionals (from a possible 220 registered CESA YPs in
the WC). Of this group, 82% held a tertiary qualication in civil
engineering. A full summary of the respondents demographics
is available on request. Te survey was unbiased and anonymous,
with questions which were developed to re-evaluate the Golden
Tread Issues, while investigating other issues which had be-
come well established in the industry. It comprised a total of 30
questions, covering ve sections:
Demographics
Remuneration
Professional Registration
Careers
Tendering and Procurement.
Te complete results of the survey are available from the YPF
WC committee on request, but, for now, it is important to
highlight what was arguably the most signicant outcome of the
entire survey process.
Question 1.5 of the survey, the rst question asked once the
demographics of respondents had been captured, was as follows:
Please indicate up to 5 key issues that you feel aect
young engineering professionals.
Tis question was purposefully asked rst in order to provide
responses that represented the honest views of the YPs, and that
would be unbiased by the rest of the survey (although there was
signicant personal bias in the responses!). Te results were con-
clusive, with very little scatter for such an open-ended question,
and formed the basis for the re-denition of the new Golden
Tread Issues.
Te responses indicated that the issues remain much the
same as they were in 2006, with one notable dierence being the
recognition of the current public tendering and procurement
processes as a burning issue.
Te new Golden Tread Issues identied in the survey are
shown in Table 1, in order of occurrence of mention in Question 1.5.
Mentorship and Training
It is clear that YPs recognise the importance of mentorship and
the development of skills early on in their career, and the fact
that 50% of respondents independently raised these as issues,
is a concern. Tis is further reinforced by the fact that 33% of
respondents indicated that they felt they were not provided with
adequate training once they started working (see Figure 1).
Many YPs are concerned that they are not receiving the
training they require, that the training they are receiving is
unstructured and that they do not have strong mentors. Te cur-
rent procurement system was also identied as an issue, as the
fast-track project mind-set that comes with discounted tendering
limits opportunities for training and technical development.
Remuneration
Te second-most cited issue was remuneration, which was listed
as an issue by 37% of respondents in Question 1.5. Tis is further
reinforced by the fact that almost half of the respondents indi-
cated that they do not feel engineers are fairly remunerated, and
67% of respondents indicated that they believe that remuneration
for engineers is below average when compared with other profes-
sional services (see Figures 2).
Remuneration is always going to be a controversial subject,
and it is not clear in the responses why there is this perception,
Table 1: The new Golden Thread Issues as identied in
the survey, shown in order of occurrence of mention in
Question 1.5 (Please indicate up to 5 key issues that you
feel affect young engineering professionals )
Golden Thread Issue Occurrence
Mentorship and Training 50%
Salary/Remuneration 37%
Career Development 32%
Tendering/Procurement 22%
Professional Registration 13%
(Note: Table 1 shows the percentage occurrence of men-
tion of the main issues identied, i.e. the number of times an
individual YP independently mentioned one of these issues,
divided by the total number of YPs who responded.)
Figure 1: Respondent s f eelings about ment orship and t raining
No
33%
Yes
66%
1%
nor what YPs feel is fair. It is, however, important that the truth
be separated from perception an individual who believes he/she
is not being fairly remunerated will be as dissatised and unmo-
tivated as an individual who actually is not being fairly remune-
rated (an opportunity for further transparency, and education of
YPs, perhaps?).
Career Development
Te following factors aecting career development were also
seen as pertinent issues facing YPs:
Exposure to quality engineering work, the workings of the
industry and training required
Recognition for work done
Responsibility either lack thereof or responsibility above
levels of ability.
Tese factors all tie in with other Golden Tread Issues, with
the underlying notion being that YPs feel that these issues are
aecting their career prospects and development as engineers.
Tendering/Procurement
Although the issues highlighted above are similar to those of
2006, the link between these issues and the procurement process
is more strongly recognised by junior sta. Tere is a general
sense that discounted work, as a result of price-based tendering,
undermines the quality of engineering work, and results in work
which is fast-tracked. Tis requires YPs to take on more respon-
sibility (with added pressure), while limiting the amount of time
senior sta can spend mentoring/training YPs. Tere is also a
belief that the discounts are aecting company turnover and, as a
result, the remuneration of YPs (see Table 2).
With that being said, YPs have also recognised value in this
whereby they are given more responsibility which has had a posi-
tive eect on their career development.
Tere is a general sense amongst YPs that the registration pro-
cess for engineering professionals is unclear and not enough sup-
port is provided to YPs in demystifying this process. When asked
if the registration process is clearly dened, 44% of respondents
answered No. More concerning, however, is that 32% of re-
spondents stated that they do not believe their companies imple-
ment their respective Commitment and Undertaking to provide
support and training for YPs.
Positives
Despite the issues facing the industry, the replies indicate a
general satisfaction with consulting engineering work, with 93%
desiring challenging and/or stimulating work and 68% claiming
they are receiving this. When asked if they were proud of what
they did for a living 93% responded Yes.
STAGE 2: DISCUSSION FORUMS
After the online survey had been completed and the results
analysed, the second stage of the survey was undertaken. Te
purpose of the second stage was to sit with the YPs and discuss
the issues highlighted in the online survey, so as to understand
the magnitude of the problems, and more importantly, what the
YPs thought could be done to alleviate or eradicate these issues.
Te Mandated Young Professionals (MYPs) from each of the
member rms were contacted and informed about the survey.
Tey were sent a discussion forum pack, and asked to assist in
Figure 2 : Respondent s f eelings about remunerat i on
No
47%
Yes
50%
3%
No
49%
Yes
47%
4%
Below average 67%
Yes
47%
Above average 8%
Average 25%
Table 2: Res pondents feelings about
tendering/procurement
5.2 Price-based tendering
(often requiring rates to be
cut to less than those
recommended by ECSA)
%
Results in reduced quality of
designs and/or drawings
65%
Results in fast-tracked de-
signs that are too conserva-
tive
40%
Undermines the complexity
and responsibilty that engi-
neering designs require
67%
Inspires efciency 20%
Has no effect 6%
the process by sitting down with their YP peers in their respec-
tive o ces and conducting discussion forums. Te discussion
forums commenced at the beginning of July 2013 and were
concluded two months later, with a total of 13 participating com-
panies and approximately 150 YP attendees.
Te results of the discussion forums were subsequently col-
lected and evaluated, and standardised responses were listed
for each section from common answers. Tese results were
converted into a narrative, which the CESA YPF WC committee
believes represents the views of the vast majority of CESA YPs in
the Western Cape.
Mentorship and Training
First of all, it must be noted that this does not refer to the men-
torship that is required as part of the ECSA registration process
by the CU (Commitment and Undertaking), but rather mentor-
ship and training which should be provided by senior sta.
When reviewing the results of the discussion forums, it be-
came evident that there are few formal mentorship programmes
in companies, yet the YPs value these as an important part of
their growth, and perceive these to be critical to their respec-
tive companys performance. YPs have indicated that supportive
mentors and/or supervisors are imperative to a YPs career devel-
opment, but these are few and far between.
Many noted that the lack of mentorship is a result of the preva-
lent age-gap problem, whilst others mentioned that mentorship
should be driven by the YPs themselves. Collectively, however, it
was noted that the cost of mentorship was the principal issue. Te
YPs believe that their companies run the risk of investing time
and money in training and mentoring their YPs, only to have them
move on to greener pastures at a later point in their careers.
Te following were recommended as possible solutions to
this issue:
Formal mentorship programmes and other developmental ac-
tivities should be issued as mandatory practices (and audited)
by parent bodies, such as ECSA and/or CESA.
Mentors should be assigned to YPs when they join a company,
and a formal mentor list should be published and regularly
maintained.
A candidate engineer should only be allowed to apply to be pro-
fessionally registered if he or she has gone through an accredited
mentoring and/or training programme within his/her company.
Remuneration
There is a general perception that other mainstream profes-
sionals are being better remunerated for their services than
engineers. It is well established, for example, that the financial
sector is valuing and remunerating engineers better than the
built environment. This is also believed to be true for engi-
neering firms overseas. Many also mentioned that their peers
in government jobs were better remunerated and looked
after in other ways as well. In addition, the YPs believe their
work to be significantly undervalued in society, particularly
considering the long-term, legislated project liability that en-
gineers are subject to.
When discussing the root cause of the problem, some noted
the lack of marketing to be an issue, whilst others believed the
lack of face-to-face business interaction with clients to be the
problem. However, it was collectively and strongly noted by the
YPs that the issue of poor remuneration is largely related to the
current public tendering and procurement systems, which
are widely thought to be ineective, unfair and crippling to
the industry.
When asked about the ECSA Fee Scales in general, YPs indi-
cated that this system does not benet engineers, and has yet to
prove its worth regulating what engineers get paid, particularly
when the clients are public, governmental departments. YPs
mentioned that the fee scales are not a true reection of the
value of the technical services rendered, and that industry has
conformed to giving signicant and unsustainable discounts in
order to remain competitive. Te argument that the fee scales
are simply a guide is unmerited as they do not oer the support
of accountability in the face of the current public tendering and
procurement practices.
When asked whether increased salaries would result in a
better product for the client, the general sentiment amongst YPs
was that it would, both at design and supervision level. It was
noted, however, that tight project deadlines are more detrimental
to the quality of design work. Te key, therefore, is to allow ad-
equate time and budget to complete work to the highest possible
standard, giving engineering rms the opportunity to provide
the most technically correct and e cient product possible.
Career Development
Exposure, Recognition and Responsibility
Te strongest concern amongst YPs regarding their career
development is that they are exposed to a poor quality of work
and associated work ethic, and that their eorts are often under-
valued. It was also noted that few companies have a formal career
development structure, causing the level of exposure to quality
work to be relatively volatile.
On the other hand, a number of YPs noted that their expo-
sure to big projects, with increased responsibility, brought about
the greatest boost to their careers, despite the fact that this level
of responsibility exceeds what their experience allows or their
remuneration reects.
It has been collectively noted that increased pressure, and
not responsibility, is a problem. YPs noted that they do not mind
taking on more responsibility, provided that su cient support
and guidance are available. It is lack of guidance, in addition to
increased responsibility, that ultimately results in pressure and
consequently stunted career development. Tese issues were,
once again, largely attributed to the current tendering and pro-
curement processes.
Value of Engineering Services in SA
Te YPs indicated that engineering services are signicantly un-
dervalued in South Africa, and have, once again, highlighted the
tendering and procurement system as the biggest driver of this
problem in the nancial sense.
It has also been noted that engineering services are under-
valued in terms of public perception and appreciation for the
work done by engineering professionals, which appears to have
been disconnected from society. Many lay-people are unaware of
the eort involved in the design of infrastructure and civil ser-
vices, yet other professional services hold a much higher status in
society in the eyes of the public.
Tendering and Procurement
Tendering and procurement was highlighted as the single big-
gest problem in the industry, and the YPs noted that all the
other issues were exacerbated due to this principal issue. YPs
are taking on greater responsibility, and liability, in their work,
yet feel that their remuneration does not reect this. As a result
many YPs feel highly undervalued, and are motivated to look for
other opportunities elsewhere in other industries.
Te YPs made a number of suggestions as to how projects
could be procured going forward:
Employ technically competent people in local, provincial
and national governing bodies to draft tenders correctly.
Following the assumption that tenders are indeed drafted
correctly, the lowest and highest prices should, for example,
be discarded, and several mean prices should be considered.
A competent person within the relevant tender is-
suing body should estimate the tender price and
compare it with the prices that are received.
Stricter evaluation of company competencies
should be enforced, performed by an experienced
engineering body within the issuing authority.
Te ECSA fee scales should be promulgated as
law, or they should be discarded completely, as
they are not used as a guideline, particularly not
with the discounts that are being issued.
Another significant problem is that tender documentation
is far too extensive, and requires too much time, especially
of the more senior and costly employees. Tenders should be
streamlined, perhaps in the form of a database approach, or
something more innovative. It should not take more than
one day to complete a tender, otherwise design houses are
required to work at risk and spend too much time and money
for this purpose.
It was also suggested that consulting companies be re-
warded/compensated for thorough and eective design, in order
to promote e cient design and greater overall project savings
in construction (where the bulk of the money lies). Te current
procurement system often leads to ine cient and conservative
design, as not enough time or money is allocated for more com-
plete and eective design.
Te discussion forum asked the following six questions of YPs:
1. Do you understand the requirements of the new registration
system?
2. Do you feel that the requirements of the new system are clearly
and concisely dened?
3. Do you know when the new system comes online?
4. Do you know whether you will be able to register on the new
or the old system?
5. Do you feel enough is being done to advertise and explain the
new system to YPs?
6. Do you feel that the changeover to the new registration system
will hinder your ability to register in any way?
Of the respondents 70% answered No to questions 1, 2, 3 and 5,
while 50% answered No to questions 4 and 6.
Tese results point to the fact that the majority of YPs sur-
veyed indicated that they did not understand the requirements
of the new registration process, and are concerned that the
changeover will hinder their ability to register.
Tis is obviously a two-way street, and YPs are expected to
put in the time and the eort to decipher the new process, but
they are nding it challenging and are looking for more support
from ECSA to do this.
It is worth noting that many YPs find the annual
Professional Registration Workshop, hosted by the YPF WC
committee and presented by delegates from ECSA, very useful
in addressing the requirements of professional registration,
particularly considering that it is free to attend (many YPs
have indicated that their companies are unwilling to pay
for the various professional registration courses available).
Unfortunately the scope of what can be covered each year is
limited, and YPs cannot wait for the workshop each year for
their questions to be answered ideally they would like to
be able to contact ECSA directly with queries, or would like
similar events to be held by ECSA more frequently in order to
address their queries.
CONCLUSIONS
Te results of the survey were conclusive and unambiguous
YPs in the Western Cape have cited a number of issues that are
facing YPs in the industry at the moment, dubbed the Golden
Tread Issues, many of which remain the same as identied
in 2006. Te current tendering procurement process has been
identied as the most burning issue, and is the root cause of
much of the dissatisfaction of YPs in the Western Cape. Tis
is an unsurprising result, and mirrors the point of view of the
industry as a whole.
A Way Forward
Te key for the YPF WC committee is to now address these
issues. Te voices of YPs in the Western Cape have been
heard, and now the committee needs to adapt to try to eect
the changes we want to see in the industry. As a result the
committee will be forming a series of working groups, each
focusing on addressing one of the Golden Tread Issues. Te
working groups will be open to all YPs and will be proactively
developing solutions to the problems, which will be reported
through presentations to CESA, magazine articles and letters to
the relevant controlling bodies. We aim to eect change by not
only making a noise about the issues, but by oering solutions
to the problems, as well as our time and expertise to put these
solutions into eect.
But no committee is an island. Tere is a limit to what can be
achieved by the YPF WC committee alone, and we will need the
support from the other role-players in the industry to make a dif-
ference. Te YPs themselves are in the best position to do this by
being more proactive about addressing these issues Complain
less, do more.
If you would like to discuss any topics that you feel are relevant to SAICE
members, scan the Q R code alongside to go to SAICEs blog.
First Computer Program
The rst computer program was designed by a famous poets
daughter in 1843. Ada Byron Lovelace, daughter of famous
poet Lord Byron, published a paper in 1843 that predicted the
development of computer software, articial intelligence, and
computer music. In 1834, Ada heard of Charles Babbages
ideas for a new calculating engine the Analytical Engine.
After translating an Italians summary of the engine, Babbage
suggested to Ada that she adds her own notes. Her notes
turned out to be three times as long as the original article! Ada
suggested to Babbage a plan for calculating Bernoulli numbers
with the Analytical Engine. This plan is now regarded as the
rst computer program. Although the computers that we use
now were not invented until the late 1900s, Babbage was in the
midst of working on his computer design weighing about 15
tons. Lovelace and Babbage worked together to create the rst
computer and computer program. Now, the programming lan-
guage Ada, which is the ofcial programming language of the
United States military, was named after M s Lovelace, and the
military standard for the language, M IL-STD-1815, was given
the number of the year of Ada Lovelaces birth.
http://www.engineergirl.org/what_engineers_do/FunFacts/
FirstProgram.aspx
Emily Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge
Emily Roebling supervised construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
When her husband became ill in 1872 Emily took over day-to-
day supervision of bridge construction. Emily had studied many
engineering topics related to bridge construction, including
mathematics, strength of materials and cable construction. Her
name is included on the plaque dedicating the bridge rec-
ognising her role in creating one of her eras great engineering
achievements.
http://www.engineergirl.org/what_engineers_do/FunFacts/
EmilyRoebling.aspx
Worlds Largest Mall
There are a few that claim the title of the worlds largest mall.
The New South China M all has the largest G ross Leasable
Area (G LA) of any mall in the world at 600 000 m
2
, while
Dubai M alls 350 000 m
2
G LA ranks it just sixth largest in the
world. However, when it comes to total area, Dubai M alls
1 124 000 m
2
easily eclipses all others to claim rights to the title
of the worlds largest mall. Built within the Burj K halifa complex,
and with over 1 000 shops and several separate malls-within-
a-mall, Dubai M all also has an aquarium with 33 000 animals
and a 270-degree acrylic walkthrough tunnel, aquatic zoo,
O lympic-sized ice-skating rink, 22-screen multiplex cinema,
SEG A theme park, childrens play zone and numerous other
attractions to keep shoppers entertained. Dubai M all also holds
two other world records one for the Dubai Aquariums largest
acrylic panel ever made (32.88 m wide 8.3 m high 750 mm
thick and weighing 245 tons); the other for the worlds largest
dancing fountain, which, at 275 m long, is longer than the
Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Fast Facts about the mall:
2 600 Pieces of external pre-cast concrete erected
179 300 Amount of stone, in m
2
, laid within the mall
13 800 Amount of structural steel, in tonnes,
used in the mall
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-9044-top-
10-construction-world-record-holders/4/#.UtwrZBD8LIU

DID YOU KNOW?
A man in a hot-air balloon realised
he was lost. He reduced altitude
and spotted a woman below. He
descended a bit more and shouted,
Excuse me, can you help me? I prom-
ised a friend I would meet him an hour
ago, but I dont know where I am.
The woman below replied, Youre
in a hot air balloon hovering approxi-
mately 10 m above the ground. Youre
between 40 and 41 degrees north lati-
tude and between 59 and 60 degrees
west longitude.
You must be an engineer, said the
balloonist.
I am, replied the woman, How
did you know?
Well, answered the balloonist,
everything you told me is technically
correct, but Ive no idea what to make
of your information, and the fact is Im
still lost. Frankly, youve not been much
help at all. If anything, youve delayed
my trip.
The woman responded from below,
You must be in management.
I am, replied the balloonist, but
how did you know?
Well, s aid the woman, you
dont know where you are or where
youre going. You have ris en to where
you are due to a large quantity of
hot air. You made a promis e which
youve no idea how to keep, and you
expect people beneath you to s olve
your problems . The fact is , you are in
exactly the s ame pos ition you were
in before we met, but now, s omehow,
its my fault.
Think more.
Be more.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
YOUNG MEMBERS PAGES
Alice Chang
SAICE Young Members Panel
alice.chang@aurecongroup.com
C o u rs e N a m e C o u rs e D a te s L o c a tio n
C P D A c c re d ita tio n
N u m b e r
C o u rse
P re se n te r
C o n ta c t
GCC 2010
34 March 2014 Midrand
SAICEcon13/01359/16 Neville Gurry cheryl-lee@saice.org.za
78 April 2014 Durban
1213 May 2013 Cape Town
2829 August 2014 Midrand
45 September 2014 Bloemfontein
1314 October 2014 Midrand
2728 October 2014 Port Elizabeth
Bridge Maintenance
2 June 2014 Midrand
SAICErail12/01156/15 Ed Elton dawn@saice.org.za 15 September 2014 Pietermaritzburg
10 November 2014 Midrand
Basics of Track
Engineering
34 June 2014 Midrand
Railway Transport
Technical Report
Writing
SAICEbus12/01067/15 Les Wiggill cheryl-lee@saice.org.za
2627 May 2014 Durban
12 September 2014 Cape Town
34 November 2014 Port Elizabeth
Practical Geometric
Design
37 March 2014 Cape Town
SAICEtr13/01418/16 Tom McKune dawn@saice.org.za
812 December 2014 Midrand
Reinforced Concrete
Design to SANS 10100-
1:2000
7 May 2014 Durban
SAICEstr12/01066/15 Greg Parrott cheryl-lee@saice.org.za
16 July 2014 Cape Town
20 August 2014 East London
Structural Steel Design
Code to SANS 10162:
1-2005
6 May 2014 Durban
SAICEstr12/01158/15 Greg Parrott cheryl-lee@saice.org.za
15 July 2014 Cape Town
19 August 2014 East London
Business Finances
for Built Environment
Professionals
SAICEn12/01021/15
Wolf
Weidemann
dawn@saice.org.za
78 August 2014 Durban
2021 August 2014 Polokwane
Handling Projects in a
Consulting Engineer's
Practice
SAICEproj12/01022/15
Wolf
Weidemann
dawn@saice.org.za 45 August 2014 Durban
SAICE Training Calendar 2014
Leadership and
Management
Principles & Practice in
Engineering
910 April 2014 Port Elizabeth
SAIMechE-0543-02/15 David Ramsay dawn@saice.org.za
2122 May 2014 Midrand
1314 August 2014 Cape Town
1011 September 2014 Durban
89 October 2014 Bloemfontein
Concrete Pavement
Slabs
IPET2010/03 Bruce Raath cheryl-lee@saice.org.za
25 June 2014 Durban
9 July 2014 Port Elizabeth
20 August 2014 Bloemfontein
Water Law
78 May 2014 Midrand
SAICEwat13/01308/16
Hubert
Thompson
dawn@saice.org.za
2829 May 2014 Port Elizabeth
2728 August 2014 Cape Town
1011 September 2014 Durban
The Different Legal
Procedures to Resolve
Constructional
Disputes
1516 May 2014 Midrand
SAICEcon13/01368/16
Hubert
Thompson
dawn@saice.org.za
1112 June 2014 Cape Town
1819 June 2014 Bloemfontein
3031 July 2014 Port Elizabeth
67 August 2014 Durban
I n -h o u s e c o u rs e s a re a va ila b le . T o a rra n g e , p le a s e c o n ta c t:
C h e ry l-L e e Willia m s c h e ry l-le e @ s a ic e . o rg . z a ) o r D a w n H e rm a n u s d a w n @ s a ic e . o rg . z a ) o n 0 1 1 8 0 5 5 9 4 7
NOTICE TO SAICE CORPORATE MEMBERS
Amendments to the SAICE Constitution
Notice is hereby given that proposed amendments to the SAICE
Constitution were accepted by the SAICE Council at a special
meeting held at the Institutions National O fce in M idrand on
Wednesday 22 January 2014.
In terms of C lause 5. 3.1 of the SAIC E Bylaws, a notice
alerting M embers to the proposed amendments will appear
in two consecutive editions of the Institution s magazine,
Civil Engineering. In this instance the notice will appear in the
January/February 2014 and M arch 2014 editions. T hereafter the
C hief Executive O fcer will issue a ballot setting forth the matter
upon which a vote is invited, and will give the closing date for
the ballot.
Copies of the amended Constitution will be posted on the
Institutions website (www.saice.org.za), and hard copies will be
posted to M embers upon request. The closing date for the ballot
will not be less than thirty-ve days, nor more than forty days after
the date of issuing of the ballot. Any ballot received by the Chief
Executive O fcer after the closing date will be invalid.
For more information, please contact SAICEs Chief O perating
O fcer, Steven K aplan, at steven@ saice.org.za (011 805 5947/8).
M Pumis cartoon of the month
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January/ February 2014 Vol 22 No 1

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