SAICE Civil Engineering

January/February 2014 Vol 22 No 1

Sivili EnjinierengSivili EnjinierengJJanuary/February 2014 Vol 22 No 1

Stanford Mkhacane: Stanford Mkhacane: SAICE 2014 PresidentSAICE 2014 President

Results of CESA Results of CESA Young Professionals Survey Young Professionals Survey

Bridging the Khan River Bridging the Khan River in Namibiain Namibia

WINNER

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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 bene t 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 influence. 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. Well 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 EP U B L I S H I N G A N D J O U R N A L I S M

AAP CA

R D SWW I N E R 2 0 0 7N 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 Z I N EP 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 9F 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 E D I T O R I A L

Winner of the 2009 Pica Awardin the Construction, Engineering and Related Industries category for the third year running

ON THE COVERStanford MkhacaneSAICE 2014 PresidentPage 9


Sivili EnjinierengJJanuary/February 2014 Vol 22 No 1

Stanford Mkhacane: SAICE 2014 President

Results of CESA Young Professionals Survey

Bridging the Khan River in Namibia

WINNER

FROM THE CEOS DESKMen of honour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CIVILUTIONPutting words to hopes tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

PROFILE OF SAICE 2014 PRESIDENTRemembering the disadvantaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The SAICE 2014 Presidential Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Paving the way for dolomitic compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Building Virtual Skyscrapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

The BricsCAD Brigade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

INFRASTRUCTURECan we deliver infrastructure sustainably? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract: Activity Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Africas fi 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? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Ambient vibration monitoring of the Roode Elsberg Dam initial results . . . . . . . . . . 43

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South African Institution ofCivil Engineering

Using hexagonal steel wire mesh gabions in mass gravity retaining walls

Sivili Enjiniereng = Sepedi

PUBLISHED BY SAICEBlock 19, Thornhill Offi ce Park, Bekker Street, Vorna Valley, MidrandPrivate Bag X200, Halfway House, 1685Tel 011 805 5947/48, Fax 011 805 5971http://[email protected]

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERManglin [email protected] 011 805 5947/8

EDITORVerelene de [email protected] 011 805 5947/8, Cell 083 378 3996

EDITORIAL PANELMarco van Dijk (chairman), Irvin Luker (vice-chairman), Stanford Mkhacane (president), Manglin Pillay (CEO), Steven Kaplan (COO), Dawie Botha, Johan de Koker, Andile Gqaji, Gerhard Heymann, Jeffrey Mahachi, Jones Moloisane, Beate Scharfetter, Phuti Seopa, Marie Ashpole, Verelene de Koker (editor), Elsab Maree (editors assistant), Rebekka Wellmanns (editors assistant) Barbara Spence (advertising)

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATESA R605.00 (VAT included), International US$125.00

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The South African Institution of Civil Engineering accepts no responsibility for any statements made or opinions expressed in this publication. Consequently 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.

ISSN 1021-2000


Sivili Sivili EnjinierengEnjiniereng

The use of hexagonal steel wire mesh gabionsin mass gravity retaining walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

INTERNATIONALBridging the way to the second largest uranium mine in the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

LEGAL Global claims quo vadis?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Record levels in global claims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

COMPANY PROFILEGeopile Africa (Pty) Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

SAICE AND PROFESSIONAL NEWSThe Candidate Academy grows from strength to strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Engineering and Built Environment Mentors Needed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71Call for Volunteers to serve on ECSA committees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71Young Members Pages:

Old issues die hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72(Results of the CESA YPF Western Cape Young Professionals Survey 2012/13)

Did you know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77SAICE Training Calendar 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78Notice to SAICE Corporate Members:

Amendments to the SAICE Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

CARTOONSCivillain by Jonah Ptak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Mpumis cartoon of the month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

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Bridging the way to the second largest uranium mine in the world through the starkly beautiful moon landscape of Namibia


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Hope is the thing with feathersthat perches in the soul

and sings the tune without the wordsand 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.

Th e concept of Civilution is so easy to grasp, yet so di cult to de ne.

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 Th ursday 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. Th e 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. Th e 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 con dently (the third one had fallen out of the nest one night).

Th e 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 in uence 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 KokerEditor

[email protected]

Civilution Congress 20146 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: [email protected]: +27 11 465 0334W: www. civilutioncongress.com

PLACE: EMPERORS PALACE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

68 APRIL 2014


Trevor ManuelMinister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission

Thuli Madonsela Public Protector of South Africa

Nazir AlliCEO of the South African National Roads Agency

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE:


Remembering the disadvantaged

IF I WERE A RICH MANI 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. Th e oldest of seven siblings, his early days in the village of Botsoleni in the Mhinga Traditional Authority area (now the Th ulamela 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 [email protected]

Unhurried, happy days in Mhinga for Stanford (standing second from left)

Stanford MkhacaneSAICEs President for 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 UPBecoming 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 o ered him a position as an administration clerk. A few months later, when the government o ered 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. Th is 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. Th e realisation came soon that the gist of civil engineering is listening to others and respecting their views.

Th is 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. Th is is where more experienced engineers can make a di er-ence. Th e 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. Th is 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 chuffed Stanford close to graduating from Mmadikoti Technical College in 1974, looking the part of a professional

A period of fi rsts on site at Bushbuckridge his fi rst practical training as a resident engineer on a water purifi cation ridge, and the fi rst time 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 ENGINEERINGWhile 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 relaxation sampling fi ner cuisine during an educational trip to France in the late '80s, with classmates from the Masters class at the University of Pretoria

Celebrating Christmas back home in Mhinga

We need you! Catching up at a transportation conference in Windhoek, Namibia; Stanford was working for African Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd at the time


THE SAICE 2014PRESIDENTIAL TEAM

Stanford MkhacanePresident

Chairperson of the Board of DirectorsNyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Polokwane Offi [email protected]

Malcolm PautzPresident-ElectAssociate DirectorTransactions & RestructuringGlobal Infrastructure & Projects GroupKPMG Advisory (Proprietary) [email protected]

Tom McKuneVice-President

HOD Civil EngineeringDurban University of Technology

Pietermaritzburg [email protected]

Sundran NaickerVice-PresidentDirectorNyeleti Consulting (Pty) LtdPretoria Offi [email protected]

Errol KerstVice-PresidentDirectorLategan Bouwer [email protected]

Dr Chris HeroldVice-President

Managing MemberUmfula Wempilo Consulting

[email protected]

ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARDAs 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 reflect, but he laments with a twinkle in his eye, You cant be a fisherman and also want to go to church.

Holidaying at the seaside, one of Stanfords favourite places to unwind

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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 fordolomitic compliance

TAKING THE LEADOpen-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 speci cations 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 de ned in SANS 1936. Th e 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. Th is clause permits the introduction of alternative requirements procedures based on rational assessment in cases where the requirements of the standard are not reasonably practicable.

Th e 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. Th e 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 arti cial 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.

Th e risk associated with the installa-tion of such services is signi cantly 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 RISKSWith 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.

Th e 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 in ltration of water from the ground surface through the trench back ll.

Th ese 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 EngAdvising EngineerDark Fibre [email protected]


during the laying operation and that any existing leakage from such services is re-ported to the relevant authorities.

Risks associated with water in ltra-tion from the surface can be reduced by ensuring that the back ll 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 de ned 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 DEVELOPMENTIn 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 signi cantly cheaper than a cast-in-situ or precast concrete hand-holes. Th e placement of the lighter- bre cement or HDPE hand-holes is also not as risky and labour intensive.

Th e 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. Th e 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 speci cations. Only hand-holes certi ed and approved by the DFA competent person are used, whether cast in situ or prefabricated. All DFA hand-holes are certi ed to be watertight, with no possible shedding of any accu-mulated water into the surrounding dolo-mitic soil or into the ducts. Th e 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 a ected by subsidences/sinkholes. During construc-tion, the competent person (engineering)

Water-tightness test in progress on completed hand-hole with duct and waterproof glands in position


inspects the hand-hole and the duct con-nections for water-tightness, both prior to and after completion of back ll. 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. Th e 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 DUCTSNormally, the installation of bre optic ducts involves bundling four ducts in a 2x2 formation. Th e 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 back ll, or any obstructions that have been created and which may impede surface drainage. If any such

problems arise, depressions are back lled 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 in ltration 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 noti ed 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.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTInputs 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 SkyscrapersBuilding Virtual Skyscrapers

BACKGROUNDIMQS 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. Th e software was recently deployed at a number of municipalities. Th is 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 di erent 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. Th e reality is that the IT industry is in its infancy while civil engineering has been practised since the rst human constructed a shelter. Th e IT processes and methods are not as well de ned 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 bene ts 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. Th ese high failure rates may just be a symptom of treating the younger sibling like the elder.

A new parenting style: agile project managementAgile project management focuses on continuous delivery and improvement, instead of delivering the nal product moments before the deadline. This

Jaco BriersSoftware Developer

IMQS Software [email protected]

Lessons learnt developing a web application for Lessons learnt developing a web application for municipal infrastructure asset managementmunicipal 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 fi 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 fi 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. Th is process is designed to catch failures early in the development life cycle instead of at the end of the project time line. Th is 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. Th e 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-speci c software that they have never used before. Th e project management process must allow for this discovery phase and the unknowns asso-ciated with it. Th e agile approach ts this bill perfectly.

SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURESoftware 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 architectureIf 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 for Scrum agile project management

Figure 3: IMQS web-based architectureFigure 2: Layered architecture employed by IMQS


The Intelligent Choice

[email protected] | www.gibb.co.za | +27 11 519 4600

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Quarter Page Civil Engineering indd 1 26/04/2013 11:13:09 AM

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.

Th e following are a few of the ad-vantages that led IMQS to choose this architecture:

Application is always up to dateWeb applications do not require instal-lation (unlike desktop applications). Th e latest version would always be fetched from the applications server. Th is allows the web application to be updated regu-larly and without signi cant interruption in service. IMQS updates its software on average three times a day. Th ese 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. Th is means that, once data is imported onto the mu-nicipalitys IMQS server, it is immediately accessible to all of its users.

LightweightWeb-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 accessibilityTh e IMQS web application can be made accessible outside a municipalitys net-work with minimal e ort. Th is allows secure access to infrastructure informa-tion to whomever the municipality pro-vides a username and password. Th is high level of accessibility also opens the door to the possibility of public participation and other input.

INTEGRATION WITH THIRD-PARTY SYSTEMSIntegration with existing software systems is a common requirement for any municipal IT project. Th e speci c methods and technology used for in-tegration would di er 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. Th is 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-de ned 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 TESTINGDuring 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. Th ese 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 HAPPENA skilled developer can easily accom-plish in a day what a less skilled de-veloper may need a week to complete.


Figure 4: Integration with Vitens Water Utilitys OSIsoft PI system allows display of near real-time telemetry data within IMQS

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.

CONCLUSIONIMQS 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. Th e 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.

REFERENCEBloch, M, Blumberg, S & Laartz, J 2013.

Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value. McKinsey on Finance, 45, p 2835.

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The BricsCAD Brigade

INTRODUCTIONEngineers 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. Th is 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!

Th is 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!

HISTORYTh e 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. Th is 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.

Th e 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. Th is 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-in ated software prices!

A NEW GENERATIONHowever, in the 21st century a new generation is putting its foot down! Th e

Jean-Pierre Rousseau Pr EngCo-founder of [email protected]

Three-dimensional rendering of a bus station; BricsCAD provides a familiar CAD interface with all the advantages of object-based drawing technology


Highly Compatible

BricsCAD reads and writes WKHGZJIRUPDWDQGRHUVvery high compatibility with AutoCAD. In addition, %ULFV&$'RHUV'GLUHFWmodeling in native dwg. BricsCAD, so much more than an alternative.

Cloud connectivity

BricsCAD integrates a smart connection with the cloud-based Chapoo 6HUYLFHVRHULQJIURPcasual document sharing to complete project collaboration. The Chapoo connection tool automatically recognizes xrefs.

BricsCAD is the most development friendly CAD platform in the industry. Thanks to industry compatible APIs third party solutions can run on BricsCAD without modifying the source code.

BricsCAD - Unifying 2D and 3D CAD

BricsCAD is the powerful CAD software platform unifying 2D CAD and 3D direct modeling for .dwg on Windows and Linux.

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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! Th ats 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!

Th e 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. Th is 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.

Th is 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 o ered by the competition, while still being fully compatible with the latest dwg formats, was just too attractive to resist, so we joined the movement.

Th e BricSYS website (www.bricsys.co.za) allows interested users to download a 30-day trial version that may be extended on special request. Th e 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. Th e 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.

With BricSYS the community can steer the future development of CAD technology (left) and BricsCAD is compatible with the latest 3D mouse technology (below)


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. Th is 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. Th e 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. Th e 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 a ected by regular rainfall. Th e poorest head of household local women (see Figure 3) were selected and registered as hand labour maintenance contractors. Th ey 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 AGENDAEco-systemic wellbeing

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Future generations

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Prof Charles AingerSenior Associate

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[email protected]

Dr Ron WatermeyerSAICE President 2004

Founder: Infrastructure [email protected]

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). Th is 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 Review3 (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. Th is 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 projects4.

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.

REFERENCES1. See:

http://www.thomastelford.com/books/bookshop_main.asp?ISBN=9780727757548%20&BookTitle=Sustainable%20Infrastructure:%20Principles%20into%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. Brie ng: Speeding up innovation by better rst use reporting. Proceedings of the ICE Engineering Sustainability, 1(1): 810

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Figure 4: The S-curve stages of innovation in infrastructure

Figure 3: Poverty alleviation and road maintenance under the Zibambele Project, eThekwini Municipality

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Delivering sustainable

infrastructure that

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NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract:

INTRODUCTIONISO 21500 (2012), Guidance on Project Management, de nes an activity as an identi ed component of work within a schedule that is required to be undertaken to complete a project.

Th e PMI Global Standard (2008), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, de nes:

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.

Th e 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 CTh e NEC3 ECC does not explicitly de ne an Activity Schedule. It de nes it as a document which is identi ed 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. Th e 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. Th e 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 WatermeyerSAICE President 2004Founder: Infrastructure [email protected]

Activity Schedules


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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 NEC3A Contractor is paid the amount for each completed activity identi ed 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 di erence between the total of Prices (sum of amounts for activities in the Activity Schedule) and the Price for Work done to Date (De ned Cost Plus the Fee).

Th e 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. Th e Activity Schedule accordingly integrates time and money and allows cost models to be generated to optimise expensive or scarce resources. Th is 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. Th e 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. Th is 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?Th e ICE Civil Engineering Standard System of Measurement (CESMM3) Southern African Edition de nes 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 identi ed 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. Th e Prices are de ned 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 di erence 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. Th is 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 SCHEDULEA work breakdown structure is a tree structure which shows a subdivision of e ort 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 de nable 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, and2. discrete buildings, discrete spaces within a building or the

structure of a building, or any combination thereof.Th ese 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 floor 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 speci c 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. Th ey 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. Th e activities also need to be structured around the contractors planned pro-gramme and method of working.

For the purpose of comparing tenders, or monitoring de ned 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. Th e 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.

Th e 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 Th e 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 re ection 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. Th is can readily be established from the Activity Schedule and the

Table 1 Example of minimum information required onan Activity Schedule

Item Number

Programme Reference

Activity Description

Price excluding VAT


3847

Wet

pain

t Adv

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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. De ned Cost plus the fee in Option C (target contract with an Activity Schedule), allows cost to be forecasted and measured.

Th e 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. Th is 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?

OBSERVATIONSAn 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%.

Th e assessment of the e ect 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).

Th e 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. Th e total of the prices (i.e. the nal target) is only known after comple-tion. Th e management and administration of a target con-tract with a Bill of Quantities (Option D) is signi cantly 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 fi 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. Th e 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. Th e aerotropolis aims to take advantage of these changes and optimise the positive e ects 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 o ers, re ected 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 ECONOMIESWith 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 WiumAurecon Government Industry [email protected]

Matt CoetzeeAurecon Urbanisation Competency [email protected]

will it foster economic growth? will it foster economic growth?

In September 2013 it was announced that an

Aurecon-led consortium had won the contract to

develop the Ekurhuleni OR 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 benefi ts

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.

Central terminal at the OR Tambo Interna

Documents

SAICE Civil Engineering