IMIESA January 2019

www.infrastructurene.ws

IMESA The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa

infrastructure development • Maintenance • service delivery

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Keeping it clean NJ Bouwer

Executive, NuWater

SBS Tanks

Engineered for generations

Wastewater

Decentralised treatment solutions

Cement & Concrete Training tomorrow’s technologists ISSN 0257 1978

Sanitation

Eradicating pit latrines at schools

V o l u m e 4 4 N o . 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 • R 5 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l . VAT )

YEAR CELEBRATION EST 1967 • ENGINEERING • PROCUREMENT • MANAGEMENT

LEVEL 1 B-BBEE STATUS 55% BLACK-OWNED

MESSAGE FROM DAVID LEUKES - M A N AG I N G D I R E C TO R

David Leukes, Managing Director of BVi Consulting Engineers, is proud to announce their Level 1 B-BBEE status once again. BVi Consulting Engineers was re-certified Level 1 this year on the 23 October 2018 by verification agency, Renaissance SA Ratings, assessed against the new amended Construction Sector Codes of Good Practice.

Mr Leukes congratulates his team on working consistently on B-BBEE throughout the year, and is confident that BVi is doing the best that they can to fast-track the company’s transformation process.

Ownership: BVi is a 55% black-owned company, with more than 50% of its shareholding being owned by Professional Engineers and Technologists. 100% of BVi shares are owned by South African citizens. This makes BVi one of the largest blackowned consulting engineering firms in South Africa.

Management: BVi with the goal of representation at of the few larger black-managed.

have restructured their Management obtaining a minumum of 50% black Management Level, making BVi one firms that are both black-owned and

HEAD OFFICE Block C - Menlyn Corporate Park cnr Garsfontein Road and Corobay Avenue Menlyn Pretoria South Africa T: +27 (0)12 940 1111 F: +27 (0)12 940 1122 Email: marketing@bvi.co.za www.bvi.co.za

Employment Equity: BVi’s workforce consists of more than 50% black employees. By applying a strict equity policy to the recruitment process, 70% of all new recruits over the last year were black. In time, this will further improve BVi’s equity ratios to reflect a fair representation at all levels.

Skills Development: BVi is running an extensive Mentor/ Learnership programme to promote career paths for our youth.

In addition to this, extensive training possibilities exist through the work of the BVi BEE Employee Trust, to specifically fast-track the careers of young black qualified engineers and technicians into management positions.

Supplier Development and Procurement: Our commitment to procure from BEE companies has been running over many years, and is showing a positive result in our B-BBEE score. BVi have assisted a number of smaller firms to acquire the essential skills needed to operate within the consulting engineering environment.

Social Responsibility: BVi is supporting our local communities by being involved in social corporate responsibility projects in each of our offices. A prime example is our BVi Visionary Programme, in which a student in each region was awarded an R80 000 bursary per annum for his or her particular field of study.

Bloemfontein T: +27 (0)51 447 2137 Cape Town T: +27 (0)21 527 7000 Durban T: +27 (0)31 266 8382 East London T: +27 (0)43 722 2738 Empangeni T: +27 (0)35 772 6112 Kokstad T: +27 (0)39 727 4960

Mthatha T: +27 (0)47 532 2582 Polokwane T: +27 (0)15 291 5400 Port Elizabeth T: +27 (0)41 373 4343 Queenstown T: +27 (0)45 839 3115 Springbok T: +27 (0)27 712 9990 Upington T: +27 (0)54 337 6600

volume 44 no. 1 January 2019

www.infrastructurene.ws

The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

INSIDE

Keeping it clean NJ Bouwer

Executive, NuWater

SBS Tanks

Engineered for generations

Wastewater

Decentralised treatment solutions

Cement & Concrete Training tomorrow’s technologists ISSN 0257 1978

18

Sanitation

Eradicating pit latrines at schools

V o l u m e 4 4 N o . 0 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 • R 5 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l . VAT )

Meeting the current and future water storage needs of South Africa’s rural and urban communities is a top priority, as are future drought countermeasures. Delayne Gray, managing director at SBS Tanks®, discusses the company’s innovative responses to these and other challenges. P6

15 INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Editor’s comment

3

President’s comment

5 56

6

Engineered for generations

Sanitation 10

Limpopo High Court’s new parkade

29

Countering degradation with corrugated pipe

31

Pipe life expectancy is relative

32

The first choice is Flowtite

37

Wastewater Decentralised treatment solutions

38

SASTT Trenchless News 40

Compact trenchless techniques work 43

High stakes for workplace dagga users

44

Solid Waste Winning with waste

Roads & Bridges

46

Beautiful bridge abutments

13

Cement & Concrete

Reinforced shoring on the R72

15

Performance, not prescription

47

17

Government bodies need trained technologists

49

Retaining multifaceted platforms

51

Establishing transformation routes

Strengthening the Groot Marico bridge 18

Are you ready for the future?

IMESA CONFERENCE Are you ready for the future?

29

Health & Safety 8

Keeping it clean

IMESA Conference

20

27

Inspiring academic excellence

Getting the most out of concrete sewers

Cover Story

Ensuring SAFE sanitation

Built-in thermal performance saves electricity

Pipes, Pumps & Valves

Industry Insight

In today’s world, water and wastewater treatment works need to be flexible and scalable.

NJ Bouwer, executive at NuWater, discusses the company’s range of modular solutions and its unique “water on wheels” approach. P8

Strengthening the Groot Marico bridge

Building Systems

Regulars

Index to advertisers

ROADS & BRIDGES

20

Transport, Logistics, Vehicles & Equipment

Environmental Engineering

Komatsu takes the lead

53

Steel wire protection for a changing world

44 FAW truck tractors to traverse Southern Africa

54

40

24

SASTT TRENCHLESS NEWS Getting the most out of concrete sewers

47

Cement & Concrete Performance, not prescription

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

Moving forward

Publisher Elizabeth Shorten MANAGING EDITOR Alastair Currie SENIOR JOURNALIST Danielle Petterson JOURNALIST Liesl Frankson Head OF DESIGN Beren Bauermeister Chief SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders SUB-EDITOR Morgan Carter ContributorS Alaster Goyns, Randeer Kasserchun, Carley Truyens CLIENT SERVICES & PRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh Botma Production COORDINATOR Jacqueline Modise financial Director Andrew Lobban DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@3smedia.co.za Printers United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571 ___________________________________________________

together in 2019

L

Advertising Sales Jenny Miller Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223 Email: jennymiller@lantic.net ___________________________________________________

Annual subscription: R600.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS HEAD OFFICE: Manager: Ingrid Botton P.O. Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: admin@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za BORDER Secretary: Celeste Vosloo Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2433 Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266 Email: celestev@buffalocity.gov.za EASTERN CAPE Secretary: Susan Canestra Tel: +27 (0)41 585 4142 ext. 7 Fax: +27 (0)41 585 1066 Email: imesaec@imesa.org.za KWAZULU-NATAL Secretary: Ingrid Botton Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax:+27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: imesakzn@imesa.org.za NORTHERN PROVINCES Secretary: Rona Fourie Tel: +27 (0)82 742 6364 Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644 Email: np@imesa.org.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO Secretary: Henrietta Olivier Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Fax: +27 (0)86 629 7490 Email: imesasck@imesa.org.za WESTERN CAPE Secretary: Michelle Ackerman Tel: +27 (0)21 444 7114 Email: imesawc@imesa.org.za

All material herein IMIESA is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa or the publishers.

Local government expenditure

oad shedding was an unexpected development in December, at least from the public’s perspective; but within Eskom, the causes weren’t and the ensuing economic impact poses another threat to South Africa’s GDP recovery.

The lack of maintenance planning at Eskom, compounded by skills deficiencies (even though the staff complement keeps growing), and a general breakdown in management coordination, are key concerns. Costs have to be reined in and an urgent turnaround strategy implemented: local and foreign investors require precise assurances when it comes to power security, plus the excessive wastage at Eskom is placing a severe drain on the funds available for other infrastructure.

There are so many priorities that cannot be ignored, such as education, housing, health, water and sanitation, plus the pressing issue of unemployment, with the construction sector being one of the key enablers.

Sadly, though, we are seeing a reversal in fortune for the civils industry, which shed thousands of jobs during 2018. The roads industry, in particular, came under pressure and the outlook for 2019 is increasingly uncertain. This is well illustrated

by SAFCEC’s Q3 2018 State of the South African Civil Engineering Industry report. Those members sampled recorded a progressive drop in turnover within this segment – one that has traditionally been a major revenue earner. Turnover generated from roads averaged 60.9% in Q1, dropping to 47.7% in Q2. Water and sanitation was another industry segment in decline: SAFCEC members reported an average drop in turnover from 5.9% in Q1 to 4.6% in Q2.

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FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27 (0)83 457 4362 Fax: +27 (0)86 628 0468 Email: imesafsnc@imesa.org.za

Revenues sourced from district/local municipalities represented around 12.5% of total turnover for Q2, down from 15.3% in Q1. Interestingly, there was an increase in private sector work, with the contribution to turnover in this category increasing to 38.7%, up from 13.1% in the previous quarter.

So what does the forward trend look like for municipal spend? National Treasury’s recent Q1 local government revenue and expenditure data report for the 2018/2019 financial year (July to September 2018) states that “capital expenditure amounted to R6.6 billion, or 9% of the adopted capital budget of R73.4 billion”. So, to date, the uptake is still slow.

A similar pattern emerges when reviewing the aggregated adopted capital expenditure for metros. Around R38.9 billion has been allocated for the 2018/19 financial year. However, as at 30 September 2018, R2.7 billion had been spent. The expectation is that focused capital expenditure should improve going into 2019.

Along the way, accurate, real-time reports will be an important way to ensure that projects stay on track and within budget. National Treasury says these reports also serve as early warning mechanisms and oversight tools that enable senior public sector managers to monitor and improve municipal performance.

As with the start of any new year, there are challenges and opportunities. The successful roll-out of the anticipated R400+ billion South Africa Infrastructure Fund will be one of them.

Real success will be heavily influenced by a closer working relationship between government and the private sector when it comes to co-financing infrastructure development. It’s the only way to realistically achieve our development targets.

Alastair To our avid readers, check out what we are talking about on our website, Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and have your say.

struc www.infra

turene.ws

@infrastructure4

magazine The official of the Institute l Engineer ing of Municipa Africa of Southern

INFRAS TRUCTU

RE DEVELO

PMENT • MAINTE

NANCE • SERVIC

Y IND US TR INSIGHT

Cover opportunity

Keepi ng it clean NJ Bouwer NuWater Executive,

In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings, contact Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223.

nks ions SBSredTa for gen erat

Eng inee

Wastewaterd

Decentralise ons

treatment soluti

Infrastructure News

E DELIVE RY

rete Cement & Conc row’s Training tomor ts technologis

7 1978 ISSN 025

Sanitation

pit Eradicating ls latrines at schoo

n c l . VAT ) R50.00 (i y 2019 • • Januar 4 No.01 Vo l u m e 4

IMIESA January 2019

3

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President’s comment

IMESA

A year for engagement 2019 will be a watershed year for South Africa as we head for the General Election and celebrate the 25th birthday of our new democracy.

T

his is a critical time in our countr y’s histor y as we restructure and move forward.

The demands for infrastructure service delivery have reached a critical and unprecedented stage, placing increasing pressure on municipal engineers who help design, manage and lead these initiatives.

Our responses must be timeous, sustainable and innovative.

As engineers and project managers, we must embrace change and stay ahead of it: Industry 4.0 is happening and will rapidly change the way we execute construction projects. Examples include virtual reality, Li-Fi (a highly advanced form or Wi-Fi), and artificial intelligence, which will influence every sphere of our lives.

Our municipalities are responsible for building and maintaining a multibillionrand network of underground and surface infrastructure assets; however, at present, we face huge skills shortages. This is compounded by the fact that there’s an imbalance in the distribution of municipal engineers. Most are concentrated within metros, with a much thinner representation at local and district level. That needs to change if we want to make things work and achieve delivery targets.

Smart solutions need smart people with a high degree of emotional intelligence.

That’s because effective communication is an essential part of the process. We need to communicate more in a way that aligns all stakeholders to common goals and measurable outcomes.

Training for the future Skills transfer, mentorship, human resource planning, recruitment

and retention strategies are all foundational requirements. That’s also where IMESA comes in. IMESA creates a platform for municipal engineers to share their ideas and experiences, and come up with solutions together. Our members range from young graduates to highly experienced engineers.

We also want to promote the profession more. South African engineers rank among the best in the world, yet we tend to be too modest. We need to showcase our achievements more. It’s a mindset change – one that will make our industry more attractive to aspiring engineers, while motivating existing ones to stay.

At IMESA, we have a passion for education.

This year, we’re taking a two-pronged approach. Alongside the IMESA bursary programmes, we’ve taken the decision to promote member training free of charge.

Local branches will just need to cover the cost of the training venue. We’re currently finalising the training materials and these will be CPD accredited.

The first item on my agenda for Q1 2019 is to build on the strategic alliances formed with key public and private sector associations like ECSA, CESA and Salga. That will refine the framework for a common vision and mission in terms of our shared training and infrastructure mandate. The IMESA mission for 2019 is one of direct and proactive engagement.

Randeer Kasserchun, IMESA president for 2018 to 2020

Engineering background

Kasserchun currently serves as head of eThekwini Municipality’s Coastal Stormwater & Catchment Management Department and has been practicing in the field of hydrology and coastal engineering for the past 20 years.

He graduated with a BSc Civil Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 1994, and also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Development Management.

He obtained his professional status with ECSA in 1997 and is a corporate member of SAICE. He served as vice president of IMESA (Technical Division) from 2015 to 2018.

Notable achievements

He was the engineer on the uMhlanga Pier, which received the SAICE Durban Branch award for technical excellence in 2007; in 2008, he received the IMESA National Award (Structures category) for this project. He was also the engineer for the Sandile Thusi Pier, which won the IMESA National Award and the COGTA KZN Award for Most Innovative Structure in 2012.

His passions include promoting maths and science at school level, as well as mentoring and recruiting young engineers.

IMIESA January 2019

5

Cover story

SBS tanks installed at Sembcorp Siza Water in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal

S

Delayne Gray, managing director, SBS Tanks

Meeting the current and future water storage needs of South Africa’s rural and urban communities is a top priority, as is implementing future drought countermeasures.

Delayne Gray, managing director at SBS Tanks®, discusses the company’s innovative responses to these and other challenges.

6

IMIESA January 2019

Engineered for generations

BS Tanks’ current strategy for the municipal market is to ensure that every municipality understands the advantages of the SBS product line as a flexible solution.

The company offers a turnkey package that brings true value to the end user.

“Our tanks have been engineered to last well beyond 60 years, with minimal maintenance. This means that municipal budgets are responsibly spent,” Gray explains, adding that this doesn’t apply only to South Africa. SBS exports globally and has an expanding presence in key public and private sector markets that include the USA.

Tank applications Mining is one of the most aggressive environments and puts any product to the test. SBS’s tanks meet the most exacting requirements in this area and that means that the company’s products are field-proven for virtually every other application. SBS’s liners, which form an integral part of the tank system design, range from normal potable requirements to leachate and wastewater applications.

SBS’s tanks have also been widely used in the waste management industry, because they can store leachate from dump

run-offs and other waste management sites, assisting in the client’s requirements for odour control.

Public sector offering For the public sector, SBS specialises in containing brackish water or wastewater for further processing. One of the company’s flagship wastewater projects is an ongoing relationship with Sembcorp Siza Water in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal. Sembcorp extracts water from two sources: the local river system and wastewater that has been processed.

In November 2016, SBS provided a 1 Mℓ temporary storage solution to meet Sembcorp’s requirements over the December season. This followed a major tank failure on a non-SBS tank. Sembcorp sells its potable water to the local municipalities, so the implications were severe.

SBS replaced the failed tank with a 1 Mℓ SBS unit in just four days, and then installed additional 2 Mℓ and 3.3 Mℓ tanks, as per client requirements.

Storage for communities “We advise on the best outcome for communities,” says Gray. “Sometimes, this solution involves the interconnection

COVER STORY

A new SBS tank installed alongside an older concrete reservoir

of our tanks with existing supplies. At other times, it’s a stand-alone installation for rural communities outside the municipal grid.

“Often, the initial enquiry by municipalities is the starting point for a proactive discussion that ends with the final best outcome, after exploring all the other alternatives. Here, we pride ourselves on providing objective professional advice based on our valueengineering philosophy.”

SBS’s goal is to lower the cost for municipalities. Examples include the optimisation of gravity-fed systems to reduce pump station and pipeline installation requirements. As part of this process, multiple smaller tanks can also be installed at higher elevations.

To achieve these cost reductions, SBS provides site assessment services to assist municipalities and consulting engineers with the best tank system location and layout.

SBS also runs a series of annual roadshows at municipalities, which are also attended by contractors and consultants.

The smallest tank is 12 kℓ (12 000 litres); however, because they’re modular, the capacity can be incrementally expanded. “In other words, we can customise the volume, scalable up to a 3.3 Mℓ capacity, given available construction footprints,” he explains.

Steel vs concrete In terms of cost impact and time, steel tanks are far faster to build when compared to concrete reservoirs, without compromising capacity. A 3 Mℓ concrete reservoir would typically take around 18 months to complete; an SBS installation of the same capacity could be commissioned in about 40 days.

When it comes to municipal strategy, this is obviously a highly persuasive argument and SBS constantly reinforces the benefits through national workshops.

“On another note, SBS is often appointed to remediate concrete reservoirs that experience major leakages. Here, we install the same PVC liner we employ in our own tanks,” Gray continues.

Rural solutions Many of SBS’s municipal projects are incremental and ongoing. Examples include the Sol Plaatje District in Kimberley, as well as Aliwal North, both in the Northern Cape. At Sol Plaatje, SBS’s installations comprise two SBS provides site assessment services to assist municipalities and consulting engineers with the best tank system location and layout

2.5 Mℓ tanks for potable water supply via municipal reticulation.

“As for solutions aimed at informal settlements, SBS Tanks is engaged with municipalities and they are aware of what we can do. After many successful installations, we’re positive that further opportunities will be forthcoming,” says Gray. “There are definite benefits for community projects.”

Powered by solar or grid supply, these systems can also be metered via telematics that record elements like consumption, inflow, outflow, level and even water temperature.

Rainwater harvesting SBS is especially proud of the meaningful impact its tanks make when used for rainwater harvesting and has a system in place at its Pinetown facility.

As Gray points out, the solution is highly sustainable and he believes that every building – public or private – should have a rainwater harvesting system in place. So far, SBS has installed systems at a number of companies and schools in KwaZuluNatal, where substantial savings have been achieved by using these tanks for toilet flushing and other offline applications.

Future opportunities While the ongoing drought has unfortunately taken its toll on the country, it has opened up a number of opportunities for water storage. Desalination, for instance, whether for seawater or inland brackish water, is now a definite consideration, despite its relatively high cost compared to conventional treatment. Cities like Cape Town have already started desalination projects as a critical drought intervention. That presents opportunities for steel tank reservoirs (for before and after treatment), especially given their speed of installation.

“At SBS Tanks, we have a vision of seeing our tanks filled; working and delivering water to all communities in need of reliable stored water. Making that happen comes down to building lasting partnerships with our public and private sector stakeholders. For SBS, we are proud to say that we deliver in terms of local and international quality standards and specifications,” Gray concludes.

www.sbstanks.com

IMIESA January 2019

7

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Keeping it clean In today’s world, water and wastewater treatment works need to be flexible and scalable. IMIESA speaks to NJ Bouwer, executive at NuWater, about the company’s range of modular solutions and its unique ‘water on wheels’ approach, which is specially geared towards rapid deployment and redeployment in a modular and scalable package.

NJ Bouwer, Executive, NuWater

A

geing treatment plants and pipeline infrastructure pose a serious health and environmental threat, exacerbated by periodic drought conditions across most parts of South Africa. Skills shortages and funding gaps compound the problem, placing a major strain on operations and maintenance teams.

Another significant factor is an unprecedented influx of rural migrants, a number of whom end up in informal settlements around South Africa’s towns and cities. This added demand places further constraints on supply, which

then has a knock-on effect for agricultural, commercial and industrial users. Another growing concern is whether treated water and wastewater sources are still meeting local and international process specification standards.

“For municipal managers and engineers, it’s a question of how best to manage risks and reduce costs while at the same time delivering a high standard of services to affected stakeholders,” explains Bouwer. “Here, new technologies and interventions are required to provide efficient and affordable short-, medium- and long-term solutions that either complement or replace existing plants and processes. Frequently though, more urgent interventions are required to remedy and put things back on track when systems fail suddenly or become completely overloaded.

“As an original design and equipment manufacturer, we have a proven track record for engineered and innovative responses that work,” he continues. “Our philosophy is to use fit-for-purpose equipment and processes that mitigate identified risks and lower expenses.”

NuWater currently offers services to numerous municipalities, either through augmentation of

their existing supply or as a backup solution during maintenance shutdowns. “Thanks to our modular approach, NuWater’s systems work seamlessly alongside current municipal infrastructure, integrating quickly and taking up a fraction of the footprint, which means there’s

Save our Schools (SOS NPO) NuWater is currently working together with SOS NPO (https://soscpt.org) to deliver water from a contaminated source in the Woodstock area to up to 44 schools around the greater Cape Town region. The project involves NUWater treating the contaminated water for distribution to these schools via tanker trucks.

Other project partners: • Isuzu: provision of trucks, drivers and diesel for the transport of water • Grundfos: provision of pumping equipment at the schools and for NuWater’s water treatment system • Dow: provision of the membrane technologies required • NuWater: provision of a functional system that can treat the source water along with ongoing operations and maintenance

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

PRODUCT RANGE Standard modular units: water reclamation & desalination Capacities: From 50 000 ℓ per day

usually room to add additional units over time,” Bouwer points out.

- The system can expand easily as demand requires or be redistributed to areas within the same district to provide immediate relief.

Water on Wheels NuWater is a full-service water company offering equipment sales; build, own and operate (BOO); build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT); or standard rentals. Lease and lease-to-own options are also available. Rental periods can be as short as three months. NuWater also specialises in consulting, project management and existing system operations, maintenance and upgrades.

“We typically start with a water analysis and then design the water treatment system to meet the customer’s specific requirements,” Bouwer explains.

All NuWater units can be powered from the grid. Alternatively, and depending on the scale of the application and the related power requirement, optional diesel or solar generators are integrated into the treatment unit.

Water for eMalahleni eMalahleni Local Municipality serves as a prime example of how NuWater’s technologies and flexible rental, or ownership, packages can simply, and effectively, resolve a service delivery challenge.

One of eMalahleni’s water treatment plants became overloaded when demand exceeded its capacity. Process systems became clogged, with up to 20 million litres of water per day used just to backwash and rinse out the filters. In addition to an increased risk of contamination, lower volumes of potable water were having a negative impact on service delivery and the municipal revenue collection targets.

NuWater’s modular plant installation provided an immediate solution and the following key benefits: - The existing water treatment works now runs at design capacity while the NuWater plant delivers the balance of the total volumes required.

- This is a ‘plug-and-play’ solution, funded offbalance-sheet. The plant is self-financed via incoming municipal water tariff fees.

Industrial reuse and downstream abstraction For brackish water and seawater desalination, NuWater is at the forefront of reverse osmosis (RO) technologies. This includes intellectual property related to 16″ RO systems successfully used for wastewater applications such as in the mining sector.

A good example is the New Vaal Colliery, established in 1983. Previously owned by Anglo, the mine has recently been acquired Seriti. This mine is located close to a major municipality and the Vaal River, a vital source of water for industry and agriculture, in addition to supporting around 12 million consumers in and around Gauteng. That places an even greater emphasis on the need for strict environmental control.

Over time, New Vaal’s previous reliance on a dedicated wastewater reservoir for capture and storage proved inadequate. In 2010, the mine invited BOO proposals for a 15 million litre per day treatment plant. NuWater was awarded the bid. The installed plant has the capacity to produce over 20 million litres per day, which can be extended with the addition of modules housed in trailer-mounted containers.

High-quality product water is now pumped to the mine’s power station to supplement cooling water requirements, helping to conserve scarce resources. Additionally, water returned to rivers meets the strictest abstraction requirements for downstream utilities and municipal plants.

Cleaner water lowers treatment costs and extends the useable life of process equipment for both industry and municipalities.

“The extended drought conditions experienced across South Africa clearly emphasise the need for a rethink on consumer water use behaviour,” Bouwer expands. “That has a major impact on micro- and macroeconomic performance.

“The right to water and sanitation is nonnegotiable and, as an industry and a country,

Low salinity and surfaceand groundwater Much of the water available from boreholes, wells, rivers and dams can be treated to drinking standard relatively easily using membrane technologies like ultrafiltration (UF).

NuWater provides a range of selfcontained, fully automated and lowenergy media filtration and UF units.

Brackish water desalination RO is the leading technology for large-scale desalination, and utilises a synthetic semi-permeable membrane to drive water at pressure across it to produce clean, pure water fit for the intended purpose.

NuWater is an expert in RO and uses its own patented technology along with other best-in-class equipment to ensure the highest quality water is produced at the lowest possible cost. NuWater’s self-contained, fully automated, and highly efficient RO modules are used in combination with its standard UF modules to deliver a complete water treatment and desalination solution.

Seawater desalination As with brackish water, NuWater offers self-contained, fully automated, and highly efficient seawater desalination units based on its RO (SWRO) technology. These units can be used in combination with UF units for pretreatment, or can simply stand alone in situations where beach wells provide suitable pre-filtration of the source seawater.

we must find ways to rollout projects faster and more affordably. That’s why NuWater is committed to making its technologies and expertise accessible to as broad a range of customers as possible, irrespective of the scale of the requirement or the in-house technical expertise of the client,” he concludes.

www.nuwater.com

IMIESA January 2019

9

Sanitation

Ensuring SAFE sanitation Globally, 4.5 billion people are still living without proper sanitation and 892 million people are practising open defecation.

By Danielle Petterson

W

ith the oppor tunity to meet the needs of billions of people globally, the reinvented toilet categor y is a R85-billion-a-year sector with business opportunities across the sanitation value chain.

Now more than ever, there is a need for safe, sustainable, off-grid sanitation solutions that don’t require vast quantities of water. This need is particularly strong in South Africa’s schools where thousands of children are exposed to unsafe sanitar y conditions on a daily basis.

Roughly 7 000 public schools rely on inappropriate toilets and 2 000 have no toilets at all. In almost 4 000 cases, these ‘inappropriate’ toilets are pit latrines.

The result of these conditions is a high incidence of absenteeism. According to Dr Granville Whittle, deputy director general: Care and Suppor t Ser vices, Department of Basic Education, three of the four main reasons why children miss school in South Africa are directly linked to sanitation. These are diarrhoea, colds,

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IMIESA January 2019

flu and respirator y issues. Girl children are particularly affected, often missing several days of school each month because the undignified sanitation facilities cannot meet their sanitar y needs.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the

World Toilet Day World Toilet Day is celebrated annually on 19 November, to inspire people to take action to ensure that everyone has a safe toilet by 2030 as part of SDG 6: water and sanitation.

needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations by 2030.

Unfortunately, the UN reports that the world is not on track to meet this target.

Progress towards basic sanitation is too slow in as many as 90 countries, meaning they will not reach universal coverage by 2030. Just 1 in 10 countries below 95% coverage is on track.

Even more concerning, over 80% of countries have insufficient finances to meet national water, sanitation and hygiene targets, and political, institutional and administrative rules, practices and processes are considered inadequate in many countries, particularly those where pressures on water resources is greatest.

Addressing the South African situation In an effort to address the serious issue in South African schools, Unilever and its brand, Domestos, hosted a Flush Forum for World Toilet Day 2018.

Here, delegates heard a call for ‘pit zero’ – the complete eradication of pit

Sanitation

SAFE initiative In August 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) initiative. Led by the Department of Basic Education, the initiative is a response to the significant sanitation challenges facing some of the country’s poorest schools.

The aim is to install high-tech, low-maintenance, environmentally sustainable sanitation solutions that don’t rely heavily on water to restore the dignity of learners and make schools safer.

latrines – as the event worked to heed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for collective action to help solve the country’s school sanitation crisis.

With the assistance of a crowdfunding campaign driven by Domestos World Toilet Day Ambassador Anele Mdoda, over R700 000 was donated in cash and kind at the forum, well on the way to meeting the goal of R1.1 million. These funds will go towards the Domestos Cleaner Toilets, Brighter Future campaign, which will renovate and build new toilets in two schools, with hopes to do the same in at least one more school.

“There is nothing comfor table about the fact that the children in this countr y can walk into a toilet and are faced with faeces and urine on the floor and the

need to navigate in school shoes that they may not have. This is not a Domestos problem, or a government problem. It’s an ever ybody problem. We have to be better,” said Mdoda.

According to Solly Mofoko, acting chief director: Infrastructure Planning, Department of Basic Education, sanitation is the depar tment’s most urgent and important priority. “We have been granted a R2.5 billion budget for this but it is still not sufficient when you look at the enormous challenge we are facing. That is why these kinds of partnerships are ver y important to us. These partnerships are already assisting us in investigating new technologies that can help us to bring the costs of this exercise down,” he said at the Flush Forum.

Operations and maintenance is also a major issue. There are many toilets in schools that simply aren’t working despite the significant capital investment for the infrastructure. Addressing this requires operations and maintenance systems and accountability to be in place. “Arguably, a functioning toilet is as relevant as a good teacher,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, countr y manager, UNICEF. “Following on from the president’s SAFE Initiative breakfast in August, I’m really pleased that, here in South Africa, a lot of the corporates have come together to provide a kind of consolidated offer and there’s a whole range of expertise and solutions that can be brought together and packaged to create a real impact at scale.

But, we have to act fast. One child is one child too many.”

2030 The world is not on track to meet SDG 6 by 2030

27% of the population in the leastdeveloped countries has access to soap and water for handwashing on premises

4.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation

892 million still practise open defecation

80% of countries have insufficient finances to meet national water, sanitation and hygiene targets IMIESA January 2019

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83RD IMESA Conference Durban ICC 02-04 October 2019 Conquering Municipal Challenges

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Roads & Bridges

Beautiful bridge abutments

Segmental retaining wall blocks provide a functional and aesthetic alternative on a major UAE road upgrade.

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here are often two choices facing engineers in the field of retaining walls: specifying a structural yet unattractive wall or specifying an attractive wall that isn’t structural. Hollow-core, interlocking

precast blocks offer a good-looking and cost-effective alternative solution to cast-inplace abutments, vertical piers or reinforced concrete grade beams. They are plantable and easy to handle yet have proven to stand the test of time. Consent LLC, Terraforce

ABOVE LEFT Terraforce retaining blocks used to form terraces on various interchanges forming part of the Salwa International Highway INSET An aerial perspective of one of the cloverleaf interchanges on the Salwa International Highway

licensee in the UAE and GCC region, has been involved in the installation and design of numerous roadside Terraforce retaining walls, most notably the erosion control and

IMIESA January 2019

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Roads & Bridges on the inside faces of all four quadrants of the conventional clover-leaf interchanges.

Alternative design proposal

landscaping of three large interchanges on the Salwa International Highway.

The Salwa highway is the major arterial connection between Saudi Arabia and the coastal capital of Qatar, Doha. All traffic coming into the city of Doha, including from the UAE, enters via this route. The QR441 million (R1.6 billion) project enables a faster commute for motorists between Abu

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Samra and Doha, and includes a dual fourlane highway with 10 major interchanges, three camel crossing underpasses, and 22 Qatar Petroleum culverts.

At interchanges 15, 17 and 24, a detail was prepared by design engineers Parsons International Limited – one of the world’s largest engineering and construction consultants for private industries and government agencies – for a series of terraces

The original Parsons design, which closely mapped the original ground profiles – a series of tapered and curved embankments running parallel to the edge of the ramps – called for precast walling. However, the appointed landscaping contractor, AG Middle East, proposed the use of Terraforce L16 blocks instead, based on the successful use of the product on Palm Jumeirah Island.

The alternative designs supplied by Knutton Consulting – a well-established engineering consultancy in South Africa – were accepted.

Of distinctive interest at the Salwa project is the creative use of both rock and round face finishes in the wall design, a look easily achieved by flipping the Terraforce blocks around. L16 block access stairs were also included, providing maintenance access to the different wall levels. Overall, this creates a softer feel to the walls, in addition to the gorgeous landscaping added to each of the terraces on completion of the site. www.terraforce.com

IMIESA January 2019

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Roads & Bridges

Reinforced shoring on the R72

During the upgrading of Section 3 of the R72 between Port Alfred and the Fish River, a 7 m wide road, situated at an elevated level on the existing alignment, was constructed as a temporary measure.

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he road’s new width meant there would be no space for diversions during the construction of culverts, and providing temporar y access over new culverts prior to the finished level being constructed would result in unnecessary extra work.

To remedy the situation, consulting firm Gibb Africa specified Kaytech’s RockGrid PC and bidim, which were used as geosynthetic wraparound reinforced shoring around the culver ts for in-line construction on the new road.

RockGrid PC consists of a nonwoven layer in conjunction with high-tenacity, biaxially oriented multifilament polyester yarns. “Compared to polyethylene or polypropylene grids or woven fabrics, the high tensile strength of RockGrid PC

provides unsurpassed reinforcement with minimum creep deformation,” explains Julian Maastrecht, regional manager: East London, Kaytech.

Cutting back Concor Construction commenced the project by cutting back existing culverts to the maximum to provide two-way traffic flow. Cut-back road embankments were stabilised using soil nails and shotcrete.

Once new culver ts were placed, an 80-degree geosynthetic-reinforced wrapped soil wall was constructed adjacent and over

ABOVE Start of geosynthetic shoring and formwork RIGHT Front elevation showing the installation of the geosynthetic tieback layers

IMIESA January 2019

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Roads & Bridges

Geosynthetic shoring next to and over a skew culvert

the new culverts. Bidim A6 was used at 450 mm lifts by 0.7 x wall-height tie back lengths for all shoring under 6 m high.

“Due to their high soil-geotextile friction coefficient and high tensile strength, heavier grades of bidim, such as A6, are ideally suited for reinforcement of steep earth structures,” Maastrecht continues.

Bidim’s high in-plane drainage capacity helps prevent build-up of pore water pressure within the soil structure, thereby greatly improving stability.

For shoring 6 m and higher, alternating layers of bidim A6 were replaced with RockGrid PC 100/100 at 600 mm lifts.

RockGrid PC 100/100 is a 100 kN bidirectional composite geotextile

offering high modulus characteristics for reinforcement applications and was required at 1.05 m lifts.

The nonwoven geotextile component of RockGrid PC is a special feature offering optimum hydraulic characteristics and high resistance to installation stresses.

As with bidim, the high drainage capacity of RockGrid PC facilitates rapid removal of any pore pressure and improves shear characteristics, thereby providing excellent stability.

Formwork To ensure an accurate 80-degree front face finish, construction of each layer was supported with vertical formwork braced with

ENVIRONMENT

RESPECT FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT Much Asphalt is southern Africa’s largest manufacturer of hot and cold asphalt products.

For us success means providing asphalt products that are sustainable throughout the value chain. That’s why our plants are designed for high percentages of recycled asphalt and we focus on low impact products such as warm mix asphalt. That’s also why our plants meet and exceed emissions standards and our products have long design lives. Respect for all our stakeholders is key.

17 static plants • 5 mobile plants • extensive product range • stringent quality control • bitumen storage • industry training T: +27 21 900 4400 | F: +27 21 900 4468 E: info@muchasphalt.com | www.muchasphalt.com

Soil nails and shotcrete shoring to existing road and removal of old culvert

removable brackets. All geosynthetics were installed with a 1 m horizontal re-embedment length and folded over formwork before selected fill was placed and compacted in 150 mm layers. To prevent bulging during compaction, 2% cement was added to all material placed within 1 m of the front face.

The geosynthetics were subsequently pulled back tight, perpendicular to the front face and secured with selected fill cover.

A total of 7 900 m2 of RockGrid PC 100/100 and 5 500 m2 of bidim A6 completed the wraparound reinforced shoring. The geosynthetics provided high modulus characteristics, a stable front face and in-plane drainage to ensure rapid removal of any pore pressure.

Roads & Bridges

Establishing transformation routes Much Asphalt, together with subsidiaries Spray Pave and East Coast Asphalt, has been certified as BBBEE Level 1 Contributor against the Amended Construction Sector Code.

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he company’s status in mid2017 was rather different.

At the time, Much Asphalt was a Level 7 Contributor and the rapid improvement to Level 1 can be attributed to cooperation between a dedicated transformation champion and a suppor tive management team.

The acquisition of Much Asphalt by the AECI Group has also positively impacted this result.

Ayesha Isaacs joined the company as its first transformation champion on 15 June 2017. “Within less than a year, we moved up to Level 4. The acquisition of Much

by AECI in early 2018 pushed us up to Level 3, in line with AECI’s empowerment credentials,” says Isaacs.

“In preparing for our audit against the new Construction Sector Code, we aimed to retain a high compliance score without making token investments in transformation,” she adds. “Much Asphalt has taken the approach that without meaningful transformation, we will not thrive and so we are continually pushing for improvements that will benefit the Much group and its customers.

“Our most impor tant achievement as a company has been understanding that

the market wants to do business with BBBEE-compliant suppliers. Ever yone at Much knows the impor tance of this and our effor ts to transform are backed by a leadership team that advocates the need for change.”

In par t due to its acquisition by AECI, Much Asphalt is now 81.27% black-owned, with black board member par ticipation of 57.14%.

Much Asphalt transformation champion Ayesha Isaacs with the certificate confirming the company’s BBBEE Level 1 Contributor status

“Achieving our goals in the employment equity, enterprise and supplier development, and skills development components of the BBBEE Code was the most challenging in terms of time management,” says Isaacs. “Planning and implementation are key to success.

A lot of detail goes into these elements and cooperation from ever yone across the company is fundamental to achieving the required outcomes.”

Commitment to training Much Asphalt offers several learnerships and bursaries aimed at filling skills gaps and creating promotion oppor tunities for staff. The company also provides free courses in hand-laid asphalt for emerging contractors. Not only does this help them to tender successfully for municipal projects and do the work correctly, but it also drives the development of SMMEs and the provision of better roads.

Isaacs adds that although Much diversifies its socio-economic development spend, it is focusing increasingly on suppor ting improvements in education as the key enabler to economic development.

IMIESA January 2019

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Roads & Bridges

Strengthening the Groot Marico bridge The repaired bridge

The repair of the Groot Marico River Bridge is an example of how systematic monitoring, innovative design and creative thinking can extend the lifespan of an existing structure.

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he busy N4 highway from Gauteng to Botswana is operated and maintained by the Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire on behalf of Sanral. It’s a strategically important economic corridor used by thousands of vehicles daily.

Along the route, the Groot Marico River Bridge is among the largest of some 280 structures recorded on Bakwena’s asset management system. This bridge

Project team Client: Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire Consulting engineer: JG Afrika Main contractor: G4 Civils Concrete works: Civilcon Piling contractor: Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical Bridge jacking: MBR cc

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IMIESA January 2019

is 7 m high and 80 m long, with six spans and five piers. The southern section was built in the 1970s with the northern part added in the early 2000s to accommodate a wider carriageway and rising traffic volumes.

JG Afrika oversees the bridge management system for Bakwena. This involves fiveyearly inspections of all structures along the highway. During the 2015/16 period, the bridge inspector from JG Afrika identified a crack on the second pier between the old and the new structure. This was noted and a methodology for the repair drawn up. However, before the repairs could commence, large-scale flooding took place in the area. The flooding of the bridge then caused the crack to widen, chiefly due to the rotation of the affected pier and settlement of the bridge deck. This rotation was further aggravated during construction.

As the peak 2017 year-end traffic festive season approached, some highly creative

A close-up view of the crack

solutions were needed to fast-track the repair programme. JG Afrika formulated the repair methodology.

Based on the condition of the bridge, the decision was made to close the old portion and divert traffic on to the newer section. Under the guidance of Bakwena’s environmental consultant, a berm was constructed. Once the river was diverted, concrete stands were built and support scaffolding placed on the stands on either side of the bridge. This was done to prevent any further settlement of

Roads & Bridges

The rotating pier causes the bridge to sag

Large boulders in the riverbed cause major piling problems

the bridge structure and to provide a safe working environment.

Revised piling approach During the piling process, two challenges were encountered that required quick thinking and a change in the original repair methodology to allow the works to continue on time and within budget.

The first challenge was with the narrowerdiameter piles to form the protection structures on the piers on either side of the failed pier. Due to the large boulders present in the river bed, narrower-diameter

piles could not be installed. The design was changed from seven mini piles to three 1 m diameter piles.

The second challenge was encountered when the four corner piles were installed.

The piling showed that below pier 2, there was only mud and boulders to a level of 5 m.

The piling also resulted in further settlement of the bridge pier. Based on these findings, it was deemed that building a lip under the failed pier would be dangerous and could lead to a complete collapse. The design was therefore revised. The revision allowed for a new concrete beam to be tied to the existing

Fixing reinforcing for the beam

pier by means of dowels drilled and epoxied into the pier rather than constructing a lip below the pier.

Once the beam had reached the required strength, the bridge deck was jacked back up to its original height. Thereafter, steel shims of varying heights were placed between the pier and the deck on flat epoxy surfaces to support the deck.

Despite all the challenges, the team was able to largely finalise the bridge overhaul in time for the December season. In early 2018, the final repairs to the crack and the deck were completed.

Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire (Pty) Ltd is a caring and responsible road authority who finances, builds, operates and maintains sustainable and safe road infrastructure. The N1 route begins in Pretoria northwards to Bela Bela off-ramp (95km) and the N4 starts in Pretoria westward to the Botswana border post (290km).

Road safety and raising awareness of its importance is one of Bakwena’s most prominent tasks. Promoting road safety and providing road safety education is an integral component of the Bakwena N1N4 toll route.

Traffic is constantly monitored and trends analysed, while infrastructure is assessed and enhanced wherever necessary to increase safety. The route patrol and customer care systems form a very important part of our services not only for road users, but also for communities close to the N1N4 route.

As the owner of a long term toll concession contract, we are able to add critical value to communities beyond the scope of our commercial activities. Our consistent and sincere commitment to improving the lives of community members throughout the North West, Gauteng and parts of Limpopo provinces is at the centre of our value. Bakwena has year-round initiatives in place as part of our Road Safety initiatives, often in partnership with other road safety role players and law enforcement authorities to ensure heightened awareness is created throughout the year.

Our Road Safety Programme is aimed at raising awareness and installing the right behavior in the long term. Some of the initiatives that are geared towards learners include edutainment projects, environmental, drama, peer education and scholar patrol support. Projects aimed at improving driver behavior on the road include encouraging the use of safety-belts, sticking to the speed limits and car seats for kids.

All these initiatives are geared towards educating and creating awareness around road safety which contributes to the safety of children and adults which ultimately will reduce crashes and injuries.

0800 BAKWENA 0800 2 2 5 9 3 6 2 www.bakwena.co.za

BakwenaN1N4 BakwenaN1N4

IMESA Conference

Technical tours gave delegates the opportunity to, among others, see the only double aberration corrected transmission electron microscope on the African continent or hike 3.5 km, taking in the Baakens River catchment

Are you ready for the future?

Delegates engaging during the motivational talk by Femi Adebanji

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing life for individuals and businesses alike, but it can no longer be considered a future challenge. Addressing delegates at the 2018 IMESA Conference under the theme “Innovative Infrastructure Solutions”, speakers discussed the technology challenges that we will all be facing and the progress and innovations already under way. By Danielle Petterson

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he Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, started in 2012 and we are now moving into uncharted territory. The future is arriving faster than ever before, and we must adapt.

According to Professor Chris Adendorff, adjunct professor at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School, the changes that we will experience within the

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IMIESA January 2019

next 10 to 15 years will be felt more than ever before in the history of mankind. We must, therefore, be adaptive to change, and take the arrival of Industry 4.0 with a positive attitude.

“All of our efforts are and should be towards improvement,” he said.

Industry 4.0 is based on the use of cyber physical systems and comprises three elements: 1. Artificial intelligence (AI)

2. Internet of things (IoT) 3. Blockchain.

Of all of these, AI is possibly most concerning because, as Adendorff pointed out, it has the potential to move beyond the control of its creators. Sophia, the AI robot developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, is only three years old and can already imitate human gestures and facial expressions and is

IMESA Conference able to answer certain questions and make simple conversation on predefined topics. In October 2017, Sophia became the first robot to receive citizenship in any country and is also the first non-human to be given any United Nations title.

That being said, Adendorff is confident that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will make our lives easier, although the degree of complexity we will experience is much more intense. And a lot has already been done.

R8.7 billion had been spent on IoT in 2012 when the Fourth Industrial Revolution began.

By 2020, this is expected to increase to R50.1 billion. And it is expected that by 2025, one in three jobs will be done by software, robots, or smart machines.

Impact on jobs While offshoring manufacturing jobs to lowcost economies can save up to 65% of labour costs, replacing human workers with robots saves up to 90%, said Adendorff. Japan’s car

The evolution of municipalities

2018’s BEST PAPERS Best Paper by an IMESA member: Johan van der Mescht, Aurecon: “The farm village – a concept for sustainable rural living” (standby paper) Best Paper by a non IMESA member: Jay Bhagwan, Water Research Commission: “Ending the madness… of the flush”

manufacturing sector already has robots that are able to work around the clock for 30 days, unsupervised and without interruption.

By 2030, over 2 billion jobs will have disappeared, freeing up talent for many fledgling industries and resulting in a surge of micro-training colleges to assist people in switching professions. It is expected that 60% of the jobs that will exist 10 years from now have not been invented yet, and basic computer programming will become a core skill required by over 40% of all jobs.

It is important to be prepared for and to manage these changes moving forward, and this will require vision, skills, resources and action plans from both the public and private sectors. “We need to start today, both as individuals and organisations, to develop the ability to adapt as a core skill that will allow us to thrive in a context of constant transformation,” said Adendorff.

LEFT New IMESA president Randeer Kasserchun

The role of municipalities will also change exponentially in the future, as they begin to manage all of the changes that Industry 4.0 brings. With access to the internet becoming a vital component of life as a citizen, it is important to consider how municipalities can assist the poor with gaining access..

According to Adendorff, the internet of light (Li-Fi) offers a potentially game-changing alternative to Wi-Fi. The emerging technology uses a broad spectrum of invisible light to connect users to the internet, offering many benefits including significantly faster speeds.

And because it works via satellite and light, infrastructure costs can be cut to the bare minimum, potentially cutting costs by as much as 99%.

This could be a vital change considering the high cost of data in South Africa. A 2016 World Bank report found that South Africans paid roughly US$14 (R197) for 1 GB of data, which, at the time, was the fourth highest out of 17 African countries. The vast majority of South Africans do not have access to the internet at home, with the highest rate of access being among mobile users. “We need to advocate for lower data costs,” urged keynote speaker Danai Magugumela, MD of Bosch Projects, who questioned whether citizens will be able to keep up with the digital revolution given the high cost of data.

She explained that to get a South African identification document, a citizen now needs access to the internet in order to create a profile on eHomeAffairs, a cell phone to receive a one-time pin, an email address to receive the tracking documentation, and a bank account with online banking facilities in order to pay via EFT. “The digital age is not coming; it is here, now. It is real, it does not distinguish, and we are all in it,” said Magugumela. The space is changing and citizens must be enabled to keep pace.

“The digital revolution is actually a digital evolution. Data and connectivity are now basic needs for lifestyle, education, healthcare and commerce. Data is the new currency and connectivity is the new literacy,” she said.

The consumer is evolving into the

This year, delegates participated in the first ever IMESA mountain bike event. Traversing 20 km through the Baakens River Valley, riders experienced sharp climbs, rutted descents and many stream crossings along the scenic route.

After the event, participants had the opportunity to experience a beer tasting and tour at the nearby Bridge Street Brewery.

IMIESA January 2019

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2018

IMESA

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Roads & Bridges | Asphalt IMESA Technology Conference

digital age. Life in municipalities, therefore, needs to fully advance and adapt in order to create intelligent municipalities. Dubai, as one of the leading cities, is a prime example of how this can be achieved. It has recorded three key applications of AI in municipalities.

The UAE plans to use robotic teaching assistants that sync with schools’ records to create profiles for each student, enabling the robots to anticipate each student’s needs and tailor work for each individual. When it comes to transport, the country is aiming for 25% of cars to be autonomous by 2030 to reduce vehicle collisions. Lastly, the City of Dubai has implemented a chat bot, which uses an AI platform for customer services.

The bot can understand and respond to questions in both Arabic and English and is constantly learning and adapting based on the questions asked.

“More connectivity and more connection equals more innovation, more invention and more opportunities,” said Adendorff. “The Industrial Revolution was a 10-million-person story. AI is a sample of a 1-billion-person story and we are actually just at the beginning.”

IMESA changing with the times IMESA has also recognised the need to change with the times. According to immediate past president Gavin Clunnie, the IMESA EXCO has been restructured to streamline and balance the number of members. The working groups will also be reincorporated into council, with the aim of improving interaction and cooperation between members, as well as the development of more training and projects for the better dissemination of information.

The representation on council is currently 1 member per 20 members of each branch.

“At this point in time, we have 50. Imagine if we double our membership,” said Clunnie.

The clause covering council representation will be rewritten into a by-law that will allow IMESA to provide a reasonable representation of the branches depending on the size of the membership base. At the same time,

colleagues, industry leaders, city management and politicians to promote the importance of IMESA as a body and the IMESA Conference.

Better partnerships with government

IMESA looks forward to hosting delegates in Durban at the 2019 Conference.

Date: 2 – 4 October 2019 Theme: “Conquering municipal challenges”

the institute is looking at updating and modernising its constitution. “We’ve got a couple of very old-fashioned clauses in the constitution. We want to streamline those and bring in things like emails and electronic voting. We are also trying to avoid ambiguities that have crept in,” said Clunnie.

Welcoming new leadership At the opening of the conference, Clunnie handed over the reins to the new IMESA president Randeer Kasserchun.

Kasserchun, who will serve as president for the next two years, is head of eThekwini Municipality’s Coastal Stormwater & Catchment Management Department and has been practising in the field of hydrology and coastal engineering for 20 years.

Delivering his inaugural speech, Kasserchun noted that engineering and delivery are currently not business as usual. “We need to evolve with the times and evolve in terms of what is happening in the country,” he said.

Kasserchun argued for better engagement with

BELOW LEFT Outgoing president Gavin Clunnie (left) talks to delegates at the opening function BELOW RIGHT Delegates were given floral leis at the social evening beach party

IMESA’s ongoing partnership with the South African Local Government Agency (Salga) is vital in achieving this, and the organisation endorsed the conference for the second year in a row.

“This platform offers our member municipalities a valuable space to share experiences and best practices on the topic at hand,” said Aseza Dlanjwa, programme manager: Municipal Infrastructure Services, Salga.

South Africa faces the major challenge of urbanisation. It is predicted that by 2030, more than 80% of South Africans will be residing in urban areas. This puts pressure on local governments to deliver services. “We need to start being innovative, as the theme of this conference states,” he said.

Research has indicated that the local government sphere is responsible for infrastructure worth an estimated R1.2 trillion.

However, the capital investment backlogs for water services infrastructure alone are estimated to be in the region of R20 billion to R40 billion. There is a further backlog of R25 billion to R41 billion for electricity infrastructure, excluding the networks owned and operated by Eskom and the water boards.

The need for engineers is, therefore, significant. However, Dlanjwa pointed out that around 60% of engineering graduates don’t go on to become professionally registered engineers. “We need to start looking into our municipalities to see how they develop their engineers for professional registration so that we can address these issues,” he said.

In closing, Dlanjwa called on municipalities to embrace innovations that will result in affordable, appropriate and alternative technologies in order to transition into smarter, better-skilled and more sustainable cities.

Environmental Engineering

Steel wire protection for a changing world

For close on 140 years, the name Maccaferri has been of Maccaferri Africa. “We achieve this through continuous R&D and synonymous with gabions, ensuing new product roll-outs. particularly when it comes to “The global launch of proprietary innovations. The most PoliMac is a prime example. It’s a pioneering recent breakthrough is PoliMac® – innovation designed to a revolutionary polymeric coating provide maximum corrosion that dramatically extends the resistance and mechanical per formance to help combat life of Maccaferri’s hexagonal environmental threats that include double-twist wire climate change and extreme weather. mesh products.

Engineers now need products with greater structural integrity and longevity.”

By Alastair Currie

M

accaferri is phasing out its current PVC coating; from early 2019, PoliMac will be the standard offering. A key feature is PoliMac’s classleading resistance to chemical attack, ensuring structural integrity in the most aggressive environments.

“As a group, our goal is to provide environmentally engineered solutions that are cost-effective, durable and reliable,” explains Adriano Gilli, managing director

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IMIESA January 2019

Put to the test PoliMac achieves this by providing up to 10 times greater abrasion resistance compared to traditional polymeric coatings like PVC. During UV resistance tests, PoliMac outmatched conventional PVC in terms of tensile strength resistance and elongation: following 2 500 hours of UV exposure, PoliMac’s tensile strength was more than 35% higher, while elongation performance at break testing was four times greater.

“When it comes to durability, selecting the right wire coating is important. Designers can choose between either a Class A zinc

galvanised or a heavier-duty zinc alloy galvanised wire (known by its brand name as Galfan). Galfan remains the best option in terms of lifespan when a secondary coating is not required. But when you design in marine and riverine environments, which are aggressive, a metallic coating combined with a polymer coating ensures that the longevity of both options are greatly extended,” explains Edoardo Zannoni, a professional engineer and business unit manager at Maccaferri Africa.

As a general rule, non-PVC-coated Galfan wire should typically last around 50 years, and Class A zinc wire approximately half of that or less, depending on the environmental aggressiveness. With PoliMac’s unique polymer recipe and the metallic Galfan coating, it is now possible to confidently extend the lifespan of gabion and allied structures. A design life of up to 120 years, assuming the correct design and installation techniques are used, is now achievable.

“Within the stormwater and river protection fields, for example, research shows that today’s hydraulic structures are experiencing much higher levels of wear and tear due to rising sedimentation, debris, pollution and chemical attack,” Zannoni continues. “Future designs have to take this into account, which means specifying polymers with far greater impact resistance and flexibility. Building in durability is vital, as the consequences of specifying the wrong wire system could lead to a rapid loss of mechanical strength.”

When zinc galvanised wire and PVC coatings were introduced in the 1950s, they were seen as major breakthroughs. Now that journey continues with PoliMac.

New supply chain model To better serve the South African market, Maccaferri Africa has restructured its supply chain model and will now interface with customers via a network of either Level 1 or 2 BBBEE distributors. Locally, Maccaferri will continue to focus on manufacturing and engineering services. Gilli adds that this new distributor network will help to free up resources, enabling the group to increase its strategic penetration of the Africa market.

Environmental Engineering

PoliMac coated products - Gabion - Terramesh® - Mesh and rockfall netting - Reno® Mattress - Sack gabion - MacMat® R - Green Terramesh®

FROM LEFT Adriano Gilli, managing director, Maccaferri Africa; Arno Welcome, Local Wire (Cape Town distributor); Kenny Naidoo, Buyisela Civils (Port Elizabeth distributor); and Patrick Nobanda, Yebo Sales Wildcoast (East London distributor)

“We have selected companies with a proven track record in the environmental engineering field, many with past experience in applying the Maccaferri product suite,” Gilli explains.

So far, distributors have been appointed in Durban, Cape Town, East London and Port Elizabeth. A distributor agreement in Johannesburg is imminent and

other appointments will follow nationally during 2019.

“We are committed to transformation and sustainable development in South Africa and Africa, and that includes human resources,” he continues, adding that Maccaferri is working towards the establishment of a CETAaccredited training school. This will include

on-site installation training for community members employed on public works programmes, as well as advanced training for SMME subcontractors.

“Another way we add back to South Africa and the environment is by using locally sourced, 100% recycled steel for all our wire products,” Gilli concludes.

PoliMac

®

WIRE PROTECTION FOR A CHANGING WORLD

NEW POLYMER COATING

• • • • •

Longer Life More Abrasion resistance More UV resistance More Chemical resistance More Environment-friendly

Telephone: +27 31 705 0500 - Durban (HO), Johannesburg (Branch), Tongaat (Factory)

www.maccaferri.com/za

THE

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SUSTAIN

STYLE

environment-friendly

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CLAYBRICK.ORG

IN D U S T RY

Photograph courtesy of Federale Stene

A SAGC-registered surveyor carrying out a survey

THERMAL PERFORMANCE clay brick has natural thermal insulation keeping schools cool in summer and warm in winter, creating an effective learning environment Secure & sustainable clay brick ensures a lasting legacy for social infrastructure, schools, universities and hospitals. Brick masonry regulates noise and humidity and achieves maximum fire ratings.

Bricks are locally produced to SABS standards, supporting regional businesses and job creation.

Go to www.claybrick.org to find your nearest clay brick supplier Promoting Inclusive Sustainable Practices in the South African Clay Brick Sector This Switch Africa Greenis This project Project isco-funded co-funded by by the EuropeanUnion Union the European

Building Systems

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University makes superb use of the natural insulating properties of clay brick (Credit: Algoa Brick)

Built-in thermal performance saves electricity

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chools and universities in par ticular have high day-time use and crowded conditions.

Temperatures can soar by midday, making it difficult for students and lecturers to focus. However, installing air-conditioning can result in unacceptably high running costs.

Clay bricks have well-known thermal insulating properties, making buildings naturally cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This saving is further enhanced by designing the building with cavity walls (a double leaf wall with an air cavity in-between). Unlike other building materials, the high thermal mass of clay brick prevents a ‘hot-box’ effect in high summer temperatures.

Rooms stay considerably cooler than ambient temperatures, allowing students to concentrate throughout the day.

Clay masonry also regulates air humidity so that pupils and teachers can enjoy an environment close to the preferred human comfort zone even in the wettest or driest climate conditions.

Clay brick also offers numerous other benefits beyond high thermal performance: • The natural acoustic properties of brick reduce ambient noise from adjoining areas, making classrooms quieter.

• The natural structural strength and dimensional stability of clay brick, coupled with its high fire rating, ensure that students and scholars are well protected against natural disasters as well as civil crime, vandalism and unrest.

• Clay brick outlasts almost any other practical building material – 100 years and more.

• Clay bricks are entirely natural and contain no pollutants or allergens.

Energy-efficient construction decisions result in buildings that cost less to operate, produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions and are more comfortable places in which to live, work, study or play.

• The density of clay brick prevents access by burrowing animals like rats, snakes, ants and termites.

• Clay brick is inert, releasing no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or toxic fumes to reduce air quality.

• Exposed brick and face brick buildings are extremely low maintenance, reducing operating costs as well as downtime due to repairing, re-plastering and repainting of walls.

With all these benefits, it is not surprising that clay bricks fulfil all the requirements for school infrastructure, offering the most efficient and cost-effective building material solution in the long term.

Improving sustainability during clay brick production The Clay Brick Association of South Africa (CBA), EcoMetrix Africa and Partners for Innovation have been commissioned to execute a three-year project co-sponsored by the European Union under the SWITCH Africa Green programme.

The focus is to promote inclusive sustainable practices in the South Africa clay brick sector, and involves several integrated projects expected to reduce the use of fossil fuels during brick manufacture through education initiatives for both formal and informal brick-makers.

More than 75% of the clay brick operations in South Africa are located in rural areas, and are near to communities who need to expand their social infrastructure, including schools, clinics and public sector offices.

Cutting transport distance not only reduces building costs and delays, it also lowers South Africa’s carbon footprint and air pollution from heavy vehicles.

The CBA is proud to be an industry leader in the move to more sustainable, energy-efficient buildings, in a country that has the 14th largest carbon footprint in the world.

The University of Mpumalanga harnesses the thermal insulation properties of clay brick to keep its campus cool in the Lowveld’s subtropical summers (Credit: Federale Stene)

IMIESA January 2019

27

83RD IMESA CONFERENCE

DURBAN

02-04 October 2019

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS THEME

CONQUERING MUNICIPAL CHALLENGES CATEGORIES

• Buildings, Structures and Housing • Ecological, Environmental and Social • Financial, Legal and Regulatory A B S T R AC T S S U B M I T T E D BY

• Electrical and Electronic • Water and Sanitation • Transport, Roads and Stormwater

26 February 2019 marketing@imesa.org.za | tel +27 031 266 3263 Call Melanie Stemmer for an entry form or download from the website

www.imesa.org.za

CONFERENCE ENDORSED BY

IMESA ORGANISER

THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA) TEL: 031 266 3263 DEBBIE OR MELANIE

Building Systems

Inspiring academic excellence

The Durban University of Technology

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he new Durban University of Technology (DUT) Indumiso Campus in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg, sets higher standards for tertiary institutions with its inspirational layout, with SMEC South Africa appointed as the consulting structural and civil engineer.

Forming par t of DUT’s Phase 2 expansion, included in the project scope

An internal view of the new library block, which features a staircase supported off sky-hooks

are three new buildings, plus a stormwater attenuation facility and associated external infrastructure ser vices. The buildings comprise a triple-storey engineering faculty block, double-storey lecture block and a triple-storey library, each boasting a unique and separate engineering design technique.

Foundation challenges were overcome with engineered fill in lieu of expensive piling techniques.

The stormwater attenuation structure is disguised as an amphitheatre and student recreational area

The engineering block design features a 10 m x 7.5 m support grid employing unbonded post-tensioned flat slabs. In turn, stacked lecture venues were achieved with the use of bridge beam design techniques, to form a suspended slab over a 15 m x 20 m room with no internal supports; while a staircase inside the new library had to be designed with no intermediate supports: the 15 m structure is supported off sky-hooks.

Limpopo High Court gets parking facility

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he construction of a car parking facility for the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane is now complete – a final phase in the construction of the court buildings for the Department of Justice.

Construction of the three-storey parking facility, which lies adjacent to the main court building, commenced in March 2016 and the final outstanding installations and commissioning of equipment took place in December 2018, in time for the practical completion deadline.

The Department of Justice appointed the Independent Development Trust (IDT), a

premier implementing agency for government’s social infrastructure programmes, as an implementing agent for the construction of the overall project, at a total contract amount of just over R700 million for both the main court building and the parkade.

The parkade is designed to accommodate a further expansion for 1 700 m2 of office space in future.

Making history The state-of-the-art court building was officially opened by Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha in November 2016, claiming its place in

history as the first High Court premises to be built in the post-apartheid era.

The premises house 11 civil courts, six criminal courts, 14 holding cells, consultation rooms, a pay hall, judges and clerk chambers (including those of the judge president and deputy judge president), a library, conference and archives rooms, and – with the completion of the parkade – 434 basement parking bays for officials and visitors. The building also houses the Master of the High Court, National Prosecuting Authority, and the Legal Aid Board.

The IDT is proud to have reached this milestone and looks forward to presenting the parkade to the department.

IMIESA January 2019

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Pipes, Pumps & Valves

Countering degradation with corrugated pipe Existing sewer and drainage systems are encountering growing difficulties in coping with the collection and dispersion of rainwater run-off.

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n high-rainfall areas, degradation can lead to soil becoming unable to absorb rainwater, with the risk of hydrogeological instability. This problem is particularly serious in towns and cities.

The rapid expansion of built-up areas has dramatically altered the ratio between rainfall volume and drain capacity, partly as a result of higher flow rates entering the drains, but often as a result of the inadequacy of drainage systems originally designed and built to cater for urban expansion on a far smaller scale.

Piping solution A forerunner in the HDPE corrugated pipe manufacturing market, SPC has a solution.

The company’s Magnum product is a doublewall HDPE pipe, especially suited for sewers and stormwater applications.

Supplied complete in 6 m lengths, Magnum pipes are easily connected by means of gaskets and couplings. Stock ranges from 160 mm up to 800 mm diameter and, manufactured in accordance with the SANS 21138-3 specification, SPC can supply up to 1 200 mm diameters on request.

Magnum HDPE pipes offer abrasion resistance up to seven times greater than that of concrete pipes, and double that of uPVC. The coupling system is 100% water tight and the hydraulic seal of the gaskets is tested according to EN 1277:2003.

Magnum offers many advantages – it is lightweight and easy to lay, and its durability, strength and versatility have been tested and proven in Europe over the last 25 years and guaranteed underground for 50 years. To top it off, the product proves to be highly cost-effective.

Furthermore, Magnum pipes offer a superb crush resistance of 8 kN/m2 (heavyduty pipe), measured according to SANS 21138-3. Offering a decidedly cost-effective alternative to concrete and uPVC pipes, SPC’s Magnum specialists can assist with tailor-made solutions to meet individual needs.

Leading the market To enhance its continuous product innovation, SPC concluded a partnership with a leading Italian company, providing innovative and complete polyethylene pipe systems in seven countries with 23 factories. Locally, these

Magnum applications for drainage Slotted piping represents the most effective and economical solution to the increasing problems of: • hydrogeological instability • waterlogging of farm land and sports grounds • foundation drainage on construction sites • fluid capture (e.g. in landfills) • water dispersion.

Furthermore: • Slotted piping eliminates the need to construct and maintain large drainage basins.

• Its light weight and versatility make it ideal for use in emergency and safety work.

HDPE are manufactured in SPC’s extensive factory in Gauteng.

The range of products includes HDPE pipelines for drainage, cable protection, stormwater and sewers, which range in diametrical size from 160 mm to 1 200 mm.

IMIESA January 2019

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Pipes, Pumps & Valves

Pipe life expectancy is relative When a pipeline is installed, the countdown begins in terms of measuring its final lifespan, irrespective of the original material composition. That begins and ends with initial product quality control and the construction process. This article focuses on thermoplastic installations.

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ver y pipe system has its place in terms of application and composition. These systems take varied forms, like steel, plastic and glass fibre reinforced pipe and find roles in water, sanitation, gas, oil and fuel transfer. In all respects, they have been proven to master time given the right design composition, downstream task and installation technique.

Failure beyond the envisaged lifespan should never happen, but it does. This places a major responsibility on designers, manufacturers and those who procure

Current South African standards for plastic pipe SANS 4427 SANS 4437 SANS 9661/2

SANS 16422

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IMIESA January 2019

Potable water Gas Pressurised potable water transfer O-PVC pipe

these products to have a detailed understanding of expected durability and what determines and ensures quality control. That starts with the three modes of potential failure for any pipe system.

“As for any product stream, the lifespan of thermoplastic pipes, in their various forms, is determined by three ageing mechanisms,” explains Ian Venter, technical manager, Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturing Association (SAPPMA). “These are mechanical creep, slow crack growth (also referred to as environmental stress cracking), and thermo-oxidative ageing. The first can be attributed to excessive pressure beyond a designed specification; the second to factors like excessive point loads leading to intrusions, resulting in a pipe rupture; and the third, which could include rusting in steel pipes, is excessive UV exposure prior to installation for plastic pipes.”

He adds, “That’s why it’s essential to point out that if the quality of any product has been proven by local and international quality standards, supported by recent independent manufacturers’ factor y

Ian Venter, technical manager, SAPPMA

audits, the argument put for ward is that lifespan is ultimately determined by the engineer and contractor. Case studies are important determining factors, but it has to be emphasised that ever y longevity test is specific to the application and project,

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The selection of allowable stress was based on long-term pressure testing in the laborator y and regression analysis (where the stress remains constant) applied to the data obtained. The 50-year point was arbitrarily chosen for this basis, as for all thermoplastics pipes. A factor was applied to the 50-year point in order to provide the design stress. It shall not be taken that either the pipes weaken with time, or the predicted life is 50 years.

System life is dependent on many factors. If the design stress was used in relation to the regression cur ve, predicted pipe life would be indefinite, not 50 years. As with other materials, the life is dependent on manufacture, transport, handling, installation, operation, protection from third-party damage and other external factors.

If a system life is to be assigned beyond 100 years, PIPA states that it has to be based on the likelihood of failure arising from the above factors, not the pipe regression cur ve. Pipe strength has been shown not to decrease with time – in fact, it increases slightly. ‘Instantaneous’

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Research from Australia Based on the use of 50-year stress regression data, it has been incorrectly assumed that plastic pipe systems have a life expectancy of 50 years. In reality, such systems can be reasonably expected to last 100 years or more, says the Plastic Industr y Pipe Association of Australia (PIPA).

PE and PVC pipes and fittings were introduced in Australia during the 1950s, mainly for water supply and irrigation, but also for fuel, gas and industrial applications. The first Australian Standard for PE pressure pipes was ASK 119-1962 and the first for PVC pressure pipes was ASK 138-1963.

According to PIPA, the creep rupture characteristics of these materials necessitated a new method for the selection of design stress, compared with other materials in use at the time. The method adopted was the one already in use in Europe using the creep rupture (stress regression) cur ve, selecting a time and establishing the associated burst stress.

Applying a design factor to the burst stress provided the design stress result.

The time chosen was 50 years, already adopted in Europe, and is still in use today in AS/NZS, ISO, SANS and CEN standards.

However, the use of this particular time

inter val has led to the misunderstanding that it represents the pipe life. Similarly, the use of 50-year modulus values for use in ring deflection calculations for non-pressure pipes has also led to misunderstandings regarding lifespan.

GO

from the time pipeline products leave the factor y until they’re in the ground.”

Pipes, Pumps & Valves

burst pressure after a period in ser vice will be at least equal to that of a new pipe.

Non-pressure The life of non-pressure thermoplastic pipelines will be dependent on per formance under four main conditions: • soil and pipe mechanics stability • pipe material strength • chemical and biological stability • functional stability.

The life of these pipeline systems has been extensively studied and reported. For example, the report titled Plastics Pipes – How Long Can They Last, by Professor Lars-Eric Janson of VBB Sweco Consulting Group, reaf firmed a 1987 repor t

concluding that the answer to the above question was “at least 100 years”.

The latest report, produced in 1996, states that “it has been clearly found that nothing has emerged which contradicts the statement made in 1987.” It also states that the repor t refers mainly to buried gravity sewer pipes, but the conclusions can in most cases be applied for pressure applications. The aim of the work was to verify the claim of “at least 100 years”.

The summar y states that “one can thus conclude that ever ything is pointing to at least 100 years of practical ser vice

life for today’s buried sewer pipes made of high-quality virgin PVC and PE resins, on condition that the pipes are used in accordance with the prevalent national standard installation instructions.”

Provided that thermoplastic pipeline system components are appraised and supplied to nominated industr y standards under third-par ty product cer tification systems, and provided pipelines are designed and constructed correctly, then the likelihood of failure is minimised.

For correctly manufactured and installed systems, the actual life cannot be easily predicted, but can logically be expected to be well in excess of 100 years before major rehabilitation is required.

“For the above, it is clear that calculating the ageing factor for any pipe system is an integrated assessment. Advances in thermo plastic pipes have revolutionised their application and these products remain the international choice for most water and sanitation projects, given volume and pressure demands,” Venter concludes.

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Sustaining communities.

An attractive characteristic of PE100 piping systems is the creation of leak-free joints through heat fusion, which creates a joint that is as strong as the rest of the pipe. Ensuring on fulfilling the needs of the local potable water pipe market, for generations to come.

A Division of KAP Diversified Industrial (Pty) Ltd.

FLOWTITE GRP PIPES LIGHTER PIPES - FASTER INSTALLATION

Flowtite pipe systems are quick to assemble. Why? Because Flowtite pipes are light and easy to handle. The couplings are a breeze to connect. You don’t need to apply cathodic protection to them. Or coat them.

And when assembly is faster, your costs go down.

THE FIRST CHOICE OF ENGINEERS WORLDWIDE

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Pipes, Pumps & Valves

Flowtite South Africa: Germiston factory Footprint 25 951 m2 Under roof: 14 935 m2

Production capacity

Output: Up to 1 km of pipe per day (depending on the diameter, pressure and stiffness)

Technical specs

Pipe diameters DN 300 to DN 1800* Nominal pressure ratings PN 6 – 10 – 12 – 16 – 20 – 25 – 32 Nominal stiffness ratings SN 2 500 – 5 000 – 10 000

* larger diameters available on request

Quality control

The first choice is

Flowtite

Glass-fibre-reinforced (GRP) pipe is the preferred specification for municipal infrastructure across the globe. Flowtite GRP takes this to the next level with a guarantee of consistent quality.

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acked by funding from the Industrial Development Corporation, the official opening of Flowtite South Africa’s Germiston factory in December 2018 represents a major breakthrough for the revitalisation of the domestic and regional GRP pipe market.

The Flowtite brand is owned by Flowtite Technology AS, a Norwegian company that forms part of the Amiantit Group. In 2018, Flowtite celebrated 50 years of GRP innovation and a growing global footprint. Flowtite South Africa joined as a manufacturing licensee in June 2018.

“Flowtite has been the leader in GRP innovation since 1968 and its products are widely regarded as the benchmark for durability,” explains Bantu Mselana, managing director, Flowtite South Africa. “We’re excited about setting new standards for Flowtite GRP in the local construction sector, where typical applications include the water and sanitation segments.

“Another aspect that we’re particularly proud of is our contribution to rebuilding South Africa’s manufacturing base, which is a vital catalyst for GDP growth, skills development and employment creation,” he continues. “Plus, around 80% of our content is sourced in South Africa, with the exception of the highly specialised glass fibre composites, which are imported.”

Factory upgrade A series of new capex investments, valued at around R120 million, are currently underway at Flowtite South Africa’s production facility. This will make provision for new product introductions that include Flowtite Grey, a revolutionary breakthrough that provides up to 10 times higher impact resistance than standard Flowtite GRP. Flowtite South Africa is also introducing a 3D fitting design process that makes use of multiaxial fabrics and includes a state-of-the-art CNC glass-cutting table and a post-curing station. This will enable the manufacture of high-pressure fittings using less material.

Over the years, Flowtite GRP has been proven to beat steel, concrete and HDPE piping systems when it comes to longer-term performance, thanks to features that include its incredible non-corrosive properties. This is underscored by the fact that the typical lifespan for GRP is up to 150 years, with minimal maintenance

Flowtite SA is licensed to produce pipes according to standards that include SANS 1748-1, AWWA C950, EN 1796, EN 14364, ISO 10639, ISO 10467, ASTM D3262, ASTM D3517 and ASTM D3754.

Testing: pipes and couplings, resin to glass ratio, hoop tensile strength, axial tensile strength, pipe stiffness, Barcol hardness, dimensional tolerances and a hydro test to twice the operational pressure.

interventions required. GRP is also inherently flexible and virtually indestructible. However, like any product class, downstream performance is dependent on proven R&D and quality assurances – areas where Flowtite excels.

Raw materials used locally must be approved

by Flowtite Technology’s Centre of Excellence in Norway. This includes testing for viscosity, gel time, reactivity, and moisture and particle size distribution. This ensures that pipes manufactured in South Africa are of the same quality as those produced anywhere in the world.

“GRP installations are typically faster and more cost-effective than other pipe systems due their lighter weight and customfit capabilities. Bringing Flowtite GRP into the construction mix adds the long-term value that South Africa needs for its current and future infrastructure developments,” Mselana concludes.

From left to right: Bantu Mselana, managing director, Flowtite South Africa, celebrating the official opening of Flowtite South Africa together with Micarla Hart, Lerato Monyake, Slindile Ngcobo and Mpoti Moalusi, executive members from the Industrial Development Corporation

IMIESA January 2019

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Wastewater

Decentralised treatment solutions For more than 100 years, flushing toilets connected to a centralised sewerage network has been considered the gold standard for sanitation.

However, for water-stressed countries like South Africa facing the pressures of a changing climate, connecting every household to a centralised sewerage network is neither feasible nor sustainable. By Carley Truyens*

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owever, for up to half the population, a safe, convenient toilet that is protective of human health and the environment remains out of reach. Approximately one quarter of South Africans lack access to safely managed sanitation, using unimproved sanitation facilities, shared facilities, or defecating in the open. And although more than two million South African households have access to basic on-site sanitation, these might include urinediverting dry toilets (UDDTs) or ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs).

Although waterless on-site systems are relatively inexpensive to construct, they are less convenient and less accepted by users. In 2018 alone, two young children fell into pit toilets and drowned. For this reason, many children are encouraged to defecate in the open, which is undignified and poses health risks to the entire community.

When toilets are located outside the home, women and girls are placed at greater risk of gender-based violence and may not feel safe leaving their homes

DEWATS principles: at night to use the toilet. Further, when the pit is full, there may not be space to simply dig another pit.

However, although convenient for users, conventional sewers and wastewater treatment works are expensive and challenging to construct and maintain.

Conventional sanitation relies on large volumes of potable water to transport excreta over long distances, often requiring significant energy input.

Dewats to fill the sanitation gap A decentralised approach to wastewater treatment may offer a more costeffective and easier-to-maintain solution than a conventional sewer network. A decentralised wastewater treatment solution (Dewats) can fill the gap between conventional and on-site sanitation.

Dewats is not a specific treatment technology, but rather a technical approach to wastewater treatment.

Simple treatment modules, which often include an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) and constructed wetlands, are combined based on wastewater characteristics, local conditions, and

1. Decentralisation – By decentralising treatment, Dewats allows for greatly reduced lengths of trunk sewers and fewer pump stations, reducing cost and maintenance requirements.

2. Simplicity – Wastewater is treated on-site without the use of chemicals or electrochemical equipment/energy input, and maintenance requirements are relatively low compared to conventional treatment.

3. Reuse – Because Dewats treats wastewater close to the source, the treated effluent can be used for non-potable uses by the community, with significantly reduced pumping requirements.

reuse or discharge requirements. Dewats plants are customisable for many applications and can be designed to treat domestic, industrial or institutional organic wastewater with flows ranging from 1 m3/day to 1 500 m3/day.

Common Dewats modules A settling chamber or biogas digester is often the first module of a Dewats plant, providing primar y treatment through sedimentation and flotation.

Next, the ABR is a key component of most Dewats plants, providing much of the organics degradation. The ABR consists of a series of chambers

Demonstration and Research Dewats site in Newlands East, eThekwini Municipality (Photo credit: Viloshin Govender, UKZN)

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IMIESA January 2019

Wastewater

Key benefits of DEWATS: • No energy input required • Relatively simple to operate and maintain • Tolerant to inflow fluctuations • Can be placed in or near community • Minimal equipment with scrap value • Potential to produce biogas and reuse treated effluent for irrigation

separated by baffles that force the wastewater to travel up and down through the chambers. This process anaerobically degrades suspended and soluble solids. The biomass that settles at the bottom of each chamber forms a sludge blanket, which provides intimate contact with the influent wastewater. Progressive anaerobic degradation occurs in the successive chambers.

To further degrade organics, an anaerobic filter (AF) may follow the ABR. The AF chambers are filled with coarse filter material such as stones, cinder or plastic rings, which provides surface area on which biofilms can attach. The anaerobic microorganisms in the biofilm further transform organic matter. The combined ABR and AF can achieve a biodegradable COD reduction rate of up to 90% and a 1 to 2 log reduction of pathogens.

Additional treatment steps are required to further remove pathogens and nutrients. Tertiary treatment modules may include constructed wetlands, polishing ponds, or other treatment technologies, depending on discharge standards, reuse requirements and site conditions.

Operation and maintenance Operation and maintenance of Dewats is relatively simple and can be carried out by service providers or trained maintenance personnel on-site. Although the maintenance requirements are low compared to conventional wastewater treatment works, proper operation and maintenance are critical to ensuring optimal operation.

Dewats globally and locally The Dewats concept is not new, nor is it untested. Borda, an expert NGO specialising in sanitation and urban development, pioneered the Dewats approach beginning in 1989 with partners from France, India and China. Over the last 30 years, Borda has implemented more than 3 000 Dewats plants in partnership with local municipalities and partner organisations across the globe.

In 2006, Borda began a partnership with eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to test and implement Dewats in the South African context. Over 2009 and 2010, the partners constructed the Newlands Mashu Demonstration and Research Dewats, which receives wastewater from 84 households, treating up to 40 m3/day of domestic wastewater.

Based on extensive research and operational experience at Newlands Mashu, EWS considers Dewats to be an accepted

technology. Borda has since designed six Dewats plants for three fully subsidised housing developments in eThekwini that would not other wise have access to waterborne sanitation.

Construction of several of these Dewats is set to begin this year.

In the future, Borda South Africa hopes to shift into a capacity development role, training members of the public and private sectors to design, implement, operate and maintain Dewats. Borda will support Dewats practitioners by overseeing quality management and supporting a Dewats community of practice.

South Africa’s housing backlog sits at more than two million units and is growing, due in part to high rates of urbanisation.

Much of the land available for subsidised housing is in peri-urban areas with no access to conventional sewers. If housing densities are to be maximised, VIPs, UDDTs and household septic tanks are not feasible. Dewats plants provide municipalities with an additional tool to more rapidly deliver sanitation ser vices, addressing backlogs in subsidised housing deliver y constrained by high infrastructure costs and stringent regulator y requirements.

Dewats can bridge the gap between conventional and on-site sanitation, giving more South Africans access to sanitation that is safe, convenient, and protective of the environment. *Carley Truyens, BSc Civ Eng, MPH Env Health, PrEng (USA), is the country coordinator for Borda South Africa.

SAST T Trenchless News

Getting the most out of concrete sewers Most large outfall sewers are concrete. Under certain conditions, concrete is subject to biogenic corrosion, resulting in structural deterioration over time.

By Alaster Goyns*

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efore making decisions about replacing or rehabilitating a pipeline, an assessment of its performance and condition should be done to establish how well its hydraulic and structural requirements are being met and to estimate its remaining service life.

It is generally more cost-effective and far less disruptive to rehabilitate rather than to replace. So when a sewer has corroded, knowing its remaining life and corroded shape will assist with making the decision about which course to take.

The output from research to find the appropriate materials for new concrete sewers subject to corrosive conditions has led to a means of predicting the corrosion losses in existing sewers. The corrosion mechanism in concrete sewers is now reasonably well understood, and the Life Factor Method (LFM) for predicting the rate of corrosion for both Portland cement and inert coarse aggregate concretes gives realistic answers.

The LFM can be applied to other cementitious materials that are far more effective in handling sewer corrosion by adding a material factor. Using

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IMIESA January 2019

calcium aluminate cement and dolomitic to take the actual loads imposed on aggregate has proved to be significantly the pipes.

Although the strengths for a specified more effective than PC/SIL concrete in pipe class, as determined at time of dealing with corrosion.

By harnessing multi-sensor inspection installation, will be constant, the minimum systems engineers can attain a complete initial strengths needed along the sewer picture of the inside of sewers as well as will depend on the actual loading. The quantify internal dimensions. Combining residual strength along the sewer length this information with the loading conditions may also vary because the corrosion losses and an understanding of the corrosion over time may differ along the sewer. The mechanism provides input for the structural minimum strength needed will also vary analysis of sewers and the estimation along the sewer length, depending on the actual loading conditions of their remaining life. and corrosion losses.

The extent and severity By harnessing The minimum required of the problem can multi-sensor pipe strengths, based be established and inspection on the actual installation decisions about the systems, engineers conditions, need to be appropriate remedial compared to the residual measures taken. can attain a pipe strengths based complete picture Residual strength on the remaining wall of the inside of and remaining life thicknesses and condition sewers as well as The strengths at of the steel reinforcement. quantify internal three stages in a Dividing the material dimensions sewer’s life need to be loss around the pipe determined, namely: circumference by the the initial, when installed to meet the operating period will give the average design specification; the residual, at time material loss per annum. The average of investigation; and the minimum required annual wall loss determined in this way can

SAST T Trenchless News

be compared to that estimated by applying the LFM approach.

Based on actual installation conditions along the length of sewer and the corresponding wall thicknesses, the minimum required strengths can be determined. Dividing the differences between wall thicknesses at the residual and those needed for the minimum strengths at any location along the sewer by the adjusted corrosion rates will give the remaining life.

This needs to be done along the entire sewer length, taking into account the actual loading conditions, such as where the sewer passes under transportation routes where the loading may be significantly greater.

It is also important to consider severe corrosion at certain sections of the sewer where there is excessive hydrogen sulfide release due to localised turbulence. This is a fairly complex exercise for a reinforced concrete pipe, as there will be a dramatic loss of strength once the reinforcement is no longer intact.

Based on these calculations, a profile of the remaining life along the whole sewer length showing the critical sections can be drawn. This will be a critical input for the risk analysis, as it will indicate where the sewer has sufficient strength to be rehabilitated as a partially deteriorated conduit, where it has to be structurally rehabilitated to prevent it collapsing in the near future, or where it may have to be replaced due to partial or complete collapse. This will provide the owner with priorities and a timeframe within which decisions can be made.

Choice of rehabilitation or replacement technique Once the rehabilitation and replacement priorities have been set, the decisions about the most appropriate technique to use must be made. Although the utility owner will invariably want to choose the rehabilitation method based on price, the functionality or technical soundness of the service should

never be compromised for a lower cost.

The primary requirement for any water carrying pipeline is its capacity. For a circular conduit, the capacity is a function of the actual diameter to the power of 8/3.

This means that a 5% reduction in diameter

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SAST T Trenchless News

can amount to a 13% reduction in capacity. Most liners will have a smoother bore than the host pipe and no joints, so, even with the 5% reduction in diameter, the capacity could still be about 5% greater.

The most economical solution would generally be slip lining; however, as it is not a tight or close-fit liner, it would not provide the capacity needed.

In addition, there would be a gap between the liner and host pipe, which would have to be grouted to prevent a water path developing next to the sewer and loss of soil support if joints on the host pipe had been leaking.

When the internal cross-sectional profile of an existing sewer is not circular, due to corrosion and has sharp longitudinal deviations from this, as with a mushroomshaped pipe with a longitudinal sill, a tight or close-fit liner would form a sharp bend over

the sill and could become highly stressed. So, instead of a cured-in-place or a fold-and-form liner, which would match the sewer profile, a spirally wound liner that fits along the sewer invert and maintains a circular profile could be a better option. This would also require that the annulus between the host pipe and liner be grouted.

For a non-reinforced pipe where capacity is a problem or a sill has developed, as frequently happens with reticulation and collector sewers (due to urban densification), replacing the sewer using pipe bursting solves both the capacity and structural problems. Because the host pipe is pushed into the surrounding material, there is no annulus that needs grouting.

In modern cities, where surface space is limited and digging trenches to replace aged pipelines is extremely costly and disruptive, these trenchless techniques offer costeffective solutions to extending the life of these valuable assets. *Alaster Goyns is the owner of Pipeline Installation and Professional Engineering Ser vices.

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SAST T Trenchless News

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aining ground in the trenchless technology field, ELB Equipment, together with Ditch Witch, was a gold sponsor at the recent International No-Dig South Africa 2018 conference and exhibition, which provided the perfect opportunity to showcase a range of OEM solutions within the Ditch Witch and allied HammerHead range.

Hosted by the Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology, this gathering of international experts brought together private and public sector stakeholders with a vested interest in infrastructure services. These include water, sewer and communication lines.

Compact trenchless techniques work ABOVE LEFT The compact HammerHead PortaBurst PB30 ABOVE RIGHT Paul Harwood, managing director of Westrade Group; Phillip McCallum, product manager for ELB; and Stuart Hillyard, business development manager at Westrade Group – at No-Dig 2018 South Africa

ELB Equipment, to burst and replace ageing cementitious and clay pipelines with longRapid sewer line replacement lasting HDPE sections.

Within South Africa’s municipal engineering Fernando Barbosa, owner of Drill Power Tech space, there’s a progressive recognition of Engineering, is impressed with the machine’s the benefits of trenchless techniques as a speed. “So far, the longest run we have done non-disruptive methodology, particularly within is 120 m of standard 160 mm piping, which the urban environment. we completed in just two hours,” he explains.

One of the latest examples is a sewer- “In just over three months since entering pipe replacement project for the City of service, our HammerHead PortaBurst Johannesburg within the suburbs of PB30 racked up an incredible 2 km of pipe Weltevreden Park and Roodekrans. The replacements in all sorts of terrain. works were carried out by Drill Power Tech “What makes it even more useful is the Engineering using a HammerHead PortaBurst fact that it is lightweight, with a small, narrow PB30 unit, supplied and supported by footprint about a metre long and roughly the same height, which means it requires much This graphic illustration demonstrates the non-disruptive smaller entry and exit benefits of trenchless technology pits,” he continues.

Portable solution The HammerHead PortaBurst PB30 is a portable lateral pipebursting system with a massive 30 t of pulling force. This enables it to be transported to areas

where it can be assembled in tight confines and used to burst and pull pipes of up to 355 mm over long lengths, as required. Its modular four-component design, with each component weighing less than 32 kg, even allows it to be passed over walls or into hard-to-reach spaces where it can be quickly reassembled in the pit if necessary.

Once set up, the operators can quickly push the main cable through the existing pipeline, attach the burst head, with new HDPE pipe attached, and thread it to the machine’s powerful jaws to begin bursting. Its rugged design also gives it the unique ability to negotiate bends of up to 45 degrees. Also, the Quick Grip burst heads use snap-fit fixtures that don’t require hand tools.

The HammerHead Por taBurst PB30 operates at low hydraulic pressures, which allows contractors to use a small power-pack set-up. It can also be run from a backhoe or compact excavator or any other hydraulic supply capable of 3 000 psi with a flow of at least 60 ℓ/minute. Another impressive feature of the unit is its constant tension, which gives a firm grip on the cable and allows it to pull at nearly 2 m per minute.

Phillip McCallum, product manager at ELB Equipment, says the HammerHead PortaBurst PB30 is the ideal system for replacing pipes in South Africa’s suburbs and townships due to its compact size, simplicity and power. It does not require expensive suppor ting infrastructure and can effectively be operated by a small team operating out of the back of a light commercial vehicle.

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Health & Safety

The Constitutional Court recently decriminalised marijuana for personal use. But what are the implications for businesses?

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he Constitutional Court ruled in September that marijuana is legal in South Africa for private use. However, there are a number of concerns and questions around regulation and control that still need to be addressed to ensure the safety of both users and non-users.

Marijuana, like alcohol, leads to intoxication. However, unlike alcohol – which can be detected with a simple breathalyser – testing for marijuana intoxication is a lot more complex. Tetrahydrocanna-binol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent of marijuana, remains in a user’s system for far longer than alcohol does, making it tricky to establish limits and laws around marijuana use.

While there is much debate about whether legalisation does in fact lead to increased use,

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IMIESA January 2019

High stakes for workplace dagga users

the possibility could pose a challenge for fleet operators.

Driving under the influence Although there are no real statistics on the matter, Rhys Evans, managing director at ALCO-Safe, says that because marijuana use has been fairly common despite its illegality, it is highly likely that there have been drivers on the road under the influence of THC prior to legalisation.

According to Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act (No. 93 of 1996), “No person may drive a vehicle or occupy the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle of which the engine is running on a public road while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs having a narcotic effect.”

Evans explains that, in theory, any person caught with even traces of marijuana in their system while driving can be arrested and prosecuted. But there are complications.

“Because it can remain in a person’s bloodstream for hours to days after use, a person who tests positive for marijuana isn’t necessarily intoxicated.

At present, no limit has been established to determine how much THC needs to be present in the bloodstream for a person to be considered intoxicated.”

Currently, the chance of a driver being tested for drugs in a road block are minimal due to a lack of testing equipment available to officers and the fact that there are grey areas that need to be clarified and legislated.

Testing for THC THC can be detected in blood, urine and saliva tests. Evans says that saliva testing would be the most likely to be used to test for roadside marijuana intoxication, but he cautions that test limits need to be set up in order to establish more than just the presence of THC. The process is also a lengthy one, with results typically only showing within three to five minutes.

“Traffic enforcers are likely only to test based on visual suspicion of intoxication, as the time constraints of saliva testing make it onerous to test all drivers at a roadblock, for example. It would make sense for drivers to be tested on a random basis or possibly only if they are suspected of being under the

Health & Safety

influence, giving visual cues such as erratic or inconsistent driving,” adds Evans.

Regardless of the actual procedure, Evans argues that it is critical for relevant governing bodies to be proactive in formulating regulations, limits and testing requirements.

“It is likely that the legalisation of marijuana will only increase the number of active users driving a vehicle while under the influence.

Until regulations are in place, however, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to prove actual intoxication, and there will be little to stop these drivers from taking to our roads,” says Evans.

Intoxication in the workplace With legalisation, disciplinary action for marijuana use should follow similar protocols as for alcohol use and abuse. That is, use at the workplace should be strictly forbidden, as should working under the influence, says Evans.

Businesses will need to ensure that they are adequately capable of testing for acceptable marijuana levels, and of carrying out the necessary disciplinary action should these levels be exceeded.

Most organisations should already have clearly defined policies around drug and alcohol use, depending on their industry and tolerance approach.

However, it is likely that these policies currently class marijuana as an illegal drug and therefore test for it using a classic urine test. With marijuana now legal, a urine test will not be sufficient, Evans explains.

Although urine tests are incredibly accurate at detecting marijuana, THC can linger in a person’s system for weeks – sometimes months for heavy users – which means that even if a person is no longer high, they can still test positive for marijuana.

With this in mind, organisations will need to be able to prove that a user is under the influence in order to implement disciplinary procedures, rather than merely testing for consumption. To do

Where a user tests positively for being under the influence of marijuana, organisations should have a clearly defined and communicated policy for the action they will take.” so, employers will need a test process that offers a short window of detection.

Saliva tests have higher cut-off levels for detection and will only show a positive result for THC for about six hours post-use, rather than six weeks or months. These tests will need to form part of organisational drug and alcohol testing policies, especially where zero-tolerance approaches are adopted.

Taking action “Where a user tests positively for being under the influence of marijuana, organisations should have a clearly defined and communicated policy for the action they will take. This often includes immediate removal of the offender from the premises, followed by a hearing and suitable disciplinary action,” says Evans.

As with alcohol, if the user is either a first-time offender or their state has not led to any related accidents or incidents, it is recommended that organisations actively encourage or enforce rehabilitation before going straight to dismissal. Harsher action is usually prescribed for employees whose inebriation results in accidents or incidents, or for repeat offenders. This can include long-term suspension without pay, or even dismissal.

Regardless of which approach, and subsequent policy and procedure, organisations adopt, it is vital that they carefully consider, review and amend their policy around marijuana.

IMIESA January 2019

45

Waste Management

Winning with waste

Waste recycling presents commercial opportunities across South Africa and Africa

I

f recent projections prove correct, Africa’s municipal solid waste will be nearly double 2012 levels by 2025, according to the recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa Waste Management Outlook report. Around 244 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is expected to be produced across Africa within the near future, driven by population and consumer-led growth, and urbanisation. This will exacerbate challenges posed by informal settlements, plus overcrowding in inner cities that have downstream health impacts unless effectively addressed.

“Unless we prepare now for a future in which substantially more waste will be produced in these growing cities, we could face crises of monumental proportions,” comments Johan van den Berg, managing director at Averda South Africa. “Government regulators and planners need to take action now if they wish to avoid problems that run far deeper than simply collecting waste.” He adds that the latter includes the possibility of region-wide epidemics as a result of sub-par waste practices.

At a continental level, the UNEP report predicts that municipal solid waste will be

nearly 1 kg per person per day within the next seven years – nearly a third higher than in 2012. On the upside, this presents oppor tunities for formal and informal enterprises to establish collection, sorting and recycling businesses. Public and private sector partnerships would be one way to develop solid, scalable solutions.

Clamping down on illegal dumping and ensuring that landfill sites are properly built and managed would also minimise the risk of disease or contamination. “Winning these small battles is crucial to maintaining momentum in the war against the continent’s looming waste crisis. Sharing knowledge and best practices can help authorities avoid pitfalls and implement proven, Africa-relevant strategies,” Van den Berg concludes.

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Waste Collection Optimisation Waste Transfer Station design General Waste Landfill design Hazardous Waste Landfill design Landfill Rehabilitation Landfill Auditing and Monitoring

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IMIESA January 2019

• • • • • •

Landfill Closure Leachate Treatment Regional Waste Studies PPP Involvement in Waste Management Alternative Technologies for Waste Reduction Integrated Waste Management Plans

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P.O. Box 931, Brackenfell South Africa, 7561

Cement & Concrete

Performance, not prescription Past and future specifications, standards and codes set the benchmark for design, materials and construction practices, which need to evolve more rapidly given the influence of new technologies that impact lifespans and maintenance costs.

By Alastair Currie

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ithin the roads segment, the South African National Roads Authority (Sanral) forms part of a broader industry initiative to introduce new Committee of Transport Officials (COTO) standards. These will eventually update the COLTO international standards in use in South Africa for many decades. The most recent COLTO Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Works was published in 1998, which underscores the need for a revamp.

Various industry associations form part of the COTO working groups, with the process dating back to around 2014. Currently, drafts of Chapters 13 and 14 of COTO Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Works are out for public comment, having been released in November 2018. Chapter 13 covers structures, and Chapter 14 focuses on their repair and rehabilitation.

Chapter 13 includes elements like foundations, formwork, falsework, concrete finishing, and steel reinforcement. The scope under concrete broadly covers the supply and storage or stockpile of all materials, manufacture, transport, placing, finishing, curing, protection and testing in bridges, culverts and miscellaneous structures. In both chapters, provision is made for labour-intensive techniques.

“In South Africa, there are myriad standards, test methodologies, guidelines and codes,” explains Johan van Wyk, director of the South Africa Readymix Association (Sarma), who forms part of the Chapter 13 and 14 COTO working group.

“The goal is now to incorporate these into up-to-date and self-contained documents that are aligned with modern practices. For example, Sarma forms part of the Test Methods Work Group, which is revising all concrete test methods, so these will need to be incorporated in the COTO documents. We’re also currently updating the aggregate test methods. Now under review are all the SANS 3001-AG and CO series. The concrete works specifications guideline codes are also all being revised.”

Bringing the COTO documents in line is a mammoth undertaking and a work in progress. For example, at this stage, the COTO documents state that all aggregates for concrete must fully comply with the requirements of SANS 1083. However, it’s recognised that this is an older standard that doesn’t make provision for modern-day recycled aggregate materials. The SANS 1083 is thus also under revision.

Another example refers to admixture compliance.

Johan van Wyk, director, Sarma The COTO document states that admixtures need to

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comply with SANS 50934, ASTMC 494, and ASHTO N194. “We need to streamline this so that there’s one South African standard for admixtures,” Van Wyk points out.

A high percentage of South African standards are adoptions and/ or adaptions of EU standards. In some instances, the modifications are minimal. For example, in terms of concrete curing temperatures, there’s a 1˚C difference between the EU and South African standard.

However, the process of verification is an essential part of the downstream quality-control process.

The influence of technology “In many cases, developments in cement, concrete, bitumen and asphalt technology and their application have outgrown the current standards, specifications and test methods,” says Van Wyk.“It’s essential that we address this as an industry. Plus, the crucial thing to appreciate is that none of these standards or codes will become relevant or be passed into law unless specified on a project. If it’s not specified, it’s not enforceable. You must be able to specify and measure the quality of the work against agreed standards.”

The traditional approach has been to specify properties and actions.

For example, an engineer would specify the aggregates, concrete strength, construction process and quality-control mechanism required, without necessarily considering future durability. “We are moving to a situation where we are less prescriptive and more performance-oriented. The new approach would be to determine the durability required up front in terms of environmental factors and lifecycle costing. That approach then determines the structural design, which is the new direction behind the proposed COTO standards,” he expands.

The same principle applies regarding Chapter 14 on maintenance where new cutting-edge refurbishment techniques need to be incorporated as part of the future standards. That includes protecting heritage structures and managing the impacts of carbonisation on concrete due to rising environmental pollution. The standard survey approach remains as a tried-and-tested practice for assessing and recommending specified repair interventions.

Sarma, along with other associations, is focusing on training as a critical success factor. “The science of concrete is constantly evolving. Simply put, if you don’t understand what you’re specifying, how can you achieve the specification? The COTO process will bring all the standards into line and provides a future South African framework for designing and constructing fit-for-purpose structures,” Van Wyk concludes.

Cement & Concrete

Government bodies

need trained technologists

M

Spotting potential problems, facilitating good concrete practice and producing a quality result can only be achieved with adequate training, areas addressed by The Concrete Institute’s School of Concrete Technology (SCT) in supporting successful infrastructure roll-outs.

any public entities, including South African municipalities and state bodies entrusted with infrastructural and building developments, still have limited in-house expertise when it comes to concrete technology. John Roxburgh, senior Lecturer at the SCT, says this is concerning and needs to be rectified to avoid unnecessar y cost overruns.

“In ever y civil and construction project, concrete will always be extensively used.

Concrete is relatively affordable – often costing well below R400 per tonne on average – and it’s durable, versatile and suitable for many applications in different environments,” Roxburgh explains. “But if the correct concrete practices are not followed, concrete works could become a nightmare and costing could soar totally unnecessarily, adding to our countr y’s economic woes.”

Concrete technology education is essential for any construction project,

TOP LEFT Matthews Magwaza, lecturer at the School of Concrete Technology, pictured during a practical laboratory session TOP RIGHT A detailed knowledge of concrete technology will ensure that affordable homes are designed as durable and low-maintenance structures ABOVE LEFT John Roxburgh, senior lecturer at the School of Concrete Technology

particularly during building slumps when the mark-ups on tenders have to be drastically reduced, leaving little to no margin for error should unexpected mishaps occur on-site. Therefore, Roxburgh recommends that employers identify suitable people on their staff and ‘champion’ them to become concrete specialists – both at high-tech and super visor y level.

“Site control is vital to getting concrete works done correctly – and on time.

Sound concrete technology knowledge at super visor y level will ensure that concrete works run smoothly,” he expands.

“Without staff with training in concrete technology, so many things could go wrong on-site. Plastic shrinkage, settlement and thermal cracking, blow holes, honeycombing, dr ying shrinkage cracking, dusting, streaking, discolouration, inadequate compaction, strength and curing, high permeability, cold joints, loss of cover and a lack of abrasion resistance are just a few of the potential problems.

All of the above problems I see repeatedly when visiting sites and yet they are all easily preventable with basic concrete technology knowledge.”

Life-cycle costs Roxburgh says that, in a life-cycle analysis of a structure, maintenance and repair are major contributors to the overall cost of the structure. “This is where a detailed knowledge of concrete technology will enable a professional to design a costeffective, durable and low-maintenance building according to its location and

IMIESA January 2019

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Cement & Concrete

environment. Neglecting this will lead to escalating costs later and a structure with huge maintenance demands,” he explains.

“Property and infrastructure owners with access to a professional with extensive concrete technology knowledge have a distinct advantage when it comes to lifetime costing.”

In recent years, the impor tance of concrete durability has become paramount.

Specifications for durability are now being written into South Africa’s national standards and many state institutions are insisting on durable concrete structures.

The many South African municipalities lagging in the implementation of durability requirements are probably without suitable concrete exper tise in their employ, Roxburgh points out.

Preparation for advanced training When it comes to training at advanced levels, employers should encourage suitable professionals on their staff to star t preparing to be accepted as students for the SCT’s Advanced Concrete Technology (ACT) course in Januar y and Februar y 2021. The School offers this highly prestigious course ever y two years and enrolment for the 2019 presentation has already closed.

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IMIESA January 2019

The ACT examinations and diploma are presented by the SCT on behalf of the Institute of Concrete Technology in London. This is a challenging course, with examinations covering over 60 topics in concrete technology, so extensive and intensive preparation is needed.

The School therefore recommends that in the lead-up to the 2021 ACT course, prospective students should complete three courses offered by the SCT: first, SCT30 Concrete Technology, followed by two impor tant concrete technology and construction courses, namely SCT41 General Principles and SCT42 Practical Applications. A prerequisite for being accepted for the Advanced Concrete Technology course is a pass in both the SCT41 and SCT42 courses.

“In any event, at both advanced and more basic levels, the SCT has always advocated a stepped approach to concrete technology education. All our courses are

A prerequisite for being accepted for the Advanced Concrete Technology course is a pass in both the SCT41 and SCT42 programmes.”

A perspective of Katse Dam in Lesotho: this is Africa’s second largest doublecurvature arch dam

set at different standards of competency and knowledge.

“A student should star t at an appropriate level to not miss out on important key concepts and practices.

Then, having successfully completed a course, a reasonable amount of time should be given to acquiring appropriate practical experience in industr y. In this way, the student will obtain a holistic concrete technology education, which makes them much more valuable to the concrete industr y and national economy,” Roxburgh concludes.

The SCT has been the major concrete technology education provider in South Africa for well over 60 years and its consulting division is constantly involved in the writing of standards, publications and assessment of the latest technologies.

The School’s 2019 education programme is now available and contains full details about all the courses being presented in Midrand, Cape Town and Durban. For fur ther details, visit www.theconcreteinstitute.org.za.

Retaining multifaceted platforms

A strong foundation for infrastructure success

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he installation of an environmentally engineered retaining wall system tied in well with the ecological design brief for the new Greenhill Estate residential development in Waterkloof Park, Pretoria. Technicrete’s precast EnviroWall solution was specified.

“We worked on the designs of these walls with the engineers on the Greenhill Estate project long before commencement of bulk earthworks to show how Enviro-Wall technology offered the best retaining wall solution for this multilevelled project,” comments Justin Kretzmar, sales engineer, Infrastructure Specialist Group (ISG). Technicrete is an ISG brand.

Wall heights ranged from 1 m up to 6 m, requiring a single design philosophy that could be used across the board, keeping it simple while still remaining cost-effective and within budget.

“The Greenhill Estate, situated at the top of a koppie, has been the most complex site that I’ve ever seen from a platform perspective, with almost each of the 39 stands being at a completely different level. This has required many walls, at different levels, weaving in all directions and tying into each other as and where required,” Kretzmar explains.

Geogrids “We opted for a wall design reinforced with horizontal structural geogrids and, to this end, the Enviro-Wall block, due to its shape and interlocking pattern, offered the best ‘key’ to securing these geogrids from pull-out,” he adds.

Opening or closing the spacing between the blocks enables the Enviro-Wall structure configuration to be altered so that, in the open arrangement, cavities between adjacent blocks can be filled with soil, promoting plant growth. It can also be installed as a solid engineering structure.

These blocks are suitable for supporting a wide range of embankment heights, and wall designs are able to accommodate both concave and convex alignments down to a small radius of 2 m. “With the customdesigned Base Block, the angle of the inclination of the wall is easily set out at 70 degrees, but can be varied should site conditions require something different,” Kretzmar concludes.

ROCLA is South Africa’s leading manufacturer of pre-cast concrete products. Surpassing 100 years of product excellence, including pipes, culverts, manholes, poles, retaining walls, roadside furniture, sanitation and other related products within infrastructure development and related industries.

Visit us on www.rocla.co.za for our nationwide branches

We are there when you study

Working on your assignment? The wealth of information freely available from our Information Centre will help you.

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www.theconcreteinstitute.org.za +27 11 315 0300

Transport, Logistics, Vehicles & Equipment

A selection of construction machines at Komatsu’s new Germiston campus

Komatsu

takes the lead Ongoing penetration of the regional construction and mining markets will be driven by product innovation, class-leading after-sales services, and internal and external training initiatives.

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uilt at a cost of around R985 million, Komatsu Africa Holdings’ new 300 000 m2 industrial complex in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, serves as the central hub for its Southern African operations. Housed on the campus is the head office, Gauteng branch, training centre, workshops and parts distribution warehouse. These will be joined by a remanufacturing facility during 2020.

“This development clearly reflects our confidence in South Africa. It will also enable us to render support in the much-needed expansion of the local economy through the seamless supply of equipment to the mining, construction and utilities markets,” said Mike Blom, managing director, Komatsu Africa Holdings, at the facility’s official opening in November 2018. Where practical, Komatsu is creating opportunities for local content manufacturing. Initiatives to date include the production of hydraulic cylinders, mining truck dump bodies, and buckets for large-size shovels.

Also speaking at the opening, Tetsuji Ohashi, CEO and president, Komatsu Limited, said that Africa, particularly South Africa, has become an integral part of the company’s global business. “What we’re doing today is sowing the seeds for future growth,” he insisted.

In 2021, Komatsu will celebrate its centenary.

Preparations for this are being spearheaded by the OEM’s mid-range management plan:

‘Together we innovate Gemba worldwide: growth toward our 100th anniversar y and beyond.’ Gemba is the Japanese word for ‘the real place’ or the ‘place where work gets done’.

Training and development The hallmark of Komatsu’s success since 1921 has been its unrelenting commitment to research and development, backed by its investment in people in ever y countr y and operation worldwide. South Africa is no exception and, in addition to internal programmes, Komatsu is

Parts Distribution Centre Size: 21 000 m2 Inventory: Around 40 000 line items valued at R885 million Volumes: Distribution of around 12 000 items to more than 40 destinations daily

Training Centre - Technical, health and safety, and operator training for employee and customer skills requirements - Virtual reality simulator training for operators - 36 courses offered - More than 2 300 people trained over the past three years

adding back through its Technical Education for Communities initiative.

A prime example is a joint venture agreement between Komatsu and Cummins to provide funding support to a TVET college in Sedibeng, Gauteng. This included a revamp of one of the college’s training workshops and the supply of cutaway engines for practical demonstrations. The partnership between the two OEMs is a logical one, since Komatsu has standardised on Cummins engines for its mining equipment.

Key vocational training disciplines covered at the TVET college include mechanical and electrical engineering, information technology, and health and safety. “Following individual aptitude testing, 31 students were selected. Those who successfully complete their TVET studies are then eligible to progress to Komatsu apprenticeships,” said Blom.

Alongside this, the Komatsu South Africa Foundation Trust has awarded a series of bursaries to South African students studying in fields that include mechanical engineering, mining engineering and geology, six of whom are women.

“Komatsu has been part of South Africa’s landscape since the 1960s and this latest watershed investment takes us to the next evolutionar y level in terms of customer and community engagement. Our Germiston campus is definitely the place where the work gets done,” Blom concluded.

IMIESA January 2019

53

44 FAW truck tractors to traverse Southern Africa

Power by your side

Harare-based liquid fuels distribution giant Strauss Logistics recently placed an order for 44 FAW 33.420FT truck tractors from Choice Diesel Mozambique, which recently became FAWs’ first sales and service dealer in Mozambique.

M542

Z

imbabwe’s Strauss Logistics is a leading road and rail distributor of petroleum products in Central and Southern Africa. The company was established in early 2010 and today operates over 200 trucks and more than 60 rail tank cars, moving diesel, petrol, avgas, Jet A-1, ethanol, white spirits and liquefied petroleum gas across the SADC region.

The 44 newly acquired FAW 33.420FT truck tractors will be used by Strauss Logistics to transport general cargo from Durban right up to Kolwezi in the DRC, travelling in excess of 100 000 km per year.

Additional trucks in the company’s fleet will operate on the Beira Corridor, which links Mutare in Zimbabwe to Beira and Tete in Mozambique.

Distribution and Product Support by:

Branches and Dealers throughout South Africa and Southern Africa

Making the right choice This is the first time Strauss Logistics has bought FAW trucks, having originally relied on a number of used European and North American brands to haul Chinese-sourced fuel tankers throughout Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique.

ELB Promise Right Job

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+27 (0)11 306 0700 elb@elbquip.co.za 54

IMIESA January 2019

“The two factors we looked at closely are fuel consumption and cost per kilometre.

The decision to buy FAW is primarily about running costs, fuel consumption and the level of backup service that is provided,” explains Darren Da Silva, COO, Strauss Logistics. The truck tractors were sourced and supplied by FAW South Africa, having been assembled in the company’s worldclass Coega plant in the Eastern Cape. The units were driven to Johannesburg recently where bull-bars and flat-deck trailers were fitted before they were taken to Harare for licensing and registration.

Driver training Before taking delivery, Strauss Logistics’ drivers travelled to South Africa for driver training.

FAW’s driver training is being expanded to include technical training and general vehicle maintenance training. FAW SA staff will also travel to Harare to perform additional driver and technical training duties in Zimbabwe.

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