IMIESA January 2022

www.infrastructurenews.co.za

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

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • SERVICE DELIVERY • ROADS • BUILDING • MAINTENANCE

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Bitumen & Asphalt Asphalt mobility and retrofits

Defining the future of networking Mervyn Goliath

Managing Executive: Data Networks at BCX

LAUNCHING THE ASHTON ARCH South Africa’s first concrete tiedarch bridge constructed using a transverse launching method

IMESA Conference 2021 Municipal engineers are change-makers

Infrastructure Funding & Implementation Is public procurement reform on its way?

IN THE HOT SEAT Errors in the evaluation of the road condition and the mechanisms of distress will lead to either the underdesign of remedial interventions, with resultant premature failure, or an overly robust design with associated wasteful expenditure in additional design and construction costs.”

Simon Tetley Director, ARRB Systems I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 Vo l u m e 4 7 N o . 0 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 • R 5 5 . 0 0 ( i n c l . VAT )

INSIDE

VOLUME 47 NO. 01 JANUARY 2022

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20 www.infrastructurenews.co.za

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

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • SERVICE DELIVERY • ROADS • BUILDING • MAINTENANCE

Bitumen and Asphalt

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Asphalt mobility and retrofits

Defining the future of networking

Regulars

Bitumen & Asphalt

Editor’s comment President’s comment Index to advertisers

3 5 52

Mervyn Goliath

South Africa’s first concrete tiedarch bridge constructed using a transverse launching method

IMESA Conference 2021 Municipal engineers are change-makers

Infrastructure Funding & Implementation

Cover Story Launching the Ashton Arch

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Is public procurement reform on its way?

Industry Insight Defining the future of networking IN THE HOT SEAT Errors in the evaluation of the road condition and the mechanisms of distress will lead to either the underdesign of remedial interventions, with resultant premature failure, or an overly robust design with associated wasteful expenditure in additional design and construction costs.”

Simon Tetley Director, ARRB Systems I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 Vo l u m e 4 7 N o . 0 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 • R 5 5 . 0 0 ( i n c l . VAT )

ON THE COVER

Showcasing construction at its best, the iconic Ashton Arch, designed by AECOM, sets a new benchmark for innovation as South Africa’s first concrete tied-arch bridge constructed using a transverse launching method. The bridge programme was executed by main contractor H&I Construction, working alongside a highly talented team of design and product specialists. P6

IN THE HOT SEAT Compared to manual and semiautonomous processes, fully automated road assessment methodologies achieve the best results. IMIESA speaks to Simon Tetley, director at ARRB Systems, about how the company’s latest technologies prove beneficial for infrastructure investors. P14

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ROADS & BRIDGES

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Kouga embarks on gravel route upgrades Mpondoland SMMEs to benefit from road investments

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The unfolding landscape for IPPs in South Africa

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Winners in SAPPMA/3S Media photo competition announced

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Xhora Dam showcases design innovation Restoring the water balance at Setumo Dam

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Meet IMESA’s new Fellows 26 Municipal engineers are change-makers 28

Infrastructure Funding & Implementation

Information & Communications Technology

IMESA

Is public procurement reform on its way?

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CEMENT & CONCRETE

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43

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Cement & Concrete Municipalities urged to invest in concrete training in 2022 Armorflex selected for Mamelodi stormwater upgrades Technicrete opens specialist plant in Polokwane Mastering pervious concrete

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Safety Shoes Lemaitre expands into new terrains

Dams & Water Storage

38

Asset Management Proactive asset management requires teamwork

SAPPMA

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Ground Engineering Novel ground support solutions at Clairwood

Energy

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Waste Management & Recycling Mechanisation and waste optimisation Majuba ash disposal facility takes shape

Hot Seat Economic benefit of automated road condition data collection

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Smart Cities South Africa needs smart cities, but not the ones you envisage

Africa Round-up Infrastructure news from around the continent

Asphalt mobility and retrofits Conforming to COTO specifications

Roads & Bridges

Managing Executive: Data Networks at BCX

LAUNCHING THE ASHTON ARCH

DAMS & WATER STORAGE

Digitally led approach transforms capital projects delivery

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT Agile, intelligent and scalable networks don’t need ripping out – they need smart solutions that blend the old and the new, explains Mervyn Goliath, managing executive: Data Networks at BCX. P10

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EDITOR’S COMMENT MANAGING EDITOR Alastair Currie SENIOR JOURNALIST Kirsten Kelly JOURNALIST Nombulelo Manyana FEATURES WRITER Ziyanda Majodina HEAD OF DESIGN Beren Bauermeister CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders CONTRIBUTORS Mervyn Goliath, Aliyah Ince, Bonke Mncwango, Terence Milne, Jason Smit, Muhammed Somrey, Bhavna Soni PRODUCTION & CLIENT LIAISON MANAGER Antois-Leigh Nepgen PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jacqueline Modise GROUP SALES MANAGER Chilomia Van Wijk BOOKKEEPER Tonya Hebenton DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@3smedia.co.za PRINTERS Novus Print Montague Gardens ___________________________________________________ ADVERTISING SALES KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER Joanne Lawrie Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 / +27 (0)82 346 5338 Email: joanne@3smedia.co.za ___________________________________________________

PUBLISHER Jacques Breytenbach 3S Media Production Park, 83 Heidelberg Road, City Deep Johannesburg South, 2136 PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 www.3smedia.co.za ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R600.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS HEAD OFFICE: Manager: Ingrid Botton P.O. Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Email: admin@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za BORDER Secretary: Celeste Vosloo Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2433 Email: celestev@buffalocity.gov.za EASTERN CAPE Secretary: Susan Canestra Tel: +27 (0)41 585 4142 ext. 7 Email: imesaec@imesa.org.za KWAZULU-NATAL Secretary: Narisha Sogan Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Email: imesakzn@imesa.org.za NORTHERN PROVINCES Secretary: Ollah Mthembu Tel: +27 (0)82 823 7104 Email: np@imesa.org.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO Secretary: Henrietta Olivier Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Email: imesasck@imesa.org.za WESTERN CAPE Secretary: Michelle Ackerman Tel: +27 (0)21 444 7114 Email: imesawc@imesa.org.za FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27 (0)83 457 4362 Email: imesafsnc@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. _____________________________________________

Let’s make

every cent count

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outh Africa’s annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 10 February 2022 will be even more significant this year as society reflects on a turbulent 2021 from a business, economic and political perspective. The hard cost of the Covid19 pandemic was not unique to South Africa, but our fragile state prior to this certainly exacerbated the situation. Plus, it was compounded by the unprecedented scale of the civil unrest experienced in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal during July 2021.

Those incidences served as a red flag that our pressing social issues have reached a boiling point.

Consumers are under pressure. According to Statistics South Africa, in 2021 average consumer inflation was 4.5%, which was higher than 2020 (3.3%) and 2019 (4.1%). One of the biggest shocks has been the spiralling fuel price, which has had a negative knock-on effect. The whole of South Africa is now pinning its hopes on a positive change in direction.

As in previous SONAs, the focus will be on South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). A key part of that hinges on crowding in local and foreign direct investment for critical infrastructure and industries, with an underlying emphasis on job creation, as well as stabilising the electricity grid.

An equally important focus is the need to cut unnecessary public debt and eradicate wasteful expenditure. Like all sectors of our society, modern governments must be lean, relevant and responsive.

Interconnected with this is the adherence to an exacting ethical standard that rules out corruption.

SIU report Released in January 2022, South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report on Covid-19 procurement indicates the scale of the problem when it comes to the mismanagement of public funds. According to the report, “At least 5 467 government contracts awarded to some 3 066

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A case in point is the World Bank Group, which recently approved a US$750 million (R11.35 billion) development policy loan for South Africa to support the accelerated implementation of the ERRP. South Africa is one of more than 100 countries receiving financial loans from the World Bank Group to help them respond and rebuild. It’s a partnership approach that bolsters countries, regions and the global economy.

“It will assist in addressing the immediate challenge of financing critical health and social safety net programmes, while also continuing to develop our economic reform agenda to build back better,” said Dondo Mogajane, DG of National Treasury.

Hopefully those portions of the World Bank Group loan allocated to social welfare will leave more margin for increased infrastructure spend allocation. Further details will unfold with South Africa’s National Budget Speech on 23 February.

In the meantime, IMIESA would like to wish all our readers and advertisers a prosperous 2022!

Alastair

IMESA

@infrastructure4

Infrastructure News

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

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • SERVICE DELIVERY • ROADS • BUILDING • MAINTENANCE

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Bitumen and Asphalt Asphalt mobility and retrofits

Mervyn Goliath

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World Bank Group loan

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.

Defining the future of networking

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service providers with a total value of R14.3 billion were or are being investigated by the SIU.” Of the approximately 4 549 contracts investigated by the SIU to date, a staggering 2 803 were irregular.

However, what the report also shows is that positive steps are in place to prevent it from happening in the future. Clearly, that’s a nonnegotiable expectation for any lender or taxpayer.

Managing Executive: Data Networks at BCX

LAUNCHING THE ASHTON ARCH South Africa’s first concrete tiedarch bridge constructed using a transverse launching method

IMESA Conference 2021 Municipal engineers are change-makers

Infrastructure Funding & Implementation Is public procurement reform on its way?

Cover opportunity

In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings, contact Joanne Lawrie on +27 (0)82 346 5338.

IN THE HOT SEAT Errors in the evaluation of the road condition and the mechanisms of distress will lead to either the underdesign of remedial interventions, with resultant premature failure, or an overly robust design with associated wasteful expenditure in additional design and construction costs.”

Simon Tetley Director, ARRB Systems I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 Vo l u m e 4 7 N o . 0 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 • R 5 5 . 0 0 ( i n c l . VAT )

IMIESA January 2022

3

SAVE DATE

JOHANNESBURG Earn up to 2.5 CPD points by attending

EVENT: 85 TH IMESA Conference DATES: 26-28 October 2022 VENUE – Birchwood Hotel & Or Tambo Conference Centre

CONTACT US FOR DETAILS CONFERENCE ENDORSED BY

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IMESA ORGANISER

THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA)

PRESIDENT’S COMMENT First, I’d like to open by wishing all our members and IMIESA readers a happy and prosperous 2022! The past two years cer tainly haven’t been easy but, despite this, the adaptability of our society to respond positively to change has been widely evident across all spheres.

IMESA

UPSKILLING AND ENGAGEMENT IN

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his is underscored by the matric results achieved by the class of 2021. For private schools, the 98.39% Independent Examinations Board pass rate is certainly an incredible achievement. Equally so is the 76.4% National Senior Certificate pass rate for public schools, given the frequent disparities – or digital divide – when it comes to ease of access to the internet, tablets and PCs among poorer rural and township communities. This was certainly a crucial factor as schools shifted to online learning during the Covid-19 hard lockdowns, which greatly impacted the Grade 11 year and meant even more intensive study was required to catch up during Grade 12.

This makes it even more commendable that many learners faced up to unprecedented challenges and beat the odds, with the dedicated input of their teachers. This underscores the fact that – with the right focus, mentorship and financial support – no one need be left behind.

IMESA bursary scheme This is an important mandate for IMESA, which is why we established a bursary scheme in 2000 for full-time ter tiar y studies in the field of civil engineering.

The goal is to award 10 bursaries annually to current students in need of funding to continue their studies. In addition to external applicants, IMESA’s bursar y scheme also recognises the achievements of students and prospective candidates who are dependants of IMESA members.

Bursary applications are received between June and September for the following year of study. The short list for 2022 is being finalised now. A mentor is appointed for each bursary student and they are encouraged to participate in IMESA activities.

Alongside this initiative, IMESA has traditionally run a series of training programmes for practising municipal engineers nationally. We plan to reinitiate classroom sessions wherever possible during 2022, Covid-19 regulations permitting.

Strategic direction In preparation for 2022, the IMESA Exco met towards the end of last year to revisit and refine our objectives. We’re on a membership drive in 2022, reaching out to all municipalities to promote IMESA membership and services.

Locally, we will support our IMESA regional branches by updating operations guidelines and setting up a forum for branch chairs to meet and discuss local matters.

Then, internationally – and to build on the ‘Southern Africa’ part of the IMESA name – we intend to establish branches in our neighbouring and other SADC countries.

This is a long-overdue initiative.

We’ll also be building on our engagement with the South African Local Government Association (Salga), as well as continuing to develop our strategic liaisons with government agencies at national level. The goal is to improve the operating environment for municipal engineering and infrastructure development in general.

Establishing a database of municipal infrastructure engineering capacity in terms of numbers and needs in local government is an ongoing project. This enables IMESA to identify members’ technical interests, knowledge gaps, as well as skills available for mentoring and consulting. That in turn influences how IMESA updates and rolls out new training courses.

From a personal perspective, one of my key objectives during my term as IMESA President for the 2020-2022 term is to make ethics a compulsory component for professional registration with ECSA. Ethics defines us and our societies, and we need to champion and uphold the highest standards. Leading by example is the best way to instill the values needed by future generations to reshape and rebuild our infrastructure landscape.

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA

IMIESA January 2022

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COVER STORY

Launching

THE ASHTON ARCH Showcasing construction at its best, the iconic Ashton Arch, designed by AECOM, sets a new benchmark for innovation as South Africa’s first concrete tied-arch bridge constructed using a transverse launching method. The bridge programme was executed by main contractor H&I Construction, working alongside a highly talented team of design and product specialists.

Ashton Arch in its offset position prior to launch

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IMIESA January 2022

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ituated at the base of the Langeberg mountain range, Ashton is a bustling town that forms par t of the Western Cape’s wine and fruit growing region.

The routes passing through Ashton ultimately join the N2 at Worcester and the N1 at Swellendam, making the integrity of the town’s bridge a crucial interconnecting link.

The new Ashton Arch features a cablesupported concrete deck that spans 110 m between supports, with arching ribs rising 22 m above the asphalt road sur face. The twin parallel arch ribs are connected via five 15.5 m wishbone beams, providing lateral stability to the arch ribs. Post-tensioned tiebeams complete the arch’s structural form, and the final design makes provision for a dual-carriageway layout of four 3.4 m lanes and two 2.4 m sidewalks.

PROJECT TEAM • Main Contractor: H&I Construction • Client: Western Cape Department of Transport & Public Works, Roads Branch • Structural Engineer & Bridge Designer: AECOM • Launch System Designer: Nyeleti Consulting • Temporary Works Designer: Maffeis Engineering

SPECIALIST SUPPLIERS & SUBCONTRACTORS • Sika South Africa • Form-Scaff • Amsteele Systems

COVER STORY

Ashton Arch project team members at the bridge launch

New for old Ashton Arch replaces an existing earthfilled viaduct bridge originally constructed in 1930. This was upgraded from a single- to a dual-lane configuration in 1950. However, with the passing of the years, sedimentation build-up significantly reduced the freeboard height. During flooding, it became clogged with debris and was overtopped by the river, cutting off the town and inundating nearby properties bordering the bridge.

This strongly influenced AECOM’s design, which needed to be able to cater for a vastly improved freeboard within the restrictions of the road alignment levels. Given the site constraints, the best option chosen was to construct the new bridge next to the old one to maintain uninterrupted traffic flows during construction. At an advanced stage of construction, the old bridge was then demolished, with traffic temporarily diverted

over the Ashton Arch in its offset position prior to its final slide on to its new bearings and abutments.

Achieving this in practice, however, required an out-of-the-box approach from the main contractor and professional team. In the end, the more than 8 000 t of reinforced concrete forming the Ashton Arch was moved transversely over 24 m in less than 24 hours to set a new South African construction record.

haw-inglis.co.za

Part of a broader strategic infrastructure investment The project was undertaken and funded by the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, Roads Branch and formed part of a larger regional infrastructure development. This entailed the reconstruction of parts of Trunk Road 31 (Sections 2 and 3) between Ashton and Montagu. A portion of the 13 km upgraded route traverses through the

www.nyeleti.co.za

www.sika.com

www.formscaff.com

The bridge at an advanced stage of completion, with the Langeberg mountain range seen in the distance

www.amsteele.com

IMIESA January 2022

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COVER STORY

Temporary works showing the Super-Beam system

Arch stay cable installation by Amsteele Systems

Arch stay anchors

Cogmanskloof Pass and the scope included upgrades to three bridges.

In 2018, the overall programme came to a halt when Basil Read, the first appointed main contractor, went into business rescue. “We were then invited by the Western Cape government as one of three potential contractors to put in a bid to become the interim custodians of health and safety for the Ashton Arch site,” explains Gerardo Cirillo, CEO, H&I. Subsequently awarded to H&I, this interim maintenance contract ran for approximately 12 months. During that time, and following discussions with the client, H&I appointed Maffeis Engineering to conduct a detailed design review of the temporary works on which the partially completed Ashton Arch Bridge was supported. This step proved beneficial for all parties, since various anomalies were identified and resolved, ensuring that the ultimate construction and launching of the bridge were undertaken safely and within specification.

In a parallel process, the Western Cape government invited the same three contractors to price the completion of the bridge as the main contractor. H&I was awarded the project and appointed Nyeleti Consulting for the design of the transverse launch system and associated temporary works. In addition to designing the bridge for its final position, AECOM was the appointed structural engineer.

support piers was addressed and completed, as were the temporary abutments.

To achieve a higher level of stability and safety on the temporary concrete support columns, the temporary works engineers specified SikaWrap-300 C for additional structural strengthening. This high-quality, unidirectional, woven carbon fibre wrapping system was used to encapsulate the head of the concrete support columns, using Sikadur-330, a structural impregnating epoxy resin adhesive.

“SikaWrap-300 C has a high load capacity.

It is easy and quick to apply, saving time and money on the project,” says Wayne Smithers, technical service manager at Sika.

An intricate falsework system was used during the construction of the arches

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IMIESA January 2022

Remediating the original temporary works “At the time we took over, a major portion of the deck had been built, as well as the spring points for the arch,” explains Frans van der Walt, H&I’s contracts manager for the entire project.

H&I’s responsibility was to complete the bridge and move it to its final location. The steps to get there required a series of additional temporary works, which were designed by H&I. This included how the bridge would be pulled into position.

As a starting point, the rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing temporary

Post-tensioning The deck incorporates both longitudinal and transverse post-tensioning, which was completed before the construction of the two arches commenced. “To put this in perspective, approximately 9 477 t of longitudinal and 31 860 t of transverse tensioning was installed as per the engineers’ design requirement,” says Frank Schulz from Amsteele Systems.

COVER STORY Amsteele Systems supplied, installed and tensioned the tendons, manufactured by DSI of Germany, as well as the 76 mm diameter Redaelli suspension cables shipped from Italy. A proprietary C hook was required to install the upper cable connection points. In total, 48 suspension cables were installed in various lengths.

The Redaelli cables were tensioned in four stages using purpose-designed hydraulic rigs to achieve the engineers’ tension force requirements.

Formwork and falsework In building the Ashton Arch alongside the existing bridge, the temporary works design required the construction of a series of caissons in the riverbed from which the temporary support piers could be founded.

These piers provided the support for the SuperBeam system supplied for the project, which provided the steel structure to support the soffit form for the Ashton Bridge deck and tie beams. The deck soffit was formed using a coffer-type soffit system.

H&I’s construction team completed the bridge deck construction interrupted by the changeover in main contactors. This was followed by H&I’s progressive forming of the two arches and the interconnecting wishbones. Then followed the forming of the permanent abutments.

A key feature of this bridge construction was Form-Scaff’s innovative solution regarding the formwork and falsework relating to the arches, which amounted to some 700 t of standard and special components supplied by Form-Scaff’s Cape Town branch. Form-Scaff’s custom solution included the purpose-made steel formwork for the spring point shutters and the tie beams.

“The staging of the arches was modelled as a 3D structure to perfect the final installation of Form-Scaff’s Super-Stage, heavy-duty 80 kN shoring system,” comments Gerhard Moll from Form-Scaff.

Fitting both the diagonal and plan braces, Form-Scaff’s Super-Stage is quick and easy to install and strip due to click-in/snap-on features. Super-Stage further enables versatile height and width configurations.

Temporary and permanent bearings Working closely with H&I and AECOM, Nyeleti Consulting’s role as the launch system designer was another key success factor.

“Since this was a first for South Africa, there were many unknowns, but we put our heads together as a team to optimise the solution.

At 8 000 t, this is the heaviest load I’ve ever

worked with,” says Stephen Humphries, director, Nyeleti Consulting. Humphries had been involved on 10 bridges constructed using the incremental launch method (ILM) prior to the Ashton Arch transverse launch, either as the designer or temporary works designer.

The Ashton Arch project adopted a similar type of temporary launch bearing used in large ILM bridges. “The exception in this case is that we employed it upside down: the temporary bearing was fixed to the underside of the deck and the sliding surface (launch pads) was at the bottom of the launch bearing,” Humphries explains.

Normally, ILM launch bearings incorporate elastomeric pads to accommodate any construction tolerances in the deck soffit; however, the load was too high in this case. Plus, the size of the bearings could not be increased as space didn’t allow for this. Following discussions with Nova Engineering Works, a bespoke bearing system was developed to support each of the four bridge corners.

Each launch bearing contained two 900 mm diameter pot bearings to accommodate the deck construction tolerances.

Each launch bearing contained two 900 mm diameter pot bearings to accommodate the deck construction tolerances

The Ashton Arch approaching its final position

Exact alignment To ensure a smooth, seamless transfer, the parallel concrete launch paths had to be exact in terms of alignment; however, this had not been achieved by the original contractor during the temporary works phase and needed to be remedied. “This was perfectly executed by H&I. The concrete works on the skid beams were flawless and played a critical part in the success of the project,” says Humphries.

Achieving a perfectly level surface was achieved in part by using Sikadur-42 ZA highstrength epoxy grout, which exhibits high compressive strength and high abrasion resistance. SikaGrout-295 ZA, a highstrength cementitious grout, was also used in several vital applications. This included the grouting behind the anchor plates and jacking frames, and to help create the plinths for the permanent bearings.

Bridge jacking To install the launch bearings, the completed bridge needed to be jacked up by almost 100 mm. The bridge was then launched in this higher position. Once the transverse launch had been completed, H&I’s teams then removed the launch bearings and installed the permanent bearings, also supplied by Nova.

The bridge was then lowered by around 75 mm to align with the final road level.

The jacking system used to pull the bridge into position was supplied by VSL International

Bridge slid into position with the temporary works on the left

from Switzerland, which provided input on the final method statement and quality assurance programme developed by H&I and the professional team.

Go for launch The test launch took place on Friday 13 August and the actual launch began in earnest the next day. “The jacking system catered for a friction resistance of up to 11%; however, we comfortably stayed within an average range of 2% to 6%,” says Humphries.

Keeping the bridge straight was vital, and H&I used various guidance tools to ensure this. These included the employment of laser markers, alignment pins on the sliding launch pads, plus ongoing survey verification.

“In the end, we were within ±5 mm of where we wanted to be, which is an exceptional achievement. That outcome could only have been achieved thanks to the amazing teamwork of everyone concerned and our collective, world-class expertise,” Cirillo concludes.

IMIESA January 2022

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT

DEFINING THE FUTURE OF NETWORKING Agile, intelligent and scalable networks don’t need ripping out – they need smar t solutions that blend the old and the new, explains Mervyn Goliath, managing executive: Data Networks at BCX.

Connectivity has to be reinvented on a holistic level, integrating intelligent technology to inject fresh life into legacy systems.”

D

igital transformation, reinvented connectivity and business agility… ever y enterprise is familiar with these terms. But there’s a fresh approach to networking and security on the digital block right now – one that blends traditional network architecture with software-defined networking (SDN) and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) to deliver a cohesive networking solution that evolves with the business, without eating into the bottom line.

Legacy infrastructure is costly to run. This is a reality that often results in organisations sweating their assets, squeezing out every last drop of relevance before they’re ripped out and replaced by the fresh, the new. It’s also a reality that has to change. It’s not a sustainable business approach, as it puts the organisation on to a non-stop roundabout of ‘in with the new and out with the old’.

Cloud ignites growth This challenge has been largely addressed by the cloud, par ticularly over the past two years. As Accenture points out in its cloud trends report for 2021, the cloud has become an essential par t of

Mervyn Goliath, managing executive: Data Networks at BCX

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

continuing business and igniting growth.

The report also underscored the growing trend, driven by the pandemic, of ‘fusing existing organisational processes with novel cloud technologies’. Which is precisely what SDN and SD-WAN can do for a network, right now.

One of the key value propositions of these two technologies is that they allow for the organisation to retain embedded security best practice while still introducing the flex and scale needed to adapt to changing network demands, such as the hybrid workforce. They allow for the organisation to add end-to-end security layered across the data centre, the cloud, endpoints and the edge, providing additional protection to network controls and capabilities.

Globally connected and enabled The next benefit is accessibility. The technology allows for an exceptional measure of orchestration and the capability that enables skilled engineers to log into any par t of the infrastructure, from anywhere, to ensure quicker response times. It also means access to skilled suppor t from anywhere in the world, at any time – a shift in network infrastructure management that’s vastly improved compared to previous iterations where engineers only have access from a single point.

In this new world of hybrid working that demands always-on accessibility and speed to market, this level of control is incredibly important. It not only speeds up response times for repairs, but also to deploy ser vices across the network.

Network ecosystem Finally, by building a network ecosystem that blends the capabilities of both systems, the business benefits from intent-based networking that allows for self-healing on the network and application layer. The infrastructure is evolved to a level where it can sense a change in enterprise requirements or detect patterns of behaviour and under take a measure of self-correction to prevent failure.

The functionalities inherent within SDN and SD-WAN allow for the business to programme specific policies into the network that then allow for dif ferent systems to interoperate with one another and ser ve specific groups of people across specific locations and within certain parameters. The network is able to adjust itself and respond to demand properly, removing the static limitations of the traditional network without having to replace it entirely.

Moving for ward, connectivity has to be reinvented on a holistic level, integrating

intelligent technology to inject fresh life into legacy systems. With SDN and SD-WAN, organisations can cut their network into new shapes, redefining digital capabilities and network potential – without eating into the bottom line.

For more information, contact BCX at www.bcx.co.za

IMIESA January 2022

11

INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS

FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT

KENYA Water management key for mining sector Kenya’s mining industry, which generated an estimated Ksh22.7 billion (R3.6 billion) in 2020, is expected to grow, as more operators are set to begin production next year.

The western part of Kenya will attract large-scale gold mining in 2022, after Shanta Gold – a mining company with operations in Kenya and Tanzania – stated that additional visible gold has been identified in seven different intersections. Another mining company, Lakeside Limited, has also begun prospecting for gold in Bondo, Siaya County.

The projects are expected to create highly skilled jobs, improve roads and other infrastructure in the surrounding areas, generate revenues for the national and county governments, and generally boost the local economy during the construction and operational phases of the mines. Lakeside estimates that construction of its mine will cost R29.3 million.

Mining places a strain on the environment, especially given that the industry uses large amounts of water during the extraction and separation of minerals. Water is an extremely efficient

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IMIESA January 2022

medium for supplying chemicals and mixing materials, and is an essential ingredient for some chemical processes in mining. It is also a medium for gravitational and centrifugal separation of minerals from host rocks.

In most mining operations, water is sought from groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes, or through commercial water service suppliers. Unfortunately, mine sites are often located in areas where water is already scarce and, understandably, local communities and authorities can oppose the mines using water from these sources. And even where water is plentiful – such as in Kwale, where Kenya’s largest mining operation is being done – water management can be a challenge.

Additionally, during construction of the mines, there are potential dangers to the environment when mines are dug below the water table and toxic materials seep into the groundwater.

The potential of heavy stormwater also increases after construction because of the increased ground surface sealing – inhibiting percolation and the consequent infiltration of water. When there are no well-designed storm drains, the rainwater can end up stagnating and hence creating conducive breeding areas for water-based

vectors, leading to transmission of diseases like malaria and cholera.

Fortunately, these challenges can be tackled by installing water management infrastructure that uses Weholite HDPE Structured Wall Technology. The light nature of the Weholite pipes makes them easier to transport and install – a great advantage for projects where the mines are in remote and difficult to reach areas. Also, the technology has a 100-year service life when buried, which reduces the maintenance costs associated with such projects. Weholite technology can also be installed in builtup areas with minimal disruptions.

Local mining company Base Titanium has used Weholite pipes for several applications over the last few years at its Kwale-based mine, while Anglo Gold Ashanti is using Weholite technology at its mine in the Geita region of Tanzania. This technology was delivered

by Megapipe’s sister company, Plasco Limited of Dar es Salaam. Megapipes Solutions is currently building a factory at Oaklands, near Ruiru, which will manufacture Weholite products up to 3 m in diameter. Designing water management solutions specifically for the unique needs of mining companies will be one of its main aims.

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY | SEWER REHABILITATION

MALAWI

MOZAMBIQUE

Country’s first solar power plant now operational

Expanded water and sanitation access via solar power

Malawi’s first solar power plant is now connected to the national grid. Located in the Salima district, 101 km from the capital Lilongwe, it has a capacity of 60 MWp. It is the result of a public-private partnership between JCM Power Corporation, Matswani and InfraCo Africa, a private infrastructure development group company.

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden and the Dutch Development Finance Company later joined the project in its construction phase, along with JCM Power and InfraCo Africa.

The consortium will sell the clean electricity generated at Salima to the state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The government of Mozambique is receiving a US$150 million (R2.4 billion) grant from the International Development Association, the World Bank Group’s subsidiary. The funds will help improve the supply of drinking water in northern Mozambique by relying on solar photovoltaic energy.

The northern provinces of Mozambique (Nampula and Zambezia) have the highest rates of multidimensional poverty and the lowest rate of access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

The funds will support the country’s Rural and Small Towns Water Security Project, whereby piped water supply schemes will be built for 22 rural growth centres, with the construction and upgrading of water sources, treatment plants, transmission, distribution and household connections. Works will also include the construction of solar energy sources for new systems and shifting from diesel generators and grid energy to solar for existing systems, both of which will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy-efficient pumping equipment will be prioritised throughout the programme.

“This project will also support job creation,” adds Pierre Francois-Xavier Boulenger, senior water supply and sanitation specialist and the project’s task team leader. “Small towns and rural growth-pole water supply schemes managed by private operators are projected to create 190 new permanent positions, employing at least 65 women.

The project will also ensure that a third of women are represented in district planning and monitoring groups, and provide training and business development support grants for 50 female water and sanitation entrepreneurs.”

UGANDA Move to protect vanishing wetlands Uganda's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has indefinitely suspended all consideration of new projects in wetlands, in a push to better protect areas seen as key to curbing worsening flooding in Uganda.

Over the last two decades, Uganda has lost about 40% of its wetlands, many of them filled in as the country’s rising population looks for new farmland or to create space for industrial expansion.

A report on the country’s environment and natural resources indicated that the area of Uganda covered in wetlands has fallen from 16% in 1994 to 9% in 2016 – the last year in which losses were estimated.

Worsening run-off from heavy rains is making homes in lowland areas such as Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, much more prone to flooding. In the past, the Nsooba wetlands near Bwaise slowed and purified rainwater run-off before it entered Lake Victoria. Today, with the wetlands reduced in size, more polluted water enters the lake, affecting marine life and water quality.

However, removing factories built by wealthy Ugandans, Chinese and Indian industrialists from wetland areas will prove difficult. The factories – which produce everything from electric appliances to mattresses – offer much sought-after, lowpaying jobs in a country with high unemployment, like many subSaharan African nations.

Uganda has the right legal framework to protect wetlands, but laws were not being enforced in part because of a lack of finance and staffing for NEMA.

HOT SEAT

ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF AUTOMATED

ROAD CONDITION DATA COLLECTION Compared to manual and semiautonomous processes, fully automated road assessment methodologies achieve the best results. IMIESA speaks to Simon Tetley, director at ARRB Systems, about how the company’s latest technologies prove beneficial for infrastructure investors.

What role does road condition assessment data play in optimising lifecycle costs?

ST Network level road condition surveys are an integral aspect of road asset management systems (RAMS) and have been systematically carried out in South Africa since the mid1980s. The information collected at network and project levels has a direct impact on the lifetime cost of a road structure. As such, it is absolutely critical that the data collected is correct and, what is more, consistently rated in subsequent assessments.

Errors in the evaluation of the road condition and the mechanisms of distress will lead to either the underdesign of remedial interventions, with resultant premature failure, or an overly robust design with associated wasteful expenditure in additional design and construction costs.

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IMIESA January 2022

When it comes to inspection methodologies, is automation now the preferred approach?

In most parts of the world, road inspection methodologies are automated to some degree.

In South Africa, however, the acquisition of road network and project level condition data is dependent on undertaking physical visual assessments.

These manual condition assessments require experienced and skilled human resources; they are also dangerous, stressful, time consuming and relatively expensive, with the production of approximately 60-80 km/day in a rural environment and around 20 km/day for urban roads. The key problem with a reliance on physical visual surveys is that the recorded condition of the road will obviously be influenced by a certain amount of subjectivity, which is clearly a problem.

What aspects are measured in a semiautomated method?

of the road surface characteristics, an evaluation of the structural integrity of the road network is typically carried out in a semiautomated methodology using a falling weight deflectometer (FWD). These machines have been in use in South Africa for around 40 years and, while providing meaningful input for project level pavement design, are not ideally suited to the collection of network level structural measurement due to the limited productivity of approximately 65 lane km/day. Added to this is the fact that the measurement is done at a stationary position, requiring formal and wellmanaged traffic control.

Do we have the technology to undertake fully automated pavement assessments?

Technology is readily available in South Africa to collect fully automated functional and structural road condition by using a traffic speed deflectometer device (TSDD)/rolling weight deflectometer (RWD)/intelligent Pavement Assessment Vehicle (iPAVe). These vehicles enable continuous, synchronised and integrated surface and structural measurements to be undertaken in a single pass at up to 80 km/h.

TSDD testing enables us to calculate pavement deflections using measured

A semi-automated network assessment typically consists of measuring surface characteristics using a network surveillance vehicle (NSV) equipped with laser profilers to evaluate riding quality, texture and rut depth, together with highdefinition digital imaging to record road surface distress for geometry measurement and post rating of visual condition in terms of TMH9.

More up-to-date NSVs are fitted with a laser crack management system (LCMS) for crack detection and classification in terms of crack type, severity and extent.

In addition to the Simon Tetley, director at ARRB Systems measurement

HOT SEAT

ARRB Systems’ Hawkeye Insight is a web-based viewing tool that enables the visual assessment of collected data, in a simple, user-friendly format

horizontal travelling velocity and vertical surface displacement velocity. This provides a far more realistic measurement of the visco-elastic pavement response imposed by rolling tyre motion on the road surface. This cannot be achieved with FWD, which creates a purely elastic response.

There are 19 such TSDD vehicles worldwide, with three of these being in South Africa – one operated by SANRAL and the other two, namely the iPAVe, being operated by ARRB Systems.

The iPAVe offers a fully automated and integrated ‘one-stop-shop’ option that generates all the information required by a RAMS (and HDM-4) at a much-improved production rate, lower overall cost, and at a significantly reduced risk when compared to traditional methods.

The improvements in safety are self-evident, as is the significant increase in production capability. Depending on network characteristics, the iPAVe TSDD is capable of collecting approximately 70 000 lane km of surface and structural condition data annually.

While an FWD typically tests at 200 m intervals for network level surveys, the iPAVe is providing continuous measurement, which can be delimited at any interval from 25 mm upward. At a 5 m spacing, for example, the iPAVe could measure 14 million deflection points per year compared to 50 000 for the FWD at a 200 m spacing.

What are the proven life-cycle cost benefits?

In addition to the data/metre cost benefit, we have carried out a study into the asset life-cycle benefit of utilising automated road condition evaluation versus manual and semi-automated methods (visual assessment only and NSV/FWD combination). The study culminated in a paper that was published for the proceedings of the 2021 IRF World Congress in Dubai.

The aim of this study was to determine the lifecycle costs to a roads agency when making use of different road condition assessment methods

– i.e. basic manual visual assessment, semiautomated data collection, and fully automated evaluation. An HDM-4 economic analysis was carried out to define the network, work standards and strategic analysis for each of the three scenarios, and to quantify the capital and recurring cost over a 20-year analysis period for the simulated road network.

Using the maximisation of net present value function in the HDM-4 strategic analysis model, the most cost-effective set of maintenance and improvement standards over the analysis period was identified. Based on this analysis, there is a R13 400 cost benefit per kilometre in using iPAVe/TSDD when compared to the NSV/FWD combination. If this is applied to the entire South African paved road network, a saving of over R2 billion would be achieved over a 20-year analysis period. When compared to the manual visual evaluation method, the saving increases to almost R19 billion.

This study has shown that increasing the quality and accuracy of road condition data does result in a significant cost saving to the road authority, the road user and most importantly to the national fiscus.

Given the advantages, why are industry and road authorities reluctant to go to full automation in South Africa?

It is difficult to say why this is. Two provincial road authorities are using iPAVe/TSDD for network level condition data collection with significant productivity increases and cost reductions in terms of data provision. Our own national roads agency, SANRAL, is also using its vehicle to collect functional and structural measurements on national roads. Our iPAVe has also been used at a project level by a few consultants on metropolitan and SANRAL projects, but it is clear that many consulting firms and road authorities are reluctant to even explore this technology at either a network or project

level and would rather continue with the same methods that have been used in South Africa for over 30 years.

It is also clear that there has been a certain amount of rumour-mongering happening over the past four or so years since the first private iPAVe was introduced. The main thrust of this intentional misinformation was that TSD measurements could not be compared to FWD data and, therefore, could not be used to evaluate a comparative improvement or deterioration at network level or to undertake pavement designs at project level. We have written several papers refuting both these assertions – the latest being published at the 2021 SATC Conference and also a presentation at the 2022 TRB Conference in the USA. It has also been put forward by some sections of our industry that state-of-the-art technology should not be used in a developing country and that this will cost jobs. This point of view is clearly incorrect. In terms of job losses, the people undertaking manual road condition assessments and semi-automated measurements are qualified technicians at least and often technologists or engineers. It is common knowledge that there is a shortage of trained and qualified engineering resources, particularly in the public sector, and – by automating the process of road condition assessment – these people can be freed up to undertake the engineering work they were trained to do.

As for the view that developing countries shouldn't use high technology, it is my view that both developing and developed countries should be utilising the latest technology in the management of their road networks, but perhaps even more so in developing countries where budgets are more constrained, meaning that it is essential to identify technically and economically appropriate remedial interventions ‘first time’.

This will result either in additional funding being available to reduce maintenace backlogs or being able to redirect these savings to other more needy public sectors.

Going forward, I am encouraged by the ever-increasing interest in automated road condition evaluation methods in our country and overseas. I am sure it is only a matter of time before full spectrum automation of road condition data collection will become the norm rather than exception.

www.arrbsystems.com

IMIESA January 2022

15

ENERGY

The unfolding landscape for

IPPS IN SOUTH AFRICA As legal experts in the energy sector, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) has been instrumental in steering key projects though to commercial operation in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. CDH directors Andrew van Niekerk and Tessa Brewis weigh in on the challenges and opportunities in the South African Independent Power Producer (IPP) arena.

By Alastair Currie

T

he growing instability of South Africa’s power distribution network presents a major socioeconomic risk and needs an accelerated approach. Within this context, the growth of the IPP market presents a viable addition to offset Eskom’s ageing coalfired generation network, and the operational teething problems faced by its more recent Medupi and Kusile power stations.

This was the motivation for the launch of the Renewable Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). Introduced in a phased approach since 2012, Bid

Andrew van Niekerk, director and sector head: Projects and Infrastructure, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

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IMIESA January 2022

Window 5 is the most recent development, with 25 preferred bidders announced on 28 October 2021.

Bid Window 5 will add 2 583 MW, either via wind farm or solar PV plants, at an estimated investment value of around R50 billion.

This is welcome news but, depending on the scale, larger projects are anticipated to take a minimum of 36 months to reach their COD (commercial operation date). The DMRE says it expects to conclude financial close on these agreements by Q2 2022. Part of this process includes the conclusion of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Eskom, as well as an implementation agreement with government, which is standard practice for IPP activation.

According to the DMRE, 93 IPP agreements have been concluded since the start of Bid

Tessa Brewis, director, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Window 1, equating to some 7 308 MW. Of these, 89 (including Bid Window 4 projects signed in 2018) are now connected and feeding 6 855 MW into the national grid.

Alongside this are the 11 preferred bidder projects – amounting to some 1 995 MW – announced in terms of government’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), which was launched in August 2020. The signing of these commercial agreements is scheduled to take place in Q1 2022, with COD anticipated some 18 months later.

As an independent transaction advisor, CDH has been involved on Windows 1 through 5, both for IPPs and general investors like pension funds securing a stake in projects.

“Despite the recent stop-start nature of the REIPPPP, Bid Windows 1 through 4 have successfully proven the value of going this route to secure South Africa’s future power security,” says Van Niekerk, who has been involved in more than 30 renewable energy projects.

“In the past five years or so, traction did slow. One of the key reasons was a general reluctance from the market to conclude new PPAs given the challenges experienced by Eskom. However, Window 5 signals renewed investor appetite, and a positive longer-term view for the power parastatal’s eventual restructuring,” Van Niekerk continues.

As CDH’s sector head: Projects and

ENERGY

Infrastructure, Van Niekerk – along with his team – provides specialist EPC, publicprivate partnership (PPP), and IPP-related legal services in the infrastructure, energy, mining and resources, transport, and real estate domains.

Within the energy space in Africa, Van Niekerk’s recent PPP and IPP project references include work for: - Zimborders Limited as concessionaire and sponsor counsel in respect of the Beitbridge Border Post Modernisation PPP Project in Zimbabwe. This was recognised as one of the best deals of 2020 by Global Trade Review. It is also the first border post PPP project to achieve financial close in subSaharan Africa.

- Bio2Watt (Pty) Ltd in respect of a private IPP biowaste-to-power project. This is the first private sector seller and buyer biowaste IPP project to achieve financial close in South Africa.

RMIPPPP Within the unfolding IPP framework, it’s important for government to be technology agnostic – in other words not biased towards the use of specific technologies. In this respect, the urgency of the RMIPPPP presented huge opportunities for hybrid power solutions that could come online within much shorter time periods compared to larger-scale REIPPPP projects and provide cheap power. Examples include a combination of solar PV, battery energy storage systems, and standby diesel/ gas generators. However, in the case of the RMIPPPP, some two-thirds of the allocation ended up going to three liquefied natural gas (LNG) powerships.

“Discussions around the development of LNG gas-to-power stations in South Africa have been debated for some time. One of the key hurdles at this stage is that LNG needs to be imported, and the necessary infrastructure at scale is not yet in place,” says Van Niekerk. “However, once security of supply has been addressed, and

there’s a distribution network in place, there’s a definite market as part of a broader energy mix that includes wind and solar.”

100 MW threshold exemption A key breakthrough for the energy sector came in August 2021 following the DMRE's announcement that IPPs would be exempt from applying for a generation licence up to 100 MW. Amendments to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (No. 4 of 2006) were officially gazetted in August and October 2021. The initiative supports government’s objective to add more immediate power to the grid by encouraging smaller-scale generation with faster commissioning times.

“We expect a strong IPP uptake below the 100 MW threshold, with projects expected to come online in the next year or so,” says Brewis.

While IPPs are exempt from the requirement to obtain a generation licence below 100 MW, further clarification is still needed on the requirement for IPPs to register with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).

“Nersa has published guidelines for the registration of small-scale embedded generation facilities. It’s likely that they will publish something similar for IPPs below 100 MW,” adds Brewis.

Municipalities Amendments to the electricity regulations on new generation capacity, passed in October 2020, enable municipalities in good financial standing to develop their own power generation projects and/or to buy power from IPPs. Municipalities like the City of Cape Town and eThekwini have sent out proposals for interested IPP investors to engage. These developments are still at the feasibility stage, but it demonstrates a recognition by municipalities that private generation and/or IPPs are part of their future.

“Contractual timeframes to financial close, COD and PPA approval are hugely dependent

on the chosen technology and who the offtaker will ultimately be. PPPs are an option, as well as build, own, operate and transfer schemes, but the present regulatory hurdles are immense and time-consuming. The reality is that it’s up to IPPs to fill the gap right now, but that comes with conditions,” Brewis adds.

Funding and PPAs At present, bulk power supply agreements are run through Eskom, or municipal power utilities. For IPPs, a key factor is to ensure that their generation and revenue projections are achievable, and that there is no contractual risk should curtailment (or load-shedding) occur.

“In most cases, an IPP will probably not operate on an autonomous, localised grid. So, if there’s a significant risk of curtailment, that will present a major hurdle in getting to the point of financial close,” Van Niekerk points out.

Historically, municipalities buy electricity from Eskom and resell to local end-users. Electricity is also one of the main revenue sources for municipalities. For this reason, IPP tariff structures will inevitably have to be structured so that municipalities receive some form of financial compensation, such as via a levy.

This would probably include a capacity charge to help fund the maintenance of the municipal distribution network.

“It’s uncharted territory, as is the recommended approach in future when it comes to managing residential and commercial rooftop solar installations. These continue to grow in number as consumers seek off-grid solutions in the wake of constant Eskom power outages. Using smart technologies, homes and businesses might also be able to sell surplus power back to the grid. How this might work in practice still needs to be determined,” Van Niekerk explains.

“Either way, it’s all about scalability and the urgent need for decentralisation and deregulation of the electricity sector, so South Africa can meet its sustainability objectives with affordable power,” Van Niekerk concludes.

IMIESA January 2022

17

THE FLOW MUST GO ON.

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Fluids handled - Waste water containing long fibre and solid substances - Fluids containing gas - River water - Service water - Grey water

SAPPMA

Winners in SAPPMA / 3S Media photo competition announced The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) has announced the winners of its recent photography competition, launched in 2021 in association with 3S Media.

T

he competition was open to all photographers – regardless of skill and expertise – to interpret the theme, ‘The Value and Role of Plastic Pipes in South Africa’.

Jan Venter, CEO of SAPPMA, reports that although there were many enquiries from members of the public interested in entering the competition, Covid-19 restrictions enforced at factories prohibited them from gaining access to sites to take their photos.

“Of course, most of the plastic pipes are buried beneath the ground. This also made it difficult for budding photographers who do not readily have access to production sites to take photos of plastic pipes,” says Venter. The entries were judged on visual impact, relevance to the industry, and basic photographic standards such as composition, lighting and focus.

The winning photos:

Category: Human Interest Winner: Sediye Machaba Machaba is a civil engineer at Aphane Consulting Engineers, where he forms part of a team that provides sustainable development to communities. “At times, we have seen neighbourhoods literally being born from the dust as we take vacant land and add pipeline and road infrastructure to make it habitable for the less fortunate,” says Machaba.

HUMAN INTEREST WINNER: Sediye Machaba

He managed to capture one such an time, when she is not busy studying or occasion on camera recently while visiting walking her dogs. an informal settlement in Daveyton, “The photography competition afforded us Pretoria, where there is no formalised the opportunity to celebrate the importance water infrastructure. Machaba spotted local of plastic pipes in South Africa. Our sincere boys playing with plastic pipes and asked thanks to everybody who entered and them whether they knew where the water congratulations to the winning entries!” came from. One of them enthusiastically Venter concludes. replied, “We buy it!” This left Machaba touched by ARTISTIC WINNER: Gabrielle Hobson how much work still needs to be done to ensure that all residents of South Africa have access to clean drinking water. And it inspired the winning photograph, entitled ‘Like water, humans need to keep moving forward’.

Category: Artistic Winner: Gabrielle Hobson Gabrielle Hobson won the artistic category with her photograph, entitled ‘PVC Feeds the Garden of Eden’, taken at the Karoo Café in Lynnwood Road, Pretoria.

She is a keen swimmer and netball player, and also enjoys playing guitar, painting, drawing and taking photographs in her free

IMIESA January 2022

19

DAMS & WATER STORAGE

Xhora Dam showcases design innovation

The complete dam, stilling basin at rest water level, downstream face of dam with crushed stone, and access road to crest

Located in the Elliotdale District of Mbhashe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, the Xhora Off-channel Storage Dam was built to give greater security of supply to the Xhora Water Supply Scheme (Xhora WSS), which provides potable water to 70 000 people.

T

he Xhora Off-Channel Storage Dam is 230 m long, has a 29.4 m crest and is classified as a category 2 dam. It is a zoned earth fill embankment dam on an unnamed tributary of the Xhora River and has a gross storage capacity of 2.7 million m3.

20

Earth filled embankment dam

The embankment was constructed with different zones, where the central core acted as the low-permeability zone of the dam – available in the reservoir basin.

However, materials available in the basin had a fairly low plasticity so, for backfilling of the cut-off trench, a more flexible clay material was imported from a decomposed dolerite borrow pit about 8 km away.

Materials are very important to the design and construction of an earth embankment dam. Hard rock and crushed rock products are required for the rip rap, as well as filters and drains within the dam. Therefore, a hard rock quarry was developed within the basin primarily utilising the igneous granophyre rock with the overburden indurated siltstone.

Dams can cause loss of life and extensive damage should they fail, and a spillway is a key component of a dam for the safe discharge of flood waters. A 25 m long ogee side-channel spillway on the right flank with a 5 m wide channel was constructed. It has

IMIESA January 2022

Construction

DAMS & WATER STORAGE

been designed for a 1:100 return period flood of 87 m3/s and safety evaluation flood of 165 m3/s.

The spillway discharge curve was obtained using computational fluid dynamics software. Due to the proximity of the water treatment works downstream of the spillway, the design of the stilling basin needed to be accurate. The novel design was developed and model tested by Stellenbosch University.

The dam was fitted with outlet pipework, the stilling basin, twin box culvert as part of the river diversion works, water abstraction facilities and associated pipework, as well as a pedestrian bridge across the spillway for the local community.

A double-barreled diversion culvert was constructed to allow for floodwater during construction. The diversion culvert provides passage for the two outlet pipes, a domestic supply to the water treatment works, and for emergency emptying of the dam, as well as making provision for environmental releases. On completion of the dam, the culvert was closed through the installation of two sets of precast reinforced concrete planks, with the void between the planks filled with mass concrete post-grouted through a tube manchette system.

PROFESSIONAL TEAM Design, construction, monitoring and commissioning: Hatch Contractor: Stefanutti Stocks Mfuraa Consortium Geological and material investigations: Terreco Geotechnical Environmental: Pollution Control Technologies Institutional and social development: Thetha Health and safety: Sange Institute of Health and Safety Stilling basin design and model testing: University of Stellenbosch Blasting and quarry: Baydrive Mining and Civils Grouting and rock anchors: Wepex Concrete batch plant: Lafarge Joint laboratory: Road Lab

In the initial design process, the team debated how to abstract water for domestic consumption. The preferred water for domestic consumption should be drawn from the surface waters of the dam, which are oxygenated. Typically, an intake tower is constructed with inlets at various levels to be operated so that water can be abstracted close to the surface as the reservoir level moves up and down. As the water demand on the scheme is relatively small, the cheapest solution was considered to be a floating intake.

The floating intake structure consists of a stainless-steel float filled with foam

The Xhora Off-channel Storage Dam with rip rap on upstream face, sidechannel ogee spillway and pedestrian bridge, as well as water treatment works in background

and anchored in place with chains that are connected to concrete blocks on the floor of the reservoir. The intake screen is attached to the float with a flexible steel-reinforced mining hose conveying water to the outlet pipework through the river diversion culvert.

This resulted in a substantially cheaper intake structure when compared with an intake tower. Due to the relatively shallow depths in the dam, it is a fairly simple process to replace the intake system, after approximately 25 years, utilising divers.

Grouting A substantial portion of water in the dam is pumped from the Xhora River via a diversion weir. This makes the water rather expensive; it was therefore necessary to ensure a relatively low permeability of the foundation.

Geotechnical investigations revealed that while the foundation rock was generally of low permeability, there were areas with moderately weathered rock and zones of high permeability. The grouting design required the primary holes to extend to a depth of up to 30 m.

This is deeper than what would normally be implemented, but zones of leakage were detected to this depth. The grouting consists of drilling holes into the rock foundation, pressure testing with water to determine if there are leakage paths within that section or stage (measured in lugeons), and then pumping in a cement grout to fill leakage paths and ultimately to backfill the hole. The grouting was carried out in 4 m to 5 m stages, depending on the depth, into the rock.

To avoid the need to construct and grout through a wide and anchored reinforced concrete pad, a less-used approach to the grouting was adopted. To allow for a higher first-stage grouting pressure and produce greater penetration into the fine fissures

IMIESA January 2022

21

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

CATEGORIES • Buildings, Structures

• Electrical and Electronic

• Ecological, Environmental

• Water and Sanitation

• Financial, Legal

• Transport, Roads and Stormwater

and Housing

and Social

and Regulatory

A B S T R AC T S S U B M I T T E D BY

11 March 2022

marketing@imesa.org.za | tel +27 031 266 3263

Contact Melanie Stemmer for an entry form or download it from the website.

CONFERENCE ENDORSED BY

t: +27 (031)266 3263 e: conference@imesa.org.za marketing@imesa.org.za www.imesa.org.za

IMESA ORGANISER

THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA)

DAMS & WATER STORAGE Diversion culvert complete with coffer dam under way, hard rock quarry in basin, core trench being excavated, and downstream drainage blanket placed

PROJECT STATS • 109 local people employed over the contract • R5.2 million spent on local wages and local contractors • 295 000 m3 earthworks volume • 12 000 m3 concrete volume

Spillway channel and stilling basin under construction

that existed in the bedrock, the cut-off trench was first excavated and backfilled, then the temporary grouting standpipes were installed through the imported clay cutoff. This allowed for a significant increase in the overburden pressure, and therefore the pressure that could be specified for the grouting, particularly in the upper 5 m of the grout holes.

Environmental and social impact To minimise the environmental impact of the dam and the effect of siltation, the Xhora Dam was designed as an off-channel storage dam in a small section of the catchment.

Environmental water releases are scheduled to maintain the aquatic environment within the river channel downstream of the dam.

The section of the river channel on the downstream left bank was an area of significant environmental value. This was demarcated a no-go area and required preservation. To ensure that the water table was preserved to support the local ecosystem, the raw water pipeline to the water treatment works was constructed

as a weir so that the water level could be maintained in the channel between the dam and the pipe crossing of the water course. Some protected trees were removed to construct the dam and a number of compensatory trees were planted to replace this loss.

Extensive community consultations took place during the feasibility, design and construction stages over the many years of the project and eventually the dam construction. The ongoing community engagement was an important aspect to managing expectations for the delivery of water, and work opportunities.

The construction of a dam has impacts on the surrounding community – both in terms of access constraints as well as occupying land that may have been used for agricultural purposes or housing. In the years preceding the construction of the dam, three households who would be near either the dam construction or the full supply level of the dam were identified. To ensure their safety, a process of cooperative relocation was undertaken. The three families Dam approaching completion, with the rock quarry in foreground

were relocated to new houses that were constructed for them, and they were very happy with the outcome.

During the community consultations, a key concern to the community was maintaining access, as the dam would create a divide in the community. The outcome of the consultations was the construction of a pedestrian bridge across the spillway and the provision for safe access across the dam wall. Various community members owned lands within the inundated area of the basin.

Processes were undertaken to compensate these community members for the loss of the lands used for agricultural processes – a complex task where there are no title deeds.

The overall contract, which included pipelines and pump stations, employed 109 local people for 17 900 person days.

IMIESA January 2022

23

DAMS & WATER STORAGE

Restoring the water balance at Setumo Dam

At Setumo Dam, the situation was so severe that the cyanobacterial build-up had formed a series of layers from the surface to the bottom of the dam

BEFORE Situated near Mahikeng, Nor th West, Setumo Dam was constructed in 1997 to meet the water security and recreational needs of the surrounding community. In recent years, with the lack of effective rainfall, the water progressively turned a shade of green as cyanobacterial blooms took hold, killing off aquatic life and making abstraction and potable water treatment increasingly challenging.

By Alastair Currie 24

IMIESA January 2022

A dramatic improvement in water quality was achieved at Setumo Dam following its treatment with LakeGuard

A

s in many parts of the world, the growth of these harmful algae blooms is fed by pollution. In Setumo’s case, this was caused by poorly treated sewage over flows from two nearby wastewater treatment works discharging into the Molopo River, which feeds the dam.

The situation reached a point where recreational use or abstraction for downstream potable treatment purposes became increasingly hazardous. The dam’s water quality greatly exceeded the levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. The escalating organic loads at the water treatment plant also significantly increased the cost of chemical dosing.

Additionally, there was a concern regarding the bad taste and odour of the treated water.

AFTER Measuring around 1.6 km in length, this earth-fill dam has a surface area of some 447.3 ha (4 km2), with a total design capacity of around 19 600 000 m3. Given its size and the extent of cyanobacterial bloom, many deemed it untreatable.

Countering a parasitic threat Cyanobacteria produce their own food via photosynthesis, which means they need sunlight to survive. In warm, nutrient-rich (high in phosphorus and nitrogen) environments, they can thrive – their cells doubling every 48 hours – progressively forming a scum that robs the water of essential light penetration and oxygen. At Setumo Dam, the situation was so severe that the cyanobacteria buildup had formed a series of layers from the surface to the bottom of the dam.

DAMS & WATER STORAGE

Rather than abandon the dam to its undeser ved fate, Israeli company BlueGreen Water Technologies offered to fix the problem on a pro bono basis to prove the benefits of its proprietar y solutions. These comprise LakeGuard™ Blue, and LakeGuard™ Oxy, the latter having been approved by the South African Depar tment of Forestr y, Fisheries and the Environment for use on public water bodies. Both products are certified internationally to meet the NSF/ ANSI/CAN 60 standard for drinking water.

The Setumo project went ahead as a joint venture in conjunction with the Department of Water and Sanitation, Sedibeng Water, and Rand Water Analytical Services. The results have been remarkable.

A surface killer “The technology was developed using a well-established algaecide. However, the key difference is the proprietary coating, which enables LakeGuard to float on the surface where the cyanobacteria thrive, and that’s where the magic takes place,” explains Jurgens van Loggerenberg, director: Africa for BlueGreen Water Technologies.

“With a conventional algaecide, large quantities are required to cater for the volume of the water body – a percentage of which sinks down into the underlying sediment with minimal treatment benefit.

This is not the case with LakeGuard,” Van Loggerenberg explains.

The growth of cyanobacterial blooms at Setumo Dam was caused by poorly treated sewage overflows, which made downstream potable water treatment increasingly challenging

LakeGuard Oxy’s active ingredient is sodium percarbonate, which slowly releases hydrogen peroxide. As it penetrates the cyanobacterial cells, they’re placed under major oxidative stress, prompting an autocatalytic cell death response within the population.

Restoring the balance One of the project challenges at Setumo was to determine the best LakeGuard application approach. Beyond fishermen’s kayaks, there were no other boats of sufficient scale to disperse the algaecide.

Taking a similar approach to crop spraying, the solution was to use a helicopter with a custom-designed dispensing bag suspended underneath the aircraft. Using the prevailing wind direction to optimal effect, some

90 t of LakeGuard had been released onto the surface of Setumo within three to four days.

To put this in perspective, 20 kg of product is typically used on a 2 ha irrigation dam. This provides an indication of the scale at Setumo, which is one of BlueGreen Water Technologies’ largest projects to date globally.

“After around a month, the water quality had transformed so dramatically that you could see clearly to the bottom of the dam.

The bird population has also recovered – a clear indication of an improving system.

Plus, the water treatment plant is under far less pressure, with a resultant marked improvement in drinking water quality,” says Van Loggerenberg

The return of the ‘good’ algae Using the prevailing wind direction to optimal effect, within three to four days, some 90 t of LakeGuard had been released on to the surface of Setumo Dam using a custom-designed dispensing bag

Once the cyanobacterial population has been eradicated, the ecological balance begins to return, enabling the formation of ‘good’ green algae that form as a natural barrier. These beneficial algae help to suppress cyanobacterial blooms from reoccurring. However, were a resurgence to occur, only a relatively small maintenance dose of LakeGuard (around 1 t) would be required, usually applied in winter.

The key to preventing a resurgence is to ensure that the wastewater treatment plants discharging into the dam adhere to acceptable effluent discharge requirements.

“The Setumo project has positively impacted more than half a million lives and serves as an excellent case study for similar inter ventions across Africa.

We need to ensure that we protect our water resources and, to achieve this, we need buy-in from all stakeholders,” Van Loggerenberg concludes.

IMIESA January 2022

25

IMESA

IMESA

Since its founding in 1961, IMESA’s ongoing mission has been to promote excellence in the engineering profession for the benefit of municipalities and their communities.

T

his mission cannot be achieved without dedicated members who serve voluntarily within various IMESA structures, most often alongside their full-time professional positions. Conferring Fellow membership status acknowledges the respect of peers and colleagues, and recognises exceptional service rendered within local branches and for the institute nationally to support municipal engineering. Nominations are put forward by the branches for approval and admittance by IMESA Council.

“We are pleased to announce that Exco/ Council has approved the nominations of six Members elected as Fellows during the 2020 and 2021 period,” says Bhavna Soni, IMESA President. “Traditionally, these visionary leaders would have been recognised at our annual IMESA conferences. However, as we all know, the pandemic regulations put a hold on the physical attendance of conferences during 2020 and 2021.”

2020 IMESA Honorary Fellow Randeer Kasserchun, Immediate Past President Randeer Kasserchun has been a Member of IMESA since 2011, a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Branch Committee Member for many years and Branch Chair. He served on Council from 2012, Exco from 2014, and was Vice President: Technical Divisions from 2015 to 2018, culminating in election as IMESA President for the 2018 to 2020 period.

Randeer Kasserchun

26

IMIESA January 2022

MEET IMESA’S new Fellows He holds a BSc (Civil Engineering) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville) and registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA in 1998.

Career highlights - Joined City of Durban as a graduate hydraulic engineer in 1995 - Has worked in the hydrology and coastal engineering field for the past 20 years - Engineer on the Umhlanga Pier, which received the SAICE Durban Branch Award for Technical Excellence in 2007 and the IMESA National Award (Structures Category) in 2008 – the Umhlanga Pier was declared the ‘World’s most beautiful pier’ by CNN in 2014 - Engineer on the Sandile Thusi Pier, which won the IMESA National Award and the CoGTA KZN Award for most innovative structure in 2012.

- Area engineer of Wastewater Networks (WWN) operations at eThekwini from 1996 to 2015 - Senior manager of WWN branch (2012-2015) - Consultant to eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit from 2016 to 2020 - Worked with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation developing new technologies; co-inventor of LaDePa (latrine dehydration and pasteurisation) machine used to process faecal sludge - Working on wetland technologies for processing effluent from anaerobic baffled reactors (DEWATS plants).

Jogindra (Jogie) Naidoo

David Wilson joined IMESA in November 2005.

His services as a long-standing KZN Branch Committee Member and support for all branch initiatives are commended. He served as a Council Representative Member from 2012 to 2018. He has presented technical papers at several IMESA conferences.

He holds a BTech from Natal Technikon and registered with ECSA as a Professional Technologist in 1997.

Career highlights - Employed in the Sanitation Design Branch of eThekwini Water and Sanitation Department (1979-1996)

Jogie Naidoo joined IMESA in October 2001 and has been a dedicated and active KZN Branch Committee Member for many years.

He has served as a Council Representative since 2014 and as KZN Branch Chairperson from 2019 to 2021.

He registered as a Professional Technologist with ECSA in 1996.

Career highlights - Employed in local government since January 1981 - Borough engineer of KwaDukuza Municipality from February 1989 to January 2003 - Director of Technical Services for Ilembe District Municipality till September 2008 - City engineer of City of uMhlathuze from October 2008 to December 2010 - Currently works as head: Roads, Transport, Rail Sidings, Stormwater and Coastal Management Section.

David Wilson

Jogindra Naidoo

2020 IMESA Fellows David Wilson

IMESA

Avhatakali Cedric Mphagi

Norman Niël Swart

Vuyani Gxagxama

Norman Niël Swart

2021 IMESA Fellows Avhatakali Cedric Mphagi Cedric Mphagi has been a Member of IMESA since 2005, IMESA Council Member from 2010, and has served on the Northern Provinces Branch Management Committee since 2012.

He holds a National Diploma Civil Engineering from Northern Transvaal Technikon, and a BTech Civil Engineering from Cape Technikon.

He registered with ECSA as a Professional Engineering Technologist in 2014.

Career highlights - Currently serves as PMU manager, Thulamela Municipality.

IMESA

Norman Swart has been a Member of IMESA since 1995. He was an active Northern Provinces Branch Member, served as a Council Representative from 2014, and was Exco Technical Director: Buildings (Structure) and Town Planning from 2016 to 2018.

He holds a BTech Civil: Urban Engineering from Vaal Triangle Technikon, and registered with ECSA as a Professional Engineering Technician in 2009.

Career highlights - Assistant town engineer, Springs – 2004 to 2008 - Project manager: Eastern Region, Ekurhuleni – 2008 to 2019

- Regional (retired).

executive

manager,

Ekurhuleni

Vuyani Gxagxama Vuyani Gxagxama joined IMESA in October 2013 and served as Council Representative from 2018 to 2020. He was coopted to Exco in 2020 as Operations Director: Marketing & Communications, and he is currently Northern Provinces Branch Chairperson.

He holds a National Diploma Mechanical Engineering and registered with ECSA as a Professional Engineering Technician in 2002.

Career highlights - Currently serves as an engineering technician: Department of Water & Sanitation.

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IMESA

CONFERENCE 2021

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERS ARE CHANGE-MAKERS

O

Hosted in November 2021, the annual IMESA Conference was a resounding success.

Held virtually for the first time in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, thought leaders from South Africa and around the world presented their insights on common infrastructure challenges, showcased projects and suggested solutions on various topics.

By Alastair Currie

28

IMIESA January 2022

pening the conference, Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA, acknowledged the unprecedented rate of change since the initial Covid-19 hard lockdown in March 2020. The overwhelming and positive response has been to rise to the challenge, embrace it, and find resilient solutions that are adaptable and implementable. That was a core focus throughout the conference, with its theme of ‘Synergy Through Engineering’.

“As engineers, we need to think differently and find visionary ways by working collaboratively through our local and international partnership network,” said Soni. “In this respect, we celebrate our IMESA alliance with the International Association for Water, Environment, Energy and Society, commonly referred to as IAWEES, representing some 70 countries – including South Africa – which joint ventured for the first time on our 2021 conference.”

Commented Professor Vijay Singh, president, IAWEES: “On behalf of IAWEES, we thank IMESA for the opportunity to participate and look forward to fruitful exchanges going forward. Like IMESA, our mission is to promote the advancement and exchange of knowledge for sustainable development.

This is even more essential now within the context of

climate change and the economic reconstruction under way following Covid-19.”

These views were supported by Jean de la Harpe, executive director: Municipal Infrastructure Services at the South African Local Government Association (Salga), which endorsed the conference. “Moving into the next five-year cycle, Salga’s key focus will be on supporting municipalities to become customer-centric in terms of service delivery, leveraging off smart technologies that include self-service apps to provide intelligent billing and refined service delivery,” she explained.

Keynote address When it comes to innovative, municipally engineered responses to unprecedented situations, the City of Cape Town’s management of its near ‘Day Zero’ drought crisis has set a new benchmark. This globally referenced case study underscores the adage that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’.

Conference keynote speaker, Michael Killick, director: Bulk Services – Water and Sanitation Department, City of Cape Town, showcased what resilience and adaptability really mean in practice.

The City of Cape Town currently serves some 4.5 million people, with around 6 000 connections, and some 500 000 people in informal settlements. There are six large dams, 12 water treatment plants, 24 reservoirs, and some 10 700 km of

CONFERENCE 2021

The upgraded Seaward Road Bridge in Durban showcases innovation in municipal engineering and was the subject of a detailed paper at the conference. The project also won second place in the Engineering Excellence in Structures and Civils category at the IMESA/CESA Excellence Awards 2021 hosted during this year’s conference

pipeline all geared towards delivering around 1 400 Mℓ/day at peak production.

From the Western Cape Water Supply System, approximately 64% goes to the City, some 29% to agriculture, and the balance to local municipalities. According to the City, pure reliance on the six dams translates into around two to three years of security, dependent on predicted rainfall patterns.

During 2015 to 2017, Cape Town experienced a 1-in-590-year drought. This severe trend was highlighted in 2017 when the city experienced a

1-in-330-year drought – the worst on record in the Western Cape.

“Day Zero was a theoretical possibility – a situation where the dams could no longer supply and the taps would run dry – if the City was unable to achieve its drought restriction targets,” said Killick. “However, we did overcome what seemed an insurmountable challenge with great success.”

IMESA

As municipal engineers, we have an extra responsibility because our outcomes in terms of infrastructure service delivery are so integral to the socio-economic success or failure of the towns and cities in which we operate.”

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA

The best water-saving city in the world In 2018, Cape Town was recognised as the number one water-saving city in the world. The City also won an award from the International Water Association for a 55% reduction in water demand without resorting to intermittent supply.

Key success factors included consumer outreach programmes to promote water conservation, as well as technical water demand management interventions. This strategy was supported by a series of groundwater augmentation programmes, as well as desalination.

Before the drought, peak demand was around 1 200 Mℓ/day, with a daily reduction target of some 500 Mℓ/day. This required the progressive implementation of water restrictions to drive this demand down.

“Our example enables other cities around the world to model and respond to climatechange-induced climate threats. Climate

change studies commissioned by the City at the University of Cape Town indicate that droughts will become more regular, more severe and of longer duration,” said Killick.

“But what we don’t know is when droughts will happen and what the impact will be on Cape Town’s dams. The studies indicate a 33% probability that there will be an approximately 23% reduction in water availability in the next 20 to 30 years. Will it be a gradual event that can be planned for, or a step change? Only time will tell,” Killick continued.

Within the next years, the City’s integrated programmes are aimed at achieving longerterm water resilience, with higher assurance

IMIESA January 2022

29

Joint International Conference with IMESA & IAWEES

(Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa & International Association of Water, Environment, Energy and Society)

IMESA

THANK YOU to our SPONSORS

CONFERENCE ENDORSED BY

t: +27 (031)266 3263 e: conference@imesa.org.za marketing@imesa.org.za www.imesa.org.za

IMESA ORGANISER

THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA)

CONFERENCE 2021

of supply. Water sensitivity in terms of longerterm consumption is an allied goal.

Projects in the pipeline include the Berg River-Voëlvei Augmentation Scheme, which aims to add some 40 Mℓ/day; groundwater abstraction of some 100 Mℓ/day; desalination, with the potential of 50 to 70 Mℓ/day; and direct water reuse schemes, targeting some 70 to 100 Mℓ/day.

At this stage, around 2% of the City’s supply is sourced from groundwater, but that will change over time through various aquifer abstraction projects. These include the Table Mountain Group Aquifer, which will be implemented in three phases, with a final combined yield of some 45 Mℓ/day.

“Future demand management studies are crucial. In the last seven years, only one year has experienced above-average rainfall, so we need to build in an engineered reliance in response,” added Killick.

Energy Alongside water security, maintaining and evolving the national energy grid was another major focus at the 2021 conference.

Topics covered by presenters included the business case for microgrids, solar energy for desalination, and the Leliefontein

Pump-As-Turbine (PAT) Station initiative at Drakenstein Municipality. Believed to be the first of its kind in South Africa, Drakenstein’s green energy innovation serves as an example for other municipalities nationally.

The final session on day three of the conference was a panel discussion, entitled ‘Can alternative energy resources result in independent municipal power supply?’

The key thrust was that renewable solutions are there to support and enhance the delivery objectives of Eskom, South Africa’s grid power utility. Some of the proposals coming forward included the need for every municipality to have an integrated energy masterplan that includes renewable energy. That could potentially lead to a national municipal renewable energy framework.

Going forward, tariff structures will be key to promoting independent power producer investment within a market that enables more open and competitive buying and selling of renewable power via a transparent energy trading platform. A key success factor here is the establishment of a national wheeling framework and a level playing field for municipalities, with the development of relevant in-house capabilities to manage and maximise alternative power.

IMESA

However, the overall issue remains grid stability: the ability of the national network to support and supply a national energy solution. This requires ongoing investment in the maintenance and upgrading of power transmission networks to support Eskom’s mainstream coal-fired electricity generation, and allied supplementary interventions provided by renewables.

“The complexities of our changing landscape certainly put us to the test, but the opportunities to make a lasting difference are there by adopting a participative and multidisciplinary approach to infrastructure planning and execution,” said Soni.

“On behalf of the IMESA Exco, our thanks go to the IMESA Cape Town branch, which was this year’s local organising committee.

A further special thanks to our presenters and delegates for making our first virtual conference a success. We look forward to again seeing our friends and colleagues in person at this year’s 85th IMESA Conference in Gauteng. See you there,” Soni concluded.

The IMESA 2021 Vir tual Conference papers can be viewed and downloaded from the IMESA website. Visit www.imesa.org.za.

‘Mossel Bay Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme (UISP) – Emergency Shared Basic Services’ was the winner in the Community Upliftment and Job Creation category at the IMESA/CESA Excellence Awards 2021

IMIESA January 2022

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INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING & IMPLEMENTATION

Is public procurement reform on its way?

The draft Public Procurement Bill published in February 2020 aims to regulate and prescribe a single regulatory framework for procurement as envisioned in section 217(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

By Jason Smit, Muhammed Somrey & Aliyah Ince of Pinsent Masons Africa

Aliyah Ince, candidate attorney

Muhammed Somrey, senior associate

ccording to National Treasury, one of the main objectives of the draft Bill is to remove the current fragmentation of public procurement regulations. This means that the draft Bill would have to address a large range of issues evident in the current regulatory framework by, among other things, identifying concerns around procurement and proposing practical solutions and mechanisms to address them. The draft Bill has received criticism from various quarters for arguably failing to do this.

procurement-related legislation in their entirety, or amendments to legislation in part. Examples of legislation proposed to be repealed in their entirety include the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (No. 5 of 2000; PPPFA), the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act (No. 56 of 2003), and the State Tender Board Act (No. 86 of 1968). Legislation to be amended in part include, among others, the Public Finance Management Act (No. 1 of 1999), the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), and the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act (No. 53 of 2003). It is clear from the proposed repeals and amendments that the draft Bill would have wide-ranging impacts across various sectors. The infrastructure sector in particular would be vastly impacted for reasons mentioned below.

The repeal of the PPPFA, tied with the repeal of the Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017 (‘2017 Regulations’) promulgated under the PPPFA, has the effect of rendering the preferential point system currently in effect non-existent. Rather, the draft Bill

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Improvement of the current regulatory regimes The Constitution envisions procurement processes undertaken by organs of state that are fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. In addition, section 217(3) requires the implementation of national legislation to prescribe a framework within which these processes must be implemented.

Proposed with the implementation of the draft Bill is the repeal of various current

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Jason Smit, partner

seeks to promote a ‘flexible preferential procurement regime’ and enable the Minister of Finance to prescribe a framework for categories of preferences and the protection or advancement of persons or categories of persons previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination in procurement, and after consultation with responsible Ministers (see Chapter 4). It should be noted that the 2017 Regulations have in any event been rendered invalid by the Supreme Court of Appeal, with judgment by the Constitutional Court still pending.

With one of the main objectives of the draft Bill being to do away with the current ‘fragmentation’ of public procurement regulation, according to National Treasury, it is intended to propose a single framework applicable to national, provincial and local government, and state-owned entities. The draft Bill also aims to promote procurement that is “developmental; ensures value for money in the use of public funds; expands the productive base of the economy; supports innovation, efficiency and maximum

INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING & IMPLEMENTATION

competition; and uses technology to simplify procurement process”. This perhaps arises from concerns that regulatory regimes have consistently been criticised for being too formulative and failing to promote efficient procurement methods. In other words, there exists a concern of overcoming red tape.

National Treasury highlights key areas of regulation in the draft Bill, a few being: the establishment of an impartial, unprejudiced Public Procurement Regulator (‘Regulator’) within National Treasury; the power to prescribe different methods of procurement; and a dispute resolution mechanism wherein it is envisioned that review will occur within an institution, by the Regulator, and by the Provincial Treasuries. Thereafter, review will occur by an independent Tribunal. The introduction of dispute resolution mechanisms will promote the efficient handling of disputes and limit the need to litigate in courts, which have already been over-burdened by matters for some time. The Regulator, in particular, appears to be granted vast obligations and powers by the draft Bill (see Chapter 2). The question that arises is how the draft Bill aims to ensure enough capacity within the Regulator to confirm that these obligations are carried out not only efficiently, but to their full and proper extent. This does not appear to be addressed by the draft Bill.

Responses to the draft Bill While the draft Bill proposes to address the gaps and concerns surrounding the current ‘fragmented’ regulatory regimes, it has received criticism on various aspects.

A long-standing criticism towards procurement regimes has been a lack of transparency and accountability, among others, in the form of a lack of readily available information to the public. This has resulted in difficulties in holding institutions accountable and addressing corruption. Interestingly, lack of transparency and information available to the public has been highlighted in the recently published draft National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP) as an area needing development. The NIP proposes various initiatives to promote this, including monitoring practices and a database to contain information that will be made readily available to the public. In addition, the NIP also highlights the need for a more streamlined regulatory regime and the removal of red tape, which the draft Bill proposes to implement. The draft Bill, however, has received criticism for failing to improve transparency and accountability.

The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has commented that the draft Bill contains

limitations that prevent the realisation of the principles of section 217 of the Constitution as set out above. In particular, the PBO draws attention to the fact that transparency is at the discretion of the Regulator through the vast powers granted to it. The Standing Committee on Appropriations has also levelled criticisms at the draft Bill, stating that it fails to address economic transformation through exclusive growth, fails to include localisation in the draft Bill itself, and fails to clearly state how it will address challenges with regard to value for money. Concerns around ‘discretionary transparency’ arise from the draft Bill’s rather general requirement that bidders’ information is to be kept confidential – it is argued that this general inclusion favours secrecy and corruption, and that non-sensitive bid information should be publicly available.

The independency, appointment process and qualifications of the Regulator have also been called into question. These would appear to be valid concerns, as the draft Bill empowers the Regulator to a large extent to perform various obligations and actions. The establishment of the Regulator within National Treasury itself has been challenged in terms of the Regulator’s ability to remain independent despite being housed in National Treasury.

Further, as mentioned above, the draft Bill repeals the 2017 Regulations made under the PPPFA. While the draft Bill allows the Minister of Finance to determine the preference point system, concerns have been raised around the fact that it makes no mention of the system prescribed by the 2017 Regulations and is also silent on the thresholds determined for local content.

In light of global trends and policies, an important feature is the draft Bill’s

failure to include clear and unambiguous provisions and initiatives for green public procurement (GPP). The European Commission has defined GPP as a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle. Sustainable procurement practices have been a global focus for some time now, with GPP having been implemented in various initiatives around the world. As public entities exercise large-scale purchasing power in contracts for goods and services, polices that prioritise GPP initiatives are a step towards sustainable markets. The draft Bill’s failure to address sustainability is of concern for South African markets.

The draft Bill is yet to be enacted, as it is still undergoing various processes of consideration and deliberation. Comments on the draft Bill have been provided by multiple industry role players and it remains to be seen how these comments will be addressed once the draft Bill is formally published again. The comments provided appear to identify similar areas of concern.

Allegations of corruption and malfeasance surrounding public procurement processes are unfortunately commonplace and at the fore of public scrutiny of state procurement.

The draft Bill presents an opportunity to increase and promote accountability, transparency, public involvement and sustainable practices, and the next iteration is no doubt awaited with much interest across many industry sectors.

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BITUMEN & ASPHALT

Asphalt mobility and retrofits Responding to market demand, Ammann South Africa is tailoring its asphalt plant solutions to meet the mobility requirements of local and cross-border customers. In parallel are Ammann’s retrofit options for the extended life of static plants, all geared towards adding value for road contractors and bitumen suppliers.

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eadquartered in Switzerland, Ammann has led the market since its establishment in 1869 – a 153-year legacy that has been built on a reputation for innovation. Today, the OEM’s manufacturing plants based in Brazil, China, Europe and India specialise in the production of specific product lines.

“The strength of the Ammann Group is that we can field products for all markets, alongside custom solutions,” explains Rocco Lehman, managing director, Ammann South Africa. Within the Southern African region,

An Ammann ACM Prime plant in operation

Ammann’s asphalt plant range is sold and supported by Kenzam Equipment.

Globally, there’s a big drive within the asphalt construction industry for mobile plants and Ammann is a major player in this segment. “Units like the ACM 140 Prime produced at Ammann’s factory in Brazil, and sold in South Africa, are designed with wheels so that they can be hooked up to and towed by a truck tractor,” Lehman explains.

“However, this form of quick transit is not currently permissible according to South African road legislation. To date, this has meant that low-bed transportation was the

An ACM 140 Prime mobile plant ready to roll in Brazil

only legal option. Ammann South Africa is now addressing this by developing a simple solution: working with the Kenzam Group to retrofit Ammann mobile plants on to locally built licensed trailers. The upside is that no homologisation process is required, plus it is cost-competitive with a quick turnaround time. The trailer can also be resold if mobility is no longer a requirement at a later stage,” Lehman continues.

Mobility is relative in the sense that most Ammann asphalt plants – static or mobile – can be disassembled, relocated, and reassembled at another location. There’s a

BITUMEN & ASPHALT

definite demand for this for longer-term projects. At the other end of the spectrum, though, contractors are looking for more rapid deployment, where the entire unit can be moved in one go for on-site commissioning within days, rather than weeks. “Our new trailer system meets this requirement,” Lehman continues.

First mobile retrofits One of the first plants to be retrofitted by Kenzam was an ACC Countermix mobile plant produced at Ammann’s factory in India. ACC Countermix models in the range extend from 90 to 120 tonnes per hour (tph) with the capability of processing up to a 15% recycled asphalt (RA) mix.

For higher-specification requirements, like Sanral-type projects, where the minimum RA component is 25%, with an average of 30%, Ammann’s ACM Prime 100 tph to 210 tph continuous mix plants fit the bill perfectly. “We’ve redesigned the popular mid-range Prime 140 plant to specifically meet the Sanral RA specification, and South African road-legal towing requirements,” Lehman explains.

Static plant retrofits Alongside the mobile segment, the Ammann Group is further addressing the needs of customers worldwide looking to extend the life of their static plant investments. Older plants can be retrofitted to keep pace with new environmental codes, as well as more modern mix designs. By modernising at a fraction of the cost of a new static plant, Ammann offers this solution for its own as well as other OEM plants. In some cases, plants older than 30 years can be successfully retrofitted if their condition has been well maintained.

All projects are managed via the Ammann Retrofit Centre in Austria, which relies on proven processes and experienced technicians to troubleshoot any issues and ensure superior results.

“One of the strategic advantages of the Kenzam alliance is their well-established manufacturing arm, which enables us to implement Ammann static plant retrofit services, locally and regionally,” Lehman continues.

Allied to this are the host of ancillary products manufactured

by Kenzam that support Ammann’s after-market offering.

These include drum decanters, emulsion plants, mobile and static bitumen tanks, and mobile laboratories.

“After a long hiatus on Sanral and provincial projects, our customers are reporting renewed tender activity with good prospects for coastal and inland work. In fact, we could see a situation going into 2022 where immediate demand outstrips supply for mobile plants – something the market hasn’t experienced for many years,” adds Lehman.

In terms of recent cross-border sales, Ammann South Africa supplied and commissioned a ValueTec 180 static plant for a client in the DRC. An ACC Countermix 120 plant was also sold to a contractor in Zimbabwe towards the end of 2021. This will be one of the first to be retrofitted with Ammann’s new road-legal trailer option.

Conforming to COTO specifications Exclusion clauses used by suppliers of aggregates will no longer be accepted on road construction projects. This follows changes to the new Committee of Transport Officers (COTO) requirements that call for the laboratory certification of loads.

Nico Pienaar, director, ASPASA

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he exclusion clauses provided some protection from liability in the event of failure of a road or structure but had become a contentious issue in recent times. The new requirements rather call for testing to be done beforehand by the buyer and seller to ensure that the materials meet specifications. Thereafter, laboratory certification is required, and loads need to be inspected and accepted on-site at the time of delivery.

While requiring the utmost diligence on behalf of the supplier to undertake the correct sampling and testing of the aggregates, it also offers a level of protection by preventing the mishandling and contamination of aggregates stored on-site and tested well after the delivery date. In the past, it was found that aggregates stored incorrectly on-site were often to blame for failures.

According to Nico Pienaar of surface mining industry association ASPASA, the surest way to avoid claims against the supplier of materials is to ensure all procedures are correct when sampling and testing materials, as well as keeping careful record of the tests done before leaving the premises and upon acceptance of the materials.

Quality defined, tested and accepted “We have pushed the concept that quality must be defined, tested and agreed to at the mine. Thereafter, once it has been delivered and accepted, the mine cannot be held responsible, as it has been found on many cases that the material delivered is misused, left outside or not placed correctly.

Then when tested, it is often blamed on the supplier and the quarry,” says Pienaar.

“We highly recommend quarries and suppliers of aggregates undertake training that we offer for on-site laboratories and thereafter participate in our annual quality audit to ensure the aforementioned criteria are met and robust enough to hold up to scrutiny in the event of a claim or subsequent court appearance,” he adds.

“The cost of such an audit is approximately the equivalent of a single load of aggregates and may save millions of rand in compensation in the event of a material failure,” Pienaar concludes.

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ROADS & BRIDGES

Within Kouga Local Municipality, 27 priority gravel roads in nine towns are being upgraded to ensure safe community access to work, schools and health services.

A total of 27 priority gravel roads in nine towns within Kouga Local Municipality are being reconstructed and surfaced

KOUGA EMBARKS ON GRAVEL ROUTE UPGRADES

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he two-year programme, which commenced in August 2021, is being carried out

by Scribante Construction at a contract value of R332.35 million, with JG Afrika appointed as the consulting engineers.

These routes form par t of a larger network of 68 gravel roads that will need to be upgraded within the municipal jurisdiction over time, subject to funding availability. In most instances, they have become extensively eroded, making them increasingly unsafe.

JG Afrika undertook the initial work, including the geotechnical investigations, evaluation of the condition of the infrastructure, as well as soil analysis and materials testing for all 68 gravel sections.

The 27 gravel roads being reconstructed and resurfaced in this phase are located within the towns of Humansdorp, Jeffreys Bay and Thornhill, and total more than 13 km.

Scribante Construction completed the first road by the middle of November 2021

Designed for a 20-year life Despite being municipal roads that cater for lower traffic volumes, they have been designed to the highest applicable quality standards and will provide a service life of 20 years if appropriately maintained.

Prior to reconstruction, manual labour teams first dig down to check for any hidden services that need to be relocated.

Thereafter, a box cut is excavated down to the road foundation level. This is then ripped and recompacted to 93% Mod AASHTO density. Where material is

The roads have been designed to the highest applicable quality standards and will provide a service life of 20 years if appropriately maintained

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unsuitable, it is removed and replaced with imported material.

The subbase consists of G6 material that has been compacted to a 95% Mod AASHTO density and the base layer a G4 imported material that has been compacted to a 97% Mod AASHTO density. A continuously graded fine asphalt layer is then applied.

All roads will receive stormwater drainage systems, and kerbs and sidewalks at selected roads. Intersections are also being upgraded with signage and road markings.

In addition, roads in front of schools will receive additional parking and taxi bays, as well as speed humps.

“As the project gains momentum and we start working at various roads simultaneously, constituents will begin to see the significant improvements to infrastructure that are being undertaken

by Kouga Local Municipality,” comments Stephan Schutte, senior engineer: Roads and Municipal Infrastructure Division, JG Afrika.

ROADS & BRIDGES

Mpondoland SMMEs to benefit from road investments The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) has set aside over R3 billion to benefit local SMMEs in Mpondoland in the Eastern Cape.

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ddressing SMMEs in Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, Mbulelo Sonqishe, project manager: N2 Wild Coast Road, Sanral, said about 8 000 direct jobs and up to 20 000 indirect jobs will be created through this massive injection in the region.

“On the Msikaba Bridge project alone, which is one of our megaprojects in the region, R243 million has already been paid to 103 local suppliers, service providers, subcontractors and other targeted enterprises from surrounding municipalities. About R38.5 million has already been paid on wages to over 300 local community members employed on the projects,” said Sonqishe.

The Msikaba Bridge project is expected to be completed in February 2024.

Four current tenders have already been advertised by Sanral in the region. These include the rehabilitation of the Ingquza Hill Memorial Road, upgrading of roads in Ntlavukazi Village, upgrading of the DR8004 road from the R61 national road to Bambisana Hospital Road, as well as the upgrading of the R61 national road to Mbongweni Village.

Building for the community Community development projects have also been initiated. “Our community development projects go way beyond bitumen and asphalt.

They leave our communities with a legacy of road safety improvements, as well as economic oppor tunities that will benefit communities from project inception,” says Nwabisa Gxumisa, district manager: Wild Coast, Sanral.

New community development projects that are in the design phase are an access road leading to the Goso Forest Clinic, as well as access road and pedestrian facilities in Mbotyi and Ntafufu Service Road. Construction on the DR08120 and DR08121 roads from Bizana to Mbongweni will begin during 2022.

Sanral will also implement community legacy projects associated with each project.

One prime example is the upgrading of provincial roads in the region to sur faced roads at several villages along the route.

This will form par t of the O.R. Tambo Heritage Route.

“These projects are over and above the roads, training and community development components of each project. Some of these legacies will include simple and yet symbolic gestures, such as leaving behind buildings built or rehabilitated for use by the contractor or engineering site staff during construction for use as community halls, business hubs and tourist accommodation,” says Gxumisa.

Meanwhile, the tender for the anticipated R3.5 billion Mtentu Bridge project has closed and is currently in adjudication.

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SMART CITIES

South Africa needs smart cities, but not the ones you envisage A smart city is a novel solution to make efficient use of natural resources, improve citizens’ standard of living, and achieve economic development. However, to achieve success, one needs to understand Africa’s smart city maturity. By Kirsten Kelly

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lobally, extraor dinar y technologies are deployed in cities, with a huge drive to make them ‘smar t’.

The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance was established in 2019 with the aim to help cities develop and adopt policies to guide the implementation of smart technologies.

But locally, we are simply not ready for most of this – a significant portion of our population still do not have access to basic services. We therefore need to find a balance where access to basic services is prioritised and technologies are used to address the needs of the public,” says Bernadina Da Silva, civil engineer, SMEC South Africa.

SMEC South Africa’s Urban Development Division was part of the professional team that was commissioned to develop the Greater Lanseria Master Plan (GLMP). Part of the brief was to create a post-apartheid city that incorporates the full socio-economic profile of South African society and serves the needs of everyone who lives in it. “This must be true for all smart cities – they must be inclusionary,” states Da Silva.

Citizens of a smart city should be able to live, work, learn, pray and play in the same space. All amenities should be placed within a comfortable walking distance. A smart city should not only be complex, but also compact in nature.

Inclusivity

“A city cannot be smar t without providing sustained basic services (e.g. clean running water). Data is a valuable resource within the smart city (e.g. water usage patterns). When one uses smart city data that has been collected over a long period of time instead of relying only on theoretical models, planning and operational departments benefit through the management of budgets, resource capacity

Basic components of a smart city She adds that smart cities aim to be inclusive – and are not only ICT or digitally driven, enabling ‘smartness’ for all. “Not everyone has a smartphone; not everyone is tech-savvy. There is also a lack of technical capacity within our municipalities to implement and maintain new technologies over and above the existing conventional infrastructure.”

and maintenance planning,” explains Dr Pieter Crous, technical specialist, SMEC South Africa.

Both Da Silva and Crous emphasise that maintenance is an essential management element of a smart city. “Infrastructure is typically designed for extended lifespans (50 to 100 years), while technologies generally have significantly shorter lifespans. It is important to consider the technology maintenance requirements over shorter time intervals, together with the traditional infrastructure maintenance, to ensure that everything works and that the technology can create value over the long term,” adds Da Silva.

The establishment of a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) was recommended in the GLMP where a task team would be responsible for prioritising infrastructural investment, the funding of utilities, and placing a regional focus on the provision and management of bulk infrastructure.

“Another key element around a smart city is communication. Smart meters for water and energy services enable actionable communication that can be used to ensure service delivery either in real time or

A smart city should be complex, but compact

Citizens of a smart city should live, work, learn, pray and play in the same space

within specified timeframes. Should a service delivery problem arise, a timely response can be made, which can reduce costs and service interruptions, and increase revenue and quality of life. Communication must also be facilitated across governmental departments, different municipalities, or between local and national government departments,” says Crous.

Interdisciplinary approach There has been a movement away from a multidisciplinary planning approach to an interdisciplinary one in the design of smart and sustainable cities. This results in a holistic view, where one evaluates how services can work together and create a circular economy.

“Building a new city places immense pressure on existing infrastructure. It is therefore important to ‘think smart’ and consider the links that can be created between different services. Technologies such as converting biogas from sewer treatment plants to electricity, recycling water and harvesting rainwater at scale, and waste-to-energy by pyrolysis are all options. The waste from one utility can be viewed as a resource for another,” explains Da Silva.

Smart city dos and don’ts “When considering smart city technologies, it is essential to ask what value they bring to the city and how the value will be quantified. There can be a lot of fruitless expenditure

on technology. Technology must enable service delivery. One needs to understand the technical implications, the life-cycle costs, the organisational impact of the technology, and whether business processes and even departments need to be created, changed or restructured,” states Crous.

Attracting investment is a key outcome for smart cities. It is therefore important to streamline development applications, as well as have approvals or permits in place as early as possible, and sustain a high level of service delivery. The smart city must provide an enabling environment for business.

Crous adds that smart cities should reduce risk, with limited unplanned outages, and be responsive, reacting to events as they occur.

“A state-of-the-art call centre is useless when there are no maintenance teams to attend to a reported event.”

Dr Pieter Crous, technical specialist, SMEC South Africa (left) Bernadina Da Silva, civil engineer, SMEC South Africa

When planning for a smart city, it is important to consider the services available and what infrastructure is necessary to unlock future developments. Having the longterm plan in place can enable ‘early starts’ to commence pending wider bulk servicing issues to promote immediate economic activity. An example would be allowing welldefined sewer treatment package plants to be constructed as an incremental measure until a wider sustainable sewer system has been constructed. Ultimately, one has to consider current needs and any service backlogs, address those first, and then slowly implement smarter solutions going forward,” explains Da Silva.

Joint planning initiatives with all parties (various spheres of government, utility providers, private entities, etc.) are essential in creating a regional view of the smart city.

This ensures that municipalities and utilities are not solely focused on services offered within their jurisdictions.

“It is difficult to retrofit services once a city has been constructed, which is why planning is crucial. Space provision must be made for all services, including consideration for future growth and city development,” adds Da Silva.

Crous concludes, “Ultimately, long-term, sustained service delivery is key. There is little point in building infrastructure that cannot be maintained or installing smart technologies that are not monitored or no one can operate. Smart cities need careful planning.”

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WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING

THE GENERAL PREMISE OF PRE-TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES IS THE TREATMENT OF WASTE BEFORE FINAL DISPOSAL TO REDUCE THE VOLUME THAT IS LANDFILLED AND ENHANCE OR ACCELERATE THE STABILISATION OF THE WASTE, THUS MINIMISING THE LONG-TERM, DISADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

MECHANISATION AND WASTE OPTIMISATION While the global quest is to promote a circular economy that emphasises recycling, the reality is that a percentage of the waste stream will always have to be disposed of in sanitary landfills.

Ziyanda Majodina speaks to Thibault Dechamps – specialist: Waste & Recycling Segment for Caterpillar’s Europe, Africa, Middle East & Eurasia region – about Cat mechanised solutions.

What solutions does Caterpillar field for the landfill and waste management industry?

TD Looking at the composition of the waste stream, the average household income, and particularly taking into consideration South Africa’s growing economy, exploring recycling opportunities will be of great assistance in lessening the volume of waste disposed of in sanitar y landfills.

Key machiner y to manage sanitar y landfills includes track-type tractors with waste handling arrangement (TTT WHA), track-type loaders with waste handling arrangement (TTL WHA), and landfill compactors (LFCs). The LFC is purposebuilt for landfill operation. It delivers features, per formance and efficiency that draw on Caterpillar’s 50-plus years of industr y experience. Field-proven protection and integrated technologies provide peak availability and optimised landfill per formance.

The first Cat 816 model was launched approximately 50 years ago, in 1972,

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making it the first ever LFC created by Caterpillar. The current version of the 816 weighs 25 t and delivers 284 hp of gross power, which insures efficient waste compaction through its maximum compaction rate.

Other Caterpillar compactor models are the approximately 40 t Cat 826K, and the 55 t Cat 836K. These machines

are designed for the harsh operating environments typically experienced on landfills.

The wheels of the compactor are the machines' true work tools. There are five types of wheels to choose from: ‘Plus’ tips, ‘Paddle’ tips, ‘Diamond’ tips, ‘Chopper’, and ‘Combo’, which combines ‘Plus’ and ‘Paddle’.

There are five types of wheels to choose from: ‘Plus’ tips, ‘Paddle’ tips, ‘Diamond’ tips, ‘Chopper’, and ‘Combo’, which combines ‘Plus’ and ‘Paddle’

WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING

Cat Landfill GPS Mapping is designed to address many of the objectives in the landfill: safety, production/planning, and airspace/density

The ‘Plus’ tip is larger and heavier and is designed for waste streams that include construction and demolition materials. It also has a greater side slope stability.

The ‘Paddle’ tip is designed for a waste stream composed mainly of municipal solid waste. It cuts through garbage bags.

Running at a lighter weight allows the compactor to operate at maximum speed.

‘Plus’ and ‘Paddle’ tips have a pro-rated 10 000-hour warranty. The ‘Diamond’ tips, available on the 826K and 836K, have a pro-rated 15 000-hour warranty.

Then there is our ‘intelligent’ machine solution, Cat Landfill GPS Mapping. It is designed to address many of the objectives in a landfill such as safety, production/planning, and airspace/density.

Technology, where real-time data is in front of the operator, drives production increases in the landfill operation.

Operators have access to operational and design parameters throughout their shift. Managers also have access to reporting capabilities such as volumes, densities, productivity of single machines or the whole fleet, fuel consumption,

idle time, etc. The ability to measure these parameters means management can make data-based decisions to enhance operations.

What recommendations would you make for smaller municipal landfills when it comes to mechanisation and affordable machine options?

The equipment compaction performance, uptime and fuel consumption are just as important for smaller municipal landfills as for larger sanitary landfills.

The LFC is obviously my first recommendation, as it is a purpose-built piece of equipment. The TTT WHA and TTL WHA can also be considered as alternatives to process the waste stream. However, TTTs and TTLs won’t be able to achieve the level of compaction an LFC does.

What are some of the common mistakes that landfill operators make when it comes to general machine selection?

These are not specifically mistakes

– it comes down to the degree of understanding regarding equipment principles, role, size, and configuration. It is essential for machine users to educate themselves on the specifications of the equipment and the job to be performed.

It is also critical to pay attention to the significance of compaction. Compaction is key to preventing risks that may occur – e.g. the risk of fire (spontaneous combustion) and waste landslides.

What are some of the key tips to note?

Ever y single cubic metre is crucial to optimise landfill air space. Proper compaction targets will maximise the life of the landfill. Within this context, correct machine selection and operator training are important. They will ensure optimum equipment utilisation, efficiently processing the waste stream. Landfill operation must avoid over- or undercompacting. The first scenario results in excessive fuel burn and unproductive utilisation. The second shortens landfill life.

Every single cubic metre is crucial to optimise landfill air space

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WASTE & RECYCLING

Majuba ash disposal facility takes shape

The recently completed rehabilitation dam receiving stormwater from the western side of the tailings facility

Concor has passed the halfway mark on its project to extend the continuous ash disposal facility (ADF) at Eskom’s Majuba power station near Amersfoort, Mpumalanga. The ADF will accommodate ongoing ash generation until February 2036, ensuring that Majuba remains compliant with ever-stricter environmental regulations.

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he project is being conducted in a fully integrated joint venture with Midrand-based contractor Lubocon Civils on an 85%/15% split, with Concor holding the majority stake.

To date, Concor has handed over Terrace 2A and is in the process of handing over one of the two rehabilitation dams. The construction of the extensive terraces – which measure 1.2 km long by 175 m wide – began with bulk earthworks, cutting down to a design level before constructing the various layers.

These layers include 100 mm of filter sand, followed by a Class 2 geomembrane and two 150 mm layers of clay. This is covered by a double-textured 1.5 mm HDPE geomembrane, followed by a 300 mm coarse ash layer. Each liner terrace, constructed from stabilised ash, is broken

down into compartments of 5 m widths, located every 100 m.

“Underneath these layers, we are constructing a network of herringbone subsoil drains with a leachate collection system, which will flow into a pollution control dam,” explains Mabandla Dlamini, contracts director at Concor.

Specialist subcontractors have been used for the all-important lining beneath the dams, as well as the identification of any potential leaks.

“The excavation and bulk earthworks for the pollution control and rehabilitation dams are followed by the construction of a subsoil drainage layer,” he says. “In addition to the geomembranes and layers of filter sand and impermeable clay, this layering includes 250 mm thick geocells, a ballast layer comprising 300 mm

thick cement-stabilised sand (8% by mass), and geocells.”

Water perimeter canals Enhancing the environmental controls are water perimeter canals around the whole facility to separate and channel clean and dirty water. These are lined with 100 mm geocells filled with 30 MPa concrete, controlling the stormwater in the area.

“The canals play a vital role in reducing the risk of any washdown from the tailings facility,” Dlamini continues. Measuring up to 7 m in width, the total combined length of these canals will amount to more than 4 km.

The Concor-Lubocon JV is also constructing 5.5 km of internal or monitoring road, with G5 and G7 materials sourced from commercial operations in Newcastle and Ermelo respectively.

The Area 2 terraces with bulk earthworks, layerworks and HDPE liner installation in progress

The eastern embankment earthworks, road layerworks, culvert construction, and concrete-lined canals

GROUND ENGINEERING Zutari proposed a geocell-centred design with a geogrid as a structural separation layer for the construction of the Clairwood Logistics Park container yard

Novel ground support solutions at Clairwood The application of geofoam as a lightweight fill for the construction of Spine Road at the Clairwood Logistics Park in Durban is a first for South Africa. A unique geocell solution was also developed for the founding and pavement design of the site’s container yard.

T

he 76.6 ha Clairwood Logistics Park site is bordered by Transnet railway lines to the west and south, by a fully developed industrial area to the north, and the M4 highway to the east. An existing 406.4 mm fuel pipeline is also located within a portion of the site, with Spine Road – the main internal road – crossing it in Pocket Area 7.

To reduce the load resulting from Spine Road’s construction to an acceptable level, a lightweight fill consisting of an expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam solution was proposed by Zutari. This served as a substitute for conventional fill material for the embankment, coupled with a piled structure to protect the pipeline.

EPS geofoam is specified specifically for its soft soil remediation, slope stabilisation, lateral load reduction on retaining structures, structural void fill and buried utility protection.

It offers major benefits in terms of construction schedules and project costs, and is designed and constructed to ASTM standards.

Since this was the first such application in South Africa, Zutari received technical assistance from Steven Bartlett, associate professor: Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah, USA. During construction, the lightweight EPS geofoam was placed onto a 100 mm bedding sand layer and wrapped in a geomembrane as protection against corrosion from potential groundwater contaminants. A load distribution slab was then placed on top of the geofoam, while the road pavement consists of a continuously reinforced concrete pavement.

To prevent ‘creeping’, the pavement was designed with anchor blocks, or base anchors.

Container yard Alongside the construction methodology for Spine Road, Zutari’s design for the Clairwood Logistics Park container yard had to factor in heavy-duty materials handling equipment, as well as container stacking loads. “The loads

on these platforms are massive, with the typical vehicles used here having a wheel load in the order of 250 kN, which is similar to the load exerted on a heavy aircraft apron,” notes Dr Anton Hartman, lead: Pavements and Materials, Zutari.

The proposed solution was based on a geocell-centred design with a geogrid as a structural separation layer. A geocell is a 3D honeycomb geosynthetic product that functions like a semi-rigid mat, distributing surface loads over a wide area of the foundation soil. This significantly improves the bearing capacity of soft soils. “Feasibility and cost were major factors in terms of selecting an appropriate solution,” adds Hartman.

The Clairwood site is underlain by unconsolidated soft clays and silts that, when loaded, will be subject to long-term consolidation settlements. These layers are highly variable and the resultant settlements will vary across the site. In addition, the site has an overlay of imported unconsolidated bulk fill, which will contribute to the variable settlements. The shallow water table varies from natural ground level to 2 m below ground.

“The site is literally a ground engineer’s dream due to the multiple issues we had to deal with related to the soil conditions,” concludes Dr Gabi Wojtowitz, associate design director, Zutari.

Installation of the geocell system

Work in progress on the hard standing area at the container yard

IMIESA January 2022

43

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Proactive asset management requires teamwork It is often assumed that public infrastructure asset management is something limited to a particular profession; however, this is a multidisciplinary function, with a shared responsibility across different professions. This enables a maximum return on investment, while also ensuring defined service and security standards are met. By Bonke Mncwango*

A

s an umbrella term, public infrastructure assets may range from intricate underground networks to elaborate building structures, as well as highway systems, recreational parks, and any other equipment necessary to maintain their integrity.

With public-related infrastructure, it is often difficult for the responsible asset managers to protect facilities and structures from accelerated deterioration due to overusage, geological conditions, and climatic effects. Due to inadequate funding, as well as inadequate technological support, certain infrastructure assets have also been neglected and rendered out of service.

As an effective means of managing an asset, repair and maintenance expenditures must be separated from those of capital renewal. Repair and maintenance are defined as interventions that ensure that an asset

44

IMIESA January 2022

reaches its maximum service life, whereas capital renewal is defined as the action to completely replace an existing asset.

The lifespan of an asset can be regarded as the length of time it will take an asset to go through its full life cycle. This is shown in Figure 1, which depicts eight phases of an asset’s life cycle. These phases are: needs identification, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, condition monitoring, decommissioning, and renewal.

The various stages of an asset life cycle are briefly explained as follows: - Needs identification: Needs identification is part of the planning stage and this is when a need is identified that is currently not being met.

- Procurement: Procurement is the acquisition

FIGURE 1 Detailed asset life-cycle stages

stage. This stage is only executed once the perfect asset to meet the identified need is known.

-C ommissioning: It is possible that some assets may be complete and ready for use when delivered. However, many require installation/commissioning, and that process takes place during this stage, especially when assets are large and of a complex nature.

-M aintenance: During this stage, the asset is operated and then maintained as necessary.

-C ondition monitoring: An important stage while an asset is in use is condition monitoring. Should any adverse quality factor

ASSET MANAGEMENT

be noted while an asset is being used, attending to it early will save costs.

- Decommissioning: Once the asset has reached its useful life or when the cost of operating or maintaining it becomes too high, it is at this stage that the asset should be retired and decommissioned.

What asset management is and isn’t There exist numerous ideas of what asset management is; however, seldom is it mentioned what asset management is not.

Asset management is: - a mindset that sees assets as objects and systems, which respond to their environment, change, and normally deteriorate with usage - a recognition that assets have a life cycle, which governs their lifespan - as important for those working in finance as it is for engineers - an approach that looks to get the best out of the assets for the benefit of the organisation and its stakeholders - about understanding and managing the risk associated with owning assets.

Asset management is not:

The home of Infrastructure development, building, maintenance, service delivery

While asset management may be a worthy subject for academic review and advancement, it remains largely pragmatic in nature.”

• just for engineers, as is commonly viewed • just an accounting exercise in terms of depreciation – it’s a collective responsibility shared by every part of the organisation in order to achieve increased recognition for economy, effectiveness, and efficiency in asset usage • purely an academic discipline – while asset management may be a worthy subject for academic review and advancement, it remains largely pragmatic in nature.

Success factors To ensure successful infrastructure asset management, it is important to determine: • what is owned • how much it is worth • its current condition • the remaining service life of the asset.

Anecdotal evidence from numerous typical entities – such as municipalities that oversee a diversified range of infrastructure assets

– indicates that many of these entities fare well with the first two considerations; however, they fail on the remaining two and the reasons for this are miscellaneous in nature. These range from being understaffed to the absence of the required skill set needed to make such determinations.

Conclusion As a stepping stone towards preventing further unnecessary expenditure incurred for the premature renewal of assets, a fresh approach is needed. This requires a detailed review of available capacity, as well as the skills required.

Managing South Africa’s diverse and complex infrastructure assets is vital for socioeconomic growth and is a national imperative that cannot be ignored. *Research student, Durban University of Technology

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SAFET Y SHOES LEMAITRE’S LAUNCH OF NEW STYLES WITH MODERN DESIGNS AND A REFRESHED LOOK APPEAL TO A WIDER AUDIENCE AND TARGET NEW SECTORS.

Raptor Our Raptor range is synonymous with torsion control and keeping you sure-footed in environments where uneven terrain is prevalent, such as construction and agriculture.

We’ve expanded our offering with the Osprey Hiker and the Falcon shoe and boot.

The Osprey Hiker and Falcon shoe and boot feature a full-grain, genuine-leather upper for enhanced comfort and durability. Their PU Dual Density sole unit and TPU inserts allow for an aggressive grip.

Parabolic Our Parabolic range comes with a durable polyurethane midsole and is perfect for workers who need extra support.

The Concorde shoe and boot are our latest offerings in this range. With an S3 rating, they provide comfort and alleviate fatigue for workers who spend long hours on their feet in industries such as manufacturing. They also come standard with an anti-penetration midsole to prevent sharp objects from penetrating the boot.

RAPTOR 46

IMIESA January 2022

Maxeco Our iconic Maxeco range has built-in arch support and is designed for all-round safety.

The redesigned Maximus gives you all-round safety with the addition of a memory foam insole and reflective strip. It has a lightweight sole, wider fit and improved ergonomics. The square cleat design of the shoe improves the slip resistance rating and provides better stability and reduced shock impact.

Apollo The Apollo range with SRC slip-resistance rating is suited for environments where slip potential is a high risk. The two new styles added in this range are the Clog and the Ben. The Clog has been designed to provide superior slip-resistance for those working in kitchens and hospitals, while the Ben incorporates the benefits of the Apollo sole, as well as no metal or hard plastics on the upper. This minimises the risk of scratching metal and other smooth surfaces. The Ben is ideal for industries such as manufacturing and automotive.

Inyati New to the Lemaitre series is the Inyati range, which offers high heat resistance, cut and abrasion resistance, and SRC-rated slip resistance. These boots have an injected PU/ rubber sole that provides all-round safety and protection in hazardous working environments.

The two new styles to this range are the Dodge and the Urban.

The Dodge has a stylish leather upper and comes with a TPU support system on the outside for reinforced support.

The Urban boot is S3 rated and boasts a genuine duo-tone leather upper with additional

APOLLO

T

hat’s why we are proud to announce the addition of new styles to our range of safety shoes, designed to offer you more support, comfort and performance in the toughest environments.

LEMAITRE EXPANDS INTO NEW TERRAINS

PARABOLIC

Driven by passion, dedication and a commitment to highquality products, Lemaitre has always been a brand devoted to keeping those who build South Africa safe. For 30 years, we have helped build a nation with the toughest workforce.

INYATI padding on the collar and tongue for enhanced comfort. An anti-penetration insole board comes standard with this style.

A range of benefits Our range of products offers a variety of features and benefits for all-round protection, comfort and performance. As a proudly South African brand made for workers, by workers, we understand what is needed to carry you safely through tough industries and working environments. With the expansion of our new range and styles, Lemaitre expands into new terrains.

Lemaitre, from one worker to another…

MAXECO

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Municipalities urged to invest in concrete training in 2022 There is an urgent need for municipal engineers and experienced construction staff to improve their knowledge of concrete technology. However, alarming apathy about correctly specifying and applying concrete still prevails, says John Roxburgh, senior lecturer at Cement & Concrete SA’s School of Concrete Technology (SCT).

T

he SCT 2022 Training Programme is now available and Roxburgh hopes that key institutions – including South African municipalities and state bodies entrusted with infrastructure and building developments – will make 2022 a year to invest in training.

“Civil and structural engineers inevitably have to specify, design or deal with concrete building as part of their work and, as sustainability is now the watchword globally, they need to have detailed knowledge of concrete technology. By the same token, site practitioners also cannot do without concrete knowledge to adequately control construction operations,” Roxburgh states.

He says two courses to be offered by SCT in 2022 should therefore particularly be considered by South African municipalities: SCT20 ‘Concrete Practice’ and SCT30 ‘Concrete Technology’. Both regularly attract strong enrolment, calling for several presentations every year.

The four-day SCT20 ‘Concrete Practice’ course is excellent for those applying concrete technology on-site such as foremen and supervisors, and for staff responsible for quality assurance. Successful completion of this course earns four Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.

The more advanced SCT30 ‘Concrete Technology’ five-day course – which earns five CPD points – is aimed at civil and structural engineers, experienced technicians and technologists, and is ideal for gaining detailed knowledge of how cement and concrete works.

“SCT hopes to return to classroom-based lecture courses in 2022, providing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions permit and prevailing infection rates are low enough. The live classes will be kept small, with high demand for specific courses dealt with by increased frequency,” Roxburgh explains. “But we will definitely continue to run our successful online e-learning courses in 2022.”

The online platform and self-study courses are here to stay as they align themselves with modern trends in terms of remote learning and increased access to both data and smart delivery devices. E-learning and its associated benefits will form an integral part of SCT training in future.

“For municipalities in country districts, online training has now made it possible for staff in the most remote areas to complete our courses,” Roxburgh states.

Dates to note Should pandemic conditions allow for indoor gatherings, the SCT20 ‘Concrete Practice’ course will be presented in Midrand from 7 to 10 February, 4 to 7 April, 20 to 23 June, 29 August to 1 September, and 17 to 20 October. Hopefully, live presentations will also take place in Durban from 25 to 28 August, and in Cape Town from 5 to 8 September.

John Roxburgh, senior lecturer: School of Concrete Technology, Cement & Concrete SA

The Midrand scheduled dates for SCT30 ‘Concrete Technology’ are 7 to 11 March, 23 to 27 May, 11 to 15 July, 12 to 16 September, and 7 to 11 November; while the current dates for Durban and Cape Town are 10 to 14 October, and 21 to 25 November, respectively.

Roxburgh says experienced tuition is vital when sending staff for training. “The School 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 the assessment of latest technologies. The training provider should also issue certificates that are well recognised within the concrete and related industries. Here, SCT also leads the pack because certificates issued by the School are widely recognised due to the SCT’s decadeslong service to industry,” he concludes.

For further information and access to the full SCT 2022 Training Programme, email rennisha.sewnarain@cemcon-sa.org.za or visit www.cemcon-sa.org.za.

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Armorflex selected for Mamelodi stormwater upgrades Technicrete’s internationally licensed Armor flex Erosion Control System was selected for upgrades to major stormwater systems currently under way in Mamelodi Extensions 4 and 5 nor th-east of Pretoria. The project, under taken by Tefla, was awarded by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

B

The Armorflex 140 Erosion Control System is an engineered alternative for a wide variety of erosion control and drainage projects. The matrix of open cells and projections retains soils, relieves hydrostatic pressure, and provides the perfect environment for establishing natural vegetation

ased on an analysis of water volumes and velocity, Armorflex 140 was chosen as the best system to install for the gradual trapezoidal channel constructed.

“The Armorflex 140 system’s flexibility is in its ability to conform with ground contours.

It settles without cracking and requires limited ground preparation. When installed and anchored correctly, the system offers a superior lifespan with minimum maintenance required,” explains Thatho Moruke, site manager, Tefla.

Part of the contractual requirement was to outsource 30% of the work to the local community. “Armorflex’s easy installation enabled us to meet this requirement, with training and some supervision,” Moruke continues.

Preparation works and installation Before laying Armorflex blocks, the channel first needs to be roughly profiled to form the trapezoidal shape with dimensions approximate to that of the final design. This in situ area also needs to be suitably compacted before placing a thin layer of river sand type

48

IMIESA January 2022

For the Mamelodi project, Armorflex 140 was selected as the product of choice by the engineers due to being fit for purpose and flexible (during installation and long term), while driving labour creation through ease of installation

CEMENT & CONCRETE

material, which is used to get final levels and clear, straight lines without any highs or lows.

Obstructions such as roots and projecting stones must be removed prior to the placement of the river sand ‘bedding’ layer. Poor preparation will be reflected in the finished surface and leave high corners that will create friction points and turbulence in the flowing water. “This is an important factor,” says Justin Kretzmar, technical sales and new product development engineer at Technicrete.

“The channel profile must be level in order for the water to flow smoothly and the blocks correctly interlocked in order for the Armorflex system to stay together and resist the uplift of individual blocks,” he explains.

A geotextile (woven or non-woven) is then placed on top of the levelled river sand layer. “This must extend wider than the block width of the channel and be continuous (or overlapped) along the length of channel. It is imperative that the geotextile extends into the embankment and is anchored and protected against water ingress below this layer. When flowing water gets under the geofabric, the channel has started to fail, and large sections could be washed away,” Kretzmar continues.

Another feature of Armorflex specifically relevant to this project is the capacity for water to flow vertically up or down through the openings in the blocks. Accordingly, the high levels of groundwater in this area will be able to seep up through the block voids and into the channel, where it will flow away. The geofabric resists migration of bedding sand when water flows up and block infill sand when water flows down, ensuring continued structural integrity of the layerworks.

Greening and maintenance Among the fundamental advantages of Armorflex are the small sleeve openings inside each block that run perpendicular to the direction of water flow. These openings typically accommodate a 3.5 mm to 4.5 mm galvanised steel wire, threaded through the system after installation of the blocks. This wire assists with the overall stability of the system until the natural vegetation can grow and take root – typically one to two rainy seasons.

Maintenance is a simple annual process of ensuring that the vegetation growth is cut back to block level. Overgrowth will cause the settlement of silt, which then spirals into larger islands of vegetation and silt, eventually blocking free flow dynamics within the channel. It is important to note that the vegetation must not be removed, just cut down, as the roots assist in locking the blocks to the channel bed.

“For this project, with steep vertical sides to the channel, Technicrete’s earth-retaining Florawall blocks have been proposed for placement on top of the edge blocks to protect the embankment from eroding when stormwater volumes exceed the base flow of the channel,” says Kretzmar.

Florawall can be filled with concrete, soil or vegetation to improve the overall aesthetics, while still maintaining its earth-retaining function.

“We are very satisfied with the support from Justin and his technical team, who were on-site ensuring that all blocks were laid correctly and that the channel profile and levels were at the required ‘smoothness’,” adds Moruke.

“The delivery scheduling from Technicrete was spot on. Not only do we now have a strong, effective and long-lasting solution in place for stormwater control, but we have also upskilled many members of the surrounding communities,” Moruke concludes.

Technicrete opens specialist plant

in Polokwane

T

echnicrete has opened a second kerb manufacturing plant based in Roodepoort, Polokwane. This will enable Technicrete to meet the demand in and around Polokwane and from neighbouring provinces.

“The new Technicrete kerb plant is the first of its kind in the province. Many years ago, Technicrete invested in specialised machinery from the UK, becoming the first South African company to introduce pressed kerb technology into its kerb manufacturing processes,” says Christo van Zyl, sales and marketing director of Infrastructure Specialist Group (ISG).

Technicrete and Rocla are ISG group companies.

Traditionally, kerbs are made using moulds in wet cast, which has a longer manufacturing time and requires curing time, before being recast for another batch. The pressed kerb technology involves the manufacturing of kerbs utilising machinery that have three moulds, enabling kerbs to be manufactured on one machine. This saves on production time and increases cost efficiencies.

“It is a quicker process while still meeting volume demands and maintaining a consistent quality of kerb,” adds Van Zyl. Technicrete offers 11 ranges of kerbs for various applications.

These range from barrier kerbs to semi-mountable/mountable kerbs and standard industrial offerings.

The pressed kerb manufacturing process entails the utilisation of specialist technology employing three moulds, which enables kerbs to be manufactured on one machine

IMIESA January 2022

49

IMESA MESA

IMESA AFFILIATE MEMBERS PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES

AECOM siphokuhle.dlamini@aecom.com AFI Consult banie@afri-infra.com Alake Consulting Engineers lunga@alakeconsulting.com ARRB Systems info@arrbsystemssa.com Asla Construction (Pty) Ltd johanv@asla.co.za BMK Group brian@bmkgroup.co.za Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd mail@boschprojects.co.za BVI Consulting Engineers marketing@bviho.co.za CCG puhumudzo@ccgsytems.co.za / info@ccgsystems.co.za Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa secretary@corrosioninstitute.org.za Dlamindlovu Consulting Engineers & Project Managers info@dlami-ndlovu.co.za EFG Engineers eric@efgeng.co.za Elster Kent Metering Mark.Shamley@Honeywell.com EMS Solutions paul@emssolutions.co.za ERWAT mail@erwat.co.za GIBB marketing@gibb.co.za GIGSA secretary@gigsa.org GLS Consulting nicky@gls.co.za Gorman Rupp Cordeiro@gormanrupp.co.za Gudunkomo Investments & Consulting info@gudunkomo.co.za Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd info@hatch.co.za Herrenknecht schiewe.helene@herrenknecht.de Huber Technology cs@hubersa.com Hydro-comp Enterprises info@edams.co.za Infrachamps Consulting info@infrachamps.co.za INFRATEC info@infratec.co.za IQHINA Consulting Engineers & Project Managers info@iqhina.co.za iX engineers (Pty) Ltd hans.k@ixengineers.co.za JBFE Consulting (Pty) Ltd issie@jbfe.co.za JG Afrika DennyC@jgafrika.com KABE Consulting Engineers info@kabe.co.za Kago Consulting Engineers kagocon@kago.co.za Kantey & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers ccherry@ct.kanteys.co.za Kitso Botlhale Consulting Engineers info@kitsobce.co.za KSB Pumps and Valves (Pty) Ltd salesza@ksb.com Lektratek Water general@lwt.co.za Makhaotse Narasimulu & Associates mmakhaotse@mna-sa.co.za Malani Padayachee & Associates (Pty) Ltd admin@mpa.co.za Maragela Consulting Engineers admin@maragelaconsulting.co.za Mariswe (Pty) Ltd neshniec@mariswe.com Martin & East gbyron@martin-east.co.za M & C Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd info@mcconsulting.co.za Mhiduve adminpotch@mhiduve.co.za Much Asphalt bennie.greyling@muchasphalt.com Mvubu Consulting & Project Managers miranda@mvubu.net NAKO ILISO lyn.adams@nakogroup.com Nyeleti Consulting merasmus@nyeleti.co.za Odour Engineering Systems mathewc@oes.co.za Prociv Consulting & Projects Management amarunga@prociv.co.za Rainbow Reservoirs quin@rainbowres.com Re-Solve Consulting (Pty) Ltd maura@re-solve.co.za Ribicon Consulting Group (Pty) Ltd info@ribicon.co.za Royal HaskoningDHV francisg@rhdv.com SABITA info@sabita.co.za SAFRIPOL mberry@safripol.com SAGI annette@sagi.co.za SALGA info@salga.org.za SAPPMA admin@sappma.co.za / willem@sappma.co.za SARF administrator@sarf.org.za.co.za SBS Water Systems marketing@sbstanks.co.za Sembcorp Siza Water info-sizawater@sembcorp.com SiVEST SA info@sivest.co.za Sizabantu Piping Systems (Pty) Ltd gregl@sizabantupipingsystems.com SKYV Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd kamesh@skyv.co.za SMEC capetown@smec.com Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology director@sasst.org.za SRK Consulting jomar@srk.co.za Star Of Life Emergency Trading CC admin@staroflife.co.za Syntell julia@syntell.co.za TECROVEER (Pty) Ltd info@tecroveer.co.za TPA Consulting roger@tpa.co.za V3 Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd info@v3consulting.co.za VIP Consulting Engineers esme@vipconsulting.co.za VNA info@vnac.co.za Water Institute of Southern Africa wisa@wisa.org.za Wam Technology CC support@wamsys.co.za Wilo South Africa marketingsa@wilo.co.za WRCON ben@wrcon.co.za WRP ronniem@wrp.co.za WSP Group Africa ansia.meyer@wsp.com Zutari Rashree.Maharaj@Zutari.com

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Mastering pervious concrete Chryso EasyDrain is a stabiliser specifically designed for pervious concrete

Project owners will appreciate the greater drainage that their pervious concrete achieves, along with its enhanced aesthetic finish and improved durability

C

hr yso EasyDrain eliminates the constraints traditionally associated with the batching, transporting and placing of pervious concrete, while improving performance and quality. By controlling hydration reaction, Chryso EasyDrain extends workability, while also fluidising the pervious concrete to facilitate its placement.

As well as achieving full truck loads, concrete suppliers can discharge concrete trucks faster with no need for water reducers or cohesion agents. In turn, contractors enjoy the faster discharge and easier placing that Chryso EasyDrain provides, as well as the improved surface finish that is possible with high workability.

Additionally, contractors can install curing membranes quicker and significantly reduce associated costs in terms of time and labour.

Chryso EasyDrain can contribute to a wide range of pervious concrete applications, including lightly trafficked roads, car parks, terraces, garden paths, swimming pool surrounds, cycle paths and pedestrian ways.

Project references includes the WBHO Vlakfontein reservoir project, where the use of Chryso EasyDrain was specified to improve the quality of pervious concrete.

Contractors enjoy the faster discharge and easier placing that Chryso EasyDrain provides

IMIESA January 2022

51

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

DIGITALLY LED APPROACH TRANSFORMS CAPITAL PROJECTS DELIVERY

U

niversally, it has become clear that digital transformation is leaving no industr y untouched. This is certainly the case for the engineering and construction industries. Here, digitalisation has changed how projects are conceived and delivered.

As a leader in this field, WSP Transport and Infrastructure has taken a digitally led approach to our major project deliver y, including the process-driven engineering, procurement, construction management (EPCM) deliver y model. This lets us integrate technology, capture data and turn it into actionable insights for contractors, owners and end-users.

Through integrating project controls and paperless construction management into the design platform, we have developed a dynamic, flexible and transparent process to help ensure that the overall project is delivered as designed. This also makes sure the scope is monitored and executed according to all the project’s requirements.

By Dr Terence Milne, Pr Eng* Digital engineering and deliver y through maximising the use of BIM enables the creation of a fully virtual construction experience. Practically, by creating a digital twin linked to schedule and estimate, the project’s progress and costing can be simulated.

For this to work, the project needs to be set up in a digital environment from inception.

Adopting a multidisciplinar y approach requires the integration of engineering disciplines, project control teams and endusers. It is for that reason that we have been pushing the boundaries of BIM to create ser vice offerings that include digital design, engineering analysis, 4D and 5D simulation, and asset management.

The federated model The foundation of this is the federated model: consolidating all design models from all disciplines, and linking this to schedule and costs. Adopting this approach is only possible through strong partnerships with our clients, quantity sur veyors,

project management professionals and contractors. The traditional skills that currently exist must be enhanced as engineering and construction projects become more ambitious.

In short, the digital approach to project deliver y will greatly augment how efficiently construction can be done and produce better outcomes for all involved. This is done through access to the real-time status and data, virtual modelling and simulation of the execution phase, issue control, paperless construction monitoring linked to the design model, and control dashboards inside the design platform. *MD: Transport and Infrastructure at WSP in Africa

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