IMIESA May 2016

www.infrastructurene.ws

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

infrastructure development • Maintenance • service delivery

NuWater

Civilution

Doing it differently

Modular and mobile

Concrete

Beating the winter chill

Solar Energy

How the switch may affect municipalities

SHEQ

Keeping your head

IN THE HOT SEAT When it comes to pumps, reliability is critical. This is why all our pumps are manufactured according to ISO 9001 specifications and backed up by full spares availability.” Dave Johnson Manager, Mather & Platt ISSN 0257 1978

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Contents www.infrastructu

rene.ws

16

IMESA The official magazi ne of the Institut e of Municip al Enginee ring of Souther n Africa

INFRAS TRUCT URE

Civilution

DEVELOPMEN T •

MAINT ENANC E •

volume 41 no. 5 may 2016

34

Water & Wastewater Every drop counts

INDUSTRY INSIGHT A productive partnership, for life

SERVIC E DELIVE RY

NUWATER

bile Modular and mo

Doing it differently

Concrete

chill Beating the winter

Solar Energymay How the switch s affect municipalitie

SHEQ

Keeping your head

Regulars IN THE HOT SEA

T

why all our pumps is critical . This is pumps , reliabi lity and backed up by When it comes to 9001 specifi cations accord ing to ISO & Platt are manufa ctured n Manage r, Mather ility.” Dave Johnso incl. full spares availab 6 • R50.00 ( 8 ISSN 0257 197

.05 • May 201 Vo l u m e 4 1 N o

VAT )

NuWater is successfully demonstrating that decentralised infrastructure can have an immediate and material impact on service delivery and sustainability in the water and wastewater sectors.

P6

Editorial Comment President’s Comment Africa Round-up Index to Advertisers

3 5 8 80

Cover Story NuWater – Distributed water infrastructure innovation

6

Municipal focus | N14 highway upgrade

Utilities Data acquisition made easy Optimising pipe replacement Partnering for progress

Mather & Platt – Abalone, pumps and nanotechnology

10

45 49 51

Civilution Relaying the pipeline The engineering revolution

Hot Seat

41

52 56

Project Management Structuring projects

58

Water & Wastewater Bulk water lifeline Every drop counts

12 16

Cement & Concrete

HOT SEAT Pump manufacturer Mather & Platt has harnessed two diverse, nanostructured materials to achieve greater durability and efficiency in its new range of horizontal centrifugal pumps.

P10

51

utilities Partnering for progress

Cover Story – PPC Cold weather concrete Polymers in modern construction Echo slabs speed up Stanger Hospital extension Koi in the quarry pond

56

63

SHEQ Dead man walking Keeping your head All-round risk assessment

31 33

Technical Paper

34

Gauteng in Infrastructure Cover Story – Mercedes Benz

Effects of the solar switch

22 25 30

Industry Insight A productive partnership, for life

Energy

38

civilution The engineering revolution

Composting refuse and night soil

66 69 72

75

Construction Vehicles & Equipment Bell shows profit against industry odds

69

SHEQ Keeping your head

78

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EDITORial comment Publisher Elizabeth Shorten CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Tony Stone SENIOR JOURNALIST Danielle Petterson Journalist Liesl Frankson Head OF DESIGN Beren Bauermeister DESIGNER Ramon Chinian Chief SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders SUB-EDITOR Morgan Carter ContributorS D Daries, J van Rijn, WR Ross CLIENT SERVICES & Production MANAGEr Antois-Leigh Botma Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise financial manager Andrew Lobban MARKETING MANAGER Philip Rosenberg Administration Tonya Hebenton DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@3smedia.co.za Printers United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571 ___________________________________________________

Saving jobs and water

A

focus of this issue of IMIESA is cement and concrete, an industry with a long history, of which South Africa can be proud. However, this industry is threatened. When considering this threat and government’s role in creating an environment conducive to supporting a healthy industry, two very important lessons come to mind. The first is to never procrastinate, the second is always to be proactive.

South Africa has at least 8.2 million unemployed adults, likely more, of which two-thirds are poorly educated. Most of these people, 5.3 million, are black Africans between the ages of 15 and 34.

Saving jobs, therefore, must be a national imperative. This begs the question as to why cheap imports of materials used in construction are allowed into South Africa at the cost of local manufacturers – who provide jobs. This is of particular relevance to the cement industry. An import duty on cheap Pakistani cement has been approved but now cheap Chinese cement is about to replace that, and the process of protecting South African jobs begins again. Beyond this, another problem is cheap Chinese steel, at the expense of local manufacturers. One would think that the authorities would be proactive in protecting South African jobs so essential to alleviating poverty and building a better life for all.

Another focus in this issue of IMIESA is water. We acquire water from our dams, pump it to water treatment works, then on to reservoirs where it is reticulated for public consumption. The three issues we look at here are water purification, water loss and pump efficiency. As far as water purification is concerned, the state of efficiency at 940 stations around the country is less than satisfactory, as acknowledged by the Department

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

Publisher: media No. 9, 3rd Avenue, Rivonia 2056 PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 Email: nicholas@3smedia.co.za www.3smedia.co.za Annual subscription: R550.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________ IMESA CONTACTS HEAD OFFICE: Manager: King Singh P.O. Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: admin@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za BORDER Secretary: Celeste Vosloo Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2433 Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266 Email: celestev@buffalocity.gov.za EASTERN CAPE Secretary: Susan Canestra Tel: +27 (0)41 585 4142 ext. 7 Fax: +27 (0)41 585 1066 Email: imesa.easterncape@gmail.com KWAZULU-NATAL Secretary: Penny Pietersen Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: imesakzn@imesa.org.za NORTHERN PROVINCE Secretary: Rona Fourie Tel: +27 (0)82 742 6364 Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644 Email: imesanorth@vodamail.co.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO Secretary: Henrietta Olivier Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Fax: +27 (0)86 629 7490 Email: imesa.southcape@gmail.com WESTERN CAPE Secretary: Erica Albertse Tel: +27 (0)21 444 7114 Fax: +27 (0)21 444 9470 Email: Erica.albertse@capetown.gov.za FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27 (0)83 457 4362 Fax: +27 (0)86 628 0468 Email: imesa.fsnc@gmail.com

of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in its 2014 Blue Drop report. Fortunately, there is a technology solution, which could be implemented everywhere from a remote station all the way up to a central control room in the DWS offices in Pretoria. This would enable prompt response to exceptions and, in the process, raise the efficiency bar to the next plus-one efficiency level.

Moving on to water loss, the DWS recognises that significant quantities of water are lost to ageing infrastructure – hence the introduction of No Drop as a measure within the Blue Drop standard. No Drop compliance is a legal requirement. Water loss, besides illegal connections, occurs because most of our cast iron and asbestos cement pipes have been in the ground way beyond their recommended lifespan. The problem is, you cannot manage what you don’t measure. Fortunately there are solutions here, one of which we review.

Finally, pump efficiency is greatly dependent on its ability to maintain as pristine a condition as possible, with no corrosion. In pursuit of this, engineers and technologists are constantly innovating. Duplex stainless steel and nanotechnology are two innovations that take us closer towards the holy grail of pump efficiency. In this issue, we have a rare insight into two of the state-of-the-art solutions available.

Among other interesting articles, we look at the development of a low-cost sanitation technology for areas where there is no infrastructure for waterborne sewage and often a chronic shortage of water. We hope you enjoy this varied issue.

Tony Stone Contributing editor

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.

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IMESA

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The official magaz ine e of the Institut pal of Munici Engine ering rn Africa of Southe

Infrastructure News

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a (WSSA) is a a (Pty) Ltd Afric South Afric in Southern n Services water services Sanitatio ble Water and of sustaina d provider specialise

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 contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa or the publishers.

INFRA STRUC

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

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY

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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 Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223.

Building the economy

SEAT

We announced our new name to our clients in February 2016, and launch the new brand in April 2016.”

Paul Olivier Managing Director, JG Afrika ISSN 0257 1978

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President’s comment

IMESA

Fibre roll-out challenge

for road authorities

The roll-out of optic fibre across the countr y still leaves road authorities with many challenges that need to be overcome.

I

n one of my previous comments, I pointed out that, at least at national level, ongoing dialogue was being initiated through the RCB (Roads Co-ordinating Body) between the Department of Transport and ICASSA, representing the telecommunications industry.

The rapid roll-out initiative of national government has been the underlying factor in uncontrolled, precedent-setting responses from roads authorities, who, within a municipal setting, have to cater for diverse services (roads, water, stormwater, sewers, electricity, street-lighting, landscaping, trees, street furniture and telecommunication infrastructure). Having moved from a single, stateowned telecommunications service provider to multiple, private-sector service providers, road authorities are left with huge challenges with regard to ensuring space provision for each service, as well as protecting the integrity of each service.

TRH 27, the South African Manual for Permitting Services within Road Reserves published in August 2012, gives roads authorities a guideline for dealing with service providers wanting to install services within road reserves. This, however, does not deal sufficiently with all the varying requests for alternative systems and construction methodologies that telecommunication service infrastructure providers are coming up with, such as: • erection of mini installations on poles resembling existing street light poles, camera posts or flagpoles together with mini cabinets placed at ground level or below ground

• access to existing street lights and elecmunicipalities or even through courts. With tricity poles to enable overhead telecomrespect to the use of existing municipal sermunication cables vices, it has been pointed out that this some• access to existing sewer and stormwater times amounts to unsolicited bids, which underground networks to act as a conduit need to follow an administrative process that for optic fibre network will eventually include public participation • shallow installation of optic fibre withas well. The recent decision by the City of in road pavement structures through Cape Town to allow the use of its sewer and mechanical trenching by stormwater underground means of a giant rotating pipe network as a telecomsaw cutter. munications conduit for one What telecommunication such service provider is services are actually proposof concern to engineering ing comes down to decreaspractitioners active in the ing their initial cost of municipal environment. infrastructure provision and The city’s engineering speeding up their service practitioners involved in this delivery on the back of other process are now being quesservices infrastructure. That tioned by fellow professionother services infrastructure als as to the reasons and may get compromised in the Duncan Daries, also the processes followed process is not their concern, IMESA president to ensure that these basic and they are prepared to go services are not going to be to great lengths to have agreements entered compromised with respect to increased freinto to mitigate or undertake corrective quency of sewer and stormwater blockages. action when problems arise in the future.

As the city is seen as a leading municiFrom a municipal engineering perspec- pality, this concession will be setting a tive, our first reaction is to safeguard and precedent that will be difficult to defend ensure the integrity of each service. When elsewhere. It is, therefore, expected that we become aware of any threat to such sound reasoning and professional techniservices, we turn down such proposals and cal advice had been considered when the advise applicants to come up with alternaabove decision was taken. IMESA will seek tives. This is the normal way that municipal to obtain information pertinent to the above road authorities exercise due diligence in and have ongoing discussions at a branch, executing their mandate. and possibly national, level in empowering These service providers have, however, municipal engineering practitioners to deal been challenging these decisions via norwith the challenges presented in dealing with mal administrative justice processes within similar requests elsewhere.

IMIESA May 2016

5

cover story

NuWater

Distributed water

infrastructure innovation Flexibility and water infrastructure are not normally associated with one another. But, just as power generation has evolved over the past two decades, the water and wastewater sectors are starting to adjust to the challenges of higher demand, lower government investment and increasing pollution.

T

he power sector has had a significant head start over the water sector when it comes to innovation and delivering sustainable, distributed generation capacity to complement, or in some cases, replace the national grid and its large, centralised coal-fired power stations.

The power sector has enjoyed incentives for investment in sustainable generation technologies such as solar and wind, as well as regulatory changes that encourage new participants in the sector.

While there are the standard arguments for why the water sector cannot be compared with the power sector, the fact remains that serious innovation is required if the water sector is to have any chance of addressing the growing challenges it faces. Continuing with the same outdated approach to water and wastewater infrastructure delivery clearly poses a greater risk than the adoption of new technologies and business models. In addition,

6

IMIESA May 2016

regulation of the sector needs to change and incentives for investment are required to attract new, innovative participants.

Leading innovation NuWater, a global leader in rapidly deployable and redeployable modular and mobile treatment plants, is successfully demonstrating that decentralised infrastructure can have an immediate and material impact on service delivery and sustainability in the water and wastewater sectors. IMIESA caught up with the NuWater team at its gleaming, new campus in Cape Town to better understand how the company is helping to define a new decentralised model through innovation.

John Holmes, NuWater CEO, explains the company’s strategy. “NuWater was established just over six years ago, with the A NuWater modular and mobile treatment and desalination unit

specific purpose of bringing innovation to what we felt was a neglected and staid industry sector, but one which is critical to both social and economic development and environmental sustainability. In a short period of time, we have confirmed our original view that technological and commercial innovation can have an immediate impact on both service delivery and sustainability. We chose to focus initially on the resources sectors to prove our modular and mobile model. The main reason for this is that the mining and oil & gas sectors are large users of water and producers of wastewater. In addition, their water and wastewater treatment requirements change quite regularly, as operations change and adapt to market conditions.

While cyclicality in the resources sectors would seem to be a risk to our business, the reality is that environmental compliance and sustainability cannot be ignored, even in down cycles. Among things that do change in a down cycle are cost awareness and capital investment. In this environment, NuWater’s model of innovative, modular

cover story

and mobile plants, combined with a commercial perspective, “To start our innovative financing models, with, it is clear that private sector becomes even more relevant.” investment is required in the water Holmes continues, “Having proven and wastewater sectors. This is true our modular and mobile model not just for South Africa but globally, in the private sector, we are now including developed markets like the demonstrating its relevance in the US and Europe. Conventional inframunicipal sector with short-term, structure generally needs to be fundown-and-operate projects – someed over periods of 15 to 20 years and John Holmes, NJ Bouwer, Jeeten Nathoo, thing that is completely new. We CTO more to achieve the required investor CEO head: Engineering are also leveraging our strategic returns without distorting tariffs. This relationships with leading service results in long planning and financing playing an important role in providing a chanproviders to the municipal sector by helping cycles, meaning many projects never get off nel to market for individual technologies that them add distributed water and wastewater the ground. In addition, these public-private may otherwise never see the light of day with treatment services to their own offerings. We projects are prone to corruption, given the traditional market participants.” are very excited about the progress we are scale of the financing required and the politiBouwer goes on to explain that achieving making with our client base and the leadercal nature of the projects themselves. a truly modular, large-capacity plant that ship position we are carving out in this new, Given the fact that we can rapidly deploy can be deployed rapidly, and redeployed as decentralised world.” our plants and redeploy them when customer necessary, requires a completely different demand changes or payment becomes an Modular and mobile nutshelled design philosophy to that of a conventional issue, NuWater is able to offer short-term, So what does NuWater mean by its modular fixed plant. According to Bouwer, “NuWater own-and-operate contracts to its customers. and mobile model? According to Jeeten has been successful in maintaining the This makes the purchasing decision simpler, Nathoo, NuWater CTO, and NJ Bouwer, head: operational efficiency of custom-designed less risky, and less prone to corruption, Engineering, the company’s technology and fixed plants while increasing the plant durabiland allows the customer to regularly reasinnovative plant designs underpin its busiity required for rapid sess their requirements ness model. deployment and rede- We select technologies without being locked into Nathoo explains the company’s approach ployment. Our plants long-term commitments. based on efficiency, to technology and systems integration, require minimal fixed Our modular and mobile “Water is complex and, therefore, requires a infrastructure, there- durability, reliability model, therefore, essenvariety of treatments to achieve the required by cutting deployment tially changes the risk and form factor to final water quality based on the source water times and costs. As profile for our customers. available. That said, too much is made of this each module has sig- complement our modular The risk profile is obvicomplexity and NuWater is bringing a simnificant capacity and and mobile model ously also different for ple plug-and-play, or rather plug-and-produce, plants can be readNuWater but, as we have approach to the water sector that has, to ily expanded through the addition of more already demonstrated to our customers and date, been served by an array of consulting modules, NuWater does not have to cominvestors, NuWater has also built the delivery engineers and engineering contractors that promise on scale; in fact, in our effort to and risk management capabilities to support rely on fees and traditional construction work achieve modularity, we have also managed this new model. Each successful project to ensure their existence. to accommodate more capacity into the we deliver makes it easier to convince new The structure of the water and wastewater same footprint, with the associated capital customers and our investors that this model sectors creates a disincentive to innovate cost benefits. Our electrical and control syswill play a significant role in the water and and to take risks with new technologies. tems, and other shared components, have wastewater sectors.”

While the market’s reluctance to innovate literally been designed to allow us to plug NuWater’s growth locally, and its rapidly remains a challenge, we have remained resomodules together.” expanding international footprint, bodes well lute in our view that the growing gap between for South Africa’s water sector. The comBenefits of modular and mobile demand and service provision is forcing all pany’s impressive portfolio of innovative So what is the relevance of this modularity stakeholders to reconsider their approach. projects appears to support Holmes’ claim and mobility beyond allowing NuWater plants These changing attitudes are being reflectthat NuWater’s modular and mobile model is ed in the pipeline of new business we to be rapidly deployed, readily scaled up or creating clear differentiation and is already down, and easily redeployed if and when nec- making a positive contribution to service are generating.” essary? According to Holmes, this technical Nathoo continues, “While NuWater owns delivery and sustainability. flexibility underpins NuWater’s commercial a significant amount of proprietary IP, we model and allows the company to offer terms are just as focused on integrating thirdto its customers that its competitors find party technologies into our plants. We select difficult to match without taking on serious technologies based on efficiency, durability, risks. Holmes breaks down the benefits of reliability and form factor to complement www.nuwater.co.za NuWater’s modular and mobile model from our modular and mobile model. NuWater is IMIESA offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a two-page cover story and a cover picture to promote their products to an appropriate audience.

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IMIESA May 2016

7

INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS

FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT

Africa Blueprint for Africa’s industrialisation launched The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has launched an Economic Report on Africa (ERA), which dwells on green industrialisation, to enable sustainable and inclusive development on the continent.

The 2016 report has emphasised the need for African countries to adopt a green pathway towards sustainable and inclusive development to avoid the pitfalls made by some developed nations.

ECA deputy executive secretary Abdalla Hamdok said Africa should define and design its own pathway to industrialisation based on its own realities. He said it is important that the continent learn from the history and experiences of other regions to leap-frog traditional carbonintensive methods of growth, while championing a low-carbon development trajectory.

Angola New power station for Luanda A new thermal power plant with a 150 MW capacity is being built to alleviate the energy demand in Luanda, said the

Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges. During a visit to the substations, as part of the Soyo combined cycle power project, he said constant power cuts in Luanda are the result of increased consumption while supply capacity remains constant.

The minister explained that this new plant will not solve the problem alone but he stressed that the answer will lie in several structural projects including the Cambambe and Lauca dams, and the combined cycle power plant in Soyo.

Gambia GPA to invest heavily on equipment, ports expansion The managing director of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Lamin Sanyang, said the management of the authority would continue to invest “heavily on equipment and ports expansion”, to ensure better and effective service delivery at Banjul port.

“Our aim is to ensure that GPA becomes one of the best in the sub-region,” Sanyang said. He made these remarks when delivering a speech during the commissioning of the newly procured cargo-handling equipment worth over €1.8

A new thermal power plant with capacity to produce 150 MW of electrical energy is being built to alleviate the energy demand in Luanda

million, held at the authority’s office in Banjul recently.

The GPA MD further said the procuring of the cargo-handling equipment is aimed at augmenting the already available fleet for cargo handling, so as to achieve greater productivity in the handling of ships and cargo deliveries at the ports.

According to him, the construction of an 18 000 m2 extension to the container terminal is already underway.

Kenya France approves €250 million for Kenya’s infrastructure Kenya has signed seven memorandums of understanding that will see the country receive up to €250 million.

The agreements were signed after President Uhuru Kenyatta met his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, for bilateral agreements.

The financing is a culmination of grants and loans negotiated through the National Treasury to finance several infrastructure projects in the country.

The bulk of the money (€120 million) will be used for financing the Last Mile Connectivity Programme. Of this, €90 million is being given

to the country as a concessional loan while the remaining €30 million is a grant. The French government is also giving €15 million for Phase 2 of the Roads 2000 Programme, with €60 million as a non-sovereign loan for the Meru Wind Farm. €19 million is earmarked for the Ruiru II Dam, which will see increased water supply in the cosmopolitan Nairobi area.

Mozambique New bridge to increase Maputo-Swaziland rail traffic A new railway bridge over the Umbeluzi River will greatly increase the carrying capacity of the railway from Maputo to Swaziland, according to Mozambican Transport Minister Carlos Mesquita.

The existing bridge, which is 50 years old, can only carry wagons of up to 18.5 tonnes per axle. On the new bridge, being built alongside the old one, this limit rises to 27 tonnes per axle.

Work on the bridge began in June 2015, and should be completed in August 2016.

Mesquita also visited Maputo International Airport to observe work on the rehabilitation of the runway. He was told that the work is 80% complete and that the December 2016 deadline will be met. Work on the runway is costing the publicly owned Mozambican Airports Company (ADM) $65 million.

Nigeria $3.5 billion super highway and seaport projects under threat The $3.5 billion super highway and the Bakassi deep seaport projects are hitting strong brick walls as investors and financial institutions have deferred

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IMIESA May 2016

Africa round-up

www.infrastructurene.ws

interest, according to findings.

The Guardian learnt that the 260 km highway is allegedly being threatened by government’s stop work order and serious concerns raised by local and international environmentalists as well as the British government on the hazards the construction of the superhighway will pose to the country’s remaining rain forest and the people as well as the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Already, a German firm has put on hold its €500 million investment in the super highway project to ensure standards.

The state government had already, allegedly without an approved EIA, deployed caterpillars to sites in Ekuri, Okokori and others, leading to protests from affected communities and environmentalists within and outside the country. However, the state governor, Ben Ayade, has said, “the multi-billion naira superhighway will not

RIGHT A new railway bridge over the Umbeluzi River is expected to greatly increase the carrying capacity of the railway from Maputo to Swaziland

degrade the environment but will rather add value to the environment.”

Rwanda Rwanda signs $95 million fund infrastructure agreement Rwanda’s urbanisation strategy has received a financing boost of $95 million from the World Bank. Muhanga, Rubavu, Rusizi, Nyagatare, Huye, and Musanze are some of the towns expected to benefit from the funding to support the development of infrastructure and spur local economic activities in the six secondary cities.

“The project will provide an integrated package of support to address key challenges associated with Rwanda’s urbanisation such as access to

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has finally secured funds for the construction of berths 13 and 14

basic infrastructure to promote liveability and local economic development, upgrading of informal areas to promote inclusive urbanisation and building the capacity of district governments for better urban management,” said Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete. The money is to be invested in urban road rehabilitation and construction, improving the drainage systems, solid waste management and sanitation.

Tanzania Construction of berths 13 and 14 kick off next year Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has finally secured funds for the construction of berths 13 and 14, which have been on the drawing board for almost five years. The $690 million fund was put together by the World Bank, DFID and TPA and will enable the much awaited

project to take off in the 2016/17 fiscal year. TPA’s acting director: Planning and Investment, Gladson Urioh, said the fund will also involve the construction of berth 12 after relocating Kurasini Oil Jetty to Mbwamaji in Kigamboni.

“A German consultant is onsite. If all goes as planned, we expect to have the twin container terminal design shortly,” he said.

He said the construction of the two terminals was delayed as the previous two contractors from China were disqualified after failing to deliver in previous projects.

“We had to start afresh on designs as the previous contractors did not leave behind any documents for the berths,” Urioh explained. The consultant will, among other things, propose suitable public private partnership options for development and operation of berths 13 and 14.

IMIESA May 2016

9

HOT SEAT

Abalone, pumps

and nanotechnology Leading pump manufacturer Mather+Platt has harnessed two quite diverse nanostructured materials to achieve greater durability and efficiency in its new range of horizontal centrifugal pumps.

T

he two drivers behind Mather+Platt’s technology development are the two objectives every public or private sector entity should pursue in order to be effective and sustainable. Minimising costs and maximising productivity are important contributors to service delivery, and the two critical success factors that Mather+Platt’s new range of horizontal centrifugal pumps, launched

10

IMIESA May 2016

18 months ago, achieve in no small way.

Cast iron and aluminium pumps often suffer from corrosion and/or cavitation as a result of high alkalinity or high acidity.

In such instances, a pump’s reliability, efficiency and performance are affected, as well as its power consumption, which substantially increases its lifetime running costs. Minimising performance deterioration is, therefore, a major concern for pump manufacturers and users. The

questions is, how does one limit or prevent these constraining factors?

Duplex stainless steel The first of the technologies developed

by Mather+Platt’s parent company, Worthington Pump India (WIPL), is the duplex stainless steel horizontal centrifugal pump, manufactured from grades 4A and 4B stainless steel. This type of steel is called duplex because it has a two-phase

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Mather+Platt LR Type HCP pump

microstructure consisting of ferritic and austenitic stainless steel grains. Initially, when molten duplex stainless steel solidifies, it does so as a completely ferritic structure.

Then, as the material cools down to room temperature, about half of the ferritic grains transform to austenitic grains, which form layered islands in the microstructure. The result is a mix of roughly 50% austenite

Pumping cold, high-alkalinity seawater through Aqunion’s Roman Bay abalone sea farm corrodes pumps of lesser quality

and 50% ferrite. So, what does this all mean? Firstly, duplex stainless steels are twice as strong as regular austenitic or ferritic stainless steels. Secondly, it has significantly better toughness and ductility than ferritic grades and, most importantly, it has an exceptionally good pitting resistance equivalent number corrosion value of >40, as well as good stress-corrosioncracking resistance. It also functions effectively between -80oC and 300oC. Lastly, duplex stainless steels have a better ability to absorb energy of any dynamic or static state. All of this makes for a near perfect pump. For example, a large Gansbaai abalone farm, with its cold temperatures and high-alkalinity seawater, struggled with pump corrosion until it installed five LN type split-case super duplex stainless steel horizontal centrifugal pumps, each with a capacity of 1 250 m3/hour to draw seawater under

Dave Johnson, manager, Mather & Platt

2205 Duplex 1.4462 S31803/S32205 2205 Duplex (ASTM A890 grade 4A for Castings) is a generic term for the most common of the duplex stainless steels. It has become the grade of choice where 316/316L does not have adequate corrosion resistance. It is the natural choice for more aggressive environments.

Its approximate composition is 22% Chromium (Cr), 5% Nickel (Ni), 3% molybdenum (Mo), 0.15% Nitrogen (N) (exact composition ranges vary between EN and ASTM standards).

negative suction head from the seawater intake gully. Not only do they have greater efficiency but reduced running costs as a bonus.

Epoxy coating The second of the technologies, using third party developments in microstructure technology, ushers in a solvent-free glasslike epoxy coating that provides excellent adhesion to metal substrates, including stainless steel, duplex steels, carbon steel, aluminium, cast iron and bronze, as well as specialist alloys.

Any fluid passing through its hydraulic passage is subject to resistance caused by friction, the extent of which is determined by fluid viscosity. Hydraulic losses represent most of the efficiency reductions and resultant energy-consumption increases, which are exacerbated by corrosion and cavitation. The epoxy coating helps to reduce these losses, therefore increasing a pump’s performance.

In choosing the best pump, the liquid’s chemistry, the pump head requirement, sump depth, plant layout and pump capacity requirement are all important factors.

If full automation is required, this can be implemented using WIPL’s electronic control gear. Last but not least, as reliability is critical, Mather+Platt pumps are manufactured to ISO 9001 quality certification and backed up by full spares availability and support.

www.matherandplatt.com

IMIESA May 2016

11

Water & Wastewater

Bulk water lifeline

Unprecedented growth in water demand in the western and northern supply areas of Durban has led to infrastructure capacity problems. This is where the eThekwini Water & Sanitation Unit (EWS) steps in to find alternate supply augmentation solutions.

By Liesl Frankson

T

ABOVE WK Construction lays pipes in excavated trenches as work progresses on the second contract of the Western Aqueduct pipeline between Alverstone Nek and Ashley Drive in Hillcrest

The Western Aqueduct

Waterworks. Planning studies carried out by the EWS Planning Department indicated that the optimal solution to address the capacity problems was the installation of a new bulk supply pipeline from Umlaas Road through the Outer and Inner West areas, terminating in Ntuzuma. The Western

he EWS is responsible for the water supply to the greater Durban region. To ensure that all residents have access to the resource, the municipality is currently in the middle of two major bulk water pipeline projects – the Western Aqueduct and the Northern Aqueduct.

According to Ednick Msweli, head, EWS, the township of Ntuzuma currently receives its water supply from Durban Heights

12

IMIESA May 2016

Aqueduct project is currently in its second phase, which started in 2013 and is due for completion in 2017, with sections of the project already completed. The scope of works for Phase 2 comprises the construction of a large-diameter pipeline from Inchanga to Ntuzuma, covering a distance of 50 km with pipes varying from 1 000 mm to 1 600 mm in diameter. The alignment of the Western Aqueduct includes two branch pipelines that will feed the Tshelimyama and Mount Moriah reservoirs. “The advantage of supplying these reservoirs from the Western Aqueduct is that some of the operational pumping costs to these areas will be avoided,” Msweli notes.

The main functions of the Western Aqueduct pipeline will be to service the natural growth in water demand in the western area of Durban and reduce demand pressure to the Ntuzuma, Mount Moriah and KwaDabeka areas.

Some ancillary work was also undertaken, which included the installation of two brake pressure tanks – one at Ashley Drive and one at Wyebank. The project team is made up of a joint venture, known as the Western Aqueduct JV, comprising Royal HaskoningDHV (RHDHV), Knight Piesold and Naidu Consulting. Together, they share a common goal to design and oversee construction of the pipeline.

The two phases of the Western Aqueduct are intended to both replace and augment existing infrastructure that brings water into Durban from the Midmar and Springrove dams. The Western Aqueduct is expected to considerably strengthen the capacity of bulk water supply and meet eThekwini’s needs for the next 30 years.

Contractors working on the Western Aqueduct include WK SA Construction, Esor Construction and Cycad Construction.

The Ashley Drive brake pressure tank was constructed by Icon Construction.

Northern Aqueduct Augmentation The R250 million Nor thern Aqueduct Augmentation (NAA) began in 2014 and is expected to be completed by the end of

Water & Wastewater

2016. The project involves the construction of a large-diameter pipeline for 30 km, with pipe varying in diameter from 1 000 mm to 1 200 mm. The NAA forms part of longterm plans to alleviate the water shortages currently causing concern for the north of Durban. The current Northern Aqueduct has reached capacity on various sections of the trunk mains as a result of demand growth. As a result, although there is suf ficient water to meet current needs, there is not sufficient network capacity to deliver it to areas that need it most. The NAA was divided into two contracts – a 6 km section of the pipeline that begins at Duffs Road and ends at the Phoenix 2 Reservoir, and a 22 km segment of the pipeline that stretches from the Phoenix 2 Reservoir, continues to

The water pipe for the Western Aqueduct being laid in Pioneer Road, Kloof

Waterloo and then to uMhlanga, with a feed to the planned new Blackburn Reservoir.

Construction of these two contracts was extremely complex with special measures being taken to accommodate residents, preserve environmentally sensitive flora and rehabilitate excavation sites. Although a large portion of the pipeline has been routed through sugar cane fields, a critical portion does traverse residential areas, crossing busy thoroughfares.

Speaking on the layout of the project, Msweli says the NAA, which comprises seven individual projects, would not be constructed in linear fashion and segments in

The Western Aqueduct is expected to considerably strengthen the capacity of bulk water supply and meet eThekwini’s needs for the next 30 years

IMIESA May 2016

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IMIESA May 2016

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areas of critical need would be put in place first. The contractor working on the NAA is Esor Construction.

Working well under pressure The Western Aqueduct and NAA contracts are being project managed by Mar tin Bright. The biggest challenge for the construction and engineering crews on both the Northern and Western Aqueduct projects is working within a restricted space. “Manoeuvring large equipment in a small space, through residential areas, is always a challenge, but we found that – through interaction with the affected parties and good liaison with the community – we are able to overcome this,” Msweli notes. Another challenge that had to be dealt with delicately was taking into consideration the environment.

“Sections of the pipe are being laid through environmentally sensitive grasslands with rare plant species as well as through wetlands,” adds Msweli. The department also worked hard to ensure the community was included in the job creation aspects of the project. Local labour, with an NQF level 2, was selected to participate and local emerging contractors were deployed. The greatest lesson learned, thus far, according to Msweli, was the need for skilled and experienced professionals and project team members.

Construction of the NAA on the Phoenix Highway

IMIESA May 2016

15

Water & Wastewater

Every drop counts In more ways than one, water is a valuable resource. For municipalities, it is a source of revenue – money that affords the delivery of services and keeps a community happy. But, to achieve this, one needs effective management. By Tony Stone

T

he Department of Water and response times to water leaks/bursts, Sanitation (DWS), as part of its technical competency shor tcomings in effort to implement water consermunicipalities, and a culture of water vation and demand management, wastage are some of the challenges facing introduced the No Drop criteria in the the South African water sector. The current current Blue Drop audit cycle. While No level of non-revenue water is estimated Drop may only add up to 3% of at 36.7%, of which 25.4% the overall Blue Drop score, its is considered to be losses criteria look at water use effithrough physical leakages. ciency and water loss manageThe No Drop assessments will ment within a system and assist provide verified data to drive municipalities to reduce the high the solution-oriented results volumes of water lost during needed to address the chalpurification and distribution. lenges identified,” Minister of “Ageing infrastructure, inadWater and Sanitation Nomvula Minister of Water equate maintenance and repairs and Sanitation Mokonyane says. After an iniof existing infrastructure, long Nomvula Mokonyane tial assessment in 2013/14,

16

IMIESA May 2016

Every drop of water, from nature to man and back again, is a valuable resource. It needs to be managed effectively

it was found that 30 (2.8%) systems were 100% No Drop compliant while 191 (18%) were rated as delivering a “good per formance”, which left 940 operating at a substandard level.

Zanele Bila-Mupariwa, director: Water Ser vices Regulation, DWS, says, “In terms of Section 82 of the Water Ser vices Act (No. 108 of 1997), participation in Blue and Green Drop audits/assessments is mandator y, which includes No Drop as part

Water & Wastewater

FIGURE 1 Reservoir management N&Z WaMSS Reservoir Report Reservoir Name: Reservoir ID: Report period: Comments:

Report generated: 2016/05/08 10:00

Mafulawane Tank 104969-R1 2016/05/01 05:00 - 2016/05/08 05:00 Village

municipality, while empowering staff to manage the distribution system in the best possible way,” he elaborates.

Water metering is particularly important for municipalities since it forms the basis for much of their income, through the sale of water to their consumers.

In South Africa, as in many other countries, there is a legal imperative on municipalities to meter water consumption and manage water losses to comply with legislation and defined standards. So, given the need for verified data, the timely and accurate measurement of water flow, water reser voir level and water loss are critical.

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of the Blue Drop assessments. Falsification of data is an offence under the Act.”

You can’t manage what you don’t measure “It is impossible for a municipality to manage its water resources without knowing how much water it has and where the water goes,” asserts Jay Bhagwan, director: Water Use and Waste Management, Water Research Commission.

“This is where water meters play a critically impor tant role. Water meters are used to measure how much raw

enquiries@nz.co.za

water is taken from a resource such as a large dam, how much of this water leaves the water treatment plant, how much is purchased from bulk suppliers or sold to other municipalities, how the water is distributed within the water distribution system and, finally, how much of the water is delivered to individual consumers. If water meters are not managed correctly, it can have a negative impact Jay Bhagwan, on the income of a municipaldirector: Water Use and Waste ity. However, if water metering Management, is approached correctly, it can Water Research increase the net income of a Commission

Effective management, and achieving that coveted Blue Drop certification, will not be possible without proper and reliable measurement. And, as Minister Mokonyane points out, verification is now a mandator y No Drop requirement. With the span of water systems and geographical distances involved, the physical logistics of doing reliable verification readings using mechanical meters presents a number of challenges.

Besides the human error aspect, mechanical meters suffer from bearing wear, damage to blades, fouling and debris build-up, which will result in the turbine going slower and a resultant under-reading of the true flow. This, of course, translates into under-billing.

But, there is an easier and smarter way of doing things. Automatic meter reading (AMR) technology automatically collects flow rate and flow totals data from a batter y-powered water meter, which has no moving parts, and transmits this data to the water supplier’s office for billing purposes, to manage water availability and to analyse water losses. Water flow from a dam to a water purification works to a reser voir and out of the reser voir to bulk water users can be measured using smart, batter y-powered mag flow meters, one of a range of water metering technologies available from N&Z Instrumentation & Control.

“Powered by long-life militar y-grade batteries, which last for anything between three to six years, our ISOIL Mag Meters give the benefits of precision flow metering with remote communications to a

“Don’t give away water for free!”

IMIESA May 2016

17

Water & Wastewater

N&Z iNSTRUMENTATION & CONTROL

• N&Z focuses on flow, pressure, temperature, level, analytical, data loggers, telemetry, automation, flow surveys and control.

They supply full support including engineering, specification, supply, installation, commissioning, service and repairs.

The inline ISOIL Mag Meter provides accurate and reliable water flow and water total readings, automatically sent to your PC or tablet

Scada water management system that has extensive technical and management repor ting capabilities. This provides a truly accurate and reliable monitoring solution,” Rod Glatt, managing director, N&Z Instrumentation & Control, says. “Even existing mechanical meters can be upgraded to this ‘smart' operation with N&Z's locally manufactured smart logger, which connects directly to the mechanical meter and integrates it seamlessly into the Water Management System.” Each mag meter has its own benchmark of parameters that

are measured and calibrated to ±0.4% accuracy when the meter is manufactured.

As a best operating practice, verification should be redone on installation and at specified inter vals to ensure reliability.

The combined ISOIL Mag Meter and WaMSS The N&Z system is a blend of the batter yWater Management System’s extensive powered magnetic flow meter manufacreporting range includes an Event Log, tured in Italy, the Scada engineered and Daily Flow Dashboard, Water Balance IWA, written in South Africa, and seven years’ experience in some of South Africa’s larg- Water Loss Repor t, Flow Trends, Line Pressure Trends, Reser voir Management, est water boards and municipalities.

Meter Reading Reports and data in an Philip Smit explains that “N&Z is comSQL database that can be used for other mitted as a partner to the municipalities’ applications. These technologies together nominated suppliers, including ser vice provide a proactive, actionable and proven providers and consultants, and we work solution for No Drop verification. in total coordination with the WSAs”.

Japie Vermeulen, product specialist, N&Z, asser ts, “An AMR system is best positioned to per form optimally when a single ser vice provider installs and man+27 (0)11 435 1080 enquiries@nz.co.za www.nz.co.za ages the complete system.”

FIGURE 2 N&Z’s Daily Flow Dashboard for effective water loss management, improved billing and service delivery

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IMIESA May 2016

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Cold weather concrete P25

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A productive partnership, for life

Contrary to many a natural inclination, excellence is achieved by doing the mundane to the highest standards, every day. But, to do this, the right tools are essential. Yet, it’s not just tools that are necessary, it’s a lot more.

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dIVisional COVER STORY

A leader in Africa There is much that can be said of symbolism, as in the case of PPC with its elephant. Besides the renowned strength of the elephant, which can be related to cement and concrete, there is more to the elephant than just that.

T

he parallels that can be drawn between PPC and the elephant in the company’s logo are many.

Established in 1892, PPC remains one of Africa’s leading cement suppliers, which, when compared to Echo – perhaps the most studied elephant in the world, with her characteristic leadership, wisdom, strength, her extraordinary skills in problem-solving, social intelligence, openness, decisiveness, patience, confidence and compassion – shows

many similarities. Perhaps the most profound similarity is that elephant leadership is established not by dominance, as in many other kinds of animals, including humans, but by the respect gained in showing intelligence and solving problems, which explains PPC’s sustained presence over the last 124 years.

Technical innovation PPC, in realising that sustainability is dependent, in part, on research and development, invests time, money and resources in this critical area. SureRoad cement was launched after extensive R&D and technically engineered to meet very specific technical requirements for road stabilisation. The CEM II Portland-composite cement is ideal for constructing cement-stabilised substrate layers for roads, and PPC’s performance testing

22

IMIESA May 2016

has shown excellent results across a range of soil types and different road classes. As demand dictates, continued investment in other application areas will ensure that PPC never stops improving.

This is underpinned by the establishment of a world-class facility at Group Laboratory Services in 2013, allowing PPC to compete with the top cement and concrete R&D centres in the world. The facility is certainly the most advanced in the industry in South Africa, and probably in Africa, which will enable PPC to continue its leadership position in developing new and innovative cements, at optimised costs.

It will also boost the company’s approach of customer focus through technical know-how.

At the same time, this facility will assist PPC tech experts, heads and specialists in designing new raw mixes to optimise the clinkering process, designing cement with specific properties for its customers, and resolving complex issues relating to customer needs.

Building the future Development is not just about inventing new products or improving existing ones. It’s so much more. Continual development, inherent in PPC’s business as an ongoing concern, because it reinforces the sustainability of the company, is essential. “Strength beyond the

Leadership through respect, not dominance

bag” epitomises its approach and the understanding that PPC is part of its communities and environments, with an aim to positively impact all stakeholders.

The company understands that managing a sustainable business requires the balanced integration of performance, corporate governance, and social, economic and environmental factors into the strategy and operation of the business. Equally, PPC understands that this is dynamic and requires an ongoing review process. Building on what it has already achieved,

PPC’s Sureroad cement

dIVisional COVER STORY

mortar, plaster and concrete applications.

The cement produces cost-effective mixes with great value.

• SUREROAD, a 32.5 N road-stabilisation, Portland-composite cement, is ideal for the construction of cement-stabilised layers for roads.

steel industry must meet exacting physical and chemical properties, which PPC Lime is able to manufacture. Lime is also essential in producing non-ferrous metals. For example, it is used to beneficiate copper ore, make alumina and magnesia for use in aluminium and magnesium manufacture, extract uranium, and recover gold and silver.

Readymix PPC acquired a 100% shareholding in Pronto Holdings in September 2014. As a wellestablished supplier of quality readymix and mortars, the company has concrete plants situated in and around the greater Gauteng area, with a fleet of 100 readymix and tipper trucks and tankers.

Aggregates

continued innovation will ensure that PPC keeps developing the products South Africa’s diverse markets need – from higher-strength products, which offer greater value for money, to products with a specific purpose, such as road building. So far, the company has done exceptionally well and its footprints across Africa are unmistakeable. Ethiopia, Botswana Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe are all now in the PPC fold and doing well. The future looks bright.

Cement The consistent and reliable strength of the company’s cement has helped specifiers, concrete product manufacturers and builders to complete an array of projects. PPC’s product range includes: • OPC, a 52.5 N high-strength cement, is a premium Portland cement that is ideal for a broad range of applications in the construction, building, readymix, precast and concrete product manufacturing industries.

• SUREBUILD, a 42.5 N quality cement, is a premium-quality cement that is ideal for general building operations, structural concrete and the manufacture of cement-based products.

• IDM, a 32.5 N general-purpose cement, is a cement that is formulated for general

Fly ash The Ulula Ash Plant, located at Kriel Power Station in Mpumalanga, is a state-of-the-art plant equipped to ensure continuity of supply.

Ideally located for the Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga markets, Ulula fly ash can be distributed nationally or internationally where durability concerns necessitate the use of fly ash.

PPC Aggregates is one of the main suppliers of Ready for the challenge construction aggregates to civil constructions as well as products for the chemical, metal- PPC now supplies from nine cement factories, four milling plants, five blending facilities lurgical and agricultural industries. Dolomite and nine readymix batching plants, is sourced from PPC’s Mooiplaas since acquiring Safika Cement and quarry near Pretoria, which is Pronto Readymix, including Ulula known for its excellent, low-silica, Ash, in 2014. The company is under dolomite deposit. Amphibolites no illusions about the challengare sourced from the company’s ing domestic market conditions it Laezonia quarry near Pretoria, expects to encounter in 2016, which which has a high-quality amphiinclude a competitive landscape and bolite deposit. Granite is sourced difficult economic climate. However, from the Kgale quarry in Gaborone, Darryll Castle, Darryll Castle, CEO, PPC, is confident which supplies an extensive range CEO, PPC the company is better equipped to of granite products to the civil manage these effectively. construction industry, as does Francistown’s “Our change management programme is quarry. In general, the following aggregates expected to deliver additional financial and can be supplied from these quarries: non-financial benefits. We are also confident of • Road stone: road stone aggregates suitable delivering our remaining projects on time and for use in asphalt pavements. Base and within budget,” Castle says. “New entrants in sub-base material for use in the supporting the South African cement market will continue structure of any road design. to apply pressure on existing producers. We • Concrete: aggregates for use in the manuare focused on strengthening the various attribfacture of concrete and concrete products.

• Sands: super sand (unwashed sand), utes of our value proposition to clients, which includes consistently supplying quality cement, crusher sand (washed sand), -2 mm sand ensuring the reliability of our deliveries, and (washed sand), river sand, building sand and backing this up with strong technical support.” plaster sand.

Castle concludes.

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Agricultural lime to correct the high levels of acidity in soil.

Lime PPC Lime products are used in key industries such as steel and alloys, food manufacturing, gold, uranium, road construction and copper mining, as well as water purification. The greatest use of lime is in steel manufacturing as a flux to remove impurities. Lime used in the

www.ppc.co.za

IMIESA May 2016

23

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Cold weather concrete There are two good reasons why we need to understand what is involved in casting concrete during cold weather. The first is because much of South Africa is subject to rather cold weather during winter, and the second is because we face a possible overall cooling of the Earth. By Tony Stone

A

fter reading the intro, you are probably thinking, “The Earth cooling? Have you lost it? We’re in the middle of a global warming crisis.” You are quite right. But, erupting volcanoes caused the Little Ice Age. Scientists at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the USA, as well as

other organisations, have evidence that volcanic eruptions between AD 1275 and 1300 triggered a chain reaction, affecting sea ice and ocean currents in a way that lowered temperatures for the ensuing centuries – and brought the Little Ice Age. The Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program has repor ted that volcanic and seismic activity around the

Pacific Rim, or what’s popularly called the Ring of Fire, has increased steadily since 2001. With 452 volcanoes, approximately 90% of all earthquakes and approximately 80% of all volcanic eruptions occur around the Ring of Fire. In recent months, 10 major volcanoes in the ring have suddenly roared to life, and herein lies our problem. If too much of the ash clouds produced by these

Mohale Dam in Lesotho during summer

IMIESA May 2016

25

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Mohale Dam in Lesotho during winter

volcanoes spews into the atmosphere, the Sun’s rays will be blocked – causing a progressive cooling of the Earth, and a new “little” ice age. And global warming will be over.

Back to the present Even so, we have eight areas in South Africa, which, during winter have average minimum temperatures of less than 5°C. And, while the other areas have warmer average temperatures in winter, it does not mean that these areas don’t experience extended cold snaps.

Given that project deadlines must be met or that a particular concrete casting process cannot be interrupted, knowing how to cast concrete in cold weather, and why, is important. So, what’s so different about casting concrete in temperatures of less than 5°C? Simply put, it’s all about achieving the desired strength and durability of the concrete to satisfy designed ser vice requirements. This will only happen if the concrete is correctly produced, cast and protected.

26

needs protection for the first 24 hours to avoid freezing – which happens when pore water (in the concrete), at a temperature of around -1°C, freezes.

As some of the water in the concrete freezes, the ion concentration in the unfrozen water goes up, which further depresses the freezing point. At around -3°C to -4°C, enough of the pore water will freeze so that hydration will completely stop.

Depending on the extent of water freezing, and the forces generated by the expansion of ice (given that ice occupies, on average, 9% more volume than water), the long-term strength and integrity of the concrete will in all likelihood be compromised.

Which means the 24-hour window, being so critical, has to be carefully planned to avoid pore water freezing. In addition to the prevention of freezing, the purpose of planning is to: • assure that the concrete achieves the required strength for safe removal of formwork • maintain curing conditions that foster normal strength development without using excessive heat • limit rapid temperature changes in the concrete to prevent thermal cracking • provide protection consistent with the intended ser viceability of the structure.

and allowed to cure properly. By protecting the concrete from freezing, until it has attained, for example, its compressive strength of 3.45 Mpa, its integrity will not be compromised.

Another factor to keep in mind is, for ever y 10°C reduction in concrete temperature, the time needed for the concrete to set doubles, which increases the amount of time that the concrete is vulnerable to damage due to freezing.

If a project extends into winter, and is in one of the eight areas where the average minimum winter temperate is 5°C or less, it is important that cold weather concreting methods be clearly defined.

Preplacement meetings between the consulting engineers (design), contracting engineers, cement and concrete producers, laborator y and other involved parties is highly recommended.

Proactive planning can save time, money and a considerable amount of trouble. The following useful hints ser ve as a guide: • Care should be taken when pouring warmer concrete on to a colder base, as it will lose heat and its temperature will drop.

• Assuming correct protection measures have been taken, and regardless of air

Table 1 Average winter temperatures for selected areas in South Africa

City

Average winter (July) temperatures °C

Min

Max

Bloemfontein

-2

17

Kimberley

3

19

Pietermaritzburg

3

23

Johannesburg

4

20

Mthatha

4

21

Polokwane

4

20

Upington

4

21

Pretoria

5

24

Nelspruit

6

23

Skukuza

6

26

Cape Town

7

18

George

7

19

Musina

7

25

Cold weather concreting

Port Elizabeth

9

20

The definition of cold weather for cold weather concreting states that, for a period of more than three consecutive days, the average daily air temperature is less than 5°C. Concrete cast in ver y low temperatures

Useful advice

East London

10

21

To have concrete reach its specified 28-day Mpa strength, it is important to remember that this will not happen during cold weather if the structure is not protected

Thohoyandou

10

24

Durban

11

23

Richard’s Bay

12

23

IMIESA May 2016

CEMENT & CONCRETE

If a project extends into winter in one of our colder areas (5°C or lower minimum temperature), cold weather concreting methods must be clearly defined

•

FIGURE 1 Reconstructed global temperatures over the last 2 000 years

•

•

•

•

•

temperature, keeping a record of the concrete’s temperature is essential.

Where heated enclosures have been set up, they must be strong enough to withstand wind and weather. Combustion heaters must be vented to the outside to prevent carbonation.

Except in a heated, protective enclosure, little or no external supply of moisture is required for curing during cold weather.

C oncrete should be properly air entrained if it will be saturated and exposed to freezing and thawing cycles during construction.

All things being equal, lower slump and/or lower water/cement ratio mixes are particularly desirable in cold weather for flatwork. This reduces bleeding and decreases setting time.

The distance from the plant to the point of placement can severely affect the temperature of concrete.

While hot water improves the setting time of cold weather concrete, after the IMIESA May 2016

27

CEMENT & CONCRETE

first few batches of concrete, hot water heaters may not be able to maintain hot water temperature. Later in the pour, concrete may be cooler than at the beginning of the pour.

Acceleration of concrete hydration in cold weather Unaided, cold weather concreting is slow

28

and therefore expensive. Choosing the correct cement and admixtures for cold weather concreting is essential. For example, PPC’s Surebuild delivers consistent per formance results in cold weather applications and Yara’s NitCal admixture, as a concrete setting accelerator, counteracts the freezing process by provoking an earlier start of concrete heat release and,

therefore, earlier strength development.

It also enables concrete to be produced at ambient temperatures down to -10°C, under certain conditions – such as adequate protection. The reduction of setting time and the acceleration of strength gain realises substantial savings due to shorter protection periods, faster form reuse, earlier removal of shores, and less labour in finishing flatwork.

However, it should be noted that different Portland cements do not always set at similar rates, and care should be taken when choosing accelerators. While calcium chloride is the most cost-effective accelerator available, it causes corrosion of embedded reinforcing bars (rebars) in the presence of oxygen and moisture, and should be avoided – except in cases where non-reinforced mass concrete is being cast. It is also important to verify that non-chloride accelerating admixtures are non-corrosive. Non-chloride, non-corrosive accelerators are more expensive upfront,

IMIESA May 2016

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CEMENT & CONCRETE

Concrete freezing problems

If concrete freezes, there will be an increase in volume due to the expansion of mix water. After thawing, the concrete will set with a high voids content. If freezing occurs before the concrete has attained a strength of 3 MPa to 5 MPa, expansion will cause disruption of the microstructure and a substantial reduction in strength and durability.

Table 2 Recommended temperatures for placement and protection of concrete in cold weather

Section size, minimum dimension, mm <300 mm

300 mm–900 mm

900 mm–1 800 mm

>1 800 mm

7°C

5°C

10°C

7°C

Minimum concrete temperature as placed and maintained 13°C

10°C

Air temperature

Minimum concrete temperature as mixed for indicated air temperature*

Above -1°C

16°C

13°C

-18°C to -1°C

18°C

16°C

13°C

10°C

Below -18°C

21°C

18°C

16°C

13°C

17°C

11°C

Maximum allowable gradual temperature drop in first 24 hours after end of protection 28°C

22°C

*Note: For colder weather, a greater margin in temperature is provided between concrete as mixed and required minimum temperature of fresh concrete in place.

but when life-cycle costs and regulations limiting chlorides are considered, they are the most cost-effective products.

Storage and application of admixtures Accelerators have been introduced successfully into concrete both before and after the addition of cement to the mix, but it may be best policy to add the accelerator to the mix

Concrete temperature and maturity measurement

after the cement has been wetted. On rare occasions, when accelerators are added to the mix prior to the batching of under-sulfated cements, there may be adverse reactions with the tricalcium aluminate in the cement, which may result in retardation.

It is, therefore, recommend that, if the accelerator is to be added upfront, before the cement, it should be tested with the intended cement at the intended use temperature, prior to placement. It is also impor tant to remember that admixtures need to safeguard against the cold as well, especially where admixtures are applied

on-site. As with all the cold weather practices to be followed during and after pouring concrete, you will need to keep your admixtures at the proper temperature to ensure they react properly. An insulated barrel or drum is an easy and convenient solution. As in the classics, the show must go on. Project dates and budgets must be met, and cold weather should not be allowed to affect dates or increase costs unnecessarily. Proactive planning and preparation are key.

Acknowledgements: W.R. Grace & Co., USA

Acknowledgements: W.R. Grace & Co., USA

IMIESA May 2016

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CEMENT & CONCRETE

Polymers in

modern construction Clever people learn from others’ achievements. In the USA, more than 20 000 bridges have been constructed using polymermodified concrete, and for good reason. We take a closer look.

P

olymers, by definition, are large molecules with long chains composed of repeat units of smaller molecules. Although we tend to think of them as man-made synthetics, such as the plastics and rubbers we use in our everyday lives, there are also many naturally occurring polymers – such as cellulose, silk, cotton and natural rubber. Polymers tend to be strong, flexible, impermeable and often long lasting, and they can impart many of these properties to other materials.

Polymer-modified concrete has been around for a long time – first patented in the 1920s and gaining widespread use in certain construction applications from the 1970s – however, it is only in the last 10 to 15 years that polymer manufacturers have customdesigned certain products for the construction industry. This has resulted in purposeready polymers both as liquid and powder additives for the construction industry. When added to Portland cement concretes and mortars, polymers bring many benefits: • improved adhesion – both to itself and to old concrete surfaces.

• reduced permeability – increases the resistance to water penetration into the concrete (reduces breakdown of the reinforcing).

• reduced intrusion of chlorides and other

30

IMIESA May 2016

detrimental salts (attack both the reinforcing and the cement itself).

• reduced gas permeability of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

• increased tensile, flexural and compressive strength – this allows for greater strength, movement and improved design capabilities for the engineer.

• increased freeze/thaw durability – improved lifespan of concrete in cold areas.

• increased abrasion resistance – improved lifespan of concrete paved roads, etc.

These property enhancements are of great importance in many infrastructure-related areas, such as bridges, pavements, roads and runways, reservoirs and dams. They add substantial benefits both in the initial construction phase and in concrete repair materials for deteriorated reinforced concrete structures. Polymers also add other benefits to the wet mix of concrete mixes and mortars such as: • water retention, leading to better hydration and improved mature strength • improved workability • reduced air entrapment • improved surface appearance • reduced shrinkage cracking.

Not all polymers are created equal – there are a number of different polymer types

INSET Tony Knott, CEO, TK Adhesives, is a specialist in polymer additives for concrete

and forms and they need to be selected for the property enhancements required for a specific purpose. Below is a list detailing the general properties of the current common ones in the industry.

• 1 = highest/best; 5 = least/poorest • SBR – styrene butadiene rubber, one of the oldest type polymers used in construction from the 1950s • Acrylic – various acrylic monomers available covering a wide array of properties – best balance of properties • VAE – vinyl acetate ethylene polymers’ main advantage available as powder additives • PVA – polyvinyl acetate While there are numerous current examples of polymers in the construction market – in the form of keying agents and adhesion promoters, self-leveling screeds, ceramic adhesives, patching and repair compounds – their use in large-scale construction is limited in this country. The increase in fast-tracked construction methods and the need for higherstrength materials will see their use escalate in the coming years because of the favourable balance between performance and cost.

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Echo slabs speed up Stanger Hospital extension

S

tanger hospital in KwaZulu-Natal recently underwent an upgrade with two additional storeys being added to the building. Echo Durban’s prestressed hollow-core slabs were used for the construction of one of the two additional storeys, each measuring 1 230 m².

The additional space is being used to house a new maternity section and the prime reason for using prestressed slabs was that the existing suspended roof was not designed to carry the weight of a new in situ slab. To strengthen it would have necessitated back propping, either through the elaborate staging of existing load-bearing walls, or through the installation of temporary beams at floor level.

Neither of these options was feasible as the wards below were fully functional and occupied

by patients. Prestressed slabs, which are 30% lighter and provide favourable span-to-depth ratios, provided an alternative solution, which allowed normal hospital activities to continue uninterrupted during construction.

The first floor section, which houses an NVD antenatal ward, was constructed on existing suspended roof. It was the floor above it, which accommodates a post-caesar and gynaecology ward, that was constructed with Echo’s hollow-core slabs. At 150 mm and 200 mm deep, the slabs were erected using steel cellular beams and in situ beams. Support for some of the new beams and slabs had to be created by bolting steel sections to concrete columns.

Melinda Esterhuizen, marketing director, Echo Group, says the prestressed slab option

Echo Durban’s prestressed slabs were integral to the fast-tracked and interference-free extension of Stanger Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal

offered other advantages. “Slab installation takes hours as opposed to the weeks it takes to construct in situ flooring. Second, and most importantly for a hospital environment, there is far less attendant noise to disturb and upset the patients during construction.”

IMIESA May 2016

31

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The purpose of koi

in the quarry pond In well-managed quarries, where ground- or run-off water is present, it is common to see beautiful specimens of koi or other fish swimming and thriving in the large bodies of water. In fact, these fish are usually treasured additions to a quarry’s assets.

T

his attests to the non-harmful way in which water is used in quarries and, in many ways, it is taken as a sort of visual proof of a quarry’s environmental care. If creatures such as ornamental carp are growing and thriving, it usually indicates that the overall health of the water on the quarry site is good.

Nico Pienaar, director, Aggregates and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa), says that, despite the massive earthworks and highly mechanised nature of quarrying, organised members of the industry are not polluters of water. As the process of crushing and sizing aggregates is mechanical, there is no need for added chemicals and, as a result, there is very little chance of water becoming contaminated.

licences and permits to begin operating.

Thereafter, they need to operate their quarries in such a way that it does not infringe on the environment nor the quality of water in the surrounds.

“In addition to all legal requirements, members are also required to undergo independent annual environmental audits to ensure that individual quarries uphold Aspasa’s about-face environmental audits, which are based on international environmental management standards,” he adds.

Report misusers

While Aspasa-accredited quarries are protective of the environment, the same cannot be said for illegal quarr y operators and temporary borrow pits that are occasionally granted temporary rights to extract aggregates from an area. Wherever sand and aggregate pits are deemed to be polluting Strict control ground- or surface water, or are “Quarries are not extractors abstracting a volume of water that and users of water, as water negatively affects surrounding comNico Pienaar, munities or areas, Pienaar advises is used to clean aggregates director, Aspasa that complainants make contact with and is treated and replaced the association or the local DWS office. back into the system either downstream “In times of severe drought and water of the quarry or into the groundwater. Only scarcity, there is no room for the misuse small amounts of water may leave the plant of our valuable water resources. Therefore, in trucks, but this is usually a small portion of the overall amount of water used,” we call upon the construction industry and says Pienaar. other users to ensure that they procure “Under the banner of Aspasa, our memsand and aggregates only from Aspasa bers have undergone exhaustive complimembers that are responsible water users ance with the water usage regulations of and have the correct accreditation and the Department of Water and Sanitation certifications. It may also be a good idea (DWS), as well as environmental impact to check on the health of their resident koi assessments to obtain the necessar y fish,” jokes Pienaar.

IMIESA May 2016

33

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

A productive

partnership, for life Contrar y to many a natural inclination, excellence is achieved by doing the mundane to the highest standards, ever y day. But, to do this, the right tools are essential. Yet, it’s not just tools that are necessar y; it’s a lot more.

A

mmann recently attended CEO, Ammann Group. “Sales were higher the Bauma 2016 in Munich than expected, and we had a record number of visitors to the booth. We’re confiand had its most successful dent that even more sales will go Bauma ever, with virthrough as these visitors make tually all expectations surpurchasing decisions.” passed. The Ammann stand was more than 5 Transcending 000 m2, its largest ever the mundane at the Munich show.

There’s nothing munThe stand showcased dane about Ammann. Its the depth and breadth core expertise is founded of the product line as on 147 years of experience. well as Ammann’s after1 This sixth-generation, familysales commitment. “We made owned business – which producour biggest commitment ever at es asphalt and concrete mixing plants, this year’s Bauma, and those efforts were compactors and asphalt pavers at nine rewarded,” said Hans-Christian Schneider,

2

production sites in Europe, China, India and Brazil, with its state-of-the-art technology engineered to Swiss quality and German precision – enables clients, through the maintained application of its technology, to do the mundane of road construction and maintenance, every day, to the most exacting standards.

In looking a little deeper, there are three elements in Ammann’s business philosophy – productivity, partnership and lifetime – that competitively position the company to meet its clients’ needs. Translated, this means sharing a wealth of knowledge and experience, recommending the appropriate technology for the job at hand, delivering high-quality, dependable machines, protecting the client’s investment through sustained support and service, and, finally, building and nurturing a lifelong trust relationship with clients to ensure productivity is always maintained.

Many pieces, one common goal The company gears its activities to the needs and requirements of its customers. “No matter the type or the number of projects that our customers have, with our broad range of products and our drive towards customer service, we aim to be one step ahead of our competitors,” says Rocco Lehman, managing director, Ammann South Africa.

“As with our products, our customer range is also broad and we know very well that every time our asphalt plants and machines prove their quality under tough conditions, we earn another point in the competitiveedge race. Although our main activity is in the construction industry, we like to

34

IMIESA May 2016

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

3

consider ourselves par t of the ser vice industry as well. It is never ethical to make a sale and then disappear. We provide wellstructured customer service as one of our core responsibilities.”

As your readers may recall, Ammann SA installed an Ammann Prime 140 asphalt mixing plant along the N1, which we had locally configured to enable the production of 40% reclaimed asphalt product.

Without rehashing the technical details, the configuration of the plant is an industry first, and the fact that it is now achieving 140 tonnes per hour – as promised – is very much the product of how the company is structured and its operations established, in detailed consideration of South Africa’s very particular characteristics.

Ammann may be headquartered in Switzerland, but Ammann SA is extremely well geared for the South African market, in large par t because of the vast experience it collectively has.

Ammann’s constant improvements ensure it offers the latest technologies and the “partnership”. “By doing so, we create an additional value for our customers,” adds Lehman. It should be pointed out that Ammann is the only manufacturer of asphalt mixing plants to develop and produce all the

Ammann is extremely well geared for the South African market, in large part because of the vast experience it collectively has in the country

4

systems components (including controls, screens, dryers, burners, mixers and filters) in-house. This enables Ammann to offer the best solutions to its customers.

5

1 Bauma 2016 in Munich 2 Ammann ContiMix asphalt plant 3 Ammann compaction machines 4 Prime 140 asphalt plant 5 APR vibrating plate 6 ARX26

6 Cross-industry specialist Ammann’s comprehensive range of compaction and road-building equipment services the needs of customers in the road-building, construction, plant hire and mining industries. Also in this range are the specialist trench compactor and the add-on compactor ranges. In addition, these products will service the pipe laying and special compaction application customers.

Ammann Compaction Expert (ACE) has put the company at the forefront of the intelligent compaction of soil and asphalt with both the ACE Force and ACE Pro systems. “The Ammann system is the only system that can change amplitude and frequency automatically, which makes it

extremely user-friendly,” points out Lehman. Ammann prides itself on being at the forefront of development with greener technologies such as warmmix asphalt and the use of recycled asphalt in the production process.

The compaction equipment and asphalt pavers are built with operator and service personnel in mind.

The company’s machines are easy to operate and service accessibility is streets ahead of the competition.

Ammann Construction Machiner y South Africa has been operational for five years, although Ammann has been involved in the South African market for the past 28 years. The company prides itself on being the leader in asphalt technology and is a leading global supplier of mixing plants, machines and services to the construction industry, with core expertise in road building. Ammann Construction Machinery SA is planning to follow the lead of the Asphalt Plant Division to become the leading supplier of road-building and compaction equipment in SA.

www.ammann-group.com

IMIESA May 2016

35

Join us in

EAST LONDON for the th

IMESA Conference

26-28 OCTOBER 2016

@ the East London International Convention centre Tel: 031 266 3263 or e-mail: conference@imesa.org.za

Register today @

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gauteng in

infrastructure Consulting Engineers | Finance | Civil Engineering Contractors

Premium

quality cement

Mercedes-benz Town and traffic planning for bus rapid transit

N14 highway upgrade P41

The Gauteng Provincial Government has identified the Western Corridor and the N14 as routes in need of upgrade.

Divisional cover story

Town and traffic planning

for bus rapid transit With rapid urbanisation taking place in South Africa’s towns and cities, traffic congestion is a growing problem. A bus rapid transit (BRT) system is a solution, but good planning and implementation are imperatives.

T

he South African government’s stated objective in implementing BRT systems is to move large numbers of people from townships and suburbs to all parts of a town or city quickly and safely, and then back again – in order to reduce traffic congestion during early morning and late afternoon peak hours, and to provide an affordable transport solution for the people who cannot afford private transport. Its vision is to ensure that, by 2020, most city residents are no more than 500 m away from a BRT station. However, as much as BRT systems are absolutely essential and have been implemented, things are not quite meeting expectations.

The key challenge with South Africa’s implementation of BRT systems is that the desired and envisaged usage levels are not being achieved. This was confirmed by the University of Cape Town’s Friedrich Chitauka’s research into the City of Cape Town’s BRT system, wherein he identified that the number one challenge was the need for innovative ways to increase usage of the transport system.

He also correctly identified that most research into BRT systems focuses on the travel-time impacts and road-space allocations, while omitting wider environmental, operational and infrastructural impacts.

Shane Henry of Mercedes-Benz South Africa,

38

IMIESA May 2016

speaking at the 3rd Congress and Exhibition ABOVE Schematic illustrating Mercedes-Benz’s concept BRT terminal of African Public Transport, outlined the four principles of an integrated rapid transpit system (IRPT): 1 An IRPT system needs to have differhighlighted here is the one crucial factor that ent modes of transport available. This cuts though all four principles – convenience. ensures both adequate coverage and freThe taxi challenge quency of service.

2 An IRPT system has its transport services The biggest challenge in this regard is, of working together, by having compatible course, the minibus taxi industry (Principle 1), routes and timetables. which offers total convenience, and is the 3 An IRPT system provides the city/area reason why this industry is so successful. At in question with both enough transport the same time, this industry is the cause of coverage and enough service, by havmajor traffic problems and fatal accidents. A ing transport coverage for, on average, law unto their own, taxis pick up and drop off 90% of the area and their passengers anywhere, frequent service.

The key challenge and get their passengers to 4 An IRPT system must with South Africa’s their destinations quickly by provide access for the implementation of constantly breaking traffic user, as well as provide and bullying their way BRT systems is that laws options for their travelthrough traffic. Passengers the desired and ling needs. interviewed acknowledge the These principles were envisaged usage problems but say they don’t identified by observing levels are not mind, as they get to where BRT implementations being achieved they want to go quickly. around the world where Unless the minibus taxi indusMercedes-Benz is involved. Herein, we find try is brought into the equation (Principle 2), the reasons for the less-than-anticipated the anticipated success of BRT will continue usage of the existing BRT systems in South to fall short of expectations, and needs. As Africa and why planning needs to include the Henry pointed out, cost efficiencies are critiwider environment, operational and infracal to the success of BRT implementations. structural impacts. What does need to be At the moment, BRT implementations do not

DIVISIONAL COVER STORY

cover the required 90% of the areas required (Principle 3). Private cars, motorcycles and minibus taxis do. Unless the geographical coverage is achieved, this too will limit the success of BRT implementations. While BRT implementations provide options for users (Principle 4), the lack of access, because of Principle 3’s shortcomings, and the consequent lack of convenience, once again limit the success of the BRT implementations.

Town and traffic planning With urbanisation and natural population growth, the tendency of urban development is to move outward to peri-urban areas, although there are some plans on the cards for densification of existing areas closer to city centres. Then there are the unique cases of cities and metropolitan areas merging, such as Johannesburg and Pretoria, with the expansion of Midrand, and Johannesburg

already flush against Ekurhuleni.

Issues such as someone living in one BRT area and working in another BRT area, and how these different BRT systems will interface to the convenience of the user, will need to be considered.

These factors must be kept in mind when planning town and city development, and with the long term in sharp focus. The choice of BRT corridors, and the specific roads on which to build the BRT system, will not only impact the usability of the BRT system for large segments of the population but will also have profound impacts on the future development of a town or city. Although a corridor’s importance will vary with circumstances, the choice of a particular roadway as part of the BRT network should be prioritised through the following considerations: • maximising the number of beneficiaries of the new BRT system • minimising the negative impacts on general traffic

LEFT Istanbul’s Metrobus BRT corridors

• minimising the operational costs • minimising the implementation costs • minimising the environmental impacts • minimising social and political obstacles to implementation • maximising social benefits, especially to lower-income groups.

As complicated as this may appear, there are a number of resources available to assist with the planning and development of a BRT system. Mercedes-Benz’s, headquarters in Germany, runs a BRT office that is well equipped to provide advice with regard to town and traffic planning.

www.mercedes-benz.co.za

FIGURE 1 Istanbul rail and BRT transit network schematic

IMIESA May 2016

39

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municipal focus | gauteng

N14 highway upgrade The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has identified areas that need upgrades in the Western Corridor.

The N14, which stretches from the corner of Paardekraal Drive and Hendrik Potgieter Road, is one of the projects that was earmarked.

T

he N14 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Springbok in the Northern Cape to Pretoria. It passes through Upington, Kuruman, Vr yburg, Krugersdorp and Centurion. The section between Pretoria and Krugersdorp is maintained by the GPG and is also designated the P158.

The N14 is the only national route in Gauteng that was not upgraded in 2010 and the only untolled highway. The announcement was made in July when the premier and Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismael Vadi launched the R295 million project.

Phase 1 Phase 1 of the N14 upgrade, which is currently under way, stretches from Hendrik Potgieter Road to Diepsloot covering both sides of the road. It is expected to last for 18 months and is scheduled to be completed by October 2016.

Councillor Barr y Friedman, a member of the mayoral committee responsible for Engineering Ser vices, previously known as Roads and Transport, says the upgrade is a major boost for Mogale City and its people. “The upgrade will create jobs and skills development opportunities. We are

happy that the GPG has given this stretch for 20 more years. Gauteng Roads and of road an upgrade,” Friedman says. “This Transport said that the project would also is an important project for both Mogale provide employment and skills developCity and road users because the upgrade ment opportunities during the construcwill ease traffic congestion and, most tion phase. importantly, increase road longevity for The project would enable training and the next 20 years,” he added. economic empowerment for local contracThe upgrade is vital for full economic tors, and improve road safety features development and will also link on the freeway. “Basically, we with Lanseria Airport, the will be giving a new lease Cradle of Humankind on life to a ver y busy and the Nor th West freeway and there province. MEC for will be no toll fees,” Roads and Transport Vadi said.

Ismail Vadi said in He said that motora statement, “The ists would be inconN14 is a high-trafficvenienced for the volume freeway that is entire duration of the The project under severe stress. The construction work. He groundbreaking road has degraded over the appealed to motorists to years and needs urgent rehabiliexercise patience and take extra tation. We have to upgrade the N14 as it care while driving on what is an extremely is a critical arterial route from the southbusy freeway during this period. ern and western regions of Gauteng to the “Road construction takes time and north, which is used for daily workplace there will be no shortcuts. Motorists are travelling and freight transport.” advised that their travelling times will be The multimillion-rand project would affected and they should plan accordrepair the N14 and tr y to give this ingly,” he said. stretch of road a new design life that Vadi also indicated that the Department would enable it to continue functioning of Roads and Transport was busy planning

IMIESA May 2016

41

municipal focus | Gauteng

The N14 upgrade project is expected to take 18 months and will undoubtedly disrupt traffic on this key route

Phase 2 of the N14 upgrade that would eventually link with the N1, South Africa’s major north-south route, extending from Limpopo province down to the city of Cape Town.

Upgrading William Nicol Tying into the development of the N14, the GPG is to upgrade William Nicol Drive up to the N14 freeway for R576 million as part of the province’s infrastructure development plans. Speaking at the launch of the project, Vadi said, “The multimillionrand road construction project will expand

42

the road capacity and improve mobility construction of pedestrian and cycle lanes, and safety on this key road.” The project, and the installation of road safety furniture which is jointly funded by the Steyn City and stormwater drainage systems along Development and the the route,” Vadi said.

Department of Roads “Road construction takes The development and Transpor t, is time and there will be and expansion of scheduled to be comthe transpor t infrano shortcuts. Motorists pleted by September structure and road are advised that their 2017. The K46 will network is critical be expanded from a travelling times will be for further economic s i n g l e - c a r r i a g e w a y affected and they should growth, particularly at road to a dual car- plan accordingly.” a time when develriageway in order to oping economies are improve access and increase mobility to experiencing a downturn. A key component Diepsloot, Four ways, Dainfern and southof the project is the engagement of SMMEs wards towards Randburg and the N14 as subcontractors, the employment of freeway. “Included in the project scope local labour – particularly youth and women is the upgrading of several interchang– and the training and skilling of employes, including the Rose interchange, the ees involved in the project.

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Tel: +27 11 929 7000 E-mail: mail@erwat.co.za

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Data acquisition made easy

Z

ednet is a web-based software service designed to collect, process and display information related to water resource and water supply systems. It aims to assist water supply companies, irrigators and bulk water consumers to track water use, assess potential leakage, and help them manage water losses.

Zednet has been designed and developed locally by WRP Consulting Engineers. The system is continuously being updated to include new features, with development driven by the needs of its users. The most recent updates include flexible charting, dynamic grid-based data views and GIS capability using Google, Open Streetmap, or base layers exported directly from a client’s GIS system. Users can easily set up alarms and automated email reports to provide live

information on the state of their water distribution system. Zednet is capable of hosting data automatically provided from a range of logger hardware, or even manually exported in text-based formats. While Zednet is not tied to a specific vendor, the solution primarily utilises the Cello range of data loggers from Technolog UK.

Why use Zednet?

Although most logger manufacturers provide software for their specific loggers, Zednet provides a highly flexible display and analysis system that offers many additional features, including: • the ability to aggregate data in a range of formats from more than one logger manufacturer • the availability of data from anywhere via

the web, as opposed to being installed on a standalone desktop system • Zednet does not require significant product or WDM expertise to use. It has been designed to be very user-friendly with standard default values being selected in all cases • the system includes forms to document the key assets in the water reticulation system that are of relevance to water loss control – e.g. control valves and meters etc. Pictures and schematics of the valve chambers, etc. can be included on the system together with sections of roadmaps and satellite images • analysis capabilities to assess Minimum Night Flows etc., which assist in identifying areas of high leakage based on the Burst and Background Estimate methodology.

IMIESA May 2016

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Your one-stop data acquisition solution Zednet is a web based software service designed to collect, process and display information related to water resource and water supply systems. It is aimed at assisting both water supply companies and bulk water consumers to track water use, assess potential leakage, and in particular to help them manage and reduce water losses.

Benefits: • Flow and pressure logging • Water level monitoring • Pump status (on/off) monitoring • Rainfall monitoring • Identification of leakage through Minimum Night Flow analysis • Real time data monitoring • Identification of pressure problems • Ideally suited for large industrial or commercial consumers Additional features: • Provides live data to aid network management • Automated reports • Alarm notification with data import • AMR and daily consumption monitoring • Store and display all historical logging data • Data can be exported in to any required format

For further information contact Tel:+27(12) 346 3496 Email: info@zednet.co.za www.zednet.co.za www.wrp.co.za

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Optimising pipe replacement

A

crucial aspect in the management of water infrastructure is that of implementing the most effective interventions with respect to the refurbishment or replacement of components.

Of the components in a water distribution system, pipes represent up to 80% of the asset value, as well as a high consequence of failure in terms of service levels.

The challenge for water system managers is to apply an optimal long-term investment strategy for the replacement of pipes. The objective is to timeously spend money on replacing the right pipes to minimise risks related to service levels and interruption, flood-related damage to properties caused by pipe failure, and repair costs.

Over the past decade, several models for prioritising the replacement of water distribution system pipes have been introduced in

the market. Such a model developed by GLS is that of prioritising pipe replacement based on the risk allocated to each pipe segment, as defined by the product of probability and consequence of failure. Both the probability and consequence of failure are, for each pipe segment, quantified through the cumulative effects of several parameters. This results in a risk ranking of all pipes that can be dealt with individually or grouped through the application of specially developed algorithms.

Apart from risk allocation, further analysis is performed to provide a remaining useful life for each pipe, adjusted based on the calculated probability of failure, among other factors.

For the purpose of long-term investment planning, GLS also extended the â&#x20AC;&#x153;snapshotâ&#x20AC;? risk ranking of pipes to an adjusted ranking,

typical annually, taking into account the effect of pipes being replaced and specially developed failure frequency prediction models for each pipe type. This analysis also allows for predicting the effect on service interruption and related operational costs as a function of capital investment.

The value of the above technology is enhanced by the vast experience GLS has gained over more than 27 years with respect to the behaviour of water distribution systems and refining the models through application in different parts of the world, on more than 150Â 000 km of pipelines.

IMIESA May 2016

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OUR CLIENTS Johannesburg Water City of Tshwane City of Cape Town Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Buffalo City Emfuleni Municipality All the municipalities in the Western Cape Province Randfontein LM Midvaal LM Lesedi LM Renosterberg LM Ubuntu LM Emthanjeni LM Siya Themba LM

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RODDY TANK Structa Technology is a Level 3 BBBEE Contributor MEYERTON | 0861 STRUCT (787828) | Fax: (016) 362 3608 | watertanks@structatech.co.za | P.O Box 2538, Vereeniging, 1930

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Partnering for progress Structa Technology partners with municipalities to improve service delivery and leads the way in manufacturing round and pressed-steel sectional water tanks, lighting masts and masts for electrical distribution.

M

eyerton-based Structa Technology, a member of the Structa Group of Companies, manufactures electrical masts, utility poles, lighting masts and pressed-steel water storage tanks known as Prestanks, as well as the newly patented round water storage tank known as the Roddy Tank.

Structa now offers our water utilities and municipalities two durable, cost-effective water storage products for differing volumes – the Roddy Tank for lower volumes and the Prestank for volumes above 10 000 ℓ. Structa Technology is geared to assist government with its water infrastructure and maintenance programme. Due to Structa’s drive and continuous commitment to technological advancements, it is able to offer cost-effective and durable solutions for water storage.

Roddy Tank Structa Technology has improved its basket of service offerings to municipalities, through the introduction of its new, patented Roddy Water Storage Tank. Through this product, Structa has responded to the need for water storage solutions for lower volumes, up to 10 000 ℓ. This provides alternative, more durable, robust and cost-effective water storage that requires minimal maintenance that is ideally suited to smaller rural villages, schools and clinics.

The Roddy Tank is a sectional, round, galvanised water storage tank that offers 3 900 ℓ, 7 200 ℓ and 10 000 ℓ capacities.

However, if the client requires more than 10 000 ℓ, this patented system can provide for an easy extension to increase storage capacity. There is, therefore, no need to replace the original water storage tank with a bigger one.

The Roddy Tank is ideal for applications such as rural, domestic or industrial water storage as well as agricultural water storage, up to 10 000 ℓ. It has a lifespan of up to 40 years

Structa Technology also manufactures lighting masts

(hot-dip galvanised according to SANS 121 and SABS 1461), is easily transported and erected, and requires minimal maintenance.

Prestank Structa’s 40-year-old brand, Prestank, has proved itself as a hygienically safe, costeffective and reliable way to store water for communities, commercial sectors, private sectors and even for personalised storage. The Prestank is the ideal water storage solution for volumes of 10 000 ℓ and above.

Prestank may be used for various water storage applications, including temporary or permanent installations at mines, hospitals, muni-cipalities, rural communities and agriculture. Prestanks are fully customisable, high-quality water storage solutions that are manufactured according to SANS guidelines and meet South African hot-dipped galvanising requirements.

A major advantage of the Prestank sectional tank design is that it facilitates easier handling and transportation over long distances to remote areas. Furthermore, on-site assembly is quickly achieved without the need for sophisticated tooling methods. Minimal maintenance is required because the galvanised steel panels resist weathering from the elements and external contamination.

Prestanks and Roddy Tanks adhere to the following design codes: SANS 10160 and SANS 10162 for structural loading and structural steel design.

Electrical masts Where electrical masts are concerned, Structa Technology specialises in the design and supply of electrotower electrical distribution mono poles, for both single and double circuits, for 11 kV to 220 kV distribution lines. These include the 259 Range (patented eight-sided poles for efficient conductor loading), the 260 Range (tubular, cost-effective, stayed poles), as well as the 272 Range (12-sided masts for heavy-loaded double circuits), among others.

Leaders in lighting mast technology Structa manufactures street light poles, midbow lighting masts, standard high masts, and stadium masts that range between 6 m to 40 m. These masts are supplied for roads infrastructure and lighting infrastructure in townships and villages.

Structa EPCM

Roddy Tank on a 5 m stand

The Structa EPCM, previously known as Structacom, is a subsidiary of the Structa Group of Companies that started operations in 1998, offering project management and engineering services expertise primarily to the telecoms infrastructure sector. The company has since expanded its horizons to offering engineering, procurement and construction management services to a broad base of infrastructure and municipal projects, specifically relating to the structural steel infrastructure products the group manufactures. Through Structa EPCM, the Structa Group also provides the client with a one-stopshop turnkey solution.

Structa EPCM’s philosophy is to partner with local contractors from the area where the infrastructure is rolled out, to provide the foundations and installations, thereby supporting the respective municipality’s localisation policy and assisting with much-needed job creation for locals. Structa EPCM is a 62% black-owned, 34% black-women-owned, BBBEE Level 2 company.

Water Tanks: +27 (0)16 362 9100 watertanks@structa.co.za Masts: masts@structatech.co.za www.structatech.co.za Structa EPCM: adelaide@structa.co.za +27 (0)82 338 3545 | www structaepcm.co.za www.structa.co.za

IMIESA May 2016

51

CIVILUTION

Relaying the pipeline Adept at solving problems, civil engineers, who now face tough economic times, truly need to keep their wits about them. Their survival depends on it.

T

he recently released Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) ‘Bi-annual Economic and Capacity Survey July – December 2015’ indicates that times are tough, and getting tougher, with industry confidence at its lowest in 16 years. The report indicates that the consulting engineering industry will

52

have to adapt to a low-growth environment, as the outlook for infrastructure spending is hampered by poor economic growth, lower-than-expected revenue by government, international economic instability and price volatility, and low private sector confidence.

Over 540 firms, employing just over 24 315 staff, who collectively earn a total fee

Relaying the pipeline

income of R23.4 billion per annum, are members of CESA. Three key factors continue to influence the global outlook. These are the gradual slowdown and rebalancing of the Chinese economy, lower prices for

IMIESA May 2016

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CIVILUTION

energy and other commodities, cost of borrowing for the South and the gradual tightening of US African government will escamonetary policy. late, which means more taxpayer GDP growth in South Africa money will be used to finance slowed to 0.6% quarter-on-quardebt, with less available to ter, from 0.7% q-q in the previous spend on critical economic and quarter. South African economic social infrastructure. Currently, growth slowed from 1.5% yeargovernment expects that 3.6% of on-year in 2014 to 1.3% in 2015. Chris Campbell, GDP per annum will be used on CEO, CESA Growth was largely dragged down interest expenditure, estimated by a further contraction in the agriculture at around R260 billion per year, equal to sector, while construction recorded marginal the total annual public sector infrastructure growth of 1.1 % in Q4 (from 0.5 % in the allocation. previous quarter).

Chris Campbell, CEO, CESA, believes, Fee earnings – softer “Government needs a strong focus on the growth outlook implementation of more of its strategic infra- Consulting engineering fee earnings in structure projects, as detailed in the National the last six months of 2015 increased by Development Plan, in order to mitigate the around 6%, against an expected decrease decline in the economy and improve investor of between 2% to 3%. Larger firms reported confidence.” He further reiterates: “Engineers muted growth of 2% on average for the in South Africa stand ready to partner with last six months, while stronger growth was government in eradicating the leakage from reported by medium and smaller firms (up the fiscus, not only through water that does by 31% and 11% respectively), although not reach domestic households, but also respondents expect earnings to fall by through poorly spent monies or corrupt prac- 5% in nominal terms during the first six tices that have led to payment for poor- months of 2016, compared with the second quality and even non-existent services in the half of 2015.

Campbell states, “Although the outlook infrastructure space.”

Probably the most critical concern for the is concerning, it is encouraging to see domestic economy, and the most significant that profitability among member firms has downside risk to inflation and economic increased.” The percentage of fees outgrowth, is the fear of a further sovereign standing for longer than 90 days as a percredit rating downgrade and its effect on centage of total estimated income showed the industry. A lower credit rating means the some improvement to 23.0%, from 24.5%

and 24.0% in the previous two surveys.

It is estimated that around R5.8 billion in earnings is currently outstanding after the 90-day period.

Industry confidence levels – lowest in 16 years Confidence levels fell to the lowest level in 16 years, and were significantly weaker in the last six months of 2015, compared to expectations in the June 2015 survey. Levels fell from an expected 56% satisfaction rate to 39.4% and, although business conditions are expected to improve slightly to a satisfaction rate of 48.0% (first six months of 2016) and 44.0% (last six months of 2016), levels are well below the average of the last five years. Satisfaction among firms is at historically low levels, surpassed only by the 1998/99 recession caused by the Asian financial crisis.

Gross fixed capital formation slow in medium term Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) as a percentage of GDP averaged at 20.7% in 2014, but slowed to 20.6% in the Q1 2015, compared to an average of 21.1% in 2013. The NDP has what may seem a somewhat unachievable target of 30% contribution of GFCF to GDP by 2030.

All economic indicators currently suggest that investment in relation to GDP is likely to slow over the medium term, due to lower government spending, financial

figure 1 Earnings by sector/percentage contribution

IMIESA May 2016

53

CIVILUTION

CIVILUTION CONGRESS CONGRESS CIVILUTION

ENGINEERING REVOLUTION Date: 9-10 9-10 May May 2016 2016 Date: Gallagher Estate, Estate, Midrand Midrand Gallagher www.civilutioncongress.com www.civilutioncongress.com

Civilution Congress puts spotlight on Engineering Skills Deficit In order to effectively tackle the skills deficit, it is imperative that the public and private sector continue to support skills training and development.

What are engineers doing to ensure that skills and education remain on top of the agenda?

How do we create professionally registered and competent engineering capacity for South Africa?

Be sure to join industry leaders at Civilution.

It’s time to join the revolution and bring about change.

Book 4 delegates from the same company today and get the 5th FREE! 3 easy ways to register for the conference:

1. Phone +27 21 700 4329 and speak to our team 2. To download and complete the registration form from: www.civilutioncongress.com 3. Register online: www.easycode.com/civreg

constraints experienced by SOEs and continued weak private sector confidence.

Transformation of the industry The appointment of black executive staff (including black, Asian and coloured) increased to 39.5%, from 38.0% and 36.0% in the previous two surveys. The appointment of black executive staff has steadily increased from 28.1% in the June 2012 survey. This shows real significant progress in terms of industry transformation.

There has also been a steady improvement in the appointment of women at an executive level. Women (including all races) appointed at an executive level represented 11.0% of total executives, from 10.1% in the previous survey.

Industry challenges – procurement’s the big one Regulation issues, including the procurement of consulting engineering services, remain one of the biggest challenges faced by the industry. Procurement is currently based on price and BBBEE ratings, with functionality or quality having a minimum threshold, thus being largely price driven. This is affecting tender prices, as firms sometimes tender below cost in view of the diminished availability of projects. A further challenge to the industry is to find a way to standardise the procurement procedures applied by the different government departments.

Procurement procedures should be standard for the country, or at least for the specific tier of government. Unrealistic tendering fees remain a concern for members, while the extended time it takes in which to finalise a proposal is affecting profitability in the industry.

The quality of technical personnel is argued by some firms to have deteriorated, putting greater risk on the built environment sector. Skills shortage is regarded as one of the most significant institutional challenges faced by the private and public sectors.

CESA has offered its services to government to procure and implement projects.

Fraud and corruption affect the ethos of our society, with a lot of talk and little action accompanying the growing evidence of corruption. CESA is aware that members are under pressure from contractors and corrupt officials to certify payment for work not completed. This is regarded as an extremely serious matter for CESA and, as such, the body will be relentless in holding those in Skills shortage power accountable. is regarded Unlocking greater private sector as one of the participation is seen as a critical most significant element to fast-track delivery, institutional which will support engineering fees and engineering develop- challenges faced ment in the industry. Private sec- by the private and tor participation in this context public sectors refers to involvement on a more technical level (not as a client), to improve municipal capacity and efficiency. Government must create an environment for the private sector so that it can play a much bigger role in infrastructure delivery. Many of the projects highlighted in the NDP can be carried out by the private sector through public-private partnerships.

Service delivery, especially at municipal level, remains a critical burning issue. The consulting engineering industry is threatened

54

IMIESA May 2016

CIVILUTION

by incapacitated local and provincial governments. As major clients to the industry, it is important that these institutions become more effective, more proactive in identifying needs and priorities, and more efficient in project implementation and management.

The involvement of non-CESA members in government tenders and procurement continues to threaten the standards and performance of the industry. Non-CESA members do not seem to comply with the same standards and principles as those firms that are members of CESA. This is further exacerbated by the notion that government procurement entities see procuring the services of a professional engineering practitioner the same as buying fruit from an informal trader, where one bargains for discounted pricing. There also seems to be a gross misunderstanding and misapplication on the application of fee scales on projects, where the professional practitioner managing the funds as the principal agent gets to claim the “lion’s share” of the fees, currently as is the case when the professional is from the quantity surveying or project management profession.

The professional engineering practitioners who may be both principal agent and technically responsible for design risk are compensated substantially less. There should at least be equity in the responsibility and remuneration in the roles as principal agent across the professions and a separation of

Majuba rail project

this role from that of the engineering practitioner who carries design risks and subsequent costs that are to be compensated for separately in any project. Large local firms are tendering at rates on small projects that are not competitive for small local firms just to maintain a flow of cash – a practice that is counterintuitive to the commitment to transform the industry. Complaints have been received of some firms not producing proper as-built drawings and not attending site visits.

Clients, unfortunately, are not always properly

experienced or educated to conduct proper procurement assessments and unknowingly award contracts to potentially unscrupulous firms. While these occurrences may be limited to smaller, rural areas, it remains an unacceptable practice.

The lack of attention to maintain infrastructure poses a serious problem for the industry. Not only is it much costlier to build new infrastructure, but dilapidated infrastructure hampers economic growth potential. It’s time to get smart. The civil engineering industry has to take the old and relay the pipeline, to get projects flowing again. South Africa depends on it.

FIGURE 2 Earnings vs GFCF

IMIESA May 2016

55

CIVILUTION

Civilution: the

engineering revolution Civilution is about doing business differently, about getting back to basics. In real terms, it’s about professionalism and ethics; it’s about following best practices, measured accountability and delivering value for money. By Tony Stone

T

he “revolution” in engineering will be launched with the Civilution Congress, which is coming up on 9 to 11 May 2016. Hopes are that the civil engineering industr y will be able to turn around and lift itself up out of the doldrums and the mire of negative sentiment that weighs so heavily on the industr y at the moment.

Christopher Campbell, CEO, Consulting Engineers South Africa, says, “These are tough economic times, and more lay ahead, especially for the construction and engineering industries. Confidence levels are at their lowest in 16 years.”

The situation referred to by Campbell, so pertinently described by CESA in the article “Relaying the pipeline” on page 52, requires an urgent solution – because the jobs of many are at stake. But, why a revolution? Quite simply, nothing short of a drastic change will improve the current situation. The much-needed National Development Plan, which has been on

56

IMIESA May 2016

the cards for a number of years, is not happening. For example, a minimum of R300 billion over the next three years is needed to effectively address South Africa’s water needs, yet only R132.1 billion has been budgeted. A similar picture applies to human settlements, energy, etc., with the exception of transport, where much of the budget allocation is for Transnet’s new locomotives and rolling stock.

Government’s strategy is simple. It has created Sanral, the water boards and similar, and it’s their responsibility to raise funds for development through tolls and tariffs.

In Sanral’s case, this was confirmed by CEO Nazir Alli in a recent inter view. In simple terms, these are additional tax burdens

on the public. In looking at provincial and urban roads, the state of repair, in many instances, is fast approaching critical.

With government hooked on the user-pays principle, the public will pay through some means of additional taxation, be these tolls, rates or surcharges.

Unfortunately, a number of provinces and many municipalities do not have first-class institutions such as Sanral, with its high-level of skills and competence, to effectively implement government’s strategy – hence the gaps in ser vice deliver y and the implementation of the NDP. Another government strategy is to move much of the tender work to black-empowered SMEs. This is reflected in CESA’s reported industr y growth statistics, which show the

“These are tough economic times, and more lay ahead, especially for the construction and engineering industries. Confidence levels are at their lowest in 16 years.”

CIVILUTION

From going in circles to going forward

growth of medium and small firms is up by 31% and 11% respectively, while larger firms are showing softer growth at 2%. This strategy is the product of three separate factors, which are working in unison.

as the Black Business Council for the First: the distrust and animosity between Built Environment (BBCBE), which is an the public and private sectors, which stems unnecessar y duplication of existing, wellfrom the Competition Commission’s fining established entities. of 15 major construction companies to the In analysing successful private-public tune of R1.46 billion – for “rampant” collupartnerships, it is quite apparsive tendering on the Gauteng ent that a shared vision with Freeway Improvement Project, realistic and measurable comand other projects, between mon goals are key ingredi2006 and 2011. ents to success. Even so, Second: a statement made the ideological divide between

by ANC research head Thami the public and private sectors ka Plaatje in 2013 that embodremains large. ies much of government’s preIf the private sector mainvailing sentiment. Ka Plaatje’s tained a business-as-usual denouncement of the private Manglin Pillay, CEO, SAICE approach, it would result in sector was quite vociferous.

South Africa failing to meet “We are still wresting control many of its critically important objectives. from the white capitalist economy. We If this is not addressed, the businessstill reel under the oppressive yoke of allas-usual public-private sector relationship per vading oligopolistic and monopolistic would remain an obstacle to growth. forms of the white economy.” Such overIn recognising this, and appreciating the-top, populist rhetoric ser ves no posithe realities involved, the South African tive purpose.

Institution of Civil Engineering, led by CEO Finally: against the backdrop of the Manglin Pillay, conceived the Civilution above points, the average private-sector approach as a means to address this assessment of South African government impasse and kick-start the much-needed efficiency is scathing. While much of this is NDP – and prevent any further, senseless deser ved, particularly at local government damage to the industr y. Civilution is just level, it rubs, and rubs deeply, aggravating the distrust and animosity. This is one solution, but the only solution on the table. It needs to work. manifest in the formation of entities such

IMIESA May 2016

57

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Structuring projects

To support the development of our young engineers, IMIESA will be publishing a series on project management for civil engineers, from structuring projects to cost estimates, which will ultimately form a useful reference set. By John van Rijn, Indevelopment

I

n most industrial sectors (including agricultural), the production of goods is more or less a routine process. Production of infrastructure is, on the other hand, usually not a routine.

The construction output is a prototype and usually addresses specific needs and demands. The design of each piece of infrastructure is unique and purpose specific.

Therefore, the project approach is widely considered to be more appropriate in the construction industry.

A big difference between routine and project production is that routine production uses one design to produce hundreds, thousands, or even millions of exactly the same goods, whereas the project approach usually results in one unique product. Although an existing design may be modified over and over again, the final product is always different. This implies that the final characteristics of the product are uncertain at the start of the project.

Project characteristics Projects have the following characteristics: • A project is carried out only once for an exceptional case.

• A project has a fixed deadline, and start and finish dates.

• Every project has a clearly formulated purpose, usually solving a unique problem or the development of a unique idea.

58

IMIESA May 2016

ABOVE Cape Town’s stadium was completed on time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Unique A traffic congestion problem and the development of a water distribution system are typical examples of such unique problems and ideas.

Managing projects To deal with the higher uncertainties, projects require different management technologies than routine operations.

Project activities In each project, three kinds of activities will take place: 1. Decisions about the project results, impacts and resources 2. Work on substance (outputs, activities, tasks) 3. Managing resources (time, budget, information and project staff) and controlling quality.

Clients’ involvement Because only one design, in the end, can be implemented and to avoid unnecessary work, the project manager and the client should agree upon at what moment the decisions have to be made to direct the project.

The choice of moments depends on the wish

of the client to be involved in the decisionmaking process. Many private clients are not familiar with the processes in the construction industry. The project manager is obliged to assist clients to develop an understanding of the building process and its risks, to make decisions.

The procurement of constructions is costly to most clients and easily exceeds the cost of expensive mass-produced items, like refrigerators, washing machines and cars.

While purchasing expensive mass-produced items, most customers spend a lot of time comparing different and competing products on the bases of their quality and costs. It is, therefore, logical that the client should be involved in judging and comparing alternative designs of the construction it intends to procure.

Phasing However, it is not in the client’s and project’s interest that the client be available to make every single decision. The project manager has to develop decision moments – moments in which the client is given time to make decisions about the project. Several decisions are possible, among which are: • Stop the project.

• Eliminate design alternatives.

• Choose one alternative to be implemented.

• Redirect the project and redo the previous phase. 

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Other options.

The period between two decision moments is called a phase.

Decision indicators In all cases, the number of decisions and the decisions themselves are based on the performance assessments. Businesses will use profit as their main indicator. Profit includes all (future) expenditures, which are always one element in the performance assessments (the cost element). Other elements (the benefit elements) vary from infrastructure to infrastructure. The highway department may use indicators like congestion and accidents, where a provincial or district road agency will also include the number of households (villages) connected. Water supply and electricity agencies often consider the profitability but also the number of households served as their performance indicators.

Number of decision moments The number of decision moments does not only depend on the needs of the client, but also on the chance that new information will come forward. Usually, it is possible to provide more accurate cost estimates when more details about risky elements, like ground works, become available. It is not always possible to provide more accurate benefit or impact assessments on the basis of more detailed designs.

Basically, projects can be phased in three ways: 1. Linear 2. Cyclic 3. Parallel.

Linear phasing Linear phasing is common on most infrastructure projects. These projects are concrete and the share of expected unknown information with regard to the end result is relatively low. It is, therefore, possible to define the project results from the start. A typical linear-phased project would distinguish five phases: • Initiating phase: the project manager and the principal agree on the result (idea/ problem) and the project plan • Defining phase: defining the performance of the end result; producing a schedule of requirements • Design phase: resulting in a detailed design • Preparation phase: resulting in signed contracts with a contractor or a detailed implementation plan for force account works • Implementation.

In most infrastructure projects, the defining phase is used to gather information from other stakeholders, like the communities involved or addressed with the project.

Usually, the performance requirements of the organisation are known and standardised. The design phase may be divided into three different phases, resulting in the following products: 1. Rough draft/sketch plan 2. Preliminary design 3. Detailed design.

Each of these stages starts with detailing/

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modifying the existing schedule of requirements. During the preparation phase, the tender documents (specifications, drawings and contract documents) are prepared and the bidding process is completed.

Parallel phasing The next common phasing structure of infrastructure projects is parallel phasing. Big, foreign-funded projects, in particular, are phased in this way. The project is divided into many subprojects. Before the subprojects start, an overall schedule of requirements is defined, basically presenting the performance indicators.

From that point onwards, each of the subprojects starts designing the specific outputs. At some point, they are grouped back into the mother project. This could, for example, be done during the preparation phase, when the works are contracted out to one big contractor or when the assets are created and handed over to the principal government.

Development phasing Cyclic phasing is more appropriate for product development projects (R&D). However, it is possible to apply one of the subCyclic phasing approaches on complex infrastructure projects: development phasing.

Development phasing is usually more common in building/architecture projects, where the client is not capable to define all his/her wishes and requirements.

After a design is completed, the schedule of requirements is redefined and the output has to be redesigned as well. This iterative process may occur several times till the design and schedule of requirements actually meet the demands of the client.

Version phasing The other form of cyclic phasing – version phasing – could also be applied on infrastructure projects, although it is not often used. Normally, it relates to problems for which many possible solutions exist and it is very difficult to predict the impacts of these solutions.

In these situations, one idea is worked out, implemented and its impacts are monitored. When that idea does not result in the desired impacts, the project may completely modify or revise the idea (read construction).

Projects addressing traffic accidents are often phased this way. In the next issue, we will look at the work plan.

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IMIESA May 2016

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IMESA/CESA BIENNIAL PROJECT EXCELLENCE AWARDS Tuesday, 25 October 2016 – East London ICC

IMESA CALL FOR ENTRIES

CATEGORIES 1. STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS 2. WATER/WASTEWATER 3. ROADS/STORMWATER 4. ENVIRONMENTAL 5. COMMUNITY UPLIFTMENT EXPLANATION Give recognition to well-engineered civil engineering projects for infrastructure.

Portray the art and science of civil engineering for infrastructure to the general public and indicate how the profession finds answers to challenges. The project must be in Southern Africa.

CLOSING DATE 10 JUNE 2016 (Projects completed by 30 June 2016 will be accepted for the Awards) ENTRY FORMS / AND AWARD CRITERIA are available for download www.imesa.org.za QUESTIONS Debbie Anderson – IMESA – 031 266 3263 • conference@imesa.org.za

IMESA t +27 (011) 463 2022 f +27 (011) 463 7383 www.cesa.co.za

t +27 (031) 266 3263 f (031) 266 5094 www.imesa.org.za

ENERGY

Time to see the light?

South Africa’s unpopular and monopoly electricity supplier, through load-shedding and high prices, continues to frustrate consumers. With more people turning to solar energy, this could be problematic for some municipalities. By Tony stone

M T

ost of the big metros derive a substantial portion of their income from selling electricity – between 30% and 40% of their total revenue. Some smaller municipalities earn nearly half of their total income from electricity sales. his includes uMhlathuze (KwaZuluNatal), Langeberg (Western Cape), uMtshezi (KwaZulu-Natal), KwaDukuza (KwaZulu-Natal) and

Tlokwe (North West). About 52 municipalities earn at least a third of their income from electricity ser vice charges while 50-odd municipalities don’t earn a single cent from electricity. For those that do, Table 1 Common home appliances and usage characteristics Source: City of Cape Town figure 1 A grid-tied system with battery backup

Appliance

Power Average use hrs/ day (watts) in use

Lighting Incandescent bulb (40 W) Incandescent bulb (60 W) Incandescent bulb (100 W) CFL (12 W) CFL (18 W) CFL (20 W) Security (120 W)

40 60 100 12 18 20 120

5 5 5 5 5 5 0.3

670 3 000 1 250 2 400 1 275 1 900 1 230 1 010 1 200 166

0.5 2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.2

2 600 2 600

4.4 1.7

Cooking Coffee machine Electric stove Frying pan Hotplate – large Hotplate – small Kettle Microwave oven Toaster Snackwich Food processor

Geyser Electric (electric) Solar (with electric backup)

Refrigeration Freezer (chest) Fridge with freezer Fridge – no freezer

105 158 250

4 5 2

Home maintenance Dishwasher Vacuum cleaner

2 500 1 000

0.9 0.5

1 235 3 000 3 300

0.8 0.75 0.5

10 9 9 134 2 45 647 12 28

24 2 0.4 1.5 15 13.6 0.1 3 12.1

Laundry Iron (steam) Washing machine (per load) Tumble dryer (per load)

Electronics Burglar alarm Cell phone charger Compact disc player Computer Cordless phone Fax machine Hair drier Radio DStv decoder

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WATER Water Supply | Water Treatment | Industrial Water Management Minesite Water Management | Water Reuse & Recycling Chemistry and Geochemistry | Numerical Modelling

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this revenue could partially or completely disappear en masse if consumers really get angr y and go the solar power route. eThekwini’s published rates for 2015/16 three-phase residential, single-phase residential, dispensed prepaid electricity and 40A dispensed prepaid electricity is R1.2939/kWh. These prices will increase year-on-year, at more than the inflation rate, knowing Eskom, and so become even more expensive as years go by.

The typical mid-income electrified home uses around 774 kWh/month (or around R1 001.48/month at current prices) of electricity. Today’s photovoltaic system produces power at less than R1 per kWh, a saving of R0.2939/kWh (or R227.48/month).

National Geographic magazine recently reported a massive 70% price drop in US solar power since 2009, as panels get even smarter. That’s about a 10% per year drop, which means the same thing will happen in South Africa, and, as the price drops, this will be passed through to the consumer – making it increasingly more attractive to go the solar route.

At the moment, there are a number of home solar power system options available for people to choose from: • Grid-tied systems: Grid-tied systems are the cheapest and most cost-effective solar PV systems. These generate some of your electricity. You use what you can, and buy whatever else you need. These are priced from about R50 000, including installation, for a 1.5 kW system.

• Grid-tied system with battery backup: You can add a batter y backup to a grid-tied system, which will provide power during load-shedding, and can be used to increase your savings by using electricity you generated even when the sun is no longer available. These are priced from about R85 000, including installation, for a 1.5 kW system.

• Off-grid system: In off-grid systems you replace the national power grid with your own grid using a battery inverter and batteries. Solar power is then fed into the system, some of which is used immediately, with the rest being stored to be used later. Off-grid systems have a large battery storage capacity Installing solar panels on the roof of a house

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Sensitive but strong – typically a two-day supply – for when bad weather reduces solar generation. A backup power supply is also connected; this is usually a generator, but can also be the national power grid. This is used to charge the batteries when there isn’t enough sun. These are priced from about R250 000, including installation, for a 10 kW system. Installation is quite a complicated process and must be done by a qualified professional or reputable reseller/installer.

For options 1 and 2, gas stoves and gas or solar geysers can replace electric appliances. This will save, on average, 46% of the average mid-income household’s electricity bill (or R460.68/per month).

The cost of a solar geyser is currently be between R10 000 and R18 000, depending on its size. A decent gas stove costs approximately R18 000 to purchase. Doing the numbers over the medium to long term, it is easy to see why more and more consumers will switch to solar power.

Taking the grid-tied system plus a gas stove and a solar geyser will cost the consumer R1 160 per month for 10 years at 10.5%, giving a total cost of R139 253. Staying on the grid and taking an annual 8% increase in Eskom prices, the consumer will pay R174 186.

And using Eskom’s actual average increase over the last eight years, the total would actually be R300 933 – a massive difference.

With consumers switching to solar power, there will be less revenue for municipalities, and Eskom, which may be a case of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

National Geographic magazine recently reported a massive 70% price drop in American solar power since 2009, as panels get even smarter

House fitted with solar panels

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Backed by over 90 years of expertise in flow measurement, there’s a KROHNE meter for every job. The TIDALFLUX 2300 F reliably measures flows in pipes filled to between 10 % and 100 % of their inner diameter.

Even fat and oil floating on the surface are not a problem for the TIDALFLUX 2300 F – its capacitive sensors are integrated into the liner and are never in direct contact with the liquid. Featuring a sturdy polyurethane lining, the TIDALFLUX 2300 F is also perfect for demanding wastewater environments. Ex approvals to ATEX and IECex Zone 1 are available as an option.

When a rugged job demands a high degree of precision, the TIDALFLUX 2300 F performs and never quits.

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SHEQ

Dead man walking Ever y year, people are killed or injured while on the job. In its effor ts to address this problem, the Depar tment of Labour has developed excellent occupational health and safety laws, yet people still die or get injured. Why? By Tony Stone A high-risk manoeuvre that could result in a death or injury: the spirallywelded steel pipe weighs approximate 30 tonnes; the angle of lift is extreme, the cables are incorrectly placed and the wrong equipment is being used for the lift

D

espite South Africa having excellent occupational health and safety laws in place, thousands of people are still being killed or injured while on the job. To answer the question as to why, we need look no further than the Department of Labour itself and business owners. In both instances, the three culprits are management failure, skills availability and taking shortcuts on costs.

In July last year, at the Construction Health and Safety Seminar organised by the department, Phumudzo Maphaha, of the Chief Directorate for Occupational Health and Safety, said, “The mandate of the Department of Labour is to regulate the labour market through policies and programmes in consultation with social par tners aimed at improved economic efficiency and productivity, the creation of decent employment, promoting labour standards and fundamental rights at work, and providing adequate social safety nets

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and 2014. What needs to be done as far as occupational health and safety is concerned is all there, in black and white, in the statutes. All the big civil engineering contracting companies that understand legalese have well-entrenched programmes with appropriately skilled and experienced health and safety officers in place. The problem arises in the smallto medium-sized companies, where such “legal speak” is sometimes not understood, especially when English is not a first language. Thus, taking the law and translating it into memorised, habitual behaviour is problematic, and ignored, only becoming an issue when someone is killed or injured.

to protect vulnerable workers.” As wonder ful as this may read, from this statement, which captures the essence of what needs to be done, two questions beg answers: 1. Who are these “social partners”?

It all starts with management 2. Why does consultation only take place First, you cannot effectively manage what with social partners and not with indusyou don’t properly measure. In 2008, tr y stakeholders the City Press approached Globally, health and and role players? the Department of Labour In looking at the civil safety performance has to obtain statistics about engineering and conworker deaths and inju60 000 fatalities – or struction industr y, the ries. The depar tment’s occupational health one person dying every spokesperson at the time, and safety regulaSekgothadi Lerotholi, 10 minutes – of which tions that apply to the refused to provide the industr y include the one in six deaths occurs newspaper with statistics Factories Machiner y on a construction site or reports into construcand Building Works tion site accidents. Was Act (No. 22 of 1941), Machiner y and this because he couldn’t?

Occupational Safety Act (No. 6 of 1983), Phumudzo Maphaha’s presentation at the Occupational Health and Safety Act the 2015 seminar contained a graph based (No. 85 of 1993), and the amended on data provided by the South African Construction Regulations of 2003, 2010 Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

SHEQ

FIGURE 1 Total number of SHEQ incidents between 2000 and 2012

Poor scaffold construction places workers at risk of death and injury

(Saiosh), which seems to indicate that the Department of Labour does not collect its own data. Of note, Saiosh’s data was more than two years out of date. And, in visiting their website, no statistics are available.

Having accurate, reliable and up-todate data is critical to effective management. So, given the advanced state of

information technology, and the Internet, it is disappointing to find it near impossible to obtain any form of up-to-date and comprehensive statistics on occupational deaths and injuries, from any source – with the exception of the mining industr y.

Globally, health and safety per formance has 60 000 fatalities or one person dying

ever y 10 minutes, of which one in ever y six occurs on a construction site. In industrialised countries, 25% to 40%, and up, of work-related deaths occur on construction sites, despite the sector only employing between 6% and 10% of the total work force. And, there is a 50% higher incidence rate of non-fatal accidents among workers

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BELOW Poor scaffold placement is a key cause of death and injury ®

aged 15 to 24 years, reflecting inexperience and/or ignorance.

What we do know, in South Africa, is that three areas account for 83% of incidents – a fall on or from different levels, being struck by something, and vehicle accidents.

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Taking cost shortcuts Ever y business needs to minimise its costs. It’s one of the golden rules of business. When cost cutting is a calculated process, done sensibly and based on a full and complete knowledge of the construction business and a given project, this is acceptable. But, when cost cutting is senseless or based on ignorance, it becomes a problem, usually increasing the risks to health and safety, and is one of the main reasons why accidents happen.

The group’s capabilities enable Afrimat to service projects of any scale from major infrastructure and construction projects for

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Second, evidence from incident investigations in South Africa shows that by not having a competent health and safety person on-site during all construction and commissioning phases of a project, and the lack of focused health and safety super vision/management, risk is at its highest and is the primar y cause of incidents. By definition, skills translate into education plus experience. It is all well and good to educate someone in the law and practice of health and safety, but that is only half the equation. A health and safety officer needs to understand what to look for and this means knowing the construction business. For business owners, it is not advisable to employ a novice and appoint that person as the health and safety officer. Neither is it advisable for the novice to accept such an appointment, especially in situations where obser vance is lax and something is likely to go wrong.

While each province has its chief occupational health and safety officer within the Department of Labour, BCAWU (the Building, Construction and Allied Workers Union) has pointed a finger at the department for its failure to ensure that an adequate number of health and safety inspectors are on the ground, and is, they contend, one of the reasons why accidents occur on construction sites.

state-owned enterprises and parastatals through to small private sector contracts.

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In summary To sum up, the solution is education – not just of the health and safety officer but also of the small- and medium-sized business owner. This education should not just be the law and practice of occupational health and safety but it should be as relevantly practical as well. BCAWU is right: appropriate enforcement of the law is required. The responsibility of management, whether in the public or private sector, to do ever ything possible to save lives is an imperative. One life lost is one too many.

info@afrimat.co.za www.afrimat.co.za

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IMIESA May 2016

SHEQ

Keeping your head On a construction site, the majority of accidents that occur, in any one categor y, happen because an object falls on someone from a height. Without a safety helmet, injuries are usually quite severe, and sometimes fatal. By Tony Stone

Preventing objects from falling

W

aking up in a hospital bed, Don’t leave your safety helmet behind, you may regret it without having any idea why, is a typical scenario after being hit by a falling object potential to penetrate a hardhat. Imagine – and not having worn your safety helmet what a brick could do. (if you’re fortunate enough to survive). It’s The cost of accidents at moments such as these that Murphy will Non-compliance in health and safety regutypically drop a brick on your head. lations on construction sites, largely by In South Africa, construction accident smaller companies, suggests a lack of statistics are hard to come by. What we understanding of the importance of know from old data, presented An ugly these regulations on-site. While in the Construction Industry head injury responsibility does extend to Development Board’s client, it is the sheer apathy repor t on construction of some clients that is also health and safety in a problem. Either way, these South Africa, is that 44% people need a medicinal of construction accidents dose of reality to jolt them occur from objects fallinto action. In 2014, there ing and hitting someone. were 5 302 incidents, of which 2 A solid object dropped from 332 were caused by objects falling on 20 m will hit the ground in two to people. At the same time, Kersey Pillay, seconds at a speed of 70 km/h. The same a UCT Master’s degree student, reported object dropped at 33 m will hit the ground in his thesis that the costs of construction in three seconds at a speed of 106 km/h. accidents, for the sample of 100 incidents A 60 gram pen dropped from 70 m has the

s with everything, prevention is A better than cure. The following guidelines will assist in the prevention of incidents involving objects falling from heights.

• Use tool lanyards to prevent tools from falling • Keep all material at least three feet from a leading edge, other than material specifically required for work in process • Remove items from all loose or unsealed pockets, especially top shirt pockets, such as phones, pens, and tools • Do not hang objects over guard rails • Secure all objects when working on an elevated surface • Ensure toe boards are in place and inspected frequently • Require hard hats and other required personal protective equipment (PPE) for every person in areas at risk for falling objects – no exceptions • Rope off the area, if possible, where fall or drop hazards may exist • Inspect all PPE prior to use to confirm it still meets manufacturers’ recommendations • Communicate often and work as a team to avoid complacency, and remain vigilant of these procedures at all times.

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SHEQ

analysed in his study, was estimated to be at a staggering R32.9 million (an average of R329 000 per incident). Of this total, R10 million had been attributed to direct costs and R22.9 million to indirect costs.

According to Raymond Levitt and Nancy Samelson, authors of Construction Safety Management, direct costs are those associated with the treatment of injuries arising from the accident and any unique compensation offered to a worker as a consequence of being injured. Indirect costs included, inter alia: • reduction in productivity • costs of clean-up after the accident • costs of replacing material, plant and equipment • standby costs of idle plant and equipment • cost of overtime worked to make up for the resultant delays • administrative costs in terms of paperwork related to claims and reports • orientation of the replacement worker/s • costs resulting from delays

Types of skull fractures

• additional supervision costs • costs related to rescheduling of the work to ensure timely completion • transportation of injured worker/s • wages paid while injured worker/s was/were idle.

Training is critical. Creating an awareness of the simple things that cause accidents, and reinforcing this awareness, no matter how skilled or experienced a worker may be, is critical. It could mean the difference

between living and dying. It may even save your life. And remember, it is a fundamental human right of every worker that he or she is able to return home at the end of every working day, alive and healthy, and in the same physical condition in which he or she started working, each and every day.

Two simple rules: wear your safety helmet and see that your co-worker wears his or her helmet too – at all times.

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SHEQ

All-round risk assessment Over 80 exhibitors at A-OSH EXPO 2016 have pulled out all the stops to make this year’s event an unforgettable experience for visitors from across the continent and beyond.

A

rguably Africa’s leading occupational health and safety (OHS) exhibition, A-OSH has been strategically designed to provide a carefully orchestrated combination of products, services and educational sessions.

“If you are responsible for reducing OHS in your work environment, then A-OSH EXPO 2016, held at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, from 24 to 26 May 2016, is the

place to be,” says Joshua Low, event director: A-OSH EXPO, Specialised Exhibitions.

“The exhibition represents high-quality brands from leading local and overseas occupational health and safety manufacturers, suppliers and service providers. It’s no idle boast that A-OSH EXPO is able to provide risk assessments and mitigation for a multitude of identifiable issues across a large number of industries,” he continues.

Now in its sixth year, the expo boasts a number of visitor attractions that make the show experience even more worthwhile.

These include the comprehensive Saiosh conference and the Business Matchmaking Service sponsored by Ideco. The latter initiative allows visitors to be prematched with relevant exhibitors, whereby meetings are arranged in advance of the exhibition, thereby maximising the visitor’s time at the expo.

ABOVE The ALCO-Safe 600 with printer kit

reference clients will be available on the stand to answer any questions visitors may have. Visitors can enter their business cards into a lucky draw to stand a chance of winning an online shopping voucher.

Locked into safety

“There is simply no OHS problem that does not have a solution at A-OSH EXPO 2016. We have lined up an extensive array of products and services that will make life so much easier for anyone involved in OHS,” says Low.

Master Lock’s range of lock-out padlocks include laminated, specially coated aluminium and the Zenex range of thermoplastic padlocks. All padlocks supplied by local distributor IB McIntyre & Company are durable, and various colour-coding and engraving options are available for easy identification.

These locks are available in keyed-alike or master-keyed suites. For ultimate safety and security, they can be registered to a single company’s specific requirements to prevent unwanted key duplication. Different shackle lengths are also available to accommodate different locking situations. Padlocks come standard with key retaining to prevent being left unlocked.

Safety software

A head-to-toe approach

ppe2go is an easy-to-use software system that saves both time and money and allows users to control the issuing of PPE stock.

A number of features will be available for demonstration at the exhibition, including self-service kiosks, biometric authentication, barcoded scanners, data integration, online verification and KPI reports. VIP guests from

Charnaud believes in a head-to-foot approach to safety. This year at A-OSH EXPO, Charnaud introduces a new product in its Survive-Arc range of personal protective clothing. The True Comfort long-sleeve shirt comes in a plush navy blue and can protect a wearer in an electric arc flash of up to 10.9 cal/cm2.

Finding OHS solutions

Local quality The True Comfort long-sleeve shirt from Charnau

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IMIESA May 2016

Besides being a manufacturer of personal protective equipment, Safeco also promotes and distributes local manufacturers’

products where they are of compliant quality. The range also includes products from internationally accredited and reputable manufacturers and covers head-to-toe as well as many auxiliary safety accessories and equipment.

The company is a distributor for Drager, Drizit, Dromex, Frams, Hazmat, Howard Leight, Maxi, Rebel, Safequip, Tyvek, Uvex, Wayne, Watt, Zenith, Zero and 3M.

A strong foundation for infrastructure success

Managing legal compliance Sabinet’s new Legal Registers platform, in association with Standards & Legal, takes the stress out of managing sustainability and legal compliance. The company’s South African legislation service, Netlaw, includes all updated and consolidated South African Principal Acts, Rules and Regulations since 1910.

Municipal By-Laws offers complete full text access to all by-laws in force and applicable in municipalities in all nine provinces, from 1995 to present day.

Mobile solutions HSP Group SA has a constant and established team of qualified experts in the field of occupational healthcare and safety services, and extremely well-equipped referral centres, mobile units and on-site clinics offer solutions for organisational occupational health and safety compliance.

HSP Group SA offers pre-employment, exit and periodic medicals, executive medicals, mining medicals, biological monitoring, hearing tests, vision screening, lung tests, on-site clinics, drug control, travel medicine, training, counselling, locum services, and first-aid kits at any of its referral centres.

The UNISA Centre for Business Management offers short learning programmes that prepare learners for the business world in a quick and effective manner. The courses are also ideal for professional people seeking to get formal qualifications in their field. These industry-relevant courses include the Programme in Safety Management as well as the Programme in Advanced Safety Management. Visitors can come and meet the lecturers at the organisation’s A-OSH EXPO stand and get answers to all their study-related questions. Each day at the exhibition, Unisa CBM will be giving away one bursary to study the Programme in Safety Management.

Bumbene offers tailor-made solutions for lasting, cost-effective, law-compliant results and peace of mind. Core services include national and international OHS management systems and products; TETA-accredited skills development and training; the HIRA process; corporate services that include criminal record checks and driver’s licence verification; consulting and assessment; compliance and auditing; construction management; technical input; occupational surveys; health and safety products.

SHE PPE Women are different to men both anatomically and physiologically, so Etekweni Safety Health and Environmental Services has developed the SHE PPE range for working women. This range is aligned with women’s bodily structures and anthropometric data.

The design articulates what women want in order to be comfortable and safe, and therefore happy and productive.

Dräger South Africa supplies and services a diverse range of safety products to a number of industries, namely government

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Concrete Pipes

ROCLA’s Rubber Ring Joint Pressure Pipe is a watertight pipe for use in low pressure (2 to 8 Bar) applications.

The Spigot and Socket type joint is formed with a widening of the wall of the pipe on the one end, with the joint sealed with a rubber ring.

ROCLA is Southern Africa’s leading manufacturer of pre-cast concrete products for infrastructure, including pipes, culverts, manholes, roadside furniture, retaining walls, stock troughs, poles and other related products.

Tel: 011 670 7600 | www.rocla.co.za

Rocla is a subsidiary of ISG, a leading supplier of innovative infrastructure products to the construction and mining markets in Southern Africa.

SHEQ

departments, fire services, chemical industries, oil and gas, and mining. Their offering includes a full range of alcohol and drug detection devices, respiratory protection, gas warning devices as well as protective clothing. Dräger will be showcasing its new comfort vest for chemical protection suits (CPS), drug and alcohol detection equipment, airline equipment, and gas detection equipment at this year’s A-OSH EXPO exhibition.

Affsaf provides a costeffective OHS management system that is accessible from the cloud, ensures legal compliance and is OHSAS 18001 aligned. The system is interactive and designed to create actions and reminders. All documents, such as checklists, appointment letters and audit forms, are provided and non-conformances are

managed via automatic status reports, with statistics generated for management purposes. ALCO-Safe provides assistance in the formulation of alcohol and substance abuse programmes and the provision of police-grade breathalysers to ensure high-quality and consistent results, together with drug testing equipment suitable for workplace use.

The company undertakes calibrations and maintenance on all of the equipment that it supplies.

If positive test results are obtained, ALCO-Safe can also assist with expert witnesses in CCMA cases and labour court hearings.

As has been the case over the past few years, Saiosh will be running its comprehensive conference alongside the 2016 A-OSH EXPO

74

Be educated In addition to the widest variety of OHS products and services under one roof, A-OSH

EXPO also offers visitors the opportunity to learn about current trends and best practice in the free-to-attend NOSHEBO Seminar Theatre (sponsored again this year by Ansell) and the PASMA Working at Height Theatre. The seminar programmes are available at www.aosh.co.za.

As in the past few years, Saiosh will also be running their comprehensive conference alongside A-OSH EXPO. In a clear show of confidence, A-OSH EXPO 2016 enjoys the endorsement of a number of leading industry associations, including the Institute for Working at Height (IWH), IOSM, Nebosh, FPASA, Noshebo, Pasma, the Safety First Association, Saioh, Sapema and Saiosh.

A-OSH EXPO will again be co-located with Securex, Africa’s leading source for security and fire products and services. The exhibition covers all aspects of security and fire risk analysis and alleviation and, for the first time, will include a conference that addresses cyber security.

IMIESA May 2016

A U N I Q U E O P P O RT U N IT Y TO IN V ES T A N D B U IL D IN W ES T A F R IC A

29 - 30 November 2016, Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria 2016 S pon sor s and par tne r s Silver sponsor

Association partners

w ww.to t al l y-con crete. c o m / we st

Knowledge partners

Media partners

Host media partners

Part of a global series of events

TECHNICAL PAPER

Composting refuse and night soil In South Africa, there is an urgent need for the development of low-cost, appropriate sanitation technologies where there is no infrastructure for waterborne sewage and often a chronic shortage of water. Corans, the composting of refuse and night soil, presents such a solution. By dr WR Ross

T

he need for a low-cost sanitation system where there is no infrastructure occurs not only in the less-developed rural areas but also in the overpopulated outskirts of urban areas where people are settling in search of better work opportunities – e.g. informal settlements.

Pilot plant research was carried out on forced aeration composting of unsorted refuse and night soil. Disinfection, stabilisation and resource recovery was completed after three weeks of composting and a further three weeks of maturation and sieving.

Corans (composting of refuse and night soil) could be an appropriate low-cost sanitation technology for less-developed areas, such as informal settlements.

Dignified bucket system In the abovementioned areas, it is assumed that sewage disposal is generally done by means of a sensible bucket system. There should be no reservations to a bucket system structure that is built to a standard that is safe and firm and to a collection system that is operated with dignity.

The night soil arising from a bucket system is collected by tanker and conventionally disposed of into lagoons, which must be situated some distance from the community because of odour problems and insect breeding. In turn, the domestic refuse is often disposed of by uncontrolled landfilling, which impacts adversely on the environment.

of organic material under controlled conditions, which allows the build-up of biologically generated heat resulting in a stabilised and disinfected end product.

The Corans process is based on the established static-pile, forced-aeration composting process and was adapted and simplified for two other polluted waste streams such as unsorted refuse and night soil. The unit operations and flow diagram of the Corans process in association with a pond system is shown in Figure 1.

Pilot plant Corans research Initial pilot plant experiments were carried out by Nell & Ross (1987) at the NIWR–CSIR site, Bellville, and subsequently by La Trobe & Ross (1990) at the Rini site, Grahamstown.

These studies confirmed the technical feasibility of dewatering and composting night soil and unsorted refuse as bulking agents.

The Corans technology appears not to have been utilised in the modern era, which is the reason for this paper.

Construction of Corans window Figure 2 illustrates the equipment used in the Corans process. A perforated 100 mm pipe rests on the composting pad surface and allows air to be drawn into the static compost windrow (page 76, Image 1).

The pad surface should have a slight gradient towards a central drainage canal to allow excess leachate from the night soil to flow to a collection sump and drain to an aerated pond. An initial porous base layer is constructed to protect the aeration pipe from blockage (Image 2).

The windrow is constructed by alternate layers of unsorted refuse and night soil addition, which is controlled by an easily manageable and flexible hose from a tanker (images 3 and 4). This operation need not be messy; the heterogeneous nature of the refuse and night soil determines the volume ratios to obtain an ideal mixture.

The unsorted refuse acts as a bulking agent to provide porosity and structural strength. This permits air to be drawn into

fIGURE 1 Flow diagram of the Corans process

Corans process Composting is defined as the solid-state exothermic aerobic oxidation and decomposition

IMIESA May 2016

75

TECHNICAL PAPER

fIGURE 2 Equipment required for Corans

1

2

3

4

76

IMIESA May 2016

the windrow and to react with the filtered and thickened night soil solids (nonmechanical procedure). The combination of refuse and faecal solids adds moisture and organics and, thus, net energy to aerobically generate biological heat for decomposition.

The sides of the windrow are sloped to some 45 degrees and covered with a 5 cm insulating blanket layer of stabilised compost. A windrow height of some 2 m allows for manual construction by wheelbarrow and spade instead of using a front-end loader. A water-trap of some 0.2 m³ is provided to accommodate the aeration tubing.

A suction radial vane fan capable of 0.2 m3 to 0.6 m³ per second flow at 2 900 rpm was used in the pilot plant studies (Image 5). Residual oxygen concentrations of some 10% were maintained in the outlet air from the fan. Elementary control instrumentation consisted of: • a time-switch on the fan to regulate air flow through the windrow • an oxygen analyser (hand-shaken) to monitor oxygen residuals in outlet air • temperature control by means of a dial thermometer with a 1.5 m long stem for insertion into the windrow at various depths via in situ galvanised pipes for monitoring points.

Static windrow piles are often constructed with a configuration intermediate between individual and extended types. This reduces the need for cover material by 70% and the composting pad area by 30%. The composted dry mixture of refuse and night soil (Image 6) had a loose, friable texture and was humus-like, with a pleasant, earthy smell. It was totally different to the two polluted original products, which were putrescible and had offensive odours.

A manually operated sieve with a 25 mm diamond mesh grid was used to

separate the recyclables from the compost (Image 7). The end product’s ultimate use will be acceptable in terms of both environmental impact and public health.

Results of pilot plant Corans case studies A typical temperature profile of the Corans process over a six-week period is illustrated in Figure 3. This indicates that a biologically generated temperature of 65°C to 75°C can be maintained for at least five days, which will ensure disinfection of all pathogens. Disinfection and stabilisation are completed after three weeks of composting and a further three weeks for maturation.

Advantages of the Corans process Corans is an appropriate waste-management technology for less-developed areas.

The process is low-cost because it is largely non-mechanised and requires simple equipment, allows for local labour and is flexible in its operating procedures.

The use of unsorted refuse as a bulking agent provides porosity and more energy than other expensive agents, such as wood chips. Fur thermore, the use of refuse as a filtering and thickening agent

Corans is an appropriate waste management solution for less-developed and indigent areas.

The approach uses simple equipment and it is cost-effective

TECHNICAL PAPER

IMAGE 1 Simple equipment required for Corans

5

IMAGE 2 Perforated suction aeration pipe on composting pad surface IMAGE 3 Porous base layer to protect suction aeration pipe IMAGE 4 Bellville – addition of night soil from tanker IMAGE 5 Grahamstown – addition of night soil from tanker IMAGE 6 Unsieved composted end products IMAGE 7 Recyclables and sieved compost

6

will mitigate the capital and running expenses of the mechanical dewatering of sewage solids. There is no intrinsic limitation to the size of the Corans composting plant, except for surface area.

There is potential for income from the sale of resource-recovery end products, for example: • stabilised, pathogen-free and odourless sieved compost for agricultural use • recyclables: glass, plastics, tins, etc.

7

Disadvantages of the Corans process The layering of night soil and refuse in construction of the static pile need not be an unduly messy procedure if the operators take precautions to ensure personal hygiene – i.e. gumboots, gloves and facemasks. It might be advisable to have some measure of preselection of the refuse so as to remove large cardboard boxes and sheets of plastic, which could interfere with the flow of air through the windrow.

Conclusions

fIGURE 3 Typical temperature profile of Corans

Numerous other waste treatment options exist such as co-disposal of sewage sludge and refuse in a sanitary landfill bioreactor. The choice of the most suitable method of stabilisation is dictated by a multitude of variables including economics, availability of technical skills, water, power and political considerations.

Corans could be a cost-effective, appropriate sanitation technology for the stabilisation, disinfection and resource recovery of refuse and night soil in lessdeveloped areas.

IMIESA May 2016

77

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

Bell shows profit against industry odds A leading local original capital equipment manufacturer and global ar ticulated dump truck (ADT) specialist has weathered tough operating conditions in 2015 to record a net profit of R169 million for 2015 – a 154% increase compared with 2014.

T

he challenging economic environment, however, saw group revenue decrease by 11% compared with 2014, as machiner y sales continued to deteriorate worldwide, spurred on by fur ther declines in the commodity prices and subsequent low investment by the mining sector in projects requiring capital equipment.

According to Karen van Haght, group finance director, Bell, the improvement in profitability is mainly due to three factors: the group’s right-sizing and costreduction actions, higher production volumes in 2015, as well as exchange-rate gains through the weakening rand and the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro.

“Group overheads decreased by 18% in 2015 and the expense-to-sales ratio improved marginally to 21%. Going forward, our focus will need to remain on disciplined cost management,” she says.

Doubled contributions from abroad Gar y Bell, chief executive, Bell Equipment, says sales volumes reduced in all markets other than North America, the world’s largest ADT market.

“Bell Equipment North America, together with parts supplied directly to this market from the parts warehouses in South Africa and Germany, more than doubled its contribution to the group’s turnover in 2015. With nearly 12% of sales now delivered from the region, this is a significant gain on the 1.5% of just three years ago. We believe that, with our new range of competitive E-series ADTs, we have

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IMIESA May 2016

good prospects for growth over the next two years.

“Although sales in Europe were depressed, the demand for machinery in the United Kingdom, largely driven by the construction industry’s demand, met expectations.

The EU region remains a key market for ADT sales and we are satisfied with the level of acceptance that our products have achieved in this highly competitive market.”

In South Africa, sales revenue decreased by 16% and contributed 41% of group sales in 2015, compared with 43% in 2014. Similarly, sales from the rest of Africa contracted by 10% for the year under review, although the contribution to external group sales remained unchanged at 15% for 2014 and 2015.

Ongoing research and development The global commodity slump and the effect of geopolitical issues on general business sentiment, both locally and abroad, however, have not dampened the company’s drive for ongoing research and development.

“The full, new range of Bell E-series ADTs has now been completed and production

ABOVE Bell Equipment chief executive Gary Bell, in front of a B50E, one of the group’s new-generation E-series large trucks

will ramp up during the second half of 2016 in both South African and German factories. The full range was on show at Bauma in Munich, Germany, last month,” says Bell.

Although the group’s strategies have delivered an improved result over the period, Bell says that manufacturers in South Africa face ongoing challenges in terms of lack of meaningful support, poor response from government in dealing with some of the hurdles faced and, of course, issues such as power supply, labour, skills development and BBBEE difficulties.

“Our positioning and location relative to the major markets is in itself challenging and few incentives are available to offset this fact,” he adds.

Going for ward, he says that short-tomedium-term priorities are to grow the Bell ADT and the associated parts and ser vice volumes in the active global markets, by increasing the group’s dealer network coverage.

“Plans are also in place with regard to product-range philosophies and the extent of manufacturing and the manufacturing locations in the medium to longer term.

This has become particularly important as the bulk of our core products, the range of trucks, are now sold in the Northern Hemisphere,” concludes Bell.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES AECOM siphokuhle.dlamini@aecom.com Afri-Infra Group (Pty) Ltd banie@afri-infra.com AJ Broom Road Products ajbroom@icon.co.za Arup SA rob.lamb@arup.com Aurecon Fani.Xaba@aurecongroup.com Aveng Manufacturing Infraset cgroenewald@infraset.com Bigen Africa Group Holdings otto.scharfetter@bigenafrica.com BMK Consulting brian@bmkconsulting.co.za Bosch Munitech info@boschmunitech.co.za Bosch Stemele bsdbn@boschstemele.co.za Brubin Pumps sales@brubin.co.za BVI Consulting Engineers marketing@bviho.co.za Civilconsult Consulting Engineers mail@civilconsult.co.za Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa secretary@corrosioninstitute.org.za CSIR Built Environment rbapela@csir.co.za Development Bank of SA divb@dbsa.org.za DPI Plastics mgoodchild@dpiplastics.co.za EFG Engineers eric@efgeng.co.za Elster Kent Metering leon.basson@elster.com Engcor Engineers masham@engcorengineers.co.za Fibertex South Africa (Pty) Ltd rcl@fibertex.com GIBB yvanrooyen@gibb.co.za GLS Consulting nicky@gls.co.za Gudunkomo Investments & Consulting info@gudunkomo.co.za Hatch Goba (Pty) Ltd info@hatch.co.za Henwood & Nxumalo Consulting Engineers cc pmboffice@hn.co.za Herrenknecht schiewe.helene@herrenknecht.de Huber Technology cs@hubersa.com Hydro-comp Enterprises dan@edams.co.za I@Consulting louis_icon@mics.co.za ILISO Consulting hans@iliso.com INGEROP mravjee@ingerop.co.za Integrity Environment info@integrityafrica.co.za Jeffares and Green dennyc@jgi.co.za Johannesburg Water rtaljaard@jwater.co.za KABE Consulting Engineers info@kabe.co.za Kago Consulting Engineers kagocon@kago.co.za Kantey & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers info@kanteys.co.za Knowledge Base info@knowbase.co.za 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

Marley Pipe Systems info@marleypipesystems.co.za Martin & East gbyron@martin-east.co.za Mhiduve adminpotch@mhiduve.co.za Moedi Wa Batho Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd info@wabatho.co.za Mott Macdonald Africa (Pty) Ltd mahomed.soobader@mottmac.com Much Asphalt leon.alberts@muchasphalt.com Namela Consulting (Pty) Ltd melissa@namela.co.za Nyeleti Consulting ppienaar@nyeleti.co.za Odour Engineering Systems mathewc@oes.co.za Pumptron info@pumptron.co.za Pragma nicojobe.mabaso@pragmaworld.net francisg@rhdv.com Royal HaskoningDHV SABITA info@sabita.co.za SALGA info@salga.org.za SARF administrator@sarf.org.za.co.za SBS Water Systems desere@sbstanks.co.za Sektor Consulting cradock@sektor.co.za Sight Lines sales@sightlines.co.za SiVEST SA garths@sivest.co.za Siza Water Company tionette.bates@sizawater.co.za SMEC capetown@smec.com SNA stolz.j@sna.co.za Sobek Engineering gen@sobek.co.za Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology director@sasst.org.za SRK Consulting jomar@srk.co.za Sulzer Pumps Wastewater sales.abs.za@sulzer.com Syntell julia@syntell.co.za Thm Engineers East London thmel@mweb.co.za TPA Consulting roger@tpa.co.za UWP Consulting craign@uwp.co.za Vetasi south-africa@vetasi.com VIP Consulting Engineers esme@vipconsulting.co.za VOMM commerciale@vomm.it VUKA Africa Consulting Engineers info@vukaafrica.co.za Water Institute of Southern Africa wisa@wisa.org.za Water Solutions Southern Africa ecoetzer@wssa.co.za Wilo South Africa marketingsa@wilo.co.za WorleyParsons hans.karemaker@worleyparsons.com WRP ronniem@wrp.co.za WRNA washy@wrnyabeze.com WSP Group Africa dirk.hattingh@mbs-wsp.co.za

I M E S A A F F I L I AT E M E M B E R S

IMESA

iNDEX TO ADVERTISErs

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 80

2nd Annual Vision Summit

80

IMESA 80th Conference

36

IMESA Call for Entries

62

SA Leak Detection

19

Sika

27

Sizabantu Piping Systems

14

Structa Group

50

Technicrete

28

Cape Construction

4

African Utility Week

48

Infrastructure Africa

Afrimat

68

Kaytech

20

Ammann Group

34

Kemach JCB Equipment

61

Aveng Infraset

IBC

Krohne

65

Bagshaw Footwear

70

Lafarge

24

Barloworld Equipment

67

Mather+Platt

10

The Concrete Institute

31

Civilution Congress

54

Mercedes-Benz

37

Tosas

71

CMA

32

N&Z Instrumentation & Control

16

DPI Plastics

13

National Asphalt

IFC

2

Water & Sanitation Services SA

OFC

ELB Equipment

40 & 52

Nuwater

Envirosan

46 & 47

PMSA

33

Erwat

44

PPC

21

GLS Consulting

49

Rocla

73

Totally Concrete West Africa

74

SA Fence & Gate

42

OBC

WorleyParsons

64

WPCP

15

WRP

45

Zest WEG Group

59

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Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a specialised provider of sustainable water services in Southern Africa