imiesa february 2012

IMESAAsset management

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IMESAIMESA

MEDIA

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

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY

NATIONAL NATIONAL ASPHALTASPHALT Always on

the move

Winner of the 2011 PICA Non-professional writer of the yearWinneNon-p

Cape TownInfrastructure expansion

InsightHidden dangers

the OT EAT

nn in

David Wertheim Aymes, CEO, Bosun “Municipalities cannot afford ‘cheap’ products” p8yyy ,, p p p, p p p pppppppI S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 V o l u m e 3 7 N o . 2 • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2 • R 4 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l V A T )

MANUFACTURER & SUPPLIER OF MASTS, POLES & TOWERS 1

SECTION

028SECTION

028EXP

LeBlanc CTH Lighting Structures (Pty) LtdReg. No. 2005/002613/07

18 Johnson Rd, Pretoriastad, Nigel PO Box 1592, Nigel, 1490, South AfricaTel: +27 (0)11 814-1404 Fax: +27 (0)11 814-1444email: [email protected] site: www.leblancgroup.com, www.lightingstructures.edx.co.za

LeBLANC CIH Lighting Structures is a leading supplier ofMasts, Towers and associated equipment for High Mast Lightingin South Africa and other African Countries and has been inoperation since 1976.

The company designs, fabricates and erects Monople Type Mastsand Towers in seven basic product ranges

• Railow Masts• Midhinge Masts• Hydro Masts• Internal and External Access Masts• Monopole Transmission Masts• Electricity transmission Masts• Street Lighting Poles

Manufacturing FacilityThe Facility comprises of a 3500 square meter covered factorywith extensive loading facilities and stacking space as well as 500square meters of office space.The faciluty is well equiped with extensive plant and machinery forthe handling and processing of steel plate as well as all othersteel work required for the production of Monopole typestructures.The production facility employs some fifty persons includingqualified boiler makers, coded welders and machine operators.

QualityThe production facility is EN ISO 9001:2008 certified by DekraInternational

EngineeringAll monopoles and structures fabricated by the company aredesigned by a professional structural engineer, and detailing forfabrication is done by our own experienced staff, making use ofthe latest CAD drawing facilities

Track RecordLighting Structures has designed and fabricated Masts fornumerous customers in the Ligthting and Electrical sectors bothin South Africa as well as many other countries in Africa.

Services• Design and fabrication of masts from a standard range or

special design to suit client specifications• Erection of Masts• Design and construction of Mast foundation• Inspection and maintenance of existing Masts and foundations• Turnkey capabilities for full site build• Technical support and as built documentation

LIGHTING STRUCTURES

JascoLeBlanc Jasco Lighting Structures (pty)ltdLLeBLANC Jasco Lighting Structures.co.za

87 310 1000 86 699 6999

LIGHTING STRUCTURESLIGHTING STRUCTURES

(0)87 310 1000 (0)86 699 6999 (0)87 310 1000 (0)86 699 6999

Lighting StructuresLeBLANC Jasco Lighting Structures

IMIESA FEBRUARY 2012 - 1


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the move




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David Wertheim Aymes, CEO, Bosun “Municipalities cannot afford ‘cheap’ products” p8yyy ,, , p p p, p p p pppppppI S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 V o l u m e 3 7 N o . 2 • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2 • R 4 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l V A T )

VOLUME 37 NO 2 FEBRUARY 2012Contents

19RailRail

rebornreborn

67WasteWaste

managementmanagement

National Asphalt’s newly upgraded Cliffdale asphalt plant is proof of the company’s commitment to supply only asphalt of the highest quality to its customers. The company’s innovation and continued involvement with cutting edge asphalt technology together with professional staff that are recognised in the industry as asphalt specialists is what sets them apart from their competitors.

7341RoadRoad

constructionconstructionBridgeBridge

collapsecollapse

45 PPP assists with N1 upgrade47 Comprehensive laboratory services49 A people focused company50 MR172 reconstruction

Roads and stormwater54 Rural roads upgrade55 Power roller screed57 New bridge constructed over

Hennops River

South African Geomatics Institute59 Road rehab and SANRAL specifications61 Managing municipalities from space63 Potential for SADC space technology64 Training: An essential aspect

Recycling65 Strategy needed for construction recycling

Panel discussion67 Integrated waste management plans69 Eugene de Wet: MTM Bodies71 Dirk van Niekerk: The Waste Group72 Shaun Harrop: TFM Industries

Insight73 The hidden dangers: bridge integrity

Products and services81 Engineering training conference83 Demand management: a growing trend84 Pavers: a popular rejuvenation choice

Cover article6 National Asphalt: Always on the

move

Hot seat8 The cost of “cheap” products

IMESA11 Obituary: Jan Brand

12 Infrastructure asset management FAQs

14 75th IMESA Conference

Government perspective19 The rebirth of rail

Industry news21 Making sense of construction

collusion

People and events23 IMESA delegates impressed Institution of Civil Engineers

Polokwane25 Tar roads improve economy

27 The Lawton Road link

29 Water provision for 17 villages

SANRAL33 Durban project pilots technology

37 Soil rehab and conservation

41 The role of geosynthetics in road construction

Regulars3 Editor’s comment5 President’s comment

Developing successful strategies

for development, investment and

procurement in transport, energy

and water supply infrastructure

27, 28, 29 & 30 March 2012, Crowne Plaza Johannesburg – The Rosebank

Keynote Address: Jeremy Cronin,

Deputy Minister of Transport, Department of Transport

Strategic Infrastructure Development Summit

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Richard Jansen van Vuuren, editor of IMIESA

The small issue of experience…PUBLISHER Elizabeth ShortenEDITOR Richard Jansen van VuurenCREATIVE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Frédérick DantonSENIOR DESIGNER Hayley Moore MendelowSUB-EDITOR Patience GumboCONTRIBUTORS Kevin Wall, Anne Brand, Chris von Holdt, Nicholas Rowse, Leon Naude, Roger Byrne, Sibusiso Ndebele, Candice Landie, Tony Stone, Holger RustPRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh BotmaPRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jaqueline ModiseFINANCIAL MANAGER Andrew Lobban (ACIS, FCIBM)ADMINISTRATION Tonya HebentonDISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa MasinaDISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Asha PursothamSUBSCRIPTION SALES Nomsa MasinaPRINTERS United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571___________________________________________________

ADVERTISING SALESJenny Miller Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223___________________________________________________

PUBLISHER: MEDIA No. 4, 5th Avenue, Rivonia 2056PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 E-mail: [email protected] www.3smedia.co.za

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R480.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR.© Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.___________________________________________________

IMESA CONTACTSIMESA Administration Officer: Ingrid BottonP O Box 2190, Westville, 3630Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094Email: [email protected]: www.imesa.org.za

BORDER BRANCHSecretary: Melanie MatroosTel: +27 (0)43 705 2401Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266E-mail: [email protected]

EAST CAPE BRANCHElsabé KoenTel: +27 (0)41 505 8005Fax: +27 (0)41 581 2300E-mail: [email protected]

KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCHSecretary: Rita ZaaymanTel: +27(0)31 311 6382

NORTHERN PROVINCE BRANCHSecretary: Cornel TaljaardTel: +27 (0)82 899 8341Fax: +27 (0)11 675 1324E-mail: [email protected]

SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO BRANCHSecretary: Henrietta OliverTel: +27(0)79 390 7536Fax: 086 536 3725E-mail: [email protected]

WESTERN CAPE BRANCHSecretary: Erica van JaarsveldTel: +27 (0)21 938 8455Fax: +27 (0)21 938 8457E-mail: [email protected]

FREE STATE AND NORTHERN CAPE BRANCHSecretary: Wilma Van Der WaltTel: +27(0)83 457 4362Fax: 086 628 0468E-mail: [email protected]

REST OF SOUTHERN AFRICARepresentative: Andre MullerE-mail: [email protected]

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.

Cover opportunityIn 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 on pages and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings contact Jenny Miller on tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223.

I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 V o l u m e 3 7 N o . 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 • R 4 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l V A T )

IMESAFlood

management

Cape TownRefuse

collection

Service delivery solutions for wa

Panel discussion

MEDIAThe official magazine of the Institute

of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa


Aveng Grinaker-LTA

0 0 (( i nn cc l VV AAA T ))

EDDIAAMEDA


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the move




the OT EAT

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David Wertheim Aymes, CEO, Bosun “Municipalities cannot afford ‘cheap’ products” p8yyy ,, , p p p, p p p pppppppI S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 V o l u m e 3 7 N o . 2 • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2 • R 4 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l V A T )

EDITOR'S COMMENT

ONE OF THE advantages of being the editor of IMIESA is the num-ber of industry specific events I attend. As the magazine caters for

the entire infrastructure supply chain, inter-action between the magazine and municipal engineers, consultants and contractors is vital to the intelligence we provide in our editorial.

I recently met with a “retired” professional engineer who is actively promoting the Wet Services Engineers Forum of South Africa (WSEF-SA) – a man some of our readers may recognise – Vollie Brink. The forum has been established as the severe lack of experienced mentors for engineers and technicians working within urban environments, is an issue that needs to be addressed in a formal manner, within a structure and most importantly an industry association or institute. Members of the forum consist primarily of engineers who specialise in the design of all wet services outside and inside buildings.

If you would like to know more about the WSEF-SA or perhaps how you can play a part in the work it has planned, email: Vollie Brink @ [email protected]

CESA also recently held its annual media breakfast where its new president, Naren Bhojaram, was introduced to members of the media. Bhojaram also outlined his theme for the year – “Unquestionably Ethical”.

In his presentation Bhojaram highlighted the fact that South Africa is populated with very competent and able engineers.

“Our engineers are also attractive to foreign engineering firms and other industries. At the same time we find ourselves, as a country not delivering on basic services. Why does this happen? The answer is simply that our competent engineers are not in the right place. Engineers have left our country and we have become an unattractive industry with our pro-fession being reduced to a mere commodity,” he explained.

The logic behind this statement is simple. If you, in your personal capacity, were seeking the best services required for a medical sur-gery you simply would not seek the services of the cheapest surgeon you could find. Or

would you?

Hamish Laing, CMA director (left), Lance Carson, superintendent water and sanitation of the Tlokwe (Potchefstroom) City Council, and Kleintjie Kleinhans, assistant city engineer of the Tlokwe (Potchefstroom) City Council, seen here at the entrance to the original Potchefstroom pump station which was built in 1924 and closed down in the 1960s

IMIESA, in collaboration with the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA), ran a competition in the September and October 2011 editions asking readers to locate and identify South Africa’s oldest concrete pipe installations. So far an installation in Potchefstroom is the only one to have won one of the 10 cases of wine on offer for successfully meeting the CMA’s competition criteria.

ADVERTORIAL

KEY DATESConference: 4 to 10 June 2012Notification of abstracts: 30 November 2011Deadline for full papers: 31 January 2012Registration: November 2011

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ORGANISERSFinnish Association of Municipal Engineering (FAME)International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME)Finnish Association of Civil Engineers (RIL)Estonian Association of Municipal Engineering (EAME)Svenska Kommunaltekniska Föreningen (KT)

VISIT THESE WEBSITES FOR MORE INFORMATIONwww.ifme2012.easypage.fi/call-for-papers.html www.ifme2012.comwww.ifme.com

Every three years the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) brings the global community of municipal engineers and design professionals together.

The main theme of the congress will be sustainable communities. This allows for a comprehensive exploration of all

key elements of sustainable communities, such as urban planning and municipal de-sign, as well as solutions for transportation and energy systems.

Conference topics cover both new build-ings and renovation projects, together with maintenance processes.

A multidisciplinary approach has been cho-sen to promote new ideas and to broaden discussion.

Practically and scientifically oriented pro-fessional presentations, interesting case studies and excursions, together with fruitful discussions with old and new colleagues, will perfect delegates’ expertise.

We warmly welcome all experts of munici-pal built environments – engineers, archi-tects, administrators, contractors, operators, consultants, investors, researchers and stu-dents – to attend IFME 2012.

We look forward to seeing you in Helsinki!

Dan-H Langstrom and Helena Soimakallio,chief executive officer and FAME chair of the organising committee.

4 - IMIESA FEBRUARY 2012


HELD AT BIRCHWOOD, near OR Tambo airpor t in the Ekurhuleni Municipality, the conference was a tremendous success. Arguably,

the social highlight was the Mayor’s Supper, attended by His Honour the Mayor, Mondli Gungubele, who acknowledged the impor-tance of the institute’s work in his speech.

It was here that the effor ts of the past presidents were acknowledged. We were honoured by the attendance of so many past presidents, with only four of the surviving presidents not able to attend. Some of those unable to attend were represented by family members. In total, thir teen past presidents were invited onto the stage, representing years of office spanning from 1983 to the present. A posthumous award was presented to the son of Frans Marx, who was president in 1972. Another highlight was the presenta-tion of loyalty awards to members with 25 or 30 years membership; proof, if any is needed, of the long-term health of the Institute.

Ar thur Clayton, who was president from 1987 to 1988, gave a speech, in the course of which he thanked all who were present on behalf of the past presidents, and in which he recalled fond memories of the past and how things have changed over the years. It was a moving experience for all. For me, as current president, it was a humbling experi-ence to stand in the presence of so much of the living history of our profession. It enabled me to appreciate just how much hard work and dedication it has taken to maintain our institute in the healthy state I found it on my accession. Their example makes me hope that I too will be able, at the end of my presi-dency, to look back in the knowledge that I

PRESIDENT'S COMMENT

Jannie Pietersen, president of IMESA

Acknowledging the guardians of IMESAIn this president’s comment I would like to again look at the 2011 Conference to acknowledge the contribution of our past presidents and others, to IMESA’s achievements.

have in some small way contributed to the legacy of IMESA.

Professor Johannes Haarhoff was admitted as an Honorary Member for his contribu-tion to the writing of the history of IMESA culminating in the publication of a book titled “Reflections”.

Professional Affiliate membership cer tifi-cates were exchanged with WISA (Water Institute of Southern Africa, SALGA (South African Local Government Association), SARF

(South African Road Fund) and SABITA (South African Bitumen Association).

Other special guests at this auspicious occasion included the president of IFME (International Federation of Municipal Engineers) Jorma Vaskalainen, and IFME representatives from New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.

Besides the gala dinner, a great deal of hard work went into the conference, and I want to thank all concerned for their effor ts, especially Gavin Clunnie and his wife, Rhu, and all the members of the Local Organising Committee.

Of course the conference was about much more than the celebration of the past. In keeping with the theme of “Yesterday, Today

COMMENT

The 75th Anniversary conference left me optimistic about both our profession and our institute and I look forward greatly to the 2012 conference

For reference please see the photos of the past presidents of IMESA on page 15.

and Tomorrow”, over 20 papers were pre-sented, by both IMESA members and outside speakers, dealing with the present and future work of our members.

The 75th Anniversary conference left me optimistic about both our profession and our institute and I look forward greatly to the 2012 conference, to be held in George in the Western Cape, from 24 to 26 October. I recommend that you book these dates in your diary now.


COVER STORY

ACCORDING TO Deon Pagel, business development manager at National Asphalt, the company was not 100% satisfied with the outcome of the pre-

vious upgrade. The initial upgrade included the retro fitting of a bag house to new twin drum drying and mixing units whilst making use of an existing multi-clone system as a primary emis-sion controller.

“While we are very aware of emission stand-ards as per the new regulations that are target-ed for ultimate final implementation by 2019, we are keen and indeed on track to meet these sooner rather than as required by legislation” explains Pagel.

“The new upgrade includes a state of the art horizontal skimmer used as a primary emis-sion controller together with alterations to the air ducting and bag house, all to improve the air flow, bag house temperatures and overall efficiency. Being at the forefront of the

development and implementation of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technology in the local market we also made use of the opportunity to improve the method of introducing reclaimed asphalt (RA) into the mixes to be as high as 40%” he continues.

State-of-the-art technologyEduardo Landolt, production and operations manager at National Asphalt tells IMIESA that the company has not yet tested all aspects of the new upgrade due to the huge demand of regular mixes on current contracts and also due to the critical shortage of bitumen.

“We are also awaiting the arrival of our new state-of-the-art foaming device,” he points out.

“While National Asphalt became well known for the ‘foam pot’ that was developed in-house and used with great success during and after the WMA trials, to increase production and avail-ability of this mix a decision was made to invest

in a foaming device that has proven itself in the international markets. This foaming device will be integrated into the current plant control setup and will be available at the push of a button. One shortcoming of the in-house device was that it had to be removed when foaming was not required,” he continues to explain.

The issue of imported bitumenMedia coverage towards the end of November last year highlighted the role that National Asphalt played in the importation of the first shipload of bitumen ever into South Africa. The decision to import was made in spite of the fact that the bitumen was landed at a premium price – a decision which later proved to be very well received by clients due to National Asphalt being able to continue the supply of asphalt into

Always on the moveNational Asphalt has captured the attention in the Kwazulu-Natal asphalt market

with further improvements to their Durban (Cliffdale) based plant yet again.

NATIONAL ASPHALT

BELOW The new improved reclaimed asphalt introduction system


COVER STORY

critical projects when the local refineries expe-rienced problems. The current interruptions in the supply of bitumen have again highlighted the fact that the local refineries ageing infra-structure has proven to not be reliable.

To this effect National Asphalt has also com-missioned a Johannesburg based steel manu-facturing company to manufacture a bitumen drum decanting facility for future importation of bitumen in drums.

According to Sean Pretorius, managing direc-tor of National Asphalt, it is understood that very often one of the local refineries is exporting bitumen while not supplying the local market.

“We hear that in certain circumstances this is done due to the product being out of specifica-tion, whereas with the high level of in house technical expertise and without detracting from the performance of the mix the possibility exists for us to modify the bitumen and use on certain contracts, thus alleviating some of the supply problems. The uncertainty with regards to the supply of bitumen from the South African refin-eries is a concern and is being addressed with Government at the highest level,” he explains.

“If only government would lift the import duties on bitumen it would level the playing fields and industry could then import more freely and competitively. At the recent 10th Conference on Asphalt Pavements in Southern Africa (CAPSA) an Australian delegation shared their importa-tion model with delegates and the majority of the bitumen used in Australia is now imported. If it works there why not here?” he asks.

The launch of an asphalt rejuvenatorNational Asphalt remains at the forefront of research into new products and it is therefore not surprising that the company is about to

commercially launch a locally produced 100% natural asphalt rejuvenator and WMA additive.

“Our EcoNat development is now complete and the first full scale trials to produce WMA have proven that we have a winner” says Wynand Nortje, technical manager at National Asphalt.

“This product also has the ability to take us to the next level of temperature reduction to Half Warm Mixes that will be manufactured between 70˚C and 100˚C. A different variant of the EcoNat is also in its final stages of analysis and testing and will be used as a releasing agent on asphalt trucks, pavers and rollers”, he continues.

The product is blended in a special “tank” that was developed and designed with input from an American company and manufactured for National Asphalt by Kenzam in Johannesburg.

But it’s not always just hard work at National Asphalt and this was proven also at the recent CAPSA conference where sister com-pany, Akasia Road Surfacing, joined forces to enable sponsorship of the main event. Part of evening’s proceedings was an extremely powerful video that was projected with 3 x 3D projectors and a huge amount of accompanying “sound”. The video gave an overall view of the companies and about CAPSA and whilst the duration was only about four minutes it was afterwards spoken about for a long time and in fact is still often mentioned due to its striking effect. Those who were part of over 500 attend-ees to the conference went away with invaluable additional knowledge and the event will long be remembered for its success.

Contact:Deon PagelBusiness Development ManagerNational AsphaltTel: +27 (0)83 306 9774E-mail: [email protected]

ABOVE National Asphalt’s “Sputnik” where EcoNat is manufacturedBELOW An aerial view of National Asphalt’s Cliffdale asphalt plant

BELOW National Asphalt and Akasia Road Surfacing were joint main sponsors at CAPSA’11

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. Please call Jenny Miller on +27(0)11 467 6223 to secure your booking.


HOT SEAT

GERMAN BLOCK MAKING machines and moulds enable the company to pro-duce a wide variety of concrete pavers

and kerbs. Dry cast kerbs, in contrast with the more traditional wet cast methods, can be produced much more effectively and accu-rately using these machines. Richard Jansen van Vuuren speaks to David Wertheim Aymes, chief executive officer of Bosun, about this new product line.

Please elaborate on when the new product line will be available and also break down the technical specifications. Our German moulds have arrived and we have already started supplying kerbs to the market. The response from our custom-ers has been very gratifying. The channel kerb is available in a width of 200 mm and lengths of 1 000 mm and 330 mm, while the transition kerb is a meter long transition between Figure 7 and Figure 8C kerbs, in both directions.

What is Bosun’s business philosophy to infrastructure construction?“Infrastructure today, live tomorrow” is one of the cornerstones of Bosun’s business philosophy.

When it comes to road infrastructure, a country or municipality cannot afford to use inferior products. Taxpayers and users expect the infrastructure to last for dec-ades. Throughout the world, well made and installed concrete products have proved to be durable for decades. In 1993, Bosun set out to produce world class infrastructural con-crete products. This outcome is, however, not simple to achieve. We realised from the start that we had to invest in our own infrastruc-ture in order to produce quality products.

Please describe the manufacturing process of the kerbing products.In 2005 the shareholders of what at that time was a relatively small paving manufacturer, took a decision to import a German block making machine. This innovative decision contrasted with the trend of other local block manufacturers, who at the time all used local-ly manufactured block making machines, with lesser functionality and capabilities. Initially only paving was produced on the German machine. In 2006, Bosun Brick took another courageous decision to become the first South African company to produce kerbs with the so called “dry cast method.” Traditionally,

Municipalities cannot afford Bosun recently launched pre-cast channel and transition kerbs to further expand their range of South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) approved, dry cast concrete kerbs.


HOT SEAT

kerbs are produced in South Africa by means of casting a wet concrete mix in moulds, the concrete is then left to cure for a period of time, after which the kerbs are demoulded. An obvious limitation of this method is that your production capacity is determined by the number of moulds available. Another commonly encountered quality problem incurred with this method is the lack of a dimensional accuracy. As wet cast moulds age, it is common for them to deform slight-ly. Because kerbs are cast upside-down, very often the larger stones and other particles in the concrete mix tend to settle very close to the visible surface. Very little abrasion exposes these unsightly stones on the surface of the kerbs.

What are the benefits of this process over traditional methods?With the “dry cast method”, the block mak-ing machine forms, compacts and vibrates a relatively dry concrete mix into shape. Production is not inhibited by the number of available moulds and actually becomes more economically efficient on larger production runs. Bosun subsequently worked relent-lessly at improving the end product. Because this method of manufacture has never been done in South Africa before, we had to experiment with various local aggregates and mix designs. We made a lot of adjust-ments and product improvements behind the scenes. With the help of loyal customers and experienced civil engineers we managed to consistently improve the product and our own reliability.

What quality certification standards does Bosun adhere to?The SABS certification; which not only means possible recourse for customers, but ensures that the product is tested rigorously on a continuous basis. We believe it is important to live up to some form of standard, set and maintained by a third party. Bosun is the first current manufacturer to obtain the SANS 927 certifica-tion for kerbs. Currently there are still only three SABS approved man-ufacturers of pre-cast kerbs. (Two of them are Bosun factories, the one in Gauteng and the other in Port Elizabeth.) Unfortunately, some

manufacturers claim to produce their kerbs according to SABS specifications yet they have not been officially approved. The essence of officially carrying the SABS mark of approval is peace of mind for the customer should something go wrong. As mentioned earlier, all of us expect infrastructure to last, but is there recourse if it doesn’t? Yes there is, through the SABS.

Please highlight the applications where your kerbing is used.Bosun has expanded its range of kerbs in order to offer all major shapes of kerbing used in South Africa. The company produces

everything from garden kerbs right through to heavy duty barrier

kerbs. For those more inter-ested in aesthetics, Bosun has the capability to also produce kerbs in 10 different colour options. Apart from this, another innovative variation

is that most of Bosun’s kerbs are available with reflective

toppings. This means that kerbs

used in traffic circles, winding roads or dark areas, could assist motorists’ orientation by means of its reflective surface.

Bosun also simplifies the installation of kerbs for its customers. Channel and transi-tion kerbs were traditionally cast in situ. This used to be tedious and time consuming for contractors, engineers and their customers. With its precast channels and transition kerbs, Bosun now offers a time effective, viable alternative. We are committed to consistently improving our product offering to the market and to produce products that add value for our customers. We are currently working on the development of another and as far as we are aware, completely original, advancement in kerbing technology. We are presently in the testing stage and expect to launch the concept by April 2012.”

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When it comes to road infrastructure, a country or municipality cannot afford to use inferior

products David Wertheim Aymes

BOSUNGauteng: Tel: +27 (0)11 310 1176Eastern Cape: Tel: +27 (0)41 405 0100Northwest: Tel: +27 (0)12 250 1711www.bosun.co.za

TOP Dry cast kerbs heading for the curing chambersABOVE Kerbs leaving the Bosun FactoryRIGHT Bosun kerbs installed on site

ABS [email protected] [email protected] Broom Road Products [email protected] Arup SA [email protected] [email protected] Group Africa [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] Stemele [email protected] Bosch Munitech [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] & Blasting Solutions [email protected] Manufacturers [email protected] Built Environment [email protected] Lynn & Partners [email protected] Bank of SA [email protected] Plastics [email protected] Engineers [email protected] Kent Metering [email protected] Waste Management [email protected] [email protected] Consulting [email protected] [email protected] SA [email protected] Technology [email protected] Enterprises [email protected]@Consulting [email protected] Consulting [email protected] [email protected] and Green [email protected]

Johannesburg Water [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Base [email protected] Engineers [email protected] Water [email protected] Narasimulu & Associates [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] Asphalt [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Engineering Systems [email protected] Construction [email protected] [email protected] Africa [email protected] [email protected] Water Systems [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Lines Pipe Survery Services [email protected] Inc [email protected] Water Company [email protected] Consulting [email protected] [email protected] Syntell [email protected] Engineers East London [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Consulting [email protected] VKE [email protected] Group Africa [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Surfacing [email protected]


IMESA

BORN IN Mossel Bay in 1925, and educated at the dual medium Point High School, Brand won a scholar-ship to the University of Cape Town

and graduated in 1946. After spells with the contractor, Christiani and Nielsen, and the Cape Provincial Roads Department, he was appointed assistant town engineer of Parow. While there Brand designed the town’s first storm water and sewerage systems, and took charge of construction. In his privately pub-lished autobiography he states that he pio-neered the design of round precast concrete manholes with cast iron frames, and persuaded local firms to manufacture them.

In 1954 he became the assistant town engineer of Welkom. In 1956, at the young age of 31, he was appointed city engineer of Windhoek.

During his tenure there, Brand initiated research, in partnership with the CSIR, into the direct recycling of treated sewage effluent for potable reuse. The Windhoek Reclamation Works was the first in the world to recycle treated effluent directly to consumers.

In 1965 he joined Cape Town as the senior assistant city engineer (planning). Six years later he was promoted to deputy city engineer. In 1975, when Dr Solly Morris retired, Brand

was appointed as Cape Town’s city engineer.In the finest tradition of the “strong” city

engineer he saw that he should lead the municipality’s service delivery. His view of this involved not necessarily waiting for council to take selected decisions, but at times taking the initiative himself – presenting a proposal to council or government, and getting council to approve his initiative. He was a master in presenting a case so that councillors and fellow departmental heads gave their support. Often this required asking them to trust him to an unprecedented degree, which became easier as his reputation for successful delivery grew.

An excellent example of this was his trans-formation of the council’s housing programme.

Brand is remembered particularly for Mitchells Plain’s radical departure from the type of housing development that the city had previ-ously sponsored. For the first time for a mass housing scheme in South Africa, when houses were built so was the full package of amenities,

including shopping centres, schools, libraries, parks, civic halls, clinics, sports facilities and public transport. In five years, 25 000 houses were built to improved standards and offered for sale.

In 1982 Brand tabled a comprehensive and forward-thinking report recommending the crea-tion of a metropolitan services authority, and motivating that it have responsibility for spe-cific services that could be delivered more efficiently and effectively at metropolitan level. Local municipalities would retain responsibility for all other services. Not the least controver-sial recommendation was that people of all races should be brought on to the voters’ roll.

This report was not adopted by Council, but

many of its recommendations were taken up by the regional services councils subsequently formed in all the metropolitan areas.

Brand served for 10 years on the Council of the South African District of the (UK) Institution of Municipal Engineers, and was chairperson in the period 1963/1964. In 1961, representing South West Africa, he was elected to the coun-cil of IMESA. In 1965/1966 Brand served as president of IMESA, serving thereafter on the institute’s council until 1980 and also on the Western Cape branch committee until 1986. In due course he received IMESA’s honorary fellowship.

With thanks to Johannes Haarhoff.

OBITUARY: JOHANNES GERHARDUS (JAN) BRAND (1925-2011)

A municipal engineer rememberedby Kevin Wall and Anne Brand

ABOVE In 2005 Jan Brand celebrated his 80th birthday. Seated next to him is his wife Yvonne. With them are (back) Kevin Wall (CSIR and former assistant city engineer); David Bradley (former deputy city engineer); Arthur Clayton (Cape Town city engineer 1989-1997); Maureen Taylor (PA to every city engineer of Cape Town), Cecil Freeman (former deputy city engineer 1975-1983) and Freda Freeman

He was a master in presenting a case so that councillors and fellow departmental heads gave their support


IMESA

“Do governments understand the benefits of a long-term asset management approach, and what can be done to improve awareness?” IMESA NAMS members Chris von Holdt, Nicholas Rowse, Leon Naude and Roger Byrne believe that:

Some governments do, but most don’t have any idea. But we as industry professionals have also been poor at identifying, quantifying and selling the benefits to both politicians and other stakeholders.

Most governments can understand that the quality of their infrastructure impacts on their countries’ standards of living and overall eco-nomic performance, however very few really understand the connection between levels of service, and the full economic cost of service from a whole of life perspective.

Even less understand the connection between maintenance, reliability and the effective physi-cal life of an asset. In fact very few people across the world fully understand this. When we say governments, we should say politicians, as they are the real control in this situation.

However governments/politicians (and most professional engineers) are focussed on

FAQ’S REGARDING

Infrastructure asset managementThis article is part of the ongoing series of frequently asked questions regarding infrastructure asset management. These questions are answered by IMESA’s team of experts that form IMESA’s National Asset Management Steering Committee (NAMS) Group.

growth/augmentation and the delivery of new assets to meet these needs. Very few focus on the effective use of these assets across their economic lives. Choosing the most cost

effective blend of maintenance and renewal/rehabilitation is not even considered.

Political planning horizons and time frames typically fall within a five year period, which is significantly less than the average lifespan for infrastructure assets. In a political context, there is greater value in large flagship pro-jects that will stimulate a section of the local economy. Conversely, the asset maintenance horizon can stretch over several decades, involves consistent effort, mainly at the micro-economic level, and is often not noticed until asset failure. The maintenance of assets will require input from a section of the economy, is often more economical over the asset lifespan and will support as well as reduce costs of service delivery to all sections of the economy.

There has been a significant focus on infra-structure as a way to stimulate flagging econo-mies caused by the global financial crisis; however it is always build new. We are yet to

see many governments fund job creation that involves other phases of an asset’s life other than this, for example, maintenance, life exten-sion, rehabilitation, risk assessment, etc. Part of the reason is that good cost effective whole of life processes cost a lot of money. Part is in the fact that this life cycle costing approach shows where money should be spent while politicians like making that decision, and not being told what, where and how.

So what can be done to improve this situation? We believe that there are several steps we could take to improve this situation, such as: • Clearly documenting the real benefits of

sound/optimal asset management.• Quantify the benefits of adopting this

approach over the status quo arrangements. • Under take an economic study of the

true impacts of good infrastructure on a national standard of living and economic performance.

• Adopt national policies that enable the roll-ing up of infrastructure portfolio information that clearly shows:

1. the values of the asset portfolios 2. their condition and performance levels of

service3. future life cycle costs and potential liabilities 4. risks and impacts on stakeholders5. long term asset management plans to be

produced. Chris von Holdt Leon Naude Roger Byrne

Political planning horizons and time frames typically fall within a fi ve year period

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IMESA

Back row: Andrew K Copley, Kevern Ramborosa, Bertie E Byker, Johan E Marx, Mark Westerberg, Sam Herman, Japie D Van Eeden, Willem A HofmeyrMiddle row: Roydon F Parry, Cedric Mphagi, Marius J Vermeulen, Jeanine I Van Blerk, Barry J Martin, Dawie B Botha, Nick HJ Van Rensburg Front row: Danie B Nothnagel, Gavin M Clunnie, Nick Pretorius, Johan De Beer (deputy president), Gerhard P Fritz (vice president: technical), Jannie F Pietersen (president), Frank B Stevens (vice president: operations), Romano Del Mistro, Leon Naudé, Johan H Basson, Werner AC Bruhns, Moses M MalibaAbsent: Duncan Daries, Pieter GJJ Myburgh, Ambrose Ngcobo, Eddie Delport, Ashley Pillay, Grant L Rigby

IMESA EXCO 2012

IMESA COUNCIL 2012

Back row: Gavin M Clunnie, Danie B Nothnagel, Leon Naudé, Werner AC Bruhns, Johan H Basson, Barry J Martin, Clive Andersen Front row: Nick Pretorius, Johan De Beer (deputy president), Gerhard P Fritz (vice president: technical), Jannie F Pietersen (president), Frank B Stevens (vice president: operations), Moses M Maliba, Romano Del Mistro Absent: Duncan Daries, Pieter Myburgh, Ambrose Ngcobo


IMESA

Standing: N Pretorius 2000 – 2002; J de Beer 2008 – 2010; Moses Maliba 2006 – 2008; A Laubscher 2002 – 2004; T van der Walt 2004 – 2006; F Bosman 1994 –1996; T van Zyl 1998 – 2000 Seated: M Vermeulen1993 – 1994; J Eagar1991 – 1993; H Botha 1989 –1991; Jannie Pietersen; G Keppie 1988 – 1989; A Clayton 1987 – 1988; W Fourie 1985 – 1986

The Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli GungubeleProfessor Johannes Haarhof, author of Reflections and Jannie Pietersen, the current president of IMIESA

Mr J Marshall 1984 – 1985

Mr MML Pollet 1996 – 1998

Mr DC Macleod 1983 – 1984

E Hall 1982 - no photo available

IMESA Conference 2011Past Presidents


IMESA

Dan-Hendrik Langstrom, International Federation of Municipal Engineering

Dr Kevin Wall, CSIR

Dr Tjaart Van Der Walt, IMIESA Past President Dawie Botha, IMIESA Council

Dr Allyson Lawless, Allyson Lawless & Associates Johan Basson, IMIESA EXCO

Nicole Nel (recipient of the best paper presented at the conference award), PD Naidoo & Associates

Professor Romano Del Mistro, IMIESA EXCO

IMESA Conference 2011


IMESA

Conference delegates and gala dinner attendees on the dance floor Dan-Hendrik Langstrom and Jorma Vaskalainen from the International Federation of Municipal Engineering

Matt Braune, partner at SRK Consulting

Gala Dinner attendees get into the spirit of the sport themed occasion

Jannie Pietersen, IMESA President with Gavin Clunnie, IMESA Conference LOC

ABOVE LEFT Christine Pretorius 3S Media, Jenny Miller 3S Media, Gavin Clunnie IMESA Conference LOC, Debbie Besseling 3S Media, Dorothy Haggard and Samantha Bennett from Hypertext

IMESA Conference 2011


GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE

THIS YEAR THE Depar tment of Transport will be focussing on job-creation and service delivery. In the 2011/12 financial year, 68 675 jobs

will be created through S’hamba Sonke. This ring-fenced conditional grant will focus on the following areas:• Fixing potholes on our roads.• Creating access to schools and clinics and

other public facilities.• The rehabilitation of key arterial routes that

support the rural economy through labour intensive projects.

• Prioritising the use of labour absorptive systems, including a “know your network programme.”

The rebirth of rail and new initiatives for safetyTransport is a means to move goods and people from point A to point B in a safe, efficient, affordable and sustainable manner. By Sibusiso Ndebele, Minister of Transport

Public transportThe passenger rail industry continues to face a few challenges, one of which is the reliability and availability of infrastructure.

The Department of Transport through PRASA is investing large amounts of money to address these problems. The focus of optimising asset value is on the investment in infrastructure assets based on the Rail Plan priorities and the Priority Rail Corridor strategy as approved by Cabinet in 2006.

The priority rail corridor strategy focuses the rail industry resources on those cor-ridors or routes where rail has a clear comparative advantage.

A significant proportion of the existing rolling stock is due for de-commissioning between 2013 and 2015. PRASA will spend R97 billion over 18 years on the purchasing of new rolling stock. This programme will create an estimated 100 000 jobs and develop skilled and semi-skilled personnel in respective areas.

RIGHT Extensive rolling stock is due for de-commissioning between 2013 and 2015. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa will be spending R97 billion over several years for the purchasing of new rolling stock

BELOW The Department of Transport intends to create 68 675 jobs through its S’hamba Sonke initiative. One of the several aspects of this programme is the repair of road pavements

Decade of action for road safetyWe will continue to highlight road safety in South Africa, seeking to find common solutions to the harrowing deaths occurring so frequently on our roads.

Approximately 14 000 people are killed on our roads every year, 1 000 every month, 250 per week and 40 every day, costing at least R60 billion per annum.

We will focus on the United Nations for its efforts to place road safety on the international platform, and its role in supporting the imple-mentation of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020.

We launched the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) on 1 October 2010, committing no less than to stop and check one million vehicles and drivers every month.

As one of the chief contributors, transport remains one of the most critical players in efforts to mitigate climate change.

Sibusiso Ndebele, Minister of Transport


INDUSTRY NEWS

THE LACK of information and resulting impact on forward planning has come at a difficult time for the beleaguered construction industry.

“In its quest to prevent collusion, it appears that the Competition Commission is taking South African business into a McCarthy-style era in which, instead of finding a communist under every bush, they are seeking collusion behind every door. The timing of this decision could not be worse for the industry, as the strategic importance of this data is enormous,” says Dr Llewellyn Lewis, principal consultant of BMI-Building Strategy Research Unit.

“One has to question the motive of the Competition Commission when continuing to withhold such crucial strategic information. Are they really seeking evidence of collusion? Industry players must speak out to ensure that the Competition Commission does not mistak-enly wield its power to hoard information.”

According to Lewis, these statistics have been available for decades but their value as the most current and reliable source of information on building and construction has only recently been acknowledged.

Lewis says, “These statistics have been pub-lished, albeit in a scattered form, since 1892. Two years ago, people suddenly realised that these statistics constitute the most current and reliable indicator of building activity, because cement is the most widely used construction material. Having this information affords compa-nies the ability to plan their capacity in real time synchronisation with market activity, making them a significant planning tool – not a market-ing tool,” states Lewis.

To date, many industry stakeholders have made representations to the Competition Commission, requesting for the decision to withhold this information to be reversed. The representations made it explicit ‘that the data provides information on volume and end-use product broken down by province’, and does not refer to pricing or market share.

Thus far, the Commission’s only response to

Making sense of collusion in construction industryThe Competition Commission’s recent decision to prevent the centralised publication of cement usage statistics on the grounds of alleged collusion by the cement manufacturers, has robbed the construction industry of the most up-to-date information on building and construction activity.

the representations has been a series of ‘tele-phonic interviews’ that were ostensibly aimed at gauging how the industry uses this information.

“The aspect that is most worrying is the lack of any real action or a statement one way or the other. Keeping an entire industry in limbo as it fights for its very life is destructive and incomprehensible. The data cannot possibly be seen as collusive because it provides no information on pricing, market share, profit of the various suppliers, or any other information that could even remotely be used to collude on pricing or market allocation. Withholding it is akin to banning the publication of statistics on car sales or mortgages advances, which have long held up as critical economic indicators,” continues Lewis.

“The cement statistics have not changed in character since their original publication 120 years ago – only their use has. This can be attrib-uted to the intervention of experts. As Stephen

Levitt points out in Freakonomics, information can be used as a guiding light or a weapon depending on who wields it and how. The best way to prevent information from being used as a weapon is to publish it widely.”

As Lewis points out, this comes at a time in which all players in the construction industry are fighting for survival.

“The sudden risk-averse zeal of the banks has basically choked the flow of money that lubricates the economy. The Competition Commission and the Banks need to be realistic about the impact of their actions on the build-ing and construction industry, which is a major player in our economy and a key creator of jobs in this country. Anything that can be done to facilitate the market’s recovery should be a priority for every stakeholder. As Warren Buffet recently pointed out in a CNN interview: if the housing industry doesn’t improve, the economy won’t improve,” says Lewis.

LEFT Dr Llewellelyn Lewis, Principal Consultant BMI Strategy Consulting Unit. Lewis believes the risk-averse zeal of the banks has choked the flow of money that lubricates the construction economy

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HANDHELD VENDING UNIT

OVERVIEWThe Intelligent Water Meter and the supporting Meter Management System (MMS) provides a revolutionary approach to Water Demand Management. The Intelligent Water Meter ensures signi cant water savings through consumption management and leak detection with the added bene t of no billing costs. Bad debt is reduced and the lower consumption contributes towards reduced demand on reticulation and treatment plant.

FEATURES• Intelligent Meter options Conventional Mode: Conventional Mode: Revenue collection via standard billing. The

client can check the status of his/her debt at any given time Pre-paid Mode: Pre-paid Mode: the client buys credit in advance from a vending point Post-Payment Mode: Post-Payment Mode: the user is assigned a negative credit limit in

litres or rand value Flat rate Mode: Flat rate Mode: xed amount per month for unlimited volume• Optional metered Lifeline ow (40 /hr) when credit runs out• High air ow detection and correction• Insensitive to lightning, freezing water, ambient temperatures up to

700 C, water hammer and dirt particles in water• Optional built in radio for AMR (no loose wires or antenna)• Arrears collection via User Tag (mode dependent)

OVERVIEWThe Community Standpipe Water Meter and supporting Meter Management System (WAS) is designed to offer a solution to the provision of water at communal water supply points. It requires low capital investment and can be used in both rural areas and informal settlements. One Meter can typically serve up to 40 households. The unit consists of a Class B multi jet water meter with electronic read out and built in ow control valve. A patented valve system ensures extended battery life. The unit is meteorologically sealed and provides a high level of resistance to physical tamper and is immune to magnetic tamper. Should the meter become faulty, it can be replaced in the eld within ten minutes.

FEATURES• Eight programmable tariff steps• Physical tamper resistant. Full encryption and copy protection• Immune to magnetic interference• Meter accuracy unaffected by sand particles• High air ow detection and correction• Adjustable Free Basic Water • Daily consumption limit for water-scarce areas• Full calendar clock• Patented low power consumption system• Battery can provide 90 000 valve applications • Robust metal housing with security screws• Delivered fully assembled and pressure tested to 20 bar• SANS 1529-1 and SANS 1529-9 approved

OVERVIEWThe Handheld Vending Unit is used in conjunction with the Intelligent Water Meter and Community Standpipe. It provides the link between the Meter and the Meter Management System (MMS). A network of conveniently located Vending Units provides the customer with easy access to “point of sale” where credit can be purchased. Each transaction is supported by a receipt printed from a dedicated printer.

FEATURES• 56 MB internal data memory, LCD display• Single membrane keypad with standard key functions• Built in battery with battery charge-level indicator• Charged batteries provide 8 hours continuous operation• Re-chargeable from a 220V AC source using the supplied

charger. A car charger can also be used• High level of security with password protection• Theft risk is low as only dedicated functions are provided• Weighs approximately 350 g• Supplied with dedicated printer• Optional increased internal data memory (up to 2GB)• Optional GPRS module for automatic real-time downloading of

data and online transactions• Optional collection of capital repayments and service charges


PEOPLE AND EVENTS

THE FIRST OF these concerns is “Diversity and Inclusion”, which is to be published in September 2012.

Papers and/or case studies are sought to provide a broad view on the contri-bution that engineering can make to diversity and inclusion. Topics will include, but are not limited to:• Policies to ensure that inclusion is addressed• Barriers that prevent access to the public

realm• Consultation with minority and non-main-

stream groups• Gender and culture barriers to professional

engagement• Minority communities that are often ignored• Best practice in design, operation and

maintenance. The deadline for submission is 1 March 2012. ICE has two themed editions of Municipal

Engineer planned for 2013. While this may seem like a long time away the deadlines for submissions are 1 May and 1 June 2012 respectively.

The first will address “Legacy Infrastructure and Asset Management”. Papers and/or case studies are sought to provide a broad view on the contribution that engineering can make to diversity and inclusion. Topics will include, but are not limited to:• Design for multiplicity of uses some of which

are not yet known• Flexible building space against fitness for

purpose and specific use• Fashion versus function in the design of

iconic infrastructure• Heritage versus adaptability in the design of

iconic infrastructure• Maintenance of expensive but rarely

used assets

• Adoption of high profile assets.The second will address “Water Sensitive Urban Design”. Papers and/or case studies are sought to provide a broad view on the contribution that engineering can make to diversity and inclusion. Topics will include, but are not limited to:• Storm water treatment techniques and

management• Sustainable water supply options• Potable water demand management, recla-

mation and recycling• Water cycle management and integration• Managing hydrological impacts on aquatic

ecosystems• Water quality issues• Institutional, policy and regulatory framework• Community and stakeholder participation• Knowledge-based urban development. Email Ben Ramster at [email protected] for more information.

THE REAL-TIME presentation linked more than 40 key municipal managers from around South Africa to the largest Nereda® wastewater treatment works (WWTW) yet commissioned, located in The Netherlands.

The live link-up connected invited guests at the conference with the recently-commissioned Nereda® plant in Epe, a town of 60 000 inhabit-ants located 80 km due east of Amsterdam.

The Nereda® plant has been designed by DHV, the international consulting group based in the Netherlands, of which SSI is part, in conjunction with Veluwe Water Board, Epe’s water authority. Although the Epe plant is the largest Nereda® installation to date, much valuable experience was gained from SSI’s own Nereda® installation, commis-sioned two years ago and functioning trouble free in Gansbaai in the Western Cape.

The Gansbaai Wastewater Treatment Works won the 2009 SAICE National Award for Technical Excellence.

The presenters, DHV specialist engineers based at different locations

ICE call for papersThe Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has three themed editions that it is preparing for its

Municipal Engineer publication. Municipal engineers are urged to submit papers for the publication.

IMESA delegates wowed ‘REAL-TIME’ PRESENTATION

In addition to being awarded first prize for their

exhibition show stand at the recent IMESA

Conference and Exhibition, SSI Engineers and

Environmental Consultants wowed guests with

a real-time presentation from The Netherlands.

in the Netherlands, guided captivated municipal officials via a big screen TV through the Epe plant, explaining the advantages of the Nereda® technology involving lower capital and operating costs, as well as reduced space requirements. They, first hand, demonstrated complete automatic and remote operation via PLC control from virtually anywhere on the planet.

ABOVE An aerial view of the Gansbaai Wastewater Treatment Works, where Nereda® technology has been installed


COMMISSIONED BY Polokwane munic-ipality, the upgrading of arterial roads in Makweng Cluster (Makotopong to Ga-Mojapelo) consists of upgrad-

ing from gravel to local distributor tar-sur-faced standards for a distance of approx-imately 16 km and includes storm water drainage systems.

Phase 1 (3.1 km of the road) was constructed in 2009 and phase 2 (3.5 km) is currently underway. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant application for the remaining 9.4 km was com-pleted in 2011 and submitted for approval. At the time of going to press, it was indicated that there should not be any problems with the approval and the consultant anticipated that designing the remaining phase 3 (9.4 km) will start in February 2012, with construction com-mencing in June 2012.

Scope of works: Phase 1The budget for phase 1 was estimated at R12 799 236.88 (all incl) and included:• site establishment• clearing and grubbing

• upgrading from gravel to tar at local access distributor surfaced standards of approxi-mately 3.1 km of road

• construction of storm water drainage structures• construction of a SANRAL intersection (R81

– Duiwelskloof Road)• construction of a railway level crossing (con-

structed by Transnet)

• construction of bus bays.The earthworks activities of cut to spoil and borrow to fill were done up to the road bed level on the 3.1 km road and main road intersection. The storm water system for the road consisted

of the following:• An underground 450 mm diameter storm

water pipe system, which ended with a rock-fill sausage drain constructed with bidim at the outlet of the system.

• Cross drainage, with 600 mm diameter storm water culverts, was constructed along the road.

• Construction of the storm water structures (grid inlet, kerb inlets and culvert head and wing-walls).

• Stone pitching was done at kerb outlet chutes

POLOKWANE

Tar-surfaced roads equal increased mobility

ARTERIAL ROADS UPGRADE

The aim of upgrading the arterial roads in Mankweng Cluster – situated 21 km north of Polokwane city – was to increase mobility through the existing villages while, at the same time, providing a transport link between two provincial roads. IMIESA takes a look at this project.

Cross drainage, with 600 mm diameter storm water culverts, was constructed along the road


POLOKWANE

and around all the culvert head and wing-walls. • The entrances of the culverts were trimmed

and shaped, and the culvert exits were day-lighted to drain.

• Open V-drains were also constructed and shaped to drain according to specified culverts.

The 3.1 km road, which includes bell-mouths and bus bays, was surfaced with a 13.2 mm/6.7 mm double seal with an S-EI modified binder. The

main road intersection was initially to be sur-faced with a 19 mm cape seal but this was replaced with a 30 mm continuously graded asphalt seal.

The railway level crossing was constructed by the contractor, in conjunction with Transnet, using pre-cast concrete blocks. The 3.1 km road was constructed to tie in with the railway cross-ing and safety inductions which were conducted by Transnet on site before work commenced, with supervision being given throughout the construction period of the level crossing.

Road signs were erected along the road, with road direction and speed limit signs being erected at the main road intersection. Provision has been made for the road markings to be re-painted at the end of the maintenance period.

Phases 2 and 3The budget for phase 2 is estimated at R11 300 000 (all incl.) and included: • site establishment• clearing and grubbing• upgrading from gravel to tar at local access dis-

tributor surfaced standards of approximately 3.5 km of road (to start where phase 1 ended)

• excavation and backfilling of pre-fabricated pipe culverts

• construction of storm water drainage (cul-verts, piping, drains and kerbs)

• construction of bus bays• construction of bell mouths.Phase 3 is estimated to cost R41 690 626 (all incl.) and included:• site establishment• clearing and grubbing• excavation and backfilling of pre-fabricated

pipe culverts• construction of storm water drainage (cul-

verts, piping, drains and kerbs)

PROJECT TEAMConsultant Nyeleti Consulting EngineersContractor: Phase 1 Patrick Makgoka

Construction ccContractor: Phase 2 David Diva Construction/

Limpopo R&R Joint Venture

• upgrading from gravel to tar at local access distributor surfaced standards of approxi-mately 9.4 km of road (to start where phase 2 ended)

• construction of bus bays• construction of bell mouths• construction of intersection • site cleaning.The completed road will be able to handle approximately 250 average annual daily traffic and the estimated number of people who will benefit is 20 768. Once construction of phase 3 is complete, the project will have upgraded 16 km of road to tar-surfaced standards includ-ing storm water drainage systems, bus bays, bell-mouths and intersections. The total project cost including all three phases, will be approxi-mately R66 million.

The main road intersection was to be surfaced with a 19 mm cape seal but this was replaced with a 30 mm continuously graded asphalt seal

ABOVE Once construction of phase 3 is complete, the project will have upgraded 16 km of road to tar-surfaced standards including storm water drainage systems

BELOW The railway level crossing was constructed by the contractor in conjunction with Transnet


POLOKWANE

INITIATED BY THE Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant, the Lawton Road Bridge project will carry road and pedestrian traffic over the existing electrified railway line (Gauteng-Zimbabwe railway line). The project includes the construction of 603 m of Lawton

Road, linking the existing portion of Lawton Road (Nirvana) with Ben Harris Street (Westenburg), and will include the construction of a new road-over-rail bridge. Construction will start at Bombay Avenue and will end at Gibbon Street. Apart from the Lawton Road Bridge project provid-ing formal rail and road crossings, it will also serve as an additional access road from the N1 to the west of Polokwane. Ultimately, the R24 million-project will serve the communities of Nirvana and Westenburg, as well as the new developments west of Polokwane.

Details and designThe planning and design stage of the project has been completed and the closing date for tender submissions was 24 November 2011. The bridge will be 45 m long, consisting of 3 x 15 m spans and the final road surface will cross the railway line approximately 7.4 m above natural ground level. The bridge will cross the existing electrified railway line at a skew angle of 44 degrees and the structural system consists of simply supported pre-cast beam and slab decks. The proposed pre-cast beams are pre-tensioned, high strength concrete beams.

The bridge approaches will require 18 200 m³ of fill material. A portion of the approach roads will require 2 400 m² of reinforced earth retaining walls to enable the construction of the high fill within the narrow road reserve. In total, a 385 m long barrier, which consists of an in-situ foun-dation, a pre-cast coping unit and a pre-cast F-shaped parapet, will be

The Lawton Road linkThe main railway line from Gauteng to Zimbabwe divides the suburbs of Nirvana

and Westenburg in Polokwane but, as there is currently no formal road or rail

crossings for these communities, people are crossing the railway line informally.

constructed on top of the reinforced earth retaining walls.The sidewalks on both sides of the street will require 1 224 m² of

50 mm thick bevel block paving to be constructed. Appurtenant works consist of the installation of concrete kerbs, kerb inlets, open chutes, guardrails, road signs, road markings, gabions and 255 m of storm water pipes, complete with junction boxes and outlet. The project will also include the jacking of a 900 mm diameter pipe (by a selected geotechnical sub-contractor) underneath the existing rail line for a future water main.

Materials to be used in the construction include conventional reinforced concrete, pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete beams and reinforced earth retaining walls. The fill material for the bridge approaches will be sourced from the municipal borrow-pit and water for construction will be sourced from the Sterkloop Spruit.

The civil engineering consultant on the project is Polokwane-based com-pany, Leporogo Specialist Engineers cc, who specialise in bridge design, rehabilitation and management systems.

At the time of going to press, the project was still in the tender stage and a contractor had not yet been appointed.


POLOKWANE

THE MOLEPO REGIONAL Water Scheme serves 10 116 households, and due to the increased water demand, Polokwane municipality commissioned

the upgrade of the scheme, which consists of the following sections:• upgrading of the existing water treatment

works (WTW) including construction of a new sand filter and refurbishment of the two existing sand filters as well as upgrading of flocculants dosing and chlorination system

• refurbishment of the existing 160 kl storage facility (lining and concrete repair work)

• the preparation (excavation) of a level plat-form for the reservoir

• construction of a 1.5 Ml reinforced concrete reservoir complete with inlet, scour and out-let valve boxes as well as level control

• electrification and refurbishment of a bore-hole at Makatjane village.

Area overviewThe Molepo Regional Water Scheme is situ-ated some 35 km east of Polokwane, off the Polokwane – Tzaneen tar road (R71). It is fur-ther linked by rural gravel roads in and around the Zion City Moria.

The proposed project is being supplied with water from the existing Molepo Dam, which has a yield of 6 Ml/day. The capacity of the WTW is 972 Kl/day, which is lower than the projected total water demand of 6 Ml/day for the supply area. The supply area will extend to the Laastehoop Regional Water Scheme to alle-viate the load on the Ebenezer supply scheme.

The present average groundwater supply as per the feasibility report is 790 kl/day. The boreholes will be used to supplement and act as back up to the proposed water supply through the Molepo Dam. The ultimate bulk supply to the project area will comprise of a western and eastern bulk supply. The following components will form part of the bulk supply infrastructure:

The upgrade of the Molepo Regional Water Scheme includes the refurbishment of the existing 160kl storage facility and the construction of a 1.5Ml reinforced concrete reservoir. IMIESA takes a look at the technical details of this project.

WTW upgrade to provide water for 17 villages

TABLE 1: The project villages to be supplied by the proposed eastern and western bulk distribution pipelines

VILLAGES CONNECTED TO THE EASTERN BULK DISTRIBUTION1 Ga-Molalemane 4 Mamatsha2 Ga-Molepo 5 Maripathekong3 Makubung

VILLAGES TO BE CONNECTED TO THE WESTERN BULK DISTRIBUTION6 Bethel 12 Ditlhopaneng7 Ga-Lekgothoane 13 Makatiane8 Ga-Mogano 14 Marobo9 Ga-Ramphere 15 Sebyeng10 Ga-Sebati 16 Sekgweng11 Lekgadimane 17 Tsebela

INFRASTUCTURE DETAIL STATUS

A western bulk supply pipeline of approximately 2 km

Existing infrastructure

An eastern bulk supply pipeline of approximately 6 km


Three booster pumps at existing Molepo WTW


One 2 Ml command reservoir on the western bulk supply pipeline


One 1 Ml command reservoir on the eastern bulk supply pipeline


The bulk distribution to the villages is via the western and eastern bulk distribution pipelines. The proposed western distribution pipeline will be connected to the Western Command Reservoir and the eastern distribution pipeline to be con-nected to the Eastern Command Reservoir. The following components will form part of the infra-structure along the distribution pipelines:• a western bulk distribution pipeline of

approximately 39 km• an eastern bulk distribution pipeline of

approximately 7 km• five village reservoirs along the eastern bulk

distribution pipeline

RIGHT The Molepo Regional Water Scheme serves 10 116 households and an upgrade has been commissioned


POLOKWANE

• twelve village reservoirs along the western bulk distribution pipeline

• village reticulations to supply residents with water to RDP level of service.

Table 2 shows the projected 2010 water demand of the village that will be connected to the western and eastern bulk distribution pipe-lines. A unit consumption rate of 60 ℓ/c/d has been used to calculate the design flow within the bulk distribution pipelines.

Water treatment works In the Molepo Supply Scheme feasibility report, the capacity of the treatment works was found to be 972 Kl/day. The anticipated maximum capacity of the Molepo WTW is 6 Ml/day and therefore requires an upgrade to accommodate the increase in future water demand.

Currently there are three existing sand filter units at the WTW of which only two are opera-tional. There is also an additional existing unit which is currently not equipped. In order for the WTW to meet the water demand of 6 Ml/day,

the WTW will have to be upgraded in a multi-year project cycle. The first phase will only concen-trate on increasing the capacity of the plant to approximately 1.9 Ml/day and the storage capacity to approximately 1.9 Ml/day.

Capacity from the source The yield of the Molepo Dam is reported to be approximately 6.2 Ml/day and the capacity of the plant at the end of the first phase will be approximately 1.9 Ml/day, which leaves a spare capacity of approximately 4.3 Ml/day. Once the WTW has reached its maximum capacity of 6 Ml/d, the additional water will be supplied via Ga-Sebati to the Laastehoop and Ga-Mojapelo Reserve Water Schemes to alleviate the load on Ebeneza and maximize the utilisation of existing water sources.

The existing water related infrastructure within the supply area of the western and eastern bulk distribution pipelines consists of the following key components:• Molepo Dam• Molepo WTW with three booster pumps and

a 200 kl storage• various distribution pipelines• twelve village reticulations• 13 storage reservoirs of varying sizes• command reservoirs (1 Ml and 2 Ml).Currently there is an existing 200 Kl storage at the WTW which is not adequate to meet the cur-rent demand, and the other 250 Kl storage is not functional. During the 2010/2011 financial year, focus has been placed on increasing the capacity of the water treatment plant as well as increasing storage at the source.

There are currently three existing booster pump stations constructed at the water treat-ment plant to pump water to the Western Command Reservoir and Eastern Command Reservoir. The village of Ga-Sebati is at a height which is approximately the same level as the 2 Ml command reservoir at Ga-Rampheri. It is proposed that in future, an additional booster pump station be constructed along the western bulk distribution pipeline to provide the required pressures in order to supply the village of Ga-Sebati with water. This however will not be covered in the initial three phases.

Financial year scope of works2010/2011 financial year scope of works: R8 mil-lion has been budgeted for the current financial year for the implementation of the Ga-Molepo Regional Water Scheme to do the following:• upgrading of the WTW to be fully operational

at a capacity of 1.9 Ml/day• refurbishment and upgrading of an existing

borehole at Mamatsha• construction of a new 1.5 Ml storage at the

treatment works• refurbishment of existing 250 Kl storage.2011/2012 financial year scope of works: It is

TABLE 2: Water demand of areas to be connected to the eastern and western bulk distribution pipelines. The 2015 summer water demand of the eastern and western bulk distribution supply areas over 24 hours is 13.03 ℓ/s and 18.65 ℓ/s respectively

AREA POPULATION AADD(Kl/D)

GAADD(Kl/D)

SPD(Kl/D)

DPF(l/S)

DPFR – BULK OVER 20 HRS (l/S)

Eastern villagesGa-Molamelane 316 18.9 21 0.289 0.723 0.35Ga-Molepo 2,851 179.8 198 2.747 6.866 3.30Makubung 1,034 65.2 72 0.996 2.491 1.20Mamatsha 4,391 276.9 305 4.231 10.577 5.08Maripathekong 2,691 169.7 187 2.593 6.481 3.11Eastern villages sub total

11,283 710.5 782 10.855 27.139 13.03

Western villagesBethel 661 39.7 44 0.606 1.516 0.73Ga-Lekgothoane 1,774 106.4 117 1.626 4.065 1.95Ga-Mogano 661 39.7 44 0.606 1.516 0.73Ga-Rampheri 296 17.8 20 0.272 0.679 0.33Ga-Sebati 3,777 226.6 249 3.462 8.656 4.15Lekgadimane 1,316 79.0 87 1.206 3.016 1.45Dihlopaneng ,2913 174.8 192 2.670 6.675 3.20Makatiane 1,289 77.3 85 1.182 2.954 1.42Marobo 1,176 70.6 78 1.078 2.696 1.29Sebyeng 1,176 70.6 78 1.078 2.696 1.29Sekgweng 1,478 88.7 98 1.355 3.388 1.63Tsebela 439 26.4 29 0.403 1.007 0.48Western villagessub total

16,959 1,017.5 1,119 15.545 38.864 18.65

PROJECT TEAMConsultant Dombo Du Plessis & PartnersContractor Betsekgadi Community

ProjectsSteel reinforcement Alert SteelSteel pipe and fittings

Rare Water


POLOKWANE

TABLE 3: Overview of project design guidelines

GENERAL GUIDELINESMaximum static head (village reticulation) 90 m maximum, below 60 m preferredMinimum reticulation residual head 10 m at point of delivery, flow limiters to be installed on standpipes when residual pressures are greater than 25 m

above GLMinimum/maximum linear flow velocity under domestic peak flow conditions

0.3 to 1.5 m/s and 3 m/s maximum in bulk supply pipelines

Pipe type uPVC to SABS 966 Part 1 and HDPE to SABS ISO 4427Minimum pipe class (gravity pipes) 900 kPa pipe class working pressureMinimum pipe class (pump lines) 1 200 kPa pipe class working pressureMinimum pipe size 90 mm uPVC for village reticulations and 110 mm uPVC for bulk supply lines with a view for future village growthNon standard sizes 125 mm 140 mm are not to be usedConsumer off-takes Not allowed directly from bulk linesIsolating valves Isolate sections not exceeding 350 m in reticulations. Valves also at branch lines and at each standpipeScour valves Between isolating valves of bulk supply lines at local low points, preferably adjacent to natural streamsAir valves (double orifice) At local high points. At maximum 600 m on intervals on pump lines and maximum 1 000 m on gravity linesDesign pumping period 24 hours/day (electrical pumps)Pump standby provision 100% for single sets, 33% for larger setsFlow formula D’arcy WeisbachBoundary roughness (k-value) 0.1 mm for uPVC and HDPE pipesMinimum trench depth at road crossing Pipe Ø + bedding + 1.2 mMinimum trench depth otherwise Pipe Ø + bedding + 0.8 mMinimum trench width Pipe Ø + 400 mmMinimum bedding thickness The greater of 0.10 m or one sixth of pipe diameter

STORAGE GUIDELINESReservoir storage capacity 24 hours of AADD for gravity source

36 hours of AADD pumped from multiple sources48 hours of AADD pumped from one source

Reservoir structure Precast concrete structures or standard reinforced concrete structureLocation of storage reservoir Preferably within 1 km from village served. Ideally to be located 30 m above elevation of highest present

development inside village, thereby allowing sufficient head for future expansion or increase in level of service

RETICULATION GUIDELINESStandpipe design As per standard drawingWalking distance Maximum of 200 m walking distance to standpipeFlow rate Minimum flow rate of 10 ℓ/min/tap. Allow one tap per standpipeCoverage 1 standpipe for 25 households or 100 people

estimated that R13.6 million will be utilised to construct the following infrastructure:• an 8 km of 160 mm diameter bulk pipeline

from Ga-Ramphere via the Reservoir at Sebyeng, extending to the western bulk distribution complete with air valves, scour

valves and all fittings• upgrading and extension of the WTW from a

capacity of 1.9Ml/day to 3Ml/day.2012/2013 financial year scope of works: It is estimated that R 9.5 million will be utilised to construct the following infrastructure:

• a 6.3 km of 160 mm diameter bulk supply pipeline extending to the western bulk pipe-line complete with air valves, scour valves and all fittings

• upgrading and extending the WTW from a capacity of 3Ml/day to 3.6Ml/day.

SANRAL


Much

Tel: +27 21 900-4400 Fax: +27 21 900-4468 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www. m u c h a s p h a l t . c o . z a

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A Murray & Roberts company

TOGETHER WE CANThat’s our ethos at Much Asphalt.

We are part of a team that delivers quality results – safely, sustainably and cost effectively.Together we can create a transport infrastructure that keeps our country moving.

THE BASE LAYERS of that stretch of road have been constructed using a cost-effective road materials technol-ogy with improved per formance to

cater for the extreme volumes of heavy vehicles

Longer-life roads technology piloted in DurbanA section of South Coast Road at the entrance to the Durban harbour is the scene of a full-scale trial of technology that leads to longer-life roads.

RIGHT New advents in road construction are closely monitored


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entering and leaving the harbour. The technol-ogy will ensure a longer life-cycle for the heavily-trafficked road.

The use of this technology in road construc-tion – high-modulus asphalt (HiMA) – results in roads that last longer and need less main-tenance, thus leading to fewer delays for road users. HiMA also decreases the life-cycle costs of roads and increases sustainability due to the lower use of non-renewable materials, accord-ing to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The CSIR and the Southern African Bitumen Association (Sabita) have developed and con-ducted research on HiMA mixes suitable for heavily-trafficked roads in South Africa. CSIR infrastructure engineering researchers used local materials and performance-related testing

to develop a product with significantly-improved properties compared to conventional asphalt mixes. HiMA mixes have been developed and are suited to South African circumstances for use on roads that carry high volumes of traffic.

“HiMA is a composite material consisting of graded mineral aggregate blended with a hard bituminous binder. It has a greatly-improved resistance against permanent deformation and, due to its high stiffness, provides better protection of underlying road layers. It also has good durability due to its high binder content,” explains the project leader from the CSIR, Dr Erik Denneman.

“It is important for road materials to be able to cope with the significant increases in traf-fic volumes and loads. Such materials should also offer road owners long-term, vir tually maintenance-free solutions in light of curbing congestion and minimising road user costs,” comments Saied Solomons, CEO of Sabita. The specific HiMA mix used at the Durban harbour entrance was produced by a company called National Asphalt.

“The eThekwini Municipality is leading the country as the first road authority to imple-ment the use of HiMA technology. We believe that HiMA offers a better solution, taking into account the challenges posed by the weather and high volumes of heavy, slow-moving traffic around the Durban harbour. Any interruption of traffic in that area affects the national economy,” says Krishna Naidoo,

senior manager of the municipality’s road rehabilitation branch.

“One of HiMA mix designs used at the Durban harbour contains 20% reclaimed asphalt and can carry significantly higher traffic loads than traditional mixes. With less frequent reha-bilitation, we can thus reduce the pollution generated by traffic jams when roads are being repaired and also ensure reduced use of virgin materials, all of which will assist in meeting our objectives of implementing more environmen-tally-friendly road building solutions,” Naidoo notes. The eThekwini municipality is looking at implementing HiMA technology more widely within its region.

HiMA can be used on main routes, high-vol-ume urban roads and at airports. “The technol-ogy is in the process of being transferred to the

South African industry for routine road design and construction,” says Solomons.

“The CSIR is involved with the planned imple-mentation of HiMA technology on projects else-where in the country, in collaboration with vari-ous asphalt producers,” Denneman comments.

Design guidelines for HiMA mixesExtensive laboratory research on HiMA mixes by the CSIR and Sabita resulted in the develop-ment of preliminary guidelines for the design of South African HiMA mixes and roads containing HiMA layers. The guidelines will feed into the updated, comprehensive South African Road Design Method undertaken by the CSIR and others for the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL).

HiMA was originally developed in France in the 1990s and is used extensively in Europe for roads carrying heavy traffic loads.

The eThekwini port and logistics infrastructureThe municipal area of eThekwini stretches from Umkomaas in the south to Tongaat in the north, moving inland to Ndwedwe, and ends at Cato Ridge in the west. One of the main goals of the municipality is the improvement of its port and logistics infrastructure. This will ensure maximising of opportunities pre-sented by the existence of the port and other enterprises to partner in increasing economic opportunities.

eThekwini Municipality is leading the country as the fi rst road authority to implement the use of HiMA technology

Branches South Africa Cape Town Durban Johannesburg Port Elizabeth

Kenya Nairobi Namibia Okahandja Zambia Ndola

Depots Bloemfontein East London Hectorspruit

www.colas.co.za

While South Africa faced massive national bitumen shortages last October, Colas needed to meet large contractual commitments and opted for the innovative solution of importing the fi rst bulk shipment into the country.

The fi rst bitumen was offl oaded shortly after the shipment arrived in Durban harbour, and thereafter the Colas team worked tirelessly in adverse weather conditions to complete the offl oading process within four days.

With appreciation for the support and commitments received from Much Asphalt and National Asphalt which made this possible, we are proud to have showed that when there’s a diffi cult situation, Colas provides the solution to ensure a successful outcome.

COLAS PROVIDING SOLUTIONS

for successful outcomes

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SANRAL


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GIVEN THE VERITABLE dust storms that are regularly kicked up in parliaments and research institutions about feeding the masses, it is astonishing how little attention is paid to imple-menting sensible corrective measures.

Added to the loss of soil due to bad farming practices, explosive urban development is also contributing negatively. Surface water runoff in urban areas has been found to be at least four times higher than in rural areas of similar geographical composition. Impermeable buildings, roadways, parking areas and even storm water drains may cover about 20% of the total area. Reduced infiltration, increased runoff velocity and erosion are the direct result.

Some “scientists” immediately saw new solutions when it became clear that the dust nutrients in the Pacific led to more fish for the fish-ing industry. In all seriousness, they proposed deliberate fertilisation to feed the poor, in other words, more of the same solutions to make corporate wallets grow while the population grows as well - poorer and larger. This type of thinking is very unlikely to affect the quality of life of most life forms on earth, and merely pays lip service to the food security of the poor.

Grasses also represent an important tool to halt the degradation of our soil resources. Healthy savannahs, prairies and steppes represent a largely under-estimated carbon sink (storage of soil carbon), provided that they are not over-exploited by grazing animals.

Grasses are relatively easy to establish with seeds or rootstock divi-sion, with many companies and departments engaged in this field, with much success.

Excellent guidelines exist, prepared by various departments and con-sultants. The book Guide to Grasses by Frits van Oudtshoorn, contains valuable information on erosion control, as well as the Environmental Management Programme compiled by the City of Cape Town.

Briefly, soil stabilisation measures include re-vegetation with suitable

Soil rehabilitation and conservationA KEY CONCERN FOR THE FUTURE

Natural erosion has always occurred under a variety of conditions, but ultimately in a

state of balance. Originally the activities of mankind on earth were of little consequence.

Today we number 7 billion, apparently proudly so. By Holger Rust, CEO of Terraforce

ABOVE Rehabilitation of construction site with endemic plants. Note! White markers to assist follow-up operations

ABOVE Gabion groynes with concrete panels to protect against abrasion


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ABOVE Heavily eroded cut slope posing a danger to passing trafficMIDDLE After rehabilitation with concrete measuresTOP RIGHT To support an existing canal that was heavily eroded, it was necessary to employ strong measuresRIGHT Some years later, incorporating a stilling basin and permeable invert lining

plants, hydroseeding, mulching, mixing with straw in sandy soils, wind-breaks or brush packing, stabilising cylinders, mats made of organic material or logs and hard finishes. Most of these measures work well, depending on various site conditions but are not a good idea to use on steep slopes or where conditions are not suitable. Pure clay embank-ments, sun facing, hot slopes or slopes that are subject to strong wind, for instance.

Embankments that are steeper than 1 in 1 can effectively be stabi-lised/retained with interlocking hollow concrete retaining blocks that are plant supportive and easy to maintain.

Embankments with an inclination of between 1 in 1 and 1 in 2 can be stabilised with concrete erosion control/retaining blocks that will not rot or degrade, unlike more cost effective, soft finishes.

Also, the installation of permeable pavements and the temporary stor-age of run-off water in detention/attenuation ponds in the upper reach-es of the system need to be installed as a matter of routine. Ideally this should take place before man-made disasters strike and not after. Ultimately, less (of us) is more, and will be the only solution that can be implemented without triggering hardship and a depressed economy.

LEFT Permeable erosion control of a storm water channelRIGHT Permeable erosion control of a storm water channel with grass cover

LEFT Roadside stabilisation with softening plant growth RIGHT Sandy bridge abutment retained with a permeable surface

SANRAL

Ammann smooths the path, setting as its goal asphalt recycling upto 100 %. Ammann delivers bespoke solutions for every issue related to conservative handling of our resources. Which is why all of our new asphalt mixing plants providethe capability to process recycled material, and so reduce your operating costs.

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The role geosynthetics play in road constructionIn order to maximise economic benefit it is critical in today’s competitive global environment that a country’s road network is efficient and well maintained.


GEOSYNTHETICS PLAY a significant part in modern road design and tech-niques and the growth in their use worldwide for transportation appli-

cations in particular, has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Geosynthetics provide sustainable environmental solutions“Kaytech is leading the way in providing geo-synthetic solutions that are not only environ-mentally sustainable but are proving extremely viable from an economic perspective too,” says Garth James, Kaytech’s marketing director. An example of where significant long-term environ-mental benefits of using geosynthetic solutions are seen is in a road sub-base. The benefits of using a geogrid geosynthetic solution compared to lime stabilisation are considerable; only a

relatively small quantity of geogrid is required for the stabilisation of the sub-grade, compared to the lime needed and this reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

The method of operation using a geotextileThe mode of operation of a geotextile is generally defined by six functions, which are: separation, filtration, drainage, reinforcement, sealing, and protection. Depending on the geotextile’s specific application, one or more of these may perform simultaneously. In terms of transport applications, separation refers to the geotextile’s role in preventing the intermix-ing of two adjacent soils. By placing a flexible geosynthetic material like a porous geotextile between dissimilar materials, the integrity and functioning of both materials can remain intact.

Filtration involves the establishment of a sta-ble interface between the soil and the geotex-tile that allows for adequate water flow without soil loss. Drainage in a soil-to-geosynthetic sys-tem allows for adequate flow of surplus water from the soil structure into the drain for collec-tion and discharge. An example of the filtration and drainage function is the use of a geotextile in a road pavement edge drain.

Reinforcement is defined as the synergistic improvement in the total system strength cre-ated by the introduction of geotextile into a soil.

Finally, in terms of sealing and protection, a nonwoven geotextile performs this function when saturated with bitumen which renders it relatively impermeable to both cross-plane and

BELOW Crack sealing with Sealmac on the N3 (Warden to Harrismith)

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in-plane flow. The classic application of a geo-textile as a liquid barrier is paved road mainte-nance. The nonwoven geotextile is placed on

the existing surface following the application of a bitumen tack coat. The geotextile then absorbs the bitumen to become a water-proofing membrane which in turn, minimises the ingress of moisture into the pavement structure.

Just one such example includes a portion of the N3 between Estcourt and Frere in KwaZulu-Natal, in which a 300 mm Megaflo panel drain for highly loaded structural drainage was sug-gested. This portion of the N3 had no drain-age systems in place between the cutting on either side and the existing road. Water was being trapped within the layer works, especially between the previously installed concrete finish and the existing asphalt shoulder. A rock saw was used to dig a trench to a depth of 450 mm in between the shoulder and the slow lane of


• Armorfl ex offers environmental protection• Labour intensive and cost effective• Complete erosion protection (even when placed under water)

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the N3. Once the Megaflo was installed it was then backfilled with a 9 mm no fines concrete. The subsoil drain was then sealed off at the top

with an asphalt plug and a bitumen saturated Sealmac strip. This effectively allowed the layer works to drain to a depth of 450 mm.

Additional geosynthetic solutionsA further Kaytech project included crack sealing on the N5 between Harrismith and Kestell in the Free State. Kaytech’s technical team was consulted and recommended the Sealmac® Paving Fabric.

The Sealmac® Paved Road system provides a single procedure to primarily seal and sec-ondarily strengthen a distressed pavement by its incorporation in a spray seal surfacing or asphalt overlay. As a maintenance procedure it is a proven holding action solution to a failing pavement thereby postponing expensive road rehabilitation measures.

Additional products offered by Kaytech include Glasgrid™, a high strength, low strain, self–adhesive pavement reinforcement mesh designed to reinforce asphalt overlays. The Glasgrid™ pavement reinforcement can extend road life by up to 200% providing additional support to resist the migration of reflective cracking in the road pavement. This popular interlayer system is composed of a series of fibreglass strands formed into a grid structure and coated with an elastomeric polymer. Each strand has a remarkably high tensile strength with a high modulus of elasticity. It is this com-bination that makes the Glasgrid™, weight for weight, stronger than steel.

A further advantage of this system is the ease of installation, as this can be done with-out specialised equipment or labour. From the client’s point of view, Glasgrid™ not only pro-vides a cost effective solution which reduces the life cycle cost, but it has a proven track record having been used on many of the nation-al routes throughout South Africa since 1998. Examples include N1 Winburg in the Free State, N2 South Coast near Umgababa, N3 at Giloolys in Gauteng, N4 Watermeyer St offramp east of Pretoria and the N7 to Malmesbury in the Western Cape.

The mode of operation of a geotextile is generally defi ned by six functions

SANRAL


Building bridges.

As one of the oldest civil engineering contractors in South Africa, we have a reputation of building solid partnerships with the public and private sector to deliver innovative and effective solutions. www.martin-east.co.za

THE IMPLEMENTATION phase of the public-private sector partner-ship project, which began in April 2010, involves the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), Sun International’s Golden Valley Casino, the Breede Valley Municipality, Altona and

the Worcester Land Trust which includes the Mountain Mill Mall. Martin and East was the contractor appointed to complete the project.

The need for the upgrade was identified in a traffic impact study. Previously the N1, which bypasses the town of Worcester, had three grade traffic intersections in short succession of each other which hampered the free flow of traffic, and led to several accidents from motorists jump-ing red traffic lights. Crossing the highway between the Golden Valley Casino to the north of the N1, and the Mountain Mill Mall to the south, was not possible.

In the upgrade, two of the traffic lights on the N1 have been removed and new slip roads, flanking the casino on one side and the mall on the other, connects the two properties by means of a bridge, making it

Private-public partnership assists with N1 upgradeConstruction of the R114 million Worcester N1 Interchange was completed and opened to the public on 18 November, ahead of December’s anticipated peak volume traffic.

possible to cross the highway in safety. The access road now meets the accepted highway safety standards.

The design concept for the Worcester Interchange Bridge was based on two main requirements. Firstly, a deck construction method that would cause little disruption to the traffic flow on the N1 and secondly, a bridge that would be aesthetically attractive.

ABOVE Mrs Kivedo (mayor of Worcester, Basil Kivedo’s, wife), Hassan Adams (chairman of SunWest), Basil Kivedo (mayor of Worcester), Billy de Lange (Altona Developments) and Graham Power (Power Construction)


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FROM ITS INCEPTION in 1965, Roadlab has steadily evolved and is now rec-ognised for its advancement of civil engineering and construction linked

to quality, and its service and productive con-tributions to projects in all economic sectors. By improving and diversifying its knowledge, technical expertise, leveraging the power of its laboratory, and developing new innovative and diagnostic technologies, Roadlab consistently delivers exceptional value and credible results to its clients both locally and throughout the African continent.

“Roadlab enhances and assures quality con-trol in the civil and construction industry through its efforts in the laboratory and at mobile laboratory sites. Our professionals inspect, evaluate, and monitor clients’ needs with goals that range from anticipating maintenance and rehabilitation needs to extend life cycle, to miti-gating damage and losses,” explains director, Nico Herbst.

Roadlab offers its knowledge and results to facility owners and managers, engineering firms, consulting companies, government agen-cies, construction companies, legal profession-als and insurance companies throughout the African continent.

Soil and gravel testingRoadlab offers clients numerous soil and gravel tests which include: CBR; UCS; MOD; road indicators; nuclear density tests; geotechnical tests and reports; permeability; collapse poten-tial; foundation investigations to NHBRC stand-ards; centre line and borrow pit investigations.

Aggregate testingThe company is involved in a wide range of test-ing on aggregates used in concrete, asphalt, and surfacing seals on which shape, hard-ness and durability properties are assessed. Materials acceptance testing including accel-erated aggregate alkali reactivity; shrinkage potential; PSV; petrography profiling and delete-rious organic and inorganic impurities form part of its professional services.

Asphalt and bitumen testingRoadlab currently undertakes some of the most specialised asphalt testing in South Africa including MMLS evaluation and gyratory compaction. The company offers a full range of

47 years of service excellenceLeading large-scale civil engineering materials laboratory, Roadlab, has been providing quality service for 47 years.

Marshall Control testing and asphalt designs including evaluation of properties such as dura-bility, rutting and fatigue.

“We are continuously researching new and improved ways of evaluating and designing asphalt base and surfacing layers to serve our industry,” says Herbst.

A fully compliant binder testing laboratory is incorporated into Roadlab’s asphalt laboratory for design evaluation, control testing as well as acceptance testing such as Brookfield viscosity on polymer modified binders.

“We are currently the only laboratory in South Africa with the LacroixDeflectograph and Scrim testing equipment,” adds Herbst.

Concrete testingRoadlab’s state of the art concrete labora-tory can offer its clients results where human error is minimised. This includes fully auto-mated concrete presses; automated tempera-ture controlled curing baths with the abil-ity to hold up to more than 8 000 cubes at a time, electronically controlled humidity and a temperature regulated laboratory. In adherence to the highest standards Roadlab regularly calibrates all testing equipment. With the most modern equipment and highly trained and experienced staff in this spe-cialised field, the company offers the fol-lowing services: greenfield investigations; forensic testing including site damage and failure investigations; quarry assessment; batch plant efficiency; routine site testing; aggregate analysis; optimised concrete mix designs; site sampling; fire and storm damage assessments; on site pull out tests; deflection measurements on slabs and beams under static and dynamic loads; core drilling; core testing; elastic modulus; shrinkage and creep determination and concrete durability testing.“This range of services will be increased to include flexural strength testing with deflection measurements to determine toughness indices on fibre - reinforced concrete such as shot-creted tunnel linings and canal and dam wall linings,” highlights Herbst.

Road pavement evaluationRoadlab assesses pavement surfaces for night visibility and deformation measurements. Scrim test apparatus and a profileometer for assess-ing international roughness indexes; transverse

profile and macrotexture will soon increase its range of services offered in this field to clients.

Site laboratories The company believes it has the strategic capability to provide equipment and staff to run a full materials laboratory on any remote site within South Africa and into the continent as well. Quality management implementation under ISO 17025 is soon going to be offered for these site laboratories and periodic audits will be undertaken as an added service to clients.

Centreline and borrow pit investigationsRoadlab can carry out detailed soil investigation reports for centre line investigation and borrow pits. The following information is included: GPS coordinators, photos, sketches, profiles and soil tests. The scoping report is done in full colour. A complete report written by a geotech-nical engineer or engineering geologist is also offered. Reports in Rubicon are also offered as an additional service.

Roadlab is very committed to enterprise devel-opment and is currently involved with assisting smaller laboratories. Last year Roadlab gave such laboratories R1.5 million worth of work and also paid for the studies of previously disadvantaged individuals working at them.

Contract for UWP Consulting N12Total of 54 km centre line survey and asphalt coringContract value for testing: R3.5 millionDate completed: November 2011


SANRAL

IN ADDITION TO investing in training and developing employees to the best of their abilities, the Group has market leading healthcare and employee support pro-

grammes. This same caring approach extends to applying the Group’s experience and technical resources to contribute to a better world for the communities surrounding its operating sites.

In South Africa, the Lafarge Lichtenburg Cement Works has been a major employer and contributor to the economy of the Lichtenburg communities for over sixty years. The facility is the company’s flagship cement production site.

“While we are a key player in the South African building materials industry, we never lose sight of our responsibility to respect our neighbouring communities and to contribute to their econom-ic growth and general well-being,” says Thierry Legrand, general manager of Lafarge Cement.

The company demonstrated its confidence in the country and the future of Lichtenburg in 2009 by commissioning a R1,2 billion project to increase Lafarge’s cement capacity by one million tonnes per year. At the time, the project

A people focused companyMuch of Lafarge Group’s success at being the world leader in building materials and in the industry for sustainable development can be attributed to placing the safety and well-being of people at the heart of its concerns.

was the largest investment the South African cement industry had seen for over two decades. The investment had two components: a R750 million investment in a new kiln and clinker line at Lichtenburg designed to supply high quality clinker and a one million tonnes of cement per year grinding station on a greenfield site at Randfontein, on the west side of Johannesburg.

Lafarge’s support for its employees and the communities associated with the Lichtenburg Cement Works is extensive. While one of the focus areas of the Lafarge Education and Community Trusts is on the upliftment of education in Bodibe, North West Province, and KwaZulu-Natal, other social responsibility programmes of the Cement Works involve the communities in its immediate vicinity.

Artisan trainingAddressing the country’s acute skills shortage, with particular benefit for the Lichtenburg com-munity, Lafarge Cement has developed a centre of training excellence at the works. The Lafarge Africa Training Centre provides artisan training

leading to nationally recognised qualifications and a stepping stone for an individual’s further advancement. Courses are run for employees of Lafarge companies, as well as young men and women from the local communities.

A primary concernIn the belief that an effective workforce has to be a healthy workforce, Lafarge employees have the benefit of a comprehensive health-care programme that embraces regular medical examinations, nutritional support and conveni-ent, free access to confidential counselling on any matters that may be of concern to an employee and his/her family, whether financial, emotional, legal, sexual or medical.

Today’s learners: tomorrow’s leadersSchool learners are the future employees and leaders in the Lafarge businesses and the schools around Lichtenburg are high on the priority list for support from the Cement Works. Whether the projects are large or small, the emphasis is working in partnership with the school principals to achieve some sustainable benefit. A typical example is the recycling initia-tive the company undertook in 2010.

Lafarge created and sponsored the “green team” recycling initiative among eight schools in the Lichtenburg area, with the aim of rais-ing the awareness of the learners to the need for environmentally-friendly, “green” initiatives, showing learners that they can make a differ-ence, and laying the foundation for a self-sus-taining ongoing programme of environmental conservation activities within the community.

The initiative was in the form of a competition with Lafarge providing a contractor to collect the sorted recycled waste materials. The com-petition was promoted by a poster campaign and highly effective live theatre presentations at the schools by a mime artist. The results were nothing short of astonishing with the win-ning Lichtenburg Laerskool pupils achieving the remarkable performance of recycling eighteen tonnes of glass, cans, plastics and paper in a period of four months.

LEFT Present at the the delivery of Lafarge cement for Motswaiso School were Kgosiemang (school principal), pupils, Dumaze (Lafarge Lichtenburg HR officer)


SANRAL

WITH THIS IN MIND input and approvals were required from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), as well as the

Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP). The project therefore had to be carefully co-ordinated to ensure that the onerous approval conditions were adhered to as well as ensuring that the end product was a facility that the com-munity could be proud of.

Consequently, the project was strongly focussed towards preserving the heritage and creating a product that promoted a strong sense of place.

The MR172 meanders through an area of national heritage significance. The surrounding area is thus both historically and environmentally sensitive. Richard Jansen Van Vuuren outlines the reconstruction project.

The reconstruction of the MR172

By the end of construction the following design goals were achieved:• The existing cross-section was widened

from 2 x 3.0 m lanes and gravel shoulders to 2 x 3.4 m lanes and 1.5 m red-dyed shoulders.

• Realignment of a particularly low-standard section of the existing MR172 to acceptable standards.

• Sidewalks, walkways and pedestrian cross-ings were implemented.

• Traffic calming measures were introduced to assist in providing a safe facility for all road users, the public and the neighbouring community.

• Public transport facilities were provided.• All cut slopes were stabilised.• The storm water system was upgraded.• All services were provided for by either

BELOW A pedestrian crossing on the reconstructed route

The local community was actively used in the construction of the facilities

SANRAL


Group Head Office +27 12 481 3800Email: [email protected]: www.velavke.co.za

VV

KE

/R

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01

Vela VKE is a truly South African, multi-disciplinary,consulting engineering company committed

to transformation.

As we continue to build on over sixty yearsof experience, our expertise and innovation

remain globally recognised.

Vela VKE Board: left to right: Viwe Qegu, Arthur Taute, Mathews Phosa,Dave Gertzen, Tom Marshall, George Munyai, Job Mokgoro, Mothupi Malaka

providing ducts for new and existing services or replacing existing ones.

• Landscaping and provision of facilities that upgraded the area and ensured that the new service provided is in keeping with the surrounds.

In keeping with the vision of the project in terms of development, the following social goals were achieved:• The local community was actively used in the

construction of the facilities stated above.• Developing sub-contractors were used to

ensure transfer of skills.• All development and services provided

were in keeping with the requirements as

specified by the SAHRA and DEADP.• Ultimately, the project succeeded in provid-

ing a facility that met very onerous technical requirements, preserved the heritage and environmental characteristics and empow-ered the local community by continuously

engaging them and ensuring that they par-ticipated in every step of the project.

The existing road’s location and design ele-ments were influenced by the topography,

ABOVE Reworked surfacing and gabion walls

PROJECT FACTS AND FIGURES:Engineers: VelaVKE Consulting EngineersContractors: Vusela Construction Electrical Consultants: 4EMEnvironmental Consultants: MALAHealth & Safety Agent: Quantec SafetyLandscaping Consultant: Earthworks Landscape ArchitectsHeritage Consultants: Sarah Winter & Nicolas BaumanCPG Monitoring Consultants: BEE Ratings Solutions

Road Longevity And Performance

40 years of better solutions

For more information, call us onJohannesburg 011 922 3300East London 043 727 1057Cape Town 021 531 8110Durban 031 717 2300Or contact us on-line at www.kaytech.co.za oc

tarin

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Kaytech offers proven solutions that increase the life expectancy of asphalt overlays. With innovative products that provide cost effective solutions to road longevity, for both new construction and the rehabilitation of damaged asphalt overlays, Kaytech is the key to long term road maintenance.

GlasGrid and Sealgrid are just two of Kaytech’s sophisticated and innovative asphalt reinforcement solutions. Kaytech will also engineer specifi c solutions to your particular challenges.

For more information, call us TODAY.


SANRAL

terrain, built environment, land use and historic significance of the neighbouring surrounds. Any future upgrades had to include these factors in the design.

Since its inception, this project was an integrated one, no one part of the design could be done in isolation of any other factor. Hence the technical design could not be done in isolation of the environmental aspects, the

heritage impacts and the social requirements. Communication was vital to ensure that most, if not all, requests and desires were met.

Vela VKE was appointed in 1997 to design the rehabilitation of MR172 which extends from Helshoogte to the R45. It is a scenic route through the Winelands which runs through the towns of Johannesdal and Pniel towards Franschhoek. Construction on the project, valued at R50 million, began in January 2009. The design and construction was not limited to only the upgrading of the existing route

The project succeeded in providing a facility that met very onerous technical requirements

and beautifying the road reserve to suit the surrounding areas, but included developing and uplifting the communities by employing and training local labour and SMME’s during this period.

ABOVE A digital depiction of a route sectionBELOW The scenic route is very popular among cyclists

ROADS AND STORMWATER


FOLLOWING ON extensive upgrading projects in rural and urban areas of Limpopo Province, the focus has cur-rently moved southward, with North

West, Northern Cape and Free State provinces being the latest to benefit from government initiatives to raise road standards to meet the demands of an increasing population.

As in the Limpopo projects, Technicrete’s Double Zig-Zag interlocking concrete pavers have been the surface of choice for specifiers. The heavy-duty blocks for the latest road-building projects are being manufactured at the Murray & Roberts Building Products Company’s plant at Stilfontein.

Tens of thousands of square metres of the blocks in 60 mm and 80 mm thicknesses are being laid in seven separate rural road upgrad-ing operations now under way in the three provinces, serving chiefly rural communities.

They include the Carnivore location in the

Rural roads upgrade gathers paceUpgrading of hundreds of kilometres of rural roads is pushing ahead.

Northern Cape, Khuma, Gopane, Sannieshof and Delareyville in North West Province, and

Viljoenskroon and the Alabama location outside Klerksdorp in the Free State.

A newly laid block paving road in Penge



Aurecon provides engineering, management and specialist technical services for government and private sector clients globally. The group has been involved in projects

Aurecon’s broad-based resource pool enables it to provide core engineering services ranging from civil, electrical and mechanical, structural and transportation engineering through to infrastructure asset management, organisational development and programme and project management.

By investing in, and appropriately allocating resources and skills, the group collaborates with its clients to improve the quality of life of the communities in which it operates. This expertise ranges from sophisticated, high-tech solutions to the provision of basic services in rural areas.

Aurecon also fosters job creation by focusing on core infrastructure development such as water, roads, electricity, sanitation, and housing, which are aimed at revitalising and sustaining cities and towns.

For more information, contact us at tel: +27 12 427 2000 or email: [email protected]

Liveable cities, resilient communities

Integrated planning

development

Roads and transport

Water and electricity

Solid waste

Asset management

Advisory and management

Disaster management

Expertise:

THE COMPANY HAS officially been appointed distributor for the African region by United States-based Spin Screed Incorporated.

Compaction Methods technical director, Dan Silcock, says, “The Spin Screed was designed and developed nine years ago

by United States-based contractor, Joe Churchill, who had struggled with a range of heavy, noisy, unreliable and hard-to-clean vibratory screeds for over 30 years. The resultant Spin Screed is a rugged, lightweight roller screed, powered by an electric motor that operates quietly, is easy to clean and can be loaded or unloaded on site by one person. The product is supplied standard with a 100 mm diameter steel or aluminium screed pipe and can be supplied in lengths of up to 7 m.”

In South Africa, the Spin Screed has been tested by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, where it was used to construct ultra-thin reinforced concrete roads in Mamelodi with outstanding success, and proved to be a cost effective tool for the construction of low cost durable roads, which have greatly improved access and consequently added significantly to upliftment of the area.

Spin Screed, a lightweight power roller screed, has been introduced to the local market by Compaction Methods.

Power roller screed

RIGHT The lightweight Spin Screed power roller screed being used on a road in Mamelodi



PILING FOR THE new bridge, being under-taken by Esorfranki Geotechnical, is already well advanced. A total of 168 piles are needed for the two decks

and a total of 640 t of steel reinforcing will be used in the construction of the bridge.

The new section links up with a 6.5 km dou-ble carriageway from the N14 freeway to the K71 which was completed in July last year.

Peter Dittberner, alternate director at Esorfranki Civils, says the road building con-tract being undertaken for the Department of Roads was awarded in October with work start-ing in November last year. Completion is set for October 2012.

“The bridge is being constructed in two phases. The 100 m southbound section will be completed first and opened for traffic. Thereafter, we will demolish the existing old bridge and construct the northbound section of the bridge in its place.”

Dittberner mentions that a precast yard has been established on site where 72 precast beams, each weighing 41 t, as well as the per-manent formwork and bridge balustrades are

New bridge over Hennops RiverThe construction of a 100 m long bridge over the Hennops River forms part of a 22 month contract awarded to Esorfranki Civils for the building of a 4.2 km dual carriageway.

being manufactured. The casting of the deck will be undertaken in-situ.

The contract also covers the supply and erec-tion of 171 (20 m) scissor-mast street lights being installed from the N14 freeway to the P39/1 interchange at Ladium; installation of 19 culverts for storm water; provision of traffic lights at three intersections; and the reloca-tion of various services, including an 11 kv power line from Wierda Road to the P39/1, 11 kv underground feeder cables, water ser-vices for Sunderland Ridge and Laudium, and a long length of concrete palisade fencing. There is also limited work on the relocation of a sewer line.

Controlled blasts undertaken in-house were required to remove a total of 33 000 m³ of rock to construct a cutting on the southbound lane and it is likely that additional blasting will be required. All rock and soil removed during road building is being crushed and screened for later use by Esorfranki, or stockpiled adjacent to the project site.

The road comprises two 150 mm selected lay-ers of G7 and G5 blend, a lower and upper sub

base comprising the same blended material with 3% cement mixed in by the recycling machine. Thereafter, the road shoulder is being built using G7 and blended fill material, after which 150 mm layer of G1 from PPC is laid as the base course followed by the final premix layer.

In terms of the contract, 40% of the contract value is being allocated to BBBEE companies and emerging contractors. Local contractors include Balekane, which is undertaking the hauling of the material and accommodation of traffic, Rhino Horns Construction which is con-structing concrete bases for the high rise street lights, and Rhino Tiger Security for security work on the project. Members of the local community are being employed and trained to construct road drainage and other small civil works such as pothole repairs and laying of kerbs. A project steering committee meets monthly to monitor employment levels and training.

BELOW Esorfranki is casting 36 beams, each weighing 41 t, in its precast yard on the R55 for the construction of a four lane bridge over the Hennops River

Terrestrial Scanning Services Detection

3D Mobile Mapping

SURVEYS, MAPPING, GIS www.geoinfo.co.za

Tel: +27 11 763 7173 E-mail: [email protected]

AREA OF OPERATION

SERVICES

Project Management: Large survey, mapping and GIS contracts

Asset Management Capturing and documenting of

all services and fixed assets

3D Laser Imaging: High Definition Mobile Mapping

Terrestrial scanning

Surveys: GPS, Engineering, Mining

Underground Services Detection:

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Pipe Loca-tor, Sonde

Bathymetric: Rivers, Dams, Shallow coastal

GIS Data capture, Implementation

High Resolution Photography with Zoom

Bathymetric Survey

Conventional Survey

Bathymetric & Mobile Survey

2 or 3D Plan Volumetric Survey

Detail Scan

Detail Photograph

3D Mobile Scan with Point Cloud

Detail Bridge Site Scan Services Detection Plan

High Resolution Photograph


SAGI

OVER THE past few years the construc-tion industry has been introduced to airborne lidar mapping and terrestrial (ground based) lidar mapping. The lat-

est development to be introduced is high resolu-tion 3D mobile mapping.

Survey work on most construction projects can be categorised as:• pre-construction – this is the planning and

design phase• construction – this consists mostly of setting

out quantities and confirmation of construction• post-construction – supply of as-built plans

and data.The methodology for pre-construction surveys

is outlined below:

SANRAL specificationMost road construction surveys need to adhere to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) specifications, especially accuracies. These accuracies are summarised in Table 1:

The most stringent specification is 10 mm and therefore equipment and work execution should be conducted to achieve these accuracies.

Existing informationPrior to survey it is necessary to gather and investigate existing information including:• aerial or lidar surveys and data of survey• existing ground surveys if any• existing SANRAL benchmark data• existing SANRAL surveys• cadastral/road reserve data

BenchmarksAn accurate benchmark system is the basis of any survey. The benchmark system ensures that the pre-construction, construction and as built surveys are all on the same system.

The benchmark survey typically consists of:• Confirmation of existing benchmarks x and

y by GPS or total station and z by electronic levelling.

• Building of new or re-building of existing benchmarks. SANRAL specifies that the exist-ing benchmark system must be confirmed and used. This must be included in the survey quote.

Road rehabilitation and SANRAL specifi cations Without accurate geographical information no construction project, whether it be roads, civil works, buildings, plant, electricity or any other project, can proceed.

• If existing information needs to be used, it must be confirmed by ground checks.

Strip surveyThis must be tied in to the benchmark system and consists of two types of survey which are detailed below:• Road prism which includes kerbing, edge

of road, topographic detail of road prism and asphalt surface. This is high accuracy (10 mm) survey. These accuracies cannot be achieved by aerial survey and so ground survey methodologies are necessary. In the past, this was only done by total station equipment but recent technological develop-ments have enabled this to be done by lidar scanning equipment, including mobile or ter-restrial scanners.

• Road corridor which is the area between the edge of road and road reserve boundary.

Ground survey methodologyThe advantages of ground survey are that it is relatively cheap, especially on smaller projects, and that the surveyor is on the ground ensuring that very little detail is missed.

The biggest disadvantages of current ground survey methods are:• Safety: roads are busy and extensive traffic

control measures are necessary to ensure safety of personnel and road users. These measures slow down the survey process.

• Completion time: the survey process is

always on the critical path because the engi-neer needs the design data.

• Cross sections at 20 m intervals: road sur-face data between cross sections is seldom recorded.

• For surveys outside the road reserve it is necessary to obtain access from property owners.

In general the mobile mapper is used for road prism surveys but with its reach it can easily cover most of the road reserve of up to 50 m depending on the terrain. This reduces the ground survey part to infill surveys only. The advantages of aerial lidar survey are as follows:• It covers a wider strip than necessary and

wider mapping is possible where re-routes are necessary.

• For record and information purposes, the photography is a valuable tool.

• It is necessary for overall planning and can be used for other purposes such as route plan-ning, EIA studies, and storm water design, to name but a few.

ConclusionClearly there is no ultimate survey methodology and every project needs be judged according to its requirements. Mobile and terrestrial scan-ning are “new tools in the toolbox” and certainly assist surveyors, engineers and planners in exe-cuting their tasks more effectively. The challenge therefore is whether surveyors, engineers and planners can adapt to these new technologies.

TABLE 1Feature Horizontal Accuracy Vertical Fixing AccuracyKerbing and edge of asphalt 50 mm 10 mmRoad surface (Seal / Asphalt / Concrete)

50 mm 10 mm

Storm water pipes 50 mm 15 mmLined Drains 50 mm 15 mmGravel road surface 100 mm 30 mmGeneral topographic detail of the road prism

100 mm 10 mm

Off the road prism 150 mm 50 mmDetail accuracy The position of all well-defined detail shall

be plotted in relation to the co-ordinate grid so that the positional error of the detail shall not exceed 0,5 mm on the plan.


SAGI

HIGH RESOLUTION satellite coverage’s of all municipalities year on year since 2006 are already available free of charge. These images allow for powerful analysis of formal and informal urban growth, and are essential inputs to Spatial Development

Frameworks (SDFs) and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). Figure 1 shows results from a multi-temporal satellite imagery based study to deter-mine precise trends in informal settlement growth in the context of housing delivery. Low cost housing infrastructure which existed on the landscape in 1996 is shown in grey against low cost housing units which were developed in the period between 1996 and 2010 (blue). Growth of informal settle-ments between 1996 and 2010 is shown in red.

By monitoring trends between informal settlement growth and growth in low cost housing units it is possible to quantify the housing backlog accurately, reliably and remotely. The charts below in Figure 2 depict a particular municipality where rates of informal settlement growth outstrip the rate of low cost housing delivery. By quantifying these trends year on year unit by unit it is possible to rank those municipalities with looming housing delivery crises and to determine the exact number of new low cost housing units required to eradicate the housing backlog.

In fact, a freely available national satellite based mapping exercise con-ducted year on year since 2007, provides the location of formal and infor-mal housing by way of a GPS point on each dwelling structure allowing for quantitative analysis of growth in housing units for any particular area (enu-merator, suburb, town, municipal, district and province) across the country.

Moreover by embedding census statistics which report on household age and income statistics into the housing points, real socio economic

Managing municipalities from spaceRecent technological advancements in airborne and satellite imaging stand to benefit municipalities.

comparisons are possible. One demographic study conducted by Southern Mapping Company for the Northern Cape Department of Social Services for example, was able to show optimal localities for soup kitchens, early childhood development centres, social grant pay points e.t.c. based on computer mapping analysis of this data.

In conjunction with the vast amount of high resolution satellite imagery being utilised for municipal planning, is the rapidly expanding use of Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar). This technology allows for up to 200 000 survey accurate height measurements to be captured per second from an aerial platform using laser technology. This translates into the ability to survey each square meter of an area the size of Johannesburg every four days, a task that would take a conventional surveyor a lifetime. The output imagery (up to 5 cm resolution) and accompanying height meas-urements allow for efficiencies in engineering design for township establish-ment, road, rail, power, sanitation, and water bulk service infrastructure projects, as demonstrated by Southern Mapping Company's delivery of full coverage Lidar for the municipalities of Johannesburg and Mogale City.

The same airborne Lidar data used for engineering design is also being utilised by other municipal departments allowing for cross subsidisation of the data investment. As shown in Figure 3, housing departments are able to automatically extract building footprints to compare the ratio of square meterage of RDP houses (purple) versus backyard shacks (orange) per erf, a figure which is growing alarmingly high across the country and which has a profound impact on bulk service maintenance and ultimately service deliv-ery. When successive data sets are acquired over a period of time, munici-pal Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be easily maintained.

FIGURE 1 FIGURE 3

FIGURE 2

SAGI


3D City Models

Pictometry

www.aoc.co.za

Specialising in:Pictometry® | 3D City Models | SiteSee™ LiDAR | Digital Photography | GIS Capability

New Oblique Imaging Changing the Rules for Municipal Mapping

Above: 3 of the 12 views available with Pictometry oblique imagery

STEPS ARE UNDERWAY to address the bottlenecks holding back use of this technology, through a major European Commission project known

as the Group on Earth Observation Network for Capacity Building (GEONetCaB). This is accord-ing to remote sensing specialist, Andiswa Mlisa, the director of Cape Town earth sciences consultancy, Umvoto Africa. Various partners from all over the world are working on the GEONetCaB project, with Umvoto Africa and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) as southern Africa partners.

“There is an urgent need for raising awareness of the value-add of Earth Observation (EO) in the organisational processes, in line with the

identified societal benefit areas - agriculture, bio-diversity, climate, disaster, ecosystems, energy, health, water and weather,” states Mlisa.

The barriers to using EO products and services are largely due to limited individual, infrastruc-ture and institutional capacity, she explains.

“Despite these barriers, the EO market in the SADC region is as varied as it is growing,” says Mlisa.

GEONetCaB is examining capacity building to enable more access to and use of EO products. The project has a special focus on developing countries – including the SADC region.

It aims to use demonstration projects (suc-cess stories) to showcase the various appli-cations of EO and its societal benefits. For

example, EO has been used to identify and mon-itor groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the Gateway wellfield in Hermanus, Western Cape.

This wellfield yields 1.6 million m³ of high quality water annually. Another best practice example is the South African government’s SPOT 5 multi-user licence, which enables free access to high-resolution satellite imagery for government departments, non-profit organisa-tions and research/academic institutions in the country.

“The GEONetCab project is calling for more success stories throughout the SADC region, where EO has been used for societal benefit,” says Mlisa. These projects will be showcased all over the world.

Potential for SADC to tap into space technologyEarth Observation products and services – which use orbiting, remote sensing satellite technology to monitor and map the environment – have huge potential for business and social use in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

SAGI


Surveying Short Courses:

SAQA Registered NQF level 4 Qualification

THE COMPANY HAS been granted accreditation by the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) to provide training and related assess-

ment services against the unit standards as contained in the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) registered National Certificate in Surveying.

This qualification was developed to assist with “professionalisation” across the sur-veying industry, and allows learners to gain employment as assistant survey techni-cians as well as lay a foundation for future

career advancement in the surveying and construction industries.

As a result of past legacies many prac-titioners within the surveying occupational area were denied career advancement and possible registration with the professional surveying council. This was as a direct result of poor educational opportunities at some schools, leading to a lack of entry to higher education institutes. The introduction of a National Certificate in surveying based on unit standards will allow learners to reach their full potential of advancement without formal

education becoming an impassable barrier in future career advancement.

It is assumed that a learner entering the pro-gramme leading to this qualification has achieved an FET Certificate at NQF level 4, and is proficient in Mathematics, Communication and English, or has several years relevant surveying experience.

The unit standards covering the qualification are clustered together into thir teen one-week skills programmes presented at a rate of one skills programme per month, meaning the qualification will be presented over a period of just more than a year.

Training of surveyors is essentialImproving the skills shortage in the surveying industry in South Africa and advancing the interests of the surveying profession in particular, through education and training is a priority for TSMA.


RECYCLING

SOUTH AFRICA needs to follow many European countries which have estab-lished well-organised, highly efficient recycling processes. This is the view

of Shannon McEwan from IMS Engineering. “This would make a significant contribution

to the quality of the environment while produc-ing significant direct financial savings, not to mention business opportunities and jobs,” says McEwan

He adds that one of the foundations of a successful recycling strategy is appropriate, fit-for-purpose machines for the job.

“In essence this means machines that accept the right feed with a minimum of pre-preparation, and produce clean separated saleable products in the fewest appropriate, economic steps.”

“Companies are beginning to realise that, with the right technology and processes, they can unlock significant value from waste materi-als. In the construction industry this includes construction waste and demolition material in the form of rubble, concrete, steel reinforced concrete and asphalt. When one takes into account the rising costs

Recycling strategy needed for construction industryIMS Engineering believes that it is time there was a coherent strategy for construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling in South Africa.

of all building materials, rising dumping costs, the increase in the fuel price and the negative environmental impact of dumping unprocessed C&D waste, it makes sense to re-use what use-ful construction materials you can, or to benefit from income derived from the sale of the recy-cled material such as clean G5 filler, or selling recovered steel reinforcing to another recycler, instead of simply trucking loads of discarded building material to landfill sites.”

To this end, IMS Engineering, as a sub-sidiary of Hazemag and EPR GmbH, Germany, has geared itself to provide a broad spec-trum of recycling solutions to the construction and recycling industries including its range of Hazemag horizontal shaft impact crushers and MinPro horizontal impact roll crushers .

Hazemag is the world leader in rubble recycling crushing technology. It produces robust and effective crushing plants ideal for the crushing of demolition rub-ble and concrete debris – including steel-reinforced

concrete, from which “cleaned” steel is effec-tively liberated – as well as broken road paving, asphalt, railway sleepers and blocks.

ABOVE The crusher is able to process 1 000 t/h of 2 m edge length feed size construction and demolition rubbleBELOW A fixed crushing plant installation in the Netherlands used for producing high grade recycled material from construction and demolition waste

Tel: +27 (0)12 460 1973 • Fax: +27 (0)12 460 5654 • E-mail: [email protected]

• Waste collection from both sides • With containers • With bags • The collection unit when full demounts the body container in town and returns to the collection round

• No time wasted going to the landfi ll

• The container transporter to the landfi ll site


PANEL DISCUSSIONPANEL DISCUSSION

THE CURRENT waste management prac-tices within each local municipality in South Africa were weighed up against the principles contained in the waste

management hierarchy; and the relevant waste management aspects were evaluated on a cradle to grave principle. Current waste man-agement practices were evaluated from the points of generation all the way through to end disposal/landfill. Compiled in accordance with national government regulations, each municipality works on an Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP) that provides an evaluation of alternative waste management scenarios and options per district. In short, IWMPs can be viewed as a holistic approach of managing and optimising waste management practices to ensure that the implementation of such practices yields environmental, social, health and economic results that are accept-able and sustainable to the public and all relevant spheres of government. IWMPs are ini-tially focused on addressing non-compliances within municipalities in relation to the National Environmental Management Waste Act and other relevant waste management policies and guidelines over a short-term period (0 to 5

Integrated waste management plansCollection, companies, vehicles, equipment and accessories

PIC?

years). Thereafter, the plan aims to improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of waste management practices within district munici-palities over medium to long-term periods (5 to 10 years). This is done through the implemen-tation of projects that aim to promote the prin-ciples of avoidance, minimisation, reduction, reuse and recycling.

Candice Landie facilitates this panel discus-sion, which focuses on companies which work with or can offer municipalities’ solutions with their IWMPs from collection, equipment and vehicles to waste management companies and accessories in general, as follows:• Waste collection: what work is your compa-

ny currently doing for municipalities OR what would you as a waste collection company do differently from the current collection services that are implemented?

• Waste collection vehicles: what are the latest features available on your waste col-lection vehicles which aid in safer waste col-lection and disposal (from a personnel per-spective), and ultimately result in reduced time spent at landfills offloading containers?

• Waste companies: how can your company offer municipalities a holistic approach to

sustainable waste management through the use of your services and/or products from consulting and collection through to landfill remediation?

• Waste collection products, equipment and accessories: what products, equipment and accessories does your company offer with regard to municipal waste collection ser-vices, and how do these extras fair on quality and price in the market place?


PANEL DISCUSSION

Q. What are your biggest waste vehicle and equipment sellers on the market at the moment in the Street Force range, that is, which vehicles prove to be more popular than others in the waste industry and why do you think this is so?A. The largest seller of collection equipment for compactable waste is mainly the rear end loading compactor with the capacities of 15 m³ and 19/21 m³ and 24 m³. In the western world, which we try to follow in South Africa, the McNeilus is the largest selling compactor. Four of our major selling McNeilus products are: the 15 cm³ Metropak (commercial and domestic waste collection), the 19/21 m³ M2 McNeilus (domestic and heavy commercial and light industrial waste), 19/21 cu met HDF McNeilus (domestic, commercial and Industrial waste), and the 24 m³ XXC (for domestic, commercial, industrial and heavy industrial waste).

Q. Which vehicle in your fleet proves to be more popular and why?A. It is difficult for any one compactor supplier to quantify this question as there are sev-eral manufacturers of vehicles that supply to the waste industry. At present MTM bodies are mainly fitting equipment on Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and MAN.

Q. Are any of your vehicles and/or equipment currently being implemented by municipalities? A. MTM bodies have equip-ment working in all major

EUGENE A DE WET: MTM BODIES cities in South Africa either being supplied directly to cities or being used by the city via private collection companies. To name but a few- Mogale City, Ekurhuleni City, City of Cape Town- a large amount are being used in Tshwane through private collection companies.

Q. Are your waste vehicles and equipment designed locally and if not, how are these vehicles adapted to suit South African conditions?A. MTM bodies use overseas technology from America and Italy and are most definitely adapt-ed to suit the rugged conditions of Africa and we mention Africa and not just South Africa, as we are supplying a large amount of equipment north of our borders.

Q. How important is it to ensure that a waste vehicle is adequately equipped for proper collection and disposal? What are the key features to look out for on a good waste vehicle?A. You must be in a position to supply equip-

ment to satisfy the needs of each individu-al client. Key features when purchasing refuse compacting vehicles are:• loading hopper capacity ( for pro-

ductivity it is important to have the hopper as large as possible but at the same time not effecting the carrying capacity according to our

road ordinance)• materials used for the

manufacture of both the

hopper and the body• compacting mechanism and capabilities to

reduce maintenance and repair down time• type of hydraulic system• off-loading and ejection system.

Q. Can you explain briefly your street sweeper range and how this can tie into municipal applications? A. We supply the best sweeper in the world, the Dulevo’s patented designs sets this machine in a class of its own. The range is split into com-mercial, industrial and street. Road sweepers are a must for any municipality as it prevents the contamination and pollution of rain water and also the blockage of storm water chan-nels which can save the council millions in maintenance of drainage systems. Our Dulevo 5 000 sweeper can sweep up to 15 km/h and will sweep away any of our competitors, on any terrain.

Q. Do your waste vehicles aid in a safer collection and disposal from a personnel perspective, and ultimately result in reduced time spent at landfills offloading containers? How so?A. Our equipment is manufactured to the high-est standards accepted in both Europe and America and complies with all their safety standards. Our equipment uses an ejection system to off-load the collected waste at the landfill which caters for quick and stable off-loading.

ne compactor supplier n as there are sev-hicles that supply At present MTMg equipment on and MAN.

ehicles and/ntly by

p-r

ment to satisfy the neal client. Key featurefuse compactin• loading hopper

ductivity it is imthe hopper as lat the same timcarrying capacit

road ordi• ma

man

LEFT Eugene A de Wet


PANEL DISCUSSION

Q. What collections, disposal and cleaning services are offered by The Waste Group to municipalities?A. Through the use of the latest technologies and years of operating experience, The Waste Group makes use of an integrated, holistic and sustainable approach to catering to the munici-pal sector’s requirements. We strive to partner with government and organisations in efforts to expand and extend landfill disposal capac-ity, by implementing the 5 Rs principle in the waste hierarchy (reuse, reduce, recycle, re-think and remove to landfill). With regard to waste collection vehicles, The Waste Group has per-fected the route planning, truck selection and optimisation of logistics by modelling software, hardware and 25 years experience to benefit our clients. Services offered include everything from door-to-door collections and street clean-ing through to management of composting facili-ties and landfill sites.

Q. As a waste management company, what is The Waste Group doing in terms of minimising waste to landfill, and are you working with industry and municipalities?A. The Waste Group specialises in the reuse, recycling, reduction, removal and reporting of waste generated in the domestic, industrial, commercial, municipal and mining sectors. This maximises our opportunity in providing a long-term solution to our clients. Separation at

source of all recyclable materials is our main drive to reduce waste to our landfill sites. We are investing a lot of time and money in infra-structure to continue to grow and penetrate the recycling market and we feel it is our responsi-bility to advise and consult our client base on how to achieve minimisation of waste to landfill. A lot of time was spent on the conceptualisation of our material recovery facility (MRF) and we will be opening this project this year. This will be our separation plant where all clean/mixed recy-clables will be further sorted into prescribed commodities that will in the end be sold back into the market to recycle. Through this project we are creating 100 job opportunities and bet-tering the lives of pickers in the informal sector.

Q. What services does the company offer with regard to landfills and its associated aspects such as government legislature compliance, landfill remediation, waste disposal, cell construction, recycling, etc?A. The Waste Group is currently allowing nor-mal picking and reclamation on our landfills by so called landfill pickers. This is an oppor-tunity for the unemployed to earn a living. The recycling material includes all different paper groups, plastic groups, cans/metals and glass. Our mainstream services include: waste and recycling management, mining, industrial, com-mercial, domestic, builders’, garden, hazardous and bio-hazardous waste removal services, high

pressure vacuum units, spill response and spill-age cleanups, and salvage yard management.

Q. According to statements issued by the City of Johannesburg, the city only has about 8 years to go before it runs out of landfill space. What do you perceive the future of landfills to be?A. With regard to expanding the lifespan of landfill sites throughout South Africa, we would strongly suggest that alternative methods be used, for example, the set-up of an MRF at each site, composting plants, and various other alter-natives to landfill, which can drastically reduce the waste volumes. We have visited quite a number of landfill facilities throughout South Africa and it is very rare that the sites are man-aged successfully and/or up to the minimum required standards. More needs to be done with regard to the awareness of landfill management as well as alternative solutions to landfill.

Q. What vehicles and/or equipment currently comprise the company’s fleet?A. The Waste Group has a specialised fleet of vehicles which consist of lugger units (skips), REL (rear-end loader) compactor vehicles, FEL (front end loader) compactor vehicles, REL Domestic (240 l Lifter Units), 95 m³ walking floor, 30 m³ sloper tipper trucks, 10 m³ tipper trucks and various earth moving equipment as well as landfill compactors.

DIRK JT VAN NIEKERK: THE WASTE GROUP (PTY) LTD

PANEL DISCUSSION


Q. What are your biggest waste and environmental vehicle sellers on the market at the moment, that is, which vehicles prove to be more popular than others in the waste industry and why do you think this is so?A. The most popular chassis have been Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Isuzu and Hino. The units are purchased on tender and these units have shown themselves to be the most reliable with the best back up support.

Q. Are any of your vehicles and/or equipment currently being implemented by municipalities? If so, can you cite a few examples?A. Municipalities that use our vehicles are as follows: Durban Solid Waste, City of Cape Town, Pikitup, Ekurhuleni, Emfuleni, Mangaung, Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle, Port Elizabeth, East London, Tzaneen, Tshwane, and

SHAUN HARROP, GENERAL MANAGER AND DIRECTOR ENVIRONMENTAL EQUIPMENT AT TFM INDUSTRIES SOUTH AFRICA

Merafong. There are probably no municipalities that don’t have a TFM product in their fleet.

Q. How important is it to ensure that a waste vehicle is adequately equipped for proper collection and disposal? What are the key features to look out for on a good waste vehicle?A. Correctly specifying what you require is impera-tive. The following questions need to be asked: 4x2 or 6x4 chassis, as this has an impact on the size of compactor used; initial cost of purchase; compacting pressure (this is the total force avail-able on the packing stroke); construction and durability; suitability for the specific waste stream (loading or binlifters); what size bins do you want to load; top reeve for loading 6 cube bins and the size of crew cab, etc. These items are not definitive but are suggested as the starting point in the purchasing decision of the most suitable system for a specific application, and to arrive at

the lowest tonne per kilometre cost for collection. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to discuss the best vehicle for the job with the team at TFM based on more than just the initial purchase price.

Q. What, in your opinion, sets your waste and environmental vehicle and equipment product range apart from others currently available?A. Our product range is set apart from our com-petitors by our after sales service and the fact that we support our products to the hilt. Plus, we have a network of support centres in all the major metropolitan areas throughout South Africa.

INSIGHT


IN 1950, the world had 2.5 billion people. In 2005, the world had 6.5 billion people. And, on 31 October 2011, it passed the seven billion mark. That’s an increase of

4.5 billion people, and almost tripling in 60 short years - people who need food, medicine, clothing, furniture and a host of other goods that need to be transported.

The point of mentioning these statistics is to bring focus to bear on the high correlation between increased population and increased traffic flow on major arterial routes. Also cor-related to population growth is the increase in our knowledge over the same period. As such, we can safely say that concrete structures built forty or more years ago would not be of the same standard or quality as those built today.

And, forty and more years ago, trucks tow-ing trailers, such as the

modern Interlink we find on our roads today, did not carry loads of up to 56 tonnes

per load. A load such as this causes stresses, deformations and displacements in bridge structures, which are intensified by the dynamic nature of the focal points as the truck moves.

Besides other vehicles crossing a bridge, two, or even more, such trucks crossing the bridge simultaneously multiplies these factors. Is this possible? Absolutely! The Swartkoppies Bridge over the R59, to and from the Alrode industrial area, regularly carries four or more large trucks, along with a couple of dozen cars. Bridges like these need to be capable of

The hidden danger

carrying this sort of load for 20, 30, 40 years and more.

Resonating vibrations, the harmonics of the bridge, is another factor to keep in mind as this happens on a continual basis. Then there is something the Australians call ‘concrete

In Africa, the integrity of some bridges is questionable, particularly those built before 1970, due to structural designs, the quality of materials used in construction and general ageing. Today, bridge integrity is a concrete science, or is it? By Tony Stone

BELOW A bridge over Yitong River in Changchun city, the capital of Jilin province in Northeast China, lays in ruins after collapsing on 29 May 2011. Two people were injured

Concrete structures built forty or more years ago would not be of the same standard or quality as those built today

INSIGHT


cancer’, a hidden danger that literally eats away the insides of a concrete bridge.

Concrete cancerAt the time of writing this article, the meeting of the 20 000 delegates attending the COP 17 climate change summit in Durban was under-

way. The purpose of this international gathering was to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 in December 2010.

But climate change should not have been the only thing on the agenda. Emissions affect other aspects of life too. Bridges, for example, which are quite strategic to every economy, as well as life itself! The very same emissions that affect climate change affect the integrity of bridges around the world. It is as important an issue as

climate change because lives can and have been lost due to bridge integrity failure. The chemicals that make up acid rain are the very chemicals that find a way into reinforced concrete struc-tures and attack the steel reinforcing bars.

It is this corrosion that is ‘concrete cancer’, the hidden danger, which compromises the

integrity of concrete bridges. Once this process has started it will continue to weaken the structure over time. It is important to realise that these failures are aggressive in nature and should not be left to eventually undermine the structural integrity of a bridge.

As Robert E Wilmot wrote in the Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the problem of corrosion, of rein-forcement in concrete structures, is interna-tionally recognised and represents the single biggest expenditure in the preservation of steel reinforced concrete structures.”

The problem chemicals are:

Carbonic acid Carbon dioxide, a ubiquitous gas, is one of the most abundant gasses in the atmosphere. However, it is the continuous production of this gas, as well as carbon monoxide, through human activity and the combustion of organic matter, fossil fuels, petrol, diesel and ethanol, that concerns us. Mixed with water it dissolves slightly to form a weak acid called carbonic acid, according to the following reaction: CO2 + H2O H2CO3.

Sulphuric acid Human activity is responsible for 70% of the emissions into our atmosphere. Of the sulphur content in the air, we produce about 37%. Volcanoes contribute 7% of the emissions and 18% of the sulphur content, while biogenous activity contributes 23% of the emissions and 42% of the sulphur content.

The combustion of coal and other fossil fuels account for about 80% of human-generated sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere. Most of this is from coal-fired power stations. In addi-tion, this same combustion also forms sulphur trioxide. Motor vehicle emissions account for only about 1% of the sulphur dioxide present in the atmosphere. Nonetheless, sulphur dioxide

The very same emissions that affect climate change affect the integrity of bridges around the world


INSIGHT

dissolved in water forms a weak acid solution called sulphurous acid, according to the follow-ing reaction: H2O + SO2 H2SO3. If sulphur trioxide is present and dissolves in water, sul-phuric acid is formed by the following reaction: SO3 + H2O H2SO4.

Nitric acid Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) dissolved in water pro-duces nitric acid in the following reaction: 3NO2 + H2O 2 HNO3 + NO. Nitric oxide, or nitrogen monoxide, which is produced through the combustion of fossil fuels and in internal combustion engines as a result of the reaction between oxygen and nitrogen at high tempera-tures, reacts with water to form a mixture of nitrous acid and nitric acid in the following reac-tion: 2NO2 + H2O à HNO2 + HNO3 .

Perhaps the most crucial aspect of concrete, especially in load bearing applications, is dura-bility. This one factor determines not only the life span of a structure but how vulnerable it is to atmospheric and chemical attack. Choosing the right aggregates and removing air and con-crete compaction are essential aspects of the process to prevent corrosion.

When cast, high alkalinity of the cement paste, approximately pH13, ‘passivates’ the steel surface and protects it against oxidation (corrosion). However, with the presence of chlorides, carbonation, acid attack, or a com-bination of these factors, the pH of concrete is reduced and the reinforcing bars start to corrode.

The hydration of calcium hydroxide (Lime) (Ca(OH)2) or calcium silicate (Ca2SiO4) in cement creates a highly-alkaline environment. This ‘passivates’ the steel to protect it against corrosion. As concrete ages, lime reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide as follows: Ca(OH)2 + CO2 CaCO3 + H2O. This reaction reduces the pH of concrete to approximate-ly pH9.6, 9.5. At this level the passivation

protection of the steel surface due to the alkalinity of cement paste disappears and steel starts to corrode.

With the introduction of acid rain, the reduc-tion of the concrete’s pH is further exacerbated and, in a similar chemical reaction, diffuses over time (into the concrete).

This then makes the thickness of concrete cover, and the composition of the concrete, extremely important. The more concrete one has covering the steel, the longer it will take before the steel starts corroding. In terms of

The Epulu Bridge collapse

An overloaded truck travelling on the N4 highway between Mombasa in Tanzania and Nia-Nia in the DRC’s Ituri district, was simply too much for the Epulu Bridge to bear. It collapsed under the load

The Injaka Bridge collapse

The collapse of the 300 m seven-span continuous pre-stressed concrete Injaka Bridge in Mpumalanga, (while it was still under construction) on 6 July 1998 killed 14 people and injured 19. The cause of the collapse could ‘not be officially determined’, but concrete failure was one of the contributing factors

14

No corrosionpassivation

13

1212.6 Calcium Hydroxide

11

109.5

Carbonation

Passivation decreases,corrosion starts

9

8 Calcium Carbonate8.0corrosion starts

7

65.5

R id d h

5

4Rapid and heavy

corrosion3

2

1

FIGURE 1 shows the corrosion of steel as a function of pH

ABOVE Condensation on the underside of a bridge caused this corrosion damage

the composition, given the chemical reactions that do take place, the choice of aggregates and concrete compaction are vital aspects of bridge construction today.

Books to readEvery municipal engineer should read at least one of the three books illustrated below. These books provide insight into the planning, design,

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INSIGHT


Integrated Waste Management PlansWaste Disposal StrategiesIdentification and permitting of landfill sitesDesign of General and Hazardous Waste sitesDesign of Solid Waste Transfer StationsDesign of Material Recovery FacilitiesOptimisation of Waste Collection SystemsAuditing of Waste Management FacilitiesDevelopment of Operational PlansClosure and Rehabilitation of LandfillsQuality Assurance on Synthetic LinersWaste Recycling Plans

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inspection, repair, strengthening, testing, load capacity evaluation and demolition of concrete bridges. These books offer a global overview of concrete bridge management based on the knowledge and experience of the authors, as well as presenting rational and objective criteria to aid decision-making. A classification system

concerning defects, their causes, repair tech-niques and diagnostic methods is included in the Handbook of Concrete Bridge Management.

Bridge monitoringThe monitoring of the structural health of bridg-es involves two distinct phases. The first phase is the risk-based assessment of the current condition of the bridge structures in question.

In this process, non-destructive evaluation and load ratings assist the assessment of the physi-cal condition of the bridges undergoing inspec-tion. The second phase is to implement a risk management plan of identified safety-critical and security-critical bridges. This will include ongoing activities such as visual inspection, non-destructive evaluation, quantitative assess-ment, maintenance (at regular intervals), strengthening and protection (when necessary).

Ten years ago, the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL) commissioned an Afri-Coast Engineering joint venture project that undertook the inspection and condition assessment of 50 bridges on the N2 route in and around Port Elizabeth and, where necessary, structural rehabilitation designs were produced and implemented. The project included major bridge structures such as the Van Stadens River Bridge.

Unfortunately, not all roads and bridges fall under the jurisdiction of SANRAL. Most moni-toring of provincial and municipal bridges, if done at all, is done by inspectors who rely on visual observations and personal experience (if adequately qualified) to judge a bridge’s structural integrity. Observation and experi-ence, however, do not enable an inspector to

ABOVE Men with testing equipment

INSIGHT


know with certainty how a bridge structure is threatened by corrosion and thus affected by its dynamic loading.

However, technology advances in structur-al health monitoring undertaken to survey,

evaluate and assess bridges, has reached a level of sophistication, robustness and reli-ability that makes the task easy, convenient and effective. Bridge health monitoring uses an array of inexpensive, spatially distributed,

wirelessly-powered, wirelessly-networked, embedded sensing devices supporting frequent and on-demand acquisition of real-time infor-mation about the loading and environmental effects, structural characteristics and respons-es of a bridge. The only challenge, in South

Africa, is to prevent the theft of equipment. This, however, should not be used as an excuse for not installing the necessary monitoring equipment when and where it is required.

One can only imagine what would have hap-pened, in moving this abnormal load, if just one of these bridges had a hidden problem or a weakened structure due to corrosion, and the assessment was not done at all or because

ABOVE Van Stadens River Bridge

One can only imagine if a bridge has a hidden problem or weakened structure due to corrosion


INSIGHT

the expertise was unavailable. A life, or lives, would have been lost. One of which may have been yours.

In conclusionIt is not too difficult to spot bridges that are suffering from corrosion. The ‘Killarney Bridge’, a component of Johannesburg’s M1 highway system, is a classic example. The concern is the lack of planned maintenance, especially since the ‘cancer’ is aggressive in nature and, as mentioned earlier, should not be left to undermine the structural integrity of the bridge.

The development of effective municipal strat-egies for the inspection and monitoring of local bridges is necessary, and critical, due to aging, increased traffic loads, changing environmental conditions and advanced deterioration. Not to do so would be extremely short-sighted and an invitation for disaster. An ‘it will not happen to us’ attitude will result in the death or injury of one or more people. Besides the loss of life or limb, in today’s world of litigation, can we really afford it?

When it comes to moving abnormal loads, it is not simply a case of ‘load up, drive and deliver’. It’s a case of careful route planning and investigation. In this case study, Vela VKE was approached to assess four bridges along the N2 route to ensure that the C3 Splitter super-loads could safely cross the bridges. The C3 Splitter was to be transported in three units. The heaviest was the lower unit, with a weight of 720 t. With its two trailers and four tractors, it was 122 m long, 8.4 m wide and 11.1 m high, taking up most of the road width. This vehicle was 17% heavier than the largest load that South African bridges are designed for – the NC30x5x40 super-load (610 t vehicle, 5 m wide and up to 65 m long). The other two super-load units were lighter at 490 t and 340 t. As the super-load exceeded the design load, the bridges had to be re-analysed. To save time and reduce cost, conservative calculations were initially done to identify potential capacity problems, followed by a more detailed examination.1. Mkuze River Bridge: This bridge consists of a five-span, simply supported, double voided box girder. The spans are 27.4 m long. It was originally designed in 1971 to the old Ministry of Transport (MOT) loading standard. In 1977, Vela VKE designed the strengthening of the bridge to carry current design loads. As the spans are short relative to the length of the super-load, it was not greatly affected by the C3 Splitter. Although various components were overloaded by up to 10%, this was within the capacity of the sections.2. Mfolozi River Bridge: The original bridge was washed away during Hurricane Demoina in 1984. It was replaced by a Vela VKE-designed balanced cantilever bridge with a main span of 102 m and two side spans of 52 m. As the C3 Splitter could fit entirely onto the main span, the super-load had a significant effect on the bridge. The assessment showed that the C3 Splitter exceeded

Moving abnormal loads

the design, bending in the deck under traffic. Fortunately, the bending in the critical sections of the deck was higher during construction, so the deck had the additional capacity required to carry these bending loads. Shear in the deck was also exceeded in two places, but as this was less than 5%, this temporary overload was acceptable. The axial loads on the piers and piles increased significantly – up to 25% higher. As these components were designed for flood conditions, they could safely carry the load under normal conditions. However, the instruction was issued not to cross the bridge during a flood!3. Vaal River Bridge: This 60 m long, three-span bridge was also strengthened in 1977. As both the bridge and its spans were short, it could safely carry the C3 Splitter.4. Assegaai River Bridge: This 116 m long, five-span bridge has spans up to 30.5 m long. The abutments were strengthened in 1977. Although the C3 Splitter exceeded design loads by up to 7%, this was within the capacity of the bridge.

The widest, highest, heaviest super-load to travel the N2

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

PRESENTATIONS OF THE PROJECTS that the Engineers in Training (EITs) have been working on were given and they were judged by their mentors based on a number of set criteria. Prizes were awarded to the following outstanding young engineers:

1 Michael Quenet won EIT of the Year Award. This award recognises the engineer in training who performed consistently throughout the year in a variety of categories. Pictured with him are Raj Ramchuran, director at Bosch Stemele, and one of the judges.

2 First prize for Best Presenter went to Rishaan Chabilal, BSc. Mechanical Engineering, for his presentation, “Commissioning the Beast”, which was based on his experience as the commissioning manager on the Ubombo Diffuser in Swaziland. Pictured with him is Mandla Ngema from Bosch Projects. Mandla is the EIT Mentor Champion, as well as one of the judges.

3 Second prize went to Manditha Jamuna, BSc. Engineering Civil, for her work on the Mtibwa/Dakawa Sugar Estate, which involved the design

of a spillway for an earth embankment dam. Handing her prize to her is Raj Ramchuran, director of Bosch Stemele.

4 Third prize was awarded to Willaim Spaul, BSc. Mechanical Engineering, for his insight and experience on the Ubombo Factory Expansion project. This was based on the five months he spent on site in Swaziland as the junior project mechanical engineer. With him is Mandla Ngema from Bosch Projects.

Eaton sponsors engineering training conferenceEaton Electric was proud to be one of the main sponsors of the 2011 Bosch Ulwazi Engineers Training Conference held in Durban, KwaZulu Natal.

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ALSO KNOWN AS demand management – the potential sav-ings of such a system are enormous.

According to Charl Myburgh, marketing manager for DFC Water, recent installation trials carried out on pressure

reducing valves supplied by his company yielded water savings averag-ing 20 000 kilolitres per valve per month.

“This translates into a monthly monetary saving per valve of R80 000, and this was only on a single, average sized installation.”

“Over an entire reticulation network, the savings are huge.”The first step in demand management is an analysis of network data.

This delivers demand profiles which will indicate when pressure in the system should be lowered to minimise leakage.

Myburgh explained that by modulating flows in the various parts of the system, increasing the pressures to supply water to those sec-tions needing it, and decreasing pressures and flows elsewhere to reduce leakage, large volumes of water could be saved from wastage.

At the heart of demand management is the pressure reducing valve (PRV).

Installed at strategic points throughout the network, the PRV controls water pressure, each one being linked to an electronic controller pre-programmed with the correct profile for the zone under control.

DFC Water recently announced three new pressure reducing valves for municipal demand management applications.

Demand management a growing municipal trendPressure management is a growing

trend in South Africa and one likely to

provide useful sales to valve companies

positioned to meet its requirements.

ABOVE A newly launched Cla-Val 98-Series valve



INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

AOC 63

Ammann Construction Machinery

South Africa 40

Armco Road Safety Products 39

Aurecon 55

Aveng Manufacturing Infraset 56

Barloworld Equipment 18

Bell Equipment 35

Bosun 8 & 9

Cement and Concrete Institute 54

Colas 36

Dick King Lab Supplies 38

Dynamic Fluid Control 83

Eaton 80

Eftec 76

Esorfranki 20

Fibertex 32

Global Geomatics 58

Heintzmann South Africa 42

Hillary Construction 34

Jan Palm Consulting 77

Kaytech 52

Lafarge 48

LeBLANC Jasco Lighting Structures IFC

Lesira Teq 22

Martin East 45

Model Maker Systems 81

MTM Bodies 68

Much Asphalt 33

Murray & Roberts Building Products 43

Murray & Roberts Construction 13

National Asphalt OFC

Nyeleti 24

OMB Waste Logistics 66

One Commercial Investment Holdings 78

Polokwane Surfacing 28

Precision Geospatial Solutions 62

Roadlab 46

Sika 74

Southern Mapping 60

Spraypave 44

Strategic Infrastructure Development 2

Terraforce 37

TFM Industries 72

The Waste Group 70

Thuthuka Group Limited 31

Trenchless Technologies OBC

TSMA 64

Vela Vke 51

WRP Consulting Engineers IBC

According to Arthur Gammage, act-ing manager: Urban Design and Landscape Architecture at eThek-wini Municipality, clay bricks have

made their mark on Durban’s urban landscape through the ages, making Corobrik’s clay pav-ers the ideal means of improving existing precincts where historical elements are dis-tinguishing features and adding that perfect finishing touch to newly developed areas where modern architecture is the major influence.

Practical features such as durability, versatil-ity and longevity make pavers ideal for high-traffic areas in the inner city, sea frontages and suburban commercial centres. Urban improve-ment projects where they have recently played a role include Verulam’s Ghandi Park and CBD, the Umkomaas CBD and Warner Beach’s new ‘town square’. The city recently embarked on phase 2 of the Umhlanga Promenade upgrade and has selected 10 000 m2 of Cederberg, Champagne and Burgundy pavers for pedes-trian areas that stretch from the lighthouse

south to the soon-to-be enlarged parking area.Mike Ingram, Corobrik’s director of sales:

KwaZulu-Natal and Border, says that Corobrik pavers, while being skid resistant even when wet, have well-recognised durability characteris-tics to perform in the harsh beachfront environ-ment pedestrian precincts. They are also easy to lay and maintenance friendly, and can be easily ‘unzipped’ to gain access to underground services and then ‘rezipped’ using the same bricks without leaving a ‘scar’.

A good example is Durban’s beach-front. During the recent upgrade, a total of 75 000 m2 of Corobrik products were used. Michael Tod Architects explain that burgundy pavers and natural grey Corocobble featured strongly in the beachfront promenade, while the beachfront medians combined burgundy and nutmeg pavers.

“This provided the variety in colour and tex-ture we needed and was a natural contrast to the pigmented concrete used on the prom-enade.”

Pavers a popular choice for regeneration projectsClay pavers have played a major role in urban regeneration projects countrywide – and Durban is no exception.

ABOVE A close up photograph showing the road in Florida Road, Durban that has been repaved in Corobrik De Hoop Matt Brown paver

300 000 metres of

TRENCHLESS PIPESuccessfully Installed

RENOVATE EXISTING PIPES BY:

INSTALLATION OF NEW PIPES BY:

Countrywide 08600 66 344

imiesa february 2012

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