SOUTH AFRICAN ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE RECOGNISED

South African engineering excellence was showcased
during the 2019 CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards hosted by Consulting
Engineers South Africa (CESA) in Midrand on Wednesday evening.

Awards were handed out in the following categories:
Lifetime Industry Achievement Award; Young Engineer of the Year; Engineering
Excellence for projects with a value of less than R50-million; projects between
R50-million and R250-million and for projects with a value of over
R250-million; Roads and Bridges Projects; Best International Project; Visionary
Client of the Year; Small Company of the Year; Mentor of the Year; Business
Excellence; Mentoring Company of the Year; Publisher of the Year; Job Shadow
Initiative; and Branch of the Year.

Speaking at the event CEO Chris Campbell said the awards
demonstrated the ongoing role of engineers in delivering the infrastructure
that is so pivotal to the development of the South African economy and for
achieving the goals set out in the National Development Plan.

Aon South Africa CEO Terence Williams added that engineers bore an “enormous
responsibility” to deliver projects professionally and safely, while also
ensuring the engineering, environmental, commercial, political and social risks
were managed.

He reported that Aon South Africa was receiving an
increasing number of enquiries from consulting engineering firms that “feel
uncomfortable” about instructions being received from clients that could impact
not only on the quality of their work, but also on their professional
reputation.

Campbell said that despite these risks and the
difficult economic climate, CESA member firms deserved to be recognised for
their resilience in continuing to deliver projects in support of their clients
and the country’s economic development.

THE 2019 WINNERS

The CESA Lifetime Industry Achievement Award went
to Graham Burrows, a
specialist in water and sewer pump design and analysis, for his significant
contribution to the upliftment of many lives, especially in rural communities.

Airports Company South Africa sponsored the Young
Engineer of the Year Award to Jeshika
Ramchund with Dr Tony
Igboamalu receiving a commendation. As part of the award, Ramchund
will attend the International Federation of Consulting Engineers Infrastructure
Conference, which will take place in Mexico City, Mexico, in September.

The category for Engineering Excellence with a
value greater than R250-million was won by Aecom for Growthpoint New Lakeside
Office, in Centurion, with Aurecon also receiving a commendation for its role
in the building of Discovery Place, in Sandton, for Discovery in joint venture
with Growthpoint Properties and Zenprop Property Holdings.

The category for Engineering Excellence with a value
between R50-million and R250-million was won by Aurecon for Docklands
Apartments, in Cape Town, for FWJK Developments. Commendations were awarded to
Hatch for Rosslyn Brewery Co-Generation Plant, in Pretoria, for AB-INBEV, as
well as JG Afrika for Construction of a new mechanised stercus facility in
Matroosfontein, for the City of Cape Town.

The category for Engineering Excellence with a
value less than R50-million, was won by Aurecon for the Leliefontein
Pump-as-Turbine Station for Drakenstein municipality, in the Western Cape. The
commendation went to Royal HaskoningDHV-SFC Engineers-Ndizani Civil Works joint
venture for the Sani Pass Phase 2A Structures on the southern Drakensberg for
the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport.

In the category of Best International Project,
Knight Piésold Consulting won for the Azambi hydropower project in the DRC for
Kibali gold mine, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. The commendation
went to SMEC for Construction of Main Road 118 for the Namibian Roads
Authority.

Owing to the large number of roads and bridges
project entries this year a special category was created. The winner in this
category was SMEC for the Mount Edgecombe Interchange on the N2, Section 26 for
the South African National Roads Agency. Royal HaskoningDHV was awarded a
commendation for Cornubia Boulevard Bridge over the N2 for eThekwini
municipality.

Knight Piésold Consulting won the Mentoring Company
of the Year with BVi Consulting Engineers winning the Business Excellence
category and ADA Consulting Engineers recognized as Small Company of the Year.

Kim Timm, of Aecom, was
named Mentor of the Year, while Black Mountain Mining, a subsidiary of Vedanta
Zinc International, was awarded Visionary Client of the Year.

Mariswe was announced as the winner of the CESA Job
Shadow Initiative with Knight Piésold as the first runner up and both Lekwa
Consulting Engineers and Royal HaskoningDHV as second runners up. CESA’s
Western Cape branch was named winner of the Branch of the Year
Award.  

In recognition of the role that the media plays in the industry, Creamer Media received recognition for Publishing Excellence: Trade Publications and Independent Media, publisher of Business Report, received recognition for Publishing Excellence: Daily Newspapers.  https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/south-african-engineering-excellence-recognised-2019-08-15/rep_id:4136