Construction World June 2019

CONSULTING ENGINEERS

Service delivery urgently NEEDS CONSULTING ENGINEERS

As the dust from the national election settles, expectations are high that government will move with renewed vigour on service delivery and infrastructure roll-out; consulting engineers will be important partners in this vital work, according to SRK Consulting managing director Vis Reddy.

“E veryone is hoping that government will put their plans into action sooner rather than later,” said Reddy. “Key to its success will be the active facilitation of partnerships that can enable better services being delivered more efficiently.” He highlighted that consulting engineers like SRK have capacity for the detailed technical expertise and input demanded by all infrastructure and related projects. As important, though, is the profession’s contribution at a higher, more strategic level. “Over many years, we have successfully provided strategic planning input to public sector projects – in South Africa as in the rest of Africa,” he said. “More collaboration like this will improve the longer-term planning and systematic roll-out of various public services.” He warned, however, that in a modern economy, South Africa could not afford to undermine its scientific and engineering quality through poorly managed tender processes. “These can become an auction which favour the lowest bidder, even if they lack the requisite technical ability,” he said. “The country requires a more sophisticated approach to procurement, so that the consulting engineering industry’s latent expertise is fully leveraged.” He also noted that cashflow problems at many state agencies often turn into delays in payment for work done – adding to the challenges that the industry is facing in a poorly

performing economy. There was plenty of potential for the harnessing and development of professional engineering skills in the field of consulting engineering, he argued. As a company, SRK had been able to retain many highly experienced and talented engineers and scientists over the decades, despite tough trading conditions at regular intervals. This repository of knowledge allows SRK to employ over 40 graduates internally as part of its skills development programme. “We mentor these graduates through a ‘road to registration’, where they gain the practical experience necessary to be registered as professional engineers and scientists,” said Reddy. “In the past, many state-owned enterprises, large municipalities, mines and large industrial companies provided such initiatives – but most no longer exist.” SRK’s broad range of expertise and its multi-disciplinary approach have been applied in fields from renewable energy and housing, municipal infrastructure and wastewater management infrastructure. Through its skills in environmental and social impact assessment, it has been contributing to SADC countries’ roll-out of power grids. It also conducts impact assessments at various renewable power projects, including hydropower, around Africa. Many of its offices in South Africa are heavily involved in municipal infrastructure development and maintenance, and

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2019