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SANRAL creates employment opportunities in Malmesbury

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A R1.4-million youth learnership programme aims to address youth unemployment in the country.

Programmes such as the learnership one inspire other young people in the community and demonstrate, that with commitment and determination, legacies can be created that will change lives for generations to come.

A learnership programme set up by the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) in the Western Cape district of Malmesbury is aimed at uplifting the community and addressing youth unemployment.

The project is part of the agency’s commitment to creating opportunities alongside its construction projects, to impact positively on the lives of citizens beyond building roads.

Teaming up with construction partners Aecom, Stefanutti Stocks and Power Construction, SANRAL has created and funded a R1.4-million youth learnership programme alongside the N7 construction in Malmesbury, in the Western Cape.

A certificate handover ceremony was held in the Malmesbury Town Hall recently, where 22 learners received certificates for completing their NQF Level 3 and NQF Level 4 training in various construction disciplines.

“This is a tangible example of how a public-private-partnership between SANRAL and our construction partners can help to not only transform our national road network by maintaining world-class standards, but also assist our various communities along the route with the provision of work and training opportunities that will put them on a developmental pathway out of poverty,” said Heidi Harper, SANRAL Corporate Services Executive.

The programme

The journey for the group began in March 2016, when 24 learners out of a group of 60 applicants, began their construction learnership programme in Malmesbury.

Twelve students chose to focus on road works, while the others chose concrete as their area of speciality.

One of learners, Siyanda Mayonga, who completed both the NQF3 and NQF4 training, shared some of the group’s experiences with the audience and was full of praise for the quality of the programme, the practical skills and theoretic knowledge they acquired. The fact that all the learners received a salary for the duration of their training was something that made a huge difference to their families, Mayonga said.

Deputy Mayor of Swartland Municipality, Maude Goliath, delivering the keynote address at the certificate ceremony, said: “We are very grateful to SANRAL for their commitment to our community and are pleased that the group includes seven females, which is definitely a step in the right direction as our country should strive to expand more opportunities for girls in engineering and science fields previously considered suitable only for males.”

Fifteen of the 22 learners remain in employment, with some already engaged in further training and development.

Programmes such as the learnership one inspire other young people in the community and demonstrate, that with commitment and determination, legacies can be created that will change lives for generations to come.

Monitoring the safety of road infrastructure

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SANRAL pros are the people you want in an emergency on our national roads.

Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi visiting the site on the N3 where an unused pedestrian bridge collapsed.

Within minutes after a disused pedestrian bridge across the busy N3 freeway in Gauteng collapsed in August 2017, a team of professionals from the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) was on the scene to investigate.

Their investigation revealed the collapse had been caused by an impact on the supporting central pillar.

Evidence suggested the impact came from an 18.1-ton coil of steel. The coil was found 100m north of the collapsed bridge and marks on the road led directly from the point of impact to the position where the coil came to rest.

It is the task of SANRAL to ensure the safe movement of all road users, and monitoring the state of bridges across the national roads is just one of the agency’s many tasks.

Bridges and culverts

Bridges and culverts are essential structures along the more than 22 000km of national road network managed and maintained by SANRAL. These roads are the vital arteries of the South African economy.

SANRAL looks after the structural health and safety aspects of more than 9 500 bridges longer than 2.1m, as well as culverts with openings greater than 5m². These include 903 bridges on the major cross-country freeways operated by the public-private concessionaires along the N1, N3 and N4.

“The bridges on South Africa’s national roads are world-class in terms of design, construction and maintenance,” said SANRAL’s Bridge Network Manager, Edwin Kruger.

No details are spared during the design and construction phases and once the bridges are built, they are maintained, cared for and inspected rigorously.

Each of the bridges and culverts are assessed by SANRAL-accredited inspectors over a rolling five- to six-year period. These include structures that are no longer in use, such as the old pedestrian bridge across the N3, which was found to be in excellent shape in its most recent inspection.

In recent years, SANRAL has incorporated a number of roads that were previously managed by provincial administrations in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The first action taken is to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire road structure – including its bridges and culverts – and to do maintenance work that will ensure that the roads comply with SANRAL’s quality standards.

“All bridges and culverts on SANRAL’s network were inspected over the past two years to ensure the safety of the public crossing over or under the bridges,” said Kruger.

The rehabilitation of a bridge starts at the design stage, he explained. The normal life of a bridge is between 50 and 100 years.

“SANRAL’s role is to ensure the highest standards of design and construction are met by the professionals and contractors involved in the project,” Kruger said.

Defects can occur over years due to a number of factors including age, accidental damage, extreme weather, or natural events such as earthquakes and tremors.

Bridge management system

During its regular inspections, SANRAL uses a Bridge Management System to determine both the structural condition and aesthetic quality of the bridge.

Only qualified structural bridge engineers with specialised training and experience are used and each bridge is evaluated according to an exhaustive set of criteria.

Depending on the results of the inspections, SANRAL professionals will decide whether repairs are required.

Mentoring graduate engineers

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Professional mentor Ivan Ellis explains how SANRAL’s Training Excellence Academy fast-tracks engineering careers.

Ivan Ellis said that TEA provides intensive postgraduate training, mentorship and coaching, but it also ensures that each candidate engineer has been exposed to a broad variety of disciplines.

The Training Excellence Academy run by the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) equips graduate engineers with professional skills and real-world knowledge.

What is SANRAL’s Training Excellence Academy (TEA)?

The academy provides mentorship and practical training in road and bridge design for graduate engineers.

The training programme is a structured one. It is an accelerated course to equip graduate engineers with the professional skills and real-world knowledge in road design that will enable them to complete the experiential training required to register with the Engineering Council of South Africa.

The programme includes training at the SANRAL materials testing lab in Port Elizabeth, where specialised testing and analysis of road construction materials are conducted.

When was the academy established?

The academy was started in 2014.

What is the value of the TEA?

This training programme was introduced to equip candidates with the competencies to register as professionals with the Engineering Council of South Africa within five years. It provides intensive postgraduate training, mentorship and coaching, but it also ensures that each candidate engineer has been exposed to a broad variety of disciplines.

The funding for the training academy is provided entirely by SANRAL. All training is offered at no cost to the candidates at the academy, with SANRAL providing a full complement of training requirements, including specialised mentorship and supervision by qualified, trained and dedicated mentors, hardware, software, training courses and workstations for each candidate.

Graduates starting their careers in the organisation benefit from the dedicated mentorship and experience with design projects to fast-track their skills development. This means each candidate progressively takes on more responsibility until they are able to work independently.

How can engineering graduates enrol?

Candidates who have completed a minimum of a National Diploma in Civil Engineering may contact the academy to enquire about the placement process.

The key criterion is a completed national diploma or degree in civil engineering.

How long and what form does the training take?

The programme lasts between 12 and 18 months, depending on the candidates’ previous field experience. Once they have finished the programme, participants begin on construction sites, or gain additional experience on SANRAL projects around the country.

The fields of training include geometric, pavement and drainage design; hydrological analysis; economic evaluations and supply chain processes in procurement of consulting and contracting engineers.

The engineering training involves completing designs of actual construction projects on the Southern Region road network – under the guidance of external mentors who are knowledgeable in various disciplines, as well as SANRAL Project Managers.

Knowledge-sharing sessions are held weekly, where participants are exposed to specialist presentations on various topical issues in the South African context. Specialised training courses in the required fields of design, such as Rubicon and Civil Designer, are also presented to all candidates.

Do graduates receive a formal qualification after training?

At the moment, there is no formal qualification or National Qualifications Framework alignment, as the academy is not registered as a formal training institute. However, the academy is able to provide a certificate of attendance and report of actual work completed.

Engineering has been a male dominated profession. Is the academy changing this?

SANRAL heartily encourages female graduates to join the academy. This year, 10 of the 27 graduates at the academy are women.

Where can graduates get more information?

They can contact Hawa Abdullah at the SANRAL Southern Region offices via email on desaih@nra.co.za.

SANRAL focuses on STEM boffins

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Developing maths and science teachers is one of SANRAL’s fundamental contributions to uplifting South Africa.

At school level, it will help to train 44 teachers – one for maths and one for science – in each of the 22 participating schools.

The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) is funding a chair in science, mathematics and technology education at the University of the Free State.

This new initiative aims to improve the quality of teaching in these vital subjects at schools in the province.

The endowment shows SANRAL’s commitment to growing young talent in disadvantaged communities, with a specific focus on the country’s long-term needs to grow proficiencies in maths, science and technology.

High school learners who benefit from this initiative will become part of a talent pool from which the next generation of engineers, teachers, artisans and technicians will be drawn.

School Change Project

The SANRAL Chair forms part of the University’s School Change Project, a flagship initiative launched by former vice-chancellor Professor Jonathan Jansen.

The School Change Project addresses concerns about under-performance in South African schools, despite the fact that the country spends more of its Gross Domestic Product on education than any other African country. The project provides customised training and support to teachers and learners.

In 2011, the University of the Free State launched the project in 22 township and rural schools to strengthen the culture of teaching and learning in the selected schools.

An important aim of the project is to ensure that learners with potential, grow and excel in Free State rural and township schools rather than having to leave their local environment to attend schools in better- resourced communities.

The SANRAL Chair

The SANRAL endowment will enable the university to home-in on the gateway subjects of maths and natural science.

At school level, it will help to train 44 teachers – one for maths and one for science – in each of the 22 participating schools.

Student teacher interns will be assigned to the schools to assist teachers, and mentors from the School Change Project will monitor progress through weekly visits.

The interns will receive financial support to pursue undergraduate studies in maths and science education. In return, they are expected to make a commitment to teach these subjects for a period of four years after completing their studies.

The participating schools will have to demonstrate progress in their results and, depending on their achievements, more interns will be allocated and supported through funding and bursaries.

Each of the schools should become ‘a centre of excellence’ in maths and science, thereby retaining their highest performing learners.

The intention is to extend the project to other schools in the Free State.

At an academic level, the SANRAL-funded chair will enrol five doctoral and 10 masters’ students in science and mathematics education over a three-year cycle. It will also be responsible for research and academic publication.

Through this endowment, SANRAL will assist the University of Free State to remain a centre of academic excellence, producing educational leaders who can turn maths and science education around in disadvantaged schools throughout South Africa.

New Engineering Executive for SANRAL

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The South African National Roads Agency has appointed Louw Kannemeyer to take charge of the agency’s technical operations.

Louw Kannemeyer will be responsible for the coordination and management of all technical disciplines within the agency.

The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) recently appointed Louw Kannemeyer as its new Engineering Executive. The position was previously held by Koos Smit, who retired at the end of February 2017.

Kannemeyer had been acting in the position since then.

“I look forward to making a meaningful contribution during my tenure,” Kannemeyer said, adding he intended to forge new relationships and strengthening existing relations within the engineering community that would “improve SANRAL’s contribution to the transformation and growth of the country”.

Kannemeyer was previously Network Manager at SANRAL, responsible for the strategic management of the country’s national road network of more than 22 000km.

As Engineering Executive, Kannemeyer will be responsible for the coordination and management of all technical disciplines within the agency. This includes overseeing all activities to ensure the efficient and sustainable administration of the national road network for the benefit of all road users.

Another important responsibility is to identify opportunities for partnering with public entities, government departments and commercial organisations to execute the SANRAL mandate of financing, improving, managing, maintaining and upgrading the national road network.

SANRAL subcontractor empowers people with disabilities

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Road cleaning company Babore Gauteng is helping create sustainable work opportunities.

Left to right: Babore’s Operations Manager Joas Nare, Sandile Tshabalala, Jacqueline Sibanda, Patrick Rahlalane, Nthando Mbabali (wheelchair), Gift Langa and Babore’s Gauteng Director Swys Joubert.

The lives of five disabled Alexandra residents have changed for the better after being employed full-time by cleaning company, Babore Gauteng. The five now work in the company’s broom manufacturing hub.

Babore Gauteng is a long-standing subcontractor that has worked on various road programmes maintaining Gauteng’s freeways. The freeways are managed by the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL).

The company picks up litter, sweeps, and clears drains and debris on the province’s eastern, southern and western freeways.

Since 2007, Babore Gauteng has grown to become one of South Africa’s major sweeping and cleaning companies. The level 2 broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) company has a 53% shareholding with black partners and is registered with the Construction Industry Development Board as a grade 5 CEPE contractor.

The company’s depot and broom manufacturing hub are based at SANRAL’s Marlboro storage yard.

Community development at SANRAL’s heart

Babore Gauteng director, Swys Joubert, explained that the company had started cleaning the freeways by hand, but now used automated cleaning machines. “Each machine is fitted with four brooms which need to be replaced weekly,” he said.

Since the manufacture of brooms was done in-house, the company “ring-fenced this type of work for disabled Alexandra residents looking for employment”, Joubert said.

SANRAL project manager, Oakley van Eyk, said this was a perfect example of what the roads agency stands for – the upliftment of the community, empowering disabled individuals and creating sustainable work opportunities.

“As SANRAL, we are encouraged when businesses we work with make a meaningful contribution to create opportunities for previously disadvantaged individuals and groups,” Van Eyk said.

A better life

Sandile Tshabalala, who got his first job in 2014 when he joined Babore Gauteng’s broom factory, said securing work at Babore changed his life for the better.

Jacqueline Sibanda, who joined the broom factory in February 2017, agreed. “This job has helped me a lot because I was unemployed. I can now do my own things, I don’t have to ask. I can provide for myself and my family.”

Msikaba Bridge opens to retender

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On completion, SANRAL’s spectacular Msikaba Bridge in the Eastern Cape will be the longest cable-stayed suspension bridge in South Africa.

The 580m Msikaba Bridge will cross the 195m deep Msikaba River gorge and will be the longest cable-stayed suspension bridge in South Africa. It will be the second longest in Africa after the 680m Maputo-Catembe Bridge that is currently under construction in Mozambique.

Expected to become an important tourist attraction, the tender process for the Msikaba Bridge – part of the N2 Wild Coast Road project – has been reopened.

The bridge, 23km east of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, forms part of the backbone of the greenfields portion of the N2 Wild Coast Road project.

The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) project is a national priority, one of government’s 18 strategic integrated projects (SIPs). SIPs, overseen by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission, are national projects aimed at supporting economic development service delivery in the poorest provinces.

“The initial tender for the Msikaba Bridge was cancelled as no acceptable tenders were received in the original tender process,” explained SANRAL’s general communications manager, Vusi Mona. “The retendering process is now open and we are confident that this round of tendering will be successful,” he added.

Tenders for the approximately R1.7-billion bridge project close in March 2018 and work on the bridge is expected to begin in the second half of 2018. Construction is expected to take about 33 months.

SMME participation a priority

Mona said that all firms or consortiums who are able to meet the stringent technical functionality requirements are invited to tender. The technical functional requirements include relevant company experience in the construction of major bridges – particularly cable stay bridges, key staff members with the necessary experience and expertise, and the financial stability to undertake a R1.7-billion project over a three year period, he said.

A minimum goal of 30% small, medium and micro enterprises participation has been set for the project, and only firms or entities such as joint ventures with a broad-based black economic empowerment scorecard of level 4 or higher will be eligible to tender.

The bridge

The 580m Msikaba Bridge will cross the 195m deep Msikaba River gorge and will be the longest cable-stayed suspension bridge in South Africa. It will be the second longest in Africa after the 680m Maputo-Catembe Bridge that is currently under construction in Mozambique.

Together with the Mtentu Bridge, the Msikaba Bridge will play an essential role in improving travel time, connecting previously divided communities in the region and opening up opportunities for business and community-based tourism for the Wild Coast.

“By improving the travel time between Durban and East London by up to three hours for heavy freight, and by providing a high mobility route through an area that is extremely isolated and underserved by road infrastructure, the route will have significant social and economic benefits and will act as a catalyst for local and regional development,” Mona said.

Job creation

Direct job creation on the N2 Wild Coast Road greenfields projects has been estimated to reach 1.8 million man-days, or 8 000 full time equivalent jobs, over the construction period of four to five years.

“More than R400-million will be allocated to wages for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers employed directly on the N2 Wild Coast Road project, and a further R1.5-billion is destined for local SMMEs comprising of local contractors and local suppliers of goods and services to the road and bridge construction projects,” said Mona.

Construction of the R1.634-billion Mtentu Bridge, which was awarded to the Aveng Strabag Joint Venture in July 2017, is set to start in early January 2018 and is scheduled to take approximately 40 months.

“As the Msikaba Bridge will have a construction period that is approximately seven months shorter than the nearby Mtentu Bridge, the retender of the Msikaba Bridge will not affect the overall completion date of the N2 Wild Coast Road as the two bridges will be completed within a few months of each other,” Mona noted.

We empower women

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More women should take their place in South Africa’s male-dominated engineering and construction space, and SANRAL is working hard to make that happen, says the agency’s communication’s general manager Vusi Mona.

Vusi Mona, general manager of communications at SANRAL, said the roads agency believes there should be more women in the engineering space, designing and constructing bridges, building new roads, maintaining infrastructure and, most importantly, owning and managing their own construction companies.

South Africa’s journey to become a progressive country can often be measured against the successes we have achieved in empowering women.

This is especially relevant in the sectors in which South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) operates – engineering and construction – which have in the past been perceived as male-dominated.

SANRAL believes there should be more women in the engineering space, designing and constructing bridges, building new roads, maintaining infrastructure and, most importantly, owning and managing their own construction companies.

Since its inception shortly after the country’s democratic transition, SANRAL has actively pursued policies and practices aimed at bringing women into these sectors, both within its organisational structure and as contractors on major projects.

Transformation policy

We are accelerating this process with the adoption of a transformation policy that recognises the critical role SANRAL plays in the transformation of the construction industry.

Through its procurement processes, the agency can ensure increased participation of women as contractors, professionals and suppliers, and break down the traditional monopolies in supply chains.

Our track record shows that we are making progress and the implementation of the new transformation policy will enable us to measure such progress against clear targets set for the participation of women, youth and emerging enterprises. In addition, we require primary contractors who derive much of their income from SANRAL construction tenders to demonstrate a similar commitment to the transformation of the industry.

Women and SMMEs winning

In the past financial year, small- and medium-sized enterprises earned a total of R4-billion from subcontracts on road construction projects.

Construction and maintenance projects are invariably accompanied by skills-development programmes that enable emerging participants to move up the ladder to become primary contractors in their own right.

More than 4 260 enterprises benefited from these programmes, including 1 690 women.

SANRAL’s commitment to women is also reflected in our support for young women who are studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the STEM areas – at universities and tertiary institutions.

Thirty-two of the 132 students who were awarded bursaries this financial year are women and we intend to increase this ratio to enable more women to become professionals in fields that are vital to the growth of the country’s vast road infrastructure network.

More than 60% of the 200 high school learners who received SANRAL bursaries and 40% of the 304 interns placed within the organisation and at other companies that conduct business with the agency are women.

Within our own Technical Excellence Academy, SANRAL offers advanced training programmes to equip graduate engineers with the knowledge and competencies that will enable them to meet professional requirements set out by the Engineering Council of South Africa.

More than third of the 27 candidates who received training at this academy, based in Port Elizabeth, are women.

OR Tambo commemoration

2017 marks the 100-year commemoration of the birth of Oliver Tambo, one of the stalwarts of the South African liberation struggle and globally recognised as an icon for his visionary leadership, which led to the fall of apartheid and to the country’s democratic transition.

At SANRAL, we paid tribute to his legacy by hosting events that celebrated OR Tambo’s broader contributions to society – especially his commitment to science education and the empowerment of women.

In August, the national focus was on women by remembering the 1956 march of more than 20 000 women of all ages and races across South Africa who converged on the Union Buildings to protest pass laws and other forms of discrimination.

Many of the leaders of the Women’s March, such as Gertrude Shope, Ruth Mompati, Dorothy Nyembe and Rahima Moosa, served with OR Tambo in the struggle and were there to hear a message delivered in his name at a mass conference of women in 1990.

Paying tribute to the vital role women played in the mass mobilisation for democracy and human rights in South Africa, Tambo called on participants to mobilise the broader society.

“The struggle must now be taken forward to ensure that the gains we have made lead to further advancements,” he said.

Tambo’s words remain a compass in the ongoing struggle to ensure the rightful participation of women in South Africa’s mainstream economy. They are also reflected in the objectives and activities of SANRAL.

We do more than build roads. We empower people and communities and we contribute to broader initiatives to give women a greater voice in our society.

Vusi Mona is the communications general manager at SANRAL.

 

COMMUNITIES TO BENEFIT FROM TWO NEW SANRAL ROAD SAFETY PROJECTS

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Minister of Transport Joe Maswanganyi launched the Kwabhoboza Interchange on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.

The safety of motorists and pedestrians as well as the preservation of the road surface on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast has been boosted with the opening of two strategic projects today – a truck weigh bridge and a busy intersection.

Minister of Transport Joe Maswanganyi launched the Eteza Traffic Control Centre and the Kwabhoboza Interchange which were constructed by the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) at a cost of almost R500-million.

The two SANRAL projects also involved the community through job creation and skills training.

Eteza Traffic Control Centre

The Eteza Traffic Control Centre will help curb extensive overloading of trucks, which has resulted in a marked deterioration in the condition of the province’s road network.

Damage to roads as a result of overloading leads to higher maintenance and repair costs and shortens the life of a road. This in turn places an additional burden on the state as well as law abiding road users, who ultimately carry the costs of careless and inconsiderate overloading.

At the overload control facility at Eteza, heavy vehicles of more than five tons gross mass are weighed. Drivers of heavy vehicles will be issued a fine if the vehicle exceeds the permissible gross mass and/or axle unit mass.

The overload control facility is also used to inspect the roadworthiness of vehicles on a 24-hour basis.

A safer intersection

At Kwabhoboza, the existing intersection was very busy and the high speed of the vehicles travelling on the N2 made the crossing extremely dangerous not only for motorists but also for pedestrians trying to cross at this intersection.

The improvements at the interchange have resulted in improved and safer walkways for pedestrians, improved safety for pedestrians and motorists, and a reduction in accidents.

In addition, taxi lay byes and pedestrian facilities were provided within the interchange precinct. A new pedestrian fence on the road reserve within the KwaMsane community was also installed.

Dumisani Nkabinde, Operations and Maintenance Manager at SANRAL’s Eastern Region said during preparation for the construction of the Kwabhoboza Interchange, the roads agency undertook a transportation study of the function of the N2 within the Mtubatuba region.

N2 problems addressed

A transportation study conducted around 2008/2009 reported that there were between 500 and 700 pedestrians crossing the N2 freeway daily. But they were doing so under unsafe conditions, especially at the point where the new interchange is now built. Several serious and fatal accidents were witnessed weekly.

The report also revealed that due to the poor condition of community roads linking KwaMsane Township and Mtubatuba, motorists and pedestrians were being forced to use the N2 as the access road into town.

SANRAL addressed these road safety problems. The municipality was assisted in the construction of concrete internal collector roads by SMMEs at a cost of R21-million.

SANRAL also rehabilitated other community roads in the area after the community complained about their houses being flooded due to poorly designed existing roads.

Ending Transport Month

The launch of the Eteza Traffic Control Centre and the Kwabhoboza Interchange coincided with the close of October’s Transport Month.

October is known as Transport Month in South Africa, a month during which the Department of Transport advances promotes road safety initiatives while also creating awareness of the economic benefits of the sector.

This year, the successful campaign was under the theme “Together we move South Africa Forward”. Numerous events in villages, towns and cities resulted in a greater understanding of the critical role that transport plays in the lives of our people.

During October, the Department of Transport motivated all stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to improving the quality of transport facilities, to addressing service delivery backlogs in transport infrastructure, to promoting road safety and to encouraging community dialogue about transport.

Minister Maswanganyi also addressed a community imbizo at the Amangwe Sports Field at KwaMbonambi in KwaZulu-Natal.

Maswanganyi said the government’s investments in rail, roads and public transport were changing the way people accessed their places of work, study and entertainment.

These investments also helped grow the economy and address the challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.

“The transport sector is at the heart of the country’s development and it is my duty to ensure that South Africans have safe, reliable, affordable and convenient public transport.

HIS DREAM TO BE A PILOT GROUNDED BY A FULFILLING JOB IN ENGINEERING

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Recalling his first paying job as a learner draughtsman, during which time he was often asked to buy pies and cool drinks for older technicians and engineers, Harrison’s advice to his younger colleagues is to keep developing an enquiring mind.

Few of his associates would know that engineering did not feature at the top of career choices for Gavin Harrison, a former project manager at South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) Eastern Region who retired recently.

In fact, his first career choice was to become a pilot, preferably a helicopter or test pilot, given his interest in the natural forces of gravity and aerodynamics.

He believes his second choice would probably have been hydrology or geology, which again would have originated from his passion for understanding natural forces and various aspects of the natural environment.

Ultimately, Harrison ventured into the dynamic and challenging field of civil engineering, not knowing that only after joining SANRAL in 2009, that his dream assignment would be fulfilled.

Reminiscing on his first job

Recalling his first paying job as a learner draughtsman, during which time he was often asked to buy pies and cool drinks for older technicians and engineers, Harrison’s advice to his younger colleagues is to keep developing an enquiring mind.

“Instead of accepting things as they are presented to you, rather go a step further to question the credibility of the information at your disposal by testing what you are told,” he said, adding with a smile, “except of course if it’s your boss.”

Harrison has thrived on the daily challenges he has encountered while working at SANRAL and believes this has contributed to his development as a professional.

So gratifying has his work been within SANRAL that he is quick to remark that as an engineer, he “has experienced a most rewarding and satisfying vocation”.

He considers the guidance and support received from his fellow colleagues over the years to have been an indispensable part of his job.

Engineering challenges and highlights

Harrison recalled how one of the highlights of his career with SANRAL was being assigned as project manager for the upgrade and the completion of the Dr Chota Motala Road Interchange, Pietermaritzburg’s first multi-level interchange, which carries traffic from Dr Chota Motala Road over the notoriously busy N3.

He has been involved in a number of other equally challenging design and construction projects including interchange upgrades, and major dualling and rehabilitation works along the national road network in KwaZulu-Natal and Free State.

He believes obtaining his engineering qualification from the University of KwaZulu-Natal enhanced his ability to think through, process, analyse and solve problems in the work environment. He is also a registered professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa.

SANRAL’s support and camaraderie

He says it is this strong network of support and camaraderie at SANRAL that has helped him to meet the numerous challenges encountered over the years.

He considers his relationship with people to be a key strength, which has guided him in the successful conceptualisation, implementation and completion of projects.

After some 31 years since the passing of his father-in-law – a missionary medical doctor – Harrison still believes that the ideals and values that were imparted to him have been a positive and influential part of his life.

“My father-in-law was gifted with an uncanny attribute of humility, coupled with a quiet, confident strength and authority, which never belittled or made anyone feel inadequate or small.

“When requested, his advice was always extremely wise and balanced, yet never threatening.  He treated all members of society – whether big or small – equally, with utmost respect, even when he didn’t agree with them,” said Harrison.

He is married to Brenda and they have four grandsons, the youngest being only a few weeks old.

Harrison has a passion for radio-controlled aircraft. He also plays several musical instruments including the guitar, bass guitar and the harmonica. He is a jazz enthusiast who would very much like to join a jazz quartet as one of his pastimes during his retirement.