Housing in Southern Africa October-November 2016

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October/November 2016
In the short term, this may be the
case but a new world-first App
from the Southern Africa Stain-
less Steel Development Association
(sassda) is set to lift the lid on the big-
ger picture - namely stainless steel’s
ability to ensure far lower overall Life
Cycle Costs (LCC) in the long term.
The benefit of the newly launched
App allows for real-time calculation
of the LCC of stainless steel via an
easy to use, pre-programmed calcu-
lator. This requires the entry of key
top-line data, followed by the simple
click on ‘Calculate’, which in turn gen-
erates a breakdown of the relevant
costs and the ability to e-mail this
to the relevant recipients. The App
is now available on the Google Play
(Android) Store and will be available
in the Apple iStore by the end of the
year.
Sassda Executive Director John
Tarboton explains; “The App was
created to assist engineers to cal-
culate total LCC using the standard
accountancy principle of discounted
cash flow, so that total costs incurred
during a life cycle period are reduced
to present day values. This allows
a realistic comparison to be made
of the options available. In terms
of material selection, the APP also
enables potential long-termbenefits
to be assessed against short-term
expediency.” He adds that months
have been spent working out the
correct formulas that now form
the backend of the app, which has
removed the burden of this type of
time-consuming calculation for the
end user.
“This will prove invaluable for
professionals in the field, wanting
to bypass the complicated process
normally associated with this type of
calculation that most professionals
are unfamiliar with; unless they also
New app lifts lid on stainless steel LCC
One of the biggest obstacles in specifying stainless steel is the
misconception that it’smore expensive in comparison toother initially
cheaper options.
John Tarboton
Carl Duckinson has recently
been appointed as Chief In-
formation Officer at the global
engineering and advisory company,
Aurecon. Duckinson will lead the
firm’s IT team globally and continue
to drive digital and technology trans-
formation. According to Andrew
Muller, Aurecon’s Global Chief Finan-
cial Officer, “Information technol-
ogy is a key enabler for Aurecon as
it is fundamental to the successful
execution of our business strategy,
particularly in relation to Aurecon’s
commitment to global collaboration
and work-sharing.”
Muller added that Duckinson’s
proven track record as a senior IT
executive in large and complex or-
ganisations, most notably his skills
in mapping technology strategy to
business strategy and his strong track
record of developing high performing
teams, was important for Aurecon.
Duckinson recently led the Toll
Group’s technology transformation,
which included a period as Toll’s In-
terimCIO. Prior to that, he was CIO of
Australia’s largest independent gold
miner, Newcrest Mining, for seven
years. Duckinson said, “Aurecon is
well advanced in understanding
what digital means and how digital
influences the future of engineering.
The company is eager to harness
the opportunities that digital disrup-
tion presents.”
The company’s strong focus on
digital innovation is evidenced by
the fact that Aurecon has invested
in a Chief Innovation Officer, Chief
Digital Officer and Chief Information
Officer at executive level. “It is rare to
see these three roles at these senior
levels in an organisation.
My role will be to continue to sup-
port strong cross-border collabora-
tion to ensure that the business is
able to respond to rapid change
within the energy and resources,
built environment and infrastructure
industries,” said Duckinson. ■
Aurecon’s
new CIO
have an accountancy qualification!
“In this way we are also hoping
to educate the market on the inher-
ent benefits of stainless steel, which
include minimal maintenance, a
minimum 60-year lifespan and sig-
nificant ‘green’ benefits,” concludes
Tarboton.
The sassda Life Cycle Cost calcula-
tor is also available via the following
link:
cycle-costing-of-stainless-steel for
non-Android phone owners. ■
Carl Duckinson
Industry Buzz