Construction World March 2017

60 / 64

CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2017 58
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Trigger Truniger, the national accounts
manager for Easigrass South Africa, says
that Easigrass is the perfect alternative
to thirsty natural grass – or grass that
has shrivelled and died when it couldn’t
be watered. Gardeners can counter the
effects of freak weather patterns by
installing quality artificial grass with the
advantage of saving on water bills.
Easigrass, which is low maintenance
and requires no watering, provides the
best of both worlds – meaningful water
savings together with an aesthetically
pleasing garden that remains lush and
green year round allowing homeowners to
just keep their shrubs and trees alive.
Easigrass also blends with indigenous
and drought tolerant plants to produce
attractive contemporary outdoor areas.
He points out that Easigrass is the
world’s leading artificial grass brand
and is based in the United Kingdom.
All Easigrass is fully UV protected, with
Easigrass and Van Dyck Carpets offering
the highest warranties on artificial grass
of 8 years. Locally, it is backed by flooring
giant, Van Dyck Carpets which applies the
same high international standards when
it comes to quality, design excellence,
product back up and guarantees.
Because European and South African
grasses are completely different, Van Dyck
has researched, designed and launched
nine artificial grasses that resemble
popular local varieties.
“We want to give companies in South Africa
public awareness and create a platform
for public and private companies to start
engaging with BIM-compliant organisations”
explains Vaughan Harris, executive director
of the BIM Institute.
In recent developments there has been
discussions among various private and
public sectors to list companies that have or
are in the process of upskilling their internal
resources around BIM best practice.
The long term vision for this strategy is
to create public awareness of the companies
who are not only optimising the technical
operation side of its business, but are also
creating a platform for private and public
companies to start engaging with BIM-
compliant organisations.
The BIM BAM BOOM workshops run
by the BIM Institute are in partnership
with White Frog in the UK. The White Frog
team of authors is a group of independent
consultants and recognised experts-in-
practice pushing the boundaries of BIM.
The White Frog international training
content is set out to create new training
material for the processes around BIM and
to break down several of the preconceived
rules surrounding training delivery. Their
training courseware takes the stance of
teaching BIM methodology and processes
using the available tools in task-based
modules. In this way, delegates and students
learn best practice in tandem with a design
application.
BIM Institute accreditation
• Removes the requirement for the employer
Graphic courtesy: /
Be water wise
Climate change means irregular
rainfall is here to stay. In many parts
of South Africa, severe drought and
water restrictions have transformed
once green lawns into dusty patches
while, in others, flash floods have
resulted in massive wash aways and
even sink holes.
According to Truniger, although Artificial
grass is not yet the first choice for South
African home owners who are trying to
cope with either too little or too much
rainfall, it is becoming an increasingly
popular alternative to natural grass. As
homeowners are left with options of
either gravel, paving or wooden decking
in the areas where grass is not growing,
Easigrass is slowly becoming the
preferred option.
According to the Department of Water
Affairs, the majority of South Africa’s
water goes to irrigation (66%) followed by
domestic use (27%).
Truniger says that, while different lawn
size and the dedication of gardeners to
irrigating their gardens mean usage will
vary from property to property, studies
indicate that up to 60% of a household’s
water bill could be saved through
replacing natural with artificial turf.
Although switching to Easigrass
means an upfront investment, it will
quickly be offset by reduced water bills
and savings on garden services, and
consumables. With the current increase
in water tariffs in various SA provinces,
this time has been drastically reduced to
about 1 – 2 years. 
to carry out a BIM capability assessment.
• Demonstrates compliance with
international BIM standards and the ability
to meet certain BIM requirements for
tenders.
• Speeds up the tendering process, saving
businesses time & money.
• Helps your company to stand out from
the competition, showing you are ready
for business.
Accreditation covers:
• Basic understanding of Building
Information Modelling, its benefits,
technology and protocols.
• Understand BIM terminology.
• Foundation to establish and execute
Accredited BIM
companies
The BIM Institute announced its
intention to put in place a company
listing page on their website for
companies that are internationally
certified or BIM accredited – at no cost.
a BIM Execution Plan (BEP), Common
Data Environment (CDE) and Employers
Information Requirements (EIR).
• Strategies for engaging and motivating
employees to foster new ideas, identify
solutions in the workplace.
• Review of local project case studies
A recent discussion with Ralph Montague,
managing partner with Arcdox, Ireland,
summarised it:
“A lot of what the BIM process is trying
to do is not really that new. It is stuff we
have been doing, or should have been doing
anyway, as part of good design or project
management. It might just have a fancy
new name or standardised acronym that you
need to get used to.” 