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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JUNE
2015
ROADS AND BRIDGES
We are constantly being warned
and reminded that the annual
human demand on resources
are exceeding what can be regen-
erated by the earth.
Because we are able to measure, can
calculate the footprint and can assess what
pressure this exerts on the planets ecolog-
ical assets, engineering professionals are
required to work with greater wisdom, take
personal and collective action as a profes-
sional body that continues to prove they will
be remembered as worthy stewards during
their working life.
A summary of some comments by Mathis
Wacker and Andre Schneider (Global foot-
print network & Global advisory SA) which
can be applied to the engineers’ strategic
decision-making framework.
• There is a strong competitive advantage
to be gained by business if they manage
the ecological risks and opportunities.
• A business can establish the
benchmarks, set qualitative targets and
evaluate alternatives for future activities.
• A demonstration of such market
foresight can set the direction for
the industry and communicate
strategic strength to be the leaders
in specific sectors.
Engineering interventions:
their maintenance
and stewardship
The definition of maintenance is: the process
of preserving a condition or situation or the
state of being preserved.
The definition of stewardship is: an ethic
that embodies the responsible planning and
management of resources.
Both these activities of stewardship and
maintenance of engineering interventions
presupposes that the responsible person
or team cares enough and will act appropri-
ately. Can we make this idea more simple
by suggesting that each of these activities is
thought of as onerous, but need not be so if
the actions to process is easy to understand
and readily available.
An example that required little expla-
nation and was easy to understand is the
separation of waste according to the colour
coded bins to separate paper from glass
and biodegradable products. This has
proved to be a global initiative to solve a
waste management problem engineered in
simplicity and an example of the application
to good stewardship.
Businesses that apply
ecological responsibility
There is a great opportunity for any business
to choose an appropriate platform to declare
its ecological responsibility and compliance
within its particular industry.
Those companies who have started
to accumulate credits after many years of
commitment to ecological responsible engi-
neering interventions and are set to continu-
ously grow their historical register of sound
stewardship. It takes active involvement and
a conscious decision to support good stew-
ardship and the maintenance of engineering
interventions. The reward to a business is
the repeat business, the marketing position
and proof of its sector leadership.
A simple aspect of stewardship is the
observation and monitoring of performance
The first reason to monitor an engi-
neering intervention is the demonstration
of due care to the performance and ongoing
satisfactionof the functionality for the client.
When a project team embraces a sustain-
able ecological design and endeavour to
be selective of the materials so as to reduce
the carbon footprint, they will create a flag-
ship status and demonstrate their laudable
acclaim for stewardship.
The SECI group with its head office
in Italy has joined the long list of inter-
national companies promoting a global
ideal of ecological stewardship and encour-
ages its subsidiary companies such as
Maccaferri Africa, to respect the need for
ecological stewardship in its offerings of
engineering interventions.
It is required that they demonstrate
active involvement into the steward-
ship of sectors that are sensitive to the
road network, wetlands, river systems,
mining sectors and marine environment.
The choice of whether to propose a ‘hard’
but durable and longer life span engineering
solution versus a more ecological, ‘greener’
solution with a sufficient lifespan, but which
may be more susceptible to extreme envi-
ronmental factors such as flooding and
drought, challenges the engineering profes-
sional on this loyalty to stewardship.
A clear understanding of these two
options encourages the engineers and
specialists at Maccaferri Africa, to ensure
all solutions and engineering interventions
maximise the ecological benefits of mate-
rials proposed. Accordingly performance
monitoring of many retaining structures in
the mining, roads, airports and marine envi-
ronments have been implemented and seek
to develop a corporate attitude of respon-
sible stewardship.
When will we be counted in, by our
ecological correct decisions to solve indus-
trial and private sector problems?
The answer is: When we can say that
Stewardship for our
LIVING
PLANET INDEX
Every single engineering
activity contributes to the
measurement of the earth’s
Living Planet Index. We should
be asking ourselves how
well does our scorecard tally
and does it demonstrate a
constant, conscious effort of
stewardship of our natural
resources? Is our design,
choice of materials and
the maintenance of the
structures, which intervene in
the landscape, for mankind’s
benefit the best we can do?
>
Hydraulic structures, gabions and mattresses
(Hornlee, Western Cape).
Mechanically stabilised earth wall (MSEW),
MacRes (Umgeni interchange, KZN).