Press Article:

2009 ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS – CESA 'THE VOICE OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING'

Release Date: 13 Aug 2009

Consulting Engineers South Africa's (CESA) prestigious CESA Glenrand MIB Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony was held at a gala banquet at Emperor's Palace on the 12th August this year.  The Awards is a celebration of innovation, quality, outstanding workmanship and professionalism.  CESA is proud to host this annual event, sponsored by Glenrand MIB, as a platform to showcase the outstanding achievements of its member organisations. The event is the highlight of the year in the Organisation's calendar and is a spectacular networking opportunity for leaders in industry as they celebrate the cream of South Africa's Consulting Engineers.

Awards were handed out for nominations in the following categories: Engineering Excellence for projects with a value of less than R10million; between R10million and R100million and for projects with a value of over R100million; Business Excellence; Young Company of the Year; International Business Developer of the Year; Visionary Client of the Year; Young Engineer of the Year; Publisher of the Year; Mentor of the Year and for the first time Mentoring Company of the Year.

The category of Engineering Excellence with a value greater than R100 million was won by Aurecon, Iliso and KAYP for the Central Terminal Building at OR Tambo International Airport for Airports Company South Africa with WSP Africa Coastal Engineers receiving a commendation for the Dense Effluent Marine Outfall, Richards Bay for Mhlathuze Water.

The category of Engineering Excellence with a value between R10million and R100 million was won by Knight Piesold Consulting for the Ntimbale Dam for the Department of Water Affairs in Botswana.  SSI Engineers and Environmental Consultants received a Commendation for the Nereda Waste Water Treatment Works in Gansbaai for Overstrand Municipality.

In the category of Engineering Excellence with a value less than R10 million, Bosch Projects won the award for the Durban Harbour Tunnel Trolley System for eThekweni Municipality. Kwezi V3 Engineers received a commendation for the George Garden Route Dam for George Municipality.

Goba won the Business Excellence category sponsored by Meissner, suppliers of Uninterruptible Power Supplies; Bosch Projects received the award for International Business Developer of the Year sponsored by the Built Environment Professionals Export Council (BEPEC); with AOS Consulting Engineers receiving an Accolade in the Young Company of the Year category. 



In the Visionary Client of the Year category, CESA nominates candidates for the award, who must then consent to their nomination.  Nominees in this category can be from the public, parastatal or private sectors, and are judged inter alia on their contribution to sustainable economic job creation in South Africa and or Africa.  Creating sustainable development in communities through skills and knowledge transfer is an equally important factor.  The judges also look at the opportunities provided for the growth and expression of professionals, including those from formerly disadvantaged communities.  Projects should also have embraced innovative designs that highlight the ability of South Africans in the technological field.  CESA this year gave recognition, in the category of Visionary Client of the Year, to Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) for transforming a fragmented parastatal into a focused, profitable and commercial enterprise that is market-driven and customer service-oriented. ACSA's commitment to empowerment and its steadfast stance of affording opportunities to emerging organisations is clearly demonstrated.

In addition to this in order to promote the Consulting Engineering industry to young professionals, CESA recognises the contribution young engineers make to the industry and to the future of the profession. Naturally the winner must be available to receive the award and attend the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) convention which this year takes place in London, England.  Furthermore, he or she must be available to serve on CESA's Young Professional's Forum for a 12-month period.  Judges look for outstanding performance in areas including technical achievement on a project; educational achievement; recognition such as awards received; contributions to sustainable development – such as environmental initiatives, social responsibilities, and community involvement.  And finally, the winner in this category must have leadership ability, and contribute to the image of the firm and the industry as a whole.  This year the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) sponsored the Young Engineer of the Year Award, enabling the winner to attend the FIDIC convention to be held in London, England during September this year.

The winner in the category of Young Engineer of the Year is Lucas Jan-Ebels from UWP Consulting.

SSI Engineers and Environmental Consultants won the Mentoring Company of the Year category and an Accolade in the category of Mentor of the Year went to Frederik Joachim Smit from Kwezi V3 Engineers.  In an effort to promote mentorship of young engineers CESA recognizes the contribution Mentors make to the industry and the future of the profession. 

In recognition of the role that the media plays in the industry, Creamer Media received the award for Publisher of the Year.