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THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Durban & Pietermari tzburg Branches

November 2014

Durban West Street circa 1938

SAICE re-visits events of 25 years ago

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Obituary—Late Dr D L Webb

The profession loses one of its stalwarts

LATE DR. D.L. WEBB

By Dr. Michael Pavlakis

Having worked with the late Dr. D.L. Webb for some 7 years (from 1976), initially as an employee

running the Johannesburg office and later as a partner, I came to know and respect him for his deep

understanding of the Classical Soil Mechanics principles which are universally applicable but especially

so in the coastal areas near Durban where the firm he founded, D.L. Webb and Associates, was

based. One could expect no less, having done research under the great professor Alan Bishop.

Henkel and others of the “Triaxial Test” book fame.

Dr. Webb firmly believed that where the size of the project justified it, the geotechnical consultant

should improve the profession’s knowledge of the behaviour of the specific soil/rock conditions he

was working with by carrying out sufficient in-situ and laboratory tests and by observing the

behaviour of the structures the project was associated with during and after construction. He was, in

this sense, very much in favour of Professor Ralph Peck’s “observational method” before it was

named as such.

Dr. Webb (never Des to his employees and even partners) was a highly articulate man of great

intellect. He was a classical consulting engineer and a person of integrity and great courage in

implementing innovative solutions for geotechnical problems that were perhaps not fully understood

by the profession at the time. He published widely and is one of the few South Africans whose work

has been quoted and used by respected international authors in geotechnical textbooks for subjects

such as the relationship between the Elastic Modulus and the SPT N-value and the behaviour of piles,

from the results of pile testing work in residual soils and weathered rocks (Johannesburg Hospital,

Sasol Oil from Coal and other projects). Sadly, he was not given sufficient recognition by the South

African geotechnical community for his significant contribution to the advancement of the profession.

DR. M. PAVLAKIS

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Committee and Branch Meetings take place the FIRST Tuesday of every month

at the

MAHARANI HOTEL • MARINE PARADE • DURBAN

MONTH

DECEMBER

FEBRUARY 2015

DATE

No Meet ing

3rd February

MEETING TIMES

Commit tee Meet ing: 4 -5pm

Network ing : 5 -5 .30pm

Branch Presentat ion : 5 .30 —6 .30pm

DURBAN BRANCH CHAIRMAN

Visha l Kr ishandut t

E : vkr i shandut t@nye let i . co .za

EVENTS/ADMIN

Cindy Austen

E : c indy@saice .org .za

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110 years of Contributing to

Civil Engineering Excellence!!

The late John Brown, C.M.G., M Inst.C.E

First President of Cape Society of Civil Engineering

John Brown, CMG, MICE, was a railway engineer and a founder member of the Society. He was

elected president at the first meeting, held at the Hansa Hotel, Strand Street, Cape Town, on 14

January 1903. His presidential address was brief and dealt with the specifics of the establishment of

the Society. He was elected a vice-president for the following year and at the end of 1904 was

made an honorary member. During his term of membership he lived in Rondebosch at ‘The

Thatch’. He died in July 1905.

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SAICE Durban Branch AGM 1990

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A short history of SAICE

SAICE was founded as the Cape Society of Civil Engineers where, at its first meeting

on 14 January 1903 at the Hansa Hotel in Strand Street, Cape Town, a group of 19

leading Cape Colony engineers prepared a draft of rules, and a committee of four

members was elected to serve under its first president, John Brown CMG MInstCE. By

the end of the year membership had grown to 82.

During 1910 SAICE became a national body and its name was changed to the South

African Society of Civil Engineers going through further name changes until, in 1994, it

assumed its current name when it merged with the South African Institution of Civil

Engineering Technicians (SAICET).

Over the years it also became apparent that the Institution should be run from

Johannesburg where in 1938 the first local Johannesburg branch meeting of the Society

took place at Kelvin House. After occupying various rented premises, SAICE came

home to its own building at Thornhill Office Park, Midrand in 2005.

The first SAICE Congress, Council Meeting, AGM and Presidential Inauguration to be

held in Durban took place between 14 and 16 April 1999 at the International

Convention Centre and saw keynote speaker Dr David Molapo present on pioneering

the future. In October 2014 Durban played host once again to a SAICE Council

Meeting and for the first time, the National Awards.

These days SAICE has some 10 000 members and is the only recognised professional

association to further the interests and promote the study and science of civil

engineering.

Here’s to another 110 years of contributing to civil engineering excellence!

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Past Presidents

1903 J Brown CMG 1904 T Stewart 1905 A Grant-Dalton 1906 RH Hammersley-Heenan 1907 W Westhofen 1908 AM Tippet 1909 WA Legg 1910 HH Elliot 1911 GT Nicholson 1912 AD Tudhope 1913 FE Kanthack CMG 1914 PO Stephens 1915 J Mackenzie 1916 AE Snape (Prof) 1917 RW Menmuir 1918 MD Robinson 1919 W Craig 1920 W Ingham 1921 RW Newman 1922 GS Burt-Andrews 1923 AJ Beaton CMG 1924 JD Shannon 1925 AD Lewis 1926 TH Watermeyer 1927 HM Ladell 1928 WM Campbell 1929 RC Wallace 1930 TW Perry 1931 FT Patterson 1932 W Farrant 1933 EJ Hamlin (Dr) 1934 JC Hawkins 1935 GH Whitehouse 1936 WJ Houghton MBE 1937 G Begg 1938 DP Howells 1939 WPF McLaren OBE 1940 WA Moyers

1941 WA Moyers 1942 JS de V von Willich 1943 EW Dohse 1944 G Stewart 1945 WG Sutton 1946 N Shand 1947 T Hopwood 1948 W Marshall Clark OBE 1949 LA Mackenzie 1950 AF Bruyns-Haylett 1951 JP Leslie 1952 WS Lunn, MC 1953 PJ Louw 1954 CWJA Sandrock 1955 H Schrader 1956 HR Moffat 1957 JR Stewart MBE 1958 JEB Jennings (Prof) 1959 JA Gilmore 1960 AJ Ockleston (Prof) 1961 LC Reynolds 1962 RD Hawkins 1963 AH Roberts (Dr) 1964 F Jackson 1965 TC Watermeyer 1966 AM Steel OBE 1967 BA Kantley MBE 1968 DC Midgley (Prof) 1969 DW de Vos (Prof) 1970 SS Morris (Dr) 1971 AS Robinson MBE 1972 JP Kriel 1973 EJ Hall 1974 C Harris 1975 RJ Laburn (Dr) 1976 AC Liebenberg (Dr) 1977 K Knight (Prof) 1978 HC Blersch

1979 H Olivier CMG, OMSG 1980 IH Braatvedt 1981 HI Schwartz (Dr) 1982 C Skeen 1983 GPR von Willich (Prof) 1984 HA Loots (Dr) 1985 RA Heydenrych (Dr) 1986 KG Witthaus 1987 MC Macleod 1988 CM McMillan 1989 RA Pullen 1990 R de Waal 1991 AR Kemp (Prof) 1992 RC Burrel 1993 F Hugo (Prof) 1994 BC Bruce 1995 PWB Kruger (Dr) 1996 AJ Hay 1997 AT Visser (Prof) 1998 BJ Middleton 1999 RV Milford (Dr) 2000 A Lawless (Mrs) 2001 K Wall (Dr) 2002 T Goba 2003 MF Allie 2004 R Watermeyer 2005 MRD Deeks 2006 SAS Amod 2007 NA Macleod 2008 JJ de Koker 2009 EP Kearsley (Prof) 2010 AM Naidu 2011 SM Makhetha 2012 M van Veelen (Dr) 2013 PJ Kleynhans 2014 SM Mkhacane

Durban Branch Chairman 1946 HA Smith 1971 JR Board 2000 Mark Stemmet

1953 HM Irving 1973 EG Hillyard 2002 Greg Evans

1955 JR Daymond 1975 KC Tucker 2003 Teven Heera

1957 RM Gee 1977 SB Sharratt 2004 Mark Ducasse

1959 A Marcham 1979 RC Burrell 2005 Sid Turner

1961 W Wellisch 1981 S Notcutt 2006 Phil Everitt

1963 CM Spence 1983 DL Webb 2008 Peter Fischer

1965 DC Macloed 1985 RJ Young 2011 Andrew McKune

1967 R Copp 1987 CWD Horn 2013 Vishal Krishandutt

1969 CJ Fleming 1989 C Mendes

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SAICE Durban Branch Hosts First Event Since 1999

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SAICE Institutional Awards 2014

Project and people awards for excellence in

civil engineering

T he prestigious annual SAICE Awards gala event for the Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievements for

2013/2014 was held at the Durban International Convention Centre on 16 October. It was the first time in

many, many years that the event has been brought to Durban and the Durbanites responded excellently by

turning up in numbers – approximately 550 guests!

SAICE received more than 30 project entries from across the country to compete for these illustrious awards. It

includes awards for international and technical excellence, as well as community-based projects. On top of that there

are awards for the Engineer of the Year and other individual awards, as well as awards for projects entered by the

SAICE technical divisions. The photo competition attracted more than 50 entries with civil engineering as the theme.

We take a look at the KZN Entries and Winners for Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Project

Achievements were as follows:

Community Based:

D1506 Upgrade (Road) - Naidu Consulting—Winner

Kwapata Pedestrian Bridge—Naidu Consulting - Commendation

Technical Excellence Projects:

The KwaMashu Interchange Upgrade—Aurecon / SANRAL—Winner

International Projects of Excellence:

Metolong Dam Pedestrian Bridge—Jeffares & Green / RHDHV & GWC Joint Venture—Winner

SAICE Technical Division’s Project Awards:

Environmental Engineering Projects

The Electron Road Waste Management Facility—Jeffares & Green / eThekwini Municipality—Winner

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Structural Engineering Projects:

Metolong Dam Pedestrian Bridge—Jeffares & Green / RHDHV & GWC Joint Venture—Winner

Water Engineering Projects:

Spring Grove Dam—Aecom / TCTA / Umgeni Water—Winner

Operation and Maintenance: A Special Award

Mahatman Ghandi Sewer Pump Station—Hatch Goba / eThekwini Municipality

SAICE Institutional Awards for 2014:

SAICE Technologist Achiever of the Year:

Vishal Krishandutt

SAICE Branch of the Year: Durban Branch

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SAICE Council Meeting 2014

"The Durban Branch hosted the SAICE Council meeting in Durban for the very first time! Some of

the deliberations are pictured below"

At the recent Council meeting held in Durban, it was unanimously agreed to waive the

membership transfer fees with immediate effect—so you can now upgrade to the next

membership level at no cost! The only condition is that you must be in good standing.

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SAICE Durban Branch Golf Day

The Durban Branch and Investec Specialist Bank hosted the annual golf day on the 24th November at

the Durban Country Club. This event was attended by some 140 players. In support of Breast

Cancer Awareness Month, part of the proceeds raised were donated to the Breast Cancer

Awareness Association, Some players showed their support for the cause by wearing something

pink for the day.

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2015 Site Visit—Mt Edgcombe Interchange

Date: Tuesday 17th February 2015

Time: 14:00

Venue: Meet at site office

Note due to the restrictions on the site, the number of visitors is limited to 30 and

will be strictly on a first come first served basis.

Anybody interested in attending this site visit is kindly requested to contact :

Dorothy.heyes@rhdhv.com

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SAICE Durban Presentations 2014

February 2014

Turbo Roundabout

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEtr14/01475/15

March 2014

Cyber Crime

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEot14/01478/15

April 2014

Geosynthetics in pavements

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEcon14/01517/15

May 2014 SAICE 2104 Presidential Visit

Taking Civil Engineering to the remote & marginalised areas of SA

& beyond

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEot14/01515/15

June 2014

Road Rehabilitation the Green Way

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEtr14/01518/15

August 2014

The Umhlangane River Bridge, Queen Nandi Drive Phase 4.

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEstr14/01596/15

September 2014

Method of Analysis using a Composite Geogrid

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICEstr14/01595/15

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SAICE Durban Presentations 2014

October 2014

New Construction Regulations

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICE

November 2014

Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning

CPD Accreditation Number: SAICE

Thank you to all our members and sponsors for your support through 2014

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