May 2006 Power’s pow-wow wows the guests

From acorns oak trees grow

This section of Contractor is usually reserved for the smaller, up and coming contractors but big established companies had to start somewhere and their success is recognised as well as providing a beacon for the up and coming who strive to make it in the rough and tough world we know as contracting.

1983. 
      Graham Power started Graham Power Contractors (Pty) Ltd. Turnover in the difficult first year was around R300,000.
      

1986. 
      The company moved to its present location in Wimbledon Road, Blackheath. Turnover that year was R6.3m.
      

1988. 
      Blitz Asphalt established, initially to supply internal demand and to lesson dependence on sub-contractors. As resourced grew the company was able to undertake outside contracts and its name was changed to Power Construction Roads in 2002, to focus on major rehabilitation contracts. Today the company is a major contributor to the Group and specializes in major and minor road construction, premix / asphalting, general seals and surfacing, airport taxiways, runways and apron slabs.
      

1988. 
      Power Construction South Cape, the first regional office, was established in George but after 12 years successful operations there, relocated to Knysna to coincide with the civil services contract at Thesen Islands. Upsurge in residential developments in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay assured success and the company was renamed Power Construction Coastal in 2002.
      

1988. Power Properties established, to be renamed, Power Developments. Realising the potential in middle and upper market residential developments, the company established Power Properties, which laid the groundwork for the anticipated upsurge in demand for not only upmarket but affordable properties.

1995. 
      Core business renamed Power Construction West Cape. This was the first of the Group’s core companies to focus on a niche market of township developments and successfully services the Western Cape. This year also saw the establishment of Power Construction East Cape, although at the time there was little work and many competitors had packed up and left the area.
      

1997. 
      Hughmic Construction established; the first of the Group’s empowerment joint ventures, with Chano Hughes and Abel Michel becoming 51% partners with Power Construction West Cape and able to draw on the Group’s experience as an established player. Glenville Cullum replaced Abel Michel as shareholder in 2005. Hughmic operates as an autonomous entity whilst availing itself of the resources of the Group.
      

1997. 
      Sibakhulu Construction formed through another jv, this time in the Eastern Cape. Growth opportunities and BEE imperatives were some of the reasons why Power Construction East Cape (Pty) Ltd was later sold to and incorporated into Sibakhulu Construction at the end of 2002. Joint shareholders Dumisa Mcetywa and Glenville Cullum own 51% of the company.
      

2000 Power Construction Plant and Power Group Financial and Management Services formed. The former was established to service the growing needs of the Group’s operations, which it was felt, would be better served by a separate company. Power Group Financial and Management Services was born out of the Services division, which looked after plant, financial and technical aspects of the Group’s operations. Steady growth meant that these essential services had to grow as well, and it was becoming clear that a comprehensive human resources development plan was needed. As a pure services company Power Group Financial and Management Services was established to manage the Group’s financial, organization and technical requirements in separate departments.

100-year dream

CEO Graham Power states that the Group has a 100-year dream, a commitment made by the company’s leadership in 2001 to prolong the existence of the company, its culture and ethics long after the current management are gone. Far from being a fanciful notion or pipedream, says Power, this is a long-term business objective, with definite processes and courses of action put in place to ensure its fulfillment in the decades ahead.
This is clearly a company with strong spiritual values, and as stated by Power, he and his team are simply managing the business; it belongs to a greater being in his view.
It is clear that the core values are not merely lip service, but are an essential part of the Group’s culture.
Power sees the people in the Group as key motivators in what they can achieve, and consequently it is management’s responsibility to train, mentor, empower and identify successors to lead the company into the future and realise the 100-year dream. Simple!
The company places great emphasis on their vision, mission statement and core values and one comes away with the impression that they mean what they say, and not just offer wise words as a sop to political correctness or current business fashion.
According to André du Preez, the Group focuses on opportunities that provide growth for their talented people and deliver returns for their shareholders.

“as opportunities are identified, we position ourselves to take advantage of them. If we don’t have the resources available right now, we make sure we will have them in the future. That is why the Group is so diverse and focused on opportunity driven business” he says.

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  18^th International Africa Award for outstanding management, quality, technical innovations, service and export achievements in the African market – 1997
  
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  Institute of Housing Regional Award – developer of the year 1998, 2001, 2003 & 2004
  
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  Institute of Housing National Award – developer of the year 1998
  
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  Professional Management Review Golden Arrow – 2000
  
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  Steel Construction – 2001
  
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  National Housing Awards – best established developer – 2002
  
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  Merit Award Saldanha Project – 2002
  
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  Since 2003 listed (Hughmic & Sibakhulu Construction) amongst Top 300 Impumelelo companies in South Africa
  
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  PMR Corporate Care Awards – National trophy for Environmental Care and Job Creation and Training – 2003
  
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  PMR Corporate Care Awards – Industry winner for Black Economic Empowerment and Social Upliftment – 2003
  
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  PMR Silver Arrow Award for doing the most to enhance the Province’s economic growth and development - 2005
  

Power Construction was founded in 1983 and turned over just R300 000 in its first year of operation. This became R3-million in the second year, R6-million in the third, R12-million in the fourth and R24-million in the fifth year. Twelve companies form part of the Power Group of Companies, of which four are empowerment ventures. The empowerment ventures were all started from within the company, all of the partners are fully active (no silent partners). The partnerships do not include any big names or celebrity BEE partners, but rather actual engineers and quantity surveyors who have come through the system at the Power Group to assume positions of responsibility in the new companies. To us, this is the true meaning of empowerment.

I am very excited about South Africa, not only today but over the past 20 years. In the 1960s and 1970s, South Africa’s construction industry was developing the infrastructure in the country on the level of first-world countries. The only good thing to have come out of the years of apartheid is that South Africa now enjoys infrastructure such as roads, ports, buildings and airports of the highest standard. The construction industry peaked in 1976 when government was pouring 8.3% of national GDP into construction, with 135 000 people directly employed by contractors across the country. By 1997/98, government investment had dropped to 2.4%, but it has now started to move on an upward curve again.

Hughmic Construction has been in operation for eight years, focusing primarily on civil engineering and based in Blackheath in Cape Town. The company was very involved with the development at Century City and the adjacent theme park; it completed all the civil works on the roads infrastructure at Boschenmeer Golf and Country Estate in Paarl; and it is currently busy on a landfill contract at Vissershoek in Milnerton. Chano Hughes is the MD of the company.

I am highly optimistic about the Western Cape. If you believe the statistics, tourism is growing rapidly, which means more hotels and further expansion to roads, landing strips and residential developments. The Western Cape probably has the least amount of development needed to prepare for 2010 Soccer World Cup, but there will still be much work to be done. And you only need to look at the numbers of people that want to buy homes in the Cape, or develop property in the region, to see that the province has international appeal. The lifestyle, the weather and the people all contribute to making the Cape a great place to do business and to live.

Though based in the Cape Town, the Power Group has offices in Knysna, Port Elizabeth and Gauteng, so we are well represented wherever work may arise. Further, our mobile units, especially in road works, can operate countrywide. The N2 Gateway Project is a huge project moving towards 2010. When visitors arrive at Cape Town International Airport, their first impression must be a lasting and positive one.

We do a huge amount of training within the Group. We still work every second Saturday, and on most of these days we conduct training workshops in every one of our four training venues, covering everything from carpentry to bricklaying to operations and management. We view this commitment as an investment in our future, and in the future of our employees.

Each of our twelve companies donates 10% of its profits into the Power Group Charitable Fund, which is used to support various organisations and causes. We are involved with a community centre in Mannenburg, through the donation of computers and sewing machines; we have assisted in the purchase of a building from the City Council, which will be used in part as a crèche and also as a training and recruitment centre. We are also involved with The Beautiful Gate Project providing care and support to children affected by HIV/Aids; and we also have a strong involvement with The Ark school and home for unemployed and homeless people, providing food and building material, and sponsoring teachers.

I firmly believe that anybody wanting to come into South Africa to do business, whatever their industry, would be naïve to think they will survive without taking advantage of local knowledge. Forming joint ventures with local businesses that understand the politics, the labour and the laws and regulations, is critical to the success of any investment. Partnering with local companies will not only add value to the investment but will also build the local economy which will have a positive effect on the investment itself.

A R200-million sewer contract is a sizable undertaking, especially when wet ground conditions pose many construction challenges. This is the case at the N2 Gateway project, Robin Hayes learned.

ASLA and Power Construction have partnered before in other aspects of the Gateway project as contractors to Sobambisana Community Development but not in joint venture. So, while the two companies knew each other, in this case extensive planning was required and frank discussions on strengths and weaknesses lead to apportioning of work and contract responsibilities. Once that was settled, a team approach was adopted to address the seven major contract activities, which included excavation and pipe laying, concrete work, materials store, workshops and training, among others. Extensive use is made of local and emerging contractors with training support provided by the City of Cape Town.

In addition to the contracting team, Sobambisana includes consulting engineers Kwezi V3 and Bergstan, and environmental consultants EcoServe all of whom have permanent technical staff in site offices while the laboratory and materials store are located near Mfuleni on the Old Faure Road. Looking after the client’s interests is project manager Stewart Scott International.
Scope of works

The ASLA/Power joint venture is contracted to expedite:

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  detection and adjustment of existing services;
  
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  site clearance and demolition of structures;
  
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  supply and installation of the Delft main sewer and interceptor to Zandvliet Waste Water Treatment Works;
  
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  removal and relaying of existing services;
  
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  connection to the existing main sewer;
  
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  crossings of the Kuils River; and
  
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  crossings of the N2 national road and the R300.
  

The new pipeline follows fairly closely the route of the old, through Delft and sections of the Kuils River flood plain, but that doesn’t make its construction any easier, according to Tony Araujo, contracts manager for Power Construction, and responsible for the technical aspects of the project.

“The route traverses existing services, protected wetlands, informal settlements, private farm land and crosses the Kuils River twice, the R300 main road and the N2 highway,” explained Araujo. Ground conditions are typical of the Cape Flats: sand dunes, fine sandy soils with isolated areas of calcareous sandy material mixed with clayey/calcareous boulders.

There have been a number of administrative and planning issues that have caused the construction programme to deviate from the original plan.

Great urgency to complete the pipeline in time for beneficial occupation of the houses, which were scheduled for handover at 100 per week, led to the adoption of a fast-tracking approach, which culminated in a tight contract period of just 11 months. The contract period – commencing in December 2005 and scheduled for completion in November 2006 – is particularly challenging considering the high water table expected during the wet winter months.

While the project had received approval from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) technical approval and an environmental impact assessment (EIA) record of decision (ROD) was imminent, several other legal and administrative issues had not been resolved prior to the contractors establishing on site.

Examples included the removal of informal settlements by city officials and the granting of permission by a land owner to cross his farm.

These issues and a late but successful appeal lodged to the Ministry for Environment, Planning and Economic Development for a change in the approved pipeline route also resulted in substantial re-programming to the construction schedule. Implications of the route change, upheld more than a month after contract commencement, meant the partial destruction of seasonal wetlands, which required permission from DWAF in Pretoria. At the same time, concerns were being expressed by environmentalists and others over the impact of the Kuils River crossings, and a special team was formed to examine the issues, comply with the dictates of the National Water Act and recommend a method of construction that lessened the environmental impact.

The team’s proposals were accepted by DWAF, which issued authorisation for the lower and upper Kuils River crossings during February and March 2006 but a decision on the seasonal wetlands would take a little longer.

Three types of wetland were affected: imperate cylindrical, degraded and Renosterveld – each requiring a separate rehabilitation regime. To minimise environmental impact, it was a condition that construction work had to take place during the dry season.

The upshot was that method statements were devised and issued and an environmental control officer appointed to ensure compliance with the Construction Environmental Management Plan. DWAF in the Western Cape approved the measures in June 2006, allowing construction to proceed in sensitive areas.

Notwithstanding these impacts, the flexibility of the contracting organisation accommodated these changes while maintaining progress in other less sensitive areas.

The much-publicised and, at times controversial, N2 Gateway housing project, involves the construction of 22 000 housing units and was scheduled for completion in June 2006. Approximately 15 000 of these units were constructed in Delft Symphony, Delft extensions 7, 8 and 9, and Driftsands. It was clear that the existing bulk interceptor sewer built many years ago was inadequate for the increased flow. The capacity was often exceeded, especially in the wet season when the level of groundwater peaked above the level of the sewer. In such cases, stormwater and groundwater entered the pipelines through damaged couplings and cracks that had developed over the years. Sewer overflow was not uncommon causing a major health risk to communities and environmental concerns.

Under a Municipal Infrastructure Grant, the new sewer pipeline is under construction for the City of Cape Town by Sobambisana Community Development, and sub-contracted to a joint venture of ASLA and Power Construction. The pipeline has been designed to address capacity requirements not only for the Gateway project but for the greater Tygerberg area. The project pipeline starts in Delft at Symphony Way and terminates at the Zandvliet Waste Water Treatment Works – a pipe run of about 15,8 km.

The project comprises two parts: Phase 1 is known as the Delft Interceptor Sewer that runs from Hindle Road to Kuils River (13 km) while the second phase is known as the Main Sewer, commencing at Kuils River (Mfuleni), running along the Old Faure Road, turning into Baden Powell Drive and connecting into the Zandvliet Waste Water Treatment Works.

Installation of this pipeline is more complex than it would seem at first glance, reveals a detailed look at construction.

“Inspection/sluice manholes occur every 200 m and we use the concrete pipes between manholes where we encounter shallow depth, difficult ground conditions or road crossings for instance,” explained Tony Araujo of Power Construction. “Each section of concrete pipe weighs between 6 t to 7 t so, while having greater deformation strength and rigidity than the GRP, it is more difficult to handle,” he said. GRP sections are comparatively light at about 1 t each.

Mechanical excavation was the only viable method to meet production deadlines although a combination of hand excavation was necessary in areas congested by existing services (pictured). Labour-based sub-contractors were engaged in the construction of the manholes and other on-site concrete work.

Deep trenches in variable soil conditions, a high water table and potential deformation of the GRP pipes meant that special arrangements were made with respect to bedding materials, backfilling and compaction. In some areas, stone and imported material form the pipe’s support base.

ASLA’s Jeremy Donnelly, responsible for site supervision, explained that the pipe laying has to be done to very tight tolerances – over a road crossing for example, a fall of just 80 mm was specified over 80 m, which is virtually undetectable with a spirit level!
Difficult excavations

Groundwater was found at depths varying from 1,5 m to 5 m and, in combination with the different soil types, made excavation and laying extremely difficult at times. Very wide excavations were sometimes necessary in the areas of fine sandy soil while the stiff clayey/calcareous material allowed fairly vertical side slopes. Calcareous boulders and old, unmarked concrete foundations, some at a depth of 8 m presented the construction team with some serious challenges.

“We devised special jigs and tools to handle and lay the pipes, a process that fell into three categories: dry conditions with easy bedding, a high water table with dry bedding material and lastly saturated soils which required extensive well point dewatering,“ explained Jeremy Donnelly of ASLA. “So extensive was the groundwater in places that it was difficult to prevent the pipe sections from becoming buoyant so not only were tight tolerances a challenge but to get the pipes backfilled and compacted in quick time required some ingenuity.” Despite employing some hi-tech resistivity testing equipment, underlying conditions were not easy to determine and random stretches of dry conditions would unaccountably and suddenly become saturated, which kept the pipe laying team on their toes.

River crossings have to conform to rigid method statements to minimise environmental impact while diverting and restoring the flow. At crossings, concrete encasement of the pipe is required as well as the use of gabions and mattresses as protection measures. The Lower Kuils River crossing with shuttering for pipe encasement is pictured.

On the upper Kuils River crossing, the new sewer runs alongside the old and is located in the river bed but scouring had completely exposed the old pipe and was being used by local residents as a bridging point across the river, according to Jeremy Donnelly of ASLA. “The environmental method statement calls for rehabilitation of the old pipe crossing as well as the new and we have constructed a wooden bridge to provide a safe crossing point for residents as the rehabilitation work includes pipe cover with rip-rap and gabions – quite unsuitable and unsafe for pedestrian traffic especially during flood conditions.” Heavy rains upstream during construction were a challenge but good team work provided a satisfying result that met the specifications, he added. A bailey bridge was used to support the old sewer at the new sewer crossing point

A number of pipe-jackings under roads and services was specified and the work was sub-contracted to specialist firm Esor, which was contracted to handle four crossings, according to Esor director Arthur Field. Hindle Road, R300 and N2 are all road crossings between 50 m to 70 m in length and at a depth between 4 m and 8 m, he said, adding: Hindle was 1 350 mm diameter and the other two were 1 500 mm and 2 250 mm. Further jacking took place under services adjacent to the R300 where the pipeline crosses existing large-diameter water mains, a 750 mm-diameter sewer and power cables.

“While the Hindle Road, N2 and services crossings were fairly straightforward, except for the problem of groundwater, the R300 presented a particular challenge as unidentified concrete structures were found directly in our path at a depth of more than 8 m,” explained Field. “Our conventional vacuum pump dewatering techniques proved ineffective at these depths and well-point dewatering was employed,” he elaborated. “We opted for an additional jacking pit in the central median.” The underlying ground conditions and removal of the concrete structures has led to some unexpected subsidence on the R300, which, although stable, will form part of remedial work by the contractors during off-peak traffic conditions. Ironically, the contractors requested that the Department of Transport allow this crossing to be done by open-cut rather than jacking but the request was declined due to heavy traffic volumes on the R300.
Contact

Glenville Cullum – CEO Sobambisana Community Development. 021 907 1300 gcullum@powergrp.co.za

 

THESEN ISLANDS ‘CLEAN UP’ NATIONAL AWARDS

Knysna, 26 October 2005: Thesen Islands, the largest marina development in South Africa, has walked away with two major national awards in the construction and engineering industry.

Situated in the Knysna Lagoon, this unique residential and lifestyle development was awarded the coveted SAFCEC (South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors) Presidential award for Best Project 2005 and the SAICE (South African Institution of Civil Engineering) award as the Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement 2005.

The SAICE award recognised the consulting engineers on the Thesen Islands project, Arcus Gibb for a well-engineered civil project that portrays the art and science of civil engineering, presented to Thesen Islands in the category of ‘Technically Challenging Projects’.

The SAFCEC Presidential award was presented to Power Construction in recognition of the outstanding work delivered at Thesen Islands, particularly in terms of Environmental Impact, Marine Technical Challenges, and Job Creation.

Cited in 2000 by the (then) Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ms RT Mabudahfhasi as ‘the most comprehensive, professional and detailed Environmental Impact Assessment ever undertaken in South Africa, including St Lucia and Saldanha Steel’’, more than ten years of environmental research by the CSIR and renowned environmental specialists preceeded the Thesen Islands development. The project was undertaken in an extremely sensitive environmental area where the old island, which was utlised in a way that created a source of environmental pollution, was transformed into the current environment where nature was not only restored, but is in fact thriving.

With its location in a tidal zone, it was an extremely challenging project technically. Various innovative environment friendly practises were introduced, including the construction of natural rock packed gabions that form the banks of the waterways.

In terms of job creation it was one of the first significant economic developments seen on the Garden Route, creating some 2000 jobs and injecting more than R100m per annum into the local economy.

Says Willem Scholtz, Managing Director of the Thesen Islands Development Company: ‘These two significant awards are the result of a huge amount of dedication and teamwork by all involved in this project since its inception, including the recipients of the award - Power Construction and Arcus Gibb. What makes the Thesen Islands project all the more unique, is that the fields of construction and engineering do not generally go hand in hand with the improvement of the natural environment. Environmentally speaking, Thesen Islands is the most exciting development yet seen on the Garden Route, in that it not only restored, but considerably enhanced and improved the surrounding natural environment.’

He continued to say that the Thesen Islands development is a commercially successful project that has provided environmental solutions, which have added value to the greater Knysna area through engineering excellence. ‘I believe I speak for everyone concerned when I say that we are all immensely proud of what has been achieved here. It is not often that we as developers have the pleasant experience of exceeding our own delivery expectations,’ he concluded.

The 90-hectare private estate is spread across 19 islands in the Knysna Lagoon.   Eighteen of the islands are residential with six exclusive single home islands.   The islands are surrounded by tidal waterways, linked by bridges, with waterfront properties offering private jetties and beaches.

The project is currently nearing completion, with all of the 522 freehold stands sold out, and the second phase of the Dry Mill Apartments, the final residential opportunity on Thesen Islands, have been released for sale. Construction of the first phase of the Dry Mill Apartments is progressing well and visitors can view the fully furnished show unit. The commercial and retail hub Thesen Harbour Town is located in the historical heart of the old timber factory area and offers a lively mix of speciality shops, coffee shops and restaurants. Some of these are already operational and more will be completed by the end of the year. An Environmental Centre is also planned, which will be open to the public.

 

November 2005

Dis tyd vir raadsvergadering.

Graham Power, besturende direkteur van die Power-groep van maatskappye en onlangs aangewys as Die Burger en die Kaapstad Sakekamer se Sakeleier van die Jaar, neem sy plek in aan die hoof van die tafel. Soos gewoonlik begin hy by punt een op die agenda: Skriflesing en gebed.

Power is ‘n Christen-sakeman wat nie skroom om sedert sy bekering in 1999 sy Christenskap in sy werkplek uit te leef nie. Die uitmuntende sakeman is ook international bekend as dryfkrag agter die Transformasie Gebedsdag geleenthede wat in 2001 op Nuweland onstaan het.

“Daar behoort nie ‘n verskil te wees tussen gesonde sakestrategiee en Christelike sakebeginsels nie. In ons maatshappy is dit een. God se lewensreels is goeie sakebeginsels,” se Graham.
Meer as 1800 mense werk vir die 22 jaar oue, veelbekroonde multimiljoenrand sakeryk. Die sleutel tot sukses? “Ons dra die gesondheid en toekoms van ons maatskappy aan God op. Solank as wat ons aktief daaraan werk om ons personeel geestelik te bemagtig, weet ons die maatskappy is in God se hande. Ons glo ons bestuur dit net namens Hom.” Se Graham.
‘n Sterk gemeenskapsfokus is een van die praktiese uitvloeisels van Power se Christelike bestuurs-etiek.
Graham het in 1984 ‘n stal op die plaas Elandskloof omgeskep in ‘n kantoor en sy onderneming daar begin. Vandag is Elandsklood ‘n opvoedkundige wegbreekoord waarheen kinders uit voorheen benadeelde gemeenskappe naweke op geestelike kampe gaan. Die kampe is deel van ‘n uitgebreide lys opheffingsprojekte in die gemeenskap waarby die Power-groep betrokke is, onder meer Die Ark in Mannenberg (‘n tuiste vir haweloses) en Beautiful Gate in Cross Roads (‘n heenkome vir straatkinders). Die groep het sedert 1998 meer as 40 000 huise gebou in gemeenskappe waarby hulle betrokke is.
Binne die maatskappy se vier mure is daar ruimte om Christenskap voluit uit te leef. By die hoofkantoor is daar ‘n gebedskamer ingerig wat weekliks oor etenstyd deur meer as ‘n honderd werknemers besoek word. ‘n Nuusbrief hou almal ingelig oor versoeke vir gebed. Graham woon weekliks voor werk saam met werknemers ‘n byeenkoms van ‘n selgroep by.
Hy glo sterk st maatskappy is sy bedizening. “Dit is ‘n opdrag waarmee ek geseen is en ek wil graag die verantwoordelikheid dra solank as wat ek kan.”

Hy toets deurgans sy sakebeleid aan etiese vrae, soos of dit wettig is en hoe sal die besluit jou oor jouself laat voel.” Die sterk sin vir etiek het hom twee jaar gelede die respek van die sakegemeenskap gewen toe hy openlik bely het dat hy geld onwettige landuit geneem het.