Firstly, let me say a big thank you to all of you who have grown with us over the last 20 years and welcome to those that have recently joined us. Yes, that's right - this year Knowledge Base turns 20!

It gives us great satisfaction to see how CIVIL DESIGNER has progressed to become the South African industry standard that it is today, and furthermore, to see it increasingly being used throughout Africa, Europe, Australasia and the Far East. Today our integrated suite of modules combine seamlessly and simply gives you more powerful and beneficial functionality than other packages on the market.

It's a landmark year for us and some big changes have been taking place as we prepare to leap into the next decade. We look forward to passing these benefits on to you through our software and support services over the coming year. We're excited to see the all new CAD engine for CIVIL DESIGNER currently in its final beta testing phase. This will allow for some great new functionality for CIVIL DESIGNER including 3D design capabilities. Our programmers are hard at work integrating the new functionality throughout all the CIVIL DESIGNER modules and we expect this to be completed by the beginning of next year. We promise to keep you updated.

Now, what's really exciting is that "South Africa is rolling out the biggest infrastructure development programme in the developing world," according to Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge. He also indicated that a total of R4,1 billion is to be spent between now and the end of March 2012 on an expanded public works programme (EPWP) to support existing infrastructure projects funded by provinces and municipalities. This is exciting news for everyone involved in infrastructure development and CIVIL DESIGNER looks forward to embracing this positive direction that the new government is taking and being part of it all.

In Cape Town, the oldest city in South Africa with the oldest infrastructure in the country, plans have been made to spend R786 million upgrading our water and sanitation infrastructure in the next financial year. "The City needs to avoid another Eskom crisis by upgrading before it's too late," said Alderman Clive Justus, Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services.

Over the past three years the City has accelerated pipe replacements from 7,4 km per year to the current year-to-date 33.8 km, and hopes to complete 40 km of pipeline by the end of this financial year. The City is beginning an ongoing sewer replacement programme and has conducted a city-wide audit of the sewer system's 9,000 km of pipelines according to Lungile Dhlamini (Director: Water and Sanitation). South Africa's new President Jacob Zuma highlighted these programmes as key mitigation responses to the current global and national recession and emphasised that they will have a huge impact on job creation, which is good news for all of us in South Africa.
 

Features and Functionality

Erf Connections in the Sewer Module
The sewer network analysis and design module provides interactive drawing functionality for rapid model definition. The program handles calculations like inflows with attenuation and dynamic time simulation as well as flows, overflows, sizes, invert levels and slopes with ease.

Sewer in Midblock

Sewer in Road Reserve

Claim 90% of your Future Software Cost

Did you know that the Department of Trade and Industry offer to contribute up to 90% of the cost of your software as a business development service. The maximum amount you can qualify for is a R100 000 towards the procurement of CIVIL DESIGNER and AllyCAD software. Additionally you can get a grant for training on the software for up to R15 000 (ex vat) per individual. To qualify, your company will need to meet the following requirements:

• Majority black owned
• Maximum annual turnover of R12 million per annum.
• Must have a minimum trading history of one year.

Please contact us for information about applying for the grant.
 

Forum Focus

CIVIL DESIGNER clients can access the Support Forum which allows interaction with other users and with the software developers. The platform allows you to share valuable macros, post new topics, reply to topics, attach and download files. Free registration allows immediate access. Register for the Forum here
 

Good For A Laugh

Civil Designer Student Awards

The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Surveying at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) held their annual prize giving ceremony on Wednesday 20 May 2009 in recognition of students who performed exceptionally well in the 2008 academic year. The best CIVIL DESIGNER Project went to Mr D. W. Terblanche and Mr W. van Rooyen. Knowledge Base was pleased to acknowledge the success of these emerging professionals and congratulate them on their outstanding academic achievements.
 

Visits and Training Activities

Our Customer Consultants will be involved in the following upcoming visits and training activities. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss your training or product needs. Please call us on (021) 701-1850.

If you are interested in training, please call us to discuss your training needs. All courses are CPD and ISETT SETA accredited.

Show crossing pipes on a road cross section

This Tech Tip explains how to show crossing pipes on generated road cross sections and how to modify the sheetfile to show additional information about the crossing pipe. View this Tech Tip.
 

Percy Makofane,
Sigodi Marah Martin, 
Gauteng
 

Percy Makofane was raised in a small village in Mpumalanga. As with many rural areas, the roads and other infrastructure services were in a very bad condition. Growing up under these circumstances, Percy decided to make a difference. His decision to pursue a qualification in civil engineering therefore came as no surprise. More..
 

CIVIL DESIGNER 6.5
- Build 12 patch files (12/06/2009)

NETWORK SERVER
- Build 12 patch files (12/06/2009)

NETWORK CLIENT
- Build 12 (12/06/2009)

HASP Driver Update
- (14/10/2008)
 

The flow calculations, pipe clash and long-section functions of CIVIL DESIGNER's Sewer Module have been used extensively in the N2 Gateway Project, Buffalo City Municipality and other large scale infrastructure projects.
 

You can now own CIVIL DESIGNER via a 'Lease to Own' payment option over a 12, 24 or 36 month plan. This option is available to South African clients only. Please email info@civildesigner.com for details.
 

Access the Support Forum here.
Email the Support Centre.

Tel: 086 0101 999 (South Africa only)
Tel: +27 21 7011850 (International)

Free upgrades and full access to our Support Centre is provided for 12 months after purchasing new software. Thereafter annual support subscriptions are charged at 13% of the product purchase price.
 

The Outsourcing Centre offers a dedicated engineering support team who handle infrastructural design tasks ranging from data capture and drafting through to GIS related assignments. The team is available to assist with project deadlines and data can be presented in any format required. Contact bureau@knowbase.co.za for further details.