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The assignment - to design and produce construction
drawings for the complex network of sewerage lines and
main collectors linked directly into 13 000 homes
spread over an area of about 1 000 hectares and
involving the laying of over 120kms of pipes - fell to
the expertise of BCP Engineers (Pty) Ltd.
“Township and infrastructure development is one of our
specialist areas, and we were technologically well
geared for this big operation,” says BCP director
Meyer Cronje.
The Gauteng province department of housing is the
funding body for the Palm Ridge development, and has
identified it as one of its current ‘Focus Area’
projects.
The conversion of what was originally a squatter camp
into a formal township began in 1998, with the
installation of main and collector sewers. Phase 2 in
2001 saw the completion of house collection and
reticulation lines to 2 500 erven, while Phase 3 has
so far this year seen the connection of another 7 500
erven into the expanding services network. That leaves
just over 3 000 erven still to be connected in the
course of the final Phase 4, and, according to Cronje,
that is due for completion by June 2004.
To design and draw the matrix of sewerage reticulation
lines, BCP Engineers has employed |
specialist design software – specifically, Civil
Designer, a suite of fully interactive design modules
and one of the most popular software packages
currently in use by civil engineers. The modules –
among them Sewer, as used by BCP – together form an
integrated data-gathering, drawing and
surface-modeling and design system, developed by
software specialists Knowledge Base.
“We had a choice of three design packages, but opted
for Civil Designer, and we’re glad we did,” Cronje
says. “It is a fantastic tool. It redefines your whole
thinking about ‘hands-on design and draughting.’ In
mapping the routes and optimizing levels and depths of
sewerage reticulation lines, it produces detailed
reticulation layouts, longitudinal sections and
schedules of quantities. It has enabled us to cut down
on design times dramatically. In fact I would guess we
have saved at least 60% design time.”
Survey+Terrain, Roads, Stormwater and Map are among
the other models in the Civil Designer package, but
for the Palm Ridge project, BCP Engineers used Sewer
exclusively.
“When you have many kilometres of pipes fanning out in
all directions, where every pipe and manhole must lie
at a specifically calculated level, Civil Designer is
a great tool for assisting your thinking and
planning,” Cronje says. |
