When providing well-crafted technical services, grasping regulatory and community considerations are crucial, as these increasingly affect the results of the engineering solutions on offer, says global consulting engineering company SRK Consulting CEO Andrew van Zyl.

A common theme in the industry is the rapidly evolving regulations relating to water, environment, sustainability and governance factors – including the rapid evolution of voluntary and compulsory reporting requirements and the need for compliance and alignment.

SRK Consulting is frequently involved in helping clients by regularly providing them with updates on these requirements, and by applying the regulations to planned projects.

This invariably means the early involvement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists who can collaborate closely with various stakeholders in the more technical disciplines, to lay the foundation for smooth and predictable permitting, thereby keeping projects on schedule and avoiding fatal flaws.

The company notes that engineering solutions must not only be innovative and effective but also comply with legal requirements that are often complex to manage. There may also be a need for early and ongoing social engagements to ensure the buy-in and involvement of community stakeholders.

SRK Consulting is involved in conceptual, prefeasibility and feasibility studies in Africa. Apart from its South African work, the company has projects under way in several countries on the continent including Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Namibia and Zambia.

There are ongoing opportunities to bring the company’s ESG specialists into projects to ensure that the solutions provided are relevant and robust.

SRK advocates that climate change considerations must be factored into projects from the design stage so that future environmental conditions can be modelled, and designs adjusted appropriately.

“An interesting aspect of our work is that it often has not only a local component but a regional or even multinational component. A mining project in the DRC will be driven by our Lubumbashi office but may draw in specialists from South Africa or Ghana. When the owner of a project is based in China, our work may also involve experts from our Beijing office,” he explains.

Most of the company’s clients have ambitious sustainability targets, meaning that their multidisciplinary teams invariably include ESG professionals who ensure that the company’s technical solutions integrate with and address a range of sustainability concerns.

Skills Development, Quality Standards

There is ongoing collaboration within SRK Consulting’s global practices to ensure that the highest levels of expertise and experience are applied to each project to advance the development of engineering skills.

The company has a strong base of skills across many disciplines – from geology, mining and geotechnical to environmental and social impact, enabling the company to mentor new entrants and build expertise with world-class standards in mind.

Van Zyl says clients must also be able to monitor and measure their operations and interventions, adding that, with the application of digital and other technologies, consulting engineers are playing an important role in helping clients to gather relevant data and use it to drive their sustainability agendas.

Aligning its standards to ensure quality, safety and compliance is an important aspect of the company’s work, as this helps clients to maintain the highest level of performance and best practice in their operations.

“There is considerable change and uncertainty in the market, but good engineering design underpins every successful project by ensuring cost-effective solutions that reduce waste and minimise risk to communities and staff. These factors remain a priority for clients, irrespective of the prevailing economic, social and political climate,” Van Zyl concludes.