It’s been a busy year so far at MiTek South Africa with the focus on rolling out our new PAMIR design software. In his latest leadership update, we hear from Herman Lombard, Managing Director of MiTek South Africa, about our latest projects, training updates, and the benefits that PAMIR has brought to our customers…
Inflation may be posing a challenge for some in the construction industry at the moment, but here at MiTek we remain undeterred and focused on how we can provide help and support to our customers.
This year, we’ve been working hard on the roll-out of our innovative PAMIR design software, engineered to deliver increased functionality.
The introduction of the new roof cover calculator is aimed at helping our customers to save precious time. Finer details like new 0.5mm Ultra-Span web options and added truss configurations will open up more possibilities.
The transition to the new software is a significant upgrade and customers are beginning to appreciate the benefits of the new software now they’ve seen what it can do. The ability to generate rapid, precise, and detailed 3D drawings has been a revolutionary shift, setting a new standard in design excellence.
A feat of engineering
Not all of our challenges are linked to the economy. MiTek often takes on projects which are technically difficult, but we don’t let this put us off! A case in point is the work we’ve been doing in Chad.
The country’s N’Djamena Cathedral was completed back in 1965, and stood for years as a striking testament to the Church’s often-overlooked influence. Unfortunately, during the turbulent 1980s, its distinctive arched roof was destroyed.
Fast-forward to now and we realised that by using Ultra-Span, we could split the weight of the roof across 850 centres, with trusses clustered quite close together. That minimised the point load effect on the foundations.
Today the roof is an impressive construction, representing the single biggest use of steel on any MiTek South Africa project; 96 tonnes of light gauge. We overcame many issues including logistics challenges, which meant the steel couldn’t come through nearby Cameroon. It had to travel through Spain, and via Algeria by road to reach Chad.
The finished result is a great testament to our innovative approach, willingness to tackle the impossible, and deliver complex projects on time and below the original designer’s budget!
MiTek training
One of the foundations of the way MiTek works is by helping to provide training to support our clients. We want all our people, and the wider construction sector, to be properly equipped to do the best job they can. That’s why we set great store in approaches like CPD. We’ve just started to roll out a CPD course for engineers where we speak about the design code, the engineers’ responsibilities, and what they have to look out for when they sign off on projects.
Building work that goes uninspected by a competent engineer inevitably runs into problems, usually within 10-15 years. Out-of-plumb structures buckle, timber creeps in the hot climate, and when it comes to renewables, adding today’s solar technology on top of a compromised structure is just not advisable.
Often there’s a will to improve and to learn, but the resources to enable this change to happen simply aren’t available.
Our new CPD course is endorsed by the South African Institute for Steel Construction (SAISC), and the ITC have been encouraging all our customers to participate as a way of encouraging everyone to apply the same industry quality standards properly. We know there’s some work to do to bring the whole sector in line and this is our way of contributing towards that important goal.
Looking ahead
For us, our immediate focus is to continue with the roll-out of PAMIR and the training associated with this.
We’d also like to see new steel fabricators join our growing Ultra-Span customer lists and see more varied projects take advantage of our innovative products.
In short, we know it’s a challenging time, but MiTek is here to provide support to help the industry Design Make and Build.
