{"id":15704,"date":"2018-11-13T12:59:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T12:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za.dedi735.jnb2.host-h.net\/?p=15704"},"modified":"2020-08-06T19:03:12","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T19:03:12","slug":"a-shining-example-of-a-world-class-south-african-consulting-engineering-firm-achieving-the-economic-transformation-aims-of-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/a-shining-example-of-a-world-class-south-african-consulting-engineering-firm-achieving-the-economic-transformation-aims-of-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"A shining example of a world-class South African Consulting Engineering Firm achieving the economic transformation aims of the country"},"content":{"rendered":"

13 November 2018<\/i> Multi award winning civil engineering consultancy Knight Pi\u00e9sold, has proved that it is possible to become a truly transformed multi-national organization that embraces South Africa\u2019s BBBEE imperatives as responsible corporate citizens. Having recently achieved Level 1 BBBEE accreditation through the training and development of local staff and shareholders as well as enterprise development and participation in meaningful CSI initiatives, the 97-year old firm is a proudly South African company that invests its profits locally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Knight Pi\u00e9sold achieved Level 1 BBBEE and 57% black shareholding through organic change and meaningful, sustainable transformation. All the company\u2019s shareholders are full-time employees, having grown and developed into leadership positions in the firm. Although smaller in size than its foreign-owned competitors, the company has significant global reach through its branch offices across the world.<\/p>\n

Despite being the oldest civil engineering consultancy in South Africa, Knight Pi\u00e9sold is young at heart, with the average age of its employees being just 39 years. This youthfulness is also reflected in the company\u2019s management structures, with their Exco having an average age of just 39.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, Knight Pi\u00e9sold won fourteen awards from industry associations including Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA); the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) and the Institute of Municipal Engineers (IMESA). This is the highest number of awards won by a firm this year and is recognition of the company\u2019s excellence in engineering, business and mentorship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Knight Pi\u00e9sold has proved that it is possible for a world-class South African-owned consulting engineering firm to thrive in the global arena, while operating in harmony with the transformation goals of its home country.<\/p>\n

Vishal Haripersad, Managing Director of Knight Pi\u00e9sold states, \u201cWe are proud of our transformational journey, we believe in the scorecard we have attained, we believe in empowering businesses and people, we have never believed in buying shortcuts to transformation within our organization, we do not see it as a mere cost on the balance sheet but as an imperative for the sustainable economic growth of the country. We have taken a measured approach to achieving real, sustainable transformation within our organization and through a carefully managed journey, achieved Level 2 B-BBEE in 2010 and now Level 1 in terms of the revised Construction Codes. We are proud to say that all our shareholders are not only full-time employees of the organization but real assets in our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an initiative aimed at improving the lives of future generations, Knight Pi\u00e9sold has focused on developing the next generation of South African engineers through investments in mathematics and science at secondary schools throughout South Africa. Haripersad says that we cannot complain about the lack or quality of engineering students if we have not played a role in their development. In 2019, Knight Pi\u00e9sold will make ten bursaries available to first year Civil Engineering students. The qualifying criteria are tough but fair, with deserving students required to achieve a minimum of 75% in pure Mathematics and Science.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Haripersad believes that much work is needed to change the attitude, values and mindsets of our children to bring them to the understanding that success is within their reach and can be achieved with hard work, dedication and support from caring benefactors such as Knight Pi\u00e9sold.\u00a0 <\/span>The company is working on a number of exciting initiatives in order to achieve this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Haripersad passionately states, \u201cThere is no shortcut to success! We are working together with stakeholders that include the general public, business and government to create a culture of respect, performance and hard work. We have asked ourselves what we as an industry should be doing to create the future we want to see and have implemented the actions required to achieve this goal.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Knight Pi\u00e9sold Southern Africa 2018 Awards:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

South African Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE) Regional Awards<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner: Engineer of the Year, Amal Doorgapershad, Pr Eng<\/p>\n

Winner: Engineer of the Year, Kendall Slater, Pr Eng<\/p>\n

3rd Place: Gamsberg 4Mtpa Zinc Mine Project, Geotechnical Category<\/p>\n

Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) Aon Awards:<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner: Mentor of the Year, Graham Jennings, Pr Eng<\/p>\n

Winner: Business Excellence<\/p>\n

Winner: Job Shadow Day Poster<\/p>\n

Commendation: Mentoring Company of the Year<\/p>\n

Commendation: Rehabilitation of Main Road between Atlantic Road, Muizenberg and Clovelly Road Project<\/p>\n

Commendation: Best International Project, Von Bach Dam<\/p>\n

South African Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE) National Awards:<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner: Gamsberg 4Mtpa Zinc Mine Project, Geotechnical Category<\/p>\n

Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA) Excellence Awards: Engineering Excellence in Structures & Civils<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner: Western Aqueduct Project<\/p>\n

3rd Place: Rehabilitation of Main Road between Atlantic Road, Muizenberg and Clovelly Road Project<\/p>\n

Construction World Awards:<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner: Rehabilitation of Main Road between Atlantic Road, Muizenberg and Clovelly Road Project<\/p>\n

High Commendation: The Neckartal Dam Project<\/p>\n

About Knight Pi\u00e9sold<\/b><\/p>\n

Knight Pi\u00e9sold is an employee-owned global consulting firm that provides specialized services to the mining, power, water resources, infrastructure, and oil and gas industries. They are engineers, environmental scientists, geoscientists, and technologists who focus on creating value at every stage of a project through quality driven, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions. Established in South Africa in 1921, Knight Pi\u00e9sold has expanded its reach into a global network of over 750 professionals based in offices in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

13 November 2018 Multi award winning civil engineering consultancy Knight Pi\u00e9sold, has proved that it is possible to become a truly transformed multi-national organization that embraces South Africa\u2019s BBBEE imperatives as responsible corporate citizens. Having recently achieved Level 1 BBBEE accreditation through the training and development of local staff and shareholders as well as enterprise development and participation in meaningful CSI initiatives, the 97-year old firm is a proudly South African company that invests its profits locally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knight-piesold","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}