Engineering and environmental consultant SSI are focusing on three key elements, namely sustainability, business integrity and corporate responsibility, says SSI CEO Naren Bhojaram.
He says that the consulting engineering industry has had to change the way that it operates, which resulted in SSI implementing mandatory systems for its engineers to ensure sustainability in designs.
“From a consulting engineering perspective, independence is important. We are sometimes forced to tell clients what they might not want to hear,” says Bhojaram.
SSI is also focusing on operation and maintenance, especially in increasing energy efficiency in infrastructure. He says that energy efficiency and long-term operational maintenance costs have become increasingly important.
Bhojaram says that the company also focuses on business integrity, which should be a core value of the consulting industry. Industry association Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) is developing an initiative to increase business integrity awareness by its members. Bhojaram is involved with Cesa in developing the related policy documentation.
SSI has a business integrity management system to tackle corruption and the company, specifically, will not work in certain countries owing to a lack of business integrity.
The consultancy has also developed a corporate responsibility management system that is divided into three different and fundamental legs: corporate social responsibility, corporate internal responsibility and corporate project responsibility.
Under corporate social responsibility, SSI runs a Saturday school for previously disadvantaged children in five different centres, located in Pretoria, Alexandra, Bloemfontein, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Each centre coaches about 25 Grade 12 learners in mathematics, science and technical drawing to encourage them to take up technical careers.
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