Civil Engineering September 2021 | Vol 29 No 8

Civil Engineering September 2021 13 the important aspects in a logical way, as proposed below: Q Q Define the four corners of the topic. For transport, the corner pieces are infrastructure, services, people and goods, making up the basic definition. Q Q Identify and list the matters that are important for sustainable transport and place them in the puzzle. Q Q The four corner pieces (infrastructure, services, people and goods) and the two picture pieces (movement of goods to and from industries and moving people) represent the basic transport definition. The other pieces represent the transportation wheel metaphor elements, i.e. the factors affecting sustainable transport (see Figure 2). A metaphor helps to see invisible or unfamiliar things by comparing them to visible and familiar things. The inven- tion of the wheel is probably the most important technological development in transport. The transport wheel metaphor (see Figure 3) therefore helps to show and understand the multi-disciplinary nature of transport: Q Q The transport authority is at the centre of the wheel and can thus be considered as the centre of operations. It in turn carries out its operations through the promulgation of various acts, regulations and bylaws. Without the transport authority, the transport system will be dysfunctional. Q Q The three most critical spokes, without which the wheel would collapse, are infrastructure, transport systems, and finance. Q Q The other spokes of the wheels are the other elements that the transport au- thority needs to continually assess and take into account when evaluating the effectiveness of its transport systems. Q Q For the transportation wheel to turn, a driver is required. This driver is sym- bolised by the arrow at the top right of the transportation wheel. In real life this represents the human resources required to do the planning, design and maintenance of the transport system. PROPOSED ACTIONS The above process needs to be followed for each of the DNA strands required. Once all the pieces of the puzzle have been identified, the availability of post- graduate courses being offered by tertiary institutions and voluntary associations needs to be identified. Of course, there will be different levels and depth of knowledge for each course to allow the development of professionals from a fundamental level of knowledge to an advanced level of knowledge. The gaps in knowledge develop- ment, i.e. pieces in the puzzle, for which inadequate courses are available need to be listed through partnerships between SAICE and the learning institutions. Appropriate courses need be developed to allow the structured growth of profes- sionals, enabling them to become experts and/or specialists. This will support the industry, and in particular the members of SAICE, to: Q Q Develop a brand identity across all SAICE education and training activities Q Q Create structured career development beyond the professional registration stage to ensure there are competent specialists and experts in every spe- cialist field and sub-field in both the public and private sectors Q Q Develop technical materials to en- hance SAICE’s role as a learned society starting with textbooks for students Q Q Engage with the public sector and state-owned enterprises to identify where capacity building in the infra- structure space is critically required and formalise agreements for support from experts and/or specialists.  TRANSPORTATION WHEEL METAPHOR 13 Sep 2021 NWU TRANSPORT ENGINEERING PROGRAMME Skills LAND USE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FINANCE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Figure 3 The transportation wheel metaphor TRANSPORT AUTHORITY POLICY Operational Performance Tiers of Government And SOE’s Financial Economic and Social Implications Infra- structure MoE’s / KPI’s Alternative System Options Road User Costs User Pay Principles Safety & Security Road User Life Cycle Aspects Institutional Framework Standards and Serviceability Infrastructure Growth Considerations Modes Of Transport LEGISLATION & REGULATION Project Prioritisation Transport Improvement Projects IMPLEMEN- TATION 13 Sep 2021 TRANSPORT GOVERNANCE / AUTHORIT EXPERT KNOWLEDGE AREAS Climate Change Aspects Asset Management NLTA & Other Applicable Legislation Figure 4 Transport governance / authority expert knowledge areas