Civil Engineering September 2021 | Vol 29 No 8

16 September 2021 Civil Engineering engineers often arrive on a job thinking they know everything, but the foremen are the ones you must listen to because they have a lot of practical background. I called them sir and they taught me a lot, including some strange things. For example, they taught me to always walk on the sides of a tunnel under construc- tion and never down the middle, because if a tunnel collapses it first collapses from the middle.” Another person who had a significant impact on Malcolm’s career was Ed Massey who was head of national roads while Malcolm was a young programming engineer. “He was very iconic person. He didn’t say a great deal, but he thought a lot. He was reputed to have been the youngest major in the British Army during World War II and he taught me a lot about intui- tion, ingenuity, thinking before acting and being balanced,” states Malcolm. The last major influence was Alan Loudon, who Malcolm describes as a bril- liant engineer who was once characterised as the best in the country. PERSONAL LIFE In his younger days Malcolm was an ar- dent sportsman and played hockey, rugby and squash. As he got older Malcolm took up bowls and, being an avid hiker, has hiked up most of the passes in the Drakensburg. History is another hobby of his and together with his wife he enjoys listening to classical music, particularly Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Malcolm is also connoisseur of wine, which he thoroughly enjoys tasting and col- lecting. He has undertaken studies through the Cape Wine Academy and reached a level just below a Cape Wine Master. While Malcolm has a long list of career achievements, on a more personal level he considers marrying his wife Marjorie a major achievement. The two were introduced by a school friend and married in 1959. Marjorie majored in mathematics and chemistry at the University of Natal, becoming a teacher, and later completed a degree in librarian- ship. She also started the Keep Hillcrest Beautiful Association, a voluntary associa- tion that aims to promote a cleaner and more beautiful environment. Malcolm and Marjorie are the proud parents of three sons and grandparents of nine grandchildren. Their oldest son is a medical doctor in Canada, the middle son is an Archdeacon in the Church of Ireland, and the youngest is veterinarian in New Zealand. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic Malcolm and Marjorie fre- quently travelled abroad to visit them. INVOLVEMENT WITH SAICE Malcolm joined SAICE as a student member in 1956 and has since been extensively involved with the Institution. Over the past 65 years he has served as Secretary of the Pietermaritzburg Branch, Chairperson of the Transportation Division, a member the SAICE Council and as a member of the Exco. He has also represented SAICE in various places including the Joint Consultative Committee, Construction Industry Development Board, and others. Malcolm sees great importance in voluntary associations and believes young engineers in particular should join SAICE. “In my early days I learnt a great deal from the SAICE transactions (what has since become the SAICE Journal and Civil Engineering magazine) and I saved them all for about 30 years. By reading and by interacting with other members you learn and develop a great deal,” he says. THOUGHTS ON THE INDUSTRY Reflecting on the civil engineering profes- sion today, Malcolm identifies two major concerns: issues related to the develop- ment of newly graduated engineers, and the lack of state capacity in the procure- ment of large infrastructure projects. “I believe that young engineers today are not different at all in competence and ability compared to the newly graduated engineers during my youth some sixty years ago. However, I am concerned with the availability and perhaps too extensive use of CAD programmes during their developmental phase,” says Malcolm. While computerisation can be of great use in achieving optimal design solutions, he worries that the extensive use of CAD can dampen young engineers’ ability to gain of an understanding of, and famili- arity with, basic engineering principles. “Engineering is as much an art as a sci- ence and intuition based on sound experi- ence is invaluable. A prime example of this would be in tunnelling operations where intuition is very important in making immediate decisions on the soundness of the tunnel ‘hanging’ without providing expensive and time-consuming support.” The other area of concern to Malcolm is the current and long-standing lack of capacity in most public sector bodies tasked with implementing major infra- structure projects. Until the early 1970s projects of this type were, for the most part, very successfully carried out in-house using skilled departmental engineers, and the public sector offered a good training ground for young engineers. However, the public sector never recovered from the mass exodus of experienced engineers during the 1970s – a situation which has been exacerbated by cadre deployment. “While a vibrant private sector com- ponent of the civil engineering industry is essential, competent public sector infrastructure bodies, carrying out major projects in-house, are also necessary in a country’s development. There are many good reasons for this, too numerous to mention, but it is essential that steps be taken to once again build up these institutions by luring competent and ex- perienced professional civil engineers into their folds,” concludes Malcolm.  Construction underway on the Huguenot Tunnel