Civil Engineering September 2022 | Vol 30 No 8

Civil Engineering September 2022 23 Present proposals that comply with the hydraulic requirements and the geometric design of the road. Q Q Propose appropriate construc- tion methods including traffic accommodation. Q Q Present the costs under typical bill of quantity sections and include design fees, contingencies, CPA and VAT. Q Q Undertake the economic analysis using the appropriate economic costs (not financial) and the latest available input parameters. Q Q List any other elements that can have an impact on the deliverability of the projects, including land acquisition, utility relocation, environmental impacts and how these are to be mitigated. In addition to the above, convey the mes- sage better in the summary report and presentation by: Q Q Providing calculations that are correct. Q Q Making use of sketches and draw- ings as much as possible to illustrate descriptions. A table listing the start and end chainages of climbing lanes in each direction does not convey pro- posals to the reader as well as a simple sketch on a map does. Q Q Referencing sections in the report, or other reports, such as the full assessment report, study reports or the concept design report, containing source information. These references should be on hand if queried. Q Q Providing context where something “looks out of the ordinary” so that the reader understands the rationale behind the proposal. Q Q Getting someone else to proofread the report for logical consistency and editing. CONCLUSION The Gateway Review Stage 2 of the project process within FIDPM is an assurance mechanism and requirement of National Treasury where concepts are reviewed to ensure that project designs are fit-for- purpose and provide value for money for the South African taxpayer. There are guidelines for the content of the reports after each design stage, but no guidelines for the contents of the summary submissions for the Gateway Reviews. Often these summaries are verbatim extracts from parts of the full reports. Seldom are they combined in a logical sequence with commentary that combines the different parts with references. This makes them difficult to follow and can raise more questions than necessary because important pieces of information are missing. The summary can also lack focus because the strategic context is missing at the start. While projects are all different, and the suggestions provided here are not all-inclusive, if there is anything that the reader takes away from this, it is to realise that even though we as engineers may be technically proficient, we still need to convey our work to others. Consider your audience and their constraints in either time or subject proficiency. It does not take much time to put the project in context at the beginning and follow a logical process to the recommendations.  “Well begun is half done.” – Aristotle REFERENCES COTO. 2018. TRH 26 South African Road Classification and Access Management Manual. Pretoria: South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited. Focus on: National Treasury Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management. 2016. Civilution. National Treasury. Available: http:// ocpo.treasury.gov.za/About_Us/ Strategic_Areas/infrastructure%20 procurement%20and%20delivery%20 management/2016-01%20SIPDM- complete.pdf . Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management. 2015. National Treasury. Available: http:// ocpo.treasury.gov.za/Resource_Centre/ Legislation/Annexure%20A%20-%20 Standard%20for%20Infrastructure%20 Procurement%20and%20Delivery%20 Management.pdf . SAICE: SIPDM Training Seminars; May 2017. Available: https://saice.org.za/ national-treasury-sipdm-training/ . Framework for Infrastructure Delivery and Procurement Management. 2019. National Treasury. Available: https://cdn.ymaws. com/www.safcec.org.za/resource/ resmgr/construction_legislation/fipdm/ fipdm_2019.pdf . South Africa