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Stellenbosch-based Agile Business Technology (ABT) has partnered with US group OpenSpace to launch its 360° capture and artificial intelligence (AI) platform for construction projects in South Africa.

By using the 360° images generated in OpenSpace to document an evolving jobsite, teams can radically improve their collaboration, says ABT architecture, engineering and construction solutions director Jaco Barnard.

The software also makes it easier do quality control, note progress, and do inspections to help identify safety hazards.

The technology can even be leveraged as a point of reference following project completion to assist owners and facilities teams to resolve any outstanding issues, adds Barnard.

Founded in 2017, OpenSpace is an AI technology company that aims to bring “new levels of transparency and efficiency to construction and real estate projects”.

Every construction project (big or small) has many role players who need to see the site and know what is happening.

Until now, the only options open to these role players were to look at hundreds of pictures with little context of location, or video calling someone from the site.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also made actual site visits very difficult over the last two-and-a-half years.

“To date, our customers have used OpenSpace to capture more than seven-billion square feet of imagery from active construction projects across thousands of sites in over 75 countries,” explains the US company.

“Imagine checking in on your site from the comfort of your office or even your home. No need to catch red-eye flights or live in expensive hotels — simply ask someone to take a walk and you can virtually visit the site that same day.”

Construction companies also use the platform to “automatically capture a complete visual record of the jobsite, providing a single source of truth that increases coordination, drives accountability, and simplifies dispute resolution”.

How it Works

Anyone on site can put on the helmet with the camera attached, connect their phone, start recording, and upload the footage to Openspace.ai after they have walked the site.

From there, OpenSpace promises to do the heavy lifting.

Using AI, computer vision, three-dimensional reconstruction and machine learning, the user's position is plotted on the floor plan and the 360° images are generated.

By clicking on the dots on the screen, viewers can move around as they please and see the site with a 360˚ view.

Additional features such as Split View and Field Notes allow viewers to compare the site to previous walkthroughs, and to also download a pdf report with the location and time of any field notes taken.

This processing happens in less than an hour.

Barnard says ABT sells a subscription, with clients then able to use the software on as many projects as they like for a 12-month period.

“We are targeting construction companies, as well as construction companies’ clients.”

Barnard says OpenSpace can work equally well on anything from a simple building project to more complicated industrial and underground projects.

“All you need is adequate light. The camera, mounted on a hard hat, has its own WiFi.

“What really stands out about this product is that it is so easy to use,” notes Barnard. “You put on the camera, you press play and you start walking.”

Eskom Holdings said it will give the transmission unit that it’s transforming into a separate entity a R39.9-billion loan to make sure it can complete projects and be financially viable.

The loan will be guaranteed by the transmission unit’s assets with Eskom’s creditors able to call on them if the utility doesn’t pay them, it said in a presentation to creditors on Thursday. Government guarantees will remain in place. The company will be known as the National Transmission Company of South Africa, or NTCSA.

Eskom’s board will approve an annual borrowing plan for the transmission company and this will come in the form of inter-company loans, the utility said. Any borrowing over and above the plan will need to be approved by Eskom.

The South African state power utility, which is R396-billion in debt, is separating into transmission, generation and distribution units that will operate as separate entities in a bid to improve its operational and financial performance. The company has subjected South Africa to intermittent power outages since 2008.

The transmission unit, which will be the first business to be separated, will take control of employees, contracts and assets when all conditions are met including obtaining licenses from the national power regulator.

TRANSMISSION NETWORK

Its purpose is to act as a national transmission network operator and a system market operator, allowing it to take in electricity from Eskom and privately run power plants as well as channeling imports from countries such as Mozambique.

The company’s assets and liabilities will match at R80.5-billion each and will include a R20.8-billion equity injection from Eskom, according to the presentation. From later this year the regulator will be asked to determine a separate transmission tariff, which will provide the company with revenue, while Eskom will still use a generation and distribution tariff.

“The resulting specific transmission tariff should be sufficient to enable NTCSA to run its operations in a manner that is cost efficient,” Eskom said in the presentation.

As South Africa continues on its journey towards realising a just energy transition (JET), workers and unions have expressed their support for the move and for alternative sources of energy to be part of the energy mix, provided that labour plays a significant role, that its views are taken on board and that a social-ownership model is pursued.

Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) organisational development head Krister Janse van Rensburg emphasises that a transition to a low-carbon development path is crucial to addressing climate change and resolving “the deep crisis” the South African economy finds itself in.

AMCU’s position on the need for a working-class-led JET was set out five years ago, and the union is resolute that the issue of climate change should be dealt with in the context of South Africa’s reality of extreme inequality, mass unemployment and underdevelopment, he says.

The union embraced the goal of a low- carbon transition as early as 2017 because of the possibility of creating considerable climate jobs by following a public pathway approach to reduce the carbon intensity of the economy.

Janse van Rensburg explains that the union defines a ‘climate job’ as one that helps to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

“Decarbonising our energy sector, expanding our public transport in ways that take polluting trucks and cars off the road, retrofitting buildings to enhance energy efficiency and agroecology are all examples of the potential for creating climate jobs,” he notes.

AMCU adopted Resolution 5, which deals with environmental issues, including the issue of a just transition, at its national congress on September 20, 2019.

Janse van Rensburg emphasises that the just transition must be designed in such a way that it ensures that industries remain sustainable and that it stimulates economic growth that will drive social progress.

Before South Africa can embark on any systematic form of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable-energy sources, it is critical to conduct a series of thorough and proper socioeconomic-impact assessments, he notes.

Areas that are likely to be most affected by the possible closures of fossil-fuel-based energy operations must be prioritised and addressed through meaningful consultation, similar to what transpired around the special economic zones already implemented in South Africa, Janse van Rensburg says.

What is needed is a well-planned energy transition to attain the long-term goal of an economy based on renewable and other forms of low-carbon energy. However, this goal should be achieved using a gradual and phased process, with every phase matched with industrialisation and beneficiation, as well as the upskilling of workers, to ensure that economic development and social progress are furthered, he advocates.

Meanwhile, insight into the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM’s) stance on the JET can be gleaned from its ‘Just Transition and the Energy Sector’ report, which the union presented for discussion and adoption during its yearly congress in March.

The NUM indicated during the conference that trade unions were not opposed to the ultimate objective of the country’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, but there were reservations about how the concept was defined and about the proposed path to achieve that objective.

A key concern for both AMCU and the NUM is the anticipated loss of jobs and livelihoods, especially in the energy and mining sectors, resulting in their reluctance to fully embrace the JET.

The reservations stem from, besides others, calls by some just energy proponents for an immediate halt to coal use, as well as little consideration of the opportunity cost and socioeconomic implications of phasing coal out, the NUM noted at its conference.

The union also pointed out that unresolved questions, such as the future of coal and what an appropriate pace of the transition should be, remained.

Concerning the potential pathways that are bei...

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the progress being made with the registration of distributed generation projects; load-shedding; Eskom consulting with experts about possible energy sector solutions; and President Cyril Ramaphosa's six-point plan for dealing with the country's electricity challenges.

GoMetro has convened a project team consisting of companies and researchers to test the first electric minibus in South African conditions by January next year.

GoMetro, a global mobility management technology company with its head office in Cape Town, has collected data on taxi operations across South Africa for the last five years.

The project team consists of GoMetro, MiX Telematics, HSW, ACDC Dynamics, and various entities within Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Engineering.

The team will conduct extensive testing in and around the town of Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape, while also aiming to put the electrification of the minibus taxi sector on the national agenda by means of an educational roadshow across the country during the course of next year.

A number of viable electric minibus taxi models from various markets have been identified, the first of which will be on local shores by the end of the year.

The acceptance and practicality of the model (not named) will be tested with taxi owners and drivers, in order to identify the use-cases and conditions where an electric taxi would make the most sense.

“Taxi drivers and owners are very interested and intrigued by the idea of an electric minibus taxi, and are constantly asking us when the first electric minibus taxi will arrive on our shores,” says GoMetro CEO Justin Coetzee.

“We have built valuable relationships with a large number of taxi associations, and the ever-increasing fuel price is a massive concern among owners, drivers and riders alike, as there does not seem to be any relief in sight.

“The industry has long acknowledged that business as usual will not suffice, and that change is required, especially after the effects of Covid-19,” says Coetzee.

The team says the aim of testing various models over the coming months is to establish which vehicle will be best suited to the South African public transport environment, and to determine what spectrum of operations are conducive to the range capabilities of the vehicles.

In addition to testing the vehicle itself, the project team wants to engage with the local automotive sector and policy makers to encourage proactive discussions with government around the reduction of electric vehicle (EV) duties (currently up to 25%) and the promotion of the adoption of EVs in the transport sector.

Toyota is current market leader in the minibus sector, with the Hiace Ses’fikile produced at its Durban plant.

Professor Thinus Booysen, research chair in the Internet of Things at Stellenbosch University, will lead the team of testing experts.

“The informal taxi sector must transform to EVs, but little is known about their energy requirements.

“This unknown is overshadowed by our energy scarcity and coal dependence on the electricity supply side.

“This collaborative project will ensure we are prepared for and carefully manage this exciting transition,” notes Booysen.

According to Dr Bernard Bekker, the associate director of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), the future electrification of the transport sector in South Africa raises significant technical and regulatory challenges related to integrating electric transport into South Africa’s existing grid infrastructure.

“These challenges are in many ways unique to South Africa, where minibus taxis will potentially represent a much larger proportion of the future electrical fleet than, for example, Europe or the US.

“The availability of a real-life electric minibus taxi to inform our research activities will provide very valuable inputs into addressing these challenges,” says Bekker.

The Team Members

GoMetro provides end-to-end public transport technology and planning solutions to assist governments, transport authorities, county councils, transport operators and transport consultants.

The firm says its mission is to improve the way people move through its mobility management super platform.

MiX Telematics is a global provider of ...

As Eskom consults a range of experts to assess potential solutions for resolving the load-shedding crisis, independent energy analyst Clyde Mallinson has a proposal that he believes will end rotational power cuts in two years without creating stranded assets or increasing tariffs.

The proposed solution is based on detailed modelling of the performance of the current system, which a new Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) report shows to be relying increasingly on rotational cuts of between 1 GW and 4 GW to balance supply and demand.

In fact, the CSIR’s latest statistical analysis shows that 2021 was the country’s worst-ever for load-shedding, with an upper limit of 2 521 GWh shed, affecting 13% (1 169 hours) of the year.

For the period to the end of May, there has already been 1 023 GWh of load-shedding, affecting 19% (677 hours) of the year to date and placing 2022 on a path to setting a new load-shedding record.

To reverse this economically destructive trend in the shortest possible time, Mallinson is proposing that South Africa, through its large metropolitan councils and district municipalities, as well as through energy intensive clients, invests in a 6 GW/24 000 MWh battery storage fleet over a 24-month period, while accelerating a large-scale solar and wind programme in parallel.

Such front-loading of battery storage would, Mallinson’s model shows, halt load-shedding even in the absence of additional wind and solar, which would then have more construction time to ramp up to the scale required to free up space for coal-fleet maintenance and to cater for progressive coal decommissioning.

Such an approach would also eliminate the need for gas-to-power capacity, including power ships, which run a growing stranded-asset risk as the economics of a solar-wind-storage (SWS) system continue to improve and as the world intensifies it efforts to exit fossil fuels.

Mallinson’s modelling shows that, notwithstanding its unreliability, the coal fleet is typically able to deliver 22 GW on most days, before ramping down after the evening peak.

An analysis of a week in May this year shows that there was potential for the coal fleet to have delivered an additional 78 GWh of electricity if it was not being ramped up and down, but rather run more consistently.

“During that week, there was more surplus energy under a steady state coal curve then what was required to be shed during load-shedding.

“So, the question then, is why don't we run the coal at that steady-state speed?”, Mallinson asked during an interview with Engineering News.

The answer is that there is no way currently to absorb that coal surplus other than by recharging the upper dams at the country’s pumped-hydro schemes.

Eskom is, however, only able to fill up or recharge the pumped storage at a maximum capacity of 2 700 MW, and normally does this during the night.

On most days, Eskom uses the pumped storage in generation mode, and is not able to easily switch quickly between charge and generation mode. The pumped storage units typically generate at less than maximum capacity, as full capacity is held back to maintain a safe reserve margin in case of further coal unit breakdowns or a depletion of diesel stocks.

“It’s a big storage facility, yes, but it has a capacity constraint that can be best described as a large water bottle with a very thin neck.”

The solution, using Mallinson’s analogy, would be to create many smaller storage bottles with thick necks, which in the electricity industry would imply distributed short-duration battery storage facilities with a capacity large enough to absorb the surplus, as well as handle the short duration peaks.

“We will then fill that short-duration storage with the surplus that we can generate if we run the coal fleet at a steady state and we will release the energy from that additional storage at peak times and eliminate load-shedding.”

Should the coal fleet not be in a position to supply 22 000 GW, Mallinson believes ...

President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined six steps for addressing the country’s electricity shortfall in a Budget Vote speech that was delayed and disrupted by opposition Members of Parliament who objected to the address from proceeding in light of a criminal complaint having been lodged against Ramaphosa in relation to the alleged theft of foreign currency from his Limpopo farm in 2020.

Speaking against the backdrop of an intensification of load-shedding, Ramaphosa said government was “seized with the need to get as much new generation capacity on to the grid as possible, as quickly as possible”, confirming Eskom’s estimate that the shortfall could be as large as 6 000 MW.

He went on to list six initiatives to close the electricity gap, including:

improving the performance of existing power stations and ensuring that additional units at Medupi and Kusile came online according to schedule;

ensuring that projects from existing procurement programmes, including bid window five of the renewables programme, reached financial close and connected to the grid as quickly as possible;

accelerating private sector investment in generation capacity under 100 MW;

enabling Eskom to purchase surplus power from existing power producers;

supporting municipalities to procure power independently; and

encouraging households and businesses to invest in small-scale solar power installations and feed energy to the grid.

“Work is already under way in each of these areas,” the President said.

He highlighted in particular recent efforts under Operation Vulindlela to improve coordination between government departments, Eskom and the private sector to accelerate embedded generation projects.

“We have already simplified the registration process by removing the requirement of a power purchase agreement for registration, shortened the timeframes for environmental authorisation, and increased Eskom’s capacity to process grid connection applications.

“The first two embedded generation projects under 100 MW were successfully registered two weeks ago, and a further 16 projects were registered by the regulator this week.

“A total of 68 projects are now in development, with a combined capacity of over 5 000 MW that will begin to connect to the grid over the next few months.”

Ramaphosa also confirmed that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) would review and update the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) of 2019 “to ensure that it remains relevant in light of the electricity shortfall and our climate change commitments”.

The decision to review the IRP, which is largely considered to be outdated, was announced by Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe a few days earlier and following a recent Cabinet retreat.

Cabinet subsequently approved the appointment of Jacob Mbele, who has for years been intimately involved with both the IRP and the procurement of electricity from independent power producers, as the new director-general of the DMRE.

Ramaphosa also told lawmakers that South Africa was on the cusp of a fundamental transformation in the electricity sector, which was “undergoing the most significant reform process in our country’s history”.

“Once these changes are implemented, we will have multiple generators competing to supply electricity at the lowest cost and selling power directly to customers.

“We will unleash new public and private sector investment in generation capacity at a massive scale,” he said.

All positive momentum gained in recovering from Covid-19 in sub-Saharan Africa has been lost, as monetary policies are focused on preservation rather than growth amid volatile market conditions globally, International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistant director for Africa Papa N’Diaye said this week.

During his first visit to South Africa and presenting at a University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) event on June 7, he unpacked the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa that was published in April.

The IMF observed surprising economic recovery rates in the region by the second half of 2021, and revised upwards its gross domestic product (GDP) growth prediction for the region to 4.5% for the year; however, following the harsh impacts of the war in Ukraine, the IMF has now lowered its GDP growth expectation to 3.8% for this year.

This pace of growth is not enough to make up for lost ground from the pandemic and will make it harder for the region to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Most notably, surging oil and food prices are straining the external and fiscal balances of commodity-importing countries, and leaving many countries in a food insecure state.

High food prices are also hampering manufacturing output and harming the most vulnerable segments of the population.

N’Diaye mentioned that there had been windfall gains for oil exporters in recent months, but this was outweighed by sizeable terms-of-trade shocks for most of the region.

The economic shock caused by the war also threatens to compound some of sub-Saharan Africa’s most pressing policy challenges, including Covid-19’s social and economic legacy, climate change, heightened security risks in the Sahel and the impact of ongoing tightening of monetary policy in the US.

N’Diaye pointed out that a prolonged war in Ukraine may increase commodity prices further, potentially leading to food crises in some countries, boosting risk premiums and weakening global demand.

Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to sharper-than-expected monetary tightening in various parts of the world and slowdowns of growth in major trading markets such as China and Europe.

Spiking interest rates, coupled with rising inflation and exchange rate pressure, have caused difficult financial conditions for the region. Inflation has increased by an average 11.5% in sub-Saharan Africa over the last few months.

Since output levels remain well below pre-pandemic trends in most countries, central banks are facing a difficult balancing act between curbing inflation and supporting growth.

N’Diaye suggested that central banks monitor price developments carefully, stand ready to increase rates if inflation expectations drift up, guard against the financial stability risks posed by higher interest rates and maintain a credible policy framework underpinned by strong independence and clear communication.

He explained further that the fallout from the war in Ukraine was hitting the region at a time when fiscal space was limited, and public debt ratios were at their highest levels since the turn of the century.

“Therefore, fiscal policy responses need to be cautiously calibrated and targeted at protecting the most vulnerable households from rising food and energy prices, without adding to debt vulnerabilities.”

This will require a significant reprioritisation of spending, particularly in commodity-importing countries, for example, eliminating wasteful subsidies to State-owned enterprises.

In the longer term, governments and financial organs of State would need to pursue fiscal consolidation to reduce debt vulnerabilities, mobilise more revenues – other than simply collecting more tax, pursue and promote economic diversification and fully leverage the private sector’s potential, N’Diaye said.

For example, the clean energy transition presents opportunities for diversification and contributes to climate change mitigation solutions, since sub-Saharan Africa is among the regions ...

African Rail Industry Association (ARIA) CEO Mesela Nhlapo says the association has serious concerns regarding the restrictive terms and conditions Transnet has imposed on the use of the national rail network by private third-party freight operators.

A key element of the newly unveiled National Rail Policy (NRP) is the acceptance of private sector investment and participation, as well as economic regulations that ensure fair and regulated access to South Africa’s primary and secondary rail networks.

Earlier this year, Transnet pre-empted the launch of the NRP by announcing its conditions for private third-party access to the country’s freight rail network.

Nhlapo notes, however, that Transnet’s approach to slot sales will see no private investment.

The reasons for this include the fact that only two-year contracts have been offered; that slots have been offered on a voetstoots basis; that Transnet has reserved special ‘grandfather rights’ for itself; and that only a portion of the network is being offered with no transparency in fee calculation, among other issues.

“This approach offers no long-term prospects for potential investors,” says Nhlapo.

“We know from our research that private third-party rail access – as it is currently being touted by Transnet – has no hope of success, as there are no existing trainsets ready to roll onto the tracks. A 50-wagon trainset costs about R200-million to produce and each slot will require three to four trainsets.

“The private industry has, of course, not invested hundreds of millions of rands in trainsets in advance of the structural reform becoming a reality, so there are no trainsets ready to be deployed today.”

Nhlapo explains that locomotives and wagons last for 20 years and more, and in order to provide commercially viable freight rates, long-term funding has to be raised. In addition, it takes about 18 to 24 months to procure a trainset.

Despite this, Transnet’s offering is only for two-year slots, she says.

“The complete lack of existing trainsets on one hand, and the un-investable nature of the approach all together, render the current proposal by Transnet fundamentally meaningless.”

“Preventing willing and able private companies from investing is counter to what the policy and government are promoting,” says Nhlapo.

“As ARIA represents the four largest private operators in South Africa, we can confirm that there is no existing capacity.”

She says this lack of capacity is not owing to an absence of investment appetite or customer demand, but because no private operator will make material investments into train capacity, ahead of the implementation of third-party access structural reform, when rates, terms and conditions remain undefined.

“We urge government, as Transnet’s shareholder, to encourage Transnet to reconcile its current third-party access process with the Cabinet-approved policy and to commit to enabling the structural reforms outlined by Operation Vulindlela,” says Nhlapo.

The interim rail economic regulatory body, as set out in the NRP, should be made responsible for overseeing negotiations between Transnet and private operators; for setting the process and procedure for the acceptance of private operators; and for implementing access agreements, she notes.

This includes making slots available for a period that is aligned to the lifespan of the assets being invested in, and setting a level playing field.

Nhlapo says the lack of rail capacity is causing significant and unnecessary damage to the South African economy.

“Rail reform represents an opportunity for investment, competitiveness, growth, and significant jobs. As things stand, however, it will achieve none of these ambitions.”

ARIA represents companies that are original equipment manufacturers, rail operators and rail services companies in the rail sector and associated industries.

Standard Bank’s newly launched Africa Trade Barometer places South Africa at the top of the list of ten countries, followed by Ghana and Mozambique in second and third places.

Kenya is placed fourth, Tanzania fifth, Uganda sixth, Namibia seventh, Nigeria eight, Zambia ninth, with Angola taking up the tenth position.

Standard Bank, currently active in 20 African markets, aims for the barometer to become the continent’s leading trade index.

The Africa Trade Barometer will initially focus only on ten countries.

The barometer, which Standard Bank aims to publish twice a year, encompasses comparative data on trade openness, access to finance, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure, foreign trade, governance, economy and trade finance behaviour.

Qualitative and quantitative intelligence gathered from 2 400 firms representing small and medium enterprises, large family businesses, corporates and multinationals across all ten economies is analysed and then augmented with third-party sources, including the World Bank, International Trade Center, and individual countries’ central banks.

The report “presents one of the most comprehensive views of actual trade as experienced on the ground by real African businesses”, says Standard Bank Trade and Africa-China head Philip Myburgh.

Trends and analysis gleaned should also provide insight into the broader regions that the ten study markets represent.

Myburgh believes the barometer will prove to be a valuable resource for business people, students, governments, nongovernmental organisations and investors, with Africa’s trade opportunity currently estimated at roughly $70-billion a year.

“We expect the Africa Trade Barometer to become the leading index of African trade trends, activities and developments as Africa’s small, medium and large businesses define the continent’s next stage of domestic growth and regional and global expansion.”