“I started at Masuku Dube Tifflin as an intern three years ago and remember my interview with Mr Dube as if it were yesterday. He asked me why I wanted to be a Civil Engineer and wanted to know my reasons for pursuing this field. The truth is that I couldn’t see myself doing anything else and I really enjoyed the drafting assignments in high school,” says Nono, the recollection bringing a smile to her face.

Nono has been involved in many exciting projects since joining Masuku Dube Tifflin in 2003. One of these initiatives is the Mbuzweni Access Road. “The construction of the access road was requested by the Alfred Nzo District Municipality in October 2004. The road, situated in the Mbuzweni Village just outside of Kokstad, provided much needed access to the village, allowing residents to commute freely through the town,” she explains.

Nosimphiwe gave the trainer a run for his money when she attended the advanced training course in Roads. “Solly was my trainer on the advanced program and I took the opportunity to practice what I learnt by testing it on the Mbuzweni Access Road. I must say that I really enjoyed the training and I got to explore pipe crossings in great detail. Civil Designer performed the calculations really quickly and the information was then transferred into AllyCAD so that I could complete the designs. I could also check pipe crossings on the program, a feature that helped me a great deal when designing the stormwater culverts.”

According to Nono, the level of knowledge acquired on the venture was vast. “I learnt a lot about road design on this project. As a designer you have to look at the most cost effective option but also have a practical route in place for residents. Today, I understand the different road surfaces and I’ve gained experience in site supervision and can produce high-level road designs any time. The Mbuzweni Access Road has since been completed and is currently in use by residents,” notes Nono.

The Storms River West sewer project in Tsitsikama is a project of a different kind. This low cost housing scheme required reticulation design for an intricate sewer network. “We were appointed to do the design of all the services for 500 erven on an exclusive basis and set about to do the preliminary designs using survey data and bitmaps. Because of the magnitude of the area, the development of the township was split into two phases with phase one currently in progress.”
 

Nono makes it sound all so easy, but what happens when faced with an intricate design challenge? “I must say that there is always help at hand and there is no problem that does not have a solution. I learn from my fellow team mates and the training courses that I attend. But most importantly, I learn a great deal from each new project. The Storms River West sewer project will provide jobs for many local residents and during the projects completion many new skills will be imparted to workers.”

“With so many positive developments taking place, you can’t help but be inspired to rise above the challenges. You have to be prepared to make the most of every opportunity and extract as much knowledge and learning,” says Nono. This rising star at Masuku Dube Tifflin Engineers is humble about her achievements and attributes all her success to the company’s continuous investment in training.