Personality Profile Sponsored by :
STANDING STRONG :
A MAN DRIVEN BY PASSION AND TRUST
Not only a certified project manager , green star accredited professional , LEED professional , the first accredited tier design expert in the world from the Uptime Institute in the USA , and a managing director , Olu Soluade is also the current president of ASHRAE-SA Chapter .
Having completed his training at the University of Lagos ,
Nigeria , Soluade started his career as a contractor and siteengineer . He was very fortunate to be employed at a company that explored a wide scope of projects .
Moving on from there , he joined a consultancy firm ( also in Nigeria ) in 1994 where the principal was a member of the American Society of Heating , Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ( ASHRAE ). It was then in the early 90s where he had his first glimpse into what ASHRAE was all about .
Soluade noted , “ When I initially saw the technical manual from ASHRAE I became very excited and looked for any information I could find in it . I then joined ASHRAE as a member in 1996 for a few years and rejoined in 2005 – and have been a member ever since .”
Soluade completed his Masters in Industrial Engineering and came to South Africa the same year , joining a consulting firm in Braamfontein , Johannesburg in 1996 . He then moved to other employment before he felt it was time to move on to start his own business in 2008 from his home with a humble R80 000 project value . Today , AOS Consulting Engineers , where Soluade serves as the managing director , is involved in a wide range of disciplines including specialised services , and holds a special interest in green and sustainable development .
Looking forward , Soluade believes that sustainability and green technology has changed the design landscape . In the past sustainability used to be difficult to manage and was also plagued by challenges because clients didn ’ t see the value . Now , operational costs are more important than ever and not only the capital that is invested . The entire lifecycle of a project must be considered , and in doing this the capital cost lands up being miniscule compare to operational costs . The client ’ s choices are going to be around for the next 30 + years and spending an additional couple of percent on capital can result in as much as 40 % savings in operational costs .
“ The analogy with sustainability I like to make is that when God created the earth one of the key things he gave us with plants is their seed . The seed you plant brings fruit that you eat – when you go back and replant the seed it continues to grow – this as a continual cycle of sustainability that we should continue to maintain in all aspects of life . We must further ensure that we are not stagnant with our knowledge and continually create value for the client ,” Soluade says .
This leads into the vision for his term as ASHRAE-SA Chapter president : Together Each Achieving More ( TEAM ) – much more can be done and achieved together by working towards the common goals , and each member then has the opportunity to better themselves from when they started .
As a final thought , Soluade concludes , “ South Africans are sometimes quick to condemn the society we are in and this definitely requires a mindset change that must be adopted . God has blessed this society and each one of us has a mandate in what we should do . Not to take away from the country ’ s obvious problems – if we focus on our own businesses with integrity and honesty as we should , we will get the blessings from God . For He is a faithful God .” RACA
Olu Soluade
Olu Soluade has a passion and drive to remain faithful in the little things , and believes the big things will follow .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I January 2021 39