Events and Exhibitions
25TH ANNIVERSARY OF
ODA DESIGN & DRAFTING ( CONSULTING ENGINEERS )
By Dusan Stefanov Pr Eng Mech & Eamonn Ryan
Dusan Stefanov was destined for an engineering career . Owning and running a business for a quarter of century was somewhat less expected however .
When the time came to choose a university subject for his career , Stefanov went the way of those before him . With a father who was a structural engineer and an uncle who was a mechanical engineer , he opted for mechanical engineering : HVAC and refrigeration , graduating at Belgrade University ’ s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering , Department of Thermotechnics . His thesis was ‘ Methods of preserving energy during various heat transfer processes ’.
Stefanov explains : “ What drew me to HVAC was the duality of the subject : heating and cooling of the different fluids . Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics were the greater part of the subjects .”
His working career started as a young engineer in the research department of a scientific institute in Belgrade , Serbia . He moved to UK , and then on to New York University in order to take up PhD courses . Politics relating to the war in the Balkans meant that he could not renew his student visa and he accepted a position of a contracts manager in Gaborone , Botswana .
“ I had realised that my theoretical knowledge had to be supplemented with practical experience and had decided to move into contracting ,” Stefanov says .
However , in 1995 he relocated to South Africa , joining Northern Air as senior contracts manager and design engineer .
In 1997 , Dusan together with his wife Olivera established ODA Design & Drafting ( ODA Design ) in Centurion , Gauteng . Their business offers consulting services and project management of HVAC , sprinklers , compressed air , fire detection and smoke ventilation systems . Among other responsibilities , Olivera manages the drawing office .
Over the past 25 years , ODA Design has assisted a broad spectrum of clients , domestic and international , with projects covering :
• Residential and office blocks
• Hospitals
• Hotels and conference centres
• Data centres
• Shopping centres and other retail establishments
• Mining projects
• Automotive industry process cooling projects
• Luxury game lodges
A particularly memorable project , a building in Pretoria , consisted of 7 200m 2 of open plan retail space and a 7 200m 2 storage area above it . As part of the building ’ s renovation ODA Design worked on the design of HVAC , sprinklers , fire detection and smoke ventilation . The project lasted much longer than originally anticipated , as the work was disrupted by Covid-19 pandemic restrictions . [ see project on page 34 .]
Stefanov says that the bulk of ODA ’ s business comes from ‘ word of mouth ’ and he credits that to the company ’ s longevity and industry networking . Nearly half of their business is generated through HVAC contractors who , he believes , are attracted by the outputs of Revit software ( customised to suit products available in South Africa ), detailed project documentation and accurate bills of quantities .
“ When working in Revit , one has to model exact dimensions , piping and ducting connections of the equipment , that will be used for the project . Otherwise , site coordination becomes a nightmare and complaints about time wasted and costs incurred follow quickly ,” Stefanov explains . Keeping up-to-date with technology is an integral part of running a high-tech business , hence the staff constantly attends webinars , complete ASHRAE courses and interact with other relevant parties within the industry .
“ In order to stay relevant in today ’ s very competitive market , we at ODA Design pride ourselves on providing precision design and detailed drawings to clients and contractors .” RACA
ODA Design
Dusan Stefanov , Co-founder of ODA Design .
www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I March 2023 15