The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2019 | Page 33

PROFILE
“I also enjoy joint mentoring sessions
— ‘Life 101’, where we share
everything on a free-form basis. I
tell stories of mistakes I have made
and some outrageous successes,
and then the dialogue begins and
relationships grow. Sometimes I
will ask a colleague to join me if
I think the younger participants
might be reticent.” Some of those
‘outrageous successes’, he explains,
stem from relationships. He relates
one example of working with a
community committee, building
empathy with them and talking not of
marketing and high-level concepts,
but of the nitty-gritty of work and
job creation. “By understanding the
needs of the people in front of
me, I won a tender based on the
overall value of the concept and not
whether my cost was higher or not.”
Mistakes and victories
One reason Downie’s Life 101
works so well, is he has made
plenty of mistakes in life, he freely
acknowledges. Many of those
mistakes have not been technical
but misjudging people or taking
a shortcut while under extreme
pressure. “Join Life 101 if you
want to know more. The most
important lesson to learn is to
admit the mistake. If it is serious,
write ‘This too shall pass’ in your
private space. Because even the
biggest mistakes become history
one day. Sometimes they even
become war stories to share with
the next generation.”
Those war stories are well
balanced by his many successes.
One career highlight was the role
he played in the Durban branch
of SAICE through the early and
mid-1990s when relationships
were fragile and a delicate hand
was needed to ensure that civil
engineers were accepted as willing
and valuable colleagues in the
service of all South Africans.
“I was appointed to assist in the
formation of the Council for the
www.civilsonline.co.za
Built Environment by the Minister
of Public Works and I subsequently
launched an outreach programme
through the SAICE magazine
to political and business leaders.
From 2005, I actively supported
the YPF in my role as chairman
of communications of CESA
[Consulting Engineers South
Africa],” says Downie.
“At the high point of my career,
I had built a network of colleagues
embracing
clients,
fellow
professionals (including other
consultants), and contractors.
From 1985, I held a Spring
Party on the third Thursday of
September — every year —
good times and bad. Through this
initiative, I helped create a strong
ethos of team spirit inside and
outside the company, securing
work through relationships and
fostering goodwill.”
But civil engineers are always most
proud of their personal contribution
to projects they have worked on. For
Downie, that project was Warwick
Triangle Viaduct: Outbound. “Even
though the consensus was that we
could not construct a project which
was not yet conceived or designed, I
proposed a design-build tender with
a R10-million completion bonus built
in. All tenderers (prequalified) were
paid to carry out substructure designs
in full to submit with their tenders. We
awarded the contract within five days
of receiving tenders and the piling
rigs were on site a week later. With 68
weeks to the FIFA Soccer World Cup
deadline — we finished in 64 weeks.
It was achieved through teamwork
and trust.”
Downie’s concern is ever for the
youth and he has a particular message
for new civil engineering graduates:
“Work hard — approach your job
with enthusiasm, integrity, and a good
attitude (EIA). Develop a skill that you
enjoy and which sets you apart from
your contemporaries. Make friends,
help your colleagues and they will help
you in return.” nn
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