ORBIT FET College

North West Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND

ORBIT FET College is a technical education training college which has three campuses situated in the North West Province. They are located in Rustenburg, in Brits, and in Mankwe. ORBIT FET College intended to upgrade their current facilities at all three campuses to enhance their offering and to become a leading FET college in South Africa; the upgrade entailed the construction of new buildings and the renovation of existing buildings.

SERVICES RENDERED

The following changes were required at each of the campuses:

Rustenburg Campus

  • The construction of a small ablution facility,
  • The conversion of workshops C and D into exam halls,
  • The conversion of the existing change house into an ablution facility.

Brits Campus

  • The construction of a double-storey 280 m2 classroom
  • A double-storey 320 m2 plumbing and carpentry workshop
  • A single-storey 160 m2 electronics workshop
  • An ablution facility
  • Renovations to the existing buildings not required.

Mankwe Campus

  • The construction of 10 new classrooms in a 700 m2 building
  • A 470 m2 hospitality lab
  • A 470 m2 simulation lab.

Renovations to:

  • The student village
  • The reception and administration building
  • The sports and recreation building
  • The student support centre.

CONSTRUCTION

Construction work entailed:

  • The removal of existing trees and shrubs
  • The removal and re-use of paved surfaces
  • The relocation of temporary structures
  • The construction of the buildings and various installations
  • The connection of services.

A construction challenge with associated risks that had to be overcome included construction and renovation works that took place while the campuses were in operation. This meant that the areas where the works took place had to be cordoned off properly. Moreover, safety flagmen had to be present to prevent injury to students, staff and the general public at vehicle and pedestrian crossings.

Other risks that were identified from the start included:

  • The possibility of hard rock excavation, which could be a time and cost factor.
  • Damage to existing but unknown services – mitigated by studying as-built drawings and proper communication with campus managers.
  • The need for seamless integration of the existing and new buildings (a design risk).

The maintenance work was executed first, followed by the construction of new buildings.

CLIENT NAME: ORBIT FET College

LOCATION: North West Province, South Africa

PROJECT DURATION: 18 Months

START DATE: October 2013

END DATE: March 2015

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