PROFILE: This is my story - Zeenat Ghoor

Civil Engineer Zeenat Ghoor tells THIS IS MY STORY about an apartment building project that taught her the importance of working as a team.

Please give us a brief summary on your career to date

After graduating at the end of 2006, I joined the exciting world of Consulting Engineering. My first job was at Africon (the current Zutari). My most notable projects were - the civils side The Oprah Winfrey School and the Gautrain Jean Avenue Viaduct.

Jean Avenue Viaduct Centurion

Oprah Winfrey School –
 Ref – Oprah Winfrey School

I left to join Pure Consulting to venture into the commercial private sector space. My most exciting projects in my time at the company were the Wits Art Museum, the Copperleaf Golf Estate Clubhouse, Steyn City Clubhouse. Private sector was exciting and exhilarating but I wanted to use my skillset to give back to communities and ventured into the Public Sector Space and joined MPA Consulting - my most notable projects here were the Eskom Simmerpan and the Kya Sands Pedestrian Bridge Design.

In 2014 I took the bold decision to quit and venture into uncharted waters and started my own company called Aspire Consulting Engineers and we have been changing lives ever since.

Copperleaf Golf Estate

                                                  

Give us details of a project that made a positive impact in your career.

I have spent a long time thinking about this questions. I think its the sum of our experiences that makes us who we are. I have been in the fortunate position to make mistakes both whilst permanently employed and while working for myself.

The most notable project that stands out was an apartment building where we were the engineers and the civil engineers on - the surveyor had made the error on the setting out which meant every pile for the building was in the wrong position. We had to find a solution in the quickest time with as little abortive costs as far as possible.

The Apartment : Consolidated Raft with ground beams to cater for the off set piles. 

What was your position and duties on this project?

Our initial role was as civil and structural engineers - after the incident we were asked to assist on the Project Management as well.

Why does this this project stand out to you?

It shows how Team work can really make the dream work

The Apartment – Taking shape with columns coming up

What were the important lessons you learnt from this project?

The important technical lessons were checks, and independent checks. And then before you commence - check again. You can never check enough. I also learnt that there is opportunity in every mistake - we were not the Project Managers on the project but due to the error - the client made the decision to appoint us as the PM as well

What were career mistakes or regrets you experienced on this project?

I have no regrets in anything that I do - this has taken me a long time to come to - but it is only due to the decisions in the past that has molded me into who I am today.

How did you overcome your mistakes/regrets

I overcome regrets in totality by reflecting and self introspection to make me realize that we cannot focus on mistakes - its a recipe for keeping you in a space that doesn't allow a person to move forward.

The apartment – first floor level decking underway 

What has been the most satisfying thing for you personally about this project?

That we found a solution - the solution was a series of ground beams that connected the piles that were offset and created a solution that had no impact on the cost or the time factor of the completion of the project.

Also read: THIS IS MY STORY - Ronald van Biljon

This industry is said to be one of the toughest industries , how did you manage to stay in for so long?

The industry is tough and its aggressive. It really can be a dog eat dog world if you let it be. I try to mitigate this as far as possible by focusing on collaborative consulting and as far as possible try to be as inclusionary as possible. My motto is 'be the change you want to see in the world' and in this industry it doesn't ring truer.

Construction underway of the apartment. 

In your opinion what are the biggest challenges facing the industry currently and how can they be overcome?

The biggest challenges are the heavy discounts we have to offer, the barriers to entry, the risk we carry, the models that are used to price our services, the communication barrier and the lack of critical skills needed on site.

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