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Water at heart of female engineer’s love for engineering

27th November 2015

By: Tracy Hancock

Creamer Media Contributing Editor

  

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With reports flooding in about the disaster that awaits South Africa, owing to its dwindling water resources as drought ravages certain parts of the country, CSVWater associate director Dr Michele Kruger is optimistic about the field of water and wastewater engineering.

The country’s water challenges may spell disaster for others, but not for Kruger, who exudes an infectious enthusiasm when talking about her field. “South Africa is at the forefront of wastewater technology. We have so much to be proud of. I feel the opportunities are here, although a lot of people are emigrating.”

Inspired by all the construction sites she saw growing up, Kruger is enlivened by the idea of being part of infrastructure delivery, as well as being able to make a difference in people’s lives by providing them with health and dignity.

“Whenever I design something, I have the community in mind,” says Kruger, the only female engineer at CSV.

Raised in Roodepoort, Gauteng, the 38-year-old’s parents divorced when she was “very young”, and, as a result, life was tough. “We struggled quite a bit. Obviously, we were unsettled and afraid, but the routine that my mother maintained helped us get through that time. My mother, a book keeper, is obviously a huge inspiration to me and I think she overcame a lot.”

As a result of these testing times, part of Kruger’s motivation to succeed in life was to ensure that she would never again have to worry about where food would come from.

But she was also taught to be cautious, as her dad, who passed away in January, lost his motor spares shop, where Kruger, a Lego kid, worked part-time, learning about the likes of pistons and condensers.

“Because we didn’t have a lot of money, I had to work part-time. At one point, I had two part-time jobs while going to school. Those were the type of things I was most focused on,” highlights Kruger.

She attended the same high school as her mom and dad – Hoërskool Florida – but, unlike her parents, received her matric certificate.

Going to university, she followed in the footsteps of her older sister, the first person in the Clements family to attend university, but it was a school friend who talked of studying civil engineering who helped guide her career choice.

“When I was studying, the field that touched me the most was water and I had a stunning professor – Professor Johannes Haarhoff,” she says, describing him as a second father. “His passion guided me in water engineering and now I have a love for both water and wastewater.”

Kruger completed her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in civil engineering at the University of Johannesburg, with both her master’s and doctorate degrees focusing on aspects of municipal water treatment.

“I think my mom was a little worried that going to university was a bridge too far, since she and my dad had not matriculated,” notes Kruger, quipping that behind every successful child, there is a surprised parent. “She is very proud of me now and my sister is one of my biggest fans.”

Her first job was at Goba, now Hatch Goba, under Paul le Roux, where she was involved initially in stormwater and sewer master planning and later scoping reports for mines, which was completely different to working with municipalities as “deadlines can’t be moved”. As such, she had to put herself in a client’s shoes and understand the pressures on the client and try to deliver accordingly. “It’s a very high-paced environment where a project could change daily.”

As a result, Kruger has learnt to be more concept-driven when doing a preliminary design, so as to pin down the concept before going into detail. “I have learnt a lot about fixing concepts, what the client wants and what the end-user needs, trying to deliver the best possible product using all the innovation you can, reducing costs and operational maintenance costs.”

Kruger, who has also been employed by the likes of Bigen Africa, notes that everywhere she has worked, her bosses have been supportive and valued her as an engineer.

She moved to CSVWater in 2012, noting that she was excited to be a part of a start-up company and play a part in all aspects of the business. Today, the eight-year-old company employs 12 people dedicated to water and wastewater treatment. “We let our passion drive our work . . . and I think that is why we are doing well,” she says, enthusing about working with the big names, such as Rand Water, Magalies Water and Umgeni Water. “My bosses at CSV also taught me to enjoy every moment.

“It’s a small company, but not many of the big companies that I know of have a treatment division as big as ours.

“I would love to become a director of CSV and carry on giving my best to clients, using innovation to reduce costs so that there are funds to do more.”

Kruger’s drive to improve people’s lives through infrastructure delivery is apparent, as is that of her colleagues, most of whom have been inspectors for the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Blue Drop and Green Drop reports. “That touched me a lot because it’s an incentive-based project that has made such a massive difference, as the wastewater effluent is now being monitored [by municipalities], whereas, previously, this might not have been taking place.”

She describes CSV not as a company but as a team. “If you don’t care who gets the credit, you can move mountains,” Kruger quotes.

A great believer in teamwork, her first example of how powerful synergy could be was when she worked on the stormwater master plan for State-owned utility Eskom’s then-mothballed Komati coal-fired power station, in Mpumalanga.

A member of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), Kruger has been afforded the opportunity to present at Women in Engineering conferences, where she stresses: “You need to bring it. Don’t think that because you are a woman, you are going to get handouts. If you live your passion, people aren’t going to see a female engineer; they are going to see an engineer. So you are chosen for your brilliance and not because you are a female.

“That’s what I try to achieve,” she says, adding, however, that it is not necessary to conform to what people believe an engineer should look like and forego one’s feminine side.

The mother of two girls, aged three and six, also notes the importance of learning to prioritise time for family. However, it does help to have a “very supportive” husband – a qualified mechanical engineer employed by Eskom, who she met while studying.

“I am a mother first and foremost,” she stresses, adding that in every female engineer’s life, there is time for family as well as other commitments.

Kruger was awarded the prize for the Best Paper by a Young South African in the Field of Water Science and Technology by the UK Federation for Water Research for her doctoral research, presented at the Water Institute of Southern Africa biennial conference, in Cape Town, in 2004.

In 2007, Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) named her Young Engineer of the Year and in the same year she was recognised at the Building Women Gala Dinner & Awards.

Kruger chairs the International Federation of Consulting Engineers’ Capacity Building committee, and serves on ECSA’s Communication, Information and Marketing Committee and the Cesa board and chairs the Cesa Quality and Risk Management committees.

Not only does she want to make a difference, giving all she can; she also finds inspiration from the women with whom she serves on these committees. “I am honoured to be on committees with them, because they blow my hair back and give me something to aspire to.”

She compels young female engineers not to wait for others to save them, but in the same breath advises to “be grateful for what others do for you and always say thank you”.

“I learnt early on that everyone needs to feel valued,” Kruger concludes.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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