BCHODConsulting Engineers (Zimbabwe)
BCHOD
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DAMS & RELATED PROJECTS
BCHOD
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BRIAN COLQUHOUN, HUGH O'DONNELL AND PARTNERS (BCHOD) was founded in Zimbabwe in 1948 as a regional practice of the Colquhoun Group of Consulting Engineers, founded in London, with the primary objective of providing comprehensive consultancy services in the civil engineering and building fields. In the on-going restructuring of the Zimbabwe practice, the partnership has also registered the company BCHOD (Zimbabwe) Pvt Ltd. It is now represented in Southern and Central Africa in the following locations as an autonomous African practice.
ZIMBABWE : Harare and Bulawayo
ZAMBIA : Lusaka and Ndola
BOTSWANA : Gaborone (joint venture practice with PNDA)
SOUTH AFRICA : SISONKE-BCHOD, Johannesburg
BCHOD's present staff in Africa is in the region of 125 and of this staff 60 are resident in Zimbabwe. The Harare office based personnel include 7 Partners, 3 Consultants, 16 Engineers and 11 Technicians, plus 2 surveyors, another 12 support staff and 8 administrative employees.
The firm employs its own technical personnel for topographical and soils survey work and where depth geotechnical investigations are required we employ specialist local consultants in this field.
BCHOD is multidisciplinary and practices as Consulting Engineers & Project Managers in the fields of:-
BCHOD has close relationships with international firms like Hatch GKW Consult of Germany, Poyry, Finland,BCEOM of France and PDNA of South Africa for co-operation in joint venture projects or where funding agencies require inputs from external consultants. Other Strategic relationships exist with Mine Quest Consult whose principals are Zimbabwean Mining engineers and with two locally based 100% empowered consulting firms.In some cases, where certain conditions apply, use is made of these links for any highly specialised technical resources when required. Should the need arise assistance is also obtained from regional sister offices in Zambia and Botswana.
BCHOD is able to call on specialist staff from our regional offices and our associated international practices. This has been effectively utilised on specific projects in Zimbabwe since Independence with the minimum time input from such specialists but with the specialists including skills transfer to the benefit of the local office skill. Relevant to dam and tailings dam engineering there is the availability of local dam and geotechnical experts and international TSF specialists.
Current and recent Clients of the firm include Government Departments and Parastatal bodies in the following Cities and Towns in Zimbabwe including – Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Marondera, Gweru, KweKwe, Banket, BeitBridge, Chipinge, Chinhoyi, Chiredzi, Chitungwiza, Gwanda, Mazowe, Plumtree, Raffingora, Shurugwi, Zvishavane, Victoria Falls.
Other numerous private clients include those in the industrial, mining, commercial, tourist, agricultural and development fields. More significant in recent years are Anglo-American, Zimplats, Rio Tinto - Murowa, Nestle, Lafarge, Tata, Old Mutual, Standard Chartered Bank, Reserve Bank to name a few.
The firm has developed project management skills from project experience gained in Zimbabwe and elsewhere and also where additional management of design and supervision teams and contractors, and coordination of other consultants were included in the challenge. Examples of these are listed in the experience sections of the profile. Duties covered in this respect include but are not limited to the following:
BCHOD operate from 22 York Avenue, Newlands, Harare with a total floor space of 600 square metres.
An association with a Bulawayo based Consulting Engineer and one full time employee help maintain our commitment to the west of the country.
The Harare office is fully staffed and equipped with computers, telephone, telefax and e- mail communication links. The distribution of projects around the country requires maintenance of a significant vehicle fleet including at least a dozen 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Survey GPS, and basic geotechnical testing equipment are also maintained as part of the firm's site investigation capability.
The firm has an I.T Department and has made considerable investment in computer technology within its group offices and through a continual upgrading process, has developed a powerful combination of computer services software packages for analysis, design and computer aided drafting including the following:
Over 50 workstations which translate to a workstation for all technical, administration and Accounting staff. These workstations are networked with a local area network with full Internet access.
Over 50 workstations which translate to a workstation for all technical, administration and Accounting staff. These workstations are networked with a local area network with full Internet access.
Related hardware includes printer, plotters, A4 to AO Scanners, cameras, projectors etc.
Technical Software packages most used are:
The firm has a group policy for in-house training of technicians, engineers and support staff as well as assisting and training personnel from client bodies.
This policy also extends to participation in uplifting training programmes and employment for underprivileged sectors of the community when that can be consistent with project offices in relevant areas.
The firm has, on many occasions, worked with in joint venture or in association with other consultants from various sectors of the community thereby similarly achieving a transfer of skills and expertise.
As can be seen from the information given above, BCHOD has developed a high profile in technical and professional experience in a wide variety of engineering fields within the context of the Central and Southern African Region.
