Growing up in Pretoria, Adri had the ambition to be educated and join a meaningful industry from a young age. She took her first steps on this journey by obtaining a National Diploma in Computer Science from Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) while working as a Sales Engineer for a medium-sized electronic systems installation company.
“This is where I was first exposed to high level electronic system designs and the implementation of these systems in newly constructed buildings,” Adri says. It was also in this role that Adri first started engaging with Engineers from WSP and developed a specific interest in construction - developing and building beautiful, operational buildings.
When one of WSP’s Directors approached Adri to join their team, she accepted. “I started working for WSP as an Electronic Engineer in 2007,” she says. “My first major projects were 3 Gautrain Stations and I very soon started taking the lead on these multidisciplinary projects internally as there seemed to have been little cohesion at the time.”
“I found it interesting how the different units within the company could end up delivering successful projects with so few processes in place,” she recalls. “It was through my involvement in complicated multidisciplinary projects, while studying part time, that I decided I wanted to play a part in proactively addressing the internal coordination and management of projects in addition to practising Electronic Engineering.”
Adri completed a BTech in Project Management at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), shortly followed by a BSc (Hons) in Technology Management. She grew within WSP, taking responsibility for electronic engineering and project management internally. In 2016, Adri became Head of Department and Director of the Electronic Services division, setting herself the goal of ‘making it a recognised discipline’. “I believe I achieved that goal,” she says.
As WSP became involved in increasingly complex multidisciplinary projects, and as the teams working to deliver these projects became substantially larger, it became apparent that there was a growing need for focussed roles within the team to manage and coordinate projects.
“This resulted in the birth of our new and exciting division,” Adri says. “With the vision and support of Properties & Buildings MD, Michelle Jackson, our Integrated Design Delivery (IDD) team has formed. It is a dedicated team of BIM coordinators and design managers that will focus on delivering and executing multidisciplinary projects for the Properties & Buildings business unit of WSP in Africa.”
Adri is excited to be leading this team in her new role as Sector Lead for IDD, as the team represents the next evolution of proactive internal co-ordination and management for complex multidisciplinary projects. The team continues to leverage digitalisation in the industry to better manage how projects are conceived and delivered, creating service offerings that include digital design, engineering analysis, 4D and 5D simulation, asset management, and more.
“Our IDD team has already begun to prove its value through our involvement in the Roha Medical Campus project from the onset of the conceptualisation phases. While IDD serves as an internal design and project coordination function and does not replace the project management or principal agent role on a project, it has had a real impact on delivery by integrating technology, capturing data, and turning it into actionable insights for project teams and clients.”
When she’s not working in teams to deliver coordinated designs and exceptional client care, Adri enjoys spending time with her family. “My 4-year-old boy started playing cricket recently and we love supporting him on Saturday mornings,” she smiles.
