08 June 2018 - At the recent SAAMA 2018 conference, two Aurecon employees: Francois Joubert and Dr Hal Belmonte were awarded Certified Senior Asset Manager (CSAM) professional designations. Held in Cape Town from 4-6 June, the fifth annual SAAMA conference attracted over 200 delegates and 35 speakers, who witnessed the inaugural awarding of the first five CSAM designations.

The Southern African Asset Management Association (SAAMA) was approved by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) in 2016 to register the CSAM designation. The formalisation of Asset Management designations recognises the essential role that people perform in ensuring that any such system is appropriate and able to deliver effectively.

“Receiving CSAM certification, the first of such designations to be approved by SAQA, is a significant achievement for Aurecon as an organisation, and something that makes Dr Hal Belmonte and myself extremely proud,” commented Joubert, Aurecon’s Regional Service Leader, Asset Management.

“It’s encouraging to see formal recognition of maintenance and asset management practitioners. While the CSAM designation aims to raise professional standards in the industry, it also provides a cross-sectoral, multi-layered career structure for young professionals to enter and grow.” he said.

At the conference, Joubert gave a presentation on practical approaches for the implementation of Asset Management Information Systems in the South African municipal context. Aurecon Materials Specialist, Dr Hal Belmonte, also presented a paper on the methodology for using the construction price adjustment factor to escalate infrastructure valuations. 

In awarding the designations, SAAMA uses a general framework that outlines key asset management roles considered to be typical of asset-intensive organisations. For example, it is not a requirement that the CSAM role is performed by a person who is an expert in all domains, but rather by a person who has insight and clearly understands the essence of the contribution of each domain to overall performance.

The CSAM designation applies to both the public and private sectors, providing basic services that support social well-being and facilitate economic growth, as well as enhancing business performance and maximising job opportunities.