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South African Institution of Civil Engineering

OUR OBJECTIVES

SAICE is the Learned Society and professional home for almost 8 000 civil engineers, technologists and technicians.

Our members are planning, providing and maintaining the infrastructure which supports the everyday life and activities of modern society all over South Africa. Our members are also involved in projects around the globe.

The Institution provides a variety of services including:

Continued Professional development for its members to keep abreast of development, interactive networking with and among all stakeholders and participants in the profession and the industry.
The development of technical guidelines and documentation.
Community Outreach programmes to society through career guidance, awareness campaigns and capacity building for decisionmakers.
Support and input to central government regarding legislation concerning all aspects of civil engineering.
Promotion and upholding of appropriate standards and an ethical approach.

We bridge the GAP to a WINNING nation

SAICE's MISSION

To advance professional knowledge and improve the practice of civil engineering

In support of SAICE’s mission, SAICE strives:

• to be a learned society for all those associated with Civil Engineering;
• to enable our members, through consultation and accountability, to provide the community with environmentally and economically sustainable infrastructure;
• to cater for the interests and needs of our members by creating an effective communication channel in a strong, dynamic and stable organisation;
• to provide our members v^ continuing education in technical, managerial and communication skills;
• to advance and uphold M professional ethics of the civil engineering profession;
• enhance the recognition of civil engineering as a highly respected profession and a desirable career; and
• above all, to encourage our members to strive for excellence in civil engineering.

Please browse through our site for a comprehensive list of opportunities and services offered by theInstitution and the activities it is involved in.

OUR CODE OF ETHICS

The members of the Institution are required to subscribe to our Code of Ethics.

In essence the Code requires:

• care for the profession and our fellow members
• care for the public and communities we serve
• care for the environment we work in

SAICE's COAT OF ARMS

The general significance of the Coat of Arms is as follows:

The bridge over the image of water, which appears on the lower portion of the shield is a formalized version of the central feature of the old seal, the old Lourens River Bridge near Stellenbosch and Somerset West. A bridge represents, better than any other single symbol, all the main fields of civil engineering activity: transport and communication, structural and foundation engineering and hydraulic engineering.

The three golden annulets on a red background on the upper portion of the shield, originates from Van Riebeeck's Coat of Arms which also form part of the Coat of Arms of the Cape Province. This incorporation in our Coat of Arms serves to record the fact that the Institution originated as the Cape Society of Civil Engineers.

The blue crane which forms the crest, is unique to South Africa and symbolizes the South African sphere of influence and operations of the Institution. It is also a punning reference, characteristic of heraldry, to the civil engineer's construction equipment. It may be noted that, for on the Coat of Arms of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, one of the supporters is a crane.

The motto could be translated as follows: build strongly, with a resolute mind. This motto stresses the importance of intellectual courage in the planning and execution of civil engineering works.

History

During 1964, SAICE registered a new coat of Arms, with the South African Bureau of Heraldry. It replaced the old "SAICE Seal" which was adopted by Council during 1953 (see Transactions, December 1953). The design of the seal consisted of a twospan stone arch bridge surrounded by a circular border in which was inscribed the Institution's name in English and Afrikaans and the year in which SAICE was founded. The particular bridge, which appeared on the seal, was the old Lourens River Bridge at Somerset West.

The formal description of SAICE's present Coat of Arms in heraldic terms is:

Arms:

Azure, a one-arched bridge Or; on a chief Gules, three annulets Or and, in base, three barrulets wavy Argent.

Crest:

On a wreath of the colours a blue crane proper.

Motto:

Fortiter Conde Animo Forti.