The Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal Excellence in Construction programme is aimed at recognising and acknowledging excellence in building and construction. The pursuit of excellence in construction is a particularly important calling, as buildings have a profound effect on their occupants and their users - influencing and shaping the way in which we live, learn, work, contemplate and relax.

The Excellence Awards Competition was launched in 2004 by Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal and was the first of its kind for a South African Building Association. It has grown from strength to strength, with a record number of entries being received in 2009.

Brandon Abdinor, Executive Director Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal said the programme is open to all Association Members who are able to enter projects that they have recently completed.

"The adjudicators are industry veterans and include a retired architect and two former managing directors of major contracting companies. They inspect the projects entered and evaluate the standard of construction, by judging the process and the quality of the end product," said Mr Abdinor.

He added that previous entrants have found the programme to be a superb opportunity to showcase their work. The award not only gives tangible credibility to the promotion of excellence in the industry, but it also provides a powerful marketing tool to the contractor and instils a tremendous amount of pride for the owners of the building.

The gala awards ceremony for this year's competition was held at the ICC in Durban, with around 500 guests, including Association Members, industry stakeholders, government representatives and members of both the regional and national press.

"This is the culmination of a difficult but very rewarding year. Winning the award makes it all worth it," an excited and overawed Sanjeev Nirjhin Divisional Director at WBHO Construction KZN said on winning the title.

The Suncoast Hotel and Towers Construction was an 80/20 joint effort between WBHO and Thekwini Building Projects.

"The challenges we had to overcome with this project were truly amazing. Firstly we were faced with a very tight deadline, but more worrying was the lack of space around the site. It was extremely confined with the beach on the one side, and the casino on the access road on the other two sides. This forced us to coordinate our deliveries to avoid having five trucks arriving at the same time.

"To make matters worse the main electrical feed to the casino ran right through the construction site so we had to be cautious not to drive piles through the cables."

Mr Nirjhin said at the time the building industry was booming and skills at the time were very hard to come by resulting in lots and lots of late nights.

"But winning this award makes it all worth it. Recognition is always good and gives us credibility in a very competitive industry. It's our second Supreme Award. The first one was for the Sibaya Casino project a few years ago."

His words were echoed by those of Bernie Blomfield Divisional MD of WBHO KZN who was "absolutely elated".

"It was a most challenging project but at the end of the day we had a happy client who owns a quality product and a prominent building. Winning this award is the supreme accolade for a project of this magnitude."

He said the Master Builders Association is an extremely prominent association that does a lot for its members. "They are very active and vociferous in their actions."

Of the awards ceremony, he said it raises the bar and encourages younger guys coming into the industry to strive for excellence adding impetus to their motivation.

"I had no idea we were the winners. This is the greatest news and a surprise to us all. First we are the recipients of the Award of Merit and to top it all we have won the Supreme Winner prize in the under R40 million category.

These were the first words from Chris Brown, joint partner at Smith and Winfield after collecting the coveted trophy. He was quick to give credit where credit is due though and, while winning the trophy was a huge honour for the company, it would not have been possible without the immense efforts from Red van Zyl, the Project Manager.

"Red managed the whole project at 162 Point Road, Durban's first fire station and we were part of the team who carried out the refurbishment work."

Mr Brown said the building was extremely dilapidated requiring some very challenging work. This included removing wood borer, stripping timbers and removing rot as well as reinstating mouldings before the paint work could commence.

Another challenge was that being a heritage building, the contractors had to comply with AMAFA heritage site regulations. When 162 Point Road was originally built the work standard of artisans was extremely high and we had to match those skills to restore the building to its original splendour.

"We are most honoured with this award. This kind of event promotes excellence among individuals and companies who are striving to achieve newer and higher levels of building expertise," Mr Brown said.

Smith and Winfield is the longest established Painting and Decorating enterprise in South Africa. The company was founded in Russell Street, Durban in 1886 by Mr SC Smith.

In his address to the 500 strong guests who attended the Excellence in Construction Awards at the ICC on July 18, the President of the Master Builders Association Gavin Strydom said the programme had become more successful each year.

"It is gratifying to see that we are receiving more entries and a larger range of the size and type of entries. It is important to celebrate excellence and those who have excelled should be recognised. This recognition is a reward and a positive reinforcement which will hopefully encourage them to continue striving for further excellence," he said.

Another important reason, Mr Strydom said, was that by celebrating excellence and placing outstanding quality on record, the bar on building standards and quality was being raised.

"Along with the right skills and enterprise development initiatives we hope and trust that the celebration of excellence will filter down through all levels of the industry and inspire those who are just starting out. In this way we can promote the equality we need so much in South Africa and the world.

This year marked the fourth occasion that the Award of Merit was made by the Master Builders Association.

Each year the Association invites nominations for Awards of Merit from its members taking the following criteria into account:

·    A solution to a difficult problem
·    Innovation
·    Effort in the face hardship
·    Averting Danger
·    Saving of life
·    Any other achievement which is considered worthy of an award and results in a noteworthy contribution to construction.

Smith and Winfield were the recipients of this year's Award of Merit. The company is a longstanding member of the Association, the Chartered Institute of Building, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Institute of Painting Contractors.

The brand of Smith and Winfield is a household term in the building industry in KwaZulu-Natal and is seen by many as the "Rolls Royce" of the painting, decorating and renovation contracting Industry epitomising excellence, quality and continued consistency.

Four years ago Smith and Winfield established a Painters Training Centre with the object of ensuring the future skills capacity for painters and decorators in the Industry. The enterprise is accredited by the CETA and Department of Labour as a training provider - a further manifestation of their ongoing commitment.