Meet Aphiwe, Airside Systems Engineer Africa at NACO

Royal HaskoningDHV's aviation consultancy brand NACO

“Back in 2014, I joined Royal HaskoningDHV in South Africa. I started off with tender compilations, small power and lighting designs and modelling, continued towards broader responsibilities. I grew towards an electrical engineering technician position where I could work on municipal electrical asset management projects, but also electrical infrastructure master plans or construction management and low voltage distribution design projects. By doing this, I got a good view on the organisation and its services in terms of electrical engineering.’’

“In the beginning of 2021, an opportunity arose to work at NACO, the aviation consultancy brand of Royal HaskoningDHV. I took on the opportunity to work as an Airside Systems Engineer and I am very happy that I did. It gave me a whole new horizon in terms of a rapid learning curve, a diverse set of colleagues and international projects.’’

NACO in the Netherlands and in South Africa

“The NACO department in South Africa works as one team with NACO department in the Netherlands. To come up with a complete airport design, The Netherlands team specializes in the civil aspects of airport design, while we focus on airfield ground lighting. This includes runway, taxiway and apron lighting, as well as power distribution in the airside area. That makes us a very global team!’’

Why Aphiwe enjoys being at NACO

“One of the reasons I love working at NACO is that it clearly has an international component. Airport projects are not only located in South Africa, but I also worked on projects in Saudi Arabia, Australia and Central America. By having these global projects, I get access to a lot of different standards, ways of working, new locations and time zones. That is very exciting! And personally, I get the opportunity and confidence to work on these large-scale projects. In less than two years of working at NACO, I was already exposed to three projects in three different continents. Every project is a total new challenge. Also the type of work we do is very specialised, there are not many people that do AGL design in the world for example. The input I bring to the team is valuable and appreciated.’’

Always learning and sharing knowledge

“At NACO, we actively promote continuous learning and development in our field. I attend a few conferences such as the AviaDev Africa. I notice that every colleague can indicate what they want to learn, so everyone can be inspired in their own way. For me I always look forward to learning more about the design phase. One thing that is true for NACO is that innovation is always on top of mind. Important topics are scripting, automations in Revit and renewable energy in aviation. We let this come to life in some projects, and this is a big win for us and the industry if we make big steps.’’

A unique set of supportive colleagues

“In our global team, each colleague has something unique to offer. One colleague has a lot of skills in project management or civil engineering, whereas the other colleagues focus more on sales, digital skills or stakeholder management. Everyone is very open to help each other and exchange thoughts and knowledge about projects they are working. Also, the latest developments in aviation are discussed. When I need help with a project, I have experienced that colleagues support me fully which is very great.’’