Theo Haupt

BIOGRAPHY:

Prof Theo C. Haupt is an NRF-rated Visiting Professor at the University of Wyoming in the USA; an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Construction Management at the Nelson Mandela University; an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Management and Project Management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology; a Research Scholar at the University of Free State; and Program Director (part-time) at the International Council of Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB). He currently teaches internationally at the University of Wyoming and has taught at Mississippi State University in the USA and in the recent past at UKZN and Mangosuthu University of Technology in KZN. He has been actively involved with the Working Commission 99 of the CIB) with focus on Construction Safety, Health, and Wellbeing, he was the joint international co-ordinator of Task Group 59 now W123 of CIB with focus on People in Construction until 2013, served as the Regional Director: CIB Sub-Saharan Africa, Senior Academic Advisor: ASOCSA-CIB Sub-Saharan Student Chapter. He currently represents South Africa on the CIB Board. He was Vice-President and President of the Association of Schools of Construction of Southern Africa (ASOCSA) and chaired the Heads Forum. He has served on an institutional audit panel at the University of Zululand, served on the Advisory Council on Occupational Health and Safety to Minister of Labour, was a Department of Higher Education and Training Research Output Review Panel member – Academy of Science South Africa, Academic Assessor for the Institute of Safety and Health and reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation. He researches construction H&S and infrastructure development and delivery. Most recent research includes inquiry-based construction education; cost effect of construction H&S regulatory framework on construction cost; sustainable construction; Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), gender studies; infrastructure design, delivery and management; SME development and persons with disabilities. He has worked on several research reports such as Western Cape Construction Sector Development Strategy, Measuring Health and Safety (H&S) Performance, Report on the Profile of Construction Skills in the Western Cape, and Status Report of Health and Safety Education at South African Universities. He was lead researcher of reports by CIDB, namely Construction Industry Status Report – 2004, Construction Health and Safety Status Report – 2009 and Construction Quality Status Report – 2011.

He has authored and edited several books and published over 200 research articles covering the areas of his research interests. He has conducted collaborative research in Italy, India and Turkey. He has received research awards from the University of Florida and Mississippi State University in the USA and Cape Peninsula University of Technology and UKZN in South Africa. His latest books, Safety, Health and Environmental Management in South Africa: A Handbook, Introduction to Construction Health and Safety Management; and Applied Construction Health and Safety have been published in the past 3 years as his contribution to improving the CHS performance of the South African construction industry. He serves on editorial boards such as the Journal of Construction Research, Acta Structilia, and the TQM Journal to name a few. He was the editor in chief of the Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology for more than 20 years and is the overseeing editor of the Journal of Construction – both DHET accredited journals. He regularly examines Masters and Doctoral dissertations of international and national postgraduates, has successfully supervised 60+ postgraduate studies and is currently supervising 30 candidates who are drawn from KZN, Gauteng, Botswana, Zambia, Ethiopia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To date he has graduated more than 20 PhD candidates since 2015. He has served as an external moderator of construction programs at Copperbelt University in Zambia and Ardhi University in Tanzania. He regularly secures substantial funding for his research activities. He has held the SARCHI Chair: Sustainable Work, Education, Environment and Transformation (SWEET) and the eThekwini Chair: Sustainable Built Environment. He is a popular keynote speaker at industry-related events and has presented many international and national construction-related seminars and workshops. He is the immediate past-chair of the Building Industry Forum in KZN. He has been a regular SACPCMP Accreditation Panel member and has chaired many panels since 2017. He receives regular requests globally for full-text versions of his published work. He is successfully growing the cohort of postgraduates and research outputs in South Africa and Africa. He is passionate about developing the construction industry in South Africa and elevating the profile of women in the sector.

He continues to be an activist for construction higher education change.