33 minute read
Analysis
Dispute resolution
Streamlining dispute resolution is the way forward
MIDDLE EAST Juan Sáez and Richard Scott from Accuracy warn that construction companies need to avoid burdensome dispute process and apply pragmatism before its too late
If you are expecting an article that points at COVID-19 for the troubles in the Middle East construction market, this is not it. Even before COVID-19 emerged, contractors had little wiggle room to absorb even moderate levels of risk, with the region already a petri-dish for international companies engaged in a dangerous contest to deliver more projects at often razor-thin margins.
But it is fair to say that COVID-19 could not have been less timely. The projects market in the largest countries in the region had already begun shifting away from the private sector to governmentbacked infrastructure schemes, driven by an oversupplied real estate market.
Throw into the mix the mounting pressure on government spending
Rising concerns
The adversarial nature of construction contracts and the lack of cash flow could trigger a new wave of disputes within the regional industry.
50%
this year thanks to lower oil prices and COVID-19, and there is no surprise that this explosive cocktail is at the top of the agenda for many decision-makers within governments, ministries and authorities.
New project awards in the region are down by over 50% year-on-year. As lockdown measures relax in the Middle East and abroad, supply chain disruptions continue to materialise, placing contractors in a testing position.
“The adversarial nature of many construction contracts and the current lack of cash flow is a perilous recipe that is triggering a new wave of disputes between owners, main contractors and subcontractors,” says Juan Sáez, director in Dubai with consulting firm Accuracy.
Contractors are becoming impatient
and notices of claim are being issued daily, degrading many already tense relationships between contracted parties. As distrust mounts, parties are equipping themselves with lawyers and experts in anticipation of disputes.
Yet it does not stop at claims. In the UAE, long thought of as a rolemodel in the Middle East construction market, more severe consequences are materialising, including owners calling bonds, contracts being terminated, and joint venture partners being abandoned and left with unexpected financial burdens.
In this gloomy context, many are in for a long ride. Sáez highlights the sheer cost and time consequences of triggering formal disputes: years of costly proceedings and uncertain liabilities on everyone’s balance sheets.
Changing the inclination of owners and contractors to go into battle in a formal dispute is certainly no mean feat. It stems from claims processes.
“The paradigm with construction claims is that contracts do not clearly indicate how delay and quantum claims should be presented or substantiated. So, contractors seek to maximise their claims, expecting them to be partly rejected. Although they may have indeed suffered delay or cost overruns, the claims put forward are not auditable and make it easy for clients to reject them. The reality is that poorly substantiated claims are the norm in the Middle East, and I’m afraid this is still the case on claims arising from COVID-19,” Sáez comments, pointing out that the severity of the current situation warrants looking past these historical patterns.
“We are working with project owners and contractors in the region to foster a streamlined approach to the burdensome dispute process. It is about implementing pragmatic contract processes that are effective in avoiding unnecessary noise,” says Richard Scott, partner.
“The successes we have seen are down to getting contractors and owners
A long ride
Juan Sáez says that triggering formal disputes will result in years of costly proceedings and uncertain liabilities for all stakeholders.
Cash concerns
On live contracts, cash flow is a prime concern for contractors, and it can be eased by negotiating more timely payment returns. to speak the same language when it comes to understanding the causes of project overruns,” Sáez adds.
Such a streamlined approach requires parties to unlock horns and adopt a different mindset. Scott says. “Project owners need to look at the big picture, focus on project delivery and understand the repercussions of these disputes on their organisation’s goals.”
In practice, that requires parties to stand back from already entrenched positions on existing contracts and thinking differently about future contracts.
“On live contracts, cash flow is currently a prime concern for contractors, and this can be eased by negotiating more timely payment terms, releasing retentions, reducing performance bonds. For project owners, there are a number of collaborative solutions to reduce costs such as targeted de-scoping, value engineering or more forwardlooking profit-sharing mechanisms on an open book basis,” says Sáez.
In the longer term, if the Middle East is to hold on to its reputation as the centre of some of the most iconic projects on the Planet, it will need to continue to attract sophisticated contractors. That hinges on project owners fixing the gaps in the claims and disputes processes that are driving so much anxiety in the current market.
AR Suresh Kumar
BIG PROJECT ME SPEAKS TO AR SURESH KUMAR, VICE PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS BUSINESS GROUP FOR VOLTAS, ABOUT WHY HE BELIEVES THE INDIAN MEP GIANT WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE IN A CHALLENGING CONSTRUCTION LANDSCAPE
With honest and straightforward business principles, close and careful attention to details, and the ability to take advantage of favourable opportunities and circumstances, there is a scope for success.”
These words come from a quote attributed to Jamsetji Tata, the man regarded as the ‘Father of Indian Industry’, and the founder of what would go on to become the Tata Group of Companies, one of India’s largest conglomerates, with a history going back more than 150 years.
Even in the year 2020, Tata’s words continue to ring true, and their echoes can be heard in the way the group’s subsidiaries operate and carry out business.
Nowhere is this more evident than Voltas Limited, India’s largest air conditioning company and one of the most reputed engineering solution providers in the country, if not all of South-East Asia and the Middle East.
Created more than six decades ago when the Swiss-based Volkart Brothers joined forces with Tata Sons Limited, the company specialises in project management, and has played a vital role
Anchor location
Voltas has set up its international headquarters in Dubai to allow it to serve its various markets faster and more efficiently, says Suresh Kumar.
150
Number of years the Tata Group has existed
in developing India’s infrastructure, while also exporting its expertise across technology, engineering, construction, cooling and ventilation, infrastructure projects and many more sectors, to countries around the world.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the world, Big Project ME caught up with AR Suresh Kumar, vice president and head of the International Operations Business Group for Voltas, to discuss how the company is adapting to the new normal, while continuing to thrive and grow its business despite the many challenges facing the industry, both regionally and internationally.
“We operate throughout the GCC, in UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while in the Far East, we have our operations in Singapore. We’re also licensed to operate in Hong Kong and Macau. Overall, if you look outside India, Voltas operates in almost 40 countries, and over the last 40 years, we’ve done a lot of jobs in Russia, the Central Asian countries, in Mauritius and so on,” says Kumar, speaking during a video conference call from his offices in Dubai.
“These jobs were off the back of us being an Indian company and having a reputation of being willing to work; but over the last 15 to 20 years, we’ve transformed into an international company. We’ve strategically located our international headquarters in Dubai, so that it becomes an anchoring space, where we can fly out to the world. It’s faster, and plus it helps you understand the psyche of the customer.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, Indian companies were approached by Middle Eastern owners because they wanted a better and more enabled project, and culturally, we were together, while our prices were also slightly lower compared to a European contractor. Today however, that’s not the philosophy. Today, everyone is at par and there’s no tags against you,” he relates, adding that Voltas’ longevity sees it regarded as a locally grown company by clients.
With operations primarily in the MEP sector, the company has slowly diversified its interests, with operations in Oman including a landscape and irrigation company.
Furthermore, the company has developed its other offerings, with its water treatment and related services division flourishing in Singapore and the Far East.
Kumar reveals that in addition to these endeavours, Voltas has also gone into the solar market in a limited way, while it is also exploring the industry waste processing sector, having recently successfully completed a major project that involved the setting up of a biogas plant in Oman.
The company has more than 4,400 staff employed outside of India, from Singapore to Saudi Arabia. It also operates a small engineering cell in Mumbai, which consists of around 60 to 70 people acting as backup for the overseas teams, in case there’s a sudden need for engineering on a project, Kumar adds.
“We are doing well, overall,” he says. “Last year’s financial results, we did well in the top and bottom line. We’ve
4,400 Number of staff employed by Voltas outside India
Serving customers
Voltas has branched out its service offerings in order to better serve its customers, depending on their needs. got a very strong presence in India with our unitary products. We’re number one in in the commercial air conditioning business with a 27% market share. We’ve done extremely well, and we’re a debt free company with very high capital,” he states, pointing out that this strong performance is due to the values and way that Voltas does business, driven by the core philosophies of its parent group.
“We follow a different philosophy when it comes to contracting. We don’t just follow typical practices in the contracting sector. It’s the Tata philosophy, and financially, it’s different [to the norm in the industry]. Irrespective of what is happening
in the market, we make sure that we’re controlling our financials very well. That approach is something that has taken us in a better way and allowed us to continue our journey without any setbacks,” he explains.
“Let me take you into our criteria of selection for jobs. We have multiple filters that we apply even before tendering. We’re not a company that quotes for every job. We do a lot of tendering filters and have prequalification criteria for clients; we see what is the purpose of the particular project, does the client have the ability to pay, is he going to depend
Recession proof
Voltas’ pipeline of jobs can be considered recession, or even pandemic, proof, says Kumar.
27% Voltas market share in India
on selling the project to pay us? All of these kinds of issues come into play. We apply a lot of thought, a lot of exercises, before we even tender on a project.
“However, once that is done and we’ve put in all these things, then you have to support the client [if you win the project]. Voltas doesn’t have a history of running away from projects. There are cases where we’ve made mistakes, but we’ve completed the job and come out – there are even jobs where we’ve lost money, but we’ve ensured that the client hasn’t suffered because of our mistakes,” Kumar emphasises.
Because of this stringent vetting process, Voltas has managed to select a pipeline of jobs that are recession, or indeed, pandemic proof. Citing their project at Expo 2020 Dubai as an example, Kumar points out that although the Expo has been postponed, the client still intends to finish the project on schedule, as planned.
Similarly, the company is working on a number of district cooling plant projects with reputed agencies, where the projects are scheduled to continue on time and as per the schedule, he says. In fact, he adds, there is a resort client in Bahrain who actually wants Voltas to finish their project ahead of time, as it believes it will be able to benefit from a post-COVID19 surge in business.
“Let’s understand one thing – this pandemic is going to bring a different dimension to the travel industry. A lot of people in the GCC have a habit of traveling out during the summer and winter breaks. Fewer and fewer
Client support
Voltas will often work closely with consultants, clients and main contractors to find better solutions for projects they’re involved in.
people will travel to Europe, America or the Far East for the foreseeable future. But they’ll still have this urge to travel, so where will they go? They’ll travel locally, because they’re more or less safe within the region,” Kumar
predicts. “As borders get opened, I’m very sure that local travel will increase, and with it increasing, hospitality and its related industries will have enough volume. It may not be as much as before, but it will definitely be there.”
L A S E R S C A N N I N G
S T R U C T U R A L A S S E S S M E N T
B I M
U N D E R G R O U N D M A P P I N G
T R A I N I N G / S A L E S
One JLT, Jumeirah Lakes Towers P.O. Box 123422, Dubai - UAE Mob: +971 543 116 793, Pho: +971 4 429 5869 e -mail: admin@ gcsolutionsltd.co.uk Web: www.gcsolutionsltd.co.uk
“For Voltas, because we’re in that kind of area, I don’t foresee big trouble for us at the moment. The only thing that I can tell for sure though, is that we’ll have to an another filter to our decision making process – which is to look back at even some of our stronger customers and what their status is.”
Furthermore, Kumar predicts that new opportunities will continue to open up due to the pandemic, particularly for firms like Voltas, which offer a range of services and solutions. One such service is the company’s facilities management business, which he predicts will see a strong growth both during and post the ongoing pandemic.
New opportunities
The pandemic will open up opportunities for companies that are agile and offer a wide range of solutions to their clients.
70
Number of engineers in Mumbai serving as backup
“Definitely, 2020 will open up a lot of opportunities thanks to all these changes. If you see the competition landscape, there are a number of companies who are not going to be able to adjust to this pandemic situation – they’re going to collapse. There are also companies who’ll vacate this market,” he says.
“Another big advantage for us at this time is that we’ve got a reputation for doing things the right way, whether that’s paying salaries on time or whatever – we’re very fair to staff workers, so this pandemic will give us an opportunity to get the best talent in the market, during this crisis. We’ve had crises in in the past – wars, oil prices, steel prices and copper prices have all gone up and down. Issues have always happened in the past, so why do we say that this is a unique situation? Everything is unique at that particular point in time. So, it comes down to how you see your business and keep your staff intact. That’s what we’re looking at. Keeping people within the fold, so that we’re able to deliver on our projects and make sure our customers don’t suffer. If any customer is to be happy, then first of all, your staff has to be happy. Once your staff feel like they’re being taken care of, then they’ll take care of the company.”
Kumar insists that despite the uncertain situation, smart
construction companies need to re-examine their policies and procedures and become more agile and flexible to develop and grow.
“We have to be patient – we cannot rush in and do something. I’m not a believer in survival. Unfortunately, in contracting, a lot of people use this phrase: ‘We have to somehow survive’. No, don’t ‘somehow survive’, instead recalibrate yourself. When I say that, I mean that you have to redefine all your old schools of thought, all the methodologies that you though were excellent – they’re not going to take you further.
“It’s not what you’ve done so far that’s going to take you further. You have to innovate, find new processes, new tools and techniques. That’s what’s going to get you out of this market [situation],” he asserts.
Pointing to Voltas’ work on district cooling plants, Kumar says that while the UAE is probably the capital of the district cooling business in the region, if not the world, there are a number of district cooling projects coming up in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. While there are intermediate companies in those countries, there are very few contractors capable of managing and delivery projects of such scale and complexity.
“These projects need a lot of talent, and that’s why we’re focusing on talent retention. Plus, when you
keep doing these types of projects, you come up with new methods and techniques, which can involve everything, from civil capabilities, through to MEP capabilities, and through to automation.”
“Today, there are plans that are being developed for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and developing plants that operate without people, and so on.
“You need a lot of knowledge extensions – it’s not just about us being a MEP company anymore. We have to integrate with big data and understand how it’s used to run a plant, for example.
2020
Will change how the industry operates
Knowledge advantage
Because Voltas is part of the Tata Group, it can avail of a number of resources within the organisation to resolve challenges encountered on projects.
“Our advantage is that because we’re a Tata Group company, we’ve got a lot of other companies that can work with us as required, and vice versa. If I need help with big data on a project, I don’t need to recruit someone. I can just go and search within the Tata organisation. These kinds of things help,” he says.
In addition to all these changes happening in the industry, Kumar says that customers are finally starting to realise the importance of looking at the financial stability of the companies they partner with on projects. As he explains, due to current economic situation, clients will consider a variety of factors and not just performance and ability to deliver on time.
“[They will look at] how strong are the books? How transparent are they? With these factors, Voltas will definitely score points. We’re a debt free company, so banks will be willing to support the project, and clients will know that we won’t divert the money they’re paying us for something else.
“As a contractor, you have to go with clients who are going to buy into you. Don’t waste your time having to go with someone who you’ve got to convince. There are reliable and reputed customers who still want to process their jobs.
“The fundamental issue is that you want a client who’s willing to own a project, rather than someone who’s only interested in selling it,” he concludes.
Heriot-Watt University
PROJECT NAME:
Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus
PROJECT COMMENCEMENT:
April 2020
PROJECT COMPLETION:
December 2020
PROJECT LAUNCH DATE:
January 2021
CURRENT COMPLETION RATE:
17%
NUMBER OF FLOORS:
6 + GF
Building onValues
BIG PROJECT ME PROFILES THE NEW HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY DUBAI CAMPUS IN DUBAI KNOWLEDGE PARK. CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF BEING FITTED OUT BY KHANSAHEB, THE NEW CAMPUS WILL OPEN IN JANUARY 2021 AND IS SET TO PUSH THE REGION’S ACADEMIC LANDSCAPE FORWARDS. GAVIN DAVIDS REPORTS
he UAE is regarded as one of the more mature education markets in the GCC region, and has attracted investor interest from some of the most prestigious institutes from around the world, including the likes of New York University in Abu Dhabi, and Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, amongst many others.
Education has long been considered a key element in the GCC’s drive towards economic diversification and sustainable development. The UAE, in particular, has led this charge towards making investment in higher education a key priority. This comes as no surprise, given that the 18-24 population has been projected to grow at a CAGR of around 2% between 2017 and 2021, a PwC Middle East report says.
With recent reforms extending student visas from one year to five years, and introducing a special 10-year for exceptional students, there is clearly an emphasis on attracting top-tier academic talent – an impression backed up the arrival and growth of several high-ranked universities in the country. These measures are likely to drive up enrolment numbers, with an optimistic scenario being that private enrolment could continue to grow linearly at a CAGR of 3.5%, adding more than 21,000 students by 2021, the report adds.
Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has slowed momentum, universities in the country are banking on enrolment figures resuming their rise, and as such, have begun investing heavily in upgrading and developing their campuses and assets.
One such university is Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, which recently announced that it had awarded the interior fit-out contract for its new campus in Dubai Knowledge Park to Khansaheb Civil Engineering, the locally owned construction company.
In a statement in June, HeriotWatt said that following a lengthy tender process – which started in 2019 – the university had made the decision to finalise the appointment of Khansaheb in April 2020. The university was assisted and advised in this process by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), who have also been appointed as project managers for the project.
“There were several reasons why we decided to move to a new campus. We made a commitment to this region to continuously deliver high-quality education and research in Dubai and this move to a brand-new campus in 2021 is part of that,” says Professor Ammar Kaka, provost and vice principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, to Big Project ME during an exclusive interview about the project.
“This move plays a key role towards our strategy 2025, which is called Shaping Tomorrow Together. It is a values-led strategy that seeks to embed our four guiding values – Inspire, Collaborate, Belong and Celebrate – into everything we do. Focused on our vision for excellence, our mission to benefit society, and our ethos and values, our strategy expresses what we intend to achieve over the next six years, and that includes offering students the best possible experience.
“Heriot-Watt is a globally connected university and has campuses in Scotland and Malaysia, as well as in Dubai, and key to our Strategy 2025 is being a globally connected university, hence the need for a new digitally enabled campus, with suitable spaces to help link students and staff with their peers and stakeholders globally, not just locally,” he explains.
A key part of the student experience at the new campus is that it is based at the heart of Dubai Knowledge Park. By being centrally located in one of the city’s influential business hubs, students will be able to network with the surrounding business community, Kaka adds.
“We also think that our investment in a new campus is proof of our belief
5,000
Total capacity of students on the new campus
in the economy, even during these unprecedented times. Heriot-Watt can and will help in the economic recovery of Dubai. Not only through our collaborative research initiatives with the business community, but by continuing to attract and develop the best possible talent in the UAE. We expect to see a full recover post-COVID and our investment in the new campus has been made in view of the same,” he states confidently.
A MODERN FACILITY: The new campus is set to further enhance the student experience through a digitally enabled learning environment that supports the delivery of the University’s portfolio of programmes, which includes Data Science, Computing and AI, Business, Accounting and Finance, as well as Psychology, Architecture and Design, Construction and Engineering.
It will offer students exciting new features, such as a dedicated student hub, significantly more social learning spaces, an engaging library with study spaces, a Maths Gym for Maths support, and a central Student Services Centre for student administration.
Classrooms have been designed to be more interactive, where rather than traditional lecture theatres, there will be two collaborative lecture
World-class experience
The new campus will offer students a world-class, interactive learning experience. theatres supporting small group work, as well as whole class teaching.
Kaka adds that considerably more space will be allocated for doctoral students and research fellows than currently available. The new campus will include an in-house recording studio in order to enable and encourage the creation of digital materials, in line with Heriot-Watt’s vision of offering a worldclass interactive learning experience.
“The new campus will also include an Enterprise Floor, similar to what has been developed at our campus in Edinburgh, combining our GRID (Global Research Innovation and Discovery) infrastructure and the business incubators at our Edinburgh Business School. The enterprise floor will allow our staff, researchers and students the opportunity to interact and work with business leaders and entrepreneurs,” he says.
“Furthermore, Heriot-Watt University has recently committed to a multimillion-pound investment in robotics infrastructure and research in Edinburgh. In Dubai, we are delighted to announce that we are launching a degree in robotics and our new campus will include a state-of-the-art robotarium as part of its mechanical engineering laboratory.
“The entire design has been planned bearing in mind that the education landscape is dynamic and constantly evolving. For example, we believe that learning is likely to have a blended approach so have ensured the new campus will support that effectively,” he asserts.
By moving to a bigger facility, HeriotWatt will be able to accommodate a student population of 5,000, and due to the campus being much larger, Kaka hopes students will have more capacity to network, engage in innovative projects, problem solve and work in teams.
Blended approach
Professor Ammar Kaka says that the new campus has been planned bearing in mind the changing dynamics of the education landscape.
240
Number of people working onsite currently
DELIVERING THE CAMPUS In order to deliver such a vital project, Heriot-Watt turned to Khansaheb, one of the most venerable names in the UAE construction industry. With a rich heritage and a reputation for delivering similar projects on time, within budget and consistently meeting key deliverables set, awarding the contractor the project was an easy decision for the university, Kaka says.
“As part of the tendering process, they were able to demonstrate that they have successfully delivered largescale, bespoke design projects; and as a locally owned company, they have the knowledge and context of how to
Our investment in a new campus is proof of our belief in the economy, even during these unprecedented times. Heriot-Watt can and will help in the economic recovery of Dubai, and develop the best possible talent in the UAE”
work efficiently in the region. They also demonstrated their ongoing commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees, which was a key factor during the procurement process.
“The deliverables Heriot-Watt tasked Khansaheb with cover on-time completion, Health and Safety and Quality Assurance. All the deliverables will be benchmarked against stringent performance indicators,” he points out.
With the project commencing work on site in April 2020 and progressing well, in line with the Contract Programme, Ross Trivett, Khansaheb Interiors general manager tells Big Project ME that work is currently 17% complete, and that overall completion is scheduled for December this year.
“The client required a technically strong contractor who could deliver a high-quality product, on time, working in a collaborative, proactive and innovative manner to ensure that the project was executed successfully, while at the same time creating an enjoyable, ‘can-do’ working environment,” he says.
“Due to the current situation, several staff have been working from home during the engineering phase of the project, and this has proven to be challenging as normally workshops would be adopted with all key stakeholders, so as to fast track the required approvals.
“From a construction viewpoint, as the building is shell and core and has only recently been completed and begun
commissioning, snagging is ongoing. We have faced some challenges with handover procedures for the Service/ Front of House lifts and isolation of the existing services to allow demolition works to commence in certain areas. We have overcome these initial challenges and the construction works are now rapidly progressing,” Trivett outlines.
There are currently just over 240 Khansaheb staff and operatives on site during the day, while the recently commenced night shift has 20 staff members and operatives to expedite the demolition works waste removal, he says.
“At peak during the construction phase, we forecast having between 375 to 400 staff and operatives split between the day and night shift,” he
400 Number of people working onsite at peak
Scheduled delivery
Overall completion of the new Heriot-Watt University in Dubai campus is scheduled for December 2020. adds, pointing out that all workers and staff members onsite are protected by Khansaheb’s robust Health and Safety standards, which are embedded within the company’s processes and define how things work on site.
“Our K-Standards define the minimum standards for site mobilisation, site setup and worker welfare. They include items such as Five-Point PPE, AC buses for operatives, AC HSE rooms, AC welfare areas for operatives, AC offices for staff, lifts provided for operatives to reach higher floors, filtered and cold drinking water provisions and so on.
“With summer working hours upon us, we have implemented shade covering for external platforms for both deliveries and waste disposal; while water stations will be placed on each floor with electrolytes provided to all on site. Fans and temporary AC units have been placed within the working areas for air circulation and cooling,” Trivett outlines.
Furthermore, pre-start briefings are conducted before activities commence onsite, in line with the Risk Assessment and Method Statements for the works, while toolbox talks are regularly conducted on key project risks, he adds. Operatives are also made aware of changing site conditions, and safety signage in three languages for all operatives and staff to understand is put up across the site.
“At Khansaheb, Health and Safety is our number one priority on all our projects, and we have clear visible Health and Safety leadership from our senior management and Health and Safety manager, who all have a responsibility to carry out frequent, unannounced safety inspections on all projects.
“No works are carried out without an Approved Risk Assessment/Method statement and the pre-start briefing is signed by each operative undertaking the task discussed. Our standards include a card system, where yellow and red cards are issued for non-compliance to HSE requirements. We also regularly hold safety award ceremonies, where operatives and staff are given certificates and prizes for working safely throughout the project, which is a good incentive for all to follow the HSE procedures and guidelines put into place,” he adds.
Due to the threat of COVID-19, Trivett stresses that stringent measures have been put in place to protect staff and operatives, explaining that all authority guidelines are being followed, starting with all personnel entering the building being required to submit to body temperature checks.
“All operatives and staff must wear facemasks and gloves as a mandatory requirement. Sanitisation stations are installed throughout the site, along with signage and toolbox talks conducted for awareness and requirements around social distancing and hygiene. The number of operatives allowed in the lifts are restricted and we have spaced tables and chairs in the welfare area to maintain distance during breaks.
“We have clearly marked red circles throughout the main access routes and waiting areas to indicate distance required between operatives when queuing. The transport of operatives is limited to 50% capacity, allowing only one operative per row on either side of the bus to maintain social distancing. All high touch points throughout the site have dedicated resource allocated to ensure they are regularly cleaned,” Trivett clarifies.
The construction programme for the project has been structured so as to work from the top down, Trivett explains, with work starting on level six and working down through to the floors to the ground floor. Each level has been phased into five separate areas that is managed with dedicated supervision and resources to ensure that the programme is achieved. Each trade commencing with demolition will start on level six and work from North to South towards the material hoist, he says.
Despite the crisis, Trivett says that only minor issues have been encountered during the engineering period, with some engineering delayed due to the late receipt of material samples from international suppliers.
“As the works are now progressing, procurement, manufacture and delivery of materials is critical and this is closely being tracked and monitored to ensure deliveries are received in line with project programme requirements,” he states. “Some of the key early work packages materials have been airfreighted to us, so as to achieve their programme dates.”
Kaka adds that the biggest uncertainty during the procurement process has been the impact of COVID-19 and asserts that Heriot-Watt has been at the forefront, working with all stakeholders to resolve issues.
“The supply chain of materials was affected by the outbreak and we have therefore been extremely careful to work with project managers, designers and a contractor who could work with Heriot-Watt University Dubai to help share and solve any challenges,” he says.
Top down construction
Ross Trivett says that the construction programme has been structured to work from the top down.
17%
Current project completion rate
“Materials are being procured from all around the globe as specified for the project. We have procured materials in-line with the delivery required at site dates, and have airfreighted materials as required to meet programme dates,” Trivett adds, pointing out that the project team uses a detailed procurement schedule to track and monitor deliveries. As a result, any potential delays are flagged early, and alternative plans are put in place to mitigate any potential delay.
THE NEXT PHASE As work continues to progress smoothly, the new campus is scheduled to open in January 2021. This will mark the next step in the university’s journey, which has thus far seen it offer internationally recognised and first-class education in Dubai for 14 years. With the university operating five campuses across the UK, as well as one in Malaysia, the new campus in Dubai is shaping up to be a clear embodiment of Heriot-Watt’s values and influences, Kaka says.
“Heriot-Watt was one of the first international campuses to set up in the UAE, and we have always played a leading role in higher education in the region. The new state of the art campus is our next phase of development in Dubai and we hope that it will inspire others and help continue to push the academic landscape in the UAE forward,” Kaka concludes.
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