Big Project ME July 2014

JULY 2014

SPECIAL ISSUE

Big Project Middle East hits a century as the GCC construction industry gets back to business

M

CONTENTS

JULY 2014 05 THE BIG PICTURE GCC EYES COOPERATION OVER BUILDING, LABOUR LAWS Government representatives discuss implementing unified codes

12 NEWS ANALYSIS WHAT NEXT FOR ARABTEC? Big Project ME looks at the story behind the turmoil at Arabtec

16 IN PROFILE BACK FROM THE BRINK Bishoy Azmy, CEO of Al Shafar General Contracting tells Gavin Davids that the contractor is ready to get back to the big time

23 INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE ROAD TO EXPO 2020: A BIM ROUNDTABLE Big Project ME, in partnership with Autodesk, hosts Dubai Municipality and other experts, to discuss the implementation of BIM technology

42 SPECIAL REPORT: LABOUR WORK IN PROGRESS Neha Bhatia looks at how the GCC is progressing on its labour issues

52 INDUSTRY FEATURE: FIT-OUT FIT-OUT FOR PROFIT Big Project ME looks at how fit-out contractors can help save costs

56 10 TO WATCHNTIVELY TOP 10 PROJECTS TO WATCH OUT FOR Big Project ME lists 10 upcoming and ongoing projects worth following

60 SECTOR FOCUS: PROJECT MANAGERS PIVOT TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project managers tell Big Project ME about the benefits they offer clients

68 COMMENT TURNING THE TIDE ON SEA-WATER CORROSION Laith Haboubi explains why high-performance waterproofing membranes are in high demand across the global construction industry

70 TENDERS 5 SAUDI TOP TENDERS Big Project ME lists the region’s biggest construction tenders for July

PAGE 23

Big Project ME has an indepth discussion with the region’s leading BIM experts about the implementation of DM’s BIM mandate.

72 CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM CHANGE IS OPPORTUNITY Gavin Davids says that the changing nature of GCC construction should be viewed as an opportunity for the industry to control where it’s headed

EDITOR’S COMMENT

BIGPROJECTME.COM

100 issues and not out We thought long and hard about the theme for this most special of Big Project ME issues. We looked back at old editions and realised that, while the magazine’s title has always suggested it is about the things we build in the Middle East, it has only really ever been about the people tasked with achieving the amazing benchmarks we now see on our landscapes.

To that end, the 100th issue of Big Project ME is a celebration of the people within the industry that have achieved the seemingly impossible and continue to prove the unimaginable is possible in this region. We’ve spoken to the industry to get their view on where they think we are heading . Looking to the immediate future, our coverage of the special BIM roundtable we hosted with Autodesk last month provides a sense that technology will be a vital conduit to connect everybody on the chain of construction. The ‘10 lists of 10’ dotted throughout the pages are more personal trips backwards and forwards through the story of the industry in the region.

While I write on the subject of people, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the current Big Project ME team headed by Gavin Davids and Neha Bhatia as well as previous editors such as Melanie Mingas, Louise Birchall and Sona Nambiar, who have all helped to make Big Project ME one of the best thought-of construction magazines in the market.

Reading this issue reminds me that a lot has changed since the first Big Project ME magazine landed on industry desks in 2007. We’ve seen the rise and fall and rise of many people, companies and markets across the region within its pages and we reach our 100th issue birthday with many exciting events and achievements yet to come.

GROUP CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP CEO NADEEM HOOD GROUP COO GINA O’HARA PUBLISHING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5471 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR VIJAYA CHERIAN vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5472 EDITORIAL GROUP EDITOR STEPHEN WHITE stephen.white@cpimediagroup.com +971 52 755 5184 DEPUTY EDITOR GAVIN DAVIDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 ASSISTANT EDITOR NEHA BHATIA neha.bhatia@cpimediagroup.com ADVERTISING COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL STANSFIELD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497 SENIOR SALES MANAGER YASIN ALVES yasin.alves@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5496 SALES MANAGER SANDRA SPENCER sandra.spencer@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5473 MARKETING MARKETING MANAGER LISA JUSTICE lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5498 MARKETING ASSISTANT BARBARA PANKASZ barbara.pankasz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5499 DESIGN ART DIRECTOR SIMON COBON CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ROCHELLE ALMEIDA rochelle.almeida@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 368 1670 DATABASE AND CIRCULATION MANAGER RAJEESH M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147 PRODUCTION MANAGER JAMES P THARIAN james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9146 DIGITAL DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER TRISTAN TROY MAAGMA

It is staggering to think that by the time you are reading the 200th issue both the World Expo and FIFA World Cup would have come and gone. I wonder what we’ll be writing about, then? Hopefully Ras al Khaimah would have got around to building that space port.

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Stephen White Group Editor

JULY 2014

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

THE BIGGEST PICTURE

GCC EYES COOPERATION OVER BUILDING CODES, LABOUR LAWS GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSS IMPLEMENTING A UNIFIED BUILDING CODE BY 2015 REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE GCC have met in Oman to discuss a proposed unified building code, which is likely to come into effect after 2015.

The meeting resulted in the decision that the unified code would be in tune with international guidelines and will be drafted considering the environmental needs and topography of the region, a report in the Muscat Daily said.

“We have decided that the building code of Saudi Arabia will form the basis of the unified code. We will customise it through a pilot project which will be implemented across the GCC, before the code comes into effect,” Saoud Nasser Mansoor Al Khusaibi, director general for Standards and Metrology, Ministry of Commerce and Industry - Oman.

“We are following the required ISO norms. The aim is to implement a code which focuses on safe and environmentally-friendly architecture.”

Al Khusaibi added that the pilot project would help frame the unified code, which will be implemented over a three year period after 2015.

The director general also pointed out that a 40-member team was working together to draft the code.

“We will also take views of stakeholders like builders and residents.

The pilot project will also look into possible problems that might come up once the code comes into effect,” the director general explained.

Meanwhile, the assistantundersecretary of labour affairs for the UAE’s Ministry of Labour has said that proper communication channels need to be built between the corresponding ministries of all GCC members, and called upon the Executive Office of the GCC Council of Labour Ministers to follow suit.

Following a meeting of the GCC undersecretaries of labour ministries, the

THE GULF IN 2020 n When the proposed unified building code will come into effect: 2015

n Number of people in the team working to draft the code: 40

n Foreign labour participation in labour force (% of total population): 95%

UAE’s Humaid bin Deemas Al Suwaidi said that the GCC countries are “making huge efforts to establish high standards for policies governing the labour market.”

Representatives and employers of workers from the GCC states participated in the meeting to develop worker laws, relations and legislations in their respective countries.

The appointment of GCC member delegates to the committees of ILC, and a unified GCC message to be delivered at the conference’s plenary session were also discussed at the meeting.

This preparatory meeting was held on the sidelines of the 103rd session of the International Labour Conference Organisation (ILC) being held between 28 May and 12 June at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) in Switzerland.

ILC is a part of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN agency established in 1919.

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

BIG PROJECT ME SPEAKS TO BISHOY AZMY, CEO OF AL SHAFAR GENERAL CONTRACTING – PAGE 16 5

THE BIG PICTURE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

INVESTIGATION FIFA’s sponsors have called for an investigation into corruption allegations over the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

CONSTRUCTION WORKS COMMENCE ON RASHID HOSPITAL EXPANSION One-year duration estimated for expansion completion

FIFA SPONSORS URGE ‘THOROUGH INVESTIGATION’ INTO QATAR ALLEGATIONS Visa, Adidas and Coca-Cola join Sony in expressing concerns about corruption allegations FIFA’S HEADLINE WORLD Cup sponsors have expressed concerns about the corruption allegations that have engulfed the awarding of 2022 event to Qatar.

Visa and Adidas have joined Sony in demanding that bribery claims against Qatar winning hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.

“The negative tenor of the public debate around FIFA at the moment is neither good for football or for FIFA and its partners,” said Adidas in a statement. The German sports equipment manufacturer is FIFA’s longest serving partner and recently renewed its sponsorship of the World Cup till 2030.

Visa added that it expected FIFA to “take the appropriate actions” in responding to the current investigation and its recommendations. Sony had earlier said that it expected the governing body to ensure that disclosures by The Sunday Times were ‘investigated appropriately.’

The comments come after the paper published revelations regarding the activities of Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari former FIFA executive committee member and his alleged links to the successful Qatar 2022 bid.

FIFA’s sponsors collectively contribute $1.5 billion over a four-year World Cup cycle.

$1.5 BILLION

AMOUNT FIFA’S SPONSORS COLLECTIVELY CONTRIBUTE

Construction work has commenced in the Trauma and Emergency Centre of Dubai’s Rashid Hospital, which will be expanded by up to 160 beds at a cost of $43.8 million.

Pre-engineered units will be utilised in the expansion so as to ensure the Centre continues to function despite ongoing expansion works.

“After detailed consultation with specialists from the Trauma Centre and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) engineering department,

we finalised the design of the expansion, keeping in mind all the requirements needed for a hospital with a high volume of patients,” said Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, director-general of the DHA. “The Trauma Centre caters to the most critical cases in the emirate and therefore designing the expansion in a manner that is convenient to doctors and helps enhance patient care was of pivotal importance,” Al Maidoor said.

“Now, we have begun the construction using the preengineering concept and the project will be completed in one year,” he added.

The expansion is the first phase of the $816.7 million –worth master-plan announced for Rashid Hospital by the DHA in May 2013.

AL MAMZAR DEVELOPMENT WILL FUEL GROWTH IN DEIRA Waterfront residences to be built on beach frontline, Emaar announces FOLLOWING EARLIER REPORTS by Big Project ME about development plans for Dubai’s Al Mamzar area, Emaar Properties announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Municipality to develop a mixed-use beachfront development in the locality.

Phase 1 of the Al Mamzar Beach development was announced as being completed in May 2014.

Planned around the 53 hectare (131acre) wide Al Mamzar Lake, Emaar’s project will include waterfront residences; serviced

residences; retail amenities; fountains; water features and water-themed leisure attractions.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director of Emaar Properties said the company would ensure that the mixed-use project at Al Mamzar Beach fitted in with, and promoted growth in, the Dubai suburb of Deira.

“Dubai Municipality’s initiative to explore the development potential of Al Mamzar will further add to the city’s economy by creating another engine of growth in the Deira region,” he said.

ENGINE OF GROWTH The Al Mamzar Beach development will become a generator of growth in Deira, Emaar says.

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BIG PROJECT ME CHAIRS THE ROAD TO EXPO 2020 – A ROUNDTABLE WITH LEADING BIM EXPERTS – PAGE 24

JULY 2014

THE BIG PICTURE

DSE WINS $70M SARAYA AQABA RESORT PROJECT IN JORDAN DSE will deliver a district cooling plant and undertake engineering scope of works for four hotels and 12 villas DRAKE & SCULL Engineering (DSE) has won two major contracts for the Saraya Aqaba Resort, a mixed-used, themed development around a man-made lagoon in Aqaba, Jordan for a combined value of $70 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, DSE will provide complete MEP services for two 5-star hotels managed by Dubaibased international hospitality chain - Jumeirah Group, two 5-star hotels run by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a leading global chain of hotels, and 12 uniquely designed luxury villas.

Additionally, DSE will undertake the complete design, supply and

installation work for a district cooling plant with a total capacity of 8,000 TR along with the seawater intake and pumping station for the entire resort. Both projects are already under progress and are expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

The contract was awarded by a consortium comprising of Arabtec – the UAE’s leading construction company, Consolidated Contractors Company – the largest engineering and construction company in the Middle East, and Drake & Scull Construction – the General Contracting business stream of DSI, is the main contractor for the Saraya Aqaba Resort.

BIG CONTRACT DSE has won two contracts worth $70 million in Jordan.

$234MN BEACH RESORT TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT SAADIYAT BY 2017 Sheikh Suroor Projects Department, Ghantoot Group sign agreement Sheikh Suroor Projects Department (SSPD) recently signed an agreement

with Ghantoot Group to develop a luxury beach resort, the Saadiyat Island Resort Development Project in Abu Dhabi by 2017.

The contract was signed by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Suroor Al Nahyan, owner of SSPD and Ali Mohamed Sadeq Al Baloushi, chairman of the Ghantoot Group. The contract is valued at $234 million.

PALM TOWER BY NAKHEEL TO BE LINKED WITH PALM MONORAIL Links with Palm Monorail, Al Ittihad Park will also be provided NAKHEEL WILL DEVELOP a residential complex at Palm Jumeirah, with construction slated to commence this year on the hotel, which will directly be linked with the Nakheel Mall. Construction of the ‘Palm Tower’ is due completion in 2016.

The Palm Tower will also have direct bridge access to Club Vista Mare, one of Nakheel’s new beach club complexes on the island, as well as to Al Ittihad Park and the Palm Monorail, which will be connected to the new Dubai Tram system, launching in November.

The residential complex includes 504 apartments and a luxury hotel, which will be managed by ShangriLa; the hotel will occupy the first 18

The resort has been designed

by DBI Design, and will consist of a low-rise 295-room hotel; a standalone spa; a wellness centre; a gymnasium; and meeting rooms. 11 luxury twostorey villas and one exclusive private villa will also be constructed under the terms of the project.

Residential and hotel projects are returning to the fore in Abu Dhabi.

floors of the buildings with its 290 rooms and suites.

Additional facilities to be constructed for the development include a 360° swimming pool on the rooftop complex’s 50th floor. A public viewing deck will be built on the 52nd level.

“The Palm Tower will be our flagship hotel and the ultimate address on Palm Jumeirah,” said Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah. He added that construction on Nakheel Mall is also expected to commence “soon,” with a contract worth $326.6 million already awarded to UAE-based contracting firms United Engineering Construction (UNEC) and Atco General Contracting Company.

In April 2014, Aldar Properties announced three residential projects, with a combined worth of $1.4 billion, at Yas Island, Al Raha Beach and Al Bateen in the emirate.

“We (Aldar) extensively studied the Abu Dhabi property market and its trends before deciding to launch these projects,” Gurjeet Singh, chief development officer of Aldar.

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

BIG PROJECT ME LOOKS AT SOME OF THE MOST PERTINENT ISSUES FACING LABOUR IN CONSTRUCTION– PAGE 42 7

At the 2014 Construction Machinery Show we sold 70 units and 100 more units are under discussion. We have delivered a positive message to our existing clients, our competitors, and grabbed new clients.

I think gaining such an appreciation from all members in the construction equipment sector is a great honour and will encourage us to work very hard to keep the same level of style, image, and standards.”

This year the CM Show team delivered an exhibition Saudi deserves. For years, we have seen a vision in this Show and this year the vision was achieved. We wanted quality traffic and we saw equipment and company owners; and we were able to offer some promotions to entice sales.

I saw an increase in our sales immediately.

Our principles, Doosan and Everdigm, really enjoyed themselves. We anticipate the upcoming years to be even better.”

The Construction Machinery Show was perfect from an awareness point of view.

We explained Roots Group Arabia’s capability of covering the construction industry with all of its needs and requirements. The attendance was good especially during weekdays and towards the end of the exhibition. See you next year.”

Al-Qahtani & Sons Khaled El Shatoury, Managing Director

Saudi Diesel Equipment Ahmed Alkooheji, Marketing Manager

Roots Group Arabia Abdulaziz Felemban, Brand Manager

Co-located with

Raz Islam Publishing Director raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 50 451 8213

Michael Stansfield Commercial Director michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 55 150 3849

THE BIG PICTURE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

RAS AL KHAIMAH FREE ZONE STEPS ON TO THE ROAD TO GROWTH PETER J FORT, CEO OF RAS AL KHAIMAH FREE TRADE ZONE EXPLAINS WHY THE UAE’S STRATEGIC LOCATION IS BENEFICIAL TO THE LOGISTICS MARKET IN THE COUNTRY THE UAE’S LOGISTICS market is estimated to be worth $9.3 billion by the end of 2014 according to a report released by Dubai FDI. UAE already hosts the Middle East’s largest port and the world’s busiest airport, and as Peter J Fort, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Free Trade Zone told Big Project ME in an exclusive interview, the UAE - and its northern Emirates - will continue their growth pattern.

WHAT ARE THE PARAMETERS ACCORDING TO WHICH LOGISTICS HUBS MUST BE DEVELOPED?

Logistics hubs are ideally developed in geographical areas where goods can be manufactured, assembled or re-exported with minimum bureaucracy and maximum cost and time efficiency. While this requirement would at first seem to be easy to achieve, only a few countries have been able to develop the appropriate balance. Additionally, in order to receive the highest and best use, logistics hubs should be developed near major seaports, international airports and located in regions which have certain geographic advantages to facilitate trade.

HOW DO FREE ZONES CONTRIBUTE TO THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF A LOGISTICS HUB?

Logistics hubs are able to be most efficient when they are set up in conjunction with free zones, where bureaucratic red tape is reduced, customs duties and taxes are reduced or eliminated. Additionally, there must be well-developed requirements for the construction of warehouses and other facilities to ensure that the facilities are built according to international standards.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE FOR THE CREATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS – SUCH AS ROADS, RAIL NETWORKS AND PORTS – IN THE NORTHERN EMIRATES?

As the region slowly eases its way out of recession, there is renewed impetus on the part of the UAE government to fast-track mega infrastructure development, in order

STRATEGIC LOCATION Peter Fort, CEO of RAK Free Zone, says that the emirate’s location gives it an advantage over competitors.

to secure future economic stability, with a particular focus on the Northern Emirates.

In RAK, a $822 million plan is underway to upgrade the emirate’s road infrastructure.

Plans include upgrading the emirate’s sewage networks, by 2015, to accommodate a projected population increase to 600,000 residents. The Road Improvement Programme includes extension of Emirates Road, the addition of new roads to remote areas, and expansion of the existing road network.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE UAE THAT ALLOWS ITS LOGISTICS HUBS TO THRIVE?

One of the biggest advantages of the UAE, including the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), is its strategic geographical location.

It is ideally positioned as a gateway to the sizeable markets of Africa, Europe, the Middle East as well as Central and South Asia, and to tap into trade between East and West.

In RAK, logistics are provided by five sea ports, including Saqr Port, the largest bulk port

in the Middle East, and the RAK International Airport. RAK is also connected to other emirates and neighbouring countries by the multi-lane super-highways E311 and E611.

These logistical advantages make it easier for companies to get their goods to end users.

WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS FOR RAK FTZ?

One of the challenges of creating or expanding logistics hubs in the UAE is keeping up with the increasing demand for facilities from current and future clients. This year, RAK FTZ expects to continue to grow, although perhaps at a slower rate than last year due to high occupancy levels in its current real estate portfolio.

Therefore, RAK FTZ is developing new facilities in response to the 30% increase in new clients that it saw last year. We plan to build a new office tower in its Business Park that will accommodate more than 700 new clients. RAK FTZ will also construct 100 new warehouses in its Technology Park for clients doing business in trading and light manufacturing.

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BIG PROJECT ME FINDS OUT WHAT BENEFITS PROJECT MANAGERS BRING TO PROJECTS – PAGE 58

JULY 2014

FOAMGLAS® Insulation

Flat roof, Terraces Dubai International Airport is expanding to increase capacity from 60 to 90 million passengers per year by 2018. It is the largest airline hub in the Middle East and the best connection between east and west. Concourse 4 is a new building on the airport territory, designed and planned to provide multiple services. FOAMGLAS ® insulation is applied on the flat roofs and directly laid on to a single-ply waterproofing membrane. A protection / separation layer is loosely laid on top of the insulation. In hot countries FOAMGLAS® can be used as an inverted roof system. Moreover to thermal insulation performance, FOAMGLAS® convinced Dar Al Handasah Associated Consulting Engineers by its outstanding properties. The best load bearing capacity, combined with non-ageing thermal efficiency over decades were relevant decision criteria. Because of zero combustibility and the ecological advantages, cellular glass is recommended as one of the top insulation products from sustainability engineers. With a very low carbon footprint, FOAMGLAS ® is a front-runner in the thermal insulation market.

Dubai International Airport, Extension Concourse 4 7 5 4 3

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Architect Dar Al Handasah, Management and Supervision Consultancy Construction 2013- ongoing FOAMGLAS® application Inverted roof system, FOAMGLAS® insulation, 100 mm thick, 6,000 m2

2 1

Roof structure 1 Concrete deck 2 Screed

3 EPDM membrane 4 FOAMGLAS®, 100 mm 5 Separation / protection layer

6 Sand / mortar 7 Tiles

Sustainable in ecology and economy Web: www.foamglas.ae Email: info@foamglas.ae Dubai office Tel: +9714 434 7140 Doha office Tel: +9744 465 5360

NEWS ANALYSIS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

WHAT NEXT FOR ARABTEC?

MARKET MOVER Hasan Ismaik, former CEO of Arabtec, has increased his shares from 8.03% to 28.85%.

Big Project ME looks at the story behind Hasan Ismaik stepping down as CEO of Arabtec Holding, just over a year since taking charge

I

t was on Wednesday, the 18th of June 2014 that the news broke. Rumours had swirled for days that something was happening, but all enquires were rebuffed, with the message staying consistent, that it was ‘business as usual’.

It’s no wonder then that investors on the Dubai Financial Market were taken by surprise when it was announced that Hasan Ismaik, the Jordanian billionaire, would be stepping down as CEO of Arabtec just over a year since taking over the position in February 2013.

He has since been replaced by Mohammed Al Fahim, an Arabtec board member, as acting CEO. Al Fahim is also a board member at International Petroleum Investment Company, the parent

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“I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING COOKING IN THE COMPANY, THERE MIGHT BE SOME SORT OF ACQUISITION SOON. THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING GOING ON THAT’S BEEN PREPARED FOR THE LAST FEW PERIODS”

JULY 2014

investor group of Aabar Investments. He is also a board member at Aabar Investments, First Energy Bank, Alizz Investment and Depa Ltd. In addition to being the head of finance at the Finance and Accounts department of IPIC, Al Fahim is also the general and supervisory board member of Energias de Portugal.

Coming just weeks after he had pledged to turn Arabtec into one of the world’s largest construction companies, Ismaik’s abrupt departure followed his company losing a third of its market value in less than two weeks.

Shares in Arabtec, one of the most heavily traded stocks in Dubai, have fallen from a high of AED9.31 on May 5 to AED4.26 on June 19, 2014. This is despite a series of high-profile announcements from the construction company, which included a $40 billion agreement with the Egyptian government to build one million homes in 13 locations across the country.

One of the factors behind the slump in share prices was the decision by Aabar Investments, one of the major stakeholders in the company with a 21.57% share, deciding to cut that down to 18.94% (as of June 19, 2014).

This raised investor fears that the Abu Dhabi government backed state fund would be reducing its involvement in Arabtec, despite playing a key role in organising billions of dollars in contracts for the construction giant and its subsidiaries.

However, in a recent interview with Al Arabiya television, Hasan Ismaik was quick to dissuade those rumours.

“What is happening with Arabtec’s share price has no basis and does not reflect the

fair value of the stock,” he said, asserting that there were no problems between Arabtec and Aabar’s management.

Indeed, as Aabar cut its stake, Ismaik himself raised his own holdings in the company.

Data released by Dubai Financial Market named him as a 28.85% shareholder, up from an original 8.03%, which was increased to 21.46% in May 2014.

He insisted that the changes to Arabtec’s ownership structure had nothing to do with the company’s huge project pipeline, which he estimated at $58.6 billion across the region.

Hisham Khairy, the Dubai-based head

NEWS ANALYSIS

TIME LINE August 2012 Hasan Ismaik joins Arabtec board of directors February 2013 Appointed as CEO of Arabtec Holdings August 2013 Appoints Burj Khalifa master planner, Nabil Al Kendi, as COO of the Arabtec’s group of construction companies November 2013 Arabtec cancels Phase II of rights issue January 2014 Arabtec Construction wins $705 million Al Reem Island contract February 2014 Arabtec signs $6.09 billion deal to build 37 towers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Arabtec announces plans to set up five new subsidiaries March 2014 Arabtec signs $40 billion deal with Egyptian government to build one million low cost houses April 2014 Arabtec announces plans for European acquisition

n Date of Listing: Jan 4, 2005

n Authorized Capital: $1.19 billion

n Issued Shares: 4,395,300,000.00

n Share value, May 5: AED 9.31

n Share value, June 19: AED 4.26

of institutional trade at Menacorp Financial Services, told Big Project ME that he thought Ismaik’s stepping down would act as a spur for recovery for Arabtec’s stock prices.

“The drop was due to the Aabar selling process. It took the stock down from around AED8.00 to its current levels. Of course there was also selling pressure from other investors as well, so the selling intensified,” he explained.

“Ismaik resigning has cleared up most of the speculation about him leaving or not, all of that has been cleared out. So in a way, I think it’ll be seen as a positive. Investors are just waiting for more news to come out,” Khairy

asserted during a telephone interview.

He added that Arabtec shares had been oversold for the last few years, which meant that they were due for a technical rebound as well.

“I don’t know if the rebound will be sustainable or not, but we should be targeting levels of around AED4.70, before we see any selling (of shares) again.”

“If the company announces anything soon, which I think is going to happen, the stock is going to continue going up again. Maybe we’ll reach up to recent highs or we don’t, I don’t know, but I think the strengthening is going to continue and the whole market is going to react.”

May 2014 Arabtec Holding announces plans to list 40% of Arabtec Construction on Abu Dhabi Stock Market by 2015 June 2014 Hasan Ismaik announces that he will step down as Arabtec Holding CEO. Mohammed Al Fahim appointed as acting CEO.

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

EQUITY PROFILE: (AS PER DFM)

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NEWS ANALYSIS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

BUSINESS AS USUAL Arabtec have insisted that work will continue as normal on its multibillion dollar range of megaprojects.

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“The whole market was down with the Arabtec story and when it goes back up, the market is going to go up as well,” Khairy affirmed.

Craig Plumb, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle told Big Project ME that he didn’t think that there would be much upheaval at Arabtec as a result of the change at the top.

Plumb said that it was likely that it would be ‘business as usual’ and that there was ‘unlikely to be any instability.’

Khairy backed up this view, pointing out that the new CEO, acting or otherwise, would be taking over operations that were already in progress and that the company’s projects weren’t going to be affected.

However, this may change rapidly, with Ismaik telling Bloomberg News that he would consider selling his stake in the company if he got a suitable offer.

“If approached by any government entity to buy my stake, I would consider the offer,” he said.

However, Khairy was rather dismissive of such a scenario, pointing out that there might be more than meets the eye when it comes to Ismaik’s stepping down.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen (a government offer for the shares). He’s going to hold on to his stake. I think that there might be something cooking in the company, there might be some sort of acquisition soon.

There might be something going on that’s been prepared for the last few periods.”

“Aabar could be selling its stake, or some of its stake, to free up some cash for something coming up. We don’t know exactly what’s happening, but

JULY 2014

I think that the scenario of what’s happening, it’s like steps are being taken, it’s like a plan.

First he increased his stake, then Aabar selling its stake, him resigning, and it all seems like something is being cooked,” he speculated.

This is backed up by an announcement in May that Arabtec would be listing shares from its building arm on the Abu Dhabi market in 2015. Up to 40% of Arabtec Construction, which is estimated at $2.72 billion, could be floated.

Speaking to shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), Ismaik said that the company intended to pursue targets set under its ‘Vision 2018’ programme by expanding across sectors and geographical segments between 2014 and 2018.

Further fuelling speculation, Arabtec had announced in April 2014 that they were in talks to ‘buy a large European company’.

At the time, Ismaik said that the construction giant would tap into the bond market for the deal, which would be announced in the second half of the year. He said that the contractor would ‘look to purchase companies with international operations to help it carry out projects with high returns.’

“We are now looking into an acquisition and we could do it in partnership with others,” he said in a Bloomberg report. “When we get there, we will be looking for financial solutions and convertible bonds could be one.”

It’s clear then that there is something stirring at Arabtec, and while it’s not quite clear what that is, it’s quite possible that it’s still going to be a very interesting year for the construction giant.

Speaking at a press conference to discuss the events of the last month, Khadem Al Qubaisi, chairman of Arabtec and Aabar Investments, asserted that Aabar remained fully committed to Arabtec, with all the projects announced to continue as scheduled.

Intriguingly, Al Qubaisi insisted that there would be greater transparency from within the company, which was something he personally committed to.

"I can assure you that the transparency will improve a lot in Arabtec over the next few months. For me, transparency is very important and we need to be transparent with our shareholders," he asserted.

One would hope that the market will hold him to his word on that. n

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IN PROFILE BISHOY AZMY

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BACK FROM THE BRINK

In 2008, Al Shafar General Contracting cut nearly 1,000 staff members as its order book dropped by $816 million. Six years later, it’s on track to recover strongly.

Bishoy Azmy, CEO of the construction giant, speaks to Big Project ME

B

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MIDDLE EAST

ack in the 1980s, Dubai was a very different city. Where there are now glittering shopping malls and towering skyscrapers, there was only sand and dust. Long before extravagant plans were being made to hold events like the World Expo, the rulers of the emirate were looking to begin development plans that would simply allow the city to compete on an international footing.

As these ambitious plans began to take shape, savvy contractors in the region realised that they were being presented with an opportunity that wasn’t likely to come again. After all, how often does the chance to build a city almost from scratch come along? Especially one that aims to be one of the greatest in the world?

This then is the environment into which Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC) was formed.

Having been founded in 1989 by two partners, Mohammed Bin Shafar and Emad Azmy, the construction firm has grown to be one of the largest contractors in the UAE, with an estimated $2.17 billion worth of projects currently underway.

Within a decade of its founding, ASGC had become a Limited Liability Company (in 1997), with a range of subsidiaries that covered a number of construction facets. It very quickly acquired a reputation for being one of the best contractors in Dubai to work on high-rise projects, which came in handy given the emirate’s penchant for building vertically.

It was at the height of ASGC’s success in 2008, having just grossed $817 million and with 15,000 employees on the payroll that Bishoy Azmy took over the reins from his father and ASGC’s founder, Eman Azmy.

Aged just 28, the future was golden, with little to suggest that the good times wouldn’t continue for years to come. The company had just been

JULY 2014

ranked by MEED as the holders of more than 3% of the construction market share and plans were afoot to continue its growth story through to 2012.

This obviously didn’t happen as the real estate bubble burst and Dubai entered a period of uncertainty and austerity that it had never seen before. Amongst the worst affected sectors was the construction industry, especially contractors.

“I consider myself very lucky, because I learnt some very important lessons over the last six years,” Bishoy Azmy tells Big Project ME during an interview at his company’s offices in Dubai.

“There were two to three years of ‘super-boom’ and then three to four years of very bad bust,” he relates. “The biggest challenge over the last six years has been dealing with the ramifications of the bust. I had to take a lot of painful decisions. I had to lay off people that were friends. You knew they had families, you knew that they weren’t going to find work. You had to delay payments to suppliers when you know you’ve had 25 years of

“FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE WORK HAS BEEN TO SUSTAIN YOUR VOLUME, YOUR SETUP, YOUR STAFF AND YOUR OVERHEADS AND KEEP THEM FROM GOING UNDER. NOW IT’S TIME TO GO BACK TO MAKING MONEY”

clean history and a good record of being a decent paymaster. We had to do things that we didn’t like and that we’d never done before or even thought of doing. That was the only way to survive,” he says with a grimace, clearly still disturbed by the memories of a time that would have tested even the most experienced CEO, never mind someone who’d been in the job for just over a year.

With the Dubai construction market now finally back to an even keel, Azmy says that he’s keen to turn his focus back to the future, having concentrated on mere survival during the struggle of the last few years.

“For the last few years, the work has been to sustain your volume, your setup, your staff and your overheads and keep them from going under. Now it’s time to go back to making money.

Margins are still very tight because there are a lot of construction companies with spare capacities.

“We’re hoping that over the next year, all or most contractors, will start filling up their backlogs to acceptable levels and will start briefing more kindly, hence putting more margins so that their work is more profitable,” he explains.

“The first quarter of 2014 was very good. I can say that in our view as a company, we’re out of the woods and are on a track of recovery. In the second half of 2013, there was positive sentiment and changes in the real estate market.

“As a contractor, that doesn’t immediately come to us in a tangible fashion, but it’s becoming tangible now in 2014, with new works being awarded. I think 2014 will be a good year,” Azmy asserts positively.

Having been established in Dubai, ASGC has always had a strong relationship with the city and its developers. This is something that Azmy is keen to continue, despite keeping an eye out for opportunities elsewhere.

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MIDDLE EAST

IN PROFILE BISHOY AZMY

17

IN PROFILE BISHOY AZMY

“We are a Dubai-based company. This is our home, this is where we’re best known and where we have strategic long-term relationships with clients. This makes a big difference. We have repeat customers, we have individuals who trust us and who have worked with us in various capacities and we have fantastic long-term relationships with suppliers.

“While we don’t refuse work outside Dubai, and have been eager to work outside, the fact is that we’ve not been very successful. We’re able to perform much better in Dubai and we’ve got a lot more opportunities and we have much more strength going for us here.”

Although the company had set up operations in Syria and Libya, the political situation there meant that operations had to be shut down. With most of their projects in Egypt also having drawn to a close, Azmy says that at the moment, ASGC is focusing completing their projects in the UAE, while keeping an eye out for new work.

“We still have an open mind towards expansion, but for the last few years, it’s been very difficult on two fronts,” he remarks.

“For us as a company, we had a tight situation dealing with the crisis here, so we were not very relaxed and not very generous in terms of expansion and business development. That probably created restrictions and the market around us was pretty turbulent. There were a lot of political disturbances (around the region) and an economic crisis that was both global and regional, so it wasn’t the best of times to expand, but we still have an open mind.”

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“IF YOU DON’T JUST LOOK AT THE IMMEDIATE COST, THEN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BUILDINGS OR GREEN SOLUTIONS, THEY JUST MAKE GOOD BUSINESS SENSE”

Although ASGC’s construction work may have been curtailed during the lean years, one thing that Azmy was determined not to sacrifice was the company’s hard won reputation as one of the most safety conscious contractors in the region.

He explains that this is a philosophy that was passed down to him by his father, who has been a defining influence in his life and in the way he hopes to shape the company.

“I followed in my father’s footsteps. He started this business and he managed it for 20 years before I took over and he’s still very much actively involved. His philosophy, which I completely adhere to, is that this is a family business. Not because it’s owned by a couple of families, but because everyone who works here is family.

“We have all the respect in the world for everyone working for us and we really acknowledge this. It’s not just words. The success of the company comes from everyone in it and we’re very proud of the fact that we have very long tenured employees and staff.

“There is extremely low turnover and people have been around for years and decades, and

that’s how we like it. In fact, there’s now a second generation, which is another example of how we’re a family business. We have sons and daughters of senior employees who have been with the company for a long time, graduating and wanting to join ASGC,” he claims proudly.

Azmy insists that this ‘family-first’ philosophy has spread right to the lowest levels of the company, and has best manifested itself in the company’s enviable health and safety programme.

“We’re extremely careful about our health and safety records, primarily because we think it’s a responsibility for our staff. If we do not create an environment that protects every single employee in the company, then I feel that we’re not doing our job.

“Health and safety is disconnected from operations, our group HSE manager reports directly to myself and his mandate is very clear: ‘You do whatever you want, you take whatever money you want and you take whatever people you want – but you need to create a safe environment. If anyone wants to cut any corners, you stop him and if for any reason you face any

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MIDDLE EAST

GOOD TIMES AHEAD With Dubai’s real estate market recovering, Azmy expects 2014 to be a good year for ASGC.

JULY 2014

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IN PROFILE BISHOY AZMY

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IN PROGRESS ASGC have several projects under construction, including The Onyx on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

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MIDDLE EAST

resistance then you come back to me’,” he says firmly, indicating that this isn’t a topic he’s willing to compromise on.

Now that ASGC has started to see work pick up in Dubai, Azmy hopes to translate these values and commitments across the GCC as he looks to pick up previously abandoned expansion plans and move forwards.

“I think Saudi Arabia is a huge market for us, with huge potential. Every market has its positives, negatives and its challenges. Saudi Arabia definitely has its own set of challenges with the Nitaqat system that’s in place, but every country has its own nuances and idiosyncrasies.

However, it’s large enough, attractive enough and promising enough to warrant any obstacles that

JULY 2014

we might face while penetrating the market,” he says bullishly.

The values of determination and taking the initiative is something he learnt while navigating the crisis, when ASGC was forced to look at other construction sectors for survival. Not only is it now the parent company of more than 20 subsidiaries, it is also moved into many new sectors that has helped strengthen its hold in the market.

“Back in 2007 and 2008, we were primarily known to be building high-rises, because that was the trend in Dubai. Now when the crisis fell upon us, people didn’t want high-rises as much.

So we started to diversify and we’re very happy to say that we’ve built a lot of pre-cast construction and we’re very active in the hospitality sector.

“WE HAD TO DO THINGS THAT WE DIDN’T LIKE AND THAT WE’D NEVER DONE BEFORE OR EVEN THOUGHT OF DOING. THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE”

IN PROFILE BISHOY AZMY

n Waldorf Astoria – Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

n The Onyx – Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

n Oceanscape – Reem Island, Abu Dhabi

n The One Tower – TECOM, Dubai

n ASGC HQ Building – Dubailand

n Bay Square – Business Bay, Dubai

n Marassi – Egypt n Celestial Heights – Downtown Jebel Ali, Dubai

n Ambulatory Hospitals – Abu Dhabi

n Mividia – Egypt n Al Muraqqabat Mixed Use Development – Dubai

n Dubai International Airport Support Facilities – Dubai

n City Walk Residential Project – Jumeirah, Dubai

We recently finished the Park Hyatt project for the government, we’ve also finished the Waldorf Astoria on the Palm,” he lists, adding that ASGC is also working in the infrastructure sector – such as the Dubai Airport.

“We’re into healthcare, hospitality and infrastructure. We’re involved also with clients like the RTA and we’re working on several factories, so we’re also involved in the industrial sector.

We’ve been adopting a very strong strategy of diversification – sector wise, and I’m very happy to say that it’s borne fruit.”

Part of this strategy of diversification is investment into new construction technology, a move that Azmy says that he is behind wholeheartedly, terming it ‘the way of the future’.

“We’ve already adopted BIM and I believe that it’s an important sector (in the construction industry). We believe in technology and we believe that we need to update ourselves otherwise we’ll go extinct.

“Back in 2006 or 2007, we were one of the earliest local or regional contractors to adopt a full ERP solution. We’ve been running on Oracle as a full solution for many years now, but during the crisis, we were of course more focused on crisis management and not so much on innovation and updates,” he says.

“However, since we’ve come out of the woods at the end of last year, we’re moving in that direction and we’ve started purchasing new equipment, new formwork and new assets on

the hardware side. On the software side, we’re implementing BIM, which is the new word in construction technology.”

With the Dubai Municipality serious about mandating BIM in the construction industry, Azmy believes that the region will see multiple benefits, not least when it comes to saving money.

“I think they (the green building codes) are a very good first step. I believe that it’s not only necessary to be environmentally aware but I also believe that from a business angle, it makes sense when you look at the life cycle costing.

“That’s when you look at a building the long term running expenses. When you do things with solar systems, when you do things that require less waste to be produced and when you’re doing things that last longer, that are recyclable, then it’s cheaper in the long run.

“If you don’t just look at the immediate cost, then environmentally-friendly buildings or green solutions, they just make good business sense,” he asserts strongly.

Sensing the changing sentiment towards green building in the Dubai construction market is one reason why he’s so confident about the future of the industry, Azmy says.

With steps being taken by the Dubai government to ensure that things don’t go out of control, he remains confident that the worst is over and that the good times are back again.

“In general, I’m quite optimistic about the Dubai market. I think everyone’s learnt something from the last crisis. Dubai is rising from the ashes in a fairly healthy way and we can see that actions are already being taken by the government to ensure that the market doesn’t overheat,” he says.

“However, I think with the amount of activity underway, resources (are going to be an issue).

This is still a small city and we’ve faced this challenge in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and I think we’re going to face it again. Competent staff, sufficient workforce, good subcontractors and suppliers who aren’t overbooked (will be necessary),” he points out.

“Dubai doesn’t compromise on quality, but neither does it compromise on time. So if they want things to be at very high standards, as well as being constructed in a reasonably short amount of time, then doing all of that will need competent and available teams.

“At the moment, they’re all available, but over the next year or two, they could be tied up and the question will be ‘how you will build more, if you want to build more,” Azmy ponders, highlighting the dichotomy that faces Dubai as it stands on the cusp on a new building revolution.

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

ASGC PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

ROUNDTABLE SERIES THE ROAD TO EXPO 2020: A BIM ROUNDTABLE

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MIDDLE EAST

Big Project ME brings together some of the foremost experts of BIM technology in the GCC to discuss with Dubai Municipality the issues surrounding its implementation in the market ahead of Expo 2020

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

L

ast month, Big Project ME, in conjunction with Autodesk, organised a roundtable discussion at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa. Held on June 10, 2014, the event centred on how Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be applied to the construction industry in Dubai as it steps up preparations for the World Expo 2020.

With Dubai Municipality having made BIM mandatory for specified architecture and MEP works in Dubai, there is a need to accurately define how the technology can be applied ahead of an estimated $30 billion construction boom.

Furthermore, with planning and earlystage construction work already underway on a number of high-profile mega-projects, the government of Dubai cannot afford to ignore the benefits of BIM. Keeping this crucial fact in mind, the ‘Road to the Expo 2020’ round-table aimed to begin a series of discussions that are driven from within the construction industry. The hope is that these talks will educate, inform and create

BIGPROJECTME.COM

dialogue between the key players in the regional construction industry.

This first event was attended by contractors, consultants, BIM experts and most importantly, a team of specially appointed engineers from Dubai Municipality’s Building Department.

Tasked with implementing and informing the BIM mandate, it was crucial to hear the team’s plans about how they intend to shape the future of BIM in Dubai’s construction industry.

Dubai Municipality has become the first public authority in the Middle East to mandate the use of BIM on large-scale projects, and the opportunity facing it is huge. As the course of the discussion unfolded, it became clear that not only was the DM team aware of the opportunities facing them, but that they were keen to learn from the construction industry around them, so as to best serve them.

Therefore, it was fortuitous that the ‘Road to Expo 2020’ discussion had some of the foremost BIM experts in the GCC in attendance, with representatives from leading contractors and

consultants present. In addition, Autodesk’s Marek Suchocki also took part in the talks, adding the weight of his expertise, having worked extensively with the UK government as they work towards the implementation of their own BIM mandate.

Over the course of three hours, a variety of topics were discussed, including how BIM can be used to plan and manage large-scale projects ahead of Expo 2020, how BIM can reduce the risk to contractors and consultants on Public Sector Projects and finally, how it can link multiple project supply chains and create a link between stakeholders.

Along the way, the discussion veered to how Dubai Municipality would implement BIM and involve the various stakeholders of the construction industry.

All in all, the discussion proved that there was tremendous willingness to embrace BIM technology, but that much work remained to be done if it is to bring about the desired revolution in the construction industry.

THE PARTICIPANTS

Engineer Mohammed Abdullah Tawalbeh Principal architectural design engineer, Qualification and Building Studies Section, Building Department, Dubai Municipality

Engineer Hassan Kayed Al Mustafa Principal drainage, irrigation & temperature desalination engineer, Building Permit Section, Building Department, Dubai Municipality

Engineer Hadeel Akram Fadda Senior architect engineer, Building Permits Section, Building Department, Dubai Municipality

Engineer Rana Bassam Odeh Senior architect, Building Department, Dubai Municipality

Ahmed Balawi BIM manager, Building Information Modelling Section, Arabtec Construction

Ahmed Omar Ali Kukhan BIM coordinator – Project Engineer, Building Information Modelling Section, Arabtec Construction

Doctor Ozan Köseolu BIM leader, TAV Construction

Yann Pennes Project director, Dewan Architects

Doctor Jayant M Deshpande Director, Omnix International

Marek Suchocki ENI EMEA sales development executive, Autodesk

Gavin Davids Deputy Editor, Big Project Middle East

MIDDLE EAST

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Engineer Aida Abdul Rahim Abdulla Head of section and team leader, Building Department, Dubai Municipality

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

life easier for investors and stakeholders who want to invest in Dubai’s building sector.

Of course all of us know about the technical savings of BIM, like the ease of work that it provides. Those are clear. It’s how to implement them that is the question.

DISCUSSION POINTS The roundtable gets underway with Marek Suchocki giving a short presentation about BIM.

HOW CAN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS CREATING A VIABLE, WORKING BIM-EMPOWERED SYSTEM FOR THE INDUSTRY?

CAN BIM BRING ABOUT A ‘PARADIGM SHIFT’ AHEAD OF EXPO2020?

Marek Suchocki: Well, Dubai itself is a big project on a national scale, and BIM is a new way of working. Globally, the demand for efficiency is increasing. People want to do more with less. The budget estimated for infrastructure construction for the future is more than infrastructure building has ever been undertaken in history.

Globalisation is found in Dubai; many cultures come together here, but it is not unique. This is also found in other countries of Europe, such as the UK. The mixing of cultures is also the mixing of economies, so it’s a big factor that contributes to societal demand and impacts the environment.

To collaborate effectively is key; sequential sharing in the industry is not sufficient and we need new ways of working to exchange and collaborate on projects irrespective of the physical location. Old techniques often don’t allow that.

Engineer Mohammed Abdullah Tawalbeh: It’s a big challenge and it will take a huge effort to create strategies for the use of BIM. It will need to be a shared effort and we will have to prepare the market for it.

Many companies and consultancy firms are still unaware about the use of BIM. I don’t expect that more than 10% of the contractor and consultants in the market know or are aware of BIM, so it’s going to be a challenge for us.

We started preparing ourselves following the announcement made by the director of Dubai Municipality, regarding the use of

BIM, in the end of 2013. The departments decided to support him in this decision.

Therefore, we issued a circular to consultancy firms to design their projects using BIM. It is for architectural and MEP works for all buildings 40 storeys or higher, and buildings that are 91,000sqm or larger. We are now working on preparing the market for BIM and encouraging them to train their staff.

We have a clear idea about the benefits of BIM but we’re building our roadmap and trying to draw out our strategy and plan, which we will layer with information from you and experts in the field.

Engineer Rana Bassam Odeh: Dubai Municipality is an association created to serve society and the higher management’s main purpose is to make life easier for customers, owners and all other individuals.

They didn’t decide to use BIM just because they heard about it in the market or because the word is being floated around. They did it after undertaking deep studies and very detailed investigations.

The decision wasn’t taken by just the building department; we are part of a bigger association and the higher management implemented BIM with the objective of making

“ON A LARGER SCALE, THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE UAE OR DUBAI NEED A STRATEGY WHICH WILL BE SUPPORTED WITH A CLEAR ROADMAP AND BUSINESS MODEL”

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MIDDLE EAST

A ROADMAP FOR BIM

Doctor Ozan Köseolu: I have some experience with working on the BIM mandate in the UK and what’s missing in the region is a business model to define what the clients’ requirements are.

TAV has recently begun using BIM for all the projects they’re tendering for, both in the construction and operational phases. It is a huge challenge and the key to it is creating a roadmap. We currently support projects with internal efforts in the tender and construction phases, but we now need a business model from clients and from the government.

When we handover a project to a client, we spend a certain amount on the design, and certainly on the construction too, but the operation of the structure for decades involves a huge cost and it requires a certain business model. What we’ve been trying to achieve at TAV is a clear business model that we can show to our CEO. On a larger scale, the governments of the UAE or Dubai need a strategy which will be supported with a clear roadmap and business model. If a client has certain requirements that he needs fulfilled by the contractor or consultant, how you share the information is key (to the project’s success).

Ahmed Balawi: Dubai Municipality’s announcement is very ambitious and it’s good to see that the government is promoting technology, but as a government sector you deal with projects from their design stage to construction and operation. However, contractors need to be involved only at a specific stage. As a municipality, DM has a social responsibility, but contractors don’t see many objectives (for them) in the mandate.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

“WE’RE REACHING THE POINT WHERE WE TAKE THE NEXT STEP, BUT IT WILL TAKE US SOME TIME. WE WOULD LIKE TO DEFINE OUR REQUIREMENTS BUT FIRST WE NEED TO BUILD OUR BANK”

The UK government has worked and defined the requirements of its BIM mandate for social impact and categorised contractors to do specific projects. This is where the requirement or objectives of the building are defined.

It is something DM should work on. Yes, BIM reduces risk and adds value, but for whom? It should be clearly defined. You say you need a data bank – for what kind of information, though? These are the real questions. The start is ambitious but you need to ask ‘why do you need BIM?’ BIM can perform thousands of functions so clarity is needed.

Eng. Tawalbeh: The project is not easy and for us as a government sector to define the requirements it requires study and information. You say ‘ define’, but we have to study the requirements first, what’s behind INFORMATION BANK Although Dubai Municipality is keen to start implementing BIM, they stress the need for an information bank to be built.

BIGPROJECTME.COM

the objectives and the effect of these on the market and on business. We need time.

We’re holding meetings and defining it and we’re reaching the point where we take the next step, but it will take us some time.

We would like to define our requirements but first we need to build our bank.

Dr Ozan: We all know the benefits of BIM. The next challenge we have to define is how to make it happen. We’re delivering projects using BIM and everyone knows its benefits. But we need to make it happen. Bring everybody – the DM, other government bodies, the contractors and consultants – together.

We need a taskforce consisting of contractors and consultants. We have to define the roadmap together, without which the business model cannot be made.

At the end of the day all projects have costs that somehow need to be managed.

This means clients need a roadmap and a business model. We need to address these requirements with all parties involved and then rollout the same for all projects.

Engineer Rana Bassam Odeh: Consultants are the targeted group for now because implementation during the design stage, the preliminary stage, is most important. Consultants working in Dubai are qualified and very talented, but they have a lack of knowledge.

We as DM will, and have already, hosted several consultant seminars and discussions with different people who have been using BIM for years. They have also shared their experiences with us and we’re still collecting feedback.

It might be a situation of resistance to change, and it is a big change for us in Dubai Municipality as well. Before BIM, we had the e-checking services and we found, while searching for best practices, that BIM can support e-checking in a huge way.

If people start using BIM, it’ll be good for us.

We’re still collecting information and we want to hear from contractors as to why they used BIM even before it was mandated? Why they, as independent contractors, chose to use BIM even though the recent mandate doesn’t affect you.

HOW HAVE CONSULTANTS RESPONDED TO THE DUBAI MUNICIPALITY MANDATE?

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Yann Pennes: There is no panic, as all of us know that BIM is the natural evolution of our industry and that it has to begin with the consultants at the design stage.

We also understand DM’s process in implementing a smaller group first, targeting largescale projects, with international components, which is also the nature of most projects in Dubai.

Therefore, it’s not as if we’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool. We all know that the US and the UK, and most of Europe have already implemented BIM systems for much longer than we have. However, when it comes to the UAE, for build and design, they’re associating themselves with local consultants and we have been sharing this experience with them for some years.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

EXPO FOCUS The discussion centred around the implementation of BIM ahead of the start of Expo 2020 construction work.

However, we still have to close the gap that exists on our platforms and how we develop them. There are several projects that are currently under review by Dubai Municipality, which are we’re really up for participating in, and they have been really helpful in this process.

Not in terms of trying to implement a rigid process, but for allowing us to propose things and submit composite submissions

between AutoCAD, BIM and various things which support our submissions.

The process is slowly taking place, and as DM is directly in communication with society, getting feedback and such things, it means that we need to address that – show what we can offer, and what we can propose, to assist with this process.

Ahmed Omar Ali Al Kukhun: If Dubai Municipality is targeting consultants now, perhaps you can categorise them into ranks; like A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, and so on. A global consultancy may have the capacity to run BIM through its departments; but a smaller local firm may not be able to do that because of low financial capacities.

But you also have to look at who’s unafraid of BIM. Who are the people that want to change and adapt and promote themselves? Who are the people who want to enhance themselves and build their credibility for better challenges?

People just want to know where they are; therefore categorising would help.

Yann Pennes: We know that contractors would like to receive, at the time of the building permit, the full standards and to run with it immediately. We will be more than happy to assist with that, however it will take more time for all of us to actually do that.

Also, we must consider that the experience of international consultants, who have been working on BIM previously, is very different to what is needed here. There are many other regulations, many other local aspects that need to be taken into account.

Let’s face it, a schematic design from an international consultant will not comply with

current Dubai Municipality requirements. We all know that. So we still have to evolve this process and bring something to the table so that what we’re doing is not detrimental to what is in with Dubai Municipality and will actually improve things.

APPLIED LEARNING WHAT LESSONS CAN DUBAI LEARN FROM THE UK AND SINGAPORE WHEN IT COMES ADOPTING A BIM MANDATE?

Marek Suchocki: I’m certainly not against the way Dubai Municipality have done things; in that they released the mandate first, without working out how to do things. This is because in the UK we had a government task group, which was a mixture of public and private sector representatives, looking at responding to some of the UK’s challenges.

That was around 2010, when there was a government carbon report on how we were going to lower carbon, and there was an infrastructure investment plan – how were we going to achieve it? And in both those reports, it was found that BIM was a line item. It was one of the ways and not the only way to achieve the objectives. And the government task group, in 2011, issued a report that said: ‘Let’s use BIM because that should give us a mechanism to save costs.’

And because the government was committed to doing this by 2016, some of the comments made here are very valid. We can’t achieve objectives if you don’t respect the investment required by contractors, consultants and in particular, SMEs. We spend all our time looking at design and construction costs but the actual money is in business and society. You don’t have to pay and fund consultants to buy it but they need to learn how to use it and work with the Dubai Municipality and other parties for standard practices. So if you issue a mandate and you’re committed, you’ll realise it will require some investment in the supply chain.

Good practices should be aligned with what the Dubai Municipality wants to achieve.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE MAJOR FOCUS WHEN CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS COLLABORATE WITH GOVERNMENT BODIES?

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MIDDLE EAST

TIME CONSTRAINTS Engineer Aida accepts that there is a limited time available to implement BIM policies ahead of Expo 2020.

Marek Suchocki: So the first question is to get better data from the supply chain to run and manage your projects. You know what you want to get. For instance, the Expo 2020 in itself will require huge infrastructure investment at low costs with better asset management.

The UK’s BIM mandate had nothing to do with CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 capital construction;

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But ambition makes it a landmark.

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TOP 10 PROJECTS THAT CHANGED THE GCC

10 PROJECTS THAT CHANGED THE GCC

BIGPROJECTME.COM

01

BURJ KHALIFA The $1.5 billion Arabtec-built Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the world. Officially opened in January 2010, the tower is the centre-piece of the Downtown Dubai development that will reshape the entire city. This symbol of Dubai has also kicked off a surge in supertall construction in the GCC, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar also beginning work on their own gigantic towers.

MAKKAH ROYAL CLOCK TOWER Completed in 2012, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower is currently the world’s third tallest building, standing at a height of 601m. Part of a larger complex, work on the project started in 2004, following the demolition of the historical monument, the 18th century Ajyad Fortress.

Covering a total of 1,575,815sqm, the project complex is a mixed-use development that contains a 20-storey shopping mall, a five-star hotel and residential towers. The clock tower itself contains an Islamic Museum and a Lunar Observation Centre. Furthermore, the clock face is the largest in the world. Built by the Saudi Bin Ladin Group, the $15 billion project aims to be a symbol of Islamic architecture.

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KING FAHD CAUSEWAY

DUBAI METRO

Surveying of the project first began in 1968, with construction work beginning in 1981. Costing a total of $800 million, the four-lane, 25km long project was built using 350,000 cubic metres of concrete.

In April 2014, it was announced that a $533 million expansion project would begin by July. The five year project includes building two islands reclaimed from the sea, of 400,000sqm each. The expansion aims to allow 100 million commuters to pass across annually.

With Dubai’s population expected to reach three million by 2017, the need for viable public transportation is pressing. The launch of the Dubai Metro in 2009 began the process of creating an integrated transport network in the city.

With the RTA planning for future expansion, the Dubai Metro has become a reference point for the GCC, with plans in motion for cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha and Abu Dhabi to have their own metro transport systems.

TOP 10 PROJECTS THAT CHANGED THE GCC

BURJ AL ARAB

05

06

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART

DUBAI AIRPORT

Having opened its doors in 2008, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha has become a regional landmark.

Designed by legendary Pritzker Prize-winning architect, I M Pei, the Museum is covers a total area of 45,000sqm and houses millions of dollars’ worth of Islamic art.

Not only has the Museum put Qatar on the map, but it has served as inspiration for the rest of the region, with other countries following suit and setting up their own museums and cultural centres.

Construction of Dubai Airport began in 1959, with a single runway made of compacted sand. Fastforward five decades and the Dubai International Airport is one of the busiest in the world, with three terminals and concourses, two cargo mega-terminals, an airport free-zone and an expo centre.

Work is ongoing at Concourse D, which will expand the airport’s capacity to 90 million passengers annually, along with an additional 340,000sqm of floor space.

The world’s first seven-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab was the predecessor to all of the megaprojects that have pushed Dubai to the forefront of the global construction market.

Construction on the 321m project was completed in 1999. Standing on an artificially constructed island 280m off Jumeirah beach, the Burj Al Arab was designed by Tom Wright of WKK Architects.

Work on the project began in 1994 and involved 3,000 companies and contractors. 250 designers from around the world, and 3,500 workmen, were onsite at any given time during the five year construction process, making it one of the most complex construction projects ever undertaken in Dubai.

07 SHEIKH ZAYED MOSQUE

08

Initiated by the late president of the UAE, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the mosque serves as a structure that unites the cultural diversity of the Islamic world.

Built between 1996 and 2007, it is the largest mosque in the UAE and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The building complex measures 290m by 420m, covering an area of more than 12 hectares, which is exclusive of exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. It holds more than 40,000 people.

BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT In 2004 the Bahrain International Circuit played host to the Middle East’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix, bringing the glitz and glamour of the sport well ahead of its more likely neighbours in the region.

While Abu Dhabi now has the sparkling Yas Island Circuit, and plays host to its own Grand Prix, the $150 million Bahrain International Circuit deserved to be remembered for its contribution to motorsport in the GCC.

DUBAI CREEK

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The centre point since the very beginning, the Dubai Creek has seen the city change from a tiny fishing and trading port to a bustling metropolis. Central to that change was the dredging of the creek in the sixties and seventies, which allowed it to become an anchorage for local and coastal shipping, as well the continuous traffic of merchandise, setting in motion a chain of events that has led to Dubai being of the trading capitals of the world.

It is arguable that if the dredging of the creek had never happened, Dubai as we know it today would never have existed. In turn, if Dubai hadn’t grown and expanded, then we wouldn’t have seen the likes of Doha or Jeddah initiate their own projects to set themselves up as trading competitors to the UAE city.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 it is not at all around design or construction but it’s around managing the public sector assets more effectively.

Therefore, the real focus is what you will do with the data – that is the big question. What does the Dubai Municipality want to benefit from? If it’s only to use during the capital phase of the projects then you’re probably missing out on the real opportunities.

Dr Ozan: The UK mandate came after years of experience. In 1994 and 1998 there were two reports (focused on BIM), by the year 2000, the UK construction industry began to deliver with contractors using BIM, and then after 12 more years, came the BIM mandate.

Now, if we’re talking about Dubai, there are major projects coming and you need to be really structured here. There are lessons learnt for sure, but in order for these lessons to be learnt in two years, it needs to be very structured.

Dubai Municipality has done the right thing at the start, but there needs to be a fully dedicated department or workforce that will identify the roadmap, the action points, and really take three to six months to work out how BIM can be deployed in Dubai. With the disciplines, with the projects. All the execution plans or business models, these all need to be worked out.

I’m talking about high-level strategy for Dubai Municipality. You need to spend three months talking to contractors, three months talking to consultants, engage with the technology providers.

We need to set the strategy and then say, okay: “here’s the next five years strategy’. For the first year we should be achieving ‘this, this and this.”

Eng Aida: In Dubai, we have Expo 2020 coming in about six years. We’ll have to move faster than that (a five year plan). We want to leverage what’s been done in the UK and (carry it forwards in Dubai).

Ahmed Balawi: This is the issue. You have to set realistic expectations as you cannot keep pace with technology. It won’t stop today, by the time we hit the five year target, the technology would have advanced.

So we have to set up some minimum expectations and minimum deliverables.

BIGPROJECTME.COM

PERHAPS IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO LOOK AT THE UK AND SINGAPORE EXAMPLES AND SEE IF THEIR MODEL CAN BE TRANSLATED TO DUBAI?

Dr Ozan: Singapore is a good example. It’s a small place but their government has done the right thing in terms of how they approach the industry.

They have a development programme, training centres and they also have internal BIM experts to make sure that it is linked with industry.

Engineer Hadeel Akram Fadda: Actually what was interesting about the Singapore experience, was that it was started

by Singaporean society itself and as not started or mandated by the government.

As Dubai Municipality, we’ve looked at the Singapore experience and seen how it was started by society and moved on, and then how the government supported it.

They’re aiming for 2015, I think, (to implement BIM) for projects which are more than 465sqm in size.

Actually, what Ahmed was talking about, doing strategy and gradual implementation, this is actually what has been followed by Dubai Municipality. Starting with high-rise buildings, construction sites which are bigger than

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“YOU HAVE TO SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS AS YOU CANNOT KEEP PACE WITH TECHNOLOGY. IT WON’T STOP TODAY, BY THE TIME WE HIT THE FIVE YEAR TARGET, THE TECHNOLOGY WOULD HAVE ADVANCED”

JULY 2014

25,000sqm. We’ve just started with a very specific number of projects to see the projects where implementing BIM is really efficient and required.

It is not required for smaller projects and buildings. We have started studies along with the implementation and while we’re not fully aware of everything, partial implementation is underway.

Hopefully, by 2015, we’ll pass another milestone.

Engineer Rana: Implementing BIM and using BIM, is not just a case of introducing new technology. It’s a way of changing people’s thinking. We’re still not mature enough to convince all the stakeholders of the supply chain, to change the way of their thinking. We’ve just started trying to implement it, but it’s a long procedure and it’s not as easy as you think.

Engineer Hadeel: We’re not planning on developing a long-term strategy until the end of the year. (Right now), it’s about developing a new way of construction thinking.

Dr Ozan: What we need to understand is that it’s a new way of managing a construction project. Yes, it’s very good that we can develop the BIM, but basically we need to improve the project management skill set.

For example, we don’t see BIM as a separate department in our projects, we see it as part of our overall scope. When we hire new project engineers, we tell them that if we’re going to be working on a construction project, they’re going to have to be BIM-enabled project engineers.

If you see BIM as a separate thing, where the other participants are working and delivering, there are a lot of issues. But if you see it as a change of mind-set, and with new,

BIM ROUNDTABLE

fresh graduates coming in with knowledge, it’s much easier. That’s why we’ve tried to bring the younger generation into our business and have tried to merge them with experience, so that they can take the challenge on board.

Ahmed Balawi: It’s a continuation of the process. In the UK the initiative came from the government, in Singapore, it came from the society. Here, it is a combination. It is coming right now from the government, but people are already delivering projects in BIM. So let us have a collaborative effort to make the best model for delivery.

I want this information – at this level of development – at this decision point’.

So when it comes to phases of the project, the client will make decisions because they don’t want to keep spending money and will ask ‘What information should I receive? How should I receive it?’

That’s what is going to be set up. We’re basically helping a public sector organisation in this region learn how to do the BIM mandate so that they work well with the supply chain.

TO TOUCH UPON HAVING A UNIFIED BIM/ CAD STANDARD, PERHAPS WE COULD LOOK AT QATAR, WHICH IS A CLOSER COUNTRY THAN THE UK OR SINGAPORE. HERE IS AN INITIATIVE IN THE GCC REGION, WHICH IS ABOUT DEFINING BIM STANDARDS FOR MEGAPROJECTS AND WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT BODIES SUCH AS QATAR RAIL AND ASHGHAL.

ACHIEVING EXPO 2020 WILL REQUIRE A HUGE INVESTMENT IN A SMALL SPAN OF TIME. HOW CAN THE BIM MANDATE HELP ACHIEVE THE AIMS OF THE DUBAI GOVERNMENT IN A SATISFACTORY MANNER?

REDUCING THE RISK

Doctor Ozan: We’re discussing the government mandate but I’d like to look at it from a different angle and see what the industry needs – major big scale projects are being undertaken for the Expo.

Do they have the luxury to deliver them without BIM? That is the question. The mandate is okay but we have been using BIM as contractors even though no project specifically allocates us to.

We spend on it because we have to deliver the mega-projects and so we utilise BIM to get benefits. The Abu Dhabi airport (MTB

AVOIDING WASTE Using BIM allows contractors to build faster and more efficiently, saving time and resources, Balawi points out.

project) is a good example; the client had very detailed requirements that started from construction and continued till operations.

Clients want to utilise the real benefits of BIM to operate or manage a huge project and that’s a big challenge if you talk of these issues in the business model.

Ahmed Balawi: 80% of all project delivery is subcontracted, so it’s about coordination and collaboration which cannot be delivered traditionally.

Integrated project delivery is needed because at the end the client needs to operate his facility so he should understand what’s going on. To achieve it we have to ensure engineering is done right, all parties integrate all meta-data and that the data in the objects has been fed properly.

This enables the client to understand his facility and its behaviour but at the end of the day the objectives have to be defined based on his requirements.

At Arabtec we delayed our use of BIM in 2008 till after the crisis. Our main issue followed the realisation that we were undertaking complex projects and we understood we needed BIM to deliver quality projects.

We realised that traditional methods would not suffice. Using BIM prevents the waste of material and money, right from the tender and preconstruction stage.

To give you an example: the Infinity Tower was not constructed using BIM, and after we explored the reasons for our delays and problems, we found that we could have saved millions of dirhams, if we had used BIM. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

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Marek Suchocki: Well, Autodesk Consulting have a contract to set up a BIM management office within Qatar Rail and potentially with Ashghal in the future. We’re basically providing the protocols for the supply chain.

This isn’t telling them what to do, but saying, ‘when you give information to me,

PUBLIC SECTOR HELP Autodesk are working with Qatar public bodies to create a BIM mandate for their supply chain.

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TOP 10 PROJECTS THAT NEVER WERE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

10 PROJECTS 01 THAT NEVER WERE

PALM JEBEL ALI Nakheel announced this project – its second artificial archipelago – in October 2002. Reportedly 50% larger than Palm Jumeirah, the project’s scheduled components included six marinas, a water theme park and homes. However, the property’s prices dropped by 40% following the economic crisis and Nakheel offered refunds to Palm Jebel Ali’s buyers in 2011, effectively marking the end of the project.

HYDROPOLIS The Hydropolis looked set to be an addition to Dubai’s list of worldfirsts, when the market crisis shook the emirate’s economy, taking with it architect Joachim Hauser’s idea to build a hotel 20 metres underwater.

Hydropolis, expected to cost $550 million, could not float in volatile market conditions, and construction on the project has since been stalled.

03

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02 JULY 2014

04

SPACEPORT UAE

BURJ AL ALAM

Back in 2006, Space Adventures, a private space exploration company that offers private spaceflights, had announced plans to develop a commercial spaceport in the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

The project was to have been partially funded by the RAK government.

Eight years on however, and the $265 million spaceport remains a pipedream for its investors, with no progress to show so far.

Fortune Group’s proposed $1 billion-worth Burj Al Alam, planned to stand 510 metres tall in Dubai’s Business Bay area was a rare project to have been officially cancelled by Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA.) Satellite images as of 2013 show piling works on the site, undertaken between 2006 and 2009, have been refilled with sand, sealing the fate of what was intended to be the world’s tallest commercial tower.

TOP 10 PROJECTS THAT NEVER WERE

NAKHEEL TOWER Proposed in 2003, the 1.4KM-tall Nakheel Tower, initially named Al Burj, was designed to compete with Burj Khalifa’s height. The economic crisis, however, prevented Nakheel from proceeding with the project, which was cancelled in 2009, allowing Burj Khalifa to continue its reign as the world’s tallest man-made structure.

05 TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AND TOWER

By October 2011, it was certain that Donald Trump would have to wait before he could stamp his mark in Dubai.

Due to be built in collaboration with Nakheel, the $600 million-worth Trump International Hotel and Tower was suspended indefinitely in 2008 following the crash.

Nakheel is in the process of constructing a shopping mall on the proposed site of the tower.

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PEARL JUMEIRA By mid-2010, Meraas Development had sold off nearly 45% of the 350 villa plots spanning its 920,000 sq.m.-wide Palm Jumeira project near Dubai’s iconic Port Rashid.

The project conclusion was due early-2011, but since then there has been little news, and both, Meraas and Van Oord, the Dutch land reclamation firm working on Pearl Jumeira, have since moved on to more lucrative projects, like the Jumana Island in Jumeirah.

08

DUBAI WATERFRONT

CHESS CITY

The Waterfront project by Nakheel, announced in 2006, was aimed at adding 70KM to Dubai’s coastline.

By 2011, the project had been suspended following poor market demand and Nakheel had publicly advertised that it would sell off the cranes and other construction equipment that was originally allocated for the project.

Much like the Palm Jebel Ali it was designed to “shelter”, Nakheel’s Waterfront project, which has also failed to take off.

Conceived by the World Chess Federation president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the International Chess City Dubai was designed to resemble a life-sized chessboard.

It was comprised of three and five star hotels, as well as super-luxury hotels, each built to resemble chess pieces such as pawns, rooks, knights and bishops.

The global economic crisis, however, checkmated Ilyumzhinov’s plans, and the game has been on hold ever since.

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DYNAMIC TOWER

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David Fishers’ design for a 420 metre-tall moving skyscraper has made it to many lists of ‘craziest’ projects ever conceived. The idea for a prefabricated skyscraper which is expected to pivot with the aid of wind turbines had managed to attract eyeballs, but no money.

As of 2013, Fisher’s dynamic idea is yet to find any realistic investors.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

Engineer Aida: Does that mean all projects undertaken without BIM are not right? Dubai Municipality works with the Dubai Government and has strategic partners like RTA, DEWA and so on.

Do we need something from them and what is that?

Ahmed Balawi: There are some complicated projects which are not easily delivered in the traditional 2D way. With BIM you can copypaste a building’s typical floors and use that elsewhere. Sophisticated projects need that.

For instance, the first tender of the Guggenheim project mandates working with BIM. All this information will be integrated with the 2D info and the model but some info cannot be explained via 2D alone.

We’ve seen that if we target these, we’ll waste money and material on rework, so to concentrate on quality, we explored our options of virtual construction. That’s why we went for BIM. Dr Ozan: This is a point I wanted to touch upon earlier; one thing we have aimed for is early engagement with consultants.

The procurement route in Middle East is very long between the contractors and consultants, in terms of achieving information.

So as a preferred contractor we want to engage earlier with the client and consultants.

Cooperation during the design and preliminary stage is much better than being involved later because it’s key to start the journey together.

WITH THAT IN MIND, HOW DOES A BIMENABLED CONTRACTOR OR CONSULTANT PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST CLIENTS WHO MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CAPABILITIES OF THE TECHNOLOGY?

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Ahmed Balawi: As a main contractor, we’re responsible for the complete project delivery. We’ll be appointed to manage all the subcontractors, so their delays are our delays. And we know that if there are any delays, it will be reflected on us.

It’s been understood that it is the responsibility of the main contractor to lead everything.

Sometimes that even includes the consultants, because they may not have the capabilities.

It is the design and build issue, we will be taking care of everything. If we save the day on the project, it’s a saving for us. If we have saved the penalty, it’s a saving for us.

If we do not do rework, if we have delivered the supply chain properly, the equipment properly and the installation properly, then it’s a saving for us.

Dr Ozan: Our philosophy at TAV is that

JULY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

COMPLICATED PROJECTS Contractors like Arabtec began embracing BIM because the projects they worked on were becoming too complext to use traditional 2D methods.

rather than protecting (ourselves), it’s to attack.

When I say attack, I mean being proactive.

We see BIM as a driver on our projects. We’re always in front of the programme, so we’re really pushing hard in terms of our construction phases.

For example, we have two projects on-site now and a couple of other projects that are in different phases, and we’re being very proactive with them.

What we target is that BIM will run the show.

Therefore, we aim to be in front of the different construction phases.

We work with shop drawings, we work with engineering and planning, even commercial,

“WE UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACTOR’S BENEFIT, BUT THE CLIENT, THE PERSON PAYING BOTH THE CONSULTANT’S FEES AND THE CONTRACTOR’S COSTS, HE’S THE PERSON THAT NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND”

everybody (who can help us achieve this).

That’s the key thing for us. You eliminate all claims because you know how to run the project, you’re in front of construction and are planning for all issues.

Yann Pennes: I think that the main question may be for the one party that isn’t represented here. That’s the actual client, the person paying for all of that.

Most of the projects are privately funded or partially privately funded. But the client needs to see the benefit in there.

We understand the contractor’s benefit, but the client, the person paying both the consultant’s fees and the contractor’s costs, he’s the person that needs to understand.

Currently if you add BIM as a line item within the project, they’ll see it as an additional cost. Why should they pay for that if they’re not planning on using the benefits of BIM? Some clients are already aware of BIM. We’re tendering currently on a project that is based on BIM, with the Department of Presidential Affairs in Abu Dhabi, who are managing their assets based on BIM and they’ve developed their full vision on that.

But let’s say a commercial developer coming from Saudi Arabia, buying a plot in Downtown Dubai, isn’t going to manage his property, he’s going to rent his flats and that will be it.

BIM ROUNDTABLE

BE SPECIFIC ABOUT BIM WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT BIM SPECIFICATIONS ON CONTRACTS, HOW DO YOU ADDRESS A LACK OF DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS OR SPECIFICATIONS?

Ahmed Balawi: It is a common problem. BIM has not really been defined yet. The client expects one thing, but the tender write-up is another thing. The expectations of the client are different, he may feel that BIM is official and important and will give him what he wants.

Meanwhile the contractor is looking at using BIM for his own benefit!

At present, clients are not really visualising what they want, and they do not have the experience of BIM project delivery. Which means that they may not know what the actual deliverables are.

It is something that we deal with (regularly), but we are trying to take the lead on it. We consider that client requirements are the minimum standard, it’s about giving them a visualisation and an understanding of the project and then we get the maximum benefits out of BIM as a contractor.

Dr Ozan: We may have the BIM capacity, but the client may want something specific.

EXTENDED DISCUSSIONS Over the course of three hours, discussions on the implmentation and effectiveness of the BIM mandate continued.

“THERE IS A LOT OF EDUCATION TO BE DONE, NOT ONLY TO THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, BUT ALSO TO THE END CLIENTS, FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ADVANTAGES” Therefore, the most important thing is that we need to sit down with the client and understand what the real expectations are and figure out how we can go about it together.

HOW CAN YOU ENGAGE THE SUPPLY CHAIN IN THIS PROCESS, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO EMBRACE THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BIM MANDATE?

Marek Suchocki: It depends on where you are in the hierarchy of a project and how well you understand your responsibility to provide information.

Dubai Municipality has done the right thing by saying that it’s for projects over 40 storeys, 25,000sqm, and so on, but what do you want in terms of data? Because (defining that) helps the supply chain in terms of gathering the correct information. The project and the execution of the project will benefit from BIM, but what do you want from them?

Engineer Hadeel: Actually, we’ve started working on a database for Smart Cities. This was one of the first steps for us in processing for Smart Cities. First we got the building permit electronic system, then it was the online attachments of the

drawings, I think that standardisation (was the next step) and BIM is directly related to standardisation.

This is the next step of the Smart Cities application.

Marek Suchocki: Well your information requirements will enable you to do Smart Cities. Once you communicate that to the supply chain, they’ll do their project in BIM and then they’ll give you the information that you need. You don’t want them to have executed a good project in BIM but then to have forgotten the information that you need.

Dr Ozan: A couple of things about the supply chain that I think cause huge problems here. We really need to show the benefits to subcontractors. They currently see it as an extra obligation that requires extra effort. They see as something they should comply with because it’s a client requirement that’s been mandated to the main contractor. But they really need to understand the benefits.

Ahmed Omar Ali Kukhun: We had a similar issue with an MEP subcontractor… he was opposing the adoption of BIM, but when we showed him the value of BIM, especially to MEP systems, he assigned two engineers to do BIM in his office. When you show them the benefits, they will go for it.

Ahmed Balawi: However small subcontractors don’t benefit from BIM. It is then necessary for the leadership of the project delivery to own the process and to do it on their behalf. That is something that is either for the main contractor or the client itself. You need this information, it may not have a direct benefit, but it needs to be there.

There are some challenges that need to be educated to the market. Specifically on the client level. Yes, there is a level of investment.

Big fish that can utilise BIM, yes they should invest in it. Small fish…maybe not, and we have to support them (in that case).

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT OR THE MUNICIPALITY THEN SUPPORT SMALLER CONTRACTOR AND SUB-CONTRACTORS, IN AN EFFORT TO GET THEM TO EMBRACE BIM?

Ahmed Kukhun: Yes, like what they did in Singapore. Whoever adopted BIM, at least in

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

There is a lot of education to be done, not only to the building industry, but also to the end clients, for them to understand their advantages.

We need to make the process of that simpler for the actual client applying for his permits and building his project, we don’t want to make it more complicated for him. So maybe a lot more education needs to take place on that front.

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“(WE’RE LOOKING) IF BIM IS GOING TO BE UNDER ONE DEPARTMENT OR IF IT’S GOING TO BE UNDER THE GENERAL DUBAI MUNICIPALITY. BUT WE MAY NEED A SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT FOR BIM” the first year or the first couple of years, the Singapore government supported them – by refunding half the value of what they spent.

Ahmed Balawi: I think it will be a little difficult for Dubai Municipality to do this, but maybe they can offer other incentives?

Maybe a better ranking if they use BIM or list them as recommended subcontractors for certain projects, because they use BIM? Engineer Aida: There’s also the question of whether the supplier should be ready to use BIM as well?

Ahmed Balawi: That’s an important question, especially for the MEP works. Actually some of the major suppliers in the worldwide market are doing it. Major suppliers have started to supply their electro-mechanical equipment in 3D aspects. Some of it is too detailed, others just have the specifications, but from a coordination perspective, it is required.

Autodesk and other providers are working closely with the manufacturers to include their products in their libraries. This has really added a lot of value to the subcontractors – it’s reduced 30% to 40% of their work.

CREATE A LINK BETWEEN PROJECTS

we’re doing for Qatar Rail has this component of spacial and temporal coordination. So space and time. Can we coordinate it in space? Does it fit? Can we do it in time?

Do all the projects fit into that space? And also, this goes into logistics as well. Can I get the materials from the port to be transported to these locations in time? Because there’s a material demand. Have I got enough trucks? Have I got enough labour resources?

So you know, it’s a very interesting and big challenge that is facing us at this moment.

Ahmed Balawi: This is something important that we need to consider carefully.

As you see for us, as main contractor, we seek coordination, we sit with all our subcontractors at one table.

We bring all the information together, we look to make all the decisions on the table, together.

When it comes to different projects, it’s a completely different culture as we’re talking to competitors. That is the real challenge.

SO THEN, IS IT WORTH HAVING ALL THIS INFORMATION COME BACK TO DUBAI MUNICIPALITY, WHO CAN THEN HELP IN THE COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THESE MULTIPLE PROJECTS?

Engineer Aida: Some ideas are being discussed now. (We’re looking) if BIM is going to be under one department or if it’s going to be under the general Dubai Municipality. But we may need a specific department for BIM. Marek Suchocki: It’s an interesting point. In Qatar they’ve done some of this with the Central Planning Office, but they didn’t really get to the BIM bit yet.

This (proposed) department doesn’t have to be in charge. All it has to do is say is, ‘please tell us when you’re doing projects and give us your BIM and your data’.

For example, if you’re building a new hospital at the same time as the RTA is building an extension of the metro, then that’s the role of that department.

It’s to flag up the issue. And the department heads have to agree who is going to have to slow down and who is going to have to speed up.

FINALLY THEN, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP FOR DUBAI MUNICIPALITY AS FAR AS THE BIM MANDATE IS CONCERNED?

Engineer Aida: We want to move forwards in a practical way. What we need from our customers, the contractors and the consultants, is help from someone who has experience in this field. We don’t have time, 2020 is coming soon, and we need someone who has experience.

Engineer Tawalbeh: We want to draw a roadmap for how best to use BIM, and we need a clear idea of how it can benefit us.

Working with experienced partners from the private sector will help us add layers to our existing knowledge of BIM. n

CAN BIM BE USED TO LINK MULTIPLE PROJECT SUPPLY CHAINS AND HELP COORDINATE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING WORKED ON, SIDE-BY-SIDE, AS WILL BE DONE AHEAD OF EXPO 2020?

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Dr Ozan: I think the authority, the client and the project manager, should have a really active role in that, in order to achieve proper programme management. That’s the missing thing over here. The client should have a BIM enabled programme management system.

That’s a very basic thing. In Qatar, for example, you have huge and strategic projects. You have the same thing over here, running in parallel to each other and you really need to have good programme management, especially on the client’s side.

Marek Suchocki: I think that the service that

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ROADMAP FOR BIM Engineer Tawalbeh says that DM needs a clear idea of BIM if it wants to successfully implement it in Dubai. Hence the need for caution.

TOP 10 BIM TIPS

10 BIM TIPS

BIM is increasingly becoming a core work processes within contractors’ organizations. With proper BIM implementation, a contractor can greatly enhance the quality and efficiency of several key processes such as cost estimation, contract administration, coordination, shop drawings production, pre-fabrication, installation quality, project control, commissioning and handover. The following are Amr Elsersy’s, group manager Learning and Innovation at CCC,10 key tips to contractors who want to start working successfully with BIM:

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ESTABLISH A STRATEGY

INVEST IN TRAINING

MAKE SMART CHOICES

CONSTRUCTION FOCUS

START EARLY

You need to identify your priorities in terms of the processes that you would like to improve and establish an execution plan over several years. Will you establish in-house authoring vs subcontracting? There needs to be internal authoring capabilities.

Companies need to invest in good training for their staff and workforce. Some universities have started to introduce BIM into their curriculum. Companies also need to look for a training program that is tailored for contractor requirements.

Decide on the “level of modeling” required at different phases of the work process. Authoring takes time; and you don’t want to waste your staff’s time with unnecessary authoring. The level of modelling varies according to the processes you want to implement.

BIM authoring should reflect the way construction work is being carried out on site and not how the design engineer views the facility. For example, we include construction joints in concrete to reflect the concrete pouring sequence for accurate progres reports.

Start working with BIM during the Estimation phase. You can later enhance these models upon being awarded the project, but first, you need to be able to furnish information timely to support early purchasing and subcontracting.

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COMMUNICATE WELL

BE SPECIFIC

SET THE RULES

GET SOFTWARE RIGHT

ESTABLISH CHECKLISTS

Establish good communication between BIM team and site staff so that the authoring effort is aligned with site engineers’ requirements to support the planned construction sequence. You will need dedicated BIM coordinators in large projects.

Define clearly the information that you want to generate from BIM models to support the selected work processes.

For example, are you interested in measurement of quantities for purchasing or progress calculation?

You need to provide clarity.

For quantities measurement, Building Information Modeling authoring should enable contractors to encapsulate the rules of measurement of quantities needed on site as agreed to between the various project stakeholders.

Select the appropriate software suite to support BIM work process. Many of the popular BIM software were developed to support BIM for the design/ engineering phases but are not mature enough to meet contractor requirements. Be ready to face challenges.

BIM is a work process that should have its own quality management procedures (QMPs) and audit process.

You need to establish clear quality checklists and review procedures.

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MIDDLE EAST

AMR ELSERSY, Ph.D. Email: asersy@ccc.gr

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SPECIAL REPORT LABOUR FOCUS

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WORK IN PROGRESS

Following the GCC’s participation in the International Labour Conference 2014 held in Geneva, Neha Bhatia pursues the region’s construction markets for progress on the issue of labour mistreatment and migration

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t the International Labour Conference held from 28 May to 12 June, in Geneva by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), distressing news emerged for the millions of low-income labourers in the GCC. Delegations from Qatar and Saudi Arabia had abstained from embracing a landmark protocol that aimed at reducing the scope of forced labour around the world. It requires governments to take measures to protect workers and migrant labourers from fraudulent recruitment practices.

The move has come at a sensitive time, when GCC members, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are grappling with unprecedented scrutiny of their labour market and the treatment of their construction workers.

The Qatari delegation included two mandatory government representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, one employer representative from the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and one worker representative from Qatar Petroleum.

Early in June 2014, a 17-minute-long documentary, produced by sports broadcasting giant ESPN, jolted the global football community with its brutally honest portrayal of the living conditions of the workers involved in the

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construction of the stadiums and infrastructure that Qatar needs to host the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The film, called Qatar’s World Cup by ESPN E60, highlights the life of Nepalese migrants in Qatar and the challenges they endure following their move to the Gulf country. The global sporting community is urging FIFA to investigate the bid campaign for corruption, but as of now, Qatar looks set to be the first ever Middle Eastern country which will host a football World Cup. However, various factors, such as the country’s labour laws and social make-up are attracting concern from international labour organisations, bringing to the fore a key issue that has plagued the GCC and its construction markets – poor labour legislation.

Over the years, millions of labourers have migrated to the lucrative GCC region.

Kick-started by oil boom of the 1970s, this migration has sustained itself into the new millennium due to the infrastructural demands in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

A report titled ‘The Dark Side of Migration’, released in October 2013 by Amnesty International says 1.38 million

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SPECIAL REPORT LABOUR FOCUS

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foreign nationals work in Qatar, accounting for 94% of the country’s total workforce.

Qatar will require one million extra migrant workers in the next decade, it adds.

Migration therefore forms the crux of labour concerns in the GCC countries.

Meanwhile, those governments are working towards increasing national representation in their workforce, the most notable of which is the Nitaqat programme in Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate’s Omanisation strategy.

Saumitra Singh, from Nepal’s Foreign Employment Promotion Board, in the documentary by E60, rues the number of “people going to Qatar,” who are “dying much more,” adding that perhaps, his fellow countrymen should not move to the country to pursue employment.

Qatari contracting firms contacted for this piece refused to comment on the issue of labour treatment in the country.

While Singh, a government official, calls for the reduction – if not complete stoppage – of migrating to Qatar, Rima Kalush, programme coordinator of Migrant Rights, a Bahrainbased NGO, tells Big Project ME about the drawbacks of such a move for the migrant labourers and their native countries.

“Banning migration isn’t a feasible solution,” Kalush says. “It’s critical to recognise the agency of migrant workers in finding solutions to labour abuses. That’s not to say that there aren’t certain “push” factors such as poor economies in the home country which render the “choice” of migration a grey area, but ideally, migration should be a choice.

“Restrictions on migration, whether they come from the home country or the destination country, simply don’t work. If there’s a need for these workers, the only result is to push them into taking undocumented and therefore even more vulnerable routes to the country,” she says.

“In some cases, origin countries will ban migrants from a certain country but the destination country will still permit visas for citizens. In others, the destination country won’t permit visas for these citizens, meaning that workers remain undocumented throughout their stay, and are again more vulnerable.”

It is to address these issues that Bahrain has created a platform to engage with the country’s labourers, most specifically from its construction sector. The Bahrain Free Labour Union Federation (BFLUF) has visited labourers across various companies in the country to encourage their enrolment with the association, which is expected to cost as little as $2 a month.

“We have finalised our plans to set up a construction union in Bahrain that will work towards protecting the rights of thousands of semi-skilled migrant workers, who are often exploited,” Basem Kuwaitan, vice president of BFLUF tells Big Project ME. “There more than 80,000 workers in the construction field; a majority of them are migrant workers and a very few are local workers.

“The labour law does not differentiate between workers, but some employers take advantage of the need of poor workers in order to force them to work beyond the law. This was one of the main reasons to work on the formation of The Construction Workers Union, as we have to come closer them to understand their worries and needs in order to represent them in the best way,” Kuwaitan adds. Workers, he says, will be provided with redressal on “wages, safe accommodation, health, safety, insurance and other issues affecting construction workers.”

Kalush says such labour organisations differentiate Bahrain from its neighbours, because “it has a strong independent trade union that is inclusive of migrant workers, even if migrant workers aren’t allowed (by law) to join.”

Strikes and unionisation remain punishable by law and could be met with deportation threats, but the country’s mechanism to report labour abuses is “more established” in Bahrain than in most other countries.

“Bahrain has a more established mechanism to report labour abuses than many other GCC states, but you still see workers have to resort to reporting to local newspapers in the case of abuse because the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) is unresponsive or inadequately responsive,” Kalush continues. “For example, that they might threaten a company to comply with a labour code or pay undue wages, but they don’t often act fast enough or levy high enough (if any) penalties.

“Bahrain announced that it abolished the sponsorship system in 2009, but really they just made it possible to transfer employers. Even transferring employers is really only possible in theory, as the cost of transferring sponsorship is prohibitive for most workers. That’s not to say it isn’t a step forward, but it’s certainly not an abolishment of the root power inequities between employers and migrants, which is what renders them so vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.”

Saudi Arabia can understand the role of labour sharing. Following a crackdown by the country’s government on illegal labourers, which led to the legalisation of up to one million Indian workers in the country in

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SPECIAL REPORT LABOUR FOCUS

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“RESTRICTIONS ON MIGRATION, WHETHER THEY COME FROM THE HOME COUNTRY OR THE DESTINATION COUNTRY, SIMPLY DON’T WORK. IF THERE’S A NEED FOR THESE WORKERS, THE ONLY RESULT IS TO PUSH THEM INTO TAKING UNDOCUMENTED AND THEREFORE EVEN MORE VULNERABLE ROUTES TO THE COUNTRY”

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SPECIAL REPORT LABOUR FOCUS

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“THE LABOUR LAW DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN WORKERS, BUT SOME EMPLOYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEED OF POOR WORKERS IN ORDER TO FORCE THEM TO WORK BEYOND THE LAW” October 2013, but also a delay in 36% of the country’s projects due to reduced labourer availability in the market, as of February 2014.

Saudi Arabia is now in discussion with its partners in Egypt and the UAE to discuss workersharing on a broad scale in an attempt to plug the gaps in its labour market, while simultaneously increasing Saudi representation in its workforce.

More recently, it was announced that the Council of Ministers in the country will compensate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and contracting firms in the country for the expat worker levy of $640, which they have had to pay since November 2012. A ministerial committee has been set up to study the compensation to be paid to firms which signed contracts with the government prior to the commencement date of the levy, 15 November 2012.

The compensation will be equal to the amount paid in expat levy, but will be distributed after contracted work has been completed, labour minister Adel Fakeih told local Saudi daily Arab News. Each of these measures is a small step towards Saudi Arabia’s greater ambition to increase nationalisation in its workforce – an ambition Oman is looking to replicate.

“Like the other GCC states, Oman wants reduce dependency on the expatriate workforce and increase employment of Omani nationals,” Kalush tells Big Project ME. “Oman’s situation is a bit different from the UAE and Qatar though, as it is not as wealthy (as the other two), and its citizens do occupy lower-income positions such as taxi-drivers.

“But even so, the hasty way it has approached nationalisation in the past – that is through

QATAR FALTERS AGAIN The United States of America (USA) in its Trafficking in Persons (TiP) report, released in June 2014, has downgraded Qatar to its Tier 2 Watch List for its poor treatment of foreign workers.

“Approximately 1.2 million men and women—94% of the country’s workforce— …voluntarily migrate to Qatar to work as low- and semi-skilled workers, primarily in the construction, oil and gas, service, and transportation industries…but many subsequently face forced labour.

“The Government of Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite these measures, the government did not demonstrate evidence of overall increasing efforts to address human trafficking since the previous reporting period; therefore, Qatar is placed on Tier 2 Watch List,” the TiP report says.

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Now on the Watch List, Qatar faces the prospect of further relegation to Tier 3, where it will join Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the list of countries which are not working to improve their poor labour standards.

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TANGIBLE MEASURES The UAE is ahead of its GCC counterparts thanks to the implementation of ‘tangible measures’ such as the midday worker’s break.

mass deportation/security campaigns that it has currently resurrected – failed to alleviate Omani unemployment or really reduce expat numbers in the long run,” she continues.

“Oman has implemented some other measures this time around to reduce the recruitment of expats, and while this has reduced official expat numbers in the shortrun, the long-term effects are yet to be seen.”

Each of the GCC members faces labour challenges that are both, unique to each, but also a commonality they share.

However, the UAE has raced ahead of its GCC peers in ensuring tangible measures, such as the midday worker break, are implemented and acted upon for labour safety. Kalush believes.

“Qatar is positioning itself to as a competitor in the Gulf and we’ll see the huge construction boom (as) seen in the UAE,” she says.

“The difference now is that 24/7 access to news has rendered it more difficult for systematic abuses to escape global attention. Particularly as Qatar is already under an intense spotlight, I think we might see more rapid change in protections for labourers. But, Qatar already has the advantage of knowing the things the UAE implemented,” she adds optimistically.

SHAPING CITYSCAPES SHAPING ACROSS THECITYSCAPES WORLD ACROSS THE WORLD

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TOP 10 ISSUES TO ADDRESS

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10 LABOUR ISSUES TO ADDRESS

Human Rights advocates list their ten biggest labour concerns in the GCC

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LACK OF FULL DISCLOSURE

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

HONOURING OF WAGE AGREEMENTS

POOR PRIVATE SECTOR MANAGEMENT

NON-PAYMENT TO SUBCONTRACTORS

Recruitment agencies are responsible for picking and transporting the many migrant workers who move to the GCC with the hope of finding suitable employment. These agencies often misinform workers, thus demanding that corrective and preventive action is taken against them.

The Kafala (sponsorship) system was initially intended to legally mitigate employer risk through the provision of a local sponsor (kafeel) for the workers.

Employers, however, exploit this system by holding passports and identification documents, restricting workers’ right to switch employment or to quit.

Workers are rarely paid the sum initially promised to them by recruitment agencies. Certain unscrupulous employers also often deduct certain amounts on the pretext of ‘living costs’, such as meals and accommodation, despite them being a contractual provision, exclusive of salary.

Contractors and subcontractors representing the private sector are intended to be primarily accountable for labour management. Human rights bodies from around the world, such as HRW, ITUC as well as Amnesty International have called for greater vigilance from the contracting industry.

Reports have found that the non-payment of subcontractors by main contracting firms often translates into salary payment delays for labourers. The consequent inability to remit any cash to pay off their existing loans back home further pushes the labourers into a sense of dejection and frustration.

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INCREASED INSPECTOR VIGILANCE

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EXPAT LEVY

INCONSIDERATE QHSE STANDARDS

Most ongoing construction projects across the GCC, are largely government funded and labour health and safety is paramount.

However, increased contractual obligations placed on the contractors and subcontractors will be required to ensure construction workers are looked after on-site.

More labour inspectors will be required to ensure on-site and accommodation conditions for workers are maintained to humane and international standards.

It is essential that they do not differentiate between projects depending on their size or budget, and assess each one according to the same standards.

Independent reports have found that labourers are refused permission to visit their families back home, despite repatriation being a contractual obligation. Most alarmingly, human rights bodies have said worker passports were confiscated and no residence visas were provided, leaving them open to exploitation.

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The GCC governments’ nationalisation aims mean that companies are required to pay a certain amount as a fee for employing expatriate workers. The financial burden of this recruitment fee often leads them to believing they have “bought” the workers, leading to poor management of their living and working conditions.

Summer temperatures in the GCC can rise up to 50°C. Governments, such as the UAE’s, have introduced midday breaks for workers, but stronger fines need to be imposed on contracting firms not adhering to the law. Poor on-site standards are also reported, which could cause loss of life or life-changing injuries.

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TOP 10 BIG PROJECT ME FAVOURITES

BIGPROJECTME.COM

10 BIG PROJECT ME FAVOURITES Some of our favourite site visits and projects

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LOUVRE ABU DHABI This gargantuan structure is one of our favourite projects as it marries all the elements that make for a truly memorable site visit.

Firstly, it’s big, covering 64,000sqm. Secondly, its complex. Thirdly, it’s iconic. We like seeing projects that are going to define a city, and this is one of those projects.

KHALIFA PORT Big Project ME went down to Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, for a look at the first and largest port of its kind, the Khalifa Port, which is set to make the UAE capital a major shipping hub in the region.

The $7.2 billion project will only be complete in 2030, by which time it will have a mammoth 35 million tonnes of general cargo capacity and 15 million TEUs of container traffic. It can currently handle 2.5 million TEUs of container traffic, 12 million tonnes of general cargo, so it’s hardly slouching.

Designed and built by Bechtel, the project was conducted on a micromanaged schedule which saw them open for operations at exactly 07:00 hours, on 1 September, 2012, exactly three years since construction first began.

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ASTANA ARENA

This 702,000sqm project is one that Abu Dhabi hopes will turn it into an aviation hub to rival Dubai.

As such, the Abu Dhabi Airports Company has invested $3 billion into the Midfield Terminal Building.

The projectis hugely ambitious, as it aims to be one of the most iconic structures in the region.

That’s going to take some doing, but having seen the plans and renders during our site visit there, we’re quietly confident they’re going to pull it off.

This $185 million football arena was built to be a symbol of unity in a nation fragmented by geography and politics, but today, it stands as a symbol of Kazakhstan’s new dawn.

Designed by Melkan and Murat Tabanlioglu, the Astana Arena holds 30,000 people and covers 232,485sqm. Having been completed in 2007, and officially opened in 2009, the project won Tabanlioglu Architects a 2011 RIBA International Award, along with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

TOP 10 BIG PROJECT ME FAVOURITES

HABTOOR PALACE COMPLEX

05 MUSCAT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The $5.2 billion Muscat International Airport has had a fairly convoluted history, having seen contractors change and construction delayed before Hill International came on board.

Since then, work has progressed smoothly and 72% of work has been completed by February 2014.

Although the project is scheduled to be completed this year, it remains to be seen if that target will be achieved.

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Situated alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, the Habtoor Palace Complex is a 92,903sqm project that has replaced the old Metropolitan Hotel.

Construction work on the project started after the demolition of the old hotel in May 2012, with a 44-month timetable set for contractors Habtoor Leighton Group. Set to cost $544.5 million, the project will see three new luxury hotels built, along with a state-of-the-art Water Theatre that is modelled on the world famous Cirque de Soleil.

With what is essentially four construction sites in one area, the heat is on for this project as its project managers juggle a 27/4 construction schedule, a 6,000 strong workforce and an extremely tight deadline.

DUBAI TRAM The $1.02 billion Dubai Tram, which is set to launch in November 2014, is set to be an integral part of Dubai’s transport network which will link with the Dubai Metro and the Palm Monorail on Palm Jumeirah.

Originally planned to have been completed in 2009, the project was delayed by the economic crisis till 2012, and then to 2014. With a launch date finally on the horizon, what remains to be seen is how effective it will be.

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07 AL HAMRA FIRDOUS TOWER The Al Hamra Firdous Tower is one of the most eye-catching additions to Kuwait City’s skyline. Standing at 412m and covering a total area of 195,00sqm, the tower has a façade with a 130 degree sweeping turn and two fins spouting from the top and bottom of the building.

In addition to its startling design, the tower is a marriage of mathematics and architecture, leading to its lateral and gravityload resisting systems being able to function more efficiently.

ESTÁDIO NACIONAL MANÉ GARRINCHA With the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup currently underway, it wouldn’t be right to leave this site visit out. The $445 million multi-use stadium is the first LEED Platinum certified stadium in the world. The Mané Garrincha is also one of the most ‘intelligent’ stadiums in operation, thanks to the work Siemens has carried out on it, installing a comprehensive Building Management System that ties in all the various systems into one central operating hub.

SOWWAH SQUARE

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Located on Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, Sowwah Square is 114 hectares of prime real-estate development space. Part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 economic plan, the project aims to become the UAE’s new central business district.

Home to the Abu Dhabi Exchange, four Grade A office towers and worldclass healthcare, retail and hospitality developments, Sowwah Square has been conceived and executed by Mubadala Real Estate and Infrastructure, a division of Mubadala Development Company.

Phase II and III of the project will see the southern and northern sectors of the island developed, with mixed-use residential and commercial buildings, as well as community and public spaces.

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INDUSTRY FEATURE FIT-OUT

BIGPROJECTME.COM

FIT-OUT FOR PROFIT As the GCC moves towards enhancing its economic and environmental sustainability performance, Big Project ME examines how the fit-out industry can achieve these objectives

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tudies suggest the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is fast-emerging as a regional leader for interior design contracting (IDC) and fit-out operations. Backed by increased construction of upscale projects, the country’s IDC and fit-out market is estimated to register a meaty compound annual growth rate of 35.5% between 2012 and 2017. Given the UAE’s similar – if not more ambitious – rate of construction, the Emirates could not only overtake KSA as a market leader, but also achieve its energy efficiency and productivity ambitions through intelligent fit-out contracting.

The Kingdom’s healthy per capita income,

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combined with the spate of affordable housing projects is what has powered the Saudi Arabian fit-out market so far.

KSA’s residential sector is expected to continue buoying the burgeoning fit-out industry, but if Chris Seymour of EC Harris is to be believed, the Middle East has a long way to go before construction can fully draw from the benefits of fit-out operations.

“A significant part of the property and construction industry is devoted to the fitout segment with many specialist designers, suppliers and contractors offering a wide range of solutions to the corporate real estate

“BY STARTING WITH A HIGH QUALITY ASSET, THE FOLLOW ON FIT-OUT IS NOT ONLY EASIER TO ACHIEVE, BUT WILL ALSO DEMONSTRATE LOWER COSTS AND IMPROVED ROI”

INDUSTRY FEATURE FIT-OUT

market,” says Seymour, partner and UAE head of property and social infrastructure at EC Harris. Seymour, however, rues the lack of clear parameters to gauge fit-out quality in the GCC, which can ensure the final commercial product matches the demands and requirements of international occupiers.

“The Middle East Council for Offices Best Practice Guide 2014 has sought to change this (situation) by defining what ‘good’ looks like in the context of commercial offices, and this is increasingly being used as a benchmark for developers when constructing new commercial buildings,” Seymour adds.

and is classified as Category B (CAT B).

A third type of built space, colloquially referred to as ‘shell and core’ is also available to fit-out contractors. Shell and core unit costs include the building structure, envelope, vertical circulation, public spaces, physical plant support spaces and so on.

Jon Steiner, executive director of CitySpace based out of Dubai tells Big Project ME about the advantages of shell and core to international clients keen on replicating their workspace designs and performance targets in the local market.

“The preference is usually shell and core because the economical paybacks from it are usually more profitable,” Steiner explains.

“For instance, if clients consider the model of steady depreciation over five years – and all companies do depreciate from the first day of their operations – they’ll find that the investment per metre square is higher with shell and core, but is also more beneficial because of the scope of modification it allows.

“International companies can then follow their existing standards for energy efficiency; performance ratings of light and acoustics; materials chosen and so on; and modify the shell and core based on their requirements,” Steiner asserts. “Clients can, unquestionably, also modify a CAT A structure, but that might require the uprooting of existing facilities, in which case, they are not really enjoying the full benefits CAT A offers.”

As a developing market, Dubai and the rest of the UAE’s property sector are a combination of CAT A, CAT B and shell and core options.

Developers in the country, responding to existing property market demands, now convert existing residential buildings and units into commercial office spaces by undertaking fit-out operations to that effect. Steiner asserts this is a healthy practice to guard against dead built stock on a market which will continue to evolve with time based on the influx of international firms in the region.

“The evolution of preference between CAT A, CAT B and shell and core goes in different directions at different times,” he says. “An opportunity in the future will come through international companies who will want to maintain their local identity when they move to the UAE to do business, but also adapt to the local culture and find a suitable local partner to work with.

“I’m waiting to see how the fit-out industry will respond to that challenge.”

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MIDDLE EAST

MEP ROLE MEP contractors play an important role in augmenting the overall profitability that is desired from fit-outs.

“By starting with a high quality asset, the follow on fit-out is not only easier to achieve, but will also demonstrate lower costs and improved returns on investment (ROI).”

Seymour’s arguments lend to fit-out operations’ ability to enhance the utilities; both, monetary and social, of the built environment.

Alan McCready, managing director, ISG Middle East believes building managers can significantly affect the cost of a fit-out, depending on the restrictions they place on fit-out contractors.

“Materials selected will have a huge impact,” McCready says. “We have seen a lot of overseas materials being specified when locally-based equivalents could be used. Where possible, we always promote the use of local materials from a sustainability perspective, but also to allow programme certainty to be achieved.

“Careful space planning can really affect the interaction between departments and in some companies, where they want interaction, clever planning can help improve this,” McCready says. “Understanding the utilisation of space can allow for hot desking which will allow greater use of space for the permanent staff such as greater breakout space.”

Fit-out operations are not separated from the broader scheme of contracting activities, and McCready is particularly keen to highlight the role of MEP contractors in augmenting the overall profitability desired from fit-outs.

“With the innovation within the MEP sector, there are many ways to improve the operating costs of office space,” he claims.

“Often, higher initial outlay of capital can, over a very short period, start to pay dividends with reduced operating costs.

“Examples of this could be the use of LED lights which have a greater life span. Use of PIR sensors or daylight sensors can also reduce the misuse of light when it is not required.”

Total implementation of such systems, however, demands that fit-out contractors have the liberty to modify existing spaces in accordance with required standards.

Broadly, fit-outs in the United Kingdom (UK) are divided, based on the party responsible for undertaking the operations.

Category A (CAT A), which is a fit-out generally undertaken by a developer, consisting of basic raised flooring, suspended ceilings, grid lighting, and its operations are aimed at making the space more lucrative for prospective tenants.

A tenant fit-out includes partitions; pantries; breakout spaces; fixed furniture and equipment,

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TOP 10 GREEN BUILDING TIPS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

10 GREEN BUILDING TIPS Compiled by the Emirates Green Building Council, these tips are directed to all stakeholders involved throughout the supply chain of the construction industry to operate in a more environmentally and economically sustainable manner

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ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT

DEVELOP INTEGRATED PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY PLANS

PRIORITISE TRAINING AND AWARENESS AMONGST STAFF

ENCOURAGE INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES

CONSIDER RETROFITTING TO SAVE COSTS

Keep a constant dialogue with the suppliers involved during the project and know where their products come from can already lead to better practices.

Ensure that human rights and biodiversity are not threatened by the project.

The action plan should not be clustered but a holistic approach should be encouraged, where inputs from everyone are welcomed at each stage of the project to gain valuable insights, share best practices and learn from each other.

Staff should continuously be encouraged to engage in training programmes relevant to their field of action, but they should also understand the key concepts and processes behind sustainability and green requirements.

Remain informed on new technologies and systems that could help you perform better, at lower costs and with a lower impact on the environment. Follow the market trends, but also consider new ideas developed by academia.

As a building owner, inform yourself on your assets’ current energy and water performances by engaging in a sustainability/energy audit. Define areas of change and consumption reduction targets, and apply retrofit to reach them.

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“YOU CAN’T SAVE WHAT YOU CAN’T MEASURE”

UNDERSTAND BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATIC CONTEXT

DO NOT MISS COMMISSIONING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

INVOLVE EXPERTS TO HELP YOU PERFORM BETTER ON A PROJECT

VALUE ENGINEERING RESULTS IN SIMPLICITY AND EFFICIENCY

Throughout the implementation of your project, continuously measure and keep track of your energy and water consumption. This will help you identify potential areas of waste and where there is room for improvement.

Be aware of the environment in which you operate, and of the impact your activities will have on biodiversity in order to reduce environmental risks and prevent any damages.

Work with the environment, not against it.

This stage is critical to reduce the cost of delivering the project while ensuring that all stakeholders involved in the project implementation are fully accountable for the quality of their work and the performance of the asset.

Take advantage of the experience and expertise available to you, which can guide your project planning and implementation, identify strengths and weaknesses, and help you build relevant, realistic and verifiable targets.

Researching new technological methods used during construction to ensure the process will deliver efficiency at a lower cost to all stakeholders - savings are eventually shared between the owner and contractor.

MIDDLE EAST

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01

JULY 2014

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JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

Q

atar is one of the countries in the world with the highest level of CO2 emission per inhabitant. This is why the Construction Industry is setting an important example with the first passive house pilot project in this region: “Baytna”.

Passivhaus (german for passive house) standards were developed in Germany in the 1990s and are now the fastest-growing energy performance standards in the world with 30,000 buildings realized to date.

In an experiment, started in April 2013 and led by the Qatar Green Building Council, two villas, identical in size and design, are built

55

TOP 10 PROJECTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

BIGPROJECTME.COM

10 PROJECTS TO WATCH OUT FOR 01

KINGDOM TOWER The under-construction Kingdom Tower is set to take the crown for ‘world’s tallest man-made structure’ from Burj Khalifa by December 2018. With a final height of 1,0008m, the $1.6 billion project is to be the centrepiece of a new commercial centre in the north of Jeddah.

The first phase will cover a total area of 1.4 million square metres. It will include the tower, a mosque for 12,000 worshippers, a shopping mall and a number of residential and commercial towers.

EXPO2020 CENTRE AND INFRASTRUCTURE Construction of the infrastructure for the World Expo 2020 is expected to start in early 2015, with all major onsite construction expected to be completed by October 2019. Infrastructure and operational costs are estimated to be $8.80 billion. The 438-hectare site will include a gated Expo area that covers 150-hectares, which will be surrounded by residential, hospitality and logistics zone.

In addition, housing facilities for staff from participating countries will also be built, which is likely be finished by 2018. Construction of the pavilions is expected to follow soon after. Furthermore, an extension to the Dubai Metro (Red Line) is being built, along with a station at the site.

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MIDDLE EAST

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03

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RIYADH METRO

AL WAKRAH STADIUM

Set to be the largest public transport system in Riyadh, the Riyadh Metro is part of the greater Riyadh Public Transport Project.Owned and operated by the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), the project will be completed by 2018 and is expected to create 15,000 jobs in the Kingdom.

The 178km, six-line and 85 station project will include underground, elevated and atgrade sections

Ground work on the Al Wakrah Stadium began under the supervision of HBK Contracting Company in May 2014, with an expected completion date of March 2015. Total completion of the project is expected by 2018.

The 40,000 stadium is one of the proposed host venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will be surrounded by a 560,000sqm precinct, which will have a new sports centre and a community hub.

TOP 10 PROJECTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

AL FAYAH PARK

05

06

SAADIYAT ISLAND

MUBARAK AL KABEER PORT

Built on a 27sqkm island, Saadiyat Island is a mixed-use development that will focus on arts and culture, but will also contain residential and commercial buildings and the Saadiyat Island NYU Campus.

Home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim, the Maritime Museum, Performing Arts Centre and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, Saadiyat Island is set to be a major attraction for international and regional visitors for years to come.

A controversial project currently under construction, the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is a deep water port on Bubiyan Island.

The $1.2 billion project originally had space for 60 berths, but following a dispute with Iraq, that number has been reduced to 24, with an initial handling capacity of 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units per year.

Completion of the first phase is expected in 2014. Final completion is expected in 2017.

08

Unveiled at Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2014, Al Fayah Park is funded by the non-profit organisation, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.

Designed as a ‘sunken garden’, the project is an attempt to re-conceive an existing European style park near the Hilton Capital Grand in the UAE capital. Featuring a 20m-high shaded garden, the park is protected from the desert sun by an elevated, perforated canopy which will cover gardens and mature trees in a series of interconnected public recreational spaces.

The park will contain cafes, play areas, a library, pools and streams, as well as community vegetable gardens.

Construction is set to begin in late 2014, and will finish by early 2017.

07 BURJ 2020

GCC RAIL

The world’s tallest commercial tower, the Burj 2020 is expected to break ground in 2015. Conceived as part of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre’s expansion plans for Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

DMCC kick-started the project with a competition for designing the Burj 2020 District. Four global firms are currently vying for the master-plan design contract.

Smart solutions and technology are to be a key component of the master plan, DMCC says.

A project that is currently in progress, the $15.4 billion GCC rail project will connect the entire region, from Kuwait to Oman, spanning a total length of 2,117km.

Initially expected to be complete in 2018, there are concerns that sections of the project could be held up by individual countries.

However, in 2013, $108 billion contracts were awarded across the GCC, with a total of $194 billion worth of rail projects currently underway or in the pipeline.

MOHAMMED BIN RASHID CITY

09

10 JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

A planned mixed-use development in Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid City is an $8.16 billion project that has been envisioned by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The city will focus on four components: ‘family tourism, retail, arts and enterprise and innovation’, developers Meydan have said.

Spanning more than five million square metres, the city will feature 600 hectares of parkland, waterways, woodlands, a waterpark and the largest ‘crystal lagoon body of water in the world’, and a total of 14km of manmade beaches.

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TOP 10 TIPS FOR MEDIATING CONSTRUCTION DISPUTES

BIGPROJECTME.COM

10 TIPS FOR MEDIATING CONSTRUCTION DISPUTES Dispute values are the highest in the Middle East and take over a year to resolve, according to a global ARCADIS report. The average value of disputes in the Middle East in 2013 was $40.9 million and took nearly 13.9 months, on average, to resolve. These tips and insights are reflective of the current market landscape that can be seen in daily practice. Based on these expert views, it is highly suggested to explore in more detail some key areas and reoccurring situations of disputes for a clearer understanding

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CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS

ASK QUESTIONS TO GET ANSWERS

DETOXIFY THE LANGUAGE

LISTEN SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND

RESPECT LOCAL CUSTOMS

Assume that people are trying to do their best.

Both parties should try not to draw immediate conclusions about one another or the work involved. Instead, challenge the thoughts and options that arise to achieve the best results possible.

What am I missing? What is this really about? By asking additional questions, you are helping yourself find the answers. People may not provide enough information or context around a situation; therefore, it is up to you to question with courtesy for the solution.

Being respectful and treat others the way you want to be treated is a game changer. In a diverse environment, language can come across in a different manner. Try to evaluate the situation and be considerate with how you come across.

Focus on the positives.

Take the time to soak in what others are saying rather than using the time to gather your thoughts as they speak. Listening provides an opportunity to gain new knowledge and understanding.

This allows you to positively focus and build upon what you have heard.

The Middle East is a multicultural region and filled with people from different backgrounds. Use this opportunity to learn from others and work as a team.

Be humble, flexible and respectful. After all, we all have something to bring to the table.

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ACKNOWLEDGE CAPABILITIES

PREPARE WELL AND HAVE A STRUCTURE

HELP THEM TO SAVE FACE

LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE

ASSESS ALL THE COSTS INVOLVED

Organisations and teams want to succeed. To do this the individual members need the people involved to succeed in their individual and collective roles. This means putting the right people in the right position.

Try not to put people in a position to fail.

The more prepared you are, the easier it is for you to see the strengths and weaknesses of situations that you encounter over the course of a construction project. Preparation saves time and allows for efficient use of resources and materials on-site.

In any situation, resolve an issue and find a solution in a manner where you keep your reputation and respect others. Using mediation to manage, avoid and resolve disputes is an alternative and powerful approach when dealing with construction disputes.

Take a step back and evaluate the real situation.

Once the needs are established then finding the solution can be worked about to achieve the needs of all concerned. Without establishing the needs one really is playing darts blindfolded.

Look at the cost of any settlement and/or nonsettlement. Cost is not only the financial element, but also includes reputation, stress and management time.

MIDDLE EAST

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Edward McCluskey, Middle East Head of Alternative Disputes, EC Harris

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Project managers from the UAE and Saudi Arabia talk to Big Project ME about the benefits they can offer clients and the resistance they face

JULY 2014

SECTOR FOCUS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

“

It’s like we’re the centre of midfield; we have to defend and make sure the project does not fail in time, cost or quality aspects. We also have to be attacking and ensure project delivery is undertaken in accordance with the requirements. That is what project management entails.”

Tim Sephton, CEO of Reaction Project Management draws inspiration from the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil to tell Big Project ME about the role of project managers in the overall construction process. Unwittingly, he has summed up both the benefits and challenges faced by the project management sector, which in the UAE, Sephton asserts, continues to be presumed as exclusive to construction activities.

It is an industry that is catching up – Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is renowned for the meticulous in-house project management capacities it has set up to manage its megaprojects. The recently-concluded PMI Congress 2014 in Dubai invited experts from various market sectors, such as information technology, human resources and sports management, besides construction. The RTA will also co-host the first ever Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF) in September 2014 with the Project Management Institute (PMI)’s UAE Charter. The exhibition is expected to cover the aspects of managing sport, World Expos, construction and sustainability projects. The advancements, it would appear, are a natural succession to the growing understanding and appreciation of the project manager’s holistic and versatile abilities, but if industry experts are to be believed, project management as a discipline is yet to peak in Dubai and the rest of the UAE. “There is still a level of ignorance in the market about the project manager’s value,” Sephton says.

“A lot of enquiries we get, even today, pertain to projects that are in dispute or have somehow managed to reach unhealthy circumstances; the project manager is then required to bring the project back on track.

“The boom and sophistication of a lot of what Dubai has built can be attributed to good, sound project management, but to be involved from day

one is still our biggest obstacle,” says Sephton.

“People seem to get very stuck in the definition of project management; 20 years ago in Dubai, they would associate it purely with construction, but a project can be anything.

“We recently undertook the transportation of some treasures and archives from across one part of the UAE to another. We had to ensure the delivery was completed in the given duration, without an overflow of costs or deterioration of quality. That is a project too, isn’t it? The functions of a project manager can be applied to any sector in any industry around the world.”

As the title suggests, project managers are the group allotted with the responsibility of overseeing most, if not all, operations that are undertaken during the course of project development. To act as the pinwheel amongst various construction parties seems to be one of the tasks undertaken by these professionals; however, to differentiate such functions from the intended role of a project manager is crucial.

Ian Armstrong, director of project management for Sweett Group’s MENA operations insists that project managers, with their proximity to clients, helps represent and translate client requirements into tangible benefits.

“In my opinion, us project managers have one primary function – to protect the client,” Armstrong says. “By acting as the client representative throughout the lifecycle of the project, we need to have a full understanding of the client’s project objective. Essentially we are the eyes and ears of the client working to ensure their best interests are met at all times.

“This primary objective translates into several functions which involve strategic planning, continuous monitoring and programming.

Resource identification and procurement is key, and effective risk management is also imperative as this ensures that risks – and opportunities – are identified well in advance.”

Risk management is especially significant in a region fuelled by record-breaking ambition.

The world’s largest mall, the world’s tallest tower and the world’s busiest airport are all located in Dubai. While the Burj Khalifa looks

“THE WORD ‘NO’ APPEARS TO BE MISSING FROM THE LOCAL DIALECT AND THIS FUNDAMENTAL ERROR AT PROJECT COMMENCEMENT CAN HAVE CATASTROPHIC IMPLICATIONS TO BOTH PROGRAMME AND BUDGET”

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

TEAM PLAYERS The true value of project managers is often misunderstood in the marketplace.

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SECTOR FOCUS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SMOOTH OPERATOR Ian Armstrong, director of project management for Sweett Group’s MENA operations

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set to be overtaken as the world’s tallest tower eventually, the mantle will still remain within the GCC. Marcus Burley is the COO of international operations for MACE Project Management, the company overlooking construction on the 1kmtall heir apparent Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and he has plenty to tell Big Project ME about the ramifications of getting it wrong.

“The challenges for project managers are many, depending on the different types of projects. The Kingdom Tower will be the tallest in the world, and when you’re managing that, it means you’re doing many things for the first time,” Burley confesses. “Even (product) selection needs to fit with the design. For instance, the lifts being used in the Kingdom Tower will be going higher and faster than any other in the world.

“The myth is that project managers are paperpushers, but if used properly and from the outset, then project management can help define the overall delivery strategy and assist in putting forth a procurement strategy, as well as the selection of design consultants, contractors and so on to ensure project delivery is achieved as desired.”

To appropriately achieve that, however, requires full support from the project client.

Armstrong insists this remains an area of concern for integrated project management in the region, stating the ‘culture’ of the construction industry as a primary hindrance to the same.

“In my opinion the major challenge project managers face in this region is the culture; this extends into impossible programmes and impossible client expectations,” he rues. “The

JULY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

MASTER MEDIATORS Project managers are tasked with balancing the requirements of key project stakeholders

word ‘no’ appears to be missing from the local dialect and this fundamental error at project commencement can have catastrophic implications to both programme and budget.

These phenomena, coupled with lengthy decision-making and changing of minds, can make the MENA region a very difficult and challenging place for our profession.”

It is perhaps to counter and conquer this resistance that project management firms are pushing for integrated services – the ‘cradle-tograve’ approach, as it is colloquially termed. This includes the management of a development even after the handover stage, and covers various services, such as asset management, facilities management and administrative support to create a multi-disciplinary package

A BURGEONING INDUSTRY Mark Langley, president and CEO of the Project Management Institute (PMI) “PMI certification helps individuals to advance their careers. We have 11,000 members in the Middle East, not inclusive of those who are certified but might be unregistered. The real number is probably closer to 20,000. We have members from CH2MHill, Du, and the RTA in the UAE, and other members in the wider Middle East too, like Aramco from Saudi Arabia.”

offering. Armstrong views this opportunity as a silver lining, using these parameters to identify the “astute” clients in the market who understand the benefits of holistic project management. “It is becoming more noticeable that the astute client is commissioning post project evaluations to assess and document ‘lessons learnt’ for possible implementation into the next project.

“I think the ultimate lesson for the developer is realising that the relatively small fee invested in a capable project manager is repaid multiple times over in savings (cost and time) when a successful project outcome is achieved.”

Many of Dubai’s ambitious projects have overcome construction barriers, and credit must be handed to the project management teams who worked on these developments. Burley, recalling his experience with Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, says transporting a “very large refrigerator in the middle of the desert” had its challenges, each of which had to be overcome to ensure construction was not affected.

“Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates was a complex project, and required a solution to effectively place a large refrigerator in the middle of the desert,” Burley recounts. “The internal temperature of Ski Dubai had to be –0°C, and external temperatures can go up to 40°C. The project understandably had technical concerns, and in such a situation, it helps the client if the project management firm is an international one that has experienced resources across the globe to pick from.”

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TOP 10 TIPS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

10 TIPS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

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which achieving project objectives

DELEGATION IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN THIS REGION

will be a lot of hard work.

You don’t want the one senior

SECURE A GOOD TEAM This is a crucial function without

manager – who is responsible for

02

CHANGE HAPPENS Do not try to avoid it; instead, learn to work with it and effectively manage the unexpected situations you will encounter.

03

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT IS CRITICAL A motivated team can do wonders.

your approvals process – to become the bottleneck in your project. This is within your team as well as the client.

07

TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY Adopt it and avoid building your projects on paper.

08

appraisals. Say thanks – often.

DOCUMENT ALL CHANGES MADE TO THE PROJECT IN ITS DURATION

Encourage junior-level staff by

Poor documentation will translate

highlighting their good work – this

into poor outcomes from your

will be noted by all employees.

claims later.

It doesn’t have to necessarily be through monetary benefits and

04

TRANSPARENCY SHOULD BE MAINTAINED EVEN THROUGH THE DIFFICULT PHASES Changes to the timetable and project delays are inevitable – do not try to cover them up. Communicate instead what you are doing to address the delays.

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PROJECT HANDOVER SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR IN ADVANCE This will require constant collaboration with consultants, contractors and all project parties from the very first day not to delay handover later.

10

Information sharing processes,

MULTI-CULTURAL GROUPS PERFORM FAR BETTER THAN HOMOGENOUS ONES

collaboration and approval

Work with numerous nationalities

processes should be defined

and ensure a healthy mix of men

early on in the project. Smooth

and women in the team

INFORMATION FLOW

information exchange and workflows are the lifeline of your

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project.

JULY 2014

Andrew Killander, VP, Major Projects – Aconex

THE PEOPLE BEHIND OUR DRYLINING SUCCESS Gyproc provides the support we need for our education projects – from help to select the best acoustic solutions, to ensuring products arrive on time.

As an acoustic ceilings specialist, I’m proud that I make life better for occupants by providing the right acoustic environment – especially in schools.

Our students will play a key role in tomorrow’s buildings.

We’re working with Gyproc now to ensure they understand the benefits of lightweight systems for the future.

I have a wealth of technical knowledge and experience in drylining and my role is to share this with our valued customers and the architects of the future.

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Gyproc is a leading provider of sustainable, lightweight, drylining wall, ceiling and partitioning system solutions. With a strong local presence and manufacturing in the region our knowledgeable and highly trained staff are ready to support your project requirements at every step of the way from early design to the construction phase. For further information on how our team can help email Gyproc-me@saint-gobain.com.

gyproc-me@saint-gobain.com

TOP 10 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

Big Project ME surveys the GCC construction industry to find out what it wants to be addressed

10 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 02

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FOLLOW-UP ON DECISIONS

MARKET CONDENSATION

QUALITY FOR A LASTING LEGACY

SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES

OBTAINING EASIER FUNDING

The GCC’s construction market has been estimated to be worth $1.67 trillion; Qatar’s construction grew by 26% last year, and Dubai has rolled out a number of projects. Contractors are now looking forward to decisions and follow-up action on the major project announcements.

The number of main contractors in the market exceeds the number of subcontractors, and the industry is expecting the former to overtake the functions of subcontractors, who have been in the spotlight as labour issues across the GCC continue to dominate the headlines.

Qatar and the UAE’s Vision 2030 plans have ensured that the industry is working with futuristic targets and techniques in mind.

Contractors are hoping that this growing regional construction industry sentiment will evolve from being price-sensitive to being quality conscious.

Flourishing GCC member states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have elevated themselves to the next level of harnessing their entrepreneurial pool, and are looking to attract small and mediumsize enterprises (SMEs) towards the burgeoning construction sector.

Contractors in the GCC are wary of the high capital costs they have to pay to operate in the region.

Labour costs alone account for a significant portion of their spending. Industry members are looking for mechanisms that can ease their fund procurement and risk mitigation operations.

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CLEAR LINES OF COMMUNICATION

DEVELOPING INDUSTRY EDUCATION

STRINGENT LEGISLATION

CULTURAL HETEROGENEITY

TRAINING YOUR EMPLOYEES

Contractors looking to communicate openly and clearly when expressing concerns to their employees. As health and safety aspects gain increased importance across the GCC, precise communication is expected and required to achieve high performance levels.

It is hoped that industry members, including contractors and developers, will be sufficiently educated about the value of good quality workmanship.

Experts in the industry are looking to inform their peers about the dangers of allowing projects to proceed with flaws.

Governments across the GCC have geared up their efforts to ensure every aspect of the construction process is rightly undertaken and adequately monitored. Laws are being introcued across the GCC in a bid to ensure that safer construction practices are exercised in the region.

Contractors are being encouraged to establish and maintain a culture which is communicated throughout the company. This is done not only by fostering a sense for community and creating a space for everyone, but by making sure to hire the right people for the right places and for the right jobs.

Construction professionals can now hope for better in-house education programmes, with employers embracing special training procedures and accreditations to enhance their workforce.

This only enhances staff, but also leads to the betterment of the company.

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I

n concrete construction it’s crucial to get things right from the bottom up, never more so than when protecting buildings from the corrosive effects of sea water. Although a durable and robust building material, concrete can still be severely compromised when attacked by sulphates and chlorides. And with an estimated 75% of building failures globally attributed to water ingress, leader in waterproofing technologies Grace Construction Products believes the solution is simple – eliminate water to eliminate the problem.

With sea water making up 70% of the earth’s surface, structures will always need to be built near to the coast or more recently in direct contact with sea water. As a result, proven high performance waterproofing membranes have fast become a vital specification choice at major construction projects worldwide. Without them, concrete remains vulnerable to the four root causes of structural deterioration – groundwater, climate, sulphates and chlorides.

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“CONCRETE CAN ONLY BE FULLY PROTECTED IF WATER INFILTRATION IS PREVENTED ENTIRELY – WITH THE WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE PROVIDING A PHYSICAL BARRIER TO SEA WATER CORROSION BEFORE IT CAN BEGIN”

JULY 2014

CAUSES OF DETERIORATION

Concrete which is directly or indirectly exposed to sea water will deteriorate due to combined contamination from groundwater and aggressive climatic conditions, as well as sulphate attack and chloride induced corrosion. A complex cocktail of chemicals and sea water increases concrete’s permeability to make it more susceptible to further attack while also reducing its protection from the additional sources of deterioration.

Following an initial stage of deterioration, the compromised concrete will then provide further paths of contamination – in the form of cracks and fractures. No matter how small these penetrations, contaminant ingress will be further accelerated to jeopardise the concrete’s integrity and dramatically reduce its service life. Rebar corrosion is also an extremely common form of

deterioration in reinforced concrete structures, with chloride ingress the most frequent cause.

As chloride builds up on the concrete surface, through airborne salts or below-ground chlorides and sulphates, it penetrates by diffusion. In hotter countries, this process is even quicker as every +10°C doubles the rate of diffusion.

Although the key requirement in basement waterproofing is simply to keep water out, this can cause subsequent problems if sea water is a factor. With a dry internal environment and an external environment that remains wet, capillary action increases the risk of sulphate attack.

Due to groundwater sulphates refreshing the reactionary process, concrete composition and microstructure changes cause extensive cracking, expansion and loss of bond between the cement paste and aggregate, leading to an overall loss of concrete strength.

Although continuous developments and innovations in concrete production have created an improved resistance to sea water, without a membrane solution the concrete will never be immune from its harmful effects. Concrete can only be fully protected if water infiltration is prevented entirely – with the waterproofing membrane providing a physical barrier to sea water corrosion before it can begin.

PREVENTION AND CURE

A high performance HDPE waterproofing membrane will improve concrete’s long term structural performance and durability by providing constant protection from sulphate, chloride and water ingress. The ideal waterproofing solution stops water penetration and guards against any future failure. Get the specification right first time and water ingress can be prevented with one relatively simple application. For over half a century, Grace Construction Products has provided solutions

COMMENT GRACE

fast and easy application. In fact, when compared to traditional loose-laid PVC systems, Preprufe is more than five times quicker – with approximately 500m2 laid in one day compared to 60-100m2 of PVC over the same time period.

EXHIBITIONS IN WATERPROOFING

to many of the most challenging waterproofing projects. From retail plazas and shopping malls to high rise offices and luxury hotels, construction projects from all over the world have turned to Grace’s advanced technologies to enhance structural performance and ensure longevity.

Designed with synthetic adhesive layers combined with a robust HDPE film, Grace’s Preprufe waterproofing system provides a permanent physical barrier to protect the concrete from the salt and sulphates found in the sea, ground and coastal environment. Unlike other solutions, Preprufe ensures the structure remains unaffected by salt and sulphate attack even if concentration levels change.

Preprufe also eliminates the issue of water migration – water tracking between the membrane and structure – a problem well recognised by industry experts. Once a conventional membrane is breached the whole structure is vulnerable, so when a leak becomes visible it is often a considerable distance from

the actual source. This makes leak remediation haphazard and expensive, and the concrete will have been exposed to salt water for some time before the leak is seen and repaired and lasting damage may already have been done. A simple Preprufe application would have prevented and cured the problem in one.

Conventional membranes are often sealed to the wrong surface such as mud slabs or blinding, leading to water migration as a result of membrane discontinuity. Grace’s patented Advanced Bond Technology enables concrete to aggressively adhere to Preprufe, forming a unique, continuous and intimate seal which prevents any water migration and substantially reduces the risk of leaks.

No other system on the market protects a substructure from the harmful effects of water, vapour and gas more effectively than Preprufe. It can be applied on wet concrete and is immediately trafficable after installation without protective layers, which makes for

For further information, please contact Laith Haboubi, commerical director, at Grace.

Email: laith.haboubi@grace.com

JULY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

KEEPING IT TIGHT Preprufe's membrane has played a crucial role in extreme climates.

In the Arabian Gulf, the climate and corrosive salt environment presented a series of project challenges during construction of the Museum of Islamic Art. Constructed on reclaimed land just 60 metres from Qatar’s Doha Corniche and with foundations resting below the water table, highly aggressive chloride and sulphate conditions would have quickly deteriorated the concrete and significantly reduced its life cycle.

Grace's Preprufe 300R waterproofing membrane was applied below the slab to prevent water migration around the substructure.

In addition, Grace's Bituthene 8000 HC waterproofing membrane was chosen to protect the substructure walls from the harsh ground environment, whilst Bituthene Liquid Membrane and Servipak protection boards completed the waterproofing package.

As concrete corrosion and diffusion rates increase at higher temperatures, the Preprufe waterproofing membrane has played a crucial role protecting structures in some of the world’s most aggressive climates. At Africa’s largest shopping centre – the AED 920 million Morocco Mall on Casablanca’s world-famous waterfront – the membrane demonstrated its abilities to provide watertightness whilst showing no effects from ground contaminants.

Occupying a 10 hectare site just 20 metres from the Atlantic Ocean, the Morocco Mall required a comprehensive waterproofing system which would protect the concrete slab from water penetration, provide protection from salt and sulphates in the ground and preserve the lifespan of the structure. Once again, Preprufe offered the safest and most reliable waterproofing option available.

Applied to buildings worldwide exposed to a variety of different climates and weather conditions – from I. M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art to California’s Sonoma State University – Preprufe has proven to protect and preserve the structural, waterproofing and aesthetic qualities of concrete against the effects of constant, intermittent and indirect contact with sea water. n

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TENDERS

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PROJECT NUMBER WPR325-IQ REGION Baghdad, Iraq CLIENT Iraq Republic Railways (IRR) ADDRESS West Station PHONE (+964-1) 537 0011 DESCRIPTION Construction of a railway network spanning 110 km STATUS New Tender

PROJECT ACCOR HOTEL COMPLEX PROJECT BUDGET $25,000,000 PROJECT NUMBER WPR359-Q REGION Dubai, UAE CLIENT Accor Group (Dubai) ADDRESS API World Tower, 12th Floor, Sheikh Zayed Road

POSTAL/ZIP CODE 111679 PHONE (+971-4) 332 3236 FAX (+971-4) 332 3246 WEBSITE www.accor.com DESCRIPTION Construction of a hotel complex

PROJECT INDEPENDENT POWER PLANTS PROJECT-2 BUDGET $TBA PROJECT NUMBER WPR376-O REGION Ruwi PC 112, Oman CLIENT Oman Power & Water Procurement Co. ADDRESS Muscat International Centre, Suite 504 POSTAL/ZIP CODE 1388 PHONE (+968) 2482 3028 / 2482 3000 EMAIL ahmed.busaidi@omanpwp.com WEBSITE www.omanpwp.com DESCRIPTION Construction of two Independent Power Plants (IPPs) with total capacity of 2,600 MW STATUS New Tender

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PROJECT MUSEUM OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROJECT - KAFD BUDGET $134,000,000 REGION Riyadh 11564, Saudi Arabia CLIENT Rayadah Investment Company (Saudi) POSTAL/ZIP CODE 56850 PHONE (+966-1) 205 9911 FAX (+966-1) 205 9922 EMAIL info@raid.com.sa WEBSITE www.raid.com.sa DESCRIPTION Construction of a Museum

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PROJECT BAHRAIN - SAUDI OIL PIPELINE PROJECT BUDGET $350,000,000 PROJECT NUMBER BIP040-B REGION Awali, Bahrain CLIENT Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) ADDRESS Industrial Area POSTAL/ZIP CODE 25555 PHONE (+973) 1775 2995 / 5845 / 7054 FAX (+973) 1770 4070 EMAIL info@bapco.net WEBSITE www.bapco.net DESCRIPTION Replacement, upgrading and changing the path of more than 115 kilometres of pipeline that links Saudi Arabian oil fields to the only refinery in Bahrain STATUS New Tender

PROJECT TAHRIR PETROCHEMICALS COMPLEX PROJECT - AIN SOKHNA BUDGET $5,000,000,000 PROJECT NUMBER WPR074-E REGION Giza, Egypt CLIENT Carbon Holdings (Egypt) ADDRESS BTMC Bhaban Bldg., 7th Floor, Kawran Bazar Street PHONE (+20-6) 2339 7777 DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a petrochemicals complex comprising a 4 million tonne-a-year (t/y) naphtha cracker and downstream plants with capacity to produce 1.4 million t/y polyethylene, 900,000 t/y of propylene, 250,000 t/y butadiene and 350,000 t/y benzene PERIOD 2018 STATUS Current Project

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JULY 2014

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

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GAVIN DAVIDS

Change is Opportunity Gavin Davids says that the changing nature of construction in the GCC should be embraced as it offers the industry a chance to take control of where it’s headed

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AS WE WERE putting together this 100th issue of Big Project ME, I sat down to go through our magazine back catalogue and dig out some interesting site visits and projects that we’ve covered over the years.

What was immediately apparent was just how far this magazine has come over the space of a 100 issues. From what was initially a magazine that tried to be everything for everyone, we’ve refocused and realigned ourselves to the contracting industry and I think we’re a better magazine for that.

That process of change, and the willingness to embrace is I think an important facet of growth. Without it, almost any endeavour is doomed to failure. As Dr Nido Qubein, author, consultant and motivational speaker, is fond of saying – “Change is Opportunity.”

The willingness to change is something that I’ve noticed over the last four years that I’ve spent covering the GCC construction industry. There is a strong sense of wanting to improve and perfect what we have here, and what’s really interesting is that it’s not being led by any one party.

JULY 2014

There is a definite desire for collaboration and cooperation, whether it’s from the government with the industry, or vice versa.

People are prepared to listen to each other, take on board what’s being said and make informed decisions. This can only be a good thing.

Nowhere was this more evident than at our Road to Expo 2020 – A BIM Roundtable, which was held at the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa.

At the event, which we’ve covered extensively in this issue, I was struck by how willing the Dubai Municipality was to listen to the various BIM experts that had gathered for the discussion.

In fact, they were doing more than listening, they were actively probing and dissecting arguments, trying to gain a deeper understanding of the

technology that they are determined to embrace.

As the moderator for the discussion, I loved having a first-hand view of this discussion, and I was delighted that we (BPME) were being able to facilitate this. It was change in motion and it was exciting to see.

With BIM technology clearly the way of the future in the construction industry, seeing Dubai Municipality embrace it (and mandate it) is one thing. What’s really important is that the authorities understand the power of the technology, and my hope is these series of roundtable discussions will help them achieve this.

Change is inevitable and if we want to progress as a construction industry, then we must be the change that we seek.

On that note, I’d like to take a moment to thank our readers for the support and opportunities afforded to Big Project Middle East over the last 100 issues.

We really couldn’t have done it without you.

“THERE IS A STRONG SENSE OF WANTING TO IMPROVE AND PERFECT WHAT WE HAVE HERE, AND WHAT’S REALLY INTERESTING IS THAT IT’S NOT BEING LED BY ANY ONE PARTY”

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BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

TAKE CHARGE

Big Project ME finds out that things have changed in the fire and life safety landscape

ALSO INSIDE WSP’S GARALD TODD INSULATION PROGRESS FIRE SAFETY CODES CHANGE INTELLIGENT SECURITY WORKS

M MIDDLE EAST

EDITOR’S COMMENT

GROUP CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP CEO NADEEM HOOD GROUP C0O GINA O’HARA

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5483

8

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR VIJAYA CHERIAN vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5472 EDITORIAL GROUP EDITOR STEPHEN WHITE stephen.white@cpimediagroup.com +971 55 795 8740 DEPUTY EDITOR GAVIN DAVIDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 ASSISTANT EDITOR NEHA BHATIA neha.bhatia@cpidubai.com

The buck stops with us

A CHANGED LANDSCAPE

ADVERTISING COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL STANSFIELD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497 SENIOR SALES MANAGER YASIN ALVES yasin.alves@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5496 SALES MANAGER SANDRA SPENCER sandra.spencer@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5483 MARKETING MARKETING MANAGER LISA JUSTICE lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5498 MARKETING ASSISTANT BARBARA PANKASZ barbara.pankasz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5499 DESIGN ART DIRECTOR SIMON COBON CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ROCHELLE ALMEIDA rochelle.almeida@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 368 1670 DATABASE AND CIRCULATION MANAGER RAJEESH M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147 PRODUCTION MANAGER JAMES P THARIAN james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9146 DIGITAL DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER TRISTAN TROY MAAGMA PUBLISHED BY

The last year has seen tremendous advancements in fire and life safety.

Sadly, it has taken some tragic incidents to force this change through, but at least we’re now seeing strong measures being taken by the regional authorities.

What’s really interesting is that the tone of the arguments have changed.

When we did our previous fire and life safety supplement in July 2013, the experts we spoke to were a little more considered in their words. They realised that this was something that the general public was unfamiliar with and as such, adopted a more conciliatory tone.

This time around, the tone is far more assertive and the onus has been firmly put on the end user. And why shouldn’t it be?

No one has done more than the industry and the civil authorities to bring fire and life safety issues into the main stream. They’ve educated, they’ve informed and they’ve even mandated.

Now it’s up to us, the end users, to take all that information on board and implement it so we have a truly safe society to live in.

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TAKE CHARGE OF FIRE SAFETY

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INSULATION IN PROGRESS

Registered at IMPZ PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 www.cpimediagroup.com PRINTED BY

© Copyright 2014 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

Gavin Davids Deputy Editor

18

IT MEETS SECURITY BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

MIDDLE EAST

Printwell Printing Press LLC

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IN PROFILE GARALD TODD

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TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

WSP’s head of Fire and Life Safety, Garald Todd, tells Big Project ME that while the GCC is taking fire safety extremely seriously, there’s a lot more that needs to be done.

Gavin Davids and Neha Bhatia report

L

ast year a survey revealed some disturbing facts about fire safety awareness in the GCC. A YouGov poll found that more than half the 2,600 GCC residents surveyed – 53% – were unaware of the need to test fire safety equipment, while 48% said that they had never taken part in a fire drill.

Furthermore, one in three said that they ignored fire alarms and were unaware of the locations of fire exits in their buildings.

In the UAE alone, 26% of all respondents said that they had no idea where the fire exits in their buildings were.

All of this paints a terrifying picture of the consequences of a major fire, with residents in the region clearly unprepared for how to handle an emergency. Or are they?

Since the results of the survey came out, the various Civil Defence Forces in the region have worked tirelessly to create awareness and increase the levels of responsibilities when it comes to fire and life safety.

Top officials at the Dubai Civil Defence Department insist that security is a top priority

in the UAE, and that fire safety standards in the country are amongst the highest in the world. They add that new regulations and devices are being introduced – with harsher penalties available to be imposed on owners who violate safety standards.

Certainly, this is something that Garald Todd, head of Fire and Life Safety at WSP Middle East, says that he’s seen more and more of, certainly in the UAE. “I wouldn’t use the words ‘better’ or ‘worse’, but the UAE is very progressive; the economic development here is different from the rest of the region, and the same goes for the market pressures and stresses,” he explains.

“For instance, Qatar’s struggles right now are the same as what the UAE was facing five years ago.

“Similarly, Saudi has some real bright spots in its fire safety systems, but there exists some problems too. As mentioned, it is a mixed bag, but the UAE is in a different socio-economic phase, and cannot be compared with the other countries.”

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“IT IS A SMALL SECTOR, AND I KNOW A LOT OF DESIGNS FLOATING IN THE MARKET DON’T MEET REAL REQUIREMENTS. THAT’S MY FRUSTRATION; WE’RE PASSIONATE AND WANT TO HELP IT ALL. IT’S NOT ABOUT MONEY OR DOING THE DESIGN FOR THE BIGGEST MALL OR THE TALLEST TOWER”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

Todd concedes that there are legacy issues to be dealt with, citing Sharjah as an example of a city with ageing infrastructure that has legacy issues to deal with.

Despite this, he insists that his experience in the country has shown that the authorities are serious about tackling the problems ahead of them.

“I’ve been involved and worked with the Abu Dhabi civil defence since my earliest days in the Middle East; the city was my starting point in the region, and a lot of work we did with the civil defence guys in the emirate focused on presentations and education about smoke control,” he recollects.

“We also drew up proposals to revamp their approval process from a consultant point of view, and maintain a very close working relationship with the guys from Abu Dhabi’s civil defence offices. It’s been a very successful collaboration.

“An advisor in their setup is American, so we have the commonality of code language with them and it helps us tap into the expanded levels of knowledge and share our expertise with them. It’s exciting to see how they’ve grown over the years.”

Having a common language between civil defence authorities, engineers and suppliers is something that Todd feels is crucial for the development of fire safety awareness in the region.

As such, he is a vocal proponent for the introduction of a unified code that clearly lays out what is expected from

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

MIDDLE EAST

IN PROFILE GARALD TODD

3

IN PROFILE GARALD TODD

all stakeholders involved in the fire and life-safety process in the GCC region.

“The GCC has, for most part, adopted the American standards for building codes, and that allows us to have a common language from the code point of view with all authorities in the region. Obviously, each has their own viewpoints as well, but we have a foundation to start conversation with them.

“I’ve been in the region for nine years and have a personal relationship with local officers; the same goes for my team. This is crucial since the Middle East is a relationship-driven market and collaboration and the understanding of where each party is coming from are key here. The transparency is no more vital than in civil defence since it is a key stakeholder in the construction process,” he asserts.

Using the US as an example, he then highlights the importance of having a unified building code, a system that he says allows for consistency and uniformity in market and ensures that everyone is one the same page.

“The USA has almost entirely adopted a unified building code, with most jurisdictions accepting on a common set of principles. They

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“AS AN EDUCATOR AND CO-CONSULTANT, MY BIGGEST GOAL IS TO PUSH THIS UNDERSTANDING IN THE INDUSTRY”

then take their local city elements and add it to the uniform code; so as a co-consultant, I can go into any city in the USA, follow the unified code, show them I can adapt to their local modifications exclusive to their city alone, and do business there by delivering a safe and consistent product,” Todd tells Big Project ME. “There is a definite benefit in the market by using a uniform building code.

Suppliers can manufacture better products if they have to follow a single code as against three different codes, for instance.

It makes everything easier, really.”

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UNIFIED CODE A unified building code can be a definite advantage to the UAE market, Todd says.

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

While the UAE has, to some extent, adopted a unified fire code, Garald Todd points out that it is still an evolving document that will need years of work to cover all the various facets of fire safety in a complex and ever-changing environment.

“With the NFPA and IBC, years and years of work have gone into making them what they are today. The UAE fire code is a new document that still faces teething issues,” he explains.

“Not everyone is on the same page just yet about how to interpret some of the requirements. I applaud the effort and understand the intent and political desire to brand something, but the reality is this fire code is an amalgam of different codes – which is not a bad thing, to be fair.

“It’s a good place to start, but a unified building code sitting on top of that can simplify things a lot. Most my conversations with representatives from civil defence authorities agree on the point that the acceptance of a single document across the country can bind together the different players in a way that they’re all on the same page.”

However, he’s quick to stress that having a unified code isn’t the only solution.

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IN PROFILE GARALD TODD

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MIDDLE EAST

Ultimately, as the survey indicates, responsibility needs to come down to the end users and the owners of the buildings.

The civil defence departments of the GCC can introduce as many unified codes as they like, and contractors and consultants may have to follow them, but ultimately, if the end-users, the owners and renters, ignore them, then there is little that can be done.

“At the end of the day, they (tenants, renters) have the ultimate burden; so if I’m renting a shop that I want to make a successful business out of, it is essential I understand the FLS standards and am trained to know how a safe building works,” he points out.

“That said, the builder shares this responsibility, as do the designer and contractor. It’s never just one person’s job – even the guy doing the drywall has a stake in it; the guy doing the facades does too.

That’s what I love about my field – everyone has to be involved to contribute to full safety, but the challenge is that not everyone understands that they have to play a part.

“As an educator and consultant, my biggest goal is to push this understanding in the industry. When Qatar says the ultimate responsibility to check for safety lies with the tenant, I agree. That’s because they must know to check if any safety measure is missing and that they should flag it up.

Maybe an additional sprinkler or fire exit was part of the design, but the contractor missed it. It’s a whole chain of things that has to come together to promote safety.”

Therefore, Todd proposes that there be greater enforcement of the fire and life safety laws, so as to ensure that lives and property are not destroyed thanks to careless negligence.

“Historically, enforcement is the only way to get someone to do something – it sounds terrible, because you want to ‘promote’ education, but the only way to get someone to do something is to make them. For instance, I want everybody to wilfully use a car seat for their child, but they won’t unless I force them to. Enforcement, in effect, means a law has been established, and a law means something, which is why the civil defence is so important.

Enforcement plays a massive role in what we do. You can’t catch everything that’s going wrong in the market.

“One of my biggest frustrations is that even though I’ve ensured I surround myself with the most competent team I can find, we do in reality on tap into 5-10% of the

BIGPROJECTME.COM

SHARED RESPONSIBILITY All stakeholders on a project must share responsibility when it comes to fire and life safety, says Todd.

“WITH THE NFPA AND IBC, YEARS AND YEARS OF WORK HAVE GONE INTO MAKING THEM WHAT THEY ARE TODAY. THE UAE FIRE CODE IS A NEW DOCUMENT THAT STILL FACES TEETHING ISSUES”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

market. So there is a whole stock of buildings going out there that don’t meet the required safety standards,” he claims worryingly.

“I know my peers in the market and there aren’t that many of us. It is a small sector, and I know a lot of designs floating in the market don’t meet real requirements. That’s my frustration; we’re passionate and want to help it all. It’s not about money or doing the design for the biggest mall or the tallest tower.

It’s about changing the built environment and making a difference in the way safety is followed, and enforcement has to close the gap that catches everything,” he asserts.

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FOCUS FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY

A CHANGED LANDSCAPE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

8

MIDDLE EAST

Big Project ME speaks to the experts to get an idea of how changes in fire and life safety codes have impacted both contractors and consultants as they look to adapt to a shifting landscape. Gavin Davids reports

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

FOCUS FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY

E

arlier this year, Dubai Civil Defence announced that it was making sweeping changes to fire and life safety regulations in the city as it looked to further improve safety standards in the region.

From May 2014, it has become mandatory for all new villas and apartments in Dubai to have fire alert systems. Furthermore, Dubai Civil Defence has also made it mandatory for 10% of all supermarket and retail staff, and 50% of hotel staff to take fire safety training.

In addition, the UAE government has been strongly enforcing a number of new rulings, including the framing of a law that will govern safety standards across the country. Stiff fines will be levied against violators of the law, with fees ranging from $136 to $136,000.

These measures are an indication of how seriously the government is looking at improving fire safety in the country, following a spate of fires in 2012 and 2013, which shook the UAE’s communities and raised serious questions about the reliability of the fire safety systems being installed in thousands of buildings.

Speaking at the launch of Intersec 2014, Lieutenant Colonel Jamal Ahmad Ebrahim, director of the Preventive Safety Department at Dubai Civil Defence, said that the move to make fire alert systems mandatory was part of the Dubai government’s efforts to make the city a ‘safer place to live in’.

“We have realised that, currently, fire safety in villas is not the highest level. So we are planning to overhaul the system. In the first phase, we will start with new villas and buildings. The next phase will move to existing buildings,” he was quoted as saying.

Awareness levels towards fire safety can be seen increasing all across the GCC, with both Qatar and the UAE taking the lead in this regard.

“The standards of fire and life safety, in the UAE in particular, are very high,” says Mark Bingham, the general manager of Wagner Fire Safety Management Consultants (Middle East).

“It has a tendency towards continuous improvement,” he adds, pointing out that

lessons have been learnt on both sides following the incidents from previous years.

“The lessons have been hard ones, but they do create necessary changes in mind-set, for all of us.”

Garald Todd, head of Fire and Life Safety at WSP Middle East, agrees with this, pointing out that although fires are tragic and often unnecessary events, it is crucial that civil defences, governments and fire safety professionals all learn from them, in order to ensure that they don’t happen again.

“Basically, as fire and life safety professionals, we track where people die due to fires. It is an unfortunate job, but it’s the historical fires that drive giant shifts in codes and their development. We call it disaster disasterled legislation. A huge number of deaths places impetus on authorities to recognise and rectify what they’ve been doing wrong.

Luckily it hasn’t happened in Dubai yet, but it could,” he warns sombrely.

One country that unfortunately learnt a devastating lesson was Qatar, which suffered one of the worst fire-related death tolls in GCC history when 19 people, including 13 toddlers, were killed during a major fire at the Villaggio Mall.

As a direct consequence of that, Qatar Civil Defence authorities have introduced far stricter regulations for contractors to follow, as Prasad Cherukot, senior systems engineer at Arabian Air-Conditioning Company – Fire Division, explains.

“Doing business here in Qatar now requires Civil Defence approval. That’s a basic thing.

Since the Villaggio fire, the Qatari Civil Defence has been very strict and conducts regular (fire safety awareness) campaigns.”

“Two months ago, they conducted a convention for NFPA training. They’re very strict about fire safety rules and regulations now, for each and every product or project. Even for existing buildings, if you want to get approval for the renewal, they will have a separate inspection and they’ll (test the building).”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

MIDDLE EAST

“WE HAVE TO DO THIS, THE EDUCATION. SOME CONSULTANTS MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THE FIRE AND SAFETY REGULATIONS. SOMETIMES, THEY’LL JUST BLINDLY FOLLOW THE SPECIFICATIONS”

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FOCUS FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY

“There are new rules and regulations coming in. For us (as contractors) it’s become a lot tougher. Now every building has to have fire alarms, even if it’s a small office, it has to be protected,” he points out.

Cherukot says that he in fact welcomes this strictness, because it makes for safer buildings. Rather worryingly, he reveals that this isn’t always the case.

“We have to do this, the education. Some consultants may not be aware of the fire and safety regulations. Sometimes, they’ll just blindly follow the specifications, but we’re a designer as well, so we have to know the exact requirements.

Maybe the specifications are common for all the projects, but we have to do the engineering judgement for each and every one and we have to advise what the requirements for each and every site are,” he asserts.

He’s backed up in this by K M Thandapani, manager – Fire Protection and HVAC – BARQ Construction Group, who tells Big Project ME that whatever fire safety products are being used, they all have to be QCD approved.

“When it comes to fire safety, the government always pushes contractors to use certain NFPA codes in terms of insulation, fire alarms

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“THE LESSONS HAVE BEEN HARD ONES, BUT THEY DO CREATE NECESSARY CHANGES IN MINDSET, FOR ALL OF US”

and so on,” he explains. “Being certified also means that we’re a certified contractor for civil defence and Kahramaa. Because of this, we follow all the instructions (from authorities) and we do execute projects based on those codes and those requirements,” he asserts.

However, while this government drive is essential and most welcome, it cannot be the only way to ensure complete fire safety. All the regulations and rules in the book won’t do any good when the people using the space aren’t doing so correctly, as Dragisa Dubocanin, export sales manager for Reinert – Ritz, explains.

“It’s important to have a system that regulates the piping, the electronic tools

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HARSH LESSONS The Qatari government increased their vigilence towards fire safety since the Villaggio Mall tragedy.

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

which are necessary for firefighting systems.

However, I’ve heard that in Qatar, they’ve changed the responsibility of the firefighting systems from the owner of the building to renters/leasers in the building,” he says.

“For me, that’s a good thing, because the owner of the building gives free spaces and then people put stuff like gypsum walls in.

Sometimes, you can have the detector in one room and the sprinklers in another, this causes a big problem! That’s why I feel that renters should be responsible for this. It’s the first big, right step,” Dubocanin asserts.

“If you want to build so many buildings here, as you need to do in the Emirates, as well as in Qatar, you cannot do it with only educated people. The critical people are the people who are responsible for the reliability of the systems. The installers have to be educated, that is very important. The rest is really about using good quality, tested products. If these two critical points are solved, then there is no big risk anymore,” he adds.

What clearly comes across from all the experts is that despite how far Qatar and the UAE have come in terms of fire and life safety, tremendous amounts of work needs to

FOCUS FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY

BIGPROJECTME.COM

Imre Solt

continue to be done to ensure that the horrific events of previous years are not repeated.

“The learning curve never ends. The people involved in the business, including consultants, contractors, suppliers and authorities will keep changing. Therefore their awareness campaign cannot be reduced. Safety awareness for residents, visitors and the layman in general can be improved and it is being improved through a variety of multi-lingual media by the relevant authorities,” says Mark Bingham.

“The impact of the fire safety codes will be seen in the future and it is now of course significant because the construction industry is recovering from a long period of relative stagnation. The impact will not just be due to the prescriptive standards now in place, but also because the methods of enforcement that have changed,” he warns.

FAST RESPONSE Mandatory fire alert systems linking houses to Dubai Civil Defence networks have been announced by Dubai Civil Defence, the authority for fire-accidents in the emirate.

Undertaken to improve fire safety at homes, the first phase of the project will involve the installation of these systems in all new residential units such as villas and apartments.

“The new system will automatically alert the nearest fire station in case of fire or any emergency in any house,” said Lt Col Jamal Ahmad Ebrahim, director of Preventive Safety Department, Dubai Civil Defence. “Firefighters will be alerted even if there are people at home or not.”

While no clear cost estimates or deadline have been provided for building owners to comply with the new directive, the initial phase of installations is expected to begin before the year ends, said a report by Gulf News.

“The project is part of Dubai government’s efforts to make the city the safest in the world,” added Lt. Ebrahim. “We have realised that currently fire safety in villas is not at the highest level. So we are planning to overhaul the safety system.

“In the first phase we will start with new villas and buildings and in the next phase will move to existing buildings.”

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MANDATORY ALERTS Dubai Civil Defence has made mandatory residential fire alert systems that link to their alarm networks.

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

The new move comes in light of the many firerelated accidents reported across residential and commercial developments in Dubai and the country alike, most notable of which was the Tamweel fire incident in November 2012.

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FOCUS INSULATION

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

FOCUS INSULATION

INSULATION IN PROGRESS

Ensuring the most fire-retardant materials are used in the market is as much the responsibility of contractors and consultants as is suppliers’ and civil defense authorities’, Big Project ME finds

INSULATION EXPLAINED An insulation material should ideally meet the definition of ‘noncombustible’ in accordance with section 7.1.4.1 of NFPA 5000, Building Construction & Safety Code, non-combustible materials and typically have an organic content that is zero or very low. When we speak of zero organic content, we’re referring to things like minerals, cements, metals, glass, rock and so on. Testing experience suggests that non-combustible materials also include materials with organic content of typically less than 3%.

be righteous enough to approach them for factors beyond self-interest,” he points out.

“In that sense, a public system to gather feedback from the entire market, get comprehensive feedback and so on would be much healthier for the UAE market.”

According to Donabedian, fire risks and hazards, especially in commercial warehouses and industrial storage facilities, persist despite the efforts undertaken by civil defense authorities of the UAE’s emirates.

“The roofs and partitions of such structures increasingly use insulated composite or sandwich panels,” he explains. “Using lightweight core materials, such panels provide a highly economical solution, especially where temperatures need to be reliably controlled. The danger is that many of the core materials used are highly combustible.”

Marco Vincenz, general manager of Foamglas Building is appreciative of the civil defence’s keenness for market feedback. “We work with the Dubai Municipality and the civil defence authorities in the country,” Vincenz reveals.

“They are open to interaction with the suppliers in the market, which is an extremely positive sign for the construction market here.”

The civil defence authorities across the country are not alone in their drive to improve fire-safety awareness in the UAE. The Medical Services Department of Abu Dhabi Police recently organised an awareness lecture on fire-fighting and safety in emergency situations, in cooperation with the Emergency and Public Safety Department and the Strategy and Performance Development Department.

While an outsider might consider these steps as being an inherent part of the operations meant to be undertaken by civil defense authorities, Dean has an alternative viewpoint to offer.

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

MIDDLE EAST

5

00 skyscrapers in the UAE, as of May 2012, were reported to have been built with highly flammable materials.

According to a report by Gulf News at the time, these towers, spread across the UAE, were constructed using non-fire rated aluminum cladding panels, infamous for their highly combustible nature.

A myriad of factors have been responsible for the fire accidents that the UAE has witnessed in recent years, Miro Donabedian, general manager of Technical Supplies & Services Co says. “Different factors resulted in the start of these fires, and the extent of its spread was dependent on the particular set of circumstances.

“One common factor, however, has been the lack of proper prevention measures, coupled with the use of combustible building materials.”

Speaking with Big Project ME in May 2014, Andy Dean, head of façade engineering at WSP Middle East agrees that legislation remains a major factor towards ensuring such improper materials are not released into the market for use during construction. “The biggest issue (in the fire insulation market) is the depth of understanding,” Dean admits.

“Governments require and request market feedback and guidance when implementing codes and standards. We have seen in the past that interested, but not entirely knowledgeable parties have advised the civil defense leading to inaccurate practices creeping into the codes.”

A watertight legislative process to gain this feedback, Dean argues, is the need of the hour. “A proper, public consultative process would be ideal for the local market to create, test and implement codes and standards. It is healthy that the civil defence in the UAE is keen on feedback and honestly appreciates guidance, but not every company would

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FOCUS INSULATION

BIGPROJECTME.COM

INDUSTRY GUIDANCE The sector should be guiding government, not the other way around, says Andy Dean.

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“The UAE civil defence is not necessarily responsible for educating the market – this might sound more provocative than it actually is.

“The industry has a responsibility to guide the government. Usually, the industry knows more about products and processes than any other organisation. Regulatory bodies are ideally supposed to take feedback from the market as they try to create and formulate the best practices for the industry.

“This trend is followed globally and ensures that the market gets to interact with the very bodies and individuals who influence their products’ market flow and performance.”

Clearly, the fire insulation industry in the region is entrusted with great responsibility to ensure only the best materials enter the market. Vincenz states this accountability is one that is shared amongst all parties involved in a project’s development, and cannot solely rest on insulation providers.

“I think everybody – be it the supplier, subcontractor, main contractor or project consultant – knows a flammable material from a noncombustible one,” he argues.

“For instance, no party involved in a project’s construction would agree to use wood-based facades for a high-rise structure.

“If the product requirements and specifications are not clearly stated, then the odds are high that you will end up with a failed project. Therefore, contracts need to be clearly drawn up in terms of specifications and costs, so that an approval by the project consultant and contractor can prove shared

responsibility on the project,” Vincenz opines.

In that sense, it becomes even more critical to ensure poor quality material is not released into the market – for contractors and consultants, this means an increased awareness of the standards set down by civil defence authorities.

“There are a 100 ways to get around the good intentions of the market and do the wrong thing,” Dean concedes.

“An appropriate way of doing things right, and this is followed in the Middle East too, is for the industry to work in collaboration with the local government and formulate standards and self-regulatory procedures to control the inadequacy of products in the market and set minimum performance limits.”

Dean adds this approach is followed by civil defence bodies across the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and the wider Middle East.

“The supplier takes certification (on his products) to its local civil defence body, which approves or disapproves the product for the market.

“A good consultant would ideally check for the civil defence approval while working

on a project, so he/she knows the product is appropriate for use in the market,” he continues.

“Fraudulent misuse comes down to vigilance of people buying the product and trying to ensure the material is indeed the one they have ordered and asked for. That’s no different from any other procurement process in the market.”

Vincenz agrees with this factor, reiterating that product awareness by contractors and consultants working on the project – he believes this diligence can improve fire safety standards far more than any amount spent on research and development of new technologies in the market. “Investment is not required in new systems, since the existing ones meet the minimum fire-retardation standards they should. As a supplier, you can choose to go a step ahead and improve your product, but as such, 99.9% of the products in the market are as good as they can be.

“If awareness about these systems is low, then it is the supplier’s responsibility to market his products better. However, consultants need to be aware of the products in the market and the fire insulation these products provide.”

“I THINK EVERYBODY – BE IT THE SUPPLIER, SUBCONTRACTOR, MAIN CONTRACTOR OR PROJECT CONSULTANT – KNOWS A FLAMMABLE MATERIAL FROM A NONCOMBUSTIBLE ONE”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

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FOCUS ACCESS CONTROL

BIGPROJECTME.COM

IT MEETS SECURITY

Big Project ME looks at the UAE’s automated access control market, and how its benefits are extending beyond security

“

Did you hear? Google is now producing thermostats which are linked to your phone. Essentially, they let you use your phone or iPad like a remote to control the temperature of your room from wherever you are.”

Arvind Swarnkar, general manager of Dubaibased automation solutions firm Building Automation and Security Systems (BASS) is raving about Learning Thermostat, a trademark product created by Nest Labs, an American home automation products manufacturer.

Late last month, Nest announced its decision to acquire Dropcam Inc., a video security surveillance startup for $555 million. The deal allows Nest, currently owned by Google, to diversify its existing portfolio of internetconnected thermostats and smoke detectors.

Swarnkar is in conversation with Big Project ME about the current state of the UAE’s automated access controls products market, and starts off by providing a breakdown of a building automation system (BAS)’s workings.

“A BAS collects the operating information needed for intelligent building management,” he says. “The operator can easily analyse the operation of the building’s system by viewing all important temperatures, humidity values and equipment status.

“But security control has also evolved to reach individual end-users in a friendlier manner,” he continues. “Now, mothers can install a camera at home that monitors all their children’s activities. So, if the child is crying or is standing too close to the balcony, the mother will be alerted about it while she’s seated in her office.”

The benefits of security sets are not restricted to convenience for the end user alone – the security aspects of a structure also fall under the purview of BAS, which is largely controlled by facility managers or owners of the building.

“There are several aspects to security in buildings,” says Mahmood Mohd Amin, CEO of World Security and the security division of the Ports, Customers and Free Zone Corporations.

“The more common forms of these that we see are security guards, access control mechanisms, gate barriers, biometric lock systems and video surveillance systems. The challenges are often to do with the size of the properties themselves that need to be secured coupled with the cooperation (or sometimes non-cooperation) of the occupants and visitors.”

End-user cooperation is key, says Swarnkar, whose home surveillance product sales can hit up to 1 million units on a good day. “Most buyers for such products are from the African continent, largely because their private

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“SECURITY CONTROL HAS EVOLVED TO REACH INDIVIDUAL END-USERS IN A FRIENDLIER MANNER. NOW, MOTHERS CAN INSTALL A CAMERA AT HOME THAT MONITORS ALL THEIR CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

MIDDLE EAST

FOCUS ACCESS CONTROL

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FOCUS ACCESS CONTROL

BIGPROJECTME.COM

FOOTFALL SENSORS Abu Dhabi’s street camera system monitors ongoing road activity that takes place throughout the day.

security situation is weak when compared with some other parts of the world.

“They tend to purchase security sets in bulk for their private establishments, and the demand for innovative surveillance products is certainly very high in the market.”

Fortunately, the UAE’s automation industry is discovering new techniques to enhance its security products in both, hardware and software aspects. Access control hardware sets now utilise sensors to regulate the incoming and outgoing traffic in built units ranging from an apartment all the way to a warehouse facility.

These sensors can also gauge footfall, thefts and other such physical anomalies.

Swarnkar is especially excited about the street camera system, pioneered by Abu Dhabi and due to be taken up by the Dubai

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“SECURITY CHALLENGES ARE OFTEN TO DO WITH THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTIES THEMSELVES THAT NEED TO BE SECURED COUPLED WITH THE COOPERATION (OR SOMETIMES NONCOOPERATION) OF THE OCCUPANTS AND VISITORS”

government to monitor every ongoing road activity that takes place, all through the day.

Software developments to enhance access control include the development of communication and storage systems to improve data collaboration, which is absorbed from the hardware security products and transported to the relevant party responsible for the BAS or BMS setup. Technological leaps aside, however, Amin is quick to point out the role of human involvement in ensuring building safety.

“Through effective video surveillance and access control systems, blind spots can be limited in the buildings’ security system,” he says. “Of course, the best and only way to ensure the highest levels of security, however, would be a combination of uniformed (manned) security and technology.”

Swarnkar understands how access control tools – such as video surveillance – are moving beyond offering the functions of security, to other benefits, such as occupancy calculation and room maintenance. However, he believes the market sentiment will have to overcome its myopic vision to earn those benefits.

“Functionality-wise, a lot of ideas are possible, but the challenge is to find the will to implement them,” he says. “In the Middle East, two factors typically drive developers towards implementing Building Management Systems (BMS). Firstly, so they can claim that they have indeed implemented it while negotiating with the tenant.

“Secondly, the government here insists that BMS and BAS systems are implemented,” Swarnkar continues. “However, European markets are more serious about using such systems than the Middle East is. Integrating

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

video surveillance with building automation has historically centered on the video surveillance being used in conjunction with HVAC systems to aid with maintenance or detection of water leaks.

“However, new applications of video surveillance integration, such as to gauge room occupancy, are beginning to gain mind share, if not market share too,” Swarnkar says. “Google’s products show that the future is in information technology. To control your thermostat from your phone is a great step forward for BAS, and such systems are where we’re heading.”

CISCO ON COMMERCIAL ACCESS CONTROL Rabih Daboussi, managing director and general manager of Cisco UAE tells Big Project ME how sensors can control and enhance commercial construction units.

“In the construction industry, smart technology is entering buildings,” he says. “Smart metering, the ability to crowd control and parking management are also available.

Parking then becomes intelligent, and the sensor in the building could guide the cars to the nearest available parking spot. You could push a button saying find me the nearest available parking spot, so putting intelligence in these things would bring tremendous value.

“Now, what does that mean to construction?

It means as a builder you can differentiate yourself by saying I build smart buildings and my competitor doesn’t build smart buildings. Or if you specialise only in parking lots and crowd management, you say I offer these solutions and the lots and controls and systems and flow control I have is totally different.”

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COMMENT HEMPEL

BIGPROJECTME.COM

LAURENCE BROWN

Exploring intumescent solutions Laurence Brown, country manager at Hempel Paints Emirates, explains why passive fire protection through intumescent paints can help protect structures and save lives

P

assive fire protection, as opposed to active fire protection, such as sprinklers, is a common method for protecting structural steel against fire. Passive fire protection includes methods like fire resistant boards, concrete, cementitious materials and intumescent coatings.

Structural steel needs to be fire protected as it loses its structural strength when the steel temperature reaches around 500ºC. The purpose of passive fire protection is to avoid or prolong the steel reaching the critical temperature of failure. There are three primary objectives of protecting structural steel: • Allowing more time for people to evacuate a building in case of fire; • Protect firefighters during operations; • Minimise structural damage and loss of assets.

The level of fire protection depends upon the type of construction, the type of fire and local regulations. Often the fire protection regulations or building regulations state how long buildings must be able to maintain the load bearing capacity. Normally these periods are from 30 minutes to 120 minutes.

If the structural steel was not protected, the critical temperature and structural collapse will be reached within 10 minutes depending on the steel characteristics and use.

THE CORE ISSUE

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Intumescent coatings are products that expand and create a carbon char when exposed to fire. The char formed acts as an insulation layer, which reduces the rate of which heat is transferred to the steel surface. Intumescent coatings are different from many other passive fire protection types because the coating reacts when exposed to a fire, whereas many other types do not react but have a certain thermal insulation value before fire exposure. Intumescent coatings are normally based on organic binders and active ingredients, which chemically react to form a carbonaceous char when exposed to fire. When the coating reaches around 200ºC the

INSULATING LAYER When temperatures hit 200°C, Hempel's HEMPACORE expands and produces a layer of carbon char that protects structural steel.

binder system start to melt while a carbon source and acid source reacts to form the carbonaceous char. Intumescent coatings are often applied in thin film thicknesses compared to other passive fire protection types because the coatings react when exposed to fire and gradually build the thermal insulation during the fire. Intumescent coatings are normally applied in 0.2-5mm, depending on requirements and expand up to 50 times the original coating thickness when exposed to fire.

The thickness of intumescent that should be applied on a structural steel section depends on the required protection time but also the characteristics of the steel section. Intumescent coatings are often specified according to individual steel sections or Hp/A value, which is a measurement for the mass of the steel section.

Intumescent coatings have several advantages over other types of passive fire protection: • The installation costs are low and application can even be done away from site; • The decorative appearance provides more freedom and enables more open building designs;

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

• Intumescent coating systems can easily be repaired if damaged.

THE HEMPEL SOLUTION

Hempel’s range of one-component solventborne acrylic intumescent coatings provide up to 120 minutes of fire protection in cellulosic fires and have shown very good performances in official fire rating tests.

All common building materials lose strength when exposed to high enough temperatures. In a fire, even steel can buckle and collapse in a matter of minutes.

This is where intumescent coatings like HEMPACORE come in. Applied in thin coats, HEMPACORE expands when the temperature reaches around 200°C to produce an insulating layer of carbon char. This means the steel can maintain its load-bearing capacity for up to two hours longer, giving people valuable time to escape. n Laurence Brown is the country manager at Hempel Paints Emirates, based in Sharjah.

He can be reached at: +971-6-531-0140

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Q&A FUJAIRAH BUILDING INDUSTRIES

BIGPROJECTME.COM

SET IN STONE

Big Project ME talks to Fujairah Building Industries about how their rock-wool plant could be the saviour of the insulation industry in the GCC

T

his year, Dubai Municipality has begun implementing 79 new compulsory specifications for new construction projects in the emirate. The specifications will focus on improving the energy efficiency performance and the carbon footprint of the projects, the civic body says.

Amongst these specifications is a requirement for proper wall and roof insulation, which experts say can considerably improve a building’s energy efficiency. However, these new specifications also had another, rather more unexpected benefit.

With the new legislation specifying that the insulation also be fire-rated to the highest degree, there is now a scramble amongst construction project specifiers to ensure that their insulation products meet the required A-1 rating.

“Especially in Dubai, you cannot do any cladding or façade, without using protection from fire,” Obaid S Alkendi, CEO of Fujairah Building Industries, tells Big Project ME. “When most people die in fires, it’s not because of the flames, but because of the smoke. Because our insulation products are made of stone-wool, there won’t be any smoke as it can take temperatures of up to 1,300°.”

This stands in sharp contrast to the majority of insulation products, which use spray foam insulation as more cost-effective alternative to products like rock-wool or stone-wool.

“In the GCC, we use a lot of foam, but the foam has a very low fire-safety rating. You can see this when you do fire tests and what happens when you use foam and when you use stone-wool. Our goal is to bring into the market, A-1 quality, which is the best you can have. Our product goes up to 780° before it starts burning, while foam starts burning at around

SAFE GROWTH CEO Alkendi says the market is being driven by new laws and investments.

100°,” says Hubert Thaler, general manager of Fujairah Rockwool Factory, a subsidiary of Fujairah Building Industries. “When you use foam outside (in the cladding) you’ll see the fire jumping from level to level, bringing the smoke to each level. When you use stone-wool, the fire will not jump, it will be there and won’t burn.

Even when you arrive at high temperatures, there isn’t any burning, so you have time to bring out the people and to save them. Also, when you do have material damage, it’s still less when you use stone-wool inside,” he adds.

Alkendi adds that this surge in interest in stone-wool has seen an increase in demand that means that Fujairah Rockwool Factory has had to step up production considerably.

“In 2008, the board and owners took the decision to build a new production line. The

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“WHEN YOU USE FOAM OUTSIDE YOU’LL SEE THE FIRE JUMPING FROM LEVEL TO LEVEL. WHEN YOU USE STONE-WOOL, THE FIRE WILL NOT JUMP, IT WILL BE THERE AND WON’T BURN”

BUILDING SECURITY & SAFETY SUPPLEMENT 2014

capacity at the time was 15,000 tonnes per year, and they’ve now increased it to 33,000 tonnes.

We started the new line in 2010, and it covers the UAE, most of the Saudi Arabian market, Kuwait and the rest of the GCC. We also export to China,” he explains. “We feel that the market requirement is increasing due to the new laws and the major investments in the oil markets in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi market is also investing heavily in the infrastructure sector, Qatar is investing due to the World Cup and we see huge demand in the UAE. “Because of this, we decided to increase capacity again to 48,000 by 2017.” Alkendi asserts.

In Dubai alone, the total amount of foam used as insulation in Dubai alone is as much as 70,000 tonnes, so the market for this expansion is certainly there. Most hearteningly for Fujariah Rockwool, is that there has been a noticeable uptake in demand for stone-wool insulation: “Last year, we didn’t have a customer for sandwich panels. It was under 1% of our market share. Now we’re supplying sandwich panels that use stone-wool. Before it was 100% foam, so we can say that, yes, we’ve changed perceptions along the way,” the general manager points out. n

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