MEP (Middle East) - Jan 2013

HEALTHY PROGRESSMEP Middle East visits Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi to take

the pulse of a project with MEP at its heart

2013 PREVIEWINDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS ON WHAT THEY THINK IS IN STORE

FOR THE COMING YEAR

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04BIG PICTURE | 07

COMMENT | 14ANALYSIS | 16

PRODUCTS | 44THE LAST WORD | 48

An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | January 2013 Vol. 8 Issue 01

ALSO: AIR-CONDITIONED STADIUMS

BELGIUM’S BESTBESIX’S RACHID GHAMRAOUI ON THE CONTRACTOR’S APPROACHTO THE MEP INDUSTRY

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www.constructionweekonline.com January 2013 | MEP Middle East 1

JANUARY 2013 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 01

CONTENTS04 NEWS UPDATE

DSI remains in CEO hunt as contract wins continue

10 NEWS UPDATE Emirates Green Building Council holds first congress

14 COMMENT Gerhard Hope on the ‘zero energy’ houses of the future

16 ANALYSIS Is Dubai’s newfound confidence built on solid foundations?

44 PRODUCT FOCUS Check out the latest MEP related products in the market 48 THE LAST WORD Toufic Hawat of M-E Engineers on the MEP stadium design

HEAT OF THE ACTIONMEP Middle East looks at the viability of cooling giant sports venues.

2013 PREVIEWA contractor, consultant and supplier tell us what they think is in store in 2013.

20

28

SITE VISIT MEP Middle East visits the site of Abu Dhabi’s Mafraq Hospital and finds a project that is at a critical point but in rude health.

BIG INTERVIEW Rachid Ghamraoui, general manager of Besix Sanotec, shares his experience of the industry and what it is Besix looks for in an MEP sub-contractor.

36

40

www.constructionweekonline.com

Published by and © 2013 ITP Business Publishing, a member of the ITP Publishing Group Ltd. Registered in the B.V.I. under Company Registration number 1402846

BPA Worldwide Audited. Average Qualified Circulation 5,118 (January - June 2012)

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04COMMENT | 14ANALYSIS | 16

INTERVIEW | 20PRODUCTS | 60

THE LAST WORD | 63 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | November 2012 Vol. 7 Issue11

ALSO: A LOOK INSIDE AN AIRFLOW STUDIO

BIG

As the grandest show around comes to town, we take a look at some MEP industry players hoping to make it big

TIME

ARABIAN MEP CONTRACTING

THE RISING STAR OF QATAR

MEP AWARDS A LOOK BACK AT LAST

YEAR’S WINNERS

PLUSQATAR’S

SPENDING ON 2022

As the grandest show around comes to town, we take a look at some MEP industry players hoping to make it big

ARABIAN MEP CONTRACTING

THE RISING STAR OF QATAR

MEP AWARDS A LOOK BA ACK AT LAA AST

YEAR’S WINNERS

PPLUSQQ RATAR’’S

SSPENDING ON ON 2022


HVAC NEWS | 52PRODUCTS | 54

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | October 2012 Vol. 7 Issue10

ALSO: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

MAKING A SPLASH

TRANSFORMERTRANS GULF’S SEKHAR REDDY ON

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE

PRIZE POSSESSIONAS THE MEP AWARDS APPROACHES WE LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR’S WINNERS

We visit Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island Waterworld to find out how the project’s MEP is creating a frivolous flood of fun

HVA

C

UPDATE ON PAGE 50


INTERVIEW | 20PRODUCTS | 52

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | September 2012 Vol. 7 Issue 9

ALSO: AN EDUCATION IN SMART METERS

TWIST AND SHOUTAs Dubai’s spectacular Infinity Tower nears completion,we hear why it is an MEP project worth shouting about

STILL STANDING STRONGTWO OF AL FUTTAIM ENGINEERING’S

TOP MEN TELL US THE SECRETTO THEIR SUCCESS

MADE BETTER WITH BIM

iTECH’S ELIZABETH PETER’S ON BIM’S ROLE IN

AL MAFRAQ HOSPITAL

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purpose of fair review.

2 MEP Middle East | January 2013

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NEWS UPDATE

4 MEP Middle East | January 2013 www.constructionweekonline.com

Drake & Scull Interna-tional is still searching for a replacement for its vice chairman and CEO, Khaldoun Tabari, who plans to step down in the next one to two years, he has said.

The Dubai-based contractor hopes to ap-point someone within the next six months, according to Tabari.

“The stepping-down issue has come up with the board. It is some-thing that is imminent; the time frame is per-haps one to two years,” he said.

“We are looking at different options [and] with different recruit-ing agents. I think it will crystallise in perhaps six months,” he added.

“Theoretically, we were supposed to by now have selected

in preliminary talks for acquisition opportunities in Saudi Arabia valued at around $27.2m-$40.8m and will also be looking at investing in two power plants in India, he added.

Drake and Scull has gradually been expand-ing its operations out-

side the UAE following a slowdown in its once-booming construction sector which has seen the company pick up projects across the GCC, India, the Far East and Europe.

In the last month, the firm signed two MEP contracts for a $15m ho-tel apartment project and a $10.9m district cooling project in Qatar in addi-tion to a $14.7m residen-tial tower project in India.

Mobilisation on site for the three projects is underway. The ho-tel apartment project is scheduled for completion in February 2014 and the

Current chief confident he can step down by 2014 at the latest as company announces deals for projects in GCC and India as well as Far East and Europe contracts for its water arm

Khaldoun Tabari, CEO and vice-chairman of DSI

district cooling proj-ect in November 2013, while the residential tower is also expected to be completed in November 2013.

Meanwhile, the firm’s wholly-owned German arm Passa-vant-Roediger, has landed deals in Viet-nam and Romania.

The Vietnam con-tract is an engineering, procurement and con-struction (EPC) deal valued at $46m, while the two water treat-ment deals in Romania are worth a combined total of $25.4m.

DSI remains in hunt for new CEO as contract wins continue

-103.4%: Fall in profit

from 2011

FAIR SHAREPROFIT AND PAYOUT

JOHNSON CONTROLS 2012 TRADING

JOHNSON CONTROLSUS fiscal year 2012 results

$10.4BN: 2012 turnover -4%:

Fall in turnover from 2012

-$8M: 2012 net loss

somebody who would be earmarked to take this position – unfortunately it has been delayed.

“Definitely by the end of [next] year we should have someone that we look forward to [appointing].”

The firm is currently

Definitely by the end of [next] year we should have someone that we look forward to [appointing].“Khaldoun Tabari, Drake and Scull CEO


NEWS UPDATE

January 2013 | MEP Middle East 5

Vasanth Kumar, CEO of Arabian MEP Contracting. Industrial wastewater will face tighter controls (Getty images).

LEGAL

CONTRACT

Arabian MEP Contracting has announced it has won the MEP contract for the Centro Rotana Hotel project in Qatar. The value of the project is unspecified, but its completion date is set for the end of 2013.

The scope of the deal includes HVAC, BMS, electri-cal, plumbing, firefighting, ELV systems, swimming pool and other client-nominated equipments such as vertical transportation lift systems, kitchen equipment, laundry equipment, and window cleaning equipment.

Commenting on the contract award, Vasanth Ku-mar, Arabian MEP Contracting CEO, said, “In spite of the severe competition, I am delighted to note that we continue to win new hotel contracts after our successful delivery of the prestigious 400-room Oryx Rotana 5 Star hotel, which won the Best Airport Hotel Award in the Middle East.

“Industry experts will agree that MEP system perfor-mance plays a critical role in the success of any luxury hotel project and we at Arabian MEP ensure our clients are provided with the highest quality in our installa-tions,” he added.

The project’s consultant is Arab Engineering Bureau, while the hotel will be managed by the Rotana brand.

Two Du engineers who stole $64,000 worth of fibre optic cables will be jailed for a year each, a Dubai court said.

According to The National, Indian nationals OA, 32, and SA, 29 carried out the first theft in April 2011, ordering more cables than their work required then selling the leftovers on the internet.

A total of three thefts took place, the last taking place on January 5, when they were arrested after Du officials received a tip-off that fibre optic cables were being put for sale over the internet and informed the police.

The cables were being sold by a third man, DP, a 33-year-old sales manager, also from India who has been charged with criminal complicity and sentenced to six months in prison. All three men will be deported after completion of their jail terms.

WASTEWATER

The Environment Department at Dubai Municipality has issued a circular with new requirements to be fol-lowed by all industrial establishments generating trade wastewater, as well as the approved waste transporters in the Emirate of Dubai.

Dr Abdulsalam Mohamed Saleh, head of environ-mental control section, said the new instructions are to ensure proper and environmentally safe disposal of trade wastewater.

The department emphasised that discharge of trade waste which has quality parameters exceeding the limits specified in permits to the Dubai Municipal-ity Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is illegal and liable for penalty. It added that it is the responsibility of both generator and the transporter of the waste to com-ply with standards specified and to avoid any illegal mix-up of wastes.

Dr Abdulsalam said that, in order to ensure that trade waste is discharged directly to sewage plants from the source, waste generators must ensure that only one tanker is used per trip. He added that the Environmen-tal Control Section will also take tighter control over the issue of discharge permits.

Du engineers jailed for stealing cabling

Arabian MEP secures Rotana hotel contract

Dubai cracks down on industrial wastewater

COPPER

NICKEL

STEEL

METALS PRICES

Source: London Metal Exchange, prices per tonne

$8,00017 December

$7,71526 November

$29017 December

$29526 November

$17,42517 December

$16,68026 November

NEWS UPDATE


LG GOES ULTRASONIC TO PRODUCE ‘ANTI-MOSQUITO’ AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT

LG has released an ‘anti-mosquito’ air-conditioning unit which uses ultrasonic wave technology to repel the malaria-carrying insects.Pressing the “anti-mosquito but-

ton” on the unit’s remote control causes a speaker within the air conditioner to generate inaudible ultrasonic waves at a frequency of 30 kHz to 100 kHz.

According to LG, tests conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that the air-condi-tioner knocked down 64% of malar-ia-transmitting female Anopheles mosquitoes within 24 hours, and eliminated 82% of female Anopheles mosquitoes overall. Tailored for the African market,

the air-conditioner is fitted with

LG’s Tropical Compressor that is designed to operate in hotter climates. LG has also fitted the unit with a Super Automatic Voltage Switcher (Super AVS) that helps protect the compressor against damage from current fluctuations in the event of power blackouts or surges, which are common across the continent.

PROJECT

Off-Site Engineering Solutions LLC, a spe-cialist provider of pre-engineered MEP solutions with headquarters in Dubai, has successfully completed a contract for the design, fabrication and delivery of multi service MEP modules to the King Abdul-lah Petroleum Science and Research Cen-tre (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The company worked closely with main contractors Drake & Scull International Saudi Arabia, client Saudi Aramco and consultants Arup, using BIM modelling and proprietary technology to design the modules which were prefabricated in a temporary facility on the KAPSARC site in Riyadh, close to the point of use.

Ahmad Al Naser, DSI Regional Op-erations Director noted that, “The use of multi-service MEP modules impacted the site works positively and we look forward to working with Off-Site Engineering Solu-tions again.”

Commenting on the successful comple-tion, Off-Site Engineering Solutions CEO, Patrick O’Callaghan said, “Both Saudi Aramco and Drake & Scull International are top tier clients and contractors respec-tively.

“Endorsements and technical approv-als at this level are of great benefit to Off-Site Engineering Solutions as we seek to expand our operations and client base in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

KAPSARC job completed by Off Site Engineering

Bahra Cables wins triple digit supply deal with SEC

CONTRACT

Bahra Cables Company, an affiliate of Saudi-based Con-struction Products Co. (CPC) has signed a $107m contract with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for the supply of low and medium voltage cables.

Announcing the deal, Bahra Cables CEO Talal Idriss, said, “Bahra is specialised in the production and dis-tribution of power cables, and aims to become the main developer for low, medium, and high voltage cables in Saudi Arabia.”

“We are pleased with the great confidence shown by the Saudi Electricity Company for our products, which meet the highest international standards.”

Bahra Cables, he said, is the first Saudi cable manufac-turer to have achieved the ISO 14001: 2004, and OHSAS 18001:2007 accreditation.

The company has also won ISO 9001: 2008 certificate for its collection of medium and high voltage cables up to 132 kV. Under the terms of the contract, Bahra will supply SEC with the cables for 2013.

Idriss added, “In view of the high demand for our products, we expanded our production of power ca-bles to meet the needs of large companies, both locally and internationally.”

The company’s newest plant, located at the Bahra Indus-trial Zone, 25 km from Jeddah, has been built on an area of 300,000m², and includes the manufacturing, designing and storage facilities.

According to Idriss, Saudi projects which Bahra has al-ready been involved with include the Metro Al-Mashaer in Makkah, the new King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, the expansion of Holy Mosque in Makkah, Princess Nora bin Abdulrahman University for Girls in Riyadh, King Saud University and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust).

Bahra’s product accreditation certificates include KEMA, IPH, SASO, LPCB, CSA and BASEC.

Contract will see company supply SEC with cables throughout 2013

The deal is worth $107m (Getty Images)

In view of the high demand for our products, we expanded our production of power cables to meet the needs of large companies, both locally and internationally.“


NEWS UPDATE


270 mm and 200 mmdeep rotors

0 mmmdeep rotorsrr

PROJECT: King Abdullah Financial DistrictLOCATION: Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDEVELOPER: Rayadah Investment CompanyFLOOR SPACE: 300haDISTRICT COOLING: SNC Lavalin/Tabreed JVESTIMATED COST: $7.5bnCOMPLETION DATE: 2015

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh is set to become the city’s financial and business hub when all of the buildings on the 1.6km² site are completed. The scale of the project has meant that it has had to be split into 50 different packages and has posed a major logistical challenge due to the space constraints of the site. Several of the buildings in the mixed-use development are already complete, while others are still in the process of setting foundations.

BIGPICTURE

NEWS UPDATE


DISTRICT COOLING

Modern Water plc, the owner of leading water technologies for the production of fresh water and monitoring of water quality, has signed a Cooperation and Agency Agreement with Kazema Global Holding KSCH in Kuwait.The agreement will result in Modern Water and Kazema working together in Kuwait to promote Modern Water’s forward osmosis technology for make-up water which can be used in evaporative cooling systems, including district cooling and industrial cooling applications.The deal was signed at Kazema’s head office in Kuwait by Neil McDougall, executive chairman of Modern Water, and Fadhel Al Kazemi, CEO of Kazema. Mc Dougall said, “We are delighted to be working with Kazema and bringing our technologies to new communities and industries. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to offering world-leading solutions and shows the diverse ways in which the forward osmosis technique can be applied.”Al Kazemi, a key advocator for the recent demand for district cooling systems in Kuwait said, “District cooling systems have been proven in neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, driven by the growing need to achieve energy savings and reduce the environmental impact. We look forward to working with Modern Water and using innovative, energy saving solutions to help us achieve this in Kuwait.”

Agreement could see make-up water used in district cooling systems across Kuwait

Modern Water teams up with Kazema in forward osmosis technology deal

CONTRACT

Saudi Arabia’s private sector is set to be hit with around $2.7bn in fees for employing expatriate workers, according to Arab News, quoting government sources.

Fees are imposed on companies that employ more than 50% of expats in their workforce, and a recent decree raised the amount companies will have to pay from $26.66 per worker to $640.

This has been done with a view to tackling Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate, which currently stands at 448,000. It is estimated that there are almost 8.4m overseas workers in the Kingdom - 6.9m in the private sector. The contracting sector is considered to be particularly affected by the increase, though.

The head of the contractors’ national committee, Fahd Alhamadi, told the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al Awsat that contractors have taken a collective decision not to pay the fees. He argued that the move was “illogical and have negative impact on both small and medium companies”, adding that it could lead to many companies closing their doors.

“We have Saudi employees, but most of our employees are non-Saudis because of the nature of work in this sector. Inflation is rising and such a resolution will make it even worse,” he said.District cooling may benefit from the deal.

Saudi contractors to be hit by ‘foreigner’ fees

CALENDAR

EVENTS

AWARDS

NOVEMBER Big 5 Dubai Date: 25-28 November Place: Dubai World Trade Centre

JANUARYIntersecDate: 15-17 January 2012Venue: Dubai

MAYProject Qatar Date: 6 – 9 May Place: Doha Exhibition Centre

APRIL Cityscape Abu Dhabi 16-18 April Place: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre

Construction Week Awards Oman Date: Tuesday 19 March Place: TBA

MARCH

MAY Construction Week Awards Date: Tuesday 7 May Place: TBA

JUNE Facilities Management Awards Date: Tuesday 4 June Place: TBA

SEPTEMBER Construction Week Awards Kuwait Date: Tuesday 17 September

NOVEMBER MEP Awards Date: Wednesday 13 November

DECEMBER Construction Week Awards KSA Date: Tuesday 3 DecemberConstruction Week Awards

“There is an open-ness and transpar-ency about doing business in Dubai that is not always

the same in other loca-tions.”ALAN MCCREADY,

ISG regional director

“If the World Cup [in Qatar] is going to be successful, we need to have an established

tourism industry by 2016 or

2018.”RUAIRI MAYBANK,director of plan-ning and integra-tion, Qatar CPO

“The current facili-ties in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with future ambitions.”H.H. SHEIKH MOHAM-MED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM,Ruler of Dubai

“Don’t get too excited in the good times, and don’t be too depressed in the bad times.”DERRICK PANG,deputy chairman of Chun Wo Devel-opment Holdings

Infinova will Showcase G Series Cameras at Intersec 2013Infinova, our very proud Gold Sponsor for Intersec 2013, is the trusted name for video surveillance and access control solutions.

Infinova Corporation, with headquarters based in New Jersey, USA has also completed its recent acquisition of March Networks, an Ottawa, Canada based, leading provider of intelligent IP video solutions.

Infinova manufactures IP, analog and hybrid security solutions, including systems that enable end-users to extend the life of their existing analog equipment by having it co-exist with their new IP video equipment. Infinova products include megapixel, IP and analog surveillance cameras, specialized cameras, core equipment for video control rooms, fiber optic communications, access control products and customized systems.

Infinova will show case along with other products, its G Series cameras at Intersec 2013. Infinova’s new G Series cameras simplify transition to megapixels and includes all varieties including the PTZ domes which have become the world standard for reliability. And with up to 20X optical zoom that most megapixel PTZ domes can’t match, it certainly has an edge. What is also unique to G-series is that it uses less bandwidth, allowing more optimal combinations of resolution, frame rate and picture quality than other products with high bandwidth consumption. Another amazing feature of this range is its exceptional low light performance.

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March Networks will continue to operate under its own identity and its customers should expect no change in the high level of product quality and customer support. The addition of March Networks will immediately enhance Infinova’s product portfolio and market position.

Plan your visit to the Infinova booth, 3-405C at Intersec and witness the most sleek and sophisticated camera – the G series.

www.infinova.com

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NEWS UPDATE


GREEN BUILDING

Sustainability is the greatest challenge fac-ing mankind, says Adnan Sharafi, chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC).

Speaking at the launch of the EGBC’s first ever congress in Dubai, enti-tled “Innovations in Sus-tainability”, Sharafi told delegates that over the past few years the UAE has witnessed a growing awareness in the need for sustainable buildings.

“We are a nation that loves to take up challeng-es to achieve our agenda. Our history bears wit-ness to that. Our geogra-phy, with hardly any rain-fall, freshwater streams, high temperatures and highly aggressive envi-ronment, posses a major challenge to sustainable living,” he said.

“In fact, sustainability is the greatest challenge facing the whole of man-kind. Given the UAE’s environmental and geo-political situation, suc-cess here would mean a success for mankind.”

The EGBC was formed in 2006 after Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed is-sued the first decree on green buildings. And ear-lier this year, the UAE’s leaders announced that the country would push towards becoming a green economy.

Sharafi said the most obvious issue for the

Adnan Sharafi, chairman of Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), set out the challenges of sustainability at the Council’s first congress.

sets, and we must work hard to make sure that these buildings consume less energy and water so that we can save money, energy and water for future generations,” he said.

“This will also allow us to jumpstart our green economy, which is now the policy, by creating demand for innovative products, knowledge-based services and new jobs. And to do that we have to collaborate with industry, government and academia.

“We are determined to be sustainable. And with the help of the Al-mighty, wisdom of our leaders and hardwork of our people, we will be sustainable.”

Emirates Green Building Council holds first congressChairman says sustainability is the “greatest challenge facing mankind” and UAE must tackle the problem of existing energy-inefficient buildings in order to “jumpstart our green economy”

EGBC to tackle first was that of existing build-ings, given their high en-ergy consumption.

“With expenditures in buildings and operations being the largest part of our economy, it would only make sense to tack-le this one first to ensure that they are going to be sustainable for future generations.”

He pointed to several slides which illustrated how the UAE’s energy consumption was higher than some developed

In fact, sustainability is the greatest challenge facing the whole of mankind. Given the UAE’s environmental and geo-political situation, success here would mean a success for mankind. “

countries. For instance, one

showed that the UAE’s energy distribution in buildings was 80% of its total usage - exactly double the worldwide av-erage.

But he also gave exam-ples of innovations in en-ergy conservation such as the Dubai Chamber of Commerce building, which cut its electricity and water usage by 48% and 77% respectively through implementing green measures.

Sharafi said it would be very easy and cost-ef-fective for existing build-ings to reduce energy usage by 25% and there is even room to reach 70% in efficiency savings.

This can be achieved, he said, by measuring performance and pro-ducing data from which to better inform deci-sion-makers.

“We believe that the greatest challenges and opportunities lie in ex-isting builds which form the big bulk of our as-

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NEWS UPDATE


WATER-EFFICIENCY

A proposal by five Abu Dhabi higher education students to separate and repurpose the water used in the process of Wudhu — the washing of the arms and face in the mosque before prayer — won first place, and fund-ing of up to $5,000 (AED 18,350) for implementa-tion, at the conclusion of the inaugural Sila Abu Dhabi Conference.

Determining that one individual can use up to nine gallons of water a day through the process of Wudhu five times a day, and accounting for the approximate daily visitors to the mosque, the winning team cal-culated that the local mosque they visited used 2,628,000 gallons a year.

By changing the course of the Wudhu pipelines to a separate collection tank, the team proposed that this still relatively clean water could be reused for wa-tering the landscape around the mosque — resulting in saved water, energy, and money.

Starting with a pilot project in one mosque, and following with a study of its results, the team plans to eventu-ally reach out to other mosques in Abu Dhabi to implement the same technique.

The “Green Wudhu” team — comprising

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi could be one of the places of worship to benefit if the initiative is rolled out in the Emirate.

our idea actually being implemented, especially as it’s something that will benefit my country.”

The first runner-up team developed a project called “Ethra’a” that pro-poses to create a fertil-izer from camel manure and charred palm tree fronds to produce a bio-char substance that can be mixed with soil, allow-ing it to retain water up to six times better than the average soil, thus leading to significant groundwater savings.

The project “Dhabi Share” was second run-

ner up for its proposal to create a web platform, targeted to local universi-ty students, to encourage safe car pooling through-out the emirates.

Conceived and organ-ised entirely by students, and hosted by the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Institute, the conference brought together more than 50 students from eight universities across Abu Dhabi. The par-ticipants were asked to brainstorm and develop proposals for sustainable local projects tackling en-vironmental issues in the

areas of energy, water, and recycling and waste management.

The participating stu-dents from Abu Dhabi University, Higher Col-leges of Technology, Khalifa University, Mas-dar Institute of Science and Technology, NYU-AD, the Petroleum Insti-tute, Paris Sorbonne Uni-versity Abu Dhabi, and Zayed University were divided into 12 teams, en-couraging collaboration between students from different institutions.

Sila Connection, the or-ganizing group of the Sila Abu Dhabi conference, will continue to plan simi-lar conferences concern-ing different local and global issues in the years to come.

Mosque initiative wins $5,000 prize for water-saving designFive Abu Dhabi higher education students rewarded at Sila Abu Dhabi Conference for idea to repurpose water used in Wudhu by diverting drainage pipelines to mosque irrigation systems

Ameera Almarzooqi (Khalifa University), Ha-mad AlHammadi (Zayed University), Margaux Hein (Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi), Rida Gul Qadir (Abu Dhabi University), and Mandy Tan (NYUAD) — also spoke to the Imam of their neighborhood mosque who gave the stu-dents insights about wa-ter usage in the mosque.

“We wanted to do something related to our environment locally in Abu Dhabi,” said Almar-zooqi. “It’s really great to see something that is

It’s really great to see something that is our idea actually being implemented, especially as it’s something that will benefit my country. “

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COMMENT

Samsung C&T is developing the ‘zero energy’ houses of the future

With many developers in Dubai, in particular, it has pretty much been a take-it-or-leave-it approach when it comes to delivery of units. We have all heard about the cries of dismay from disgruntled

investors when they took delivery of their units after parting with some serious cash, only to discover substantial deviations from the plans and designs and/or different finishes. Of course, this was during the heyday, when delivery was the only accept-able mantra; we now live in a different world, as it were, where notable developers like Emaar are championing quality pro-jects, and reaping the rewards as a result.

Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group, a major builder of apartment complexes in South Korea, is approach-ing the housing sector in an interesting manner. I was fortu-nate enough to recently visit the contractor’s Residential Per-formance Research Centre and Green Tomorrow pilot house project, both on the outskirts of Seoul.

What is interesting about the South Korean market is that companies like Samsung brand their apartments. If you are in South Korea, Raemian is a well-known and respected brand that is also much sought-after. Samsung, of course, is well aware of this brand equity, and invests a considerable amount of mon-ey and intensive research into ensuring that Raemian apartments stay ahead of the game.

Green Tomorrow is a fully-functioning house deploying an intricate web of renewable and sustainable technologies, with the aim of producing a house that is ‘zero energy’ rated, mean-ing that it produces all the energy it needs. Samsung C&T an-ticipates the commercial roll-out of ‘zero energy’ Raemian apart-ments as early as next year, and is already planning to extend it further to commercial and industrial buildings.

I have also had the pleasure of visiting one of the latest sus-tainable buildings in the UAE, and that is the new Standard Chartered headquarters in Downtown Dubai. From the fins on the façade that radiate heat, to the use of high-performance

glass and passive design techniques, this building aims to make the work environment as comfortable and efficient as possible.

The main contractor, Brookfield Multi-plex, states that this involved extensive col-laboration between the professional team

in order to achieve the LEED certification for core-and-shell and fit-out that the build-ing managed – no small feat, and surely a ‘green’ benchmark for future such buildings.

Samsung C&T notes that a project like

Green Tomorrow is more expensive than a traditional building, but that the affordabil-ity scales are likely to be tipped by 2015 as ‘green’ markets mature and as economies of scale render sustainable technologies more cost-effective and ubiquitous.

At the moment, buildings like the Standard Chartered headquarters and Green Tomor-row are the exception rather than the norm, when we should be building sustainability into everything, from single villas to mighty high-rise towers.

Build the future

Samsung C&T anticipates the commercial roll-out of ‘zero energy’ Raemian apartments as early as next year.“


COMMENT


Claims are widely misused and misunderstood in a construction context

The word ‘claim’ is often widely misused and misunder-stood in a construction context. In terms of construction contracts, a claim is not an assessment of the evaluation of a variation, which is a commonly-misused interpretation.

Put simply, a claim is the product of the mechanism provided by contracts through which the contractor seeks redress due to the effects of one or more events for which the employer is considered to be responsible and which, in the opinion of the contractor, have critically delayed his ability to progress the works or caused him to incur additional cost which cannot be recovered through other provisions of the contract. Similarly, an employer may raise a claim against a contractor if the contractor has, through his own failings, delayed completion of the project. Claims from employers may in-clude various heads, such as liquidated damages or delay penalties in addition to the reimbursement of actual loss.

Contractors raise claims not only to pursue their perceived entitle-ments to additional payment but also to apply for extensions of time, seek-ing to protect themselves from the threat of liquidated damages or delay penalties. Therefore a contractor’s claim should be regarded as being of major importance when delays and contractual entitlements are being considered. While the individual events relied upon in a claim may be contentious, the recipient engineer or employer should still as-sess the claim reasonably and in the light of all known information.

Typically, the contractor is required to notify the engineer of his awareness of an event or circumstances that will likely give rise to a claim. Subsequently the contractor is obliged to advise/update the engineer of the status of the event or circumstances at intervals prescribed by the terms of the contract if the claim is to remain valid. Having cleared these hurdles, the burden of proof is then on the contractor to substantiate his claim, which must adequately demonstrate his entitlement to the amount of time and/or money sought, a task which presents a completely new set of challenges:

* Demonstrating that the event or circumstances giving rise to the claim entitle him to do so under the contract, and that the con-tractual procedure for notification has been complied with;

* Demonstrating cause and effect through an appropriate form of delay analysis; and

* Demonstrating that the additional cost (as defined in the contract) was incurred directly as a consequence of the event or circumstance.

Sounds relatively easy to comply with, but even the most experienced contractors often fail to comply with notice requirements, there-by weakening or totally undermining their en-titlement to claim at all.

More importantly, many contractors fail to keep sufficiently adequate records in con-nection with the event on which the claim is based. This hampers their ability to impact the effect of the resultant delay on the baseline pro-

gramme in order to demonstrate cause and effect, and to establish the extent of any additional time to which the con-tractor is entitled. Finally, many contractors do not

maintain a sufficiently detailed record of their costs, are reluctant to release such sensitive information, or they do not fully understand which costs they are entitled to recover.

In summary, variations are, typically, clearly identifiable and evaluated by follow-ing simple rules prescribed by the contract. Claims, however, call for compliance with detailed contractual and procedural require-ments which place a huge burden of proof upon the contractor, if the remedy sought is to be maximised.

Graeme Macdonald is Director of the Hill Inter-national Claims Group.

Staking a claim

Variations are clearly identifiable and evaluated by following simple rules prescribed by the contract. “

NEWS ANALYSIS


There are hints of a return to confidence in the Dubai

market and some project announcements are getting in

early, but will there be funding available to turn ideas

into contracts?

one could be forgiven for thinking that we were back in 2006 and 2007 again, reports Jones Lang LaSalle MENA in a media statement.

Recent official announcements have re-called the heady days of the mid-2000s, when Dubai was building some of its most striking projects, such as the Burj Khali-fa and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai ruler H.H. Sheikh Mohammed has unveiled plans for Emaar Properties and conglomerate Dubai Holding to build a new city called Mohammed Bin Rashid City.

It is planned that this will include the world’s biggest shopping mall, a title held at present by Dubai Mall. A local property analyst, speaking on condition of anonymi-ty, told Reuters estimated that it could cost between $20bn and $50bn, with the upper end of this range being well over half of Dubai’s yearly economic output. H.H. Sheikh Mohammed also announced that Dubai planned to build a $2.7bn complex of five theme parks at Jebel Ali.

Other projects hitting the radar in the last few months include the extension of Business Bay Canal and a mooted $1bn replica of the Taj Mahal. These are all clear signs that the Dubai economy is recover-ing on the back of the ‘three Ts’ of trade, transport and tourism, with the Dubai Sta-tistics Centre releasing new figures that show real GDP growth of 4.1% over the

Dubai is reviving massive real-estate projects as its economy recovers from the global finan-cial crisis and downturn in the

construction industry. Does this mean the boom times are back?

Given the number of major real-estate announcements over the past few weeks,

first half of 2012 (the fastest growth rate since early 2008).

Encouragingly, there are also indica-tions that some of the lessons of the last real-estate crisis have been learned. The most important of these is the need to adopt a long term and co-ordinated ap-proach, rather than developing too much real estate too quickly.

Another factor to consider is that not all announced projects are likely to attract funding. Banks remain wary about lend-ing to real-estate developments at a time when they still have to make major provi-sions against non-performing real-estate loans from the last development boom. “Our 2012 Real Estate Investor Sentiment

Dubai is back

Dubai experienced 4.1% growth in

GDP in the first half of 2012.

4.1%Real GDP growth over H1 2012

2008The fastest growth rate since this year

10-20Years to build a mega project

10%Annual growth in air passenger traffic


NEWS ANALYSIS


Survey (REISS) shows that investors also remain cautious, preferring completed in-come producing projects than development plays or land. Given the understandable re-luctance to rely so heavily on ‘offplan’ sales as in 2007-08, the level of available finance is likely to act as a natural anchor, limiting the number and timing of the announced pro-jects that proceed,” said Jones Lang LaSalle CEO Alan Robertson.

“We are definitely seeing a return in confi-dence to the Dubai real-estate market. This is still Dubai, and it is as ambitious as ever, but we are also seeing a more mature and considered approach, which is only going to benefit the long-term health and credibil-ity of the real-estate sector among domestic

Dubai to lead in increasing construction activity through 2013 - 2015? Source: Pinsent Masons

YES

78.7%

NO

21.3%

NEWS ANALYSIS


sult of earlier debt restructuring will want to see their money back before lending more, rather than, as SC imply, face further re-structure. Risk analysis would be grim.

“Off-plan property sales in profusion are a real no-no as an essential funding option. It will simply never fly, plus the tourism num-bers required to fill such a development and fund it operationally are staggeringly hard to believe.”

Another reader announced that “Dubai has bounced back with a bang. This is great news for UAE residents, who are desperate-ly waiting for laurels for Dubai.” Yet another reader concurred with “great stuff” … but pointed out: “I wonder whether Palm Deira would be a better location? Lots of beach, and would be killing two birds with one

and international investors and stakehold-ers. The key to the success of individual projects and the future performance of the overall market will be the adoption of a re-alistic phasing strategy in line with market demand,” said Robertson.

However, potential constraints on financ-ing are likely to slow the pace of the build-ing boom, according to a Reuters report. With the financial crisis still fresh in inves-tors’ minds, many could be reluctant to in-vest in projects before they are completed, meaning that many proposed developments would have to rely on bank loans and the bond markets.

One Construction Week Online reader, posting from Ireland, concurred: “Indeed, funding is the big issue, as it was with gi-ga-projects like Dubailand and Jumeirah Gardens. According to recent Standard Chartered (SC) estimates, there is a Dubai liability of $48bn in debt to pay down be-tween 2014 and 2016.

“European banks are unlikely to lend, un-til their economies back at base camp stabi-lise; most analysts see a rocky ride ahead in this respect until 2017-18. Plus, of course, the ones that have loans outstanding as a re-

stone.” In general, the mood among Con-struction Week readers seems to be largely optimistic.

“Let the world know that the financial crisis may delay geographical development, but never cripple the thinking of our lead-ers, who have a vision of the future that is clear and intact. What H.H. Sheikh Moham-med has seen in his imagination will come true,” said one reader.

“Anybody who knew Dubai 12 years ago knows that the leadership and the people are equal to any task. I hope other lead-ers, especially from Africa, will learn from Dubai’s leadership and move their countries forward. I wish the government and people of Dubai all the best,” said Salisu Sabo Ring-im.

The key to the success of individual projects and the future performance of the overall market will be the adoption of a realistic phasing strategy in line with market demand.“ Alan Robertson

ECOTHERM Austria GmbHECOTHERM International Support CenterECOTHERM Middle East FZCOECOTHERM Kuwait W.L.L.

www.ecotherm.comPhotovoltaicHot Water

Turnkey Solutions for Hotels, Hospitals and Industry

Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical LLC is an ISO 9001 2008, ISO 14001-2004and OHSAS 18001-2007 certified organization which boasts over four successful decades in pioneering projects within the Middle East MEP industry. These range from the design phase through to supply, installation, testing and commissioning, retrofitting and after-market care. The company provides electro mechanical solutions for all aspects of the MEP services, whilst leading the way in its innovative workings with the latest technology available in the market. Trans Gulf has successfully executed numerous projects in various sectors ranging from the largest district cooling plant operation of its kind in the gulf region, luxury hotels and resorts, high end residential and commercial projects, hospitals, airports and a variety of infrastructure projects. To add to this extensive list, Trans Gulf was recently awarded the Bright Start Beach Resort & Spa by Dubai Contracting Co., who are the Main Contractors for this project. With Dubai’s famous coast line the Jumeirah beach being its location, Bright Start is a 5-star beach resort with a built up area of 735,220 square feet. This prestigious property includes 227 guest rooms with beach front access, three restaurants, poolside dining, a state of the art spa, ball rooms, meeting rooms, indoor and outdoor pools and a private beach club. Bright Start falls under the banner of the famous Four Seasons Hotels and promises to carve a new niche in Dubai’s thriving hospitality industry. Apart from having 270 meters of exclusive beach access, this beach resort is also first of its kinds to be located on the northern side of Dubai’s prominent Jumeirah Beach Road. Trans Gulf was awarded this project in April 2012 and is aiming for a target completion date of May 2014. The MEP services on the project comprise of Chillers, Primary & Secondary Chilled water pumps, Condenser / Make up pumps, Cooling Tower, ELV Systems - Tel. data / wireless systems, Mirror TV, Mirror Demister and a plethora of plumbing services. Carrying out these MEP services could post several challenges due to the location of the resort. Bright Start’s waterfront location will require detailed selection of materials and precise coordination due to ceiling and height constraints. With our current quality and safe practices, we have achieved ‘0’ (zero) LTI at Bright Start Beach Resort. This is achieved through implementing strategies in line with international standards such as OHSAS 18001 & ISO 14001 and a strong commitment from the top management. From supplying and installing to testing and commissioning of MEP works, Trans Gulf aims to deliver this project using value engineering processes and systems. Trans Gulf believes that delivering a finished product of outmost quality on time whilst maintaining a close relationship with the main contractors and clients.

Bright Start Beach Resort Hotel Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

an ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 certified company www.transgulfdubai.com

Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical LLC

Abu Dhabi P O Box 132789,

United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 2 555 0399 Fax: +971 2 555 0234

Dubai P O Box 2432,


Sharjah P O Box 22247,


e-mail: [email protected]

Trans Gulf International Electro-Mechanical WLL

Doha, State of Qatar P O Box 47132,

Tel: +974 44 55 0216 Fax: +974 44 55 0217


Trans Gulf MEP Engineer Pvt. Ltd.

Mumbai, India. Ackruti Trade Center, 6th Floor, Road No. 7,

Marol MIDC, Andheri East, Mumbai 400 093

Tel: +91 2267037400 Fax: +91 2267037403



SITE VISIT

January 2013 | MEP Middle East 21www.constructionweekonline.com

SITE VISIT

Cathal McElroy visits Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi for a check-up on a major MEP project that will breathe life into a building

Driving south-west along the Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road past the Abu Dhabi International Airport, a striking cluster of concrete and cranes begins to dominate the horizon in the distance. It is the site of what will become the new $600m Ma-

fraq Hospital and, while its span and height is accentuated by the dwarfed low-rises of the surrounding area, it is still a project on a hugely impressive scale.

The core of the 739-bed healthcare development is com-prised of two 11 storey and two nine storey towers storey

Healthy


SITE VISIT

a 3 storey annexe administrative building, and a 3 storey outpatient building. This is augmented by a variety of support buildings located around the site, including five substa-tions and a cooling plant. The project, which began in March 2011, marked its topping-out in the second week of November and is set for completion in March 2014. Currently, the MEP project stands at 30% completion, with various parts of the building at different stages of the installation process.

Unlike most projects in the region, the MEP at Mafraq Hospital has not been subcontracted. Habtoor Leighton Specon is carrying out the work as part of the Habtoor Leighton Group/Murray Roberts (HLMR) joint venture which is overseeing all aspects of the project’s construction.

While many of the team is new to such a structure, Costas Ctorides, MEP project director, says that it has yielded significant benefits.

Mafraq Hospital’s three-storey outpatient building which includes clinics.

MEP has posed a particular challenge at Mafraq Hospital as “a lot of design issues had to be resolved”.

Ctorides explains the complexity of the MEP project.Ctor

Metres of cabling which has to be installed

70-80,000

SITE VISIT


SITE VISIT

“We have created a strategy with our part-ners on the civil side on how to proceed with this size of project,” he says. “We came to an understanding that it was to the benefit of all to treat the project as one company, so we have introduced an innovative model here, which we call an integrated model. The re-lationship between the main contractor and the MEP subcontractor was eliminated – we are all on an equal basis.

“This integrated model has a lot of ben-efits; the biggest benefit is communication between the teams. The big problem on projects of this size is usually communica-tion. With this integrated model the civil teams and the MEP teams are sitting in the same offices, sitting with the same draw-ings, they have the same structure on site, they’re using the same programs, they are creating the long and short programmes for the site together, working on how the project will move. It has given great benefits to the coordination of the project,” he adds.

With an MEP project of the magnitude Mafraq Hospital requires, Ctorides says that maximising coordination is vital. There are currently 5,500 workers on site, 1,500 of them MEP-related, with this contingent expected to reach 2,500 to 3,000 at its peak.

“The challenge for MEP on this project is huge as it is heavily involved in the design,” Ctorides says. “The MEP works constitute

Coordination of MEP services was essential.

Changes were introduced as the project progressed.

Work is at an advance stage in the kitchen area.

Coo

around 40% of the project so there are a lot of design issues that have to be resolved, as well as site and mobilisation issues. Since the beginning it has been a very challenging job.

“The coordination of the different MEP services is a huge challenge due to the size of the project. These coordination issues have been derived out of architectural restraints, design restraints, verification of

The relationship between the main contractor and the MEP sub-contractor was eliminated – we are all on an equal basis. “


SITE VISIT

.

the design, additions and changes to the design. This is a live project with changes as we progress.

“We have introduced different systems to address this such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) to eliminate, as much as possible, clashes in the project.

“The integrated model was also used in the design teams which saw civil and MEP teams combined. They sit in the same room tackling site issues and this has worked to the benefit of the project. HLMR is one family

and we’re tackling all the issues together,” Ctorides adds.

As part of their coordination strategy, HLMR has divided the project into six zones which are all in different stages of comple-tion. Each zone is treated as a smaller project with its own hierarchy, but is still linked to the wider team, as Ctorides explains.

“The zones have their own project manager, project engineers, site engineers, superintendents, supervisors, foremen, and tradesmen working independently as a site, but commonly as a team,” he says. “We have daily common meetings with the project managers and project engineers to share the problems between us. As the zones are in different stages, a problem that is faced in

one zone shouldn’t be repeated in another zone. We share this information between us on a daily basis.”

This organisational structure has served the project well thus far, with parts of the MEP works already moving into the second stage.

“Right now the project moves to the second phase, with the podium levels having nearly completed the first fix items such as containment supports and ducting,” says Ctorides. “In some areas we’ve already started moving to the second phase – duct supporting, pressure testing, wire testing, cable pulling and cable wiring; in other areas we’re still on the first fix and others we’re still on the shop drawings.”

The phased approach adopted by the MEP team is perhaps best illustrated by the mock-up areas which are being used as testing grounds before the systems are

Light fittings which have to be installed

50-60,000

From the HLMR JV: HSE engineer Michael Gosi, senior HSE manager Neels Becker, MEP project director Costas Ctori-des and HSE manager David Allman.

The MEP works constitute around 40% of the project so there are a lot of design issues that have to be resolved, as well as site and mobilisation issues.“

The integrated model of MEP and civil engineering which the Habtoor Leighton Group/Murray Roberts joint venture is operating on the Mafraq Hospital project is a new approach for most of those involved. HLMR project director, Vanessa Currie, is leading the combined effort and says it has required some work .

“The immediate challenge is with people’s behaviours because they are used to working as a main contractor or a sub-contractor, and the relationship that involves. As a consequence of that we have had to work hard with people in the team because it is a different working environment. We’ve had team-building sessions in all the areas of the project to reinforce that we’re all part of the same team responsible for delivery. It’s been a culture shock for some people because some of the guys have been doing it for 30 or 40 years in a traditional setup. They are used to behaving in a certain way.”

While the team may have taken some time to adapt to the model, Currie says that there have been significant benefits from the outset.

“The integrated model has its challenges but is a definite benefit to the project. There is so much more transparency and a greater ability to deal with change. We can react quicker and provide more benefit upstream to the client. We can easily suspend works or make a change. We also have more transparent control over material deliveries and orders.

OPERATING TEAM


SITE VISIT

the project managers and engineers on the project, so they know exactly what they are going to meet. A lot of the installation is typi-cal after we’ve got these areas correct.

“Right now we are on the critical path of the project. We are resolving the biggest challenges such as the power, HVAC and

installed elsewhere in the building. With this approach it is hoped that any problems with the design can be addressed at an early stage and that progress in completing the remainder of the project will be swift once these are overcome.

“We are establishing mock-ups in differ-ent areas of the project,” Ctorides says. “We have one on the ground floor which covers a good majority of what we shall meet in the rest of the project. We have advanced the works in that area which gives us the chance to face any problems at the earliest stage. This will allow us to gain time in the future. The problems that we’re facing in this area are transmitted immediately to the rest of

The cooling plant (left) and one of five substations (right) are among a variety of out-buildings which augment the main hospital building and its four towers.

The main chiller cooler pipes from the cooling plant run through this mechanical corridor.

the fire strategy. Once we conclude this we are nearly towards the end. With the rest of the project we will have problems, like any project, but it will be faster,” he adds.

While healthcare projects may be broadly comparable to other MEP projects in such respects, Ctorides makes it clear that

Right now we are on the critical path of the project. We are resolving the biggest challenges such as power, HVAC and the fire strategy. “


SITE VISIT

they are no standard undertaking. With hospitals inevitably occupied by seriously ill patients suffering from weakened im-mune systems or relying on critical life support technology, there is no room for unhygienic air-conditioning or tempera-mental electrics.

“There is a big volume of MEP work involved in a healthcare centre,” Ctorides says. “The systems are sophisticated and not only cover lighting, power, Building Manage-ment Systems (BMS) and the fire alarms, but numerous other specialist systems. The HVAC system is different than normal – the design is completely different and works to different standards.

“The quality of the services must be to a high level because at the end you are dealing with the lives and health of people. We cannot allow a blackout during surgery. We have all

ot e-

the backup and all the designs to overcome such situations.”

The power behind the project that will ensure this, Ctorides says, is enough to run “a small town in Europe”.

“We have five substations which generate around 70MW for the whole project,” he says. “We are distributing the power from the substations to the main building using vertical busbars. We have two busbar tun-nels and the busbars are serving two huge electrical rooms – from there we are distrib-uting the power to smaller electrical rooms. The two LV rooms serve the podium levels, while one serves two of the towers and the other one serves the other two towers.”

Focusing on Mafraq’s HVAC, which is a closed system, Ctorides says that the installa-tion process is just as important as its even-tual operation in keeping Mafraq Hospital’s patients on the road to recovery.

“The measure we’ve taken is to keep the services clean even at the earliest stage of the project,” he says. “All the ends of all the services are plugged to prevent contamina-tion – you won’t find any unplugged service. At the end of the project a special company will come to clean the HVAC system and will conduct a special test before it is handed over to the client. The HVAC system is also a challenge because it will not operate at a constant temperature throughout the project: there will be different temperatures in different parts of the hospital. It is a great challenge to control this.”

Ctorides also highlights the difficulty involved in developing a fire and life strategy

Metres of drainpipe which have to be installed

80,000

Mafraq Hospital is set for completion in March 2014.

Ctorides says the MEP project is in its “critical path”.


SITE VISIT

Distribution boards which have to be installed

1,000+for a hospital building, especially one of Mafraq’s size, and how the HVAC system has a crucial role to play in this.

“How to evacuate this project in case of an emergency is a challenge,” he says. “If there is a fire on one floor, how will the project behave? The HVAC system is heavily involved in this because you have to control the system in such a way as to serve the occupants during the evacuation. The system has to push the smoke in one direction to al-low the occupants to evacuate without going through the smoke.”

The project’s plumbing also has a vital role to play in protecting the patients and staff from the various dangers a hospital environ-ment can pose. Ctorides says that there has to be a zero possibility approach to certain bacteria when designing such projects, and

the team has employed a variety of different solutions to ensure this.

“We have to take great care regarding the design of the plumbing in order to prevent the existence of bacteria such as legionella,” he says. “We cannot have such things in a healthcare centre. It was a great task to veri-fy the design and eliminate any possibility of legionella in this project. In specific areas we are using specific materials to address this. We are using HDPE (high density polyeth-ylene) pipes in laboratories, but we are also using unplasticised polyvinyl chloride UPVC (unplasticised polyvinyl chloride) pipes in common areas, and high-pressure pipes in other areas.”

“The team is producing a very high level of quality in the services and installation on the project. We are using very high skilled tradesmen, very highly skilled supervi-sion, and we have very strict quality control procedures.”

While the project is evidently not short on difficulties and demands, particularly the need to deliver the project to its government client on time, Ctorides is adamant in his and the HLMR team’s desire to deliver a world-class facility on schedule and on budget. But

As the HLMR team continues its delivery of a project which will guard the health of the local community, it is also taking several measures to ensure the health and safety of those working onsite. Neels Becker, senior project HSE manager, says that clarifying the guidelines for the range of languages and cultures onsite is key to achieving this.

“We approach safety on a worker level. We try to address safety so that the workers from all different cultures and languages can understand what the objective is – we believe all workers have the right to come to work every day and they also have the right to go home safely every day. We have a zero harm objective.”

HLMR run a variety of initiatives to maximise health and safety on the site, which has accumulated 16.3 million man hours, and Becker says that these have ensured that there has been no major incident to date.

“The biggest campaign we run is the ‘Don’t Walk By’ campaign which involves everyone on the project. If someone sees something which they deem unsafe, we ask them to act by stopping the activity and asking advice from any of the foremen or the HSE representatives.

“We also do positive recognition awards although we do not believe in paying people to work safe. But we do believe that, if we set an objective and that objective has been achieved, we need to step up and reward people. Continuously and at random all the middle and senior management advisors go around the site and, if they see a person working well and obeying all the rules, they will reward him in front of his colleagues with a AED 25 mobile service network phone card and tell him him why he is being rewarded. The idea is that everyone likes a pat on the back and that when others see this they will also want to show they are capable of this. Hopefully, that rubs off.”

STAYING HEALTHY

An integrated delivery model, together with tools like BIM, were used to exploit synergies between civil and MEP.

The MEP works are currently at 30% completion.

beyond the simple aspiration of doing a good job, he also seems take pleasure in the con-tribution this project will make to the people who will need it most.

“It’s a great challenge and at the end it will be a great emotional success to hand over a project like this to the community and the country – on time and in a good condition to serve the people. It will make the life of people much better, but I hope they will not need it,” he says with a laugh.

THE BIG INTERVIEW


BELGIUM’S BEST

He has been working in the MEP industry for 23 years, both in Europe and the Middle East. With experience on some of the UAE’s most iconic projects, including Burj

Khalifa, Ferrari World and Cleveland Clinic, he can lay claim to being at the forefront of the regional industry’s greatest feats. He also knows exactly what a main contractor is looking for in an MEP sub-contractor, and is now managing the Besix Group’s attack on the regional water market. Rachid Ghamraoui is a man with a wealth of industry knowledge – and an interest-

ing story to tell to boot. Ghamraoui’s journey to general

manager of Besix Sanotec started in 1989 when he joined Besix fresh from completing a Masters degree in Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engi-neering at the Brussels Polytechnical School. His first project as an MEP engineer was on the European Council in Brussels, a deployment just short of four years. Following a stint in Besix’s headquarters working in the technical office and tender department, Gham-raoui decided to make a move to the Middle East.

“I moved to Dubai in 1996 where I worked as MEP manager for Al Aweer Power Station, among other projects,” Ghamraoui says. “Al Aweer was very

Cathal McElroy talks to Rachid Ghamraoui, general manager of Besix Sanotec, about his vast experience of the Middle East MEP Industry, the relationship between main contractors and sub-contractors, and his new role in charge of the Belgian group’s water arm

THE BIG INTERVIEW



THE BIG INTERVIEWTHE BIG INTERVIEW


THE BIG INTERVIEW


interesting as we were doing a design and build project with Besix executing the MEP works, civil and architectural, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the main contractor.

“I then moved to Dubai Airport – more specifically the control tower and the apron. We managed to finish this project in almost seven months which we delivered to DCA (Dubai Civil Aviation) for the Dubai Air Show in 1999. The difficulty of this project was the interface with the main airport building – from the security, from the civil aviation, and the other phases of the project like the power supply and the chilled water.”

After brief involvement in Abu Dhabi Trade Centre and Shopping Mall, and Emirates Palace, Ghamraoui returned to Europe to work on an office tower in the

THE BIG INTERVIEW

The quality of the work is about the same, but the productivity of European workers is different from those in the Middle East.“business district of Paris. After six years working in the Middle East, the differ-ence in approach to MEP between the two regions was striking.

“In Europe the MEP is attributed in separate packages,” Ghamraoui says. “The mechanical is awarded to one contractor, plumbing to another contractor, high voltage electrical up to 120 volts, the ELV, and the lifts are all awarded to separate contractors. In this situation you have to be very careful with the coordination and the synthesis of all the services above the false ceiling, as well as the connection to the utiiities.”

Ghamraoui also remarks that, while the quality of work is not much different be-

tween the two regions, the human resource committed to its execution is.

“The quality of the work is about the same, but the productivity of European workers is different from those in the Middle East,” he says. “It is understandable as the salary and skill levels in Europe are higher, but Eu-ropean foremen and supervisors also work with their hands – they don’t just supervise. They get themselves involved in the physical work,” he adds.

While Ghamraoui enjoyed his return to Europe, an offer was to come from Dubai which he could not refuse. He was asked by Besix to take on the role of senior MEP manager on what would become the world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa. Besix, in a joint venture with Samsung and Arabtec, had won the main contract for the project and an ETA/Voltas/Hitachi Plant joint venture had been appointed to carry out the MEP works.

24Years of experience Ghamraoui has in

industry

200,000M² of roof on Ferrari World

Ghamraoui managed the MEP project on Cleveland Clinic for a year which saw a team of 90 engineers employed by Besix alone, while ETA had a team of 300 and 10,000 labourers.


THE BIG INTERVIEWTHE BIG INTERVIEW

Ghamraoui joined the project in September 2005, a year-and-a-half after excavation had begun onsite, and set about tackling a job that required all of his expertise.

“With Burj Khalifa, the challenges were the engineering from a design point of view, the coordination of all the services because of the height of the building, the builder’s work because of the size of the wall involved, and the logistics,” Ghamraoui says.

“The priority with the engineering was to make the building safe, making sure the water reached the fire-pump and the tanks, and got distributed at the right time. Also, a

building of Burj Khalifa’s size moves – there is shrinkage and expansion. This even hap-pens during the engineering and installation. All those pipes and cable trays had to be engineered to make sure that the expansion joints for all those installations were in the right location, even when it reached some-thing like a heat exchanger.”

More practical issues were presented by the simple fact of the building’s height and the confined area in which it was being constructed.

“The logistics were also very critical in this project. Due to the tightness of the building, we couldn’t lift and drop as much material as we wanted,” says Ghamraoui. “There was a limit on space which worsened as the building’s height increased so we had to make sure we did as much pre-fabrication as possible. We even went to South Korea to study pre-fabrication processes there. For the chilled water pipe, which was huge, we had to slide the pipe 10 metres at a time and connect it as the construction proceeded.”

While such difficulties on Burj Khalifa honed Ghamraoui’s management skills, per-haps the greatest lesson he took away from the project part of the main contractor team was the importance of early engagement

with a project’s MEP contractor. “An important feature of the Burj project

was getting the MEP contractors involved from the start,” he says. “From an engineer-ing point of view, they have to be starting almost at the same time, if not before the civil works. The big mistake a main con-tractor sometimes makes is delaying the appointment of an MEP sub-contractor: the MEP contractor is needed at the start of the project if it is to be delivered on time.

“To meet a deadline the MEP contractor needs to do a large part of his engineering at the start of a project. I always tell my people here at Besix to get the MEP contractor as early as possible in order to get them involved in the design and engineering of the civil works and the finishing. From a

Ghamraoui has worked in MEP in Europe and the UAE for almost 24 years, but has been with the Besix Group all that time.

A building of Burj Khalifa’s size moves: there is shrinkage and expansion. This even happens during the engineering and installation.“

509+Height of Burj Khalifa in metres when

Ghamraoui left the project

THE BIG INTERVIEW


planning point of view, the MEP should start immediately after the civil or in parallel with the civil in order to allow enough time for the finishing to get their job done.”

Ghamraoui remained on Burj Khalifa till September 2007, but managed to stay long enough to see the tower overtake Taipei 101 as the tallest building in the world when the construction hit 509 metres.

His next Besix posting as a deputy direc-tor and technical manager was to a similarly unique, if considerably shorter project – Fer-

90Besix MEP Engineers on Cleveland Clinic

rari World on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.“Ferrari World was a funny project,” says

Ghamraoui. “Firstly, it’s a theme park and it’s not every day you work on a theme park. The architectural shape of the building was challenging from a construction point of view. You have over 200,000m² of roof, 80,000m² of façade and its area is 200,000m². I call it ‘The Beast’. It was design and build from an MEP point of view and, because of its shape, the cooling needed to be innova-tive. There is a huge void where the theme

park is, on the third floor, and you need to get it uniformly cool. That was one of the challenges – using the right jet diffuser with the right curve at the right temperature.”

In addition to this, Ghamraoui found that having to deal with particular vendors in relation to the MEP threw up some issues to overcome.

“We needed to get the power supply, the chilled water, the potable water etc., but the challenge was these particular vendors have a different culture and a different way of building,” he says. “They also have remote management figures so we had to deal with those difficulties in order to get the MEP installed at the right time with the right pa-rameters. We were part of the construction and project management team so we were responsible for solving these difficulties. We had to deliver the project as a whole to the client with the rides.”

Notwithstanding these problems, Gham-raoui saw the project to its conclusion in September 2010 and was whisked straight off to take charge of the MEP project at the approximately $1.6bn Cleveland Clinic. There he joined a Besix/Samsung joint venture MEP team of 90 engineers, sup-plemented by a 300-strong ETA engineering and project management team guiding the work of 10,000 MEP labourers.

“Cleveland Clinic is designed to deal with any health issue so it is a massive project,” Ghamraoui says. “We had to divide the pro-

I always tell my people here at Besix to get the MEP contractor as early as possible in order to get them involved in the design and engineering of the civil works and the finishing.“

Ghamraoui became general manager of Besix Sanotec in September 2011 and sees great potential in Besix’s water arm.


THE BIG INTERVIEW

ject into five sub-projects dealing with differ-ent departments of the hospital. It has 7,000 rooms, including the patient rooms, and a minimum of half of these has to receive all the necessary MEP services.

“The major difficulty is how to get all these services above the false ceiling in co-ordination within a short time. We employed Building Information Modelling (BIM) to

Ferrari World was a funny project. Firstly, it’s a theme park and it’s not every day you work on a theme park.”“Cleveland Clinic is designed to deal with any health issue so it is a massive project,“

address this problem: it can minimise such problems up to 75 to 80%.

“The sequencing of the MEP installation is very important on such projects. You have to have very good supervision with high levels of manpower.”

Given Ghamraoui’s experience on such enormous and illustrious projects, it would be fair to assume that he knows a thing or two about what a main contractor, particu-larly Besix, looks for in an MEP sub-con-tractor. His answer is, of course, not simple; he explains that it is a complex blend of characteristics and criteria dependent on the job in question.

“The selection of the sub-contractor depends on the type of project – whether it is a hotel, shopping mall, tower etc.” Ghamraoui says. “The location of the project is also important. The client we are work-ing for also plays a role in the process. The contractor chosen also depends on the size of the project. Finally, whether the contract is only engineering or design and build has an effect.

“With these criteria we set up the param-eters. We then select a list of contractors

200,000M³ of wastewater treated per day by

Besix Sanotec

that fit those parameters as well as possible. After that it depends on who submits the best price and the quality of the technical proposal. We then take into account our his-tory with the contractor and evaluate their strong and weak points in relation to the project itself.

“What is very important is the culture of the contractor: are they proactive, are they delivery-minded, are they trustworthy? The price plays a role, of course, but for us as a main contractor it is very important to deliver the project as a whole and not to get a delay because of one sub-contractor. So we do consider the safety record of the contractor, the proactivity of the contractor, the capability of the design, and our history with the contractor.”

Ghamraoui worked on Ferrari World, which he calls “The Beast”, as a deputy director and technical manager from September 2007 to its completion in September 2010.

THE BIG INTERVIEW


Such thoroughness and attention to detail is surely one of the reasons why Besix has charged Ghamraoui with managing its Besix Sanotec enterprise in the Middle East. Given the job in September 2011, Ghamraoui is aiming to establish the Besix arm as a key player in the regional water industry over the next few years.

“Besix Sanotec has been created by the Group to reflect the importance of the environment in the overall strategy of the company and also in order to diversify our activities within the Group,” he says. “It is a water engineering company: we start from process engineering design to installation and procurement, up to the testing. We do this, in particular, in the industrial wastewa-ter treatment – petrochemical, chemical and pharmaceutical.”

Although Besix Sanotec began operations in Europe in the early nineties, it has only been operating in the Middle East since 2004. While Ghamraoui admits that it is operating on a smaller scale compared to

some of the regional giants in the market, he is hopeful that the company will achieve significant growth in the coming years.

“We have a combined experience in Europe and in the Middle East,” he says. “With municipal works, we can work from medium to large scale (from 10,000 people equivalent to 1 million people) and we do potable and processed water production. Globally, we are treating 2 million m³ per day which is equivalent to the wastewater flow generated by 10 million people. We do a lot of operation and maintenance con-tracts such as those in Ajman, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.”

Given this strong foundation Ghamraoui says that, with the brand value and support of the Besix Group behind the company’s Sanotec arm, he is confident that the market will respond positively over the next few

10,000MEP laboruers on Cleveland Clinic

The Besix Group has several strings to its bow that cover most areas of the construction process, including a Facilities Management unit which maintains the services in Burj Khalifa, among other buildings. Some may then wonder why it is yet to venture into the MEP market and establish a fully-fledged MEP arm.

Ghamraoui says that it has been debated within Besix for quite some time and, while there are significant issues to be addressed before it is given the go-ahead, a Besix MEP arm is something which could be established in the coming years.

“I can confirm the plan is to have an MEP contractor within the Group, but the timing or the opportunity isn’t there at the moment,” Ghamraoui says. “There have always been plans for this. I think what we are missing is the momentum to establish this company at the right time. With the big iconic projects in which Besix is regularly involved, you need major expertise in MEP. You need to build this expertise, but when you are really busy handling those big projects, it is difficult to initiate such a plan. We don’t have the logistics or the organisation at the moment in order to have proper engineering, proper procurement. It’s cultural and we do not like to do things without the proper quality.

“It would help to have an MEP contractor as part of Besix because, if you have a failing sub-contractor, you can come and take over and you move on with your project. You are not stuck because of some other company’s problems. You can get onboard quickly. The only thing is the timing, planning and implementation because of all the other projects going on in parallel.”

GROWING AN MEP ARM

years and the company will grow in line with the region.

“The brand of Besix is very important for Besix Sanotec. Also, practically, it allows us to combine our expertise and provides an important synergy and close cooperation between Besix Sanotec and Six Construct (Besix’s civil arm). This enables us to pro-vide a one-stop-shop solution for the water market covering date acquisition, expert ad-vice, process design, civil works, mechanical works and operational maintenance. There are not many companies in the water market that can offer that solution.”

What is very important is the culture of the contractor: are they proactive, are they delivery-minded, are they trustworthy?“

Ghamraoui worked on Burj Khalifa as senior MEP manager and was there when the building became the world’s tallest.

NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS IN THE GCC

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EDITORIAL

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Sectors covered by Manufacturing Executive Middle East includeMotor industryFMCGChemicals and PharmaceuticalsPower and EnergyOil and GasConstruction

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CONTACTS

Contact one of our team today to f ind out more about th is exci t ing new t i t le

NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS IN THE GCCALSO IN THIS ISSUE...


NOVEMBER 2012 / VOL. 1 / ISSUE 3

LATEST TRENDS: DUBAI INDUSTRIAL CITY IS ON A GROWTH PATH P22

TOTALLYTOYOTA KSA’sModern Grouplooks strong after huge JV deals with big name foreign firms P14

JAMES DYSON MADE A FORTUNE FROM HIS INVENTIONS, BUT TO BEGIN WITH, NOBODY WOULD GIVE HIM THE TIME OF DAY P48

Crystal Arc hasonly been aroundfor eleven years,

but its crystals will be around for

decades to come P10

OMANThe sultanate is planning more free zonesP20

How the car giant is reinventing the

production process for the industry

NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS IN THE GCC


NOVEMBER 2012 / VOL. 1 / ISSUE 3

LATEST TRENDS: DUBAI INDUSTRIAL CITY IS ON A GROWTH PATH P22

KSA’sKSA’sModern ModernGroupGrouplooks looks strong strong after afterhuge JV

huge JV deals dealswith big with big name nameforeign foreign firms firms P14P14

JAMES DYSOJAMES DYSOMADE AMADE AFORTUNE

FORTUNEFROM HIS FROM HISINVENTIONS

INVENTIONSBUT TO BUT TOBEGIN WITH,BEGIN WITH,NOBODY

NOBODYWOULD GIVEWOULD GIVEHIM THE

HIM THETIME OF TIME OFDAYDAY P48P48YY

Crystal Arc hasonly been aroundfor eleven years,

but its crystals will be around for

decades to come P10

OMANThe sultanate ise

planning morefree zoneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssP20

How the car giant is reinventing the

production process for the industry

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...

YSON YSON

ONS, NS, ITH, TH,

GIVE IVE

To s u b s c r i b e f o r F R E E v i s i t : w w w. a r a b i a n b u s i n e s s . c o m / m e m e


2013 PREVIEW

With the general consensus being that 2012 was a better year for the industry than the three previous, we look forward to 2013 by asking a contractor, consultant and supplier what they foresee for the coming year

IN WITH the New


2013 PREVIEW

What major projects have Trans Gulf lined up for 2013?At the moment we have three major projects on hand. In Dubai we will be working on the Bright Start Beach Resort, a Four Seasons Ho-tel. We also have the General Department of Forensic Science and Technology project for our client, Dubai Police. In Qatar we will be working on Sinyar Tower in Doha’s West Bay which is comprised of two basement floors, a ground floor and 52 storeys above. Finally, we have several smaller projects in their final stages across Qatar, UAE and India.

What challenges does the industry face in the period?Firstly, I think sustaining through a very com-petitive market will be the primary challenge for most. As most of the projects for MEP are considered ‘domestic’ and not ‘through nomi-nation’ the Principle (main contractor) is look-ing for the best at the cheapest. Due to intense competition all of the commercial burden is weighed down on to the sub-contractors. MEP, being one of the key elements, stands to take the hit. With tight margins, risk of price es-calation, delays to project completion, delays to certifications/payments, managing supply chain/ vendors, MEP contractors’ resilience and survival will be put to utmost test.

End-product too tends to get affected – as the saying goes “you get for what you pay”. Af-ter-effects of MEP works are much more chal-lenging than the builders’ works to the client and operator in terms of running costs, which is seldom given importance by the decision makers when awarding projects, especially prime ones.

One way of overcoming this problem is to categorise and classify the contractors based on their experience and back ground. Each category would only be eligible to quote its corresponding size of project. This will give an opportunity for good companies at all levels to survive and the project gets its due expertise and workmanship.

How will the different countries in the GCC perform?No country is immune from the global finan-cial crisis and regional political developments. But in the GCC, Qatar and KSA are the hap-pening places and can only get better by sim-

plifying laws relating to sourcing resources. The MEP industry is predominantly resource functional and also region-based in terms of expertise. As such ,there must be some flex-ibility for the contractors to source the exper-tise from particular origins which are depend-able and give continuity for the work.

Despite setbacks in recent years, UAE still looks promising and a preferred destination given its openness in terms of connectivity and laws for sourcing resources, which is the key concern of the construction industry.

What about opportunities in the wider Middle East?The political scenario is still unclear and, given the impression of volatility, not many MEP Contractors are ready to take the plunge. Given the recession onslaught, logistics and other challenges that they are facing in their domains, the wider Middle East, though it looks a very attractive alternative, still does not motivate MEP contractors enough to spread their wings.

How might the push towards green build-ing develop?Green building concepts have almost become mandatory in this part of the world due to the benefits of implementing green concepts. Even though it has got cost implications while implementing, the returns are excellent in the long-run, not only in terms of energy saving but also in terms of: lower operating costs and increase asset value; reduce waste sent to land-fills; conserve energy and water; be healthier and safer for occupants; and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

With LEED (Leadership in Energy and En-vironmental Design) by USGBC, BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environ-mental Assessment Method (U.K), the Pearl Rating System and Estidama, the demand for green building is constantly increasing day by day. Understanding this need, as well as the social and commercial benefits of Green Build-ing concepts, Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical became a founding member of the EGBC (Emirates Green Building Council) seven years ago and contributes to this day. Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical has carried out sev-eral Green Building Projects based on LEED and will be a one-stop solution as a specialised

and preferred MEP contracting company for Green Buildings.

What help from government authorities could the industry use?Government authorities could categorise MEP contractors as a pre-requisite for getting qualified for projects. They could also liberal-ise the sourcing of resources from preferred destinations for MEP contractors with excel-lent track records. Also, the development of a professional legal team that addresses contrac-tual and commercial issues between the par-ties would be welcome.

What new technologies are coming online which might benefit the industry?

MEP is an ever-evolving Industry and there is a tremendous amount of synergy between IT and its MEP Services. MEP Services re-volve around energy and water and any aspect which improves in the conservation of these resources must be made part of the project portfolio. Adapting to systems like BIM must be made mandatory for the grading of contrac-tors.

What new design or working trends may we see introduced or developed in the coming year?With LEED (Leadership in Energy and En-vironmental Design) by USGBC, BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environ-mental Assessment Method (U.K), the Pearl Rating System and Estidama, the demand for green building is constantly increasing day by day. Understanding this need, as well as the social and commercial benefits of Green Building concepts, Trans Gulf Electro Me-chanical became a founding member of the EGBC (Emirates Green Building Council) seven years ago and contributes to this day. Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical has carried out several Green Building Projects based on LEED and will be a one-stop solution as a specialised and preferred MEP contracting company for Green Buildings.

Sekhar Reddy, chief operating officer, Trans Gulf

THE CONTRACTOR


2013 PREVIEW

What major projects are lined up in the region in 2013?Most people would expect the obvious an-swer to this question is Qatar and Saudi Ara-bia. However, given the recently announce-ments coming out of Dubai, the future looks to be very optimistic. There have recently been a number of mega projects announced in Dubai. We all know the situation relative to the Qatar 2022 World Cup and of course the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also very busy. The outlook for the Middle East looks bright and that’s not just the sunshine.

What challenges does the industry face in the period?There are some major challenges on the ho-rizon and the most fundamental would be for the construction industry achieving the most sustainable cost effective solutions for all projects and clients. The Middle East region has made some fantastic inroads in achieving sustainability within the built en-vironment and offering some of the world’s most fantastic sustainable solutions, in one of the most challenging regions – but more needs to be done. In addition, we need to

ensure correct and professional resources to deliver the work in a

knowledgeable sustained manner, for the benefit of the Middle East at large.

How will the different coun-tries in the GCC perform?I personally would anticipate the various countries will per-form in a different and varying manner throughout 2013 as

each country has their own di-verse and demanding needs. I feel Qatar will be primarily focused

on delivering the built environ-ment primarily for 2022

World Cup. This will in-

vo lve a d -

vanced progression of the metro lines, starting the stadium designs and address-ing the necessary infrastructure enhance-ments. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue with their drive of construction activities with a focus towards ensuring sus-tainability sitting at the core of architectural and engineering solutions. The outlook in Dubai appears very optimistic at present; there is a real buzz about town as the future is looking positive.

What about opportunities in the wider Middle East?I believe the Middle East will offer many op-portunities during 2013. The construction industry is flourishing across the region which in turn presents many opportunities for all the construction professionals who work in the industry.

How might the push towards green building develop?I believe it is widely accepted, as suggest-ed by the latest IPCC’s assessments that GHG emissions are contributing to climate change activities. It is common knowledge

the built environment accounts for approxi-mately 50% of CO2 emission thus heavily contributing towards climate change. The construction industry at large therefore has a vital role to play in trying to curtail climate change activities. This is especially prudent in the Middle East where countries are con-sidered as “developing” and the construc-tion industry is flourishing. I believe the driver towards green building and sustain-able solutions will strengthen as the knowl-edge within the region deepens. Hopefully, 2013 will bring fresh new challenging prob-lems which can be met with green sustain-able construction professionals armed with strengthened regulations.

What help from government authorities could the industry use?

Government authorities throughout the Middle East are working tirelessly on all fronts. They have huge challenges which are constantly being addressed behind the scenes for the betterment of the Middle East region at large. I would see strength-ened enforcements of green building regu-lations and a wider focus on energy and water conservation for the Middle East as improvements on an already well estab-lished and regulated section. Any improve-ments towards ensuring a sustainable built environment would be beneficial for all.

What new technologies are coming on-line which might benefit the industry?Suppliers, vendors and manufacturers are constantly improving the products they produce and place into the construction in-dustry. The majority boast the sustainable components and offer sustainable solutions up front and centre in their marketing ma-terial. It’s important that construction de-sign professionals work in conjunction and much closer to suppliers, vendors and man-ufacturers ensuring new innovative ideas are brought into the construction industry. It is important MEP engineering designers avoid being monotonous and should focus on pioneering new sustainable ideas and sustainable technologies.

What new design or working trends may we see introduced or developed in the coming year?The construction industry has always been focused on achieving high quality, at stead-fast speed and at lower cost. I would antici-pate that construction industry profession-als will continue to push the corners of this triangle.

Bill Jolly, director of MEP and sustainability, Ramboll

THE CONSULTANT

2013 PREVIEW

What major projects are lined up in the region in 2013?We find that there is certainly a feeling of positivity about the UAE construction market at present as we assist building stakeholders with design work on projects that are receiving the funding required to progress through the tender stage and onto site. This is documented to continue throughout 2013.

Certainly the healthcare, education, hospitality, entertainment and infrastruc-ture sectors have numerous projects going ahead that TROX are excited to be a part of. Projects that are built to ‘keep’ as opposed to being built to ‘sell’ are where we are seeing the majority of activity at present, and this is where TROX can contribute to a building’s success in a greater manner. Often we find that projects where the cli-ent is the end-user produces the best final product.

How will the dif ferent countries in the GCC perform?Further into the GCC, TROX will re-enter the Saudi Arabian market with our agent there, and will open a dedicated TROX busi-ness in Qatar so that we are best-positioned to service this area from both a technical and procurement perspective when the in-evitable construction acceleration begins. These areas, along with the Sultanate of Oman, are where we see potential for great-est success next year.

What challenges does the industry face in the period?Securing project funding will always be a major challenge in the current construction climate.

As commercial constraints are all too of-ten the overriding factor in decision mak-ing, the industry faces the challenge of not being ‘penny wise pound foolish’. Clients should work with specialist suppliers and / or designers to ensure that the most at-tractive commercial solution is acquired without sacrificing the end result. There is no sense in outlaying any capital if the end product is not fit-for-purpose. The building must be safe, comfortable and functional for the end users. Specialist suppliers such

as TROX can ensure that through correct engineering, and a thoroughly tested and proven product portfolio, that designs can be undertaken with complete confidence.

How might the push towards green building develop?Green building initiatives have been long discussed. Should government mandate strict maximum overall energy consump-tion restraints per new development, this would certainly create an immediate re-action and assist in driving energy con-scious decisions.

TROX have been able to work with clients, designers, and contractors suc-cessfully to achieve extremely stringent energy restrictions whilst still meeting commercial budget constraints. Locally the cost of power consumption is ris-ing and we are finding that other GCC countries are now also making more enquiries into energy efficient alterna-tives. We see that the “built to keep” projects are now taking a far greater interest in CAPEX vs. OPEX at first de-sign phase than they have in the past, and TROX can certainly add value at this stage.

What does TROX have in store for the industry in 2013?TROX’s goal is to be the enhanced HVAC supplier and best-rated partner for architects, project developers, and con-sultants, and a key sup-plier for contractors, distributors and other sales partners.

In 2013 the industry will be introduced to some very exciting of-ferings from TROX in the form of Air / Water system components, air distribution equipment, and exceptional selec-tion software. We will continue to deliver innovative technologies that designers can utilize to progress their projects, and our industry.

Thomas Orr, managing director, TROX Middle East

THE SUPPLIER


www.constructionweekonline.com40 MEP Middle East | January 2013

porting events in the Middle East face a constant struggle against the heat. Even when they are indoors, the buildings require a lot of energy to cool sufficiently in order for sports-men and women to compete at their best.

Nevertheless, Al Wasl Foot-ball Club has taken on the challenge of developing an air-

conditioned outdoor stadium in its hometown of Dubai. The Club

announced in August that its Za-beel Stadium will be expanded and

air-conditioning added to the seating areas of the ground.

Should the Zabeel Stadium ex-pansion be completed as planned,

the capacity will be increased to 25,000 spectators and it will

become the first air-conditioned stadium in the UAE. A report from the UAE news agency WAM which explained the plans also revealed similar projects could be launched for other sports clubs in Dubai.

Similar plans have, of course, been hatched by Qatar which had previ-ously stated that it would have air-conditioned stadiums for its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The original plans for Qatar’s air-con-ditioned venues were to see solar power incorporated as part of attempts to make the stadiums green and sustainable. At the time of the bidding process for the FIFA World Cup, soc-cer’s governing body had expressed

concern at the high temperatures which would be reached in Qatar when the tourna-ment is scheduled. Summer temperatures in

Qatar’s capital, Doha, can reach 50C. Much criticism was levelled at FIFA

for awarding the World Cup to Qatar, mainly due to the Association’s apparent disregard for the dangerous tempera-

tures in which the players would have to compete.

The considerable challenge faced in developing stadiums

which address this issue has led some to predict that the tournament will be moved to the win-ter months, a decision which would clash with the domestic leagues in the majority of the

competing nations.

AIR-CONDITIONED STADIUMS

Following Al Wasl Football Club’s announcement that it plans to make its stadium air-conditioned, Peter Ward finds out if the promise of such projects is just a lot of hot air

ACTIONHeat of the

S

www.constructionweekonline.com42 MEP Middle East | January 2013

“When Qatar host the football world cup ten years from now in 2022, it will be in the very hot and sunny months of June and July. How will it be possible for football players to show spectacular football, running around in this desert climate? How will it be possible for spectators to sit and enjoy themselves in open air stadia in this incredibly hot environ-ment?” asked Wolfgang Kessler, physicist and director of the engineering firm Trans-solar, at the Tedx summit earlier this year.

The idea which Transsolar came up with, which was included in the bid for the 2022 World Cup, was to use solar power to cool the stadia in Doha.

“Our idea for the bid was 100% solar cool-ing, we cover the roofs of the stadia with PV systems. We don’t borrow any energy from history. We are not using fossil energies. We are not borrowing energy ,” said Kessler. “We’re using energy we can harvest on the stadia’s roofs and also on the training pitch-es, which will be covered with large, flexi-ble membranes. We will see in the next years an industry coming up with flexible pho-tovoltaics, giving the possibilities of shad-


COOL STADIUMS

Air-conditioned stadia already exist across the world, most notably in the USA, where several different teams boast a cooled sta-dium.

Miami Marlins ParkUS baseball team the Miami Marlins opened its new stadium earlier this year, complete with air-conditioning for both fans and players. The $515 million ballpark has a capacity of 37,000 and features air-conditioning and a retractable roof in order to battle the humid

conditions found in Miami during the summer. Marlins Park boasts a LEED Gold rating and its electrical, mechanical, lighting, heating and cooling systems cost the club 22% less in energy than similar structures. The stadium’s 8,000 tonne retractable roof uses regenerative drive systems to reduce power consumption, meaning it costs only $10 in electricity to open or close it.

University of Phoenix StadiumThe University of Phoenix Stadium was designed to be a multi-purpose facility

with the ability to host American football, basketball, soccer, concerts, consumer shows, motorsports, rodeos and corporate events.It was designed by architect Peter Eisenman, in conjunction with HOK Sport, Hunt Construction Group and Urban Earth Design. The stadium features alternating sections of shimmering metal panels intended to reflect the desert light as it shifts. The stadium’s air-conditioning system uses 8,000 tonnes of cooling, enough to cool 2,300 homes. The translucent ‘Bird Air’ fabric roof, allows the stadium to have an open feel

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM MIAMI MARLINS PARK

ing against strong sun and producing electric energy in the same time.”

It is still unclear whether Qatar’s stadia for the FIFA World Cup will be air-conditioned or not. Although it was mentioned in the original bid, there have been those who have tried to persuade Qatar to avoid using air-conditioning altogether.

“The organisers want to have the big showcase stadium with air-conditioning, but we are fighting hard to persuade them that you don’t need to have it,” John Bar-row, senior principal with Populous archi-tects told the International Football Arena conference last year.

“It’s not good from a long term sustainabil-ity point of view,” he added.

Barrow says that the temperatures could be reduced dramatically through natural means. Playing all of the games at night would be one way to help achieve this. Other methods include wind towers, shading and the use of natural convection.

Air-conditioning an indoor arena is a less tricky task, but still represents major chal-lenges. Sporting venues, even when indoors,


may not look favourably on the World Cup being played exclusively indoors. How-ever, there is the potential for compromise. Several stadia around the world use air-conditioning while also featuring a retract-able roof, which can be closed when the air-conditioning is on.

Such stadia use cooling to maintain a suit-able climate for sportsmen and women in which to compete. In the hotter parts of the USA, there are several stadia which have air-conditioning facilities for both the fans and the players. However, the one thing they all have in common to make this feat more achievable is a retractable roof.

While the plans revealed by Al Wasl Foot-ball Club provide air-conditioned seating ar-eas for the fans only, the question remains as to how this is going to be achieved. Adding a roof, retractable or not, would come at signif-icant extra cost but would certainly improve the efficiency of the venue. But, like Qatar, it may have second thoughts about committing to such a financial burden and its plans could prove to be just another blast of hot air in the windy world of the beautiful game.


to it even when the roof is shut. The roof also has two retractable panels which can uncover the entire playing field, while still providing shade to the fans. In the hot months the roof is closed and the whole stadium is air-conditioned.

Dallas Cowboys StadiumThe Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington featured a mammoth HVAC project at its core. The contractor, TD Industries from the Dallas area, said it was the largest project it had ever tackled back in 2009.

The work on the stadium involved 60 miles of piping, 2.5 million pounds of sheet metal, almost two miles of ductwork and more than 3,450 plumbing fixtures. “We worked with Manhattan Construction during the scheduling process to create a good sequence of work which we hoped would prevent spikes and dips in the manpower required. By having a well-planned schedule, TD was able to better control its manpower needs,” Dave Youden, vice president of TDIndustries told Contracting Business.The project’s main challenge was planning the

ductwork which supplied the air to the main seating area of the stadium. The planning alone took 500 man-hours and because it was not possible to put up scaffolding tall enough to handle the ductwork, the firm’s employees were suspended from the rafters of the stadium in order to work – 250 feet above the field. The duct sizes were larger than 8 feet in diameter, and this represented further challenges. Handling and maneuvering the materials around the job site was a test for the company, as well as placing them high above the field.

DALLAS COWBOYS STADIUM

are extremely large and require a huge amount of airflow, meaning the energy ex-penses can be huge.

“Indoor sporting arenas need high airflow rate due to the huge volume of the arena. In such cases, we need air-handling units to throw big amounts of air flow,” says D.Y. Kim, president of LG Electronics Gulf FZE.

“One of the challenges usually faced with such applications is due to the variation in the AC load as it depends on the number of the spectators. Usually the chiller system and conventional AC systems with ON/OFF con-trols react slowly to this variation. For such applications, LG has developed a solution of connecting AHU with Multi V VRF system.”

“The benefit of the Multi V condensing unit is it can rapidly change the speed of the compressor to match the variation in load. This saves 40% in the operating power con-sumption. Apart from this, there are also other benefits of integrating the CO2 sen-sors to maintain the indoor air quality in the arena,” he adds.

Indoor stadia are much less used in the football world and a body such as FIFA

PRODUCTS


WANT TO FEATURE YOUR PRODUCT HERE? Email: [email protected]

BUYER’S GUIDE

New products come on to the market at a great rate. While many shout

about their innovation or competitive pricing, it can be difficult to spot the true merit of a product without the right information. MEP offers a few top tips that are always worth keeping in mind when purchase orders are on the way.

TOP TIPS

1. FOCUSKnow what you are looking for and exactly what you

need it to do

2. RESEARCH Get suppliers to provide

detailed product information based on your

specific requirements

3. PRICE VERSUS...Is price the most important

factor?

4. ...QUALITYOr will quality matter more

in the long run?

5. IS IT NEEDED?Is the product something the project really needs?

Could it be done without or bought at a later stage?

6. SUSTAINABILITYDoes this product need to

be ‘green’?

7. STANDARDSDoes the product need to conform to any specific

standards?

8. SHIPPING Will the product make it to site on time, or is there an

order backlog?

9. LIABILITYHow long will your

company be liable for the product’s performance?

10. SORTEDWill this purchasing

decision sort the job or will it come back to haunt you?

Product focusMEP Middle East reviews the latest gadgets, essential kit and serious product innovations making an impact in the GCC construction market. Let us know if there is something you would like to see on these pages.

SILENT LAG ACOUSTIC LAGGINGThis innovative product is now being extensively used to

arrest sound created in drainage pipes upon the flushing of water. Most consulting engineers are now specifying this product where reduced sound is a important issue, such as in hotel rooms, villas and residential apartments. This is a

‘one-shot’ integral acoustic lagging material known as Silent Lag. The product comprises polymeric mass barrier material

together with a glass fibre quilt on one side and reinforced aluminium foil on the other side, thus maximizing acoustic performance. The acoustic

performance of Silent Lag has been tested and the STC of 28 db has been achieved. Barrier material shall be a 2.5mm-thick, highly-flexible polymeric sheet incorporating

additional mineral filters to increase the product’s mechanical strength and durability, with a reinforced aluminium foil on one side. Nominal density of barrier material is 5kg/m2. Significant levels

of sound reduction can be achieved by employing heavy barrier materials, particularly those with essentially limp characteristics. The introduction of an absorber layer to achieve a ‘sprung mass’ will further improve the product’s ability to prevent noise passing through it. Absorber layer shall comprise of 25mm-thick glass fibre quilt, scrim backing on both sides stitched in a 100mm box design. The composite layer is Silent Lag Sl-B/BM5N/SF or Lagging SL-B/BM7.5N/SF, with a 100mm-wide barrier overlap extending beyond the quilted glass fibre.

JOHN GUEST SPEEDFIT John Guest Speedfit is a push-fit solution for all plumbing and heating systems. Simply inserting a pipe into a fitting produces a permanently leak-proof connection. The fittings can be disconnected with ease and refitted without the need for replacement parts, thus reducing cost and wastage of pipe and fittings. The low insertion force makes the product easy to install, while the clean, all-white appearance of pipe and fittings enhances aesthetics. Speedfit fittings are suitable for copper, PEX and polybutylene piping. The Speedfit system has over 25 years’ guarantee resulting in zero maintenance costs.

GEBERIT SHOWER ELEMENTWith the flexible Geberit shower element, the design of the wall drain for floor-even showers looks clean and well-engineered. The shower elements can be easily installed in nearly any wall construction, as well as with Geberit’s proven dry wall systems, transforming your shower into a private wellness oasis. Be it in a hotel, private villa or residential apartment, the Geberit shower drain is the ideal design solution for your shower. The combination of innovative design and practical technology has been awarded the renowned international IF product design award.


PRODUCTS


SNAP BRIM RIGID SUNSHADEGiven the GCC’s hot and sunny climate, construction workers face a number of health concerns as they do daily battle with the elements. Chief among these is their sustained exposure to harmful UV rays from the strong desert sun, and the greatly increased chance of developing skin cancer. The standard hard hat offers little protection from the sun and these dangerous UV rays. The snap brim rigid sunshade is designed to offer a consistent shade to the wearer of hard hats, which can assist in lowering the possibility of sunburn, sunstroke, dehydration, fatigue and the effects of dust.

BIM DemystifiedBy Steve Race

BIM Demystified is a short, practical introduction to

Building Information Modelling (BIM). Addressing BIM from the point of

view of mainstream practice as opposed

to a cutting-edge technological

perspective, it offers an easy-going yet

thorough explanation of the subject.

TAKE A LOOK

BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable

DesignBy Francois Levy

This work is the leading guide

to architectural design within a

building information modelling (BIM)

workflow, giving the practitioner a clear procedure when

designing climate-load dominated

buildings. The book incorporates new

information related to BIM, integrated

practice, and sustainable design, as well information on how designers

can incorporate the latest technological

tools available.

TEKLA BIMSIGHT NOTE Tekla BIMsight Note, available in the Apple App Store, allows users to contribute to Tekla Open BIM workflow via an iOS mobile device. With this new application, anyone can use an iPhone or iPad to receive and reply to notes created in Tekla BIMsight. Tekla BIMsight Note is a free, purpose-built tool for instant communication on-site and on-the-move. The application connects notes to the full Tekla BIMsight project. A remark that would previously have stayed in a text message or had been forgotten after a phone conversation is now attached to the project. The Tekla BIMsight Note tool leaves a traceable mark to the BIM workflow so information is not missed. Tekla BIMsight maintains the communication trail.

NOVEC 1230 FIRE PROTECTION FLUIDChemetron engineered systems with Novec 1230 fluid work hand-in-hand with state-of-the-art controls and detection components to detect and extinguish fires long before substantial fire damage can occur. Provided by Concorde Corodex UAE, Chemetron systems safeguard lives, assets and reputations. Our ability to engineer solutions that meet challenging business and industry applications is evident in the variety of market sectors served worldwide. Novec 1230 fire protection fluid is an environmentally-acceptable, people-compatible clean agent for vital facilities with a wide range of hazards. Novec 1230 suppresses the fire by removing the heat energy and interrupting the combustion process. With extinguishment capabilities of ten seconds or less, Novec 1230 fire protection fluid has the capability to extinguish fires fast and effectively – before any damage is done to your valued assets.

VARIABLE VOLUME DIFFUSER BY TROX Manufactured by Trox South Africa, the variable volume diffuser is ideal for comfort air-conditioning and industrial applications, achieving savings through reduced energy consumption. This diffuser is an electronically-operated unit, incorporating rate-aided proportional air-volume control. It automatically regulates the room temperature, which is measured by either a sensor at the diffuser, or by a wall-mounted thermostat. According to the thermal demands in the room, the controller regulates the damper blade by means of a push/pull actuator and stainless steel spindle until the room temperature reaches the set point. Onboard heating is optional. Power is provided to the main diffuser unit only which can then ‘daisy chain’ link to nine sub diffusers. All diffusers are supplied with modular sockets that are used to connect the diffusers via the supplied cables. Flow rates range from 62 to 420 l/s to cover most applications. Trox Middle East currently has these diffusers on display in its Dubai-based showroom.

PRODUCTS


MOBILE TECH

Mobile devices are becoming a ubiquitous tool in many industries.

MEP takes a look at some of the latest

mobile applications that may help to make an

engineer’s working life a little bit easier

7 TOP APPS

1. ENGINEERING CALC

This Agilent Technologies app is pitched at engineers and students who need a

reference tool for electrical and RF engineering.

2. CIVIL ENGINEERING FORMULATOR

Multieducator’s engineering app collects together 100 important formulas for engineers.

3. UNIT CONVERTER PRO

Concrete Software’s massive conversion tool

helps sort all those mixed measures.

4. AIR PRESSURE Gas Liquids Engineering

has created an app to calculate height above sea level based on air pressure

measures.

5. POWERONE SCIENTIFIC

CALCULATORPowerOne combines an algebraic and RPN

calculator with spreadsheet templates.

6. OHM’S LAW A quick and simple Ohm’s

Law calculator from Christopher Pflepsen.

7. MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Another app from Multieducator that collects together more than 300 important mechanical engineering formulas.

SILICONE SEALANT American Dolphin GP silicone sealant is an acetoxy-based sealant system capable of polymerising at room temperature. The sealant possesses superior long-term weathering UV and ozone resistance properties.

It is easily applied from caulking cartridges, pails or drums with automated pumping equipments attached to dispensing lines and collapsible tubes. It offers potential savings in installation and maintenance labour expenditure. American Dolphin GP Silicone Sealant adheres to most metal painted surfaces, glass, ceramic, enamel, PVC and other plastics.

The sealant is ideally suited for overhead or sidewall joint application since it does not flow. It can be used in glazing applications, weather sealing of sheet cladding and curtain walling, general sealing and assembling, sealing AC systems, draught-proofing and more.

PANASONIC TROPICAL AIR-CONDITIONERThese new air-conditioners run on minimal power with precise temperature control. By reducing wasteful cooling operations, the inverter series can achieve up to 30% less energy usage compared to non-inverter units. In addition to energy savings, the intelligent inverter rechnology also delivers constant comfort with a wide power output range and quick cooling during the start-up period.

Inverter control in the desert climate is now possible thanks to unique, innovative technologies. The result is a new dimension in air-conditioning that lets users enjoys more powerful cooling than ever, a stable room temperature, and outstanding energy-saving performance. Cooling is possible even when the outside temperature is 55ºC, since the new models feature a highly durable compressor and fan motor to maintain room comfort.

AEROFOAM A newcomer to the scene, launched in early 2011, Aeorofoam NBR (elastomeric insulation) and Aerofoam XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene insulation) have since proven to be a complete solutions package to customers in the HVAC field. The products are available in a wide choice of tubes or sheets and self-adhesive, continuous-length and pre-cut versions as well. The range includes tubes of various levels of thickness and diameter, with different foil covers for the sheets.

Aerofoam has a high resistance to diffusion of water vapours and low thermal conductivity. The resistance to diffusion is built up continuously-cell by cell – throughout the entire material thickness.

All Aerofoam products have been tested and cleared according to BS and ASTM standards, as per industry requirements.

VRFI-EPR FIRE DAMPERSAldes has developed a new fire, smoke and heat damper, VRFI-EPR. This product is the first of its kind, and has been designed to suit the new European requirements for nuclear power plants. According to Aldes, the VRFI-EPR has passed four major performance tests. It offers two-hour fire-resistance under 1500Pa; the damper will stay open in case of earthquake. It has been tested for manoeuvrability (ageing resistance): these tests guarantee the possibility to control the damper without stopping the ventilation system and without any damage to the damper itself.


PRODUCTS


7 QUESTIONS TO ASK

1. If my order quantities increase, will I receive a better

price?

2. When will the order be delivered

to site?

3. Has the product been used or tested

in the GCC?

4. What guarantees are in place for the

product?

5. What after-sales support is available?

6. Will we recieve any installation

advice or assistance?

7. Can the product be customised to suit our specific requirements?

TAKE A LOOK

Bim a Lean Tool?: Use of Lean and

Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Construction Process;

Does BIM make it Leaner?

By Geetanjali NingappaA relatively new tool that

is increasingly getting popular is BIM, which has been playing a major role in reducing construction waste. More and more

companies are adopting BIM as an acceptable

waste reduction tool. The question is “is BIM a tool for leaner construction?”

Bim a Lean Tool?:

TROX TECHNIK - AIR / WATER COOLING SYSYTEMS - CHILLED BEAMS TROX have once again identified this need and have adapted their product portfolio to suit. In addition to the highly successful passive, active and multi service chilled beam range, they also offer a beam specifically adapted to suit more adverse climates. The TROX high induction exposed active chilled beam allows for a lower primary air requirement with increased induction for maximised cooling performance and optimum comfort levels.This product provides an aesthetic solution, marked energy savings, increased comfort conditions, greatly reduced operating cost.

TROX TECHNIK EASYLAB TCU3TROX TECHNIK has launched the latest version of its market leading LabControl System – the EasyLab TCU3. This fully integrated plug-and-play system has adaptable control methodologies for all laboratory applications. This system can be combined with TROX available air flow control and distribution products to deliver a complete LabControl system solution. The EasyLab system has been developed specifically to ensure ease of installation, commissioning, and monitoring, and can be supplied in modular format to ensure the client pays only for the components required for their specific solution.

KESSEL SEPARATORS KESSEL separators ensure that wastewater pipes from commercial buildings remain blockage free by removing greases and food sludge from wastewater streams. This upstream solution also critically reduces the load on the district water treatment plants. The extensive Kessel range has safe hygienic solutions for all users from small restaurants to major catering companies preparing up to 200,000 meals per day. Models can also range from basic manual operation to fully automated custom solutions.In addition to grease separators, Kessel also offers oil/fuel Coalescence Separators. These units provide essential separation where oil and fuel can enter the drainage system. Material of construction is polyethylene to ensure high quality, corrosion free operation.

LUTRON RANGE OF WIRELESS ENERGY-EFFICIENT LIGHT CONTROLS Lighting can account for the majority of a building’s total energy consumption. With many building spaces remaining unoccupied between 40% and 70% of the day, lights can become unnecessarily costly as well as increasing the carbon footprint of the business. Lutron wireless occupancy/vacancy sensors automate the switching and dimming of lights, saving energy, money and time.Radio Powr Savr (RPS) sensors by Lutron can be installed in as little as 15 minutes and communicate with compatible Lutron dimmers, switches and light control systems. Using Clear Connect™ Radio Frequency (RF) Technology for communication with wireless occupancy/vacancy sensors, daylight sensors, and wireless controllers ensures smooth and consistent performance.

THE LAST WORD


be fully operable, offering the flex-ibility to protect the spectators and the field from the sun or rain when needed and to fully air-condition the interior when necessary. M-E Engineers provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology, ar-chitectural lighting and sports light-ing solutions to exceed USGBC’s LEED Gold certification – the first of its kind in the world. In the process we realised significant carbon reduc-tions equivalent to CO2 emissions from the energy use of about 150 homes each year.

How can air-conditioned stadia maximise sustainability and minimize carbon footprint?M-E Engineers promotes an inte-grated approach to the overall de-sign of sporting venues, including our specialities of MEP systems, but targeted to all building compo-nents in a synergistic manner. Our

approach can be summed up by ‘Or-der of Operations’ – reduce energy demand through aggressive load reduction; use free energy resources and passive engineering; use the most efficient technology possible; recover waste energy; and incorpo-rate renewable resources and en-ergy to offset fossil fuel use. In our experience, success is achieved only if each step is exhausted before mov-ing to the next step.

Is there an alternative to air-conditioning which might keep the players and fans cool?Yes, there are alternatives. Strategies such as extensive solar controls and shading (for the plazas surrounding the stadiums, seating bowl and the playing field), use of landscaping, heat-reflecting surfaces, strategic use of water features, optimum ori-entation, fenestration design and minimising discomfort glare.

Toufic Hawat, regional director of M-E Engineers, takes to the field to tell us about his company’s expertise in stadium design and what it can offer Qatar as it plans its venues for the 2022 World Cup

StadiumPITCH

What is M-E Engineers’ back-ground in stadium design?Our portfolio includes all building types, but our engineering work on sporting venues places us at the top of that category globally. M-E Engineers has been involved in the design of all the new ‘professional’ sports LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified stadiums in North America thus far, and on 80% of the retractable roof stadiums worldwide. We are also working on premier sports venues in North America, UK and Europe, Middle-East, South America and Australia.

What are the major MEP consid-erations in stadium design?Each region of the world has unique challenges; however, we do see several common approaches that transcend local environments and apply across the globe, with safety and comfort of the players and spec-tators being the most important of considerations. We focus consider-able attention on HVAC and lighting systems, which consume the bulk of a stadium’s total energy needs. We use computer modelling to simulate energy usage of the proposed strate-

gies. Use of lifecycle costing analysis allows the owner and design team to evaluate and prioritise different strat-egies and help in the decision-mak-ing process. Analytical tools include computational fluid dynamics, which allows us to evaluate strategies like natural ventilation by modelling air distribution and movement within spaces. Combined, all of these tools can assist in developing a design that treats the building as one holistic system, enabling substantial energy, carbon and resource savings.

Qatar has said its 2022 World Cup stadia will be air-condi-tioned? Will they be ‘indoor’ or enclosed with a roof?M-E Engineers has designed sev-eral large air-conditioned retractable roof professional sports stadia in ex-tremely hot and humid climates that operate wonderfully in open as well as closed configurations. However, a lot of care, thought and experi-ence has to go into engineering of these solutions to work efficiently. For example, in the recently opened retractable-roof Marlins Ballpark, an example of creative design and envi-ronmental sustainability in a harsh climate, the retractable roof will

We focus considerable attention on HVAC and lighting systems, which consume the bulk of a stadium’s total energy needs.“

Toufic Hawat,regional director of M-E Engineers.

AIRNAMIC® Swirl Diffusersin trendsetting ABS plastic technology

wins ‘Innovation of the Year’ at the 2012 MEP Awards.

“Its ability to meet the demanding requirements of the GCC was worthy of recognition, and a welcome addition to designers, installers and commissioning engineers alike.”- Construction Week

[email protected]

Innovation of the Year

RZ_Advertisement_Airnamic_MEP_Award_215x285.indd 1 18.12.12 08:57

MEP (Middle East) - Jan 2013

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