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Channel: BIM Archives | Middle East Construction News

Omnix and Abu Dhabi Municipality collaborate to push mandate relating to infrastructure projects

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Omnix has announced that it has been collaborating with Abu Dhabi Municipality over the past few months, to conduct several online and in-person panel discussion and roundtables. The sessions were aimed at equipping AEC firms with deeper insights into making a smooth transition to BIM.

The move is said to be in response to a mandate by Abu Dhabi Municipality, which calls for BIM to be used across all infrastructure projects irrespective of size, stage or discipline. Autodesk also collaborated with Omnix and the Abu Dhabi authority on the sessions.

BIM collaboration software makes the construction process more accessible by putting models into the hands of the entire project team in a coordinated fashion to accelerate reviews and identify and resolve challenges earlier. This eliminates many inefficiencies in the planning phase, saving costs during the construction process. McKinsey found that 75% of companies that have adopted BIM reported positive returns on their investments, the statement from Omnix noted.

“We understand how important it is for us to educate customers on the upcoming BIM mandates. The events that Omnix has been conducting are not only facilitating this objective but are also playing a huge part in bringing together industry leaders and peers and enabling discussions around BIM software and how the city can benefit from it,” said Simran Bagga, Head of Engineering, Omnix International.

Omnix has made major inroads into educating customers by facilitating platforms, where they can interact with industry leaders and understand the importance of BIM. The company has helped organisations embark onto their digital transformation journeys, where all stakeholders ranging from designers to consultants, contractors and architects understand how their role will be transformed and the protocols they need to adhere to, the firm pointed out.

It added, it is necessary for all CAD users to learn and understand how they can leverage different Autodesk software solutions to round off the implementation process and close the loop.

Bagga concluded, “The BIM focused events that Omnix has conducted have been an eye opener on how customers are keen to learn about the implications of the BIM mandates. The open discussions have thrown up hours of valid material that have addressed relevant industry challenges especially in relation to the transition phase. Other areas of interest included qualification criteria as well as best practices. As a long-standing partner for Autodesk in the Middle East, we are committed to showcase how the specific BIM solutions will help improve productivity within the construction sector and support our customers with the right training and consultation through this transition across planning and execution.”

The City of Paris recently announced the completion of an international design competition to update the Notre-Dame de Paris’ surroundings. The competition was underpinned by BIM technology.

Digital construction tools to improve the design, delivery and management of projects will be the focus of Big Project Middle East’s Digital Construction Summit. The event is scheduled to take place in Dubai on 14 September at The Oberoi, and is free to attend for construction professionals.

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ALEC launches Strategic Project and Developments division

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Dubai-headquartered ALEC has unveiled a new division – Strategic Projects and Developments – that will specialise in alternative engagement models including design and build, construction management and turnkey development.

The firm says the move is in line with its goals to steer the regional construction industry towards a sustainable future, and will enable it to deliver comprehensive value to clients right from the project definition stage.

Discussing the drivers that prompted ALEC to establish the new division, Sean McQue, Operations Director at ALEC stated, “As we focus our efforts on pioneering a more sustainable future for our industry, we recognise that this requires the constant evolution and enhancement of our solution portfolio to deliver the most comprehensive value to our clients.”

Early in August, ALEC told Middle East Construction News (MECN) that in addition to investing in solutions and technology, it was committed to upskilling staff and has appointed a Digital Construction Manager in Saudi Arabia.

He added, “After a rigorous cause-and-effect analysis of decisions made throughout a project’s lifecycle, we found that a disproportionate amount of value can be created if the right decisions are made in the first 10% of the project’s lifecycle. Additionally, a collaborative environment and elimination of outdated practices, can further enhance this value.”

The single point-of-contact delivery solution will be offered to clients as a means to add value and speed, from the outset of the project lifecycle, the firm said. In keeping with the company’s focus on digitalisation of the sector, the firm says the solution will follow a digital-first approach with all stakeholders working in a common BIM and data environment. This will not only enhance efficiency, productivity and knowledge transfer resulting in a more streamlined construction process, but more importantly, it will create a smooth transition into handover and asset management by providing a digital twin of the asset, the firm explained.

The company will be participating in Big Project Middle East’s inaugural Digital Construction Summit, which is scheduled to take place on 14 September. Registration is free for construction professionals.

The new division will be headed by Severin Tenim. He commented, “The launch of the new division aligns with ALEC’s focus on steering the construction industry towards a sustainable future. Research has shown that tremendous value can be created across the entire project lifecycle if the right decisions are made in the critical early stages. Our aim therefore is to serve as the strategic delivery partner from the onset, with the objective of de-risking asset delivery and as a result, enhancing overall investment performance.”

While the fundamental principles of the division’s solution are transferrable across multiple asset classes, ALEC pointed out that Tenim and his team will specialise in owner-operator models, build-to-rent assets, mixed-use hospitality, and projects that lend themselves to a high degree of modularity including serviced apartments, residential apartments, and mid-sized villas.

Later in August, ALEC’s Andy Boutle said that digital construction is critical to sustainable development. In April, the firm also launched a data centre construction company with Prefabricated and Liquid Immersion Solutions.

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The state of the union on digitalisation

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The construction sector is a major contributor to global and regional GDP, and acts as an incubator for innovation and advancements, the problem is that it is not seen nor appreciated as such. As the world faces uncertain times, history tells us that turning to construction will help sustain jobs, drive growth, and allow economies to come out of the other side with enhanced infrastructure. Therefore, the significance and impact of the global construction industry cannot be understated.

Meeting the new challenges as well as overcoming the old will not be possible without embracing digitalisation. The needs of populations are evolving as influences left over from the pandemic and rising awareness of climate change impact public consciousness, politics, and economics; all of which have technological solutions which are proving to be invaluable.

First let us consider the ‘old’ problems, the principle one being the productivity gap – it has been widely reported that construction productivity has either been stagnant or in decline since the early 1970s. There are numerous issues with trying to measure productivity in the industry, as sometimes the statistics can be hard to get or to validate. However, the scale of the gap with other industries cannot be explained away by mere mismeasurement. The industries that have accelerated their productivity growth have at least one thing in common; they have all digitalised.

If we subscribe to the causal relationship between digitalisation and productivity growth then construction businesses could have been considered lagging, however the most cited data comes from reports produced by management consultants almost half a decade ago.

Since those reports, the world has changed; the industry has become more self-aware, digital transformation programmes are common, digital natives have entered leadership positions and the pandemic forced us to adopt digital tools. Those reports also implied that as an industry, we were purposefully being resistant to change, but recent events have proved this not to be the case. Costs and accessibility were a barrier to digitalisation for the construction industry, both of which are no longer the case, with the prices of both hardware and software declining and internet connectivity becoming more ubiquitous.

A strong argument can be made that construction is one of the most traditional industries and thus it has been facing issues in adapting to digitalisation, however manufacturing is equally as traditional, yet they are often used as a comparator for productivity growth. It is no coincidence then that construction is borrowing techniques from manufacturing to industrialise production of building elements, with the ever-wider utilisation of modular and prefabricated methods of construction; great examples can be found on residential projects in Dubai (I live in a house which was built using precast slabs, walls, columns, and beams) and on hospitality giga projects in KSA.

Another advancement that we have seen over the past five years is the use of common data environments (CDEs) as a centralised repository for all project related information across the entire lifecycle. CDEs have expanded their reach and capabilities in sync with the proliferation of cloud computing which, usually, for construction has kept pace with adoption in other industries. CDEs allow for a single source of truth and make data accessible to all project stakeholders in a controlled manner, helping to remove inefficiencies and potential errors, all helping to improve productivity.

The widespread use of CDEs mean that the industry is digital data rich, much of this data is structured and easily accessible, this has led to a revolution in the way that decisions are made, using business intelligence tools to visualise data instead of thick wordy reports. This allows insights to be gleaned much more effectively and accurately.

Apart from these there are many digital tools and technologies being explored, the difference to five years ago is that these are being more readily piloted, which speaks to the change in attitudes to researching and adopting new technology, I have seen robots, 3D printers, drones and various levels of AI being deployed across the industry. I am convinced that this openness to looking at new technology is a lasting consequence of the pandemic, when we were forced to adapt and found that it wasn’t all that bad.

The ’new’ problems which the industry faces are partly because of having a larger digital footprint and partly due to its oversized carbon footprint. The issues associated with the former come in the form of cyber security threats, navigating data sovereignty (which is often geo-political) and skills shortages. These are being addressed through better education and training as well as employing people from diverse and non- traditional talent pools such as video game developers and data scientists.

The issue of climate change and our industry’s contribution to it is one that will inevitably involve technological solutions; from using IoT devices to measure baselines and track improvements, to utilising AI to design more efficient buildings and building elements. The maturity of BIM and the availability of data is allowing asset owners to visualise their assets in greater detail than ever before; these digital twins can be utilised to understand how an asset is performing and make decisions how it can be optimised.

Although we still have a way to go and the journey to transform digitally may never truly end, we are much further along than five years ago where we were being derided for being only marginally more digitised than agriculture and farming. Challenges still exists, but they are starting to be less about accepting change and more about how to make that change stick. These challenges stem from trying to use traditional techniques and processes to procure, evaluate and manage the new ways of working.

Despite these challenges we should be proud of what we have achieved and celebrate the successes. Instead of allowing management consultants with vested interests to tell us how far we are behind, we must remind them that it is us that will be at the forefront of providing solutions for the challenges to come.

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ALEC’s digital vision revealed

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As one of the biggest contractors in the region, ALEC has been involved in some of the most high-profile construction projects in the GCC, such as One Za’abeel, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 – Concourse A, One & Only Royal Mirage, several EXPO 2020 Dubai pavilions, and Marina Gate, to name just a few.

Successfully delivering these projects has earned the contractor a strong reputation in the market, with a name synonymous with delivering quality and high-spec work. However, this reputation has been hard won, with the construction giant constantly working to refine its margins and reshape its construction processes and methodologies to ensure it can measure up to expectations.

Part of this never-ending quest to improve is the company’s ongoing drive to embrace digital construction technologies, with the aim of boosting project efficiencies and quality. Having recently rolled out a four-year digital construction strategy that is aligned with its 2026 mission statement, ALEC is well on its way towards achieving several of its short-term goals, such as achieving the BIM Kitemark certification – as per the latest international standard, ISO 19650, from BSI.

Two years on from the pandemic, digital construction is at the top of the agenda for every company operating in the built environment space. Seen as a potential equaliser that can be leveraged to tackle a growing list of issues, including logistic and supply chain challenges, talent shortages, rising fuel costs and construction’s impact on the environment, digital construction technologies are rapidly being adopted across the global construction sphere.

Given the scale and reach of ALEC’s operations, it is no surprise the contractor has gone down this path, with a number of initiatives and technologies being implemented as part of its digital construction strategy, while key figures have been appointed to lead the transition, including Andy Boutle, ALEC’s Head of Digital Construction, and industry veteran Craig Garrett, who has come on board as Digital Construction Manager for Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, one of the goals of the builder’s digital strategy is to empower, train and upskill staff in the use of digital construction solutions. One of the goals for the company’s digital strategy for 2022 is to commence the roll-out of Operam Academy e-learning courses to 100 of its staff members by the end of the year. The courses have been specifically tailored to allow learners to drop in and out of modules to fit their education around their day job.

Overseeing the entire process for the company is Sean McQue, Operations Director at ALEC, who sat down with Big Project Middle East to discuss ALEC’s ongoing digital revolution and shares his thoughts about the future of the industry and how ALEC is positioning itself for success.

Q: Why did ALEC decide to implement a digital transformation strategy? What were some of the key factors that prompted the decision?

The construction industry is presently confronted by several challenges – skills and labour shortages, productivity issues, attitudes to change, outdated procurement models, lack of transparency and many more. The digitalisation of the section will undoubtedly help solve, if not at least simplify many of these challenges. Of course, this can neither happen overnight, nor could it be solved by a single organisation independently. A consistent maturity of the broader sector will be needed.

So, while ALEC is acting as a first move in driving this change, this current phase of our digital transformation strategy is also directed inwards – wherein we’re streamlining our own operations through digital technologies. This involves tackling interoperability, getting the information (data) layer standardised, as well as looking at how different technologies can integrate where required.

Fundamentally, focusing on digital transformation will make us more productive, efficient, sustainable, and accurate, whilst reducing risk and waste.  Our customers will therefore over time see an improved service and product, with our partners benefitting from the collaborative processes and technologies we put in place across our integrated teams.

Q: Having achieved the BIM Kitemark certification, how will this help ALEC achieve its digital aims and targets?

When setting out our digital transformation goals for 2022, we clearly earmarked achieving the BIM Kitemark certification as per the latest ISO 19650 standard as our first objective. I’m proud to say that in July, we achieved this objective which involved the realignment of our processes, templates, and tools to the requirements of the latest international standards. Getting information management right is absolutely critical to supporting all our other digital initiatives.

This quality mark will help us to drive best practices for information management across all our projects, giving clients assurance of our capabilities and approach, whilst supporting and upskilling our supply chain. Moreover, maintaining the BIM Kitemark certification requires us to be annually audited to demonstrate compliant information management across our projects which drives continuous improvement.

Q: Andy Boutle has said that the certification will drive best practices across projects, clients and supply chain – have you started to see evidence of this happening already?

While it’s still early days, I can say that we firmly believe the certification to be a very positive move that will no doubt bring value. As Andy mentioned, we are already starting to see this gain momentum as our clients too have begun moving towards the Kitemark system. It is being recognised and respected in the region, which in turn is driving adoption not only by contractors, but also consultants and end-clients.

Q: What has the reaction been from ALEC’s clients and supply chain partners to your digital transformation strategy? Are you seeing enthusiasm to get on board or resistance?

There is no doubt that digital transformation is a hot topic in the boardrooms of construction firms. There’s good reason too as analysis by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) shows that investing in technology and innovation is one of the key factors in boosting the construction sector’s productivity by up to 60%.

But while digital technologies — ranging from Building Information Modelling (BIM) and augmented/virtual reality, to robotics, drones, and cloud software — are heralding a new era of possibilities and efficiencies for the global construction sector, there has generally been a lag in adoption of these technologies in the region. This is largely because there remains trepidation in the region due to the steep learning curve and challenges around integration between systems and deciding what investments will yield maximum positive impact.

As a leader in the sector, ALEC has successfully leveraged the latest technologies on several projects, and we are now doubling down on these digital investments. In doing so, we will inevitability promote technology adoption among our customers and partners, leading to a digital-first mindset across the industry that advances the sector towards greater efficiency, quality, and sustainability.

Q: What sort of future investment do you have in mind for the company as part of the digital transformation strategy? Are you investing in hardware technology as well?

Having successfully achieved the BSI Kitemark ISO 19650 certification for information management using BIM, we are now turning our attention to other areas where we can leverage digital solutions to enhance operations. We are currently deploying a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that will digitalise our internal processes to enhance business intelligence through analytics and reporting.

Q: How is the process of upskilling and training staff going? Are there any transformation targets in place for subsidiaries and departments?

Constant training has always been a focal point for ALEC. To maintain our market leadership, we actively develop new internal learning and development programs to develop and enhance new skillsets within its workforce. An example is the ongoing development of employees through the ALEC EVOLVE program. In its EVOLVE C variant, the program is aimed at the company’s entry and more junior level staff. This program combines various learning initiatives including mentor support, classroom training, book reviews, PDPs and project delivery.

This is rounded out by THRIVE, our Leadership Development program that aims to support employees at the mid-management level on their journey to become senior leaders. With the ultimate goal of nurturing their emotional intelligence in order to refine their ability to manage people, this program covers topics such as ‘Leadership as Coach’, ‘Hiring and Firing Effectively’, ‘Data Storytelling’ and ‘Improvisation’.

Q: How important is the digital transformation strategy when it comes to the Saudi market? How do you envision it helping you expand ALEC’s footprint there?

Even a quick look at the recently unveiled designs of NEOM offers sufficient insight into the Kingdom’s ambitions for the construction sector. The scale, technicality, and aspirations of these futuristic giga-projects can only be realised by using the very latest in construction technologies and processes. Digital Construction is therefore key to facilitating the ambitions of KSA’s built environment and we’re seeing major developers in the country place stringent information requirements on their supply chains to deliver against, with a vision of connected digital twins and smart cities.

Q: What are some recent projects that have benefitted/will benefit from ALEC’s digital transformation strategy?

Recently when working on a theme park mega project in Saudi Arabia, we took the opportunity to build our BIM execution plan and information delivery plans in Morta, knowing we would also need to export static PDF/Excel versions for sharing to the CDE. We had the usual client-provided templates for resources and sought provisional acceptance that we would follow the structure of the templates but develop in our own solution/format – the client-side BIM specialist was happy with this.

After some initial training and guidance, building the BIM execution plan online became more efficient. Being able to drag/drop sections and subsection content to reorder and creating tables where specific text could be entered just once but be displayed in multiple places for varying purposes (we all know how many times we have to type the same information in multiple locations with a Word-based BEP) was even somewhat cathartic.

Q: Finally, what does the future look like for a digitally empowered ALEC?

The fruition of our digital vision would be the seamless interconnectivity of best-in-class digital solutions and systems such that all data is fluidly available across our enterprise. For example, an initiative we currently have underway at ALEC is to generate real-time progress updates in our project models – made possible through the integration of technologies such as HoloBuilder, laser scans that produce point clouds for Systems Under Test (SUT), and traditional manual data recording.

We will also look to leverage the latest technologies in meaningful way. So, while some may imagine AI to be a sort of all-encompassing solution to critical decision making, at ALEC, we are taking a more practical approach. Our intention is to leverage AI to increase efficiency by automating time-consuming, repetitive processes so our qualified professionals can win time back to focus on high-value tasks.

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Digital twins got a ‘kick in the pants’ during the pandemic, says Greg Bentley

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Bentley CEO Greg Bentley says that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital twins technology with resources being stretched in the infrastructure sector.

“Who would have thought that since we last met in London in 2018, that some of us would not have been able to go to work. Going digital (also the theme of Bentley’s award ceremony taking place this week) bailed out infrastructure engineering along with everything else,” Bentley told media ahead of the latest Year In Infrastructure (YII) event in London. He added, “There was already a kickstarting of virtualising and remote inspections but generally we think digital twins got a kick in the pants (and since then) advancements in infrastructure engineering have become pervasive. Projects could proceed even though engineers could not go to their sites.”

Bentley’s Chief Success Officer Katriona Lord-Levins explained that globally agencies and civil engineering firms are now struggling with a resource-gap when it comes to project delivery. “There is a real lack of talent out there and in the pipeline. One of our DoTs has lost 70 colleagues in the last year – and they believe that we may never see a return to (pre-COVID) level of resources.”

“Firms are having to do more with less,” agreed COO Nicholas Cumins, adding that Bentley needs to help the infrastructure sector cover a shortage of manpower and resources by “going digital.”

The briefing landed in the middle of a busy two days for the Bentley senior team with the YII conference coinciding with the Going Digital Awards where Omani integrated energy company OQ, which operates and manages dozens of plants, and thousands of assets in the Sultanate won in the process and power generation category. The combined event is also typically when the firm makes its biggest announcements and Bentley has chosen this year’s event to reveal that is launching a series of new products and services it claims can improve productivity and project delivery times even as manpower is squeezed.

In August 2022, ALEC stepped up its digital construction focus by earning BIM Kitemark certification.

Heading the list is Bentley Infrastructure Cloud, which is intended to improve collaboration and design and data sharing on infrastructure projects between contractors and stakeholders. Powered by the iTwin Platform and Bentley’s infrastructure schemas and, it is claimed, seamlessly integrates with Bentley’s engineering applications. Bentley Infrastructure Cloud is said to bring together some of the firm’s most widely used design, build and operation suites – ProjectWise, Synchro, Assetwise respectively – with the iTwin platform. Essentially allowing for data and design to be updated and modified throughout the lifespan of a project.

Bentley Infrastructure Cloud enables better creation, delivery, and ongoing operation of better infrastructure, through complete and evergreen digital twins, said the firm.

“Bentley Infrastructure Cloud stands for our commitment to connect everyone and everything in the infrastructure engineering value chain and extended project ecosystems. Infrastructure professionals deserve an evergreen digital twin environment for data that they can trust and act upon,” said Bentley’s SVP of Enterprise Systems Ken Adamson.

“I believe Bentley Systems is uniquely positioned to fulfill this requirement by virtue of the combined comprehensiveness of our ProjectWise, SYNCHRO, and AssetWise enterprise systems, our software’s intrinsic engineering fidelity, and our commitment to openness – including our unique resolve to semantically integrate the full range of relevant engineering file formats. The iTwin Platform, in becoming the robust foundation for unifying all of our software development, has been proven equal to this challenge,” Adamson stated.

The iTwin Platform itself now has several new additions as part of its integration and transition with Bentley Infrastructure Cloud. iTwin Experience is a new cloud product to empower owner-operators’ and their constituents’ insights into critical infrastructure by visualising and navigating digital twins. Significantly, iTwin Experience accelerates engineering firms’ ‘digital integrator’ initiatives to create and curate asset-specific digital twins, incorporating their proprietary machine learning, analytics, and asset performance algorithms. iTwin Experience acts as a ‘single pane of glass’, overlaying engineering technology (ET), operations technology (OT), and information technology (IT) to enable users to visualise, query, and analyse infrastructure digital twins in their full context, at any level of granularity, at any scale, all geo-coordinated and fully searchable.

In September 2022, Virtuzone launches ‘The V’ tower in the Metaverse.

Drone video and survey imagery from any digital camera, scanner, or mobile mapping device can now be funneled through iTwin Capture, which captures, analyses, and shares reality data to create engineering-ready, high resolution 3D models of infrastructure assets.

Infrastructure digital twins of any existing assets can accordingly start with reality modeling, rather than requiring a BIM model. iTwin Capture offers the highest-fidelity and most versatile means of capturing reality to serve as the digital context for surveying, design, monitoring, and inspection processes, claims Bentley.

iTwin IoT, meanwhile, has been created for acquiring and analysing sensor data, while enabling users to incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) data created by sensors and condition monitoring devices.

Infrastructure IoT can be used effectively for real-time safety and risk monitoring in operations and construction activities, including to measure and visualise environmental changes, structural movement, or deterioration for condition assessment, maintenance scheduling, and to prompt precautionary interventions.

Throughout this year’s meeting, it is clear Bentley Systems wants to use cloud-based technology to bolster its position as a major enabler for civil engineers, planners and project owners turning to digital twins for project design, delivery and asset management.

In October 2022, the Department of Municipalities and Transport unveiled the Abu Dhabi Digital Twin project.

In his keynote, Founder and CTO Keith Bentley noted the evolution of iTwin from a set of open-source programming libraries to a platform-as-a-service used by Bentley and partners to develop, run, and extend applications that use digital twin workflows.

Bentley’s engineering applications will next take advantage of iTwin capabilities on the desktop. Users will continue to work with these applications as they are accustomed to, but alongside the usual resulting .dgn file, the engineering applications will also create and synchronise an iModel, Bentley’s specialised container to semantically align and federate infrastructure engineering data within digital twins. iModel and iTwin will also enable users to participate in data-centric workflows, including for integration, validation of design intent, rules checking, clash detection, component queries and reuse, quality assurance, and digital-twin deliverables creation.

Bentley told delegates, “It is clear to me that infrastructure digital twins are the future of our industry and our company. Our digital twin journey began four years ago with a series of open source projects to create cloud-native tools, called iTwin.js. It has evolved into the iTwin Experience that is the workhorse for digital twin solutions from Bentley and others. I’m very proud of the tremendous progress we and our users have made using the iTwin Platform, as evidenced in the current YII submissions.

He concluded, “Phase 2 of our journey involves improving our existing desktop products using the same iTwin engine. Users of our MicroStation and engineering design and analysis applications will next gain new features that can make their projects more efficient, more connected, and the results more valuable. We can do that by augmenting, not replacing, their existing tools, workflows, file formats, and deliverables. The iTwin engine will run on the same desktop ‘in process’ with the design applications, synchronising a local iModel and connecting to cloud services when and as necessary.”

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DeSimone acquires Dowco Group’s global detailing and BIM business

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Engineering major DeSimone Consulting Engineering (DCE) has agreed to acquire Dowco Group’s global detailing, preconstruction and building information modeling (BIM) services business.

Dowco was founded in 1970 in British Columbia, Canada and is said to have established itself as a specialist in preconstruction modeling, detailing, BIM, and virtual design and construction (VDC) services. It specialises in providing integrated steel, mass timber and rebar detailing on major projects located throughout North America.

“Through the acquisition of Dowco’s detailing and BIM services business, DeSimone can now more quickly deliver projects by bringing engineering and detailing into the design phase early. We welcome our new Dowco colleagues from around the world. Together, we are building a global digital design and detailing team, which allows us to offer structural solutions for clients inclusive of design, detailing, BIM, and virtual construction services,” said Stephen DeSimone, Chairman and CEO of DCE.

In the UAE, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs (MOPA) brought DCE onboard to assess the structural engineering design of the then under construction visitor centre at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Originally founded in New York City in 1969, DCE focuses on structural engineering, façade consulting, and forensic, and construction consulting services for all types of buildings. Today, the firm has offices dotted around the globe and is said to have designed over 10,000 projects in 55 countries.

Ewen Dobbie, President and CEO of Dowco Group of Companies added, “Today is another important day in the history of our company. Given Dowco’s pioneering role as the first North American user and reseller of Tekla Structures software, we have played a key role in the development of North America’s 3D structural modeling and emerging markets for BIM and digital construction services.”

He concluded, “We have witnessed first-hand the value realised when creating accurate digital structural models earlier in the design process. As long-time advocates for engineers and detailers working collaboratively in a connected digital construction environment, we applaud DeSimone for its commitment to reducing project risk and rework and for producing better project outcomes for its clients. We fully believe this transaction will enhance our presence in the U.S. and help us market our services to an expanded client base.”

In October 2022, Tobias Bauly, Project Director, Buro Happold discussed the engineering behind Dubai’s Museum of the Future and, in December 2022, DCE was shortlisted in the ‘Structural Engineering Company of the Year’ category at the 2022 Middle East Consultant Awards.

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Think globally, act locally: Delivering projects across borders

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Despite local variations, the construction sector has become increasingly global and universal in nature over the years. The trend has significantly impacted employment, making it easier for workers to move from market-to-market, carrying a global mindset while acting locally.

Unlike the past, most occupiers and investors  now choose to operate outside their home markets. The widespread adoption of global standards has opened new horizons for qualified employees to work worldwide.

The opportunity to take on project assignments abroad and learn different ways of working has always been a selling point for the construction industry, which is less constrained by local regulations and practices than other competing sectors such as finance and law.

Human resource professionals and in-house recruiting teams leverage this trend to attract and retain key talent. JLL recognised this trend early on and offers formal and informal programmes to promote employee movement between offices. On a personal note, I have worked in three different regions in my 16 years in the construction sector. A similar experience is typical for many of our team members in the Middle East.

While working with cross-cultural teams can be challenging for some, it presents opportunities for creativity and learning from others in best practices, standards, and approaches, bringing different perspectives that benefit clients.

As there are similar challenges in project delivery worldwide, technical skills learnt in Amsterdam or Austin apply equally to projects in Abuja, Ahmedabad or Abu Dhabi. Some common issues faced in the life-cycle of every project include scope gaps, mismatched budget against actual costs, value engineering and unrealistic time-frames of project principles.

​Meanwhile, the increasing use of technology, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), has further pushed the trend towards more open borders in the construction sector. For example, our JLL teams have been applying property technology developed in the US on mega projects across GCC countries.

The race toward zero-carbon buildings is another contributor to the increased globalisation of the construction sector. This will likely remain front and centre of the industry for many years, as the focus shifts from individual buildings to precincts, communities and entire cities. While UK and USA green building certification programs such as LEED and BREAM are widely used globally, many countries, including the UAE, have developed local rating systems such as Estidama, which practitioners familiar with international standards will have an easy understanding of and apply local variations.

What differs between markets even today is contractual arrangements. While Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) dominates the UK market, most projects in Asia and the Middle East use the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) approach. Traditionally, FIDIC contracts were for engineering projects and JCT for construction, with FIDIC being the choice internationally. However, as both contracts inherently deal with change and delay, this is not a major constraint to the ability of qualified workers to work across markets.

Consequently, there has been a clear breakdown of barriers and increased opportunities for cross-border work within the construction sector over the past decade. This trend is likely to continue due to several factors, such as: energy efficiency targets are becoming an increasingly important differentiator to commercial developments and city master plans; shift towards repurposing of existing buildings – it’s not all about the delivery of new projects and, the increasing need for energy-efficient and environmentally-compassionate masterplans in developing countries – meaning the need for expertise from across the world in their delivery.

In the end, despite increased digital delivery techniques, construction will broadly remain a people’s business. Moreover, the quality of a team will always play a critical role in the delivery of successful projects. And businesses that recognise the increasingly  globalised marketplace and build project teams with diverse skill sets and cross-learning experience will likely be the most resilient.

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HPA creates digital twin of bridge to facilitate more effective maintenance and operations

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Two Nemetschek Group solutions (Allplan and Solibri) have been deployed by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) to create a digital twin of the Köhlbrand Bridge in Hamburg, Germany. The smartBRIDGE Hamburg project is said to enable more effective maintenance and operations of the bridge, and will make it possible for authorities to implement predictive maintenance instead of reactive maintenance.

Allplan and Solibri were used to create a detailed model of the bridge that enabled continuous real-time monitoring to identify repairs and minimise disruption to traffic, the HPA stated.

The project required a BIM Execution Plan and agreement between all parties on the element taxonomy and Level of Detail requirements, and multiple BIM applications were utilised to create a BIM model of the bridge from scratch.

The use of OPEN BIM, a core functionality of Allplan, made managing and exchanging data between different parties and applications possible and efficient says the Nemetschek Group.

Solibri added value to the project by ensuring that models complied with the requirements outlined in the BEP and other quality standards, giving the HPA the assurance the model was correct before being used as a digital twin.

The HPA said it also integrated IoT sensor data and traditionally collected bridge inspection and maintenance data with their bridge model. Over 500 IoT sensors were connected to a digital sensor in the bridge model, providing real-time monitoring and automatically issuing alerts if problems are detected. Both sets of data were made available to the asset management system of the bridge, enabling predictive maintenance to be better planned and executed.

The digital twin also enables various simulations to be undertaken, allowing the HPA to test different solutions and scenarios and assess the results prior to implementation.

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Digital Construction Summit to take place on 26th September in Dubai

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The Big Project Middle East (BPME) editorial team has confirmed that the second edition of its Digital Construction Summit (DC Summit) will take place on the 26th of September at the Habtoor Grand Resort in JBR, Dubai.

Formerly known as the Middle East BIM Summit, the 2023 DC Summit will focus on several key themes including: data and digital collaboration tools that facilitate the efficient delivery and operation of megaprojects; modern construction methodologies, Construction 4.0 technologies and advanced materials; integrating robotics and AI into the delivery and operations of projects; securing the digital elements of projects and assets, and striving for greater safety in the built environment.

The day-long event will put all these topics and more under the spotlight via curated panel discussions and presentations. Speakers will comprise veterans from government, the built environment, technology firms and suppliers, who will shine a light on the opportunities and challenges associated with digital construction. Registration is complementary but mandatory for built environment professionals across the Middle East.

“Several motivators, including the quest for greater efficiency, the focus on sustainability during construction and post construction and site safety, have seen the built environment step up its adoption of technology over the last few years. Technology has gone from being seen as an add-on that facilitated collaboration to a critical component that is intertwined with project delivery and post-handover operations. This is reflected in the expanded focus and agenda of the DC Summit – I look forward to a brilliant day hearing from the sector’s best and brightest,” said Jason Saundalkar, Head of Content at BPME.

The 2023 Digital Construction Summit is supported by:

Gold sponsor: KEO
Bronze sponsor: AESG, Kairnial

To discuss participating at the event as a speaker, contact conference producer Jason Saundalkar on Jason.s@cpitrademedia.com. Sponsorship inquires can be addressed to Raz Islam (raz.islam@cpitrademedia.com) and Madeleine Martin (madeleine.martin@cpitrademedia.com).

To learn more about the 2023 DC Summit, please click here.

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Redcon Construction: Revolutionising reinforced concrete detailing and shop drawing production

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Commitment to excellence

Redcon Construction has been a driving force in Egypt’s modernisation for decades, leaving its mark with towering skyscrapers and innovative construction projects that redefine the country’s skyline. As a leader in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) industry, Redcon has always upheld a commitment to delivering excellence to its clientele. Much of the company’s success lies in its unrelenting drive to find new solutions that increase productivity, maximise workforce capacity, and ensure lasting success for its clients.

Navigating 2D Obstacles

Before the adoption of BIM, the construction industry relied heavily on 2D methodologies for reinforced concrete (RC) design and detailing, which presented its own set of challenges that hindered progress and efficiency. Redcon’s engineers experienced this first-hand in the ZED Towers Project, a mixed-use commercial and residential tower development consisting of two distinct phases, Phase 1 and Phase 2.

During Phase 1 of the project, the structural team faced significant challenges due to their reliance on 2D drawings. These challenges included difficulties in coordinating with other disciplines and adapting to frequent design changes. This reliance also extended to Reinforced Concrete shop drawing production. Translating complex structural shapes and details into 2D plans and sections proved challenges, often resulting in inaccuracies and additional work. Additionally, creating accurate Bar Bending Schedules (BBS) for each element in a 2D software environment was time-consuming and error-prone. Furthermore, automating rebar splices, a critical aspect of reinforced concrete design, was challenging within the constraints of 2D, further complicating the workflow. Such errors had a significant impact on both project timelines and material consumption.

Moreover, precision was often compromised in the 2D environment, leading to costly rework and delays as errors were only identified during construction. “Keeping up with changes in the 2D environment (drawings) was challenging. Each time changes occurred, we had to rebuild the drawing, even when the site had already received the revised drawings and initiated work. Drawing in 2D posed difficulties in obtaining accurate measurements, as we could only draw using variable lengths.” said Mohamed Shabaan, Redcon’s Technical Office Team Leader.

Drawing Extracts

Shop drawing 1 extracted from Revit

Shop drawing 2 extracted from Revit

Shop drawing 3 extracted from Revit

Paving the way for collaborative synergy and enhanced productivity

Redcon recognised the need for a solution and decided to use Autodesk Revit, leading to a revolutionary change in how they approached reinforced concrete design and detailing. With some custom features added by the R&D team, Revit 2020 allowed Redcon to create 3D models that provided a transparent, detailed, and interactive representation of their projects. This improved understanding and decision-making among project stakeholders and reduced waste. This was critical for Redcon as waste increased over the 5% standard rate. “ The primary reason for adopting BIM software was to minimise rebar wastage” Mohamed further explains. “We soon noticed that reducing waste led to increased team productivity.”

Coordination model: MEP, reinforced concrete openings, and 3D reinforcement

The Use Of Revit

The use of Revit has also improved measurement accuracy, allowing engineers to create comprehensive Bar Bending Schedules (BBS) and sophisticated rebar models for complex structural elements. Notably, the representation of reinforcement in 3D, which was initially challenging in 2D, has resulted in precise length calculations, providing engineers with more accurate quantity takeoff for reinforcement materials. This enhanced accuracy has significantly reduced rebar wastage, ultimately lowering overall costs.

Moreover, BIM has streamlined real-time coordination among architects, engineers, and construction teams by offering a centralised platform for efficient collaboration. With real-time updates and cloud-based accessibility using Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, all stakeholders work with the most current information. This flexibility has enabled Redcon to make design updates seamlessly, ensuring a smooth and efficient design process and assisting in meeting stringent project schedules.

Clash Free Rebar Modeling

Rendered Models

ZED Project Redcon Scope

ZED Structure Models Rendered

Rebar Modeling Clash Free Model

Efficiency In Numbers

In Phase 1 of the project, seven structural engineers completed 1,535 sheets of concrete and reinforced concrete shop drawings over 12 months. In Phase 2, where BIM was implemented, the project involved only five engineers, who generated 4,250 sheets within the same period. Farag el-Saadany, Senior Engineer, estimates that BIM reduced overall modeling and annotation time by 50% to 60%, significantly cutting shop drawing time and enabling early clash detection. This remarkable improvement reduced the required workforce by 29% and nearly tripled the productivity of structural engineers, while minimising human errors throughout the workflow, from modeling to extraction. According to Mohamed ElSarha, R&D Manager, the new features for reinforcement detailing and show drawing in Revit 2024 will allow 50% to 60% performance and efficiency boost.

Maximising efficiencies through digital adoption

Redcon’s commitment to integrating Revit into its projects, supported by top management, reflects their proactive approach to embracing technology. “Our Chairman always says this: Technology pays off. Implement it today, and it will reward you in the future.” said Mohamed El Sarha.

Providing insight into the company’s digital adoption strategy, Ahmed Ibrahim says, “BIM is deeply integrated into Redcon’s corporate culture, reaching beyond technical departments to ensure seamless information integration, enhanced security, and accessibility for all stakeholders.” This strategic adoption of BIM positions Redcon as a construction leader in the Middle East region, showcasing the transformative power of technology in the industry.

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