< PreviousCOVER STORY 20 January 2022www.fm-middleeast.com measurements and solutions. Stuart McGregor, general manager, BKG FM, adds: “We will also continue our focus on digitalisation and implementation of latest technology, allowing a proactive and seamless approach to new projects as well as [offering] excellent service delivery.” BK Gulf Facility Management (BKG FM) provides integrated solutions for customers while maintaining high standard of compliance to Quality Management and EHS systems. The company was formed 23 years ago as a division of BK Gulf and had a sustainable growth to become the first FM Company in the Middle East to achieve certification against ISO 55001:2014 – the International Standard for Asset Management – which ensures independently audited systems. Talking more about the opportunities, Abdellatif Sfaxi, chief executive officer, Khidmah, says: “FM has become an inevitable part of the real estate business and is currently one of the healthiest sectors in the UAE. The market is currently creating multiple opportunities: Expo 2020, changes in workplace culture, technological advances in the sector (through the use of innovations such as Customer Relationship Management systems, Computerised Maintenance Management Systems, Computer- Aided Facilities Management and Building Information Modelling Systems), increased demand for services with the delivery of mega FM HAS BECOME AN INEVITABLE PART OF THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS AND IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE HEALTHIEST SECTORS IN THE UAE. ABDELLATIF SFAXI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, KHIDMAH Abdellatif Sfaxi, CEO, Khidmah. Malek Sukkar, CEO, Averda.COVER STORY January 2022 21www.fm-middleeast.com projects, and the inauguration of new destinations; all these have resulted in an increase in demand for FM services. “During the pandemic, when there was a rapid rise in demand for professional cleaning, sanitisation and disinfection, FM professionals became front-liners and had to rise to the challenge to keep people safe. Khidmah’s primary focus has always been to provide its customers with effective, quality facilities management solutions and services to meet their needs and requirement. There is a demand for FM services from bigger as well as smaller clients, which is a major enhancement in the industry.” Khidmah was realigned in 2019 by Aldar Properties with the mandate of providing TFM services. Since inception, Khidmah has built a strong reputation for being a reliable, affordable, and a trusted FM and maintenance partner. Now, it is stepping to the next phase of its evolution. It aims to become a more resilient and diversified business recognised for service delivery excellence and creating unique customer experiences. “We want to focus more on sectors we know we can add value to and offer a competitive advantage, and of course, recruit and retain the best talent our industry has to offer,” Sfaxi concludes. Plastics recycling facilities and waste sorting facilities are in the pipeline and will come onstream in early 2022, Averda states. Stuart McGregor, general manager, BKG FM. BUILDING TRENDS 22 January 2022www.fm-middleeast.com Jenny Evans from J2 Innovations reveals the top trends for the industry in 2022 Wlith 2021 still being dominated by the effects of Covid-19, many of the trends that emerged this year, such as changing the way we work and the switch to remote management, are still evolving and here to stay. However, there have been key events and drivers, such as the COP26 conference, that will significantly influence the technology trends over the coming year. Here are J2 Innovations’ top trends for the industry in 2022: NO MORE BLAH, BLAH, BLAH Greta Thunberg condemned global leaders over their promises to fix climate change as all being ‘blah, blah, blah’ at the COP26 summit in November 2021. Her frustration was palpable and resonated across the world – words won’t fix climate change, only action will. But how can we support the two hundred countries that were asked to present their plans at COP26 to cut emissions by 2030 and turn this into action? Although many improvements have been made in the energy performance of buildings, with more efficient products and better specifications, there is still a “business as usual” attitude which urgently needs to change if the building sector is to help reach net zero. Mounting pressure from a social, economic, and political level will be creating more action throughout 2022. For example, there is plenty of investment happening, such as the European Green Deal that proposes transformation to meet climate ambitions, so all involved building management need to step-up! This can only happen when we ensure that building stock and equipment is optimised for energy savings and support customers and users of buildings to understand how they can contribute to decarbonisation. DEMOCRATISATION OF BUILDING AUTOMATION The concept of democratisation (the action of making something accessible to everyone) will become more significant in the building sector. Organisations who manage buildings want (and need) SMART BUILDING, EQUIPMENT & IOT TRENDS 2022BUILDING TRENDS January 2022 23www.fm-middleeast.com technology that makes deploying and using building systems easier and access to the data more accessible. Today 80% of all commercial buildings do not have a building automation system installed, which means they are inefficient and unmanaged, creating vast energy waste and cost. The democratisation of buildings hails an opportunity to make drastic improvements in reducing the energy use in buildings by improving access to building automation systems by removing barriers to access and simplifying how controls are installed and commissioned. Therefore, we predict a growing demand for simplifying building automation technology from both an engineering process and operational perspective. THE RISE OF EDGE COMPUTING Whilst the trend to connect buildings to the Cloud will continue, we see another trend emerging; the rise of edge platforms to manage buildings. This trend is driven by several factors – the continued decline of computing costs, concerns about data privacy and ownership, a resistance to SaaS models, and the reality that many analytics functions can be better handled locally rather than at cloud level. Now that web services technology is enabling easy and secure edge to cloud connectivity, and data security can be achieved by cloud back-ups, new Edge software platforms that manage buildings on site are set to grow in importance. Due to the sophistication and feature set required to achieve this, many solutions providers will be looking to specialist software providers to meet this demand. HVAC EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS PROVIDING MORE CONTROLS As the availability of software technology to make building automation simpler to deploy and use has increased, HVAC and other equipment manufacturers must seize the opportunity to use this to create their own “system-in-a-box” type solutions for managing their products and the associated ancillary equipment; either managing the plantroom or the whole building. Some will be extending the functionality to lighting and metering, to provide the market with a much easier way to acquire integrated BMS type functionality, without the cost of custom engineering. AIR QUALITY AND BUILDING OCCUPANCY IN THE (POST) PANDEMIC BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Awareness of the productivity and well-being aspects of air quality in the built environment was growing before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the concern about ventilation rates to reduce infection risk has accelerated this trend, which is set to continue in 2022. Many siloed air quality focused solutions have been brought to market, but a more holistic approach is required in which air quality management is incorporated into the overall building automation system. Being able to see that air quality is bad on a mobile app via the Cloud is good, but an automatic adjustment of the HVAC equipment to mitigate or avoid this is much better. About the author Jenny Evans Jenny transferred from the Siemens UK&I Smart Infrastructure communications team to J2 in 2020. Jenny is passionate about the building technology industry and brings over 14 years of experience in marketing, communications and strategy. Outside of work, she is captain of a local fi eld hockey team and enjoys taking her chihuahuas on walks. TODAY 80% OF ALL COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS DO NOT HAVE A BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEM INSTALLED, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE INEFFICIENT AND UNMANAGED, CREATING VAST ENERGY WASTE AND COST. The concept of democratisation (the action of making something accessible to everyone) will become more signifi cant in the building sector. BUILDING TRENDS 24 January 2022www.fm-middleeast.com Tall offi ce towers are top energy consumers, Matthew Margetts director of Sales and Marketing at Smarter Technologies reveals smart energy tips In many of the world’s major cities, the only way is up. Over half of the global population live in cities and urban areas. Within the next 25 years, another 2.5 billion are expected to join them. In increasingly densely- populated cities, vacant plots are hard to find. Hence the rise of the high-rise. There’s also an element of architectural vanity involved in building skyscrapers. Building materials, fashion aesthetics and technology have progressed to build the architecturally stunning offices of the future, but this has come with a cost. Convenient as high-rise buildings are to accommodate the occupants of growing cities and delight our aesthetics, these buildings have been proven to be high energy consumers. According to a new study by the Energy Institute, University College London (UCL), the taller an office and residential building, the more energy per square metre of floor area it will use. In fact, electricity use per square metre of floor area is nearly two and a half times greater in high-rise office buildings of 20 or more storeys than in low-rise buildings of six storeys or fewer. Gas consumption also increases with height by around 40%. As a result, total carbon emissions from gas and electricity from high-rise buildings are twice as high as in low-rise. China, which is home to some of the world’s tallest towers, has sat up and taken note. The country is limiting the construction of super skyscrapers to help reduce its energy MORE CONSUMPTION?BUILDING TRENDS January 2022 25www.fm-middleeast.com consumption. The Chinese government explained that massive skyscrapers are impractical in low-density cities, ruling that: • Skyscrapers taller than 150 metres will be strictly limited • Buildings higher than 250 metres will be banned in areas with a population of less than 3 million • Structures taller than 250 metres will be limited in cities with over 3 million people A RISING ISSUE Nowadays, it’s perfectly normal to see beautiful glass-windowed office buildings in city centres, but these entire glass structures come with energy risks. Entire glass structures allow more sunlight and heat in, which means that these buildings need more air conditioning units. Not only do they let hot sunlight in, but large windows also leak heat in cold weather. Carbon emissions from these air-conditioned offices are 60% higher than those with natural ventilation, the UCL study revealed. And the prevalence of air- conditioning is rising worldwide. It is predicted that energy consumption for air-conditioning could triple by 2050. Even if energy is sourced from renewable sources, it would be a challenge to meet this demand. SMART SOLUTIONS FOR SKYSCRAPERS Slowly, we have seen some of these iconic buildings transform into green structures for the future by using smart technology. The rapid emergence of machine learning (ML), artificial (AI) intelligence and big data provides opportunities for property developers to reduce inefficiencies, energy consumption and carbon emissions. Smart meters, automated meter readers, and various sensors around buildings are collecting more and more data. Building control systems can then harness this data through the use of AI, ML and automation. One example of a system that promotes energy efficiency in a building is a smart energy management system, which collates, reports on and analyses real-time energy consumption and historic patterns using data from smart meters. Having access to this data allows building managers, governments and consumers to: • Facilitate behaviour change that reduces energy demand • Facilitate innovation • Inform government policy Combined with geospatial data, smart energy data can be used to help local governments gain a detailed understanding of the energy performance of buildings at a city, regional or even national scale. As a result, they will be better equipped to plan more efficient and effective renewable energy supply and heat transfer technologies. In the building itself, the benefits of smart building technology are best realised by integrating multiple solutions—such as optimising asset runtimes based on changing energy prices, or on-demand ventilation controls that adjust heating and airflow based on the current conditions. Smart technologies are beginning to transform tall buildings around the world, and we look forward to seeing what the future for green office buildings holds. About the author Matthew Margetts is director of Sales and Marketing at Smarter Technologies. His background includes working for blue- chip companies such as AppNexus, AOL/ Verizon, and Microsoft in the UK, Far East and Australia. ENTIRE GLASS STRUCTURES ALLOW MORE SUNLIGHT AND HEAT IN, WHICH MEANS THAT THESE BUILDINGS NEED MORE AIR CONDITIONING UNITS. Matt hew Margett s, director of Sales and Marketing at Smarter Technologies. EXPO 2020 26 January 2022www.fm-middleeast.com In this interview with Facilities Management Middle East, Stuart Bainbridge, R&D director, Reckitt – the parent company of Dettol, reveals about Expo 2020 and the future of cleaning supplies WHAT DOES BEING AN OFFICIAL HYGIENE PARTNER FOR EXPO 2020 DUBAI MEAN? To be the Official Hygiene Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai comes with significant responsibility to help keep the over millions of people who are expected to be visiting, organising, and partnering at the event protected from illness causing germs over the next six months. Dettol is ready to live up to their commitment, champion healthy habits, and provide products to enable a hygienic environment, so that when HOW DETTOL WAS CHOSEN AS THE OFFICIAL HYGIENE PARTNER OF EXPO 2020 the world comes to Expo 2020 Dubai, they can be confident it is protected by Dettol. As part of this initiative, Dettol promotes the safety and hygiene of visitors at the event with stringent and innovative hygiene protocols in place. Our aim is to ensure that people have the confidence and reassurance that they can enjoy in Expo 2020 Dubai knowing that together we will be doing everything we can to help keep them protected from illness causing germs. WHAT WENT INTO SECURING THE PARTNERSHIP WITH EXPO 2020 DUBAI? HOW CHALLENGING WAS THE PROCESS? Expo 2020 had many key points to consider when appointing an Official Hygiene Partner, some of them included: working with a trusted and a well-known brand such as Dettol, a partner that had experience with large scale events and facilities and working with someone that understood the significance of Expo 2020 Dubai for UAE and the region. Expo is one of the leading world events and a lot of planning has gone into the creation of this event. Rightly EXPO 2020 January 2022 27www.fm-middleeast.com so, given the current environment – hygiene safety is a highly crucial element, and the Expo 2020 Dubai team was particular that there would be no gaps in meeting this requirement for the visitors. Dettol and Expo 2020 Dubai have worked together to ensure that this requirement is met, and that process has required significant development and planning over the last few months. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE HYGIENE SOLUTIONS BY DETTOL AT EXPO 2020? Dettol has a number of innovative hygiene solutions deployed at Expo 2020. We have more than 2000 no-touch hand sanitiser dispensers throughout the Expo 2020 Dubai site and have introduced several safety and sanitation measures for all visitors to feel confident and safe while enjoying Expo 2020. Also, onsite at Expo 2020 they are using the Dettol Tru Clean Bio- degradable Surface Wipes. This product has been made available on an exceptional basis for Expo 2020 Dubai and is not generally available in the Middle East. They are made with plant-based active ingredients that kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, and the wipe material is made from biodegradable fibers. They are great to use on frequently touched surfaces such as: touch screens, elevator buttons, door handles, and bannisters – all which can be found across the Expo 2020 site. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRAINING INITIATIVES GIVEN BY DETTOL FOR EXPO 2020 PREPAREDNESS? We have actively engaged with the Expo 2020 team to deliver in-person training sessions for their cleaning staff members. We have also worked with Expo 2020 to enhance hygiene protocols that are built on the latest science of targeted hygiene and surface disinfection, bringing all of this together to deliver the trusted Dettol standard of protection to the greatest show on earth. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF CLEANING SUPPLIES AND DISINFECTION LOOK LIKE? HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED THE OUTLOOK? In the pre-Covid-19 world, a business’ hygiene was an operational consideration. Today, it’s an imperative for success. Even following the vaccine roll out, customers will continue to expect conspicuous hygiene processes. The UAE’s different industries and sectors, from manufacturing, education, events, hospital, and hospitality, show a strong growth outlook, and in all of this, hygiene is one of the most critical aspects involved to ensure the safety of all participants. Complimenting this growth, we believe that the hygiene industry will welcome immense growth in the coming few years as a key directive of health and safety in every industry. At Dettol, we are considering learnings from COVID-19 to ensure that for future emerging pathogens, we are equipped and agile enough to respond and protect, fast. We are also putting sustainability at the heart of our brand and purpose. We continue to innovate and invest in our scientific capability to enable the development of safe and sustainable hygiene solutions to meet the needs of a fast- changing world. Stuart Bainbridge, R&D director, Reckitt . Stuart Bainbridge joined Reckitt, whose brand includes Dettol, in 2007 and over the past 14 years has worked in a variety of global and regional R&D leadership roles in Reckitt across the world. Bainbridge is currently the R&D director for the New Growth Platforms division, which includes leadership of our Pro Solutions business, based in Slough, UK. OUR AIM IS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE CONFIDENCE AND REASSURANCE THAT THEY CAN ENJOY IN EXPO 2020 DUBAI KNOWING THAT TOGETHER WE WILL BE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP KEEP THEM PROTECTED FROM ILLNESS CAUSING GERMS. ELEVATOR DATA 28 January 2022www.fm-middleeast.comELEVATOR DATA January 2022 29www.fm-middleeast.com KONE REVEALS NEW ELEVATOR DATA THAT TELLS THE STORY OF THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN CITIES GLOBALLY ON THE MOVE In the top 10 European cities, the average number of elevator journeys plummeted 80% between February and April 2020Next >