ITP MEDIA GROUP / BUSINESS JUNE 2021 • VOL. 16, ISSUE 06 THE CHOICE IS YOURS WILL THE MEP INDUSTRY IGNORE OR CONFRONT THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES – CLIMATE CHANGE – WHICH HANGS OVER THE FRUIT OF A COMFORTABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT? 2021 TOP MEP CONSULTANTSwww.mepmiddleeast.comJune 2021 | MEP Middle East 3 JUNE 2021 VOLUME 16 ISSUE 06 CONTENTS 40 SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS How IE5 e-motors spur energy effi ciency and lower consumption 04 EDITOR’S LETTER MEP Editor Anup Oommen poses questions on construction wastage 48 WATER HEATERS Bridging the gap between comfort and the impact on the environment 2021 TOP MEP CONSULTANTS The Middle East’s most trusted list of the Top MEP Consultants hails fi rms that have helped deliver diverse, large, and iconic projects across the MENA region COVER STORY: THE CHOICE IS YOURS If the MEP industry is to combat the ill effects of climate change, then it will need to incorporate integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies 10 DIGITALISATION How edge controllers play a vital role in digitalising water operations 44 SITE VISIT A look at the the MEP and construction progress on the Joya Blanca project 36 06 EXPO EXCLUSIVE Walking through the Finland Pavilion, featuring an interesting HVAC system 284 MEP Middle East | June 2021www.mepmiddleeast.com PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 444 3000 Web: www.itp.com Offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London & Mumbai ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO: Ali Akawi CFO: Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Managing Director: Alex Reeve Group Editor: Carla Sertin EDITORIAL Editor: Anup Oommen Tel: +971 4 444 3448 E-mail: anup.oommen@itp.com ADVERTISING Group Sales Manager: Anup Nagpurkar Tel: +971 4 444 3573 E-mail: anup.nagpurkar@itp.com ITP LIVE General Manager: Ahmad Bashour Tel: +971 4 444 3549 E-mail: ahmad.bashour@itp.com PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Photographers: Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid Staff Photographers: Aasiya Jagadeesh, Ajith Narendra, Fritz John Asuro PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production & Distribution Director: Kyle Smith Production Manager: Basel Al Kassem Production Coordinator: Mahendra Pawar Senior Image Editor: Emmalyn Robles CIRCULATION Distribution & Warehouse Manager : Praveen Nair MARKETING Director of Awards & Marketing: Daniel Fewtrell Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. CAN WE REALLY AFFORD TO WASTE MATERIAL & MONEY? Anup Oommen Editor, MEP Middle East anup.oommen@itp.com I ’ve heard the complaints, but I have a question! A lot of stakeholders across the supply chain have shared their woes about the highly competitive market, the extremely low margins, the low-price tendering, the delayed payments, and the unresolved claims – all of which have seeped into the DNA of the MEP industr y, and are adversely affecting the already tight budgets that are being set for electromechanical, ELV, fi re-fi ghting, EDITORÊS LETTER Published by and © 2021 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. HVAC, plumbing, lighting control, and other packages & contracts. Irrespective of the market conditions or the on-site challenges, these tight budgets barely budge … and yet, experts in the industr y have shared their concerns that up to 3% of these project budgets are being wasted – literally! Are contractors and sub-contractors doing enough about this? Get this – in Q1 2021 alone, Tadweer collected 7,990 tonnes of C&D waste from Abu Dhabi, and through 2020, it collected 2,400,000 tonnes of C&D waste. For perspective – that amount of waste in 2020, could have built 255 domes of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi. Making the situation even more alarming is the fact that a majority of this material and money can be saved, and wastage avoided. What are the main causes of this absurd amount of construction waste? I’ve been told that it just boils down to a lack of common sense, a lack of coordination and collaboration, a lack of skilled workers, and a bit too much of over-compensation. I spoke to a score of leading stakeholders within the industr y and they all pointed to the following (completely avoidable!) reasons for such copious amounts of construction waste, including improper design and planning, frequent design and client changes, appalling procurement, rework due to workers mistakes, poor contract documents, and an incorrect storage of materials. In addition, poor strategy – and often, a lack of a strategy – for waste minimisation; shortage of a skilled workforce; damage during transportation; and mistakes in quantity sur veying and over allowance have all further contributed to construction wastage. Construction waste often comprises concrete, tiles, bricks, wood, stucco, gypsum, ceramic, paper, carton, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastic, glass, wood, and more. On one hand, the reactive approaches to handling such waste involving the reuse and recycling has become much better in the UAE. The amount of waste going to landfi lls and incinerators (talk about money going up in smoke!) has considerably reduced. On the other hand, the proactive approach to reduce such construction waste is still lacking in the industr y – and there’s no dearth of solutions. MEP Middle East has spoken at length about the benefi ts of prefabrication, collaboration, better contracting procedures, and the adoption of integrated technologies such as BIM, Revit, 3D modelling, ClashMEP, as well as virtual- and augmented reality visualisation solutions, which can all help reduce such irresponsible waste of material and money. Like I said, I have heard the complaints, but I have a question. What are we doing about this wastage of material and money?6 MEP Middle East | June 2021 www.mepmiddleeast.com COVER STORY THE CHOICE IS YOURS If the MEP industry is to save the planet from climate change – which is being viewed as the “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the fruits of a well-lit, air-conditioned, comfortable built environment – then it will need to move past its antiquated models to incorporate integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies by Anup Oommen, Editor, MEP Middle EastJune 2021 | MEP Middle East 7 www.mepmiddleeast.com COVER STORY As the top global leaders have said time and again at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the planet no longer has time to “learn from its mistakes”. If we don’t make the move towards net-zero strategies, energy-effi cient retrofi tting, and carbon-neutral construction, there won’t be a world left to construct and live in. It is no secret that the building and construction sector accounts for the largest share of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at nearly 40%, globally. In the UAE, CO2 emissions attributed to construction are speculated to be much higher due to the large demand for air- conditioning, with buildings accounting for up to 70% of the electricity consumption. Population growth, rising prosperity, expanding access to key resources, the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines, and the need for continuous power supply for mission- critical facilities such as hospitals, IT data centres, industrial and infrastructural units, and backup electricity setups, have increased the Middle East’s energy demand, which is set to grow further by 3.35% per annum for the next 15 years. At such a crucial juncture of the planet’s life, integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies are stealing the spotlight as one of the main solutions to tackle climate change – especially with countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the diversifi cation dialogue and setting an example for sustainability standards. Speaking exclusively to MEP Middle East, the associate director of AESG’s Middle East sustainability team, Lindsey Malcom, says: “With the threat of climate change and global warming looming over us, it becomes imperative that we as an industry take our responsibility to addressing this seriously. The UN Sustainable Development Goals should direct and guide our design decisions.” The head of Sustainability at Cundall, Mario Saab, adds: “At a time when the whole construction industry is shifting towards sustainable designs with a focus on more organic architecture, as well as more advanced HVAC and building management systems (BMS), I really believe that every single project owner or developer should consider the use of building performance simulation studies.” Integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies are – broadly speaking – computational mathematical models and designs representing the energy performance of a building or a construction project. These studies involve the creation of a virtual or digital replica of the various sections of the building, the physical characteristics of its structures, and their operation and control strategies – including climatic conditions, HVAC systems, and electromechanical systems, among others. “Such studies help us quantify and realise the exact energy performance of a building – taking into account all its details – even before a single concrete block is laid on the project,” Saab explains. There’s no time to waste. If these studies are to have their intended effect in curbing or combating climate change, they will need to be introduced at the very start of a construction project. With this in mind, multiple industry leaders have pointed out how building performance simulation studies are key to driving the energy effi ciency considerations. The director of MEP at AECOM, Cathy Christer, says: “It is essential that analysis is done at an early stage with dashboard results used to drive the orientation, shading, and fenestration of the building. “These passive design techniques really drive down energy consumption and as they are “built in”. The measures act to reduce energy consumption throughout the lifetime of a building.” It is important to acknowledge that buildings are complex entities within which various subsystems – including physical, digital, pro-active, passive, and re-active subsystems – can coexist and function simultaneously. To provide in-depth insights into such complexity, integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies such as parametric modelling and energy modelling can be crucial. AESG’s Lindsey Malcom explains: “To ensure effi cient operation we need to consider the integrative whole of all the subsystems throughout the design, construction, and operation. We cannot continue to focus solely on the narrow window of conventional disciplines. “With the use of advanced simulation techniques, solutions can be optimised King Dionysius II, the ruler of Syracuse in Sicily had a courtier named Damocles who was given the opportunity to sit on the king’s throne and enjoy the opulence due to the title – including top-notch food and ser vice – but with a sword hung above his head held by a single horse-hair. The choice was to attempt enjoying a life of comfort under the anxiety of impending doom or to address the risk to his life. THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES The stor y goes ...8 MEP Middle East | June 2021 www.mepmiddleeast.com COVER STORY and precision engineered to maximise the value of design proposals. Therefore, effective performance simulation certainly has a strong role to play in facilitating this approach,” Malcolm adds. The MEP team at China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC Middle East) told MEP Middle East in a statement that early involvement of a project’s stakeholders – including the client, designer, contractor, and consultant, can also help understand the client’s needs better. This means that building performance simulation studies can help express the The managing director at Al-Futtaim Engineering and Technologies (AFET), Murali S, says: “Air-conditioning and lighting costs are some of the major energy costs a building will generate in its lifetime. An integrative design study can help to select the right type of building material, insulation, cladding, façade, glazing, and much more – all of which can go a long way in improving the building’s energy effi ciency right at the start. “Additionally, other factors such as choosing the right location and orientation for a building can help in optimising HVAC and lighting loads.” However, if the MEP industry is to save the planet from climate change – which is being viewed as the “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the fruits of a well-lit, air- conditioned, comfortable home – then it will need to move past its antiquated models and methods of construction to incorporate integrative design studies and building performance simulation studies. Cundall’s Mario Saab says: “This can be achieved through an array of studies including energy modelling, CFD studies, solar analysis, and daylight analysis, among others. “At this point, outdated methods such as spread-sheets or simplifi ed mathematical approaches are simply not effective anymore – especially with the scale and complexity of projects that we have.” The MEP team at CSCEC Middle East, adds: “Traditional engineering design tools are unsuitable for addressing complex construction projects’ challenges as they are mono-disciplinary and very restricted in scope. They assume static boundary conditions, and are often based on analytical methods aiming to provide an exact solution of a simplifi ed view of reality. “On the other hand building performance simulation is multidisciplinary, problem- oriented and wider in scope. It assumes dynamic boundary conditions, and is based on numerical methods that aim to provide an approximate solution of a realistic model of complexity in the real world.” Sustainable construction and energy effi cient building designs are now even being incorporated into regulation, with the UAE at the forefront of renewable energy adoption. “Ever y developer should consider the use of building performance simulation studies” energy needs of a building in a manner that ensures compatibility between the client’s vision of the project. Making the case for early contractor engagement with clients, ALEMCO’s senior estimation and procurement manager, Robert McDonnell, says: “With early contractor engagement, along with the engineers and the architects, we can coordinate the project to suit all the stakeholders; we can eliminate any issues and integrate value engineering and more effi cient build and installation methods before construction starts. “We are part of the design team working together to produce a fully coordinated, energy effi cient design prior to commencement of any construction. McDonnell adds: “Hence, the client is getting an optimum designed facility with no additional construction cost, proving to save time, money, and produce better quality projects.” Moreover, given that the life cycle costs of a building are always much higher than the building construction costs, it is crucial to design a building is in a way that it considers the entire lifecycle of the building right from the design stage. June 2021 | MEP Middle East 9 www.mepmiddleeast.com COVER STORY Speaking exclusively to MEP Middle East, the chief operating offi cer of James L Williams Middle East (JLW Middle East), Ramy Boufarhat said: “Minimum compliance and sustainable prerequisites that are linked to building permits and building completion certifi cates have driven owners and developers to comply.” As signatories to the World Green Building Council’s Advancement of Net Zero Building’s Commitment, AESG has also committed to providing a “Pathway to Net-Zero” on all its design projects. AESG’s Lindsey Malcolm adds: “In order to advance the global uptake of sustainable built environments, this pathway to net- zero has been designed to determine and evaluate the options available for reducing both the embodied and operational carbon footprint of buildings. “These net-zero green buildings will have positive benefi ts on not just the environment but the health and wellbeing of people, and benefi t future generations.” Furthermore, to move the industry a step further, leading experts in the MEP sector have pointed to the need to go beyond compliance-verifi cation methods to ensure energy effi ciency across the building’s lifespan “Compliance has always been a mechanism for ensuring a minimum acceptable level of performance. If we continue to use compliance verifi cation as a basis for energy effi ciency, life cycle, and sustainable operations, then we will never achieve the signifi cant impacts that are required of us as a profession,” Lindsey Malcom explains. Omnia Halawani, the CEO and co- founder of GRFN, sums it up nicely: “The compliance-verifi cation method is a corner that we often fi nd ourselves in. While we are seeing a lot of advancement in client requirements for sustainability, those requirements rarely go beyond the traditional check box methods where the “sustainability consultant” aims to tick as many boxes as possible to achieve credits without really exploring the sustainable options deeply or without following a truly integrated design approach. “We have, at numerous times, when acting as commissioning agents, reviewed energy models that are far from the actual design,” Halawani adds. “They are altered to serve a specifi c energy-use reduction but fail to inform or infl uence the actual design to follow suit. The resultant is a “sustainably design-rated building” with actual in-situ performance far from the predicted values.” Are stakeholders doing enough? No, they are not. Simply put, those good- looking plaques on the wall that showcase our adherence to minimum, traditional guidelines and optional energy-effi ciency parameters on tenders are merely representative of good-looking attire adorning humanity on its death-bed, an industry expert told MEP Middle East. There’s no doubt about the fact that the MEP industry needs to do more. There’s a clear need for a better performing built environment spurred by a shift in regulations, requirements, and how the medicine of sustainability is being administered – before humanity fl at-lines. “While we are seeing a lot of advancement in client requirements for sustainability, those requirements rarely go beyond the traditional check box methods”Next >