Prevention is better than cure – the age-old adage counsels, but unfortunately, there are still stakeholders within the MEP industry that seem to overlook the “prevention” because it could burden their individual role on the project or due to the fact that they aren’t held accountable for the “cure” when it’s needed.
Rather than addressing challenges at the pre-concept and MEP planning and design stages, it has almost become the norm for the industry to opt for “value engineering” at the late stages, despite the additional cost and time it requires – not to mention the energy consumption and other efficiencies on the project that could have otherwise been reduced.
We spoke exclusively to a number of the top MEP contractors and consultants leading by example in the region, who shared their unfettered views on the need for “integrated planning” as well as the need to incorporate the latest technologies on every project.
While planning is essential to construction, experts have pointed to how conventional planning models are becoming fragmented and futile.
The director of MEP at AECOM, Cathy Christer says: “It is essential in design to plan ahead and to strategise what could happen, what could change, what we know, and what we do not know. The ‘thinking’ – and that’s the fun part of design, in my opinion – is how the design can adapt and evolve to suit the evolution of design and information flow.”
The current conventional, sequential models of design and planning – which are unfortunately still being adopted by many stakeholders in the industry – are definitely convenient, but also repetitive. Such models also contain redundancies, cause clashes, retain construction conflicts, necessitate expensive fixes, lead to wasted materials, cause delays, with traditional 2D drawings often reinforcing “siloed, self-centred, and superseded” methods of construction on projects.
Integrated planning aims to address all of these concerns by necessitating a fundamental change in the design planning process – calling for a more collaborative practice, early participation of all the stakeholders, with a constant comprehensive view of the overall lifecycle of the project in order to regularly monitor and verify the practicality and achievability of the project’s milestones and design.
“Integrated planning could ensure that all key stakeholders are working towards the same goal in full knowledge of each other’s actions. The client, building occupier, design team, and the contractor need to be involved in contributing to the decision-making process for the project,” says the MEP team at China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
“Early planning and early involvement of participants enables overlapping of design as well as design verification processes. Although, the time of each activity is not necessarily reduced considerably, the overall time can be drastically decreased.”
Industry stakeholders have agreed that the time has come to add “integrated planning” as an essential digitised tool, because it can tie together all the key aspects of MEP while co-ordinating with the civil, mechanical, and building products teams to ensure optimal solutions.
Listing out a set of hurdles that could easily be scaled through digitised and integrated planning, the managing director at Al-Futtaim Engineering and Technologies (AFET), Murali S, adds: “We have noticed the over-sizing of MEP equipment, as well as the oversizing or under-sizing of spatial requirements for various MEP plant rooms in the concept stages of design.
“Moreover, in certain projects, lifecycle costs are not taken into consideration; there’s a lack of awareness of the various authority requirements such as that of SIRA, Civil Defense, DEWA, and ADWEA; there’s a lack of co-ordination between various MEP disciplines; and the commercial aspects are often not taken into consideration at the concept stage leading to inappropriate or over-budgeting.”
The need for better integrated spatial planning and primary services availability has also been echoed by other leading veterans in the industry.
The senior estimation and procurement manager at ALEMCO, Robert McDonnell, says: “Space planning for plant rooms and risers at concept stage ensure that the MEP contractor does not have to redesign the tender to fit the MEP installation into the building. A carefully planned and coordinated design will allow the MEP contractor to spend more time on their engineering and procurement role rather than rushing to finish an incomplete tender design.”
AECOM’s Cathy Christer adds: “If spatial planning and primary services availability can be well understood and integrated into the multi-disciplinary design from the earliest stage of a project, it could be a critical design element for the future progress and success of the designs.
“From an MEP perspective, mapping out the incoming services, primary rooms, the horizontal and vertical distribution routes, and the constraints imposed by other disciplines is essential.”
Furthermore, there is a growing need for buildings to address their contribution to climate change and monitor their carbon footprint and energy efficiencies.
The associate director of Sustainability at AESG, Lindsey Malcolm, says: “The industry needs to concentrate on life cycle impacts while pushing for net-positive performance. This requires much closer integration of the design team at the earliest stages of projects to ensure impacts and opportunities are fully understood and explored in a robust manner.
“This is the biggest challenge for our industry right now, as engineering and environmental analysis are still often engaged at a stage that is too late in the design process.”
Tackling another key hurdle at the pre-c`oncept stage – in terms of realistic expectations and costs – the general manager at BK Gulf, Basheer Massad, says: “Many projects go through the full design stages, and then are stopped at infancy stage of tendering due to the unrealistic budget expectations. Therefore, early contractor engagement through a formal process at the pre-concept stage would benefit clients in optimising their vision with realistic cost model.”
To catalyse growth in the industry and spur the adoption of improved integrated planning, some industry experts have suggested the need to optimise processes with technological advancements, while others have highlighted the benefits of people – an upskilled and more knowledgeable workforce.
It’s surprising that globally available digital technologies and capabilities such as parametric and computational design, performance simulation, BIM, digital twins, building data analytics, among others – which help bring stakeholders together to “arrive at the most optimised efficient building design” – have not yet completely replaced either spreadsheets or 2D designs. Such stagnation could tether the whole industry – pausing progress – especially given that conventional design strategies can have a dramatic effect on project timelines and costs if not addressed.
“Unfortunately, many tenders and projects fall back on the conventional methods that naturally involve a series of handovers: from owner to architects, then to MEP designers, to contractors to occupants. Such a path, which does not invite stakeholders to coordinate from the onset, affects planning processes and fail to account for numerous needs and valuable expertise,” explains Omnia Halawani, the CEO and co-founder of GRFN.
“In many cases, design issues are only discovered late in the process when changes become more expensive. If developers are to adopt a mindset that addresses this, the market will progress at a much faster pace. Developers remain the main driver of how the design and build team will operate and coordinate.”
There’s no doubt that improved technology, if embraced by all and utilised correctly, can have major benefits in terms of time and cost savings.
“Although the cost of implementing the software can be high, the long-term benefits are obvious,” ALEMCO’s Robert McDonnell explains. “We have introduced many innovative software upgrades focusing on material management, site progress management, photo software, and crane time.
ALEMCO now only works in BIM, no longer utilising 2D drawings.
Referring to the impact that this has had on the business, Robert McDonnell adds: “Our services clash rate has dropped dramatically and our procurement quantities have increased in accuracy.
“Unfortunately, it is not being embraced throughout the market, which means you can still receive a tender in 2D.”
Among other firms, James L Williams has also prioritised BIM, Revit, and Navisworks to collaborate MEP design and works with structural and architectural trades.
“Such collaboration tools are important to our business as they allow us to co-ordinate properly and install once, rather than find clashes at site which results in material wastage, time lost, and labour inefficiencies,” told the JLW engineering team
“As we utilise off-site prefabrication more on our projects, these tools allow us to digitally perfect each of our MEP service modules in our REVIT models.
“This further allows us to perfectly position each module at site using our laser Robotic Stations and laser setting out technology, all of which are aimed to accelerate construction and increase quality and efficiencies during the construction project.”
Experts have also called for the need to look past BIM as a particular software, but rather implement it as a process that could maximise its potential within the industry.
“The benefits of implementing BIM are beyond any doubts. However, those benefits are overshadowed by some professionals who turn BIM from a process that supports construction into an aim of its own,” BK Gulf’s Basheer Massad says. “Such a narrow-minded approach alienates a wide spectrum of projects participants and makes BIM a role for the “super-techies” driving computers in the office. The full benefit of BIM can only be realised when implemented through cross-functional teams and throughout project life cycle.”
The impact of incorporating a technological innovation at such scale, where it becomes part of every-day operations across multiple projects, cannot be understated.
GRFN’s Omnia Halawani says: “BIM has proven to be an essential and influential advancement to the industry.
“While it is not deployed everywhere, it is being increasingly adopted on major construction projects.”
Halawani adds: “The challenge with BIM and advancing technologies varies widely. Engineers who adopt BIM as a daily engineering tool – as it should be – would not face issues with the widespread use of the technology. That would be a struggle to others who treat it as an add-on.”
The MEP divisional manager at Khansaheb, David Duffy, says: “Planning is key to the success of any project. However, despite programmes being locked into the contract, there are contractors who continue to fail by not planning in the short-term.
“The introduction of technologies such as Primavera, BIM, Revit are good tools if used correctly, however, it is the experience of the managers, engineers, and supervisors that lead to the delivery of top quality, on-time projects.”
Meanwhile, the growing dependence on technology has also highlighted the value of skilled employees with the experience, knowledge – and as some industry experts say “the common sense that’s not so common anymore” – within the industry.
The associate director at Cundall, Issam Hammad, says: “BIM and Revit can be integrated with other softwares to enhance deliverables and speed up the design process. This can help teams collaborate, innovate, and connect with clients in more productive ways.
“However, the level of understanding among construction professionals varies; not everyone understands how these tools can be utilised for the benefits of the project or the client. Therefore, planning projects to use these tools will result in different outcomes across construction teams in the industry. Until everyone has a common understanding of how the tools can be used, more upskilling is needed.”
AFET’s Murali S adds: “As of now, even with high adoption rates, these technologies are being used sub-optimally. I believe in the next two years the industry will further develop, and we shall put into full use all the new technologies available.”
AECOM’s Cathy Christer even goes so far as to say: “In our team we have “Strategic Thinkers” who can plan out a building from scratch – even through a sketch – which can go on to form the strategy for the development of services within the building.”
“BIM and Revit technologies are wonderful to represent 3D designs at a certain stage of evolution and to translate this into a virtual reality experience, but I think that there is nothing yet that can match the pace of a multidisciplinary design team session, collaboration, thinking, and sketching.”
Stitching together the viewpoints of tech-driven processes and skilled, experienced people, AESG’s Lindsey Malcom says: “Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and as specialist consultants riding this digital wave, it is this seamless interplay that drives high-performing engineering solutions. For us to see this advancement and quick uptake in the industry, we need to reset our perspectives and mindsets. From an engineering context, I believe the industry needs to accelerate our design approach at the same pace as the development of technologies.”
Malcom adds: “There would be a far greater outcome and benefit to all stakeholders if we are engaged in that development process in the most effective manner possible.
“There is certainly greater potential that can be leveraged from these tools, and this would support a more integrated design approach and the shift to a whole-life perspective throughout the design-build-operate phase.”
All in all, if the industry needs to lift itself out of the doldrums – characterised by constant echoes of “delayed projects” and “cost overruns” – it will need to take the advice of these veterans to push for integrated planning and improved adoption of integrated technologies.