Gulf Construction Online - Intelligent design standard promoted

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Sharif ... smart buildings.

Intelligent design standard promoted

01 January 2010

BUILDINGSMART ME is promoting the use of buildingSmart, an innovative way of designing, assembling and operating a built facility virtually using intelligent objects in a model server so that design, construction, operation and sustainability are tested and optimised before work starts on site.

BuildingSmart ME is part of buildingSmart International and covers the entire Middle East and North Africa region. Its operations were officially launched at Build Smart 2009 conference last November in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
buildingSmart International is a global membership organisation with representation in North America, Europe, Asia Australasia, the Middle East and North Africa, which envisages the adoption of buildingSmart as a standard method worldwide for smart, sustainable construction throughout the entire lifecycle of a facility. The organisation brings together professional institutions/associations, government agencies, institutes of higher learning as well as architects, engineers, builders, product manufacturers, owner/developers and facilities managers, along with software vendors and progressive construction customers. Its mission is to bring about coordinated change for the improvement of productivity, efficiency and sustainability in the construction and facilities management industry. It does this by promoting, adapting and improving open standards for interoperability.

Vibrant markets
“The vast Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is home to one of the most vibrant construction markets in the world today. In recent years, it has expanded at a remarkable rate and despite the current global economic crisis, this expansion continues in many countries, funded by both public and private monies,” says a spokesman for buildingSmart ME.
“During the boom years, there was little incentive to address the massive waste that has become endemic in the construction industry across the region. Imported manual labour is cheap and cost over-runs were easily absorbed by increasing sale/rental prices. With demand outstripping supply, quality was compromised and ‘sustainability’ was not yet part of construction vernacular.
“However, the years of rapidly rising property values have come to an end. Prices are at best levelling out and the trend is downwards. At the top of the chain, owner/developers have to look at ways to safeguard their investments.
“The bottom line is that there is a need to eliminate waste and inefficiency, improve productivity and quality, while taking on board the requirements of new legislation for eco-friendly construction. A tall order, but one that astute players in construction, acknowledge may be solved by the adoption of collaborative and integrated processes,” he says.
According to him, this is where buildingSmart can help – enabling construction industry professionals to be knowledgeable about a built facility before it is built and throughout its entire life cycle, quickly, reliably and efficiently.
buildingSmart ME is managed by the founding team – president Tahir Sharif, who has more than 20 years construction experience in senior management positions, vice-president Sabri Ismail and communications director David Jellings.
buildingSmart ME works with its international partners, using established standards, to develop and accredit standards and programmes that reflect the specific requirements of the Mena region. It is an independent, product neutral, a not-for-profit organisation owned, financed and managed by its several thousand member organisations representing construction professionals worldwide, says the spokesman. This membership develops, delivers and uses the standards.
Members who deliver the building information modelling (BIM) and interoperability standards (technology, training and process) are accredited to do so by buildingSmart ME. Businesses and individuals who attain the required standards are certified by buildingSmart ME. Delivery teams operate under an umbrella organisation known as the BIM Support Bureau (BSB). Due diligence of the programmes delivered and fees charged is undertaken by buildingSmart ME.
The process of delivery can be summarised as follows: assessment – to establish the current business process and skills; production of a development plan to meet the milestones for certification; delivery of those programmes; and progressive certification as the milestones are achieved.

Global sustainability
“Inefficiency in construction is endemic, with the current worldwide economic crisis heightening the problem,” says the spokesman, adding, “buildingSmart processes have been proven in tackling this issue and remarkable results have been achieved. Notable examples include projects with zero RFIs and others with projected 20 per cent reductions in whole of life costs.”
Global sustainability is a key issue in construction – sustainable design reduces waste and excessive energy costs, while improving the living experience. This makes properties easier to sell as well as cheaper to build and run, he says.
buildingSmart promotes interoperability – the seamless and accurate transfer of data that optimises design, construction and facilities management to ensure optimum eco-friendly buildings.
“In the Mena region, the current lack of measurable standards and the general lack of knowledge relating to innovative solutions, means that it is possible for virtually anyone to claim expertise in BIM and interoperability. This leads to both inconsistent and misunderstood deployments of the new technologies and processes. buildingSmart ME addresses this through the provision of clear and measurable standards.
“Internationally, the buildingSmart approach is established and proven. Successful deployments include government (the US, Norway and Singapore), national military bodies and a wide range of construction clients worldwide,” he says.

BIM Journal
buildingSmart ME also offers the BIM Journal, an electronic newsletter that promotes the use of BIM technologies and processes by furthering the knowledge of and encouraging collaboration between professionals working in the construction industry.
The journal is aimed at everyone involved in the construction process – owner/developers, project managers, consultants, engineers and contractors at all levels.