Gulf Construction Online - Big 5 experts back speedy 3D printing uptake

Events

Big 5 experts back speedy 3D printing uptake

01 December 2020

The debut Big 5 Digital Festival ended on a successful note last month featuring networking, product showcases, and knowledge sharing between thousands of industry professionals from around the world.

During the four-day event, the online edition of The Big 5 hosted representatives from over 500 construction brands, and more than 130 expert speakers from 23 countries.

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder and General Manager, Cobod International – Denmark was the first of the panel to speak, immediately looking at why the adoption of 3D printing is slow in the Middle East when compared to Europe.

Nielsen said: “People need to have a long term view of this technology. We see a lot of people wanting to buy printers and then make money straight away on the first build. Like this, it will always be difficult to be competitive for the technology, because there’s so much perceived risk with new technology.”

“We need to have projects where you allocate the technology on 20, 30, or 40 buildings. Competitiveness will then show itself,” he added.

Ghaith Bakir, Lead Regulatory Engineer – Building and Life Safety Technologies, UL – UAE, spoke about the recent UL 3401 code when addressing how to mitigate the perceived risk of 3D printing:

Brandie Barrett, Deputy Director Public Works, City of Phoenix, Arizona (US) started the case study session by explaining why the City of Phoenix first looked into a circular economy strategy.

Dr Jacques Khouri, Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Dar Al Handasah, highlighed the importance of data: “The more data you have, the better you manipulate it, the more knowledge you will have, the less interrupted operations you will have for the facility, and then you will have more customers, more clients, more passengers; whoever is dealing with the building, will be happier and more comfortable.”