We introduced BIM to the region back in 2008.

Dubai Municipality has mandated the use of BIM for architectural and MEP works for :
According to this important document (number 196 – dated Nov 18, 2013), Dubai’s Municipality formally informs all design and construction companies operating in Dubai that it has decided to mandate/dictate BIM for architectural and MEP works for
(a) all buildings 40 stories or higher;
(b) facilities/buildings that are 300,000 sqft or larger;
(c) all hospitals, universities and other similarly specialized buildings; and
(d) all buildings that are being delivered by/through an international party.

The announcement also states that this decision to mandate BIM is based on the (proven) ability of BIM tools and workflows in improving construction quality, enabling collaboration between project participants across project phases, lowering costs, reducing time, unifying specifications/standards, facilitating QTO and cost planning.

It also stated that this decision is preliminary – stage 1 to come into force on January 1, 2014. Finally, the document states that consultants – architects, engineers and similar,( no mention of contractors) – are legally responsible to fulfil this dictate.

Dubai’s BIM mandate comes in the wake of increasing global adoption of BIM.
– – The EU made BIM a mandate in January 2014.
– In Singapore, BIM is mandatory for all public housing projects.
– IN U.K. government contracts will mandate BIM from 2016
– It has had widespread adoption in Scandinavia and the USA for many years.

Once International Construction companies adopt BIM in one country they will soon rollout to other countries and that factor will also force an increase adoption here by all contractors, architects etc.

Construction is one of the few industries where productivity has decreased almost year on year for the last 40 years. More congested cities. tighter planning and Health and Safety legislation may be contributing factors but the low adoption of enterprise IT relative to other industries is the major factor. This reflects an industry that often thinks on a project basis, and this has a high labour turnover which discourages long term investments and training. This e with longer term vision are reaping the rewards of BIM.

Design out mistakes before they reach site, integrate plans across the supply chain, and the savings are obvious yet BIM offers much more. Collaboration from the outset between all of the design disciplines – the client, contractor, specialists and suppliers – is fundamental to ensuring the best design, construction and operating solution and the BIM models and BIM workflows help to achieved this “right first time”.

According to the 2012 McGraw Hill North America BIM SmartMarket Report, the percentage of companies using BIM jumped from 17 per cent in 2007 to 49 per cent in 2009 and to 71 per cent in North America 2012 with 74 per cent of contractors now using BIM compared to 70 per cent of architects.

BIM solutions were used in iconic projects such as Shanghai Tower in China, Freedom Tower in New York. However BIM has also been successful in recent regional projects of various scale and size such as::
– the King Abdullah Sports City complex in Jeddah,
– Masdar’s headquarters at Masdar City,
– Al-Mafraq hospital in Abu Dhabi,
– the Midfield Terminal Building – Abu Dhabi International Airport (MTB-ADIA),
– the museum projects at Sadiyaat island

In all projects BIM adoption ensures that projects are completed more quickly, more accurately, more safely and at less cost than comparable non-BIM projects. A recent study from McGraw-Hill Construction found that BIM adoption is growing dramatically by contractors and that more investment is planned.

Two UK academics, Prof Nashwan Dawood and Dr Mohamad Kassem from Teesside University, have been awarded a grant of $940,000 to lead a research project aimed at developing “a whole life cycle information flow approach enabled by BIM protocols and technologies” for Qatar’s construction industry. The two UK academics will work with Qatar University and HOCHTIEF ViCon to deliver the project. The project research team has been collecting data and interviewing engineers and project managers on some of the major projects underway for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The project will seek to identify the root-causes of poor information flows and the approach undertaken will be industry and client-led. There is an ambition to develop Qatar as the centre of excellence in the Gulf for advances in the management of information in construction projects.

A recent NBS BIM survey, reveals that 95% of construction professionals are now aware of BIM and usage among those professionals will jump from 54% to 93% within three years. However a recent ITP BIM breakfast meeting few attendees were willing to raise their hands to indicate that they had a full understanding of BIM.

Contractors, who particularly benefit from BIM, are beginning to insist that their consultants — including architects — must also work with BIM. This trend will accelerate due to government pressure to reduce costs, and energy consumption and to improve health and safety, and on-time completion and competitive pressure will force smaller contractors to adopt BIM. Many of those contractors will similarly insist that their supply chains also use BIM.

There is the feeling in Dubai that after years of fairly lax regulation on project management – which had undoubtedly resulted in a large amount of substandard projects, not to mention delays and budget overspends – the use of BIM can only serve to benefit Dubai’s construction industry

Understandably many are put off BIM adoption because of the anticipated costs, or perceived complex technology issues and the culture change needed to maximise the benefits. So ask about our AEC Construction solution that is an end to end solution that also encompasses estimation tendering and operations as well as BIM and at an affordable price with fast deployment.

The Solution

1. The construction industry needs integrated system support for challenging processes from project bidding to completion and client billing with dynamic project cost and time analytics to support a timely, high quality, decision making process.
2. To take control of the project management and stabilize the business you need controls and accountability around the clock.
3. AEC Engineering Apps, integrated with: Auto CAD, STAAD Pro and Microsoft Project facilitates the full construction lifecycle: plan, estimate, budget, and schedule, design and execute your projects with works accounting.
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5. AEC’s proven applications help you to undertake the key construction business functions: drawings, planning, budgeting, procurement, inventory, equipment management and operations.