16 MEP Middle East | November 2018 http://www.mepmiddleeast.com
SITE VISIT
to the preparation [teams]. These pre-pre-
pared sections are then placed in the prepa-
ration racks for fi nal assembly.”
The facility also has a modular wiring
workshop. Nelson says: “Modular wiring
is a plug-and-play installation for all light-
ing and small power circuitry downstream
of the distribution board. We have wiring
looms which are pre-wired conduits, with
male and female plugs attached. We take
the traditional design for a project, pre-
measure the wiring lengths, fabricate it
to the exact length and add the plugs. The
cables are then referenced and tested. This
will also include the fi nal fi x items such
as switch plates, sockets and luminaires
which are all pre-wired with the corre-
sponding plugs. It’s a complete plug and
play installation.”Nelson says: “At the moment, we’re pro-
ducing 1,200 to 1,400 modules in a month,
and that’s just for our standard corridor
riser modules. In addition to that, we have
15,000m^2 of GI ductwork [facility]. We also
have modular wiring production, and have
recently started the fabrication of pre-insu-
lated ductwork.”
All of the fi rm’s capability was dem-
onstrated in the delivery of the Address
Downtown Dubai refurbishment project,
where 1,035 multiservice modules were
manufactured and installed in 26 days to
complete 15 fl oors of the building. Nelson
says that the demand has pushed the fi rm
to boost its production capacity. “We’ve in-
creased our production substantially over
the last four years. We’ve gone from pro-
ducing about 5,000 modules in 2013 for a
single project, with a single contractor to
currently producing over 12,000 modules,
for up to seven different projects simultane-
ously,” Nelson proudly says.WALKTHROUGH
The production room that has 10 produc-
tion lines, which produces, assembles and
line checks up to 6 by 6 metre modules at
a time. Nelson explains: “We have prepara-
tion areas for plumbing systems, electrical
containment, chilled water and insulation.
Since our fabrication drawings are pro-
duced from a 3D model, we provide indi-
vidual detailed drawings and cutting listsF
actory-produced pre-engineered
MEP modules that are delivered
to a site and assembled are an
intelligent and advanced form
of construction methodology.
Dubai-based BKG (BK Gulf )
Modular Systems is at the fore-
front of modular construction and the com-
pany claims it is UAE’s leading supplier
dedicated to off-site fabrication of MEP
services. Now celebrating its 10th-year an-
niversary, BKG Modular Systems has been
producing bespoke MEP services modules
and modular wiring solutions for the UAE
market. The fi rm has catered to projects
such as Abu Dhabi New York University,
Dubai Opera House, and Dubai Mall.
Robbie Nelson, modular systems division
manager at BK Gulf, takes MEP Middle
East on a guided tour of BKG Modular Sys-
tems’ factory in Jabel Ali Industrial Area,
Dubai. Nelson says: “During peak times,
we have about 350 people including fabrica-
tors, engineers and administration staff in
the facility. Everything you see within our
module has been developed from the con-
sultant’s design, through coordination and
3D modelling. We are producing exactly
what is there in the detailed model. The
whole factory is a controlled environment.”
BK Gulf’s Modular Systems Division was
established in 2008. The 77,000 square
feet purpose built facility is capable of de-
livering up to 1,800 modules per month.
I think as prefabrication grows in the market, the knowledge within the
engineering community also grows with it.„
The main production area at the factory; the production
room has 10 production lines.CNC (computer numerical control)
cutting of GI ductwork pieces.