18 MEP Middle East | November 2018 http://www.mepmiddleeast.com
SITE VISIT
ture, as the modular system develops.”
The extent of modularisation largely de-
pends on the end client. He says: “The cli-
ents are all aware of off-site manufacturing.
They’re aware of the benefi ts it brings to
their project. One of the things that I think
we can bring with our experiences is the
level [of modularisation] that can be taken
to. The more we can incorporate, the more
benefi ts we can bring to the site from an off-
set manufacturing point of view.”PREFABRICATION AND MEP SECTOR
The key aim of any prefabricator or off-site
manufacturer is increasing the quality, ef-
fi ciency and productivity; reduce wastage;
and improve health and safety. He adds:
“We provide benefi t to both the MEP sec-
tor as well as the contractor. On the design
side, we are adding a lot of details to the 3D
model when it comes to manufacturing andRECENT PROJECTS BY
BKG MODULAR SYSTEMS- Town Square, Al Quadra, Dubai:
1,584 MEP services corridor modules - Bluewater Hospitality: 1,100 MEP
services corridor modules - Al Maryah Central, Al Maryah
Island, Abu Dhabi: 1,250 electrical
containment modules and 1,750 MEP
services corridor modules
installing any MEP services. We maintain
their design. What is modelled and what is
drawn is what is being produced.
“Typically, in a traditional build, you
can end up doing something that wasn’t
intended by the designer. That can either
compromise the performance of the system
or increase the fi nal maintenance [cost] for
the client. We provide benefi t to the [MEP]
contractor in a much more straightforward
way. We are able to reduce the dependen-
cies that he has on the main contractor.
When you’re building traditionally, you’re
waiting on the walls to be built. We can
produce corridors and risers, all before the
structures are even built.”
This essentially is a parallel construction
methodology, which allows the main build-
ing structure to be erected in tandem with
the off-site fabrication of MEP services, re-
ducing dependencies and potential delaysrication. Elaborating on the market, Nelson
says: “I think the market is partly driven
by the complexity and competitiveness of
the Middle East market. The Middle East,
and UAE especially, is well known for icon-
ic projects. But time constraints around
such projects are tight. And so, people are
looking for alternative methods of deliver-
ing such projects. Prefabrication is one of
them.”
But can complex structures be modular-
ised? According to Nelson, yes. He adds: “I
think that in terms of prefabrication, every-
thing we do is bespoke. We are prefabricat-
ing the MEP services to fi t in all types of
buildings. There’s a common misconception
that prefabrication only fi ts a certain model
that’s repetitive and that it has to be a square
building. That’s true and we can produce
modules quicker than in the typical method.
“However, what we fi nd that in all sorts of
projects, especially here in the UAE, build-
ings have unique designs. In the past, we
have executed projects such as the Al Bahr
Towers, Abu Dhabi, which are twin-cylindri-
cal towers where we prefabricated the whole
corridor. Also for the Dubai Opera House,
we modularised sections of MEP and in-
stalled them. So, we’re able to bring the ben-
efi ts of off-site manufacturing to any type of
installation.”
Another important point to understand
is the extent to which an MEP module be
modularised. Nelson says that that the fi rm
is “always trying to improve and extend the
level of prefabrication in a project”. He ex-
plains: “Initially, we started with ductwork,
pipework, and electrical containment mod-
ules. That’s grown over the past 10 years.
Now, we’ve included modular wiring as part
of our capabilities and now we are including
fan coil units with valve packages and elec-
trical connections. We’re looking to incor-
porate some parts of the building structure.
For example, the top of the heads of corridor
walls will be part of the module. We hope to
include different parts of the building struc-