Entry Details

Organization:PNC Architects
Login ID:pncarchitects2024
Category applied for:MEP CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR (LARGE PROJECTS: >AED 100M)
Submission date:28-Oct-2024
Submission Entry:
1.) What systemic transformation are you able to report as a consultancy firm?
  1. Is your sense of responsibility towards sustainable development radiating beyond the specific area of focus of the firm? (Sustainable development includes energy efficiency, water use optimisation, better Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), etc.)
  2. Have you established or strengthened your firm’s policy towards addressing the bigger picture (of helping in the effort to limiting global rise in temperature or improvement in IEQ, etc.) and working in an interconnected manner with other stakeholders?
(113)

Answer: i Being perhaps one of the only MEP consultants who are a part of a backward-integrated model where key stakeholders are in-house-associates viz Client Consultant Architecture Structure MEP-Design Interior-Design Fa ade Landscaping Contractor Manufacturing Glazing amp Metal-Works Furniture Concrete-Products Modular-Manufacturing Facilities-Management Security-Services Holiday-Homes and Community-Management Owners-Association which provides complimentary synergies across the entire development value chain we underwent a number of key-transformations across multiple systems which are mentioned below - OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY - Establishment of Business-Excellence-Strategy Department that is tasked with maximizing productivity and efficiency by implementing principles of Total-Quality-Management TQM to consistently improve modify re-design and validate our processes to guarantee quality and customer satisfaction DIGITAL TRANFORMATION - Integrating advanced technologies such as Digital Twin for Waves-Grande project WORKFORCE TRANSFORMATION - Implementing insourcing from India resulting in a team of employees for better quality-control increased-flexibility and more efficient processes Sustainability is embedded in our DNA such that we have-gone beyond client-requirements to implement ESG-practices in our offices - a Generating solar-power with PV-panels in our car-parking b Employing presence-detectors across all our offices c Prioritizing the social aspect of ESG by having breast-cancer awareness blood-donation events diabetes-campaigns etc d Conducting LEED-training for employees e Use of highest energy-star rated equipment f Use of air-purifiers for better IAQ g Introducing hybrid-vehicles in the coming-years h Use of adjustable cisterns with flow rates from - litres adjustable based on pressing intensity ii We ve addressed the bigger picture of holistic sustainability without resorting to greenwashing as follows - -Formal documented ESG policy -First- amp -only project in the region Sobha One aspiring for Singapore-based Green-Mark-Platinum-Super-Low-Energy-Building Certification -Registering for LEED certified silver

2.) Given that buildings consume 40% of global energy, within which at least 40% is consumed by HVAC systems, how has the goal of 1.5 C additionally impacted your design development strategies? What specific design or equipment/controls selection changes have you incorporated in your designs to support the 1.5 goal? (114)

Answer: We have a sustainable design approach considering energy-efficiency at every step and precisely ingrained right from project-conception,construction,complete through future maintenance/operation, aiming at diminishing the energy-impact of HVAC systems, some measures as follows,thereby targeting 1.5degC goal.
1. District cooling system-reduce carbon footprint.
2. FAHUs with passive enthalpy wheels for energy recovery, IE4(super premium efficiency) motors and heat pipes.
3. EC motors for FCUs.
4. Centralized forced ventilation system for car parks resulting in optimized power in combination with CO sensors.
5. Demand controlled ventilation-high occupancy areas.
6. Energy meters-increased user liability.
7. Smart AI based building-management-system with data analytics and dashboards-optimum performance, lower energy consumption.
8. Low U-Value material.
9. A/C condensate drain routed to Irrigation-Tank for irrigation.
10. Use of Energy valves at the main branches to reduce low delta T.
11. Smart home automation system provisions- controlling lighting, temperature, curtains, setting of schedules/scenes for energy savings, comfort and safety.

3.) What ESG and energy-efficiency goals have you adopted as mandatory? How do you work around restrictive client budgets to ensure greater energy efficiency? What do you never compromise on when it comes to specifying? What mechanisms do you have in place to subvert design vetoes in the name of value engineering? (115)

Answer: We are totally committed to aligning ourselves with local, regional and global sustainability aspirations. They include UAE-Net-Zero-2050 Strategic Initiative,UAE-Energy-Strategy-2050,National-Energy-Plan-for-2050,Dubai-Integrated-Energy-Strategy-2030,UAE-and-the-2030-Agenda-for-Sustainable-Development,UN Sustainable-Development-Goals, and compliance to other global sustainability frameworks such as Global-Reporting-Initiative-Standards,Task-Force-on-Climate-Related-Financial-Disclosures-&-Sustainability-Accounting-Standards-Board.One of our mandatory goals-reduce energy intensity of upcoming buildings by 35% from around 190W/m2 to 120W/m2.

Our fundamental strength is working together with our key-stakeholders- client, design consultant,contractor,facilities-management,and the owners’ association.Consequently,we have embranced Integrative-Project-Planning and Design approach involving brainstorming and life-cycle-costing-analysis to arrive at the most feasible solution that is energy efficient,sustainable and within budget to maintain our Signature-Quality.This helps us manage the value-engineering process,in view to have actual value addition.

We never compromise on the quality of the finished-product and the end-user experience which forms the basis of our specifications.This is being achieved by the intricate-details/standards set by an entrusted-group of German-Master-Craftsmen who represent our Quality-Team,directly overseen by our Group-Chairman,thereby ensuring harmonious delivery of Sobha-Signature-Quality.

4.) When it comes to energy efficiency, how do you evaluate certification of products? (116)

Answer: 1.Product-Approval
We review products for their compliance to energy standards such as-
1.Dubai Building Code-includes ASHRAE 90.1
2.ESMA
3.Dubai Municipality-Dubai-Central-Laboratory Department Type 1 Product Certification for Materials-Dubai Green Building Regulations and Specifications.

We validate local and international energy efficiency labels/certifications during Material-Submittal-Evaluation, as required per our state-of-the-art specifications, by comparing product performance with the relevant energy-star rating. If required,we directly contact the concerned authorities and check the authenticity of the certification before approving the product/system.

2.Factory-Acceptance-Test
Notwithstanding the above stringent verification checks, we also visit the concerned manufacturing facilities to physically/virtually witness the equipment performance, and its compliance to the data provided/recorded parameters,exceeding the required baselines.

3.Product-Inspection & Functionality-Mockup
Finally, we ensure that only the approved products are delivered and installed at the site. We insist on providing a mockup to ensure the functionality of the product per design-requirements, which is then signed off by the respective stakeholders as applicable.

5.) Prior to the pandemic, what specific IEQ measures did you propose or recommend to the client? (117)

Answer: Consistent with our high-quality design considerations, we have been implementing the following measures covering thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, health and wellness pertaining to IEQ as detailed below.

1. Delivering 100% outdoor fresh air without any kind of internal recirculation to reduce contamination irrespective of the class of the air.
2. Implementation of purging arrangement at the thermal wheel of FAHU to have the contamination down to negligible, with OACF–1.1 and EATR–0.06.
3. Use of MERV–13 filters upstream of the FAHU.
4. Keeping the FAHUs running 24x7 per code recommendations.
5. Maintaining temperature within 22-24 degC and 60%RH for good thermal comfort.
6. Maintaining adequate positive pressure within our buildings.
7. Maintaining adequate acoustic levels to comply with the desired dB requirement within the apartments.
8. Provision of abundant natural lighting by means of ample windows and balconies with efficient glazing and presence detectors in common areas.

6.) After the onset of the pandemic, what specific new IEQ measures have you proposed, recommended or insisted upon to the client? (118)

Answer: 1.Further reduction in contamination with OACF–1.06 and zero-EATR per ASHRAE Position-Document on Infectious-Aerosols.
2.Superseded the requirement of MERV-13 filters by using MERV–14 filters.
3.Providing a provision in the HVAC duct to use photohydroionization(PHI) air purifiers in the terminal unit ducts, along with Electronics filters in FAHU
4.Recommended the use of portable-IAQ-devices comprising of pre-filter, HEPA-filter, carbon-filter and UV-filter, with PM1.0 sensors, to have a healthier and cleaner ambience.
5.Continued to deliver 100%-outdoor-fresh-air without any kind of recirculation to reduce contamination.
6.Continued to keep the FAHUs running 24x7 without reduction of outdoor air intake.(no Demand-Controlled-Ventilation except for highly occupied common spaces)
7.Considered UV filtration system for swimming pools, which minimizes the risk of handling and dosing of hazardous chemicals. Also reduces the level of chlorine in the water.
8.Embedded drainage piping within the apartment, thereby avoiding leaks/contamination and reducing noise.
9.Touchless lifts, access control and video-intercom systems.

7.) What steps have you taken to persuade greater IEQ measures, knowing that clients are conscious of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)? (119)

Answer: As a socially conscious organization, we believe in the well-being of the society and engrain all relevant measures to prevent sick-building-syndrome and enhance the IEQ in our buildings which we believe is our USP. We, with our continuous engagement with our Client and key stakeholders, in addition to the points in ‘f’, have implemented electronic/UV filters in upstream of our FAHUs, taking into consideration the wellness of our end-users with a life cycle cost method analysis. This helps us to achieve low TCO because of less maintenance required due to less periodic dust-accumulation in coils/ducts and less running cost for the fan operation.

Bearing in mind that all necessary project stakeholders are our in-house establishments – Client/Development, Design, Contracting, Facilities Management and Owner’s-Association, we conduct regular presentations to the Client. This is followed up with necessary workshops and other capacity building programmes to holistically instil IEQ principles within the entire corporation.

8.) Please describe your site supervision activities - the range and depth of your involvement. (120)

Answer: Quality & Sustainability are profoundly embedded in our Site Supervision activities as follows:

1.Seamless collaboration, paperless approvals and methodical co-ordination through use of construction productivity software(i.e.-PlanGrid) and BIM software(i.e.-Revit).
2.Supervision, inspection and overseeing the installation of construction works from a co-ordination, execution and sustainability standpoint as per preset Sobha-Signature-Quality standards.
3.Tracking project progress as per schedule through critical evaluation and monitoring by utilizing Primavera software.
4.Timely delivery is additionally ensured through co-location of our site and design offices.
5.Ensuring that sustainable-construction-methodologies are adopted at site.
6.Utilization of detailed-shop-drawings for seamless-approvals.
7.Making use of our mockup-methodology for major/critical works.
8.Meticulous testing and commissioning–auditing to ensure design to delivery.
9.Daily manual checks of key parameters to ensure optimal sustained performance based on requirements.
10.Seamless feedback from the supervision to design, construction and FM teams for the related activities in view to enhancement.

9.) What is the nature of your involvement during the Cx & handover phase? (121)

Answer: Being completely backward-integrated, we are inherently involved in the complete project life cycle with the following critical responsibilities:

1.Ensuring code compliance for all specialist systems related to fire and life safety.
2.Ensuring that the targeted energy-benchmarks are achieved in systems that are contributing to energy consumption like HVAC and public-health-services.
3.Ensuring all related parameters pertaining to IEQ are achieved like required noise levels, temperature, humidity, light levels.
4.The above is achieved by a systematic paperless process involving the commissioning team of our in-house Contractor,Consultant,Quality-Audit-Team,Facilities-Management&Owners’ Association.
5.The strength of any design lies in its actual performance. Commissioning is the missing gap between design and delivery, hence, we have implemented a robust mechanism for all MEP equipment to ensure their performance towards energy and functionality. Also, every apartment individually is meticulously-checked for all key parameters and signed off by related stakeholders.
6.Implementing lessons learnt as required to improve the overall building eco-system.

10.) In the past one year, how many of the projects have secured a Green Building certification? And under which rating systems and at what levels of certification? Please highlight also the carbon emission reductions achieved on these projects. (122)

Answer: Our buildings are in compliance to Silver-Sa’fa(version-2.0) in Al-Sa’fat–Dubai-Green-Building-Regulation-Code by Dubai-Municipality. We have also achieved 4-Star classification in the Building-Classification-Survey from Dubai-Land-Department. Notwithstanding the above, we are in the process of achieving Green-Mark-Platinum-Super-Low-Energy-Building-Certification for our Sobha-One project (Singapore-based-certification) and appropriate LEED-Certifications in all our ongoing/future projects.

Our design rigor, construction compliance and commissioning focus has ensured that these buildings surpass the average-industry-standards, through the following strategies:

1.Designing the building to reduce the amount of solar-heat-gain and reduce radiated heat-losses/gains resulting in optimum equipment sizes.
2.Reduction of copper pipes, use of multilayered pipes for the chilled-water piping.
3.Finest AI tools like Chiller-Plant-Manager and Pumps-Optimized-Performances- System used to attain best operating parameters of the equipment.
In Sobha One & Seahaven projects, we have achieved an estimated-annual-emission-reduction of 17,500-tons-of-carbon through the following initiatives:
1.Opting for district-cooling instead of air-cooled chillers.
2.Implementing centralized-hot-water-system with partial solar backup instead of individual electric water heaters.

11.) What is your involvement throughout the lifecycle of a project? What specific measures have you taken to visit a project you worked on to audit performance and learn from shortcomings, so you can apply more robust measures in future projects? (If access to project is difficult after the Defects Liability Period to carry out an evaluation, what steps, if any, have you taken to persuade and be able to gain entry?) (123)

Answer: We play an important role not only in developing and building assets, but also in monitoring their performance and ensuring that they meet stipulations through frequent auditing. Such precision has enabled us to offer incredibly competitive service rates, which are our unique selling point and ensure that running costs are kept to a minimum.

We participate in the building performance analysis, collaborating with our in-house FM team, Building Owners' Association, and Customer-Care-Cell to ensure that any maintenance/operational concerns are identified and reported to the appropriate team for correction/resolution. These difficulties are then documented as Lessons-Learnt and discussed with the Design-Team for future-projects.

To manage the widespread menace of low-delta-T syndrome, we have deployed Smart-Energy-Valves in all main branches, which increase the efficiency of heat-exchange, avoiding costly and inefficient overflow. Moreover, we are in an advanced stage of deploying a Digital-Energy-Dashboard to measure and manage the energy-streams across our building assets.

12.) Please describe your corporate policies for employee motivation and retention - in terms of rewards, etc.? And what is your retention profile? Clients often insist on specific CVs of the consultant’s team to work on a project. Are you facing this issue as a norm, or are you able to assign a team of your choosing, quality-wise, to a project? Does employee-churn have an impact on satisfying clients’ expectations? (124)

Answer: As a backward integrated organization, we hire the best individuals and ensure, through a robust governance framework, that they are well taught to set standards, motivated, and given a platform to demonstrate their abilities. As a result, the team is totally motivated, devoted, and passionate about completing its objectives despite all possibilities and problems. We have gone through it all, including the epidemic period. Our department-wide employee retention percentage is around 90%.Also, we have the lowest attrition rate in the sector, around 5% for the past year. Employee bonuses are determined based on the company's performance. The organization's top performers are honored with awards. Human capital is the most valuable asset in every consulting firm. Being a member of the same group and working only with the same client allows us to push the envelope despite all odds and achieve outstanding technical and financial achievements.

13.) What management strategies and guidelines have you established to counter payment delays and other such instances, which are affecting your cashflow as a firm, and are preventing an ideal building construction eco-system (involving all stakeholders) from forming? What creative strategies are you utilising to circumvent/overcome cash flow challenges? (125)

Answer: We are able to preserve the building-construction eco-system in a real sense by involving all internal-stakeholders in crucial-decisions from project-initiation to handover and building-operation. This allows us to address the schedule of high-value-items in the Critical-Path while taking into account all of the in-house business verticals/disciplines and managing them effectively from a cash-flow standpoint, with reasonable adjustments to the construction-sequence that do not delay the project. We have an objective-driven finance/legal department that ensures that all monies are managed successfully by ensuring that collections are intact and funds are available in-accordance with the priorities established. Soft costs are a major concern since they ensure the cash flow essential for the consultant's project-deliverables to be delivered smoothly.

Furthermore, all of our suppliers,manufacturers-and-subcontractors are considered our own extended stakeholders,having been awarded repeat projects for ensuring consistent proven quality, giving us an advantage in negotiating mutually-agreeable-PDCs in the event of a cash-flow crisis.

14.) How can digitalisation ensure transparency in payments, ensuring timely receivables? What other mechanisms would you recommend to ensure you receive monies owed you? (126)

Answer: Digitalization reduces the human processing and management costs associated with physical transactions. It enables simplified cross-border payments, faster cash flows, and actionable data analysis and insights, significantly lowering the risk of fraud due to improved openness and accountability.

As a result, we implemented construction ERP software (Xpedeon), which enables us by seamlessly linking all sites, departments, and functions into a single purpose-built software system. This allows us to effectively monitor payments using a solid database and analytics.

Mutual talks, dialogues, and eventual agreements are critical components of our financial settlement negotiations. Flexible payment terms at each level, with regular follow-ups explaining the stage-by-stage deliverables, to ensure smooth cash flow and project fulfillment.

Given our unique backward integrated model, Sobha Realty's financial strategy already incorporates generous provisions to ensure a win-win situation for all our in-house stakeholders – Client, Consultant, Contractor, Facilities Management and Owners Association.

15.) Have you incorporated changes to organisational culture and behaviour that enable a sustainable development approach? Particularly speaking, what measures do you have in place to ensure ethical specification (of equipment) practices across the entire chain of command and decision-making in your organisation? (127)

Answer: Yes, we have incorporated sustainability into our fundamental values, provided employee training, encouraged environmentally friendly workplace practices, and incentivized sustainable decisions across the organization. Our leadership personifies sustainable practices, and we include sustainability considerations into every aspect, cultivating a culture of accountability, transparency, and continual improvement that aligns with sustainable development goals.
To ensure ethical equipment specification, we use a responsible procurement policy, which compels vendors to meet ethical and environmental requirements while emphasizing certified sustainable sources. Internal procedures establish criteria for sustainable, energy-efficient equipment, and employees are trained in ethical procurement processes.

Procurement, sustainability executives, and leadership collaborate across functions to ensure ethical standards are aligned. Major procurement decisions are reviewed by senior leadership and the sustainability committee to ensure accountability. We also provide transparency by reporting on supplier compliance and procurement practices.

A feedback loop from staff, clients, and suppliers enables us to continuously improve our processes, keeping them in line with increasing ethical and sustainability requirements. This framework incorporates ethical practices throughout our decision-making process, emphasizing our commitment to sustainability and social responsibility in each specification decision.

Supporting documents:
References:CCAUAE2417 || syed.alvi@pncarchitects.com

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