Big Project Middle East and Middle East Consultant hosted the 2018 Value Engineering Summit on September 5 at the Habtoor Grand Hotel in Dubai. The inaugural event examined how value engineering is being used in the construction industry, and sought to explore ways to further improve efficiency in construction, without having a negative impact on the overall quality and intent of a project.
The summit was attended by over 180 delegates from the region’s top consultants, contractors, developers and government agencies. The event was chaired by Sameer Daoud, CEO of MECIC Contracting, who set the tone of the summit with a brief presentation, following which Dr Rashid Alleem, chairman of the Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (SEWA), addressed the delegates with an engaging and insightful keynote speech.
Anchored by three key panel discussions – Value Engineering in Buildings, Value Engineering in Infrastructure Projects, and VE and Technology – the conference’s agenda was rounded off by two presentations, one of which was a CPD workshop. The full list of panellists and presenters, as well as information about the summit, can be found on www.valueengineeringsummit.com. In addition, videos of the panel discussions can be found on the summit website as well as www.meconstructionnews.com.
Commenting on the event, Raz Islam, publishing director at CPI Trade, said, “Through its construction-focused publications and associated events, CPI Trade looks to bring trends and critical issues in the regional construction industry to the forefront. Value engineering is certainly a polarising topic, but as we’ve seen in various case studies and discussions at the summit, when carried out properly it can have a considerable positive impact on the overall project and a client’s bottom line. The feedback we’ve received on this, our first efficiency in construction event, has been very positive, and we look forward to hosting a follow-up event in 2019.”
The 2018 Value Engineering Summit was sponsored by Autodesk, LACASA, Pace, CCS, CKR Consulting Engineers, Trimble, CIOB and RICS, and endorsed by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority.
“I’d like to thank all of the participants and delegates for attending the event and helping to make it a success. I’d also like to extend special thanks to our valued sponsors for their ongoing support, without which hosting events such as this would not be possible,” Islam concluded.