Big Project Middle East Construction and Sustainability Awards of Excellence 2014 (Part 2)
Here are winners of the remaining awards from Big Project Middle East’s Construction and Sustainability Awards of Excellence 2014. The event was held on 18 November, 2014 at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai. Doka’s building technology bags Excellence in Building Technology award Formwork solutions provider Doka was awarded for Excellence in Building Technology at […]
Here are winners of the remaining awards from Big Project Middle East’s Construction and Sustainability Awards of Excellence 2014. The event was held on 18 November, 2014 at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai.
Doka’s building technology bags Excellence in Building Technology award
Formwork solutions provider Doka was awarded for Excellence in Building Technology at The Big Project ME Awards 2014 in Dubai.
The real-time, in-place concrete maturity sensor system called Concremote, which Doka has been awarded for, allows users to ensure quality control and cost-optimal construction site workflow.
Concremote minimises cycle times and commissioning quantities by helping the site to determine the earliest possible time for formwork removal.
Peter Vogel, director for Doka Group’s Middle East operations said he is proud of the market uptake Concremote has received in the region.
“It feels very good to see our product being recognised for the value it adds to construction operations,” he said.
“Time is money in this industry, and we are convinced that the market here is starting to see value in Concremote’s features,” Vogel added.
Health and Safety Initiative of the Year award goes to Dutco Balfour Beatty
Contracting firm Dutco Balfour Beatty won the Health and Safety Initiative of the Year at the Big Project Middle East Awards 2014.
The award recognises efforts taken by contractors to ensure that their staff are protected and looked after at all times, both on site and in the office.
Dutco Balfour Beatty was selected for its plan that saw all employees subjected to a ‘rigorous health check that focused on vital health parameters like sugar levels, pulse rate, blood pressure, BMI and cholesterol levels’.
These health checks were conducted by the company doctor and a supporting team of certified nurses across all of the contractor’s project sites and their main office. Employees were also provided with a monthly medical record that allowed for the continuous monitoring of their health.
“It feels great to be recognised,” said Wail Farsakh, general manager at Dutco Balfour Beatty, adding that safety was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
“It’s an absolutely good feeling. And we hope we can pass some of the knowledge, some of the things we do to the industry,” Farsakh said.
DP World’s training initiatives honoured at The Big Project ME Awards 2014
The Training Initiative of the Year award was aimed at recognising a training programme which has helped ensure the execution of best practices on project sites. DP World’s Human Capital Strategy beat similar programmes undertaken by Dutco Balfour Beatty and SinoGulf to claim honours at The Big Project ME Awards 2014.
Between 2009 and 2014, DP World has trained more than 60,000 individuals at its facilities, and third party workers have also been provided training in locations such as Senegal, Djibouti and the UK.
Adnan Abdulla, director for operations support at DP World said winning the award was an unexpected surprise.
“You don’t do something hoping to be awarded for it, so to be appreciated for our efforts is surprising and feels very good.”
When asked about his expectations for next year, Abdulla said he hopes DP World will bag more awards at the event’s 2015 edition.
“DP World is working on some very solid projects this year and in 2015, so I look forward to winning another award next year.”
Green Energy Solutions and Sustainability wins Green Initiative of the Year
Green Energy Solutions and Sustainability was awarded the Green Initiative of the Year at the Big Project ME Awards 2014.
The company bagged the award for building the first landfill in the region capable of producing power, namely the Al Qusais Landfill. The landfill is generating 1MW of electricity, used to power onsite equipment and the electrical needs for the site and its offices, drastically reducing the amount of diesel previously used by the Dubai Municipality.
Anita Nouri, business development director at Green Energy Solutions and Sustainability, collected the award on behalf of the firm.
“It’s really exciting. I’m really proud to be part of the whole group and to be with all these professionals,” Nouri said.
“This award, it justifies and substantiates all the hard work that we put in…I thank the Dubai Municipality for allowing us to even try to do something like this and to be part of the initiative for sustainability and renewable energy in the region.”
The project was reducing the amount of landfill gas going into the atmosphere, Nouri said, and using the gas to generate electricity.
“To be able to make power from this gas and show that this is achievable and that we can do it and it’s sustainable, is incredible,” she added.
IRENA Headquarters development is Big Project ME’s Green Project of the Year
In a unanimous vote, the jury of The Big Project ME Awards 2014 awarded the IRENA Headquarters project in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City the title of Green Project of the Year 2014.
The project, which Brookfield Multiplex was the contractor for, is one of the UAE’s most sustainable and energy-efficient buildings, also awarded a four-pearl rating under the emirate’s Estidama Pearl Building Rating System.
Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi and Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai were the other contenders in the bid for the title, but as Nick Petricola, project director at Brookfield Multiplex put it, the IRENA building is a special one for the region.
“I’ve been with Brookfield Multiplex for 12 years now, and this is one of the most remarkable projects the region has seen. I am very proud to be collecting this award tonight.
“Brookfield Multiplex is a global firm, which makes sustainable operations a very important part of our agenda everywhere we work,” Petricola added.
The award category was open to developers, consultants and contractors who have designed and built a project with world-class sustainability standards.
Arcadis bags Editor’s Choice for Strategy and Vision in Construction
Dutch consultancy firm Arcadis won the Editor’s Choice Award for Strategy and Vision in Construction at the Big Project ME 2014 awards.
The company was selected by the editors of Big Project ME and Middle East Consultant for its acquisition of Hyder Consulting and Callison this year.
“We’re very proud of course because it’s a very prestigious award,” said Christopher Seymour, partner at EC Harris, who collected the award on behalf of Arcadis.
“I think it’s well thought through by the judges, and it’s been a big year for Arcadis. Certainly, the Hyder acquisition for us is quite a big event for us in the Middle East and also in the UK. It’s really given us a good platform for the market,” he added.
Arcadis had also managed to bring Hyder Consulting and EC Harris together with “maximum synergy,” Seymour noted.
“Now if it had just been, for example, two engineering companies, then the overlap would have been significant and the synergy would have been a lot less. But because we had minimal overlap but maximum synergy, that’s really I think what made it the winner. And we’re really pleased to have won as well. We really are,” he said.
Related: Big Project Middle East Construction and Sustainability Awards of Excellence 2014 (Part 1)
