STRATEGIC THINKERS

Leading industry veterans evaluate the need to address “integrated planning” as a digitised tool, as well as the untapped potential of people & processes spurred by the adoption of technology

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Prevention is better than cure – the age-old adage counsels, but unfortunately, there are still stakeholders within the MEP industry that seem to overlook the “prevention” because it could burden their individual role on the project or due to the fact that they aren’t held accountable for the “cure” when it’s needed.

Rather than addressing challenges at the pre-concept and MEP planning and design stages, it has almost become the norm for the industry to opt for “value engineering” at the late stages, despite the additional cost and time it requires – not to mention the energy consumption and other efficiencies on the project that could have otherwise been reduced.

We spoke exclusively to a number of the top MEP contractors and consultants leading by example in the region, who shared their unfettered views on the need for “integrated planning” as well as the need to incorporate the latest technologies on every project.

While planning is essential to construction, experts have pointed to how conventional planning models are becoming fragmented and futile.

The director of MEP at AECOM, Cathy Christer says: “It is essential in design to plan ahead and to strategize what could happen, what could change, what we know, and what we do not know. The ‘thinking’ – and that’s the fun part of the design, in my opinion – is how the design can adapt and evolve to suit the evolution of design and information flow.”