He has been in the industry for 19 years and firmly believes Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the way to go forward. Tahir Sharif, Managing Director of Tekla ME, says in the late 90s it was adopted by the likes of Bechtel, JGC and other major players in the oil and gas industry. "They adopted BIM in a specific way, which includes working with their sub-contractors where the information flow is used in the detail stage such as steel detailing."

Fast forward to 2008. Today the construction boom in the Middle East offers great potential for business for the company, says Sharif.

Tekla ME plans to open an office in Saudi Arabia and sees most potential in the UAE, the Kingdom and Kuwait. "Whether a boom or downturn, projects will continue up to 2020. The Middle East is a strategic part of our business," he said.

Founded in 1966, the Finnish Tekla, is a software company, whose international operations account for more than 80 per cent of its net sales.

Yet, market perceptions have a long way to go, says Sharif. In his words, 'BIM is localised by a vendor who wants to capitalise'. He spoke to Emirates Business on why the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industry should look at the bigger picture.

 

What is the market perception of BIM in the global sense?

The BIM movement in the US is quite advanced with the US government looking to mandate BIM – more in relation to spatial modelling as opposed to details. That will come in time. But the momentum of BIM is being promoted more by vendors.

However, BIM is not really understood in the global sense. Couple of vendors do understand the value chain of BIM. But it has not been explained to the extent on the real benefit of usage in projects. The challenges are that BIM is localised to a vendor who wants to capitalise and positions it into the market from their point of understanding.

Over 19 years, I have witnessed the early implementation of computer-aided design (CAD); today all building processes have been integrated to create one intelligent 3D product model, resulting in improved productivity, greater speed, higher quality and lower costs. Today AEC is beginning to talk of 3D/4D (time), 5D (cost), and 6D (facility management) solutions. Everywhere, owners are expecting greater efficiency and cost saving in the design, construction and operation of facilities. With the adoption of BIM, they can achieve more than 20 per cent savings on project costs.

Is BIM accepted in the region?

Many leading architects, consultants and contractors have incorporated BIM into their business strategies. This is mainly driven by the industry challenges of needing fast and accurate information to avoid delays and to keep projects within budgets.

How does BIM translate into usage for high-rise structures?

It is perfect to use in high-rise structures. In a multi-storey building, a seemingly simple change to the architectural appearance on one floor of the building may affect and cause design changes on many other floors, too. All changes have to be thoroughly analysed and the associated affects correctly communicated, as described above. This often means many drawing revisions and much cross-checking being made in the drafting offices to ensure all related drawings, impinged on by these changes, have been correctly modified and nothing has been missed.

With BIM, we start and continue the whole process in 3D, which means everyone collaborating on a project is working off the same 3D model, seeing everything the way it really is, while fabrication and construction are taking place. This will keep a project on schedule and within the budget, specially, if everyone knows what is due when and where on site. This makes for better co-ordination between consultants and contractors, which is beneficial to the project.

Tekla projects include Burj Dubai, Trump Hotel, Dubai Mall, The Tower, Al Attar Tower, Rose Rotana, Ski Dubai, Dubai Metro Stations, Al Mas Tower and others in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, we have worked on the Feature Tower and Shaikh Zayed Mosque dome.

What does the coming year look like in terms of profits?

We expect some very big revenue increases in Tekla. Last year's figures were already achieved in the first six months of this year. Revenue is €60 million (Dh324m) globally and the Middle East is a strategic part of our business.

We will open a branch office in Saudi Arabia and be active in around eight countries here. We are active in the GCC, Egypt, Jordan and Iran. But it is the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which we feel have great potential for us.

How do you create awareness in this market?

Apart from conducting seminars and conferences on BIM, Tekla ME has been associated with many engineering colleges and municipalities across the Gulf. We are also organising a conference along side the Construction Machinery Exhibition (Conmex), which will be held on October 20 and 21 at the Sharjah Expo. It will examine BIM, lean construction and RFID.

What are the global market forecasts for BIM?

It is estimated the BIM market is worth $1bn in annual sales and is expected grow at 10 per cent per annum (normalised) in 2008-2012. The primary growth drivers include: improved design process enabled by 3D modelling; increased project complexity and better interoperability; and costs savings.

What challenges lie ahead?

The fear factor is there at the user level, not at the management level – this has been our experience. But this is the market to be in. We have a large user base and a loyal one. In terms of growth from 2005 to date, our growth has increased over 10 times.

Whether a boom or downturn, projects will continue up to 2020.

Developers are not knowledgeable about BIM details but they buy into the transparency aspects and real-time information. And we are looking to be more involved at the owner-end. Even more than before.

 

PROFILE: Tahir Sharif, Managing Director of Tekla ME

Sharif is a building industry consultant specialising in BIM with more than 18 years of experience on senior management level positions.

He has written several articles and presented number of papers internationally on BIM.

In the Middle East, he has been instrumental in promoting awareness in the use of 3D/4D/5D/6D as central tools for construction and design processes.

He was influential in promoting BIM technologies for use at JGC, Bechtel, Ove Arup and Partners and Precast Concrete Software Consortium.