The 1st Annual Middle East Indoor Environmental Quality Conference, organised and conducted by CPI Industry, the publishers of Climate Control Middle East magazine, attracted participation from key personalities from government and quasi-government entities, as well as from facilities management experts, end-users, contractors, consultants, master developers, technology solutions providers and healthcare and hospitality professionals. Conducted on the 12th and 13th of May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the event was inaugurated by H.E. Eng. Essa Al Maidoor, the Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority.

In his inauguration address, Al Maidoor said: “The quality of air influences the future of human health and the evolution of human life. All parties have to be involved, and coordination among different stakeholders is needed.” In addition, he encouraged the government and private sectors alike to adopt sustainable and green initiatives in all aspects of their daily operations.

In his plenary address, Dr Tawfik A M Khoja, Director-General, Executive Board, Health Ministers’ Council for the Cooperation Council States, said that an environmental management system was important to mitigate the effects of the operation of healthcare facilities, as they generate hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

Speaking against the backdrop of the Dubai Municipality’s upcoming projects related to IEQ, Eng Redha Salman, Director of Public Health and Safety Department, Dubai Municipality, said that DM would be conducting routine inspections, awareness campaigns and accreditation of more IEQ test laboratories. He also spoke of how the green building regulations, co-issued by Dubai Municipality, would become mandatory by 2014, which would force buildings in the emirate to comply with strict IEQ requirements.

Other topics covered on Day 1 of the event included the importance of filter performance; mould remediation, duct cleaning and maintenance; and technologies presently on offer relevant to IEQ, such as fabric ducting and diffuser systems, non-fibrous acoustic duct liners, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and radiant cooling systems.

Some of the speakers who presented on the first day of the conference were Philip Whitaker, Regional President, Camfil Farr Middle East; Tawfiq Attari, Global Sales and Technical Director, DuctSox and James Day, Managing Director, Smashing Cleaning Services.

The array of Day 1 presenters also included Ghaleb Abusaa, CEO of The Three Factors Company (en3 Solutions); Stephanie Ayers, Marketing Manager of Evonik Industries; Michael Walrath, Commercial Product Sales Manager, Fresh-Air UV and Sebastian Foerster, Business Development Manager, REHAU FZE Middle East.

Day 1 was chaired by Mario Seneviratne, LEED Fellow and USGBC Leed Faculty, and Director of Green Technologies.

The second day of the event saw discussions and presentations on the role of civil engineering in IEQ; air filtration; humidification and dehumidification; IEQ in schools; acoustics and vibration; LEED aspects of IEQ and ASHRAE perspective on IEQ.

Nabil Siyam, Civil Engineering Division, Department of Planning & Development, Trakhees, emphasised on the importance of ensuring the air-tightness of facilities and of the installation of air flow barriers to reduce energy use and eliminate moisture and condensation. He also pointed out that tailoring parameters to project requirements was of utmost essence to guarantee that designs are applicable and doable.

International air filtration consultant, Dr Iyad Al Attar advocated that air filtration should be considered as a separate segment in HVAC systems and not simply an accessory. Throwing the spotlight on the importance of real-time testing of air filters, Al Attar said that filters might perform differently from what laboratory test results could show and that it was fundamental to ascertain the physical and chemical characteristics of dusts.

Presenters on Day 2 of the conference also included George Berbari, CEO of DC PRO Engineering; Christopher Rajamani, Technical and Business Development Manager, Al Hoty-Stanger Laboratories; Paul Schwarz, Chairman of the Middle East Acoustic Engineering Society; and Gordon Sharp, an ASHRAE-Distinguished Lecturer and the Founder and Chairman of Aircuity.

Among the other speakers on the day were Sanjiv Sachdeva, Managing Director, Gulf Engineering System Solutions; Eman Al Madani, CSR Executive, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Reniel Barroso, Project Manager, Engineering & Energy, Green Technologies; Ahmed Hussein, Director, Facilities Operation Department of du and Timothy Eorgan, Product Manager of Duct Sealants and Adhesives, Carlisle HVAC Products.

The second day was moderated by George Kenich, Head of Infrastructure and MEP, Aldar Properties.

The conference also had a display track to it, where exhibitors of IEQ equipment had an opportunity to make live demonstrations and where end-users highlighted the IEQ measures they had deployed in their facilities.