Dubai, UAE, 12 November 2018: Prevailing market conditions have created a demand for specialised maintenance solutions, said Pramod Kumar Jha, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Building Services, Middle East, Atkins, member of SNC Lavalin, sharing observations on trends in the region. Jha said that more clients are willing to spend money on the maintenance of existing HVACR equipment and systems to get prolonged service life and avoid greater investment on capex, following complete replacement of the existing equipment and system, even if the new equipment offers better energy efficiency and other features. “Earlier, the building owners were not keen to spend much money on the maintenance of the existing equipment, as the payback period of the replacement was lesser,” he said. “Now, the clients are looking for maintenance companies, who are specialised and equipped with innovative ideas of maintenance and new software tools for maintenance information.

Jha said that tools, such as digital asset management systems, can analyse the condition of the existing MEP system and the investment required on maintenance and replacement. He added, “This paradigm shift is good in terms of prolonging the service life of existing equipment and services, more innovation in maintenance processes and resource optimisation.”

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com