Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group

Dubai, UAE, 20 November 2018: The MEP contracting industry is often plagued with challenges that do not always come up for discussion. Analysing present day compromises made during installation, maintenance and testing of HVAC equipment, Rahul Duragkar, Managing Director, Emitech Group, stressed the need for proper planning in projects. “Today, the MEP sector is witness to poor quality work and a lack of proper planning during the design stage in projects,” he said. With regard to installation, he said, the company is often faced with situations, where it is called in to rectify flaws and defects left behind by other contractors. “Much of this,” he asserted, “can be linked back to the lack of skilled MEP workers in the industry, who especially work on retrofit projects in the region.” With regard to specialised MEP services in the MENA region, Duragkar pointed to short time frames as a major challenge. He said, “It is crucial to maintain and plan properly at the design stage, before diving into new projects.” Items like proper mock-ups, which have distances accurately established for the placement of HVAC equipment, are crucial. “In some projects,” he said, “we see consultants being particular about proper coordination and mock-up approvals, but the issue is that it is often left for the last minute.” This, Duragkar highlighted, leads to wrong installations at the site, which later on requires rework.

In addition, Duragkar pointed to the present economic situation as a major influencer in the MEP industry. He said, “Some MEP contractors have dropped the price of work and try to get the job done at the lowest possible price.” This, he said, has resulted in a loss of business; however, at the same time, clients still demand the same quality of work and MEP materials. He added, “There’s not much that can be done, we have to keep our expenses low and deal with the situation, hoping that better value jobs will come by, with better payment cycles.”