Dr Ghassan Ziadat, Vice President, Major Projects, McKinsey and Company

Dubai, UAE, 6 November 2018: “Since the year 2010, there has been approximately USD 18 billion of investment in Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry,” said Dr Ghassan Ziadat, Vice President, Major Projects, McKinsey and Company, while speaking at the International Conference for Sustainable Construction, held in Dubai. While mapping out the role played by IT and technology in building design, he said that new technologies such as Digital Twin Modelling, robotics and automation are shaping the way construction projects are approached in the Middle East. “With reference to new and existing buildings, it is essential to understand and identify the risks associated with an upcoming project, while also understanding the performance of an existing building,” he added.

At the end of the day, Ziadat said, it is important that the industry understands the power of AI as an enabler in making decisions based on real-time data. He said, “Designers often rely on experts without having a backup plan.” This, he said, can influence the project in its later phases. With regard to existing buildings, he said, data must be used to highlight trends of the risks and make informed design choices. He added, “Facts and figures are vital to understanding sustainability and making decisions related to energy efficiency.”