Low-cost considerations root cause of MEP projects falling short of expectations

Dubai, UAE, 28 November 2018: There are many instances where MEP projects are falling short of expectations, due to poor design and supervision, said Pramod Kumar Jha, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Building Services, Middle East, Atkins, member of SNC Lavalin. He further said that to find the root cause, stakeholders must understand that every project has five processes, namely – initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closing. “Each process has got its own importance and not following one, impacts the one that comes after it,” he said. He added that considering the lowest cost as a factor for project success, without understanding the scope, schedule and quality expectations, is the root cause of the problem.

Jha said that the issue is not the lack of qualified and specialised MEP consultancy expertise, but the challenging market situation, where customers do not want to know the right cost for their expected project’s HVAC services design/supervision, and MEP consultancies with the expertise to understand the requirements are considered costlier than others and pushed out of the race. Jha said, “When from the beginning itself, there is no synergy in what is expected by the customers and what is to be delivered by MEP consultants, the projects fall short of the expectations, owing to poor design and supervision.”

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