Dubai Municipality Revises ‘Engineering Excellence Initiative’ to Boost Trust and Quality in Construction

Dubai Municipality introduced new updates to the ‘Engineering Excellence Initiative’, which includes the addition of the ‘Owner’s Opinion’ standard.

The inclusion of the new standard allows owners to evaluate engineering consulting offices and contracting companies working on their projects and adhere to the standards for distinguished projects of architectural artistic value and the standard for using Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems as the key condition for the engineering offices to obtain a five-star rating. Through this move, the Municipality aims to enhance the trust between the project owner and the consultant or contractor and increase competitiveness among the companies specialized in building and construction fields, thus raising the quality of construction projects across the emirate.

Eng. Mariam Al Muhairi, CEO of the Buildings Regulation and Permits Agency, Dubai Municipality, affirmed that the recent updates to the Engineering Excellence Initiative reflects the Municipality’s commitment to establishing a world-class, smart and sustainable building sector and raising the quality of building in Dubai, that elevates its position, attractiveness and global competitiveness. The initiative will contribute to offering integrated and proactive services to customers, changing conventional practices in the realm of engineering, and raising the culture of professional excellence among the practitioners.

Eng. Al Muhairi said:

“One of the key goals of the initiative is to offer consultants and contractors with data of owners of prospective projects, and to help them choose the appropriate consultant and contractor for their projects as well as encourage the latter to enhance the quality of their work. Furthermore, the initiative empowers and engages clients, both owners and developers in the evaluation system with an electronic questionnaire shared through Dubai BPS smartphone application in a manner that reflects their past experiences and interactions with those offices and companies.”

Additionally, Eng. Al Muhairi pointed out that the evaluation procedures can be completed through a set of criteria, such as compliance with laws, building regulations and other laws required to practice engineering profession, the quality of submitting transactions, dedication to supervising the construction site and absence of technical complaints in the register.

Outstanding Standards:

The updates included standards for distinguished projects of architectural artistic value, such as projects that leverage the potential of modern building technologies including building systems integrated with 3D printing along with the standard of using BIM systems, which will aid the engineering office to secure a five-star rating. Furthermore, the initiative helps project owners in selecting the ideal consultant and contractor for their projects, further reducing the rate of construction disputes, and elevating the quality of building implementation.

Dubai Municipality initially launched the Engineering Excellence Initiative in 2017, intending to evaluate engineering offices, contracting companies, and suppliers of building materials, that are operating in the Emirate by the Municipality only. The initiative also evaluates their adherence to various laws, systems, and regulations linked to practicing engineering professions, based on their qualification process, building licenses, and supervision on construction sites from the construction period to the completion and honoring and encouraging those with high evaluation results.

News Source: Dubai Media Office