Dr Abdulla al-Ajmi. Right: Audience at the presentation.
By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter
A leading expert in Qatar has said that in order to become world class, the construction industry must invest in training for the development of new skills.
Speaking at a technical presentation organised by the Qatar Society of Engineers yesterday, Dr Abdulla al-Ajmi also called for research and development to make the best of new concepts, tools, techniques, and new technologies in the construction industry.
“More importantly, the construction industry must change its culture and the way it does business in order to meet and exceed their client’s expectations,” he said.
The title of his presentation was ‘The Delivery of Value for Money in Construction Projects.’
The construction industry is often accused of performing poorly and procuring products of poor value to the customer. Many clients have become dissatisfied with the performance and level of service they are receiving from the construction industry.
The clients complain of poor performance in terms of time, cost and quality, which often results in claims and disputes.
“The industry is becoming increasingly reliant on a less skilled workforce. Department staff are not sufficiently well trained to be intelligent construction clients. There is a lack of enhancing the quality and skills of the construction workforce,” Dr al-Ajmi said.
Pointing out the weaknesses in the current state of affairs in the construction industry, he went on to say that there was no common approach or structured and integrated process for managing and delivering projects throughout the lifecycle of a project.
There is also lack of use of information technology to assist in the project development process and a lack of innovation in technology transfer. Also, communication and co-ordination gaps between the industry and academics and between the clients and industry need to be filled.
He said that Qatar would invest around $120bn in huge infrastructure projects in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“This high level of spending on capital projects increases the urgency for improvement in the procurement, management and delivery of new construction projects,” he said.
He said that the terminology ‘Value For Money’ means to ensure that the construction programme and its projects were delivered on time; have durability; be fit for its purpose; be free from defects on completion; have aesthetically pleasing appearance; provide better allocation of risk; and incur reasonable running costs.
“The aim of Value for Money is not about public spending cuts that result in reductions in public services, but to ensure government (tax payers) money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively,” he added.
