Future ways of working
Digitalisation in the UAE
The UAE is propelling its digital agenda forward through the UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025. Across the region, enterprises are leveraging innovative technologies to tackle challenges in construction, where Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become mandatory for specific projects. Dubai Municipality's mandate requiring BIM processes for MEP and architectural work on buildings over forty floors or 300,000 square feet, including international firms, underscores the industry's shift towards advanced technologies.
In the upcoming years, technology will play an increasingly vital role across every stage of construction, encompassing design, planning, project management and execution. BIM, drones, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionise the industry, boosting productivity, minimising errors and fostering seamless collaboration among stakeholders.
We explored regional digitisation trends in depth in our 2024 Middle East digital market intelligence report, which indicated a significant trend towards digitalisation within the UAE construction industry.
Upskilling for digital adoption
Driving the industry’s digital transformation requires a synergy of talent and technology. The process of upskilling is paramount for navigating a digitally driven environment and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Source: Turner & Townsend survey
Survey findings:
The overwhelming majority of participants (97 percent) recognise the integration of digital tools and methodologies, although primarily at a moderate level rather than highly advanced.
Our recent survey outcomes align to our previous 2022 findings, which noted that 79 percent of respondents (at that time) had implemented digital tools to some extent. This underscores the prevalent adoption of digital tools within the UAE construction sector, highlighting the industry's progressive shift towards digitalisation.
The survey findings shed light on the level of digital tool adoption and working methods within the UAE construction market. Sentiment shared also reflects a consensus among industry stakeholders that while there has been progress in embracing digitalisation, current measures are not yet at a stage where they are preferred for project delivery. Furthermore, there appears to be a gap in the utilisation of pioneering methods, indicating room for innovation and advancement in digital practices within the industry.
“There is intent but there is still a real lack of capability.”
Anonymous Turner & Townsend survey respondent
The above comment encapsulates the overarching theme of the survey findings, emphasising the intention and acknowledgment of the importance of digitalisation in construction but highlighting the existing limitations in fully realising its potential.
Advanced construction technologies
Innovative on-site construction techniques have revolutionised industry practices by leveraging modern methods and advanced technology. These approaches enhance efficiency, safety and sustainability.
Embracing modern methods of construction
The Middle East is progressively adopting modern methods of construction (MMC) to overcome traditional challenges of delays and cost escalations.
Source: Turner & Townsend survey
Survey findings:
The survey found that 50 percent of respondents perceived a marginal increase in the adoption of off-site manufacturing and prefabricated components in the UAE construction industry during 2023, a notable increase in the perceived increase in adoption noted in our 2022 survey (32 percent).
Meanwhile, 28 percent of participants felt that adoption had remained the same and 13 percent reported no change. The remaining respondents noted a decrease in adoption.
The survey findings reveal that while some respondents felt there was a slight increase in the adoption of modern methods of construction within the UAE construction market, others noted stability or even decline. This suggests a diverse landscape, with certain sectors and projects embracing these methods while others may be slower to do so. Factors such as project scale, regulatory frameworks and market dynamics likely contribute to differing views on the adoption of such construction methods.
Looking ahead, the adoption of MMC presents an opportunity for the construction sector to transition towards a circular economy. That said, to solidify these market-proven capabilities as the industry norm, public policy reforms will play a pivotal role.
© 2024 Turner & Townsend