Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) along with Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA), hosted a networking event focussed on the role of facility management (FM) companies in the burgeoning retrofit market in the UAE and the importance of education and trained professionals in post-retrofit maintenance.
The discussion was moderated by Khaled Bushnaq, Vice Chair of EmiratesGBC, with panellists including: Ali Al Suwaidi, Board Member of MEFMA; Stuart Harrison, Support Services Director of Emrill Services LLC; and K. Anbalagan, Managing Partner of Proleed Mechanical Engineering Consultancies. Key topics addressed included: training, retrofitting certifications and the importance of energy auditors in building retrofitting.
Bushnaq said: “Training and trained professionals play a pivotal role when it comes to post-retrofit maintenance and the continuation of preventive care implemented in any building. One of the key purposes of the joint networking event was to put the spotlight on the current situation of training within the industry and identify next steps to follow with the aim to create a fully integrated facility management industry adequately equipped for the ‘retrofit revolution.'”
The second discussion was on retrofitting certifications, and how ISO 50001 is emerging as an important certification in the commercial sector where savings in energy management are almost guaranteed, such as in the UAE.
Lastly, the panel discussed the importance of energy auditors as an essential component in the list of certified professionals needed for a building retrofit process and how FMCs can benefit from hiring certified energy auditors directly on their team as opposed to outsourcing the auditing task.