Commercial buildings in the Middle East must be more ‘intelligent’ to save costs, boost employee productivity and give businesses a competitive edge, according to a leading construction industry expert.
‘Intelligent Buildings’ could boost employee productivity by up to 5% by enhancing office lighting and ensuring a comfortable internal temperature, claimed Pantelis Zoukis, overseas business development manager at Cyprus-based construction specialists EKA Group.
Performance could increase by as much as 7% if workers could control the temperature around their individual workstations, he said, adding that the value of these employee productivity increases was roughly equivalent to the entire capital and operational costs of a building over its life-cycle.
“An ‘Intelligent Building’ is capable of recognising and responding to changing circumstances to allow a more efficient use of resources and improve the comfort of its occupants,” said Kouzis, speaking at the FM Expo – the regional showcase event for the facilities management industry – in Dubai yesterday.
“An increase in staff productivity through less absenteeism, increased output and less disruption to workflow is the key to a building’s success,” he added.
Kouzis also advocated the use of freely available energy sources to cut operational costs, like using solar insulation to cut a building’s heat gain and cut back air con bills.
He explained that lighting bills can be slashed by installing light shelves to reflect daylight deep into the building.
EKA Group has more than 12 years experience in the field of ‘Intelligent Buildings’ and has recently formed a specialised company in Dubai, EKA Building Systems LLC.
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