Interview first published in Construction Week Magazine March Newsletter 2024

In an exclusive interview for Construction Week Magazine, Mounia Bedran, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Digital Services delved into the strategic vision and digital transformation initiatives propelling K&A to the forefront of the engineering and architectural consulting sectors. With a focus on innovation and integration of advanced digital services, she reveals how the consultant is reshaping industry standards and enhancing client value through technological excellence and strategic innovation.

Can you describe the digital transformation strategy that Khatib & Alami has undertaken in recent years? How has this impacted your approach to engineering and architectural consulting across your projects?

Our vision is to become a pioneer in the support and adoption of innovative digital services.
While many companies are going through a lengthy change management process to embrace digital transformation, digital innovation is rooted in our DNA. Driven by the highest levels of our organization, we have been delivering top-tier geospatial digital services for more than three decades.
Ongoing investment in talent development is necessary to remain at the forefront of innovation. K&A engineers and planners have long been empowered with technology, giving us a competitive edge and leading to increased efficiency, reduced costs and risks, and improved customer experience. Moreover, K&A integrates engineering capabilities with digital expertise, enabling the early adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, AR/VR, BIM, and Digital Twin. This seamless integration ensures that K&A consistently achieves unparalleled excellence.
By applying digital transformation to engineering and architectural consulting across different projects, we are able to achieve positive impacts through improving collaboration, expediting project delivery, saving costs, and the ability to offer innovative solutions to clients.

What are some of the innovative digital services that Khatib & Alami is currently developing or has recently launched?

At K&A, we harness the power of cutting-edge technology to enhance our planning, design and construction supervision capabilities. We aim to foster innovation, streamline processes, and deliver superior outcomes. Our expertise spans a diverse range of advanced functionalities, and we are continuously expanding our knowledge to stay at the forefront of industry advancements.
Years ago, we integrated 3D technology and tools in our design review, which streamlined the design process across multiple disciplines. Currently, we offer immersive experiences to our clients using gaming engines for cases like modelling simulations, such as flooding scenarios.
Our engineers also integrate AI-powered tools into the topographic survey workflows. We have trained AI models to automatically detect and extract topographic features from aerial and satellite imagery. By automating this process, we fast-track the survey workflow and significantly reduce costs.
For façade orientation optimization, urban planners use tools to determine the orientation of buildings, optimizing daylighting and energy efficiency.
AI also helps our engineers eliminate design alternatives, increasing accuracy and efficiency during the design phase.
We have developed a 3D city-level dynamic digital twin to analyze the electricity consumption patterns mapped on every unit, floor, building, and plot.

With data gaining importance in construction and urban planning, how does Khatib & Alami manage, analyse, and leverage large datasets in its projects?

We specialize in managing large datasets related to construction supervision and urban planning projects. This involves data collection from various sources, including satellite imagery, surveys, sensors, and public records.
The collected data encompasses information related to topography, land use, environmental conditions, traffic patterns, and more. Large datasets are then stored in secure and scalable databases or cloud-based platforms to ensure accessibility and collaboration among project stakeholders.
K&A emphasizes proper data governance practices to maintain data integrity and security. We also utilize advanced analytics tools and algorithms to process and analyze the collected data. The aim is to extract meaningful insights, identify patterns, and make predictions relevant to project goals. We utilize geospatial analysis to integrate the various data sources, visualize spatial relationships, optimize site selection, and understand the impact of multiple factors on project outcomes.
For instance, in an urban redevelopment project for one of the city’s districts, K&A leveraged data analytics for traffic flow analysis. This was done using historical and real-time traffic data to identify the area’s congestion points, peak hours, and traffic patterns. Demographic analysis was also conducted to understand the population’s needs, preferences, and density in different district zones. An environmental impact assessment was done using environmental data to assess factors like air quality, noise levels, and green spaces to minimize the project’s ecological footprint. Additionally, data analytics was applied to optimize infrastructure, such as the placement of roads, public transportation routes, and utilities, based on predicted usage patterns and future growth projections.
By leveraging data analytics, we created a holistic view of the project, leading to a well-informed and optimized urban redevelopment plan that considers traffic management, environmental sustainability, infrastructure efficiency, and community satisfaction.

How is K&A integrating emerging technologies into its service offerings? What are some challenges in adopting these technologies, and how do you address them?

We have been delivering digital services for more than three decades. Here’s a glimpse of our latest service offerings that seamlessly integrate emerging technologies:
Smart and cognitive cities: At K&A, we foster multidisciplinary collaboration from the outset to imagine, design, build, and manage smart cities. This includes integrating big IoT data analytics into the fabric of cities to optimize the efficiency of operations and services.
Reality capture and digital twins: We deliver 3D reality models that exceed the expected deliverables and simulate risks of environmental change. In one of our first projects, using AI models built in-house, we captured and processed 330,000 images in 90 days, 35 days ahead of schedule, with improved quality and accuracy at reduced costs.
BIM and GIS tailored standards, procedures, and templates: We develop tailored BIM and GIS standards, procedures, templates, and management documents to support BIM implementation throughout the assets’ lifecycle from design to operation and provide a base for future digital twins.
BIM to GIS ETL tools: Utilizing the Esri and Autodesk collaboration, we developed BIM to GIS ETL tools to automatically convert large BIM models to a GIS database based on the client’s own database and data dictionary.
Integrating emerging technologies poses challenges, including data security concerns from extensive IoT device usage and vast data collection. Ensuring data privacy demands strong protective measures. Additionally, the complexity of merging various technologies requires system interoperability, and adopting new technologies demands a skilled workforce, necessitating substantial investment in equipment and training.
Despite these challenges, various opportunities come with the integration of emerging technologies. This includes improving efficiency, optimizing resource allocation, harnessing data-driven insights, and leveraging real-time feedback for informed decision-making. Furthermore, emerging technologies have the potential to drive innovative, sustainable design processes that deliver greater value to clients and unlock new possibilities.

How do digital platforms or tools enhance client collaboration, communication, and overall satisfaction?

The foundation of K&A’s business is underpinned by industry-leading software, including BIM 360 and SAP. This robust foundation not only fortifies us against external challenges but also fosters outstanding productivity and collaboration across our design centers. It provides a single source of truth and facilitates transparent and efficient workflows and approvals, consequently enhancing our ability to surpass delivery timelines.