Opinion
Hear our experts’ take on the latest developments and trending topics
2 March 2018
A noticeable shift in trend in the construction sector during 2017 has been a growing awareness amongst clients and consultants of the ageing building stock in the region. Words like refurbishment, retrofit and re-use have become commonplace in meetings, conferences and debates, and the ‘existing building problem’ is the elephant in the room that is conveniently avoided when looking at […]
9 January 2018
Prior to 2010, the UAE had limited fire regulations, the design of towers being dependent on the Building Code, and designer adoption of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and International Building Contracting (IBC) guidelines. Due to recent tower fires, Dubai has been working towards adopting tougher fire regulations. The revisions in the UAE’s 2013 Fire and Life Safety Code […]
5 December 2017
Smart Homes Over the past few decades, technology has gradually developed and become more integrated into the built environment, influencing the way we live and work in our buildings. “Smart Home” is the term commonly used to define a residence that has installations such as lighting, air conditioning, audio, video and security systems that are capable of communicating with one […]
3 December 2017
The Rise of the Online Auction Most people in the GCC are fully aware of what an auction is nowadays, with regular sales of contractors’ plants, number plates, vehicles, camels and fine art held across the region. However, the online auction is a relatively new concept to the region. Online auctions are carried out similarly to traditional auctions, with the […]
2 November 2017
Recently while I was looking through one of the news feeds that often ping into my inbox, I came across news that a Komatsu HD 605-7 dumper truck which is currently been used in a quarry in Switzerland, is now being converted to a fully electric machine which the owners state will be the world’s biggest electric vehicle. This comes […]
1 October 2017
Nick Constantine, senior surveyor at Cavendish Maxwell, looks at how advancements in building material technology are changing how we view the fundamentals of construction. As many of the world’s leading technological hubs maintain focus on transforming into smart cities that use information communication technology (ICT) and the internet of things [loT] to integrate city-wide infrastructure, the buildings we live and work in […]
4 September 2017
Nick Constantine, senior surveyor in the Project and Building Consultancy department at Cavendish Maxwell, says that while green building legislation is a welcome development in the UAE, there is still plenty of work to do. Green building put simply, is the development of high quality buildings that have as minimal of an effect on the environment as possible, both during […]
4 September 2017
With the region mulling high-speed transport options, machinery companies and dealers stand to gain from supplying the technology and maintenance that will go into keeping the projects running in a sandy environment, says Patrick Ditcham, head of machinery and business assets at Cavendish Maxwell. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in the press and on social media about […]
3 August 2017
In response to the Tamweel Tower fire back in 2012 there was a revision of legislation in Dubai regarding the combustibility of cladding and provision of fire stops in voids, two major sources of fire spreading. Since the Tamweel fire, Dubai has seen further fires break out exposing similar cladding issues including Torch and Salafa towers in Dubai Marina, and the Address […]
3 August 2017
The top five reasons to get your machinery and business assets valued Do you know what your business and machinery assets are worth? As we are now in the thick of the hot, quiet summer months, this quite often leads to a period of inactivity. Therefore, this is just the right time to start looking at those tasks which tend […]
21 June 2017
Commercial insurance is vital for businesses to be fully insured and protected should the worst-case scenario happen. The commercial insurance plans can vary, however generally they cover the cost of rebuilding or repairing equipment, machinery, business premises and replacing stock. The risks facing businesses include fire, theft, weather damage, flooding, burst pipes and overall damage. This type of insurance essentially […]
27 April 2017
The key profit drivers for a real estate development project occur in the initial project stages. It is a saying in the development industry that the later you discover a problem, the more expensive it is to fix it – for example, revising an electrical design is less costly than re-doing electrical work on a construction site. A development project […]