Dubai: Alec hires Andy Boutle as its head of Digital Construction

Alec Engineering and Contracting, a part of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), has apponited Andy Boutle as its head of Digital Construction.

In this newly created role, Boutle will focus on the digitisation of the entire value chain for projects undertaken by Alec, with an emphasis on increasing workflow communication and vertical efficiencies.

With over twenty years industry experience, Boutle has worked in various engineering and management roles for both consultants and contractors with a more recent specialisation in BIM. In his most recent role, he served as the head of BIM – Construction Division at the Kier Group.

“While the pandemic has certainly been a catalyst of transformation, there is still a long road ahead for the digitalisation of the sector. The benefits — ranging from improving quality and safety, to reducing costs and project timelines, and increasing profits — are abundantly clear. But there remains trepidation in the region largely due to the steep learning curve and challenges around integration between systems, and deciding what investments will yield maximum positive impact. As a leader in the sector, Alec has successfully leveraged the latest technologies on several projects and believe it is now time to double down on these digital investments. In doing so, we will inevitability promote technology adoption among our customers and partners, leading to a digital-first mindset across the industry that advances the sector towards greater efficiency, quality, and sustainability,” said Kez Taylor, CEO at Alec.

Meanwhile, leveraging advanced technologies, the company implemented 72 new digital initiatives at One Za’abeel mixed-used luxury development in Dubai. This included the use of 3D printing, AI-based time and attendance recording, robotic drilling, digital material and asset management, and HoloBuilder, a 360-degree imaging software creating a comprehensive photographic database.

With Boutle onboard, Alec is further looking to ensure such technologies are utilised on an increasing number of developments.

Alec has already initiated the process of achieving the BSI Kitemark ISO 19650 certification for information management using BIM. The company is also currently deploying a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that will digitalise its processes to enhance business intelligence through analytics and reporting.

“Alec’s increasing focus on digital transformation in recent years is making our operations more productive, efficient, sustainable, and accurate, whilst reducing risk and resource wastage. This translates to an improved level of service and quality of product for our customers. In parallel, our partners are benefitting from the streamlining of collaborative processes made possibly by our expertly integrated systems,” said Boutle.

“We also recognise that the challenges faced by the construction sector as a whole – skills and labour shortages, productivity issues, attitudes towards change, outdated procurement models and more – have the potential to be addressed by industry-wide digital transformation. However, they cannot be solved overnight or independently by a single organisation.”

Read: How digital transformation is taking root within the construction industry