Real-world success stories: discovering sustainable construction solutions

ALEMCO

29 April, 2022
4 mins read

ALEMCO

Industry:

Construction
ALEMCO, an electro-mechanical contracting company is a subsidiary of the ALEC Group, a premium engineering and general contractor based in the Middle East.

Client:

ALEMCO

Since its inception in 2006, ALEMCO has provided fully engineered electromechanical and building service solutions to construction projects. Its track record includes some of Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s most prestigious and iconic developments, from hotels, resort spas and retail, to cinema, leisure, and exhibition spaces.

The key services that ALEMCO provides to clients include:

  • Turnkey electromechanical construction services and planning.
  • Facilities management including contract work, full maintenance and call-out facilities management services.
  • Energy optimisation to help reduce operational costs achieved through a mix of energy audits and advanced energy saving methods.

The Candy ‘shopping list’ changed our business and added a whole new dimension, giving us complete control of what we purchased. 

Ben Swart, Commercial Manager
ALEMCO

The Challenge:

ALEMCO was facing difficulty in efficiently managing procurement of materials. There was either too much or too little being delivered when ordering materials for projects. This had a direct negative impact on profits and was a serious concern.

Why they engaged RIB

To gain better control of what and how much it purchased for its projects, ALEMCO turned to RIB integrated cost management products: BuildSmart and Candy. BuildSmart managed the complete procure-to-pay cycle and reported all project costs in the same cost and activity matrix used in Candy. This allowed a one-to-one match between budget and actual for all cost codes, resources, and activities.

The Solution:

With the help of the Candy ‘shopping list’, the client managed to completely turn around their business by gaining complete control over their purchases and costs. Here’s how BuildSmart and Candy together added a new dimension to ALEMCO’s operations:

  • By implementing and utilising both BuildSmart and Candy, the company gained control of the processes from the estimation sheet to the final deliverable.
  • The system restricts and red flags differences between tender and actual requirements. Once a full measure has been carried out after the engineering phase of works has been completed, there is little room for error when procuring materials and issuing allowable amounts to the contract teams or sub-contractors.
  • The system can also communicate on a live, real-time basis with the estimation, engineering, commercial, procurement, and accounts system, which had an immediate effect on project deliverables.

The Results:

Through the implementation of Integrated Cost Management System, RIB facilitated the following benefits for the client:

Faster procurement

The procurement process was fast-tracked by giving the procurement team an efficient and reliable medium to send out enquiries. This also ensured that only materials specific to the project were procured and at better compliant prices, rather than estimated quotations.

Reduction of construction delays

By dynamically linking the ‘shopping list’ to the execution programme, there was an automatic generation of long lead and information schedule. This also highlighted required contractual notifications of potential delays and mitigated claims before any time, effort or money was spent on rectifying the delay.

ALEMCO utilised RIB Candy construction estimating software and BuildSmart cost management software successfully on all of its large projects across all regions of operation, including Yas Waterworld, Dubai International Airport, and airports in Abu Dhabi and Muscat.