Sustainability Matters

Jolly warns that there remains much to be done before sustainability is embraced by the entire MEP industry in the Middle East.

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In a region like the GCC, which is often saturated with construction, there isn’t much that separates MEP consultants operating at the very highest level.

Often, it boils down to finances, with clients looking to get the best deal and consultants looking to design projects with the best systems and technologies, all within a reasonable budget and according to their client’s needs.

If there is a region where MEP consultants can achieve significant steps going forwards, it is the Gulf region. With massive projects underway, funded by both governments and sovereign wealth funds, there is a huge opportunity for consultants to help introduce sustainable measures that will help advance the region’s MEP industry to the next level, bringing it on par with those in the United States and Europe.

One such company striving to do so is KEO International Consulting. Formed in 1964, this Kuwait headquartered firm is one of the largest in the Middle East. With offices all over the Gulf, stretching from Jordan to Oman, KEO has carved out a niche as one of the leading design and management service providers in the region.

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Consistently ranked as one of the top 200 international design firms by the Engineering News Record, it is one of the largest architectural, engineering and planning and project management and construction management firms in the GCC.

The firm has more than 2,200 staff members spread across its divisions, which include planning, architecture, engineering and project and construction management.

KEO is structured as five different consulting firms, each highly specialised and independent of each other.

These firms are: KEO Strategy, Planning and Urban Development, KEO Design, KEO Project and Construction Management, KEO Infrastructure and KEO Contracts and Quantity Surveying.

KEO Design handles the building services engineering division of the company, which has three main functions: MEP engineering, plumbing and fire protection engineering and electrical engineering.

Bill Jolly, the head of MEP for the UAE, is the man tasked with helping to bring sustainability in the MEP industry to the fore for the consultancy company.

Despite the challenges that lie ahead, the self-confessed sustainability enthusiast says he’s determined to turn the country’s developers into converts who understand and appreciate the benefits that sustainability can bring to their projects.

Originally from the North-West of England, Jolly comes with a wealth of experience, having worked in the industry for more than 20 years. From 1990 to 1999, he worked as an engineer for a number of local council authorities before switching to the private sector, where he and a few friends started their own firm in Bristol.

Over the next couple of years, the firm grew from a small enterprise to one that employed around 30 people, before being bought out by the ultimately doomed American utilities company, Enron Energy Services. Following Enron’s collapse, Jolly’s company was eventually taken over by Halcrow following a tendering process.

After a period working in Manchester, Jolly progressed through the ranks, moving from engineer to senior engineer to principal engineer. By the time he joined Parker Wilson in Manchester, he was an associate director where he managed around 30 staff in offices in Manchester and London.

Four years ago he took the big step to move to the Middle East where he joined up with Hyder Consulting for a year. Shortly afterwards, he made the leap to KEO International to take over as the head of the MEP division of KEO Design.