Saudi Arabia’s investment into a range of giga-projects is a cornerstone of its strategy to diversify and stimulate economic growth, increase employment opportunities and attract global investment and tourism. 

Alongside the expansion of the King Abdulaziz International Airport and the construction of the 340km long Riyadh Metro, a wide variety of infrastructure projects are set to position the kingdom as a global leader. Projects such as Jubail Island in the Gulf of Mannar will provide space for industrial and logistics activities, as well as tourism development. In the northwest of the kingdom, the Neom project aims to create a new smart city to function as an economic hub and attract foreign investment, while also promoting sustainable development and innovation. 

The benefits of these giga-projects are vast, and it’s no surprise that they have attracted significant investment from government and private sources to ensure successful execution. Large-scale projects of this type require collaboration between multiple stakeholders, including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and regulatory authorities, to ensure compliance with environmental, social, and economic standards. This means that there are some key differences between facilities management approaches for giga-projects compared to traditional methods.

A new level of FM complexity

Giga-projects often involve multiple stakeholders, contractors, and subcontractors, making centralised management crucial to ensure consistency and coordination across all aspects of facilities management. 

Just as they offer unique advantages, giga-projects come with unique risks, including construction delays, budget overruns, and disruptions to normal operations during construction. Effective risk management strategies are essential for ensuring that facilities management teams can adapt to these challenges and minimise their impact on the project’s success.

Giga-projects can also have a significant impact on the environment and local communities. Facilities managers must consider sustainability and environmental impact when developing strategies for managing assets, scheduling maintenance activities, and ensuring compliance with regulations. 

An integrated technology approach

Giga-projects often require the integration of a wide range of advanced technologies to allow for efficient day-to-day operations. Effectively managing such huge developments places a high level of demand on facilities management professionals, and many turn to technology to support them in streamlining their workflows and maintaining a comprehensive view of operations. From building information modelling (BIM), IoT devices, and AI-powered data analytics tools to drive advanced predictive maintenance features, the right technology can empower FM teams to achieve the very highest levels of performance. 

The larger a project becomes, the more complex and unique its requirements become. With a powerful core solution at its base, increasingly advanced layers of technology can be layered and expanded – but without this foundation, it’s all too easy for instability and unexpected issues to occur. 

To achieve their ambitions of leveraging cutting-edge technology, facilities managers must ensure that they are setting a strong foundation for their operations. In line with FM best practice, a robust Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CaFM) system to track assets, schedules, and maintenance activities across the entire project lifecycle is crucial for ensuring that facilities management teams have the data and control they need to perform effectively.

MRI Software has extensive experience in developing and configuring technology solutions to meet the exacting requirements of even the most ambitious giga-projects via our industry-leading MRI Evolution CAFM software. With a fully scalable solution designed to make integration easy, teams can rely on MRI as the strong foundation of a comprehensive technology stack that’s tailored to their individual requirements. A powerful feature set provides all facilities teams need to manage the complexities of giga-projects and ensure successful project delivery and long-term asset management. 

Find out more about MRI Software’s facility management solutions and how you can leverage them in your organisation - www.mrisoftware.com/ae