The #1 Best Practices discussed at the Fire Middle East Conference

At the Fire Middle East Conference in 2024, Wendy Otway hosted the panel titled: “Best Practices and Innovation in Fire Safety Engineering,” officially described as:

From design to engineering and construction, we explore the importance of developing a fire safety engineering strategy and how communications between relevant parties, new technologies and processes help to engineer safe high-rise buildings.

Hosted by Wendy Otway, the panel asked modern questions about the status of high-rise buildings and developments. Wendy, Former Editor of Fire Middle East:

Mohammed Aldajani – Fire Protection Engineering Consultant
Mustafa Alfakih – Associate Fire Protection Engineer: Jensen Hughes
Murtada Aldarweesh – CEO, Fire & Life Safety Consultant: MAD Consultants

In this article, we’ll look at the practices discussed at the Fire Middle East Conference, and analyze the current innovations and fire safety landscape.

The Line of Communication

One of the mentioned ‘best practices’ involves streamlining communication from contractors to compliance coordinators. People in the crowd at the Fire Middle East Conference attempted to understand where the delay was regarding the construction and evaluation of properties, with no real conclusion being drawn.

However, it is clear that as the new wave of technologies sweeps across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the line of communication is being cleared up, and optimized, and more construction projects are being greenlit than ever before. There is a focus on safety through innovation, from codes to compliance. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making use of this new line of communication, with projects such as The Line, or the Al Mukaab, large-scale innovative builds, being drafted up and made as safe as possible through the use of best practices.

New Technologies

An example of some of the new best practices being put into place includes the use of artificial intelligence, to better predict incidents before they occur, check copy as it’s written, and optimize projects as they are designed, some examples of innovative technology that is helping to advance construction within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia include:

Modular Construction: Prefabricated building components are assembled off-site, then transported and assembled on-site, this has drastically reduced construction time and is helping to set a high standard of quality control.

Building Information Modeling (BIM): BIM technology creates a digital representation of a building, and allows for live edits – this naturally leads to better communication, and collaboration and reduces waste and labour costs while speeding up construction timelines.

Autonomous Machinery: AI-powered construction equipment like bulldozers and excavators can work continuously, speeding up earthmoving and other tasks.

Augmented Reality (AR): AR technologies help in visualizing projects and identifying potential design issues before construction begins, minimalizing delays that appear during the creative process.

Robotics: Robots are being used for tasks like bricklaying, demolition, and other repetitive tasks. These robots can reduce manual labour, and increase productivity, allowing a workforce to focus on more complex tasks.

Utilizing these technologies, everything from the concept to creative, to construction processes are all sped up – both the design of the building and the codes and compliance checking and reporting are sped up, allowing for fewer delays in communication.

During the panel hosted by Wendy Oway, it was determined that what is necessary for fire safety construction best practices, is that codes and compliance are streamlined, made clear, and communication between all stages, from conception to completion, is made clearer and more streamlined. By utilizing the above technologies, these are exactly the goals that can be achieved.

If you’re interested in joining the discussion on best practices, and being a part of the Fire Middle East Conference, all you need to do is sign up via the official website, simply click the following link to register your interest in the Fire Middle East Conference 2025, which promises innovations of its own in May of 2025.