Construction Week Middle East's video: MEP Engineered Online Ep 14 Conex Banninger s Chris Meir on the skills gap better products

In this episode of MEP Engineered Online, the Specification Sales Manager – Gulf for Conex Banninger Middle East, Chris Meir, shares his thoughts on the shortage of skilled labour in the industry; the need for more cutting-edge products in the industry; and the need for early involvement of MEP stakeholders in construction projects. “I think there is a shortage of skilled labour in the region,” Chris Meir says. “I arrived in the region from the UK around three years ago. At that time, the industry in the UK was facing a number of challenges, one of which was not necessarily the skills gap, but rather the quantity of qualified tradespeople.” “I noticed that in the Middle East, we’re facing the opposite problem. I don’t think there’s a shortage of labour as such, but rather the skills gap is quite big.” This skills gap has been noticed right across the supply chain, which has snowballed into the entire industry lagging in the adoption of new technologies. Meir explains: “The fear is that different types of products or new methods will cause additional problems such as delays on-site. So, there needs to be some urgency put behind bridging this gap.” One of the solutions offered to tackle the skills gap problem has been to push for more hands-on training and apprenticeship programmes, which could upskill the industry workforce to the technologically advanced job requirements on-site. In addition, the industry stands at a juncture where it needs to welcome the use of higher CapEx, higher quality products to protect the long-term overall lifetime efficiency of projects. “The problem arises when you compare the cost of the improved products to that of the more traditional products. Really, a more ‘holistic’ view needs to be taken,” Meir adds. “What is the margin for human error?” Meir questions. “What do the health and safety implications associated with that human error look like? What’s the cost of a failure? These all need to be taken into account.” Conex Banninger manufactures a press-fit metallic pipework system called the B-press range and the B-MaxiPro range. “Our products eliminate a lot of the margin for human error and also guarantee the integrity of the pipework joints,” Meir explains. “This range – often viewed as high in cost – provides a lot of additional benefits and this is why it’s important to take a more holistic view.” For more details, watch the video interview today! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/c/constructionweekonlinecom READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE: http://constructionweekonline.com FIND US ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/constructionweekonline/ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/cwmiddleeast TUNE IN TO OUR SOUNDCLOUD STREAM: https://soundcloud.com/constructionweek FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/constructionweek/ © ITP MEDIA GROUP