Dubai

The winners of the 3rd Hamdan Bin Mohammed Award for Innovation in Projects Management were honoured by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, on Tuesday.

The awards ceremony was held at the closing session of the 6th Dubai International Projects Management Forum (DIPMF) at Madinat Arena in Madinat Jumeirah.

Later, Shaikh Hamdan, accompanied by Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, honoured the winners.

In the Individual category, the winner of the Innovative Project Manager award was Michael Rogers, from Lam Research Corporation, USA for a project named: Service Products Order Fulfillment. The project enables the ordering, assembly, and fulfilment of a new service product for Lam Research Corporation, a leader in semiconductor wafer-fabrication-equipment manufacturing.

In the Innovative PMO Manager award, the winner was Maged El-Hawary from ASGC. The company started transforming its operations to accommodate bigger and more complicated projects. More reliable ways and standard processes for project planning were needed which marked the need for a project controls function. The company used augmented and virtual reality tools in the construction process, drones for progress tracking, and automated reporting system.

Shaikh Hamdan also honoured the winner of the Innovative Project Team award; which went to the 3D-ePMO Project Team, Ministry of Health (MoH) - Saudi Arabia. The ePMO model was customised specifically to best fit the Ministry of Health. It managed to build a strong foundation capable of ensuring all projects and initiatives are well managed and efficiently tracked. The system linked 20 regional directorates with the headquarters. The team managed to deliver the project in a creative style by using the Design Thinking Methodology.

Sheikh Hamdan also honoured the winners of the Organisations category. The first was Projectize Group from the USA for its next-generation approaches to organisational project management. The project implemented the DNA of strategy-execution innovation; which generated new competitions to drive innovation. It resulted in a number of benefits such as 78% improvement in business case realisation, resulting in a direct bottom-line impact of $15 million. Overall, there was a 10% faster cycle time from start to delivery compared to the past.

The runner-up was MHPM Driver from Canada for Calgary Central Library project; one of the most frequently used library systems in North America. DP World finished third for its Smart Traffic Management System. The system uses Artificial Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence concepts for Vehicle Booking System to deliver and receive the containers and trace complex requirements.

Dr. Huda Almadhoob won the award for Innovative Use of Project Management Practices in the Academic category for the Self-Organising Networks in Complex Infrastructure Projects: the Case of London Bank Station Capacity Upgrade Project, carried out in Great Britain.

Dr. Ghadeer Alfandi won the award for Research in Innovative Project Management Practices in the Academic Category for Investigating Risk Management Capability of Construction Firms in the GCC Countries, commissioned in Great Britain. The researcher used several research methods for addressing the research aim and objectives comprising of a pilot study and two questionnaire surveys for professionals from construction organisations in the GCC countries in addition to conducting six case studies from real-life projects. The research investigated and analysed construction organisations and projects in the GCC region, through comprehensive surveys and case studies.

He later inspected mock-ups of two projects RTA is set to implement shortly. The first of them, the Sky Garden Project, is a new footbridge extending 380 metres and rising 60 metres spanning an area of 3,422 square meters. With its iconic and stylish design linking several city landmarks on both shores of Dubai Creek, the bridge promises to be a new attraction for Dubai residents and visitors.

The second is the Sunset Beach Project; a new beachfront spanning an area of 80,000 square metres for family entertainment connected to Jumeirah Beach Walk. It includes beach areas and unique models of several floating islands near the Dubai Water Canal covering a total area of 107 thousand square metres. It has modern designs of green hills, sandy hills, parking lots, public facilities and retail spaces.