Leaks Detection: A Case Study of a Residential Villa Project

Client

A Police Villa located in Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

 Project

On behalf of our client, Great River was contracted to inspect, analyze and detect the cause of leakage on the ceiling and wall of the villa. Great River were also tasked to repair and fix a leakage problem and develop a more professional way to stop the reoccurrence of the same scenario in the villa using a systematic and well set out project management plan.

 Risks / Problem

The client was worried due to the active leaks that manifested in the ground floor area of his villa. The client had moved in for a couple of months before the active leaks manifested. Detecting and locating leaks in water pipelines remains a major challenge for the effective management of pipeline assets. Poorly constructed pipelines and workmanship issues are some of the factors contributing to leakage. Most of the leaks rise to the surface and are visible. In fact, many leaks continue below the surface for long periods of time and remain undetected until a leak mark starts to manifest.

Whilst these poorly constructed pipelines were forecast to be the source of the problem, the client was concerned that a range of holistic risk associated with the existing leaks may cause extensive and expensive structural damage to the home such as damage to flooring and walls, mildew issues, and May results to structural defects.  The client assumes that the source of the leaks is from water pipelines. The risk profile of this project is accounted for construction and facility maintenance.

Our Solutions

Great River selected and deployed a high-skilled team of risk, construction safety and maintenance experts in order to develop with the client a holistic risk and project management assessment. By conducting detailed interview with the client and his representatives, by thorough inspection on the affected areas, by employing construction analysis toolset, by analyzing and application of construction management principle, Great river were able to not only locate the source of the leak problem, but also identify the most possible way to fix the problem in a minimal cost on the side of the client in the best possible completion date.

Results and Findings

Great River Team was guided by the following high-level results and findings:

·      By conducting detailed interview with the client and his representatives, Great River team were able to gather sufficient information such as the span of time they were living in the villa, the manner of usage of the plumbing fixtures and the other manifestation in the villa they had seen and observed in relation with leakage. This will help team to lay out a good business plan that will help the team to solve the leak issue. The understanding of your customer's organization and concerns will foster a stronger relationship between the client and the company.

·      By thorough inspection on the affected areas, Great River team isolated only the affected areas for easy detection of the leak source. The team was able to know that the leak is not coming from the water pipeline itself. The leaks are coming from a poor and unprofessional workmanship of air conditioning drainage pipe done by the previous contractor. The AC drainage pipe was not connected in any drainage line. The AC pipe was directly installed in the first floor subsurface.

·      By employing construction analysis toolset, the Great River Team get all the tasks to be done and their precedence in a system, and it allows the team to determine the minimum time to complete the project. All the materials and tools were purchased and prepared ahead of time to complete the project in short span of time.

·      By analyzing and application of construction management principle, Great River team defines the activities required to organize the team while working to outline the goals and scope of the project.

Benefits

Great River has an extensive knowledge on construction and facilities management derived from experience in working with governments and companies across the UAE to develop sustainability and management plans. This knowledge has benefitted its client in being able to understand the potential of the most affordable and effective way to address the leaks issues. The client experienced the following high-level benefits:

·      By generating early leak detection, the client secured joint understanding and support that damage caused by more severe plumbing problems and issues that have gone too long before being detected can be extensive, forcing property owners to spend far more on the repairs needed to address the situation.

·      Water collected from leaks over time may cause foul smell inside the client’s villa, as well as mold build up that can cause respiratory diseases and allergies. It can also affect electrical wiring and may potentially cause fire.

·      Since the leak problem was already resolved by the team, it may no longer cause discoloration on the walls and ceilings, making the interior of the villa look worn-out if the leak problem isn’t fixed. Water may seep into the ceiling, which could cause the paint to darken and the ceiling plaster to bubble and expand.

Value

As a direct result of Great River’s involvement with this project and the manner in which the team conducted this exercise, there have been an established project management principles that can be used on the company’s future like project.