Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us about your role?
Talia: I am Talia Sherrard, the Regional Director for Strategic Sales and Marketing for the Middle East and India region. In this role, I am responsible for our client engagement and partnerships. My team and I cover both the marine and land sides of our business, encompassing site characterisation and asset integrity. This means we take a comprehensive, holistic approach across our entire business portfolio in the Middle East and India, although we also work closely with our APAC and Europe-Africa teams.
Our primary responsibility is engaging early with clients to understand their challenges and needs. This early involvement allows us to provide tailored solutions that add real value to our clients from the outset.
Where do you see the major opportunities for your business in this region?
Talia: The Middle East and India regions offer incredible opportunities, thanks to substantial growth across various sectors. Within our company, we categorize these into core markets: energy, infrastructure, and water. Each of these areas is experiencing rapid development, and within them, we’re seeing massive growth in subsectors as well.
Our role in this growth is unique because of our focus on data. We work across the entire project lifecycle—from the very beginning when we’re often the first ones on site, through the construction phase, and into the ongoing maintenance and performance monitoring once a project is operational. This full-lifecycle involvement allows us to follow trends closely and adapt to the needs of our clients over time.
One of the exciting aspects of working in this region is that the scale of projects is evolving. We’re moving beyond mega-projects to “giga-projects,” and these ambitious undertakings come with heightened risks. This aligns well with our mission, which is to help clients manage and reduce risk throughout the entire lifecycle of their projects. As these projects grow in scale, the need for reliable data becomes even more critical, enabling better decision-making and risk management.
So data really underpins your approach?
Talia: Absolutely. Having robust data allows our clients to make informed decisions that minimize risks. As the scale and ambition of projects in this region grow, our role in providing timely, high-quality data becomes even more essential. This focus on data-driven solutions is at the core of our commitment to support clients in achieving their goals while managing the unique challenges these large-scale projects present.
Can you share some examples of projects that would need these services?
Talia: A great example is what we call our “Ground Risk Management Framework.” This approach is specifically designed for infrastructure projects and centers on understanding the geological and foundational characteristics of a site. It’s a process that we apply from the earliest stages—when we conduct initial site screenings—all the way through construction and even into the asset’s long-term integrity and management.
Early site screening is crucial; it allows us to assess the foundational geology, which informs the client’s design process. With accurate geological data, clients can make more precise design choices that often reduce the need for excessive materials and prevent over-engineering. Unfortunately, early-stage data is often undervalued, but it has a major impact. When clients have limited or imprecise initial data, they often end up over-engineering, which introduces additional materials and complexities. This not only affects the construction phase but also the long-term maintenance of the asset, as these complex designs require more monitoring and management over time.
With the advancements in digital innovations, including Building Information Modeling (BIM), we’re seeing even more demand for these services. BIM has been used in buildings for years, but now it’s becoming integral to infrastructure projects, capturing both above- and below-ground data. As projects expand in complexity, so does the need for comprehensive data, enabling clients to manage and adapt to the complexities of the site effectively.
Does this approach only apply to greenfield projects? I imagine many clients are already mid-project and can’t easily go back. How do you help in those cases?
Talia: While early engagement is ideal—beginning from the concept stage of a project lifecycle—our services are applicable throughout the entire lifecycle. So, even if we weren’t involved from the beginning, there are still valuable ways we can contribute later on.
As we move through this digital transformation, we often work on converting traditional building data into digital formats. For example, we might map out the internal network of a building or analyze below-ground utilities like power and water lines. We do regular scanning to assess asset performance, spotting areas that may be nearing fatigue.
By integrating traditional data with digital monitoring, clients gain much better insight into their assets, allowing them to plan ahead. They can schedule maintenance and monitoring based on real-time data, which often leads to significant cost savings and helps them prepare more effectively. So, even when we come into a project later, we can still add considerable value by enhancing their ability to make proactive, data-driven decisions.
Would this also apply to buildings that need retrofitting, especially for energy and water efficiency? Do you support clients in conducting audits for these aspects?
Talia: Our focus isn’t as much on the actual supply of energy or water efficiency solutions but rather on supporting clients in understanding their existing systems. From an auditing perspective, we can help clients gain a clear view of their infrastructure’s performance in these areas, providing them with detailed insights. This way, they’re better equipped to make improvements based on concrete data.
You mentioned your involvement in the utilities space. Could you elaborate?
Talia: Yes, definitely. In the U.S., for example, we work extensively with power grid networks. We help create digital twins—complete virtual replicas—of power grid systems. This allows us to regularly scan and monitor the grid, identifying potential risks like underground damage or even environmental factors.
One common risk is vegetation growth, which might not seem obvious, but it’s a significant cause of power outages. With digital twins and real-time data, we can advise governments on when and where to trim vegetation to avoid disruptions. This monitoring approach also lets us predict maintenance needs, such as parts that may require replacement.
We collaborate closely with clients, which are often state or local authorities, helping them integrate their data into a digital environment and combining it with our own insights. This parallel data collection lets us assess the network quality and flag any issues, creating a collaborative system that helps clients proactively manage and maintain their infrastructure.
In this region, do you see a growing appreciation for the need for data?
Talia: Absolutely. Across every sector we work in, data is at the core of decision-making. Whether clients are building, improving, or planning something, it always comes back to data. The utilities industry, in particular, is no different. With digitalization advancing, data becomes even more essential. A digital platform is only as effective as the quality of the data it’s built on, so the need for high accuracy is key to making these platforms valuable.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the key drivers for the industry?
Talia: For utilities, it often comes down to three main needs our clients express: more data, better quality data, and a way to integrate various datasets. Because we work with complex systems, clients frequently have different types of data that need to be interconnected for effective decision-making. That’s where we can make the most impact—by providing all three components to enable informed choices.
In this region, we see a strong focus on engineering, but climate and environmental factors are beginning to have a noticeable impact. Climate change, especially, plays a major role in utilities management. For example, in a city like Dubai, infrastructure has grown organically to match rapid expansion, often without designs adapted to the current scale. This has led to challenges, as we saw with significant stormwater issues earlier this year in April. It’s clear that we need to reevaluate these critical utility systems and support services.
Our goal is to help identify where the greatest impacts might occur in the future and support necessary changes to infrastructure without dramatically increasing costs. Essentially, it’s about helping clients allocate resources in the most effective way possible.
How do you see the role of innovation and emerging technologies evolving in the Middle East’s approach to giga-projects, particularly in managing risks and meeting timelines?
Talia: The Middle East region is incredibly dynamic, with ambitions for growth and a drive to push the boundaries of engineering that are truly inspiring. Here, we’re not just talking about mega-projects; we’re seeing what we could call “giga-projects.” These projects push engineering limits in ways that require managing significant risks—not only from the typical health, safety, environmental (HSE), or cost perspectives but also from the standpoint of understanding and working with complex new challenges as we develop massive infrastructure.
This presents a tremendous opportunity for the region, not just in economic terms but also for innovation. Delivering on these massive projects demands a push for innovation to complete them more efficiently, faster, and on schedule. The Middle East has an outstanding receptiveness to new technology and innovative approaches. For instance, at events like ADIPEC, you can see a wealth of emerging technologies being showcased—many of which weren’t even on the radar a year ago.
In our work at Fugro, we’re especially focused on the ways we collect, analyze, and communicate data, which are constantly evolving. The innovations in data collection and the advancements in how we collaborate and share information with clients are critical. This enables us to help clients not only understand their projects better but also make smarter, data-driven decisions that improve outcomes and manage risks effectively.
