General manager Nathan Hanns says the firm is adopting a three-pronged approach to stay ahead of the pack.

He explained: “The main focus is to choose and start the implementation of a new ERP system fit for purpose across the entire business. A specific focus is to provide our on-site teams with the necessary tools in order to be more efficient.

“Data consolidation into a single database and real time integration will drive decision making via analytics.

“[We are also] moving our entire infrastructure into the Cloud, utilising platform as a service (PaaS) to reduce cost and improve scalability.”

Investments in technology run in tandem with an extensive training programme for the 309 skilled employees and 1,883 labourers on Alemco’s books.

“Our focus for 2019 will be around performance management within the business, an area where we have historically struggled,” said Hanns.

“We have developed the ‘Performance Management Compass’ which is a tool, based on each designation’s roles and responsibilities, used to conduct an assessment of an employee’s performance over a specific period of time.

“By using the traffic light system each employee is rated against specific measurables associated with their roles. We believe that we now have an effective and easy to use tool which supports regular feedback and allows us to build on a high performance culture within the business.”

Alemco reported revenue of $80.5m in 2018, and appears set to better that with a forecast of $87.5m for this year, coupled with a backlog of $165m.

Projects at One Zabeel Tower and Jumeirah Living Tower, where it is delivering MEP and ELV services, alongside Expo 2020 have facilitated Alemco’s predicted growth for this year.

But like almost all firms operating in the sector, Hanns is guarded against future challenges.

When asked about the obstacles facing Alemco in the coming months, he said: “The prevailing market conditions and slowdown of the construction industry in our current geographical regions of operation.”