Metrix Integrated Consultancy, a construction engineering firm based in Nairobi, Kenya, is marking its 25th anniversary this year.
For any organization to live to see its silver anniversary, it takes vision, determination and sheer hard work. In the United States, the average lifespan of new companies is a mere 20 months. Many things can go wrong during the initial life of a new business. Lack of focus, wrong staff selection and cash burnout rank highly among the reasons that kill organizations shortly after commencing operations. The construction industry is no different. In Kenya, many contractors, consultancies and others have suffered this fate.
But Metrix Integrated Consultancy has weathered these challenges and survived even the intermittent difficult periods of economic slowdown witnessed in the country over the last quarter of a century.
Background
Metrix Integrated Consultancy was established in 1995 by Engineer Khalid Omar Alkizim. An experienced civil and structural engineer, Eng. Khalid quickly set the firm on a growth trajectory, using his experience and networking skills to get the young firm entrenched in the market, at the time dominated by large consultancies, some of which had been in existence for many years.
Today, Metrix is itself a force to reckon with in Kenya’s engineering circles and has evolved in skill and capacity to be able to undertake large and complex projects of high financial value.
“We pride ourselves on the knowledge, skills and expertise of our employees, who work together as a team delivering successful projects”, says the company. “Valuing the importance of relationships, we have a collaborative approach that is flexible and can respond quickly to the needs of our clients.”
The Team
At the helm of the practice is Eng. Khalid Alkizim who serves as Principal Partner. Engineer Alkizim has over 30 years in civil and structural engineering. He is assisted by Eng. Mohamed Khalid who is the firm’s Managing Partner responsible for day to day running of operations and Eng Robert Mumo who is the technical partner responsible for project delivery and in-house audit checks. Under Eng. Khalid falls the four specialized divisions of the company: Accounting and Administration; Structural Engineering; Civil Engineering; Civil and Structural Engineering Draughting and IT & Human Resources.
All team members including management work on a fulltime basis to ensure seamless workflow with regular consultations.
Services
Structural Engineering
Metrix Integrated Consultancy provides broad consultancy services in structural engineering beginning with conceptualization through feasibility studies to design and construction supervision.
- Structural Investigations: The company provides its clients professional opinion on structural issues and recommends interventions following site investigation.
- Condition Assessments: Metrix advises clients who may wish to effect change of user on a property as required by law or who intend to make significant alterations on an existing structure. A comprehensive report detailing structural analysis, impact of changes and recommendations is issued to the client.
- Engineering Design and Plan Preparation: This is a service offered to clients embarking on new structures or extensive renovations to existing structures. Metrix Integrated Consultancy’s team of engineers prepares the requisite engineering drawings and specifications for approval by regulatory authorities.
- Inspection: The company tests and reviews materials to be used in construction and also undertakes thorough inspections of structures to ensure structural integrity.
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering involves planning, design and construction of buildings and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water reservoirs, drainage and environmental management systems. It is a wide discipline that requires cost efficient but efficient implementation. Metrix Integrated Consultancy is at the forefront of advising clients on all aspects of such projects including the following:
- Site Analysis and Feasibility Assessment: The firm helps clients determine the viability and scope of projects and carries out code/regulatory reviews, permitting inventories, preliminary layouts, timeline assessments and cost estimates. Clients are presented with information necessary to make informed decisions.
- Site Engineering: The importance of an engineered site plan for new developments, regardless of their size, cannot be overstated. Each project requires a site plan that indicates location of buildings, site improvements, utilities, roads and other features. Factors to take into account include topography, soil conditions, drainage etc. Civil engineers factor in all these considerations in order to come up with an appropriate design. Metrix Integrated Consultancy provides a detailed brief for each proposed development to enable the executing parties do so with a high degree of accuracy.
- Storm water Design: When it comes to storm water, the team at Metrix Integrated Consultancy has the necessary expertise and experience to help developers design their projects in accordance with local regulations. They develop storm water management plans that include operation and maintenance manuals for storm water facilities. They also specify the best management practices to ensure pollutants that could be carried by storm water are kept in check.
- Sewage Disposal Systems and Wastewater Treatment Plants: Metrix engineers are conversant with all aspects of waste management. Whether it is a regular subsurface sewage disposal system or a wastewater treatment plant, the team designs the most cost-effective and efficient systems for its clients.
Computerized Design
Modern engineering consultancies cannot function without computerization. Metrix Integrated Consultancy realizes that in order to remain competitive, it is critical to adopt the latest design software for all its operations. The firm utilizes the latest of such software as Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Robot, CSI Etabs, CSI Safe, STAAD pro, Bentley Structural Enterprise Software Package, and in-house RCC Spreadsheets. Others include AutoCAD Civil 3D, Infraworks and Navisworks.
Projects
Over the years, the company has handled numerous projects of varying magnitude, complexity and value in Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Ethiopia. A few of these are Phenom Park (Kes 5b), Garden City (Kes 5b), Parkroad Affordable Housing (Kes 4b), Brookhouse Schools (Kes 900m), Bidco Refineries (Kes 2b), The Mihrab (1.5b) and Swissport in Dar es Salaam (Kes 1b). Others are Marijani Pwani Mchangani Hotel & Resort (Zanzibar – construction ongoing), Pavilion Apartments (Bole, Addis Ababa – design ongoing) among many others. These projects have given the firm extensive experience and made it ready and capable of undertaking practically any kind of building project.
Out of these projects, the Metrix team is especially proud of the following three:
Garden City Residential and Garden City Business Park
Garden City is Kenya’s first integrated residential, retail and office (mixed-use) development, offering over 400 apartments, duplexes and family villas, an international shopping mall, 60,000 square meters of office space, a modern business hotel and state-of-the-art medical Centre (to be developed in the near future). Being part of this prestigious development has been one of Metrix’s major milestones as it has enabled the firm to grow both internally by innovating and incorporating advanced technology through implementation of BIM and use of advanced structural analytical software such as ETABS. The firm also adopted Civil 3d and Navisworks to design and model the infrastructure aspect of the development.
The Mihrab
The Mihrab is a 25-storey building shaped like a mihrab, a semi-circular alcove found in mosques that indicates the direction to face when praying. Due to the curving nature of the building, the design team faced major challenges to curve the columns such that they take the shape of the building’s façade. The challenge was overcome by incorporating current design software to model the building behavior in the occurrence of an earthquake and behaviour of columns with the floor to floor recess after the 14th floor. The building has changed the skyline of Kilimani and Nairobi since its completion and the striking Middle Eastern architecture has made it a landmark tower.
Parkroad affordable housing
Parkroad affordable housing project is the first affordable housing project under the governments Big 4 agenda to be completed. The project comprises 5 blocks of 1360 units of 1,2- & 3-bedroom houses, Including a parking silo, a junior academy block, and a shopping centre. To be involved with a vast project and the first affordable housing project of the scale and kind is something that Metrix says they are proud of. This was a fast track project and the design phase took only two months from the schematic to the detailed design and issuance of construction drawing. The structures of all blocks were completed within one year which is a very short period considering the large-scale nature of the development.
Future
There is no doubt that Metrix Integrated Consultancy is destined for bigger things. The company will continue leveraging on its highly skilled team and employing the best possible resources coupled with superior customer service to achieve the next level of service excellence.
