| The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a visionary urban development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, spanning over five million square meters and designed by world-renowned architects. As a dynamic business and lifestyle hub, it seamlessly blends cutting-edge infrastructure with modern urban living.
Built with sustainability at its core, KAFD stands as one of the world’s largest real estate projects to achieve LEED Platinum certification for green neighborhood development—the highest recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council. This prestigious accreditation underscores KAFD’s commitment to environmental responsibility and energy efficiency. Owned and managed by the King Abdullah Financial District Development & Management Company (KAFD DMC)—a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) established in 2018—KAFD continues to set new benchmarks for urban innovation, sustainability, and economic growth. |
Enhancing Efficiency and Sustainability with IBM Maximo at KAFD: Optimizing Asset Maintenance for a Smarter Future
Business Challenge
| The King Abdullah Financial District Development & Management Company (KAFD DMC) faced the formidable task of ensuring uninterrupted operation and maintenance of a vast array of mechanical and electrical assets within the expansive King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Spanning over five million square meters, KAFD encompasses 94 buildings, including Riyadh’s tallest skyscraper, and serves as a bustling hub for business and lifestyle activities. To maintain the highest standards of performance and reliability, KAFD DMC manages over 100,000 assets, such as generators, transformers, HVAC systems, elevators, plumbing, lighting, and safety controls. This extensive portfolio necessitates a robust enterprise asset management (EAM) solution capable of handling predictive, preventive, corrective, and emergency maintenance across a rapidly growing infrastructure. Additionally, the system needed to efficiently manage the supply and storage of maintenance spare parts and coordinate the swift dispatch of contractors to address any arising issues, all while seamlessly integrating with other enterprise systems to support KAFD’s continuous expansion. |
Selecting the Optimal EAM Solution and Strategic Deployment Partner
| The KAFD DMC team established a clear set of criteria for selecting an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solution to support its expansive and rapidly growing infrastructure. Their key requirements included:
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- Comprehensive asset maintenance capabilities to efficiently manage tens of thousands of assets across an extensive footprint.
- Scalability to accommodate KAFD’s continuous expansion.
- Seamless integration with existing and future enterprise systems.
- A reliable local implementation partner to provide expertise, deployment assistance, and ongoing support.
- After evaluating various solutions, the team selected the IBM® Maximo® Application Suite, a decision that Majed Al-Daij, VP of Business Solutions Delivery at KAFD DMC, describes as a critical milestone in their digital transformation journey.
| “One of the strategic decisions we had to make as part of our digital transformation roadmap was selecting the right EAM solution,” Al-Daij explains. “When KAFD was established in 2018, we committed to best-of-breed IT solutions. Maximo was the leading asset management solution then, and it remains the leader today. Its ability to integrate seamlessly with third-party ERP and enterprise systems aligns perfectly with our approach.” |
| To ensure a smooth implementation and sustained support, KAFD DMC partnered with eSolutions Saudia LLC, an IBM Business Partner specializing in EAM and IoT solutions. This collaboration provided the technical expertise and local presence needed to maximize the benefits of IBM Maximo while supporting KAFD’s long-term growth and operational efficiency. |
