Currently an Associate, Maya’s prolific career at Dar has included stints as the Head of the Structures Department in Dar Amman and extensive experience as a Project Manager handling ventures for some of the firm’s most valuable clients.

What drew you initially to the field of structural engineering? And what’s motivating you to remain in this field today?

Well, this question brings me back to when I was in a dilemma choosing between two completely different majors at the American University of Beirut: the pre-med track or civil engineering. To be frank, what made me decide to go for the latter was mainly challenging the perception of people around me that this is a “manly” job.

What keeps me motivated is the dynamic nature of this job. You get to learn something new in every project you work on and with every client you serve. I am continuously exposed to a variety of intriguing projects and each one of them enhances and captivates my interest not only in resolving challenging and complex aspects but also and just as importantly in gaining inspired creativity.

For each project that I worked on and that was executed, it was really rewarding and a source of great pleasure to see the structural designs built safely, serving their purpose, and knowing that they will stay in their settings for many decades to come. This is a profession that made me proud of my work, and I am grateful to the firm that gave me the opportunity to achieve.

Can you share with us some of the highlights of your journey at Dar so far?

My journey at Dar started back in 1996 when I joined Dar for six weeks of internship. I went back to complete my last year at AUB with a solid determination that this is the place where I want to work. Effectively, I came back to Dar in October 1997 as a fresh graduate junior engineer in the structural department without even applying for work at any other place.

Working at Dar is an enriching experience yet a demanding one. I passed through periods of ups and downs, and it wasn’t easy to prove myself in this highly professional environment. In my journey at Dar, I learned how to constructively fall down and how to rise up again stronger and more determined. I started as a junior engineer in the structural department in Dar Beirut, then a team leader responsible for a group of engineers, to a head of a newly established structural department in Dar Amman and last but not least, a project manager in one of the most active Dar areas- the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

As a junior engineer, I worked under the supervision of many group leaders. At the beginning, my technical knowledge and skills were not much appreciated, and I was handling monotonous assignments, which was kind of demotivating. However, with the persistence to learn and to gain experience, the continuous interest in being involved in more challenging projects and the teamwork environment at Dar, the situation changed. I was able to execute my role effectively, contribute, collaborate with my colleagues, and add value while greatly enjoying what I was doing.

As a team leader, I wanted to prove myself technically. This opportunity came in 2006 with the Rabigh Cable Factory project in Jeddah, in which I was able to show my capabilities in handling critical issues, my commitment to deliver and my dedication. The project deadlines were scheduled with penalties on delays while a war started simultaneously in Lebanon. In spite of the force majeure circumstances, I was able to manage the project successfully with the limited number of people that were able to reach the office and to deliver on time which reminds me now of the saying: “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

As a head of department in Dar Amman, leadership skills, in addition to the technical ones, were of high importance to train, teach and transfer Dar’s engineering culture and values to newly hired staff and fresh graduates; assign the right engineers to the right positions and responsibilities; encourage team work and cooperation spirit; and lead by example. Furthermore, as a head of department, I had to perfect key skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making in order to stand up to the technically demanding projects and tight schedules.

Currently, as a project manager in Dar Riyadh, I’m enjoying the new challenges in dealing with strategic clients and in being on the frontlines for winning, managing and delivering prestigious Dar projects. This new position is giving me more exposure in managing mega projects without going too much into the technical details. Nevertheless, I feel that my solid technical background in design coupled with the masters’ degree I got in Engineering Management back in 2004, have given me sufficient strength to handle these new challenges successfully.

Dar’s structural department plays a key role in the vast majority of the company’s projects. What is the scope of this department and what services does it offer? What types of projects offer the greatest challenges on a structural design front? And what do you believe is the department’s greatest impact?

The structure to buildings, bridges and other facilities is like the skeleton to the human body. The importance of structural design lies in the main fact that it ensures safety and comfort to the facility and its users. So unlike other engineering disciplines, mistakes in structural engineering may cost human lives and thus can’t be tolerated at all. The scope of the structural department is vast and includes design services to Architecture (low, medium and high-rise buildings), Transportation (bridges, tunnels and underpasses) and infrastructure (marine structures, networks, reservoirs and the like).

The greatest challenges are imposed 1) by iconic projects where the architecture demands in terms of height, span or form impose on the structure unconventional design solutions and 2) by the fact that most of Dar projects are fast track in which the structural engineer is required to provide structural solutions and foundation design for construction, early in the schedule while architecture is still being changed at the conceptual level.

As for the department’s greatest impact, I believe it lies in its continuous success in providing safe, durable and competitive solutions that cope with the increasingly daring architectural ideas and concepts. We all know that devastating structural failures have occurred throughout modern history; from Tacoma Bridge in the US in 1940 to the roof collapse of Terminal 2E in Charles De-Gaulle Airport in France in 2004 to the recent failure in 2018 of Genoa bridge in Italy; so the excellent record of Dar’s structural department in terms of structural safety from 1956 to date is really an achievement by itself and is the result of combining high technical qualifications with strict quality control throughout all these years.

The structural engineering department is always experimenting with new innovations – can you tell us about some of the new technologies and new practices that your team has implemented and that you found most promising and effective? And what are the horizons you’re personally looking forward to?

With time, structural engineering has changed a lot. Computer software programs nowadays do most of the tedious and routine analyses, calculations and drafting. The role of the structural design engineer has hence changed to mainly selecting and implementing the structural concept that best suits the project objectives; in terms of innovative materials, construction techniques, sustainability, durability, circular economy, etc. Dar’s structural department has in the last decade invested a lot in exploring these new dimensions and technologies of the industry and in training our engineers. I can mention our involvement in using new construction materials and systems (such as composite materials, fiber reinforced polymers, high performance concrete, diagrid systems, tensile structures and cables, etc.), 3D modelling tools, generative design, modular construction, 3D printing, artificial intelligence etc. Innovations are also being extended to site supervision of structural works using apps, robots, drones and the like.

As Project Manager, what have you found to be the greatest challenges over the past year, with the pandemic? What were some of your strategies for ensuring business continuity and continued growth?

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt by all businesses around the globe. The challenges were interrelated and included a combination of world slowing economies, reduced public and private expenditures, health hazards, travel restrictions and long lockdown periods. During the pandemic period, I was in my current position as a project manager in Dar Riyadh, and I had to deal with these unprecedented conditions. To mitigate these constraints, I arranged to implement the firm’s strategies in enhancing virtual communication, encouraging the staff to work effectively from home, establishing plan-B production scenarios to ensure business continuity, and maintaining constructive and positive attitude towards Clients to assure them of Dar’s continued commitment in spite of the pandemic.

How do you see the future of the structural engineering domain and what would be your advice to the upcoming generation of structural engineers?

Unlike people who think that robots, artificial intelligence and machine learning will waive the need for engineers in general and structural engineers in particular, I believe that no machine can substitute the structural engineer in creating a safe and efficient structural concept that makes the dream of an architect come true … and be built. I see the future of structural engineering more in innovative materials and construction technologies rather than in conventional analyses, calculations and detailing; the latter being increasingly taken care of by software and artificial intelligence. Structural engineering nowadays is a field for continuous learning.

My advice to the upcoming generation of structural engineers is 1) to always think of their profession as a career and not as a mere employment; 2) to keep learning and exploring new and innovative technologies because this is what the future is about; 3) to tackle their designs with the utmost care and be always aware that it’s the safety of people that lies in our hands and finally 4) to believe in themselves and to never give up.