Q&A session with Biyat's founder - Luay Zayed

What inspired you to set up Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd.?

I worked as an environmental project engineer for JLR automotive in the UK for the best part of a decade - joining via their prestigious graduate scheme in 2011 and moving through the ranks to 'senior project engineer' as our team grew from a dozen to 200+ personnel in a period of enormous growth and investment.

The global powertrain facility engineering team I became a part of really felt like family and I was able to grow both personally and professionally.

During my time there, we developed and successfully launched several advanced flagship manufacturing (engine and battery assembly) facilities in phases, both in the UK and abroad. My main focus included all things environmental throughout all stages of the project lifecycle from concept design to full volume operational launch - deliverables included; 'Recycling facility design & build', 'Energy efficiency projects', 'EIA', 'Consents & permitting', 'ISO 14001 system set-up', 'Incident investigation', 'Sustainability master planning', 'EMS dashboard customisation', 'cleanroom engineering', 'clean tech feasibility studies'...you name it!

Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd. was formed to provide the same kind of environmental facility engineering support for aspiring advanced industrial facility developers - globally!

What makes Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd. stand out from the crowd?

There are many environmental consultancies about, mostly they focus on very specific environmental issues such as asbestos removal, noise analysis, EIA i.e. visual amenity, ground remediation etc.

What sets Biyat apart is its focus on the facility engineering element - ensuring 'green thinking' and 'sustainability' become a key ingredient baked into the design of the new facility from the get-go. Biyat also offers a turnkey package to aspiring developers - we have experience in design, construction, installation, and commissioning of various systems that contribute to the environmental well-being of a new facility - be it recycling systems, water harvesting, renewables, waste logistics, etc. We also fully integrate with manufacturing engineering teams to ensure the processes and equipment are as sustainable and energy-efficient as possible - looking ahead at future changes in regulations that may affect engineering decisions 'now'.

Once the 'green' facility is complete, and hopefully accredited with BREEAM and the like, we support the operations team throughout the launch phase until full production with key deliverables such as ISO 14001/50001 system set-up and certification, seasonal commissioning and continuous improvement i.e. operational energy efficiency projects.

How did you break into engineering?

After finishing secondary and college education in Cardiff, Wales, UK - I wasn't sure where I wanted to go next. My mum worked next to the Armed Forces recruitment office - so I applied to enter the Royal Navy and went through the entire recruitment process. However, I was unsuccessful upon failing a medical due to short-sightedness. It led me though, to learn more about the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - which is part of the Merchant Navy.

I sent lots of applications to various marine engineering cadetship programmes and at the age of 17 started travelling to the likes of Kent and London for interviews - one of them was with Maersk Marine, a global shipping and logistics giant, then based in Canary Wharf, London.

I got offered a prestigious cadetship starting in 2003 out of South Shields, Newcastle Upon Tyne - I spent many happy years hopping between ships and South Tyneside's nautical college as the cadet programme was highly focussed on sandwich-style learning - with the course split between college and considerable periods at sea as a trainee marine engineer working in international waters. In 2007 I graduated with a BEng Marine Engineering (Hons) in addition to the NVQ (Level 3) and HND in Marine Engineering obtained via the cadetship. I then continued working as a marine engineering officer before moving to Leeds to commence my master's degree in Combustion & Energy.

What is the most difficult project you've done to date?

Most recently in the Mission Critical sector, I was tasked with the construction management and QHSE assurance of multiple large data centre developments (built in parallel) across the MENA region.

It was a really tough gig on all fronts, however - the teams across the sites (from multiple organisations) were really amazing and showed real grit to get the facilities across the finish line.

In this role, I gained significant health & safety experience in the construction sector. For me, advanced risk awareness should be in every engineer's arsenal and can contribute to 'next level' project management and delivery.

I also achieved 'Certified 'Mission Critical Professional (CMCP)' and OSHA Construction Safety accreditation - both really important assets in the data centre industry right now.

Having previously been involved with only modular data centre deployments - it was my first-time being heavily part of the construction process from start to finish so it was a real eye-opener. In previous roles I was more involved in the facility design and master-planning up front, and then took over from the builder at the 'early access' stage to commence advanced facility fit outs and then launch the facility through to full volume production.

On these projects, we had significant success employing behavioural change initiatives to maintain the highest levels of safety across all sites with tangible results! Our motto was 'One Team. One Mission'.

What are the key strengths you bring to the project team?

I've been really blessed to work with a vast variety of people from all walks of life - from all over the world. Luckily, I've had lots of nice things said about me along the way!

A few positive traits quoted from colleagues note my "influential leadership" and "ability to connect with people from all cultures and disciplines", plus "he makes any team he is a part of better", "an effective communicator", "excellent project delivery attributes" and that I show a "meticulous approach to every task".

What kind of projects are you looking to get into?

For me the most exciting projects on the market at the moment are related to gigafactories (EV, battery manufacturing) and mission critical facilities such as data centres across the EMEA region.

I really feel my experience has a lot to contribute to such projects - some wacky stuff I've been involved in include developing 'shop floor fire strategies on how to handle battery systems in thermal runaway', 'conversion of a concrete fuel tank design into a quarantine system', 'optimisation of a massive 5MW roof solar array that had generation issues', 'finding ways to achieve £1 million pounds worth of energy savings in a new factory', 'design and installation of a confidential scrap mutilation machine (it worked!)', 'installation of bespoke emergency response signage in manufacturing halls' and the 'design & installation of cleanroom systems in critical assembly halls'.

...and finally, what do you get up to in your spare time?

I like to keep busy in my spare time, at the moment I have quite a busy schedule outside of work. Aside from being a husband and running after my little ones Yusuf and Cyrene - I also train in Muy Thai kickboxing 3-4 times a week. I really recommend it for those seeking both a physical and mental workout. I'm also writing a book about 'self-reflection' at the moment and enjoy learning languages. Although I don't consider myself a master - I've tried to learn a bit of Welsh, French, Arabic, Swahili, Sinhalese, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and German in my almost 40 years to date - plus basic greetings, etc. in other languages.

We hope you found this article useful!

If you are looking for professional facility engineering / project management support relating to your next industrial mega-facility design & build project, with a strong focus on environment, health & safety.

Contact — Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd (biyatenergyenvironment.com)

This article was written by Luay Zayed, Founder' of Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd. A global energy and environmental consultancy specializing in turnkey engineering solutions that protect the environment and improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing & industrial sectors.