Palm cranes

The cranes fit on site in a 'curved oblong' shape.
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Let’s face it; building sites are generally pretty grim places to work. A bleak landscape with heat, dust and occupational hazards are quite the industry norm out here.

While there is little that can be done about the heat and the dust, the other aspects are a little better on the site that we are visiting today.

For one, the skyline is far from bleak, thanks to the ever-changing vista across the Arabian Gulf, but more importantly the workplace hazards have been reduced a little, thanks to a modern anti-collision system fitted to the tower cranes working on site.

To be fair, this site is hardly the most complex in terms of cranes. Five fixed-jib Korean units are working on the resort which will comprise of the main hotel block, shaped roughly like a ‘W’, with a further block on the back.

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The rest of the development has half a dozen other buildings, plus various smaller structures, the shape of which is becoming apparent now that the formwork system is beginning to rise out of the ground.

BREAKWATER
The project itself is quite interesting. Situated on the breakwater of the Palm Jumeirah next to the Atlantis Hotel, this is surely one of the most prime real estate sites in the world, whatever the economic climate.

Mirk General Trading owns the local franchise of posh French hotel chain Sofitel and it has appointed Burt Hill as the lead consultant and Evan Lim – Penta Construction as the main contractor.

Because the development is on the curved breakwater of the Palm, it is not completely symmetrical.

Instead it resembles a kind of ‘curved oblong’ and as such the pattern that the cranes have been divided into meant that there are overlaps on each, as well as ‘no hoisting areas’, namely zones that the cranes are not permitted to slew into.

Working on separate structures at the same time, means that communication might not always be clear between teams, and as such the project manager took the decision to install an anti-collision system known as the AGS AC3.