< Previous20 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 EDITOR’S LETTER WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM For many years, Construction Week has worked alongside the industry to share business insight in even the most difficult times, and we are certainly noticing a shift in how all stakeholders are operating as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These are unprecedented times for all businesses, but the industry will come out the other side. There are several positive stories from this. Businesses are witnessing the significant rise in e-commerce sales of construction products and materials, as well as plummeting emissions from social distancing and people staying at home igniting debates and conversations. I was recently part of a webinar, which was kindly organised by Cosentino where we had Cundall’s managing director, Richard Stratton, AESG’s director of energy and sustainable development, Philippa Grant, and Killa Design’s partner and design principal, Benjamin Piper, coming together to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting sustainable construction. Topics discussed included how COVID-19 is impacting businesses, and a generic debate on whether the industry’s focus will now shift from sustainable construction to recovering profits. While all these debates and conversations are significant, and in fact very interesting, there was one thing that stuck out to me. We are one community that is still contributing significantly for the industry. Admittedly, I had felt deflated from the impact that COVID-19 has had on us, and I often pondered on how we could continue our excellent standard of coverage. The panel discussion with Cosentino has re-ignited the spark that we can continue our coverage, and with this in mind, Construction Week will be bringing you weekly webinars through the applications Zoom or Microsoft Teams delivering the major topics with high- profile companies. We’re also going to be bringing you exclusive video interviews with several commissioner- generals of country pavilions at Expo 2020 (or now inevitably 2021) Dubai to get their reactions on the postponement and how it may impact construction of the structures. Will they slow down activities? Is there now a lack of excitement for the World Fair? You will find out through our one on one remote interviews from our excellent editorial team. Reporting in your pyjamas in the comfort of your own home - What is not to love? I say let’s embrace this change and as I’ve been told many times in my journalistic career: “Digital is the way forward”. This is now being put to the test more than ever. Change is only constant in the GCC As the Greek philosopher - Heraclitus - famously quoted, change affects us all and we each deal with change differently “REPORTING IN YOUR PYJAMAS IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME - WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE? I SAY LETS EMBRACE THIS CHANGE” Ashley Williams EditorA UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR MEP AND HVAC PROFESSIONALS TO NETWORK, LEARN, DISCUSS AND DEBATE THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY WWW.MEPMIDDLEEAST.COM/CONFERENCES WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE 2020 GROSVENOR HOUSE, DUBAI FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Anup Nagpurkar Sales Manager T: +971 4 444 3573 E: Anup.Nagpurkar@itp.com FOR OTHER ENQUIRIES: Sherdil Babar Conference Producer T: +971 4 444 3223 E: Sherdil.Babar@itp.com MEP CONTRACTORS & EN GINEERS ATTEND FOR FREEUAE ENTITIES TURN ‘COVID-19 HEROES’, CARRY OUT STERILISATION OPERATIONS , CARRY OUT STERILISATION OPERATIONS Governmental and non-governmental organisations in the region have stepped up their efforts to ensure public safety, sanitation and hygeine across industries, amid the novel coronavirus As the region’s municipality workers take to the streets in the ght against COVID-19, the rest of the UAE has joined forces by playing its part. The UAE’s National Sterilisation Programme, which is a nationwide campaign that began on 26 March, 2020, to contain the spread of the COVID-19, recently extended in Dubai to 24 hours a day across all areas and communities in the emirate, with intensi ed restrictions on movement enforced. In compliance with the UAE government’s sterilisation efforts, several governmental and non- governmental organisations in the region have ramped up their efforts to deliver sanitisation services, adhering to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The Expo 2020 Dubai authorities joined forces with various organisations including Dulsco, ADNH, Emrill, EFS, Farnek, Enova, and Dubai Municipality, to carry out sanitisation activities on-site. Master developer Nakheel also rolled out a two-week disinfection programme across 647 of its residential buildings in Dubai. UAE-based RAQ Contracting Group ensured on-site sanitation as well as workers’ hygiene through disinfection programmes across its sites of ces, dorms, and transport vehicles. The contractor also practised on-site social distancing, imposed self- quarantine on employees showing symptoms of the virus, switched to iris or facial recognition for employees’ check-in and check-out, as opposed to the previously adopted ngerprint for registration. In addition, the company records employees and visitors’ body temperatures using infrared thermometers and shared it with the HSE team, as part of its precautionary measures. The contractor also performed daily disinfection operations across personal items, vehicles, and electronic devices, and installed hand sanitising dispensers across sites. Also practising sterilisation of labour camps is Dubai-based construction company ASGC, which, in addition to the sterilisation and deep cleaning activities on-site, deployed registered nurses to carry out health screening and body temperature monitoring of its employees. UAE construction company Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group showed its support towards the National Sterilisation Programme, by employing 28 teams in Al Ain and 18 teams in Dubai to carry out disinfection operations. Other organisations that offered sanitisation solutions include Tawafuq Facilities Management; Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies; and ALDAR Properties’ Khidmah. Acknowledging the need to generate awareness about the ght against COVID-19, UAE purpose-built economic zones operator, ZonesCorp collaborated with the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi (DoH), to host a workshop for the workers across companies and industrial establishments based in its economic zones. ZonesCorp also established quarantine facilities within designated clusters, for workers from outside the country, as well as performed disinfection operations at residential cities and in the buses, which are used to transport workers to and from the cities. Dubai’s Roads and Transports Authority (RTA), Sharjah’s Roads & Transports Authority (SRTA), and Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) ensured public safety and hygiene by carrying out sterilisation and disinfection of its public transport means and facilities. Meanwhile, airports across the region, which could prove to be potential breeding grounds for COVID-19, have undergone massive sterilisation and disinfection drives as well. Image: Dubai Media Of ce CITY FOCUS 22 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COMCOMMENT 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 23WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM REGIONAL DEMAND FOR DEBRIS PROTECTION SCREENS Since 2000, the number of 200-metre-plus buildings has grown by 464%. Nowhere has this boom been more apparent than in the cities and metropolises of the Middle East – a region which now houses 23% of the world’s 100 tallest buildings. But, as growth continues skyward, considerations around safety and debris protection have become increasingly important. More than one million people across the globe are moving to urban areas every single week, resulting in the exponential growth of cities worldwide. But, with space at a premium, the trend within construction is for buildings to venture upwards rather than outwards. On the construction site itself, workers on the ground must be kept safe from the work that is taking place above them and, at the other end of the spectrum, falls from height are a common cause of fatal accidents for those working in the construction industry. To further explore these challenges, RMD Kwikform carried out research to uncover learnings on commercial building construction methods. The research looked in detail at safety, productivity and the use of formwork and falsework systems. Leading engineering consultants and contractors across the world were surveyed, before the results were collated, analysed, and published in an in-depth report. The results shows that 40% of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa saw falling debris as a problem when working on projects, while 35% agreed that more needed to be done around edge protection RMD Kwikform’s divisional managing director for the Middle East, Paul Williams, explains how its latest research addresses the need for further edge protection systems for contractors systems. Elsewhere in the study came some potential answers to the issues being discussed. These results suggested that the intersection of safety and productivity is a concern for many professionals. In particular, the role that multi- level screens can play in keeping sites safe while improving the output of site workers. From this perspective, 49% of respondents globally agreed that multi- level safety screens offer productivity gains, while additionally improving health and safety. Contractors should be sure that the safety screens they select for a project both help with debris protection and provide additional bene ts. As buildings continue to get taller, this assurance has never been more critical. RMD Kwikform’s latest debris safety screen system named Ascent 200 [image: Supplied]SITE VISIT WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM24 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 The art of The art of “connecting “connecting fashion and fashion and living”living” INTERVIEW AND WORDS BY RANJU WARRIER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY AJITH NARENDRA In an exclusive conversation with Construction Week, Mohamed Gamal, project director at Dubai-based contracting heavyweight, ASGC, outlines the challenges, construction methodology, technology adoption, and supply chain efficiency, behind Emaar’s Dubai Mall Boulevard Expansion projectFOLLOW CONSTRUCTION WEEK @CWMIDDLEEAST SITE VISIT WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 25SITE VISIT 26 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM While shoppers enjoy a shopping-spree, foodies gorge on their favourite cuisines, and children — alike adults — indulge in various entertainment activities at the Dubai Mall, more than 1,500 workers are taking shifts to complete the shopping destination’s expansion. Developed by Mohamed Alabbar-led Emaar Properties, it is touted as the largest mall in the world. Dubai-based contractor ASGC Construction LLC, as the main contractor, is tasked with the Dubai Mall Boulevard Expansion project, which includes the conversion of multiple levels of the existing car parking to a double-height retail mall. Sitting in his white-walled three- metre-high office at the site, project director at ASGC, Mohamed Gamal, takes a seat on the other side of the table, and tells Construction Week: “Dubai Mall was completed in 2007. Emaar wanted to expand the mall and add new retail areas to fulfil the requirements of shoppers. It started with two projects. The first one was fashion expansion, which is now open and running; and then, our project.” “The project is mainly in the cinema parking area, which is at the MBR Boulevard. The boulevard is located opposite Fountain Views, a four-tower project.” Gamal explains: “Emaar’s concept was connecting, and not just adding new retail areas to the mall, but also facilitating a shopping experience for the people who are going to live in Fountain Views. The whole concept was adding more retail to the mall and adding a link to the Fountain Views and Za’abeel Project.” As part of the project, a bridge connection to the Dubai Mall is being constructed by the contractor. This bridge connection has three levels, one of them being a pedestrian crossing. ASGC’s project takes a major proportion of the cinema parking, which takes away many parking slots. “Emaar had to compensate for these wasted parking slots by providing parking in Fountain Views. “The Za’abeel Project also features a huge number of parking spaces, which could be used by shoppers,” Gamal explains. Levels 7 and 8 of the bridge are driveways, while Level 5 will feature a pedestrian crossing that on both sides will have retail shops. This pedestrian Visitors coming from Fountain Views and entering from the MBR Boulevard could take escalators supplied by FInland’s Helsinki-listed KONE to entre the mallSITE VISIT 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 27WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM crossing, Gamal says, is connected to the mall enabling visitors to see the ice rink. Visitors entering from the MBR Boulevard can take the escalators to go to the mall. Finland’s Helsinki-listed KONE has supplied the escalators. ASGC’s original scope of work includes adding two floors of retail, and linking the parking to Za’abeel parking, which is located across the road from Financial Centre Street and Fountain View parking as well as MBR Boulevard parking. Unlike many other projects, where a contractor begins with excavation and shoring works, ASGC started with the demolition. The contractor had to first take down a full level of parking, where it demolished the concrete slab to create a six-metre height, which according to Gamal is “almost double than the existing parking height”. “The main challenge was carrying out the structural demolition of the concrete element.” Gamal says, it was extremely difficult, with shoppers all around the mall, and cars being parked at the parking levels — both above and below. Giving Construction Week an exclusive site tour of the Dubai Mall Boulevard Expansion, Gamal says: “First of all ASGC’s scope of work includes adding two oors of retail, and linking to Za’abeel parking Project director at ASGC, Mohamed Gamal Overall construction and MEP works at the project are 65% complete, with ASGC now moving ahead with t-out and nishing works the project is not a straightforward construction job. We had to take a different approach, wherein our main strategy was to keep the mall operations running, unaffected by our construction works. The first step was to provide new ramps that takes visitors above and below the parking on the sides.” This helped the contractor, which carried out the project in phases as part of its construction strategy, take the middle portion of the parking. While ASGC was carrying out the demolition work at the parking level, Emaar decided to change the design of The Village to create a different retail concept, as Gamal recalls. “We had to demolish The Village façade from level P3 all the way up to the existing retractable ceiling and to build a concrete steel decking slab in the middle (level P5). Starting from parking 3 or the ground level to the new slab decking level P5 will be new retails and then from the level P5 (mall first floor) to the new skylight with new evolutionally design concept, with no levels in the middle,” he adds. The contractor carried out demolition for nine months, which included frames, main concrete slabs, and finished façades SITE VISIT 28 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM on a daily basis. ASGC had to also remove the existing ceiling at The Village and create a skylight, as part of its scope of work. ”The Village is in the middle of the shopping area, so it was even more challenging. Due to the tight logistics, we couldn’t bring heavy machinery and equipment such as cranes inside. We had to implement several out-of-the-box methodologies,” Gamal explains. “We built a moving platform, also called rail drifting, that moves on rails, to remove and reinstall the new skylight.” Around 42,000m2 of concrete was demolished, with over 3,000 tonnes of steel slabs being installed for the structure. Speaking about dumping construction waste at secured places, Gamal explains: “There are approved dumping points by Dubai Municipality and we send these demolished materials to those places. There are specialists that take these materials and recycle them.” According to Gamal, demolition is “a very special work”, and in order to implement it, ASGC needed a specialist, and Dubai-based demolition contractor GTS were brought on-board to take the job. “It is important that you understand the scope of work and the sequence to get the project done in the right way.” Entering the construction site through a make-shift entrance and exit door, Gamal walks through Level 5 and pointing upwards at a clearly visible demolished area, he says: “This was the Level 6 slab, we demolished it, giving a clear view of Level 7.” ASGC has its own supply chain, which includes Al Shafar United-Electro- Mechanical Engineering (ASU) as the electromechanical company; JML for façade installation and aluminium works; Hard Block Factory (HBF) is carrying out blockwork; and Hard Precast Building Systems (HPBS) is supplying the precast panels. “We have used our supply chain wherever it was possible.” However, Gamal adds, at certain instances it had to pick specialist companies, including for demolition and strengthening works. “Strengthening work is done through concrete jacketing.” SPME has been appointed to strengthen the core walls, columns, beam, and some portion of the slab, due to new loading requirements. The company had carried out strengthening for the fashion avenue expansion as well.” Gamal is quick to note that the contractor has a noise monitoring tool in place for demolition work, which is one of the biggest challenges of the project. “According to the allowed demolishing noise level we must not exceed 70 decibels. Keeping that in mind, a majority of our demolition works have been carried out before the mall opening and after the mall closing hours.” During the site visit, Construction Week also had the chance to view the last portion of the demolition area, where “DUE TO THE TIGHT LOGISTICS, WE COULDN’T BRING HEAVY MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT SUCH AS CRANES INSIDE. WE HAD TO IMPLEMENT SEVERAL OUT-OF-THE-BOX METHODOLOGIES” MOHAMED GAMAL, PROJECT DIRECTOR “It is important that you understand the scope of work and the sequence to get the project done in the right way”SITE VISIT 18 - 30 APRIL, 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 29WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM works. “We have been using Revit and building information modelling (BIM) in all our projects. We conduct a laser survey that includes mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) installations, and insert that data into the models. With every step, there were difficulties with the logistics and technology.” ASGC has also used robots for demolition; a compressor pump to pour micro concrete to strengthen the beams. Mobile cranes are being used to carry steel beams. “We have six mobile cranes at the site. Some of them are owned by us, while others are supplied by various suppliers including Al Faris and Gallagher,” Gamal adds. “We have two shifts each day, with the first one starting at 7am until 6pm, and the second shift starts at 6pm with the work continuing till 6:30am.” As part of its efforts to ensure a health and safety environment around the work site, ASGC has rolled out the “I am Committed” programme under its “Target Zero Committement” safety campaign. According to the programme, everyone at the firm is committed to zero accidents, environmental issues, and incidents. ASGC’s health and safety security activities were at a halt for the day, since the mall operations had started. “Before demolition, we have an structural calculation in place. Post- tensioning beams have been used here, which have highly-tensed cables inside, so we have to perform tender-locking first. This was a challenge, because if we carry out demolition activities while the cable is stressed, it can blow and hurt someone,” Gamal explains. Part of ASGC’s project also includes the construction of a substation, which will fulfill the power needs of the new retail area, by providing additional power load to the existing grid of the mall. The contractor is supplying 14 new transformers and a new switch gear, which includes high voltage panels. It has also installed water tanks and chilled water lines that provide chilled water systems. Gamal says: “In terms of power and cooling supply, we have a whole new grid to serve the expansion.” He adds: “Eventually, the substation will be owned by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), but we are bringing the equipment and building the facility.” The facility is almost complete, with DEWA having inspected it for civil environmental manager (HSSE), Satheesh Kumar tells Construction Week: “We have a designated area for hot works. It is one of the many precautions we have adopted to reduce the spread of sparks during on- going hot works.” ASGC has dedicated a small area on site that has been covered with heavy-duty fire retardant tarps to carry out hot works, including welding, cutting, brasing, soldering, grinding, as well as when using fire— or spark— producing tools. “We provide training, awareness, and welfare facilities to our workers. Under the programme, all our workforce remain in the frontline to report any hazards; and they are being consulted in generating risk assessment.” From 9 March 2020, ASGC has recorded six million Lost Time Injury-free (LTI) man-hours at the project, while its target is to reach eight million safe-man hours upon completion of the project.” Both, overall construction and MEP works at the project are 65% complete, with ASGC now moving ahead with fit- out and finishing works, which includes the final phase and external façade. Gamal concludes: “We have been paying special attention to this project, as it is very important to us at ASGC.” The contractor had to rst take down a full level of parking, where it demolished the concrete slab to create a six-metre-high areaNext >