< PreviousSPECIAL REPORT 10 CONSTRUCTION WEEK FEBRUARY 2021WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEE WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM “Holding our position as a recognised market leader in the industry”FEBRUARY 2021 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 11 SPECIAL REPORT Construction Week’s formwork knowledge partner, RMD Kwikform, discusses their plans to increase market share through sector diversification by taking a selective approach While we cannot predict how 2021 will fare as the COVID -19 crisis looms over the industry, UK-headquartered RMD Kwikform believes that “significant opportunities” still exist for the formwork sector to grow despite inevitable challenges. Having a presence in the UAE and wider Middle East region for more than 40 years, RMD Kwikform is regarded as a market leader within the industry and has continually brought new products, safety and efficiency and technical innovation to the market. The firm has been involved with some of the biggest projects in the region including successfully delivering The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences, as well as Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al Wasl Plaza, among other projects within Expo 2020’s 4.38km2 site. Formwork Opportunities Speaking about the future opportunities for the formwork sector, RMD Kwikform’s country managing director, Andy Teesdale, exclusively told Construction Week that he expects “heightened construction activity” in the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “We expect to see heightened construction activity in KSA through the course of 2021 as the planned mega- projects continue to mobilise, while Qatar will continue to offer opportunity in the final build ahead of the World Cup in 2022,” WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM RUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM FOLLOW CONSTRUCTION WEEK @CWMIDDLEEAST said Teesdale. “Other opportunities will continue to come from contractors looking to adopt innovative, safe and efficient system formwork solutions to reduce program times, labour and costs. The role of technology Elaborating on adaptations from contractors, Teesdale points out that the construction industry has been slow in implementing change and adaptations, but changing how it operates will have “a meaningful and lasting impact”. “For a long time, the construction industry has been neglected by technology and innovation. However, the industry is finally experiencing an injection of SPECIAL REPORT 12 CONSTRUCTION WEEK FEBRUARY 2021 construction and data-driven construction. “In the future, a high level of automation will lead to fewer people being present on site due to the growing lack of skilled labour, among other factors,” he says. “People will, however, remain an essential part of the automated building site. Their tasks will shift toward the use and application of modern technologies. “Recycling will also gain even greater “Without doubt, engineering and construction rms need to innovate to compete and win projects in order to improve their nancial results. Development and effective use of tech can provide important competitive advantages.” significance due to the ecological and political pressures on saving raw materials and reducing landfill requirements.” Confronting challenges Although technologies will bring plenty of scope for the industry, Teesdale warned that we must confront challenges with “purpose and speed” in 2021 in order to thrive. “As the pandemic continues, we cannot predict what 2021 will bring. We will continue to align the business to the current market conditions, while also focusing on limiting risks through a selective approach,” WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM innovation and technology that will have a lasting impact across productivity, safety and connectivity,” says Teesdale. He added: “Without doubt, engineering and construction firms need to innovate to compete and win projects in order to improve their financial results. Development and effective use of new technology can provide important competitive advantages for engineering and construction firms. “These advantages stem from technical capability and improvements in operations.” Teesdale believed that technology would “influence” the future of the construction industry and has proven to be successful especially during 2020. “Remote working has encouraged companies to revisit the size of their office space and continue to deploy the working from home concept for specific staff and departments to save costs and enhance productivity.” He added: “There will also be more focus for procurement, providing an efficient and sustainable use of resources will play a decisive future role as a response to the challenges of resource scarcity and climate change. This will go hand in hand with an increased use of renewable resources and alternative sustainable materials.” For construction specifically, Teesdale went on to say that there would be further inclusions of automation, modular Construction on Dubai Hills Mall is beginning to take shape Photo courtesy: © RMD Kwikform Andy Teesdale Country Managing Director at RMD Kwikform Photo courtesy: RMD KwikformFEBRUARY 2021 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 13 SPECIAL REPORT says Teesdale. “We will monitor operating costs and maximise return on capital employed. The business will stringently review and improve inter-department effiencies and continue to support and service our customers.” UAE outlook Earlier Teesdale predicted an uptake of new project wins in the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but Teesdale admitted that there are on-going challenges and uncertainty in the UAE. However, he revealed to Construction Week that he is confident these issues are being addressed, and the UAE would become "the regional hot-spot" for investment, development and construction activity going forward. “The pipeline of new projects in the UAE has reduced significantly over the past 12 months and has been further impacted by COVID-19. We hope this will change throughout the course of 2021 and we see more project awards coming through and a progressive recovery as controls over COVID-19 are implemented.” With fluctuating market conditions, there has never been a better and more important time to be talking about health and safety. Health and safety played a huge role in business operations and has been ramped up significantly throughout the global pandemic. Expanding on the growing role of precautionary measures put in place by the WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM government, Teesdale pledged that health and safety has always been at the forefront of RMD Kwikform’s operations. “The health and safety of our employees is paramount, with and without a global pandemic. All offices, facilities and work-stations comply with government guidelines,” adds Teesdale. “We have demonstrated our commitment to this by maintaining ISO45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety certification.” With many twists and turns expected for 2021, RMD Kwikform’s Teesdale concluded the interview by telling Construction Week: “RMD Kwikform would continue to focus on wider market opportunities, exploring and evaluating opportunities to expand our footprint across the wider Middle East and North Africa and Levant region.” “As the pandemic continues, we cannot predict what 2021 will bring.” Photo courtesy: © RMD KwikformINTERVIEW 14 CONSTRUCTION WEEK FEBRUARY 2021WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Safety, durability and sustainability should not be overlooked by the industry, especially by companies specialising in high voltage works. One firm such as US-headquartered giant Altec prioritises sustainability and safety, and this is represented through its equipment portfolio. Altec is one of the largest manufacturers in the US for truck-mounted utility equipment and the company exports its equipment to more than 100 countries, including the Middle East. Altec’s units comprises insulated aerial work platforms, digger derricks, cranes, hotline insulator washers, and specialty equipment, Ali J. Ahmad-Pai, Area Sales Manager for the company’s Middle East and Africa, South and Central Asia operations, says. A closer look at Altec’s equipment “Altec’s cranes including AC45-127S, AC30-101B, AC30-53T – are designed to be mounted on commercial chassis and can be shipped in kit form. Oilfield service providers in particular favour Altec boom truck cranes for their capability to get close to wellheads in order to carry out well maintenance,’’ Ahmad-Pai says. Altec offers a complete line of aerial units for the electric utility, telecommunications, tree care, construction, and lights and signs markets. The company works directly with the end-user to help them identify which equipment design will best suit their needs. For instance, it manufactures insulating and non-insulating aerial work platforms with multiple configurations, including telescopic, telescopic articulating, overcenter, and non-overcenter. Altec also works with chassis manufacturers in the US, Europe, and Japan to ensure the customer receives their chassis of choice. Oman-headquartered Altec customer RAY International, an Omani company that specialises in technology, design and environmental engineering, construction, services, manufacturing, trading, training and logistics, is an Altec customer that leverages its equipments across projects, Ahmad-Pai explains. These include “insulated aerial work platforms and truck-mounted cranes.’’ RAY International’s projects include substation works, transmission line works, cable laying works, overhead line works, condition monitoring works, asset improvement works, coating services, and Altec prioritises safety and durability for its equipment US-headquartered Altec, which is an equipment and service provider for the electric utility, telecommunications, contractor, lights and signs, and tree care markets discusses the importance of custom equipment for the Middle East construction industry Altec is one of the largest manufacturers in the United States for truck-mounted utility equipment [Photo courtesy: Supplied]FEBRUARY 2021 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 15WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM overhead live line works. “We have had a strong relationship with RAY International UAE and Oman for nearly 10 years and are RAY International’s preferred choice for truck-mounted utility equipment,” Ahmad-Pai says. “RAY has used eight Altec Aerial Work Platforms including five Altec AM900s, two Altec A77Ts, and one Altec TA50. Ray International also has an Altec AC38- 127S, a truck-mounted crane, and an HLIW-1600T, a trailer-mounted hotline insulator washer, Praveenkumar Kumarasamy, general manager for RAY International’s UAE and Bahrain operations, says. He adds: ‘’RAY International intr oduced liv e line w ork to power utilities in Oman as well as the UAE. In both countries, we marked our foray into live line works through the use of Altec units; our experience with Altec has led us to consistently use its products for the last 10 years.” Kumarasamy adds: “RAY International extensively uses all Altec aerial work platforms for live line maintenance and live line washing works in both countries. All of these units are engaged in daily projects; six units are in Oman and two units are in the UAE.’’ Sustainability, safety, durability Adhering to the prescribed codes of safety, ‘’Altec equipment is built to ANSI standards in the US and is engineered to withstand harsh environments while providing durable, long-lasting, and safe- to-operate equipment,’’ Ahmad-Pai says. On his part, Kumarasamy adds: ‘’Live line maintenance in the region is limited to very few companies as safety is critical. Using Altec equipment has enabled RAY International to become a market leader in power utility live line maintenance in INTERVIEW “ALL ALTEC UNITS ARE ENGAGED IN HIGH VOLTAGE LIVE LINE WORKS; PURCHASING EQUIPMENT FROM A COMPANY WITH HIGH SAFETY AND ADVANCED ENGINEERING IS IMPORTANT PRAVEENKUMAR KUMARASAMY , RAY INTERNATIONAL Oman and in the UAE. “When it comes to safety and durability, Altec units are the best in the industry. Some of our Altec aerial units are more than eight years old and are still in operation. Also, reduced downtime is key; we know we can count on our Altec units to be available for work daily,’’ he explains. Worth the investment In the equipment market, units are tested against crucial factors such as safety and sustainability. However, these units must also be assessed for its lifespan, and in correspondence - the cost-effectiveness. Explaining that several of RAY International’s Altec units have crossed the ‘six-year threshold’ and continue to be in service, Kumarasamy says: ‘’Most of our Altec units are used for daily works and our investment return is complete in the six years. This adds extra value to our business, while we also record limited maintenance costs. We have always believed that Altec units are worth the investment.’’ Altec’ss cranes including AC45-127S, AC30-101B, AC300-53T are deesigned to be mounted on commercial chassis annd can be shipped in kit form [Photo courtesy: Supplied] Omman’s RAY International usees Altec’s trailer-mounteed hottline insulator washer for livee line maintenance [Phhoto courtesy: Supplied]IN CONVERSATION 16 CONSTRUCTION WEEK FEBRUARY 2021WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Ras Al Khaimah-based Peikko Gulf, which is a subsidiary of Finland-headquartered concrete connections and composite structures supplier, Peikko Group, shares details on its specialised DELTABEAM®, which is aimed at efficient construction Peikko Gulf, which is the Ras Al Khaimah- based subsidiary of Finland-headquartered concrete connections and composite structures supplier, Peikko Group, is ramping up its efforts in enabling slim floor structures across multi- storeyed buildings in the region. The company’s key product DELTABEAM®, which is a specialised composite beam, allows for fast, efficient and sustainable construction. Peikko Gulf has used the specialised product across projects including the Al Diyar International Private School, Dibba and Abu Dhabi’s Hudayriyat Island. Commenting on the use of DELTABEAM® on the school project, Mouhamad Falis, who served as the project manager says: “The [DELTABEAM®] system enables slim floor, corresponding to a less amount of drop in comparison to the conventional structure. The structure is pre-designed to fit with the standardised connection in the building site. It contributes to a sustainable environment, ensuring that the amount of waste generated in the building site is zero.” The main contractor for the school project was Fujairah National Construction & Transport while the consultant for the project was DRU Architectural Consultancy. Peikko Gulf ’s scope of work for the project entailed design, manufacturing, delivery of DELTABEAM® floor structure and supervision through the process. Using less amount of man power, Peikko’s DELTABEAM® enables more efficient construction. “The system is designed to optimise project efficiency but without compromising on safety. Being a prefabricated structure, construction time is reduced, and delays are minimised,” Falis adds. DELTABEAM® bears “adaptability; repairing capabilities; ease of maintenance and cleaning; low operational and removal costs; capability of being dismantled, separated and recycled; and checkability to ensure long-term safety.” Enlisting the challenges of delivering this specific flooring structure for the Dibba school, Falis says: “Delivering long-span beams to the building site location requires pre-planning from both parties. Management of the project which is one of the key aspects to monitor the overall project flow and the schedule was challenging in this case; all vertical elements were made through cast-in-situ and horizontal elements were made by Peikko’s DELTABEAM® hollow-core slab.” The specialised flooring structure was also used for a sports complex in Abu Dhabi’s Hudayriyat Island. Peikko was chosen as the Design and Supply key partner to enhance several components of the project. The [sports complex at Huayriyat Island] project has been developed by Modon Properties. The developer engineer was GHD, while Saflo & Associates acted as the design engineer for the project. Hilalco - Hilal Bil Badi & Partners PEIKKO GULF: ENABLING SLIM FLOORS FOR MULTI-STOREYED BUILDINGS Deltabeam® is a composite beam, designed to achieve sustainable construction [Image: Supplied]IN CONVERSATION WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COMFEBRUARY 2021 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 17 Contracting Company served as the contractor for the project. Nirajuthan Selvarajah, who acted as the project manager for the sports complex, says: “By utilising the best of concrete and steel, our design method allows us to optimise the section of column and DELTABEAM® sizes, which enables slim and light structure.” Commenting on the specifications of the project, Selvarajah says: “The use of DELTABEAM® in the project reduced reinforced concrete columns (RCC) by approximately 30% in cross-section, and the transfer beams’ height of 1,500mm were reduced to only 750mm.” He adds: “The DELTABEAM® frame consists of a composite beam and composite column and have a built-in structural fire rating. In addition, the relatively low weight of steel in the frame enabled safe and easy erection with minimum crane capacity.” Peikko Gulf leveraged a hybrid system of prefabricated element with curved DELTABEAM® for the sports complex project within the island. “The hybrid system of prefabricated element with curved DELTABEAM® and with built in formwork, made the casting activity at site an easy process, eliminating the use of wooden formwork,” Selvarajah explains. Furthermore, he explains that DELTABEAM®, which is a composite beam that was used as a transfer beam, for planted steel columns and to support the the steel dome. “DELTABEAM® is structured to enable more space for HVAC installation without any obstacle.” The team working on the project achieved efficient HVAC installation owing to increased floor height, caused by the “bending of the pipe round beam”. Commenting on the challenges associated with the sports complex project, Selvarajah says: “It was Peikko Gulf ’s first Frame project in UAE and the GCC but with our global experience in DELTABEAM® Frame, we achieved successful completion of the project. In addition, the main contractor was dealing with one supplier throughout the lifecycle of the sports complex project. The supplier was in charge of facilitating the design of the super structure, columns and beams along with installation. This resulted in consumption of time and resources. However, despite all challenges, completion on the project was achieved in record time.” He adds: “Many similar projects are undergoing design and municipality approval. This shows that our DELTABEAM® Frame system has the technical and commercial advantage for the investor, contractor and designer.” Construction of the sports complex project covered the use of Emfil slabs and Emfil walls, by Ras Al Khaimah-based supplier Emirates Filigran. Commenting on the use of Emfil slabs within the Vesa Miettinen, who served as the technical manager for this project says: “DELTABEAM® can be used with most of the slab types. Hollow core slabs are one-way slabs, these are often chosen for projects owing to their light-weight nature. Meanwhile, Emfil slabs can be designed to span in two directions, which is beneficial in complex projects.” On a concluding note, managing director of Peikko Gulf, Radovan Endel, says: “The advantages of slim floor composite structure and our DELTABEAM® can be leveraged as structural solutions for multi- storey buildings with the ability to be customised according to customer requirements. Its features ranging from low floor height, compatibility with joining systems and slabs to efficient fire resistance contribute to a sustainable built environment.” The Deltabeam® system was used to facilitate construction of the Al Diyar International Private School, Dibba [Image: Supplied] The Deltabeam® was also used during construction of the sports complex within Abu Dhabi’s Hudayriat Island [Image: Supplied]SITE VISIT 18 CONSTRUCTION WEEK FEBRUARY 2021WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Tenable Fire Engineering Consultancy’s founding director, Sultan Al Maskri and director of its Dubai office, Sam Alcock, talk to Construction Week’s editor Ashley Williams about working with developers and architects to mitigate the threat of fires, their project pipeline for 2021, and more Four years on since the devastating impact of the Grenfell Tower blaze in UK, fire safety still remains a hot topic of discussion for all construction stakeholders. Although the Grenfell Tower disaster is still referenced on a regular basis, there has been a growing number of high-profile cases within the Middle East. Some of the notable fire incidents turning the attentions away from COVID-19 in 2020 include a Zaha Hadid-designed commercial building in Beirut and part of the Expo 2020 Dubai site. But is there more room for improvement for fire safety standards? Speaking exclusively to Construction Week, Tenable Fire Engineering Consultancy’s founding director, Sultan Al Maskri, and director of Tenable’s Dubai office, Sam Alcock, discuss the need of working more closely with architects and developers to improve fire safety measures, as well as being more involved at the early stages of design. “Typically the architect or the main consultant will appoint us as part of their team along with other specialists,” Al Maskri tells Construction Week. “We always assume that a fire may happen and how we design a building’s fire and life safety strategy is to minimise the spread of the fire itself, while also making sure that everyone can evacuate the building efficiently and safely. “There are a million reasons why fires start in a building and our job is to make sure that people are safe in these emergency situations.” Elaborating on being involved at the earlier stages of design, Alcock says this would eradicate “costs, time and unnecessary damage to buildings”. “Fire engineers certainly need to be involved much earlier. We’ve mentioned this to each and every single client that we have ever met to avoid unnecessary costs,” says Alcock. “During the design, you can bring us on-board earlier and we will be able to have a lot more flexibility to add in additional staircases if required or even remove staircases for example.” He adds: “If you bring us on-board late during the end of construction, things can be missed and you have to potentially break ceilings and replace them. This takes up a lot of time, cost and unnecessary damage to the building when it could have been mitigated earlier on.” Alcock expands that one of the biggest challenges faced by fire engineering consultants is when being assigned to evaluate renovated buildings. “The key word with regards to all the challenges that we have faced is: ‘documentation’. Even if buildings were designed when there were fire codes, many of them don’t have existing fire strategies or existing fire life safety drawings, which clearly explains the fire strategy of the building and how it is designed,” Alcock adds. “Eight times out of ten, this information is missing, and the buildings that we are working on now, in five – ten years’ time, if they are refurbished, they will hopefully have the strategy and have their civil defence drawings. This gives everybody the foundation to move forward with the refurbishment and the design “DOCUMENTATION IS KEY TO ADDRESSING FIRE SAFETY CHALLENGES ” Tenable Fire Engineering Consultancy is among the stakeholders for the Mall of Oman ProjectFIRE SAFETY WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COMFEBRUARY 2021 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 19 of a new building or new area.” Echoing Alcock’s views, Al Maskri says that the majority of refurbished buildings were built before the implementation of fire codes in the region. “Refurbished buildings don’t comply with any of the normal fire safety measures and trying to get into what would be acceptable today is a challenge,” says Al Maskri. “For example, introducing sprinklers to buildings where they don’t exist is an engineering challenge to all disciplines.” “We evaluate and conduct risk assessments, which are based on international practices. For example, the British standards are good and offer the procedures for risk assessment, which we evaluate and justify in accordance with the latest standards.” To avoid mistakes where potential fires could arise, Alcock expands that “a rigorous review and approval process” needs to be implemented before anything gets issued to a client. “When a document, drawing or report is prepared and ready to go out to the client, this has to be reviewed by somebody senior and more technical to ensure that nothing gets missed and the information that we are providing is accurate and correct. This is really important,” says Alcock. “We have also set up principles for our fire engineers, who are there to provide guidance, assistance and technical support to fulfil a certain requirement if they don’t understand it. This helps nurture our development as a business and helps to ensure that we are not sending out wrong information.” While Alcock and Al Maskri believed there are still challenges present for fire consultants, they were very optimistic about the outlook of 2021 in terms of their project pipeline. “It’s been a very busy 2021 so far. We have secured a number of exciting projects already and we’re getting a lot of interest from the Kuwait market, which surprisingly has only come up in January 2021,” Alcock explains. “We are talking about really large projects in Kuwait. Therefore, we are going to target this market in particular. We are already in Saudi Arabia with the gigaprojects and also the Oman market is not one to be forgotten about.” Alcock revealed exclusively to Construction Week that they are working on several of the Kingdom’s gigaprojects including the Red Sea Development and Amaala. “We are still under client confidentiality in terms of the Saudi Arabia gigaprojects, but all I can say is that they are well-known projects in Saudi Arabia,” says Alcock. “We are working on several hotels, one of them is with the Red Sea Development and the other is Amaala, but we can’t disclose any information with regards to the resorts or the other projects we are also working on.” Coming back to the opportunities in Oman, Al Maskri gives his outlook for Oman after a “quiet” 2020. “In general, 2020 for Oman was quiet because of the new government being formalised and many changes happening. Therefore, there are a lot of projects that were on hold in previous years that are coming back to life again with a very strong momentum,” Al Maskri explains. “We are seeing a lot of projects kicking off, particularly in the industrial and oil and gas sector in Oman, which is continuing and expanding. There are also a lot of tourism developments coming up in the Sultanate, especially in the Salalah area, such as four and five- star resorts that are currently being designed, which we are looking forward to seeing.” Concluding the interview by discussing Tenable’s goals for 2021, Alcock said the business aims to “reactivate its UK office” after opting not to do so in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while also continuing to target key markets such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. “Let’s see how 2021 goes. We will hopefully activate the UK office and grow from there. We want to establish a good presence in the UK. While we have lots of connections in the UK, we want to establish an actual presence there,” says Alcock. “With regards to the Middle East, we will continue to work on projects in the likes of Saudi Arabia because the market is very good there and we have started receiving interest for projects in Kuwait. Hopefully, this will be something new for us.” Sam Alcock, director of Tenable FEC’s Dubai of ce Sultan Al Maskri, Tenable FEC founding directorNext >