June 2010, Volume 4 Issue 6
Latest news (p04) Binladen site (p16) Technology (p22) Backtrack (p40)
TALKING RUBBISH
Waste collection fleets fit telemetry to increase efficiency
An ITP Business Publication Licensed by Dubai Media City
MONEY GO ROUND How to keep cash circulating, without breaking the law
MINING TECHNOLOGY
The latest kit for qquarries in our all-new section
001 JUNE 2010, ISSUE 6 VOL 4
04
22 02 COMMENT 04 NEWS Some of the latest news updates from across the equipment industry.
10 NEWS FEATURE A complex project in Qatar requires some specialist equipment.
19
16 12 NEWS FEATURE Rubbish trucks install the latest telemetery in a bid to curb illegal dumping.
16 SAUDI BINLADEN We ventured to the edge of Jeddah to visit a precast factory owned by the famous building contractor.
31 19 MONEY FEATURE How to handle cash safely.
22 TECHNOLOGY We revisit two sites using GPS total control systems.
29 IN PICTURES Stories you may have missed in the world of machines this month. Plus products.
31 MINING A new regular feature on quarry technology.
31 SHARJAH The UAE’s third emirate in this month’s city profile.
40 BACKTRACK A Roman engineer gets the Backtrack treatment.
002 COMMENT
Registered at Dubai Media City PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: 00 971 4 210 8000, Fax: 00 971 4 210 8080 Web: www.itp.com Offices in Dubai & London ITP Business Publishing CEO Walid Akawi Managing Director Neil Davies Managing Director ITP Business Karam Awad Deputy Managing Director Matthew Southwell Editorial Director David Ingham VP Sales Wayne Lowery Publishing Director Jason Bowman EDITORIAL Group Editor Stuart Matthews Editor Greg Whitaker Tel: +971 4 210 8150 email: greg.whitaker@itp.com Contributors Ben Roberts, Sarah Blackman SALES Publising Director Jason Bowman Tel: +971 4 210 8351 email: jason.bowman@itp.com Sales ManagerVipul Dilip Patel Tel: +971 4 210 8676 email: vipul.patel@itp.com Business Development Manager (Saudi Arabia) Rabih Naderi Tel + 966 50 3289818, email rabih.naderi@itp.com STUDIO Group Art Editor Daniel Prescott PHOTOGRAPHY Director of Photography: Sevag Davidian Chief Photographer: Khatuna Khutsishvili Senior Photographers: G-nie Arambulo, Efraim Evidor, Thanos Lazopoulos Staff Photographers: Isidora Bojovic, George Dipin, Lyubov Galushko, Jovana Obradovic, Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production Manager Kyle Smith Deputy Production Manager Matthew Grant Production Coordinator DevaprakashV A Distribution Manager Karima Ashwell Distribution Executive Nada Al Alami Managing Picture Editor Patrick Littlejohn Image Editor Emmalyn Robles CIRCULATION Head of Circulation & Database Gaurav Gulati
SPY IN THE SKY COMING TO A DASHBOARD NEAR YOU? I’ve been hearing a designed – albeit for all the right reasons – to take lot about telemetry autonomy away from a human kicks up all kind recently, and you can of legal, moral and ethical issues, collectively see why. From the known as the ‘law of unintended consequences’. operator of any kind For example, you might have seen those idiots of motorised fleet – be tearing down Sheikh Zayed Road on YouTube it trucks, bulldozers, recently (For those that haven’t, there is a video crop dusters or go- of several young motorists, driving on two wheels karts – the advantages and performing other crazy stunts in heavy traffic. are obvious. Straight It recived much attention from the authorities.) away, the plant manag- Now, it might be logical for the a law demanding er can see exactly where his machines are, over- similar telemetry fitted in private cars, but what laid on a grid telling him where they are supposed sort of data about where we are going, what we’re to be, and even more importantly in a world where doing and who we’re seeing. I’m not saying telemetry is a bad idea, but we bumps and scrapes seem to magically appear, he need to be aware of what the future might hold can see which driver is thrashing it. Funnily enough, it isn’t the plant managers who for all of us if we embrace it. Either that or buy are driving this change. Oddly, in a region of mini- a bicycle. mal government interference, it is the powers that be who are encouraging such equipment to be retro-fitted. The chief reason, as mentioned elsewhere in the issue, is to combat illegal sewage dumping, though other mandatory electronics include the putting speed limiters in mini buses. The problem, as I see it, is where will it stop? Greg Whitaker, Editor Like any new technology, the use of kit which is greg.whitaker@itp.com
MARKETING Head of Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP DIGITAL Director Peter Conmy Internet Applications Manager Mohammed Affan ITP GROUP Chairman Andrew Neil Managing Director Robert Serafin Finance Director Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Board of Directors K.M. Jamieson, Mike Bayman,Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 286 8559 Printed by Colorline Printing Press Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. Please contact itpimages@itp.com for further details. The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.
Special electronics that monitor the driver are great, but will they lead to a chilling dystopia? Published by and Copyright © 2010 ITP Business Publishing,a division of ITP Publishing Group Ltd. Registered in the B.V.I. under Company Registration number 1402846.
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Do you have any comments about the PMV industry, or the magazine? Please email: greg.whitaker@itp.com or post to: PMV Middle East, ITP, Garhoud, PO Box 500024, Dubai
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004 REGIONAL NEWS
Prizes all round at heavy equipment awards AWARD Machine makers across the board have been selected as the best in their respective fields at an industry awards ceremony. Some gongs were awarded for ‘best in category’ for the M-series loaders and the E35 zero tail-swing excavator by readers of a U.S based magazine called Diesel Progress. A total of 39 machines in 13 categories, including medium and large, compact, lifting, roadbuilding and agricultural machines, were nominated for the awards. The magazine suggests that more than 9000 votes were cast, which if true, would be an amazing turnout for a small circulation trade title. The awards ceremony took place on the ZF Friedrichshafen AG stand at Bauma. ZF is a leading worldwide supplier for Driveline and Chassis Technology and is the sponsor for the awards programme. The awards, which were first presented at ConExpo in 2008, are intended to recognize achievement
One of the 39 machines that won in an awards ceremony. The majority of winning brands hailed from North America.
in the design and engineering of engine-powered machinery. While Bobcat undoubtedly did well at the awards, is was rival
US firm Caterpillar who chalked up the most prizes, with wins for the 793F haul truck, the CB64 compactor and the 907H wheel
loader as well as a further award for one of its telehandler range. Other winners included Case, John Deere and Volvo CE.
Bahrain tunneling machine makes breakthrough MACHINERY A micro tunnel boring machine has made a deep impression on contractors building under Bahrain. Using a Herrenknecht micro-tunnelling machine Al Husam International and Atkins demonstrated on behalf of Tabreed District Cooling that chilled water piping systems can be quickly and efficiently installed beneath a city centre with very little disruption to the busy street life above. The pipeline runs underneath the city’s arterial King Faisal Highway. Atkins’ Site Operations Manager, Ian Cordingley, expressed his appreciation of the work undertaken by the team. He remarked: “It’s not PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
A Herrenknecht micro-tunnelling machine causes little disruption to the city above.
easy to drill through 86-metres of earth with such little disturbance to
the surroundings. The team did a fantastic job in ensuring we deliver
a chilled water network that will make the cooling of developments in Manama more economical and help in reducing Bahrain’s carbon footprint.” It is anticipated that Tabreed’s Northshore District Cooling project will be completed this summer and will supply 22,800 metric tonnes of chilled water per day to a growing population. Tunneling, rather than using the more intrusive cut and cover method is gaining popularity on the island. Earlier this month we reported on how another micro-tunnelling robot, operated by Frisch & Faust Tiefbau was repairing the sewer network in the Zubara Avenue area.
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005
REGIONAL NEWS
Exact change only as Sharjah ‘salik’ goes live for truckers TOLLS Sharjah’s controversial toll for heavy trucks has been causing complications after its first full day of operations in late April. Inevitably, queues were long at certain times of the day, as drivers who reached the front discovered that the payment could only be made with the exact money as change would not be given. On the first day of operations, the Sharjah Directorate of Public Works reported that the operations had gone smoothly, and there was excess capacity in the system: “We have estimated for the passage of 4,750 to 5,250 trucks per day and we have already distributed informative booklets to heavy truck drivers informing them about the toll gate operation” said Omran Al
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The road toll is to counter wear and tear on the roads from quarry trucks
Kumairi, director of the traffic toll gate project. However, some truck drivers found that the process was slow, and were frustrated by the system which charges AED100 per truck, with an
additional AED10 levied for each ton that the vehicle is overweight by. Exact money has to be used, as toll operators apparently do not have the facility to give change. Other operators didn’t find any
significant problems. Al Ghurair Foods, based in Dubai said that its driver experienced ‘neither delay nor problems encountered yesterday’ and that the gate would need to be in operation for some months before it would draw any ‘reliable conclusions’. For the time being at least there will be the option of turning around for drivers who do not have the correct sum. Later, a system of fines are to be introduced for those without money.
100AED
Cost of each pass on Sharjah toll
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006 REGIONAL NEWS BUSINESS BRIEFS Ritchie Rich Co-founder of Ritchie Brothers auctions has just sold his personal megayacht, named the Apoise for US $46m at an unreserved public auction in Grand Cayman. A UK bidder is said to be the winner of the 220ft machine. The bid beats the previous highest value machine at an RB auction, a US $8.5m asphalt plant. Recession? What recession?! Recycled bridge Sticking with this month’s ‘brass and muck’ theme, International engineering consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff has designed the world’s first recycled plastic railway bridges for the US Army at Fort Eustis, Virginia, US. The innovative structures, which can support 130 ton (118 tonne) railway locomotives, have just completed load trials and are scheduled to begin service in June. Hertz equipment rental launches smartphone site The Hertz corp. has launched a mobile version of its website that allows customers on site to conduct business with it directly from their smartphones in the US. Big Saudi Smelting Engineering firm Fluor has won four contracts worth US$ 3 billion for the development of the Ras Az’Zawr aluminium complex in Saudi Arabia. The project has an overall value of US $10.8bn and includes a bauxite mine, alumina refinery, aluminium smelter and rolling mill. Wacker up Vibratory plate maker Wacker Neuson’s rental business grew by 15% last year to 63 million, a record for the business and in stark contrast to the over 30% fall in the manufacturer’s equipment sales last year.
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Record price for Dubai crane AUCTION A record price for a single auction lot in Dubai has been set at the RB Auction site in Jebel Ali. The most recent sale, held in the first week of May saw a number of two to three year old Manitowoc 2250 lattice boom crawler cranes entered into the sale. Two machines were 300tonne units, while a further pair were 200-tonne. Bidding on the newest 300tonne unit, a 2008 model with 2500 hours on the clock, was fast and furious, with the hammer eventually falling at a recordbreaking US $1.7m The other 2250 in the sale, a 2007 model, sold for US $1.45m, while the 200-tonne Manitowoc 14000 machines sold for US $990,000 and US $995,000 respectively.
Steve Barritt, a manager at the auction house said: “We believe one of the reasons is that some of the manufacturers have stopped manufacturing, so that prices are getting high again for equipment. Lots of places are coming out of recession and so the prices are quite high.” He added that the cranes were bought by different buyers, and were to soon be headed out to new owners in Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Manitowoc is part of the group which makes several lines of cranes to serve the construction industries. The company produces high-capacity latticeboom crawler cranes, tower cranes, and mobile telescopic cranes for heavy construction, as well as boom trucks.
Height summit reached CONFERENCE The one-day Working at Heights summit held in Dubai’s Westin hotel, with a variety of speakers from all areas of the construction industry. Andrew Broderick, a health and safety manager at Aldar, started the event by stressing the need for greater safety, but stressing that advancements in the UAE had been made in the last five years. His sentiments were echoed by Abdulaziz from the Ministry of Labour who followed on stage. David Gratteau, an engineer from VSL Heavylift explained the importance of keeping objects tidy and affixing tools such as hammers to an anchor point. “Even a light object, such as a screw or a nut could cause serious injury when falling from 200 meters” he stressed. Barney Green, a manager of fall-arrest specialist Combisafe
Issues were discussed at the busy event.
suggested that better planning and prefabrication on the ground was an answer. “Lift managers should start by planning how working at height could be avoided in the first place” he said, using an example from the previous speaker’s talk about how the spire of the Burj Khalifa was constructed inside the building and then jacked into position– thus removing the need to have people clambering over the scaffold tubes. The event was attended by a full capacity crowd of around 250 industry professionals.
A crane hit a price record at an auction.
Twice as safe: HSE COMMUNITY Local safety watchdog BSU has signed a memorandum of understanding with international HSE group, IOSH. The agreement, signed by BSU chair Grahame McCaig and IOSH President John Holden, means that both groups can share materials and information between each other without fear of copyright infringement as well as liaising with each other in terms of promotions and initiatives. Elias McGrath, Secretary of BSU said: “Both groups have worked with each other a lot over the last couple of years, with many people being members of both organizations – so we thought it was time to promote this.” “We are working on a variety of projects this year, and promoting safer building environments.” www.constructionweekonline.com
008 REGIONAL NEWS
Custom petrol Genset toils in Libyan interior CASE STUDY A Libyan drilling company, called Harouge Oil Operations, recently approached its local Cat dealer, Meditrac, with a custom power package request. Harouge operates four oil fields as a joint venture between the National Oil Corporation and Petro-Canada. The company explores and produces petroleum from eight concessions in Libya. Amal Field is Harouge’s largest oil field that includes eight different reservoirs ranging from a minimum depth of 2300 ft. to more than 12,000 ft (700 – 3700 meters). Amal Field is directly and indirectly responsible for around 400,000 barrels of oil per day, equivalent to around one-third of the national production. For this project, Harouge requested a customized enclosure for operation in a higher-temperature environment. Environment was a key factor for this application. Due
A big genset had been ‘desert-proofed’ and is ready to work at full load in Libya.
to the extreme temperatures, and blowing sand, this solution required a customized container, specialized radiator and generator. Responding to the customer’s needs, Caterpillar Global
Petroleum and Meditrac provided Harouge with a purpose-built Cat 3508 generator set with a customized desert enclosure appropriate for the high temperature petroleum
environment. The rest of the package is completely customized for a 55-degree ambient, dusty environment. The most customized part of this solution is the sand enclosure. Built to withstand flying sand, the enclosure is equipped with collapsible and motorized sand louvers that can be electronically opened and closed to keep sand out. These louvers filter air and sand, trapping the sand before it reaches the generator set. The sand falls to the floor and can be cleaned out periodically. Also inside the container is the customized switchgear, as requested by the customer.
55 degrees Ambient heat in Libyan interior
New batching plant in Iraq as stability returns PLANT The Iraq ministry of industry and minerals has awarded a contract to expand a large cement factory to a UK private equity firm, a small step on the road to securing foreign investment in the country. An upgrade to the factory, in the southern province of Kerala, represents an AED734 million 15year contract and was awarded to MerchantBridge, a directinvestment group focused on the Middle East that targets oil and gas services, financial services and light and medium industries. It has teamed up with French group Lafarge, which already controls two plants in the country. It is one of many big contracts expected across the spectrum of industries as the political and PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
A contract to build a plant similar to this one has been awarded in Iraq.
social situation in the war-troubled country eases and infrastructure projects move from drawing board to reality. Last week, in a conference in Dubai focused on doing business in Iraq, Adnin Blebil,
director general of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority, announced that the ICAA would build three additional terminals to Baghdad International Airport in line with an expectation that passenger number s would double over the
next few years to 15 million a year, up from around 7 million today. A similar issue of supply and demand is at work with the cement factory, according to Abdullah Lahoud. The partner said that demand for cement in the country was twice the 7 million the country currently produces. “We expect the new government to focus very much on reconstruction and the economy. It wasn’t a priority before.” Tom Barker, director of security firm G4S Secure Solutions, said: “The country is a lot more peaceful since the time of sectarian conflict. Now there are opportunities realised by all parties and there is a fairly optimistic outlook as the election passed off reasonably peacefully.”
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Audited Average Circulation 10,400 copies July - Dec 2009
010 NEWS FEATURE
Rental fleet enjoys Qatar ‘pick up’ One hire firm in Doha expands as contractors seek to complete existing projects Qatar, despite the global slowdown, is currently enjoying the ‘pick up’ in the Gulf Kingdom’s economy, helped not least by the increased production in the gas industry and Government related projects; particularly for its rental fleets. “Whilst Qatar has certainly experienced a slow down with some severe cutbacks, we have not been as affected as some of our neighbouring Gulf States,” said Rajagopalan, the rental fleet manager for OTC Rental. “We are beginning to see a slow return with a significant swing towards renting” he added. The reason for this swing is, according to Rajagopalan, due to contractors finishing current projects and, with many projects on hold, they are continuing to reduce their risk and rent. A trend which, he suggests is likely to continue in the future – even when confidence in the market returns. Oriental Trading was appointed as Atlas Copco’s distributor for Qatar in 1957 when the company was formed. By 2002, with the dealership well established, OTC recognised the market potential for a rental company to cater for the booming construction industry and ‘shot blasting’ applications in the petroleum and gas fabrication yards. Starting with a fleet of just five XA186 compressors, the OTC Rental fleet today comprises almost 300 units - 175 compressors and, since 2004, fifty generator
38 m Depth of Qatar’s deepest sewage pumping station.
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Rental equipment is currently popular on Qatar’s industrial and real estate projects, due to uncertainty in the market.
sets; making it one of the largest compressor fleets in the region. The compressor fleet is made up of five models ranging from 190 cfm - 850 cfm and was recently expanded with an order for 50 compressors and 20 gensets. The fleet also includes up to 30 oil-free compressors from Atlas Copco Specialty Rental for the Kingdom for the specialised needs of the oil and gas industries. “Within the rental fleet, we have not replaced a single unit as a direct result of carrying out essential regular maintenance to meet the local conditions - high ambient temperatures plus very hard and abrasive, dusty ground conditions,” said Rajagopalan. He added, “As the dealer we have direct access to parts replacements. Instead of selling the older units on to the used equipment market for the
equivalent of a months rent, we prefer, with regular maintenance and parts replacements, to achieve a further 12 months rental.” “Also in key sectors, such as shot blasting and painting, we can react immediately for the customer if a problem should arise - supplying a new replacement straight away.” Current projects underway and relying on compressors from
the OTC Rental fleet include: two XAS 186 compressors for the ‘bottom out’ of two 38 m deep shafts on Doha North Sewage Treatment Station for the Vinci Construction Grand Projects, QDVC and Entrepose Contracting Joint Venture: and ITCC’s Darl Salam project incorporating 151 villas and 328 apartments plus Doha’s largest shopping mall and a mosque.
RECORD ‘BOTTOM-OUT’ FOR DOHA PUMPING STATION SHAFTS Two XAS 186 compressors from the OTC Rental fleet in Doha, Qatar are being used for jackhammer power and air cleaning duties on two 38 m deep shafts. Forming part of Doha North Sewage Treatment pumping station, both shafts were excavated in the extremely hard limestone and coral ground conditions by continuous hammer techniques. Achieving ‘bottom-out’ at 38 m depth, makes the project Qatar’s deepest sewage pumping station.
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012 NEWS FEATURE
Dubai’s throwaway society Waste collectors in the city are getting help from above as authorities demand GPS telemetry
They are ever ywhere, but we rarely talk about them, or even acknowledge their existence. Silently, they ply their trade in dark alleys and often in the dead of night. We are, of course talking about dustcarts, or ‘mobile compactors’ to give them their correct name. Often not considered truly part of heavy haulage, the main operators will run the mobile compactors for general refuse, as well as tankers for liquid waste. The hydraulic compactor bodies with rear eject mechanism are a well-proven technology, and are constructed
locally by firms such as Ocean City trailers. However, there has been a shift in the types of vehicle that are used. Prakash Parab, a director of waste management for Dulsco explained: “We haven’t found a major change in demand for any particular truck, but what we have found that the smaller versions of the vehicles are better to use than the heavy equipment. “In Dubai you see a lot of vans at different times, and that brings down the utilization of the vehicle. If your vehicle is small it can be used 24 hours in a day.”
A ‘compact’ compactor truck suited to the tight spaces of many buildings in the Middle East.
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Prakash Parab: Design needs thought.
He added that the layout of buildings played a large factor in the types of trucks that it was practical to run: “Designers rarely think of the space required or easy access to the equipment. You see most of the hotels and apartments, the vehicle cannot access the garbage area in the basement section because the height is so low and it becomes ver y troublesome for the people to do it twice or three times a day. Just getting the bins out can be a problem, so is a design issue.”
Meanwhile Trashco, another local firm in Dubai, has joined the digital age following a successful trial of on-board telemetr y fitted to one of its vehicles. John Bergl from electronics supplier Arab IT said: “We signed [a deal to fit our system to] 100 vehicles initially. The way that our system works is with ‘geofences’ around the areas which they are actually allowed to discharge at. If the door opens, we have a thing called ‘programmable logic control’, which actually sorts the data, so if a door opens for three seconds it isn’t an illegal dump, it is just that the driver has gone over a bump or similar. “We are able to monitor ver y accurately where anything is discharged” he added. There is no suggestion that this particular operator has a problem with illegal dumping, but it is an issue the authorities are addressing. “I’m not so sure if industr y is demanding [telemetr y], but the municipalities certainly are. The fine for illegal dumping is AED100-200,000 and the queue www.constructionweekonline.com
014 NEWS FEATURE
A Renault truck fitted with the new telemetry system, not that there is any way of telling from the outside.
for the dump at Al Awir can be up to or beyond seven hours, so it isn’t surprising that the lorr y driver might be tempted to drive five minutes into the desert” Bergl adds. Like most modern telemeter y, the box fitted to these trucks uses GPS and GLONASS satellites to find it’s way. “We call it a track and trace system.” Bergl clarified. “It comprises of a modem, which wakes up ever y half hour, or however long you want it to wake up. It sends back a snapshot of whatever is happening at that particular second in time. With
100 Initial order from Trashco of telemetry systems
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our system they are monitoring ever y single second, so you can see exactly what happens.” Bergl says that another critical component to the system is the datalogger. “The computer based logger measures three-dimensional G-force. This means we can measure things like harsh braking, harsh cornering and harsh acceleration.” He says that the benefits to this are twofold. “One is that the client has it for their CSR and we can prove it reduces accidents by 3040 percent. The other of course is that it reduces wear and tear. We have one client who insists that his maintenance costs are down by 40%.” “We are able to give reports on ever y single driver at the time that they were driving” he concluded.
Diagram of the location of the telemetry elements.
Telemetry is a technology that allows remote measurement and reporting of information. The word is derived from Greek roots tele = remote, and metron = measure. Systems that need external instructions and data to operate require the counterpart of telemetry, which is called ‘telecommand’.
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016 SITE VISIT
JEDDAH PRECAST We visit a large concrete works, owned and run by the Saudi Binladin group
Y
ou went where?’ was the general reaction on returning from our latest site visit. Going to a precast and post-tensioning yard would not normally be considered anything exceptional, even one which is around three times the size of a typical operation. However, this yard is situated on the just past the black, balsamic rocks outside Jeddah in Saudi Arabia – which at the best of times is hardly media friendly, but what made this site visit particularly exciting was the sign outside the gate: Saudi Binladin Group for Industrial Precast. Anybody thinking of doing business in the Kingdom, and in Jeddah in particular, needs to know about the Binladin group. Pretty much every building in the gateway city has something to do
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with the firm, which has interests in every step of the process, from raw materials through to building management. There is a whole street in the city with offices for the company and on the outskirts there are enormous factories and holding yards. Bizarre, black terrain surrounds Jeddah, apparently caused by prehistoric volcanoes, and it is a forty five minute drive through this jutting, balsamic landscape to get to the Binladen site. Once there, there is time to enjoy some Turkish coffee with Ahamed Omer Bahareth, a manager at the site who welcomes us and explains briefly how this precast facility is a very important part of the Binladen Group operation. He then introduces us to Eng. Said A. Al-Khair Al-Hloul who agrees to show us around the plant. Security is tight. At all times on
LIFTING Onoe of the gantry cranes used to make the rebar forms.
BINLADIN GROUP The Saudi Binladin Group (occasionally spelt ‘Binladen’) is a multinational construction conglomerate and holdings company based in Jeddah, founded by one Mohammed Binladin back in 1931. There are not many construction contracts in the Western Region that don’t involve this group in some way or another. Current projects include work for the Princess Noora women’s university, the King Abdullah Knowledge Economic city as well as the 775km Quassim motorway.
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017
SITE VISIT
STRETCHING OUT More strands being jacked in the factory.
the tour we are followed by a car, who for some reason takes a picture of us whenever we take a picture. That said, everybody at the plant seems keen to show us what they are doing and what and how the products will be used. There is a lot of work for the factory to do as well. Currently it is supplying a number of projects across the country, including the Princess Noura Bint AbdulRahman University for Women in Riyadh, a vast female-only campus being constructed in the country – itself a symbol of how much the kingdom has progressed in recent years.
BATCHING First of all, we see huge piles of aggregate being shoveled up by a pair of Liebherr wheel loaders for processing in a large 300tph batching plant, branded ‘Master Tec’. These machines graze the piles night and day, and as Eng. Said explains, German machines were picked for perceived reliability. In fact there are several machines from the same firm: the transit mixers on Renault truck chassis are also Liebherr, as are the dozen or so tower cranes that work elsewhere on the site. It is worth noting that the basic materials such as the aggregate and raw steels are supplied by a com-
26,000m Total length of elevated expressways built by Saudi Binladin
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pany called CPC Holdings, another major operation in the Western Region’s close-knit business community, and closely associated with the Binladen group. Once a suitable mix is achieved, the concrete then applied to the molds. These molds are obviously very large, and it seemed that a fair amount of manual finishing work was needed to smooth the concrete down. Interestingly, it isn’t just grey old concrete that is poured and cast here, Eng, Said is only too pleased to show off the many and various types of stone that can be produced,. Once the product has hardened, moving it becomes an issue, as each section could weigh several tons. For this, a number of large overhead gantry cranes are employed to hoist the sections outside for preparation and finishing. Making precast sections is rarely as simple as just pouring concrete into a mould of course. First, the rebar needs to be shaped and a frame made for the concrete form. To do this, the company has bought several CNC-controlled bar benders. If you haven’t seen one before, steel bar is fed onto a machine resembling two large, flat discs, with a pair of chucks to keep the bar in place. The discs then spin in opposite directions, bending the bar to a preset pattern, and before you can think about what has happened, another bar has been fed in and the process repeated. Mind you, a lot of shaped metal is needed for the amount of work which is carried out by the plant.
WEIGHTY TOPIC Overhead cranes are also used inside the precast factory.
DUSTY A pair of wheel loaders work around the clock to feed the plant.
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018 SITE VISIT
FINISHED Some of the stone effects the factory can produce.
POST-TENSION BLUE PERIOD An engineer inspects some machinery.
PRINCESS NOURA UNIVERSITY Work has started on this vast university project, situated near the airport in Riyadh. Scheduled to open in 2012, the college is named after Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman, described as the ‘nation’s favourite aunt.’ Lead contractors are Saudi Oger and Saudi Binladin as well as El Seif Contracting. Johnson Controls have been appointed to handle the district cooling, while Vision Company (owned by the CPC group) will install the rest of the building services.
SETTING The concrete is checked after being poured into moulds.
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If there has been a slowdown in the industry it certainly isn’t evident here. Out of the warehouse and into an outside yard, the scale of this operation becomes apparent, as about a dozen rail-mounted gantry cranes are ready to winch the iron into place, so that it can be made into forms. The lunch whistle has just blown, so the yard was quiet, but that allowed us to clamber over the steels in relative safety. As an aside, there are a number of different brands of gantry crane here, we noted brands such as Cimolai, Hangzou Hoisting Machinery and Pellegini – suggesting that the amount of plant in the yard has increased as it has got busier over the years. Currently, the yard appears to be in a state of organized chaos, with curved bars sitting in piles, as site welders are working on what appears to be viaduct sections. Welding can of course be done automatically, but complex structures such as these need a steady hand and a buzz from the mig.
The factory also deals with posttensioning, a construction method where cables are cast into concrete and tightened up ‘post’ the event. We met a young chap working a lathe, which turned the threads on the bars, and could also be used to cut the bespoke nuts and plates required for the high-tension beams. The work was fasts, and it was clear that the fittings are tailored for an individual thread, rather than just being off the shelf parts, rather like the ball joint on a car. Interestingly, a couple of tower cranes had been built up inside the units in order to service the radius of the outside yards. Outside again, some men were finishing the precast units prior to shipping. A man gave each cured unit a blast with a washer. After this, a couple of forklifts shifted the units into neat rows, from where they will be shipped out to site on one of a number of Volvo FH10 lorries. Once on site, the order that the ‘kit’ of parts arrives should be logical for the site manager to assemble. Our thanks go to Dr. Faysal Alaquil of CPC Holdings who arranged the visit. www.constructionweekonline.com
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MONEY SPECIAL
HANDLING CASH
Moving ing m money oney aand nd hhigh-value ighh-value aassets ssets iiss a ffact act ooff llife ife iinn aany ny pplant lant ddepartment, epartment, bbut ut hhow ow ddoo yyou ou ddoo ssoo w without ithout sstraying traying oonn ttoo tthe he w wrong rong sside ide ooff tthe he llaw? aw?
H
andling large amounts of money is practically the norm for plant managers in this region. Secondhand machines are
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constantly changing hands – and how many times have you heard stories about people coming into machinery dealers in the back of beyond and purchasing high value brand new kit with suitcases of used notes? Additionally, it is often the way to have to pay suppliers of parts and workshop specialists
June 2010 \\ PMV Middle East
020 MONEY SPECIAL INTERVIEW
Dealing with a flow of money is a point which every plant manager should consider.
with cold, hard, money. You’ll also get short shrift from some smaller contractors, such as onemachine crane hire firms if you try and pay them with any other method. However, money flowing in and out can expose the plant manager to risk: Apart from the obvious threat of theft, the plant manager can also unwittingly expose himself to allegations of money laundering, especially when paying for contractor services, rather than tangible goods. It is for this reason that many site managers have brushed up their book-keeping skills with the aid of computers. One such person is Graham Larkin, the plant manager of the JV consortium that built and is currently finishing the Dubai Metro. We caught up with him a few months ago, and he described a software system that had helped when working on a previous job in Africa: “In a previous job in Eritrea, we did a survey [of the software available] and the government picked this one”. The software in question is from a UK-based firm called TAG. In it, the program, a variety of ‘modules’ are interlinked and these contain values about the equipment being monitored.
PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
Using the program is not too difficult for a trained operator. At the JV, there are two staff who work the database. Larkin
the bold print all the open work orders, that will show all the machines being serviced. Select this work order number, and then directly issue parts to that work order number. So if we were to go back in a couple of weeks time, we would see that.” He added, “We could go right back to the beginning of the project and track every machine and every cost… If we’d have used it from day one!” He explained that if he were to do the project again, then even more integration would be useful: “There is also a purchasing module which we didn’t buy as the company already had its own purchasing software. This was a bit of a pity as we would have been able to track everything. If we were to do this again than we would do that.” Out of interest, the purchasing software that the
“We could [have tracked] every cost… If we’d have used the system from day one!” - Graham Larkin
explained; “If, for example, there is an issue for a part to a machine, you have got issues by work order, then that will show in
JV uses it the popular ‘Timberline’ software package. “When we have visits by the engineers, they were very
impressed with the record keeping because it is what they wanted to see.”
Steve Barritt, regional manager at RB.
Q&A By the nature of his business, Steve Barritt from Jebel Ali auction house Ritchie Brothers has to deal with large sums of money as well as high value machines coming in from all corners of the world. We caught up with him shortly after the house set a local record by selling a crane for US $1.7m
You have a lot money flowing in and out of the organization all the time. How do you control that, and keep in with the various financial authorities? That’s actually very easy, as companies associated with the US stock exchange means that we use SOCKS. That means all our cash flows through a main office in Graieda, in Holland. Obviously, we do have some cash come into us, but we send it straight to the banks. We endeavor to send money back to customers by bank transfer so it can be followed.
Do you get customers coming in and buying with a suitcase of cash?
Used machines are bought and sold all the time in the GCC. Many are sold at auction.
Yes. Yes we do, I can’t hide that. However, the best way that we can control it is as soon as we have www.constructionweekonline.com
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MONEY SPECIAL
you need to provide as an international consigner?
Keeping an eye on the value of machines as they enter and exit your firm is vital.
the cash, we have the name of the person and we have their identity we pass that straight to the banks.
Do you ever have any people putting equipment straight back into the auction after having bought it? Yes we do.
And does that ring any alarm bells? It depends who it is. We have people re-consign due to paperwork problems across the borders. Even the local market, Saudi, Kuwait [can be problematic]. The system have to use, although in Jebel Ali we are a freezone, everything we sell [as capable of being registered] must be register-able in Dubai. So we use Tasjeel. Stamps that look concerning to Ritchie Brothers we bring Tasjeel in and they inspect it. If they are happy we will sell it as register-able, but the Kuwaitis may not agree with us.
So, you would do a certificate of no plate and Tasjeel would do a chassis inspection. The nature of the business is equipment movement very fast.
Has the time for buyers to receive cash reduced much in recent years? It is and it isn’t. Anybody purchasing from Ritchie Brothers outside Dubai, particularly, and they are using US dollars, they can be audited in New York. Sometimes money takes 10-12 days to move through the New York bank – they check exactly where it is coming from. Generally though, it is quicker to move cash electronically.
International equipment that comes across the waters comes on a ‘bill of laden’, which turns into a bill of entry. The equipment is checked by local customs. If there is a problem with that piece of equipment, it normally lights up on Interpol – we have just had it happen with one machine. Then local customs will check back where it came from. We actually had one here – it was confirmed as stolen in Montréal. It arrived in our yard, Interpol were informed and the local customs were very good. The insurance company involved claimed the machine and the papers were corrected and we sold the machine on behalf of the insurance company. It still got sold, but it took three months for all the
paperwork, but the authorities here were very good.
With the amount of equipment that goes through a large auction house, these things must happen from time to time? Yes, of course. At the moment we are having a major problem with equipment coming from Ireland into Dubai. It’s not stolen, but it is equipment that has loans on it, and it has come in without permission from the banks. They don’t have the same checks as the UAE. In the UAE, if there is a bank loan on a machine, then the bank’s name is on the document, but the UK and Ireland doesn’t have that. The UAE is very good, very tight, which is good for us.
What about security measures on machines themselves? Most Cat and Komatsu machines now have hidden serial numbers. However, you need to find the machine, before you check the serial numbers!
So can be quicker, but there are more checks? Exactly, yes.
What sort of paperwork do
Moving money can be faster these days, but there are now more checks, says Barritt.
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June 2010 \\ PMV Middle East
022 BEST OF PMV TECHNOLOGY
CUTTING IT FINE How do you cut and fill a site measuring 17 million square meters when there is a tight deadline? We revisit a pair of sites to learn more about futuristic machine automation
S
ome time ago, we debated what the future might hold if automation really took over in a big way. We found the subject so fascinating, we took a look at what could be the future of mechanized construction – and we found the concept of autonomous robotic bulldozers was not as chilling as we first thought. Here, we revisit the sites to find out what ‘total control’ really means. The question is, how do such machines work at all, and what advantage can they offer? Simply put, total control is a system where a site is first ‘staked’ by using GPS Rovers. These devices conRovers can be mounted on vehicles.
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sist of a rod, a reciver and a computer. The rod holds the reciver on top and it has a ‘point’ at the bottom, while the electronics sit in the middle. There is usually a handheld device, which looks like some kind of industrial PDA, which tells an operator what the whole system is doing.
a string of lights, depending on which system has been ordered. Machines that can benefit from total control include not only ‘dozers and graders, but also excavators and even road compactors. To put this to the test, we visited a large building site in the desert, some fifty km outside Abu
“On [one dozer] the unit calculated the position from the blade” - Mick Hales
HIGH STAKES Once the ‘stakes’ have been set, the data is loaded onto a computer with the surveyor’s original drawings. These are then passed to the computers, via radio, in the heavy machinery. The on-board computers can be fully 3D, or they can display the information in two dimensions, or even just as
Dhabi island. The site, named South of Shamka on completion will comprise of ten thousand new villas, taking up no less than seventeen million square meters. Currently at the groundworks stage, operations have been split between Tristar Contracting and Bin Nawi Contracting. It is the latter that we are visiting today.
When a project covers this kind of surface area, the exact location of the heavy equipment can be a difficult thing to establish, which is where GPS technology comes in. Smaller sites can get away with using regular surveying equipment, such as the now-common five-second Total Station, but with this amount of ground to cover the contactor decided to try a package from electronics firm Topcon. Initially, this comprised of a system fitted to two bulldozers, with a base station and a ‘rover’ – another device which clamps to the side of a car for taking readings on the move. The contractor has just put in an order fur a further four systems for bulldozers and some for motor graders, which should be extra suitable
2km Distance from base most total stations can be used
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TECHNOLOGY
you will get triple the production out of this ‘dozer” he added, that even in fleets such as this where equipment is only fitted to a number of machines, the efficiency gains can be quantified: “You might not see it with just one ‘dozer, but now everyone around him knows where elevation is they are all improved.” Walid Daher, Operation Manager, Bin Nawi Contracting agrees: “As many as seven bulldozers can follow the path graded by the first machine.” He added that he was extremely grateful for the system, having used it in the past on other sites. “On this system, you just need to teach the operator how to use it and he can do the job of both the supervisor and the foreman” he says. Recently the contracting company has placed orders for several more bulldozer systems as well as some for graders.
for fine grading, as the company has just bought several of the new electro-mechanical Cat 14M machines.
BULLDOZERS Mick Hales of the surveying equipment company Topcon, who have supplied the equipment to this site explains; “The two machines that have been equipped so far include a Cat D8R and a Komatsu D155A. The difference in terms of the electronics system is that in the Cat the unit calculates its position from the base of the track, while on the Komatsu it analyses the position of the blade itself.” There are different systems available, which work in 2D and in 3D, with the latter obviously displaying the topography of the ground in three dimensions. To be fair, the building site is currently so vast and barren that the display rarely shows much other than a graphic representing the machine itself. All of the blueprints for the groundwork have been fed in the computer, which then tells the operator how much to cut and how much to fill. When the amount is within the tolerances set by the surveyor (which in this case is five centimeters for rough grading on rocky ground, while fine grading can be millimeter perfect, depending on the condition of the machines hydraulics.) The operator then just follows a ‘box’ which tells the operator the exact height of the blade in millimeters, which is green when the tip is inside the parameters, and red when it is outside. The operator then just needs to make sure that the box stays ‘green’ to ensure a good grade. This works particularly well, as according to Hales, you don’t need the best operators in the world to get a good finish. We are sure that there are many site owners who will rejoice at this www.constructionweekonline.com
VILLAS
A site manager takes mesurements on the Al Seef project with a digital theodolite.
On a different site, known as Al Reef, there are more villas springing up with the assistance of satellite technology. Like South of Shamka, the Al Reef project is also situated miles from anywhere in the interior of Abu Dhabi, but
“As many as seven bulldozers can follow the path graded by the first machine” - Walid Daher VIEWS
Talal Hanna set up a network for Al Seef
news – as we all know, there is nothing worse than having to double-handle work, because some of the drivers can’t seem to follow the height of the stakes.
And who can blame them? From the cab of the D8, forward visibility comprises mostly of the exhaust stack, while the view through the angled doors is little better. Truly, it would require skill to drive this machine in the usual way. However, with the aforementioned screen, it becomes much easier for the operator. Hales says; “Different people will tell you different things, but I’m sure
on completion will be its own self contained ‘community’. The most clever part of this project, though is the way the surveying equipment works. Regular villa construction is most closely associated with the traditional method of the surveyor using a theodolite to measure distance and angles. This took time, and the data needed to be recorded manually. The last few years, particularly as projects
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024 TECHNOLOGY have got bigger, have seen a shift away from this type of technology and on to what are known as ‘total stations’. These devices can read the horizontal and vertical circles electronically. Understanding how these new machines work exactly is something an engineer might be able to explain, but suffice it to say they don’t rely on bands of light seen through prisms, rather on digital imaging as new technology takes over. The newest technology to be embraced by the region is satellite positioning. This technology can incorporate distance, direction and difference in height between survey points. A satellite-based surveying system is simply using an electronic distance measurer that does not need direct line of sight between survey points. Instead, a GPS receiver needs to have a direct line of sight to a sufficient number of satellites. Although the term ‘GPS’ is used as a sort of generic trademark to describe satellites in orbit, it actually refers to a ring of devices put in space by the Americans, and allowed to be free for civilian use. In fact, any brand of surveying equipment could equally be using the Russian GLONASS system, or the soon to be launched European Galileo network, which counts Saudi Arabia among its backers. Fibrex have chosen to buy its surveying equipment from Japanese company Topcon. Eng. Ibrahim pointed out that the company had been impressed with the technology after a demonstration. “About two and a half years ago, Topcon showed us a machine – a 752 – and we thought it had very good speed and efficiency” he explained. Since then,
these. What you have to do is to subscribe and you get the correction through your phone card.” He explained that depending on location and what the customer has ordered, there were a
SATTELITE Interestingly, whenever equipment that uses satellite positioning is written about, it is usually referred to as being ‘GPS’, though in fact pretty
“In Dubai we have reference stations... The municipality handles these” - Talal Hanna
A base station in the scorching sand.
the firm have invested heavily in the equipment, having bought a Hiper GA base station, two rovers total stations, along with five laser levels. As the site is in Abu Dhabi, Fibrex opted to have its own base station. Other sites in Dubai though can take advantage of centrally located base stations. Topcon’s Talal Hanna explained; “In Dubai we have what we call reference stations, which means that the municipality is handling
number of ways of linking to the base and obtaining corrections automatically, with Bluetooth and GRPS links as possibilities. The readout is done by rotary encoder which can be absolute or incremental using light and dark radial bands. In the latter case, the circles spin rapidly, reducing angle measurement to electronic measurement of time differences. The base station can run on large car-type batteries, meaning the surveyor can leave it anywhere on site and then come back later to find that the corrections have been done.
much all of the systems from any of the manufacturers in construction is mentioned, what is being referred to is a technology that can not only pick up the Global Positioning System craft, but also the Russian GLONASS (derived from Global Navigation Satellite System) for increased accuracy. Hales points out that while having the extra satellites is useful in the city, it is not so necessary in wide open desert, as this site is, because the receivers can easily ‘see’ the sky, and so track the satellites.
17 Size in million square meters of South of Shamka project. Bulldozers can be set up either to calculate their position based on the level of the blade or the base of the track.
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TECHNOLOGY
Setting rovers on the South of Shamka construction site.
FUTURE While not employed on this site yet, or indeed anywhere in the Emirates as far as we know, the fully automatic systems referred to at the beginning of this article is very much a reality in other parts of the world. The advantages are obvious – there is no chance of operator fatigue, and accuracy is limited only by mistakes in the original engineering drawings. There are plans to get such a machine up and running over here. “We want to fit total
synergy across the entire fleet, as the computer will understand implicitly what the entire fleet is doing. Imagine how much more productive a road building site would be with such a package. Back in the here and now, the systems that are available today can be further enhanced for fine grading with the addition of rotating lasers which can ensure millimeter-perfect grading, even when cutting a slope. In short, it is a wonder that, given the obvious benefits in speed and efficiency that more contractors are not using it already.
Obtaining a reading on Al Seef.
control to a Cat D6T� says Hales. This model has modern joystick control as well as electronically controlled powershift transmission. Of course, at the moment it is inconceivable that there would be no operator, but perhaps in the near future there is no reason why he would actually be needed to sit on the machine, as all the monitoring and adjustments can be made from the ground with a remote control. One computer could be used to drive packs of machines together, so there will always be
WHAT IS A TOTAL STATION? A total station is an electronic optical instrument used in modern construction projects. It is also used by archaeologists to record excavations as well as by police, crime scene investigators and insurance companies to take measurements of scenes. The total station is an electronic (transit) integrated with an electronic d meter (EDM) to read distances from the instrument to a particular point. Some models include internal electronic data storage to record distance, horizontal angle, and vertical angle measured, while other models are equipped to write these measurements to an external data collector, which is a type ofhandheld computer. Angles and distances are measured from the total station to points under survey, and the coordinates(X, Y, and Z or northing, easting and elevation) of surveyed points relative to the total station position are calculated using trigonometery and triangulation. Data can be downloaded from the total station to a computer and application software used to compute results and generate a map of the surveyed area. Total stations have replaced theodolites for the majority of worksites.
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026 PRODUCTS
LATEST PRODUCTS
The newest tools and tech to help you with the job in hand
SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BLUE A range of hydraulic breakers for applications in construction, demolition, quarrying, and so on has been launched by Montabert. The first model in the Blue Line range is the 1.7 tonnes XL1700 breaker providing a blow energy of 3400 J, a frequency of 600 blows/ min and a tool diameter of 137 mm. The XL1700 can be used with excavators providing a minimum to maximum flow range of 100 to 150 l/min, and a pressure of 180 bar www.montabert.com
PAIR OF BOBCATS The Bobcat E45 and E50 zero tail swing mini diggers are, according to the maker: ‘designed to provide exceptional performance levels in the 4-6 tonne category of miniexcavators.’ Intended for applications in construction, demolition, rental, utility, landscaping and other markets, both of the compact newcomers offer fast work cycles with smooth and precise workgroup functions, superior operator comfort, reduced noise, excellent service access and increased reliability and stability. www.bobcat.com
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PRODUCTS
GENIE UNCORKED To meet the demands of tight workspaces inside and out, Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP) haas brought out the new GR-20J and GR-26J, the latest additions to its Genie Runabout product line. The GR-20J and the GR-26J respectively offer an “upand-over” maximum clearance of 4.25 and 6.70 m, a maximum working height of 7.70 m and 9.90 m and a 3.25 m and 3.15m maximum horizontal reach. Both models allow two-person occupancy indoors to get more done in a small amount of space. www.genieindustries.com
DOWN IN THE DUMPS It has been around since 1993, but the basic design of the Cat 863 Landfill Compactor has com in for a number of inprovements recently, including a number of changes to the engine management system as well as the control method, which should make the new model cheaper to run and easier to drive. www.zahid.com
SPECIAL HÄGGLOADER A new compact, rubber-tyre digging arm loader from Sweden’s GIA Industri AB, the 7HR and 7HR-B Häggloader, has been introduced for use in construction and mining tunnels with a cross section area of just 7 m2. Designed for operating in tunnels with a width of 2500 mm and a height of 2500 mm, the wheeled loader has a loading capacity of 2.5 m3/m. The 7HR features two digging arm systems – digging arms or rotating backhoe - to load the spoil from the tunnel face directly onto the machine’s conveyor, which fills the haulage vehicle with a constant supply. www.gla.se
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028 IN PICTURES
MACHINE MONTH Stories you might have missed in the heavy equipment world Qinghai quake A Korean-built Doosan and a locally made Sany excavators search for survivors buried in the rubble of a collapsed building on April 15, 2010 after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Yushu county in northwest China’s Qinghai province on April 14. Rescuers with shovels and bare hands clawed through rubble to hunt for survivors of the quake in a remote area of China which killed over 600 people and made thousands homeless.
Holding back the tide A bulldozer – we think it is a Komatsu D175a – tries to move polluted sand in a futile attempt to create a barrier to stop the beaches of Kentucky from being polluted by oil gushing from a damaged rig. Undersea robots attempted to place a cap over the wellhead, but were thwarted by geological conditions. Currently, various oil companies are trying to stem the flow useng other methods, but the blame game to find the ‘responsible’ party looks set to continue long after the ‘dozers have left.
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IN PICTURES
H Road building cheered A Cat ADT and a Hitachi Zaxis are photographed by Kosovo Albanians, as the construction of a 100km highway gets underway in the newly declared state. Officials say the big
road from Vermnice at the border with Albania to the crossing point of Merdare on the Kosovo - Serbia border should be finished in three years and will be built by a US-Turkish joint venture. Excavator down Residents cannibalize a burnt excavator following the bloody clashes between security forces and religious followers of a revered 18th century Muslim scholar Habib Hasan bin Muhammad Al-Hadad in Jakarta’s international port district of Tanjung Priok on April 16th. Authorities effort to enforce a demolition on the section of a memorial shrine triggered bloody clashes between security forces and followers resulting in three deaths and many hundreds of injuries.
Revolting farmers French farmers holding a demonstration? Quelle surprise! The land tillers drove a convoy of assorted aggriculural machines to Paris to protest about the European Farm Policy. Strikes are big business in France – and industrial action is blamed by most as being the downfall of Poclain in the late 1970s.
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Palace comes down Machines raze Haiti’s presidential palace, as reconstruction work continues in the country devastated by a heavy quake. The equipment appears to comprise of a pair of Cat 20-30 tonne excavators with wide buckets, plus a further Cat and a Komatsu with breaker attachment. Curiously, there doesn’t appear to be anything such as a truck or a skip to shovel the rubble into.
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031
MINING TECH
STONE GROUND In the first of a new series, we take a look at some of the tech and kit in the quarry industry
G
aining stone from a quarry is a hard way of making a living. Production outputs have to be maintained at a constant level, and an eye must be kept on the international markets so that priority is given to producing the quarry product with the highest demand and therefore value. Obviously, the amount of saleable product must be kept to a maximum while time and money wasted through handling materials twice must be avoided at all costs.
ly methods of drilling into rock were crude, though many times more efficient than hammering away at rock manually – as those of you familiar with the legend of ‘John Henry’ might recall. Modern drilling ‘jumbos’ attach several drills onto one hydraulically-driven mobile plant.
rock have the potential for devastating accidents with whatever is coming the other way, no matter how well run the quarry is. Although things are changing, some quarries still pay scant attention to the safety of the workers. Matyus said “Most of the accidents over here, and there have been some horrendous ones, have involved vehicles.” He added “There are two extremes, some are very European in outlook and some pay absolutely no regard is paid to safety so you have got small cars driving around in areas where there are enormous trucks.” Obviously, safety begins by removing the small cars from the boulder trails and by better training the truck drivers. However, new innovations can further improve the run down the hill. While weighing trucks has been the norm for some time, one electronics manufacturer can now supply the region with a device designed especially for articulated dump trucks. The
“Drill and blast is still the highproduction method” - David Matyus
MODERN DRILLS For decades, drill and blast has been the preferred way of getting rocks out from the face. Some time ago, we spoke to David Matyus, GM of equipment and consuting company Quarry and Mining said “Drilling and blasting is still the high production method.” While the technology has remained the same, the size of the drill has increased dramatically. Earwww.constructionweekonline.com
MOVING ROCKS Ask most people what the most dangerous aspect of quarrying is the reply invariably is drilling and blasting. In fact, the overwhelming majority of accidents happen on the rocky road between the cliff face and the crusher. Dozens of huge dumpers thundering down a steep incline, laden with hundreds of tons of
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032 MINING TECH dash-mounted device looks similar to electronic weighing machines that have been around for a while, but has been especially designed for quarrying. While having trucks carrying the right load is a good start, both safety and efficiency can be made even better, by simply removing the dumpers altogether. Many modern facilities around the globe have invested in conveyer belt systems instead Although they are expensive and require careful engineering at the point of installation which Matyus explained “A conveyor system is very efficient, For a start, it doesn’t need any power as the weight of the stone pulls it down the hill, so the whole thing is self generating. In fact, it needs brakes to stop the conveyor going too fast”. Large installations can see conveyors hundreds of meters long being constructed, with stone going directly to the primary crusher.
rest. “A well managed plant will be running at 85 per cent efficiency, 20 hours a day” Matyus said. In fact, were it not for the mandatory downtime in the early afternoon as demanded by law in the northern Emirates, it is highly likely that the machines would simply never stop. In the past these plants would handle a few hundred tones per hour, but now modern
GCC at the moment, the item is available by special order from the region’s dealers. The all new model offers a new size class in the Caterpillar line-up. The 25-ton capacity loader features Z-bar linkage, hydraulics and power train that deliver high breakout forces—20 percent more than the 992G. The increased performance and capacity result in a 15 to 20 percent improvement in productivity compared to the 992G, according to the manufacturer.
“A well managed plant will be running at 85 per cent efficiency, 20 hours a day” - David Matyus
CRUSHING The job of the primary crusher is to turn the rock into rubble. These machines need to be manufactured to a high quality, as they get no
equipment is pushing this figure much higher, with plant such as the Kleeman SSTR 1600 unit handling up to 1200tph.
WHEEL LOADERS There were many large loaders on display at the MineExpo show in Vegas last year, as well as in Bauma in April, with products from brands such as Liebherr, Komatsu and LeTorneau. However our attention turned to the latest offering from Caterpillar, the 993K. Although not available as a stock item in the
The new loader at the show also features the Cat C32 ‘Acert’ engine. It produces net power of 950 horsepower (708 kW). The makers also say that the newcomer offers solutions to ease maintenance and boost reliability. For example, the sleeve bearing pins eliminate the need for daily greasing of the front linkage. To lower life cycle costs, the 993K is designed to meet mining customer rebuild requirements and have an estimated 45,000-hour structure life.
POWER TRAIN The power train and hydraulics are designed to deliver high productivity and low cost per ton. As compared to the 3508B engine used
The bugger the loader, ther fewer passes will be needed to fill a haul truck. This machine will fill the truck in just four runs.
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MINING TECH
The latest generation of very large wheel loaders feature a number of improvements over models produced a few years earlier.
in previous mining loaders, the C32 engine delivers 19 percent more power and a 5 percent increase in fuel efficiency. The proven C32 also powers several other Caterpillar mining machines, which simplifies parts inventory management. The 993K features a nextgeneration modular radiator which has copper fins for improved heat exchange capabilities. The design and construction minimizes space required for the cooling package and allows enhanced sight lines to the rear. Positive flow control hydraulics is the next generation of load-sensing hydraulics. Additional sensors at the pumps provide enhanced responsiveness that the operator can feel and use. The full return flow filtration system filters 100 percent of the implement oil return flow to 6 microns for extended component life and increased uptime. The optional deluxe filtration system prevents downstream contamination in case of a failure. The Cat planetary power shift transmission is electronically controlled and features three forward and three reverse speeds. The
impeller clutch torque converter allows the operator to match rimpull to the application and underfoot conditions through the use of a foot pedal and adjustments made through the rimpull control system.
ARTICULATED HAULER
“Double reduction final drives significantly reduce power train stresses� - Caterpillar technical information
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in zip-out glass. This feature provides rubber-mounted glass, which does not require adhesives to retain the glass. The system enables fast changes of damaged glass.
The all-wheel drive design features four planet carrier gears with planetary double reduction in each wheel. Double reduction final drives significantly reduce power train stresses and effectively extend power train life and durability. Options for reduced maintenance include the Oil Renewal System (ORS). By regularly burning small amounts of engine oil and automatically adding makeup oil to the crankcase, ORS offers a means to reduce or eliminate engine oil changes and to increase machine availability. Another interesting option is zip-
Few quarries operate without a fleet of dump trucks to take away the rubble, and a flexible and highly efficient way of doing this is with an articulated hauler. Volvo claims to have invented the concept back in the 1960s. The current E-series haulers have a long list of features that set them apart from their predecessors including a payload of 33.5 tonnes,while the patented planetary transmission features smooth shifting providing maximum rimpull (which loosely is the amount of power the truck can
33.5t
Payload of current Volvo E-series haul trucks.
June 2010 \\ PMV Middle East
034 MINING TECH
Downtime is much shorter in the newest machines.
transmit between the tyre and the contact patch of the ground.) The maker says that electronic monitoring of fluid levels means enhanced reliability as well as no need for daily service. Downtime during service is short, thanks to fewer service points on a new suspension design. A fully loaded body is raised in only 12 seconds, and lowered in only 9 seconds, while the new design of the cabin leaves plenty of room for personal items such as a lunchbox And the seat features air-suspension. Visibility around the machine is improved even more over predecessors with the large rearview mirrors, large windscreen and windows.
GIANT EXCAVATOR
Weight of Hitachi EX5500-6 – possibly the largest machine to be brought to an indoor trade show.
PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
The first units of the new flagship are currently in the final stages of factory testing and the first machine is soon due for operation in Australia. The accolade for the largest machine at the show was the Hitachi EX5500-6, which broke the record (as far as we could tell) for the largest machine ever bought to an indoor trade show, tipping the scales as it did at 570 tons. The newcomer features a choice of buckets up to 40 cubic yards, and is powered by two Cummins QSK50-C engines totaling 2,800 HP. More recently, Bucyrus, which has now taken over Terex-Demag brought the RH200 to the Bauma show. This giant has a 50t payload capacity, an operating weight of 579t , though in this instance the machine stayed outside, performing demos for the crowds.
“Rimpull is the amount of power the truck can transmit between the tyre and the the ground”
Even in quarry pits, really big excavators and mining shovels are a rarity in this region. That said, there is now at least one more to chose from, with the launch of a massive new 800-ton machine at the MineExpo show, held in Vegas last year. Liebherr announced the R 9800 mining excavator. Rat-
570t
The Hitachi EX5500-6 is powered by two Cummins QSK50-C engines totaling 2,800hp
ed at 800 tons of service weight the R 9800 provides a nominal bucket capacity of 38 to 42 m³ at a material density of 1,8 t/m³. This new flagship of the German firm’s mining excavators’ range is targeting bucket loads of 75 tons in both versions, as a backhoe and a shovel execution. The maker is providing for the machine two engine options, two Cummins QSK 60 with a installed power of 1,492 kW / 2,000 hp each or two MTU 12V4000 with a installed power of 1,425 kW / 1,910 hp. toughest mining conditions.
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036 CITY PROFILE
SHARJAH
What do tough times hold for the UAE’s industrial heartland? In the first half of the twentieth centurar y, Sharjah outranked Dubai in terms of international recognition and global trade. It was all relative of course, both cities were dirt poor following the collapse of the pearling boom. That said, as the British had a consulate base there, an airstrip had been built and a number of regional brands set up shop there. Dubai, meanwhile still comprised of a few hundred barasti houses around a couple of square kilometers of creek. However, a decision was about to be taken that was to split the fortunes of the two places irredeemably. In 1958, Sheikh Rashid in Dubai took the decision to dredge the creek in order to allow larger vessels to unloads. Sharjah, meanwhile did nothing. Shortly after Dubai’s dredging was complete, the Shamal winds blew with the result that Sharjah’s creek silted up, while Dubai was poised to take all the trade from its northern neighbour. Ten
years would pass before Sharjah re-opened her dhow harbour, by which point Dubai had a functioning deep water port and had built a far superior airport. While Sharjah had to play catch-up, certain successes were made. The Hamriyah deep water seaport (not to be confused with Dubai’s Al-Hamriyah port) was constructed, originally for the export of LPG being produced from Sharjah’s Sajja Gas field. However, a vast expansion of berths and a designation of ‘freezone’ status helped the port emulate the success seen at places such as Jebel Ali. It is for this reason that Sharjah managed to cement a reputation for being the county’s import and export hub for heavy machinery and equipment as well as producing half of the nation’s manufactured goods.
FREEZONE Like most of the UAE’s freezones the Hamriyah port offers minimal tax and a relaxed attitude to what can be brought in and out. UnforSTORE A machine awaits its next job in a Sharjah plant yard.
FACTSHEET: SHARJAH, CITY OF CULTURE
STORMY Floods and blackouts are a regular happening in Sharjah.
PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
Sharjah is the third largest emirate both physically and in terms of power and influence. Beyond the maze of industrial areas and never-ceasing traffic it is a cultured place, with historic ruins that date back thousands of years. UNESCO declared the emirate to be the ‘Arab Capital of Culture’ in 1998 as recognition of the many museums and traditions that are preserved there.
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037
CITY PROFILE
STAFF Strained industrial relations have caused problems in the past.
DRUM A drum cutter is one of the specialist tools found in Sharjah.
SHIP Industrial sprawl includes a number of firms who can maintain
tunately, this has lead to a reputation of the Emirate becoming a hub for counterfeit goods. At the end of last year, lots of power tools were destroyed following a bust on a company suspected of importing them. This followed a load of similar raids, most nota-
DID YOU KNOW? Current ruler HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed AlQasimi III has written a number of books. These include “The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf” a title which argues that piracy was largely a ploy by the British East India Company to control the waters. He also penned “The Genesis of the Scout Movement in Sharjah” as he was a keen Scout and a sponsor of the World Jamboree in 2007.
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ble was one where several tons of counterfeit truck and auto parts were seized which were headed to a major parts dealer in the Emirate. It is a credit to the Sharjah police that such raids have been made, but it is a fair assumption that many low-quality or downright fake goods are coming into the area – so beware if you need to buy spare parts for your heavy equipment. Of course, not all goods from Sharjah are fake – far from it. A number of specialists can provide spares for just about any make or model of heavy equipment, truck, car or just about anything else. Beyond the new trade, there is also a roaring trade in used parts for hard-to-find machines and this goes way beyond the battered store fronts selling dubious partworn truck tyres. Several large breakers exist that will sell you distinctly high-value items, such as components for off highway
haul trucks, or expensive undercarriage items for heavy bulldozers and the like.
GEOGRAPHY While the city of Sharjah follows a typical grid pattern, the emirate as a whole has an unusual shape, sharing a number of enclaves and exclaves with Oman, but there is currently no easy way for landbased traffic to get around the Hajjar mountains in Fujeriah. To overcome this, the Sharjah government is, very slowly, building a highway that passes across the difficult terrain, and tunnels right through the 1.5km of mountain side. Exactly when it will be ready is still anyone’s guess, but the tunnels, accepted to be the hardest pert of the project, have now broken though. The route, when finished is projected to give fleet managers a boost. Less welcome perhaps is the recent toll weybridge, which charges trucks coming from Fujeriah in to Sharjah. All heavy trucks pay a toll, currently AED100, plus an extra AED10 for every tonne
2590km2 Area of Sharjah
overweight. All heavy vehicles have to pay for each crossing, though the toll was designed to pay for road damage caused by the very large machines that haul rocks and quarry products from the northern emirates. Other restrictions that users of heavy trucks might need to be aware of concern the times heavy vehicles can be on the streets. Actually, the times are a bit odd, with heavy vehicles banned on city roads from 5.30am to 9.30am and from 1pm to 3pm and from 5.30pm to 9.30pm. This doesn’t apply everywhere, so check first. Traffic around the city is a nightmare at the best of times, even with the new relief roads open, so it is more than a good idea to make sure your drivers carry a map, and are aware of the bypass routes around the city.
June 2010 \\ PMV Middle East
038 DIARY
INDUSTRY EVENTS Some upcoming shows and conferences for your diary including events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai BIG 5 (including Big 5 PMV) WHERE: Trade Centre Exhibition Halls, Dubai WHEN: 23-26 November 2010
BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY WHERE: Fairmont, Abu Dhabi WHEN: 28-29 September 2010
The Big 5 construction show will be back as big as ever. Featuring thousands of exhibitors from all around the world, this is set to be the largest event in the construction calendar. Also at the show will be the Big 5 PMV, which as ever will show a selection of machines and specialist from across the industry.
In its third year, the conference series Building Sustainability into the Middle East will adopt a wider GCC outlook to focus on the latest trends, procedures and technologies. A focal point will be examining how Sustainability impacts both public and private projects and case study examples will be presented at the conference to be followed by open discussions.
CONSTRUCTION WEEK CONFERENCE WHERE: Fairmont Abu Dhabi WHEN: 27 October 2010
POWER GENERATION AND WATER WHERE: ADNEC Abu Dhabi WHEN: 17-19 October 2010
This will be the main event for construction industry professionals. Experts from all over the region will review 2010 and look at what 2011 may have in store for us.
One for all the building services gurus out there, this trade show in Abu Dhabi will showcase the latest tools and technology in the MEP business.
PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
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040 BACK TRACK
DESIGNS Various machine machines for dewatering plus an ‘external ‘exter combustion engine’.
THE ORIGINAL PLANT GUY A Roman architect penned complex machines, earning him the all-new title of ‘engineer’
T
o be fair, 1st century BC engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio wasn’t really the world’s first engineer or even plant manager – the ancient Mespotainians and others have claim to that title. However, the Roman citizen and his was written about during his lifetime, giving him exposure as the first interviewee of PMV Magazine. What is certainly clear is that Vitruvius designed machines of a type that wouldn’t be seen again until Leonardo DaVinci’s sketches, some 1400 years later. Vitruvius didn’t start as a PMV man. In fact, his first engineering accomplishments came in architecture, where after taking a number of big
PMV Middle East \\ June 2010
commissions for the ‘Rome’ project – which contrary to popular myth was not built in a day – and managed to produce no less than ten books on the subject of architecture. One of the first machines he invented was a dewatering plant, based on an Archimedes screw. The device was more sophisticated than that, though, with ‘attachments’ for applications such as clearing trenches or irrigating fields. The next machine recorded is the reverse-overshot water wheel, of which remains of have been found across Europe. This machine was a clever series of wheeled bucket chains, which went through an underground labyrinth of mines, and connected in a way reminiscent of a vertical string of canal locks.
The wheels were typically driven by hydropower, coming from the water pressure of a nearby fresh water aquaduct. Vitruvius also concerned himself with building services, designing an underfloor ducting system Foremost among them is the development of the hypocaust, a type of central heating where hot air developed by a fire was channelled under the floor and inside the walls of public baths and villas. He gives explicit instructions how to design such buildings so that fuel efficiency is maximised, so that for example, the caldarium is next to the tepidarium followed by the frigidarium. He also advises on using a type of regulator to control the heat in the hot rooms, a bronze disc set into the roof under a
circular aperture which could be raised or lowered by a pulley to adjust the ventilation. Although he does not suggest it himself, it is likely that his dewatering devices such as the reverse overshot water-wheel was used in the larger baths to lift water to header tanks at the top of the larger thermae, such as the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla.for district heating or cooling, while also giving us details on stucco rendering, as well as the best way to mix and use concrete, more then 1800 years before the material came back into use. So this Roman engineer is another link in the chain of the evolution of the parts and principles we still use to this day.
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