Gulf Construction Online - Wolffkran workhorses tackle a tight spot

Manufacturers & Procurement

Burj Royale rising up ... with two Wolff luffing jib cranes on site.

Wolffkran workhorses tackle a tight spot

01 October 2020

Two tower cranes from Wolffkran Arabia are currently working on a residential building in Downtown Dubai that will offer direct views of Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Fountain.

The 58-storey Burj Royale, being developed by Emaar, will contain a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The residential tower has been strategically planned and is being built behind Old Town and in front of Burj Views to maximise on the coveted view.

Wolffkran Arabia was approached to be a part of its iconic project because of its expertise in crane planning and lifting capabilities, Jeffery Watson, Operations Director of Wolffkran, tells Gulf Construction.

“Because the plot is surrounded by existing development, the team at Wolffkran had to carefully plan the erection of a Wolff 224B and Wolff 180B to enable safe lifting in a confined space,” he explains.

Elaborating on the project, Watson says: “By using two luffing jib tower cranes, the contractors was able to eliminate the use of multiple mobile cranes and reduce the service operational costs and planning time associated with it.

“Furthermore, using two tower cranes also meant that coordinating lifting plans and processes for this project could be entirely handled by Wolffkran, enabling it to offer end-to-end lift management with a range of services including planning of the crane foundation, erection and crane operational methodology; anti-collision systems; service and maintenance; and spare parts and, finally, dismantling when the project is complete.”

Both tower cranes are positioned on either side of the construction site and as the work progresses, the cranes have the capability to rise to a maximum height of 200 m to finish off the construction.

“We worked closely with the main contractor to plan timings and worked at night to offload the correct amount of material for each crane and erected exactly what was required to limit the impact on site logistics and not impact residents, visitors and daily activity in the area as it is so close to Dubai Mall.

“Once this project is over, our team will go in and dismantle these cranes, based on a carefully laid-out plan to ensure safety as this in in the middle of busy streets and a shopping district,” he says.

Meanwhile, on another Dubai site, having completed its rigorous duties on the Museum of the Future on Shaikh Zayed Road, the Wolffkran Arabia team is now evaluating ways to dismantle the cranes safely.

The tower cranes specialist implemented a lifting plan for this landmark project in 2017, involving three tower cranes which were erected and then changed to meet the construction needs. These were put up in three phases. Additionally, as a crane solution provider, Wolffkran also provided the base design and procedures to erect and dismantle the cranes safely. The company facilitated this process with the SMIE anti-collision system and in-house trained crane operators.

“The first phase of the crane operations started in April 2017, when Wolffkran Arabia erected three main tower cranes in three days,” Watson explains. “We started off with a crane arrangement of three saddle jib cranes – all Wolffkran 6531.12 models with a maximum load capacity of 12 tons – operating for the first six months.

“The second phase of the crane operations began in October 2017 when the three saddle jib cranes were switched for two 28-ton 355B luffing jib cranes, which were the new TC1 and TC2 ,and one 20-ton 8033.20 saddle jib crane, which was the new TC3.

For the third and last phase, the height under hook of the cranes was increased to 67.5 m for the TC1 and TC2 and 87.7 m for the TC3 with the jib of TC3 extended from 45 m to 50 m to facilitate lifting material of up to 4 tons.

Other striking projects in the region where Wolffkran cranes have been used include the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and the Opera House in Muscat, Oman.

With its regional office based in Dubai, UAE, Wolffkran Arabia operates and serves the whole GCC region. It has a warehouse in Umm Al Quwain that is used for its operations and crane storage.

The Dubai office offers tower crane rental solutions comprising a full package from planning, pre-lift logistics, crane planning with anti-collision systems, crane base planning with crane erection and dismantle. It also offer spare parts and a service and maintenance contract as needed.

Wolffkran Arabia ensures that tower crane ownership or rental requirements are met and serviced and supported to the very high standards demanded by its worldwide distribution network. Its cranes offer some of the highest-free standing capabilities in the industry, the fastest erection and operational effectiveness with all components sourced and manufactured within Western Europe.

Some of Wollfkran’s most popular cranes in the region include the Wolff 355b, Wolff 7532 and the Wolff 6031.

Commenting on these cranes, Watson says: “Wolff 355b is best for confined sites, so anywhere in the city; Wolff 7532 is good for very heavy loads and versatile in use due to the broad load range spectrum and jib ranges; and the Wolff 6031 offers maximum efficiency with regard to transportation and assembly time and cost due to fewer components.”