A fleet of 16 Grove rough-terrain cranes is right on schedule to complete the construction of over 2,000 villas in a one-year period as part of a new residential development in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The cranes are working 24 hours a day at the US$750 million Al Falah development, a new stand-alone community that will eventually house 60,000 UAE nationals.
Five villas per day
One of the key challenges at the development is the tight schedule. Gulf Precast Concrete Company, which owns the cranes, has to manufacture and construct five villas each day to complete the 2,069 villas on-time.
Dr. Daniele Pfeffer, COO at Gulf Precast, says meeting the daily target and working in the harsh desert environment have increased the pressure of this project.
"The cranes must deliver regular, reliable service to meet the demands of this immense project," she says. "The uneven ground and arid land makes things more difficult. But our Grove cranes have proven their abilities ? working 12 to 24 hours a day for almost a year. We are on track, and I am confident that we will reach our goal."
The inverted outrigger jack
One design feature on the RT880E and RT760E cranes that is proving particularly useful on this project is the inverted outrigger jacks ? situated at the top of the outriggers as opposed to at the bottom. The inverted outrigger jacks improve stability and also protect the cylinder rods from the ingress of dirt and sand.
