HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY

Not content with spending its $200 billion oil fortune constructing the world's tallest tower, Dubai's rulers are reclaiming the seabed to build luxury villas on islands shaped like giant palm trees. Unsurprisingly, Hitachi machines are being used for the tough jobs of rock working and shore protection.

 

Dubai is literally booming. You can feel the speed of development of this emerging world city. It is said that almost all of the world's tower cranes currently being manufactured are coming here and judging by the crowded skyline, it's hard to disagree. The city has just been named the Middle Eastern city of the future, an acknowledgement of the vision of General Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and the reality of what can be achieved when oil resources are invested wisely.

Although the Gulf State's rapid economic growth began in the 1960s with the first production of oil, the city's wealth is no longer dependent on natural resources. Tourism has already overtaken oil revenues as the prime source of income. The city has long welcomed foreign investors and there are no corporate or personal income taxes. For this reason, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have bought second homes in Dubai, mainly on the Jumeirah Beach coastal strip. The attractions of this wealthy Arab state are obvious: low prices, guaranteed sun and a pro-western culture with no expectation to conform to Arab dress codes. Five years from now, Dubai hopes to attract 15 million tourists, three times its present annual figure. The property section from Gulf News, the region's daily English language newspaper, runs to over 75 pages, so you could say that the market is rather 'healthy'.

By far the most interesting developments are the Palms: artificial islands created in the shape of palm trees. The first was on the Jumeirah Beach area; the second is currently under construction in Jebel Ali. It is being actively marketed as a 'destination lik no other on earth and it's hard to disagree with this bold statement. Its central 'trunk' will boast a sea village of luxury hotels and apartments, with a marina complex for shopping, leisure and entertainment. Secluded residential properties, consisting of signature homes, garden view villas and townhouses, will line canal coves. The outer crescent (breakwater) will have a tailor-made coastline lined with hotels, mansions, villas and apartments. And protected by this crescent will be water homes; 1,000 elevated properties on stilts. Of course, it's hard to visualize all this, when it doesn't actually exist yet, but what we're here to see is far more interesting, and that's where the Jan De Nul Group and Hitachi come in.

The Belgian company, established in 1938, is a world leader in dredging and reclamation projects. It was awarded the Palm Island Jebel Ali (Palm Island II) project in 2002 and is scheduled to finish the works by the end of this year. The pressure is on: it is a 24 hour a day, seven days a week operation in difficult climatic conditions. Temperatures can rise to 55 degrees Celsius in summer, with 95% humidity, making the choice of machinery paramount. The Jan De Nul Group was in a good position to win this prestigious contract, which consists of the creation of a four kilometre artificial peninsula in the form of a giant palm tree, protected by a 200 metre wide and 17 kilometre long breakwater built around the island. It had already been involved in the dredging works for the creation of the largest man-made harbour in the world (Jebel Ali port entrance) and was able to use all the suitable excavated materials from the port for the reclamation of the palm and because of this, effectively offer the best price. 135,000,000 m3 of cap rock, sand, calcarenite and limestone are being reclaimed by the company's most powerful cutter suction and trailing suction hopper dredgers, and the artificial peninsula will be protected from the actions of the sea by approximately 5,000,000 m3 of rock (equivalent to 10,000,000 tonnes) in varying sizes from 0.1kg to seven tonnes.

All of this rock is being hauled overland by lorry (up to 750 truck loads a day) from the Emirate Ras Al Khaimah, some 200 kilometres away, to Jebel Ali port, where it is loaded on to rock barges. And this is where the Hitachi fleet is operating.
Supplied by Belgian dealer Luyckx NV, the Jan De Nul Group is using two Zaxis 500s, two Zaxis 800s (both with a super long 28 metre front) three Zaxis 850s and one EX750H. All of them are using rock buckets from British-based Midland Steel Trading (MST). Our first stop is the 'trunk' of the island, where we meet Koen Corluy, who as Technical Superintendent, is responsible for the maintenance and performance of all land equipment on this project and is naturally pleased to have Hitachi excavators on site.

"We need machines that are capable of working in extreme conditions," he says. "The temperature now is fine (25 degrees Celsius in February) but the machines have to be able to function in conditions that are more than twice as hot as this. We don't have to worry about the Hitachi machines, as there are very few modifications needed to cope with these extreme temperatures. We use an additional air filter because of the amount of sheer dust and we also alter the ratio of the crankshaft of the fan so that it gives more revolutions, to assist with the cooling process. There's also a silencer modification made to meet stricter noise regulations. That's about it; apart from the above, they are completely standard machines and more than capable of meeting our requirements."

This is a view that is shared by Rob Van Der Lienden, Project Manager for rock works and Mr. Menten, Manager for all construction and earth moving equipment at De Nul Head Office. "We are proud of our work here and are very happy with the performance of the Hitachi machines as well as the support of Luyckx, our local dealer."
This vital dealer back up is provided on site by mechanical engineer Wim Aernouts, who Luyckx has sent outfor a six-week stint, before moving him on to Sachalin Island in Russia. De Nul operates a 24 hours, seven days a week fleet of three Hitachi Zaxis 800s and one Zaxis 350 at temperatures between 27° and 42° C, to dig a landfall connection for gas-pipelines. He has worked in Dubai before though, and knows his way around. Although only 27-years-old, he already has 11 years of experience of working with all kinds of construction equipment. Regular preventative maintenance is the key to machine longevity, and with a non-stop operation (and machine downtime costing serious money) his team and tight service schedule resembles that of a Formula One pit stop routine. "My day starts at 6am and I have to travel (by boat, pick-up truck and on foot) around the entire complex to check that all our machines are running efficiently. We have four technicians working here and our operation runs like clockwork. We check all oil levels, water levels, grease all moving parts, clean the radiators with a highpressure water spray, check the condition of the buckets and teeth, inspect the final drive, all filters and then finally fuel up the machine."

"We only allow ourselves 15 minutes for each machine and try to get as much feedback from the operators, who are all local guys and are good at what they do. I cover a massive area and would be lost without my mobile phone and also the Dr ZX diagnostic software technology, which allows me to work faster, and more efficiently. Boats are always ready to transport me from the inner trunk to the outer crescent, where the various machines are." We observe a Zaxis 800 that is currently standing on the probable site of a future Hilton hotel. It is using a special 'cactus' grab to move huge lumps of rock from flatbed lorries to the edge of a jetty in preparation for the rock barge that will transport it out to one of the peninsula's crescents. In the hazy distance, we can make out the extended booms of four Zaxis machines working together on the rock formations. That's where we are heading.

On the boat ride across to the crescent we pass a machine (not a Hitachi) that is standing idle. "They've been trying to fix that one for four days," laughs Wim as he watches technicians going through the usual process of elimination that is fault finding. "We don't have any similar problems with the Hitachi excavators. They are always working so have to be reliable. With the sea air, salt water and dust, it does affect the oxidation on the electric cables and batteries. Rusting of parts is also a problem but you can't avoid that here, so that's where routine maintenance comes into play."

An earlier look into Wim's workshop had revealed an extensive stock of fuel, oil and hydraulic filters, belts, fans, water pumps, alternators, upper rollers, track plates, bearings, nuts, starter switches, hosings and hydraulic cylinders. It's all there if he needs it and anything he doesn't have can be with him in three days from Belgium. role in keeping all Hitachi excavators running efficiently cannot be underestimated. All Zaxis machines clocked over 6,000 working hours in just eleven months, so a total of more than 48,000 working hours in the most tough, severe conditions, while Luyckx engineers try to keep an average machine availability of 96 % as a goal.

On arrival at the peninsula's crescent, the efficient rock works operation continues at a good pace. A Zaxis 800 with a 28-metre super long front is grading the slope. The seabed in this area is some 12-metres below the surface and the entire dipper boom is almost disappearing underwater. Obviously, the operator cannot 'see' underwater, so he is using a state-of-the-art computer system that uses a DGPS positioning system to help him move rocks, and grade the peninsula's sides to perfection.

Just a few hundred metres away there is a hive of Zaxis activity. A Zaxis 850 is bobbing up and down on a heavily loaded. rock barge, moored close to the artificial landmass. The Zaxis 850 is emptying the barge so quickly that it has to change position to restabilise the barge's buoyancy.

A land-based Zaxis 500 scoops up the variety of rock deposited and uses its bucket to shape and grade the crescent. Working together, these machines can add up to 50 metres of new shore protection ?land? each day. In the distance, some 100 metres offshore, another heavily loaded rock barge is moored. This one is full to the brim with huge rocks of up to eight tonnes. Another Hitachi excavator, a Zaxis 850 with a special grapple attachment, is effortlessly lifting, hauling and dropping these huge lumps into the water, forming the future foundations of what will one day be somebody's home.

As the boat comes to pick us up for the return journey to 'land', we are sorry to leave but are at least glad to have captured our story on film. Life moves fast in Dubai and we know that should we return, even in a few month's time, this stretch of reclaimed land will be virtually unrecognisable and almost certainly under concrete.

The Zaxis excavators will have moved on, but not too far away because plans have already been announced for a third Palm Island complex, as well as a 'waterworld' resort that will dwarf what we are seeing here today. The Jan De Nul Group will surely be in the running as experienced contractor, with the support of local dealer Luyckx, to help transform the Crown Prince's substantial vision for this great melting pot, into reality.