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German firm Peri recently introduced the TRIO system into the region. A coupler allows the joining of panels without any need for stiffening or aligning components.

Innovations within the formwork sector continue as contractors strive for every possibly advantage to meet tight deadlines, while at the same time, new companies are entering the market, attracted by the volume of work taking place in the region. According to Ina Juenemann, marketing coordinator, Peri, the market is challenging contractors by forcing them to reach certain, and maintain, very short cycling times. This is led to a number of innovations in the types of shoring systems being used.

Peri recently introduced TRIO into the UAE, which, due to a patented coupler, allows the joining of panels horizontally, vertically or at corners without any need for additional stiffening or aligning components. This results in faster assembly, greater flexibility of re-use and lower costs. The TRIO panel also has major advantages: it has two heights and two widths for maximum utilisation of the full area of the panel, simple stopends and wall junctions. At 2.4m wide, it is an optimal size for transportation. Peri is currently working in Dubai Marina Mall and Dubai Festival City, among others.

"Formwork technology has not reached its end yet. From what we have experienced, new technologies and systems are continuously developed and there is going to be more innovative products each year," adds Juenemann.

This is illustrated by Grocon Lubecca, which has developed a unique approach to formwork for one of Dubai's tallest buildings currently under construction - the 100-storey, 400m Princess Tower, being built by ACC. The Grocon system enables the contractor to meet strict safety standards when using formwork that have not been seen before in Dubai, the company claims. Using a hydraulic centre core, hydraulic perimeter system and safety screen system, ACC will produce a fully ‘extruded' building from the system.

Robert Bergman, general manager, Grocon says: "Dubai is currently experiencing a huge trend towards safety systems, with contractors becoming more aware that down time caused by injuries can result in losses of up to US $5,000 (AED18,300) per hour, due to equipment paid for and lost productivity."

The Grocon safety perimeter will allow for the curtain wall panels to be placed behind the protection of the system, therefore fully enclosing the building prior to the Grocon safety screen system being moved to the next level. Furthermore, the core system is fully enclosed on the two levels required for its operation in forming of the core walls, providing optimum safety for the workers on this work front. Finally, the perimeter safety screens, which are suspended from the Grocon hydraulic perimeter system, are fully enclosed over four floors, providing safety for the workers forming the slab and installing the curtain wall panels.

"All construction fronts are fully enclosed on the tower structure by the various Grocon construction systems," says Bergman. "Once the screens are moved to the next level, the curtain wall panels then provide optimum safety for all workers performing finishing trades." He adds that a building, which is entirely closed for all construction operations from start to finish, is a first for the Dubai construction industry.

Grocon is responsible for another first in Dubai - an eight-floor personnel hoist attached to the central core system. The hoist will provide access for workers and materials to the top deck of the Grocon centre core systems and also to the lobby floors and stairs areas being formed below the Grocon centre core system. This is logistically more efficient and also offers reductions in lost time due to inadequate access to the core system.

The company has also introduced the placing of steel beams for the floor slab with Grocon's hydraulic perimeter system. The beams, placed using a monorail system suspended from the hydraulic perimeter system, will help alleviate enormous amounts of crane time for ACC on the project and speed up the operation.

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