Keep the ball rolling

In the second of our visits to watch ground works machines, we look at a sports stadium site in Abu Dhabi.

Ah... Scarves... Rattles... Whistles...multi-million Euro transfer deals...Football stadia brings out all sorts of emotions, particularly when the pride of the national team is involved. Such is the case with the Khalifa bin Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi.

In a couple of years time, the pitch will be carefully mown, and nobody but the football teams will be allowed to touch the hallowed turf. For now though, the ground is alive with the pounding and shaking of heavy machines - the big rigs have arrived to put in some ground works and nothing is going to stop this construction going up on time.

Teams

From the outset, we must make clear that while we had been invited to this worksite by foundation specialist Keller Grundbau, both Keller and rival firm Zublin have teamed up on a joint venture for this project.

Today, we have a ringside view from halfway up the mast of a tower crane, and it is clear that the two sides are working to a common goal, with a score of heavy rigs flanked by the usual players including loaders, pumps and mixers.

Welding

Before any piling is done, though, cages to contain the foundation rods must be constructed. This is usually a time consuming, labour intensive process, but the JV decided to speed things up "Usually you do it by hand, but we have three automatic machines to produce about sixty cages" said Sebastian Gaiser, regional manager, Keller.

The job has to be done properly of course, ground works are one of the most technical aspects of building any large structure. However, the time frame is short, with works expected to be completed in about eight months from now.

As a result, any automation that can bring better speed and efficiency is welcome. Actually, it is a shame that the cages will be forever entombed under the building - the welds are perfect.

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