NFT, a global leader in tower cranes and the exclusive Potain dealer in the Middle East, is on a mission with its principal to spread awareness of tower crane safety around the GCC.

Having launched their ‘Tower Crane Safety Campaign’ last November, NFT and Potain – a Manitowoc brand – will tour clients to promote safe manoeuvring and efficient performance of their tower cranes throughout this year (2018).

As part of the Safety First campaign, NFT’s team visited the project sites in the UAE at Marsa Al Seef, Sobha Hartland, the Royal Atlantis on the Palm Jumeirah, and Meydan One Mall.

Marsa Al Seef at the Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai was the first stop for NFT.  Six tower cranes supplied by NFT, including four units of Potain’s MD 560 M25 and a brand new MDT 368 L12, are working on all four phases of the project, being developed by Meraas Holding where Dutco Balfour Beatty is the main contractor.

The Safety First training gift pack ... all essentials included.

The next job site visited at the end of November was for Sobha Hartland Contracting. For the project – North London Collegiate School – at Sobha Hartland, NFT has erected two flat top MCT 205s. The development comprises a three-storey school building, with 65 academic blocks, a swimming pool, sports hall, landscaping and parking areas for buses and cars.

Last month, the safety campaign team went to the Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences project at Palm Jumeirah. Here, 10 tower cranes including the MR 418, MR 415 and the GTMR 400 self-erecting tower crane stood tall in the background as the induction was led in front of 50 people.

The last job site tour of 2017 was of Meydan One Mall Phase 1A where Salini Impregilo is the main contractor. There, seven Potain tower cranes including the MD 365B L12, MCT 385-14, MCT 385-14, MD 900, MD 500, MD 365 B L12, and MR 225 A are spread out across the large plot.

The Safety First training including a 20-minute induction on how to work safely on Potain tower cranes was presented by Manitowoc’s Middle East sales director Ahmed Talhimet. Each person working on and around Potain tower cranes, including riggers, operators and supervisors received the training as well as a gift bag with many safety essentials including Potain’s tower crane safety booklet translated into five languages: Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Turkish and English. It also contained CE-certified safety gloves and glasses, first aid kit, cooling water bottle, torch, and face bandana to protect against the dust.

Members of the safety campaign team, apart from Talhimet, included NFT operations manager for Dubai Mazen Barbar, QHSE (quality, health, safety and environment) manager at NFT Ayad El Hajj, strategy and marketing manager at NFT Nagham Al Zahlawi, Manitowoc crane care manager Christophe Chatonnet and Potain sales coordinator Carina El Rkaiby.

The safety campaign will continue in 2018 and will extend all over the GCC, says the spokesman.

Potain has been a leader in tower crane and self-erecting crane production since its inception in La Clayette, France, in 1928. More than 100,000 Potain cranes have been sold and installed on some of the most prestigious job sites around the world. The company offers more than 60 models in a variety of product ranges.