The newly rebranded third edition of Construction Machinery Middle East (CMME)’s popular Access & Handling Summit – ‘finding smarter ways to work at height,’ will take place in Dubai on 23 February, 2023, CPI Trade Media has announced.
In an expanded form of the original, the event aims to provide a platform for work-at-height customers in facility management, oil and gas, and construction to engage in dialogue with equipment manufacturers and operators across a variety of key topics.
The event, which has been held at Dubai’s Radisson Red Hotel in Silicon Oasis for the past two years, will feature a number of panel discussions and presentations and will kick off at 9am on the day.
Registration is complementary for professionals from the access and handling, crane, construction, facilities management, oil&gas, power, transport, and equipment rental sectors.
Discussing the reasons to expand the event’s outreach Mark Dowdall, Editor of Construction Machinery Middle East explained, “One of the things we realised was that working at height involves such a wide scope of critical tasks that it should not just be confined to one particular segment or sector. We are increasingly seeing smarter ways of working at height in facility management, oil&gas and construction alike and I believe there is a lot that can be learned by sharing these innovations in the right forum.”
He added, “In addition to machine enhancements, advances in technology do not just mean fleet operators are better equipped to manage large, diverse fleets of access equipment but it has allowed operators find new ways to tackle work-at-height challenges. The event will offer the opportunity to explore these changes and delve into other challenges being faced by manufacturers, rental companies, fleet managers and operators including safety and training.”
The first panel discussion of the day will focus on how technology is changing mobile elevated work platform (MEWP) management and working at height practices across key sectors in the Middle East, while the second will centre on training regional machinery operators. As with previous editions of the event, there will be outdoor machinery demonstrations, as well as several opportunities to network.
The work-at-height market has been impacted by several trends in the last couple of years and has seen players in the sector evolving to keep pace. Commenting on some of the trends he’s observed in the market in 2022, Dowdall notes, “Over the last several months alternative power sources such as lithium batteries and hydrogen technology have continued to develop, making these further viable alternatives to diesel engines on job sites.”
“When it comes to aerial work platforms (AWPs), more models of this type have been added in the region with companies increasingly considering the total cost of ownership (TCO) before making a purchase. Some local municipalities have also started to specify electric machines only, so this is encouraging the electric machine change further.”
Dowdall believes that dialogue amongst stakeholders is vital for every player in the market to keep abreast of changes and keep pace with them. He notes, “Whether it’s training operators or increasing the maximum lifespan of the machine, doing these things effectively means having open forums of dialogue between all the different stakeholders. This conference aims to provide just that.”
Sharing his thoughts on the one key takeaway he hopes delegates will leave the summit with, Dowdall concludes, “I hope through this forum delegates not only get an insight into what’s happening on the ground level but can walk away better equipped to deal with their own unique challenges.”
