The Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) has successfully handed over Phase II of its key development in Qatar’s capital city of Doha, with the remaining phases of the project recording an amazing 17 million man hours without time lost due to injury.
Relying on the focus and commitment of more than 8,000 workers across the entire site, the project safety team ensured everyone was working towards the same goal: to deliver the project on time and safely.
The Doha City Centre project began in 2005 and involved the construction of five towers with a direct link to the existing Doha City Centre, one of the largest malls in the Gulf.
Valued at US$450 million (Dhs1, 653 million), the development for Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company was divided into three phases; Phase II, Phase IIIA and Phase IIIB. The total project involves the construction of a total built-up area of around 438,000 square metres and includes a reinforced concrete structure, external cladding with a glazed curtain walling system, MEP services and soft and hard landscaping.
Phase II included the construction of the 258-room, 50-storey Marriott Renaissance Hotel, the 204-room and 124 executive apartments, 50-storey Marriot Courtyard and a podium. These world class facilities opened in August 2011.
Subsequent phases of the Doha City Centre project currently remain under construction with completion scheduled for 2012. Phase IIIA includes the construction of the 50-storey Shangri-La Tower, the 50-storey Rotana Tower and a podium. Phase IIIB involves the construction of the 48-storey Merweb Tower and a podium.
These phases are currently at 17 million manhours without lost time due to injury, demonstrating the commitment of the entire workforce to having a safe work environment.
The HLG Qatar Quality, Health and Safety Manager John Anderson said the project safety team had done an excellent job of promoting safety initiatives on site.
“One of the key benefits for the safety team was the visible support it received from the project management team,” he said. “We held weekly meetings with supervisory staff on site and ensured that they were focused on delivering this project on time and in a safe manner.”
Mr Anderson said the safety team worked hard to position themselves as mentors on best-practice safety behaviours on site.“Our guys became coaches for their teams, rather than acting as ‘policeman’ which helped to build a positive and constructive safety culture on site,” he said. “When they identified areas where safety could be improved, rather than issue warnings they arranged additional training to ensure problem areas were targeted quickly and effectively.”
Project Manager Ziad Hodroge said the client had also thrown its support behind HLG’s approach to safety on site.“The client was concerned with not only delivering this project on time, but also delivering it safely,” he said. “They expected that all safety personnel were well trained, experienced professionals, which is also in line with HLG’s approach, and they also maintained an ongoing interest in any safety issues on site.”
Mr Hodroge said the client also initiated weekly site walks to monitor and address any safety concerns. “They also helped the project team to celebrate when we achieved key safety milestones, such as reaching nine million man-hours without time lost due to injury. “This project was an excellent example of what can be done when everyone involved works together to achieve a common goal.”