Dubai boasts a stunning skyline of high-rises – earning it a place among the top five cities in the world for the number of skyscrapers.
But these gleaming towers come with their own set of challenges, especially when scaling great heights to clean and maintain them.
Most high-rises need external maintenance and cleaning at least twice a year, while the city's best-known skyscrapers require work three or four times annually.
It’s a job left to the experts, and helping them stay up-to-date with the latest techniques is the team from Dubai-based Traks Pro, a company which specialises in providing training in occupational safety, particularly involving rope access.
Rope access techniques offer a flexible and cost-effective way for technicians and maintenance staff to access any part of a tower without difficulty.
It is also a vital skill for emergency services personnel, who may have to undertake rescue missions in tall buildings.
Technicians may spend eight hours a day, suspended from ropes on skyscrapers and, of course, working at heights comes with risks. To minimise these, it’s crucial personnel are thoroughly trained and able to deal with unforeseen situations, says James Falcetto, owner of Traks Pro.
“It’s about training them to deal with the unknown,” said Mr Falcetto.
The first four to five days of Traks Pro's training involves theory and practical lessons, followed by an assessment on the sixth day.
“This is to check if the technician is able to retain what he has learnt,” said Mr Falcetto.
For the real challenge is to ensure technicians and emergency services personnel can retain and recall what they've been taught, say the Traks Pro owner.
“So, even days or weeks after they’ve completed the training, they recall the techniques. It should become second nature, like muscle memory,” he said.
When The National photographer Antonie Robertson was visiting the Traks Pro centre at Dubai Investment Parks, a 15-member team from the General Civil Aviation Authority was taking a safety course.
GCAA team leader Rashed Al Shehhi said the group does this every two years.
“It involves two parts – one around tower maintenance work, and the other on rescue missions where a crisis is simulated so the team can practise a response,” said Mr Al Shehhi.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Atalanta v Juventus (6pm)
AC Milan v Napoli (9pm)
Torino v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Sunday
Bologna v Parma (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Lazio (6pm)
Roma v Brescia (6pm)
Verona v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Udinese (9pm)
Lecce v Cagliari (11.45pm)
Monday
SPAL v Genoa (11.45pm)
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
