21 we also use Haulotte and Niftlift booms and Skyjack scissors. We also have scissor lifts from specialist companies such as Omme. But 60% of our fleet is Genie, more because our parent group, Loxam, has a very close relationship with Genie globally.” The Middle East AWP sector differs from others by preferring large boom lifts, says Keely, and Rapid Access is prepared for that here. “The European market its probably 60% scissor liftbased and the Middle East market is probably 60% boom-based. There’s a lot more work done with our equipment here at extreme heights and we have significantly more big booms in this region. This is partly due to some very tall construction here, and also because of the oil & gas projects,” Keely explains, adding that the uptake of scissor lifts is increasing in the region and “our fleet mix has changed in the past couple of years, with scissors now comprising double-digit percentage points”. But it’s still the booms that dominate. Diesel is also the Middle East’s clear power choice, not electric or hybrids, Keely notes. “Of course, the scissor lifts are electric; for almost all other models its diesel. I don’t think we’re going to move away from that here soon. Obviously, electric is a better option for indoor facilities management, but most FM companies here still use a lot of scaffolding and ladders. Our business is mainly in external construction, not internal fit-outs,” he says. Discussing Rapid Access’ business brings us to one of the most important aspects of its service proposition – operator training. “We have an option of providing operators when we rent out our equipment, but typically
With a fleet of more than 4,000 machines across the GCC, Rapid Access can provide every kind of AWP machine available on the market, from tall booms to scissors and more.
people use their own. It’s more economical for a contractor to have his workers trained and operating the machines he rents than to hire one along with the machine,” Keely reveals. “So, we encourage people to do their training with us and we sell a lot of training courses. We are an authorised training partner of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and we’re also the world’s largest provider of MEWP training. Training our customers’ operators also means that they use the machines in a far safer and reliable way.”
3D PRINTINg
incorPorAting technology Rapid Access is among
facility where we print a
then get printed using our
the global pioneers of 3D
few parts. It takes typically
3D printing equipment
printing of spare parts
around three hours to
and we’re also looking at
in the powered access
print the sort of parts we
bringing in professional
industry, says marketing
are printing as of now, but
3D scanning technology.
manager Joe Keely. The
it saves money and also
These are huge scanners,
company has started in a
improves parts availability,
which will enable us
small way but has plans
thereby improving overall
to expand the range of
to expand its 3D printing
efficiency,” says Keely.
parts that we can print.
initiative further and soon
Rapid Access started
“Even though we have
print not just small parts
3D printing of parts in
started only with plastic,
but also major ones.
their Dubai facility around
the technology available
four months ago and only
includes printing in
parts are printed and the
three or four different
carbon fibre or even
printing is restricted to
parts are 3D printed at the
titanium, which we will
non-safety related parts.
moment, but it’s looking
incorporate soon, as we
We have a 3D printer at our
to expand that. “We are
are looking to expand our
parts and spares section
working on designing our
3D printing capabilities
in Rapid Access’ Dubai
own parts, which we can
quite quickly,” Keely says.
“So far, only plastic
I’ts not mandatory for every customer to take the company’s training, but it’s often site and contract specific. On some jobs and companies Rapid Access provides the training with the machines. “For example, Aramco requires all its operators to be IPAF certified and so do the Dubai Expo 2020 organisers for all operators working on their sites, so we do the training for them,” Keely says. The biggest recent news at Rapid Access is that it’s extending its training options with a new virtual reality simulator, (see box) to test and develop better operator competency. “It’s like driving a car: with time you’re likely to get some bad habits. Our new VR simulator enables you to return to a better standard of work. It’s like a refresher course, enforcing better practice in a cheaper, controlled environment, and it reminds you of certain things that you may have forgotten. It allows large contractors to prove the competency levels of their operators,” Keely elaborates. Looking into the future he feels the focus on health and safety will increase, and people will consider AWP equipment earlier in the building process rather than later, as now. Also, the use of scissor lifts, electric, hybrid and bi-fuel machines will increase. “Both these factors will lead to our product line becoming more prominent at job-sites,” Keely says. “And, led by the large companies, the powered access sector in the region will move towards greater emphasis on training and professional development. So, we anticipate a lot more work for our training division going ahead.”