One of the most versatile and cost-effective pieces of hire equipment in the UAE construction and logistics market is the 7 ton hiab which combines a 4 ton mounted crane to offer heavy lifting capabilities and place materials in the correct location, without the need for a separate crane and flatbed truck.
A self loading trucks system, made up of a 7 tonne GVM (gross vehicle mass) flatbed cargo truck and a knuckle boom hydraulic crane with a lifting capacity of up to 4 tonnes at close range. The end-result is one single unit which can drive to your site, lift materials off the ground or off a pile, load materials onto its own bed, transport them to any point within the site or to any other emirate, and unload and place them with the utmost accuracy, without the need for additional equipment, additional operators, or additional mobilisation cost.
The 7 ton hiab with 4 ton crane is a versatile hire option that is widely employed by construction workers, logistics and supply chain companies, telecom infrastructure and facilities management professionals in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Northern Emirates for medium tonne lifting and delivering jobs where a forklift is not enough, but a mobile crane is not justified in terms of cost and complexity.
This guide provides all the information a procurement manager, site supervisor or project engineer should know before hiring a 7 ton hiab and 4 ton crane anywhere in UAE.
A truck mounted attenuator (TMA) or shadow vehicle, crash cushion truck, or attenuator truck is a large vehicle with an energy absorbing attenuator at the back of the truck. The attenuator unit is mounted to a host vehicle (usually a 10-20 tonne truck) to provide a sacrificial buffer between the live traffic and road workers working in front of them.
The attenuator cartridges are made of aluminium honeycomb or designed steel tube assemblies that collapse in a controlled manner if an stray vehicle hits the back of a TMA when travelling at high speed. This event absorbs and dissipates the kinetic energy, greatly minimizing the deceleration forces on the host vehicle driver, and preventing the shadow truck from being thrown forward into the work crew.
In real terms, a properly set-up TMA can be the difference between having a distracted or impaired motorist and having workers working on the road that the driver is traveling on.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the mandatory installation of a MASH TL-3 certified truck mounted attenuator, as part of an approved Traffic Management Plan (TMP), for all contractors operating in live traffic lanes on roads where road signage indicates 80 km/h and above speeds. A certified shadow vehicle should be on site prior to the work permit window. If they don’t comply, the permit is denied, the project is shut down on site and fines are imposed according to Dubai road safety.
The TMA units deployed on the roads of Dubai should also follow specific requirements set by the RTA such as the required reflective chevron patterns, LED arrow boards that must be operational, high-visibility beacon systems which are set to RTA specifications and must be MASH TL-3 certified.
Highway TMA (MASH TL-3)
Standard specifications for hire on UAE motorways, expressways and high speed arterial roads.
Compact TMA (MASH TL-2 or TL-3 Metro): 2.
In high traffic, low speed city road and urban construction applications.
3. Mobile / Moving TMA (Shadow Vehicle Configuration)
Installed when the work crew is moving and is moving slowly, e.g., along the road during line marking, crack sealing, road cleaning or rolling pavement repair operations.
5. Bicycle Safety (Barrier Riding)
Installed to defend a fixed work site or excavation.