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Business Risks of the Future
Assessing and minimising risk
at construction sites of the
world’s tallest buildings.
Christian Müller,
Senior Underwriter
Property Construction
Reaching
for the sky
and for many years held the official title of
‘world’s tallest building.’ Emaar Properties’
Burj Dubai in the Middle East, with 161
floors designed to reach over 800 metres
into the sky is the next contender to hold
the crown of the ‘world’s tallest building.’
Over 10,000 consultants and construction
workers are involved in completing the
project.
Improvements in technology allow the construction industry to keep reaching higher.
For example, Burj Dubai is constructed
from a unique concrete mixture. The unprecedented height of the structure required an
advanced pump to send the special mixture
over 600 metres to the top, a process which
takes more than 30 minutes. In the
meantime, plans have already surfaced for
three even taller buildings to be built in
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates.
In 1885 the world’s first skyscraper, the ten
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storey Home Insurance Company Building in
Larger risks
Chicago, was erected and the race to build
Along with grander and costlier construction
ever taller structures ignited. Since then the
projects come larger potential risks. This
competition to build these vertical wonders
makes the need for risk assessment during
has spread around the world. The Taipei
both the planning phases and on the
101 Tower in Taiwan is a soaring 508 metres
construction site ever more critical.
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A super-tall building’s capacity to withstand
severe winds is critical. Wind gusts during
a cyclone can reach 300 km/h.
When assessing tall building construction
wind tunnel studies were conducted to get
risks, XL Insurance’s underwriters as well as
to the distinctive stepped shape of Burj
civil and risk engineers must analyse various
Dubai to withstand winds. The shape of a
aspects of the project. These include
tower is very important in the mitigation of
materials’ stress resistance; architectural and
these wind forces enabling service-ability
technical design and security measures. The
during all weather conditions.
first task is to check if the project can be
executed as planned. Given that the risk
Unlike risk assessment of already erected
evaluation during the underwriting stage
buildings where the focus is mainly on the
of such construction projects takes place
structure itself, with high-rise projects,
only on paper, the process requires a
especially those on a grand-scale, a level of
detailed understanding of the materials and
trust and confidence must be gained in the
precautions need to be taken, such as the
technology being used, as well as the
professionals involved in the planning and
temporary fire fighting and water supply
natural environment that the building will be
construction of the new building. We must
systems installed for the Burj Dubai project.
exposed to.
be convinced that the principal, project
manager and main contractor have the
As the new inhabitantats of Burj Dubai are
Environment and natural disaster exposures,
experience to successfully complete the
getting ready to move in, our underwriting
such as earthquake risk; previous ground
project, and that they are willing to co-
experts are already assessing possible sites
pollution exposure; weather conditions;
operate with our team to take effective risk
that could hold one of the next super-tall
the geology of the planned site and the
management measures to reduce or avoid
towers of the world.
groundwater table play a key role in
losses before and during the construction.
assessing the viability of a skyscraper.
Extreme weather conditions in Dubai with
Once a project breaks ground the main
temperatures up to 50°C during summer
concern on all construction sites is the
required that the concrete mix be cooled
most basic of risks – fire. For tall building
with crushed ice. A super-tall building’s
construction sites that employ thousands of
capacity to withstand severe winds is also
workers and house tons of materials, a fire
critical. The wind gusts during a cyclone can
can result in an astronomical loss of money
reach 300 km/h. Detailed and repeated
and time, and even lives. Hence extreme
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