When World Skills Abu Dhabi 2017 was held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 15th – 18th October, World Class Events supported the event’s organising team and DXB Live with the safe and successful delivery and de-rig of the prestigious event.
World Class provided a project director (managing director, John Adkins), senior project manager Brian Gowen and an additional six project managers for the build and 12 project managers for the de-rig who were responsible for planning and overseeing the project.
The de-rig of the event was a huge undertaking. The scale of the event, size of the venue and large quantities of kit, equipment and exhibits and the incredibly short timeframe (just four days) meant that nothing less than a precise and efficient plan would ensure a successful outcome. The team project managed the removal of shell scheme, flooring, AV equipment, furniture, graphics, rigging and electrics along with the equipment and items displayed on the exhibition stands. In total 8000 line items of equipment and over 1 million individual pieces were removed and packed away!
In order to meet the extremely tight deadline and given the scale of the task in hand, World Class split the venue into six manageable zones. Each zone was appointed two project managers, one for the day shift and one for the night shift, who in turn were assigned teams of crew, again split into day and night shifts.
World Class also developed and issued Event Handbooks for each zone which could be viewed on Ipads for easy access to critical information.
At the start of each shift, John Adkins and Brian Gowen briefed the project managers to go through the list of tasks that needed to be completed. Throughout the project the senior management team was in constant contact with the project managers and crew on the show floor via radio. A clear and concise communication plan was implemented, from the WorldSkills sector managers, to zonal project managers to crew members etc. which allowed the team to deliver effectively and meet the deadline.
“It was great to meet and work with the World Class team during WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. The focus that your team brought to getting the job done, their extremely positive attitude and the very professional way that you approached the project proved to be invaluable. So, thank you for the magnificent job that you did, I very much appreciated all of your help, support and advice.”
Aidan Jones, executive director of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017
Interesting facts about WorldSkills :
- 44th event
- Global hub of skills excellence
- Greatest international vocational skills competition
- 1300 competitors
- 10,000 international visitors and 100,000 visitors from the UAE
- 1st time the event was held in the MENA region
- Utilised 105,000 square metres of exhibition space and included permanent and temporary structures at ADNEC