The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) of the UK is to host a debut regional event in Dubai, UAE, next month.

The first LEEA Lifting and Rigging Conference Middle East will take place at the Shangri-La hotel on December 14 and 15. It follows the successful staging of the LEEA Lifting and Rigging Conference Asia in June in Singapore.

The Dubai event will offer two days of presentations and networking for lifting industry professionals working with cranes, hoists and rigging equipment in the Middle East.

Mark Bridger, a director at LEEA’s organising partner Bridger Howes, said: “The spotlight has returned to Dubai and the Middle East ahead of the World Expo 2020. As the region pioneers new paths of development and innovation it is important that an annual, safety-themed lifting conference positions itself to serve those working in construction, urban development and infrastructure projects over the years leading up to the mega show and beyond.”

LEEA is a leading representative body for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide.

Presentations include a paper from Compact Lifting Group, which distributes industry leading lifting and safety systems throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East. Delegates will learn how a wireless, hook-mounted camera system attaches to the hook block of a crane and delivers video to the operator in the cab.

A paper will be also be delivered by Modulift’s Anthony Culshaw, senior design engineer. Modulift is a supplier of spreader beams, lifting beams and other below-the-hook lifting equipment.

Another highlight will be a presentation by Keith Anderson, chief rigging engineer at Bechtel, a top engineering, construction and project management company. The presentation titled, “Stability in Lifting Arrangements” will cover design considerations, unstable arrangements, static equilibrium, levelling the load and more.

Other headline speakers include Kevin Crilly, regional manager – East and senior technical officer, LEEA; and Beniel Sureshkumar, senior inspection engineer in the heavy lift department, Consolidated Contractors Company.