Internet of everything technology is being used to prevent construction cranes from colliding on a site in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai.

This is according to the chief executive officer of predictive and real-time anti-collision firm SK Solutions, Severin Kezeu, who on Wednesday addressed delegates at SAP’s business conference SAPPHIRE NOW 2014 in Orlando, Florida.

Kezue (pictured far right) explained how SK is using technology such as in-memory computing solution SAP HANA to safeguard a construction site with 37 cranes and 5,000 workers near to the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

Kezue illustrated how the internet-connected system detects if construction cranes are swinging too close to each other, and then halts them from moving altogether.

The company further says that it helps implement the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) using the internet of everything. Other technologies that SK uses include Cisco IOx and Honeywell Sensing.

“We are saving lives in real-time,” said Kezue.

“Today what I showed you now was real-time collision avoidance,” he added.

The safety of construction sites in the oil-rich Arab Gulf states has been under the spotlight, especially amid Qatar’s rush to build infrastructure ahead of the 2022 FIFA football world cup.

Reports of the deaths of migrant construction workers in Qatar have hit the press in the last year after a report in the UK’s Guardian newspaper exposed the dangers.