TRANSMISSION - KHARAFI NATIONAL · Transmission is the corporate magazine of Kharafi National. It is issued quarterly and distributed internally ... on the Al-Sowwah District Cooling

Y O U R W A Y O F S T A Y I N G I N T O U C H Issu

e 26

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0TRANSMISSION

KUWAIT

PO Box 24081Safat 13101KuwaitTel: +965-22259000Fax: +965-22259999

CONTACT USTransmission is the corporate magazine of Kharafi National. It is issued quarterly and distributed internally. The editor, Paul D Kennedy, may be contacted on [email protected] to which comments and contributions should also be sent.

w w w . k h a r a f i n a t i o n a l . c o m

ABU DHABI

Block A Building ICAD Industrial CityPlot no 1J1/sector M41Abu Dhabi – MusaffahTel: +9712-5130513Fax: +9712-5130519

DUBAI

PO Box 25693DubaiTel: +9714-3476662Fax: +9714-3479400

EGYPT

2 AbdulMoneimRiyadh StAl Thawra SquareAl MohendessenGizaTel: +202-33367688Fax: +202-37609264

LEBANON

MAK Centre, 2nd FloorAl-Sham RoadPO Box 182HazmiehBeirutTel: +961-5-950480/81Fax:+961-5-950988

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TS Contents1 MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

KN PROJECTS2 Cooling Sowwah Island6 Developing Saadiyat Island

OPERATIONS NEWS8 40” Gas pipeline project 10 ADWEA WWTP BOOT (ISTP1) 11 Speeding up at BS-16013 MEP works in Ethiopia14 HQ – Al-Raha Beach15 Al-Mamoura Towers16 KOC office complex17 KN Industrial City17 Instant Access in the UAE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT18 Harnessing the Power of Informal Learning PROCUREMENT20 KN Material Control Unit

EQUIPMENT DIVISION22 Reinforcing fleet management with YouniVu23 Expansion of fleet in Egypt23 Rechargeable fuel cards in Egypt24 Mass mobilization in the UAE24 Meticulous maintenance pays off

HEALTH & SAFETY25 Eye Protection – Critical for Safety KN SPONSORSHIP27 Clean Water for a Healthy World28 KN Sponsors AUS Careers Fair

KN SPORTS29 First KN-UAE Soccer Tournament

KN EVENTS30 French School Students Visit Sulaibiya WWT&RP

KN PEOPLE31 International Women’s Day at KN32 New faces at KN

BAHRAIN

Office 52, Sabha Building #338,Road 1705 Block 317Diplomatic Area ManamaKingdom of Bahrain Tel: +973 (1) 751-6474Fax: +973 (1) 753-1714

...has joined as a security manager in the Commercial & Industrial Unit. He has a diploma in architectural drafting from Roosevelt Technical, Chicago, USA, and 17 years experience at a senior level in security management. Salvatore joins from Marafie Project Management where he was the director of security.

...has joined as the senior contract administrator on the Al-Sowwah District Cooling Plant project. He has a degree in quantity surveying from Nottingham Trent University (UK) and 20 years experience in contract administration and quantity surveying. Steven joins from Al Rajhi Construction, KSA, where he was a senior quantity surveyor.

...has joined KN as a construction manager on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in electrical engineering from the American University of Beirut and 16 years work experience in electrical and instrumentation works. Tarek joins from CCIC where he was the general construction manager.

...has joined KN as health and safety manager on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. Certified by the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (UK), he has 26 years of experience in safety, quality control and materials control. Terence joins from Foster Wheeler where he was a site HSEQ manager.

...has joined KN as the senior contract administrator on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in design engineering from UMIST in the UK and 25 years experience in quantity surveying and contract administration. Tim joins from Jaravis Plc where he was contracts manager.

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Salvatore Lisciandrello Security Manager

Steven John Howe Senior Contract Administrator

Tarek Farid Hassan Construction Manager

Terence John Hickey Health and Safety Manager

Tim Peter Smart Senior Contract Administrator

...has joined Industrial Maintenance (Power) as a services manager. He has a diploma in electrical engineering from the University of Südwestfalen in Germany and 14 years experience in electrical installations, maintenance and repairs. Rainer joins from Theissen Training System GmbH where he was a senior field engineer.

Rainer Hager Services Manager

June 2010-ISSUE NO-26 �

The enhancements to the retirement plan are fully justified by the performance of our staff. Even during the recent economic downturn, KN grew markedly – because of the strength and commitment of our team – and is continuing to grow.

However our full order book and future backlog – which is expected to increase dramatically with several more large projects – do represent considerable challenges to our resources.

The key element enabling KN to pursue several large projects simultaneously is cash flow. To ensure our prosperity, all MPs must strive for positive cash flow on every single project.

If this is done, we will take KN to even greater heights of attainment – and thoroughly justify our faith in our staff.

Samer G Younis

Vice Chairman & Managing Director

Kharafi National was the first company in the Middle East to offer its non-manual employees a retirement savings plan – a clear indication of the faith we have in our staff.

The operation of our retirement investments was recently switched to the Royal Bank of Canada. RBC is a diversified financial services company and one of the world’s largest banks.

The change provides several distinct advantages. Employees now have a choice of 20 different investment funds and therefore superior investment options. As the investments will be managed by six professional fund managers, risk has been reduced.

RBC’s superior website allows staff to track their investments in real-time. The service is faster and more reliable and costs less.

KN has also enhanced the scheme. Employees may now invest up to 50% of their salaries and the maximum contribution from KN has been increased to 5% for all staff. And participants can withdraw funds while still in service, a considerable improvement in flexibility.

An employee is now fully entitled to the contributions KN made on his behalf after being in the scheme for only 7 years (previously 10 years), and the entitlement for persons with less than 7 years has been increased significantly. However, upon retirement, vesting is 100% regardless of time in the plan.

The new retirement plan has proved extremely popular. Indeed 55% of all eligible employees have joined the scheme; including everyone in bands A and B, as well as Mr Marzouk Al Kharafi and myself.

Message from the Vice Chairman & Managing Director

June 2010-ISSUE NO-26�

Cooling Sowwah IslandSowwah Island is a strategically located development that will form the heart of Abu Dhabi’s new central

business district. Kharafi National is undertaking the engineering, procurement and construction of a

district cooling plant that will service the new infrastructure on Sowwah.

….. Senior Project Manager Hamdy Eid explains

Sowwah Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, where KN will design and construct a district cooling plant, is being developed at a furious pace

Strategically situated at the junction between Abu

Dhabi Island, Al Reem Island and Mina Zayed,

Sowwah Island is currently connected to Abu Dhabi

by a single bridge. It has recently been leveled and

extended, through reclamation, from 133 acres to

approximately 305 acres.

The island has been classified as an investment

zone. This means that non-GCC investors may

obtain long-term musataha (land development)

rights and long leases of individual units within

the zone. By making it highly attractive to foreign

investors, Sowwah Island is set to become the core

of Abu Dhabi’s new central business district.

Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality, a division

of Mubadala Development Company PJSC

(Mubadala), is responsible for the development of

Sowwah Island. Mubadala is a strategic investment

and development company whose sole owner is

the government of Abu Dhabi. Its mission is to act

as a catalyst for the economic diversification of the

Emirate. Mubadala manages long-term, capital-

intensive investments that deliver strong financial

returns and tangible social benefits for Abu Dhabi.

The development of Sowwah Island entails the

creation of a world-class mixed-use waterfront

urban area consisting of premium commercial

real estate, hotels, residential neighbourhoods,

community facilities, public amenities, parks and

open spaces, and an extensive transport network.

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The island’s first developments will include

Sowwah Square, a 450,000 square metre

development of grade ‘A’ office buildings, retail

outlets and parking, the headquarters of the Abu

Dhabi Securities Exchange, a 5-star business

hotel, a 6-star luxury resort hotel, the Rosewood

Abu Dhabi, and the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a

world-class multi-specialty hospital.

Sowwah Island will also have an integrated, multi-

layered transport network to ensure efficient

access from all areas of Abu Dhabi. This will

include 13 new bridges and a mass transit system

with both light and heavy rail.

Phase one of the development – the construction of

the infrastructure for the whole island – is already

underway. Once it has been developed, the island

is projected to have a population of approximately

94,500.

To maintain a cool and comfortable working and

living environment on the island, use will be made

of district cooling, which is efficient, cost-effective

and environmentally protective (see box). The

expected requirement for Sowwah Island’s district

cooling is 160,000 tons refrigerant (TR). This will

be supplied by two large plants, one each at the

south and north ends of the island.

Al-Sowwah Square Properties LLC (ASSP), a wholly

owned subsidiary of Mubadala, is responsible for

phase one. ASSP awarded an EPC (engineering,

procurement and construction) contract for the

construction of the southern district cooling plant,

including associated civil, building services and

mechanical construction, to KN. The project is

expected to be completed in 18 months.

KN’s scope of work is the design, construction,

testing and commissioning of the plant. Deliverables

include 16 chillers of 2500TR each, complete with

all ancillaries, 20MW stand-by emergency power

generation plant to provide 20,000 TR cooling in an

emergency to the most important places such as

Al Sowwah Square and the Cleveland Clinic, and

related piping networks.

The civil works and piping arrangements in the

southern plant will be capable of accommodating a

total capacity of 80,000TR. However, during phase

one, process equipment for the production of only

50,000 TR will be installed.

The plant capacity in phase one will be supplied

as two separate systems – system 1 is a 15,000TR

system for the Abu Dhabi financial centre and

system 2 is a 35,000TR system for the Cleveland

Clinic and the surrounding hotels, community

facilities and residential buildings.

The chilled-water distribution network will be

constructed by other companies. The developers

and plot owners will install the energy transfer

stations in their buildings and affix the meters

required to enable Mubadala to charge them for

the chilled water they will use.

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Artist’s impression of what Sowwah Island will ultimately look like


KN’s cooling plant is being designed, on a

consultancy basis, by DC Pro Engineering, which is

recognized as a leading world authority in district

cooling engineering. KN has had very successful

relationships with DC Pro Engineering in the past.

The Sowwah Island project, which began on the

14th January 2010, will employ about 500 KN

personnel, both non-manual and manual, at its

peak. The design stage is expected to be completed

in early July 2010. Mobilization is imminent.

The 15,000 TR system 1 will be commissioned in

May 2011 and the 35,000 TR system 2 in July of

that year. Commissioning will be followed by a 24-

month defect liability period.

District cooling is one of KN’s important business

lines and one in which it has built up significant

capabilities and know-how on several successful

projects in recent years.

Project BriefSowwah Island District Cooling Plant

Client : Al-Sowwah Square

Properties LLC /

Mubadala

Main Contractor : Kharafi National

Design : DC Pro Engineering

Project Number : 2039

Scope of Work : design, construct, test

and commissioning

district cooling plant

Start : 14th January 2010

Finish : July 2011

Employees : 500 at peak

The What and Why of District CoolingDistrict cooling refers to the centralised production and distribution of cooling energy. Chilled water is delivered from a cooling plant through insulated pipelines to buildings within a district.

Energy transfer stations in each building use this water to lower the temperature of the water passing through the building’s air-conditioning system. The output of a single cooling plant can meet the demand for cooling-energy of dozens of buildings.

District cooling is measured in tons refrigerant (TR), a measurement unit that refers to the amount of heat removed. One TR is the equivalent of 12,000BTU per hour or the heat absorbed by one ton of ice (2,000 pounds) that causes it to melt completely in 24 hours.

District cooling systems mainly replace air-cooled reciprocating chiller systems that serve large buildings – systems that consume large amounts of electricity. In the Middle East, reciprocating chiller systems have to be able to withstand extreme heat, saline humidity and windborne sand, and, over time, their performance, efficiency and reliability suffer which necessitates significant maintenance costs and, ultimately, the replacement of equipment.

District cooling systems provide significant economic benefits.

The capital cost of multiple chillers – a least one for each building to be served – is eliminated by just building a single central plant and the overall capital cost is reduced greatly. The costs of control panels, internal power distribution, annual maintenance and power consumption inside the individual buildings are also reduced.

Improved energy efficiency – high-capacity heavy-duty industrial equipment is far more efficient than the equipment used in typical AC systems, and district cooling systems consume far less energy than air-cooled and water-cooled systems. A switch to district cooling can save of up to 55% in energy consumption. Reduced costs of power – by shifting the electrical

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load for air-conditioning from individual units to a central plant, the load is reduced substantially. The number of substations and length and sizes of electric cables are also reduced. The plant room can house the electric substation, further reducing the electric works. District cooling uses far less electricity than multiple plant rooms.

Improved reliability – the heavy industrial plant equipment used for district cooling fails less often than the equipment used to cool single buildings -its reliability exceeds 99.94%. The lifespan of such equipment, at an average of 30 years, is double the life span of equipment intended for local use. In addition, district cooling plants include emergency standby units that would not be economically viable for single buildings. The 24/7 operation and maintenance of central plant ensures a swift response to malfunctions.

Reduced maintenance – a small team is sufficient to maintain a central plant, whereas a large number of maintenance teams are required for hundreds of condensing units. Fan coil units and air handling units require minimal maintenance and breakdowns are rare. The frequency of equipment replacement is reduced due to longer

lifetimes compared to conventional equipment.

Environmental friendliness – district cooling plants have less impact on the environment. as improved efficiency reduces CO2 emissions. A central plant room uses ozone-friendly refrigerants such as HFC-134a, while the probability of leakage from one central plant is much lower than from many scattered units. The qualitative advantages of district cooling include more comfort, improved convenience and better reliability compared to conventional chiller systems for individual buildings:

The temperature and humidity of individual rooms or spaces is easier to control using multiple indoor fan-coil units.The minimum maintenance required and the higher reliability of district cooling systems means fewer interruptions to users.The absence of roof-top chillers reduces noise levels significantly.The elimination of bulky equipment also means that space is saved and, at the same time, building aesthetics can be improved.

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Distinctive new livery for KN safety vehiclesKN safety vehicles have been outfitted in a new custom look. As can be seen from our photograph, which

shows the vehicles lined up at the Equipment Division yard in Kuwait, the new livery gives them a distinctive

look that reflects their function.


Developing Saadiyat IslandKharafi National has been chosen as the preferred contractor to design, build and operate a sewage

treatment plant on the environmentally-sensitive Island of Saadiyat in the UAE, which is being developed

as a multi-faceted island destination offering a great variety of attractions.

….. described by Project Director Khaled Al Manzalawy

Saadiyat Island is located just half a kilometre off the coast of Abu Dhabi. A large part of the island consists of lagoons containing a wide variety of flora and fauna. Environmental awareness on Saadiyat is thus paramount.

The developments on the island will include a business hub for international commerce, waterfront homes for residents, beachfront touristic facilities and facilities for unique sporting experiences, such as the Arabian Gulf’s only tidal golf course.

The Island will also have a cultural district – containing the Norman Foster designed Zayed National Museum, Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi created by Jean Nouvel – that will make it a ‘must visit’ for international travellers.

The master developer for the cultural, residential and tourist aspects of Saadiyat Island is the Tourism Development & Investment Company. TDIC is an independent body owned by the Abu Dhabi government which works with businesses on

projects that facilitate the economic diversification of the UAE through the development of tourism.

In 2009, Kharafi National was awarded the contract to design, construct and operate the second sewage treatment plant on Saadiyat Island. The contract terms are based on the standard internationally-accepted FICID form for design, build and operate projects. Thus KN will operate the plant for one year after completion as part of the contract.

The ultimate client is Abu Dhabi Sewage Service Company (ADSSC) which has engaged Dorsch as its engineer to ensure the works comply with ADSSC standards. TDIC is the project employer, and it is represented by Parsons International Limited for the everyday running of the project.

KN has engaged EMIT (Ercole Marelli Impianti Tecnologici) SpA of Italy for the process design of the project. EMIT are internationally acknowledged as experts in water and waste-water engineering and in obtaining synergy from renewable sources.

The scope of work consists of the design and construction of a sewage treatment plant, main pumping station and connecting force main. Although the plant will be designed to handle a modest maximum sewage flow capacity of 78,000cu m per day, this will be done using the latest membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, a relatively new and revolutionary concept in wastewater treatment.

In the MBR process, the membrane modules are submerged in the activated sludge to combine the biological step and the solid liquid separation step into a single process. The membranes act

STP project in progress on Saadiyat Island

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as barriers to bacteria, microorganisms and suspended solids to produce a low-turbidity effluent with low bacteria counts which is much better than effluent produced by conventional means. The final quality of treated sewage effluent from the new plant will conform to the quality standard for irrigation water laid down by the employer for this environmentally sensitive island.

The main elements of the sewage treatment plant are the pre-treatment units, equalization tanks, biological treatment tanks, MBR tanks, aeration and MBR blower buildings, ultra-violet disinfection facility, chemical building, odour control facility, reverse osmosis facility, final effluent reservoirs, final effluent pump station and sludge treatment and dewatering facilities. In addition, there will be four substations and an administration building.

Raw sewage from the Island will be available at the inlet to the main sewerage pumping station. The sewage will be pumped to the sewage treatment plant 3.2km away through two 500mm diameter GRP force mains. The force mains will be obliged to pass under a creek in a flooded area which is about 600 meters wide and needs to be preserved.

The site is located on the south-east coast of Saadiyat Island overlooking the lagoons, Reem Island and Abu Dhabi Island. To protect the sensitive environment of the lagoons, TDIC have devised a construction environmental management plan for the whole island to which all contractors must comply.

In addition, Kharafi National has developed its own project-specific construction environmental management plan which has been approved by a class A consultant certified by the Environmental Authority of Abu Dhabi. To ensure compliance with these strict guidelines the project team is assiduously promoting a culture of environmental awareness and safety among KN employees and subcontractors.

KN is working to the performance specifications detailed in the employer’s requirements which

form part of the contract. Contractual requirements obliged KN to implement Aconex, an online information management system and the official medium for all correspondence pertaining to the contract. All the parties involved are successfully using this system.

The project, which commenced in November 2009, will be constructed in four phases. Construction will be finished by September 2011, after which the operational period will begin. The contract will be completed in September 2012.

The civil and structural works will be executed in two phases, each of which will result in construction of 50% of the maximum capacity. As the construction schedule of 22 months is quite short, it is planned to progress the works through concurrent phases where the design and permit-obtaining phases overlap the procurement and construction phases.

A good performance by KN on this project will cement the relationship with this important client and reinforce Kharafi National’s reputation for fulfilling clients expectations.

Project BriefSaadiyat Sewage Treatment Plant

Client : Abu Dhabi Sewage

Service Company

Employer : Tourism Development &

Investment Company

Main contractor : Kharafi National

Design : EMIT from Italy

Project number : 2035

Scope of work : Design, construct,

and operate a sewage

treatment plant

Start : 9th November 2009

Finish : September 2011

Employees : 1,200 at peak

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The State of Kuwait’s new gas pipeline is nearing completion. Meanwhile, the BOOT project for two sewage

treatment plants in the UAE is reaching its peak, whilst activities at Kuwait’s BS��0 are accelerating. With

new O&M contracts in the Emirates and MEP works ongoing in Ethiopia, Kharafi National is extremely

busy in all its areas of operations.

The strategic 40 inch gas pipeline from booster station #131 to the LPG plant in Mina Al-Ahmadi in Kuwait is now in the final phase of construction.

This EPC contract was awarded by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to Petrofac of Italy in December 2008. Kharafi National is the construction sub-contractor for Petrofac.

KN’s scope of work, which is on a re-measured basis, includes the entire construction works. KN is undertaking the project management – covering civil and earth works, fabrication, construction, installation, mechanical completion, pre-com-missioning, and commissioning assistance.

The scope of work includes the construction engineering and shop drawings and the

procurement and management of all project materials and equipment. It also includes the construction, fabrication, erection, testing and pre-commissioning of the civil and earth works and the structural steel works as well as the fire-proof shelters and buildings.

KN is also fabricating and erecting the pipe works and fittings, including the 40 inch pipeline from the booster station to the LPG plant, and supplying and fitting the rotating and static equipment. KN is also undertaking the hydro-testing and flushing and the nitrogen purging of the pipeline. The company is also responsible for the electrical and instrumentation works.

The project has experienced some delays in project deliverables due to limited access to

�0” Gas pipeline project

Construction of the slug catcher at Point A on the 40” gas pipeline


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EwSrestricted areas controlled by KOC and KNPC,

and the requirement to use new welding rods as recommended by KOC which meant that additional precautions have had to be taken resulting in a slow-down in the production of the line welding.

However, to complete the project on time, KN and Petrofac have mobilized an experienced project team to mitigate the effect of these delays. With 27km of pipeline laying having been subcontracted to HEISCO, the 140km pipeline project now has a clear roadmap and progress is being accelerated.

Overall progress had reached 52% in April 2010, and it is expected that commissioning will commence in accordance with the original schedule.

The civil works, which began in August 2009, and the critical slug catching facility are proceeding in line with the recovery plan. Already 1,5200cu m of concrete for the buildings, shelter and slug catcher facility that form part of the plant works at BS 140 and Point A have been poured, and 88% of the slug catcher wall mound concrete work and 80% of the backfilling are completed.

The trenching, stringing, line welding, lowering and backfilling for the 30 inch pipeline works are finished and preparation for hydro-testing is in progress.

As regards the 40 inch pipeline:construction of right-of-way for the entire 140km has been completed 38km (involving 12,800 Joints) have been finished95km of pipeline have been lowered into place76km of the backfilling have been accomplished.

As is usual in Kharafi National, a great emphasis is being placed on safe-working and quality, and several HSE and QA/QC satisfactory audits have already taken place.

The pipeline is expected to be completed by August 2010 and the plant works by December 2010.

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Micro-tunneling by KN for the 40” gas pipeline in progress

The piping works for the pig launcher for the 40” gas pipeline are almost ready

June 2010-ISSUE NO-26�0

Construction of the ISTP1 Sewage Treatment BOOT Project, two sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Abu Dhabi, is in full swing. More than four-fifths has been completed and the STPs are on schedule to begin operations – Al-Saad STP at the end of October 2010 and Al-Wathba STP a few months later.

ISTP1 involves the financing, design, construction, testing, operation and maintenance of the two plants by a consortium made up of EUCH, Biwater Plc, and ADWEA (Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority) under a 25-year concession from ADSSC (Abu Dhabi Sewage Services Company), a subsidiary of ADWEA.

Kharafi National is the main contractor to the EUCH-Biwater-ADWEA Consortium for the engineering, procurement and construction of the plants. Once the STPs have been commissioned, KN will operate and maintain them for the duration of the 25-year concession.

Concrete works have reached 97% completion with 108,500sq m of cast concrete in place and finishing

works have also started. Meanwhile, Engineering has finalized the detailed design shop drawings for the electro-mechanical works, the infrastructure, road works, and the finishings. As-built drawings are in progress.

The delivery of equipment to the site is almost complete. Procurement are placing orders for the remaining minor accessories and coordinating deliveries, while the execution team is busy finishing the structures and installing equipment. Piping and cables networks are almost finished, and road works and landscaping have commenced.

With total staff numbers exceeding 2,500, the project has reached its peak. The new plants are taking shape, rising out of the desert sands and testing has already begun.

‘Structures water tightness’ tests are well under way. The finished process structures are being temporarily filled with water to ensure that they are water tight. In Wathba alone, the total volume of structures to be tested exceeds 266,000sq m.

ADWEA WWTP BOOT (ISTP�)

Construction works at Al-Wathba STP in Abu Dhabi for which KN is the main contractor

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June 2010-ISSUE NO-26 ��

Mechanical completion verification is also commencing, while dry-run tests and pre-commissioning activities should begin shortly.

Al-Wathba will have a total capacity of 300,000 cubic metres per day and the Al-Saad plant will be able to handle 80,000cu m pd. Both plants will produce treated water to a maximum level of 2.0 nephelometric turbidity units (NTUs), a very high level of purity, which will be used for irrigation.

The plants’ combined treatment processes have been designed so that they will generate significant power as a by-product, thus reducing the amount of electricity the plants will need to buy from the Abu Dhabi national grid.

Together, Al-Wathba and Al-Saad represent one of the largest waste-water treatment projects in the Middle East. They are already enhancing Kharafi National’s recognition as an international engineering, procurement and construction firm.

View from above of the installation of inlet pumps at Al-Wathba STP by KN

Speeding up at BS-��0The State of Kuwait intends to be producing 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas within Kuwait by the year 2015. The new booster station being built for Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in south-east Kuwait is vital for achieving this aim, as it will produce half that total, ie, 500 million cubic feet per day of dehydrated and condensed gas.

The contract for the booster station was awarded by KOC to Saipem SpA, an Italian oil and gas contractor. Saipem sub-contracted the construction, including the provision of management, project control, QA/QC, HSE and other services, to KN.

KN’s scope of work comprises all civil and buildings works, erection of structural steel, installation of the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works, insulation and painting, as well as pre-commissioning and commissioning support for the Saipem portion of the project.

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The following major milestones have already been achieved on BS-160:

LP and HP separators and the condensate separator have been erectedthe concrete for the roof of the control building has been poured200 area pipe sleepers have been constructedthe concrete foundations for the compressor shelter have been completederection of the air-cooler package has startedinstallation of the manholes for the open drain system has begunthe underground pits and pre-cast drains works have been startedthe erection of the structure of the flare stack derrick has startedthe mainline welding of the 60 inch pipeline has been completed2.2km of the main 36 inch pipelines have been welded.

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June 2010-ISSUE NO-26��

The civil works for the new booster station are 50% complete. Only 9,500cu m of plant concrete remains out of the 23,000cu m required by the scope of works. KN has an aggressive plan to pour nearly 8,000cu m in May and June 2010 – using about 2,000cu m of pre-cast concrete instead of casting in situ. To meet an accelerated schedule, the planning team is generating work packages, and parts of these will be executed by mobilizing additional sub-contractors.

The buildings at BS-160 will consist of a substation, a control room, warehousing and a chemical shelter. KN’s scope of work for these structures includes design and engineering, the supply of the HVAC systems and commissioning. Construction of the buildings is being accelerated inline with the agreed milestone schedule and is currently on track.

Steel erection is well ahead of schedule, with 24% executed against a planned 16% at this stage. Out

of the total supply of 4,500tons of steel structure, KN has received around 1,500 tons and, as of the end of April 2010, 2700 tons had been erected. The remaining materials are expected in the coming months. Erection of handrails and staircase structures has also started. As regards mechanical equipment, the closed drain sumps, LP and HP gas turbines, and LP discharge scrubbers in trains 1 and 2 have been erected. The erection of LP and HP separators and condensate separators took place in April 2010. Meanwhile, fabrication of the FW tanks and erection works, of tank bottoms, shell plates and steel structures is ongoing at the shipyard and more than 50% has been completed.

Piping prefabrication has never been a constraint at KN. ABJ’s professional approach is ensuring that pre-fabrication is finishing ahead of schedule and to exceptional quality levels as attested by Saipem. Saipem has promised the balance of deliverables

Placing the LP separator into position at BS-160 which is being constructed by KN

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Safety overrides all production targets

The KN team slogan has resulted in an

excellent safety record at BS-160 – by the

31st March 2010 the project had achieved an

amazing:

�,�0�,�� hours WITHOUT a loss time accident

Quality too has never been compromised on

BS-160. Before an activity is commenced, a

method statement is generated for approval

by Saipem and KOC.

MEP works in EthiopiaKharafi National is participating in MAK’s expansion into the hotel business in Ethiopia. In July 2008 KN Egypt signed an MEP contract for the mechanical and electrical works for the Kharafi Accor hotels – the Novotel and Ibis – in Meskel Square in the centre of the City of Addis Ababa.

The Novotel is a 4-star hotel. With six floors over the hotel lobby, it has 110 guest rooms, five for paraplegics, three suites and a fitness centre with a swimming pool and recreational area, as well as two conference rooms.

The Ibis is a 3-star hotel – seven floors with 140 guest rooms, including three rooms for paraplegics, a lobby, restaurant, and public reception area.

KN’s scope of work covers the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the mechanical systems, including HVAC, plumbing and fire

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utilization of production capacity of the fabrication shop can be maintained in line with the schedule.

BS-160 will be fed by 36 inch pipelines from five gathering centres. The installation of piping commenced with the main pipe-rack. The field welding of piping in the flare area has also started. At the end of April, production of 6500dia inches had been achieved, thanks to close coordination between ABJ Fabrication and Painting.

With the commencement of piping activities and Kuwait’s long hot summer, the challenge for the BS-160 project team is to handle the multiple interfaces between various, simultaneously ongoing, activities, viz, civil, underground, structural, painting, piping prefabrication and installation, in order to maintain these activities in line with the accelerated schedule.

KN’s team of young, energetic, multi-national professionals, led by experienced hands, are confident that, with the support of Saipem and KOC, they can achieve the new target dates.

However, meeting the accelerated schedule requires that contractor-controlled engineering and procurement deliverables be provided on time.

protection, and electrical systems of both hotels which are being constructed adjacent to each other in down-town Addis Ababa.

About 50% of the work has already been executed. All the supports, pipes, ducts cable trays and other impeded items for the first fix have been installed in both hotels, and about 50% of the fire dampers, switches, equipment, pumps, air-handling units and fan cool units of the second fix are in place. Once these are ready, the finishing process, which includes installation of items such as sprinklers and grills, will begin.

Employing about 120 manual and non-manual at its peak, the project is expected to be completed by December 2010, after which there will be a 6 -month maintenance period.


KN Facilities Management in the United Arab Emirates has been awarded a 3-year contract for the operation and maintenance of the HQ Al-Raha Beach, a new prestigious building which has been developed by ALDAR Properties PJSC, a premier real estate development, management and investment company in Abu Dhabi.

The client is John Buck International, which has been contracted as the commercial management company for the building and which has sub-contracted cleaning, landscaping, security and other services to specialist companies. KN’s scope of work for the O&M includes the provision of planned and preventive maintenance for the MEP equipment and the execution of any civil works required to maintain the development to the high standards set by Aldar.

The Building Exchange Conference voted HQ in Al-Raha Beach as the ‘Best Futuristic Design 2008’. Indeed the building is recognised world-wide as

one of the finest pieces of modern architecture in the Arabian Gulf region.

As can be seen from the photograph, HQ’s distinctive shape is undoubtedly the most striking new addition to the Abu Dhabi skyline. Set on an elevated peninsula, it affords spectacular views of the city, canal and sea from every floor.

HQ also provides an unparalleled working environment of some 50,000sq m of floor space through the integration of services and facilities, as well as its proximity to retail and leisure outlets throughout Al-Raha Beach and Al-Dana in Abu Dhabi.

Built to international grade ‘A’ specifications, HQ has floor-to-ceiling glazing to each elevation of the its ground, mezzanine and 23 floors and impeccable finishing as well as an impressive double-height dual entrance lobby incorporating unique modern Islamic design features.

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KN is undertaking the O&M of the architecturally-distinctive Al-Raha Beach HQ in Abu dhabi


Special features of this magnificent building include:

four floors of underground parking facilitiesmale and female gymnasiums with showers male and female prayer roomstwo food and beverage outlets on the Northern Plazatwo café outlets on the ground and mezzanine floor overlooking receptiona pedestrian plaza with water features leading to a sea-bound boardwalk

Integrated building management systems (IBMS) control all aspects of security, building automation and maintenance functions. The latest technology is used for the building services and security systems and to control twelve passenger and two goods lifts.

Building cooling is supplied by district cooling through energy transfer stations. The cooling is delivered using a BMS controlled VAV air-

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KN has also been awarded a 3-year contract for the operation and maintenance of the Al-Mamoura Towers, another prestigious building developed by ALDAR in the UAE. Again, the client is John Buck International, which has been contracted the operation and maintenance to Facilities Management in the UAE.

KN’s scope of work for the O&M includes the maintenance of the MEP equipment and the execution of any civil works required to maintain the high standards set by Aldar.

Al-Mamoura Towers comprise two modern office buildings that have been designed and developed to meet the demands of government and corporate requirements in Abu Dhabi.

Al Mamoura Towers Building ‘A’ is a bespoke headquarters facility built by ALDAR for several government agencies and commercial companies – these include the Environment Agency and the Mubadala Development Company, which occupy

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plant rooms that contain 17 Air Handling Units. The conditioned air is distributed into the offices via high induction swirl diffusers with the perimeter and internal zones served by over 80 fan coil units.

Life safety systems include state-of-the-art fire detection and fire suppression systems installed to international standards. Back-up generators provide emergency power for essential systems. A waste disposal system uses an automated vacuum waste collection system to remove waste to a central collection area.

Currently, the KN team is mobilising its manpower to attend the testing and commissioning of the systems and to acquire knowledge of the operations of the systems from the equipment suppliers and installation companies.

Al-Mamoura Towers

KN is undertaking the O&M of Al-Mamoura Towers in Abu Dhabi


the major part of this building.

With a ground floor, mezzanine and ten floors above, Building ‘A’ provides 40,000sq m of high quality grade ‘A’ offices. The main entrance and atrium are impressive, presenting visitors with a truly spectacular view as they enter the building.

Building ‘B’ is more functional but has the same high quality finish and a well-designed office layout. This building has approximately 21,000sq m of offices from the mezzanine level to the 12th floor. Each floor has an easily divisible grid and has full-access raised floors and conveniently positioned fan coil air-conditioning. Tenants can install ceilings and lighting to suit their specific requirements. The ground floor of 1,110sq m has

several retail outlets.

In addition, the occupiers of both buildings benefit from an impressive 150-seat auditorium, an on-site café with a private dining room, travel agency services and an ATM. There are male and female prayer rooms. There is also a fully-secured multi-storey parking facility for over 750 cars, and 90 shaded visitor’s bays are located at ground floor level between the two buildings.

KN is currently mobilising to take-over from the existing contractor. This includes transferring the requisite knowledge to the KN team to ensure that the operational activities of this state-of-the-art building continue seamlessly without disruption to the tenants during the hand-over.

The new KOC office complex in Ahmadi, Kuwait, constructed by KN

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Located in the KOC Industrial Area in Ahmadi, Kuwait, Kuwait Oil Company’s new office complex contains 14 buildings with a total constructed area of 130,000sq m. The buildings have been designed so that they harmonise perfectly with the nearby KOC headquarters building, which was recently renovated, and the village character of Ahmadi town.

The complex provides accommodation for KOC’s various directorates and departments, and houses approximately 2,200 employees. Construction of the new offices on behalf of the client, Kuwait Oil Company, began in June 2005.

KN’s scope of work on this project was the supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of all the mechanical works for the HVAC, plumbing and fire protection, followed by a one-year maintenance contract.

Since the project was highly prestigious from KOC’s point of view, KN were extremely careful during material selection, procurement, installation and testing, ensuring that all the client’s procedures and regulations were adhered to strictly.

KN manpower on this project peaked with approximately 200 employees on site between mid-2007 and mid-2008. Currently KN’s mechanical

KOC office complexworks have been completed and project hand-over is in progress. All the buildings in the complex are already being occupied by the client.

While coordination was a difficult and complex process with the other contractors on the site, especially as regards the electrical works and building management systems, KN completed its works well in time.

Indeed, it was notable that a temporary building was completed and handed over in a record time of just 180 days. This building was required in order to relocate KOC employees out of the original buildings on the site so these could be demolished to make way for the new buildings.


While most companies in the Emirates have been experiencing some seasonal quiet, Instant Access is continuing to broaden its customer base. It is generating increased leasing business from local customers in the UAE.

Instant Access is also increasing its share of business on major construction sites, external as well as internal. The company has taken its first request for machines for the Habshan 5 project, for which Kharafi National is the sub-contractor to Tecnimont for the construction of the civil, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and commissioning works.

Instant Access recently welcomed Erik De Wet, its

first sales person in the UAE. Erik has been tasked with ensuring that Instant Access continues to be well represented to all major sites in the UAE and in the offices of major corporations in the Abu Dhabi region. Erik, who may be contacted on tel +971 (0)504451074 or [email protected] is already extremely active in raising KN’s profile in leased construction equipment throughout the Emirates.

Continuous additions to Instant Access’ port-folio of equipment in the UAE mean that its website (www.instantaccess-co.com) is constantly being updated. However, its contact number in Abu Dhabi (+971 2555 7223) and its email address ([email protected]) is unchanged.

KN Industrial City

As all the ultra-modern facilities created under the first phase of KN Industrial City in Kuwait are now fully functional and being operated by end-users, the challenge has switched to maintenance. Thus, a group has been created under cost centre 9188 and been given the primary task of undertaking all building and infrastructure related periodic and preventive maintenance works.

This initiative will ensure the prolonged serviceability of the facilities and avoid the hassles of unnecessary disruptions to day-to-day operations at the facility. However, construction of the second phase remains on hold until the economic environment improves significantly.

Hinowa spider cranes from Instant Access are ideal for reaching awkward interior heights

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Instant Access in the UAE


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Informal LearningKharafi National has established a community of practice in the UAE that will use informal learning

processes to facilitate discussion of the best practices and latest techniques in project management so

that they can be applied in the workplace. UAE Unit Head–Learning & Development Ibrahim Al-Masry

explains.

Informal learning is the transfer of knowledge that takes place outside formal instructor-led programmes. It includes learning from coaching, mentoring and daily interactions with other members of an organisation, as well as learning from books and self-study courses.

Knowledge may be transferred informally in many ways – through instant messaging, during face-to-face or Internet meetings, in a phone call, through an Internet chat-room, when a technician walks a user through a repair process, or during a meeting with a mentor or manager. Studies show that more than 90% of adults engage in continuous informal learning.

Informal learning is not a new phenomenon – examples of the informal transfer of knowledge include listening to the radio, watching TV, reading newspapers and social networking. So why are businesses only now starting to realize its

importance and power?

The answer lies in the characteristics of the Net Generation (also known as the Millennials or Generation Y) – those born between 1977 and 1987.

The oldest members of the Net Generation are now 33 years old. They represent 30 to 33% of the total manpower in most organizations – including Kharafi National, according to a research carried out by the Learning & Development Unit in the UAE in October 2009.

The Net Generation: a Strategic Investigation, a US$4 million research project undertaken by the New Paradigm Company in 2007 with funding from major corporations, concluded that the members of this generation are smarter and more technically savvy than their predecessors, and that they are highly collaborative by nature.

The launch of KN’s Community of Practice for Project Management in the UAE


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tolerant of diversity and care strongly about justice and social problems. It suggested that only by understanding how people of the Net Generation relate to their work, community, society, and technology, will businesses be able to find the right tools to motivate, engage, develop, and retain them.

For the Net Generation, technology is like air – its members can do five things at once: texting friends, downloading music, uploading videos, watching a movie on a two-inch screen, and updating their profiles on Facebook or MySpace. They are the first generation to have grown up in a digital environment.

This generation of empowered young people is beginning to transform every institution of modern life. From the workplace to the marketplace, from politics to education, they are replacing a culture of control with a culture of enablement and collaboration.

Thus, it has now become critical for employers to consider changing their human resources and management practices so that they can tap into the extraordinary collaborative orientation of the Net Generation. Educators and learning executives need to alter their traditional sage-on-the-stage approach to instruction as it is inappropriate for these learners.

Indeed, it emerged during the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Society for Training and Development that a large number of corporations have begun using informal learning and are already applying key tools such as communities of practices and social networking to promote learning among their Net Generation staff. This inspired the introduction of informal learning processes in Kharafi National.

Informal learning happens when knowledge has not been recorded and exists only inside someone’s head. To get at that knowledge, the learner must communicate with that person.

Experience indicates that almost all real learning for performance – the sort of learning that counts

in the workplace – is informal. All learners need access to an expert who can answer questions and with whom they can play with the learning, ie, practice, make mistakes, and practice some more. Informal access, however, is not built into the formal learning process.

Real learning is being able to adopt and adapt what you know and can do—what you have acquired through formal learning—under varying sets of circumstances. Research shows that it accounts for about 75 percent of the learning curve. However, the majority of companies that provide training are only involved with formal training, ie, just 25% of the learning process.

Thus, the informal element needs to be harnessed in the workplace for the real learning that fosters staff learning and development. This requires mentors, coaches, masters, guides, subject-matter experts, and communities of practice.

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who have a common interest or profession. By sharing information and experiences the members of a CoP can learn from each other and develop themselves personally and professionally. CoPs can exist online, as discussion boards and newsgroups, or in the real world, such as in a lunchroom at work or on a factory floor.

A CoP is a collaborative learning environment, where formal and informal learning are knit seamlessly together in a way that reflects the values and expectations of the Net Generation. This writer, with the aid of a management consultant in Dubai, promoted the idea of establishing a Community of Practice for Project Management among young KN employees in the UAE. This CoP was launched successfully in October 2009.

The community’s objective is mainly to discuss the best practices and latest techniques in project management and apply them to the workplace. The members, in addition, will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences and to deepen their understanding of life-long learning and propagate it throughout the whole organization.


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T KN Material Control UnitCompanies such as Kharafi National strive constantly to improve operational performance. KN Material

Control Unit is committed to enabling the company’s projects and cost centres to perform effectively

and profitably. Procurement Unit Head (Corporate) T Bala provides a brief overview of the activities of

KN MCU.

Stores and warehouse operations are one area on which companies can focus their attention to gain maximum efficiency. However stores and materials management continue to be a major challenge to the success and profitability of construction projects.

For most construction projects, studies indicate that materials constitute about 60% of total costs, and control 80% of a project’s schedule. Thus, effective procurement and material management is required to ensure the timely availability of needed material and to maximize efficiency and minimise costs.

KN Material Control Unit serves the warehousing requirements for more than 200 projects and cost centres across the Middle East and Africa. KN MCU is staffed with more than 340 qualified and experienced personnel, comprised of engineers, supervisors, store-keepers and warehousemen, to

handle material management activities across all of KN’s diversified business lines.

KN’s inventory master-list contains in excess of 160,000 items. KN employs efficient codification and standardization practices to maintain and update the master list. KN MCU handles over US$300 million worth of KN-procured materials and over US$1 billion worth of client-supplied free-issue materials annually. KN’s total monthly inventory transactions exceed 10,000 and stores across all areas carry an average monthly inventory valued at more than US$100 million.

Sulaibiya Central Stores in Kuwait is KN’s primary warehousing complex. It covers 48,000 square metres – 8,500sq m of air-conditioned closed stores, 8,500sq m of closed stores and 31,000sq m of open yard. This central store has heavy-duty multi-storied racking, state-of-the-art material handling facilities, and ultra-modern security systems.

Central stores in KN Kuwait


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TTo maximize the life-span of hand tools, Sulaibiya Central Store has a tool repair workshop where electrical hand-tools are maintained and repaired.

Sulaibiya also has a centralized scrap yard, which is equipped with a weigh-bridge and handling equipment to sort, accumulate and dispose of various types of commodity scrap. This scrap is sold at prices based on a floating price mechanism linked to the fluctuating prices reported on the London Metal Exchange.

To service projects in the UAE, KN has another main store at Al-Quoz in Dubai. However, the construction of an additional central store, similar to the premises at Sulaibiya, is being planned for the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD).

At all KN warehouses, materials and equipment are stored and preserved in accordance with the recommendations of the original manufacturers, with temperature-controlled stores being used as required.

To control these materials, KN MCU has adopted the best practices in material management and Inventory control. These include vendor managed inventory and selective inventory control techniques for monitoring and controlling stocks.

The efficiency of all material control activities is ensured by the use of Oracle ERP Inventory Modules with which the MCU teams are highly experienced. These applications enable KN MCU to efficiently:

receive, store, preserve and issue materialscontrol and monitor the movement of assets control all lifting accessories and hand toolsdispose of scrapissue and control temporary furniture for projects

Its superb infrastructure and experienced personnel enable KN Material Control Unit to meet all challenges relating to the control of materials and thus effectively serve KN operations.

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Equipment Division’s SPMT module in actionThe hydraulically-operated heavy-lift platforms the Equipment Division acquired from Nicolas of France in 2008 (as reported in Issue 24) have gained Kharafi National an enviable reputation for its ability to lift, carry and install extremely large and heavy pieces of equipment. Our photograph shows a 28mt pressure vessel being transporting by a Nicolas SPMT module.


To cope with the every expanding volume and scope of Kharafi National’s projects, the Equipment

Division is enhancing the functionality of its fleet management system, augmenting its fleet in Egypt,

whilst mobilising rapidly in the UAE to serve several new major infrastructural projects.

To monitor and control the vast number of motor vehicles and road-going equipment in its fleets, KN Equipment Division recently began implementing the YouniVu fleet management system.

ED found YouniVu after a diligent search for the best product to fit its needs. The service provider is Younivate of Jordan, which has strategic relationships with major telecom companies such as Qualcomm, Motorola, U-Blox and Alcatel-Lucent.This unique monitoring solution, which has an excellent reputation, is a combination of an automatic vehicle location system and a fleet management system. It is GPS-based.

Each vehicle in ED’s fleet will eventually have a data-logging device which will send vehicle data via satellite to a data routing system in the vehicle’s depot where it will be collected and sent on to the corporate vehicle monitoring server.

ED personnel will be able to review the data through vehicle monitoring viewers, print out relevant reports and take any necessary actions. The new YouniVu fleet management system is expected to provide KN with significant benefits.

Though ED safety training programmes have

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ensured that KN drivers have an excellent reputation on the road, when the system begins comparing actual speeds with local speed limits and analyzing driving patterns for faults such as aggressive driving, including sudden speeding and harsh braking, this high level of road behaviour should be improved further, enhancing KN’s superb safety record, as well as reducing accidents.

The system will also monitor engine stop and start times, mileage, working hours, etc, in user-defined zones – all of which will build a history of each journey and ensure that abuse is minimised. Monitoring fuel consumption and engine idle times will enable ED to optimize efficiency and reduce its operating costs.

With the help of KN Communications, the Equipment Division has already started installing the new data logging devices. It is anticipated that installation of the data loggers in all vehicles will take about three months. During the first phase, the system will be operated off-line. However, on-line, real-time operations can be expected in the near future.

Overview of the workings of Equipment Division’s new YouniVu fleet management system

Schema – YouniVu Fleet Management System

Reinforcing fleet management with YouniVu


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As the number and size of KN’s projects continue to increase in Egypt, the Equipment Division has been obliged to greatly expand its fleet in recent months.

For the new natural gas project, for example, ED purchased two skid steer loaders, two dump trucks and a full range of other smaller equipment. Indeed, in order to meet project requirements, over the last year ED has mobilized two cranes, one 50 ton and 35 ton, and two fork-lifts of 10 ton and 6 ton, as well as five generators and four air-compressors to Egypt from its main fleet in Kuwait.

To enhance maintenance activities for the natural

gas project, especially where work is being undertaken in the streets of Bolaq, and on remote project sites, ED is fabricating fully-equipped mobile maintenance trucks which will be manned around-the-clock by skilled mechanics. KN Egypt is currently extremely busy on the new Marassi Infrastructure project for which ED has added four Nissan X-Trail jeeps to its line-up in Egypt. As this project is not limited to the earth-moving and excavation tasks, but includes heavy lifts and installations, transportation, material handling and dewatering, the Marassi project team is extremely pleased with the support it is receiving from the Equipment Division.

Excavation in progress at Marassi, Egypt, using a 2005 CAT Excavator 320 C

Expansion of fleet in Egypt

Rechargeable fuel cards in EgyptThe Equipment Division had entered into an agreement with Total Egypt for a rechargeable fuel cards service, similar to the service that is already available in Kuwait and the UAE.

Total, a French company, is the only provider of this kind of service in Egypt, which they have just

launched – beginning with just a few of the major contractors in the country, one of which is KN.

All company vehicles in Egypt will soon be provided with rechargeable fuel cards, which will enhance the division’s control of fuel consumption and prevent misuse of company funds.


To meet the equipment requirements of the Habshan 5 Process Plant project, ED is undertaking a massive build-up of its fleet in Abu Dhabi, by mobilizing a huge amount of equipment from its resources in Kuwait and by acquiring new equipment locally within the UAE and from overseas. The division’s role in this project is significant and it is aware that, as well as providing the equipment required, it needs to ensure that the quality and image of its equipment enhances KN’s prestige.

Taking other recent developments in Abu Dhabi into account, the ED’s assessment of project needs for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 is that 453 major pieces of equipment will need to be mobilized from Kuwait. This equipment will cover everything from 350 ton cranes to electric welding machines.

The challenge for the Equipment Division is to mobilize of this equipment without disturbing current operations in Kuwait. Arranging for the skilled drivers and operators required for this equipment is another critical task for ED.

Excavators being moved to Abu Dhabi as part of a massive build-up of equipment

Meticulously maintained – a 1992 Nissan dump truck still in superb condition

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The ED maintenance crews are wholly dedicated to ensuring that the division’s equipment reflects the highest standards at all times. Preventive maintenance activities are always conducted in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations or more frequently when circumstances, such as adverse working conditions, so require.

This meticulous maintenance certainly pays off – as can be seen from our photograph, some KN

Meticulous maintenance pays off

Mass mobilization in the UAE

equipment is still operating very efficiently long beyond the expected limits of their useful lives.


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Eye Protection – Critical for SafetyWhen we think about debilitating injuries arising from industrial incidents, we tend to focus on permanent

disabilities, such as lost limbs. However, much more attention needs to be placed on the probability and

severity of the eye injuries that can occur in the workplace.

….. Corporate H&S Manager Don Brown explains.

Each of us depends on our eyes for carrying out basic daily tasks. Beyond the physical challenges created by the loss of even some modest eye function, eye injuries can damage an individual’s sense of well-being.

In general, no work environment is safe when it comes to the potential for eye injuries, but certain types of work involve more inherently hazardous tasks that pose risks for the eyes.

This is why Kharafi National considers potential eye hazards and related protective measures as critical components when conducting a hazard identification and risk assessment of any work activity and implements suitable engineering controls. It is also the reason why KN provides its employees with protective equipment for the eyes that is appropriate to each task.

There are four primary types of hazards that can lead to eye injuries:

hazards from impactshazards from chemicalshazards from dusthazards from optical radiation

Hazards from impacts: generally speaking, impact hazards are any objects that fly or fall, and they include sparks that may strike the eye.

What may surprise you, though, is the size of the objects involved. More than 60 percent of impact injuries are caused by objects that are smaller than the head of a pin. Those tiny objects can cause punctures, abrasions and contusions.

Tasks that create a risk for impact hazards include woodworking, machining, fastening, sanding,

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Eye protection is critical for safety in routine tasks - and mandatory in KN


grinding, and working with chemicals, among others – working with drills, saws, and chisels poses particular risks.

When performing these tasks and others where there are impact hazards, a worker’s primary means of protection should be either safety spectacles or goggles. Face shields or other secondary protective devices may also be needed to protect the face.

Hazards from chemicals: goggles typically offer the best eye protection against chemical exposure, while additional protection for the face is delivered by face shields.

Workers who are performing tasks with or around chemicals should also be aware of the location of the nearest eyewash station. They should also know how to use eyewash equipment properly.

Hazards from dust: dust is all around us, but it tends to be present in larger quantities with certain types of work, such as grit blasting.

In addition to its potential to irritate the eye, dust may contain harmful chemicals or other substances.

Safety goggles that completely cover the eyes and the surrounding tissue are the best choice for working in dusty conditions, because they seal the area around the eye.

Hazards from optical radiation: some types of work involve intense or concentrated light, part of which may be outside the visible spectrum. Whenever a worker is welding or using a gas cutter or working with another hazardous source that concentrates the brightness or heat of the light, the eyes must be protected.

Not to protect the eyes in these situations creates a risk of injuries such as cataracts or burns to the retina. Even if injury does not occur, eyestrain is a possibility.

In all these circumstances, the employee must wear eye protection with UV filtering capability.

Protective equipment: Kharafi National has standardized eye and facial protective equipment for its diversified work activities. All its safety equipment conforms to international standards and is available at all project stores for use by employees at any time.

KN employees are obliged to wear appropriate eye and face protection equipment in the workplace, maintain this equipment in good condition by keeping it clean and in a hygienic state, and inspect it regularly for scratches, cracks or other signs of wear. This equipment must be replaced when it becomes scraped, bent or damaged.

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Emergency Evacuation Drill

Kharafi National has received a letter of appreciation from Al-Rai Real Estate Company for a mock emergency evacuation drill carried out by KN Facilities Management staff at the Avenues Mall in Kuwait, in which the client praised KN staff for their awareness of safety issues, adherence to safety procedures, cooperative spirit and ability to deal with emergency situations.

SafETy PayS!


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iPClean Water for a Healthy WorldAs a major player in water-related industries in the Middle East, Kharafi National and its sister company

UDC participated whole-heartedly in the celebration of International World Water Day �0�0 – by

sponsoring a series of events organised in Kuwait by the Scientific Centre.

International World Water Day is held annually on the 22nd March in order to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

The event is organised by UN-Water, a United Nations inter-agency mechanism that strengthens coordination among UN entities dealing with water-related issues, in collaboration with a large number of UN and other international agencies. During 2010, it was coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater each year. The theme for 2010 was based on water quality, and the campaign was focused on:

Raising awareness of the need to sustain •

healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the increasing challenges to water quality in water management, and

Raising the profile of water quality by encouraging governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to proactively address water-quality issues.

In Kuwait, the Scientific Centre was actively involved in communicating messages on water quality, ecosystems and human well-being as its contribution to the activities of World Water Day 2010 by organising a series of events on Friday the 19th March, the week-end in Kuwait.

Kharafi National and UDC were two of several local companies that sponsored these events, which included a lecture on ‘Water Quality in Kuwait’ by Dr

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Business Development Manager Yousef Maswadeh and other KN team members at the Kharafi National World Water Day stand in the Kuwait Scientific Centre


Fatma Al-Awadhi, the director of water resources with the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, a series of practical workshops on water quality hosted by experts, and a walkathon.

KN employees supported International Water Day 2010 with a massive turnout by individuals and their families for the walkathon, which began at 2pm and was promoted by local sporting figures such as Kuwaiti soccer mid-fielder Bader Al-Mutawa and fencing champions Balsam and Lulwa Al-Ayoub.

Courtesy of the sponsorship of KN and UDC, all the participants in the walkathon enjoyed free entrance to the TSK Aquarium and the IMAX theatre.

For further information on World Water Day 2010, check out:www.tsck.org.kwwww.worldwaterday2010.infowww.unwater.org

The American University of Sharjah’s annual career fair was coupled with its first forum for business alumni. The event was co-sponsored by KN along with about 50 other leading companies in the region.

Held under the patronage of HH Dr Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, the emir of Sharjah and president of AUS, the event was a resounding success and provided KN with excellent exposure. At the KN stand, nearly 200 CVs were collected from graduates eager to find employment with KN.

KN Sponsors AUS Careers Fair

These applicants were from around the world – Canada, the USA, the UK, Jordan, Egypt and AUS itself – and held a variety of academic qualifications – degrees in electrical, mechanical, computer, and chemical engineering, as well as MIS, finance, accounting, and business administration.

The number of newly-qualified graduates looking for employment with Kharafi National, as well as those who already with a few years experience, speaks volumes for KN’s growing reputation as an employer in the UAE

AUS Chancellor Dr Peter Heath (extreme right) and AUS Manager of Corporate Relations & Alumni Career Advancement Yassine Otmani (extreme left) with Wael Jaroudi and Ibrahim Fares of KN

Kharafi National was a sponsor of the first AUS Alumni Business Forum and of the AUS Career Fair �0�0 which took place on Tuesday ��th April, �0�0, at the university campus in Sharjah in the UAE.

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First KN-UAE Soccer TournamentKharafi National is an ardent supporter of team games as, besides improving the well-being of staff, these games impart beneficial skills that include the teamwork essential for KN’s success.

For several years the company has been organising sports tournaments for its staff in Kuwait. The recent expansion of its corporate presence in the United Arab Emirates means that the KN now has sufficient staff numbers in the UAE to support a variety of internal sporting events.

The first-ever KN-UAE soccer tournament ran from the 4th to the 19th December 2009. Held indoors due to rain, eight teams drawn from various KN units in the UAE took part in the tournament. After a series of hard-fought play-offs, four teams – ADWEA, SWM, Eagles and FAD – went into the finals.

The FAD team were the winners of the first KN soccer tournament in the UAE

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The final rankings were:FAD – 1st placeADWEA – 2nd placeEagles – 3rd place

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Individual citations included:Top scorer – Mustafa Saad (FAD) Best player – Ahmed Mustafa (SWM) Best goal-keeper – Enda Sherry (Eagles)

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The second placed ADWEA team The Eagles were in third place


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On the ��th November �00�, forty-five enthusiastic students from the French School in Kuwait were

hosted by UDC at Sulaibiya Waste-water Treatment and Reclamation Plant, where they learned how the

plant transforms domestic waste-water into potable drinking water. According to the students, the visit

was a most illuminating and enjoyable experience.

French School Students Visit Sulaibiya WWT&RP

After being welcomed at the plant, the students listened to a brief explanation of the biological and reclamation processes while being shown a model of the plant and its process units. The keenness of students was evident in the searching questions they posed on topics ranging from micro-biology through environmental sustainability to finance and cost recovery.

The students were then shown an MS PowerPoint presentation detailing the theory behind the various treatment processes. Though water treated at Sulaibiya is only used for crop irrigation purposes at present, a vigorous discussion took place on the re-use of treated domestic wastewater as potable drinking water to relieve the demand for desalinated drinking water in Kuwait.

Afterwards, the students went on a tour of the plant to see the processes up close. They found the aeration tanks and the reverse osmosis plant

– the core biological and reclamation treatment processes – to be of particular interest. Many of them were surprised at the overall scale of the project.

The tour culminated in a visit to the SCADA control room, where the students gained an insight into the complexities of the computer-controlled automation of the plant equipment.

The visit was very successful in imparting practical knowledge and an enjoyable experience to a very eager audience. Before they left, the students were treated to refreshments, and each one received a UDC brochure, a DVD and a gift to help them consolidate their new knowledge.

Both KN and UDC are committed to the technical education of the younger generation and always welcome the opportunity to receive organised visits from secondary school students in Kuwait.

The French School Students at Sulaibiya Waste-water Treatment and Reclamation Plant


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PLEInternational Women’s Day at KN

The global theme adopted by the United Nations for this year’s International Women’s Day was: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all – which expresses a principle that lies at the core of Kharafi National’s corporate values.

The number of female employees in KN is growing, and on the 8th March, 2010, the company used the

occasion of International Women’s Day to express its appreciation of the increasingly important contribution women are making to its success.

Employee Relations organized convivial gatherings and gifts – perfumes, chocolates and flowers – for its female employees in all operational areas.

KN Lebanon: Celebrating International Wo-men’s Day with a break from cares and smiles of appreciation all around

KN Egypt: Tokens of esteem for International Women’s Day being received graciously by a gathering of female employees

KN UAE: A smiling COO Paul Nocharli cutting the IWD cake in the presence of senior management and many lady employees

KN Kuwait: Wilma Cano, a female employee, accepting an IWD gift from Corporate Director Antoine El-Khoury


...has joined KN as a health and safety manager. He is a member of the International Institute of H&S Management and has more than 30 years experience in health, safety, environmental and risk management. Paul joins from Hitachi Power Africa where he was the SHE manager.

New Faces at KN

...has joined Industrial Maintenance (Power) as a lead engineer. He has a degree in engineering from Santiago Marino Polytechnic in Venezuela and 17 years experience in instrumentation and industrial automation systems. Eliezer joins from Technoconsult UK in the UAE where he was lead instrument and control engineer.

...has joined as the construction manager (civil) on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in civil engineering from Cairo University and 20 years experience in heavy civil construction in the oil and gas sector. Mazhar joins from MAK where he was a project manager.

...has joined as the equipment field services manager on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from Strathclyde (UK) and 22 years heavy equipment experience in oil and gas. Garry joins from Rolls Royce Diesel Gold Mine, Tanzania, where he was site planning manager.

...has rejoined as a senior proposal coordinator (mechanical). He has a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Annamalai University and 23 years experience in project and contract management, installations and maintenance operations. Kannan rejoins from Integral Services Company, Kuwait, where he was a project manager.

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Eliezer Jose La Rosa Yepez Lead Engineer

Garry Burgess Equipment Field Services Manager

Kannan Ravi Senior Proposal Coordinator (mechanical)

Mazhar Saleh Ahmed MohamedConstruction Manager (civil)

Paul John HumphreysHealth and Safety Manager

… has joined the Corporate Proposals Department as a proposal coordinator. He has a BE in civil engineering from Mysore University (India) and 22 years experience in industrial and construction projects. Arun joins from Mfar Constructions Pvt Ltd in India where he was a senior deputy general manager.

Arun Kumar Jayadevaiah

Proposal Coordinator

KUWAIT

PO Box 24081Safat 13101KuwaitTel: +965-22259000Fax: +965-22259999

CONTACT USTransmission is the corporate magazine of Kharafi National. It is issued quarterly and distributed internally. The editor, Paul D Kennedy, may be contacted on [email protected] to which comments and contributions should also be sent.

w w w . k h a r a f i n a t i o n a l . c o m

ABU DHABI

Block A Building ICAD Industrial CityPlot no 1J1/sector M41Abu Dhabi – MusaffahTel: +9712-5130513Fax: +9712-5130519

DUBAI

PO Box 25693DubaiTel: +9714-3476662Fax: +9714-3479400

EGYPT

2 AbdulMoneimRiyadh StAl Thawra SquareAl MohendessenGizaTel: +202-33367688Fax: +202-37609264

LEBANON

MAK Centre, 2nd FloorAl-Sham RoadPO Box 182HazmiehBeirutTel: +961-5-950480/81Fax:+961-5-950988

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TS Contents1 MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

KN PROJECTS2 Cooling Sowwah Island6 Developing Saadiyat Island

OPERATIONS NEWS8 40” Gas pipeline project 10 ADWEA WWTP BOOT (ISTP1) 11 Speeding up at BS-16013 MEP works in Ethiopia14 HQ – Al-Raha Beach15 Al-Mamoura Towers16 KOC office complex17 KN Industrial City17 Instant Access in the UAE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT18 Harnessing the Power of Informal Learning PROCUREMENT20 KN Material Control Unit

EQUIPMENT DIVISION22 Reinforcing fleet management with YouniVu23 Expansion of fleet in Egypt23 Rechargeable fuel cards in Egypt24 Mass mobilization in the UAE24 Meticulous maintenance pays off

HEALTH & SAFETY25 Eye Protection – Critical for Safety KN SPONSORSHIP27 Clean Water for a Healthy World28 KN Sponsors AUS Careers Fair

KN SPORTS29 First KN-UAE Soccer Tournament

KN EVENTS30 French School Students Visit Sulaibiya WWT&RP

KN PEOPLE31 International Women’s Day at KN32 New faces at KN

BAHRAIN

Office 52, Sabha Building #338,Road 1705 Block 317Diplomatic Area ManamaKingdom of Bahrain Tel: +973 (1) 751-6474Fax: +973 (1) 753-1714

...has joined as a security manager in the Commercial & Industrial Unit. He has a diploma in architectural drafting from Roosevelt Technical, Chicago, USA, and 17 years experience at a senior level in security management. Salvatore joins from Marafie Project Management where he was the director of security.

...has joined as the senior contract administrator on the Al-Sowwah District Cooling Plant project. He has a degree in quantity surveying from Nottingham Trent University (UK) and 20 years experience in contract administration and quantity surveying. Steven joins from Al Rajhi Construction, KSA, where he was a senior quantity surveyor.

...has joined KN as a construction manager on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in electrical engineering from the American University of Beirut and 16 years work experience in electrical and instrumentation works. Tarek joins from CCIC where he was the general construction manager.

...has joined KN as health and safety manager on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. Certified by the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (UK), he has 26 years of experience in safety, quality control and materials control. Terence joins from Foster Wheeler where he was a site HSEQ manager.

...has joined KN as the senior contract administrator on the GASCO IGD Habshan 5 Process Plant project. He has a degree in design engineering from UMIST in the UK and 25 years experience in quantity surveying and contract administration. Tim joins from Jaravis Plc where he was contracts manager.

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Salvatore Lisciandrello Security Manager

Steven John Howe Senior Contract Administrator

Tarek Farid Hassan Construction Manager

Terence John Hickey Health and Safety Manager

Tim Peter Smart Senior Contract Administrator

...has joined Industrial Maintenance (Power) as a services manager. He has a diploma in electrical engineering from the University of Südwestfalen in Germany and 14 years experience in electrical installations, maintenance and repairs. Rainer joins from Theissen Training System GmbH where he was a senior field engineer.

Rainer Hager Services Manager

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TRANSMISSION - KHARAFI NATIONAL · Transmission is the corporate magazine of Kharafi National. It is issued quarterly and distributed internally ... on the Al-Sowwah District Cooling