Message from the DMD

I am very proud to say that during 2007 we

achieved wonderful growth and success
at Kharafi National. Our turnover is now
approaching US$ one billion and we have
consolidated our position in business areas,
such as infrastructure project development,
where opportunities are expanding dramatically.
We are also solidifying our overseas presence,
with an emphasis on the UAE.

We are wholly committed to continuing to

grow our company and 2008 promises to be
another year of greatly increasing activities
as KN embarks on new mega projects in

capabilities with a view to helping them

the oil and gas and EPC sectors. To support

progress to higher managerial levels.

our corporate development, we are investing

heavily in enhanced facilities in fabrication

I would like to thank all our employees for

and equipment.

their strenuous efforts during 2007, without

which we would not have achieved the high

Our expansion is creating significant oppor-

levels of success we did in fact attain. I know

tunities for our employees, especially as

that I, and all the senior management team,

regards their career development, and we

will receive the same level of support and

are also investing in our people by training

commitment from the Kharafi National family

them in the skills they need to take advantage

as we work together towards even greater

of new openings for advancement within the

successes in 2008.

company.
At Kharafi National we are committed to giving

Samer G Younis

existing employees, who show potential, the

first opportunity to fill higher positions, rather
than hiring personnel directly from outside.
We have an assessment centre where we

Deputy Managing Director

evaluate competencies and our peoples

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

PROJECTS

ABJ Expands into South Africa

ABJ has secured the contracts to fabricate the roof structures for the two most prestigious of five
stadiums being constructed in South Africa to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010. This first venture
into South Africa has significantly raised ABJs profile as an international player in this type of
fabrication work.

.. Dr V Vijayalakshmi,
Senior Structural Design Engineer

ABJ

has

extensive

experience

in

the

fabrication of roof structures with membrane

Artists impression of the Nelson

fabric covers. The company has created

Mandela Bay stadium in Port

these types of roof structures for the Kuwait

Elizabeth, South Africa.

Scientific Centre, KPCs car park and the

Sheikh Al-Jaber Stadium in Ardiya in Kuwait,

The two contracts awarded to Birdair and ABJ

in collaboration with Toyo Birdair Corporation

are the iconic Nel Mandela Bay multi-purpose

of the USA.

stadium in the Soccer City of South Africa in

Port Elizabeth and the multi-purpose Green

This wealth of solid experience, combined

Point stadium in Cape Town, also known as

with ABJs new fabrication facilities in Mina

the African Renaissance Stadium because

Abdullah in Kuwait, helped clinch the deal to

it is being re-constructed especially for the

manufacture the roof structures. The main

world cup.

contractor Toyo Birdair tendered, with ABJ as

the fabricator, for all five of the stadiums being

The two roof structures will be fabricated

constructed to host the world cup in two and

at ABJs facilities in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait,

a half years time. Bid rivals included major

where they will undergo trial assemblies

international fabricators such as Chimoli of

before being shipped to South Africa for final

Italy and Pfizer of Germany.

assembly and erection later this year.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

The suspension roof and the transparent

stadium will host the opening and closing

faade will be comprised of a compression

ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

ring, truss girders, a tension ring cable and

Conceived as the core of the Soccer City

membranes (see box). Engineering activities

of South Africa, the stadium will have up to

began on the 13th November 2007 and

43,000 permanent seats and an additional

fabrication is expected to begin on the 1st

5,000 temporary seats for the World Cup.

March with delivery anticipated in October

2008.

The NMB stadium will be elliptical and

measure approximately 256 by 196 metres,

Projects Briefs

PROJECTS

The Nelson Mandela Bay multi-purpose

giving it a foot-print of about 50,200sq m. It

will have a maximum height of around 32.4m.

Nelson Mandela Bay stadium

Fabrication of the roofing structure began on

Client

: South African
Government

Main contractor

: Toyo Birdair

The arena will feature a spectacular, free-

Project number

: 2133

standing, visually-distinctive roof structure,

Location

: Port Elizabeth,
South Africa

is highly innovative (see box) and due to the

Scope of work

: Fabrication of
2000mt of steel
roof girders

speed with which it has to be constructed the

Start of fabrication

: January 2008

NMB will be the quickest built stadium ever

Delivery

: June 2008

in the world.

Number of employees

: 250 (at peak)

the 13th January for delivery in mid-2008.

as can be seen from the artists impression,

which will be fabricated by ABJ. The design

The

multi-purpose

African

Renaissance

Stadium Green Point stadium at Cape Town

will be the venue for the semi-finals of the 2010
FIFA World Cup. The stadium will measure
about 265 x 245m, have a height of 54m, and
cover an area of around 10.6 hectares. It will
have seats for 70,000 spectators.
The roof will be a retractable, suspension type
and has been designed so that noise will be
reflected back into the stadium. To mitigate
noise and luminosity, the roof will have a

Green Point stadium

Client

: South African
Government

Main contractor

: Toyo Birdair

Project number

: 2134

Location

: Cape Town, South

Africa

Scope of work

: Fabrication of
1800mt
compression ring

Start of fabrication

: March 2008

Delivery

: October 2008

Number of employees

: 250 (at peak)

double membrane.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

PROJECTS

Nelson
Mandela Bay
Stadium

cladding with a standing seam profile on the

back and membrane panels made of PVC
coated polyester fabric or PTFE coated glass
fibres to span between the girders.
There will be a catwalk lining at the top, which
will link the main girders at the upper end with

The free-standing roof-supporting structure

a valley cable dividing them in the middle. This

of this prestigious stadium is being fabricated

will also serve as a maintenance platform and

by ABJ at Mina Abdullah, Kuwait. It will weigh

for supporting the flood-lighting system.

approximately 2,000mt.
The structure will have a technical feature
The structures elliptical profile will be

that is new in stadium design. The cantilever

achieved by using a series of 36 girders of five

girders have been designed as three chord

typical types, which will run radially around

girders, made of hollow tubular sections. The

the outside of the stadium at a distance of

two side chords will be bent to profile in such

about 20m along the periphery. These girders

a way that they can directly accommodate

will be bent so that they follow the faade of

the membrane panel geometry. The main

the roof as designed.

framework will be linked at the top by an

L-shaped framework of tubular members

The exposed surface of the roof structure will

which, clamped at the bottom, will serve as

be covered by two different cladding materials.

a coupling between the main girder and the

The main structure of the roof will consist of

membrane panels.

radial steel girders covered by aluminium

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

PROJECTS

Green Point at
Cape Town
Construction of the stadium at Green Point in
Cape Town will take place at ABJs facilities
in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait. About 3,500mt of
steel will be used overall, with approximately
1,800mt of compression ring.
There will be 72 typical girders running

98mm diameter high strength cables. These

radially at a distance of approximately 12m

will be stabilized by bracings in the diagonal

along the outer periphery of the stadium. The

and circumferential directions.

truss girders will be suspension members,

each with a length 62m and will be connected

Over this suspension there will be a secondary

to the compression ring at the top and the

steel structure to form the upper shape of the

tension ring cable at the bottom.

roof. The entire steel work will be covered with

PVC coated PES open mesh fabric at the

The compression ring will have a 1.2m x 2.2m x

bottom and at the top with heat-strengthened

12m box shape and will be made of structural

glass with a PVB interlayer.

steel plates. The tension ring will consist of

Artists impression of the Green Point stadium at Cape Town in South Africa
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

PROJECTS


Kuwaits Tallest Building

When it is completed in January 2010, Al Hamra Tower is expected to be Kuwaits tallest building.
To ensure that it is built accurately, despite the external tilt effects that cause high-rise buildings to
sway during construction, the building techniques in use feature an innovative surveying solution
from Leica Geosystems.
Khalid Al-Manzalawy explains.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

have a massive built-up area of 190,000sq m.

intersection of Al-Shuhada and Jaber Al-

The offices, ranging from 200 to 1500sq m in

Mubarak Streets in down-town Kuwait City,

size, will be smart business environments

where the old Al-Hamra and Firdous Cinema

equipped with optic cabling, advanced security

used to stand, began in late 2005.

and IP telephony systems.

The project is a mixed use development

Abutting the tower will be a mixed-use

consisting of a shopping centre and office

complex Al-Hamra and Firdous which will

tower. The centre will have a foot-print of

contain a mall with three basements, three

nearly 11,000sq m plus there will be an

shopping floors and a floor with nine cinemas.

additional 7,000sq m on which a multi-story

The complex will also include Al-Hamra

car park will be built.

Lifestyle Shopping Center, a unique mixture of

PROJECTS

Construction of Al-Hamra Centre at the

high-quality retail shops, cafes, restaurants,

Al-Hamra Tower will be 412 metres high and

food court, cinemas and entertainment areas,

cost US$372 million to build. It will contain

spread over four floors.

about 195 offices spread over 77 storeys and

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

PROJECTS

the building is offset from its design centre

line.
The situation is complicated once a building
has passed 20 storeys as then the upper
Artists impression of Kuwaits tallest
building-to-be as it will look from
Sharq Marina.

decks of the growing building tend to be

obscured from ground level by the formwork
and poor visibility. To accurately measure the
constantly varying off-centre tilt of partially

The mall will be connected to a multi-storey

car park, with a built-up area of nearly
54,000sq m and a capacity of 1,800 vehicles,
by pedestrian bridges at multiple levels. Out
front there will be a 6,000sq m landscaped

constructed buildings, Leica Geosystems

AG has developed a solution its Core Wall
Survey Control System that determines and
analyzes the displacement of tower alignment
from the vertical axis.

plaza designed as a central gathering point

with soft landscaping, marble surrounds and
unique water features.
Kharafi Nationals scope of work on this
immense project is to build and commission
the electro-mechanical works in the tower
and the car park buildings.
A challenge during the construction of super
high-rise buildings is the strong external
tilt effects arising from wind pressure, onesided thermal effects due to sunlight, and
various unilateral loads. These effects cause
the building to loose its vertical alignment
temporarily during construction, and this
may be exacerbated by uneven crane loads
and construction sequences, and vibrations
caused by construction work. To ensure that
the building is being erected correctly, the
construction manager needs to know at any
moment how much the actual vertical axis of

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Artists impression of Al-Hamra Tower

from the south.

model of the building to be developed and from

this it will be possible to derive values at any
given height for the effect of building design,
solar effects and construction sequence.
A similar system is being used during the
construction of the 800m high Burj Dubai in
the UAE.

Artists impression of the entrance to AlHamra Tower, Kuwait, due to open in 2010.

As well as being used during construction

PROJECTS

This innovative solution enables a dynamic

the Leica system can, once the building has

been completed, be integrated with other

Project Brief

monitoring information systems to provide a

Al-Hamra Mix-Use Complex

complete system of structural monitoring.

Client

: Al Hamra Real
Estate Company

Client Representative

: Ajial Real Estate

& Entertainment
Company

Main Contractor

: Ahmadiah
contracting
&Trading Company

Project number

: 1372

Location

: Al-Sharq, Kuwait

City

Scope of work

: Build and
commission
electro-mechanical
works

Start

: December 2005

Finish

: January 2010

Duration

: Three years

Employees

: Approximately 300
(at peak)

Artists impression of what will be Kuwaits

tallest building.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

OPERATIONS NEWS
10

Operations News
Highlights of KNs operations over the last few months include the formal opening of the US
Militarys expeditionary hospital in Arifjan and the award of further BOOT contracts in the UAE. KN
is also participating in the construction of what is expected to be the tallest building in Kuwait.

Facilities Management
The new level III expeditionary hospital built by KN at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait was formally opened by
the US military at a special ceremony on the 15th January 2008.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

The entire design, construction, installation

an endoscopy procedure room that can also

and commissioning of this comprehensive

be used as a third operating room, and an 11-

medical complex was undertaken by Kharafi

bed emergency room, and can cope with 44

National. The new hospital was finished on

patients in an emergency. It contains X-ray

time and handed over to the client, the US

and CT scan capabilities, a medical laboratory,

Army Corps of Engineers, in December 2007

a pharmacy and an internal medicine clinic

and is now fully operational.

and is connected to a troop medical clinic

and dental clinic. The fuel capacity of its
generators is such that it can provide full
health-care for three days in the event of a
crisis that interrupts fuel supplies.
KNs

expertise

in

electro-mechanical

works and construction had already been

demonstrated on previous projects in Kuwait
and Iraq for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
This project presented the company with
The hospital has 21 medical-surgical beds

an opportunity to demonstrate its design

and four ICU beds, two full operating rooms,

capabilities and to consolidate its reputation

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

OPERATIONS NEWS

Commissioning Ceremony at Camp Arifjan

11

OPERATIONS NEWS

with the US military for excellence in

fast-track project was praised highly during
the opening ceremony.

project, MG Hardy said, that necessitated an

all-out effort. The results reflect an exemplary
performance during design, construction and
commissioning.

The commissioning ceremony opened with

some brief welcoming addresses which were
followed by a colourful and very musical
parade that culminated in a formal take-over
of the facility by the military. The core speech
of the day was delivered by Major General
Hardy, the Deputy Commanding General of
the US Third Army. This was a challenging

KN was represented at the commissioning

ceremony by Pietro Levrero, COO-FM,
Refaat Zaki, OM-FM, Nasr Fawzi, MPs-FM,
Don Brown, HSE Manager, Isabel Walters,
Manager Brand Identity Unit, and Jacob
Kurian, PM, who were accompanied by the
engineers, field supervisors, technicians and
artisans who worked on the project.

execution. Indeed KNs performance on this

Our photographs show the hospital commissioning ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
12

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

KN has been awarded two build-own-operatetransfer projects in the UAE, cementing

its place as an internationally recognised
engineering, procurement and construction
firm and as a major player in BOOT projects.

Two New BOOT Projects

On 17th December 2007 the BiwaterEUCH
Consortium was approved by The Abu Dhabi
Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) as the
successful bidder on two new build-ownoperate-transfer (BOOT) projects a great
achievement by all concerned.
Emirates Utilities Company Holding (EUCH)
is a partnership between Al Qudra Holding
PJSC of Abu Dhabi and Utilities Development
Company Holding (UDCH) of Kuwait, a sister
company of Kharafi National. Biwater Plc is
a British water and waste-water company
with operations in 27 countries and is the
technology provider within the consortium.
The scope of the projects is to design, finance,
build, test, operate and maintain two waste
water sewage treatment plants with a 25year concession. The Al-Wathba Sewage

Treatment Plant will be constructed near the

presently located Al-Mafreq STP 40 km from
Abu Dhabi city centre. The Al-Saad STP will
be located on the Abu Dhabi side of Al Ain.
Kharafi National will be the main contractor
for the engineering, procurement and
construction management of the build phase.
Once the two plants have been commissioned,
KN will operate and maintain the STPs for the
following 25 years.
Both plants will use a traditional treatment
method with preliminary, primary, secondary
and tertiary treatment with anaerobic
digestion and biogas co-generation facilities.
The Al Wathba plant will have a total capacity
of 300,000 cubic metres per day and the
Al Saad plant will be able to handle 70,000
cubic metres per day. Both STPs will treat
the effluent to a maximum level of 2.0
nephelometric turbidity units (NTUs), a very
high level of purity.

OPERATIONS NEWS

The UAE

The engineering consultants ILF have already

begun designing the plants. Construction
is expected to begin in July 2008 and it is
estimated that commercial plant operations
will commence in October 2010.

The green field (or golden sands) site where the Wathba STP will be constructed.
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

13

OPERATIONS NEWS

Construction Unit A
Two major projects being undertaken by
Construction Unit A are progressing well and
are on schedule to meet their due completion
dates.

Aromatics on schedule
Construction of Kuwaits new Aromatics
Complex, which began on the 1st February
2006, is on target for completion by the 30th
November 2008.

The project is being undertaken by a

consortium of Tecnimont of Italy and Sun
Kyong Engineering & Construction of South
Korea on behalf of Kuwait Paraxylene
Production Company, a subsidiary of
Petrochemical Industries Company. The
consortium is executing the detailed
engineering, procurement, construction and
pre-commissioning activities, and will provide
support during commissioning and start-up.
Within the consortium, Tecnimonts scope of
work consists of the A2, A3 and A4 process
areas, i.e. the xylene/parex unit, the isomar
unit and the SRU/pygas unit, as well as the
offsite flare and tank farm areas, main control
room and substations, and the interconnecting
pipe racks. Tecnimont has sub-contracted all
the civil and buildings works, structural steel
erection, mechanical and electrical works
14

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

installation, insulation and painting, as well

as pre-commissioning and commissioning
support services to KN.
As of the end of November 2007, all 16 tank
foundations had been completed and civil
construction of the main structures and
foundations was expected to be completed
by January 2008. Of the 5,200mt of steel
structure that will be erected, more than 50%
is complete and about 25% of the piping is in
place. Erection of the 13 heavy lift vessels is
also complete and work on the internals is
in progress. Erection of the static and rotary
equipment is on-going.
With the civil, underground, structural,
painting, piping prefabrication and installation
activities taking place simultaneously, the
challenge now for the KN team is to coordinate
everything so that the speed of construction
is maintained and the project is completed
on schedule. As KNs multi-national teams
are led by experienced leaders, who have
the support of Tecnimont and Bechtel, it is
anticipated that the scheduled completion
date will be met and, at the same time, all
safety and quality standards will be achieved.
Indeed safety over-rides all production
targets is the slogan of the Aromatics team
and the entire site has an excellent safety
record so far. With the project totalling more
than 5.2 million man-hours already, more
than 1.25 million man-hours have been
worked since the last lost-time incident.
The quality with which the project is being
executed is also notable. Before an activity
is begun, a method statement is created for
approval by the main contractor and the project
consultant; this maintains the reputation KN
has earned for its culture of excellence.

Construction of this grassroots ethylene

glycol unit in the Shuaiba Industrial Area in
southern Kuwait, which began in July 2006, is
about two-thirds complete.
Over 15,000cu m of reinforced concrete
has been poured and civil works are almost
finished except for minor paving activities.
About 4,500mt of major columns, exchangers
and all the heavy lift vessels are in place, and
the erection of 3,000mt of steel structures
erection is 95% complete. This major project is
on schedule for commissioning this summer.
EG-2, so called because it will be the second
ethylene glycol plant in Kuwait, is being built
by Kharafi National on behalf of The Kuwait
Olefins Company KSCC, and will be part of
TKOCs Olefins II ethylene and derivatives
complex, known as OL2K for short. The plant

will use Union Carbides Meteor ethylene

oxide and ethylene glycol process technology,
making it one of the most advanced and
efficient and also safest, ethylene glycol plants
in the world.
This is one of the largest construction projects
undertaken to date by KN as a main contractor
in the hydrocarbon sector and it confirms
Kharafi Nationals position as a major player
in construction in Kuwait.
The pre-fabrication and erection of piping
and the installation of cable trays are
currently progressing well. Cable pulling and
termination works are also on schedule. As of
the 14th December 2007, three million manhours had been spent on the project without a
lost-time accident.

OPERATIONS NEWS

OL2K Ethylene Glycol-2

Work-in-progress on the installation of equipment, vessels and steel structure.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

15

OPERATIONS NEWS

ConstructionUnit B
On the Booster Station 160 project,
ConstructionUnit B is busy with Snamprogetti,
the client, with a view to beginning demolition
and site preparation work by the middle of
2008.

Amalgamation Project

Almost 90% of the major Facilities Upgrade

(Amalgamation) project for KOC has now
been completed. The project is spread over
nine different operating facilities within KOCs
south-eastern oil fields.
KN is currently working on final tie-ins at each
site during complete plant shutdowns, with a
time-frame of between ten and twenty days for
each gathering centre and booster station. As
of writing, four of these had been completed
well ahead of schedule and there are
five more to go. As this project winds down,
people are being demobilized to the EG2 and
Aromatics project and to the Civil Division.

Steam Flood Facility

Mobilization for the large-scale steam-flood

pilot project, which entails 16 injector wells
and 25 producing wells, began in September
2007. The purpose of the pilot project is to
evaluate the response of the reservoir to the
use of injected steam to improve the flow
of crude and the design criteria for several
facilities, and to study the economics of fullfield development.
KNs scope of work includes the civil
construction of all major foundations, design
and construction of the control room, design
and erection of five field tanks, the fabrication
and site-installation of treatment skids and
pipe racks at ABJ, erection on site of all
equipment, installation of all mechanical and
electrical works, pre-commissioning work
and commissioning assistance.
Construction of temporary facilities is
currently in progress and civil work is expected
to commence in February.

The small-scale steam-flood pilot facility which has been operating successfully since February 2006.
16

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

C&I Building Services is involved in several

very prestigious projects in Kuwait, including
the construction of Al-Hamra Tower, Kuwaits
soon-to-be tallest building, which is discussed
in a separate article in this issue.

Amiri Terminal Building

The new Amiri terminal building at Kuwait

International Airport will provide luxurious
reception facilities that reflect the richness of
modern Islamic and Kuwaiti culture. It will be
used by HH the Amir to welcome VVIP visitors
to the State of Kuwait.
This scheme, on which work began in midSeptember 2007, includes an exclusive
aircraft hangar, a central plant, road and
ramp, extensive landscaping and parking
facilities. The terminal building is expected to
be completed by mid-December 2008 and the
aircraft hangar by mid-September 2009.

The Amiri terminal building will have a total

area of 11,700sq m on two floors. It will
contain a national anthem hall, a series of
reception halls, dining halls, meeting rooms,
conference halls, press rooms, offices, suites
and bedrooms, all equipped with state-ofthe-art facilities and finished to a very high
standard.
The aircraft hangar will have a total area of
14,000sq m enough to house two Airbus A380s. A two-lane ramp will reach the Amiri
terminal at the first floor and provide the
main gate area with shade. The project is
being executed by Ahmadiah Contracting and
Trading Company on behalf of the Kuwait
Ministry of Public works.
KNs scope of work includes all the electromechanical works for the Amiri terminal
building, the aircraft hangar, fountains and
water features and the central plant.

OPERATIONS NEWS

C&I Building Services

Daytime perspective of new Amiri terminal

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

17

OPERATIONS NEWS

New MAB
Facilities
At KNs new site in Mina Abdullah in Kuwait
the piping insulation workshop building
has started turning out a variety of piping
products that meet international standards,
joining the many other facilities that are
already operational. The catering building,
which will service all units in MAB, is nearing
completion.

The Equipment Division has bought its largest

ever crawler crane and has established its
own fuelling station, while KNs Dealership
Unit has added an international supplier of
access equipment to its roster of exclusive
dealerships.

The construction of additional facility

buildings, such as the IMTE building, welders
training school, facility maintenance building,
blast and paint chambers, painting area, and
shot blasting chamber, is in progress. The
infrastructure at MAB is being developed so
that it meets all current requirements and
can cope with future expansion.

Trading
Operations
The exclusive agencies held for Kuwait and the
UAE by Trading Operations are significantly
increasing turnover in that business unit.

Ductile Iron Pipes

In December 2007 Trading Operations

received large supply orders for ductile iron
pipes that meet the technical specifications
of the Ministry of Electricity & Water in
Kuwait for potable water usage from four
leading local construction companies: KCPC,
the Combined Group, UGCC (United Gulf
Construction Company), and Al-Alamiah
Company.
These pipes will be manufactured by XinXing
of China for whom KN is the exclusive
representative in Kuwait and the UAE. A total
of 275km of piping, with diameters ranging
from 100 to 600mm, will be required to fulfil
these four orders. The orders also include
thousands of assorted pipe fittings.
18

ED & KNDU

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Largest ever crawler

crane added

In mid-November 2007, the Equipment

Division added a new 250mt crawler crane
with a 102m boom to its fleet. This is now the
largest capacity crawler crane in KNs fleet
of equipment. Installation and certification of
the new crane took place with the assistance
of a technical expert sent especially for
that purpose from the manufacturer, IHI, in
Japan.

Equipment Divisions largest ever crawler

crane being installed.

Every day hundreds of KN vehicles require

refueling with diesel. To meet this demand
a new fuel station has been built within
the Equipment Divisions facilities in Mina
Abdullah. The station has an underground
storage tank with a capacity of 36,000 liters.

Equipment Division dispenses fuel to hundreds of

its own vehicles every day.

ELF Lubricants seminar

Rao Narasinga, the technical manager of ELF

Lubricants, conducted a three-hour seminar
at the Equipment Divisions training facility
in Mina Abdullah on the 6th November 2007,
which was attended by the divisions workshop
engineers and supervisors.
The topics covered at the seminar included:
How to specify the proper oil for a
particular application;
Oil standards and grades;
Mixing oil; and
The importance of oil sampling.

SCANCLIMBER joins
KNDU

During October 2007, KNDU became the

exclusive representative in Kuwait for
SCANCLIMBER work platforms and hoists.
SCANCLIMBER supplies two unique models
of access equipment. Its mast climbing work
platforms have working lengths of up to
16.9m, load capacities of up to 2.7mt and can
be elevated to a height of 100m. The material
and personnel hoists have load capacities of
up to 2mt and can reach heights of 200m.
These work platforms and hoists provide
perfect solutions for working on the external
facades of high-rise buildings, as alternatives
to or along with scaffolding and other
access platforms. They are ideal for faade
work, balcony work, window installations,
bricklaying, plastering, shipyard work,
external painting, ceiling work, cladding and
renovation.

OPERATIONS NEWS

New in-house fuel station

Besides being reliable and economical to use,

these units come in modular designs that
allow for easy installation and dismantling,
and they are considered more productive and
safer than scaffolding. They are expected
to contribute significantly to KNDUs sales
revenues in the near future.

After the seminar the attendees expressed

their satisfaction at having a better
understanding of the oils they use in their
daily routine maintenance activities

The ELF Lubricants seminar was immensely informative.

SCANCLIMBER material and personnel

hoists are exclusive to KNDU.
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

19

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

ABJ Live on ERP

The hard work of implementing ERP recently

costs. Better accessibility to data is also

began paying excellent dividends in ABJ when

providing ABJ management with up-to-the-

the new system became fully operational. IT

minute access to information for managerial

takes a look at what is happening at ABJ and

control and decision-making.

at the implications for the rest of KN.

The primary goal of ERP at KN is to improve
On the 1st December 2007, Oracles Enterprise

and streamline internal business processes.

Resource Planning (ERP) system went live at

To do so successfully required three things:

ABJ and starting 1st January 2008, ABJ no

(a) establishing a single company-wide

longer has access to the ATS system which has

database, (b) re-engineering current business

been wholly discontinued for that company.

processes as needed and (c) customizing ERP

modules so that they conform to the unique

Management and staff at ABJ are now

requirements of our businesses.

enjoying the benefits of having all their

business processes integrated onto a single

Setting up a single database for a company

information system. These benefits include

as complex as KN was not easy. The data

improved

functional

was held in different formats and had to be

departments and increased efficiencies of

cleansed (ie reviewed, updated or deleted

doing business, as well as reduced operating

as necessary) and converted. Input processes

coordination

across

KNs new ERP system is now fully operational at ABJ.

20

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

of ERP and to ensure that the customized

once source of entry. Data also had to be

functionalities of the software will correspond

transferred to the new unified database, often

exactly with our business needs.

manually, and then verified for 100% accuracy.

All this took time and an absolutely Herculean

Modifying ABJs business processes and

effort by staff at ABJ and KNs FAD and IT and

cleansing and reformatting data for the unified

MIS, the ERP implementer.

database required significant extra work from

employees. This was forthcoming from the

Process re-engineering has been much

companys extremely loyal and hard-working

evident at ABJ over the last year or so, and

staff, all of whom were totally committed and

indeed throughout KN as a whole. During

made a massive effort to reach the final gone-

the early stages of implementation, business

live stage at ABJ. Similar efforts will be needed

processes were documented in fine detail and,

to make ERP a success in the rest of KN.

in doing so, more effective ways of performing

many tasks were discovered, enabling existing

Implementation of an ERP system represents

functions to be redesigned to make them

a major investment in time and money and

more efficient.

this investment is now paying off handsomely.

ABJ users have complete confidence in ERP

If a firm is to grow by taking advantage of

and are using it enthusiastically. As word has

new and different opportunities in the market

percolated throughout the group, the rest of

place, it must continuously refine its business

KN is eager to go-live and reap the benefits of

processes to take changing circumstances

ERP during the second quarter of this year.

into account. For this reason ERP does not

just automate existing business processes it

The improvements to the performance of

transforms these processes. Because the new

KNs

system is flexible enough to accommodate the

control and resource planning resulting from

on-going evolution in business processes, ABJ

the successful implementation of ERP will

and KN will become more and more efficient

help KN immensely in achieving its growth-

as time goes by.

oriented strategy.

Implementation inevitably took a long time

No pain, no gain, says Antoine El-Khoury,

at KN because of the complexity of the

Corporate Director for Human Resources

companys diverse operations and activities.

& Information Technology. The pain of

Despite the intricacies of KNs requirements

analysis, data cleansing, re-engineering and

and some technical bugs encountered in

customization is now paying off. Once KN is fully

the ERP software, both KN and MIS were

on-line with ERP, the company will be streets

determined that the implementation would

ahead of its competitors. Indeed it will be one

be flawless. We turned the delays to our

of the few, if any, construction companies in

advantage by using the extra time to acquire a

the Middle East with a comprehensive fully-

deeper acquaintance with the functionalities

functional ERP system.

operational

control,

management

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

had to be redesigned so that there is only

21

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

Procurement uses Six Sigma

to Improve Operational
Performance
on-delivery (COD) payments from 20% to 10%,
and the secondary metric was to improve the
average credit from 46 to more than 60 days.
Once we had decided on the metrics, we asked
ourselves a series of questions: Why do we
have to pay COD? Why are suppliers hesitant
in offering longer credit? What would induce
suppliers to offer improved credit terms? What
corrective actions do we need to take in order
Continuous improvement in all operational
aspects is at the core of Kharafi Nationals
working philosophy. The Procurement &
Material Control Department in Kuwait
recently applied the Six Sigma Methodology
to improve the companys cash-flows. The
project was an outstanding success.
.....T Bala
Procurement Unit Head, explains.
Six

Sigma

is

rigorous,

disciplined

methodology that uses data and statistical

to achieve our goals of reducing COD payments

and improving the average credit period? Who
is responsible for these corrective actions?
How are we going to sustain and improve on
the results of this project?
To answer these questions we conducted a
series of brain-storming sessions. These
enabled us to understand the causes and
effects of our primary and secondary metrics.
We concluded that there were six major factors
affecting the achievement of our goals:

analysis to measure and improve operational

performance by identifying and eliminating
short-comings in service-related processes.
Implementing Six Sigma requires that a metric
to measure performance and a methodology
to improve the process under consideration
must first be chosen.

1) Delays in the preparation of material

receipt vouchers (MRVs).
2) Delays in the approval of MRVs by project
managers.
3) The payment cycles in the financial
department (FAD).
4) Lack of planning for material

For our Six Sigma cash-flow improvement

project at Procurement, we defined two
metrics, a primary metric and a secondary
one. The primary metric was to reduce cash-

22

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

requirements.
5) Our negotiating skills needed
improvement.
6) Some facets of our supplier relationships.

among store-keepers, it was concluded that

factor #2 delays in the approval of MRVs by
project managers was not affecting COD
payments.

We noted, with interest, that 50% of these

major factors were purely internal issues of the
Procurement & Material Control Department.
We began monitoring payments terms for local

This Six Sigma exercise was a great success.

purchase orders vigorously on a weekly basis.

As can be seen from the two charts, we

We also collected detailed statistical data on

managed to reduce our weekly COD payments

each of the major factors we had identified

to well below 10% and to improve the credit

as being critical to achieving our goals and

period we were obtaining from local suppliers

conducted further analysis to identify the root

far beyond an average of 60 days.

cause of each of these problems.

The project had further beneficial effects.
We had detailed discussions with FAD and

Our findings resulted in several sub-projects

with various KN operational units to consider

to improve processes being undertaken

the corrective measures needed to achieve

within the Procurement & Material Control

the goals we had set ourselves. We also re-

Department and in several other operational

negotiated improved credit terms with our

units. Our experience clearly demonstrates

local suppliers. As we were aware of the

that Six Sigma is an effective tool for

concerns of our suppliers, we were able to

continuous improvement within KN.

address these issues during the negotiations.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

Based on the results of a survey conducted

23

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

E-Learning Booms at KN
Since its introduction in March 2006 e-

is not surprising as the courses are highly

learning has become very popular in

accessible and are available to all trades not

Kharafi National and is now viewed by staff

just in Kuwait but wherever KN has a presence,

as an essential way to acquire knowledge

including the UAE, Egypt and Lebanon.

that enhances the prospects of career

advancement immensely.

The evident popularity of the courses is also

due to the fact that they are really user-

During 2007 a total of 19,000 hours was spent

friendly and handy to use but could be faster.

on e-learning at KN and 4,353 certificates for

The few technical problems that arose in the

successfully completing courses were issued

latter half of 2007, as the system expanded,

to employees. The Learning & Development

have now been resolved.

Unit recently conducted an informal attitude

survey on the popularity and benefits of e-

Employees are certainly eager to learn and

learning, which is delivered totally free of

are prepared to devote their spare time, some

charge, throughout the company.

even giving up their holidays, to concentrate

on improving their knowledge and skills. They

This form of learning is certainly popular

find the time during lunch hours, Fridays,

most users take multiple courses. Indeed

after hours at home or at an internet caf, and

several respondents finished 44 courses in

on holidays.

2007, and many took two dozen or so. This

E-learners at KN concentrate on enhancing their career prospects.

24

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

their self-development, improving ways

expressed when respondents were asked how

of thinking, and enabling better self-

they felt when they received their certificates:

organization and better communication.

delighted, like getting a BA, and, like a

mother delivering a baby. Others felt that they

Now that minor glitches in the system have

had reached a target and that their efforts

been resolved and the e-learning method

had been recognized by their employer.

has gained a very high degree of acceptance,

the Learning & Development Unit is pushing

About fifty percent of respondents are using

ahead with its e-learning expansion plans for

the e-learning courses to gain professional

2008.

qualifications in areas such as human

resources, information technology and project

The units library of e-learning courses has

management qualifications that will help

been increased from 120 to 500 and the

them not only in their current roles but which

number of licensed users has gone from 500

they will take with them when they move on.

to well over 3,150. In addition, a new companywide prize draw has been created for those

However the real test of any company learning

who successfully complete a course.

system and the return on the substantial

investment involved is the degree to which
users find the courses beneficial in dealing
with the challenges of their current jobs
and in preparing them to undertake greater
responsibilities at work.

courses are of immense value in their

daily jobs. Many mentioned improved time
better

Each time you pass an e-learning course

with minimum marks of 80%, you are

All respondents were adamant that the

management,

New e-Learning Competition

Launched

leadership

skills,

improved decision-making, guidance on

dealing with sub-ordinates as contributing
to the success they began achieving at work
following the courses. As one respondent
said, his e-learning had helped overcome
challenges in a way that was not possible

entered into a company-wide prize draw.

Draws will be held periodically and will be
conducted separately for Kuwait, the UAE,
Egypt and Lebanon.
For each course you pass you will be
entered once in the draw.
1 x pass = 1 x chance
5 x passes = 5 x chances
The more courses you pass, the greater

before.

your chances of winning.

Many respondents also felt that the e-learning

So boost your career NOW and

win a FABULOUS PRIZE!

courses benefited them personally as well

LEARNING &DEVELOPMENT

This enthusiasm for learning was best

as professionally, describing the courses

as improving character, contributing to
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

25

SAFETY, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

High Safety Audit Scores

All aspects of safe-working are taken very

Project #1276 Maintenance of Instrumentation

seriously in Kharafi National. During recent

Controls in Shuaiba Refinery, Kuwait

safety audits, nine projects scored 95% or

more and were awarded with special plaques

Project #1279 Operation & Maintenance of

to honour these excellent achievements.

Al-Oula Gas Stations, Kuwait

Congratulations to .

Project #1293 Steam-flood Operations &

Maintenance for Joint Operations, Wafra, PNZ

Project #1182 Operation & Maintenance of

Instrumentation & Control Systems at MAA

Project #1321 - Maintenance of Kuwait

Refinery, Kuwait

International Airport- VVIP Lounges

Project #1234 Mechanical Maintenance in

Project #1325 Construction of Control

Mina Abdullah Refinery, Kuwait

Room, Aromatics Project, Kuwait

Project #1273 Operation & Maintenance of

Project #1335

Jahra Sewage Treatment Plant, Kuwait

Requirements at Shuaiba Refinery, Kuwait

New

CCR

Additional

Our photograph shows Don Brown, Corporate HSE Manager, with project safety officers proudly showing
their commemorative plaques.
26

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Exemplary
Safety with KN
Scaffolders

On the 20th November 2007 the OL2k EG-2

project passed 2.5 million man-hours without
an LTI. On the following day this magnificent
achievement was celebrated in a gathering of
all personnel on site.
After welcoming messages by senior project
managers from TKOC, WSI and KN, everyone
enjoyed lunch. Individual awards for exemplary
safety performances were presented and all
attendees received a gift to commemorate the
achievement. Before work was resumed, safe
and unsafe ways of working at heights were
demonstrated.
Kharafi National is the main contractor for the
construction of the ethylene glycol plant. Working

Kharafi

Nationals

dedication

to

safe-

2,500,000 man-hours without a serious accident

working in all its operations was rewarded

is a magnificent achievement that reflects well

on the 24th November 2007 when Tecnimont

on the efforts of KNs HSE Department to build

presented safety certificates, in recognition

an excellent safety-first culture.

of their exemplary performance on the

Aromatics Project, to three of KNs scaffolding
personnel.

Congratulations to .

SAFETY, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

Safety
Celebration at
OL2K EG-2
Project

Shafiqur Rahman Khan scaffolding supervisor

Shiv K Prasad scaffolding foreman

Rambhir Ghole scaffolder
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

27

EVENTS

Managing BOT Projects

Kharafi National sponsored a presentation
on BOT projects on the 11th February 2008
organized by the Arabian Gulf Chapter of the
Project Management Institute.
The presentation Managing BOT projects
was made by Dr Ibrahim Al-Ghusain, the
Director of Projects Development for KNs
Infrastructure Project Development, at the
Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Theatre and Hall in
the Marina Hotel in Salmiya, Kuwait.
Dr Al-Ghusain explained that the development
of infrastructure projects entails multiple
activities including the design, financing,
construction, and long-term operation

28

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

and maintenance, of large-scale plants.

He outlined the intricacies and challenges
of project development and privatization,
examining in particular the three stages
development, bidding and negotiations that
precede the award of a project. Dr Al-Ghusain
related these stages to the knowledge needed
to develop and manage privatization projects.
As well as discussing the assessment of risk,
Dr Al-Ghusain also described the differing
contractual structures build-operate-transfer
projects can take and the interactions that
take place between stakeholders owners,
developers, lenders, consultants, EPC
contractors, O&M contractors and end users
in a privatization scheme.

EVENTS

Dr Al-Ghusain illustrated his presentation

with examples of actual development
projects undertaken by KN. These included
the Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment &
Reclamation plant at Sulaibiya in Kuwait, the
largest project of its kind in the world. Dr AlGhusain is the general manager of Utilities
Development Company, the special purposes
company for this BOT project.
After numerous questions from the floor,
attendees at this KN sponsored event enjoyed
a dinner during which this very informative
presentation was discussed enthusiastically.

Dr Ibrahim Al-Ghusain, Director of Projects

Development at IPD, taking questions
from the floor.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

29

EVENTS

Keralite Employees Celebrate

Onam-2007
Kharafi National was the main sponsor of the
2007 Onaghosham Festival which took place
in the auditorium of the Carmel School in
Khaitan, Kuwait, on the 26th October 2007.
The event was organized by Oruma, the
cultural wing of KNs Keralite employees,
which promotes good fellowship among all
employees and their families.

Onaghosham-2007 began with a colourful

procession in which traditional forms of
Keralite art such as Kadhakali, Chendamelam,
Pulikali, Kavadi and Thalappoli were
performed by men and women dressed in
traditional outfits. It was officially inaugurated
by Thomas Chandy, a member of the
Legislative Assembly in Kerala. The cultural
session was opened by Srinivas, the famous

Onam is a harvest festival, the largest festival

of the Indian State of Kerala. It is celebrated
with enthusiasm by people of all economic
levels and creeds. During the festival the
rich cultural heritage of Kerala, which has a
secular character peculiar to this land where
unity had always coexisted with diversity, is
displayed at its best. The festival is celebrated
to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is
said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

South Indian play-back singer with a series of

ghazals by Mehdi Hassan and several popular
Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam film songs.
The cultural meeting began with the national
anthem of Kuwait, which was followed by a
traditional prayer sung by Vrinda Venugopal,
daughter of Venugopal, the safety officer
on Project #1264. Sam Pynammoodu
of the Engineering Department chaired

Performance of traditional Keralite art forms Kadhakali, Chendamelam, Pulikali, Kavadi and Thalappoli.
30

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Antoine El-Khoury being presented with

a memento on behalf of the DMD by
Organizing Committee Head
Sam Pinumoodu.
the meeting. Krishna Kumar of FAD, the
Programme Committee Convener, welcomed
the gathering, while the General Convenor
Jomon Cherian of the Equipment Division
extended the vote of thanks. HRD Manager
B A Manivel, FAD Manager Philip Thomas,
Malayil Moosa Koya from the Kuwait Times,
and Titus E D, the Managing Director of BEC,
delivered felicitations. The festival souvenir

The full days programme included a musical

orchestra lead by Srinivas, supported by
artists Malini Balachandran of Employee
Relations, Joyal Jose of FAD, Kishore
of the Accommodation Unit, as well as
Vrinda Venugopal and a variety of other
famous singers in Kuwait. Dances such as
Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Thiruvathira,
Kadhak and others, were staged by young,

EVENTS

was released by Antoine El-Khoury, Corporate

Director HR & IT, when he handed the first
copy to Souvenir Committee Convener Shibu
Philip of FAD.

talented artists from Kuwait. Highlights of the

day included performances by residents of
Sulaibiya Camp of variety items such as Vande
Matharam, Laila-O-Laila, Oppana, a Punjabi
Dance and the Kitchen Dance, and the Onam
Song sung by Equipment Division Employees.
More than one thousand employees and their
families enjoyed the festival which included
the traditional Onam feast.

Antoine El-Khoury and the Organizing Committee, the Onam-2007 logo was made with dry coconut
powder from Kerala.
APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

31

EVENTS

Charity Football
A Great Day Out
To raise money for the Disabled Iraqi Childrens
Fund, DHL held a one-day soccer tournament
on the 23rd November 2007. Teams from
Kharafi National and other major companies
in Kuwait took part in an exciting seven-a-side
knockout tournament.
The overall winners were Gulf Bank whose
team defeated BKME four goals to three in an
exciting final match. KN put up a good show.

Nifty footwork on display from KN.

Team Kharafi National enjoyed the day at the DHL One-day Soccer Tournament 2007.
32

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

improve the lives of disabled children in Iraq

match, thanks to a goal by Abdullah Jawadat.

in the most effective way possible.

Despite a brilliant score by Mohd Ismail in our

second match, KN lost to Atlas and was out of
the tournament.
The days events, which were attended by over

EVENTS

Our team drew 1 1 with Al-Shaya in their first

450 team supporters, included face-painting

and a fun-filled bouncy castle for children.
The evening was topped off with a delicious
barbeque and lots of music.
The tournament raised over KD2,500 which
will be used by the British Ladies Society to

Getting ready for a long-shot.

Team Kharafi National were adept at keeping control of the ball.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

33

HUMAN RESOURCES

KN A Great Place to Work

More and more people are joining the
Kharafi National family every month and
the company is now a preferred employer
within the regional construction industry.
Why? KNs Human Resources Department
explains.
From humble beginnings as a pre-eminent
mechanical and electrical contractor in the
commercial and industrial sectors over 30
years ago, Kharafi National has expanded
exponentially. The company now serves
the petroleum, chemical, power, industrial,
infrastructure and utilities and commercial
and environmental sectors and is a leading
developer of infrastructure throughout the
Middle East. Its business lines are supported
by a world-class fleet of construction equipment, state-of-the-art fabrication facilities,
and some of the most highly-skilled and
experienced managers, engineers, and
craftsmen in the industry.

Coupled with this growth is the managements

continuous commitment towards the wellbeing of our employees. In 2004, the company
had approximately 7,000 employees. By the
end of 2007 we had more than 20,000, an
increase of 200% in just three year. We are
continuing to expand and offer some of the
most sought after jobs in the region, taking
on hundreds of additional employees each
month. Many members of staff have been with
us for decades, and we are clearly a preferred
employer within our industry for very good
reasons.
We practise equally opportunity hiring
policies and we always accord fair treatment
to all who work hard to achieve our companys
goals. Our workforce contains a great
number of different nationalities at all levels.
Everyone is treated equally at KN. Indeed
we never tolerate discrimination in any form
whatsoever and all employees, from the top

The graduate engineers programme is one reason why Kharafi National is a preferred employer.
34

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Our policy of strict fairness and multi-cultural

tolerance has ensured that KN is a very
friendly place in which to work. In addition,
our work policies and procedures are entirely
transparent and are accessible to all employees
through corpnet, our company-wide intranet.
To ensure that our new hires fit easily into our
culture, they receive a thorough orientation on
the companys human resources, health and
safety, and quality management procedures
as soon as they arrive.
To enhance staff cohesiveness we organize
recreational activities, such as football, cricket
and basketball, which provide employees with
opportunities to meet and interact with their
colleagues from other work areas. We also
keep everyone informed about their companys
achievements and the accomplishments of
staff members through Transmission, our
corporate news magazine.
At KN we have never been content with just
maintaining our market share. Our strategy is
one of continuous growth and development,
and to this end we keep abreast of all emerging
engineering technologies and skills. Because
we are very well aware that our continuing
expansion and success depends on our
employees, our greatest assets, we provide
them with some of the best opportunities in the
region to upgrade and enhance their skills.
The Learning & Development Unit within
the Human Resources Department conducts
training in on-the-job skills. To make these
courses fully accessible, especially for those
working on remote sites, e-learning facilities
were established in 2007 and have proved very
popular and highly successful.

We firmly believe that career development

is mutually beneficial and necessary for the
growth both of our company and our staff
members. To stimulate life-long learning
and enable staff to keep abreast of the latest
developments in their fields of expertise,
we encourage them to join professional
associations.
One of the reasons KN is a preferred employer
is that our on-going expansion provides plenty
of opportunities for advancement. We groom
employees and delegate responsibilities that
expand their knowledge, capabilities and skills
and thus open doors to more challenging
jobs and career growth. We recognize their
efforts through a formal annual performance
review and through on-going interactions
between employees and their supervisors
and managers.
Fair hiring policies, a friendly and cooperative
working environment, transparent policies
and procedures, as well as training and
career development opportunities make
KN a great place to work. At the same time
working conditions and employee benefits are
excellent and are constantly being enhanced
as needs are recognized.

HUMAN RESOURCES

down, are expected to respect everyone else

in the company regardless of rank, belief or
race. We encourage cultural pluralism and
we know that our employees appreciate the
benefits of diversity in the workplace and enjoy
working in a multi-cultural environment.

In 2007, for example, transport arrangements

and camp facilities for manual employees
were improved considerably, compassionate
leave on the death of a close relative was
introduced, the KN retirement plan was set
up, better mobilization benefits for new hires
were created and a more robust company
relocation policy for existing employees was
established.
Kharafi National is a great place to work.
Over the coming years we will continue to
improve our multi-cultural environment,
further enhance working conditions and staff
benefits, and make our company an even
greater place to work.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

35

OUR PEOPLE

Employees of the Quarter

The winners of the employees of the quarter awards for the final quarter of 2007 were:

Mohamed Samir Abdelkader Mohd Hella,

chief accountant in cost centre 9110, for his
superb efforts in finalizing payroll procedures
and for reviewing and streamlining the
existing procedures in all areas of KN to
ensure compliance with the labour law, and
for his contribution during the Go-Live phase
of the ERP Payroll system at ABJ.

The runners-up were:

Non-manual employees:
Remigio Marcelo (Rami), an equipment
superintendent in cost centre 9169, for his hard
work, reliability, efficiency and professionalism
in the execution of his duties and for working
after hours and on Fridays, without being
asked, in order to service equipment.
Iqbal Faruqe, an office assistant in cost centre
7100, for maintaining the filing system and all
logs for his cost centre and following up open
RFI/A logs until closure, and for adhering
to company procedures and performing his
duties with efficiency and speed.
Tamer Fouad, a sales coordinator in cost
centre 9127, for giving customer satisfaction
36

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

Nageswara Rao, a tea boy who services staff

and visitors in Building #2, for doing such an
excellent job, for taking great pride in his work
and for making a valuable contribution to the
work of the Human Resources Department,
and above all for always being a very pleasant
person despite the long hours and arduous
nature of his duties.

and KNs interest the highest priority in

his work in such a way that his initiative,
dedication, discipline and ownership provides
a role model for other employees.
Girish Kumar Pooloth, a store-keeper in
cost centre 1284, for keeping KN and client
material issues separate, avoiding stockouts, tracking tools issued to sub-contractors,
for having no NCRs during audits and for
handling the safety audit in the absence of the
safety officer.
Govindaswamy
Bhoopalakrishnan,
an
electrical supervisor in cost centre 1285,
for undertaking additional responsibilities
relating to other projects in Unit A Sewage
Works and for his excellent attitude and
insistence on building electrical systems to
perfection.

Jamal Abdelatif, a piping supervisor in cost

centre 1307, for managing the mechanical
maintenance staff and daily activities including
extra works at Ardiya and Sulaibiya with strict
adherence to safety procedures, and for
designing, installing and commissioning the
feed pumping station at Sulaibiya camp.
Pitchaiah Sokkalingam, an electrical
supervisor in cost centre 1278, for being
dynamic and self-motivated, for being a good
team player, for his outstanding efforts and
for his readiness to work in any situation in
order to meet deadlines or targets.
Santhosh Varghese, a senior secretary in
cost centre 1280, for his flexibility, efficiency
and positive attitude, and for handling the
administrative duties of the entire project office
single-handedly yet with excellent productivity
and quality and always finishing on time.
Mustafa Akbar Jogpur, secretary in cost
centre 1344, for taking care of all secretarial
jobs to the fullest satisfaction of his superiors,
for ensuring that others always follow
company procedures, and for maintaining
good relationships with all other staff.

to the highest levels of safety in the Equipment

Division and reduced injury-related work
stoppages in the divisions facilities.
Mohamed Abdelmoghni, a project engineer in
cost centre 1300, for his exceptional leadership,
his ability to prepare technical proposals and
undertake the procurement process, and his
exemplary attitude under pressure towards
the client and his co-workers.
Mohamed
El-Said
Abdel
Alim,
a
superintendent in cost centre 9448-9100, for
his high sense of duty and responsibility, his
honesty, and for making himself available at
all times, as well as the example he provides
others which helps the company grow.

OUR PEOPLE

Nit Sanchai, a civil works supervisor in cost

centre 1325, for single-handedly managing the
site activities in sub-station 3 in the absence of
the site engineer, for his meticulous planning
to achieve project schedules, and for being
sincere, punctual, systematic and loyal.

Mohammed Siddique, a piping supervisor in

cost centre 1333, for his skill in managing the
lifting of equipment and materials at a highrise construction project, for maintaining
excellent relations with all site personnel,
his ability to track progress and his cost
consciousness.
Ruthiran Gouthaman,
a
long-serving
mechanical supervisor in cost centre 1308, for
his knowledge and discipline, and his efficiency
and good team leadership in discharging his
responsibilities for fire-fighting, plumbing
services and civil maintenance.
Shaji Philip, a secretary in cost centre
9310, for his punctuality, commitment and
dedication, for suggesting and implementing

Jaison Joseph, an equipment administrator in

ways to respond quicker to service requests

cost centre 9185, for his excellent awareness

and for improving the database so that the IT

of the importance of accruing internal

Department can track all assets more easily.

invoices through good equipment tracking in

the Maximo system thereby increasing the

Musaed Ahmad Al-Mohamed, a civil supervisor

revenues of the division and the company.

in cost centre 1281, for looking after his staffs

safety, finishing jobs on time, reducing costs
without compromising quality, maintaining
good relations, controlling his staff and making
himself available at all times.

P Veerachamy, a safety officer in cost centre

9140, for his vigilance, commitment and weekly
toolbox talks that have contributed significantly

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

37

OUR PEOPLE

Jayaraman Vellaian, an instrument and

control supervisor in cost centre 1293, for being
a fast learner, for his excellent contribution,
for accepting additional responsibilities and
for always acting in the best interests of the
project overall, thereby improving team spirit.
Yohanan David, a senior laboratory
instrument technician in cost centre 9135,
for his pleasing personality, positive attitude
and company loyalty, and for increasing the
number of clients and associated income for
IMTEs external calibration work.
Adel Ghaly, Unit Head PTFU, for his handling
of the relocation of the Procurement and
Engineering Services Departments to Building
#5, during which his adroit management
of the layout, procurement and installation
processes minimized down-time.
Khaja Niazuddin, an electrical supervisor in
cost centre 1286, for being sincere, highly
motivated and hard-working, for his acute
awareness of safety issues, for always taking
the initiative, for helping others improve their
skills, and for his excellent cooperation with
co-workers.
Vetrimani Munusamy, a structural supervisor
in cost centre 1265, for his handling of critical
structures, such as absorbent chambers,
with vision, for using innovative ideas to
minimize man-hours, and for single-handedly
supervising about 100 people at multiple
locations.
Suzy M Gamal, an executive assistant in cost
centre 9407, for her diligence, hard work
and continuous self-improvement, for her
active part in the business development of
UDC and her participation in exhibitions and
conferences, and her pride in being part of
the team.
Kasetty V Ravi Kumar, an office assistant
in cost centre 9167, for his hard work and

38

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

commitment, for improving the services

provided to both buildings #3 and 4, for being
always ready to cover for others, and for his
pleasant and well-mannered personality.
Sherif Mohamed El-Omda and Raj Rudolph
Andrews Querobins, senior accountants
in cost centres 7110 and 9110, for their
commendable performance during ERP
implementation when they co-ordinated
closely with IT and other departments, for
being clear in their strategies and targets, for
being highly capable in decision-making and
for being disciplined and able to operate with
minimal supervision.

Manual employees:
Narayanin Balu, a surveyors assistant in
cost centre 1300, for successfully handling
the role of office assistant, his knowledge of
document handling and distribution and of
the filing system, his pleasant manner and
good humour, helpful attitude and exemplary
diligence.
Anil Kumar P achuthan, an electrical technician
in cost centre 1293, for his hard work and
sincerity, his pro-active approach to quality,
adherence to safety procedures, willingness
to take on additional responsibilities, and for
being a good well-mannered team player.
Shihabudheen Manchery, a CCTV technician
in cost centre 1344, for his expert advice on
the purchase of equipment, for maintaining
the CCTV system to ensure operational
readiness at all times, for training operators,
and repairing cameras without delay.
Mohammed Amir, an engine mechanic
in cost centre 9140, for his hard work and
dedication over several months in overhauling
and repairing two crane engines thereby
shortening crane downtime considerably
without compromising the quality of his
work.

Mohd Usman Hasumullah, an insulator in cost

centre 9448-9100, for his honesty, his welldeveloped sense of duty and responsibility,
and for making himself available at all times.
Sharma Musafir, a millwright fitter in cost
centre 1265, for working as a structural steel
foreman, for taking on the role of supervisor
and leading a team erecting primary structures
for fin coolers, and for his sound knowledge of
the safety aspects of working at height.
Sayed Mohd Jainlapteen, a low voltage
technician in cost centre 1308, for his sense
of discipline, dedication, professionalism and
computer literacy, and for his ability to handle
other tasks, and for maintaining excellent
relations with Marina Mall tenants.
Illuri Ramesh, a tea boy in cost centre 9167,
for the excellence service he extends to
visitors and employees alike, for the long
hours he works managing the executive
floor, for always having a smile on his face,
and for being a valued member of the office
management team.
Eshwar Reddy Kashy Reddy, a labourer in
cost centre 1284, for working as a store helper,
for his knowledge of materials and tools, his
ability to place stock in its correct location,
his good housekeeping, and his application of
safety arrangements throughout the stores.

ordination and multi-tasking to finish jobs

safely and reliably.
Mohammed Imam, a plant operator in cost
centre 1307, for his ability to learn and apply
new waste-water treatment technologies, to
finish jobs as planned while satisfying safety and
quality requirements, his excellent co-operation
and the exemplary nature of his work.

Atef El-Zaher Ibrahim, an electrician in cost

centre 1278, for his hard work, for maintaining
high levels of safety and quality standards,
and for completing his work assignments on
time and to the complete satisfaction of his
superiors.

OUR PEOPLE

Alexander Abraham, a pipe fabricator in

cost centre 1333, for being an excellent
fabricator who can read drawings and create
the openings needed in a HVAC structure, a
very good welder, and for coordinating with
and maintaining good relations with other
trades.

Afsar Khan, a shop fitter in cost centre 1286,

for being sincere and hard-working, for doing
a commendable job in pump maintenance
and repairs, for his awareness of safety
procedures, for taking the initiative in learning
and improving his performance, and for his
interpersonal skills.
Richard Maso Mendioro, an auto electrician in
cost centre 9169, for his great commitment in
carrying out his work with exemplary energy,
dedication and professionalism, for being a
valued and well-liked team member, and for
his high morale and strong work ethic.
Umesh Kumar, a pipe fitter in cost centre
1280, for working as a pipe fabricator,
plumber or other trade above his grade,
for his dedication and contribution to group
cohesion, for his alertness to safety issues,
and for his exemplary character and conduct.

Syed Shah Hassan, a pipe fitter mechanic

in cost centre 1285, for his dedication, hard
work, excellent motivation and sincerity, for
always being available during emergencies,
and for using close supervision, excellent co-

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20

39

OUR PEOPLE

New Faces at KN
Allan

has

Anthony John

Wharram

joined KN as a senior

has joined EPC Management

project manager in EPC

as an EPC project director.

Management. Allan, has

Anthony, has a BSc in

14 years experience and a

mechanical

PhD in fire and safety from

from Brunel in the UK and

Trinity College, Dublin University. He worked

27 years experience. He worked previously for

previously for Brookson Ltd in the UK where

Wood Group Engineering in the UK where he

he was a project manager.

was a project manager.

engineering

has

Iain Charles Stephen has

joined as Unit Head

joined as a senior project

Learning & Development in

manager

the UAE. Ibrahim, has a BA

Management.

from Al-Mina University,

chartered

and is certified by the

member

Ibrahim

40

Britton

Al-Masri

in

Facilities
Iain,

engineer
of

the

a
and
BIFM

Institute of Knowledge Management and the

with 30 years experience, has a degree in

Society of Human Resources Management in

environmental engineering from South Bank

the USA. He joins from Kuwait Finance House

University (UK) and an MBA. He joins from

where he was a senior training coordinator

Currie & Brown, UK, where he headed Facility

and e-learning project manager.

Management Consultancy.

Linda Crane has joined as

Mohamed

office services manager.

Ali has joined as a project

Linda, has an associate

manager

degree

applied

Operations. With a degree

science and a business

from Alexandria University

administration

in

in

degree

Attia

marine

for

Ibrahim
Trading

&

naval

from the University of Phoenix in Arizona and

architecture engineering, Mohamed has 35

20 years experience. She worked previously

years experience. He worked previously for

for General Motors in the USA as a senior

Binnie & Partners Ltd in Kuwait as a piping

project engineer.

engineer.

APR 2008-ISSUE NO-20