ccc & e-procurement · ccc & e-procurement in a survey conducted by the conference board...

CCC & E-PROCUREMENT

In a survey conducted by the Conference Board institution on anumber of large American and European multinational organiza-tions, it has been found that more that 80% of them have an e-pro-curement strategy, and a majority invest appreciably in pilot proj-ects and investigate technology solutions for e-procurement.

Most of the surveyed organizations are most likely to buy, totallyor predominantly, via e-procurement office equipment, IT supplies,travel services, all non-production goods, consumables etc. In addi-tion they can see benefits in strategic sourcing and economies ofscale purchasing with significant cost reduction in overall transac-tions, working capital and annual purchasing budgets.

In this issue of the Bulletin we will try to present some aspects ofthe e-procurement initiative within CCC. I am confident that eventhough initially we will be having some teething difficulties, we willsoon overcome them and begin e-procurement application on themajority of our projects in the near future.

Samer KhouryExecutive Vice President - Operations

ffrroomm tthheeddeesskk ooff......

Bulletin - 2nd Quarter 2002 �1

EDITOR’S VIEW

Dear Avid Bulletin Readers:

Once again we are pleased to present you with a value

packed issue about CCC family news, proudly starting with

the achievement of the MEED Award for Business Excellence.

Our feature focus this time is about E-Procurement initia-

tive and prototype currently under proof-of-concept. We are

proud to be among the pioneers in the region and I encour-

age everyone to explore on our Bulletin pages this interesting

future direction.

Human Resources are embarking on implementing the

new Performance Appraisal and Management system and

have a strong message to send to CCC employees about it. It

is detailed within.

While business prospects look promising and our spirits

are high, we cannot help but feel the pressure on the region’s

stabilty and our hearts go out to the Palestinians who are

experiencing grave injustices. Our prayers go out to them

and to an expedient peace.Nafez Husseini

Manager Information & Telecomm Technologies

On Wednesday March 20,

2002 in Dubai, the under-

signed together with Mr. and

Mrs. Samir Khoury, Mr. and

Mrs. Farid Asfour and a few

friends, attended a banquet at

the Dubai Emirates Tower

Hotel, hosted by MEED, on

the occasion of the Business

Excellence Awards in the Mid-

dle East. The ballroom was

filled with over 400 prominent

guests comprising the busi-

ness community in the Arab

world.

Again, CCC proved to be a

model company, not only in

our field, but also among sev-

eral contenders from other

businesses such as Banking,

Telecommunications, IT,

,Insurance etc, by winning the

2002 MEED Business Excel-

lence Award for the Business-

to-Business Service Supplier

category where we were

shortlisted along with 5 other

firms, namely, BATELCO,

Kanoo Group, HSBC, Saudi

American Bank and Storage

Technology Middle East. The

remaining awards were given to:

Business-to-Business Product: Zamil Air Conditioners

Business-to-Business Consumer Service: Bahrain Telecom

(BATELCO) Business-to-Business Product Manufacturer: Al

Ahram Beverages Company

As the judges had to choose among several nominees, we

were all anxious to know the results and what the panel had

to say about CCC. I quote

from their speech:

"CCC is a remarkable com-

pany that has overcome

extraordinary challenges to

be one of the leaders of the

Middle East's Engineering

and Construction Sector.

CCC has managed to keep

abreast of technological

developments in its sector

and continues to win work in

competition with the very

best in the world. CCC has

successfully handled the suc-

cession of Management from

the Founders to the present

Management and scores high

points for its endurance and

continuing ambition. CCC is

a role model for corporations

in the Middle East”

I was very pleased to

receive this award on behalf

of CCC, and am certain that

all of you are just as proud of

CCC once again proving to

the world that we are true

leaders, excellent innovators

and model performers and,

above all, solidly confident of

our bright future.

I would also like to thank all of CCC's employees, who

have made this award possible by their dedication, hard work

and loyalty.

Samer KhouryEVP Operations

MEED AWARDS FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

CCC IN THE NEWS

�2 Bulletin - 2nd Quarter 2002

RECENT AWARDS

Sheikh Zayed Township - Gaza, Palestine

The scope of works consists of the construction of 79 buildings (70 Nos. of 5-story buildings, 5 Nos. of 12-storey buildings, 2 shoping complexes and office centers, 1 mosque and 1 school) as well as external util-ities, water & waste water networks, electrical & telephone networks landscaping, etc. The Client is AbuDhabi Fund for Development and the Consultants are Messrs. DIWI Consultant International. The dura-tion of the Project is 24 months starting February 6, 2002.

Airport Circle to Pilane / Rasesa Section of the Gaborone to Francistown Road to Dual Carriageway- Botswana

The Project involves the construction of a dual carriageway to asphalt standard to the length of 16.1 kmsincluding the construction of a bridge over the Metsemothlaba River. The Client is the Ministry of Works,Transport & Communications. The Project was awarded on November 26, 2001. Its duration is 18 monthsstarting January 25, 2002.

Grand Mal Bay Sea Defense & Road Rehabilitation - Grenada

Procurement and placement of approximately 20,150 m3 of rock armor and the construction of 500 LM ofconcrete sea walls and 2.4 kms of asphalt road works. The Client is the Government of Grenada and theConsultants are Messrs. DIWI Consult International. The Project start date was February 19, 2002 and itscompletion date is February 18, 2003.

Mozambique - South Africa Natural Gas Pipeline - Republic of South Africa & Mozambique

The works comprise Engineering, Design, Procurement, Supply and Construction of the Mozambique -South Africa Natural Gas Pipeline. The start point for the 26 inch pipeline is Temane, Mozambique andthe end is in Secunda , South Africa.The total length in Mozambique is 525 and in South Africa is 339 Kms.This Project's duration is 23 months starting January 25, 2002. The Client is Sasol Technology (Pty) Limit-ed and the Consultants are Messrs. Worley Engineering.

Pumping Station Q Phase 3 - Dubai UAE

Construction of a sewage and stormwater drainage for communities 225, 234 and part of 244 in Dubai cov-ering an area of 600 hactare.The sewerage system will discharge into trunk lines which will be construct-ed under a separate contract however, house connections and abandonment of existing septic tanks formpart of this contract.The storm water drainage system discharges into existing drainage pipes on the west-ern boundary of the contract area.The client is Dubai Municipality and the duration is 21 months startingMarch 2002.

Qatif GOSP 1 - Saudi Arabia

CCC is the main construction subcontractor to Snamprogetti who has been awarded the QATIF GOSP1project by Saudi ARAMCO located to the north of Dammam and to the south of Al Jubail cities, near AlJuaymah Gas Plant. The scope of work comprises of a Gas-Oil Separation Plant, two trains with 800MBCD total capacity, a Water-Oil Separation Unit, a Condensate Recovery Unit, a Gas Gathering Unit, aTEG Dehydration, and Utilities including co-generation system and auxiliary steam boiler. CCC’s con-tract is on lump sum basis and includes construction works for civil, steel structure, equipment erection,piping, electrical, instrumentation and pre-commissioning. The project was awarded March 15, 2002 andthe construction duration is two years.


CURRENT PROJECTS

5 Substations Mitsubishi Buildings Mar 2002

Minaguish Water Injct. Mechanical Jun 2002

Sat 106 Mechanical Jun 2002

Toshiba, Jaleeb Ahmadi S/S Heavy Civil Sep 2002

Pirelli Cable Laying Networks Aug 2002

Mina Saud Tank Farm Sep. Mechanical Aug 2002

Hatachi S/S Buildings Dec 2002

Booster Station 131 Mechanical Feb 2004

Northbrook Apartments Buildings Dec 2002

Connecticut Berry School Buildings Dec 2002

Houston Hobby Airport Buildings Jan 2003

Houston Cnsl. Car Rental Buildings Feb 2003

Tampa Palms Buildings May 2003

Florida Jupiter Schools Buildings Apr 2004

Carriacou Rds Ph 1&2 Roads Mar 2002

Whitegate & Beausejour Marine/Roads Jun 2002

Quarry Roads Dec 2002

Grand Mal Bay Sea Defense Roads Feb 2003

Belize Southern Highway Roads Sep 2003

Naminga-Mangoshi Roads Apr 2003

Mogoditshane Water Sup. Networks Sep 2002

Lephephe-Shoshong Roads Mar 2002

Goodhope Roads Nov 2002

Sephope Zanzibar Roads Jun 2003

Bobonong Water Networks Sep 2003

Airport Circle to Pilane Rd Roads Sep 2003

Gewane-Mille Road Roads Mar 2002

Katumani - Wote Road Roads Mar 2002

Karachaganak Main Works Mechanical Jun 2003

Nhlangano Lavumisa Roads Oct 2002

Mozambique Pipeline Pipelines Oct 2003

Ghazlan Mechanical May 2002

Haradh Gas Plant Mechanical Sep 2003

Qatif Gosp 1 Project (N.) Mechanical Jul 2004

Shuwaihat Heavy Civil Aug 2002

Main Pumping Station ‘K’ Networks Mar 2003

Bab Umm Al Nar P/L Pipeline Aug 2003

Pump Station “Q” Heavy Civil Jan 2004

Fishery Harbor/Saham Marine May 2002

SQ/HW Rehab Roads Jun 2002

AQR - Khatmat Road Roads Jul 2002

Dredging at Shinas Marine Jul 2002

Bid Bid - Sur Road Roads Aug 2002

Fahud Sohar Gas Pipeline Aug 2002

Grd Water Rechrg Dam Heavy Civil Dec 2002

Misc Roads at IBRI Roads Feb 2003

IBRI Buraimi Roads Mar 2003

Traffic Alleviation / Khuwair Roads Mar 2003

Tanam - Ramlat Khailah Roads Aug 2004

Route 55 Messaieed Roads Mar 2002

Q-Chem Polyethylene Mechanical May 2002

Dukhan Field Gas Lift Mechanical Jul 2002

Ras Laffan LNG Plant Mechanical Dec 2003

Ras Laffan Clng Water Mechanical Feb 2004

Qafco Mechanical May 2004

Ras Laffan Clng O&M Mechanical Feb 2006

GSM Site Construction Networks Jun 2002

ARC Project Mechanical Dec 2002

Lajoun Wells Networks Mar 2002

Arab Bank HQ Ext. Buildings Jun 2002

Amra Forum Hotel Buildings Jun 2002

Khaw Batrawi CM Jun 2002

Swaqa-Qastal CM Aug 2002

Arab Bank Admin/Egypt Buildings Jan 2004

South Pars Offshore Proj Mechanical May 2002

Marriott Buildings Mar 2002

Cabanas Marriott Buildings Mar 2002

Golden Pyramids Buildings May 2003

Sheikh Zayed Township Buildings Jul 2004

Mongu - Kalabo Road Roads Jul 2004

CompletionDate SegmentSegment

CompletionDate

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Oman

Qatar

Grenada

Malawi

Belize

Botswana

Ethiopia

Kenya

Kuwait

Kazakhstan

Iran

Yemen

USA

Egypt

Swaziland

MozambiqueZambia

Jordan

Palestine

INSIGHTS


Water is the most precious commodi-

ty in the Middle East as the population is

fast growing and the sources of water

are becoming increasingly scarce: the

region is facing the most controversial

issue that might cause conflict and

potential flash points.

According to United Nations reports,

the Middle East and North Africa have

the lowest per capita availability of water

in the world with only 1,250 m3 per per-

son and with water consumption far

exceeding renewable supply. The water

availability will fall to 650 m3 per person

by 2025.

In some areas such as the GAZA strip,

this ratio goes to as low as 100 m3 per

year per person which does not even

cover the basic needs.

Methods of water substitution are an

increasingly important issue. Membra-

nen and thermal technology for desali-

nation is becoming more advanced and

the cost of producing different grades of

water is becoming cheaper.

The Arabian Gulf States are the

largest users of desalinated water in the

world accounting far

50% of the global

capacity.

The largest con-

sumers of desalinated

water in the region

are Saudi Arabia

andthe UAE. In Saudi

Arabia the desalina-

tion demand will rise

by 60% from the cur-

rent 6.0 million m3

per day to 10.7 million

m3 by 2020 which entails the investment

of US $53 billionfor the next 20 years at a

rate of US $2,700 Million per year. To

tackle this mammoth task, Saudi Arabia

has to do major restructuring of the

water sector to attract investors who are

willing to participate in independent

water projects or Build Operate and

Transfer (BOT) agreements.

The current number of desalination

plants in Saudi Arabia is 30 with a life

expectancy of 30 years. Half of these

plants have been operating more than 15

years and they should be replaced grad-

ually. The Saudi authorities are studying

the construction of 16 new Desalination

Plants to install at least 2 million m3 a

day capacity for the next decade to cope

with the rising demand and to replace

aging plants.

Despite the urgency of the problem,

reform of the sector has lagged in the

past behind the telecommunications and

power sectors: now the situation is

changing. The development of the gas

initiative and the creation of the new

Water Ministry have led to the drawing

up of reforms

and initiating

plans to face the

growing water

shortage.

The Core

Venture for the

gas initiative

which calls for

investment in

gas, desalination

and electricity in

3 major regions

in Saudi Arabia

has been won by

a Consortium of

International Oil Companies led by

Exxon-Mobile and Shell. They will invest

in 3 Desalination Plants each of a capaci-

ty of 150 million gallons per day. Japan

Sumitomo Corporation was also granted

a licence to build 730,000 CM/day Desali-

nation Complex at Jubail worth US $2

billion.

In the UAE the Government has been

aggressive in addressing the urgent need

for more desalination plants to cover the

shortfall of 100 million gallons per day.

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Author-

ity (ADWA) has launched Independent

Water and Power Projects such as Umm

Al-Nar (150 MGPD), Shuweihat (100

MGPD) and Fujairah (75 MGPD), all

having desalination facilities to increase

water supply. These projects are part of

a crash investment programme to meet

the demand.

In Libya, the General Electricity Com-

pany of Libya (Gecol) is planning to

invest US $1 billion on desalination pro-

grammes to increase the current capacity

to 700,000 m3 per day. The plan calls for

the construction of 11 plants over the

next 10 years.

As technological advances bring

down the cost of desalinated water,

desalination projects will increasingly

become more viable options for other

countries in the region that had previ-

ously considered the cost of running

such plants to be prohibitive. Projects in

Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza are cur-

rently under study. A key argument in

favour of desalination is the dramatic

decline in cost due to the new technolo-

gy. In 1979 the price of producing one

cubic meter wasUS $5.5 in the USA. This

has fallen to as low as toUS $0.5 in year

2001, however the current range in the

Middle East isUS $0.7 toUS $1.0.

Governments of the region realize

that they cannot afford to finance the

huge investment required to meet the

water demand, and will have to adopt

the BOT or IWPP concept and invite

international companies to invest in

such lucrative plans.

This huge investment will entail a

boom in the desalination plants con-

struction of which will have to start soon

and CCC has to be ready to enter this

lucrative market.

The Water Potentials

Desalination Processes:There are four main desalination

processes used in the world. These are:

• Multi-Stage Flash (MSF)

• Multi-Effect Distillation (MED)

• Vertical Tube Evaporation (VTE)

• Reverse Osmosis (RO)

The most commonly used process in

the Gulf area is the Multi-Stage Flash

(MSF) which is suitable for large scale

applications but is not energy efficient.

This process accounts for 90% of the

desalination capacity installed in the

Gulf.

The Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) is

energy efficient and requires lower

investment cost but has limited capacity

due to the unit size limitation. MED has

traditionally been used in remote areas

and on industrial plants. The RO process

which is used for small to medium size

plants has high maintenance costs.

The following is a short description of

the MSF and MED processes:

Multi-Stage Flash (MSF)Flash evaporation takes place when

fluid is heated to a certain temperature

and evaporation occurs both above and

below the atmospheric pressure : under

gradual decreasing pressure the phe-

nomenon of flashing by pressure reduc-

tions called flash evaporation.

The principle of operation for multi-

stage flash plants is to heat the seawa-

ter(brine) to a certain temperature, then

pass it into a flash chamber where the

pressure is maintained below the equi-

librium pressure corresponding to the

temperature at which the brine enters.

Part of this brine flashes into vapor, and

after passing a demister, this vapor is

condensed on an

overhead tube bun-

dle, forming distilled

water. The water is

collected in a trough

mounted below the

tube bundle and

forms the end prod-

uct fresh water.

As the vapor con-

denses it also heats

the recirculating

brine flowing in the tubes.

Seawater with a salt concentration of

60,000 to 70,000 PPM totally dissolved

solids is converted into a distillated and

fresh water with a concentration of only

a few PPM solids : a tremendous reduc-

tion of the salt content. An MSF type

plant operates between two definite

temperatures : the

brine top temperature

(brine heater outlet

temperature) and the

last stage tempera-

ture.

The brine top temper-

ature depends on:

• Available steam

quality

• Scale prevention

technique

• Brine concentra-

tion and nature of

dissolved salts

The last stage temper-

ature depends on :

• Cooling water inlet temperature

• Absolute pressure maintained in the

last stage by the ejector system

In practice, MSF plants are designed

for various gain ratios (tons of water per

tons of steam supplied to brine heater).

A gain ratio of 12 : 1 is the practical upper

limit for this type of plant. Obviously,

the production rate of an MSF plant is a

direct function of the flashing brine flow

and the flash range (brine top tempera-

ture-last stage temperature). Also, in

theory, the actual number of stages is not

important for a given gain ratio with dif-

ferent number of stages.

However, the number of stages deter-

mines the total heat exchange area

required for the heat recuperation sec-

tion. A large number of stages results in

a decrease of the total heat exchange

area required. Because of this, the maxi-

mum number of stages is within relative-

ly narrow limits for a certain plant. In

practice, however, it can be said that the

number of stages increases with increas-

ing gain ratios, but also depends on the

plant's capacity.

Multi-Effect Distillation: (MED)In the MED technology, the steam

enters the Plant in the first stage and

passes through a bank of metal tubes

onto which the seawater is sprayed.

This takes some of the heat out of the

steam which causes condensation and

some evaporation. The secondary steam

is then passed onto the next stage, where

the steam condenses on the metal tubes

to form distilled water.

The number of stages in MED Plants

ranges between two and eight. To

improve efficiency, some MED Plants

have vapour compressor added on.

Reverse Osmosis (RO)Works by reversing the natural osmo-

sis in the capillary. Seawater is pumped

under pressure into a chamber, where a

membrane is located. It acts as filter for

particles larger than 1 Angstrom, allow-

ing molecules of pure water to pass

through, but does not allow dissolved

salts to pass. The membrane deteriorates

and should be replaced after certain

time.Mazen Qaddoura

Saudi Arabia


INSIGHTS

TECHNOLOGYJECT PROFILE


ACWa Services Ltd have won a £ 1.6

Million contract from Anglian Water Ser-

vices (AWS), to supply a high capacity

water treatment system to feed industri-

al pure-water users within the

Greatham and Seal Sands area of

Teesside. The system comprises a fully

automated and centralised high rejec-

tion (HR) reverse osmosis (RO) system.

This is connected via a 12 kilo-

metre ring-main to supply

Hartlepool Power Station and

Huntsman. RO permeate sup-

plied to Huntsman's North

Tees site is then demineralised

using the latest mixed bed ion

exchange technology in an

additional water treatment

facility. The system is linked

with the nearby AWS RO sys-

tem installed by ACWa at

Huntsman Tioxide.

The centralised design was specified

by AWS in order to provide the most

economical solution for current require-

ments but also to allow extra customers

to be connected to the high-purity RO

permeate ring-main supply in the

future. The RO design for the new plant

is based on the proven ACWa plant sup-

plied in August 1999 and installed at

Huntsman Tioxide. ACWa were selected

by AWS to design, build, install, com-

mission and maintain the new system

because of their proven track-record of

high quality and responsive process

contracting in the membrane systems

field, with over 10 years experience in

UK and overseas water sectors.

The schematic (see page 7) of the

plant shows the main components of the

centralised facility, ring-main distribu-

tion and mixed beds plant. The water

source is a chlorinated mains supply

from Anglian Water's Dalton Pearcy

Water Treatment Works in Hartlepool.

This supply is relatively high in hard-

ness and alkalini-

ty as shown on

the table below.

The maximum

required feed flow to the centralised

facility is 410 m3/h.

The RO system comprises four

streams of identical equipment each

rated to produce 82 m3/h of pure water.

The existing Huntsman Tioxide site has

three further identical 82 m3/h streams

providing a total potential output of 574

m3/h.

Sodium bisulphite is dosed into the

mains supply in order to neutralise

residual free chlorine present. Dedicat-

ed dosing pumps are provided for each

stream of RO in order to maintain the

correct neutralisation dose of sodium

bisulphite. The effectiveness of the

chemical dosing is monitored by mea-

suring the oxidation-reduction potential

(ORP) downstream of a static mixer. As

the HR RO membranes installed are

damaged by exposure to oxidative com-

pounds such as chlorine, should the

ORP increase over a fail-safe level the

control system will shut the plant down.

Each RO stream is controlled by its

own control panel, driven by an Allen-

Bradley PLC (programmable logic con-

troller) with local operator interface.

Data highway links connect the RO

stream control panels to an overall

'Supervisory' PLC. This starts and stops

the system whilst also providing moni-

toring data for analysis by AWS and

ACWa's specialist engineers. Routine

monitoring of the plant allows effective

preventative maintenance to be planned

and implemented by ACWa's service

engineers. This ongoing after sales ser-

vice minimises operating costs and max-

imises membrane life and plant reliabili-

ty.

To minimise bacteriological growth

and possible fouling of the HR RO mem-

branes when the system is at rest, a non-

oxidative biocide is dosed into the feed

of each RO stream during each shut-

down flush procedure. Additionally, to

protect against the unlikely

event of suspended solids reach-

ing the RO plant, 5 mm nominal-

ly rated cartridge 'policeman' fil-

ters are included. Downstream

of these, an anti-scalant chemical

is dosed to minimise scaling of

salts and organic fouling within

the RO membranes. This is nec-

essary as the contaminants pre-

sent in the feed-water are con-

centrated into 20% of the feed

flow. This 'reject' flow is formed

as the feed is pumped into the mem-

branes at high pressure to overcome the

natural osmotic pressure of the feed-

water. At up to 24 bar, reverse osmosis

occurs within the membranes and 80%

of the feed supply permeates from the

RO system as the treated 'permeate'

with over 95% of the dissolved contami-

nants transferred into the reject flow

and discharged to drain. The anti-

scalant retains contaminants in solution

throughout the RO plant and prevents

the rapid scaling and fouling that would

otherwise occur.

The ACWa RO design works with the

control system maintaining a fixed feed

flow from the high pressure pump via a

variable frequency drive and mag-flow

meter. A second control loop maintains

a fixed reject flow using a modulating

valve and mag-flow meter. As the

osmotic pressure of the feed supply

changes due to natural variations in

temperature and concentration, and as

the HR RO membranes gradually foul

ACWa Buoyant with

Project Awards and

Technology

�7

TECHNOLOGY

Bulletin - 2nd Quarter 2002

and scale, the flows are

maintained, the feed

pressure being auto-

matically adjusted to

ensure a constant

high-quality permeate

supply. The gradual

fouling and scaling of

the RO system results

in the need to clean-in-

place (CIP) the mem-

branes. ACWa's ser-

vice engineers will

supervise the CIP pro-

cedure approximately

once per quarter per

RO stream. A fully

integrated and

installed CIP system

utilises specialist acid

and alkali based chem-

icals, diluted with per-

meate and heated to 40

oC, as part of the semi-

automated CIP

sequence.

Carbon dioxide nat-

urally present in the feed-water is

removed from the permeate by the four

duty degassing towers. Air is blown up

through the tower media to scour car-

bon dioxide from the permeate which is

then pumped on to a balance tank. The

product water from the centralised facil-

ity is pumped via a ring-main system to

provide a constant high purity water

supply to Huntsman North Tees and

Hartlepool Power Station, with capacity

for additional future users. The ring-

main can be fed in either direction and a

'spill-back' facility is incorporated to

maintain pressure at all times. In addi-

tion, a separate system allows the trans-

fer of permeate either way between the

existing RO facility at Huntsman Tioxide

and the new centralised RO system, pro-

viding an emergency link between the

two sites.

Water for Huntsman North Tees is

further treated by mixed bed demineral-

isation ion-exchange technology using a

new system installed at their site by

ACWa and fed directly from the ring-

main. The plant comprises three 50%

streams of ion exchange followed by two

50% streams of cartridge filtration acting

as a resin trap in the unlikely event of

resin leakage.

The mixed bed vessels contain a com-

bination of cation exchanging and anion

exchanging resin. The cation resin has

H+ ions attached that are readily

exchanged for cations such as calcium

and magnesium in the RO permeate fed

to the plant from the centralised facility.

The anion resin has OH- ions attached,

to be exchanged for anions such as sul-

phate and chloride. The resulting H+

and OH- ions released from the resin

combine to form water. The treated

water produced is extremely pure with a

conductivity of less than 0.2 mS/cm.

As the H+ and OH- ions are removed

the performance deteriorates and the

resin becomes 'exhausted'. The plant is

normally regenerated on 'volume

throughput' with the backup of on-line

conductivity monitoring and 'time

elapsed' adding to operator flexibility in

optimising the system. As with the RO

plant, all operating data is available for

review by AWS and ACWa's engineers.

The regeneration is undertaken auto-

matically one stream at a time on one of

the three vessels utilising hydrochloric

acid, caustic soda, treated water and air.

Bulk storage facilities for the regenera-

tion chemicals are provided with mea-

sure tanks installed local to the vessels.

Backwashing with treated water fluidis-

es the resin and separates the heavier

cation resin from the lighter anion resin.

Diluted hydrochloric acid (HCl) is then

passed upwards through the cation

resin and diluted sodium hydroxide

(NaOH) is passed downwards through

the anion resin. The combined flow

exits at the cation-anion resin interface

via a common collection system and is

transferred to the waste neutralisation

system. The HCl regenerates the cation

resin with H+ ions whilst the NaOH

regenerates the anion resin with OH-

ions. Displaced cations and anions are

released into the waste stream. The

resins are then re-mixed using low-pres-

sure air. Following rinsing the vessel is

put back on-line and the regeneration is

complete. Demineralised water is trans-

ferred to Hunstman North Tees' storage

facility.Robert Ingham

ACWa

HEALTH, SAFTEY, AND ENVIROMENTAL


"SAFETY" - these six letters carry a

wonderful meaning. I trust all of you

will agree with me. The following is the

Abbreviations of Safety:

S - Sincerely

A - Affectionately

F - Faithfully

E - Efficiently

T - Truly

Y - Yours

I joined CCC in December 1997 as a

CCC Safety Officer. I can proudly

announce that we value the safety,

health and welfare of our personnel.

That is the reason we the CCC family

are striding ahead in all fields among

our competitors. In the field of safety,

we have achieved the highest ever

more than 33 million safe man hours,

which is not possible without the com-

bined efforts of the whole CCC family

at OGD II. It shows WE CAN do like

other locations at CCC Projects.

At DGL the project management

team is committed to safety and to

ensure the realization of the corporate

HSE policy.

The project management team, the

supervisors and the workforce are

committed to maintaining good safety

practices and safe working conditions

to achieve a high safety standard. They

all understand that the safety responsi-

bilities are not limited to the safety offi-

cer on site. Now, even the grass root

levels and the first line supervision also

understand that Safety Comes in

“CAN” and they say "I CAN, YOU

CAN, WE CAN!”.

This understanding by all, helps in

achieving the safety officer’s goal of a

zero accident site" and fantasy of

achieving Millions of safe hours with-

out a lost time accident.

Rajinder P Sahota (Raju)Safety OfficerDGL Project

UNDERSTANDING SAFETY

DO THE RIGHT THING

-... . / ... .- ..-. . -... . / ... .- ..-. . -... . / ... .- ..-. . -... . / ... .- ..-. . -... . / ... .- ..-. .

We all worry whether our behavior

is acceptable to others. Most of us try to

say the right things, wear the right

clothes and above all do the right thing,

to earn respect and admiration of our

peers, but when it comes to Safety on

the job, there is only one thing to do

and that is to follow the correct Safety

Procedures.

You may feel cumbersome in per-

sonnel protective equipment, when a

few of your co-workers go unprotect-

ed. You will be able to resist peer-pres-

sure and ridicule if you keep this in

mind: your family, your project and

your job all depend upon your good

health by protecting yourself from

work place hazards. Take a little time

and study the hazards and their short

and long-term effects on your health.

Others will respect your concern for

your health. Site supervisory staff has

to set an example by using their per-

sonnel protective equipment and we

are sure that the subordinates will fol-

low, wearing the personnel protective

equipment when they see you doing it.

At times following proper proce-

dures can seem unnecessary and time

consuming especially when you have a

productivity goal to meet. Resist the

temptation to speed up your work by

cutting procedure corners (adapting to

short cuts). In the long run it does not

pay off, because it leads to increased

accident rates, lost work time and high-

er insurance premiums, all of which

reflect adversely on your projects pro-

ductivity. Always handle the haz-

ardous materials and equipment in the

recommended manner, if in doubt con-

tact your safety officer, he is there to

help you out

Doing the right thing includes the

reporting of any unsafe conditions to

those concerned. Remember "Unsafe

conditions or unsafe practices cause

accidents". When you report an unsafe

condition or act that could lead to an

accident it shows that you care about

co-workers and the image of our com-

pany: it will be appreciated.

It is hard to resist peer pressure. But

when you have to compromise on your

own health and safety of others, you

have not gained much. In the long run,

doing the right thing will earn you

respect from others.

You will also encourage others who

really want to practice good safety pro-

cedures and join you in doing the

"Right Thing"

"Safety is everybody's Business"

JohnKurianMWIP Project,Kuwait.

Sr. Safety Officer.

Personnel Protective Equipment

Proper Procedure

Resist Pressure To Be Unsafe

Do Something About UnsafeConditions Or Act.

The above represents Morse code fora safety phrase. Any guesses?

�9

HEALTH, SAFTEY, AND ENVIROMENTAL

Bulletin -2nd Quarter 2002

Q: Am I at risk?

VDU's have been blamed - often

wrongly - for a wide range of health

problems. In fact, only a small proportion

of VDU users actually suffer ill health as a

result of their work. Where problems do

occur, they are generally caused by the

way in which VDU's are being used,

rather than the VDU's themselves. So

problems can be avoided by good work-

place and job design, and by the way you

use your VDU and workstation.

Q: Are aches and pains caused by

using a VDU?

Some users may get aches and pains in

their hands, wrists, Neck, shoulders or

back, especially after long periods of

uninterrupted VDU work. Usually these

disorders do not last, but in a few cases

they may become persistent or even dis-

abling.

Q: How can I avoid these aches, pains

and disorders?

Problems can often be avoided by

good workplace design, so that you can

work comfortably, and good working

practices ( like taking frequent short

breaks from the VDU ). Prevention is eas-

iest if action is taken early, before the

problem has become serious.

Q: What can be done to reduce stress

in my VDU work?

People who use a VDU sometimes

complain of stress, but this usually arises

from increased pace of work or pressure

to meet deadlines, not the VDU itself.

Q: Can work with VDU's affect eye-

sight?

Extensive research has found no evi-

dence that can cause disease or perma-

nent damage to eyes. But long spells of

VDU work can lead to tired eyes and dis-

comfort.

Q: What about problems with my

contact lenses or bifocals?

The heat generated by VDUs can make

the air seem drier, and some contact lens

wearers find this uncomfortable. If you

have this problem but don't want to

change to spectacles, you can try blinking

more often or using tear-substitute drops.

People with Bifocal spectacles may find

them less than ideal for VDU work. It is

important to be able to see the screen eas-

ily without having to raise or lower your

head. If you can't work comfortably with

bifocals, you may need a different type of

spectacles. Consult your optician.

Q: Can VDU work cause headaches?

Headaches may result from several

things that occur with VDU work, such as :

• screen glare

• poor image quality

• a need for different spectacles

• stress from the pace of work

• anxiety about new technology

• reading the screen for long periods

without a break

• poor posture

• a combination of above

Q: How long should I work with a

VDU ?

There is no legal limit, but you need to

break up long spells of VDU work.

Q: Do VDUs give out harmful radia-

tion ?

No. VDUs give out both visible light,

which enables us to see the screen, and

other forms of electromagnetic radiation

which can be harmful above certain lev-

els. However, the levels of radiation emit-

ted from VDUs are well below the safe

levels set out in international recommen-

dations.

Q: Can working with VDUs cause

skin disorders?

This is rare. A few people experience

irritation, rashes or other skin problems

when working with a VDU.The exact

cause is not known, but it seems possible

that a combination of dry air, static elec-

tricity and individual susceptibility may

be involved.

Q: I use a portable computer-are there

any precautions I should take?

Laptops and other portable computers

have to be compact enough to be easy to

carry. It is best to avoid using a portable

for long periods when full-sized equip-

ment is available. Portables should be

placed on a firm surface at the right

height for keying.

Dr. Riad KaawachKazakhstan

QQ aanndd AA sseessssiioonn...... Video Display Units and their affect on health

TIPS GETTING COMFORTABLE

• Adjust your chair and VDU to find

the most comfortable position for

your work. As a broad guide, your

forearms should be approximately

horizontal and your eyes the same

height as the top of the VDU.

• Make sure you have enough work

space to take whatever documents or

other equipment you need.

• Try different arrangements of key-

board, screen, mouse and documents

to find the best arrangement for you.

A document holder may help you

avoid awkward neck and eye move-

ments.

• Arrange your desk and VDU to

avoid glare, or bright reflections on

the screen. This will be easiest if nei-

ther you nor the screen is directly

facing windows or bright lights.

• Make sure there is space under your

desk to move your legs freely.Move

any obstacles such as boxes or equip-

ments.

• Avoid excess pressure from the edge

of your seat on the backs of your legs

and knees.

KEYING IN

• Adjust your keyboard to get a good

keying position. A space in front of

the keyboard is sometimes helpful

for resting the hands and wrists

when not keying.

• Try to keep your wrist straight when

keying. Keep a soft touch on the keys

and don't overstretch your fingers.

Good keyboard technique is impor-

tant.

USING A MOUSE

• Position the mouse within easy

reach, so it can be used with the

right wrist straight. Sit upright and

close to the desk, so you don't have

to work with your mouse arm

stretched.

• Support your forearm on the desk,

and don't grip the mouse too tightly.

READING THE SCREEN

• Adjust the brightness and contrast-

controls on the screen to suit lighting

conditions in the room.

• Make sure the screen surface is clean.

• Select colors that are easy on the eye

(avoid red text on a blue back-

ground, or vice-versa ).

HUMAN RESOURCES


CCC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

FROM APPRASING TO MANAGING PERFORMANCE

Many are the ongoing initiatives to

upgrade, enhance and integrate the

Human Resources processes across the

organization. The last phase involved

the analysis and evaluation of all roles

in CCC and culminated in the intro-

duction of the Job Family concept and

the new broader banded grading struc-

ture.

With that phase implemented, our

focus shifted to the development and

implementation of a fully integrated

Performance Management process to

replace our current appraisal system.

This article is designed to provide an

introductory overview of the CCC Per-

formance Management process that

has been under joint development

with the HayGroup, since August 2000.

It has Executive Management's full

commitment and support, and has, as

its principal objective, the smooth tran-

sition from our present appraisal sys-

tem to one based on the concepts and

principles of performance manage-

ment, performance improvement and

personal development.

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT

Performance Management can be

defined as a process 'for establishing a

shared understanding about what is to

be achieved, and managing and devel-

oping people in a way which increases

the probability that it will be achieved

in the short and longer term'. At CCC,

the performance management

approach is designed as an ongoing

process for improving the Company's

success by emphasizing individual

accountability, optimizing the contri-

bution of every individual through

developing people to their full poten-

tial and rewarding good performance.

HOW DOES THE PROCESS

WORK

The most important thing about Per-

formance Management is that it is a

continuous shared process between

managers/supervisors and employees;

it emphasizes analyzing, measuring,

monitoring performance and planning

performance improvements. It pro-

vides clarity and understanding about

priorities that need to be achieved, how

they should be achieved and the way

their achievement contributes to the

company's performance.

At CCC, four stages or components

were identified for an effective Perfor-

mance Management Process:

• Planning Performance Agreeing

on accountabilities, business and

development targets and, defining

expectations for performance. Tar-

gets should be measurable, under-

standable, verifiable, equitable and

achievable.

• Managing Performance Tracking,

monitoring and coaching perfor-

mance and developing the capacity

to perform.

• Reviewing Performance Appraising

against planned targets, competen-

cies & skills and providing feed-

back.

• Rewarding PerformanceRecogniz-

ing employees, individuals and

members of teams and acknowl-

edging their contribution to the

achievement of company objec-

tives and goals.

All four components working

together and supporting each other

achieve natural, effective performance

management.

WHAT ARE PERFORMANCE

TARGETS

Performance Management is about

defining and agreeing on performance

requirements, which are expressed as

objectives or targets.

• Business Targets:

Business Targets refer to 'What'

needs to be achieved at Corporate,

Departmental/Functional/ Project,

Team and Individual levels.Focus-

ing at the Individual, business tar-

gets refer to the principal account-

abilities and the task priority activi-

ties that support the achievement

of the business plans. Those targets

are to be agreed upon between the

Manager/Supervisor and the

Employee at the start of the year,

managed throughout the year and

reviewed at the end of the year.

THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS - A SUMMARY


HUMAN RESOURCES

• Competency Targets:

Competency Targets refer to 'How'

Business Targets need to be

achieved within CCC's core values.

It refers to the behavioral dimen-

sions of a job that need to be dis-

played by a jobholder for superior

performance. Competencies,

which are predetermined for every

job, provide the means for apprais-

ing the behavioral skills displayed

by the employee over the assess-

ment period.

Managing and reviewing business

and competency targets lead to the

identification of the development gap,

which facilitates the joint agreement of

a development plan by supervisor and

employee.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

FORM

Both Individual Business and Com-

petency Targets are extracted from the

Job Family Models into the Perfor-

mance Management Form that

replaces the present Appraisal Form

(shown on the next page). This form

shall be issued at the start of the year

for both the supervisor and the

employee, to plan and agree the objec-

tives and targets that should be

achieved by the employee. At year-

end, performance shall be reviewed,

against the preset objectives, using the

same form.

HOW IS DEVELOPMENT

ADDRESSED

Carrying out the process of perfor-

mance management provides an excel-

lent opportunity to identify develop-

mental needs. During the planning,

managing and reviewing stages, defi-

ciencies in performance become evi-

dent and can be addressed through

development plans. Similarly, areas for

further strengthening a proven ability

stand out and development can be

planned to help successful employees

reach their full potential.

Many of the development needs

shall be catered for by the supervisor

and the employee through on the job

coaching, counseling, guidance and

self learning; others, would only be sat-

isfied by means of formal training

which then become the responsibility

of the training department to address.

HOW SHALL REWARD BE MAN-

AGED

At CCC, reward will strongly be

impacted by personal contribution and

business outcomes. The Performance

Management will provide strong crite-

ria and strategies, policies and guiding

principles for managing a fair and equi-

table financial and non-financial

reward, which will be highly linked to

the achievement of business and

behavioral targets.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The implementation of an effective

performance management system

within the Group will:

• Provide clarity on what needs to be

achieved and how to achieve suc-

cess through demonstrated compe-

tencies

• Provide regular feedback about

individual performance

• Provide the employee with a sense

of ownership in setting targets and

achieving results that are aligned

to business priorities and plans

Performance Management Considers 'What' & 'How'


HUMAN RESOURCES

• Provide the opportunity to build

strengths and address weaknesses,

through appropriate training and

development activities

• Promote two way discussions of

personal development needs

• Translate CCC's business goals and

objectives into meaningful individ-

ual targets

• Promote a climate that encourages

and rewards superior performance

• Help develop better relationships

between supervisors and employ-

ees, and allow performance issues

to be dealt with in a more open

and constructive way

WHEN WILL IT BE

IMPLEMENTED

The CCC Performance Management

System is presently in its first stage of

its progressive implementation. The

first interface of staff at all levels with

this system will be through the Perfor-

mance Management Form for which

training will be provided within the

whole organization.

WHO ARE THE PRIME

CONTRIBUTORS

No doubt that the prime contribu-

tors to the development of the CCC

Performance Management System are

the CCC staff. This is true, since about

half the company's staff participated in

either workshops, interviews or ques-

tionnaires that led, through frank opin-

ions and open discussions, to diagnos-

ing and identifying opportunities for

improvement and suggesting ways to

get them achieved. Hay and HR,

under the direction of the Executive

Management, facilitated this contribu-

tory process and shaped staff opinions

and your suggestions into a compre-

hensive framework.

Ousama salehManager-Human Resources

Athens


HUMAN RESOURCES

The CCC Training Program is progressing positively and

smoothly towards the completion of Phase One, by end of

June, 2002. Phase Two will start by September 1, 2002

So far, as at the end of January 2002, more than 25 seminars

on developing leadership at all levels have been conducted in

different areas, including the UAE (as main location), Egypt

and Kazakhstan. Very soon the location of seminars will be

extended to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Botswana.

The Leadership Seminars include the following key Topics

and Competencies:

• Leadership and Management: Traits, Skills & Processes

• Communication

• Motivation

• Delegation

• Empowerment

• Teamwork

• Problem Solving

• Authority, Power and Influence

• Negotiation

Seminars on Leadership and Management Competencies

and Motivation were also given to NPCC Staff. Other Leader-

ship Topics will be scheduled soon.

The rating of the Training Program by the attendees is quite

positive and encouraging, which reflects their enthusiasm

based on the gains they are getting from the interaction and

the implementation they are exercising.

New Seminars include: Contractual Obligations Scheduling,

Planning, and Concrete, Earthwork and Dewatering have

been recommended by many Areas and approved by the Exec-

utive Vice President, Operations. These seminars will start very

soon at different Training Zones.

The training and development of CCC employees is an on-

going process and commitment. It has been very encouraging

to receive positive feedback from many Areas regarding the

benefits of the Program so far. Many are viewing the Training

not only as an expense but as an important investment.

The CCC Training Program thrives on the support of all. It

serves and helps all levels in enhancing their leadership and

management competencies which are vital to the continuing

success of the employees and of our company.Riad El HajAbu Dhabi

The Progress of the CCC Training Program

A direct and proactive approach in Human Resources

Management took place in Qatar on January 9, 2002. An

open evening was organised, for the Graduates Under

Development (GUD's) and Junior Engineers, at the Ritz Carl-

ton Hotel (which was recently constructed by CCC). The

open evening was attended by the Senior Area General

Manager (Qatar & Bahrain), Mr. Nazih Abdul Kader, Area

Management senior personnel, Qatar Project Managers and

some 30 graduates. The graduates were not only engineers

but included

accountants and

administrators. It

was an opportuni-

ty for the new

recruits and those

with some service

to meet the man-

agement and for

everyone to dis-

cuss their worries and concerns in a free and open atmos-

phere.

There were many lively discussions and the most impor-

tant concerns are summarised as follows:

Career Development: The importance of continuous

development rather than being stuck in one type of job.

Continuity of Employment: The need to feel secure in

their work and be offered continuity rather than being

released at the end of the project.

Potential for Promotion: The need for efforts to be

rewarded by regular promotion, reflecting each GUD's

exhibited potential.

Experiencing various interdisciplinary functions: The

importance of experience of many disciplines in order to

have a good background when time comes for promotion to

the next level up.

Camp Welfare:

The importance of

good living conditions

on the camp, which is

very conducive to

enhancing work per-

formance.

A sumptuous buffet

was laid on at the end

of the evening by Ritz Carlton and the evening was consid-

ered a success by all who attended. A photograph of the par-

ticipants in the assembly area of the Main Ball Room at Ritz

Carlton Hotel is shown above.Scott Bristow

Qatar

Graduates Under Progression


FEATURE

W h y E - P r o

The stunning breaking news was

that Mr. Jose Ignacio Lopez, a former

General Motors executive, who defect-

ed to Volkswagen in 1993, caused a

fight between General Motors and

Volkswagen, resulted in GM

claiming 1 billion US Dol-

lars in damages.

GM had announced

that Mr. Lopez,had taken

with him files with pur-

chasing price lists and

details for a super-efficient

car factory among thou-

sands of pages of docu-

ments and computer

d i s k e t t e s …

In simple words, we

can say that Mr. Lopez

was charged with smug-

gling the E-procure-

ment system developed

by GM, into the hands

of their major rivals

Volkswagen Co. who

suddenly had in their

possession a very suc-

cessful and efficient

chain management

p r o c e d u r e .

A survey was carried out on a vast

number of North American and large

European multinational organizations.

The result showed that more than 80

percent of survey respondents have an

E-procurement strategy. Of the rest, all

are considering how to apply E-pro-

curement and most are investigating

technology solutions. Given the level

of exposure of E-business in general

and E-procurement in particular, as

well as the promised benefits, these

results are not surprising.

So what is E-Procurement?

E-Procurement is the integration of

the Supplier and the Buyer systems to

achieve Just -In-Time purchasing i.e.

1- Receive the suppliers' products just

when they are needed. This can be

achieved integrating the computer

and control systems between the

Suppliers and the Buyer.

2- A direct result of this Just-In-Time

will automatically lead to reduction

in Inventory Cost.

3- Will also lead to develop the con-

cept of Strategic Buying.

4- Supply chain manage-

ment, assuring the Buyer

that no surprises will erupt

and hinder the delivery of

the products on the agreed

dates. (In the case of long

lead items, more and more

large Buyers are insisting

that suppliers should

expose their production

development workflow

and control points to the

Buyer) e.g. in procuring a

pre-cast element for exam-

ple, the workflow should

consist of:

• Preparation of draw-

ings

• Fabrication of Moulds

• Statuses of reinforcing

steel bars (cut and bend sit-

uation)

• Testing and inspection prior to

casting (to ensure proper inserts,

openings and all other needed

reservations, as needed)

• Casting of concrete

• Curing

• Stripping or de-moulding of

products

• Touch-ups and/or repairs

• Storage

E-procurement - Shopping at the touch of a button!

• Forwarding to site as per the

agreed schedule

• Deliveries to project stores

As CCC, we can confirm that we are

among the first companies and organi-

zations in this part of the world who

are working on developing a suitable

system that can upgrade our procure-

ment operations, catch up with the lat-

est technology, and strengthen our

competitiveness in the contracting

market.

E-procurement is still in its infancy,

and despite bold strategies for global

implementation, it is expected to take a

few more years before it is applied on a

large scale across organizations' world-

wide operations.

It is widely agreed that E-procure-

ment should not be viewed as a stand-

alone project to reduce transaction

cost, because you do not optimize any-

thing by simply installing new soft-

ware.

E-procurement is more likely to suc-

ceed, according to Working Group and

participants, if it is accompanied by

strategic sourcing and business

processes, both of which are familiar

and well-established business tech-

niques in most large organizations.

This is why CCC decided to

upgrade the implemented classical

procurement system to the latest tech-

nology, and to implement also the

Strategic Sourcing which CCC consid-

ers as the solution to achieve financial

competitiveness in their market.

Strategic Sourcing is not new for

CCC, since it has been adopted for sev-

eral years now by the PMV Depart-

ment and has proven to be effective

especially when it can be combined to

serve more than one contract at the

same time. In Qatar we have 3 projects

taking off at the same time.

Strategic Sourcing, which reduces

the number of key suppliers, is often an

essential task for the many companies

who have far too many suppliers of

indirect goods to put all of them into an

electronic catalogue. Having too many

suppliers also makes it difficult for

large companies to leverage their

spending.

The E-procurement system provides

the control that is needed to ensure

buyers use only the company's

approved and favored suppliers.

The well known giant company

Chevron found out that its strategic

sourcing programs initially delivered

substantial benefits, but that these ben-

efits were gradually eroded as people

started to use non-preferred suppliers.

With E-procurement, buyers are

automatically directed to the compa-

ny's preferred suppliers. It will have

much greater control of the procure-

ment process to ensure ongoing align-

ment with strategic buying.

CCC has entered into an agreement

with specialized companies as consul-

tants/advisors, to launch the E-procure-

ment solution on selected projects in

the Gulf, and to carry out a study on

Strategic Procurement, recommended

for implementation on all future CCC

projects worldwide.

One of the first piloted projects

selected, is Harad project in the King-

dom of Saudi Arabia. Harad project

Management had recommended a list

of suppliers to be adopted into the sys-

tem.

Training and orientation sessions

were organized for the Harad con-

cerned End Users on one hand, and for

the recommended suppliers adopted

on the other.

Implementation of the automated E-

procurement have already been

launched at Harad project, a number of

purchase orders were issued, and the

learning curve of all participants is

moving rapidly, and constructively

towards satisfaction.

The next target is to move into the

booming area of Qatar, to implement

and launch the new automated system,

also to finalize Strategic Agreements

with the Area favorable suppliers

through the Area/projects assigned

committee.

In the end, we in CCC (which is a

leading company), are looking forward

to achieving a competitive workable

system, which will increase the effi-

ciency of procurement activities, and

capitalize on CCC's buying power to

achieve savings through Strategic Pur-

chase Agreements.

Maroun LebbosE-Procurement Coordinator


FEATURE

c u r e m e n t . . .


FEATURE

Forward: This article is contributed by Mr.Graham Twiggs ofPWC, an expert on E-procurement.

What is e-Procurement?What is e-procurement? You could ask this question a

number of times, and each time get a different answer. The

technically inclined would probably answer you with an

array of three-letter acronyms such as XML, TCPIP, SSL and

http that would leave you wishing that you had never asked

the question in the first place. An e-procurement vendor

would tell you that it is the key to unlocking a treasure chest

filled to the brim with business benefit and overflowing with

return on investment. The un-initiated, and probably the

wiser among us, they would just say "Hey, you've misspelled

procurement!"

e-Procurement is procurement

And that's it, e-Procurement is sim-

ply procurement that uses the inter-

net to make the process simpler, faster

and more rewarding. It does not take

away the requirement to select the

supply partner who is best suited to

fulfil your need, and that need is to

have the right product delivered in

the right place, on the right time, at

the right price. Making this choice of

supply partner is the critical decision

that will drive customer satisfaction,

efficiency on the construction site

and ultimately business savings. e-

Procurement aims to provide you

with the information to make the cor-

rect supply choice, and once this

choice has been made, to ensure that

the process of communicating with

this supply partner is conducted in a

quick, efficient, un-ambiguous and

transparent way.

Internet trading networkWhen Alexander Graham Bell first invented the telephone

in 1876, whom did he phone? It took a number of years before

a network had been established to rigorously test and

improve his new invention, and even decades before it

became the indispensable global communication tool that it is

today. e-Procurement requires the establishment of a similar

network, consisting of trading partners (buyers and suppliers)

all connected via the internet to a hub known as the "market-

place". Each buyer makes a single connection to the market-

place that enables him to trade with numerous suppliers, and

each supplier makes a single connection to multiple buyers.

These marketplaces in turn are connected to each other with-

in a larger network known as the Global Trading Web.

Document standardsEach marketplace operates according to a set of standards

for which communications will be conducted. One set of stan-

dards defines the documents that will be exchanged between

trading partners during the procurement cycle, and the infor-

mation contained within each document. With time, the

majority of routine communications that occur within the

procurement cycle will be defined within this document stan-

dard, as shown in the picture below:

Catalog StandardFurthermore, a standard needs to be established to consis-

tently define what suppliers, buyers, products, units of mea-

sure, currencies, countries and delivery terms should be

called to avoid misinterpretation and enable electronic con-

nections to be made. A standard product definition adopted

by all participants within a marketplace will allow buyers to

find and compare similar materials from multiple vendors by

simply specifying the attributes of the material required. Such

What is E-Procurement...


FEATURE

a standard has been developed, and is called the United

Nations Standard Products and Services Classification

(UNSPSC). The UNSPSC essentially classifies all products and

services within a hierarchical tree, and can be combined with

templates that define the attributes of each standard product

category. In the example below, the attribute template for

grinding disks (consisting of type, diameter. hole size, grit, grit

grade, material and brand), has been applied to enable a

buyer to quickly compare the technical specifications and

prices between similar products.

The role of the "marketplace"The marketplace plays a crucial role in developing this cat-

alog standard and facilitating its acceptance within a particu-

lar industry or region. CCC alone would not have the critical

mass to gain the acceptance from the regional supply com-

munity to adopt CCC's own custom naming conventions,

plus the cost to develop and populate this catalog with all the

products available from the supply market would prove pro-

hibitive. The required commercial scale and acceptance can

only be gained through collaboration with other participants

on this marketplace platform. The magnetic attraction and

value creation potential of the marketplace multiplies many

fold each time a new buyer or supplier is added to the com-

munity.

Buyer benefitsBuyers are attracted to the marketplace by the cost savings

that can be obtained by having both detailed and up-to date

information on the products and services offered by suppliers

within their region or industry at their fingertips. This infor-

mation can be used to check on the competitiveness of cur-

rent suppliers, establish new sources of supply or identify

alternative products. Once a supply agreement has been

negotiated, compliance to this agreement can be encouraged

through a simple to use procurement interface, approval

workflows and spend analysis. Reducing the number of

process hand-offs and removing the current bottlenecks will

also contribute to making the procurement cycle more effi-

cient and responsive.

Supplier benefitsSuppliers will be drawn to the marketplace by the ability to

extend their market reach within the region or industry, and

increase their product sales at the expense of their competi-

tors. Once integrated to the marketplace, they will be able cre-

ate efficiencies by receiving and responding to purchase

orders and RFQ's electronically. In addition, they will be able

to provide an enhanced customer service by communicating

their new products and available to promise inventories on-

line.

The human interfacee-Procurement does not attempt to remove the face to face

interactions between buyers and suppliers, as this is a critical

aspect of any trading relationship. In fact, it actually seeks to

increase this human interface by automating the repetitive

and mundane tasks that both sides typically perform, thereby

allowing more time to concentrate on the supply relationship.

The ability of a supplier to understand your business, and tai-

lor his products or services to better fulfil your requirements

is the real skill in delivering a cost effective supply chain. This

fact is often buried under the pile of unfilled requisitions,

RFQ's awaiting response, undelivered purchase orders, prod-

uct returns and account queries.

The challengeThere will be numerous challenges on the road to creating

value from e-Procurement, together with a timeframe that

should be measured in years rather than months. CCC have

demonstrated their commitment to determining where the

value exists, and understanding how this value can be cap-

tured by taking a lead in this exciting and cutting-edge initia-

tive.Graham Twiggs

PriceWaterHouseCoopers


FEATURE

When I was asked to write an article

about E-commerce I thought about the

best title that would describe my experi-

ence. I selected "Change" as the key

word. Are we really able to make a shift

from the current way we do business to

implement new processes which are bet-

ter (and sometimes worse)? Change

remains the essence of evolution.

I don't remember the name of the

book in which I first read about the signs

of "distorted thinking". "Labeling" was at

the top of the list. We tend to label

(describe) things by one word. Exam-

ples? He is a "loser", she is a "beauty", he

is "smart", that car is "ugly" ….. and so on.

Three things about labeling are :

• Labeling will narrow the fields of

vision and possibilities by focusing

on one characteristic of the labeled

object and ignoring or minimizing

the rest.

• Labeling is very often subjective and

biased, it reflects the observer’s

view point (after all beauty is in the

eye of the beholder).

• Labeling will not change the nature

of the labeled object. Remember, the

"Titanic" was labeled "Unsinkable".

Sometimes I believe this was wrong-

ly dictated for "Unthinkable" which

would have been a much more suit-

able label, considering the un-

expected ice-bergs in the middle of

the ocean.

By now I am sure you are wondering

how the above relates to my experience

with E-Commerce at Haradh Project?

Here below are some expressions

heard during our first meeting :

• "E What ??"

• It's "complicated".

• Is it "B2B" or "Be 2Bees"

• It will "not work"

• "2B or not 2B that's the question"

• It's "Futuristic"

• "Let's talk Bee to Bee and not wasp

to wasp"

It is nearly five months since our first

encounter and I can say that such

expressions were no longer heard dur-

ing our most recent meeting. This is

indeed a sign of progress.

In a recent issue of "Smart Business"

magazine, it was quoted that although

E-Commerce still represents a small por-

tion of the market, there is no doubt this

is where everyone is heading, while the

shift is happening too fast, establishing

laws and regulations to make it fraud

proof is slower.

Here below are five reasons, why E-

Commerce? listed by "Smart Business"

magazine :

• Speed transactions: Manage all ele-

ments of transactions on one elec-

tronic interface from quoting to req-

uisitions to exchange goods and

cash. No more phone calls, faxes or

snail mail.

• Add to your bottom line: Time

saved is money saved.

• Get all the players on the same

page: making discussion and

exchange of information easier.

• Gather information: Keep electronic

records using your exchanges and

reporting tools and data.

• Better communications and feed-

back.

How can we make use of this process

in our industry? Here below are the

main features of the future as proposed

by the pioneering team:

1) All materials used in CCC projects

will have unified codes and descrip-

tions.

2) Materials purchased by projects are

classified as:

a) Material items commonly used in

all CCC projects and which have

high purchase value.

b)Material items used in specific pro-

jects only having high purchase

value.

c) Material items having minor gross

purchase value.

3) To make use of larger buying power

for obtaining better deals, it is pro-

posed that items (a) and (b) are

strategically sourced, i.e., long term

supply agreements are established at

following levels:

• Item (a) at MOA or Areas level :

Prices fixed for one or two years.

• Item (b) at project level : Prices

fixed for the project duration.

• Item (c) will be handled by project

as normal.

4) When fixing prices for items (a) and

(b) supply agreements will be made

during early phase of project orders

will be placed as and when material

is needed using pre-agreed prices.

Prices may be related to quantity

purchased (i.e. prices will be fixed

for an initial estimated quantity and

later on adjusted for percentage

decrease or decrease in quantity or

value purchased).

5) All requisitions and orders will be

placed and processed electronically

(foreseen in future : hand helds

linked to computer network).

Approval and authorization will be

thru passwords and Pin Codes.

6) Other features and possibilities are:

• Create and share common data

bases between projects and areas.

• possibility of comparison buying

prices in various areas.

• Up-to-date prices and data will be

always available for MOA Estimation

Department.

• Material will be easily interchanged

across area or project with possibility

of authorized remote access to pro-

ject data bases.

I worked as Material Engineer with

CCC during mid-Eighties and was in

close contact with suppliers only then I

knew one of CCC's secrets: Reputation.

All suppliers are very much interested in

selling goods to CCC. They know they

will be paid at the end of the day. In my

long years with CCC, I never came

across any supplier who complained he

did not get his dues. That is a real added

E-Change


FEATURE

value and is something to be proud of.

The new system will open many

other possibilities, such as having an

agreement with one Bank to take care of

paying supplier invoices in time (upon

project authorization) and debiting rele-

vant amount to project. The advantages

will be:

• Supplier will always get his dues in

time (hence better prices and ser-

vices expected).

• Accounts workload will be reduced

tremendously (as they will deal with

one single pay center - the Bank).

This will be a major change in the way

we do material buying business. Resis-

tance to change and dealing with

employees’ fears is not unusual. When

the system is more efficient some people

worries that they will be less needed or

lose their jobs. I tend to look at it differ-

ently: job assignments will be changed,

we will have time to elevate our perfor-

mance and focus on more important

aspects of the work such as ensuring

timely material delivery in relation with

schedule, and paying attention to more

interesting aspects (such as Material

Engineering and Spe-cifications).

While several pro’s are cited here

above, more thinking is required about

the con’s in order to anticipate them.

The list starts with two items and can

be expanded by all:

• Relying on one supplier only for any

one item bears risks (alternative

sources should be always available).

• Information security needs to be

looked at closely.

It was a pleasure working with a team

of young enthusiastic personnel who

think and place their ideas in action. I

hope that the Haradh experience will be

beneficial when expanding to other CCC

Projects.

While we still have a long way to go

before reaching full scale implementa-

tion, this is one step forward in the

process of learning how information

technology will change the way we do

our purchasing business. We are setting

the ground for the future. Let's make it

better, smarter and brighter.

Ali JaafarHaradh

E-Commerce at Haradh Project

As part of manage-

ment’s instruction to

commence the imple-

mentation and modern-

ization of a material pro-

curement system,

Haradh Gas Plant was

privileged to be the first

CCC project to carry out

experimental implemen-

tation of E-Commerce.

The process aims at :

• Reducing procure-

ment cycle time and improving

efficiency.

• Obtaining better supplier prices by

capitalizing on buying power and

long term supply agreement.

• Simplifying the purchasing process

and reducing operation cost.

• Sharing data with other projects and

departments.

A few purchase orders are placed so

far to test and experiment the process

prior to moving to large scale implemen-

tation.

Following are the areas to be

improved and looked at closely :

• Integration with project material

system (Talisman)

• Using one currency in price compar-

ison and adopting current currency

exchange rates

• System flexibility being improved in

order to handle RFQs for items not

strategically sourced, and add new

suppliers

• Supplier's prices and validity should

be always current and up to date

• Need to unify material description

and coding in order to compare

"apple to apple"

• System speed to be improved

• More attributes added to material

description such as manufacturer’s

name and country of origin.

Phase- I (Employees training, contacts

with suppliers and experimental orders)

is completed. Phase-II started in Febru-

ary 2002, a list of most potential material

items is prepared and strategic sourcing

of same is in process. The list includes

industrial gases, welding consumables,

and safety gear.

At the end of this phase (expected

around March 30, 2002), the number of

purchase orders thru E -commerce will

increase to around 100 purchase orders

per month.Nicola Abboud

Haradh


AREA NEWS

DESERT.COM

NATIONAL STEEL FABRICATION

Haradh Gas

Plant Project

staff are proud

to be the first

in CCC to

e x p e r i m e n t

the implemen-

tation of e-

C o m m e r c e

and assist in

suppliers mar-

ket research.

That is not

all. Last month

we introduced internet to the Recreation Hall at our project

camp.To make this possible we had to install 3 kms network

of fibre optic cables and obtain special communication lines

through Saudi Aramco’s Microwave network.

Three internet terminals were installed at the recreation

hall in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert and are made

active after

w o r k i n g

hours for

project staff

who are no

more in iso-

lation.

The pro-

ject IS net-

w o r k

i n c l u d e s

d e d i c a t e d

satellite dish

for e - com-

merce and faster communication with the rest of the world,

and wireless hubs between main project offices and site

offices.Hatem Dahleh

Haradh Saudi Arabia

NSF has been awarded several new projects since the

beginning of this year. This reflects the strong confidence of

our clients in the good quality and abilities of NSF in provid-

ing and achieving clients’ targets. The following projects have

recently been awarded to NSF:

• KRUPP UHDE for the third time has entrusted and

awarded NSF 2,560 tons of structural steel fabrication for

the Qafco IV project (Qatar Fertilizer Co. ) - Qatar.

• ORASCOM / POLYSIUS JV awarded NSF the fabrication

of 2,350 tons of structural steel for Tunisia Cement Co.

Tunisia. This will be the 8th cement factory works fabri-

cated by the company.

• CONTRAC has awarded NSF the fabrication of 3,400 tons

of structural steel for Peace Vector IV at Fayed-Egypt

under the supervision of the US Army Corps of Engi-

neers.

• Rolle SPA awarded NSF the fabrication of two columns

for the ISO butane SKIKDA project, Algeria. These two

pressure vessels are added to the impressive history and

tally of pressure vessels of which 87 were fabricated and

delivered last year, the bulk of which were delivered to

Qatar for the Dukhan Gas Lift project.

The total steel fabrication tonnage currently on our books as

of the end of first Quarter of 2002 is approximately 13,000 with

prospects for more to come.

NSF additionally is progressing steadily with the current

projects, which are:

• Amreya Cement Factory line III which, includes the fabri-

cation of 1,300 tons of plate works and 2,200 tons of steel

structures.

• Fabrication and installation of structural steel pipe racks

for Burullus Gas Co. in Alexandria Egypt awarded to

NSF by the Bechtel-Intec Consortium (1,600 tons).

• The fabrication of steel structures and miscellaneous

work for Golden Pyramids Plaza with an estimated

weight of 200 tons for CCC- ORASCOM JV.

• The fabrication of mechanical bridges for clarifier tanks

for Gabal El Asfer Project-Egypt including 421 tons of

steel structures for 12 tanks. The Client is Degremont.

Here at NSF we are endeavouring to improve our perfor-

mance, reduce costs and increase turnover. We believe in our

capabilities and are determined to increase our client base.

Keep in mind that for any steel fabrication, whether structur-

al, pressure vessels or piping in nature, we can provide com-

petitive pricing and of more importance, client satisfaction.

So keep your enquiries coming. Mohab Messiha

General ManagerEgypt

Eygpt

Saudi Arabia


AREA NEWS

CCC MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT AT SOPEC 2002

Saudi Aradia

The Saudi International Oil, Gas, Petrochemical & Power Exhi-

bition (SOPEC 2002) took place in Dhahran International Exhibi-

tion Center, Khobar, Saudi Arabia between February 4-7. Due to

the importance of this event, CCC decided to have a stand and our

location was oppositethe Exxon Mobil and Shell stands. Major

international gas, oil and power companies were present and it was

a good chance for us to be visited by various executives from these

companies and top Saudi officials. HRH Prince Saud Bin Naif

opened the exhibition on February 4 and visited our stand. His

comment when he saw our videotape on Masila Export Project was

"Mashallah CCC --- you are every-

where". Unluckily, our cameraman

was not able to take a photo while

HRH visited our stand, as the digi-

tal camera did not work. The

major companies present in the

exhibition were Saudi Aramco,

Shell, ExxonMobil, CONOCO,

British Petroleum, Occidental, Sta-

toil, NIOC/RIPI/Parsoil of Iran,

Siemens Westinghouse, GE,

Schlumberger, JGC, MHI, Ray-

mond, Tekfen, Suwaidi Group, A. Shuwayer, Al-Mojil, Arabian Pipe

Coating, A.H. Qahtani Group, and various other Saudi, Iranian,

GCC, European and US companies. Some of the important figures

we received in our exhibition were the following:

ExxonMobil

• Ian S. Carr, Vice President, Refining & Supply

• Joe Sausmoc, Procurement Manager - Gas Venture Saudi

Arabia

• Robert P. Hattam, Procurement Services Manager

CONOCO

• Patrick J. McParland, Vice President-Engg& Asset

Management

• Stephen Smalley, Sr. Advisor, CONOCO Energy Ventures

British Petroleum

• Andrew Barton, Chief Representative for Saudi Arabia

Shell

• Dr. M.D. (Mike) Grieve, Vice President,

Business Development

• Jan Arco De Reus, E&P/Gas Director

• Robert G. Mitchenall, Businesss Development Manager.

Occidental

• Edward Ward, Senior Vice President, Business Develop-

ment

GE

• Bart Schaminee, Leader-Process Automation.

• Syed Iqbal Hussain, Sales & Mktg. Manager, Power Equip-

ment

• Waleed Bahamdan, Sales Manager for Power Plants

JGC

• Ryoichi Kado, Managing Director

• Takayuki Sawada, Site Project Manager

• Tado Takahashi,

Site Project

Manager

• Ken Ogawa,

Manager, Busi-

ness Develop-

ment.

• Mitsubishi

Corpn

• Tetsuaki

Omura,

Deputy General Manager, Project Development

MHI

• Takashi Sugiyama, Manager & Project Coordinator

Saudi Aramco

• Various officials visited our exhibition from Dhahran head

office, Shaybah, Berri, Abqaiq,

Uthmaniyah, Hawiyah, Ain-Dar, Haradh, Safaniyah, Khafji

etc.

CCC staff also visited the exhibition from Khobar and the pro-

jects. We displayed a number of pictures for some important pro-

jects, i.e. Shaybah RIC, Shaybah GOSPs, Hawiyah Gas Plant, Shoai-

ba Power Plant, Ghazlan Power Plant, Samad Urea & Ammonia

Plant, Saudi Chevron Aromatics Plant, Yanpet Ethylene Plant, Ibn

Rushd PTA Plant, East-West Pipeline, UPM, Medinah Water Tower,

OGD, Ras Laffan Onshore

LNG Facilities, Qatar Gas

LNG Plant, and Masila

Pipeline.

We displayed videotape on

the construction of Masila

Export Facilities and Beirut

International Airport. We also

displayed on the computer

the highlights on CCC capa-

bilities and experience, i.e.

manpower, equipment, pro-

jects, etc. Our participation in

the exhibition was very successful and we spent the complete time

explaining to the visitors about our CCC capabilities and activities.

We were also requested for a few sets of brochures by Exxon Mobil

and Shell, which were delivered to them during the exhibition.

Many thanks to Mr. Garbis Keshishian and his department staff,

who supplied us with the brochures, photographs, videotape and

computer diskettes, which assisted well at the exhibition. Thanks

also to CCC staff who visited the exhibition and to Mr. Marouf

Shawwa, his carpenter, electrician and others, who made a suitable

stand disk with doors and locks to present and store all our mater-

ial during the 4-day exhibition period. Mohammed A. Al-HajBusiness Development

Saudi Arabia

HRH Prince Saud Bin Naif,Deputy Governor of East

Province in front of CCC stand.

H. Amin, M. Qaddoura & M. Al-Haj exchanginginformation & Business Cards with visitors in

front of CCC Stand.

H. Amin, M. Qaddoura & M. Al-Haj atCCC stand.


AREA NEWS

Atyrau infrastructure

exhibition took place in

the city of Atyrau on

March 12-14, 2002 , the

emerging Kazakh ener-

gy capital.

Atyrau, formerly

Gureev, is situated in the

North Caspian region,

enjoying the strategic

advantage of being in

the midst of some of the

world's largest oil and

gas reserves.

CCIC participated in

the exhibition which

attracted a large number

of firms and visitors

from all over the coun-

try.

CCC Kuwait partici-

pated in the Kuwait

International Petrole-

um Exhibition between

February 2-5, 2002 at

the International Fair-

grounds.

Most of the leading

companies participat-

ed. The Minister for

Oil, Dr. Adel Subih,

inaugurated the exhibi-

tion.

CCC is very well

known and the Minis-

ter commented that no

introduction to CCC

was necessary. To the

right are some of the

pictures taken during

the inauguration.

Jubran HaddadKuwait

KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM EXHIBITION

ATYRAU EXHIBITION

Kuwait

Kazakhstan

Ghazi AnoutiKazakhstan

H.E. Ministerof oil and gazat CCC stand CCC stand


AREA NEWS

AWARD FOR THE PRESIDENT

Saudi Arabia

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY of BEIRUT

On the occasion of the suc-

cessful completion of the

Hawiyah Gas Plant and start of

production, the last CEO meet-

ing was held on January 16,

2002 at Hawiyah, Saudi Arabia.

The Chief Executives of all

companies working on this

prestigious project attended

this meeting.

CCC and our esteemed part-

ners JGC were highly com-

mended for their contribu-

tion and leadership demon-

strated in this venture.

CCC’s President received

a special award from Saudi

Aramco in recognition of

CCC's major role in Saudi

Aramco Projects.

Hatem DahlehSaudi Arabia

Lebanon

A major ceremony was organized

by the AUB Alumni Engineering &

Architect Chapter in honor of distin-

guished Engineers and Architects on

November 2, 2001 at the Phoenicia

Inter-Continental Hotel. Mr. Hasib

Sabbagh received the Highest Medal

of Merit from the

Minister of Public

Works & Transport,

H.E. Najib Mikati on

behalf of President

Lahoud. Many of

Mr. Sabbagh's

friends and family

attended this cere-

mony. Mr. Said

Khoury received the

Century Merit

Award for Consoli-

dated Contractors

Group of Compa-

nies "in recognition

of the best perform-

ing Contractors Company con-

tributing most to the Engineer-

ing profession through the

important projects undertaken

by the company that led to the

growth and development of

the Arab World and in appre-

ciation to its continuous sup-

port for AUB and its gradu-

ates".

Sheikh Mahmoud Abdel

Baki also received the Engi-

neering & Architecture Chap-

ter Century Award Medal.

Among the honored com-

panies were Dar Al-Han-

dasseh Consultants (Shair &

Partners), Khatib and Alami ,

Dar Al Handassah Nazih

Taleb and Partners,

A.C.E.

These honored Engi-

neers and Architects

strived, and made many

sacrifices throughout

their long careers and

their achievements went

beyond international

borders. It was time to honor them as

major contributors to the development

of the Middle East region.

Mr. Sabbagh and Mr. Khoury and

CCC staff are thankful to the Engineer-

ing and Alumni Chapter for organizing

such an event and wish the American

University of Beirut every success.

Yusuf Kan’anBeirut

Mr. Said Khoury Receiving Award From Mr Abdullah Jumah-SaudiAramco President

Award recived by CCC

Mr. Mahmoud Abdul Baki holding the award

from right to left: Messrs. Samer Khoury, Said Khoury,Yusuf Kan’an, Hasib Sabbagh

Award certificate


AREA NEWS

GO …. CCC …. GO

The CCC (MOA) football team has clinched

the top spot in its first tournament against

Greek companies with an impressive 2-0 win

against Ingr Company that has been the cham-

pion for the past two tournaments.

This tournament was organized by the Pan-

patraikos Club. 18 Greek companies participated. The CCC team went into the final with 12 wins out of 14. Throughout the

tournament the team produced superb performances and overwhelmed its opponents.

The team was playing in harmony. The goalkeeper Ala'a made spectacular saves and

was the most valuable player.

The first goal was achieved by Raouf who shook his marker and slid the ball inside. The

second was done by a powerful short-range shot by Khader. This game would not have

been successful without the good teamwork. (Aziz, Jirar, Wasim, Rashid, Walid and Saliba)

and their active coach Mohamad.

Our special thanks go to the Management for its continuous support.

In appreciation of the team's hard work, Mr. Samir Sabbagh invited them for dinner at

Thai Restaurant.

The next tournament will be held soon. So keep up the good work CCC team: we are

counting on you.

Khaled ArafehPMV-MOA

On November 16, 2001 at the CCC London office the President Mr. Said Khoury

and other top CCC managers held a celebration in honor of Mr. Germanus who has

worked with CCC for

20 years. In his speech

Mr. Said Khoury

praised Mr. Fawzi Ger-

manus and under-

lined his contribution

to the company's pros-

perity.

FUNCTION IN HONOR OF MR. FAWZI GERMANUS

UK

Greece

Mr. Said Khoury honoring Mr. Fawzi Germanus.

from right to left: Messrs. Sameer Sab-bagh, Ahmad Refia,and Raouf Eissawi

Top: The Grand Cup

Left: Ala'a, The goalkeeper reciving hismedal

CCC team and spectators

Bassam DaherEgypt


AREA NEWS

Egypt

Qatar

With few words

we want to mention

that a cricket tourna-

ment was organised

at the CCC camp,

Mesaieed during

January to March

2002.

Mr. Ghassan

Asadi E and I Con-

struction Manager

inaugurated the tournament on January 26, 2002. Out of

eight team participants the final two teams were SWAT CCC

X1 and PAK

CCC X1. The

final match

was held in

March. At last

in a very excit-

ing match

SWAT CCC X1

won the cham-

pions‘ trophy.

Mr. Robert

Bower, QC Manager

distributed the cham-

pion trophy to the

winning team and

Mr. Steve Capps HSE

Manager distributed

the Runner-up Cup.

Congratulations to

all those who got the

prizes and all who

played and partici-

pated. Also we

would like to congratulate Mr. Mohd. Shahin ( E&I QC

Inspector) who organised the tournament successfully.Fayez Shawwa

Sr. Project Admin & Personal (Q-Chem)

Lots of Figures:

• GPP = 27

• MMH = 3

• NSF = 5

• CAIRO OFFICE = 8

DATE :

• 1ST Recruited

Mrs. Dina

Courdi

30/07/1987

CCC INTER CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY CRICKET TOURNAMENT

THE SOFTER SIDE OF CCC EYGPT

Cutting the ribbon for opening ceromonyby Mr. Asadi. Behind him Mr. Shawwa

clapping

Cups waitting for the winners

Winner team

Runner up team

• Baseem,

Was it a She or a He mouse?

his is detrimental for preparing a cure.Walid

• Walid,

Unfortunately we

didn’t check

before removal,

however, Sasha

our electrician

confirms to me

that from his pre-

vious experience,

85% of these cases

would be a He who apparently was in a pursuit of a She.

Next time we’ll make sure we determine the sexual char-

acteristics before removal.Baseem

• Baseem,

In that case, let me suggest the following:

It is clear in this case that it is not possible to install a

mouse trap inside the printer. The better solution, though,

would be to send daily a print request containing the

photo of a mouse trap with a caught mouse having a hor-

rific expression on its face. Looking at the photo, the

mouse inside the printer would be so much scared that it

will either drop dead from fear or run out of the printer. If

it runs out of the printer you would have the real mouse-

trap, this time with some quality cheese in it, just outside

the printer to catch it. While dying the mouse would be

savoring some cheese.

The above solution works only for He mice. If you deter-

mine that the attacking mice are females then I would

think of a different solution

and let you know.

Obviously you

have not yet read

Agatha Christie's

“The Mousetrap”

as I suggested ear-

lier.Walid


SHORT STORY

The official cutting of a cake during the beginning of each

year is a Greek custom which families, companies and even

governmental departments do, and is

done to bring good luck and prosperity.

Hidden inside there is a coin, which

brings special luck to the one who hap-

pens to get to find it in their slice. The

lucky person who found the coin in his

slice was Mr. Roland Khoury-Youssef.

The CCC blood donors group started

in 1998, and so far

we have collected

over 220 units, of

which 75 were

given back to

friends and rela-

tives of the com-

pany and the rest

is a donation for

those in need. We usually

donate blood twice a year,

during January and June. It

has been suggested we call ourselves the 'vampire club', how-

ever this does not reflect what we do - because we give blood,

not take it!!! Therefore we welcome any suggestions for a more

innovative name, which you can send to [email protected]

Francisca KoomenCoordinator -MOA Blood Drive

CCC Blood Donors Group Cuts the New Years Pie

Mouse Trap!!!IT faces new challenges in Kazakhstan. ISD restaurant offering new menu options. See Chef Baseem and his ever growing clien-tele.The following are actual excerpts from the e-mail interactions between KMWC Controls and IT Managers.Third printer being attacked by a mouse, apparently they love the plastic rollers and it's not even their season yet!!!

Mr. Roland Khouryreciving his award

Cutting the pie

Mr.Imad Saad is ready to cut the cake

�27

MILESTONES

Bulletin - 2nd Quarter 2002

Engagement

Hanna Jammal (Sicon Oil & Gas - Italy)and Racha Chaghoury were engaged on December 25, 2001 in a beau-

tiful setting surrounded by relatives at the Regency Palace Hotel in Adma, Lebanon. Congratulations!

Khaled Salam (CCC Qatar) was engaged to Cherine Tabaa on January 5, 2002. Engagement took place in

Beirut.

Pierre Joseph Esper (CCC Riyadh) and Miss Patricia Joseph Deeb were engaged on December 15, 2001 at Okaibe, Lebanon.

Samer Joseph Esper (CCC Kazakhstan) and Miss Nadine Abi Rached got engaged on January 3, 2002 at Achrafieh, Lebanon.

Philip Nabil Sayegh, son of Mr. Nabil Sayegh (CCC Riyadh) and Miss Sonia Tawfiq Kallanzeh were engaged in Amman, Jordan.

A heartfelt congratulations to them and to Philip for his B.A in Hotel Management from Applied Science University in Amman.

Ahid Mubadda (CCC-Kazakhstan) was engaged to Ms. Ghina on March 17, 2002. The engagement took place in Saida, Lebanon.

Marriages

Zahi Ghantous of CCC Qatar and Lara Nino were married on December 29, 2001 in Amman.

Alberto Torrigiani (Sicon Oil & Gas - Italy) and Katia Pazzaglia were married on August 25, 2001 at “Laghet-

to Mon Cheri” in Varano Borghi (Varese) Italy. They spent one week in Ireland and two in Sicily for their hon-

eymoon. Congratulations!

Anilkumar (KMWC) was pleased to announce his wedding to Ms. Seemi on February 10, 2002 at his hometown in Islamabad,

Pakistan.

Salim Joseph Esper (CCC Kazakhstan) and Rana Jean Kazan were married on December 22, 2001 at Our Savior Church in Sarba

Lebanon. They spent a wonderfull honeymoon in Egypt.

Births

Mr. Quimuddin (KMWC Project, Kazakhstan) and Kausar Jahan (Sonu) proudly announce the birth of their

first baby boy, Mehraj Hasan (Babu), who was born on August 31, 2001 at Taj Nursing Home, Nagpur, India.

Bonn (HR-MOA) and Cheryl Tipontipon proudly announce the birth of their first baby boy, Sean Kevin, who

was born on March 12, 2002 in Athens. He weighed 3.85 kilos and was 53 cm in length.

Jacob Thomas (KMWC Kazakhstan) and Feby J. Thomas wish to announce the birth of their first girl Megha Mariam Jacob on

March 12, 2002 at Kottayam, India.

Kunnath Pradeep Kumar (Admin. Dept., HDGP Project, Haradh ) and Punnath Sreeja Wish to announce the birth of their first

baby girl, Gayatri on 07, March 2002 at Kozhikode (Calicut) India.

50th Anniversary Mousepad Design Contest

Winner will get more than a Handshake!Send your designs to the Bulletin at MOA by Junn 15, 2002

Everyone is invited to participate in designing a new mouse pad.


LIGHTER SIDE

CCC’sIf you would like to leave CCCand save the expense of print-ing new business cards, belowis a list of other CCC compa-nies/organizations in theworld:

Canadian Commercial Connec-tion, Ottawa, Canada

Creative Concepts Corpora-tion, CO, USA

Compressor Controls Corpora-tion, Iowa, USA

Consumer Credit CounselingOrganization, LA, USA

Camara de Comercio de Cara-cas, Chamber of Commerce,Caracas, Venezuela.

Culture Convenience Club,Japan, Tokyo

Caribbean Conservative Cor-poration, Fl, USA

Church Construction Connec-tion, WA, USA

Computer Cabling Contractors,CA, USA

Calgon Carbon Corporation,Pittsburgh, USA

Computer Curriculum Corpo-ration, Canada

Compania Cervecera deCanarias, Spain

Child Crisis Center, Arizona,USA

CCC Information Services,Chicago, USA

CCC Network Systems, Chica-go, USA

Corporate Computer Consult-ing, CA, USA

Climatological Consulting Cor-poration, NC, USA

Creative Cakes and Catering,MD, USA

Canadian Custom CoatingsInc., MB, Canada

CCC de Urugay, Montevideo,Uruguay

In the front yard of a funeral home, “Drive carefully, we’ll wait.”

On an electrician’s truck, “Let us remove your shorts.”

Outside a radiator repair shop, “Best place in town to take a leak.”

In a non-smoking area, “If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.”

On a maternity room door, “Push, Push, Push.”

On a front door, “Everyone on the premises is a vegetarian except the dog.”

At an optometrist’s office, “If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.”

On a taxidermist’s window, “We really know our stuff.”

On a butcher’s window, “Let me meat your needs.”

On a fence, “Salesmen welcome. Dog food is expensive.”

At a car dealership, “The best way to get back on your feet -- miss a car payment.”

Outside a muffler shop, “No appointment necessary. We’ll hear you coming.”

In a dry cleaner’s emporium, “Drop your pants here.”

Signs that will make you laugh!!

January 3-4, 2002

The capital Athens was

covered by up to 20 cm (eight

inches) of snow ,a rare occur-

rence that left streets almost

deserted.

The snow may have

been a headache for

Athens-area travelers,

but for many people

(including MOA staff),

it was nothing but fun.

From warm, sunny Greece into the arctic cold

Brain Teaser

Professor Pots has set a tough challenge for his four brightest students, who are sat facing each other. He says

"I have seven hats here, four black and three white. I will blindfold you and then give you each a hat. I will then

remove the blindfolds and ask each of you in turn if you are able to work out what is the color of your hat."

He does this. Each student thinks very hard before he speaks. And this is what each one says:

First student: "I don't know." Second student: "I don't know either." Third student: "Nor do I."

Before his blindfold is removed, the fourth student announces the color of his hat. What is it and how does he know?

Bonus Question

How old are you, Rana? I'm 35. But you've been 35 for years.

Yes, but this time I’m telling the truth. I'm just ignoring the weekends.

How old is Rana?

1 2 3

4

5 6

7

8 9

10 11

12

13 14

15 16

Bulletin 2nd Quarter 2002 �29

SPARE TIME

CCCROSSWORD

Answers From Last Issue

Scruffy Sam has put on his T-shirt. Unfortunately it is inside out and back to front.

Normally the washing label is on the inside of the left sleeve. Where is it now? The

label is now on the outside of his left sleeve.

In the box below, which of the statements is true, and which is false?

Since all of the statements con-

tradict each other, three of them

must be false. Therefore state-

ment number three is true and

the others are false.

BESAFEMNAOARAMCOIZTCWATERAHWHMOUSEPADFBNEDUBAIISSLRQELEUTHREEYGETO

EPROCUREMENTIO

SOPECMOUSE

The number of false statements in this box is one

The number of false statements in this box is two

The number of false statements in this box is three

The number of false statements in this box is four

Congratulations to Ronnie Labban for getting both correct!

Across 1 -... . / ... .- ..-. . Morse code that stands for a

safety phrase 5 Name of the company from which Mr. Said

Khoury received an award 7 Extremely important environmental issue in

the Middle East 8 What is to be designed on CCC's 50th

anniversary? 10 City where CCC received an award for busi-

ness excellence 12 Number of female employees at MMH

(Egypt) 13 Subject of the feature 15 Name of exhibition where CCC makes its

presence felt 16 Something or someone found in the printer

Down 2 Something that was a rear occurrence this

winter in Athens? 3 F in Safety stands for… 4 Country in South Africa, where CCC is for

the 1'st time 5 Location, where CCC's football team won the

finals 6 Name of the company that is buoyant with

project awards & technology 9 Title of the article, which is a continuation of

the feature's articles 11 Name of a company, which CCC is pioneer-

ing e-procurement with 14 Something or somewhere a coin was found in

Editorssamer khouryzuhair haddadnafez husseini

Public Relationssamir sabbagh

Productionnatalia refai

yannis yannoulisnick goulas

jeannette arduino

CCC BULLETINP.O. Box 61092

Maroussi 151 10Fax (301) 618-2199 or [email protected]

The BULLETIN is a

publication issued at CCC

Managing Office in Athens by

volunteer staff.

All opinions stated herein

are the contributors’ own. Submissions

(announcements, stories, artwork, etc.)

are welcome.

CCC in the News

“meed awards” samer khoury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Business Outlook

recently awarded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

current projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

insights

“water potientials” mazen qaddoura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Technology

“acwa bougant with project awards and technology” . . . 6

Health ,Saftey,and Environment

“understanding safety” Rajinder P Sahota . . . . . . . . . . . 8

“do the right thing” cjohn kurian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

“q & a session about video display units” . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Human Resources

“from appraising to managing performance” . . . . . . . . 10

“ccc training program progress” riad el haj . . . . . . . . 13

“graduates under progression” scott bristow . . . . . . . 13

Feature - e-procurement

“why e-procurement” maroun lebbos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

“what is e-procurement” graham twiggs. . . . . . . . . . . . 16

“e-change” ali jaafar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

“e-commerce at haradh project” nicola abboud . . . . . . 19

Area News

“desert.com” saudi arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

“national steel fabrication” egypt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

“ccc’s presence felt at sopec 2002” saudi arabia . . . . 21

“kuwait international petroleum exhibition” kuwait. . . . 22

“Atyrau exhibition” kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

“award for the president”saudi arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

“american university of beirut” beirut . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

“function in honor of mr. fawzi germanus” uk . . . . . . . 24

“go...ccc...go” greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

“ccc inter championship” qatar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

“the softer side of ccc”egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Short Story

“mouse trap” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

“ccc blood donors” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Milestones

announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

“50 th anniversary mousepad design” . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

The Lighter Side

“signs that will make you laugh!!!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

“from warm sunny greece into the arctic cold” . . . . . . 28

“other cccs” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Spare time

cccrossword / brainteasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

ccc & e-procurement · ccc & e-procurement in a survey conducted by the conference board...

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