SUPPORTING DOCUMENT: Safety Award

Zero in Twenty-three:

Achieving zero casualties and zero injuries in a 

54 MW Power Plant project built in 23 days in Aden, Yemen

Background

When the Arab Spring revolution ended, the province of Aden, Yemen was suffering from severe energy shortage. The power outages caused political tension, economic losses and social unrest not only in the city but in the entire country. The Government of Yemen, with the aim of easing the pressure as immediately as possible, sought for the assistance of Altaaqa Global CAT Rental Power to build a 54 MW power plant in just 23 days. 

Due to various technical problems, including lack of power plants, unstable grid and insufficient power distribution facilities, the entire province of Aden was suffering from power outages lasting for 14 hours at a time. This dismal situation was creating chaos across different industries, including oil & gas, financial (banks and financial institutions), hospitality (hotels and restaurants), construction and industrial manufacturing.

To add to this, temperature was soaring at 45°C and work hours were limited, in observance of Ramadan.

Altaaqa Global CAT Rental Power (ATG), however, braved the situation and stayed behind. Ready to provide an immediate solution, ATG carefully swiftly crafted an unprecedented project delivery process that ensured the safety and the protection of its employees and assets, while successfully completing the 54 MW project in Aden in record 23 days. 

Description and Development  

By signing an agreement with ATG, the Government aimed to put an end to the social, economic and financial devastation caused by continual power outages. While the Government had permanent power generation projects on the pipeline, those could take decades to complete, and at the rate that the power outages were affecting the society, the Government could not afford to wait.

Throughout its completion, the project should be kept safe and secure amidst the hostilities. All the stakeholders involved in the mission aimed to keep casualties and injuries to zero, and the threat of terrorism under surveillance and control. 

Steven Meyrick (left), Board Representative of Altaaqa Global, explains to the Governor of Aden (Middle) and PEC Director General (Right) how the company’s power solutions ended the power crisis in Aden

This photo was taken on the day when all Western embassies closed down in Yemen, with Steven Meyrick, Board Representative of Altaaqa Global and Mahmoud El Zaafarany, Sales Manager for MENA of Altaaqa Global

The company has set up a detailed plan on how to mitigate the effects of the security instability in the country and on how to counter terrorist attacks, social protests and politically motivated destabilization attempts.

In addition to services provided by the military and the company’s own security agency, and to increased security barricades erected at the area of operation, Altaaqa Global sought to be in harmony with the communities within the area where it was building the 54 MW power plant. The company recognized the importance of having the collective support of Aden’s citizenry in successfully, peacefully and safely seeing the 54 MW power plant project through completion. Towards this objective, Altaaqa Global hired and trained local Yemeni engineers, which ultimately comprised 95% of the workforce for the project.

A Yemeni engineer in training on HSE global standards prior to deployment. One challenge for Altaaqa Global in Yemen was to implement a global HSE standard that will protect the lives of the workers, the integrity of the equipment and the environment

Some Yemeni engineers who were hired to take part in the 54 MW power plant project. They were all trained in matters of safety, health, environment, quality and engineering installation

By hiring Yemeni engineers, Altaaqa Global showed its commitment to helping its immediate environs through the creation of employment opportunities in the areas where it operates. The company invested a significant amount of resources to train the Yemeni workforce in order to ensure that its operation was still on an optimum level. Altaaqa Global’s ultimate goal was to transfer its technological and technical know-how while maintaining its operational and safety standards and processes.   

As a result of this intensive drive, Altaaqa Global was able to successfully complete the project without any accidents, casualties or deaths. 

As the 54 MW project was being carried out during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Altaaqa Global would host the Yemeni workers and the local communities to Iftar (breaking of the fast) dinners. This brought the company closer to the locals, which, in turn, provided the “first line of defense” to the company’s assets and equipment. This proved that security transcends the exhibition of arms and uniforms – the people of Aden themselves largely contributed in ensuring that the project was successfully and peacefully seen through, recognizing the salient benefits that a sustainable and continuous supply of power could afford their community. 

For the local school children, Altaaqa Global also donated one crayon for every kilowatt rented, which meant that the company donated 54,000 crayons to Yemeni children. In addition to crayons, Altaaqa Global also handed out several important school supplies, as notebooks, books, pens, pencils, bags and lunch packs. For the company, this is a necessary step in achieving its goal of being able to build classrooms for impoverished children in remote communities worldwide by 2020. 

Altaaqa Global launched an educational campaign in Yemen to highlight the importance of saving electricity. The campaign lasted for six months and was regarded as the first large-scale energy conservation campaign in the country

To further optimize the benefits of having a sustainable and continuous power supply, the citizens needed to be informed on how to conserve electricity. In this light, Altaaqa Global, in collaboration with various social development entities and non-governmental organizations, launched a six-month educational campaign in Yemen on how to save energy by following simple steps that could be carried out at home. The campaign was aimed at informing the citizens that having a supply of electricity was just an initial step towards social stability. By educating the local community of the adverse effects of power wastage, in synergy with various local governments, schools, non-governmental organizations, media and local communities, achieving sustainable power in Yemen was proven possible. 

As part of its commitment to help the local communities, Altaaqa Global invested a significant amount of its resources in sports and arts programs that will help foster a better understanding of various cultures, promote healthy living and appreciation of arts. Altaaqa Global sponsored AED 250,000 worth of its equipment for the world’s largest Beach Polo event that will benefit various charitable institutions that focuses on children’s education.

TÜV NORD has recently certified Altaaqa Global as a company that implements a management system in accordance with ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, and OHSAS 18001:2007. 

In attestation to ATG’s commitment to follow strict guidelines and policies in HSE, the company is a member of two sustainability, quality and environmental organizations, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) and Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).

ATG has also achieved ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) certification by TÜV NORD Germany, the ISO accredited certification body headquartered in Hanover, Germany, in its first year of evaluation – a feat that has been achieved by only a handful of companies.

Impact and Benefits

The project has recorded zero casualties and zero injuries until its completion.

Owing to the flawless execution of a highly detailed plan of action, the 54 MW power plant project was completed in just 23 days and immediately benefitted more than half a million people. Aden was instantly offered a sustainable and viable source of power, which had straightaway helped businesses, schools, hospitals and other industrial operations. In addition, political and social tension gradually subsided and the trust of the people in the government was gradually restored.

In addition, Yemeni locals were given job opportunities and trained on world class operational best practices, and the local school children were supported through school and educational initiatives.

The 54 MW project had had tangible benefits to Aden, therefore the Government added 50 MW to the existing installation, bringing the total capacity to 104 MW.

The Governor of Aden, Yemen and the Director-General or Public Electricity Corporation inaugurated the 54 MW power plant. They are flanked by several local tribe leaders and Altaaqa Global officials

Reasons

When other companies said that what the Yemeni government wanted to happen was impossible, ATG stayed and fulfilled its mission of providing to power to any area on Earth that needed it. The company, however, did not just remain in Yemen for the sake of blind heroism. In making that decision, ATG still put the safety and security of its employees and assets as a top priority. The company sought for the assistance of no less than the national military to keep the project site safe from threats of terrorism and politically motivated demonstrations. On the ground, the company maintained a well-structured training regimen so that safety and environmental protection would be second-nature to all of its engineers. ATG also recognized the merits of keeping an amicable relationship with the locals, as they could provide the “first line” of security and protection to the company’s employees and assets, thus it sought to spearhead activities with citizens of Aden. Through the 54 MW project in Aden, ATG set an energy industry standard in project delivery and HSE processes: Keeping employees and assets safe in the most unsafe environment that could be ever known to man. 

Watch the video, below, and learn how Altaaqa Global built a power plant in just 23 days, helping more than half a million people in Yemen. The project avoided political, economic and social tension in Yemen.

http://youtu.be/FdCq_sazqiM