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The Channel
A Renaissance Services SAOG Group Newsletter
volume 0 issue 8
Topaz Engineering wins contract Topaz Engineering secures an EPC contract from Fujairah Refinery Company, to complete construction of pipelines interconnecting the Port of Fujairah facilities for Oil Terminal 2 and Oil Terminal 1.
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Also Inside: Topaz signs new term loans
Contract Services on Safety drills CSG operations at PDO South have achieved a year with no LTI. Saif Al Ali, HSE Officer, explains how and why Safety is a daily practice and part of the Renaissance culture.
NTI voted 2nd best in brand survey NHI achieves IiP certificate Group companies going green CSR initiative recognized Topaz Events
Renaissance launches new site The corporate site is upgraded with a new look and many newer functions.
CEO Message Excerpts from Warren Bennis’ Becoming a Leader of Leaders.
NHI hosts celebrity chef UMS organizes Al Mar’a fest In-house tournament at PAC Qarn Alam
Upcoming Highlights: Happy New Year!
The Channel is a digital monthly internal newsletter produced by Renaissance Services which aims to reach every employee in each country of our worldwide operations. Please do forward this to your fellow team members and thank you!
Renaissance wishes you a break-through year! Please view our e-greeting card: http://www.nibblesoman.com/greeting/christmasgreetings/greeting_blank.htm
Financial Highlights
Topaz Engineering awarded multi-million dollar engineering contract Topaz Engineering has recently secured a multi-million dollar, EPC contract from Fujairah Refinery Company, to complete construction of pipelines interconnecting the Port of Fujairah facilities for Oil Terminal 2 and Oil Terminal 1. Fujairah Refinery Company Ltd is jointly owned by Vitol Group and the Government of Fujairah. Topaz Engineering will have nine months to complete the design, supply, fabrication, installation, testing and pre-commissioning of white oil and black oil piping works with pigging facility along with allied electrical and instrumentation works. Topaz has executed projects of similar scope and volume in the recent past and considers this latest award an opportunity to strengthen its project execution capabilities in Fujairah. In early September, Topaz Engineering was also awarded a multi-million dollar project by the Port of Fujairah for construction of top side facilities at Oil Terminal 2. The company has had operating experience in Fujairah since 1981, along with its ability to provide comprehensive solutions, high HSE standards and highly competitive commercial terms make it a frontrunner for major projects in Fujairah.
The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
Topaz secures US$ 42 million long term loan facility Renaissance’s wholly owned subsidiary, Topaz Energy and Marine, has closed a long term financing deal of US$ 42 million (Rial 16.2 million) from Standard Chartered Bank, Dubai. The funds will be used towards the post delivery financing of Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) and also will be used to fund future capex program in the company’s offshore fleet expansion program. In light of the financial environment the new long term funding facility illustrate the company’s robust operations, assets and balance sheet, and reinforce the willingness of international and regional banks to partner with Renaissance. The long term facility also matches the company’s policy to fund its long term asset development with a matching long term loan profile. This cautious strategy provides reassurance during the current global economic downturn and has allowed Renaissance to acquire new investments from a safe and secure standpoint.
During the year 2009, the company has invested over US$ 150 million (RO 57.8 million) mainly in assets in its growth areas in offshore vessels fleet and building of workforce accommodation facilities in the Oman’s interior oilfields. Topaz Marine’s continued investments program in its fleet expansion and modernization program has seen its OSV fleet cross the 100 vessel mark this year. The company employs a prudent vessel acquisition strategy that restricts any speculative buying other than in technological or geographical niches.
The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
From the CEO Leadership Series
Rethinking the Future This is a collection of quotes I have put together from Warren Bennis, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California, and management guru. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a slave to management gurus – unlike them, we have to get up in the morning and actually get the job done! But they are useful reference points to guide us and affirm what we are doing. The précis is made up of direct quotes and is designed to capture the essence of the writer’s message. We have found this a useful stimulant for debate and creative thinking in driving change within the Renaissance journey. Stephen R. Thomas CEO Renaissance Services SAOG Becoming a Leader of Leaders – Warren Bennis The major challenge for leaders in the twenty-first century will be how to release the brainpower of their organizations. What leaders must learn to do is develop a social architecture that encourages incredibly bright people, most of whom have big egos, to work together successfully and to deploy their own creativity. Twenty-first century leaders will also have to make sure that they are constantly reinventing the organization too. But the point is, how do you deploy your workforce so that it is continually moving around and changing jobs, so that, rather than downsizing the organization, we can start reinventing it and creating new opportunities? Tomorrow’s leaders will have to learn how to create an environment that actually embraces change, not as a threat but as an opportunity. Warren Bennis also defined what he sees as the required attributes of leaders: • A strongly defined sense of purpose. • The capacity to clearly articulate a vision • It’s about living the vision, day in day out. • Generating trust You’re never really going to get anywhere unless you risk and try, and then learn from each experience. What effective leaders are going to have to do is to create not just a vision, but a vision with meaning. The vision has to be shared. And the only way that it can be shared is for it to have meaning for the people who are involved in it. Federations work better than monolithic organizations because, along with strength, they offer the degree of flexibility we need to deal with these turbulent times. Leaders of federations don’t think of their associates as ‘troops’. And the associates don’t think of their leaders as generals. The leader of the new federal corporation has to be a leader of leaders.
Renaissance Values:
Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) We commit to drive and foster a strong HSE culture throughout our organisation. To protect the health and safety of our people and all those affected by our activities. To protect the environment, minimize wastage and pollution, and ensure efficient use of natural resources. To provide a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and contractors. To learn more about our values please visit http://www.renaissance-oman.com/enGB/About_Renaissance/Values.aspx
The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
GREEN Subsidiary companies partner with environmental projects Topaz Energy and Marine has recently joined the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), an NGO working to promote environmental awareness. In collaboration with EEG, Topaz has started a recycling program in five of its facilities in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Dubai, which are collecting plastic, aluminium cans and paper. Just a few months ago, Topaz formally launched its mission to go green in an initiative entitled Topaz Earth. The National Hospitality Institute (NHI) has joined Clean Up the World, which partners with the United Nations Environment Programme. NHI’s initiatives will range from waste removal and tree planting to water and energy conservation projects, and will empower the Omani community to "clean up, fix up and conserve the local environment". If you have an idea that you would like to share with us, please mail to hala@tawoos.com. It is through the great people within this company that our organization can respond to the significant issues of our times. We must all do our utmost to protect our planet and the life on it. Renaissance encourages you to start making a change today.
Renaissance launches new site The corporate site has upgraded to a modern look and feel with much higher capabilities and technical facilities. The site will also feature as a medium for current employees to receive large files and medias, such as video and and audio clips, which feature group heads. New sections such as HSE and Investor Relations are targeted to different readers who seek information specific to their search. The site is also designed to pull and analyse visitor information, inviting visitors to subscribe to specific RSS feeds or email alerts. Please share your feedback of the new site : www.renaissance-oman.com.
LOCAL SQU Nurses express gratitude The Sultan Qaboos University presented Renaissance Services with a token of appreciation this month in recognition of the financial support that allowed 34 out of a total of 48 nursing students to venture abroad for two month training programs. The College of Nursing started sending students abroad for internship in 2006. The objective of the program is to provide opportunity for the interns to intensify their clinical competences, clinical judgment and critical thinking skills in providing comprehensive nursing care and to develop an insight into the differences of work culture in a foreign environment. Three graduating batches have gone so far to different countries and this is the second year that Renaissance lends its support to this training program. CEO Stephen Thomas with SQU officials and graduate nurses
The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
LOCAL NTI ranks second top brand in Oman’s Education Sector In this month’s issue of Oman’s Business Today magazine featuring the Best Brands of 2009, Renaissance’s NTI (National Training Institute) is rated as the second best in the private education provider category. Out of 424 respondents, Majan College ranked first, while NTI and Caledonian College tied for the second position. Majan and Caledonian are both academic institutions and cater to students (90%) and corporate and government sector employees (10%), whereas 100% of NTI’s clientele comes from the corporate and government sector. Keeping this in view it is indeed creditable for NTI to be rated as the second best in Oman and first amongst the vocational training providers. NTI’s clientele comes from the Corporate & Govt. sectors, ie. adults, who “understand” training, are serious about the quality of delivery and are able to apply the knowledge and skills learnt, at their workplace.
NHI Achieves the Investor in People Standard The National Hospitality Institute (NHI) celebrated its achievement of the Investor in People (IiP) Standard once again having maintained this since 2003. NHI successfully passes the lengthy and challenging international assessment of the IiP Standard for the third time. Investors in People have grown to be the UK’s leading people management business improvement standard because it delivers improved performance to thousands of organisations. Currently almost seven million employees in over 35,000 organisations have achieved Investors in People recognition. "Investors in People is an excellent tool that can be used to identify ways of elevating our organisation’s performance and as a framework for continuous development. This recognition is not obligatory in our line of business, however NHI endeavours to be a pioneer in the business of people development and demonstrate our commitment to delivering quality internationally accredited training in hospitality in Oman,” said Robert MacLean, Principal of NHI.
The British Ambassador was at NHI to present the IiP certificate The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
SAFETY CSG unit marks 1 year no LTI Congratulations to TISCO’s PDO South Integrated Services team for achieving one year without a Lost Time Incident this month! We caught up with Saif Al Ali, TISCO’s HSE Officer for PDO South and is responsible for overseeing the Health, Safety and Environment operations for a team of 365 persons. Because of Saif’s background in the Royal Army of Oman, he has the ability to make a broken leg or burnt arm simulation appear all the more realistic, which is why his staff are sometimes the last to learn that a staged drama was really a Safety drill.
Images from a Safety drill simulation on site
How do your staff and team implement HSE training? To start with it is mandatory that each person goes through an induction in HSE that is taught at an internationally approved institute by the government and client. Also, I conduct regular in-house training such as Hazard Identification, STOP for Safety, emergency drills, and so on. For example, I’ll identify one of the scenarios in the HSE plan such as ‘Worker slips on oil in the kitchen’, and organize with a few managers to create this dramatic scene. The staff is not told that this is a drill and they believe it to be a real incident. I’ll observe where their strengths and weaknesses are and after the exercise we get together and discuss the notes. Sometimes even the client will think it is real and they get involved. How often are people reminded of HSE? Daily. HSE is a daily practice, every morning each department will get together and talk about a different subject related to safety. Any circular that gets sent around covering any type of accident that takes place, even if it’s not in the PDO camps, or mails that are sent from the head office, we get together and discuss it. We believe that if an incident or accident happens somewhere, it could happen to us, especially if we don’t talk about it or alert the people to it beforehand. When people know the root cause of an incident, they can avoid it. With daily discussions, the safety performance of the workforce is greatly improved. Also, our managers regularly attend HSE programs put together by clients and contractors, and we share this knowledge across the board. Is Contract Services’ PDO South Operations and PAC (Permanent Accommodation for Contractors) operations the same thing? Quite the opposite, they’re two different contracts. PDO (Petroleum Development of Oman) contracts the PACs from Renaissance Contract Services, which Renaissance owns and operates, for its external contractors. On the other hand PDO has its own sites for their employees, which Renaissance Services also provides life-support services for, such as dining, maintenance, housekeeping, and so on.
Safety is part of the Renaissance culture. Every single day worked safely means that everyone on our team is working diligently and efficiently, causing no harm to ourselves, each other and all those affected by our work. Working safely is a demonstration of love, honor, responsibility and respect for all our families and loved ones – because it means, however long our shift or tour of duty, we get to go home safe and unharmed to those who love us and rely on us. The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009
Topaz Events Topaz Energy and Marine participated in the Annual Dinner organized by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and Annual Marine Ball which was organized by the Nautical Institute. The two events were held in the first and second week of December. The events bring together engineers, seafarers, scientists and technologists involved in all aspects of, and disciplines in, the marine industry from above water to subsea. Both the events are held every year and Topaz is a regular participant in them. Established in London in 1889, IMarEST is the leading international membership body and learned society for marine professionals, with over 15,000 members worldwide. The IMarEST has a strong international presence with an extensive marine network of 50 international branches, affiliations with major marine societies around the world. The Nautical Institute is an international professional body for qualified seafarers with an interest in nautical matters. Topaz Marine MENA, part of Topaz Marine was an exhibitor in the SAOGE 2009, the 2nd Saudi Arabia International Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference. The Exhibition was held at the Dhahran International Exhibitions Center in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
UMS organizes Al Mar’a festival Al Mar’a magazine held it’s annual festival dedicated and conceptualised for the woman of today. The all-ladies festival aims at bringing women from all walks of life together, at one venue, in the spirit of fun and camaraderie. The event was graced by guest of honour Her Highness Sayyidah Tania bint Shabib Al Said, president, Environment Society of Oman.
NHI hosts celebrity chef Celebrity Chef Frederic Bourse visited the National Hospitality Institute (NHI) as a part of his recent tour of the Gulf Region. The chef spent 4-5 hours in the kitchen with the Gulf Chef School team, showcasing recipes such as Passion Fruit and Raspberry Tartlets Soufflé, Tropicana Verrine and Golden Truffles.The object of the session was to be interactive and not just a demonstration, therefore he asked for assistance from a number of students in preparation which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Contract Services Group holds in-house tournament PAC Qarn Alam held an in-house tournament for all on site last month to boost recreational activities and living on site. Tournaments are held annually and at all PACs whereby employees for groups and compete against each other in fun and games.
The Channel - issue 8 - December 2009