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PESA MENA Chapter Subcommittees Suggest Best Practices for Regional Challenges

During PESA’s first MENA Regional Chapter Subcommittee kickoff on January 21, Members discussed local challenges and shared best practices regarding lifesaving rules, global logistics and talent recruitment. The event was hosted by DistributionNOW at the Amwaj Rotana Hotel in Dubai. Chapter Chair Dennis Jol, Vice President, International, DistributionNOW, led the meeting.

Jol opened the meeting by explaining the purpose and intent of the MENA chapter and its subcommittees and shared information about upcoming regional events.

MENA Health & Safety Subcommittee Chair Steve Abbiss, General Manager-Middle East, TechnipFMC, discussed common standards for life saving/safety practices. Abbiss shared how TechnipFMC simplified a large series of core and supplemental lifesaving rules to create a more useful and valuable list. The organization then identified nine core lifesaving rules and focused on the actions workers in the industry can take to decrease the number of fatal incidents. Abbiss explained that by changing the language presented around these rules, empowered employees were able to put the onus on individuals rather than dictating what should be done.

Vice Chair Max Whisenhunt, MENA/CIS Area Director, DistributionNOW, introduced a guest speaker for the Supply Chain session. Wayne Holbrook, Director Global Development, Project & Energy Services, Expeditors, provided a global logistics market update.

Holbrook highlighted the top 10 logistics trends to 2022, addressing such technologies such as digitalization, IOT and automation and logistics safety. He also touched upon supply and demand of the global air freight market, as well as ocean freight market trends.

Local Employment Subcommittee Chair Riaz Jumabhoy, Middle East Country Manager, Gardner Denver, introduced Henry Sparling, Regional Manager, Oil & Gas, Airswift, who provided insights on the Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) Report. Sparling provided analytics and results from different sections of the 2018 report with comparisons to the 2017 report, including salary trends, relocation, talent shortage and sector challenges.

Nationalization was also a focus, and Sparling gave an overview for Saudi Arabia and noted challenges and solutions for “Saudization,” the policy where Saudi companies are required to fill workforce openings with Saudi nationals up to certain levels.

Finally, Local Content Vice Chair Andrew Carrion, Operations Manager, NOV, introduced Ibrahim Elkhalil, Al Shoumoukh Group. Last year ADNOC launched the implementation phase of its new in-country value (ICV) strategy, aimed at increasing the company’s ICV contribution and strengthening its relationship with the UAE’s private sector. Elkhalil provided insights into ICV programs, classification of business units and factors that influence ICV, the effect of ICV on the economy and more.

Jol encouraged those in attendance to continue to be engaged in the PESA MENA events, promoting the March and November meetings in 2019.

Current member companies represented on the MENA subcommittees are: Caterpillar Inc., Cummins, DistributionNOW, Energy Alloys, Exterran, FET, Gardner Denver, LoneStar Group, M&M International, Nabors, NOV, ProSep, Ringers Technologies, SOR, TechnipFMC, Weir Oil & Gas.

If you are interested in joining the PESA MENA Regional District Chapter or any of the PESA MENA Subcommittees, please contact Vice President Strategy & Programs Molly Determan.

 

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