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Design is no gamble
I joined the Casino du Liban project in 1995 with no experience at all in design and found myself heading the electrical design team of the project for the contractor ARCAN S.A.R.L. Fortunately, I had gone through a self-learning of AutoCAD 12 the year before.
My team grew in no time to reach 8 engineers who produced some 1,000 shop drawings for the entire electrical installations of the only Casino of the Middle East.
My team grew in no time to reach 8 engineers who produced some 1,000 shop drawings for the entire electrical installations of the only Casino of the Middle East.
photo courtesy of casinoduliban.com.lb
I had introduced color drawings, a practice that was not so common during that time and pushed the shop drawings for electrical installations to a higher level of details than the common practice. This was where I learned how to boost productivity by specializing engineers based on their unfolding skills, while I review and correct all drawings. It was also my first contact with a first rank consultant, Dar Al Handasah (Shair & Partners).
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The whole team quickly developed a know-how in electrical installations:
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My quickly acquired contractor's shop drawings skills took me to brief adventures in Saudi Arabia from November 1996 till March 1997 for starting the shop drawings on two projects in Riyadh and Yanbu.
The first is a set of villas at the Hayy-As-Safarat district of Riyadh, built by Al-Mabani general contractors and where I achieved the first "Code A" drawing as reviewed by the Consultant, out of all trades, and before giving the hand to an engineer of my Casino team for moving to Yanbu.
The second consisted of six schools that were built by Al-Khodari contractor in the developing city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
The first is a set of villas at the Hayy-As-Safarat district of Riyadh, built by Al-Mabani general contractors and where I achieved the first "Code A" drawing as reviewed by the Consultant, out of all trades, and before giving the hand to an engineer of my Casino team for moving to Yanbu.
The second consisted of six schools that were built by Al-Khodari contractor in the developing city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
This acquired know-how of my early carrier, allowed me to develop a specific cable raceway training that I gave to engineers of all trades at BUTEC SAL during the first months of the Covid-19 lockdown, in 2020.
Taking advantage of MS Teams, the training was given to engineers in Lebanon, Algeria, UAE, and Qatar simultaneously in two distinct sessions in order to accommodate the large number of trainees.
Taking advantage of MS Teams, the training was given to engineers in Lebanon, Algeria, UAE, and Qatar simultaneously in two distinct sessions in order to accommodate the large number of trainees.
Stage Sound and Lighting Systems
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As part of the Phase II of the Casino du Liban renovation project in Lebanon, my mission consisted of implementing the stage lighting and stage sound systems of the main Theatre and the "Salle des Ambassadeurs", a multi-purpose stage equipped venue which receives diners.
This included a training in London at ETC lighting controls specialist, a supervision of the site, the coordination of the installation between engineering and construction teams, the support of the commissioning personnel coming from abroad and an active participation to the design and execution details. |
The stage sound mixer of the Casino du Liban theatre, 1998.
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The Obsession II stage lighting console installed at the control room of the "salle des ambassadeurs" of the Casino fu Liban, 1998.
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Thinking out of the EMT outlet box
When EMT outlet boxes "hang to" electrical tubes...
When it comes to electrical installations and industrial lighting, one thinks about a non-creative world where engineers draw straight lines with curves showing the cable trays routes or dots depicting the location of lights.
I have been however confronted to an interesting situation in one of the gaming rooms of the Casino du Liban rehabilitation project, and particularly, the space above an existing false ceiling that was intended to be kept. Some 3 - 4 m of plenum were available with many mechanical and electrical installations to run as part of the renovation and upgrade; this prompted the architect to build a suspended steel structure close enough to the false ceiling so electrical raceways and mechanical ducts can run on it, while being easier to connect to the false ceiling fitted devices. It allowed to minimize both the number of anchors within the ceiling itself and the length of dropdowns up to the false ceiling. Temporary and permanent catwalks on that structure allow the installation and maintenance personnel to safely reach the different areas above the existing gypsum ceiling.
Now the problem was with the installation of EMT tubing to the mesh made of galvanized steel profiles since:
I have been however confronted to an interesting situation in one of the gaming rooms of the Casino du Liban rehabilitation project, and particularly, the space above an existing false ceiling that was intended to be kept. Some 3 - 4 m of plenum were available with many mechanical and electrical installations to run as part of the renovation and upgrade; this prompted the architect to build a suspended steel structure close enough to the false ceiling so electrical raceways and mechanical ducts can run on it, while being easier to connect to the false ceiling fitted devices. It allowed to minimize both the number of anchors within the ceiling itself and the length of dropdowns up to the false ceiling. Temporary and permanent catwalks on that structure allow the installation and maintenance personnel to safely reach the different areas above the existing gypsum ceiling.
Now the problem was with the installation of EMT tubing to the mesh made of galvanized steel profiles since:
- Electricians walk above the tubing to be installed unlike the classic situation of being under on a scaffold
- Outlet boxes point downwards making it difficult to pull wire in the tubes
- How to fix outlet boxes on profiles and in the void between profiles?
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The solution I adopted is described nowhere and simply consisted of the following:
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Emergency lighting, reversed
More light to run to safety, less when all goes fine
I can remember very well all the sales persons who bid on my lighting design of the Tripoli WWTP sludge incinerator in Lebanon as they could not get the rid of the stereotype of the emergency lighting being a minimal concept that is just sufficient for evacuation.
Having been both Procurement Manager and Project Manager on the Jubail military airport lighting renovation project back in 2004, I had to drive back home to Al-Khobar for two hours and late enough to admire the impressive lighting of the Jubail complex oil installations with the tenths of thousand of bulbs that are literally covering every single tower, stack, plant, etc. There were as many bulbs as the stars in a portion of sky that your eyes can distinguish in a light pollution free environment.
I had even driven my wife there on one of those Thursday evenings as an industrial tourism trip, especially other forms of tourism had no existence in Saudi Arabia by that time. And I kept wondering why all those lights are turned on all together with no attention given at all for the consequent wasted energy and huge maintenance costs when relamping.
Having been both Procurement Manager and Project Manager on the Jubail military airport lighting renovation project back in 2004, I had to drive back home to Al-Khobar for two hours and late enough to admire the impressive lighting of the Jubail complex oil installations with the tenths of thousand of bulbs that are literally covering every single tower, stack, plant, etc. There were as many bulbs as the stars in a portion of sky that your eyes can distinguish in a light pollution free environment.
I had even driven my wife there on one of those Thursday evenings as an industrial tourism trip, especially other forms of tourism had no existence in Saudi Arabia by that time. And I kept wondering why all those lights are turned on all together with no attention given at all for the consequent wasted energy and huge maintenance costs when relamping.
photo courtesy of tripadvisor.com
A few years later, and in 2008 exactly, I was again Procurement Manager and the de-facto Project Manager on the municipal sludge incinerator of the waste water treatment plant of Tripoli in Lebanon. The project was Design Build and I had in mind only one idea: inverse the logic, keep the energy consumption of the lighting system to the minimum and then turn on all lights in case of an emergency only.
Unlike an occupied building where the emergency lighting system allows people to evacuate, the idea was to let technicians intervene safely in a light flooded installation for answering the industrial emergency. A high temperature or pressure reading would trigger a physical inspection by the operation and maintenance team, who should then go there safely and clearly see how to climb the numerous stairs and ladders.
The cost of fitting more lights and more power with fire resistant cables is quickly compensated by the resulting energy savings.
The minimal lighting was then used in normal time and at all times instead of emergencies, in a completely inverted logic.
The light sources would simply have the same lifetime as the whole installation which eliminates the maintenance costs.
Unlike an occupied building where the emergency lighting system allows people to evacuate, the idea was to let technicians intervene safely in a light flooded installation for answering the industrial emergency. A high temperature or pressure reading would trigger a physical inspection by the operation and maintenance team, who should then go there safely and clearly see how to climb the numerous stairs and ladders.
The cost of fitting more lights and more power with fire resistant cables is quickly compensated by the resulting energy savings.
The minimal lighting was then used in normal time and at all times instead of emergencies, in a completely inverted logic.
The light sources would simply have the same lifetime as the whole installation which eliminates the maintenance costs.
The Incredible India as I've seen it
I was assigned to India by my employer Arcan Group - Bahrain for developing the Indian support office in Chennai.
As a contractor operating in the Middle East, Arcan decided to have its engineering carried out at a central office in India where estimation, tendering, pre-qualification and design activities will be carried out.
It was my first trip to the colorful country and it was a love at first sight experience.
My mission there totalized some six months, spread over monthly trips during the year 2004 mainly.
I had to recruit twenty engineers of different experiences and caliber, then perform their induction.
I recall all the details of the AutoCad training I had personally given to absolutely all engineers of the branch, walking in between the workstations of the open space office and giving instructions with a loud voice.
No doubt one of those strongest moments of my professional life, with a lot of interactions, learning, teaching, putting things in place, fixing and launching.
An incredible experience in an incredible country!
A few years passed before coming back to Calcutta in 2011 as I was one of the Procurement Managers on Saidabad potable water plant in Bangladesh while working for the French giant SUEZ. My visit was for the specific purpose of assessing and auditing steel fabricators, which are reputed to be abundant and competitive in the Indian iconic city. Its proximity to Bangladesh makes it suitable for transporting the fabricated items to the jobsite.
I had audited a dozen of fabricators, some of them for piping and valves, others for general steel fabrication including structures, vessels, fabricated items, puddle pipes, etc. Purchase Orders were placed to those who passed the assessment.
As a contractor operating in the Middle East, Arcan decided to have its engineering carried out at a central office in India where estimation, tendering, pre-qualification and design activities will be carried out.
It was my first trip to the colorful country and it was a love at first sight experience.
My mission there totalized some six months, spread over monthly trips during the year 2004 mainly.
I had to recruit twenty engineers of different experiences and caliber, then perform their induction.
I recall all the details of the AutoCad training I had personally given to absolutely all engineers of the branch, walking in between the workstations of the open space office and giving instructions with a loud voice.
No doubt one of those strongest moments of my professional life, with a lot of interactions, learning, teaching, putting things in place, fixing and launching.
An incredible experience in an incredible country!
A few years passed before coming back to Calcutta in 2011 as I was one of the Procurement Managers on Saidabad potable water plant in Bangladesh while working for the French giant SUEZ. My visit was for the specific purpose of assessing and auditing steel fabricators, which are reputed to be abundant and competitive in the Indian iconic city. Its proximity to Bangladesh makes it suitable for transporting the fabricated items to the jobsite.
I had audited a dozen of fabricators, some of them for piping and valves, others for general steel fabrication including structures, vessels, fabricated items, puddle pipes, etc. Purchase Orders were placed to those who passed the assessment.
My Power Houses
All started during that same project of the Casino du Liban rehabilitation when the local dealer of a famous US based generating sets manufacturer simply failed to design the generator room. I then found myself in the obligation of learning all about such installations and deliver the required drawings within 3 days (and probably nights). A success story however since the 4MW power house ended up being installed exactly as I imagined and designed.
This included a detailed design of the gensets pads, the cable trenches in the bottom slab, the leak diversion grooves, the exhaust system, the hot air evacuation shaft and absolutely all other details.
This included a detailed design of the gensets pads, the cable trenches in the bottom slab, the leak diversion grooves, the exhaust system, the hot air evacuation shaft and absolutely all other details.
My carreer kept me then in a close encounter with such plants, although this was not exactly to continue designing them, rather buying those.
Except a general layout and diagram for the King Abdulaziz university of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia in 2004, I had to deal with the procurement of several diesel power houses and cogeneration plants with a particular attention given to the technical matters, thanks to my Casino du Liban experience.
I had completed the design given by my colleagues in order to issue the detailed bills of quantities and decide on the materials to be procured from the gensets manufacturers vs. the ones that can be sourced locally, etc. This made of me the Category Manager for generating sets at SUEZ, for the whole group, between the years 2006 and 2012.
Except a general layout and diagram for the King Abdulaziz university of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia in 2004, I had to deal with the procurement of several diesel power houses and cogeneration plants with a particular attention given to the technical matters, thanks to my Casino du Liban experience.
I had completed the design given by my colleagues in order to issue the detailed bills of quantities and decide on the materials to be procured from the gensets manufacturers vs. the ones that can be sourced locally, etc. This made of me the Category Manager for generating sets at SUEZ, for the whole group, between the years 2006 and 2012.
I have then initiated, negotiated and finalized the below deals:
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2005 - 3MW Diesel + 3MW Biogas Cogeneration Plant
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Tripoli Waste Water Treatment Plant - Lebanon
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Technically and commercially finalized with Caterpillar through the local dealer.
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2006 - 3x3MW Diesel Base Load Power House
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Lusail Waste Water Treatment Plant - Qatar
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Technically and commercially finalized with Cummins through the dealer in Turkey.
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2007 - 2x2.5MW + 3x1MW of Stand-by generating sets
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Doha West Waste Water Treatment Plant - Qatar
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Technically and commercially finalized with MTU through a dealer in Turkey.
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2008 - 3x600KW Biogas Cogeneration Plant
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Okhla Waste Water Treatment Plant - Delhi - India
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Technically and commercially finalized with Jenbacher through Clarke Energy.
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2008 - 2x1600KW + 3x1400KW Stand-by generating sets
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Le Havre Waste Water Treatment Plant - France
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Commercially finalized with 2H Energy
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2009 - 3MW Biogas Cogeneration Plant
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Gdansk Sludge Treatment Plant - Poland
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Technically and commercially finalized with Deutz through a local dealer.
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2009 - 24MW Diesel Base Load Power House
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Al-Rusafa Potable Water Treatment Plant - Iraq
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Technically and commercially finalized with Caterpillar through the local dealer.
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2011 - 4x1400KW Biogas Cogeneration Plant
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Saidabad Potable Water Treatment Plant - Bangladesh
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Technically and commercially finalized with Jenbacher.
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kWh Metering Panels Optimization
During my years as Procurement and Purchasing Manager at KVA SAL between 2012 and 2015, I was confronted to a technical problem related to the design of the consumers' metering cubicles that the Lebanese utility EDL specifies and uses:
Beirut is an old city with old buildings which did not prevent people from modernizing their lives, installing air conditioners, more kitchen appliances, more TV sets and more lights. Most households shifted from a 1x20A breaker to 3x20A or 3x60A while the kWh meter and its breaker had to be housed in an enclosure, unlike old installations where such devices used to be simply fixed on a wooden panel.
The electrical room was still of the same size, while modern buildings were also designed without taking into account EDL's given sizes of the metering boxes.
My colleagues of the construction department were quickly facing a major problem when it comes to removing the existing open installations and attempting to fit metering enclosures.
There was a physical space limitation and someone had to change the design of the metering enclosures.
This is when I decided to lead on the problem and solve it as follows:
Many advantages resulted from this new configuration:
That was indeed a major challenge at both shop drawing level (design of the room layout) and panel configuration level (design of the enclosure) as heat dissipation, short current ratings and accessibility were to be considered all together.
A Frame Work Agreement was signed with the supplier and deliveries based on the new design are still going nowadays.
Beirut is an old city with old buildings which did not prevent people from modernizing their lives, installing air conditioners, more kitchen appliances, more TV sets and more lights. Most households shifted from a 1x20A breaker to 3x20A or 3x60A while the kWh meter and its breaker had to be housed in an enclosure, unlike old installations where such devices used to be simply fixed on a wooden panel.
The electrical room was still of the same size, while modern buildings were also designed without taking into account EDL's given sizes of the metering boxes.
My colleagues of the construction department were quickly facing a major problem when it comes to removing the existing open installations and attempting to fit metering enclosures.
There was a physical space limitation and someone had to change the design of the metering enclosures.
This is when I decided to lead on the problem and solve it as follows:
- Having our site engineer performing a survey on the existing electrical rooms and metering spaces dimensions
- Having an engineer working under my supervision for grouping such rooms by categories and issuing typical shop drawings for each.
- Working with the metering enclosure partner (Cahors - France) on a new compact design so the enclosures fit inside the rooms.
- Making sure the new design can accommodate both types of meters, electromagnetic and smart electronic.
- Submitting the new drawings to EDL and obtaining approvals.
Many advantages resulted from this new configuration:
- Problem solved
- Smaller enclosures = less expensive enclosures
- Smaller enclosures = lesser shipping costs
That was indeed a major challenge at both shop drawing level (design of the room layout) and panel configuration level (design of the enclosure) as heat dissipation, short current ratings and accessibility were to be considered all together.
A Frame Work Agreement was signed with the supplier and deliveries based on the new design are still going nowadays.
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Smart demo for smart metering
I had no chance to implement an AMI project (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) during my career but was lucky to be involved in a major tender in Saudi Arabia with my employer BUTEC SAL during the year 2017.
I had cumulated a strong experience in smart metering when working for KVA SAL. The contract with the Lebanese government was about managing the whole distribution network on behalf of the local power utility, Electricité du Liban known as EDL; it included the roll-out of some 350,0000 smart meters in the areas of Beirut and the Bekaa valley.
As Procurement and Purchasing Manager, I had to learn about the different technologies for smart metering communication, establish relations with vendors and manage a pilot project based on two different technologies, three different vendors and not less than six meter brands. This is indeed after having negotiated and finalized contracts with each of the vendors for an eventual deployment as a next stage to the pilots.
I had cumulated a strong experience in smart metering when working for KVA SAL. The contract with the Lebanese government was about managing the whole distribution network on behalf of the local power utility, Electricité du Liban known as EDL; it included the roll-out of some 350,0000 smart meters in the areas of Beirut and the Bekaa valley.
As Procurement and Purchasing Manager, I had to learn about the different technologies for smart metering communication, establish relations with vendors and manage a pilot project based on two different technologies, three different vendors and not less than six meter brands. This is indeed after having negotiated and finalized contracts with each of the vendors for an eventual deployment as a next stage to the pilots.
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Smart metering technologies in which I was involved and I became well conversent:
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What I will be detailing here, is how I've built the AMI demo panels that were used during BUTEC's participation to the AMI tender launched by SEC in Saudi Arabia and known as "Wave 1". The consortium which I have helped building and that included Rawabi BUTEC as a leader, EDP, BUS and STC as consortium members ranked amongst the very few best bidders technically.
EDP: Energias De Portugal
BUS: BUTEC utility Services SAL
STC: Saudi Telecommunication Company
BUS: BUTEC utility Services SAL
STC: Saudi Telecommunication Company
My involvement drastically shifted from leading the relation with vendors to designing and assembling the demo panels that were defined by EDP.
I had to transform a schematic single line diagram into physical panels that could be used to demonstrate the consortium's know-how.
The first step was to acquire a few SEC standard metering panels, empty them, rewire and fit all devices except the smart meters.
I will be installing those myself after the successful programming and testing.
I had just fitted the modems, filters and motorized breakers at this factory in Riyadh:
I had to transform a schematic single line diagram into physical panels that could be used to demonstrate the consortium's know-how.
The first step was to acquire a few SEC standard metering panels, empty them, rewire and fit all devices except the smart meters.
I will be installing those myself after the successful programming and testing.
I had just fitted the modems, filters and motorized breakers at this factory in Riyadh:
In parallel, I had started the works on the frame, at the same panelboard factory in Riyadh.
This was during the holy month of Ramadan where I used to join the workers from 6:00 am till 2:00 pm.
The factory manager was so kind and cooperative and had designated a dedicated staff to work under my supervision.
This was during the holy month of Ramadan where I used to join the workers from 6:00 am till 2:00 pm.
The factory manager was so kind and cooperative and had designated a dedicated staff to work under my supervision.
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The SEC meter panel modification included having them tested for continuity, insulation and breaker testing.
Finally, the metering panels were assembled to the frames and the frames fitted with rollers.
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The pre-equipped smart metering panels ready for packing and transport to the place where I will be then fitting the smart meters, along with the necessary SIM cards and antennas. Note well the bunch of bulb holders seen on the right panel and which will be used to fit incandescent lights that will create some consumption and a consequent kWh reading on the meters.
A pre-demo workshop held between all the consortium members and partners prior to repeating the demo at SEC is shown here. I had completed the metering panels by installing the smart meters under the supervision of EDP representatives and Schneider Electric as well.
