Government & Compliance

Project delivery methodology

A comprehensive, structured, top-down phased approach by objectives, developed over many years of successfully managing projects. At the end of each phase, checkpoints established with the client and its senior management allow for a major or critical review before the work moves into the next phase.

• Each service requested is broken into tasks and fed into the master implementation plan.
• Every task carries an objective or milestone, a priority, a time frame, resources, and a slot in the schedule.
• Tasks are tracked on a bar chart coordinated by the project manager.
• Progress meetings with the client’s management run throughout each phase.
• A small number of major checkpoints, so attention and resources land on the key items at the right time.

The phased approach gives effective management control over the major investment normally associated with systems acquisition, installation, training, and support.

Technical approach

Our technical approach follows the same line as the project management methodology. We analyze and review the services requested, then classify the work plans and schedules as hardware, network, software, or electrical/mechanical/civil work. The nature of each request determines the skill level required, and the properly skilled resource is assigned to it. Our preference is to work jointly with the client to make sure their actual needs are being met.

Installation, testing & commissioning

The major implementation activities run in a fixed order through to handover:

• Equipment installation — configuring, wiring and cabling, testing and commissioning, following IEEE standard procedure.
• Training, as needed.
• Shakedown — running equipment to confirm proper operation prior to start-up.
• Test stage — confirming all system modules function properly.
• Commissioning and final handover.

Support after handover

After installation and sign-off, responsibility for the technical services passes to our support methodology, in four groups:

• Operations support — communications, operating systems, daily activities.
• On-going product support — change requests, enhancements, modifications.
• Hardware maintenance — under maintenance agreements.
• User support — product training.

The client is consulted throughout the entire process to ensure the final solution genuinely meets their needs.

Quality system responsibilities

The General Manager is the Management Representative responsible for developing and maintaining the Quality System, supported by the quality representative and the Deputy General Manager. Unit heads carry the primary responsibility for implementing the system and maintaining the procedures covering their units’ activities, ensuring those procedures define clear responsibilities, authorities, and tasks for every activity that affects quality.

Quality policy

Quality and performance are achieved through the participation of all employees, each from their own position, in defining and implementing the quality policies, in full partnership with internal and external customers. The quality policy is embedded in the organization’s behavior and practices, and is monitored and reviewed regularly by management to keep it in step with the company’s goals and objectives.

Quality objectives

The company’s main objectives, in line with the general policy above:

• To keep consistently high specifications in electrical services and IT & communications implementation — quick supply and installation, very good quality of work, and excellent maintenance.
• To maintain a high level of quick maintenance and fault correction.
• To continuously supply new equipment and features in line with modern industry standards.
• To provide high-level support through continuously trained staff.
• To achieve high quality in new products through efficient project management and quality planning.

These activities span the company’s four departments — Commercial, Legal & Administration, Finance & Accounting, and Technical — with a high degree of intercommunication and exchange of services between them.

Corrective and preventive actions

Management of the processes that control the execution of work on site and prevent problems from occurring, by carrying out the necessary tests and controlling the work during delivery and before site acceptance.

Project control

Management of the processes that control the planning, installation, and acceptance of new site implementation and electrical equipment, through to commissioning and handover.

Work environment and resources

Management of the processes that ensure a work environment suitable for producing quality work, and that all needed resources are made continuously available to support the required activities.

Safety policy statement

The company is committed to providing its employees with a safe and healthful workplace, free of recognized hazards to the greatest degree possible. Management’s basic responsibility is the prevention of accidents — whether they involve employee injuries, traffic incidents, or property damage — and management therefore provides the incentive and full support for all safety procedures, training, and hazard elimination practices, staying fully informed on health and safety matters so the effectiveness of current programs is under constant review.

• Employees follow recognized safe work practices as a condition of employment; failure to do so is cause for disciplinary action.
• Personal protective equipment is worn wherever required, with no exception.
• Hazardous conditions and other safety concerns are reported to the responsible supervisor immediately.
• Each employee is responsible for their own safety and that of their colleagues, and must know the potential hazards of their job and what is needed to stay safe.

The benefits of a safe workplace include, but are not limited to, containment of workers’ compensation premiums, compliance with Saudi safety laws and regulations, fewer lost workdays, and improved employee morale.

Safety Management Officer

Management has appointed the Human Resource Manager to serve as Safety Management Officer, whose duties are to:

• Promote safety management awareness throughout all branches of the company.
• Provide written recommendations to senior management on findings, including suggested corrective actions to promote safety and security and to ensure a healthful company environment.
• Assist in the investigation of company accidents and render findings and recommendations.
• Develop and revise the company safety manual and associated documents as appropriate.
• Ensure all company cars and trucks are monitored by a fleet tracking system, with any breach of Saudi traffic law — such as speeding — flagged in the system.

Supervisor & employee responsibilities

• Each supervisor is responsible for ensuring safe working conditions for the employees under their supervision, and for investigating reports of unsafe conditions.
• Each supervisor must know the safety and health guidelines, investigate and report accidents, and properly advise the Human Resource Manager of the situations that call for it.
• Protecting employees — in the office or on site — is a responsibility shared by every employee.
• Every employee must notify their immediate supervisor of a violation or deficiency in safe and healthful working conditions, and recommend corrective measures where possible.
• The immediate supervisor is notified of every injury or accident, however trivial it may appear at the time.
• Employees are responsible for the care and servicing of company cars and trucks — water, tires and tire pressure, oil, brakes, and the rest.

Disciplinary procedures for violations

A documented escalating mechanism applies to employees who repeatedly violate safety management requirements:

• First violation — an oral warning; the supervisor reviews the applicable requirements with the employee, who signs a statement acknowledging that future violations will raise the level of discipline and may lead to dismissal.
• Second violation — a second oral warning plus a written warning identifying the violation and referring to the applicable requirement; copies go to the employee, their supervisor, the Human Resource Manager, the department head, and the employee’s personnel file.
• Third violation — a final warning specifically identifying the violation, with disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
• A violation so careless or reckless that it endangers life or property is treated as a breach of the company’s standards of conduct, and appropriate due process is followed.
• Vehicle violations — compliance with the traffic rules of the Kingdom is mandatory, and a written warning is issued for each speeding or other traffic violation.

Periodic inspections

The safety manager may require a periodic assessment of the hazard inventory, with the employees directly involved in operating or using the facility participating in the inspection. Each inspection report records safety violations, non-compliance items, and observed deficiencies. The inventory covers:

• Environmental — lighting, dusts, gases, sprays, noise.
• Hazardous materials — flammable and caustic.
• Equipment — drills and similar.
• Power equipment — boilers, motors, and the like.
• Electrical equipment — switches, breakers, fuses, outlets, connections.
• Hand tools.
• Personal protective equipment — safety glasses, ventilators where needed.
• Personal service and first-aid supplies — in offices, cars, and trucks.
• Fire protection equipment — alarms and extinguishers.
• Walkways and roadways — sidewalks, roads, loading docks.
• Working surfaces — ladders and platforms.
• Material handling equipment — cranes, dollies, hoists, chains, ropes.
• Transportation equipment — cars, trucks, vans, and warehouse forklifts.
• Containers — scrap bins and drums.
• Structural openings — windows, doors, stairways.
• Buildings and structures — floors, roofs, walls, fences.
• Any other items not covered above.

Reporting non-compliance & imminent danger

• Recorded violations and the arrangements for corrective action are notified to the person in charge of the facility — the branch manager or warehouse manager.
• That person responds to the Safety Management Officer stating the corrective action completed for each reported violation.
• Where the Safety Manager considers any operation, action, or condition to be an immediate threat to the life of any employee, they may order its immediate cessation or modification.
• Any employee may take part in the inspection of their own location and call possible violations to the inspector’s attention.
• Any employee may report an observed violation or deficiency to the Safety Manager; the complaint is investigated and the result reported back to them — without retaliation from any employee of the company.

Accident reporting & investigation

Serious accidents are investigated by the Safety Manager and the findings documented as soon as practical. A serious accident is:

• Serious injury to an employee at any branch or site belonging to the company or to another party.
• Serious injury to another party caused by company operations.
• Major loss of company equipment or property.
• Major loss of another party’s equipment or property caused by company operations.

Any accident is investigated immediately by the employee’s supervisor, and employees must notify the Safety Manager immediately on learning of a serious accident involving people or equipment.

Medical emergencies & first aid

• Requesting assistance — call 997, then notify Human Resources so emergency vehicles can be directed to the scene.
• Medical treatment — all employees are covered by the employees’ medical expense plan made available by the company.
• Injury reporting — the company maintains a listing of all workplace illnesses and injuries; a serious injury is reported immediately to Human Resources.
• Return to work — a Return to Work Authorization from the attending physician is required before an employee may return, and is presented to the Safety Manager in Human Resources.

Personal protective equipment

The company requires employees to use personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, together with protective shields and barriers where potential hazards exist. All required equipment is provided by the company and is used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition. Such hazards include exposure to, or performance of:

• Hot solids, liquids, or molten metals.
• Milling, sawing, turning, shaping, cutting, or stamping of solid materials.
• Heat treatment, tempering, or kiln firing of metals and other materials.
• Gas or electric arc welding.
• Repair or servicing of any vehicle.
• Caustic or explosive chemicals and materials.

Maintenance and installation technicians wear gloves where their hands may be exposed to abrasion, cutting, or chemicals, and sturdy work shoes are required — with metal toes for those operating equipment such as forklifts or moving heavy objects.

New employee safety orientation

Every new employee attends a safety orientation within two weeks of their first day, so they start with an awareness of the importance of safety and of their responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. The Safety Manager presents the company’s general safety policies, and the new employee’s supervisor presents:

• Procedures and policies specific to the new employee’s position.
• Fire reporting procedures.
• Fire extinguisher locations and use.
• Fire prevention.
• Safe lifting techniques.
• Hazardous materials communications.
• Any information the supervisor judges will give the new employee a safe environment.

Fire prevention & evacuation

Smoking and all forms of tobacco use are banned inside company premises, and fire prevention and protection procedures apply across all branches:

• Sufficient waste receptacles are provided and emptied daily.
• Oily cloths are kept in covered metal cans.
• Accumulations of paper and flammable materials are kept to a minimum.
• Combustible materials are stored in proper cabinets or containers, away from heating and electrical devices.
• No obstruction is placed in front of any exit door, or in aisles, exit accesses, and stairways.
• Fire doors separating stairwells, and smoke partition doors, are kept in working order and are never blocked, wedged, or tied open.
• Fire extinguishers of appropriate size and type are provided throughout each area and inspected by qualified personnel.
• All employees know the exits and evacuation routes from their work locations, and are prepared to help colleagues and visitors reach them.

Communicable disease

The company is committed to assuring, to the extent possible, that each employee enjoys safe and healthful work conditions, and has adopted this provision as part of its effort to control communicable diseases across its offices throughout the Kingdom. People infected — or reasonably believed to be infected — with a communicable disease are not excluded from employment, nor restricted in their access to company services or facilities, unless medically-based judgments in the individual case establish that this is necessary for the welfare of the person themselves or of other employees. Anyone who knows, or has reasonable basis to believe, that they have been infected is expected to seek expert advice about their circumstances, and is obligated — ethically and legally — to conduct themselves so as to protect themselves and others.