Specialist Services

New Regional Office in the Netherlands

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Further to the continuous development and expansion of Specialist Services Group in Europe, we are adding sales and technical support staff for the region. The team will be based in our new offices in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, complementing our existing yard and rental fleet in Holland.

“This new regional office marks another important milestone at Specialist Services Group. As we further penetrate the European and North Sea market, we are able to better support our Clients from two facilities with offices, yards and rental fleet in this region—Labtech in Aberdeen (UK) and now also from Rotterdam,” said Ian Rogers, Chief Executive Officer at Specialist Services Group.

The new office is located in Albert Plesmanweg, Waalhaven area, and includes office space for our regional Sales and Technical Support Team.

“Supported by our Engineering and Manufacturing capabilities in Dubai and New Delhi, this new facility brings significant benefits to the Group by providing BRMs and Modular Hire solutions at competitive rates for immediate delivery, as well as other products from our Buildings, Drilling, Testing, Production and Process Equipment ranges. These are also complemented by refurbishment works, as well as a responsive call out service and maintenance works,” said Chris Ridley, Group Sales and Marketing Director at Specialist Services Group.

Visit our Contact page for the new office location and contact details.

Abdul K. Molla, Welder at Specialist Services, wins First Prize at SteelFab 2020

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From January 13th to 16th, 2020 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, UAE, took place the 16th edition of SteelFab, the Middle East premier trade show for the metal working, metal manufacturing and steel fabrication industry. At the event, SteelFab together with Lincoln Electric and the Middle East Industrial Training Institute (MEITI) also hosted the inaugural Best Welder @SteelFab competition for welding industry professionals across the region.

Confident in our Welders’ expertise, during December 2019, we organised an internal welding competition at Specialist Services ASME facility in Al Quoz, Dubai, to select the four best Welders to enter the SteelFab competition: Noor Jamal, Mohamed Salem, Abdul Korim Molla and Rubal Hussain.

For the welding competition was used a Carbon Steel ASTM A36 plate (12.7mm thick) with the Electrode for SMAW – E 7018 (Shield Metal Arc Weld). Each participant had to do four rounds with positions of 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G. The welded test coupon was selected based on Visual or NDT test.

After the completion of the test coupons by all participants, the Judging Panel selected the best three welders, where Abdul Korim Molla, Specialist Services, won the First Prize. The Second Prize went to Dubai Drydocks and the Third Prize to FabTech.

Manoj Kumar, Director of Operations at Specialist Services Group said that “welding is one of the most critical and central shop floor activities, as we are in the manufacturing industry. This is a proud moment as we won the first prize when competing against key players in the industry. It further reinforces that we have the best in class technicians and we continue to enhance their skills through training.”

     

This achievement reflects the high quality we continuously pursue at Specialist Services Group, where we have a strong, systematic and structured welding framework. “The way we manage the welding process, from the qualification and selection of Welders, their training, the weld design and testing (WPS / PQR), and the maintenance of welding equipment, to controls during the welding process, traceability and consumables control, all the way to the final inspection and acceptance of the welds is praiseworthy,” said Kirankumar Nagare, QHSE Manager at Specialist Services Group

Congratulations from everyone at Specialist Services Group to Abdul for this achievement, and to all the other participants for their excellent work!

We would like to thank SteelFab, Lincoln Electric and the MEITI for organizing this competition and look forward to participate in the next one.

Specialist Services relaunches company websites

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Welcome to the Specialist Services Group website!

“On the occasion of our 36th anniversary, and to reflect the continued development of our products, services and locations, we are proud to relaunch our website. This reflects our culture, diversity and focus on providing quality products and services in a safe manner to a number of industry sectors,” highlights Chris Ridley, Group Sales and Marketing Director.

The website has been designed and developed with improved navigation and functionality in order to provide a much more user-friendly experience and allowing a simpler access to our company details as well as products and services details. Information are easily accessible through the header menu, in respective sections, and our products and services pages are complemented by product e-brochures. You can also stay informed through the latest news of the company and visit regularly our Careers pages in order to find out more about our current openings.

We invite all visitors to explore the website. For more information about our products and services you can visit our Contact page in order to choose one of our regional offices or you can simply send us an email at sales@specserve.com.

“We look forward to another year of growth at Specialist Services,” concludes Chris.

Specialist Services Group Event 2018

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We are glad to share with you a snapshot from the Specialist Services Group Event 2018, which took place in Dubai on 15th March 2018.

The event started with a Group Conference at the Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel in Dubai, with presentations from the Management Team related to the Group Vision 2020, our projects and services, our two joint venture companies (RedGuard Specialist Services based in Dubai and Specialist Services RedGuard based in Houston), and our business transformation activities.

After the conference, we all enjoyed a dinner cruise on board Bateau Dubai, where we signed our commitment to the Vision 2020 and participated in a team competition. The event concluded with the distribution of Long Service Awards to our employees achieving 10, 15 and 20 years of service at Specialist Services. Congratulations again to all awardees!

 

In below video you can take a look at a snapshot from the event.

Specialist Services achieves Achilles Power & Tech Accreditation

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Specialist Services has recently become Achilles Power & Tech accredited. This means that we are now a registered supplier in the Achilles Power & Tech Community for the following products / services:

  • 1.1.83 Structural products
  • 1.1.85 Prefabricated buildings
  • 1.1.86 Structural products and parts except prefabricated buildings
  • 1.1.88 Windows, doors and related items
  • 4.1.44 Construction works for plants, mining and manufacturing and for buildings relating to the oil and gas industry

This accreditation also means that Specialist Services information related to the following criteria has been checked and validated by Achilles Information Limited, an independent third party:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Health & Safety Management
  • Quality Management
  • Environmental Management
  • Carbon Management
  • Financial & Insurance
  • Information Security & Data Protection

View our certificate

Creating and managing a global network of collaborative industry communities, Achilles allows trading partners to share structured, high quality, real-time data. Based on their industry expertise, supported by the use of cloud-based technology, Achilles act as an independent partner, which provides validated data and insightful analytics. This enables buyers across a specific sector to identify and manage suppliers and risk, in order to increase their market reach, while minimising costs and increasing compliance for the overall network.

To learn more about Achilles please visit their website.

Congratulations to the Team Specialist Services!

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Last Friday, 26th January 2018, 37 Specialist Services employees participated in The Corporate Challenge at the 10km Road Race during the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2018 event. We are proud to share with you the results of the race, where the Team Specialist Services achieved the 64th place (out of 322 teams) with the total time (for the first 5 members) of 4:13:33.

Team Specialist Services – 64th place

Congratulations to all participants, and especially to those that achieved significant improvements in the running time compared to the 2017 race.

We look forward to see the Team Specialist Services competing again in 2019.

Reinstatement and Modification of Portable Accommodation Modules for Sea Trucks Group

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Reinstatement and Modification of Portable Accommodation Modules for Sea Trucks Group

In November 2016, Sea Trucks Group (STG) awarded Specialist Services the contract for the reinstatement and modification of the Accommodation Modules built for STG in 2014, to form a block 11 modules wide and 4 modules high.

Project: Reinstatement and Modification of Portable Accommodation Modules
Client: Sea Trucks Group
End User: INPEX
Location: Australian waters, 890km West of Darwin
Project Completion: 15th May 2017

Project requirements

Sea Trucks Group required reinstatement and modification works on the Accommodation Modules that Specialist Services manufactured and delivered to them in 2014. We have been awarded this reinstatement and modification job based on the excellent work we did on the 2014 project with a fast track execution, including a production schedule of all 48 modules reduced to 16 weeks. The new Accommodation Block was required to be modified in order to provide Accommodation, Locker Room, Washroom, Toilet, Office, Recreation and Conference facilities, accommodating up to 224 personnel on board. The modules were required to be connected to form a block 11 modules wide and 4 modules high.

Within the requirement, the existing Mess Room needed to be converted to a Gymnasium, and the Locker Room and Dry Store to be converted into Recreation Rooms. STG also required communication system upgrades, HVAC improvements, door and panel modifications, installation review and supply of required consumables for the new stacking arrangement, and supply of all materials required to complete the upgrade. Electrical engineering / drawing updates and a module stacking study were also required by STG for this project.

Solution

The project execution by Specialist Services has been carried out in line with STG requirements at the site in Batam, converting the Mess Room into a Gymnasium, and the Locker Room and Dry Store into Recreation Rooms, as per the drawings provided by the client.

Specialist Services team also completed the A/C drainage system upgrade, electrical and Fire & Gas interconnection cabling works, the provision of an Electrical Distribution Panel for each floor, as well as the upgrade of the communication system, which included the relocation of patch panels from outside the module into its interior and mounting required infrastructure to allow the installation of existing switches within the modules.

A total of 44 modules were installed on the Barge, connecting the modules to each other in rows of 11 modules with 4 stacking. The resulting Accommodation Facility was built in compliance with ABS guides for Portable Accommodation Modules and MLC (Maritime Labour Convention 2013).

Conclusion

In line with the project requirements, we provided a highly skilled team of specialists from our Dubai facility to manage the project and carry out the reinstatement and modification works at the client’s venue of choice, a shipyard in Batam, Indonesia.

The project was successfully completed by Specialist Services within the specified timeframe. At the end of the project were issued as built drawings incorporating all the modification works, and Specialist Services supported STG with the documentation requirements for obtaining an updated ABS certification.

The high quality modifications, upgrades and reinstatement works provided by Specialist Services resulted in comfortable living and working environments. All works have been completed to a very high standard and STG Management was very satisfied with Specialist Services’ team performance.

Specialist Services Group encouraging vendors to reduce product packaging volumes

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Environmental protection is a fundamental business endeavour at Specialist Services Group. We make every effort to nurture the environment, preserve natural resources and minimise the impact of our products, activities and services on the environment. We constantly communicate about the importance of environmental protection to our people, business partners and other stakeholders.

Our environment management initiatives are based on systematic environmental impact assessments, which form the basis of our Environmental Management System certified to ISO 14001:2015 standard. We use resources and energy in a responsible manner and reuse or recycle wherever possible. We are committed to manage waste effectively, prevent pollution, use environmentally friendly material and apply our technical abilities for the reduction of our environmental footprint, particularly in the design and engineering of our products.

Following the recent upgrade of our Environmental Management System to the 2015 standard, we are committed to further reducing our company’s impact on the environment by asking all our vendors for their support in reducing, reusing and recycling their products packaging and other materials.

For this purpose, we are currently sending a letter to all our vendors to motivate and encourage them to support this initiative, aimed to increase our efforts in protecting the environment and preserve natural resources.

But this is just a small part of all we can do to protect our environment. We look forward to our vendors’ support in this initiative, and encourage each and every one of you to also think about all the opportunities you have at work and at home to reduce waste, preserve natural resources and protect the environment.

Don’t wait for others to take the first step. Take action now!

Going digital: Making your work easier with Digital MDBs

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Within our environment protection activities, we have implemented various policies and procedures to reduce paper waste, while optimising our internal processes. As part of these initiatives, we have recently introduced an improved format of our products’ Manufacturing Data Books: the Digital MDB.

With the aim of providing higher quality, accurate and easy-to-use MDBs for our Clients, we created the Digital MDB concept, which also supports the timely delivery of our products’ MDBs.

What do we mean by Digital MDB?

The Digital MDB is simply your MDB in a digital format. Instead of delivering you large files of paper documents, our Digital MDB is delivered to you on a USB flash drive or tablet, on which we have uploaded all the documents of the MDB. With this new format, you can take the MDB wherever required, in office or on site, and you can easily find the document you are searching for.

What are the benefits for our Clients?

The key benefits of the Digital MDB for our Clients can be summarised in six short points:

  • Easy Access: Digital documents are easily accessible from any computer and tablet. They can be sent by email, shared on local network drives, uploaded and downloaded through various online file sharing options, accessible by any of your staff members worldwide.
  • Searchable Content: With digital documents, you can easily search for specific words or phrases in order to find the document you need.
  • Faster Delivery: Digital MDBs are much faster to prepare and can be therefore delivered to you faster than traditional hard copy MDBs.
  • Less Space Required: Digital MDBs on tablet or USB flash drive require minimum space for storage, especially compared to large EPC projects that may require a whole cabinet to store dozens of files for only one MDB.
  • Time Savings: Easy access, searchable content and faster delivery represent significant time savings for your staff in accessing the document they need when they need it from any of your international facilities.
  • Cost Savings: We provide Digital MDBs to our Clients free of charge. Based on minimum space of storage required, you also do not have any costs related to their storage. As a further incentive to go digital and to protect the environment, any request of hard copy MDBs will be charged additionally.

Go Green

The Digital MDB concept has been prepared in line with our Environmental Policy with the aim of reducing paper use and waste. Many of our Clients are already using only Digital MDBs, taking advantage of the many benefits.

Help us protect the environment – choose our Digital MDB.

Indirect Water Bath Heater with Burner Management System

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Specialist Services designed and delivered their first skid mounted process heater with SIL 2 rated Burner Management System for Zone II Hazardous Area installation

To provide our clients with solutions that increase the safety and efficiency of their operations, we have engineered and developed an innovative solution for Indirect Water Bath Heaters.

Project: Indirect Water Bath Heater
Location: Kuwait
Project Completion: January 2017

Project requirements

Within one of our latest projects for the provision of a process heater, our client required a gas fired indirect water bath heater along with a SIL 2 rated Burner Management System for Zone II, II A, T3 Hazardous Area installation.

The Burner Management System (BMS) is a safety solution, which is used to start up, monitor and shut down process burners in industrial applications. The complete heater along with the BMS was required to be mounted on a modular skid for ease of transportation. Usually, control systems are placed in air-conditioned rooms in a safe area, but in this case, the site ambient condition was harsh and humid, which is not suitable for control system components.

Solution

Specialist Services designed, engineered and manufactured the indirect water bath heater together with the BMS, in line with all client requirements. The heater is fired by a classified explosion-proof industrial burner. Fuel to the burner is fed through a gas train certified for Zone II installation. The complete combustion, process monitoring and control is achieved through the skid mounted SIL 2 rated BMS.

To mitigate the harsh and humid site environment, the BMS was installed within a SS316 control panel with Z-type Purging and the internal components with conformal coating.

Conclusion

This was an innovative engineering project for Specialist Services, where the Hazardous Area Process Heater was provided with a skid mounted Burner Management System.

This new solution offers various benefits for our clients, including:

  • Increased safety and reliability: The BMS minimises the risk of venting natural gas, which could lead to unstable and dangerous situations. With the touch of a button the system can be started or stopped. The BMS also has an automatic shutdown in case of any fault detection, thus minimising risks and losses.
  • Improved efficiency: The BMS provides an increase in process heater efficiency as well as a decrease of unplanned shutdowns.
  • Ease of monitoring and control: Complete process monitoring and control can be done through the HMI screen, while all process details can be shared with the DCS (client control system).
  • Environmental benefits: Aside from the obvious environmental threat from a natural gas explosion, with the use of the BMS, the burner’s increased efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

With one of the Specialist Services core values being to pursue quality and safety in all aspects of our work, this innovative solution represents a further confirmation of our exceptional engineering and manufacturing capabilities.