Part of building the capabilities of The Electrical Utilities in Oman comes from imparting Technical knowledge to ensure the strategic development of Technical Engineering Staff. “Getting a balance of technical and practical knowledge across to staff is critical to building a skilled Omani workforce at our most Strategic customers” says Louis du Preez, GM Sales and Marketing at Oman Cables.

Oman Cables Industry (OCI) has had a long standing Framework Agreement with EHC Nama Group Subsidiary companies operating across the Electrical utilities for the ongoing supply of LV/MV cables used across the Electrical Network in the Sultanate of Oman. This was the first such agreement put into place for the Electrical Utilities and local companies and contractors have all benefited from the establishment of that agreement which was first signed in June 2013.

“By developing a tailored Technical Training Course that was run in-house at Oman Cables as a Value Added Service (VAS) to EHC Nama Group it is possible to strengthen the partnership and further expand the depth of staff engagement across both the Manufacturer and the end users” says du Preez whose eight and a half years with OCI has seen changes develop across the supply chain.

It’s not just about shortening the manufacturing lead time and lowering costs, although those two points alone justify the strong partnership that exists between EHC Nama Group and Oman Cables. It’s also about finding innovative ways to make the partnership constantly work better. Environmental issues like Drum Recycling and management of scrap materials, cutting services, finding better ways to interface the procurement process mechanisms – all of these things help to improve the overall service.

But in the end says du Preez, “you cannot lose sight of the fundamentals, producing a quality cable at a market competitive price and constantly striving to do things better – that is the Hallmark of a successful business relationship between a manufacturer and the end user client”.

Training and the obvious feedback that comes with that, has been developed as a specific way to share Technical knowledge to ensure OCI’s customers are more in tune with the overall design of cables, the way they are manufactured in a quality environment, Best Practice methods and the opportunity to engage in a formal training setting with the Technical / Engineering staff we deal with at our customers cites OCI’s General Manager for Engineering and Product Development – Mr Antony Falconer – with a Technical Engineering background spanning 31 years in the Cabling Industry.

The Training Seminar catering for 22-24 attendees whilst specifically designed for EHC Nama Group across the Electrical Utilities, has benefits across the Industry says du Preez and it is expected that there will be demand from other sectors including the Oil & Gas industry and the consultants that support those industries. A more informed client base that has a better understanding of the cable design and quality is going to be in a better position to make informed decisions about which product to use, how to design systems for maximum life expectancy and get the most out of the cables that are manufactured locally by OCI in their Al Rusayl Manufacturing facility in the Sultanate of Oman.

The course itself was run over Two Days at the OCI’s Advance Testing Laboratory and training facility which is one of the most advanced test Labs in the region and has recently expanded to offer more industry focused testing and ongoing product development and improvement using its State of the Art Building. Across the two day agenda, participants were able to cover a broad mix of cable history, theory, design, development and best practice across Low Voltage and Medium Voltage Cables.

OCI’s In Country Value (ICV) Manager – Mr Ismail Balushi reinforces that message and says there is already a keen desire from the Oil & Gas Industry also to have the benefit of engaging with local Manufacturers like Oman Cables – Training Services to enable Knowledge sharing for the overall benefit and training of the people of Oman now that this has been successfully implemented within the Electrical utility Sector staff.

Oman Cables is a publically listed local Manufacturer of Quality cables and is proud to be an Omani Company with Global connections.