QCON is a large oil and gas EPC and maintenance contracting Company based in Doha, and has been in business for over 30 years. This company was previously called MECON when it was a division under Mannai Corporation and carried out the key functions of construction, shut-downs, preventive maintenance and specialized manpower supply to the oil and gas sector.
 
Just three years ago the ownership of the company was acquired by another large company, named QSHIP. The three services QCON presently offers to the oil and gas sectors are:
  
Fabrication Works: Ships are built and repaired at the QCON marine
fabrication yard.

Maintenance Support: Specialized manpower is provided to the oil
companies and their subsidiaries for maintenance or call off services.

Construction projects: This section handles big projects in Qatar. They
engineer, procure, commission and handover projects to the client.

“We are now outsourcing from Dulsco about 260 personnel including helpers, shuttering carpenters, electricians, masons and steel fixers. Outsourcing is beneficial for us to keep up with our project deadlines. We prefer to partner with an established company like Dulsco based in Doha for outsourcing manpower, particularly because of their quick mobilisation and because the personnel with skills are available as needed for the project,” says Balmohan Warrier, Project Manager of QCON.

“Employee skill sets are in line with the job requirements. Personnel are trained on the job and a trade test is done before selection. They have one of the toughest screening processes. Health and Safety is a top priority at QCON. There is no compromise on this subject. Once the employee is on the job they have to be aware of the H&S requirements. Regular training is held on-site and currently about 2000 of the total employee base have been trained.

For every 50 employees, one safety officer is assigned. A thorough medical check is done before taking the person on board. The dress code on site is very elaborate and includes being equipped with gas detectors, helmets and all other required PPE.

QCON used to source personnel (around 100 in total) from many companies in Doha, with 20 from each vendor. When Dulsco approached them for business, we were given a chance and are now one of the largest suppliers of manpower on the QCON project in Ras Laffan.

“We appreciate the work that Dulsco personnel are doing for us and would like to continue dealing with Dulsco in all our future projects. We would also like to outsource more skilled personnel from Dulsco, as our experience with the company to date has been a very pleasant and fruitful one,” says Balmohan Warrier.

Future requirements - Presently we only have the civil-related manpower outsourced, but in future there could be requirements coming in from other skilled sections - mechanical, instrumentation, electrical. This is a cycle that will continue on all projects and is ongoing. So it is up to us to what extent we will be able to help them rotate the skill sets on various projects.