Actual training

Major Ibrahim Abdulrahman Bin Saif from Dubai Civil Defence, Belimo Automation FZE GM David Stevenson and operations manager Bashar Mansour.

Belimo Automation FZE, which has supplied fire and smoke damper actuators for the Dubai Metro, Burj Dubai and control valves for the Al Barari luxury villa development, among others, has launched a hi-tech training facility at its premises in Dubai Aiport Free Zone. MEP Middle East takes a closer look.

Based in Switzerland, Belimo Automation took the decision to open a Middle East subsidiary in 2006, which officially opened its doors on 1 April 2007.

“This seems like a long time ago, but we have progressed terrifically in a relatively short period, having supplied product to some very prestigious projects, including the supply of thousands of fire and smoke damper actuators for the Dubai Metro,” says Belimo Automation FZE GM David Stevenson.

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“We have many customers in different countries, and constantly realise that there is a real need and desire for education and training in the market. So with this in mind we decided to commit to the investment in our new training facility and knowledge centre, which caters for contractors, consultants, graduates or even senior partners.

“Our focus will be on two key areas, namely energy-savings, which is in line with the Dubai Government’s pending ‘green’ regulations, and fire and safety, which is in line with the civil defence regulations throughout the Middle East. Over the coming months we plan to embark on numerous training sessions based on real-life scenarios,” comments Stevenson.

Dubai Civil Defence
Present at the official opening of the new training facility was Major Ibrahim Abdulrahman Bin Saif from Dubai Civil Defence, Nigel MacKenzie from Pacific Control Systems, a notable end user of Belimo Automation products, and Colin Shepherd, a senior executive from Belimo Automation in Switzerland.

“A main reason for such a major investment is to emphasise that Belimo Automation is not just a component manufacturer. Its ambit reaches far beyond just supplying products. We are a total solutions provider, and therefore need to be training our customers prior- and post-project,” says Shepherd.

“So in the initial stages we need to sit down with the consultant and thrash out various scenarios for a particular project. The respective OEMs can then visit our training facility, where we can, for example, install their particular VAV box.

This can be connected to different controls, allowing us to simulate varying system pressures. We are also able to demonstrate the cost/benefit ratios for different ‘smart’ systems, on the basis of both ‘green’ issues and health and safety,” explains Shepherd.

“It is critical the industry as a whole look at the total project cost rather than only the primary cost. One of the biggest problems in the Middle East market is that contractors and consultants tend to focus on the initial cost at the expense of the overall cost and its associated long-term benefits and payback implications,” argues Shepherd.