How a Leading UAE Steel Manufacturer Improved Operational Continuity and Reduced Expert Costs by 55% During Lockdown

Who

A major steel and building materials producer in the United Arab Emirates, recognized for its large-scale operations and integrated facilities, sought external expertise to enhance its operational efficiency and crisis response during a challenging period. As a publicly listed entity under a major industrial conglomerate, the company faced complex demands in maintaining production, sales, and maintenance continuity amid unprecedented disruptions.
(Client identity withheld under NDA.)

What

The client needed a reliable, on-ground, and remote expert support system to address operational bottlenecks, maintenance challenges, and workforce coordination issues across its production lines. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the company faced sudden performance slowdowns, increased downtime risk, and a shortage of skilled on-site staff.

Their core challenges included:

• Maintaining continuity in blast furnace, steel making, and raw material handling systems.
• Ensuring timely decision-making in operations and maintenance functions.
• Reducing escalating expert engagement costs amid limited mobility and supply chain constraints.

When

The engagement took place during the lockdown phase of 2020–2021, when the steel industry globally was facing delayed shipments, restricted on-site workforce access, and operational uncertainty. The company needed an immediate yet cost-effective expert deployment mechanism to sustain its production without compromising safety or efficiency.

Where

The engagement was executed in the United Arab Emirates, covering the client’s core steel production and handling facilities. Experts were stationed both on-site and remotely, ensuring continuity in monitoring, technical guidance, and decision-making support for critical operations.

Why

With restricted on-ground access and heightened pressure to sustain production levels, the company struggled to find industry-ready experts quickly and at a manageable cost.
Each day of downtime translated into significant production losses and potential contractual penalties. Traditional expert hiring models were slow, expensive, and geographically constrained, which risked derailing the company’s output and maintenance schedules.

They required a scalable expert-on-demand model capable of rapid response, virtual coordination, and specialized expertise deployment to manage crisis situations effectively.

How

Ken Research deployed its On-Ground Expert Panel Program, designed for rapid, precision-based expert matching and cost optimization.

Approach & Execution:

• Expert Onboarding & Support: Deployed domain specialists across Blast Furnace, Steel Making Shop, Raw Material Handling, and Sales & Distribution.
• Selection & Matching Process: Screened and shortlisted 28 experts, sharing the first confirmed expert profile within 2 hours to ensure zero downtime.
• Immediate Turnaround Tasks: Organized workshops, virtual consultations, and training sessions to address urgent performance issues and modify Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Rapid Response Operations: When an operational breakdown occurred at the Blast Furnace plant, the expert travelled interstate and reached on-site within 8 hours, ensuring immediate resumption of activities.

Ken Research’s integrated expert database and fast-track screening model minimized response time while maintaining quality assurance in technical support.

Results & Impact

• 55% cost savings (~INR 70 lakhs) in expert engagement and deployment costs over 12 months.
• 90% conversion rate between shared and finalized expert profiles, reflecting strong alignment with client requirements.
• 8 critical incidents managed effectively, including a major plant disruption resolved within hours, avoiding prolonged downtime.
• Enhanced operational continuity and performance efficiency, even under restricted working conditions.

Ken Research’s rapid-response expert engagement program allowed the client to sustain operations, cut costs, and reduce downtime during one of the most operationally challenging periods in the steel industry. By combining on-site agility with virtual expertise, the solution redefined how industrial players manage real-time crises with speed and precision.