Dubai Aluminium Company DUBAL, one of the largest producers of quality aluminium in the world, has invested a total of AED 900 million since the year 2000 in Environment Health & Safety (EHS) measures.
As part of this initiative, DUBAL recently organized the “Power and Desalination EHS Campaign 2006” from December 17-21, 2006 at its premises with earnest participation from global majors and leading local industry players including GE Energy, Alstom, Al Futtaim Carillon, ETA POWER PROJECT DIVISION and the Dubai Police.
“DUBAL has always emphasized on workplace safety as a first priority and this is in total adherence with the directives of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister for Finance and Industry and Chairman of DUBAL,” said Mr. Abdulla bin Kalban, CEO, Dubal.
A total of 35 participants representing various global and regional giants and the Dubai Police along with 340 of DUBAL’s Power and Desalination staff were part of the five-day campaign. The participants were welcomed by the senior management team headed by DUBAL CEO Mr. Abdullah Kalban.
“With our total production capacity growing from a modest 150,000 TPA in 1979 to 861,000 TPA in 2006 through several expansion programmes, it has become imperative for us to look for various ways to increase safety awareness among the employees, suppliers and contractors,” said Mr. Abdulwahab Almadani, Manager, P&D Area Maintenance, DUBAL & Chairman of the P&D EHS Campaign 2006.
The campaign has also assumed significance because of the mushrooming property developments with more residential buildings coming up around the DUBAL site. This campaign is part of our efforts to help offer a clean and pollution-free environment for the benefit of the community, Mr. Madani added.
While DUBAL organized such a major event for the first time with outside participation, the Dubai Police authorities also participated for the first time in an industrial site with a presentation focusing on creating awareness about safety and traffic regulations. This has become quite relevant following the 256 deaths and 2,655 injuries that occurred during the year 2005 on Dubai’s roads.
Through their presentation Dubai Police urged the need to follow the traffic rules, focusing on the need to change the behavior and attitude of the motorists and the risks and injuries from speeding.
Mr. Mohammed Al Faraj of GE Energy said: “Such a campaign sets DUBAL apart from its contemporaries in the industry as this is the first time major industry players and local authorities have come together to drive home the importance of safety measures. At GE Energy, we have always stressed the importance of safety as could be gauged from the various measures we have been initiating over the years in this region.”
“We have already been working closely with DUBAL on safety but this is the first time such a campaign of importance has witnessed large-scale participation,” added Mr. Al Faraj.
GE Energy also gave a presentation covering the EHS measures, the best practices within the company and the annual training courses conducted for the benefit of the employees and others.
The winners in all the categories were awarded at a gala ceremony on the last day of the Power and Desalination EHS Campaign 2006. The EHS Art contest Awards were presented to 12 children who demonstrated their creative skills on EHS aspects and their art work was made into a 2007 calendar for DUBAL employees.
Moreover, awards in different safety categories were given away to DUBAL staff and various contractors and suppliers. The Participation Recognition Award went to GE Energy, ALSTOM, Al-Futtaim carillion, ETA POWER PROJECT DIVISION and Dubai Police, Safety STAR of the Year Awards were presented to the safety champions of several departments, Safety Council Awards were given to the Council Chairmen, the Safety Milestone Award was bagged by Power Operation Department for completing 2215 days since last LTI and Desalination Operation Department for completing 3291 days since last LTI and Safety HERO Awards were presented to 22 employees who have completed 25 years service with DUBAL with ZERO accident to their record.
“The campaign clearly portrayed DUBAL’s keenness, commitment and accountability to EHS excellence and our efforts to provide a safe and healthy working environment to our employees and contractors. We are confident the campaign will raise awareness on EHS and help avoid adverse impact and injury to the environment and community as a whole. We protect today to create a better tomorrow together” concluded Mr. Madani.
