Strict adherence to safety regulations pays Dubai Aluminium rich dividends

DUBAL's Power Station safety measures have also been termed "state-of-the-art" by KEMA, an international consultant for power industry.

"This is a significant achievement because the aluminium industry in general is internationally considered to have high-risk zones. The achievement was possible due to effective implementation of policies and safety regulations in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister for Finance and Industry and Chairman of DUBAL,"

said Mr. Khalid Buhumaid, General Manager, Corporate Relations & International Affairs, DUBAL.

"DUBAL has continuously executed international safety regulations over the years. The current achievement is an illustration of the high level of commitment by the senior management towards safety measures," added Mr. Buhumaid.

During the last quarter of 2005, DUBAL's Power and Desalination (P&D) section hired KEMA, an international company, to execute a benchmark study to compare its performance on the operation and maintenance of the power station with other leading companies.

KEMA, which specializes in high-grade technical consultancy, inspection, testing and certification, concluded that P&D performance on almost all areas were considered state-of-the-art. The KEMA study pointed out that DUBAL's Environmental, Health and Safety parameters scored the highest within their database.

DUBAL's Power and Desalination Department has worked 3.7 million hours whilst the Process Control Department has worked for an amazing 4,162 days without a lost time accident.

The Smelter Maintenance Department has clocked one million man-hours without any lost time accident with a cumulative total of 2.25 million man-hours across the various maintenance areas, indeed some key areas have worked for almost 4 years without any LTA.

Other individual departments at DUBAL have also performed extremely well with regard to safety.

The 100% government-owned company's excellent safety programs and procedures are internationally-recognized. In fact, DUBAL has already received the OHSAS 18001 accreditation in September 2003.

Such international recognition has been possible following the meticulous safety strategy systematically implemented at DUBAL. One key element of this strategy is the aluminium giant's safety campaigns held regularly to create an awareness and initiate training methods among all employees and contractors.

For example, safety message posters designed in-house to provide visual effects across the area and stickers for equipment to improve driving behavior are some of the measures already in place at DUBAL.

Besides, Power and Desalination safety committee continuously monitors the safety performance to recommend steps to improve work methods and continuously awards individuals to maintain high motivation levels.

DUBAL's business policy to produce high quality metal runs in parallel to its policy on safety regulations which lay maximum emphasis on 'employee safety.' This follows a comprehensive safety plan put together to strive for and achieve 'zero lost time accident'.

"DUBAL will continuously strive to maintain its safety record in all the departments. We hope 2006 will be another year of new achievements at DUBAL as far as safety is concerned," remarked Mr. Buhumaid.