Demonstrating its corporate commitment to development through innovation, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (“DUBAL”) is proud to be the Platinum Sponsor of the fifth annual Ideas.Arabia International Conference 2010 Moreover, DUBAL founded Ideas.Arabia in 2002 as a subgroup of the Dubai Quality Group – a non-profit organization that offers many knowledge-sharing and programmes to its members. As per its mandate, Ideas.Arabia 2010 will once again bring the latest developments in Suggestion and Rewarding Schemes and their benefits to the Middle East, thereby creating a platform for sharing international best practice among local players.
The three-day Ideas.Arabia 2010 event will be held at Grand Hyatt Dubai from 25 to 27 April, under the patronage of H H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group. The keynote sessions, presentations and discussions will be guided by the central theme, namely “Innovation: It’s up to you”. The agenda includes a line-up of expert speakers from across the world and includes DUBAL’s Ahmad M Almulla (Vice President: Information Technology).
Currently ranked as the world’s largest modern smelter with a captive power station, DUBAL is not only the largest producer of primary aluminium in the Gulf, but also the leading aluminium player in the region. Moreover, DUBAL is widely regarded as the UAE’s industrial flagship — the company being rated by many as a role model in every aspect of its business. For example, DUBAL is a regional pioneer of employee involvement programmes through its award-winning Suggestion Scheme, established in May 1981. A large number of organisations, both locally and internationally, have used the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme as a model for developing similar programmes.
“DUBAL has an established reputation as a quality-driven organization that thrives on continuous improvement, much of which is based on employee involvement,” explains Marwan Al Sawaleh (General Manager: HR). “We consider our employees to be our greatest asset and therefore place them at the forefront by encouraging and rewarding their suggestions to enhance our productivity, minimise energy usage, protect the environment and improve DUBAL’s safety records.”
Al Sawaleh adds that the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme has been remarkably successful since its inception 29 years ago: the cumulative savings arising from implemented suggestions has reached almost AED 97 million over this period. During 2009 alone, 12,000 suggestions were submitted to the scheme, of which 9500 were implemented and awarded, together giving an audited savings of AED 12 million. The scheme also achieved 100% participation from eligible employees in 2009, for the fourth year in a row.
As in previous years, Ideas.Arabia 2010 includes the annual Ideas.Arabia Idea of the Year Competition, which aims to recognize the most significant ideas implemented by members throughout the calendar year.
