EHS, the Environment, Health and Safety regulatory arm of Dubai World, on Sunday (June 3) announced an annual awards scheme for Jafza Establishments and Dubai World contractors striving for excellence and innovation in the fields of environment, health and safety.
The EHS Environment, Health and Safety Awards are open to Jafza Establishments and all main contractors who have worked on any of Dubai World’s development projects, provided they have completed at least six months of work between June 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007.
The Award ceremony will be held towards the end of November this year.
Ahmed Abdul Hussain, CEO of EHS, said, “The explosive growth in the construction sector has brought contractors to Dubai from different parts of the world. They have brought with them varying degrees of skill and a wide range of approaches to tackling environment, health and safety issues. The awards scheme has been instituted as part of our efforts to unify the standards in environment, health and safety best practices, and provide incentives to those who excel in implementing them at work.”
According to Mark Warrington, Vice President of Construction Safety at EHS, “The aim of the award is to raise the profile of health and safety in Dubai at large. The awards allow the contractors to showcase their health and safety achievements, and, at the same time, come up to the expectations of the clients, who are increasingly demanding world-class environment health and safety standards.”
There are four categories of awards. Only companies classified as main contractors by Dubai World are eligible to make nominations for the awards, except in the third category, which is an individual award.
The top prize, the Main Contractor Environment, Health and Safety Award, is open to all main contractors on Dubai World projects provided they meet the eligibility criteria. This award comes in Gold, Silver and Bronze grades, reflecting the level of excellence achieved by the winners.
The “Sub Contractor Environment, Health and Safety Award” will be given away to sub-contractors nominated by the main contractors.
The third category is the “Environment, Health and Safety Champion Award”, given away to the best health and safety professional nominated by peers.
A special “Labour Camp Award” forms the fourth category, instituted to encourage and recognize contractors’ efforts to set up labour camps that meet, and exceed the standards required under EHS regulations.
The winners will be judged, among other things, on the measures taken to boost and maintain the morale of workers in the labour camp, including the kind of recreational and entertainment facilities offered.
Mr Warrington said, “The winners of the awards will be licensed to use the official emblem of their award in promotional material, advertising and official stationary, and showcase the high level of their health and safety standards, as well as their commitment to adhere to them.”
Along side the awards in the fields of construction safety; EHS has also instituted Free zone awards, related to the establishments operating in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
There are gold, silver and bronze divisions for Trading and Warehousing, Manufacturing and Service Industries; and Food Establishments, based on their adherence to the environment, health and safety guidelines set by EHS.
