Dubai: Businesses and government organisations in the UAE were recognised for their pursuit of excellence in 2015 at the 22nd edition of the Business Excellence Awards on Tuesday.
The awards ceremony was hosted by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai International Marine Club, presented trophies to 42 winners of the of Dubai Quality Award (DQA), Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) and Dubai Service Excellence Scheme (DSES).
“DED is committed to promoting awareness of excellence in line with the international standing and ambitions of Dubai. We derive the energy to do so from the directives of our leadership to sustainably develop Dubai’s economy by embracing global best practices,” stated Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) from the government sector and UAE Exchange Centre from the finance sector bagged the Dubai Quality Gold Award.
On UAE Exchange’s win, B.R Shetty, chairman, told Gulf News: “[The company won] because of the quality of our service … today, we are one of the largest money exchange companies in the world.”
The Dubai Quality Award winners were Emirates Group Security and Emirates Driving Institute from the services sector.
“We always wanted consistency in what we do … we have used a QCC (quality control circle) programme. QCC helps you benchmark to improve yourself continuously,” Zack Zainal Abidin, divisional vice president of Emirates Group Security, told Gulf News.
The winners of the Dubai Quality Appreciation Award were Dubai First and Network International from the finance sector; Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery by Apparel Group (retail); Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and Tamani Marina Hotel and Hotel Apartment (tourism); and LLH Hospital and Thumbay Hospital — Ajman (health care).
The other recipients of the award were Global Village; Fun City Dubai (leisure and entertainment); Dutco Balfour Beatty LLC — Plant & Transport Division; Tecon (construction), Barakat Quality Plus, Bristol Fire Engineering, Star Cement Company (manufacturing) and Jaleel Distribution (trade). There were a number of winners in the three categories of the Dubai Human Development Award. DEWA received the Dubai Human Development Gold Award, while Wasl received the Dubai Human Development Award.
The winners of the Dubai Human Development Appreciation Award were Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, Ministry of Interior, Dubai Statistics Center, The Public Prosecution-Dubai, Al Naboodah Commercial Group, and Al Ghandi Auto Group. Meanwhile, the 16 best service performance brands recognised under the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme were aafaq Islamic finance, Arabian Automobiles Company — Nissan, Tamaris, Al Jaber Optical, Majid Al Futtaim Finance — Najm Credit Cards, MBT, Marina Home Interiors, India Palace Restaurant, Joyalukkas, Al Rostamani International Exchange, Hogg Robinson Group — HRG, Eros Group, Carters, Cold Stone Creamery, Aster Pharmacy Group and Ski Dubai.
The number of companies that registered for the awards rose by 14 per cent compared to the previous year, according to a statement from DED. The Business Excellence Awards saw a 30 per cent increase in the number of companies trained and developed on the DQA/DHDA model, with the total number of companies trained so far having reached 165.
Membership in the DSES rose 21.4 per cent during 2015, with 2,473 outlets representing 91 companies and 179 brands registered in the scheme.
A new criteria has been added to the DQA, DHDA and DSES to evaluate the participants on their disability friendliness. The DSES has added a category for hypermarkets, while DQA and DHDA included leisure and entertainment.
