IMS. Sky-high ISO ISO Management Systems. When Results Count. ISO Standards. Skyhigh. perspective on new ISO 9000 standards

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1 Vol.8, No.5 September-October 2008 IMS When Results Count. ISO Standards. ISO Management Systems ISSN Skyhigh ISO 9001 Sky-high perspective on new ISO 9000 standards TC 176 leaders past and present Integrated use of MSS Health care QMS Serbian standards for services Peru s green goldmine

2 Emaar builds and world s tallest on ISO 9001 high ambitions tower foundations by Tom Bartridge, Prasad Pathare and Dr. Verena Rode Emaar Properties is one of the world s largest real estate companies and has placed its trust in ISO 9001:2000 to support its vision of becoming a global provider of premier lifestyles. Burj Dubai by day. (Photo: Emaar). 30 ISO Management Systems September-October 2008

3 Emaar is a Dubai-based public joint stock company and since its inception in 1997 has grown to include six business segments and more than 60 companies and a presence in over 36 markets spanning the Middle East, North Africa, Pan-Asia, Europe and North America. The company is listed on the Dubai Financial Market and its remarkable global growth resulted in being listed on the Financial Times Global 500 ranking. In addition to its operations in the United Arab Emirates, Emaar has established operations in Algeria, Canada, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, USA and United Kingdom. Within Emaar and its joint venture partners there are more than employees around the world. Emaar s strength as a real estate developer lies in the master planning of largescale parcels of land into diverse and active communities. In each of the countries, Emaar is able to accommodate plans that focus on high-rise, mid-rise or low-rise residential units incorporating the best planning principles for mixed use communities. Emaar has been shaping landscapes and lives within the United Arab Emirates since the company s inception by developing master planned communities that meet the homebuyers full spectrum of lifestyle needs. A pioneer of Mr. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said : Burj Dubai is an unparalleled accomplishment." innovative community-living concepts, Emaar is the prime mover of the Emirate s real estate and construction sector. Emaar s focus on quality is well known. When it came to designing the golf course at Arabian Ranches, Emaar turned to two of the greatest legends in the game Jack Nicklaus and Ian Baker-Finch. Drive for quality This drive for quality is the reason Emaar pursued ISO 9001:2000 certification. In addition to quality, Emaar concentrates on the speed of execution in every project it undertakes. The ISO 9001:2000 certification was no exception and (Photo: Emaar) Dubai Marina. (Photo: Emaar). after only 84 days of preparation, Emaar received its certification. To understand this remarkable achievement let s take a closer look at Emaar s ISO 9001:2000 programme. Five phases Emaar s certification scope covered the areas of Property Development, Project Management, all Customer Service operations, Sales & Marketing, Purchasing and Human Resources operations of Emaar Dubai. This scope required a clearly outlined certification process that consisted of five phases. Phase 1 focused on selecting the right ISO 9001:2000 certification partner. In line with its continual focus on quality, Emaar chose Lloyd s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). The decision was based on LRQA s global presence, good reputation and pioneering experience in the field of ISO 9001 certification. Furthermore, LRQA is not only involved with quality management, but also with other areas of management, including environmental, information security, and health and safety. ISO Management Systems September-October

4 During Phase 2, a gap analysis was conducted by all departments and existing company processes were compared against ISO 9001:2000. LRQA conducted this four-day gap analysis that started on 19 June During this process, discrepancies were identified where the Emaar processes needed to be strengthened in order to meet the requirements of the standard. To address these gaps, action plans were created and agreed upon by the departments and the auditors. These action plans were then tracked until all the gaps were closed. After the deficiencies were resolved, Emaar staff within Dubai had to be prepared for the most challenging phase the certification audit. During Phase 3, the focus was on ensuring that staff understood the basic audit process and were able to explain the changes made to their internal processes to meet the audit deadline. To help pull this off, Emaar staff attended LRQA s Appreciation and Interpretation Programme meeting that helped each employee to understand ISO 9001 and certification would add value to Emaar s brand image. Respected brand Although, already one of the most respected brands in the region, Emaar understood how ISO 9001 certification would add value as the company continued its two-pronged strategy of geographic expansion and business segmentation. In particular, the business segmentation as Emaar continues to develop new competencies in hospitality and leisure, malls, education, healthcare and finance, which have evolved from its integrated approach to customer service and property development. In Phase 4, Lloyd s Register Quality Assurance conducted a three-day preliminary audit which started on 15 August 2006, only one month before the final certification. This audit was designed to check for any obvious nonconformities and issues that required immediate management attention in order to Arabian Ranches. (Photo: Emaar). 32 ISO Management Systems September-October 2008

5 The authors ensure a smooth certification process. Tom Bartridge has spent the last 12 years in a number of HR Management & Consulting roles within the Middle East. He is currently the Executive Director of Human Resources for Emaar Corporate Office while some of his previous assignments have included Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in Saudi Arabia. Tom wrote the article World s biggest oil company uses ISO 9001:2000 in giant SAP roll-out for the May-June 2006 issue of ISO Management Systems. He has published numerous articles articles on human resources and leadership in the Strategic HR Review and Human Assets magazines and his on-line articles can be found on the com and Prasad Pathare is a Senior Manager of Corporate Excellence department of Emaar Properties PJSC. His active career spans over 35 years. He has been with Emaar Dubai since March On joining, he spearheaded and led Emaar teams to successful ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications of Emaar Dubai operations in 2006 and also assisted Emaar Turkey to achieve their ISO 9001:2000 certification in March this year. He has also successfully led Emaar teams to win three prestigious awards of the region : the Dubai Quality Award (DQA) 2006 which is based on the EFQM Model, Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MRM) Business Award 2007 and the inaugural Middle East Excellence Award (MEEA) 2008 Dr. Verena Rode is Director Performance Management and responsible for the Emaar group-wide management by objectives and key performance indicator programmes. Her responsibilities included the complete human resource life cycle and corporate culture initiatives, consulting as well as the roll out and management of several international projects. Verena.rode@gmail.com During this three-day visit, Emaar s passion for excellence was clearly identified as staff tackled issues within their areas as well as forming cross-functional teams to address those items impacting more than one department. Phase 5 started on 30 August 2006 and covered the management system elements and the quality management system documentation audit. Then, on 13 September 2006, the final audit was performed for Dubai operations and site offices. Following this audit, a recommendation to certify Emaar was presented and Emaar Properties was fully certified on 14 September 2006 a process that was concluded from start to finish in 84 days! TSBartridge@gmail.com Web Emaar s Vision 2010 is to become one of the most valuable companies worldwide Emaar Springs. (Photo: Emaar) ISO Management Systems September-October

6 For Emaar, receiving the ISO 9001:2000 certification was just the beginning. The true value of the certification lies in the contribution it makes toward every project we embrace, such as the Burj Dubai the world s tallest building. Mr. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: Burj Dubai is an unparalleled accomplishment in the history of mankind. Breakthrough technology, cutting edge innovation and creativity have been the driving forces of this tower, which will set new benchmarks in architecture, construction and engineering feats. As the referral point for all future high-rise constructions, Burj Dubai is now pushing its own recordbreaking standards further, with the height and design enhancements. Emaar understood how ISO 9001 certification would add value Burj Dubai, currently at 160 floors, is over 636 m in height and is the world s tallest building and structure. Burj Dubai has surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA (628 m) and taller than Taipei 101 (508 m) in Taiwan and CN Tower (553 m) in Toronto, Canada. Cladding work is nearing completion and various infrastructure works are being undertaken. The best energy efficient technologies are being deployed to ensure that the iconic building is also a standard for energy usage and recycling of water. As with our projects, Emaar viewed the ISO 9001:2000 certification as means for improving excellence throughout the company. Within the Corporate Excellence Department, the certification led to the creation of a strong internal audit process that ensures continuing conformity with ISO 9001:2000. Continual improvement Within Emaar Properties, a bi-annual internal audit programme and management review programme were set up as a means to ensure continual improvement within the company. To support this initiative, employees from the different departments were trained as ISO 9001 internal auditors, thereby ensuring adherence to ISO 9001 throughout the company. These internal auditors conduct audits twice a year that cover all business aspects and any corrective actions identified are monitored until corrected. The process does not stop there! Emaar has LRQA conduct surveillance audits twice a year to ensure that the quality management system is effectively implemented and maintained. In addition to the audits, Emaar institutionalized biannual senior management reviews of the quality management system. These meetings are chaired by the CEO of Emaar Dubai and include an in-depth review of customer feedback, progress updates on the previous reviews, results of ISO 9001 audits, follow-up on corrective and preventive actions and performance of continual improvement initiatives. Another benefit of the certification was the introduction of a group-wide management by objectives/key performance indicators (MBO/KPI) system to further strengthen Emaar s performance process. The central aim behind the adoption of the MBO/KPI system is to ensure that all of Emaar s staff continues to pull in the same direction and maintain a sense of focus when working in a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment. Emaar s quality focus and speed of execution create a positive impact on the real estate markets in which the company operates. Evidence of this includes sales volume as well as continued demand for new homes, retail stores and office spaces in each of our developing communities. The continual growth of Emaar required the MBO/ KPI process to be benchmarked against the most successful and most esteemed companies in the world. To ensure that the very finest methodology and best practice guidelines were adopted, Emaar involved renowned management guru Ram Charan during the MBO/KPI process development period. React quickly The resulting MBO/KPI format not only drives company performance and staff behaviour, it also enables Emaar to detect performance trends and to react quickly according to market needs. The MBO/KPI approach, which can trace its roots to the initial ISO 9001:2000 certification process, has been enthusiastically received throughout the organization and each country and business segment have embraced the move toward a performance-based culture. As Emaar continues to expand, the ISO 9001 certification process has become a part of the organizational culture. Emaar Turkey became the second country to receive ISO 9001:2000 certification and each country and business segment has an established MBO/KPI system in place. Whether building the tallest tower in the world or expanding into a new country, Emaar continues to strive towards Vision 2010 of becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world with the support of its ISO 9001:2000 quality management system. 34 ISO Management Systems September-October 2008