Back
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Aluminium ("DUBAL") -
the UAE's industrial flagship, which owns and operates one
of the world's largest single-site primary aluminium smelters - has
become one of the first industrial enterprises in the country to
develop and implement a full Crisis and Business Continuity
Management ("CBCM") system. The move reflects DUBAL's commitment to
implementing management strategies and processes that will identify
and manage possible risk, emergency, crisis and business disruption
events associated with all its business activities; and is in
keeping both with the company's pioneering spirit and its quest for
continuous improvement.
Abdulla Al Abbar, (Business Continuity Certified Expert (BCCE)
and Manager: CBCM, Assets Protection & Loss Prevention)
explains what it's all about. "By definition, Crisis Management is
the overall co-ordination of an organizations' response to a crisis
in an effective, timely manner, with the goal of avoiding or
minimizing damage to the organizations' profitability, reputation,
or ability to operate. Business Continuity is an essential
component of the Crisis and Emergency Management system, as it
comprises pre-formulated, well thought-through responses to
potential risk events which may significantly impact critical
business processes, revenue streams and the safety and wellbeing of
employees. As such, Business Continuity Management is a holistic
management process that identifies potential impacts which threaten
an organization and provides a framework for building resilience
with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the
interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and value
creating activities."
He advises that the development of DUBAL's Crisis and Emergency
Management system began in 2005 when DUBAL conducted Plant Major
Incident exercises involving external agencies such as Civil
Defence, Police and Police Ambulance services. "We realized that
DUBAL needed to develop greater competence in managing crisis and
emergency situations. After an extensive global search into the
best-available systems, we selected the Crisis/Emergency &
Business Continuity Management System best suited to DUBAL's needs
and began implementing the same in December 2006," Al Abbar
explains.
A two-phased approach was taken.
- Phase I entailed the formation of Emergency Response Team
(ERT), Emergency Management Team (EMT), and Crisis Management Team
(CMT) structures. Presentations and drills involving these teams
have since been conducted plant-wide on a continuous basis to
ensure adequate training and awareness among employees working in
critical areas.
- Phase II began with a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) in August
2008, facilitated by consultants. This involved one-on-one sessions
with Area Owners and their teams to identify critical business
functions and discuss elements like key performance indicators,
maximum acceptable outage, recovery time objective, current
location, alternative location, minimum resources required to
function, interdependencies and recovery strategies. Next, a
Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was developed, based on the BIA, and
finalized in October 2009. This laid the groundwork for DUBAL's
comprehensive CBCM system, which has now been implemented -
including the establishment of a dedicated CBCM Department that is
responsible for developing DUBAL's BCP and ensuring effective
management of the Business Continuity Management Life Cycle; plus
the formulation of Crisis, Emergency & Business Continuity
Management policies and procedures.
"The next stage involves embedding CBCM into DUBAL's culture
through training and awareness," says Al Abbar. "With this in mind,
we held a week-long CBCM awareness campaign, from 27 November to 30
November 2011, which gave all DUBAL employees the opportunity to
develop an understanding of what they should do in the
immediate-term to make their respective business operations
flexible and thus adaptable to changing circumstances; and what to
do in the case of a business interruption. In addition to
distributing an informative booklet on CBCM, the campaign entailed
diverse activities such as CBCM presentations, question-and-answer
sessions, an online quiz, games and raffle draws."
Most importantly, the implementation of a CBCM system has
enabled DUBAL to achieve best practice in achieving resilience to
business interruptions. "Since 2006, DUBAL has developed detailed
contingency planning, preparation and practice for business
interruptions," explains Al Abbar. "Ultimately, this knowledge,
skill and attitude will enhance DUBAL's ability to manage risk more
effectively and seize business opportunities as they arise."
Al Abbar concludes by acknowledging the whole-hearted support
provided by DUBAL's executive and senior management teams for both
the CBCM system and the CBCM awareness campaign. "This, together
with collaboration from other departments, underscores the
importance that DUBAL attaches to effective Crisis and Business
Continuity Management. Indeed, it is fundamental to our
sustainability, to the benefit of the business, our employees and
other stakeholders."
Back