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Dubai, United Arab Emirates: A major disaster drill,
conducted on the company's premises on 18 December 2011, has
confirmed that the full Crisis and Business Continuity Management
("CBCM") system developed and implemented at Dubai Aluminium
("DUBAL") integrates smoothly with the local government emergency
services. So says Abdulla Al Abbar (Business Continuity Certified
Expert (BCCE) and Manager: CBCM, Assets Protection & Loss
Prevention), who advises that the participants in the exercise -
which included DUBAL's Assets Protection & Loss Prevention
departments, the DUBAL Medical Centre, Dubai Civil Defense, Dubai
Union Ambulance and the Dubai Police - worked seamlessly
side-by-side in an extremely professional and efficient
way.
For DUBAL, which owns and operates one of the world's
largest single-site primary aluminium smelters and is widely
accepted as the UAE's industrial flagship, the exercise confirmed
that its CBCM system is not only comprehensive but also
appropriately structured for the facility's needs. "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 Dubai's Civil Defence, Police
and Police Ambulance services," Al Abbar explains. "These exercises
highlighted a need for DUBAL to develop greater competence in
managing crisis and emergency situations. After an extensive global
search into the best-available systems, we selected the CBCM best
suited to DUBAL's needs and began implementing the same in December
2006. Over the past six years, we have gone through all the
required phases to establish the system - including thorough
training through mock scenarios leading to emergency and crisis
management responses."
Al Abbar adds that the objective of the exercise on 18 December
2011 was to test the integration of DUBAL's CBCM system with the
services of local authorities. "Whereas our last major drill in
2005 was hampered by a lack of co-ordination and the absence of a
formal system at DUBAL, this month's drill was performed
excellently. From the command post in DUBAL's Emergency Centre down
to the response personnel on the ground, the decision-making was
sound and the melioration actions appropriate. Everyone involved
worked together as one team, which enhanced the effectiveness of
the emergency and crisis management process immensely."
The feedback received from the external participants has been
equally positive, especially those members of the team who
participated in the 2005 drill.
Al Abbar concludes by acknowledging the strong co-operation
between DUBAL's operational and administrative areas. "Without a
strong sense of belonging and pride in our company, this level of
teamwork would not be achieved," he says. "In situations such as
this, we truly live-out DUBAL's corporate slogan - Together, we
shine."
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