ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 15th Jul, 2020) The development of the quality infrastructure system in Abu Dhabi and the emirate’s commitment to follow international standards have resulted in strengthening its economic growth and global competitiveness across many fields, particularly the economic, social, health and environmental domains, said Anas Jawdat Al Barghouthi, Executive Director of Conformity and Standards Services Sector at the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, QCC.
"This would not have been possible without the close cooperation with different government departments and partners from the private sector, taking into account national requirements and achieving Abu Dhabi's vision and leadership globally," Al Barghouthi said.
"The conformity and quality schemes developed by the QCC in cooperation with stakeholders will yield good results if adopted and made mandatory by any relevant regulatory authorities," he added.
For example, the products and services conformity programmes directly contribute to positively impacting society in terms of rationalising consumption and achieving financial savings. These include the improved air-conditioning efficiency schemes, which was launched in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and Musanada, to rationalise electricity consumption in the emirate. It is expected to reduce energy consumption by 5,550 GWh per year, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the use of energy-efficient street lighting contributes to energy savings of 76 percent; and reducing carbon emission by 70 percent. Besides, the use of energy-efficient LED external lights has helped minimise environmental damage.
The enhanced water use efficiency schemes, which were launched in cooperation with the Department of Municipalities and Transport, have saved nearly 50 billion litres of water annually. The conformity scheme for construction materials has reduced operating costs by 19 percent, he stated.
The personnel conformity programmes have played a significant role in raising the efficiency and productivity of individuals working in many sectors and professions, Al Barghouthi said.
These include programmes for occupational health and safety systems such as the swimming pool lifeguard scheme in addition to the conformity scheme for school bus drivers and supervisors.
"Thanks to applying the standards services to various sectors in 2019, financial savings have been achieved for the infrastructure sector of urban planning and transportation, while more savings have been achieved in the areas of sustainability, health and safety," Al Barghouthi highlighted.
He referred to the issuance of the guidelines for the standards of Infrastructure Services by the Emirate’s Executive Council in 2017, which since has become the only approved reference in the Emirate for all relevant regulatory authorities in addition to consultants and contractors working in the field of infrastructure.
He expressed the QCC’s keenness to support the private sector where a total of 18 private laboratories have been appointed to test construction materials and soils to provide the services of the Central Testing Laboratory. These laboratories cover 56 percent of the needs of government entities. Furthermore, the appointed laboratories can provide 96 percent of the approved or unapproved services required by government entities.
As for the environmental laboratories, they can cover 53 percent of the approved services and 82 percent of the services required by government entities whether approved or unapproved.
Al Barghouthi revealed that the QCC has offered 47 competency testing programmes of top-notch quality for testing laboratories by the end of the Q2 2020, with the QCC being the only entity in the country providing such services.
Al Barghouthi noted that the council has also registered 70 percent of the conformity assessment bodies in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The number of accredited medical laboratories, in accordance with the international standard ISO 15189, has increased from three in 2015 to 72 by the end of 2019, he added.
The QCC has recently developed and published six technical documents after being approved by the Standing Technical Committee, STC, during its virtual Q2 meeting held on 29th June, 2020, he pointed out. The documents were developed for the quality control of conformity assessment bodies operating in the areas of community facilities, sanitation and the telecommunications sector, to upgrade the quality of products being traded in the emirate.
