Qatar Building Company (QBC) Earns ISO 9001, 14001, 29001, and OHSAS 18001 Quality Certifications for Civil Contracting Division

DOHA, QATAR, August 31, 2012 (Press-News.org) Qatar Building Company (QBC) is granted four certificates of quality management systems by Quality Austria Ltd., attesting to the company's standard operating procedures and successful performance in Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) endeavors throughout its civil engineering division.

QBC was certified according to ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, TS ISO 29001:2010, and BS OHSAS 18001:2007. The company earned all four certifications on the first audit and in record time. "The genuine concern for their employees was very evident amongst the management team who had obviously spared no effort to make sure that their system would achieve a positive result," says Mr. Jack Mollison, Head of Certification at Quality Austria.

QBC has over 4,000 employees, the majority of whom in its contracting division. "Implementing a system which is designed to protect its employees from the dangers of working in the construction industry is not an easy task for any company. For an organization of the size and complexity of Qatar Building Company this task becomes much more difficult," Mollison continues.

The certification process is a rigorous undertaking: "The detail to which they had identified any potential health & safety hazard was impressive and this was matched by the actions they had taken to reduce the possibility of these hazards actually happening.

"No effort had been spared by the whole team to make sure that this system was far more than mere words, it has already become the key driving force of the whole construction process because the mind set of every one of its employees now focuses on further improvement.

"Having conducted many audits throughout the world," Mollison concludes, "it was refreshing and rewarding to have been associated with a company such as this who really do want to make a difference."

Last year, QBC launched an elaborate QHSE initiative. It has earned them a nomination in Construction Weekly's 2012 Awards for Qatar's Health and Safety Initiative of the Year (results to be announced in September). "Positive, strategic leadership has been at the core of QBC's success. We endeavor to be at the forefront of the construction industry in QHSE," states Mr. Serkut Akdeniz, QBC QHSE Manager.

In recent years, QBC also received several ISO certifications across its other divisions. For example, ISO 9001:2008 has been issued to QBC Concrete Products, QBC Readymix, QBC Roads & Maintenance, and QBC Heavy Equipment Division.

"These accreditations—and those yet to come—are tangible evidence of QBC's approach to excellence," comments Mr. Ali M. T. Mustafawi, QBC Managing Director. He reflects on QBC: "It is embedded in our culture to focus on our customer, have clear visions and concrete goals, and pursue continuous improvement in every aspect of our performance."

About Qatar Building Company (QBC)

Qatar Building Company (QBC) is comprised of three divisions—civil engineering and contracting, materials production, and heavy equipment trading—each designed especially for the demands of the Qatari market.

For 40 years, QBC has taken on major civil engineering and contracting projects for a broad client base including government agencies, international contractors, gas majors, and private developers.

With "Grade A" classifications in all categories of the Government Central Tenders Committee, QBC is qualified to undertake civil engineering projects of any size and complexity.

QBC is a proud supporter of FIFA 2022 and the Qatari National Vision 2030.

For more information on QBC, visit http://www.qatarbuildingcompany.com.

__About ISO & OHSAS__

ISO 9001:2008 is applicable to any type of organization, and focuses on standardizing management responsibility, resource management, product realization, and measurement, analysis & improvement efforts. QBC Certificate # 12492/0

ISO 14001:2004 promotes environmental protection and aims to prevent adverse environmental impacts and pollution by means of standardized management systems. QBC Certificate # 1835/0

ISO TS 29001:2010 defines the quality management system for organizations in the petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries to mitigate operational risks of all types. QBC Certificate # 00020/0

BS OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Systems) includes criteria for assessing an OH&S management system to ensure that safety-related activities are systemized and continuously improved. QBC Certificate # 00799/0

__About Quality Austria Training, Certification and Evaluation Ltd.__

Quality Austria Training, Certification and Evaluation Ltd. (www.qualityaustria.com) is the umbrella brand of the four organizations OQS, OVQ, OQA and AFQM. The organization is the national market leader and contact in the fields of integrated management systems and industry standards.

The services provided by Quality Austria range from training and further training in the field of international management trends and certification of quality and management systems via the award of the Austria Quality Label to distinguishing Austrian organizations for consistently pursuing excellence principles by presenting them with the Austrian Quality Award.

The co-operation of Quality Austria with IQNet, EOQ, EFQM and other international organizations enables global know-how to be imparted and turns the organization into a competent partner. Quality Austria co-operates with about 100 member organizations world-wide. More than 11,000 organizations in little less than 50 countries already profit from this. Quality Austria is a stable factor when it comes to creating valuable synergies at the economic site of Austria.

For further information, please contact : +974- 4462 5555/56 or qbc@qbcqatar.com.qa