Qatar Building Company (QBC) Shortlisted for the Health and Safety Initiative of the Year in Construction Week Qatar Awards 2012

DOHA, QATAR, September 14, 2012 (Press-News.org) Qatar Building Company (QBC) was shortlisted for the Health and Safety Initiative of the Year award in the annual Construction Week Qatar Awards 2012. The ceremony was held Monday night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha and sought to recognize and reward excellence in Qatar's burgeoning construction industry. A total of thirteen (13) categories were available and over 300 people attended the high-profile event.

The nomination was focused around QBC's new Integrated Management System (IMS), launched in August 2011. As the 1st runner up for the award, QBC was "highly commended" by the judges. QHSE Manager Mr. Serkut Akdeniz, comments: "This nomination recognizes the great strides that QBC has made in Health and Safety over the past year. We are committed to our 'Target: Zero' more than ever, and it shows in our results."

The HSE initiative involved an investment of millions of QR for various measures throughout every department, aimed to "maintain and enhance the health and safety of its employees and the public, prevent incidents of occupational injuries, eliminate the chances of injury recurrence, and ensure overall welfare of staff."

This commitment translated into employee incentives, internal educational activities, public awareness campaigns, over 23 improved SOPs, investment in HSE personnel, specific facility renovations, and the implementation of a series of innovative feedback mechanisms—all focused on promoting Health and Safety throughout all QBC operations.

As a result, the new working environment is indeed safer and healthier, and employee morale and productivity have significantly increased. QBC's LTI rates have dropped by almost 70%. Several projects have received Achievement Awards for million-milestones of consecutive man-hours without LTI, including 20 million man-hours on Msheireb Downtown Doha project, Phase 1B.

In the process, the company also earned BS OHSAS 18001:2007 certification on the first audit. Jack Mollison, Head of Certification at Quality Austria, audited QBC for the Occupational Health and Safety certificate and stated: "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, [especially] for an organization of the size and complexity of Qatar Building Company...

...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. 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... 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, it was refreshing and rewarding to have been associated with a company such as this who really do want to make a difference."

Mr. Martin Schneider, a QBC Project Director, reflects: "Health and Safety is embedded into our company culture now more than ever. I believe that we are setting the standards high among our Qatari peers. For example, we are one of the first companies to provide air conditioned buses for the transportation of laborers. We also have senior staff who make site rounds in every department at every employee level to check how the company is complying to safety standards...

"My colleagues agree that HSE communication has improved and Target Zero is engrained in our mindsets. We are dedicated to being one step ahead of others when it comes to Health and Safety."

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 the Qatari National Vision 2030.

For more information on QBC, visit http://www.qatarbuildingcompany.com or call us at: +974- 4462 5555/56.

For more information regarding the prestigious Construction Week Qatar Awards, visit: http://www.constructionweekonline.com/cwawardsqatar/.