W h e n R e s u l t s C o u n t . I S O S t a n d a r d s .IMSISO Management Systems

ISSN 1680-8096

Vol. 8, No. 5 September-October 2008

Sky- high ISO 9001

Sky-high perspective on

new ISO 9000 standards

Peru’s green goldmine

TC 176 leaders past and present

• Integrated use of MSS • Health care QMS• Serbian standards

for services

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on ISO 9001 foundations

30 ISO Management Systems – September-October 2008

Emaar builds high ambitionsand world’s tallest tower

by Tom Bartridge, Prasad Pathare and

Dr. Verena Rode

Emaar Properties is one

of the world’s largest real estate

companies and has placed its

trust in ISO 9001:2000 to

support its vision of becoming

a global provider of premier

lifestyles.

Burj Dubai – by day. (Photo: Emaar).

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ISO Management Systems – September-October 2008 31

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Mr. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said : “ Burj Dubai is an unparalleled accomplishment."

Dubai Marina. (Photo: Emaar).

Emaar is a Dubai-based pub-lic joint stock company and since its inception in 1997 has grown to include six busi-ness segments and more than 60 companies and a presence in over 36 markets spanning the Middle East, North Afri-ca, Pan-Asia, Europe and North America.

The company is listed on the Dubai Financial Market and its remarkable global growth resulted in being listed on the Financial Times Global 500 ranking.

In addition to its operations in the United Arab Emir-ates, Emaar has established operations in Algeria, Cana-da, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, USA and United Kingdom. Within Emaar and its joint venture partners there are more than 3 500 employees around the world.

Emaar’s strength as a real estate developer lies in the master planning of large-scale parcels of land into diverse and active commu-nities. In each of the coun-tries, Emaar is able to accom-modate plans that focus on high-rise, mid-rise or low-rise residential units incorporat-ing the best planning princi-ples for mixed use commu-nities.

Emaar has been shaping land-scapes and lives within the United Arab Emirates since the company’s inception by developing master planned communities that meet the homebuyers’ full spectrum of lifestyle needs. A pioneer of

innovative community-living concepts, Emaar is the prime mover of the Emirate’s real estate and construction sec-tor.

Emaar’s focus on quality is well known. When it came to designing the golf course at Arabian Ranches, Emaar turned to two of the great-est legends in the game – Jack Nicklaus and Ian Bak-er-Finch.

Drive for quality

This drive for quality is the reason Emaar pursued ISO 9001:2000 certifica-tion. In addition to quali-ty, Emaar concentrates on the speed of execution in every project it undertakes. The ISO 9001:2000 certifi-cation was no exception and

after only 84 days of prep-aration, Emaar received its certification. To understand this remarkable achievement let’s take a closer look at Emaar’s ISO 9001:2000 pro-gramme.

Five phases

Emaar’s certification scope covered the areas of Prop-erty Development, Project Management, all Customer Service operations, Sales & Marketing, Purchasing and Human Resources opera-tions of Emaar Dubai. This scope required a clearly out-lined certification process that consisted of five phases.

Phase 1 focused on selecting the right ISO 9001:2000 certi-fication partner. In line with its continual focus on quality, Emaar chose Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). The decision was based on LRQA’s global presence, good reputation and pioneering experience in the field of ISO 9001 certification. Further-

more, LRQA is not only involved with quality manage-ment, but also with other areas of management, including envi-ronmental, information securi-ty, and health and safety.

(Photo: Emaar)

© ISO Management Systems, www.iso.org/ims

32 ISO Management Systems – September-October 2008

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Arabian Ranches. (Photo: Emaar).

During Phase 2, a gap anal-

ysis was conducted by all

departments and exist-

ing company processes

were compared against ISO

9001:2000. LRQA conduct-

ed this four-day gap analysis

that started on 19 June 2006.

During this process, discrep-

ancies were identified where

the Emaar processes needed

to be strengthened in order

to meet the requirements

of the standard. To address

these gaps, action plans were

created and agreed upon

by the departments and the

auditors. These action plans

were then tracked until all the gaps were closed.

After the deficiencies were resolved, Emaar staff with-in Dubai had to be pre-pared for the most challeng-ing phase – the certification audit. During Phase 3, the focus was on ensuring that staff understood the basic audit process and were able to explain the changes made to their internal processes to meet the audit deadline.

To help pull this off, Emaar staff attended LRQA’s Appreciation and Interpre-tation Programme meeting

that helped each employee to understand ISO 9001 and certification would add value to Emaar’s brand image.

Respected brand

Although, already one of the most respected brands in the region, Emaar under-stood how ISO 9001 certi-fication would add value as the company continued its two-pronged strategy of geographic expansion and business segmentation. In particular, the business seg-mentation as Emaar con-tinues to develop new com-

petencies in hospitality and leisure, malls, educa-tion, healthcare and finance, which have evolved from its integrated approach to cus-tomer service and property development.

In Phase 4, Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance conduct-ed a three-day preliminary audit which started on 15 August 2006, only one month before the final certification. This audit was designed to check for any obvious non-conformities and issues that required immediate manage-ment attention in order to

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The authors

Tom Bartridge has spent the last 12 years in a number of HR Manage-ment &

Consulting roles within the Middle East. He is currently the Executive Director of Human Resources for Emaar Corporate Office while some of his previous assignments have included Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO) and Saudi Basic Industries Corpo-ration (SABIC) in Saudi Arabia.

Tom wrote the article “World’s biggest oil company uses ISO 9001:2000 in giant SAP roll-out” for the May-June 2006 issue of ISO Management Systems. He has published numerous articles arti-cles on human resources and leadership in the Strategic HR Review and Human Assets maga-zines and his on-line articles can be found on the www.ameinfo.com and www.Emiritisation.org.

E-mail TSBartridge@gmail.com

Web www.bartridge.com

Prasad Pathare is a Senior Man-ager of Cor-porate Excellence department of Emaar Properties PJSC. His

active career spans over 35 years. He has been with Emaar Dubai since March 2006. On joining, he spearheaded and led Emaar teams to successful ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications of Emaar Dubai operations in 2006 and also assisted Emaar Turkey to achieve their ISO 9001:2000 certification in March this year. He has also suc-cessfully led Emaar teams to win three prestigious awards of the region : the Dubai Quality Award (DQA) 2006 which is based on the EFQM Model, Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MRM) Business Award 2007 and the inaugural Middle East Excellence Award (MEEA) 2008

Dr. Verena Rode is Director Perform-ance Manage-ment and responsi-ble for the

Emaar group-wide management by objectives and key perform-ance indicator programmes. Her responsibilities included the complete human resource life cycle and corporate culture initiatives, consulting as well as the roll out and management of several international projects.

E-mail Verena.rode@gmail.com

Emaar Springs. (Photo: Emaar)

Emaar’s Vision 2010 is to become one of the

most valuable companies worldwide

ensure a smooth certification process.

During this three-day visit, Emaar’s passion for excel-lence was clearly identified as staff tackled issues within their areas as well as form-ing cross-functional teams to address those items impact-ing more than one depart-ment.

Phase 5 started on 30 August 2006 and covered the man-agement system elements and the quality management system documentation audit. Then, on 13 September 2006, the final audit was performed for Dubai operations and site offices. Following this audit, a recommendation to certi-fy Emaar was presented and Emaar Properties was fully certified on 14 September 2006 – a process that was concluded from start to fin-ish in 84 days!

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For Emaar, receiving the ISO 9001:2000 certification was just the beginning. The true value of the certifica-tion lies in the contribution it makes toward every project we embrace, such as the Burj Dubai – the world’s tallest building.

Mr. Mohamed Ali Alab-bar, Chairman, Emaar Prop-erties, said: “Burj Dubai is an unparalleled accomplish-ment in the history of man-kind. Breakthrough technol-ogy, cutting edge innovation and creativity have been the driving forces of this tower, which will set new bench-marks in architecture, con-struction and engineering feats. As the referral point for all future high-rise con-structions, Burj Dubai is now pushing its own record-breaking standards further, with the height and design enhancements.”

being undertaken. The best energy efficient technologies are being deployed to ensure that the iconic building is also a standard for energy usage and recycling of water.

As with our projects, Emaar viewed the ISO 9001:2000 certification as means for improving excellence throughout the company. Within the Corporate Excel-lence Department, the certifi-cation led to the creation of a strong internal audit process that ensures continuing con-formity with ISO 9001:2000.

Continual improvement

Within Emaar Properties, a bi-annual internal audit pro-gramme and management review programme were set up as a means to ensure con-tinual improvement within the company. To support this initiative, employees from the different departments were trained as ISO 9001 inter-nal auditors, thereby ensur-ing adherence to ISO 9001 throughout the company.

These internal auditors con-duct audits twice a year that cover all business aspects and any corrective actions iden-tified are monitored until corrected. The process does not stop there! Emaar has LRQA conduct surveillance audits twice a year to ensure that the quality management system is effectively imple-mented and maintained.

In addition to the audits, Emaar institutionalized bi-annual senior management reviews of the quality man-agement system. These meet-

ings are chaired by the CEO of Emaar Dubai and include an in-depth review of cus-tomer feedback, progress updates on the previous reviews, results of ISO 9001 audits, follow-up on correc-tive and preventive actions and performance of continu-al improvement initiatives.

Another benefit of the certifi-cation was the introduction of a group-wide management by objectives/key performance indicators (MBO/KPI) system to further strengthen Emaar’s performance process.

The central aim behind the adoption of the MBO/KPI system is to ensure that all of Emaar’s staff continues to pull in the same direction and maintain a sense of focus when working in a fast-paced and rapidly changing envi-ronment.

Emaar’s quality focus and speed of execution create a positive impact on the real estate markets in which the company operates. Evidence of this includes sales volume as well as continued demand for new homes, retail stores and office spaces in each of our developing communities.

The continual growth of Emaar required the MBO/KPI process to be bench-marked against the most suc-cessful and most esteemed companies in the world. To ensure that the very finest methodology and best prac-tice guidelines were adopted, Emaar involved renowned management guru Ram Cha-ran during the MBO/KPI process development period.

React quickly

The resulting MBO/KPI for-mat not only drives company performance and staff behav-iour, it also enables Emaar to detect performance trends and to react quickly accord-ing to market needs. The MBO/KPI approach, which can trace its roots to the initial ISO 9001:2000 certi-fication process, has been enthusiastically received throughout the organization and each country and busi-ness segment have embraced the move toward a perform-ance-based culture.

As Emaar continues to expand, the ISO 9001 certi-fication process has become a part of the organization-al culture. Emaar Turkey became the second country to receive ISO 9001:2000 cer-tification and each country and business segment has an established MBO/KPI sys-tem in place.

Whether building the tallest tower in the world or expand-ing into a new country, Emaar continues to strive towards Vision 2010 of becoming one of the most valuable compa-nies in the world – with the support of its ISO 9001:2000 quality management system. •Burj Dubai, currently at

160 floors, is over 636 m in height and is the world’s tall-est building and structure. Burj Dubai has surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA (628 m) and taller than Taipei 101 (508 m) in Taiwan and CN Tower (553 m) in Toronto, Canada. Cladding work is nearing completion and var-ious infrastructure works are

Emaar understood how ISO 9001 certification

would add value

© ISO Management Systems, www.iso.org/ims