Dubai Customs celebrated World Quality Day on Thursday on November 11th, 2010. A number of activities which aim to increase awareness about quality and its applications as well as its importance in improving performance and business outcomes were organized inline with the Department’s strategic objective towards adopting the best practices of business procedures and systems.
The events included launching a website to introduce the concept of quality, its standards and the quality-related activities which are carried out in the Department in addition to methods of interacting with international quality organizations Dubai Customs has joined to learn about their experiences and expertise in this domain.
Moreover, a number of awareness campaigns were launched and training on quality issues was provided in order to enhance the employees’ competency at the different customs centers and increase their knowledge of the quality systems and the utilized tools for quality improvement and development. These activities also aimed to highlight the significance of customer satisfaction and fulfill their current and future needs. The Department also posted articles about quality on the intranet to increase employees’ awareness besides organizing a competition to test their information about quality.
Dubai Customs awarded its distinguished employees who contributed to achieving the Department’s accomplishments during the past two years in the field of quality. The awarding included the distinguished
Employees and those who gave lectures in the “I aim for Excellence†and “Quality is Everybody’s Responsibility†initiatives as well as the winners of the quality competition and participants of the internal auditing program.
Mr. Ahmed Abdul Salam Kazim, Director of Strategy and Corporate Excellence Department in Dubai Customs said that the Department adopts HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Prime Minister and Vice-Presidents and Ruler of Dubai and his modern and solid vision towards quality which he described as “Quality is not an objective but a lifestyleâ€.
“Therefore, quality is not an option to us but a necessity and a requirement and a non ending road†Mr. Kazim said. Adding to that HH Sheikh Mohammed quote “in the race of excellence, there is no end lineâ€.
Mr. Kazim said that celebrating the World Quality Day constitutes an excellence opportunity to introduce the concept of quality and enhance its applications and demonstrate its achievements in obtaining numerous international standards and criteria. He pointed out as well that the recent successes in the field of quality in the last two years prove the vivid quality vision the Department has and its significance.
It is worth mentioning that Dubai Customs earned three quality management certificates which are the Client Service Charter- the first of its kind in the world- (ISO 10001), Social Accountability (SA 8000)- the first in Dubai- and the Environment Management System (ISO 14001). The Department also obtained two certificates in Information Security Management (ISO 27001) and IT Services Management (ISO 20000) both in 2009.
Furthermore, Dubai Customs managed to sustain three previously earned certificates in 2009 which are Social Accountability from 2001 edition to 2008 edition, Quality Management System from 2000 edition to 2008 edition and the Occupational Health and Safety System from 1999 edition to 2007 edition. It also renewed its certificate in the Customer Complaints Management certificate in 2009 and 2010.
