Abu Dhabi, July 1st, 2020, WAM: Anas Jawdat Al Barghouthi, Executive Director of Conformity and Standards Services Sector at Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), has affirmed that the development of the quality infrastructure system in Abu Dhabi and the Emirate’s commitment to following international standards have resulted in strengthening its economic growth and global competitiveness across many fields, particularly the economic, social, health and environmental domains.
• The QCC adopts 6 technical documents covering a number of vital sectors
• The QCC registers 70% of the conformity assessment bodies in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• 18 private labs have been appointed to test construction materials and soils
• 72 medical laboratories were accredited according to the international standard ISO 15189 by the end of 2019
• The QCC offers 47 competency testing programs for testing laboratories
Abu Dhabi, July 1st, 2020, WAM: Anas Jawdat Al Barghouthi, Executive Director of Conformity and Standards Services Sector at Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), has affirmed that the development of the quality infrastructure system in Abu Dhabi and the Emirate’s commitment to following international standards have resulted in strengthening its economic growth and global competitiveness across many fields, particularly the economic, social, health and environmental domains.
“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 many relevant regulatory authorities.
For example, the products and services conformity programmes directly contribute to achieving a positive impact on society in terms of rationalizing 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 rationalize electricity consumption in the Emirate.
He made it clear that the improved air conditioning efficiency schemes are expected to reduce energy consumption by 5,550 GWh per year with approximate savings of up to AED 727 million annually, due to the reduction in the value of government subsidies for the electricity sector.
Meanwhile, the use of energy-efficient street lighting contributes to energy savings of 76%; and reducing carbon emission by 70%. In addition, the use of energy-efficient LED external lights has helped minimize the environmental damage resulting from electricity consumption and saves around AED 175 million annually.
He stated that the enhanced water use efficiency schemes, which were launched in cooperation with the Department of Municipalities and Transport, has contributed to achieving savings estimated at around 50 billion liters of water or reduced requirement for water desalination leading to savings of AED 322 million annually. Meanwhile, the conformity scheme for construction materials has reduced operating costs by 19%.
As for the personnel conformity programmes, they have played a significant role in raising the efficiency and productivity of individuals working in many sectors and professions, Al Barghouthi said.
These include conformity 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, a total of AED 44 million have been saved for the infrastructure sector of urban planning and transportation, while AED 11 million was saved 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 became the only approved reference in the Emirate for all relevant regulatory authorities in addition to consultants and contractors working in the field of infrastructure. Through such guidelines, all specifications and guidance documents in the infrastructure sectors have been harmonized.
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 for the purposes of providing the services of Central Testing Laboratory. These laboratories cover 56% of the needs of government entities. Furthermore, the appointed laboratories can provide 96% of the approved or unapproved services required by government entities.
As for the environmental laboratories, they can cover 53% of the approved services and 82% of the services required by government entities whether approved or unapproved.
Al Barghouthi revealed that the QCC has offered 47 competency testing programs 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 competency testing programs. These programs’ are important prerequisites for laboratories to obtain accreditation and recognition of their testing results internationally.
He clarified that the competency tests are carried out through the use of identical samples, which are tested by all participating laboratories at a specific time. The results then are compared with reference samples known beforehand.
Al Barghouthi noted that the council has also registered 70% of the conformity assessment bodies in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which had a great impact on improving the quality of services provided by these bodies in accordance with the best international practices. He added that the number of accredited medical laboratories, in accordance with the international standard ISO 15189, has increased from 3 laboratories in 2015 to 72 laboratories by the end of 2019.
The Executive Director of Conformity and Standards Services Sector pointed out that the QCC has recently developed and published 6 technical documents after being approved by the Standing Technical Committee (STC), during its virtual Q2 meeting held on June 29, 2020.
He explained that the technical documents were developed for the quality control of conformity assessment bodies operating in the areas of community facilities, sanitation and telecommunications sector, to upgrade quality of products being traded in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, protect the environment and preserve their resources.
The QCC's Standing Technical Committee (STC) is made up of representatives from all of concerned partners from government sectors as its members and the committee takes on several tasks such as ensuring achievement of the comprehensive view of the standards system governance in Abu Dhabi
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