Source: www.rta.ae
The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has achieved two ISO Certificates in Occupational Health and Safety as well as Environment from the British Standards Institution (BSI Group) namely; ISO BS:OHSAS 18001:2007, which relates to a series of Occupational Health and Safety assessments, and ISO 14001:2004, which relates to the Environmental Management Systems. These two certificates are among the world’s most accredited certifications in the field of Occupational Health & Safety as well as Environment.
RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director H.E. Mattar Al Tayer received the two certificates from H.E Dominic Jermey OBE – British Ambassador to the UAE, and Theuns Kotze, Regional Director of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa in the British Institute of Safety.
Attended the certificates awarding ceremony were Abdul Mohsin Ibrahim Younis, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance; Essa Abdel Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of Public Transport Agency; Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of Rail Agency; Amair Saleem, Director of Safety,Planning and Regulation, and other executives from both parties.
Al Tayer was delighted in seeing RTA scooping two prestigious international certifications which add yet further successes to RTA record in Occupational Health, Safety and Environment. Achieving these two certificates, he says, illustrates the adoption by the RTA of the highest global standards in management, follow-up and improvement of the standards and systems of Health, Safety and Environment.
He continued: “Achieving Safety Management and Environment Certification by the RTA complements the standards of the Dubai Government Excellence Program in the systematic design & management of operations. It also shows that RTA is right on the track of achieving its strategic goals and delivering on its commitment to implement the Occupational Safety and Environment Standards in realization of its vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All.
“RTA commitment to implement the requirements of achieving these two international certificates will curtail the risks of health and safety to employees, customers and suppliers, besides helping achieve better management of the environmental risks, at the present time or future, and boosting the morale of employees,” added Al Tayer in a final remark.
For his part Theuns Kotze, Regional Director of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa in the British Institute of Safety, congratulated the RTA on having achieved ISO certification to two of the most rigorous and demanding management system standards.
“The RTA’s commitment to best practice in terms of health and safety and environmental impact is evident by RTA having taken action to implementing then seeking certification from the British Standards Institution to these two standards.
“Many organizations are implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) as part of their risk management strategy to address changing legislation and protect their workforce. The implementation of the Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing a framework that allows the RTA to consistently identify and control its health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance and improve overall performance.
“OHSAS 18001 is the internationally recognized assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies in this field. ISO 14001 is an internationally accepted standard that sets out how you can go about putting in place an effective Environmental Management System (EMS),” said Theuns Kotze– BSI Regional Director – Middle East and Africa.
It is worth-mentioning that RTA has achieved last year ISO 27001 certification to Information Security Management System; the highest internationally accredited certification for Information Security. It has also achieved ISO 20000 certification to the quality standards of the IT services in place, in recognition of its efforts in applying the best practices as provided for in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards; making it only the second Government Department at the Dubai Government level and the fifth across the UAE to obtain this certification.
Achieving these two certifications is a testament to RTA’s commitment to apply the highest global standards in management, follow-up and improvement of the information security system; which encompasses improving the performance of information technology management, raising the level of security awareness, enhancing the response to the requirements and security incidents related to information technology, and undertaking regular reviews of the approved policies in the context of the ongoing improvement processes.
