On 29 July 2019, Emaar Health, Safety and Environment, part of Emaar Development, presented our Boulevard Towers team with certificates of excellence for recording a total of 38 million safe man-hours in four different projects. These are the first HSE certificates that Emaar has awarded to a consultancy and the first health and safety award in the Downtown area for Arcadis.
Situated in Downtown Dubai, the Boulevard Towers’ project is part of a 500-acre mega-project described as The Centre of Now comprised of eight residential towers with retail components within five high-rise projects. Emaar appointed Arcadis in 2016 for a four-year commission to manage, administer, coordinate, program and monitor all activities associated with design, procurement, construction, T&C, completion and initial integrations with Emaar Operations and FM teams.
Emaar is known as a pioneering developer of integrated masterplanned communities. Over the last three years, the Boulevard Towers team has been supporting Emaar’s ideas and objectives through weekly and monthly collaborations. These efforts have added value and created exceptional and sustainable outcomes for Emaar and resulted in maintaining an incident-free workplace for the following projects:
- Boulevard Crescent, 12,000,000 safe man hours
- VIDA, 15,000,000 safe man hours
- Forte, 5,000,000 safe man hours
- Boulevard Heights 6,000,000 safe man hours
When Arcadis came on board as PMC, the team conducted an initial review to provide a status overview of the issues on site. This was followed by weekly HSE site walks and HSE meetings with mandatory attendance for different parties such as safety and construction managers and key subcontractors. The project team also established KPIs and presented a Golden Helmet Award to the best performing contractor each month based on adherence to HSE standards.
Dimitri Fiorini was key to establishing the HSE platform for reviews, reporting, escalation procedures and the monthly meetings with the contractor and consultant. Richard Appleyard took over the role in December 2018, reaffirming and articulating the HSE vision to the team so vividly and powerfully that it became the vision and guiding principle for what needs to be done.
Elaine McKenna, Arcadis Associate Director, remarked that “Such recognition reaffirms that we are doing our job and doing it well. It means that we, as a business, are fulfilling our legacy, sharing knowledge not only with our clients but also with our competitors, leaving a sustainable footprint behind that we can be proud of knowing that it was an enabling factor for collaboration and setting the standard for good HSE practice for others to aspire.”
Anil More, Emaar Development Health, Safety and Environment Director, said: “Congratulations for the awards. Thank you for your continued collaborative efforts and work. Above all, thank you for implementing a safe system of work and maintaining an incident-free workplace. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Dimitri (Fiorini), whose contribution to all Downtown projects from the beginning is valuable and very much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Train our people and look after them.”
Richard Appleyard, Arcadis Health and Safety Manager, commented: “Taking care of the people working in our projects is our highest priority. Our commitment to coach, develop and monitor the understanding of the core principles of construction health and safety by all is essential to safe operations.”
Stephen Robson, Arcadis Senior Project Manager, added: “Everyone on site has a responsibility both individually and collectively to ensure that HSE standards are maintained irrespective of their role and does not just walk-by any perceived dangerous practice to ensure that all return home safely.”
