Dubai, UAE; 21 November, 2012: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's (DEWA's) suggestion scheme TAWASOL has won the Best Suggestion Scheme Award in the Platinum Category at the 26th Ideas UK conference held on 7-8 November in Bristol, England.

The TAWASOL scheme won the award after fierce competition with programs submitted by several high-profile organizations across the globe. The Ideas UK conference is organized annually in the UK and aims to recognize best practices in the field of suggestion systems, enabling organizations to benefit from staff's suggestions.

DEWA also won two categories in the Idea of the Year Competition. The Thermal Energy Storage Turbine Inlet Air Chilling (TESTIAC) project won the Global Award and was submitted by Nasser Lootah, Mahmoud Baniabbasi, Khalil Sabt, Nebojsa Simic, Abdul Majeed Al Awar, Ibrahim Abdulla, Khalfan Abdulla Al Mehairi, Abdulmajeed Raoof Al Aur, from the Generation Division. While Usama Omar and Mohamed Khalaf Radwan from Distribution Power Division won the Innovation Award for their project: the Earthing Monitoring and Alarm System.

Maryam Al Mutaiwei, Senior Manager of Personnel Management - HR Division And Fatima Deemas, Senior Manager of Employee Relations at DEWA handed over the International Accreditation Award for Best Suggestion Scheme to HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA on the sidelines of the Innovation and Creativity Conference 2012, organized recently by DEWA under the theme Get Inspired.

"Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote a culture of innovation amongst DEWA's staff, we are committed to encouraging and developing our employees' capabilities and talents. This is part of our strategy to motivate our staff and promote an innovation- and suggestion-culture at DEWA," said Al Tayer.

"At DEWA we participate regularly in national and international events to give our staff an opportunity to exchange thoughts and expertise with other individuals and organisations, to enhance their job satisfaction and provide motivation to deliver the best possible results in line with our vision aimed at achieving sustainable development in Dubai," added Al Tayer

"We are proud of having won the Best Suggestion Scheme award which puts DEWA in the lead amongst international utilities and proves the innovative and creative capabilities of our staff; I congratulate all winners on this achievement," added Al Tayer

"Participation in the Ideas UK conference benefits DEWA as it congregates leaders and experts in the field of innovation and suggestions to discuss the latest trends and enhancements of international suggestion schemes. Through this conference we aim to encourage our staff to innovate and share their creative ideas to maximise the individual and organizational efficiency and implement best international practices, providing high quality services for our customers," concluded Al Tayer

"We are committed to providing and developing the latest training programmes for our staff to give them opportunities to learn about the best suggestion schemes and practices, which improves their own skill sets and talents," said Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support at DEWA.

"The award-winning suggestion scheme TAWASOL is a part of our strategy aimed at encouraging and enhancing the talents of our staff in line with our goals to implement our staff's suggestions and increase their loyalty and job satisfaction," added Dr. Al Akraf.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:
Ribal Dayekh
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
Tel: +9714 324 4444   
ribal.dayekh@dewa.gov.ae

Ahmed Al Banna
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +9714 4507600
ahmed.albanna@bm.com

© Press Release 2012