Dubai civic staff get training

The Waste Services Section in the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality held Series 8 of its quarterly staff training sessions last Wednesday and Thursday at Hor Al Anz Library.

The session was attended by all supervisory level staff of the section.

These sessions are held every quarter and were begun in 1999 with the primary objective of training the staff on various issues such as Local Order implementation and introduction of new procedures within the section.

The first training session for each year is normally held in January and provides an opportunity for the section management to review the sections' performance during the previous year.

The session briefs the staff about various performance parametres, plans and targets for the year ahead. Sessions held during subsequent quarters are normally devoted to training on various issues of interest.

The recently concluded session was unique because of the variety of topics it covered. Moreover, it was the first time that all levels within the section hierarchy from inspectors to engineers were represented in the speaker line-up.

Vijay Vikranth, Environmental Engineer, introduced the concept of Reverse Vending Machines (vending machines in which used beverage containers are deposited to obtain appropriate rewards). This was particularly significant since the introduction of these machines in Dubai is imminent.

Ammar Kamal, Area Officer, Al Satwa, spoke on the topic of Green Waste Management. His presentation highlighted the development of the city and the challenge that the growth of landscaped areas poses in the management of this waste stream.

Assistant Engineer Yaqoob's presentation titled Safety First identified appropriate safety measures for waste collection, street cleaning and equipment maintenance operations (workshop repair activities).

Inspector Zayed Obaid's presentation on Field Photography Techniques was particularly beneficial as photographic evidence is important in cases of cleanliness violations.

Roshan D'Souza, Environmental Engineer, gave a comprehensive presentation on Climate Change.

Besides an overview of the Greenhouse Effect, the presentation also included interesting material on modelling of climate change, data collection using weather stations, satellites and submarines in Greenland, the Artic and Antarctic regions.

Shaji Maths, Transport Control Officer, made a presentation on the utilisation of vehicles in the section. He highlighted the significant cost savings as a result of avoided capital costs for vehicle purchase through enhanced utilisation and optimisation of the section's fleet of vehicles.

While these quarterly training sessions have proved tremendously effective in improving operational practices, it was evident from the last one that they have also gradually evolved and now also serve as an opportunity for staff from various levels make presentations and highlight successfully completed projects or issues of general environmental interest.