The Public Works Authority has organised Ashghal’s Organisational Excellence Forum with the presence and participation of the Civil Services and Government Development Bureau, with the aim of sharing knowledge and experiences on ways to achieve organisational excellence.
The Forum was attended by top corporate development experts in Qatar, the region and the world.
H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, President of the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, and H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ inaugurated the Forum, with the attendance of senior managers, planning and corporate development officials from various government entities of the State, alongside representatives of consultants, contractors and a group of Ashghal leaders.
During the forum, the Public Works Authority, represented by Eng. Jamal Al Kaabi, Manager of the Planning and Quality Department, received the 5-Star Certificate of Excellence from Mr. Russell Longmuir, Chief Executive Officer of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), for Ashghal’s compliance with the standards of the improved EFQM excellence model.
On his part, H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, President of the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, stated: “The Qatar Government Excellence Programme is the main pillar for promoting excellence at the governmental level, as it was reinforced by the Amiri Resolution No. 63 of 2023 to establish the Qatar Government Excellence Award. This programme aims to achieve leading sustainable governmental excellence in line with national standards”.
H.E added: "Qatar Government Excellence Award strives to develop governmental services that are adapted to the needs of the Qatari community, through a flexible government sector, while maintaining the performance quality, innovation management and transformation to smart services".
In his opening statement, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ stated: "Based on our belief that achieving Qatar's diligent endeavors to build a distinct government sector achieves the highest standards of development, Ashghal’s team has adopted a roadmap to achieve a legacy of excellence, improve performance, and participate in the state's journey towards governmental excellence."
He added that Ashghal has come a long way in its ongoing journey towards governmental excellence and has obtained the 5-Star Certificate of Excellence from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) in Belgium, with the aim of establishing and promoting corporate culture that prioritizes exceptional performance, continuous improvement, sustainable success and outstanding results.
H.E. announced that Ashghal will continue its journey to excellence by developing a new roadmap for a 7–Star certification from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), by promoting a culture of excellence within Ashghal, enhancing team spirit, active participation in innovation management, competing with our peers around the world and encouraging new practices to encourage sustainable improvement.
During the forum, Eng. Jamal Sharida Al Kaabi, Manager of the Planning and Quality Department at Ashghal showcased the most important milestones in the Public Works Authority’s journey towards organisational excellence and the major factors that led to its recognition by EFQM. Eng. Jamal Al Kaabi highlighted Ashghal’s success in raising the quality of procedures and business and adhering to the standards of organisational excellence in accordance with internationally recognised standards.
During his speech, Al Kaabi confirmed that Ashghal is currently placing among its top priorities, the achievement of environmental sustainability, innovation, automation, and adoption of modern technology in construction and asset management. In this context, the Sustainability Strategy has been recently launched in Ashghal, which comprises more than 16 initiatives that include a number of employees.
Ashghal is committed to gradual and transformative development to become a leading governmental organisation that adopts the highest excellence standards. These operational standards are based on the development and enhancement of more than 294 operational processes and 25 corporate policies, in addition to 42 excellence initiatives that included about 120 employees. This enabled upgrading the measurement, monitoring and evaluation methods that contributed to providing realistic evidence of outstanding performance that are up to the mark with the challenges.
From his side, Russell Longmuir, Chief Executive of the EFQM stated that: “When excellence is an integral part of the corporate culture, it becomes the leading force behind every work, decision, and interaction. We, in EFQM have witnessed this in Ashghal, where all the departments were evaluated, and continuous organisational development was monitored as a culture and work standard in the Authority, and the role of this development in the improvement of life quality to the public in general.”
He continued by pointing out that EFQM model is the practical tool to help institutions reach excellence, by determining the level of maturity and understanding gaps, and then launching the appropriate solutions for development and improvement.
The forum included a panel discussion that elaborated on various aspects of achieving sustainable success. It involved Mr. Hassan Al-Ibrahim, Director of Government Development Affairs at the Civil and Government Service Bureau, along with Mohammed Al-Amri, Organisational Excellence Manager at the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, in addition to Engineer Jamal from Ashghal. Presentations were given, during the forum by Mr. John Sanei, an International Expert, about Redefining Organizational behavior to Guarantee Success into the Uncertain Future, and Mr. Gus Takali, a Pioneer in Government Excellence, on Inspiring a Commitment to Excellence in Every Role and Every Endeavor.