Abu Dhabi, August 29, 2021: The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) today announced that it has awarded 35,991 conformity certificates to school bus drivers and supervisors in the last six years in Abu Dhabi.
In a statement, the Council said that 16,959 certificates were granted to school bus drivers and 19,032 to supervisors since the launch of the school transport sector conformity program in 2015, adding that till date 9,055 drivers and 11,123 supervisors have obtained valid certificates of conformity.
QCC’s school transport sector conformity program is part of its services that endeavor to support vital economic and social sectors of Abu Dhabi, conducted in cooperation with the relevant regulatory authorities of the emirate.
These services are provided to both public and private sector entities with the aim of improving the quality of school transport services in Abu Dhabi, as well as increasing the efficiency and performance of employees. The conformity services also ensure strict compliance by drivers and supervisors to mandatory quality and safety standards.
Engineer Badr Khamis Al-Shamili, Director of Conformity Assessment Services Department at QCC, said that the first-of-its-kind services were launched joining hands with the Executive Committee of School Transport of the Integrated Transport Center.
The school transport sector conformity programme has contributed to the development of school bus drivers and supervisors by upgrading their skills, he said. The program was designed in cooperation with the School Transport Executive Committee team and its affiliated committees, and a specialized experts’ team.
Al-Shamili emphasized that since its launch the programme has helped protect lives and properties by training and evaluating school bus drivers and supervisors on professional skills, particularly in emergency situations, like during passenger evacuation, safe driving in various weather conditions, observing correct traffic rules as well as safety procedures to be followed during entry and exit of students.
The programme has helped school and educational entities employ qualified school bus drivers and supervisors, reducing the number of accidents and injuries in Abu Dhabi, he said.
Al-Shamili said that the Council is working on a conformity programme for workers other than drivers and supervisors in the school transport sector, based on the relevance and need of each segment of these employees.
These enabling services of the Council developed in line with the needs of regulatory authorities and approved plans and systems will help maintain the continuity and sustainability of businesses to achieve their goals, while complementing Government efforts in this direction.
He said the number of drivers in the school transport sector has risen by 11 times now from the first two years of introducing the conformity programme, while the number of supervisors has grown five-fold.
Al-Shamili said there are various performance indicators that help validate and point to the programme’s impact and success in supporting and developing school transport services. These indicators include measurement of the training and evaluation processes, in addition to tracking data on the reduction of injuries and accidents ensuring safe school transportation.
By increasing the efficiency of skilled and unskilled workers in this sector, the programme has ensured high levels of security and safety to students, in turn contributing to the national economy and reputation by following international standards of safety and security.
QCC also has in place monitoring mechanisms to track the compliance of school bus drivers and supervisors to the conformity programme. An inspection team from the regulatory body also conducts periodic checks to ensure that both drivers and supervisors have obtained the Council’s conformity certificates. There is also scheduled and random assessment sessions held as part of the monitoring and evaluation processes, as well as remote monitoring with the help of cameras in evaluation centres, Al-Shamili added.
QCC’s school transport sector conformity program is part of its services that endeavor to support vital economic and social sectors of Abu Dhabi, conducted in cooperation with the relevant regulatory authorities of the emirate.
These services are provided to both public and private sector entities with the aim of improving the quality of school transport services in Abu Dhabi, as well as increasing the efficiency and performance of employees. The conformity services also ensure strict compliance by drivers and supervisors to mandatory quality and safety standards.
Engineer Badr Khamis Al-Shamili, Director of Conformity Assessment Services Department at QCC, said that the first-of-its-kind services were launched joining hands with the Executive Committee of School Transport of the Integrated Transport Center.
The school transport sector conformity programme has contributed to the development of school bus drivers and supervisors by upgrading their skills, he said. The program was designed in cooperation with the School Transport Executive Committee team and its affiliated committees, and a specialized experts’ team.
Al-Shamili emphasized that since its launch the programme has helped protect lives and properties by training and evaluating school bus drivers and supervisors on professional skills, particularly in emergency situations, like during passenger evacuation, safe driving in various weather conditions, observing correct traffic rules as well as safety procedures to be followed during entry and exit of students.
The programme has helped school and educational entities employ qualified school bus drivers and supervisors, reducing the number of accidents and injuries in Abu Dhabi, he said.
Al-Shamili said that the Council is working on a conformity programme for workers other than drivers and supervisors in the school transport sector, based on the relevance and need of each segment of these employees.
These enabling services of the Council developed in line with the needs of regulatory authorities and approved plans and systems will help maintain the continuity and sustainability of businesses to achieve their goals, while complementing Government efforts in this direction.
He said the number of drivers in the school transport sector has risen by 11 times now from the first two years of introducing the conformity programme, while the number of supervisors has grown five-fold.
Al-Shamili said there are various performance indicators that help validate and point to the programme’s impact and success in supporting and developing school transport services. These indicators include measurement of the training and evaluation processes, in addition to tracking data on the reduction of injuries and accidents ensuring safe school transportation.
By increasing the efficiency of skilled and unskilled workers in this sector, the programme has ensured high levels of security and safety to students, in turn contributing to the national economy and reputation by following international standards of safety and security.
QCC also has in place monitoring mechanisms to track the compliance of school bus drivers and supervisors to the conformity programme. An inspection team from the regulatory body also conducts periodic checks to ensure that both drivers and supervisors have obtained the Council’s conformity certificates. There is also scheduled and random assessment sessions held as part of the monitoring and evaluation processes, as well as remote monitoring with the help of cameras in evaluation centres, Al-Shamili added.
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