The standard is the first worldwide in this specialist field
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has made a global achievement by obtaining the European Innovation Management Standard TS 16555- 1 / CEN. This Certificate, which is considered the pinnacle of creating an integrated management system to support innovation, is awarded by the Lloyd's Register to most innovation-conducive entities as reflected in jobs & projects undertaken.
Laila Faridoon, Executive Director of the Office of the Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors cum Head of the Innovation Strategy Supervisory Committee, said: “we are proud of this global achievement, which came in recognition of RTA’s success in nurturing a creative & innovation-conducive environment. RTA has been adopting the best practices to achieve innovation-related objectives in full compliance with the directives of our government to rank the UAE among the top innovative nations worldwide. Areas assessed by the certification body include the leadership’s role in driving innovation, successful planning of innovation activities, providing innovation triggers & mechanisms, carrying out performance assessment of innovation management system, as well as reviewing opportunities & improvement in innovation management system.
“The innovation achievements culminate years of hard work in upgrading innovation tools, by designing a tool to measure innovation maturity in 2011 as per the standards of the American Excellence Institute. Then in 2013, the RTA developed the first innovation strategy before establishing the Research, Development and Innovation Center in 2014, and integrated it as part of RTA’s organizational structure, under the direct supervision of RTA’s Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. In 2014, RTA established a standing innovation committee to oversee & develop the innovation strategy, promote corporate creative thinking and attract innovative initiatives in implementation of our leadership’s vision to ranking Dubai as the most innovative city worldwide,” explained Faridoon.
“The innovation strategy was developed in 2015 in line with the strategic directives of the Dubai emirate in particular and the UAE in general. This strategy is aligned with the best global practices, and integrates with modern standards adopted in systems management & excellence. In 2015, RTA established a permanent government innovation laboratory to support this key initiative, which is derived from the vision of our wise leadership that call for establishing an effective methodology to upgrade public services, face of the standing challenges, and leverage the efficiency of the government’s administrative performance. RTA develops annual plans to hold scores of the government innovation laboratories at RTA’s level including all agencies and sectors in order to figure out innovative solutions for the current and future challenges. It also develops a road map for the future of transport in the Dubai emirate so as to meet the aspirations of our leadership in a way that befits Dubai’s global standing,” she noted.
Among the innovations introduced by RTA is the smart shelter, smart mall in metro stations, and the environment-friendly hybrid (fuel & electricity) vehicle as part of endeavours to develop creative solutions to cope with the environmental pollution caused by transportation means. It had also launched the self-service smart kiosks enabling customers to process transactions on their own without seeking assistance from employees. RTA is also making continuous endeavours to hold government labs to attract creative ideas through nurturing a working team aimed at driving innovation in current and future RTA’s projects.
“RTA is currently mulling the use of driverless vehicles in Dubai as part of its efforts to utilize the latest technologies of smart mobility worldwide. RTA firmly believes that its prosperity, advancement and competitiveness in excellence standards heavily depends on its reliance on creativity & innovation, and the delivery of added value in all projects & services intended to cope with the mobility challenges in Dubai in the context of the transformation to innovation, considering it a key driver in any modern establishment,” said.
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