As the pace of change continues to increase around with world, the gulf region continues to add more and more markers to bring it in front of the International Stage. This is not just limited to acquiring sports icons and aiming for the moon but also expanding on the list of new engineering marvels in the built environment space which are also ticking the ‘sustainability’ boxes. The 28th Conference of the Parties, which is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in November 2023 is building on the momentum of the extensive G2G interactions created during the Expo2020. This is providing the much-needed focus to drive change in regulations as well as focus of the governments in the region to encourage more sustainable developments.
The devastation due to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has brought to the fore the discussions related to ‘Codes & Standards’, which has been one of several themes being focused on not only as sustainability takes the centre stage but also as the pipeline of Giga and Mega projects grows in the region.
World-over as governments and decision makers continue to evolve mechanisms to minimize the impact of accidents, codes and standards have shown the path. Often developed using consensus-led processes, codes, guides and standards are the documents that provide a democratic way of driving uniformity. Though the decades that have gone by, the analyses of accidents have added to the codes and standards as well as driven regulatory or contractual reform. Hence, this region continues to attract greater focus from various SDOs (Standard Development Organizations) and well as conformity assessment businesses. Bodies like ASTM, UL, NFPA, ICC and others continue to drive a stronger focus on Fire Safety and they have extended several efforts locally.
The start of the year saw an increased focus on Fire Safety. Intersec, which recorded the highest footfall since it began (with over 42,000 visitors) was followed by a slew of activities and events discussing ways and means to enhance more systematic implementation of measures to drive quality and safety. Some of the notable ones among many were the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) and International Code Council (ICC)’s industry interactions and meetings. ICC (who publish ‘The International Building Code’ which is the basis of Abu Dhabi’s building codes as well as the Saudi building code) also hosted a workshop titled ‘Enabling Safe & Successful Use of Innovative Building Materials, Systems and Methods’. There were several bespoke events and workshops engaging various government and semi-government entities in the region like the one with Kuwait Fire Force which focused on implementing Fire Safety using better compliance mechanisms.
Our April issue builds further by offering readers insightful articles and campaigns that aim to enhance the industry’s drive to a safer place. Keeping in sight the recent tragedies, this issue has several notes published to evolve a better understanding of Urban Search & Rescue, which are extremely informative. Covering the full range of fire safety – ‘pro-active’ (passive fire protection) as well as ‘reactive’ (active fire protection) – the issue has articles for better implementation of fire-protection strategies. As the world’s supply chains continue to re-build, it becomes imperative for buyers and regulators to develop a keen understanding of ‘Assurance Mechanisms’ often run by third-party bodies which provide the much-needed definition and clarity of responsibility and liability. There is also a very insightful note on the impact of non-natural substances from industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction and electronics on the health of firefighters. Chemicals like Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are among several others which have recently been researched for multiple health effects associated with exposure. We hope this issue provides you with the insights that can help you make better decisions.
About the Author
Abhishek is an Engineer and a Post Graduate Diploma holder in Finance. He has been advocating the need for compliance to standards for improved safety and quality across industries for most of the last two decades. He has vast experience of promoting conformity assessment in several industries including Consumer Electronics, Industrial products (HVAC, ATEX-HAZLOC, Machinery, lighting, etc.), Renewable and Building Products across geographies and jurisdictions. He has worked on several Standards and Codes development initiatives, specifically with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), ASTM, UAE Fire & Life Safety Code of Practice and Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO). He spent the last decade increasing awareness about Passive Fire Protection across geographies and is a globally recognized figure in the industry.
He frequently writes articles for magazines, publications & Journals and is an invited speaker at conferences across many geographies.
Along with helping thousands of businesses grow leveraging Standards and Conformity, he brought about growth for several Assurance businesses in Testing, Inspection and Certification space across several industries.
He, now invests considerable time in increasing the awareness about the Testing, Inspection and Certification and increasing the understanding of conformity across the world via various initiatives from his website https://tic.guru. He is also on the advisory council of accreditation bodies, code development bodies as well as conformity assessment bodies.
