On International Quality Day, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has emphasised that its commitment to the highest quality standards has contributed to its major achievements that have made it one of the best and most efficient utilities worldwide.
“We are guided by the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to continue the process of total quality and adopt sustainable excellence standards. These are essential tools for the transformation into the government of the future in line with our integrated management systems policy in all our operations. We are keen to spread a culture of quality among all stakeholders to ensure excellence and continue to provide world-class services according to the highest standards of quality, availability, reliability, and efficiency to achieve the happiness of customers and society in general,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
Lowest Customer Minutes Lost worldwide
Over the past decade, DEWA has reduced Customer Minutes Lost (CML) in Dubai from 6.88 CML per year in 2012 to only 1.43 CML in 2021, the lowest rate worldwide. DEWA is working to raise the capacity, efficiency, reliability, and quality of the power transmission network by implementing the latest technologies for preventive maintenance of the network and using the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, telecommunications and tele-control systems, securing the network through a well-established protection system, adopting the highest standards in engineering and commissioning, using smart grid technologies. The smart grid provides advanced features, including automated decision-making and interoperability across the entire electricity and water network, deployment of smart sensors and applications to regulate transmission and distribution network operations, as well as enhancing real-time monitoring and control. This has made DEWA’s practices a benchmark for utilities around the world.
100% reliability and availability of the power transmission system
The application of periodic preventive maintenance to its power transmission networks contributes to achieving 100% in the reliability and availability of the power transmission system in Dubai and reducing the average maintenance costs by approximately AED 2 million annually. This also has helped DEWA to be the ‘Best in Class’ among global utilities since 2018. DEWA continuously conducts preventive maintenance work based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality, Data Science, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the latest cybersecurity technologies, thermal images and functional tests. Through its Space D-programme, DEWA is developing several specialised uses for the electricity and water networks, enhancing operational efficiency and effectiveness, including preventive maintenance of the electricity and water networks and improving resilience and agility in monitoring and controlling the electricity and water networks.
Desalinated water quality
DEWA provides desalinated water in accordance with the highest international safety and quality standards including that of the World Health Organization related to the production, transmission, and distribution of drinking water. This is done through DEWA’s Central Lab, which works continuously to improve quality. The lab recently received the ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 certificate, which is the modified version of the previous version ISO / IEC 17025: 2005, by the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC). Obtaining this accreditation includes fulfilling many requirements for the efficiency and capacity of laboratories in terms of accuracy of tests and calibration, and it is adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission. This accreditation has been achieved as a result of the laboratory’s environmental and petrochemical testing services, as well as its expanded scope of work covering 35 tests for water and oils. Obtaining this accreditation supports the vision of the top management at DEWA to achieve the highest standards and best international practices.
In water desalination, Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV)s are used for underwater inspection of water intake infrastructure. Drones are also used for boiler inspection during annual overhauls, and also in videography and site inspections. In 2021, the Generation Division completed over 90 flights using robots to support the delivery of the highest levels of quality.
AI to improve efficiency
DEWA has developed several innovations based on AI technology to improve the quality and efficiency of operational processes in the water network and to monitor, isolate and repair leaks immediately. These innovative solutions also predict the malfunctions of smart meters and pumps based on sensor data, in addition to automating the notifications that are sent to customers in the event of a potential water leak in the property. Among the most prominent innovations by DEWA that rely on AI to enhance the efficiency and quality of the water network are: “iService”, where diagnostic data is collected for meters to monitor service outages and initiate procedures for repairing faults automatically; meter failure detection technology that relies on smart meter alerts; and the Hydronet project, which is based on AI and deep learning to monitor and control the water network remotely. The project can be integrated with the latest SCADA systems, and provide real-time data on the status of the network, in addition to repairing leaks within seconds without any human intervention, which enhances the efficiency of the water network in addition to saving effort and time.
Best occupational health and safety systems
DEWA is one of the world’s leading organisations in the field of quality, health, safety and environment. It is committed to the effective implementation of Integrated Management Systems (IMS), including Quality, Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) and ISO criteria (ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001) in various industries across its operations. DEWA considers integrated management systems a basis for creativity, innovation and continuous improvement.
Awards
DEWA’s journey in the field of quality was crowned by winning the European Foundation for Quality Management UN SDG Challenge 2021, in addition to winning three awards in the Diamond category at the Harvard Business Council Awards 2021, which focuses on the concept of total quality management and aims to evaluate institutions in various sectors according to their level of excellence, and their adoption of best practices, in addition to providing them with high-quality services and products. DEWA also won the global award from the EFQM for the second time to maintain its ranking in the platinum category, which includes leading international companies and institutions in the excellence field. Last year, DEWA won two awards during the 12th Global Continual Improvement & Innovation Symposium & Award 2021, organised by the Continual Improvement Subgroup of Dubai Quality Group (DQG) under the theme of ‘Excellence in Crisis’.
Source: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority