EGA employee’s safety suggestion takes gold at Ideas America 2017

Emirates Global Aluminium, has announced that it won Safety Idea of the Year, at Ideas America 2017, an annual awards programme that recognises people for engaging with their work in creative and outstanding ways.

The winning submission for Safety Idea of the Year was developed by Dileepan Soundararajan, who works in Casthouse Maintenance at EGA in Al Taweelah, performing preventative maintenance in areas where hot metal is turned into aluminium products.

Mr. Soundararajan, who has worked for EGA since 2013, offered a solution to a potential safety risk posed by heavy equipment that is used to tilt aluminium slabs on-site. His idea was implemented in November 2016 at EGA’s casthouse in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi.

The idea also won the Health and Safety Gold Award at this year’s EGA Rashid Awards, an annual award ceremony that recognises the strongest suggestions put forward by employees.

EGA has operated an employee suggestion scheme for more than 35 years. Since 1999, EGA employees have submitted over 220,000 actionable ideas, saving the company more than AED250 million.

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at EGA, said, "We believe that often it is people closest to a problem that can both identify it and work out the best solution. For us, involving everyone is the best way to continually improve. Recognition at events like Ideas America is fantastic for individuals, but is also a tribute to the dedication and ingenuity of everyone at EGA."