Topic: Community improvements

Arabian Ranches Smart Police Station opens

Arabian Ranches’ very own Smart Police Station (SPS) was officially inaugurated on 9 December 2018 by Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police. The ceremony was also attended by Ahmad Thani Al Matroushi, Managing Director of Emaar Properties, Ahmad Al Falasi, Executive Director – Group Operations of Emaar Properties and Mohd Kaiser Azad, Head of Emaar Community Management.

The ‘walk-in’ station is solar-powered and among the first fully automated police stations in the world, offering residents a host of services relating to traffic fines, conduct certificates, complaints, inspection requests, and social support. The services can be availed in six languages, with the station open 24 hours, seven days a week.

“Under directives from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to adopt the smart police stations idea in Dubai residential and commercial areas to reach all members of the public to provide best smart services for their happiness. The new station in Arabian Ranches will give services round the clock,” said Major General Al Merri. 

Meanwhile, Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi praised the cooperation with Dubai Police to provide police services to tenants and owners of Arabian Ranches, saying “Emaar Properties is keen to cooperate with innovative entities like Dubai Police to provide the best services to the residents. Having smart police stations will provide smart, excellent and easy services to the public.”

Source: Gulf News

ECM bags international award for Customer Experience

Emaar Community Management (ECM) bagged its first international award for Customer Relationship Management at the International Customer Experience Awards held on 20 November at the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre, Amsterdam.

In midst of a global exhibition of customer experience excellence from leading organisations, our deep-rooted ethos of building lasting relationships with customers stood out as the hallmark of a company that truly goes the extra mile. Having overcome prominent international banks and insurance entities competing on parameters such as Business Rationale & Context, Innovative & Creative Solutions, Outstanding Customer Experience Delivered, Business Impact & Results, Customer Insight and Effective Implementation, this award marks a historic landmark in our journey.

A few key attributes that secured this award were our customer centric initiatives complemented with the use of technology, digital automation, artificial intelligence in operations and understanding our customer needs – all while crafting impeccable lifestyles through events that help strengthen the communal spirit.

Our motto of #BuildingCommunities continues to get amplified with our achievements reaching international shores, reiterating ECM’s status as a global leader at delivering unparalleled customer experience.

Emaar and residents host Iftar for community workers to mark the spirit of giving

As part of the #BuildingCommunities campaign organised by Emaar, Emaar’s management along with community residents organised Iftars for its community workers and service providers to mark the spirit of service and sharing during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The Iftars, held at Arabian Ranches and Emirates Living, were attended by representatives of all service providers that serve Emaar communities in Dubai. They were welcomed by Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director – Emaar Properties; Amit Jain, Chief Executive Officer – Emaar Dubai and Jeevan D’Mello, Chief Customer & Community Officer – Emaar Properties.

Residents signed up to donate laban, juices, breads and fruits, while families poured in as volunteers to serve and usher the community staff at the food stations. Homeowners and tenants, who were part of the initiative, said it was honour for them to volunteer and serve the people working to keep their community beautiful. The events were attended by over 1200 staff including security guards, lifeguards, MEP staff and cleaning staff.

Emaar communities secure top rankings in resident happiness survey

Emaar Community Management dedicates an organic garden to its senior residents

Senior citizens residing in The Greens & Views opened a fruit and herb garden dedicated to the group on 01 October 2017 – as part of the community celebrations for International Day for Senior Citizens. Hosted by Emaar Community Management, the event was a time of reminiscing old memories and socialising with other golden agers in the community.

Known as The Backyard, the new garden is home to 41 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Plants include jasmine, basil, spinach, chikoo, almond, guava, grapefruit, lychee, chilies, sweet potato, lemongrass and marigold among others. More plants are being added to The Backyard, making it a perfect place for the senior citizens to practice their basic gardening skills and relax both body and unwind.

Naseem Durrani, founder of the Golden Age Group, who was handed keys to The Backyard said, ‘This is the first time we hosted an event in dedication to senior residents in the UAE. Both familiar and new faces are here, members and non-members alike. The idea behind the event is to welcome and honour the elderly, share memories and make new friends.”

The Backyard is located on Street 3 opposite the central lawn in The Greens & Views and is already a frequented spot for the seniors.

A time for caring and sharing

Ramadan is a month of key ECM initiatives aimed at sharing the spirit of the season at all levels of our organisation and community – from top management to service providers to residents and on-site workers.

Community Iftars
During the holy month, ECM distributed more than 2,840 meals every day at twelve locations that included community mosques, prayer halls and commercial buildings, bringing together residents and community staff together at one table. Iftar tents were setup by mosques such as Al Samad and Al Wahab in The Meadows, Al Rahim in Dubai Marina, Sharbatali in The Greens & Views, Al Rahman in Arabian Ranches and Al Ghafoor in Downtown Dubai. The number of meals distributed at these locations totaled 85,278.

Special Iftars were also hosted for our service providers, Interim Board members and staff to draw a sense of belonging within our community management structures.

Clothes donation drive
Giving back to the community is second nature to ECM and we have collection banks installed in our communities to help facilitate this. By placing posters in our communities, residents were encouraged to drop in clothes for the needy. The result – our drive gathered 350 suitcases filled with pre-owned clothes weighing 11,200 kgs.

Ramadan Football Tournament
The Ramadan Football Tournament kicked off on 18 June with 22 teams vying for the annual title. The indoor five-a-side format was played at Sports Zone located at The Meadows Village. Participants ranged from school students to veteran football enthusiasts and good sportsmanship was on display. The young and spirited Red Eagles beat their compatriots Family, by two goals and lifted the trophy to emerge winners.

Overall during the blessed month of Ramadan, ECM’s message was that of caring and sharing and social involvement to make community living a caring and peaceful experience for everyone involved.

ECM wins for customer service – sustainability and community integration

Emaar Community Management has always stood out for its best practices and efficient community management methods and this was evident at recent awards and forums held in Dubai, underlining our continuous efforts and commitment to making our customers feel good and happy. Listed below are titles we won at regional and international awards.

Winner – Client Relationship Management at the International Business Excellence Awards
ECM emerged winner in the Client Relationship Management Category at the International Business Excellence (IBX) Awards 2017. The prestigious IBX Awards recognise business excellence from around the world and drew participants from large corporate organisations such as MESH, AXS, Juma Al Majid, Emirates NBD, Mashreq Bank, Du, RAK BANK, DHL Express, Deutsche Telekom AG, Turkcell, Saudi Telecommunication Company and many others.

We were judged and rated on different parameters such as Business Rationale and Context, Strategic Planning and Involvement of Key Stakeholders, Innovation and Creativity, Effective Implementation, Outstanding Change Delivered, Business Impact and Results Achieved. Through a combination of effective communication, world-class customer service, prompt response mechanisms, dynamic platforms such as community portals, integrated community management system (ICMS) and our methods of community engagement, we proved once again that our practices matched and surpassed international standards.

Winner – Best Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the Facilities Management Middle East Awards
ECM was announced the winner of the Best Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the Facilities Management Middle East (fmME) Awards 2017. The fmME Awards recognised and rewarded individual excellence, corporate prowess, sustainable efforts, and exemplary FM service delivery, drawing several participants from across the Middle East. We were judged and rated on efforts to reduce our carbon footprint through corporate social responsibility, energy and water reduction, recycling and procurement practices. ECM’s effective and successful campaigns on Recycling, Say NO to car washing, LEDs, Green Bill, Say NO to Damas and Trap-Neuter-Return combined with sustainable day-to-day operations demonstrated the positive contributions made to our communities and our resident’s positive living experience as a whole.

Winner – Best Overall Integrated Community at the Urban Community Development ME Forum
ECM was recognised for having the Best Overall Integrated Lifestyle Community at the Urban Community Development Middle East Forum. The international forum was held over two days of panel discussions, awards and networking at The Meydan Hotel on 15 and 16 May 2017.

The forum organised by the International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC) covered topics such as the roles and responsibilities of community maintenance, urban connectivity and permeability, planning resilient and sustainable communities in the Middle East and the future of urban communities.

ECM wins best online experience and asset management at Gulf Real Estate Awards

Emaar Community Management was announced the winner in the Web Portal Experience and Asset and Facilities Management categories at the inaugural Gulf Real Estate (GRE) Awards held on 17 April 2017. The announcement was made at an awards ceremony held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, a day after a round of presentations by over 80 companies across UAE and the Gulf.

Launched by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and Dubai Real Estate Institute, the prestigious GRE Awards recognise leaders in real estate from the region and drew participants from large corporate organisations. In the web portal category, we competed against four major regional organisations including dubizzle, Listaproperty, Dar Wa Emaar Real Estate Investment & Development Company, and Smart Management IT Solutions. Contenders in the asset management category included Deyaar FM and Gulf Tandeel Group.

We were judged and rated on different parameters such as Business Rationale and Context, Strategic Planning and Involvement of Key Stakeholders, Innovation and Creativity, Effective Implementation, Outstanding Change Delivered, Business Impact and Results Achieved.

Through a combination of our state-of-the-art technology, sustainable and consistent delivery of services across community assets, prompt response mechanisms, dynamic and bespoke solutions and platforms such as tailor-made community portals and mobile apps, we proved once again that our practices matched and surpassed international standards.

HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of Dubai Land Department presented the trophies to the winners at the awards ceremony.

Arabian Ranches gets a wadi-inspired garden to unwind and relax

Residents of Arabian Ranches unveiled a sprawling new fruit and herb garden on 08 October 2016 – part of the community’s improvement programme that aims to offer its residents a peaceful little spot to relax body and unwind.

Known as The Oasis, the garden is set across a wadi-inspired stretch located along the outer ring of the Saheel sub-community and is home to a wide variety of shrubs and herbs such as mint, rosemary lemongrass and basil used as a ground cover. Flowering plants and fruit trees such as mulberry, orange, chikoo, guava, mango, olive, fig, tamarind and jojoba dot the terraces with information boards placed by each plant.

In addition to the kids’ play area and a space for yoga enthusiasts, visiting birds also make The Oasis the perfect place to take a break while cycling or walking through the community.

‘I am already in love with The Oasis. It’s such a good use of space and being an avid gardener, I love to see all these herbs and fruits around – it’s a great spot to just sit and bond with nature’, said a resident of Saheel, Arabian Ranches.

Residents and visitors also received a guided tour of the different varieties of flora and a sachet of seeds of plants at The Oasis to help them understand and connect with the new green space in their community.

22 new access ramps in Downtown Dubai

In line with Dubai’s vision to make public areas accessible for people with mobility problems, Emaar has taken on an initiative to build access ramps across its communities – with one of the most recent being the facility in the Yansoon 5 tower located in Old Town Residences, Downtown Dubai. This is one of 22 ramps that have been installed across the community.

The access ramp was officially opened by a wheelchair bound volunteer, Ms. Shobhika Kalra and Emaar Community Management. Shobika was the first to use the ramp and is working towards encouraging more organisations in Dubai to make the city wheelchair friendly through a social initiative called Wings of Angelz. She also raises awareness on social media using the hashtag #BuildARamp.

The facility can be used by residents or visitors on wheelchairs as well as people with strollers or carts.