THE MEFMA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE IN FM 2024

  • CELEBRATE AND RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS, INNOVATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF ITS MEMBERS IN THE FIELD OF FM

  • HIGHLIGHT & PROMOTE EXCELLENCE AND BEST PRACTICES TO RAISE STANDARDS OF THE MIDDLE EAST FM INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY

  • SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR KNOWLEDGE-SHARING AND SHOWCASING SUCCESS STORIES

The Winner and Highly Commended from each category will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner on May 8, 2024 at the JW Marriott Hotel Marina, Dubai

The top 3 highest scoring submissions (from the award categories for Entities) will then qualify for the Global FM Awards of Excellence in FM 2024, along with nominations from other FM associations around the world

The Global FM Awards of Excellence, recognise the “best of the best” within the FM World and promote the strategic value and progress of facilities management. Recognition through the Global FM Awards of Excellence, celebrates and shares the efforts of individuals and teams, who have made a significant contribution to the knowledge and practice of FM to improve the workplace, building, or personal environment.

These awards will provide an invaluable worldwide recognition to recipients for their commitment and success in promoting and enhancing FM practices.

The recipients of these awards will have demonstrated the value of their innovations and/or improvements to the industry by considering the global impact and vision of their submission in line with meeting the required criteria.

AWARD CATEGORIES

_ (GOVERNMENT)
Client Best Practice

Eligibility: FM Clients from the Government / Public Sector

This award aims to recognize Clients who actively contribute to and lead the implementation of FM / Asset Management best practices helping to set the standards in the industry.

___(CORPORATE)
Client Best Practice

Eligibility: FM Clients from the Corporate Sector (banking, education, healthcare, etc)

This award aims to recognize Clients who actively contribute to and lead the implementation of FM / Asset Management best practices helping to set the standards in the industry.

__ (REAL ESTATE)
Client Best Practice

Eligibility: FM Clients from the Real Estate Sector (developers, property management, owners associations, retail, hospitality, etc)

This award aims to recognize Clients who actively contribute to and lead the implementation of FM / Asset Management best practices helping to set the standards in the industry.

FM Implementation in Megaprojects

Eligibility: FM Clients involved in large-scale projects / megaprojects

This award recognizes excellence in the successful implementation of FM practices for clients who have demonstrated exceptional strategies, innovations and outcomes within large-scale projects / megaprojects.

Technology Implementation

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes the most effective and innovative use of FM technology, wherein the impact of using technology from customer experience, operations effectiveness & ROI needs to be validated.

Digital Transformation

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes implementation of a digital transformation strategy within its business, with the ability to quickly and effectively adapt to change while embracing technology as a center of operation excellence.

Sustainability in Operations

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes an outstanding commitment to sustainability and how FMs are integrating sustainability initiatives into their FM operations. The case study shall showcase stakeholders involvement while achieving the expected results.

People Development

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, etc

This award recognizes the submission that showcases the most effective investment in people development & welfare across all their FM workforce.

Customer Experience

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes the diverse needs and satisfaction of its clients, leading to a positive customer experience, whilst showcasing the impact of such delivery of customer-centric solution.

Energy Management

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes the project that has achieved outstanding performance in their facility by adapting best practice processes to reduce the consumption of energy / carbon emissions considering the RRR philosophy (reduce, reuse and recycle).

Excellence in Health & Safety

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, etc

Health & Safety culture is a key to FM success towards protecting humans and reducing financial impact of accidents. This award submission will need to showcase and demonstrate commitment to HSE engaging all relevant parties.

CSR Initiative

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives across FM that contributes to the social, ethical and environmental aspects of the society.

FM Partnerships

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, Suppliers to FM Companies, Technology Providers, etc

This award recognizes outstanding FM partnerships and collaborations between FM teams and external partners (client & service provider / supplier & service provider), resulting in close cooperation and delivery of best practice for mutual success.

FM Consultancy

Eligibility: FM Service Providers, FM Clients, FM Consultants, etc

This award recognizes and supports achievement in FM consulting practice that includes offering clients effective solutions and providing expertise that help them achieve their business objectives such as FM design review, life cycle assessment, FM strategy initiatives among other FM consultant offerings.

Visionary Leader

Eligibility: Individual in a leadership role (C-level / senior management executives)

This award recognizes an Individual who has displayed exceptional leadership qualities and made significant contributions to the FM industry, demonstrated vision, strategic thinking and innovation in guiding their teams and organization.

FM Hero

Eligibility: FM employee or staff (not in a leadership role / position)

This award recognizes an Individual within the FM industry who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and impact by making a significant difference to their organization and / or to the industry through their commitment to excellence in FM.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

All submissions must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be a MEFMA member company to be eligible to submit in the award categories for ‘Entities’
  • Must be an individual MEFMA member or individual employed with a MEFMA member company to be eligible to submit in the award categories for ‘Individuals’
  • The submission must focus and concentrate on one specific project / case study / initiative considering the categories and criteria mentioned hereafter
  • Operational or implemented initiatives must have been fully operational in the Middle East for at least six months prior to January 10, 2024
  • No General or Commercial Marketing material to be included in the submission
  • All entries must be submitted in English only
  • Submissions must be done online by clicking on the ‘Submit Now’ tab of the Awards page on the MEFMA website.
  • Members are required to login to their membership account to continue with the submission process.
  • Please select the Awards Category you would like to enter. If you would like to apply in more than one category, kindly submit another form for the additional category that you wish to apply for.
  • During the submission process, you will also have the option to ‘Save and Continue Later’, wherein the submission can be accessed from the ‘My Submission’ tab of the Awards page and/or from your membership dashboard.
  • The submissions will be judged on the below criteria. Answer each of the criteria to support your submission process (500 words maximum per judging criteria). Description of each criteria will be available once you login to your membership account and start the submission process.
    • Creation, Evolution and Implementation
    • Innovation in FM
    • Corporate Outcomes
    • Leadership and Success in FM
    • Contribution to FM Worldwide
  • Attach a maximum of 2 supporting documents (total of 4 pages), for example: published articles, certificates/awards, etc (Please note, the submission of supporting documents is entirely optional and will not be scored separately).
  • Final submission deadline – February 26, 2024 (Late submissions will not be accepted)
  • Submissions must be done online by logging in to the member’s account on the MEFMA awards website
  • Each member company is eligible to apply for one or more award categories
  • Each category entry should be filled in a separate submission form, for companies submitting in more than one awards category
  • Incase of any unsettled payment or membership cancellation during the awards submission process until the awards announcement, MEFMA reserves the right to withdraw the company / individual’s submission
  • The submission deadline is final and not subject to any exception or changes
  • The submission must follow the exact specifications and word count mentioned hereafter
  • Once the entry is submitted, no further changes will be accepted
  • There is no financial obligation associated with the awards entry submission
  • MEFMA will announce the winners only during the Awards Gala Dinner, none of the applicants will receive any statement, result or hint prior to the event
  • MEFMA reserves the right to cancel part or all of the awards categories for any reason
  • MEFMA reserves the right to change or postpone the submission deadline
  • MEFMA reserves the right to publish a winner’s submission as a report / case study thereafter, in coordination with the member company
  • MEFMA reserves the right to withdraw the award, if the winner fails to attend the Awards
  • All entries will be evaluated and judged based on the awards criteria, by an independent Jury Committee, composed of leading experts and industry players who represent a broad spectrum of Facilities Management, to ensure fair judging of the submissions
  • All judges names will be kept anonymous and only announced once the Judging Process has been completed
  • The Winner & Highly Commended will be announced within each MEFMA awards category
  • Top 3 highest scoring submissions (from the award categories for Entities) to qualify for the Global FM Awards of Excellence in FM 2024

AWARDS JURY

Abdulhadi Alalyak

Position: MEFMA Board Member / Head of Corporate Services (Facilities & Real Estate) - Du

UAE
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

Abdulhadi is currently the Head of Corporate Services at the UAE based Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du). He joined this fast growing and dynamic organization in 2008 as VP, Asset Management & Corporate Admin, and has been a driving force contributing to its many facets of success and evolution since inception.

Prior to this appointment, Abdulhadi held the position of Chief Engineer, Integrated Customer Services and Facilities Management for 13 years at the giant global telecom company Etisalat.

His achievements are well recognized by the professional community and are highlighted through his many positive accomplishments within the FM community. In addition to being one of the key individuals contributing to the establishment and success of MEFMA, he also represents the sector internationally as a board of directors’ member of Global FM.

Abdulhadi holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious George Washington University, USA, as well as Post Graduate Certificates in both Strategic Leadership from Cranfield University, UK, and Managing Corporate Resources from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland. He is currently undertaking an EMBA with Hult International Business School and is expected to graduate in 2020.

Abdulhadi Alalyak

MEFMA Board Member / Head of Corporate Services (Facilities & Real Estate) - Du

UAE

Ali AlSuwaidi

Position: MEFMA Vice President & Global FM Vice Chair
Deputy COO - American University of Sharjah

UAE
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

Ali AlSuwaidi is one of the influential leaders of the facilities management and asset management industry in the Middle East. He has been in the industry since the nascent stages and has been tasked with a range of prestigious, mission-critical, high-profile assignments. His valuable volunteering contributed to the growth of the industry in the Middle East and especially GCC countries. Eng. Ali is one of the FM subject matter experts worldwide and a visionary speaker participating in facility management workshops, conferences, and seminars. Amongst many other important tasks, Ali was the first operation head for the tallest tower in the world, Burj Khalifa.

In addition to being one of the key founders of MEFMA and a prominent figure in the Middle East, he also has a great impact and huge influence globally by being the Vice Chairman in the Global FM Association (GFM) since January 2021 and previously as a board of director since January 2013, along with having a valuable impact as well on various entities in which he held key positions.

Eng. Ali holds MBA from American University of Sharjah and B.S in Electrical Engineering from Toledo, Ohio-USA. He also holds Mini MBA certificate of leadership from INSEAD, and he is a graduate from Dubai Government leadership program in coordination with The Wharton school of Business, USA. Ali Holds international diploma on health, safety and environment management from British Safety council.

Ali AlSuwaidi

MEFMA Vice President & Global FM Vice Chair
Deputy COO - American University of Sharjah

UAE

Dr. Assem Al-Hajj

Position: CEO / Director - Project Perfect Professional Practices Fz-Ltd (PROPER)

UAE
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

An accomplished leader with over 30 years of experience in Academia, CPM and FM. Currently CEO of Project Perfect Professional Practices, UAE. A certified trainer with MEFMA, an approved Project Management academic with Heriot Watt University in Dubai and a DBA/DM Supervisor with the International American University, LA, USA.

Formerly, CEO of Khawarizmi Holding Company (KHC) and President at Khawarizmi International College, AD, VP for Academic Affairs and Development at Applied Science University, Bahrain. Established and led the School of the Built Environment in 2006 at HWU Dubai.Introduced the first MSc in FM into MENA. Worked for 13 years at the Robert Gordon University, UK and Nigeria.

Published more than 80 scientific articles. Selected by The FM Middle East magazine as one of the 50 most influential professionals in the FM Industry in the Middle East.

Dr. Assem Al-Hajj

CEO / Director - Project Perfect Professional Practices Fz-Ltd (PROPER)

UAE

Dr. Isam Kabbani

Position: FM Specialist
Owner - Project Management Consulting Office

KSA
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

Dr. Isam is an accomplished and proven leader in Engineering, Construction Management and Operation and Maintenance. He has 30 years of professional experience at General Directorate of Military Works in Ministry of Defense & Aviation until he reached the rank of Major-General/Engineer and has managed many prestigious projects including military facilities, hospitals etc.

He is a Member of many engineering councils, including Member of the National Project Support Program council, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee for Facilities Management, and Owner of Engineering and Project Management Consultancy office.

Dr. Isam has participated in numerous scientific conferences and forums, published scientific papers and authored two books – Economics of facilities (Life Cycle Costs) & Legalization and standardization of Operation & Maintenance.

Dr. Isam Kabbani

FM Specialist
Owner - Project Management Consulting Office

KSA

Prof. Jeevan D’Mello

Position: President
Community Associations Institute

UAE
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

An architect by profession, Prof. Jeevan worked for Emaar Properties since 2002 and set up the region’s biggest community management company for Emaar Properties, managing some 170 towers and 14,000 homes and the tallest tower in the world, Burj Khalifa. Later he also set up Nakheel Community Management that manages the Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Gardens and many of Nakheel’s large master communities. He has been a consultant for Dubai Holdings, Sobha Realty, King Abdullah Financial District (Riyadh) and many other large developers in the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia and has worked on several iconic master communities in the region.

An author of four books, and a US-accredited, Dubai and Bahrain RERA-authorized lecturer, he received a doctorate in Educational Management and Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) at Azteca University, Mexico and serves as their visiting Professor of Real Estate. He has been appointed as Professor of Practice for Woxsen University, India. In 2014 he won the prestigious ‘President’s Award’ in the USA and has received a multitude of awards and accolades from across the world.

Prof. Jeevan is also the President of Global Leaders Today magazine and a board member of the US-based 50-year-old Community Associations Institute, where he serves as the first International President for 2024.   He was also a Board Member of the Rotary Club of Dubai.

Prof. Jeevan D’Mello

President
Community Associations Institute

UAE

Prof. Omar Gnieber

Position: Former Dean - Faculty of Engineering, University of Benghazi / Board Member - Arabic Council of Asset and Maintenance Management

LIBYA
Categories: Awards Jury 2024

Prof. Omar is a Private Sector Development consultant with over 25 years of experience driving excellence in private sector development, MSME empowerment, and quality management.

He has a proven record of accomplishments in:

o Academic leadership: Managed academic for faculty of Engineering and scientific affairs for postgraduate studies, fostering excellence and innovation

o Implementing TQM principles, Lean Six Sigma, and Agile methodologies to optimize operations and enhance performance

o Guiding organizations towards strategic goals through consultancy, training programs, and performance evaluations

o Leading impactful research initiatives focusing on MSME (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) growth and private sector development

o Earning international recognition, displaying commitment to continuous improvement

He also has a PhD in Industrial Engineering (World Class Techniques – Best Practices), along with extensive experience in quality management systems and international award programs.

Prof. Omar Gnieber

Former Dean - Faculty of Engineering, University of Benghazi / Board Member - Arabic Council of Asset and Maintenance Management

LIBYA

TIMELINE

  • JANUARY 10, 2024

    Call for Submissions open

  • FEBRUARY 26, 2024

    Submission deadline

  • MARCH 1-22, 2024

    Judging Process

  • MAY 8, 2024

    Winners to be announced at the MEFMA Awards Gala Dinner

SPONSORSHIP

Please contact the MEFMA team to know more about the Sponsorship Opportunities available!