GCAS Quality Certifications UAE

08/03/2013

06/09/2013

GCAS Quality Certifications.

Now also provide certification for ISO 10015+.

ISO 10015: the new solution to the quest for quality.

Realizing the need for more sector specific guidance of quality assurance of training, a working group was created within International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to draft a guideline standard for training. Twenty-two country representatives developed the draft text over several years culminating in the publication of a final official standard ISO 10015 issued by the ISO secretariat in December 1999. The new ISO standard offers two main advantages namely:

a. being based on the process oriented concepts of the new 9000:2000 ISO family of standards and being easily understandable for companies used to ISO related quality instruments; but also readily available to non ISO based companies since ISO 10015 can also be used as a “standalone” quality instrument by adding management points(+).

b. being a sector specific, that is pedagogically oriented, standard which offers companies specific guidance in the field of training technology and organizational learning depending on the competence required by a company or a public organization.

06/09/2013

GCAS Quality certifications is proud to announce Muscat Press & Publishing House is the first media company in Oman and the second in the Gulf region to have been awarded ISO 9001:2008 (QMS) Certification.

To read more visit : http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-14730.aspx

06/09/2013

FSC forest management certification
Forest management certification is a voluntary process for verifying responsible forest practices. It is up to a forest owner, or representative of a group of forest owners and operators, to initiate the certification process by requesting an independent certifier to inspect the forest and to see if the management meets the FSC requirements for certification, encapsulated in the FSC P&C. Only an FSC accredited certification body can evaluate, monitor and certify companies to FSC standards.

The FSC Principles are a complete package and their sequence does not represent an ordering of priority. Prior to the revision process which ended in February 2012, the FSC P&C were the following:

Principle 1: Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties.

Principle 2: Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long–term land tenure and use rights.

Principle 3: Recognition and respect of indigenous people’s rights.

Principle 4: Maintenance or enhancement of long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities and respect of worker’s rights in compliance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

Principle 5: Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest.

Principle 6: Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest.

Principle 7: Appropriate and continuously updated management plan.

Principle 8: Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to assess the condition of the forest, management activities and their social and environmental impacts.

Principle 9: Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) defined as forests containing environmental and social values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance.

Principle 10: In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.

06/09/2013

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, certification and labeling of forest products. The organization aims to "provide businesses and consumers with a tool to influence how forests worldwide are managed."

06/09/2013

Business Continuity.

Business continuity is the activity performed by an organization to ensure that critical business functions will be available to customers, suppliers, regulators, and other entities that must have access to those functions. These activities include many daily chores such as project management, system backups, change control, and help desk. Business continuity is not something implemented at the time of a disaster; Business Continuity refers to those activities performed daily to maintain service, consistency, and recover ability.

The foundation of business continuity are the standards, program development, and supporting policies; guidelines, and procedures needed to ensure a firm to continue without stoppage, irrespective of the adverse circumstances or events. All system design, implementation, support, and maintenance must be based on this foundation in order to have any hope of achieving business continuity, disaster recovery, or in some cases, system support. Business continuity is sometimes confused with disaster recovery, but they are separate entities. Disaster recovery is a small subset of business continuity. It is also sometimes confused with Work Area Recovery (due to loss of the physical building which the business is conducted within); which is but a part of business continuity.

The term Business Continuity describes a mentality or methodology of conducting day-to-day business, whereas business continuity planning is an activity of determining what that methodology should be. The business continuity plan may be thought of as the incarnation of a methodology that is followed by everyone in an organization on a daily basis to ensure normal operations.

06/09/2013

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh has multiple LEED certifications, including the world's only Platinum-certified greenhouse and a Platinum-certified and net-zero energy Center for Sustainable Landscapes.

06/09/2013

1225 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Built in 1968, with a $32 million renovation in 2009 by current owner Brookfield Properties, 1225 Connecticut Avenue is the "second redeveloped building in the United States and the first within the major business districts of the East Coast to achieve LEED Platinum status." Tenants include Citibank, Global Justice, and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

06/09/2013

Process and Rating System for LEED.

Rating system

LEED has evolved since its original inception in 1998 to more accurately represent and incorporate emerging green building technologies. LEED NCv1.0 was a pilot version. These projects helped inform the USGBC of the requirements for such a rating system, and this knowledge was incorporated into LEED NCv2.0. LEED NCv2.2 was released in 2005, and v3 in 2009. Today, LEED consists of a suite of nine rating systems for the design, construction and operation of buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Five overarching categories correspond to the specialties available under the LEED Accredited Professional program. That suite currently consists of:

Green Building Design & Construction
• LEED for New Construction
• LEED for Core & Shell
• LEED for Schools
• LEED for Retail: New Construction and Major Renovations
• LEED for Healthcare

Green Interior Design & Construction
• LEED for Commercial Interiors
• LEED for Retail: Commercial Interiors

Green Building Operations & Maintenance
• LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance

Green Neighborhood Development
• LEED for Neighborhood Development

Green Home Design and Construction
• LEED for Homes

LEED also forms the basis for other sustainability rating systems such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Labs.

After four years of development, aligning credits across all LEED rating systems and weighting credits based on environmental priority, USGBC launched LEED v3, which consists of a new continuous development process, a new version of LEED Online, a revised third-party certification program and a new suite of rating systems known as LEED 2009. In response to concerns that LEED's requirements are cumbersome and difficult to learn, in 2009 USGBC supported the development by BuildingGreen, LLC of LEEDuser, a third-party resource that contains tips and guidance, written by professionals in the field, on applying LEED credits and the LEED certification process.

06/09/2013

What is LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is intended to provide building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Since its inception in 1993, the U.S. Green Building Council has grown to encompass more than 7,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries, covering over 1.501 billion square feet (140 km²) of development area. The hallmark of LEED is that it is an open and transparent process where the technical criteria proposed by USGBC members are publicly reviewed for approval by the almost 20,000 member organizations that currently constitute the USGBC.

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) was established by USGBC to provide a series of exams to allow individuals to become accredited for their knowledge of the LEED rating system. This is recognized through either the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) or LEED Green Associate (LEED Green Assoc.) designation. In 2011 GBCI named the organization's first class of LEED Fellows, the highest designation for LEED professionals. GBCI also provides third-party certification for projects pursuing LEED.





** The Gold and Platinum rating of David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, is the first convention center in the world to have LEED certifications. **