The MBM-Dubai Police alliance is undoubtedly one to be revered. It serves as a shining example of how a mutually beneficial association, based on trust and respect, can fortify and build into a significant strategic alliance, over the course of almost two decades. 

With more than 40 years of industry experience, MBM, a subsidiary of AG Facilities Solutions and part of Al Ghurair Investment, is one of the leading providers of soft Facilities Management (FM) services across the UAE. MBM’s work with Dubai Police began 18 years ago, when the business began providing housekeeping services for two of its major police stations.

“We started providing our services to Dubai Police in 2004 at two locations: one at the Dubai Police General Headquarters, the other at Jebel Ali Police Station. Securing the contract was a moment of great pride for the business, as Dubai Police is such a prestigious entity,” says Yara Mshainesh, Operations Manager, MBM.

What was originally a five-year housekeeping contract has, over the enduring two decades, evolved into a strategic partnership, with MBM playing a supporting role in achieving Dubai Police’s own goals and ambitions.

Through a shared mission and vision to support UAE’s legal framework, MBM and Dubai Police are working hand in hand to provide a world class service to the public that is customer-centric.

Today, MBM provides a range of soft FM services, such as cleaning, pest control, facade cleaning, and sanitisation, to Enhance Life across a network of 83 Dubai Police offices across the Emirate. “With every tender win, we have added more locations to our portfolio,” says Yara.

MBM's gradual progress to become the sole soft FM services supplier at all Dubai Police locations is testament to the quality of services they provide, and the trust Dubai Police has in the brand.

“Initially, Dubai Police had three or four different vendors providing soft services across their premises. But post 2018, MBM has been appointed as the sole vendor across the entire portfolio,” says Mohamed Adil Shabandri, Head of Operations, MBM.

The success of the alliance is a result of having common objectives and working towards them together.

“Our partnership with Dubai Police is enhanced by two main pillars: supporting the enforcement of the law, and being customer centric,” says Yara.

MBM has supported Dubai Police in achieving several of its key goals, such as its drive towards sustainability and maintaining its spot among the top three government agencies with the highest rating in Dubai Customer and Employee Happiness Index. 

“Housekeeping is a key aspect of customer service. We make sure that whoever enters the Dubai police premises has access to clean toilets and other facilities. We also focus on the grooming of staff. In any public area, the most easily accessible person is a housekeeper. So, in case a person is lost at a government office, or any other facility, they will most likely ask a housekeeper for directions. 

Therefore, our housekeepers are trained on how to respond to customers’ questions. So, all this plays a major role,” says Mohamed. For Dubai Police, sustainability is high on the agenda, and MBM provided assistance to support in achieving its goals for energy conservation as well as waste and water management. 

“There is a huge focus on sustainability by almost all FM companies. MBM too has been adopting sustainable practices to conserve water and electricity. This spills over to the services we provide at Dubai Police as well," says Yara.

The company is also moving to adopt environment-friendly cleaning products such as non-toxic cleaning chemicals and other smart technologies. “For instance, we used plastic bins previously and there was a lot of wastage as they were not reused. Now we have introduced  auto dispensing bins. 

Also, in facilities that have external areas, we used to clean dust with water, which wasn't the best choice environmentally. Now, we have shifted to other alternatives like air blowers,” says Mohamed.

For MBM, the call to continuously find and adopt newer and better cleaning services has been constant. It’s a need that ricochets off Dubai Police’s push for innovation. “In the period of the last 18 years, we have strived to bring new techniques and initiatives in terms of cleaning. Dubai Police has always been a front runner when it comes to introducing new innovations. So, keeping that in mind, we strive to always be in line with them," says Mohamed.

With an in-house developed, customisable CAFM system, MBM has tailored its services to suit the different requirements of each location. "Although it’s one client, there are offices at 83 locations, and each office will have its unique requirements. The CAFM system, developed by our technical team, is customized as per the maintenance requirement at each facility," says Mohamed. The system is also accessible to Dubai Police to put in service requests and keep a track of what requests have been met and when.

“Any requests into the CAFM system are attended to within half an hour. For any emergency events, like VIP visits, we are always there and our staff is immediately mobilised. Also, we have a 24/7 customer centre where customers can submit any feedback or complaints," he says.

MBM and Dubai Police officials hold regular tours of the facilities to identify any areas for improvement.

“In every location, there is one person from Dubai Police who heads the facilities. So, there are joint visits on a monthly basis to just walk around the location to understand how we could improvise, especially when it comes to the stations, because it's more like a public area.”

Any suggestions and feedback are taken on positively. “We see any issue or challenge that crops up as an opportunity to improvise. Our objective has always been to be a supporting partner for Dubai Police,” says Mohamed.

Giving high value to the trust placed in them, MBM is keen to keep taking steps to keep improving the level of services it provides to its long-term partner.

“Our association with Dubai Police has been so strong that we do our best to improve our services with every passing year. Our goal is to bring Dubai Police’s name to the top when it comes to all the ratings and indexes,” he remarks.

In many ways, the most obvious manifestation of the MBM-Dubai Police synergy was during the pandemic.

“When the pandemic started, there were a lot of apprehensions among the general public, and to contract the virus was considered very risky. Everywhere, there was a lot of resistance among people to step out or to take on work in public areas. However, it was also an opportunity for us to prove our support and show our partnership. We didn't try to back off from our responsibilities. We understood that our services were paramount to supporting our partners during that time,” says Mohamed.

MBM employees went over and above what was expected of them during the pandemic. “Dubai Police was one of the most active government agencies during COVID. They played a huge role in fighting the pandemic. And as a result, the risk of their staff was very high. Cases were doubling on a daily basis, and as their partner, we went all out to support them. MBM staff were often in direct contact with COVID patients as they were the frontliners, which required stringent risk and infection management for all the concerned staff. “In fact, we took control of the whole quarantine center of Dubai Police.
It was quite hectic, but, with the belief that the police have in AG Facilities and MBM, we managed – and exceeded expectations," says Mohamed.

Further, MBM was flexible with organising staff and services according to the needs of the hour.

“Initially if the toilet cleaning frequency was once in an hour, during the pandemic, this changed to every 15 minutes. So we were, and are, very flexible in terms of offering our services,” says Mohamed. “Also, we had to sanitize locations multiple times a day, whenever there was a positive case. Our people were always on call.”

Currently, MBM continues to provide COVID-precaution services at Dubai Police offices. “We support them by carrying on with sanitization as well as frequent cleaning”.

“During the pandemic, we were very resilient in responding to client requests. Whenever there was an additional requirement, we covered the shortages by providing manpower and the tools. We took on the risk and deployed workers to deal with positive cases directly. They, along with Dubai Police, are the true heroes of the pandemic," says Mohamed.

Reflecting on how the partnership has grown, Mohamed says, “MBM and Dubai Police are like two brands that are always together – that's how the relationship has evolved. And we look forward to continuing this relationship for more years. Dubai Police is driven by its mission to make Dubai the city of security and sustainable safety through innovation and creativity aiming for community happiness. MBM takes pride in resonating with those values at all levels as we continue to Enhance Life by providing a hygienic environment enabling our business partner to police pioneer for a safe city”

He has the best line to sum up the relationship: “They understand us, and we understand them.”