Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1066826
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 DECEMBER 2018 COMMERCIAL BNF Bank promotes mental health RECOGNISING the critical importance of mental health at the workplace, BNF Bank took part in Richmond Foundation's Standard Mental Health First Aid at the Workplace initia- tive. Through this course, the Bank's Human Resources team and those in managerial and supervisory roles learnt how to assist a co-worker who might be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Course participants learnt mental health first aid skills that can be applied to help any adult. "Unfortunately, mental health issues are a reality and it is critical that they are detected and prop- erly addressed. Most people are not trained to look out for and recognise the tell-tale signs," said Karl Dingli, Head of Corporate Services at BNF Bank. "Raising awareness levels of common issues and giving staff the tools to apply mental health first aid is another step towards strengthening a culture of un- derstanding where team mem- bers feel safe to talk openly and seek help. Fostering an organi- sational culture of empathy and understanding is very important to the Bank and our initiative in collaboration with the Richmond Foundation is a tangible means of achieving this." Through the large number of attendees at the course, the Bank received a Silver Certification from Richmond Foundation. The Bank is now being recognised as an organisation that puts em- ployee wellbeing at the forefront, promotes mental health, and en- courages employees to respond to mental health issues at the workplace in an effective and ef- ficient manner. The course is based on interna- tional guidelines developed using consensus of mental health con- sumers, carers and professionals from English-speaking developed countries. The 12-hour course tackles the most common mental health difficulties like anxiety, de- pression, stress, panic attacks and substance use, among others. It also informs participants on how to handle instances of potentially serious crises. In parallel, through the Bank's efforts to involve staff in the so- cial responsibility actions, No- vember's Casual Friday also tar- geted mental health awareness by channeling the staff donation to Mount Carmel Hospital. The hospital's social activities organis- ing committee provides patients with alternative means of effec- tive therapeutic interventions which will help them to integrate back into the community. A fundamental pillar of Fa- malco Group's foundation is its diversification of brands, which spreads across sev- eral distinct sectors. As part of Famalco's commitment to uniting their employees, the dedicated events committee within the group organised the annual Staff Party. The festive cocktail recep- tion party was held at Heart Club in Uno Village, where employees coming from dif- ferent divisions within the group were invited to get to- gether and share their expe- riences. The event organis- ers exceeded expectations by fashioning up the entire venue in the Famalco style with vari- ous motifs featuring the com- pany colours and logo. Em- ployees were further treated to a wide range of refreshments, finger food and delicious con- fections, complemented by live music provided by local DJ Pierre Cordina. Directors of the Group Her- mann Mallia, Sandro Mal- lia and Etienne Pierre Mallia expressed their gratitude for another successful year and delivered their warmest wish- es to all employees. Famalco group's employees reciprocat- ed by presenting the directors with tokens of appreciation. Following these gestures, cel- ebrations amplified. Everyone made their way to the dance floor to enjoy a night which will be fondly remembered by all attendees. Director and Co-founder of the Group Hermann Mal- lia happily commented, "This was a great party made bet- ter by our excellent employ- ees! We've had many events throughout the year but cel- ebrating with the entirety of our staff was the cherry on the cake". Famalco Group is an evolv- ing family organisation with a constant drive for new busi- ness ventures and growth op- portunities. If you believe that you have the right qualities to contribute to Famalco Group and want to further your ca- reer-growth, please apply on www.FamalcoCareers.com or call on (+356) 2339 2339. Fa- malco | Building Businesses. Famalco's end of year event EMIRATES passengers travel- ling from or transiting through Dubai International Airport (DXB) can expect fewer in- stances of delays associated with aircraft turnaround thanks to a new innovative applica- tion built in-house by Emirates called the Hub Monitor. Hub Monitor is being used by Emirates' operational staff in Dubai to share and monitor real time information on the various activities that are carried out to prepare an aircraft for depar- ture. Through its monitoring and proactive alerting system, the application helps avoid de- lays and improve on-time per- formance ultimately leading to a better passenger experience. Emirates is the world's largest international airline operating a fleet of 270 modern all wide- body fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft. Every day around 255 Emirates flights de- part from Dubai to destinations across six continents. Flights range in duration from less than an hour to over 17 hours. In or- der to avoid flight delays and in- convenience to passengers, it is critically important to efficient- ly turnaround the aircraft arriv- ing in Dubai and prepare them for their next departure without compromising on quality or safety. It currently takes about 105 minutes to turnaround the Emirates A380, the world's largest commercial passenger jet, and about 90 minutes to prepare the Boeing 777 aircraft for departure at Emirates' hub in Dubai. There are a number of ac- tivities involved in the aircraft turnaround process. Some of these include a complete clean- ing of aircraft interiors, water and toilet servicing, flight cater- ing and loading meals for pas- sengers, servicing the aircraft Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), refuelling the aircraft, mainte- nance checks, and loading pas- senger luggage and cargo. A de- lay in any one of these activities can have a cumulative impact on operations. With Hub Monitor, cross- functional teams from depart- ments including Engineering, Network Control, Airport Ser- vices, Flight Operations, and Operations keep track of the turnaround activities on a real time basis. The application also triggers alerts to operational staff when there is a delay or deviation to any above or be- low wing activity against a pre- set Precision Timing Schedule (PTS). These pre-emptive alerts allow Emirates' teams to iden- tify and resolve the root cause of any potential delays. In fact, Hub Monitor has already dem- onstrated its potential, versatil- ity and scalability and has been chosen as the platform for some of Emirates' key internal ini- tiatives on disruption and fulfil- ment. Hub Monitor integrates data coming in from a number of internal platforms and real- time aircraft downlinks. It then provides the consolidated data through a single view interface to relevant internal stakehold- ers. Hub Monitor is also mo- bile enabled, meaning staff de- ployed on the aircraft, ramp and in other remote areas can also easily access the information. The application provides in- formation on all Emirates' air- craft in Dubai, allowing teams the ability to proactively recali- brate and plan their activities to minimise the impact of any unavoidable or unforeseen de- lays. Initial results since the ap- plication was deployed in Au- gust indicate that Hub Monitor has the potential to bring about a significant delay reduction at Emirates' Dubai hub every year. Emirates develops innovative application