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Zero Tolerance :

Amana launches new SRMF

Amana Investments has taken full stride in promoting Islamic Finance and has further strengthened its compliance with Sharia by setting up a new and foolproof Sharia Risk Management Framework (SRMF) in May 2009.

"The objective of the SRMF is to ensure a 'Zero Tolerance' Culture in all our departmental activities", said Amanas in-house Sharia Supervisor Moulavi Siraj. If we fail to do so the profit we make would be at risk. We want to ensure that all profits we make from our advances are pure and eligible for distribution to our depositors.

By implementing a strong Zero Tolerance Sharia culture into its business transactions Amana Investments is aiming to fulfill the objects of Sharia and reinforce the expectations of its growing customer base with regard to Sharia compliance.

"We have identified diverse areas in which Sharia Non-Compliance can occur, for instance in following policies and procedures, during documentation, due to lack of knowledge and during marketing and selling our products and services" Siraj said. Amana has developed a Sharia Risk Management Process which begins with the identification of potential risks by incorporating Sharia risks in the operating manual and the audit process.

This will be followed by a process of measuring, monitoring and reporting the risks.

Finally, we will mitigate and control those risks from re-occurring and for that purpose we have established three lines of defence in the pre, present and post transaction stages", Siraj said.

To streamline the compliance process the SRMF includes a rating system, the Sharia Risk Scorecard, which rates all departments and branches based on their Sharia compliance. This will encourage the relevant departments and branches to put more emphasis and priority on Sharia. We always persuade our staff to communicate to our customers the importance of Sharia over profitability", Siraj said.

Digital house offers cyber clean

Cleaning tool for electronics and cars :

Digital House (Pvt) Ltd. recently introduced an innovative cutting edge tool "Cyber Clean" to the market.

"Cyber Clean is a state-of-the-art cleaning tool that can be used to clean and disinfect all electronic equipment such as computers and mobile phones and also automobile interiors", said Product Manager for Cyber Clean Roshan Nugegoda.

Consisting of an elastic substance specially made to a patented Swiss formula, Cyber Clean only requires to be pressed on the surface of the keyboard or any other surface of an electronic system. When left on for a short time, this patented formula will suck out the dirt, leaving the surface sparkling clean and smelling good, Nugegoda said.

Cyber Clean is available in two packs of yellow and blue.

Yellow is designed especially for all electronic items while the blue will help clean automobile interiors.

Car interiors are regularly plagued with crumbs, dust and other dirt that go into small crevices that are difficult to reach, in addition, dust particles can lodge inside such crevices not to mention A/C ducts, Cyber Clean will help reach those spots for a thorough clean up, Nugegoda said.

Cyber Clean can also be used to instantly clean up phones, gaming devices, gear levers, car switches and many other electronic devices as well.

SriLankan installs heart start machines

SriLankan Airlines has added another dimension to its customer service by becoming the first airline in South Asia to carry Heart Start Machines on all its long-haul flights for medical emergencies.

SriLankan's Head of Service Delivery Captain Milinda Ratnayake said: "This is a simple piece of equipment that can save lives in the unlikely event of a passenger suffering a cardiac arrest on board a flight.

Every one of our Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft which operate long-haul routes now have one of these state-of-the-art machines on board, and our cabin crew are trained in using them."

The machines, known formally as Automated External Defibrillators (AED), monitor and evaluate heart rate and rhythm when attached to a patient. Through voice commands the machine recommends immediate actions such as Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and if a patient's condition is serious, it can also discharge an electric shock to stimulate the heart.

SriLankan's Company Medical Officer, Dr. Anoma Jayasinghe, said: "All our cabin crew have traditionally been trained in CPR and other lifesaving techniques.

The AEDs provide an added dimension to passenger care, and is very easy to use."

The mobile AEDs is a small unit and when the AED is attached to a patient through two pads on the chest it analyses heart rate and rhythm, and through voice commands provide information to the cabin crew on the patient's condition. Even after a patient is resuscitated, this machine could be used to continuously monitor his or her condition until the aircraft lands and the patient handed over to a medical team.

Passengers travelling on SriLankan Airlines who notify of any medical issue are examined by the airline's medical team prior to boarding.

Any necessary assistance is provided including wheelchairs, assistance at airports, special meals, and oxygen bottles on board. Every flight also carries on board an extensive range of basic medical equipment and medicines.

Coca-Cola 'Give back life' on World Environment Day

In continuation of the 'Give Back Life' - PET Recycling initiative, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd launched a program on PET Recycling among the staff of the Coca Cola plant in Biyagama last week.

The program also included the residents of the area surrounding the plant as Coca-Colas incentive to celebrate World Environment Day on June 5.

The Awareness Program encompassed three different segments. The first centred on educating the employees on the need to recycle PET and engaging them in a PET Challenge, whereby they collected PET bottles from the surrounding areas. The three most effective PET sculptures were selected based on their creativity and the message their sculpture aimed to convey and the winning team members were duly rewarded.

The second segment of the program focussed on creating awareness among the residents of the area and motivating them to contribute to the cause of recycling PET.

The residents who had been already informed about this project via banners, posters and leaflets, were required to hand over PET bottles to the teams from Coca-Cola who visited their homes on Environment day.

All residents who took part in this initiative were rewarded by Coca-Cola, depending on the number of bottles they handed over. The program also concentrated on two schools in the area where the students were requested to bring in PET bottles as a sign of support to the effort and the class that brought in the most number of PET bottles from each school was rewarded by Coke. The IDP centres which accommodate over 200,000 people currently, are supplied with bottled water on a daily basis and require an effective mechanism of waste management.

Country Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited Patrick Pech said, the launch of this program at the plant in Biyagama is symbolic of Coca-Colas efforts to spread the awareness among our own staff and gain their support and coorporation for the 'Give Back Life' initiative.