UAE | Emergencies
Many construction firms flout safety norms at sites
It can affect labourers and people living nearby, expert says
- By Janice Ponce de Leon, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 16, 2012
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
- Scaffolding at a construction site in Dubai. Planks placed on scaffoldings should be secured and should not be moved from one place to another. Picture is used for illustrative purposes only.
Dubai: Many construction sites in Dubai disregard the safety of workers and pose danger to residents living near these construction sites, Gulf News has learnt.
Following the three scaffolding collapses that happened in the UAE in the beginning of the year, Gulf News randomly surveyed construction sites in Dubai with Greg Leader, a risk control manager, and saw that a number of construction sites do not adhere to the Code of Construction Safety Practice being implemented by the Dubai Municipality. Gulf News sought the municipality for comment many times but did not receive any response at the time of going to press.
Improper
During the rounds, Leader spotted many labourers working without the necessary safety gears. He also noted at least three scaffoldings — a temporary structure used to support workers as they access buildings or large structures — that were improperly constructed. Some scaffoldings only had one plank. Some had planks that were not properly spread out which could cause workers to tip and fall.
"The workers are working on planks that are totally incomplete. They can walk off by accident and if they get too close to the end it's going to tip — the worker goes down, the planks go down. The workers are going to get killed or seriously maimed and any other worker down below, and this is common throughout," Leader said.
Planks should also be secured to the scaffolding in that it should not be moved from one place to another. During the rounds, one worker moved one plank to another section of the scaffolding, posing danger to other workers who might walk through without knowing that the plank had been removed.
Another hazard was the lack of guard rails in every opening. "The first line of defence is always a guard rail. Guard rails protect workers. But a guard rail is a top rail, a mid rail and a toe board," Leader said.
Dangerous
"Some of these large high-rises are very close to residential sites where people are walking. If somebody kicks something off on the 48th floor by accident, for example a nail, a piece of concrete block, a tool, it can kill someone. It can go through somebody's car, it can break a windshield, it can cause a lot of damage," he added. Poorly kept sites are also a major concern.
In 2011, the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services attended to 2,932 patients from industrial places and premises, which included construction sites, factories, warehouses, workshops. Although the number significantly reduced compared to previous years, almost 3 per cent of 85 cases were life threatening and 330 were serious injuries.
"[Health and safety training] is for everybody! It's not just for the senior management. It's for every person who walks on to a job site. Health and safety does not cost money. Health and safety is part of every job that's being done on a construction industry. There's no value you can put on a human life," Leader said.
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