UAE | Employment

Dubai building rule violators will be punished

Every year, 2.3 million people die in occupational accidents or from work-related diseases worldwide. Approximately 60,000, or 2.3 per cent, of these deaths are in the construction industry.

  • By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:47 August 23, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • A collapsed portion of the under-construction First Interchange (Defence Roundabout) in Dubai lie covered with plastic sheets earlier this year.
  • Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News

Dubai: Every year, 2.3 million people die in occupational accidents or from work-related diseases worldwide. Approximately 60,000, or 2.3 per cent, of these deaths are in the construction industry.

There are approximately 270 million occupational accidents per year, and 160 million cases of occupational disease, according to statistics from the International Labour Organisation.

Dubai is no exception, the emirate recorded 249 accidents on construction sites last year, 47.8 per cent of which involved labourers falling from heights.

Falls from 2004 to 2007 constituted 45 per cent of a total 865 accidents, according to statistics from Dubai Municipality.

Other types of accidents included collapses at work sites, 23 per cent; crane and other machinery accidents, 14 per cent; and incidents involving fires and electric shocks, 7 per cent.

The issue was highlighted recently, when the municipality published a new manual for contractors and construction companies, stipulating health and safety regulations for workers in the industry.

Currently, the Building Department Inspection Section visits 150 construction sites per day, which is to increase to between 400 and 500 in the near future.

Breaching construction site safety regulations can result in fines and even closure of the site itself.

Fawzi Mohammad Al Shehi, Acting Director, Building Department, said: "There are many violations a day, but most of them are rectified quickly. Fines range from zero to Dh50,000, because some violations are very small." Construction site safety breaches include not wearing the correct safety wear, such as a hard hat.

Total fines issued in June were Dh1.5 million.

Eisa Al Maidour, Assistant Director General, Dubai Municipality Planning and Building Affairs, said: "Safety is the contractors' responsibility. We cannot prevent all accidents. The aim is not to fine, the aim is to correct the situation and prevent further violations."

According to exhibition organisers Epoc Messe Frankfurt, site accidents occur because of the increasing number of projects underway.

The company will be organising the Intersec trade fair in Dubai, which includes "construction safety" as a theme, in January 2009.

Eckhard Pruy, CEO of the company, said: "The rapid increase in the number of construction projects in the UAE and other Gulf countries has caused an alarming number of accidents at construction sites. According to research, construction projects in excess of $2.4 trillion (Dh8.8 trillion) are underway, with the majority of developments being carried out in Saudi Arabia and the UAE."

Projects in Dubai include the Waterfront Project (Dh183 billion) and the Burj Dubai development (Dh73 billion).

"High investments in infrastructure and the construction industry do often stand in opposition to required safety standards. A variety of safety standards has been implemented by the government, but the biggest challenge is to make companies adhere to these regulations by imposing fines and sanctions against those who break the rules," Pruy said.

Dubai: Annual statistics

  • 865 accidents from 2004-2007
  • 45 per cent of accidents were falling from heights
  • 23 per cent of accidents were collapses
  • 14 per cent of accidents involved cranes and machinery
  • 7 per cent of accidents were electric shocks
  • 249 accidents in 2007
  • 47.8 per cent of accidents in 2007 were falling from heights

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