Abu Dhabi to record construction site accidents

Abu Dhabi is taking steps to ensure that construction worksite accidents and deaths do not go unreported.

Abdul Aziz Zurub, Manager - Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Division at the Abu Dhabi Municipality told Emirates 24|7 that a unified data collection system to record construction site accidents will soon be introduced.

An agreement to the effect will be signed between Abu Dhabi Municipality and the emirates’ Health Authority so that municipality will be notified as and when accident cases are registered at hospitals in Abu Dhabi.

“There is no reliable data available to base our efforts to improve health and safety at the construction sites.

“We need to collate statistics that will help us identify the major risk factors and ways to reduce violations, and thus improve safety,” said Zurub.

According to the latest available figures with the municipality, only 25 site accidents were reported in 2011, out of which 14 were fatalities. It was the first time, Abu Dhabi municipality collected worksite accident data.

 But Zurub said that there is a significant gap between the actual number of accidents and the reported incidents.

“I admit that the numbers are not actual because it is a fact that many work site accidents go unreported,” he said. There were 101 on-the-job deaths in 2010, as per the figures released by the Abu Dhabi Health Authority.

The municipality has launched a campaign to reduce violations at the worksite, and enhance the culture of safety, that will in turn reduce the number of accidents.

“As the first step, our inspectors have visited 1800 companies and 3000 work sites to research on the most common health and safety hazards. From the data collected, we have identified the top 16 hazards at construction sites,” pointed out Zurub.

While falling from heights and unsafe scaffoldings are the most common hazards for workers, open shafts and edges, collapse of mobile cranes, unsafe electrical equipment and connections and unguarded machinery among others are also identified.

Posters depicting these hazards are being distributed at all construction sites to educate the workers.

Zurub added that the municipality will soon release a short animated movie that will show unsafe practices and the ways to remain safe at construction sites for the benefit of the workers.

The DVD will be released in six languages – English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Chinese.

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