"Health and safety in the constructionindustry: challenges and solutions in theUAEHealth and safety in the constructionindustry: challenges and solutions in CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTIONHealth and safety at construction sites deals with both physical and psychologicalwell-being of workers on construction sites and other persons whose health is likely tobe adversely affected by construction activities. It is of primary concern to employers,employees, governments and project participants. Health and safety therefore is aneconomic as well as humanitarian concern that requires proper management control.The purpose of this paper is to investigate the health and safety measures used onconstruction sites, evaluate the enforcement mechanisms of health and safetyregulations on construction sites and examine the challenges encountered in themanagement of health and safety in construction project sites.On the other side, health and safety is relevant to all branches of industry, it isparticularly important for the construction industry. It has always been a major issueas it is considered as among the most exposed sectors when it comes to occupationalaccidents. Although tremendous improvements have been made in health and safetyperformance in some countries, the construction industry continues to lag behind mostother industries. This has been the experience within most countries. The reality isthat the construction industry continually has injury and fatality statistics that make itone of the most dangerous industries in which to work predominantly in developingcountries. As a result of the increasing number of accidents, the development andpublication of standards and good engineering practices based on experience andcodes started. In the UK for example, the generally accepted technical level ispublished in publicly accessible documents like official governmental publications,laws, directives and in standards, such as Health and Safety at Work Acts (HSWA,1974). Based on occurred accidents, the technical weaknesses of the designs (such aspoor use of codes, poor judgement because of lack of experience, etc.) were reducedby adding new requirements but after that it became apparent that many accidents stilloccurred and that the root causes of these accidents were hardly the result of technicalfailures but rather of the consequence of inadequate organisational issues (such aslack of adherence to standard health and safety rules or lack or poor communicationwithin the company). Many studies for example (Hinze, 2002; Vredenburgh, 2002)have shown that health and safety improvements will only be achieved if workers change their behaviours and incentive schemes are implemented to motivate them. Itis evident that these efforts are not sufficient truly to curb the occurrence of unsafeacts on construction sites. Accordingly, preventing occupational injuries and illnessshould be a primary concern for all employers and employees in any countries.? Objectives of the projectThe principal aim of this research is to determine the importance of integrating andimproving health and safety standards within construction project management in theUAE, to investigate the extent health and safety influence the construction projectperformance and finally to develop a model that will assist construction projectorganisations to assess, in terms of performance, the possible outcomes of their healthand safety level. The study research will be conducted through questionnaire andinterview surveys to be distributed and conducted with a numbers of constructioncompanies.In order to achieve the above mentioned aim, the following objectives were set:? Assessing health and safety in the construction industry, description of the generalproblems inherent, circumstances that allowed accident events to occur and thelessons that should be learnt to improve health and safety in the construction. ? Overview of health and safety legislation with special emphasis on the updated UKregulations and the existing code of practice in the UAE. Determine the level ofintegration of health safety in the construction sites in the United Arab Emirates.? The effect of globalisation and culture, challenge in developing countries andhealth and safety records in the UAE.? Investigating current improved methods of integrating health and safety withinconstruction project management and identifying the keys factors leading to effectivehealth and safety within construction project.? Producing a best practice guide for health and safety for the UAE constructionindustry. In meeting the above objectives, an extensive literature review,questionnaires and interviews were carried out and critically analysed. ? Scope of the studyAs mentioned above, problems of health and safety in construction can be addressedand solved on a global scale resulting in improvements that can be observed on aglobal scale. Therefore, solutions to health and safety problems in one country mayreadily be adapted to other countries to generate further improvements. The scope ofthis research, based on the approved methods adopted in the UK, is to introduce thefoundations on which appropriate health and safety systems may be built in the UAE.? to improve health and safety standards at construction sites by covering generalhealth and safety provisions as well as duties and responsibilities of the employers,engineers, contractors, and sub-contractors regarding safety measures and theminimum necessary requirements.? Measures to be followed during all the stages of the project to provide safeworkplace to all employees and to protect them against accidents.? To ensure that there are satisfactory health and safety standards within theirorganization. This research, therefore, presents the results of a study of the results of a study of theproblems pertaining to health and safety in construction companies in the UAE andhow these may be addressed. ? Problem definitionHealth and safety issues have always been a major problem and concern in theconstruction industry. Wherever reliable records are available, construction is foundto be one of the most dangerous on health and safety criteria, particularly indeveloping countries. Efforts have been made to address this problem, but the resultshave been far from satisfactory, as construction accidents continue to dominate theoverall construction industry. Despite the programs implemented by governmentauthorities and measures introduced by companies themselves, the number ofconstruction accidents still remains alarmingly high.In developing countries, safety rules usually do not exist; if they do, the regulatoryauthority is usually very weak in implementing such rules effectively. The UAE isone of developing countries that are currently enjoying a strong growth inconstruction activities. Unfortunately, some sectors of its construction industry sufferfrom poor safety and health conditions. Any framework of the existing occupationaland health conditions is fragmented and inadequately enforced, making constructionsites more hazardous. It may even be argued that relevant regulations are outdated andirrelevant in day-to-day construction operations. From this perspective this researchexplores the approved methods adopted in the UK in order to improve the existingcode of practice in the UAE and thus introduce the foundations on which appropriatehealth and safety systems may be built. A framework for Health and Safetymanagement in the UK is suggested. To reach this objective an overview of thepublished materials as well as the legislation has been undertaken. Questionnaireswere designed and distributed to potential construction industry players and interviewsessions have been conducted to meet the first objective of the project which todetermine the health and safety measures currently applied on construction sites. Inaddition, structured interviews were carried out with selected managers from aselection of construction and oil companies, medium and large size.This thesis specifically, it investigates the safety perceptions, attitudes, and behaviourof construction workers and management safety practices. Based upon the analysis ofthe results, this study has demonstrated that the majority of those questioned UAEconstruction companies have a poor degree of risk awareness and do not seems to takehealth and safety as an important issue.CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW? IntroductionThe main aim in carrying out the literature reviews is to gather information on theresearch topic. As it will be mentioned in the bibliography at the end of the report themains sources are from journal papers, seminar and conference articles, paperworkand reference books. The study begins with a detailed literature review on health andsafety in the construction industry focusing firstly on the nature of the scope of theconstruction industry and the most activities that involve perilous and dangerousoperations. Subsequently an overview of the dramatic level of occupational injuriesand fatalities occurring throughout the word is highlighted in order to point out thehuge importance of managing health and safety performance. Thereafter the focuswould be on the need to improve the process of health and safety in the constructionproject taking into account the factors responsible for major causes of sites accidentswith the effect of globalisation aspect and cultural issues which are also analysed.Finally the challenge faced by developing countries such as the UAE is inimplementing effectively health and safety procedures.? Health and safety definitionsBefore a detailed discussion of health and safety issues can take place, some basicoccupational health and safety definitions are required as well as the legal frameworkfor health and safety because it seems important to have a clear understanding of thenature and working conditions in the construction industry and safety organisations todevelop an efficient tool for health and safety issue.Health is the protection of the bodies and minds of people from illness resulting fromthe materials, processes or procedures used in the workplace.Safety is the protection of people from physical injury. The borderline between healthand safety is ill-defined and the two words are normally used together to indicateconcern for the physical and mental well-being of the individual at the place of work. Welfare is the provision of facilities to maintain the health and well-being ofindividuals at the workplace.Environmental protection is the arrangements to cover those activities in theworkplace which affect the environment (in the form of flora, fauna, water, air andsoil) and, possibly, the health and safety of employees and others. Such activitiesinclude waste and effluent disposal and atmospheric pollution.Accident is defined by the Health and safety Executive (HSE, 2003) as =anyunplanned event that results in injury or ill health of people, or damage or loss toproperty, plant, materials or the environment or a loss of a business opportunity‘. Inthe UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the enforcement ofthe Health and Safety at Work (HSW) Act and carrying out the day-to-day work toenable the Health and Safety Commission (HSS) to carry out its functions. The HSCis responsible for the promotion of the HSW and encouraging research, training,providing an information and advisory service. Other authorities define an accidentmore narrowly by excluding events that do not involve injury or ill-health. Howeverthis research will always use the Health and Safety Executive definition.Hazard and risk (Keng, 2004) is the potential of a substance, activity or process tocause harm. Hazards take many forms including, for example, chemicals, electricityand working from a ladder. A hazard can be ranked relative to other hazards or to apossible level of danger.A risk is the likelihood of a substance, activity or process to cause harm. A risk can bereduced and the hazard controlled by good management. It is very important todistinguish between a hazard and a risk as the two terms are often confused andactivities such as construction work are called high risk when they are high hazard.Although the hazard will continue to be high, the risks will be reduced as controls areimplemented. The level of risk remaining when controls have been adopted is knownas the residual risk. There should only be high residual risk where there is poor healthand safety management and inadequate control measures.Thus it can be seen that health and safety is far more than a worker wearing a safetyhelmet on construction sites. Health and safety is a philosophy that identifies andeliminates job site hazards throughout the lifecycle of a work project. It is aphilosophy that discourages work practices that place individuals at risk of injury andthe integration of Health and safety into the daily work process. Risk has been definedin a number of ways. The Health and Safety Executive defined risk as the chance high or low that somebody will be harmed by the hazard (HSE, 1998). Hertz and Thomas(1983) stated the definitions of risk which taken from the Random House CollegeDictionary as exposure to the chance of injury or loss. The Health and SafetyCommission (1995) defined risk as the likelihood that harm will occur (Jannadi andBu-Khamsin, 2002). According to Lim (2003), risk is defined as either, theprobability of unwanted event, combination of hazard, unpredictability, and partialityof the actual result differ from expected result, loss uncertainty, or probability of loss.However, risk in this study is defined as the chance or probability, high or low, ofharm actually being done. Risk will be apparent at all stages of the life cycle of aconstruction project at appraisal, sanction, construction and operation (Perry andHayes, 1985). One of the most severe risks in construction industry is in the safetyand health aspect. It is also the promotion of an environment where each person in theproject construction hierarchy has a role and responsibility for safety and health.? Scope of the construction industry and general problem descriptionThe construction industry plays a vital role in the social and economic development ofall countries. Its scope is very wide from larger civil engineering projects such as roadand bridge, building, water supply and sewerage schemes and river and canal worketc. construction works are also needed in agriculture, industry, education, health andother service industries. It is classified into various segments industrial, housing,commercial, utilities and infrastructure work. Thus the construction industry is amixture of different organisations, which directly and indirectly influence theconstruction process. These organisations include property developers, architects,engineers, quantity surveyors, accountants, lawyers, civil engineering contractors,engineering contractors, management contractors, labourers, subcontractors andspecialist trades. The construction industry‘s importance has been confirmed byseveral studies (Coble and Haupt,1999). The most common activity in construction isgeneral building work which is domestic, commercial or industrial in nature. Thiswork may be new building work, such as a building extension, or, more commonly,the refurbishment, maintenance or repair of existing buildings. The buildings may beoccupied or unoccupied. Such projects may begin with a partial or total demolition ofa structure which is a particularly hazardous operation. Most construction projectscover a range of activities such as site clearance, the demolition or dismantling ofbuilding structures or plant and equipment, the felling of trees and the safe disposal ofwaste materials. The work could involve hazardous operations, such as roof work or contact with hazardous materials, such as asbestos or lead. The site activities willinclude the loading, unloading and storage of materials and site movements ofvehicles and pedestrians. Finally, the construction processes themselves are oftenhazardous. These processes include fabrication, decoration, cleaning, installation andthe removal and maintenance of services (electricity, water, gas andtelecommunications). Construction also includes the use of woodworking workshopstogether with woodworking machines and their associated hazards, painting anddecorating and the use of heavy machinery. It will often require work to take place inconfined spaces, such as excavations and underground chambers. At the end of mostprojects, the site is landscaped which will introduce a new set of hazards. Hencethroughout the world, construction is one of the most hazardous industries and it isgenerally recognised that health and safety on construction on sites is not satisfactoryas the level of occupational accidents is high when compared to other industries. Thesame complexity can be found with construction workplaces. Within the workplaceConstruction processes involve hazardous activities, such as working at height,manual handling, exposure to hazardous materials, demolition, frame erection, liftingoperations, scaffolding and ground works, bulk materials and heavy equipmenthandling, as well as the varying jobsite personnel and the regularly changingworksites.Nearly all construction sites are temporary in nature and, during the constructionprocess, are constantly changing. This always leads to the temptation to compromiseon health and safety issues, such as the provision of adequate welfare facilities or thesafe re-routing of site traffic. In addition the construction sector is characterised by avery fragmented structure in the production phase with a large number of independentcompanies. This type of organisation often makes management assignments in thebuilding sector difficult and complex. It is not unusual that several sub-contractors areinvolved in a single construction project, often more than one at a time, with varyinginfluence on their own and other sub-contractors‘ working conditions. A division ofdecisions and authority between different, legally separate companies have oftenmade placing responsibility diffuse and difficult. The client, the consulting engineers,architects, general contractor and a number of subcontractors carry out the buildingjointly. Moreover, at any given time, there are many young people receiving trainingon site in the various construction trades. These trainees need supervision andstructured training programmes. A further characteristic of the construction industry, that makes management of this sector more troublesome, is the unfavourably highsupervisor-worker ratio. Supervisors who have more a personal and positiverelationship with workers have more favourable safetyperformance records (Hinze,1997; Levitt & Samelson, 1993). This relationship is harder to develop if the ratio istoo high, which is generally the case within the construction industry (Smallwood,2000). Rowlinson and Lingard (1996) have attributed the prototype nature ofconstruction projects, the transient nature of work, low education levels of theworkforce and high levels of subcontracting, as major contributing factors to poorsafety records within the construction industry worldwide.To summarise, it can be said that the majority of the contractors especially the subcontractors are reluctant to implement occupational health and safety program atconstruction sites. Thus, hopefully this study results can determine the factors thatinfluences the implementation of occupational health and safety program and it couldbenefit the contractors, employers and the construction industry as a whole. Besides,there are some other problems that may be stated as follows:? The construction industry has a poor safety and health record? There are good reasons to improve the safety and health performance? Accident causation is complex but important? It is important to measure safety and health performance? Existing safety measurement systems are limited in scope and effectiveness? Concentrating on proactive measures instead of reactive measures should improvesafety and health performance.? The construction sector in the UAEThe Middle East and particularly the Gulf States are undergoing a major regenerationand development, creating a competitive atmosphere. These countries are witnessing ahuge construction boom that can be attributed to favourable demographics of agrowing young population. However the strong economic expansion experienced hascreated some skilled labour shortfalls in several regions. This, in turn, forcedcontractors to hire suboptimal workers to fill out the gaps. The UAE like theirneighbouring states are investing heavily in public sector and infrastructure projects,to reduce their dependency of ever dwindling reserves of oil and gas. Therefore theclearly articulated UAE government is aiming to encourage the diversification of thenational economy from purely oil-based to a multifunctional one. This has resulted ina big boom in the construction sector. Thus the construction industry is an important player in the economy of the UAE. According to The Arab World CompetitivenessReport (2007), the UAE is the most competitive economy in the Arab world amongthe Middle East and particularly the Gulf States countries with a huge mega projectannounced to reflect a robust and consistent growth. The UAE is bordered by SaudiArabia to the south and surrounded on all other sides by the Gulf. Nearly 50% of thecountry's total population, which is less than 1m by most estimates, live in Dubai.Since achieving independence from the UK in 1971, the UAE have become one of thewealthiest nations in the Middle East and currently boasts one of the fastest-growingeconomies in the world. This prosperity can be attributed almost entirely tohydrocarbons exports, which account for more than 60% of total GDP. The UAEgovernment are investing heavily in human capital. The UAE is aiming to diversifytheir economy to include healthcare, education, tourism, sports and leisure.Constructions in the UAE are booming with investments worth billions of USD in oil,gas, power, chemicals, transportation, environmental & communication projects,industrial, commercial and residential buildings. The construction sector is one of themost dynamic in the UAE economy servicing the demand for new facilities,infrastructure and buildings. The building and construction sector is vital to theeconomy, as it is diversified and covers several fields that are interrelated with thevarious sectors of economy.The major development projects planned by the public sector in the UAE includes(Arab World Competitiveness Report, 2007):? Projects under construction in the UAE are estimated to exceed Dh 1.83 trillion($0.5 trillion), registering a growth rate of 83.4 percent. UAE scoops 39.4 percent ofthe projects in the whole GCC region.? The UAE had also earmarked over Dh 454 billion ($124 billion) to develop 325natural and man-made islands, including Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, the Lagoons inDubai, Jebel Ali Palm, Deira Palm, Umm Al Shauoom, Sayara, Mangrove andFujairah Islands.? In 2006, UAE developers announced 332 projects with a total value of Dh 1.4trillion ($0.4 trillion). The total value of projects to be built in Abu Dhabi is Dh 715billion ($195 billion), while projects in Dubai are estimated at Dh 653 billion ($178billion) and projects in other emirates at Dh 213 billion ($58 billion).? causeway between Qatar and Dubai (US$3 billion) ? tourism and hotel projects (US$15 billion) As can be seen, of all the sectors that have benefited from the recent economic boostin the UAE, the construction industry might be the most fortunate. The influx ofliquid assets has brought about massive infrastructure, business and luxury projects inall corners of the country. Other government-contracted projects include majorhighway network expansion and upgrades to sewage and waste removal systems. Theprivate sector is also building like mad, with a number of major projects set forcompletion in the near future. Over 800 new towers are slated to go up in Dubai (andDoha) over the next 10 years, making the capital cities one of the busiest constructionareas in the world. The real estate sector is currently buoyed by the substantial amountof ongoing construction work. High demand for commercial, residential and industrialspace is pushing prices up and real estate investors are reaping the benefits. Analystshave questioned whether or not supply can keep up with demand, especially in theresidential market. In response, the government has initiated several major housingprojects. The UAE‘s biggest challenge at this point is maintaining a high-qualityworkforce that will continue to fuel the level of growth that has become the norm overthe past few years (Arab World Competitiveness Report, 2007).While many countries rely on cheap foreign workers, nowhere else in the world is asdependent on them as the UAE, where there are 2.7 million foreign workers registeredwith the Ministry of Labour. The total number of the expatriate labour force is muchhigher as many, such as domestic workers, drivers and those working in the free- zones do not come under the Ministry of Labour. There are also many workingwithout legal status on visit visas (Arab World Competitiveness Report, 2007).In 2006, the ministry issued 835,000 works permits and issued 1.2 million in 2007. Inall, migrant workers constitute a massive 85 percent of the 5.3 million population and90 percent of the workforce in the private sector, predominantly construction,hospitality and domestic service. A mere 800,000 people are UAE citizens. Theseyoung immigrant workers, the majority of whom are from rural areas in India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, are for social and economicreasons forced to live for years without their families in labour camps. Withimmigration sponsorship laws that grant employers enormous powers over the lives oftheir workers, abuses against migrant workers is a reality in many instances. They include non-payment of wages, extended working hours without overtime rates ofpay, unsafe working conditions resulting in deaths and injuries, squalid livingconditions in the labour camps (Arab World Competitiveness Report, 2007).Unfortunately, the enforcement of health and safety regulations within are notwidespread. Some may even argue that the framework of existing occupational andhealth conditions is fragmented and inadequately enforced. Likewise in any industry,good health and safety conditions constitute good and safe business practice.Therefore, it is believed the integration of safety and health measures into a totalmanagement system, within the construction sector in the UAE, could contributesignificantly to the cost efficiency, quality assurance and environmental protection ofthe company and its employees.? Accidents statistics in the constructionConstruction industry accounts for high number of occupational injuries and fatalitiesevery year. The construction industry, when compared with other (labour intensive)industries, has historically experienced a disproportionately high rate of disablinginjuries and fatalities for its size (Hinze, 1997). Despite improvements in occupationalsafety over the last decade, around 5 500 people lose their lives each year throughwork-related accidents in the European Union. More than 75 000 are so severelydisabled that they can no longer work. Moreover, major surveys have found thatpeople experience more physical problems at work than before; dispelling the oftenfashionable belief that new technology has eradicated difficulties such as manuallifting of heavy objects.The industry alone produces 30 % of all fatal industrial accidents across the EuropeanUnion (EU), yet it employs only 10 % of the working population; in the United States(US) it accounts for 20 % of all fatal accidents and only 5 % of the employed(Smallwood, 2000). In Japan, construction accidents account for 30 % to 40 % oftheoverall total of industrial accidents, with the totals being 50 % in Ireland and 25 %in theUnited Kingdom (Bomel, 2001). The numbers of fatalities within the industryare only the tip of the iceberg, with thousands of major injuries, and even more minorones, resulting in lost time (Smallwood, 2000). Kartam and Bouz (1998) identified the advancement in social sciences as having promoted a greater awareness of the sanctityof life and the unacceptability of premature death due to work-related accidents. Theinjury data discussed above highlights that the high number of construction siteaccidents is a universal problem of much concern.According to Davies and Tomasin (1996), there are a number of reasons why accidentrecords within the construction industry compare poorly with those of themanufacturing industry. In factories, there is normally a controlled workingenvironment, with little change in the working procedures and equipment over longperiods; additionally, the labour force usually remains fairly constant. Thus onceidentified, hazards can be remedied with relative ease, and the danger mitigated.However the case is quite different in the construction industry as the workingenvironment is constantly changing.Dangers to health and safety exist within the construction industry because of itsfragmented nature, the uncertain and technically complex nature of construction work,the uncontrollable environment in which production takes place, the employmentpractices, and the financial and time pressures imposed upon project participants(King & Hudson, 1985; Halender & Holborn, 1991).In the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13,502 constructionworkers died due to work-related injuries from 1992 through 2003 while theconstruction industry accounts for 19 percent of all workplace injuries and fatalities.Serious workrelated injuries cost employers almost $1 billion per week in 2002 inpayments to injured workers and their medical care providers, growing to $49.6billion from $46.1 billion in 2001 (Blotzer, 2005).In the UK construction, is a large industry which accounts for 8% of the grossdomestic product of the United Kingdom. It employs one and a half million peopleand produces activity worth £65 billion each year. The construction industry has aworld reputation for the quality of its work but it remains one of the most dangerousin Britain. The health and safety problem in the construction industry is its poorrecord when compared to the other parts of British industry. This performancedeteriorated in 2000 and certain actions were taken by the HSE. A new Construction Division was launched in April 2002 and a new intervention strategy was developed.Clients and developers as well as construction sites are to be targeted in future. In2001/02, the fatal injury rate (per 100 000 workers) was 4.2 while the industrialaverage was 0.88. In response to the =Revitalising Health and Safety‘ campaignlaunched by the Health and Safety Commission and the government in June 2000, theconstruction industry set itself a target to reduce the rate of fatal and major injury toits workers by 40% in 2004/05 and by 66% in 2009/10.Rowlinson and Cheung (2004) gathered the statistics of fatal accidents in constructionindustries in selected countries worldwide from 1991 to 2000 as shown in Figure 2.1in which is revealed the extent of the problems in construction industries worldwide.As regards to construction safety in the UAE and the Gulf region in general, therecord is poor in terms of international standards. In 1999, 923 site accidents of GradeIV 1 and above were recorded at countryside construction, in which 1097 constructionworkers lost their lives (Qatar Statistical Yearbook of Construction, 2000). The totalconstruction workforce was 24,286,000 in 1999, representing a rate of these Grade I– IV serious site accidents of 3.8 per 100,000 workers. The fatality rate in these seriousaccidents is 4.5 per 100,000 workers. This seriously underestimates the total fatalityrate, as single fatalities are not all reportable. Contractors in the UAE stand to lose anestimated US $5,000 (AED 18,300) per hour if work on site is stopped because of anaccident. Fines for flouting standards are currently around $13,000. Good health andsafety is not only good for the country and people, it is also good business. Accordingto an Indian safety expert, a lack of proper planning before work and fatigue are themain reasons for casualties on construction sites in the UAE. A proper planning of aconstruction site by the company is essential before setting up equipment.In the UAE accidents are often not made public by construction firms. However somecannot be hid such as the one where a crane used to build a high-rise tower on theseaside Corniche road in Abu Dhabi collapsed on April 3/2004, killing the crane'soperator. Nine days later, nine workers were crushed to death and two injured in asimilar accident in Sharjah. The two accidents within ten days killed ten people,raising concerns about safety measures at construction sites. More people could havedied or been injured in the first accident if efforts had not been made to block the road and move the crane quickly. These were just two construction-site accidents madepublic. According to sources in the building sector, at least one worker dies or one isinjured on nearly every major construction project in the country. Negligence or poormaintenance of machinery is often blamed. As mentioned unfortunately, theconstruction companies do not keep an official record of the number of construction- site deaths or injuries. As a result, there is no effective way to study construction-siteaccidents to develop better health and safety practices. In the last five years, less thana dozen accidents have been reported in the media. Alarmed by the growing numberof fatal workplace accidents in the UAE, a trade fair and conference were featured byIntersec with the key theme for that edition =Construction Safety‘. held at the DubaiInternational Convention and Exhibition Centre in January from 18 to 20, 2009.Intersec is the leading event for commercial security, safety and health, fire andrescue, and homeland security and policing in the Middle East, and the largest suchevent outside Europe, say the organisers. Intersec 2008 featured more than 800exhibitors, showcasing 2,000 brands from across 53 countries. A highlight of theIntersec 2009 was a special display for safety at height to show the latest practices andtechniques in active and passive fall protection, and suitable trainings. The 2009IOSH Middle East Conference addressed the challenges and feature the successesinvolved in maintaining best practice. The Intersec trade fair and conference issupported by trade and government organisations, such as Dubai Police, theInstitution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Build Safe Dubai, and DubaiCivil Defence. Based on anecdotal evidence, however, construction workers argue the number ofreported cases is far too low to be accurate. Workers see plenty of accidents, they say,particularly in the summer, when colleagues become tired and either fall or are injuredwhile operating a machine. It is reported by a person who works as a safety managerfor a local company that some workers are often afraid to ask for a break if the heathas gotten to them or if they are tired. It has been also noted that labourers continue towork at construction sites even if they are hit by heat stroke and get tired, simplybecause they are afraid of asking for a rest. Most workers fear they will lose their jobsif they rest. In such cases, the most important thing is that supervisors must be able todetermine if a worker has been affected by the heat and if he must rest. This is wheresupervisors and other administrative personnel must stress safety. Supervisors must allow their workers to take breaks on those exceptionally hot days to avoid heatstroke. Management often argues that breaks affect the efficiency of the work. Strictlyspeaking, it will benefit employees more to work when the mind and body haverested, especially on those hot days. A manager at Construction Machinery Centre,reports that there are many reasons for construction-site accidents. Negligence and thepoor maintenance of the machines are the main reasons for fatal accidents at worksites. To avoid accidents, construction companies should only hire authorisedcompanies for the installation of cranes and other heavy machinery at work sites.Machines should regularly be checked and maintained for safety. Even old machinescan be safe if they are regularly maintained. Well trained operators with good safetyrecords should only be allowed to operate the machinery.? Factors responsible for site accidentsThe Construction industry is a very unique industry and unlike fixed workplace likefactory. There are reasons believing construction industry are more dangerous thanother industries. Firstly, the construction sites are constantly changing and temporary.Each construction sites involve of many sub-contractors and they perform differenttypes of work in close proximity to each other. Further, several trades and concurrenttasks are present on construction site at the same time, which can bring them thespecific hazards of their trade. Certain tasks whereby one trade ends up doing all thetasks usually performed by another trade may result in the workers not being familiarwith the hazards involved left by previous trade. The always changing constructionsite and regular being moved or modified can cause new hazards constantly emerging.Besides, construction workers frequently change worksites and employers over theyears. This result in that they might not been trained work in new procedures andequipments. Lastly, due to rush for the dateline and to quickly complete projects, itwill increase chances of accident occurs.The majority of contractors‘ works at construction sites are sub-contractors who havebeen hired by main contractor. The uncontrolled of safety and health on constructionsite may caused hazardous conditions go unchecked, which can cause death or seriousinjuries and sub-contractors who have bad safety records or perform their work in anunsafe manner are very culpable (Reese and Eidons, 1999). A number of people canbe held accountable for a construction accident, from the subcontractor and contractorto the owners, architects, insurance companies and equipment manufacturers. Although contractors are required to inspect construction sites with safety engineersand to enforce employee compliance with safety precautions, construction accidentsstill occur because of inadequate safety regulations or lack supervision.The major causes of accidents are related to the unique nature of the constructionindustry, human behaviour, difficult work-site conditions, and poor safetymanagement, which result in unsafe work methods, equipment, and procedures. Thedynamic nature of construction is one of the major causes for various types ofincidents resulting in injuries and fatalities in the construction industry (HSE, 2003).This evidence, together with scores of other statistics and studies, firmly underlinesthe need for even more rigorous accident prevention regimes. It is a basic human rightto return home safely from work; nobody should be killed or harmed in occupationalaccidents. Until this position is reached, there will still be work to be done in the fieldof accident prevention. Part of the problem is that people tend to underestimate longestablished risks, such as falls, and overestimate workplace violence. Both need to berecognised and controlled.Major socio-economic developments are also changing the scale and pattern ofaccidents and risks. Transportation, for instance, is expanding tremendously,conveying much larger volumes of people and goods. In addition, all systems aregetting bigger and more complicated. Technological advances might have reduced theprobability of accidents in these environments, but if one does occur, the potentialscale of a catastrophe is markedly higher.The science of accident prevention started during World War I, focusing both onhuman safety and the control of various harmful =energies‘ in the workplace. In thelate sixties, the emphasis was on the systematic interaction of people, machines andthe work environment. This so-called =systems approach‘ greatly advanced theunderstanding of effective prevention. Major accidents have shown that it is notenough to analyse a single person or machine in isolation from the rest of the workingcommunity and other elements in the workplace. More recently, researchers haveturned their attention to organisational, weather conditions and cultural factors (Reeseand Eidons, 1999). Even if a person or a machine has characteristics that make them more vulnerable toaccidents, a variety of factors determine the probability of an accident. Accidents donot necessarily happen where expected. For example, people can walk safely onslippery surfaces, but slip on a small spot of oil on the floor. A false sense of securitycan prompt people to ignore risks. For example, a recent study showed that trucksvery often tilt over on straight roads in good weather conditions and in broad daylight(Reese and Eidons,1999).Adverse weather conditions call for better concentration and, consequently, do notproduce as many accidents as one could expect. The human element is importantsince people cannot cope with some conditions, especially the unexpected. Accidentsby definition are unexpected and most people find it hard to manage unexpectedsituations. Usually there is too much information for a given situation and thoseelements that do not normally affect the situation, based on previous experience, areoften ignored. To avoid the risks of these presumptions we need to allow more timefor decisions in situations that go against experience.Another important factor is that people behave differently in different settings. One ofthe contributing factors is an organisation‘s culture, more specifically its safetyculture. The members of an organisation are governed by a relatively similar set ofvalues. This may be because organisations tend to recruit people who think in asimilar way. It may also be a relatively conscious development. A good safety cultureis a work environment where all members of the organisation share a high safetyethic. Either fatalism or =productionfirst‘ thinking leads to a negligent attitudetowards hazards in a bad safety culture. Top management commitment is essential topromote a safety culture.? Globalisation and Cultural effectGlobalisation is an inevitable fact as construction health and safety is a global issue inthat it is a concern wherever construction activities take place. It is no longer possiblefor governments to legislate in isolation because changes that once only affected theirown population and possibly their nearest neighbours now have more far reachingconsequences. This is in some part possible due to cheaper methods of travel andinstant world-wide communication through the internet. Workers are able to find out about work through internet agencies and travel to different countries at a relativelylow cost.Therefore with the growing international activity in construction there has been anincreasing awareness of the importance of better understanding of cross-culturalmanagement (Torrance, 2004).Loughborough University carried out research visiting projects in Africa, Asia, India,the Middle East and Eastern Europe to observe the health and safety measuresemployed and interview management staff. The visits together with a series ofinterviews and focus groups in the UK and mainland Europe were used to produce aguidance manual (Bust and Gibb, 2006). After the completion of that project, cross- departmental (Social Sciences and Civil and Building Engineering) discussions at theUniversity identified areas for further investigation. First, it was thought that the workin developing countries also raised questions about construction in the UK wherethere has been an increase in the numbers of migrant workers being employed.Secondly, that this situation called for an assessment of the increasing variety ofvisual methods being used to communicate about health and safety on and aboutconstruction sites was necessary and ultimately, the construction workers beingemployed around the globe.The use of migrant workers in construction is a world-wide phenomenon and it iscommon practice even in a developed country like the UK and not just the UAE. Astructurally embedded reliance on cheap and =flexible‘ sources of regularly andirregularly employed migrant workers has always been a key feature of the UKconstruction sector (Balch and Geddes, 2003).However, a combination of events (expansion of the European Union, a buoyant UKeconomy and an absence of the traditional Irish migrant workforce due to a boom inIreland) has led to an increase in the numbers of foreign nationals. This has beenrecognised by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the ConstructionConfederation in the UK. They have worked together to produce the =A Simple Guideto Clearer Communication‘ publication outlining methods for clearer verbalcommunication, recommendations for notices and examples of good and bad communication. Included in this is the recommended use of pictures on signs toconvey safety information.Research on construction safety in Kuwait reported that there was an extensive use offoreign labour; that different labour cultures and traditions reflect on human relations,different work habits, and communication problems; and the workers wereemotionally vulnerable and preoccupied with their problems. All of these factors canaffect the concentration and attention of the worker and may contribute to mistakes(Kartam et al., 2000).Although there may be many cultural and religious aspects that need to be understood,the obvious change is having to deal with a workforce with a growing communicationbarrier. The inability to immediately communicate via the spoken word onconstruction sites represents one of the major barriers to successful management ofhealth and safety. In the UK and abroad this issue is being dealt with in similar waysfor the translation of health and safety information, use of interpreters and a variety ofvisual methods to communicate essential health and safety information. It is essentialthat the effectiveness of these methods is assessed as well as the full impact ofmigrant workers on health and safety in construction.From investigations on the Global Safety project (Bust and Gibb, 2006) it has beenlearnt that when multinational consortia work alongside workforces derived frommany countries, the opportunity for the message to be lost in translation is increased.When looking at factors contributing to construction accidents it was reported(Haslam et al., 2005) that worker participation in managing health and safety wasimportant to generate ideas and to build ownership and responsibility.This will be difficult to achieve if the number of different languages spoken onconstruction sites continues to increase. Acting on responses to the HSE‘s discussiondocument =Revitalising Health and safety in Construction‘ (HSE, 2003), it was saidthat, in order to engage the workforce the HSE had to develop proposals for tacklinglanguage and literacy issues. This is now taxing health and safety managersthroughout the UK. Therefore it can be concluded that over the past two decades however, culture hasemerged as an important factor in health and safety in construction particularly withthe increasing internationalisation of procurement project. At the project andorganizational level there have been studies looking at such issues ?Disputes andConstruction Industry Cultures? and comparisons between organisational cultures ofcontractors and consultants (Rameezdeen and Gunarathna, 2003). This studydemonstrated a growing awareness in the construction industry of the role of culturein project performance outcomes. This awareness notwithstanding, the nature of theimplied relationship between organizational culture and performance still remainsunclear since few studies exist that provide empirical evidence of this. As a result, ithas not been possible to definitively identify cultural orientations that influence theprocess of delivering the products of the construction industry with its peculiarcharacteristics, and to strongly advocate and build those cultural orientations thatimprove performance whilst taking steps to mitigate the effects of those orientationsthat are incompatible with good performance.There are many fundamental questions which still remain unanswered or at best haveonly been addressed piecemeal. For instance what is the culture on the constructionproject, and does such a thing as =culture‘ even exist? Is there any evidence that ondifferent projects different cultural orientations exist, and if they do, do they lead tosignificantly different performance outcomes? Should culture be considered assomething that the temporary project coalition is and therefore not easily changed, oras something that the project coalition has that can be manipulated to bring aboutchange in orientation and performance outcomes (Smirchich, 1983). These arefundamental questions that need to be addressed through research. An appreciation ofhow culture, in whatever form, affects the profitability and performance ofconstruction projects will help with the process of implementing changes in cultureand organisational structures. Such research is however generally lacking as noted byHall (1999), therefore studies exploring such relationships will undoubtedly bebeneficial to the construction industry. Cultural differences have a significant impact upon industrial safety culture and helpin understanding the different approaches to accident prevention and safetymanagement. Knowledge of cultural differences cannot be acquired without firstunderstanding what culture is. Although ?culture? is used widely to describevariations among people from different nations or of different ethnicities, there is nosingle, accepted definition. There is, however, a commonly-used set of characteristicsthat helps to identify culture:1) Culture includes systems of values;2) Culture is learned, not innate;3) Culture distinguishes one group from another4) Culture influences beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and behaviour in a somewhatuniform and predictable way (Bird, 2003).As safety climate is often portrayed as a temporal measure of culture (Cheyne et al.,1998); this last characteristic of culture is most important, as it relates the nationalculture to the safety climate. Safety climate also refers to the shared perceptions,beliefs, attitudes and behaviour of the worker, regarding safety in their workplace.Ngowi and Mothibi (1996), in a study of 30 construction sites in Botswana, foundcultural differences were a major reason for viewing safety procedures differently.Site managers in that study stated that the safety gear provided to employees fromimpoverished backgrounds were often sold.The managers also referred to the cultural habits of drinking alcohol or taking herbaldrugs. They identified a tendency for workers to travel to work in smart clothes, andto leave the construction site to spend their money as soon as they received theirwages. Experience with traditional construction techniques, such as the use of mudmixed by hand, proved to be obstacles in getting workers to appreciate the need towear gloves when working with concrete. Further, some local cultures wereconsidered more emotional or more dominant, thus causing certain difficulties witheffective safety management. The literature review revealed a lack of research workundertaken on the influence (direct or indirect) of national culture on local safetyconditions in the construction industry. This deficiency is a major contributor to thedevelopment of this current research rationale which focuses on workers‘ and management characteristics, and how these characteristics in turn, can influence thesafety climate of the workplace.? Challenge in developing countriesThere is a wide variation in economic structures, occupational structures, workingconditions, work environment, and the health status of workers in different regions ofthe world, in different countries and in different sectors of the economy. Therefore themechanisation of the construction industry is not uniform throughout the world.However, as stated earlier, the construction industry plays a vital role in boosting theeconomy of any country, especially a developing country. It provides theinfrastructure required for other sectors of the economy to flourish. Many studies,such as Coble and Haupt (1999) have shown that construction industry reflects thelevel of economic development within the country. The construction sectoreverywhere faces problems and challenges. However, in developing countries, thesedifficulties and challenges are present alongside a general level of socio-economicstress and a lower productivity rate when compared to developed countries (Ofori,2000). Nevertheless it is generally believed that the construction industry is a goodsource of employment at various levels of skills, from a general labour to semi- skilled, skilled and specialist workforce. Other major areas that impact on this sectorare lack of research and development, lack of trade and safety training, clientdissatisfaction, and the continuously increasing construction costs (all of which resultin less profitability).Construction within developing countries often fails to meet the needs of moderncompetitive businesses in the marketplace and rarely provides the best value forclients and taxpayers (Datta, 2000). Additionally, this sector also demonstrates poorperformance in respect of health and safety due to the absence of any stringent safetyand construction laws. International labour organization (ILO, 1987) attributes thepoor health and safety records in construction projects within developing countries to:• The high proportion of small firms and the high number of self-employed workers;• The variety and comparatively short life of construction sites;• The high turnover of workers;• The large proportion of seasonal and migrant workers; Kartam et al. (1998) foundthat, in most developing countries, for example like India, there are no training programs for staff and workers; therefore, no orientation for new staff or workers isconducted; hazards are not pointed out; and no safety meetings are held. Employeesare expected to learn from their own mistakes and experience. In adopting different approaches to health and safety in developed and developingcountries, two main differences can be identified. The first is the existence oflegislation and its effective implementation; the second is hazard awareness. Indeveloped countries, many safety acts and legislation exist and are implementedeffectively. Nominated safety officers promote hazard awareness with the help ofregular safety training sessions. In developing countries, however, safety rules barelyexist at all; and when they do, they are inappropriate, ineffective, out-of date andbased on conditions that prevailed while the country was still being colonised.Additionally, the regulatory authority is usually very weak in implementing ruleseffectively, and work hazards are either not perceived at all, or perceived to be lessdangerous than they actually are (Larcher and Sohail, 1999; Hinze et al., 1999).? Health and safety standards on construction sites in the UAEIn the UAE, there is still lack of preventive measures for reduction of occupationalsafety and illness on construction sites. Taking the example of the crane accident thecouncil called for better control of the use of cranes in residential areas to reduce thethreat of accidents to residents. The issue of old cranes had came up at Abu Dhabi'sNational Consultative Council on several occasions, with members demanding allconstruction companies replace their old machines for safety's sake. The council hadheld several discussions with the Civil Defence, Abu Dhabi Municipality and TownPlanning Department and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to improveconditions at work sites. Members say more attention must be given to the properinstallation of cranes on construction sites to prevent them from extending intoresidential areas. Though the inspection of a crane at a construction site and itsmaintenance do not come under the Civil Defence authority, an official told GulfNews the department is coordinating with the Ministry of Labour, which isresponsible for safety measures at construction site. The coordination with authoritiesin order to provide them with their expertise to help guarantee complete safety andpreventive measures at work sites. On the safety practices at construction sites, it wasnoted by the Director of the Labour Safety Section at the Labour Ministry, that article 32 of federal law No. 8 for the year 1980 outlined safety measures to protect workers.This law therefore should be inspected and maintained annually with the knowledgeof a specialist. There is a very strong commitment from the Ministry of labour toimprove health and safety standards. But the law on its own won‘t be enough. Thereis a need to build a capacity for enforcement and the industry needs to improve things.Some sectors like oil and gas have standards that are comparable with the rest of theworld. The ministry of labour must take action against those who were in charge ofcertifying that the two cranes involved in the accidents in question would beblacklisted for failing to secure the safety of workers and pedestrians. the ministry hasauthorised a number of specialised companies to provide expertise when setting upmachines at construction sites. Only authorised and licensed companies are allowed toinstall cranes and other machinery at work sites. The authorised companies areresponsible for inspecting cranes and have certified inspectors to do the job. TheLabour Safety Section at the ministry certifies these inspectors to inspect cranes. Thesection examines the inspectors annually. They are given an oral and written test tocomplete to ensure that their work is up to international standards. If they pass thetest, they are certified to work as inspectors for a year only after which they are testedagain. If after a year, an inspector is reported to have failed to do his job effectively orhas made some mistakes, he is not given inspection privileges again. The authorisedcompanies are asked by the ministry to present annual reports on their activitiesAccording to the Director of the Labour Safety Section, the number one reason behindcrane accidents is the failure to regularly inspect the cranes. It is these inspections thatidentify if there is a problem with the crane or if it needs to be repaired. As for thenumber of crane accidents, the ministry does not have an accurate record for AbuDhabi. According to the law, construction companies are supposed to inform theministry if an accident occurs; but, unfortunately, they never do.In the light of these conclusions the UAE Ministry of Labour will form anindependent agency for the sole purpose of inspecting health and safety standards onconstruction sites. The agency is part of the ministry‘s plans to upgrade the country‘shealth and safety regulations and is expected to be up and running within the next fewmonths. The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has been workingclosely with the ministry to revise health and safety laws, which will also extend to labour accommodation standards. The new regulations will also mean tougherpenalties for construction companies violating the rules. They are in the early stages atthe moment, but the independent agency will focus on health and safety inspections.There will also be more fines; contractors will be expected to prove good health andsafety standards, and it will be up to the industry to assume responsibility. The newlaw is also expected to address heat-related illnesses, first aid requirements, electricalsafety at work and protective equipment to prevent falls from height.? SummaryThe literature review has revealed the existence of dramatic levels of occupationalinjuries and fatalities occurring throughout the world, thus highlighting the hugeimportance of managing health and safety performance. The focus needs be on theneed to improve the process of health and safety in the construction project taking intoaccount the factors responsible for major causes of sites accidents with the effect ofglobalization aspect and cultural issues. The literature has also highlighted the hugechallenges faced by de veloping countries such as the UAE to develop andimplementing effectively health and safety procedures in construction. "