To ensure safe work environment in construction sites, the Dubai Municipality has launched a challenge to enable contractors achieve no construction accidents.
The Zero Accident Construction Challenge allows contracting companies to compete to achieve the largest number of working hours in construction sites without causing accidents or violating requirements of safety and security.
Set for companies with at least 30 workers that are registered with the Dubai Municipality, the challenge targets 1,000 contracting companies. The six-month challenge starts from October 1 until the end of March 2019.
Abdullah Ali Mohammed, head of building control department at the Dubai Municipality, said the challenge aims to strengthen self-censorship among contractors rather than intensifying inspection visits and imposing sanctions.
The department will intensify its team visits on all construction sites across the city to provide guidance and direction to the engineering and technical staff of the contracting companies.
"We want to encourage the contractors to take all preventive and precautionary measures to protect workers and secure construction sites, using the methodologies of training and education of workers according to the nature of work and the needs of construction projects," said Mohammed.
Winning companies will be honoured on World Labour Day, which falls on May 1, with a number of incentives and privileges including a two-year commercial licence renewal and the ability to execute one project higher than the contractor's degree (higher by three floors).
Mohammed noted that the challenge enables a contracting company to join with all its projects. He urged construction companies with more than 30 workers to participate in this challenge.
The municipality currently oversees approximately 22,000 under-construction buildings coming up at an area of approximately 561 million square feet.
Abdullah Al Shezawi, director of the building control department at the municipality, said the civic body would work closely with contractors to promote the concept of positive safety.
"We will instruct companies to use training methodologies and educate workers according to the nature of their work and the needs of the construction projects," he noted.
"The contractors will intensify the auditing operations, train their manpower and use the latest technologies and equipment to complete working hours without accidents," said Al Shezawi.
The required work hours without accidents are based on the number of registered labourers of contracting companies.
Al Shezawi said categories of challenge have been created to include largest number of contracting companies to expand the scope of participation and winning.
"Through the initiative, we hope to protect life and property with innovative standards and mechanisms of work and by applying the provisions contained in the Dubai Municipality Building Safety Practice Manual," he added.
Interested applicants can fill in the e-participation form through the challenge link available in Dubai PBS system until September 30. A certificate of participation will be given to all contractors who join the challenge.
