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Health and Safety Measures/Training
2.1 Oman Construction Industry
Oman has undergone a major construction boom in the last five years, but now the
construction companies which had suffered during the recession are now starting to resume.
The construction sector in Oman is considered as one of the principal source of income and
employment in the country (Islam 2013, p.426). Indeed, Oman makes the hub for some of the
world’s biggest construction companies. The scenario presents a big challenge to the various
construction companies in the country to integrate the required safety and health training
programs in the aim of promoting the workers conditions.
According to Saud (2014), the Oman building and construction industry is characterized by
high rate of attrition with many serious on-site accidents. In his quest to explore the
availability, awareness and types of health and safety training in the industry, Saud identified
six key risks which are common in the Oman construction industry (Saud 2014, p.2). These
risks include working at heights, working on fragile roofs, working in confined spaces,
working with high electric voltage, working without the knowledge of how to handle
emergency tools, and using dangerous electrical tools. The study rounds up by outlining the
need for onsite inspections to pressure the construction companies into adopting the various
safety measures.
According to Muscat (2015), Oman regulation has gotten tougher after several cases of
reported construction workers injuries and deaths. It was following the report of six workers
suffering injuries in Seeb and Buraimi that the labour law and Ministry of man power became
strict in ensuring that there was safety in at the construction sites. In Seeb, a building under
construction collapsed and injured four workers who were hospitalised. In the same day, two
workers in Buraimi wounded in a similar occurrence and also had to be hospitalised after
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escaping death (Muscat 2015). It's following the occurrence of these injuries that the General
Federation of Oman trade union (GFOTU) stressed on the proper safety measures in the
construction industry.
There were growing concerns in the same month, August 2015 that workers were continually
risking their lives as construction companies fail to concise various safety strategies (Le
2016, p.106). The labour authority came up with onsite inspection strategy to reprimand the
companies that failed in essential areas of employee’s safety. Meanwhile, the municipal
council made it clear that companies involved in construction projects should follow the
safety standards to the letter without compromising on any of them.
2.1.1 Types of injuries in the Oman construction industry
He data below presents the different types of construction accidents in Sultanate of Oman.
The study indicated that approximately 38% of the construction injuries affected the upper
extremities, with 29% specifically affecting the eyes. Injuries to the lower body parts, that is
limbs, constituted of approximately 19% whereas the injuries to the head and neck rounded
up to around 11%.
From the data presented in the Oman medical journal (2011), the upper extremities,
particularly the hands and the figures were the commonly affected body parts. This might be
due to the fact that the construction managers in the industry have not fully trained their
employees on how to protect these vulnerable body parts. According to the data presented in
the table above, it’s also clear that the construction companies in the country have failed to
provide the workers with both the training and equipment on how to protect their eyes from
injuries. Injuries to the eyes accounted for 29%, a proportion which could be greatly reduced
by wearing eye protection guards.
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Table 1.2 Types of construction injuries in Oman
Source: Oman medical Journal. Sep 2011, p.315 V 26(5). Doi: 10.500/omj.2011.79
2.1.2 Age groups affected by the construction injuries
From the findings provided in the graph below, it’s clear that younger construction employees
constituted the largest proportion of the construction accidents in the industry. Workers in the
age bracket of 25-29 years have been found to more vulnerable to the construction injuries.
The high accident incidence in this bracket may be attributed to lack of safety and health
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training, lack of experience in the construction work, poor supervision, lack of appropriate
skills and knowledge, among other many reasons
Key: MTC - Medical treatment cases, RWC -Restricted work cases, LTI -Lost time injuries.
Figure 2.1: Age groups affected by the construction injuries
Source: Oman Medical Journal. Sep; 2011, v26(5) p.318
. According to ILO (1995, p.13), many workers venture into the construction and demolition
works without at a young age even without safety training. The aging workers in the industry
have also been found to demonstrate high vulnerability to work injuries. The injuries in the
old workers in most cases reflect the physical strength and caution decline among the
workers. Nonetheless, the safety of both the young and old workers in the Oman construction
industry could be ensured through practices such as hazard analysis, safety training, project
management training, and proper workstation design as it the case in countries such as
Australia and the USA construction industry. (Shahid 2015, p.65)
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2.1.3 Case study analysis of the Harweel construction project in Oman
Figure 2.2; Monthly injuries per man hour in the Harweel project
Source: Al-Rubaee. Sep; 2011, 26(5) p.3015
In the Oman Harweel construction project, the average injury rate in 1000 construction
workers was 19.8. its worthy noting that this rate is lower compared to the 75 injuries per
1000 workers as reported by the US national survey. The high injury reported in the second
trimester of 2007 can be attributed to a low employee orientation in the construction
activities. In 2008, it’s clear that the firm hired a lot of labourers who required observation
and a great deal of training, justifying the high rate of injuries during the period.
In summation, there are various characteristic factors which are responsible for construction
and demolition accidents in the country. Construction accidents tend most occur during the
worker’s first few days at the construction workplace (Maleik 2007, p.469). The accidents
also occur when construction projects and demolition activities have an extremely lower
health and safety management. Maleik (2007) also observed that the accident cases in the
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Oman construction industry tended to increase when the personal protection equipment were
not used in the correct manner. Finally, it was observed that accident cases in the construction
sector mostly escalated when safety mangers failed to effectively carry out project
management training by ignoring hazard warnings in the workplace.
2.2.0 Levels of the health and safety training
According to the Al Tasim group (2015), the awareness and compliance with the health and
safety training have gone up several folds over the last few years. The group notes that
previous the realization was limited to the oil and gas sector and some selected few
construction companies such as the Sarooj and Abu Hatim companies. The group goes on to
note that various construction companies have gone to the extent of facilitating medical
check-ups for their employees (Altasim.com 2015). Finally, the group notices that workers
safety is one of the main reasons why the construction companies in the country fail to retain
their staffs.
Oman construction safety triangle.
The figure below illustrates the safety triangle in Oman construction and safety industry.
Based on the mathematical ratios indicated in the figure, it’s clear that for every major
construction accident, resulting to death, medical complications, or disability, there are likely
to be 10 reports of minor injuries which required only first aid.
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Figure 2.3 A review on the accident pyramid and its empirical interpretations.
Source: international journal of scientific research publications, 5(1), 1 January 2015
As illustrated by the 1-30-300-3000, effective safeguarding and training will definitely shrink
at-risk behaviours, ultimately reducing the chances of fatality occurrence (Sia & Nihal 2015,
p.2). This ratio also indicates clearly how wrong the project managers in the industry are to
direct their training efforts and time in serious incidents there are significant opportunities of
controlling accidents as indicated by the lower part of the safety triangle.
Training levels in the Oman Construction industry
According to Silaparasetti (2017), the health and safety training in the Oman construction
industry is further divided into various levels depending on how the training is delivered.
Construction companies in Oman provide health and safety training on four primary levels;
recognition, abatement, prevention, and avoidance of safety and health risks in the
construction sites (Silaparasetti 2017, p.88). The training also provides workers with adequate
information pertaining their rights, employers’ responsibilities, and how to file a complaint in
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case the same is violated. Following is a discussion of the various levels of health and safety
training in the industry.
• Recognition training
This is often the first level of training which construction companies offer their workers. It
aims at enabling them to recognise hazard in the building place and act to prevent them
causing injuries and damages in the workplace (Umar 2016, p.68). To identify and assess a
hazard, the training program equips the employees with critical skills which enable them to
access the likelihood of occurrence of an accident.
• Abatement training
Most companies in the construction industry train the employees on how to use the various
first aid tools available to reduce the impact of any hazard that may occur in the course of
their work (Abidin & Powmya 2014, p.231). The abatement training ensures that the
implications of any accident are highly reduced to minimise the case of fatal injuries.
• Prevention training
The Sohar Aluminium company is one of the Oman construction companies which offers its
employees'' prevention training. The company’s safety personnel trains the workers on
various methods of prevention of health and safety accidents by encouraging safe practices
(Enshassi & Choudhry 2016, p.250). The safety training emphasises on project’s safety
requirements and plans ahead of the real operations.
2.3 Omani demolition sector
The demolition companies in the country are always engaged when building dismantling and
services are required. Demolitions works always involve many of hazards which are as well
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associated with construction (Umar & Wamuziri 2016). However, the demolition activities
are always characterised by additional hazards as a result of the unknown factors which
makes the demolition work to be more dangerous. These unknown factors include hazards
created by the demolition methods used, hidden strengths and weakness of the construction
materials, unknown materials concealed in the building structures, and lastly the modification
which might have altered the original building design.
According to David (2016), the various players in the Oman demolition sector often wake up
to news of demolition tragedy such as worker electrocuted during demolition, roof collapse
on demolition workers, and demolition workers impaled on rebar. It is the occurrence of these
hazards that some construction companies such as Sajoor integrated proper demolition
strategies. Among the demolition plans are employee safety and health training. The
companies are more interested in the handling of hazardous materials. This concern is fuelled
by the Ministerial decision in 2008 which introduced regulation of demolition safety.
According to the safety regulation, demolition companies are required to facilitate
employees’ safety training. The demolition companies have enacted health and safety training
in various levels of handling of hazardous materials. According to the Wyoming Department
report (2014), health and safety training in demolition activities are executed at the following
levels;
• Demolition Safety manager
The demolition safety managers in the country are often regarded as the administrators of all
demolition health and safety program (Wyoming report 2014, p.3). The safety manager is
trained using technical guidance involving identifying and removing physical, chemical and
other hazards from the demolition area. The safety manager is also trained on how to conduct
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an inspection and indemnify unhealthy and unsafe practices in the course of the demolition
work.
• Project manager
The training aims at familiarising the project manner or the foreman with the safety
responsibility related to his area of responsibility in ensuring a safe environment in the
demolition activities. The training also equips the project manager with the skills to direct and
coordinate safety activities during the demolition activities (Wyoming department 2014, p.2).
More important, the project managers are trained on conduct health and safety inspections of
the work area and give direction for unsafe demolition conditions. Lastly, the training equips
the project managers or the foreman with skills on how to instruct all other persons involved
in the demolition activities including the community.
• All employees
According to the Wyoming report (2014), demolition companies in Oman mainly facilitate an
all employee safety and health training. This training level enables the employees to be
familiar with and comply with proper safety practices. Deebaj company train their employees
to ensure they use the proper personal protective equipment.
• Office manager/clerk
Demolition companies such as Muna Noor engineers hire and train health safety clerks. The
clerks are in charge of recording and maintaining all records pertaining workers safety. The
Muna Noor company has integrated the OSHA 300 injury and illness log for individual
demolition projects. The training equips the office manager with necessary skills on how to
maintain all medical records and exposure monitoring records for around ten years (Probst
2008, p.1147). These records are then taken as the bases and checklist for employee training.
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A Comparison of the construction safety and Health among middle East countries.
The graph below illustrates a comparison of the construction accidents reported in the
respective middle East countries in 2014. From the graph, it's clear that Oman has integrated
crucial construction safety and health training given that it has a low bar of the reported
construction accidents. Some countries such as Egypt and Kuwait have recorded high levels
of construction accidents as a result of misuses of safety tools, falling, and most important,
the lack of safety and health training.
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Figure 2.4: Distribution of construction accidents in the middle East countries.
Source: HSE Annual Statistics Report 2011/12. Section1.12 2013, p.32. 4(2)
3 Current Strategies towards H&S Training Adopted by Construction and Demolition
Industry
3.1 Oman construction sector
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According to Pat (2011), the construction companies in Oman have however illustrated the
will to promote a healthy and safe work environment through adopting various safety and
health training strategies. Frequently training is one of the strategies which have proven be an
essential strategy in preventing accidents and protecting workers in the construction industry
(Pat 2011). Oman construction companies such Sarooj have integrated both on-site and off-
site training strategies. These training strategies include;
• Use of health and safety signs
Construction companies in Oman use safety signs and signals as one of the main ways of
communication relevant health and safety information. This entails the use of illuminated
signs, workplace spoken communication, and use of acoustic signals such as hand and
alarms. Training workers on how to interpret these signs are one of the most significant safety
training strategies that the construction companies in Oman have adopted (Michael 2016, 62).
This strategy is critical as since the workers should easily understand these signs or even use
them to minimise construction accidents which emanate from the lack of signs in
construction sites.
• Personal protective clothing (PPE)
Companies in the Oman construction industry offers their employees adequate training on
how to effectively wear protective clothes and use them for protection from the various
hazards they are exposed to in the course of their work (Mohammed 2015, p.10). The Sajoor
company, for instance, offers their employees training on the different dangers and how the
protective clothes can protect the workers from each of them. Some of these injuries which
can be prevented through proper training on personal protective clothing include heat,
chemicals, electric hazards, and health infections. The PPE required in construction sites
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include; eye and face protection, hearing protection, and foot and leg protection among
others. However, Nashwan (2014) observes that construction workers in the Oman
construction industry lack protective equipment as many companies were noted to be
allowing workers to carry out high-risk activities such as excavation and concreting without
the right PPE.
• First aid training
Construction sites are always prone to accidents, and that’s why many construction
companies in Oman train their workers on how to handle the first aid kit apart have a safety
personnel who is well conversant with how to use the first aid kit. Under the Act 124/2006,
on any construction site, at least one person should have been trained in first aid and use of
first aid kit to a national level. However, research on the effectiveness of the first aid training
indicates that most companies in the industry use ill equipped first aid kits (Akhmad 200,
p.337). Akhmad also notices that again the requirement that at least one person be trained in
offering first aid is not met by all companies in the industry.
• Site layout
According to Michael (2016), a poorly planned construction site is always the underlying
cause of many accidents in the Oman construction industry. Space constraints are nearly
always the limiting factors in workers’ health and safety. This makes employees training on
proper site layout a crucial factor (Michael 2016, p.65). Companies use this site design and
planning training to ensure that accidents which are caused by tripping, slipping, and falling
over objects are minimised. The site layout training strategy also plays a big role in ensuring
that the workers do not leave objects lying around the area where they are working from.
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According to Michael (2016), the strategy has yielded some benefits as the cases of stepping
on nails which are left projecting have gradually decreased in companies which training their
employees on site layout planning.
3.2 The Oman demolition sector
Project management education and training have been fundamental in demolition and
reconstruction safety (Mark 2015, p.241). The concern was on the strategies which should be
used to minimise the accidents which result from demolition activities since the events have
proven to cause fatal injuries. Some of the project management training strategies utilised in
the Oman demolition sector include;
• Pre-job planning
The demolition companies in Oman are required first to evaluate the project, to identify the
potential hazards and training employees on the same before embarking on the demolition
activities (Baey & Yeoh 2015 p.15). The workers pre-job training enables the workers to
acquainted with issues such as fire protection, first aid services, and the use of contemporary
protective structures.
• Personal protective equipment
Although personal protective equipment is not new in the demolition industry, some
companies still offer their employees this training to assure proper selection and use of the
equipment (Choueiri 2013, p.143). For example, some companies such as Deebaj LLC
demolition company still insist on training their workers on fall protection equipment
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selection and their use since the workers are always exposed to high height risks during the
demolition process.
• Safe blasting procedure
This is another strategy which construction managers from different companies in the
country’s demolition sector still insist on. This is due to the fact most of these companies use
explosive in the demolition activities thus the need for training on how to effectively handle
and use them (Diapouli & Chaloulakou 2013, p.204). The blasting procedures also require
safety training based on how to transport, store and dispose of the explosive in a way that
both the workers and public safety is highly upheld.
3.2.1 How the manager undertakes the training in both Oman demolition and
construction activities
Project managers in both the Oman and demolition and construction sectors undertake similar
approaches in facilitating workers health and safety. Some of these approaches mainly focus
on hazard identification and mitigation before they turn into significant health and safety
risks. The methods used include;
• Use of checklist
Safety managers in the Oman construction industry use checklist to ensure that the workers
are well trained on any possible hazard that may occur in the course of their work depending
on the nature of the construction activities. According to IAEA (2013), the checklist is used
by safety managers as a starting point for hazard identification education and training. The
case is however different for the demolition projects where the checklist has to be a review
for each stage of the demolition activities.
• Hazard and operability study
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Safety managers often use this type of study as a tool for hazard identification and training in
both the construction and demolition sector. According to IAEZ (2013), the study is often
carried out by a team of 5 people including a highly trained team leader who has safety and
reliability experience. For a demolition process, the operability training is on lifting, use of
disposals, and cutting among other demolition operations.
• The braining storming approach
The technique is always termed by the safety managers as a “what if?” training approach. It's
best performed by a group of training experts who are familiar with the hazards associated
with demolition and construction activities. Some of the demolition companies combine the
tactic with the checklist approach to ensure that all factors are considered in training
employees on protective measures (IAEA 2013, 60). During the braining storming approach,
the safety manager ensures that employees are trained on possible categories such as external
factors influences, equipment failure, utility failures, and integrity failure.
