10 construction worker deaths in 2009

Build Safe UAE

,

, released some data today that showed accident and fatality trends in the Emirates. Each company voluntarily gives the data and is not named specifically by the group. While the companies in Build Safe are some of the biggest, like

Dutco Balfour Beatty

and

Bovis Lend Lease

, their data is not representative of the entire sector.

A few salient points:

• Ten construction workers reportedly died in accidents in 2009. Four of them fell off a high place; two had accidents on the road; one was the victim of a collapsed structure; one was hit by a falling object; one died handling materials; and another was killed by being trapped by machinery. It feels a bit heartless to think of construction worker deaths in these terms, but it is important to keep track of safety statistics for wider policy goals. (Six construction workers died in a car accident at the end of March).
  
• There were 570 accidents that resulted in "lost time", meaning the worker had to leave the job for a period of time. These could range from broken bones to severed limbs to concussions. These occurred in similar circumstances as the deaths, including falling from height, falling material, handling material, slips and trips, and handling of tools.
  
• There were an average of 276,323 workers in the Emirates for 2009, though this number declined from 298,449 in January to 251,051 in December.

Build Safe UAE is working with the Government to come up with federal construction worker safety standards. Check out their comic strips in multiple languages about safety

.