Safe start to year for DAMAC Properties
sites in Dubai
First quarter 2009 shows just one incident in five million man hours
Park Towers project records a safety double
Luxury Lifestyle provider DAMAC Properties has recorded a solid start to 2009 with its safety statistics for the first quarter of 2009 showing just one lost time incident in a total of 5.1million man hours worked.
The report, which covers nine sites in Dubai shows, that the one LTI (Lost Time Injury) means that DAMAC has a frequency rate of incidents per one million man hours of just 0.2 per cent so far in 2009. The minor incident which occurred in March 2009 meant that the company had recorded no accidents for the first two months of the year. For the entire quarter there were just 18 minor medical treatment incidents and out of the nine construction sites monitored five had no treatment cases at all. In addition, during the first quarter of 2009 there were no road traffic accidents at any of the sites.
In a second safety milestone the company’s Park Towers project at DIFC also notched up five million construction hours without a single lost time injury.
Commenting on DAMAC Properties’ safety performance Dr. Ekarath Raveendran, the company’s Health Safety and Environment Manager said: ‘We have been working hard to communicate the importance of safety and we are very pleased with this start to 2009. It shows that staff on site are working closely with contractors to ensure that risks are minimised and that accidents are avoided.
“Construction can be a very hazardous job and it is in everyone’s interests to work safely and to look after themselves and each other,’ said Dr Raveendran.
“This is why the achievement made by the team working at our Park Towers development is even more commendable. To have worked five million man hours without a single LTI is a great credit to the effort put in by everyone on site.’
DAMAC has introduced a number of safety procedures and policies and each site is inspected on a weekly basis. The reporting of near miss incidents is encouraged among contractors and DAMAC uses these to provide further training and instruction on best practise.
Weekly inspections focus on general housekeeping on site, the erection of scaffolding and ladders, electrical safety, protection from falls from height and the storage of plant and equipment.
Following on from the weekly inspections, DAMAC Properties has also introduced a Safety Site of the Month award when certificates are awarded to the teams on site. The most recent recipient of this award for April is the company’s Ocean Heights project at Dubai Marina, where construction has reached 50 floors and a total of more than 1,700 staff are on site every day.
The nine DAMAC Properties sites that are included in the safety audit are :Smart Heights at TECOM, Lago Vista at IMPZ; Park Towers at DIFC; Business Tower and XL Tower at Business Bay; Lake Emirates Gardens One and Two and Tuscan Residences, all at Jumeirah Village South and Ocean Heights at Dubai Marina.
CEO of Damac Properties Peter Riddoch added his commendation of the safety performance so far for 2009 and stressed the continued importance of working safely.
He said: ‘It is great news that not only are our sites performing well in terms of construction timetables and delivery deadlines – but that they are doing all of this whilst keeping accident rates low and also remaining focused on safety.
‘We want everyone who works with us to be safe at work and very often this is down to having the right attitude and taking due care and attention. Sometimes it just takes a little care to prevent a large accident.
‘We will continue to look for ways that we can improve our safety performance and hope that we will build on the positive start for 2009. It’s all part of our overall aim to instill and develop a true ‘safety first’ culture at DAMAC Properties,’ he added.
