Where are the safety standards?

The recent crane incidents in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah underscore the need for higher awareness of health and safety regulations and adherence to proper procedures (“Crane collapse: Abu Dhabi municipality suspends works of contractor, consultant”, Gulf News, March 30). As preached by any safety personnel, the accidents mostly occur because of negligence and rarely because of a reason beyond our control. The procedures for inspections, the lifting of the load, the approval process for the lifting plan and the execution with the sense of safety are the leading factors for a successful crane operation. It is obvious that there were some procedural and administrative lapses that lead to the accidents. It is unfortunate that the Sharjah incident resulted in a fatality. The regulatory authorities should look into the frequency of the inspections of the lifting equipment and adequate and regular training should be given to the crane drivers and encouragement of safety performance

through lots of behaviour based safety systems. The emphasis on training and rewarding the safe behaviours are proven result oriented schemes.

From Mr Murugesh SS Sivam Dubai