SiteSafe, a New Zealand consultancy specialised in occupational health, safety and environmental practices, has tied up with the Olive Group in the UAE and launched a training programme that gives certificates in construction site safety in nine countries, said a senior executive.
It is also in the process of setting up a lab in Abu Dhabi with Envirozone, an environmental monitoring equipment supplier, to enable EIA (environmental impact assessment) studies.
"We would love to complement what Build Safe UAE, the not-for-profit body does since SiteSafe started the same way in New Zealand. In the UAE, we have tied up the Olive Group, an international provider of health, safety and security, whose director is on the technical committee of Build Safe UAE. The Olive Group also addresses all the construction industry players in the UAE and the region and hence are the ideal choice," said John Shiby Mathew, Director (Business Development) at SiteSafe.
"We have recently launched a training programme that gives certificates in construction site safety [CCSS] in nine countries, which includes the UAE, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Saudi, US, UK, Afghanistan. We are trying to work with a number of providers in the market and have 20 international consultants on our list."
SiteSafe provides an entire package of occupational health, safety and environmental solutions, which include training, auditing and consultancy services.
Its CCSS is made up of seven courses targeted at labourers, supervisors and senior executives.
In the UAE, most of the training programmes are based on the rules or legislation around health, safety and environment and therefore trainees are not taught how to make the workplace a safer place, according to the company. Secondly, there is very little opportunity for non-English speaking supervisors and operational staff to obtain any form of recognised training. So, the consultancy is in the process of converting a majority of their training courses in the CCSS programme into regional languages such as Arabic, Hindi and Malayalam.
Meanwhile, it is also investing Dh500,000 in establishing a laboratory with Envirozone in Abu Dhabi to enable EIA studies in the UAE.
"We have the expertise around the studies but we need the avenue to test these in a laboratory," said Mathew. "We have fixed and mobile stations [the latter can go on site to conduct the tests]. The government is pushing environmental standards and we are targeting all the main players. We expect to get accreditation for the lab by January 2010. There are many training companies in the market but our edge lies in being a solution provider," he said.
Blake Kyle, senior consultant at SiteSafe, told Emirates Business that it is very important to use the bottom up approach in training workers using behavioural safety principles where they need to understand the consequences of their actions.
"It is also important to get the management team involved where they develop and determine the behaviour on site and the safety culture, primarily through accountability. It is about integrating safety with productivity. Safer companies have better staff retention and quality as well as improved contractor relations on site. In the US, the Fortune 500 companies have world-class safety systems and this is built into their corporate philosophy. "
He also emphasised that in New Zealand, airports use the SiteSafe benchmarking reports and have a list of preferred contractors who have already been screened the health and safety practices.
Peter Barnett-Schuster, Director QHSE at the Olive Group, said, "We see a value in launching this programme in the nine countries especially since we are associated with major construction projects as well as the oil and gas industry in the region."
Through this joint venture, the Olive Group has invested money in getting trainers and SiteSafe will accredit them to deliver the programme.
Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.