Today marked the official start of the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health Center’s (OSHAD) Safety in Heat Programme. OSHAD has been visiting construction sites to raise awareness about its programme in the lead up to the start of the midday break law. The law, announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation yesterday, asserts that workers should stop working between 12:30pm and 3:30pm from 15th June to 15th September. As the competent authority elected by the Executive Council to oversee occupational health and safety in Abu Dhabi, OSHAD aims to ensure the wellbeing of workers during the hottest months of the summer.

As part of the Safety in Heat’s awareness campaign, OSHAD most recently visited the Shakhboot Medical City construction site in collaboration with Musanada. The Center focused on teaching employees and employers safety measures to consider when working in direct exposure to sunlight, this included taking regular breaks in shaded areas to avoid overexposure to the sun, which could lead to heat stress, heat stroke, dehydration and other fatal illnesses. As well as this, workers were taught about the importance of maintaining a well balanced, nutritional diet, and drinking plenty of water. To further raise awareness about the dangers of heat, brochures in several languages were distributed and a short animated video was presented.

This visit was just one of the many visits that OSHAD is aiming to do, in collaboration with the Sector Regulatory Authorities’ (SRA) . These visits will cover different sectors, including; Building and Construction, Energy, Transport, Food, Waste, Education, Commercial, Health, Industrial and Tourism and Culture. So far, there are 112 awareness visits and inspections planned, as well as 53 training workshops.

Deputy Director General of OSHAD, Ms Reem Al-Nuaimi, praised the widespread participation of employers and employees in this year’s programme; "Visiting construction sites is an imperative part of implementing OSHAD’s Safety in Heat programme, which ensures the protection of Abu Dhabi’s workers through their adherence to the new law. The aim of the programme is to ensure the health and safety of all workers within the Emirate by providing supervisors and workers with awareness materials and the appropriate training."

The Center aims to carry out as many awareness workshops and inspections as it can throughout the year. Last year alone OSHAD conducted 80 workshops, around 1,500 inspection visits, and handed out 80,000 awareness leaflets in a range of languages. Since the initial launch of the Safety in Heat programme this year, 89,000 printouts entailing guidelines and tips for workers and supervisors have been distributed, targeting 700,000 workers in nearly 6,000 different types of work.

As Ms Al-Nuaimi emphasised, following the Ministry’s law is of utmost importance, and all companies and entities are encouraged to start applying OSHAD’s programme as soon as possible. OSHAD greatly appreciates its partnership with the Ministry to achieve the programme’s objectives, and looks forward to collaborating with numerous other entities for future visits. The Sector Regulatory Authorities’ (SRA) participation in distributing awareness materials and conducting visits and workshops for the entities within their sectors has also been invaluable.

OSHAD takes its responsibilities very seriously and believes that it is a nationwide duty to protect the workers who help build this city. The Center hopes that people will make the most of the awareness materials it has provided, and benefit from them by using them effectively and efficiently.

Source :WAM