High fatalities risk found in Gulf construction

It is predicted that the construction industry will be growing in the future, and that could lead to an increase in risks in work safety and accidents. This paper presents the current status of occupational safety and health in the Gulf region by providing a comparison with those of some of the most advanced countries in the world. According to our data, the Gulf countries have a poor record of work safety and health. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the main factors and provide some solutions for key areas, so that the construction industry could improve its safety performance. Our findings from the literature and from the semi-structured interviews held with the selected professionals suggest that the major areas are: lack of awareness of the importance of safety and costs resulting from accidents; environmental and climatic factors; implementation of rules for developing a culture of harmless working conditions.