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Evaluating the Occupational Health and Safety Practices in Small and Medium Construction Companies in Oman

Amjaad Al Ghafri, Mubarak Al Alawi, and Mohammed Al Shahri
Civil and Architectural Engineering Department, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Abstract— Occupational health and safety in the construction industry have always been questioned due to the unpleasant rates of accidents, which results in injuries and sometimes death. All responsible bodies in the area of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) are keened in providing safe and healthy working environments for construction labors. Governments and private institutes established OHS regulatory frameworks. However, the main challenge was related to what degree construction companies are following it. This research was conducted to evaluate the OHS practices in small and medium construction companies in Oman. OHS practices of ten construction companies in Oman from two different governorates were investigated. The results showed that the degree of implementation of the OHS regulatory framework was different from one company to another. The majority of the companies did not provide simple exposure prevention equipment and failed to provide OHS guidance board at their construction sites. 

Index Terms— construction, OHS, Oman, Safety

Cite: Amjaad Al Ghafri, Mubarak Al Alawi, and Mohammed Al Shahri, "Evaluating the Occupational Health and Safety Practices in Small and Medium Construction Companies in Oman," International Journal of Structural and Civil Engineering Research, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 289-294, November 2020. doi: 10.18178/ijscer.9.4.289-294

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.