Standards issue

zoom

zoom

When Dubai's construction boom took off in 2002, buoyed by the change in freehold legislation, it coincided with less than flattering comparisons with the industry internationally. Reports in the media in the UK, for example, rarely mentioned the region without a nod to the perceived construction standards or poor labour conditions.

Times have changed, however, and arguably through the presence of international contractors and consultants, the standard of construction may just have less to be apologetic for than previously thought. This begs the question, just how big is the gap between established construction markets and the Middle East? With the plethora of Australian, South African and European contractors and consultants involved in the biggest projects, is this perception a fair one?

Typically, the answer simply prompts further questions, depending, as it does, on which company is being considered and what scale of project is being discussed. Kent Southworth, contracts manager, Alec believes this to be so: "You can never really generalise, but you would find on the more prestigious projects, then definitely the quality has to be met. If you look at villas in the Springs for example, then you will see that they have not been finished very well."

Geir Jensen, general manager, Doka Gulf agrees that with the right consultants and right materials, the quality of buildings are getting better. Where there is a real gulf between the two markets is with the attitude towards safety on site, with the accepted activities on site between the Middle East region and Europe markedly different. "Sending people to a certain height without safety measures shouldn't be allowed. If you look at France nowadays, anything more than 2m high needs safety rails, guard rails and protection," says Jensen.

But tellingly, Jensen adds that it's not just a lack of real regulation as the primary cause of this perceived flaw in the construction sector. More so, it is the lack of awareness for the workforces' well being, citing the huge numbers of workers that have taken advantage of the amnesty to return to India and other countries in the sub-continent. "I am sorry to say the value of a construction worker is low. They have been here four or five years, they have survived and they have learnt. Maybe they are not skilled but they are experienced. And with this amnesty and the opportunity to go home, where their home markets are growing, why should they stay and live in a world where they don't get any respect as human beings?"

A propensity for large numbers of unskilled labourers is a natural consequence of a shortfall in skilled workers, he adds. Whereas in Europe or South Africa, there would be less labourers naturally, as the ones onsite would be skilled. And the more labourers you have, the greater the risk of accidents.

Yet this assessment ignores a further key difference between those contractors in the Middle East and Europe; one that affects all companies operating in the region regardless of their aspirations of quality and adherence to deadlines. "The challenge we have is in terms of productivity," says Kez Taylor, managing director, ALEC. "If you look at productivity in Europe per man, it is a lot higher than we get over here. I think that is what we have to look at." For instance, he adds, why should a site operating in Germany for example, using the same formwork systems, get more out of their day than those in Dubai. The answer, says Taylor, lies in training the workforce or possibly considering looking at incentives to encourage greater productivity.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

READERS' COMMENTS

View all comments (1)

Have your say

Standards issue
Posted by Muhammad Ali Zafar, Abu Dhabi, UAE on Sunday 21 October 2007 at 13:00 UAE time

In my view, the problem of maintaining standards is not due to big players in construction against small players. The first thing is the unrealistic time-frames for completion of projects which in consequence force the construction teams to negate the safety and quality standards. Secondly untrained labour on these fast-track projects - either you can train the labour (including most of the middle management) or you can try to keep pace with the time schedule. These two things clearly show lack of planning by project managers and contractors, and if these issues are not addressed seriously we will continue to face problems of falling construction standards.

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM