University of Bolton: Health and Safety Factors in Building Demolition in The UAE
University of Bolton: Health and Safety Factors in Building Demolition in The UAE
University of Bolton: Health and Safety Factors in Building Demolition in The UAE
PROGRAMME LEVEL : HE 5
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................3
1.2 Aim of this research.........................................................................................4
1.3 Objectives.........................................................................................................4
1.4 Research problems..........................................................................................4
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DECLARATION
This research is written on my behalf for module cie 5007- research methods and
professional practice. I have performed the following tasks and objectives given to
me and have done them in the specified date and time and I declare this research
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Miss Lekshmi Rajesh who is the course tutor for this module,
for her great support and supervision. Without the love and support from her, I
wouldn’t have made it this far. This module has helped me learn and experience
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
U.A.E. is one of the most developing countries with massive developments and
new constructions happening day by day to achieve set of goals (Wam, 2014). A
vast amount of developments is happening in urban areas where old buildings are
still in operation and are being either refurbished, renovated or even being
or falling of building with the use of heavy equipment and machinery (Bhandari,
demolished because of the safety factor as most buildings are made to withstand a
certain amount of life (Martin, 2014). Demolition is a simple task when done on a
small house or a building but must be taken seriously when done on a complex
Demolition work possesses a lot of risks and hazards; therefore, health and safety
(Patrick, 2014). Dubai and Abu Dhabi municipality carry out works and checkups
around the city to identify which buildings create hazards to its people and decide if
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1.2 Aim of the research
The aim of this research is to find out whether the health and safety practices are
adequate or not.
1.3 Objectives
The main objectives that will be considered and emphasized in this research are:
• To find out the factors affecting the health and safety in building demolition.
• To investigate the health and safety factors in the UAE and to find out whether
people around the site and the workers on the demolition site and is characterized
by a vast amount of hazardous working conditions. There are many risk factors
considered when demolishing an entire building and these risks are sometimes not
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter and with the use of academic resources will be highlighting about the
parts involved in the safety demolition plan, factors affecting health and safety in
demolition and the heath and safety practices adopted generally in the UAE.
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Figure 2.1 Demolition Process Flowchart (Patrick, 2014)
A safety demolition plan must be finished to allow demolition work to begin and it
should incorporate the accompanying:
Training and induction should be provided by the demolition company who have
recruited labor workers to work on the demolition site to allow them to be safe and
away from any dangers. Rules and regulations must be well informed to all workers
and their activities must be recorded to ensure everything is safe.
The structure being demolished in an area is closed with fences, blocks or walls to
ensure that no interference from outside is disrupted within the site so to allow a
safe demolishing with no injuries. (Reineberg Co. LLC, 2019)
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• Emergency procedures
Safety demolition plan ought to highlight the data for medical aid necessity ad
consider medical care in the event of serious damage. Closest hospital or medical
clinics should be given the contacts and individuals as well in control of the
situation. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2019)
These are the risk factors for humans such as: working under unfavorable weather
conditions, noise pollution, dust pollution, cuts, fractures, burns, electrocution while
the use of machinery, injuries caused from debris or falling objects, electric
powered tools and equipment’s, TNT explosives sometimes used at sites which
result in injuries, falls from heights and dangerous materials being removed which
may contain contaminated diseases. The threats associated at the demolition site
are unguarded openings, congested site access and the unsteadiness of the
demolished structure (Sobotka, 2015).
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The definition can differ from other resources, but the meaning and objective are
still equal. There are different types of building demolition and they are:
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Figure 2.3 Deconstruction (Abas, 2010)
3. Ball and crane demolition: This demolition method uses a wrecking ball to
break down apart concrete buildings. The wrecking ball is thrown at or
dropped on to the structure which is generally attached to the crane. The
ball approximately weighs around 6100 kgs. (Western environment
solutions, 2018)
There are a few cons which demolishing a building using crane and
wrecking ball.
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2.6 Summary
UAE strives in keeping its cities safe and clean visually and mechanically and
because of that, Dubai and Abu Dhabi municipality carry out works and checkups
around the city to identify which buildings create hazards to its people and decide if
it requires maintenance or demolishing. Dubai mancupality rules are strict and it
would demolish buildings if repairs are ignored. These buildings are located within
the Emarite premises. (Construction week online, 2019)
While Abu Dhabi municipality since 2011 has demolished around 200 buildings
which include commercial buildings, residential buildings, and villas that disrupts
the beauty of the city or cause dangers. Before any demolition is done the
municipality records the buildings which are abandoned and informs a demolition
contractor to create a report saying whether maintenance or demolishing should be
made before informing the owner about it. (National staff, 2013)
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
This chapter will be approached with positivism research philosophy where the
researcher will limit his role to data collection and interpretation (research
methodology, 2019).
This study will be approached with a deductive way. Deductive approach is used to
This study will be done in a quantitiave approach. This approach will be used to
quantify the problem by collecting data in form of surveys such as online surveys,
mobile surveys, paper surveys and face to face interview (DeFranzo, 2011). The
data collected from the experiments will address the issues of health and safety
factors in building demolition in the UAE and globally. Research from existing data
will also explain about the issues of building demolition in the past and now.
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3.4 Research Application- Applied
demolition. It will help in providing a solution for the health and safety aspects of
This research will be done in a form of case study where a in-depth investigation
building demoltion. Analysis will be studied holistically by more then one methods
technique where the researcher can select a group of units to be sampled based
3.7 Summary
applications, strategies and techniques for health and safety in building demolition.
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References
Wam (2014). UAE among most developed countries in the world. [online]
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/uae-among-most-developed-
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Department of Labour Wellington New Zealand (1994). APPROVED CODE
OF PRACTICE FOR DEMOLITION. [online] Segurancaetrabalho.com.br.
Available at: http://www.segurancaetrabalho.com.br/download/code-
demolition.pdf [Accessed 6 Apr. 2019].
Bart Everson (2016). The Indestructible Appeal of the Wrecking Ball. [online]
Atlas Obscura. Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-
indestructible-appeal-of-the-wrecking-ball [Accessed 9 Apr. 2019].
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Don Sniegowski (2019). Demolition: tower came down in seconds. [online]
Flickr. Available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16943730@N00/33104436898 [Accessed 9
Apr. 2019].
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research methodology (2019). Positivism - Research Methodology. [online]
Research-Methodology. Available at: https://research-
methodology.net/research-philosophy/positivism/ [Accessed 10 May 2019].
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