Administrative Controls for Management of Heat Stress in Qatari Construction Sites

Abstract

The State of Qatar is witnessing a significant growth period for all aspects of the community, including the development of the urban and construction sector. The construction sector is a huge sector with lots of investment that are necessary to meet the people needs. Construction sector is facing different challenges such as working under the nature of the climatic conditions in Qatar. Heat and Humidity affect the work activity, health and safety. This research will identify administrative controls that are used in Qatar in order to effectively manage adverse side effect of heat exposure. A questionnaire survey was conducted and the data was collected from the construction sector in the State of Qatar. A total of 157 participants participated distributed among managers, engineers, foremem and HSE staff. Statistical analysis tests were used to evaluate the impact of administrative controls for management of heat stress in the construction sector in Qatar. This research can be useful in establishing a framework for occupational health and safety for the workers working under heat stress. This research would help revisit existing regulations and refine them further in order to manage heat-related illnesses in Qatar effectively. This is in line with the Qatar national vision 2030, which has components of occupational health and safety. This research contributes to the Qatar national vision with an aim to provide a safe and productive environment for all workers. The result of the study show that most people with different administrative jobs have the knowledge about the risk of heat stress and agree that it is necessary to control heat stress using administrative controls. However, the results show some disagreements between site’s office personnel regarding actual controls to be used.