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Readers of constructionweekonline.com have reacted angrily following the collapse of a hoist cradle being used to change advertisement hoardings in Sharjah in June.
The accident occurred in the small hours of the morning when four men fell to their deaths when either the cables or the fixings holding the cradle in the air failed.
When ambulances arrived at the scene, three of the men were already dead, while the fourth succumbed hours later. Investigations are being carried out by Sharjah police, but there is no suggestion that any of the men were wearing, or had been supplied with, safety harnesses.
After the news appeared on the website, readers raised a number of questions regarding equipment checks, or possible lack of. “These things should have a maintenance plan. Who was in charge of that?” asked reader JT.
Aju Sharfuddin suggested that all of the HSE organisations needed to be involved in the investigation, and the results made public. “That way, small contractors operating suspended cradles can eliminate such accidents and ensure the safety of their personnel” he said.
Others inevitably sought to find those they believed to be responsible for the accident. “Companies that don’t appoint a safety person to monitor their work systems aren’t thinking about safety” said Nil from Al Ain, while PV Sivadas wrote: “This is a total failure from the company management in providing or ensuring HSE for their employees”
These comments were tempered by Nil from Sharjah who added: “Don’t blame after an accident; by doing this we are just escaping from facts & the problem remains the same. [We need to] try to develop a ‘no blame culture’.” He added: “This is a universal occupational problem not only in the UAE.”