University of Bolton

Academic Centre- Ras Al Khaimah

Health and safety factors in

building demolition in the
UAE
NAME : Hassan Jaber

STUDENT NUMBER : 1809996

MODULE TITLE : CIE5007- RESEARCH METHODS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

MODULE TUTOR : LEKSHMI RAJESH

PROGRAMME LEVEL : HE 5

SUBMISSION DATE : 10/5/2019

 Table of Content

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................3
1.2 Aim of this research.........................................................................................4
1.3 Objectives.........................................................................................................4
1.4 Research problems..........................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................5

2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................5
2.2 Significance of demolition in the construction industry...................................5
2.2.1Significance of demolition in the UAE….……………………………………….5
2.3 Significance of health and safety in demoltion.................................................6
2.4 Factors affecting health and safety in demolition............................................7
2.5 Different types of building demolition...............................................................7
2.6 Summary........................................................................................................10
Chapter 3: Methodology…………………………………………………………………11
3.1 Research Philosophy………………………………………………………………..11
3.2 Research Approach…………………………………………………………………11
3.3 Research Method……………………………………………………………………11
3.4 Research Application………………………………………………………………..12
3.5 Research Strategy…………………………………………………………………..12
3.6 Sampling Strategy…………………………………………………………………...12
3.7 Summary………………………………………………………………....................12
References………………………………………………………………………………..13

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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

accurate and no plagiarism is used.

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

new things and Im really thankfull for that.

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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

demolished. Demolition of buildings is happening in many areas to replace them

with new buildings. Demolition is a technique by means of destroying or collapsing

or falling of building with the use of heavy equipment and machinery (Bhandari,

Kulkarn and Malviya, 2013).

In addition to giving a new life for a building, certain buildings need to be

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

structure or a big building (Gladstone, 2014). Demolition of a structure is a

dangerous task which requires well-planned measures, precision, and experience.

Demolition work possesses a lot of risks and hazards; therefore, health and safety

must be considered as it is a very important issue in the construction industry

(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

it requires maintenance or demolishing (National staff, 2013).

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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

the practices are adequate or not.

1.4 Research problems

The demolition of buildings is considered a high-risk construction work for the

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

taken care of a real site (Martin, 2014).

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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.

2.2 Significance of demolition in the construction industry

Demoltion of a building means pulling it down to the ground. The main reason why
buildings are being demolished is because of their safety conditions which
threathen the environment and the building age. When a building is abandoned or
no longer has a purpose, it is demolished to make way for a new building to be
constructed. In the past demolition was a simple task which involved the use of few
labor workers and unsophisticated equipments but now in the modern time
structures are very complex making it tough for demolition work. When selecting a
simple and safe way to demoltion a building, a list of factors must be considered
like the building geographical area, structure type and the size (Zaharuddin,
Paraskevas and Liu, 2019).

2.2.1 Significance of demolition in the UAE

Demolition is impartant in the UAE as there a lot of abandoned buildings which

cause dangers like theft and crime, security and threathen the health and safety.
Before demolition occurs, maintance warning is issued to the owner and if
maintance works are not fulfilled within a time limit of six months then demolition
engineers from the muncuplality will move in (Shoush, 2011). The demolition
procedure can be described in figure 2.1.

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 Figure 2.1 Demolition Process Flowchart (Patrick, 2014)

2.3 Significance of health and safety in demoltion

Safety demolition plan is one of the stages in the demolition process which covers
every step to identify, asses and control risk which may happen at the working
environment amid the demolition works. It is ought to be created in a meeting with
workers and safety and health representatives. (Abas, 2010)

A safety demolition plan must be finished to allow demolition work to begin and it
should incorporate the accompanying:

• Training and induction

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.

• Work processes and demolition methods

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)

2.4 Factors affecting health and safety in demolition

When demolition a building many issues can arise from the starting phase to the
ending phase of a demolition plan and these can include:

 Documents and legal papers must be provided to allow demolition where

the owner of the property might not be available inside the country allowing
the demolition work to be delayed.
 Required permission from the municipality.
 The area where the demolition will take place might be small or has a lot of
traffic making it difficult to work during the day and it work could only be
done at night.
 Blocked site access and the usage of TNT explosives might not be an ideal
solution in the area if the structure is large.
(Sobotka, 2015)

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).

2.5 Different types of building demolition

Building demolition can be defined as: “The dismantling, wrecking, pulling down or
knocking down of any building or structure or part thereof; but does not include
such work of a minor nature which does not involve structural alterations”
(Department of Labour Wellington New Zealand, 1994)

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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:

1. Implosion: The word implosion or collapse is another form of a method to

demolish a structure. This method uses TNT explosives knocking out the
primary supports of a structure allowing the building to demolish itself on to
the inside. Implosion is generally used in tall buildings or large structures for
an example football stadium. For an implosion to be successful in an urban
area the placing and the sequence of detonating the explosives are a key
factor for safe demolition. Every structure is different than the other which
means that different types of explosives are used, and the placing and
timing of explosives differ. (Rodriguez, 2018)

Figure 2.2 Implosion (Sniegowski, 2019)

2. Deconstruction: Is a method that starts from the rooftop to the ground in a

general pattern. It is a common method used in U.A.E to demolish a multi-
story building. The procedure should be done manually using a jackhammer
or by a machine mounted with a percussive breaker or any other hydraulic
attachment ( Abas, 2010).

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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.

 Noise, debris and dust pollution

 This method requires an experienced labor worker who knows where
to hit accurately for maximum damage.
 It can only be used on small buildings which are about 3 floors
maximum. (Western environment solutions, 2018)

Figure 2.4 Ball and crane demolition (Everson, 2016)

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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

3.1 Research Philosophy- Positivism

This chapter will be approached with positivism research philosophy where the

researcher will limit his role to data collection and interpretation (research

methodology, 2019).

3.2 Research Approach- Deductive

This study will be approached with a deductive way. Deductive approach is used to

develope a hypothesis based on past thoeris and then a research strategy is

designed to test the hypothesis (research methodology, 2019).

3.3 Research Method- Quantitative

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

This research will help in understanding the particular problems in building

demolition. It will help in providing a solution for the health and safety aspects of

building demolition in the uae and globally.

3.5 Research Strategy- Case study

This research will be done in a form of case study where a in-depth investigation

will be done by the researcher to identify the causes of underlying principles in

building demoltion. Analysis will be studied holistically by more then one methods

(research methodology, 2018).

3.6 Sampling Strategy- Judgemental

This research can be done in a judgemental approach. Judgemental sampling is a

technique where the researcher can select a group of units to be sampled based

on his knowledge (Foley, 2018).

3.7 Summary

This chapter discusses the various types of research methods, approaches,

applications, strategies and techniques for health and safety in building demolition.

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