Arak Municipality, a pioneer in solving the country’s biggest safety challenge with the help of relevant agencies
The first meeting of the specialized working group on the safety of construction sites in Arak, aimed at organizing the safety status of construction projects, defining the responsibilities of the responsible agencies, and reducing work-related accidents, was held.
According to the Public Relations and International Affairs Department of Arak Municipality, in line with improving the safety level of construction sites and preventing work-related accidents, the first meeting of the specialized working group on the safety of construction sites in Arak was held at the proposal of Dr. Mahmoudi, the mayor of Arak, and by his directive to the HSE Department of the Urban Services Deputy, with the حضور of the Urban Services Deputy, the Urban Planning and Architecture Deputy, the managers of the six districts, the director of the Executive Actions and Construction Violations Prevention Department, the head and experts of the HSE Department of Arak Municipality, the deputies of the General Department of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare of Markazi Province, the labour inspection officer of that department, the representative of the Construction Engineering Organization, the representative of the General Department of Roads and Urban Development, and the prevention officer of the Fire Department.
At the beginning of the meeting, Masoud Aghaziyarti, the Urban Services Deputy of Arak Municipality, emphasizing the importance of safety in construction sites, stressed the need to use the capacities, expertise, and legal authorities of the relevant agencies to organize the safety status of construction projects and reduce the rate of work-related accidents, and considered interdepartmental interaction and cooperation essential requirements for solving this issue.
Next, Abolfazl Taklou, head of the HSE Department of Arak Municipality, explaining the status of work-related accidents in construction projects, stated: Reviewing the statistics of five consecutive years of site accidents in Arak shows that, in terms of frequency and severity, construction accidents have had a significant share compared with industrial accidents and have accounted for about 50 percent of the total accidents reviewed; an issue that more than ever reveals the necessity of coordinated and responsible action by all relevant agencies.
Referring to the main challenges in the field of building safety, he added: The lack of clarity regarding the exact authority responsible for implementing safety requirements in construction sites, the need to define the role and responsibility of owners, contractors, and supervisors, the manner of employing safety officers in sites based on the requirements of Chapter 12 of the National Building Regulations, especially sites with a floor area of more than 2,000 square meters, and determining the rules and professional qualifications of safety officers are among the fundamental issues that must be settled with the participation of specialized agencies.
Taklou also emphasized the need to create uniform procedures in issuing building permits in the municipality’s six districts, to foresee safety requirements in the permit-issuing process, to effectively supervise the implementation of regulations, and to create a clear mechanism for identifying, assessing, and controlling the hazards of construction sites.
In the continuation of the meeting, Zandvakili, the Urban Planning and Architecture Deputy of Arak Municipality, emphasizing the need for legal action against owners and contractors who violate safety requirements and regulations, stated: Solving this long-standing problem requires drafting a clear, coordinated, and executable process among the responsible agencies so that, in addition to precisely defining the duties of each section, effective supervision and legal action against construction violations can be made possible.
At this meeting, the roles and responsibilities of the agencies present in the process of improving construction site safety were also discussed and exchanged. Based on this, the General Department of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare of Markazi Province will pursue the legal requirements of technical protection and occupational health, site inspections, and supervision of compliance with safety regulations within the framework of its legal duties.
Arak Municipality and the Urban Planning and Architecture Deputy will also have executive and supervisory roles, focusing on creating uniform procedures in issuing building permits, foreseeing safety requirements in the permit-issuing process, and following up on violations within the limits of legal authority. The Municipality’s HSE Department will be responsible for drafting specialized processes, identifying and assessing hazards, providing control solutions, monitoring the safety status of projects, and following up on the working group’s resolutions.
In addition, the Construction Engineering Organization will participate in clarifying and strengthening the role of design, contractor, and supervisory engineers in observing safety requirements and implementing national building regulations. The General Department of Roads and Urban Development will also cooperate in clarifying technical and building regulations and coordinating the implementation of the requirements of Chapter 12 of the National Building Regulations.
The Fire Department and Safety Services will also play a specialized role in improving site safety, focusing on prevention and firefighting requirements, explosion hazards, emergency exit routes, access for emergency vehicles, and preparedness in crisis situations.
Also, the Executive Actions and Construction Violations Prevention Department and the managers of the municipality’s six districts, in cooperation with the HSE Department, will participate in identifying unsafe sites, following up on cases of non-compliance with regulations, and implementing legal measures within the municipality’s authority.
At the end of the meeting, after the presentation of the views and specialized proposals of those present, it was decided that the expert sessions of this working group would continue on a regular and effective basis and that its permanent secretariat would be established in Arak Municipality. It was also decided that drafting the executive process, precisely defining the duties and responsibilities of the agencies, creating a coordinated mechanism for supervising construction sites, and following up on resolutions would be the main axes of this working group’s activities.
The formation of this working group at the initiative of the mayor of Arak is a step toward creating interdepartmental coordination and turning the legal safety requirements of buildings into operational and monitorable processes; an approach that, with the participation of the responsible agencies, can provide the basis for reducing construction accidents, protecting workers’ lives, enhancing the accountability of executive agents, and increasing the safety of construction projects in the city of Arak.