A review of the costs of accident in GCC construction

Construction industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries is at peak as the region is in the stage of developing its major infrastructures. The development projects in the GCC have made the region as a major jobs hub for both local and international workforce but at the same time these projects have also resulted into several issues including poor safety performance. This article attempts to estimate the costs of workplace accident in construction using qualitative research approach and considering different parameters. The data from three countries Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia was used to estimate the cost of accident in GCC region. The parameters used in these estimates include the i) values of the current projects in the selected countries, ii) average cost of accident in United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) and iii) compensation cost. The average cost of an accident in USA, UK, Australia (ASU) and South Africa (SA) was used for comparison of the costs of accidents in Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The total costs of an accident in Oman are estimated at US$ 415,620 with an economic burden of US$ 205.73 Million/year on Omani economy. In Saudi Arabia, the costs of an accident are estimated at US$ 91,940, while the economic burden of the Saudi economy is estimated at US$ 261.11 Million/year. The findings of this research will be useful to understand the cost implication of accidents in construction, and thus will be helpful to motivate the construction organizations to invest in safety related issues and avoid accidents. One of the main limitations of this research is that the direct costs are calculated from the indirect costs of accidents due to the lack of available data. Further research is needed to estimate the direct costs of accident in the region.