Dubai’s 2026 Construction Safety Guide: What Has Changed — and What Site Teams Need to Know

A shorter safety guide does not mean fewer safety responsibilities. Dubai Municipality’s Safety Guide for Construction Works — the 2026 edition of the Code of Construction Safety Practice — runs to about 210 pages, against roughly 291 in the former code we compared it with. The important story is what has changed in the requirements, not the page count.

The guide was approved by Administrative Resolution No. 112 of 2026 under Decree No. 19 of 2025, issued on 11 June 2026, and came into force on publication in Official Gazette No. 781 on 23 June 2026. It is published in English and Arabic; the Arabic text prevails for the legislation.

This article reviews Dubai Municipality’s Safety Guide for Construction Works in the Emirate of Dubai. Its website publication and catalogue listing dates are separate from the legal commencement date above. An October listing on the PCFC/Trakhees construction-safety webpage should not be interpreted as a separate Trakhees revision or confirmation that its CS-series regulations have been replaced.

1. Clearer emergency escalation (chapter 23)

Section 23.3 now classifies site emergencies into levels. Level One can be fully controlled with site resources, with the safety officer and first aider managing it and judging whether to escalate — falls, collapsed deep excavations, fires and heat stress are given as examples. The next level needs full activation of the emergency response plan, an emergency control room and designated personnel. A major disaster where control is lost needs external help such as civil defence. (The printed guide labels both higher levels ‘Level Two’; treat the third as the major-disaster level.)

• Write the escalation triggers and who decides into your emergency response plan (23.3, 23.4).
• Provide and check an equipped emergency control room and communication arrangements (23.4–23.5).
• Name who handles authorised incident communication and media (23.5).
• Run mock drills and evacuation plans in line with the relevant authority’s approved procedures (23.5(8), 23.6).

2. Stronger protection for neighbouring properties (2-16)

A new section, 2-16 ‘Protect neighbor buildings’, sets out duties towards adjacent buildings, residents, metro and tram lines and public amenities at every stage, including suspensions.

• Inspect and document the structural condition of adjacent buildings and walls before work starts (2-16(2)).
• Notify the relevant department of damage or defects, whether existing or caused by the work, and rectify contractor damage by an engineering-office-approved method (2-16(3)).
• Cover and protect neighbouring façades, annexes and carports throughout the works (2-16(4)).
• Install protective barriers along dividing walls at least 2 m above the wall to stop materials, dust and debris (2-16(5)).
• Keep workers inside the site boundary and provide prayer areas, drinking water and sanitary facilities on site (2-16(6–7)).
• On work stoppage, close the site securely with permanent guarding (2-16(8)).

3. Excavation and dewatering controls (chapter 9)

• Excavations deeper than 1.20 m are prohibited unless an approved shoring system or an approved open-excavation method is used (9.1(1)).
• When groundwater is reached, stop excavation until a specialised company dewaters the area under the concerned authorities’ approvals, after confirming the water is free from hazardous contaminants (9.1(10)).
• Keep the dewatering system running continuously and efficiently, including during work stoppages, with maintenance and an uninterrupted power supply (9.1(11)).
• Do not excavate below the footing level of another building without underpinning or other measures designed by a professional engineer (9.1(12)).

4. Crane and lifting certificates (2-15 and chapter 22)

Cranes and lifting equipment — tower cranes, mobile cranes, construction hoists and forklifts — need a full inspection every 12 months by an inspection body approved by the competent authority, with a safety certificate (2-15(2)). Personal and material hoists need six-monthly certification and three-monthly inspections (2-15(5)); this was already required under the former code, so treat it as continuity rather than a new rule.

• After any modification or alteration, or conditions that may affect safety, the previous certificate is cancelled and a new third-party inspection is needed (2-15(10)).
• Operators of the listed equipment are tested every 12 months by an approved third-party inspection body (2-15(8)).
• Provide a wind-speed measuring means and suspend lifting in hazardous wind or rain. The guide’s 38 km/h complete-stop figure is a recommendation; manufacturer or project limits may be stricter (22-1(15)).
• Keep tower-crane certificates valid for the whole time the crane is on site.

5. Reporting definitions and calculations (2-4 and Appendix A)

Check your incident statistics against the guide’s own definitions and formulas before you compare them with earlier months or other frameworks.

• Submit the accident report within 72 hours on the approved form (2-4).
• Prepare a monthly accident report analysing incident types and causes (2-9(7)).
• The 100,000-hour multiplier is not the same as OSHA (200,000) or other client and authority metrics. Keep a consistent denominator and label which framework a figure uses.

The practical question for project leaders

Have these changes reached your procedures, inspections, briefings and site records? Use the free site manager workbook below: 57 checks across governance, emergency readiness, public interface, excavation, lifting and energy, welfare and environment, and reporting — each with its 2026 clause reference, suggested evidence and a verification gate. Project details, owners, dates and outcomes are left blank for your site to complete.

1. Dubai Municipality — Safety Guide for Construction Works (official PDF)
2. Administrative Resolution No. (112) of 2026 approving the guide
3. Decree No. (19) of 2025 Concerning Safety in Construction Works