Our Corporate Social Responsibly “Policy Statement”, specifies the company’s principle towards Human Rights. The same is discussed in detail at para 5 of CSR Manual. CSR policy statement within the organization (projects) is displayed at prominent places for its staff. Concerning publicly-available commitments, the same can be achieved when the corporate policy statements are posted on the company website and the link is forwarded to any requesting party (kindly note that this is the best practice to reflect company commitments to be viewed publically). QD-SBG Construction WLL, a Subsidiary of QDSBG Group, is a leading civil and building construction company offering diversified general contracting works with design and build services to clients throughout Qatar. QDSBG Group (QDSBG) was established to bring construction expertise to Qatar both in executing large complex projects and in creating a dependable supply chain of construction materials. QD-SBG Construction is classified as Grade A contractor in the construction of buildings, roads, water, drainage and general electrical works (1st Grade with Kahramaa).
Our building division focuses on large scale projects in residential, commercial, mixed-use, military, hospitality, sports, educational and healthcare. QD-SBG Construction is engaged in the construction of public works, like construction of infrastructures including highways, bridges and mass transit systems. QD-SBG Construction Projects in hand: Business Partners Our sister company, Qatari-Diar Construction Products Company Industries WLL (QD-CPC Industries WLL) is a joint venture of five partner companies that have come together to group the following companies: We hire directly around No. 9,000 workers, and the total number hired by the Sub-contractors for the current projects are around 4,800. Total number of employees exceed 15,000. The company strives to achieve zero accident and injury by providing all required HSES standards to the workforce. To ensure the workers’ Health & Safety, the Company ensure the followings: Yes, QD-SBG Construction established Occupational Health & Safety Committee for the work sites, and ensures workers’ representative participation in the meetings.
No fatalities have taken place on working site. There was one fatality incident at the Store area outside the project limits. In addition, one Major Accident/Lost Time Injury happened since the last two years. Our ISF CPC07 project exceeded 45 million safe man-hours without any LTI. This is considered a major milestone in the construction industry. ISF CPC07b exceeded 20 million safe-man hours without LTI. QD-SBG Construction has approved HSES Procedure for Heat Stress Management. Work timing is based on the Qatar Labor Law for workers exposed to direct sunlight. No outdoor works is carried-out between 11.30 Hours to 15 Hours (during summer time). Cold drinking water is available at all works locations. Welfare facility like rest shelters/ air conditioned buses are provided within 2-3 minutes walking distance for workers to rest on site. Also, adequate intermittent rest is allowed to workers when working in hot weather condition. Site supervisor/ foreman ensure that proper rest is being provided to every worker in between continuous work.
A properly designed and applied acclimatization program decreases the risk of heat-related illnesses. Weather monitoring (Temperature & Humidity) & flag system is in place. All outdoor works are suspended once the heat index level is reached to permissible limits (>54) where all workers are shifted to the resting shelters/AC buses. Daily and regular Tool Box Training/Safety Task Analysis and Risk Reduction Talks are being conducted on site to educate workers regarding heat stress management. The contracts are prepared in English and Arabic. Translation to different languages is provided when requested. All of our workers have either Bank accounts or Bank Cards and their full salary is transferred to their accounts at the end of each month. All of our workers have Qatar ID and health cards We have one of the best Labor camps in Qatar which was featured as an exemplary camp in one of the most respectable international news agency. Following the publication of our briefing paper on the construction industry's response to issues concerning migrant rights, QD-SBG sent us additional documents related to the standards of their worker accommodation.
Each worker is provided with a separate cupboard with a lock as part of his accommodation. Further, upon their request, we can keep their passports in a fire proof vault. Transfer of workers is dealt with on case to case basis. We issue exit permits to all our workers who wish to leave the country for vacation, medical treatment, or final exit. We do so through agencies or direct hire. We do work with numerous local and international agencies that assist us in fulfilling our request. We do our utmost to make sure that the recruiting agencies are not charging workers any recruiting fee.We do it in-house. Yes, we have complaints Box in each of our Labour Camp and the Workers can easily access and lodge their complaints. Awareness sessions are conducted to make sure that the workers are aware upon their joining. The workers file their complaints anonymously and their supervisor does not know who filed it. We have a dedicated team for this.
As per Qatari Labor Law, migrant workers are prohibited from joining trade unions or to form such organizations. In light of the law, QD-SBG Construction has formed a “Workers Welfare Committee” controlled by the Camp welfare Officer and in which migrant workers are members of the committee and any administrative, financial, Health & Safety or any other issue related to the workers are discussed ,reported and resolved at an appropriate level. Headed by our corporate HR department, however, every project has its dedicated team under HR / Admin to ensure the compliance. QD-SBG’s construction corporate HR & Admin manager, Mr. Nawaf Dabbous. QD-SBG Construction deals directly with the Labor department to resolve any matter (if any and when it comes up). We work in full compliance with the Qatari government labor law, rules and regulations.You remodeled your living room and installed a large picture window. And now, you discovered a long crack running across it!
It doesn’t look like anything, or anyone, hit it. And what should you do? Here’s the scientific reason for the crack: Thermal stress cracks — commonly known as “stress cracks” — typically occur in windows when a thermal gradient causes different parts of the glass to expand by different amounts. At some point, the stress of the expansion may overcome the strength of the glass, causing a crack to form. Here’s a simpler way to look at it: Stress cracks in windows are similar to what might happen if you poured cold water into a hot baking dish that you just took out of the oven. As the cold liquid touches the hot dish, there’s an uneven increase in the thermal expansion of the walls of the baking dish. If the expansion is significant enough and the dish is thin or compromised by a nick or weak spot, the baking dish may break. Now think about your windows and where they are located on your home. Stress cracks more often occur in large windows that are beneath overhangs or are recessed behind a protruding outward room.
The shadow lines created by the overhang or wall sets up a quickly changing stress factor from the glass that is in the sunny, hot area that contrasts with the glass in the cool, shaded area. If the stress gets too be too much, the glass expands a lot in the heat or shrinks in the cold, it can crack. “Stress cracks are often a function of the architectural design of the building as much as the glass in your window,” said John Matuszewski, engineer at Pella Corporation. “They tend to show up more in newly-installed windows than in older windows. But stress cracks are not necessarily time-related. It may have more to do with the shading of your home.” Common causes for stress cracks If the wind blows down a large shade tree in your yard or a new house goes up next door, it could change the amount of shade on your window and create conditions for thermal stress cracks. Seasonal factors, like dramatic overnight temperature changes, are a common cause of stress cracks as well.
“We receive more customer calls about stress cracks in the spring and fall, when areas are experiencing hot temperatures during the day and then much cooler temperatures at night,” said Dee Underwood, customer support supervisor at Pella. “It’s often a seasonal factor.” Thermal stress cracks in windows are easy to identify because they start perpendicular to the glass edge. “It’s easy to identify a stress crack if you can see the edge of your glass,” he said. “The crack will extend about a half-inch straight away from the glass edge.” But that’s only true of the first half-inch of the crack, after that it may spider in any direction. Windows with cladding or trim may obscure your view of the glass edge. Engineers at Pella recognize three general types of glass cracks: Thermal stress crack (see photos for example) — cracks at a perpendicular angle. May be caused by sudden temperature swings or shading changes on a building. Impact crack — cracks in a starburst pattern that radiates from a central point.
Hitting a window with a baseball or golf ball could result in an impact crack. Pressure crack — cracks in a pattern similar to the curve of an hourglass. Insulating glass — windows with two panes of glass that have air inside them — may get pressure cracks if they are installed at too high or too low of an elevation level or if there are drastic pressure system changes in the weather. Can I prevent stress cracks? The short answer is: not really. Stress cracks are a naturally occurring result of expanding and contracting glass due to temperature changes. However, installing thicker glass and choosing glass features based on your climate and sun exposure needs may help decrease your risk. In existing homes, installing thicker, stronger replacement panes of glass — 4mm glass instead of the standard 3mm glass — can help prevent stress cracks. For home additions or new construction projects, work with your architect to best dictate sun exposure on your windows.