What this guidebook covers
Workshop safety in the UAE is regulated by MoHRE federally and by each emirate: OSHAD in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Municipality in Dubai. Fines vary, but a serious injury leads to a police investigation and possible prosecution.
This guidebook covers the 5 safety standards every UAE workshop, body shop, car wash and lot should meet, with 14 checkpoints: certified lifts, heat stress, paint and chemical safety, risk assessment and PPE, and incident reporting.
The 5 workshop safety standards
| Code | Standard | Ideal fix time |
|---|---|---|
| HS-01 | Lifts and lifting equipment certified | Immediate |
| HS-02 | Heat stress controlled | Immediate |
| HS-03 | Paint and chemical safety | Immediate |
| HS-04 | Risk assessment and PPE | 7 days |
| HS-05 | Incidents reported | 72 hours |
How to run a UAE workshop health and safety audit, step by step
- Confirm what applies. Confirm which emirate's authority applies to each site: safety fine schedules differ by emirate and free zone.
- Walk the site, standard by standard. Score each of the 14 checkpoints Pass, Fail or N/A. N/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Check each lift's inspection certificate, the paint booth and respirators, and outdoor work at midday in summer.
- Capture the evidence. A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: lift certificates, risk assessments, PPE issue records, the incident log and photos of the booth and chemical store.
- Give every fail an owner and a fix time. Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard carries an ideal fix time, from immediate to 7 days, counted from audit submission (see the table above).
- Fix it, then prove it. The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.
- Re-check at the next audit. Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn't repeat across the network.
Who this guidebook is for
- Dealer principals
- Service and facility managers
- Safety officers
- Auditors
A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.
