Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety
Tunnel Safety Campaign
In view of the high accident frequency rate in construction industry in the past few years and the inherent high risk nature of working in the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) tunnels, our Department launched the Tunnel Safety Campaign jointly with the consultants and contractors of the three tunnel contracts under HATS Stage 2A from late November 2012 to the end of January 2013. The campaign aims at cultivating a safety-first mindset into all stakeholders of the project, for achieving the ultimate goal of "Zero Accident".
To get the campaign rolling, we established a working group with the relevant parties in November 2012 to formulate the campaign details. A kick-off workshop was conducted on 22 November 2012 beginning with a welcome speech delivered by Mr. Chan Chi-chiu, Director of Drainage Services. It was then followed by the endorsement of the Safety Charter by the senior management of the Department and the representatives of project consultants and contractors, demonstrating their commitment in safety campaign. Our Director visited the North Point site right after the workshop and exchanged views on the safety measures and arrangement with the contractors.
Endorsement of the Safety Charter at Kick-off Workshop by the senior management of DSD, project consultants and contractors
Leighton - LNS Joint Venture-Champion of the Inter-Contract Safety Competition
Officiating Guests celebrating the successful completion of the Campaign at the Closing Ceremony
The campaign calls for the collaborative efforts and active participations of all parties involved in the construction of three HATS tunnels. The working group has arranged a number of activities including pre-work exercises and safety briefings, toolbox talks, quizzes and games, safety competitions, visits to contractor's training centers and site visits, etc. Our senior management has been heavily involved in these activities: Mr. Chan Pak-keung, Assistant Director (Sewage Services), Mr. Henry Chau Kwok-ming, Chief Engineer (HATS), and other DSD engineers have joined many of these activities to demonstrate our commitment and deliver safety messages to the frontline workers. This has not only boosted the workers' morale and raised their safety awareness, but also enhanced the overall safety level of the site.
Under the campaign, an Inter-Contract Safety Competition was conducted to raise the site safety performance amongst the three tunnel contracts. The competition involves site safety inspections conducted by Mr. Chan Pak-keung, Assistant Director (Sewage Services), and Mr. Tai Sheung-shun, Senior Engineer (Safety Advisor), at different sites. Leighton - LNS Joint Venture had the best safety performance and won themselves the Champion of the competition. The Closing Ceremony of the Tunnel Safety Campaign was successfully held on 30 January 2013. Mr. Chan Chi-chiu, Director of Drainage Services, concluded that, 'The Closing Ceremony is only a milestone of the Tunnel Safety Campaign. We must strive to continue our effort to further improve the standard of safety in our tunneling works, stay alert and promote what have been stated in our campaign slogan: "Good practice on site, safe work in tunnel" from now until the completion of HATS 2A tunneling works'.
