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| Environmental, Health and Safety Report 2003 / 04
Our Vision for Sustainable Housing | Message from the Chairman | Message from the Director | Summary | Feedback Form About this Report | Business Overview & EHS Management Structure | Significant EHS Aspects | 2003 / 04 Highlights | Performance Review | Targets and Initiatives for 2004 / 05 and Beyond | Verification Statement | Annexes |
Safe Building Design We are obliged to comply with all laws and regulations governing the safety and health aspects of building construction. However, beyond these statutory requirements, we continue to pursue safe construction options during the design stage of project development. One typical example is the development of precast technology adopted in our standard domestic blocks to reduce the need for labour intensive work at height and significantly reduce the risk of accident and injury. We aim to incorporate all practicable features of the UK's Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations in our projects. The CDM Regulations require that all parties involved in the construction process contribute to the avoidance, reduction and management of health and safety risks. To implement the CDM concept in our projects, we have provided safety training to our staff and shall issue design guidelines on the practical features of CDM to our project teams. Occupational Safety in Construction and Estate Management [Photo: The Construction Industry Safety Award presentation ceremony.] The total number of accidents during our new works and maintenance works contracts has steadily dropped in recent years. Last year we had a total of 255 accidents, compared with 390 accidents in 2002 and 875 accidents in 2001. The most common accident categories for new works and maintenance works are shown in the graphs below.
This downward trend is most evident in the accident rate for our new works. The average accident rate per 1 000 construction workers on Housing Authority (HA) sites declined from 37.8 cases in 2002 to 32.8 cases in 2003.
The number of maintenance works related accidents also declined in recent years from 204 in 2001, to 119 in 2002 and 60 in 2003. In order to monitor and review the safety performance related to our maintenance works more closely and accurately, we plan to establish a database on the safety performance of maintenance works in terms of accident rate. There were two fatalities in 2003 and actions against the contractors concerned have been carried out in accordance with our sanction measures regarding contractors' performance. We believe that the significant reduction in accident rate in recent years proves the effectiveness of our Site Safety Strategy through which we aim to promote a safety culture driven by sufficient and appropriate training to our staff and stakeholders. Some of the site safety initiatives we have taken to encourage this culture of responsibility include the contractual requirements and implementation of Safe Working Cycle and the Pay for Safety Scheme. All site workers must hold a Green Card. Adequate trainings are provided on the promotion of safety induction courses and toolbox talks for construction site workers, and the co-ordination and provision of safety training and awareness courses for site contractors and HA site staff. In addition, the HA has been working in partnership with all relevant stakeholders within the industry to promote construction site safety culture. In two major construction safety award schemes during the year 2003 / 04, namely the Construction Safety Award and Considerate Contractors Site Award, a total of 29 awards were won by contractors, subcontractors, safety teams and individual workers undertaking HA construction projects. Fire Safety in Our Estates [Photo: Poster of Estate Fire Safety Elites Training Camp.] [Photo: Children Fire Safety Education Path in Lok Fu Shopping Centre.] [Photo: Fire Prevention Campaign.] To better promote fire safety in our estates, "Home Fire Safety" was chosen as the theme for the annual Estate Fire Safety Campaign in 2003. As part of the Campaign, we designed and distributed a calendar card imprinted with fire prevention messages to 600 000 public housing households to raise the awareness on home fire safety. We conducted an annual Estate Fire Safety Roadshow with a total of 54 estates participating to promote fire prevention messages. We also launched the Children Fire Safety Education Path in Lok Fu Shopping Centre and Lei Yue Mun Plaza, with more than 2 000 children participated. To further enhance the youngsters' awareness of fire safety, we worked with the Fire Services Department to organize the Estate Fire Safety Elites Training Camp for approximately 80 secondary students in November 2003. Apart from learning fire precautionary measures, the proper use of fire fighting equipment was also demonstrated. In the coming year, these Elites will help promote fire safety in public housing estates by inspecting fire services installations as well as reporting on any potential danger of fire hazards. Emergency Preparedness and Response It is our target to provide top quality estate management services to residents and tenants. This means we need to be prepared to respond to community needs - including in emergency situations. For each potential emergency situation we have developed specific action plans to be implemented. These cover situations such as lift breakdowns, sudden interruption of electricity supply, suspension of fresh water / flushing water supply, and blockage of drainage in public areas. The response time for action plan implementation is stipulated in our performance pledges for our estate management services. We are pleased that 98% of our performance pledges were fully achieved during the year 2003 / 04. The reasons for not meeting our pledges were generally due to transportation problems and the material delivery lead time required for the repair works. top |
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