Housing Authority proactively promotes site safety (with photo)
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With "zero fatal accidents" as its safety target, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has spared no effort in keeping the accident rate in works sites down, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing), Mr Stanley Ying, said today (July 6).
"As an organisation devoted to caring for society, we have the responsibility to ensure the safety of our staff and front-line workers at work," Mr Ying said at the opening of the Site Safety Forum for Works Contracts and Property Services Contracts 2017.
"To engage our partners to aspire to a higher safety standard, we adjusted the target accident rate from 12 accidents to nine accidents per 1 000 workers in 2016."
For the HA's new works sites, the accident rate of 6.8 accidents per 1 000 workers in 2016 was down by 26 per cent and 41 per cent compared with the accident rates of 9.2 in 2015 and 11.5 in 2006 respectively. For the maintenance works sites, the accident rate of 1.5 accidents per 1 000 workers in 2016 remained unchanged compared to the 2015 figure and dropped by 87 per cent compared with the accident rate of 11.3 in 2006.
The forum, jointly organised by the HA and the Occupational Safety and Health Council annually, aims to promote site safety in the construction and property management services sectors. It also provides a regular platform for members of the industry to share experience and initiatives on the best practices for safety. It has successfully promoted safety awareness at all tiers from management to front-line staff and fostered a safety culture over the years towards the goal of achieving "zero incidents".
The theme of the forum this year was "Prevention through Design - Careful Design can Reduce Accidents and Ensure Smooth and Safe Execution of Works". Contractors and professionals were invited to present practical industry information and share views with about 600 participants. They not only introduced a variety of innovative safety installations and measures but also encouraged participants to design every work procedure cautiously in consideration of safety, so as to prevent accidents at the source.
Ends/Thursday, July 6, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:40
Issued at HKT 18:40
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