A global leader in the IT sector contracted ESC to implement a construction safety programme during the development of a new data centre facility in Singapore. ESC provided the client with EHS Resources as a Service (RaaS), to improve some of the issues it was having regarding safety procedures onsite.
About the Project
Before linking up with ESC, the client’s main contractor would run safety briefings every morning, during which the standard operating procedures and protocols would be outlined to workers. However, due to the contractor’s reliance on a dense 300-page document as source material, these briefings often lacked focus and were not conducive to worker engagement. This meant that many of the workers often missed out on the day’s key safety information.
Furthermore, using this weighty document to review procedures for each site activity could be laborious, with the process of passing the document between main contractor, sub-contractor, and project managers to validate and update its procedures often taking days to complete.
Our Approach
Through EHS RaaS, a Construction Safety Advisor was deployed to the client’s Singapore site to inspect and supervise activities and to identify and limit potential risks to workers. The Construction Safety Advisor was also responsible for ensuring every aspect of the project was compliant with EHS policies and regulations, thus taking a weight off the project managers’ shoulders.
To make the morning safety briefings more effective the Construction Safety Advisor did away with the aforementioned health and safety document preferred by the main contractor and introduced a daily Method Statement. Presented by the Project Manager in PPT format, the Method Statement would outline the relevant safety procedures in a clear and concise way at the start of each day. The slides were produced in collaboration between the Construction Safety Advisor and the Project Manager, and combined easy-to- read text with images and diagrams to make the safety information as digestible as possible.
In addition to the adjustments made to the morning briefings, the Construction Safety Advisor was also able to identify flaws in certain on-site safety procedures and was quickly able to introduce changes to reduce risk during tasks such as piling, or during work at height or in confined spaces.
Outcome
The experience and expertise of the Construction Safety Advisor allowed him to instantly notice the ineffectiveness of the morning briefing procedure, and provide a purpose-fit solution to address the issue. The new system of Method Statements made it easier for workers to keep informed about best practices to avoid occupational hazards without undue disruption to their daily working routine. After its implementation, the workers onsite noticed a vast improvement in safety information and knowledge sharing and became much more synchronised with project managers with regard to risk management.
ESC’s construction safety programme helped the client’s main contractor to understand and implement best practices at the worksite, and thus instill a much more safety-conscious attitude among the entire workforce, from top to bottom. Through our Construction Safety Advisor’s in-depth familiarity with regulatory standards, the main contractor was able to review 75-90% of the relevant EHS standards and requirements which shored up the client’s EHS compliance at the worksite. In 2021, the client’s main contractor was awarded by the WSH Council the Safety & Health Award Recognition for Projects (SHARP) for its outstanding performance in workplace safety and health.