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LD invites entries for Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme to promote occupational safety and health
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     Entries for the Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme 2017/2018 have been invited today (September 19) and members of the construction industry are welcome to enrol. The scheme is jointly organised by the Labour Department (LD), the Occupational Safety and Health Council and various organisations from the Government and the construction industry.

     An LD spokesman said, "The scheme, launched in 1999, aims to raise the safety and health awareness of contractors, site personnel and workers in the construction industry, to foster a positive safety culture, to encourage the adoption of safe work practices, and to award contractors, site personnel and workers in recognition of their good occupational safety and health performance.

     "With the concerted efforts of stakeholders over the years, there has been notable and continual improvement in the safety performance of the construction industry in Hong Kong in recent years. The number of industrial accidents and the accident rate per 1 000 workers in the construction industry were reduced from 14 078 and 198.4 in 1999 to 3 720 and 34.5 in 2016, representing significant drops of 73.6 per cent and 82.6 per cent respectively."

     The spokesman added, "However, there's no room for complacency, we must continue to try to further improve. The construction industry is a high-risk industry. The accident figure of the construction industry is still the second highest following that of the food and beverage services industry. The industry also accounts for the bulk of industrial fatalities. In 2016, 34.2 per cent of industrial accidents and 55.6 per cent of fatal cases occurred on construction sites."

     To continue the promotion of construction safety and health and to keep stakeholders in the construction industry alert to work safety with a view to further reducing the accident toll, the department has again worked with the Occupational Safety and Health Council, the Development Bureau, the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board, the Construction Industry Council, the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board, the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Hong Kong Construction Association, the Hong Kong General Building Contractors Association, the Hong Kong Construction Sub-contractors Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, the Minor Works Contractor Association, the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union and the Federation of Hong Kong Electrical and Mechanical Industries Trade Unions to launch the 19th Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme this year.

     All construction contractors, sub-contractors and site personnel in Hong Kong are invited to compete for the awards provided they have no record of any serious or fatal accidents and have not received any suspension notices served by the LD in the 12 months preceding the enrolment deadline.

     The three main categories of awards for the scheme are Construction Sites, Safety Teams and Safe Workers. Entries for the Construction Sites awards will be divided into eight sub-categories, namely Building Sites (Public Sector); Building Sites (Private Sector); Civil Engineering Sites; Renovation and Maintenance Works; Minor Renovation and Maintenance Works; Building Sites - Sub-contractors; Civil Engineering Sites - Sub-contractors; and Renovation and Maintenance Works - Sub-contractors.

     There will be a gold prize, a silver prize, a bronze prize and a meritorious prize for each of the eight sub-categories of the Construction Sites category. Apart from the above prizes, every eligible entry will automatically compete for the respective Outstanding Performance in Work-at-height Safety prize in the sub-category. The setting up of the Outstanding Performance in Work-at-height Safety prize is to encourage contractors to take more effective safety measures for work-at-height activities, and also to praise and recognise those contractors who have outstanding performance in work-at-height safety.

     For entries of the Minor Renovation and Maintenance Works sub-category which have undergone the assessment and do not win any prizes, cash coupons and certificates of appreciation will be awarded as encouragement. For entries of other sub-categories of the Construction Sites category which have undergone the final assessment and do not win any prizes, certificates of good performance will be awarded on condition that the performance has reached the set standard as considered by the judging panel.

     There will be gold, silver, bronze and meritorious prizes for the Safety Teams category. For entries which have undergone the final assessment and do not win any prizes, certificates of good performance will be awarded on condition that the performance has reached the set standard as considered by the judging panel.

     For the Safe Worker category, each Safe Worker will be presented with a cash coupon, a certificate and a badge.

     The closing date for entries for the Construction Sites and Safety Teams awards is October 9. The assessment criteria will cover various aspects concerning the physical site conditions and the safety management systems. Selection of Safe Workers will be conducted when the assessment team members are performing the physical site assessments. The focus areas for this year's assessment include work-at-height, scaffolding, confined space, lifting appliance and lifting operations, and electrical installation and application. The results will be announced in March next year.

     Enrolment forms and details of the scheme's entry requirements are now available at offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the department. Enrolment forms can also be downloaded from the department's website at www.labour.gov.hk. Enquiries can be made on 2852 3565.

     In addition, the scheme will feature a number of promotional activities, including a safety quiz competition to enhance the industry and public awareness of occupational safety and health. The quiz competition is divided into Individual and Group categories. Enrolment in the quiz competition will start on October 10. Application forms will be available at offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the department and also uploaded to the department's website on that date. Members of the public aged 15 or above and construction-related organisations are welcome to join the competition. The deadline for enrolment is November 6.
 
Ends/Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Issued at HKT 11:04
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