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Safety first on construction sites
The Chief Factory Inspector of the Labour Department, Mr Chan Tat- king, today (Thursday) reminded building contractors of the importance of taking proactive safety precautions before the commencement of any construction works, even though they were having a hectic construction schedule.
Mr Chan said proper design and plan for safety should be incorporated into construction processes, particularly those having an inherent hazardous
nature.
He advised contractors of the following salient points in preparing safety plans for work processes:
* identify and assess the risks involved;
* devise a safe system of work;
prepare a method statement for the work;
* properly brief all workers engaged in the work; and
* assign a competent person to supervise the work.
"For more complex work processes, such as the use of heavy machinery's or sophisticated methods of construction, a qualified engineer should be assigned to assume overall supervision instead of leaving it simply to a charge- hand or just a hand-pick from among the team of workers," Mr Chan said.
"Whenever foreign workers are involved, they have to be trained, instructed and informed of the work procedures in their language to avoid any misunderstandings," he added.
The Chief Factory Inspector pointed out that it was equally important for contractors to ensure proper co-ordination and communication among supervisors and workers at all levels on a construction site to enhance safety.