Construction Safety Summit 2022 advocating revamp of site safety culture (with photos)
4.11.2022

The Development Bureau (DEVB) and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) co-organised the Construction Safety Summit 2022 today (November 4). With the theme of revamping site safety culture, the summit pooled together more than 100 representatives and experts of the industry to discuss a number of construction safety issues. At the same time, some 10 000 members of the industry participated in the Summit via online live broadcast, and to map out forward looking strategies and action plans that can uplift the overall safety performance of the industry. The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, witnessed the industry representatives signing the "Safety Charter" at the Summit, pledging to drive changes to the construction safety culture and realise the vision of "zero accidents". Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Summit, Ms Linn said that she felt encouraged by the sector's unity in promoting a cultural change to enhance construction safety. The revamp of site safety culture hinges on the nurturing of a caring community by the sector that cares for all and the continuous review of the safety roles and contribution of different stakeholders at various project stages to address areas of improvement. She added that the Government has been adopting a multi-pronged strategy to promote construction safety. Apart from advocating a site safety culture of caring for all, the Government has been promoting the use of innovative construction methods to minimise the risk of site accidents, such as encouraging the integration of Building Information Modelling in the design for safety and the inclusion of Smart Site Safety System (SSSS) in public works contracts by phases. The DEVB will fully implement SSSS in public works projects with a contract value over $30 million in early 2023, and will subsidise the extensive use of SSSS in private works projects through the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund. The Chairman of the CIC, Mr Thomas Ho, encouraged the industry to enhance construction safety from four directions, namely promoting design for safety, integrating safety management into temporary works, enforcing the safety roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, as well as grasping innovative technologies to combine with smart site for safety system. He add that site safety must be the primary consideration for works decisions, and the industry must nurture the safety culture of caring for all. The Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Ricky Lau, concluded the Summit and noted that the volume of construction works is expected to increase in the coming years in view of the Government's continuous investment in infrastructure as mentioned in the Policy Address. Hence, there is an imminent need for the construction industry to enhance construction efficiency, including improving site safety. He was glad to witness the industry stay united, and collaboratively map out the four directions of action plan. In particular, the DEVB will jointly promote with CIC the wider adoption of "Design for Safety", and strengthen the important concept of stakeholders that "safety starts from planning and design" with a view to proactively resolving the potential risk as soon as possible. He appealed the industry to promote the spirit of the "Safety Charter", so that the construction industry of Hong Kong will become a new model of high efficiency and caring team. The participating industry representatives came from government departments, developer associations, professional organisations, chambers of commerce, trade unions and related statutory organisations. Over 40 organisations representing the industry signed the "Safety Charter", pledging to build a site safety culture of caring community and promote the spirit of caring for all; to make construction safety a primary consideration; to promote best practices of site safety and proactive use of technology to uplift safety performance, as well as to enhance communications and provide safe working environment and targeted safety training to all stakeholders.