RFP Magazine

Of all workplaces, construction sites are often the least safe, even in developed countries in Asia best practice is hardly ever practiced, which is why the techniques and model used during the construction of the ground-breaking Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Min City serve as an example.

During a press conference in Ho Chi Min City a journalist asked the contractors of the Bitexco Financial Tower, which was nearing the final stages of construction, whether the building had any green features. The engineers, owners and project managers glanced at each other silently wondering who would take the question before one says “well yes, of course, its fully automated which saves energy, it’s double glazed with a low-e coating…” and he rattled off a few more features. “But really, he said, its just the first real grade A building in Saigon, I mean, on a quality level its just in a different league” the others rapidly joined in: “There just really wasn’t anything like this here. You can’t compare it”. They’re right in more ways than one.

Money talks
Congratulations that the Bitexco crew were able to pull this grade A building off in Vietnam and one of their greatest successes was in the area of safety. Oliver Roche, Project Director, Turner – the lead project manager on the Bitexco tower – was keen to ensure that this construction site was managed to a level of safety second to none. However in a country where workers have often not been offered the training or the equipment required, a creative approach was called for. “We went for a carrot and stick approach” he continues explaining how subcontractors whose workers were not wearing protective equipment were fined and workers that were would be rewarded.

This was a practice that had worked in the States, however in Vietnam they had to “knock a zero off” the fine amounts, for example changing it USD$500 rather than US$5000, per transgression, Roche explains. The carrot was that randomly workers were given prizes, like t-shirts or other small bonuses that left them pleased for being rewarded just for doing their job.

This practice was part of a three pronged approach to site safety – firstly, workers were educated in safe construction methodology. Not having been exposed to this level of construction before meant some workers may not know safety princples. Secondly they were provided with the personal protective equipment (PPE) they would need to do the job. Together with the fines and rewards strategy the team of international managers thought they had it covered. Until Roche arrives on site one day and discovers staff on strike in protest about the safety fines.

Eventually Roche and his team uncovered the source of the problem. Subcontractors had been trying to pass on the cost of the fines to their individual employees. The safety eagles came down hard on this behaviour and once it was clear that the employer companies themselves must foot the bill suddenly, he says “the PPE magically appeared” with workers adhering to the site safety regulations with a new level of enthusiasm. Roche says “At the Topping Out Party where we gave out 30+ prizes [for safety], the top prize was a motorbike.” The project did accrue over US$40,000 in fines however, this was used to fund the rewards scheme.

Kwak Im Khoo, Project Manager from Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. Points to several areas that made site safety a challenge.

Safety measures adopted at the site;
A. “My view is that, out of all those unfavorable conditions, the exceptionally high ratios of the gross floor area and the building’s foot print against the tiny land size were one of the two most challenging factors”, The building design itself required additional effort in the areas of engineering, preciseness and temporary works for construction. Complexity extends to the plans, sections and façades of the building such that columns are not upright and no two floors have the same layout. “These, in general, have made the whole construction process far more difficult and dangerous, and required safety facilities/measures to be very creative, [it was] in fact just troublesome”.

B. The team focused on three main areas: heavy equipment operation, fall and fire.

1. Of the various heavy equipment used during construction, such as hoists, concrete pump, concrete placing boom, and so on, safety-wise, the most important was the tower cranes. They need to be equipped with a collision prevention system, wireless excessive wind speed alarm system, wide coverage lightning pole, and CCTV for operators. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and biannual inspections must be made on all equipment by operators, supervisors and sometimes external bodies.
2. Being relevant to all all activities on site, fall prevention is the hardest to task to maintain, says Khoo. He attributes the “No floor void and No side void” policy with minimising falling objects either by mistake or by sabotage as more than a thousand workers daily visited the site when it was in full swing. “Like what we do in many of our project sites in Singapore, we have used imported materials of exterior/interior catch net, vertical net, life line & post system, etc. tested and certified by the concerned government authority of Korea. Needless to say, extreme care and extra attention have been paid during each and every step of the helipad construction. We are very much pleased that there has been no report of any falling object from the helipad so far.”
3. High rise buildings pose fire prevention risks. Risk of fire in high rise buildings is even greater during constriction before safety features are fully working, particularly considering activities working with extreme heat and the inevitable use of flammable materials. On top of providing basic fire fighting tools such as extinguishers and hose reels throughout the site, a hot work permit system was adopted and fire suppression exercise & emergency evacuation drills were conducted periodically. Temporary sirens for emergencies case were also provided.

C. Along with all hardware, the “software” is in the training. Followings are some of measures applied at BFT.

1. Safety training center: Despite the limited site space and most likely a first for Vietnam, the team established an on-site safety training centre. Trainings have been held daily both in the classroom and in the field as required for safety officers, other staff, specialists for special activities, and many others including the concerned local authorities.
2. Stretching & exercise: To enhance physical condition of workers in terms of instant reaction against unexpected sudden emergency situations, daily morning tool box meetings include a stretching & exercise session as is common practice in Korea.
3.  Work permit system: For special activities at certain space for various occasions as necessary.
4. Award & fine system: Similar to Turner’s described above.
5. Safety audit: Performed by Hyundai’s HQ every quarter.
6. Other safety measures: Scaffolding safety tag system, lifting appliance colour coding system, electric tool inspection system, prior risk assessment system, etc.
7. Health & environment cares: Noise level control & measurement, fresh & sewage water quality maintenance, weekly fume disinfection, swine flu prevention, etc.

D. While the tactics mostly worked, given the challenges there were occasionally safety lapses. Khoo says “Thank God that the shortage has been covered by good luck leading to no fatal accident so far.” In fact the standards that the building has been built to may have had a positive impact on the market.

While one building may not have changed Vietnam’s building codes. Khoo says “I do believe that it has at least presented an example of upgraded standards/criteria of safety, quality, and time control in a building project and positively influenced the local construction industry.”

Slips and trips with fatal consequences:
Developed markets are not immune: Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Manpower at the WSH Symposium: Prevention of Slips, Trips and Falls, in September explained to the audience the significance of the extension of Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health Act by September 2011. The Act will extend regulations that had previously only covered the certain high-risk sectors, including construction, to include all workplaces in Singapore, benefiting an estimated 1.4 million workers across 16 industry sectors or about half of the workforce. This includes retail, entertainment, education, finance and the public service. However, it is in construction where real innovation is taking place – it would be wise for other workplaces managers to take note.

Construction sites are not the only fatal envirnoment. Daipi recounts a tragedy taking place in Singapore. “In 2009, a seemingly simple and low risk task brought about a fatality at a country club’s coffee house. A senior steward was at the dish washing area of the kitchen when he slipped and fell while carrying a tray with glass wine goblets. The wine goblets shattered and he sustained fatal injuries in the neck area, as a result of excessive blood loss. My Ministry found that the employer failed to conduct risk assessment for work done in the kitchen area, and as such, the kitchen was not cleared of slipping and tripping hazards. While the employer was fined S$80,000 for failing to keep its kitchen safe, the life lost could never be recovered.”