Singapore, 24 November 2016 – In support of the national Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) 2018 Plus plan, City Developments Limited (CDL) has spearheaded a WSH excellence pledge with key partners in its supply chain. Witnessed by Minister of State for Manpower, Mr Sam Tan, at the annual CDL 5-Star Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Awards held today at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore, CDL and 24 of its key builders and consultants signed the ‘Pledge Towards Vision Zero Through Safe Design – Safe Practices – Safe Culture’, committing their collective support for the Construction Industry WSH Action Plans.
The pledge marks the first time that a developer in Singapore has galvanised key partners in its supply chain to support the Action Plans, which entail a recommitment to reduce workplace fatalities by 25% annually to 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018. It is also in line with the WSH 2018 Plus plan and the Vision Zero movement – which aims to instill a mindset that all injuries and ill-health at work can be prevented and that zero harm is possible.
Mr Chia Ngiang Hong, CDL Group General Manager, said, “As a developer, CDL recognises that we are in a position to bring our key partners including builders, architects, engineers, and workers on board in adopting EHS best practices. This is the third pledge that CDL has spearheaded to rally our key partners for EHS excellence. In 2010, we initiated the ‘Pledge for Zero’ Commitment Charter for zero accidents, zero injuries and zero environmental pollution for our builders and consultants. In 2014, our builders signed a pledge of commitment to uphold workers’ well-being, safety and health. Moving forward, we will continue to ensure that good systems and practices are in place to create a better, safer and healthier workplace.”
For more than two decades, CDL has driven EHS excellence at its worksites and across its supply chain. In 2001, CDL pioneered its 5-Star EHS Assessment System under which all its builders must undergo quarterly EHS inspections and audits by an independent auditor who grades them on a scale of one to five stars in areas such as energy, water, waste management, safety, noise and public health management. In 2005, the CDL 5-Star EHS Awards was launched to recognise exemplary builders and workers for their excellence in enhancing workplace standards for safety, health and well-being.
CDL has also introduced various innovative technology and construction methods since the early 2000s to enhance safety and productivity. For instance, CDL was an early adopter of prefabricated bathroom units, which significantly reduces manpower required onsite as the components are manufactured in factories.
More recently, CDL pioneered the advanced concrete Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) method for a large-scale residential development in 2015. In applying PPVC for The Brownstone Executive Condominium at Canberra Drive, building modules are prefinished and prefabricated offsite before being transported and installed onsite. This greatly enhances worksite safety and cleanliness as fewer workers are required onsite and construction waste is reduced.
In 2015, the Accident Frequency Rate for CDL’s construction sites was 0.24 accidents per million man-hours worked, significantly lower than the industry-average of 1.7. A Workplace Injury Rate of 74 per 100,000 persons employed was also recorded, well below the industry-average of 451 per 100,000 persons. These were made possible by the collective efforts by CDL and its builders and workers.
For their outstanding EHS efforts, a total of four builders and six workers were recognised at today’s CDL 5-Star EHS Awards ceremony. The winners received their awards from Minister Tan who also gave out the prizes to the champion and first runner-up teams for the CDL EHS Cup Tournament, an annual soccer league which promotes a healthy lifestyle and camaraderie among workers.