More so than in many industries, safety is the most important priority in construction. On a construction site, safety equals life. Late last month, Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group held a companywide ceremony to declare its safety management practices in order to raise the safety level of its partner companies and to strengthen their intentionality around safety. Going further, the Group is facilitating in the transfer of safety expertise and experience gained by workers on-site among all workers as part of its efforts to consolidate safety standards.
Key elements for safety management and sustainable management
At the recent Declaration of Safety Management Practice, Samsung C&T publicly shared its safety management policy. Samsung C&T also shared the necessary support systems to improve safety standards at its partner companies, promulgated best practices in which its partners managed safety themselves, and declared its safety management practices.
Samsung C&T will extend support for the safety management of its partners. Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group has introduced a “Samsung-style Safety System Recognition Framework” to raise the standard of safety management within its partner companies and to support them in a more systematic way. Through this system, the Group will be able to objectively diagnose the current level of the safety and health management system of its partners and support the establishment of safety management systems that meet relevant safety laws and standards.
Samsung C&T will significantly expand incentives for its partners to step up safety efforts. In addition, the Group plans to significantly increase rewards for excellent safety management partners and further expand benefits for participation in the bidding and evaluation of future Samsung C&T projects.
Samsung C&T has high hopes that the declaration ceremony will build a consensus that safety is integrally linked to the survival of the construction industry, and that it will serve as an opportunity to expand awareness of bold investment in safety and safety management.
A video of the safety management practice declaration ceremony with English subtitles can be seen below.
My own safety expertise
Employees at Samsung C&T and its partners who work together on the construction site of Samsung C&T projects are creating a safe work environment site through their accumulated acquired expertise.
We spoke to some people working at a number of Samsung C&T E&C Group sites – both those working directly for the Group and others working for partner companies – to hear about the safety expertise they have gained.
One of the most important safety management methods on a construction site is to always be mindful of potential hazards.
Byung-sun Kim, a veteran excavator operator at one of Samsung C&T’s partner companies, says his top safety expertise is not to trust in his own experience but to always be mindful. In addition, he believes that safety cannot be maintained by his efforts alone, but by the efforts of everyone working together.
Eui-joon Jung, a team leader at another partner company, emphasizes that safety can be protected through the most basic means such as wearing a safety harness and having the right level of illumination.
One partner observes that to ensure that a worksite is safe, it is best to come out and check things yourself.
In addition, it is necessary to identify risk factors by inspecting a work site in advance. Yong-tae Kang, a on-site worker of the construction team at a partner company that directs personnel control and work at the site, said his specialist safety expertise was in the area of on-site cleanup.
Byung-soo Kim of Samsung C&T, who works on a Raemian construction site, said his specialist safety expertise is communication. He believes that in order to establish a culture in which everybody owns safety and maintains it themselves, effective communication is necessary, as well as efforts to resolve the inconvenience of workers.
Partner company employee Chu-young Park, who is responsible for directing vehicles throughout construction sites, tries to maintain peak concentration and physical health for the sake of the safety of workers at the site and also pedestrians around its perimeter.
E&C Group’s tangible safety policy
Samsung C&T has made safety its top management goal this year and is making every effort to establish a sound safety culture in the construction industry.
Samsung C&T’s efforts have reached the work sites. Many on-site workers already feel that Samsung C&T is a company that pursues perfect safety.
In addition, field workers have observed that Samsung C&T is unstinting in its support of safety.
Some workers feel a sense of responsibility for Samsung C&T to play a leading role in the safety culture of the construction industry.
As stated above, Samsung C&T has made safety its top priority this year. As part of this pursuit, it has established a new construction safety research institute along with the expansion and reorganization of existing safety organizations.
Its Engineering and Construction Group has particularly been leading the way in applying innovative safety systems such as stop-work authority, new on-site safety reinforcement costs, and mandatory safety reviews throughout the life cycle of various projects.
