[20150205] The Straits Times - Spreading The Messagehttps://www.spgroup.com.sg/dam/spgroup/wcm/connect/spgrp/f1e9f8c9-a0a9-45e4-9c42-b5f1c8d4a590/%5B20150205%5D+The+Straits+Times+-+Spreading+The+Message.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=bizSAFE CONVENTION 2015 C15 Spreading the message SP PowerGrid encourages its partners to make safety a priority by hazel tan SINCE becoming a bizSAFE Partner in 2010, SP Power- Grid has proactively recruited its contractors and subcontractors to join the bizSAFE programme. SP PowerGrid is a subsidiary of the Singapore Power Group. Established in 2003, it manages Singapore’s electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, and has more than 1.4 million industrial, commercial and residential customers. “We value the safety of our contractor workers just as highly as that of our employees. We set safety targets for our contractors and work closely with them to make sure those targets are met,” says Mr Peter Leong (right), managing director of SP PowerGrid. “We conduct dialogues with contractors and collaborate with them to identify activities where the safety risk exposure is relatively higher,” he adds. For example, upon identifying that workers face a higher risk of leg injuries when working in the vicinity of heavy machinery — such as excavators and milling and patching machines — during roadwork, SP PowerGrid invested in rear-view cameras and additional mirrors to mitigate the risks and ensure workers operating these machines do not injure fellow workers when reversing. It also installed alarms, whose constant beeping alerts surrounding workers that the machines are in operation. “We will be installing closed-circuit television cameras to monitor critical worksites 24/7 to identify and rectify unsafe practices and to encourage safe behaviour in workers. “This would also facilitate the learning and sharing of incidents and near-misses,” adds Mr Leong. Training contractors In addition to operational measures, SP PowerGrid has developed its own Safety@SPPG programme for contractors’ workers, educating them on, say, how they should go about doing some common tasks safely. “One key example is roadwork. To ensure workers understand the material, we conduct the course in the native language of workers who are less conversant in English. “Since the launch of the programme in July last year, we have trained more than 1,500 workers,” says Mr Leong. Becoming a contractor or subcontractor for SP PowerGrid requires at least bizSAFE Level 4 certification. To date, SP PowerGrid has partnered with 134 of its contractors, and helped them obtain at least bizSAFE Level 4 certification. This commitment to contractor workers’ safety has earned SP PowerGrid the bizSAFE Partner Award for the first time this year. The award, presented by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, recognises companies that have achieved commendable WSH performances. Mr Leong says: “Singapore Power constantly engages the public on safety issues and formulates safety measures in consultation with community stakeholders. “Before commencing on construction works at our cable tunnel sites, for example, our project officers embarked on months of intensive door-to-door engagement with nearby residents and schools,” he says. The feedback received helps his team finalise safety measures that will protect both workers as well as the community at large, he adds. SP PowerGrid has developed its own Safety@SPPG programme that addresses safety issues on common tasks contractors’ workers carry out. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POWER