3 Times LTA Contractors Challenge Shield Winner and 23 Million Safe Working Hours for 10 years: STEC Has Made It!

2019-02-19

On September 6, 2018, STEC attended the 20th annual awarding ceremony of Singapore Land Transport Authority as a Shanghai construction enterprise, and won the third time the LTA Contractors Challenge Shield that represents the highest honor for contractors in Singapore. So far, STEC is the only construction enterprise that has won the award three times. This is also the second year that STEC wins the award after STEC's T225 project of the Singapore Metro Thomson-East Coast Line won the award last year.

In the 20 years of the growth of STEC in Singapore, STEC has achieved remarkable results in project safety management, and project safety management has become the most convincing brand business card for STEC in its exploration of the international market. The project safety management of STEC is not a slogan, nor boring theoretical knowledge. People of STEC seek innovation for project safety management in practice.

Equipping projects with professional safety management teams
Each project of STEC is equipped with a professional safety management team. At the construction site of a rail transit project, a professional safety management team consisting of at least 10 people including safety officers, supervisors and environmental officers is equipped to work full-time on project safety management. From big issues like mechanical equipment and project advancement, to small issues like using safety helmet color to distinguish the types of work and requiring that on-site workers can only use mobile phones in the telephone booth area, they take part in all kinds of work and try to improve details.

In Singapore, the large hoisting equipment used in construction needs to be professionally certified by the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore before being put into use and set the validity period that varies from six months to one year based on the type of equipment. At the project site of STEC, they apply higher standards on themselves. For example, according to the requirements of the Ministry of Manpower, the equipment certificate is valid for an 80-ton crawler crane is one year. In addition to regular maintenance and maintenance every month, STEC conducts comprehensive inspection and testing of the entire machine every six months, and applies for updating of equipment certificate from the Ministry of Manpower to ensure that the equipment is free from defects. In the past two years, in order to further improve the safety standards during lifting operation, the project department installs laser warning device in the hoisting construction area. Once someone violates the regulations and comes near the dangerous area, the alarm system will be activated immediately to further prevent the possibility of related safety accidents.

In addition, STEC has established a safety committee in Singapore with members including all company executives, project managers and key safety management personnel, in order to strengthen communication between the headquarters and projects and between projects. The safety committee regularly discusses and shares experiences in safety management on a monthly basis, and conducts research on the omissions of the company's safety objectives management system, so as to ensure that safety management is implemented in every detail of the project construction.

At the same time, STEC sets up the safety director system after being inspired by the safety management system in Singapore. If the safety director finds a safety hazard during the project construction management process, he has the "one-vote veto power" to stop the construction of the project. He will restarts the project promotion work until he confirms that the safety of the project is guaranteed after the rectification. The promotion of the safety director system can more effectively implement site safety supervision.

Making safety education "immersive" through virtual reality (VR) scenarios
In the eyes of STEC, safety is not just a slogan. The project safety management team adopts a multi-pronged approach. by starting from on-board education, daily training, and reward activities etc. The safety knowledge training through lively activities and cheerful and active safety education activities incorporate the real-life experience achieved with high-tech. Every safety education work is carried out to let front-line workers enjoy it.

At the project site in Singapore, if all the employees of a project have complied with the safety management standards and there is no safety accident in the month, then the entire project team will have a "safety carnival buffet" to celebrate. STEC has set up practical training bases in each project department. Every field staff member needs to learn theoretical knowledge and practice. After passing the assessment, they can formally go to work.

This year, STEC purchased VR equipment in Singapore, allowing field staff to familiarize themselves with the safety procedures on site and in the tunnel through virtual reality. VR equipment can also simulate the response plan for accidents such as falling from high places or explosion. The use of technological means makes safety education more "immersive". At present, more than 150 employees have received VR training. Later, more on-site staff will participate in VR training as planned. At the same time, those who have already participated in the training will receive a review education every six months to familiarize themselves with safety rules and operational practices.

Winning nearly 50 annual safety and environmental awards in Singapore in 20 years
In the 20 years since entering the Singapore market, STEC has won 50 awards, including various annual awards from the Land Transport Authority, the Ministry of Manpower and the Building & Construction Authority. The safety-oriented management concept, the management methods of excellence, and the management methods that advance with the times help safety management become the "golden signboard" for STEC to compete in the international market.

With the continuous development and expansion of international business, STEC has also adopted a unified safety management code in India and Hong Kong and gradually won honors and awards from various local government authorities such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents of the U.K., the Occupational Health and Safety Association of India, and the Civil Engineering and Development Department and the Development Bureau of Hong Kong. The international brand image of the company has been widely recognized in the international market.

Recently, the Land Transport Authority of Singapore has held several meetings to conduct field research on STEC's application of VR technology on employee training and to promote this practice in more companies and more projects in Singapore. The mainstream media in Singapore, including The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, also mentioned the advanced VR training of STEC in relevant media reports.

Meanwhile, since 2010, the domestic project management of STEC has introduced the safety director system. Like the project management requirements of STEC in Singapore, if the safety director finds safety hazards during the project construction management process, he has the "one-vote veto power" to stop the construction of the project. As a Shanghai construction enterprise, STEC has learned solid skills through arduous training or hard work in the international market, and it is nurturing the Chinese market with international experience and international standards, providing the best cases to learn from for domestic engineering construction and safety management.