Sustainability

Around the world, the rate of population ageing keeps increasing. According to the figures of the World Health Organization, from 2015 to 2020, the proportion of global population aged over 60 will increase from 12% to 22%, while their total number will increase from 900 million to 2 billion. Globalisation, technological development (such as transportation and communication), urbanisation and migration directly and indirectly affect the lives of the elderly. Changes in the demographic structure bring opportunities and risks to local governments, and different sectors and industries. Optimisation of the working and living environment can promote the overall development of society and enhance its competitiveness, achieving sustainable development in the long run.

The construction industry is supported by a large number of labour force and aging of workers is a common phenomenon. As shown by an employment survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Construction Association Limited (“HKCA”) in 2018, approximately 190,000 Hong Kong construction workers are over 55 years old, accounting for about 40% of the total. Finding growth opportunities amidst the trend of ageing population while ensuring employee health and well-being is a challenge that the construction industry must face. In this regard, CSCI adopts a scientific and innovation-oriented approach to provide a more suitable, convenient and safer working environment for all workers to ensure the safety of workers of different ages. Adopting technology enables the Group to manage and improve the working environment more effectively, to understand the needs of and assist workers, and to further develop their strengths in different positions.

Smart safety management system

To tackle difficulties involved in real-time communication in the complex trenches due to narrow trenches in individual sites and lack of public network signal coverage, CSCHK has established a smart safety management system for trench construction projects with the funding granted by HKCA Construction Safety Fund. Utilising the ultra-wide band (UWB) communication system, it can accurately locate workers and conduct real-time body monitoring to provide a comprehensive trench monitoring to ensure employee safety.

Before entering the trench, each construction worker must wear a smart wristband, which is connected to the monitoring system via Bluetooth to record the whereabouts and location of the wearer in real time, as well as to measure the heart rate and blood pressure. The wristband has a fall alarm function. In case the worker falls or loses balance in the trench, the wristband will immediately alert the monitoring personnel outside the trench to arrange for assistance or rescue in time. Site employees can also press the “Help” button to alert supervisors when in need.

The trench environment is complex while projects involve different categories of work and construction workers of different professional backgrounds. In order to prevent safety incidents caused by workers’ entry into nondesignated zones, the monitoring personnel can set access permission for different areas with the access control function of the wristband. When a construction worker enters a non-designated zone, the wristband will alert both the worker and monitoring personnel simultaneously.

The Group believes that construction environment safety rests on mutual supervision, restraint and cooperation of the project management personnel and the construction team, which is conducive to the improvement of occupational safety standards. Management personnel of CSCHK regularly inspect the trench and record the construction progress with smart filming flashlights. The images captured are immediately transmitted to the monitoring system to facilitate record checking and follow-up actions in the future by management personnel and supervisors.

The trenches smart safety management system is a testimony to the Group’s innovative and creative approach in promotion of safety and health in the construction industry and has won the Gold Award for the Safety Operational Device of the 2018 Innovation Safety Initiative Award.

The Group has applied more innovative technologies to the management of construction sites to enhance the implementation of safety measures and the development of a safety culture.

The Group is aware of the fact that young people are a key element in the continuous growth of the construction industry. Apart from adopting innovative construction technology and enhancing construction site safety to change young people’s traditional perception on the construction industry, the Group also attracts new talents by developing diverse employment channels, offering a wide platform for development, and competitive compensation and welfare. At the same time, the Group respects employees’ social values and protects employees’ rights. The Group provides employees with positive encouragement in terms of culture, career and at work in order to enhance employees’ sense of belonging and cohesion.

For details, please refer to sections on ‘Protecting Employees’ Rights’ and ‘Training and Development’.