SINGAPORE — Its workers use vests with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and sensors to help them detect whether there are utilities in areas they are drilling in, but Samsung C&T — which is constructing the Upper Changi Station under the Downtown Line 3 project — does not only use technology to improve workplace safety. It also ensures that safety regulations are communicated clearly to workers.

For example, instead of only lecturing workers, the firm uses animation.

Such safety measures have enabled the company to achieve 4.2 million accident-free man-hours worked since the project began in August 2011 — and yesterday, Samsung C&T received the top award, the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) Contractors Challenge Shield at the annual Safety Award Convention.

The convention, with the theme Reduce Hazards Through Innovation And Technology, saw 35 contractors receiving various awards.

Speaking at the convention, which was held at Singapore Polytechnic, LTA chairman Michael Lim said: “By injecting new ideas into our construction methods and incorporating the use of construction technologies, we can eliminate, if not reduce, workers’ exposure to hazards on our worksites.”

For example, at Samsung C&T, sensors have been installed on motor machinery, such as excavators, because of concerns that workers may forget that they are near danger zones while they are talking on the phone. The sensor works by alerting workers nearby of the machinery and also notifies the machine operator to stop work immediately. The use of LED vests also help machine operators to get better visibility and minimises the possibility of their colliding with fellow workers.

Mr Chan Yew Kwong, the Ministry of Manpower’s director of the Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, said the sensor system is something that could be introduced at all worksites to make it safer for workers.

Apart from the use of construction technology, Samsung C&T has also adopted a simpler approach in educating its workers on safety procedures, such as through the use of drawings and animations. “We are going for a more practical approach, instead of just narrating what they (the workers) should do,” said Mr Mohammad Juahir, safety manager for the Upper Changi Station project, also known as C923.

He noted that tunnelling works pose a huge safety hazard at the work site. “To reduce such hazards, Samsung C923 conducted in-house training and makes use of radio-frequency identification tags on workers to track their movements ... We also conduct simulation drills in any case of emergency,” he added. ELGIN CHONG