Safety first: Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works (Works) Mak Chai-kwong presents Considerate Contractors Site Awards to winning contractors.

Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works (Works) Mak Chai-kwong says construction safety has significantly improved, with the accident rate per thousand workers dropping from 233 in 1995 to about 60 in 2005.

Speaking at the Considerate Contractors Site Award Scheme 2006 award presentation ceremony, Mr Mak said the accident rate for public works contracts also fell continuously, from 58 in 1995 to 13 in 2006.

However, the number of fatalities in the industry remained high. There were 16 fatalities last year and seven of them were related to public works projects.

The bureau has taken a number of initiatives to boost the industry's safety performance. It is revising the marking scheme for tender evaluation to take into account the number of fatal accidents a contractor incurred. 

The bureau also plans to introduce contractual provisions requiring contractor's front-line management and supervisors to attend specific safety training to enhance their awareness and knowledge of safety issues. A similar training requirement has already been implemented for the Government's supervisory staff.