Construction Safety Week 2019, co-hosted by the Development Bureau and Construction Industry Council, organized the “Site Safety Gathering” campaign to promote work safety in various construction sites in Hong Kong. To echo the theme of “Innovation Safety”, we have introduced an innovative VR headset to enhance training on site safety.
The Site Safety Gathering campaign targets construction sites and each eligible site has been given a safety information kit which includes a VR training headset, footage of Construction Safety Week 2019 highlights, a summary of PowerPoint presentations from seminar speakers, as well as 14 sets of Construction Industry Council safety videos, a “working at height” safety booklet and other relevant materials. Participating units can leverage these materials to formulate safety promotion and training plans that best suit their respective sites.
This year’s Site Safety Gathering received applications from 125 sites, and 95 eligible sites have been holding their own launch ceremonies starting from July, kicking off the year-long safety promotion campaign.
To further introduce the campaign to media and the general public, as well as to demonstrate how the industry is applying innovative technologies to enhance site safety, the organizer partnered with SOCAM Development—one of the campaign’s participating construction companies—to hold a media tour to a construction site on 14 August. Several media publications were invited to learn how construction workers ensure work safety in real practice.
During the event, worker representatives demonstrated how they use the VR headset in safety training involving simulated scenarios. The training highlighted potential risks of various tasks from a first-person perspective. These scenarios were filmed at actual work sites in Hong Kong, providing realistic immersive training experiences to the workers - such as scaffolding at height and using ladders. Comparing with the traditional methods, the VR training is more effective in enhancing safety awareness of frontline workers.
Following the demonstration, the media visited SOCAM Development’s construction site in Chai Wan. SOCAM Development demonstrated its self-developed innovative technology – installing IoT sensors on temporary elevators and electrical boxes in construction sites. Whenever the elevator gates and electrical boxes are opened without authorization, an alarm message would be sent to the control panel. The responsible unit will then take appropriate follow-up actions to prevent any possible accidents at the construction sites. In addition to the Site Safety Gathering campaign, a number of construction companies developed or introduced innovative technologies to their respective sites spontaneously, collectively enhancing construction safety even further.
Finally, worker representatives demonstrated the operation of elevating working platforms which is also one of the virtual scenarios in the VR training headset. Media were able to compare the actual and simulated scenarios to understand the proper way to handle corresponding procedures. This final demonstration provided an appropriate close to the site tour giving media in attendance a better understanding of improvements in construction safety in Hong Kong.
