24 Challenges and Strategies: Upholding Health and Safety

Upholding Health and Safety

ISSUES

Workplace Health and Safety

Community and Customer Safety

Workplace Health and Safety

Stakeholder expectatIonS

Our employees rightly desire to work in a setting where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Being a responsible organisation, HK Electric must ensure the safety of employees and business partners as they carry out the organisation’s activities.

rISkS and challengeS

Poor Practices and Human Errors

Poor workplace practices not only endanger individuals and diminish morale but are also likely to exact a toll on their families, the organisation and the community at large. Workplace safety is the responsibility of both the organisation and the employees. Human error always exists, so we believe it is important to ensure that individuals remain watchful of their own well-being and others’ well-being at all times.

Unknown Risks

Just as human error is a constant presence, so are new and unknown risks to health and safety. Pre-empting and handling incidents caused by such risks in a timely and effective manner are inherent challenges in an organisation, and we strive to foster a culture that prizes awareness and preparedness whenever possible.

actIonS and achIevementS

A Safe and Healthy Workplace

Our Safety Management Systems (“SMS”) help us regularly review and improve our safety performance and minimise human errors. We periodically conduct safety audits and inspections, including SMS audits, on relevant business units to ensure compliance. To inculcate safe practices based on observing peers’ job behaviour, we implemented a Work Safe Behaviour Programme. Our safety performance in 2013 can be found in the Summary of Statistics section of the In Pursuit of Excellence chapter.

Unfortunately in 2013, we missed the targets set on Disabling Injury Frequency Rate and Disabling Injury Severity Rate for the year. All incidents were thoroughly investigated and assessed with preventive measures implemented. We will strive for improvement and have set stringent 2014 targets as shown in the Looking Ahead section of the In Pursuit of Excellence chapter.

In addition, we are ever mindful of the Lamma ferry tragedy of October 2012. After that grave incident, HK Electric conducted a thorough review of standard practices covering risk management, emergency communications, age limit and insurance for company activities. In July 2013, we put in place new policies to enhance safety and emergency preparedness.

25Sustainability Report 2013

Safety Policy

Upholding health and safety is essential to how we conduct our business. This imperative applies to our employees, customers, contractors and the public, and it underpins our socially responsible approach to business. We aspire to achieve accident-free operations and perform exceptionally well in all matters relating to occupational health and safety. Furthermore, health and safety are viewed as priorities by everyone in our business activities, from top management to our frontline staff and contractors. To reduce risks and improve our safety performance, our management systems conform to OHSAS 18001 for all our major operations, and to help our facilities operate safely, we follow our ISO 9001 quality management systems and PAS 55 assets management systems.

To advocate occupational health, we encourage all employees to participate daily in our “physical exercise at work” programme.

On the positive side, 2013 extended a remarkable string of incident-free days for construction work at Lamma Power Station. As of 1 January 2014, our Lamma construction site reached 1,276 continuous incident-free days. We also won nine awards in total at the 12th Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Award ceremony organised by the Occupational Safety and Health Council in September 2013.

We not only heed safety but also strongly advocate occupational health. During the year, our Influenza Pandemic Prevention Committee continued to closely monitor the conditions for Human Swine Influenza and Avian Influenza, reviewing HK Electric’s precautionary measures as well as response and contingency plans. We believe prevention is better than cure and annually offer our employees and their families a subsidy plan for flu vaccinations.

We value good indoor air quality at our premises and make every practicable effort to give our employees a comfortable and healthy working environment. Our efforts to improve indoor air quality (“IAQ”) at our premises including our Customer Services Centre were recognised with three Excellent Class and two Good Class IAQ certificates as well as an Excellence Class IAQwi$e label under the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence scheme.

Air pollution affects everyone, and we have updated our Standing Instruction relevant to highly polluted days for our employees following the HKSAR Government’s adoption on 30 December 2013 of the Air Quality Health Index to replace the Air Pollution Index.

Details on our other initiatives for our employees’ well-being can be found in Caring for Community, Customers and Employees – Employee Relations of this chapter.

26 Challenges and Strategies: Upholding Health and Safety

Enhancing Awareness and Sharing Experience

We go to great lengths to enhance the environmental, health and safety (“EHS”) awareness of our employees and contractors. In mid-2013, our Transmission and Distribution Division introduced an “EHS & You” campaign to promote the “5Ss” (Sort, Standard, Sustain, Straighten and Shine) for good housekeeping practices. The campaign included a work-at-height photo description competition, an EHS quiz and a Contractor EHS Seminar.

To advance the sharing of experiences involving safety, health and environment (“SHE”) issues, our Projects Division held various programmes and events such as an annual SHE Forum, an annual SHE Day, regular SHE Circle Meetings, a monthly Lamma SHE Ambassador Walk programme, the Lamma Site Monthly SHE Star Award Scheme, daily morning exercises and the Safety and Environmental Incentive Bonus Scheme. These activities helped us collect feedback from our contractors and other business partners from the construction industry.

In September 2013, our Generation Division held a Health and Safety Week that attracted the participation of more than 500 colleagues and contractors. Other activities included safety talks, health and safety training sessions and an EHS quiz.

We also connected with outside groups in our advocacy of health and safety. In January 2013, HK Electric hosted the Joint Utilities Safety and Occupational Health Policy Group Safety Forum for more than 200 participants from local public utilities. We invited the award-winning organisation, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, to share its success in nurturing a safety-conscious culture.

Preparing for the Worst

Preparing for worst-case health and safety scenarios compels us to hold drills and exercises to test our response capabilities, and we did these throughout 2013. We identified potential risks and developed appropriate procedures for the following scenarios: emergency evacuation, chemical spillage, confined space rescue, heat stroke, and first aid assistance.

Staff participates in EHS Quiz in the Health and Safety Week which aims at reinforcing occupational health and safety knowledge.

Drills and exercises are arranged at Lamma Power Station to rehearse for emergency.

The “EHS & You” campaign promotes EHS awareness among employees and contractors.

27 Sustainability Report 2013

Community and Customer Safety

Stakeholder expectatIonS

The community and its economic well-being are heavily influenced by the power sector. In their operations, utilities must take the impact of power disruptions into account. At the same time, stakeholders expect to be able to use electricity safely and smoothly without being affected by operational issues that might arise at power plants or related facilities.

rISkS and challengeS

Interrupted Supply

We understand that interruptions in the electricity supply can lead to severe consequences in the community, especially if they affect basic services such as those provided by hospitals, road traffic systems, the communication infrastructure and building lift systems.

Detrimental Incidents

Hong Kong’s limited space and densely populated landscape mean that utility infrastructures are often left with little choice but to be located very near the community. Utilities must make a concerted effort to avoid detrimental incidents and always limit risks to the community.

actIonS and achIevementS

Ensuring a Reliable Supply

Ever mindful of community needs and expectations, HK Electric has maintained a truly outstanding track record in providing a reliable supply of electricity. In 2013, we again achieved a sterling supply reliability rating that exceeded 99.999%. Please refer to Ensuring Sustainable Energy for All – from Supply to Demand – Supply Reliability and Sustainability in this chapter to learn more about the efforts driving this outstanding result.

We care deeply about how our supply service is perceived by the public. Our customers have at their fingertips a 24-hour emergency telephone enquiry service provided by our Customer Emergency Services Centre. To prepare for worst-case scenarios, we carried out drills in 2013 for our supply contingency plans for Hong Kong Monetary Authority, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, hospitals and others.

We show additional sensitivity to our customers who depend on life support equipment, and we are able to specially register their accounts to alert our staff to handle their supply with extra care. Before carrying out planned supply suspension, we will advise them in advance.

Community Safety a Priority

Since the early 1980s, HK Electric has operated oil-free distribution substations that pose minimal fire risks. Today, over 90% of our substations are oil-free, giving us helpful flexibility in installing them at customers’ convenience.

We are committed to building mutual trust with the community neighbouring our Lamma Power Station. To improve communications as well as deepen our understanding of the neighbourhood environment, we paid three home visits to Lamma villagers in 2013.

Crisis Management

We have a carefully developed Crisis Management Plan to ensure we are well-prepared for any emergency situations or major disruptions. An annual drill tests the effectiveness of the plan, which is reviewed and revised as necessary. We also carried out drills during the year to test our responses to emergency situations like oil and chemical spillages, fires, gas leakages, explosions and typhoons. This plan addresses company-wide responsiveness, and individual business units within HK Electric also have their own contingency plans in place.

Promoting Electrical Safety

As evidence of our vigorous advocacy of health and safety awareness, we offer advice and guidance on safeguarding power supplies and minimising the risk of electrical incidents. During the year, we conducted electrical safety and energy efficiency talks for the community and our customers, including elderly centres and villagers.

In 2013, we arranged 37 guided group tours at our Smart Power Centre for various stakeholders, including schools, academia professional institutions, overseas utilities, trade practitioners as well as property and facility management professionals. Last year we launched for our customers a booklet to outline energy efficiency and electrical safety tips.

37 In 2013, we arranged

guided group tours at our Smart Power Centre