Sands China Kicks Off Annual Occupational Safety and Health Week
Month-long OSH campaign encourages safe habits and procedures for team members
(Macao,
September
10, 2020) –
Sands China Ltd. held an
opening ceremony to kick off its OSH Week
Tuesday at The Venetian® Macao,
part of a nearly month-long campaign to
promote occupational safety and health
(OSH) at its properties. Sands China
is the first integrated resort operator in
Macao to organise an OSH Week this
year.
From Sept. 2 to 25,
the company is highlighting safe habits and
procedures with a series of activities: an
OSH Seminar, a Stretching
Activity, an OSH Master
Competition and OSH game
booths.
"Sands China
continues to be committed to encouraging
awareness of safety and wellness among team
members, and to building a safe working
environment," said Dr. Wilfred Wong,
president of Sands China Ltd. "With a
guiding principle of 'safety, health, and
prevention first', we are pleased to see our
efforts bearing fruit in the workplace, and
we are grateful to the Labour Affairs
Bureau, the Macao Federation of Trade
Unions, the Women's General Association of
Macao, and the Macau Occupational Health and
Safety Association for their continued
support."
The opening ceremony
was held at The Venetian Macao's
back-of-house team member dining room, where
guests of honour presented the first-ever
OSH Awards, recognising Sands China
departments that demonstrated occupational
safety and health excellence in 2019. Sands
China's occupational safety awards are the
first of their kind among Macao's integrated
resort operators, and aim to promote OSH to
team members through a learning and
communication platform. The guests also
played interactive OSH-themed games with
team members, and received OSH souvenirs
presented by Dr. Wong.
Wong Chi Hong,
director of the Labour Affairs Bureau, said:
"Promoting and raising public awareness of
occupational safety and health is the joint
responsibility of the government, employers,
and employees. As all sectors of society are
working together to overcome the current
pandemic, we want to thank Sands China for
continuing to promote OSH Week and
implementing OSH measures, thus creating a
safe and healthy working environment. We
hope this year's OSH Week will be a great
success."
During OSH
Week, team members are able to
participate in an OSH Seminar, a
Stretching Activity, and an OSH
Master Competition. They are also
able to win prizes at OSH-themed game
booths at Sands® Macao,
The Venetian Macao, Sands® Cotai
Central and The Parisian Macao, with booths
set up by the company and by the Labour
Affairs Bureau, the Macao Federation of
Trade Unions, and the Women's General
Association of Macao. An OSH-themed photo
contest also offers opportunities for team
members to win prizes while raising their
OSH awareness.
In 2017, Sands China
signed an Occupational Safety and Health
Charter, aimed at fostering further
collaboration between employers and
employees, promoting a safe and healthy
working environment, and establishing a
comprehensive occupational safety and health
management system. Since the signing of the
charter, 207,000 participants have attended
various OSH trainings organised by DSAL or
Sands China, with over 150,000 training
hours provided to team members to
date.
Sands China was also
a pioneer in introducing and training OSH
wardens – team members with specialised
training in occupational safety and health.
OSH wardens have regular meetings with
various departments to formulate
precautionary measures and supervise related
practices, ensuring that all OSH objectives
are met by following up on the results. This
year, Sands China has introduced OSH wardens
to two new departments: transportation, and
procurement and supply chain. With 450
safety wardens to date, including some from
hotel partners, the company expects to
increase the percentage of safety wardens
who are table games pit managers, targeting
to train 300 by the end of this year.
Sands China's
on-going OSH efforts have resulted in
measurable achievements in the workplace.
The company's facilities department was
certified ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018
in October 2019 for its Integrated
Management System, and will undergo a
re-assessment audit this November for
renewal. The company is working to extend
the certification to other departments. In
addition, led by a cross-departmental OSH
Committee, Sands China continues to
implement the supervision, management
(through ISO certification and Kaizen
system) and education of occupational health
and safety, while enhancing the frequency of
field inspections to build a safe workplace.
Photo caption: Guests of
honour kick off the opening ceremony of Sands China's OSH
Week Tuesday at The Venetian Macao, part of a nearly
month-long campaign to promote occupational safety and
health (OSH) at Sands China properties. Sands China is the
first integrated resort operator in Macao to organise an OSH
Week this year.
Left to right: Wen Hongyan, senior vice president of
human resources for Sands China Ltd.; Lam Iok Cheong, head
of the Occupational Safety and Health Department of DSAL;
Lee Chong Cheng, president of the Macao Federation of Trade
Unions; Wong Chi Hong, director of DSAL; Dr. Wilfred Wong,
president of Sands China Ltd.; Chan Chon U, acting deputy
director of DSAL; Kou Chi Leong, chairman of the Macau
Occupational Health and Safety Association; Christine Luo,
vice president of the Women's General Association of Macao;
Mike Naylor, senior vice president of facilities management
for Sands China Ltd.
Photo caption: Dr. Wilfred
Wong (left), president of Sands China Ltd., and Wong Chi
Hong, director of Labour Affairs Bureau, deliver their
respective remarks at the OSH Week opening ceremony Tuesday
at The Venetian Macao.
Photo caption: Guests play
interactive OSH-themed games with team members at the
back-of-house area of The Venetian Macao after Tuesday's OSH
Week opening ceremony.