Thai Growth Project a roaring success

The initiative came as part of Dow Chemical’s global policy of “Drive to Zero”, which refers to the goal of zero incidents, injuries, illnesses, accidents and zero harm to the environment.  SCG-Dow Group’s Thai Growth Project initiated in 2009 the “Skill Assessment Programme”, aimed at enhancing the capability of its contractor construction workforce to ensure safety in all its construction operations. Since the programme started, SCG-Dow Group has already trained and educated over 55,000 contract employees.
Hans Schoof, environment health and safety (EH&S) manager, Thai Growth Project, explained: “At the beginning, we communicated to our people that the only one way to be successful in this project is to be accident- free. Actually, a simple reason is because we want our people to go home safely at the end of every working day. Imagine how our loved ones would feel if one day we sustained a serious injury or became disabled from a work-related accident. Of course, they would not want that to happen and neither do we.”
Preecha Kumgong, EH&S specialist, said “Each employee who passes the assessment and is able to demonstrate the required safety skills will receive a certificate showing that they are qualified to work on the construction site. The certificate is presented in the form of a Safety Passport.”
At the Skills Assessment Centre, employees can apply to be tested in four skill sets: working at heights, lifting with/rigging of small hoists, operation of boom lifts, and operation of powered hand tools. These skills were chosen because they pose the most risk for workers to get injured. Each attendee takes the test in the area that is relevant to their work and they need to be able to pass the test successfully before being allowed to apply for a badge at the SCG-Dow Thai Growth Project. The reward is the approved ‘Safety Passport’ which usually instills a feeling of pride in the worker.
The Thai Growth Project also had a fully equipped training centre on site, including three class rooms in which four full-time trainers were employed. The project inducted more than 55,000 workers in the basic site EH&S principles and in total 117,500 training modules were provided.
Having a high turnover in the construction workforce required us to have such an extensive training programme; it is crucial that we maintain our high standards, he said.
Dow’s aims are even wider than the workplace as the company hopes that by enforcing safety in its workforce, the employees will be aware of safety and environmental issues even when not at work; once the employees really understand and consider safety, they realise that every aspect of their lives can be improved in a similar fashion, ” Preecha added.
The Skill Assessment programme not only enhances the efficiency of Dow’s construction operations, but also contributes many benefits to the industrial sector as well as the entire country. The skilful workforce can provide premium-quality service, enabling them to create trust and compete in international markets. The high safety standard and quality workforce can also attract foreign investors to expand their businesses to Thailand.
Dow became the first ever chemical company to receive the prestigious 2010 Robert W Campbell Award from the US National Safety Council which grants an award a year to company who upholds EH&S as a key business value.