Health and Safety Workplace
Management Model
Occupational Safety and Health Management System Operations
SKS established an Occupational Safety and Health Office to prevent occupational hazards and ensure the safety and health of all employees. Each region is assigned an Occupational Safety and Health Business Manager for the safety and health management. SKS falls under the industry of occupational safety and health management system that should be set up in accordance with Article 23 of Occupational Safety and Health Act. Therefore, we established an Occupational Safety and Health Management System Promotion Group in 2020 in accordance with the national standard CNS 45001 and the above requirements of ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. The Group conducts educational training on the promotion of management systems and promotes those management systems. Additionally, in April 2021, we completed the manuals, procedures, and rules and regulations required by the relevant chapters and provisions, and continue to refine and implement the regulations within SKS to formulate management plans so as to achieve the expected goals. Additionally, the PDCA Circle model – Plan → Do → Check → Action – was established in the hope of implementing safety and health management and achieving continuous improvement. Currently, SKS has established an occupational safety and health management system in accordance with Article 23 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, covering the headquarters and branch offices, but has yet to obtain the certification. At the same time, the Company discloses the contents and statistics of occupational hazards monthly on its internal corporate website (SKSOA) by means of notices to inform employees of the causes of occupational hazards and the corresponding preventive measures. In addition, we have formulated a ‘Code of Practice for Occupational Safety and Health’ that specifies workplace practices to prevent the recurrence of similar occupational hazards.
Occupational Safety and Health Senior Management Personnel Support and Engagement
In 2015, SKS established the Occupational Safety and Health Management Committee. This consists of 11 members, with the president as the chairperson, and four labor representative members (accounting for more than one-third of all members) elected by labor representatives from each department. The Committee holds quarterly meetings. They are responsible for the formulation, planning, promotion and supervision of occupational safety and health related affairs, such as regulations, proposal review, and making suggestions on additional purchases of protective equipment. Onsite safety and health inspection is conducted by department supervisors once a month; these are then further randomly inspected by managerial supervisor on an occasional monthly basis. Based on the random inspection results, the headquarters’ Occupational Safety and Health Office presents safety reports, reviews, and recommendations at monthly headquarters management meetings and quarterly managerial supervisor meetings, with an aim to implement occupational safety and health management.
Occupational Safety and Health Educational Training
In order to strengthen employees’ awareness of occupational hazards and prevention concepts, and thus to prevent accidents at work, we offer labor safety and health educational training in accordance with SKS’s Regulations Governing the Labor Safety and Health Education and Training, and hold necessary safety and health educational training for all newly hired workers, workers in active service, and workers who change positions. Workers who serve as first responders and occupational safety personnel receive specialized training on their duties in order to achieve the goal of zero major occupational hazards.
In order to encourage employees to engage in self-learning on safety and health skills, a ‘Safety and Health Teaching Material Zone’ is set up within the Knowledge Management section on the corporate website (SKSOA). The Company’s safety and health related regulations, implementation plans, and training materials are compiled in the zone, where employees can learn from them at any time, thereby enhancing their awareness of occupational hazards and preventing accidents. In addition, we also strengthen our employees' safety and health knowledge and skills through notices (on occupational hazard cases and traffic safety promotion) and occasional educational training, also to reduce the occurrence of accidents.
Labor Safety and Health Educational Trainings
| Type of Training | Number of People |
|---|---|
| General safety and health educational training | 283 |
| Educational training for workers changing positions | 8 |
| Educational training for current workers | 1,671 |
| Total | 1,962 |
Safety and Health Professional Licenses
| Type of License | Number of People |
|---|---|
| Level A Technician for Occupational Safety Management | 1 |
| Level B Technician for Occupational Safety Management | 3 |
| Class 1 Manager for Occupational Safety and Health Affairs | 38 |
| Class 3 Manager for Occupational Safety and Health Affairs | 3 |
| Class 3 Manager of Occupational Safety and Health Affairs in the Manufacturing Industry | 10 |
| First Responder | 83 |
| Fire Prevention Manager | 4 |
| Nurse Practitioner for Labor Health Services | 1 |
| Total | 143 |
Calculation includes licenses still valid as of December 31, 2022.
Safety and Health Management of Contractors
To reduce negative impacts from major occupational safety and health incidents amongst our work partners, every year, onsite supplier visits are conducted to check on their occupational health and safety, as well as regular evaluations of contractors and their compliance with occupational safety and health management. In addition, construction workers are informed of the ‘Working Environment and Hazards’, with implementation of this recorded. This reminds construction workers of potential risks in the working environment and preventive measures to reduce accidents and improve danger prediction. Management of contractors who enter SKS workplaces for construction, maintenance, and repairs follows the ‘Contractor Safety and Health Management Procedures’, to enforce the safety and health management of our contractors and reduce accidents. In the future, contractors with valid contracts will be jointly managed in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Management List of Contractors (employees, (sub)contractors, cleaner, and security personnel, etc.) to reduce risks in contracted work.
| Year | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Project | SKS | Workers |
| Number of People | 1,751 | 321 |
| Percentage (%) | 84.5 | 15.5 |
Worker: A non-employee whose job or workplace is under the control of the organization.
Measures to Promote Good Health
In order to meet the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, SKS has continuously implemented 3 major plans: ‘the Regulations on the Management and Prevention of Diseases Caused by Excessive Workload’, the ‘Regulations on the Maternal Health Protection of Female Workers’, and the ‘Regulations on the Management and Prevention of Human-Induced Hazards’. SKS implements these to ensure the mental and physical health of our employees. Since January 2022, a full-time nurse practitioner has been employed for onsite labor health services, work site visits, and regular health examinations. Additionally, they also assess the performance of health management and identify high-risk individuals, who then receive follow-up by medical staff for risk control management. In 2022, SKS’s headquarters obtained certification as an Accredited Healthy Workplace. We also offer regular daycare service at work, employee self-improvement activities, and health seminars.
| Project | Management Measures | Key Performance in 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Health Management |
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| Prevention of Diseases Caused by Excessive Workload |
Focus on prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases (prevention of overwork) due to excessive workloads; screen high-risk groups in accordance with the plan; have doctors perform health interviews and consultations to provide employees with risk prevention methods and health counseling. |
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| Prevention of Musculoskeletal Diseases Caused by Repetitive Work (Human-Induced Hazards) |
For the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (i.e., prevention of human-induced hazards) caused by repetitive work, we identified employees with soreness levels of 3 or higher during health examinations using musculoskeletal symptoms charts. The results showed that a total of 10 individuals at headquarters and 25 at branch departments had such conditions. Analysis revealed that musculoskeletal soreness was mostly caused by long-term use of computers, poor posture, lack of sufficient rest, and physical activity. As a result, the Occupational Safety and Health Office issued notices on the corporate website (SKSOA) explaining the hazards of computer operations and how to prevent them, and also gave instruction on correct computer-use posture. |
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| Maternal Health Protection |
The Regulations on the Maternal Health Protection of Female Workers were established in accordance with maternal worker’s health protection policies. A nurse practitioner assists female workers while they are pregnant, after the birth of a child, and during breastfeeding with self-assessment on their health condition, and works with occupational safety staff to assess hazards in the workplace. An onsite health service doctor is also arranged to offer maternal health protection interviews and role assessments to achieve the purpose of protecting the health of maternal workers. |
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| Recovery from Occupational Injuries |
Interviews and assessment of workers recovering from occupational injuries: Occupation medicine specialists offer health guidance and interview workers with occupational injuries that exceed a reasonable amount of recovery time, in order to accelerate their recovery. As a worker’s capabilities gradually recover to meet the demands of their original duties, a gradual resumption of work enables them to slowly readapt to their duties before returning to full-time. |
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| Prevention of Unlawful Infringement in the Workplace |
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There was one instance of unlawful infringement reporting and handling. The Workplace Sexual Harassment Compliant Handling Committee convened one meeting. |
| Operational Environment Monitoring |
Carbon Dioxide Monitoring in Offices: Since 2015, the Monitoring Plan for Workplace Environments has been established for ‘places of work within buildings equipped with centrally managed ventilation facilities’, as designated by the law. Every 6 months, carbon dioxide concentrations in workplaces are monitored once to gain an understanding of current workplace conditions. The results are announced, to inform workers of exposure and in hopes of ensuring their health. As of the latter half of 2022, each department's ‘places of work within buildings equipped with centrally managed ventilation facilities’were added to the monitoring plan. |
Workplace carbon dioxide was monitored twice; the results met the regulatory standards. |
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Management
The Company assesses occupational safety and health risks and opportunities by continuously identifying hazards, assessing risk and implementing necessary risk controls for potential hazards in all SKS operations and facilities. This management applies to all activities carried out in the Company’s workplaces, including routine and non-routine activities, activities by all personnel who enter SKS workplaces (involving contractors and visitors), and the basic infrastructure, equipment, and materials provided by the Company and other organizations in the workplace, in order to implement the occupational safety and health policy and to achieve continuous improvement. High risks identified by SKS must be controlled and reduced to acceptable risk levels within specific periods of time.
| Hazard Factors | Department | Risk Level | Existing Risk Control Methods | Countermeasures to Control Unacceptable Risks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Training | Operational Control/ Monitoring Document | Management Programs/ Elimination/Alternative | ||||
| Falling, Tumbling | Electronic Security Department | 4 |
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Strengthen the educational training and drills with Key Points and Cautions for Safety Inspections When Using Trestle Stepladders and Mobile Ladders. |
Safety checklist for proper examinations before using trestle stepladders |
Improvement management program to reduce the number of personnel fall accidents during inspection |
| Non-commuting Road Traffic Accidents | Electronic Security Department | 4 |
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Enhance promotion on traffic safety and defensive driving |
-- | Improvement management program to reduce the number of traffic accidents |
| Non-commuting Road Traffic Accidents | Service HQ | 4 |
Promoting traffic safety and defensive driving. |
Enhance promotion on traffic safety and defensive driving |
-- | Improvement management program to reduce the number of traffic accidents |
| Reducing the NO. of Falling Down from Stairs Incidents | Service HQ | 4 |
Promoting safety precautions for going up and down stairs. |
Enhance the promotion of safety precautions for going up and down stairs & tripping prevention in the workplace |
-- | Improvement management program to reduce the number of falling down from stairs incidents |
| Non-commuting Road Traffic Accidents | Business HQ | 4 |
Traffic safety and defensive driving promotion. |
Non-commuting Road Traffic Accidents |
-- | Improvement management program to reduce the number of traffic accidents |
| Tripping | Construction Engineering Department | 4 |
Enhance educational training on Tripping Hazard Prevention, and promote the idea that no piles of goods should ever be placed in workplace aisles. |
-- | Keep workplace aisles empty and free of piles |
Improvement management program for tripping incident prevention |
- Assessment operation: Primarily consists of Process Inspection à Hazard Identification à Risk and Opportunity Assessment à Risk Control.
- The risk control measures include A. Eliminate à B. Replace à C. Construction Control à D. Management Control à E. Personal Protective Equipment.
- Risks are classed in levels, from 1 to 5. Control facilities to reduce risks are required for risks ranging from level 4 to 5 in order to reduce their risk to a medium level (level 3). Each department must formulate a ‘Management Plan Table’ for improvements. The Occupational Safety and Health Office randomly performs audits for continuous improvement.
Organizational Occupational Safety and Health Issues & Risk and Opportunity Management
SKS has established the identification of SKS’s organizational occupational safety and health, workers, and stakeholders, and conducted standards on the gathering of issues of concern and the risk and opportunity management in respond to possible risks and opportunities of organizational occupational safety and health changes. Moreover, we also carry out risk and opportunity assessment and management operations and take early countermeasures or control measures to achieve the purpose of sustainable management and the continuous and effective operation of the occupational safety and health management system. In 2022, there were 5 unacceptable (high) risks including the COVID-19 outbreak, fire-fighting facilities and emergency response, implementation status of employee operation standards/procedures, workplace violence, and four major workplace violence matters (human factors, unlawful infringement in the workplace, overwork, and maternal health) identified by the organization. As of the end of the year, the first three items had been improved, and the last two items were included in 2023 for continuous improvement.
Safety Management of Field Duty During Typhoons
Safety management of field duty during typhoons was formulated to reduce the risk of occupational accidents to workers and guarantee their health and safety while on duty during typhoons. If workers on duty during typhoon days identify a life-threatening risk, they must immediately report their current status, avoid venturing forth, and prioritize their safety; they will not be penalized if their missions are not accomplished. The Company implements the occupational safety and health policy in accordance with the Requirements for Compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In 2022, during school/office closures due to typhoons, a total of one safety assessment was conducted for field personnel on duty during typhoons.
Occupational Disaster Incident Notification, Handling and Investigation Management
- No occupational diseases, illnesses, or work-related death incidents were reported at SKS
- No occupational injury incidents or work-related death incidents were reported among SKS’s contractors
We enhance employees’ risk awareness and safety knowledge by promoting and conducting risk assessments, hazard identification, safety and health education, and public notices. In the event of an occupational safety or health accident, in addition to taking immediate appropriate rescue measures to minimize injuries, investigations must also be conducted to review the causes and formulate prevention methods, to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents in the future. This management applies to all accidents in the workplace and on official business trips, involving employees, contractors, and visitors, but excludes contractors' traffic accidents.
In the event of an occupational incident, in addition to necessary first aid, rescue and other measures, the department shall also report the incident in accordance with the notification process:
- Department supervisor immediately fills out an ‘Occupational Accident Immediate Report Form’ and submits it to the control center, regional manager, or headquarters department manager, and also reports to the northern district control center
- The northern district control center shift manager determines if the incident constitutes a major occupational accident; if they determine it to be a major occupational accident, the shift manager must report it to the occupational accident reporting website
- The department manager investigates the accident with labor representatives within 3 days of the accident, and fills out an ‘Occupational Accident Report
- Within 7 working days of the accident, the occupational accident case and the traffic safety report is completed, to prevent reoccurrence of similar accidents
- Family members are notified of the status
- Follow-up handling of occupational accident
- Occupational accident compensation
- The Occupational Safety and Health Office compiles details and statistics on occupational accidents each month, which are then announced in the workplace and submitted to the labor inspection agency for review
By introducing the above management system and implementing the P-D-C-A circle model, SKS’s management of workplace safety incidents continue to improve, and the number of occupational injuries occurring during working hours is effectively controlled. Both the Disabling Frequency Rate and the Disabling Severity Rate have decreased every year for the past three years, which shows that the improvement measures have had positive benefits on employee safety.