HSSE CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE 2017 OPENS
– LAUNCHING OF OHSMS MANUAL

 The annual HSSE Construction Conference opens today at the ICC, Berakas with the launching of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System Manual or the OHSMS.
Present as the Guest-of Honor to officiate the conference is the Deputy Minister of Development, Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar.

100 participants from both the public and private sectors are attending the three-day HSSE Construction Conference 2017. Co-organized by the Public Works Department, JKR and the Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry, ABCi with CONFEX; the gathering will see a line of keynote, talks and interactive discussion. Yesterday, the participants were able to see upclose and personal three major construction projects being carried out in the country – the Mengkubau Water Treatment Plant, the Brunei Temburong Bridge and the Pulau Muara Besar Bridge.

With the theme “Towards Achieving A Sustainable Future”, HSSE 2017 invites HSSE experts from the public and private sectors to share ideas and discuss ways to improve the construction industry through technological advancements and maintaining a positive HSSE performance.

The event is being supported by the Ministry of Development with the co-ordination from the Energy and Industry Department, Prime Minister’s Office and Labour Department, Ministry of Home Affairs. Megamas Training Company Sdn Bhd and Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd are the event partners.

Running parallel alongside the conference is BUILDEX, an exhibition related to the conference, which is being held at the ICC’s lobby. The two-day exhibition is open for public viewing with ten exhibitors taking part. The Guest-of Honor is expected to launch the OHSMS manual at the PWD’s booth.

The publication and launching of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is one of PWD’s initiatives in ensuring a safe and healthy working environment. The manual aims to provide a systematic approach to Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) management so as to adequately control and continuously improve on PWD’s OHS performance whilst complying with legal requirements.

The OHSMS manual provides the definition and guide on how occupational health and safety, and environmental management are systematically managed in PWD’s assets, operations and activities, complying to related legislation and other international standards and best practices, achieving control and reduction of risk to as low as reasonably practicable.

The manual is aligned to the requirements as set out in OHSAS 18001. As part of continual improvement, PWD aims to attain certification in OHSAS18001 and subsequently in the new ISO45001 OSH standards. It is expected that all PWD staff and contractors as well as stakeholders uses the OHSMS manual as a reference and complies to the requirements set out to ensure that a safe and healthy working environment is achieved at all workplaces.