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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.