Out of 50 applications sent in from AMEA, Vietnam contributed 1 for the site team of Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Substation Project. The application was shortlisted in the final two in the Project Safety Performance category - a great achievement and recognition for the hard work done by the site team under difficult circumstances.
The site team led by John Bell, Site Manager, and strongly supported by the country management and ABB in Switzerland's substation unit, made tremendous efforts to execute the installation and commissioning of four 220/35kV substations in a safe and responsible manner.
The Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Substation Project has set an example for relentless execution and cross collaboration in safety. "We had many high quality submissions this year and for you to make it to the final two in your category is a very good achievement of which you can be proud. I wish to thank you, and your team, for the exceptional effort that underpinned your entry and I am confident that with you we have a top ambassador for safety in our company," said Marc Vink, Group Head of Security (CSO).
Background
Over the three years' implementation since 2013, the Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Substation Project has suffered extremely difficult site conditions including evacuation following civil unrest, typhoons and significant construction hazards under live conditions.
The overall facility being constructed by Formosa Plastics Group is an integrated steel plant with over 25,000 people working at peak construction stage. Since the site works began, the project has seen over 270,000 man hours safely worked by ABB and our contractors. At its peak, the project housed 15 different nationalities on site speaking many different languages. Measures were made to implement all safety measures at site including controlled access to work areas, refusing to start work because of the unsafe conditions left by other contractors and use of visual media to ensure the ABB safety message was received and understood by all ABB staff and contractors on site.
In May of 2014, due to civil unrest sparked by the rising tensions between China and Vietnam, the team evacuated all Chinese and Taiwanese personnel for their own safety from the site. ABB was well prepared for managing the situation having involved the regional security advisors, country management and site teams in medical emergency response planning exercises early on in the project with International SOS. The leadership from the site team and support from country management of ABB in Vietnam ensured the situation was handled professionally.
During the planning stages of the project, the lead substation unit in Switzerland prepared the OHS plan and controls to support the team in Vietnam who were not as experienced with turnkey substations. This support included recruitment of the site manager, training of the OHS team, establishing the KPIs and preparation and familiarisation of the risks. The first version of the New Risk Assessment Tool recently rolled out by BU PSSS was developed as one of the outputs from this exercise. Throughout the project, the team from Switzerland frequently visited the site and worked along with the local unit to address safety and construction issues.
