Sustainability Report 2012 • 43
Mainland China
As a leading provider of energy in mainland China,
with a 150 businesses in our portfolio spread out
over 22 provinces, municipalities and autonomous
regions, we take a responsible stand, not only
improving safety standards within our own
operations but also seeking to raise standards and
drive a safety mindset both within the industry and
the community.
Many of these safety activities build on the
systems and practices which have been tried and
tested in Hong Kong. The SCADA (Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition) system for instance
is used by 38 of our city-gas businesses on the
mainland. Similarly, we have been able to extend
our knowledge and experience in the use of
polyethylene piping onto the mainland. We were
heavily involved in the establishment of quality PE
piping standards in the country, and our expertise
is such that, sharing our experience, we also sit
on four Technical Sub-committees related to PE
pipes and fittings in International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO/TC 138).
A major focus during the year was on the quality
control of steel and PE piping as well as our
preparedness for the replacement of high and
intermediate pressure and cast iron pipes. A newly
developed audit systemwas also used to complete
audits on 80 engineering supervision projects to
enhance the safety and quality of our engineering
systems.
An ongoing exercise is our “Year of Safe
Production” campaign which was first launched
in Xi’an in 2008. In 2012, the campaign rolled out
to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. This
initiative analyses every aspect of a business, from
its geographical location, climate, operational
history and safety awareness, together with other
key factors to identify risk areas and establish Key
Performance Indicators. During the year, 12 Key
Management Factors and “We Deliver” projects
were completed.
Safety systems and processes were also
established for many of the new businesses in
mainland China. Furthering safety operations at
ECO’s two chemical plants on the mainland, CCTV
cameras transmit real-time images to Hong Kong,
enabling better safety monitoring of critical areas
in these facilities. ECO also updated its corporate
emergency plan to integrate its businesses in
Hong Kong, the mainland and Thailand into a
single master plan.
This commitment to safety is reaping major
dividends. Not only has the accident rate fallen
over the years, there is no doubt that safety is
increasingly becoming an intrinsic part of our
operational mindset. Our methanol plant for
instance achieved its “One-millionWorking Hours
Accident Free” goal in 2009 and it has since made
the transition from construction to production
with an accident free record. Similarly, a safety and
risk management audit conducted in 2011/2012
covering some 30 of our ventures showed that
safety improvements in gas performance are
rising. The latest audit achieved a safety score of
85% against the 71% recorded previously in 2009,
whilst Hua YanWater did even better, achieving
an average score of 88.9%. Just as significantly,
the number of serious gas-related incidents fell a
positive 20% in comparison to 2011.
