Management and Engagement

To demonstrate ArchSD’s commitment to long-term sustainability in our operations, we have put in place a Departmental Quality, Environmental, Health, and Safety Policy. We adhere to the following guidelines for all services and operations:

• Fulfil the agreed requirements of our clients to the highest professional standards
• Deliver our services in an environmentally responsible manner by conserving energy, preventing pollution and reducing the consumption of natural resources
• Eliminate hazards and reduce our health and safety risks to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our staff, our contractors and people who may be affected by our work
• Involve and, where appropriate, consult our staff, our contractors and people who may be affected by our work – and their representatives – to enhance our health and safety
• Fully comply with applicable legislation and requirements, and – wherever practical – achieve standards beyond those that are legally required
• Provide adequate resources and training to all staff and provide appropriate training to persons working for or on behalf of ArchSD, to continually improve our quality, performance, efficiency and environmental, health and safety management
• Promote ArchSD's principles of quality, environmental sustainability, health and safety to our partners in work, the construction industry and the general public; and

Guarantee our services and operations align with international standards. ArchSD holds ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard and ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certifications. Together, these constitute our Integrated Management System (IMS). Our APB Centre in Hung Hom has held ISO 50001 Energy Management certification since 2014. We also refer to ISO 26000 for guidance on socially responsible behaviours. To foster continual improvement, the SSF will keep up to monitor and review the performance of our IMS at least once a year.

To minimise potential hazards and harms to our operations, we actively identify and monitor emerging risks and thereby implement various mitigation plans. Through a comprehensive risk assessment exercise, we identify, assess, mitigate and monitor potential risks within our operational control and report details of the assessment to the Department for considerations in any decision-making process.

Our project risk assessments strictly follow guidelines published by the Development Bureau, such as the Technical Circular (Works) No. 6/2005: Implementation of Systematic Risk Management in Public Works Projects. We manage and control potential risks throughout the entire lifecycle of our projects. Project teams would organise integrated risk assessment workshops to identify risks and formulate precautionary control measures for effective monitoring.

ArchSD upholds a high level of integrity and ethics. We require all staff to comply with the regulations stated in the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Any suspicions of bribery or corruption must be immediately reported to the SSF and the Independent Commission Against Corruption for further investigation. We are also committed to fulfilling all compliance obligations including applicable legislations and other requirements including but not limited to anti-corruption and anti-competitive activities. During the reporting period, no such cases were reported.

We spare no effort to secure employment rights and enhance the capabilities and technical proficiency of our staff. We strictly comply with the Employment Ordinance and provide staff with diverse benefits and training opportunities.

We strictly uphold safety at our construction sites, adhering to – or even surpassing – statutory requirements and DEVB guidelines. For large-scale projects, we appoint Labour Relations Officers at an early stage to resolve any disputes between contractors and workers. We also act an active role in organising and participating in events such as ArchSD’s Site Safety Model Workers Award Scheme, Considerate Contractors Site Award Scheme co-organised by DEVB and the CIC and trials of new site safety initiatives to encourage proactive safety management practices.

Apart from employment practices, ArchSD also focuses on the quality of service we delivered. We conduct annual customer satisfaction survey to review our performance and service quality. We have established a dedicated team to handle clients' feedback and opinions to drive continuous improvement.

With the aim to bring the construction industry to a higher level in an innovating manner, ArchSD will keep persisting to expand its adoption and promotion of innovative design, procurement and construction technologies. We will keep exploring and implementing advanced technologies and digital infrastructure that will improve quality while simultaneously improving construction efficiency and cost control, such as BIM, smart asset management and artificial intelligence (AI) etc. We have been building CO-i in recent years for digital transformation with our partners, consultants, and contractors. To improve the business efficiency, we are in the way to develop and implement digital works supervision, material submission and statutory plan submission for better mobility and productivity in project delivery.

Encouraging collaboration between both local and international stakeholders always place a pivotal position in our plan. We have been promoting cooperation & networking with local industry stakeholders for generating and exchanging new ideas & knowledge, as well as bringing in such external expertise to enrich our operation and build a healthier eco-system for all.

Corporate communications go a long way towards keeping our staff and outside stakeholders engaged with the broad picture of ArchSD. One of our measures is by developing publicity plan to enhance corporate image. We will continue to put more efforts on reaching out to share knowledge and promote best practices on quality and sustainable built environment through different platforms and channels, for example website, social media, newsletter, etc. While year 2021 marks the 35^th anniversary of ArchSD, various events will be organised to celebrate ArchSD’s journey in setting high standards for the architectural industry, pursuing excellent services in its professional field for the evolving needs of the city.

On nurturing of talents, we will devote more resources in trainings and activities to enrich staffs with various kind of exposures and experiences in designated topics. We will continue to cultivate and enhance our staff’s sprit and awareness in adopting new technologies in their work, nurture talents by providing diverse working and training opportunities for their career development. To equip talents with the capacity of handling emerging environmental and social crisis and adverse situations, leadership is the key and relevant programmes will be established.