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Experts in Hong Kong are calling for a focus on safety design in all construction projects to curb the rising number of fatal accidents. This comes after the city recorded 15 fatal industrial incidents earlier this year, despite stricter penalties. Construction Industry Council chairman Thomas Ho On-sing warned that the frequency of such accidents was increasing, even with the harsher punishments, indicating that a safety culture had not yet been established.

He noted that up to 70 to 80 percent of accidents on construction sites were due to bad habits and poor attitudes, with tight deadlines being a major contributing factor. Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, acknowledged that while awareness had improved, a "rushing culture" still prevailed in the industry, with examples like workers working on exterior scaffolding without proper safety gear.

He emphasized the need to instill a safety-first mindset, not just among workers but also in management and through improved design right from the start of construction. Experts highlighted that about 60 percent of construction accidents could be attributed to design and planning mistakes, according to a Legislative Council report.

Hong Kong's construction sector had a fatality rate of 17.8 per 100,000 workers in 2023, one of the highest among advanced economies. In contrast, countries like Australia and Singapore have laws mandating safety design in construction, leading to much lower fatality rates. Chau attributed the lack of a safety culture to workers' carelessness, the desire to cut corners, and management's failure to provide adequate oversight.

He also pointed out that the "rushing culture" was a result of tight deadlines and the severe penalties for project delays, which primarily affected subcontractors with limited bargaining power and frontline workers who had no leverage to demand better safety conditions. Lawrence Ng San-wa, president of the Hong Kong Construction Sub-contractors Association, agreed that the industry needed to enhance its safety record, stressing that individual failures, inadequate supervision, and systemic factors, including environmental hazards, all played a role.

Ng argued against blaming only frontline workers and called for collective commitment from all industry stakeholders to address broader planning issues and change mindsets. He likened the situation to extreme weather events that caused tighter schedules, leading to a neglect of safety protocols to meet deadlines, emphasizing that while work is important, lives are paramount.