Within our commitment to leveraging state-of-the-art digital technologies to create safer construction sites, Dar’s project management and contracts (PMC) department recently partnered with KPA FLEX — a   leading global provider of safety management software — on a new Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) digital platform. This advanced software enhances Dar’s safety management processes, ensures compliance, and drives continuous improvement in the company’s EHS performance.

Some of KPA FLEX’s key features that elevate Dar’s management processes include:

• Real-time data and analytics: KPA FLEX facilitates real-time reporting of incidents, near-misses, and safety observations. Such a feature enables our teams to respond quickly and effectively to any EHS issues. The platform also provides powerful analytics tools to track trends, identify risks, and measure the effectiveness of our safety programs.

• Comprehensive compliance management: This platform keeps Dar’s teams updated with the latest EHS regulations, empowering us to ensure that our clients’ projects always remain complaint with the latest local requirements and industry standards. Moreover, the platform maintains a detailed audit trail, making it easy to demonstrate compliance during inspections and audits.

• Enhanced communication and collaboration: The platform strengthens communication and collaboration since all EHS data and documentation are centralised, facilitating the teams’ access to information. Most notably, the platform sends automated notification and reminders for safety trainings, inspections, and corrective actions which further enhances efficiency.

• User-friendly interface: KPA FLEX’s user-friendly interface ensures easy navigation for employees at all levels. With mobile access, employees can report incidents and access EHS information from anywhere, at any time.

As a design consultancy providing construction management and supervision services, Dar has always prioritised the safety of construction workers by striving every day to create and maintain an effective safety and health culture on all the construction sites we supervise. Our ever-standing objective is to reduce work-related injuries and accidents to zero.

Dar’s dedicated health, safety, and environment (HSE) unit — a team of multidisciplinary and specialised engineers — utilises its extensive familiarity with construction site activities to identify and eliminate hazards or minimise risks, as early in the lifecycle of the project as possible. Our HSE management system and processes are continuously revised and updated to incorporate latest best practices and innovations. Our team is always exploring the added safety value of incorporating technologies such as artificial intelligence for construction, panoramic 360 cameras, drones, crane cameras for progress monitoring, and IoT-powered personal protective equipment for health and safety tracking.

Through these and additional measures, Dar aspires to contribute to a new safety-focused culture in the construction industry, one that prioritises worker safety and leaves a more positive and long-lasting impact on communities.

In 2020, following an audit conducted by SGS Group, Dar successfully achieved the industry’s latest and best standard in occupational safety and health – the ISO 45001 certification. This milestone highlights our commitment to health and safety, placing us in an elite category of businesses that meet an internationally-recognised level of excellence.

Our partnership with KPA FLEX reflects Dar’s devotion to optimising safety, health, and performance and will empower our teams to reach new heights in safety management and help ensure a safer working environment for all.