29 Jun 2020
Speeches
e-Launch of SHA Hotel WSH Week – 29 June 2020
Opening Remarks for SHA President, Ms Kwee Wei-Lin
A very good morning to everyone.
Welcome to this online launch of the SHA Hotel Workplace Safety and Health Week which will run from today, 29 June to Friday, 3 July.
I would like to thank all of you for your strong support – I am told that the event is fully subscribed with 100 participating hotels. This is indeed very encouraging as it really goes to show that Workplace Safety and Health is and remains a priority for all of us despite the disruptions due to the COVID situation.
Now that we have started Phase 2, slightly more than a week ago, with the resumption of almost all of our business activities, albeit at a much reduced capacity due to social distancing, the launch of this morning’s Workplace Safety and Health week is therefore very timely.
To help members to reinforce the importance of WSH during this week, I would like to acknowledge WSH Council for the set of reference materials which they have specially put together for our hotels, covering areas such as slips, trips and falls, workplace ergonomics for our front desk, housekeeping and retail staff as well as accidental cuts and scalding for our kitchen and F&B personnel. These are very useful resource materials which will help all of you to continue to keep WSH top of mind.
Additionally, the WSH Council has included resources for holistic wellbeing to boost employees’ mental and physical health during these challenging times. With all this ready information that is downloadable from the website, members are reminded to put aside time this week to conduct virtual briefings for your teams to raise the bar on WSH.
The COVID situation has abruptly pushed all of us into a new normal – impacting the way we live, work and play. Hence, as we relook at our hotel operations through the COVID lens, it is without doubt that technology will be a big part of the story.
I would therefore like to encourage members to study options and embrace technology solutions, be it in reshaping guest experiences or redesigning work processes. For example, the use of digital menu and e-payment modes to reduce contact will provide assurance to our guests; on the other hand, the deployment of autonomous linen cart robots, integrated with the hotel lifts and e-housekeeping function, to transport soiled linen can go a long way to lessen the manual work for our colleagues.
On this note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our speakers, Kung Teong Wah, GM of Copthorne King’s as well as Tom Meyer, MD and Jacqueline Poey, Hotel Manager of Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford for sharing with us their best practices on WSH and COVID-19 the new Normal respectively. We look forward to your presentations.
My sincere appreciation also goes to WSH Council for their strong support. Last but not least, I would like to wish all members success in their briefing sessions and continue to drive WSH beyond this week by making it a culture at our hotels.
Thank you.