Multiplex takes out highly coveted ASI safety award

The Site Award is given for maintaining the quality of health and safety of personnel on worksites.

Multiplex applied its ‘Safer by Design and Planning Strategy’, which includes extensive safety and planning initiatives, to the 161 Sussex Street redevelopment project to complete construction works with minimal disruption to the operational hotel and 80,000 vehicles that use the Western Distributor Freeway daily.

“Our continuous efforts to develop and implement safety initiatives give clients an advanced level of certainty. Our aim is to completely eliminate risk rather than just manage it and in winning this award we have proven that our team emanates a mature and disciplined safety culture,” said Mr David Ghannoum New South Wales Regional Managing Director at Multiplex.

The 161 Sussex Street redevelopment includes the refurbishment of an existing hotel which remains fully operational during construction, the erection of a new 3,450 square metre convention centre and 25 storey hotel and commercial office tower.

Key safety initiatives delivered throughout the project include the identification and control of critical risks prior to the commencement of construction and the highly refined design and prefabrication solutions implemented by Multiplex to maximise the amount of work completed on deck and minimise the risk of falls.

The Convention Centre ‘saw tooth’ roof at 161 Sussex Street was originally designed to involve an eight metre high steel truss and a layered roof system to cater to the high acoustic rating of the function rooms below. Multiplex identified the risks associated with working at such heights and collaborated with structural engineers and architects to create a design that required minimal work at heights and could be assembled on the precast deck.

In addition to this design, Multiplex also recommended that all trusses were constructed to a standardised weight so that a single jig could be used for all lifts.