GSK has recently completed building a new factory at Sonepat in the north of India to meet growing demand in the country for Horlicks, one of GSK’s most popular nutritional drinks.

The project involved over 17,000 construction personnel and a total of 13.4 million hours of work over 3.5 years. At its peak, there were 1,900 workers on the site at one time. Most workers were on site for less than 60 days, so ensuring that the changing workforce was made aware of the safety and health issues was a significant challenge.

Health and safety were given priority when construction was planned, and appropriate programmes were put in place on the site. These included providing a 24-hour site health facility, so that injuries and illnesses could be treated early and workers did not need to leave the site for treatment. Induction training for new workers emphasised safety, inspectors monitored high-risk areas on the site, and weekly talks on safety topics and special training programmes for scaffolders were held.

This was a new approach for a major greenfield site construction project in India, where historically projects of this type do not involve a high level of attention to health and safety, and where formal safety training is not common. As a result of these initiatives, accomplished in partnership with construction management and subcontract companies, Sonepat returned one of the best lost-time accident figures seen in projects within GSK and its legacy companies. Benefits of the health and safety planning were demonstrated immediately and improved over the course of the project so that the last 6.6 million hours were worked without any lost-time injuries or illnesses. A lasting benefit of this project is the future application of lessons learned in creating a safety culture.

This project won the 2002 EHS Initiative Award which is sponsored by the Chief Executive Officer. It was selected by a panel of judges representing academia, government, NGOs and GSK’s Board of Directors.