Ground feedback, digital tools: How she helps 8,000 workers finish work safely every day

Straits Times

6 days ago

From monitoring work activities to innovating with tech, this SP Group safety and health manager ensures safety remains as her highest priority
Ms Yuan Yinxi (right) an SP Group safety manager works closely with site teams (seen here starting their day with a safety pledge), to champion ground-up safety practices and ensure everyone returns home safely.
As dawn breaks across over 300 of
SP Group 's worksites around the island, the same scene unfolds: Technical officers and contractors huddle for a toolbox meeting to flag potential hazards and agree on safety precautions before work gets underway.
While it often takes just a few minutes, the meeting is vital and must be checked off before a cable is handled or a spanner lifted. Each day, over 8,000 workers from SP Group's authorised contractors rely on this routine to stay safe.
Overseeing these processes is Ms Yuan Yinxi, 36, a manager from SP's Group Safety and Health (GSH) team. As one of the dedicated safety professionals at GSH, a key part of her role is to ensure rigorous processes are in place to prevent accidents while SP's engineers and contractors focus on maintaining and upgrading underground electricity cables and gas pipelines to keep Singapore's grid strong and reliable.
SP Group's technical officers from Electricity Operations carry out regular maintenance at overground boxes connected to underground cables, ensuring safety protocols are followed.
PHOTO: SP GROUP
Among her daily tasks is supervising a team that monitors activities at sites via closed-circuit television cameras throughout the day. 'We regularly review observations made from the footage to see where we can do better. Good on-site practices are commended and shared with other contractors for learning and adoption,' she says.
Ms Yuan's team joins SP's senior leadership for regular dialogues and check-ins with contractors. These conversations ensure that safety concerns from the ground are heard early and potential risks are flagged and addressed before they escalate.
While SP Group enforces strict safety protocols, it sees these efforts not as top-down mandates, but as a partnership. Toolbox meetings, observation reviews and site walk-throughs are all part of a shared commitment – one that involves internal teams, as well as contractors and workers on the ground.
'It's about upholding safety together,' says Ms Yuan. 'We're not just ticking boxes. Everyone has a part to play in ensuring the well-being of our people, customers, contractors and the public.'
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Raising safety standards with practical training, digital tools
New practical safety training stations for contractors have been added to Singapore Institute of Power and Gas' expanded campus.
PHOTO: SP GROUP
Beyond traditional safety processes, the GSH team was involved in the design and development of a new immersive training facility in Bedok run by SP's training arm, Singapore Institute of Power and Gas.
Launched last March, the 1,500 sq ft facility has eight stations for hands-on safety training in areas such as trenching, lifting operations, ladder use and scaffolding.
To streamline daily site operations, Ms Yuan and the GSH team also worked with SP's digital team to develop the SAFE365 mobile app – a digital tool that allows technical officers to confirm all safety checks are completed before work begins, making activities at the start of each day more efficient and coordinated with just a few taps.
The app was conceived based on ground feedback, including engagement sessions with contractors who shared suggestions to improve on-site safety, says Ms Yuan.
'The idea stemmed from observing how technical officers were bogged down by manual processes – chasing updates via messaging apps, requesting site photos to verify safety compliance, and compiling documents from multiple sources,' says Ms Yuan.
'We saw an opportunity to simplify and centralise these tasks through technology.'
Contractors use the SAFE365 app to complete safety checks before work begins, streamlining daily operations with just a few taps.
PHOTO: SP GROUP
Approaching safety holistically
But safety is not just about protective gear and procedures, it also entails making sure people feel supported and healthy, mentally and emotionally, says Ms Yuan.
That is why she is a strong advocate for maintaining a healthy work-life harmony. Ms Yuan plays badminton every week, often with SP Group colleagues. As a committee member of SP Group's workplace health programme, she also drives weight management, exercise and other wellness initiatives, aiming to make healthy living an everyday experience at the workplace.
'If we can take charge of safety and wellness in our own lives, we can and should do the same in our work environment, to protect ourselves and others.
'At the end of the day, we all deserve to be able to go home safely to our loved ones,' says Ms Yuan.