Kuala Lumpur, 1 December 2020 – MMC Gamuda—the contractor of Malaysia’s critical transport infrastructure, the MRT Putrajaya Line—is taking no chances with the highly contagious disease. The company set up a bespoke laboratory (lab) with state-of-the-art PCR testing equipment, with doctors and lab specialists onboard who have undergone up to date training provided by WHO.
As an underground works package contractor, MMC Gamuda has close to 15,000 workers under its watch in various worksites over the 50-kilometre-long MRT alignment. To-date 160,000 routine rapid test kit (RTK) antibody tests have been conducted, covering personnel from administrators, construction staff, general workers and security guards to senior level management.
The in-house PCR lab heralded the large-scale migration from RTK to fortnightly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test cycle for all of the group’s 20,000 personnel.
“At the group level, we have an in-house COVID-19 task force that establishes policies to guide the workforce and cascade these directives to all business units. We started off with doing baseline PCR tests on our workforce across all levels, even managing directors. The baseline PCR test was then followed by the introduction of a scheduled rapid antibody finger-prick RTK test every 10 days, as we felt that it was necessary to provide continued assurance to our workforce and stakeholders,” said Sirajunnisa Mohamed Farook, MMC Gamuda’s Head of Safety, Health and Environment.
MMC Gamuda’s responsibility also extends to four centralised labour quarters (CLQ), housing almost 6,000 workers throughout Klang Valley. To prevent the possible spread of COVID-19, the company tightened the perimeters of its CLQs with controlled access and segregation.
– Construction+ Online
Source: Gamuda
