Among local companies in Cambodia, it would be difficult to find an organisation with more stringent policies and work practices than CMED Construction. From the careful selection of projects and partners, to administering its own strict safety regulations, CMED Construction is uncompromising when providing safety to workers, building occupants and the local community.
“Safety is more important than the work you’re trying to achieve,” CMED Deputy CEO Jenny Chea explains. “After all, it’s a life you’re talking about. You cannot put a price on that.”

In a country where some elements of workplace safety are not government regulated, the best construction companies have proactively taken measures to apply international standards to their operations. With the help of foreign and local experts, CMED Construction intends to lead the local market in safety precautions.

“In our construction division, we are 100% compliant,” Ms. Chea says. “Without the right safety equipment, you cannot be certified, and I think safety is one area where we can influence the whole construction sector. For us, that’s very important, so we have our EHS (Environmental Health and Safety) division. Everybody must have the right safety protection gear before they work.”

In the middle of a construction and property boom, it’s no surprise to hear that developers are pushing limits in order to maximise investment, but CMED’s Deputy CEO is no stranger to taking a tough stance when the company’s strict policies are questioned. Since founding one of the first architectural firms in Cambodia, Ms. Chea has often taken a hard line to ensure requirements are met.

“One client asked us to reduce the size of the fire exit stairs,” she says. “In an emergency, everybody would be running into that staircase to survive because it’s airtight and has automatic ventilators. From a developer point of view, it would give them extra meters squared. We would always try to maximize the developer’s dollars by maximizing the layout and the quality of the design, but the one principle that we hold onto is safety, so we would be forced to reject any request that compromised our standards.”
CMED’s Deputy CEO believes that as the Cambodian economy continues to grow, and wealth increases, Cambodians will progressively become more discerning buyers. Hopefully the market will lead the drive for greater quality. Until then, CMED Construction will set its own high standards, not only matching the best international practices, but also finding new innovative ways to ensure high levels of safety.

“I can say that we truly care about quality, our safety and our timelines,” Ms. Chea says. “We focus on very detailed things. For us, construction is not just a building. It’s the process. It’s the process of how you pour your concrete, how you build your wall. It can become very complex, but in order to have good quality, you must have good process.”