UL and GreenViet Expand Building Inspection Program in Vietnam

VIETNAM, Jan 25, 2018 - UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global leader in testing, inspection, certification, auditing and validation, and GreenViet Consultancy Company Limited (GreenViet), an established Vietnam consultancy focused on sustainability and green building systems, today announced an official partnership to enhance overall building safety in Vietnam by expanding UL’s Building Inspection Program with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

UL’s Building Inspection Program provides a comprehensive assessment and gap analysis of fire prevention, fire protection and life safety and security systems in commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. As Vietnam continues to develop and improve its national infrastructure by boosting safety standards, UL and GreenViet will collaborate to promote public safety and conduct building inspections. The partnership will help to ensure greater adherence to and compliance with the requirements of UL’s Building Inspection Program, with the aim of enhancing overall building safety in Vietnam.

Anthony Tan, vice president and managing director for UL ASEAN region shared, “The partnership with GreenViet demonstrates our continued commitment to promoting safe living and working environments globally and in Vietnam. As part of this collaboration, we will be training and qualifying GreenViet’s inspectors to conduct inspections using UL’s Building Inspection Program in Vietnam.”

Do Huu Nhat Quang, Co-founder of GreenViet said, “We are committed to working closely with UL to enhance overall building safety in Vietnam and create awareness on the importance of conducting building inspections. Even though overall safety in the country has steadily improved over the years, there is still much more to be done and we look forward to achieving greater safety standards with UL’s partnership.”

Leveraging more than a century of UL’s experience in testing, certifying, and inspecting fire and life safety security products through this MOU, GreenViet inspectors will be trained and audited by UL to produce comprehensive reviews based on UL’s Building Program. GreenViet will be empowered to objectively report potential compliance gaps to key decision-makers and regulators in Vietnam, who can then make informed decisions on improving building safety.

According to the 2017 UL Safety Index^TM, an inaugural worldwide study quantifying the relative state of safety across 187 countries, buildings in Vietnam continue to fall short on safety standards, particularly in accidents including fire. Vietnam placed sixth out of ten ASEAN nations in terms of overall safety according to the Index, further emphasizing the need for proactive measures like vigilant building inspections to safeguard the public’s safety and help to enable business sustainability.