Meet Barry — Director of Construction Safety at Coupang Taiwan FCs

Hello, my name is Barry. I’m the Director of Process Safety for the Construction Safety of Coupang Fulfillment Centers (FC). I started my career in the fire department as a firefighter after graduating from the police academy in 2004. I got to have first-hand experience of the importance of fire safety and regulations. After 18 years in the public service, I move to the private sector to promote fire safety. I joined a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor manufacturing company to work on their fire safety security design. At the end of 2023, I joined Coupang. 

We would like to know more about your previous career path. Also, please tell us about what brought you to Coupang? 

After 18 years in the fire department, my goal was to introduce the right concepts of fire safety to the industry. Those mainly include prevention of fire hazard, and a focus on fire safety topics. 

In Taiwan, in the past, the country has seen some infamous fire, so nowadays the government and companies are paying close attention to fire safety. When I was contacted by the Coupang Recruiting team, they introduced me to the company and their professionalism about Fulfillment Centers (FC). I thought about development of commerce that Coupang was working towards at the time and I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to help contribute in terms of safety and grow the standards for fire safety at Coupang. 

What are the essential tasks of the Safety team in the FCs? 

At Coupang, safety is central to our work. Our team, within the FCs, is charge of fire safety self-audits, risk assessments in the FC and management of dangerous goods. We also run regular training and fire safety exercises. Currently our teams consist of operational safety, construction and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) professionals.  

Can you tell us Coupang's growth in Taiwan so far? 

When I first joined in 2023, at the time, Coupang only had two FCs. Now our scale is continuously expanding, our services have diversified, and as a company, Coupang continues to grow rapidly in Taiwan. 

Do you agree that Coupang invests significant resources to ensure employees’ safety?  

At Coupang Taiwan, safety is at the center of what we do. We go above and beyond to make sure that our employees and facilities are safe. Our team runs quarterly fire evacuation drills, which is more than the standard legal requirement, if any defects or shortcomings are identified, we take note and fix them. At other companies, usually the General Administration (GA) & EHS teams deal with fire and safety drills, but here at Coupang, we have a dedicated team for fire safety, which sets us apart from our peers. 

What kind of profile are you looking for to join your team? Any message you’d like to convey to the job seekers to apply to Coupang FC?  

We are looking to hire individuals who are familiar with safety regulations, have a good understanding of fire equipment, fire safety authorities, inspections, and who can provide support during official audits. Our team is growing, and we are looking for individuals to join us to come change together the fire safety standards in Taiwan.