Early safety timeout for construction firms after another worker dies
Singapore Contractors Association acutely concerned over recent fatalities at construction sites
The Singapore Contractors Association (SCA), which represents 3,000 companies, has brought forward its quarterly safety timeout, as it expressed "grave concern" over the recent spate of workplace fatalities at construction sites.
The decision came after the latest death in a worksite-related incident on Saturday. There have been seven fatalities this year, of which five were from the construction sector, Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said in a Facebook post last night.
In Saturday's incident, a 36-year-old Indian national was killed after he was struck by a sheet pile at a Sengkang construction site. The Manpower Ministry and the police are investigating the incident.
Under the non-mandatory timeout, originally scheduled for next month, construction firms stop work and review how they carry out particular activities. The whole process usually lasts for a few hours or less.
Mr Zaqy said the call for the timeout was a "timely reminder" to the construction industry to review safety procedures.
He said preliminary investigations into the recent incidents uncovered, among other things, unsafe work practices, poorly planned operations and a lack of control measures.
"These incidents could have all been prevented if proper risk assessments were conducted, and safety and health was properly managed during work activities," he added.
The SCA urged companies to take the opportunity to review all aspects of safety and risk assessment at all worksites.
Its president Kenneth Loo said: "We are deeply concerned with the rise in construction incidences and fatalities over the past two months. Our thoughts and prayers go to those affected and their families."
He said a "holistic and reasonable approach" was needed to ensure workplace safety.
"We call on all construction firms to conduct a safety time-out as soon as possible to reinforce this shared responsibility and for everyone to remain vigilant in safeguarding workplace safety at all times," he added.
The timeouts used to be carried out on an ad hoc basis until two years ago when the SCA decided such reviews should be conducted more regularly.
The latest one will focus on site traffic management and includes areas such as securing goods on trucks, navigating a construction site as well as driving safely.
Mr Loo told The Straits Times this was timely given that two weeks ago, a construction worker was killed after a tipper truck hit him at the worksite.
"We hope to send out the signal to firms to monitor how their workers walk on a site, and how they control the movement of their heavy vehicles," he added.
The construction sector has remained the top contributor for deaths at worksites, with 14 fatal accidents last year, two more than the year before.
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