MOM takes action against 174 companies for Workplace Safety Violations

174 firms hauled up for safety breaches
Surprise checks on worksites find rise in lapses despite tougher rules
By Janice Heng. The Straits Times, 7 Aug 2014

THE authorities took 174 companies to task after a month-long sting operation by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) uncovered hundreds of safety breaches at dozens of worksites.

Work was ordered to be stopped at four sites, and more than 100 fines were meted out after the MOM's latest round of surprise checks to tackle work-at-height safety lapses.

Inspections of 250 worksites in a month-long period during June and July found 353 violations.

Common problems included work-at-height platforms which lacked barriers to prevent falls, and the lack of a safe way to access such work areas. A similar round of 300 checks in July last year unearthed 107 lapses.

The rise in lapses comes even after safety regulations were tightened in May this year, requiring factories to have a site-specific Fall Prevention Plan to lower the risk of falls.

The Permit to Work system was also introduced then. This is a system of formalised checks in which risks are analysed and safety measures are put in place before work involving heights of more than 3m is allowed to start.

Of the worksites inspected in the latest operation, 84 per cent had a Fall Prevention Plan in place, while 77 per cent had Permit to Work systems.

Action was taken against 174 companies, with 108 fines ranging from $1,000 to $13,000 slapped on firms at 60 sites. Serious violations resulted in four worksites being given stop-work orders.

The inspections focused on high-risk industries such as construction and marine.

Most of the lapses could have been avoided if the new regulations had been followed properly, said the MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate director Chan Yew Kwong.

Urging contractors to do so, he added: "Falls from heights are still the leading cause of workplace deaths, so this is an area we will continue to focus on."

Falls from heights caused 14 of the 59 workplace deaths last year, including that of a Bangladeshi worker who fell from the 20th floor of the Silversea condominium construction site in September after scaffolding collapsed. At least four fatal workplace falls from heights have occurred so far this year.

Singapore Contractors Association (SCAL) president Ho Nyok Yong said his organisation was doing its part to raise awareness. Scal holds safety courses almost every month, including those focusing on the two new work-at-height rules.

MP Zainudin Nordin, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, hopes workers will speak up for their own safety.

"They should know their rights and, if the situation is not safe, they should be able to voice this," he said.

Companies which fail to ensure workplace safety and health may be fined up to $500,000 for the first offence. Individuals can also be fined up to $200,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

Post by Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC).