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Speech at SCAL Construction Safety, Health and Security Campaign 2015

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and for Education, Employment and Employability Institute (e2i)

Workplace safety and health

Dr Ho Nyok Yong
President of the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (or SCAL)

Mr Low Poh Kuan
Chairman of SCAL’s Workplace Safety and Health Committee and Campaign Organising Committee

Distinguished speakers and guests
Industry partners, ladies and gentlemen

  1. Good afternoon. I am happy to join you today at the launch of SCAL’s Construction Safety, Health and Security Campaign for 2015. This is the 32nd year that SCAL is organising this event, and I am glad the industry has been supportive of workplace safety and health (or WSH) all these years.

    2. IMPORTANCE OF WSH IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
  2. Construction demand hit a new record of $37.7 billion in 2014 and is expected to remain high over the next few years1. With this high volume of construction activities, WSH in this sector is ever more important. We must always remember that every worker could be someone’s spouse, parent or child. These workers work hard to provide for their loved ones and contribute to the company. As employers, it is our duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace for all of them.
  3. If you recall, we saw a spate of Construction workplace fatalities in the earlier part of 2014. The WSH performance of the Construction sector has improved by the end of 2014 as a result of the close collaboration between the Government and the industry.
  4. But if you look back in the whole of last year, where we had 60 fatalities nationwide, 45%, or 27 fatalities, were contributed by the construction industry. In the first half of 2014, we had 17 fatalities from the construction industry. It has improved towards the end of the year with 10 fatalities in the construction industry. We’ve improved, but still 27 workers from the construction industry died. This year, we have done better. There were eight fatalities in the first half of this year. When we are busy, when we are rushing, when there is less supervision, or when we are off-guard, accidents may happen.
  5. While we have done quite well, this is not the time to rest on our laurels. We still need to continue to adopt a multi-prong approach to ensure that we have a sustainable WSH outcome. Earlier this year, I have announced that we would be enhancing the Demerit Points System2 (DPS) to strengthen the deterrence against errant companies. This would be taking effect on 1 July 2015.
  6. At the same time, it is important that we continue to promote WSH awareness and cultivate a safe working culture. I am glad that SCAL has been at the forefront in doing so among its members and construction industry. Under SCAL’s WSH Innovation Awards this year, eight work teams will be recognised for coming up with innovative solutions to improve safe working practices. Two of them, Takenaka Corporation and Tiong Seng Contractors, have developed innovative ways to address the risk of working at heights by creating safer working platforms. They will be sharing details of their projects later and I hope these will inspire you to also come up with WSH ideas for your workplace.
  7. Companies such as Takenaka Corporation and Tiong Seng Contractors appreciate the importance of WSH and use workplace innovation to help them be more productive and efficient. Workplace accidents and injuries can result in the loss of man-hours which translates into cost for the companies. Thus, maintaining a safe and healthy work environment is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do. A company with a good WSH record will gain trust among partners and clients as they know that the projects are in the hands of a safe and reliable company.

    8. MANAGING CRANE SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION SITES
  8. Other than work at heights, crane safety is another important area. As of end May3 this year , there were already 11 dangerous occurrences involving cranes, with most of them happening in construction sites, compared to 12 dangerous occurrences for the whole of 2014. So on the one hand, we have done quite well in managing fatalities, on other aspects – such as work-at-heights – we have other issues. This worrying trend prompted the government and the industry to initiate a series of interventions to arrest the situation.
  9. First, SCAL and the Singapore Crane Association initiated a Safety Time-Out exercise4 in March which involved over 180 worksites from 70 companies. Companies took time off their routine operations to take stock and review the safety measures at their work sites.
  10. Second, MOM launched an enforcement operation5 in late March targeting cranes and lifting operations. 147 WSH violations were uncovered resulting in fines, notices of non-compliance and stop work orders issued to the errant companies. While these efforts have prompted the industry to take immediate corrective actions, I want to stress that we must not depend on inspections or wait for safety time-outs before stopping unsafe work behaviour or practices. WSH must be our priority at all times.

    11. APPLICATION FOR THE DATA LOGGER FUND FOR CRANES
  11. In April, MOM announced that all mobile cranes must be retrofitted with data loggers by 1st August 20186 and new mobile cranes must be equipped with data loggers from August this year. The data logger records data on the crane’s operations, and whether safety devices on the cranes have been activated or bypassed. This will be useful when stakeholders, such as crane owners and occupiers, review and monitor lifting operations. It will also encourage crane operators to be more careful when operating the cranes. This will eventually lead to a safer and more efficient use of cranes.
  12. To help companies cope with the costs of installing data loggers on existing mobile cranes, the WSH Council will launch a co-funding scheme, the Data Logger Fund for Cranes7. From 3rd August 2015, companies can apply for the fund through the WSH Council website8. The Data Logger Fund for Cranes will cover up to 50% of the installation cost, capped at a maximum of $5,000 per mobile crane. Details on the fund application and eligibility criteria can be found on the WSH Council website. We encourage crane owners to retrofit your existing mobile cranes with data loggers early, so as to ensure safer operations, more efficient use of cranes and improved safety for your onsite workers and the public.

    13. ENCOURAGE ALL TO COME ONBOARD VISION ZERO MOVEMENT
  13. I’ve just shared some of MOM’s efforts to improve WSH in workplaces. For us to make progress in safety and health, a collective effort is required from all parties - developer, employer, supervisor as well as the worker. And it begins with a mindset change to be proactive about identifying and preventing workplace incidents.
  14. That is why we launched the Vision Zero movement during this year’s National WSH Campaign with the message “I can prevent all injuries and be safe at work”. Vision Zero is about having the mindset that all injuries and ill health from work are preventable and believing that zero harm is possible. With this mindset and focus on finding solutions to prevent injuries and ill health, we can make work easier, smarter and safer for us and our workers.
  15. With that, I wish SCAL success in your campaign and all of you, an enriching day ahead. Thank you.
1Construction contracts for the built environment sector are expected to reach between $29 billion to $36 billion in 2015, given a sustained pipeline of public sector projects. This follows an exceptionally strong performance in 2014 where the total construction demand set a new record of $37.7 billion, fuelled by a higher volume of institutional and civil engineering construction contracts. Details HERE
2For more information on the changes, please see the Factsheet on the Enhanced Demerit Points System for the Construction Industry.
3As of 25 May 2015, there were 11 dangerous occurrences involving cranes. Out of these 10, six of them occurred at construction sites.
4Led by the SCAL and Singapore Crane Association (SCA), the joint Safety Time-Out exercise was held from 9 to 15 March 2015 and focused on crane activities. For more details, click HERE.
5The enforcement operation targeting crane and lifting operations was conducted between 16 March and 2 April 2015. MOM’s inspections uncovered 147 crane-related WSH Act contraventions. 236 fines and Notices of Non-Compliance (NNC) were issued to 55 errant companies. Two worksites were also ordered to stop all work for more than ten days to rectify safety lapses.
6All mobile cranes registered with MOM from 1 August 2015 will have to be equipped with data loggers; and existing registered mobile cranes, including those registered before 1 Aug 2015, have to be retrofitted with data loggers by 1 Aug 2018.
7For more information, please see the Factsheet on the Co-Funding for Data Logger Installation in Mobile Cranes.
8Companies can visit the WSH Council website (www.wshc.sg/dataloggerfund) to find out on details on the requirement to equip mobile cranes with data loggers.