Occupational Safety and Health Division
Annual Report 2013
Contents
02
04
Director’s Message
34
About OSHD
14
OSHD 2013 Work Overview
76
Our WSH Framework
WSH Performance
20
Key Highlights for 2013
84
Forecast
90
People @ OSHD
DIRECTOR’S
MESSAGE
OSHD Annual Report 2013
DIRECTOR’S
MESSAGE
We need to strengthen personal ownership of
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH), where
everyone sees WSH as a way of life, taking
responsibility for their own safety and health and
that of those around them. This is only possible
when we believe that every injury and ill-health
arising from work is preventable.
Many a times, when we look at accidents in the
workplace, we get caught up in the numbers and
statistics but neglect what truly matters. Every
single life lost to an entirely preventable work
incident is indeed regrettable.
I n m a ny o f t h e s e a c c i d e n t i nve s t i g a t i o n s
conducted by my division, we witnessed the
shock, grief and disbelief of those co-workers
and loved ones of the injured or deceased worker.
Some wished that they could have done more
to prevent the accident, while others mentioned
that they lost many nights of sleep wondering
what went wrong in the system that they have
learnt to work and rely on. Injuries or deaths at the
workplace therefore not only affect the victim, but
also many others who are related to him or her.
As we reflect on Singapore’s Workplace Safety
and Health (WSH) journey, we are heartened
by the significant strides made in reducing the
fatality rate from 4.9 fatalities per 100,000
employees in 2004 to 2.1 per 100,000 employees
in 2013. Nevertheless, we remain cautious as there
were 22 construction fatalities in the second half
of last year. This was twice as many fatalities
compared to the first half of the year, and 5 more
compared to the same period in 2012.
The Editorial team of Annual Report 2013 has
adopted the theme “WSH is Our Way of Life” and
I personally feel that it cannot be more apt. We
need to strengthen personal ownership of WSH,
where everyone sees WSH as a way of life, taking
responsibility for their own safety and health and
that of those around them. This is only possible
when we believe that every injury and ill-health
arising from work is preventable.
To engender this, it has become important for us
in recent years to be thorough in our engagement
and outreach efforts – and 2013 was no exception.
Ranging from our annual National WSH campaign,
the inaugural Hospitality and Entertainment
Industries WSH Challenge, the launch of our Work
Injury Compensation Orientation programme
to industry forums and enforcement operations
a c c o m p l i s h e d t h ro u g h P ro g r a m m e - b a s e d
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Engagement (ProBE) Plus, we have not only successfully
managed to reach out to our stakeholders but also actively
educate them to adopt good WSH practices. Our WSH
advertisement, “This could be You”, was voted the viewers’
favourite national TV commercial for 2013. Winning the
Laurels Awards is indeed an honourable testament of our
WSH efforts that resonates with Singaporeans.
With the extension of the WSH Act in September 2011 to
cover all workplaces, there have also been efforts to improve
work-related Traffic Safety. In March 2013, following a spate
of high-profile work-related traffic accidents, MOM had
considered making such accidents reportable under the WSH
(Incident Reporting) Regulations. This would send a clear
signal that employers need to do their part to better manage
traffic safety for their employees on the road. After a round
of public consultations in September 2013 on proposed
amendments to address this issue, we are pleased to report
that there was a consensus supporting the amendments and
the law was amended in January 2014 to make reporting of
work-related traffic accidents compulsory.
To ensure that our programmes introduced over the years
remains relevant to the industry, we conduct regular periodic
reviews. One such example is the WSH Council’s bizSAFE
programme. In January 2013, the WSH Institute initiated a
study to evaluate the effectiveness of bizSAFE which was
developed in 2007 to promote good WSH practices by
helping companies build their WSH capabilities. The study
revealed that 81% of companies which engaged bizSAFE
enterprises prefer to engage them again because they
assessed that bizSAFE enterprises were better at managing
WSH and they could see the benefits in engaging bizSAFE
enterprises. 9 out of 10 bizSAFE enterprises also agreed that
bizSAFE had helped them to improve the safety and health
of their workplaces, and would recommend others to join.
However, the study also revealed that 28% of employers
from non-bizSAFE enterprises have not implemented
risk assessment in their workplace. Often the day-to-day
demands of running a business means that risk management
practices get passed over as something we don’t have time
for. Companies should treat risk management programme as
part of their organisation’s culture.
Once risk assessment is ingrained in your consciousness, it
will become a lot more manageable; it will become a way
of life. Just as workplace safety reduces your employmentrelated injuries and costs, so too can risk management
tools be used to reduce errors that lead to accidents. The
translation from assessment to implementation was also
another area of concern. To address these gaps, my division
will be reviewing the Risk Management framework to
enhance its coverage and effectiveness. More details will be
released when the working group has completed its review.
Notwithstanding, Singapore is at a juncture where she
appears to be seeing a plateau in her WSH performance and
outcomes. In order to reach our target of less than 1.8 in 2018,
we must strive for a breakthrough. We have identified ‘Total
WSH’ and ‘Vision Zero’ as two important approaches that we
believe will propel us in the next phase of our WSH journey.
Ensuring workplace safety represents only one half of the WSH
equation. As workplace health affects a worker’s wellbeing
and his capacity to work, equal emphasis must be placed on
both workplace safety and occupational health to ensure that
all aspects of safety, health and employees’ wellbeing are
addressed holistically which is known as Total WSH.
A new Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Health
chaired by Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower,
Dr Amy Khor (with senior representatives from Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Manpower, Health Promotion Board and
WSH Council) has been formed to propagate this initiative.
The Committee will work towards raising awareness of
Total WSH, develop the relevant industry capabilities and
incentivise its adoption among employers.
Adopting a Vision Zero mindset is the other important
building block to char t the way for ward in WSH for
Singapore. Vision Zero is the belief that no loss of life or ill
health arising from work is acceptable and that all workplace
incidents are preventable. Singapore is the first country in
Asia that has made reference to the basic principles of the
Vision Zero.
Hence, to gain a deeper understanding on the concept,
the WSH institute had the privilege to host distinguished
WSH thought leaders and experts from Singapore, Europe,
Canada and Australia to a forum in September 2013. Entitled
the “Next WSH Frontier”, the forum provided an opportune
platform to gain greater clarity and broad consensus among
stakeholders on how Vision Zero for WSH could be applied
in Singapore.
For us to realise our WSH 2018 vision of a country that is fully
committed to a safe and healthy work environment, your
support is crucial. Simple actions to ensure safety and health
at work can go a long way to protecting our employees and
our future workforce as well.
I hope this Annual Report will provide a glimpse of our work
in making a difference to peoples’ lives and we trust that it
will be an enriching read for you.
Er Ho Siong Hin
Divisional Director and Commissioner for
Workplace Safety and Health
03
ABOUT
OSHD
The Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHD) is a
division under the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) that promotes
Occupational Safety and Health at the national level. OSHD
works with employers, employees and all other stakeholders to
identify, assess, and manage Workplace Safety and Health risks
so as to eliminate death, injury and ill-health.
OSHD is also the WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational
Health, and the ILO CIS National Centre for Singapore.
OUR VISION
OUR MISSION
A safe and healthy work environment
for everyone; and a country renowned
for best practices in Workplace Safety
and Health.
To eliminate death, injury and ill-health
from all workplaces.
ABOUT
OSHD
Our Senior Management
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6
7
10
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1
8
9
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2
1. Er Ho Siong Hin
2. Dr Gan Siok Lin
4. Mr Chan Yew Kwong
5. Dr Jukka Takala
3. Mr Winston Yew
6. Mr Lai Poon Piau
7. Ms Ho Lai Fung
9. Er Mohd Ismadi
10.Mr Woon Cheng Peng
8. Dr Lee Hock Siang
ABOUT
OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Our Departments
OSH Policy,
Information
& Corporate
Services
Department
Departments in OSHD
OSH Policy,
Information &
Corporate Services
Department
OSH
Inspectorate
OSH Specialist
Department
Work Injury
Compensation
Department
These departments work together with the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and the WSH Institute.
The OSH Policy, Information and Corporate
Services Department (PICS) is the central
co-ordinating department within OSHD.
The department drives the divisional efforts
through sound policies & strategic planning
while striving for organisation excellence,
and analyses and identifies emerging WSH
trends and risks by leveraging on effective information
systems, quality resources and astute business
intelligence. The department also enhances organisational
excellence through developing organisational capability,
increasing staff competency level, improving staff
engagement and Work-Life Harmony as well as ensuring
continuous improvement in customer responsiveness
with the monitoring of customer standards.
OSH
Specialist
Department
The department provides specialist support in the
development of WSH standards and best practices, as well
as the investigation of complex accidents and occupational
diseases. The department conducts operational research,
develops and implements strategies and targeted
programmes for specific WSH hazards and industries.
The department also collaborates with international
organisations and national institutes in projects, information
exchange, visits and training.
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OSH
Inspectorate
The Inspectorate focuses on reducing safety and health
risks at workplaces by conducting inspections, surveillance
of workplaces and enforcing the law when necessary,
to ensure that workplaces maintain an acceptable level
of safety and health standard. The Inspectorate also
investigates accidents and lessons learnt from the accidents
are shared with the industry.
Work Injury
Compensation
Department
The department administers the system that
ensures the right of employees to compensation
in the event of work-related injury, death or
occupational disease under the Work Injury
Compensation Act (WICA). Covering all
employees in Singapore, the WICA provides
access to a low-cost, fair and expeditious alternative
to common law for employees to settle claims for workrelated injuries. The department also administers the Incident
Reporting system for the reporting of workplace accidents,
dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases.
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ABOUT
OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute was set up in April
2011 as part of Singapore’s WSH 2018 strategy to strengthen Singapore’s
capabilities in safeguarding the safety and health of persons at work,
and put us on par with global leaders. The WSH Institute will help MOM
and WSH Council recalibrate and ensure policies and programmes
continue to stay relevant and effective. Businesses in Singapore can
look to the WSH Institute for strategies and solutions to help them
address WSH issues. In addition, the Institute will also work with the
WSH Council to equip business leaders and WSH professionals with the
competencies to better manage safety and health at their workplaces.
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council Office is the secretariat
office for the WSH Council.
Established on 1 April 2008, the WSH Council comprises 18 leaders from
the major industry sectors (including construction, metalworking and
manufacturing, marine, healthcare, chemicals, logistics and hospitality
industries), the government, unions and professionals from the legal,
insurance and academic fields.
The Council works closely with MOM and other government agencies,
the industry, unions and professional associations to develop strategies
to raise WSH standards in Singapore and to realise the national WSH
2018 strategy.
Vision:
A safe and healthy
workplace for everyone;
and a country renowned
for best practices in WSH
Mission:
To lead industry efforts in
strengthening capabilities and building
a progressive culture in WSH
Departments
The Council’s main functions are to:
The WSH Council Office comprises of three departments:
• Set acceptable WSH practices; and
• Promote safety and health at work and
recognise companies with good WSH
records.
IPS&E
Industry
Practices,
Sensing and
Engagement
ICB
Industry
Capability
Building
S&M
Strategy and
Management
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A leading Institute for WSH
Knowledge and Innovations
Vision
Main Functions
• Build industry capabilities to better
manage WSH;
Vision:
Industry Practices, Sensing and
Engagement (IPS&E) department drives
The
the development and adoption of good WSH
practices and proposes solutions to achieve
sustainable improvement in WSH. IPS&E also
collaborates with industry stakeholders to
promote and raise industry-driven efforts in WSH.
The Industry Capability Building (ICB)
department drives WSH capability building
efforts at both the organisational and individual
levels. It implements initiatives such as bizSAFE,
Risk Management Assistance Fund (RMAF), WSH
Assist and CultureSAFE programmes to raise
WSH capability in businesses. It also oversees
the development of competency frameworks for
WSH professionals and the workforce as well as
the administration of accredited WSH training
providers to ensure that business enterprises and
their workforce are well equipped to deal with
operational risks at their workplaces.
The Strategy and Management (S&M)
department provides policy guidance, and
oversees the work planning, budget allocation
and
business
performance
monitoring
functions of the Council Office. S&M also works
with MOM to monitor critical milestones in the
implementation of WSH 2018 strategies.
Mission:
Enhancing WSH through Knowledge,
Innovations and Solutions
A leading institute for WSH Knowledge and Innovation
Outcomes
Centre of WSH
Knowledge
Centre of WSH
Research and
Solutions
Centre of WSH
Leadership and
Professional
Development
Strategies
Inform Policies
and Strategies
Create WSH
Solutions for
Businesses
Transform and
Nurture Capabilities
of Leaders and
Professionals
Strategies and Functions
Governance
To realise our vision of a leading institute for
WSH knowledge and innovation and achieve the
corresponding strategic outcomes, the Institute
will adopt the following three key strategies:
With effect from April 2012, WSH Institute came under the purview of
the WSH Council. A nine-member Governing Board, appointed by the
WSH Council, was formed to provide governance to the WSH Institute.
The WSH Institute Governing board provides strategic guidance and
directive to facilitate efficient governing of the Institute. It consists of
members from the industry, the labour movement, government and
institutions of higher learning. The board will ensure that the Institute's
work is relevant to industry, government and workers, tapping on
expertise distributed across organisations with capabilities in research,
education and training. The Institute also taps on the advice of MOM's
International Advisory Panel (IAP), which comprises of WSH experts
from countries with similar but more mature set-ups. These include
Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• informing WSH policies and strategies;
• Creating WSH solutions for businesses and;
• Transforming and nurturing capabilities of
leaders and professionals.
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ABOUT
OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Our Organisational Structure
With effect from March 2014
Occupational Safety and Health Division
Workplace Safety and
Health Council Office
Er Ho Siong Hin
Divisional Director and
Commissioner for Workplace
Safety and Health
Policy, Information
and Corporate
Services
OSH Inspectorate
OSH Specialist
Mr Lai Poon Piau
Executive Director
Work Injury
Compensation
Industry Practices,
Sensing and
Engagement
Industry Capability
Building
Workplace Safety and Health Institute
Dr Jukka Takala
Senior Consultant for
Workplace Safety
and Health
Strategy
and Management
Mr Lai Poon Piau
Executive Director
Dr Gan Siok Lin
Executive Director
• Research and
Solutions
• Knowledge Hub
• Leadership
and Professional
Development
• Planning and
Evaluation
Er Mohd Ismadi
Director
Mr Chan Yew Kwong
Director
Dr Lee Hock Siang
Director
Mr Woon Cheng Peng
Deputy Director
• Corporate
Development
• Construction
Operations and
Surveillance
• Engineering Safety
• Incident Reporting
and Investigation
• Information
Management
• Policy and Planning
• Construction
Investigations
and Enforcement
Capability
• Occupational Medicine
• Operations Planning
and Licensing
• International
Collaboration
• General Workplaces
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• Major Hazard
Installations
• Claims
Management
Ms Ho Lai Fung
Director
Mr Winston Yew
Deputy Director
• Industry Sensing and
Development
• WSH Manpower
Capability Building
• WSH Practices
• WSH Competency
Standards
and Accreditation
• Occupational Hygiene
• Marketing
Communications
and Engagement
• Strategy and
Development
(Construction)
• Enterprise Capability
Building
• Industry Programme
Management
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Our WSH
Framework
OVERVIEW OF
OUR WSH
FRAMEWORK
Principles
of OSHD’s
Workplace Safety
and Health
Framework
OSHD Annual Report 2013
First conceptualised in 2005, Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health
(WSH) framework guides the management of WSH by all stakeholders
including the government, industry, as well as all employees.
The framework is based on three key principles that are designed to
bring about greater industry ownership of WSH outcomes, and be more
proactive in preventing accidents by identifying and mitigating WSH
risks at source. Collectively, it aims to cultivate a shift in the mindset
of all stakeholders towards WSH, and have them adopt a proactive
approach to ensuring the safety and health of all individuals at the
workplace – from top management to the last worker.
The Workplace
Safety and
Health Act
1
It places the responsibility
for workplace safety on all
stakeholders along lines of
control at the workplace.
2
Principle 1:
Reduce risks at source by
requiring all stakeholders
to eliminate or minimise the
risks they create
To support the WSH framework, the Workplace Safety and Health
Act (WSHA) was enacted in 2006 – replacing the Factories Act. The
Act moves away from taking a prescriptive stance under the former
legislation and introduces a performance-based regime. It emphasizes
the importance of managing WSH proactively by requiring stakeholders
to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure the safety and health of
workers and other persons that are affected by the work being carried out.
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3
It facilitates effective
enforcement through the
issuance of remedial orders.
Features
of WSHA
It focuses on WSH systems
and outcomes, rather than
merely on compliance.
4
It imposes higher penalties
for non-compliance and
risky behaviour.
• Identifying and eliminating risks
before they are created
Principle 2:
WSHA also assigns liability to those who create and have management and control over WSH risks.
The stakeholder groups include:
Prevent accidents through
higher penalties for
poor safety and health
management
• Poor safety and health management
is costlier
Principle 3:
Greater industry ownership
of WSH outcomes
• Proactive planning to achieve a safe
and healthy workplace
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Key
Principles
Principals
Employers
Occupiers
who engage another person other
than those under a contract of
service to either supply labour or
to do any work for gain or reward.
who employ the
service
of
any
person to do work.
who occupy or
have control over
the management
of the workplace.
Owners, Installers
or Erectors
Self-employed
Persons
of machinery for use at work in
the workplace.
who work but is not under
a contract of service.
Manufacturers
or Suppliers
of machinery, equipment or
hazardous substances used
at work in the workplace.
Persons at Work
includes employee, i.e. one employed
under a contract of service, volunteer
or any other person training or
working under the employer such as
an industrial attachment student.
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OVERVIEW OF
OUR WSH
FRAMEWORK
OSHD Annual Report 2013
The Work Injury Compensation Act
WSH 2018: Visions, Outcomes
and Strategies
The Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) is
another legal instrument that governs WSH in
Singapore. It provides injured employees with a
low-cost and expeditious alternative to common
law to settle compensation claims.
The national target for WSH is to achieve
a workplace fatality rate of less than
1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018.
The WICA allows employees who have sustained
injuries in a work-related accident or contracted
an occupational disease to claim work injury
compensation. Dependants of employees who
died in a work-related accident are also eligible for
compensation. Claimable compensation includes
medical leave wages, medical expenses and for
permanent incapacity (if any) or death. Engaging
a lawyer to file a WICA claim is not required and
there is no cost involved in filing a work injury
compensation claim with MOM.
To support this target, MOM together with WSH Council
launched the National WSH 2018 strategy document in 2009.
It outlines the four strategic outcomes that contribute to our vision, of a
“Safe and Healthy Workplace for everyone and a country renowned for best practices in
Workplace Safety and Health”, as well as the four strategies to achieve these outcomes.
WSH 2018 VISION
Safe and Healthy Workplace for everyone and a country
renowned for best practices in Workplace Safety and Health
Unlike civil claims under the common law, the
employer (or employer’s insurer) is liable to pay the
compensation under WICA regardless of whether
the employer or the employee is at fault, as long as
the employee had suffered an injury by accident
arising out of and in the course of his employment
or had contracted an occupational disease as
defined in WICA. The compensation also applies
even after the employment has ceased or the Work
Pass (of a foreign worker) has been cancelled. The
amount of compensation is computed based on a
fixed formula and is subject to caps.
STRATEGIC OUTCOMES
Reduction in
workplace fatalities
and injury rates
WSH is an integral
part of business
Singapore is renowned
as a centre of
excellence for WSH
A progressive
and pervasive
WSH culture
STRATEGIES
An injured employee can claim from either WICA
or common law, but not from both.
STRATEGY 1
STRATEGY 2
STRATEGY 3
STRATEGY 4
Build strong
capabilities
to manage WSH
Implement an
effective regulatory
framework
Promote the benefits
of WSH and recognise
best practices
Develop strong
partnerships locally
and internationally
Do you know?
As an employer, you are responsible for the safety and health of your employees.
It is important that your employees know what to do if they are injured at work:
Notify Employer
as soon as possible
injury
Pass original
Medical Certificate (MC)
and medical bills to your
employer after each
treatment
MC
It is not necessary
to engage a lawyer
to file a claim under
WICA and MOM can assist
WICA Claim
MOM
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For more information:
Details of our WSH 2018 National Strategy, the Strategic Outcomes and the key focus areas
of the four Strategies can be located at the following link:
https://www.wshc.sg/wps/portal/wsh2018
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KEY
HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
National Workplace Safety
and Health Campaign
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Hospitality & Entertainment
Industries WSH Challenge
To increase WSH awareness in the Hospitality and
Entertainment Industries (H&EI), the inaugural H&EI
WSH Challenge was organised on 28 August 2013.
Held at Resorts World Sentosa, participants raced in a
competition against time tackling various workplace
hazards. Apart from the competition, more than
200 audience guests viewed interactive exhibits like
“Spot the Hazards” and augmented reality displays.
Prizes were awarded for the top three teams who
completed the challenge within the shortest time and
in the safest manner.
The annual campaign that sets the stage for
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council’s yearlong WSH outreach efforts and highlights the key
messages and plans for the year ahead was launched
on 20 May 2013 at The Cube, Asia Square by Guestof-Honour, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong.
In his opening speech, PM Lee highlighted the
importance of WSH and the role everyone could
play to instill safety consciousness and work
safety in the workplace. He explained that while
Singapore’s fatality rate had halved — from 4.0 per
100,000 employees in 2005 to 2.1 per 100,000
in 2012, there was still room for improvement as
Singapore’s WSH fatality rate generally lagged
behind that of developed countries. At the launch,
37 government agencies showed their support for
WSH with a commitment to raise safety standards
in public construction and development projects by
setting and enforcing WSH rules.
Chairman of the WSH Council, Mr Lee Tzu Yang,
also shared in his opening address that this
year’s campaign aimed to remind all workers that
accidents could happen to anyone and when they
do happen, the worker’s loved ones would also be
adversely affected.
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Work-Related Traffic Safety Management
Management of Traffic Safety has been traditionally
left to the Traffic Police (TP), who is the main
authority of Traffic Safety in Singapore. With the
extension of the WSH Act to all workplaces in
September 2011, we gradually adjusted processes
to play a bigger role in Traffic Safety.
In March 2013, following a spate of high profile traffic
accidents, a Traffic Safety workgroup was formed
within OSHD, together with WSH Council and WSH
Institute, to explore possible interventions to improve
Traffic Safety. Through the WSH Act, MOM influences
companies to play a bigger role in managing the safety
of vocational drivers, who form a sizeable proportion
of the traffic on public roads, while TP continues to
regulate all road users, through the Road Traffic Act.
The Traffic Safety workgroup identified
3 key focus areas
Driver
Management
Vehicle
Management
Environment
Management
As part of their sensing effort, a number of companies were interviewed and through the feedback and observations
gathered, the workgroup explored and introduced a number of initiatives under the above-mentioned 3 key focus areas.
In summary, the Traffic Safety Workgroup supported by the TP and Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) embarked
on the following key initiatives for the year:
Work Injury Compensation
Orientation Programme
The Work Injury Compensation (WIC) Department
conducts a Work Injury Compensation Orientation
Programme (WICOP) once a month in the MOM
Services Centre for injured Bangladeshi workers
who are placed on Special Pass. This programme
arose from the MOM’s survey conducted for walkin injured workers at the MOM Services Centre
which showed that this group of workers lack
understanding of the Work Injury Compensation
Act (WICA) and its processes. The programme is
hence aimed at providing Bangladeshi workers
with a basic understanding of their entitlements
under WICA, claims process, and the role and
responsibilities as a WIC claimant.
WICOP was well-received by the participants.
Most of them were of the view that the programme
was very beneficial as they had little knowledge of
their entitlements under WICA before attending
the programme.
Survey Results
Injured workers claiming for WIC
would benefit from this session
100%
YES
The pace of the presentation was just right
I understood the claims process better
I find the briefing beneficial and useful
The presentation slides was easily understood
Some verbatim quotes from the participants
Amendment of the WSH (Incident
Reporting) Regulations to require
the reporting of work-related
traffic accidents
WSH Guidelines on Workplace
Traffic Safety Management
Safe Driving of Vehicles Video: A A
WSH promotional video promotional
video targeting heavy vehicle drivers
was developed to educate the drivers
on traffic safety.
"We had a very
good advice today.
Thank you for all of
this talk!"
"The advice is
very good for
injured workers."
Fleet Management System Trial to track
vehicle travelling speed and location
Workplace Traffic Safety
Management Forum
"From today's
discussion, we know
many things and we
could be beneficial."
"This meeting is very
beautiful. A lot of
unknown things we find
out from discussion."
"I think this talk
is good for us
and we all know
many things"
Risk Management Workshops on
Traffic Safety Management to provide
practical guidance to the industry on
operational traffic management issues.
On the whole-of-government front, our Commissioner for WSH,
Er Ho Siong Hin is also a member of the Safer Roads Industry Taskforce
(SRIT). The SRIT serves as a platform for Government and Industry to
work together in creating and implementing safe driving initiatives for
vocational drivers and is chaired by Senior Minister of State for Home
Affairs, Mr Masagos Zulkifli. Moving forward, as efforts on work-related
Traffic Safety progresses into steady state, programmes and initiatives
would be planned for gradual transition into mainstream WSH Act,
towards greater industry ownership.
Photo credit: Home Team News, Ministry of Home Affairs
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
OSHD Annual Report 2013
7%
28%
84%
56%
bizSAFE Programme
Effectiveness Evaluation
More bizSAFE enterprises had WSH programmes in place
such as rewards and penalties to promote better WSH
outcomes. They were also less likely to rush workers to meet
tight deadlines as compared to non-bizSAFE companies (7%
vs 28%).
Background
Scope of the Study
In January 2013, the WSH Institute initiated a study to evaluate the
effectiveness of the bizSAFE programme.
The study saw the participation of 1,652 companies
comprising 868 bizSAFE enterprises, 522 nonbizSAFE Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),
and 262 bizSAFE Partners/Mentors and potential
clients of SMEs. 68% of the participants were
from the traditionally high-risk sectors such
as construction, manufacturing and marine
industries. The interviews were conducted via
phone calls, onsite visits and electronic survey.
bizSAFE was developed by the WSH Council in 2007 to promote good
WSH practices by helping companies build their WSH capabilities.
Since the introduction of the programme seven years ago, the number
of companies that have embarked on the bizSAFE journey has grown
from 550 to more than 17,000 today. Thus, it was timely to review the
programme to ensure it remains relevant to the industry.
Key Findings
The study showed that bizSAFE enterprises performed better than non-bizSAFE enterprises in terms of building capability
in managing WSH risks and demonstrating commitment towards WSH. The client companies saw value in engaging bizSAFE
companies and indicated higher willingness to pay more for their services over non-bizSAFE companies. The key findings of the
study are:
2/3 of these companies
81%
9 out of 10
bizSAFE enterprises agreed that
the bizSAFE programme has helped them improve the
safety and health of their workplace, and the majority of
all the enterprises would recommend others to join the
programme.
97%
and health risks in their workplaces, compared to 83% of
non-bizSAFE companies.
26
81%
of client companies said that bizSAFE enterprises
managed WSH better than their non-bizSAFE counterparts,
and would prefer to engage bizSAFE enterprises (over nonbizSAFE counterparts) for future contracts.
83%
97% of bizSAFE enterprises were aware of the safety
also responded that they
would be willing to pay
more to engage bizSAFE
enterprises.
61%
61%
39%
At the individual level, management staff of bizSAFE
enterprises demonstrated greater involvement and
commitment to WSH, with 84% attending WSH committee
meetings personally as compared to only 56% from the
management of non-bizSAFE companies.
Conclusion
The study revealed that the bizSAFE programme has succeeded in meeting its objectives to raise awareness, and in helping
companies build capabilities in managing WSH risks and build commitment towards WSH. It also found that bizSAFE has created
business value for bizSAFE enterprises as clients preferred to engage them for their better management of WSH and their superior
WSH performance.
The Next WSH Frontier
Close to 400 participants attended the Singapore WSH Institute Forum “The Next Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Frontier”, which
was held on 11 September 2013. International Association for Labour Inspection (IALI) President Michele Patterson, Secretary-General
Kevin Myers and Vice President Er Ho Siong Hin all participated in this event, which was organised by the WSH Institute with support
from the WSH Council and MOM. The forum provided a platform for local and international WSH leaders and experts to discuss the
growing international movement towards ‘Vision Zero’.
Dr Jukka Takala, then Executive Director of the
WSH Institute, opened the Forum and reminded
attendees of its two main objectives:
• To hear the thoughts of International WSH
leaders and experts and to gain their different
perspectives on ‘Vision Zero’
• To learn from the experiences of countries who
have already started their own journey towards
zero harm in workplaces
Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman of the WSH Council,
provided the opening address and called for a change
of mindset from thinking that it was somehow ‘ok’
for people to be killed or injured in the workplace,
or even to expect injuries to occur. The concept of
‘Vision Zero’ would be explored to discover how this
could guide the next phase of Singapore’s National
WSH 2018 Strategy to raise nationwide standards
and performance.
of workers from bizSAFE enterprises were involved in
the risk assessment process, as compared to 39% from nonbizSAFE companies.
27
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Major Hazard
Installations
Study Mission
to Europe
In May 2013, OSHD explored ways to enhance the management of
Major Hazard Installations (MHI) through the review of MHI framework.
The objective was to achieve a more rigorous, performance-based
regulatory regime.
To learn about international best practices on the holistic management
of MHI, Deputy Secretary for Manpower, Mr Augustin Lee, led a delegation
comprising government agencies (Economic Development Board,
Jurong Town Corporation, Ministry of Manpower, National Environment
Agency, and Singapore Civil Defence Force), industry partners and
union (WSH Council, Singapore Chemical Industry Council and National
Trade Union Congress) on a study mission to Germany, the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom in May 2013. The organisations visited included
regulators, companies and industry associations. They shared on their
journeys in the implementation of Seveso Directives, as well as their
challenges and perspectives on the benefits of Seveso Directives.
The study mission provided valuable insights in the following areas which will be
considered in the deliberation to enhance the MHI framework:
Speakers included Dr Walter Eichendorf of German Social Accident
Insurance (DGUV) and IALI Secretary-General Kevin Myers. Mr Myers spoke
about the successful achievement of zero fatalities during construction of
the London Olympic Park in 2012. He shared how the concept of '3 ships'
– Leadership, Ownership and Partnership is instrumental in driving
the culture change needed for WSH success. Leadership is crucially
important in driving industry ownership of risks and turning concern
into action. This will help to engrain a culture of self-regulation where
effective management of health and safety issues is seen as an enabler
for success of an organisation.
Enhancing effectiveness
of MHI management
framework
Building capability
of MHI community
Facilitating open
learning and sharing
among MHI
There was also a panel discussion about the concept of 'Vision Zero'
with sharing on how different countries manage expectations and
overcome challenges, including the key drivers towards its achievement.
Ms Michelle Patterson, IALI President, explained that Vision Zero can be a
combination of mindset, inspiration, process and habits. Everyone should
be involved in the process and discussions should range from health
and safety in the workplace to prevention efforts in the community.
Mr Kevin Myers also emphasised the importance of organisational
culture to Vision Zero, which he described as a journey and statement of
intention for change rather than a final destination.
Partnership
Leadership
Ownership
risk
risk
28
Synergising work
processes among
regulatory agencies
In his closing address, Commissioner for WSH and IALI Vice President,
Er Ho Siong Hin, summarised the discussion by emphasising that
‘Vision Zero’ is not about setting a target of zero injuries but a change
of mindsets. Beyond the Forum, Er Ho called for close collaborations
among stakeholders to work together in shaping the WSH landscape,
moving towards safer and healthier workplaces for Singapore.
risk
29
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
OSHD Annual Report 2013
National Crane
Safety Taskforce
The following are some updates on the Taskforce’s initiatives and
programmes for 2013.
The National Crane Safety Taskforce (“the Taskforce”), was formed in
July 2009, spearhead improvement of standards of Crane Safety in
Singapore and to address the occurrence of crane-related incidents at
the workplace.
1.Enhancing Competencies and Capabilities in Crane Safety
• Launched pilot 5-day Course on Appointed Person (AP) for Lifting
Operations in May 2013.
• Launched pilot Practical Workshop for Lifting Personnel
2.Enhancing Awareness on Crane Safety
i) IES-MOM-WSHC Technical Seminar for Mobile Crane
The Taskforce in collaboration with the Institute of Engineers
Singapore (IES), MOM, WSH Council and Lifting Equipment
Engineers Association (LEEA) organised the IES-MOM-WSH
Council Technical Seminar for Mobile Cranes on 27 February 2013.
This technical Seminar was attended by more than 125 participants.
Our Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, Er Ho Siong Hin
was the Guest of Honour. In his speech, Er Ho highlighted the need
to professionalise the Crane Industry as well as the importance of
collaboration between Crane stakeholders to raise the standards
of Crane Safety in Singapore. Mr Klaus Meissner, the President of
the European Federation of Materials Handling (FEM) for Product
Group Mobile Cranes and the Convenor of the Working Group
for EN13000(the European Safety Standard for Mobile Cranes),
delivered the keynote speech for the Seminar.
About the Taskforce
The Taskforce comprises key members from various stakeholder groups in the value chain,
including the government, crane manufacturers and suppliers, as well as other interest
groups. The Taskforce has undertaken the following three-pronged strategy to improve the
standards of Crane Safety in Singapore:
Enhancing
Competencies and
Capabilities
Enhancing
Awareness
Strengthening
Standards and
Practices
From the Singapore’s regulatory perspective, Er Mohd Ismadi, then
Deputy Director of OSH Inspectorate, shared with the participants on
the “Singapore’s collaborative approach in Raising Standards of Crane
Safety in Singapore”. The Seminar served as an excellent platform
for Mobile Crane Stakeholders to share technical knowledge. All who
attended the Seminar benefitted from insights shared by the speakers.
In its first term which ended in December 2012, the
Taskforce focused on putting in place necessary
system and structures for Crane Safety, covering
the common types of cranes and relevant crane
stakeholders. Term 2 of the Taskforce commenced
in December 2012 with tenure of 2 years. There
was a change in Chairmanship from Mr Tan Wee
Seng (former Singapore Managing Director for
Lend Lease) to Mr Akbar Kader, WSH Council
Member and Managing Director for Nan Guan
Construction Pte Ltd. In addition, the Taskforce
was expanded to include more representatives
from the Crane Industry. The focus of the
Taskforce also shifted to guiding implementations
of initiatives rolled out in the first term, as well as
driving greater industry ownership.
30
ii)
WSH Forum for Authorised Examiners (Lifting
Equipment)
On 11 April 2013, Engineering Safety Branch of
OSH Specialist Department, in collaboration with
WSH Council, organised a half-day WSH Forum for
Authorised Examiners (Lifting Equipment) 2013. The
Forum was attended by more than 60 Authorised
Examiners (AEs). This served as a regular platform
to update the Authorised Examiners on the recent
WSH matters as well as to gather feedbacks on the
existing regulatory regime for Lifting Equipment.
The first part of the forum consisted of several
OSHD speakers sharing on recent WSH updates
on Cranes and Access Equipments. The second
half of the Forum was an interactive session where
the AEs were split into small groups to discuss and
contribute feasible ideas and feedbacks to further
enhance safety for Lifting Equipment. The sharing
session was well-received by the AEs who found
the session informative and beneficial to their work.
As a follow-up after the Forum, OSHD shared the
consolidated summary of the key discussion items
with the AEs.
31
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FOR 2013
OSHD Annual Report 2013
iii) Crane Safety Symposium
The Taskforce, in collaboration with the Industries, MOM and WSH Council,
organised the Crane Safety Symposium on 29 October 2013. More than
400 industry stakeholders from the manufacturers, suppliers, approved
crane contractors, owners, supervisors and safety personnel attended the
Symposium which provided updates on the recent initiatives by the Taskforce.
Guest of Honour Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of Manpower
and Education delivered the opening address. He highlighted the key findings
of the Crane Enforcement Operation, codenamed “Operation Skylark”. SPS also
highlighted the safety concerns in the Crane Industry and shared some of the
Taskforce’s upcoming initiatives:
• On 26 April 2013, BCA organised a seminar
on “Ensuring Safe Design and Construction –
Contraventions and Enforcement” where Er
Theresa Liew, Principal Specialist, presented a
paper on “Raising Standards of Crane Safety
in Singapore – A Collaborative Approach”.
• Guidelines on the Establishment and Implementation of Lifting Plans
V) Inaugural Crane Carnival
In an effort to create a competent workforce in the Crane Industry, the
Taskforce was actively involved in the organisation of the Inaugural Crane
Carnival. Lead organisers Singapore Crane Association (SCA) and Singapore
Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), with the support of BCA, MOM and
WSH Council planned and launched this first Industry-led Crane Carnival
on 17 November 2013 at BCA Academy. The Carnival attracted over 800
participants comprising industry stakeholders, their families and the public.
Guest of Honour, Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of
Manpower and Education, delivered the opening address. He shared two
of SCA’s initiatives to ensure that the crane industry continues to have a
pipeline of trained, qualified and safety-conscious Crane Operators by:
• Keeping a database of Crane Operators, covering their level of experience
as well as their safety records through a Crane Operators Registry.
• Study of Accidents involving Crawler Cranes
• Continual Industry Engagement
• Setting up a one-stop training centre for crane-related training.
• Use of Data Loggers on Cranes
All who attended the Symposium benefitted from the best practices for
Crane Safety shared by the speakers as well as the interesting and innovative
products and solutions showcased at the exhibition booths.
• On 14 May 2013, LTA organised a LTA
Safety Workshop for its staff members.
Er Mohd Ismadi, then Deputy Director
of OSH Inspectorate, presented a paper
on
“Programme-based
Engagement
(ProBE) Plus on Crane Safety”. This event
was organised in conjunction with MOM
ProBE Plus Programme 2013, in which
Crane Safety together with Work at
Heights, had been identified as the key
priority areas for 2013.
Participants of the Carnival were engaged in a series of fun-filled activities
including crane demonstrations, hands-on workshops and safe crane lifting
competition. These activities served to educate participants on WSH in the
Crane Industry while injecting excitement and fun elements. The hands-on
workshop was a pilot Practical Workshop for Lifting Personnel launched in
this Carnival, intending to provide practical lessons and demonstration on
good lifting practice in an interactive and engaging setting. The workshop
was designed for the ground level workers in the lifting team. The Carnival
was a resounding success and was covered extensively by the media.
IV) Industry Seminar Series on Crane Safety
To assist the Industry to raise Crane Safety standards, WSH Council in
collaboration with the Taskforce and MOM worked closely with the various
industry associations and public agencies such as Singapore Contractors
Association Limited (SCAL), Association of Singapore Marine Industries
(ASMI), Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Land Transport Authority
(LTA) and Housing Development Board (HDB) to conduct a series of seminars/
workshops. As part of the series, the following events were held in 2013:
• On 21 March 2013, ASMI organised a “Workshop on Crane Safety in Marine
Industry” whereby Ms Liew Wan Sien, Principal Specialist, shared with the
Industry on “Salient Points on WSH (Operation of Cranes) Requirements
and Accident Case Studies”. The latter part of the Workshop involved
interactive group discussions on causes and lessons learnt from case
studies on accidents involving cranes. The workshop was attended by
more than 150 participants from the Marine Industry.
32
• On 1 October 2013, HDB organised a dialogue
session with its precast suppliers and invited
OSHD’s Engineering Safety Branch to share
on the technical requirements for gantry
cranes in precast yards. This dialogue session
aimed to inculcate a culture of good safety
and health practices in precast plants and
reinforce the message that poor crane safety
management could lead to costly losses.
3.Strengthening Standards and Practices in Crane Safety
From findings in OSHD’s Crane enforcement operations, one of the top 5
contraventions found was the failure to develop/implement effective lifting
plan. Hence the Taskforce identified the need to provide better guidance
in this aspect. A workgroup comprising members from the Industry
was formed under the Taskforce to address this need. The workgroup
first reviewed the existing Code of Practice for Safe Lifting Operations
and the amendment underwent a public consultation in December
2013. Subsequently, the workgroup would embark on launching a set of
guidelines on Establishment and Implementation of Lifting Plan.
33
STRATEGY 1
STRATEGY 2
or Re
an kp du
d lac ct
in e ion
ju fa
ry t in
ra alit
te ie
s s
al
gr
te ss
in ine
an us
is f b
SH t o
W par
Safe and Healthy Workplace
for everyone and a country
renowned for best practices
in Workplace Safety
and Health
A
an pr
W d p og
SH e re
r s
cu vas siv
ltu iv e
re e
IC OUTC
G
E
T
OM
A
R
ES
T
S
w
Implement an
effective regulatory
framework
WSH
2018 VISION
as
d or
ne f
w ce
no len
re el
is xc
e e H
or of S
ap tre W
ng n
Si ce
a
OSHD 2013
Work
Overview
STRATEGIES
Build strong
capabilities
to manage WSH
STRATEGY 3
STRATEGY 4
Promote the benefits
of WSH and
recognise
best practices
Develop strong
partnerships locally
and internationally
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
STRATEGY 1 –
BUILD STRONG
CAPABILITIES
TO BETTER
MANAGE WSH
Building WSH Capabilities
in the Workforce
Good WSH outcomes can only come about
through conscious effort by all workers in
managing safety and health at the workplace,
and it is critical that we equip all workers with the
necessary skills to do so.
Towards this end , OSH D has devised a
comprehensive strategy under our WSH 2018
master plan to build WSH competencies in the
workforce. Key outcomes we hope to achieve are:
• To grow the local pool of WSH professionals
from 5,500 in February 2009 to 19,000 by
2018; and
Local pool of WSH professionals
2009
Employers and relevant stakeholders must be able to manage
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) issues before they can
effectively drive WSH reforms and raise WSH standards.
Therefore, it is critical that stakeholders – WSH professionals,
management, line supervisors and workers – be equipped with
the relevant skills and competencies to better comprehend,
control and deal with WSH risks. These competencies go beyond
technical knowledge of WSH matters and include the skills and
behaviour that stakeholders must demonstrate or acquire.
To facilitate the building of strong capabilities, we also need
to ensure that the necessary support frameworks are in place.
There must be strong supporting institutions, including quality
training providers to guide the identification and development
of WSH competencies. Another key pillar would be the provision
of supporting resources – from financial assistance for Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to guidance materials.
5,500
2013
9,000
2018
19,000
• To equip WSH professionals and other
stakeholders (e.g. senior management, line
supervisors and workers) with WSH skills in tune
with latest developments at the workplace.
Specific efforts to build WSH competencies
include collaborating with the industry to develop
WSH training programmes, as well as to regulate
Accredited Training Providers in the delivery of
these programmes. Competency frameworks are
also developed for WSH professionals to help
equip them with the necessary WSH expertise as
well as to provide them with a flexible and clear
career progression pathway.
36
Enhancing Competencies
and Capabilities for Work
at Heights Safety
To help the industry ensure that their personnel
are adequately trained with the skills and
knowledge needed to be competent to work
safely at heights, the following initiatives were
ushered in 2013:• Launch of Work at Heights (WAH) Courses
A total of four WAH courses were launched in
2013. They were the WAH Course for Workers,
Supervisors, Assessors and Managers. Besides
imparting technical knowledge and skills, these
courses also expound on the role played by each
level of personnel in the organisation in ensuring
the effective implementation of appropriate and
suitable measures to prevent any person from
falling from heights while at work.
• Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Course for WAH
A TTT course that was specially developed
to prepare all accredited trainers of WAH
courses was launched in March 2013. The TTT
WAH course aimed to equip all trainers with a
comprehensive suite of practical fall prevention
and protection measures including the use of the
latest personal fall arrest system. It also served
to ensure consistency of standard among the
trainers when delivering WAH training for the
benefit of the industry,
• Launch of the 2-day Construction Safety
Orientation Course (CSOC) incorporating
WAH Elements
Falling from heights ranked the highest number
of fatalities in the Construction Industry in 2012.
The enhanced CSOC was targeted to help bring
about the change by including WAH elements in
its course curriculum such as practical training
for working on sloping roof and the proper
application of proper Personal Protective
Equipment. With the enhancement, the CSOC
was increased from a 1-day course to a 2-day
course with effect from 1 May 2013. The aim was
to provide the necessary safety training to all
construction workers and to inculcate good
and safe work practices in them.
37
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
Enhancing Competencies and
Capabilities for Crane Safety
Management of Hazardous
Substances Course
To help the industry ensure that their personnel are adequately trained
with the skills and knowledge needed to be competent to operate
cranes safely, the following initiatives were ushered in 2013:-
OSHD continued its efforts to build industry
capability on chemical safety management and
hygiene monitoring. In 2013, 325 participants
attended the Management of Hazardous
Substances Course, and 11 participants attended
the Sampling and Monitoring of Airborne
Contaminants Course conducted by the National
Environment Agency (NEA). In addition, 28
participants attended the Manage Hazardous
Substances Course under the Work force
Development Agency's (WDA) Occupational
Hygiene Professionals Singapore Workforce Skills
Qualifications (WSQ) Framework.
• Training Course for Appointed Persons for Lifting Operations
Singapore Standard SS 559:2010, Code of Practice on Safe Use of
Tower Cranes, stipulates requirement for an Appointed Person (AP)
to establish and implement a programme for the safe installation,
dismantling and use of the Tower Crane. The WSH Council's Code of
Practice on Safe Lifting Operations in the Workplaces also stipulates
the inclusion of an AP for complex lifting operations. As a capability
building initiative for AP, the National Crane Safety Taskforce, in
collaboration with MOM and WSH Council and working with the UK’s
Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), IES (Institution of
Engineers Singapore) and BCA (Building and Construction Authority)
Academy launched a pilot 5-daytraining course on Appointed Persons
for Lifting Operations in May 2013.
• Practical Workshop for Lifting Personnel
A hands-on pilot Practical Workshop for Lifting Personnel was
launched at the Inaugural Crane Carnival Singapore 2013 on 17
November 2013. The workshop, held at BCA Academy, was intended
to provide practical lessons and demonstration on good lifting
practices in an interactive and engaging setting. The workshop
intends to provide a platform for continual learning for lifting teams.
38
OSHD Annual Report 2013
GHS Awareness Seminars
and Courses
During the year, two Globally Harmonised System
of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)
Awareness Seminars were conducted to raise
awareness of hazard communication. A total of 11
runs of the GHS Chemical Users Course and one
run of the Single Substance Classification Course
were conducted to build industry capability in
chemical classification and labeling. A new 11/2day Course on GHS Classification for Mixture
Course was introduced to prepare industry for
mixture classification. In addition, a training
workshop on GHS hazard communication was
conducted for the Singapore Police Force and
an awareness talk on GHS was conducted at
Nanyang Technological University.
National Asbestos Control
Training Course
Two training courses namely (i) Survey Asbestos
and Other Fibres at the Workplace and (ii) Remove
Asbestos from Workplace were developed by
MOM, WSH Council and Workforce Development
Agency (WDA) under the Singapore Workforce
Competency Delivery
In addition to ensuring a curriculum that is validated against the
best industry practices, we ensure the effective delivery of WSH
courses by working hand-in-hand with our WSH training service
providers to ensure the skill and quality of accredited trainers.
• Requirement of full Advanced Certificate in Training and
Assessment (ACTA) for all Trainers
As part of the ongoing efforts to up skill and improve the quality
of accredited trainers, MOM and WSH Council have mandated
the pre-requisite for all trainers to complete and attain the full 6
Competency Units of WSQ ACTA by 2014.
Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework to train persons
to conduct asbestos surveys and remove asbestos
respectively. The Remove Asbestos from Workplace
course replaces the training course (developed by MOM
and NEA) on Asbestos Removal and Management by
Singapore Environmental Institute, which has trained a
total of 613 competent persons for asbestos removal work
over the last decade (from 2004 – 2013).
Confined Space Management
Programme
The Confined Space Management Programme aims to
prevent deaths and injuries in confined spaces from
gas poisoning, asphyxiation, fire and explosion through
enhanced confined space hazard management in
targeted workplaces. Under the WSH (Confined Spaces)
Regulations 2009, gas testing of the atmosphere of
a confined space must be carried out by a competent
person (designated as confined space safety assessor)
and the confined space must be certified safe before
entry into the space is allowed. A confined space safety
assessor must have sufficient training and experience to
perform the work required to be carried out under the
law. Similarly people entering or working in a confined
space must have first receive adequate safety and health
training before such entry or work.
The training of confined space safety assessors, workers
and supervisors has been streamlined in 2013. The
existing Confined Space Safety Assessor Course has
been replaced with the Assess Confined Space for Safe
Entry and Work Course developed under the WDA's
WSQ Framework. The current Safety Orientation Course
(Manhole) for Workers and the Safety Instruction Course
(Manhole) for Supervisors have also transitioned to the
respective WSQ competency-based training courses
namely (i) Perform Work in Confined Space Operations
(for workers) and (ii) Supervise Work in Confined Space
Operation (for supervisors).
• Audit of Accredited Training Providers (ATP)
A total of more than 40 ATP audits were carried out throughout
2013. It also included audits on new ATPs embarking on the
new 2-day Construction Safety Orientation Course which
encompass the Work at Heights components. More than 40%
of the total audits conducted were attributed by investigation
cases arising from complaints, whistle blowers and feedback
from trainees. The audits outcome resulted in 9 ATPs issued
with warning notifications, 3 ATPs issued with suspension
ranging from 2 to 4 weeks while 2 ATPs had their ATP status
cancelled due to integrity and fraud. Some of the common
findings include failure to adhere to the stipulated training
hours, providing answers to trainees and using of unapproved
trainers to conduct MOM accredited courses.
• WSH Train-the-Trainers (T3)Programme
In our efforts to facilitate WSH trainers to be well-equipped
in technical and soft skills to ensure effective delivery and
communication of up-to-date WSH knowledge to the workforce,
the WSH Institute, in collaboration with key stakeholders,
including Ngee Ann Polytechnic, initiated a continuing
education and training programme known as the WSH Trainthe-Trainers (T3) Programme. T3 is targeted at WSH training
providers, trainers and curriculum developers. In 2012, close to
430 participants from around 240 companies participated in
the T3 programme seminars and workshops which covered the
following topics:
• Managing Work at Heights
• Managing Confined Space Work
• Managing Chemicals and Hazardous Substances
• Fall Prevention Plan for Work at Heights Safety
A WSH T3 Advisory committee was also appointed by the
WSH Institute in July 2012. The committee comprises key
stakeholders who represent WSH training providers, WSH
trainers, professional bodies and organisations that include
the WDA, Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), and WSH Council.
39
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Building WSH Capabilities
in the Industry
Developing WSH capabilities in the industry is
another key aspect of OSHD’s work. Towards this
end, practical assistance on WSH management is
provided to the industry in the form of resources
such as financial assistance, technical advisories,
videos, guidebooks, special assistance kits and
online WSH e-toolkits. OSHD also implements
programmes to develop progressive and
pervasive WSH culture in the industry – a key
outcome under our WSH 2018 master plan.
bizSAFE
In Singapore, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
with annual sales turnover of not more than S$100
million or less than 200 employees account for
about 99% of the total enterprises. In view of
this, the WSH Council launched the bizSAFE
programme in 2007 to guide participating SMEs
through a five-step approach to raise their WSH
management capabilities.
Larger organisations with strong WSH capability
and leadership were enlisted as mentors and
partners. bizSAFE Partners help to raise overall
industry WSH standards by encouraging their
contractors and vendors to participate in bizSAFE
while bizSAFE Mentors share their best practices
and systems to guide participating bizSAFE
enterprises on their WSH journey. Today, many
large companies have since imputed WSH criteria
into their procurement exercise to ensure that their
projects and production could be better managed
with less unnecessary downtime due to incidents.
As of 31 December 2013, there are 16,940 bizSAFE
Enterprises, 309 bizSAFE Partners and 17 bizSAFE
Mentors participating in the bizSAFE programme.
16,940
bizSAFE
Enterprises
309
bizSAFE
Partners
40
17
Risk Management Assistance Fund
MOM introduced the Risk Management Assistance Fund (RMAF) in
April 2006. The RMAF was intended to help SMEs defray the cost of
engaging consultants to conduct risk assessments and to build in-house
capability in risk management. Every SME that had benefitted from
RMAF have implemented acceptable Risk Management and have since
progressed to bizSAFE level 3 or higher.
As of 31 December 2013, the RMAF has disbursed $22.05 million to
4,310 SMEs, with an additional $1.34 million already committed to help
another 429 SMEs.
RMAF
by 31 December 2013
Breakfast Dialogue for Chemical Industry
Breakfast Dialogue for Chemical Industry
$22.05
million
4,310
SMEs
additional
$1.34
million
429
SMEs
CultureSAFE Programme
Developed by the WSH council in
September 2012, the CultureSAFE
programme
guides
companies
to
develop a progressive and pervasive
WSH culture at their workplaces. The
programme comprises a unique WSH
culture model and index system complete
with methodical diagnostic instruments to gauge an organisation’s WSH
culture. Participating organisations could then formulate appropriate plans
and implement suitable initiatives to enhance their WSH culture’s attributes
and dimensions based on their CultureSAFE’s diagnostic results. By end
2013, about 150 companies have signed up for the programme.
Breakfast Dialogue for MetalWorking and Manufacturing Industry
BreakfastDialogueforMetalWorkingandManufacturingIndustry
• Culture Fund: An $8 million WSH Culture Fund was
set up to help SMEs implement the CultureSAFE
programme. On 01 October 2013, the proportion
of costs that SMEs can claim from the fund to
implement CultureSAFE was revised from 70% to
90%, with the cap limit remaining at $30,000 for
each SME. SMEs can use the fund to cover both
consultancy and implementation costs.
• Breakfast
Dialogues:
To
promote
the
adoption of CultureSAFE programme, three
Breakfast Dialogues have been organised for
companies from the Chemical, Construction
and Manufacturing sector in March, July and
October 2013 respectively. Reputable industry
leaders were invited as guest speakers to
share the challenges and benefits of their WSH
culture building journey.
Breakfast Dialogue for Construction Industry
bizSAFE
Mentors
41
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Practical Assistance
The WSH Council publishes Approved Codes
of Practices, Compliance Assistance Checklists,
Fact Sheets, Case Studies, Guidelines and
Technical Advisories to provide guidance on
recommended safety and health practices.
These materials were published in the
past year for the various industries
and was a result of collaborative
effort with key
industry players.
Code of Practice for Working
Safely at Heights (Second
Revision)
The Code of Practice illustrates
a variet y of fall control
measures and work practices
that can be adopted when the
risk of falling from heights, or
into depth, is present.
Workplace Safety and Health
Guidelines
–
Investigating
Workplace Incidents for SMEs
This guide provides general
guidance for incident investigation
methods and their related tasks
like information gathering, analysis,
implementation and review for
simple or direct incidents.
Workplace Safety and Health
Guidelines – Management and
Removal of Asbestos
A set of WSH Guidelines on
the Management and Removal
of Asbestos was developed to
assist stakeholders in complying
with the new regulations.
WSH Guidelines on Hospitality
and Entertainment Industries
Code of Practice for Safe
Lifting Operations in the
Workplaces (Second Revision)
The Code of Practice on Safe
Lifting
Operations
in
the
Workplaces
was
published
in 2011 to help the industry
better manage Crane Safety
and comply with the statutory
requirements for Lifting Plan
implementation. The National
Crane Safety Taskforce formed a workgroup in 2013 to:
i)Review and incorporate specific guidance on the
establishment and implementation of a quality Lifting Plan
into the ACOP. The revised ACOP was posted for public
consultation in WSH Council website in December 2013.
ii)
Develop practical guidelines with examples on
establishment and implementation of Lifting Plans.
The Workgroup plans to complete the guidelines and
sample Lifting Plans by 2014.
42
The hospitality and entertainment
industries employ a range of
staff who may be exposed
to a variety of safety and
health hazards depending on
their specific job scope. They
may be exposed to the risk of
musculoskeletal disorders and
injuries, health hazards such as
chemicals, noise, and thermal stress. There is also the risk
of injuries from slips, trips and falls, knocks, cuts, burns and
scalds, electrocution, fires and explosions.
This set of guidelines aims to provide information and
guidance on the:
Kitchen Safety and Health Pack
WSH Guidelines on Workplace
Traffic Safety Management
This Kitchen Safety and Health
Pack which consists of a
handbook, posters, stickers
and checklists highlights the
common hazards of working in a
kitchen. It is targeted to educate
supervisors and workers working
in the kitchen environment.
This set of guidelines highlights
potential hazards when vehicles
are used on the roads and
within workplace premises. The
guideline is recommended for
companies who own transport
or goods vehicles such as prime
movers, lorries, vans, tipper
trucks,
dumpers,
concrete
mixers, and so on. This publication also recommends
good industry practices through the establishment of a
traffic management plan.
Chemical Industry Case Studies
This booklet is a compilation of
21 local accident case studies
covering both occupational
safety
and
occupational
health. Each case offers insight
to past accidents that have
taken place together with
recommendations and learning
points. The compilation will be
a useful reference to Managers,
Supervisors and WSH Professionals in the chemical
industry, particularly those with a manufacturing or
operations portfolio and working in SMEs.
Activity-Based Checklists
These are a new series of
modular WSH checklists for
common work activities that
could be used across industry
sectors. Each activity-based
checklist would bring focus to
a particular work activity (for
example, the safe handling of
sharp objects), and lists the
recommended WSH practices
that should be put in place prior to work commencement
to ensure that the work can be carried out safely.
Forklift Safety Pack
This set of collaterals is targeted
to educate supervisors and
forklift drivers about safe
operation of forklifts. It consists
of a sticker conveying 5 key
messages regarding forklift
operations and a pre-operation
checklist for forklifts.
The 5 keys messages are:
• Authorised Operators Only
• No Speeding
• No Passengers
• Always fasten seat belt
• Check before reversing
Tentage
Safety
Based Checklist
Industry-
The Tentage Safety Working
Group (WG) was formed in
July 2012 to spearhead various
sector-specific initiatives to
improve WSH capability and
work practices with the aim to
professionalize this trade.
At the start of 2013, the WG
produced a tentage safety
industry-based checklist as
a reference to help tentage
stakeholders carry out tentage
work safely.
• Identification of common work hazards and their
prevention measures; and
• Establishment of safety and health programmes.
Employers should work together with employees to establish
a safe and healthy working environment in the workplace.
All of these resources are available for download at the following link:
https://www.wshc.sg/wps/portal/resources?action=infoStopHome
43
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
STRATEGY 2 –
IMPLEMENT
AN EFFECTIVE
REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK
Beyond capability building, we need to establish and maintain
an effective regulatory framework to implement the Workplace
Safety and Health (WSH) Act. Under this strategy, targeted
interventions and enforcement actions will be developed based on
a comprehensive analysis of industry trends and developments.
We will also review existing WSH legislation to ensure that they
remain relevant to industry trends. More emphasis will also
be placed on creating a self-regulatory framework in order to
promote greater industry ownership.
Legislative Review
To ensure that WSH remains robust and continues to be relevant to current operating conditions, we
are committed to reviewing WSH legislation regularly. At the same time, the Government will explore
streamlining administrative rules and engender greater industry ownership.
Active Review and Industry Consultation
With the enactment of the WSH Act on 01 March
2006, subsidiary legislation made under the
previous Factories Act continues to remain in
force. This is by virtue of the transitional provision
prescribed in section 66(14) of the WSH Act. In
consultation with the industry, MOM has been
actively reviewing the remaining subsidiary
legislation in 2013.
• WSH (Medical Examinations) Regulations
In the past, persons employed in the Vector
Control industry were required to undergo
medical
examinations
under
National
Environment Agency’s Control of Vectors
and Pesticides (Regulations, Licensing and
Certification) Regulations.
With the extension of the WSH Act to all
workplaces in 2011, the medical examination
of persons in the vector control industry need
to be regulated by MOM. This is being done
with the amendment to the WSH (Medical
Examinations) Regulations. The amended
regulations were gazetted and came into
operation on 01 January 2013.
• Work Injury Compensation (Workers’ Fund)
Regulations
Under
the
Work
Injury
Compensation
Act (WICA), a worker who contracted an
Occupational Disease (OD) would be eligible for
compensation so long as the worker had been:a)engaged in the occupational activity specified
in the Second Schedule of WICA; and
b) diagnosed with the OD during his employment
in this activity or with the time-bars specified
in the Schedule.
However, there are some ODs with long latency
periods such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and
silicosis, etc. which would exceed their timebars, resulting in the injured worker not being
able to receive compensation under WICA.
To provide financial aid to worker contracted with
long-latency ODs, the Work Injury Compensation
(Workers' Fund) Regulations were amended
to allow the use of the Fund’s monies to assist
the worker or, in the event of his death, any of
his dependants, to defray medical expenses
incurred by or on the behalf of the worker. The
amendment took effect from 01 July 2013.
Long latency Occupational Diseases include:
Asbestosis
Diseases caused
by ionizing
radiation
Dysbaric
osteonecrosis
Liver
angiosarcoma
48
Cd
cadmium
112.411
Mesothelioma
44
Occupational
skin cancers
Silicosis
Poisoning by
cadmium
45
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
New WSH Subsidiary
Legislation
• WSH (Work at Heights) Regulations
Fatalities while working at heights, especially
due to falling from heights have been the
top contributors of workplace fatalities and
have accounted for more than one-third of
all workplace fatalities over the past years.
Therefore, Work at Heights (WAH) safety is a
critical area that we must focus on in our efforts
to reduce workplace fatalities.
• Workplace Safety and Health (Incident
Reporting) Regulations and Work Injury
Compensation Regulations
Previously, errant employers had been gaming
the incident reporting system by asking doctors
to split up the medical leave of injured employees
such that it does not exceed 3 consecutive days.
Such errant practices not only affected the
injured employee’s recovery process, but also the
integrity of the incident-reporting framework.
From 06 January 2014, the WSH (Incident
Reporting) Regulations and the Work Injury
Compensation Regulations were amended to
require employers to report all accidents to
MOM which render their employees unfit for
work for more than 3 days, even if these are not
on consecutive days.
Additionally, employers must also report
work-related traffic accidents involving their
employees. This would send a clear signal to
employers that they need to better manage
traffic safety and also allows for MOM to better
track work-related traffic accidents.
• WSH (Asbestos) Regulations
Many old buildings in Singapore contain
asbestos
or
have
asbestos-containing
materials (ACMs). These asbestos and ACMs, if
inappropriately handled during demolition, can
create serious health issues for workers who
are not protected. Inhalation of asbestos fibres
can result in asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung
cancer. It is therefore important to ensure that
proper procedures are put in place to prevent
harmful exposure when removing asbestos.
A review of the existing Factories (Asbestos)
Regulations uncovered inadequate provisions
in addressing exposure to asbestos particularly
46
In April and May 2012, OSHD engaged the
members of the National WAH Safety Taskforce
and the Industry Committees of the WSH Council
to tap on their industry experience and gather
feedback and suggestions on the legislative
requirements for WAH. A public consultation
exercise on the proposed WSH (Work at Heights)
Regulations was undertaken. For key industry
stakeholders, a Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
was also held to allow interactive engagement
and deliberation on the proposed regulations.
The FGD was attended by employers, industryled bodies, unions and professional bodies.
Feedback was also solicited from other industry
stakeholders via the REACH portal.
during demolition, alteration, addition or repair
work. With the shift in the main work activity
involving asbestos from manufacturing of
asbestos containing material (ACM) to removal
of in-placed ACM, it is necessary to amend the
existing legislation.The proposed Regulations
are targeted to come into operation in 2014.
The Factories (Asbestos) Regulations was
being reviewed (with extensive consultation
with industry and stakeholders) to enhance
protection of persons against asbestos. The
new set of regulations which will be gazetted
as the Workplace Safety and Health (Asbestos)
Regulations, are targeted to come into operation
in 2014.
The main requirements are:
• An asbestos survey shall be carried out by a
competent person to ascertain the presence
of ACMs before carrying out any work that
involves a specific material likely to contain
asbestos or any demolition or renovation work
in buildings built before 01 January 1991.
• Asbestos removal work can only be carried out
by Approved Asbestos Removal Contractor
who shall appoint a competent person to
supervise such work.
• A written plan of work shall be established and
implemented to ensure asbestos removal work
can be carried out safely.
• ACMs shall be removed before demolition of
buildings.
• Measures shall be taken to minimise asbestos
release during work involving asbestos and
to prevent the spread of asbestos beyond the
asbestos work area.
• Revocation of Factories (Person-In-Charge)
Regulations & Factories (Certificate of
Competency – Examinations) Regulations
Advancement of technology in automatic
control and monitoring devices enhances the
safety of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE)
and steam boilers by ensuring that they operate
within safe limits. In view of this technological
advancement and to align with the overarching
WSH legislative framework, OSHD conducted
a review of the regulatory framework for the
operators under the Factories (Persons-inCharge) Regulations and Factories (Certificate
of Competency-Examinations) Regulations.
The review led to the revocation of these
Regulations in which MOM ceased to license
the operators by transiting from a licensing to a
competency-based regime.
In summary, the respondents were generally
supportive and agreed to the promulgation of a
dedicated set of regulations on WAH as the new
set of regulations would raise industry standards
in the long run. The Regulations put in place a
systematic and rigorous regulatory structure to
ensure proper execution of control measures and
safe work procedures for WAH. The key features
include establishment of a Fall Prevention Plan,
implementation of a Permit to Work System for
WAH and legislative requirements governing
the use of industrial rope access system. The
Regulations were gazetted and came into
operation on 01 May 2013.
On 03 May 2013, OSHD signed a Memorandum
of Cooperation with Singapore Polytechnic,
appointing latter as the body issuing the
Certificate of Competency (COC) for Steam
Engineers and Boiler Attendants. Eligible
candidates, who have the necessary experience
on operation of steam boilers, can obtain COCs
from Singapore Polytechnic after they have
successfully attended and passed the required
training courses and examinations.
47
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Workplace Inspections
Licensing
Penalties
Workplace Inspections form the backbone of
the regulatory and enforcement framework of
the Occupational Safety and Health Division
(OSHD). Through workplace inspections, we
help to ensure that workplaces have basic
safety and health standards in place and
stakeholders are proactive in their safety and
health management.
OSHD leverages on licensing as an enforcement
tool to control access to activities deemed to
have a significant impact on WSH in Singapore.
Licences fall into five broad categories:
• Factory Notification & Registration;
• Licensing for Equipment;
• Licensing for Equipment Operators;
• Licensing for Safety Professionals; and
• Licensing for Service Providers.
Penalties are essential part of the OSHD’s regulatory and enforcement
framework. Stakeholders who contravene any provision of the WSH
Act or subsidiary legislations may be subjected to various forms
of penalties such as fines, debarment from hiring foreign workers,
suspensions, revocation of registration, and a jail-term. Two key
programmes that form part of OSHD’s enforcement framework
include the Demerit Points System and Business Under Surveillance.
Under our licensing framework, stakeholders
must demonstrate sufficient levels of competency
before they are allowed to perform the controlled
activities. They are also expected to maintain
their competency levels through participating
in activities like attending courses or engaging
firms to conduct independent audits of their
WSH Management Systems at regular intervals.
Licensing criteria and conditions are reviewed
regularly to ensure their relevance to industry WSH
developments, and the licensed organisations
and persons continue to possess knowledge and
skills that meet industry needs. For example,
amendments were made to the Accredited
Training Provider Terms and Conditions to
strengthen assessment systems and processes,
improve accountability and clarify ambiguities.
The Demerit Points System (DPS) was introduced in 2000 to encourage
construction contractors with poor WSH records to improve on their
performance. They will receive a warning if they accrue more than 18
demerit points across all their worksites in a 12-month rolling period.
If any of their worksites accrue a further 18 points, the worksite will be
barred from hiring foreign workers.
Sustaining the inspection and enforcement
presence has been an uphill battle for OSHD.
With the extension of the WSH Act to cover all
workplaces in September 2011, and the general
increase in business activity due to economic
growth, the number of worksites that need to
be inspected has been growing. It has become
more critical for OSHD to ensure that our
limited resources are allocated strategically so
that we can continue to maintain a regular and
sustained inspection and enforcement presence
in both the current and newly covered sectors.
Auxiliary Enforcement Agency
The utilisation of Auxiliary Enforcement Agency (AEA) services
complements OSHD’s enforcement efforts and extends its reach to low
risk sectors that are not covered by our own inspectors at OSHD. AEA
inspectors are trained to perform inspections of low risk workplaces
and hence allowing OSHD to optimise resources by deploying its own
inspectors strategically, focusing enforcement efforts on the higher risk
and more critical sectors.
Since the engagement of AEA from May 2011, OSHD observed good
compliance rates in the workplaces visited. The visits conducted by
AEA helped to foster an increased awareness of OSHD’s enforcement
presence in the industry and inculcate mindsets towards safer and
healthier workplaces.
Joint Inspections
OSHD also conducts workplace inspections together with other
divisions within MOM and with external agencies such as Energy Market
Authority and Housing Development Board.
These joint inspections form a basis for leveraging on the knowledge and
experiences of the entities involved, and allow for information sharing
and better understanding of the requirements of different departments
and agencies. Joint inspections also ensure that the safety and health
standards required by each agency are aligned such that the required
benchmark on safety and health is achieved.
48
Demerit Points System
To allow public and developers to access the performance of contractors
through DPS, the MOM website maintains a list of contractors with accrued
demerit points. Construction companies that demonstrate satisfactory
WSH performance and do not accrue any further demerit points for a
continuous period of more than 12 months will be removed from the list.
In 2013, a total of 76 companies were issued demerit points and 20
companies received warning letters after accruing 18 demerit points or
more. No company’s worksite accrued further demerit points to result in
the debarment of foreign workers.
At the same time, licensing systems and processes
are constantly being reviewed and streamlined,
so as to improve work efficiency and customer
experience. The initiative allowing customers to
make payments for OSHD bills or apply crane
operator licences at any 10 SingPost branches
strategically located across Singapore won the
"Most Impactful Rules/Services Reviewed Award. "
Positive customer feedback was also gathered
for the renewal of WSH Officer online registration
system that was enhanced in October 2013. WSH
Officers are now able to submit the WSH activities
they have participated during their registration
period for the purpose of Safety Development
Units required for renewal.
Competent organisations and persons that do
not comply with WSH legislations or terms and
conditions of registration may have their licenses
suspended or cancelled. In 2013, 20 competent
organisations or persons received various
forms of penalties, including official warnings,
suspensions or cancellations for non-compliance.
49
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
Business under Surveillance
Th e B usin ess un d e r S ur ve illa n ce (B U S)
programme is a targeted enforcement programme
that targets poor performing companies for close
surveillance. Companies on the BUS programme
would have typically recorded serious accidents,
attracted numerous enforcement actions such
as Stop Work Orders, or were warned under
the Demerit Points System. The programme is
designed to help these companies raise their WSH
standards to a sustainable level so that they can
effectively manage the risks associated with their
work activities.
The BUS programme consists of two phases –
Assessment and Surveillance. The Assessment
phase involves rigorous and methodical audit
review on companies that are of concern
to ascertain the effectiveness of their Risk
Management programme as well as the strength of
their WSH Management Systems. Companies that
do not meet the criteria of the Assessment would
then be placed under the Surveillance phase.
During the Surveillance phase, OSHD works
closely with the senior management and WSH
personnel of BUS companies to carry out a gap
analysis and to develop outcome-based action
plans and closely monitor the companies’ WSH
performance. BUS companies can only exit from
the programme upon successful completion of
the implementation of their Action Plan, achieving
satisfactory audit outcomes and favourable
accident records.
In 2013, BUS helped to address the systemic
weakness of more than 55 companies.
50
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Accident
Investigations
Strategic
Intervention
Accident investigations are another key pillar in
OSHD’s regulatory framework. OSHD strongly
believes that learning from past accidents and
mistakes is critical in driving WSH improvements.
We will carry out investigations of serious
workplace incidents, such as fatalities and
dangerous occurrences. The investigations aim
to uncover the root cause(s) of the incidents so
as to guide the development and implementation
of effective control measures and systemic
interventions to prevent recurrence.
With the help of risk profiles and other measures,
we are able to identify groups of stakeholders
who have the greatest need for intervention
and tailor measures to suit their needs.
Critical findings and lessons learnt from accident
investigations will be disseminated to various
industry stakeholders for learning purposes. This
is done through the WSH Council’s WSH Bulletin
(a free e-newsletter featuring incident alerts, case
studies, WSH articles and announcements) as well
as through publications and videos. Investigations
also help OSHD to determine the culpability of
parties responsible for the incidents so that the
appropriate punitive action can be sought either
administratively, or based on the WSH Act.
Operation Skylark
Crane Safety continued to be an enforcement
priority for OSHD in 2013 . A specialised
enforcement operation “Operation Skylark” was
launched by the Engineering Safety Branch.
The island-wide blitz commenced from July to
September 2013, covering 90 worksites and
focusing on lifting operation of mobile cranes,
overhead travelling cranes and gantry cranes.
Errant companies were subjected to stringent
legal actions for contravention of the various
regulations. Key findings of the enforcement
operation were shared with the Industry at the
Crane Symposium held on 29 October 2013.
To disseminate the findings and learning points,
OSHD issued a press release on 29 October 2013
on Operation Skylark, covering the enforcement
operation which resulted in 61 companies being
issued with fines. 189 contraventions were
uncovered with 107 Composition Fines and 82
Notices of Non-Compliance issued. Mr Hawazi
Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower
and Education, highlighted the key findings of the
Operation in his speech at the opening of the Annual
Crane Safety Symposium 2013.
In light of a number of high profile crane accidents
in September and October 2013, the media
was invited to one of the OSHD’s enforcement
operations. This allowed the media to cover and
publicise MOM’s efforts to improve crane safety.
This enforcement operation with wide media
coverage helped to emphasise OSHD’s strong
stance on crane safety and heighten industry
awareness in this area.
51
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Operation Flamingo
This would include blacklisting/debarring employers from hiring foreign
workers for various offences such as employer wilfully giving false
statement to jeopardise his injured worker’s claim, failure to pay injured
worker’s compensation, non-reporting of workplace accidents and/or
failure to maintain proper insurance coverage.
Following Operation Peregrine, another series
of intensified inspections named Operation
Flamingo, was also conducted over a period of two
weeks in October 2013. This operation focused
on scaffold safety, formwork safety, excavation
and work at heights in the construction industry.
A total of 268 inspections were conducted,
resulting in 5 Stop-Work Orders and over
300 Composition Fines and Notices of NonCompliance issued.
In the event of non-compliance, both errant employers and employees
can also be prosecuted when there are egregious breaches of the law.
Regular Inspections and
Audit Checks for Work
Injury Compensation
Insurance Compliance
In 2013, a total of 4 employees were convicted under WICA for
wilfully providing a false statement.
3 Employees paid
1 Employee went for
because of
False statement
because of
False statement
$2000 – $4000 fine
6 Weeks jail
The Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA)
requires all employers to maintain adequate Work
Injury Compensation (WIC) insurance for
(i) all employees doing manual work, regardless of
salary level; and
(ii) non-manual employees earning $1,600 or less
a month.
This insurance requirement is to help employers
meet their WICA liabilities in the event of an accident,
so that injured employees who are in this more
vulnerable group are assured of compensation.
For other employees doing non-manual work with
monthly earnings of above $1,600, employers can
decide whether or not to buy insurance for them. In
the event of a valid claim, the employer will still be
required to pay the compensation even if there is
no insurance coverage for this group of employees.
Operation Peregrine
Operation Peregrine, a series of intensified
inspections which targeted safety lapses in the
construction industry, was conducted from midAugust to September 2013. Unsecured openings
without barricades, unsafe scaffolds, and poor
housekeeping conditions continued to be the
main areas of construction work that were found
to have safety lapses from Operation Peregrine
inspections.
A total of 191 inspections were conducted, resulting
in 15 Stop-Work Orders and over 700 Composition
Fines and Notices of Non-Compliance issued to
errant companies.
52
MOM conducts regular inspections and audit checks
to ensure that proper WIC insurance coverage
is maintained. The Work Injury Compensation
Department (WICD) has engaged Auxiliary
Enforcement Agency (AEA) Inspectors to check on
valid WIC insurance coverage provided by companies
for its employees as part of their workplace
inspections. The purpose was to augment WICD’s
reach for inspecting companies to ensure adequate
insurance coverage is maintained. It is a good platform
for WICD to ensure employers’ compliance of the
WIC insurance requirement and raise the importance
of maintaining adequate insurance coverage.
In the same year,
6 employers were also prosecuted under WICA.
2 Employers paid
2 Employers paid
$1600 – $1800
fine
$6000 – $10,000 fine
because of Failure to
pay compensation
because of Failure to pay
compensation &
non-insurance
1 Employer went for
1 Employer went for
because of
False
statement
because of Failure to
pay compensation &
non-insurance
2 Weeks jail
6 Weeks jail
Tightening Work Injury
Compensation Investigations
and Enforcement Actions
On top of regular Inspections and audit checks
to encourage WIC Insurance Compliance, WICD
is also tightening its investigative efforts and
carrying out stronger enforcement actions against
errant employers and employees who flout the law
or game the overall WIC system so as to provide
adequate deterrence.
As we tighten WIC investigations and enforcement actions, WICD will
continue to work with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure
that all injured workers in need are given the necessary assistance. We have
assigned dedicated officers to act as liaisons to the NGOs, giving them
prompt access to someone who can assist them. We also established an
NGO referral protocol so that NGOs can provide assistance to the worker.
53
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Management of Hazardous Chemicals
Programme
Launched in 2011, the Management of Hazardous Chemical Programme
(MHCP) aims to prevent and control chemical hazards, and to protect
persons at work against such hazards. The ultimate objective is to
prevent illnesses, diseases and injuries resulting from exposure to
hazardous chemicals. One of the targeted outcomes of MHCP is 95%
of workplaces inspected have implemented an in-plant Hazardous
Chemical Management Programme by 2018.
Noise Induced Deafness
Prevention Programme
Noise Induced Deafness (NID) has been the most
prevalent occupational disease in Singapore,
accounting for about 80% of occupational
diseases. The Noise Induced Deafness Prevention
Programme (NIDPP) was launched in 2007
aiming to manage workplace noise hazard, and
reduce NID incidence. Since then, more than 500
workplaces have been identified to have excessive
noise and placed under the programme. These
identified workplaces are required to put in place
an in-plant Hearing Conservation Programme
(HCP) to conserve the hearing of persons who are
exposed to excessive noise. The HCP has five key
elements namely noise monitoring, noise control,
hazard communication, medical surveillance
and hearing protection. A set of HCP Guidelines
has been developed to provide guidance on
HCP implementation. As a result of targeted
interventions, many workplaces have eliminated
or controlled noise hazards. To date about 370
workplaces remains in the programme.
With the enactment of the WSH (Noise)
Regulations 2011, the HCP Guidelines were
revised in 2013 to provide updated information
on noise monitoring, noise exposure assessment,
noise report submission, and duties of persons
conducting noise monitoring. A Noise Forum
titled “A Fresh Approach to Managing Workplace
Noise” was held on 12 July 2013 at Toa Payoh’s
HDB Hub to update stakeholders on the updated
HCP Guidelines and the changes made to noise
monitoring and reports submission. The half-day
event attracted some 500 WSH professionals
and provided a platform for learning and sharing
on good practices on noise hazard management
at workplace. The forum also featured the
latest noise monitoring equipment and hearing
protection devices.
54
The key elements of the programme are:
!
Hazard
communication in
respect of labelling
and safety data sheet
Hazard assessment and
control in respect of
storage, handling and
disposal of chemicals
!
Workplace
monitoring and
medical surveillance
Training and
education
!
Personal
protection
Emergency
response
An audit exercise on management of chemicals was conducted at 24
chemical laboratories at two institutions of higher learning where a spate
of accidents occurred due to poor chemical safety management. The
audit findings indicated that all the laboratories audited have complied
with the key elements of the programme after the accidents.
In addition, an enforcement exercise was carried out at 21 workplaces
using corrosive chemicals such as acetic acid, nitric acid, sulphuric acid
and sodium hydroxide. A total of 2 composition fines and 36 Notices
of Non-Compliance were issued for non-compliance with the relevant
requirements of the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations. These
workplaces have implemented an in-plant MHCP after the intervention.
The Permissible Exposure Levels (PEL) of toxic substances as prescribed
in the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations are continually reviewed to
ensure their relevancy to protect workers and they are in tandem with
worldwide standards. In 2013, the PEL for hydrogen fluoride, toluene,
sulfuric acid, ber yllium,
epichlorohydrin, hydrogen
chloride,
acetonitrile ,
hydroquinone and acetic
anhydride were reviewed.
Th e review ta kes into
consideration the scientific
basis for establishing the
PEL and the corresponding
occupational exposure limits
set by industrialised countries.
Implementation of the Globally
Harmonised System of Classification
and Labelling of Chemicals
The Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling
of Chemicals (GHS) is a hazard communication system through
standardised classification of chemicals, labelling of containers and
preparation of safety data sheets. The implementation of GHS in
Singapore is coordinated by a multi-agency GHS Taskforce comprising
representatives from nine relevant regulators (Ministry of Manpower,
Ministry of Trade and Industry, National Environment Agency,
Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Police Force, Maritime and
Port Authority, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, Civil
Aviation and Authority of Singapore and Health Sciences Authority),
two industry councils (WSH Council and Singapore Chemical Industry
Council) and Singapore Institution of Safety Officers. Co-chaired by
Ministry of Manpower and Singapore Chemical Industry Council, the
Taskforce held regular meetings to deliberate on GHS implementation
through five key strategies namely:-
GHS
Promoting GHS
Building industry
capability
Establishing
regulatory
framework
Engaging
stakeholders
Developing strong
partnerships
National Asbestos Control
Programme
Asbestos is a hazardous substance of worldwide
concern . The National A sbestos Control
Programme was initiated with an objective to
protect persons against asbestos and eliminate
asbestos-related diseases. In Singapore, the
import and use of asbestos in buildings was
banned in the late 1980s. However, asbestoscontaining materials still exist in old buildings and
structures. Notification of work involving asbestos
materials is mandatory under the Factories
(Asbestos) Regulations.
In 2013, 251 notifications were received by MOM
and strict control measures were imposed for
asbestos removal work. 10 Composition Fines were
issued for non-compliance with the regulations.
55
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Enhanced Regulatory Framework
via Technology
New technologies offer OSHD innovative methods to enable timely
intervention as well as more effective and efficient enforcement outcomes.
SNAP@MOM
SNAP@MOM is the first mobile application developed by MOM at the
national level, to provide an official feedback channel for any witnesses
of WSH issues or best practices.
Witness and submit
feedback via
SNAP@MOM
Mobile iOSH
Integrated Occupational Safety and Health System (iOSH) has been
our primary processing and transactional system in supporting all
OSHD business and processes. Notwithstanding, it is an application
on desktop and is not be able to support offsite processes such as
inspection, investigation, clinic visits, court hearing etc. These manual
intensive processes create bottlenecks and compromise our capability
to respond effectively and timely whenever the need arise.
With this mobile application, workplace occupiers are aware that
their WSH practices and workforce’s behaviour could be under the
scrutiny of the members of public. Hence, they will be more motivated
to enhance their WSH behaviour; system and practices which would
correspondingly lead to better WSH outcomes. Under this system,
any received feedback will be directed to the responsible workplace
occupiers for their immediate actions so risks at workplaces can be
quickly eliminated. Commendable practices of WSH at work can also
be highlighted to the respective workplace occupier.
Feedbacks uploaded
to backend
servers
Mobile iOSH is a game-changer that will fundamentally bring
transformation for improved performance and optimisation of
resources. With mobile capability, the initiative could address the
problem of our business deficiency by enabling our offsite processes
and digitising our inspection experience with seamless integration of
our mobile iOSH and iOSH back in office. This project will eventually
translate to high tangible business savings and will continue to generate
more exponential returns in the longer term.
OSH Command, Control &
Communications
Workplace
occupiers alerted
by email
Our investigation efforts form a big part of OSHD’s enforcement
framework and a more efficient investigation process produces better
enforcement efforts that directly translate to better business outcomes.
In tandem with this desired outcome, there is a need for the proper
management of OSHD’s resources when responding to a major accident
scene (i.e. crisis management). Hence, the OSH Emergency Operations
Centre (EOC) will be activated to fulfil the following:
a.Plan and coordinate all response actions;
b.Manage all information flow to and fro the accident site (including the
information release to the media and MOM senior management); and
c.Support the recovery and investigation efforts of the on-site team.
Workplace
occupiers carry out
follow up action
While this is a self regulating system put in place
for the industry, MOM retains oversight of the
entire WSH landscape and may take intervention
actions when necessary.
56
“OSH Command, Control and Communication” (OSHC3) is an effort to
enhance our existing crisis management capabilities to the next level by
leveraging on technology and best practices. OSHC3 comprises 2 phases;
the first involves physical setup of the infrastructure, the integrated video
display and incident management log system. The second phase involves
business intelligence capabilities such as hotspot recognition, time series
analysis and other geo spatial analytics. The 2nd phase is where we expect
to see potential productivity gains and costs savings. The system will aid
inspectors to pre-empt and identify critical problem areas to target our
enforcement efforts effectively.
VIDz@MOM
Envisioned under OSHC3 framework, VIDz@MOM is
one of the cornerstones of the JEDI (Joint Enforcement,
Detection and Intelligence) along with Snap@MOM,
Geo@MOM and Mobile iOSH. VIDz@MOM forms
the interactivity and mobility principle of OSHC3,
providing imagery for the purpose of managing
ground operations and investigations. The EOC team
shall operate from the OSHC3 command centre to
acquire full situational awareness and visibility. With
better appreciation and control of the on-site recovery
and actions through a live video feed, the EOC team
will be able to make prompt and informed decisions
that will help support the inspectorate team on site.
57
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
STRATEGY 3 –
PROMOTE
THE BENEFITS
OF WSH AND
RECOGNISE
BEST PRACTICES
Outreach & Engagement
To encourage businesses to adopt good Workplace Safety and
Health (WSH) practices, it is important they recognise that
good WSH practices will enhance business competitiveness.
Businesses should be made aware that good WSH practices can
bring benefits such as a good corporate image, cost savings in
terms of higher productivity, and fewer disruptions to work due
to accidents. It is also necessary to reach out to the workforce
and encourage workers to adopt good WSH practices.
Guest of Honour Dr Amy
Khor, Senior Minister
of State for Health and
Manpower, congratulated
the
winners
and
highlighted the need for
change to raise WSH
standards. She noted that
it was time to put equal
emphasis on workplace
health as well as workplace
safety to better protect
the ageing workforce.
In addition, we should continue to recognise employers
and workers who demonstrate good WSH practices and
behaviours, and encourage them to share their experiences
with the industry. Such sharing of best practices will further
encourage cross-learning and facilitate the environment of
continuous improvement. This will help build a strong safety
and healthy culture, which will eventually elevate Singapore’s
state of WSH development.
We adopt a robust public outreach strategy with
multiple touchpoints to promote the benefits of
WSH and to share the latest in WSH developments.
From WSH-related conventions, forums to clinics,
there were numerous opportunities in 2013 for
businesses to discuss and deliberate on how best
to enhance their WSH management system and
improve WSH standards.
Workplace Safety and
Health Awards 2013
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Awards
celebrate and recognise companies and individuals
on a national level for excellence in WSH. Jointly
organised by the WSH Council and the Ministry of
Manpower (MOM), the Awards ceremony was held
on 30 July 2013 at Marina Bay Sands. 192 award
winners were honoured at the ceremony.
In his welcome address, Mr Lee Tzu Yang,
Chairman, WSH Council, continued using the
theme of “Change” to chart the history of the
Council. The Chairman also reflected on the work
to be done. “We can all take pride in the progress
but our journey is far from over,” he concluded.
bizSAFE Convention 2013
The bizSAFE Convention 2013 was held on 22 February 2013 at the
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Themed “Invest in WSH for Business
Success,” the Convention provided opportunities to Small and MediumSized Enterprises (SMEs) to learn from the bizSAFE community about
their successful WSH journeys.
The Convention opened with a plenary session with Mr Tan ChuanJin, Minister for Manpower, as the Guest of Honour. While explaining
how safety can contribute to business success through productivity,
operational efficiency and reputation, he urged business leaders and
supervisors to focus on safety because every worker has the right to go
home safely and it is the right thing to do.
bizSAFE Awards 2013 were presented to 11 bizSAFE companies
to recognise their commitment and effort in creating a safe and
healthy environment at their workplaces through sound and effective
management of WSH risks. Close to 800 participants attended the
Convention, of whom more than 50% were non-bizSAFE members. This
was testament to the industries’ continuous commitment to WSH and
the growing WSH awareness among newer industries.
58
59
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Promote Awareness and Adoption of
Design for Safety
Programme-Based
Engagement Plus
Design for Safety (DfS) is a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to
integrate safe construction, safe maintenance and safe demolition at
the start of the project from conceptual design stage onwards. 2013
saw a number of joint industry events to promote awareness and
adoption of ‘DfS’ so that risks identified from the design stage and
during construction are recorded and transparent to all relevant parties
involved in the project. Two key industry events included:
“Targetting Where It Matters” is a key driver for
developing the programmes and initiatives. The
national Programme-Based Engagement Plus
(ProBE Plus) is a national intervention programme
by MOM and WSH Council that aims to reduce
the key contributors of workplace fatalities and
injuries, which is validated through calibrated
enforcement and engagement with industry.
(I) International Conference on WSH for Construction Industry
The 2nd International Conference on WSH for the Construction Industry
was held at BCA Academy on 13 and 14 August 2013. This conference was
organised by Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Singapore in
collaboration with BCA Academy and WSH Council, with DfS as one of
the main themes.
Guest of Honour Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister for Manpower, also gave
out the DfS Mark to representatives from Land Transport Authority,
the 2013 winner of DfS Mark in Singapore. The DfS Mark is part of the
DfS Recognition Scheme initiated by the WSH Council to recognise
projects and competent DfS teams which had adopted DfS to reduce
risks in the design of buildings and structures.
(II)WSH Workshop on DfS of Skyrise Greenery
The WSH Workshop on DfS of Skyrise Greenery was well attended by
more than 200 stakeholders from the building, facilities management
and landscape sectors. Organised by WSH Council and National
Parks Board, the event was part of the International Skyrise Greenery
Conference 2013, which was held from 07-09 November 2013 alongside
GreenUrbanScape Asia. A local project, Treehouse, was featured
followed by a workshop conducted by Dr Michael Behm, Associate
Professor, Occupational Safety, East Carolina University.
The ProBE Plus framework also supported and
operationalised key programmes and initiatives
under the industry-led national WAH and Crane
Safety Taskforces respectively. Key initiatives under
the National Taskforces operationalised through
ProBE included various industry forums and
enforcement operations with media coverage so as
to share findings and amplify desired key messages.
The ProBE Plus framework consists of three
phases:
Phase 1 – Intel: Leveraging
on technology and working
closely with key partners to
identify key ground issues.
Phase 2 – Engagement and
Communication: Extending
e n g a g e m e nt ef fo r t s to
promulgate ProBE initiatives.
Phase 3 – Enforcement and
Monitoring: Allow review
and reinforcement process
for ProBE target groups and
outcomes
For 2013, ProBE Plus
has identified Work at
Heights (WAH) and
Crane Safety as its key
focus areas based on
key accident trends in
the previous year.
Safety Compliance
Assistance Visits
The Safety Compliance Assistance Visits (SCAV)
programme is a key initiative under the National
WAH Safety Taskforce, which involved appointed
WSH professionals to visit and provide onsite
compliance assistance to small worksites.
In 2013, SCAV conducted 800 worksites visits by
WSH professionals. These provided invaluable
opportunities for accident prevention. The
SCAV specifically intervened at 61 worksites
that exhibited imminent danger that could have
resulted in serious injury and/or fatalities.
These intervened worksites would be advised to
stop work immediately and carry out the necessary
rectifications. The respective occupiers were then
given one working day (after the visit) to revert
back to SCAV on the progress of rectifications.
Worksites that ignored SCAV’s advice were given
reminders before referral to OSH Inspectorate for
further intervention.
Mobile Elevating Working Platform Safety
Engineering Safety Branch from OSH Specialist Department collaborated
actively with WSH Council and the industry to organise many outreach
events which served as a good platform for our Specialists to share with
the industry on OSHD’s efforts in promoting safety and the benefits of
WSH best practices. For instance, Engineering Safety Branch regularly
worked with International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), which is
a non-profit organisation that promotes the safe and effective use of
powered access equipment worldwide. Its head office is based in the
United Kingdom and IPAF has played a key role in promoting many of
the design, safety and test procedures that are now established in the
powered access industry. Some of such outreach events were:
i)Forum on Mobile Elevated Work Platforms
Held on 30 April 2013, this forum was jointly organised by Singapore
Institution of Safety Officers (SISO) and IPAF with support from MOM.
The objective of this forum was to provide a platform for sharing of
safety perspectives for all users and stakeholders in the Mobile Elevated
Work Platforms (MEWP) industry. Presentations covered key critical
factors such as pre-use inspections, maintenance, specifications of
the equipment and the safe use of MEWP. Mr Go Heng Huat, Deputy
Director (Major Hazard Installation) delivered the opening address.
Under WAH, ProBE
Plus focused on a) Falls
from Roofs, b) Falls
from Structures, c) Falls
from Mobile Elevated
Work Platforms and
Scaffolds and d) Falls
from Ladders.
60
61
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
ii) IPAF Asia Conference
The second IPAF Asia Conference was held
on 02 August 2013. This full-day conference
featured international industry speakers sharing
their expertise on how MEWP can be used to
improve safety and productivity, including case
studies from manufacturers, rental companies
and users. Er Mohd Ismadi, then Deputy
Director (Engineering Safety) shared a paper
on “Powered Access Safety – Maintaining
the right Balance between Regulations and
Engagement”. The conference was attended
by over 140 international participants from 14
countries comprising representatives from
manufacturers, rental companies, contractors,
safety authorities and delegates.
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Involvement in Outreach Seminars
and Forums
Fostering a Trusted Work
Injury Compensation System
Throughout 2013, many outreach seminars and forums were jointly
organised by WSH Council, MOM and the industry, academia and
professional organisations. Such seminars and forums served as a good
platform to raise awareness and share with the industry the Ministry’s
efforts in promoting the benefits of WSH best practices. Some of such
outreach seminars and forums were:
One other focus for the year for the Work Injury
Compensation Department (WICD) was to correct
misconceptions and foster trust in the Work Injury
Compensation (WIC) system. For instance, one
misconception is that some workers perceive that
a lawyer is required in order to claim work injury
compensation, while some are not clear on the
assistance that the Ministry provides to file an
injury claim under the Work Injury Compensation
Act (WICA). To strengthen the understanding
of WICA , various education and outreach
programmes were rolled out to reach out to
workers and their employers on WICA rights and
obligations, and that they should approach MOM
on their WIC issues.
26 January 2013
09 May 2013
Seminar on Developments in
Workplace Health –
Challenges and Opportunities
WSH Facilities Management
Forum
07 September 2013
23 September 2013
WSH Forum for the Landscape
Industry
ProBE Plus Work at Heights
Forum on Roof Work Safety
24 September 2013
02 October 2013
• Dedicated interpreter
Dedicated interpreters are also provided onsite so that any issue that
the foreign worker may face can be better understood for resolution.
• Comic Strip
MOM has produced
the following comic
strip to illustrate, in
a light-hearted way,
the message that
MOM is there to help
with employees’ work
injury compensation
claims for free.
• WIC Guidebooks for Employees in 8 languages
In particular for the segment of foreign workers
who may not be conversant in English, WICD has
translated its WICA materials into various native
languages. In addition to the English version,
the employees’ guide has been translated
into 7 languages common among the foreign
community within Singapore. These include
Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Bengali, Hindi, Myanmese
and Thai.
• Monthly WSH Bulletins
To educate employers on their work injury compensation issues, WICD
also leverage on WSH Council's monthly WSH Bulletins. Presented
in a condensed, easy-to-understand manner, the bulletins cover a
wide range of issues including
employer’s obligations to ensure
the safety and well-being of
their employees, claim process
and case studies of prosecution
under the WICA.
Issued on 27 May 2013
Work Injury Compensation (WIC) Tips for Employers 4: Common misunderstandings about
Incident Reporting vis-a-vis Compensation
WSH Forum for Improving
WSH Performance through
Process Safety and People
WSH Forum for Manufacturing
Sector on Safe Hands
25 October 2013
19 November 2013

As an employer, you are required under the law to report an incident to MOM
under the following scenarios:
English
Chinese

An employee died in a work accident

An employee sustained a work-related injury or contracted a disease due to
work exposure to biological / chemical agent and
Hospitalized for at least 24 hours or
Given MC for more than 3 consecutive calendar days

An employee contracted an Occupational Disease
Malay
Issued on 17 Apr 2013
Work Injury Compensation Tips for Employers 2: Pay MC Wages and Medical Expenses for your Injured
Worker
MOM
DO YOU KNOW…?
As an employer, you are responsible for medical leave wages and
medical expenses of your worker injured at work, even if they have
been dismissed.
I am liable to pay
compensation for my employee’s
injury or illness once I file an incident
report to MOM.
Incident
Reporting
does
not
automatically
qualify
employees
for
compensation. When in doubt, you should still
report and indicate your doubts. MOM will then
investigate the admissibility of the claim.
Pay medical leave (MC) wages to your employee
•
•
•
Singapore Veterinary
Conference
Jurong Gateway Safety Group
Workers’ Outreach
20 November 2013
28 November 2013
ProBE Plus Work at Heights
Forum
62
WSH Forum for the Hospitality
and Entertainment Industry –
"ABCs of Kitchen Safety"
Tamil
Bengali
Hindi
No later than the usual pay day.
Even if worker has left the company or work permit has been cancelled.
Even before the insurer pays.
Please ensure that your workers are promptly treated for their work injuries or work-related
conditions. Delays in treatment may result in permanent incapacity or even death. As long as the
medical treatments are linked to the work accident and considered necessary by the medical
practitioner, you need to pay medical expenses up to a cap of $30,000 (as required under WICA)
directly to the hospital or clinic. This includes for example, providing a Letter of Guarantee (LOG) to
the hospital as a guarantee of payment.
For failing to make prompt payment of medical leave wages and medical expenses for their injured
employees, four companies have been blacklisted by the Ministry of Manpower this year and not
allowed to apply for work passes. The restrictions were lifted only after the companies rectified the
lapses and paid up the compensation amounts, as well as put in measures to prevent similar
recurrence in the future.
For more information about WICA and the claim process, you can download a copy of our latest guides
here.
Myanmese
Thai
I have bought Work Injury
Compensation Insurance. I have
already informed my insurer about
the accident who will follow up on the
claim.
Compensation is not
required for non-reportable
accidents.
You are required to report the
accident to MOM even if you have informed
the insurer. Do not assume insurers will follow
up on all aspects of a claim. Please update
MOM on any further developments such as
additional MC days and information on WIC
insurance policy.
Employers are still required to
compensate injured workers for non-reportable
but work-related incidents (e.g. employee
given 2 days’ MC). Please ensure your policy
covers all your potential liabilities under WICA.
For more information on WICA, please visit our website at http://www.mom.gov.sg/wic.
WSH Bulletin is a free electronic newsletter published by WSH
Council. Emailed to subscribers 2 to 3 times weekly, the WSH Bulletin
keeps WSH professionals and interested stakeholders updated on
local and international WSH-related matters and developments.
To subscribe, visit: https://www.wshc.sg/
63
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Research, Studies and Learning
To achieve our vision of being a country renowned
for best practices in Workplace Safety and Health
(WSH), OSHD will continue to drive our research
endeavours so that Singapore can be at the
forefront of WSH developments in the world.
departments, employer associations and companies and service
providers, including occupational health providers.
International Conference
on Fall Prevention and
Protection
Mr Tan Boon Kiat, Senior Manager of WSH
Institute attended the International Conference
on Fall Prevention and Protection 2013 held at
the National Institute of Occupational Safety
and Health (JNIOSH), Tokyo, Japan from 23 – 25
October 2013. Organised by the International
Ergonomics Association Technical Committee on
Slips Trips and Falls and JNIOSH, the conference
provided a technical forum on various aspects of
fall prevention and protection including slips, trips.
Following the conference, Mr Tan was attached to
the Construction Safety Research Group for one
week to learn more about JNIOSH’s research work.
Study Trip to the UK on
Holistic Management of
Workplace Health
From 23 – 27 September 2013, Dr Lee Hock
Siang, Director OSH Specialist, and Dr Lucy
Leong, Principal Specialist, participated in a
study trip to the United Kingdom to study the
implementation of a more holistic approach to
improve the health of the working population.
This was led by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of
State, Health and Manpower. Other delegates
included representatives from the Ministry of
Health, Health Promotion Board and the National
University of Singapore. The study trip looked
into the integration of Workplace Safety and
Health across public agencies, best practices in
health and well being, fit for work service and the
delivery of holistic occupational health services.
Visits were made to ministries and governmental
64
SCIC – MOM Dialogue Session
The SCIC–MOM Dialogue session is an annual
exchange session where important WSH messages
and OSHD initiatives are shared. For 2013, the
Dialogue was held on 20 August and attended
by about 50 SCIC members from the chemical
industry. The Dialogue included updates on the
revision of SS506 Part 3, the Globally Harmonised
System and the revocation of Factories (PersonsIn-charge) Regulations and Factories (Certificate
of Competency - Examinations) Regulations as
well as the sharing of the findings of the Major
Hazard Installation Study Mission to Europe in May
2013. The Dialogue further strengthened OSHD’s
working relationship with the chemical industry.
“Learning from Incident” Sharing Session
Engineering Safety Branch Technical
Training Series
Practising engineers value lifelong learning skills and the importance of
continual learning. Engineering Safety Branch (ESB) Technical Training
Series is launched so that we can provide OSHD engineers with up-todate training and knowledge on advances of technology in their areas
of expertise. Thus, ESB in OSH Specialist Department organised several
customised technical training and practical workshops for our OSHD
engineers in 2013.
i)1-Day Mobile Elevating Work Platform Course for MOM Inspectors
25 OSHD Engineers attended this 1-day customised course which was
conducted by a renowned overseas trainer from International Powered
Access Federation (IPAF). This 1-day comprehensive and rigorous
course served to equip our Engineers with technical and practical
knowledge of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWP) and updates on
international standards and technological developments. The course
was well-received by the attendees with many positive feedbacks that
the session was informative and beneficial to their works.
The sharing session on 20 March 2013 was jointly organised by Singapore
Chemical Industries Council (SCIC), Shell and MOM with the objective
of sharing the Shell Bukom pump house fire incident through casual
learning principles, using the bowtie concept as an insight into process
safety and starting the dialogue on existing practices and how process
safety can be improved.
The session featured a video produced by Shell showing the
circumstances leading to the fire, followed by small group discussions
facilitated by Shell and a plenary sharing. Participants discussed how the
fire could have been avoided and safe methods of removing flammable
residual from pipelines. The discussion also deliberated how companies
can ensure safety measures remain effective in the workplace. This event
was very well received, with participants commending Shell’s openness
in sharing with the industry what went wrong and their improvements
after the fire. This session was a first and a major step forward for this
industry; raising expectations and paving the way for others to share
openly for the purposes of improving WSH standards in the industry.
ii) 1-Day MEWP Manager Course
The 2nd Hazards Asia Pacific
Symposium
This was a 1-day course for personnel who plan, supervise and
manage the use of MEWP in the workplace. Attendees received
instruction and training to prepare for and safely coordinate the use
of MEWP.
On April 2013, Ms Jacqueline Liew and Mr Oh
Hong Jia from OSH Specialist Department
attended the 2nd Hazards Asia Pacific Symposium
2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hazards Asia
Pacific Symposium 2013 is a bi-annual conference
focusing on the latest developments in chemical
process safety and sharing of best practices
with special emphasis placed on the challenges
f a ce d by o p e r a to r s
i n th e A s i a P a cif i c
region. The Symposium
incorporated plenar y
sessio ns supp o r te d
by
a
twin
track
technical programme
containing more than
40
pe e r- reviewe d
papers with keynotes
speakers consisting of
international renowned
figures from the process
safety industry.
65
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Engineering Safety Branch
Technical Visits
Specialist Learning Club
Series
Engineering Safety Branch (ESB) of Specialist
Department regularly conducts visits to Equipment
Manufacturers or Suppliers’ workshops to learn
more about the current practices on the ground
for safety matters as well as to learn more about
the maintenance and inspection regime for such
equipment. This is imperative for our continuous
effort for ground sensing and on site practical
learning. We would also time-to-time meet up
with Manufactures to know about the latest
technological developments of these equipments.
Some of these visits for 2013 included:
OSH Specialist Department regularly conducts
Learning Sessions where External Speakers are
invited to speak on various topics of interest to our
Specialists. Where appropriate, the programme is
also extended to other OSHDians depending on
the relevance of the subject matter.
WSH Research Commissioned
To date, the WSH Institute has 8 on-going RFP
projects. In 2013, The WSH Institute has awarded
a total of 6 RFP (Request for Proposal) research
projects with Institute of Higher Learning and WSH
consultancy firms. Details of the projects awarded in
2013 are summarised below.
OWLinks is a free electronic newsletter published by the WSH Institute.
Emailed to subscribers monthly, OWLinks reviews and recommends
articles on safety and health issues from around the world. Through these
articles, readers could gather insights on new WSH ideas and solutions,
emerging issues and potential changes in our future landscape.
To subscribe, visit: http://www.wshi.gov.sg/
Some of the Specialist Learning Club Series
sessions that were conducted for 2013 include:
° Attaining Certified Industrial Hygienist
• Mobile Elevating Work Platform
° Industrial Dust Explosion Risk Management
i. National University of Singapore
Prototype Fall Protection System
Wizard: A design support system
to improve the selection and design
of personal fall protection system
ii.National University of Singapore
Intelligent review of Design for Safety
using safety knowledge-based
building information modelling
iii.National University of Singapore
Intelligent system for determining
productivity and safety index using
building information modelling
iv.Nanyang Technological University
Behaviour-centred,
communications-reinforced
approach to workplace safety
v.Institute of Occupational Medicine Potential occupational exposure
to nanoparticles in Singapore
(Nanomaterial Value Chain Assessment
also known as NanoEXS project)
vi.Institute of Occupational Medicine
Occupational ill-health in the
Singapore Construction Sector
which includes cancer and nonmalignant respiratory diseases
• Mini Outrigger Crawler Crane
WSH Institute Forums
WSH Institute
Forum on “Maximising
Returns through WSH
Innovations”
WSH Train-theTrainers (T3) Risk
Management
Training Forum
° Recognising and Managing Work-Related Stress
• Suspended Scaffold
The WSH Institute organised a forum, entitled “Maximising Returns
through WSH Innovations”, at the NTU@One North Campus on 30
January 2013. About 200 participants attended the event. Participants,
mainly WSH professionals, were updated on WSH Innovations to help
them work more effectively and efficiently.
Speakers included:
• Mr Richard Webster from Safe Work Australia – He shared that the cost
of work-related injuries and illnesses amounts to 4.8% of the Australian
GDP.
• Ms Heidi Tan from Tan Tock Seng Hospital – She shared the
importance of an ergonomics program within an organisation as
well as some tips on maintaining good postures at work.
Other highlights included presentations on two mobile applications:
- SNAP@MOM by Ms Patricia Chen from MOM
- ergo@WSH by Ms Peggy Heng from WSH Institute.
66
The WSH Institute organised a half-day WSH Trainthe-Trainers (T 3 ) Forum on Risk Management
Training on 22 March 2013. The forum was targeted
for WSH trainers who conduct training on WSH
risk management. More than 180 participants
attended the forum, including WSH trainers and
practitioners from various industries. The forum
was very well-received by the audience. Real
time feedback was collected using the Institute’s
Audience Response Devices issued at the end of
the forum and they indicated that they looked
forward to more of such forums in the future.
67
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
STRATEGY 4 –
DEVELOP
STRONG
PARTNERSHIPS
LOCALLY AND
INTERNATIONALLY
Collaboration on the Local Front
On the local front, there were many opportunities for the government
to collaborate and synergise with key stakeholder groups in various
sectors to drive WSH improvements.
Marine Industries CEO Roundtable
On 13 August 2013, 20 Pledge-for-Zero CEOs participated in the Marine
Industries CEO Roundtable 2013. This year, they have taken a step forward
by inviting 31 of their business partners to signify their commitment to
achieve zero injury in a ceremonial pledge. Through signing the same
pledge that these shipyards’ CEOs signed 4 years ago, their business
partners committed to improve WSH in partnership with the yards.
Participating business leaders also shared keen insights in a closed-door
discussion and learned about culture-driven leadership from Mr Lucas
Ng, General Manager, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore.
Improving Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) standards
and developing a vibrant WSH culture is not something that
the Government, nor the WSH Council, can achieve by itself.
It requires the collective effort and cooperation of all key
stakeholders. Close working relationships among the various
stakeholders are vital as they can leverage on one another’s
strengths to refine and implement the WSH framework.
Construction CEO Roundtable
Themed “Leadership in WSH”, this year’s CEO Roundtable on 30 August
explored a new format whereby a Pledge for Zero (PfZ) organisation
hosted the Roundtable and showcased its approach based on the theme.
Following a site visit to Lend Lease’s NOVARTIS BioPharmaOps Project,
Lend Lease also shared its initiatives to inculcate positive WSH values in
its leaders and staff. These included its “Uncompromising Leadership”
workshops and the integration of WSH into job description, evaluation
and training for all staff across all businesses from construction to asset
management. Mr Jackson Yap, Chairman of WSH Council (Construction
and Landscape) Committee also led a lively discussion on how the CEOs
could possibly integrate some of the concepts into their own organisations.
68
69
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Collaboration with Migrant Workers
Centre to provide Temporary Job Scheme
Appointment of Honorary
Fellows and Researchers
International Collaboration
This pilot started in February 2013 and is essentially a Temporary Job
Scheme (TJS) that aims to provide WIC Special Pass (SP) holders a
source of income and keep them employed while pending the resolution
of their claims.
Associate Professor Chui Yoon Ping was appointed
Honorary Fellow to the WSH Institute for a
period of two years from 2013 to 2015. Associate
Professor Chui has been with the Singapore
Institute of Management University since 2008
and is currently Head of the Human Factors in
Safety and Systems programs.
On the international stage, there were also
many learning opportunities for OSHD this year.
To-date, the WSH Institute has:
International Powered Access Federation (IPAF)
launched Singapore’s first industry-led safety
campaign for Mobile Elevating Work Platforms
(MEWP) at Raffles Country Club on 19 December
2013. The event was supported by MOM and
WSH Council. Representatives from Singapore
Institution of Safety Officer, Institute of Engineers
Singapore, Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health Singapore, Trade Link Media Pte Ltd (South
East Asia Construction Magazine) and members
of IPAF attended the launch. This industry-led
MEWP safety campaign had attendees signing
on the pledge for the launch of “Clunk Click”
Campaign in Singapore, which calls for users of
boom-type platforms to wear a full body harness
with a short restraint lanyard attached to a
suitable anchor point.
Upon successful matching with prospective TJS employers, injured
workers will be granted 6 months of WIC TJS Work Permit. Once their
claims have been concluded, they shall be repatriated regardless of
the validity of Work Permit. In the event that the TJS employer decides
to keep the worker in employment after his case with MOM has been
resolved, we shall allow a maximum period of 6 months (till Work
Permit’s expiry) provided that the TJS employer must undertake to
repatriate the worker after that.
Two Honorary Fellows
MOM is partnering with Migrant Workers Centre to promote this pilot
TJS program to companies and match SP holders with jobs.
Collaboration with Hospitals to
Proactively Give Out Collaterals to
Injured Workers and Employers
Hospitals have always been an important touch-point through which
we educate workers and their employers on their entitlements and
responsibilities under the WICA. Instead of simply placing flyers and
handbooks on the brochure racks in hospitals, WICD constantly educate
hospitals to better understand the needs of the injured workers and
their employers so as to provide more effective outreach to them. We
have partnered with Accident & Emergency (A&E) teams from Tan Tock
Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
to distribute collateral packs to injured workers and subsequently their
employers they have tended to at the hospitals.
The collateral set contains information targeted at the injured employee
as well as the employer. The employee gets an advisory note and a
flyer from MOM summing up what his rights are, the various stages
of the WICA process and where to seek help. The employer gets a
similar advisory note and a handbook from MOM summing up what his
obligations are as well as the steps in the WICA compensation process.
Associate Professor
Chui Yoon Ping,
Singapore Institute
of Management
University
Associate Professor
David Chua,
National University
of Singapore
Collaboration with
International Powered
Access Federation
7th Asia Pacific International Institute of
Welding International Congress
The International Institute of Welding (IIW), in collaboration with the
Singapore Welding Society (SWS) organised the 7th Asia Pacific IIW
International Congress in Singapore this year, from 08 – 10 July 2013
with the theme of “Recent Developments in Welding and Joining
Technologies.” The objective of the Congress was to bring experts
together to discuss the state-of-art welding and joining technologies,
as well as to present new research findings and perspectives of
future developments in this domain. It was an important forum for
the exchange of knowledge and it provided opportunities for fellow
industrialists and researchers to network with experts in the field of
welding. WSH Commissioner, Er Ho Siong Hin graced the event and
delivered the Jaeger Lecture.
Two Honorary Researchers
ASEAN-OSHNET Plus Three Workshop
on Development of ASEAN-OSHNET
Scorecard and Information Strategies for
Occupational Safety and Health
Mr Tan Kia Tang,
Deputy Director
(Occupational
Hygiene), OSH
Specialist Department
Dr Kenneth Choy,
Deputy Director
(Occupational
Medicine), OSH
Specialist Department
Dr Jukka Takala, then Executive Director for WSH of WSH Institute, and
Dr Lee Hock Siang, Director OSH Specialist, represented Singapore at the
ASEAN-OSHNET Plus Three Workshop on Development of Scorecard
and Information Strategies for Occupational Safety and Health held
in Bangkok from 22 – 23 January 2013. 26 delegates from 10 ASEAN
member countries, China, Japan and Korea attended this workshop.
At the workshop, Dr Takala was one of the resource persons who
introduced delegates to the proposed ASEAN Scorecard. The Scorecard
would be used to score Occupational Safety and Health positions
of each ASEAN-OSHNET Member State and would be used as an
indicator for member
s t a te s to i d e n t i f y
possible development
plans and measures.
The final draft of the
ASEAN-OSHNET
Scorecard
was
subsequently finalised
and presented and
approved at the 14th
Coordinating Board
Meeting in Myanmar.
70
71
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
ASEAN-OSHNET Coordinating Board Meeting
The ASEAN-OSHNET Coordinating Board Meeting is an annual meeting
between the ASEAN-OSHNET representatives to update and discuss the
OSH developments in their country, as well as to share best practices with
the interest of improving the OSH standards in the region.
The 14th ASEAN-OSHNET Coordinating Board Meeting (CBM14) was held
from 08 – 09 April 2013 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. MOM was represented
by Dr Lee Hock Siang, Director OSH Specialist, and Ms Audrina Chua,
then Head of International Collaboration. MOM updated our initiatives in
the programme area of strengthening OSH inspection in ASEAN and the
latest OSH developments in Singapore.
The CBM 14 took stock of the OSH progress of all ASEAN Member
states since the adoption of the 5-Year Plan of Action (2011 – 2015)
and activities on OSH under National OSH Frameworks at CBM 12. The
ASEAN Member states made good progress in raising OSH standards
and many of the targets set under this Plan of Action have been
achieved as a result of commitment and efforts of all ASEAN Member
states. For example, the ASEAN-OSHNET scorecard was endorsed at
the meeting and subsequently approved for adoption at the Senior
Labour Officials Meeting in May 2013.
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Sheffield Group Meeting
Dr Gan Siok Lin, Executive Director of WSH
Institute, attended the 25th meeting of the
Sheffield Group, held in Florence, Italy from 26 – 28
May 2013 where she shared the achievements of
the WSH Institute. The Group commended on the
Institute’s performance and invited the Institute to
continue attending subsequent meetings.
The Sheffield Group is a grouping of Chief
Executives of the different WSH Research
Institutes in Europe, NIOSH/USA, Canada, Israel,
South Africa, Republic of Korea and Australia. The
group meets annually to exchange information
and latest developments in occupational safety
and health research and knowledge in a relatively
informal but very useful way.
Moving towards 2020: Priorities for
OSH research in Europe for the years
2013-2020
International Labour
Organisation Safety and
Health Conference
The then Executive Director of WSH Institute, Dr Jukka Takala was
invited to present the paper on “Singapore WSH Research Agenda (2011
– 2016) and global / regional / local need to change” at the seminar
“Moving towards 2020: Priorities for OSH research in Europe for the
years 2013 –2020” on 09 October 2013 in Brussels.
The 2013 International Labour Organisation
(ILO) International Safety and Health Conference
took place in Düsseldorf, Germany from 06 – 07
November 2013. It was held during A+A Safety,
Security and Health at Work International Trade
Fair with Congress, in collaboration with the
German Federal Association for OSH (Basi), Mese
Düsseldorf, the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs of Germany, the International Social
Security Association (ISSA), the International
Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) and the
World Health Organisation (WHO).
The seminar, organised by European Agency for Safety and Health
at Work (EU-OSHA), discussed the EU-OSHA report “Priorities for
Occupational Safety and Health Research in Europe: 2013 – 2020”. Its
aim was to facilitate better coordination of OSH research activities and
more efficient allocation of resources in the coming years.
The theme of the conference was “Make it
Visible: Occupational Disease – Recognition,
Compensation and Prevention” and provided
a platform for the different stakeholders from
government officials to occupational safety and
health professionals to share their experiences.
They also learnt how to put in practice, developing
and implementing national policies and strategies
directed at preventing occupational and workrelated diseases.
National Safety and Health Conference in
Sri Lanka
3rd ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference
The 3rd Conference of the ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference
organised by MOM and Transmigration of Indonesia was held from 02 –
04 July 2013 at Bali, Indonesia. MOM was represented by our Divisional
Director, Er Ho Siong Hin. The conference reaffirmed the continuation
of ASEAN cooperation programmes on labour inspection, taking into
account Dong Nai Action Plan and Ha Long. They also agreed to
continue sharing information and exchange of views at the regional level
to foster labour inspection function in promoting safe, fair, healthy, and
productive workplace condition in ASEAN.
Further initiatives within and among ASEAN Member States aimed
at generating responsive labour inspection system, particularly on
capacity building, strengthening working methods through better
coordination and collaboration, and developing possible performance
indicators/tools of labour inspection will be conducted.
72
16th National Conference and
Exhibition on Occupational
Safety and Health
Dr Gan Siok Lin, Executive Director of WSH
Institute, was also invited to present a paper on
“The Prevention of Occupational Diseases” on
26 August 2013 at the 16th National Conference
and Exhibition on Occupational Safety and Health
at Kuala Lumpur. The conference theme was
“Prevention of Workplace Injuries and Diseases”
which calls for employers who are responsible for
the safety and health at the workplace to provide
occupational health services for their employees.
Dr Gan shared on Singapore’s strategies as well
as experiences.
Er Mohd Ismadi, Director (Policy, Information and Corporate Services),
was invited to deliver the keynote address at the National Safety and
Health Conference by the Ministry of Labour & Labour Relations, Sri
Lanka. The theme of the conference was aligned to the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) 2013 theme on OSH, “Prevention of
Occupational Diseases”.
He shared Singapore’s WSH framework as well as our WSH2018
strategies. There were over 300 conference participants ranging from
senior executives, Human Resource managers in the government,
semi-government and private sector enterprises who are responsible
for managing safety and health in their organisations.
Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary
for Education and Manpower, who led the MOM
delegation, chaired the keynote session involving
speakers from ILO, WHO, International Organisation
for Employers (IOE) and the International Trades
Union Confederation (ITUC).
Our Divisional Director, Er Ho Siong Hin, also
presented Singapore’s WSH Strategy as well as
our regulatory framework at the Conference. The
delegation also took the opportunity to meet up
with international partners such as the European
Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)
and the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).
73
OSHD 2013 WORK
OVERVIEW
OSHD Annual Report 2013
ASEAN-OSHNET Publications
Our Visitors
The International Collaboration Branch, under the
OSH Specialist Department, works closely with
our ASEAN counterparts to develop guidelines.
Last year, 2 documents were published, namely
the ASEAN-OSHNET Code of Integrity for
Occupational Safety and Health Inspections
and ASEAN-OSHNET Occupational Safety and
Health Management System (OSHMS) Initiatives
2011/2012. The former aims to assist OSH
Inspectors in ASEAN to understand the roles,
responsibilities and authorities as public officials
and to ensure that the minimum standards
of conduct expected are met. This Code also
establishes the commitment required by OSH
agencies to facilitate an environment for OSH
inspectors to fulfil the values prescribe in the
Code. The latter shares the OSHMS and other ongoing initiatives presented during the 5th ASEANOSHNET Plus Three OSHMS Policy Dialogue held
in Singapore from 29 February to 01 March 2012.
We played host to a total of 16 overseas visits in
2013 which encompassed distinguished visitors both
from private and government sectors. A wide spectrum
of WSH issues were discussed during these visits and the
fruitful exchanges were valuable for both the host and
visiting countries.
2013
2013
2013
22
22 – 24
January
Delegates from Temasek
Foundation–Tan Tock Seng
Hospital Nursing (Specific
Disciplines) Specialists
Programme, Thailand
2013
29 – 31
January
Mr Richard Webster, Assistant
Director of Data and Analysis
for Safe Work Australia
January
Delegates from Employees’
Compensation Division,
Labour Department,
Hong Kong SAR Government
2013
11
March
Dr Ian Noy and Mr David Melton
from the Liberty Mutual Research
Institute for Safety, United States
01
April
Mrs Padmini Ratnyake, Former
Additional Secretary and Coordinating Secretary, Ministry of
Labour and Labour Relations,
Sri Lanka
2013
08
April
Prof Malcom Sim from Monash
Centre for Occupational &
Environmental Health, Australia
2013
2013
26
23
April
Delegates from Ministry of Labour,
Thailand
May
Prof Jos Verbeek of Finnish Institute
of Occupational Health, Finland
2013
2013
17 – 19
04 – 05
September
Delegates from Department of
Occupational Safety and Health,
Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia
November
Delegates from Sectoral Activities
Department, International Labour
Organisation
2013
22
April
Delegates from China Safety Delegation,
China
2013
17 – 13
July August
Attachment of Ms Birgit Müller from the
European Agency for Safety and Health
at Work (EU-OSHA) to Singapore
2013
17
December
Delegates from Korea Occupational
Safety and Health Organisation
L
IO
2013
22
March
Mr Paul O’Connor, CEO,
Comcare, Australia
74
2013
22
March
Dr Morales (Project Director)
and Mr Julio Franzani (Manager
of HSW) from Mutual de
Seguridad* (Safety Mutual), Chile
2013
20
December
Delegates from Thailand Institute
of Occupational Safety and Health
(TIOSH) and Department of Labour
Protection and Welfare, Thailand
75
WSH
PERFORMANCE
WSH
PERFORMANCE
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Key Workplace Safety and Health
Indicators, 2012 and 2013
TABLE 1
NUMBER OF WORKPLACE INJURIES AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
2012
2013
11,113
12,115
Fatal Injuries
56
59
Major Injuries
588
589
Minor Injuries
10,469
11,467
12
14
987
673
Overall Workplace Injuries
Work-related Traffic Fatal Injuries
Occupational Diseases
TABLE 3
WORK INJURY COMPENSATION REPORT
No. of PI5 and Death Cases Awarded
Compensation
Total sum of PI and Death compensation
awarded (S$, Million)
No. of accidents reported
with no PI sustained
2012
2013
4,215
4,543
$63.00
$75.38
9,083
9,039
TABLE 2
KEY WSH INDICATORS PER 100,000 EMPLOYED PERSONS
2012
Overall Workplace Injury rate
407
426
Fatal Injuries
2.1
2.1
Major Injuries
21.6
20.7
Minor Injuries
384
403
Accident Frequency Rate2
1.7
1.7
Accident Severity Rate
88
91
36.2
23.7
3
Occupational Incidence4
78
2013
1
1
Workplace Injury Rate = No. of Fatal and Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries x 100,000
No. of Employed Persons
2
Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) = No. of Workplace Accidents Reported x 1,000, 000
No. of Man-hours Worked
3
Accident Severity Rate (ASR) = No. of Man Days Lost To Workplace Accidents x 1,000, 000 No. of Man-hours Worked
Occupational Disease Incidence = No. of Occupational Diseases (i.e. chronic confirmed cases) x 100, 000 No. of Employed Persons
4
5
PI: Permanent Incapacity
79
WSH
PERFORMANCE
OSHD Annual Report 2013
WORKPLACE FATAL INJURIES
2013
Workplace non-Fatal Injuries
2013
(All Sectors)
59
Construction
Transportation
& Storage
33
Total non-Fatal Injuries
12,056
Others
11
6
Major Injuries1
589
11,467
Major Injuries
Manufacturing
6
Minor Injuries2
Marine
Work-related Traffic
Fatal Injuries
3
Rate (All sectors)
(All Sectors)
589
14
Rate (All sectors and work-related
traffic fatal injuries)
2.1
2.3
per 100,000
employed persons
2013
Construction
164
per 100,000 employed persons
Manufacturing
Transportation
& Storage
134
Wholesale &
Retail Trade
34
27
Insights
59
There
were
59
workplace
fatal
injuries in 2013, an
increase from 56
workplace
fatal
injuries in 2012.
Workplace
fatal
injury rate remained
at 2.1 per 100,000
employed persons
33
The construction sector
remained
the
top
contributor in 2013 with 33 fatal injuries, up
from 26 in 2012. This
led to a rise in the
sector’s fatal injury rate
from 5.9 per 100,000
employed persons in
2012 to 7.0 in 2013.
Marine
36
Accommodation & Food
Service Activities
33
Others
161
Rate
20.7
per 100,000 employed persons
73
If work-related traffic fatal
injuries are included, the
overall number of fatally
injured workers rises to 73 or
2.3 workers fatally injured for
100,000 employed persons.
29%
Falls (includes Falls from Heights, and Slips,
Trips and Falls) also remained the leading
incident type, accounting for 29% of the fatal
injuries. 79% of fatal injuries due to Falls from
Heights occurred at the physical workplace
involving structures, roofs and formwork.
Insights
589
10
Accidents
arising
from
the
Collapse or Failure of Structure and
Equipment are emerging issues.
There was a significant increase
from 4 workplace fatal injuries in
2012 to 10 in 2013.
34.5
589 workers sustained major
injuries at work, a rate of 20.7 per
100,000 employed persons in
2013 compared to 21.6 in 2012.
The construction sector
remained
the
top
contributor but saw a
slight reduction in major
injury rate to 34.5 per
100,000
employed
persons in 2013 compared
to 35.0 in 2012.
27%
Slips, Trips and Falls remained
the main area of concern as it
was the leading incident type
- 27% of major injuries.
Major Injuries refer to non-fatal injuries which are more severe in nature. Major injuries are defined using a combination of factors, including the nature of
1
injury, part of the body injured, incident type and duration of medical leave. These include: amputation, blindness, deafness, paralysis, crushing, fractures
and dislocations: head, back, chest and abdomen, neck, hip and pelvis, exposure to electric current, acute illness requiring medical treatment or loss of
consciousness from exposure to chemical and/or biological agents, asphyxia/drowning, hypothermia, burns with more than 20 days of medical leave,
concussion with more than 20 days of medical leave
Minor injuries include all other reportable injuries that did not result in death or major injuries.
2
80
81
WSH
PERFORMANCE
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Minor Injuries
2013
Occupational Diseases
2013
(All Sectors)
11,467
Manufacturing
2,680
Construction
2,423
Transportation & Storage
798
Accommodation &
Food Service Activities
Type of Disease
Marine
462
Wholesale & Retail Trade
535
848
Total
673
Noise Induced
Deafness
564
3,721
23 (237)
Rate
11,467
workers
encountered
minor
injuries - a rate of 403
per 100,000 employed
persons in 2013.
23%
The manufacturing
sector contributed to
23% of minor injuries
and remained the
highest contributor.
21
Insights
per 100,000 employed persons
11,467
Others
Occupational Skin
Diseases
56
403
Insights
9
(887)
Work-related
Musculoskeletal
Disorders
Others
Occupational Lung
Diseases
23%
Slips, Trips and Falls
remained the main area
of concern as it was the
leading incident type 23% of minor injuries.
673
Occupational Disease (OD)
cases were confirmed
in 2013, resulting in an
incidence rate of 23.7 per
100,000 employed persons.
564
Noise-Induced
Deafness (NID) is
the most commonly
reported OD. There
were 564 cases in
2013, making up
84% (64%) of total
OD cases confirmed.
275
The manufacturing
sector
continued
to have the highest
number of NID
cases but saw a
drop from 488 in
2012 to 275 in 2013.
The Ministry of Manpower will include back injury cases due to ergonomic risks as cases of work-related musculoskeletal
disorders (WRMSD), an occupational disease (OD), with effect from 2014. For the 2013 OD statistics, we have reflected the
estimated number of back injury cases and adjusted the statistics as shown in parenthesis. This is to signal its importance and to
drive efforts for the prevention of WRMSD at the workplace. Including these cases will make WRMSD the second most common
OD in Singapore.
Figures in parentheses include WRMSD-back injury cases due to ergonomic risks.
For more information:
Details of Singapore’s WSH statistics for 2013 are available in the WSH Statistics Report 2013,
accessible through the Workplace Safety and Health Institute's website in the link below:
http://www.wshi.gov.sg/Observatory-WSH-Landscape/WSH-Statistics.html
82
83
forecast
FORECAST
OSHD Annual Report 2013
The Next Lap
With a tight labour market
coupled with a strong demand
for infrastructure projects, the
pursuit of Workplace S afet y
and Health (WSH) excellence
is not without challenges but
it is one which we will strive
towards with relentless passion
and commitment. In the coming
ye a r, OS H D will co nti n u e to
work together with its industry
partners and stakeholders to
spur further improvements in
WSH standards.
86
Total WSH
Vision Zero
As part of the strategy to meet Workplace Health challenges arising
from an ageing workforce, the rise in the numbers of workers with
chronic diseases, and emerging WSH risks, the concept of 'Total WSH'
was developed as an approach to managing safety and health in the
workplace holistically. It is a comprehensive and integrated approach
to managing WSH risks to provide and maintain a safe and healthy
working environment to all employees by identifying and addressing all
WSH risks in a proactive and integrated way.
Internationally, there are a growing number of countries which have
embraced the Vision Zero mindset to drive further improvement
in WSH outcomes. Vision Zero is the belief that no loss of life or illhealth arising from work is acceptable and that all workplace incidents
are preventable. An international scan of national WSH strategies on
Vision Zero was conducted to gain a deeper understanding on the
concept and initiatives were carried out to generate conversation on
the topic, including WSH Stakeholders’ Dialogue sessions and a forum
where international WSH thought leaders and experts shared their
perspectives, opportunities and challenges in this area and engaged
the forum participants in a panel discussion.
An implementation guideline prepared in collaboration with the
Health Promotion Board, has been developed to assist companies
in their journey towards Total WSH. To signal the importance of the
workplace in protecting and promoting workers’ health and safety,
announcements would be made at strategic platforms on the concept
of Total WSH as a new paradigm for workers’ health, safety and wellbeing. The Singapore WSH Conference 2014 will have as its theme,
‘Integrating Safety and Health: Towards a Holistic Approach’.
These initiatives provided greater clarity and broad consensus
among stakeholders on how Vision Zero for WSH could be applied in
Singapore. For Singapore, Vision Zero is a mindset that all work injuries
and ill-health are preventable and achievable. Moving forward, as part
of horizon planning for the next phase of Singapore’s WSH journey, we
will be discussing with the International Advisory Panel for WSH on
Vision Zero. The discussion will outline strategies to achieve the desired
outcomes of a change in mindset and proposes actions towards
working safely and healthily for a lifetime.
87
FORECAST
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Risk Management 2.0
WSH Database
OSHD is taking a fresh look at the current Risk
Management (RM) framework to enhance its
coverage and effectiveness. RM 2.0 is intended to
achieve these three outcomes:
Complementing the WIC review, the WSH Council is working with MOM, WSH
Institute and insurers to develop a database that provides a consolidated view
of a company's WIC claims history and WSH performance information to
subscribed users. The database leverages on the power of information sharing
to achieve fairer WIC insurance premiums that then help drive companies
towards better WSH management. This will enable companies to recognise
the cost-benefit of good WSH management and eventually, lead to safer and
healthier workplaces for employees. This initiative is in line with the WSH
2018 strategy of being an enabler to improve industry WSH standards in the
medium to long term. The database will be piloted in May 2014 and is intended
to be ready for launch by end of 2014.
2
1
A holistic framework that goes beyond
workplace safety hazards and considers
personal risk factors that can compromise
WSH. These factors include poorly managed
health conditions and work fatigue.
A pragmatic approach that moves away
from documentation checks and focuses
on on-site implementation of effective
control measures.
3
OSHD will be revising the Approved Code of
Practice on WSH RM to include the consideration
of personal risk factors that can compromise WSH,
and to emphasise the implementation of upstream
risk control measures.
Greater Deterrence and Quality
Outcomes through Enforcement
An emphasis that shifts downstream risk
mitigation measures (such as personal
protective equipment), to upstream
control measures such as elimination,
substitution and engineering controls.
To aid industry in moving from the current RM framework to RM 2.0,
more guides will be developed and industry best practices will be shared
with the industry. These include more RM Compendia for common work
activities; RM guides for workers and small businesses; and case studies
illustrating how companies have gained a business edge through the
implementation of upstream risk controls.
While we continue to develop WSH capability in the industry and promote
the benefits of WSH, enforcement will remain the backbone of OSHD’s WSH
framework. In 2014, OSHD will strengthen and step up its enforcement efforts
to ensure the compliance of basic safety standards especially in the areas where
work injuries and fatalities are more prevalent. MOM will continue to work closely
with the industry to raise WSH standards but we will not hesitate to impose
tough measures to correct poor practices and deter malpractices by contractors.
With our recently enhanced regulatory framework, we will be imposing stronger
penalties for WSH contraventions as well as tightening enforcement tools such
as minimum period for Stop Work Orders to allow for safety training and more
stringent criteria to exit the Business under Surveillance Programme.
Review of Work Injury Compensation Framework
ProBE Plus 2014
A good Work Injury Compensation (WIC) system for Singapore has to go beyond injury compensation to one that places
greater emphasis on the injured workers in their rehabilitation and return back to work. In this new WIC landscape, it is
envisaged that the various stakeholders will play a proactive role in shaping a progressive WIC system for the injured
workers. In doing so, it will also have a positive bearing on the WSH outcomes where every injury, fatality, occupational
disease should be prevented as much as possible in the first place.
Based on accident trends in 2013 and early 2014, MOM and WSH Council has
identified Formwork Safety, Work at Heights and Crane Safety as priority
focus areas for ProBE Plus 2014, where year-long efforts to raise awareness
and build industry capabilities will be systemically followed by targeted
enforcement operations based on these focus areas.
To achieve this, the review will broadly cover areas such as
Ensuring WIC
remains relevant
and fair
Ensuring WIC
system remains
expeditious
Enhancing WIC to better
address the needs of
injured workers
Enhancing WIC system
through reviewing roles
of the stakeholders
The review will take place in the next two years and we will be working closely with the stakeholders on the various proposals.
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people@
oshd
PEOPLE @ OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Our Staff Engagement Strategy
It is our people’s dedication and dogged determination
that has led to the advancement of Workplace
Safety and Health (WSH) standards in Singapore.
However, it has increasingly become more
challenging to achieve what we have accomplished
thus far. Novel and innovative methods will have
to be employed to propel us to the next stage
of our WSH journey. A productive workforce
aligned to our vision and mission will take us to
our destination. Thus, we have made a concerted
effort in keeping our employees engaged.
Capability Development Framework
One Culture, One Mission, One OSH
STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1
STRATEGY 2
STRATEGY 3
STRATEGY 4
Promote a Vibrant
Work-Life Culture
Build Teamwork and
One Identity
Promote Open and
Effective Communication
Provide a Progressive
Learning Environment
Promote Staff Motivation
Foster Relationship
Building & Collaboration
Enhance Staff Capability
Engaged employees are more productive and
tend to create stronger customer relationships.
They are an essential source of new ideas.
Creativity stemming from engaged employees
is vital to make our workplaces healthier and
safer, both at a national as well as an individual
level. Having understood that there is a direct
correlation between employee engagement and
employee satisfaction, we have over the years
gradually developed strategies that best meet the
diverse needs of our large division. No singular
engagement method applies to all and with this in
mind, we approached 2013 with a new vision that
resulted in several inaugural events.
With feedback collected through café forums,
employee engagement surveys and countless
dialogue sessions between employees and our
Embracing
People
Engaging
Hearts
Empowering
Minds
3-Prong Level of
Engagement
Focus on Staff Appreciation
Competency in line with
Industry and Training
• LocomOSHion
• Cafe Forum
• Heart2Heart
• Lunch Talk
• Departmental Team
Building
• OSHD Day
• Staff Conference
• OSHD Anniversary
• Tele-Match Day
• Healthy Lifestyle Day
• Breakfast with DOSH
Divisional Director, Er Ho Siong Hin, the Capability
Development Unit (CDU), the unit tasked with
the duty to enhance employee engagement,
developed a Capability Development Framework
that staff could easily identify with. This framework
encapsulates both the Engagement and Training
Strategic Approaches CDU takes on for OSHD.
It comprises 4 elements, namely promoting a
Vibrant Work-Life Culture, Building Teamwork
and One Identity, Promoting Open and Effective
Communication as well as Providing a Progressive
Learning Environment.
From this framework stems the engagement
initiatives for OSHD for the year 2013. Our vision of
nurturing and developing each “OSHDian”, a term
coined to build a culture of oneness, is manifested
in CDU’s work. Tele-Match, Healthy Lifestyle Day,
Popcorn Day, Ice-cream Day, Yogurt Day and
Breakfast with DOSH were some of the inaugural
events that were run by CDU in 2013. Other
programmes under the enhanced engagement
framework include but are not limited to DOSH
Heart2heart sessions, Café Forum, Management
Retreat and LocomOSHion. The various initiatives
served as platforms for our people to bond,
strengthening the quality of relationships within
OSHD, to improve Work-Life Harmony and to align
staff to the division’s mission, vision and values.
• Attain Qualifications of
WSQ standards
• Integrate Total WSH
with Safety & Health
competency
• Cross-Divisional Training
• Birthday Celebrations
• Yogurt/Ice Cream/Popcorn Day
Measurements Include MOM Organisation Climate Survey, OSHD
Voice of Workforce Survey, Dialogue Sessions, Feedback and
Happiness Index
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
LocomOSHion
DOSH Heart2Heart
Work-Life Harmony
In order for the different departments within
OSHD to get to know each other and comprehend
the role they play in the bigger scheme in which
OSHD operates, the division organises several
teambuilding events a year, both at departmental
as well as divisional level. One such division wide
event is LocomOSHion. Held largely on a monthly
basis, it is a gathering of all staff within OSHD
for the sharing of recent developments in the
division so as to promote information sharing
and collaboration. LocomOSHion also serves as
a platform to recognise staff efforts and good
work completed. It also provides opportunities
for management to get to know their staff.
What began as an effort to assist staff to assimilate and adapt to the
new office (at Bendemeer) out of sheer concern for the welfare of our
staff by our Divisional Director, became a permanent platform for the
receipt of feedback. Many concerns raised by our employees were
expeditiously dealt with by our Divisional Director, fondly known as
DOSH. The many improvements and changes in our current building as
well as enhancements to work processes are a direct result of all that
was shared by staff during these chat sessions.
In OSHD, we focus on cultivating a culture of
healthy Work-Life Harmony. With workplace
flexibility, OSHDians are better able to manage
work, family and personal demands which will
in turn help them achieve personal work-life
effectiveness. Work-Life Harmony is promoted
through various means such as flexi work
schedules, working from home and leave benefits.
One cannot understand the concerns of common people from an ivory
tower view. Having taken time and effort to speak to staff over countless
sessions has brought greater understanding and hence connection
between senior management and staff. So, quietly and gradually a
culture of mutual trust and respect is being shaped which is paramount
to the success of any organisation.
As the lead in Workplace Safety and Health,
we believe that the encouragement of physical
exercises and education on health should be a
part of OSHD’s strategy for a healthy workplace.
A myriad of recreational activities are made easily
available and accessible to our staff. Our staff
participate in regular badminton sessions, yoga,
jazzercise, zumba and runs along Bendemeer.
In addition to health talks, tele-match and inter
departmental challenges are also the norm in
OSHD as an effort to encourage healthy living.
Events such as ice-cream, popcorn and
yogurt days provide an opportunity for senior
management to show their appreciation for
staff’s valuable contributions to OSHD’s business
excellence. These events are held on a regular
basis, and offers a break from work as well as
opportunities to mingle with colleagues and relax.
We will continue to conduct such events as we
are committed to ensure Work-Life Harmony and
good health in OSHD.
OSHD Café Forum
Staff feedback and open dialogue between
management and staff is valued at OSHD. We
have actively promoted open and effective
communication, the product of which is the
increasingly free expressions of OSHDians over
the years. This has permitted us to the tap on
the collective wisdom of the division. We believe
that each member of OSHD has a role to play in
shaping the future of OSHD.
Hence, the café forum is one platform for senior
management to listen to staff feedback and
to address concerns on the ground. Through
the forum, senior management gain a better
understanding of operational and staff welfare
issues and have the opportunity to explore
potential solutions to address these issues in a
more casual setting with staff.
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Training and Induction
Programme
Training opportunities were ample for OSHDians
as we seek to equip our staff with the right skill
set, knowledge and competencies they need to
work effectively.
As part of our continued efforts to build capabilities
across the division within OSHD, Corporate
Development Unit (CDU) has successfully rolled
out a series of in-house customised and basic
trainings in Systems Thinking, Strategic Planning,
Report Writing, Fire Investigation, Creativity
and Innovation, Risk Management and Safety
and Health Management Systems in 2013. These
workshops and courses were fully subscribed and
well-received by participants.
In addition, CDU organises a 2-day OSHD Induction &
Training Programme for new staff joining the division
annually. This is one of the baseline foundation training
and provides new staff with an appreciation of the
role and work of OSHD. A one day teambuilding
component is incorporated to promote teamwork
and bonding amongst the new staff.
Finally, a new initiative of an enhanced OSHD
Personal Mastery Framework is underway
as we sharpen our capabilities building with
a new focus on developing Cross-Divisional
Enforcement Competencies for staff under the
Advanced Tier. Alongside with building OSHD
Core & Organisational Competencies, WDAWSQ courses will be strongly recommended and
introduced as part of our basic training.
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
Teamwork and
Team Building
Teamwork and Team Building are
essential for OSHD. These two
elements help make the division
a better place to work at and
allow for stronger bonds among
OSHDians, thereby ensuring
better productivity.
OSHD Annual Report 2013
OSH Policy, Information & Corporate
Services Department Team Building
Work Injury Compensation
Department Team Building
WSH Council Team Building
OSH Inspectorate
Team Building
OSH Specialist Department
Team Building
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WSH Institute Team Building
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
MOM
Organisational
Excellence Awards
2013 & CIO 100
Honoree 2013 ergo@WSH
AWARDS AND
ACHIEVEMENTS
Annually, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) presents the
AIHA Yant Award to outstanding contributions in industrial hygiene or allied
fields to an individual residing outside the United States.
American
Industrial
Hygiene
Association
Yant Award
2013
List of Officers
Involved in ergo@WSH
For 2013, the winner is Dr Jukka Takala, then Executive Director for Workplace
Safety and Health (WSH) of WSH Institute. Dr Takala has more than 30 years
of experience in WSH. Prior to his appointment at the Institute, he served
the European Union for five years until September 2011 as the Director of the
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. From 2010 to 2011, he was also
the Head of Coordination of all 32 EU Regulatory Agencies.
Dr Gan Siok Lin
Dr Takala held various positions in the ILO, including Chief of ILO's International
Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS) in 1986, Chief of the
Safety and Health Information Services Programme in 1994 and Chief of the
OSH Branch in 1996. From 1999 to 2006, he was Director of the InFocus
Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork) of
the International Labour Office.
Ms Jace Tan
Dr Samuel Lim
Dr Chen Yiquan
Ms Peggy Heng
Ms Doris Ho
Ms Janice Chua
Ms Karen Lee
Step 1:
Take
Photo
Step 2:
Move Posture
Marks
Step 3:
Select and
Save
ergo@WSH won the Best Project (Silver Award) at the 2013 MOM Organisational
Excellence Awards. ergo@WSH is the first ergonomics-related mobile app
tool developed by MOM and WSH Institute. It is also one of the first few apps
available in the market that allows workers to evaluate their postures using
photographs in a simple and user-friendly way.
Searches in the literature and market places revealed a lack of appropriate free,
easy-to-use, interesting and readily accessible learning tools on ergonomics
or good working postures. While a few solutions and tools were available
on the market, they were mostly costly and complicated to use, requiring
sophisticated software and using technical medical terms.
Dr Takala also worked in the metal industry and was an academic from 1969
to 1973. Prior to joining the ILO, Dr. Takala served the Government of Finland
first as an Inspector, followed by posts of Safety Engineer, Chief Engineer
and Chief of Machine Safety Bureau in the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of
Labour in Finland. In 2012, the same award was presented to Mr. Tan Kia Tang,
Deputy Director (Occupational Hygiene), OSHD.
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To meet the needs of the increasingly tech-savvy workforce, the WSH Institute
developed ergo@WSH, a free mobile app on the iOS and Android platforms.
By tapping on the camera function of the smart-phone, users can simply take
a picture and perform instant analysis of their sitting and lifting postures and
receive tips on how to improve postures and relevant stretching exercises.
At a regional level, ergo@WSH was also awarded the CIO 100 Honoree 2013 of
CIO Asia's annual index of Asia's top performing enterprise users of IT. CIO Asia
magazine’s annual CIO 100 index highlights top 100 regional enterprises and
organisations that have excelled through creative and innovative IT projects in the
past year. Companies that achieve CIO 100 listing have broken new ground by
using IT systems, initiatives and projects to provide added value to their customers.
Step 4:
View
Result
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
CIO Awards
2013 & Merit Winner
of the Singapore
eGovernment
Excellence
Awards 2013 –
SNAP@MOM
OSHD Annual Report 2013
Innovation
Champion
Award 2013
List of Officers
Involved in SNAP@MOM
Mr Suresh Navaratnam
Mr Richard Wong
On behalf of Ministry of Manpower, Mr Raymond Tan, Head
IT Projects, participated in the PS21 ExCEL Convention
2013 and was awarded “Silver” under the category of
Innovation Champion. This accolade is not only recognition
of his instrumental contributions towards many impactful
initiatives such as SNAP@MOM and mobile iOSH, it is also
reflective of the open and innovative culture in OSHD. It is
an organisational spirit within OSHD that values change
and empowers every staffs to bring improvement and
higher productivity in the work they do every day.
Mr Raymond Tan
Mr Gordon Ong
Mr Hairul Khafiz Ramli
Ms Doris Ho
Ms Jace Tan
List of Officers
Involved in WSH
Council’s TV commercial
WSH Council’s
TV commercial
won the Viewers’
Choice at the
Laurels 2014
Ms Janice Chua
Step 1:
Take
Photo
Mr Lai Poon Piau
Ms Ho Lai Fung
Ms Lynn Chng
Mr Edd Hong
Ms Koh Li Peng
Mr Yeo Siew Liang
The WSH Council’s TV commercial, “This Could Be You”, has
been voted as the viewers’ favourite national TV commercial
for 2013. The results were announced at The Laurels Awards
Gala Dinner 2014 held on 11 April at Shangri-La Hotel.
Using the latest mobile phone technology platform
for iPhones and Android phones, members of the
public or the workforce can take photographs of
unsafe work practices and immediately send them
to the occupiers of workplaces registered on the
application. Occupiers can use this channel to be
better aware of WSH concerns within their premises
so that they can take immediate corrective actions.
Public and the workforce can also send photographs
of good work practices for purpose of sharing.
Recognising SNAP@MOM’s aim to achieve a
quantum leap towards higher standards of WSH
through industry ownership and active citizenry,
the Snap@MOM project team won another
prestigious accolade as Merit Winner of the
Singapore eGovernment Excellence Awards 2013.
On behalf of MOM, they received their award from
Mr Peter Ong, Head of Civil Service.
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Mr Jayson Quek
The TV commercial shows a construction worker going about his daily duties on an unfinished
building. In a moment of carelessness, he slipped on loose rods on the ground and fell from
the building. His fall was captured in slow-motion with the voice-over describing who this
worker might be. The TV commercial ended with statistics on how many workers were
injured and killed at work to jolt the viewers so that they will realise the importance of WSH.
It’s humbling to know that viewers cared enough about the TV commercial and its message
to vote for the ad.
Out of the top 100 regional enterprises and
organisations honoured by CIO Asia, MOM has
emerged as one of the top 5 most outstanding
organisations
which
have
demonstrated
organisation excellence and attained business
improvements through the innovative use of IT.
SNAP@MOM is a response to the national call to
move from platitudes to action, and to create a
system to shape better behaviour and outcomes at
the workplace. It is a free and simple-to-use mobile
application officially launched on 26 April 2012 at
National Workplace Safety and Health Campaign.
Ms May Ng
Step 2:
Select
Location
Step 3 & 4:
Insert
Description
and Submit
Ministry
of Manpower
Awards Night
2014
On 27 February 2014, MOMers were honoured at the MOM Awards Night 2014 held at the
InterContinental Hotel. The annual event saw fellow OSHD officers receiving accolades
for their exemplary and outstanding contributions to OSHD and the Ministry in 2013. The
recipients and awards they were presented with are as follows:
Exemplary MOMer Award
This award is given in recognition of an employee’s exemplary behaviour in consistently
demonstrating all the four MOM Shared Values (People-Centredness, Professionalism,
Teamwork and Passion for Progress) contributing towards organisation excellence and
building a Great MOM.
Exemplary MOMer Ms Sherrie Heng
Exemplary MOMer Mr Ramas Pichay
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
OSHD Annual Report 2013
The 2013 National Day Award – Long Service Medal
This award is given to MOMers who have served 25 years with the Ministry. With an outstanding work attitude,
performance and conduct, their contributions to OSHD is much valued.
National Day Award Mr Vin Ho Poh Hong
National Day Award Mr Ser Ah Siong
PS Commendation Award – Economic Cost of Work-related
Injuries and Ill-health in Singapore
The WSH Institute initiated a study in November 2012 to better
understand the economic impact of work-related injuries and
ill-health on employers, employees and the community for the
year 2011 to provide additional impetus for all stakeholders to
reduce work injuries and ill-health.
Findings revealed that the estimated total economic cost was
S$10.45 billion which is equivalent to 3.2% of Singapore’s GDP
for 2011. The costs borne by different economic agents were:
S$2.31 billion (22.1%) by employers; S$5.28 billion (50.5%) by
workers, and S$2.87 billion (27.4%) by the community.
PS Commendation Award
List of Officers Involved in Economic Cost
of Work-related Injuries and Ill-health in
Singapore
Ms Loke Yoke Yun
Dr Stefan Ma (MOH)
Mr Tan Wee Jin
Ms Lim Gek Hsiang (HPB)
Dr Kathiresan
Manickam
Ms Low Mong Hun (MOF)
Ms Peggy Heng
Mr Ivan Wong Liat
Toong
This study re-affirmed WSH Institute’s role as the think-tank for
the WSH landscape in Singapore by providing research-based
evidence to support the review of WSH policies and strategies.
The success of this first local study was made possible by the
contributions of officers from MOM, as well as other governmental
agencies which helped in fine-tuning the model used to derive
the cost estimates.
Minister for Manpower
Award – Revocation of
Factories (Persons-in-Charge)
Regulations and Factories
(Certificate of Competency Examinations) Regulations
List of Officers Involved in the
Revocation of Factories (Persons-inCharge) Regulations and Factories
(Certificate of Competency –
Examinations) Regulations
Er Mohd Ismadi
Mr Lee Kah Bee
Mr Abdul Rahman Mohd Yatim
Before the revocation, MOM requires operators of Internal Combustion
Engine (ICE) and Steam Boilers (SB) to have a Certificate of Competency
(COC) issued by MOM before they can operate these equipment. The
requirements of the Competent Person operating ICE and SB and the
conduct of examinations and issuance of the Competent Persons Certificate
of Competency (COC) were regulated under the Factories (Persons-inCharge) & Factories (Certificate of Competency-Examinations) Regulations.
Ms Charlene Liew
Technology evolution has brought about advancement in automatic
control and monitoring devices that help to ensure that ICEs and SBs
operate within safe limits. These equipment are now equipped with
more comprehensive safety interlocking devices which make them
safer to operate. The operations of higher capacity units are also
computerised and continuously monitored by computer control logic
allowing detection of potential safety risks or accidents.
Mr Gabriel Tan
Ms Sherrie Heng
Mr Teng Kim Phui
Mr A Selvam
Mr Wilbur Oh
Ms Liew Wan Sien
Mr Manoj Rajagopal
On the regulatory front, MOM has also marked a paradigm shift from
the prescriptive legislative landscape under the previous Factories Act,
to a more performance-based regime under the WSH Act. In view of the
technological advancements, coupled with changes in the overarching
WSH legislative framework, it was thus timely to review the regulatory
framework for ICE and SB.
Consequently, on 18 March 2013, MOM revoked its Factories (Persons
in Charge) Regulations and Factories (Certificate of Competency –
Examinations) Regulations. With this legislative review, MOM will cease
to license operators of SB and ICE as it transits from a licensing regime
to a competency-regime.
In addition to the Minister of Manpower Award, the successful
revocation of Factories (Persons-in-Charge) Regulations and Factories
(Certificate of Competency – Examinations) Regulations had also won
the Bronze Award for 2013 Public Sector Pro-Enterprise Initiative. The
Pro-Enterprise Panel is a public-private partnership that seeks and
acts on suggestions on how government rules and regulations can be
improved, so that business spend less time, effort, and money in meeting
regulatory requirements. This review has significantly benefited the
industry by reducing administrative burdens without compromising
safety outcomes to ensure safety standards on safe operation of SB
and ICE at workplaces.
Mr John Koh (MOF)
Mr Benedict Ho (MSF)
Ms Siti Hanisah Binte Yahya (MSF)
Ms Neo Cuiling (MSF)
Ms Nur Izzaty Mohd Salleh (MSF)
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PEOPLE @ OSHD
Annual Report 2013 Editorial Team
The Editorial Team would like to thank all OSHDians who contributed to the contents and photographs that made this report possible.
Team Members
Editors
Ms Vanitha Devi D/O Veerakumar (Work Injury Compensation Department)
Ms Ratna Devi D/O Veerakumar (Chief Editor)
Mr Joo Thiam Lim (OSH Policy, Information & Corporate Services Department)
Ms Carmen Pang Li Ling (Co-Editor)
Ms Wendy Ng (OSH Inspectorate)
Mr Zhihan Ng (OSH Specialist Department)
Ms Starry Tan (WSH Council)
Mr Pe Ter Tan (WSH Institute)
From Left to Right: Ms Wendy Ng, Mr Zhihan Ng, Ms Vanitha Devi D/O Veerakumar, Mr Joo Thiam Lim, Ms Carmen Pang Li Ling,
Mr Pe Ter Tan, Ms Starry Tan, Ms Ratna Devi D/O Veerakumar
This page is intentionally left blank.
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Ministry of Manpower Services Centre
1500 Bendemeer Road
Singapore 339946
www.mom.gov.sg
mom_oshd@mom.gov.sg