PEMBENTANGAN DAPATAN KAJIAN
GERAN JAWATANKUASA PEMBAHARUAN
UNDANG-UNDANG (SEPT 2013-MAC 2014),
BHEUU, JPM
TAJUK: ADEQUACY OF THE
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH LEGISLATION FOR THE
MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
PEMBENTANG:
PROF. MADYA. DR. ROZANAH AB. RAHMAN
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

Number of Accidents
39,000
Figure 1: Number of Industrial Accidents (2007-
2012)
38,657
38,000
37,000
36,000
35,000
34,000
35,092
34,376
35,603
35,088
35,296
33,000
32,000
Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Source: SOCSO
Annual Reports

3000
2000
1000
0
6000
Figure 2: Number of Industrial Accident, Permanent Disablement and
Death in Construction Industry (2009-2012)
Industrial Accidents Permanent Disablement Death
5177
4937
5000
4000
4108
4665
691
2009
47
1025
815
88 87
2010 2011
Source: SOCSO Annual Reports
1232
2012
129

Figure 3: Number of Fatal Accidents (2010-2011)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
59
45
1
7
66
51
30
41
11
5
14
11
0 1
2010 2011
0
2 1
6
3
7
Source: DOSH Annual
Report

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
 To identify the shortcomings of the occupational safety and health legislation in the Malaysian construction industry.
 To identify whether the occupational safety and health legislation for the construction industry is still relevant and all necessary in its existing form .
 To make recommendations for the improvement of the occupational safety and health legislation for the construction industry.

METHODOLOGY




METHODOLOGY
 100 respondents
 Include:
 Director General and Deputy Director General in the
Department of Occupational Safety and Health
(DOSH);
 Directors, Deputy Directors and Head and staff of relevant divisions in the DOSH State offices;
 Personnel from the construction companies, agencies and associations, consultant companies and safety training companies.

OSHA 1994
FMA 1967

BOWECS 1986

I. Provisions too prescriptive and rigid
II. Duty Provisions Emphasize
More on Physical State of Plants and Equipment
III. Risk Management and Risk Assessment
IV. Working at Height and Lifting Operation
V. Duty Provisions Do Not Address Issue of
Management in Construction Industry

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM


RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 1. To simplify the provisions in the BOWECS
Regulations 1986 that are too prescriptive and rigid in order to be practicable for the industry to apply according to the current practice without affecting the importance of safety, and encompassing the important and major activities involved in the construction. Meanwhile, to bring them up to date with modern procurement and contracting customs and practice, so that the provisions would not become outdated and obsolete with the development and changes of technologies in the industry

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 2. To include provisions in the BOWECS
Regulations 1986 that give more emphasis on the duty to ensure proper systems of work while working with the plants and equipment used in the construction rather than merely on the physical state of these plants and equipment.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 3. To provide adequate provisions in the
BOWECS Regulations 1986 that oblige the employers with the cooperation of the employees to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment relating to plants and equipment used at the sites, to identify the significant risk arising out of the work, and to review the risk assessment from time to time.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 4. To provide adequate provisions in the
BOWECS Regulations 1986 that regulate high-risk related activities (in particular, working at height and lifting operations, which are the common causes that contribute to fall injury at construction sites), in order to overcome the problem of increasing number of accidents involving falls.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 5. To provide sufficient provisions in the
BOWECS Regulations 1986 that address the issue of management which is crucial in this multi-employer workplace and unique nature of the contractual arrangements in construction, and to regulate the duties and roles of the employer and employee in order to make effective arrangements for managing safety at work in the construction.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 6. To revise the provisions in the FMA
1967 which are of general application, so that the duty provisions shall be imposed specifically upon the employer.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
 7. To provide the Regulations and
Approved Code of Practice relating to construction under the OSHA 1994.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
LEGISLATIVE REFORM


 Formulation of the Regulations and
Approved Code of Practice relating to construction under the OSHA 1994, must be expedited in order to clarify and explain the general safety duties laid down in the 1994 Act.

 The provisions in the Regulations covers the provision and maintenance of plant and safe system of work; the use or operation, handling, storage and transport of plant; the safe place of work in construction; and the reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences at the worksite; as well as to overcome the problem of ineffectiveness of enforcement of the legislation in the construction industry.

 In expediting the formulation of the
Regulations and Approved Code of
Practice under the OSHA 1994, the proposal is to come out with new Regulations for construction works in construction industry that will also replace the roles of BOWECS
Regulations under the FMA 1967 in managing construction activities.

Construction Design and Management
Regulations

OTHER REGULATIONS
Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999
 Employer to carry out risk assessment
 Give full consideration to the principles of prevention

OTHER REGULATIONS
Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999
 Employers to give effect to arrangements for effective planning, organization, control, monitoring and review of the measures which they need to take as a result of the findings of the risk assessment.

OTHER REGULATIONS
Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999
 Employers to establish appropriate procedures which are to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work in his undertaking.

OTHER REGULATIONS
Workplace (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1992
 Designer to take account of the
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1992 when designing a workplace structure. The duty is to ensure workplaces are designed correctly.

OTHER REGULATIONS
Workplace (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1992
 The concerns of the Regulations are the maintenance of the workplace and equipment in good condition, with fresh or purified air, reasonable temperature inside the building during working hours, suitable and sufficient lighting, sufficient floor area, …..
(continue)

OTHER REGULATIONS
Workplace (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1992
(continue)
….height and unoccupied space for the health safety and welfare of the staff, suitable workstation for workers, suitable and not uneven, holed or slippery floor, kept free from obstruction or contamination likely to cause slipping.

CONCLUSION
 The present BOWECS Regulations are obsolete and not practical to regulate the current technology advances in construction.

CONCLUSION
 The proposal to replace the BOWECS
Regulations is vital and there is a need to have a new set of Regulations that mirror the
Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007 of the UK.

CONCLUSION
 Positively seen this CDM-like Regulations as capable of providing better compliance to the Regulations enforced through the concept of duty holders.

CONCLUSION
 Showed their support in moving towards a new set of Regulations to replace the
BOWECS Regulations 1986, which they viewed as too prescriptive and caused stringent compliance of safety matters.

CONCLUSION
 The industry agreed that the current BOWECS
Regulations need to be updated to cater the technology advances and thus proposed for new Regulations to reform this rigidity, to allow usage of new technology advances.

CONCLUSION
 This piece of Regulations would be accepted by the industry provided there is awareness on the importance of complying with the safety regulations for construction works.

CONCLUSION
 The industry admitted that the degree of safety awareness among contractors had increased, as compared to few years behind; and thus they look forward for more specific Regulations under the OSHA 1994 to be formulated for the construction industry.

CONCLUSION
 Many contractors possess sufficient safety and health awareness and to depart from safety philosophy would never be the intention.

CONCLUSION
 The intention and commitment is shown by the industry when they estimated between 5 to 8 per cent (%) of the project costing for safety requirements.
 However, in actual situation, the issue raised is in relation to project bidding.

CONCLUSION
 Support the design of the new Regulations that impose the safety duties, as early as the design stage of the construction, and to include the Employer (or Client) of the project as the duty holder under the reformed
Construction Regulations.

CONCLUSION
 The CDM Regulations 2007 of the UK focus on effective planning and management of construction projects, from design concept onwards.

CONCLUSION
 New Regulations proposed for our construction that mirror the UK CDM
Regulations 2007 are supported by the respondents and seen as replacing the roles of BOWECS Regulations under the FMA
1967 in managing construction activities.

Q&A