Tighter workplace safety regulations in the works following spate of worksite deaths

A HARMONISED disqualification criteria is being developed for public sector construction tenders to disqualify contractors with poor work practices, announced Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Thursday (Jun 23).

The demerit points system for breaches under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act will also be reviewed to ensure its relevance and effectiveness, said Dr Tan at the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd’s (Scal) Safety and Health Campaign 2022. 

“This means that safer construction companies will have better business opportunities,” added Dr Tan.  “The unsafe firms will be disqualified from competing with you for government contracts or will have a tougher time getting foreign manpower because they have demerit points.”

The new regulations come after a spate of workplace fatalities this year. On Wednesday (Jun 22 ), a 32-year-old migrant worker was killed at a worksite after he was crushed between parts of a mobile crane, bringing the total workplace death tally to 27 this year. 

Of the 27 deaths, 10 were in construction. And of these, 6 were from smaller construction firms or projects.

While the fatality rate in the construction sector has reduced significantly – 3.3 in 2021, compared to 5.9 in 2012 – the spike in workplace fatalities this year is worrying, according to Dr Tan. “My exhortation to everyone is that we must not leave such (smaller) firms and must work hard to engage them to improve their WSH standards too,” he said.

For one, proper pre-start work assessments – where danger spots and potentially hazardous work conditions are identified and safety measures implemented – should be institutionalised.

“Weekly site coordination meetings allow for the coordination of works carried out by different sub-contractors and elimination of incompatible works. This is supplemented by daily toolbox meetings by the various work teams to allow for hazards, control measures and precautions associated with the works to be shared with workers prior to commencement of works,” said Dr Tan.

On the authorities’ part, they are looking into requiring firms to have more WSH personnel - including auditors, officers and coordinators - at worksites to improve the level of oversight.

“Having more WSH personnel on the ground will help contractors to better manage WSH onsite,” said Dr Tan. “Through the review, we hope that more contractors can also benefit from the assistance of trained and competent WSH personnel.”

The ministry is also looking into requiring surveillance or closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to be installed at work sites. “We will work with Scal on the implementation details,” said Dr Tan.

Victor Ong Chee Wee, immediate past president of the Singapore Institute of Building Ltd, welcomed the tighter criteria for government tenders as it would encourage construction firms to price in WSH solutions when bidding for contracts.

When tenders are not always awarded to the lowest bid, firms would be able to set aside a budget for safety measures such as sending staff to attend WSH training courses, said Ong, who is also the managing director of One Smart Engineering.

That being said, he noted that these measures will also mean added costs for construction firms, which are already facing cost pressures due to rising inflation. He therefore suggested that the government either subsidise the additional costs when the measures are first implemented or to only make it a requirement for new tenders.

Instead of increasing the number of WSH personnel on site, Kimly Construction director Louis Khoo said the government could consider sending existing personnel for further training. This is also in line with the current focus on raising the industry’s productivity. “It has been shown that this can be done when during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry successfully and quickly trained almost all personnel in construction sites in basic Covid-19 safe measures,” he added.