26 May 2010
Incident
In this incident, a worker was found dead on the ground beside the staircase of a factory. He was alone in the premises when the incident happened. A stool was found at the mid landing of the staircase. It is suspected that the worker might have tried to access a resting area on the mezzanine floor by using the stool to climb over the handrail of the staircase. He could then have fallen from the open side of the unbarricaded mezzanine floor and landed on the ground 3m below.
Recommendations*
1. Provide safe means of access or egress: The Workplace and Safety Health Act (WSHA) stipulates that the occupier has to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that the workplace and all means of access to or egress from the workplace are safe. For this incident, there was no safe and proper access to the mezzanine floor, except by climbing over the staircase.
2. Conduct risk assessment: Proper risk assessments should be conducted to identify all potential hazards and risks. Appropriate actions must be taken to eliminate the hazards or to mitigate the risks. Some of the hazards relevant to this case include:
a. Lack of proper and safe means of access to the resting area;b. Lack of proper and safe means of access to the stored materials (e.g. the veneer and wooden planks) at the mezzanine floor beside the resting area;c. Lack of proper handhold and barricade at the mezzanine level; and d. Improper storage of materials which could lead to them toppling.
3. Provide and maintain safe arrangements and facilities: Employers are also required under the WSHA to take reasonably practicable measures to protect the safety and health of employees. This includes maintaining the facilities and providing safe arrangements to ensure their welfare at work. In this incident, such measures could include:
a. Ensuring that the workers’ resting areas are adequate, safe and without risk (e.g. properly barricaded); and b. Ensuring that workers are not exposed to hazards from the storage of materials beside the resting area.
4. Establish safe work procedures: Appropriate control measures and safe work procedures, such as on accessing and moving materials from the storage area, must be properly established, communicated and implemented to ensure the safety and health of the workers involved.
5. Proper storage of goods: All goods, articles and substances in a workplace should be properly stored, stack or placed:
a. in such as manner as not to obstruct the use of passageways;
b. on a firm foundation not liable to settle;
c. in such manner as not to overload the foundation or floors;
d. using appropriate supporting structures to ensure their stability; and
e. not against a wall or partition unless they are of sufficient strength to withstand the pressure.
Bound materials should also be placed on racks, and secured by stacking, blocking, or interlocking to prevent them from sliding, falling, or collapsing.
Further Information
1. Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A)2. Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations 3. Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations 4. OSHA’s guide on Materials Handling and Storing, please click HERE.
* Please note that the information provided is intended to enhance workplace safety and health so that a similar recurrence may be prevented, and is not exhaustive. The information provided should not to be construed as implying any liability to any party nor should it be taken to encapsulate all the responsibilities and obligations of the reader of WSH Alert under the law.
For more infor, please visit https://www.wshc.sg/wps/portal/bulletinview?action=viewBulletin&bulletinID=BU2010052614954
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Worker Fell while Plastering External Wall of Air Conditioning Ledge - WSH Bulletin & WSH Council
18 May 2010
Incident
In this incident, a worker was found dead on the ground beside a high rise building under construction. The worker was found with a restraint belt strapped around his waist.
Before the incident, the worker was carrying out plastering work on the external wall of an air conditioning ledge on the 9th floor of the building. At the other floors, the open sides of the air conditioning ledges were guarded with cable barricades. However on the 9th floor, where the deceased worker was working, no barricade was present.
Recommendations*
1. Conduct risk assessment: A risk assessment must be carried out before starting any work. Through the risk assessment, employers and workers can identify potential hazards and take appropriate actions to eliminate the hazards or reduce the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established, communicated and implemented to ensure the safety and health of the workers involved. For this case, the relevant control measures include planning for safe access to the work area and preventing workers from falling while working on the air conditioning ledge.
2. Implement workplace safety and health management programme: Management must put in place an effective workplace safety and health management programme. Through this, operations within the organisation would be guided through a safety policy, establishment of a safety management system and proper work procedures. Effective implementation of established WSH procedures and systems can be done with proper supervision, effective communication and training to ensure that workers adhere to established procedures.
3. Fall prevention / protection: Work at height must be made safe through fall prevention or protection measures. Examples include installing guard rails that prevent persons from falling over open sides, as well as travel restraint, fall arrest or engineered systems with anchorage points as explained below:
Travel restraint: A travel restraint system prevents the worker from falling by restricting his movement into hazardous areas, such as open sides. For such a system, a restraint belt or a full body harness is suitable once anchored securely.
Fall Arrest: An individual fall arrest system protects the worker by stopping his fall so that he does not strike the ground. A full body harness with a self-retracting lifeline or a shock absorber and a lanyard are suitable for fall arrest once anchored securely.
Engineered Systems: Engineered systems such as horizontal lifelines should be installed according to the design by the professional engineer. Deviating from the design can result in the system not functioning as it rightfully should and can result in potentially unsafe conditions for workers.
Further Information
1. Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A), please click here
2. Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations, please click here
3. Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations
4. Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations
5. Code of Practice for Working Safely at Height
* Please note that the information provided is not exhaustive and for the benefit of enhancing workplace safety and health so that a similar recurrence may be prevented. The information provided is not to be construed as implying any liability to any party nor should it be taken to encapsulate all the responsibilities and obligations of the reader of WSH Alert under the law.
Please visit https://www.wshc.sg/wps/portal/bulletinview?action=viewBulletin&bulletinID=BU2010051814948 for more details
Incident
In this incident, a worker was found dead on the ground beside a high rise building under construction. The worker was found with a restraint belt strapped around his waist.
Before the incident, the worker was carrying out plastering work on the external wall of an air conditioning ledge on the 9th floor of the building. At the other floors, the open sides of the air conditioning ledges were guarded with cable barricades. However on the 9th floor, where the deceased worker was working, no barricade was present.
Recommendations*
1. Conduct risk assessment: A risk assessment must be carried out before starting any work. Through the risk assessment, employers and workers can identify potential hazards and take appropriate actions to eliminate the hazards or reduce the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established, communicated and implemented to ensure the safety and health of the workers involved. For this case, the relevant control measures include planning for safe access to the work area and preventing workers from falling while working on the air conditioning ledge.
2. Implement workplace safety and health management programme: Management must put in place an effective workplace safety and health management programme. Through this, operations within the organisation would be guided through a safety policy, establishment of a safety management system and proper work procedures. Effective implementation of established WSH procedures and systems can be done with proper supervision, effective communication and training to ensure that workers adhere to established procedures.
3. Fall prevention / protection: Work at height must be made safe through fall prevention or protection measures. Examples include installing guard rails that prevent persons from falling over open sides, as well as travel restraint, fall arrest or engineered systems with anchorage points as explained below:
Travel restraint: A travel restraint system prevents the worker from falling by restricting his movement into hazardous areas, such as open sides. For such a system, a restraint belt or a full body harness is suitable once anchored securely.
Fall Arrest: An individual fall arrest system protects the worker by stopping his fall so that he does not strike the ground. A full body harness with a self-retracting lifeline or a shock absorber and a lanyard are suitable for fall arrest once anchored securely.
Engineered Systems: Engineered systems such as horizontal lifelines should be installed according to the design by the professional engineer. Deviating from the design can result in the system not functioning as it rightfully should and can result in potentially unsafe conditions for workers.
Further Information
1. Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A), please click here
2. Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations, please click here
3. Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations
4. Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations
5. Code of Practice for Working Safely at Height
* Please note that the information provided is not exhaustive and for the benefit of enhancing workplace safety and health so that a similar recurrence may be prevented. The information provided is not to be construed as implying any liability to any party nor should it be taken to encapsulate all the responsibilities and obligations of the reader of WSH Alert under the law.
Please visit https://www.wshc.sg/wps/portal/bulletinview?action=viewBulletin&bulletinID=BU2010051814948 for more details
Monday, May 10, 2010
Safety on Lifting Operations - WSH Bulletin
10 May 2010
Ensuring Safe Lifting Operations
Ensuring Safe Lifting Operations
Lifting Operations can be Dangerous
Lifting activities are an essential part of operations at many worksites. However, lifting operations can be potentially dangerous and are considered high-risk activities. The unsafe and improper use of lifting equipment had resulted in fatalities, serious injuries, and dangerous occurrences. Crane-related incidents such as crane collapse can have severe outcomes, including damage to surrounding properties, and serious injuries to workers and the public.
Ensuring Safe Lifting Operations
To ensure safe operations, thorough risk assessment and careful planning are required prior to commencement of work. A proper lifting plan should be developed for all lifting operations, which should include (i) a proper risk assessment process, (ii) a permit-to-work system, (iii) the selection of safe and proper equipment, (iv) an appreciation of the actual ground conditions and (v) the deployment of qualified and competent personnel.
The followings are some of the safety precautions which should be exercised at all times for lifting operations:
- Site lifting machines such as cranes on firm, stable and level ground (see Figure 1) to ensure stability during lifting operations.
- Do not overload the lifting appliance, lifting gear and lifting machines
- Ascertain the weight of the load before lifting
- Develop specific risk assessment and method statement for tandem lifting operations, slope, or travelling with suspended loads
- Check that the lifting hook’s safety latch is functioning
- Inspect all lifting gears such as shackle, sling and hook for defects before use
- Prominently display all relevant test certificates of the lifting equipment and permit to lift
Fig1. Photograph courtesy of Gammon Pte. LimitedFirm and level ground for sitting of crane. The outriggers are fully extended and on proper pads.
Further Information
4. SS536: 2008 Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Mobile Cranes
5. CP 62: 1995 Code of Practice for Safe Use of Tower Cranes
6. CP 63: 1996 Code of Practice for the Lifting of Persons in Work Platforms Suspended from Cranes
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