Sunday, October 3, 2010

WSH Guidelines

The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has recently issued four sets of Guidelines:

Fatigue Management

Fatigue occurs when a person feels physically or mentally tired. It affects an employee’s concentration at work and can be hazardous. The Guideline on fatigue management helps organisations to identify factors contributing to fatigue, and advises on ways to prevent and control workplace fatigue. A combination of risk control measures and good practices can be effective in fatigue management.

Workplace Traffic Safety Management

Poorly managed workplace traffic can be risky. This Guideline identifies traffic hazards within the workplace and provides information on implementing a Workplace Traffic Management Plan. The Management Plan should be endorsed by top management, and should include information such as workplace traffic planning and safe operation of transport vehicles.

Safe Loading on Vehicles

Dangerous loading can lead to serious injuries or fatalities. This Guideline provides general safety guidance for transport operators, drivers, loading staff and key stakeholders. The Guideline also helps to raise awareness and inculcate basic safety principles for working safely while loading.

Managing Heat Stress at the Workplace

The hot and humid weather can put workers at an increased risk of heat stress and heat stroke, and may lead to serious health consequences. The Guideline highlights the factors which contribute to heat stress and recommends practicable measures for both employers and employees to reduce the risks of developing heat-related illnesses. . The Guideline also includes a checklist to help evaluate the risk of heat stress.

To view these guidelines in full, please visit the Council website HERE.

Audit for Company Emergency Response Teams

The mandatory Company Emergency Response Team (CERT) Scheme for companies which store more than five metric tonnes of petroleum and flammable materials, is an integral part of
their emergency response to an onsite incident. It protects the company employees while minimising business losses.
From April 2009 to February 2010, SCDF audited the CERTs from more than 218 premises for their operational effectiveness. More than 90% passed the CERT audits, validating their immediate response plans. Since October 2009, the respective territorial fire stations have been empowered to conduct such audits. This gives them the important operational overview of the CERT capabilities of the companies within their boundaries.

For training of CERT members, visit www:kavservices.sg

Workshop to Enhance the Safety of Crane Operation (WESCO)

With effect from 1 Apr 2011, all registered Crane Operators will be required to undergo a half-day Workshop to Enhance the Safety of Crane Operations (WESCO) before they can renew their 2-year crane operator licenses.

The objective of this Workshop is to raise the safety competencies of personnel involved in the operation of cranes. Topics covered include safety practices for crane operations, updates on safety laws and regulations, safe lifting practices and lessons learnt from recent crane-related accidents.

All Crane Operators will be required to show proof of attendance at this Workshop before they can renew their crane operator licenses after 1 Apr 2011. This requirement will only apply at the point of expiry of Crane Operator registration.

The Workshop is now available at the two authorised training providers starting from October 2010. To attend the Workshop, crane operators are required to produce their crane operator license at registration.

Name of Training Provider and Training Location

BCA Academy of the Built Environment
200 Braddell Road

NTUC Learning Hub
Block 18, Boon Lay Way,
#04-120, TradeHub 21

Monday, July 26, 2010

Alarm on Gulf oil rig muted

Alarm on Gulf oil rig muted

Alarm on Gulf oil rig muted

NEW ORLEANS - AN ALARM that should have alerted workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to a deadly build-up of gas that sank the platform, sparking a huge oil spill, had been muted months before, a former rig worker said on Friday.

The alarm system which uses lights and alarms to warn of fire or high-levels of toxic or explosive gases, had been 'inhibited,' Mike Williams, the chief electronics technician on the rig, told a hearing.

Williams, who survived the April 20 blast on the rig, which claimed the lives of 11 oil workers and turned the platform into a fireball, said the sensor was functioning, but was not set to ring an alarm in emergencies.

'Inhibited,' he said, 'means the sensor is active and sensing and... it will give the information to a computer but the computer will not trigger the alarm.' Senior managers on the rig, which was leased to BP, had asked that the alarms be inhibited because 'they did not want people to be woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning due to false alarms,' Williams said.

He said he had first noticed a year ago that the alarms had been set to not go off.

Williams was testifying at the third in a series of hearings to try to find out what caused the blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The hearing on Friday was conducted jointly by the US Coast Guard and Interior Department. -- AFP

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_557326.html

Friday, July 9, 2010

First Restaurant Convicted under the WSH Act for Workplace Safety and Health Lapses

Raffles Marina Ltd was fined $80,000 today for its failure to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure workplace safety and health, thereby contributing to the death of a worker on 29 May 2009. Raffles Marina Ltd is the first restaurant to be convicted under the WSH Act since it was extended to cover restaurants from 1 March 2008.

About the case

The incident happened on 29 May 2009 at Marina Bistro Coffee House located at 10 Tuas West Drive. The worker was a senior steward employed by Raffles Marina Ltd. The worker was likely to have either slipped due to the slippery floor or fallen when he stepped on one of the articles strewn on the kitchen floor of the dish washing area. He was carrying at least one plastic rack containing 25 glass wine goblets. The wine goblets shattered and cut the worker in the neck area. The worker was sent to the hospital where he died from excessive loss of blood as a result of a deep cut on the neck.

Investigations by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that the employer had failed to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that the workplace was safe and without risks. The employer failed to conduct risk assessment to identify and manage the hazards for the dishwashing activities. The employer also failed to ensure the kitchen was free from slipping and tripping hazards. Although the employer had issued a pair of safety boots to the worker for his use during the course of his work, it was insufficient to prevent the worker from falling.

Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, Deputy Chairman, Workplace Safety and Health Council said, “The death of a worker in the course of carrying out simple kitchen work shows that we must never take the safety at workplaces lightly. Employers must plan safe work procedures for all types of work, ensure that their workers are well briefed and implement safety measures effectively. Often, near misses during work, such as a slip at work, are not noted and no suitable immediate actions are taken to reduce risks and improve situations . To improve our safety management, there is a need to change mindset to seek out near misses and drive improvements even though near misses may not result in injuries. We should therefore all be mindful of the possible risks that our employees face everyday at work. If there are incidents or near-miss cases, measures must immediately be taken to prevent them from happening again. The Council urges all parties to pay serious attention to near-miss cases, or seemingly minor incidents, so that necessary steps can be taken to improve. With this mindset, we can then aim for safer workplaces for all our employees."

Mr Ho Siong Hin, Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, MOM added that the conviction of Raffles Marina Ltd serves as a stern warning to all workplaces to make safety and health a priority. He reminded all employers, individuals and stakeholders of the importance of ensuring and adhering to proper safety measures.

Source: WSH Bulletin, dated 9 July 2010

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Guilty verdicts 25 years after India's gas disaster

AFP - Tuesday, June 8
Guilty verdicts 25 years after India's gas disaster

BHOPAL, India (AFP) - – An Indian court sentenced the former top managers of the company blamed for the massive Bhopal gas leak 25 years ago to two years in prison on Monday in the first convictions over the catastrophe.

Eight people were found guilty in the local court in Bhopal, capital of central Madhya Pradesh state, over the 1984 incident which poisoned tens of thousands of people in the world's worst industrial accident.

A lethal plume of gas escaped from a storage tank at the US-run Union Carbide pesticide factory in the early hours of December 3, 1984, killing thousands in the surrounding slums and residential area.

Among those found guilty of criminal negligence was the chairman of the Indian unit of US group Union Carbide, Keshub Mahindra, a leading industrialist who is now chairman of car and truck group Mahindra & Mahindra.

The guilty, also including the managing director, the production manager and the plant supervisor, were all sentenced to two years in prison and were ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (2,100 dollars), lawyers told reporters. All of them are now expected to launch appeals and will not be jailed immediately. One of the eight convicted, R.B. Roychoudhury, has already died.

Warren Anderson, the American then-chairman of the US-based Union Carbide parent group, was among the accused but he was not named in the verdicts after the Bhopal court declared him an "absconder".

The company executives were originally charged with culpable homicide but -- to the outrage of survivors and victims -- the Supreme Court in 1996 reduced the charges to death by negligence with maximum imprisonment of just two years.

"Even with the guilty judgement, what does two years' punishment mean?" Sadhna Karnik, of the Bhopal Gas Victims Struggle group, told AFP. "They will be able to appeal against the judgement in higher courts," he said.

Outside the court on Monday, victims and members of human rights groups anxiously waited. Some shouted that the verdict was an "insult." Others criticised the time it had taken for the convictions. "Justice has been delayed and denied," read one placard.

Government figures put the death toll at 3,500 within the first three days of the leak but independent data by the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) puts the figure at between 8,000 and 10,000 in the same period.

The ICMR has said that until 1994, 25,000 people also died from the consequences of gas exposure, with victim groups saying many were still suffering from the effects to this day.

Survivors remember their eyes grew huge and red after the leak and they began frothing at the mouth and vomiting after inhaling the gas. Many recall hundreds of dead lying in the streets.

Government statistics compiled after 1994 concluded that at least 100,000 people living near the factory were chronically sick, with more than 30,000 residing in areas with contaminated water.

A study last year by the Britain-based Bhopal Medical Appeal said the shanty towns surrounding the site were still laced with lethal chemicals that are polluting groundwater and soil, causing birth defects and a range of illnesses.

Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide in 1999 but says all liabilities related to the accident were cleared in a 470-million-dollar out-of-court settlement with the Indian government in 1989.

A statement released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the disaster said the settlement "resolved all existing and future claims" against the company.

Union Carbide "did all it could to help the victims and their families" until the settlement and said the Indian government should be responsible for providing clean drinking water and health services to residents, it said.

The company said at the time and continues to insist that sabotage was behind the leak, but the victims have long fought for it to provide further compensation and for its senior staff to face justice.

One victims' group member, Satyanath Sarangi, described the maximum two-year sentence as comparable to the punishment for a "traffic accident."

"We will continue our fight," he said. "This is just the beginning."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Bhopal as a tragedy that "still gnaws at our collective conscience" and has vowed continued efforts to tackle the issues of drinking water and site decontamination.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Tips Prevention of Workplace Hazards


Extension of the Workplace Safety and Health Act

The Workplace Safety and Health Council and the Ministry of Manpower announced the National Workplace Health Strategy at the National Workplace Safety and Health (NWSH) Campaign 2010 launch. Guest of Honour Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong, highlighted in his speech the key areas from the Workplace Health Strategy, as detailed below.

Manpower Minister announced the extension of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSH Act) to cover all workplaces and another 140,000 establishments in Sept 2011. He also announced, for consultation, a draft Guidebook on Common Hazards and Control Measures, covering key issues such as slips and trips in workplaces as well as injuries arising from improper handling of heavy loads.

Source: WSH Alert dated 29 Apr 2010

Five Parties Convicted for Failing to Ensure Workplace Safety

Two companies from the marine industry and three of their employees were convicted on 1 April 2010 for failing to ensure workplace safety. The convicted parties were fined a total of $485,000.

One of the companies was responsible for the death of 3 workers and injuries sustained by 10 others in two separate incidents in 2008. In the first incident, the company was engaged to install hydraulic pipes on a vessel. A fire broke out on the vessel and injured four workers.

It was found that the project manager had allowed compressed oxygen to be used to test the pipes. The pipes' rusty and rough interior generated heat when the pressurised oxygen passed through them. The heat, combined with the oxygen, rust and lubricating oil found in the vicinity, led to the explosion.

In the 2nd incident, 2 months later, a flash fire broke out on a vessel during spray painting works at the company's premises. The accident left 3 workers dead and 6 others injured. Investigations found that the company did not effectively ventilate the tanks to ensure that flammable vapours generated from the spray painting works did not build up. The ship repair manager had also approved the permit-to-work without ensuring the implementation of all safety measures, e.g. preventing workers from bringing in unsafe torchlights, which could have been the ignition source.

The 2nd company convicted was responsible for an accident on board a ship that claimed 2 lives, and injured another. The workers were assigned to clean a tank and they entered it even though it contained a high concentration of toxic Hydrogen Sulphide gas. Investigations revealed that the company had failed to provide them with safety equipment such as breathing devices and personal gas monitors. One of the supervisors had also told the workers to enter the tank even though it was dangerous to do so.

Chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health Council, Mr Lee Tzu Yang said the deaths and injuries in the cases are a "sombre reminder" of the workers affected by poor safety standards and a disregard for safety rules. "Each of the five workers who died had unfulfilled dreams and families who will miss them everyday. Industry players must constantly remind ourselves that we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our workers. At no time should anyone disregard any safety measures so as to take an easier route to complete a job. In each of these cases, someone had ignored important safety measures," he said. On behalf of the WSH Council, he urged all stakeholders to think about the impact of one's actions and to always keep safety foremost on their minds.

Source: WSH Alert dated 27 Apr 2010

Monday, February 8, 2010

APPROVED CODES OF PRACTICE

WSH (APPROVED CODES OF PRACTICE) NOTIFICATION 2010
Come into effect from 1st February 2010

1. Code of Practice for Working Safely at Height - 2009
2. SS 537: Code of Practice for Safe Use of Machinery
Part 1: General requirements - 2008
3. SS 531: Part 1: Code of Practice for Lighting of Work Places,Indoor - 2006
4. SS 531: Part 2: Code of Practice for Lighting of Work Places, Outdoor - 2008
5. SS 531: Part 3: Code of Practice for Lighting of Work Places, Lighting requirements for safety and security of outdoor work places - 2008
6. SS 548: Code of Practice for Selection, use, and maintenance of respiratory protective devices (Formerly CP 74:1998)- 2009
7. SS 549: Code of Practice for Selection, use, care and maintenance of hearing protectors (Formerly CP 76:1999)- 2009
8. SS 536: Code of Practice for the safe use of mobile cranes Formerly CP 37:2000)- 2008
9. SS 510: Code of Practice for safety in welding and cutting (and other operations involving the use of heat)- 2005
10. CP 101: Code of Practice for safe use of powered counterbalanced forklifts - 2004
11. CP 91: Code of Practice for lockout procedure - 2001
12. CP 27: Code of Practice for factory layout — safety, health and welfare considerations - 1999
13. CP 62: Code of Practice for the safe use of tower cranes - 1995
14. CP 63: Code of Practice for the lifting of persons in work platforms suspended from cranes - 1996
15. CP 79: Code of Practice for safety management system for construction worksites - 1999
16. CP 84: Code of Practice for entry into and safe working in confined spaces - 2000
17. CP 14: Code of Practice for Scaffolds - 1996
18. CP 20: Code of Practice for suspended scaffolds - 1999
19. CP 23: Code of Practice for formwork - 2000
20. CP 88 – 1: Code of Practice for temporary electrical installations — Construction and building sites - 2001
21. CP 88 – 3: Code of Practice for temporary electrical installations — Shipbuilding and ship-repairing yards - 2001
22. SS 473 – 1: Personal eye-protectors — general requirements - 1999
23. SS 473 – 2: Personal eye-protectors — selection, use and maintenance - 1999
24. SS 508 – 1: Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Design principles for safety signs in workplaces and public areas - 2004
25. SS 508 – 3: Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Safety signs used in workplaces and public areas - 2004
26. SS 98: Industrial safety helmets - 2005
27. SS 513 – 1: Personal protective equipment — Footwear — Safety footwear - 2005
28. SS 513 – 2: 2005 Personal protective equipment — Footwear — Test methods for footwear - 2005