WSH (Work at Heights) Regulations 2013 & WSH (Construction) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

The Workplace Safety and Health (Work at Heights) Regulations 2013 (WAH Regulations) have been gazetted and published on 15 April 2013. It will come into operation on 1 May 2013.

About the new Regulations

The key provisions in the new Regulations are:
(a) Fall Prevention Plan (FPP) – A specific provision mandates the establishment and implementation of a FPP in accordance with any Approved Code of Practice issued by the WSH Council. This provision will only be effective on 1 May 2014 to allow industry time to build up their capability;
(b) Permit-to-work System (PTW) – A specific part pertaining to the control of work at height where a person could fall from a height of more than 3 metres. This will also be effective on 1 May 2014 to allow industry time to have people trained and qualified to implement the PTW system;
(c) Training of workers, supervisors and other WAH personnel – Training requirements for work at height personnel are emphasised to ensure effective conduct and oversight of work performed at heights;
(d) Work on Roof and Fragile surface – Specific provisions on safe working on roof as well as working near fragile surface are included to require persons working there to be more vigilant; and
(e) Industrial Rope Access System – Due to its high-risk nature, a specific part has been included to address this area of concern.

The scope of coverage of the proposed Regulations will be in two phases, as follow:
1 May 2013
- Comes into force and applicable only to factories.
1 May 2014
- Coverage will be expanded to all workplaces
- Establishment and implementation of a FPP for workplaces specified in the Schedule
- Implementation of a PTW system for work at height where a person could fall from a height of more than 3 metres.

The WSH (Construction) Regulations have also been amended to delete those replica provisions in the new WSH (Work at Heights) Regulations via the WSH (Construction) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.

Leveraging on available assistance and resources
To help industry get ready for the Regulations, the WSH Council has rolled out various capability building initiatives during the recent Programme-based Enagagement (ProBE) Forum on 4 April 2013. These include:

• Revised Approved Code of Practice on Working Safely at Heights (LINK) - Includes new chapter on the PTW for WAH, sample templates on FPP and decision flow chart for PTW.
• Roll out of the enhanced Construction Safety Orientation Course in 1 May 2013 (LINK) - Includes new practical assessment on areas such as WAH.
• Enhancements to WAH training
  - Workers will be trained in basic WAH knowledge (such as the correct use of a personal fall arrest system) while supervisors will be trained on how to check that all fall preventive measures are in place before work commences.
  - Two new levels (WAH course for Assessor and Managers) will also be offered.
• A new WAH Train-the-trainer course has been developed to keep trainers up-to-mark on WAH fundamentals and ensure quality of training.