Coroner’s Inquiry into worker’s death uncovers safety lapses at factory

SINGAPORE — A Coroner’s Inquiry into the death of a factory worker hit by a forklift concluded that it was an “unfortunate industrial misadventure”, though the proceedings showed that safety guidelines were not followed before the accident.

Chiefly, a lack of segregation between pedestrian and forklift operation areas, and the failure on the driver’s part to look out in the direction of travel, contravened workplace safety and health guidelines by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), on the safe operation of forklift trucks.

On Dec 26 last year, Madam See Lay Heo, 53, a general worker at MC Packaging, was walking across the production floor to join her colleagues for lunch when she was struck by a reversing forklift operated by Mr Subramaniam Suppaiyya.

Mr Subramaniam, her colleague of 11 years, was using the forklift to transport 800 empty milk powder tins to the production area for sorting. At the area, he turned his head left and right to check that no one was behind the forklift before he reversed the vehicle, but when he did so, he hit Madam See.

When he got off the forklift to check, she was gasping for breath on the ground.

He immediately shouted for help, and other colleagues rushed over to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation before she was sent to the hospital.

Doctors at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital reported that Madam See was bleeding from the nose and had a wound on her right leg, with underlying bone deformity. A CT scan showed skull fractures and acute bleeding around her brain, and her blood pressure was low. She was admitted into the intensive care unit, and died two days later.

State Coroner Marvin Bay said on Friday (June 23) at the hearing that the “issue, nature and extent of police or other enforcement action against Mr Subramaniam, MC Packaging (or both) will be reviewed” after the day’s proceedings.

Mr Bay pointed out that Mr Subramaniam, who has since been sacked by the company, had likely failed to keep a proper lookout for Madam See and other workers, as he did not check his rear-view mirror. However, there was also the possibility of Madam See being in his blind spot, he said.

Investigations by the MOM found that Mr Subramaniam had been briefed on the safe operation of a forklift. Safety guidelines stated that the operator must always look in his direction of travel.

However, Mr Subramaniam’s usual manner of operating the forklift “did not conform to this standard”, as he only periodically turned his head left and right to check blind spots in his rear, and only occasionally glanced at his rear-view mirror while reversing, Mr Bay said.

MOM also noted that the factory’s production floor had a walkway marked by a 66cm-wide grey line painted on the ground. This was painted after an audit, and was meant for employees and visitors to use for safety reasons.

However, the walkway ended up being unused and was even partially obscured by pallets. Employees continued to walk across the production floor to take a “shortcut”, Mr Subramaniam told the court.

The company had not given employees instructions to use the walkway as well, Mr Bay said.

Madam See’s demise underscored the “inherent dangers” of failing to segregate and regulate human and forklift traffic, measures which are especially crucial in “busy, noisy and cluttered” production and logistical supply facilities, he said. These conditions may increase the likelihood of mishaps because forklift drivers and workers engrossed in their tasks may not realise that “they are on a collision course”, he added.

Mr Bay said that Madam See would have clear sight of the reversing forklift, and yet she continued to walk across the production floor. She might have been hurrying to join her colleagues for their half-hour lunch break, or she could have misjudged the travel direction and speed of the forklift, he added.

When contacted, MC Packaging declined comment.

MOM said that the case is under investigation, and finalised actions have not been taken against the parties involved.