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Large construction projects to have new safety rules

SINGAPORE — Despite the decline in the number of construction-related deaths last year — from 8.1 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2010 to 5.5 — new rules will be kicking in next year to require larger construction projects to abide by the Design for Safety (DfS) regulations.

Construction workers working at a construction site, Jan 15, 2014. TODAY file photo

Construction workers working at a construction site, Jan 15, 2014. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — Despite the decline in the number of construction-related deaths last year — from 8.1 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2010 to 5.5 — new rules will be kicking in next year to require larger construction projects to abide by the Design for Safety (DfS) regulations.

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say announced this today (July 7) at the Construction Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Leadership Summit, where he noted that the number of the deaths had fallen, but the industry can do more. The goal is to reduce workplace fatalities to 1.8 deaths per 100,000 workers by 2018. 

Under the regulations, which are mandatory for projects with contract values of S$10 million and up, safety features for workers who are building and maintaining the projects will have to be implemented from the design stages by developers and designers. 

A DfS review process to record and manage risks would also have to be implemented by the developer at every stage of the construction project. 

A DfS register must also be set up to warn those down the construction process of potential risks. It will also record risks that cannot be remedied through design changes. Such risks have to be communicated to all workers and employees. 

Penalties for those who flout these regulations will be announced when the rules are gazetted next month. In a draft of the regulations, the proposed penalty was a fine of up to S$20,000 and a one-year jail term. 

The intention to mandate the DfS was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in May last year. 

Today, Mr Lim said the regulations will take effect a year later to allow the industry sufficient time to comply. 

The regulations are mandatory for projects with contract values of S$10 million and higher because these projects contributed to around 80 per cent of fatal accidents and dangerous occurrences in the industry.

Eight workers from the construction industry died in the first half of the year, a drop from 17 during the same period last year. From July 1 last year to June 30, there were 19 construction-related fatalities.

The Workplace Safety and Health Statistics released in April showed that the construction sector was the top contributor to workplace fatalities last year, with 27 cases out of 60. The industry also contributed the most to major workplace injuries, rising from 176 in 2013 to 202 last year, making up one-third of all major injuries. 

Speaking at a media briefing after the summit, industry stakeholders said the new guidelines allowed for closer cooperation for all involved.

“The construction sector has a multi-tier contracting system which makes it more challenging (than other sectors),” said WSH Council deputy chairman Heng Chiang Gnee. 

He was hopeful this would be a major turning point in the industry, and that the notion of various parties working in isolation would be eliminated with these regulations in place. 

Dr Ho Nyok Yong, president of the Singapore Contractors Association Limited, said: “More importantly, rather than us just walking the talk about safety (alone), we (are able to join forces) with the other stakeholders … to show that safety is important for (every part of) the construction.”

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