Minister of state for manpower Sam Tan launched last week a campaign to help employers prevent incidents where the hand or finger of a worker is amputated.
Workplace Safety and Health Council’s Safe Hands campaign intends to raise awareness of hand and finger injuries that could result in amputations.
"Once management shows its attention, support and commitment to safety, every employee will take notice," Tan said. "They will then pay the same attention and comply with the safety practices required at the workplace where machines are used."
Every three days, a workplace-related accident causes the amputation of the hand or a finger of a worker in Singapore. Last year alone, 94% of the 125 amputation cases were hand-related. Since 2012, there have been 10 to 12 cases of limb amputations in a month.
Fifty-five of the injuries were due to inadequate safety provisions at the workplace such as the lack of proper machine guarding and risk management, the minister said.
Other causes include poor machine maintenance, unauthorised operation of machinery and inadequate training of workers who operate the machine.
“These injuries affect the livelihoods of workers whose jobs rely on operating machinery or handling materials,” Tan said.
Safe Hands is the third and final phase of a national workplace safety and health campaign. The earlier two focused on falls and vehicle accidents.
Between September and November last year, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had an enforcement operation that targeted machine safety and other amputation hazards. Officials visited more than 400 workplaces in manufacturing and construction, and took more than 1,000 enforcement actions, he said.
Machinery-related issues were most common at around 200, reported The Straits Times.
Managers must walk the ground to recognise, identify, manage and control amputation hazards caused by mechanical components of machines, safety risks workers face when the machines are in operation, or unsafe activities they perform, Tan said.
He also urged companies to make use of MOM's Job Redesign Grant, which gives companies up to $300,000 to use technology to improve safety standards and production efficiency.
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