The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has fined construction firm TGG $270,000 and its managing director $40,000 over safety “failures” that led to the death of a worker on 8 October 2015, the government office announced on Friday.
TGG had been contracted to carry out the reinforced concrete structural works as well as mechanical and electrical works during the construction of 2 blocks of 38-storey residential building and a multi-storey carpark at Clementi Avenue.
In the process of dismantling a catch platform in a lift shaft on the 31
st floor, an adjustable base plate fell from a higher floor and hit a worker’s head. Paramedics pronounced the worker dead on the scene, and his estate was compensated under the Work Injury Compensation Act.
The base plate fell because another worker on the 38
th floor dropped a formwork frame on it while installing barricades and cleaning up, according to an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHD) of MOM.
The OSHD reported that this showed how the company’s workers were not trained properly for the task. Moreover, the workers were not informed of risk assessment findings and safe work procedures, particularly the workers on the 31
st floor.
Among other things, investigators found that untrained workers were used for the formwork dismantling, and that safety netting was not installed. The risk of falling from a height was also not impressed upon the workers.
TGG was charged for failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the health and safety of its workers – a violation of the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
The firm’s managing director, Kwek Teng Kian, was also charged for failing in his duty to exercise diligence to prevent the commission of TGG’s alleged offense. Investigations showed that was responsible for the overall site safety, and was the person who gave instructions for the formwork dismantling at the 38th storey.
“Workplace safety culture is more than removing safety hazards and implementing safety procedures. It is about having safety-first attitudes, behaviours and mindsets,” said Chan Yew Kwong, Director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate.
“Management plays a very important role in engendering safety values at the workplace. Their leadership attitudes and practices shape the safety behaviours of employees and affect the safety considerations workers have when at the workplace. There is no excuse when management wilfully disregards safety at the workplace. MOM will not hesitate to take senior management to task when found to be flouting safety practices,” the director added.
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