THE IMPACT OF THE NEW WORKPLACE SAFETY HEALTH ACT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Local government has always been very concerned on workplace safety, especially in the construction industry. Construction industry always has the highest accident severity rate among the all the industries. In comparison with other developed countries, Singapore is far behind the international standards in terms of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards. Hence, the government has implemented the new Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act to improve the current safety standards in the construction industry. The objective of this research is to examine the new WSH Act and determine the effectiveness of the new regulation to the current construction industry players. The scope of work includes an overview study of the accident rate in the construction industry; an insight into the new WSH Act; and a survey of industry players’ perception on the new regulation and determine the effectiveness of this Act after it was launched in 2006; and recommend ways to improve the safety standards in Singapore construction industry. The study also touches on the action taken by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and reflects the statistic of companies that receives penalties. Recommendations on adopting the Price-Quality Method are also advised during the tendering stage.