EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASURES TAKEN TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMS OF SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Safety is and should be a major concern in the construction industry, as it has been seen as one of the most dangerous industry with high number of industrial injuries and fatalities every year. The concern over safety at workplaces was brought to light after three highly-publicised accidents in 2004. There was urgency to reform the occupational safety and health framework. The Factories Act was repealed and replaced by the Workplace Safety and Health Act in 2006, to provide a new regulatory framework for the government to improve safety standards in all industries. This research examines the effectiveness of present statutory measures and whether these measures address underlying factors that affect construction safety standards and practice in Singapore. Extensive literature review was done to identify factors affecting safety in construction. The Act, regulations and other measures taken by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and WSH Council were examined, and survey and interviews were conducted. From the research findings, the Act has been effective in reducing accident and fatality rates thus far. It has provided many provisions and platforms for the industry to improve on the safety performance and outcomes. Hence, most of the responsibility lies in MOM and WSH Council, the effectiveness of the Act is dependent on the effectiveness of MOM and WSH Council. However, the Act has limitations, as it only covers the safety issues, and not major problems in the industry that affects safety. There are two suggestions to the improvement and refinement of the WSH Act. They are the inclusion of designers and developers in the regulatory framework and a provision for safety investment.