Mr Desmond Hill, President of SCAL
Mr Eugene Yong, Chairman of the Construction Safety, Health & Security Campaign Organising Committee

Mr Simon Lee, Executive Director of SCAL
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning.

1. It gives me much pleasure to be here this morning to open SCAL’s 25th Annual Campaign for Construction Safety, Health and Security.

Continued Vigilance and Efforts

2. Our construction industry employs almost 300,000 managerial, professional and technical personnel. In 2007, 8.1 fatalities occurred for every 100,000 construction workers, and 3 accidents happened for every million man-hours worked.

3. These rates were an improvement from 2006 despite the higher level of construction activities in 2007. However, the fatality rate for the construction industry remains the highest among all sectors. The single largest cause of fatalities is falling from height – 14 persons died last year as a result of falling from height. I am sure we can do better to prevent such unfortunate incidents from happening and I hope to see improvement in this aspect.

4. Construction demand is projected to remain robust for the next 2 years. Capacity is stretched and we have heard anecdotally how jobs are going after people, or how machines are sitting idle, waiting for workers to operate them. BCA is monitoring the resource situation closely and will work with MOM to facilitate manpower supply and expand contracting resources if necessary.

5. In the midst of the construction buzz, it is important that we maintain vigilance on worksite safety. Worksite safety is essential to protect the lives of workers within the construction site, around and in the vicinity of the worksite, and members of the public. Developers and builders will clearly understand that a safe worksite means fewer workdays lost and less reworks needed, translating to higher productivity, and faster completion time.

Public Sector Efforts

6. MOM, as the lead government agency for worksite safety and health, has put in place an occupational safety and health framework to help companies plan for a safe and healthy workplace. To ensure compliance with the necessary safety precautions, MOM also conducts regular inspections at construction sites.

7. As the construction authority, BCA is equally concerned with worksite safety. To compliment the work of MOM, BCA adopts a 3-prong approach that includes skills certification, legislation, and industry education.

8. Upstream, BCA oversees the skills certification process at the Overseas Testing Centres to ensure that foreign construction workers coming to work here are adequately skilled. The BCA Academy also trains and certifies local workers before they enter the construction workforce. On top of skills training for craftsmen, the Academy also conducts construction safety courses for supervisors and professionals, including a Specialist Diploma in Construction Quality, Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety Management.

9. In terms of legislation, the Building Control Act was amended last year to strengthen our regulatory framework to enhance safety in the design and construction processes. Major enhancements include the provision of adequate supervisory staff, as well as specialist checks for projects involving deep excavations and complex underground structures. By 2009, a scheme to license builders and certain categories of specialist builders will be put in place. The objective is to ensure that only competent builders with the required resources and technical capability can carry out building works.

10. To maintain vigilance at site, BCA carries out over 2,000 inspections annually. Contractors who disregard site safety will be taken to task and, last year, BCA revoked 51 permits for failure to meet safety requirements.

11. Education and awareness are also important aspects. Both MOM and BCA jointly reach out to the construction industry through seminars and circulars to highlighting safety considerations and sharing of best practices.

Safety is a Joint Responsibility

12. I must emphasise that responsibility for ensuring safety lies with every party in the construction industry. While BCA and MOM can enhance safety requirements and engage the industry, such efforts will bear fruit only through the collective efforts of all stakeholders, both public and private.

13. All players along the value chain of construction work have a part to play towards ensuring workplace safety. First and foremost, all firms should place emphasis on developing a safety culture and strengthening their safety management system. Designers and architects can help to mitigate risks during the construction phase at the upstream design stage. Developers can also influence downstream behaviour by placing emphasis on safety track records of builders. I also strongly encourage professionals to constantly upgrade themselves and keep pace with changes in safety practices. Last but not least, engineers, supervisors and workers on site must stay vigilant, practise safe working habits, and take responsibility for their personal safety and that of their co-workers.

14. In this respect, I am heartened that SCAL has placed emphasis on construction safety over the years. This campaign, into its 25th year of running, is a testimony of SCAL’s commitment to workplace safety and health.

15. At the launch of the National Workplace Safety and Health Campaign last week, PM has set a challenge for the overall number of workplace fatalities per 100,000 workers to be slashed to 1.8, within 10 years. I urge all players of the construction industry to accord high priority on worksite safety, make concerted efforts to prevent accidents at worksites, and work towards making Singapore one of the safest countries to work in.

16. On this note, it gives me great pleasure to declare this year’s Construction Safety, Health and Security Campaign open.

17. Thank you.

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