Just to share in continuation from last week focus on Safe Lifting Operations.

Below incident happened sometime ago in Spore and seem to be relevant to our site activities… (recalled the ‘Kelly Bar’ incident at Pasir Ris).

“No Safety – Know Pain, Know Safety – No Pain • Safety Starts with ME “

Case Study: In a recent accident, a group of workers was installing a diaphragm wall reinforcement-bar cage, in preparation for the diaphragm wall construction. A crane was used to lower the reinforcement-bar cage vertically into an excavated hole. During the process, a wire rope that was connected to the pulley system attached to the reinforcement-bar cage suddenly dislodged from the auxiliary hook of the crane. As a result, the pulley system fell about 8m down and struck 3 workers, injuring 2 and killing the other.

Recommendations

1. Risk assessment must be carried out before starting any work. Through risk assessment, employers and workers can identify potential hazards and take appropriate actions to eliminate the hazards or reduce the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established, communicated and implemented to ensure the safety and health of the workers involved.
2. It is important for the Management to show commitment and put in place an effective workplace safety and health management programme. Through this, operations within the organization would be guided through a safety policy, establishment of a safety management system and proper work procedures.
3. All persons involved in the work must be adequately trained to be competent for the job, as well as be aware of the risks and the safety precautions required.
4. Before any lifting operation, a competent person should verify that the established lifting method is adequate and selected the right equipment for the job. There should also be a lifting plan established and implemented. 5. Safety features, such as safety catches, of lifting gear must not be bypassed or modified without authorisation. An inspection before the usage of the equipment must be conducted to ensure that these safety features are in good working order.
5. Only lifting gear that have been tested and certified by an authorised examiner should be used during lifting. The Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations requires that it is the duty of the owner of a lifting gear to ensure that they are properly maintained.
6. Ensure that Safe Work Procedure is well communicated at all level, especially to relevant personnel such as on site workers. Suitable level of supervision may be required to ensure that safe work procedures are adhered to prevent unsafe practices and improper work methods from being carried out.