We have four months to go before the end of the year, but 2021 has already seen one too many fatal workplace accidents.
In the first half of this year, there were 23 workplace accidents that led to deaths, compared to 16 over the same period in 2020.
Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad said it was a “very alarming trend”.
Sadly, yet another fatal workplace accident occurred earlier this month.
74YO Worker Dies After Falling Off Elevating Platform in Century Square Loading Bay
The man, a 74-year-old Singaporean logistics worker, was working in Century Square mall in Tampines on 13 Aug.
At one point, he was pulling a hand trolley backwards on an elevated platform at a loading bay when he fell off the open side next to the ramp.
The elevated platform was 1m-tall, and the impact of the fall would eventually kill the 74-year-old.
He was rushed to Changi General Hospital after the fall, but ended up succumbing to his injuries the next day.
According to the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, it’s suspected that the man mistakenly entered the open side of the elevated platform instead of the ramp.
The authorities are now investigating the incident.
26 Workplace Fatalities So Far in 2021, WSH Council Called For Safety Time-out
There’ve been a total of 26 workplace deaths in 2021 so far.
Three occurred in just five days in June, compelling the WSH council and six trade associations to call for a safety time-out.
A safety time-out is a planned event where companies take time off from their daily work routine to take go through and review the existing workplace safety and health (WSH) systems and work processes.
These companies would then implement the necessary measures to keep safety practices robust and uphold good WSH standards.
Measures include identifying possible systemic lapses in the workplace safety and health processes and addressing them.
Safety time-outs are usually carried out in response to an emerging trend or spate of accidents.
WSH Council’s Recommendations
In response to the accident, the WSH council provided three recommendations to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future:
- Employers should brief workers, especially new and temporary workers, on the hazards in the workplace before allowing work to begin
- Install warning signs or bright warning labels at the open sides of elevating
platforms to make fall hazards clearly visible - If workers must move backwards while moving goods, they should frequently check
behind them for trip and fall hazards
Last year, a total of 30 workplace deaths were reported. Let’s hope we don’t have any more accidents this year.
To know more about workplace safety, watch this video:
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Featured Image: WSH Council