HFSY355 Safety Standards Legislations And Best Practices

Question: 1. Discuss the WSH (Scaffold)ulations 2011 nd explain in your own opinion is it a good regulation? 2. With the aid of sketches, describe how the risk matrix and hierarchy of controls works. c.4011. 3. Discuss health hazards at work and are they considered in the WSH Act. 4. If an incident occurs at your workplace must you report to the authorities? Justify your answer and explain how reporting is to be done. 5. Tunnelling and excavation works is very common in Singapore, stated the requirements with examples in terms of safety for these activities to be carried out. 6. Describe in your own words with examples the 3 principles of WSH ACT and justify how to.:s to achieve it in your organization. 7. Explain with examples in your organization the term “reasonably practicable”. Answer: 1. Primarily, scaffolds are defined as temporary structures used to support materials and workers to aid in the construction, repair and maintenance of bridges, buildings, and other manmade structures. To this end, they are extensively utilized in workplaces such as shipyards and construction sites. Their use, however, can pose safety risks to personnel with reports indicating that 13 percent of the accidents which occurred in construction sites from 2002 to 2005 are attributed to scaffolds. Likewise, 21 percent of accidents occurring in shipyards were attributed to scaffolding (Chok, 2009). Such accidents, nevertheless, can be averted with the compliance to the Factories (Scaffolding) regulations and requirements as well as the relevant work safety procedures on site. The Factories Regulations provides several types of scaffold use as stated below. First, timber scaffolds should not be used in shipyards and when in use in construction sites they should not exceed 15 meters in height. When in use in construction sites, metal and timber scaffolds must be enveloped in a screening net or overlay with the exception of tower scaffold. A tower scaffold should only be used on a firm ground with locking devices safely attached to castors in order to hold it in position. Modular or frame scaffolds should not be used as a means of egress or access by any individual in the workplace (Chan, Wong, Chan, Yam, Kwok, Lam, and Cheung, 2008). Lastly, hanging scaffolds are suitable for use in shipyards. For safe use, the hanging scaffold must be securely anchored to the relevant part of the ship to prevent sway or any other lateral movement. In my opinion, the regulation on scaffold use is good and effective in the prevention of accidents in workplaces. This is because the regulation clearly outlines best practices in regards to the use of scaffolds. Therefore, employers and employees should adhere to these regulations. 2. A hierarchy or risk controls The diagram above illustrates the hierarchy of controls for personnel working with scaffolds in the workplace. The inverted pyramid denotes the order of controls from the most effective that is elimination, to the least effective which is personal protective equipment (Berg, 2010). Elimination encourages employers to eliminate the need to work at heights that pose safety risks to workers. Substitution refers to the use of fall prevention systems in the workplace such as scaffolds, aerial work platforms, and mast work climbing platform. These systems should be installed with the aid of a professional (Berg, 2010). Engineering controls refers to structural aids such as guardrails and barriers while working at heights as prevention against falls. Administrative controls are used in eliminating risk by compliance to safety and workplace instructions and procedures. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last option in the prevention of accidents in a workplace. PPE should be used in conjunction with other control measures as they are not effective in fall prevention if used alone. 3. There are several scenarios in a workplace that can be hazardous to health of personnel. For instance, an employee can fall through an uncovered gap in a scaffold while attempting to erect the formwork in a second storey building. In this case, several issues might arise pertaining to the death of the employee including insufficient anchorage, neglect by the safety officer or supervisor at the site, and lack of administrative controls. As follows, several measures can be implemented by the employer to ensure that the site and use of scaffolds is in compliance with the workplace safety and health act. First, proper administration controls should be in place to ensure that work procedures and instructions are followed (Feng, 2013). In this case, personnel are not to use fall prevention systems prior to inspection by approved scaffold contractors. This is applicable in conjunction with the risk assessment procedure that will include identification or risk, evaluation, and control. Second, there should be clearly outlined safe work procedures that all employees should adhere to. These include the use of personal protective equipment and working under suitable working hours and environmental conditions to avoid slips due to poor vision of wet surfaces respectively (Lin, and Wen, 2005). 4. Safety risk in workplace varies depending on the nature of the job and tasks performed by personnel on a daily basis. The construction industry is considered a high risk workplace and poses several dangers to personnel. An example of an incident that could occur in a construction site might involve the resident contractor whereby the individual might suffer a fatal fall while inspecting construction of a tank with the aid of ladder. The initial step would be to call for the emergency aid and report to the necessary authorities that is safety commissioner of the region (Ling, Liu, and Woo, 2009). Afterwards, I would compile a report to detail the incident. In this case, the report will feature the time of the incident, witnesses present when the fall occurred, presence or lack thereof of safe procedures, risk control measures present or absent, observance or fail to adhere to safe work procedures by the victim. These details will enable the authorities to determine the party liable for injury or death of the resident contractor. 5. Over the years, Singapore has witnessed the start and completion of several projects that involved tunneling and excavation works. One such project is the construction of underground MRT structures under the Marina bay station, NSL, and CCL tunnels. Specifically, the project entails the expansion of rail networks, which involves the construction of interchange stations to facilitate enhanced connectivity of the MRT system (Chua, Hiromitsu, Takeda, Ramesh Sreedharan, and Quintas, 2016). Since the interchange stations will be adjacent to existing stations, deep excavation will be performed to facilitate construction. Several safety activities can, therefore, be utilized in this and other tunneling and excavation projects. One, in the case of over excavation, builder should identify potential void and grouting of the void. Two, contractor should design and implement protection measures for buildings including building strengthening, ground enhancement, and recharge well (Gong, and Zhao, 2007). Other safety activities include; risk assessment matrix that will involve analysis of ground conditions and proximity to adjacent buildings, constant supervision of site by resident engineer, compliance to the building control regulations, submit schedule for tunneling, identification of target face pressure and safe location, and establishment of allowed limit of excavation (Zhao, Gong, and Eisensten, 2007). 6. The Workplace Safety and Health Act is founded on three core principles. First is the reduction of risk and exposure of personnel to hazardous situations or substances. In this regard, stakeholders are required to design and implement several control measures that will mitigate risks. To achieve such, they are required to first conduct a risk assessment to determine the level of risk involved and suitable controls. Second, industries are encouraged to adopt safe and healthy outcomes. This implies that companies are required to establish best practices that involve minimal risk while achieving safe and healthy outcomes. Third, higher penalties should be imposed for poor safety management and outcomes. Undoubtedly, this principle will ensure that employers are keen on the implementation of safety measures, thus, ensuring the safety of personnel and evading avoidable penalties. 7. Reasonably practicable refers to sound measures or procedures that can be undertaken at a particular time to ensure health and safety. Several factors must be taken into account including degree of harm, likelihood of a hazard, knowledge of the involved person on the risk involved, availability of mitigation measures, and cost associated with eliminating risk (Smith, Merna, and Jobling, 2009). For instance, metal products manufacturing company uses different dyes for different items. However, the dyes must be changed manually prior to a product run. The dyes are difficult to reach and heavy therefore posing health risk to personnel. On consideration of factors that will constitute a reasonable solution, the reasonably practicable action would be to purchase a computerized machine that does not require workers to manually change dyes. References: Berg, H.P., 2010. Risk management: procedures, methods and experiences. Reliability: Theory & Applications, 5(2 (17)). Chan, A.P., Wong, F.K., Chan, D.W., Yam, M.C., Kwok, A.W., Lam, E.W. and Cheung, E., 2008. Work at height fatalities in the repair, maintenance, alteration, and addition works. Journal of construction engineering and management, 134(7), pp.527-535. Chok, S., 2009. Risky business: death & injury on Singapore’s construction sites. J Proj Manage, 27(7), pp.717-26. Feng, Y., 2013. Effect of safety investments on safety performance of building projects. Safety science, 59, pp.28-45. Gong, Q.M. and Zhao, J., 2007. Influence of rock brittleness on TBM penetration rate in Singapore granite. Tunnelling and underground space technology, 22(3), pp.317-324. Lin, E.T.A. and Wen, K.P.T., 2005. Singapore’s Contractors’ attitudes Towards Safety Culture. Journal of Construction Research, 6(01), pp.157-178. Ling, F.Y.Y., Liu, M. and Woo, Y.C., 2009. Construction fatalities in Singapore. International Journal of Project Management, 27(7), pp.717-726. Smith, N.J., Merna, T. and Jobling, P., 2009. Managing risk: in construction projects. John Wiley & Sons. TS Chua, M.L., Hiromitsu, T.A.D.A., Takeda, S., Ramesh Sreedharan, N.A.I.R. and Quintas, C.A., 2016. Design and Construction of Underground MRT Structures underneath Marina Bay Station, CCL and NSL Tunnels. Zhao, J., Gong, Q.M. and Eisensten, Z., 2007. Tunnelling through a frequently changing and mixed ground: a case history in Singapore. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 22(4), pp.388-400.

HFSY355 Safety Standards Legislations And Best Practices

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