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SINGAPORE — Chip Soon Aluminium, the company that supplied composite panels to a building that caught fire last year, has been charged with cheating three customers.

There are five charges against the distributor, which is accused of deceiving three companies into paying for Alubond composite panels. It allegedly did so by concealing the fact that the panels’ certificates of conformity — a fire safety requirement — had been terminated.

The offences allegedly occurred in June and July 2013, two to three months after the certificates were terminated on April 5, 2013, court documents stated.

Chip Soon and its sales and marketing manager, Benny Phua Chia Ping, were charged with similar offences in September.

Court documents showed that the 259 panels did not comply with any valid certificate of conformity.

Composite panels are used for cladding of exterior walls of buildings.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) filed a police report on July 6 last year based on its findings on the Toh Guan Road fire.

Responding to queries from TODAY on Thursday night (Nov 8), an SCDF spokesperson said: “The case against Chip Soon Aluminium Pte Ltd was first mentioned in court on Sep 25, 2018. As the matter is now before the courts, it is inappropriate to comment further.”

Earlier on Thursday, the SCDF had announced plans to tighten safety regulations and certification processes for building cladding, after composite panels in 60 buildings were found to have failed fire safety requirements last year.

These included the two models of composite panels from the Alubond brand sold by Chip Soon: FRB1, which is certified as Class “0” for use as cladding on external walls; and FRB2, which is certified as Class “1” for roofs and internal walls.

Investigations later found that they did not meet Fire Code standards. The Fire Code here allows only non-combustible panels, or Class “0” on core combustible panels that do not allow flames to spread, to be used on external walls.

SOME 900 PANELS SOLD TO THREE FIRMS

The three companies allegedly deceived by Chip Soon and Phua were HB Glass and Aluminium, Mantec Holdings and Nam Lee Pressed Metal.

About 650 Alubond panels were apparently delivered to HB Glass in June and July 2013, and HB Glass paid more than S$116,000 to Chip Soon.

In July 2013, the distributor delivered 100 panels to Mantec Holdings for about S$23,400, and 147 panels to Nam Lee Pressed Metal for about S$38,700, court documents showed.

The customers were allegedly led to believe that the panels had Class “0” rating.

Chip Soon and Phua will return to court next month.

In the SCDF’s announcement on Thursday, it was said that manufacturers receive a certificate of conformity from certification bodies — valid for five years — when their fire safety products are tested and proven to be fit for use.

The SCDF first announced in August last year that the external walls of 36 buildings here may not have used materials that meet fire safety requirements. Chip Soon had supplied the cladding to 41 buildings.

At the time, Chip Soon had said it was “shocked and dismayed” that its products did not meet fire safety standards and that it had “always believed these products to be fully compliant and properly certified”.

It said it was conducting its own investigations and was demanding a response from the manufacturer of the panels, Eurocon Building Industries FZE in the United Arab Emirates.

Cheating, or the abetment of cheating, carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ jail and a fine.

If convicted of committing an act so rashly as to endanger human life, Phua could be jailed up to six months and fined up to S$2,500.

Source : https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/fire-toh-guan-road-building-cladding-distributor-manager-face-cheating-charges?cid=emarsys-today_TODAY%27s%20morning%20briefing%20for%20Nov%209,%202018%20%28ACTIVE%29_newsletter_09112018_today

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SINGAPORE: A 49-year-old Thai national died at a construction site on Friday (Oct 19) after falling from a height of about 14m.

The site is located at 80 Tuas South Boulevard, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said.

“A 49-year-old Thai worker was shifting the zinc roof sheets on the roof of a workshop that was under construction when he stepped on the insulation layer and fell to the ground,” the spokesperson added.

“The height of the fall was about 14m.

“The occupier is HPC Builders Pte Ltd and the employer is Eltraco Roofing System Pte Ltd. MOM is currently investigating and all work at height activity has been stopped.”

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at 3.50pm. A male worker was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene at 4.13pm, SCDF added.

Photos of the incident that were circulated on Facebook showed a man in work gear lying motionless on the ground.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported HCP Builders as the occupier of the site. The Ministry of Manpower has since corrected the company’s name as HPC Builders.

Source:https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/thai-worker-49-dies-after-14m-fall-at-tuas-construction-site-10846300

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has suspended the licence of employment agency SRC Recruitment after identifying the firm as the one responsible for the maid advertisements on online marketplace Carousell.

In a statement on Wednesday (Sep 19), MOM also said that it is investigating SRC Recruitment “with the view to take prosecution actions for infringements under the Employment Agencies Act (EAA)”.

The suspension means that SRC Recruitment will not be able to place any new foreign domestic workers (FDWs). The suspension will remain for as long as investigations are ongoing, MOM said in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.

“The MOM is committed to protecting the well-being of FDWs in Singapore. We strongly condemn the advertising of FDW services in an undignified manner,” said Mr Kevin Teoh, Commissioner for Employment Agencies.

“Advertising FDWs on an Internet platform meant for trading goods is completely inappropriate and unacceptable. Such an act is an offence under the EAA. The ministry takes a very serious view on this matter, and we will not hesitate to take prosecution actions on errant employment agencies,” he added.

MOM first alerted the public to the postings on Carousell on Sep 14, saying that it had been made aware of cases of maids being “marketed inappropriately” on Carousell.

Carousell user “maid.recruitment” had posted listings showing several domestic workers from Indonesia, along with their names and ages.

Carousell later responded to say that it had detected around 50 listings and removed them.

MOM said on Wednesday that it expects employment agencies to exercise a duty of care towards their clients, including FDWs.

“The ministry sternly warns employment agencies against similar actions that would denigrate the dignity of foreign domestic workers working in Singapore,” it said.

MOM added that it is also in touch with the Indonesian Embassy and have informed them of the investigations.

‘WE SHOULD TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT’

SRC Recruitment’s actions earned a stern rebuke from Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, who said she was “deeply disturbed”.

She wrote in a Facebook post: “Advertising and marketing FDWs in such an undignified manner is not only insensitive, but absolutely unacceptable. I strongly condemn the action.”

“It pains me to think that our FDWs, many of whom are someone’s daughter, sister and possibly even mother, are being marketed in such a manner. It is a given that we should treat them with respect,” she said.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/maid-advertisements-carousell-employment-agency-suspended-src-10737460

SINGAPORE – The number of noise-induced deafness cases in the workplace has plunged in the first half of this year, a change that will help retain workers, said some analysts.

Overall, the picture is also brightening, according to the Manpower Ministry’s preliminary figures on workplace safety for the first half of 2018, released on Monday (Aug 20).

They show the number of occupational diseases – a cause of concern last year – fell to 294 from 471 in the same first half of last year.

Among the top three diseases, noise-induced deafness fell to 102, which is 94 fewer cases than in the first half of last year.

Skin diseases more than halved, declining from 50 to 21. The drop in musculoskeletal disorders, however, was less dramatic. It slipped 14 per cent, from 182 to 157 cases.

There were 20 fatalities, down from 23 in the second half of last year, but one more than in the first half of 2017.

Construction had the highest number of deaths: eight.

With injuries, however, the number fell 3 per cent to 6,032 cases from 6,211. Falls continue to be an area of concern, with seven deaths in the first half of 2018. In the same period in 2017, there were four such deaths but the number rose to eight in the second half.

The ministry and the Workplace Safety and Health Council have intensified their enforcement and engagement efforts in fall prevention, vehicle and machinery safety, and construction.

The ministry’s director of policy, information and corporate services department, Mr Christopher Koh, said: “There was some progress in workplace safety and health performance for the first half, but we need to do better, especially in construction and fall prevention.”

Industry experts said in the past two years, the focus has shifted from just safety to include workplace health.

Construction companies like Kori Holdings have implemented measures to tackle noise-induced deafness and heatstroke.

The use of less-noisy piling and hacking machinery has made worksitesquieter.

Said Kori’s chairman and chief executive Hooi Yu Koh, 47: “Good workers stay on the longest so we need to ensure they are healthy.

“They are also ageing and we want to make sure they are fit and can do even better-quality work.”

The ministry said it conducted 2,600 workplace inspections in the first six months of this year. Almost 1,500 were done in construction.

It found 5,000 workplace safety and health violations, and 40 stop-work orders were issued, each for an average of four weeks.

On-the-spot fines totalling $800,000 were slapped on 350 companies.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/number-of-workplace-injuries-falls-mom

SINGAPORE: There were fewer fatalities in the workplace related to vehicular incidents in the first half of the year, but falls remain a top cause for major injuries, according to official figures released on Monday (Aug 20).

Vehicle-related fatalities – the top cause of workplace fatalities annually since 2013 – fell to four in the first half of 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute said in a press release.

In both the first half and second half of last year, seven fatalities were recorded from vehicle-related incidents.

Falls remain a concern however, causing seven fatalities in the first half of this year. More than half of these fatalities occurred in construction, said MOM and WSH Institute.

There were eight fatalities from falls in the second half of last year and four in the first half of 2017.

Falls were also the top cause of major injuries in the first half of 2018, with 142 cases.

This was an increase from the 128 cases in the second half of 2017 and 112 cases in the first half of last year.

Machinery-related incidents remained stable with 36 cases in the first half of this year, MOM and WSH Institute said.

There were 20 workplace fatalities in the first half of 2018, which is slightly higher than the 19 cases in the same period last year.

Most of these cases – 8 fatalities – were in the construction sector, followed by the manufacturing sector.

Compared with the first and second halves of last year, including non-fatal cases, there were fewer workplace injuries, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases in the first half of 2018.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-mom-wsh-workplace-fatalities-10633642

Wishing Singapore a safe and prosperous nation ahead!

XOXO 😘😘😘

SINGAPORE – A committee tasked to chart a comprehensive 10-year blueprint in making Singapore workplaces safer and healthier is studying ways to help companies and developers better understand the track record of contractors when deciding on project tenders.

Mr John Ng, chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, said this is one of the ideas being discussed by the WSH2028 Tripartite Strategy Committee, which was announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) earlier this year.

“This will encourage more contractors to invest in improving their safety and health track record,” he added in a Facebook post on Tuesday (July 31).

Speaking at the WSH awards ceremony on Tuesday, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo cited how some companies already require their sub-contractors to have bizSAFE Level 3 certification as a minimum – a practice that government agencies already adopt in awarding public construction project tenders.

“When the customer imposes such a requirement, it reinforces the importance of safety and health in the workplace. Both sides also stand to gain from reduced downtime due to accidents or costs incurred because of safety lapses,” she added.

Both Mr Ng and Mrs Teo said the idea arises from discussions between committee and stakeholders like employers, unions, professional associations, safety officers and workers from different industries on how workplaces can be safer and healthier.

Mrs Teo said one recurring theme in the discussions was for the senior management to take the lead in driving WSH.

She said senior management of companies or even sub-contractors and suppliers could set the tone for the rest in their organisations if they are committed to WSH.

“Conversely, if the senior management shows little or no interest, it is unlikely that the rest of the company or its associates will take WSH seriously,” she added.

Mr Ng, who chairs the committee, said it will be launching public consultation via the website of government feedback unit REACH in August.

At this year’s awards organised by the WSH Council and MOM, the Keppel Group emerged as the top winner, winning 28 out of the 158 awards.

Mrs Teo said that the efforts of these companies and individuals have ensured that over 150,000 workers go home safely each day. She said an example of strong ownership of WSH was Keppel Singmarine, which is part of Keppel Group, that remained accident-free throughout 2017.

She added that first-time Gold award recipient Bintai Kindenko, a company that specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering, regularly shares near-miss incidents on-site, and kept both employees and sub-contractors involved. The company has been accident-free since 2014.

Mr Ng said the overall workplace fatal injury rate was 1.2 per 100,000 workers last year. This was down from 1.9 in 2016.

Under the WSH Innovation category, there were 11 award recipients, the highest number in the last five years.

One of which is engineering and maintenance firm CYC International, which developed a tank-cleaning robot in 2016.

This year, the company created an improved model – a submersible machine which cleans underwater thick sludge, chokes and waste in tanks and other areas such as large public drainage systems.

“(It) eliminated the risks associated with the traditional method of man-entry into confined spaces, and reduced the impact of heat stress and fatigue for workers during difficult phases of cleaning,” Mrs Teo said.

She added that it also reduced the amount of manpower needed – from 20 men to six – as well as the cost of water disposal – from about $10,000 to $500.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/workplace-safety-and-health-committee-getting-companies-to-focus-on-track-record-of#main-content

SINGAPORE – Rail operator SMRT faces fines totalling $1.9million for two incidents in the last two years which disrupted train services.

One was an accident in March 2016 which resulted in the death of two SMRT trainees, and the other was the flooding near Bishan MRT station in October 2017, which affected about 231,000 commuters.

In deciding the final amount of the fine, regulator Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (July 20) that it will also consider any other mitigating facts SMRT may raise.

SINGAPORE – One in every three deaths at the workplace last year was caused by a vehicular incident.

Fourteen people lost their lives in such incidents last year, making it the number one cause of deaths at the workplace, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said on Monday (June 25).

This proportion has been stable over the past few years, but Mr Zaqy noted signs of improvement this year, with just two such deaths recorded in the first five months of 2018.

In an effort to keep the numbers low, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council launched the Drive Safe, Work Safe campaign on Monday to raise awareness about good vehicular safety practices.

This is the first of three national workplace safety and health campaigns that will be launched by the WSH Council this year. The other two will focus on safe hands and falls.

Mr Zaqy, who launched the campaign on Monday, said that half of the 14 vehicular-related deaths at workplaces in 2017 occurred within work sites, and the rest were on public roads.

“I hope that the number stops here, and I think it is possible, as we have learnt that such incidents are indeed preventable,” said Mr Zaqy during a visit to private transport firm Woodlands Transport in Tuas.

The campaign’s slogan is “Take Time to Take Care”, and it seeks to educate workers about preventive measures, including reminding them to set aside time to adopt correct work practices, to get adequate rest and to keep hydrated.

Mnemonic actions that enhance safety, such as tapping on the wrist or watch to serve as a memory cue, will be publicised during the campaign.

Companies are encouraged to participate in the campaign by organising in-house events like safety briefings, exercise sessions and taking part in a mannequin challenge, which the WSH council said underscored the campaign’s message of making time to take care and the need to “stop and look at the way we do our work”.

The mannequin challenge involves the taking of a staged video of workers freezing in the middle of doing an activity – and hence dovetails neatly with the idea of “stopping and looking”.

In his speech, Mr Zaqy revealed the results of a WSH Technology Challenge that was launched last year. Under the challenge, funding was made available to companies that submitted winning proposals to tackle work-related vehicular incidents.

More than 30 companies took part in the challenge and judges from various governmental statutory boards chose five winning entries, which Mr Zaqy said provided “remarkable solutions for the industry”.

One of the companies selected was Guardian SEA, which was given a budget of $25,000 to develop a sensor and image processing technology that would track a driver’s movements to identify fatigue or distraction.

Mr Jeff Tan, marketing manager of Guardian SEA, told The Straits Times: “By using the size of the pupil, the change of blinking rate and also facial recognition, all these features help the machine to understand what the driver is thinking.”

Should the system detect any sign that the driver is unfocused in his work, the driver’s seat vibrates and a buzzer is activated to alert the driver about the need to take a break.

Mr Zaqy also provided an update on the Managing Onsite Vehicular Safety programme under which consultants assess work sites and help firms develop and implement onsite traffic safety management plans for free. The Manpower Ministry pays for the consultants.

The programme has benefited about 80 companies since it was launched last year. Mr Zaqy said that the number of visits will be increased to 120 this year.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/14-people-killed-in-vehicle-related-incidents-last-year-top-cause-for-deaths-in-work-places