DOSH to meet contractors over safety
The Star Online, 1 April 2013
By ISABELLE LAI
Too close for comfort: Road users passing an LRT construction work site.
PETALING JAYA: The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) will be meeting with contractors to tighten their safety management system after a freak accident at an LRT construction site killed a motorist.
Its director-general Datuk Dr Johari Basri said the meeting, which was called in light of development executive A. Vijayasingam's death after a 10-tonne construction equipment fell on his car, would focus on managing sub-contractors and specialised equipment such as cranes.
“It will also discuss the need to increase safety personnel and better traffic management.
“This is a very unique situation. Normally, contractors can cordon off construction areas but the LRT and MRT construction works are taking place along highways and roads,” he said in an interview.
In the incident on Friday, Vijayasingam's car was stuck in a traffic jam near KM15 of Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang when the construction equipment being hoisted by a crane fell and crushed his car.
Vijayasingam was killed instantly while another driver suffered minor injuries.
Dr Johari said that while DOSH already had a task force to manage construction safety, contractors themselves had to play “a very proactive role” in ensuring safety at all times.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said a full investigation was being carried out to determine if the contractor involved was guilty of negligence.
“If somebody has been negligent, rest assured, we will take adequate measures,” he said, referring to the various crane-related accidents that had occurred over the years.
Friday's incident echoes the tragic death of corporate consultant Dr Liew Boon Horng on Dec 30, 2005, when an iron mould fell from the 20th floor of a building onto his BMW, killing him on the spot.
In 2009, two foreign construction workers were killed in Bangsar Utama when a crane carrying building materials fell on them following a sudden cable snap.
In 2011, a seven-storey high crane tower in George Town toppled over and fell on a pre-war house, killing bachelor Liang Yit Kwang and injuring three others.
Last year, driver Zambri Miah and his two colleagues narrowly escaped being crushed by a falling crane in Jalan Ampang.
