Too few safety officers at construction sites
New Straits Time Online, 19 March 2013
SAMARAHAN: Despite having the most development projects in the country, Sarawak still lacks occupational health and safety awareness at most of its construction sites.
There were 166 construction sites registered with the state Occupational Health and Safety Department last year.
However, up till December last year, 68 projects were still active but not all of the sites prioritised their workers' safety.
"Most of these projects are worth more than RM20 million, which makes it compulsory under the law for a safety and health officer to be employed to monitor the site," said state director Mohd Hatta Zakaria.
Of the total projects registered last year, only 24 sites have employed safety officers.
Using the health and safety measures taken by the oil and gas industry as a benchmark, Hatta said the contractors should at least meet the minimum requirement for their workers in order to provide a safe working environment.
"At least provide a harness for those working in high places or scaffolding fitted with safety nets.
"This is still lacking here," he said after inspecting the new University Malaysia Sarawak students' residence construction site in the campus yesterday.
Last year, the department recorded 25 accident cases at various construction sites which resulted in 10 deaths, 12 serious injuries and three with permanent disabilities.
The nationwide figure for such cases was 67 deaths and 98 workers suffering serious injuries and 12 with permanent disabilities.
There were more than 300 certified site safety supervisors nationwide. Only 10 per cent were operating in building construction sites in the state.
"Having a safety officer will be the right step to ensure workers' safety in all these sites.
"But in comparison with the number of projects in the states, it is still a long way to go for contractors to take workers' safety seriously."
This year, the department will carry out soft enforcement at 59 building sites throughout the state.
"We do not aim to penalise but to educate the contractors on the importance of occupational health and safety."
