AS MORE workers died or got hurt on the job in the first half of this year, a workplace safety official has suggested that the rewards and bonuses given to a company's top suits be tied to its safety record.
Making workplace safety a key performance indicator will ensure that the 'bosses lead by example and make safety their priority', said Mr Jackson Yap, chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health Council's construction and landscaping committee.
Citing his company as an example, Mr Yap, who is the group managing director and chief executive officer of home-grown construction firm United Engineers, said its weekly meetings typically kick off with a review of the safety processes of work operations.
'That's demonstrating to managers and the last person on the ground that safety is part of doing business,' he told reporters yesterday.
In response, the Association of Singapore Marine Industries said Mr Yap's recommendation had 'its merits'. The body has 200 members comprising shipyards and marine contractors.
But its president, Mr Michael Chia, urged all employees to take responsibility as well to make the workplace incident-free.
Thirty-two workers have died on the job in the first six months of this year, up from 28 in the same period last year.
Most fatalities happened on construction sites and shipyards, which accounted for more than half of the deaths. Cases in which illness was caused as a result of work were also up, from 187 to 290.
The sobering figures came even as a commercial diver was swept away yesterday by an undercurrent while repairing the metal grating on the hull of a ship. At press time, he was still missing.
The numbers were shared at a forum yesterday attended by 550 top management representatives, managers and safety supervisors from shipyards and petrochemical and pharmaceutical companies.
The forum focused on flammable and hazardous substances - a worksite danger that killed five shipyard workers in the first six months of this year.
Mr Thomas Teo, a manager with the Ministry of Manpower's occupational safety and health division, noted that one in three of the fatalities due to flammable substances was caused by 'workers who are not trained or drilled sufficiently by their employers in safety processes'.
Another factor is that workers may be pressured to take short cuts to get the job done fast and to keep to tight deadlines, said Mr Samuel Tso, executive director of the safety council.
This is a particular risk now that the construction and shipping sector is booming.
'What is most important is that top management must build the safety culture within the organisation and change the mindsets of every worker down the line,' said Mr Tso.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on September 11, 2008.
