Loud bangs then fire at Tuas incinerator

Source: AsiaOne
Sunday, May 06, 2012      

SINGAPORE - An incinerator at a waste management plant in Tuas caught fire early Sunday morning. According to witness statements, three loud bangs were heard before flames were sighted.
An eyewitness told the Straits Times that technicians on duty were transporting oil sludge into a funnel leading to the incinerator when they heard the three loud explosive bangs, followed by the flames.
The technicians then sounded the alarm and left the control room, which reportedly caught fire just seconds later.
The roof also partially collapsed, reported the English daily.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the fire at around 12.50am at Eco SWM, in Tuas. Deploying three fire engines, SCDF officers put out the fire within 30 minutes of their arrival.
A SCDF spokesperson said that all 25 employees who were onsite when the incident happened are accounted for. No injuries have been reported.

Worker dies after fall in Yishun

By Mark Soh
The New Paper
Thursday, May 03, 2012

He heard a loud bang coming from his block in Yishun where lift upgrading was being carried out.
This was followed by frantic shouting and the sound of running feet.
A resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Sinniah, 90, rushed out of his flat and looked over the common corridor parapet.
To his horror, he saw the body of a Indian construction worker lying in a drain.
"I have never heard the sound of a body hitting the ground after a fall.
"I thought at first that some equipment had fallen off the platform," he said.
At about 4.10pm yesterday, a construction worker fell from the eighth-storey lift landing of Block 107, Yishun Ring Road.
The block had been undergoing lift upgrading by Kienta Engineering Construction.
"It was a chilling sound," said Mr Sinniah, who lives on the seventh storey of that block.
A spokesman for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed receiving a call at 4.22pm and dispatched an ambulance.
Paramedics certified the man was dead and handed the case to the police.

MOM also present

Officers from MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate went to the site to investigate.
The worker had been assisting another construction worker who was operating welding equipment.
The MOM spokesman said he was reportedly retrieving an electrical cable hanging over the safety barricades at the side of the lift landing before he fell. The safety rails that straddled the platform fell with him.
When contacted, a police spokesmansaid they received a call at about 4.30pm. Upon arrival, they found the body of an Indian national in his 20s.
The case has been classified as unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.

A co-worker gave the dead man's name as Mr Dinoth Kumar. He said Mr Kumar, 24, had worked in Singapore for more than two years and had been with Kienta Engineering Construction for about eight months.
The co-worker said: "When he fell, he landed in a drain. The worker on the eighth storey who was using the welding machinery and another friend helped lift his body out of the drain."
He said that Mr Kumar had two younger brothers and elderly parents back in India.
MOM has instructed Kienta Engineering Construction to stop work at the accident scene.
When approached, a safety officer from the company declined to comment.
A resident known only as Madam Ros, 55, an odd-job worker who lives on the seventh storey, said: "I saw an ambulance arrive and paramedics rushing out.
"When I saw them return empty-handed without a stretcher or a body, I knew that he didn't make it."

This article was first published in The New Paper.

Worker Died After Falling Through Viewing Platform on Board Ship

Received by e-mail from WSH Council, dated 4 April 2012.

Recently, a worker was killed when he fell from a viewing platform on board a ship undergoing repair work. At the time of accident, he was tasked to oversee the movement of the ship from the dock. When he was walking on the viewing platform that was made of metal gratings, a section of the gratings gave way. He fell through the opening and landed on the deck about 7.8m below.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the bracket supporting the grating was corroded and gave way under his weight causing him to fall.

Schematic view of the scene of the accident

Recommendations*:

Industry stakeholders undertaking similar work activities are advised to consider the following to prevent a recurrence:

1. Conduct proper checks on all sections of the ship where workers are required to work safely;

2. Ensure safety inspections are carried out on the ship’s access and work platforms, railings, ladders and walkways, etc to ensure there are no corrosion or rusted parts before any work activities are allowed to be carried out;

3. Repair or replace corroded parts of the access and work platforms, railings, ladders and walkways, etc before allowing workers to access these areas;

4. Cordon off all unsafe work areas and put up “Danger - No Entry” signs;

5. Put up suitable safety signages at the work location to remind workers of the job hazards;

6. Supervise all work activities to ensure safe work practices are adhered to onsite.

For more information on Workplace Safety and Health, please refer to the following links below:

• Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A), please click HERE
• Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations, please click HERE
• Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management, please click HERE

* Please note that the information provided is not exhaustive and is for the benefit of enhancing workplace safety and health so that a recurrence may be prevented. The information provided is not to be construed as implying any liability to any party nor should it be taken to encapsulate all the responsibilities and obligations of the reader of WSH Alert under the law.

Worker Struck by Excavator Bucket

In a recent incident that occured at night, a worker was killed after being struck by an excavator bucket.. The excavator was backfilling quarry dust to the voids at the sides of a newly constructed box culvert wall. The worker was standing near the piles of quarry dust when the bucket struck him. He passed away in hospital a few days later.

Photograph was taken after the piles of quarry dust had been removed

Recommendations*:

Stakeholders involved in similar work situations can undertake control measures such as the following to prevent recurrence:

1. During night work, workers should don personal protective equipment that increases visibility, such as reflective tape and vests, that can help improve their safety at work.

2. Prior to the start of any work, conduct an adequate risk assessment to identify all hazards and the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established and implemented.

3. It is recommended that works that involve heavy machinery be carried out during the day, where visibility is better. This would eliminate or mitigate hazards associated with night work, for instance, reduced visibility, machine operator impairment or inattention, fatigue, lack of adequate lighting etc.

4. Ensure adequate illumination is provided when carrying out work. For more details, refer to SS 531:2008 Code of Practice for Lighting of Work Places.

5. Establish detailed method statements and safe work procedures that are specific to the tasks. The safe work procedures must be communicated to and understood by the workers carrying out the work and adhered to. It is important to detail out separate safe work procedures for day and night work, due to the significant difference in environmental conditions.

6. All persons involved in the work must be adequately trained to be competent for the job, as well as be aware of the risks and the safety precautions required. Workers who were not involved in the work should not be allowed near areas where work is done using heavy machinery.

7. Supervise workers adequately to ensure assigned tasks are carried out in a safe manner. The responsibilities of supervisors include regular inspections to identify and manage hazards at the worksite. The supervisor should ensure that safe work procedures are adhered to.

For more information on Workplace Safety and Health, please refer to the following links below:

• Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A), please click HERE
• Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations, please click HERE
• Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations, please click HERE
• Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations, please click HERE
• Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management, please click HERE
• CP 18 : 1992 Code of Practice for Earthworks, available from SPRING Singapore
• SS 531: 2008 Code of Practice for Lighting of Work Places, available from SPRING Singapore
• SS 562 : 2010 on Code of Practice for Safety in Trenches, Pits and Other Excavated Areas, available from SPRING Singapore

*Pls note the recommendations are not exhaustive.

Original Source: Received from WSH Council via e-mail.