Sunday, February 15, 2015
Worker tripped and fell onto rebar
Worker Pinned by Fallen Wall Formwork Panel
| On 23 January 2015, four workers were assembling wall formwork panels to prepare for subsequent casting of a wall. While they were adjusting the tie rods, an 11-metre rebar cage that had been installed nearby tilted towards the wall formwork panels. This caused the formwork panel to fall inwards, pinning one of the workers between the formwork panels. The worker was rescued and conveyed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injury subsequently. The other three workers escaped unhurt. |
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| Figure 1: Overview of accident scene |
| Recommendations* |
1. Stability of the rebar cage
Always calculate the slenderness ratio of the rebar cage to determine the safe free-standing height. Fabricate the cage in shorter lengths where possible e.g. 5-metre cages instead of 10-metre cage.To mitigate the instability of the standing rebar cage, provide proper designed support systems such as steel props and/or guy wires. These support systems should be inspected regularly to ensure that they are not removed or have weakened.  Figure 2: Support systems – guy wires and steel prop. 2.Formwork safety
Formwork panels should not be left in free-standing position. Stable positions can be attained by securing the formwork using tie rods, additional steel props or anchor ties. If the formwork is hoisted into position, it should be adequately secured prior to the release of the lifting hooks to prevent accidental toppling. The Professional Engineer (PE) who designs the formwork structure shall ensure that its construction or assembly can be executed safely. PEs involved in formwork-related activities are reminded to pay attention to formwork safety, so that workers will not be at risk of any accidental collapse.
3.Work coordination and communication
Proper work coordination should be established for the different work activities within the worksite, especially when works are being carried out in a constrained environment. To ensure the better management and coordination of work activities, safe work methods and procedures should be established, communicated and implemented. A permit-to-work (PTW) system should also be put in place to control hazardous work and/or simultaneous activities at the site. The PTW sets out the precautions required to complete the work safely, and serve as a means of communication between the site management and personnel.
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4. Risk Assessment
Conduct thorough Risk Assessments (RAs) for all work activities to manage any foreseeable risk that may arise. The RAs should look into the following areas, but not limited to:
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Friday, March 29, 2013
Electrical Fire
The insulation was burnt outside the retainer clip, but inside was still in good consition. The fuse also did not blow. So, can surmise that the possible cause of fire was over-tightening of the clip.
Learning points:
1. Do not obstruct fire fighting equipment
2. Check plugs and conenctions regularly for any sign of overheating.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Fire breaks out, 11 injured
Morning blaze at the former Paramount Hotel took SCDF personnel five hours to put out
SINGAPORE - The fire alarm went off as Mr Florante Mollena was surfing the Internet in his room on the ninth floor of East Village Hotel at 9am yesterday, but he brushed it off thinking it was just a drill.
He then looked out of the window and saw billowing black smoke. "I panicked … I quickly packed my things and ran down the stairs with another five or six hotel guests," said Mr Mollena, a 38-year-old Filipino who was in Singapore on a business trip.
The fire at the former Paramount Hotel created a black cloud of smoke so immense it could be seen several kilometres away at the Central Business District. It took five hours to put out the fire.
Narrowly avoiding being caught in the building while the fire raged was Bangladeshi construction worker Mohammad Nazrul Islam. He and his 15 colleagues could not enter the building to do renovation work when they reached at around 8.40am.
"I come to work, I see smoke come out of the building," said the 32-year-old, who was supposed to start work at 9.30am.
Lieutenant-Colonel Abdul Razak, Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) Public Affairs Director, told Channel NewsAsia the blaze was one of the more challenging fires the SCDF has faced in recent years.
The SCDF was informed of the fire at 9.06am, and arrived within eight minutes with 19 SCDF vehicles and 80 SCDF personnel. The fire was in the basement of the front block - a retail annex - and involved vast quantities of polystyrene boards and other construction materials including flammable liquid. It did not spread to the main building.
Three main challenges to the operation were the raging fire at the basement, the zero visibility for the firefighters and the difficulty in getting to the fire in the basement due to the stacking of construction materials.
Fifty personnel were evacuated in a search-and-rescue operation. The SCDF said 11 were injured: Two SCDF personnel, five adults and four children.
A Singapore General Hospital spokesperson said seven of the 11 were discharged yesterday. The remaining four are in the high dependency ward but their conditions are stable.
Mr Raphael Saw, Chief Operating Officer for the Hospitality Business Group at Far East Organization, said the hotel has offered guests assistance in medical treatments, arranged for alternative accommodation for guests and helped to facilitate their ongoing travel arrangements, he added.
Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Goh Chok Tong visited the site yesterday evening to assess the damage. On his MParader Facebook page, he thanked the SCDF team, whom he described as "brave men".
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120717-0000028/Fire-breaks-out,-11-injured
04:45 AM Jul 17, 2012
SINGAPORE - The fire alarm went off as Mr Florante Mollena was surfing the Internet in his room on the ninth floor of East Village Hotel at 9am yesterday, but he brushed it off thinking it was just a drill.
He then looked out of the window and saw billowing black smoke. "I panicked … I quickly packed my things and ran down the stairs with another five or six hotel guests," said Mr Mollena, a 38-year-old Filipino who was in Singapore on a business trip.
The fire at the former Paramount Hotel created a black cloud of smoke so immense it could be seen several kilometres away at the Central Business District. It took five hours to put out the fire.
Narrowly avoiding being caught in the building while the fire raged was Bangladeshi construction worker Mohammad Nazrul Islam. He and his 15 colleagues could not enter the building to do renovation work when they reached at around 8.40am.
"I come to work, I see smoke come out of the building," said the 32-year-old, who was supposed to start work at 9.30am.
Lieutenant-Colonel Abdul Razak, Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) Public Affairs Director, told Channel NewsAsia the blaze was one of the more challenging fires the SCDF has faced in recent years.
The SCDF was informed of the fire at 9.06am, and arrived within eight minutes with 19 SCDF vehicles and 80 SCDF personnel. The fire was in the basement of the front block - a retail annex - and involved vast quantities of polystyrene boards and other construction materials including flammable liquid. It did not spread to the main building.
Three main challenges to the operation were the raging fire at the basement, the zero visibility for the firefighters and the difficulty in getting to the fire in the basement due to the stacking of construction materials.
Fifty personnel were evacuated in a search-and-rescue operation. The SCDF said 11 were injured: Two SCDF personnel, five adults and four children.
A Singapore General Hospital spokesperson said seven of the 11 were discharged yesterday. The remaining four are in the high dependency ward but their conditions are stable.
Mr Raphael Saw, Chief Operating Officer for the Hospitality Business Group at Far East Organization, said the hotel has offered guests assistance in medical treatments, arranged for alternative accommodation for guests and helped to facilitate their ongoing travel arrangements, he added.
Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Goh Chok Tong visited the site yesterday evening to assess the damage. On his MParader Facebook page, he thanked the SCDF team, whom he described as "brave men".
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120717-0000028/Fire-breaks-out,-11-injured
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