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SINGAPORE – Forty-six workers lost their hands or fingers in amputation accidents last year, mainly due to unsafe use of machinery.
These injuries, which often have a lasting impact on workers’ lives and livelihoods, can be prevented, stressed the Minister of State for Manpower, Zaqy Mohamad, on Thursday (March 25) when he launched the Campaign. Safe Hands this year.
“We need to persevere in our efforts to ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” he said, while encouraging companies to adopt a culture of near miss reporting.
The campaign, an initiative of the Workplace Safety and Health Council, is focused on raising awareness about machine safety and practices to prevent hand and finger injuries.
Zaqy said there were 1,756 injuries due to machinery incidents last year, up from 2,262 in 2019.
But he noted that the drop could be due to the breaker period and the suspension of business activities at the time.
“Overall, for the manufacturing sector, machinery incidents still account for nearly a third of all injuries in the sector, so we must keep pushing,” he added.
Last month, 11 workers were killed in nine different workplace accidents. Some of the deaths involved the use of machinery such as forklifts.
“These tragic accidents remind us that if not used correctly, machines can lead to unnecessary loss of life, not just loss of hands or fingers,” said Zaqy, urging companies to take a safety break to review their practices. and assess the possible risks.
While Singapore has resumed nearly all of its manufacturing activities since the breaker ended on June 1 of last year, workplace safety and health cannot be taken for granted when companies catch up on delays in orders or adjust their operations, he said.
“Every accident and every life lost is too much.”
The campaign is carried out in collaboration with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation. Last year, some 560 companies pledged to strengthen security.
Mr. Zaqy called on more employers to take proactive steps to ensure the safety of their workers.
These include the installation of machine guards, which prevent operators from getting their fingers and hands caught between moving parts, or light curtains, which are sensors that can detect if the operator’s fingers get too close to moving parts. of the machine.
While these measures are a necessary first step, a company’s management must ensure that protections are maintained and are not intentionally removed for convenience.
“Companies cannot delegate this responsibility to workers,” he said. They must also be receptive to feedback and act immediately when failures are pointed out.
In his opening speech, Mr. Zaqy also touched on health issues in the workplace, from chronic problems to infectious diseases like Covid-19.
In recent years, mental health in the workplace has become a growing concern.
Companies can use a free online assessment tool called iWorkHealth to identify sources of work stress and consult Tripartite Counseling on Mental Well-Being for resources to support workers’ mental health.
Zaqy said that a stressful work environment can affect productivity and lead to possible lapses, as distracted workers can lose concentration and have slower hand-eye coordination.
Similarly, workers with poorly managed chronic illnesses may find it difficult to rest, he added.
“Limited energy levels coupled with constant pain make even the simplest tasks exhausting and exhausting. A worker could even lose consciousness while working, and this has dire consequences when operating machinery.”
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