Development Of Workplace Safety And Health Management System

The Workplace Safety and Health Management System Regulations 2009 took into effect from 1 March 2010. Under the law, it is mandatory for the following workplaces to implement Safety and Health Management Systems

-Construction worksites

-Shipyards

-Factories engaged in the manufacture of semiconductor wafers

-Factories engaged in the manufacture of fabricated metal products, machinery or equipment (with more than 100 employees)

-Factories engaged in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products or their intermediates

-Factories engaged in the processing or manufacturing of petroleum, petroleum products,
-petrochemicals or petrochemical products;

-Any factory engaged in the manufacturing of fluorine, chlorine, hydrogen fluoride or carbon
monoxide; and synthetic polymers

-Any premises where the bulk storage of toxic or flammable liquid is carried on by way of trade
or for the purpose of gain and which has a storage capacity of 5,000 or more cubic metres

Any occupier of a workplace who contravenes the regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, and if the contravention in respect of  which he was so convicted continues after the conviction, he shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.

Workplace Safety and Health Management System ( WSHMS)  is widely used in the shipyards, construction worksites, semiconductor wafers factories, manufacturing of petroleum ,petroleum products, petrochemical products, fabricated metal products and machinery or equipment. 

The WSHMS consists of 14 elements  as follows:-

1)Safety Policy
2)Safe work practices

3)Safety training
4)Group meetings

5)Incident investigation and analysis

6n-house safety rules & regulations

7)Safety Promotion

8)Evaluation, selection & control of contractors
9)Safety inspections

10)Maintenance Regime
11)Risk assessment

12)Control of movement & use of hazardous chemicals

13)Occupational Health Programmes

14)Emergency preparedness