Enhanced workplace health surveillance (WHS+)
Companies to implement workplace health (WH) programmes and upstream risk controls at workplaces to prevent occupational diseases.
Increase workplace health (WH) surveillance
Workplace health surveillance involves the monitoring of workplace environments to assess exposure levels of workers to WH hazards such as chemical or noise hazard, as well as the monitoring of workers’ health through medical screening to detect overexposures and early signs of occupational diseases.
Sectors likely to have chemical and excessive noise hazards
Food, beverage and tobacco
Healthcare
Logistics and transport
Marine
Metal working
Non-metallic mineral products
Pharmaceuticals and biological products
Refineries and petrochemicals
Rubber and plastic
Waste treatment and recycling
Woodworking and furniture
Submit declaration on the presence of WH hazards for identified workplaces
Your workplace will be informed via letters to submit a declaration if your workplace:
Uses toxic substances
Has processes involving toxic substances or
Has noisy processes
Workplaces who declared presence of toxic substances and/or noisy processes are required to:
Conduct hygiene monitoring to assess exposure levels of their workers
Implement control measures to reduce workers’ exposure
Put in place effective WH programmes such as Management of Hazardous Chemical Programme (MHCP) or Hearing Conservation Programme (HCP) to manage the hazard at the workplace and
Conduct medical monitoring for your workers who are exposed to specific WH hazards.
Adoption of upstream risk controls
Select appropriate and adequate risk controls following the hierarchy of control to reduce workers’ exposure to WH hazards.
What is hierarchy of control?
Hierarchy of control is a step-by-step approach to eliminating or reducing risks and it ranks risk controls from the highest level of protection and reliability through to the lowest and least reliable protection. Elimination, substitution, and engineering controls are more effective in reducing or controlling the risk of workers’ exposure to WH hazards and should be considered first.
Reduce workers’ exposure to toxic substances and excessive noise
Exposure to toxic substances
Workplace occupiers are required to prevent the accumulation of toxic dust, fumes, gas, vapour, mist, fibre, or other contaminants and protect workers from exposure to these contaminants in the workplace.
Several upstream risk control measures that occupiers can implement to reduce workers’ exposures to toxic airborne contaminants can be found under Regulation 39(2) of the Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations.
Exposure to excessive noise
Workplace occupiers are required to reduce or control the noise from any machinery or equipment used, so that no workers will be exposed to excessive noise.
Several upstream risk control measures that occupiers can implement to reduce noise levels in the workplace can be found under Regulation 4(3) of the Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations.
WHS+ consultation and audit programme
The WHS+ consultation and audit programme is to help high risk workplaces that use toxic substances and/or workplaces with noisy processes, to manage their WH hazards and reduce workers’ exposure risks, via a systematic approach of identification, evaluation, control and review of the measures.
At a glance
| Related eServices | Enhanced Workplace Health Surveillance Consultants and Auditors |
|---|---|
| Related documents | |
| Relevant regulations |
Who is required to undergo this programme
Identified workplaces with high exposure to toxic substances and noise are required by MOM to undergo WHS+ consultation and audit programme. Considerations to include workplaces under this programme will be based on hygiene monitoring reports, incidence of occupational diseases (ODs), etc.
What is required under this programme
Companies will be required to carry out the following:
Phase 1: Conduct gap analysis
Gap analysis should be conducted by a consultant or competent person for noise or chemical hazards. This is to identify the gaps in the implementation of Management of Hazardous Chemicals Programme (MHCP) or Hearing Conservation Programme (HCP) at the workplace, and to develop action plans to rectify the identified gaps.
The consultant or competent person appointed should be a Registered Industrial Hygienist (RIH) or Workplace Safety and Health Officer (WSHO) with relevant training and experience in managing occupational health hazards such as chemicals and noise.
You can refer to the list of service providers offering:
Chemical control consultant services
Noise control consultant services
Phase 2: Develop control and implementation plan (CIP)
A control and implementation plan (CIP) must be developed and implemented by your company to address the effective control of chemicals or noise at the workplace to reduce your workers’ exposure to acceptable levels.
Your company is required to explore possible upstream risk controls (elimination, substitution, and engineering controls) and select suitable and effective risk control solutions to be implemented for identified high-risk work processes at your workplace. You may engage a consultant (e.g. noise control consultant or ventilation design engineer) to advise you on the suitable control measures for your high-risk processes.
A post-implementation toxic substances or noise monitoring is required to be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the control measures implemented. Gaps identified in MHCP or HCP must also be addressed and documented in the CIP.
Phase 3: Conduct third-party audit
Your company is to engage a third-party WSH auditor to audit the completion of gap analysis and CIP. The WSH auditor should be from an auditing organisation accredited by Singapore Accreditation Council to conduct occupational health and safety management system certification and have sufficient competency in auditing.
As part of the audit, WSH auditors will need to ensure that these requirements have been fulfilled:
The action items identified from the gap analysis of MHCP or HCP are addressed.
The risk control measures are comprehensive and properly implemented.
The MHCP or HCP implemented at the workplace are effective in preventing ODs.
The WSH auditor will prepare an audit report, and you are required to submit the audit report to MOM for an exit assessment. The submission should include the completed gap analysis, CIP and WHS+ audit checklist with the post implementation noise or toxic substances monitoring report.
You can refer to the list of service providers offering:
Phase 4: Exit assessment
Your company will exit from WHS+ consultation and audit programme when it demonstrates significant improvement in its WH programmes implementation and ability to reduce your workers’ exposures to toxic substances and excessive noise effectively.
Your company’s management must also demonstrate their ability to manage WH hazards and maintain or upkeep their WH programmes in their workplaces to prevent ODs.
