Safety Case Refresher Course SCIC

Safety Case Refresher Course Objective

The WSH (Major Hazard Installations) Regulations was promulgated in 2017, with majority of the existing MHIs in their second cycle of Safety Case. During this period, MHD and SCIC have published a few technical guidelines on key topics (e.g. EC&I, ALARP and HF) to further provide MHIs on technical expectations and requirements to fulfil the intent of the Safety Case requirements.

This refresher training is intended to reinforce and highlight certain key aspects (or topics) that MHD may verify during the annual onsite verification (OSV) and 5-yearly revision of the Safety Case document. Industry examples and simple group exercises will be shared during this refresher training

Key topics include:

• Concept of “Demonstration” and Expectations from MHD

• Process Safety – Identification of Safety Critical Utilities & Equipment

• ECI – Basis alarm and interlock set points / SIF loop or Interlock Loop test

• MI – Material selection and program overview

• ALARP Demonstration methodology

Who should attend?

• Safety Case Leads (SCLs), Process Safety, EHS,

• Key MHI personnel from Process, Electrical, Control & Instrumentation, Operations,

Maintenance that are involved in the Safety Case preparation or support

Programme

Trainer Biography

Er. Chan Keng Yong, MEng, PE (Chemical)

Er. Chan Keng Yong possesses about 25 years of local and international experience comprising of process safety, process, commercial, business development and project management experience in the oil and gas industries, including gas and chemicals. He is a commercially astute and technically competent manager who have successfully grown business and developed technical teams. His experiences include

process safety management (PSM) consulting, Safety Case, qualitative and quantitative process safety studies, EH&S consulting, commercial/business management, and business development in safety consulting. He is a registered Professional Engineer (Chemical) by the PE Board Singapore since May 2017.

He started his career in the oil refinery with Mobil Oil Singapore as a technical engineer for about 4 years, followed by a regional process safety role with Air Products and Chemicals (Asia and USA) for 7 years. After 11 years of technical and operational process safety experiences in the manufacturing work environment, he moved to a techno-commercial & consulting management role with Siemens O&G consulting managing pressure relief and flare analyses and mechanical integrity software related projects.

In DNV GL, he was the Business Development Lead cum Principal Consultant for the Risk Management Advisory section for Oil & Gas in Singapore/SE Asia. Thereafter, he joined Ramboll Environ Singapore for 5 years where he built and grew the process safety team in Singapore, providing technical leadership and project/team management on a range of process safety and health & safety consulting services (Safety Case, QRA, Process Hazard Analysis, PSM training, EHS Management System Review etc.) for various clients in Singapore and SE Asia.

Er. Chan is knowledgeable in PSM systems from both plant and consulting perspectives and has executed numerous PSM related works and trainings in Singapore, Asia, and USA. He has facilitated and/or led more than a hundred process hazard analysis (PHA) workshops (for newly design and/or operational facilities) including safety integrity level (SIL) classification workshops, for both offshore and onshore facilities and downstream specialty chemical companies. His other specialties include onshore QRAs, Safety Case(Singapore), PSM advisory and audits (e.g. PSSR, MOC, Consequence Modelling, PSM KPI development), EH&S Due Diligence (specifically on process safety) and conducting process safety training. Since the promulgation of the Singapore Safety Case regime in 2017, Er. Chan has supported the Safety Case training, development, and IP/RP support for numerous new (greenfield) and operational facilities. These clients are in specialty chemicals, industrial and specialty gases, warehousing logistics,

pharmaceutical API, and power industries

Administrative

Date : 02 October 2025

Time : 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Venue : SCIC Training room

SDU Points: 6

How to register

Registration Fee (before GST): $350 per participant (member)

 $450 per participant (non-member)

*Fee is inclusive of the training materials, lunch and 2 tea-breaks.Participants are required to complete the online registration form via https://scic.sg/index.php/en/test/event/462-scic-safety-case-refresher-course

A confirmation email will be sent to you upon receiving your registration. Should you require further assistance, please contact the SCIC Secretariat office at 6267 8891 or email us at secretariat1@scic.sg

Note: As seats are limited, each company is limited to 2 registrants for this forum.

Vaping Severe Health Effects

What is Vaping?

Vaping is the physical act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol produced by a battery-powered e-cigarette or vape. Unlike the traditional method of burning tobacco to smoke, vaping heats a liquid into an aerosol that is then inhaled. This liquid, termed as vape juice, typically contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals.

Vaping is currently illegal in Singapore. Many of these vapes contained addictive and harmful substances like etomidate. This is a potential public health threat as Etomidate has been found in one out of three e-vaporisers seized by the authorities

Vaping can damage vital body functions and due to its harmful effects, persons who vape etomidate may walk in an unsteadily gait, appear to be in a daze and unaware of their surroundings. The Government is taking tougher actions against vaping. We will impose much stiffer penalties and step up nation-wide enforcement.

Act wisely. Stop all vaping now. Quit today before it's too late. If you need help to quit? Call

Health Promotion Board’s Quitline: 1800 438 2000 

To seek support from social service agencies, please refer to 'Avenues for help' section below.

Witnessed a vaping-related offence?

• Report online or call the Tobacco Regulation Branch: 6684 2036 / 6684 2037

Vaping is illegal and harmful

Vaping is illegal. Harmful substances such as etomidate are added into e-vaporisers and pose serious harms to users. For now, persons who come forward to seek help or bin their e-vaporisers will not face any penalties for doing so.

In Singapore islandwide here is where you can bin the vapes?

Platform Workers Act

What is a platform operators 

Ministry of Manpower defined a platform operator provided platform services and exercises management control over one or more platform workers. A platform operator can be an individual or an entity.

Who is a platform operator

A platform operator :

• Provides either ride-hail or delivery service.
• Exercises management control over one or more platform workers.
• Can be an individual or an entity such as a sole proprietorship, a corporate body, an unincorporated association, or a partnership.

Platform Workers Act: what it covers

The Platform Workers Act is an act representation of platform workers and platform operators providing them with the rights, obligations, protections and representation

Effective from 01 January 2025, there are new protections for platform workers were implemented which include work injury compensation, CPF contributions, and representation rights.

To learn more about the changes for platform workers and operators in Singapore refer to the infographics below:

What is the Platform Workers Act

The Platform Workers Act is about the Platform Workers to strengthen their protections by implementing the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers.

The recommendations include:

Ensuring adequate financial protection for platform workers in case of work injury

Under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), the Platform workers will be entitled to the same scope and level of work injury compensation as employees .

Improving platform workers' housing and retirement adequacy

Platform operators are required to deduct CPF contributions from platform workers' earnings as and when they earn and submit it to CPF Board every month.

CPF contribution rates for platform workers and platform operators will be gradually increased to match that for employees and employers to help platform workers achieve the same level of housing and retirement adequacy as employees.

The increased CPF contributions will be mandatory for platform workers born on or after 1 January 1995. Older platform workers can choose to opt in to the increased CPF contributions if they wish to.

Enhanced representation

Platform workers and platform operators can form their own platform work associations.

Platform work associations that are recognised by platform operators can negotiate with platform operators to further the interests of platform workers, and represent the platform workers in work disputes.

Similarly, platform operators can form and be collectively represented as a platform work association.

To learn more click Platform Workers Act- Singapore

WSH Guidelines Preparing Adverse Weather

What is WSH Guidelines 

WSH Guidelines showcased workplace safety and health best practices and WSH program for controlling workplace hazards and improving occupational health for various industry and program 

WSH Guidelines on Preparing for Adverse Weather

The following adverse weather conditions are covered in this guidelines:

• Strong winds

• Heavy rainfall/flooding

• Lightning

• Heatwaves

• Haze

The guidelines cover the following phases:

• Assessing the impact of an adverse weather condition, and planning the responses to the adverse weather condition.

• Executing preparation works and responses when an impending adverse weather condition is detected.

• Recovering of workplaces and conducting inspections/checks to safely resume work.

The scenarios, hazards and measures shared in this guidelines are non-exhaustive. Companies should monitor the weather and conduct site-specific risk assessments for all relevant work activities impacted by adverse weather. For equipment and structures, companies can work with relevant stakeholders, including designers, manufacturers, and suppliers, to develop appropriate control measures

To learn more click WSH Guidelines on Preparing for Adverse Weather

 

WSH Guidelines Personal Flotation Devices

What is WSH Guideline 

WSH Guidelines showcased workplace safety and health best practices and WSH program for controlling workplace hazards and improving occupational health for various industry and program.

WSH Guidelines on Personal flotation Devices Life Jackets Scope

These Guidelines are intended for any person working in and near water in Singapore, including but not limited to workers involved in mooring operations, vessel transfers, launch boat operations and workers working next to water bodies such as reservoirs and ponds. They apply to all works in Singapore where there is a possible risk of a worker falling into water and drowning while carrying out such works.

The objectives of these guidelines are to provide Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) guidance on 

(i) the selection of life jackets for the different work environments in line with international standards, and

(ii) good practices on the use and maintenance of life jackets. 

To learn more click WSH Guidelines on Personal flotation Devices Life Jackets Scope

Heat Stress Management Programme

Climate change resulting in rising temperature have increased the risk of heat stress, for workers undertaking land transport infrastructure works and those performing outdoor tasks. The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, have called for employers to implement effective heat stress management measures to safeguard their workers health

The Ministry of Manpower, Land Transport Authority and WSH Council urge employers to adopt the following recommended heat stress control measures to strengthen their workplace heat stress management programme to sustain their workforce productivity through building greater workplace heat resilience

Fatalities Involving Compressed Gas Cylinders

Two workers died in separate incidents after being struck by flying compressed gas cylinders In the first half of 2025. Following which another accident occurred on 28 July 2025 involving a ruptured compressed gas cylinder caused an explosion at a workplace and fortunately no one was injured .

These accidents clearly emphasize  the risks and hazards associated with the use, handling and management of compressed gas cylinders and it is necessary to put in place the required risk control measures to ensure workers’ safety during the handling of compressed gas cylinders.

Workplace Accident  : Worker struck by flying gas cylinder

A workplace fatality was reported on 28 March 2025, involving a worker investigating into the cause of a fire alarm triggered by a newly installed fire suppression system at a worksite. After establishing it to be a false fire alarm, the worker proceeded to remove one of the pilot cylinders containing carbon dioxide. The pilot cylinder was first disconnected from its support bracket, before it was placed free-standing on the ground. But shortly after, the cylinder suddenly flew and struck another worker standing nearby. The worker who was struck died in the hospital.

Figure 1: Position of cylinder before it was disconnected.

Figure 2: Position where the cylinder landed after it flew.

Workplace Accident : Worker struck by flying fire extinguisher projectile

A workplace fatality was reported on 15 May 2025, involving an excavator ( fitted with an electromagnet) being used to transfer scrap metal, a discarded fire extinguisher cylinder (containing carbon dioxide gas) suddenly flew and struck a worker seated nearby. The worker was taken to the hospital where he later died.

The cylinder’s valve connector likely broke when the excavator’s electromagnet pressed on the scrap metal pile. This would have caused the residual gas to suddenly discharge and turn the cylinder into a projectile.

Figure 3: Scene of the accident.

What companies should do

Companies should assess and ensure that their WSH management system includes the following measures or checks:

Working with compressed gas cylinders

The sudden release of high-pressure gas from a cylinder can transform it into a projectile and severely injure workers in the vicinity. Compressed gas cylinders must be properly handled, transported and stored to prevent such a scenario. 

Companies carrying out similar work activities shall review their work procedures and implement the necessary control measures to protect workers working with compressed gas cylinders.

• Inspection of Gas cylinder : Implement regular checks on gas cylinders for physical damage (such as corrosion, cracks, or dents) and signs of leakage especially at its valve connector and any pipe/tube fittings used. Immediately removed any cylinder from service , valve connector or fittings found with a defect. Ensure all gas cylinders are periodically examined or tested by a competent person in accordance with the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations and the manufacturer's recommendations.

• Safe work procedures (SWPs): Establish and implement SWPs for the handling, transport and storage of compressed gas cylinders. This should be done in consultation with relevant stakeholders such as the gas cylinder manufacturer, gas cylinder transport service provider, gas system designer, plant manager, and process safety specialists.

Safe Work Procedures should consider the following content which is non-exhaustive:

Securing of the gas cylinder: Do not leave cylinders containing residual gas free-standing. Gas cylinders should be stored in an upright position and secured by chaining or fastening them to a wall bracket or other fixed supports.

Safe transportation of cylinder: Transport cylinders vertically or as upright as possible. Use a cylinder cart to move individual gas cylinders and chain or strap the cylinder to the cart securely. Never roll, slide or drag a gas cylinder as this may result in physical damage to the cylinder. Do not move a gas cylinder with its pressure regulator attached. The valve connector is also vulnerable if the cylinder falls; shut the valve connector, remove the regulator and protect the valve with a safety cap before moving the cylinder.

If the valve connector of a gas cylinder breaks off, the forces generated by the sudden gas expansion could propel the cylinder a few metres away from its original location. Therefore, it is important to use compatible valve connectors and protect the valve connector when the cylinder is not in use. It is safest to move gas cylinders when they are empty, where feasible to do so.

Use only Compatible valve connectors: Use only manufacturer-approved valve connectors that are compatible with the gas cylinder. Consult the cylinder manufacturer or supplier on the use of thread seal tape to prevent leaks at the cylinder-valve connection.

Labelling of the cylinder: Clearly label each cylinder as “FULL”, “IN USE” or “EMPTY” so that workers can easily determine its status. Train workers to verify the cylinder’s status onsite through other means e.g. by comparing the cylinder’s weight and/or pressure against the original readings when full and the expected readings when empty.

Proper cylinder storage: Store gas cylinders in a cool and well-ventilated area, and away from direct sunlight, sources of heat and corrosive substances.

• Competent workers: Deploy only supervisors and workers who are trained on the SWPs and have a good understanding of the possible hazards and risk control measures when working with compressed gas cylinders.

• Work supervision: Provide onsite supervision to ensure the SWPs are closely followed, and risk control measures are in place and effectively implemented.

For more information, refer to the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations, the Ministry of Manpower’s circular on Inspection and Filling of Compressed Gas Cylinders, SS 639: 2018 Code of Practice for the filling, inspection, testing and maintenance of gas cylinders for the storage and transport of compressed gases, and Chapter 3 of the WSH Council’s WSH Guidelines for Laboratories Handling Chemicals.

Disposal of carbon dioxide fire extinguishers

The handling and disposal of portable carbon dioxide (CO2) fire extinguishers poses a serious WSH concern as the residual pressure within an extinguisher is often strong enough to propel the cylinder and injure workers in the vicinity. All companies handling metal waste to review their risk assessments and implement the necessary control measures to protect their workers from harm.

• Responsible disposal: Work closely with upstream waste generators and service buyers to ensure only empty cylinders are received for metal recovery or recycling.

Portable fire extinguishers intended for disposal should be regarded as hazardous waste and not be disposed as general waste. They should not be sent directly to scrap metal yards unless the yard houses a facility to safely empty an extinguisher’s residual contents prior to metals handling/processing.

It is recommended to send fire extinguishers to a licensed hazardous waste disposal contractor or a specialised fire equipment disposal service provider who can handle non-empty cylinders safely.

• Safe work procedure (SWP): Establish and implement SWPs for the proper handling and disposal of incoming CO2 fire extinguisher cylinders. The SWP should cover the following (non-exhaustive):

• Separate CO2 fire extinguisher cylinders from other scrap metal waste.
• Inspect and segregate non-empty cylinders from empty cylinders.
• Temporarily store non-empty cylinders in a well-ventilated location and secure them in an upright position.
• Send non-empty cylinders to a depressurisation facility to safely release or recover residual gas.
• Verify empty/emptied cylinders are free of residual contents and mark or label them as “EMPTY” or “DISCHARGED”.
• Send only cylinders that have been verified empty to the scrap metal yard for metal recovery or recycling.
• •Competent workers: Deploy only workers who have been trained on the SWP for the proper handling and disposal of fire extinguisher cylinders. Communicate the possible onsite risks and the implemented risk controls to workers.
• Highlight the importance of detecting and weeding out non-empty cylinders that may be present in a scrap metal pile.

• Work supervision: Provide on-site supervision to ensure the SWPs are strictly followed.

• Safe work environment: Instruct the site supervisor and excavator operator to scan the work area to confirm that no workers are inside the scrap metal yard before starting excavator operations. This is because yard workers may be exposed to flying metal debris especially due to the presence of a strong electromagnet. Mark out the excavator work zone with suitable warning signs and/or erect barriers to prevent unauthorised entry while the excavator is in operation.

• Use of technology: Consider the use of technology (e.g. automated metal waste conveyor system, remotely-operated magnetic separator) to eliminate or reduce worker exposure to the risk of being struck by flying metal debris.

For more information, refer to the WSH (Risk Management) Regulations, Singapore Standard SS 578: 2019 + A1: 2022 Code of Practice for the Use and Maintenance of Portable Fire Extinguishers, the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s online page on Portable Fire Extinguishers, the National Environment Agency’s Code of Practice for Licensed General Waste Collectors, and the WSH Council’s 6 Basic WSH Rules for Safe Operation of Excavator.

Under the WSH Act, first-time corporate offenders may be sentenced to the maximum fine of $500,000 whilst individuals can either be sentenced to the maximum fine of $200,000 and/or an imprisonment not exceeding 2 years. Read more on the WSH Act penalties.

Director Forged BizSAFE Certificates Charged

A director of Best Management Consultancy, was sentenced on 29 July 2025 to 14 months’ imprisonment, effective from 25 August 2025 for  the issuance of forged bizSAFE certificates to 17 companies and other unrelated cases.

The case was made known in the WSH Bulletin on 16 October 2023 to caution companies against potential forgery of bizSAFE certificates by workplace safety and health (WSH) consultants. Since then 6 other companies have subsequently came forward to report that they have also been defrauded.   

Companies are reminded to apply for bizSAFE directly through the WSH Council website, rather than rely on consultants who claim to be able to do so on their behalf to prevent similar cases from recurring in the future.

Companies are also advised to exercise judgement in the selection of such consultancy services, which are not under any form accreditation and to engage MOM-approved Auditing Organisations (AOs) directly to conduct the Risk Management Implementation Audit. Only Risk Management Audits conducted by these approved AOs are accepted for bizSAFE applications. 

If you are procuring services from bizSAFE enterprises, please check bizSAFE Self-Help on our website to verify the enterprises’ bizSAFE status and expiry date. 

The WSH Council urge all companies to exercise due diligence in ensuring the legitimacy of their bizSAFE certifications.

WSH Guidelines on Combustible Dust

What is WSH Guideline 

WSH Guidelines showcased workplace safety and health best practices and WSH program for controlling workplace hazards and improving occupational health for various industry and program 

WSH Guidelines on Combustible Dust Scope:

-provide practical guidance for identifying, assessing, and controlling the risks of fires and explosions arising from combustible dust in workplaces.

They outline regulatory obligations, offer guidance on control measures, and include case studies highlighting the consequences of dust-related incidents, underscoring the importance of proactive risk management

To learn more click WSH Guidelines on Combustible dust