14 Sep 2018
Close to 700 participants attended the WSH Symposium on Work At Heights (WAH) 2017 at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability (e2i) on 20 November 2017. The Symposium was organised by Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in collaboration with National Work At Heights Safety Taskforce and supported by Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES) and Singapore Institute of Safety Officers (SISO).
In his opening speech, Guest-of-Honour Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, WSH Council Chairman, shared the importance of tripartite partnership and collaboration to build a culture of prevention. While there were improvements in WAH performance since the introduction of the WAH Taskforce in 2009, the challenge was in sustaining these efforts to achieve the new target of a fatal injury rate of less than 1.0 per 100,000 workers before 2028 announced by PM Lee Hsien Loong in last September. He rallied the industry to work with WSH Council and MOM to raise standards so that accidents can be prevented to keep our workforce safe and healthy.
The Symposium also provided insights on recent enforcement findings, application of the law and sharing of past prosecuted cases, as well as best practices and innovation related to WAH. Two workshops were also conducted alongside the Symposium for participants to gain in-depth knowledge of fall prevention systems computation and implementation.
An exhibition showcasing some of the latest technology that could mitigate or eliminate WAH risks were also on display. These technology include Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) equipment to aid training realism and increase knowledge retention, mechanised access to replace traditional access methods to boost productivity as well as wearable and sensor technology to provide predictive analytics to prevent accidents from happening.
An interactive Q&A session towards the end of the Symposium provided much candour and lively exchange about WAH challenges and how WSH measures could be adequately implemented on the ground. Participants welcomed such platforms to promote healthy exchange and seek clarifications on WSH.
To view the presentation slides, click here or scan the QR code below