One ordered to stop work as inspection blitz continues on 89 shipyards
Jermyn Chow, Jason Hau, Daryl Tan, Straits Times 27 Jun 08;
OFFICERS from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have uncovered a litany of shortfalls in safety standards in an ongoing inspection of the 89 shipyards here.
Exposed electrical boards, live wires in wet areas and scaffolds with missing toeboards and handrails were among the lapses.
Since the blitz started on Monday, 40 shipyards have been spot-checked by the team of about 50 officers.
So far, one shipyard, found lacking in proper safety procedures, has had to 'down tools', an MOM spokesman told The Straits Times. She declined to name it.
The safety checks come in the wake of a string of shipyard accidents that have left five people dead and 18 others hurt in a space of three weeks.
The 23rd person injured or killed this month was a 54-year-old New Zealander, believed to be a ship's engineer. He suffered second-degree burns on Wednesday, when a flash fire broke out in the engine room of a ship berthed in Drydocks World Singapore. The mishap was the second in that shipyard in nine days.
The tragedies have cast a pall over the boom in the ship- repair and offshore sectors.
Last year, the marine and offshore industry rang in $13.05 billion in total output, a 33 per cent jump over the previous year.
Besides clamping down on errant shipyards, the industry-led Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (Asmi) will launch a safety education drive here. It will focus in particular on raising safety standards in small and medium-sized shipyards.
A safety seminar has already been lined up next month, with a focus on safety while working in confined spaces.
A 400-page guide for shipyard managers and safety professionals will also be disseminated during the seminar.
Asmi president Michael Chia hopes those attending the event will not just 'pay lip service', but will get the safety message out 'to the last man on the ground'.
That would include reaching the estimated 300 workers hired by the shipyards' sub-contractors.
Most of these are Bangladeshi or Myanmar nationals who have left their homelands to come here for jobs paying between $300 and $1,500.
An ST check with shipyard workers in Tuas seemed to indicate that the 'safety first' message had sunk in. Most said their safety supervisors were starting off every morning with safety briefings.
Mr Murugean Ramesh, 39, an electrician with Damen Shipyards Singapore, said: 'As long as we don't take shortcuts, we follow the rules, we will be safe.'
But safety analysts warn that this mentality may breed complacency.
Mr Andrew H. S. Tan, vice-president of the Singapore Institution of Safety Officers, said: 'As time passes, safe work procedures have to be constantly reviewed and tightened to stay relevant to the fast-paced shipbuilding and repair industry.'
