MALAYSIA DOSH-masterplan
MALAYSIA DOSH-masterplan
Contents i
Foreword ii
Abbreviations iv
List of appendices v
List of tables v
List of figures v
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Construction Industry in Malaysia 1
1.2 Safety and Health in Construction Industry 5
2.0 Objectives 13
3.0 Framework for the Master Plan 14
Strategies on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction
4.0 18
Industry
4.1 Introduction 18
4.2 Proposed Strategies on Occupational Safety & Health Enforcement &
18
Legislation
4.3 Proposed Strategies on Occupational Safety & Health Education &
19
Training
4.4 Proposed Strategies on Occupational Safety & Health Promotions 19
4.5 Proposed Strategies on Occupational Safety & Health Incentives 19
4.6 Proposed Strategies on Occupational Safety & Health Standards 21
4.7 Proposed Strategies on Safety & Health Research and Development
21
(R & D) and Technology
5.0 Implementation of Master Plan 23
5.1 Roles of Stakeholders 23
6.0 Action Plan 28
6.1 Safety & Health - Enforcement and Legislation 28
6.2 Safety & Health - Training and Education 36
6.3 Safety & Health - Promotions 50
6.4 Safety & Health - Incentives and Disincentives 54
6.5 Safety & Health - Standards 56
6.6 Safety & Health - R & D and Technology 67
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FOREWORD
This Master Plan is produced for used by the construction industry and therefore
participation from all stakeholders is vital. Information and feedback from
stakeholders forms the basis for this Master Plan. To ensure that feedback from
all stakeholders are considered, CIDB has established the National Occupational
Safety & Health Committee for Construction Industry (NOSHCCI) represented by
various organizations. Their role is to consider occupational safety and health
issues within the industry, propose guidelines and monitor the development of
the Master Plan. Gratitude is owed to the wide range of people in NOSHCCI who
has offered their practical experience, approaches and decisions to guide the
formulation of this Master Plan.
The focus of this Master Plan is on six areas identified by the National
Occupational Safety and Health Committee for Construction Industry to achieve
improvement in safety and health performance within the industry. The six areas
are: -
In the enforcement and legislations front, the master plan has identified
the development of new legislations, amending the existing legislations
and strengthening of the enforcement agency as thrust areas for
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implementation. Programs identified for implementation include,
increasing the number of DOSH officers, appointment of construction
safety and health officer instead of general safety and health officers,
comprehensive provision of Personal Protective Equipments, review of
BOWEC’s regulations and penalties, registration of all site safety and
health supervisors and certification of Contractors Management Systems.
It is hoped that with improved coordination and control by DOSH, the
construction industry’s safety and health performance can be further
improved.
c) Promotions
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d) Incentives
e) Standard Development
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implementation. Programs for the future include improving existing
reporting system, new methods to prevent falling from height, improving
signalling system for site traffic management, mandatory preparation of
design drawings for temporary works and the development of e-portal for
safety and health.
Stakeholders can use this Master Plan as a basis to set up their own action plans.
However, the successful implementations of this Master Plan depend on the
stakeholders’ incorporation of the master plan’s guidelines and objectives in their
business operations and use as a forward planning document to improve safety
and health in construction. By doing so, it will indirectly increase the productivity
and profitability for contractors involved in construction industry.
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ABBREVIATIONS
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LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF APPENDICES
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
1
The construction industry in Malaysia is generally divided into two areas. One
area is general construction, which comprises residential construction, non-
residential construction and civil engineering construction. The second area is
special trade works, which comprises activities of metal works, electrical works,
plumbing, sewerage and sanitary works, refrigeration and air-conditioning works,
painting works, carpentry, tiling and flooring works and glass works. Malaysia
was experiencing significant economic growth at an average rate of 13.5% of
GDP per annum during the year 1993 to 1997 period (Table 1). The high
economic growth rate has had very positive impact on the construction sector
during this period. Generally this rapid growth in the industry has brought an
increased injuries and fatalities in this industry due to lack of focus in
occupational safety and health. The construction industry has strong influence on
the country’s economy and account for about slightly less than 5% of the GDP.
Although it accounts for less than 5% of GDP, the industry is a strong growth
push because of its extensive linkages with the rest of the economy. In particular
the industry has extensive linkages with construction related manufacturing
industries such as basic metal products and electrical machinery. 1In 1998, when
the construction industry experienced a sharp downturn, basic metal industries
incurred some 35.6 percent drop in output. Generally the growth of the industry
was moving in tandem with growth in the manufacturing industry.
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Despite its important contribution to the nation’s economy, the industry is still
saddled with serious problems such as low quality, low productivity, poor image,
economic volatility, bureaucratic delays, lack of ethics, shortage of skill
manpower and lack of data and information.
The low productivity in the industry is attributed to low technology usage, poor
project and site management, unskilled labour, high input cost and duration
estimation, shortage of construction manpower, high construction wastage, poor
maintenance, non-conducive and accident prone work environment and
bureaucratic obstacles. The poor image of the industry is caused by the high
incidents of accident, absence of job security, poor management, low wages for
high risk jobs and lack of opportunity for career advancement.
The shortage of skill manpower in the industry is caused by poor industry image,
lack of training culture, too many construction activities at one time, and over
dependence on labour.
To address the above problems plaguing the industry, CIDB in collaboration with
the stakeholders is developing a Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP). This
Master Plan has identified a number of policies, one of which is a policy on health
and safety in construction. It is envisaged that the implementation of this policy
in the short to medium term is expected to reduce the high incidence of
accidents and economic losses to stakeholders thus indirectly improving
productivity, quality and image of the industry as a whole.
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TABLE 1 – GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTS BY SECTOR OF ORIGIN
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Agriculture 3.9 -1.0 1.1 2.2 0.4 -4.5 3.8 0.6 1.8 3.0 5.7
Mining 12.9 14.7 14.5 12.2 3.0 -13.7 13.5 21.0 -6.2 3.7 5.9
Manufacturing -0.5 2.5 9.0 4.5 10.4 1.8 -3.1 3.1 1.6 4.0 8.3
Construction 11.2 14.1 17.3 14.2 10.6 -23.0 -5.6 1.0 2.3 2.3 1.9
Services 10.0 9.7 9.4 9.7 7.2 -0.8 3.3 4.8 5.7 4.1 4.4
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TABLE 2 – EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR
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1.2 SAFETY & HEALTH IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The rapid growth of the construction sector coupled with the rise in the number
of fatalities within the sector over the last ten years has brought into focus the
hitherto low priority placed by the stakeholders on occupational safety and
health. The number of fatalities encountered in the construction industry is
alarming. Out of the total of 73,858 industrial accidents reported to SOCSO by
the year 2003, 4,654 were recorded in the construction industry. From this
figure, almost 2.0 percent or 95 cases resulted in death, while 12.2% or 566
cases resulted in permanent disabilities. In comparison, the manufacturing
industry and the agricultural, forestry and fisheries industry recorded 0.7 percent
and 0.6 percent fatalities respectively out of the total accidents reported. Table
3 shows the percentage fatalities in the construction, agriculture and
manufacturing sectors for a 5 year period, between the years 1999 to 2003. Over
this period the highest fatalities is in construction, followed by agriculture and
manufacturing sector.
Figure 1A and Figure 1B (extracted form SOCSO Annual Report) show the
number of cases of accidents and fatalities respectively from 1993 - 2003. It is to
be noted that SOCSO’s figures only cover those workers subscribing to SOCSO.
The actual figures are much higher if those not subscribing to SOCSO are taken
into account. It is generally believed that many cases of accidents and fatalities
of foreign workers in the industry are not reported to the authorities and hence
the SOCSO’S figures are the accident statistics of Malaysian workers only.
SOCSO’s Report shows that in the year 2000 there were 159 fatalities (the
highest annual fatalities to date) out of 4,873 reported accident cases. In the
year 1996 there were 5,401 reported cases (the highest number of annual
reported cases to date) with 116 fatalities. During the period from 1993 to 2003
a total of 1,033 fatalities have been recorded in the construction industry.
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The high number of incidents of injuries and fatalities amongst construction
workers has generally been due to the nature of the works (evolving), weather
condition and variety of hazards involved. Construction workers are exposed to
falling from heights, movement of plant and machinery, electrical shocks,
excessive noise etc. The underlying causes for the high number of incidents are
summarised as follows:
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could increase their productivity in construction sector; and inadequate
provision of budget and unclear specification on safety and health
requirements for safety and health programs at the construction sites; and
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TABLE 3 – FATALITIES BY SECTOR
Agriculture
Forestry 132 1.0 53 115 1.0 47 75 0.6 29 69 0.7 27 40 0.6 16
Fisheries
Manufacturing 232 0.6 17 282 0.7 20 243 0.7 16 214 0.6 14 213 0.7 13
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Figure 1A: SOCSO ANNUAL REPORT
Reported Construction Accidents
6,000
5,000
4,000
Cases
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Years
180
160
140
120
Cases
100
80
60
40
20
0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Years
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1.2.1 Background
Over many years, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has
taken a lot of effort to reduce the number of people who are killed, injured, or
suffering ill health as a result of construction work. But their initiative alone is
insufficient to increase or strengthen safety and health activities within the
growing construction industry. Earnest effort from all the industry stakeholders is
also necessary. Recognizing these difficulties, CIDB initiated the development of
the master plan for safety and health.
Among the immediate measures adopted by the CIDB include the introduction of
the safety and health induction course for construction workers and occupational
safety and health management system course for contractors.
The approach of developing the master plan together with the industry players
and the enforcement agency will facilitate greater industry player ownership of
the master plan that is developed and deliver some enduring skills in safety and
health management plan development that will aid sustainability.
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1.2.2 Need for the Master Plan
Construction accident statistics maintained by SOCSO for the last period of 1993
– 2003 indicates that there are about 1,033 fatalities out of 49,260 reported
cases. The principal reasons for the occurrence of the 1,033 fatalities have not
been analysed and studied. This situation in the construction industry underpins
the need to increase research activities and strengthen safety and health
activities as well as to identify strategies to reduce the fatalities, injuries and ill-
health.
Currently the various stakeholders are implementing their own plans without any
single agency coordinating all their effort. So, this Master Plan is formulated to
strengthen the co-ordination of policies and plans currently being implemented
by the various stakeholders with emphasis on optimisation of resource utilisation.
It is envisaged that this Master Plan will bring about well coordinated
implementation and effective evaluation process regarding construction safety
and health. Moreover concerned stakeholders can use the Master Plan as a basis
to set up their own action plans.
2
International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that 4 percent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP – one of the most used measurements of national
wealth) is lost due to accidents and work related diseases. This loss is attributed
to cost arising from compensation payments, early retirements due to disability,
absenteeism, unemployment and poorer household due to seriously reduced
household income. The study also indicates that poor safety and health standard
in a company may have impact on its profitability. The impact may arise from:
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c) Difficulty in recruiting high quality employees.
d) Payment of compensation.
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2.0 OBJECTIVE
The objective of the Master Plan is to reduce injury rates, work related ill-health
and consequent days lost from work in the industry. It is hoped that the fatality
rate of 26 per 100,000 workers in 2003 can be further reduced by 30% by the
year 2010. 3The current fatality rate in the developed countries like Japan, France
and the USA is below 20 per 100,000 workers and Malaysia which is striving to
achieve developed nation status by 2020 should strive to achieve the target of
reducing fatalities to less than 20 per 100,000 workers.
3. Asian-Pacific Newsletter on Occupational Health Safety, Vol. 11, number 1, March 2004.
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3.0 FRAMEWORK FOR THE MASTER PLAN
The framework for the Master Plan for Occupational Safety & Health in
Construction Industry has been structured as follows:
d) Presently, accidents data and analysis (if any) are kept by various
organizations (insurance companies, SOCSO, DOSH and hospitals). So
far, no comprehensive study and analysis of accidents on the construction
industry has been carried out and not published. This situation has to be
changed, as any real improvement on occupational safety and health
performance in the industry has to be based on rectification of the current
weaknesses as well as the reasons/circumstances leading to their
occurrence. However, the reliability of findings on the sources of accidents
depends entirely on the correctness and completeness of the data
collected. To achieve this goal, the Master Plan proposes on line reporting
of accidents be introduced in accordance with the proposed regulations,
“Notification of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulation”.
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e) Action plan on measures to improve enforcement, training, management,
good practices, promotion, design and work practices so as to have
overall improvement on safety and health performance in the industry.
The Master Plan also proposes incentives for good performers and
penalties for poor performers in safety and health in the construction
industry.
Figure 2 shows the diagrammatic framework of this master plan. The framework
of this master plan is based on the notion that safety and health intervention is
necessary throughout the different phases of the project life cycle. The different
phases are planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance.
Threat to workers safety and health may occur at any one of the above phases
and intervention at early phases of planning and design will afford an opportunity
to foresee and design out some of the hazards thus reducing risk during
construction and operation and maintenance phases of projects.
Accidents are prone to occur at any one of the above phases and in the event of
an occurrence the underlying causes for the accident needs to be investigated.
Based on the understanding of the underlying causes, safety and health solutions
can be developed.
If the underlying causes are identified to be lack of knowledge and skill, then
intervention by training the workers to impart suitable knowledge and skill guided
by the National Occupational Skill Standards (NOSS) should be considered.
Similarly if the underlying cause for the accident is due to management
problems, then the management should be encouraged to establish safety and
health management system and seek certification.
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Similarly if the causes identified is due to poor design for safety and health, then
the strategy to train the designers on designing out safety and health risk need
to be given consideration. The intervention to improve safety and health
performance in the industry can be either through training, promotion,
enforcement, guidance or combination of a number of strategies.
With this framework it is hoped that the stakeholders will be able to achieve the
objectives of the master plan to make the construction site a safe and healthy
place to work. It is also envisaged that the good performers would be considered
for reward with incentive and bad performers with disincentive.
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FRAME WORK OF THE MASTER PLAN
Current state
of Safety and Incentive
Health in the Planning, Design, Construction, Operation & Maintenance and abandonment Disincentive
Construction
Industry To Targeted state of
achieve Safety and Health
without the
Master Plan after implementation
of the master plan
ENFORCEMENT
&
TRAINING PROMOTION
STANDARD
ANALYSIS
AREA OF COVERAGE
WORKER NOSS
FINDINGS
MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION FOR MANAGEMENT
DESIGN CDM
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4.0 STRATEGIES ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The management of safety and health in the construction industry, like in other
industries is also governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and
the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and Regulation made there under. The
Factories and Machinery (Building Operations & Works of Engineering
Construction) (Safety), Regulations 1986 in particular has played an important
role in shaping the safety and health management practices in the construction
industry. Beside these legislations, there are few Malaysian Standards published
by Department of Standard (DSM) and code of practices issued by DOSH.
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For Occupational Safety and Health in the construction industry, new legislations
should be enacted, existing ones to be reviewed and amended and the
enforcement agency strengthened.
Promotions on Occupational Safety & Health should be one of the main pillars of
enhancing safety and health in the construction industry. Promotion activities
should be enhanced and aggressively pursued. Stakeholders should be
encouraged to organise safety and health promotion activities regularly.
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extended to stimulate active participation from industry players. Incentives could
be in various forms such as award of recognition, financial support and premium
discounts for good risk management.
All stakeholders should jointly provide financial incentives for the successful
implementation of the programs outlined in this master plan. The requirement for
employment of construction Safety and Health Officer for works having contract
value above RM 20 million be reviewed in the light of the requirement for
contractors to have construction safety and health management system in their
enterprise. Such a review would act as a catalyst to further encourage the
contractors to invest in safety and health management system.
The government may consider some tax relieves or tax exemptions to be given
for Personal Protective Equipment and safety tools/equipment used in the
construction industry.
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4.6 PROPOSED STRATEGIES ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH
STANDARDS
Codes of practice, for safe construction works and code of practice in oil and gas
industry should be developed. Guidelines on fall prevention should be developed
on fast track basis. Code of practice for certain high risk activities should also be
identified and developed. Standard design drawings for scaffolding, workers
housing and temporary sanitary system should be developed.
In line with the spirit of self regulation of OSHA, the guidelines and code of
practices should be developed immediately by SIRIM/DSM.
R & D and Technology is important for the industry to meet the need for
innovative solutions for a better workplace. Therefore, R & D should be further
encouraged in the area of construction safety and health, through identification
of more research and development projects. More mechanized method of
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construction should be introduced to reduce labour dependency. Industrialised
Building System shall be promoted in Construction Industry.
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5.0 IMPLEMENTATION
Successful implementation of the “Master Plan for occupational Safety and Health
in Construction Industry” depends very much on the stakeholders’ incorporation
of its guidelines and objectives in their business operations and also use it as part
of forward planning document within their organizations. Under this approach,
Stakeholders (e.g. contractors and owner organizations) may assume the
leadership role to define standards, provide advice and guidance; monitor
progress; and remind and urge the members to implement the Master Plan. It is
intended that such efforts be reviewed once in every two years.
Figure 3 shows the roles of stakeholders for the implementation of this Master
Plan. They are summarized as follows:-
Stakeholders are the driving force for improvement of occupational safety and
health performance in the construction industry. Occupational Safety & Health
Act 1994 defines that ‘the management of safety and health at the work place is
the responsibility of those who create the risks and those who work with the
risks’. Thus, the participation of all stakeholders such as government agencies,
professional bodies, contractor assocations and training providers is a pre-
requsite for any safety and health program to succeed. It is essential that
stakeholders coordinate the implementation of the guidelines and objectives set
out in the Master Plan and avoid any duplication of efforts. Performance of the
stakeholders will be monitored and evaluated by National Council For
Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) and if necessary corrective actions or
improvement programmes to be introduced by NCOSH.
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5.1 ROLES OF STAKEHOLDERS
SOCSO could also play a meaningful role in promoting and attracting maximum
participation in occupational safety and health training programs through
financial incentives to stakeholders.
Government Agencies to work closely with other stakeholders such as owner and
trade association, professional bodies, training providers and other interested
parties to ensure that the programs, guidelines, etc recommended in this Master
Plan are effectively implemented.
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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OCCUPATIONAL DOSH
(Secretary)
SAFETY & HEALTH
GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES
CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL TRADE
(HIGH (LOW
BODIES ASSOCIATIONS / ACCIDENTS
ACCIDENTS
& FATALITIES)
(BRM, IEM, PAM, BOS, CONTRACTORS & FATALITIES)
ETC.) (MBAM, PKMM, REDHA, ETC.)
TRAINING
PROVIDERS
(NIOSH, ABM, ETC.)
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5.1.2 Trade Associations/Contractors
The basic philosophy of the Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994, requires that
the Government Agencies, Owner and Trade Associations work closely together,
for the improvement of occupational safety and health performance in the
construction industry. Thus, commitment by Trade Associations/Contractors to
support and actively participate in all the programs and activities initiated by the
Government Agencies is essential for the successful implementation of the Master
Plan. Trade Associations/Contractors are encouraged to be more active to
develop industry codes of practice and organise training and promotional
programmes in collaboration with other government agencies or OSH training
providers.
The Professional Bodies to give full commitment and support to ensure that the
guidelines and standards set for occupational safety and health performance in
the construction industry are effectively implemented. Professional Bodies should
take action against their members who failed to comply with the provisions of
OSHA 1994.
Project owners are equally important in the promotion of safety and health
program by including requirements for safety and health of workers in the
tender/contract document for the project. They could also insist that only
contractors with good safety and health track record be selected for the project.
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5.1.5 Training Providers
Through exercising the power conferred under Section 11(1) of the Occupational
Safety & Health Act 1994, National Council For Occupational Safety and Health to
play a major role to ensure successful implementation of the Master Plan. The
Council to give direction and appropriate advice to the stakeholders in particular
the Government Agencies (such as DOSH, CIDB, JKR, etc.) on the
implementation of Master Plan.
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6.0 ACTION PLAN
The ‘Action Plan’ under the Master Plan includes programme identified by the
National Occupational Safety and Health Committee for Construction Industry
(NOSHCCI) for implementation during the Master Plan period (between 2005 and
2010). A summary of the programs to be implemented for each year under the
Master Plan is shown in Appendix 2.
6.1.1 Background
At present, there are about 700 personnel in the department throughout the
country. They are 400 inspectors varying from technicians to engineers and their
main job is to enforce the Occupational and Safety and Health Act 1994 and
Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and Regulations made there-under.
The Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994 provides for the establishment of The
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) to carry out the
objectives of the acts. The membership of the NCOSH shall not be less than 12
and not more than 15. It consists of representatives from government and other
related organizations or professional bodies of whom at least one must be a
woman. The council has the authorities to do all things expedient or reasonably
necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of the objectives of the Act. At the
moment, DOSH is the secretariat to the council.
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6.1.2 Objectives
The guiding principle of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 is self-
regulation that is employers should comply with the regulations because of self-
interest rather than official sanction. However, the alarming rate of accidents
since the introduction of the Act suggests that the industry players have not still
understood the philosophy behind the Act. Therefore enforcement effort should
focus more on continuous promotion and education of stakeholders rather than
imposing immediate legal sanctions. Recalcitrant offenders however should be
subjected to severe penalties to inculcate sense of ownership and accountability
under the law. The following are recommended action plans for implementation:
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the tasks they have to perform so that they can discharge their responsibilities
towards the enforcement of various provisions in the legislations connected with
construction safety, health and welfare effectively.
The main legislation in Malaysia that governs safety and health in the
construction industry are the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (and its 6
Regulations) and Factories and Machinery Act 1967, (with its 15 Regulations).
The basis in the enactment of the OSHA 1994 was three-fold: Self-regulatory,
Consultation and Co-operation. The provisions in the Occupational Safety &
Health Act 1994 complement the provisions of the Factories and Machinery Act
and its Regulations. In the event of any conflict, the provisions in Occupational
Safety & Health Act 1994 shall prevail.
One specific regulation, which have great influence on the construction industry,
is the Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction (Safety)
Regulation 1986 (BOWECS). Other legislations, which have lesser influence on
the safety and health in construction industry, are:
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g) Control of Destruction Disease-Bearing Insect Act 1975.
Some provisions under Factories and Machinery (Building Operations and Works
of Engineering Construction) (Safety) Regulations 1986 do not reflect the current
practices in the construction industry and therefore require review. Instead of
undertaking review on a piecemeal basis the authorities may consider enacting a
new legislation exclusively to govern safety and health in construction industry.
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e) to include provisions for work activities, which are not covered under the
current provisions such as lifting operations/use of cranes, the use of
safety harness, tunnelling works, etc.;
h) to include provisions for designated places for smoking at project site and
separate, hygienic and safe cooking amenities at the workers quarters;
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It is proposed that the above proposed revision or new regulations to replace the
existing one to be enforced in the year 2006.
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improvement exercise provisions regarding penalty for violation should be
reviewed in 2009.
e) Requirements for existing Safety and Health Officers and Site Safety
Supervisors to attend a mandatory course organised by accredited training
providers so as to be registered with CIDB as Construction Safety &
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Health Officer and Site Safety Supervisors respectively. They should
attend continuous education program to renew their registration.
It is proposed that by the year end of 2005, the relevant regulatory body or
agency to develop a standard for safety and health management system for the
industry. It is vital so that a uniform and standard assessment can be conducted
for all industry players. The standard may be known as Malaysia Standard –
Construction Safety & Health Management System.
It is also proposed that by the year 2010, all Grade 7 (CIDB) contractors would
have to obtain the MS COSH Management System Certificates (MS COSHMS) or
MS OSH or OHSAS 18001. Construction Occupational Safety & Health
Management System shall be part of the assessment requirements for selecting
and awarding contracts by Government Agencies.
Contractors who have been penalised more than five (5) times (related to
construction safety & health) within three (3) years by the enforcement
authorities shall have their registration downgraded. It is mandatory for one of
their key personnel to attend a specific course conducted by accredited training
providers. Curriculum for such program should emphasize on the relevant legal
provisions and consequences for failure to comply, real cost of an accident –
tangible and intangible costs and benefits of an effective occupational safety and
health management system. Registration upgrading could only be considered
after the successful attendance of the above training program.
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Currently conditions of contract require that contractors submit a statutory
declaration to client prior to the final payment due to him under the contract.
This statutory declaration among others will require the contractor to declare that
he has indeed paid all payment owing to the various parties under the contract.
In this declaration, a requirement should be included for the contractor to declare
the number of accidents/fatalities in his contract and notifications to relevant
authorities about the accidents, if any. A copy of this declaration, should be
extended to the authorities by the client.
6.2.1 Background
The construction industry is labour intensive and as such should regard its
workers as one of their major resources. It is important that when improving the
quality of the industry, the skill and the knowledge of its personnel are also
improved. Successive studies carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in
the UK has concluded that a significant factor on the cause of accidents is lack of
training of the people involved.
Therefore, training on occupational safety and health should be made part of the
overall management system. There are different types of trades and levels of
training, and training should be regarded as an integral part of trades and
management training. Thus training will help people to acquire skills, knowledge
and attitude that contribute towards the competence of a person for safety and
health related works.
Presently, there are not many approved training providers on safety and health in
the country. Besides the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, there
are few approved private training providers conducting Safety & Health Officer
Competency Courses.
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6.2.2 Objectives
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The ultimate goal of this course is to produce competent Site Safety Supervisors
by equipping them with relevant knowledge pertaining to their roles and
responsibilities as stipulated under Regulations 25 and 26 of Factories &
Machinery (Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction) (Safety),
Regulations 1986. The need for competent Site Safety Supervisor is critical for
projects costing less than RM 20 million. For these projects there are no
requirements for appointment of safety and health officer under OSHA 1994 and
hence the Site Safety Supervisor will be playing a pivotal role in advising the
employer on safety and health issues.
All practicing registered safety and health officers in the construction industry
should attend and complete a course to be prescribed by the authorities to
register themselves as construction safety and health officers. This program is to
be implemented in 2005. Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994 requires all
employers and self-employed persons to appoint a full time competent person as
a Safety and Health Officer at the place of work. Further provisions were made
under the Occupational Safety & Health (Safety and Health Officer) Regulations
1997 and Orders 1997; amongst others those provisions defined the
qualifications, roles and responsibilities of a Safety & Health Officer. For building
operations and works of engineering construction with contract sum of more than
RM20 million, the contractors are required to appoint a full time Safety and
Health Officer.
Currently there are two categories of DOSH registered Safety and Health Officers
practicing in the construction industry. They are:
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a) individuals with approved Certificate of Competency; and
Course modules adopted for those training programs are generic in nature. They
are not industry specific and the authority may have the rationale for this. Only
approximately two (2) hours is allocated to cover construction safety and health.
Based on the nature of the construction industry, the extent of coverage given is
inadequate for the individual to assist his/her employer to manage the
occupational safety & health effectively on construction sites.
For the second category, they did not under-go any formal training as Safety and
Health Officers, but solely relying on their hands-on experiences. Their approach
varies, depending on their experiences. Normally they are more efficient in
playing the supervisory roles rather than advisory roles as stipulated under the
Occupational Safety & Health (Safety & Health Officer), Regulations 1997.
Matters became worse in situations for those without the industry’s background
and experience; they are not familiar with the construction processes, working
culture and environment. With the shortcomings they are unable to communicate
and manage occupational safety and health effectively.
A tailor-made training program for existing Safety and Health Officer practicing in
the construction industry is to be developed and accredited. A training program
should be developed specifically for the construction industry safety officers. The
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main objective of introducing this course is to enhance the knowledge of safety
and health officers so as to enable them to perform effectively as Safety & Health
Officers within the industry. The groups targeted are DOSH registered Safety &
Health Officers who intends to work in the construction industry.
Certain provisions under the Factories & Machinery (Building Operations & Works
of Engineering Construction) (Safety), Regulations 1986 requires
employer/occupier of a work place to appoint competent persons as designated
person in order to assist in the supervision of work as stipulated under the
Regulations. The designated persons to be appointed are:
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b) Concrete Work, Formwork, Shoring & Other Supports - Reg. 29 (1), (2) &
(3);
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a) To assist in the development of safety and health rules and safe system of
work.
c) To review the safety and health policy and make recommendations for any
revision.
To ensure that the safety and health committee members carry out their duties
effectively, they shall be adequately trained. Training curriculum shall be tailor-
made to suit their tasks as committee members.
Stakeholders should develop curriculum for the Safety and Health Committee
members training based on their duties as mentioned earlier.
Managerial personnel being policy makers for their organizations, they must be
aware and well versed with the safety and health legislative requirements. Their
commitment is vital for effective implementation of safety and health program
within their organization.
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Relevant agencies may organise courses and seminars to attract Senior
Management of contractors to attend. Stakeholders should identify and develop
necessary training programs for these groups. The curriculum may include but
not limited to the following:
Currently Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) has made it mandatory for graduate
engineers to attend a 12 hours course on safety and health. Attendance in this
course is one of the pre-requisite for registration as a professional engineer. It is
recommended that the Board of Architects and Board of Surveyors adopt the
same training methodology or modify if necessary. Thus safety and health course
attendance be made a pre-requisite for registration of professional engineers,
architects and surveyors in the year 2007.
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6.2.3.4 Workers’ Training
As part of a good safety and health management system in construction, all level
of personnel shall be adequately trained. Contractors should identify and develop
general training curriculum/kit for construction workers, which should include but
not limited to general awareness, tool-box talks, hazard identification techniques,
basic first aid, handling and reporting of accidents, etc. The purpose of the
proposed kit is to enable Principal Contractors to organise and conduct on-site
training program.
The current program did not make any provision for CIDB Green Card or NIOSH
Coupon holders to undergo a refresher program for renewal. Construction
personnel should be kept informed on the latest development in the construction
safety and health issues, thus stakeholders should formulate, develop and
implement a refresher program for the inducted personnel. The following shall be
considered:
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6.2.3.5.2 Professionals/Sub-Professional
All engineers, surveyors (quantity and land), architects, technical assistants, site
agents, technician, clerk of work should be encouraged to attend at least one
approved occupational safety and health related course or seminar or workshop a
year organized either by their respective professional organization or accredited
training providers. Training providers should issue certificate of attendance. This
program may be implemented in 2006.
6.2.3.6 Seminars
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6.2.3.7.2 Specialised Training for High Risk Jobs
There are jobs or tasks in construction work that expose workers to high hazards
and risks (such as working in high rise buildings, bridge construction, tunnelling
work, etc.). Prior to allowing them to perform such work, they must be
adequately trained with proper techniques of identifying associated hazards,
assessing potential risks and introducing suitable control measures.
Stakeholders should identify and develop suitable training program for high-risk
operations, which should include but not limited to Job Safety Analysis, Risks
Assessment Methodology, etc.
As a general guide, only organization with qualified and competent trainers with
adequate facilities should be allowed to conduct competency-based training.
Construction work is unique by itself. The nature of the work is totally different
from other industries. Work conditions and environment on site keep on evolving
from the start up to the completion. Therefore only those who had the
experiences working on construction sites are well versed with the art of it. The
objective is to ensure only qualified trainers are allowed to conduct approved
training programs in order to achieve and maintain the quality and standards of
the programs.
To ensure all training programs are being run effectively, trainers must be of high
quality and standard. Thus, all trainers shall undergo a competency test to be
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conducted by regulatory bodies as pre-requisite for accreditation. Potential
training providers/individual trainers shall register with relevant authorities. This
program should be implemented as soon as possible.
6.2.3.9.1 General
6.2.3.9.2 Certification
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6.2.3.10 Construction (Design & Management) Course for
Professionals
Secondly, for the Principal Contractors this course/seminar must be designed for
contractors who are required to undertake the role of principle Contractors as
defined in the new regulations.
Thirdly, for the Designers/Safety Advisor this course must be designated for
person or company who are required to undertake the role of safety advisor.
The objective of this course/seminar is to ensure that the appointed personnel
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are capable of carrying out their duties as stipulated under the proposed CDM
(Malaysia) Regulation.
To help the designers to fulfil their safety duties, relevant regulatory bodies
should take the lead to provide a code of practice or guideline before it can be
implemented.
All engineers, surveyors (quantity and land) and architects should attend the
“Construction (Design & Management)” course/seminar to be introduced in 2007
upon the promulgation of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulation.
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6.2.3.13 Capacity Building of Enforcement Agencies Officers
The success of all education & training programs rely on the commitment of the
industry stakeholders. Therefore effective collaboration amongst stakeholders
should be encouraged.
6.3.1 Background
6.3.2 Objectives
To raise the awareness of employers, workers, the public and other stakeholders
about safety and health in construction industry and the proposed action plans
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for them to implement in order to improve the safety and health performance
within their enterprise.
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this program a success. The objective of forming this association is to pool the
industry stakeholders’ resources under one umbrella body to further enhance
construction safety and health.
Annual award for Best Project Owner (who has contributed to safety and health)
should be introduced. Currently awards are only available for best contractor.
Project owners play a pivotal role as much as the contractors, and therefore
should be recognised for their effort and commitment.
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Regulatory bodies should draw up the selection criteria or assessment
methodology for all safety and health related awards and announce it widely to
the industry stakeholders. This program is to be implemented as soon as
possible.
CIDB and DOSH may jointly issue Special Certificates of Achievement for Best
Practice in Occupational Safety & Health in Construction Industry, to first 100
contractors and 20 developers who may achieve a certain pre-determined
standard, annually beginning the year 2006. Relevant parties should formulate
the assessment methodology to be used.
The objective is to enhance the level of awareness particularly the employers and
generally the public on occupational safety & health in the construction sector.
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6.4 SAFETY & HEALTH ON INCENTIVE & DISINCENTIVE
6.4.1 Background
6.4.2 Objectives
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should continue it’s current program of providing grants and sponsorship for
occupational safety and health training.
In 2003, SOCSO has paid RM754 million 4in compensation for all industrial
accidents. Out of this, it is estimated that RM37 – RM40 million was paid as
compensation for accidents in construction industry. To reduce the
compensation, SOCSO may want to consider increasing the grant for safety and
health programs organized by interested parties in construction industry. The
provision of such grant may encourage stakeholders to organize and participate
in occupational safety and health programs. Thus, this will lead to a more
knowledgeable and skilled workforce in construction industry, and could minimize
work place accidents and compensation to be paid by SOCSO. Stakeholders’
cooperation and commitment is vital for the successful implementation of this
recommendation.
Stakeholders should seek the assistance of the Director General of Insurance and
the Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia (PIAM) to recognise construction companies
with MS-OSHMS or MS-COHMS and rated good safety and health performers to
be awarded with lower insurance premium. The formula and incentives should
be worked out and implemented immediately.
Project owners or clients shall itemise safety and health management items in
the preliminary section of Bill of Quantities and not to be lumped under the lump
sum.
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6.4.3.5. Tax-Exemption for PPE, all tools and equipment related to
safety and health used in the Construction Industry
CIDB may work with certification bodies to encourage more construction related
companies and contractors to be certified with Occupational Safety & Health
Management System. Higher incentives may be considered in the initial years
(2006 – 2010) and may gradually reduce thereafter.
6.5.1 Background
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based on the consolidated results of science, technology and experience, and
aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits.
Standards are important to ensure that every working man and woman in a
nation would be provided safe and healthy work conditions while preserving the
national human resource. Standards would provide proper guide for good
practice in occupational safety and health. Good practice in occupational safety
and health means one can expect that the number of accidents at workplace
could be minimized or reduced systematically over the years.
a) Adapted Standard
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b) Confirmed Standard
c) Indigenous Standard
c) Revised Standard
d) Provisional Standard
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6.5.2 Objectives
Fatal accidents in the construction industry are still among the highest compared
to other industrial accident. Moreover, to train all workers and staffs at
construction site on occupational safety and health may not be practical as the
level of understanding, ability to perform a task in safe manner and knowledge
on potential hazard may not be fully understood by everyone at construction site.
Further, legislation alone cannot ensure safety and health at the workplace.
Addressing occupational safety & health issues require a good management
system. A good occupational safety and health management system is a self-
regulatory system, which usually addresses the general duties of employers and
employees as well as designers, manufacturers and suppliers. It provides
protection to the safety, health and welfare of persons at work and of others that
may be affected by hazards originating from activities of persons at work.
Specific OSH Management System for specific industry could further strengthen
the self-regulation system.
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In addition, the guidelines will encourage the establishment of manuals in order
to effectively implement risk assessment at construction site. It will promote self
-sustained safety and health management system.
DSM, SIRIM, CIDB and DOSH shall collaborate to develop COHSMS by 2005. By
the year 2006 COHSMS must be ready to be used and accredited certification
bodies must also be available for certification purposes. Certification scheme
need to be developed. Thus COHSMS needs to be reviewed by the year 2008 and
2010 to incorporate latest development and legislation requirement.
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6.5.3.2 Guidelines for Safe Construction Works
Not knowing the dangers of confined areas/spaces has led to the deaths of many
construction workers. Often those killed include not only those working in the
confined space but also those who, not properly equipped, try to rescue them.
Work in confined areas requires skilled and trained people to ensure safety. If
work cannot be avoided in a confined space, it will often be safer to bring in a
specialist for the job. There should be a safe system of work for operation inside
or at confined spaces/areas. This guideline shall be developed and ready for the
use/reference by 2006.
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The proposed guideline shall include specific requirement for entry into confined
spaces. The guideline shall provide guides in minimizing the need to enter
confined spaces and avoiding exposure to hazards that may be experienced
when entry to a confined space is necessary.
Regular exposure to high noise levels can cause deafness. The exposure of
anyone to noise from work activities should be assessed and controlled. Where
risk to hearing cannot be eliminated, employer must provide hearing protection
to their workers. This guideline has to be developed and ready by 2007.
The proposed guideline shall emphasis on acceptable level of noise and noise
control measures at construction sites. The employer must provide proper
hearing protecting devices.
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6.5.3.3 Standards for Scaffolding material and jointing method,
workers housing and amenities
There are not many types of scaffolding available in the market. It is therefore
highly recommended that standard design and drawings be produced by DOSH
to assist the contractors to erect these approved scaffolds safely and confidently.
Also by having standard design & drawings, the project owners or consultants
can incorporate these standard drawings in their master list of drawings for
tender or construction purposes.
CDM is a new regulations being proposed in this master plan. Traditionally, the
duties and responsibility on safety and health in construction industry placed on
contractors.
This newly proposed CDM regulations will be imposing duties on five key parties,
namely; client, designer, planning supervisor, principal contractor and other
contractors to a contract. This guidelines need to be developed by 2007.
When this regulations approved and come into force, a proper guidelines need to
be developed to facilitate the project owners, consultants, planning supervisor
and contractors to understand and incorporate safety and health elements in the
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design and construction at a later stage. The guidelines on CDM shall explain the
client, designer, planning supervisor, principal contractor and other contractor’s
duties and other significant requirements in the CDM Regulations.
For oil and gas construction sites, due to its highly hazardous workplace, specific
code of practice has to be developed.
The proposed handbook on good practice for occupational safety and health at
construction sites has to be handy and simplified for the use of every employee
or worker at construction sites. This handbook must be drafted and available for
use or reference as soon as possible.
As there are quite a number of general workers who could not read or write
properly in construction industry, it is proposed that the contents of this
handbook be illustrated and explained by using cartoons, drawings and simple &
plain language (in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil).
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6.5.3.7 Department of Standard Malaysia To Accredit Certification
Body For MS COHSMS
Those agencies or organizations that have been identified by DSM for the
accreditation purpose shall train their staffs to be qualified auditors on MS
COHSMS or general OSH management system.
The relevant government agencies (DOSH, KPKT and JKR) should facilitate the
industry to develop standard design and drawings on scaffoldings, workers
quarters and temporary sanitary system. Once developed, authorities shall
encourage the project owners and consultants to use these approved standard
design and drawings on scaffolding, workers quarters and temporary sanitary
system for their projects. This program must be implemented by the year 2006.
The advantage of using these pre-approved design and drawings is that, project
owners or consultants do not need to make submission to relevant authorities in
regards to scaffolds, workers quarters and temporary sanitary system. This would
speed up the construction activities and at the same time will ensure that the
scaffolding are erected and dismantled according to the approved specifications,
safe and hygienic worker’s quarters built at construction sites and proper &
hygienic temporary sanitary system lay at construction sites.
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6.5.3.9 Revision to Code of Practice & Guidelines to Incorporate
Latest Legislation & Technology
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6.6 SAFETY & HEALTH R & D AND TECHNOLOGY
6.6.1 Background
Research into the working life within the construction sector in Malaysia is
important for describing various aspects of the current working life situation and
for analysing causes and relations. Research can help to provide a sound basis
for decision making, both at strategic level and directly in the worksite. Research
that is relevant to improving safety and health in the construction industry might
include a detailed study of the industry’s structure contractual and bidding
practices, workers training and education, risk assessment of construction tasks,
high risk work practices, or incentives or constrains to adopting good work
practices or equipment that could reduce occupational injuries or illness.
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Development of technology may be dependent upon services which may be
available internationally but application is dependent upon politics, economics
and the culture of the society where it is to be utilized.
6.6.2 Objectives
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6.6.3.2 New Methods For Preventing Fall From Height
Falling from height is one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and
disabling injuries in the construction Industry. Fall Protection is defined as any
means or system used to protect employees from falling from an elevated
walking or working surface. It involves the elimination, prevention and/or control
of fall hazards.
Currently there are not many research projects that focus on improving
construction safety and health. DOSH, CIDB and other industry players should
jointly identify more research and development projects that will enhance safety
and health in construction industry. The following R & D projects are
recommended for consideration by CREAM and Universities.
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6.6.3.3.1 A Study should be conducted to identify and examine the Socio-
economic factors that shape the development and/or adoption of safety and
health management in the construction enterprises in Malaysia. The essence of
this study is to develop an understanding of the decision processes involved in
investing on safety and health solutions; including the initial drivers of the
decision to invest; the influence on the type of investment processes. The study
may not have to be limited to construction industry but extended to cover all
other industries particularly the small and medium scale industries managed by
the Malaysians.
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government or the project proponent in pursuance of the “caring society
policy’ or ‘Dasar Masyarakat Penyayang’ as enunciated in the vision 2020
policy as well as in the Third Outline Perspective Plan.
f) A study to develop standard safety and health training modules for use by
all categories of contractors ranging from G1 to G7. Training materials
such as training manuals, guides, work books and videos should be
developed. Wherever possible those developed by the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) could be modified and adopted.
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6.6.3.4 Improving the Signal System for Site Traffic Management
DOSH and NIOSH should spearhead the task of improving the signal system for
site traffic management and the latest state of art temporary traffic management
system. DOSH and NIOSH to work jointly with JKR and relevant organisations.
NIOSH has already developed and maintaining an e-portal for occupational safety
and health. This e-portal should be enhanced and the industry to utilize it to
communicate issues on construction occupational safety and health matters. The
e-portal should provide information related to training, accredited training
providers, safety and health news, etc. related to construction occupational
safety and health. Hyper link should be created at all government, trade
association and related bodies.
Enforcing Agencies such as DOSH may work jointly with NIOSH, CIDB, SOCSO,
MCSHA and other interested parties in establishing an on-line accident reporting
facilities.
DOSH or NIOSH should identify and recommend suitable PPE necessary to secure
the safety, health and welfare of the worker working at height. They should also
endeavour to make it mandatory the use of safety harness with straps attached
to horizontal lifeline.
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6.6.3.7 Tools and Equipment for Working in Confined Spaces
All monitoring safety equipment and PPE used in working at confined spaces
should comply with the latest international standards.
The introduction of IBS has brought in new technology and methodology for
construction activities. This includes the introduction of pre-fabricated
components and requirement for use of mechanical plant and equipment, thus
leading to minimum utilization of manpower. In other words the number of
workers being exposed to hazards and risks has been minimized. Unfortunately
the utilization of machinery, plant and new materials may create new hazards
and risks. Therefore regulatory bodies should incorporate occupational safety and
health requirements in the IBS program. Those requirements may include on the
provisions for heavy lifting and manual handling.
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6.6.3.10 Study on the Suitability and Practicability of Personal
Protective Equipment and Safety and Health Tools and Equipments for
use in Construction Industry in Malaysia.
Currently there are many personal protective equipment that are imported and
used in this country. Their suitability in tropical country like Malaysia need to be
studied and acceptable ones should be recommended for industry use.
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Appendix 1
The National Occupational Safety and Health Committee for Construction Industry
(NOSHCCI) consist of the following representatives:
Ir. Dr. Johari bin Basri (Chairman) Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan
Pekerjaan / National Institute of
Occupational Safety & Health
Ir. Nazari Hashim / Ir. Hashim Buyu Jabatan Kerja Raya, Malaysia
Mr. Lee Yee Kuang / Mr. Christopher Tio Persatuan Pemaju Perumahan & Hartanah
Major (Rtd) Ir. Kamarulzaman Hj. Musa KLIA Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd
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